Tag: Horror

Black Tide by K.C. Jones

Publisher: Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire

Date of publication: May 31st, 2022

Genre: Horror, Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Thriller, Dystopia, Speculative Fiction

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

It was just another day at the beach. Then the world ended.

Mike and Beth were strangers before the night of the meteor shower. Chance made them neighbors, a bottle of champagne brought them together, and a shared need for human connection sparked something more.

Following their drunken and desperate one-night stand, the two discover the astronomical event has left widespread destruction in its wake. But the cosmic lightshow was only part of something much bigger, and far more terrifying.

When a lost car key leaves them stranded on an empty stretch of Oregon coast and inhuman screams echo from the dunes, when the rising tide reaches for their car and unspeakable horrors close in around them, these two self-destructive souls must fight to survive a nightmare of apocalyptic scale.

First Line:

My mom once accused me of being a human car wreck, I laughed in her face when she said it.

Black Tide by K.C. Jones

Black Tide was the first in a series of books I had seen on other blogs that I wanted to read. So, like everyone else, I added it to Goodreads and prayed to the book gods that I got an invite. The book gods blessed me because I got every single book I had put on my Want to Read list. I was pretty stoked about getting it and couldn’t wait to read it. I am glad I did because this book scared the everliving out of me!!

Black Tide is a fast-moving horror story on the Oregon coast. Beth is a woman who has gone through a lot but is turning her life around. She is pet sitting for a wealthy couple and enjoying it. Then one night, she meets Mike. Mike owns the house next door and is a bit of a mystery. When Beth sees him drinking champagne on the deck of his house, she invites herself over. That turns into a drunken one-night stand with Beth having a strange, almost vivid dream and Mike witnessing a meteor shower like none he had seen before. When Beth wakes up, Mike is on the beach with Jake (the dog she is pet sitting), and Mike has disturbing news. There is no power, and he cannot get a hold of anyone over the phone. He also has a strange pod on the beach that turned up (along with several others). Deciding to leave and try to find a person of authority who knows what is going on, they drive until they find a bunch of people parked on the beach and the road. What happens next is almost unbelievable, and Beth drops the keys to the car in a rush to get out—stranded and with high tide coming in, Mike and Beth need to figure something out fast before they end up like the people with them on the beach. What happened on the beach? Will they get out? Will they find out what happened?

I very rarely get frightened by books. I lost the ability to do that when I read The Stand and It in middle school (I was a precocious reader). But this book scared the ever living out of me. But, at the same time, while I was scared to death, I also couldn’t put it down. I 100% attribute that to the author keeping me hooked and wanting to see if Mike, Beth, and Jake (along with another person who appears later in the book) would get out alive. I was left feeling breathless during certain scenes. The author also ramped up my anxiety.

I could relate to Beth on certain levels. Who hasn’t felt like a car accident waiting to happen during specific points in their life? Who hasn’t hit rock bottom and has to claw their way out? I know I have. I loved seeing her character grow. She went from being this self-absorbed drunk to a woman willing to do whatever it took to get out of her situation.

I wasn’t too sure about Mike when he was introduced. I kept feeling that he was hiding something (which he was, and it was very sad when it was revealed). But his character also transformed throughout Black Tide. He was pulled out of his depression and realized his life was worth living. I thought he was perfect for Beth, and he complimented her towards the end of the book.

The author very well wrote the horror angle of Black Tide. During the scenes in the car (while the tide was creeping in), I did get some Cujo-like vibes. That didn’t take away from how much I liked the book. Instead, it added to it. And as I said above, the author stoked my anxiety during pivotal scenes.

The science fiction angle of the book was well written also. I loved the imagination the author had with the aliens. They were so monstrous that I had no issue imagining them in my head (which added to my anxiety).

The end of Black Tide left me with conflicting emotions. I was upset over some things, but I understood why they happened. But at the same time, I was overjoyed over other things. I was also sad because of what they realized after leaving the beach. The book didn’t end with a HEA. Instead, without going much into it, I left the book feeling pessimistic about Beth and Mike’s future.

I would recommend Black Tide to anyone over 21. There is violence, language, and nongraphic sex/sexual situations.

Rosie Shadow by Louise Worthington

Publisher: Red Escape Publishing

Date of publication: March 1st, 2021

Genre: Horror

Purchase Links: Amazon

Goodreads synopsis:

Whatcha crying for, sissy? Why don’t you grow a pair?’ Rosie says to her mother…‘Send me to school and I’ll rip off your arm! Beat you with the stump.’

Abandoned by her terrorised mother at the age of six, Rosie Shadow will do anything to win the affection of her father Archie, an undead cannibal in charge of Her Majesty’s Prison Shortbury, now operating as a visitor attraction.

Clare is sent reeling into Archie’s arms with the grief of losing her boyfriend in a mysterious car accident when he collides with an ancient yew tree.

The secrets in the Medieval dungeon beneath the prison are under threat when Clare becomes suspicious of Archie’s true identity and his progeny.

Rosie Shadow is Book I in The Black Tongue Series.

First Line:

At dawn, blackbirds and sparrows sing a love song to celebrate life from the top of the yew tree.

Rosie Shadow by Louise Worthington

Rosie Shadow was a different type of zombie/horror book than I have read. Not saying that I didn’t enjoy it (I did), but it wasn’t typical of the genre.

Rosie Shadow has two distinct storylines. The first storyline centers around Clare, the death of her boyfriend Lenny, her job at a prison made tourist attraction, and her relationship with her boss, Archie. The second storyline centers around Rosie, Elly (her mother), and various social workers brought to help Elly with Rosie. Both storylines are somewhat merged by the end of the book. I say somewhat because Rosie never physically meets Clare or Archie (even though she communicates telepathically with him).

Clare had my sympathy for the entire book. She was dealing with the death of her boyfriend, her school studies, and having a not-so-great relationship with her father. I was in awe over how she dealt with everything. I would have been a freaking mess, but she wasn’t. The only thing that showed that she was internally freaking out was her smoking and her relationship with Archie. But, I think her calmness helped her when everything went to crap at the end of the book. She was the one who kept her head. She was the one who was able to think on her feet with Archie. She was the one who was able to help Beth.

Archie’s character was different. Yes, he was an undead cannibal (or a zombie), but he didn’t act like your typical zombie. He held a job at the former prison. He didn’t crave brains. Instead, he needed to eat a young woman’s flesh to stay alive (for lack of a better term). I wish the author had given more background on him, but I did like what was provided. He was a former prison inmate who died (and was resurrected ?) there. While eating flesh kept him alive, sex was better, and he thought he had found a willing partner in Clare. He wasn’t necessarily evil, but he wasn’t good either. If I had to put a finger on it, he was chaotic neutral with leanings toward evil.

Rosie scared me. She was the evilest, twisted 6-year-old that I have read about in a while. She terrorized her mother, ate raw animals (which disgusted me), loved playing with animal corpses, lying in dirt graves, and generally scared people. I didn’t understand why she was the way she was until the connection to Archie was made (the scene where she killed her social worker and fed her to the yew tree to give to Archie). She sent chills up my spine every time she appeared in the book. When she went to the respite fosterer, I knew that a showdown was coming. And the author didn’t disappoint with that.

The author very well wrote the horror angle of Rosie Shadow. I am not easily scared or even disgusted while reading this genre, and the author succeeded in doing both. The last half of the book that detailed the life-or-death fight scenes between Clare and Archie/Rosie and Annie gave me nightmares.

The paranormal aspect of the book was also very well written. I wish the author had given more detail about Archie’s turning (it interested me a lot), but other than that, I was pretty satisfied with what I read.

The end of Rosie Shadow made me wonder if or when Rosie/Archie would reappear. I know this is book 1 of a series, and I am very interested in reading what book two will bring.

I would recommend Rosie Shadow to anyone over 21. This is language, extreme violence, gore, and somewhat graphic sexual situations.

Kagen the Damned (Kagen the Damned: Book 1) by Jonathan Maberry

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of publication: May 10th, 2022

Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror

Series: Kagen the Damned

Kagen the Damned—Book 1

Son of the Poison Rose—Book 2 (expected publication date: January 10th, 2023)

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | World Cat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sworn by Oath
Kagen Vale is the trusted and feared captain of the palace guard, charged with protection the royal children of the Silver Empire. But one night, Kagen is drugged and the entire imperial family is killed, leaving the empire in ruins.

Abandoned by the Gods
Haunted and broken, Kagen is abandoned by his gods and damned forever. He becomes a wanderer, trying to take down as many of this enemies as possible while plotting to assassinate the usurper–the deadly Witch-king of Hakkia. While all around him magic–long banished from the world—returns in strange and terrifying ways.

Fueled by Rage
To find the royal children and exact his vengeance, Kagen must venture into strange lands, battle bizarre and terrifying creatures, and gather allies for a suicide mission into the heart of the Witch-king’s empire.

Kings and gods will fear him.

Kagen the Damned

First Line:

Kagen Vale woke to the sound of his own damnation.

Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Maberry

Kagen the Damned is a horror/fantasy that was slow to start but gained momentum after the book’s first quarter. I couldn’t put this book down!!

Kagen the Damned had a unique storyline. Kagen is a place guard and the protector of the royal children. He had gone to town on his day off to enjoy some ale and a wench. But when he wakes up, poisoned, and hears the sound of battle outside, he realizes something is seriously wrong. And it is. The Hakkia, led by their Witch-King, have attacked the Silver City and killed the empress and her children. Kagen arrives in time to see the children’s bodies, brutalized beyond recognition. He also attempts to defend his mother, a warrior known as The Poison Rose but is witness to her death. Kagen then has a vision where his gods turn their backs on him and damn him. That pushed Kagen to start drinking heavily and whoring his way around the countryside while avoiding the deadly Ravens (who are the Witch-King’s assassins). Can Kagen pull himself out of his despair and exact revenge on the Witch-King? Can he redeem himself?

There is another storyline running in tandem with Kagen’s. Fifteen-year-old Ryssa, an alocyte with The Garden, and twenty-year-old Miri, a nun with The Garden, run through the Silver City, looking for an escape route. Finding it in underground tunnels, they soon meet up with pirates taking them to a haven. But, Ryssa starts noticing that not all is what it seems with Miri and the crew. And when she finds out where they are heading, she is doubly sure that something will happen to her. What is going on? Can Ryssa trust her instincts, or are they wrong?

I am going to warn you about trigger warnings. They are rape, attempted rape, talk of rape, domestic violence, child abuse, animal abuse, gore, and murder. If any of these trigger you, I strongly suggest not reading this book.

I felt awful for Kagen and didn’t blame him for his actions during the book’s first 30-40%. How would you have acted if an invading force gruesomely murdered everyone you loved (family, friends, coworkers)? And then you find out that the gods you have dedicated your life to have turned their backs on you? My answer: The same way. He had a combination of survivor’s guilt, PTSD, and shame that he couldn’t save the children. What broke my heart the most about that part of the storyline was his anguish about not being able to save the children. Now, saying that, it did seem like the storyline stalled a tiny bit while Kagen was in his depression. When Tuke came on the scene and forced Kagen to come out of his depression, the book picked back up. From that point on, Kagen had a purpose: kill the Witch-King.

Ryssa was almost too innocent to be a part of this book. I got why the author wrote her the way he did but still. It wasn’t until she and Miri got to the island that I began to understand that she had a part to play in Kagen’s storyline and that her innocence was a considerable part of it.

The Witch-King was one of the more gruesome villains that I have read. He gave me shivers every time he made an appearance in the book. His end game was to become Emporer, and I was curious to see if that would happen.

The fantasy angel was wonderfully written. Kagen the Damned is a dark fantasy, and oh boy, did it live up to that genre. This was also one of the few books I have read that mentioned the Elder Ones (Cthulhu and Hastur). It made the book more enjoyable for me to read.

The author wonderfully wrote the horror angle also. This book was like a car accident, I wanted to look away, but I felt compelled to keep looking. I needed to read the next chapter to see what was going to happen and if Kagen would achieve his goal.

The end of Kagen the Damned was interesting. I did figure out who the Witch-King was, and I figured out who his children were early on in the book (well, once they were mentioned). The author dropped enough hints throughout the book that when the reveal happened, I wasn’t surprised. I also wasn’t surprised by what happened with Ryssa and Miri. The author did end the book on a cliffhanger, which I didn’t like, but it did its job. I am going to need to read book 2.

I would recommend Kagen the Damned to anyone over 21. There is graphic violence, graphic violence, and semi-graphic sex scenes. There are also the triggers that I mentioned above.

The Shadow House by Anna Downes

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books

Date of publication: April 5th, 2022

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Fiction, Suspense, Gothic

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Extraordinarily tense and deliciously mysterious, Anna Downes’s The Shadow House follows one woman’s desperate journey to protect her children at any cost, in a remote place where not everything is as it seems.

A HOUSE WITH DEADLY SECRETS.

A MOTHER WHO’LL RISK EVERYTHING TO BRING THEM TO LIGHT.

Alex, a single mother of two, is determined to make a fresh start for her and her children. In an effort to escape her troubled past, she seeks refuge in a rural community. Pine Ridge is idyllic; the surrounding forests are beautiful and the locals welcoming. Mostly.

But Alex finds that she may have disturbed barely hidden secrets in her new home. As a chain of bizarre events is set off, events eerily familiar to those who have lived there for years, Alex realizes that she and her family might be in greater danger than ever before. And that the only way to protect them all is to confront the shadows lurking in Pine Ridge.

First Line:

The bones came first. A gift, nothing wanted. Next, a doll, a likeness, a promise. And the blood marks the choice. It finds a face, and then you know.

The Shadow House by Anna Downes

I wanted to like The Shadow House. I am a big fan of thrillers/mystery/suspense, and from what I read, this book was something that I would like. Then I read it, and I was let down.

The Shadow House did have an exciting storyline. Alex is a single mother of two, and she is on the run from the abusive father of her youngest child. Finding Pine Ridge was perfect, and Alex felt that she could make a fresh start for herself and her children. But things start to go sour when she receives weird gifts and overhears a bizarre rumor about a witch living in the surrounding woods. The more she digs into the secrets around Pine Ridge, the more unwelcoming the townspeople become. Can Alex figure out not only who is sending the gifts but why? And will her perfect refuge stay that way, or will it become tainted? And are the rumors about the witch true?

I hate to say this, but I was not too fond of Alex for about 90% of the book. She had a massive chip on her shoulder. She had gotten herself into a bad situation with her ex. Nobody deserves to be treated that way. But my pity was overwhelmed by my dislike of her.

I also didn’t care for Renee when the author switched to her POV. She knew that her husband was abusive toward Gabriel, but she didn’t do anything. Her son was crying out for help/attention/both, and she turned a blind eye. I get that she was dealing with her stuff (overbearing, uber-religious parents and her overbearing husband). It’s a problem when your kid locks himself in his bedroom for hours upon hours and refuses to come out. So, yeah, I didn’t pity her (Gabriel, on the other hand, oodles of concern for him).

I did think that The author very well wrote the mystery angle. I liked seeing Alex’s detective work and where it led her. A couple of twists took me by surprise, and one of those twists was a big one.

Several minor storylines were used as a filler. The one with Ollie and his school was heartbreaking, and considering how the author tied it into another secondary character, it broke my heart even more. Of course, that too was a surprise, and I feel that it got overshadowed by everything else.

The thriller angle was a little “meh.” I wasn’t sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for the next thrill to show up with bated breath. It was barely there. If there, I should have been glued to my Kindle. Instead, I was putting my Kindle down and getting bored.

I was a little surprised by the end of the book. I was left feeling “meh” about it. I wasn’t expecting Renee/Alex’s storyline to be resolved the way it was. The author made it so that almost everyone had a happy ending. It just didn’t sit right with me.

I would recommend The Shadow House to anyone over 21. There is nongraphic sex, mild violence, and mild language.

The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Ray

Date of publication: February 1st, 2022

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Suspense

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | iTunes | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A mysterious plague that causes random bouts of violence is sweeping the nation. Now three generations of women must navigate their chilling new reality in this moving exploration of identity, cycles of abuse, and hope.

Chelsea Martin appears to be the perfect housewife: married to her high school sweetheart, the mother of two daughters, keeper of an immaculate home.

But Chelsea’s husband has turned their home into a prison; he has been abusing her for years, cutting off her independence, autonomy, and support. She has nowhere to turn, not even to her narcissistic mother, Patricia, who is more concerned with maintaining the appearance of an ideal family than she is with her daughter’s actual well-being. And Chelsea is worried that her daughters will be trapped just as she is–until a mysterious illness sweeps the nation.

Known as The Violence, this illness causes the infected to experience sudden, explosive bouts of animalistic rage and attack anyone in their path. But for Chelsea, the chaos and confusion the virus causes is an opportunity–and inspires a plan to liberate herself from her abuser.

First Line:

The first recorded incidence of the Violence occurred as Ruth Belmont of Land O’Lakes, Florida, was putting a tub of mayonnaise in her cart at a warehouse store on Tuesday, April 15th, 2025.

the violence by delilah s dawson

When I read the blurb for The Violence, I was instantly intrigued. But, I was also a little hesitant to read it. I was intrigued by the last few books that I did not like. So, keeping that in mind, I dove into The Violence. To say that I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. I loved this book!!

The Violence is a dystopia set in 2025 Florida. In this world, we have learned to live with COVID and adapted our lives around it. Life has gotten back to normal when news reports start talking about people randomly attacking and killing people. These random attacks soon become commonplace, and a new pandemic is announced. As with the COVID pandemic, its seriousness is downplayed until it is out of control.

The Violence centers around three people and follows them from the pandemic’s start to the end. Chelsea is a stay-at-home mother trapped in an abusive marriage. She dreams of getting out and saving her girls but can’t because her husband would destroy her. So, when The Violence starts, Chelsea uses that to her advantage. Ella is Chelsea’s seventeen-year-old daughter who has witnessed her mother’s abuse for years. She is caught up in an abusive relationship herself but breaks it off when her abuser is caught on camera (and in a public place) beating on her. Patricia is Chelsea’s narcissist mother. She is more concerned with maintaining appearances than helping her daughter and granddaughters escape their abuser. The Violence brings them together unexpectedly, but it also tears them apart. With Chelsea on the run, Ella looking for her, it is up to Patricia to keep Brooklyn safe. But who will keep Patricia safe? And will Chelsea ever get free from her ex? Will Ella find her mother before her father does? What happens when everything comes to a head?

The Violence had a lightening fast storyline. I had zero issues keeping up with how fast the storyline went. Surprisingly, there is no lag. This story didn’t stop. Put it this way, I read it in one night; that’s how fast it went.

Before I get deeper into the review, I want to give everyone a trigger warning heads-up. This book is graphically violent (hence the title). The author doesn’t hold any punches when infected people storm (when they blackout and kill people). She also doesn’t hold back during the abuse scenes. At the beginning of the book, there is a forward explaining why she wrote those scenes the way she did. But still didn’t prepare me for how graphic those scenes were. There is also scenes of verbal abuse (Patricia remembering calling toddler Chelsea stupid stuck out to me), sexual abuse (Chelsea getting raped by David), emotional abuse (Hayden telling Ella he was going to kill himself if she didn’t respond to his text), and animal abuse (David kicking the family dog every time he saw him and that awful scene when Chelsea blacked out). Those examples are only scratching the surface of this book. So read with caution if any of these triggers you.

I loved and pitied Chelsea. I hate to say it, but the way her mother treated her growing up paved the way for her to be in an abusive relationship with David. My heart broke for her during those first few scenes when David choked her. The author made me feel the horror and desperation she went through. I did think she was genius for her plan to get David taken away, and Ella’s 911 call only cemented it. But it was a short-lived plan, and she was getting threatened by David’s friends (one a lawyer and one a cop). When she ended up getting The Violence, she did what any mother would do, she shut herself away, and when she got word that her ex was coming home, she ran to her mother. But, it was what happened after she left the girls at her mother’s. I was equally shouting “Yas girl” and cringing at what she was doing. The name Florida Woman will forever be associated with her.

My heart broke for Ella. She was such a broken child, and I wanted to spirit her away from her family. She had no safe space for her to decompress. Instead, she went from school (where her friends and abusive boyfriend were) to home, where she had to worry about her father potentially killing her mother. She also was tasked with keeping her 5-year-old sister safe and away from her father at night. That meant locking herself and Brooklyn in her room at night. But, that all changed when her father was arrested, and her mother got The Violence. Ella became Brooklyn’s parent. I didn’t blame her for getting angry when Chelsea decided (after finding out that David was getting out of jail) to move them to Patricia’s. I also didn’t blame her for leaving to find Chelsea because Patricia was awful. It showed how much she had grown. But, it was when she stumbled upon the RV and got hooked up with the scientists that she started to blossom. She became that strong, independent girl that she should have been from the start.

