Spooky, scary, freaky, weird. I am usually not afraid of any of those in a book but this was almost too unhinged for me. I found it hard to follow at times but it was a really good time. If you like weird and are ok being confused, this is the book for you

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC in return for my honest review!

I really wanted to like this one, but it felt like a novella that should accompany something else. It didn’t really have a beginning or ending, but a story that felt like an insert to something else.
The way the book reads is very difficult and the formatting was a poor choice in my opinion. I’m curious to see what the physical book of this would look like and if it would help anything.
I can’t even give you any spoilers because I truly don’t know what happened in this book.

This ended up being a DNF for me at 20%. I thought the plot sounded interesting, but I just couldn't get into it. There was nothing that felt like horror. A large portion of the book is also newspaper articles that were unable to be read in a digital format.

I couldn't finish it. 50% in and the two characters seemingly at the center of the story still haven't met. We have to slog thru the necromancy of a fantasy character as though we understand all of the references made about her practice....
There didn't seem to be much world building or character depth.
In short, I was bored.

Not my favorite. The story felt disjointed and a bit confusing. I don't think I could recommend to people.

The title and cover drew me to this book but I was quite surprised by its content. I found the writing style quite jarring due to the footnotes dotted through it. I actually loved the inclusion of newspaper clippings and enjoyed rooting my way through these. However the story felt disjointed and this was more frustrating than eerie for me.

Hot Singles in Your Area by Jordan Shiveley is a gripping and darkly humorous body-horror novel. The story follows two characters, Noah and Malachia, as they are thrust into strange and sinister circumstances controlled by a powerful media conglomerate. Noah's desperate search for a new job leads him into a bizarre corporate world, while Malachia navigates the eerie, empty streets of the City of Silence. Their narratives weave together in an unpredictable, chilling plot filled with unsettling imagery and biting satire on corporate life. Shiveley's storytelling blends horror with sharp social commentary, making this a twisted yet engaging read for fans of speculative fiction.
The book's unique premise and dark humor set it apart, offering readers an unsettling look at modern society through a lens of supernatural horror.

Thanks to NetGalley and Unbound for the ARC.

While I really enjoyed it, I can see how this book can be for a very specific taste. It's untraditional in its physical format; while alternating between two main characters in drastically different worlds, it also uses images of an advertising section of a strange newspaper, and later, there's chapters that repeat and surround the narrative -literally- in darkness, just the word darkness. I think I get the story, and I like the use of body horror in a satire on capitalism and bureaucracy. Noah's side of the story is relatable, having done the janitorial work before, and gone through that desperate job search for something margianlly better. As bizarre and nonsensical as Malachia's world is, there is a sense of logic to it that I loved digging into. I kinda wish it were a bit longer, specifically with the ending. It feels like it ended when the plot was about 75% through, and then implied the rest of the adventure in the three corporate letters discussing the main characters. I'm not entirely clear on what happened, and it would have been more satisfying to continue reading it from their perspective. If you don't mind the abstract formatting, I'd definitely recommend this one.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6814395083

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/e4c9d12c-376a-4709-9b28-f6a4a6ec4dc8

Check out this review of Hot Singles in Your Area on Fable. https://fable.co/review/e69378b4-d6e0-4a1c-872d-5b42a9a41192/share

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own

I got a What we do in the Shadows vibe from the book and I kinda love it. The ads are entertaining as is the addition of comical subtexts. I enjoyed reading.

I was drawn in by the cover and the description, however I found this book incredibly hard to follow. I want to like this book but I have really struggled to finish the book which is disappointing considering its length.

A fever dream. I’ve just stepped out of a fever dream.

This is my favourite kind of book. I love feeling 17 emotions at once and not knowing which one compels me most.

Jordan Shiveley has managed to create a completely unhinged and unrealistic world that was entirely relatable.

I’ll leave this review with one of my favourite lines “What the fuck had happened? He let out a long groan as images of… Had he deep throated a mouth-demon dick? Talk about your high-school fanfics that you never thought would get onto and off of your bucket list in the same day.”

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC, I can’t wait to add this to my collection.

This book was definitely not what I thought it was going to be. I enjoyed it. If I see it in stores when it’s released I’ll pick up a copy.

This was very difficult to read as nothing seems to make sense, very disjointed. Unfortunately very messy I did not enjoy reading this book.

I was drawn in by the bright and eye catching cover, as it looked interesting - a horror comedy! I was not disappointed, this book felt very much like a grown up Goosebumps book, bringing me back to my childhood hiding under the covers with a torch to find out what happened next. It was a fun, weird and wonderful tale over the 2 worlds colliding in disgusting and funny ways.
Perfect book for the spooky season coming up

This was a hard book to get through. The chapters with Noah were okay for the most part but I barely understood the ones with Malachia. The stories in the adverts were interesting but even they would cut off after the section was done and I kept feeling like I was in the dark about where the story was headed. As much as I appreciate originality I didn’t get this book at all.

I’m not sure what I just read but it isn’t for me. The many interrupted pages with random partial pages of newspapers just seemed to fill up space and honestly just made me not want to continue reading.

I found myself absolutely not into the stories, the characters and not entirely sure what the purpose of the story was.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This is a strange experience. Shiveley’s writing style is distinct, comedic, and makes for an enjoyable read. The novella takes readers on a twisted journey through parallel universes, where two imperfect characters Noah and Malachia navigate a hidden world controlled by a malevolent media powerhouse. Along the way, they encounter magic typewriters, screaming forests, and queer romances. However, despite its intriguing premise, the book falls short with pacing issues and a lack of emotional depth.

I have never been more confused while trying to read a book. Was this even a book? The footnotes were weird. The characters stories didn’t seem to go together (felt like reading parts of two different books). I hope this gets a lot of editing before the final release.

The cover got me, but this isn't the kind of absurd horror I enjoy. The writing style didn't work for me at all. I like to think there's an audience for this novella because it's not without its potential, but it wasn't for me.

I normally really enjoy a bizarre horror with an unreliable narrator and creepy vibes, and I was drawn to this book by the gorgeous cover and the interesting premise, however I could not get along with it at all. I found it confusing to read, the way the sentences were written was difficult to follow and a lot of what I assume was meant to be humour or the characters personality felt forced and unnatural.

Unfortunately, I would not recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC.