Book Review | Cackle by Rachel Harrison

Source: Preordered purchase. This is a review of my personal reading experience.

Cackle is Rachel Harrison's latest horror novel. 

 

All her life, Annie has played it nice and safe. After being unceremoniously dumped by her longtime boyfriend, Annie seeks a fresh start. She accepts a teaching position that moves her from Manhattan to a small village upstate. She’s stunned by how perfect and picturesque the town is. The people are all friendly and warm. Her new apartment is dreamy too, minus the oddly persistent spider infestation.

Then Annie meets Sophie. Beautiful, charming, magnetic Sophie, who takes a special interest in Annie, who wants to be her friend. More importantly, she wants Annie to stop apologizing and start living for herself. That’s how Sophie lives. Annie can’t help but gravitate toward the self-possessed Sophie, wanting to spend more and more time with her, despite the fact that the rest of the townsfolk seem…a little afraid of her. And like, okay. There are some things. Sophie’s appearance is uncanny and ageless, her mansion in the middle of the woods feels a little unearthly, and she does seem to wield a certain power…but she couldn’t be…could she?

Cackle was such a delight!

I really enjoyed Rachel Harrison's debut novel The Return last year so I was excited to read Cackle.

I loved the characters of Annie and Sophie. I could relate to Annie, and I loved the dynamic between her and the mysterious and enchanting Sophie.

If you've read The Return, there were moments in that book where you are like what?! Just ask your friend where she has been!! There are similar vibes here where Sophie will say something completely off the wall and Annie is oblivious, but it's a fun journey.

If you need a pick-me-up, I do recommend reading this wicked and witchy book of friendship and living your best life.

⭐⭐⭐⭐★
4/5 Stars

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On My Wishlist | Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire

It's almost time! The Wayward Children books have become one of my favorite things about the new year. I hope this series lasts forever. My greatest hope was returning to the school for wayward children in this one, but it sound like we are going to an alternate school instead. I'm nervous but excited.

Welcome to the Whitethorn Institute. The first step is always admitting you need help, and you've already taken that step by requesting a transfer into our company.

There is another school for children who fall through doors and fall back out again.
It isn't as friendly as Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children.
And it isn't as safe.

When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her Home for Wayward Children, she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn't save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitethorn, the Headmaster.

She will soon discover that not all doors are welcoming...

Have you read any of the Wayward Children books?

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This post is being shared as part of Can't-Wait Wednesday over at Wishful Endings.

 

Favorite Books of 2021

 Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. 

Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is Best Books I Read In 2021. I'm looking forward to discovering some amazing books today. I'm cheating and going with lucky number 13.

Root Magic by Eden Royce {Review of Root Magic}

Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire {Review of Across the Green Grass Fields}

A Complex Accident of Life by Jessica McHugh {Review of A Complex Accident of Life}

Thirteens by Kate Alice Marshall {Review of Thirteens}

A Collection of Dreamscapes by Christina Sng

Hide and Seeker by Daka Hermon {Review of Hide and Seeker}

Séance Tea Party by Reimena Yee

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill

Feral Creatures by Kira Jane Buxton {Review of Feral Creatures}

Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff {Review of Too Bright to See}

Later by Stephen King

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker {Review of We Begin at the End}

I'm sad to see I didn't review so many of my favorites! It was a tough year.

Let me know if you've read any of my favorites, and please feel free to leave me a link to your favorites of 2021!

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | December 27

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas to those of you who were celebrating! Our Christmas looked a lot different this year, but we had a good one.

Are there any books or series you are determined to finish before the year ends? As you will see below, I'm determined to finish The Way of Kings while it's still 2021.

Posted Last Week

Book Review | We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Review | The In-Between by Rebecca Ansari ⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Book Review | The Ash House by Angharad Walker ⭐★★★★

Finished Reading

Ghost in the Headlights by Lindsey Duga ⭐⭐⭐⭐★ - This is a great book for kids starting their horror journey.

Cackle by Rachel Harrison ⭐⭐⭐⭐★ - This was a delight!

Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls (Cece Rios #1) by Kaela Rivera ⭐⭐⭐⭐★ - I fell in love with Cece Rios right away. 

A 4⭐ week! Stay tuned for full reviews of these.

Currently Reading

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney - This is so good so far! I've been waiting for a thriller like this one all year.

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson - I've literally been reading this all year. I decided yesterday to devote this week to finishing it before the year ends. I'm about 550 pages in now, and it's finally getting good!

Added to the TBR

I'm *hoping* to read a lot more fantasy in 2022. These are some TBR books I picked up while out doing last minute Christmas shopping last week. Have you read any of these?

Malice (The Faithful and the Fallen #1) by John Gwynne

The Fires of Vengeance (The Burning #2) by Evan Winter

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

The Changeling by Victor LaValle

City of Blades (The Divine Cities #2) by Robert Jackson Bennett

City of Miracles (The Divine Cities #3) by Robert Jackson Bennett

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This post is being shared as part of Book Date, Unleashing Readers, and Teach Mentor Texts It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Book Review | The Ash House by Angharad Walker

Source: Preordered purchase. This is a review of my personal reading experience.

The Ash House is a middle grade horror novel by Angharad Walker.

 

An unsettling, gripping middle grade debut about searching for a sense of belonging in the wrong places, and the bravery it takes to defy those who seek to control us. This is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children meets Lord of the Flies for fans of Neil Gaiman and Holly Black.

When Eleven-year-old Sol arrives at the Ash House, desperate for a cure for his complex pain syndrome, he finds a community of strange children long abandoned by their mysterious Headmaster.

The children at the Ash House want the new boy to love their home as much as they do. They give him a name like theirs. They show him the dorms and tell him about the wonderful oasis that the Headmaster has created for them. But the new boy already has a name. Doesn't he? At least he did before he walked through those gates...

This was supposed to be a healing refuge for children like him. Something between a school and a summer camp. With kids like him. With pain like his. But no one is allowed to get sick at the Ash House. NO ONE.

And then The Doctor arrives...

Strange things are about to happen at the mysterious Ash House. And the longer Sol spends on the mysterious grounds, the more he begins to forget who he is, the more the other children begin to distrust him, and the worse his pain becomes. But can he hold onto reality long enough to find an escape? And better yet, can he convince the others?

The Ash House did not work for me.

We are thrown into this story in this ash house with a bunch of boys who don't remember their names and go by weird given names that represent "nicenesses". Don't ask me why about any of this because I couldn't tell you.

The Ash House was not fun to read. The horror of the book focused on sickness and doctor horror without a point to it all.

I don't know what to say about the setting and the world building because I don't know what any of it meant. What was that house and why was it there? Why were the kids there? I was confused while reading it, and I'm left with no answers after finishing it.

There were times the wording felt like it was not written for a middle grade audience. "The children moved like clockwork." "The children stared back." Kids are reading about "the children"? The writing was super repetitive which is a pet peeve of mine.

I will say it's a beautifully made book. The cover got my attention right away, and I loved the interior chapter designs.

The Ash House is a debut middle grade, and I had high hopes for it. It's one of the best middle grade covers I've seen this year. Unfortunately, it's not one that I will pass on to my kids. 

1/5 Stars
⭐★★★★ 

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