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: 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.

Review: Through the Zombie Glass by Gena Showalter

Goodreads Blurb

Zombies stalk the night.

Forget blood and brains. These monsters hunger for human souls.

Sadly, they’ve got mine…

Alice Bell has lost so much. Family. Friends. A home. She thought she had nothing else to give. She was wrong.

After a new zombie attack, strange things begin to happen to her. Mirrors come to life, and the whispers of the dead assault her ears. But the worst? A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do very wicked things.

She’s never needed her team of zombie slayers more, but ultra bad-boy Cole Holland, the leader and her boyfriend, suddenly withdraws from her…from everyone. Now, with her best friend, Kat, at her side, Ali must kill the zombies, uncover Cole’s secret and learn to fight the darkness.

But the clock is ticking…and if she fails at a single task, they’re all doomed.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Wow, this book was even better than the first. I just couldn’t put it down. Ali was such a strong person. She got dibilated by Z.A, but she wouldn’t let her take over her life and others. Cole never gave up on her and was really in love with Ali. He stayed with her through good times and bad. I was glad that the traitor wasn’t one of the zombies slayers. I would have been upset. They are all family. The doctor got what he deserved. He killed so many innocent people in hopes of saving his daughter. Ali was put through so much pain, and poor Jaclyn was malnutrition and tortured. I was really hoping for the zombies that he was controlling, which should have been the ones to kill him. I was so happy to see all slayers help Ali release that evil zombie Alice away from her body. Now they saw that they are able to cure themselves and be able to kill more zombies. This book had me at edge between all the fighting, torturing, escaping, and starvation. I’m going to be reading the next book in this series and can’t wait to see what will happen next.

Author Biography

Review: Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Goodreads Blurb

If anyone had told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real.

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I am speechless after reading this amazing book. Can’t wait to see if they make this book into a movie. I loved that Gena thought out of the box and didn’t give us the same book like all those zombies movies that have been made. I loved the concept of zombies being in spirit form, and they eat your spirit while killing you in human form. I was at the edge of my seat reading this book. Action all the way through. Can’t wait to start the next book on this series. I got caught off guard and didn’t expect her dad to have turned into a zombie, let alone try to defend her. The cast for this book is perfect. They all know each other from school, and the enemy used to be best friends with Cole and used to fight to kill the zombies. It was such a great opportunity that I got to meet Gena at a panel and got all three books signed. Thanks for writing such an amazing book. Don’t forget to pick this one up, you won’t be disappointed.

Author Biography

Review: Penny Palabras by James B. Willard, Patrick K. Beavers, illustrator

Goodreads Blurb

Penny Palabras, 17, has experienced the paranormal for years. She knows that things aren’t always what they seem. She’s tormented by a malevolent entity called the Straw Man. As she searches for ways to banish him from her life, she’s haunted by more than ghosts. Her nightmares won’t let her sleep, her friends and family can’t understand, and the Straw Man is getting more powerful every day.

This Season One volume collects episodes 1-6 of Penny Palabras as well as the kickstarter funded addition of the “Lucas” segue and additional developmental artwork. The episodes are (minor plot spoilers follow):

01 – The Spectacular Revolver. Penny begins her narrative, introducing us to her world. We learn about the Straw Man, meet the Pawn Broker and the Librarian, and Penny acquires the Spectacular Revolver.

02 – The Devil’s Weight. Penny is visited by a surprise guest when she least expects it. She learns more about ghosts and getting rid of straw men.

03 – The Detachment Bell. Penny’s friend Stevan brings her an artifact that she’ll later find useful.

04 – Disappearing Acts – Penny gets expelled from school and we see what it’s like to be tormented by the Straw Man. Penny realizes that there is only one way to protect her family and friends from him – by leaving.

05 – A Gun In Act One – Penny makes some discoveries that lead her to her father and has another run-in with the Straw Man. She finds out more about the librarian and herself as a result of his attack.

Segue – Lucas. Backed by a Kickstarter supporter of the project, this segue chronicles Penny’s quest to find the summoning spell that she uses in the beginning of the next episode.

06 – Love Letters – The season one story arc concludes as Penny resorts to extremes, allowing the Tiger Devil and his associate to help her bind the Straw Man and send her home.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Won this book from GoodReads. This graphic novel was nicely written. Love the artwork that was done for this book. I feel horrible for Penny. It’s such a freak twisting novel. Really wasn’t expecting what was unraveled in the last few chapters. I could relate to Penny because I myself have nightmares most nights. I have some really twisted weird dreams. This book reminds me of bullying. Since the Straw Man and the tiger devil won’t leave her alone. They are willing to help only if you do something for them, which is definitely not something that you would normally do. It’s great that they started the book with the cast of characters and there picture so you would know who the character is. The way I interpret this book is a teenager who has been haunted by some evil spirits and is looking for a way put. No one can help her, but the spirit of the librarian who knows what she is going through. I can’t wait to read the rest of the novels.

Review: Slime Doesn’t Pay! by R.L. Stine

Goodreads Blurb

Lots of little brothers can be pests and trouble-makers — but Amy’s brother Arnie is a MONSTER … In this R.L. Stine family-friendly scare fest, Amy and her friend, Lissa, don’t know what to do about Arnie’s bullying, bad-boy behavior, and mean jokes and pranks. The little monster is ruining their lives! The girls decide it’s payback time. Total humiliation for Arnie. They find a recipe for blue slime on a YouTube channel and mix a big bucket to pour over Arnie at his birthday party. To their horror, the girls instantly discover that SLIME DOESN’T PAY! Before their eyes, Arnie’s whole body starts to change. The slime turns him into a real monster. Now Amy and Lissa have two frightening dilemmas: Can they save their town from the raging Arnie Monster? And is there any way to turn the monster back into Arnie?

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

So, how far would you go to teach your annoying evil brother a lesson? This story is precisely the aftermath of Amy being sick and tired of her brother Arnie getting away with everything. I assure you, you would have done the same thing if you were Amy. Arnie is a bully who is constantly pranking Amy and everyone around him. Amy’s parents know a secret that they have kept hidden from Amy and everyone in town. This secret will surprise and frighten even Amy. After being fed up with Arnie’s pranks, Amy and her friend create a slime they throw all over Arnie in front of all his classmates. Well, that turns Arnie into something we would all be fearful of, and that fear is a monster. Amy and her parents work together to tame Arnie and have him return back to a kid. Can Arnie, the monster, be tamed?

Author Biography

Robert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children’s literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.

R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children’s author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.

Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids’ Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA’s Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.

Review: The Retreat by Elisabeth De Mariaffi

Goodreads Blurb

She came looking for inspiration.
Instead, disaster strikes.

Maeve Martin arrives at the High Water Center for the Arts, a gorgeous lodge nestled deep in the Rocky Mountains, determined to do one thing: begin her own dance company. A retired performer and mother of two, time is running out for her to find her feet again after the collapse of her disastrous—and violent—marriage. And at first, there’s a thrill to being on her own for the first time in years. Isolated in the snowy beauty of the retreat, Maeve can forget the ghost of her past for an hour, for a day.

But when an avalanche strikes, Maeve finds herself trapped with six other guests. They’ve lost all power, phone service, heat, and the road back to town. At first, there’s a sense of camaraderie—the fire is warm, the freezer well-stocked. But as the days pass and the storm rages on outside, tensions start to run high. Help is coming, so they just have to hold on, right?

Then the first guest meets an unspeakable death.

Followed by another.

Soon Maeve must admit how little she knows about these strangers . . . and how useless a locked door is if the darkness is already inside.

My Review: Rated 2 out of 5 stars

A retreat is supposed to bring you peace and harmony, but what Maeve finds is the fight to survive. Being locked away in a retreat with strangers while being snowed in makes for a perfect murder scene. Maeve was trying to make a comeback and open her own dance studio. She was scarred from her prior marriage of abuse and has been fighting to be free for some time. This was supposed to be a new beginning and not one that might end her life. This thriller picks up speed in the last 100 pages. I wasn’t really excited about how slow the build-up took to get me thrilled and scared. The story didn’t grab my attention right away, so it took me a long time to finish reading it. I loved that this book has a strong female who fights to survive to be able to see her children. Being stucked in a mountain with an avalanche, bear, and a murderer will make anyone scared to join a retreat like this one.

Author Biography

Elisabeth de Mariaffi is the author of a new collection of short stories, How To Get Along With Women (Invisible Publishing, 2012).

Her poetry and short fiction have been widely published in magazines across Canada, and she’s one of the wild minds behind the highly original Toronto Poetry Vendors, a small press that sells single poems by established Canadian poets through toonie vending machines.

Elisabeth works as a marketing coordinator for Breakwater Books and is currently based in St. John’s, where she lives with the poet George Murray and their combined brood of four children — making them CanLit’s answer to the Brady Brunch.’

Review: The Island by Adrian McKinty

Goodreads Blurb

It was just supposed to be a family vacation.A terrible accident changed everything.You don’t know what you’re capable of until they come for your family.After moving from a small country town to Seattle, Heather Baxter marries Tom, a widowed doctor with a young son and teenage daughter. A working vacation overseas seems like the perfect way to bring the new family together, but once they’re deep in the Australian outback, the jet-lagged and exhausted kids are so over their new mom.

When they discover remote Dutch Island, off-limits to outside visitors, the family talks their way onto the ferry, taking a chance on an adventure far from the reach of iPhones and Instagram.

But as soon as they set foot on the island, which is run by a tightly knit clan of locals, everything feels wrong. Then, a shocking accident propels the Baxters from an unsettling situation into an absolute nightmare.

When Heather and the kids are separated from Tom, they are forced to escape alone, seconds ahead of their pursuers.

Now it’s up to Heather to save herself and the kids, even though they don’t trust her, the harsh bushland is filled with danger, and the locals want her dead.

Heather has been underestimated her entire life, but she knows that only she can bring her family home again and become the mother the children desperately need, even if it means doing the unthinkable to keep them all alive.

My Review: 5 out of 5 stars

A car accident leaves an innocent woman dead, causing you to run for your life on an Australian island while a crazy family hunts for you. To survive, you must hunt your hunters before they get you. It is a nail-biting thriller that makes the reader root for Heather, a young woman married to a doctor who has two children who are not fond of her. Heather has been underestimated her whole life, and now she is GI Jane trying to survive, save the kids, and find a way out of the island. The readers will go through moments of helplessness and fear for their own lives and the characters. I can still feel the thirst, hunger, smells, and frightening moments the characters endured. I highly recommend you pick up this book because you don’t want to miss out.

Author Biography

Adrian McKinty is an Irish novelist. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and grew up in Victoria Council Estate, Carrickfergus, County Antrim. He read law at the University of Warwick and politics and philosophy at the University of Oxford. He moved to the United States in the early 1990s, living first in Harlem, New York, and from 2001 on, in Denver, Colorado, where he taught high school English and began writing fiction. He lives in Melbourne, Australia, with his wife and two children.

Cover Reveal: A Misfortune of Lake Monsters by Nicole M. Wolverton

BOOK DETAILS:

A Misfortune of Lake Monsters
by Nicole M. Wolverton
Publication date: July 2, 2024
Genres: Horror, Young Adult

Synopsis:

When Legends Bite Back . . .

Lemon Ziegler wants to escape rural Devil’s Elbow, Pennsylvania to attend college–but that’s impossible now that she’s expected to impersonate the town’s lake monster for the rest of her life. Her family has been secretly keeping the legend of Old Lucy, the famed (and very fake) lake monster of Lake Lokakoma, alive for generations, all to keep the tourists coming. Without Lemon, the town dies, and she can’t disappoint her grandparents . . . or tell her best friends about any of it. That includes Troy Ramirez, who has been covertly in love with Lemon for years, afraid to ruin their friendship by confessing his feelings. When a very real and very hungry monster is discovered in the lake, secrets must fall by the wayside, though. Determined to stop the monster, Lemon and her best friends are the only thing standing between Devil’s Elbow and a monster out for blood.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/197470077-a-misfortune-of-lake-monsters

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3QZ5Gd3

AUTHOR BIO:

Nicole M. Wolverton is a Pushcart-nominated writer in the Philadelphia area. Her debut YA horror novel A MISFORTUNE OF LAKE MONSTERS is forthcoming in 2024 (CamCat Books), and she is the author of THE TRAJECTORY OF DREAMS (Bitingduck Press, 2013) and editor of BODIES FULL OF BURNING (Sliced Up Press, 2021). Her short stories and creative nonfiction have appeared in dozens publications as well.

Find her online at www.nicolewolverton.com.

Author links:

https://nicolewolverton.com/

https://www.instagram.com/nicolewolv214/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20829881.Nicole_M_Wolverton

Review: Slappy Beware by R.L. Stine

R.L. Stine was celebrating 30 years of Goosebumps lasy year. I felt like I was stalking him for a two week period. I saw him at B&N for his book event and saw him 3 times at NYC Comic Con. I was excited to celebrate Goosebumps 30 years!!

Goodreads Blurb

This is Slappy’s world– You only scream in it!

Slappy the ventriloquist’s dummy has only one mission in his tiny, deranged mind: do evil every day, all day. His creator, powerful sorcerer Darkwell the Magician, has warned him that should he fail to cause chaos before the sun sets each day, he will sleep FOREVER. Normally, this is a piece of poisonous cake for Slappy―but he may have met his match in the Carlton family. Each attempt at evil ends in disaster, and the dummy starts to panic. Will Slappy’s scariest day yet bring an end to his reign of terror?

My Review: 4 out of 5 stars

R.L. Stine is celebrating 30 years of Goosebumps with his favorite creation, Slappy the evil dummy. This book brings you back 200 years when Slappy was created by a sorcerer. I loved to learn about the creation of this evil character that has made an appearance in many of the Goosebumps novels. The second part of the book is Slappy being his evil self. My favorite was the third part of the book, because I was surprise at how all his evil plans didn’t work with the Carlton family. I was laughing everytime his evil plans didn’t play out. Fantastic cover with a well planned plot to celebrate 30 years of creepy reads.

I was dressed up in my best Goosebump outfit. Goosebumps shirt, skirt and sneakers.

Author Biography

R. L. Stine is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children’s literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.