⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book was billed as horror, and there were very graphic birthing scenes, but really, I thought it was also quite a touching tribute to women and motherhood. I was surprised it was written by a man. It seems like he did his homework. I thought it was beautiful.

I liked the symbolism and the outright bitchyness. It really was weird and my kind of book. It would have been five stars if not for my skepticism about the likelihood of the ending.

⚠️Warning animal death does occur. I know for me personally, I'm more sensitive to that than people's deaths.

I couldn't rate this book. It's well written, and the brain energy theory sounds plausible. I am skeptical of some of the solutions to mental illness, particularly the ketogenic diet. I can't speak to its efficacy until I've tried it. The book describes the theory in scientific terms involving mitochondria and the metabolic system. It's is fascinating, and parts are over my uneducated head. I will have to do my own research. I have a project now!

This was an okay read for me. I really liked Their Vicious Games, but I wasn't feeling this demonic horror as much. Devon, the main character, struck me as a bit immature. I think it was too campy for me. None of the characters resonated. It could have been the audio book. I did like the twist.

T. Kingfisher is one of my favorites. I get her humor. This was a dark fairy tale that was also humorous and sentimental. It was creative and imaginative. I really appreciated the faithful guardian geese.

This is a genre-bending book that combines a mystery/thriller with literary historical fiction. There were many perspectives to keep track of and several different time periods. I thought it was more complicated than it had to be, but I enjoyed it. The characters will stick with me, although I don't count it as the stunning literary marvel it is hyped up to be; it is a good book.

This was my last book of 2024, and it was a great one. It's a suspenseful fiction murder mystery that also brings awareness to the very real issue of the high rate of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) cases that go unsolved in this country. I thought it was respectfully done.

The suspense really grabbed me in this thriller. The tension was written quite well. I was actually scared. I'm never scared.

I thought this was going to be a cuddly, feel-good book, but it was actually pretty intense--in a good way. I was completely engrossed in the town and the behavior of its characters. The novel goes out of its way to point out the misogyny that is an integral part of many boys' sports teams and the consequences of that. It is not for the faint of heart. This book is a roller-coaster. I thought it was excellent.

This horror novella is about as Christmasy as I like to get. I liked it. I was engaged. The characters were all delightfully obnoxious. I only wish the krampus had made more of a showing.

This twisted thriller was really riveting. I sympathized with the characters, and there was a lot of crafty misdirection. It's clever how it's all wrapped up.

I loved it! I couldn't put it down. I would recommend it to anyone else interested in the plight of women thought to be witches in the 1590s Scotland. It is scary and interesting at the same time. The story goes back and forth between 1594 and the present day, and the two time periods are tied together by a creepy book.

This book was a good homage to the fierce and loving Persian women I know in my family.

I felt the book was realistic. The storyline could really happen. I don't think any book can truly capture the horror that was Khomeini, but it did illustrate how the U.S. had previously interfered with the Iranian government, ultimately leading to a terrible backlash. I hadn't fully grapsed this history until this book.

Be forewarned that this is not a cosy mystery. There is a lot of domestic violence and rape as well as traumatic birth covered in this book. The cover and title are misleading in their cutsieness. I liked the author's descriptive writing style, and I liked the main character very much, but the ending was overwhelming, and I felt yanked around.

This book was thought-provoking and entertaining. I loved becoming enmeshed in all of the characters' lives. I became addicted to them all, and I was on the edge of my seat.

This a true crime story about Rebecca Zahau, who dies naked in a rather brutal way, and the San Diego police think it's suicide. However, her family is suing a man for murder in civil court.

I felt this case was reported objectively so that the reader was free to form their own conclusions. I really feel for both families.

This book really had my attention. It was great. I found it to be an original take on the relationship between witches and demons. The characters were very entertaining, the plot was interesting, and the mystery was gripping. It's billed as a YA fantasy, but I think adults who like horror would like it. I did not want to put this book down.

The book is told from the perspective of Annie, an AI robot who is owned by a man. It follows her as she tries to grapple with ownership versus free will. It was insightful, and it made me think. It was also just a really good story. I would have been pissed had the ending gone a certain way.

3.75 ⭐️

Some stories in this collection were 5 stars. Others didn't make much sense to me. It was worth the read for N.K. Jemisen and Tananarive Due. I discovered some new-to-me authors who were also pretty good. I loved the face-eating baby aliens.

This was a gripping thriller with very good character development. I liked the dysfunctional family dynamic. I was proud of myself for suspecting the end.

The doctors weren't trying to cure these women of "hysteria" or otherwise treat it. They were making a spectacle of them for their own accolades. The book was fascinating and horrific at the same time. In some spots, it moved a little slow. The ending was awesome.

This was billed as horror, but honestly, it's just bizarre. I didn't feel like I got it. It was interesting, though.

This book was too slow for me to always stay interested. It seemed a little bit longer than necessary, and I did not connect with the characters as well as I would have liked. I did, however, appreciate a couple of the twists. Ruh was the most fleshed out character that I liked.

This was a cute, funny, farcical short story. It was just what I needed today. Fredrik Backman understands well the amusing side of human nature. It reminded me of an old, British comedy show.

It wasn't in the Litsy library. It is new.

Books. Ice cream. Tissues.

It's a cruel joke, but I can't get the gelato open, but this is how I cope.

This was a striking, compelling story about race relations and police brutality. It was written from two different points of view--the perspective of a Black woman and a white woman who were best friends. I feel like I got a lot out of this book. It was a meaty, thought-provoking story.

By the time I was finished with this book, I felt like I'd survived an exhausting slog. Maybe it's not the book's fault. I was bored by Moby Dick too. Jay is trying to MacGyver his way out of a whale and reconcile his relationship with his dead father. The book is heavy with allegory and light on the plot. It will give it some credit: it was sufficiently gross.

This is eye-opening historical horror. Ghosts play a big part in the book, but they are not nearly as terrifying as the living during the Jim Crow era. The book made me wonder how much has really changed. We still have the school to prison pipeline.

This is a fairly long book, and it is worth every page. I loved the main character, 12-year-old Robbie Stephens, and I was on the edge of my seat worried about him.

Possessive (literally and figuratively), spooky spirits in 1950s Holland. This is a well crafted, gothically influenced story, reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe. It's also a queer romantic tragedy. The reader has to figure out what is real and what is not. I loved the ambiance, the fact that it kept me guessing, and the vicious protectiveness of the ghosts.

This book is on the level of some of Stephen King's best work, and the translation comes across perfectly. I love books that are so captivating that I get lost in them, but also are so interesting that I feel compelled to look up historical facts. I didn't know much about Argentine history before this book, but I will be a little better educated now thanks to fiction.

There were a lot of characters to keep track of. It might have been easier to have read this book in print, but I did enjoy it. Rosie, in particular, was a wonderfully flamboyant character.

Nothing could compare to The Thursday Murder Club.

If you liked the movie Thelma and Louise and you don't mind blood, I think you'll like this. This is what would happen if Thelma and Louise were vampires. It is adventurous, there are car chases and things explode. Good times and sisterhood.

Don't mess with the library! This award winning middle school librarian was disgustingly defamed, bullied online, and sent death threats in the mail for voicing her concerns about book banning at the local Louisiana public library. This only served to throw Amanda Jones further into activism. The book gave me some hope that adult minds can be changed.

This book is about the founding of the United States through slavery and its current ramifications. It is very powerful. Dozens of incredible historians and writers poured their heart and soul into it.

If we want change, we must acknowledge suffering and admit that the past ties into the present.
My knowledge has grown.

Huck was off thinking he was having an adventure with his buddy, Jim. But what was this whole scenario like from Jim's perspective? The consequences for him could be deadly because Black people and white people lived in two separate worlds. The book was amazing. There was never a dull moment. I thought it was brilliant. History is still tied into the now of things.

This book was cute and funny and just what I needed to counteract some of the more intense material I am reading at the moment. It reminded me of watching cartoons like Despicable Me as an adult. I recommend it for those who like fantasy and need a silly escape.

Not all books are for everyone. This book was not for me. I don't even know what I read. I thought it was ridiculous and pretentious. All over the place and going nowhere at the same time. This is what passes for high brow literature? It makes a mockery of depression and death when I think it was aiming for allegory or something. But smart people think it's genius. Rant over!

This book was told from so many different perspectives that it was a challenge to keep up with, but it was a really well plotted mystery. There's a line in the book about living to be old enough to be safe from men. That resonated with me. The victim was a teenage girl, and that was hard to take, but it brought up a lot of valid points.

This book reads more like a coming-of-age novel that happens to have a serial killer lurking in the background. It is well crafted, and the characters are lovably fallible. It's a deep dive into the late 70s, 80s, and 1990s when I was young, so I can really appreciate it.

The real horror of the gay conversion camp was the doctrine and the prejudice of the church members and not the supernatural terrors. Which was, I guess, the point. The book made lots of good points. The writing seemed just a little immature at times.
3.5 ⭐️s

I always love a character who is a bit off. Sally had good reason to be different, and I found her to be endearingly strange and refreshingly honest. The book had well fleshed out characters and a very interesting plot.

I liked the dysfunctional family dynamic in this book paired with the contrast of a Gothic horror. It kept me reading.

This book is chilling. It reads like the recovery from the survival of severe domestic abuse. The people with the courage to leave are very brave. Those who speak out against scientology are made of steel.

This was a good YA horror story that centers around racism and white privilege in the cutthroat world of a young ballerina who makes a deal with a river of blood for some recognition and power. It was a little bogged down in places, but I really enjoyed it overall. It makes me relieved I never tried to take ballet.

It's explicit. It's not for everyone. I found the book to be refreshing. Not all menopause looks the same for everyone.

Also, it illustrates the reason why I'm glad I have a short-haired dog. Read it, and you'll see.

This book was a slow burn at first, but it was fabulous. It was unique and creative. I don't know if there is anything else out there quite like it. The characters were rich and the details intricate. It made me feel like I could compose music myself. There were two very captivating storylines from different time periods.

Becky Chambers has created an ethical utopia here, as far as I'm concerned. What with the recycling of human remains and the dignity shown to sex workers, this book is on point. It manages to come across as wholesome but with a lot of swearing and casual sex. It makes the people and the aliens both seem real.

This is a feel-good fairy tale for adults. It isn't at all realistic. Boundaries are crossed that Child Protective Services would never allow these days. You can't scrutinize it too carefully, but you can enjoy the idealistic warm fuzzies if you suspend disbelief. This is a book for adults who remember being captivated and maybe even saved by books as children. Adults deserve fairy tales, too.

The characters in this book were so well fleshed out and enjoyable. I liked piecing together the little clues along the way. I thought the ending was very satisfying.

This book was bizarre and gross and a little far-fetched. So I thought it was great. 4⭐️s You definitely don't want to be eating while you are reading it. It is an appetite killer or an ingenious diet plan. Your pick.

I found myself rooting for the killer. I don't know what that says about me, but I really hoped she'd get her prize and get away with it.