Review: Angel Down: A Novel by Daniel Kraus

Angel Down: A Novel by Daniel Kraus
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided a ARC of this book via Netgalley and Atria books, all opinions are my own.

I loved Whalefall by Daniel Krause, however this book is much different.  This is set on the battlefields of WWI and follows Cyril Bagger as he trudges through the trenches and the mud (there is so much mud).  Bagger isn't the best soldier nor is he a great guy, however when he stumbles across an angel his tune changes a bit.  He spent his time prior his service in the Army running cons, and now he swindles his fellow soldiers every chance he gets and he stays as far away from the action as he can get.  When he and his mates are sent to rescue a shrieking comrade they find something very different.  The each have very different experiences with the angel that Bagger finds and it either brings out the worst or the best in each man.

This book while it has chapters is written as one big long sentence.  There are plenty of commas, but there isn't much other punctuation if there is any.  It was an interesting choice for writing style.  I'm not a huge fan of stream of conscious style writing, and it typically doesn't work for me.   The pace is also very slow.  We don't meet the angel until many chapters in and much of that time is Bagger and his fellow soldiers tromping through mud contemplating their existence, which is probably a fairly accurate portrayal of what a soldier was going through at that time in France.  The story focuses on Bagger's experiences and what is happening around him.  Parts of this story are very gory and graphic which adds to the atmosphere.  Each person who lays eyes on the angel has a very deep and personal reaction, and is forced to have an internal struggle the longer they are in her presence.  They battle their internal demons and see who wins.

Overall I thought this was a very unique take on WWI historical horror.  I really enjoyed Bagger's growth and his relationship with Arno.  Overall the writing style and pacing on this one wasn't for me, I tend to enjoy this style more as an audiobook especially with the slower pace.  The conflict and challenges each soldier faced were interesting and really captured the human condition.

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Review: Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes

Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided both a print and audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

The audio narration was great.  The narrator did distinctive voices for each character, making it easy for the listener to distinguish between characters.  I always appreciate that, especially when there are multiple characters with a good bit of dialogue.

Ophelia is a psychologist assigned to a crew tasked with exploring an abandoned planet and investigate what happened to the previous crew.  Ophelia is tasked with keeping them mentally healthy after the loss of one of their crewmates on a previous mission and after a condition called ERS has become more prevalent for those that spend alot of time in space.  ERS has been known to make people violent, and Ophelia has dedicated her life to studying and preventing the disease after experiencing it's effects first hand as a child.  

Upon landing on the desolate planet and beginning explorations, the crew begins to exhibit strange behaviors that mimic ERS.  The crew has not warmed up to Ophelia for many reasons, and no one wants to be diagnosed with ERS.  When one of the crew turns up dead, Ophelia has to unearth the skeleton's in her closet and work with the remaining members of the team to figure out if they are sick or if there is something else going on.

This is my first book by the author, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  This book was extremely atmospheric.  This blurs the lines between sci-fi, horror, and thriller.  I definitely got the creepy, desolate vibes the author was going for.    

I thought the premise was really interesting and the author did a good job describing the planet and the surroundings.  I did find the writing repetitive at times especially when it came to Ophelia's character arc.  I feel like had the author stuck with the weird planet plotline or the medical plotline this book would have been a knockout, but there were too many threads of stuff about Ophelia's family, her job, the crew, and the planet going on for it to be a cohesive story.  I was a bit disappointed in the ending, as the action starts to build up to something that doesn't ever happen.  Honestly, I expected a little more death and destruction from a space horror, but this is more of a mystery/thriller.  There is some gore and the descriptions are good, but I wanted a little more suspense and scare factor.  I felt like finally when we got to the good part when the action was picking up and the horror elements were really taking off, it ended in what I feel was an unsatisfying way.

Overall, I thought this was entertaining but the conclusion was underwhelming.  

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Review: We Are the Crisis by Cadwell Turnbull

We Are the Crisis by Cadwell Turnbull
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, however I listened to the audiobook as I did with book 1. As with all of my reviews, all opinions are my own.

This picks up a few years after No Gods, No Monsters with the world still reeling after the revelation that the supernatural monsters from myth do exist in the real world. Activist groups form for and against monsters living within society and the politics parallel what we see today regarding various minority groups. The author does a great job using the supernatural and horror elements in this series as allegory to discuss very real social commentary issues. The world building is very well done.

