Time for some mini-reviews! What are mini-reviews, you ask? As the title suggests, these are short reviews, consisting of one paragraph tops, about a book. It’s a way to catch up on the books I’ve read a while ago, but never got around to reviewing.
Title: A Place for Sinners
Author: Aaron Dries
Genre: Horror
Rating: 3 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Sometimes, survival is a sin.
Amity Collins has been deaf since she was seven. That was the day the wild dogs attacked, fighting for her bones. The day her father died. This trip to Thailand is exactly what Amity and her brother, Caleb, need—freedom.
As their boat slits through saltwater, Amity, Caleb and the other passengers are having the time of their lives. They watch the island emerge on the horizon. Its trees twitch, as though impatient or hungry. Within its shadows, secrets best kept hidden will be unearthed. Sacrifices will be made. Terror will reach out to grasp Amity, as real and frightening as what’s lurking in the dark.
A perfect example of a book that starts out strong but ends on a bit of a sour note. The first part was magnificent, and I felt like I was in Thailand too, along with the main characters. However, the second part of the book, while disturbing and holding a lot of potential, fell a little flat because it was TOO complex. Some of the twists and character reveals made little to no sense either. I don’t mind a little complexity but it needs to stay within the realms of the possible.
Title: Must Love Ghosts
Author: Jennifer Savalli
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Ghosts
Rating: 3 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Haunted? Call 1-800-GHOST-HUNK.
Tia McGarry believes love is nothing more than a biochemical cocktail, and she’ll have the research to prove it—as soon as she and her calm, stable, almost-fiancé land a research grant.
Her biggest mistake, bad boy ex-boyfriend Dec Mancini, is firmly in her past. But when the ghost of her long-dead great-uncle moves into her living room, Dec is the only paranormal investigator with the skills to get rid of him.
Dec is used to scorn and ridicule, but he never quite got over Tia’s refusal to believe. With irrefutable proof that ghosts exist manifesting in her house, he can finally earn respect for his profession—and maybe find common ground for himself and Tia to rebuild on.
Tia can’t deny their crazy, chaotic chemistry is strong as ever, but as the ghost’s pranks threaten to put her grant out of reach, she must decide which is the greater risk: letting a ghost jeopardize her career, or falling in love with the man who could destroy her safe, stable life.
Tia doesn’t believe in ghosts, but when her dead uncle shows up, she might be forced to change her opinion. And when on top of that her ex-boyfriend, a paranormal investigator, makes a reapparance in her life and it seems like things are about to turn hot and heavy between them again, she’s in for a fun and quirky adventure. Despite that, the plot is pretty basic and the characters are a little flat too. Not a bad read,but not that great either.
Title: The Doll Collection
Author: Ellen Datlow (Editor)
Genre: Horror, Short Stories, Anthologies
Rating: 3 stars
Purchase: Amazon
The Doll Collection is exactly what it sounds like: a treasured toy box of all-original dark stories about dolls of all types, including everything from puppets and poppets to mannequins and baby dolls. Featuring everything from life-sized clockwork dolls to all-too-human Betsy Wetsy-type baby dolls, these stories play into the true creepiness of the doll trope, but avoid the clichés that often show up in stories of this type.Master anthologist Ellen Datlow has assembled a list of beautiful and terrifying stories from bestselling and critically acclaimed authors such as Joyce Carol Oates, Seanan McGuire, Carrie Vaughn, Pat Cadigan, Tim Lebbon, Richard Kadrey, Genevieve Valentine, and Jeffrey Ford. The collection is illustrated with photographs of dolls taken by Datlow and other devoted doll collectors from the science fiction and fantasy field. The result is a star-studded collection exploring one of the most primal fears of readers of dark fiction everywhere, and one that every reader will want to add to their own collection.
At the publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied
Dolls are creepy. Enough said. Now, in this collection, which packs a bunch of the most original stories I’ve ever read in the genre, the authors explore the trope of creepy dolls. A range of haunted dolls, mad doll owners, creepy doctors and ventriloquists pass by, and each story is unique and strong in its own way. One of the best horror anthologies I’ve read.
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