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Overgrowth by Mira Grant Book Review

Title: Overgrowth Author: Mira Grant Genre: Science Fiction Horror Published: May 6, 2025 by Tor Nightfire I received a copy for review through NetGalley.   Anastasia has not fit in since she walked into the forest and was turned into an alien plant. To make things worse she can't seem to help telling everyone that the alien invasion is coming. No one believes her, but they should have heeded the warning. Science fiction and horror is a genre blend that works so well. This is a very character focused story with a quirky main character and her amazing found family. It shows the alien invasion from the perspective of an alien plant that has been raised human that needs to choose sides. It is light on horror past a very disturbing plant attack of a child, but it is an epic and fun story with an interesting perspective. If you are wanting to read about an invasion of sentient blood drinking plants that does not take itself seriously then this story is for you. My Rating: 5 Out of 5 Sta...
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Happy Bunny and Other Mischiefs by Rebecca Gransden Book Review

  Title: Happy Bunny and Other Mischiefs Author: Rebecca Gransden Genre: Weird Fiction/ Horror Published: 10/30/24 by the author I received a copy for review from the author.  This collection of 14 short stories that are full of imaginative scenarios. The ideas are truly unique which helps to draw you in.  Imagine taking a friend's pigeon to the vet leads to an underground cult. Imagine a sentient turducken escaping its packaging to explore the world. These are just of a couple of the outrageously weird concepts explored in this collection. A couple of the stories are written a very fever dream kind of way that makes following the plot difficult. I don't fault the experimental writing, but I personally do not enjoy the confusion they left me feeling. The rest of the stories I enjoyed. The standout stories for me were SparrowEyes, with its creepy setting and creature, and Happy Bunny, with a person in a bunny costume getting teleported to various television and movie s...
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The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig Book Review

  Title: The Staircase in the Woods Author: Chuck Wendig Genre: Horror Published: 4/29/25 by Del Rey I received a copy for review from the publisher through NetGalley.  A group of friend's camping trip ends in disaster when they find a mysterious staircase in the woods that leads to seemingly nowhere. One of the teenagers climbs the staircase and never returns. Many years later, the staircase has reappeared and the group is determined to find out what happened to their friend.  This book explores friendship and trauma in a very unique way. Though the premise seems whimsical and mysterious, I can say that this is a very dark horror story. It takes very classic horror tropes and does them in a very new way that left me intrigued. The characters were not all super likable, but they are felt real and well developed. They all had their very interesting stories to tell through the narrative. Since this is a book about trauma there is some triggering material such as self-ha...
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Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang Book Review

  Title: Julie Chan Is Dead Author: Liann Zhang Genre: Horror/Thriller Published: 04/29/25 by Atria Books I received a copy for review from the Atria Books through NetGalley.   Julie Chan has been raised in a poor family and her twin Chloe has grown up in a rich family. When Julie finds Chloe dead she decides to take over her life as a famous influencer. She seamlessly enters the world of social media and opulence. That is until things get beyond what Julie finds out there is a lot of darkness hiding behind her twins life of luxury.  This novel takes on dark and heavy topics like grief, complex family dynamics, poverty, widening wealth disparity, lack of representation for people of color in influencers, and what people are willing to do for the almighty dollar. What seemed like a mistaken identity thriller turns into a very dark horror story that somehow manages to keep the fun. I would recommend checking content warnings if there is anything you are not willing to r...
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Scurry by Seann Barbour Book Review

  Title: Scurry Author: Seann Barbour Genre: Horror/ Paranormal Thriller Published: April 25, 2025 Thank you to the author for the copy for review.  Scurry is a coming of age story of Catty Hammond a girl who can communicate with roaches. Ostracized by her peers, she finds herself in a group of other outcasts. On top of this, there is a killer in town that has a special ability of his own.  The coming of age story of a girl who is different than others was written really well. I really enjoyed the perspective a our main character that beats to the rhythm of their own drum. The encounters with peers and family are very relatable and believable. This book also made roaches likeable somehow. That is a hard thing to do in my eyes. The serial killer aspect was dread inducing, but it is definitely more character focused. I recommend this novel to fans of coming of age stories with quirky characters. My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy Book Review

  Title: When the Wolf Comes Home Author: Nat Cassidy Genre: Horror Published: 4/22/25 by Tor Nightfire Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review. Jess, a down on her luck actress turned waitress, is surprised when a 5 year old boy shows up on her doorstep looking for help hiding from his father. When the father shows up there Jess and the boy go on the run. Blood and death seem to follow the father and son wherever they go. Can Jess protect the boy and herself from meeting a horrible end?  The new horror novel from Nat Cassidy is a fast paced bloody ride full of tension and dread. It is a paranormal story with a werewolf element that full of thrills. The main characters are likable and multi-dimensional. If you are looking for a traditional werewolf story you will be disappointed. This one subverts all expectations. It is a great exploration of anxiety, fear, grief, and complicated family dynamics. If you are a fan of fast-paced horror stories...
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Swarm: Replugged Book Review by James Flynn

  Title: Swarm: Replugged Author: James Flynn Genre: Science Fiction Published Originally 2/1/2021 by the author, now with an new revised edition. Thank you to the author for providing a copy for review. In the second edition of Swarm, the city of Rachton is riddled with crime. A victim of crime, Eric Trammel, has turned to a life in the GLC to help fight against the criminals ruining his city. The answer the GLC comes up with is a new prison where prisoners can by connected to a hive mind to harvest their consciences to create answers to their hardest questions.  Swarm: Replugged is a great science fiction thought experiment of the possibilities of the human mind as well as the consequences of harvesting it. I read both editions of this book at the same time to compare. There are a lot of revisions that make the prose tighter though I really enjoyed both versions. Eric Trammel is a great sympathetic character to follow the story of best intentions gone wrong. I really enjoyed...
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