Welcome to Litsy!

Finishing up my October reviews, fashionably late.

I read this for my #50States50Scares challenge because I needed a South Carolina book and had already read the one on the NYT list.

Friends, I should have reread the Grady Hendrix.

This book needs editing, unless it truly was written by an overzealous middle schooler at a young writers conference, in which case I apologize.

Is it horror? Cop drama? Monster movie?

Idk, but it‘s a mess.

⭐️

This was my Arizona book for #50States50Scares, & it is a thing I read.

As the cover suggests, it‘s a biblical end times horror story, only it‘s super dated & reads like a low-budget 80s horror movie. Full of annoying tropes, rampant male chauvinism, & a whole lot of ridiculous. One would expect an 80 year old woman to have a demon baby, since she‘s old & therefore gross.🙄

I can only assume SK was high when he made the cover statement.

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This book probably never would have been on my radar if it weren‘t for my attempt at #50States50Scares. This was my Arkansas book and wow it‘s a heck of a debut novel. Somehow, it‘s a southern gothic/detective story/Cthulhu-ish/horror novel that just works. It‘s scary, smart, and engaging, but definitely not for everyone… very gory, really brutal, and bad stuff happens to animals, adults and kids. I really loved the main characters.

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I‘ve owned this Audible book for an embarrassingly long time—but this was the year it made my spooky-reads October list!

Although it‘s not super plausible, and some of the writing/character choices were a bit too ‘a man totally wrote this‘ for my liking, I did enjoy the premise of famous authors at a haunted house event, the book was genuinely scary, and that ending was *chef‘s kiss* horror finery.

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I‘ve read just enough Lovecraft to be underwhelmed & disgusted (by the author, not the stories), but I ❤️ Lovecraft Country & have had this book on my kindle for ages.

Very well-written, accessible horror that does not back down from the horror of racism while it‘s at it. A quick, tightly-wound novella that packs a punch & left me both wanting more & slightly depressed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#ColorInTheTitle - #Booked2021
#NewYork - #50States50Scares

Alma Katsu is good at historical fiction. This is the Donner party that I (inexplicably) learned about in my US education, complete with the names, dates, and events of their ill-fated trip west, but extra creepy with a supernatural element that was very well done. The pervasive sense of dread is palpable, and Katsu created some cool backstories and developed the characters so well that I found myself hoping for a happier outcome.😬

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I enjoyed this book! It‘s like a horror movie from my childhood, complete with a scary monster, characters making stupid decisions, an abundance of gore, and too much testosterone, but it was fun. I loved the Native American mythology and the setting in nearby Missouri made it feel very familiar.

But @Reggie ... wtf does this cover have to do with anything? 😅 Sending it home to you tomorrow—thanks for sharing and sorry I‘m late! #LMPBC

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Having read and enjoyed another book by Due a couple of years ago, I knew she was a gifted writer, but holy hell... this audiobook blew me away.🤩

The writing is fantastic, characters are vivid and distinct, and the story is breathtakingly immersive. I both couldn‘t wait to listen to more and also didn‘t want it to end. This reminded me of getting lost in a great King novel, and that‘s a very good thing. Scary, sexy, excellent.

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