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Tuesday 31 December 2019

Books Read in 2019


THE HAUNTING OF HENDERSON CLOSE:
Catherine Cavendish 

 PRETTY MARYS ALL IN A ROW:
Gwendolyn Kiste 

 BLACK WINGS:
Megan Hart 

TWIN LAKES THE AUTUMN FIRES: (DNF)
Melissa Lason & Michelle Garza 

 A POCKETFUL OF CROWS:
Joanne M Harris 

 THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY 
 APOCALYPSE SUITE #1 
 The Day the Eiffel Tower Went Berserk:
Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá 

 THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY 
 APOCALYPSE SUITE #2 
 We Only See Each Other at Weddings and Funerals:
Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá 

 THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY 
 APOCALYPSE SUITE #3 
 Dr. Terminal's Answer:
Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá 

 THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY 
 APOCALYPSE SUITE #4 
 Baby, I'll Be Your Frankenstein:
Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá 

 THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY 
APOCALYPSE SUITE #5 
 Thank You For the Coffee:
Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá 

 THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY
 APOCALYPSE SUITE #6 
 Finale:
Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá 

 YOU
(You #1):
Caroline Kepnes 

BREATHE. BREATHE. 
Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi 

 HEADS WILL ROLL
(Necromancer #0.1):
Lish McBride 

 NECROMANCER
(Necromancer #0.5):
Lish McBride 

THE NIGHTMARE GIRL:
 Jonathan Janz 

 THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOLUME 2
Dallas: 
 Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá 

 BENEATH THE SUGAR SKY
(Wayward Children #3):
Seanan McGuire 

 JUNCTION (DNF):
Daniel M Bensen 

 THE PLAYING CARD KILLER:
Russell James 

OF DOGS AND WALLS:
Yūko Tsushima

 THREE JAPANESE SHORT STORIES:
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Kafū Nagai & Koji Uno 

 I CALL UPON THEE:
Ania Ahlborn 

 LOOKER: 
 Laura Sims 

 THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY
HOTEL OBLIVION #1 
 Evil:
Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá 

 THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY 
 HOTEL OBLIVION #2 
 Miniature War in a Miniature Home:
Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá 

 THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY 
 HOTEL OBLIVION #3 
 Violence:
Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá 

 THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY 
HOTEL OBLIVION #4 
 The Labyrinth:
Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá 

 THE DISTANCE OF THE MOON: 
Italo Calvino

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY 
HOTEL OBLIVION #5
Free:
Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá 

THE DELPHI ROOM(DNF)
Melia McClure

WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE:
Shirley Jackson

SECOND LIVES(DNF)
PD Cacek

STOKER'S WILDE(DNF)
Steven Hopstaken & Melissa Prusi

THE SHINING GIRLS:
Lauren Beukes

THE MAKING OF GABRIEL DAVENPORT
(Gabriel Davenport #1):
Beverley Lee

THE LAKE:
Tananarive Due

THE GEMINI EXPERIMENT:
Brian Pinkerton

THE WIDENING GYRE(DNF)
Michael R Johnston

THE BREAKTHROUGH:
Daphne du Maurier

AN ARMY OF SKIN:
Morgan K Tanner

THE SLEEP TIGHT MOTEL
(Dark Corners Collection #2):
Lisa Unger

THE GOOD GIRL:
Mary Kubica

WILL HAUNT YOU(DNF)
Brian Kirk

HANNAH-BEAST
(Dark Corners Collection #1):
Jennifer McMahon

WAGONG BUDDY:
Steve Stred

CALL DROPS:
John F Leonard

PET SEMATARY:
Stephen King

MIAO DAO
(Dark Corners Collection #4):
Joyce Carol Oates

THERE'S A GIANT TRAPDOOR SPIDER YOUR THE BED
(Dark Corners Collection #3):
Edgar Cantero

ALTAR:
Philip Fracassi

I AM BELLE
(Little Golden Books):
Andrea Posner-Sanchez & Alan Batson

ROUGH JUSTICE
(Cainsville 5.5):
Kelley Armstrong

THE REMEDY
(Dark Corners Collection #6):
Adam Haslett

SAVAGE SPECIES:
Jonathan Janz

THE TANGLED WOODS (DNF)
(Dark Corners Collection #5):
Emily Raboteau

OAK AVENUE
(Dark Corners Collection #7):
Brandi Reeds

THE SECRETS OF WISHTIDE:
Kate Saunders

DEVOTED(DNF)
Jennifer Mathieu

TRIQUETRA:
Kirstyn McDermott

THE DARK GAME:
Jonathan Janz

THE CUNDY:
RH Dixon

SCHOOLGIRL:
Osamu Dazai

ARIEL:
Sylvia Plath

PALACE OF GHOSTS:
Thomas S Flowers

MARY VENTURA AND THE NINTH KINGDOM:
Sylvia Plath

HOUSE OF SKIN:
Jonathan Janz

BODY OF CHRIST:
Mark Matthews

THE WITCH DOESN'T BURN IN THIS ONE
(Women Are Some Kind of Magic #2):
Amanda Lovelace

MRS CALIBAN:
Rachel Ingalls

THE MERMAID'S VOICE RETURNS IN THIS ONE
(Women Are Some Kind of Magic #3):
Amanda Lovelace

