Audiobook Review: Jessica’s Thoughts on Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Horrorstör
Author: Grady Hendrix
Narrators:
Bronson Pinchot
Tai Sammons
Published: September 23, 2014
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: December 21-22, 2021
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.
To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.
A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstör is designed to retain its luster and natural appearance for a lifetime of use. Pleasingly proportioned with generous French flaps and a softcover binding, Horrorstör delivers the psychological terror you need in the elegant package you deserve.
Jessica’s Review:
Grady Hendrix’s novels have not worked for me in the past and the sole reason I gave this one a shot was because it made Kim’s Top 10 of 2021 (And it was free on Audible). After listening to Horrorstör I can say this: A Grady Hendrix novel that worked for me!!!
I think the main reason why it resonated for me so much was because after I graduated college, I worked at a Target store for almost 3 years until I got my government job, and I still work for local county government. I identified with the employees of Orsk and understood what they go through each day.
I know I most likely missed some things listening to the audiobook since the physical novel itself is set up like an IKEA catalog. Kim even said “If you had read the physical book, then you would have given it 5 stars!” The audiobook did have a PDF document attached, so I did get some of the illustrations that included the featured product at the beginning of each chapter. One thing to note with the photos, as the novel progresses each featured item becomes creepier than the previous one that corresponds with the story.
We have two narrators: Bronson Pinchot and Tai Sammons. Pinchot did the narrations that accompanied each photo at the start of each chapter and Sammons narrated the novel. One character is Amy and I pictured her as America Ferrera from Super Store. These two characters have the same name and attitude! Both narrators did a great job with their narrations! Pinchot has that voice that is the commercial type but also adds the needed creepiness as the novel progresses.
Horrorstör doesn’t take itself seriously and you are in for a ride with this novel as it mixes working in the retail environment and the daily nightmares that brings in of itself, along with horror and humor. It’s a fun novel in the creative way it was put together. Hopefully one day I can get a physical copy of it and see what I missed.
Bravo to Hendrix for finally writing a novel that works for me!
Horrorstör is recommended.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Book Review: Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Horrorstör
Author: Grady Hendrix
Published: September 23, 2014
248 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.
To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.
A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstör is designed to retain its luster and natural appearance for a lifetime of use. Pleasingly proportioned with generous French flaps and a softcover binding, Horrorstör delivers the psychological terror you need in the elegant package you deserve.
Kim’s Review:
Holy cow. I’ve read Hendrix’s other books and loved them, so I’ve had my eye on this book for a long time. I read it in one sitting and it’s easily my favorite of this quarter, so far! He describes it as “horror parody” and that’s so accurate! So many times throughout the book, I felt both creeped out and amused. The book is in a catalog-ish format, so there were furniture illustrations. So many times, I had to stop reading so I could giggle! Yet I was still scared! How he managed that, I’m not sure, but he did!
The story itself is unique and engaging. Hendrix loves a good metaphor and of all his books, this one is the most obvious, so I didn’t feel quite so stupid after I finished it. Overall, I loved this book and I would recommend it to anyone! I think even those who don’t really like horror would like this book. But those who love horror will adore this book!! I thought it was brilliant!!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Adorable Fat Girl in Lockdown by Bernice Bloom
Adorable Fat Girl in Lockdown
Author: Bernice Bloom
Published: May 9, 2020
109 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: May 9-11, 2020
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Mary Brown is in lockdown. She’s worn nothing but pyjamas for weeks, and is living on a diet of cake and wine. She’s rarely up before midday and spends her time watching every box set that she can get her hands on. Then: she has an idea… instead of just eating the cake, why doesn’t she judge it? She should organise a World Cup of Cakes.
With Juan, her trusty sidekick, she sets up the competition with meticulous detail, and the whole thing goes viral. Featuring: home dyed hair, talking to potatoes, Piers Morgan, internet shopping, an amorous neighbour, an angry ex-boyfriend and birdwatching. Oh, and loads of cake.
Jessica’s Review:
Mary Brown, the Adorable Fat Girl is back! This is a series of novels by Bernice Bloom and you can either read the books as standalone novels or read them in the order they were written. I have read several of them and plan on reading more. Mary is similar to Bridget Jones (both are even British!) but Mary is actually very overweight. But she knows it and chooses to live her life the way she wants, and that involves eating!
This time around Mary and Juan are in 2020 and currently experiencing living life in lockdown due to COVID-19. She is just living life relaxing as much as she can: getting up midday, staying in pajamas, and eating cake! All of a sudden she comes up with an idea to create the World Tournament of Cakes and to put it on You Tube. She takes it very seriously and then something unexpected happens: The competition goes viral and before Mary knows it, she and Juan are getting all sorts of attention!
This is the sort of novella that we all need right now: Something fun to read that leaves you laughing out loud at times and experiencing other fun emotions. The situations Mary finds herself in are really unexpected.
What cakes are in the World Tournament of Cakes, and ultimately which cake wins? Will you agree with the winner? You will have to read and find out.
If you haven’t given Bloom’s Adorable Fat Girl series a try, do it! You will not regret it. We can all use a laugh right now.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK