First what I liked- unique combination of horror and humor elements that I think really could have worked with stronger plot and storyline. I think the composition was unique and interesting, but really didn’t work well in the digital book format, I might have enjoyed more if it was in the book format. What I did not like- Overall I felt that it was confusing, unclear, and difficult to follow for most of the story which made it very difficult to be excited about reading it. I mostly finished feeling confused more than anything. With some honing on a clear story and plot, I think this could have been uniquely enjoyable. As is, I found it to be confusing and difficult.

Thank you to Unbound and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

40/100 or 2.0 stars

I was able to make it through as much of this as possible before I had to stop. I swear in real life a lot, so I am unusally unbothered by swearing, especially when it comes to the f-word. The f-word was just all over the place. It was about one or two times per kindle page, which is insane and unnecessary. I know that some people do talk like that and think like that, but reading it is really offputting, even for me, somone who swears quite a bit. The writing style was not for me. I couldn't get into the story. I had to DNF at 10%.

DNF at 45%

I was not invested at all in the characters. Where was the body horror I was promised?
The formatting on the e- arc was awful!! The footnotes weren't formatted correctly and you wouldn't get the information for it until like 6 pages later, which by then I forgot what the footnote was even referring to anymore.
There were newspaper clippings that were also formatted terribly on the kindle and WAYYYYY too many of them... I was flipping pages for a solid 5 minutes before being able to continue with the confusing story and it really just pulled me out of what was even happening multiple times in the first like 20%.

First, I have to preface that this is a horror book. I like the concept of Noah, a previous janitor, finding a new job (any job really) and finding an advertising job that’s, well, not as advertised. Basically, he’s working in advertising for a bunch of monsters that could kill him at any moment and he can’t quit and he has no experience or job training. The premise is great and could go far, but the book was so short it didn’t really explain anything and the plot was basically non-existent. Mostly character driven, I suppose. However, I did find some of Noah’s POV to be actually funny sometimes.

However, I didn’t see much of a point to Malachia’s POV. In fact, every time she popped up I had no idea what was going on. There was no explaination to these different places and entities she mentioned and I feel the book would be better if it went further into Noah’s story.

Structurally, I actually really liked the newspaper clippings and even the repetition of the same word over and over again. It made the reader feel “crazy” too, which added to the experience. However, the use of footnotes felt unnecessary and made it more difficult to read as an e-book.

Overall, I liked the concept but felt some things could be structured differently and in more detail

Hot Singles In Your Area by Jordan Shively, Let me start off by saying I understand as an arc reviewer I get an uncorrected advance copy but this is the first time I have read a book and the first few pages were readable and the rest my phone just wouldn’t read it. I tried downloading another copy and it was the same thing. I really got into the beginning of the story with Noah interviewing for the new job, but I’m so disappointed and angry, that right when I was getting into the story, I could no longer read the rest of it. I am blind in almost every book that is available for Kindle is accessible for the blind, except for a rare few, but I have never started a book that was accessible friendly, and then abruptly stopped in the middle of the first chapter in the rest was unreadable by my voiceover. I am so sick of people forgetting that not everyone can see and I will never know how this book ends but due to the fact most gave it a two or one star I really don’t feel like I missed out on anything.

I am still not sure what happened here or what this book was about. I made it halfway through without seeing any connections or plot points and unfortunately lost my investments at that point.

I don't know what the trend is with putting eyes on the front of horror books this year but I love this one anyway. Definitely the weird/quirkier side of horror.

I love the concept, but the execution was a little to abstract for me to feel immersed in the story. The sci-fi half of the story where Noah is hired at this brutalist 80s media company was compelling and wild. But the other half of the book following Malachia in the City of Silence was too outside my wheelhouse to stay interested. Every time her chapter came up I was confused as to why we were following her. It felt like two different books. I DNF'd at 40%.

I tried so hard to get into this book & I just couldn’t. It was so hard to follow. I loved the cover & thought the story sounded good, but I had no clue what was happening. Maybe this isn’t my kind of humor but nothing was funny to me. The footnotes really threw me off. The newspaper clippings were cool, but in the eARC, they were like 20 pages long it felt like & I didn’t know what I was reading.

Thank you to NetGalley & Unbound for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

“Who would even buy something like this? Nerds? Yep, probably had something to do with nerds.”

Hot Singles in Your Area by Jordan Shiveley
⭐️ ⭐️


QUICK SUMMARY 🖊️
Two time lines follow two separate people. One who needs a new job and another who seems to have been left behind in a silent city.


FINAL THOUGHTS 💭
Oof. This book. Was painful.
It reads more along the lines of fantasy / horror but without the world building needed to make the story feel complete. It was so disjointed and the 50+ pages of filler (I’m not kidding, DM me if you want examples) kept taking me out of the story. This had so much potential to be a good story but with the fillers and just the NOT ENOUGH left me beyond disappointed. The only reason for 2 stars is because I see the potential in the story.

This was a DNF for me. Honestly it was almost unreadable. I have no idea why there was approximately 15% of just newspaper clippings? after only 5% of the book, but I cannot push myself to continue with this, Sorry.

An intriguing premise with a strong start that showed great potential. However, the writing began to lose momentum midway and could improve significantly with further polishing. An interesting read with room to grow.

2.5* stars.

Thank you for the arc, I really tried to like this book but I struggled alot. Mainly with just understanding what was going on in places, I found alot of the book confusing especially around Malachia's chapters. Once I managed to format the newspaper pages correctly I actually found these the best and most enjoyable part of the book. Id be really intrigued to read more by Jordan Shievley in the future, as some parts I really enjoyed.

I am a fan of odd stories so the premise of this one alone had me intrigued. Where it started off grasping my attention straight away, around the time i reached the middle I was struggling a little. Overall a unique idea but it just wasn't for me.

4 stars- WOW!! I wasn't sure what to expect but this is a wild ride. thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This must be the first book in a series. I was pretty confused through most of it, but wondering if the formatting was off and it would be more organized in final form.

Two POV’s: Noah and Malachia. Noah is a new hire at Printed Matter and things start off weird with his new hire orientation. Malachia is a human in some other plane of existence.

Much preferred Noah’s pov as it was more linear and made more sense. Again might be a formatting issue

What a premise, right? A surreal horror novella with a title that begs curiosity and a promise of unsettling vibes all in under 200 pages. I went in expecting a quick, sharp punch to the psyche. And to its credit, it had a great start.

The book begins on a strong note, introducing us to a protagonist who's lived a tough, unremarkable life. His frustrations—working as a janitor, cleaning up blood and teeth—feel visceral. When he stumbles across a job posting for a mysterious publication firm, the story gets intriguing fast. Shiveley does an excellent job immersing the reader in the protagonist’s disorientation. Disjointed and repetitive printed articles, coupled with strange interactions with Linda (a hiring manager who might just be a vampire), build an atmosphere of surreal unease. It’s chaotic in the best way, making the reader feel just as off-kilter as the protagonist.

But then, around the midpoint, things take a hard left turn. We’re suddenly introduced to a second protagonist who resides in an alternate dimension known as the City of Silence. This twist feels like being dropped into a Dungeons & Dragons campaign mid-session with no clue about the rules or story. The world-building is imaginative and strange, almost reminiscent of *The Phantom Tollbooth*, but it feels crammed into a space too small for such an ambitious concept.

I love weird. I love stories that don’t spoon-feed me. But this veered into “too much, too fast” territory. As a standalone novella, it reads more like a prequel to a sprawling series, leaving me with more questions than answers.

That said, I applaud the creativity and unique narrative style. If this ever gets expanded into a series, I’d be curious to revisit. For now, it’s an ambitious, if slightly overstuffed, read.

Thank you for an arc copy of this book. I normally like body horror books but this one didn’t seem to click for some reason. I don’t know if it was the pacing or what but I just didn’t connect with the book.

This was a very strange book and I’m honestly not sure exactly how I felt about it. There are a lot of pieces that work really well and wish would be expanded on. Honestly if it was just a short novella with Noah’s section I think I would even like it more, but as it reads now it is difficult to follow. There are a lot of great ideas however and the satire of media is at times very darkly funny.

Body horror, bones bones bones, spells, lots of teeth and weird eyeballs (not to mention tentacles), other dimensions, and a decidedly unusual advertising company... this book is dark, surreal, strange, and filled with a sharp sense of humour.