Tag: horror

Posted in Book Reviews

The Realms of the Dead: Crossfades and Bleedovers by William Todd Rose

Posted on by Kasey

The Realms of the Dead: Crossfades and BleedoversThe Realms of the Dead: Crossfades and Bleedovers by William Todd Rose

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Parts were really good, but just as many other parts were not good at all. I liked the characters enough to enjoy reading about them, but there were way too many conveniences to be believable. I liked the writing style but I didn’t like how much information was repeated. If you cut out all the duplications you barely have a full length story. As the story goes on it gets more and more far fetched until I finally said enough is enough and stopped reading. There’s potential here, just not enough to consider it worthy enough to recommend. I received an ARC through the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Posted in Book Reviews

Halfway Down The Stairs by Gary A. Braunbeck

Posted on by Kasey

Halfway Down The StairsHalfway Down The Stairs by Gary A. Braunbeck

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For those of you with squeamish stomachs or those who avoid tales of human suffering, please pass by this book. For those of you who love Lovecraft, King, Crouch, Koontz, Barker, or whomever your favorite horror author is, you just might want to pick this one up. I don’t know how it is that I’ve never read a Braunbeck novel prior to this one since I love horror as a genre. There are a few bits within that are definitely for the stronger willed but overall this is a gem. The rest of the bits are absolutely wonderful to read. I’ve now added Braunbeck to my list of horror authors to keep a collection of their books in print in my personal library. His craft is handled with skill and a mastery of the English language. I received an ARC through library thing in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion.

Posted in Book Reviews

The Feathered Bone by Julie Cantrell

Posted on by Kasey

The Feathered BoneThe Feathered Bone by Julie Cantrell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The overall theme of this book is a bit on the dark side of humanity but it is written well. I admit there were times I skimmed past the descriptive pages in order to continue with the story. I like that faith was involved in certain aspects of the characters. A few moments were more difficult to process than others as they touched home a bit too close for comfort due to recent events. The overall story is nicely presented although I feel there is room for improvement in the lengthy areas. This gives parts more of a told than shown feel but not enough to ruin the book. A few characters didn’t feel quite as fleshed out as the rest making it difficult to connect with them on any level. I don’t feel that the religious content is thick or overdone and shouldn’t be a put-off for those who are not religious. I received an ARC through Smith Publicity in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion.

Posted in Book Reviews

Blue Eel by Lorne Dixon

Posted on by Kasey

Blue EelBlue Eel by Lorne Dixon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Not for the faint of heart or those who love those gentle reads. Dixon holds nothing back in this tale. I enjoyed the entire read and loved the twists and shake-downs, or ups as the case may be. The writing is well crafted and delivered in such a way that the reader is pulled into the tale on a deeper level. The plot is clearly well conceived and intelligently engineered. I liked the way the characters were presented and feel they are very well fleshed out and designed. They may surprise the reader a few times, but they always remain true to their design. It’s rare I give a book five stars but I feel this one is deserving of them. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion, which may or may not mirror your own.

Posted in Book Reviews

Fingers in the Mist by O’Dell Hutchison

Posted on by Kasey

Fingers in the MistFingers in the Mist by O’Dell Hutchison

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hutchison does a fine job crafting a creepy tale that will leave many readers sleeping with a light on, or at least reading with an extra one on. The writing is intelligently written with no glaring mistakes to distract the reader. A few moments during my read I felt a hint of familiarity but each time Hutchison took a fresh path making this feel unique. The characters are well fleshed and layered adding to the enjoyment of the read. The plot is well planned and threaded with enough extras blended in to keep the reader both guessing and wanting to read the entire book. Overall I feel this is an entertaining read for a wide age and genre range. I received an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion.

Posted in Book Reviews

Night Chill by Jeff Gunhus

Posted on by Kasey

Night ChillNight Chill by Jeff Gunhus
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This one is a mixed bag of really good and a just downright annoying character who ruins the enjoyment. From the start the reader is hooked. You don’t want to stop reading, but then you have to endure a supposed intelligent character who does and says the stupidest things. Stupid annoys me and as such ruins the enjoyment for me. If you can overlook this then you’ll enjoy this book as it’s very well written and is actually suspenseful. The rest of the cast of characters are well fleshed out. The plot has great flow although it seems familiar. Overall I’d still say this is well worth the read. I received an evaluation copy in exchange for my review.

Posted in Book Reviews

King’s Crusade (Seventeen, #2) by A.D. Starrling

Posted on by Kasey

King's Crusade (Seventeen, #2)King’s Crusade by A.D. Starrling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is an easy five stars for me, and that is saying a lot (if you’ve followed my reviews you’d agree). I can not say enough about how good this book is. The writing is great with really good choices in words and phrases. The editing job with this is really well done. The characters are well fleshed out with flaws and depth; yes even the “perfect” ones. I really like the developmental path for these characters as well. The plot is gripping with a great flow making this nearly impossible to put down. The world building is very well done. The descriptions are written with just the right touch and level of detail; the reader can easily visualize the scenes. Overall this is a very well done book and one very fun enjoyable and memorable read. I’m definitely keeping this author on the best of the best list. I received an evaluation copy in exchange for my honest unpaid opinion.

Posted in Book Review

Faustus Lupus by Robert Reade

Posted on by Kasey

Faustus LupusFaustus Lupus by Robert Reade
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Understanding that this is more along the lines of historical fiction than just another lycan story we were able to become lost in the story and enjoy it greatly. The writing is intelligently done with a fine editing job. Although at times there feels to be a bit more telling or explaining then showing I feel it fits the authors style and intention with this book. The whole work feels well researched and clearly has a lot of work going into it. This was a very enjoyable read and an author to keep a watch on for future releases. We received an evaluation copy in exchange for an honest opinion and review. In no way has this influenced our opinion.

Posted in Book Reviews

The Lethal Helix by Don Donaldson

Posted on by Kasey

20140130-044323.jpgThe Lethal Helix by Don Donaldson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a nicely presented, well written and well edited book sure to keep the reader wanting to turn pages to find out what happens next. The pacing of the plot was very well done with no sluggishness that would make the story drag along. The plot was quite interesting as well. The characters (for the most part) had a nice fleshed out feel to them so they were easy to read with no forced dialog. I didn’t feel that connected with some but it wasn’t anything that took away from my enjoyment of the book. I’d recommend this one to readers of mystery, suspense and horror. I enjoyed it enough to give it a rare five stars. A free copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest unbiased review. This in no way influenced my opinion.

Posted in Book Reviews

Lovecraft’s Monster edited by Ellen Datlow

Posted on by Kasey

Lovecraft's MonstersLovecraft’s Monsters by Ellen Datlow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Each of the stories within are well written and edited. Some will appeal more to some readers while others will appeal to the rest, but all the stories are enjoyable reads making this a great collection. I believe even those who have not read much, or any, Lovecraft will find this to be well worthwhile to spend the time reading. There is just the right amount of creepy in each segment. I liked the intro very much as it gives perspective and enlightenment for all ranks of readers. A free copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest unbiased review. This in no way influenced my opinion.