Horror
ZOMROMCOM by Olivia Dade
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The publisher’s summary
Teaming up with your neighbor during a zombie outbreak is a no-brainer, but if it turns out he’s a vampire . . . the stakes couldn’t be higher, in this infectious new paranormal romance from the USA Today bestselling author of Spoiler Alert.
When Edie Brandstrup attempts to save her sweet, seemingly harmless human neighbor from the first major zombie breach in two decades, she’s stunned to be saved by him—and his ridiculously large sword—instead. As it turns out, he’s actually a super-old, super-surly vampire. But for all her neighbor’s newly revealed cynicism and lethality, Gaston “Max” Boucher (yes, Gaston) is unexpectedly protective. He wants her to stay in his safety bunker until the breach is resolved. Edie can’t risk more innocent people getting killed, though—and Max won’t let her save them alone.
As they unravel a sinister conspiracy to set zombies loose on the world (again), the duo meet a host of lovable allies and discover they’re not the only ones willing to fight for the future of humanity. Despite the awful timing, Edie finds herself falling for the vampire who’s helping her save the world . . . but all their dangerous plans could end their future before it even begins. As she and Max battle side by side, Edie must decide whether having a love worth living for also means having a love you’d die for—and, in a world that grows deadlier by the minute, whether that’s a risk she’s willing to take.
My recommendation
From the moment the burrito-wielding heroine launches herself at an attacking zombie, this steamy speculative rom com delivers! The banter sparkles, the sexy blood-drinking sizzles, and the grounded character motivations keep this novel as relatable and resonant as Dade’s non-speculative work. The open ending that hints at a sequel is icing on the cake. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a hilariously spicy fall read!
(S)KIN by Ibi Zoboi
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The publisher’s summary
From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi comes her groundbreaking contemporary fantasy debut—a novel in verse based on Caribbean folklore—about the power of inherited magic and the price we must pay to live the life we yearn for.
“Our new home with its
thick walls and locked doors
wants me to stay trapped in my skin—
but I am fury and flame.”
Fifteen-year-old Marisol is the daughter of a soucouyant. Every new moon, she sheds her skin like the many women before her, shifting into a fireball witch who must fly into the night and slowly sip from the lives of others to sustain her own. But Brooklyn is no place for fireball witches with all its bright lights, shut windows, and bolt-locked doors.… While Marisol hoped they would leave their old traditions behind when they emigrated from the islands, she knows this will never happen while she remains ensnared by the one person who keeps her chained to her magical past—her mother.
Seventeen-year-old Genevieve is the daughter of a college professor and a newly minted older half sister of twins. Her worsening skin condition and the babies’ constant wailing keep her up at night, when she stares at the dark sky with a deep longing to inhale it all. She hopes to quench the hunger that gnaws at her, one that seems to reach for some memory of her estranged mother. When a new nanny arrives to help with the twins, a family secret connecting her to Marisol is revealed, and Gen begins to find answers to questions she hasn’t even thought to ask.
But the girls soon discover that the very skin keeping their flames locked beneath the surface may be more explosive to the relationships around them than any ancient magic.
My recommendation
Zoboi’s poetry sizzles, clarity of storytelling and resonant emotions and themes pulsing through her evocative verse. The lore of the soucouyant is just one essential thread in a tapestry exploring race, xenophobia, colorism, colonialism, and the mundane, universal tensions of family–the pressure parents put on their children, connection and tension between siblings, and the complexity of blended family dynamics. I highly recommend this one to teen and adult readers who enjoy high stakes fantasies with a literary bent.
GALLANT by Victoria Schwab
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I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from the publisher in order to write this review.
Olivia Prior has no real memories of her parents–nothing but her mother’s journal. She doesn’t even know their names, just that her father is dead and her mother went mad before leaving her on the doorstep of the dismal boarding school where she has grown up. So when the letter arrives–a summons from the uncle she didn’t know she had, back to the family estate she didn’t know existed–the temptation to finally have a real home and family is too great to resist.
Even though her mother’s journal warns her of unnamed dangers within the halls of Gallant.
But the welcome at the manor is not what she expected. Her uncle is dead–and died too long ago to have sent her the mysterious letter–and the only remaining relative, her cousin Matthew, is determined that she should be sent away. Matthew is tortured by violent dreams, and the halls are haunted by ghouls that only Olivia can see. Yet none of that compares to the darkness on the other side of the stone wall in the garden, where a shadowy master of crumbling reflection of Gallant has been waiting for Olivia to arrive…
Atmospheric and horrifying, Schwab’s latest YA sits solidly in the horror genre and is impossible to put down. As you can expect from Schwab’s prose, every word hits like a gunshot, creating an atmosphere and story so immersive that you are as ensnared as her protagonist. This story is a must-read for teen and adult fans of paranormal horror!
THE BURNING GIRLS by C.J. Tudor
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Perhaps it’s best that the bishop is reassigning Jack. After all, she doesn’t enjoy being “the vicar with blood on her hands.” Maybe in getting away from Nottingham, she and her teenage daughter, Flo, can escape the scandal, escape the memories of little Ruby–and Jack’s husband–and start anew.
But Chapel Croft, Sussex, might be just a bit too far from the life she and Flo know. The isolated country parish isn’t enthusiastic about a female vicar. And Jack soon learns that Chapel Croft has scandals of its own. From the legends of the two young girls burned to death in the sixteenth century (and allegedly still haunting the chapel) to the disappearance of two teenage girls in the ’90s to the suicide of Jack’s predecessor, the village has a dark past. It isn’t long before Jack and Flo get sucked into the mysteries–all of which seem to point back to the Church itself.
I literally read this book in one sitting. The e-reader did not leave my hands until I got to the end. It’s dark and layered–full of twists to keep you guessing and underlying questions about the nature of evil, spirituality, and free will. Whether you are a fan of psychological thrillers, suspense-heavy mysteries, or Kingian horror, this is one you’ll definitely want to check out!
Susan the Librarian 