Review: Dreadfully Ever After: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Steve Hockensmith

Goodreads Blurb

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and its prequel, Dawn of the Dreadfuls, were both New York Times best sellers, with a combined 1.3 million copies in print. Now the PPZ trilogy comes to a thrilling conclusion with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After.

The story opens with our newly married protagonists, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy, defending their village from an army of flesh-eating “unmentionables.” But the honeymoon has barely begun when poor Mr. Darcy is nipped by a rampaging dreadful. Elizabeth knows the proper course of action is to promptly behead her husband (and then burn the corpse, just to be safe). But when she learns of a miracle antidote under development in London, she realizes there may be one last chance to save her true love—and for everyone to live happily ever after.

Complete with romance, heartbreak, martial arts, cannibalism, and an army of shambling corpses. Dreadfully Ever After brings the story of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to a thrilling conclusion.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Pride and Prejudice is very dear to my heart, and this book is my next favorite. I really enjoyed this book. Loved that there was so much action throughout the book. I was heartbroken after what happened to my lover boy Mr.Darcy but love and family are always there to support. I loved this book because of the action and that women fought just like men. They were trained zombie killers, utterly cool. It had a great plot and was written very well. I was happy with the action pack ending. Couldn’t stand Anne she got what she deserved and her mother. The book turned out in my favor. The bad guys got what they deserved, and my Darcy still survived. If you are looking for a book that will keep you at the end of your seat, you want to pick this book up.

Author Biography

Steve Hockensmith is the author of the New York Times bestseller Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls and several other novels, including the Edgar Award finalist Holmes on the Range. He lives in Alameda, California.

Review: The Dead Lands by Benjamin Percy

Goodreads Blurb

In Benjamin Percy’s new thriller, a post-apocalyptic reimagining of the Lewis and Clark saga, a super flu and nuclear fallout have made a husk of the world we know. A few humans carry on, living in outposts such as the Sanctuary-the remains of St. Louis-a shielded community that owes its survival to its militant defense and fear-mongering leaders.

Then a rider comes from the wasteland beyond its walls. She reports on the outside west of the Cascades, rain falls, crops grow, civilization thrives. But there is danger the rising power of an army that pillages and enslaves every community they happen upon.

Against the wishes of the Sanctuary, a small group sets out in secrecy. Led by Lewis Meriwether and Mina Clark, they hope to expand their infant nation, and to reunite the States. But the Sanctuary will not allow them to escape without a fight.

My Review: Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Won this book from GoodReads. Really wasn’t feeling the book until the end. It was hell in the sanctuary and a bigger hell in the rest of the world. Benjamin’s writing is fabulous and very detailed. I loved that the lady characters were strong-willed and did what needed to be done. I loved the prologue it made the book capturing, but then I got lost with what was happening in the rest of the book.

Author Biography

Benjamin Percy is the author of seven novels — most recently The Sky Vault (William Morrow) — three short fiction collections, and a book of essays, Thrill Me, that is widely taught in creative writing classrooms. He writes Wolverine, X-Force, and Ghost Rider for Marvel Comics. His fiction and nonfiction have been published in Esquire (where he is a contributing editor), GQ, Time, Men’s Journal, Outside, the Wall Street Journal, Tin House, and the Paris Review. His honors include an NEA fellowship, the Whiting Writer’s Award, the Plimpton Prize, two Pushcart Prizes, the iHeart Radio Award for Best Scripted Podcast, and inclusion in Best American Short Stories and Best American Comics.

Review: A Ghostly Undertaking by Tonya Kappes

Goodreads Blurb

A funeral, a ghost, a murder . . . It’s all in a day’s work for emma lee raines . . .

Bopped on the head from a falling plastic Santa, local undertaker Emma Lee Raines is told she’s suffering from “funeral trauma.” It’s trauma all right, because the not-so-dearly departed keep talking to her. Take Ruthie Sue Payne—innkeeper, gossip queen, and arch-nemesis of Emma Lee’s granny—she’s adamant that she didn’t just fall down those stairs. She was pushed.

Ruthie has no idea who wanted her pushing up daisies. All she knows is that she can’t cross over until the matter is laid to eternal rest. In the land of the living, Emma Lee’s high-school crush, Sheriff Jack Henry Ross, isn’t ready to rule out foul play. Granny Raines, the widow of Ruthie’s ex-husband and co-owner of the Sleepy Hollow Inn, is the prime suspect. Now Emma Lee is stuck playing detective or risk being haunted forever.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

This book was so much fun. It was a straight 5 star read. Tonya always writes such fun stories. Her female characters are so funny. Emma Lee became a detective in a matter of minutes after seeing the ghost of Ruthie Sue, who was not liked in her commumity for being nosy. Emma did a great job in trying to let people think she had the funeral trauma. I loved her little romance encounter with Jack. It makes the story fun when you have a crush and each person doesn’t know it. I was freaking out when “Fly Me To The Moon” was playing in the car. I just love that song, perfect song for the scene. I got caught off guard to find out who the killer was. I really thought it was an outsider doing the killing spree. This book had an awesome plot and was suspenseful all the way throughout the book. I was cracking up that Emma drives in a hearse. Can’t wait to read the next book. Great job, Tonya. XOXO!

Author Biography

Tonya Kappes has written more than 180 southern cozy mysteries, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists, including USA Today . Best known for stories charged with southern charm, emotion and humor and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband in northern Kentucky. Now that her four boys have flown out of the nest, Tonya writes full-time in her camper!

You can find her all over social media and at Tonyakappes.com .

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Review: The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzie

Goodreads Blurb

Something freaky’s going on with Sunshine’s new house… there’s the chill that wraps itself around her bones, the giggling she can hear in the dead of night, and then the strange shadows that lurk in her photographs. But the more weird stuff that happens, the less her mom believes her. Sunshine’s always had a quirky affiliation with the past, but this time, history is getting much too close for comfort…

If there is something, or someone, haunting her house, what do they want? And what will they do if Sunshine can’t help them?

As things become more frightening and dangerous, and the giggles she hears turn to sobs and screams, Sunshine has no choice but to accept what she is, face the test before her and save her mother from a fate worse than death.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Wow, I just couldn’t put the book down. Had to stop reading at night because it spooked me. This book was very well written. It was the perfect horror story. Anyone who reads this book will not be able to stop. Each chapter grasps the readers attention. Sunshine was able to overcome her fears by coming into action and taking care of saving her mother from the demon. I loved that her professor Victoria played a huge part in what was occurring. She gave up her powers in order to save her daughter from the demon. I was so happy to find out that Nolan was her protector. Can’t wait to see what happens in the next book and find out who that mystery man was. You don’t want to miss this awazing five-star read.

Author Biography

Paige is the young star of the hit YouTube channel The Haunting of Sunshine Girl. What began as a simple “girl and her haunted house” story has grown to a multi-webisode network with stories of zombies, ghosts, Sasquatch and lots of Sunshine! Full of positivity, humor and plenty of scares, The Haunting of Sunshine Girl has allowed Paige to spread her unique brand of adorkableness to other teens (and many adults) all over the world! At the age of 16, Paige (along with her mother, actress Mercedes Rose and producing partner, Nick Hagen) co-founded the production company Coat Tale Productions.
Paige’s latest book series, B*Witch from Hachette Books hit shelves in 2020. A sequel is planned for 2021. Paige lives in Portland, Oregon with her fur baby, Pongo.

Review: Chestnut Street by Maeve Binchy

Goodreads Blurb

Maeve Binchy imagined a street in Dublin with many characters coming and going, and every once in a while she would write about one of these people. She would then put it in a drawer; “for the future,” she would say. The future is now.

Across town from St. Jarlath’s Crescent, featured in Minding Frankie, is Chestnut Street, where neighbors come and go. Behind their closed doors we encounter very different people with different life circumstances, occupations, and sensibilities. Some of the unforgettable characters lovingly brought to life by Binchy are Bucket Maguire, the window cleaner, who must do more than he bargained for to protect his son; Nessa Byrne, whose aunt visits from America every summer and turns the house—and Nessa’s world—upside down; Lilian, the generous girl with the big heart and a fiancé whom no one approves of; Melly, whose gossip about the neighbors helps Madame Magic, a self-styled fortune-teller, get everyone on the right track; Dolly, who discovers more about her perfect mother than she ever wanted to know; and Molly, who learns the cure for sleeplessness from her pen pal from Chicago . . .

Chestnut Street is written with the humor and understanding that are earmarks of Maeve Binchy’s extraordinary work and, once again, she warms our hearts with her storytelling.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Won this book from GoodReads. Maeve knew how to tell stories of different people who lived in Chestnut Street. As you read, you would see that almost everyone knew their neighbors and their personal issues. I loved that each story taught you a lesson. It would start with how the persons personal life was and how they either they would move on without change or they would step up to how they feel and change the outcome. What is great about these short stories is that as you read, you can see a resemblance you may have with one or more of the characters. You can see that family is very important to those who live in this book.

