Tag: Horror

How to Survive Your Murder by ..

Posted 09/06/2022 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

CW: Murder, Gore, Death If there is one thing I can honestly say about “How to Survive Your Murder” it’s that while it isn’t a totally unique concept, the execution is pretty amazing. The reason I say the concept isn’t totally unique is that it has the “going back in time to fix things” trope – something found in books like “Again, But Better”. I know some people don’t care for that particular trope, but I don’t mind it if it’s done right. Trust me when I say it’s done right in this book. One of my favorite things about this book is the main character – she’s a horror-movie loving nerd, an expert on Final Girls. Thrown back in time to try to figure out who the real killer was and maybe save her sister, she runs up against some very interesting twists and turns. This is one of […]

The Perfect Child by Lucinda B..

Posted 07/29/2022 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse, Suspected Child Abuse, Animal Cruelty, Animal Death, Mental Illness, Mental Health Issues, Murder I’ve been working toward Amazon’s Kindle Epic Summer Challenge and one of the achievements was to complete an Amazon Original Story recommended by their editors. I’d heard about The Perfect Child on TikTok, so when I saw it on the list of qualifying books, I decided to give it a read. Holy crap. This book seriously gives me Orphan vibes. Granted, in this case our child in need of adoption isn’t an adult masquerading as a child, but still. The level of viciousness and abject hatred the child, Janie, shows in this book is nothing short of chilling. I found myself squirming in horror at some of the things that happen in the book – and not just things that Janie does, but other characters as well. The Perfect Child is a combination […]

Influencer Island by Kyle Rutk..

Posted 07/20/2022 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Trigger Warnings: Murder, Gore, Sexual Assault, Drugs The premise of this book had me wanting to read it and so when I was granted an eARC I was thrilled. However, the book simply didn’t live up to expectations. First, none of the characters are in any way memorable. The only things I really remember about them are their names – Cal, Carrie, Tuck, Kiana, Bella, Nicki Mo, Trevor, etc.. But who they are, what they stand for? Not much to tell you because they just weren’t memorable to me. We didn’t get a decent enough background for any character to make them pop. Second, the POV just bounced around too much. Never knowing which point of view you’d get next or what they’d be talking about now didn’t set well with me. I like to have an idea of when point of view changes are coming and what’s going on. […]

Small Favors by Erin A. Craig

Posted 07/19/2022 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Trigger Warnings: Murder, Fire, Arson, Gore, Religious Fervor, Monsters, Animal Death I’ve had Small Favors in my TBR for well over a year. I actually own a signed hardcover copy of the book that I’d pre-ordered back before it came out. Now the book is out in paperback and I’m just now getting around to reading it. Go me. Erin A. Craig likes to do fairy tale retellings and from what I can gather, this one is a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. At least that is what I’d guess from the favors – that was Rumpelstiltskin’s schtick after all. However, she does it in an unexpected way that makes you stop and think about it. It isn’t obvious at first. I love the setting of Amity Falls – an idyllic little town that is mostly self-contained, but still requires a little bit of help from the outside world. I honestly wonder […]

The Deep by Nick Cutter

Posted 06/27/2022 by Charli in Book Reviews / 1 Comment

When Brandon did one of his “here are some disturbing/creepy/horror books I read recently” videos and described The Deep, I knew I had to check it out. Before I get into the actual review a couple of trigger warnings that I found – descriptions of gore, childhood trauma, child abuse, animal abuse, animal death, child disappearance, parental murder. I’m sure there are more, but those are the ones I found. What would you do if the government called you and told you that your brother, who you haven’t spoken to in eight years and is doing some sort of scientific research eight miles underneath the Pacific Ocean, has asked for you and you need to go down there to find out what’s going on? Would you go? Because that’s what Luke Nelson did when he got the call that he needed to go eight miles below the Pacific Ocean to […]