Review: Revenant-X (Red Space #2) by David Wellington

Title: Revenant-X

Series: Red Space #2

Previous book in this series: Paradise-1

Author: David Wellington

Genre: Adult, sci-fi, horror

Publication date: November 5th 2024

Published by: Orbit

Source: eARC from publishers via Netgalley

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Synopsis: FEAR THE DARK.

The crew of the Artemis - led by Firewatch agent Alexandra Petrova - have survived the furious onslaught of the Basilisk and broken through the space blockade around Paradise-1. Now they can pursue their original mission and investigate why Earth's first deep space colony has fallen silent.

The answer seems the site is deserted.

Or so they think.

Some of the colonists remain. They're no longer human.

Petrova and her crew now face a desperate struggle to survive as they attempt to uncover the mystery of what has befallen the colony.

If they fail, the darkness that has fallen over Paradise-1 will consume them.

My rating: ★★★★☆

I have been waiting (im)patiently for this book ever since I finished reading Paradise-1 back in 2023. I really enjoyed that book! I loved the blend of horror and sci-fi, but that cliffhanger-ish ending was brutal! I was so excited to continue the story and Revenant-X did not disappoint!

Review: The Haunting by Natasha Preston

Title: The Haunting

Author: Natasha Preston

Genre: YA, mystery thriller

Publication date: September 2023

Published by: Delacorte Press

Source: eARC for review from publishers via Netgalley

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Synopsis: Haunted by the past...

Penny's trying to forget about her ex, Nash. His father was arrested for the brutal murder of four teenagers on Devil's Night last year. Penny's parents have forbidden her to have anything to do with Nash or his family. It's hard not to think of what happened as spooky season gets underway--but she's trying.

That stops when she goes to the Halloween store with her friends to find a costume. What she finds instead is ripped from a horror movie: a girl from school bleeding out on the floor of a dressing room. Stabbed.

Is a copycat killer on the loose? The adults are saying no. But Penny knows better.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

This book was not as great as I was hoping it would be. I really liked the premise of a copycat killer hunting these kids. A copycat killer that was imitating the kills done by the dad of the main character's boyfriend, no less! Well, ex-boyfriend at this point. But still! That was so interesting and exciting to me! And I actually started off really enjoying the book.

Review- Write Your Own Cake: Tips for Writing a Long Series (Write Your Own Series #2) by Jennifer Estep

Title: Write Your Own Cake: Tips for Writing a Long Series

Series: Write Your Own Series #2

Previous book in this series: Write Your Own Cake: A Worldbuilding Essay

Author: Jennifer Estep

Genre: Adult, nonfiction, writing

Publication date: January 14th, 2025

Published by: Jennifer Estep

Source: eARC for review from author

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Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Estep continues her Write Your Own Cake series with an essay about creating and authoring a long book series. Estep is the author of more than 50 fantasy and science-fiction books, including the long-running Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series.

Writing a book is hard. But writing book after book with the same characters and settings? Well, that is even harder.

Whether you are penning epic fantasy adventures, pulse-pounding thrillers, or swoon-worthy romances, writing a book series comes with its own unique challenges. This essay offers some tips and tricks for setting up your initial worldbuilding and magic system in anticipation of writing multiple books in the same series. It also offers suggestions on characters, tropes, and more that can help keep an ongoing book series fresh and interesting for both authors and readers.

Note: Write Your Own Cake: Tips for Writing a Long Series is a 2,100-word essay about writing and worldbuilding.

My rating: ★★★★☆

This is Jennifer Estep’s second book in this Write Your Own Series, which is nonfiction and all about how to write books and series and all that good writing/author stuff. I mentioned in my review of that previous book that I will literally read anything this woman writes, even this. Lol. And here we are again! 😆

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Sunday Post #436: Back to Work

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!