Tag Archives: Contemporary

October 29, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of A Curious Presence

Title: A Curious Presence – an Exploration of Ghosts and People Who Haunt Them

Author: Margo MacDonald

Publisher: ECW Press

Publication Date: October 6, 2026

Genres: Nonfiction, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 372 pages

Source: I borrowed it from the library.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

A spellbinding, inquisitive journey into the nature of the unseen for anyone as curious about the afterlife as they are about life

Hauntings happen. But why? Are they caused by ghosts, or something else? What is a ghost, anyway? After centuries of ghost-hunting by experts and amateurs alike, are we any closer to knowing?

Like many, Margo MacDonald once believed that all hauntings were the work of restless spirits, but after two decades spent engaging with firsthand accounts of paranormal encounters — and having a few of her own — she has more questions than answers.

MacDonald asks: Why are we haunted by tragedy but not by joy? If a ghost lives in a house but no one experiences it, does it make a haunting? And what does our desire to believe in ghosts say about us?

With insight and humor, A Curious Presence explores the theories that have shaped MacDonald’s understanding of hauntings and the paranormal. Told through conversations with skeptics, sensitives, parapsychologists, investigators, and haunted-house dwellers — interwoven with vivid accounts of real experiences and visits to famously haunted locations — MacDonald proposes an unsettling idea: Perhaps it isn’t the places that are haunted, but the people who move through them. Perhaps we have more in common with ghosts than we think.

Review:

The science of haunted places is as interesting as it is hazy.

I especially enjoyed the Canadian twist to this book as I’ve visited many of the sites mentioned here and even been on a few of the ghost tours the author talked about. This is a good pick for readers who want to learn more about some of the many historic places in Canada, albeit from a slightly different perspective than can be found in the average history book. In my opinion, there’s something to be said for exploring history from many points of view, including folklore and other topics that aren’t generally considered to be serious, in order to get a more well-rounded understanding of what a particular time and place were like.

There were times when I found the ghost hunts to be a little repetitive, and this is something I’m saying as a reader who normally loves this kind of storytelling. The author repeatedly switched between describing various ghost hunts they had been on and asking deeper questions about what is truly happening in these scenarios. I preferred the latter and would have liked to see even more time spent debunking hauntings that probably don’t have anything paranormal causing them as well as exploring the portion of them that deserve to be researched even more closely.

With that being said, I was intrigued by the theories the author came up with to describe what could make a place feel haunted without any actual ghosts being involved. They had some interesting ideas about other phenomena that might be responsible for all of the sensory experiences that don’t seem to have good scientific explanations for them yet. While I can’t go into detail about them in this review without sharing spoilers, they were explained well and included the author’s thoughts about what percentage of all hauntings may fit into this category.

A Curious Presence – an Exploration of Ghosts and People Who Haunt Them was a mesmerizing Halloween read.

2 Comments

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

Tagged as 2020s, Book Reviews, Contemporary, ECW Press, Margo MacDonald, Nonfiction, Paranormal

October 22, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of Fallow

Title: Fallow

Author: Sarah Anderson

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Publication Date: September 15, 2026

Genres: Science Fiction

Length: 433 pages

Source: I borrowed it from the library.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Slyly funny and disarmingly tender, Fallow is the story of a young woman who signs up to be the world’s first in-house corporate surrogate, then finds herself caught up in a social experiment of another kind.

Natalie knows one truth: There is no such thing as a good job.

As the clock ticks away at the workplace harassment call center, she tries to ignore the increasing pain in her jaw. She has no dental insurance. She has no skills or ambitions. She has student loans. And, minute by minute, she hears the many ways workers are not just not getting by, but actually getting hustled.

Then, at the blood bank where she sells her plasma, a mysterious flyer leads her to The Company. Natalie turns out to be the perfect candidate for their pilot in-house surrogate. The Company pitches it as an opportunity to help women access greater gender equity, motherhood without maternity leave. Finally, she will be adequately—generously—compensated.

For years, her every need is stacks of healthy meals in the refrigerator of a luxury condo, fitness coaches and nutritionists, around-the-clock healthcare. Between deliveries, she takes time off—no obligations or expectations. For the first time in her life, she is good at her job; for the first time, she feels free.

But just as she’s about to fulfill the terms of her contract, a staffing decision upends everything and drags her deep into another social experiment. There she meets new questions about her future, her freedom, her purpose, and what she can expect from the world.

Woundingly funny and deeply moving, Sarah Anderson’s Fallow is a tender, hilarious, alarmingly real vision of a woman balancing on the knife-edge of capitalism as she comes to realize who she wants to be.

Content Warning: Commercial surrogacy. References to abortion. Birth. Forceps used in a difficult birth. Kidnapping.

Review:

Fertility is a gift.

I appreciated how much time the author spent exploring the many ways in which surrogacy can go wrong, particularly commercial surrogacy. This is a complex topic that can’t possibly be fully covered in a review, but there are many ethical and medical dilemmas that can come about when someone is paid to carry another person’s fertilized egg. For example, Natalie dealt with multiple couples who wanted to control every facet of her life while she was pregnant, from which precise combinations of foods she ate every day for nine months to which medical tests and procedures she was either forbidden from doing or forced to do. There were much darker moments of the influence they expected to have over her mind and body as well, but I’ll leave those passages for other readers to discover for themselves.

There was a plot twist a little over halfway into this book involving the main character that I found difficult to believe due to how passive she was during what should have been a terrifying ordeal. It almost felt like a completely different story altogether because of how much the tone changed and how little the protagonist’s personality shone through those circumstances. It would have been helpful to have some foreshadowing about what was going on there, particularly as it was related to Natalie’s plans for the future once her seventh and final pregnancy was completed.

It was nice to have such realistic world building, especially given some of the later developments in the storyline that may have otherwise seemed a bit far fetched. This felt like something that could really happen in our world in a few years, albeit with a few slight shifts to the ways western society works. There is definitely something to be said for science fiction that nudges things enough to create interesting conflicts while still feeling true to current societal trends in so many different countries, so kudos to the author for that.

Fallow was thought provoking.

5 Comments

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

Tagged as 2020s, Book Reviews, Contemporary, Farrar Straus and Giroux, Novels, Sarah Anderson, Science Fiction, Surrogacy

October 15, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of The Case of Elmwood Ranch

Title: The Case of Elmwood Ranch

Author: Deanna Grey

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: July 15, 2026

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, LGBTQ+, Horror, Contemporary

Length: 432 pages

Source: I borrowed it from the library.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Elmwood Ranch is Octavia Daniel’s dream. A safe place to land after years on the road. But once she signs the paperwork and receives the keys, the nightmare begins.

Shadows move on their own, strange accidents become the norm, and injured ranch hands refuse to work a second longer. Octavia doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she can’t deny something’s wrong with the land she’s sunk her entire savings into.

Rae Jones is in the business of ending nightmares. She comes from a family of successful paranormal investigators. But she’s set herself apart from the Jones sisters by making their legacy into a commercial success.

After years of enjoying said success, she’s hit a wall. Whether it’s burnout or a full-blown existential crisis, she doesn’t know. One way to try to avoid a downward spiral? Take every interesting job she can get. And that includes one from a very stand-offish, nonbelieving horse rancher who thinks she’s a scam artist and the things she hunts don’t exist.

Octavia and Rae must figure out how to work together if they have any hope of solving what’s truly going on at Elmwood. As they build trust, they begin to build something more. Something that could either help or harm their chances of making it out of this haunting alive.

The Case of Elmwood Ranch is a sapphic paranormal romance featuring bisexual leads. This book is intended for 18+ readers.

Content Warning: Childhood bullying, neglectful parents, paranormal violence and injuries due to said violence, parent’s death by helicopter accident (not depicted), character paralyzed by by a car accident (not depicted), and sexual content.

Review:

Not every haunting is easy to resolve.

I loved the main paranormal storyline and thought it was well executed. It’s difficult to know how much to share about it in my review as the blurb skirted around the lore surrounding it and I don’t want to accidentally share spoilers. What I can say about it is that the characters took a methodical approach to gathering evidence about the haunting using both their intuition and certain types of modern technology that made it fairly easy for them to take note of the odd things happening on the ranch. It was nice to see how seriously they took this mission. Sometimes characters in this genre become so wrapped up in figuring out what’s happening that they lose track of their common sense, so it was nice to see an example of people remaining cautious and sensible while also attempting to figure out what is actually happening on a property where people who have been left alone there have been harmed on multiple occasions.

As excited as I was to read this tale, the slow pacing made it difficult for me to justify a higher rating. I sometime struggled to remain highly interested in the storyline due to how much time it took for everything to develop and how often the protagonists focused on things that didn’t seem to be advancing any of the storylines very well. In my opinion, trimming back on those sections heavily would have made this a five-star read as the concept itself was incredibly intriguing and I did like the character very much as well. I hope to read more from Ms. Grey in the future and that I will be able to give her next book a much higher rating as she had a creative and descriptive writing style that was otherwise right up my alley.

Most of the storyline was concerned with who or what was haunting Elmwood Ranch. The sapphic romantic subplot, while obviously important for both plot and character development reasons later on, took longer to develop and was rarely if ever the main focal point. This was a good decision in my opinion as I tend to enjoy romantic works more when they are a small part of a book instead of the main course, but it is something I wanted to take note of in my review for readers who may or may not agree with my preferences there as this is definitely a subjective topic.

The Case of Elmwood Ranch made me wish for a sequel.

2 Comments

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

Tagged as 2020s, Book Reviews, Contemporary, Dark Fantasy, Deanna Grey, Horror, LGBT, Paranormal, Romance, Self-Published

October 1, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of Grief Eater

Title: Grief Eater

Author: Emma Osborne

Publisher: Interstellar Flight Press

Publication Date: June 1, 2026

Genres: Science Fiction, Horror, LGBTQ+, Contemporary

Length: 94 pages

Source: I borrowed it from my local library

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

Visceral, gritty, and unforgiving, GRIEF EATER is a zombie story like you’ve never read before.

When Kristina rises from her violent death, she’s not the same fragile woman her family once abandoned. She’s rageful, powerful, and hungry—for the blood of the ones who were supposed to love her. With a newfound craving to see vengeance and grief served, she launches into a once-in-an-undead-lifetime journey across blood-slicked highways to the scorched Australian bush and her hometown. As her body fails and her mind fractures, she’s left with one final question: Is she here to forgive, or to feed?

A transgressive, gory examination of queer identity and found family, GRIEF EATER sinks its teeth into trauma and what it means to be devoured by grief.

Content Warning: Domestic abuse, violence, dismemberment/gore, stalking, homophobia, and death of a parent.

Review:

Some things can never be forgiven.

One of the first things I noticed about this novella was how much time it spent telling readers what was happening instead of showing them, but I eventually came to the conclusion that this may have been done on purpose in order to illustrate Kristina’s intellectual and emotional limitations. Zombies have thoughts and feelings in this universe, but they are pretty muted when compared to how a living person would react to the same situations. Things that would have made me recoil in horror barely registered as a blip on the protagonists radar, for example, and her priorities in life – or undead life, as the case may be – were wildly appropriate for a zombie but would have been incredibly odd for the living. This isn’t a criticism, then, but it is something to keep in mind if you read this for yourself as I’d love to hear other perspectives on what should and shouldn’t be expected from the recently deceased.

Strong world building would have propelled this to a five-star read to me. While I learned a lot about the life cycle of a zombie in this universe, the bigger question of what was happening in Australia, much less the rest of the world, went nearly entirely unanswered. This was something I found surprising due to the fact that the protagonist managed to survive the first few waves of attacks and was doing pretty well for herself right before she was turned. Had she shared some more details about what she’s learned about human society’s reaction to this threat in general, this would have been just about the perfect horror novella for me.

Zombie fiction is only something I’m interested in on rare occasions these days, but seeing the world from the perspective of one of these individuals definitely piqued my interest. Kristina had an abusive and traumatic childhood that so deeply affected her as an adult when the events of this tale began that she couldn’t sustain romantic relationships with any of the women she was drawn to. I thought the combination of blatant horror themes and the more subtle but still easy to discern journey she experienced as she confronted her violent beginning in life worked well together and added a much-needed layer of meaning to her quest.

Grief Eater was a wild ride and a good introduction for more Halloween season reads.

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Tagged as 2020s, Book Reviews, Contemporary, Emma Osborne, Horror, Interstellar Flight Press, LGBT, Zombies

September 24, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of Intercepted Wishes

Title: Intercepted Wishes

Author: Mike Sutton

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: March 10, 2014

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 7 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Blurb:

Wishes are made. Some take time to be granted. Getting in the way is like walking into traffic.

Content Warning: Rape.

Review:

Luck is real.

Brian genuinely came across as a happy-go-lucky teen or maybe young adult to me. He had clearly had a pretty good life up until this point, and his assumptions about how the world works were as naive as they were cheerful. While I was obviously disturbed by his decision to steal money from the fountain, I was curious to learn more about his justification for doing so and about what he decided to spend that pocket change on.

This short story needed more development in my opinion. There were some fascinating ideas packed into it, including the thought that stealing coins from a fountain can affect someone’s fate in ways that they couldn’t possibly have anticipated, but they were never fleshed out enough for me to fully understand what was going on. This was particularly true for the ending which I found confusing and disturbing. As much as I wanted to give this one a much higher rating, I had too many questions about the world building and plot development to justify doing so.

The paranormal elements were memorable and sometimes funny. I liked the fact that Brian didn’t have any warning about the consequences of his actions as this piece was honestly too short for that sort of foreshadowing to be effective in my opinion. Instead, he faced the consequences of his actions rapidly and in increasingly surprising ways. Had the ending matched the humorous tone of the beginning and middle, this would have been an even better read. This is sometimes how things play out in real life, too, so it was interesting to see natural consequences in action.

Intercepted Wishes had a creative premise.

2 Comments

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

Tagged as 2010s, Book Reviews, Contemporary, Fantasy, Mike Sutton, Paranormal, Self-Published

September 17, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of Catch-All Drawer

Title: Catch-All Drawer

Author: Manuel Sánchez

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: October 9, 2025

Genres: Science Fiction, Alternate History, Historical, Contemporary

Length: About 97 pages.

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

A delight for the senses that will surprise you on every page. A journey filled with irony, sensuality, and human passions. Catch-all Drawer is an anthology of eight fiction stories where the author transports us with vibrant language to a world full of sensations, fantasy, and extraordinary situations: A fascinating woman in ancient Egypt, Virgil’s curious pet in Imperial Rome, the animal jungle of modern multinational corporations, the sensual dream of a red lantern, a mischievous worm, the circus of politics, the madness of a selfie in Australian waters, or the misadventures of a couple in the solitude of erotic contact social networks immerse us in stories of wild and addictive beauty.

Content Warning: Brief references to sex and infidelity.

Review:

A little bit of everything can add up to a full meal.

I loved the satirical take on modern workplace politics in general in “The Gazpacho.” Honestly, this was my favorite story of the collection because of how well it described both the joys and frustrations of working with the same group of people over a long period of time. While the specific setting here was in an office, I think the vast majority of the plot would have turned out more or less the same had it been in a restaurant, medical setting, warehouse, store, or just about any other place of work because of how keenly the author focused on the personalities of the characters as they interacted with one another and dealt with sometimes ridiculous rules.

Kudos to the author for experimenting with the science fiction genre so much in this book. While not every tale was to my taste, most of them were and I must tip my cap to him for being so willing to try new things and see what may or may not resonate with his readers. “A Selfie,” which followed a couple who decided to swim with the sharks on their honeymoon to Australia, was one such example of this. I struggled to understand why these characters were not only willing to take so many risks with their safety but also unwilling to learn from their past mistakes. It would have been helpful to have more character development here so that I could understand their perspectives better.

The email format of “The Worm” made me smile. It’s a writing style that pops up on occasion in what I read, and I’m always interested in seeing where new authors take it because of how much it reminds me of the old epistolary novels that share so much in common with this newer form of storytelling one message at a time. Another interesting thing about this piece was related to how trustworthy I found the protagonist. Other readers should decide for themselves what they think of him, of course, but I thought this was a good example of how to create a main character who is simultaneously fascinating and deeply unlikable (in my opinion, of course).

Catch-All Drawer was my introduction to Mr. Sánchez‘s work, and my curiosity has been piqued to see what else he might write in the future.

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Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

Tagged as Alternate History, Book Reviews, Collections, Contemporary, Historical, Manuel Sánchez, Science Fiction, Self-Published, Short Story

September 10, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of The Corner of My Eye

Title: The Corner of My Eye

Author: Rudolph Kohn

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: February 14, 2023

Genres: Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 7 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

Moving into a new house can be stressful, and it can be refreshing. But what do you do when you start to hear strange sounds and see hints of motion out of the corner of your eye? What happens to your mind when all of your efforts to get to the bottom of these strange phenomena comes up with nothing? A short Lovecraftian story about figments of your imagination, or perhaps reality.

Review:

Always ask questions if something seems too good to be true.

One of my favorite things about this tale was that almost nothing was revealed about the protagonist. The first paragraph mentioned that they had just bought a new home, but this was really the only piece of information shared about them. Everything else, including their sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, race, ethnicity, and a million other descriptive adjectives that could be used to paint a mental image of who they were as a person, was left blank. This meant that basically any reader out there could imagine themselves in this character’s shoes as they closed on their new home and gradually began to realize they weren’t the only occupant there.

I did find myself wishing that the last scene could provide a deeper explanation of what was already inhabiting the narrator’s new home, especially given the other knowledge this individual had acquired by that point. While I wouldn’t have expected to know everything by the final sentence, having even a few more sentences explaining what was going on would have encouraged me to choose a full five-star rating for this short story.

This started off as a fairly typical paranormal story but soon shifted into something a bit more frightening than is usual for this genre. I loved seeing the protagonist react to each new development as they attempted to figure out how to best handle a situation that was rapidly spiraling out of control. As much as I wanted that final scene to provide a little more guidance, it did end on a deliciously scary note and was well worth the read.

The Corner of My Eye made me shiver.

A Review of Planeta

Book cover for Planeta by Ana Oncina. Image on cover is a drawing of a Spanish woman who is standing behind a green-skinned person, possibly an alien, who is covering their eyes with their hands. Title: Planeta

Author: Ana Oncina

Publisher: LoveLove

Publication Date: February 18, 2025

Genres: Science Fiction, Mystery, LGBTQ+, Romance, Contemporary, Futuristic

Length: 224 pages

Source: I borrowed it from the library.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Welcome to Planeta.For months, Valentina has been dreaming of a strange world and a beautiful girl.In her dreams, she’s Val3, and she and An3 live together on a lonely planet in a distant future, entirely unlike the picturesque village where Valentina resides in her waking life. One fateful day, Val’s world gets turned upside down when the girl from her dreams appears in front of her as Anne.While Valentina and Val3 grapple for control of their respective realities, the question of which is real threatens to derail the course of both their love stories. In either world, can anyone really be made for each other…?

Content Warning: Depression.

Review:

Who wouldn’t want their dreams to come true?

The romance between Valentina (Val3) and Anne (An3) was sweet and gentle. I loved seeing them interact with each other and wondered what their future(s) might hold together. These were among my favorite scenes in this graphic novel, and I would have enjoyed having even more of them. They added depth to the plot and helped me get to know both of these characters much better than I would have otherwise. It was a good example of how the romance and science fiction genres can be blended together in natural ways that can appeal to fans who might otherwise not pick up a book from one of those genres.

I struggled to understand the ending and thought what was shared in those last few scenes didn’t match the tone of everything that had come before. It felt like the storyline was foreshadowing a conclusion that never ended up happening. For example, the dual timelines were written in way that made me think one of them was the real one and the other was a dream world, but this mystery was never really solved. As much as I wanted to give this one a higher rating, my confusion and disappointment at how this wrapped up prevented me from doing so.

With that being said, this story did capture the feeling of waking up from a hyper-realistic dream and being momentarily confused and disappointed that none of those events actually took place. This isn’t something that’s easy to explain in fiction, so kudos to Ms. Oncina for making it feel so realistic and relatable. I can’t think of many other authors who have pulled it off, and it makes me want to read more from her in the future.

Planeta was creative.

1 Comment

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

Tagged as 2020s, Ana Oncina, Book Reviews, Contemporary, Futuristic, Graphic Novels, LGBT, LoveLove, Manga, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction

July 2, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of A Hundred Julys

Title: A Hundred Julys

Author: Holly Schindler

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: June 29, 2016

Genres:Romance, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: About 35 pages.

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Forever Finley Episode / Short Story #8: Mysterious sightings—and a legend of unrequited love—draws Finley’s newest resident into the midst of the folklore surrounding the town.

