this was fun, but fell flat for me on a LOT of the things that i expected out of a "cozy queer horror". the pacing is funky and that made the characters hard to buy into and root for. the little town with the eldritch creatures was fun, i just wish there was more.

This was such a fun read, truely creepy and unsettling at points yet somehow retained a completely cosy vibe throughout. I really loved the blend of horror, fantasy and fun.
I will be recommending this to friends.

A force to be reckoned with, Tanya Huff has been writing books for nearly forty years. I grew up among her worlds, inhaling words and dreaming of places that would welcome me one day. I still have tattered copies of No Quarter (1996) and Summon the Keeper (1998) on my bookshelves. So, it’s not much of a surprise that when I heard she had a new book coming out, I added it to my TBR immediately.

Direct Descendant catapults readers into the story, beginning with a startling scene and working its way backwards to the cozy concept: Cassie is a baker coasting by, content to live an effortless life in the small Canadian town of Lake Argen. It’s utterly idyllic except for (or because of) the townsfolk’s bargain with the Dark, an evil otherworldly entity that keeps the insular town thriving outside of interference, the kind of place outsiders forget as soon as they leave, where children roam around skewering shadows with silver stakes, one that houses Alice, the town’s resident tentacled lake monster.

Everything hums along just fine until one outsider disappears in a horrible way. Even then, the Dark has given Cassie the ability to speak commands that others obey. She tells the authorities not to investigate any further, and that’s that. That is, until the boy’s wealthy relative sends Melanie, an out-of-work English teacher, to investigate. Melanie is gorgeous and intelligent, and of course she wins over the hellhounds. And Cassie.

Some readers have taken issue with the immediacy of the physical attraction between Cassie and Melanie. One particularly pointed critique has been that one of the first things Cassie notices about Melanie is her curves—her breasts and her ass, to be exact. If that’s something that won’t work for you, please take note. Personally, I appreciated the balance struck by the lines directly afterwards: “Her elbows had dimples. I couldn’t see them, I was too far away, but I knew they were there the same way I knew that someday we’d argue over the remote and that she’d tuck cold toes under my legs while we cuddled on the couch.”

The reader may have to suspend their disbelief at how quickly Cassie and Melanie fall for one another… but I was pretty sure I was going to marry my partner after one date, so my high ground here is distressingly underwater. One of my few real gripes was that occasionally I felt like I needed a directory for the townspeople. Oh, and there are spots of occasional unexamined misogyny (not cool, Cassie!), but since she has a growth arc, I’m settled on that point.

Direct Descendant charmed me. The Dark is hilarious and sweetly awkward, (“HAVE THE TWO OF YOU SHARED THE VIVISECTION OF AN ELDRITCH CREATURE BY THE DARK OF THE MOON?”) and I wish readers had gotten to hear more from it. The book will resonate with readers that appreciate humor in the style of Welcome to Night Vale.

Overall, Direct Descendant was a solid read, one that I would recommend for a rainy day with a cup of tea and an oversized blanket. Sure, it could have gone deeper and explored more of the concepts—and I absolutely wanted to hear more from the Dark—but nonetheless, it was built on a fascinating premise and contained an engaging town I wanted to take a stroll through. It read like cozy, enjoyable fluff—like a Tumblr post, and I mean that in the best possible way.

Direct Descendant was a fun idea and had some cool moments, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I liked the cozy horror vibe and the small-town weirdness, and the main characters had potential, but the story felt a little scattered. I kept waiting for it to dig deeper or really hook me, and it just never got there. Not a bad read, just one that left me wanting a bit more. Solid 3 stars.

I absolutely loved this book. It was everything I'd want in a cozy horror novel. You can really tell that the author wanted to tell a story that they love.

CW: Mind Control; Body Horror (Mild); Blood; Eldritch Horror (Mild); Gunshot Wound

I have never read a book labeled as “cozy horror” before, but I like the vibe. That said, a few aspects of the book didn’t work for me. First, I felt like I was reading two different stories knit together. Everything in Cassie’s narrative, with her responsibility as The Voice of the Dark and citizen of the town, was cute, and the investigation of the weakening of The Agreement was interesting. Melanie, an English teacher turned investigator (which is weird in itself, but I rolled with it), likewise has an interesting story of being placed in this oddly well-provided for space in search of a disappearing man. These two stories just didn’t mesh well together, in my opinion.

Relatedly, I found the romance weak and not beneficial to the story. I’m never a fan of love-at-first-sight, and in this case I felt it didn’t benefit the narrative either. Both Cassie and Melanie are fine as characters, and even them sparking and growing a romance would have been fine – but given their different upbringings and motivations, it just felt weird for both of them to go goo-goo so quickly. Others may disagree, of course.

Finally, this was big on cozy and light on horror. Cassie some strain from acting as a conduit, but everything of the Eldritch horror variety is introduced as cute and familiar. Melanie doesn’t react to anything “weird” in the town until she meets one monster and then instantly flees. There’s no building of tension or growing creep factor. I’d have preferred just a bit more spookiness and people reacting to it.

Classed as a ‘cosy horror’, this book feels more like a romcom set in the town of Night Vale, but without quite capturing the vibes of either.

Main characters Cassie and Melanie have an insta-love but no real chemistry between them and most of the characters had the same narrative ‘voice’, which made their banter feel too samey and also made it hard to keep track of who’s who with the multitudes of bit-players involved.

There is mild humour in the low-stakes, everyday horror of routine sacrifices and possessions, and children hunting shadows like Scouts chasing badges, but there is no real mystery in the plot and only a smidge of action at the very end.

I felt like I was picking up the story midway through a lengthy series, where all the characters and setting are already fully established – it constantly felt like I was missing something that would make the whole thing ‘click’.

With all of that, this wasn’t a bad read, it just clearly wasn’t one for me, which is a shame because the concept and ideas really are right up my street, so I really wanted to love it.

I love Tanya Huff’s novel and this stand alone novel made me thing of a beloved series like The Keepers
Well plotted, gripping, intriguing characters and world building
I hope this stand alone could be the start of a new series
Well done
Many thanks to the publisher, all opinions are mine

Delightfully blasé about the eldritch horrors next door, cozy, humourful. Somewhat confused in its pacing, though that tends to play into the comedy factory of casually dropping gaggles of tweens with sharp implements onto the unwitting hordes writhing forth out of the Dungeon Dimensions.

A breezy, cozy fantasy about people living in a small town north of Timmins, ON, that has a literal dark past and an interesting relationship with it.

In the same vein and tone as author Tanya Huff's much earlier series “Keeper's Chronicles”, which I enjoyed a lot, this novel is set in Lake Arjen, a small town with a lake by the same name. It has great WiFi and mobile service, plenty of good doctors, teachers and others, which, if you've ever lived in northern Ontario, these facts alone immediately stand out as very unusual…

Lake Arjen's population leads comfortable, satisfying lives alongside tentacled being Alice living in the lake, lethal shadows, and a team of four individuals who monitor the safety and health of the town, and are responsible for ensuring that nothing imperils the town's 200-years ago agreement with a Dark being from Below. These four are known as the Ears, the Voice, the Eyes and the Hands, and as their titles imply, they are the means for the Dark to interpret the happenings in the town.

No one outside of Lake Arjen knows of this agreement, or the other perks, and dangers, of living there. People within are content, and one such is Cassie Pruitt, who was chosen as the new Mouth of the Dark relatively recently. Her role is to speak for the Dark when it is consulted.

One morning, she discovers a recently arrived in town stranger, Travis, conducting some sort of ritual with a powerful knife. He's dragged into the Below, much to Cassie's dismay. Quickly notifying the others (Ears, etc.) and taking the knife, the team knows it have to figure out quickly what the man was up to and avert the danger of a destabilized Below.

Meanwhile, recently out of work high school teacher Melanie returns to Toronto, where Travis' wealthy grandmother hires Melanie to travel to Lake Arjen to find out what happened to Travis, and bring back a knife. Melanie travels to lake Arjen, and begins talking to townspeople, who give her a story, which, of course, is not the real story. Melanie and Cassie meet, and of course they fall in love, while Cassie dances around the truth of the town and Travis' last moments before his disappearance.

At the same time, things seem to be spinning gradually out of control, when a messenger from Below appears (and is totally adorable).

This book is a mix of cozy, a little silliness, a tiny bit of scariness, some social commentary, and a lot of humour. The tone is light and the story moves well. I liked the different characters, and Cassie is a fun protagonist, as is Melanie. I did find that in the first few chapters I kept confusing the two women (despite the chapter headings) but this quickly resolved and I ended up enjoying this story quite a lot.

Thank you to Netgalley and to DAW for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Generations ago the founders of Lake Argen made a deal with a creature of darkness for their town to be prosperous and to keep outsiders out. Until one day a stranger comes to town and disappears. His rich grandmother will stop at nothing for answers and sends Melanie to find out what really happened. Cassidy Prewitt, a part time baker and vessel of the Dark, has to find a way to deal with the stranger’s disappearance and the ripples it has caused within the darkness. And on top of that she finds herself drawn to Melanie, but they might have to stop the apocalypse first.

I wasn’t sure this book would be for me as I tend to not do horror, but with it being described as a cozy horror I figured why not. Other than some eldritch creatures, I’m not sure I’d really call this a horror. Definitely got all the cozy vibes though. Although I found myself a little overwhelmed right from the start. There were so many characters introduced as well as the background and just jumping right into the story. And I won’t lie, my brain took awhile to sort it all out so I could just enjoy the story. I didn’t find the story bad but it probably wasn’t one of my favorites I’ve read so far this year. It was ok though.

Rating 3 stars
*I received a review copy from NetGalley for my voluntary and honest review

Hilarious, heartfelt, and at times horrifying! I found myself completely rapt by the town of Lake Argen. From the history of the town, to its inhabitants (new and old), I wish I could visit it on a road trip! Then again, I wish I could go on a road trip, pass through the town, and never think of it again. Wait... what book are we talking about again?

This was a cozy horror/fantasy book and I enjoyed it. Cassidy is trying to find her footing protecting the Dark Force in her small town. As part of the next generation of protectors she is under incredible pressure to ace her job. When an outsider goes missing and his wealthy family send an investigator sparks start flying. I enjoyed being dropped into this small town and look forward to any other books in this town.

This book is about a small Canadian town filled with secrets. It's a combination of a lot of different genres, from cozy romance, cosmic horror, and rural fantasy, it's got a bit of everything, and while there are many better books in those individual genres/subgenres, there's not many better options if you're looking for a book that's basically cozy rural romantasy with a hint of cosmic horror in the background. With this book, the highs are really high and the lows are really low, there's not much in between. The cozy part is really well done, the atmospheric nature of the setting works really well for the book, but the romance isn't the most compelling, at least at the beginning. Similarly, while the weird wackiness of the rural fantasy setting will feel familiar in a good way for fans of stories like "Welcome to Night Vale", but when the book tries to be more plot=heavy, it just didn't work as well, the narrative just doesn't flow well. Overall, it's it tries to do a lot of things, and it just doesn't succeed in many of those, even if the end product is still more than the sum of its parts...

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

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