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Reading Update - It’s been a while

I’ve been gone for some time, but I’m back now :) So many things have been happening in the last couple of months and the only content I’ve been able to put out are a couple of videos and some reviews on Instagram. I’ve been trying to work on a realistic content schedule and it always ends up overwhelming me because I start to overthink everything and psych myself out before I even get started. However, I’m committed to keep trying and I’m going to try and chill with the perfectionism. Especially in my videos. I admire people who can just turn on their cameras and say what’s on their mind in a few takes. I’ve also been doing some research on how to improve my reviews. I feel like they are lacking a bit and I want to take them to the next level. So, I’ve been on YouTube and looking up blog posts and articles on how to take proper notes while reading, how to analyze what I’m reading and what makes a great review. It’ll be a process and take a lot of practice, but fun also! Anyway, on to ...
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Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez Book Review

Ingrid receives a call from her estranged childhood best friend Mayra who invites her to a secluded house in the Everglades. Ingrid agrees and while there, has some very mysterious encounters while she relives memories of her past. Some thoughts: This was written extremely well. This explores female friendship dynamics that can be toxic. It was raw, it was real and relatable. These relationships can be complex and I feel that Nicky Gonzalez captured it very well. I felt the awkwardness of some interactions they had and saw the reemergence of some old feelings between them.  I found the characters very interesting and they were fleshed out so well. Mayra and Ingrid had distinct personalities and I fully understood both point of views.  I know this was a gothic debut, however, this also had a cosmic feel to it, I think. There was some incomprehensible entity at the house, if I remember correctly. Also, some existential dread while being isolated. It was all very psychological an...
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8114 by Joshua Hull *Some Spoilers*

Paul Early is a controversial podcaster who has to return to his hometown after one of his best friends commits suicide. If that’s not unsettling enough, you soon find out that he did it in Paul’s childhood home (wtf). Paul begins to investigate what happened and is adamant about getting it out to his audience. He doesn’t realize what he is up against, but won’t stop until he gets to the bottom of it.  Okay, so… I had to reach out to the author because when I was done reading, I needed some questions answered. Obviously I’m not going to spoil it completely for you, BUT I can tell you a couple of things. Firstly, We have a demon, Belial. Secondly, we have Paul who is the perfect vessel for evil and thirdly, a cursed town/house (8114).  Let’s start with Belial, he is the demon of lies and guilt and Paul is filled with both, making him an ideal victim to latch onto. Then, there is the land 8114 is built on. It has a bloody, tragic history and is therefore, cursed. Joshua Hull sta...
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Lucinda Berry Books *SPOILERS*

I love Lucinda Berry’s books. They explore the psychological aspect of situations and she gives her readers a deep dive into her character’s heads. Her characters are often flawed, complex, and incredibly human, which makes them feel authentic and relatable. They navigate intense emotional and psychological struggles, often forcing readers to confront uncomfortable truths about trauma, resilience, and the darker sides of human nature. I posted my review of When She Returned on instagram, so if you’re curious about what I thought, you can check it out there! Some additional thoughts I have on the book are: that up until 60% of the book, I hated Meredith (the new wife), and I was thoroughly convinced that she was ruining everything. But after that, I started to see things from her POV and honestly, I get how the whole situation made her feel. It seems that while Scott and Abbi were caught up in their emotions, Meredith was the only one seeing things logically. Now, at first, it seems it’...
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Book Review: A Game In Yellow by Hailey Piper

A couple tries to save their relationship through… unconventional means that are, quite literally, out of this world. Cosmic horror has never really been my thing, but it was really the characters that drew me into this read. The main character, Carmen, teetered on the edge of annoying me, but something about her situation made me feel bad. She was struggling with feeling disconnected, unable to be satisfied sexually by just about  everything . And Blanca, her partner, who is desperately trying to please the one she loves, had me wondering why she was holding onto this relationship she wasn’t getting anything out of. Smoke was probably my favorite character because she was the one who kept everything real. She always told it like it was.  Blanca finds Smoke, who is in the possession of a mind bending play: The King In Yellow. Anyone who consumes too much of the text are often driven mad, however, taken in doses, it is said to ignite passion and ecstasy. Since poor Blanca is co...
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Review: Bonehead by Mo Hayder

About a year ago, I read “The Treatment” by Mo Hayder and it destroyed me. I’m not just saying that. It was, in fact, incredibly brutal and disturbing. I’m talking pedophilia, rape, incest, abuse of a disabled person etc. And the ending was merciless. So, when Bonehead came across my Facebook feed in the Books of Horror group, it piqued my interest immediately. The person who posted it had nothing but good things to say, so I went straight to my kindle to download it and well… it wasn’t available. Checked Audible, not available… Apparently, it is not available in the United States, period. And one thing about me is that, the harder it is to find, the MORE I want it.  Fast forward, I got it on eBay from a company in Canada and read it (yay). The story is about a woman who returns to her hometown where she is one of the few survivors of a horrific crash that occurred years prior. She hasn’t been able to get that night or what she saw, out of her mind. After receiving a picture of her...
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Review: Dial-Up and Die by P. J. Thorndyke

I finished reading Dial-up and die a couple days ago and I don’t know if it’s because I’m a millennial or what, but these creepypasta type stories get me every single time.  There is something truly unsettling about what we used to do on the internet colliding with reality. I don’t know about you, but I was 12 years old, in AOL chatrooms, talking to people I had NO business talking to. I mean, there weren’t really any rules that I remember. Obviously we knew not to talk to strangers and give out personal info, but on the internet, we felt invisible didn’t we? I know I did. But thinking back on all that, I feel lucky as hell. I mean ANYTHING could have happened. Remember that movie, “Megan is Missing”? THAT was terrifying. If you haven’t seen it then do so, expeditiously.  The book follows a group of friends who, one by one, die mysteriously. I mean, these high schoolers were all up in the internet. Playing games, chatting, hacking, sharing stories, investigating websites and c...
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