July reading round up.

Evening Primrose by Kopano Matlwa
'When Masechaba finally achieves her childhood dream of becoming a doctor, her ambition is tested as she faces the stark reality of South Africa's public healthcare system.

As she leaves her deeply religious mother and makes friends with the politically-minded Nyasha, Masechaba's eyes are opened to the rising xenophobic tension that carries echoes of apartheid.

Battling her inner demons, she must decide if she should take a stand to help her best friend, even it comes at a high personal cost.'

Read my full review here. 4/5

Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed

'GATHER THE DAUGHTERS tells the story of an end-of-the-world cult founded years ago when ten men colonised an island. It's a society in which men reign supreme, breeding is controlled, and knowledge of the outside world is kept to a minimum. Girls are wives-in-training: at the first sign of puberty, they must marry and have children. But until that point, every summer, island tradition dictates that the children live wildly: running free, making camps, sleeping on the beach. And it is at the end of one such summer that one of the youngest girls sees something so horrifying that life on the island can never be the same again.'

Read my full review here. 4.5/5

Coffin Hil Vol.1 by Caitlin Kittredge

'Following a night of sex, drugs and witchcraft in the woods, Eve Coffin wakes up naked, covered in blood and unable to remember how she got there. One friend is missing, one is in a mental ward-and one knows that Eve is responsible.

Years later, Eve returns to Coffin Hill, only to discover the darkness that she unleashed ten years ago in the woods was never contained. It continues to seep through the town, cursing the soul of this sleepy Massachusetts hollow, spilling secrets and enacting its revenge.'

This book was one giant MEH. Meh story, Meh characters, and MEH artwork. 1/5

Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix
'Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.

To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstör comes packaged in the form of a glossy mail order catalog, complete with product illustrations, a home delivery order form, and a map of Orsk’s labyrinthine showroom.'

I LOVED LOVED LOVED this!! A fun and scary horror story set in an Ikea like store. I also loved that the book was designed like an Ikea catalogue to. This was unique and brilliant and an instant addition to my favourites. 5/5

And Then Emily Was Gone by John Lees & Ian Laurie

'A haunted former police detective goes in search of a missing girl, and finds Hell instead. And Then Emily Was Gone is a dark horror-mystery that tells the story of Greg Hellinger, a man who sees monsters. A former detective driven to the brink of madness by terrifying apparitions, Hellinger is tasked with finding a missing girl named Emily. His search takes him to a remote community in the Orkney Islands of Scotland, where strange and terrible things are happening.'

This is the complete graphic novel and I really enjoyed it. Genuinely scary and disturbing and fast paced. I though the scratchy artwork complimented the story perfectly. If you are a fan of horror comics it's definitely worth tracking this one down- I wish the FCBD prequel was included in this as that was equally as scary and added a bit more to the story. 4/5