Review: The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

Goodreads Blurb

Jake Livingston is one of the only Black kids at St. Clair Prep, one of the others being his infinitely more popular older brother. It’s hard enough fitting in but to make matters worse and definitely more complicated, Jake can see the dead. In fact he sees the dead around him all the time. Most are harmless. Stuck in their death loops as they relive their deaths over and over again, they don’t interact often with people. But then Jake meets Sawyer. A troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school last year before taking his own life. Now a powerful, vengeful ghost, he has plans for his afterlife–plans that include Jake. Suddenly, everything Jake knows about ghosts and the rules to life itself go out the window as Sawyer begins haunting him and bodies turn up in his neighborhood. High school soon becomes a survival game–one Jake is not sure he’s going to win.

My Review: Rated 3 out of 5 stars

It is a young adult horror story that involves a teenager who can see ghosts and who becomes a target of the ghost of Sawyer Doon, a student who shot students in his high school. The story mentions topics such as identity, race, racism, and LGBTQIA+. Jake is the only black student at St. Clair Prep. Making friends and feeling accepted at the school is hard for him. The teachers and students make racist comments and treat him differently. I think the author added some significant elements that would spook anyone. He also added some mystery to the book by having Jake try to figure out why he kept seeing Sawyer and what it was he wanted from him. The hatred within Sawyer was not going to win. Jake realized he had people who truly cared about him for who he was. It’s a spooky story that will keep you on edge.

Author Biography

Ryan Douglass is an author from Atlanta, Georgia. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling YA horror novel, The Taking of Jake Livingston, and the poetry book Boy in Jeopardy.

Review: A Time of Torment by John Connolly

Goodreads Blurb

Jerome Burnel was once a hero. He intervened to prevent multiple killings and in doing so damned himself. His life was torn apart. He was imprisoned, brutalized.

But in his final days, with the hunters circling, he tells his story to private detective Charlie Parker. He speaks of the girl who was marked for death but was saved, of the ones who tormented him, and an entity that hides in a ruined stockade.

Parker is not like other men. He died, and was reborn. He is ready to wage war.

Now he will descend upon a strange, isolated community called the Cut, and face down a force of men who rule by terror, intimidation, and murder.

All in the name of the being they serve.

All in the name of the Dead King.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Wow, this book was intense from the moment I read page one to the very last page. The title says it all. Torment is written all over this book. I was clenching my teeth of how cruel and heartless the characters were in this book. I was tormented reading every word the author wrote, tormented with every thought the characters thought, tormented with every action, death, rape, kidnapping, and torture. John wrote a book that captures the reader and leaves them wanting more. When you thought the end was near, the book was only beginning its torment. This book also had a few paranormal events throughout the book. This was a five-star read. I highly recommend you read this book and clamp yourself to your seat. Beware!!

Author Biography

John Connolly was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1968 and has, at various points in his life, worked as a journalist, a barman, a local government official, a waiter and a dogsbody at Harrods department store in London. He studied English in Trinity College, Dublin and journalism at Dublin City University, subsequently spending five years working as a freelance journalist for The Irish Times newspaper, to which he continues to contribute.

He is based in Dublin but divides his time between his native city and the United States.

This page is administered by John’s assistant, Clair, on John’s behalf. If you’d like to communicate with John directly, you can do so by writing to contact-at-johnconnollybooks.com, or by following him on Twitter at @JConnollyBooks.

Upcoming Book Event With Author Riley Sager

On June 27th at 7 pm, Riley Sager will be talking about his upcoming book Middle of the Night at the Barnes and Noble in Princeton, NJ.

Goodreads Blurb

The worst thing to ever happen on Hemlock Circle occurred in Ethan Marsh’s backyard. One July night, ten-year-old Ethan and his best friend and neighbor, Billy, fell asleep in a tent set up on a manicured lawn in a quiet, quaint New Jersey cul de sac. In the morning, Ethan woke up alone. During the night, someone had sliced the tent open with a knife and taken Billy. He was never seen again.

Thirty years later, Ethan has reluctantly returned to his childhood home. Plagued by bad dreams and insomnia, he begins to notice strange things happening in the middle of the night. Someone seems to be roaming the cul de sac at odd hours, and signs of Billy’s presence keep appearing in Ethan’s backyard. Is someone playing a cruel prank? Or has Billy, long thought to be dead, somehow returned to Hemlock Circle?

The mysterious occurrences prompt Ethan to investigate what really happened that night, a quest that reunites him with former friends and neighbors and leads him into the woods that surround Hemlock Circle. Woods where Billy claimed monsters roamed and where a mysterious institute does clandestine research on a crumbling estate.

The closer Ethan gets to the truth, the more he realizes that no place—be it quiet forest or suburban street—is completely safe. And that the past has a way of haunting the present.

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: Clever Creatures of The Night by Samantha Mabry

Goodreads Blurb

WHERE IS DREA?

When Case shows up at the isolated West Texas house where her best friend, Drea, lives with friends from school, Drea is nowhere to be found. Why would she ask Case to visit and then disappear? With twenty-four hours until her ride home, Case intends to find out.

But Drea’s roommates can’t—or won’t—answer any questions. They leave Case to search alone, to find bits and pieces of Drea’s life hidden in and around the house, while they continue playing out a rural utopian fantasy. Their bizarre behavior puts Case on edge, and she’s not the only one. The animals nearby are lashing out, strangely aggressive.

Something bad happened in this house. Something that must be connected to Drea’s disappearance—and if she gets too close to the truth, Case might just be next.

My Review: Rated 2 out of 5 stars

When I received this book from the publisher, the cover captivated me. The mysterious house on the cover felt eerie. Unfortunately, the story did not captivate me one bit. I was hoping to be at the edge of my seat, but all I felt was the temptation to continue reading a story that I wasn’t interested in. I hoped that Chase would find her best friend but that she would have a spooky adventure doing so. The title was fantastic, but I couldn’t connect it with the story. The story started exciting, but the ending and mystery weren’t captivating enough.

Author Biography

samantha was born four days before the death of john lennon. she grew up in dallas, playing bass guitar along to vinyl records in her bedroom after school, writing fan letters to rock stars, doodling song lyrics into notebooks, and reading big, big books.

she spends as much time as possible in the west texas desert.

A FIERCE AND SUBTLE POISON (Algonquin Young Readers, spring 2016) is her first novel.

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: 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: 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.