This is told in a non-linear fashion as the story unfolds and isn't always told in the same dimension as the author uses the concept of the multiverse to tell the story. I'm not sure if there is another book, I hope there is because I have alot of unanswered questions. You absolutely need to read the first book before diving into this book, as the world and way the story is told is complex. There is also a large cast of characters to keep track of so wouldn't start in the middle. I had a harder time keeping track of what was going on in this second installment as I did in the first book. The storyline keeps getting more and more complex. The ending is a bit open ended for my tastes, but I do believe this is a trilogy so I will patiently wait to find out how things play out. Turnbull is a masterful writer who uses fantasy and horror in a unique away to tell a powerful story.

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Review: Mister Lullaby by J.H. Markert

Mister Lullaby by J.H. Markert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided both an e-ARC and an Audio arc of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. I appreciated having both formats available as there is alot going on in this book. There are multiple points of view and alot of characters to keep track of. Having the e-book handy to clarify plot points

This book is told from multiple points of view, and the audiobook is narrated by a male and female narrator who switch on an off depending on which POV. I think they both did a good job narrating their different parts and they did justice brining the creepy atmosphere that Markert dreamt up.

I jumped at the opportunity to read this early as I loved The Nightmare Man. This has that same creepy vibe and a balance of horror and thriller that I really like. If you are a fan of Stephen King like I am, I think you will really enjoy the way this novel is put together. While the story isn't a copycat in any way of one of King's novels, the way the book is constructed, the horror elements, the strangeness factor, etc remind me alot of some of my favorite King books. Why did I only give it only 3 stars you ask? The ending...the ending felt a bit rushed to me and unfinished. As we approach what I'll call the final battle, I had check if this was book 1 of a series because there was no way things could wrap up with only a small amount of pages left. While the book does end, I don't feel closure I like to have at the end of a book. Up until the last pages, I was really enjoying this book.

This follows Gideon after returning from a tour on active duty to his home town where strange things happen around the old train tunnel. Many a townsfolk have been maimed in and around the tunnel and no one can explain why. Gideon's own brother has been in a coma for years after entering the tunnel. Beth the local Deputy Sheriff is trying to explain the local uptick in violence in town related to the tunnel. Teddy hears voices that tell him to do bad things and along the way to do those bad things he collects others who do bad things. Teddy, Beth, Gideon and others who are all part of the story that culminates in the town of Herrod's Reach all have a part to play as the tunnel brings nightmares to life in this atmospheric and creepy story.

Overall, I thought the plot was unique and original. I really liked the use of the various creatures from mythology with relation to dreams an nightmares. The worldbuilding was well done and I enjoyed the interaction between characters. This is the type of horror book I enjoy where there is a sense of unease and a creep factor throughout. The only thing that kept me from giving this a higher rating was the ending. Perhaps there is more to this story, perhaps it was left more open ended on purpose for the reader to imagine what happens to the characters. I prefer to leave a novel with a sense of closure and I didn't get that here.

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Review: The Cage of Dark Hours by Marina J. Lostetter

The Cage of Dark Hours by Marina J. Lostetter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.  Full disclosure, after after having listened to the first book I did purchase the e-book which I found helpful to have available when listening.  The e-book also has some graphics that I found useful.  This is a long audiobook (20+ hours) and it has a ton of characters and the world is complex.  It is nice to have the print version to refer to when needed.  The audiobook is really enjoyable, I really enjoyed the three piece narration.  Each of the narrators did a good job with their specific characters and chapters.  I appreciated having 3 narrators, one for each of the character perspectives.  It really helps to keep focus on which part of the plot is the focus and which part of the timeline you are in depending on which character is telling the story.

