It's a tough one to describe. Maybe like if The Hitchhiker's Guide and The Ministry of Time had a horrorific baby with multiple rows of teeth?

Corporate humour with corpses.

The premise and humour are definitely my jam, but I found the execution a bit off. The first few chapters are a lot. I powered through knowing things usually gets easier when reading a book like this. I did find it tiring after a while and ended up skimming a couple pages. It feels overly quirky without needing to be, and the jokes don't pay off.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Unbound for an ARC of Hot Singles in Your Area by Jordan Shiveley.

Rating: 5/5

Spectacular Book. I absolutely loved it. This smart and unique blend of fantasy and horror is one of the most enjoyable reading experiences I’ve had this year. It’s unlike anything I’ve read before. If you’re a fan of films like Sorry to Bother You and Beetlejuice, you’re going to want this one!

This book’s cover is what drew me in to request it and the book itself is eerie and interesting but I’m not too sure it was for me.

The pictures interrupted the flow of the story due to their placement, feel like they should only be at the beginning or the end of a chapter. I’m also not too sure on the structure of the writing, the characters were intriguing but the story lost me abit at points due to the flow/structure of the story.

Unfortunately I've tried a few times and I wasn't able to finish this book. I'm not sure if it's because the format of all the clippings and graphics work too well on an e-reader and I wonder if I would appreciate it more in a physical format.

The unusual and creepy cover was what originally pulled me towards 'Hot Singles in Your Area', then it was the blurb that sold me. Unfortunately, this novel did not live up to the expectations. I felt like this novel tried to take a Douglas Adams and David Wong approach, but it just left me confused and sometimes disorientated.

This novel did not have a good structure or flow to it. Oftentimes it made very little sense. There were two separate stories being told, both at different paces, and it was unfortunate how messy and confusing the entire story became when the two protagonists paths crossed. I

I really wished this novel was a more enjoyable read for me as the universe has so much potential. The world building just was not there. There are unusual characters, gods, different universes/dimensions that are not described well, leaving the readers very confused.

I wish I was writing a more positive review. Maybe this novel just wasn't for me, but as a huge D, Adams and D. Wong fan, I just don't think this quirky, horror, science fiction story was built up very well.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC

The cover is awesome. That's about it.
I do not have the patience to read these weird experimental books.

"Hot Singles in Your Area" by Jordan Shiveley is a brilliant and eerie collection of short horror stories that blend dark humor with unsettling twists. Each story is cleverly written, keeping you on edge while delivering unexpected laughs. A perfect read for those who enjoy their horror with a side of wit.

For a shorter book, this world was really well developed and intriguing. I enjoyed the footnotes and newspaper spreads but overall would have loved for this to be longer. It took me a while to grasp what was going on but when I had the lightbulb moment everything came together and I was genuinely impressed. The writing was beautiful and unsettling and I loved the 'spooky bone stuff'. Bit of a confusing format on Kindle no matter how I changed settings but I definitely think I'll pick up a physical copy and might rereview on my second read.

No expectations and really appreciated it. The two narratives seem pretty distant at first, but unite easily throught horror and humor.

Thank you Unbound for the ARC eBook via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

2.5/5

Ok, so ... unfortunately this one didn't really work very well for me.
It made it hard to establish any sense of connection to anyone or anything.
The way the story was written was unnecessarily confusing, IMO. Some books written in this format work for me. Unfortunately this one didn't.

I didn't care for the writing.
I didn't care for the characters.
And the gory felt like it was written more for pure shock value.

I dunno ...
But I DO know there's certainly an audience out there for this book.
Unfortunately I quickly learned I'm just not a member of that audience. And that's ok. Everything isn't going to work for everyone.
So if the premise interests you, by all means, peel back the cover and take a look inside ... you just might love what you find.

(Full review on publication date)

I'm excited to see more from this author. I didn't know what to expect with this read and I was blown away by the style of writing and descriptions, everything vivid and it made it hard to put the book down.

I thoroughly enjoyed Hot Singles in Your Area. I had no idea what I was walking into but I'm glad I saw it through. Will definitely be keeping my eye on more from this author. The way Shiveley wrote and the world they've created, amazing!

The creepy nightmarish vibes are mixed with down to earth dark humour, which eases the tension but doesn't take away from the feeling of impending doom.
I enjoyed the way the story was told, the feeling the storylines were so close and the anticipation of the characters' paths meeting somewhere and actually untangling the plot. I honestly felt a sense of belonging because of Jordan Shiveley's writing and the way it resonated with me. This is the time of humour I like and I feel nourished when I come across it.
I am very grateful for this novel.

Thoroughly enjoyed this short read. The cover really attracted my attention and so did the story. Very different to what I usually read but want to branch out in this area

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

There are some fun elements to this, like the fake ads with weird tales and random tangents, or later when it keeps rephrasing "nine" as other combinations of numbers. But, this just felt like the precursor to the real story. There are a bunch of questions without any answers, and the protagonists haven't really even begun their quest at the end. This is more about collecting various pieces of unsettling imagery and the humorous tidbits in things like super wordy titles of things/entities. I think there could be an interesting story here if it kept going. Malachia's story is about her being sent on a quest by a more powerful being, but all she accomplishes by the end is to get to a place where she can start doing it, but still knows nothing. If shortened, I would prefer this to be the first act and not the entirety of the book. I would have even given more stars if there had been more memos at the end to detail some of the events that occurred after.

Between the cover and the newspaper artwork I encountered just a few pages in- I thought I was going to love this book. Alas, it was a disappointment for me. I did enjoy Noah’s story. It was what I came into this looking for. However…the other half of the book made my brain feel like mush. I think I would have enjoyed this more overall if it wasn’t split up into alternating chapters and was maybe just two interconnected short stories.

This novella had immense potential, but it raced through the story so quickly that it became challenging to immerse myself in the plot or care about the characters. The lack of character development made it difficult for me to connect with the characters, especially in the chapters following Malachia, which I found particularly hard to engage with.

Initially, the first few pages had me thinking, "This novella will be making best-of lists in 2025," but as the story progressed, I found myself losing interest. The fragmented chapters left me craving more depth and exploration.

While I did appreciate certain elements—like the newspaper sections and their recurring mentions of teeth—other parts, such as the footnotes, felt unfinished, and I struggled to grasp the intentions behind them, a feeling that grew stronger as the footnotes nearly vanished as the story progressed.

Novellas like these are tricky. There's certainly a niche audience out there who will appreciate the abstract horror and mixed media approach, but if you're not part of that target group (like myself), this read may come across as confusing and ultimately unsatisfying.

I believe it would benefit from a bit more substance behind the weirdness. I love a strange plot, but at times, this felt like it was “being weird for the sake of being weird.”

Thank you to Unbound for providing this book for review via NetGalley.

thank you NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this in return for my honest review! ❤️
the book follows two main characters - noah, an everyday joe who has unknowingly been employed at an eldrich horror-esque newspaper company; and malachia, who works for the congregation, who finds her entire city of silence empty. the story follows these two trying to figure out what in the heck is happening around them.
now i would like to preface that i really dont enjoy giving low ratings to indie books, but i cant lie and say i enjoyed this more than i did. i would also like to preface i am a vibe-rater first and foremost, but even though the vibe of this book was great, i did find there to be quite a few issues holding me back from enjoying it more.
i want to start with the positives of this book. firstly, did not expect lgbt+ rep going into this! i am always a sucker for rep, even if it is incredibly inconsequential. i enjoyed that in the world shiveley created, gender & attraction doesnt matter when you’re working a job of lovecraftian horror. i love when in horror/fantasy being queer is not an issue at all.
i also am a sucker for mixed media in books!!!! the random newspapers at first were just pretty to look at & i skipped them, but then i realised “hey i want to read these” and they were cool! also i have no idea why my brain originally decided they were just for aesthetic and had nothing to do with the plot. why did i decide that. i found the mini-stories(?) in the newspapers super intriguing, especially moss-girl. wouldve loved to know what happened to her though </3. the fact the newspapers, although they could stand on their own, tied into the overall story by showing us what type of company printed matter is, letting us get freaked out before noah is even aware of who he’s working for.
speaking of noah, god was he funny! honestly he carried this book. his humour was honestly the biggest thing that kept me intrigued. instantly in the first chapter with his likeability, his “everyman” characterisation and his wit i was sold on him. this kind of faded with time, but i cant lie and say simply because of how great a character noah was, i thought this would be a 4-star book.
and now i have to discuss why it wasnt… and the main reason is malachia. i had absolutely no idea what was going on with her plot. i dont mind when a book introduces concepts unique to this world, but when concepts such as the “mansion of silence” and the “third silence movement” and the “congregation”... i mean hey if its shown not told that works! i promise im not that dumb needed things spelled out that explicitly. but there was no showing or telling. i could not piece together what was happening until i was like >85% finished this which does not make for an enjoyable reading experience! and i only had this issue with malachia’s chapters. noah works as he also has no idea what is going on like the reader, but with everything weird occurring being pretty normal for malachia, it felt like i, as the reader, was left behind in terms of background information.
also malachia was essentially a noncharacter. that might be because i had actually no idea what she was yapping about 95% of the time… because it was all context that was missing. idk when i was reading her chapters my heart was not in it, i was waiting to get back to noah’s fresh hell.
i think that is the book’s fundamental issue. it does not explain its unique concepts. gun to my head i could not summarise this book without a guide. not because i wasnt concentrating, but because i was incredibly confused. im so serious i cannot tell you what malachia was doing this entire story. like i can TELL you, but what was her goal? anything beyond surface level, i cannot tell you a single thing. noah’s story was a bit easier to grasp, but at some points i was still lost. honestly though with noah’s story i found it easier to just be along for the ride because he was so bewildered with what was occurring, as was i. malachia seemed like it was just another monday for her, which meant i felt like i was being dragged through the entire story with new concepts being added when i had just figured out what the city of silence or congregation actually was. i think the actual story of this world defo needd more fleshing out.
the other major drawback of this story is that it feels like it doesnt know what its trying to do. at some points it felt like weird horror, other times it felt like dark fantasy, and at other times it felt like a magical realism x horror novel. this book kind of reminded me of piranesi in a way, with the reader also having no idea whats going on but is along for the ride. noah is also kind of like the titular piranesi, in that they are both silly goofballs which make the book great. but the plot in this novel kept pulling me in so many different directions, and in <200 pages, we dont have time to be doing this much.
i think this book’s fatal flaw is not having more pages. i think if there were more pages, a lot of the “issues” i had whilst reading this would have been resolved. i still had a good time, and i can definitely say this book is unlike anything i’ve ever read before! sadly i do think its hiccups are too prominent for me to have overlooked whilst reading this, and as they negatively affected my enjoyment, i cant look past them.

I tried! But I had to DNF this. I really liked the wonderfully weird first chapter and was hooked to find out more, but then the parallel story (which I couldn't care less for) appears and I'm snapped out of the whole thing. I considered just reading the first storyline and ignoring the second, but the low ratings on this one made me reconsider and quit altogether.

I knew this book would be quirky, but it was a bit much. There are pages of "ads" that I don't think are well suited for Kindle readers. I got to 15% of the book and I had no idea what was going on in the novel. That is why I dd not finish the book.
This may be a better read if it was not in electronic form.