Review: Werewolf Weekend by B.A. Frade & Stacia Deutsch

Goodreads Blurb

The full moon is rising…with a bite!

Twelve-year-old Emma is excited to spend a weekend away at best friend Samantha’s house for an epic sleepover with Sam and her out-of-town cousins. But things take a turn for the spooky when Emma’s peculiar new book, Tales from the Scaremaster, shows it has a mind of its own-and weaves a story starring Emma and some cousins hiding a very creepy secret!

When the story from the book starts coming to life, and with only hours before the full moon rises, it’s up to Emma to figure out the secrets of the Scaremaster. Can she solve this wolfish mystery, find a way to outwit the Scaremaster, and stop a werewolf in its tracks…or will she end up as wolf bait?

Frightfully funny tales come to life in this thrilling new series, perfect for fans of Goosebumps.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

This was a fun book for young children to read. It’s a story about a journal that creates its own horror story. Emma knew what the intentions of the journal were, and she tried her best to change the story in order to save her friends. It was a fast-paced book that will keep all readers interested in knowing what happens next.

Review: Mother Nature by Jamie Lee Curtis

Goodreads Blurb

Discover the incredible debut graphic novel from Hollywood horror legend Jamie Lee Curtis, Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress in the acclaimed movie Everything, Everywhere, All At Once .

Adapted from her script for the Comet Pictures/Blumhouse film Mother Nature by award-winning artist Karl Stevens, witness the terrifying supernatural revenge of Nova Terrel, whose father was mysteriously killed on site of a corrupt oil giant.

After witnessing her engineer father die in mysterious circumstances on one of the Cobalt Corporation’s experimental oil extraction projects, Nova Terrell has grown up to hate the seemingly benevolent company that the town of Catch Creek, New Mexico, relies on for its livelihood and, thanks to the “Mother Nature” project, its clean water.

Haunted by her father’s death, the rebellious Nova wages a campaign of sabotage and vandalism on the oil giant’s facilities and equipment, until one night she accidentally makes a terrifying discovery about the true nature of the “Mother Nature” project and the malevolent, long-dormant horror it has awakened, and that threatens to destroy them all.

My Review: Rated 3 out of 5 stars

The book discussed essential topics, such as climate change and companies’ projects that benefit them rather than the community or the environment. Some of the graphics were unforgettably graphic. The deaths are so graphic that the reader will feel like they are in the story, watching the gruesome death take place. This story had Native American spirits and Nova Terrel looking to destroy the oil company. Nova witnessed the death of her father at the oil company when she was younger. Between the spirits and Nova, they sabotaged everything and took lives trying to fight back. Mother nature will eventually fight back for what is rightfully theirs.

Author Biography

Jamie Lee Curtis is a two-time Golden Globe-winning, BAFTA-winning, and Emmy-nominated American film actress and an author of children’s books. Although she was initially known as a “scream queen” because of her starring roles in many horror films early in her career such as Halloween (1978 film), The Fog, Prom Night (1980 film) and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that covers many genres. She has received an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Awards. Her 1998 book, Today I Feel Silly, and Other Moods That Make My Day, made the best-seller list in The New York Times. She is married to actor Christopher Guest (Lord Haden-Guest) and, as the wife of a Lord, is titled Lady Haden-Guest, but she chooses not to use the title when in the United States.

Review: Trollhunters by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus

Goodreads Blurb

In San Bernardino, California, children are going missing.

The townspeople don’t believe the rumours of trolls, but fifteen-year-old Jim Jr knows that they’re a very real threat. At night, is anyone safe?

TROLLHUNTERS is a funny, gruesome and undeniably del Toro-esque adventure perfect for teen readers and fans of Pan’s Labyrinth.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 Stars

Wow, what an amazing book written from one of the best filmmakers ever. Book had an awesome beginning and ending. I just couldn’t put it down. Loved the whole troll story idea and having a human family being the trollhunters to keep all humans safe. Each character was very important in the book. They were all able to get together and do what was right to save everyone. The plot of this book was great, hoping it became a movie. What I loved most was that the story was being told by James, who is the son of Jim, who had lost his brother in a strange encounter. Fooled me at the beginning, thinking that Jim was telling the story. You don’t want to miss this amazing book with out of the box ideas, innovations, and thrilling.

Author Biography

Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director mostly known for his acclaimed films Pan’s Labyrinth, The Devils Backbone, Crimson Peak and the Hellboy film franchise. His films draw heavily on sources as diverse as weird fiction, fantasy, horror, and war. In 2009, Del Toro released his debut novel, The Strain, co-authored with Chuck Hogan, as the first part of The Strain Trilogy, an apocalyptic horror series featuring vampires. The series continued with The Fall in 2010 and concluded with The Night Eternal in 2011.

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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For weekly updates and contests, sign up for Tonya’s newsletter Kappes Krew Weekly via her website or Facebook.For years,

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: 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.

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.

Review: Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Goodreads Blurb

In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told.

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.

Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 Stars

I haven’t read any books in this series, but I really enjoyed this story. Levana only wished to be happy with a family that loved her. But because of the traumatic event that happened when she was younger, she wasn’t able to feel pretty as a result of her older sister. She just withheld envy, anger, and hate for everyone around her. She fell in love with Evret, who was happily married till his wife passed away during childbirth. How can she possibly think that his feelings could change towards Levana over night. She manipulated him in loving her and getting married. She felt happy just knowing he was there with her even though he didn’t love her. I was so angry at her for committing such a crime on her niece who would have been queen when she became a teenager. She definitely had no heart or any feelings. She didn’t feel any remorse when her parents were killed, when her sister died, and when she planned out her nieces death. I was utterly shocked at how this whole story ended. Would have never thought that she would plan on killing the only person she gave her heart to. Can’t wait to read the other three books to see the type of person Levana portrayed.

Author Biography

I live in Tacoma, Washington, with my husband and beautiful twin daughters. Represented by Jill Grinberg. Learn more about me and my upcoming books at http://www.marissameyer.com.

Review: The Queen of Zombie Hearts by Gena Showalter

Goodreads Blurb

I thought I had nothing left to give.

I thought wrong.

They started the war.

Now I will end it.

Alice “Ali” Bell thinks the worst is behind her. She’s ready to take the next step with boyfriend Cole Holland, the leader of the zombie slayers…until Anima Industries, the agency controlling the zombies, launches a sneak attack, killing four of her friends. It’s then she realizes that humans can be more dangerous than monsters…and the worst has only begun.

As secrets that may tear Ali and Cole apart come to light, and more slayers are taken or killed, Ali will fight harder than ever to bring down Anima—even sacrificing her own life for those she loves.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Wow, what an amazing book. I’m definitely finished with a huge bang. This last book in the series for now has left my heart broken. Could not ever imagine losing your best friend and having her turn into a zombie. I was very happy that Ali was so strong and was able to give in to such evil people. Stopping them at any cause was the best thing that they could have done. Ali is such a strong woman, and I love that this book portrays women as being the strong ones. She was able to save most of her friends. My heart stopped when the zombies exploded the house, and Ali was trying to find her friends. Could not imagine being in her place. I was happy about the way the book ended. Ali got her memory back and was able to blank Mrs. Smith memory. It has such an amazing turning point that Ali’s parents weren’t who she really thought, and she was the cure to all problems with the zombies. It should feel great that now no one has to use the zombie toxin in order to survive. Now, the zombies would be at peace after all. I’m hoping there will be another book to this amazing series.

Author Biography

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over seventy books, including the acclaimed Lords of the Underworld series, the Gods of War series, the White Rabbit Chronicles, and the Forest of Good and Evil series. She writes sizzling paranormal romance, heartwarming contemporary romance, and unputdownable young adult novels, and lives in Oklahoma City with her family and menagerie of dogs and cats.