I find that I do a lot more reading in the winter months when it's cold and wet outside with fewer activities to do. My happy place is a cozy living room next to the fire with lots of pillows and blankets to read whatever I want for as long as I want. Overall, I'm really happy with how much reading I got to do this month, since I also visited my parents for Thanksgiving weekend and started a new job. The stack of books I borrowed at the beginning of October is slowly shrinking (and just in time, because I'm starting to run out of renewals lol). But don't worry! There are still some good ones in store for next month. If you have any recommendations though, I'm always looking to beef up my TBR list!
Table of Contents
Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
People Like Us by Dana Mele
Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather
Years ago, Old Earth sent forth sisters and brothers into the vast dark of the prodigal colonies armed only with crucifixes and iron faith. Now, the sisters of the Order of Saint Rita are on an interstellar mission of mercy aboard Our Lady of Impossible Constellations, a living, breathing ship which seems determined to develop a will of its own.
When the order receives a distress call from a newly-formed colony, the sisters discover that the bodies and souls in their care—and that of the galactic diaspora—are in danger. And not from void beyond, but from the nascent Central Governance and the Church itself.
I read Sisters of the Vast Black and its sequel, Sisters of the Forsaken Stars, in about two and a half hours on a Wednesday morning. They are short but powerful, housing a common sci-fi theme in a whole new setting. As someone with plenty of unpleasant religious experiences in my past, I wasn't sure how I would feel about this series and its ensemble cast of nuns from diverse backgrounds. I was nervously expecting something proselytizing and self-righteous, but what I got was a variety of perspectives on devotion, belief, and the human capacity for compassion and kindness. Each sister has a different reason for being there - some from true religious devotion, some from the simple desire to make a difference, and some in search of atonement, hiding from the consequences and notoriety of past actions.
The relationship that each character has to the living ship that carries them through space is a thought provoking rumination on sentience and souls that I wish had been explored further (although it does feature lightly in a secondary storyline in the sequel). In general, I almost wish this were a single full length novel instead of two short novellas. I think the two books could have been connected and expanded to give us more action, more introspection, and more world building to really help us feel the horror of what Earth Central Governance is trying to do and the effect it has on all of humanity spread among the stars. I'll probably buy a copy of the first book, but I don't know if the second was interesting enough or thoughtful enough to merit permanent residence on my bookshelf.
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
In horror movies, the final girl is the one who's left standing when the credits roll. The one who fought back, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends. The one who emerges bloodied but victorious. But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on, what happens to her?
Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she's not alone. For more than a decade she's been meeting with five other actual final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette's worst fears are realized--someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again, piece by piece.
But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now, and no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up.
I haven't read any mysteries or thrillers recently, so this was a fun change of pace from the fantasy and sci-fi that has made up most of my recent reads. It was incredibly satisfying to see Lynnette's journey from a terrified recluse to someone who would put her life on the line for her 'sisters' - even if she doesn't necessarily like them. There's a great found family aspect to this story, multiple twists (including one I really didn't expect!), and a really great examination of what happens after the end credits of your favorite horror movies. The creep factor is definitely there, but the jump scares are somewhat lessened just by the nature of being on the page.
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania.
What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.
Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.
Based on Poe's Fall of the House of Usher, this novella was a creepy expansion of that short story. Since it had been many years (high school English seems so far away sometimes), I reread Poe's short story after finishing the book for comparison's sake. Kingfisher does an excellent job of capturing the forbidding manor house, its disconcerting appearance, and generally spooky atmosphere (as conveyed in Poe's writing) while expanding on the characters and events of the original.
Given the homoerotic themes of Poe's writing, I loved the interpretation of the point-of-view character, Kingfisher's Alex Easton, as a nonbinary soldier of Roderick Usher's former regiment, and I didn't feel that the brief explanation of Easton's fictional home country and the way pronouns worked there took anything away from the main story. The characters of Eugenia Potter and Easton's batman Angus were tasteful additions that provided depth and occasional comedic relief from the oppressive gloom of the house and its residents.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia
After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.
Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemí’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.
Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.
And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.
I picked up this one immediately after finishing What Moves the Dead because Kingfisher mentions it in the end notes and I had already borrowed it from the library. I almost wish I had waited a few weeks to read it though because after Kingfisher's novella, this one seems almost interminably long. It's a similarly forbidding house, and ultimately a fungus is the big bad (although in a different way from Kingfisher's more straightforward adaptation of Fall of the House of Usher). Moreno-Garcia does a beautiful job of building suspense as well as providing lush and vividly described locations and background characters. The way that Noemí's experiences gradually change her from a free-spirited social butterfly with commitment issues and reveal her steel will and devotion to family was very well written. Do be mindful of the trigger warnings if you pick this one up; there are somewhat graphic depictions of sexual assault.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.
When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.
However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie up some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.
I adored this one for the way it navigated gender identity in traditional Latin families. The way Yadriel's family magic works is beautifully constructed, and I related intensely to his struggle to be seen for who he really is in terms of taking on the mantle of brujo beyond just being called the right name or using the right pronouns and masculine adjectives for him. You can really tell that Thomas's personal experiences helped them write Yadriel, because it's just such a universal experience for trans people. I'm also obsessed with the gorgeous cover art (and promotional materials/merch designed by nonbinary artist Mars Lauderbaugh).
All the characters have distinct and endearing personalities. Maritza's boys are the sweetest, Julian's crew is a true chosen family, and there are just enough clues that you can probably identify the big bad in the pages leading up to the reveal and feel like an internationally renowned detective. I was incredibly relieved by the happy ending, and although I certainly wouldn't have faulted the author if they had chosen to go a very different direction with it, the sheer trans joy in the final chapter gave me alllll the warm fuzzy feelings.
People Like Us by Dana Mele
Kay Donovan may have skeletons in her closet, but the past is past, and she's reinvented herself entirely. Now she's a star soccer player whose group of gorgeous friends run their private school with effortless popularity and acerbic wit. But when a girl's body is found in the lake, Kay's carefully constructed life begins to topple.
The dead girl has left Kay a computer-coded scavenger hunt, which, as it unravels, begins to implicate suspect after suspect, until Kay herself is in the crosshairs of a murder investigation. But if Kay's finally backed into a corner, she'll do what it takes to survive. Because at Bates Academy, the truth is something you make...not something that happened.
A combination boarding school drama / murder mystery / high stakes scavenger hunt, People Like Us had me hooked from beginning to end. I binged this in a few short hours on Wednesday night just in time to count this towards my November reading list. The suspense is incredibly well done, and I didn't see the twist coming until right before the reveal. I thought all the characters were very interesting because none of them are particularly good or likable. These are vicious backstabbing high school girls who build social clout through cutting comments and mean-spirited 'pranks.' But just because they're not good or likable people doesn't mean they're not fascinating suspects in this teen murder mystery. You can really feel Kay falling apart mentally as the book progresses, unsure of what's true or false, who's a suspect and who's not, who actually cares about her and who's using her. I was not expecting the final reveal about the circumstances surrounding her best friend's suicide and brother's death and it really makes it more heartbreaking that she went through all of this on her own and kept so many secrets.
That's all for this month! I just signed up for the apps Libby and Hoopla through my local library, which give you free access to digital content like e-books, audiobooks, and magazine subscriptions, so I'm really looking forward to leveling up my reading game in December! (I'm not sponsored by anyone, but I do work at a library and also read like there's no tomorrow so anything that gives me free instant access to high quality e-books is a plus in my book.)
Have you read any of these books? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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