Month: February 2024

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek.  This tour is being hosted by TBR and Beyond Tours. 

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Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek

Genre: Young Adult Gothic Fantasy 
Publishing date: February 27th, 2024

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Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Rep: Polish, European 

Synopsis:

Raised in a small village near the spirit-wood, Liska Radost knows that Magic is monstrous, and its practitioners, monsters. After Liska unleashes her own powers with devastating consequences, she is caught by the demon warden of the wood – the Leszy – who offers her a bargain: one year of servitude in exchange for a wish.

Whisked away to his crumbling manor, Liska soon discovers the sinister roots of their bargain. And if she wants to survive the year and return home, she must unravel her host’s spool of secrets and face the ghosts of his past.

Those who enter the wood do not always return…

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Tour Schedule

https://tbrandbeyondtours.com/2024/01/09/tour-schedule-where-the-dark-stands-still-by-a-b-poranek/

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Review

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Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek, is a lush old world fantasy based polish folklore.

Liska Radost has a secret, that she struggles to keep hidden from the other villagers of Stodoła. She can do magic, and has exceptional healing magical abilities. She wants nothing more that to be excepted, and considered a normal person. So she suppresses her magic and now it’s become explosive, and wild.

Her only chance of removing her gifts that she sees as curse, is to venture in the spirit wood known as the Driada. She goes there seeking out a fern flower that will grant her a wish. Hoping to remove all traces of her magic she takes a deadly chance as she enters the Dark Wood that is known for its creatures.

The Demon Warden of the woods, is a shape shifter, an antlered white stag immortal, named The Leszy. After making a bargain with the Demon, Liska is to serve him for one year, and at the end her wish will be granted. One year to live in his sentient old manor under the Rowan Tree. Where things are not as one wound expect for a Demon’s house, full of dark secrets.

Innovative world building and incisive character development,made for a compulsory book. Readers will find themselves in love with the the three dimensional characters, who’s growth was exceptional.

A.B. Poranek delivers quite a phenomenal, atmospheric, fantasy tale. An impressive magical system, with nightmarish creatures along with an old God, that is even more monstrous. The slow burn romance was depicted in such away that kept flipping the pages. Liska Radost was such a enjoyable character, her struggles and growth was extremely written well. So far she is my favorite character of 2024. The manor and its inhabitants, made me want find my own dark wood manor house and live out the last of my days there. The ending was everything and gave the tale so much depth and emotion.

This is one author that needs to be on your radar.

Nothing short of a Five Star’s rating on this book 📖

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thanks to @simonteen @abporanek @tbrbeyondtours

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Author

A. B. Poranek grew up in Ontario, Canada but spent her summers in the Polish countryside, raiding her grandfather’s library and helping care for his chickens. Her love of animals led her to pursue a degree in Veterinary Medicine, though she never stopped writing along the way. She now lives in Versailles, France, where she spends her free time doodling and wrangling her void demon (read: cat), Neptune.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

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@gwendalynbooks.com

Hello Gracious Readers and welcome to my stop on the blog tour forMy Throat An Open Grave by Tori Bovalino

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Genre: Young Adult Horror
Publishing date: February 20th, 2024

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

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Synopsis

Labyrinth meets folk horror in this darkly romantic tale of a girl who wishes her baby brother away to the Lord of the Wood


Growing up in the small town of Winston, Pennsylvania feels like drowning. Leah goes to church every Sunday, works when she isn’t at school, and takes care of her baby brother, Owen. Like every girl in Winston, she tries to be right and good and holy. If she isn’t the Lord of the Wood will take her, and she’ll disappear like so many other girls before her.

But living up to the rigorous standards of the town takes its toll. One night, when Owen won’t stop screaming, Leah wishes him away, and the Lord listens. The screaming stops, and all that’s left in the crib is a small bundle of sticks tied with a ribbon.

Filled with shame and the weight of the town’s judgment, Leah is forced to cross the river into the Lord of the Wood’s domain to bring Owen back. But the devilish figure who has haunted Winston for generations isn’t what she expects. He tells her she can have her brother back—for the price of a song. A song that Leah will have one month to write.

It’s a bargain that will uncover secrets her hometown has tried to keep buried for decades. And what she unearths will have her questioning everything she’s been taught to fear.

Content Warning: Religious trauma, violence

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REVIEW

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My Throat an Open Grave” by Tori Bovalino is a YA horror novel set small town of small town of Winston, Pennsylvan

Winston, Pennsylvania is a deeply religious community that is heavily involved in systematic gender inequality.

We follow seventeen year old Leah who’s home life is troubled. She finds herself in a constant struggle to maintain the unattainable standards that have been placed on women in her small community. The responsibility of taking care of her little brother lays heavily on her shoulders.

When a terrible thing happens when Owen’s crying is inconsolable and Leah wishes her brother away. She finds herself tasked by the religious authorities to rescue her little brother from the clutches of Lord of the Wood. But not everything she was told is true about the lord of the Wood and she is surprised by what she actually finds.

A moving folk horror tale that had me glued to the pages. I was easily able to connect with the MC Leah, and the writing was solid. The found family is always one of my favorite troupes. I highly recommend this book to those looking for a great cottage core tale with a deeper meaning strung through out the storyline.

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Author

Tori Bovalino is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and currently lives in London. She holds a BA in English and anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh and an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, University of London. She is currently a student in Royal Holloway’s Creative writing
and practice-based PhD program. Tori is obsessed with chai tea, oversized sweaters, and talking about Pittsburgh.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Hello Gracious Readers and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for

A Place for Vanishing by Ann Fraistat

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A Place for Vanishing by Ann Fraistat

Genre:Young Adult Horror
Publishing date: January 16th, 2024

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Rep: Mental illness, Bipolar Disorder

Synopsis

A teen girl and her family return to her mother’s childhood home, only to discover that the house’s strange beauty may disguise a sinister past, in this contemporary gothic horror from the author of What We Harvest.

The house was supposed to be a fresh start. That’s what Libby’s mom said. And after Libby’s recent bipolar III diagnosis and the tragedy that preceded it, Libby knows she and her family need to find a new normal.

But Libby’s new home turns out to be anything but normal. Scores of bugs haunt its winding halls, towering stained-glass windows feature strange, insectile designs, and the garden teems with impossibly blue roses. And then there are the rumors. The locals, including the mysterious boy next door, tell stories about disappearances tied to the house, stretching back over a century to its first owners. Owners who supposedly hosted legendary masked séances on its grounds.

Libby’s mom refuses to hear anything that could derail their family’s perfect new beginning, but Libby knows better. The house is keeping secrets from her, and something tells her that the key to unlocking them lies in the eerie, bug-shaped masks hidden throughout the property.

We all wear masks—to hide our imperfections, to make us stronger and braver. But if Libby keeps hers on for too long, she might just lose herself—and everyone she loves.

Content Warning:Mental illness themes, suicide attempt, horror themes

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REVIEW

A Place for Vanishing by Ann Fraistat is A YA gothic with a heady douse of creep. Rich in atmospheric prose, we follow Libby, who has recently been diagnosed with bipolar III following a suicidal attempt. Her mother moves her and her sister Vivi, back to their ancestral house Madame Clery’s House of Masks.

This book checked all my boxes, horror, unreliable narrator, paranormal. Strange family disappearance in the house over the years. Along with something menacing residing along with Libby and her mother and sister in the house. This book definitely kept me on my toes. If you enjoy horror this book is just what you need.

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AUTHOR

Ann Fraistat is an author, playwright, and narrative designer. Her debut novel is What We Harvest, out now with Delacorte Press, and her second book, A Place for Vanishing, is coming January 16, 2024. Her co-author credits include plays such as Romeo & Juliet: Choose Your Own Ending, and alternate reality games sponsored by the National Science Foundation. She lives in Maryland.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads