![A young red haired woman is reading books with her dog surrounded by dragons [in a whimsical setting] [with a sense of adventure and wonder].](https://i0.wp.com/phanniebookdragon.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/img-N56SfdlDjsU4lfHo7JPzyvbN.png?fit=80%2C80&ssl=1)
Hello everyone! Today is my spot in this wonderful Tour and I have a Top 5 Reasons post as well as a playlist for you.
Disclaimer: A review copy for this book has been sent to me by the publisher.
about the book
Synopsis:
In this velvet-clad 1990s gothic horror, Aja encounters a charming vampire who wants to lure her into the woods—just like her missing sister.
No one ever pays attention to sixteen-year-old Aja until her perfect older sister Fiona goes missing. In the days leading up to Fiona’s disappearance, Aja notices some extraordinary things: a strange fog rolling through their idyllic suburban town, a brief moment when the sky seems to rain blood, and a host of parasitic caterpillars burrowing their way through the trees. Aja’s father, the neighbors, and even her ex-friend Mary all play down this strange string of occurrences, claiming there must be some natural explanation. It seems everyone is willing to keep living in denial until other teens start to go missing too.
Aja is horrified when she meets Padraic, the vampire responsible for all the strange occurrences. His hypnotic voice lures her to the window and tells her everything she’s longed to hear—she’s beautiful and special, and he wants nothing more than for Aja to come with him. Aja knows she shouldn’t trust him, but she’s barely able to resist his enthrallment. And following him into the woods may be the only way to find Fiona, so she agrees on one condition: He must let her leave alive if she is not wooed after one week. Though Aja plans to kill him before the week is out, Padraic has his own secrets as well.
In the misty woods, Aja finds that Padraic has made his nest with another vampire in a dilapidated church infested by blood-sucking butterflies. Within its walls, the vampires are waited on and entertained by other children they’ve enthralled, but there is no sign of Fiona. Before her bargain is up, Aja must find a way to turn her classmates against their captors, find her sister, and save them all—or be forced to join the very monsters she wants to destroy.
Content Warning: body and bug horror, death, on-page violence, and racial microaggressions
Title – Direwood
Author – Catherine Yu
Genre – Young Adult Horror
Release date – September 20th, 2022
Top 5 Reasons to read
- Gothic Horror
If you love Gothic Horror, especially bug horror, you will love this one. Personally the bug horror aspect freaked me out a bit BUT I enjoyed the rest way too much. - Vampires
Who doesn’t love vampires? However, these Vampires are nothing like the hot vampires we’re used to. These vamps are pretty scary and actually deserve the Monster award. - Unique story
I haven’t read anything like “Direwood” before, so it is, in my opinion, a unique read. If you’re a fan of 100% horror books that are very unique in the genre, then this might be your next read. - Fast-paced
“Direwood” is a quick read, and we all know that I prefer my reads to be fast-paced. This made the book even scarier. - Solid Debut
Guess that this one speaks for itself.
where to buy?
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indigo | IndieBound
spotify playlist
about the author
Catherine Yu writes dark speculative fiction. She was born in Nanjing and is now based in New York. She is a graduate of Odyssey Writing Workshop. Direwood is her debut novel.
Author links:
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
tour schedule
September 19th
Stuck in Fiction – Promotional Post
Lit Lemon Books – Review & Favorite Quotes
Mallory Books – Annotation Art
September 20th
Pages & Plots – Promotional Post
B for Bookslut – Review
PopTheButterfly Reads – Review
September 21st
The Book Dutchesses – Promotional Post
The Nerdy Nook – Top 5 Reasons to Read Direwood
Betwixt The Sheets – Review
Reading Stewardess – Review
September 22nd
Nine Bookish Lives – Promotional Post
Midsummer Night’s Read – Review
Phannie the ginger bookworm – Top 5 Reasons to Read Direwood & Playlist
September 23rd
The Bookish Coven – Promotional Post
pluvioreads – Review & Playlist
Avni Reads – Review
Modest Hiccup – Review
September 24th
Confessions of a YA Reader – Promotional Post
A Cup of Cyanide – Review
laura’s bookish corner – Review
September 25th
This Soul’s Devouring Words – Review
Kait Plus Books – Promotional Post
Inkhaven – Review
Instagram schedule
September 19th
morningstarlitpages – Review
thebookwebb – Promotional Post
bookdreamr – Blogger’s Choice
September 20th
booking.with.janelle – Review
hoardingbooks.herdingcats – Review & Favorite Quotes
popthebutterfly – Blogger’s Choice
September 21st
tbrandbeyond – Promotional Post
thenerdynook – Blogger’s Choice
theink.slinger – Blogger’s Choice
skygoddess1 – Blogger’s Choice
September 22nd
gsreadingspree – Review
hooked.by.books – Review
dreaminginpages – Review
ninebookishlives – Blogger’s Choice
September 23rd
gryffindorbookishnerd – Promotional Post
pluvioreads – Blogger’s Choice
avnireads – Blogger’s Choice
modesthiccup – Blogger’s Choice
September 24th
hodophile_z – Review
onemused – Review
booksandpops4000 – Blogger’s Choice
September 25th
writingrosereads – Promotional Post
mulberryreads – Review
anjalisdevouringwords – Blogger’s Choice
*A review copy of this book has been sent to me in exchange for an honest review. This hasn’t influenced my rating!
