This month was pretty great! Even though I didn’t end up getting a whole lot read I did get a lot of my work completed for the year so I have plenty of time now for reading so YAY!
A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck – ⭐️3/5 stars
The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman – ⭐️4/5 stars
It’s been a couple months since I’ve posted a library haul so here you go ☺️
The Butcher’s Masquerade has easily become my favourite instalment in the series so far. I’ve loved every book, even when things got a bit chaotic along the way, but this one reminded me exactly why I’m so obsessed with this wild world. As soon as we hit the Hunting Grounds something shifted. It felt sharper, more emotional and way more gripping than I expected. I tore through it.
Donut absolutely steals the show here. She always does, but this time she’s on another level. She’s clever, dramatic, mouthy in the best way and so full of heart. I was laughing at her one second then wanting to cry with her the next. Carl’s great too, but Donut owns this whole book and I’m not sorry about it.
What surprised me most was how much heart sits under all the madness. There are some big emotional punches in this one and a few scenes that got me tearing up when I least expected it. The reunion with a certain someone had me holding my breath and it paid off in such a satisfying way. And then there were the moments that came out of nowhere and left me crushed. Prepotente and Miriam had me feeling things I was not prepared for.
Level six itself is such a fun setting. A fantasy world full of dinosaurs, hunters chasing crawlers, strange politics and that menacing masquerade hanging over everything. I loved seeing Carl and Donut take on new specialties, fail and succeed in the funniest ways and get tangled up in all the drama the dungeon throws at them. Even the side characters shine. People you barely know end up hurting to lose because Dinniman is annoyingly good at making them feel real.
The humour is still perfect. Between Donut’s diva era, Mongo’s dinosaur adventures, the comic con scenes and the absolute trainwreck of the masquerade party, I laughed more than I expected to. This series balances heartbreak and pure silliness better than anything else I’ve read and it never loses its heart.
The ending was brutal in that classic Dinniman way and left me stressed but keen for whatever happens next. This series isn’t for everyone, but for those of us who love it, The Butcher’s Masquerade is a standout. It’s emotional, funny, clever and packed with characters you can’t help but root for. I finished it and still don’t feel done with it.
⭐️4/5 stars Bring on the next level!!
It’s Top Ten Tuesday time once again friends. I don’t often pick up books outside of my comfort zone but sometimes I get the urge or fall for the hype and end up giving in. I have a lit rpg on my list, a historical book which I usually hate and a few others that ended up pleasantly surprising me!
A Short Stay in Hell is a clever and unsettling read that turns a simple idea into something deeply thought provoking. It begins with a darkly funny twist as a Mormon man dies and discovers he chose the wrong religion. The true faith was Zoroastrianism, and now he must spend eternity in a Hell shaped like an infinite library. His only task is to find the one book that tells the story of his life. Once he does, he’s free to leave, though the odds of ever finding it are almost impossible.
The concept is fascinating and slowly becomes disturbing as the vastness of eternity sets in. The endless shelves, filled mostly with meaningless combinations of letters, capture the futility and madness of an infinite search for meaning. Peck blends humour and horror in a way that feels both strange and human, raising quiet questions about faith, purpose and the limits of understanding.
The novella shines most when exploring how people respond to hopelessness. The small society that forms inside the library feels both familiar and tragic, a reflection of how we repeat the same mistakes even in new worlds. The writing is simple and clear, but sometimes a little too restrained for such a powerful idea. I found myself wanting more… more emotion, more time with the characters and a deeper sense of closure.
Still, it’s a haunting little story that stays with you. Peck manages to capture the fear of infinity without relying on fire or suffering. Instead, he shows how eternity itself can be the most frightening punishment of all.
⭐️3/5 stars This is a book I feel like I’ll be thinking about for a while!
Amy Leigh Reads 