The book started off pretty gory and fast-paced, however, the ending did get bogged down with a lot of cult talk and conspiracies. There were humorous moments in the book and the main character was pretty interesting but I think it would have been better as a full length novel where the action and horror could be added and spread out a bit more through the story. I would definitely read this author again though as their ideas and writing were engaging.

3⭐️

The book started off very exciting and I read it fast, although is did end up being a page-turner I wasn’t so impressed with the plot. Characters felt a bit flat to me, but the story was beautifully put together by amazing illustrations. Nevertheless, I recommend this as a nice little read.

Thank you to the author, publisher, illustrator and NetGalley for an early copy of this book, this was a great experience!

#TheLittleSeason #NetGalley

Pick up the book and read it, for it's a quick, good read with writing that creates better tension. The elements of food, blood, confusion, cult, and conspiracy will keep you engrossed in the story.

I'm giving this 3 ⭐️ because it started out really good. It was stomach turning and the splatter punk vibes were vibing. The food company seemed ominous and I was excited to see what depraved direction the story was going to take us.
And then it took us down a spiritual/religious direction and I wasn't really expecting that. I love culty books but this one kind went all over the place and I didn't love it as much as I wanted to.
I just expected this to go a different direction and it was a bit of let down. I found the ending is anticlimactic as well. However, this was a fast paced read and I do feel like it kept my attention through out.

This book starts off strong with the.story of young Jordan who.is looking for a job and finds an ad to essentially eat and test out food. The place and the people all see interesting and peculiar. Definitely an original story I did not feel I have read a million times.
The author was easy to read and it was a quick read. I felt the book started off strong and had a little taste of splatterpunk. I was excited to see what would happen next.
I did find that once coming to the end of the book there were a few lose ends I would have liked tied up. Maybe this isn't the end of the story, but I did feel like I wanted a little bit more.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Blood Bound Books for a copy.

The Little Season was a quick and pretty fast-paced story about Jordan, a young man in desperate need of money after suddenly becoming unemployed. Jordan jumps at the chance to earn fast cash for being a part of a focus group in which all he has to do is eat food and give his feedback. After the first meal and few hundred dollars in his pocket, Jordan becomes incredibly ill, but figuring it a fluke, agrees to participate in another one of the focus groups, but things begin to unravel from there. It's unnerving and gross with some twist that you likely would not guess. I'm sure this book will be a hit with so many people!

I really enjoyed the overall concept of this book, it used the element that I was looking for. The concept worked in the splatterpunk element going on and thought it worked with the genre. S.C. Mendes has a great writing style and I'm glad I got to read this.

As a connoisseur of Splatterpunk literature, I was absolutely salivating at the thought of devouring this book. And let me tell you, it was a blood-soaked delight! I'll definitely be sinking my teeth into more works by this author in the future.

This short story really grabbed my attention from the start and every page left me wanting more.
The book flows at a decent pace and builds tension well. The theme was original and like nothing I have read before. My only criticism was that it seemed to end quite abruptly and I felt a bit let down by the ending as I was just craving more information. I would read more by this author.

Honestly wasn’t a huge fan of this one. It starts strong and splattery, but then kind of drags and slows down.

I think the synopsis needs a bit more detail as I thought I was going to be reading a different story than the one I actually read. All the spiritual/naturopathic/metaphysical aspects were not what I was expecting.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Blood Bound Books for a copy.

Jordan Carter gets an opportunity to try a meal, and get paid. But the qualifying questions are odd to say the least. And when the next day Jordan get’s incredibly sick, and has the most horrible nightmares of his life, he begins to suspect something might be wrong with the tasting. As the story goes on Jordan is more and more convinced that there is something awfully wrong going on.

This is my first ever splatterpunk, so that might be a reason for some of my feelings on this story. I’ve spent a long time trying to collect my thought on this story, but I have come to realize that this is as good as it’s going to get.

I didn’t really like this story, and while I don’t mind graphic scenes, I do absolutely abhor sexual violence for the sake of shock factor. The whole story felt jumbled, and I didn’t feel like the mystery was all that mysterious.

I’m sure The Little Season will fit for many readers, but it definitely was not me.

Big thanks to Netgalley, Blood Bound Books, and the author S.C. Mendes for allowing me to read an E-Arc of this book!

THE LITTLE SEASON by S.C. Mendes tells the story of Jordan, who took a food-tasting gig from a secret restaurant called Talons.

Even after the first meal had gotten him sick and had given him disturbing dreams, the pay had lured him to do another tasting and another.. Until the puddles of bloody vomit and nightmares become too hard to ignore.

The first third of the story had me on a chokehold (those dream sequences, man). The middle had enough to keep me intrigued and tethered.. but by the last bit, it lost me. It made me feel like I was reading a totally different book than the one that I started with - and not in a good way.

There was a lot of astrology, tarot reading, crystal healing, secret societies, and new-age "science" in the story, and unfortunately, I am not into those things.

Nevertheless, it explored the lengths one will go to out of desperation. In Filipino, we have a saying, "kapit sa patalim" which literally translates to "clinging to a knife." Is it risky? Yes. Is it painful? Definitely. For a lot of people, living along the razor's edge is the only way to survive.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me a free ARC to read and review. This book will be out on July 4, published by Blood Bound Books.

4 stars

This book is wild and so much fun. It certainly packs a punch too. I loved The City by Mendes, and this is a strong addition to his catalog.
If you’re into this kind of horror dont skip this one. Maybe even if you’re unsure, give it a try, it was a quick and insane read.

SC Mendez is one of my mew favourite horror authors!
Another insane story that incorporates gore, sex and realism horror!
Jordan loses his job and feels like his life is at a stand still. After accepting to be a taste test subject for a new resturant called Talons, he begins having strange dreams and feeling violently ill.
His pagan? neighbour michelle becomes concerned over the noise and helps try to figure out if its just food poisoning or a cult at large.
Religious, gorey and mysterious fun!

Mmmhh. I really don't know what to make of this little weird book. It all starts harmless enough with Jason, our MC, discovering an ad for a very nicely paid food tasting. Of course, he answers and sets to go there. After the tasting, he starts having weird, gory dreams and vomits a lot of blood. But after going to the second tasting, we delve into a world of conspiracy theories and gibberish about demons, cults, and alternate histories. While initially I thought our MC would look through this, he dived all the more in and we sort of lose him. Also, the storyline is somehow lost in the middle of it. And while I enjoyed the writing well enough, in the later half of the book I would've wished for more insight into our MCs mind, to see what triggered this huge change of mind. In retrospect, I can't really tell of I'd recommend this. BUT it held my attention until the end!

I am very much into Splatterpunk books so I was very excited to read this one! It was a quick read and I will definitely be reading more by the author again.

Overall I really enjoyed this reading. It was the right amoint of background details and vividry that really made the story come to life. As thr story progresses it leaves you wondering what will happen next as well as what exactly is real and all just a part of dreams? The way the story made you really question everything happening and being stuck with the decision on what to believe alongside the character made this story even more engaging and interesting. Honestly was really great though i would have loved to know more with what happens with Michelle..

In my opinion, The Little Season is miscategorized. While the story is graphic, it is not extreme horror. Nor is it quite a mystery.

The angle about the effects of "traumatized food" initially piqued my interest, but the plot line dissolved into a boring metaphysical/spiritual tangent. I appreciate the impact of a short story, but this one ended abruptly and unresolved. It seemed the author intended to inspire deep thinking around the paradoxes (or hypocrisies) of organized religion, society's unhealthy relationship with food, and the dire lengths one goes to when desperate for money. Unfortunately, the message was lost amidst attempts to explain dreams, energy vibrations, and star charts.

The summary caught my eye, but The Little Season didn't deliver. I wish I had felt otherwise because the premise was intriguing.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The book started off so strong. I was hooked immediately. Splatter punk mystery? hell yeah.

Unfortunately I would not call this splatter punk or honestly even horror. The book felt like 95% of it was just over explaining things.

I despised the main character and not in a fun way, in a completely cringe way — example: “ It was time he started doing epic shit and creating high-value stories that were actually true. Not bullshit pickup lines of fake greatness.”

I had some confusion in the beginning because the characters were sometimes referred to by last name, first name or knick names without any consistency.

I felt like the art work added nothing to the book.

The premise was good. Cults, conspiracy theories, dreams, etc should have added up to an exciting book but it was very boring.

Dialogue felt clunky.

Almost quick reading at 32% but trudged through.

Firstly I would like to thank S.C. Mendes , Blood Bound Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reading copy of ' The Little Season' to read and review. Although I am an avid reader of splatterpunk and extreme horror , this is the first book I have read by this particular author apart from his work on anthologies. I am always excited to receive publications within this genre as I relish in gut churning intense horror and from the very first chapter I was hooked and instantly knew that this would not disappoint.

Due for publication in July , the story follows a young man called Jordan who is offered an opportunity to join a mysterious food tasting panel. Although he feels ill after the first meal he puts this down to coincidence and attends another sampling when more money is offered for his time. After the second dining experience Jordan instinctively knows that there is something drastically wrong and from this moment embarks on a journey diving into the rabbit holes of conspiracies.

The story was well written and I loved the angle about how food can be traumatised in terms of it being made from molecules so it can be susceptible to vibrational energy. The images sporadically placed within the text added immensely to my reading experience , but I must note that I believe that these will only be featured in the limited edition paperback and not within the mass market copy.

At only 150 pages I enjoyed the pace and it was a novella that kept me reading into the night. . Whilst splatterpunk is a niche genre and certainly not for the squeamish I recommend this short story to anybody looking for a fun and quirky read. It certainly wont be the last book I read by this author .

#TheLittleSeason #NetGalley