Author Biography

Maeve Binchy was born on 28 May 1940 in Dalkey, County Dublin, Ireland, the eldest child of four. Her parents were very positive and provided her with a happy childhood. Although she described herself as an overweight child, her parents’ attitude gave her the confidence to accept herself for who she was.

She studied at University College Dublin and was a teacher for a while. She also loved traveling, and this was how she found her niche as a writer. She liked going to different places, such as a Kibbutz in Israel, and she worked in a camp in the United States. While she was away, she sent letters home to her parents. They were so impressed with these chatty letters from all over the world that they decided to send them to a newspaper. After these letters were published, Maeve left teaching and became a journalist.

Maeve married Gordon Snell, writer and editor of children’s books. When they were struggling financially, Light a Penny Candle was published, which made her an overnight success. Many of her books, such as Echoes, are set in the past in Ireland. Some of her later novels, such as Evening Class, take place in more modern times. Her books often deal with people who are young, fall in love, have families, and deal with relationship or family problems. The main characters are people whom readers can empathise with.

She passed away on 30 July 2012, at the age of 72.

Her cousin Dan Binchy is also a published writer, as is her nephew Chris Binchy.

Review: The Killing Lessons by Saul Black

Goodreads Blurb

In their isolated country house, a mother and her two children prepare to wait out a blinding snowstorm. Two violent predators walk through the door. Nothing will ever be the same.

When the two strangers turn up at Rowena Cooper’s isolated Colorado farmhouse, she knows instantly that it’s the end of everything. For the two haunted and driven men, on the other hand, it’s just another stop on a long and bloody journey. And they still have many miles to go, and victims to sacrifice, before their work is done.
For San Francisco homicide detective Valerie Hart, their trail of victims-women abducted, tortured and left with a seemingly random series of objects inside them-has brought her from obsession to the edge of physical and psychological destruction. And she’s losing hope of making a breakthrough before that happens.
But the murders at the Cooper farmhouse didn’t quite go according to plan. There was a survivor, Rowena’s ten-year-old daughter Nell, who now holds the key to the killings. Injured, half-frozen, terrified, Nell has only one place to go. And that place could be even more dangerous than what she’s running from.

In this extraordinary, pulse-pounding debut, Saul Black takes us deep into the mind of a psychopath, and into the troubled heart of the woman determined to stop him.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Won this book from Goodreads. My mind twisted and tricked me as I read through this book. To have a serial killer having a killing spree will make even the strongest weak. I just couldn’t comprehend why Leon had no feelings and killed like it was a natural thing to do. As I listened to the audio book, I felt like I traveled to Leon’s world and had a front row seat of all his personal tortures and the killing sprees. Just having to listen to the first chapter, I knew my perspective of life would be changed forever. This book teaches us all that we need to cherish life and protect everyone around you. Valerie would be inches away from figuring out the killer and catching him, but she never gave up. The author did an amazing job of writing a story that I know will become a movie someday. It played with your mind and took you to a world where the world froze, and only death can set you free. If you are looking for a book that will keep you up at night and having you gripping your seat, then look no further.

Author Biography

SAUL BLACK is a pseudonym used by Glen Duncan, a British author born in 1965 in Bolton, Lancashire, England to an Anglo-Indian family. In 1994 he visited India with his father before continuing on to the United States, where he spent several months travelling the country by Amtrak train, writing much of what would become his first novel, Hope, published to critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic in 1997. Duncan lives in London. Recently, his 2002 novel I, Lucifer has had the film rights purchased, with actors such as Ewan Mcgregor, Jason Brescia, Jude Law, Vin Diesel, and Daniel Craig all being considered for roles in the forthcoming movie.

Review: Still See You Everywhere by Lisa Gardner

Goodreads Blurb

Frankie Elkin is an expert at finding the missing persons that the rest of the world has forgotten, but even she couldn’t have anticipated this latest request—to locate the long-lost sister of a female serial killer facing execution in three weeks’ time.

She has called herself “death,” but people called her the devil.

