wanderingwindy's reviews
294 reviews
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
5.0
Grey Noise by Marcus Hawke
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Spiralling Horror + Pop Culture Nostalgia + Vulnerable Sentiments = GREY NOISE
Marcus Hawke’s newest horror novella is out and I binge read the entire thing - there was no way I was putting the thing down after I got started. Believe me when I say, there is WAY more to this story than meets the eye (including an alternative freaking ending!). It’s wild and creative and it gets all my stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Marcus Hawke’s newest horror novella is out and I binge read the entire thing - there was no way I was putting the thing down after I got started. Believe me when I say, there is WAY more to this story than meets the eye (including an alternative freaking ending!). It’s wild and creative and it gets all my stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Longest Thirst: A Splatterwestern by Roxie Voorhees
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Longest Thirst by Roxie Voorhees is a gritty and fierce splatter western novella with a kick ass MC, a horrid backstory and a jaw dropping ending! It’s multilayered, brutal and intense. Not only does Voorhess deliver the blood and gore that we all want from a splatter western, there are some seriously dark undertones going on here 😯. It’s damn good!
Thanks so much @the.book.slayer for this ARC. The Longest Thirst publishes in September. I loved it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Lies We Weave by Grace Reynolds
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
I am not exaggerating when I say I was not prepared for this read. It’s a powerhouse of dark and stunningly eloquent traumatic poetry that I think might actually be haunting me:) I finished it about a week ago now and I cannot get it out of my mind. We all process/deal with/store away trauma in different ways; I’ve now added ‘read feminine poetry and prose’ to my self-therapy sessions.
A thousand thank-you’s to @grace for this incredible ARC opportunity. I feel extremely lucky to have gotten an early chance to read this collection. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Wilder Journeys: True Stories of Nature, Adventure and Connection by Miriam Lancewood
5.0
“It rained hard on the day I went to live in the forest; fitting weather for a life that had felt like an endless storm”.
Don’t you love it when you find a book that genuinely speaks to you? Especially when it comes to you unexpectedly but at just the right time for you to fully receive it? This book of nonfiction short stories and poetry totally took me surprise. It’s filled with diversity, heartfelt retellings of solo adventures, unconventional living, self discovery and leaning into nature. I read this a few weeks ago, while we were planning the next leg of our travels from Canada to the US and Mexico. I found it very sobering and it left me feeling quite reflective about my own adventures and excited for our future endeavours.
While I enjoyed the entire book, I have a few favourite pieces:
🏔 Waking Up on Everest by Sophie Sung-Bin Hilare
🥾 Desert Solace - a story about a solo hike through the Australian desert by Angela Maxwell
🗺 Becoming Caiman - a story about crossing the Darian Gap by Karl Bushby
🛶 One Oar Stroke at a Time - a solo sailing exposition crossing three oceans by Roz Savage
🔥 The Journey - a poem by Dave Whyte
Many thanks to @wilder.journeys @netgalley and @watkinspublishing for this wonderful ARC opportunity. I truly loved this read and already plan to gift it to some special friends.
Don’t you love it when you find a book that genuinely speaks to you? Especially when it comes to you unexpectedly but at just the right time for you to fully receive it? This book of nonfiction short stories and poetry totally took me surprise. It’s filled with diversity, heartfelt retellings of solo adventures, unconventional living, self discovery and leaning into nature. I read this a few weeks ago, while we were planning the next leg of our travels from Canada to the US and Mexico. I found it very sobering and it left me feeling quite reflective about my own adventures and excited for our future endeavours.
While I enjoyed the entire book, I have a few favourite pieces:
🏔 Waking Up on Everest by Sophie Sung-Bin Hilare
🥾 Desert Solace - a story about a solo hike through the Australian desert by Angela Maxwell
🗺 Becoming Caiman - a story about crossing the Darian Gap by Karl Bushby
🛶 One Oar Stroke at a Time - a solo sailing exposition crossing three oceans by Roz Savage
🔥 The Journey - a poem by Dave Whyte
Many thanks to @wilder.journeys @netgalley and @watkinspublishing for this wonderful ARC opportunity. I truly loved this read and already plan to gift it to some special friends.
A History of Fear by Luke Dumas
5.0
Love Love Loved this book! I could not put it down!
There are a few heavy layers to unpack throughout this one; childhood trauma, extreme religion, mental health and more. And, it’s so well written! I was shocked to learn that it’s a debut novel; truly unlike anything I’ve read before. I highly recommend you go in blind to get the most of it.
There are a few heavy layers to unpack throughout this one; childhood trauma, extreme religion, mental health and more. And, it’s so well written! I was shocked to learn that it’s a debut novel; truly unlike anything I’ve read before. I highly recommend you go in blind to get the most of it.
The Bad Seed by William March
4.0
If you’re ever looking for a classic ‘evil child’ trope in a read, you’ve got to check out The Bad Seed by William March.
Oh sure, 8 year old Rhoda Penmark is a cutie patootie with sweet dimples, neat braids and a pretty frilly dress but Do Not be fooled… this kid is Wicked! She also happens to be on a list of Stephen Kings top 10 villains, so you know she’s a real baddie.
I really enjoyed this story and absolutely recommend it, BUT! Please keep in mind that it was written in 1954 so there are some major character ‘flaws’ in here that are more than a little cringy.
Oh sure, 8 year old Rhoda Penmark is a cutie patootie with sweet dimples, neat braids and a pretty frilly dress but Do Not be fooled… this kid is Wicked! She also happens to be on a list of Stephen Kings top 10 villains, so you know she’s a real baddie.
I really enjoyed this story and absolutely recommend it, BUT! Please keep in mind that it was written in 1954 so there are some major character ‘flaws’ in here that are more than a little cringy.
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis
4.0
I finished up my ARC read of The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis the other day and although I found it absolutely captivating, for me it was just too damn long.
This +600 pager reads like an LA true-crime/biography with Bret himself at the very centre of it all, which is really cool and extremely well done. It’s descriptive and detailed style is reminiscent of his 1991 hit novel, American Psycho (along with the constant early 80’s music references 😎) and I was completely immersed in the story right from the start but I got antsy for a wrap up by page 300 and even picked up another read at page 400 just to break it up a bit.
It’s a great read and in the end I settled on ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ but it could have gotten the job done with 100+ less pages I’m sure. All fans of Ellis will no doubt enjoy this one. Maybe I was being a tad too impatient 🤷♀️
This +600 pager reads like an LA true-crime/biography with Bret himself at the very centre of it all, which is really cool and extremely well done. It’s descriptive and detailed style is reminiscent of his 1991 hit novel, American Psycho (along with the constant early 80’s music references 😎) and I was completely immersed in the story right from the start but I got antsy for a wrap up by page 300 and even picked up another read at page 400 just to break it up a bit.
It’s a great read and in the end I settled on ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ but it could have gotten the job done with 100+ less pages I’m sure. All fans of Ellis will no doubt enjoy this one. Maybe I was being a tad too impatient 🤷♀️
A Puppet Scorned by Jamie Kort
5.0
Sock puppet erotica anyone?
Camille, the polka dotted sock puppet falls head-over-seams in love with charming and handsome Brad and when the pair come across a pair of knitting needles… well! It’s a whole lotta bow-chica-wow-wow in the dusty old attic. Until Brad tears her little cotton heart in two that is!
This wonderfully weird novella is wtf horror at its very best. Bravo @jamie_f_kort 👊🏻
Camille, the polka dotted sock puppet falls head-over-seams in love with charming and handsome Brad and when the pair come across a pair of knitting needles… well! It’s a whole lotta bow-chica-wow-wow in the dusty old attic. Until Brad tears her little cotton heart in two that is!
This wonderfully weird novella is wtf horror at its very best. Bravo @jamie_f_kort 👊🏻
Adulthood Rites by Octavia E. Butler
4.0
Book 2, Adulthood Rites takes place 26 years after the first book ends. The world and alien life-form building is like no other series I’ve ever read. I’m loving every thing about it.
If you’re looking for a soft sci-fi, post-apocalyptic read about humanity sharing its future with aliens, I definitely recommend this trilogy. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you’re looking for a soft sci-fi, post-apocalyptic read about humanity sharing its future with aliens, I definitely recommend this trilogy. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️