Can't-Wait Wednesday: What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould & Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archives #5) by Brandon Sanderson

       

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! 

What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould
Publication: December 10th, 2024
Wednesday Books
Hardcover. 336 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Yellowjackets meets Girl, Interrupted when a group of troubled teens in a wilderness therapy program find themselves stranded in a forest full of monsters eager to take their place. 

Devin Green wakes in the middle of the night to find two men in her bedroom. No stranger to a fight, she calls to her foster parents for help, but it soon becomes clear this is a planned abduction—one everyone but Devin signed up for. She’s shoved in a van and driven deep into the Idaho woods, where she’s dropped off with a cohort of equally confused teens. Finally, two camp counselors inform them that they've all been enrolled in an experimental therapy program. If the campers can learn to change their self-destructive ways—and survive a fifty-days hike through the wilderness—they’ll come out the other side as better versions of themselves. Or so the counselors say.

Devin is immediately determined to escape. She’s also determined to ignore Sheridan, the cruel-mouthed, lavender-haired bully who mocks every group exercise. But there’s something strange about these woods—inhuman faces appearing between the trees, visions of people who shouldn't be there flashing in the leaves—and when the campers wake up to find both counselors missing, therapy becomes the least of their problems. Stranded and left to fend for themselves, the teens quickly realize they’ll have to trust each other if they want to survive. But what lies in the woods may not be as dangerous as what the campers are hiding from each other—and if the monsters have their way, no one will leave the woods alive.

Atmospheric and sharp, What the Woods Took is a poignant story of transformation that explores the price of becoming someone—or something—new."

I am very intrigued by this premise, as I always enjoy a good survival story that also relies heavily on human relationships and interactions. Hopefully it's a little bit spooky, also!

Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archives #5) by Brandon Sanderson
Publication: December 6th, 2024
Tor Books
Hardcover. 1344 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"The long-awaited explosive climax to the first arc of the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive―the iconic epic fantasy masterpiece that has sold more than 10 million copies, from acclaimed bestselling author Brandon Sanderson.

Dalinar Kholin challenged the evil god Odium to a contest of champions with the future of Roshar on the line. The Knights Radiant have only ten days to prepare―and the sudden ascension of the crafty and ruthless Taravangian to take Odium’s place has thrown everything into disarray.

Desperate fighting continues simultaneously worldwide―Adolin in Azimir, Sigzil and Venli at the Shattered Plains, and Jasnah at Thaylen City. The former assassin, Szeth, must cleanse his homeland of Shinovar from the dark influence of the Unmade. He is accompanied by Kaladin, who faces a new battle helping Szeth fight his own demons . . . and who must do the same for the insane Herald of the Almighty, Ishar.

At the same time, Shallan, Renarin, and Rlain work to unravel the mystery behind the Unmade Ba-Ado-Mishram and her involvement in the enslavement of the singer race and in the ancient Knights Radiants killing their spren. And Dalinar and Navani seek an edge against Odium’s champion that can be found only in the Spiritual Realm, where memory and possibility combine in chaos. The fate of the entire Cosmere hangs in the balance."

I'm sure many people are anxiously awaiting this release! I am honestly in quite a desperate need for a recap of the first four books, though, as a re-read is a bit out of the question given the size of these dang books and my memory is a bit hazy on some things, haha.

Month in Review: October 2024

Note: This was scheduled to be posted during the first week of November, but I have just now realized it never did because I've been out of town and didn't notice! So this is a very lately month in review, but better late than never... right? :)

 I love October and I'm honestly a bit disappointed that it's over, haha. It was a great month! How was everyone's Halloween? I always love having candy for the kids trick or treating, but I have to say we didn't have quite as many this year as we usually do, which was a little disappointing, but still very fun to see everyone who did come by. What do you do (if anything) to celebrate?

In personal news, I participated in a teacher training program for aerial silks which was exhausting but also so rewarding and I'm pleased to say that I am now officially certified as a level one aerial silks instructor (to be clear, there's no official governing board for aerial arts so no certifications are required, but there are some reputable companies that offer training certifications, which is where I did mine!)! I don't plan to start teaching right away, but hopefully next year I can start. I was a bit nervous to start the training and was worried I wasn't prepared for it, but it ended up being an amazing experience and I learned so much.

In reading news, I am very pleased to report that this was a great reading month! I managed to get through a pretty good array of horror books, which is exactly what I wanted to do. I somehow still didn't manage to get to half of the ones I wanted to, but I'm not going to complain, haha. That just means there's still more to read, right? I also didn't read nearly as many ARCs as I should have, but it's largely because I was prioritizing horror this month. A few standouts from my October reads were The Black Hunger and Coup de Grâce.  

How was your October?  Let me know how your month was below and what you've been reading!

   

# books read: 14

The Black Hunger by Nicholas Pullen ★★★★★

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

Coup de Grâce by Sofia Ajram ★★★★★

Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover

Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne ★★★★

Source: Library | Format: Hardcover

The Dollmakers by Lynn Buchanan ★★★★

Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC

The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim ★★★★

Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover

The Haar by David Sodergren ★★★★

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook

Pyramidia by Stephanie Sanders-Jacob ★★★★

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook

Small Horrors: A Collection of Fifty Creepy Stories by Darcy Coates ★★★★
Source: Library | Format: Audiobook

The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin ★★★★

Source: Library | Format: 

The Vessel by Adam L.G. Nevill ★★★

Source: Library | Format: 

A Season of Monstrous Conceptions by Lina Rather ★★★.75

Source: Library | Format: 

Crypt of the Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud ★★★

Source: Owned | Format: Paperback

And What Can We Offer You Tonight by Premee Mohamed ★★★★

Source: Library | Format: 

The Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night by Steven Banbury ★★★★

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

DNF/To-Be-Finished:

This Cursed House by Del Sandeen
I wanted to like this one so much, but it just severely lacked in atmosphere and feeling even remotely scary. This story had os much potential, but I was just started to feel so bored that I decided to set it down. I may revisit it someday, but no current plans to. 

 

A Rose by Any Other Name by Mary McMyne
The City in Glass by Nghi Vo
The Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night by Steven Banbury
The Black Hunger by Nicholas Pullen
The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim
Pyramidia by Stephanie Sanders-Jacob
The Haar by David Sodergren
Small Horrors by Darcy Coates

 Posts:

October Anticipated Releases
Month in Review: September 2024
November Anticipated Releases

Blog Memes:

Can't-Wait Wednesday:
10/2: The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami & The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso
10/9: We Shall Be Monsters by Alyssa Sees & Daughters of Bronze by A.D. Rhine
10/16: Darkly by Marisha Pessl & The Author's Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, & Karen White
10/23: The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson & Eleanore of Avignon by Elizabeth DeLozier
10/30: Dead Girls Don't Dream by Nino Cipri & The Estate by Sarah Jost

The Friday Face-Off:
Current Read #32

Review: We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida, trans. by E. Madison Shimoda

We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida, trans. by E. Madison Shimoda

Berkley

Publication Date: September 3rd, 2024

Hardcover. 297 pages.

About We'll Prescribe You a Cat:

"A cat a day keeps the doctor away….

Discover this utterly charming, vibrant celebration of the healing power of cats in the award-winning, bestselling Japanese novel that has become an international sensation.

Tucked away on the fifth floor of an old building at the end of a narrow alley in Kyoto, the Nakagyō Kokoro Clinic for the Soul can be found only by people who are struggling in their lives and who genuinely need help. The mysterious clinic offers a unique treatment to those who find their way there: it prescribes cats as medication. Patients are often puzzled by this unconventional prescription, but when they “take” their cat for the recommended duration, they witness profound transformations in their lives, guided by the playful, empathetic, and occasionally challenging yet endearing cats.

Throughout these pages, the power of the human-animal bond is revealed as a disheartened businessman finds unexpected joy in physical labor, a middle-aged man struggles to stay relevant at work and home, a young girl navigates the complexities of elementary school cliques, a hardened handbag designer seeks emotional balance, and a geisha learns to move on from the memory of her lost cat. As the clinic’s patients grapple with their inner turmoil and seek resolution, their feline companions lead them toward healing, self-discovery, and newfound hope."

We'll Prescribe You a Cat is a lovely little collection of interconnected stories set in Kyoto, Japan. My husband and I just recently visited Japan and stayed in Kyoto (an explanation for my lack of posting last week), so I decided to save this one because I thought that this would be the perfect book to read while there–and it was! This was a delightful read that has a perfect balance of light and 'cozy' vibes mixed with some explorations of more meaningful and thoughtful themes. 

