vanmeers's reviews
515 reviews

How to Solve a Murder: True Stories from a Life in Forensic Medicine by Derek Tremain, Pauline Tremain

2.5

Lonesome Pyres by Eric Raglin

4.0

this short story collection of horror and weird fiction is honestly great throughout it all — there’s satanic queer biker gangs, roach infested intestines, a team up between an ancient god and a lesbian, and soooo much more. i genuinely had a fun time reading these stories of loners and outsiders getting up to weird shit. 

this is great for freaks, gays, and anyone looking to get rid of their landlord 👏  

// ARC received through BookSirens. 

So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison

4.75

i finished this a few days ago and have just been sitting with my feelings taking it all in ever since — rachel harrison really is THE moment and every release is a delight to read (which makes it more necessary for me to finally go read all her older releases!). 

such sharp teeth, black sheep and so thirsty all stand out so strongly to me in different ways and i really loved how so thirsty took you on an unexpected journey that is so unalike other vampire stories out there. 

it’s not your regular ol’ vampire story, though it does have sexy vampires and some steamy scenes, but it’s much more about sloane’s journey towards self acceptance and love despite growing older — and despite suddenly finding herself down a new, eternal path in life that she now has to navigate. 

so thirsty felt like such a melancholic read in a lot of ways and while i didn’t fully relate to sloane in every way (though the growing older and seeing it in your mirror hit hard lmao) i really loved her as a character! it’s definitely a perfect autumn read and i’ll have to get a physical copy so i can reread it when it’s colder outside! 

/// thank you to titan books and netgalley for the ARC. 

The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman

4.75

a deeply emotional read that’s tough not to react strongly to — no matter how many personal accounts you read from the holocaust, they always hit just as hard. 

there’s also something about historical / biographical novels being written as graphic novels. emotionally it might convey things more but mostly it also just feels more accessible to a lot of people. which feels important with a story like this.

#thighgap by Chandler Morrison

3.0

this absolutely delivers on what it promises by showing the horrors of eating disorders and the extremes of chasing societal beauty standards. it’s not horror in the classic sense, but it’s definitely horrific to read and there’s some ‘is it real or supernatural’ elements thrown into it creating a sort of weird horror’esque suspense. 

the forward of this talks of the body positivity movement and the lack of support of skinny women (or women with eating disorders, it’s unclear) and others have said how necessary a book like this is — and that’s true, for the most part, but i don’t really think chandler morrison is the voice for that. especially since it focuses more on glorifying EDs than anything else. 

despite that it’s not badly written, although it’s sometimes terribly slow paced and it didn’t feel as if the author really connected with his characters. maybe because men in horror tend to not be amazing at writing female characters? but otherwise it’s exactly what you can expect from the synopsis. so if that’s your thing, go for it and if you disliked dead inside because it was cringe, then this is less so (but it’s also less extreme too) and it might be worth a read.

with all that said, i do have an issue with the lack of accountability on writing a book like this without also adding resources at the end. i think if you’re writing about eating disorders this vividly and in a in-character positive light — you also have the responsibility to add resources in the book. especially when it’s essentially a how to guide to starving yourself tbh

anyway, as always with (extreme) horror check up on content warnings and know this one might be triggering if you’re recovering from an eating disorder. 

Dollface by R.J. Powell

dark

3.0

pocket sized extreme horror for when you wanna get fucked up while travelling on an airplane while also making your fellow passengers uneasy 👏 it’s short, sweet and disgusting with a female protagonist giving the abuser hell for a change — i won’t say more because it’ll give too much away though!

definitely necessary to check all the content warning for this one but if you read extreme horror on a daily basis it’s nothing new except it’s definitely a change in who is abused compared to the regular ol’ extreme horror that’s out there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail

My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine

5.0

this is just as amazing as the first book and i’m down baaaad for reggie. he’s the absolute best character in every single way! 

jenna levine manages to capture all the best tropes from fake dating to ‘there’s only one bed!!!’ while making it feel wholly original and entertaining. it’s also got a bit of spice 🌶️ maybe in more quantifies than the first one even? 

it’s definitely impossible to put down as soon as you start it and i finished it within two days completely ignoring my life while fully immersed in reggie and amelia’s fake to real dating!!! 

Strip Tees: A Memoir of Millenial Los Angeles by Kate Flannery

4.0

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

4.75

Fears: Tales of Psychological Horror by Ellen Datlow

2.25

i usually enjoy anthologies and short story collections but this one did feel like a chore to get through — most of the stories weren’t that exciting and i did end up skipping a few. which i usually don’t like doing. but i don’t think i’d ever have finished this if i hadn’t. 

some of the stories were genuinely very good and i think id have enjoyed reading them outside of the anthology collection. 

teeth by stephen graham jones 

unkindly girls by hailey piper 

cavity by theresa delucci 

one of these nights by livia llewellyn

the donner party by dale bailey

a sunny disposition by josh malerman

but as a whole i don’t think it worked for me. which is a shame because the idea behind it was really interesting and there’s a bunch of great authors in the mix. 

/// ARC courtesy of tachyon publications and netgalley.