Horror

Out of Air

by Rachel Reiss

coming May 13, 2025

(3.5 / 5)

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the free review copy of Out of Air! All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and voluntary.

Five scuba diving friends make a huge discovery while on a trip to Australia, but maybe some things are best left alone.

Out of Air brings us to the underwater world of scuba diving, which was captivating and different. There were some great descriptions of the diving experience and the sea life the characters encountered. The book had an eerie and mysterious atmosphere to it that also took on more of a horror feel as the story progressed. We’re actually following 2 different points in time: present day where the group discovers an underwater cave, and about 6 months prior when they made a different discovery. It was interesting how it all interconnected. I did sometimes feel like the main character, Phoebe, didn’t react to certain things in a way that matched the circumstances, which felt a bit off to me. The horror elements weren’t something I enjoyed a ton, but admittedly it’s not a genre I usually read. I felt like a lot of the questions I had weren’t answered by the end, though I suppose that adds to the intrigue and mystery of it all.

Your Blood, My Bones

By Kelly Andrew

Coming soon on April 2, 2024

(3.5 / 5)

It’s been 5 years since Wyatt left Willow Heath, her father’s homestead farm, and her childhood friends, James and Peter. Now Wyatt is 18, her father has passed, and she has inherited the farm. She returns with only the intention to burn it to the ground, until she finds Peter, imprisoned in the cellar. Now she must face her past and present, as the farm holds far more sinister secrets than she ever imagined.

This book was one that I have very mixed feelings about. On one hand, there were parts that felt drawn out or more confusing than they needed to be. We have the present-day timeline, along with memories from the past, and sometimes it was hard to tell when something was happening or exactly how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. On the other hand, this book kept me wanting to read it, sitting for hours at a time. I really liked the writing, with fantastic descriptions and an overall unique feel to it. It was a blend of many genres – young adult, romance, fantasy, horror. At times I felt the vocabulary was a bit advanced for young adult, but again, this generally didn’t feel like a typical YA story. While not necessarily packed with action, the story held an eerie and mysterious feel throughout.

Thank you to Scholastic, Scholastic Press and NetGalley for the free review copy of Your Blood, My Bones. Opinions expressed in my review are completely my own.

February 12, 2024 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Horror Kindle Romance Young Adult 0

The Invocations

By Krystal Sutherland

Coming soon on January 30, 2024

(3.5 / 5)

The Invocations is a young adult fantasy story that dives into the occult, witchcraft and demons in the modern world while also trying to solve a murder mystery. It follows three 17-year-old girls, Zara (who is looking for a witch to help her resurrect her sister), Jude (who is suffering from a bad invocation) and Emer (an invocation writer). I was a bit unsure if I would like these characters in the beginning, but I liked them more as I learned more about them and their situations. I found Zara to be the hardest to relate to since I didn’t understand her obsession with raising the raising the dead. Jude turned out to be my favorite character.

I enjoyed the writing style of this author, with great descriptions and a lot of complexity to the characters and occult practices. I don’t typically read horror books, so this one was a bit more gruesome than I’m used it, but I wouldn’t call it scary. At times the story felt a bit slow and drawn out, but I felt like the second half of the book had a better pace and definitely had a lot more action. About halfway through the book, I started to have a hunch about who was behind the murders, and I mostly turned out to be right. I was a little disappointed that I was able to figure it out so early on, though there were still some surprises along the way.

I think that my biggest dislike about the book is that it has a very anti-male feel to it. Men are considered aggressive, abusive, etc, which is why women need the invocations to protect themselves. Given, many of the women in the story faced abusive or terrible situations, but I think the story was a bit too extreme in portraying men as evil and something women had to fear. I’m all for strong female characters, but this book took it farther than I would have preferred.

Thank you to BookishFirst and Penguin Teen for the free copy of The Invocations in return for my honest review.