The Nakagyō Kokoro Clinic for the Soul is located in a hard to find, narrow alley within Kyoto,and typically only appears to those who are in need of its assistance. Within the walls of this clinic are an aloof receptionist and somewhat eccentric doctor who does not seem to do anything 'by the book' of a traditional doctor. Still, patients that enter this clinic are typically desperate enough to go along with things and try out what's advised–which just happens to be that of a prescription cat meant to help them solve their problems. 

There are five short stories within this book, all focusing on a different patient and the cat prescribed to them. As we follow along each patient's journey, we slowly learn a bit more about this mysterious clinic and the doctor and receptionist who work there, though sometimes the things we learn only add to the mystery. With each new story, we are taken into the lives of new characters and learn about their daily lives the variety of things that are plaguing them, as well as how they find their way to the clinic. I loved this concept of patients being prescribed cats (I mean, who doesn't?) and really enjoyed the execution of it as well, as I felt the author used a lot of creative techniques and storytelling ideas to show the effectiveness of the cats in a variety of different ways. 

After the first story, I was a little worried that this concept and general setup would become a bit repetitive as the stories went along, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the author actually develops each story in ways that advances an overall story and understanding of the clinic, so you're really getting some new and interesting things added to the story as you go along. I was consistently impressed by the ways in which the author brought the stories together, and was immensely pleased by the culmination of the fifth story by what was learned about the clinic by then.

I also appreciated the thoughtfulness behind the author's exploration of each character and the various troubles they have; there's a lot of quiet consideration for why people are unhappy with various aspects of their lives, as well as what can be done. Some people even discover problems they didn't realize they had and learn to overcome them through the bond developed with an animal that relies on them. 

Overall, I've given We'll Prescribe You a Cat four stars! I don't know that this book will be for everyone, but if you're looking for something easy to read, a bit cozy for the upcoming holiday and winter season, has thoughtful discussions and in-depth character explorations, and that features a plentiful amount of cats, then this is the book for you. This is one of those books that will likely leave you feeling a bit more hopeful about things–and perhaps it'll even convince you to adopt a cat!

*I received a copy of We'll Prescribe You a Cat in exchange for an honest review. This has no affect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap & The Party by Natasha Preston

      

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! 

The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap
Publication: December 24th, 2024
Kensington
Hardcover. 336 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"In the tradition of The Alienist and A Love Story, a decadently macabre, dark and twisty gothic debut set in 19th century Scotland – when real-life serial killers Burke and Hare terrorized the streets of Edinburgh – as a young medical student is lured into the illicit underworld of body snatching.

Historical fiction, true crime, and dark academia intertwine in a harrowing tale of murder, greed, and the grisly origins of modern medicine for readers of Lydia Kang, ML Rio, Sarah Perry, and C.E. McGill.

Edinburgh, Scotland, 1828. Naïve but determined James Willoughby has abandoned his posh, sheltered life at Oxford to pursue a lifelong dream of studying surgery in Edinburgh. A shining beacon of medical discovery in the age of New Enlightenment, the city’s university offers everything James desires—except the chance to work on a human cadaver. For that, he needs to join one of the private schools in Surgeon’s Square, at a cost he cannot afford. In desperation, he strikes a deal with Aneurin “Nye” MacKinnon, a dashing young dissectionist with an artist’s eye for anatomy and a reckless passion for knowledge. Nye promises to help him gain the surgical experience he craves—but it doesn’t take long for James to realize he’s made a devil’s bargain . . .   Nye is a body snatcher. And James has unwittingly become his accomplice.

Intoxicated by Nye and his noble mission, James rapidly descends into the underground ranks of the Resurrectionists—the body snatchers infamous for stealing fresh corpses from churchyards to be used as anatomical specimens. Before he knows it, James is caught up in a life-or-death scheme as rival gangs of snatchers compete in a morbid race for power and prestige. James and Nye soon find themselves in the crosshairs of a shady pair of unscrupulous opportunists known as Burke and Hare, who are dead set on cornering the market, no matter the cost. These unsavory characters will do anything to beat the competition for bodies. Even if it’s cold-blooded murder . . .

Exquisitely macabre and delightfully entertaining, The Resurrectionist combines fact and fiction in a rollicking tale of the risks and rewards of scientific pursuit, the passions of its boldest pioneers, and the anatomy of human desire."

A historical fiction/horror centered around real life body snatchers... I'm in!

The Party by Natasha Preston
Publication: December 3rd, 2024
Delacorte Press
Paperback. 352 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Are you invited?

In the heart of the English countryside, Bessie and her closest friends gather at a remote castle for a secret party destined to make this the best spring break ever. But when the first of them dies, the party takes a lethal turn.

As the body count continues to rise, Bessie and her friends must contend with a deadly storm and growing internal suspicion, all while trapped inside with a killer.

Set against the backdrop of a sprawling English estate, Natasha Preston's latest thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat until the party’s over…"

Natasha Preston always writes some fun thrillers, and I'm always up for a classic premise like this.

Horror Mini Reviews Pt. II: The Haar by David Sodergren & Small Horrors by Darcy Coates

Happy Halloween! Today I have two more mini horror reviews for you all to celebrate the holiday: The Haar by David Sodergren and Small Horrors by Darcy Coates!

The Haar by David Sodergren

Paperbacks and Pugs
Publication: May 17th, 2022

Paperback. 212 pages.

About The Haar:

"'I don’t fear death... but they do.'

Muriel McAuley has lived in the Scottish fishing village of Witchaven all her life. She was born there, and she intends to die there.

But when an overseas property developer threatens to evict the residents from their homes and raze Witchaven to the ground in the name of progress, all seems lost… until the day a mysterious fog bank creeps inland.

The Haar.

To some it brings redemption… to others, it brings only madness and death. What macabre secrets lie within… The Haar.

Romantic and deranged, The Haar is a gore-soaked folk horror fairy tale from David Sodergren, author of The Forgotten Island and Maggie’s Grave."

In a small town in Scotland, a large American company has begun buying out inhabitants in order to build their own private endeavor. Muriel has lived in this town her entire life and refuses to give in to this horrible, which makes her a huge problem for the company. One day, amidst rising drama pertaining to the company and various buyouts, Muriel happens upon something that has the potential to change the course of her life... and perhaps the lives of a few others. 

The blurb for The Haar describes it as "a gore-soaked folk horror fairy tale," and I'm not sure I could describe it any better than that. However, it's also a book with some really carefully written explorations of grief and loneliness that made this much sadder and more touching I expected. Muriel is living alone in her small town, her husband having died years prior, and this book really focuses in on much of her grief and her desire to simply be with her husband and have love in her life again. This is honestly a surprisingly sentimental horror and is one that really made me feel for our protagonist, who is also an incredibly bold, witty, and full of attitude, which means she refuses to let anyone tell her what to do.

I really did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did, but I'm so glad I happened across it on my library's online app and had a chance to read it. I listened to the audiobook version of this one and thought it was incredibly well done with a fantastic narrator. If you're looking for something delightfully gory, with a great protagonist, and with some incredible otherworldly folktale elements, then be sure to give The Haar a read. Overall, this ended up being a four star read!

Small Horrors: A Collection of Fifty Creepy Stories by Darcy Coates

Poisoned Pen press
Publication: April 5th, 2022

Paperback. 272 pages.

About Small Horrors:

"Push past the curtains of your rational, safe world and explore the un-nameable horrors living in the darkest corners of our consciousness. This is the realm of monsters and shifting shadows, where a single wrong step can plunge you into a terrifying fight for your life, where...

Something mimics human voices as it lures you into the woods.
A corpse had gone missing from its drawer in the morgue.
A friend's eyes are unnaturally bright as they approach you in the dark.

Whatever your choice, these fifty small bites of horror are sure to leave you haunted."

If you like your scary stories short, ominous, and to the point, then this is the collection for you. Small Horrors has fifty (fifty!) unique short stories and range across all types of horror, from murder to the supernatural to the alien and monstrous and everything in between. With fifty stories in just 272 pages, these are all fairly short and don't have a lot of time to set up a scene, but they were able to pack a lot into each story. Some were a bit hit or miss, but I didn't honestly expect to love all fifty, and I think I enjoyed far more than I didn't, so it felt like a very worthwhile read. I had a lot of fun with these and really enjoyed getting such a variety of scary stories to pass the time with--it very much felt like a nice sampler of horror and it made it incredibly entertaining to read.

A lot of these stories had a very flash fiction feel to them where the story ends in a very open-ended manner and leaves you to imagine all sorts of horrible things that could happen, though most were just slightly longer than traditional flash fiction. My only criticism I have for some of these is that I often felt like I'd read a similar story or they just felt as though the author was really trying to hit that fifty mark and was creating stories that didn't really work. I would really love to see some of these stories drawn out in a larger story or book, and I do appreciate when a story leaves me excited for more (although perhaps also a bit disappointed that there's not more when there's so much potential). Overall, this is a really solid collection of horror stories that I think is perfect for when you want to pick something up that can give you a short and sweet scary story fix. 

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Dead Girls Don't Dream by Nino Cipri & The Estate by Sarah Jost

     

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

Dead Girls Don't Dream by Nino Cipri
Publication: November 12th, 2024
Henry Holt and Co.
Hardcover. 304 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"There are rules for Voynich Woods: Always carry a whistle. Never go alone. Always come home before dark. And if anyone calls your name, don't answer. Because everyone who wanders from the path is never seen again.

Except for Riley Walcott.

Riley knows better than to stray from the trail in the woods behind her uncle Toby's house. But her little sister Sam breaks the rules in pursuit of a local legend, so Riley chases after her and discovers a knife-wielding figure and a waiting grave.

Madelyn lives deep in the forest. Subject to her mother's strict rules, she's forbidden from leaving home or using her magic―but one night, she risks everything to help a stranger who's lost in the woods.

Riley is murdered in a strange ritual, Madelyn uses her magic to resurrect her, and their lives are immediately entwined in the gnarled history of Voynich Woods. Riley, who feels trapped in her small town but too afraid to leave, was never a believer, but now the evidence is taking root under her skin. Madelyn has the scars to prove how terrible magic can be, and longs for a life beyond her mother's grasp. As the legends become all too real, Riley and Madelyn must confront their deepest fears to uncover the truth about Voynich Woods."

I'm always up for any horror with a mysterious forest! I'm really curious to see what the author does with this premise.

The Estate by Sarah Jost
Publication: November 19th, 2024
Sourcebooks Landmark
Paperback. 416 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"For fans of The Cloisters and The Cartographers comes a gripping speculative suspense that follows one woman with the ability to enter the dimension of art, who finds herself trapped in a French estate as the pawn in a rich man's game…

Not all art is safe.

Camille Lerray has spent her career as an art historian surrounding herself with fineries, learning how to appeal to the rich, and selling art for millions. But she harbors a secret that could ruin the life she has so meticulously she has the magic ability to enter the world of the art she surrounds herself with, and she can take others with her. But tapping into history comes at a great risk.

And someone has been watching, someone who knows about her magic, and her mistakes...

After Camille ruins her career and reputation after misusing her powers, she vows to do anything to get her old life back, even if that means tamping down her magic. So when Maxime Foucault, an enigmatic aristocrat who owns a sprawling French estate, enlists her help in authenticating the statues of a mysterious artist who was deemed a madwoman, she knows this could be her chance to turn her career around and get the man of her dreams.

But something isn't quite right about the Foucault family and the grand chateau they inhabit, and as Camille gets sucked into its walls, she finds a world of luxury and greed, and risks losing herself, and everything she has ever known, forever."

This sounds so interesting and unique! I love the idea of being able to enter the worlds of art (!) and am so curious about this book. 

Horror Mini Reviews Pt. I: The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim & Pyramidia by Stephanie Sanders-Jacob

This week I have a number of horror books to share with you all that I've been reading throughout the month of October! Ideally, I would've had horror reviews for you throughout the month of October, but I think Halloween week is just as fitting. Today, I have mini reviews up for Monika Kim's The Eyes are the Best Part and Stephanie Sanders-Jacob's Pyramidia. 

The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim

Erewhon Books
Publication: June 25th, 2024

Hardcover. 278 pages.

About The Eyes are the Best Part:

"Ji-won’s life tumbles into disarray in the wake of her appa’s extramarital affair and subsequent departure. Her mother, distraught. Her younger sister, hurt and confused. Her college freshman grades, failing. Her dreams, horrifying… yet enticing.

In them, Ji-won walks through bloody rooms full of eyes. Succulent blue eyes. Salivatingly blue eyes. Eyes the same shape and shade as George’s, who is Umma’s obnoxious new boyfriend. George has already overstayed his welcome in her family’s claustrophobic apartment. He brags about his puffed-up consulting job, ogles Asian waitresses while dining out, and acts condescending toward Ji-won and her sister as if he deserves all of Umma’s fawning adoration. No, George doesn’t deserve anything from her family. Ji-won will make sure of that.

For no matter how many victims accumulate around her campus or how many people she must deceive and manipulate, Ji-won’s hunger and her rage deserve to be sated."

I wanted creepy  and shocking from this book and I may have wished too hard, because it completely delivered on being incredibly disturbing and flat out gross at times–but I still loved every second of it. This story follows Ji-won as she struggles to adapt to life after her appa leaves and her mother is left heartbroken and clinging to a new, abhorrent boyfriend. This book tackles some difficult topics and I really admired how the author approached them; things like Asian stereotypes and fetishization, racism, misogyny, and more are tackled head-on and with some intense consequences. This book isn't super scary so much as fueled by dread and some strong gore-tastic elements, most of which involve eyeballs in one form or another (which you could probably guess at based on the title).

The Eyes are the Best Part is a slow burn and does not rush through any part of the story it wants to tell. It's extremely unhinged in ways that were both predictable and also entirely unpredictable, which I really appreciated. I had suspicions of where this book may go, but it really took those ideas and flipped them on their heads. The ending is one that I think will be a bit hit or miss for some, but honestly fit the story perfectly and will leave a large impact. This book is raw and unfiltered and admittedly a bit bizarre, but I think it's certainly worth the read. Obviously huge warnings for gore involving eyes–which was rough because I hate gore with eyes–but the experience is worth it. Overall, I've given The Eyes are the Best Part four stars.

Pyramidia by Stephanie Sanders-Jacob

Slashic Horror Press
Publication: February 15th, 2024

Paperback. 361 pages.

About Pyramidia:

"When Harriet moves to Bentwood to teach gifted students, her new life doesn’t go as planned. Between her haunted rental and her oddball neighbor, Lucy—who literally won’t go away—Harriet is left questioning her own sanity. The beautiful Kelsey, whom she meets at the farmers market, offers the distraction she needs.

Well, that, and the town’s Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)—or pyramid—scheme.

The enigmatic group of women selling wellness in the form of Serenitea, with their perfect hair, flawless skin, and piercing eyes. She is drawn to the tea, the wellness, the tranquility… So what if she has to sell a few bags of tea?

You have a new descendant.

Sinking deeper into Serenitea, Harriet can’t stop drinking the tea. She keeps getting emails about new descendants—whatever the hell that means—and the gym teacher, Harold, is giving serious pervy vibes. Even Lucy joins the MLM despite claiming the women are vampires. None of that matters, though, because Serenitea makes her feel…well. Tranquil.

Are you well?"

Just in case you didn't already think MLMs were a bad thing, Pyramidia is here to turn them into a whole new level of horrifying. Harriet moves to the town of Bentwood (which certainly makes me think of similar-sounding city...) for a teaching position, and once there she finds that the town seems to have a high number of MLM schemes. Harriet is very much not into pyramid schemes, but after trying some Serenitea, she finds she just can't get enough and in order to get more, she may need to start selling some tea.

I just loved this concept of taking a pyramid scheme and suburbia and adding horror/thriller elements to it, turning this into an entirely new and fun concept–I mean, what's a better fit for some extra horror and supernatural than the horrors of MLMs and suburbia? There are some great little twists in here and a really colorful array of unique characters to meet along the way–some a bit crazier than others. This book was so witty and had so many relatable moments of humor and commentary that made it a really enjoyable experience. It's one of those premises and plots that feels a bit outlandish and absurd, but completely works and ends up making the perfect mix of genres and ideas. I do think this could have been slightly shorter and suffered a bit from being dragged on just a little too long to where the novelty aspects began to wear off, and the ending itself felt slightly off to me, but overall it was a really entertaining read. I've given Pyramidia four stars!