321. Promise Boys (2023) by Nick Brooks 1.5/5
Content Warning: Graphic racism, gun violence, murder. Moderate violence, alcoholism, classism. Minor sexual harassment, injury/detail.
Perfection. Excellence. Discipline. Murder.
As a big fan of YA thrillers, I thought I’d love this one, but unfortunately, that just wasn’t the case. It just never clicked for me and I was nothing but bored throughout. I did kind of enjoy some of the layout, when it seemed to be interviews of those surrounding the incident, but other than that, not much stood out. I also wasn’t a fan of the reveal. It could only be one of so many, and the person who did it was on my list.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan for the copy!
322. Out There Screaming (2023) edited by Jordan Peele 3/5
Content Warning: Graphic racism, body horror, death. Moderate addiction, gun violence, mental illness. Minor homophobia, mass/school shootings.
If there’s one thing I love, it’s Jordan Peele’s mind, so when I saw that this book was coming up and edited by him, I knew I had to get my hands on it! I’d describe it as an anthology of Black Mirror meets Jordan Peele short stories. In the forward, Peele even describes it himself as each author’s own Sunken Place from his directorial debut Get Out, and it’s exactly that! I’m never usually a big fan of short story collections, but I’m glad I gave this one a go. I loved seeing each author’s interpretation of what they see as Black Horror, and I’d really love to read more like this in the future!
Jordan Peele I love you!<3
Thank you to Picador for the copy!
323. The Graveyard Shift (2023) by Maria Lewis 4/5
In The Graveyard Shift, Maria Lewis (she/her) takes everything I love in a horror film and puts it into a book, so it’s more than fair to say that I loved it! It’s pretty much Scream in book form, and we all know how I feel about that film. I will admit, it took me a while to get into it for the sole reason being that I read it on my Kindle and I’ve not read an e-book in a while, but once I got into the groove of things, I could NOT put it down! I would highly recommend picking this up if you love thrillers, both on screen and on the page, as much as I do.
Thank you to Datura for the ARC!
324. The Villa (2023) by Rachel Hawkins 4.5/5
Content Warning: Graphic murder, child death, infidelity. Moderate drug use, toxic relationship, drug abuse. Minor miscarriage, suicide, pregnancy.
I started and finished this book in the space of one day. I can’t remember the last time I finished a book in a week, let alone a day, so I’m classing this one as an achievement on my end! I can safely say that this may easily be one of, if not my favourite, book I’ve read in 2023. Headline was ever so kind enough to send me a copy of The Villa way back in June leading up to its release, and I wish I’d gotten around to reading it a lot sooner than I did; it was amazing!
Thank you to Headline for the copy!
325. People to Follow (Nov ’23) by Olivia Worley 4/5
Content Warning: Graphic death, murder, alcohol. Moderate adult/minor relationship, gun violence. Minor panic attack/disorder, sexual assault, stalking.
Ten influencers. Ten secrets. One dead body.
No matter how old I get, I guarantee that I’ll always love a thriller intended for a younger audience. Don’t get me wrong, I do love an adult thriller, too, but YA ones are a lot easier to read than the former. People to Follow is Olivia Worley’s (she/her) debut novel, and it is such a good one. It’s so fast paced and well written; I literally could not put it down. Set on a private island, People to Follow is what I would describe Big Brother with murder, and it follows ten social media influencers as they are picked off one by one by whoever is behind the cameras. Yes, they thought they were starring in a new reality show to showcase the other side of social media, but their experience couldn’t be any further from what they expected.
I really look forward to reading more from Olivia in the future!
Thank you to Team BKMRK for the ARC!
326. Gorgeous Gruesome Faces (Nov ’23) by Linda Cheng 3/5
Content Warning: Graphic body horror, gore, suicide. Moderate torture, grief, sexual harassment. Minor bullying, cursing.
Win or die trying…
If there is one thing I’m loving lately, it’s what Team BKMRK are sending out to those on their PR list! I’m not a person who knows much, anything really, about Korean pop culture, but that wasn’t a problem when it came to reading Gorgeous Gruesome Faces, but it may be a bonus if you do. I’ll admit it, sometimes I turn to a book based on either the cover or the title, and in this case, it was both. I was intrigued by the title as I thought, what does a face need to consist of to be considered gorgeous yet gruesome? I know sometimes titles have very little to do with the actual plot of the book, but once you realise the meaning behind the title, you’ll commend Linda Cheng (she/her) on naming her book so appropriately.
Gorgeous Gruesome Faces is the first in a series which I am very much looking forward to reading in the future!
Thank you to Team BKMRK for the ARC!
All the love,
Jade x
Tea Stains and Book Spines 