"Sarah" Book Review

My Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3.5 Stars

What a creepy little book!

I'll start with what I liked about Sarah - the creep factor. I applaud the author's imagination and ability to gross me out. This is not an easy task to do especially since I watch lots of gore films and have read many horror books in the past. I cringed more than once during certain scenes. Sadly, those were the only redeeming qualities of the book.

The main character was pretty naive throughout the book, even at the very end. The peripheral characters were irresponsible and naive as well causing me to think that they did not fully understand the severity of the situation.

The main romantic relationship featured was rushed and it felt forced.

Digital copy received from Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review

"The Ghost Files (The Ghost FIles #1)" Book Review

My Rating ★★★★☆ 4 Stars

What a pleasant surprise!

I’ve had this book sitting in my kindle library for the past year collecting cyber dust.

I loved(ish) the tone of the narrator.

The plot was even better – a girl seeing dead people and is helping to solve a string of deaths of which her foster sister is a victim.

I really liked the book! I only knocked off 1 star because of the relationship between the main character and a certain secondary character of the law.

I won’t go into details here. No sirree. Find out for yourself J  

"Cured (Stung #2)" Book Review

My Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3 Stars

I was hoping this one would be better, and in a way it was. I kinda wish I knew beforehand that I'd be reading from Jacqui's POV. I was really confused when reading the first few pages, trying to figure out who these characters were. As for the plot itself, it was fairly simply, everything worked out happily ever after. Why is Jonah being treated like a Hodor? Like he's the muscles behind the whole operation with no feelings? He got hurt a lot in this book, more than I dare to count, and it's being justified by the fact that he heals quickly. I hated this. Do the women in this book not use their brain and try to see who is there before attacking? Book 1: Fiona shot Bowen before making sure who was approaching. Book 2: Jack stabs Kevin before using her head and seeing who is there. Yes, I get that he practically jumped on her in the dark so she had no idea that he wasn't a real threat at first, but my God! Stop and think before attacking. Same happened in the prison, she attacks Jonah before seeing who is really there. And I think she almost attacked Kevin a second time Oh well. I'm happy this doesn't have a third part. It felt like a very shallow book which had potential but didn't deliver. I still did not get to see what living on the inside of the wall is like, what their rebuilding looks like. So much potential.

"The Devil's Prayer" Book Review

My Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 stars

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I like my torture books with enough torture and gore to make me cringe. This book, to a certain extent and in certain areas throughout made me very happy; however, it is not solely torture, as you can see from the premise given. The Devil’s Prayer presented us with a rollercoaster of themes – history, romance, horror/gore, violence and abuse among others.

Following the death of her mother Denise Russo, who abandoned her two children a few years ago with no warning, Siobhan Russo travels across the world to the convent where her mother lived. In search of answers, she is given a book with her mother’s confessions. There, Siobhan learns of the horrors her mother went through and her subsequent deal with the devil in order to take revenge on those who wronged her.  

For the historical aspect, this book was very well-researched. I like when authors take the time to research before writing a book. It gives me the sense that they are truly committed to the success of their book and will work hard to produce it rather than give a lackadaisical attempt.

However, toward the end, the history became a bit overwhelming and took away from the plot. I found myself simply reading the words just so I could move forward to read the actual plot. Lots of history in there that I didn’t much care for, but I do understand why it was filled with this much information. The author wanted to present us with all this history to make the story more believable and to leave us wondering where history ends and fiction begins. The history was a fundamental part of the story, but I disliked history class, always have and always will.

The other parts were really well done and I was hooked. I won’t give details, it’s better to find out on your own. 

"On Deadly Ground" Book Review

My Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3 Stars

Many thanks to Endeavour Press and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Previously published as King Blood, On Deadly Ground is a post-apocalyptic-horror-survival story with a hint of eroticism and other themes such as revenge and love. 

I love the post-apocalyptic book genre most of all, so I did enjoy this one to a certain extent. I love a thick book, and this was a whopping 675 pages. Those were the only things I really liked about this book. It isn't an awful read, but it could have been better.

Many times it felt like the horror/gore scenes were a bit too overly done and therefore it failed in its attempts to be terrifying. 

The lengthy dialogues between characters were extremely formal and thus unreal. 

Some characters were very naive but I noticed major developments by the end of the book.

One in particular was extremely, sexually creepy, so I was elated whenever her scene ended. 

Now the plot: pretty anticlimactic. There was such a huge build-up that I thought I would be blown away when the big reveal came, instead I was disappointed to the point of not wanting to continue reading. 

Overall, it was an OK read. I wouldn't recommend it to the two main people I recommend books to, but others could have a go at it. If you're into post-apocalyptic/survival stories and don't typically pay attention to writing style then try it out. 

"The Girl With All The Gifts" Book Review

My Rating ★★★★★ 5 Stars   

Every now and then I stumble upon a book so riveting and so well-written that the highest rating (5 stars) simply seems beneath it. This is one of those books, in a league of its own, demanding respect from readers ranging from young adults to mature audiences and those who aren't even a fan of this genre.

This genre? It isn't even like the others in its genre, that's what amazes me. The Girl with All The Gifts wasn't a survivalist apocalypse book. Not really. It contained a delicious plethora of themes - ranging from survival to love (but not the traditional cliché love), to acceptance of the worst kind of humans out there and an in-depth look at the science behind a world gone to ruin. It was everything and more.

I loved how the synopsis gave nothing away. The cover first reeled me in. There was something about the stance of the girl on the front cover - power. A little girl wielding power is what I first thought. Then the synopsis confirmed that she, named Melanie, was a special little girl who promises that she won't bite. This of course is the one and only hint we get that this is a Zombie book.

Did I mention that this was so much more?
The characters, so sure of themselves, are each driven by their unique, ingrained ambitions, all remaining consistent throughout the entirety of the book.

Melanie has a love so profound for Ms. J and wishes to protect her. Ms. J in return has a sort of motherly love for her and wishes to protect her even though Melanie is what she is.
Sergeant Parks, a protector, a man ruined, tired and haunted by the things he's had to do for the good of the remaining humans at the base and underneath it all he seeks redemption and acceptance, from whom you may ask? Well, from anyone willing to listen to him long enough to grant him his desire I presume.
Private Gallagher, a young man, sworn to protect but still scared shitless. He does what he can when he can. He thinks himself a coward, but I didn't see it that way. He is simply a survivor who has not made the best decisions.
And Dr. Caldwell. Driven by an intense urge to find a cure, she's ruthless in both her methods and her devotion and will not stop at anything to achieve her goal. I loved how I ended up feeling for her toward the end of the book. This was a character who no one should feel any kind of pity for, yet I felt something. At one point I accepted her justifications, that she did what she had to do in order to achieve her goals. I saw things from her point of view and I wanted her to succeed.

This was by far the most mature, well-written, well-researched book I've read in the past 12 months.

"Night Draws In" Book Review

★★★☆☆ 3 Stars e-ARC received in exchange for honest feedback. Thanks to Netgalley for making this title available. Being that I'm a nyctophile, when I first came across this title I was intrigued; and the cover somehow exuded creepiness so naturally I was interested in reading this. There are no reviews on goodreads yet (quite understandable being that this is an unreleased book scheduled to be released later in the year) and I'm a bit hesitant to post my generous 3-star review. So in this review I will be cautious yet constructively critical. This was a story with lots of potential; however, it was poorly executed. There were some positive things that I should point out : 1. At times the writing style was clear. 2. The plot was interesting, sometimes unique. 3. It was short (shy of 300 pages I'd say). Some of the negatives: 1. Certain scenes were drawn out. Others were not thoroughly explained. 2. Key mentions from the synopsis were only seen once throughout the entire book, and mentioned in only one line - dragons etc . 3. Lots of editing needs to be done before this is actually released. Maybe I shouldn't even mention this point seeing as the author might be working on that already.

"Life, Love and Death: Short Stories" Book Review

My Rating ★★★★☆ 4 Stars An anthology comprised of romantic, horror, futuristic, fantasy, paranormal short stories. I tried not to go into this book having expectations, but it’s hard to achieve that, nonetheless I went in with an open mind. Surprisingly I really enjoyed this. The writing style was clear, very concise and easy to follow. I tend to enjoy and follow the plot of a story more when the writing is clear – less time is spent trying to decipher code, pretentious writing. The use of pronouns rather than names in the first story (as well as 2 others) confused me a tad bit. I had to reread to try to figure out the sex of the characters. I’ve never really liked stories which follow this pattern though, so it isn’t necessarily a negative thing about the book, it’s simply not a preference of mine. A few stories were more memorable than others and at times I found myself rushing to the end to read the climax. And yes, the climax for these stories was actually at the end. How odd but exciting. I also found myself wishing the stories were longer, much longer in some cases. They were way too short *sad face*. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I love her dark mind. A few stories had me wondering how she came up with the ideas. The darker stories were definitely more gripping and spoke directly to my dark soul e.g Clay Soldiers. I think this one was by far my favourite since it was creepy. The final story “Revolution Imminent” sounds like something that would be a fast-paced, action packed sci-fi thriller movie. I look forward to reading any future titles that are along the horror genre, once the writing style remains simple and unpretentious.