Review: A Parade of Horribles

A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Parade of Horribles is the eighth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman.  You do need to read these books in order, but I guarantee it is worth the investment.  You will look at the number of pages and say NO WAY AM I READING 784 PAGES!  Then, you will start reading, finish, and be sad that there are not 784 more.  Seriously.  These books fly by so fast even when I force myself to put them down because I don't want to finish because I don't want to wait however long until the next one and I have to do things like sleep and eat.  

We are now at the 10th floor of the dungeon.  It is like the most twisted and deadly version of Mario Kart you can imagine.  If you survive, you get a brief respite to participate in a celebration on the extremely short 11th floor.  There is a parade!  Yay?  I remember making floats for parades when I was in high school.  Good luck, Donut!  Also not sure why everyone has an aversion to peach-flavored beer.  Of all the things to be tortured with, it doesn't sound that bad.

Bonus points for Penelope and all the other critters that make an appearance in this book. I don't think I could choose a biological mount because I would be too worried about their safety to race.  

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Review: The Silent Appeal

The Silent Appeal by Janice Hallett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Full Disclosure: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Silent Appeal by Janice Hallett from Atria Books via NetGalley.  This book will be published around August 2, 2026.

The Silent Appeal is the second book in The Appeal series by Janice Hallett.  There is also a Christmas story that features the same characters so really, three books? Doesn't really matter how many.  You will want to read them all.  I recommend reading in order too since there are references to the previous stories in this one.  Since they are mysteries, you probably want to reduce the number of potential spoilers.  Janice Hallett writes some of my favorite books.  They are mysteries with plenty of humor and interesting characters while also written in an epistolary way so you are getting multiple perspectives while having to piece together everything.  And because everyone has their own perspective, their conclusions may not be reliable.  I find it fun to draw up my own theories.  Because there are also multiple mysteries, we don't know which one we are actually trying to solve until almost the end.  Can't recommend this book enough!

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Review: The Porcelain Sisters

The Porcelain Sisters by Daryl Gregory
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Full Disclosure: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Porcelain Sisters by Daryl Gregory from Tachyon Publications.  This book will be published around October 2026.

I haven't read everything Daryl Gregory has written (yet), but I have immensely enjoyed what I have read.  When the opportunity came up to read this new piece, I was very excited.  The Porcelain Sisters feels like it could be part of a bigger story.  When I read the acknowledgements, I learned that it really is.  Maybe there will be more adventures with these sisters.  Creepy dolls, French witches, a magical cat and crow, there is a lot packed into this story.  Isabel might take umbrage at my characterization of the dolls as creepy, but as someone who collected porcelain dolls for awhile (they are staring at me as I write this), I stand by my assessment. While this is horror, it is also quite funny.  I love Gregory's sense of humor and so many amazing pop cultural references for those of us of a certain age. 

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Review: House of Splinters

House of Splinters by Laura Purcell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

House of Splinters by Laura Purcell is the prequel to The Silent Companions.  I would probably read The Silent Companions first so as not to spoil anything.  But if you like The Silent Companions, this is a great way to learn the history behind the story and how we got there.  It is dark and gothic.  Not as mysterious as The Silent Companions but definitely has a spooky vibe.

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