Reviews

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We Are Okay — Nina LaCour

Winter break has come, and while everyone else has gone home to see families and significant others for a few weeks, Marin would be perfectly content to stay in her dorm room, alone with her grief, pretending that her life from before doesn't exist anymore. Life is never quite that simple, though, and Mabel is coming to visit, shoving her way into Marin's after. Marin has a lot of skeletons in her closet that need to be faced, but can she handle letting go of her denial long enough to heal - and to move forward with Mabel?

The Roses of May — Dot Hutchison

It's hard enough on the agents when the butterflies start falling apart, but suicides of girls who can't seem to fit back in outside of the Garden are only half of the heartache that Eddison has to face down now. While the girls await their day in court with the Gardener, another killer is at large: the Spring Killer, who kills one teen every spring, and has done so for 17 years without exposing himself. His only marker is the flowers that he leaves around each girl's lifeless body.

The Seafarer’s Kiss — Julia Ember

Ersel's tribe of merpeople has been exiled to the coldest habitable water remaining, far north, and every year, their population dwindles as mermaids' eggs are frozen in their wombs, doomed to infertility. In an act of desperation, the king has enforced a law that, in their nineteenth year, each mermaid must undergo a test of fertility - and the female with the highest likelihood of successful brooding becomes a prized possession, coveted by all of the mermen. To be fertile, and wanted, is the greatest pride any mermaid in their tribe can hold.

Horror Library, Vol 6 — edited by Eric J. Guignard

I originally thought I would just give a basic rundown of the entire anthology, maybe while throwing in a star rating for each individual story. By the time I reached somewhere around the halfway mark, I realized that would be incredibly unfair, as I was bored to tears by some stories, while others made me immediately look up more works by that author to add to my TBR. Hence, I'll give a short rundown of each story, as well as a star rating.

Locke & Key, Vol 1 — Joe Hill

After a terrible home invasion ends in the death of their father, the Locke family is forced to relocate to Lovecraft, Massachusetts, to live in the late Mr. Locke's childhood home with his brother. Wracked by grief (and, for some, guilt), the children hope to find solace in the new beginnings of the aptly named Key House, but things are not as they seem. Doors lead to realities seemingly impossible, opening pathways to spirit dimensions. As if things weren't strange enough already, there's a voice in the well house... crying for help.

Wytches, Vol. 1 — Scott Snyder

When Sail and her family move to a small town in New Hampshire, they think they're escaping the horrors in their little world: the accident that has forced Sail's mother into a wheelchair, the nightmare in the woods that leaves Sail waking up in a cold sweat. They have no idea that they aren't escaping at all... in fact, they might be walking right into the fire.

Internet Famous — Danika Stone

Offline, Madison Nakama’s life is difficult, at best. First, there’s the mother who randomly leaves to jet halfway across the world for new teaching jobs, leaving her family in shambles without remorse. Then, there’s her father, Charles: the famous writer, whose entire focus in life revolves around keeping their family’s reputation scot-free and away from the careful scrutiny of his conservative readers. Last, there’s Sarah: Madison’s younger sister, who depends on her to keep a strict routine, as well as acting as Sarah’s primary caretaker.

Online, however, things are easy: Madison becomes Madi, creator and owner of the famous pop culture blog MadLibs, where she attracts countless followers and carries on intimate online friendships.