This book was so much fun! Meuret did a wonderful job of toeing the line of making the reader love/hate Josie, the main character. Josie was real enough that you had to hate her a little bit but relate to her as well. It was a weird, fun ride. I adored Po's addition to the story. This book was so weird I had no idea what was going to happen next. This book left just enough mystery so that the story was easily followable while still being confusing. I enjoyed reading this a lot!

Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review.
What a delightfully strange tale, very engaging.

An interesting concept to a story with a strange story. It was a tantalising read that was throughly enjoyable!

Unfortunately, the writing did not quite align with my taste and I felt as if the story dragged on for way too long. There's no way to sugarcoat this, but there were times when I could not help but roll my eyes. I was actually bored most of the time plus the protagonist was annoying and unbearable to read about. I find the plot too scattered. I can see why someone else would enjoy this, but it's just not for me.

This novel was unique, which added to the enjoyment as the tale proceeded since you never knew what was going to happen next. The main character makes you care about her and keeps you committed until the conclusion. This is a fantastic novel for the big screen. I'm hoping it gets made into a movie someday. 4 stars out of 5

This story centres on Josie (a self-inflicted hermit) and her pet chihuahua Po as she battles the grieve of losing her father which leads her to drinking herself into oblivion each night. That is until vines start to grow in her garden, then magically a skeleton appears too turning Josie's live upside down and forcing her to face her inner demons.

If you like contemporary horror I think you would enjoy this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Black Spot Books for providing this ARC for review.

1.5/5
I have already wasted too much time on this book so I'll try to be brief.
Positives :
+ The cover, it was actually what drew me to the book
+ Po, the MC's doggy. He was the the cutest.
+ Some dialogue bits between Josie and Skelly were amusing

Negatives:
- Everything else.
The MC, Josie, wasn't someone I wanted to read about.
The plot was all over the place. Nothing wasn't happening for the majority of it, and by the end whatever happened didn't make any sense. There was no point in this book. I'm trying to think of a lesson or a message and I see nothing.

tw: alcoholism, death, grief, vomiting


Thank you to Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Little Bird" is very different from what I normally read. I love the strong powerful message of the book regarding change. It is a short book that would be good for all to read, but many may not like or understand it. This is not a traditional horror book, but is atmospheric and has creepy elements. The book is dark, but really well written. It's not for everyone, but I would definitely recommend it to those that are amused by unusual topics. I personally really enjoyed it.

This story is about a middle aged woman named Josie. She has recently divorced and lost her dad who was her world. Since her dad's passing, Josie's alcoholism has escalated. She has a dead end job and feels lost. She loves her adorable little dog named Po. She has a new neighbor named Sue that Josie perceives as a pain. Josie also has a lady skeleton living in her back yard named Skelly. As crazy as this plot sounds it is full of humor and it works!

"Little Bird" will be published June 7, 2022.

Thank you NetGalley and Black Spot Books, for allowing me to review this thought-provoking e-book. It is a great read!

I loved this book, the characters, the story, the cover. This was just a wonderful present all wrapped up in one. Full of dark humor, but deals with heavy subjects.

Little Bird is an excellently weird, eerie book about a sad woman living life like a hermit until a mysterious plant starts to grow in her barren backyard. Then appears a human skeleton, which starts talking to her.

This book was different than what I expected, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

First of all, the cover is to die for. I literally grabbed this book without knowing nothing about the plot. Second, surprisingly I really loved this book. Josie is a flawed character that does not take responsibility of her actions. On the other hand, Skelly is the character we all want as a friend, he's really fond of Josie and understands the situation. This is not a horror book, this is a book about existential crisis, there is some dark themes discussed here. I found Little Bird fascinating and refreshing.

This isn't horror in the traditional sense, but it is filled with existential dread.

Josie is a mess and the only thing she cares about is her dog, Po.. She works from home dealing with angry customers by day and drinking herself into a stupor at night. Then come the vines, a snarky skeleton and a new neighbor that won't leave her alone.

Nice, slow build with a great ending.

„Weird fiction“ is what they promised and it’s what you get with this little book.

The cover was what originally grabbed my attention and then I got curious and read the blurb. When I saw the book was about loss, grieving, addiction and found family, I was in.

The word that best summarizes this story is „strange“. Not at all in a bad way, the book just demands a lot of attention and interpretation as well as an open mind.
I’m sure I missed some of the hidden meanings and messages, because there was a lot going on all while the pacing was still slow and everything took place in one setting and over a very short time span.
For my taste the relationships between the characters didn’t feel quite authentic. Mostly because the side characters seemed to purely be there to help out the main character and her story.
Then again, the story really is about our main character’s internal struggles. So it’s kind of fitting.

If you’re looking for something different, this book might be for you.
The book will be out on 07.06.2022.

Thank you to NetGalley and Black Spot Books for a digital ARC of this book.

A book with a beautiful cover that grabs your attention and curiosity. I admit if I can't read the blurb, I do go by the cover so this one caught my eye and then the blurb had me going in for more.

This isn't an easy story to sit down and read, one that flows and quickly takes up your imagination and time. I found myself often setting it aside for other ARCs that I had to read and then coming back to it, always hoping for the book that would pull me in. A plot about a woman who is haunted by a talking skeleton who turns up in her front yard seems like a storyline that would be interesting, but for some reason I found the proise bogged down by incidental things that really brought nothing to the overall story other than to slow it down.

Characters that the reader are suppose to connect with, I often found I had no patience for. An example, Josie is an alcoholic because he father died and her husband divorced her. Now she is basically an online scam-artist to support herself. She sells an online service that basically just tells people how to have better customer service by using placating words. I kept feeling why can't she move on. I moved on; others move on. I don't feel sorry for her. I don't like her. I found it very hard to read a story about her and I hated myself for judging her. It starting becoming a book that I thought was going to be in good fun but was now making me feel bad. Ugh!
If you are looking for a deeper read, look no further.

I will tell you that this story is less about magic and mystery and more about the emotion struggles within. It more about our demons. They can continue to haunt us and destroy our lives if we let them; if they are not dealt with and left unattended.

** Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers of this book for the opportunity to review the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion **

I thought this book had a very interesting concept. However, by the time I reached the midpoint, my interest had definitely dipped. I think I may not have been the intended audience for this book; although it has a stunning cover and a magnificent voice from the author.

Little Bird was definitely an interesting read. Josie was dealing with a lot of things about her life and Skelly decided to show up. It was a fun and interesting story to read. I loved Skelly's sassiness a lot. It will be a great read for the spooky season. Also, the cover art is amazing too.

fun and exciting thrilling book, love the plot and mysterious dark aura this book brings to me as a reader especially the characters

2.5, rounding down for the ending

(Cross posted on Goodreads)

This was fine. It was fine. It was enjoyable enough but at the same time, the atmosphere of the novel was quite unexciting - like I'm not sure if I should root for the main character, Josie, cause she seems to be a very unfriendly and bizarre person or I should trying to be more understanding of her situation that I don't seem to care for. I think I just didn't care for Josie, and I didn't care for the situation she was in even if it wasn't her fault - then mix that with the confusing plot and the arbitrary motivations from the characters, I just couldn't bring myself to care. This tries to be unusual but in a try-hard way.

To me, I just don't understand what the message of the story is. It just feels like it's meant to exist just because there's a story - there's no thorough examination of the characters, for example, how Josie came to be an alcoholic and why she is bitter with the world, or why she starts conversing with a skeleton who has strange motivations and is cryptic as hell. I just felt like nothing was explained in depth, and we just had to accept that this is the story. For me, I'm not sure that's a good thing.

Also, I'm not sure if I liked the ending, but I have to lean with my feelings of disappointment. It's not something I would have thought that Josie wanted, but it's just something I have to accept. Again, not sure if that is a good thing.

I did like how original this story was - maybe it's because I don't read much of the genre and I think it's original. I just thought how it was funny how Josie just accepted that she was going to start talking to this skeleton, but then does everything she can to try to get rid of it and goes along with its demands. That's some high comedy. Also she's funny at times, and I like how unapologetically self-destructive she is - like she might as well stick with her habits cause she just doesn't want to change. That's hilarious.

Overall, this was fine. But I wish this story kept me engaged cause it was funny and original.

Josie is a cantankerous misanthrope and a hermit who only cares about her dog, Po. When a talking skeleton and a mysterious vine appear in her backyard, it throws Josie's carefully curated sense of safety into disarray, and forces her to confront her maladaptive defense mechanisms.

This is a fun book for people who enjoy a bit of darkness with their humor. The narrator is a miserable person, but it's pretty obviously a cover for some deep pain, which gets explored through the story. I found Josie's crankiness hilarious, but I can see how some people might be put off by her negativity.

This is a contemporary fantasy, bordering on the surreal. The speculative elements are front and center, but you won't be discovering a hidden world of elves and vampires here. The weirdness is clearly conveyed, even when Josie has no idea why any of this is happening or what the skeleton in her backyard wants from her.

The ending a little bit ambiguous. It left me with some unanswered questions, but I still found it satisfying. We don't find out exactly what the skeleton is or where she comes from, but we get some answers, and we do see Josie end up in a better and more interesting place.

All in all, I can't wait for this book to come out, so I can start recommending it!

I really enjoyed reading this. I was expecting a little more scares, etc considering its in the horror genre but they just weren't there, and personally I wouldn't categorise it as horror. I enjoyed the character building and the scene building. And I loved Skelly!