Category: Bookshelves

Weather – Robert Ford

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Weather is the second book I’m reviewing for Amber Books, and I’m noticing a trend here: powerful pictures selected with care and paired with bite-sized, relevant information. It’s a format I appreciate, because it avoids infodumping on the reader - I’m a big fan of minimalism, you know. Teach me things without overwhelming me, just like Robert is doing here.

Bottle Demon – Stephen Blackmoore

~ Val on the Moon ~ Leave a comment

Urban Fantasy is my favorite genre ever. Seriously, read my bio and you'll find out how much I love its tropes, how curious I am to see mythological creatures interact with the modern world. Cue NetGalley, and me browsing for some new UF to read. When I found Bottle Demon, I wasn't sure reading it was a good idea, mainly because it is the sixth installment of an ongoing series and I was afraid I would not be able to understand what was going on. I asked for an ARC anyway and I am so glad I did it! I'll tell you why in a heartbeat, but let me show you the cover first.

Anomalies & Curiosities: An Anthology of Gothic Medical Horror

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I love to read short stories. There was a time when my morning routine consisted in waking up, making a cup of tea and sitting at the small table I had in the kitchen with my pc open on the Daily Science Fiction to read the short story of the day. It's a memory buried in the past now (kids, you know the deal), but I still try to read short stories whenever I can. So when Anomalies & Curiosities came out, I just knew I had to read it. First, I knew some of the authors from a previous Quill & Crow anthology (poetry this time); second, horror short stories with anatomy and medicine as a theme? I was sold. And was I beyond ecstatic when the publishing house reached out to ask me to review it? Yes, yes and yes.

Ghost River – Chad Ryan

~ Val on the Moon ~ Leave a comment

The last time I read a horror book I was a 16 years old wandering alone in Barcelona. I carried three things back home from that vacation: a beautiful dog who's been the love of my life for a very long time, an insane passion for anything created by Gaudí, and the idea that I would never read another horror story ever again. Fast-forward to 20 years later, I'm on Twitter and everyone is raging about how good Ghost River is, and I can't help but be curious about it.

The Journey Beyond – Erik Stensland

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The main theme is nature, the backdrop is (for the most part) the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, but there are various pictures taken elsewhere in the world. Iceland, Italian Dolomites, Scotland, Croatia - they all merge in a beautiful way. I checked the actual locations after I was done reading, that’s how I know; without it, I could have sworn they all came from the same park. The word ‘seamless’ was invented for TJB.

Plot Twist – Bethany Turner

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February 4, 2003, promises to be a typical day for Olivia Ross—a greeting card writer whose passion project is a screenplay of her own. But after she and a handsome actor have a magical meet-cute in a coffee shop, they make a spontaneous pact: in ten years, after they’ve found the success they’re just sure they’re going to achieve, they’ll return to the coffeehouse to partner up and make a film together. The only problem? Olivia neglected to get the stranger’s name. But she doesn’t forget his face—or the date.