I was not too fond of Patricia. OMG, I wanted to go into the book and strangle her at points. She was one of the more awful people that I have ever read. The way she ignored Chelsea’s bruises and how she talked to Chelsea was horrible. Everything was about appearances to her. But, as her backstory was revealed, I did start to feel sorry for her. Her abusive childhood and rape (which resulted in Chelsea) shaped her. She modeled the only behavior that she knew, verbal and emotional abuse. When she took in Ella and Brooklyn, I could see cracks in her facade. And when she was left to care for Brooklyn, those cracks became bigger and bigger. Her character growth and transformation was one of the more surprising ones I read. I loved how she ended up.

Brooklyn was adorable. I was so surprised that she wasn’t more traumatized. I mean, she witnessed her father almost killing her mother. She was uprooted from her house and lived with her grandmother, who was distant and cold. Then, Ella, her protector, leaves. Instead of acting out, having tantrums, or regressing, she remained normal. The only sign the author gave that she had been traumatized was the nightmares she had while sleeping in Patricia’s closet. My heart (and Patricia’s) broke when I realized who she was talking about and what. But other than that, there was nothing.

The secondary characters did round out the book. They all added an extra depth that the book needed.

The horror angle was well written. As I mentioned above, there was a lot of gore and violence associated with this book. The author got in-depth with the gore. I did think certain scenes could have been toned down, but then they wouldn’t have had the punch that they did.

The mystery angle was also very well written. I couldn’t figure out what would happen next in the book. After a certain point, I couldn’t figure out if everyone would come together and when.

The end of The Violence was, well, violent. I will not say much about it except that David got what was coming to him. I also liked the epilogue, showing where everyone was. It gave me hope for all the characters.

I would recommend The Violence for anyone over 21. There is graphic violence, language, and graphic accounts of sexual assault.

Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: January 18th, 2022

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Fantasy, Supernatural, Feminism

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | Google Play | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A biting novel from an electrifying new voice, Such a Pretty Smile is a heart-stopping tour-de-force about powerful women, angry men, and all the ways in which girls fight against the forces that try to silence them.

There’s something out there that’s killing. Known only as The Cur, he leaves no traces, save for the torn bodies of girls, on the verge of becoming women, who are known as trouble-makers; those who refuse to conform, to know their place. Girls who don’t know when to shut up.

2019: Thirteen-year-old Lila Sawyer has secrets she can’t share with anyone. Not the school psychologist she’s seeing. Not her father, who has a new wife, and a new baby. And not her mother—the infamous Caroline Sawyer, a unique artist whose eerie sculptures, made from bent twigs and crimped leaves, have made her a local celebrity. But soon Lila feels haunted from within, terrorized by a delicious evil that shows her how to find her voice—until she is punished for using it.

2004: Caroline Sawyer hears dogs everywhere. Snarling, barking, teeth snapping that no one else seems to notice. At first, she blames the phantom sounds on her insomnia and her acute stress in caring for her ailing father. But then the delusions begin to take shape—both in her waking hours, and in the violent, visceral sculptures she creates while in a trance-like state. Her fiancé is convinced she needs help. Her new psychiatrist waves her “problem” away with pills. But Caroline’s past is a dark cellar, filled with repressed memories and a lurking horror that the men around her can’t understand.

As past demons become a present threat, both Caroline and Lila must chase the source of this unrelenting, oppressive power to its malignant core. Brilliantly paced, unsettling to the bone, and unapologetically fierce, Such a Pretty Smile is a powerful allegory for what it can mean to be a woman, and an untamed rallying cry for anyone ever told to sit down, shut up, and smile pretty.

There was blood in the water–a dull pink bloom–the morning Lila Sawyer heard about the first missing girl.

such a pretty smile by kristi demeester

I am going to be the odd one out with this book. Why? Well, I didn’t care for it. I know (ducking rotten tomatoes and hearing boos echoing across all the platforms I post to), it is not the popular opinion. I wanted to like this book and was pretty excited to read it after all the favorable reviews. Then I read it, and it fell flat for me.

Such a Pretty Smile did have an exciting storyline. The book centers around Lila and her mother, Caroline. In the 2019 storyline, Lila is a teenager dealing with a lot in her life. Her mother has a reputation for creating creepy statues made out of materials she found on her walks. Her father is distant, focusing more on her newborn sister, born premature and with a severe health complication. She is also dealing with peer pressure, a frenemy who alternately bullies and befriends her and questions her sexuality. To top it off, Lila has heard dogs bark, and there is a voice in her head telling her to do things that she usually wouldn’t do. Meanwhile, brutalized bodies of young girls are being found around the Atlanta area.

In the 2004 timeline, Caroline is under an immense about of pressure. Her father is in hospice, and she is drowning under the bills associated with it. Caroline takes a job teaching private art lessons to a homeschooled teenager to make ends meet. But, things are happening to Caroline that she can’t understand. She hears dogs barking nonstop, and she is having delusions. When she talks to her psychiatrist about that, she gets drugged, but that doesn’t stop it. Everything comes to a head when she finds out about her past, which ties directly to the current murders.

When Lila finds out about Caroline’s past, the storylines meet and she runs back to New Orleans to investigate Jazzland. What happens will send shockwaves in everyone’s lives and change them forever.

I did feel bad for Lila. She was smothered by her mother and ignored by her father. On top of that, she dealt with bullying and figured out her sexuality. She was a pressure cooker and was about to blow. Honestly, I was surprised that she waited as long as she did to freak out on Macy, her father, and her stepmother. I did wonder (when she started hearing the dogs barking) if her stress was manifesting. But it wasn’t until she was in the car (sweating her butt off) that I understood what was happening to her was paranormal.

I also felt bad for Caroline. She had a lot on her plate in 2004. She was solely responsible for her dying father’s medical/hospice bills. She was trying to get through art school and launch her career. She had to deal with a fiance who didn’t support her in anything. So, when she started hearing dogs barking and seeing things, she figured that it was because of stress. I wish that she could have had a break in that storyline. But it went from one thing to another when her father told her that she was kidnapped when she was a child. It was then that everything amped up. Her descent into mental illness and how the male figures in her life treated her were awful.

The horror angle of Such a Pretty Smile was well written, but it didn’t do anything for me. I was waiting for some epic battle or at least The Cur getting what it deserved. It didn’t happen. Instead, there was a rail against men and how women were expected to confirm (which we are, and yes, it is unfair). I felt a little let down when the author explained everything at the end of the book. I was left feeling meh.

I did like the solid feminist stance that the book took. But, I did feel that it was a bit much in places—one of the things that made me “meh” about Such a Pretty Smile.

I did enjoy the ending and seeing how Lila ended up after the events of Jazzland. I am glad that she met with people who understood what she went through. I also wondered, with how the final paragraphs were worded, if there was going to be a sequel. Maybe The Cur will get what is coming to it.

I would recommend Such a Pretty Smile to anyone over 21. There is sex, violence, and language.

The Devil’s Whispers by Lucas Hault

Publisher: TCK Publishing

Date of publication: February 20th 2022

Genre: Horror

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

Goodreads Synopsis:

In a silent, sleepy castle, evil has awakened…

Famed British lawyer Gerard Woodward is summoned to an ancient Welsh castle to assist a dying lord in his final affairs. But as his host slips closer to death, Gerard begins to feel less like a guest and more like a prisoner. When he finds himself locked inside his room, he realizes he must escape.

After finding his way out of his room, Gerard begins to wonder if he was safer locked inside. The labyrinthine halls echo secrets. A terrible wail and the rattling of chains sets his nerves on end. Something sinister is happening within the walls of Mathers Castle, and when he descends into the dungeons, he discovers a horrible secret…

In nearby London, children vanish into the night, animals are horribly mutilated, and a savage creature stalks the shadows. When Gerard’s wife, Raelyn, becomes the creature’s next target, his need to escape reaches a fever pitch. He must get out alive so he can dispel the evil that threatens to destroy his beloved Raelyn… and the rest of us.

Fans of epistolary Gothic horror classics like Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Picture of Dorian Gray will devour The Devil’s Whispers.

First Line:

To His Eminence the Archbishop of Canterbury, I lie here on my deathbed with a terrible secret, one that hangs heavily upon my heart and belongs locked away in the archives of the Vatican.

the devil’s whispers by lucas hault

It has been a while since I have read a horror book. While I like the horror genre, I tend to avoid them because I mainly read at night. But, when the author emailed me and asked me to review The Devil’s Whispers, I accepted. I had decided that when I read the book, I would read it during the day. And I kept to that, believe it or not. While I am glad that I read The Devil’s Whispers, I was “meh” on the storyline and how the author presented the book.

The Devil’s Whispers had a slow-paced storyline that stayed pretty steady throughout the book. There was some lag in the middle of the book (during Jayda’s entries), and the book never recovered from that.

The Devil’s Whispers is not a traditionally written book. While it does have a plotline with the main characters, it is instead told through journal entries. I enjoy reading books written this way, and I feel that it is a different way to present a story. But, when there were more than two journal entries, I started getting confused and a little bored. I would have been thrilled with just reading the book through Gerard and Raelyn’s POV (with maybe Jayda’s popping in to clarify some scenes).

The Devil’s Whispers is a rewrite of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I have read many books that attempt to rewrite or write their take on that story. This book is no exception, except the vampires are different. They can give birth, but their babies need to be raised by humans to survive. They can shapeshift into various animals. They can go outside in the sunlight and survive in the water. I found it fascinating that while these vampires could travel, they could only do it within a certain radius of their vases (where they lived). And to kill them, you needed to break the vase.

I do want to touch upon trigger warnings. I usually do not include these in my reviews, but I feel that I need to make an exception in this case. This book is very violent, very bloody. There is gore (oh so much), animal abuse, excessive violence, and child death. I like to think that I have a high tolerance for things like that, but there were scenes where I had to put the book down because it was just too much.

I liked Raelyn, but I felt she didn’t match when the book was written. Her thoughts and actions were more of a modern-day woman than a woman of that era. Not to say I didn’t like her (I did), but it didn’t jive with me and made it hard for me to connect with her. I will say that she was very driven to find Gerard and help Noah, but she was also blind to what was happening around her.

I liked Gerard too. He was the real MVP of the book. He had escaped the vampires once, and he was willing to do whatever it took to beat them. He also loved Raelyn and was ready to do whatever it took to free her from the vampires. I loved those later chapters (that last battle was a doozy) because they breathed life into the book.

The end of The Devil’s Whispers was a little anti-climatic. I did like that everything was resolved. But, I wondered about something mentioned at the very end and if the threat was over.

I would recommend The Devil’s Whispers to anyone over 21. There is extreme violence, language, and sexual situations.

Liar: Memoir of a Haunting by E.F. Schraeder

Book Cover

Publisher:

Date of publication: February 22, 2021

Genre: LGBTQ+, Horror

Purchase Links: Amazon

Goodreads Synopsis:

Who doesn’t crave a little escape? Dreaming of small-town life and rural charm, Alex and Rainey find a deal on an old rustic home they can’t resist. But soon after Rainey moves, her preoccupation with weird local history and the complications of living alone in the woods take a toll. Alex worries that the long nights and growing isolation are driving her stir crazy. When the Sugar House is damaged and Rainey goes missing, Alex doesn’t know where to turn. Was it a storm, vandals, or something worse? What happened at the Sugar House? The only thing worse than wondering is finding out.

First Line:

All we wanted was a cabin in the woods. We didn’t want this story.

liar: memoir of a haungting by e.f. schraeder

When I first read the blurb for Liar: Memoir of a Haunting, I was a little intrigued. I have read horror, and I have read LGBTQIA+. But, in all the years that I have been book blogging, I don’t think that I have ever read the two together. So, ultimately, that is why I decided to review Liar. I am glad I did, but I will warn, this book might not be for everyone.

The plotline for Liar: A Memoir of a Haunting is interesting. Rainey and Alex are a queer couple looking to move to a place that is more accepting of their lifestyle. They settle on Vermont, a state that has always been more accepting of alternative lifestyles. After seeing multiple houses, they are shown Sugar House. They fall in love with the house and the more laid-back lifestyle. But things aren’t what they seem at Sugar House. When Rainey finds a strange journal that has mad rambling about aspens and a space between the worlds, she slowly starts moving her mind. What happens to Rainey and Alex? Is Sugar House haunted, or is it all in Rainey’s head?

Liar: A Memoir of a Haunting is a slow-burn book. It starts off slow and keeps up the slow pace for 90% of the book. The plotline didn’t get going until Alex showed up at Sugar House after Rainey went missing. At that point, it did pick up and kept a steady, medium pace until the end of the book. I enjoyed it and I feel that the flow of the book would have been interrupted if it went any faster.

The book is told from a dual point of view, Rainey and Alex. The book’s primary focus is Rainey and her deteriorating mental health, but some chapters were told from Alex’s POV. I felt that those added some extra depth to both characters. I got to see what was going on with Rainey from some else’s perspective.

Mental health is a significant part of Liar: A Memoir of a Haunting. Rainey has issues that she is working on when she moves to Vermont. Those issues come to a head during her time at the house. At points, the author made me wonder if Rainey is haunted, or is it all in her head? By the end of the book, I was still wondering that.

The horror angle of Liar: A Memoir of a Haunting is very subtle and gradual. There were points in the book where I wondered if Rainey’s isolation was messing with her head or if something was going on. That is what made me like this book the most. You didn’t know. Tie in the mental health angle made for a fantastic read.

Also interwoven in Liar: A Memoir of a Haunting is the story of Rainey and Alex’s relationship. I thought they had a great relationship at the beginning of the book, but I knew by the middle that it was in trouble. I know how hard it is to have a partner who travels. My SO of 17 years travels all the time for work (3 days a week, every week), and it sucks. But I have three children and live in a populated area while Rainey was alone and living in isolation. That is a huge difference, showing Rainey’s worsening mental state.

The end of Liar: Memoir of a Haunting was interesting. The author wrapped the storyline so that I wondered what happened. It also wasn’t ended on a HEA. Instead, it ended with two people trying to find each other and figure out what happened at Sugar House.

I would recommend Liar: Memoir of a Haunting to anyone over 16. It is a clean book with very subtle scares. There is language, some mild violence, and some mild gore.

Golem by P.D. Alleva

Publisher: Quill and Birch Publishing

Date of publication: October 5th, 2021

Genre: Horror, Paranormal

Purchase links: Amazon

Goodreads Synopsis:

Detective. Angel. Victim. Devil.

A haunting tale of suspense, loss, isolation, contempt, and fear.

On November 1, 1951, war hero John Ashton was promoted to detective. His first assignment: find the district attorney’s missing daughter. But his only lead is Alena Francon, a high society sculptor and socialite committed to Bellevue’s psychiatric facility.

Alena has a story for the new detective. A story so outlandish John Ashton refuses to heed the warning. Alena admits to incarnating Golem, a demonic force, into her statue. A devil so profound he’s infiltrated every part of New York’s infrastructure. Even worse, he uses children to serve as bodily hosts for his demonic army, unleashing a horde of devils into our world.

When Alena’s confidant, Annette Flemming, confirms the existence of Golem, John is sent on a collision course where fate and destiny spiral into peril, and the future of the human race hangs in the balance.

First Line:

Annette Flemming sat on a wooden stool with a large round salad bowl filled with candy – Charleston Chews and Tootsie Rolls – at her feet waiting for the next trick-or-treater.

golem by p.d. alleva

I am a massive fan of the horror genre. But lately, I haven’t been reading much horror. I haven’t found a book in the genre that interested me. That was until I read the blurb for Golem. I thought that this book would be a perfect way to break back into the genre. And guess what? It was!!! I couldn’t put it down.

Golem had an exciting plotline. Alena is a well-known high society sculptor and socialite in Bellevue. She had set fire to her family’s legendary hotel after suffering a mental collapse. John is a newly promoted detective who has been tasked with finding the missing daughter of the local DA. His investigation leads him to Alena, and she tells a story that seems impossible. But the more John investigates, the more Alena’s story seems the truth. Will John find the daughter? Will his investigation find out if Alena is telling the truth? And who or what is Golem, and what role does he play in Alena’s descent into madness?

Golem was a fast-paced book that kept its pacing up for the entire book. There was some lag towards the middle of the book, but that did not take away from how much I enjoyed the book.

I liked John but found him naive at the beginning of the book. I also felt terrible because he was given such a complex case. But, as the book went on, he lost his naiveness and progressed into a character willing to solve this case no matter what. And he did, but it was at such a cost that it did change him.

I liked Alena. She came across as such a simple character at the beginning of the book. I mean, she was at Bellevue for a reason. But her character grew during her chapters, and I loved it. She went from a somewhat shallow character to one with so much strength (inner and outer) that I was amazed by it.

Golem was such a fascinating character to read. Of course, he was pure evil, but I still hope that he wouldn’t end up that way when he was created. He had layers that I didn’t think a villain would have. He scared me to the point where I had to finish this book during the daytime, and I don’t scare easily.

The horror angle of Golem was wonderfully written. There is so much that I want to say here, but I can’t. I will say that I haven’t been this scared while reading a book in a very long time. I was sufficiently spooked during Alena’s retelling of how Golem came to be and his rise. A couple of scenes will never leave me, but the one that stands out to me the most is with the newborn baby. I knew during that point that I had to read this book during the day, and I had nightmares about it at night.

Golem is full of trigger warnings. I will warn you that you should go into this book knowing about them. The trigger warnings are child abuse, gore, and talk of pedophilia. There might be more, but I remember these major ones. I strongly suggest not reading this book if any triggers you.

The end of Golem was not what I expected. There was a massive twist in the plotline. It was so huge that I didn’t see it coming, and I wasn’t a fan of what the author had the main characters (well, mainly John) do. This book did not end with a happy ending. I was shocked by the very last chapters of the book. So shocked that I did wonder if the author was setting up for another book.

I would recommend Golem to anyone over the age of 21. There is sex, gore, violence, and mild language.

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

Book Cover

Publisher: Macmillan/Tor, Tor Nightfire

Date of Publication: September 28th, 2021

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible |WorldCat

Format Read: Unedited ARC

Received From: Publisher

Goodreads Synopsis:

This is the story of a serial killer. A stolen child. Revenge. Death. And an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street.

All these things are true. And yet they are all lies…

You think you know what’s inside the last house on Needless Street. You think you’ve read this story before. That’s where you’re wrong.

In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, lies something buried. But it’s not what you think…

First Line:

Today is the anniversary of Little Girl With Popsicle. It happened by the lake, eleven years ago—she was there, and then she wasn’t.

the last house on needless street by catriona ward

I have had Catriona Ward on my reading radar for a long time but have never gotten around to reading her books. That all changed when I got an email from NetGalley for The Last House on Needless Street promoting the book was “Read Now” for the first 100 members. I jumped on that. I am glad that I did, even if this book was one of the more disturbing books I have read to date.

I wish I could get into more of the plotline, but I will stick with a fundamental outline. Ted is a loner who lives in a rundown house. He was also a former suspect in the kidnapping of Lulu 11 years earlier but had an alibi. Dee is Lulu’s sister, and she is convinced that Ted is behind Lulu’s disappearance. So she rents the house next door to him and spies on him. But not everything is what it seems. What happened to Lulu? Who is being kept in the freezer? Why can’t Olivia go outside?

I had a bit of a problem trying to figure out how I would review The Last House on Needless Street. Why do you ask? Because anything I write or want to reveal could potentially be a spoiler.

I am going to warn everyone; this is a very dark book. This book is one of the darkest books that I have read in a long time. It took me a while to process it after I was done reading because of everything that happened. I suggest that if you do decide to read the book, that you do with an open mind because nothing is what it seems!!

This book does start weirdly, and it stays that way while the author introduces the main characters (Ted, Dee, and Olivia). Once the introductions are made, the book does even out some and stays that way until about the middle of the book. That is when the first of several shocking twists are introduced.

The pacing of The Last House on Needless Street was fast. There was a slight lag in the middle of the book (when Ted was meeting with his Dr), but it wasn’t enough to throw the reader off track. The author kept up the fast pace until the end.

The end of The Last House on Needless Street played mind games with me. Everything that I thought about the book was turned on end. I was not expecting what was revealed, and it shocked me. I had to sit and think about what happened before I wrote this review. Also, do NOT skip the author’s note. It sheds so much light on everything.

I would recommend The Last House on Needless Street to anyone over the age of 21. There is no sex, but there is violence and language.