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Series Review: The Brothers Sinister by Courtney Milan

Greetings and welcome to Reviews That Burn: Series Reviews, part of Books That Burn. Series Reviews discuss at least three books in a series and cover the overarching themes and development of the story across several books. This review is for The Brothers Sinister by Courtney Milan. Full Audio Here   The Governess Affair Miss Serena Barton intends to hold the petty, selfish duke who had her sacked responsible for his crimes. But the man who handles all the duke's dirty business has been ordered to get rid of her by fair means or foul. She’ll have to prove more than his match… The Duchess War The last time Minerva Lane was the center of attention, it ended badly—so badly that she changed her name to escape her scandalous past. So when a handsome duke comes to town, the last thing she wants is his attention. But that is precisely what she gets... A Kiss for Midwinter Miss Lydia Charingford does her best to forget the dark secret that nearly ruined her life, hiding it beneath her smi...

The Beast of Loughby Island by Matt Doyle

A young man named Tom Daniels is kidnapped by a local family and is dropped on Loughby Island in an attempt to 'clean up their streets'.

When the family that dropped Tom off is slaughtered by a werewolf-like creature, he soon finds himself banding together with a small group of the island's residents in a fight for their lives against an otherworldly monster.

PUBLISHER: Fractured Mirror Publishing
YEAR: 2023
LENGTH: 122 pages
AGE: Adult
GENRE: Horror
RECOMMENDED: Highly

Queer Rep Summary: Lesbian/Sapphic Secondary Character(s), Trans Secondary Character(s).

*I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review of this book. 

THE BEAST OF LOUGHBY ISLAND is a tightly-written horror story set on a small island. A werewolf-like creature has begun menacing and killing the island's inhabitants, starting with a xenophobic family who just finished dropping off their kidnap victim. The focus shifts between characters as they're stalked in turn and try to figure out what's going on as the bodies pile up. 

It's been a long time (if ever) since I read a straight-up monster story that isn't also a romance. There's a strong sense of place, and time to get a sense of most of the characters before their messy ends. This is a good read, and a quick one. 

Graphic/Explicit CW for blood, gore, violence, gun violence, injury detail, torture, death.

Moderate CW for cursing, classism, kidnapping, confinement.

Minor CW for xenophobia, racism, transphobia, excrement.

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A winding road in the moonlight, lined by trees.


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