This is a wonderful book and a good place to start reading Tanya Huff if you have missed her work so far. It's a stand-alone novel about a small town in Ontario which has an "Agreement" with a powerful entity known as the Dark, which results in the town being (sort of) a Utopian space. Great characters, great worldbuilding, and a great romance subplot. Five stars!

For a town that has made an agreement with the Dark, this story did end up being quite a cozy fun read. All is well in the town of Lake Argen, with the townsfolk going about their daily lives and occasionally skewering shadows that might kill you if you leave your window open at night or being chosen as a guardian or one of the representatives (ex. the Mouth, or Hands of the Dark) until the day that a visitor arrives and decides to s word himself causing no end of new issues. Enter Melanie, hired to see what the heck is going on in this town and Cassidy, the Mouth of the Dark trying to keep the peace and keep the town from ruin.

I thought it was nicely cozy, humorous and sweet, even with the hell hounds, occasional little cute eldritch horrors escaping through a crack to to the town and teens skewering shadows with marshmallow sticks. It was kind of funny how many odd things seemed so normal for this town like vegan guardian Jeffrey, or Alice or having town meetings with the representatives and speaking to the dark through them. There is also love, and I like that because of it, the town has a chance of being saved and going back to normal (or as normal as a town that that has an agreement with eldritch beings in exchange for safety and prosperity, though you still shouldn't swim past those buoys on the lake!).

If you are looking at the reviews of this book and are seeing this one, you have more than likely noticed how TRULY divided the reviews are, five star reviews followed immediately by one star reviews. My feelings on the book were not nearly as strong as some, but I did feel a bit less in love with this book than I was expecting to, which is well and truly a shame.

This book had all the ingredients I usually love—queer romance, small-town secrets, eldritch horror, and a bit of cozy charm—but somehow the final result didn’t fully come together for me. The setup was great, and I looooooved the setting. But the tone never quite landed—leaning a bit too hard into quirky banter and then kind of skimming past real suspense.

Still, if this feels to you, like it did to me, like a kind of book that would be right up your alley, then I would encourage you to go ahead and give it a chance. It just might work for you!

I cut my teeth on Tanya Huff fantasy books, and I was thrilled to see a new release from her even if it's not her usual speed.

Cozy fantasy is hit or miss for me, and I wasn't sure what to expect with this one as I'm used to going on a journey with a Huff book. But be still my little heart because I adored so much about this book from the cute Sapphic love story (of course, it's Tanya Huff... one thing you're gonna do is fall in love with some Lantana lesbians) to the snarky, hilarious banter.

Is it predictable? Sure, but isn't that part of what you expect with a cozy fantasy?

This book was a fun mix of cozy, creepy, and queer—with a writing style that’s witty, snarky, and super easy to get into. I had a good time reading it and found myself laughing out loud more than once!

That said, the plot didn’t fully work for me. It felt a bit too predictable, with low stakes and a mystery that wrapped itself up too easily. The romance was sweet, but leaned heavily into insta-love, which left little room for the relationship to grow.

Still, if you’re in the mood for a light sapphic story with eldritch vibes, charming banter, and a touch of small-town weirdness, this might be your jam. It didn’t blow me away, but it definitely had its moments—and sometimes, that’s all you need.

3/5 stars

This book has now made me ravenous for cozy horror as a genre. As someone who came into adulthood listening to the "Welcome to Night Vale" podcast, the idea of not-exactly-horrifying horror has stayed in the back of my mind for the last decade, and Huff's take on a town steeped in its very own (mostly benevolent) eldritch pact was a very welcome addition to that classification. The main romance was so sweet when it wasn't heartbreaking, the background characters were an absolute riot, and the bored discussion of horrific occurrences beyond human comprehension made me giggle every time.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy of eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a surprisingly delightful cozy horror story. The worldbuilding is amazing and I really enjoy getting to know the characters and their journey. This definitely puts Tanya Huff onto my auto-buy list.

Review is availabale on SFRevu.com in the April 2025 issue and is exclusive to them until May 1st, 2025.

Cozy romantic horror is not a combo I would have come up with, but this is a fantastic book. The town of Argen Lake thrives due to an old bargain with some sort of entity they call the Dark. Occasional sacrifices and worship keep it sated and protecting this weird little corner of Canada. Cassie's family has been there since the start, and recently she became the Mouth of the Dark, able to communicate its will to the people. This is a fairly important job. So when she witnesses a bizarre sacrifice from an outsider and things start to go wrong in town, she knows this is a problem she has to be involved in. Another problem is Melanie, an out of work English teacher who has been hired to play private detective by the sacrifice's grieving grandmother. Cassie and Melanie hit it off nearly immediately, but can their relationship survive the lies and secrets? Can the whole town survive the bargain crumbling?
This was cute. I really liked the setting. Was this the most substantial novel? No, but like cotton candy, it sure was sweet.

Tanya Huff's fantasies are always enjoyable. I loved her mystery series Blood Ties about a human detective losing her eyesight and a vampire who assists her; the TV show was also lots of fun. I also enjoyed her Gales and Keeper Chronicles fantasy series. This sweet stand alone novel keeps with Huff's ability to combine interesting likeable characters with humor along with some dark fantasy elements.

Direct Descendant is a sweet lesbian romance story about Cassidy Prewitt, a baker, living in a town out of a Lovecraft story where eldritch horrors are ugly cute and children learn to hunt shadows with marshmallow skewers. The basic idea is what if your ancestors made a dark pact, but you just want to sleep in late and not use your power to control the world. When a beautiful women comes to investigate a mysterious disappearance though it will set things in motion that will require Cassidy to find her own inner strength. This is a page turner, a perfect read if you need cheering after the cold, dark winter months. I didn't want to put it down as I read it over a long weekend.

DNF at 30%

I really try not to DNF ARCs, but holy cow I had no idea what was going on. I think I read the first chapter like 4 times and then I just went ahead and moved on. Comprehension did NOT get any better. I hated how the book was written and it was impossible to get a handle on the story. The story jumped in so fast that there was no context as to who the characters were or what the plot was actually going for. The only thing that made me keep reading is the gorgeous cover. I desperately wanted to love it so I could buy a copy. Unfortunately it was not to be.

This book is so fantastic. Zany and bizarre mixed with mundane in such a way that you absolutely want to live in this world. Light on horror, more horror-adjacent, so anyone usually spooked by full-on horror should be able to enjoy. Basically Welcome to Night Vale, but make it Canadian.

This was an entertaining dual POV, Sapphic paranormal romance set in Toronto and Northern Ontario and I love, LOVED just how Canadian this book was!!! At times a bit bonkers with lake monsters and magical beings out for revenge but at the core there's a great found family vibe, lots of positive queer rep and fun small town diner and library locations. Great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Loghan Paylor or Heather Fawcett. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. This was my first Tanya Huff book and I can't wait to read more by a new to me Canadian author!

How have I never read Tanya Huff before? I'm a fan now! DIRECT DESCENDANT is one of those breath-of-fresh-air books that is completely revitalizing. It has a little bit of absolutely everything, with some calling it a romantic, cozy horror story. There's no chance of you developing a headache from thinking too hard on this, instead, you'll smile, ponder a bit, and say, "Aw. How cute!" at least once. All that is in a book that has reviewers using the term "eldritch horror" at least once.
The entire cast of characters is a delight. It's not often you read a fun book with diverse, unique, and engaging characters. And many of them are strong, capable women (I'm looking at you, Alice).
Fans of Ms Huff's work will love this addition. If you, like me, are a first-time reader, I think you'll wonder how we've ever gone without.
#NetGalley

Sadly, I did not enjoy this and ended up not finishing it. I was just confused while reading and couldn't get into the story. This wasn't the story for me, but I hope it's a great book for others.

Direct Descendant by Tanya Huff is the first book I have read by this author, and I have mixed feelings about it. The attractive cover art and the premise caught my attention right away. It was a very slow read for me until about two-thirds in. I was somewhat confused about what was happening and, at times, about who was speaking. There were many characters, and it took a while to get them all sorted out. Despite it being slow and unclear at first, I never felt like I wanted to DNF. One of the many things I love about reading is that each book is its own experience. This one, for me, was weird but overall entertaining.
I saw that there were mixed reviews, and I completely get that. It seems like the kind of book you either love or hate depending on personal preferences. Although some readers did not appreciate the writing style and humor, I really enjoyed it. The dialogue and interactions between all the characters were what kept me reading. I found it highly amusing and quirky, and I got a cozy feel from the story. It's not particularly cerebral or profound, but just kind of silly and fun. It's creative. 
The "romance" was more of a subplot. As an instalove, it didn't completely convince me, but I chalked it up to the supernatural element and let it go. There was gay family rep and lesbian main characters and no conflict regarding same-sex relationships.
I am giving this one 3.5 stars.
I don't know if this author has written other sapphic fiction or not. If she has, I would be willing to give those a read.
#Eldritchhorror #cozy #smalltown #instalove #HEA #Canada
I received this free ARC from NetGalley. This is my honest opinion.

I finished this book yesterday and am still not sure I understood everything I read. The first 30%, I was sure this was a sequel to a series I had missed which had been marketed incorrectly - I was THAT confused. However, dare I say my confusion paid off because I really enjoyed reading this book although I caution it is getting plenty of divisive reviews so maybe do some research before you decide to pick it up.

The book centers around a cozy little weird town near Toronto, Lake Argen. I would say think Gilmore Girls meets The Twilight Zone meets SyFy's Haven. Man, I miss Haven. This town has a very small population and owes its economic success to a silver mine and a deal made with the devil. The town's safety and protection from outsiders is governed by The Four, who are the Eyes. Ears, Mouth and Hands of the town. They are able to predict issues with The Agreement and intervene in issues and eldritch horrors which enter through cracks in the surface and in one instance, a basement. The town also has Guardians (eldritch horrors who were once people) who live in the woods or in Alice's case, the lake. In fact, Alice is the all-knowing person and will answer questions when a sacrifice of some sort is made.

So, an outsider shows up in town and s-words himself (seriously, the number of times I read s-word instead of sacrificing was immense) and the town fears the Agreement is growing weak. His disappearance is covered up but then his aunt hires an unemployed teacher, yes, a teacher, to go investigate her nephew's last days. Melanie arrives in town and immediately feels an attraction for Cassie, who has newly been appointed as The Mouth.

I'm explaining this book very badly but honestly, I can't figure out a better way. I've read some of Huff's works before and enjoyed them, and I really did enjoy this one as well, even though as you can see, I apparently remain pretty confused. It does have some fun characters and some really cute creatures (Jeffrey and T'geyer) and while it says it's a stand-alone, the ending does provide a potential for a future installment. I would categorize this as cozy fantasy with a few horror-like elements but if that sound like something you would like, by all means, give it a go!

Oh, and I almost forgot. I don't typically listen to audiobooks but if you do, this one may not be a good candidate. There are MANY random capitalizations in the book which actually make more sense the more you read, and I feel that an audiobook might even be more confusing.

I wanted to like this but I had a hard trying to get into this story. I think I decided that it wasn’t for me and that’s alright.

In the small Canadian town of Lake Argen, the inhabitants live a life of comfort and prosperity due to a pact made with 'the Dark' by their ancestors hundreds of years ago. Cassie Prewit is one the current 4 conduits of the 'Dark' (in addition to being one of the town's bakers) and happens to be the last person to see a rich outsider go missing. When a PI is hired to find this outside and comes looking for answers, Cassie has to help hide the town's secret while fighting an attraction to the very pretty PI.....

If you want cozy horror, 'Direct Descendant' delivers in spades. Its definitely the epitome of minimal plot, just vibes and you know what, I'm not mad about it. Huff manages to capture the idiosyncrasies of living in a small town in a very humorous manner. The 'Four' not only deal with the existential threats to the town but also the most mundane of tasks that the dichotomy is just hilarious. (Did an Eldritch Horror just crawl out of a crack in the universe? Guess its the new town pet! )

I adored the cast of characters who are definitely all small town archetypes but made unique by the premise. Cassie was a great main character. I found it hilarious that she treated being the conduit of an unknowable dark force as an annoying part time job. I just feel that is so on point for someone at that age. Our other POV character, Melanie, does act somewhat as the audience surrogate but also manages to be the one person to figure out how to beat the big bad in the end despite being the newcomer. Again, hilarious. Was the relationship between Cassie and Melanie insta-love? Yes, but it works.

What I seriously appreciated is that this book did not hold your hand in terms of explaining the lore and mechanics of Lake Argen. There are very few exposition dumps and the reader has to figure everything out via context clues. Hats off to Tanya Huff for trusting her readers.

My only quibbles are that I wish that the town and plot were just a bit more fleshed out. I also would have liked more substance to our antagonists as they are off page for the majority of the book.

Other than that, an absolutely delightful cozy horror book!

Reviews going live on Goodreads, Fable, Storygraph, Tiktok and Amazon on 4/5.

This was a good cozy horror in the sense that nothing was truly scary, but more horrific and dealing with eldritch entities. The overall setting was cozy, but the vibes were a lot more tense than cozy. I found the humor to land well for my sense of humor and had me laughing at times. I loved that the characters were mostly older, at least in their mid-twenties or later, some much later, and I found some situational things very easy to relate with.

“She really loved the library.”
“A love that transcended death?”

“Then why ramp up the worry if we can’t do anything?”
“Because that’s what adults do, Cassie; we worry about things we can’t affect.”

The romance between Cassie and Melanie was well-written, but as in all stories I was not a fan of the instant love/attraction between them. That trope just never works for me, personally, though I know many of you will actually really love that. T’geyer as an eldritch animal companion was cute and I enjoyed the creativity put into the weirdness of the deal with the Dark.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to @dawbooks and @netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.