"Midnight Showing," the second installment in Megan Shepherd’s Malice Compendium series, is a gripping mystery thriller with dark fantasy elements. Seamlessly continuing from where the first book left off, it showcases Shepherd's talent for delivering a compelling and immersive narrative. The writing is fluid and engaging, drawing readers in with its rich detail and intriguing twists. Throughout the book, the suspense keeps you on edge as you piece together clues and spot subtle Easter eggs.

I loved the first book, even though it's a little more fantasy-leaning than my usual horror preference. I think Shepherd walks the line really well, and continues to do so in this book! Really enjoyed, recommend if you like fantasy/horror books!

A fun premise with a supernatural twist - the darkness of this story kept me reading to see what would happen next!

3.5 stars

Midnight Showing  by Megan Shepherd is a horror novel, and the second in the Malice Compendium series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Hyperion Avenue (for granting my wish - sorry I'm late in my review)  and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


Series Background: (Warning – Contains spoilers from previous books)
Haven Marbury, an artist, inherited her father's estate (Malice House). Haven found a bizarre hand-written manuscript entitled Bedtime Stories for Monsters in her father's house, and decides to publish it herself, with her own illustrations.  But she finds that she is bringing those monsters to life.  Her father's pictures also came to life.  Haven is proof of that.  She also found Kylie, her half-sister, and Rafe, the handsome man from next door (who her father called The Harbinger --herald of dark times, in the Bedtime Stories book. He, too, is a monster.


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Haven and her sister Kylie  are trying to find family, hoping for answers about the curse.  Everything Haven draws, and everything that Kylie writes, seem to be coming to life.  Although Malice House burned to the ground, there are plenty of monsters roaming the area, most of which are from the book.   Her biggest fear is Uncle Arnold, who, with a few whispered words, can make you do anything he wants.

While they are trying to hide, they ask for help from Haven's friend Rob, the film-maker who she has done work for in the past.  They stay with Rob and his fiancé Tyler,  while still searching for family ties.  Rob is rather strange, but knows people everywhere -- in particular Hollywood, and dark films.  They soon find some ties to Sigil, an old horror film company, who, urban legend has it, has their characters coming to life.

Haven is still getting to know her sister.  She has found out that Kylie is into astrology, crystals, and aliens. She's also a wannabe author.  But they have both agreed not to write or draw.

Rafe, (the Harbinger in her dad's book), is everything Haven could ever want in a man.  On the downside, he's a monster.  But Haven is not having a whole lot of luck staying away from him

Together, they find more of the Acosta family, and they find more monsters.




My Opinions:
Well, I had wished for a sequel, and here it is.  However, I struggled to get into this one, because it has been a long time since I read the first (entirely my fault).   This is definitely a book that demands you read the first  before attempting this one.

I really didn't enjoy this one as much as the first.  It seemed to drag....until it didn't.  The author writes well, but the implementation was a little off.  I didn't particularly like that each chapter started with parts of the old Hollywood horror films that contained the monsters.  The chapters kept going back and forth between all of them, and it was just a little confusing, and frustrating.

I love Haven, but have had problems with Kylie right from the start.  Rafe is a good side-kick, and I like the addition of Miracle.  The monsters....well, they were well-written.

Basically this is a continuation of nightmares coming to life, but this time it's not just Haven's.  It is also a book about family.  I think one of the underlying themes is the fact that "art", whether written or drawn, can have a huge impact on people.

Although I was a little disappointed, and had some problems with this book (the length, the drag, the style) ....I'm still looking forward to the next one.  -- I'm hoping the 3rd one will be back to the 5 stars I gave the first.

I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

Megan Shepherd has done it again! This was thoroughly enjoyable and difficult to put down! Definitely a one-click author for me!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This was a wild ride of a book. A second in a series, I honestly enjoyed the first one a bit more.
This second book does have plenty of action in it to keep you reading and hold your interest.

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and Hyperion Avenue for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Ughhhhh. I loved the first book, but I struggled so badly with this one. I think I will be in the minority here. It was just so different and lost me a bit. The plot was all over.

Now that's what I'm talking about! I can't believe I waited so long to pick this one up. It brought back all the love for Malice House and then some.

Midnight Showing is dark, tense, and thrilling. I really enjoyed where the author went with this one, especially between Haven and Kylie. The monsters are terrifying and I love it. Perfect for Spooktober!

Go grab Malice House and Midnight Showing and add them both to your TBR! I sincerely appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Midnight Showing by Megan
Shepherd

Discovering her father’s strange, final manuscript, has only brought mayhem and darkness to Haven Merbury’s life. In this book, what has leapt from the pages threatens everybody. This book is the squeal to Malice House.

There is much horror and violence in this book. It keeps you very interested and wanting to know what evil is around the corner. If you are into horror and paranormal, this is the book for you.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

Megan Shepherd has done it again! I read "Malice House" as an ARC reviewer as well and loved it. This second installment did not disappoint!

This picks up just a few months after the events of Malice House. I loved MH and was very excited for the second in the series. Malice House has an edge over this one for me, but this is still a great installment in this series. Like Malice House, this book is dark with magic, is fast paced, and builds wonderfully. The family curse and its origins make for a great story and, as a scary movie buff, I really loved the film aspect of this one. The end is slightly cliff hanger-ish and I’m hoping for a third.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy and a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to the author Megan Shepherd, publishers Hyperion Avenue, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of MIDNIGHT SHOWING.

This book just wasn’t great for me 🤷‍♀️

I have to say I really enjoyed this eARC. Thank you NetGalley.

I didn't realize at first that this would be a second in series, and since I'm always afraid of missing out on clues, I decided to read the first book in series before I started. I am glad I did, as this book is not a stand alone. Whether that is on purpose or not, I do suggest anyone read the first book Malice House before starting Midnight Showing.

This book takes on a bit more horror / crime whereas book one felt more dark fantasy, dark magic, and curses. I loved the premise behind book 1, but I have to say I love the turn book 2 takes more. I enjoyed learning about horror movies, and the suspense of running from the encyclopedia salesman. I didn't quite love the romance parts, but it wasn't very distracting. I did skim the sex scenes though, as I don't feel like reading sex in my horror books. Not sure why, just wasn't interested here. lol. Normally, I don't care.

overall, I enjoyed this story, the writing, and the characters. I would recommend to fans of dark fantasy, haunted films, horror movies, curses, and urban legends.

Thank you to the author Megan Shepherd, publishers Hyperion Avenue, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of MIDNIGHT SHOWING. All views are mine.

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. The backstory of the fictional film, The Hundredth Stair, is impeccably done. Love the meta touches, like comparing it the the ultra famous film, The Ring. Especially love that Shepherd points out how meta this film is, itself, with the TV snow bleeding into reality. Good stuff!

2. I love the first person narrator's random references to some detective coming after her. The author handles restricting information really well here and it builds great tension, suspense, and conflict.

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. I really loved the film stuff, The metafiction. It borders on brilliant and I was excited to see where it was going. I even liked the film doctor murdering people in real life. But the "people of ink" thing, and the cursed people and monsters? The plot is just going in too many different directions. This new material distracts from everything Sheperd set up in the first half of the book.

2. The concept has merit, but it is so, so hard to follow. I mean, this plot is all over the place.

3. I get the feeling I would have understood and enjoyed the book better if I had read the first in the series, but I'm not even sure. Either way, this book should make more sense on its own.

Rating: 📽🎬🎞 meta layers
Recommend? Yes
Finished: Sep 27 '23
Format: Digital arc, Kindle
Read this book if you like:
👻 horror stories
🪢 metafiction
🎥 books about films

After reading Malice House I was super excited to get back into this world, there were so many possiblities. Unfortunately, I was slightly dissapointed by this. Every time the characters were faced with a problem that felt impossible, it seemed like the outs were too simple and they got out of everything very easily. It was really interesting to learn more about the curse and how it works and diving deeper into that was my favorite part of this book. Most of my complaints early on were later explained or changed and that's really what saved this book for me. I do think that if I had known it was going to be more about the fantasy elements of the first book I would have enjoyed it more, but obviously that is a problem with my reading style of choosing to know the bare minimum before starting books. This does feel like it was set up for a third book and I would still absolutely pick it up with more enjoyment than this, but otherwise this felt like a very satisying ending for a duology.

A great installment to the series. The book will take hold of you and not let go until the last word.
Many thanks to Hyperion Avenue and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was slow to start for me but once the pace picked up, I was really enthralled. Shepherd does a great job of building mystery and intrigue. This was a compelling, albeit stressful read!

A fun premise with a supernatural twist - the darkness of this story kept me reading to see what would happen next! Well worth your time.

I read the first story in this series, "Malice House" and it was amazing! This is the sequel and it picks up right where the last one left off. This is NOT a standalone novel, you must read the Malice House to learn the story and the characters and what brought them to this point in time. Also, many of the characters overlap from the first story, so just for better understanding, I'd recommend reading the first one first.
That said- this one was not as good as the first, but still worth the time. I really hope there is a third in development. I feel as if there was a cliffhanger of sorts towards the end that makes me want to know what else -- or WHO ELSE (because monsters)- could be coming....

Thank you to #Netgalley & the publishers for the ARC of this one in exchange for my honest review!