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The Mars House by Natasha Pulley

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The Mars House by Natasha Pulley
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Goodness, was this good! Where to start? The power politics and marriage of convenience love story put me in mind (in a good way) of Winter’s Orbit, but there’s also talking mammoths, climate crisis commentary, twists, tidbits for language nerds, and delightfully fleshed-out characters! Highly recommend!

The Mars House by Natasha Pulley, (List Price: $32.99, Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781639732333, March 2024)

Reviewed by Angela Trigg, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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My Throat an Open Grave by Tori Bovalino

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My Throat an Open Grave by Tori Bovalino
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Full disclosure, I’m a wimp when it comes to horror books so I almost didn’t pick this up because of the title and cover. I know…unpopular opinion. But the folk part of folk horror got my attention and Bovalino’s reader’s note really sealed the deal. She says “the realization that the scary things are not always the things we’re told to be afraid of [and] related: charming characters who we’re told to be afraid of, but realize are not actually the scary thing after all.”Questioning what you’ve been taught to fear? Okay, yes please. I grew up in a small town, I’ve got this.I didn’t always agree with Leah, but the Lord of the Woods’ domain (and Tristan himself!) was so awesome, it was tempting to find my own way through the woods.

My Throat an Open Grave by Tori Bovalino, (List Price: $18.99, Page Street YA, 9781645679301, February 2024)

Reviewed by Candice Conner, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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Where the Body Was by Ed Brubaker

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Where the Body Was by Ed Brubaker
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I am a huge mystery fan and love graphic novels, so I was immediately interested in Where the Body Was. I was immediately drawn into the initial story when you are introduced to the neighbors on the street. Can I just say, “Poor, Toni!” I almost would have appreciated a story just about the neighbors rather than the murder. That being said, I really enjoyed this story and if this author does another mystery/graphic novel then I will definitely read it!

Where the Body Was by Ed Brubaker, (List Price: $24.99, Image Comics, 9781534398269, January 2024)

Reviewed by Kait Layton, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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System Collapse by Martha Wells

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System Collapseby Martha Wells
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If you already love Murderbot, you’ll continue to love it. This newest installation still has the wonderful mix of snark, action, and Murderbot struggling with being a construct of free will. This book in particular, Murderbot is processing the trauma and learning to deal with its own extreme emotional responses. My only criticism of the book is that I wish I would have reread Network Effect before I read this one, because this book takes places immediately after and heavily leans on events that happened in that book. Overall, though, I loved it!

System Collapse by Martha Wells, (List Price: $21.99, Tordotcom, 9781250826978, November 2023)

Reviewed by Kelly McLeod, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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Unholy Terrors by Lyndall Clipstone

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Unholy Terrors by Lyndall Clipstone
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Clipstone’s Unholy Terrors takes us to a Wuthering Heights-esque setting, wildly beautiful in its ruin, and drops us off with only the honey and ash prose we fell in love with in her Lake’s Edge duology to guard our hearts and souls against the monsters of truth and generational loyalty that howl in the Thousandfold. A beautiful and haunting read for fans of transforming girls and kissable monsters.

Unholy Terrors by Lyndall Clipstone, (List Price: $19.99, Henry Holt and Co., 9781250887733, January 2023)

Reviewed by Candice Conner, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig

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Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
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Black River Orchard hit me like a combination of Stephen King and really good Magnus Archives episode, in the best of ways. For my fellow booksellers, this book is a mix of Stephen King’s IT and Faust — like if Faust was an apple farmer, and then mix up layers of horror–there’s psychological horror of domestic abuse and being trapped, of seeing people change for the worse. There’s body horror. Hooo boy, there’s body horror. And on top of all of that, I learned about apples!

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig, (List Price: $29.99, Del Rey, 9780593158746, September 2023)

Reviewed by Alex Mcleod, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong

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Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong
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This book was full of twist and turns and had a bit of a science-fiction vibe, which is a refreshing take on a thriller. It reminded me of Catriona Ward’s Sundial and Delilah S. Dawson’s The Violence where you have children being brainwashed in the literal sense where they no longer remember their past and are raised to be completely different people and when those repressed memories eventually start to come through, violence happens.

When I started this audiobook, I was immediately hooked when Gabby flipped out and smashed a faculty member’s head in at school. I also loved that all of the kids were able to grow as characters because they were able to confront their past lives and accept that they are who they were and are now.

I also enjoyed the mystery. I was guessing and guessing who the person was that was sending the threatening emails. I can typically guess correctly, but this book threw me for a loop!

Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong, (List Price: 18.99, Tundra Books, 9780735270923, April 2023)

Reviewed by Kait Layton, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

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The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw
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After her deadly daughters devour their father’s kingdom, the mermaid princess knows she is too soft to return to the ocean’s depths. Adrift, she decides to travel with the kingdom’s plague doctor, the only person who saw what a monster she truly was even bedecked in sugar and froth in her role of a princess. Together, they journey north into a village of children and saints and discover beauty and horror in equal measure. As always, Khaw writes beautiful, elegant prose of graphic scenes of bodies being taken apart and, sometimes, devoured. Her writing is top-notch and the ending is sweet, without being saccharine, as the monsters in this story stay true to their vicious nature. Highly recommended!

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw, (List Price: 21.99, Tor Nightfire, 9781250830913, May 2023)

Reviewed by Kelly McLeod, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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Robin and Her Misfits by Kelly Jacobson

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Robin and Her Misfits by Kelly Jacobson
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A queer retelling of Robin Hood full of heists, heart, and Florida humidity."Steal from the rich–give to ourselves!" is Robin and her Merry Misfits’ chant as they leave their secret hideout affectionately called Nottingham deep in the north Florida wilderness for fast-speed highway robbery. Each girl has her own secrets and past, and some don’t stay buried for long. I adore classic retellings, especially if they’re gender-bent, full of found family, and set in a familiar setting. Daisy Chain is my favorite character because I enjoyed how she spoke in Shakespearean quotes and only Robin could translate. Also because of how many layers she contained that we weren’t even privy to until we arrived at the chapters in her point-of-view. Jacobson did an amazing job capturing all the nuances of each main characters’ personalities as well as the found family that made Robin Hood and his Merry Men such a beloved classic.

Robin and Her Misfits by Kelly Jacobson, (List Price: 14, Three Rooms Press, 9781953103314, April 2023)

Reviewed by Candice Conner, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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The Spite House by Johnny Compton

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The Spite House by Johnny Compton
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Thank you to Johnny Compton for writing such an excellent novel that highlighted an African-American family, but also for explaining what a spite house is. This is an amazing Gothic horror where we have a haunted house situation, the past always seems to catch up to us in the end, and you can feel the spooky ambiance the entire time you are reading! Eric Ross and his two daughters are currently avoiding their past lives and are living out of motel rooms when Eric reads a job listing to stay at a spite house in Texas to try to capture any evidence of supernatural activity. You get MULTIPLE point of views, but it keeps the story moving very well and it is almost seamless. For example, one moment you are reading the POV of the homeowner who is trying to employ Eric and she is finishing up a meeting with a group of ghost hunters and the next chapter is Eric’s POV and it mentions he walks into a meeting room as a group of men are walking out, so it literally picks up where another leaves off. However, there were a few POVs from side characters that I could have done completely without. It was nice to read about the previous tenants of the spite house who had taken the job right before Eric, though. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the twist about why the family is on the run is epic! One negative I would say is that the ending felt a little rushed and it did not hold up as well compared to the rest of the book in my opinion. However, that did not take anything away from how much I enjoyed the novel overall. Eric is a bad dude for staying in that creepy house by himself to try to make a better life for himself and his girls!

The Spite House by Johnny Compton, (List Price: 17.99, Tor Nightfire, 9781250891952, February 2023)

Reviewed by Kait Layton, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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The Twice-Drowned Saint by C. S. E. Cooney

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The Twice-Drowned Saint by C. S. E. Cooney
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Gelethel is a paradise, a city within protective ice walls ruled by fourteen angels whose benisons provide everything the citizens need, but no paradise can ever really be free of darkness. No citizen is allowed to leave, war refugees starve outside the walls in Cherubtown, and the angels glut themselves on human sacrifices provided by the pilgrims petitioning for citizenship. Ishtu is the daughter of the pilgrim that brought cinema to Gelethel and the Garbage Queen of Gelethel, and the secret saint of the weakest angel, Alizar. Her life consists of running the only cinema in the city and having secrets chats with her extravagant, vain angel until a pilgrim’s sacrifice proves to be the sign Alizar has been waiting for. This is the story of the meek inheriting the city, of the powerful learning that what is given freely is always stronger than what is taken, and the value of bad uncles. Cooney’s prose is delicious and her writing reminds me in the best ways of Terry Pratchett. Fun, easy to read, and still manages to stab you in the heart. Highly recommended!

The Twice-Drowned Saint by C. S. E. Cooney, (List Price: 15.95, Mythic Delirium Books, 9781732644090, February 2023)

Reviewed by Kelly McLeod, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood

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Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood
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I devoured this gorgeous novel like I was one of the hungry jungle ghosts. I absolutely adore Victoria’s relationship with Mumma River and how nature speaks to her. Every moment they were in the jungle was absolutely magical. With a super unique magic system, high stakes, untrustworthy men, a lush, protective jungle, and a fierce, loyal main character, Blackwood’s Wildblood is not to be missed for YA fantasy lovers!

Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood, (List Price: $18.99, Wednesday Books, 9781250787132, February 2023)

Reviewed by Candice Conner, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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Alebrijes by Donna Barba Higuera

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Alebrijes by Donna Barba Higuera
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I always like to see more middle grade science fiction coming out on bookshelves! This one felt like it was slow to start out with and really ramped up when Leandro started uncovering all the secrets the Pocatelan leaders have been hiding. Then it was like hold on to your drone beaks. With an unputdownable blend of heart, bravery, Old-World fusion technology, and Mexican folklore, these Cascabeles will slither in and have you wringing out every drop of hope in this harsh landscape. Want to point out that this is upper middle grade for 10 Undoubtably for a certain scene that I was for sure not expecting, and don’t want to spoil. But definitely caused me to eek.

Alebrijes by Donna Barba Higuera, (List Price: $18.99, Levine Querido, 9781646142637, October 2023)

Reviewed by Candice Conner, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede

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This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede
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I thoroughly enjoyed how Alessa came into her own as a Finestra too powerful for a single Fonte. The question posed in the book and in this [and our] society: what it means to be selfish and selfless. Is a hero the selfish Ghiotte, or the selfless Finestra, and is the balance necessary to be able to give your best? Can’t wait to see how the next book addresses this! Dante (and Alessa & his banter!) is just the best and I’m anxious to see what happens to him in #2

This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede (List Price: $18.99, Wednesday Books, 9781250794055, June 2022)

Reviewed by Candice Conner, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty

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Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty
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Mallory is a self-aware mystery magnet, seemingly causing murders that only she can solve to happen spontaneously around her, to the point that she now feels responsible for the murders. To stymie her mysterious power, she escapes to the space station Eternity to be one of three humans among throngs of aliens. This works for months until a shuttle of humans is scheduled to arrive from Earth and the cycle of murders and mysteries starts anew around Mallory. The world-building is impeccable, with multiple alien species bringing their own biology, culture, and politics into the narrative. Lafferty also manages an intricate, compelling mystery by weaving together multiple viewpoints with a web of connections and "coincidences," yet still wrapping up the mystery without dangling loose ends. I look forward to more tales of Mallory’s exploits in this intriguing world Lafferty built.

Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty, (List Price: $17, Ace, 9780593098110, October 2022)

Reviewed by Kelly McLeod, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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