The Narrow

Title - The Narrow

Author - Kate Alice Marshall

Release Date - August 1, 2023

Genre - YA Horror

Synopsis

   A deliciously terrifying novel about a ghost who uncovers a teen girl's best kept secrets while haunting her boarding school, perfect for fans of Lost in the Never Woods and The Haunting of Bly Manor .

    Everyone has heard the story of the Narrow. The river that runs behind the Atwood School is only a few feet across and seemingly placid, but beneath the surface, the waters are deep and vicious. It’s said that no one who has fallen in has ever survived.

   

    Eden White knows that isn’t true. Six years ago, she saw Delphine Fournier fall into the Narrow—and live.

    Delphine now lives in careful isolation, sealed off from the world. Even a single drop of unpurified water could be deadly to her, and no one but Eden has any idea why. Eden has never told anyone what she saw or spoken to Delphine since, but now, unable to cover her tuition, she has to make a her expenses will be paid in return for serving as a live-in companion to Delphine.

    Eden finds herself drawn to the strange and mysterious girl, and the two of them begin to unravel each other’s secrets. Then Eden discovers what happened to the last girl who lived with she was found half-drowned on dry land. Suddenly Eden is waking up to wet footprints tracking to the end of her bed, the sound of rain on the windows when the skies are clear, and a ghostly silhouette in her doorway. Something is haunting Delphine—and now it’s coming for Eden, too.

Read - Aug 8th 2023
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review -

    Everyone has heard the story of the Narrow. The river that runs behind the Atwood School is only a few feet across and seemingly placid, but beneath the surface, the waters are deep and vicious. It’s said that no one who has fallen in has ever survived.

Eden White knows that isn’t true. Six years ago, she saw Delphine Fournier fall into the Narrow—and live.

    First off I have to say how much I adore Kate Alice Marshall, her story Rules For Vanishing was the reason I started reading more horror and found my love for it. I have read everything she has published and will continue to do so. I was ecstatic to find a copy of The Narrow the Friday before the release date and quickly jumped in. The only issue I had with the physical copy is the dust jacket image seemed pixelated or like a bad print job, I'm not sure if that was intentional, or if I just got a bad copy. Either way the cover is beautiful.

    We start off being introduced to our main character Eden and her friends as they do the schools age old tradition of jumping across the Narrow, the extremely fast and dangerous river that runs just outside their school and where everything starts and ends. We find out vague information about things being horrible over the summer for Eden and learning about the one girl who came back after falling into the Narrow, who is extremely sick and locked up in a building on campus and that is where our story begins.

    I did guess part of the twist half way through the book but not the full thing. I did not see the other twist coming and was surprised at the direction the book went. It was spectacularly spooky and very atmospheric. Very dark academia, spooky school setting with ghosts. I also really enjoyed all the Sapphic aspects in the story. I wouldn't say this is the best book by Kate Alice Marshall but it is definitely worth the read, the spooks and the chills. 

Trigger Warning:

Dead kids, ghosts, gaslighting, secrets, drug/alcohol abuse, emotional and physical abuse

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Dead Eleven

Title - Dead Eleven

Author - Jimmy Juliano

Release Date - June 27, 2023

Genre - Adult Horror

Synopsis

    On a creepy island where everyone has a strange obsession with the year 1994, a newcomer arrives, hoping to learn the truth about her son's death--but finds herself pulled deeper and deeper into the bizarrely insular community and their complicated rules...

    Clifford Island. When Willow Stone finds these words written on the floor of her deceased son's bedroom, she's perplexed. She's never heard of it before, but soon learns it's a tiny island off of Wisconsin's Door County peninsula, 200 miles from Willow's home. Why would her son write this on his floor? Determined to find answers, Willow sets out for the island.

    After a few days on Clifford, Willow realizes: this place is not normal. Everyone seems to be stuck in a particular day in 1994: they wear outdated clothing, avoid modern technology, and, perhaps most mystifyingly, watch the OJ Simpson car chase every evening. When she asks questions, people are evasive, but she learns one thing: close your curtains at night.

    High schooler Lily Becker has lived on Clifford her entire life, and she is sick of the island's twisted mythology and adhering to the rules. She's been to the mainland, and everyone is normal there, so why is Clifford so weird? Lily is determined to prove that the islanders' beliefs are a sham. But are they?

    Five weeks after Willow arrives on the island, she disappears. Willow's brother Harper comes to Clifford searching for his sister, and when he learns the truth--that this island is far more sinister than anyone could have imagined--he is determined to blow the whole thing open.

If he can get out alive...

