Smexy Books

Romance and Urban Fantasy Reviews

  • Review Request
  • Contact
    • Smexy Reviewers Profiles
    • New Reviewer Application
    • Contact
  • Advertising
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • By Genre
      • BDSM
      • Contemporary
      • Erotic
      • Fantasy
      • F/F
      • Historical Romance
      • Historical PNR
      • LGBTQ+
      • M/M Romance
      • New Adult
      • Urban Fantasy
      • Paranormal Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Romantic Suspense
      • Young Adult
    • By Letter Grade Rating
      • A Reviews
      • B Reviews
      • C Reviews
      • D Reviews
      • DNF Reviews
  • Features
    • New Releases
    • Smexy Deals!
    • Retro Review
    • Weekly Wrap-Up
    • Blog Tour
    • Scenic Sunday
    • To Be Read
    • Guest Post
    • Top Ten/Happy Friday
    • Smex Scene Sunday
  • The Psy/Changeling Channel
You are here: Home / A Review / Melinda’s Audio Minis: Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey & The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope

Melinda’s Audio Minis: Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey & The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope

August 5, 2022 by Melinda Leave a Comment

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey
Horror
July 19, 2022, by Tor
Audio ARC

Review by Melinda

This book begins with Vera coming home to take care of her dying mother. And everything is just…off.  Her mother is hostile towards her, there’s something living under her bed, and her father was a serial killer who may be haunting the house, so things are complicated! We get bits and pieces of their backstory revealed, combined with pieces of what’s currently going on; but there are still so many questions as the story continues.

To be honest, I don’t know who was creepier – Vera’s dying mother who despises Vera and constantly says creepy things, or Vera’s father in her memories who fills her head with what seemed close to bizarre religious beliefs. Or maybe the creepiest was the family home. Which is a whole third character looming in the background, feeling alive and threatening at almost every turn.

I listened to this book and it was creepy and haunting, which is exactly the tone needed for this book. Xe Sands does a wonderful monotone in places that makes sense to the story and gives it an even more ominous tone. If you like creepy or horror, you would like this!

Content Notes: death on page, murder

Grade: B

Amazon * Goodreads

The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope
SFF
August 9, 2022, by Redhook
Audio ARC

Review by Melinda

This is not a book I’d normally pick up, because it’s speculative fiction, inspired by history, and light on romance. That sentence does not describe books I gravitate towards! But I have really enjoyed L. Penelope’s Earthsinger Chronicles previously and thought her worldbuilding was excellent so I wanted to give this a try. And I’m so glad I did! Set in the 1920s, Clara was born with a gift that allows her to talk to spirits. She talks to her deceased grandmother the most but is sought out by desperate people who need help from the spirits, and in return have a ‘charm’ put on them, which in actuality is a horrible curse they can’t get rid of.

When people begin to disappear and Clara realizes that something sinister is happening is when the fun part of the book begins. The part of the blurb that made me immediately want to read it was “must assemble a ragtag crew to pull off a daring heist” – I LOVE heists! It immediately made me think of a Leverage and Buffy crossover. Clara assembles a group of people who have those charms on them from spirits, and their backstories and explanations for why they reached out to the spirits in the first place were some of my favorite parts of the book.  The team needs to fight the spirits and complete the heist to have everyone get out of this alive.

My favorite thing about this book is that Clara Johnson was a real person, and Leslye Penelope did a ton of research and brought that into this spec fiction. And that shined through for sure! Real life Black figures played different roles in this, and I loved that because it made everything more authentic. It reminded me a little of Beverly Jenkins because her books always weave in reality with fiction and it never fails to teach me something. 

The audiobook was excellent, Shayna Small brought both Clara and the whole cast of characters to life. I loved this whole world.

Content Notes: Racism, incarceration, murder attempts

Grade: A

Amazon * Goodreads

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • More
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Filed Under: A Review, Audio Books, B Review, Horror, Leslye Penelope, Melinda, Mini Reviews, Redhook, Sarah Gailey, Tor

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome to Smexy! If you are reader feel free to use our search feature to find a specific book or browse through our features to find Smexy Deals, New Releases, and book news!

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords,  Booksamillion, and Bookshop,org.

 

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

Angela

Melanie

Jen

Kate

Iby

Kate H.

Sign Up for Daily Emails


Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • New Releases- Week of May 12-16, 2025
    New Releases- Week of May 12-16, 2025
  • Smexy Deals- Deals for books by Brynne Weaver, Lori Wilde, Jo Goodman, and more!
    Smexy Deals- Deals for books by Brynne Weaver, Lori Wilde, Jo Goodman, and more!
  • Steamy Excerpt from Everything's Better With Lisa by Lucy Eden
    Steamy Excerpt from Everything's Better With Lisa by Lucy Eden
  • Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
    Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
  • Monday Morning Book News!
    Monday Morning Book News!
  • Review: The Finish Line by Kate Stewart
    Review: The Finish Line by Kate Stewart
  • Review: Regretting You by Colleen Hoover
    Review: Regretting You by Colleen Hoover
  • Smex Scene Sunday
    Smex Scene Sunday
  • Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
    Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
  • Review: The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
    Review: The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros

Disclosure

The majority of the books reviewed at this site have been provided for free by publishers, authors, or other third parties like NetGalley or Edelweiss. Acceptance of a free copy does not guarantee a review or a positive review.

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Booksamillion.

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

 

Find Our Reviewers

Angela @fv-angela.bsky.social l Goodreads

Melanie @melonreads.bsky.social l  Goodreads

Jen .@thebooknista l Goodreads

Kate  @kateminasian l Goodreads

Iby Instagram l Goodreads

Kate H. @Naranjadia l Goodreads

Copyright © 2025 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d