The Matchmaker's Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman

 

From Lynda Cohen Loigman, the bestselling author of The Two-Family House and The Wartime Sisters, comes a heartwarming story of two extraordinary women from two different eras who defy expectations to utilize their unique gift of seeing soulmates in the most unexpected places in The Matchmaker's Gift.

Is finding true love a calling or a curse?

Even as a child in 1910, Sara Glikman knows her gift: she is a maker of matches and a seeker of soulmates. But among the pushcart-crowded streets of New York’s Lower East Side, Sara’s vocation is dominated by devout older men—men who see a talented female matchmaker as a dangerous threat to their traditions and livelihood. After making matches in secret for more than a decade, Sara must fight to take her rightful place among her peers, and to demand the recognition she deserves.

Two generations later, Sara’s granddaughter, Abby, is a successful Manhattan divorce attorney, representing the city’s wealthiest clients. When her beloved Grandma Sara dies, Abby inherits her collection of handwritten journals recording the details of Sara’s matches. But among the faded volumes, Abby finds more questions than answers. Why did Abby’s grandmother leave this library to her and what did she hope Abby would discover within its pages? Why does the work Abby once found so compelling suddenly feel inconsequential and flawed? Is Abby willing to sacrifice the career she’s worked so hard for in order to keep her grandmother’s mysterious promise to a stranger? And is there really such a thing as love at first sight?

Sometimes I take a break from reading my usual genres and enjoy a good historical fiction. Having fallen in love with two previous novels by Lynda Cohen Loigman I assumed The Matchmaker's Gift was a sure bet and I was right.

Told on two timelines, 1910 when a young Sara Gilkman discovers her gift, and the 1990s after her death when we meet her granddaughter Abby who is mourning her loss.

Abby has become a divorce lawyer after having watched her mother go through a messy divorce in which her father basically dumped the entire family, leaving them to struggle to meet basic needs while he flourished in his new footloose and fancy-free life.

Sara never backed down and grew into a strong woman who "sees what she sees and knows what she knows" and never let anyone change that.

After Sara's passing, Abby inherits her journals and seemingly her gift of seeing which couples will make a perfect love match. Will she ever find her own soul mate?

I feel like I learned quite a bit about Jewish tradition from this novel. It was such a heartwarming story that this surely must be what is meant when someone says to expect the feel-good hit of the year. Loigman creates the kind of characters that make me wish I was part of their family. Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction/women's fiction and anyone who just wants something lighthearted, high-spirited, and fun to read.

My thanks to St. Martins Press for the invitation to read a review copy.

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Lucky Girl, How I Became A Horror Writer: A Krampus Story by M. Rickert

 

Ro, a struggling writer, knows all too well the pain and solitude that holiday festivities can awaken. When she meets four people at the local diner—all of them strangers and as lonely as Ro is—she invites them to an impromptu Christmas dinner. And when that party seems in danger of an early end, she suggests they each tell a ghost story. One that’s seasonally appropriate.

But Ro will come to learn that the horrors hidden in a Christmas tale—or one’s past—can never be tamed once unleashed.

Ro has had a difficult life and faced more tragedy than most people at a young age.

She meets a group of strangers at a diner and they form a bond over their shared loneliness that spans several Christmases. 

As the years pass the bond never deepens enough to reveal dangerous secrets until it's too late.

This is a tough one to review, I feel like Ro is the only character I really got to know but I suppose there are reasons for that since we can't be let in on the secrets before she is. The pace was a little slow for such a short book but the payoff at the end was worth it. I would recommend it to readers who like holiday horror but Krampus doesn't make much of an appearance here.

3 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Tor for the invitation to read an advance copy.

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Every House is Haunted by Ian Rogers

 

"There are haunted places in the world, all existing in reality and every bit as tangible and accessible as the house next door. Sometimes it is the house next door."

In this brilliant debut collection, Ian Rogers explores the border-places between our world and the dark reaches of the supernatural. A mysterious double murder draws the attention of an insurance company with a special interest in the paranormal. A honeymoon cabin with an unspeakable appetite finally meets its match. A suburban home is transformed into the hunting ground for a new breed of spider. A nightmarish jazz club at the crossroads of reality plays host to those who can break a deal with the devil...for a price. With remarkable deftness, Rogers draws together the deadly and the disturbing in twenty-two showcase stories that will guide you through terrain at once familiar and startlingly fresh. 

Every house is haunted, but not literally in this debut collection of strange and unexpected tales.

These are not the ghost stories or typical horror you might expect from the title. These hauntings do not necessarily involve spirits, although some do, There are many ways to be haunted, by the past, by missed chances, and regrets. It is not always a house or even a place that is haunted, sometimes under the right circumstances, it can be a person who is haunted no matter where they go.

I enjoyed most of the stories but there were a couple that were too sci-fi for my taste, though you may like those better than I do. Sci-fi is just rarely my thing. Some had ambiguous endings. I know there are readers who enjoy being able to decide for themselves how a story ends but I prefer a more definitive beginning middle and end.

A few of my favorites were Aces- about a young girl who seems to be not of this world.

The Currents- about a family who finds a man that seems to have drowned,

and The House On Ashley Avenue- which was more along the lines of what I was expecting from the title, a haunted house story.

All in all a decent collection even though it was not what I expected. If you like fantasy/sci-fi/dark fiction, give this one a read.

My thanks to Cemetery Dance Publications for the review copy.

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Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates

 

The Hull family has owned the Gallows Hill Winery for generations, living and working on the beautiful grounds where they grow their famous grapes. Until the night Mr. and Mrs. Hull settle down for the evening...and are dead by morning.

When their daughter, Margot, inherits the family business, she wants nothing to do with it. The winery is valued for its unparalleled produce, but it's built on a field where hundreds of convicts were once hanged, and the locals whisper morbid rumors. They say the ground is cursed.

It's been more than a decade since Margot last saw her childhood home. But now that she's alone in the sprawling, dilapidated building, she begins to believe the curse is more than real―and that she may be the next victim of the house that never rests...

Margo's ancestors have owned Gallows Hill Winery since long before she was born. She has never been part of the business and seems to have very little memory of ever having been part of the family. She was sent away at a  young age and doesn't know why. She has had no contact with her parents since then, which seemed a bit odd to me since she knew where they were and could have easily reached out at any time to ask why she had been sent away. 

Now both of her parents have died, under unusual circumstances and she has inherited the winery.

She returns to attend the funeral, and settle the estate and learns that her family was cursed. It seems that Gallows Hill once held a real gallows and the angry spirits of those who were put to death there are not at rest. Now the winery has become famous for a very special vintage of wine that is carefully aged in barrels carved from the very hanging tree that saw so much death. 

Gallows Hill aims to be a slow-burn supernatural gothic that may have been better as a novella. 

Lots of confusing details and several repetitions slow the pace. The reason for the curse may have shocked Margot but it was too easy to figure out what was going on with those wine barrels. There were some creepy moments with the restless and angry spirits but the repetition took away some of the enjoyment. Some things just didn't add up. If Margot's parents were so intent on keeping her away from the winery why leave it to her in their will? Why does Margot not know how to charge her phone once in a while? I could go on but it would lead to spoilers. 

I'm going to give this 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 out of 5 where half stars are not allowed.

You may enjoy it more than I did but this one was just not for me.

I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author

Darcy is the USA Today Bestselling author of Hunted, The Haunting of Ashburn House, Craven Manor, and more than a dozen horror and suspense titles.
She lives on the Central Coast of Australia with her family, cats, and a garden full of herbs and vegetables.
Darcy loves forests, especially old-growth forests where the trees dwarf anyone who steps between them. Wherever she lives, she tries to have a mountain range close by.
You can hear about her next book by joining her newsletter

Stinetinglers by by R.L. Stine

 

From New York Times bestselling author R.L. Stine, the master of horror for young readers, comes ten new stories that are sure to leave you shivering.

A boy who hates bugs starts to see them everywhere. A basketball player’s skin starts to almost drip off his hands―but no one else can see it. Three friends find a hole in the ground that just gets bigger, and bigger, and bigger... And each story is introduced by Stine himself, providing a personal touch sure to delight fans.

Laced with Stine’s signature humor and a hefty dose of nightmarish fun, Stinetinglers is perfect for fans of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Stine’s own Goosebumps books. These chilling tales prove that Stine’s epic legacy in the horror genre is justly earned. Dive in, and beware: you might be sleeping with the lights on tonight!

Ten spooky stories for young readers, or like me, the young at heart. I was already an adult when Goosebumps and The Haunting Hour was on tv but that did not stop me from enjoying the show with my son, or buying him all the books, and years later I am still a fan of everything from the Fear Street books to the movies. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to get an early look at this new collection.

I loved the author's notes that tell where the idea for each story originated, and the spooky illustration at the start of each tale.

I think kids will appreciate the fast pace that can easily hold the attention of even the most reluctant readers. In true R.L. Stine style, some stories will have a message like being careful what you wish for and the grass is not always greener in someone else's life.

Not all stories will have a happy ending but the scares are age appropriate. Some of the stories are better than others, and some are just not his best work. I would still recommend this collection but I don't think it's on par with the author's previous works.

3 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review.

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