WEB:
John Wyndham

DUST DEVILS:
Jonathan Janz

GOOD OMENS:
Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

RED AS BLOOD AND WHITE AS BONE:
Theodora Goss

GHOST MINE:
Hunter Shea

STIRRING THE SHEETS:
Chad Lutzke

THE FORGOTTEN LETTERS OF ESTHER DURRANT:
Kayte Nunn

CHOP SHOP:
Andrew Post

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK:
Joan Lindsay

A TINY STORY OF BLINKY BILL:
Dorothy Wall

DOGGEM:
John F Leonard

THE BLIND ASSASSIN(DNF)
Margaret Atwood

MONEY SHOT:
Christa Faust

BREAKING THE HABIT
(Short Sharp Shocks! #27):
Yolanda Sfetsos

MATILDA:
Roald Dahl

NO LONGER HUMAN:
Osamu Dazai

Catwoman One-Shots
UNDER THE MOON:
Lauren Myracle & Isaac Goodhart

DRACULA:
Bram Stoker

LOCAL GIRLS:
Alice Hoffman

THE MIND'S PLAGUE AND OTHER BITES OF BRUTALITY:
Morgan K Tanner

UMBRELLA ACADEMY
Anywhere But Here:
Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá

UMBRELLA ACADEMY
But the Past Ain't Through With You Yet
Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá

UMBRELLA ACADEMY
Safe & Sound
Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá

GLOW #1:
Tini Howard & Hannah Templer

ESIO TROT:
Roald Dahl

CIRCE:
Madeline Miller

SEASON OF THE WITCH
(The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #1):
Sarah Rees Brennan

TEETH IN THE MIST:
Dawn Kurtagich

ONE STAR:
The Behrg

IT:
Stephen King

LITTLE MISS SCARY:
Roger Hargreaves

RITUAL:
Steve Stred

SILENCE IN THE WOODS:
JP Choquette

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR:
Lex H Jones

GIRLS WITH SHARP STICKS:
Suzanne Young

ONE BY ONE:
DW Gillespie

THE DEATHLESS GIRLS:
Kiran Millwood Hargrave

IN THE TALL GRASS:
Stephen King & Joe Hill

THE INSTITUTE:
Stephen King

WHISKEY AND OTHER UNUSUAL GHOSTS:
SL Edwards

THE APOCALYPTIC MANNEQUIN:
Stephanie M Wytovich

AN INVITATION TO DARKNESS
(Short Sharp Shocks! #33):
Hailey Piper

ON THE NIGHT BORDER:
James Chambers

OUT OF WATER:
Sarah Read

THE TOWN THAT FEARED DUSK
(Short Sharp Shocks! #17):
Calvin Demmer

CROSS HER HEART:
Sarah Pinborough

ALL MY FRIENDS ARE STILL DEAD:
Avery Monsen & Jory John

CINDERS OF A BLIND MAN WHO COULD SEE
(Short Sharp Shocks! #13):
Kev Harrison

THE EXORCIST:
William Peter Blatty

DARTH VADER AND SON:
Jeffrey Brown

SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK
The Complete Collection:
Alvin Schwartz

THE ENCAMPMENT BY THE GORGE & BLOOD MEMORY
(Short Sharp Shocks! #30):
Zachary Ashford

LADY KILLER 2 #5:
Joëlle Jones

THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET:
Brian Selznick

SAGA #54:
Brian K Vaughan

DIRTY PAWS
(Short Sharp Shocks! #0):
Dean M Drinkel

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY 
 HOTEL OBLIVION #6:
Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY 
 HOTEL OBLIVION #7:
Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá

HALLOWEEN FIEND:
CV Hunt

THE UNBELIEVER & THE INTRUDER
(Short Sharp Shocks! #39):
 Morgan K Tanner


DYING FOR AN INVITATION:
Theresa Braun

THE CULT CALLED FREEDOM HOUSE
(Sophia Rey #1):
Stephanie Evelyn

TWISTED 26
(Stephanie Plum #26):
Janet Evanovich

WELCOME TO CAMP SLITHER
(Goosebumps HorrorLand #9):
RL Stine

THE BRILLIANT DR. WOGAN
(Choose Your Own Adventure #72):
RA Montgomery

THE FIREMAN:
Joe Hill

JOURNEY UNDER THE SEA
(Choose Your Own Adventure #2):
RA Montgomery

DROOD(DNF)
Dan Simmons

LOVEDEATH(DNF)
Dan Simmons

FIRES OF EDEN: (DNF)
Dan Simmons

TIME TERROR:
Christopher Pike

I AM NOT YOUR FINAL GIRL:
Claire C Holland

NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Zero's Journey:
DJ Milky

I AM WONDER WOMAN
(Wonder Woman Classic):
Erin Stein

KRAMPUS THE YULE LORD:
Brom

MISTLETOE MURDER & OTHER STORIES:
PD James

HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SCREAM:
Edited by Christopher Golden

A CHRISTMAS CAROL:
Charles Dickens

THE AFTERLIFE OF HOLLY CHASE:
Cynthia Hand




Books Read in 2019: 150/150

( Number of DNF books: 13)

----------------------------------

In January, I decided to give myself a mini-challenge:


And I'm happy to report that I completed this challenge and loved every single one of those four books. 😁

----------------------------------

Number of books read to catch up on series/duology/trilogy: 33

· The Umbrella Academy AS (#1 of 6)
· The Umbrella Academy AS (#2 of 6)
· The Umbrella Academy AS (#3 of 6)
· The Umbrella Academy AS (#4 of 6)
· The Umbrella Academy AS (#5 of 6)
· The Umbrella Academy AS (#6 of 6)
· Necromancer #0.1 (ongoing)
· Necromancer #0.5 (ongoing)
· The Umbrella Academy, Volume #2 (ongoing)
· Wayward Children #3 (ongoing)
· The Umbrella Academy HO (#1 of 7)
· The Umbrella Academy HO (#2 of 7)
· The Umbrella Academy HO (#3 of 7)
· The Umbrella Academy HO (#4 of 7)
· The Umbrella Academy HO (#5 of 7)
· Dark Corners Collection (#2 of #7)
· Dark Corners Collection (#1 of #7) 
· Dark Corners Collection (#4 of #7) 
· Dark Corners Collection (#3 of #7)
· Cainsville #5.5 
· Dark Corners Collection (#6 of #7) 
· Dark Corners Collection (#5 of #7)
· Dark Corners Collection (#7 of #7)
· Women Are Some Kind of Magic #2
· Women Are Some Kind of Magic #3
· The Umbrella Academy short (x3)
· Lady Killer 2 (#5 of 5)
· The Umbrella Academy HO (#6 of 7)
· The Umbrella Academy HO (#7 of 7)
· Stephanie Plum #26 (ongoing)
· Goosebumps HorrorLand #9
· Choose Your Own Adventure #72
· Choose Your Own Adventure #2



Monday 30 December 2019

2019 Goals

So, the year is winding down as quickly as the decade. Yikes!

This is always a good time to look back at the Goals List I posted at the beginning of the year. There were a bunch of writing and reading goals on my list. As well as a few other things too. 

So, here's how everything turned out:
  • Continue what's now become our awesome habit of going for two daily walks: WE KEPT THIS HABIT GOING ALL YEAR. SOME DAYS, WE EVEN WENT FOR MORE THAN TWO WALKS.
  • Keep doing two yoga workouts a week: WHILE WE DID GET BACK INTO YOGA, IT WASN'T AS REGULAR AS I WANTED IT TO BE.
  • Write between 100-200k words: ENDED UP WRITING 263,580 words & EDITED 841 pages. (VERY happy with these totals. 😃👍)
  • Read 100 books: READ 150 BOOKS. (Only 13 DNFs.)
  • Finalise one/two of the YA horror novel first drafts I've got lying around on my hard drive: UNFORTUNATELY, I TOTALLY FAILED THIS ONE BECAUSE I CHOSE TO CONCENTRATE ON WRITING NEW STORIES INSTEAD.
  • Write two new novels: I WROTE THREE FIRST DRAFTS. An Adult demonic horror (57,476w). A YA gothic horror (50,263w). An Adult 80s horror/SF (66,181w). 
  • Write at least one novella: WHILE I DID WRITE A NOVELETTE (Breaking the Habit), I ONCE AGAIN FAILED THIS ONE. (Every time I planned to write a novella, they would turn into longer stories. 😂)
  • Keep writing short stories & sub more often: I WROTE FIVE SHORT STORIES & REVISED THEM. I ALSO REWROTE/REVISED TWO OLDER SHORT STORIES. (I subbed quite a few stories to a bunch of places.)
  • Take part in NaNoWriMoI  TOOK PART & GOT MY 13th WIN! (This time I wrote a fun horror/SF crazy 80s romp just for me. 😁)
  • Make spring cleaning an ongoing thing to keep clutter at a mininum: TOTALLY DID THIS ALL YEAR & I'M STILL DOING IT NOW.
  • Actually play games on my 2DS: WELL, I DID PLAY A BIT BUT NOT AS MUCH AS I WANTED.

Well, there it is. That's all the stuff I managed to do this year. I missed a few things on the list but I'll just carry them forward. And I'm still excited about what I did achieve.

Something really awesome happened this year. The novelette I wrote at the beginning of the year was published by Demain Publishing:


BREAKING THE HABIT was published in July and I'm still very excited about it. I'm also very proud of it. 😃

The first half of this year was a bit wonky but hubby and I managed to get through it together. We went through several real life changes. Our daughter moved out of home, we renovated her room to become our games room, we're now debt free, and hubby left a toxic working environment.

This led to us spending two awesome relaxing and fun months together to recharge and spend time doing all the things we love to do. 😍


2019 Summary:

Now it's time to come up with a 2020 Goal List...

Thursday 26 December 2019

THE AFTERLIFE OF HOLLY CHASE by Cynthia Hand

The Afterlife of Holly Chase
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I think this might be my last Christmassy read for this year.

I'm glad that I read it right after finishing A Christmas Carol, because the worldbuilding for this story is adapted from this well-known classic.

Holly Chase is a selfish, self-involved bitchy teenager. She's spoilt and treats everyone like garbage.

During Christmas Eve, she gets a visit from three ghosts, but instead of listening to their warnings, she still acts the same. And dies.

Five years later, Holly lives in New York and is now part of Project Scrooge. She's the Ghost of Christmas Past and her latest assignment might actually get through to her...

This book started out really well. It was quirky and fun. I didn't like Holly much, but it was mostly easy to ignore her because of the clever worldbuilding taken directly from the pages of Dickens.

However, the deeper I got into the book, the more my attention faded. Holly just wasn't a nice character, and by the time we're supposed to see the changes in her, it was much too late in the game. So I wasn't convinced.

Another issue I had was her love interest. Every time she interacted with Ethan--the male equivalent of her--I found myself skimming forward. I just didn't feel their connection, especially since everything she does is a lie. Not to mention that while she spins lies around everyone, she can't deal when it's done to her. The hypocrisy got on my nerves.

Also, the time jumps often felt weird. Like I was missing chunks of story that happened off page and only got via Holly filling in the blanks. 😒

And then there's the ending, which pretty much cancels out the thing I struggled with the most! So, what was the point?

It's disappointing that everything I liked about this book at the beginning ended up becoming the story's weakness by the time I reached The End.

Unfortunately, how things turned out just didn't click with me. Instead, it made me realise that the last half of the book was a chore to get through, only to lead me down a dull path to a very unconvincing redemption for a character who didn't deserve it.


Wednesday 25 December 2019

Happy Holidays!



MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

I hope you all have an awesome, fun and safe festive season full of good food, great company and plenty of downtime. 

Have a great one!

Tuesday 24 December 2019

A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well, this is the next Christmassy story I decided to read. It's a Dickens classic I'm very familiar with, but have never actually read.

We all know how the story goes: Ebenezer Scrooge is a horrid, lonely old man, and one Christmas Eve he gets a few too many ghostly visitors...

Unfortunately, I thought I'd like this a lot more than I did. I mean, sure, the ghostly presence was good and creepy. Full of pretty cool descriptive imagery, and enough to affect the main character in a way that manages to shake him. To force him to see the errors of his arrogant and selfish ways and change him into a much better, more thoughtful man.

The moral of the story is well executed.

What didn't work for me was some of the dull things that happen along the way. I lost interest a few times during Scrooge's phantom adventures because the writing and dialogue were both a bit clunky. I know this is a thing that happens sometimes with classics, and it certainly affected my enjoyment of this book.

Still, I'm glad I finally read it.


Wednesday 18 December 2019

HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SCREAM Edited by Christopher Golden

Hark! The Herald Angels Scream
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This anthology continues my dark Christmassy reads binge. 😈🎄

ABSINTHE & ANGELS by Kelley Armstrong: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ava and Michael just want to spend a romantic, snowy Christmas together. Instead, they find themselves being terrorised by mummers.

Wow. What an awesome start to this anthology. I loved everything about this super creepy tale, and the ending was perfect!

Also, now I have to find out more about these freaky mummers. 😬

CHRISTMAS IN BARCELONA by Scott Smith: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What's supposed to be a traditional Christmas trip, this time to Barcelona, soon turns into a very uncomfortable stay. The baby won't stop crying, their luggage gets lost, and then they find themselves in the worst situation possible.

Yikes. This is one freaky story that hooked me from beginning to end. It was addictive, wove a spell on me and is told in such a disturbing style, that it's hard not to love the endless misery.

FRESH AS THE NEW-FALLEN SNOW by Seanan McGuire ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Andy, Chloe and Diane are three kids living in a big, warm house and have parents who are financially successful. They appear to be the perfect privileged family, but there's no love or warmth within these walls. And this Christmas season, their babysitter sees beyond the shiny veneer.

I loved this! Found the Snow Maiden mythology to be fascinating, and felt such sympathy for these kids. It was so refreshing to read a story that doesn't focus on naughty kids and instead confronts that parents can also be quite rotten.

LOVE ME by Thomas E Sniegoski: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

All Flynn wants for Christmas is to see his daughter. To do that, he promises his ex he'll get a job, but it's not that easy for a guy who just got out of prison. And that's how he ends up screwing everything up.

This was another great and super creepy story about a man trying to get his life in order for his child, and instead ends up ruining what be wanted to save in the most shocking way.

That thing was creepy af. 😳

NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS by Sarah Lotz: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

After screwing things up, all Jake wants is to get his family back. He figures that buying a Genpet for the family will do the trick, but of course it backfires.

OMG. This story made me laugh so many times. Jake is such a selfish loser, a liar and a user. So I was really happy with how the story turned out. And that Genpet was hilarious!

The moral of the story: don't buy a pet--real or artificial--as a gift.

TENETS by Josh Malerman:

I didn't like this one much. The pretentious characters and writing style really threw me off, kept me at a distance from everything and everyone. By the time I reached the ending, I was bored.

GOOD DEEDS by Jeff Strand:

OMFG. I didn't like anything about this story.

IT'S A WONDERFUL KNIFE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cassie hates LA, but finds herself at a Christmas party in a big producer's mansion. She loves cinema and this year she's getting a personal tour into the memorabilia room.

This was an excellent story. I loved Cassie. She was clever and kept her secret hidden well until the big reveal. Loved how this turned out. Freaky! Not to mention the play on words title. Very cool.

MISTLETOE AND HOLLY by James A Moore: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Deanna lost her husband two years ago and still misses him. During Christmas it hurts all over again, but she's got her kids... and this year, a miracle might happen too.

I love the way this story revealed a little more with each page. It starts out normal enough, but the cracks in Deanna's life quickly appear. The ending was creeeeepy. On several levels.

SNAKE'S TRAIL by Sarah Langan:

This is another one I couldn't get into.

THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE CHRISTMAS HOTEL by Joe R Lansdale: ⭐⭐⭐

This turned out to be a freaky and sad story about something that happened long ago during a Christmas party in a hotel, and the weird thing that follows later.

I liked it. Nothing special, but nicely written.

FARROW STREET by Elizabeth Hand:

That was one boring and long Christmas tale about nothing. 😒

DOCTOR VELOCITY by Jonathan Maberry: ⭐⭐

Another disappointing story about a desperate artist losing his spark and the friend that helps him. And it felt like a very long and tedious conversation I was glad to stop reading.

YANKEE SWAP by John McIlveen: ⭐⭐⭐

This was okay. Nicely written, demented, gory and with a bit of a twist.

HONOR THY MOTHER by Angela Slatter: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Agnes has finally convinced all her sons, their wives and kids to spend Christmas with her in Salem. She used the weapon of age against them, and although it worked, it's also her weakness. Well, until she decides it is time to move out...

This is such an AWESOME story. I loved everything about it, but most of all I adored Agnes. It's also a very clever commentary on just how cruel people--especially family--can be to the elderly.

HOME by Tim Lebbon:

Couldn't get into this one because it was so dull.

HIKING THROUGH by Michael Koryta: ⭐⭐

Another average story about an unlikeable character. The only thing I liked was the Blair Witch urban legend vibe.

THE HANGMAN'S BRIDE by Sarah Pinborough: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Oh. This was such a great story within a story and featuring a wicked mystery. Not to mention that the combination of chimney sweeps and Japanese ghosts is awesome.

Seriously awesome.


Well, this anthology turned out to be a mixed bag for me. I either absolutely loved the story, or just couldn't get into it. But I read all eighteen stories, so that's cool.

Every story with a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating blew me away and were quite the treats. 🎁

There needs to be more of these Christmas horror anthologies, that's for sure.


Monday 16 December 2019

MISTLETOE MURDER & OTHER STORIES by PD James

The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a book I found during my thrift store adventures with hubby. It's also my first PD James book, and it most certainly won't be my last.

Here's what I thought about the four stories...


MISTLETOE MURDER:

This is an interesting story told through the eyes of a grieving widow who also happens to be a bestselling crime novelist and was in the Air Force. It's about the time she was invited to spend Christmas with the grandmother she barely knew and a cousin she didn't know...

I really enjoyed the narrative, mood and the mystery at the core of everything. It's not a straightforward situation, but one that begs to be solved and all responsible for the crime to be punished. It's more an echo of how the world was after so much was lost to war, and how sometimes blood really is thicker than water.

Also, the nice twist right at the end is really genius. Loved it.

A VERY COMMONPLACE MURDER:

Wow. This was so wickedly clever in its execution. Everything starts out semi-normal. I mean, the creepiness exudes from the main character pretty early on. And by the time I got to the last page... That twist! 😳

Gabriel Ernest happens to stop by a building from his sorbid past. A place where an awful crime happened and he had the chance to set the record straight. But really, that's barely scratching the surface about what's really going on.

The conundrum Gabriel found himself in while he tells his story is one most of us would have no trouble sorting out. Yet, there's something very selfish and immoral about this guy.

This is another awesome story.

THE BOXDALE INHERITANCE:

Well, I knew arsenic would make an appearance sooner or later. 😄

When Adam Dalgliesh's godfather asks him to investigate a crime that happemed a long time ago because otherwise he won't accept an inheritance, the Chief Superintendent agrees. And finds some very curious things...

While I enjoyed this story, it didn't have the intensity of the previous two. I didn't feel as intrigued by the characters, or attached to do the mystery. It's still very well written and has an unexpected result that I really liked.

THE TWELVE CLUES OF CHRISTMAS:

This is another story featuring Adam Dalgliesh, but this time he's a Sergeant.

On his way to his aunt's cottage for Christmas, a man leaps out onto the road and asks for his help in finding a phone. Apparently, his uncle who lives in Harkerville Hall, has committed suicide.

But when Adam gets there, he finds several clues that don't add up...

I enjoyed the murder-mystery vibe of this one. A cop finds himself inside an old house with a strange family that seems to be hiding something. The deeper he delves, the more he discovers that someone is lying.


This crime/mystery Christmasy short story collection is just what I hoped it would be. It's quite disturbing, but also fun. It's full of unreliable narrators, old buried secrets, weird families, an intriguing crime novelist, a detective who knows his stuff, and murder most foul.

The mention of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes was also a very cool way to pay homage to the mystery/crime writers who paved the way.

Great collection! 🕵


Sunday 15 December 2019

KRAMPUS: THE YULE LORD by Brom

Krampus: The Yule Lord
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's December, so I wanted to read a Christmasy story. And you can't get more Christmas than the Yule Lord himself, Krampus. 😈

The funny thing about this book is that I actually started reading it last year, but after a few chapters I put it down. For some strange reason, I couldn't get into it. Yet, this time around I was hooked right away.

That's weird, right? I guess it's all about timing and mood. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anyway, let's talk about the story.

Jesse's life sucks. He's barely making enough money to survive, his wife left him, he's fallen into some serious trouble with some very bad men, and some weird devils are after him.

If only Santa's sack could deliver more than toys.

Krampus has been locked up for a long time, but his luck might be about to change...

This was such a fun read!

I really liked how an average, everyday kinda setting with small-town characters dealing with contemporary issues is intertwined with dark fantasy, Yuletide and Norse mythology. It's all very well balanced and handled in a way that works on several levels.

This fun modern fable also provides a very accurate commentary about humans. About how easily they forget, how determined they are to destroy the planet, and how we always talk about external threats when the biggest threat to our world is in fact, ourselves.

I really liked Krampus. He was a very likeable character. Even though he seemed hostile and had an edgy personality, all he wanted to do was get on with his duty as Yule Lord. And destroy Santa Claus.

This Santa was right out of Norse mythology and not the jolly man we're used to. He wasn't above imprisoning his enemy, and was quite ruthless.

It was really cool to see them go against each other. The dialogue between them was epic, and even amusing.

The human characters--some who are also slaves to Krampus known as Belsnickels--were just as interesting. They were taken from different moments in time, and weren't evil at all. I especially liked Isabel because she was so strong and kind, plus her backstory was tragic.

As for Jesse, the hero of this story. Well, on the surface he seems like a loser who's such a coward he's given up on his music, and instead does shitty stuff for shitty people. But he's so much more than that, and after he gets caught up in the fight between Santa and Krampus, I loved spending time with him.

There's a lot of bad real-world stuff in this book--addicts, abuse, zealots, scum--and it's mixed in with some intriguing supernatural stuff. As well as a lot of awesome folklore and mythology. I just LOVE how well every piece fit together, and how everything moved the story along.

So many times, I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen next. The suspense never lets up, and neither does the wonder.

I also loved the Afterword because the author shared his fascinating Krampus research. And the Illustrations because they're awesome. 😊

Krampus: The Yule Lord is quite the Yuletide treat! 🎁


Monday 9 December 2019

I AM NOT YOUR FINAL GIRL by Claire C Holland

I Am Not Your Final Girl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I want to start by saying that I love the simplicity of this cover. It's as sharp as the poems inside, and captures the subject matter within perfectly.

