Category: Random book thoughts

Spooktober Book Review: Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Rach @ Anxious Nachos4 Comments

Title: Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Publisher: Orbit

Publication date: 14 November 2017

Genre: Horror | Adult

Page extent: 440 pages

Rating: FIVE / FIVE GLORIOUSLY SPOOKY STARS 👻👻👻👻👻

Goodreads blurb: Seven years ago, the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a “mockumentary” bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy.

Now, a new crew has been assembled. But this time they’re not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life’s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.

Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves. But the secrets of the deep come with a price.

***

“Do I think they found mermaids? Yes. Of course I do. And I think the mermaids ate them all.”

IT GIVES ME CHILLS

Well I’m never getting on a boat again. Continuing my dive (hahaha) into horror, which started with Wilder Girls, I picked up Into the Drowning Deep after seeing it recommended on Twitter. And holy smokes, this book is goddamn incredible and I am now officially a fan of horror. Cue immediate reserving of several titles at the library. Into the Drowning Deep is a psychological horror set in a world where mermaids exist. Except, instead of the ‘lovely ladies of the sea’ we expect to find based on all our myths, we find creatures who want to eat our faces. 

7 years before the start of the novel, the Atargatis set off to film a mockumentary about the existence of mermaids. Instead, they were devoured alive. Now, Imagine, the entertainment company who had arranged the mockumentary 7 years ago, are launching a new mission to fix their reputation. They will prove that the mermaids are not a hoax, by capturing one and bringing it back to land. Accompanied by an army of scientists driven to either find the mermaids and make the discovery of a lifetime, or just to study parts of the uncharted ocean, the Melusine sets off on its mission. 

The trouble with discovery is that it goes two ways. For you to find something, that thing must also find you.

From the very first page of the novel, there is SO MUCH tension. I was immediately enthralled from the very first page. Short extracts of interviews, talks, videos appear at the start of each ‘section’, and these really add to the sense of tension and fear. They add brilliant insights into the mermaids, as well as hint at some of the terrible things about to happen. Another tension enducing technique I adored was the way Grant would compare the mermaids to very specific animals, the second before something awful happens. There is a split second of realisation for both the characters, and the reader, as you realise oh shit yes that’s what the mermaids are doing, and then immediately the shit happens. It was so terrifying and so amazing, my stomach was like a rollercoaster. It was just SO INTENSE. I cannot express how incredible it was to be swept on this ride.

Cats chitter when they see a bird. They make this little squeaky noise…Cats chitter, because they’re excited, because they’re about to start hunting. But when the hunt begins, they’re silent. They don’t make a sound. They come at their prey as quietly as they can, because a hunt only counts if there’s a kill at the end.

I loved the hugely scientific focus of the book. It was so detailed and made everything so much more ‘real’ by adding the science element – and by real I mean, I could imagine this all happening in real life. One of the things I love most about scarier stories is making it as realistic and believable as possible. It’s why I really love stories about viruses/pandemics, because they are so believable. And that believability really does add to the sense of fear! I feel like Into the Drowning Deep really had that believability, in part because there was such a scientific focus. I loved all the descriptions of the different scientists and their work, and loved that many of these different characters got focus. There are lots of POVs, but it works! There is such a diverse range of characters and I love that they all got to feature so heavily. Whilst there are main characters, the side characters POV still add a unique and interesting take to the story, sometimes having some of the scariest POVs in the book.

Our ‘main’ crew can be narrowed down to:

Victoria (Tory) Stewart: bisexual icon, sister of Anne, one of the people who died on the previous mission, and who has got NO TIME for her foolish asshole scientist ex who also happens to be on the boat (Jason, he’s a total ass, I shall mention him no further).

Dr Jillian Toth, half-Hawaiian world-leading expert on mermaids, who has dedicated her entire life to studying mermaids and who feels deeply guilty that her research led to the massacre on the previous Atargatis expedition (Jillian is probably my favourite character because she just has her shit together so much, and I just absolutely hung off every word she uttered).

Olivia: autistic, lesbian TV personality from Imagine who is documenting the events on board the ship.

Theo Blackwell: physically disabled, representing the Imagine management on board, and Jillain’s ex-husband – and probably the one character I’ll say I wish we’d had more character development from. He’s definitely not a good character (as in “morally good”), and I wanted to find out more about his motives.

These four are joined by a host of others, including three sisters, Holly (chemical data analysist, deaf twin) and Heather (also deaf, twin to Holly, and underwater explorer, HOW COOL IS THAT?!), and Hallie (sign langauge extraordinaire); Luis, crytozoologist and Victoria’s lab partner and funder; Michi and Jacques, gun loving monster hunters. Honestly, this cast list is just amazing. Every single one is so damn unique and different, and every POV felt really different. Whilst the four main characters get more page time, I loved that we still got to read from the smaller characters POV. Their short POV sections were excellent and added so much to the book and the tension. 

On top of all this awesomeness, it all features a f/f relationship (though this is definitely not the focus of the book). We get to watch the romance bloom – and there was a part of the book, right near the end, where something happens, and I’m just like NO NO NO this can’t happen, because SHE will be causing it AND JUST I need someone to talk to about this book.

Finally, Into the Drowning Deep goes into some really deep discussions on the commercialisation of science, our treatment of species we consider “other”, and the impact humanity has on the world around us, which I thought were all handed brilliantly and really shows how terrible the human race can be.

“Humanity was cruel, and if you were prepared to try to find a bottom to that cruelty, you had best be prepared for a long, long fall.”

All in all, I loved this book! My first adult horror, I really wasn’t sure what to expect and I certainly didn’t expect to love it as much as I did (because I’m a visual media horror wimp). But everything about this book was fantastic, the plot, the science, the characters, the prose. It all added up to a superbly terrifying and intense novel, and I can’t recommend it enough! 

***

After this book, I am now so exicted to expand my reading into the horror genre! So, since I’m such a newby, do you have any horror recs? Let me know!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Spooktober: Spring Covers

Rach @ Anxious NachosLeave a comment

Hi everyone,

Day 5 of Spooktober may seem a little weird for many of my readers – and that’s because I’m talking about Spring! Here in Australia we don’t get spooky, moody Autumn weather around Halloween. Instead, we are graced with rapidly alternating weather (literally 9 degrees in Melbourne when I left for work, and over 30 by the time I finished….) and the growth of new plants! So for all my Southern Hemisphere readers, here’s a post for you, with some of my favourite Spring-like covers! For me, Spring represents freshness and growth and lightness. And flowers! So hopefully these beautiful covers capture that idea…

Published

This Time Will Be Different – Misa Sugiura

Don’t Date Rosa Santos – Nina Moreno

100 Days of Sunlight – Abbie Emmons

I Wanna Be Where You Are – Kristina Forest

By Any Means Necessary – Candice Montgomery

All the Bad Apples – Moira Fowley-Doyle

A Thousand Years to Wait – L.Ryan Storms

The Meaning of Birds – Jaye Robin Brown

The Ten Thousand Doors of January – Alex E. Harro

Queen of the Conquered – Kacen Callender

Tell Me How You Really Feel – Aminah Mae Safi

Going off Script – Jen Wilde

2020 releases

The Seep – Chana Porter

Felix Ever After – Kacen Callender

Harley in the Sky – Akemi Dawn Bowman

The Merices – Kiran Millwood Hargrave

The Language of Cherries – Jen Marie Hawkins

The Midnight Lie – Marie Rutkoski

***

Now, rather embarassingly, I have read not a single one of these Spring cover books…I guess that explains why my bookshelves are so moody and dark. If you’ve read any of these, let me know which one I should first, and why, in the comments below! Happy Springtime!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Spooktober: Cats cats cats!

Rach @ Anxious NachosLeave a comment

Hi everyone,

Cats have so long been associated with Halloween. Maybe it’s because every good witch needs their trusty cat companion? Maybe its because cats are so often associated with good or bad luck. Maybe its because cats are portrayed as evil beings who don’t care about anyone? Even though we all know that’s not the most untrue statement to ever be uttered!

So to celebrate all things cats, here is a post I have been longing to do for a while now: I am finally featuring my beautiful little baby, Draco! By matching pictures of him to books….

I apologise in advance for my photo skills, they are….really not great at all. I could blame “the light” but…I feel like it’s probably me.

Draco meets Octopus = The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie

This is Draco on one of his birthday presents – a scratcher post shaped like an octopus. It’s name is Barnabus. Now I’ve always found octopi very odd, I’m not fond of the sea or sea creatures, and so The Abyss Surrounds Us, a story about sea monsters, seems like the perfect match!

The Abyss Surrounds Us – Emily Skrutskie

Goodreads: Cas has fought pirates her entire life. But can she survive living among them?

For Cassandra Leung, bossing around sea monsters is just the family business. She’s been a Reckoner trainer-in-training ever since she could walk, raising the genetically-engineered beasts to defend ships as they cross the pirate-infested NeoPacific. But when the pirate queen Santa Elena swoops in on Cas’s first solo mission and snatches her from the bloodstained decks, Cas’s dream of being a full-time trainer seems dead in the water.

There’s no time to mourn. Waiting for her on the pirate ship is an unhatched Reckoner pup. Santa Elena wants to take back the seas with a monster of her own, and she needs a proper trainer to do it. She orders Cas to raise the pup, make sure he imprints on her ship, and, when the time comes, teach him to fight for the pirates. If Cas fails, her blood will be the next to paint the sea.

Draco Dressed Up All Fancy = Red, White + Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

This is one of, I think maybe two photos, where I have managed to get a picture of Draco in some form of clothing. We’ve also tried putting him in a shark hat but his head is too small so it just falls off. Here, I feel he’s just so dashing in his bowtie, he reminds me of Henry from RWRB, so fancy and royal!

Red, White & Royal Blye – Casey McQuiston

Goodreads blurb: What happens when America’s First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?

When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius—his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There’s only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.

Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through?

Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue proves: true love isn’t always diplomatic. 

Draco fights Crocodile = We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

Okay this match might be a long reach. BUT. Draco attacking his cute friendly crocodile who just wants to be friends totally reminds me of Nasir and Altair from We Hunt the Flame. Altair is obviously the friendly neighbourhood croc, whilst Nasir is the vicious (yet cute and soft) assassin who must bite.

We Hunt the Flame – Hafsah Faizal

Goodreads blurb: People lived because she killed.
People died because he lived.

Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the king. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways.

Both are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya—but neither wants to be.

War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the king on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds—and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine.

Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, We Hunt the Flame is a gripping debut of discovery, conquering fear, and taking identity into your own hands.

Draco Shines = Crier’s War by Nina Varela

I think the colours of the two images below show exactly why I matched these two. Because the cover of Crier’s War is just so damn shiny! It is absolutely beautiful and reflects one hundred different colours depending on the light, and it reminds me of Draco in the Christmas tree with so many shiny things around him.

Crier’s War – Nina Varela

Goodreads blurb: After the War of Kinds ravaged the kingdom of Rabu, the Automae, designed to be the playthings of royals, usurped their owners’ estates and bent the human race to their will.

Now Ayla, a human servant rising in the ranks at the House of the Sovereign, dreams of avenging her family’s death…by killing the sovereign’s daughter, Lady Crier.

Crier was Made to be beautiful, flawless, and to carry on her father’s legacy. But that was before her betrothal to the enigmatic Scyre Kinok, before she discovered her father isn’t the benevolent king she once admired, and most importantly, before she met Ayla.

Now, with growing human unrest across the land, pressures from a foreign queen, and an evil new leader on the rise, Crier and Ayla find there may be only one path to love: war. 

Baby Draco = The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

So this is Draco maybe a day after we picked him up from the shelter, about two years ago. HE SO BABY. I just want to protect him so much. Which is exactly what Nana’s owner, Satoru, is trying to do in The Travelling Cat Chronicles. It’s such an adorable, and yet heartbreaking book about the love between human and cat.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles – Hiro Arikawa

Goodreads blurb: Sometimes you have to leave behind everything you know to find the place you truly belong…

Nana the cat is on a road trip. He is not sure where he’s going or why, but it means that he gets to sit in the front seat of a silver van with his beloved owner, Satoru. Side by side, they cruise around Japan through the changing seasons, visiting Satoru’s old friends. He meets Yoshimine, the brusque and unsentimental farmer for whom cats are just ratters; Sugi and Chikako, the warm-hearted couple who run a pet-friendly B&B; and Kosuke, the mournful husband whose cat-loving wife has just left him. There’s even a very special dog who forces Nana to reassess his disdain for the canine species.

But what is the purpose of this road trip? And why is everyone so interested in Nana? Nana does not know and Satoru won’t say. But when Nana finally works it out, his small heart will break…

***

So this post was actually so much harder than I thought it would be, and I put the blame solely at my photography skills. Most of my photos of Draco are blurs, or have a million other items in the background…Perhaps if I improve my photo skills, I might do another of these posts in a few months from now.

Do you have any cats? What book characters do they remind you of? Let me know in the comments below!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Spooktober: Magically mysterious fantasies

Rach @ Anxious NachosLeave a comment

Hi everyone,

Spooktober is back for Day 3, and this time I’m delving into my favourite fantasies of 2019 so far! I always associate fantasies with this time of year – with Halloween just around the corner, we are filled with magic and creatures and dark magical mysteries. So, I thought it the perfect time to talk about my five favourite fantasies I’ve read this year!

The Fever King/The Electric Heir – Victoria Lee

To the shock of literally no one, The Fever King, and its sequel The Electric Heir, are on the list of my favourite fantasies I’ve read this year. I first read TFK back in March, reread a few months later, and then was lucky enough to get an eARC from NetGalley of TEH just a few weeks ago. These books are just the most incredible story, from the characters to the plot to the villain to the magic system, I just love everything about them. To find out more about my love of The Fever King, check out the full review (here) I did to celebrate the start of Pride month back in June!

An Ember in the Ashes – Sabaa Tahir

This was a book I randomly picked up in the library, and holy shit IT IS AMAZING?!?! How had I not already read it?!?! This was so intense and action packed, so much death and darkness and literally just everything I love about fantasy was packed into the novel. I loved that there isn’t really any character I can say is truly “good” – everyone is so morally grey (or just pure evil). I have the sequel waiting on my shelf to read, so I’m pretty sure before the end of year, I’ll have another of this series on my favourite fantasy list. To see me rave about this title more, you can read my full review here!

The City of Brass – S.K Chakraborty

What an absolute powerhouse of a political fantasy. This book just killed me – so much so, I still haven’t been able to work up the courage to read the sequel because I’m so scared my heart will continue to be broken. This book has so much detail, one of the most spectacular worldbuildings I’ve read – the detail that has gone into the religion, the history, the political system is just incredible. Add to that these amazing and unique characters who just keep making the wrong decisions and breaking my heart, this book has of course got to be on this list! Following from its chonky chonky size, I think my full review of this book is the longest one I’ve written? Read my adoration for The City of Brass here!

