Rooted by Leopoldo Gout

Aurora, a successful art lawyer, has returned to Mexico to celebrate a recent campaign for the repatriation of stolen artifacts. In particular, a mysterious statue of an Aztec god.

There’s nothing wrong with Aurora.

But Mexico City isn’t as she remembered, and as she cares for her ailing mother, home isn’t as she remembered either. Nothing is as she remembered. Elements of her past hint at darkness and power, and reality begins to crack and warp the streets.

There’s nothing wrong with Aurora.

But some sicknesses can’t be healed. As Aurora’s sanity unravels, she must pry apart her family’s secrets and accept the simplest of The Flayed One cannot stay buried.

A quick review of what felt like a very long book for me.

Aurora has been away from Mexico for quite some time, so maybe it's not that unusual that things are markedly changed from her memories. But how can she have memories from before she was born? What mysterious illness is her mother suffering? And is she having some sort of breakdown, or are these dreams and hallucinations real?

I loved the prologue, but it gave away most of the plot.

"Mothers always hide things from their children. It's what we do. We carry burdens so our children don't have to."

History, folklore, body horror, mystery, it's all here if you can wait it out. The pace is very slow. I don't mean slow burn horror; I mean slow as molasses, especially compared to the prologue, which pulled me in right away. I wanted to love this as much as the author's previous book, Pinata, but it was just an ok read for me.

My thanks to Tor Nightfire for the paperback.

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About the author

 

Temporarily Closed

 Dear Readers, thank you for your patience in this difficult time. I will be back when I am able to share my love of books with you.
I will reopen at some point in September. I have much to deal with right now.

Authors/Publishers and PR, please do not send books or requests at this time. If I have already accepted a book from you, I will get to it when I can. Thank you for your understanding.

An Immaculate Deception by Isabela Livino

A debut Gothic horror set in 1870s Brazil—a tale of creeping suspense in which a young pregnant woman finds herself unable to escape her lover’s isolated family home, and a family’s deal with the devil goes terribly wrong.

1877, Pernambuco, Brazil: Raised in a deeply religious household, Madalena knows Dante’s Inferno by heart and fears her mother’s reaction as much as she fears God. When she falls pregnant with a child conceived in sin, her mother issues a threat: marry or surrender the baby. Madalena is confident that the father, the dashing Leandro Neves, will do right by her and propose. But just as she is about to tell him about the baby, a violent storm sends their carriage careening off the road.

Madalena awakens in Leandro’s sprawling, secluded home, under the care of the mysterious and larger-than-life Doctor Lobo. Leandro is there . . . but he is no longer the charming poet she knew. He’s silent. Obsessed. Always watching.

Strange perfume haunts a locked room. Pages vanish from books. Jewels lie untouched in a forgotten wardrobe. And mirrors begin disappearing after Madalena sees something—or someone—ghastly in the reflection.

Leandro is unraveling. Doctor Lobo may be hiding something even darker. Trapped in a decaying house of secrets, Madalena must uncover the truth before the men around her destroy her, and before the hell she fears becomes the one she’s living in.

Madalena is young, pregnant, and madly in love with the man of her dreams. Unfortunately, the year is 1877, when being an unwed mother from a strict family is a worse fate than death. She was sure that the baby's father would ask her to marry him as soon as she told him about it, but alas, a tragic accident means she will never find out what he would have said.

When she awakens in his home after the accident, he is changed towards her. He is acting strangely and downright cold. Is it just shock from the accident or something more sinister? He doesn't seem to want her there, and yet he and the doctor who has been called will not let her leave.

I read this book because it was described as gothic horror, but I think I may have preferred it without the horror; I would have enjoyed it more as just a historical fiction. I was already so intrigued by the story, long before the horror aspect, that when it did come into play, I felt like it was just unnecessary and maybe even in the way. I was stunned by the clever and shocking reveal when we find out why the baby's father has changed towards her, but once that secret was let loose, I felt it should wrap up a little quicker. It stretched on too long for my tastes.

My thanks to Dutton for the e-ARC.

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Steal Me by Helen Grant

 Rowan Byrne hasn’t stolen anything for ages—not since she started to straighten her life out after a personal tragedy. But the volume she’s just picked up in the new bookshop in town seems to want her to steal it. The text is very persuasive. There’s a book for everyone in Legends—a book that will encourage their worst impulses. Steal. Fear. Burn. Kill. It’s not long before Rowan’s small town, isolated from the outside world, is descending into mayhem. Assailed by her own demons, Rowan could try to cut and run. Or she could make a stand, and try to save the community she loves . . .

In a small town where everyone knows everybody else's business, it's odd that a brand new shop could appear seemingly overnight with nobody knowing it was coming. Yet here it is, and Rowan can't wait to get a look inside this new book store. But there's something else that seems off. These are no ordinary books, and one in particular knows her darkest secrets. This is a very special store that captivates everyone who enters with a book meant just for them. It preys on your weaknesses. But why? What secrets do these elderly shop owners hide behind their cheerful facade?

I loved Rowan, and her would-be love interest Jack (if only either of them could muster up the courage to ask the other out!) Beyond the chemistry they had together was their bravery in attempting to save the town from evil. Delving into German folklore, the two unlikely heroes are the town's only hope. 

Steal Me is a fast paced thrill ride through folklore and fairy tale that had me in its thrall from the first page. I don't normally like to compare, but the dark vibes of this mysterious shop and unnerving proprietors reminded me just a bit of King's Needful Things. 

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to PS Publishing for the finished copy.