I've been watching horror movies since I was very young, and have always been fascinated with the countless final girls I met along the way. They were always kind-hearted, clever and strong, never given the credit they deserved by other characters, and brave when it counted. I mean, they made it to the end, right?

This book of poetry captured the essence of these girls and women so well, I couldn't stop reading. Actually, I read this on my Paperwhite in one sitting.

Any book with such a powerful introduction is sure to hook me instantly. And when the poems are this good and gritty, it's a pleasure to read. Easy to get lost in the words while remembering the characters they relate to.

These characters might be from horror movies where madmen with masks stalk the shadows with a knife or a machete, or monsters in the darkness, but they're the ones with teeth and claws. Their struggles mirror our own, because every girl and every woman knows how cruel and judgemental this world can be. We've all suffered through violent words or actions, senseless abuse, sexist behaviour--sometimes unintentional, but so ingrained. And like our horror sisters, we're strong enough to fight until the very end because we refuse to give up or give in.

I LOVED this book. Every poem is amazing, captivating and the words cut like the sharpest blade. Plus, it's a great tribute to Final Girls.

I'm going to end this review with this awesome quote from Rosemary's poem:

"... it's not the Devil you need to worry about, but the devil you know."


Sunday 8 December 2019

TIME TERROR by Christopher Pike

Time Terror (Spooksville, #16)
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With a cover like that, of course I was interested in checking this out. And I didn't even care about not reading any of the books that came before. Fifteen of them! LOL.

Cindy, Sally, Adam, Watch and Bryce are friends who live in the creepy town of Spooksville. On the Friday night they decide to go to the movies to watch a scary movie, they find a strange contraption they decide to call the Time Toy. (Or is it the Time Terror?)

And when they use it, they end up travelling through time...

This book is such a short and easy read. It's also a lot of fun! I read it in one sitting. It reminds me of the adventure books I used to enjoy when I was a kid. It's spooky, has a cool group of kids, their town is weird, and they end up in the middle of a bunch of freaky situations.

I had heaps of fun reading this book, and hope to find more of them while thrifting. 😀



Wednesday 4 December 2019

THE FIREMAN by Joe Hill

The Fireman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a book I've been meaning to read for a while, and I'm really glad I finally did.

Harper is a school nurse when the world starts burning. A mysterious spore everyone calls Dragonscale starts infecting people and civilization slowly crumbles. After the schools are closed, she spends months trying to help the infected in a local hospital.

Until even that burns to the ground.

When she gets home, Harper discovers the dreaded condition has found her too. Being infected highlights how shitty her marriage really is, and leads her to a group of survivors who might be able to help her save the most important thing in her life. Or might end up being her damnation...

Wow. Seriously, wow.

What an awesome book!

I was intrigued as soon as I started. I liked Harper instantly, disliked her husband, and as soon as the Fireman entered the scene I couldn't wait to find out more about him.

The pacing in this book is great. While on one hand, it's a total slow burn (pardon the pun) because the end of the world comes gradually, when fire starts engulfing everything and everyone things move pretty swiftly.

It's a fast-paced story, yet nothing is rushed.

There are quite a few characters and they're all weird, wonderful and awful in their own way. But I liked that we see things unfold from Harper's third-person POV because she was a great narrator. She has quite a bit of conflict going on: a crazy ex, a new society to adapt to, an unborn baby to think about, and a man who intrigues her. There's a lot to unpack, but her kindness and determination to do the right thing never fades. No matter how bad it gets, she never sways.

Harper is one of many strong women in this book. Renée is awesome and brave. Allie is stubborn and brave.

This is quite a chunky book, but I couldn't put it down. I was hooked from the start and the tension kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through. The stakes kept getting higher and everyone goes through hell.

I liked that although the Fireman was quite skilled in his use of the Dragonscale, and totally mysterious, he's not a superhero. He's an average man and it takes time for him to recover. He was charming and funny and annoying all at once.

There's not a dull moment in this insane story.

The Fireman is an unpredictable and totally addictive story about the end of the world. It's an original and unique twist to the post-apocalyptic genre full of interesting characters that surprised me every step of the way.

It's unpredictable, surprising, full of adventure and is riveting until the very last word. And contains some really cool references to other books, music and pop culture.

Oh, I thought the hive-mind mentality commentary on social media, wrapped up in a great story was very clever, too. How the sense of belonging can deepen connections, but can also be corrupted. Actually, this doesn't just apply to social media. I've seen it happen in so many other situations. People are capable of destroying anything that's good. 😒

Well, there's only one last thing to say: I wonder how long the Dire Straits Romeo and Juliet song is going to be playing inside my head...?


Tuesday 26 November 2019

THE BRILLIANT DR WOGAN by RA Montgomery

The Brilliant Dr. Wogan (Choose Your Own Adventure, #72)The Brilliant Dr. Wogan by R.A. Montgomery
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I used to love reading Choose Your Own Adventure books when I was a kid. I borrowed them from the school library and from the public library. I couldn't get enough!

So it was awesome to find a few during our thrift store adventures. This is one of them and I had a blast reading it.

Dr. Wogan has designed a machine able to neutralise radiation. That means that everyone could survive a nuclear war. But in the wrong hands, it would mean the world could be held ransom.

As her young assistant it's YOUR job to find her, and make sure the plans are safe...

This was a lot of fun! The beauty of these books is that you can choose one path to The End, and then go back and take another one.

I enjoyed the book so much, I followed three different paths:

1). I took a few wrong turns and didn't find Dr. Wogan. Instead, I found myself in the middle of a time-travelling possibility. 😲

2). I took worse turns here, and ended up getting captured and forced into a shitty situation. 😒

3). I finally found my way to Dr. Wogan! Yay. And although things didn't turn out great, it was a bittersweet ending. Both good and bad, but at least it was with my boss. 😁

Yeah, this was really cool. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the other ones I have.


WELCOME TO CAMP SLITHER by RL Stine

Welcome To Camp Slither (Goosebumps HorrorLand, #9)Welcome To Camp Slither by R.L. Stine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

During our thrift store adventures, we've been lucky enough to find a bunch of Goosebumps books, and this one is part of the Horrorland collection.

I used to read Goosebumps to my daughter when she was in primary school. And years before that, I used them to tutor English to kids.

So, of course I'm interested in checking out all the ones I haven't read.


WELCOME TO CAMP SLITHER:

Boone Dixon and his younger sister are excited about going off to Camp Hither. But as soon as he makes a friend, Roddy starts telling him about the scary snakes that are supposed to live in the lake and are keen to eat the campers...

This story was SO much fun!

I also love the writing style because it sets the scene perfectly with just enough information. As soon as I started reading, I felt like I was swept away to a creepy camp in the middle of nowhere.

Boone was a cool narrator. A kid who wants to enjoy himself and doesn't want to believe silly stories until he's facing it. And he doesn't like mysteries. Heather was a funky and brave girl who played by her own rules. And I liked their sibling relationship.

Although there are several ew! scenes featuring snakes, mice and a lab, this turned out to be a lot of freaky ssslithering FUN!


ENTER HORRORLAND:

This is actually a really nice feature. A week after the incident at Camp Hither, Boone gets an invitation to HorrorLand and he's glad to go because he's bored.

But as soon as he gets there, trouble finds him. At least he can use his newfound fear of snakes to some sort of advantage. LOL.

I enjoyed this because the creep factor makes an appearance early on, but it's also a small part in a story that had already started several books back so I didn't recognise some of the characters and villains.

Still, it was freaky cool.

Also, the Fear File #9 stuff was a great addition.

I really enjoyed this. Only problem is that I now want to read more! 😈


Monday 25 November 2019

TWISTED 26 by Janet Evanovich

Grandma Mazur is a widow . . . again. This time her marriage lasted a whole 45 minutes. The unlucky groom was one Jimmy Rosolli, local gangster, lothario (senior division) and heart attack waiting to happen . . . well, the waiting's over. 

It's a sad day, but if she can't have Jimmy at least Grandma can have all the attention she wants as the dutiful widow. But some kinds of attention are not welcome, particularly when Jimmy's former 'business partners' are convinced that his widow is keeping the keys to their financial success for herself.

As someone who has spent an entire career finding bad guys, a set of missing keys should be no challenge for Stephanie Plum. Problem is, the facts are as twisted as a pretzel with mustard.


This is one of my favourite series. I look forward to reading the latest Stephanie Plum book because it always feels like catching up with old friends. 

When Grandma Mazur gets married to Jimmy Rosolli and he dies after forty-five minutes, she becomes an instant widow. 

That means she'll get the chance to be the centre of attention for a while. But, not all attention is good because Jimmy's mob buddies are convinced she's got some very special keys, his sisters have a vendetta against her, and at least one ex-wife wants a piece of Jimmy's money.

Now it's up to Stephanie to keep her grandmother safe. If only Stephanie wasn't having a personal crisis...

This was another awesome and fun book!

I love Grandma Mazur. She's hilarious, adventurous and totally gets Stephanie. She might be an elderly lady but really knows how to enjoy life, and a bit of danger isn't going to change that.

This book was nerve-wracking because Grandma's fearless nature works against her. I was as worried as Stephanie and kept waiting for something awful to happen.

The mayhem never stops. And although Steph is doubting herself and feels like she has no direction, it was so cool to see how efficient she really is. Not to mention how entertaining it is when she works with Lula. 😂

Or how she deals--or doesn't deal--with Morelli and Ranger.

Twisted 26 is another fun addition to this awesome series. Just when I think Stephanie's life can't get more complicated, I read the next installment and the stakes get higher. I love how a story dealing with so many heavy situations, and a bunch of dangerous people, can also be SO funny.

Love these characters.

I can't wait to see what happens next. This might not have been a cliffhanger ending, but it definitely left me wondering about what's next for Steph.


Twisted 26, November 2019, ISBN 9781472246141, Headline Review

Saturday 23 November 2019

THE CULT CALLED FREEDOM HOUSE by Stephanie Evelyn

Everyone but Sophia and Cyrus were going to die. They were all goners well before they knew it. And they certainly thought whatever was happening, they were helping others and saving the world doing it.

Samantha was only fourteen and looking for what every fourteen-year-old looks for - freedom. She wanted to be as far away from her substance-riddled mother and abusive home as possible, but she never asked for anything like this. It always starts with just one person and one fucked up idea. This is the story about Samantha and the cult called Freedom House.

A psychological horror thriller, this book will frustrate you, scare you, disturb you, and at times, it will make you want to be ill. Are you ready to learn what's going on behind the doors of Freedom House?


I was really excited when Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi sent me a review copy of this book. It's one I've heard great things about on Twitter, and was totally intrigued by. And I love that creepy cover.

Samantha is fourteen, lives with her deadbeat mother, and dreams of running away. Sophia is a tough cop living with a haunting memory from her childhood. Detective Salvino doesn't want a repeat of what happened six years ago when he dealt with a cult.

Now, young kids are disappearing and everything leads to the doorstep of the Cult Called Freedom House...

O.M.F.G. 😳

This book is about a cult, so of course I went in expecting some pretty terrible things. I mean, what else is a cult but a place where downtrodden people are brainwashed and abused? While accepting this abuse because they're convinced they deserve it.

Yeah, I knew what I was getting into.

