#mirrorland

Had fun cosplaying Strahm on my island and had a glass coffin photo shoot after

EARTHGANG - Tequila ft. T-Pain

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I read 50 books this year and here are my favorites. I have reviews for all the other books in a separate post.

Honorable Mention: The Nutcracker Bleeds by Lani Lenore 

Okay, I’m adding this to my favorite reads because it was just such a bizarre read and memorable experience. Now this is a loose dark retelling in The Nutcracker, emphasis on the dark. The story focuses on a nanny to a disturbed 14 year old girl who still plays with dolls. Due to a rat bite, both Anne (nanny) and the girl get shrunken down to the size of dolls where they discover a war between all the toys in the house and the rat king. What happens next is a fever dream of demented toys, a violent nutcracker and a whole lot of creepiness. Now, I read that this book was originally posted on wattpad and later found out she self published it. There is nothing wrong with that but after learning this, I could see how this wasn’t run through an editor. It was about 200 pages too long and I feel like some plot points would have either been cut or cleaned up quite a bit. I feel like the first half of the book was different than the last as it became more typical YA and a lot of the plot fizzled out and left you wondering why they were there to begin with. The first half was creepy and weird and totally original though. I think this would make a fantastic video game in the same vein as American McGee’s Alice. It had that video game story telling of meeting a character, doing a task, and then moving to the next. I’m glad I read it and I’ve thought about it a lot after I finished.I ’m honestly not sure if I would recommend this to people or not, at least not to anyone I know. Maybe after seeing these trigger warnings you’ll understand why. Trigger warnings: Attempted Rape, Incest, Pedophilia, Violence and uh...... nutcracker on human (consensual) sex that I feel the need to warn people about.

10. The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry

Bodies of young girls are turning up torn to pieces in the small town of Smiths Hollow and nobody seems that concerned. Except for 15 year old Lauren whose father was found a year earlier similarly murdered. When she has visions of a monster dragging girls into the woods, she knows she has to figure out what is going on. This book was fantastic. Creepy small town, 80s time period, urban legends and witchy vibes made this a fun and thrilling read.

9. Survive the Night by Riley Sager

This was a fun, thrilling ride! Charlie is hitching a ride back to her hometown after dealing with the aftermath of her best friend’s murder. While her traveling companion seemed normal at first, things start to get tense and Charlie isn’t sure if she made the right decision. This book was unique as it’s sort of set up like a script of sorts and Charlie even has hallucinations where the world around her plays out like a movie scene. This is a quick read that will have you flipping through the pages both in anticipation and dread. 

8. House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

Iris and her sisters vanished when they were children. When they finally were found, their hair was white, their eyes were black and they each had a scar at the base of their neck. Iris doesn’t remember what happened but when her oldest sister goes missing, she has to embark on a journey to not only find her but find the truth of what happened all those years ago. This book was creepy, strange and enthralling! It had an ending I haven’t ever seen before, especially in a YA novel. 

7. The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

Jane has married the town’s shy doctor in what was initially supposed to be just a business arrangement. Initially she is told that she must never spend the night at Augustine’s desolate mansion but a storm forces her to spend the night. This leads to many more questions than answers as Augustine starts acting strange and Jane fears there is something sinister going on in the house. This book was marketed as being inspired by Crimson Peak but I think the similarities end once she gets to the mansion. I was expecting a gothic ghost story, and while there may be ghosts, we find out quickly that Augustine has dabbled with magic and in order to help, Jane must do so as well. There wasn’t much of a mystery (we found out pretty quickly what’s going on and there’s no big reveals) but it was still a creepy and interesting read. I especially liked the romance between our two main characters and how Jane takes charge to make things right.

6. Final Girls Support Group by Grady Hendrix

A lot of people have compared this to Final Girls by Riley Sager because they both have the basic concept of a group of final girls that survived slasher film like scenarios. The difference I would say is that Finals Girls is more of a thriller murder mystery while Final Girls Support Group is more of a  horror/black comedy. Either way, both these books are fantastic and I highly recommend them!

5. My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since 5th grade. This starts to change after a strange occurrence in the woods and Gretchen starts to act different. Is it drugs, teen angst or rock and roll’s influence causing these changes or is Gretchen possessed by a demon? Set in the 80s this book filled with lots of spooky fun and is surprisingly emotional and tender.

4. The Grimrose Girls by Lauren Pohl

Our story follows four students at an elite boarding, 3 are best friends whose other friend recently died while the other is a new student. The 3 best friends aren’t convinced that their friend died by accident and together they embark on a mission to find out what really happened. As the book starts we realize that our main characters have similarities with the princesses of classic fairytales and this might not be a coincidence. Grimrose Girls is going to be a series but this first novel does have a complete story that gets resolved in the end. I’ll admit, this might be a bit of an outlier on this list. It reads like most YA and there’s nothing especially remarkable about it but I loved the story and the mix of dark academia and fairytales. It was fun and I didn’t want it to end.

3. What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo

Wow this was a bizarre book and I loved every minute! I don’t even know if I can give much of synopsis besides saying that our main character has been estranged from her family and attending boarding school but a mysterious accident causes her to return home for the first time in years. Witches, werewolves, a mother that must always be wet and a strange visitor who never shows his eyes are just some of the weird things found in this book. You will have no idea what is going on when you first start the novel but it won’t be in a frustrated way. You’ll be intrigued with this bonkers family and won’t be able to put the book down.

2. Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone (Trigger Warnings under the cut)

Identical twins Cat and El no longer speak and Cat moved away to America to escape her sister. But when El goes missing, Cat is forced to return to the childhood home they shared and to the man they both loved. El’s husband suspects foul play but Cat knows her sister is just being dramatic and finds herself vindicated when a scavenger hunt clue shows up for Cat. The clues (that have to be from El) lead her back to Mirrorland, the fantasy world the two created and lived in as children and Cat must face her forgotten past in order to find her sister. The mystery of this book was great with many twists but where it really shines is within Mirrorland and the shared dark fantasies the twins created. Page turning, imaginative with an utterly explosive ending, I gobbled this up. 

1. The Last House on Needless Street by Catorina Ward (Trigger Warnings under the cut)

I’ll start this off by saying this was disturbing and it will make you uncomfortable. Our story revolves around a family of 3: Ted, a strange man that keeps to himself, his daughter Lauren who is not allowed to leave the house, and Olivia, their cat who likes to read the Bible. There’s not much more to say as the book is really a slow burn as we dive into Ted’s life and slowly pull back his layers. And that cat I mentioned? She is a main character that gets her own chapters and thoughts and it is so well written. If a cat could narrate their day, this author nailed it. If you are interested and not easily disturbed, I really recommend not reading the trigger warnings as it might spoil some of the story. 

Shadow Play in MirrorLand   -  Thomas Broomé   , 2021

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