Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark February 14, 2026 I went into Cruelly Yours expecting a book steeped in classic B-horror—the late-night movies and camp that made Elvira feel timeless. That part is there, but the book is far more interested in how Cassandra Peterson survived long enough to become Elvira in the first place. Much of the memoir focuses on her early years: struggling as an actress, working as a Vegas showgirl, and growing up […]
The Sea Gives Up The Dead February 14, 2026 The Sea Gives Up the Dead is frequently marketed as a creepy, supernatural, or dark fantasy collection, but readers expecting tension or unease may find it underwhelming. The book favors mood and emotional introspection over plot, and many of the stories feel more like brief sketches than fully developed narratives. While the prose is often lyrical, the characters are lightly drawn and rarely experience anything that feels consequential or transformative. This […]
Vagabond February 8, 2026 Vagabond is a genuinely enjoyable read, especially for fans of Tim Curry and his long, eclectic career. Curry’s recounting of his iconic roles is entertaining and often surprisingly warm, filled with plenty of name-dropping that never feels boastful. Instead, he comes across as deeply genuine and sincerely grateful for the people he’s met and the opportunities he’s been given the chance to take advantage of. My strongest critique of the book is simply that there isn’t […]
Episode 13 January 27, 2026 The Comfort of Unease Some stories don’t rely on jump scares or constant escalation. They sit with you. They pace the room. They let the silence stretch just long enough that you start filling in the gaps yourself. Episode Thirteen is one of those stories and I loved it. From the start, the novel reads like a well-executed found footage film — interviews, transcripts, recovered documents — all stitched together with intention. It’s a familiar […]
Before and Laughter January 26, 2026 Rational and Achievable Before and Laughter isn’t a joke book, though it’s written by a comedian. Instead, it’s something quieter and more surprising: a compact manual for living better, delivered in a voice that never talks down to you. What makes the book work so well is how approachable it is. Carr isn’t offering revolutionary new ideas or flashy self-help gimmicks. The advice here is timeless—almost frustratingly obvious in places—but that’s the point. These […]
This Thing Between Us January 25, 2026 Grief Without a Payoff This Thing Between Us is a book that left me thoughtful, but not entirely satisfied. It wasn’t quite what I expected, and that gap between expectation and execution shaped my experience more than anything else. At its strongest, the novel offers sharp observations about grief. Moreno presents it not as a process with a clear endpoint, but as something invasive and consuming. Grief here lingers, isolates, and quietly reshapes […]
Mr. Magic January 18, 2026 When Horror Preaches Itself To Death There is a version of Mr. Magic that should have been perfect for me. A half-forgotten children’s television show from the 1980s. Damaged former child actors. Missing tapes. The uncanny feeling that something once comforting was quietly poisonous. On paper, this is pure fantasy gold. In practice, it felt like sitting through a lecture disguised as a lame episode of “Are you afraid of the Dark”. The story itself […]
Monsters at Midnight January 3, 2026 Monsters at Midnight is an uneven but revealing short-story collection—one that ultimately feels more like a document of growth than a fully realized whole. The book starts very poorly, with the first quarter bordering on insufferable. That rough opening makes it difficult to stay engaged, but there is a clear reason to keep going: the stories are arranged chronologically, and Clausen’s improvement as a storyteller becomes increasingly obvious as the collection progresses. One recurring […]
I went into Unsweetened somewhat blind. I knew Jodie Sweetin had struggled with substance abuse, but outside of the occasional tabloid headline at a supermarket checkout, I’d never paid much attention to her personal life. It just wasn’t on my radar. I did, however, grow up loving Full House. No matter how saccharine sweet it got, I always enjoyed the episodes, and I especially liked reading some of the behind-the-scenes stories in If You Would Have Told Me by John […]
I have a real affinity for stories that play with liminal spaces — places where geometry doesn’t quite make sense — so I was genuinely excited to dive into The No-End House. I was hoping for a classic haunted house tale or maybe something leaning into the psychological horror of A Short Stay in Hell. What I got instead was a rushed story about uninteresting characters encountering midget Nazis (yes, really), dinosaurs, stolen kidneys, and Jason Voorhees. Absurd and implausible […]
thedorianroark
