What a premise, right? A surreal horror novella with a title that begs curiosity and a promise of unsettling vibes all in under 200 pages. I went in expecting a quick, sharp punch to the psyche. And to its credit, it had a great start.

The book begins on a strong note, introducing us to a protagonist who's lived a tough, unremarkable life. His frustrations—working as a janitor, cleaning up blood and teeth—feel visceral. When he stumbles across a job posting for a mysterious publication firm, the story gets intriguing fast. Shiveley does an excellent job immersing the reader in the protagonist’s disorientation. Disjointed and repetitive printed articles, coupled with strange interactions with Linda (a hiring manager who might just be a vampire), build an atmosphere of surreal unease. It’s chaotic in the best way, making the reader feel just as off-kilter as the protagonist.

But then, around the midpoint, things take a hard left turn. We’re suddenly introduced to a second protagonist who resides in an alternate dimension known as the City of Silence. This twist feels like being dropped into a Dungeons & Dragons campaign mid-session with no clue about the rules or story. The world-building is imaginative and strange, almost reminiscent of *The Phantom Tollbooth*, but it feels crammed into a space too small for such an ambitious concept.

I love weird. I love stories that don’t spoon-feed me. But this veered into “too much, too fast” territory. As a standalone novella, it reads more like a prequel to a sprawling series, leaving me with more questions than answers.

That said, I applaud the creativity and unique narrative style. If this ever gets expanded into a series, I’d be curious to revisit. For now, it’s an ambitious, if slightly overstuffed, read.

Thank you for an arc copy of this book. I normally like body horror books but this one didn’t seem to click for some reason. I don’t know if it was the pacing or what but I just didn’t connect with the book.

This was a very strange book and I’m honestly not sure exactly how I felt about it. There are a lot of pieces that work really well and wish would be expanded on. Honestly if it was just a short novella with Noah’s section I think I would even like it more, but as it reads now it is difficult to follow. There are a lot of great ideas however and the satire of media is at times very darkly funny.

Body horror, bones bones bones, spells, lots of teeth and weird eyeballs (not to mention tentacles), other dimensions, and a decidedly unusual advertising company... this book is dark, surreal, strange, and filled with a sharp sense of humour.

Unfortunately for me this is a DNF at the 50% mark. I liked the premise for this, the blurb gave me real 'John dies at the end' vibes. However, that is where the comparison ended.

I have absolutely no clue whats really going on. It's as if the book has just been thrown together to just be weird with no real plot behind it.

The Two stories don't intertwine and feel confusing and may have worked better as two short stories rather than being told in alternating chapters.

In Noah's story - I'm not sure whether the newspaper ads are supposed to be unreadable or whether its an issue with the kindle version?

And Malachia's story? I don't get it whatsoever.

I hate not having anything positive to say about a book, but for me this was a massive disappointment that I just can't bring myself to read further.

Its unfortunate that I found the writing style confusing and disjointed because the plot of Hot Singles in Your Area sounds right up my alley AND the cover is so very interesting! I made it to 20% into this book and decided to DNF. The writing was a struggle to get through and although I was intrigued, it was not enough to push myself through the following 80%.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC copy.
I hope this book finds its niche audience!

Hot Singles in Your Area dives into the eerie underbelly of loneliness in a digital world, blending horror with dark humor in a way that's both funny and unnervingly relatable. Shively’s writing taps into the isolated feelings and absurdity of online dating culture, giving voice to the dark thoughts lurking behind all-too-familiar dating app notifications. Each page holds a mirror up to the reader, reflecting a society yearning for connection yet haunted by its own superficiality. The surreal blend of prose and illustrations adds to the unsettling tone, creating an experience that feels like a late-night fever dream about the digital world we can't escape.

It’s a unique and refreshing read for anyone who enjoys a mix of horror and satire, especially if you have a soft spot for the weirdness of internet culture!

Initially liked the bizarre story and chaos. It felt very "Welcome to Nightvale" - inspired. For the same reason, I initially loved the graphics with their absurdist humor and cynicism .

What made this less than three stars and ultimately a DNF for me was the editing and formatting. It feels unfinished, and even if it's intentional it was frustrating and distracting instead of immersive.

In terms of editing, there are lots of run on sentences. These made it hard to follow along...I often found myself flipping back pages to re-read and check my comprehension.

The formatting was the most challenging part of this book. It was especially hard to read the graphics as they were often broken up in nigh-illegible ways. I ended up skimming a decent bit because it bothered my eyes . If sentences/paragraphs were at least together instead of split down the middle I would appreciate the weirdness more and be less annoyed with the eyestrain. This could also be a formatting issue withthe epub in particular. Either way, it was not reader-friendly.

Footnotes were also not formatted to be clickable on ereader. Single footnotes sometimes end abruptly, with the story continuing on, only for the note to resume on a later page. There are a few random text cutoffs.. I'm stillvery unsure of this was an editing error, a formatting error, or intentional.

With all this in mind, this was a DNF at 25%. I will not be cross posting my feedback.

Sadly, this one just didn’t work for me. Initially I wanted to read it based on the title and cover - I go into most books without reading the synopsis - but this one was so hard for me to really get into and it didn’t make much sense to me. We have two very different characters, one being more fantasy/sci-fi like, the other seeming to be just a regular human and it felt like such a disconnect. It’s a short one, but because it just didn’t flow well for me I found myself taking breaks from it. I will give the author another try in the future though. Thanks to Unbound for my eARC.

Oh this was such a strange book!! It felt a little anime in it's presentation. It had that comic book style of language, and the descriptions also felt that way. There are two entwining stories, the first I gelled more with Noah gets a job at a weird back street publisher with some strange fellow coworkers.

Malachia's story was more difficult to follow and had me rubbing my eyes quite a bit. I wasn't a fan of the footnotes as when reading on a kindle you usually have to turn the page to read the footnote and by the time you get to them you've forgotten what the footnote was for.

Unfortunately didn’t like this book. It was trying too hard to be weird and different but it missed the mark and just didn’t make much sense. I DNF at 25%

I went in to this one with such high hopes. I love a weird little book and love to spend time trying to work out what is going on, but this one seemed to just be weird for the sake of being weird.

The stories were very disjointed. I could follow Noah’s story and I could understand where the author was trying to go with it, but Malachia’s story just seemed all over the place.

The repetitive words on multiple pages was overkill and the pages and pages of nonsensical adverts was just too much.

Such a shame this just didn’t work for me .

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall rating : 2*
Writing skill : 2*
Noah's story: 3*
Malachia's story: 1*


I normally like a 'weird' book, ones that are completely out of the norm, but this just felt like it was being strange for the sake of it.
Noah's story was intriguing and I could follow it and appreciate what the author was trying to do.
Malachia's story however was just too confusing, I had to re-read some sentences many times and still couldn't process what they meant. There were about 10 pages with one word repeated over the whole page, and I just felt it was unnecessary.
I felt like we didn't need the stories to alternate each chapter, they could have been written as two separate short stories, one after the other. with a combined chapter at the end?! I don't know, maybe I just missed the point.
Disappointed I dint click with this book, as I really wanted to, but it wasn't for me.

the premise of this sounded like something that was going to become a new favourite but there was just something about it that didn’t hit right for me.

i LOVE a weird book but this felt like it was trying to be strange and different just for the sake of it, and it didn’t actually add anything to what was going on. the writing style was just not for me and i am so sad about that.

*Hot Singles in Your Area* is a unique blend of horror and comedy that dives into bizarre realms filled with tentacle plant ladies, demons, and alternate worlds. Jordan Shiveley crafts a narrative that is both satirical and adventurous, delivering an experience that is as puzzling as it is entertaining.

The story is told from two distinct perspectives: one character navigates our mundane world, while the other explores a fantastical city shrouded in eccentricity and mystery. The protagonist seeking a job that doesn't involve cleaning up blood and urine finds himself in an absurd advertising role, while his counterpart grapples with an unsettling loneliness in her magical yet deserted surroundings. The collision of these arcs creates a narrative that is occasionally goopy and filled with dark humor.

While Noah's journey is accessible and relatable—especially for anyone who's endured a desperate job search—Malachia's storyline can be a challenging read. Some reviewers noted that the complexity of her world can be overwhelming, requiring multiple readings of certain passages to grasp their meanings fully. The use of repetition, particularly with sections featuring just one word, struck some readers as unnecessary, detracting from the overall flow.

The alternating chapter format has sparked debate, with some feeling that the stories could have been more effective as standalone pieces. Others appreciated the blend of perspectives, suggesting it enriches the experience. However, a common sentiment is that the conclusion feels abrupt, leaving readers craving more detail about the characters’ fates and adventures.

Visually, the book's unconventional format includes advertising sections and chapters that envelop the narrative in darkness, adding to its abstract feel. For those who enjoy experimental storytelling and body horror woven into a satire of capitalism and bureaucracy, this book will likely resonate.

Ultimately, *Hot Singles in Your Area* presents a distinctive reading experience that caters to a specific taste. While some may find its quirks delightful, others might feel it's strange for the sake of strangeness. If you're open to abstract formatting and enjoy diving into bizarre worlds, this book is worth a read, though be prepared for its challenging yet intriguing journey.

this sounded like something i would love based on the synopsis but i really did NOT click with this writing style. it goes for a silly comedic tone and the sense of humour was a bit cringe for my taste. glad I gave this a try but i quickly realized i wasn’t the right audience for this.

This could have been so good. The ideas were good, there was some good imagery, the atmosphere was unnerving and bizarre, but the execution just didn’t work.

It felt as though the author was trying too hard to make things weird, and forcing too many elements into the book that just detracted from the story.

I did like both Noah and Malachia’s storylines, but neither felt well developed and when they came together it just didn’t work for me. The ending petered out and resolved nothing. Sometimes I like that in an ending, but this was just frustrating and seemed like the author didn’t really know how to end it.

The footnotes were distracting and not particularly relevant, funny or informative. Again, the author seemed to be trying too hard to enforce a mythology that wasn’t developed enough to be meaningful.

The newspaper sections were a nice addition although their placement was strange (mid-chapter and sometimes mid-sentence). This may have been down to it being an electronic advance copy and formatting issues. I would say that even if the placement is correct in the advance copy I read, these articles would probably work better in the physical book than ebook format.
The articles/adverts told their own stories, with little glimpses of bizarre horrors, which was pretty cool.

I wanted to like this so much more…
(I do, however, love the cover art.)

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an advance copy to read and review.

This book sounded amazing! But unfortunately it fell short for me. I’m not sure if it was a combination of the formatting on the kindle plus the writing style, but it was pretty rough to get through and it didn’t make a lot of sense at times. I am going to give it another try on the actual print because I think it will make more sense with the real formatting that was meant to be!

As a fan of the author's eldritch dating satire Twitter account "dread singles," I was excited to dive into "Hot Singles in Your Area." The book follows Noah, who takes a mysterious job at a newspaper, and Malachia, wandering a bizarre, bone-filled city. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm quickly turned to frustration. The narrative is fragmented and often incomprehensible and experimental elements like footnotes and repetitive text feel gimmicky rather than meaningful. The book's attempts at weirdness and horror come across as forced, and I found myself struggling to finish what turned out to be a disappointingly unreadable novel, despite its promising premise and my initial excitement.

SO FUN and unique and weird and a bit scary - honesty would recommend to anyone who might like to read something unusual and brand new for the genre.