11-9-25 — Christina Critiques Books
- Christina Pfeiffer
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
This is it, kids. The last set of book reviews for the year. I can’t believe we made it through so many pages and books together! Next year, I will writing reviews from Utah!
I hope your holidays are amazing (except that one person, you know who you are) and I will see you again in 2026!
BOOKS OF BLOOD Vol. 6
By: Clive Barker
Release: 2013
Page count: 155
KU: No Hoopla: No
Synopsis: The last five stories in the series of BOOKS OF BLOOD. Exotic land grabs to a magician’s sleight of hand and everything in between.
First line: “The newspaper was the first edition of the day, and Elaine devoured it cover to cover, as she sat in the hospital waiting room.”
Favorite line: “We’re living; but we impersonate the dead better than the dead themselves.
Thoughts: Well, I’m done will all of the volumes now! This collection seemed like a sigh of completion, a denouement of all the stories and it was perfect. Not too much, not too little but just right. Easily the best story was “How Spoilers Bleed” because who doesn’t love curses and justice? “The Last Illusion” felt very DRESDEN FILES and I loved that - a bit of humor and a whole lot of insanity.
Rating: 4.5/5
Find it here: https://a.co/d/aZcuwFA
NOTHING IS REAL
By: Kevin J. Kennedy
Release: 9/6/25
Page count: 111
KU: Yes Hoopla: No
Synopsis: Kevin Kennedy finds a mysterious box of journals. While the journals are filled out, Kennedy tries to condense them into something understandable - and less like the utters of a madman.
First line: “Nothing is real.”
Favorite line: “I’ve always struggled with people who have blind faith in one thing, but need proof in everything else.”
Thoughts: OK, so 1) this was extremely creative in premise from start to finish and 2) I hope you all like your existential crisis with a side of literary fiction. Look, I know this is a story - a work of fiction, but Kennedy’s story is so damn well written I was thinking, “Well, I mean - he does have point.” That’s the brilliance of this novella, it makes the reader forget preconceived ideas on what reality may actually be. Absolutely stellar.
Rating: 4.5/5
Other recommendations: HALLOWEENLAND
Find it here: https://a.co/d/ei0WfAL
THOSE NOT AFRAID
By: KYLE STARKS
Release: 8/26/25
Page count: 124
KU: No Hoopla: Yes
Synopsis: What happens when two serial killers meet and try to get the most kills the quickest?
First line: “August 27 1989, Kristan Robertson wakes up to find herself in a nightmare.”
Favorite line: “I don’t have anyone to talk about this thing I do that’s the center of my life, my obsession.”
Thoughts: It is no secret I’m obsessed with Kyle Stark’s works. And add in two humorous serial killers and a bunch of blood? Please take my money. You what to hate the serial killers because … well, they kill but their witty banter made it nearly impossible. Plus, there is some social commentary - about how the media attention can add to the death toll - Starks kills it (pun intended) again.
Rating: 5/5
Other recommendations: OLD HEAD, ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN
Find it here: https://a.co/d/gLgXtuC
CROP OF CADAVERS
By: Ivan Conway
Release: 9/6/25
Page count: 85
KU: No Hoopla: No
Synopsis: Three interweaving stories will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up and force you to keep the lights on while you read.
First line: “‘Would you look at this?’ Ranted Clem, disgusted waving his wanted poster.”
Favorite line: “Women love themselves a bad boy. But only if he’s good lookin’. Ain’t no gal with working eyes gonna swoon over this doodle.”
Thoughts: These three stories are so stellar. They read like a seasoned short story author is at the helm. ‘By Their Fruits’ is one of the best shorts I’ve read all year. But I love stories about wishes gone terribly wrong. Conway is definitely on my “to watch list” for 2026.
Rating: 5/5
Other recommendations: N/A
Find it here: https://a.co/d/b6qqxHT
EROTIC HORROR FOR HORNY HOUSEWIVES
By: Various
Release: 8/6/24
Page count: 200
KU: No Hoopla: Yes
Synopsis: Ten stories from some of the naughtiest minds in indie horror. Filthy girls! Filthy!
First line: “I pulled my head tighter around my head, trying my best to block out Steve’s snoring.”
Favorite line: “I could only watch her pressing the hot iron to the man’s naked chest.”
Thoughts: Whew, friends! This collection was a wild ride! *awkward wink. What is most interesting is how different each story was even though there is such a commonality with the theme. Standouts were: Christine Morgan, Candace Nola, and Monica J. O’Rourke. Only one was a complete miss for me but it isn’t enough to bring the anthology down.
Rating: Withheld as I co-wrote the introduction. (But if I hadn’t, it would be a 5/5.)
Find it here: https://a.co/d/h2UhyVe
HANK FLYNN: THE RETURN
By: Candace Nola
Release: 6/30/25
Page count: 193
KU: No Hoopla: No
Synopsis: Hank, on a mission from his Father to banish some demons, is led to a new town that has more than bandits to worry about.
First line: “Lulled by the constant chug, chug, chugging of the locomotive on the rails, the man dozed lightly in the recessed corners of the freight car which held him.”
Favorite line: “A man with a storm in his eyes, flames in his soul, with no time to grieve.”
Thoughts: Make sure to pick up a neck brace because Nola causes whiplash with this one. The characters: Flynn, Townsend, and Judith are some of the most flawed and yet relatable I have read in a long time. Oh, and if you want to read one of the most uncomfortable, grizzly, and upsetting opening chapters - HANK FLYNN has you covered. Oh, and THAT one kill… you’ll know it and don’t worry, I already cussed her for it.
Rating: 5/5
Other recommendations: HANK FLYNN, IVY LEAGUE
Find it here: https://a.co/d/hqeOXwY
MAKING HISTORY
By: KJ Parker
Release: 9/2/25
Page count: 128
KU: No Hoopla: No
Synopsis: Imagine your leader wants to go to war but has to make up a reason - so you and twelve others are tasked with making history - an entire history of a civilization - from scratch.
First line: “A few years ago, in a bazaar, I saw a group of odd-looking little carvings.”
Favorite line: “And that’s another reason why history - accurately reported and written in a book - is unreliable.”
Thoughts: Not only is this a remarkably ingenious premise but the written is just as impressive. The way Parker almost allows the reader to become one of the scholars and experience the story from such a voyeuristic point of view is so much fun! Why I’m not seeing this everywhere is so confusing. It’s short, full of funny and, at times, helpless characters, and a premise like no other. I will be hard pressed to find a story better than this one for 2025.
Rating: 10/5
Other recommendations: EVIL FOR EVIL, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW