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Bookish friends! 📚

What are your favourite reads from this year? (They don't have to be published this year, just stuff you've read)

Bonus points if they're indie!

Let me know your faves (and their genres, if poss!). I'm gonna add some stuff to my TBR... which is already too long...

It's Monday! That means it's time for #QuestionOfTheWeek!

This week's question is...

Imagine you're about to steal a load of treasure from a dragon. Which five people have you got on your team, and why?

Georgina Jeffery popped up in my Instagram DMs recently asking if I’d be up for reviewing her new book. Now, sliding into DMs with an ask like that is usually either a) a no-no or b) awkward (mostly it's awkward because I forget to check my DMs, so people are left shouting into the void...), but since it was Georgina, I really didn’t mind. You see, I’ve read some of her other books and they are fantastic! So, even though I haven’t reviewed a book in FOREVER and, at that time, had no plans to do so, I jumped at the chance. 

Aside from one of the best titles I’ve ever seen, what’s “Welcome to the Fang-mily” all about? Here’s the non-spoilery description:

“Welcome to Crick's Hollow, the nightmare theme park that promises a killer time. When a manhunt brings Detective Constable Reeves to Crick's Hollow, she knows to expect a certain amount of weird from the actors staffing the park. But nothing could prepare her for just how off-kilter everything is once inside. Why are the guests lining up for a ride that drowns them? How does the Spider Lady make all eight of her eyes blink at once? Why do the blood-stained costumes stink of genuine human decay? More importantly, is the murderer she's chasing hiding somewhere amongst the fake cobwebs? Welcome To The Fang-mily is Book 1 in this darkly funny fantasy series featuring a horror theme park and its ghoulish residents.”

Isn’t that description mouth-wateringly exciting? It is, right? Had I read that beforehand, I would have been even more excited to read it. However, I completely missed it and jumped in headfirst anyway. Sometimes it’s just fun to do that, right?

So, this is a novella. It’s short, sweet, and packs a delightful punch. Despite being a quick read, the story does a great job at introducing the world and some of the lore surrounding the characters, giving enough information to create a full story, while also leaving the reader wanting more. Perfect for a series starter!

The story is told through two points of view: Reeves and Sal. I’m a big fan of the ol' multi-person POV, so this is a major plus point for me. Anyway… Reeves is our cop who just wants to solve her case and lock a bad guy up, and Sal is… well, Sal.

I could relate to Reeves - I understood her obsessions and what drove her. I could understand her need to wrap up the case and how this could affect her relationships. I totally understood all that. On the other hand, Sal is different… in many ways. While I couldn’t immediately relate (without going too deep into spoiler territory, I don’t own a creepy theme park and I’m not in the habit of partaking in the odd, casual murder), but I did understand the need to survive and the desire to protect those around her. I liked her strategic thinking and the way she interacted with the others at the park. But, mostly, I just loved her. While I understood Reeves on a ‘I can see myself living this life’ level, I love Sal and all her weirdness. She is one hell of a character and I cannot wait to see what’s in store for her in future books in this series!

What about the vibes? I’d say this book was firmly in the dark fantasy / horror category. There are monsters and murder, but I never felt it went heavy on the gore. This was less about jump scares and more about the theme park being a very dark world, but oddly normal... and amusing. You get to meet a whole cast of monstrous characters, but they all feel hugely human (regardless of what they may be). 

All in all, this was a great read - and one that you may end up devouring in one sitting. The pace is fast and Georgina Jeffery writes in such a way that you just have to keep turning the pages because YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. 

It’s a perfect read for a dark night, and I’ll definitely be picking up book two when the time comes.

Now, does anyone know how to get to Crick’s Hollow? Anyone wanna join me in setting up Sal’s fan(g) club?

Want to grab a copy? Check out the link below!

If you're an author, you've probably been the unwilling recipient to all those AI generated "I love your book" emails. They're annoying, right?

However, I do like the idea of people just talking about books. So rather than doing the equivalent of a cold call on a bunch of authors, I'm gonna start documenting some of the books I read ("Some" being the key word there!). I'm doing this in tumblr, because I want to use this profile for something, and also because I really can't be arsed to set up a new website.