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A NetGalley Review

I never expected a sequel to The Only Good Indians, but if we all know one thing SGJ always succeeds in, it's to deliver the unexpected.

I think the cool thing about this book is you don't necessarily have to be thoroughly familiar with the events of The Only Good Indians to enjoy Off the Reservation. The best kind of sequel (in my opinion) is one that you can read independently of the first book. In Off the Reservation we follow Nate Yellow Tail who finds himself back in the hospital again after a car accident that should have killed him (but didn't because it's hard to kill a Yellow Tail) and his best friend Sebby. However Nate woke up and Sebby did not. Nate's nurse talks Nate into joining her and two other Blackfeet on a road trip in an RV to repatriate an Indigenous boy's bones who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Hoping to save Sebby's life, Nate agrees. Unfortunately, in freeing the boy's bones from beneath the earth, they accidentally free something else they didn't intend.

Hands down my favorite chapter was Indian Evel Knievel, SGJ always absolutely crushes the villain/monster POV chapters. It actually would have been cool to have a few more of these chapters, but I did like how we flipped through many POV chapters of each of the main characters. I think this added a lot of interesting depth to the story. And the way the evil entity is ah, expelled (wink) is honestly pretty funny and genius. I was shocked, disgusted, and maybe a little annoyed when I initially read it. But now that I've taken the time to digest it, I can appreciate that, again, SGJ always delivers on the unexpected.

I will say though, it felt to me like SGJ really struggled with this story and my feelings of this were confirmed in the acknowledgements. The pacing was a little off, there were elements that didn't quite fit into the story as successfully as I would have hoped, and the ending felt a little rushed. I will say though, despite all this, I have to praise SGJ's originality and I can promise you, you've never read a story of possession like this one!

There's a lot more I want to say, but unfortunately I can't really figure out how to talk about it without spoiling the story. Appreciate everything Stephen Graham Jones does with the stories he chooses to tell us is all I'll say.

A NetGalley Review

This hurts, this hurts so bad. I'm a buckaroo, I wanted to give this a higher rating! I NEEDED this book to FIX ME (and my reading slump). But for me this book didn't deliver. Let's talk about it. Come on, it's family therapy time.

Before we dive in I'll just start by saying I've been in a MOOD since like, idk, April?? I'm having a harder time than normal enjoying the books that I read and for the life of me I can't really figure out why. It's not burnout, so I don't know what's going on. I'm telling you this to clarify that my inability to connect with this book may be coming from my slump. If you had a different, better reading experience than me then nice 😡 I'm really happy for you 😡

But also? I don't know, I just genuinely didn't like this one as much as I like Tingle's other books. On paper it has the classic Chuck Tingle absurdity: a grave robbing influencer steals a rockstar's body for a whopping $5M payout. Unfortunately, Eddie's corpse reanimates in transit and then shit only gets weirder from there. Like, hello, let's trot!

I'm aware I sound like a broken record at this point but the problem for me was our main character Poppy. The setting was great, the gore was horrifying and also a little hilarious which Chuck Tingle does so well. Small wink to Bury Your Guys? Caught it, smooched it, put it in my pocket. Eddie Michaels? He's a STARRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!! But Poppy? I've never beefed so hard with a fictional character before. Like, overall I understood her journey from her upbringing and how that affected her in adulthood and how she was raising her daughter, Marlo, but also. Like…that was it? I think it was just hard for me because Poppy's emotional journey felt both rushed at the end and wildly unearned. Like y'all, I was there in the trenches of Poppy's mind and personally, I'm of the opinion that one aha moment does not a better mother make but that's just me and my mommy issues talking.

I just flat didn't like Poppy and I'm aware she's supposed to be dislikable in the beginning and that's what her character growth is gonna be about. And I don't even really have issues with dislikable characters, honestly I think an unlikable character is more complex and fun to read about but not Poppy. No, Poppy just spent all her time getting on my nerves and taking an annoying amount of time to realize things I was always way ahead of her about. Also, I'll say it, I kinda didn't really like Marlo if I'm honest. She was cute and sweet but, if you'll walk with me here for a moment, she kind of reminded me of Aidan from 2002's The Ring. Like, she was six but bizarrely wise beyond her years in a way that just, it didn't make SENSE! I also see the irony of accepting a reanimated body with no qualms but where I draw the line is how realistically a six year old behaves.

