This was the first Tim McGregor book I've read, and I will definitely be reading more. We Have Always Lived in the Castle meets My Girl (trust me). The relationship between Mark and George is so lovely and well-developed. All of the characters are written with such care and really come alive on the page. Easy 5 stars.

Mark is bored. It's summer, and he's tired of his friends, Kevin and Eric. He's tired of his 2 jobs - one at the RV park and the other at a crappy ice cream stand. And he's tired of his father and particularly his step-mother. One night while at thw store, Mark runs into the Farrow sisters at the grocery store. The Farrows are the town weirdos. Formerly wealthy, the Farrow clan had lost their money and now live in an extremely large, dilapidated (and slightly haunted) house. The girls were always weird, but since they were pulled out of the high school the entire family have become recluses. He is intrigued by the middle sister, who appears to be trying to steal a Lovecraft paperback. Kevin, who loves camo and guns and knives and firecrackers, decides to play a mean trick, not for the first time. He and several other boys, including a reluctant Mark, intercept the girls and throw firecrackers at them. A few days later, a remorseful Mark visits the big house and finds the girl. Her name is George (short for Georgia) and he is immediately smitten. But there is something weird about her. When they first meet, she is replacing witch bottles around her family's yard to ward off evil. Despite that and being chased off by her sisters, he can't help but come back. An unlikely friendship commences, and try as they might, they are unable to hide it from others. The consequences are not good.

This was a pretty good coming of age story. Despite his flaws, Mark is a sympathetic character. It did feel a little flat though, and I can't seem to articulate why. I've been thinking about it, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps because of the lackluster relationship with his friends? Or it could be just me. Overall though, it was an enjoyable read. And there is something wonderful about that title and cover art. 3 1/2 stars.

Rating: 1.8 leaves out of 5
Characters: 2/5
Cover: 3/5
Story: 2/5
Writing: 2/5
Horror: 0/5
Genre: Horror
Type: Ebook
Worth?: Meh

Want to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book. Where do I even start? I think Tim needs to find a better editor if he has one or at least someone to tell him his switching from 3rd person to 1st isn't working. There were even a few scenes that just didn't make sense.

Besides that we have his characters. The only one I could stand was George. Mark is a pansy and his friends are hicks. His family except his step mom is a joke. The whole story started out pretty okay and even towards the middle it was fine... it was about 75ish percent in that it went kind of down hill. I just honestly hate Mark. If you are going to write teen books can we drop the whole 'teens are too stupid to make a freaking logical choice'?

(Side note: Ignore the long date. I started reading it on the kindle app on my PC and decided to stop and wait for my Kindle to come in. Got through it much faster with it than with PC.)

Boy meets girl, coming of age story is an easy five stars for me!

I found the beginning a little slow. McGregor really drove home the fact that the main character and his friends were bored. It’s set the stage for the rest of the story, I get that now. I liked feeling of 80's nostalgia. I thought it would be a ghost story, it was more a tale of loneliness, friendship, secrets, and bullying. The characters were interesting, The story is a coming or age but with a few twist that make it unique and different.

Very enjoyable and highly recommend!

In this coming-of-age novel, nostalgia ripples across every page: regret for past mistakes, longing for what-ifs, and an overbearing dread for what’s to come. Mark, an adolescent in the 80s trapped between conformity and comfortability and the urge to shake things up, begins spending time with George, the strange daughter of a reclusive family. They discover they have more in common than one would expect, but their differences and outside dangers may keep them apart. McGregor’s characters, setting, and prose capture a not-so-idyllic moment in youth and bring depth to the highs and lows of monotony and little moments. The Farrow family was appropriately Gothic, similar to Faulkner or Jackson in their kindred oddness. I did have a little trouble with a key subplot and found the mystery less mysterious than it should’ve been, which did hinder the climax a little. However, overall, this was a wonderful read and I recommend it for witches, weirdos, and withering summer days.
Thanks to Raw Dog Screaming Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A gothic coming of age story. A boys first love, weird girls from infamous families… about coming to terms with not being popular and growing up to be true to yourself.
A very character driven story with some spooky backdrops and subplots. An enjoyable read. I recommend for anyone that liked The Saturday Night Ghost Club or Summer ‘84.

WASPS IN THE ICE CREAM by Tim McGregor is an unvarnished account of the conflicts and cruelties of adolescence, tempered with a tremendous amount of heart and dashes of ghosts/magic. Touching, authentic, bittersweet- filled with earnest yearnings and the chaos of youth- it's a delight. I loved this story and did NOT want it to end. Each voice rang true; the writing is honest and eloquent without ever becoming cloying or sentimental. A coming-of-age tale that lingers, and a journey I'm glad I got to take with this characters.

A nostalgic coming of age ghost story.

Wasps is set in the summer of 1987, I don’t know what it is about horror set in the 80’s for me but there is just something about it that feels so right. Reading a horror book set in that time period is so comforting to me, maybe it’s because so many good slashers were set then, maybe it’s because I was born in the (late) 80s but it just hits the spot.

At its core Wasps is a coming of age story, yes there are some paranormal aspects but the horror isn’t overt and it’s not really the point of the story, it’s about growing up and figuring out what version of yourself you want to be. It’s really giving The Virgin Suicides vibes, there’s three sisters trapped by their eccentric parents in a dilapidated gothic mansion and there is a boy who dares to get closer and really see them… until tragedy strikes.
Mark is a teenage boy in a small town just trying to survive high school and get out, he works two summer jobs and hangs out (wastes time) with his two best friends. Until one day after a prank gone wrong he goes against the status quo of high school politics and starts hanging out with George; the middle sister. She’s witchy, weird, and completely unlike anyone else he knows, she talks him into working on spell jars and holding seances; she captivates him and he’s constantly wondering what sort of spell she cast on him. He is sick of pretending he relates to his friends and the inane things they do to waste time, he also lives in constant fear and worry that the people in town will find out about them, and eventually they do…
It was a heartbreaking story about growing up and finding yourself, with some well done paranormal elements throughout. I adored every second.

Thank you to NetGalley and Raw Dog Screaming Press for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Well, let me tell you. I loved this book! 😍Wasps in the Ice Cream is a small town, Coming of Age tale, with some supernatural elements mixed into it. From the very beginning I was invested in this one; the storytelling, the relatable characters and the overall vibe it emanated.

“𝘐 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺. 𝘈 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘱 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮. “

—
It’s the summer of 1987, and Mark Prewitt is spending his summer working two jobs in order to fix up the car he bought from his grandma. During his time off, he hangs out with his two best friends, sometimes getting into trouble due to both boredom and peer pressure. One day they throw some firecrackers at the reclusive and odd Farrow sisters, possibly injuring the middle sister, George. Mark feels bad about this and goes to the sisters house to apologize, not expecting to develop an unusual bond to George in the process.

As Mark spends more time with George, his friends eventually find out, and decide he is not worthy of hanging out with them for awhile. They develop a plot to take revenge on the Farrows for stealing one of their own, putting Mark right in the middle of it all.

—-
“𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵.”

This one comes out February 10th from @rdspress, and I highly recommend grabbing yourself a copy, along with a pint of ice cream, and curl up in your favorite reading spot 🙌.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me 🤩.

I loved the ending, And… just wanted to say I got excited with the shoutouts to Basketcase, The Thing, and House of Usher! 😁

This is a wonderful coming of age story about friendship, first love and trying to fit in. I read Wasps in the Ice Cream in one sitting, I just couldn't put it down. The story and setting are so absorbing and the characters so engaging and realistic. A beautifully written story.

A coming of age story, a hooror novel and more. There's real people, feelings, and serious horror parts.
A great novel, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Thank you Net Galley, Raw Dog Screaming Press, and Tim McGregor for an ARC of Wasps In The Ice Cream !

"The water light from the window turns her silver. It's too dark to see if there are tears, but something changes in the air, like the barometer dropping real fast. Can grief do that -- change the air pressure in a room?" -- Mark Prewitt

It's been a while since I've met a character like Mark Prewitt. At first, I tried to find a word to describe him. Empathetic? Yes, but doesn't fit right. Kind? Also yes, but that also doesn't do him justice>. Mark is one of those rare human beings who protects everyone, always, even at the expense of himself. He feels it, and he feels it all.

It's true with his friends. It's true with his family. And most importantly, it's true with the girl he loves: Georgia (George).

The themes and symbolism in this novel are what kept me compulsively turning pages. Wasps In The Ice Cream is an abstract, beautiful reminder that the truest form of love grows from our choices to commit, each day, to patience and perseverance when it comes to the person we love. Mark and Georgia's relationship is a testament of this and of the fact that everything -- the good and the bad -- shall pass.

I'm not ashamed to say that this coming-of-age novel made me cry four times. Four! I did not expect that. I close the book with a refreshed realization that young love is real love, and that it can transcend everything -- forbiddance, the afterlife, and even paranormal forces.

My official rating for this novel is 4.5. This has nothing to do with the story or the writing; I adored and absorbed all of it. It's a book I would read again (and I never read books again). However, I would not classify this as "horror" which is the genre noted on NetGalley. I'm not sure that a few vague appearances by ghosts, a few tarot cards, and a drape that seems to sway on its own is enough to classify a novel as "horror." Regardless, this book was relatable and heartwarming. I highly recommend it, but not if you're looking for classic and gory horror elements.

Wasps in the Ice Cream by Tim McGregor is a gem of a book that reeled me in from the very beginning. It is a dark and tender coming of age story that is set in the summer of 1987. It gave me all the nostalgic feelings of restless summer nights when innocence and naivety are at their peak; constantly seeking something without out knowing what it is you need or want. I definitely felt a whole range of emotions throughout this story and the overlaying darkness gave you a wonderful unsettling feeling. It gave me some serious King vibes, which I loved. I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Raw Dog Screaming Press for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Great book with so much heart, filled to the brim with nostalgia and atmosphere. The characters truly made this a fantastic one for me. I really appreciate horror that can offer both the creepy factor and a cast of realistic, well-written people. Recommended!

Wasps in the Icecream was a quick and brutal read about what it means to be an outcast in a small town. I came away thinking that I’m right and we’re all outcasts.

First Impressions:

Loved the cover and how the title tied in with the story. I really liked the character of Georgia. I felt (like most teen girls at some point) like I wanted to burn everything down around me and George was very genuine.

Mark is free-falling through his life; following his two best friends into whatever horrible and possibly destructive idea they have. Until he meets George, a girl who lives on the outskirts with her mysterious and crazy family. Mark is drawn to George and vice versa. Their first love story would be sweet it it wasn’t so tragic.

Coming of age, tragic love and a touch of the supernatural.

Omg I friggin’ loved this book SO MUCH! All the Feels right here 🫶🏻#georgeandmarkforever

This is coming-of-age horror at it’s absolute finest. I read it in one sitting and was sad when it ended. It’s creepy and tender and shocking too! I am counting myself extra lucky to have gotten this ARC opportunity. I can not wait to see this on the shelves next week! I already want to read it again:)

It's summer in the 80's and Mark Prewitt is working two jobs over school break and trying to be a normal teenager. But the electric pull of the Farrows and particularly Georgia sets him on a new path.

This is a breezy read that definitely doesn't feel difficult at all to get through but I was left with a feeling of wanting more. It's not really horror, more of a young adult coming of age tale with some "paranormal " aspects. The ending is also predictable so it feels like a build up to nothing much.

The characters are compelling though and when I started reading it I only wanted to read it and nothing else

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

***

This book wasn't what I expected. I'm not sure it's horror, per day, but it at least speculative. Either way, I was thoroughly invested in the story.

I'd say this was a complicated coming of age story with trauma, hormones, troubled teens, and uncomfortable truths. The story is about friendship and love and about learning how to live with grief and having done bad things.

It's excellently crafted and thought provoking. All-in-all, a wonderful read.

It’s the summer of 1987, filled with hot weather, summer jobs, going to the movies, and teenagers being teenagers. Mark is up to his ears in horrible ice cream. Ice cream so terrible, wasps flock to it - and seem to be the only beings gorging in its sweetness. He’s tired of digging wasp carcasses out of the black cherry ice cream and often watches the girl running the movie theater ticket booth. Oh, boredom sweet boredom.

Summer isn’t just all about fun…sometimes trouble finds you. And that’s exactly what happens when Mark has a run in with the Farrrow sisters.

———
 
I love 1980’s nostalgia. It’s a decade I was born in and I really felt like I was in a time machine back to 1987 - I felt everything, I could see everything, and I could picture every scene so clearly. The author did not use stereotypical references for the time period - basically it was just the summer in the 1980’s and you can fill in the gaps however you chose to, which I very much enjoyed.

There’s a bit of mystery to this story, especially surrounding the Farrow sisters. In fact, I’d actually like to know more about their family and why they were the way they were. I’m not giving this 5 stars, as I’m not sure which direction this story was meant to go in, but I did actually quite love it for what it was. I hope this story gets the life it deserves.

If you’re looking for an easy read that’s transports you back to the 1980’s, with friendship, betrayal, and some mystery, this is the story for you.

I just liked the title, hence why I asked for it on Netgalley. And I'm so glad that I did, and I got to read this great story about Mark and George.

It is a great story, well written and engaging. All the small town vibes, with a bit of supernatural and hidden secrets in the mix. A lot of cool references to Shirley Jackson and Lovecraft, and it is like being inside an 80's movie.

I enjoyed it a lot and recommend it to all those that like a good story, about human nature and the restraints we place on ourselves.

Another review will be posted shortly on my blog:

https://peixinhodepratablog.wordpress.com/