Tag Archives: novella

ARC Review: ANOTHER LIFE by Sarena Ulibarri (2023)

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Genre: Adult Science Fiction
Year Release: May 25, 2023
Buy Link: Stelliform Press

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Read an eARC from the publisher
Content Warnings: state violence, climate disaster

Galacia Aguirre is Mediator of Otra Vida, a city of communal living and equivalent exchange that exists on the shores of what was once Death Valley. In the lead-up to her re-election, a colleague of hers reveals to have discovered a way to discover past lives. Unfortunately, Galacia’s past life is of the man who might have singularly spurred the climate decline of the planet. This novella will appeal to fans of the Monk & Robot books by Becky Chambers in the way it offers a compassionate and forgiving approach to working through the sins of humanity’s past and how personal mistakes don’t necessarily doom the present.

An interview with the author will be going up on May 25, 2023.

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ICE UPON A PIER is Out TODAY!

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The day has finally come: my debut novella, Ice Upon a Pier, is out today! My debut novella is a lesbianoir fantasy novella about a prolific contract killer in a secondary world inspired by 70s/80s New York.

Read more about the summary, contact warnings, and where to buy the novella below.

BOOK SUMMARY

My warped sense of morality embarrasses me. 

Ruta Pawlak is one of the most successful contract killers Pier-Upon-Pier City has ever seen. Convicted of five murders that landed her multiple life sentences, her kill count allegedly sits between fifteen and two hundred people. Some were just for practice, others for revenge, and others she executed for money to keep her potentially world-record setting reading collection going.

For the first time, a biographer sits down with the legendary killer to hear her story in her own words. Get the details on her relationship with her depraved bosses and her eclectic arsenal of murder weapons from ice magic to poison to even the sun itself. From her impoverished upbringing to her introduction to the Syndicates to her bizarre affair with fellow killer Frieda Masters to Ruta’s eventual downfall, this account goes beyond headlines and court proceedings, weaving a story of love, family, survival, and murder.

This novella is perfect for fans of true crime, fantasy, noir, The Last Podcast on the Left, and the interview portions of AMC’s Interview with the Vampire series.

Humans killing other humans wasn’t natural.

Humans killing monsters, however, might be.

CONTENT WARNINGS

Bullying, killing your bully, killing your parents, death of a child (off-page), vomiting, immolation, poisoning, gun violence, and a mention of beastiality. There is a cat, the cat does not die.

BUY LINKS

ARC Review: SOFT TARGETS by Carson Winter (2023)

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Genre: Adult Horror
Year Release: March 22, 2023
Buy Links: Tenebrous Press Site | Kindle Edition

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Read an eARC from the publisher
Trigger warnings: graphic depictions of gun violence in the workplace, gore, death by bludgeoning, suicidal ideation. A portion of all sales goes to the Sandy Hook Foundation.

Two office workers channel their worst impulses in casual conversation in a twisted friendship that makes those daydreams a reality through a loophole that acts almost like Groundhog Day for the unhinged. Violent, mind-bending, with a breathtaking ending that hasn’t stopped bouncing within my brain since I finished.

This is one of those books where the main characters are absolutely repulsive. They’re in jobs that pay the bills and, on the surface, seem relatively adjusted, until you, the reader, get insight into their conversations, mostly revolving around how great the break in routine in the form of tragedy would be. This novella definitely serves as a character study of the worst type of white collar worker: someone with lots of ideas but who fundamentally does not contribute much to society or culture. They’re so realistic, I found myself getting mad at them like actual people and not people within a work of fiction.

The writing and development of these two is something incredible, especially given the book’s length. I will not spoil the journey, but the amount of self-awareness that emerges is masterful, especially following the restraint-less self-indulgence of the Tide – the unreality that strikes our main characters like a cyclical storm. It’s Office Space for the twenty-first century in ways both painfully true and deeply upsetting.

Intense and horrifying in its mundanity; absolutely proceed with caution give the subject matter.

COVER REVEAL: ICE UPON A PIER by Ladz (yours truly)

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I am so thrilled to finally get to share the cover art for Ice Upon a Pier, done by the incredible Aleta Perez, a Bolivian-American illustrator and screen-printer. The reveal went up earlier today on Sarah Gailey’s Stone Soup newsletter and website, which comes complete with a preview of Chapter 1. A preview of the Introduction went live in the January edition of my own newsletter, which you can read here.

This post is to show off the cover on my own space and also tell you how to request ARCs.

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Review: WEIRD FISHES by Rae Mariz (2022)

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Genre: Adult Fantasy
Year Release: 2022
Buy Link: Stelliform Press

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Content Warnings: abandonment, animal cruelty and death of a loved one, child loss and grief, self-harm and suicide, near-drowning, state and police violence, rape and sexual abuse, genocide and cultural loss. Heavy shit, presented in a narrative that takes care to support the weight

Ceph and Iliokai are both weird fishes, one being more like an octopus and the other being a seadog. They notice that the currents have been slowing down as a result of the activities of those Above and it’s a race against other’s collective decisions to fix the problem. Enthusiasm and love for all things oceanic burst from the page along with an impotent rage over its destruction as a result of unregulated human waste. Clever and fantastical, I greatly enjoyed this journey.

An interview with the author will be going up on 12/1/2022.

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ARC Review: CROM CRUACH by Valkyrie Loughcrewe (2022)

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Genre: Adult Horror
Year Release: September 22, 2022
Buy Links: Tenebrous Press Site | Kindle Edition | Bandcamp

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Read an eARC from the publisher
Trigger warnings: body horror, gore, blood, murder, homophobia, racism, transphobia, anti-traveller racism, animal death, Nazis, arson, vomit

A family is found murdered in their homes, but their bodies haven’t quite got the memo. Churches have been burned and locals are quick to accuse others of heinous crimes. Or commit them themselves. Is it a product of something folkloric or something disturbingly human?

With sharp lines, feverish and gross imagery, this horror novella feels like a nightmare with a deeply human cast.

An interview with the author will be going up on release day, September 22nd, 2022.

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ARC Review: I NEVER LIKED YOU ANYWAY by Jordan Kurella (2022)

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Genre: Adult Contemporary
Year Release: August 15th, 2022
Buy Links: Indiebound | Kindle Edition

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Read an eARC from the publisher
Content warning: death, discussion of suicide, abusive relationships

Orpheus and Eurydice get the CW treatment in this retelling that puts the tragic couple in college. Both are music majors, and both have different goals for their relationship as well as their musical careers. A litany of questionable choices follow, told in the past in the music program and present in the Afterlife.

Really fun with delightfully messy relationships and excellent use of music references to move the story along.

An interview with author Jordan Kurella will be going up on release day, August 15th, 2022.

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Author to Author with Tim McGregor (Lure)

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Lure tells the story of a family who came to a fishing village named for a hero and the aftermath of a literal mermaid showing up on their shores. Full of gnarly fisherman, preachers in denial, lovestruck idiots, and kids who don’t know better, this novella is a treat for those who like watching characters struggle with goodness, heroism, and mythologic reverence. It’s great for fans of Robert Eggers films and other folk horror tales.

In today’s release day interview, author Tim McGregor shares with me the origins of this haunting tale, his experience working with Tenebrous Press, and the stories he’s working on now.

Buy Links: Tenebrous Press Site | Kindle Edition

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ARC Review: LURE by Tim McGregor (2022)

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Genre: Adult Horror
Year Release: July 18th, 2022
Buy Links: Tenebrous Press Site | Kindle Edition

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Read an eARC from the publisher
Content warning: dismemberment, vomiting, physical child abuse (depicted), infection, spousal abuse (aftermath depicted), alcoholism, poverty, blood, gore

In a small fishing village named for a famed hero, Kaspar and his family run the local parish and rely on generosity to make ends meet. Things start getting weird and deadly when a mermaid arrives in town. People start going missing and madness ensues while deciding whether

Haunting and folkloric with elegant prose, this novella is a treat of deadly mermaids, townsfolk getting it wrong, and what feels like a rapture.

An interview with the author will be going up on release day, July 18th, 2022.

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