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Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi

Stacey Irving • September 9, 2022

This book turns up the creepies

I just finished reading Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi and here is what I thought about it.

2 decades was enough time for Jamie to forget the horrors of what happened when he was a child. Drinking and drugs didn’t help him escape the darkness that unfolded that summer. 

No longer able to outrun his past, Jamie has to return to Black mouth to collect his brother after their mother passed away. As fate would have it, he wasn’t the only person to be returning to the place where it all happened, his 2 best friends from his teen years also have their own reasons for being drawn back to where it all started. 

The 4 friends decide it is time to face the music of that summer and the deaths that happened because of their actions… The magician has reappeared and he hasn’t been idle…. He has been leading other kids down a dangerous path and it’s time for the friends to put an end to the monster once and for all…… 
 
Get ready to have the hairs on the back of your neck stay permanently erect. This book literally had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I was looking for the kind of horror read that built the kind of suspense that was almost too much to bear and this book nailed it.

The story centers around Jamie and his little brother Dennis and their friends Mia and Clay. One summer a man comes and teaches them magic tricks…. Something horrific happens and they don’t see each other again until one day the man shows back up again and they all realize they need to face what happened. The book shifts in time to fill in the blanks of what happened that summer back to the present and you get a little of others points of view just for clarity. 

The book was really well paced and I loved the dynamic between Jamie and his brother. I also really enjoyed that the book didn’t give you an outright answer to the questions it asks.. I usually hate that but for this book, it worked so well. 

I loved the eeriness of the town and the blanket of darkness that seemed to linger on every page. Really shock me out of my horror funk! This one was so brilliant and I cannot wait to see what else the author has to offer.

4.5 stars! You cannot go wrong with this book even if you tried. 

Thank you to Netgalley and titan books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. 

 

By Stacey Irving February 19, 2025
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By Stacey Irving February 10, 2025
🎧🎧Mini Audiobook reviews!🎧🎧 Definitely Better now by Ava Robinson It’s been a year since Emma has been in AA and she hasn’t told her work that she is a recovering alcoholic. Trouble is she is ready to start dating but she’s never had to do any of these things sober.. How is she going to navigate the delicate world of staying sober and finding a man when all the problems she had before haven’t magically disappeared? The narration was great. It was a pretty dark humor book and I was here for it all. Emma is so relatable and she owns the fact she’s still an asshole. She was like a brand new foal trying to stand and she was shaky and nervous. The plot was great, it was done with real class and I enjoyed the heck out of it. 4 stars . Watch your Back by Terri Parlato Eve and Nathan have a beautiful life and a daughter. Trouble starts when their daughter is kidnapped from the babysitters house.. her husband Nathan had been having an affair and it’s up to Rita to find out just what is going on in their home. The narration was pretty decent with this one. The book was really good most of the way through and then the ending… was weird. It was a bit overdone. The rest of it was epic. So many possibilities. So many threads to tug at and I loved it. I wish the ending hadn’t ended like that. The plot was solid though and if you like twisty thrillers with many POV this one’s for you. 3.75 stars rounded to 4 The Losting Fountain by Laura Senf The narration was just ok. I kinda felt like it wasn’t quite right… she didn’t change up her voice and that was a real bummer. All these kids are being called to this fountain and are being led there… There were 6 POV and it was too many to keep track of. I didn’t feel like the story building was particularly good and none of the characters were very interesting. I did finish but I wasn’t wowed by the book and I really wanted to love it. It was kinda lacklustre and I didn’t feel like it was as good as I had built it up in my mind to be. I might try the hardcover though. Sometimes I need to read to get the story 2.5 stars rounded to 3 (I’m sorry!) #audiobooks #audiobooklover #audioreader #bookreviews #watchyourback #thriller #thrillerreader .#definitelybetternow #darkhumor #romancereader #booktok #booktube #bookish #bookalorian #readingallday
By Stacey Irving February 9, 2025
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By Stacey Irving February 8, 2025
I just finished Wedding Dashers by Heather McBreen and here are my thoughts!! Ada’s life has fallen apart but she has been tasked with bringing the veil for her little sister's wedding.. A sister she is drifting apart from. When her flight is cancelled she has no idea how she will get to the wedding… A man offers to buy her dinner and everything is fine but he thinks it's leading to sex… She is just about to leave his hotel room when both their phones blow up… With stark clarity they realize they are both going to the same wedding, what could go wrong? They team up to get to the wedding but things go from bad to worse in no time flat! I enjoyed this book. One of the things I didn’t like was how Ada’s sister portrayed Jack and it led to Ada having a bad impression of a man that didn’t deserve it. It really really aggravated me and I never warmed to her sister at all. Jack and Ava are both broken in different ways and have different ways of coping with it. I thought the way they learned to become friends after their animosity was really sweet. I don’t know if I would have continued trying to get to the wedding with all the obstacles in the way but they clearly both have more resilience than me. The book started out really slow. I wish it had picked up a bit sooner than it did but once it got going I really enjoyed this book. Tropes - Read if you enjoy: ▪️Enemies to lovers ▪️Forced proximity ▪️Meet Cute ▪️Slow Burn ▪️One bed ▪️Road trip romance I enjoyed their adventure and how they opened up to each other during their time getting to a wedding that neither of them wanted to go to. This is a debut and honestly, it is quite excellent and I will definitely be looking for this author again! 4 stars Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypublishing for my gifted copy - out now #weddingdashers #heathermcbreen #debutnovel #booktube #booktok #booksofbookstagram #berkelybooks #bookreview #netgalley #bookishinfluencer #booktalk #bookalorian #readersoftiktok #kindlereader
By Stacey Irving February 8, 2025
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By Stacey Irving February 5, 2025
I just finished The Mafia Nanny by SHOO and here are my thoughts. OK to start with reading graphic novels is reading so when I add this phenomenal book to my goodreads… Know I do it gleefully!! The artwork in this book is off the hook amazing! The attention to detail was really something else. This might just be my favorite graphic novel to date it was so entertaining. I had a ton of fun reading it. Davina’s very first client as an elite nanny is underboss Gabriel and let me tell you.. If he wanted me like he wanted Davina… This novel would be x-rated haha. That is one HAWT DADDY. The premise is excellent with Davina feeling the slip back into the criminal underworld she already escaped and Mikey, her charge, is too cute. He has the moody kid thing going for him, you can’t help finding him endearing. Daniva is a great MC and I cannot wait to see what happens next! I am hooked!! The banter is great, the chemistry is there and I am fully invested. 4.5 stars Thank you to @webtoonofficial and @wattpadbooks for my gifted copy #gabrielangelini #webtoon #themafiananny #wattpadbooks #webtoonrecommendation #webtoonofficial #webtoonedit #edit #themafianannywebtoon #mafiananny #mafianannywebtoon #davina #davinadiavolo ##mikeyangelini #bookreview #graphicnovel #booklover #booktok #fyp
By Stacey Irving February 5, 2025
I just finished Prophecy by M L Fergus and here are my thoughts. Persephone has never known much of anything except being a slave and when a cheeky thief frees her she cannot help wondering why… Azriel has his reasons and he has reason to believe she is the key to the prophecy his people have been waiting for. I have a mixed bag of complex feelings about this book. I loved the parts with Persephone but there were parts that felt a little fragmented with the way it was written… I had to go back and reread a couple of times to make sure I was understanding where I was. The writing was great> I really enjoyed the tone and the pace but just the transition between the POV was messy for me. I went to libby and they don’t have the audio which is a real bummer because I get the feeling this would make a wonderful audiobook but for me, reading it didn’t pack the punch I knew it should. I felt like it didn’t hold me sometimes and other times I was in its clutches so hard I couldn’t breathe. I know, I am a drama queen but that's how it was while reading. It did find its feet better in the last third of the book and even though I am not sure how much I liked the book, I am intrigued enough to grab 2. I need to know more so the author did a really solid job of hooking me enough that it gets a 3.75 stars but I dunno, there was just something that waned for me especially in the beginning chapters of the book. Thank you to @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouseca for my gifted copy #fantasybook #fantasybookseries #fantasyreader #prophecy #MLfergus #fracturedkingdom #bookreview #booklover #penguinbooks #penguinreader #YAbooks #bookalorian #booksbooksbooks #readercommunity #readingallday #booktalk
By Stacey Irving February 3, 2025
I just finished The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight and here are my musings. Pen is in her first term at Edinburgh university... She is hoping to uncover the secrets her parents back in Canada are hiding from her and the place she wants to start... With an old friend of her Fathers, the reclusive Lord Lennox.. She doesn't know what she expects to find but love really wasn't one of them. When her best friend Alice succumbs to the advances of a professor, it's up to Pen to try and right the scales of justice. My biggest issue with this book. The title. I think it wasn't a strong representation of the book even though I understand why the author picked it, it didn't work for me. Phew now that's out of the way let's talk about the plot... I loved it. We get the book from both Pen and Alice's perspectives and they were both done with grace and gravitas. What was happening to Alice was done with real care and I really appreciated that. I really enjoyed Pen and her journey to discover the secrets of her parents and watching her not just learn about them, but she kinda finds herself too. It was quite beautiful. Pen was such a beautiful character. She was like a balm for wild Alice. Unlikely friendship between two women coming into themselves. I loved the different social structures the book introduces us to and we are shown the beauty in them all. I thought the book was beautifully written and a great debut for this author 4 stars Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouseca for my gifted copy. #thecommonlifecycleofthecommonoctopus #emmaknight #debutnovel #debutbook #bookblog #bookreview
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