mansions by the sea and a little witchery | review corner

by - 9:30 AM

Hello there! Like many others, the minute September rolled around I was ready to dive into the eerie atmospheric books that I've been saving on my shelves all year. I was a bit impatient and started a few reads back in August but that just means I can start off the spooky season with two recommendations that I thoroughly enjoyed and think fit the upcoming chilling temperatures perfectly!

 pages:  384 | source: arc/gifted from publisher
publication date: August 27th, 2024
genre: young adult, 
rating: 7/10

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If there's one plot element that will always pique my interest, it's a creepy house that's tied with layers and layers of family secrets. For someone who is quite a scaredy-cat and has too much anxiety over fictional characters, The Lies of Alma Blackwell had me holding my breath and looking over my shoulder while I binged-read this into the night.

Set in a small coastal town with a tragic history and vengeful ghosts, we're introduced to Nev who is preparing to take over the role as the town's anchor with her grandmother's health quickly declining. The role, which should have passed to her mother before her disappearance, allows Nev to protect the town from the malicious spirits with a thirst for blood and revenge after their untimely demise generations ago. However, the appearance of a newcomer reveals a series of memories that leave Nev questioning everything she knows about her family's legacy and the woman who sacrificed so much to protect the town.

Amanda Glaze creates a perfectly haunting seaside town where the morbid death of a train full of innocents is turned into a tourist attraction. The real secret underlying the idealistic vacation stop is that the spirits are still around and they are still very angry. As Nev unravels the different layers of secrets surrounding her family's roles in the tragedy, she finds a different story centering around jealousy, greed, and a desperate sacrifice to protect one's love. I was incredibly hooked from the moment we're introduced to Nev and loved her budding relationship with Cal as they begin to dig into her family's history.

Truly atmospheric and suitable for the upcoming spooky season, The Lies of Alma Blackwell is the right amount of eerie that'll keep you second guessing if the wind blowing through the trees is real or the anguished cry of a wronged spirit.

huge thanks to Union Square & Co. Publishing for sending me a physical ARC to review - all thoughts shared are my own honest opinion!

favorite line: It ends with you. It all ends with you.

pages: 295  | source: physical/own
publication date: August 13th, 2024
genre: adult, historical, retelling
rating: 8/10

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Lady Macbeth was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and at this point, I will read absolutely anything that Ava Reid writes. A retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth, we follow his rise to power as king and the eventual downfall through the eyes of his witch-cursed wife. This was everything I absolutely wanted it to be with its gorgeous writing that made me feel the brutal winds of Scotland in the middle of summer.

Macbeth is a staple in any high school English curriculum and one that I read and found myself incredibly captivated by. The original play depicts the slow descent into madness as political greed and corruption drives the Macbeths insane. In Ava Reid's rendition, Lady Macbeth is a girl sold by her father into marriage. Her desperation to survive leads her to scheme and connive her way around Macbeth's inner circle as she tries to keep herself alive. When she's introduced to the witches that proclaim Macbeth's right to the throne and her husband begins his rampage for power, there's only so much she can do before she's pulled under with him.

Instead of being the object of a man with her name erased in the original play, Ava Reid introduces Roscille and gives her a voice that humanizes a once secondary character who was nothing more than an impatient wife spurring her husband towards his downfall with her greed. Amidst the bleak and chilling scenery of Glamis, Roscille finds strength in her femininity and learns to use her unnatural beauty as a weapon against the oppressive hand of men. 

favorite line: A witch needs no invitation, only a way of slipping through the lock. 
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