This follows three characters, Krona who we met in book 1, Mandip a noble and new character, and Thalo child an acolyte in a strange religion and also a new character.  We also get to see many characters that we met in the first book and Krona is grieving the loss of her older sister and still coming to grips with the information learned in the previous book.  I would not recommend reading this as a standalone, though if you do start here the author does do a  good job giving recaps of necessary information. I read book 1 recently so the information was still fresh, but they were published about 2 years apart.  Through Krona, Mandip and Thalo Child we come to understand that there is a war brewing and there are many unknown factors at play and many of the players have their own agendas.  This installment delves deeper into the magic system, the religion of the Thalo, and the gods that are worshipped in the universe the book takes place in.  We also come to understand how all three characters are tied together and how the events that occurred in the previous book link everyone together.

This isn't as violent and bloody as book 1 but it is dark and does have violent moments.  There are a few battles and the Thalo are not kind to their charges.  Much like the first book, there is a bit of a horror, mystery, mixed into this fantasy.  I love a good genre mashup, and this delivers.  

As with the first book, I can't believe more people aren't talking about this series.  The covers are stunning and the storyline is action packed.  I do feel that this book like the last one was a bit on the long side and there are a lot of things to keep track of, but that is to be expected with an epic fantasy.  I haven't been able to find any release information for the next book, but a quick look at her blog indicates that she is working on edits for book 3.  I am so exited to find out what happens next!

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Review: Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

Do you like scientifically accurate horror?  If so this is a wonderful mashup of sci-fi and horror rolled into one emotionally charged novel.  This is so much more than a book about a boy who gets swallowed by a whale.  

This follows Jay, a 17 year old diver in search of the remains of his father.  Jay's family is still grieving the loss of his father a year after he took his last dive, and Jay hopes that if he gives them something to bury it will give them all a bit of closure.  Jay didn't have the best relationship with his dad, but he quickly learns that everything his dad taught him about diving and the ocean is going to be very helpful on this dive.  Jay's dive begins smoothly but quickly turns terrifying as he encounters a giant squid and the sperm whale looking for lunch.  Using all of the knowledge he gained under his father, Jay must fight his way out of the belly of the beast with only about an hour of air left in his tank and only the resources he has within reach.

This book was suspenseful and atmospheric.  Kraus really captured the whales anatomy in amazing detail.  You really felt like you were trapped in the whale with Jay.  If you don't like gory detail and don't want to know what the inside of a whale potentially looks like, stay away from this book.  He goes into exquisite detail and there is plenty of blood and guts, he is inside a whale after all.  I don't know much about diving or the biology of whales, but it is clear that the author did his homework and there is nothing that I appreciate more than a well researched book!  I also really liked how he captured the father son dynamic.  Jay didn't always appreciate what his dad, Mitt was trying to teach him but it sure came in handy when he needed it.    It also made for a good backdrop for Jay's slow descent into madness.  There were times I wasn't sure if he was actually inside the whale or if he was having a mental breakdown from his dive and dreamt it all.  I really enjoyed getting to know Mitt and Jay and how their relationship developed into what it was and how this event tackles allows Jay to tackle the grief and anger he feels now that his father is gone.

This is my first Daniel Kraus book, but it certainly won't be my last.  I really loved this and highly recommend it!

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Review: All the White Spaces: A Novel by Ally Wilkes

All the White Spaces: A Novel by Ally Wilkes
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Edelweiss+, however I ended up listening to the final version of the audiobook.  All opinions are my own.

From the description, this sounded like it would align with my reading tastes.  A little bit historical fiction with an interesting horror aspect.  Unfortunately, I wasn't drawn in by the slow pacing.  This follows Jonathan, who stows away on an expedition to Antarctica after the death of both of his brothers.  Jonathan's brothers both had dreams of going on Antarctic adventures, and Jonathan has decided to take up the mantel.  When the crew arrives in the dangerous Weddell Sea, disaster strikes and the expedition seems to be cursed.  

I did think that the use of the aurora as a device to prey on the fears of men was a good one.  You couldn't tell if there really was something supernatural out there or if the men on the crew were slowly descending into madness from the Antarctic temperatures and lack of provisions.  I thought that Wilkes did a good job developing the fear and fragility of the characters as they try to survive their situation.  

While I thought this was a well written book, this is a case of this style of slow build up isn't the type of book I prefer.  I never truly felt the tension and terror that the characters were feeling, I think that is because there were long periods of time between the events.  This is also very character driven, which is also no my preferred style.  I prefer faster paced plot driven books with a bit more action.  This is a great story of self discovery and survival.  

