Dear Readers, May was a great month for reading. I read all 6 books on my TBR for the month. I read 2 horror, 1 crime, and 2 historical fiction. I Read 3 books from a book series Goosebumps Beware the Snowman book 51 in the original series only 12 left in the series, City of Dreams book 2 in Danny Ryan trilogy, and Ultimate Spiderman volume 1. I read four 4-star books, and two 3-star books. 

Four Star Reviews:

Parasite by Darcy Coates is a science fiction horror that takes place on different space stations. Each time the reader goes to a different space station the reader and the people aboard the space station know a little bit more about the enemy which is a plant-based lifeform that can borrow the skin and mimic the human they have just killed. This leads to a lot of mistrust and suspicion just amongst regular humans not infected. This novel is intense as each station is a fight for human life thrill ride. The premise reminds me of John Carpenter’s The Thing mixed with Aliens, where the thing is a threat but the biggest threat is paranoia from humans. The novel works as a series of vignettes since each station is its own story but also works as a larger story by way of knowledge. We follow 5 different women on space stations with different job titles one is a captain while another is the lowest person on the space station. The women portrayed all have inner strength even if they don’t realize it. The characters are different and each own individual. The stories are all paced very well, there was only one story that took me a while to get into as the lead character is an asshole (self-admitted) and takes a bit to warm up to but by the end, I was very invested in the story. I will say it was pretty bold of Darcy Coates to tell a completely different story with a whole new set of characters each time, but every time by the end of the story I was invested. I would like to think Netgalley and Poisoned Press Books for a free copy in exchange for a review. I read this as part of the rerelease. Parasite was first published on August 6, 2016.

Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis is a debut historical fiction with paranormal happenings taking place in 1866 Paris. The tone is gothic. The theme evolves around a fairytale about two sisters the good one who spit gold and the bad one who spit frogs. The book makes you go back to forth on who is the good and bad sister. The book is told from two perspectives the older sister and the younger sister. This novel has a huge twist that changes the narrative that I liked. For a debut Spitting Gold is paced fairly well. There is a fair bit of repetition that was not needed, which slows the second half of the book down, but I was intrigued enough with what was going on that it didn’t hurt too bad. This novel has some good LGBTQ characters that were interesting in the time setting. The gothic and paranormal elements worked well. Since the two sisters are pretending to be mediums I found the tricks they used fascinating and seemed very plausible. The novel is half Nightmare Alley and half Wuthering Heights. I read Spitting Gold thanks to Netgalley’s spotlight on debut artists. Thanks to Netgalley and Atria books for a free copy in exchange for a review. Spitting Gold was published on May 14, 2024.

Beware, the Snowman by R.L. Stine is book 51 in the Goosebumps Original Series order. This book is scarier than most because it lets the fear and the unknown build up. What is really in the cave? Is it friend or Foe? The story works great because no character knows the full story of what is in the cave, but everyone adds a piece to the mystery. Beware, the Snowman has one of the better paces of a Goosebumps story. The scares in this story are fear of getting eaten by a wolf, fear of getting lost in the snowy tundra, fear of the unknown, and fear of creepy snowmen with facial scars. The ending is a little all over the place and has a plot that only R.L. Stine can make sense of. The story has a lot of heart in it and I was a little bit moved by the end. This story doesn’t have a final twist and ends with more of a chuckle. 

Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 1: Power and Responsibility by Brian Michael Bendis is a new way of telling Spiderman’s origin story with a lot of teenage angst. If you know the Spiderman origin you will appreciate the changes, if you don’t know the origin by heart then you might not notice the changes since they are slight. One big change is Uncle Ben stays around longer and you get a feel for Uncle Ben and Aunt May’s relationship. Another change is about Norman Osborn who doesn’t have to figure out who Spiderman’s secret identity is but knows it from the start. In this version seeing how the spider bite has affected Peter Parker inspires him to do what eventually leads him to be the Green Goblin. The Green Goblin is the biggest change so far, where it is not just a man in a mask but a serum that changes Norman Osborn’s physical makeup and turns him into a goblin-like creature. Norman Osborn hates his son Harry Osborn there is no tough love in this version he tries to kill and hates him from the start. This volume is all about Spiderman’s origin and about him choosing to be good instead of not caring.

Three Star Reviews:

Last House by Jessica Shattuck is a historical family drama involving the environment and oil from the 1950s to the present day. The novel is about family secrets and coverups but manages to do it all for love. The Last House serves as both a metaphor and a psychical house. It is the house that gets the family through the storm of secrets and lies also a literal storm. The house is called the Last House due to the precious land owner with the last name Last built the house and land around it as a last refuge, which the next generation will use as well. The book is a little all over the place at times, when the plot is focused the book is great. The book switches focus from oil to family then at the end works hard to connect them. I wanted a lot more consistency throughout the novel to nail the concept. The story tells multiple generations of the Taylor family and how they have changed throughout the years. This book had the worst transitions to next generation characters I’ve ever read. The perspectives of the family change with each generation, but it switches before we can even get to know the characters through a father or mother’s eyes. The book is best when it is in the 1950’s writing about a slice of life. Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for letting me read Last House in exchange for a review. Last House was published on May 14, 2024.

City of Dreams by Don Winslow is the follow-up novel to City of Fire and the second book in the Danny Ryan trilogy. In the last novel, I said I felt the novel was an ode to Elmore Leonard, this book was no longer an ode it felt like Elmore Leonard wrote the whole Hollywood chapter, it was very reminiscent of Get Shorty and Be Cool. I would recommend you read the first book before you read this book there’s a little bit of catch-up, but the first book had too many characters and they don’t catch you up on everyone. This book could be called Gangsters Have Family Problems Too. Whereas in the Gangster world, you can get killed over petty squabbles. This book made some interesting choices, but I hate that it made the smartest character from the first book Danny Ryan make such a stupid mistake, and that it went on for so long. The pacing of the book is rapid fast, the only slow part were the Hollywood chapters.