#nat cassidy

[oddishfeeling]

do you have any book recommendations? pls i need lots 💙💙

this is such a loaded question friend. but lucky for u, i am procrastinating assignments, my take out has yet to arrive, and i just finished another book!

horror fic has been my choice for the last several books

the centre by ayesha manazir siddiqi is about a young Pakistani woman living in the UK. she's a translator for Urduru films. language and translation are central to this book. people are becoming fluent in a matter of weeks in complex languages.... the centre is gorgeous if not entirely mysterious, magical even. but whats the catch?? beautifully written. vivid details. anisa is a flawed, honest, and genuine feeling mc, as are the people in her life. i just finished it a couple hours ago n i miss my girls.

slewfoot by brom is set in 17th century Connecticut. our protag, Abitha, is not from this town but she does he best to adhere to the Puritan standards, if not for her well being, than that of her husband's. something stirs in the outskirts of the village, in the forest and beyond. she finds help from an unlikely source while also fostering a deep inner power of her own. these characters felt so well thought out, the writing is magnetic and the action is well paced. it puts so many preconceived notions right on their head. i loved this book and can't wait to read brom's other novel, the child thief, a retelling of peter pan and the lost boys!

sister, maiden, monster by lucy a. synder was oh so gay and oh so cosmically horrendous. this is like h.p. lovecraft wasn't a weird racist. this is like if biblically accurate angels were once just women in love. this is horrifying, visceral, and relevant to our COVID world. i was gawking at so many of the details. there are so many monster themes actually, it's perfect. the story is told through 3 povs of 3 different women. and we love women! and horror! i didn't expect to pick this one up but I'm so glad i did.

mary: an awakening of terror by nat cassidy do u know what it's like to be virtually invisible? forgotten? disaffected? do u know the pure joy of having a precious collection, adding to it over time, and it being almost ur only reason for living anymore?? then you're a lot like mary. and mary is a lot like plenty of women who get the chance to live beyond adolescence, who are cast out by society-- deemed invaluable. mary is utterly lost at a time in her life she feels she should have it all figured out. she goes back to her hometown, an ambiguous small town in the middle of the desert, and some unlikely characters help her piece things back together. i finished this book feeling so close to mary. we are friends now. there is mystique, horror, fables, myths, bad guys, mysterious architecture, and well mary is not the most reliable narrator. loved this one too.

the last house on needless street by catriona ward i had no idea where this book was going and i loved piecing the narrative together through several characters and their povs. it forces u to confront ur own biases regarding mental health. u are sympathetic to the characters in the most painful, heart wrenching ways. there is murder. there is mystery. there is missing children. there are cats. this book surprised me and it was fun to have to find a couple reddit threads to be sure i was understanding the story correctly. i felt like i read this kind of fast! which is always fun too.

brother by ania ahlborn this one pissed me off a bit. but in a good way because i was so deeply invested. this one is set in Appalachia. i'm not one for stereotypes, especially bc i think Appalachians have a bad rep and it's of no fault of their own. that being said, the insular feel of the book and the absolute claustrophobia those mountains create in this story were like a character in it of itself. our protag, michael, knows there's something beyond. he's seen them on colorful postcards. but his own mind and his own heart seem utterly trapped here. this one is heartbreaking. it's horrifying. and it'll make u dizzy from the amount of times u change ur mind. excited to read her other novel, Seed, because this one stuck with me so much!

a couple honorable mentions that fit the theme:

the vegetarian by han kang korean food. infidelity. art. nightmares. inexplicable mindfucks! this story was scary because it felt very.. possible? no monsters this time. no spells. just... the mind deteriorating. could happen to any of us.

a certain hunger by chelsea g. summers what if girlbossing is just a quick pivot from sociopathy?? what if the crimes are so much more gratifying than say, fame or fortune or even love?? women can be sociopaths too, you know!! this one is fun bc the protag is crazy and it's fun to slip into these characters. cathartic even. omg did i mention, she's a foodie too! just like me :-)

#book recs #horror lit #halloween reading list #the centre #ayesha manazir siddiqi #slewfoot #brom #sister maiden monster #lucy a. snyder #mary: an awakending #nat cassidy #the last house on needless street #catriona ward #brother #ania ahlborn #the vegetarian #han kang #a certain hunger #chelsea g. summers

[brokehorrorfan]

The Darkest Night will be published in paperback and e-book on September 24 via Crooked Lane Books. The 320-page anthology of winter horror stories is edited by Lindy Ryan and includes an introduction by George C. Romero.

It features 22 stories by Josh Malerman, Eric LaRocca, Clay McLeod Chapman, Rachel Harrison, Christopher Golden, Tim Lebbon, Jamie Flanagan, Kristi DeMeester, Nat Cassidy, Darcy Coates, Tim Waggoner, Hailey Piper, Thommy Hutson, Gwendolyn Kiste, Sara Tantlinger, Christopher Brooks, M. Rickert, Cynthia Pelayo, Lee Murray, Mercedes Yardley, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Jeff Strand, and Kelsea Yu.

From some of the biggest names in horror comes an Advent calendar of short holiday horror stories perfect for the darkest nights of the year. Edited by award-winning author and anthologist Lindy Ryan and with contributions from masters of horror like Josh Malerman, Eric LaRocca, and Clay McLeod Chapman, this horrific anthology will chill you to the bone.

Pre-order The Darkest Night.

#josh malerman #eric larocca #clay mcleod chapman #rachel harrison #christopher goldren #tim lebbon #jamie flanagan #nat cassidy #darcy coates #book #gift #crooked lane books #horror #horror books #george romero

[torpublishinggroup]

Release Roundup - 10.31.23

halloween and new books on the same day? whoa.

👇title info below👇

Tor Books

The Wolfe at the Door by Gene Wolfe

TorDotCom Publishing

A Season of Monstrous Conceptions by Lina Rather

Nightfire

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy

#the wolfe at the door #gene wolfe #a season of monstrous conceptions #lina rather #nestlings #nat cassidy #new book tuesday

[backlogbooks]

nestlings by nat cassidy starts with quotes from mountain goats songs and NONE of you TOLD me???

#mary emma talks #nestlings #nat cassidy #the mountain goats

[literatureandtrees]

currently reading

#mary #nat cassidy #books #booklr #reading #nature #literature #bibliophile

[chavisory]

"I'd wandered away from the group, and when I came back to myself, I realized the lights were off and the place was too quiet. Even the person who ran the place had left. I was all alone. Like the world had just...moved on without me."

-Nat Cassidy, Mary: An Awakening of Terror

#quotes #nat cassidy #mary #autismproblems

[stained-by-your-kiss]

Boys usually get to keep that confidence, I think; girls have to give it back like it never really belonged to them.

#nat cassidy #mary an awakening of terror #currently reading #quote

[carska36]

When the book you're reading gets a little too real

#Mary an Awakening of Terror #Nat Cassidy

[severalknives]

10/10 fucked me up six ways to Sunday

#reading #books #mary #nat cassidy #horror #horror reading

[notinmyvocab]

"Darling. If there's one thing this world teaches someone like me," I tell him, "it's how to hurt myself."

Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy

#mary an awakening of terror #nat cassidy #book quotes

[oracleofmadness]

I read a bit of an interview of the author, Nat Cassidy, and it helped me see more into this incredible work of horror. The idea of vampirism and how exactly it affects different cultures or religious groups other than Christianity. This put the book on a whole new level for me, and I was very impressed.

This book is short but very slow moving. It absolutely reminded me of the vibe of one of my favorites, an oldie, Salem's Lot. In that story, the whole town seems to be an entity, trapping the townspeople within. The same can be said of this story and the oppressive apartment building that seemed to be taking over.

Every line had a purpose, driving the point forward. I was on alert the whole time I was reading this.

Out October 31, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

#book #bookish #books #bookworm #book review #currently reading #read #bookblogger #reading #horror stories #horror novels #horror story #horror #nestlings #nat cassidy

[sarcasticbabywhispererjess]

This book is wild. It starts out a little weird and the lunacy just increases exponentially as it goes on.

#Mary #nat Cassidy #book #bookblr #horror

[livingfictionsystem]

A story about menopause, the sense of self, reincarnation, ghosts, a cult, and a serial killer. This was exceedingly well-written, first of all. It's so immersive that I actually kept making the mistake of Googling the characters and locations as if I could run by a historical document or photos of the massacre. Mary's POV is intriguing, as well. I was altogether not able to relate to her on a literal sense, but I felt so deep in her mind that I empathized with her through most of this. She's probably no one I'd be friends with in real life, but she was such a multi-dimensional person come to life by the prose. Mary is also realistically inconsistent. Sometimes meek, quiet, shy. Sometimes brutal and vicious. Many times, snarky and almost giggling through her own mental breakdowns and pointing how ridiculous her circumstances are. Throughout the book, she also becomes jaded, which I love in a horror character. She's fed up with her own existential crisis and even at one point, thinks, 'Wait, what happened to that child I supposedly killed? Eh, who gives a shit.' Which made me almost choke o my tea. Nat Cassidy is an exceptional writer for this. It also stayed in the mind enough that one of the people I was reading this book with found themself drunkeningly rambling about it to their friend one night in a McDonald's drive-thru, so, again, very well-done. I definitely recommend reading the author's Forward and Afterword because this is, as he points out, the story of menopause, told from the POV of a 50-year old woman, written by a cis guy. (He actually does specify cis, too, which I thought was refreshingly inclusive. There's no declaration like 'No man has gone through menopause!')

I will say, the feminism, though appreciated in some respects, really hits you over the head. It was almost funny how, in a scene with ghosts and gore, there'd be a narrative ramble about how women are overlooked. Like yes, that's nice, Mary, but that man's head was just cleaved in two by Ghostie Claws over there, a little focus please. Also, this book features a cult. As a cult survivor, I found the depiction unrealistic. There was no incentive, no threats of punishment or exile, no deprivation, to keep the members there and they all seemed to be just hardwired into being zealots that are just fine and dandy about human sacrifice. I do think the revelation about Damon Cross' journal was outright hilarious, though. No one is all that likable, but you don't need to be invested in anyone here. In fact, it's probably best not to be. Aunt Nadine was a bombshell of a character, vulgar, stubborn, and cantankerous, was a riot in nearly every scene she was in, but I definitely wouldn't want to be in the same room with her. I'd pay to see her on a reality show, though. She'd fit right in on Jerry Springer. It was also strange how much of the characters who insulted or berated Mary seemed to echo her own thoughts about herself---same verbiage and everything, 80% sexism. Nat Cassidy did try to bring in mythology and demons that didn't really fit and I'm left wondering what the point was. TW's for almost everything but SA. (A horror book that doesn't have a graphic SA scene? It Does happen!) There's substantial gore that is described very explicitly. And yes, the dog does die. (Possibly two?)

Oh, and if you can, get the audiobook. Susan Bennett did Such an amazing job.

SPOILER BEYOND THIS POINT.

The entire thing being pinned on Nancy was out of nowhere. Especially since it tried to hint towards Mary being caught in the excepts of the FBI agent's book. What was she even doing at the scene? Where did she even come from? It was sort of almost funny that the FBI's book boasted that he danced with the devil and took out some random hospital worker, but I wish there had been more lead-up.

-Xhaxhollari Icarus 🕊

#mary #nat cassidy #horror #book review #mary mudgett #menopause

[just-a-casual-reader]

They will always try to condense our complexities into something simple and dismissible, because that’s what being a woman is, being too much for definitions, and being defined anyway.

#Mary #Nat Cassidy

[thischarmingamy]

My Year In Books

Stats from GoodReads Here’s what my year in books looked like. Follow me on GoodReads for details and reviews. You may note that at least three of the books feature disabled lead characters. Some of my favorites (not necessarily released in 2023) are: 10. Cut Loose! by Ali Stroker and Stacy Davidowitz (The sequel to The Chance to Fly) 9. What Kind of Motber by Clay McLeod Chapman 8. Tombs by…

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#Ali Stroker #Andrea l Rogers #Celeste Ng #Cindy Otis #Clay MacLeod Chapman #Diane Ladd #disabled lit #Junji Ito #Laura Dern #Nat Cassidy #nick cave #RF Kuang #Sean O’Hagan #Stacy Davidowitz

[heavenlylibrary]

“Can you think of anything truer than muscle and blood?”

- From Mary by Nat Cassidy

#nat cassidy #horror #literature #fiction #quotes #book quotes