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Reaper: A Horror Novella by Jonathon Pongratz | Review
Reaper was one of those reads that will fester upon the psyche. It will allow you to get on with everyday things but in the dead of night it will re-emerge and make you realise that sleep will be futile. Right from the start we can feel the deep-seated fear that everything is not as it seems. Halloween – a breeding ground for all that is unnatural and terrifying. A long-awaited opportunity to take care of a little sister without their overbearing parents. One should be careful what you wish for. I’m always intrigued when reading POV’s from a teenage viewpoint. They are not quite matured for the big bad…
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Strangers by C.L. Taylor | Review
How to describe a stranger? Someone you’ve yet to meet. Do they wish you ill harm or are they a person who lives along the same confines and laws as you? Strangers is three stories that interweaved with each other’s. A calming hand in a storm of pain? What do these three stories have in common – compassion, understanding an humility. Our three main protagonists Ursula, Gareth and Alice are lost souls swimming in a sea of pain and desperation. They are jaded with life – they’ve all been handed a shitty hand of cards. Divorce and cheating, death of a loved one and caring responsibilities has these characters looking…
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Crossroads by Laurel Hightower | Review
Crossroads…a fork in the road, a decision to be made, life taking a turn and lives altered. Laurel Hightower has taken a certainty in life, death and given it a complex meaning, a burden, a floating through life trying to grasp the ending but never holding onto that tangible point. Chris is existing through life after the death of her only son. He is taken in the most tragic circumstances well before his time, a car crash. Greif is crushing her, minute by minute, hour by hour. A natural reaction to an unnatural event, but what would you do to have them back? Look at the cover – the desolation,…
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Blood of an Exile by Brian Naslund | Review
Great holy Zeus! Blood Of An Exile packs a powerful punch, and this debut punch is a knockout! This book has the capability of just burrowing under your skin and taking root there. The plot is thick, enriching and complex. This story is completely character driven and it knows exactly how you tick! We have a glorious magic system that enriches the narrative, but it isn’t the main focus, which I have found to be a refreshing change. Blood Of An Exile has fired up my synapses and it will stay with me for the long-term – in all its raw complexity. Dragons are my favourite magical creatures in fantasy,…
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The Bride Stripped Bare by Rob Bliss| Review
The Bride Stripped Bare, a deadly synopsis that threatened to push boundaries and scare the wits clean out of you. The execution however was quite far off the mark. I enjoyed the book to the extent that I believed it was intended to deliver upon. However, some elements just seemed to be injected into the plot for purely shock factor, but it had the exact opposite effect on my reading experience. Don’t get me wrong shocking implications have a place but not in the sacrifice of the plot. You’ve met the woman of your dreams. Stunningly good-looking, money falling out of the sky when she’s around and power that will…
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The Eyes Of Darkness by Dean Koontz|Review
The Eyes of Darkness. A title that gave me chills as I inhaled this spectacular, genre busting novel. A government whose role it is meant to be to protect the citizens of their country. They aren’t meant to cover up a catastrophic accident and keep a grieving mother from finding out the true cause of her sons’ demise. This novel is the best example at highlighting that the human condition is the real monsters lurking in the dark. Their penchant for control, devastation and blood thirsty violence is the main theme played throughout. Sounds intriguing, right? The Eyes of Darkness was magnetic. Every time I put the book down to…
