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halfamoon2024-02-04 10:35 am
wearing_tearing) wrote in halfamoon2024-02-04 10:35 am
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Day 4 - Books - Horror recs by female authors!
I thought I'd stop by with a rec list of some of my favorite Horror books written by female authors and featuring amazing female characters :D
Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury - "The Haunting of Hill House meets Sadie in this evocative and mind-bending psychological thriller following two teen girls navigating the treacherous past of a mysterious mansion ten years apart."
I very much enjoyed Liselle Sambury's writing style here. This was a slow build sort of story with a split narrative and the distinct differences between Daisy and Brittney's voices were so well done. There was so much tension right from the beginning with the haunted mansion element and only grew more and more as the story progressed.
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant - "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."
The ocean is one of the scariest places and Grant did such a fantastic job at playing with that. There was so much tension here right from the opening chapter to the point where I couldn't let this book go. The writing was engaging and very easy to follow despite all of the science bits and the take on mermaids was so cool! I also loved how the story was told from multiple perspectives and the little snippets of journals and books and articles we got with each part.
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas - "A story about a dangerously curious young undergraduate whose rebelliousness leads her to discover a shocking secret involving an exclusive circle of students . . . and the dark truth beneath her school’s promise of prestige."
Mostly vibes and little sense and, honestly, that worked pretty well for me! I very much enjoyed the house setting and how Ines was such a wet blanket of a character. It was refreshing, personally? Her perspective and how she saw Catherine and its people was engrossing and I did feel myself get pulled into its atmosphere as well. There were a lot of questions left without answers, but I think that was precisely the point.
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson - "Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things."
A fantastic queer reimagining and S.T. Gibson's writing style was perfect for it. I really really loved how this story was told through Constanta's perspective as she wrote down the memories of her life with him. There was obviously so much pain attached to them and what they all went through in the centuries they lived together. I was engrossed by it all and always found myself reaching for the book so I could read another snippet of it whenever I had some free time.
The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson - "Tiffany D. Jackson ramps up the horror and tackles America's history and legacy of racism in this suspenseful YA novel following a biracial teenager as her Georgia high school hosts its first integrated prom." aka a Carrie retelling!
I did very much enjoy this book! The story was told in several perspectives and Jackson did a very very good job at giving all of the characters distinct voices and personalities. It was really fun to slowly figure out how all the pieces came together and how Maddy's story unfolded. The building of tension here was also so well done and translated very well to the page and the murder and gore-y bits were also extremely well written.
Happy reading!
Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury - "The Haunting of Hill House meets Sadie in this evocative and mind-bending psychological thriller following two teen girls navigating the treacherous past of a mysterious mansion ten years apart."
I very much enjoyed Liselle Sambury's writing style here. This was a slow build sort of story with a split narrative and the distinct differences between Daisy and Brittney's voices were so well done. There was so much tension right from the beginning with the haunted mansion element and only grew more and more as the story progressed.
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant - "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."
The ocean is one of the scariest places and Grant did such a fantastic job at playing with that. There was so much tension here right from the opening chapter to the point where I couldn't let this book go. The writing was engaging and very easy to follow despite all of the science bits and the take on mermaids was so cool! I also loved how the story was told from multiple perspectives and the little snippets of journals and books and articles we got with each part.
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas - "A story about a dangerously curious young undergraduate whose rebelliousness leads her to discover a shocking secret involving an exclusive circle of students . . . and the dark truth beneath her school’s promise of prestige."
Mostly vibes and little sense and, honestly, that worked pretty well for me! I very much enjoyed the house setting and how Ines was such a wet blanket of a character. It was refreshing, personally? Her perspective and how she saw Catherine and its people was engrossing and I did feel myself get pulled into its atmosphere as well. There were a lot of questions left without answers, but I think that was precisely the point.
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson - "Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things."
A fantastic queer reimagining and S.T. Gibson's writing style was perfect for it. I really really loved how this story was told through Constanta's perspective as she wrote down the memories of her life with him. There was obviously so much pain attached to them and what they all went through in the centuries they lived together. I was engrossed by it all and always found myself reaching for the book so I could read another snippet of it whenever I had some free time.
The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson - "Tiffany D. Jackson ramps up the horror and tackles America's history and legacy of racism in this suspenseful YA novel following a biracial teenager as her Georgia high school hosts its first integrated prom." aka a Carrie retelling!
I did very much enjoy this book! The story was told in several perspectives and Jackson did a very very good job at giving all of the characters distinct voices and personalities. It was really fun to slowly figure out how all the pieces came together and how Maddy's story unfolded. The building of tension here was also so well done and translated very well to the page and the murder and gore-y bits were also extremely well written.
Happy reading!
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Into the Drowning Deep is one of my favorite Horrors ever because it is so different! It's probably also my favorite sea creature book together with The Deep by Rivers Solomon. I hope you like the new reads \o/
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