Even then, I was equally disgusted, disturbed, intrigued and captivated by everything that was going on. As soon as I started, I couldn't put my Paperwhite down. I needed to find out what was going to happen next.

There are a lot of things to like about this book, but the characters were the lifeline. They're interesting and real. Whether I despised or sympathised with them, I was totally invested in every single one of their screwed-up lives.

This story isn't pretty. A lot of what happens is dirty and unnerving. 

Samantha is a great character. A young girl, lost and in desperate need of attention. She craves a real home and even when things don't seem as perfect as she first thought in Freedom House, she pushes on. And is strong as hell.

Sophia is another intriguing character. She's a cop and wants to save people because her own guilt has become a never-ending haunting she can't escape. Dealing with Freedom House teaches her there are deeper levels of being broken than she already is, while also pushing her.

Detective Salvino is a caring man lost in a world where some of the most horrible things he sees are perpetrated by his gender. He wants to save the young and naive, even after a huge failure to do so.

The sense of location was described really well. Santa Cruz might look like a cosy coastal town, but it ain't Santa Carla. The predators here aren't vampires. They're drugs, dealers and desperation. The lost boys and girls of Santa Cruz are lured by a different kind of immortality.

The Cult of Freedom House is a gritty and sometimes really uncomfortable book. It actually deals with two of my least favourite horror tropes--can't say which because of spoilers. The kind of stuff I usually stay away from. But the way this is written, the creepy vibes and the heart at the core of everything, kept me hooked to the page.

Yeah, I really enjoyed this book and the descent to the end had me on the edge of my seat because the suspense was killer.

The only other thing I want to say is that if you're squeamish about the grosser parts of human predators, prepare yourself. This story goes to some very dark and depraved places.



Friday 22 November 2019

NaNoWriMo is officially over!


That's right.

Today, I validated NEON


Well, this year was a little different. 

There was no actual validation necessary. The website was updated so I collected my WINNER badges and downloaded my certificate. Yay. 😁


Here's what my progress looked like:


Quite a steady rise to the finish line. 😀👍

Well, that's it for another year. Hope you all had as much fun as I did! I absolutely LOVED writing this story because I didn't have a market in mind, or cared about the fact it might never fit in anywhere. 

I wrote this for me, because I wanted to read it. And because sometimes, you just have to remember why you enjoy writing in the first place.

Have a great weekend!


Tuesday 19 November 2019

NaNoWriMo: Week Three

Hey! How's everyone?

Well, the third week of NaNoWriMo has only just begun but since I finished my WIP today, I thought I'd blog about it.

That's right! The first draft of NEON is finished, and I'm SO excited. 😁🎉

This is the 13th time I've won NaNoWriMo! Yay.

So, here's this week's word count:
  • Saturday: 58,113 (added 3012w)
  • Sunday: 61,167 (added 3054w)
  • Monday: 63,532 (added 2365w)
  • Tuesday: 66,181 (added 2649w)

As you can see, compared to last week, the daily word count totals went down a bit. That always happens when I reach the backend of a story and everything becomes a total frenzy of words and thoughts colliding with each other.

This means that a lot of what I wrote ended up being bare bones. But that's okay, because first and foremost, it's all about getting the words out of my head. I can fix everything later.

So, today I went back and re-read the last three chapters and added the stuff I left out, and/or thought about aftwerwards.

It happens every time.

Writing this story turned out to be an awesome and really fun experience. It started out as an unconventional horror with some SF elements and a love story at its core. But ended up a lot deeper, more twisty and full of 80s goodness.

I always envisioned this story to be just like those 80s straight-to-VHS horror/action movies I loved watching as a kid. And I'm super excited because it translated pretty well. It's also full of some unexpected surprises, which is always a great thing.

It's funny that a tale I thought might be a novella turned out to be the longest first draft I've written this year.

Well, there you have it. NaNoWriMo is done. I wrote one more novel before the end of the year. And my brain no longer has to hold onto everything about this particular idea.

Not until revision time. LOL.

Anyway, I'm very happy right now. And I need a mental break. Plus some reading time. Definitely need some of that.

Have an awesome week!


Friday 15 November 2019

NaNoWriMo: Week Two

Well, the second week of NaNoWriMo is done, and I'm happy to report that I added plenty of words.

What about you? How's your word count going?

I actually had a great week. Got a lot done and also slowed down the pace a bit. The only thing that's been missing from my schedule lately is reading.

My head is so full of my WIP that in the last two weeks I've only managed to read three short stories. But that's okay. I'll just have to reward myself with plenty of reading when I'm done.

Anyway, here's this week's word count: 
  • Monday: 35,128 (added 4761w)
  • Tuesday: 40,180 (added 5052w) 
  • Wednesday: 45,274 (added 5094w)
  • Thursday: 50,474 (added 5200w) 
  • Friday: 55,101 (added 4627w)

As you can see, I reached the NaNoWriMo 50k goal on Thursday. Yay. 😄

Still, I continued adding words on Friday because the story isn't finished yet. I'm not sure where the word count will end up, but I'm going to find out. 

According to my notes, there are three chapters left to write. But, halfway through the week, after adding a chapter that came out of nowhere, I scrapped all the novel's second half notes. Ended up reworking them to take a different direction that'll ultimately get the main character to the same spot through a different route.

Sometimes this happens. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I have to admit, I'm surprised this story isn't done yet. When I initially started thinking about and taking notes for this idea, it was supposed to be a short story. Even then, I quickly realised there was too much story for that. Then I was sure it would end up becoming a novella. 

Yet, here we are. In novel territory. 😁

During the week, I also wrote a 621-word shortie that I'm looking forward to revising.

Well, that's it for this week's writing update.

Have a great weekend!

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