this is the first book by ali that i haven't loved and i am really sad about it. i feel like everyone has beARC provided by the publisher via Libro.fm
this is the first book by ali that i haven't loved and i am really sad about it. i feel like everyone has been begging for her (and emily henry) to give us that dual point of view, but man oh man i wish ali never did. I think a lot of it is because one of our main character’s povs is 1st person, and then the other is 3rd person, and even though i did find a groove while reading, each time i picked up the book it was jarring getting to that groove again.
but the basic premise of the stem romance is that one of our main characters, rue, is a biotech engineer who has a passion for fermentation and extending the shelf life of foods because of immense poverty trauma in her past. she is currently working with a company she really loves and she is also working on her own patent for food preservation. after a night with an attempted app hookup that kind of goes really wrong (but also really right despite not hooking up), the next day she goes to work and realizes that this mystery guy, eli, is part of another tech company who is going to buy the loan contract of her current company and that leaves a lot of uncertainty for her and her coworkers/friend’s futures.
i see a lot of people disliking this one because of the more explicit sex, so please know that going in, but that truly didn’t bother me. well, maybe it did just because i didn’t love eli in this, so i always would want to be in rue’s head, even during the sex scenes. what i really didn't like (which i didn’t even talk about in the premise because it feels like the only time i was brought up was to further the mc’s love story), is a subplot with rue’s brother that just left a really bad taste in my mouth. i talk in a lot of reviews about how much my little brother means to me, so maybe i was just being extra sensitive, but it just felt really bad to read (and really bad to not really have a conclusion for). and honestly? i felt like the big storyline (view spoiler)[about mentor manipulation and lying (hide spoiler)] was done much better in love, theoretically, and felt a lot better for the reader, too.
i really enjoyed seeing rue realize that she doesn’t deserve bad things, and her healing and slowly feeling safe in her vulnerability, but besides that? i just couldn’t connect with the romance of this one, on top of the brother storyline not feeling good to read. I still will very much be picking up deep end , but i hope you all enjoy the reading experience of not in love more than i did.
content warnings from the author(please use caution for potential spoilers): I know genre definitions can be a bit blurry, but I consider Not in Love to be an erotic romance, so… lots of sex scenes, explicit and graphic. More than usual. An unnecessary amount, perhaps. It’s how these two emotionally constipated people communicate, at least at the start. Childhood poverty and food insecurity. Anxiety around food, mostly due to past food insecurity. Mentions of addiction (secondary characters). Social anxiety. Parental death (accidents, illness) (off page, in the past). Parental neglect. Power exchange (pre-negotiated, during sex. Attempted assault of the FMC by her brother (she is unharmed). Pregnancy of a secondary character. Cursing and vulgar language.
other trigger + content warnings i found while reading (ali's books really do have such good tws - i am always so thankful and impressed): grief, infidelity in past mentions (not mcs) but also a weird comment about cheating made my the mc once, childhood abandonment, one sentence mention of an animal dying during animal testing.
the honey witch is about a girl who is about to take up her grandmother’s legacy being, you guessed it, thARC provided by Orbit - thank you so much !!
the honey witch is about a girl who is about to take up her grandmother’s legacy being, you guessed it, the next honey witch on her island. every eldest daughter in her family had the potential to be a witch, if they so do choose it. we follow our main character (and the eldest daughter), marigold, as she is healing and figuring out what she wants her life to look like, versus the life that society has always told her life should look like. and we are alongside marigold as she is learning her new potion making abilities, while also trying to prove to someone that witchcraft is very real.
this is a really hard book to rate and talk about, because i just never felt connected to the story itself, or the characters, or anything going on with the plot, but i can also recognize that this book had a lot of good in it, that did really mean a lot to me. i mean, first off, sapphic cottagecore vibes, with a queer beekeeper who is learning things from spellbooks her grandmother left her, who is also healing from her past and trying to have a healthy relationship with her friends and family in the present. like, a lot of good! a lot of stuff i will always recommend to you guys!! I just wish i could have connected more with the actual story and plot and not just the themes and concepts.
i also really loved the queer representation in this book, and even though no titles are actually given, i personally feel like the representation of bi, pan, and lesbian was really beautifully done. also, there is a tattoo scene in this book that is truly one of the hottest things i’ve ever read in my entire life. ahhh, friends - i recommend this book just because i want it to succeed and i want more stories from sydney j. shields, and more chances to fall in love with her books completely.
cws from the author at the start of this book: Tattooing/Needles, Burns, Blood/Injuries, Sex, House fire, Bee stings, Loss of a grandparent, Death/Grief, Discussions of infertility, A woman seeks aid of the honey witch for treatment of her miscarriage
other tw/cw i wrote down: mention and talk of abusive and predatory relationship in past, caretaking for a loved one, loss of parents in past, abandonment, fire, blood, vomit
i really wanted to read my first ashley winstead because so many of my friends have absolutely loved in my ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley
i really wanted to read my first ashley winstead because so many of my friends have absolutely loved in my dreams i hold a knife, but i really think i did myself a disservice making this the one i picked up. i don't want to be overly negative, because i do think this book is important for some people who grew up with abuse under the guise of religion, and they were able to find escapism and safety and happiness in literature, like twilight. and i just really don’t want to downplay the importance of that safe place for kids and teens, especially when you can just tell this story feels very personal to the author.
but i think this was just so completely different than what i was anticipating, that it felt like a really big disappointment to me. this felt like a literary romance with some suspenseful elements, not a mystery thriller in the slightest. you will truly know from the first 10% of this book what is going to happen, and the rest is just a lot of twilight comparisons. now, i will also give this book credit because it made me rewatch twilight, and i did miss that blue filter more than i realized. i will also say i liked the very end, which i know will be an unpopular opinion, but it was a definite risk i do not think many authors would take, and i respect that. i will still for sure read in my dreams i hold a knife and report back!
trigger + content warnings: death, murder, violence, blood, cults, religious abuse, talk of suicide, gun violence, animal injury + death, talk of animal sacrifice, extreme child abuse in past, child captivity in past, talk of domestic abuse in past, mention of bullying in past, power imbalances, sexual assault (attempted rape), depression, panic attacks, hospital setting, talk of forced abortion, ableism (always in a negative light), implied pedophilia, implied human trafficking, trauma, grief, death of a mother during child birth in past, alcoholism mentions, drugs, misogyny, fire, snakes
“I’d give everyone the me they wanted, needed, craved, and in exchange they’d care about me.”
i actually feel like the first half of this was five
“I’d give everyone the me they wanted, needed, craved, and in exchange they’d care about me.”
i actually feel like the first half of this was five stars for me, but sadly the ending just got a little away from me. but I do think Ali Hazelwood is an author that just really works for me, and will continue to work for me, because i really just enjoy her settings and characters and she so easily makes me feel so much for them. i also feel like you can just tell that she really puts her whole heart into so much of the content she is putting into her stories, and i just really love seeing and feeling that a lot.
in this book, elsie has type 1 diabetes and is in desperate need to get a job with insurance that will allow her to get the insulin she needs to live, and her being an adjunct professor does not give her that. nor does her job of being a fake girlfriend for people who need a plus-one at social functions. but maybe if she can finally get a job with good insurance as a full time researcher at MIT. that is, until the head of the physics institute recognizes her because she has been fake dating his brother.
i know that is quite the set up, but this book really does have a lot of good in it that really worked for me. Some aroace rep, talk of power imbalances in stem spaces, an amazing best friend and her amazing hedgehog, themes of how the past can shape us but we can always choose to be better and do better, and how sometimes it can feel easier to be the person you know someone wants you to be, and how it can be so very scary to let people in and show them the real you. i really loved the romance in this, and the sex in this, and had a goofy grin on my face while reading. Oh! and an adam and olive cameo .
content warnings from the author: Chronic Illness (Type 1 diabetes), Financial insecurity and lack of health insurance, Sexism, Gaslighting by a mentor within an academic setting, Death of a parent by illness (off page, in the past), Explicit and graphic sexual content, Cursing and vulgar language
other trigger + content warnings i found while reading: seizure mention in past, abusive parents, abusive relationship in past, child health issues, insulin scare in past, glycemic attacks, insect + spider mentions, a joke about bed bugs, vomit, allergic reaction mention with epipen used, ration medication, lack of total consent in past / sexual assault in past, anxiety, and something happens that kind of makes someone come out - i don't want to say forced to come out - and the mc apologizes and acknowledges this - but i could potentially see this triggering to some readers so use caution.
this second installment is set in 1910 and obviously still follows emily wilde, who this time is focusing her research on creating a map that will track the nexuses that connect all the fae realms (and their doors) to our world. and maybe, just maybe, there is a special emphasis on a fae prince we know and love. but anyways, she is also bringing along wendell bambleby again for this adventure, but also her young niece who also has a passion for the fae and the different research involving them. yet this time, the stakes feel much higher even if the fate of these stakes rely a lot on locating a magical cat behind these fae doors. (again, even if this is a cozy set up and setting, this does deal with some darker themes showing the dark faery side of things!)
for some reason, i just didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first. the format of journal entries is still perfect for me, i love these characters so much, and we even got winter fox faes in this! i mean… so so so much for me and my reading wheelhouse to love! but i guess (while trying to not being spoilery here) i really didn’t like not seeing as much wendell in this one (or maybe in the way… i would have preferred to see him… again, no spoilers is hard but hopefully you feel me if you’ve read this!) but overall, i still had a fun time with this one and loved being back with these characters and exploring some new worlds.
trigger + content warnings: missing person, talk of animals/pets aging, poison, illness/sick partner,, brief mention of loss of parents in past, talk of loss of friends in past, grief, abusive step parent, mention of infidelity (not mcs), blood, gore, violence, spiders
“Her conviction, born of long days and longer nights, was that if the world contained magic at all, then it could not also contain their war.”
the warm hands of ghosts is a story set during world war 1, following a combat nurse who has recently returned home after the hospital she was working at was bombed. now, back in halifax canada, another explosion has happened and all she has left is her brother, who is still in german occupied france fighting in the forbidden zone. but when a package reaches her with some of his items and a note saying he is missing, she knows she must get back to france and see if she can find out any information about the only person she has left in this world. And a beautiful story, within two stories, is crafted about love, faith, and sacrifice as we switch perspective of these two siblings encountering a force this world has always known. (and the speculative element involving a magical inn that is described as a “faerie revels that end at sunrise”? yeah, 11/10 for me and my reading wheelhouse.)
i know a lot of you were really curious about my thoughts on this book, because the winternight trilogy is one of my favorite stories, and it really does mean a great deal to me. comparing that to this book feels so impossible, because the stories are so vastly differently, but i still really enjoyed this book and was completely swept away by katherine arden’s prose and storycrafting and heart.
i am just not the biggest historical reader, and i am also not the biggest fan of reading war stories, but i knew if anyone could make me enjoy a story with a backdrop like this, it would be katherine arden. but i did find myself very much enjoying laura’s pov of traveling and healing and discovering what was going on way more than freddies trapped within this war pov (which seems to be a very not popular opinion according to early reviews)! but even despite this book being very catered not to my tastes, there is just something so magical about katherine’s writing, and ability to tell a story. and the way she handled the different evils in this book was really perfect in my opinion. plus, you all know i love a good big sister and little brother story always!
i really don’t want to give away too much of the plot, because it really is cool to discover everything right alongside laura and freddie, but my favorite part of this book is actually the title. just this idea sparking that our own hands can become unusable because of the brutal acts of men (and how women are trying to heal from many of those acts against all odds), and how we can be having our hands guided by ghosts (some ghosts, some angels, some… a little bit of dark entities) was just really thought provoking and so very profound to me. very very galaxy brain. also the theme of how it is easier to blame one person, one thing, rather than a completely broken system that needs to be dismantled and rebuilt. i know this is a world war 1 story, but it feels extra heartbreaking how much of this felt so very relevant in 2024. maybe we need our hands guided a lot more by ghosts and not leaders who still don’t want to view human lives equally 100 years later.
“It was so much easier to hate a man than a system: vast, inhuman, bloodstained.”
this book also puts a very heavy emphasis on hope and how important it is to have a north star to keep that hope alive, keep you having faith, making it easier for you to believe in something and maybe, in turn, believe in yourself. This book really showcases that in a lot of ways - through anger, though sacrifice, though a never waning belief of hope back in that very same person. And also shows the beauty of realizing that you are able to hope in something new, which can also be a safe harbor when the world feels unnavigable by yourself.
also this book has a very big central theme of pairings within the characters. This old and new world that so many of these characters fall into and you can see them having a harder or easier time depending on what way they fall. i feel we (americans) are taught around 8th grade the literary juxtaposition of the 20s and of old and new with gatsby (and at such an annoying length), but this really made me think that maybe this was a heightened view that people were really discussing and feeling during and after the great war (pre jazz era/roaring twenties… listen, i am an sff reader and reviewer not a historical one hahaha but this really was thought provoking for me). but i just really love the element of pairings and how everyone kind of has a co-something counterpart within this story as well. i enjoy it as a reader and also as a type a virgo.
okay i think i am finally able to let you in on the secret reading of this book (i can’t even believe i am about to type this!) I was able to have the opportunity to buddy read this with katherine arden (and a bunch of amazing booksellers and book content creators!) and the amount of research and respect and heart that she put into this novel is so very felt, but i really was lucky enough to experience that so much deeper. i was speechless at how much she knew and how much she dug deeper to learn so many personal stories of families during this time. it allowed me to have an even deeper level of empathy and just taught me so much in regard to understanding what life was really like during this time period all around the world.
i also want to let you know because this was such a magical experience for me, there could potentially be some bias going on, or simply that i just read this book with a different lens compared to if i read it all by myself. You know, it feels a little fated to even write this because the reason i picked up the bear and the nightingale in 2017 was because it was gifted to me by the goodreads staff, which they all wrote sweet things in, and it is forever one of my favorite books in my collection. so maybe i am just destined to have really unique reading experiences with katherin arden.
overall, this was a really heartfelt story and an entire experience that meant a lot to me. it was a true honor reading this, and laura is a character who will stay in my heart forever. i absolutely am already begging for whatever katherine arden does next and this book really helped solidify her as a favorite author of all time.
trigger + content warnings: the whole setting being world war 1, a constant talk and imagery of war, halifax harbor explosion, battle of passchendaele mentions, mentions of chemical gassing warfare, prisoner of war, death, murder, gun violence, so many hospital settings, violence, gore, blood, blood transfusions, needles, surgery, talk of medical conditions and illness constantly, missing loved one, a lot of talk of loss of loved ones (including parents, children, partners, friends), captivity, claustrophobic scenes, extreme ptsd, extreme nightmares, smoking and drinking, crowd crush scene, talk of suicide, suicide ideation.
i feel like all my friends who also loved this one, were all by my side here on goodreads, back in the earlARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley
i feel like all my friends who also loved this one, were all by my side here on goodreads, back in the early 2010s, reading all the paranormal romances known to man (or that our moms kept on their bookshelves). the nostalgia for books like riley jenson, black dagger brotherhood, kate daniels were so very felt. yet, this book completely stands on its own and is a really good book that i highly recommend.
and this book had so many of my favorite paranormal romance trope sets - forbidden romance, bonded fated mates, and of course a marriage of convenience between our two main characters:
➛ misery - vampyre who has been living amongst humans her whole life, but finds herself as the key component in an alliance that will keep the peace with her people, while also having her own human inspired agenda for this forced arrangement.
➛ lowe - werewolf alpha who is still asserting his new dominance over his people, while also trying to assess who he can trust or not, while also being an amazing caretaker for his little sister.
“I would take anything she chose to give me—the tiniest fraction or her entire world. I would take her for a single night knowing that I’ll lose her by morning, and I would hold on to her and never let go. I would take her healthy, or sick, or tired, or angry, or strong, and it would be my fucking privilege. I would take her problems, her gifts, her moods, her passions, her jokes, her body—I would take every last thing, if she chose to give it to me.”
and they had me truly rooting for them, unable to put this book down, after the very first scene of them together. but this also has a pretty big mystery plotline that took me by surprise, and also completely enthralled me. and ultimately this had such a big emphasis on found family and finding your own pack of people you love and trust unconditionally that i feel like i just ended up loving the entire cast of side characters too.
let’s just embrace the bullet points and quickly talk about other things i really loved: ➛ obviously vampires and werewolves ➛ arranged marriage but forbidden romance ➛ one bed scene(s) ➛ the cutest little sibling ever ➛ the sweetest brother and sister relationship x2 ➛ and also a really heartwarming found family / best friend relationship ⤷ It was truly giving bryce and danika but better ➛ a big appreciation of peanut butter ➛ an amazing epilogue that will hopefully set up a book two in this world
i will say that there was a very unnecessary and annoying third act conflict that just didn’t make sense to me (and made me side eye lowe a little), but i still really enjoyed this one and it was such a fast paced read that really tugged at my heartstrings in all the found family ways. i think i just really like ali hazlewood’s stories, and i always end up connecting with them on some level, and that just enhances my reading experience each and every time. i recommend this to all my romance friends, but i extra recommend it to all my pnr friends who want a little extra nostalgia on top of a really good story.
lastly, and least importantly, if i ever dated anyone named misery, i feel like i would have to send hayley williams or paramore royalties. because the way misery business was living in my head rent free while reading this was actually insane.
content warnings from the author(please use caution for potential spoilers): death of several people within the context of a war between different species (vampires, werewolves, and humans) is mentioned, several mentions of blood, kidnapping, mild violence, poisoning and attempted murder, attempted kidnapping/harming of a child (she is unharmed), death of a parent (off page in the past and off page in the present), explicit and graphic sexual content, knotting (the mmc’s apparatus is not quite human?), cursing and vulgar language
other trigger + content warnings i found while reading (ali's books really do have such good tws - i am always so thankful and impressed): missing friend, mention of sickness of child (she is fine), spider mentions, brief mention of death during childbirth, brief mention of loss of a partner in past, mention of vomit, parental abuse and neglect, and violence
[image] my amazing friend nadia gifted me this signed copy! i am so thankful and you'll never know how much i love ali's bat ...more
[image] ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley
i feel like before i can say anything about this book, i just have to let you all know that i was bo[image] ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley
i feel like before i can say anything about this book, i just have to let you all know that i was born and raised in michigan (and started this goodreads account in michigan), even though i moved out west after college. but it is also important to know that michigan people love other michigan people! lol like, i am giggling while typing this, but it is also very true and i have never seen another state have this kind of instant comradery before. my family still lives about three hours away from the traverse city area, but i’ve been there so many times, especially during the summer. and this very long prologue of a review is just to say that emily henry really captured the magic of what is a michigan summer and it was absolutely perfect in my opinion. i’m also not sure a book has ever made me miss home as much as the setting of this book, and i just really wanted to emphasize how phenomenally done it was to me, and i would bet a lot of money she has lived there at some point in her life.
okay the actual review - i think i can make a dot here: this book is, ironically enough, a story about one person trying to convince another person to build a home and life in a sleepy little michigan city. but let me not forget to type that these two people’s lives have crossed because both of their significant others have decided to leave them for each other! and our main character, after being dumped the morning after her fiance's bachelor party, has nowhere to go because she picked up her life and moved it to where she thought she would finally set up roots. so she moves in with her ex’s new girlfriend’s ex (this feels so hard to type out lol), and each chapter starts with a countdown of how many days until a fundraiser at her work, at a local library, happens and then she will be able to leave. but maybe she can actually still set up those roots after the fundraiser, but in an even healthy and happier way (filled with some good healing along the way).
“That's what happens when your life partner leaves you for the nicest, sunniest, prettiest woman in the state of Michigan.”
everyone is going to talk about this book on all platforms, so instead of me telling you more about this book, let me tell you some things i really loved about this story with some bullet points (besides the michigan bias, obviously):
➛ there is a very big difference between niceness and kindness and this book really shows that throughout.
➛ as you get older, making new friends can be way harder! and friendship breakups can be just as devastating as romantic breakups! but also, it can be really worth it to let people in, even after you’ve been hurt by doing so with others - maybe especially after that.
“You can't untell someone your secrets. You can't unsay those delicate truths once you learn you can't trust the person you handed them to.”
➛ this book also talks about some parental abuse that i honestly do not think i’ve ever read about before, and i know it is going to mean a lot to a lot of people. also the way that miles handles that trauma in the present day was something that really made me feel seen and meant more to me than i have words to put in a review here.
“I need it to be okay. Because I need to be okay. As a kid, I just felt so fucking scared and powerless, all the time, and now, I just need to be okay.”
➛ and this is also just such a book about community, and carving out space and safety and love with the people who you trust and want to build a home with. especially when you’ve lived a life of not really having much stability, and the thought of it being taken away makes you scared to start to build it.
➛ libraries will always be the heart of cities, with some of the most powerful tools we have to amplify voices and create change. i am actually typing this up during national library week here, and i just can't emphasize enough how important these buildings, these safe spaces filled with heart, and these librarians are. i would get so emotional when daphne would talk about the kids at her branch, and the books she’d pick because of them. ahhhh, a reminder to just show up for your local library, do donations if you are able (time, books, and money), make sure your library card is updated, just show your appreciation in every way you’re able to.
“To me, libraries have always represented the best of humanity. The way we all share knowledge and space, and... and how we find ways to look after each other. It's not a perfect system, but it's powerful.”
overall, this just had so much to love. actually, as i am typing this i am considering making this a five star. I’m just not sure if i loved this as much as beach read, but it is for sure a new favorite emily henry of mine. but miles is for sure the best love interest she, or maybe any other contemporary author, has ever written. and i absolutely cannot wait to watch you all fall with both him, and daphne, and their amazing funny story.
trigger + content warnings: drinking, smoking, a joke about suicide, brief mention of fetishization (to a side character and in a negative light), parental abandonment and neglect and and instability in past, child abuse in past, mention of loss of parents in past (side character), one sentence mention of cancer (side characters parent), anxiety depiction, and just a story about people going through a really hard break up that has a little bit of infidelity vibes (even though no cheating did occur to them)
“It never occurred to her to doubt her welcome. Such was the gift of a child raised with love.”
this is a hard one to rate, but i think i have sett
“It never occurred to her to doubt her welcome. Such was the gift of a child raised with love.”
this is a hard one to rate, but i think i have settled on the highest of 3 stars! but three stars feels extra wild because the mc of this is probably my favorite character that t kingfisher has ever created! this is a sleeping beauty reimagining that really makes the reader think about what humans can perceive as good and/or evil on first glance. it also has heavy themes of nurture versus nature and how important it is for children to grow up with love and safety. but there was just something about the evil one being a child* in this story that made me uncomfortable, and upon finishing it just really made me not want to give out a higher rating, despite loving so many other aspects of this novella. (*i know there is more to this, but i am trying to be vague for this mini review!)
toading, the main character, is truly wonderful. and I loved seeing her watch generation after generation pass while protecting this tower, until one day a prince comes that makes her want to do things a little differently. i loved seeing her growing up among the fae, with a family and community who loved her unapologetically with everything they had. and i loved the writing of this and how beautifully kingfisher was able to blend past and present narratives together. i know this review is a little all over the place, but i still recommend this one and i can’t wait to continue reading everything from this author.
trigger + content warnings: blood, plague, death, kidnapping, captivity, brief mention of child birth, death of a child, self harm for magic / testing magic, mention of animal cruelty, physical abuse (slap), suicide mention, violence, extreme isolation
i am always gonna be here for unsavory women and their unsavory adventures :)
down below are my individual ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss
i am always gonna be here for unsavory women and their unsavory adventures :)
down below are my individual ratings, feelings, favorite quotes, trigger + content warnings, and my personal interpretations of each story in this collection!
━━♡ fuckboy museum - deesha philyaw ★★★★
“That should have been the end of it. But when do mediocre men ever go away quietly?”
oh i really enjoyed this one and i love how this was the start of this anthology, too. truly, it set such a good vibe and tone for what is to come. i do not want to say too much about this one, because a lot of my enjoyment came from how this mystery slowly comes together! but this one is about a woman trying to find companionship after a divorce through a lot of different dating sites and apps... and with a lot of fuckboys.
tw/cw: brief mention of police racism + brutality, mention of loss of a father in past, brief mentions of infidelity (not mc), one sentence mention of cancer, death, and murder
━━♡ caller - k-ming chang ★★★★
“Outside, the rain was repeating us, saying my words to the pavement: please, please.”
i do not think this one will be for everyone, because it reads very stream of consciousness, but the writing just completely hypnotized me in the best way. this asian-american sapphic phone call scammer romance, with a prose that that felt like poetry, ending up really working for me.
tw/cw: blood, talk of excreta + toilet phobias, hypochondria + cyberchondria, and talk of terrible work conditions
━━♡ all you have is your fire - yah yah scholfield ★★★★
“She was drawn to these books—girls with powers, girls who were monstrous, girls who had the potential to be terrible and violent things.”
the hurt, anger, and rage i was able to feel so powerfully through these so few pages. truly some of the best writing i've experienced in a long while. this was a heavy one, and a very raw one, and left a very big impact on me. sometimes setting fire to everything might look like madness, but most of the time the only way to rebuild is to burn everything else down.
“You can feel the internal prayer the woman recites, hoping he will come.”
this was a really unique short story, that was beautifully written, about a woman going back to jamaica, and needing to desperately tell a story to another woman. to me, this was a story about how women blame themselves for the wrongs that men do.
tw/cw: infidelity, abandonment
━━♡ maps - vanessa chan ★
i recognize what this was trying to do with media and the world only showing us "good survivors", and i am sure this story could help someone out there after horrible things were done to them, but this was truly to the worst thing i've read all year. i highly recommend skipping this one and/or checking the warnings below.
tw/cw: incest, pedophilia, grooming, sexual abuse to children, parental abuse, suicide, loss of a loved one, mention of cancer, loss of a parent, disordered eating, bulimia, vomit, pica, fatphobia, bullying in past, talk of excreta
━━♡ aquafina - chana porter ★★★
“If I drown in this ocean tell my mother I’m still angry If I drown in this ocean tell my body it’s okay to rest.”
the writing in this one was very beautiful to me, and i found that i wanted even more upon finishing this short story. this one gives you a lot within these few pages, but leaves the reader questioning what they are reading throughout the entire experience. i had a very good time with this one and i would love to read more from this author.
tw/cw: sexual harassment, talk of disordered eating, negative body image thoughts, intrusive thoughts, rape mention, cancer mention, abuse mention, murder, drowning, suicide ideation
━━♡ a scholarship opportunity - megan giddings ★★★
“Being the worse girl means, at least, I'll be remembered”
we really live in a world where kids who are only seventeen, are forced to figure out who they want to be, in a world where everyone not only expects them to choose and know before they can even vote, but also expects them to fit in the boxes they are already putting them in. and this can feel extra suffocating when parents also have been impacted by the expectations of society and the world. sometimes being "bad" is the only way to feel like you can get some agency over yourself + future. also, college is expensive and kids need any and all scholarships lol
tw/cw: brief body image talk in a negative light + mention of excreta
━━♡ sick - alicia elliott ★★★
“If she wanted either of us to be that kind of daughter, she should have been that kind of mother.”
this one is hard for me to rate, because i really enjoyed exploring munchausen (something i think i have never read about before) and how childhood manipulation can make for adults who are still easily manipulated and abused by their parents. but i just wish we could have seen a little more of the ending, and a little more of our main characters past friendship.
tw/cw: parental manipulation, gaslighting, trauma, munchausen, talk of debt, bullying in past, talk of cancer, negative body image/appearance talk, talk of infidelity
━━♡ ms wrong - chantal v johnson ★ / dnf
i just really had a hard time connecting + enjoying this one. this mc was truly too unsavory for me.
tw/cw: talk of rape + drugging
━━♡ holes - alice ash ★★
i like the discussion on mother daughter relationships, and being trapped in cycles and feeling buried by the weight of the world and the expectations society places on you and your family at birth. but the writing of this one was just really not for me.
“I always thought evil hung in the sky above our heads, the black whorl of it, a portal to darkness. That’s where storms came from—when the evil got too great and God had to release some of it down on us. We had to pay a little bit for it.”
i really enjoyed this story being told to the reader, and the switch of perspective mid story was very powerful. my friend, who i am buddy reading this anthology with, talked about switching out the manifestation for religion and it extra blew my mind a little. i had a good time with this one and i think, sadly, a lot of us probably know and see people like the first perspective of this tale.
tw/cw: nightmares, self harm, forced hospitalization, weight loss mention
━━♡ buffalo - alison rumfitt ★★★
this one is for sure horror, so please use caution going in. we follow a woman who is experiencing extreme transphobia in her new town, because of a serial killer who is skinning women alive. this story is about her choosing to go after the serial killer... and the story is told to you, the serial killer. this last year, i have thought a lot about queer people reclaiming the horror genre through story telling, and this, to me, talks about the harm (and hate and violence) horror movies and media cause to queer people - like buffalo bill from the silence of the lambs. and the immense power in reclaiming and rewriting those harmful stories. i thought this was very smart, and i am very interested to read more from this author, but i just wasn't in love with the writing or format of this. but i really appreciated what the author was doing.
“They ask me where I have been, and I tell them travelling. They understand that. They have grown through the dark themselves.”
i think this story will be my favorite in the collection for so many reasons. but a main character who has powers over bacteria? one of the coolest and more unique things ive seen in a while. i hope this author gives the world a full length story inspired off this short version, because i think they are very galaxy brain for that idea. the writing was also beautiful, the story entrancing, and i was left wanting more in the best way possible.
tw/cw: suicide, insects, animal death (bird), death, loss a sibling.
━━♡ the monolith - chaya bhuvaneswar ★★ / dnf
i just couldn't get through the writing of this one, sadly. this is about med students, in an oncology department, and the story is told through a truly insufferable person's perspective.
tw/cw: microaggressions, colorism, cancer mentions, talk of treatment, power imbalances
━━♡ the devil's doorbell - amanda leduc ★★
no one is more surprised than myself that a sapphic relationship with the devil didn't work out for me, but here we are. i feel the the base of this story was enjoyable, but a few sentences were just too uncomfortable in a way i didn't want to be uncomfortable.
tw/cw: death, gore, attempted incest in a story mention, a weird comment about a 6 year old, ableist term (in a reclaimed use)
━━♡ amaranth - lauren groff ★★
“We die; we leave ghosts of ourselves behind. Voices on answering machines, bodies on video, fragments of souls in handwriting.”
i was interested throughout reading this, and i thought the writing was good, but i just didn't love the story. this is a story about grief and the dark form that can accompany it, but also a story about years of wanting revenge. maybe because disordered eating played such a big part in this, and that is something that i don't love reading about, but sadly this anthology didn't end on the best note for me.
tw/cw: loss of a parent, grief, depression, a lot of talk and mentions of disordered eating / anorexia, self harm, blood, hospitalization, infidelity
okay, maybe i just give every riley sager book three stars, but this one was truly my favorite out of all the other ones i’ve read! 80’s setting, mansokay, maybe i just give every riley sager book three stars, but this one was truly my favorite out of all the other ones i’ve read! 80’s setting, mansion on the coast of maine, a family massacre in a small sleepy town, the only survivor (who is also the only suspect) is now an old woman who needs 24/7 care, because her last nurse has left in the night never to be seen again! a lot of good and spooky atmosphere and allure, true? and we follow the newly hired caregiver, who grew up in this town with this haunted house, who is unable to say no for the position because of something very sad in her own life. And with the help of a typewriter, the spooky story of what really happened all of those years ago unfolds!
i honestly had a really good time with this, and my rating is for sure a very high three stars. this book will really keep you on your toes with guessing, and you will hit a point in the story where it is just all out constant reveal after reveal! this is something i did enjoy, but i feel like it was a little too much. kind of like when you’re on a rollercoaster and the first few dips and loops and plunges feel good, but if there are too many it loses the appeal and the fear, you know? but also take all of this with a grain of salt, because you all know i am not a big mystery thriller reader and reviewer! but i had a really fun time with this one overall, and for sure recommend. also, i really adored the ending of this one and thought it was close to perfect.
trigger + content warnings (please use caution reading these, because they do give away some major twists and plot reveals): toxic home, loss of a parent in past, talk of cancer, grief depiction, depression depiction, anxiety, thoughts of suicide, suicide attempt, abusive parents, captivity, nightmares, infidelity, overdose, talk of diet, negative body talk, slut shaming, pregnancy surprise, birth, blood, alcholism, drug addiction, bad medical help, brief insinuation of homophobia/homophobic parents in past, death, murder use of ouija board
“Write me a tragedy, Lev Fedorov,” she whispered to him. “Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague o
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley
“Write me a tragedy, Lev Fedorov,” she whispered to him. “Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague of devastation. Write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. Then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. Write it over and over, Lev, until we both know the pages by heart. Isn’t that a story, too?” she asked him softly.”
in the year 2023, no one is writing longing, yearning, and angst like olivie blake. every book i pick up by her, vast in different concepts, the writing and one liners she is able to string together just rendered me speechless. what a gift to the literary world and the lyrical prose readers (me).
this story is a mash up reimagining of Romeo and Juliet and A midsummer Night’s dream, which is a really insane combination. we get to see two different families, two different worlds, and two different timelines of power, love, and betrayal. this is a story about family, and sibling bonds, and love that feels too big too much of the time. but everything is also filled with magic, and fae, and secrets. i really did adore this, and it was very impressively crafted. i loved seeing all the different powers, and u think i lost part of my own heart upon finishing this epilogue.
trigger + content warnings: a lot of talk of drugs + selling drugs + drug use, alcohol, vomiting, blood, murder, death, loss of a loved one (a lot too), grief, brief mention of bullying in past, magical compulsion, violence, gore, suicide.
i feel like this normally isnt the type of book i would request, but there is just something about this covARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss
i feel like this normally isnt the type of book i would request, but there is just something about this cover that has enthralled me. maybe a water horror era actually incoming for me? wow
there is something just extra cool and extra harrowing about all these stories taking place under the same ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss
there is something just extra cool and extra harrowing about all these stories taking place under the same moon on the same halloween night. very galaxy brain of these editors. Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane was my very personal favorite - it really meant the entire world to me. and Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle is one i feel so thankful to have been able to read, and i know it will sit inside my heart forever. but here are my thoughts on all the stories in this collection, and i think so many people are gonna have a good time with this one, especially if you read this during spooky season.
━━♡ Welcome to the Hotel Paranoia by Vanessa Montalban ★★
“If you would've just waited for me to tell you I felt the same, if you would've never come here, I'd be yours. We'd be ours.”
i was obsessed with this sinking abandoned hotel setting, but sadly that was one of the few things i did like about this short story. i kept waiting for a different kind of revenge story to start because of the set up, but, sadly again, i was let down.
tw/cw: drinking, drugs, mention of bullying in past, brief mention of seizure in past (insinuating bc of overdose or excessive drug use), death
━━♡ The Visitor by Kalynn Bayron ★★★
“They were like beacons in an endless abyss of grief.”
this story has a few lines that made me tear up. this is a very sweet and spooky tale about a girl and her father celebrating halloween and honoring someone they lost. i feel like the author did such a good job conveying so many different emotions and feelings in the different scenes in this short work, i was really impressed.
tw/cw: loss of a parent in the past, grief
━━♡ A Brief Intermission by Sara Farizan ★★★
“Whenever someone talks about the "good old days," they forget to mention who it was "good" for.”
okay truly, drive in movies are just the perfect creepy setting, especially ones that are closed for halloween because of a generational secret being kept. i really liked both of our main characters in this one, and i liked seeing this secret unravel alongside them.
tw/cw: blood, gore, brief hospital setting, mention of fatal car crash in past, microaggressions, vomiting, animal death (rats)
━━♡ Guested by Rebecca Kim Wells ★★★
“Mrs. Choi thought Guested parties were white people nonsense or the work of the devil. Sometimes both.”
you all know a story about sibling love is always going to get me, and this being told in second person really amplified all the feelings. i will say, i just didn't enjoy the ending of this one, but the concept was really unique and smart, and the writing was very captivating - i would love to read more from this author.
tw/cw: very brief mention of parents divorcing + death of a parent, possession, depression depiction
━━♡ Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle by Kosoko Jackson ★★★★★
“There is no God here tonight. Only me, and I am vengeful.”
this short story is worth reading the entire anthology for alone. this was truly everything for me and, even though it pulled on everything inside my heart, the very vulnerable, real, + raw feelings were just so powerful to me. this is exactly what i want in horror, because, at the end of the day, humans are more horrifying than any paranormal creature could ever dream of being.
tw/cw: needle imagery, toxic friendship, codependency depiction, chronic pain mention, homophobia, homophobic slurs, blood, abuse, ouija board, very brief mention of domestic abuse + parental abuse + loss of a parent + murder in past with a side character. this story has a central focus on a gay hate crime / gay bashing - please use caution while reading and make sure you're in the right headspace
━━♡ The Three Phases of Ghost Hunting by Alex Brown ★★★
“Terrifying Bob won't even mess with the Jollibee, which makes me sad on his behalf.”
my favorite part of this was just how filipinos really do normalize ghosts + spirits hahaha. but i really loved the set up of this one, and i felt like it's really different than anything else in this collection. i loved these characters instantly too, and the sibling relationship made my heart so happy in so few pages. i just really didn't love the end of this one and it left me more confused than anything else. but i would happily read a full-length story with this crew + their new friend!
tw/cw: talk of death + possession
━━♡ Nine Stops by Trang Thanh Tran ★★
“You can love something so hard that you hate it at the same time. Each shortcoming hurts more because you care. The city and my body are like that.”
ahhh, this one is going to be a bit hard to write feelings for just because this story is centered around one of those "if you dont do BLANK, then BLANK will happen" on the internet things - and i just loath those so much. but then it just got more and more gross and confusing, and added so much that just didn't need to be there, but felt like they were added because it was a halloween anthology. we got to see some heartfelt themes of grief and the helplessness you feel when you lose someone you love - and i loved that - but sadly everything else just overshadowed it for me.
tw/cw: asian hate crime, racism, loss of a loved one, grief depiction, graphic animal cruelty + death for a ritual, insect mention, blood
━━♡ Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane by Maya Gittleman ★★★★★
“The smell of sampaguita fills the air. It's coming from you, the magic that's always been you, that you've finally given yourself the ability to unlock.”
not only my favorite of the collection, but a brand new all time favorite short story. this was everything and so very powerful. i might be a little biased because i am fillipino (and i have a matching sampaguita tattoo with my cousin haha), but i think this story is truly just perfection, while being so deep in culture and so deep in heart. and i was weeping through the ending with a smile on my face. the author was so galaxy brain for this entire story, but the amount of hope it was able to evoke from me too. i really am speechless.
whatever this author does next, i will be in the publisher's emails begging for an arc, because these few pages truly made me feel not only seen, but like i am finding a brand new all time favorite author.
tw/cw: talk of loss of a parent in the past, mention of deaths, one sentence mention of whitening cream/treatment
━━♡ In You to Burn by Em X. Liu ★★
“Magic wasn't real, after all. There were better, more mundane ways to explain things.”
ah, i wish i would have loved this one more. i am not really sure what to say other than maybe the writing just wasn't for me. but the plot just seemed a little all over and i wasn't really sure where the story was going most of the time. it also felt very long to me.
tw/cw: fires, drinking, blood, death
━━♡ Anna by Shelly Page ★★★★
“I know that bone-deep loneliness that comes with being abandoned and the fear that it'll keep happening no matter what you do.”
okay i think this story was like exactly what i was expecting from this collection, and it just was really good and really halloween spooky. it was the paranormal scariest of them all for me, and i was really feeling the eeriness while reading (and while finishing). a good reminder why i love short story collections so much, because i am now very excited to read more from this author.
tw/cw: abandonment, child abuse in past, starvation, ouija board
━━♡ Hey There, Demons by Tara Sim ★★★★
“Halloween. One way or another, he was going to get rid of this poltergeist for good.”
oh this was just a good read all around, and so different in tone from the rest of the collection. and it just really made my heart overflow with happiness, while still being spooky. i know these are fictional characters, but i really wish them the best because they were able to get into my heart in so few pages!
tw/cw: ghost leaving scratches on children, blood, implied loss of a parent in past
━━♡ Save Me from Myself by Ayida Shonibar ★★★★
“Today, my outside resembles the way I feel within. ”
this really is the short story from this collection that is going to be the hardest (and most all over the place) to talk about. i loved this story, i loved what it was doing, i loved that i very easily could see how much this will mean to so many teens, especially queer bipoc teens, who i know are feeling these things, thinking these things, and seeing themselves like this main character. this is an important and powerful read, and was able to evoke so much emotion from me. but i just absolutely hated the end of this. i felt like it was for shock value and just felt terrible when the rest of this story was everything i could have hoped for for this collection. again, i feel like this is just a hard one to talk about, but it still is a bright, but heartbreaking, shining light in this collection for me.
tw/cw from author at start of this story: suicidal ideation, death tw/cw that i found additionally: mention of parent abandonment, loss of a friend, loss of a parent, and... so many intrusive thoughts
━━♡ Knickknack by Ryan Douglass ★★★
“And...how do we find a sacrifice worthy of his Clownliness?”
truly, very few things in this life are scarier than clowns. and a clown who is a ghost and kidnaps and kills children? like, i was unsettled from start to end! i also really enjoyed the queer rep in this because i think its a very relatable "is this person maybe queer too" highschool experience, and i know a lot of people will be able to relate. this was spooky and sweet and i had a good time with it.
tw/cw: murder in past, death in past, kidnapping, brief one sentence mention of parent alcohol addiction and cheating of a parent, just not the best parents in general, brief mention on bullying in past, mention of 4chan, ouija board.
oh friends, this is for sure one of the best books of 2023. this first prequel in this adored world won me over even more than legends & lattes itself. this book starts out with viv and rackam (and their mercenary group - the ravens) in battle against a necromancer’s skeleton army! viv has wanted to prove so much these last two months finally being a part of warband, but a leg injury leaves her alone in a small seaside town called murk where she must do a lot of waiting alongside a lot of healing. But she quickly gets to exploring this town, and meeting all the locals and their businesses, and soon enough viv finds many different kinds of adventures that will keep her busy while she waits for rackam to come back for her.
i feel very obliged to make this comparison dot in this review, and it truly means a lot to me and my heart: i started to read this when baldur’s gate 3 was dropping, and i couldn't help but really see the connection of how these characters we are kind of recruiting based on trust and friendship and how these explorations with them feels like discovering this seaside town’s map completely with each new quest. the levels of happiness and comfort and warmth both of these things have given me this year is truly unmatched and both are just something so rare and beautiful that it truly feels like finding the best treasure in all storytelling. but no one, and i mean no one one, is writing the level of imagery that travis baldree is writing. everything is so beautifully described and depicted, with the most exquisite details, that i can see everything so easily in my mind that it is as if larian studios and wizards of the coast is giving me my own personal decision based experience themselves. (nerdy niche bonus: gloomstalker ranger 5, assassin rogue 4, battlemaster fighter 3 is so strong + reminds me of the stealth archer build in skyrim. but maybe next playthrough, i’ll make viv herself because i am feeling very inspired!)
