I’m sharing another instalment of my Mini Review Mondays, the most recent of which was last week, on a Tuesday as I had a lot of other commitments yesterday! In case you haven’t seen any of my previous posts, I do ‘mini’ reviews of books that I’ve previously read and am now ready to share my full thoughts about.
First up, I’d like to talk about In These Hallowed Halls. Thank you to Titan Books for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
In these stories, dear student, retribution visits a lothario lecturer; the sinister truth is revealed about a missing professor; a forsaken lover uses a seance for revenge; an obsession blooms about a possible illicit affair; two graduates exhume the secrets of a reclusive scholar; horrors are uncovered in an obscure academic department; five hopeful initiates must complete a murderous task and much more!
Featuring brand-new stories from: Olivie Blake, M.L. Rio, David Bell, Susie Yang, Layne Fargo, J.T. Ellison, James Tate Hill, Kelly Andrew, Phoebe Wynne, Kate Weinberg, Helen Grant and Tori Bovalino
Definition of dark academia in English: dark academia 1. An internet subculture concerned with higher education, the arts, and literature, or an idealised version thereof with a focus on the pursuit of knowledge and an exploration of death. 2. A set of aesthetic principles. Scholarly with a gothic edge – tweed blazers, vintage cardigans, scuffed loafers, a worn leather satchel full of brooding poetry. Enthusiasts are usually found in museums and darkened libraries.
Publication Date: 12th September
TW: suicide, grooming, death, murder, car accident, school shooting
My Thoughts:
It is no secret that I adore the Dark Academia genre and this anthology is packed full of some of my favourite writers in the genre. These Hallowed Halls is delectable reading, especially perfect for the autumn season as nights grow colder and that chill starts to settle in your bones.
As always, anthologies can be a mixed bag but I loved this one. I’m going to run through my favourite stories, but I genuinely felt like this was such a solid anthology. We kicked off with 1000 Ships by Kate Weinberg, which I really enjoyed. It was a slick, sickening look at power, manipulation and changing your odds. Unsurprisingly, I adored Olivie Blake’s story – Pythia. It was such a cool concept and the story took so many twists and turns. Blake packed a lot of characterisation and conceptual intrigue into a very short space.
Similarly, The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew was a story I really love. This was a dark and twisty tale of fate, revenge and rabbits. It proved to me that between this and The Whispering Dark, Andrew is an author I must keep my eye on. X House by J T Ellison was another one that threw me for a loop. It was highly enjoyable, thriving in its tight atmosphere and claustrophobic setting. The pacing was excellent, with a deliciously twisted ending.
Four Funerals by David Bell was one that really struck me. It explores the aftermath of school shooting and survivor’s guilt. For me, it was affecting and moving. To no one’s surprise, Weekend at Bertie’s by M L Rio was one of my favourites. I loved the characterisation here so much and thought it was so well written. Finally, Phobos by Tori Bovalino was such a standout. Bovalino’s writing is darkly entrancing and this is a story I loved, with an excellent concept and great twists.
These Hallowed Halls is perfect for all Dark Academia fans, with clearly established favourites of the genre and sparkling gems to discover.
Next up, I’d like to talk about Every Exquisite Thing by Laura Steven. Thank you to Electric Monkey for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Penny Paxton is the daughter of an icon. Her supermodel mother has legions of adoring fans around the world, and Penny is ready to begin her journey to international adoration, starting with joining the elite Dorian Drama School.
When Penny’s new mentor offers her an opportunity she cannot refuse, to have a portrait painted by a mysterious artist who can grant immortal beauty to all his subjects, Penny happily follows in the footsteps of Dorian’s most glittering alumni, knowing that stardom is sure to soon be hers.
But when her trusted mentor is found murdered, Penny realises she’s made a terrible mistake – a sinister someone is using the uncanny portraits to kill off the subjects one by one. As more perfectly beautiful students start to fall, Penny knows her time is running out . . .
Publication Date: 14th September
TW: disordered eating, body horror, murder, death, parental abuse, emotional abuse, animal death, disfigurement, violence, suicide threats
My Thoughts:
Every Exquisite Thing trembles with scarcely contained fury at the world constraining young women and binding them to their image, but also retains a powerful and poignant sense of hope.
