Book Review – ‘Wilder Girls’ by Rory Power

Boarding school girls under quarantine from a virus that changes your body into something else.

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, LGBQTIA+, horror

No. of pages: 357

It’s been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty’s life out from under her.

It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don’t dare wander outside the school’s fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.

But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there’s more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true.

I was glad to hear there is a possibility of a sequel forthcoming, because we don’t get a lot of answers surrounding the myth and history of the world of Raxter, just a small personal history of one of our protagonists – Hetty. Hetty comes across as the ‘born yesterday’ trope, so she is a great protagonist as an introduction to elements the girls at the Raxter boarding school face with some sort of biological outbreak putting the school into isolation. It’s only in the last third of the novel that we start to see her gather her wits and courage to follow her instincts rather that going with the flow. Her questioning the status quo is what really sees the plot revealing itself.

The second POV is from Hetty’s best friend Byatt. Byatt is more gutsy, more head strong, and I feel the narrative only followed her to reveal some plot points because once that job was done, there really wasn’t much use for her perspective. Though she was a great motivator for Hetty.

Reese is Hetty’s love interest and the third member that rounds out this trio of a friendship group. Hetty’s father was the groundskeeper of the Raxter boarding school and a permanent resident of the island. So Reese has intimate knowledge of the islands ins and outs (and secrets.) Reese is the lens that Hetty starts to come to terms with her feelings and burgeoning sexuality. The voice of reason.

The biological outbreak on the island is called the Tox and seems to morph the biology of whatever it infects with elements of other biological organisms – hence the body horror. Parts of the residents of the Raxter School for Girls are taking on characteristics of other things – that is if the Tox doesn’t kill them outright. The Army and CDC are working for a cure offsite and dropping in supplies to help the school survive. The remaining teachers and girls have to gate themselves in the grounds of the school because infected wildlife on the island have now become aggressive and dangerous. Every day is a fight for survival waiting for a cure… or for the Tox to take them down in an agonising death.

I’m conflicted about the girls reaction to death: on the one hand they are dealing with so much they are in shock or suffering a form of PTSD, of the fact of what they have gone through has desensitised them to death, loss, and grief. It’s a hard one to judge – I think a sequel will help me form a better opinion on this and how the author sees the character handling such heavy events.

Rory Power’s writing style is alluring, succinct, and resonant, echoing the horrific and beautiful tone of ‘Wilder Girls.’ I wouldn’t say this is a horror per se, but it has elements of body horror that make your skin crawl.

I really enjoyed my time reading ‘Wilder Girls,’ though the story line is fairly simple and it took a long time for the plot to move forward. There is a lot of space setting up tone, character relationships, character development, and ambience… which I felt slowed down the pace more than necessary. ‘Wilder Girls’ has the feel of a Gothic horror, without being a gothic horror – just in the cadence it is written.

There are a number of seeds planted in the plot that weren’t resolved, that I’m hoping we’ll get to in the sequel(s) – I feel like the story only just got going when ‘Wilder Girls’ ended. I feel I would have rated this higher if I got more of that satisfaction at the end. There were just too many unanswered questions.

I won’t say the story was all that predictable, I mean I had my hunches and they sort of came about, but there was plenty of surprise and mystery to impress me and draw me further into the narrative.

I strong recommendation from me – the writing style alone is enough for me to be shoving this into my friends hands.

Overall feeling: An atmospheric read with elements of body horror

© Casey Carlisle 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Book Review – ‘The Unleashed’ (#2 The Haunted) by Danielle Vega

A teen ‘Supernatural’ set in a tiny country town…

Genre: Y/A, horror, paranormal

No. of pages: 272

Hendricks discovers that even though Steele House is gone, the hauntings in Drearfield are far from over — and it’s up to her to stop them.

Following the devastating blaze at Steele House, Hendricks and her friends are trying to return to normal. Prom is coming up and the school is in full preparation mode. Hendricks tries to pitch in, to mimic Portia’s enthusiasm, but the events of the last few months still haunt her. Steele House. Raven. Eddie.

Hendricks believes Eddie is still out there. She just has to find a way to reach him. Together with her friends, she forms a circle of seven and attempts to summon his spirit. Suddenly things start happening again. Flickering lights in the school library. Mysterious girls roaming the halls. The same song playing on a loop wherever she goes.

It all culminates in a violent attack and Hendricks realizes what they summoned may not be Eddie at all. The one thing she does know is that Steele House was only the beginning. And whatever they’ve unleashed is more dangerous than anything they’ve ever seen before.

Danielle Vega has quickly become one of my cherished authors – an auto-buy – with her spooky and suspenseful stories that play out like campy horror flicks in your mind’s eye. I just can’t get enough of them. ‘The Unleashed’ is book two following ‘The Haunted’ where we wonder are ghosts really laid to rest, or is there more to the story…

A few frustrating things that are common sense that didn’t happen in the plot… why weren’t parents or another grown-ups told/involved. If my child was behaving the way the main characters were, I’d be inserting myself into the drama no matter what. The other thing… why didn’t anyone search how to protect yourself from ghosts? A circle of salt, or iron filings? Hendricks felt a little too dumb – then just as I was thinking that, she got herself some protection. But I felt like I’d been arguing with the characters for the last five chapters.

After the halfway mark the pacing ramps up big time. I read this book in two sittings anyway, so it is a quick read, but it was hard to put the book down. Danielle knows how to write a YA horror that feels like you are watching a Netflix movie. It has all the same notes as what is typical for this genre. It’s like a cult favourite read of mine. But in saying that, some readers might find this formulaic. It’s just a matter if you want some campy, scary fun, or an original dark tale that will leave you unsettled for months. Either way, Danielle knows how to craft action, an eerie vibe, and moves the story along without getting side-tracked with indulgent prose. Perfect for this demographic.

It was fun meeting the characters again from ‘The Haunted’ and the aftermath of the events that took place in that debut for the series. But I didn’t get the sense of a lot of character development. It didn’t feel as emotional. We do get some great arcs and practical handling of the surviving teens from ‘The Haunted’ which I appreciated.

Some of the side characters did not rally get the chance to shine in the narrative, which was a shame, I was really getting into the book and wanted to see a variety of reactions to the events that take place. Sometimes their actions were a little too convenient… and others, just plain stupid; which is a trope in this genre.

Danielle has become an auto buy author for me, she has a great writing style that is generally not that predictable and told with a tongue-in-cheek sarcasm I find appealing. Definitely recommend even if it did not feel like the strongest novel in her catalogue.

There were a number of grammatical issues that were overlooked where it appeared like an AI had auto-corrected the spelling of a word, but it was the incorrect one in context, disappointing for me. Razorbill really dropped the ball on this one with Danielle because it was more than just a few instances.

On a side note the Epilogue for ‘The Unleashed’ was totally endearing and well worth the read. I hope there is more of this series to come in the future.

Overall feeling: Spooky-ooky goodness!

© Casey Carlisle 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

#bookquotes

A book about the long lasting effects of grief

#bookporn

Oh how a single word labelling a person can cause so much trouble. Women tearing each other down, jealousy, feeling threatened, or plain old sexism. I’m glad to see many replacing this word with #GirlBoss.

Book Review – ‘Final Girls’ by Riley Sager

Three girls survive separate serial killers – and now they are connected by a new murderous threat.

Genre: Y/A, Thriller, Mystery,

No. of pages: 340

Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet.

Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.

That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.

This was a thrilling and interesting read. I wasn’t quite sold on ‘Final Girls’ because I had difficulty relating to the protagonist, and she was always doing irrational things – stupid behaviour typical of pulp horror movie classics. In that way, ‘Final Girls’ is an entertaining homage to the genre; but for me, it was simply frustrating. I like my heroines intelligent, aware, and proactive. Quincy came across as volatile, reactive, and whiny.