and this town and these characters? oh where do i even begin? a bakery with the most swoon-worthy dwarf, a high elf doctor who will win you over much quicker than he won viv over, an orc carpenter who i personally want to give all the books of poetry to, a gnome rogue who has already stole my heart in legends & lattes, a rattkin bookseller who loves swearing and who is now a forever favorite character for me, and their gryphet who is the cutest owldog i’ve ever read about!
fern (the rattkin bookseller) really felt like a once in a lifetime character for me, because she really embodies the feeling and the power of seeing someone fall in love with books and reading and how special it feels when maybe you played a little part in that. giving book recommendations and discussing books is one of my favorite love languages. i am sure you guys know this about me, but seeing how travis created fern to describe these things in this book really hit me so unexpectedly hard and right in my very heart and soul. and this book perfectly depicts the joy of so many bookish things! like blind date with a book, book signings, even book clubs! we even get to see little parts of the books that viv is reading because of fern’s recommendations and i was obsessed every time! like i said, my new favorite bookseller.
but this book also talks about how there will never be an age limit on figuring out things you want to do in life. there will never be an age limit on things you want to change in life. and how sometimes, we really aren’t at the right place in our lives for something, but that never means that door is shut forever. and if we do decide to close that door and lock it, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the moment of living inside that room for a tiny bit of your life - and that doesn’t make anything lesser, or greater, but it can create happiness and memories that you really can take with you during every adventure in life. and sometimes, if we are lucky enough, a door of friendship that seemed to be behind a locked door, can open once again, along with new joy and new adventures.
i just loved this book completely, and, the epilogue of this book is a six star read all on its own. It made me cry, it made me swoon, it made me kick my feet and giggle uncontrollably. i dont want to give too much away, but if the author is setting up things the way i think he is, i am going to be begging tor every time for an arc because truly this series will probably become my favorite setting of all time. i know this whole review is a big gush, filled with big praise with big words, but i truly do mean them all. this story, these characters, these settings, they deserve all the praise because they truly come together to make something magical that i’ve never read before. me and fern highly recommend this book and all the unapologetic joy that comes along too!
trigger + content warnings: battle, blood, medical care descriptions, pain depiction, stalking, hurt animal, animal death (sheep), captivity, anxiety, nightmares, death, murder (off page), slavery, abandonment in past
“How would life feel if I didn't have to always hold on tight against the darkness? Who would I be if I
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley
“How would life feel if I didn't have to always hold on tight against the darkness? Who would I be if I could live in the light?”
i just am always completely in love with k o’neil’s characters, worlds, and themes. they create stories that are such a gift to our world, and this newest graphic novel will probably resonate with so many people who are reading this review, because the central theme is all about burn out and not realizing when you need a break and when you need some help, too. we are all so small in the grand scheme of things, and it's so easy for things to feel overwhelming, especially these last few years, and especially in a pandemic that is still going on. but our value as creators and, more importantly, humans, will never ever be dependent on how much we produce.
this is also a very heartfelt tale about community, and the things we can achieve when we are kind and offer help to people – and how that kindness and help can go such a long way and have the most beautiful healing rippling effect to so many. but this also touches on how hard it can be to ask for help, when you have been turned away from it by people who are supposed to be there for you. but also, in turn, how unconditional love + friendship can be the most powerful force in all the world.
ah, this is just perfection. i wish i could put this story in the hands of everyone, but especially every child. i immediately finished the arc, and purchased a physical for my own personal library (which surprisingly had the most beautiful art under the dustjacket). i think this will for sure make my best of 2023 come december. truly, a gift to this universe in all ways.
trigger + content warnings: mention of loss of a loved one, parental neglect + abandonment
[image] ARC provided by Tor - thank you so much !!
“The door wasn’t there because you have any obligations left to these people, or this world. It wa
[image] ARC provided by Tor - thank you so much !!
“The door wasn’t there because you have any obligations left to these people, or this world. It was there because sometimes people can’t let go of who they thought we were, and so they keep trying to tangle us in nets and drag us back. That doesn’t mean we have to go. Or if we do go, that doesn’t mean we have to stay.”
let me start this review with something that is probably going to make you all very happy and then something that might make you all not happy!
the happy: some of this book actually takes place in kade’s portal world (which i know i have been begging for since day one), and it was truly the most amazing glimpse that left the reader wanting so much more.
the unhappy: now… this did not bother me whatsoever, but basically it takes 100 pages until the reader gets to see a dinosaur in this book. and truly? it is a very small glimpse for maybe 20 pages? the cover of this one probably wasn’t the best choice, even though it is very beautiful.
okay let me actually type what this book is about! so i was very surprised when i started this, because it really does pick up right after the events of Lost in the Moment and Found, where we see antsy recounting things to eleanor, before she starts classes at the school. But then we get a six month jump, after the rescue mission of Where the Drowned Girls Go, and we get to see antsy with so many new and old beloved kids at this school. But once some people find out what magic antsy’s nexus has given her, our crew goes on a quest to protect her and the school at all costs.
all wayward children books have a different powerful message inside their amazing stories, and i feel like this installment’s was all about breaking cycles of abuse. from realizing healthy ways to feel safe and heal from abuse that was done to you in the past. to reclaiming a childhood that was taken from you, instead of feeling like you can repress the way the world made you grow up too quickly. to having a responsibility to protect children and the generations to come, and not use your abuse as an excuse to continue the cycles of abuse. And ultimately be able to listen, and grow, and be better, continuously and constantly. and I also think there is an underlying message too of how everyone heals from things differently, and we should allow people to heal and live how they want to live, and how there is no time limit on making different choices - just when you’re reading to make them.
overall, i had a good time with this one, but i didn’t love it as much as some of the other books in this series (especially with Lost in the Moment and Found being a five star read for me). but seeing antsy’s power and some different worlds (some we know, some we know about, some brand new) was so beyond cool. also, i just love sumi so very much.
trigger + content warnings: mentions of loss of parents & loved ones in the past, depression, grief, ptsd, nightmares, abandonment & loneliness, a one sentence brief mention that hints at disordered eating in the past, talk of colorism, mind altering magic, one sentence mention of chemotherapy in past, implied transphobia in past, implied mention of pedophile in past, mention of chronic pain, blood depiction, talk of death and murder, and just a lot of mentions of bad parenting and child abuse.
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