Some books just burn incandescent with rage and this is one of those. Steven’s reinterpretation of The Picture of Dorian Gray brings it straight into modern concerns, but these are deep-rooted, societal and structural forms of control that have existed for aeons. They are not truly modern concerns, we are just beginning to have the conversations needed to acknowledge and unpin them.
I loved how atmospheric the writing in this book was. It is a true Gothic tale, with blood, gore and violence beneath the surface of a beautiful facade. The pacing and tension are excellent, with the pages just flying by. Steven packs in some excellent twists that heightened the central themes and are proper rug-pulls. Also, the focus on acting and pretence within the school levels up those Dorian vibes. It is layer after layer of pretence, constrained by what you think you should be. At the book’s centre is Penny, a phenomenal protagonist. Her voice is battered and bruised by the life she has had, squashed beneath the weight of expectations and the impossible ideals she must live up to.
This is a book that delves deep into hunger – both as a physical gnaw and the type of hunger that sits within your bones. A hunger to be more than what is expected of you, to succeed, to thrive and to just be happy. It is an all-consuming feeling. Penny embodies that hunger in several forms, making her character arc unforgettable. This, in combination with a poignant look at love, abuse and trauma, makes for some heavy reading at times. The physical hunger driven by societal and personal expectations, dictated by years of an image of unattainable perfection, manifests in a variety of ways that deeply skew body image.
Every Exquisite Thing is a beautiful, haunting and deeply rageful re-imagining of The Picture of Dorian Gray that takes distinct aim at the beauty industry and societal pressure over body image.
Finally, I’d like to delve into How to Find a Missing Girl by Victoria Wlosok. Thank you to Team BKMRK and Hachette Children’s Group for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
A year ago, beloved cheerleader Stella Blackthorn vanished without a trace. Devastated, her younger sister, Iris, launched her own investigation, but all she managed to do was scare off the police’s only lead and earn a stern warning: Once she turns eighteen, more meddling means prison-level consequences.
Then, a year later, the unthinkable happens. Iris’s ex-girlfriend, Heather, goes missing, too—just after dropping the polarizing last episode of her true crime podcast all about Iris’s sister. This time, nothing will stop Iris and her amateur sleuthing agency from solving these disappearances.
But with a suspicious detective watching her every move, an enemy-turned-friend-turned-maybe-more to contend with, and only thirty days until she turns eighteen, it’s a race against the clock for Iris to solve the most dangerous case of her life.
Publication Date: 14th September
TW: death, murder, kidnapping, gaslighting, abuse, emotional abuse, suicide, sexual abuse
My Thoughts:
How to Find a Missing Girl is one of the best YA mysteries I have read this year. It is a searing and startling story, full of love, grief and trauma.
This book consumed my every waking thought. It is an incredibly well plotted and twisty thriller pulsing with anger, sadness and a complex look at grief and guilt. Wlosok sits in these emotions, allowing them to fully spill over and unfold. They are presented in a full range of complexities. Iris personifies these complexities. She is a young woman embittered by her experiences with law enforcement and their failure to care about her sister’s disappearance. Yet she is also fiercely passionate, driven and determined. Her perceptiveness and intelligence serve her well as an amateur sleuth, but I also like how realistically messy and mistaken her investigation can be. It adds a layer of authenticity that brings grit under the fingernails of the book.
This is a book that wears its heart on its sleeve. Those emotions filter through every word and page. One place that they shine brightest through is in the depiction of true crime. It weighs both the positives and the negatives of this social phenomenon. We turn violent stories of loss into neatly packaged television episodes, documentaries and podcasts. The central podcast here is edged with personal grievances, but also a dogged sense of wanting to find the truth at all costs. Wlosok again sits in the grey, showing both the murky ethics and the potential benefits. Also, this is an incredibly twisty and dark slice of life. I gasped at some of the twists, having everything I thought I knew immediately upturned. There are some truly heart-breaking sequences. I must warn you that Wlosok is not afraid to shed some blood on the page.
How to Find a Missing Girl is ridiculously brilliant. It takes the bare bones of true crime and examines them thoroughly, weaving in a nuanced depiction of the real people affected by these vicious crimes.
A Short Book Lover 
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