Descendant of the Crane – Joan He

This book cemented in my mind that political fantasy is one of my favourite subsets of the genre. Between The City of Brass, and Descendant of the Crane, my heart is just IN LOVE with political fantasy. The book has so many twists and turns, so many emotional punches, and a murder mystery to end all murder mysteries. Check out my thoughts here!

Missing, Presumed Dead – Emma Berquist

The final fantasy I’m going to talk about is Missing, Presumed Dead which I think might almost rival The Fever King for the amount of times it has been mentioned on this blog. This book follows Lexi, a woman who knows when and how a person can die after touching them. When she fails to save Jane, Jane returns as a ghost and gets Lexi’s help to hunt down her murderer. This book is so dark and gritty and totally unexpected! I absolutely adored that magic wasn’t portrayed as something good and brilliant to have – Lexi’s power is seriously damaging to her mental health, and I loved the portrayal of mental illness in a fantasy setting. For more info, check out my review here!

***

Fantasy is my favourite genre to read, so whilst all these books are amazing, I still have so many sitting on my shelf waiting to read that might come in and knock these off the top in the last few months of the year! Here’s a few I have waiting for me:

Did you also love any of these books? Let me know your favourite fantasy you’ve read this year in the comments below!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Spooktober: Autumn Covers

Rach @ Anxious Nachos1 Comment

Hi everyone,

Welcome to Day 2 of my Spooktober week! Autumn is such a beautiful season – pretty much every time I see a leaf, I am tempted to pick it up and try preserve it so that when I one day buy a house I can paint myself, I can pick up said leaf and say ‘I want THIS colour!’ I adore all the reds and purples and oranges associated with this season, and I can’t wait to show you some gorgeous Autumny book covers! Some are from books already published, quite a few are 2020 releases, because red and gold really seems to be the theme of 2020 publishing!

Published titles

Ziggy, Stardust & Me – James Brandon

I can’t believe I still haven’t bought a copy of this, but it is TOP of my list in my next order! Set in the 70s when homosexuality is still a crime, this is a coming of age story about Jonathon as he undergoes conversion therapy to “cure” him. But then he meets Web, who turns his life around and shows him how to accept himself.

Like a Love Story – Abdi Nazemian

This is one of my favourite books of the year. It is absolutely astoundingly beautiful and emotional. Set in the 1980s AIDS crisis in the US, it follows three teens as they fall in love and learn how to be true to themselves. There is far too much to say about this book, so all I’m going to do is direct you to my full review of this title (here!) and beg you to pick up a copy of this book, because it is magnificent!

We Set the Dark on Fire – Tehlor Kay Mejia

Dahlia at LGBTQReads helped pick this book out recently, as part of her patreon subscription offer, after my request for “either a political fantasy like Descendent of the Crane or a fantasy with enemies to lovers’ to which she replied ‘How about something with both?’ Whilst I haven’t had a chance to read this book yet, I can’t wait to start!

The Deathless Girls – Kiran Millwood Hargrave

This is one of my favourite covers ever. It’s even more stunning in real life!! I was lucky enough to catch one of the special edition Waterstones editions (even if I did have to spend more on shipping it to Australia than on the book itself…), where it comes with stunning blood red sprayed edges. Brides of Dracula retelling – need I say more?!

The Poet X – Elizabeth Acevedo

I haven’t actually read this one yet, but I did read Acevedo’s second book With the Fire on High and really enjoyed it, so I’m keen to get to The Poet X soon! The way these colours all blend together is just gorgeous. I imagine this book is so so different to anything I’ve read before, as I haven’t read much poetry, but from all the reviews I’ve seen, this book sounds so powerful.

Before Mars – Emma Newman

So this one is here because of that glorious red. I love the image of the planet sort of slowly disintegrating on the cover. This was one of the books which really helped me get into science fiction this year. Emma Newman has a phenomenal way of blending discussions around mental illness into her work. Before Mars follows Anna, who has been sent to Mars to create artwork for her very rich boss. However, when she lands, she finds a note in her room warning her about the psychologist at the base. But the note is in her own handwriting… This book is part science fiction, part thriller/mystery, and I absolutely love it!

The Stars and the Blackness Between them – Junauda Petrus

A story about two girls in love. That’s it, that’s my pitch to make you go read this. Audre has been sent to America, from Trinidad, after her mother caught her with her girlfriend, the daughter of the local pastor. There she meets Mabel, a girl suffering from an illness she doesn’t know about. Together “they conjure a love that is stronger than hatred, prison, and death and as vast as the blackness between the stars.”

Empire of Light – Alex Harrow

How stunning is that cover?! The colour, the detail, it looks so dystopian and sci-fi. This book is about revolutions and magic and assassins and falling for the person you’re meant to kill.

Caster – Elsie Chapman

I’ve heard a lot of great things from a lot of book people on Twitter about Caster – and I think the cover is just amazing. There is dangerous (and illegal!) magic, gangs, tournaments, and murder mystery!

2020 titles

2020 looks like it’s going to be killing it with dark and moody Autumn covers. So here’s a selection of some of the goregous Autumnal covers for some of the books I’m looking foward to reading next year!

***

I hope you enjoyed checking out all these gorgeous covers in what I really feel is like my most beautiful blog post yet, thank you all cover designers. Let me know what your favourite Autumn cover is in the comments below!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

SPOOKTOBER: My favourite creepy books

Rach @ Anxious NachosLeave a comment

Hi everyone!

I’ve been a little slow on the blog recently because I’ve recently added a million things to my already hectic life…including writing a novel! This year I am going to be doing NaNoWriMo and starting writing a book! My angsty bisexual pirate fantasy is going to be taking up a lot of my time, and so for the month of November I will be going on a semi blog hiatus, to concentrate on writing as close to 50,000 words as possible!

So to celebrate my renewed desire to write my novel, I decided to tag along for the last week of Blogtober, with 7 spooky (mostly) posts for you! Today we’re starting with my favourite creepy books…

Wilder Girls – Rory Power

This was definitely going to be top of this list, as one of the creepiest books I’ve read all year! Wilder Girls is a psychological horror, with deadly forests, a virus outbreak, and shockingly distubring body horror. I always find myself loving virus outbreak books and I think it’s because they’re always so realistic – it could literally happen to us tomorrow. And so I always find these books even more creepy because its so easy to imagine it happening in real life. Full review here!

Other Words for Smoke – Sarah Maria Griffin

Other Words for Smoke is just as creepy but in a very different way to Wilder Girls. The setting is really what makes this book so creepy to me – set in a small Irish town, there is such a sense of disturbing fairytale in the prose. The way Sweet James can control and twist the minds of those around them just adds to this creepy atmosphere. Full review here!

Missing, Presumed Dead – Emma Berquist

Missing, Presumed Dead was a book that really surprised me this year! It had such an interesting premise, but I didn’t expect to be quite so blown away by this book as I was. IT IS AMAZING! It is so dark (way way more dark than I thought it would be!), so gritty, and there is such a haunting depiction of how magic could impact mental health, it’s just stunning. Also it has terrifying revenge driven ghosts – definitely fits my favourite creepy books… Full review here!

The Grace Year – Kim Liggett

This book only released a few weeks ago, and brings its own unique perspective to feminist dystopia, in the style of books like The Handmaids Tale, or The Natural Way of Things. Set in another creepy forest, where masked killers wait to pick off girls if they escape, a group of girls must live out a year. The insidious way the girls slowly turn on each other is just incredible, and perfectly matches the creepy atmosphere of the forest. Full review here!

Sealed – Naomi Booth

This was probably one of first body horror reads and it is TERRIFYING!! Rumours of an epidemic have started to appear, one in which skin seals over holes…like your mouth….nose….eyes…. This book is so atmospheric, the fear of the main character is so evident on every page as she tries to escape the epidemic. She’s also pregnant which gives everything such a different take as she tries to survive motherhood, and dreams of her baby being sealed inside her. It’s just horrifying and terrifying and so so creepy.

The Natural Way of Things – Charlotte Wood

I mentioned this book above, and like The Grace Year, its another take on that feminist dystopia story, with themes very similar to The Handmaid’s Tale. Set in Australia, a group of women wake up drugged and trapped in the middle of the Australian outback. There they are watched over by three captors, and made to work, and slowly try to discover why they’re there… Again it’s the setting which really makes this so creepy – the Australian outback can be such a terrifying place, as it is for these women, and the emptiness and lonliness of this setting is so fantastic.

All the Things We Never Said – Yasmin Rahman

To turn this list on its head, I’m ending with this brilliant book I read very recently. The creepy, horror aspect doesn’t come from the setting – instead it’s from the terrifying plot. Mehreen, Cara and Olivia want to die. But they need someone’s help to do it. So they join a suicide pact website, which matches you with partners to commit suicide Mehreen, Cara and Olivia are matched, but as they become friends, they begin to regret their decision. But, the website is deadly, and doesn’t want to let them go…. This book was so fantastic, so gutwrenchingly, heartbreakingly emotional and personal. It’s so scary and just a beautiful story. Though, as a note of warning, I wouldn’t advise reading this when going through a rough mental health patch (which is what I did – and I strongly regret it). Absolutely brilliant book – but keep yourselves safe and well first!

That’s it for today’s Spooktober! Check back in tomorrow for another post!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

My favourite October releases

Rach @ Anxious NachosLeave a comment

So I have known for months now that October is THE month for book releases this year for me. I have so many I am looking forward to. I have been filled with both dread and excitement at the thought of all the books I want to read. So here’s just a few that I want to jump and dance about!

Crier’s War – Nina Varela

Pub date: 1 October

Queer, f/f, enemies to lovers, SIGN ME UP RIGHT NOW. This is one of my most anticipated books of the year.

Goodreads blurb: After the War of Kinds ravaged the kingdom of Rabu, the Automae, designed to be the playthings of royals, usurped their owners’ estates and bent the human race to their will.

Now Ayla, a human servant rising in the ranks at the House of the Sovereign, dreams of avenging her family’s death…by killing the sovereign’s daughter, Lady Crier.

Crier was Made to be beautiful, flawless, and to carry on her father’s legacy. But that was before her betrothal to the enigmatic Scyre Kinok, before she discovered her father isn’t the benevolent king she once admired, and most importantly, before she met Ayla.

Now, with growing human unrest across the land, pressures from a foreign queen, and an evil new leader on the rise, Crier and Ayla find there may be only one path to love: war.

The Beautiful – Renée Ahdieh

Pub date: 8 October

I am so keen for vampires to come back into book fashion. I need more vampires in my life – and this one sounds so sultry and mysterious!

Goodreads blurb: New York Times bestselling author Renée Ahdieh returns with a sumptuous, sultry and romantic new series set in 19th century New Orleans where vampires hide in plain sight.

In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she’s forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city’s glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group’s leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien’s guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.

When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.

At once a sultry romance and a thrilling murder mystery, master storyteller Renée Ahdieh embarks on her most potent fantasy series yet: The Beautiful.

The Never Tilting World – Rin Chupeco

Pub date: 15 October

I was lucky enough to get on the blog tour for this book, run by Shealea at Caffeine Book tours! It’s my first blog tour and I can’t wait to read this!

Goodreads blurb: Frozen meets Mad Max in this epic teen fantasy duology bursting with star-crossed romance, immortal heroines, and elemental magic, perfect for fans of Furyborn.

Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon. But seventeen years ago, one sister’s betrayal defied an ancient prophecy and split their world in two. The planet ceased to spin, and a Great Abyss now divides two realms: one cloaked in perpetual night, the other scorched by an unrelenting sun.

While one sister rules Aranth—a frozen city surrounded by a storm-wracked sea —her twin inhabits the sand-locked Golden City. Each goddess has raised a daughter, and each keeps her own secrets about her sister’s betrayal.

But when shadowy forces begin to call their daughters, Odessa and Haidee, back to the site of the Breaking, the two young goddesses —along with a powerful healer from Aranth, and a mouthy desert scavenger —set out on separate journeys across treacherous wastelands, desperate to heal their broken world. No matter the sacrifice it demands. 

War Girls – Tochi Onyebuchi

Pub date: 15 October

Everything about this book just sounds incredible – family dynamics, dystopian climate change destroyed world, incredible tech!

Goodreads blurb: Two sisters are torn apart by war and must fight their way back to each other in a futuristic, Black Panther–inspired Nigeria.

The year is 2172. Climate change and nuclear disasters have rendered much of earth unlivable. Only the lucky ones have escaped to space colonies in the sky.

In a war-torn Nigeria, battles are fought using flying, deadly mechs and soldiers are outfitted with bionic limbs and artificial organs meant to protect them from the harsh, radiation-heavy climate. Across the nation, as the years-long civil war wages on, survival becomes the only way of life.

Two sisters, Onyii and Ify, dream of more. Their lives have been marked by violence and political unrest. Still, they dream of peace, of hope, of a future together.

And they’re willing to fight an entire war to get there.

Acclaimed author Tochi Onyebuchi has written an immersive, action-packed, deeply personal novel perfect for fans of Nnedi Okorafor, Marie Lu, and Paolo Bacigalupi.

Tarnished are the Stars – Rosiee Thor

Pub date: 15 October

Another of my hotly anticipated queer October releases! This sounds so steampunky! I always love any form of media (film, tv, books!) that has an epidemic at the centre of it so this book sounds perfect!

Goodreads blurb: The Lunar Chronicles meets Rook in this queer #OwnVoices science-fantasy novel, perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer and Sharon Cameron.

A secret beats inside Anna Thatcher’s chest: an illegal clockwork heart. Anna works cog by cog — donning the moniker Technician — to supply black market medical technology to the sick and injured, against the Commissioner’s tyrannical laws.

Nathaniel Fremont, the Commissioner’s son, has never had to fear the law. Determined to earn his father’s respect, Nathaniel sets out to capture the Technician. But the more he learns about the outlaw, the more he questions whether his father’s elusive affection is worth chasing at all.

Their game of cat and mouse takes an abrupt turn when Eliza, a skilled assassin and spy, arrives. Her mission is to learn the Commissioner’s secrets at any cost — even if it means betraying her own heart.

When these uneasy allies discover the most dangerous secret of all, they must work together despite their differences and put an end to a deadly epidemic — before the Commissioner ends them first.

I Hope You Get This Message – Farah Naz Rishi

Pub date: 22 October

How cool does this premise sound?! 7 days till the world might end! What do you do when you’ve been given 7 days to live?

Goodreads blurb: Seven days. Seven days. The Earth might end in seven days.

When news stations start reporting that Earth has been contacted by a planet named Alma, the world is abuzz with rumors that the alien entity is giving mankind only few days to live before they hit the kill switch on civilization.

For high school truant Jesse Hewitt, though, nothing has ever felt permanent. Not the guys he hooks up with. Not the jobs his underpaid mom works so hard to hold down. Life has dealt him one bad blow after another — so what does it matter if it all ends now? Cate Collins, on the other hand, is desperate to use this time to find the father she’s never met, the man she grew up hearing wild stories about, most of which she didn’t believe. And then there’s Adeem Khan. While coding and computer programming have always come easily to him, forgiveness doesn’t. He can’t seem to forgive his sister for leaving, even though it’s his last chance.

With only seven days to face their truths and right their wrongs, Jesse, Cate, and Adeem’s paths collide even as their worlds are pulled apart.

The Light at the Bottom of the World – London Shah

Pub date: 29 October

This is one of the books I’ve been most excited for all year, it just sounds so unique! Weird and intriguing virus, everyone lives underwater, and a mystery to save family!

Goodreads blurb: Hope had abandoned them to the wrath of all the waters.

At the end of the twenty-first century, the world has changed dramatically, but life continues one thousand feet below the ocean’s surface. In Great Britain, sea creatures swim among the ruins of Big Ben and the Tower of London, and citizens waver between fear and hope; fear of what lurks in the abyss, and hope that humanity will soon discover a way to reclaim the Earth.

Meanwhile, sixteen-year-old Leyla McQueen has her own problems to deal with. Her father’s been arrested, accused of taking advantage of victims of the Seasickness-a debilitating malaise that consumes people,often claiming their lives. But Leyla knows he’s innocent, and all she’s interested in is getting him back so that their lives can return to normal.

When she’s picked to race in the action-packed London Submersible Marathon, Leyla gets the chance to secure his freedom; the Prime Minister promises the champion whatever their heart desires. The race takes an unexpected turn, though, and presents her with an opportunity she never wanted: Leyla must venture outside of London for the first time in her life, to find and rescue her father herself.

Now, she’ll have to brave the unfathomable waters and defy a corrupt government determined to keep its secrets, all the while dealing with a secretive, hotheaded companion she never asked for in the first place. If she fails, or falls prey to her own fears, she risks capture-and her father might be lost forever.

A River of Royal Blood – Amanda Joy

Pub date: 29 October

Another one that has family at its heart and sounds oh so good – two sisters having to fight it out to win the crown, assassins, and magic!

Goodreads blurb: An enthralling debut perfect for fans of Children of Blood and Bone set in a North African-inspired fantasy world where two sisters must fight to the death to win the crown.

Sixteen-year-old Eva is a princess, born with the magick of marrow and blood–a dark and terrible magick that hasn’t been seen for generations in the vibrant but fractured country of Myre. Its last known practitioner was Queen Raina, who toppled the native khimaer royalty and massacred thousands, including her own sister, eight generations ago, thus beginning the Rival Heir tradition. Living in Raina’s long and dark shadow, Eva must now face her older sister, Isa, in a battle to the death if she hopes to ascend to the Ivory Throne–because in the Queendom of Myre only the strongest, most ruthless rulers survive.

When Eva is attacked by an assassin just weeks before the battle with her sister, she discovers there is more to the attempt on her life than meets the eye–and it isn’t just her sister who wants to see her dead. As tensions escalate, Eva is forced to turn to a fey instructor of mythic proportions and a mysterious and handsome khimaer prince for help in growing her magick into something to fear. Because despite the love she still has for her sister, Eva will have to choose: Isa’s death or her own.

A River of Royal Blood is an enthralling debut set in a lush North African inspired fantasy world that subtly but powerfully challenges our notions of power, history, and identity.

Beyond the Black Door – A.M Strickland

Pub date: 29 October

I don’t know what to say to make this more interesting than the blurb already does, it sounds INCREDIBLE! Soulwalkers! Opening the door to your own soul! Court mystery! Queer!

Goodreads blurb: Kamai was warned never to open the black door, but she didn’t listen …

Everyone has a soul. Some are beautiful gardens, others are frightening dungeons. Soulwalkers―like Kamai and her mother―can journey into other people’s souls while they sleep.

But no matter where Kamai visits, she sees the black door. It follows her into every soul, and her mother has told her to never, ever open it.

When Kamai touches the door, it is warm and beating, like it has a pulse. When she puts her ear to it, she hears her own name whispered from the other side. And when tragedy strikes, Kamai does the unthinkable: she opens the door.

A.M. Strickland’s imaginative dark fantasy features court intrigue and romance, a main character coming to terms with her asexuality, and twists and turns as a seductive mystery unfolds that endangers not just Kamai’s own soul, but the entire kingdom …

Full Disclosure – Camryn Garrett

Pub date: 29 October

Full Disclosure is a book that sounds so deeply powerful and emotional, and I know will likely be a rough, but hopeful and empowering read about acceptance and love!

Goodreads blurb: In a community that isn’t always understanding, an HIV-positive teen must navigate fear, disclosure, and radical self-acceptance when she falls in love–and lust–for the first time. Powerful and uplifting, Full Disclosure will speak to fans of Angie Thomas and Nicola Yoon.

Simone Garcia-Hampton is starting over at a new school, and this time things will be different. She’s making real friends, making a name for herself as student director of Rent, and making a play for Miles, the guy who makes her melt every time he walks into a room. The last thing she wants is for word to get out that she’s HIV-positive, because last time . . . well, last time things got ugly.

Keeping her viral load under control is easy, but keeping her diagnosis under wraps is not so simple. As Simone and Miles start going out for real–shy kisses escalating into much more–she feels an uneasiness that goes beyond butterflies. She knows she has to tell him that she’s positive, especially if sex is a possibility, but she’s terrified of how he’ll react! And then she finds an anonymous note in her locker: I know you have HIV. You have until Thanksgiving to stop hanging out with Miles. Or everyone else will know too.

Simone’s first instinct is to protect her secret at all costs, but as she gains a deeper understanding of the prejudice and fear in her community, she begins to wonder if the only way to rise above is to face the haters head-on…

***

Let me know if you’re excited for any of these books, or if there’s any others I’ve missed but you are excited to read!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Books as Glee songs, part 2

Rach @ Anxious Nachos1 Comment
The Visit Film GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

So it’s back!!! I had so much fun writing my first Books as Glee songs post that I decided to make it into a relatively regular feature for a while – so every few months expect to see some more books as Glee songs because I love writing these. And it gives me a totally acceptable reason to listen to Glee music all the time. So here’s another five books as Glee songs!

Dream On = The City of Brass by S.A Chakraborty

Okay, did I pick this song for The City of Brass purely because of the line ‘I know, nobody knows where it comes and where it goes; I know it’s everyobody sin, you got to lose to know how to win’ which really just SINGS Dara talking to me? Yes. But also, this song is just INCREDIBLE. I love NPH and this song is just full drama and epic riffs and The City of Brass is also full of amazing drama and twists, and EPICNESS. Plus I think Dream On would make the awesome theme song to a fantasy TV show…such as The City of Brass.

Start Me Up/Living on a Prayer = The Exact Opposite of Always by Laura Steven

Perhaps a tenuous connection, but I adore this song in Glee because they go full rock-goth, flip their hair and totally kick ass at this song, and that really reminds me of Izzy, the main character of The Exact Opposite of Always. She is totally kick ass, feminist icon of our times, and she would join in this song and rock the fuck out so damn well.

Keep Holding On = I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver

Okay so in Glee, this song is played when everybody finds out Quinn is pregnant and her whole world is crashing down around her and the Glee club sings this song to try give her strength and I always get really emotional at it. I really felt this matched with I Wish You All the Best because it is also such an emotional book, and Ben is going through such an awful time and really needs some people to give them strength and help them keep holding on. 😭😭😭

Landslide = The Afterward by E.K Johnston

As I was scrolling through YouTube, the second I saw this song I immediately knew it was The Afterward. Both song and book are so quietly wonderful, with such a poetic story, and such a beautiful sapphic relationship at the heart of them. In Glee, this is the first moment Santana and Brittany really admit their feelings, and the quiet love and strength they have for each other just fit so perfectly with Kalanthe and Olsa.

Fighter = If We Were Villains M.L Rio

So Fighter is all about a distrustful, dark and broken relationship between Blaine and his brother. It really has the same gritty vibe as If We Were Villains, particularly as the relationship between James and Oliver is also so dark and broken. Oliver’s discovery about James, the slow descent to darkness, but still protecting and wanting James, it just so fits with this gritty song!

I hope you liked this post….The next one will be themed and feature the one and only Jesse St James and all his amazing song entrances. I ❤ him.

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Books as Glee songs

Rach @ Anxious NachosLeave a comment

So this week, Netflix Australia blessed us with adding every Glee episode and I am so here for this I can’t even.

Iqbal Theba GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

So as I was rewatching the first episode for the 100th time, I had the silly idea to match some of my favourite books to Glee songs! Because what else. And I think this sounds like the most fun.

So without further ado, here’s some of my favourite reads of the past few months matched to Glee songs…

The Fever King by Victoria Lee = Cough Syrup

Note: content warnings for this song – attempted suicide, homophobia

The Fever King brutally tore my heart apart, Cough Syrup brutally tore my heart apart. The Fever King filled me with utter pain and devastation, Cough Syrup filled me with utter pain and devastation. Hence, these two went perfectly together in my head! Both are dark and gritty and deal with really difficult subjects, and also fill me with all the emotions.

Deposing Nathan by Zack Smedley = Born This Way

This is another match I could see immediately! The Born This Way Glee performance was one of my defining moments as a queer teen thanks to Kurt’s ‘Likes Boys’ shirt, and to this day I still imagine performing this song with my own shirt. And Deposing Nathan is the book I wished I’d had as a teen. It has such amazing bisexual rep that this novel would have been another defining moment if I’d read it as a teen.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers = Don’t Stop Believing

Okay so this is the song is the first time the Glee club really gel together and it’s so special and Mr Schu can see hope for the future in this rag tag bunch of misfits – and I feel like that’s such a good description for the crew on the Wayfarer as well! They are all so different and yet they match and work together and have so much fun!

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan = Me Against the Music

Okay so this song is all fierceness and empowering and sexy from Santana and Brittney and I feel like this is SO Wren and Lei and they are SO going to go all fire on the Demon King’s ass in Book 2 and show him that women are fierce and strong and won’t be pushed around.

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston = Do You Wanna Touch?

Okay if this song is not 10000% Alex I do not know what is. He is one of the most iconic bisexual characters ever and he would rock this song to Henry so bad.

I will likely be back with some more one day, because I had so much fun making this list.

STAY GLEEFUL.

Paws out,
Rach + Draco