WHITE IS FOR WITCHING by Helen Oyeyemi

White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There's nothing better than starting a new book after a disappointing DNF, and falling headfirst into the story from the beginning.

That's exactly what happened with this strange and wonderful book.

Miranda Silver has an eating disorder, as well as other mental health problems that put her in a clinic for several months. Not to mention she recently lost her mother. Or that Eliot is her twin brother and has problems of his own. Their father, Luc, is trying to keep the B&B open, but the house on Barton Road has a mind and will of its own.

And that's before Ore enters the scene...

Wow. This is one fantastic and totally unsettling book. And I loved everything about it.

There's a lot of family drama and weird sibling dynamics. Relationship issues and uncertainty. Plenty of horrific imagery to keep horror fans happy. Relevant social commentary about immigrants and refugees. An awful mental disorder the character finds impossible to beat. And a racist, malicious house who likes to control lives and trap women within its demented walls. Yikes!

The story starts out in a way that purposely confuses the reader, as much as the ending. But completely loop back to each other.

This story pushed me into a delirious, sickly state that made me question every word I was reading, and had me trapped in a feverish nightmare. What a freaky trip!

There are several POVs in this story: Miranda, Eliot, Ore and the house. Just like everything else in this book, every POV switch is disorienting. Takes a few beats to make sense of who's telling the story, when. But totally adds to the experience.

While there are a lot of mysterious questions throughout the whole thing and some aren't answered until after you've finished reading--and some will never become apparent--I loved how everything flowed. The currents in these pages aren't linear, they ebb and flow, become waves that wash everything away. It's truly excellent.

This read like a dark fairy tale set in our world and manifesting through the souls and bodies of these tortured characters. All of them are conplex and broken, unreliable even to themselves and willing to push the limits every which way. But most of all, it's a totally wicked haunted tale featuring a vile monster taking the form of a house.

Anyone who can tell a story this messed up and still pull off such beautiful and lyrical prose, deserves a lot of praise. Helen Oyeyemi is one awesome author.

Loved it!

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THE UNINVITED by Cat Winters

The Uninvited by Cat Winters

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I enjoy reading a Cat Winters book. So far, I've read In the Shadow of Black Birds, The Cure for Dreaming, The Steep & Thorny Way, and loved all of them. She's a great storyteller who drags you into interesting stories featuring various historical characters and settings.

When Ivy Rowan wakes up after a really bad bout of the flu, she decides to leave the farm she's been hiding in. She can't put up with her father's violent ways anymore, and is determined to start her own life.

But Buchanan has become a dangerous place. People are getting sick, prejudices are running rampant, jazz music is putting a spell on people, and she's getting involved with the enemy. If only the ghosts would leave her alone...

Just like the books I mentioned above, this one hooked me in very quickly. Ivy's voice was strong, yet tentative, even juvenile at times. She might be in her twenties, but she's lived a sheltered life at the farm away from other people her age. While this didn't benefit her socially, it did equip her with abilities other women don't have. Like driving. And determination.

As Ivy spreads her wings in the unstable world of an ongoing war, she also finds herself caught in the middle of an awful flu pandemic. She helps by driving an ambulance at night trying to help patients. While her days are filled with Daniel. A man she feels sympathy for and others shun because he's German. Falling in love with him seems impossible, but I enjoyed watching their connection flourish.

Also, the characters in this book are so compelling. I especially like Ivy, of course. But Daniel was another favourite. As well as May. I especially liked her tragic story.

This is a dark, yet hopeful book that deals with an awful time in history. So many of the health concerns echo what we are going through right now. It's sad, but humans just don't bloody learn from history, do they? Because here we are, living through another pandemic. 😒

Anyway, I loved this haunting story of love lost and found. About finding a place in the world during so much sadness and pain. It's full of tension, and danger seems to shadow everything Ivy goes through. There are also plenty of secrets, awful behaviour by so-called patriots, and a wonderful introduction to the stirrings of the jazz age.

Many times, while reading this book I felt like I was in the middle of a feverish dream. There's an air of the unknown that hangs over the narrative. It's something that kept me stuck to the pages.

Oh! And there's an absolutely amazing and shocking reveal that totally took me off guard. OMG. Mind blown.

This is another awesome book!

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A New WIP!

Hi! How are you today? 

Is this week treating you okay? Wish I could say things were getting better in this unstable world, but insane seems to be the new normal. 😒

Australia is still on lockdown, so hubby and I only leave the house once a day, for a nice long suburban walk. We also go to the grocery store every fortnight, instead of weekly. And when we do go out, we keep our distance from everyone.

A lot of people don't seem to get it, but we take our social distancing very seriously. There's a lot of jogging past, crossing the road, walking on the road and constant zigzagging. 

So, this week's projects were: getting stuck into a new WIP and reading NINTH HOUSE.

Let's start with how my word count went: 

• Monday: 4,119 (added 2989w) 
• Tuesday: 6,373 (added 2254w) 
• Wednesday: 8,418 (added 2045w)
• Thursday: 11,467 (added 3049w) 
• Friday: 12,609 (added 1142w)
• Saturday: 15,409 (added 2800w)
• Sunday: 17,758 (added 2349w)

As you can see, it went well. LOL

I hadn't planned to get stuck into a new story this quickly, but when I started a Notes doc and wrote the first 1,130 words last week... I knew this new novella was ready to be told. And who am I to deny a new idea that wants to get out of my head? 😉

As I mentioned in my last post, this story is SciFi. With a dark, noir cyberpunk slant. I'm having a great time writing it, and am loving this cast of characters. Some of them have been inside my head for a while, others popped up out of nowhere. But they all fit in with each other very well.

Although the bare bones of the novella is in my notes and I know where/how it's going to end, I've had a few writing sessions that were full of pantsing goodness. That's where/when unexpected cool stuff happens, and all the pieces start falling into place.

I'm hoping to have the first draft done by the end of the month. The way that it's going at the moment, I reckon I could probably do it because I'm very close to the end.🤞

My other goal was to read a book I've had my eye on for ages: NINTH HOUSE by Leigh Bardugo. I took my time and enjoyed it SO much. Actually, I loved it.

Asides from my usual writing and reading schedule, we've continued our yoga workouts every second day. They're really helping, since we had to cut our walks from two to one. Hanging around with hubby is always great. We have a lot of fun together. Also, he plays games while I read/write. He's now up to the Uncharted game on the PS Vita.

Oh, and THIS very awesome thing happened! I'm so excited about my short story making the cut at Crystal Lake Publishing. 😃

Well, that was my week. Hope yours was productive or relaxing, or both.

Have a nice day!

 

NINTH HOUSE by Leigh Bardugo

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here's another book I've been meaning to read for months. And this week, I decided it was time to get stuck into it.

Alex Stern isn't your standard Yale student. She's suffered through a troubled childhood, even worse teenage years, and ended up in the hospital after surviving a horrific attack. When she's approached by a man who makes her an offer she can't refuse, she starts freshman class and is mentored by a rich guy who will teach her how to monitor Yale’s secret societies.

She's keen to watch and willing to learn, but when her mentor disappears and a young woman's body is found on campus, Alex finds herself falling deeper into the ghostly activity she's tried so hard to ignore and ruined her life...

Holy shit!

This book is amazing. I absolutely LOVED it.

Everything about this book is awesome: characters, location, backstory, magic, the writing... Like I said, everything. 😍

I fell into this book instantly. As soon as I started reading, I knew this was going to be my kind of story. It's moody, rich with the supernatural imagery, creates a mythology of its own, and is quite horrific in sections. Not to mention that I loved Alex, and the dark seedy world of secret societies is intriguing.

The POV is shared between Alex and Darlington. Her narrative takes place in the present, and his happened before the mysterious incident that leaves Alex alone. As the two timelines collide, everything comes together at a perfect pace, reveals a lot of darkness, and even more secrets.

Alex is such a great character with a very cool name: Galaxy. She's damaged, complicated and haunted by the things she can see but others can't. She's lived a hard life, experienced some pretty gross things and hits rock bottom in the most violent of ways. When she gets to Yale, she feels out of place but soon realises there's more to her position as Dante than she first thought. She's strong, determined and unapologetic. In other words, she totally rocks!

The worldbuilding is awesome. I loved how the Ninth House fits into the whole Yale secret society scene. It all starts out gory but simple enough, and quickly becomes so much more.

There's a lot of supernatural goodness within the pages of this fantastic book. It's packed with intriguing characters, very interesting locations, gory imagery and has a real gritty feel. Not to mention the twists and turns.

I can't wait to see what happens next, because that ending announced there's some really interesting stuff to look forward to.

This book is something special. ❤

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Something really cool!

Check this out:

That's right! 

One of my short stories is a finalist in Crystal Lake Publishing's April Flash Fiction Contest.

Box of Trouble is under 1,000 words.

Here's the tagline:
Sometimes, what's outside the box is scarier than what's hiding inside. 

😈

 Voting will open soon at Crystal Lake Publishing for their patreons, and can read my story HERE.

 So exciting!

😁