Emma's Archive 2023
This novel kept me up late when I should’ve been finishing this list! Told through a string of interviews with witnesses, true crime podcast transcripts, the narrator’s spiraling research, and even statements from the killers themselves, the murder of Joan Wilson in a run-down coastal town in Yorkshire unravels. Brilliantly plotted, persistent, and clever.
This novel takes all those familiar, seductive bits of haunted house stories that have been told time and time again and twists them into something clever and dreamy. It's romantic, creepy, dark - this story, like Starling House itself, has a pulse.
This time around, Emily Henry presents us with a summer getaway in Maine, featuring a witty, close-knit friend group desperate for one final happy week together in their beloved beach house. The seaside cottage setting, the energetic found-family dynamic, and the charming rom-com feel--I loved it!
Daring, subversive, addictive. A refreshing, smart twist on the stereotypical vampire. Meet Lydia - follow her lead through this seductive story.
A mystical, all-consuming reading experience. This horror novella is grim, otherworldly, and still one of the most romantic things I've ever read.
Chilling, wistful, and a charming illustration of unwavering human connection. This story feels like an old folktale passed down and retold again and again - it seamlessly intertwines its monstrous horror, looming war violence, and the devotion between vaquero Néstor and healer Nena.
The disappearance of a girl in the small Irish coastal town of Kinloch leaves her friend group questioning for decades, lost and haunted. Told through three voices, Helen, Mush, and Joe, as they look back on the tragedy, I watched the pieces come together in awe.
Three sweeping perspectives of family binds, pleasure, and power in this crime thriller set in contemporary India. Remarkable, unstoppable, brutally fantastic.
A funny, energetic, wonderful romp through Medieval times. The most sincere and lovable story I’ve read in a while, one that emphasizes friendship bonds and queer joy. Don't miss out on this!
An extremely reflective and softly devastating portrait of a young girl slowly understanding her past trauma and neglect. We see her in complete awe of the love she's able to find - my heart's still soaring. I will cling to Keegan’s writing from here on out.
Absolutely mesmerizing. A strange, spellbinding story of a marriage. Alternating between two perspectives, we receive a character-driven, misty fairy tale devoted to blurred connection, sapphic love, and the pull of darkness. A story so recognizable yet otherworldly and bizarre.