ARC REVIEW: BAT EATER | KYLIE LEE BAKER

Bat Eater by Kylie Lee Baker
My rating: ✨✨✨✨✨

I'm going to begin this write-up by saying something decidedly controversial: Bat Eater might just be my top book of 2024.

As is expected of me, this one was chosen based on its cover and a small blurb on NetGalley, and I was rewarded with an incredibly vivid tale that had tension, horror, and plenty of disturbing scenes. But Bat Eater is also incredibly poignant, emotional, and beautifully melancholic. 

We all remember life in 2020, when COVID was fresh and the world stood still. For me it feels like a distant memory and yesterday all at once. Sure I didn't experience it in New York like Cora does in the book, but the descriptions of deserted streets, unattainable toilet paper, and the downright mindfuck of a time it was to live through brought it all right back.

ARC REVIEW: LIE OF THE LAND | KERRY HADLEY-PRYCE

Lie of the Land by Kerry Hadley-Pryce
My rating: ✨

Lie of the Land.

Lie of the Land.

I've got to be perfectly honest here; I'm not exactly sure about what I've just read. This book is like the literary equivalent of 'no thoughts just vibes', and didn't really give me the mysterious thriller I was hoping for...more like a constant feeling of 'eh?!' with barely any clue on what was going on from page to page.

The narration style and lack of chapters being properly laid out didn't do it for me, and any hope of tension being built simply didn't happen. It felt dirgy, like wading through treacle, and barely anything of note occurred. Then when things did occur it was so outlandish and not fitting with the tone of the book it was what I imagine a psychotic break feels like. Perhaps that's actually the point of the book and I've accidentally experienced it as intended.

ARC REVIEW: A SERIAL KILLER'S GUIDE TO MARRIAGE | ASIA MACKAY

A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage by Asia Mackay
My rating: ✨✨

I did that thing again where the title and cover of a book drew my attention on NetGalley, and I didn't do any plot reading until I'd already sent the request through. Happily, A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage sounded like a book I'd be glad to read. Somewhat unhappily it turned out not to be.

Hazel and Fox are married and they're both ex-serial killers. Fox is from a wealthy American family, and the pair enjoyed a lavish London lifestyle until their daughter came along. Swapping the swish for the suburbs, they both struggle with the reality of leaving certain aspects of their old life behind.

ARC REVIEW: CHAINED BIRDS: A TRUE CRIME MEMOIR | CARLA CONTI

CHAINED BIRDS: A True Crime Memoir by Carla Conti
My rating: ✨✨✨✨

True crime has long been an interest of mine. From watching documentaries with my mum as a kid, to discovering a massive interest in serial killers in my teens, and then developing a wider interest in all areas of criminality as I've grown up, it's always been in me to find intrigue in the illegal. Hell, even my job is in criminal justice...so it all goes without saying that Chained Birds was undoubtedly going to scratch a scandalous itch.

Following the ten year advocation for Kevin Sanders, a federal inmate in America's prison system, Chained Birds exposes flaws, danger, and mistreatment on multiple levels. Horrific conditions are detailed, and the fight to help get Kevin back into society eventually culminates in the closure of an experimental program at FCI Lewisburg in Pennsylvania.

ARC REVIEW: I BET YOU'D LOOK GOOD IN A COFFIN | KATY BRENT

I Bet You’d Look Good in a Coffin by Katy Brent
My rating: ✨✨✨✨✨

Kitty Collins is back! What better way to celebrate spooky season than with a bad bitch who completely justifiably murders awful men? This highly anticipated sequel sees the return of my favourite antiheroine, and this time she's gone international.

I accidentally stumbled upon Kitty's first outing in How to Kill Men and Get Away With It last spring and have been wanting more from her ever since. Katy Brent's second novel - The Murder After the Night Before - was my first review of this year, and she's quickly become an author that I will jump at when news comes of further releases. If there was a Guinness Record for fastest NetGalley request I would be the holder purely for the speed with which I submitted my request for this one.

ARC REVIEW: WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS | GRADY HENDRIX

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When it comes to modern horror writers, Grady Hendrix is pretty high up there on my list of go-to authors and every book I've read by him so far has been thoroughly enjoyable. Seeing that Witchcraft For Wayward Girls had become available had me smashing the request button like an impatient boomer on a hotel reception bell.

I went in completely blind to this book with absolutely zero clue about what the plot might be, where it'd be set, or what kind of characters I'd meet along the way. In my mind I had a vague inkling that it might be centred around a school for witches, so I guess I was just a little off on that score.

ARC REVIEW: COSTANZA | RACHEL BLACKMORE

Costanza by Rachel Blackmore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Continuing on with my current obsession with historical fiction, I saw the cover for Costanza and was immediately drawn to it. Then I read the blurb and I was enthralled. What's one more ARC review to add to the already-massive pile?!

Set in 17th century Rome, Costanza is based on the real story of Costanza Piccolomini, who's been long-forgotten by history. She was a strong-willed feminist icon, a sinner, a temptress, and Costanza tells her story...

ARC REVIEW: A GOOD PLACE TO HIDE A BODY | LAURA MARSHALL

A Good Place to Hide a Body by Laura Marshall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wasn't looking for tips or anything, but I did do a bombastic side-eye when A Good Place to Hide a Body cropped up in my NetGalley recommendations. Unfortunately, far from being a manual it's actually Laura Marshall's fifth novel. Less-unfortunately it's a brilliant thriller that I finished within six hours. 

A Good Place to Hide a Body follows Penny and her family as they navigate their way through a life-altering, infuriating scenario at the hands of a stranger named Cooper who'll remind absolutely all of you of your very worst ex.

ARC REVIEW: TEDDY | EMILY DUNLAY

Teddy by Emily Dunlay
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The premise of Teddy drew me in, then the cover sealed the deal. A book that promised 1960s glamour, travel, and a peek into the rich world of an American girl in decadent Europe was not one I wanted to miss.

ARC REVIEW: THE SUSPECT | ROB RINDER

The Suspect by Rob Rinder
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The Suspect is the second novel from Rob Rinder - yes, Judge Rinder - and seeing as I love that man I was thrilled when I was approved to read ahead of publication.

Last year’s The Trial introduced us to junior barrister Adam Green, and The Suspect follows him as he realises the case before him is not as straightforward as it seems; the nation’s sweetheart morning TV presenter dies live on screen, a celebrity chef is the prime suspect for her murder, and a web of deceit and lies is uncovered in the quest for the truth.

ARC REVIEW: ONLY HERE, ONLY NOW | TOM NEWLANDS

Only Here, Only Now by Tom Newlands
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cora Mowat is a 14-year-old girl growing up in Fife, dreaming of making something of her life in the hustle and bustle of Glasgow. Living with her disabled mum, navigating her way with boys, and battling with undiagnosed ADHD, Cora is the epicentre of a novel that I dare say has all the makings of becoming a modern classic.

ARC REVIEW: FRUIT OF THE DEAD | RACHEL LYON

You had me at Persephone and Demeter! Ancient mythology is my jam, so Fruit of the Dead sparked my interest immediately and I requested the ARC to see a new spin on the classic tale.

ARC REVIEW: I SEE BUILDINGS FALL LIKE LIGHTNING | KEIRAN GODDARD

I've read a lot of good reviews for I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning from the book-based accounts I follow and I felt like it'd be a book I'd enjoy as well. I requested the ARC for this one quite close to publication, and after a couple of days I figured it was too close to the book's release to get the chance to read. That is not how it went; on Wednesday evening I got the approval notification...the day before publication!

ARC REVIEW: THE MURDER AFTER THE NIGHT BEFORE | KATY BRENT

“Something bad happened last night, but I can’t remember a thing…”

What an unexpectedly fantastic surprise - my first ARC of the year! I never thought my new little NetGalley account would be chosen to read this in advance, so imagine my delight when I got the email saying I’d been selected! Last summer I read Katy’s first novel How to Kill Men and Get Away With It and immediately fell in love with her writing style; witty and humorous, twisted and emotional, and clever enough to have you rooting for the morally dark main character, despite her murderous tendencies. Suffice it to say, I had high hopes for The Murder After the Night Before from the day it was announced.