7-27-25 — Christina Critiques (Part 5 of the Splatterpunk Nominees)

Mary mother of Pearl, we made it! All of the nominees (minus one that is ineligible) have been read by yours truly.

Enjoy the last of the 2024 Splatterpunk nominees.

SPA NOMINEES FOR BEST NOVEL

BENJAMIN

By: Aron Beauregard and Shane McKenzie

Release: 9/27/24

Page count: 462

KU: No      Hoopla: No

Synopsis: In a corrupt city, $100 can buy a lot of food, lobo, and stories. This novel has two of the three.

First line: “Violence has a heartbeat.”

Favorite line: “ ‘Apologizes for the clumsy rhyme’, the man said through his infuriating grin. ‘I’m an artist, not a poet.’ “

Thoughts: I have to eat some crow. I bitched and moaned about the price of this ebook. I know a lot of readers may shy away from the story because of that, but don’t. It’s more than worth the price. The ways the stories intertwined was so gotdamn impressive plus you find yourself somehow reflected in one of the characters (whether you want to or not.)

While I will say I appreciate what Beauregard and McKenzie were doing by giving the reader a multimedia experience  - the videos - they just didn’t work for me at all. They would completely take me out of the story and I ended up just waiting to watch them after I was finished with the novel.

Full of commentary of all kinds, which you know is my jam, my expectations were exceeded and I’m so damn impressed with this novel.

Rating: 5/5

Other recommendations: Aron - YELLOW, Shane - MUETRE CON CARNE

Find it here: https://a.co/d/1QyU9QU

THIS WRETCHED VALLEY

By: Jenny Kiefer

Release: 1/16/24

Page count: 307

KU: No     Hoopla: No

Synopsis: Dylan has dreams of being the next big time rock climber - money and her own cliff named after her. But her and her friends run into some trouble in the secluded woods of KY.

First line: “What baffled them was the skeleton.”

Favorite line: “Her arms splayed at her sides like bird wings stripped of their feathers.”

Thoughts: When I say it sucks the reader in from the first sentence, I mean it. It’s like The Blair Witch meets a rock climber’s worst nightmare with a bunch of hungry Earth (I promise that will make sense when you read it). Such a claustrophobic, creepy, and fucked up page turner.

Rating: 4.5/5

Other recommendations: CRAFTING FOR SINNERS (Coming soon)

Find it here: https://a.co/d/j5jhLbn

AMERICAN RAPTURE

By: CJ Leede

Release: 10/15/24

Page count: 372

KU: Yes     Hoopla: No

Per UDH review guidelines, this novel rated less than 3 stars and will not be reviewed here

Find it here: https://a.co/d/4mZ6W2T

THE OLD LADY

By: Kristopher Triana

Release: 2/20/24

Page count: 348

KU: No      Hoopla: No

Synopsis: Tracey inherits her father’s cabin in the woods. Hoping for a fresh, isolated start, she gets involved with a group of teens and she will have to choose isolation or utilizing her training.

First line: “Having been tortured there for the better part of a decade, Tracey never imagined she would return to her father’s cabin.”

Favorite line: “Everything you want out of life awaits you on the other side of fear.”

Thoughts: Talk about edge of your seat suspense and anxiety! The kills were brutal, too. There was great social commentary but some of the characters just felt… hollow. I also wish we knew more backstory on certain situations and characters.

Rating: 4/5

Other recommendations: THIRTEENTH COYOTE

Find it here: https://a.co/d/ghQ8Ys0

SPA NOMINEE FOR BEST COLLECTION

WRECKS AND VIOLETS

By: Mehitobel Wilson

Release: 12/17/24

Page count: 347

KU: No    Hoopla: No

Synopsis: Eighteen short stories ranging from drug addiction to crime scene clean up and everything in between.

First line: “Someone was fucking with the pigeons.”

Favorite line: “… no matter how many times he’s done this, he will still worry that those bags aren’t incinerated after all, that some damned sea lion while choke on molded latex and city-girl scabs.”

Thoughts: What an oddly refreshing collection. The writing is something unusual and honestly I can’t explain it. It just feels disjointed but in an interesting way that keeps you turning the pages. It’s a shame there aren’t more reviews than my own on Goodreads. This collection has something for everyone.

Rating: 4/5

Find it here: https://a.co/d/gKZlqXp