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[kessyndrreadsit]

Diaries of a Haunting by M. Verano

This book is actually two, Diary of a Haunting and Possession, so I'll comment on both individually. Both are told in diary format, which was an interesting shift from the 3rd person narrative. Both feature unreliable narrators which I totally adore, and both tell very different, if similar, stories.

Diary of a Haunting itself I enjoyed simply because, while it was at it's heart, a haunted house story, it stayed away from a lot of tropes that make the genre so predictable. It has good pacing, and the climax was rendered unpredictable by the format, but I'll let you read and see for yourself what I mean by that.

Possession reads a little differently, but the narrator is a very different person and she ends up being less unreliable is one sense than in another. All in all, the plot of both books would likely have fallen flat I'd they weren't told in this specific format.

Which is a format that, by the way, is sold as legitimate in every way. M. Verano, the fictional compiler and editor of these recovered journals, is a pen name, but my research has not revealed who the writer is. Aside from his university not actually existing anywhere, you could almost believe this is legit. All in all, Diaries of a Haunting did a lot well as far as cashing in on the found footage genre in book form. Give it a read!

You can pick up a copy at Barnes & Noble

#ya reads #ya horror #found footage #kessyndr reads horror #i should probably expand my genres #but not today #m. verano #mverano #diary of a haunting #ghost stories #possessions #horror reads #horror literature #horror lit

[kessyndrreadsit]

Near the Bone - Christina Henry

Christina Henry has been an idol ever since I picked up her novel, Alice, on a whim forever ago. Since, I've devoured every novel she's written (I'm still trying to get my hands on her Urban Fantasy series) and she rarely disappoints.

That being said, she unpacks a lot of heavy subjects in her writing regardless of the individual novel's plot and I respect that about her.

Near the Bone unpacks some of the toughest issues I've read in any of her books, so it should definitely come with a trigger warning for abuse, sexual and otherwise, but I can promise the issues are handled with grace, and the scenes are never taken through to their conclusion. The books is more about resilience and the finding of self than anything, but it also does an amazing job of capturing the claustrophobic setting as well as how lonely it is to be trapped with strangers.

Yes, there's a monster, but it also begs the question "which monster is worse"? Horror fans won't be disappointed, but it's not an easy read for those with certain triggers.

You can buy this book online here: At Barnes & Noble

#horror books #horror reads #book recs #booklr #christina henry #book recommendations #kessyndr reads horror #horror novels #horror literature #monsters

[kessyndrreadsit]

I've had my eye on this one for a while. Considering how fucked up the X-Men are on their own, this is encouraging me to go pick it up even more.

I just finished this book. Its a YA fantasy horror novel. It starts fucked up and it stays fucked up from beginning to end. There are no heroes. It's like a super fucked up version of the X-Men.