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Review: Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco

Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, however I am really behind on reviews and opted to borrow the audiobook from the library instead.  I really enjoyed the narrator for this, he did a good job bringing Remy and the rest of the cast to life.  As always all opinions are my own.  This book was released back in September 2022 and is available in multiple formats via multiple retailers.

I really enjoyed this adult paranormal romance.  It is a tad on the long side, but the pace and action are there the entire time to keep you engaged the entire time.  I've read several of the author's YA books and this is definitely m ore on the adult side when it comes to the intimate scenes and the violence and horror aspects.  This book has a bit of everything going on there is court intrigue, a little bit of a mystery aspect, some science, and of course vampires and vampire hunters.  It thing Chupeco did a good job telling the tale and brining it all together in the end.  I'm very much looking forward to the next book in the series.

This follows Remy, son of a duke and vampire hunter.  Due to the suspicious circumstances of his birth and his father's status amongst the Reapers (the vampire hunters) Remy is an outcast among the Reapers.   He is sent to do the jobs no one wants to do, and he is good at it.  He longs for his father's approval, so when the opportunity comes along to serve the Queen and make an alliance with a vampire lord and lady who are brokering peace between humans and vampires Remy is tasked to accompany them.  The land is plagued with a new strain of vampire that is impossible to kill and the unlikely trio is determined to uncover the source of this new strain and stop the spread.  As Remy gets to know his companions Zidan and Xiaodan, they all begin to develop feelings for each other which only complicates their mission as they uncover the truth behind the plague and who is pulling the strings.

I thought this had good world building and good character development.  Remy started out a bit unsure of himself.  As the story progresses he becomes a bit more comfortable with himself and his desires, especially as he learns of all of the deceit and betrayal that has surrounded his life.  I thought the paranormal/fantasy elements were well done.  I haven't read a good vampire book in a long time and I really enjoyed this one.  I liked the concept of the covens/courts and look forward to seeing how that plays out as the rest of the story unfolds.  I also appreciated the scientific aspect of the book.  I always like when there is a flushed out reason, realistic or not, for what is happening and the author gives us that with respect to the Rot.

While I enjoyed the relationship that developed between Remy, Zidan, and Xiaodan, I could have done without the sex scenes between them.  I don't feel that they really added to the plot other than to add a level of smut to the book and make it more adult.  They aren't super graphic so the level of spice is pretty low, so I feel like those scenes could have almost been closed door or fade to black. The relationship that develops between the three of them didn't really need the lust filled intimate scenes.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and I'm very much looking forward to Court of Wanderers.  I'm only disappointed that it took me so long to read this.

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Review: Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah

Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided both the print and audio arc via Netgalley, as always all opinions are my own.  Thank you to OrangeSky Audio and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for providing me the opportunity to read this early.  I spent most of my time listening to the audiobook, though I feel either choice would work well for this story.  

Check the trigger warnings before reading this one, as there are some heavy topics in this book.  There is a trigger warning page in the book, the following are mentioned as well as some I've added:  underage drinking, physical violence, death (some gore), sexual assault, and teen sex.

I felt that the multiple narrators in the audio worked really well here.  Rachanee Lumayo, Sarah Beth Pfeifer, Emily Ellet, Lindsey Dorcus did a great job with the narration.  I really appreciate when there are multiple POVs that there is more of a full cast narration so I can tell each of the characters apart.  I thought they all did a good job bringing the girls to life in this YA horror novel.

This follows 4 teen girls trying to survive after the disappearance of their mothers.  They live in the creepy town of Bishop that is surrounded by sunflowers and has constant windstorms, oh and women seem to disappear or drop dead without much concern.  Each of the girls is coping with the loss of her mother in a different way, but they each have secrets surrounding the night their mothers went missing.  When the town decides to honor the missing women with statues, the girls are prompted to look more closely into the history of the town the trail of missing women that the town has left in its wake.  I don't want to say too much about the plot and spoil it.

I really enjoyed this.  This is like if Children of the Corn met The Handmaid's Tale and mixed together into one horror novel.  I would say it is meant for a more mature YA audience given some of the content and themes.  I've read several books this last week about female empowerment and this is the one that sticks out to me the most.  Hannah did a good job making the town of Bishop have the creepy and atmospheric vibe that you need to drive a horror novel.  I'm not sure I can look at sunflowers the same way ever again.  Each of the girls is on her own journey of self discovery to break free from the terrible things that happen in the town and break the cycle going forward.  

If you are looking for an interesting YA horror book to pick up this spring I recommend this one!

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Review: The Black Guy Dies First: Black Horror Cinema from Fodder to Oscar by Robin R. Means Coleman and Mark H. Harris

The Black Guy Dies First: Black Horror Cinema from Fodder to Oscar by Robin R. Means Coleman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book vi Netgalley, all opinions are my own. This book was published on February 7, 2023.  Thank you to Gallery / Saga Press / Simon & Schuster for providing me an early copy to review.

Let me first start this review by saying, I haven't seen or heard of many of the movies that were mentioned in this book. I tend to consume my horror via book instead of movie because it tends to follow many of the formulas mentioned some with and some without the racial issues brought up within this book. I have seen a few of the book to movie adaptations that were mentioned in this study of horror movies, and often they are poorly done. I did discover a few movies I'd like to check out after reading this book.

This book does a good job portraying and explaining the lack of people of color in movies, horror specifically, and the racial stereotypes that are portrayed in movies that do have people of color in them. In more recent years Hollywood has seen more diversity behind the camera in the writers, directors, and producers which has changed the casting and portrayal of people of color in movies and the roles they are cast in. There is still work to do, but there has been change in the right direction.

This book has a lot of great points to make about the lack of representation in the movie industry especially when it comes to the horror genre. The authors did a good job with the one liners to add humor to the book. You can tell that the authors are well versed in the horror genre and they did their research. They gave lots of examples of different stereotypes and tropes portrayed by the Black actors in horror movies throughout history. They also went into the various racial stereotypes that are portrayed in movies that hurt how people of color are seen in movies and in life and how the on screen portrayal is hurtful. People of color have often been portrayed as violent, promiscuous, and savage in horror movies or they are killed off early and often.

I did find that the repetitive nature of the format and the long lists of synopses that are repeated in each chapter take away from the message that the authors are trying to convey. I found that after about chapter 3 I started to lose interest because the same information on the same list of movies was listed multiple times. Given that the authors felt this information was important for the reader to have perhaps an appendix would have worked nicely instead of adding bulk to each chapter. I felt more like I was reading an academic research paper.

Overall, this was a very informative book. If you are a horror movie buff and interested in behind the scenes history, this is a great option.



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Review: The Nightmare Man

The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided a print and audio arc of this book via Netgalley.  Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to review this book early.  All opinions expressed in my review are my own.

This was a nice balance of horror and thriller.  I don't want to give too much away as it would spoil the story.  I didn't find the horror elements overly gory, but this does have a nice creepy factor to go along with the police investigation that takes place as the story comes together.  There are some additional horror elements to the plotline but to describe them would spoil the fun.  

This follows Detectives Winchester Mills and Samantha Blue, Mills' daughter as they investigate a grisly murder scene in their small town.  The murder appears to be directly copied from a recently released novel from local bestselling author Ben Bookman.  The Bookman family is no stranger to tragedy or the strange, but when more murders occur mirroring things Ben has written in his books the detectives are determined to figure out if Ben is the killer or figure out what he's hiding and how he is linked.   Ben is missing time from when he wrote the book that is being copied, and he knows it has something to do with his grandfather's strange atrium where the books with no works are kept.  Slowly as Ben and the detectives unravel the clues and piece together the puzzle the strange tale of the Scarecrow, the Screamer, and the books all comes together in a terrifying nightmare.

I loved this!  I mainly stuck with the audiobook for this one as the narrator, David Bendena, did a great job with this.  I had a hard time pressing pause on this one.  I was on the edge of my seat as the story unfolded.  This is my first book from the author, but it will not be my last!  I look forward to reading more from Markert in the future!

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Review: A Sliver of Darkness by C.J. Tudor

A Sliver of Darkness by C.J. Tudor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this collection via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.  

