How Lucky I am features Mr. Skelly, a skeleton character that I've known and loved ever since it blew up online. Chriatian Watson created it for himself and his family, so they could more easily come to terms with themes of life and death, but it ended up resonating with so many of us.

The book contains a few reflective essays with motivational messages for the reader, while in between are l full-page and double-page illustrations of Mr. Skelly's cozy adventures, arranged to fit into a story, but mostly just reminiscing on the joys and beauties of life. I think most will both enjoy the artwork, and find at least some quotes that will resonate with while reading.

This book is great for existing or soon to be fans of Christian's work, and ideal for a calm and cozy read or a pick-me-up after a hard day.

I thank Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for access to an advance reading copy of this illustrated book!

After recently having a chance to read Renée Nault's graphic novel adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale, I knew I loved her watercolor painting style. Therefore I thank Ten Speed Graphic for granting me access to an advance reader copy of Salvage via NetGalley.

This is another dystopian story, but a completely novel one this time, where the rise of water levels has pushed refugees to live in the Flats, surviving from diving, collecting, and restoring lost items under water from the past world, and selling it to the folks in the Uplands, who still enjoy all the riches.

When Paolo, a boy from the Flats, will try to experience the Uplands, he will become torn between living two lives and understanding where he belongs and where he's accepted just as he is. Will he succeed in achieving more than others believed he could?

This is a story about family, friendship, class, art, and forgiveness, with beautiful artwork, a rich set of characters, touching story, and adorable animal companions.

This was a weird little read, light on horror, but heavy on queerness and quirks. Gregor and Simor were pretty ridiculous most of the time, except when any of them got creepy for any reason, and I got a bit mad at Gregor more than once, as he's quite the diva. But I absolutely loved Jenny and Chloe and how the story ultimately unfolded.

This will be a great read for all those who enjoy cozy and botanical horror, especially as there's quite a bit of science included in this one.

This is my second Silvia Moreno-Garcia story that leans into folklore, nature, and the supernatural, to deliver great themes. Bewitching was my first encounter with her atmospheric writing and I've enjoyed this one even better.

I seem to go a bit backwards, so after reading Japanese Gothic as advance copy earlier this year, I've gone back to Mexican Gothic, a bit late to the hype. I guess the book did draw a lot of attention since it was released looking at the number of reviews, but also the lower average rating that many horror books usually suffer from, and it's a broad genre where it's hard to appeal to everyone's taste.

Mexican Gothic offers a great look into whether one would sacrifice everything for their family or their family to get what they want, all set in a cursed house, where everyone seems to be behaving oddly, the dreams can get too real, and a guest is determined to uncover the secrets to save both her cousin and herself.

These two are absolutely messy and just as adorable. Can a shy girl keep her newfound selkie crush a secret? Hardly. But she'll try.

This story will show that there's no need to balance between family, friends, and love if you're open towards those who care about you, and that despite we all being prone to mistakes, we can also earn forgiveness.

I've seen Bloom listed as a botanical horror read enough times that based on its title and cover, I started to believe it. The description of the book didn't give away much: the two female characters meet at the farmers market, so there's space for botanical horror to ensue, right? Well, wrong.

Bloom is a story of hurt, trauma, and mistrust, but also yearning, exploration of first saphic feelings, and both your own boundaries and learning to respect boundaries set by others. But we also know this is a horror book, so we keep waiting for horror to drop and when it does, oh, is it marvelous! 😍

I absolutely recommend this novella, just not as a botanical horror (anymore). I'm so sorry I misecategorized it on my TBR prior to reading it!