DeAnna Knippling

Your Soufflé Must Die: Sam is recovering from her divorce and pivoting to a new career by starting a catering business with her best friend Kaley. But when she starts getting threatening messages on her blog, followed by falling soufflés, she worries her business will never get off the ground.
This is the coziest of mysteries because no one dies! Unless you count chocolate people. YSMD is also funny, which added to the coziness for me. I really liked the mystery and it was satisfying to show more figure out who was sabotaging Sam’s cooking. That said, it didn’t take up as much time as I would have expected. But also I didn’t care. The bulk of the book is about interpersonal relationships that I found fascinating! I was perfectly content to read about the characters. Sam is bananas, but very endearing. Her relationship with her ex-husband is weird and I hope there are more books in this series so I can read more about what is going on there. Also Sam’s burgeoning friendship with the chef she used to work for is super interesting. Lots of strange dynamics at play and I am here for it.
I am a sucker for any book that talks about food. YSMD is full of delicious food, described perfectly. Do not read on an empty stomach! Or at least keep snacks handy. Like, there is a chocolate pirate ship, so consider yourself warned.
Thank you DeAnna Knippling and LibraryThing for the ARC!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily show less

A solid retro-noir romance. In a future where consciousness can be transferred after death to an AI or carried by another living person, these Retros choose to hang out in a virtual Jazz Age. It's a brilliant concept that works well within the story. Details of past and future blend together seamlessly, until you lose track of which era the story actually occurs in. It reflects the confusion of the main character who isn't always sure what is real, especially when she finds her life in show more danger for the information she may carry inside her. show less

4.5 stars

I received a copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

Ten Second Synopsis:
Machado and his flock rescue a young girl from a dangerous home, and keep out the cold by sharing creepy stories.

I have read quite a few short story anthologies and collections that are interwoven about a central narrative, but I have to say that this book is an extremely good example of the genre. Putting aside the content for a moment, Knippling has created a tight, thoughtfully show more constructed collection here that subtly links each story to the greater narrative and covers a great variety of horror-themed tales. There’s a nifty little zombie narrative, in which humans and the undead coexist in an uneasy sharing of geographical space, stories of changelings and fey interference in human affairs, tales of summoning what should not be summoned, particularly where revenge is involved and stories featuring objects imbued with a power not their own. I was surprised and impressed by first the number of stories included here, as well as their quality – while the content of some was a little beyond my horror-tolerance, they were all remarkably well written and engaging, something that is not always the case in longer anthologies.

As the subtitle suggests, there are seventeen short stories within the greater narrative and they are all quite hefty in themselves and therefore the reader won’t be left wanting in terms of reading time. Like I mentioned, some of the stories, especially toward the end became a bit too realistically violent for my tastes, but I suspect they will please more experienced horror-buffs than I.

I particularly enjoyed the characterisation given to the various crows, from the elders to the chicks, and the backstories that coloured both the stories the crows shared and their attitude to the unfolding monster-based crisis. Machado particularly had a very relatable voice and I enjoyed his musings between the short stories.

This was an out-of-the-box, quality find for me and I will no doubt end up seeking out some other examples of Knippling’s work in the future. show less

I’m finding The Witch House difficult to efficiently recap. It is a middle grade book mostly told through the alternating journal entries of middle schoolers Jayla and Lola, and also there are witches! That’s the best I can manage, because TWH is way weirder and more experimental than a simple summary. It is a really cool and scary book. Like, imagine The Babadook but told from the perspective of the kid. That is the vibe, but there is more to it. TWH is a ride for sure and requires some show more active engagement from the reader, which I LOVE in a middle grade book. At the end there were some things left unexplained, which I appreciated. Once the scary thing is defanged with a description, it isn’t scary anymore, and I thought TWH did a great job sort of toeing that line between scariness and satisfying explanation. Absolutely recommend!
Thank you DeAnna Knippling and LibraryThing for the ARC!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily


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