A pointed contemporary twist on a classic horror setup.
Dearman reimagines the classic tale of Jekyll and Hyde as a transition narrative in this queer horror novella.
Ella is struggling with the transition of her partner, Simon (formerly Simone). Even as she tries to support him, she misses the female body that she fell in love with. The two have the opportunity to start anew when Ella inherits an old inn from her grandmother in Hudson, New York. In the inn’s basement, Ella finds a diary from 1933. It tells the story of Jeannette Diamond, the bookish daughter of the original innkeeper, who spends her time studying spiritualist texts with her friend Dahlia. Jeannette has romantic feelings for Dahlia, but when Dahlia rebuffs her by saying she’s only interested in men, Jeannette decides she’ll simply use her occult books to turn herself into one. After many feverish attempts and failures, she finally succeeds: “To her astonishment, her jaw jutted out and her face seemed wider, though her nose more narrow. Brows now thickened framed dark eyes, which appeared more sunken in. A tickling of stubble covered lip and chin and felt coarse against her fingers.” But can Gilles Du Mont, as she names herself, win Dahlia’s heart before she marries another man? Or will this dark magic lead only to dark results? The author’s stylish prose possesses the right combination of camp and terror to animate this Gothic horror: “The blood washed over the clear fluid inside the syringe, giving it the slightest pink hue. With a good vein in her left arm begging to be punctured, she wrapped the rubber tubing over her bicep, tied a workable knot and pulled it taut with her teeth.” Dearman cleverly pushes the Jekyll and Hyde premise toward an exploration of gender and desire, finding a way to tie it back toward the framing narrative of Ella and Simon. Like all great horror, it capitalizes on a recognizable human insecurity, in this case one that feels particularly timely.
A pointed contemporary twist on a classic horror setup.Pub Date: June 20, 2023
ISBN: 9798987839867
Page Count: 94
Publisher: The Shortish Project
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Though it falters a bit under its own weight, this series still has plenty of fight left.
In this long-awaited fifth installment of Shannon’s Bone Season series, the threat to the clairvoyant community spreads like a plague across Europe.
After extending her fight against the Republic of Scion to Paris, Paige Mahoney, leader of London’s clairvoyant underworld and a spy for the resistance movement, finds herself further outside her comfort zone when she wakes up in a foreign place with no recollection of getting there. More disturbing than her last definitive memory, in which her ally-turned-lover Arcturus seems to betray her, is that her dreamscape—the very soul of her clairvoyance—has been altered, as if there’s a veil shrouding both her memories and abilities. Paige manages to escape and learns she’s been missing and presumed dead for six months. Even more shocking is that she’s somehow outside of Scion’s borders, in the free world where clairvoyants are accepted citizens. She gets in touch with other resistance fighters and journeys to Italy to reconnect with the Domino Programme intelligence network. In stark contrast to the potential of life in the free world is the reality that Scion continues to stretch its influence, with Norway recently falling and Italy a likely next target. Paige is enlisted to discover how Scion is bending free-world political leaders to its will, but before Paige can commit to her mission, she has her own mystery to solve: Where in the world is Arcturus? Paige’s loyalty to Arcturus is tested as she decides how much to trust in their connection and how much information to reveal to the Domino Programme about the Rephaite—the race of immortals from the Netherworld, Arcturus’ people—and their connection to the founding of Scion, as well as the presence of clairvoyant abilities on Earth. While the book is impressively multilayered, the matter-of-fact way in which details from the past are sprinkled throughout will have readers constantly flipping to the glossary. As the series’ scope and the implications of the war against Scion expand, Shannon’s narrative style reads more action-thriller than fantasy. Paige’s powers as a dreamwalker are rarely used here, but when clairvoyance is at play, the story shines.
Though it falters a bit under its own weight, this series still has plenty of fight left.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2025
ISBN: 9781639733965
Page Count: 576
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A unique story of transcendent love.
An aimless young musician meets the girl of his dreams only to have his newfound happiness threatened by several inexplicable—and possibly supernatural—events.
The story opens as Leeds Gabriel meets with a detective while his girlfriend, Layla, is restrained in a room one flight above them. Through the interview, readers learn that Leeds was wasting both his time and his musical talent playing backup for a small-town wedding troupe called Garrett’s Band when he spied Layla dancing her heart out to their mediocre music at a wedding. When Leeds approaches Layla, their connection is both instant and intense. A blissful courtship follows, but then Leeds makes the mistake of posting a picture of himself with Layla on social media. A former girlfriend–turned-stalker wastes no time in finding and attacking Layla. Layla spends months recovering in a hospital, and it seems the girl Leeds fell for might be forever changed. Gone is her special spark, her quirkiness, and the connection that had entranced Leeds months before. In a last-ditch effort to save their relationship, he brings Layla back to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. When they get there, though, Leeds meets Willow, another guest, and finds himself drawn to her in spite of himself. As events unfold, it becomes clear that Willow will either be the key to saving Leeds’ relationship with Layla or the catalyst that finally extinguishes the last shreds of their epic romance. Told entirely from Leeds’ point of view, the author’s first foray into paranormal romance does not disappoint. Peppered with elements of mystery, psychological thriller, and contemporary romance, the novel explores questions about how quickly true love can develop, as well as the conflicts that can imperil even the strongest connections. Despite a limited cast of characters and very few setting changes, the narrative manages to remain both fast-paced and engaging. The conclusion leaves a few too many loose ends, but the chemistry between the characters and unexpected twists throughout make for a satisfying read.
A unique story of transcendent love.Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5420-0017-8
Page Count: 301
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2020
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