Read - July 28th 2023
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review -
    This is a debut novel by Jimmy Juliano and quickly made its rounds on booktok and youtube which is ultimately how I found out about it. It sounded amazing and right up my horror loving alley so I had high hopes going into this book. Sometimes I think it would be better to step into horror books knowing nothing so I tried very hard not to know to much but it became impossible. Going in all I knew were rituals and a weird neighbor stringing up their dead neighbor to complete a daily ritual. That's all I needed. I was sucked in.

    In Dead Eleven we have duel time lines between before Willow's disappearance and after when her brother Harper is on the island trying to figure out what happened. It reminded me very much of the tv show FROM how they cover their windows at night and are scared of the surrounding area. Its a small town repeating a single day from the 90's, removing everything and anything pertaining to Clifford from the internet all due to some ancient evil.

  I am rounding this up from a 3.5, I did enjoy the book and went through it very fast, but I did expect more from it considering how good the first chapter was. Juliano put all his stock into chapter one and then just kind of slid along for the rest.

Trigger Warnings -
human sacrifice, deceased child, rituals, referred drug use, underaged drinking, religious abuse, cult behaviour, demons.

About The Author -

Jimmy Juliano is a writer and high school educator. Several of his stories have gone viral on the Reddit “NoSleep” forum, and his debut novel DEAD ELEVEN is currently in development at A+E Studios. He lives outside Chicago with his wife, daughter, and miniature Goldendoodle.
https://www.jimmyjuliano.com/

 









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Lightlark

Title - Lightlark
Author - Alex Aster
Release Date - August 23rd 2022
Genre - YA Fantasy
Synopsis
Welcome to the Centennial.
Every 100 years, the island of Lightlark appears to host the Centennial, a deadly game that only the rulers of six realms are invited to play. The invitation is a summons—a call to embrace victory and ruin, baubles and blood. The Centennial offers the six rulers one final chance to break the curses that have plagued their realms for centuries. Each ruler has something to hide. Each realm’s curse is uniquely wicked. To destroy the curses, one ruler must die.

Isla Crown is the young ruler of Wildling—a realm of temptresses cursed to kill anyone they fall in love with. They are feared and despised and are counting on Isla to end their suffering by succeeding at the Centennial.

To survive, Isla must lie, cheat, and betray…even as love complicates everything.

Read - January 15th to January 16th 2023
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review -

“I'm not sure what I enjoy more. Seeing the way you grip a sword…. Or the way your dress grips you.”

Never trust booktok. They rave about bad books and cause the rating of fantastic books to tank. I am so glad I picked this up. This book was magical and very well written. I loved all the characters and had become so connected to them that when the twists happened I was angry or sad along with the main character.
Do we already have Hunger Games? Yes.
Do we already have All Us Villians? Yes.
But before that, we had Battle Royal and we still gave those other books a fair chance. Aster has a way with words and a way with creating a beautiful world, hyping you up on characters and their relationships and then tear them out from under you. I loved every moment of this book and wish I had picked it up sooner.

Stop listening to booktok. 

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Edgewood

Title - Edgewood
Author - Kristen Ciccarelli
Release Date - March 1st 2022
Genre - YA Fantasy
Synopsis
No matter how far she runs, the forest of Edgewood always comes for Emeline Lark. The scent of damp earth curls into her nose when she sings and moss creeps across the stage. It’s as if the woods of her childhood, shrouded in folklore and tall tales, are trying to reclaim her. But Emeline has no patience for silly superstitions.

When her grandfather disappears, leaving only a mysterious orb in his wake, the stories Emeline has always scoffed at suddenly seem less foolish. She enters the forest she has spent years trying to escape, only to have Hawthorne Fell, a handsome and brooding tithe collector, try to dissuade her from searching.

Refusing to be deterred, Emeline finds herself drawn to the court of the fabled Wood King himself. She makes a deal—her voice for her grandfather’s freedom. Little does she know, she’s stumbled into the middle of a curse much bigger than herself, one that threatens the existence of this eerie world she’s trapped in, along with the devastating boy who feels so familiar.

With the help of Hawthorne—an enemy turned reluctant ally who she grows closer to each day—Emeline sets out to not only save her grandfather’s life, but to right past wrongs, and in the process, discover her true voice.

Haunting and romantic, Kristen Ciccarelli's Edgewood is an exciting novel from a bold, unforgettable voice in fantasy.

Read - January 7th to January 9th 2023
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review -
Masterpiece. I knew it would be a five-star read before I was 60% though. It is the perfect blend of romance and fantasy, with amazing world-building. unique and enchanting characters, and many unpredictable twists.
I want more, I want to read it again for the first time, and I want to be a part of this world. It has been a long time since I’ve felt this way about a book.

If you are looking for that one book that is going to immerse you into an enchanted wood, curses, and fantastical creatures I can't recommend Edgewood enough. Plus the cover is absolutely stunning.

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