This is a cute little picture book about a cloud that falls in love with the sun, and does his best to get close to her and give her gifts. The illustrations are vibrant and fun and the personalities of the four winds were a lovely touch. I love how it seamlessly weaves in the water cycle into this sweet little story. I read it to my 5yo and my 3yo, and they both said they liked it a whole lot. Super eager to share this in our little free library, and definitely recommend for the 3-7 age group!
This was definitely an unexpected read! Neha’s Mother follows a single father as horrific, paranormal things start to occur in and around his young daughter. This book does NOT hesitate to jump right into the demonic, creepy possessed child thing right from the start. And from there, the demonic possessions continue at a pretty intense rate. This book definitely nailed the tension and gore-filled terror of the demonic onslaught, and I loved that it didn’t pull punches in intensity or pace.
While the writing flowed really smoothly, I did have a hard time connecting with the characters. The story fluidly jumps from one to the other, including some lengthy flashbacks, but I didn’t feel like any of them, particularly the MC, were really likeable, and the MC’s complex relationship with Lakshmy was a little tough for me to follow.
This books is definitely rated R for violence/murder, gore, sex, and extensive profanity, and I’d also throw in a trigger warning for references to kidnapping, prostitution, and pedophilia. I’m not sure this book was really for me, but if you’re interested in dark, gory horror that leans heavily on the demonic and spiritual, then you might want to give it a look!
Thanks so much to Hellbound Books for the free ARC!
⭐⭐⭐
And… if my toddler scuttles onto the top of fridge in the middle of the night, chanting and head tilting at unnatural angles, you can bet I’d be googling E.X.O.R.C.I.S.T
The Interstellar Slayer is a fun science fantasy adventure that takes us into a thoroughly interesting and detailed universe. In a way it reminded me a lot of The Mandalorian in the way that the story follows this rather taciturn assassin as he navigates through this rich new universe on a mission from his guild. There’s plenty of action to show off his interesting, magic-like abilities that make him so effectively deadly, and we also got a glimpse of some colorful side characters and lore which I’m sure get more facetime in future books.
Honestly, the only criticism I have this book is that it packs of lot of info into such a short book, and we didn’t get to know the characters as much as I would’ve liked. But with lots of sequels to follow, there’s still so much to explore and see through Hozark’s adventures. Definitely recommend for anyone looking for a fun new space-fantasy world to explore with a fresh new magic system and lots of action. Thanks so much to Booksirens for the free ARC!
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ½
Cheers to a fun sci-fi! Alas, if only I had a cute mug to toast with!
