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Realize, I was there. I was completely invested from the first two books. Yet somehow, I still can't figure how, I was alienated from El, the main character, right in the beginning of the book. I couldn't understand her choices and I didn't get what she was feeling. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to connect with her as the book proceeded.

That said, I finished it because the plot was wonderful. It brought together very complex magic and lore to a cohesive end. Yet, I felt like I'd already lost a friend. Very frustrating.

There isn't as much death and dismemberment in this installment as the first, but there's a great tension around a mystery to solve. Then the ominous 'Graduation Day' looms and it ends intensely. I was sweating as I read the final words.

It catapults you right into the next book.

This book can be read lightly. The dialog is funny and the people make interesting choices (of course not always the right ones). There's a love story near the end and it concludes well. I cried several places.

After letting it sit though, I think there's even more. All the characters have a drive that they're trying to figure out. I noticed the theme when reading, but after, it made me think about my own drives and wants and identity. That's what successful stories do.

It's hard to say I 'loved' listening to this book since everything and everyone seemed to be trying to kill the protagonist, but it was enjoyable to hear how she navigated the impossible situations. The time flew by. I'm ready for the next one.

As the title of my review implies, reading this book in the evening before you go to bed may not be the best idea. While most of the stories are mostly just creepy rather than being absolutely terrifying, exceptions apply. But yes, I read all of the stories in this collection to "wind down" before bed. I never claimed to be the brightest cookie in the jar.

I liked this collection much like I've liked the earlier English translations of this author's work. It's critical of misogyny and machoism in all the ways I enjoy, and it doesn't hold back the punches when it comes to pointing out other societal issues like poverty, but I'm currently shivering under the covers and wondering how I'm going to be able to go to sleep without thinking of demon children finding me in my room and dragging me out of my bed.

I read Things We Lost in the Fire, Mariana Enriquez' collection of short stories translated into English not long after it came out in 2017, having found it in a library and taken a chance on it. The visceral and beautifully written horror stories astounded me. And the way that she embeds political and social critique is pitch perfect. After such a brilliant debut I worried that a second book might prove to be a repetition or just nowhere near the same quality. I haven't yet read the lauded The Dangers of Smoking in Bed (her debut in Spanish but second collection translated to English), but this, her third, certainly did not disappoint me.

A Sunny Place for Shady People is literary horror. Across 12 short stories, very few events of any great drama takes place, but strong characters and realistic settings bring everything to life. In each story there is a creeping dread or an uncanny unease that grows page by page. In a way, the unease is a little like peeking repeatedly into something private, and this is partly because the stories situate themselves mainly in Argentinian urban and suburban areas, with intimate characters mostly speaking from the first person.

Some moments will continue to haunt me: A character whose face disappears, an accident inside a fridge and a violent terror in a burned out ruin are among the most visceral images. This collection is again brilliant, and Enriquez has cemented her place as one of my favourite short story writers.