I did preorder this one so I might let the dust settle and do a reread next summer, but more than my issues with Poppy, I feel like this book just lacked the heart and earnestness that I usually feel in a Chuck Tingle book. Lucky Day was like, easily in my top 3 books for 2025, it changed my brain chemistry. I'm crying right now thinking about that absolutely gorgeous ending! So maybe my expectations were just too high coming into this book and there was no way for the book to meet or exceed such expectations, maybe the bar was a little too unreachable, even for Chuck Tingle.

A NetGalley Review

2.5 stars rounded down

I've been on a bit of a mystery/thriller kick lately and honestly, I fear this book is my sign to stop. The premise sounded super good! It had all the hallmarks of something I thought I would like: a spooky castle that's been turned into a spooky hotel, a true crime podcast (with hopefully commentary on profiting off the victims of such crimes), and a mystery involving muuuuurrrrdeeerrrr.

I mean, this book did contain those things (minus the true crime podcast commentary, that was just wishful thinking on my end) so I think I can say the premise was as promised. As with most books I've been reading these days, I just struggled with the characters.

My two biggest ops in this book were the main character, Mia, and her auntie, Iris. The nicest thing I can say about them is you can actually tell they're from the same family because they definitely act related. I didn't care for how either acted for various reasons. Iris tended to act erratic and said things that didn't make sense. I wish I could tell you the thing I had the biggest issue with but it's kind of a spoiler and also it's never really explained in a way that made sense to me but it was truly bizarre. Mia acted similarly, but worse because she was putting the child she was supposed to be looking after (oh yeah, she got a nanny job so she could go back to the hotel & investigate her cousin's death) in danger to try to get answers about her cousin's murder. Also, sorry, this is stupid but at one point the true crime podcast calls her eyewitness testimony into question because Mia was 13 at the time of her cousin's murder, basically saying how can the testimony of a child be trusted. And Mia goes "I wasn't a child, I was 13!!" Girl, don't do that, don't say stuff like that. First, because it makes you look and sound stupid. Second, because no matter how unintentionally, I feel like it perpetuates harmful language we're seeing right now about children being called "young women" to excuse the things that happen to them. Like, Mia, you were a child, it's okay to say that? Stop being weird?

And, of course, there's a weird romance B plot jammed into the story, for some reason. Normally, it's not even something I would mention, if you follow me you know I'm not a romance person. And I acknowledge most thrillers/mysteries tend to try to add on a romantic element. It's not for me but it's for some people to I try not to comment unless I see something truly weird and y'all, this was weird. So Mia, her aunt, and her cousin were at the castle/hotel her cousin died at while Mia's aunt wrote her latest book and young Mia had a crush on the groundskeeper Matteo. Fine, okay, I'm sure we've all had random, weird crushes as children. It's not clear to me what their age difference was but anyways Mia comes back to the hotel castle, Matteo still works there and apparently somewhere between having three conversations with each other, Mia putting a six year old's life in danger, AND investigating her cousin's murder, they fall in love? Idk, beats me, but live your truth Mia, I guess.

It wasn't for me, but in reading the reviews my rating is in the minority so if you think this book sounds good and that you might love it, I encourage you to read it!

A NetGalley Review

There was a lot to like here and to be honest I was pleasantly surprised that the horror elements were so visceral. The monsters were very unique and each were gruesome in their own special and disgusting way. You learn about each monster (and some about how they were created) and their characteristics and how they attacked humans which I found really fun to read about. You also learn some monsters had surprisingly hidden depths and I'm not just talking about the monster our main character Jierz teamed up with.

I also found the lore regarding the gods very interesting and loved how the characters interacted with one of the gods at the very end. Initially I wasn't terribly sure why we were getting so much god lore, it seemed more beyond basic worldbuilding, but as the story progressed it became clear why we were learning so much so I was grateful for their backstory in a way that didn't feel heavy handed or info dump-y. And the gods were truly scary and unhinged, I loved it!

But more than everything else, I loved the fables you got about the gods or monsters as they became relevant to the story. The characters would discuss a certain monster or god and then you'd get a small fable to read about each of them. I thought this was a really fun way to introduce information to a reader without making the characters say things they absolutely wouldn't have said for the sake of exposition. The fables were some of my favorite parts to read. This is a book that I absolutely would have loved at 16!

Unfortunately I personally didn't really like the FMC Jierz. Now, don't get me wrong, I understand her trauma and her motivations. I understand why she is how she is, but I just found her to be grating. She was kind of overdramatic in a way that I didn't like and while I understood her complicated feelings about Halesz, it was torture to be in her head when she was thinking about him or what happened to her village. I think the problem for me is I didn't really understand how old she was supposed to be. She acted about 17, however at one point she called out that another character in her monster hunting group was about 33 so I just didn't know what was going on there. If she was supposed to be 17 then I can find it in my heart to understand why she acted like that. If she was supposed to be somewhere in her late 20s to early 30s then I have concerns. And honestly it just annoyed me how annoyed she was with Halesz's personality overall, she did learn why he was the way that he was later in the book but at some point it got tiring. Like girl idk sorry he doesn't act as miserable as you all the time??

This was a good and interesting book and the author confirmed that it will be a series, however for me this is where I get off at the station. I just personally find the main character too annoying to be invested in, but I can see this book and this series really taking off and being a hit with other readers!

A NetGalley Review

If I had to sum up this book in one sentence it would be: “Have you ever tried this one?” - the worms, right before they tear a body in half and have a threesome with it.

Anyways in all seriousness the body horror in this book goes really hard, in all senses of the word. It does take minute to build up to it but once you get there, you better hang on tight! It’s been a while since I read a book with some really nasty body horror. Plus it’s WPRM body horror so you know it’s going to be disgustingly and fun. Take a shot every time I say body horror.

And the POV switches where we get the worm’s POV were some of my favorite parts of the book. Honestly, I kind of wish the whole book was written from the work’s POV, that would have been absolutely amazing. I just loved the terror I felt reading from an ancient horror, so patient in its plans. Fun I say, FUN!

Additionally I really liked the natural exploration of queerness. I enjoy reading about characters who are just simply queer, you feel me? Our MMC was a total bi-con who never struggled with his feelings, they were simply his feels period and I absolutely loved that,

However there were a few things that stopped me from rating this book higher:

For me it was too painfully horny. I’m sorry I know some of y’all love you a spicy book but I have a low spice tolerance. I support everyone and letting your freak flag fly but I’m going to support you from over here. I never once wrinkled my nose at the gore, but the sex scenes? Writhing out of my chair with disgust. SORRY! It’s just not for me.

Victor is kind of insufferable. He spends the whole time moping and whining about his soon to be ex wife Trish. And even though Vic’s mopiness adds to the toxic and messy dynamics of his friend group, after while I got a little bored of his constant moaning. Figuratively and literally.

Even though the prologue was my favorite part of the book, it kind of ruins the ending. There is an element of The Thing in this book but it would have hit harder if you the reader didn’t know who was infected and who wasn’t. Just a thought!

The hummingbirds, they were intriguing but there wasn’t enough about them? Almost feels like they should have been cut from the story, honestly, even though I thoroughly enjoyed them.

A NetGalley Review

2.5 stars rounded up

I think someone hexed me to be drawn in by really amazing premises with lackluster execution. And honestly, when I catch whoever did that 😠 Now listen, I know I loudly and annoyingly said I wasn't really interested in vampires at the moment (and then added TWO vampire books to my TRB, look AWAY), but I really thought the premise of this sounded awesome. Vampires on a train? What's next, snakes on a plane?! Wait, hang on a second-

I will say once we get into the story, which to be fair, starts off without much waffling, I wasn't as in love as I thought I would be. But there were a few bright spots. Such as the Hannigan twins for example. I just really loved that they were clearly two siblings that cared for each other. As opposed to the Wise siblings, UGH. And I actually really liked their send off, I was genuinely touched by that.

We also did some POV switches throughout the book, which I was relieved by because I didn't really care for Malcolm, our MMC. Not all the POV switches were good ones but I enjoyed in the beginning following with Swickard family and the vampire under the tree at their farm. And I don't want to get into spoiler territory but their final chapter was pretty brutal and fun.

And that's really all I enjoyed about the book unfortunately. I think what really messed me up and took from my personal enjoyment was the noir tone of the book. I am just not a noir girl so I didn't really vibe with that style choice.

And I just didn't care for the stuff between Malcolm and Violet, I found it really cliché and boring if I'm honest. Another thing that pressed on my last nerve constantly is when all the Wise siblings met up they were constantly calling each other "brother", "little brother" "big brother" "big sister", it almost felt like the author was afraid we'd forget who they were and had to remind us. Maybe that wasn't the intention, but that's what it felt like to me. "It's been two seconds since these siblings last interacted with each other, better remind the audience they're related!"

Anyways, on to the next vampire book!

A NetGalley Review

Martha is absolutely Mother!

In this book we follow Martha who is a stealth trans woman who has it all: an adoring husband (I know, we'll get there ok), an adorable stepdaughter, and the jealousy of every other mom in the neighborhood. What more could a girl want? The thing is her husband really wants another kid and that's kind of a problem because Martha can't…really…do that. Except for it turns out apparently she can because Martha falls impossibly pregnant. Insanity ensures from there.

I do find pregnancy horror to be especially horrifying for me personally. Listen, the treatments Martha does to cure her mystery illness may have raised my eyebrows, it was definitely weird. But did it disgust me? Turn my stomach? Make me squeamish? Not really. Martha's illness aligning with pregnancy symptoms such as losing teeth & hair and her feet & hands ballooning painfully has me writhing in horror and peering at my phone between my fingers.

I wanted this book to be to my personal taste of horror comedy and campy, but I fear this book lost me in the last 30%. The pacing got absolutely bonkers and the climax was a little silly. Both forgivable sins. You know what's not forgivable? You get NO answers for Martha's illness! When she gets sick and meets other people who suffer from her illness (most of whom appear to be trans and queer) and I thought there might be a reason for that, but them something else is mentioned that throws a wrench in my theory. That's fine, I don't NEED to be right, I have fun speculating while reading so no worries. I thought there might be a correlation between her pregnancy and her illness. Not that we discover. How did Bruce figure out the ah, creative use of gasoline as a cure? No idea. Honestly you, dear reader of this review, have the same amount of knowledge about the hows and the whys of Martha's mystery illness as I do and I read the book.

Also I HATE when a book makes me defend a man. Especially a man as shitty as Leon,. That man did not care about Martha and just treated her as an incubator for his baby eeeyyuuuuccckkkk! But I fear that if I came home and found my spouse doing the treatments Martha was doing, I would lose my shit too.

I found a lot of the spoken and unspoken social commentary of this book really interesting, particularly how it seemed the way society treated Bruce, a trans man) vs Martha, a trans woman. And their lived experiences with sexism. Bruce kind of irritated me but I wish we had gotten to know more about him over say, Roger. Who, without getting into spoilers, I don't think Martha treated very kindly in the end. Like girl he was literally just worried about you and your health & safety as his oldest friend! (Although Roger has his shitty moments too.) And of course the commentary regarding motherhood and pregnancy I found to be interesting as well. And since we're talking about mothers & motherhood, I would adopt Enid in a second. She seemed so sweet!

I will absolutely commend this book for being the most unpredictable book I have read in quite a while. I thought I knew where the plot was going at every turn and it turns out I had literally no idea what was going to happen next and I do love a book that can surprise me! I will be very interested in seeing what Samantha Josephs comes out with next, this is an author we're all going to want to keep our eyes on!

A NetGalley Review

Another book where I really liked the premise, but found the execution lacking 😭

The IDEA of this book absolutely rocks, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. In this book we follow Willa, who survived a massacre as a teenager and is now all grown up into a famous painter. Hell yeah. Also, just a little sidebar, no need to be alarmed but something lived under Willa's bed when she was a child. And taught her to read. No biggie. Willa learned of her favorite teacher's death and goes back to the town she swore she'd never return to for said teacher's funeral. Things take an absolute turn from there.

Honestly I just wish we did more with the monster under the bed (and the people/ghosts in the basement?!). Those moments were well written and the people in the basement were especially creepy! But if you zoom out and take a look at the plot as a whole, they kind of don't even really make sense. It's obvious this story is about Willa's trauma, lots of things happen to her (also FYI trigger warning: CSA is alluded to in this book) and the way she has chosen to deal with it all as an adult. I think the ghosts/monster under the bed could have tied into that trauma somewhere but to me it felt overlooked and just thrown in there for the sake of having something mysterious and spooky. Sorry, but I wanted more!

I just think the book was really trying to tackle far too much and, I have to be honest, not really doing any of it successfully. There's a feud with a psychic, the massacre, Willa's assault, her parent's neglect, the way the town treats her (assuming Willa is the guilty one for her school mates' deaths), and, if that wasn't enough, a random unnecessary romance with a cop. I would rather that the author had picked one or two things to focus on and flesh those things out, instead of a bunch of stuff that you never really have time to focus on and let Willa grow and progress from. It made for a chaotic reading experience if I'm honest.

And not to ruin it for anyone but I feel like the hook for this book was a total bait & switch with an unnecessary plot twist that came completely out of left field. But then again, I read so much horror that I have really refined my tastes in this genre so I know things that work for me and things that don't. Unfortunately, this book didn't end up working for me. However I think if you're new to horror or don't know what you like, I'd recommend trying this book out. My 2 star reading experience could be your 5 star, the things that bothered me might not bother you.