I was a little skeptical of this one when I first read the description, but I‘m so glad I tried it! The author was very selective in which words she left visible in the tiny 19th century book. What‘s left is a spare and haunting poem. What you see here is one page of it. I loved this book so much I ordered one to keep!

Halsey is a talented artist who‘s been through a lot. When I saw her book of poems hit the bestseller list I requested a hard cover copy. The textured cover was a nice touch. I enjoyed her poems, some were inspiring, but not all of them resonated.

I chose this book as a 2nd title to try in the grimdark sub-genre. It‘s described as a kung-fu fantasy that‘s heavily influenced by The Godfather series. Which sounds awesome. And though I enjoyed the author‘s world-building and magic concept, after 2 hours of listening I realized I didn‘t care about any of the characters. This book is action-driven, while my favorite things to read focus on character development.

I chose this book because I‘m curious about the grimdark sub-genre, and this was listed in more than one place as a “must read.” While I couldn‘t say if this is a definitively representative grimdark title, I can definitively say I LOVED THIS BOOK! It‘s a fantasy with a noir feel and a sprinkling of horror. I can‘t wait to read the next in the series! 📚

I don‘t usually enjoy mysteries, but once I started this one I couldn‘t stop. I loved how the dual timelines brought in an historical fiction aspect, and the paranormal addition of ghosts kept my attention. This book is solidly written with some big twists and a strong female protagonist 🕵🏻

“Up close, she seemed like someone better seen from farther away.”

One of my top 3 books of the year! Recommended to me by a librarian, which led me recommend it to another coworker librarian. Three out of three librarians loved this book 💜 There‘s more than one major twist, and each one changes your whole interpretation of the story. A must-read for Shirley Jackson fans!

I‘ve loved everything by Aimee Bender, but not this one ☹️ It could be because of the pandemic, but I just wasn‘t in the mood to read about mental health and family issues.

A very powerful story about the death of the author‘s son. Told as a narrative poem with no punctuation, it‘s full of literary and religious references. Not a book to cheer you up, but definitely worth the read.