connorjdaley's reviews
1100 reviews

Cranberry Cove by Hailey Piper

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challenging mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Revived my book club this month, and luckily enough my suggestion got picked! 

This one was suggested for my Intro to Indie Horror + Representation post that I did in April under trans rep, and it has been on my radar since posting. Naturally I’m stoked it got to jump up my TBR with the book club selecting it. 

With that being said, I actually didn’t read the blurb, just went straight in. I was pleasantly surprised to head right into a supernatural mystery. Emberly and Conner are tasked with investigating a rather atypical circumstance that befell their boss’ son. And I absolutely loved the fact that they kind of were forced to become their own type of detectives. When a trip to Cranberry Cove turns up more questions than answers, Emberly is sent on a journey to unravel what’s inside. 

There’s something about the 2’s, and like room 217 at The Overlook, Cranberry Cove’s 2A is the latest haunted hotel room that will keep you up at night waiting for a knock. Why are only men attacked or disappearing? Where is the person or entity even coming from? 

I really enjoyed how the author made a point to spell out how their boss had gone out of his way to take care of Emberly’s needs, and to ensure that everyone treated her as the woman she was. Meanwhile the novella itself is tackling themes of toxic masculinity and gender ideas. Conner feels a need to ensure Emberly’s safety, however he doesn’t seem to understand that that feeling can come from caring, and not because he’s the man. And clearly Emberly is prepared to care for herself! 

A quick, spooky, and unique read. Worth checking out. 
Serpentus: A Relics of War Novel by A.J. Calvin

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The author sent me a very nicely signed paperback, and I’m lucky to have received it! This is a novel set within the author’s A Relics of War world, but it is a standalone story. 

The novel opens up to Owen, a knight of the five kingdoms, on the eve of battle. He is alone, with just the city guard to rally the defenses. The way this started made it compulsively readable, as I just had to know what was going to happen. The fact that the author then practically subverts the expectation with there being little to no opening action, was what I thought was a strange choice at first, but ended up being a hit. It leaves the reader on the edge of their seat for the remainder of the novel…a “when is the action finally happening” that was never far from the front of my mind. 

The Murkor, the race that was attacking, then turned saviors, add a dynamic to the novel I wasn’t expecting. The author makes you like them several times, through Owen and Aj’ana’s relationship for one example, to just keep reeling us back in with reminders of the humans’ captivity. I thought it was a unique display of Stockholm syndrome and how back and forth the process can be. The Murkor are not so free themselves, yet they are often complicit, while at other times they stick their necks out for the humans. It’s just the right blend to make you wonder the entire time. 

After a very unexpected left turn, that gives the novel its name of Serpentus, we finally have our fully built climax. The mental, physical, and emotional ties are all set perfectly, with Owen at the forefront of bearing them all. It adds a layer of humanity onto what may be considered a loss of it. And the action that follows certainly pays off as well. Gods, several races, and the righteousness of fighting for freedom, explode into a terrifying and personalized description of battle. 

I recommend everyone check this one out. Whether you are already a fan of the Relics of War trilogy, or a newbie like me, this one is well written and well done. 
Cutting Your Teeth by Caylan MacRae

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I received an audible code to judge for the Indie Ink Awards, so thanks to the author and organizers. Richard Pendragon’s narration was great and added to the overall enjoyment for me. 

The novel is a modern vampire urban fantasy. It starts with Ezra’s final boxing match before he’s ready to skip town again. Enter Killian, his last opponent, and so much more. From there, the novel spirals out of control, with estrangement and loss, deception and deceit. Oh, and vampires of course. 

Through no fault of Ezra’s, naturally, some awful things happen to him, and therefore little choice is left when an injury threatens his life. Waking up a vampire certainly changes things, but I loved how grounded the novel read. The author does a great job of keeping the story going as it already was, only amping things up and adding in more supernatural elements over time. It made it read as a very personal story.

I also enjoyed the various bits that the author changed about what people think of vampires, especially as they were all done very underhandedly, which made them feel real to the story itself. Stakes to the heart, bullets, blood, this is a world of its own. I did like that there was a concert scene, as well as some later on werewolves, both of which felt like an Underworld club scene-esque nod. 

The ending had stakes, the emotional connect was well made, and the somewhat supernatural explosion at the end read as warranted. This is not a typical read for me, but boy did I enjoy it. It was refreshing and different. 
Throne Born by Max Moyer

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adventurous challenging tense fast-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a prequel novella to Zodak: The Last Shielder, however it may be best referred to as a precursor, as it’s entirely its own story. 

Although I read these almost back to back, I found there to be little connection to Zodak at all, unless I just entirely missed it (totally might have). That’s not a bad thing at all, I was just keeping my eyes and ears peeled for those little threads to start seeding their way in. Set two hundred years before Zodak, I expected maybe something more direct in the prequel area to the shielders, but I’m still not mad at all with a more separate story. 

Where Zodak follows a young character’s journey through finding out he may be more than just a farm boy, Throne Born is a story of splintering peace, political intrigue in multiple courts, deceptions, and betrayals. This difference might also be why it felt so totally different and unrelated to me as well. This novella is also on less of a grand scale. There are stakes, and things are very real, however it never quite gets off the ground to the level in which Zodak felt, which was awfully epic. With that being said, it’s also a simplified, more personal story as well, which absolutely worked in the novella format. Love, jealousy, and pride collide in a natural fashion, but still in a big enough way. 

Enjoyable and worth checking out! I read Zodak first, and would probably suggest it in that order. While this does not follow the recent format of prequel being released after the novel, there was just more of what I loved in the full release that hooked me and made me want to go back. The Epilogue, the King’s Coda, read almost like something you’d find in Tolkien’s Appendices, and for that, I really enjoyed its addition. 
The Tickle Monster by David Washburn

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

I grabbed this in paperback in my quest to buy all indie novellas. 

The author does a very good job of painting the picture of a loving family in a small number of pages. A working father, a dutiful wife and learning daughter, and a son that wants to prove himself while making his father proud. Time period appropriate, while still allowing the daughter and son their playtime. They eat dinner as a family and both children are tucked in each night lovingly…with maybe a couple visits from the tickle monster. 

Teddy is soon to be a man, so his father is letting him know more and handle more responsibility. Carrying the water in from the well, attempting to swing the woodcutting axe on his own, and hearing all about his father’s traumatic childhood experience in the woods by their house. Of course a story like that would stick in a young boy’s mind, and of course it’s only a matter of time before something forces them back into those woods. Forces the past and the present to collide. 

SOME SPOILER-Y THINGS


The first instance involving the entity is creepy, ambiguous enough to let your mind wonder, and of course fast enough to leave you asking, “what just happened?” And with that being said, the second does much the same for the reader while being entirely different. A house in the woods, the dog trapped, a woman in all black. But when Teddy’s sister wakes him up, was any of it real? 

Much like the visits in the night that follow, as well as the echoes of what happened to his father’s best friend, Teddy’s descent into madness comes at a loss of sleep and a few bumps in the night. The descent might be quick, but the creepiness is awfully high. 

I really love horrors that take childhood fears/monsters and turn them into real, flesh and blood nightmares. My main gripe with this one (while small) is that it didn’t actually do that, not entirely. The Tickle Monster is a manifestation of fear and anxiety for Teddy, and I suppose I was more so expecting a creature feature. Still very worth a read! Personally 3.5/5*. 
Zodak: The Last Shielder by Max Moyer

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A big thanks to the author for sending over an audio code. Dallin Bradford absolutely knocks it out of the park, this is some of the best narration I’ve heard in quite a long time. 

This is a classic (in this case, farm boy) origin story, pulling from those of before like Frodo, Rand al’Thor, Eragon, even Jon Snow. So regardless of the genre tags you’d add to this, the one thing that stood out to me the entire time was “classic”. And I could definitely see this series going down as one. It feels so over the top professional, the author has whittled down the prose to the point where there is not a single unnecessary word throughout the entire novel. 