Norma Johnson, owner of Finley’s only antique store, has always felt she was mysteriously drawn to the small town. Forced to host the July vintage car show, she bumps headlong into the legend that has surrounded Finley for a century—and in so doing, gains a new perspective on the far-reaching effects of love…

A Hundred Julys is part of Forever Finley, a series of stand-alone episodes or short stories that released once a month throughout 2016. Previous releases include: Come December, January Thaw, Forget February, Dearest March…, April’s Promise, Mayday Mayday Mayday, and Chasing June. Stories following A Hundred Julys include Under the August Moon, Song for September, October Omen, and the Forever Finley Finale (Pale November / December Bells). Stories can be purchased individually, or readers can purchase all installments in Forever Finley: An Episodic Novel.

Content Warning: Grief.

Review:

The past and present can have more in common than you might think!

Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that compared Norma with Amos, the ghost who had been haunting Finley for well over a century. Both of these characters had lost romantic partners and never quite moved on from that loss. While I can’t go into much more detail about this without sharing spoilers, I thought it was a marvellous way to connect the past to the present and help to explain why Amos hadn’t found peace in the afterlife yet.

I would have liked to see more plot development in this tale. There was so much more the author could have done with Norma as a character, especially given the many similarities between her and Amos despite the very different eras and cultures they came from. Had a few more pages been added to explore these themes, I would have easily chosen a much higher rating given how much I’ve come to love these characters and this setting over the past eleven months.

The romantic subplot was handled nicely. I enjoy the foreshadowing of it that appeared quite early on and looked forward to discovering how it would unfold as the characters who were involved in it slowly realized the newest possibilities in their lives. There’s something to be said for a slow burn like this, especially for individuals who aren’t even entirely sure that they’re open to falling in love at that point in their lives.

A Hundred Julys was romantic and just a little otherworldly.

A Review of This House Isn’t Haunted, But We Are

Title: This House Isn’t Haunted, But We Are

Author: Stephen Howard

Publisher: Wild Hunt Books

Publication Date: April 3, 2025

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Mystery, Contemporary

Length: 106 pages

Source: I borrowed it from the library.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

A couple mourning the loss of their young daughter take up an opportunity to renovate a rural cottage on the remote North Yorkshire Moors. However, they can’t process their grief as increasingly eerie events unfold. Is it their daughter haunting them or something else?

Content Warning: the death a child that occurred before this novella began. I will be discussing it briefly in my review.

Review:

Moving forward rarely happens on a set schedule.

I adored the house’s motivation for attempting to communicate with Priya and Simon, the couple who just moved in. While I can’t go into detail about this without sharing spoilers, it was a fresh perspective on the haunted house genre that made me eagerly want to learn more. Mr. Howard is a creative storyteller, and these scenes in particular were well done and made me want to check out more of his work.

This would have been a much stronger work if more time had been spent fleshing it out, especially when it came to the character development. While the minimalistic descriptions worked better for the storyline given how straightforward it was for the most part, I found myself wishing I knew more about who Simon and Priya were as individuals. There simply wasn’t enough space in this novella to explore their personalities, histories, and what their marriage had been like before little Lily passed away.

The ending was as unexpected as it was thought provoking. I was intrigued by what it had to say about the process of grief and how easy it is to get stuck in certain phases of it for some people. It takes courage to pull oneself out of those spirals and move forward when what one really wants to do is wallow in the past. While I would have liked to see another chapter added at the end to explain what was really going on in the house, I also understand why the author decided to leave those questions unanswered. Grief in real life is often accompanied by questions that can’t possibly be answered, too, so it made sense to reflect that in fiction as well.

If anyone reading this review would like a recommendation for a similar read, The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters explores similar themes surrounding grief, the loss of a child, and the physical and emotional decay of a home and may be of interest to you.

This House Isn’t Haunted, But We Are made me want to read more haunted house tales.

Tag Archives: Contemporary

A Review of A Curious Presence

A Review of Fallow

A Review of The Case of Elmwood Ranch

A Review of Grief Eater

A Review of Intercepted Wishes

A Review of Catch-All Drawer

A Review of The Corner of My Eye

A Review of Planeta

A Review of A Hundred Julys

A Review of This House Isn’t Haunted, But We Are

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