Downpour (First book of the year!)

(TW’s; Emotional abuse, infidelity, depression, violence and murder, minor sexual themes and situations, hinted domestic violence.)

While I can say honestly, I have never read any of the authors previous work - I can wholeheartedly promise that he’s earned a fan for life based on the brilliance that is Downpour.

The story is focused on Scott, a father struggling to keep his family together. When an apocalypse begins to take form in shape of a rainstorm, Scott still struggles to keep his family together - only in a different, more deadly, type of way. The storm and the obstacles Scott faces, at times, hint at allegory. The losing of the familiar is a press theme. His wife he recognizes for a woman as the woman he fell inlove with, before she slips away again into the woman who cheated. His dog a monster trying to attack the family, before becoming Wilbur - clumsy and loving. Scott, as a narrator is incredibly relatable and multifaceted, a man struggling with himself. It is in this way that he is also an unreliable narrator, as he is so deep in his own head that at times you see everything in the story in this sort of claustrophobic Scott-tinted lense that is reminiscent of the the pressure Scott himself faces. Is there actually a rainstorm? Is he actually protecting his children as he tells himself so much in his own head that he is, or has he just learned to relate pain and fear to love due to his own struggles with his father? As time goes on, the relatability of the main character sharpens to pinpoint bleakness. Scott is depressive yet thoughtful, who struggles to express himself in a way I deeply understood. The epitome of when you want to reach our but just can’t make yourself to, or even know how. Isolation in a crowd, or in this case, his family.

This is why, I was surprised I saw someone mention this story was plot driven - but I inherently disagree though it has aspects of plot drive as well. This story was full of characters so incredibly fleshed out, with their own wants, needs, desires, fears, who at times desperately misunderstood one another in ways real families do - with much dire consequences. In such a rampant plot driven story, this level of internal thought by the main character and reliability of the others - would’ve been gutted. But it was the exact opposite.

In terms of writing, the novel is so well described that it played out like a movie in my head the whole time - which made it 1000 times easier to immerse myself and finish it rather fast. The author’s prose is well practiced, defined but not too wordy - and it helps propel the story onwards in what would have otherwise been a bland one-setting area without the authors mastery of patience and horror. A lot of readers might underestimate the incredibly use of the same settings throughout the entire book, and although the novel is quite short, it takes its time to unveil the house room by room.

The story really plays with the idea of if it really is Scott’s delusion. The continuous battle of time and monotony. The ending, no spoilers of course, is unexpected in its own way - but I will warn by the end of this book you become so tremendously attached to these characters that it hurts to see them go - no matter their fates. It might’ve even been considered a happy ending to me. In its own, twisted way. All trauma long left behind

This book is perfect for those who are fans of psychological horror, body horror, and nature horror. It’s possibly the best book I’ve read this entire year. And I had no idea I could relate to a 30-40 year old man as a main character, with a family to take care of. But I did. I highly recommend this one.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author - for the honor of a free copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair review. Soon a copy of this review extended will be on my blog.

Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin

I was super excited to receive a ARC of this novel, and want to thank Celadon books and the author for the chance to review! This is my first time reading Alexis Schaitkin, and I was very impressed.

I have never been a fan of speculative fiction, but something about Schaitkin’s horror-esque writing drew me in, and in the end it did not disappoint. It is a story of love and loss, but most importantly a telling of the coming of age of its main character and narrator - Vera.

While the story starts off very slow, it picks up and doesn’t fail to let you down anymore. The author is very practiced with her prose, and storytelling. She never seems like she is slowing down the story for the sake of the prose, which is most important. However, the story itself can be confusing and it often left me lost. There is not a good sense of solid worldbuilding around Vera, making the reader turned around. It’s hard to relate to a main character so different, without much explanation as to her motives and the world around her.

However, though I am not a mother, you don’t know just HOW refreshing it was to read a story from a mom’s point of view and the struggle of motherhood. For a speculative fiction, it was very easy to digest and follow - which was nice. My only gripe is that I believe the story would have benefitted from a lot more structure and world building.

Feel free to check it out on Amazon!

Suburban Hell Review

TW; Gaslighting, light gore

Suburban Hell is a story of friendship and loss - and a good one at that. A horror with themes of friendship, family, and community - with a great framework created by someone who is natural of suburban life. It focuses on Amy, a mother of two married to the man of her dreams, in the town of her dreams. Living beside her three best friends, Liz, Melissa, and Jess. That is, until Liz starts acting weird, her hair begins falling out, and her nails fall off. In the dead of night, Amy sees her walking around the neighborhood - setting all the dogs off. Soon, Amy has to make a choice - save herself, or save her friend?

Suburban Hell sucked me in from its very first page, with the spooks starting from the very first page. This book was a VERY quick read for me, and I absolutely loved it all the way until the very last chapter. It was a breath of fresh air, and I got through it in under two days. The characters are intelligent, not the usual tree horror main’s are picked from. They’re thoughtful, well-written, and witty. This book falls more so under horror-comedy, and it made me laugh out loud multiple times while reading it. Not to mention the constant mention of MLM’s and Lululemon. It feels very present in its environment, and it’s clear that the author is experienced with suburban life. I felt as if I was stepping into Amy’s story, who was ever present in her own world as a mother in suburbia. Like I was interrupting a real world. However, despite this - some plot points made were redundant, and resulted in only disappointment as the climax reached its end. For instance, it is constantly mentioned that Amy is a social worker who hasn’t found a job - and it even goes into depth of her actively applying to one. Later on, she’s rejected - and it does NOTHING for th plot. In fact, the climax reached no real resolution. There’s only about 4 pages in between the character doubting herself, and her friends getting ready to move from town and leave them - to them actively performing an exorcism. That, by the way, and no similarities to a real exorcism, and in the end it doesn't matter. Because throwing wine on the spirit possessing Liz, and lighting her on fire seems to banish them. We have no idea why wine and fire worked, we are provided with no context for this beforehand - but it does. This lack of resolution is probably building to a sequel, but it was a cheap end to an otherwise great book. The end is too sudden, too abrupt to justify Amy sitting on her solutions for so long.

The author herself is a practiced writer, able to help you envision settings effortlessly. While the book lacks in prose, it makes up for in wit. It’s a fun book full of ouija boards, creepy kids, visions, and all those usual to the trope but with a different spin. It was nice to see a new type of character experience these tropes, with slightly different reactions. The author does not overwhelm you with information, rather lets it come to you naturally. It takes a good perspective on failure in adulthood, and I’d overall recommend it to anyone. Whether you like or dislike horror, I guarantee you will like Suburban Hell.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC