Release Date: February 21st 2023
Publisher: Titan Books
Pages: 272
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 3.25/5 stars
Synopsis
Sister, Maiden, Monster is a visceral story set in the aftermath of our planet’s disastrous transformation and told through the eyes of three women trying to survive the nightmare, from Bram Stoker Award-winning author Lucy A. Snyder.
To survive they must evolve.
A virus tears across the globe, transforming its victims in nightmarish ways. As the world collapses, dark forces pull a small group of women together.
Erin, once quiet and closeted, acquires an appetite for a woman and her brain. Why does forbidden fruit taste so good?
Savannah, a professional BDSM switch, discovers a new turn-on: committing brutal murders for her eldritch masters.
Mareva, plagued with chronic tumors, is too horrified to acknowledge her divine role in the coming apocalypse, and as her growths multiply, so too does her desperation.
Review
Sister, Maiden, Monster is a unique cosmic horror book that is completely unlike anything I’ve read before. The story follows three women in the wake of a pandemic that spreads across the world and infects people in strange horrific ways. Each woman is transformed in ways they could not possibly imagine.
This book really pulled me in with the intriguing premise. The story is told in three separate sections, each one from a different character’s point of view. The first section, which focuses on Erin was really compelling – seeing how the virus was dealt with by government officials, how society adapted, and how it affected people in different ways. I thought this section of the book was really well paced and I was so intrigued to learn more. The middle section was where I started to struggle a little bit. It felt a bit slower and I found it a bit more difficult to get through. I wasn’t a massive fan of of Savannah and I think this contributed to why I found the middle section a bit on the slower side. The final section focusing on Mareva was horror-inducing and I found I could not look away from the book even though it was sending shivers down my spine.
I enjoyed Snyder’s writing style and the story was well executed. The story is told in a very vivid way and there were plenty of moments that really grossed me out. This is definitely a book that will stay on your mind long after you’ve finished reading. The characters are well developed and I particularly enjoyed Erin’s perspective, seeing how she adapted to life as a Type Three. If you’re looking for a dark, cleverly told story with plenty of body horror, this book should absolutely be your next read.
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson was one of my favourite reads of 2021 so I was incredibly excited for her newest release, House of Hunger. This dark horror story follows a young woman named Marion, who lives in the slums of Prane. She hates her job as a maid and struggles to make ends meet with her sick brother living at home. When she happens upon an advert for a bloodmaid she decides to apply for the position – a life of luxury in exchange for the noble lords of the north drinking her blood. Marion finds herself indentured to Lisavet, the Countess of the House of Hunger. Lisavet is quickly taken with Marion, and Marion finds herself quickly falling for her new mistress. As Marion attempts to find her way in this new elite world, she soon discovers that the secrets of the house of hunger might be even more disturbing than she could possibly have imagined.
Extasia is a YA horror novel sent in a dystopian future. The story follows Amity a young woman who is about to become a saint of Haven – the last town on Earth. Amity wants nothing more than to become a saint and help protect her village from the evil that lies beneath the mountain. An evil that has been spreading and killing the men of Haven. As tensions begin to grow in Haven Amity must uncover the truth behind the killings and save the townspeople from destruction.
Christina Henry is well known for her retellings and when I heard her newest release was a retelling of Sleepy Hollow, I was desperate to get my hands on it. The story follows Ben Van Brunt a resident of sleepy hollow. Everyone in the village knows the legend of the horseman, but no one actually believes it happened. When Ben and a friend are out playing in the woods, they discover the headless body of one of the village children. Ben soon becomes entangled in a web of secrets and is determined to uncover the truth – is the Horseman real or is the evil thing in the woods even more sinister?
The Devil Makes Three is one of those books that I read at the absolute perfect time and I got completely wrapped up in the story. This YA fantasy/horror follows Tess, an assistant at the Jessop Library – home to a large collection of ancient (and dangerous) grimoires. Eliot is the headmaster’s son is desperate to get his hands on some of the most restricted texts in the library. When Tess and Eliot accidentally stumble upon a secret tunnel in the library, they find a strange book that releases an ancient devil from his prison. This leaves Tess and Eliot no choice but to work together to find a way to put the devil back before it destroys everything they know and love.
Vampires Never Get Old is a fun anthology containing eleven stories that all put a fresh spin on the vampire story. I’m a big fan of vampire novels so I was really intrigued by this, particularly as it contained stories from writers I’m a big fan of. It’s a relatively short book and I ended up racing through most of them in a single day. I loved the way these authors took the vampire story and turned it on its head, coming up with stories that felt unique and engaging.
Such Pretty Things is the dark and chilling story of Clara and Stephen, two young children taken to stay with their aunt and uncle following their mother’s accident. Their aunt and uncle stay in a remote house and the children believe this will be a summer of exploration and play. Their Auntie has been hoping for children as long as she can remember, but when the children arrive with all their mess and bad behaviour, Auntie struggles to cope. As the children uncover secrets Auntie had long kept hidden it will rip apart their family forever.
Horrorstör is a book that caught my eye online and as soon as I read the synopsis I knew I had to order a copy. A haunted house story set in an Ikea type store? Where do I sign up? I expected this to be a fun, entertaining read but what I didn’t expect was for it to be genuinely quite creepy and spine tingling. Horrorstör is a gripping and compelling read, and one I absolutely did not want to look away from.
Ramsey Campbell is an author I have always wanted to try so when I was offered the chance to read The Searching Dead I jumped at it. The story follows young Dominic Sheldrake as he begins to have suspicions about his history teacher Mr Noble. He learns that his widowed neighbour is part of a church that allows you to contact your dead loved ones and as Dominic and his friend Jim explore France on a school trip he learns that Mr Noble might have other reasons for being there. As Dominic and his friends attempt to uncover the mysteries surrounding them, they uncover much more than they bargained for.
The Bibliophile Chronicles 