Little Bird by Tiffany Meuret #BookReview #DarkFantasy #Horror #LittleBird @NetGalley @ibpa — Rain’n’books

My Rating

Rating: 4 out of 5.

A blurb that gives away nothing of what the author has conceptualized and a freaky skeleton staring out of all the green vines, does it scream HORROR to you? Lured in by that beautiful cover image made me realize how terribly wrong one’s expectation can be!

To say Josie is struggling would be a gross understatement. A loner who loves being a recluse with minimal contact with the outer world, Josie’s idea of coping mechanism is found inside an alcohol bottle. She works from home catering to that niche profile of being a middleman or a problem negotiator thru emails soothing the tempers of clients and service providers. Honestly, her character is such no one would willingly offer her any sort of job to negotiate. Her sarcastic, cynical and sometimes obnoxious attitude towards all and sundry makes her the last person to do the kind of job she does but she gets it done. It is the arrival of new neighbors both in the garden of her home and the next door that spoils her lonesome existence and when both parties refuse to cater to her GET OUT OF MY PREMISES viewpoint, Josie has a tough fight in her hands.

Little Bird is not horror or at least not the kind of horror I am used to, it has magical realism intertwined thru the story like the vines twisting around Josie’s house and the hilarious banter between Josie and Skelly the skeleton was a riot to read. Skelly imparts life lessons to Josie thru stories that felt long-winded but I loved how the author captivates the reader thru them. One can read the book just for the witty one-liners between the snarky skeleton and the bitter and irascible Josie. The chihuahua Po was so adorable and it was so endearing to see that the dog was the sole raison d’etre for Josie.

For all fans of books that offer something DIFFERENT, Tiffany Meuret’s Little Bird is a perfect read. There is a sense of sadness as Skelly narrates her stories but the scary scenes are minimal and it would be a good choice for all who love a quirky read. The alcoholism and the overpowering grief mentioned in the book could be potential triggers for many, so fair warning to readers who have issues with the same.

Many thanks to Net Galley, Black Spot Books, IBPA, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

The skeletons in the closet have nothing on the one in your backyard.
Freshly divorced and grieving the death of her father, Josie Lauer has caged herself inside her home. To cope with her losses, Josie follows a strict daily routine of work, playing with her dog, Po, and trying to remember to eat a decent meal-and ending each night by drinking copious amounts of vodka. In other words, she is not coping at all.
Everything changes when Josie wakes to find a small shrub has sprouted in her otherwise dirt backyard the morning after yet another bender. Within hours, the vine-like plant is running amok-and it’s brought company. The appearance of the unwieldly growth has also heralded the arrival of a busybody new neighbor who insists on thrusting herself into Josie’s life. The neighbor Josie can deal with. The talking skeleton called Skelly that has perched itself in Josie’s backyard on a throne made of vines, however, is an entirely different matter.
As the strangely sentient plant continues to grow and twist its tendrils inside Josie’s suddenly complicated life, Josie begins to realize her new neighbor knows a lot more about the vines and her bizarre new visitor than she initially lets on. There’s a reason Skelly has chosen to appear in Josie’s suddenly-blooming backyard and insists on pulling her out of her carefully kept self-isolation. All Josie has to do is figure out what that reason is-and she has only a few days to do it, or else she might find herself on the wrong side of catastrophe.
LITTLE BIRD is a story about found family, no matter how bizarre.

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Originally published at https://rainnbooks.com on March 25, 2022.