The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

 

Started: 23.2.26

Finished: 25.2.26

Kindle Unlimited

TBR Prompt: A Yellow Book

I couldn't resist choosing another book to read before the end of the month, and I'm quite glad I chose this one as it was only 25 pages long! I think I was aware that it was a short story, but I hadn't realised how short.

It centres around a woman whose husband, a doctor, has prescribed a kind of bed rest for her; she is allowed a bit of movement around the house and garden, but mostly she's encouraged to sleep, and not to do anything intellectually stimulating. I believe this is following the birth of her child, although little is said about that really, just that someone else is caring for the baby. The story is told in the first person, as she writes a journal (secretly), and we witness a subtle but steady descent into obsession, focused on the yellow wallpaper of the room. This short story packs a powerful punch of psychological dread.

What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher

Started: 20.2.26

Finished: 22.2.26

Kindle Unlimited

Chosen by RNG

Botanical horror! An intelligent fungus growing in a tarn, which can infect and then control the movements of a body, even a dead one. Creepily atmospheric, with a small cast of likeable characters. Set in a fictional European country, the language of which includes seven personal pronouns. 

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Started: 19.2.26

Finished: 21.2.26

Kindle Unlimited

Chosen by RNG

A really unique and unusual horror story of revenge, with themes of indigenous life and culture, violence and addiction, and attitudes towards women. Basketball features heavily, which I understand has a lot of significance among Native Americans, but I found myself skimming over the long descriptions of play and technique. Very gory horror, and a lot of animal death. A satisfying ending.

The Other People by C.B. Everett

Started: 18.2.26

Finished: 20.2.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: House on the cover

Ten people awaken in a locked house, unaware of how they arrived there. A woman named Amanda tells them that they have 12 hours to solve the disappearance of a young woman. As they begin to come to terms with this unusual situation, they very quickly realise that a killer is stalking them and picking them off one by one. But who? And why? And who is the Beast In The Cellar? 

I wasn't too sure if I was going to like this book when I started it, but I persevered and it did hook me in eventually (although I found the beast chapters really annoying). I didn't guess the twist at the end at all, and to be honest, I didn't really like it, it just felt a bit 'bolted on' somehow.

The Story Tellers by Sue Heath

Started: 17.2.26

DNF: 19.2.26

Kindle

Chosen by RNG

This was an Amazon First Reads that has been on my Kindle since July 2025. I read the first few chapters, and whilst I'm sure it's a perfectly lovely story of found friendships and moving onwards and upwards in life, it just wasn't holding my attention. While I'm reading this I've got FOMO about all the other books I could be reading instead! So I've decided not to finish it.

Night Watching by Tracy Sierra

Started: 15.2.26

DNF: 18.2.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: Pink book

I read the first two or three chapters but then ended up just flicking through the rest, trying to get the gist of what happened. Sometimes I can't read books where children are involved and in danger, and this was one of them.

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie (First Law Trilogy)

Started: 6.2.26

Finished: 17.2.26

Kindle Unlimited

This was my first foray into 'grimdark fantasy' and I really enjoyed it! There was a great cast of characters, all linked to each other in some way, though it wasn't always immediately obvious how. Each chapter flitted between the storyline of one or more of these characters, and although that can sometimes be a bit confusing and disjointed, the writing was so good that it just flowed really well. The vivid descriptions of people and places made me feel really immersed in the story; everyone is a bit 'morally grey' to some degree, but even some of the really unlikeable characters are actually, kind of, likeable! (Looking at you, Glokta!) There is, of course, a plot to this book, so it's not as if nothing happens, but it does feel like it's all building up to The Plot in books 2 and 3; one of my favourite BookTubers, Paperback Journeys, describes Book 1 as being like a "book-sized prologue", and I would agree. It's an introduction to characters and their backgrounds, it sets up the 'world-building', you learn about the history and politics of the place etc, and then it draws to a close with the main group of protagonists coming together to begin the journey into... book 2!

Hungerstone by Kat Dunn

Started: 14.2.26

Finished: 15.2.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: Vampires

I really enjoyed this and 'devoured' it in less than 24 hours. It's a reworking of Carmilla, the book that inspired Dracula, and is drenched in themes of appetite and hunger. A story of women's repression and desire for autonomy amid the societal constraints of the time, with a hefty dose of female rage and revenge! 

The Hunger by Alma Katsu

Started: 9.2.26

Finished: 13.2.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: Over 400 pages

Historical fiction based on the real life doomed attempt of the Donner Party to cross the mountains into the west, heading for a new life in California. As if the very real human horrors and the harsh terrain and brutal elements weren't enough, Katsu also weaves in a supernatural twist.

The Apparition Phase by Will Maclean

Started: 6.2.26

Finished: 9.2.26

Paperback

This has been on my want to read list for a while, being described as a "gothic ghost story". It started off really well; I don't always like child characters, but I did enjoy reading about Tim and Abi, perhaps because I was also interested in ghosts and the macabre when I was young, though not to the extent that they were. I liked the concept of them faking a ghost photograph, only to be told that the ghost was real and that they'd invited it in, and I think I'd have preferred if the story had continued this angle. For me, it felt like the middle part of the book lost its way, but that might just be because I'm not really a fan of seances, and it was hard to know which of the other people in the group could be trusted. Plus the whole experiment and reason for them being there was quite ambiguous too. I did find the parts at Yarlings interesting, but only because I was waiting for something to happen, to link back to the events from a few years earlier. In the end things did kind of come full circle, just not in a way I expected. I know 'ghost' and 'ghost story' can have many different meanings; I definitely enjoyed this, but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for.