Josie is in a rough spot - she’s divorced, still reeling from the loss of her father, has a complicated relationship with her mother, a job she finds little satisfaction in, and her only companion is her pet chihuahua. Then, one day, she gets a new neighbour, Sue. Josie doesn’t think much of Sue - until strange things start to happen not long after she moves in. Huge vines start growing in Josie’s usually-barren garden, and then a skeleton shows up, telling odd little stories and making Josie think about things she’s spent a long time trying to bury. A bargain is made between Josie and the skeleton, but Josie doesn’t know if she is prepared for what the skeleton has planned.

I don’t really know what I was expecting going in to reading this, but it wasn’t what I got. This was a far more introspective book than I thought it would be, I suppose; it’s listed as a horror, but I’m not entirely sure I agree with that. There was certainly content that was horrifying, but to me, this book was almost entirely about grief and the damage it can cause, the impact it can leave behind. The supernatural elements worked well, to me, as a way of exploring this concept. It sort of reminded me of A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, although obviously far more adult, and more unsettling and odd.

‘Unsettling’ is perhaps the best way I would describe this book. It didn’t frighten me as I expect to be frightened when I read a horror novel, but it feels claustrophobic. I really felt like I was right there, experiencing Josie’s pain and horror. Josie was a really interesting character: her pragmatism and attitude was entertaining, and whilst she had some personality traits that should have made her hard to like, ultimately I empathised with her a great deal. Her story is desperately sad; there were parts of the book, especially towards the end, as Josie came to terms with what was happening, that I felt very emotional.

The biggest strength of this book was definitely the writing. It’s amusing - Meuret has a lovely turn of phrase - but is also very atmospheric. The passages about grief and loss were truly heartbreaking and insightful, and as I have already said, Josie’s pain felt very real to me. There were parts of this book that were truly beautiful, and there was also some very clever bits. The switch of language - referring through most of it to ‘losing’ someone, to them being ‘sick’, before changing to the blunt reality of ‘dead’, was very effective, and there were other examples too.

My only gripe was I found some of the book a bit confusing, a bit muddled. It is undoubtedly a good book in that it is well-written, and the characters are well-drawn and complex, but I did finish it not entirely sure what was happening. But then again - I’m not entirely sure it matters. Little Bird made me feel a lot of things as I was reading it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it for what it was. Parts of the content are tough, but it has some very beautiful and atmospheric writing, and whilst I’m not sure I would ever reread it, I’m very glad that I have read it. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book.

Content Notes: Death of a parent (in past), grief, alcoholism, divorce.

Is this horror? Is this fantasy? Unsure what this book categorizes itself as, but it is tiresome. I felt no chill down my spine nor goosebumps on my arm. What I did feel was annoyed. No stakes rose, no emotions stirred, except when I’m told they’re supposed to, but even then it made me want to join in the liquor-hazed stupor that Josie our MC drinks herself into. Much of the book goes treacle slow and deliberately obfuscating only to explain in a high-handed philosophical jumble that, when examined closely, felt like a whole lot of nothing. The “conflicts” are vague and arrive too late; chapters after I’ve already decided I cared for nothing and no one. I could not even bring myself to like the dog character. Read if you want to follow an unhappy person who drowns her indecision in the bottle and argues with a skeleton in navel-gazing conversations that lead to nowhere. A+ on cover design.

I fell in love with the cover but I was expecting a horror story and it was more of a personal evolution of the MC.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is a strange little book about grief with something much larger looming over it. In my notes, I compared it to an episode of Tales From The Darkside, or Amazing Stories. I had no idea where it was going and that, alone, was enough to keep me turning pages. I started to develop all of these weird theories. Josie is a hard character to love, but she is very relatable. She has suffered a great deal of loss: her father, her husband, and her mother (in a way). She has chosen to self-isolate, but fate has larger plans for her. Truthfully, had this been any longer I would have lost patience with it, but just when I was starting to squirm, things begin to be revealed. I highly recommend this, and as a spring read because foliage and flowers play a large part. Also, every reader will fall in love with Po, the chihuahua.

Thank you so much to Black Spot Books for reaching out to me about the release of this short and captivating sophomore novel by Tiffany Meuret. I had never read anything by her before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but the premise and the promise of a twisted fairy tale got my attention. It didn't take long for me to be completely engrossed by the unique story and endearing characters, and I finished the novel in a span of a few hours. It was so hard to put down and I don't think I took a conscious breath the entire time!

We enter Josie's life just before it goes completely awry. She has a routine, a dog she loves, and a life that doesn't take much effort. It couldn't be said that she's happy, but she's making it along as best as she can. That is, until Skelly shows up. Josie notices a small shrub sprouting in her lawn one day, not thinking much of it. It isn't until the vines that grow from it have completely taken over and brought a very odd visitor that our protagonist takes a secondary glance. An animated skeleton has taken up residence in Josie's backyard, and it wants something from her. Skelly tells Josie she wants a story that she has never heard before told to her in three days... or else. Josie recruits the help of her new neighbor, Sue, and learns all she can about Skelly while also diving deep into her own mind. It is there that she finds the answers she seeks.

This book was a powerful read for me, as it dealt with the presence of trauma and the way that we cope with it. Josie, after her divorce and the death of her father in quick succession, had resigned herself to the life of a hermit. She hardly ever left the house; only ever speaking to Po (her chihuahua) and keeping the company of bottles of alcohol. With Skelly's appearance, Josie has to take a hard look at herself-- stripping down to her own vulnerable bones. She recounts the ultimatum her husband gave her before he left, the unanswered text that she sent her father after both men were gone, and how soulless her vocation makes her feel. Despite these things, she has arisen like a phoenix from the ashes and became everything her ex had asked of her-- but for herself. Josie earned the nickname 'Little Bird'. She was shoved from her nest and survived, but just needed to be taught how to fly. The once buried skeleton brought them both out of the shadows and into the light, making this the oddest and most beautiful found family novel I've read yet.

Little Bird by Tiffany Meuret is a strange little book, but one that I rather liked. I was initially drawn to the striking cover with its gothic looking skull and flowers and a somewhat incongruous pug , and the publisher's blurb further piqued my interest.
The book tells the story of Josie, recently divorced and still struggling with her father's death. She has isolated herself, running her online business from home and counting down the minutes until she can have her first vodka of the day. The only joy in her life comes from her beloved dog Po. The arrival of an annoying new neighbour who seems keen to poke her nose into Josie's life may be frustrating, but in fact it soon turns out to be the least of her problems, far more pressing is the arrival of a strange vine like plant which is soon running wild in her yard and seems to have brought with it a talking skeleton. This is just enough weird to make me want to pick up the book, and I am not sorry that I did.
The structure of the book cleverly keeps the plot moving as it is set up on a countdown, due to a bargain between Josie and the sentient skeleton, or as we come to know it , Skelly. The entire events of the book take place over only a few days.
From the cover it might seem like this book gives off horror vibes , but while there are some mildly creepy moments , it really is more about the character of Josie and how the poor choices she has made while trying to deal with her grief have made things so much worse for her. For a book dealing with such dark topics I was surprised to see some moments of humour woven into the story.
This is definitely not a book for everyone, if you like your reads to be plot heavy and fast paced then this might not be your cup of tea, but if you like a meandering emotional journey with some magical realism it might be something you want to pick up.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I tried so hard to enjoy this book but It didn't come across like a horror book, which was what I thought it was. It was definitely a more deep and meaningful read which is sometimes lost on me and this might be the case here. I initially enjoyed getting to know Josie and Po (particularly her love for Po, was very touching!) but the introduction of the vines and Skelly were strange and ended up totally lost on me. The cover was gorgeous and I think the story would work well for certain people...Thanks so much for opportunity to read this one...

Usually I love weird fiction. I’m not sure this qualifies. It was definitely strange, but also incomprehensible at times. Frustrating for the reader. I honestly have no idea what happened in this book. The plot was that unclear. Meh.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for review.

I really enjoyed this book! The story reminded me a lot of The Starless Sea by Erin Morganstern - a little meandering, more of a character study than a plot-heavy story, a little dreamy and ethereal. Add in a lot of sharp, biting wit, and it's definitely a recipe for success.

This book dives deep into grief and how a person can fall apart, self-sabotage, and drive people away if they push that grief down and don't process it. It's a lovely melancholy narrative that hit close to home.

3.5 stars rounded up.

I'm rounding up because this isn't my typically preferred reading niche, but I ended up enjoying it more than I would've expected.

"We may not always be aware of the energy we force upon the world, but that doesn’t release us of our responsibility to it.”

The skeleton and flowers on the cover were what drew me to this originally and I was hoping for some gothic creepiness, which was not what I got, but it turned out to be okay.

This is a mostly character driven story with magical realism, some very interesting semi-sentient plant life, a definitely sentient skeleton, and an adorable little dog named Po.

Josie is our main character and she has lots of feelings she should be working through, but instead she works through bottles of vodka to avoid those messy feelings as well as any potential human interaction. Between a new neighbor who refuses to be put off by Josie's prickliness as well as the aforementioned vines and skeleton who move into Josie's back yard, Josie is driven out of her comfort zone and forced to face a lot of things she's been avoiding.

At first I didn't like the ending much, but now that I've let it stew a bit, I think it's kind of perfect.

“You can guess what happens next, can’t you Little Bird? You know how these stories go because they aren’t new. They are the oldest kind known to man, and the most potent of all, no matter the age. Perhaps that is why they persist, they endure. Because they are everything— a soul, a heart, humanity broken and raw. These are the stories that crack you open like a soft egg, don’t they Little Bird? They touch the one thing all humans have in common, and they sting, no matter how far removed one might be from the characters.”

This is another case of me choosing a book based off its cover. I mean, just look at that cover. It’s stunning! But alas, I can’t say the same for the story because of how it ended. The premise was so good and I was honestly very intrigued but the ending was pretty anti-climatic.

We have Josie, who is recently divorced and grieving over the loss of her father, has no inclination to leave her house. She tries to follow a strict routine of work, keeping Po, her chihuahua company and also drowning herself in vodka. She thought she was coping well but her actions state otherwise. She enjoys her loneliness and is content to not speak to anyone ever until a new neighbour, Sue, moves in and knocks on her door. Add in a talking skeleton with creepy vines whom she named Skelly and that is enough for Josie to question her own sanity. Skelly seems to have a mission for Josie but she wants Josie to figure it out on her own. The creepy vines also have a mind of their own and seems to react based on Josie’s moods.

This is a quite a quick read with just under 200 pages and the story timeline spans over eight days so everything happens very quickly in the story. Skelly and her vines has a metaphoric meaning to how Josie is actually coping in real life. Skelly is a reflection of what Josie has become, shutting herself out, closing herself in, and not allowing herself to grief properly about her divorce and her father’s death. Skelly forces Josie to see for herself what her future has in store for her if she keeps this up.

I definitely enjoyed the witty conversations between Skelly and Josie. The sense of magical realism here is so bizarre. I half wondered if Josie dreamt all this up in her drunken stupor and Skelly is just part of her subconscious. It irks me that Josie refused to be helped and also not listen to what Skelly is trying to tell her but at the same time, I feel sorry for her. I feel sorry that she has no one to turn to and no one has tried to reach out to her to offer support.

This is a strange story but also refreshingly different? I only wished there was more to the ending than what was written. I still don’t know if I like the story but do give this a go if you are up for a quirky read.

Thank you Netgalley and Black Spot Books for the arc.

Based on the description, I was expecting a horror novel. It had some superficial horror elements as well as some funny satirical stabs at modern life, but was mostly about the emotional growth of the protagonist. It wasn't bad by any means, and if you like those types of books then you might enjoy this, but I did struggle to continue reading a novel that I would not have chosen if it had been more accurately described.

This was a unique and interesting book. It reminds me of an old trickery style story where a proverb is passed along. Skelly was a fun character and I liked the sarcastic humor.

Wow! This book was a surprise! The cover is what originally grabbed my attention, but as soon as I started reading the book, I didn’t want to put it down. I will definitely be adding the physical copy to my collection. 4.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Black Spot Books for the review copy.

The cover for Little Bird completely captured my attention and I found Tiffany Meuret’s writing creepily descriptive and atmospheric. I enjoyed the interactions between Skelly and Josie and Po’s antics but they eventually failed to hold my attention. I ended putting this one down. I think the message about a sort of found family was great but unfortunately the story was not for me.

Instant cover love with this one, wasnt 100% on the story but i am a sucker for a good love. the story was tense as there was a littl dog in it and we all know what happens to the dog in horror stories.

little bird id a quick read and was more fantasy and magic then horror/creepy but it was still good. the female MC was believable and a few of of us have been there with her inner thoughts. the skeleton character i felt carried the story in places. but the second half of the book wasnt as good as the first half and so nearly DNF but i kept going.

its an okay read one for holiday reading when you just want to read a book on the pool side which isnt hard to follow and you can forget after it

An odd yet compulsively interesting short novel about grief, Little Bird is a fascinating look at self-destruction.

If you like quirky, sardonic humour, this book is packed with it. There are so many lines that made me laugh, which helped even out the bleakness of Josie’s life.

The novel is great at balancing social critique without becoming a harangue. The jokes about certain facets of life were clearly from Josie’s warped viewpoint, while also harbouring an element of truth. There’s also the absurdity aspect of the talking skeleton who, along with the odd concept itself, has its own little quips.

Up until the last fifteen percent, I was absolutely hooked and it’s definitely a book I wish were longer because it’s such a fun and entertaining read, despite the themes of grief, alcoholism, and self-destructive behaviour. It strikes a balance between delightful, strange, and sad. Josie's downward spiral could easily be anyone's.

The one thing I wasn’t super keen on was the ending. It didn’t really have the sort of twist I was expecting from the build-up, so it was a bit of a let-down for me. I was just kind of like - oh. I did like that it didn’t go in a completely obvious direction but it just didn’t have that oomph I was hoping for. But the journey is so worth it!

What I really liked about the novel was that you weren’t entirely sure whether all of this was really happening or if Josie was just losing it. The novel has a fantastic way of unravelling the story that keeps up a wonderful pace. It’s also not really a horror, definitely not a thriller, but also not contemporary fiction. It exists somewhere in the middle, something that I don’t think would exist if we didn’t have a small press to thank.

And Po, the chihuahua, was awesome. I loved what a huge personality he has (as do most small dogs) and, of course, I was worried for him the whole time.

This is a book that I think will come back to me then and again, to the point that I’ll definitely end up buying a copy for my shelves. Also, that cover is gorgeous!

Well that something completely different. I don’t know what box to put it in - comedy horror (it was amusing in parts), cosy horror, fantasy? It was certainly not scary or creepy. It was just…different!

Josie is an embittered, curmudgeonly woman approaching middle age. She misses her dear departed father intensely. She does not miss her ex husband Stuart. Josie lives alone apart from her beloved little dog Po. And vodka, she has a lot of vodka in her life. She revels in her aloneness and earns her living online as some sort of customer relations advisor, I wasn’t ever really sure what that role entailed but it’s not important. She rarely leaves the house, gets her groceries delivered and that’s just the way she likes it.

Poor Josie’s life is turned upside down when a new neighbour moves in and has the temerity to knock on her door - shock horror! Then the uninterrupted barrenness of her back garden is interrupted by a vine that has sprouted literally overnight. This vine grows out of control and soon it is accompanied by a talking skeleton (call me as Skelly) who seems to have some sort of mission for Josie but talks in riddles. Josie doesn’t want a bar of all this but Skelly and the vine are persistent and soon Josie learns more about herself than she is comfortable with.

I didn’t love this book but I didn’t hate it either. It was kind of interesting. Josie was an interesting character, she could have been any one of us if our circumstances were similar. The dialogue was certainly crisp and snarky which I enjoyed. I’m not sure what Skelly was supposed to be though, maybe I missed something in the reading, but that is why I couldn’t rate the book any higher. Nevertheless if you are into speculative fiction or just want something a bit out of left field you might well enjoy this book. It was a fairly quick read. Many thanks to Netgalley and Black Spot Books for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

3.5 rounded up.

Little Bird was not at all what I thought it would be but I still enjoyed it. I wouldn't classify it a horror, more sci-fi tho. Certainly was a story like I've never read before and I loved the uniqueness of it. Josie is a character that I couldn't quite like but I didn't quite hate and yet felt myself rooting for her. Liked her humor and sarcasm. Little dog Po was a delight and Sue was a good character to get to know. Very quick read that kept my interest throughout.

This is a fairly uncategorizable book. I did not find myself drawn to the alcoholic and miserable main character but enjoyed her recognition of the importance of some connection to the world outside of her house and her dog. The imagery throughout this novel is impeccable and dark, with elements of the bizarre increasing as we move to the peak of the story.

Overall, an entertaining read, but I'm not sure I will take much from this moving forward.