It was on the cusp of being predictable – maybe because I’d already heard there was a twist, so I was really paying attention to the narrative. I wouldn’t say I predicted the ending, but I definitely pegged the murderer in my top two suspects… though the backstory to how this came about was a complete surprise. So Riley Sager definitely got me a good one. I have to admit his writing skills are right up there with the best. He can craft tension, suspense, and a reveal with expertise.

I already mentioned that Qunicy was not my favourite protagonist. It was like if she had just taken a step back and followed some common sense, most of this book would not have happened – which feels like a flimsy plot device for ‘Final Girls.’ It feels like this did a disservice to Sager’s writing, because he clearly has the chops to construct engaging prose.

Jeff, Quincy’s husband, really felt superfluous to the plot, I even found myself questioning why he was in the book in the first place. He did not feel like her husband, but merely a plot device.

Sam was wrong from the start – again a lot of frustration blossomed because of her character, and on the surface, she did not match the profile of a final girl… and this was dragged through the entirety of the novel. We do get some development of her character through conversations and Quincy’s research, but I feel like we should have gotten a more realised character in the beginning. It would have provided much more impact when sequential reveals happen later.

Coop was a really interesting character and I liked the tension built between him and the other characters.

There was a lot of jumping around the timeline through repressed memories resurfacing and flashbacks in conjunction with the current timeline, I’m not usually a fan of this storytelling device, amnesia is such a tired device, but it framed the plot really well. Though there was a bit too much compartmentalisation going on for me. Quincy intentionally kept her memories, and the people in her life, apart… which was another source of my frustration.

This many-times-mentioned frustration was good and bad. Good, in that is kept me interested and eager to uncover the truths behind my suspicions; and bad in that some plausibility was on flimsy ground.

I loved the concept of ‘Final Girls’ it had me enrapt from the first page and I am keen to read more from Riley Sager, he really knows how to exude atmosphere from the page. There was a reveal in every chapter, so the pacing was set at a cracking pace from start to finish.

Compelling read I recommend to all. On a side not, with Universal Studios having optioned this title for a film. I’m looking forward to how this story translates to the big screen.

Overall feeling: idiocy and jump scares galore…

© Casey Carlisle 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

#bookquotes

I’ve heard great things about ‘The Deep‘ – like a Stephen King horror underwater… this subject matter will definitely have me ill-at-ease. Right up there as one of my greatest fears, trapped deep underwater in the dark, feeling the crush of pressure, running out of air, and knowing there is something menacing in the pitch waiting to eat you.

What’s your greatest fear come to life in a book?

Book Review – ‘The Boy on the Bridge’ (#2 The Girl With all the Gifts) by M.R. Carey

A great companion piece for fans of ‘The Girl With All The Gifts.’

Genre: Y/A, science Fiction, Dystopian, Horror

No. of pages: 400

Once upon a time, in a land blighted by terror, there was a very clever boy.

The people thought the boy could save them, so they opened their gates and sent him out into the world.

To where the monsters lived.

This was a romantic conclusion to the duology. ‘The Boy on the Bridge’ loosely mirrors the debut in the series. An intelligent teen taken under the wing of a scientist and educated as what is left of this dystopian world eagerly scrambles to find a cure for the Hungry plague.

I feel more accurately ‘The Boy on the Bridge’ is a companion novel rather than a sequel as the timelines overlap. ‘The Boy on the Bridge’ takes place a little before ‘The Girl With All The Gifts’ but also manages to pick up after so that you can conclude characters journeys from both novels. The writing style here is excellent, I really envy M.R. Carey’s wordcraft. However, I did not feel as driven with my reading experience. The narrative jumps perspectives with every chapter and the pacing was slow. We do get plot points in each chapter, but there was an element of intrigue or desperation that was missing for me. It did not get interesting until after the half way point, and even then the pacing was only at a clipped pace. There was no cinematic culmination.

