Book Reviews

‘Eat the Ones You Love’

Creepy nostalgia with a literary flare and a killer orchid? Sounds like a good time to me. I like unexpected horror, especially the kind with a psychological undercurrent that makes the reader question their own mental habits and awareness in the same way a slasher film gets the watcher to check the closets before bed. I need more than monsters; I need pathos.

Shell is a sad 30-something who has found herself having to start over back in her hometown after a breakup and career implosion. Drawn to the sad remains of the local shopping mall, she stumbles across a floral shop in need of an assistant. Taken with both the bouquets and the enigmatic florist herself, Shell embarks on a new career that will change everything — just not how she imagines it will.

Sharply funny prose and a relatable sense of you-can’t-go-home-again pervades this charming, gory, wistful tale that is both terrifying and beautiful in equal measure. The characters were familiar and charming, and despite the short length of the book, I was completely mesmerized by the end. Be sure to keep an eye on your houseplants as you read, just in case. ♦ — Review by Julie Goodrich

‘The River Has Roots’

Name a better duo than fairy tales and poetry. Lofty and magical and dream-like, this brilliant, little book absolutely whisked me away. I love a story that calls to the same part of me that a poem does, something that feels like it should be a myth even if it is a brand-new tale. 

Ysabel and Esther Hawthorn have an important role to play in the town of Thistleford, a job their family has carried for generations. They tend to the trees that border the River Liss, a winding river that serves as a character in its own right. The sisters share a powerful bond that is threatened when a suitor comes to call.

The prose was captivating and the characters so rich I didn’t want it to end. There is a time and a place for vast, sprawling epics, but for me, there is always room for a lyrical novella that asks more questions than it answers and leaves me feeling like I might have spent a few hours in the Fae myself. ♦ — Review by Julie Goodrich