This is how found footage horror should be done.

After reading The Sacrifice, I was struck by Chupeco's laser focus on their point and talent for pacing. These strengths are on full display in We're Not Safe Here. From the first moment, we are thrust into the wildly strange and yet totally believable capsule world of Wispy Falls, a town where strange disappearances, monstrous cryptids, shadowy corporations and buckwild PSAs are normal parts of life but fish are not real, I guess. Chupeco effortlessly guides us through vlogs, video transcripts, text conversations and message board threads to weave a mind-bending, terrifying thrill ride. Storymancer and JellybeanFish are relatable and engaging as they dig into the town's secrets - I felt for them and feared for them in equal measure.

What really makes this stand out amongst its peers is Chupeco's unwavering devotion to the found footage format. Many novels seem to regard found footage as supplemental, putting items in between traditional prose with varying success. We're Not Safe Here is 100% found materials and Chupeco consistently uses that to their advantage to amp up the atmosphere. They're consistently aware of what we do and do not know, about the limitations of the materials, and boy howdy do they have some fun with that. Additionally, nothing ever feels fake - I totally believed that each piece could have been a real item, and each held to its respective format beautifully.

The ending made me upset but not because it's bad, because it was supposed to. So A+.

Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist was such a cozy, fun paranormal read with lovable characters, sapphic romance, and perfect autumn vibes. I loved the mix of humor, grief, and ghostly chaos. The mystery felt a bit weak at times, but the magical small-town atmosphere completely carried the story for me.