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Full disclosure: I stopped reading before the end of Part One.

Hiron Ennes's knack for weaving fascinating worlds, as well as the novel's premise, enticed me, but what I hoped would be a feverish romp through a dark fantasy world turned out to be a novel brimming with descriptions and world building and absolutely nothing else. Many of the details were so extravagantly conveyed that I lost myself in the prose and struggled to visualize what was unfolding on the page.

Ennes is a wordsmith who would thrive as a poet. The Works of Vermin lacks cohesive dual storylines and three-dimensional characters, the magical components were never explained, and the purple and florid prose drowned out what I believe would have been great setting and thoughtful story building if the narrative was more concise.

While I wanted to love this novel as much as I did Leech, I could not get past the excessive descriptions and overabundant world building. In this case, the general world building advice (up to 10% of what you know should be in your story) would have done wonders for pacing, enjoyment, and overall readability.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for the ARC.

The premise of this novella sounded great but ultimately fell flat. I got through six chapters before putting it down, just shy of halfway through. The pacing was slow even for a fantasy gothic. Phee's emotions and thoughts were conveyed so often that the book might have been more engaging if written in first person. As is, it's repetitive and lacking real depth, only taking up precious space in a novella-length story. I'm all for slow burns, but they require atmosphere, an emotional bond to the character, or intriguing glimpses of the fantastic.

In this instance, the movie was better. While Oliver's narrative is often compelling and humorous, the novel lacks a proper plot and feels more like the disparate events of adolescence than a well-considered story.

If you enjoy slashers, The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre should scratch your murderous itch. While Fracassi does nothing outside the genre's tropes, he populates this story with lovable characters you can't help but root for. Death scenes are brutal, the killer probably won't be who you expect, and the narrative plays with varying viewpoints that only add to the tension.

I recommend this to fans of slashers and mysteries alike.

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the review.