Zodak lives with his aunt and uncle. Their two children, as well as his aunt, find him at best to be a nuisance, and at worst a complete mistake. And of course they can’t stand the fact that Ardon, his uncle, is so fond of him. It makes for one tinderbox of a household. 

The impetus that sets Zodak in motion again feels very classic, very Luke Skywalker even, but it’s done so well and flows so brilliantly that I was 100% along for the ride. And while he does meet some help along the way, as well as a ranger-type that made me super happy, he does offer up an experience that's all his own, and his path isn't decided by those that came before him. 

I really had to think over what to write here, as otherwise it would have been tons of ramblings and spoilers. And because of that I'd like to stress just how much I loved this! I love that Zodak appears to be the easy chosen one, just to have his newfound dreams crushed…but just maybe? This needs to be added to every TBR. Immediately. 
The Naughty Corner: Horror Novella Collection by Mark Towse

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A big thanks to the author for the e-ARC. So glad I got to read it. 

The Generation Games is perhaps Towse’s darkest elderly horror yet. The decision has been made to no longer allow people to grow old and die on their own. In an all-too close future, a mandate has been made due to earth’s depleted resources, that no one can live over 70. That is, unless they are incredibly successful, rich, or influential. Since most people aren’t, one television station decided to capitalize on this, seeing the death of millions as an opportunity. Those selected for this program have the opportunity to win millions, and to afford the age passport they so desperately need. What do they have to do, you ask? When you remember that the outcome for them is death either way because of their age, you can get an idea of just how unhinged the things they’re forced into really are. Horrific, gruesome, bloody, gory, and unbelievably wicked. 

My Name Is Brian is the second of the novellas collected and it features a new student that’s just a bit strange. Brian is heavyset, a book worm, and unerringly calm, even when the school bullies want a rise out of him. The problem with bullies, is that they are forced to up the ante, rather than lose face value. When humiliation, name calling, and dumping Brian’s own food onto him don’t work, they’re forced to even greater heights…or in this case greater depravity. The main issue I had with this one, is although anyone of any size eating their dumped food off of their own head or lunchroom table would be disgusting, it’s often only ever used when describing fat people, and therefore can read as fat phobic. This is ultimately completely erased though by the novella’s climax, it just kind of rubbed me the wrong way while reading. But there is more to Brian, his size and shape, than you may have previously thought. 

The Naughty Corner, the novella collection’s namesake, as well as its third entry, is a madhouse of desire, neglect, infatuation, and control. Set in what appears to be an Idyllic town, it may not take long for them to remember that looks can be deceiving. Sheila, Frank, and Charlie move into a new house, in a new neighborhood. What appears to be a good deal, comes with a set of ‘guidelines’ for their behavior. With the list in the dozens, they may have gotten more than they bargained for. This novella, which could be argued to also include some terrible elderly horror, mixes some of the more unusual with its doses of horror. In this case, it does that by mixing, and thus distorting, pleasure. 

Personally a 4/5*, the first was definitely a favorite. But this is a great showcase of the author’s skills, as there are three very different stories on display. 
All Who Wander Are Lost: Destination Horror Stories by Gemma Amor

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

Many thanks to Cemetery Gates Media for the physical arc! 

Not that this proclaims itself as a short story collection, as it does just say ‘stories’, but I would be willing to bet that most of these are actually around novelette length at the very least. There is not that many stories, only featuring ten, and yet this is actually rather long. Not that that is a bad thing! 

This is a solid mix of horror, comedy, sexual deviance, the disturbing, and wit from the author. With things like aliens, gods, ghosts, and even more creepy crawlies to haunt your imagination. And of course, my all time favorite there is, Christmas (in Antarctica). 

One I particularly enjoyed was ‘Let Sleeping Gods Lie’. It read kind of like a precursor, or even its own take on those old school monster movies…The Mummy in particular. It’s atmospheric, with just the right amount of building, written in just the perfect style, to make it slowly creep up your neck. Told entirely through journal entries and letters to a beloved, it features the lead of a dig site in Egypt as his team slowly loses their nerve to knocking deep within the tomb. And I’d honestly read an entire novel. 

My favorite of the bunch though, was ‘The Ancient Ram Inn’. Featuring a group of friends taking a Halloween night tour through a very haunted Inn. Their guide, a real creepy lookalike, deadpans the history of the place as they get further and further inside…and things get weirder and weirder. For such a short story, this one packed on hell of a twist that I really enjoyed. I’ve found that since writing BestGhost, I just really love different takes on the paranormal and haunted places. 

This just released, and regardless of what you’re looking for, there’s something here for everyone. Will you let me know your favorite??
Araña and Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow by Alex Segura

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adventurous inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Grabbed this on audible during a 2-for-1 sale, and Victoria Villarreal brought an authentic feel to the characters, and overall the narration was a lot of fun. 

First and foremost, I am a Peter Parker Spider-Man fan. The OG animated series from when I as a kid, as well as the Tobey McGuire movies. Unless you’re counting the PS4 game and Sony-verse, I know next to nothing about Miles Morales, and my knowledge of Spider-Man 2099 (other than random things) mostly starts with Oscar Isaac. So I gave this a shot simply because it was Marvel and Spidey adjacent, I actually didn’t even know who Araña was at all. 

Anya, who takes on the spider-identity of Araña, has a familiar, tough upbringing through her abilities. She must juggle school, a secret identity while living with her father, and the loss of a mentor, all right before a short tussle with an artifact called El Obelisco sends her crashing into the future. Don’t let my condensed version fool you though, because I actually felt like all that set up went on a little longer than I expected, at least for me, who did not read the blurb before jumping in!

In this far-flung future, Anya finds out that there was a Spider-Man in the year 2099, and having only arrived a few years later than that, she figures he must still be active. A lot can change in only a few years though, and the Miguel O’Hara she finds is as far from the tights-wearing hero he was can be.  He’s not only jaded, but thinks the world is better off without his costumed help. 

Personally, I can always get behind the reluctant mentor trope, and I really liked that it was a retired Spider-Man too, so that she was getting the help from the actual source. But what lacked for me, was the world he came from. Miguel is a rich, business runner with a virtual assistant that arguably does more than her fair share of the work. He even comes from the future where NYC has been renamed Nueva York, and yet I found that the author really didn’t describe it or any differences. As someone unfamiliar, this would have been a huge opportunity to sell me. 

Then throw in another dimension’s Ghost Spider out of left field in the third act and you’re really cooking with fire. It seemed like a lot of work to simply not include Peter, who is “off planet”, so I’m curious if he just wasn’t on the table. Regardless, the heroes hero, and this was another interesting and fun spider-people adventure. It had all the necessary touch points, a newbie, great responsibility, middle-story self doubts, emotional pulls, and self sacrifices. All things that make superheroes what they are. Personally a 4/5*. 
When the Devil by Emma E. Murray

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

4.0

A huge thanks to Shortwave for the physical ARC! Such a good cover too, I’m so glad I own one. 

This novelette is short, a little sweet, and kind of a lotta dark. A tale of abuse, both from a husband and grandfather, this story showcases some of the horror stories women face daily. Yet it’s also mixed with a bit of hope and sapphic desire. 

Now, you may know from some other reviews of mine that I really struggle with any form of cheating/adultery, but this is more so about having the ability, the autonomy, to want and decide for yourself. When all you’re shown is abuse, that ability to decide, to feel, to want, is part of that ability to claw yourself back from it. And that’s what this felt like. 

Then there is of course, the more horrific elements. Deceit, deception, avoidance, perhaps a little murder? But isn’t all of that just another angle at being free, at fighting against the structured injustice being showcased in this rural community?

My favorite thing though, perhaps, is how Libby goes from one kind of prison to another. And as the bodies start to pile up, June’s hold over her is just another type of chokehold.