A Well-Read Tart

A Food and Book Lover’s Blog

HORRORSTOR Book Review

I never thought I would be terrified of Ikea. But, it’s been a little while since I finished Grady Hendrix’s Horrorstör, and I’m still giving the store some side eye as I drive past it on my way to work. Despite the fact that I’m now too scared to go buy that third Billy bookcase I’ve been wanting for awhile, I highly recommend you read this book if you’re looking for a good scare.     What's Horrorstor about?...

DAUGHTERS OF THE LAKE Book Review

Oh, Wendy Webb. Will you ever write a book that I don't enjoy? Probably not. I don't think you're capable of it. I was fortunate enough to receive an Advance Review Copy of Daughters of the Lake, and I was totally psyched when it arrived in the mail. I've read all of Webb's previous novels and have been eagerly anticipating her newest -- so, receiving an advance copy to read and review for the blog had me...

THE CABIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD Book Review

What. The. EFF. Is. Going. On…. ?!?!?!?!!?!? This is what kept playing in my head as I kept reading Paul Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World. Because this book is INSANE. In the best possible way. Definitely one of the best btyooks I have read all year. I greedily consumed this novel with the same intensity as I did Bird Box, which I actually finished in one day. I wanted to inhale this book, but I settled for reading it in great,...

LYING IN WAIT Book Review

Um, the main character in Lying in Wait is batshit crazy. Well, one of the main characters. There are several who are more than a little "off," but the one I’m talking about is Lydia, the woman who tells you within the first few pages that she committed a murder. She relays this information so matter-of-factly, it’s as if she’s telling you what groceries she just picked up from the store. La di da. Bought this, bought that, murdered a...

THE DARK DESCENT OF ELIZABETH FRANKENSTEIN Book Review

Love can be creepy. And The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, among many other things, is a love story. A twisted, gruesome, incredibly disturbing love story. AND IT’S AMAZING.   What's The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein about? The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein is a re-telling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein from the viewpoint of Elizabeth Lavenza, a woman who's taken in by the Frankenstein...

UNBURY CAROL Book Review

So, yeah. This is the first time I've not had anything to say immediately after finishing a book. However, the length of this review is going to make a liar out of me, because after ruminating for a bit, I now have a lot to say about this book. It took me the better part of a month to get through Unbury Carol, by Josh Malerman. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had read Malerman’s previous novel, Bird Box, and absolutely loved it. In...

IN A COTTAGE IN A WOOD Book Review

Well. That was certainly a different take on my favorite “serendipitous inheritance” theme! As you’ve learned from previous posts, I have a soft spot for books in which the main character (usually a woman whose life has become up-ended) either buys a house in some random place in an attempt to build a new life (à la Under the Tuscan Sun or Tumbledown Manor), or happily inherits a charming fixer-upper from some unknown relative just as her...