I really enjoyed this collection.  I've read and enjoyed a few of Tudor's novels previously and I love horror/thriller short stories.  There are some really great stories in here, while I didn't love all of them there isn't a bad one in the bunch.  The Block, Runaway Blues, The Completion, I'm Not Ted, Gloria, and Final Course were favorites in the collection.  These are perfect for when you only have a few minutes before bed or in between responsibilities but you still want to get some reading in.  I loved that the author gave an introduction to each short.  I always wonder what inspires an author to write a twisted tale and Tudor gives us some insight into what inspired her to write each of these.

If you are a fan of horror or thrillers or a fan or Tudor's work in genera I'd highly recommend this collection.  Nothing was overly gruesome or graphic in my opinion.  Each of the stories was interesting and held my interest.  I really enjoyed the collection as a whole and look forward to reading more by the author in the future!

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Review: What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you enjoy gothic horror, I highly recommend this. This book is on the shorter side, but Kingfisher does a great job packing all of the creepy punches into this unique story. This is a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher: An Edgar Allan Poe Short Story, which I listened to right after finishing this, and while this is longer and has it's own unique spin it does keep faithful to the original work.

The Usher house is in complete disrepair much to Alex Easton's surprise when they come to visit childhood friends Madeline and Roderick. Easton received word that Madeline had fallen ill and may not have much time left in this world. Easton is not prepared for what they find on the Usher property from strange wildlife, oddities in the lake, as well as Madeline and Roderick's conditions. Easton is aided by Roderick's friend an American doctor and a woman who studies fungus. I enjoyed all of the characters, which is rare in a horror novel. Easton is a wonderful character who takes center stage trying to figure out what is wrong with Madeline and Roderick and a way to save them both. Ever a soldier, Easton always keeps their wits about them despite the strange happenings in and around the Usher house. I don't want to give too much away because it would spoil the story but this weird little book is great! I loved the dark, ominous feelings I got from the descriptions. The world building is excellent, Kingfisher does a great job describing things.

If you are looking for some other creepy books with a similar feel I also recommend Sorrowland and Mexican Gothic.

I was provided both a print and audio arc of this book via Netgalley, thank you to the publishers for allowing me to read this in advanced. As always, all opinion are my own.

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Review: The Return by Rachel Harrison

The Return by Rachel Harrison
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book via Edelweiss, however I ended up listening to the final production version of the audiobook.  As always, all opinions are my own.

I've had the arc of this book on my shelf for quite some time, so when the audiobook came through via my library I knew I had to get to it.  This came out in 2020, and was nominated for several awards in the horror genre.  I thought the narrator did a great job with the audiobook, but unfortunately this was just OK for me.  It lacked the suspense and action I prefer in a horror novel.  The concept was interesting, but the paranormal elements were lacking and underdeveloped in my opinion.  There was too much focus on Elise and her issues and the lead up to the confrontation with Julie about what happened to her while she was missing.  Once the reveal occurred the ending felt rushed.

Overall, this is not my type of horror novel.  It was OK, but I never got the creep or suspense factor I'm looking for in a horror book.  

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Review: Black Tide by KC Jones

Black Tide by K.C. Jones
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC via the publisher through Edelweiss+, all opinions are my own.

I was really excited for this but unfortunately it was not the fast paced, can't put it down read I was expecting.  On one hand the premise of this was really creative and interesting, I thought the horror elements were good and the creatures were well described and creative.  On the other hand, this is a character driven story, but I didn't like either of the main characters.  One of the great things about horror is you almost always want someone to win and survive, but I had a really hard time cheering Mike and Beth on.  That lack of connection and feeling of hope just didn't work for me.  Their "romance" if you can call it that was awkward and they had no chemistry. I also felt Natalia's character was unnecessary but the author made it work.  

This has some gory moments but it isn't over the top and I didn't feel it was too graphic.  If you are at all squeamish, you may want to skip this, there is a lot of blood as both of the characters are injured several times.  At it's core this is a survival story about two people with almost no survival skills trying to survive an impossible situation. They are faced with several types of hostile alien creatures and almost no supplies.  They also have no means to escape.  

This wasn't a bad book by any means, it just didn't appeal to my taste in sci-fi or horror.  After reading several character driven books recently, I've decided I'm more of a plot driven type of person.   I think the creatures and the invasion part was really creative and I wanted more of that.  I do think  it was a pretty decent debut by the author and I look forward to seeing what creative ideas Jones has in store for us in the future.

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Review: Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror

Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror by John F.D. Taff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley.  As always all opinions are my own.  Thank you to Tor Nightfire for reaching out to me and providing me with an ARC of this book.  I loved it!

This is a compilation of a dozen horror stories from some of the great horror writers of today.  If you are like me and have not read all of the authors this is a great way to experience them all!   Each of the stories took me 30 minutes to an hour to read, and while I didn't find any one of them particularly terrifying, they all had some sort of creep factor of gave me that what did I just read sense of unease that I want from a horror story.  I thought all of them were well written and well developed despite them all being short stories.  I feel like there is a story for everyone despite the type of horror you gravitate towards.  There are varied levels of violence and gore in each story, with some being more psychological and some are mores straight forward.

I don't think I disliked a story in the collection.  I really enjoyed the variety of the collection and getting to experience all of the various writers.   If nothing else this has inspired me to check out each of the authors and see what horror offerings I've been missing.  If you are a horror fan I highly recommend this!  

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Review: Sundial by Catriona Ward

Sundial by Catriona Ward
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received an ARC via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this up until the halfway point. Then it kind of dragged until the end where it picked back up, then it just kind of ended without a resolution.  I'm not a huge fan of books that are open ended, but that was clearly a choice the author made to leave things ambiguous and undone.  I would have preferred things to be a bit more wrapped up.  If you have read any of my other reviews, you know I also am not a big fan of alternating timelines, in this case the timeline alternates between Rob (the mother) then and now, and Callie (Rob's oldest daughter), as well as the story within the story that Rob was writing really took me out of the story and made the pace very slow for me.  I think this book had some really interesting concepts but the execution was a bit flawed.  Every time I started to get invested in the story, it would switch timelines and perspectives and throw me out of the story and I would have a hard time getting invested for several chapters.

This book has alot of trigger warnings, so from that perspective horror fans and psychological thriller fans may really enjoy it.  Other readers will want to stay far away from this book.  This book has animal experimentation, domestic violence, emotional abuse, drug use, miscarriage, and child abuse.

Thrillers are always hard to review because you don't want to give anything away without spoiling the book.   They are also very personal when it comes to what a person enjoys or doesn't.  I prefer much faster paced, plot driven thrillers, so the pacing of this obviously didn't work well for me.   This is mostly told from Rob's perspective both then and now, but I was more interested in her daughter Callie.  I found Callie's chapters to be the most gripping and I kept reading as I wanted to get back to her story.  I didn't find Rob to be all that likable, but again I think that was a deliberate choice by the author and her personality starts to come together and make as we find out more about her backstory and upbringing.   As we learn more about Rob, Callie also starts to make more sense.  It just takes a long time to get there.  I like what the author did with the relationship dynamics between Rob and her sister Jack as well as Rob's daughters Callie and Annie.  What you think is happening on the surface is not what it seems, and those interactions and reveals made for and interesting read.  I thought the twist was clever and unexpected, but it was overshadowed by what felt like and unfinished ending.

Overall, this was pretty good, I think a lot of people are going to love this.  This type of thriller doesn't meet all of my personal preferences, but I think the writing was good.  The setting was well described, and the characters were well despite being unlikable.  Based on the trigger warnings I gave above I'd stay away from this book if any of those things are deal breakers for you.  

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Review: Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge

Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. This book was originally published in October 2006, however the audiobook was released in January 2022.  It might seem weird to read a book set on Halloween during the January, but I loved it anyway.  It would be totally appropriate to wait and read this closer to Halloween.  I know alot of readers save their spookier reads for the fall, but I read creepy stuff all year long.  I absolutely loved this!

This is narrated by Vikas Adam, and he does a wonderful job narrating this!  I'm not sure if he used his natural voice or if he was "acting" for the narration, but his voice acting in this gave the audiobook an ominous feel and added to the general creepy vibe of the story.  It was such a great fit for the story.  This is a novella so the audiobook is around 4.5 hours long.  

