media update: October

In honor of spooky season, I only watched horror movies this month!  I was originally going to read only horror books as well, but that proved much harder to do.

Asterisks denote something I particularly enjoyed or found especially worthy of my time; double asterisks are reserved for the creme de la creme.  As always, your mileage may vary.

When applicable, this page will be continually updated so I can provide feedback for advance reader copies.  Receiving an ARC does not affect my reviews in any way.

FICTION

1. Death Valley* by Melissa Broder:  Grieving the health struggles of her father and husband, a woman goes to the desert.  She finds an enormous cactus, steps inside, and discovers...well, I won't spoil it.  Weird and wonderful.

2. When I'm Dead by Hannah Morrissey:  A teenage girl is brutally murdered, and while the medical examiner is investigating, her own daughter Chloe disappears...but is Chloe another victim or the perpetrator?

3. Bloom* by Delilah S. Dawson:  A "meet cute" between two women at a farmer's market turns, well, not so cute.  Lush romance collides with Grand Guignol in a way that'll make your head spin.  It's short (177 pages) but packs a punch.

4. Nowhere Like Home by Sara Shepard:  Lenna is exhausted by new motherhood, so when she receives a call from an old friend to visit a "mommune" in the desert that promises a like-minded community, she jumps at the chance.  However, Lenna has a dark secret in her past that threatens to come to light.  Deliciously twisty!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Penguin Group for the advanced reader's copy that I received in exchange for an honest review.  The book officially comes out on March 20, 2024.

2023 TOTAL SO FAR: 41

NONFICTION

1. The Woman in Me by Britney Spears:  The iconic singer discusses her meteoric rise to fame and how her fairytale life turned into a nightmare thanks to her wretched family (her parents, especially her father, will NOT see heaven) putting her into a conservatorship where she had no control over her money, her time, or even her own body.  I have a real soft spot for Britney and bump her songs on the regular.  I hope writing this book was cathartic for her and that she gets all the happiness she was denied for so long.

2023 TOTAL SO FAR: 5

MANGA/GRAPHIC NOVELS

1. Beauty and the Feast vols. 9-10 by Satomi U

2. Blood on the Tracks vols. 2-8 by Shuzo Oshimi

3. Matchmaker* by Cam Marshall

4. Roaming by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki

5. The Apothecary Diaries vols. 4-8 by Natsu Hyuuga and Nekokurage

6. My Lovey-Dovey Wife Is a Stone Cold Killer vol. 5 by Donten Kosaka

7. Clementine* vol. 2 by Tillie Walden

8. My Love Mix-Up! vol. 9 (final volume) by Wataru Hinekure and Aruko

2023 TOTAL SO FAR:  62 volumes of manga and 6 graphic novels

MOVIES

1. Re/member:  A group of Japanese high school students get trapped in a time loop and must piece together the corpse of a little girl before her ghost devours them.  Decently creepy.

2. Evil Dead Rise:  When her sister is possessed by demons, Beth must try to protect her nephew and nieces.  Gory fun.

3. Totally Killer*:  35 years after killing three teenage girls, the "Sweet Sixteen" killer claims another victim, and her devastated daughter (Kiernan Shipka, excellent) goes back in time to stop him.  Very clever and funny.

4. The Babysitter: Killer Queen*:  Two years after surviving a satanic cult, Cole must face them again in this funny horror comedy that's even better than the first one.

5. Fear Street 1994:  In a town cursed by a witch, a teenager and her friends battle supernatural forces.

6. Monster Inside: America's Most Extreme Haunted House:  A look inside McKamey Manor, a haunted house attraction so violent that it requires a 40-page waiver and has been accused of torture and ignoring withdrawal of consent.

7. Fear Street 1978:  A killer stalks Camp Nightwing in this followup to #5 on this list.  (Yes, I know that sounds confusing given the years, but it makes sense in context.)

8. Fear Street 1666:  The conclusion to the trilogy shows how the curse began...and how its victims hope to end it.

9. Talk to Me*:  A group of teenagers discover they can conjure the dead by using a mysterious embalmed hand; this proves to be a very bad idea.  Tense and surprisingly sad.

10. Scream VI*:  Four Ghostface survivors move to New York City in hopes of a fresh start, but of course it isn't that simple.  Lots of fun, with an especially good scene set in a subway train.

11. Piggy:  A mercilessly bullied teenager (Laura Galan, superb) watches in shock as her worst tormentors are kidnapped and must decide between telling the police or protecting the killer who seems to have a soft spot for her.

12. The Conference:  A group of coworkers on a team building retreat must battle a masked killer in this fun Swedish horror comedy.

13. The Boogeyman:  A family is terrorized by...well, you can guess.  Mediocre fare elevated by good performances.

14. The Ritual:  After a tragedy, four friends go hiking through the Swedish wilderness and run into a mysterious creature.

 2023 TOTAL SO FAR: 64