Having said that, though, ‘The Boy on the Bridge’ pays off on fan service. It has all the elements from the first novel. I was hoping for some new insights regarding the Cordyceps fungus infecting the world and zombie-fying all of humanity, but alas, no maas. What we get is another road trip comprising of military and scientific personnel, and a wayward teen who is emotionally stunted. I feel awful saying that because the teen Stephen ‘The Robot’ Greaves is on the autism spectrum and somewhat of a savant. I only say it in that manner to illustrate strong parallels to that of Melanie from ‘The Girl With All The Gifts.’ It stopped me from forging a strong emotional connection to the protagonists – that continual switching of points of view and the emotional unavailability of the main character – it was too distant. So when something shocking did happen, I just rolled with the punches, not even an inkling of a sigh, gasp, or tear.

I really like this duology, its desolate tone, a world evolving and scratching for survival. I appreciated Carey’s writing and look forward to tackling another of his titles.

Overall feeling: Damn girl, that’s pretty good.

© Casey Carlisle 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Book Review – ‘The Living’ (#3 Warm Bodies) by Isaac Marion

The end to the saga – even if it did feel like it jumped genres.

Genre: Y/A, Dystopian, Horror

No. of pages: 433

Before he was a flesh-eating corpse, R was something worse. He remembers it all now, a life of greed and apathy more destructive than any virus, and he sees only one path to redemption: he must fight the forces he helped create. But what can R, Julie, and their tiny gang of fugitives do against the creeping might of the Axiom Group, the bizarre undead corporation that’s devouring what’s left of America?

It’s time for a road trip.

No more flyover country. This time they’ll face the madness on the ground, racing their RV across the wastelands as tensions rise and bonds unravel—because R isn’t the only one hiding painful secrets. Everyone is on their own desperate search: for a kidnapped daughter, a suicidal mother, and an abused little boy with a gift that could save humanity… if humanity can convince him it’s worth saving.

All roads lead home, to a final confrontation with the plague and its shareholders. But this is a monster that guns can’t kill. A battle only one weapon can win…

This was definitely an interesting read and conclusion to the Warm Bodies series. We follow R and Julie across America, waking up zombies, avoiding Boneys, The Fire Church, and Axiom; desperate to find a place to call home with all the members of their assembled family.

We get a lot of secrets from the casts past uncovered. Find answers around the formation of the two (three) struggling power regimes. And a strong undercurrent of philosophical conversations on living.

I started this but it did not grab my attention straight away the tone of the novel feels more philosophical and waxing the poetic than in the previous novels in this series. Also the changing in perspective at the start instead of picking up with R had me scrambling a little. I ended putting this down after 50 pages to read a few other novels before returning.

While I loved the more ‘woke’ tone of ‘The Living’ in comparison to the debut ‘Warm Bodies,’ this is a complete departure in writing style and narrative form. ‘Warm Bodies’ was a satirical love story with an element of the mystical; and ‘The Living’ is a collection of differing points of view, omnipotent, the living, and Nearly Dead alike. The structure felt a little scattered, and the frequent mental posturing over the current state of the world, or a characters inner thoughts, or that of whatever presence is included in this narrative, pushes this finale away from that YA demographic. ‘The Living’ is such a different creature. So, nearly all the elements that had me falling in love with this series at the beginning were sparse in the conclusion. I guess this is more an observation of the author, Isaac Marion’s journey as a writer, than on the franchise. He’s maturing and exploring a more thoughtful writing style.

We see R and Nora get some great character arcs, and the rest of the group get resolution to their storylines. As epic as the ending scene was, it still gave the impression of going out on a whimper rather than a bang. But it gives great hope for a possible future. I found myself wishing for something more resolute in the writing. Less touchy-feeling and more grounded in a physical/scientific parallel; or heck, even a frank conversation to plainly and definitively summarize what the eff happened. It’s what we expect of a dystopian novel. It’s based in theoretical science in its core. So I was disappointed I did not get that resounding thump at the end.

Because of the scattered nature of the storyline, jumping from place to place, perspective to perspective, it was hard to predict where the story was going. Intuitively I knew they would have to resolve the mystery of the zombie apocalypse and uncover the main casts pasts, bringing them together in some sort of epic battle, but there wasn’t a strong enough thread in the narrative. I feel like ‘The Living’ needed an edit from someone who loved ‘Warm Bodies’ so this series concludes in the same vein as it starts. Also for this reason, the pacing of ‘The Living’ also feels really slow. I have to admit, it was a difficult book for me to get through.

While I like the themes in ‘The Living’ I’m of two minds in recommending it because it is such a departure from ‘Warm Bodies.’ I think this is more a book only for the hard-core fans, and those wanting resolution to the franchise.

On a side note, I bought a hardcopy from the author, and while it is an attractive book, great cover art, binding design and illustrations for chapter titles; this book was heavy. The paper stock thick, nearly like card, I had difficulty holding the book up to read. So while it may look and feel great, my copy was physically awkward to read.

I’m glad I got to the finale of this franchise and now am eagerly awaiting to hear more news on the development of the television series. I’d be interested to see what treatment it gets, and an interpretation of R and Julie’s post-apocalyptic world.

Overall feeling: I liked it but…

© Casey Carlisle 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Book Review – ‘The Merciless IV : Last Rites’ (#4 The Merciless) by Danielle Vega

Lots of spooky old villages, catacombs, and demon possession.

Genre: Y/A, Horror

No. of pages: 290

The ropes tighten on Berkley Hubbard’s wrists. Blood drips down her fingers and lands with a smack on the cold floor of the church basement. She’s trapped, bound, and petrified by fear. A knife punctures her fragile skin as Berkley’s captors search for the mark of the devil on her body. They say they want to save her–drive the devil away and cleanse her soul–but will she make it out alive?

When Berkley arrived in Italy a week ago, the last thing she expected was that she’d end up fighting for her life. After spending six months at the Institute, confined to a room with the dangerous-yet-alluring Sofia Flores, Berkley was certain that a vacation in Italy with her two best friends would be the perfect getaway. But Berkley is hiding a terrible secret, one that threatens to undo everything. As she’s forced to face her wicked past, she learns that the devil is always watching, and no one is coming to save her.

This one felt like it took a while to get anywhere. But ended with a bang. I liked the twist/message at the end, kind of like a warning to mean girls everywhere. The devil is watching.

I was a little lost with this one, it had been so long since I read the previous books in the series, and trying to place where it existed in the timeline and how it related to the other characters had me going over my old reviews. But this is another horror story following a different protagonist (Berkley) in the same universe as the rest of the novels.

Sofia does make an appearance, which delighted me no end.

‘The Merciless IV : Last Rites’ took a long time to get going. All of Daniele Vega’s past novels have been fast paced and quick to build up intrigue, but this one felt slow for most of the way through. I also got really frustrated with Berkley’s decisions just about all the way through.

While the ending was brilliant Vega fare, the rest of this book, and Berkley as a protagonist had me rubbing at my face in frustration. A great way to plot out the end of the franchise, and a masterful tone to wrap up the conclusion. But it did not feel as strong as any other of Vega’s titles. There didn’t feel like there was anything particularly new.

The plot is simple. I didn’t get any camp horror fare. I predicted the whole story very early on, and because the pacing was so slow I didn’t get any of the fun stuff until the last few chapters. This read like a television episode rather than a cinematic culmination to The Merciless collection.

The setting of the novel was well done though. I enjoyed the mythology but I felt like there were so many missed opportunities to add in a scare or creep out the reader/Berkley.

This could easily be read as a standalone, and I’m on the fence recommending it. You get to revisit some familiar characters, and loved the note it ended on, but it’s not as good as its predecessors. Maybe I’ll just leave this for Vega fans.

Overall feeling: Underwhelming

© Casey Carlisle 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

#bookporn #coverlove

RED. I was feeling bold and wanting to embrace colour, so I chose a selection of books from my shelves with prominently scarlet covers… what’s your favorite pick?