Tag: horror books

Reviews

The Haar Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on The Haar Review

*SPOILERY FILLED*

Muriel McAuley has lived in the Scottish fishing village of Witchaven all her life. She was born there, and she intends to die there. But when an overseas property developer threatens to evict the residents from their homes and raze Witchaven to the ground in the name of progress, all seems lost… until the day a mysterious fog bank creeps inland. The Haar. To some it brings redemption… to others, it brings only madness and death. What macabre secrets lie within… The Haar.

I really loved Muriel. Hearing her story and all the happy memories she had with her life with Billy really showcased how sad and old she has become. I loved how staunch she was in dealing with the execs who keep coming and soliciting her to sell her home. I can’t even imagine the feeling of helplessness and despair the whole situation would of caused.

I thought the Haar was going to be the monster in the story and not seperate. The Haar was just used as cover for Avalon to appear and was again used for their escape at the end. Given it was the name of the book I thought the fog was going to have more of a substantial role in the plot but it went another direction.

Avalon wasn’t that scary in my opinion, this kind of horror felt more on the campy side. The writing was very descriptive and the various method Avalon used to consume his victims were creative to say the least (the one where they turned into Muriel was definitely an interesting one). Overall this book was quite sad but it took us on a journey and was entertaining for sure!

⭐️4/5 stars Bloody, disgusting, sad and oddly charming

Reviews

Black Sheep Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Black Sheep Review

*BEWARE OF SPOILERS AHEAD*

Nobody has a “normal” family, but Vesper Wright’s is truly…something else. Vesper left home at eighteen and never looked back—mostly because she was told that leaving the staunchly religious community she grew up in meant she couldn’t return. But then an envelope arrives on her doorstep. Inside is an invitation to the wedding of Vesper’s beloved cousin Rosie. It’s to be hosted at the family farm. Have they made an exception to the rule? It wouldn’t be the first time Vesper’s been given special treatment. Is the invite a sweet gesture? An olive branch? A trap? Doesn’t matter. Something inside her insists she go to the wedding. Even if it means returning to the toxic environment she escaped. Even if it means reuniting with her mother, Constance, a former horror film star and forever ice queen.

Vesper felt like quite a refreshing main character. She is very self aware and her cynicism and snarkiness was highly entertaining to read from. She does go through quite the emotional journey throughout the course of the storyline and I can’t say I agreed with every decision she made, and yet I was here for it! She definitely shouldn’t of went back to the farm the second time but the series of events that occur after was crazy.

I have to say that first twist that this religious cult Vesper comes from is actually a satanic cult actually shocked me.. I was NOT expecting that at all so that was quite fun. Again, it was quite a refreshing change from the usual cult tropes I’ve read from before. And the fact that the plot gets more and more unhinged as everything unfolds really sucks you in. I really liked how we are introduced to Hells Gate and how their whole way of life is explained. I wish we would of gotten more clarity about Constance though. She was such a compelling character and backstory that I wish we would of learnt more about her life and how she was ‘chosen’ by Lucifer and why she didn’t love Vesper.

I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen at any point of this book and there was just this overall creepy atmosphere and tone of dread laced throughout that added a nice contrast to how over the top and wild the concept which was quite surprising. This is another book where you really need to suspend your beliefs and just follow along for the ride.

⭐️4/5 stars gripping, shocking, fun and entertaining!

Reviews

I Was A Teenage Slasher Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on I Was A Teenage Slasher Review

*THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD*

1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton—and a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, and shared sense of unfairness of being on the outside through the slasher horror Jones loves, but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic.

Tolly as our main character was likeable but pretty pathetic in a way. I think it was the fact that he allowed people to do things to him that any other normal human being would take offense to which in a way I guess that parallels nicely with Justin’s storyline. Even the way he let Amber (his best friend) continually smash his head on her windscreen was a bit of a red flag for me. I was intrigued as we get straight into the book how he was going to ‘turn’ into a slasher and how he managed to evade capture all these years and I was quite happy with how the storyline played out albeit for the majority we aren’t shown exactly what happens.

I loved how Amber was just 100% on board with what was happening and actually believed Tolly. The fact that she even went as far as to call up her brother and then conduct those series of tests was very entertaining and makes the story a bit more believable in a way. I mean you definitely have to suspend disbelief for the most part as these events have only occurred because a teenage boy came back from the dead to enact revenge but it makes you more invested.

The only real flaw I found with this book was the amount of times Tolly would just go on these random long tangents in the middle of chapters. It was just very disjointed and made the story harder to understand, very chaotic. Which I suppose makes sense since he was infected and not in his right frame of mind at the time but made me have to slow down and focus on every word which took me out of the story.

⭐️3/5 very entertaining but confusing at times!

Reviews

Bloom Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Bloom Review

*BEWARE OF SPOILERS AHEAD*

I didn’t know what to expect going into this book, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Rosemary meets Ash at the farmers’ market. Ash—precise, pretty, and practically perfect—sells bars of soap in delicate pastel colours, sprinkle-spackled cupcakes stacked on scalloped stands, beeswax candles, jelly jars of honey, and glossy green plants. Ro has never felt this way about another woman; with Ash, she wants to be her and have her in equal measure. But as her obsession with Ash consumes her, she may find she’s not the one doing the devouring…

Being in Ro’s head for the majority of this book was tiring and frustrating. They way she latches on to Ash and how her thoughts about her just consume her every waking moment got to be a bit annoying. I literally just wanted to shake her and tell her to get a grip, you coming on a bit strong there love. Though I can see why she would be second guessing herself at every turn and pushing a bit on Ash’s boundaries after the nasty breakup she just had with her ex.

Right from the start I knew there was something up with Ash. I could tell from her demeanour at the market stall, changing basically her whole personality depending on who walked in told me she was a calculative and potentially manipulative. Especially after she reprimanded Ro so many times for pushing her boundaries, I knew something was up but I couldn’t predict what, which was entertaining for sure.

I like the fact that this book elicited so many emotions from me. It starts off so unassuming and quite cute so I was a unprepared for the wild ride that was about to ensue. I definitely had my theories on what was happening but I was surprised at every turn which was why I think I enjoyed this as much as I did.

⭐️4/5 stars Wow.. this was good!!!

Reviews

Starling House Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Starling House Review

Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland–and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot. Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

I absolutely loved the atmosphere of this book! The small town, haunted house vibes were immaculate and I was soo invested in the lore and the family history that was attached to it too! Opal’s perspective is so raw and unyielding and the struggles she’s had to overcome since her mother’s death really shows how strong willed she is.

The house wasn’t as spooky as what I was anticipating. I thought this was a haunted house story so I was waiting for the focus to swing back to the house but the main mystery was more so surrounding Eleanor and the Underland. It was interesting to kind of piece together the story from all of the different sources Eden went to and then ultimately getting the story straight from Eleanor was gratifying!

⭐️4/5 stars I lowkey want to stay the night there… sans the monsters of course lol