This takes place all in one night, and you could likely read this in one sitting.  Every year on Halloween, the Halloween Boy rises from a field and terrorizes the town while the teenage boys try to take him down.  The boy who takes out the Halloween Boy wins a prize, gets to leave town and change the course of their life.  There are lots of secrets in this town, which we never really get to understand.  I think that was my biggest issue, we never really find out why this whole October Boys business has to keep happening and what the consequences are when and if it stops.  I felt like that part needed a little more explanation.  

This follows several different characters over the course of the night.  It also switches perspective a couple of times.  I didn't really mind or notice while listening to the book, but I do know that can be irritating to some readers.   There isn't much character development here, but this is a novella about a killer pumpkin boy so I can give that a pass because there is decent action and description of what is happening to move the plot along.  

Overall, I thought this was a really entertaining, creepy audiobook.  It isn't overly gorey or graphic from a horror perspective, however there is some gore and violence.  If you need a quick listen in the horror genre or around the Halloween timeframe, check this one out.

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Review: Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, however I did end up listening to the final published copy of the audiobook. This book is fairly short regardless of the medium you choose to consume it in, the audiobook is around 2.5 hours and the book comes in around 130 pages depending on the edition. I enjoyed the narrator, I thought she did a good job with this creepy story.

Because this is on the shorter side, we don't get alot of background information on the characters or the lore connected with the story itself. I was drawn to read this because it was supposed to be "steeped in Japanese folklore", which having read some other books recently about that subject it is really fascinating. This doesn't go into much detail on the lore. I felt like you had to go in either understanding the lore or not wanting alot of detail on what a Yokai are and what their significance are to the story.

This follows a group of friends as they gather in a creepy old mansion for a destination wedding. The bride apparently always wanted to get married in a haunted house, and we all know brides get the weddings of their dreams, right? Well in this case she does because on of the members of the party is disgustingly wealthy and rents the mansion for the wedding. The mansion has a creepy ghost story attached to it about it's own tragic bride to be. The ghost story is actually why they picked the mansion because the "destination" part of the wedding is ghost hunting. As you can imagine things kind of start to go south as the house has it's own agenda and starts to inject terrifying things into what they thought was going to be a happy occasion. I won't spoil the rest.

I think if you liked The Haunting of Hill House, you might like this. It is more descriptive when it comes to the gore and entities. I thought it was entertaining enough, but something was missing for me. I think I wanted more, but because this was more of a novella length book we didn't get all of the details we would have in a full length novel.

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Review: My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was so great! If you love 80’s slasher movies you need to read this! You can really feel the author's love and knowledge come through in this book. I have to admit I'm not a big horror movie buff, I prefer my horror on the page. I wasn't allowed to watch horror movies, but I got to read horror growing up which is probably why. I have seen enough of them to know that this is a wonderful love letter to the slasher genre and I loved all of the references.

This is so much more than just a horror book! There is much more to Jade being the outcast in town that loves slasher movies. The author has an almost poetic style of writing that gives Jade somewhat of an unrealistic narrator feel, which for me added to the suspense of the book. You really didn't know what was happening until it happened. You aren't really sure if Jade is stuck in a horrible nightmare and she's going to wake up, if there really is a slasher on the loose, or if there is something even weirder happening. Jones weaves this amazing horror story into a plotline around a broken girl and the things she's had to endure to get to the present.

I loved Jade. She is such a complex character, and nothing she does is without reason. There are moments when you don't like her, moments where you want to hug her, and moments you cheer her on. She loves slashers, so naturally she is thrilled when she thinks one is in her town. She also does everything she can with her knowledge of what is to come to educate who she thinks the final girl is to prevent it and stop the slasher in the end. There are also some good side characters that try to help her, but they don't believe her about the slasher.

Parts of this are a little slow moving and I can see some readers will feel parts are repetive. I kind of loved all of the movie references, and while parts of it were a bit slow moving it made it all worth it when you go to the end. This was a book to be savored, not rushed through. Jade uses horror movies, slashers specifically as a handbook to guide her through the events of this book and what she thinks is happening in her town. They all sort of follow a certain outline of events, and Jade is an expert in slasher films. She knows them all by heart, and mentions them frequently. As the story progresses she is certain that she is living in a slasher and is waiting for events to unfold as they would in her favorite genre. Things don't go exactly as they would in a slasher, but the way they did play out was pretty awesome.

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