Titan Books Ltd Don't Fear the Reaper

So, I truly enjoy Stephen Graham Jones' writing. This story has been holding my attention since I read the first book in the trilogy. This 2nd book tells other people's stories and how those stories intersect with the heroine's (anti-heroine's) story. There is more clarification of what actually happened to specific people and allows us to see how early trauma/drug and alcohol abuse affects everyone, due to how blind many people choose to be when they think something doesn't directly affect them. Mr. Jones also delves into how past history affects the present, no matter how much we want to ignore that fact.

I’m not usually into the slasher genre, but this one was so much fun. Already ordered book 3!

Trigger warnings: well, murder for one thing. Gore, graphic descriptions of it.I had a feeling I would love this book, and I was right because of course I was. I don't know if I'd say this is better than the first one because it is a bit different.This book had twists and turns everywhere and I fr wasn't sure who did it the whole time??? Other than like the obvious.I also thought it was really cool that this book, while remaining in third person, has multiple povs, even Dark Mill South had pov sections, which was cool. All the chapters were named after horror films, which was also really fun and different.I love that Jade starts going by her legal name of Jennifer at first because she thinks she's moved on and a different person than she was, but she ends up going back to it and realizes that it's okay to be the person she was before. She's moved on from her slasher obsession, but she still knows all the slasher tropes and plots. She still holds on to that knowledge and knows it will be part of what gets her through the slasher.I also thought it was cool that Letha and Jade still have that strong bond, even though Letha has a family now, which can sometimes make friendships sort of dissipate.The theme of the care adults owe their youth, which is also a theme in a lot of horror movies, returns, and this time around, the care is given. Following that, the themes of relationships and survival. Then there's the whole final girl plot line returning, with a new focus, a new face at the helm. It's not just Letha & Jade being focused on in the final girl light.I'm so excited for book 3 to be announced, y'all have no idea.

First things first, you need to know this is a sequel (specifically the second in a trilogy). And you really do need to read the first book, My Heart is a Chainsaw, before you try to tackle this one. It picks up a few years after the first book left off and if you don't know the events of its predecessor, you'll be completely lost trying to follow the characters in this one, and I doubt there's much chance of your ever getting caught up. But the good news is that the first book was one of my very favorite books of a couple years ago, so reading the backstory isn't so much a chore as a treat.Moving on to Don't Fear the Reaper, I couldn't wait to dive in and start spending time once again with one of my favorite characters from horror novels of recent years. And in that regard, this book doesn't disappoint. It's really fascinating to see what Jade is up to several years later, how she's changed, and how she's stayed the same. She remains a remarkable and fascinating character, and if you loved the first book, you're going to love catching back up with her.However, that's where this sequel stumbles just a bit for me, because I feel like it tried to juggle just a few too many point of view characters. While most of them are interesting, I often found myself wanting to get back either to Jade or to the action, and some of the chapters just take a little too long treating us to the inside of other characters' minds. It's not that they're not interesting, it's just that they're not the most interesting thing in the book, and I often found myself a bit distracted by by wish to get back to the things I wanted to read about.But on the plus side, if you're as big a slasher fan as I am, and as I suspect most fans of the first book are, you'll be pleased to know that the author continues in this book to treat us to so many references to slashers both well-known and obscure that we immediately know we're in the hands of a true devotee of the genre, and I for one still love making all the connections between the book's events and those depicted in some of my favorite horror movies from decades past.Ultimately, I found this book wasn't nearly as good as its predecessor, but I still recommend it and will still be looking forward to volume three.

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