Review — The Official Stardew Valley Cookbook by ConcernedApe and Ryan Novak

A picnic on a checked blanket witha farmhouse in the background. The Official Stardew Valley Cookbook
By: ConcernedApe and Ryan Novak
Release Date: May 14, 2024
Publisher: Random House Worlds
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Cookbooks are more than just their recipes, and The Official Stardew Valley Cookbook certainly has a whole lot of packed into a trim 192-page package. This cookbook is an official cookbook based on the beloved farming-sim game Stardew Valley and is co-authored by Ryan Novak and the video game’s creator ConcernedApe.

Review — Confession by Martín Kohan

Confessions
By: Martín Kohan
Translator: Daniel Hahn
Release Date: 2020
Publisher: Charco Press
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
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Martín Kohan’s novel Confession is a look into Argentina’s past. More specifically, it is a look into the life of Mirta Lopez from the time she’s a young girl to her years as an elderly grandmother. These are broken into three main sections of the novel, each one centered on Mirta’s teenage, adult, and twilight years, respectively.

Review — Small Game by Blair Braverman

Forest with campfires with the text Small Game: A Novel by Blair Braverman over the image Small Game
By: Blair Braverman
Release Date: November 1, 2022
Publisher: Ecco
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Nonfiction author Blair Braverman (Welcome to the Goddamned Ice Cube, 2016) turns her hand to fiction in Small Game. This thriller novel is set in a landscape familiar to the author: the wild, forested landscape of the US. Braverman’s well-known survivalist skills are well utilized throughout the novel, adding a welcome sense of realism to a situation that is far from everyday.

Review — Daphne by Josh Malerman

Daphne
By: Josh Malerman
Release Date: August 23, 2022
Publisher: Del Rey
Award: Bram Stoker Award Nominee for Best Novel (2022)
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Josh Malerman, author of Bird Box, brings us a horror novel in the style of classic 1980s slasher movies. Daphne is the latest, and possibly best, novel Malerman has brought readers to date, something highlighted by the novel’s Bram Stoker Award nomination for Best Novel in 2022. Ghosts, urban legends, and a growing number of inexplicable murders are rounded out by 80s slasher movie trappings that leave readers frantically turning the page to find out what on earth happens next.

Review — The Spite House by Johnny Compton

The Spite House
By: Johnny Compton
Release Date: February 7, 2023
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Rating:


Author Johnny Compton is perhaps best known for his short fiction and contributions to the fiction podcast world, appearing in podcasts such as Pseudopod, The No Sleep Podcast, and certainly not least, his own podcast Healthy Fears. Debut novel The Spite House is Compton’s first foray into long-form fiction. Like his previous works, this debut novel falls solidly within the horror genre, with plenty of gothic elements for fans of the subgenre to sink their teeth into.