Tag: Horror

What the Woods Took by Courtne..

Posted 06/14/2024 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Content Warning: What the Woods Took contains: I periodically receive emails from NetGalley telling me what books are “Read Now”. In the most recent email, What the Woods Took was listed among the books on offer. While I had previously seen Courtney Gould’s other books on NetGalley, I had not been lucky enough to be chosen to read them. But since this one was “Read Now” I managed to snag it. I’m so glad I was able to get it. In this book we follow five teenagers who have been sent away to “wilderness therapy” by their parents/guardians. Our illustrious group consists of: As we follow these five teens on their wilderness therapy journey, we find that things in this wilderness aren’t exactly what they seem. One of the things I loved about this book is that the enemy isn’t what you’d expect – and in some cases might actually […]

All Hope of Becoming Human by ..

Posted 06/08/2024 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

When I saw All Hope of Becoming Human by Lonnie Busch in the Edelweiss+ “to download” category, I thought it sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did! One of Mr. Busch’s influences is Stephen King and you can definitely see that in this novel. He expertly crafted the kind of allegory that Mr. King uses – where the people are the problem, not the fantastical monsters that plague them. Not only that, but he blended science fiction and horror in a way that made them seamless, something that I’ve seen many other authors try and fail to do. Mr. Busch has created a cast of characters in All Hope of Becoming Human that are not only likeable, but ones that you will genuinely care about. You’ll grieve their losses, celebrate their successes, and sit in shock at what they endure. Rebecca is an enigma for the majority […]

The Lamplighter by Crystal J. ..

Posted 05/23/2024 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

I have to say – this book would have been a great read in October and indeed, I may have to re-read it for October. This book is perfectly creepy, what with a fog that covers the town of Warbler every evening. Even creepier when you discover where that fog originates from. I loved Temperance. She is fiesty and protective of those she loves. Her insistence on making her own way and working as the lamplighter, as well as her troubles as the lamplighter because she is a woman are a grim reminder that even today, women are not always seen as equals to men. Prudence is another character I was fond of. She is fiesty, loyal, and protective as well, but in her own way. The sisters have very different ways of living their lives, which is well played out in the book. Gideon… well, at times I liked […]

Too Scared to Sleep by Andrew ..

Posted 03/28/2024 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Come on, it’s horror. You know I had to give it a shot. It’s meant for teens/young adults, so it isn’t super scary – or maybe I’m just so jaded when it comes to horror that nothing really scares me anymore. I was pleasantly surprised at the stories. A lot of the time when I find horror anthologies by authors I haven’t heard of, they’re either not good at all or there are only one or two good stories with the rest being mediocre at best. Not true with this anthology. All of the stories were really good. Again, not as scary as I’d have liked, but this wasn’t written with adults in mind, so there is that. Younger teens and tweens would probably find this book scarier than I did. My favorite stories in the book are “The Secret Sister”, “Stage Fright”, and “The Bone Fairy”. That’s not to […]

The Haunting by Natasha Presto..

Posted 10/20/2023 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

If you’re looking for a Halloween themed YA horror novel, you won’t go wrong with **The Haunting**. But be warned, the title has nothing to do with ghosts. Characters We have a group of friends, one of them being ostracized by the town and the rest of the friend group – except for one person. They’re great characters, although you really only deal with two or three of them for most of the book. You’ll see Penny, Nash, and Zayn more than you’ll see any of the others, but they’re all mentioned several times as well. We don’t have a whole lot of background on any of them, but we don’t really need it and they’re written well enough that it doesn’t matter. Atmospere It’s a serial killer at Halloween – what more could you ask for in an atmosphere? It isn’t Michael Myers (and we can all be thankful for […]