what big teeth – The Library Cryptid

I have been in a horrific review slump since June. Maybe longer than that. I’ve got a huge backlog of books that I haven’t written reviews for, and it’s holding me back. Every time I think I should just push forward and forget about the books I’ve read in the past, I feel like I’m holding myself back because I feel the responsibility to go back and review all those books. So, for the next few months, I’ll be posting a mini review round-up every Tuesday until I’m all caught up, and then I’ll hopefully be back in the swing of things! This week I’ll be reviewing six new releases from the first half of the year.

The Project by Courtney Summers

Years after their parents die in a car crash, Lo Denham tries desperately to make contact with her sister Bea, who has disappeared into the folds of the cult known as the Unity Project. This YA mystery-thriller has met with some lukewarm reviews, and I think that’s primarily because it’s not particularly thrilling. I didn’t think it was a page turner with tons of cliffhangers that propelled me to the next chapter, but I did think it was one of the most accurate depictions of a cult that I’ve read.

Not all cults are Jonestowns or the Manson Family. Most people assume that they’d never end up in a cult, that only stupid people do and that they’re too smart to be caught up in it, and it’s simply not true. Cults are insidious, they are not straight out of your favorite thriller book, and they are extremely dangerous and ensnare people from all walks of life. So personally, I’m glad this book wasn’t a page turner! Although it did move a bit too slowly at times, I loved how accurate-to-life it was, so it’s absolutely a book I’d recommend, although I think people should curb their expectations a bit going in to it.

What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo

After an incident at her boarding school, Eleanor Zarrin returns to her family home in Maine, from which she was banished as a child. When she invites her maternal grandmother to the home to help get settled, the Zarrins’ lives are turned upside down, and Eleanor discovers just how monstrous her family can be.

This YA horror was one of my most anticipated reads of the year! I love werewolf books and the author is queer so I had very high hopes. However, I found that it floundered a bit with the plot and with the creature feature. It was very much a family drama and I found myself intrigued by certain plot points, but it ended up a little predictable and I didn’t feel like I got the catharsis at the end that I was looking for.

All that being said, I did enjoy it well enough and would recommend if you’re looking to try out a little YA horror, especially with a Gothic lean to it. This was Szabo’s debut and I’m looking forward to reading more of their work.

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

Decades after the citizens of Silvertjärn disappeared and left only a crying baby and dead woman in their town, Alice Lindstedt—whose grandmother once lived there—returns to film a documentary about the disappearances, and hopes she’ll find out what happened to her ancestors.

This is another book I was so excited for! I studied abroad in Sweden and I just love it there, so I was thrilled to read some Swedish fiction. There were some aspects to this book I enjoyed—for one thing, it has a dual timeline that I actually did really enjoy, even though it’s not usually my thing. It also had some really good commentary on mental health and especially the stigma against people who struggle with it.

Unfortunately, that’s where my pros end and cons begin… to start with, I just could not get that suspension of disbelief with this book. I just thought it was so unrealistic. Also, even though I did enjoy the timelines, it always drives me crazy when the past and present aren’t evenly distributed, which they weren’t in this book. Finally, although this was pitched as a found footage-style book, it pretty much wasn’t and I think if it had been it would’ve made a much better book. The book ended up mostly being a disappointment for me.

Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman

In the present day, a new teacher discovers a rabbit ritually murdered on the school grounds and notes in his classroom with a mysterious allusion to his past. In the 80’s, a young boy responds to his mother’s questioning without really knowing the consequences, leading to the rise of what is known as the Satanic Panic.

If you are looking for a fast-paced popcorn thriller with some 80’s nostalgia, this is the book for you. For me, though, it was a complete disappointment. It was predictable, and unrealistic, and shallow. I do think it would’ve been more enjoyable if I had read it in one sitting, but every time I put it down I struggled to feel the desire to pick it back up again. By the end of the book, I realized that I would’ve had a significantly better time if I had just picked up a nonfiction book about the Satanic Panic, rather than reading a fictionalized account that tried to use a dual timeline to generate edge-of-your-seat thrills.

The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon

Wyatt was thrown out of the Fae kingdom of Asalin when he used his witch powers to wreak devastation. Now, settled into the human world and post-transition, his ex-fiancé Emyr wants him to return to Asalin to help Emyr secure the Fae throne. I don’t read a lot of paranormal romance, but when I do, this is the kind I read (The Witch King‘s agent is Rena Rossner, who also represents Aiden Thomas’s Cemetery Boys, which I read and loved in 2020; the vibes are very similar).

I will admit that I listened to this on audiobook, and I’m not sure that I’d have liked it as much if I had eyeball-read it. It felt very juvenile and the writing quality wasn’t quite up-to-par, but on audio, none of that bothered me the way it would if I had eyeball-read it. However, it’s something to be aware of going in.

This is not a story about fluffy perfect people doing good things. It is a story about morally gray characters who fuck up, and whose relationships can be unhealthy or even toxic. It’s very coming-of-age—there’s a lot about Wyatt learning how not to be an asshole. And I really loved those aspects and ended up super invested in Wyatt and Emyr’s relationship. I ended up enjoying this book a ton and I can’t wait for the sequel, The Fae Keeper, to come out next year.

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

Nella is thrilled when another black girl starts working at Wagner Books—she’s been the only one in a white-dominated industry for way too long. Then Nella receives a note on her desk: LEAVE WAGNER. NOW. Could it be the other black girl? Or is there something more sinister going on?

This was another of my highly anticipated 2021 releases. It was compared to Stepford Wives a ton in the marketing campaign (as well as Get Out, but let’s be real, horror books by authors of color being compared to Jordan Peele are a dime a dozen and I don’t put much stock in it), which is a super accurate comp. I’d read Stepford Wives just a couple weeks before I picked this one up, so it was fresh in my mind when I read it, and I thought the comparison was very on-the-nose.

Unfortunately, I think where this book fails is its pacing. Harris simply fails to develop a tight, fast-paced narrative, and I think that’s really key for this kind of book. It moved extremely slowly (Nella doesn’t even receive the pivotal note until a third of the way through the book) and didn’t hold my attention. There was an interesting social commentary, but ultimately it just didn’t make for a very entertaining read.