Stay in the Light by A.M. Shine

Rating:

4 Stars

Themes:

Horror, Fantasy, Irish

Thoughts:

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is the second installment about the Watchers and sort of feels even creepier with them being out in our world. It jumped straight back into the action which I was glad for after the last page of the first book. This one builds more on the Irish folklore/mythology than the brief mention before which was a great touch, making the Watchers/changelings feel even more real. I also found the developing relationships, especially between Madeline and Mina. I found the small town Irish touches fun and grounding. I found Sean insufferable, especially with his misogyny, but I have a feeling that he was written that way on purpose so that his ending felt better and as a contrast with the strong female leads.

Favourite Quote:

“Time did more than kill. It had the power to erase people out of existence entirely. The happiness, the sorrow – the highs and lows of a life seen through to its end – all of it had been reduced to this: a pile of dust and bone heaped into the darkest corner.”

With thanks to Head of Zeus Audiobooks and Netgalley for my advanced digital copy of this book.

Comments

Mint and Murder by Carly Winter

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Holly by Stephen King

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Horror, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Fiction Thoughts: I had such mixed feelings coming away from this book. I did love Holly as a character in the other books so I loved seeing more of her personality and the way she worked in depth this time, especially since the last bit I read was only the short story (If It Bleeds). I also thought this book had an even worse monster for Holly to stop since they’re human so it shows the extent of suffering humans can inflict on each other. It was so surreal reading all the elements of COVID after having lived through it as this is the first book I’ve read set in that period. However, there were too many references made to smoking to me as it added nothing to the plot and only padded out the pages, especially since Holly was supposed to have given up already so it’s not like we’d notice it missing. There was also no need for the use of derogatory terms since the monsters were already horrible enough without needing them to be ...

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