I really enjoyed this book, i was hooked from first chapter. It was fascinating to learn about the magic system and the paintings. I wish we explored more paintings in more details but then the time in the book was well used so i dont mind this much. Using art to talk about grief was close to me and the way it approached racism and colonialism since they work for the British Museum was subtle. Lewis and Noah were really endearing to follow their relationship. I'll red more of this author definitely!

The Pros:

Jackson is EXCELLENT at coming up with incredibly interesting plot lines. I am HOOKED from the beginning on just the premise alone. I was immediately drawn to two of his former books, YESTERDAY IS HISTORY and THE FOREST DEMANDS ITS DUE on the premise alone. Jackson also doesn't shy away from using horror to its full advantage. In THE MACABRE, when things get back they get bad fast and hard and Lewis finds himself unable to pick another way out other than through. Taking your main characters hand at 30% o the way through the book sure are stakes!

The Cons:
Simultaneously TOO MUCH happened and NOT ENOUGH happened in this book. As in, there were too many concurrent plots and ideas and the book wasn't long enough to flesh them all out to their potential. There was way, way, way too much telling in the narrative, especially when it came to Lewis inferring other peoples thoughts and feelings. There was so little ambiguity in how Lewis was interacting with other people it left so little room for conflict.

Jackson's books all need to be at least 10k more words, I think, to get the full potential of the scope of his worlds and ease out of this telling narrative.

Over all:
I have soooo much love for Kosoko Jackson and always want to enjoy his books more than I actually do. I think he has a lot of fun ideas and the desire to follow them through. I'm not sure what exactly is holding him back but I will be continuing to pick up every book he writes to see if he gets there.

This book had such an exciting premise that I couldn’t wait to dive in—cursed paintings? Say no more. I was hooked. My favorite part was learning about the paintings, and I only wish we had explored all of them in even more depth. The magic system, however, felt a bit overwhelming. A lot of information was thrown at both the main character and the reader in a short span, and while he seemed to grasp it quickly, I struggled to keep up. That said, the story delivered some truly shocking moments—I gasped out loud multiple times! Overall, while it didn’t fully click for me, it was still an intriguing read. I’d give it a solid 3.5 stars.

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I am absolutely mesmerized by Kosoko Jackson's creative writing. Original and enthralling and in the lines of Get Out and Blink Twice. This book had me reading non-stop. Sometimes human nature can be a terrifying thing. If you love Nat Cassidy's work, follow up with The Macabre.

I'll be honest, this book just couldn't hold my attention. I kept picking it up and putting it back down, hoping that at some point it would get more interesting, but it just didn't do it for me. Everything felt very... flat, and I wish there had been more show and less "this is what happened, how, and why and there is no room for argument."

I was lucky enough to receive an e-ARC from Netgalley (thank you thank you!!), but unfortunately, this one just fell flat for me. 🥲 I genuinely was so intrigued by it and wanted it to be good so bad. The description of the book sadly did more for me than the actual contents within. Not awful, but just not for me I don’t think. Solid 2.3-5/5 (rounded down). 🖤

Unfortunately, I had to DNF The Macabre at 20%. I was very excited to pick this one up. The cover, concept, and title are all very daring and unique. The writing style, characterizations, and lack of information were among the reasons I had to (reluctantly) give up on it.

The reader doesn’t get many opportunities to come to their own conclusions, everything is just told instead of shown. The characters did not have much depth; almost as if they were created to serve their singular purpose and nothing else. They were one dimensional rather than being well rounded and resembling a normal, complicated human personality. Throughout the 20% of the novel I read, the reader is given no background to the characters. It’s hard to have empathy or interest in characters whom you don’t know anything about.

The magical paintings were very intriguing but the system isn’t explained well or fully. The reader is left with a lot of “whys”. Why is this occurring? Why is this a thing? So on and so forth.

Ultimately, I feel like I’ve been left with a serious itch I want to scratch! The concept was so neat but the execution was a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The concept of this book instantly intrigued me, and I did end up enjoying it overall. I really enjoyed the horror elements, and there was an unsettling feeling present throughout the book. The way Lewis interacted with the uncanny paintings was interesting to read about, and I enjoyed how the story took me all around the world.

I thought that Lewis was a relatable main character as he doesn't always make the best decisions but he had the right intentions. I also liked Noah as a side character.

I never quite felt fully immersed in the book, but there was an unexpected series of events that occurred before the halfway mark that truly shocked me and made me want to keep reading. Throughout the rest of the book there were parts that I felt wrapped up too quickly without much time to understand the characters involved and their motives.

Overall, The Macabre is an eerie read combined with art and some geopolitics. I am definitely going to keep an eye out for what Kosoko Jackson writes in the future!

thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for this book!

I really wanted to enjoy this since the idea of paintings coming back to life sounded really interesting and disturbing.

unfortunately, I kept waiting chapter after chapter for some kind of good twist in the story, but this never came. instead, I found myself waiting for some chapters to be done.

the beginning and the end were exquisite, so I can tell you that this were the really big moments of the story, where things HAPPEN, but I felt like the middle was a bunch of fights between our protagonists and they constant doubts of what they were doing :(

anyways, I recommend that you read it so you can have your own opinion. who knows, you may love it!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a very interesting concept. I love the way the artwork was deceived and have to give the author props for such a unique and intriguing idea.

The beginning of this book sucked me in, but sadly it did not continue that way. In a sense, I think the premise bit off more than it could chew. World building with the addition of modern geopolitics is hard to do in a stand alone novel.

In addition, I wish there were more descriptors of the characters. For a book that is focused on art, I have no idea what the characters look like outside of race and gender and I sadly found that there is not a lot of depth to the side characters.

This was an intriguing book that fell short to me, but will definitely have its audience.

I loved Kosoko Jackson’s “A Dash of Salt and Pepper” and I was very excited to see him step into a gay horror fantasy novel! I think the concept of this story was utterly unique and well executed. I hope to see Jackson keep exploring more genres and I would highly recommend this novel.

This was a really enjoyable read. I found the aspects of magic and going in and out of paintings to be really intriguing and it kept me reading.

*E-ARC provided from Harper Voyager through NetGalley*

This was an enjoyable read. I enjoyed the gothic horror feel to the story, and the characters were all so very interesting. This is a slow-paced story, and at times felt more like a ‘mood read’ however, I rather enjoyed that aspect. The middle of the story was packed with suspense, and then towards the end it fell a little flat/left much to be desired. In conclusion, this was a good read.

I do not usually read horror books, but I felt like this was a perfect introduction to the genre. I enjoyed following Lewis' journey of having to go in to these paintings to defeat the curse attached to them. The description of the paintings and getting to go in to them to see the mindset of the artist was really interesting to me. I also really enjoyed the romance storyline that was sprinkled in with the story as well!

this is my third kosoko jackson book. and no matter how familiar with his writing you are, i can assure you this is different, and i mean that as the greatest compliment.
...
before going in, i didn’t really check what the book was about. i love getting surprised by the twists and just vibe until the reveals take place. this delivered exactly it. the only thing i did do was being wary of every character just in case, mostly because this isn’t my first rodeo and i have trust issues.
i loved getting submerged in this world and, as per usual, jackson manages to write a powerful main character, and main cast, really.
seeing everyone’s motivations and what they were willing to do to achieve their goals was compelling in ways i don’t have the words to describe.
i personally resonated with noah a lot. and i think the romance SUB-plot was really well done. i was rooting for them, of course, but it didn't distract me from the main plot, which was great.
if you're looking for some twisty, bit gorey book with a tad of romance, this is definitely the book for you.

Kosoko Jackson’s *The Macabre* is a wild ride through art, horror, and magic that feels like *The Picture of Dorian Gray* got lost in a haunted museum heist. Lewis Dixon, a broke painter, gets roped into a British Museum gig that’s less “curated show” and more “destroy your great-granddad’s cursed paintings before they destroy you.” The vibe’s gothic and globe-trotting, with prose that’s lush yet punchy—think dark alleys and dripping canvases. Lewis is a mess I rooted for, but the side characters could’ve used more meat. It’s chaotic, bloody fun, though the ending stumbles a bit trying to tie up all the nightmares. 4 stars—perfect if you dig creepy art vibes with a side of adventure.

This book was pretty good. I enjoyed the characters and the overall premise, what I didn’t enjoy is the magic. The explanations of magic and its place in the world are not the most informative and I wish it was. I would give it 3.5 stars but I’m rounding it up to 4.

This was an E-ARC from Net Galley! I was excited to read this, since the plot sounded interesting and I’ve never read a horror book before. The beginning was slow, and other parts of the book were told and not described. I liked the middle part when they described each of the paintings, but outside of that, it was slow. It wasn’t as scary as I was expecting it to be, but I did like the ending. I don’t know why this took me over a month to read. It was decent but I kept putting it down to read other books within the last month.

This book is true art. Kosoko Jackson’s blending of our reality with the one of their creation is absolutely magical.

One would think that with all this book has going on, it would be overly complicated and busy, but I find it to be done beautifully and interestingly. The plot holds your attention while being unique and enthralling.

I never knew which direction this book was going. It took me on an adventure, and in the best way possible. Like the topic of this book itself, it is also a piece of art. The storytelling is masterfully done. I’ve never read a better-written book with such a dynamic plot.

If you read one book this year, I’d recommend The Macabre. I can’t describe how well done this book is. Words don’t do it justice, as I’ll never have words as great as those of the author. Kosoko Jackson is truly an artist of storytelling.

Magicians, Immortals, artistry, & DARKNESS.

A horror novel where paintings are the center. Lewis a starving artist, has been asked to be a part or an exhibition in London at the British Museum . But when he arrives he learns the truth of why he was selected.

I really enjoyed this book. The author did a masterful job detailing the artistic aspects. It was easy for me to imagine the paintings, and therefore no challenge to feel the darkness in them. I loved the slight romance and the way it was tied into the characters choices. This book kind of gave me adult Deathly Hollows vibes and I loved it!

This was the first book I’ve read by this author and it won’t be my last.