The case was sensational. Kaylee Pierson had confessed from the very beginning, waived all appeals. Despite the media’s chronicling of her tragic circumstances—the childhood spent with a violent father—no one could find sympathy for “the Beautiful Butcher” who had led eighteen men home from bars before viciously slitting their throats.
Now, with only twenty-one days left to live, Pierson has finally received a lead on the whereabouts of the sister who was kidnapped over a decade ago, and she needs Frankie’s help to find her. The Beautiful Butcher’s offer:

When was the last time your search ended with finding the living?

Unable to resist the chance for a rescue, Frankie takes on Pierson’s request. Twelve years ago, five-year-old Leilani went missing in Hawaii. The main suspect? Pierson’s tech mogul ex-boyfriend, Sanders MacManus. Now, on a remote island in the middle of the Pacific—the site of MacManus’s latest vanity project—fresh evidence has appeared. In order to learn the truth and possibly save a young woman’s life, Frankie must go undercover at the isolated base camp. Her challenge: A dozen strangers. Countless dangerous secrets. Zero means of calling for help. And then the storm rolls in…

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

This thriller will keep you up at night. The reader will have to worry about surviving a serial killer, coconut crabs, crab dens, and living in an isolated atoll with a murderer. The female characters in this story are strong-willed and ready to fight to survive. The beautiful butcher Kaylee is a heartless serial killer who gets gusto from butchering men. Her childhood with her father was a torment that helped shape her into what she became. Kaylee is in jail and will be executed in a few weeks. Her last request is to find her sister Leilani and save her from her ex-boyfriend, Sanders McManus. Kaylee and her lawyer hire Frankie, who specializes in searching for missing people and has succeeded every time she seeks to find someone. Frankie doesn’t know that you should never trust a serial killer. Frankie lands on an island filled with dangers. Her investigative skills will get her closer to the truth, but it might be too late to solve this twisted mystery. Don’t let the innocent Leilani and serial killer sister, or are they sisters? You will have to pick up this thrilling novel to find the truth yourself. Get ready to fight for your life.

Author Biography

Lisa Gardner is the #1 New York Times bestselling thriller author of the Frankie Elkin series, as well as the Detective D.D. Warren, the FBI Profilers and the PI Tessa Leoni series.

Her current suspense novels feature Frankie Elkin, an everyday, average person who specializes in finding missing people. When the locals have given up, when the media has never bothered to care, Frankie takes on the challenge. From looking for a missing teen in inner city Boston to searching for a missing hiker in the wilds of Wyoming to rescuing a possibly kidnapped girl on a remote island in the Pacific, Frankie is on the case!

Lisa lives in the mountains of New Hampshire with two crazy pups. When not writing, Lisa loves to hike, play cribbage, and, of course, read!

Review: Vampires of Manhattan by Melissa De La Cruz

Goodreads Blurb

The Vampires of Manhattan is “hipster horror”–the memorable characters from her Blue Bloods series are older and cooler than before, trying to build “Millennial” lives in the bustle of Manhattan while battling forces of evil and, of course, each other.

Hero of this sexy, paranormal action tale is Oliver Hazard-Perry, former human conduit, and Manhattan’s only human-turned-vampire, now the head of the Blue Bloods Coven. When his all-too-human lover is found murdered on the eve of the coven’s annual Four Hundred Ball–a celebration meant to usher in a new era in vampire society, and to mark the re-unification of the Coven after decades of unrest and decay–Oliver is devastated.

Now, not only is he trying to create a new world order for the immortal elite, he’s the prime suspect and is stalked by the newly installed head of the vampire secret police. Because according to the new rules, vampires who take human life can now be executed. Burned.

How can an immortal sentenced to die fight back? He has to find the killer–and the answers lie deep in vampire lore.

My Review: Rated 3 out of 5 stars

I haven’t read the Blue Blood series other than this book. I was having a hard time trying to get into the book. It wasn’t grasping my attention. I liked the last few chapters of the book because the book became exciting.

Author Biography

Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat.

Her books for adults include the novel Cat’s Meow, the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and the tongue-in-chic handbooks How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-inch heels and Faux-Pas.

She has worked as a fashion and beauty editor and has written for many publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Allure, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney’s, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl! and Seventeen. She has also appeared as an expert on fashion, trends and fame for CNN, E! and FoxNews.

Melissa grew up in Manila and moved to San Francisco with her family, where she graduated high school salutatorian from The Convent of the Sacred Heart. She majored in art history and English at Columbia University (and minored in nightclubs and shopping!).

She now divides her time between New York and Los Angeles, where she lives in the Hollywood Hills with her husband and daughter.

Cover Reveal and ARC Request: If You Loved Me by Brianna Remus

BOOK DETAILS:

If You Loved Me
by Brianna Remus
Publication date: April 26, 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

My parents would lose their minds if they found out their precious daughter lost her virginity to the town’s notorious bad boy and ex-convict.

Ranger Adams might have been a dangerous pariah after he was released from prison, but he was the only man I wanted. And after I convinced him to take me on a date, I got exactly what my body…and heart desired.

I spent my entire life trying to get away from my parents’ overbearing grasp. They’ve tried to control every part of my life, even down to the man I was supposed to marry. That was the price of being born into one of the South’s richest families.

The second I had a chance to get away, I did. Ten years of pissing them off and making my dreams come true was worth the sacrifice. No fun. No relationships. And no sex.

My life had been all work until Ranger came back into town. Everyone whispered about what he’d done to land in prison. But I didn’t care.

He was rough around the edges, wild, and free.

And I wanted every bit of what he was willing to give me.

AUTHOR BIO:

BriannaRemus is a Florida-based author who lives with her husband, three pups, and terrorizing cat. She started her writing journey in 2016 to ward off the woes of graduate school. The light-hearted hobby quickly turned into a passion filled dream that consistently distracts her from the real world.

When Brianna isn’t working as a psychology resident or writing books, you can find her getting lost in the worlds created by others (through writing and movies), spending a day at the ocean, or taking a walk in the forest. She loves to spend her days outdoors surrounded by the beauties of nature.

A true Tolkien nerd, she also spends a lot of her time immersed in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, as well as praying that Amazon doesn’t completely fuck up the new LOTR series.

Author links:

https://www.briannaremus.com/

https://www.instagram.com/authorbriannaremus/

https://www.tiktok.com/@authorbriannaremus?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc https://www.bookbub.com/profile/brianna-remus?list=about
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19147144.Brianna_Remus

ARC sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScIJgkcVdZjIiRN01AsqT-7MpBLLfkI2aNMvXfDzISwIY3Zgg/viewform

Review: Wildalone by Krassi Zourkova

Goodreads Blurb

In this darkly imaginative debut novel full of myth, magic, romance, and mystery, a Princeton freshman is drawn into a love triangle with two enigmatic brothers, and discovers terrifying secrets about her family and herself—a bewitching blend of Twilight, The Secret History, Jane Eyre, and A Discovery of Witches.

Arriving at Princeton for her freshman year, Thea Slavin finds herself alone, a stranger in a strange land. Away from her family and her Eastern European homeland for the first time, she struggles to adapt to unfamiliar American ways and the challenges of college life—including an enigmatic young man whose brooding good looks and murky past intrigue her. Drawn to the elusive Rhys and his equally handsome and mysterious brother, Jake, she ventures into a sensual mythic underworld as irresistible as it is dangerous.

In this shadow world that seems to mimic Greek mythology and the Bulgarian legends of the samodivi or “wildalones”—forest witches who beguile and entrap men—Thea will discover a family secret bound to transform her forever . . . if she can accept that dead doesn’t always mean gone, and love doesn’t always distinguish between the two.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Very sad I am done reading this book, leaving me wanting for more. This book deserves more than five stars. It is absolutely enchanting from the very beginning. Each character left me wild, untamed, and trapped. This book had an urban/Greek myth. I finished this book in about three days straight and couldn’t take my eyes away from it. Each character had their own secret, which made it very interesting. As you read, you assume that certain characters were involved with Elza’s disappearance. The love that Thea has for Jake and Rhys is unexplainable. Too love a man who you don’t know, other than seeing him from afar and then start dating a man you assume is the same person would make any person confused and frustrated. Rhys is a character who rubbed off the wrong way. Felt like he was the man I would stay away from because he could harm me. Jake is smart, quiet, and loyal to his brother even when he is taking his happiness away. I was in complete shock when I discovered who Rhys was and what actually happened to Elza. I grew frustrated as I read because I really felt that Jake is her one true love, and a future life couldn’t be dealt with Rhys because of his commitment. Krassi did an amazing job in writing a book that kept me interested from the beginning, had mystery and secrets to be told. This story was written naturally just as a pianist touches each key without thought but with passion. Can’t wait to see what Thea decides for her future on the next novel. Thanks so much for letting me read such an amazing book. I highly recommend you read it.