Monday 30 March 2015

Review: Those Above by Daniel Polansky



Those Above - Daniel Polansky
    Those Above by Daniel Polansky

   My rating:


I received a free copy of Those Above from the publisher in return for an honest review.

I was really looking forwards to Those Above and when my review copy arrived through the post I was eager to jump right in. The beginning of the book spent a lot of time introducing us to the characters and world building, I found that very tedious to get through but I carried on in the hope that once the scene was set, things would pick up. They didn't. I still carried on with the book, determined to ride it out until the pace picked up or it grabbed my imagination and attention, but still nothing was happening. All I found was pages and pages of overly wordy and complex story telling and really not much of a plot anywhere to be found.

The characters fell rather flat. None of them stood out or were particularly likeable for me. The plot moved so slowly that it felt like nothing was happening at all. I honestly couldn't even begin to summarize the plot of the book, there was very little progression in the story at all in my view. There's no storyline to speak of.

The writing style is overly wordy, drawn out and complex. Pages and pages of words that really aren't needed and there was also lots of unnecessary long words thrown in that achieved nothing but to make the story more confusing and more complex than needed. I felt at times like I should have had a thesaurus on hand to try to decipher what I was reading. The language, specifically the cursing, of the lower level (poorer) inhabitants was far too modern to fit into the world the author portrayed.

Reading Those Above really started to feel more like a chore rather than an enjoyable experience for me. My attention wasn't on the story, it didn't grab me or immerse me in another world like I expect from a good fantasy. The pace and storyline of the book is virtually non existent and the little that there is, is completely overshadowed by the overly descriptive and verbose writing.

This one just wasn't for me.

Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
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Saturday 28 March 2015

Review: The Curse Servant



The Curse Servant (The Dark Choir Book 2) - J.P. Sloan
   The Curse Merchant by J.P. Sloan

   My rating: 


I received a free copy of The Curse Servant from the publisher in return for an honest review.

I also received a copy of book one, The Curse Merchant, for review and I discovered I had read them the wrong way round. This review is for book two and I have yet to read book one, silly me! Thankfully though I discovered that they both work well as stand alone stories, so that's a bonus.

I really enjoyed this book. The plot was a lot of fun to read and had a very creepy atmosphere. There's nothing as creepy as something evil talking through a child! The characters were very well written, lots of depth and some great personalities. I felt like I was on a journey while reading, I was drawn in and felt involved in the story along with the characters themselves. The MC Dorian is a great character, a nice mix of humour and likeability, I enjoyed his company.

The magic theory side of things was done well and was belivable, it was interesting to read and sparked the imagination. The world building was great, made it very easy to picture in my minds eye.

The pacing was perfect and it held my attention from start to finish. I would have read this book in one sitting if I had had the time to do so. I honestly didn't want to put the book down.

Highly recommended!


Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
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Thursday 26 March 2015

Review: The Werewolf Wants Me



The Werewolf Wants Me - Jackson Dean Chase

  The Werewolf Wants Me by Jackson Dean Chase

  My rating: 


I received a free copy of The Werewolf Wants Me from the author in return for an honest review.

This is the second book of the authors young adult horror collection and I have to say I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did the others. I felt it was too short to do the story justice and the ending felt a little rushed. I was enjoying the story and it was progressing well but just as it got to the good atmospheric tension stuff all of a sudden it seemed like the story ended abruptly with the author telling me the explanation rather than showing me so I could experience it.

I personally feel it needed the tension to expand before the explanation of what was happening came about. It gave the impression that some of the story was missing. I did enjoy the werewolf aspect of the story but it needed more of that for the story to have substance. A few more scenes added between the discovery and the explanation would really have improved this one a lot.

Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
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Monday 23 March 2015

Review: The Haunting of Hex House



  The Haunting of Hex House by Jackson Dean Chase

  My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I received a free copy of The Haunting of Hex House from the author in return for an honest review.

One of my favourite things to read is haunted house stories so I was keen to read this one. It's a pretty good story for the length but I would have liked more attention given to what happened in the house. The haunting felt like it was more hinted at than experienced. Aside from that, it was a quick and fun read and would probably be enjoyed more by lighter horror lovers rather than an avid horror fan like myself.

Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
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Saturday 21 March 2015

Review: Come to the Cemetery



  Come to the Cemetery by Jackson Dean Chase

  My rating: 3 of 5 stars.


I received a free copy of Come to the Cemetery from the author in return for an honest review.

Come to the Cemetery is a short horror story written for the young adult age group. At 48 pages long it's a quick read and the author has a pretty decent story inside those 48 pages.

I'm not really a fan of shorts, I like a story I can get my teeth into and most shorts just seem to skim the surface but I liked this one despite it being written with a younger audience in mind. I enjoyed the characters and the plot was a pleasant surprise, not predictable like many stories of this kind. It was unique and I liked the direction the author took the story.


Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
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Friday 20 March 2015

Review: Harrison Squared by: Daryl Gregory




  Harrison Squared by: Daryl Gregory

  My Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars


I received a free copy of Harrison Squared from the publisher in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Daryl Gregory's previous book We Are All Completely Fine. I was really keen to know more about the character of Harrison, he was my favourite character in the book and his story wasn't covered as much as I would have liked. As you can imagine, I was over the moon when I heard about Harrison Squared.

I must admit, the book was nothing like I was expecting. I feel somewhat disappointed, it seems to have been written with a younger audience in mind. It felt like I was reading a young adult book and it's so far away from the atmosphere of his previous book. I loved how dark We Are All Completely Fine was and I don't see any of that in Harrison Squared. It feels like the author decided that because the book was about a teenage Harrison that he would write it with teenage readers in mind, that was a disappointment.

The setting of Dunnsmouth and the world building was done well and really added to the story. The characters were great and the story had a lot of atmosphere and dark fantasy aspects to it. There was a lot of layers to the story that were revealed as it progressed and the characters developed nicely along with it. The pacing and writing style held my attention and it was an enjoyable read but it just wasn't a patch on the horror and atmosphere of the previous book, it felt much lighter and had a famous five kind of feel, albeit a bit darker.

Would I recommend it? I would, especially if you have read We Are All Completely Fine, but don't expect it to have the same affect on you. It's definitely a much lighter read and it was fun to learn more about Harrison, but it had too much if a young adult vibe for me.


Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
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Monday 9 March 2015

Review: Aftertaste by Kyle M. Scott



  Aftertaste by Kyle M. Scott

  My Rating: 4 of 5 stars


"Then the crying started. First one child, a little girl called Jen from across the street, then another, then another, until the June afternoon sounded like a vacation in hell."


I had the pleasure of beta reading Aftertaste for the author and I loved every minute of it.

The pacing of the novel was perfect and it held my attention throughout. The writing style was excellent, the story flowed flawlessly and it was consistent. I honestly was hooked from start to finish and I read the book in one sitting. I couldn't put the book down.

The premise of a restaurant opening and something being in the food isn't original but the way the author has written it gives it a uniqueness that I really enjoyed. The story gets all kinds of gruesome as it progresses, you'll find greed, lust, blood, gore, power struggles and more, all wrapped up in a really great story.

The way the author writes about the big corporations that move in, feed on peoples greed and wants and shove aside the little stores really hits it on the mark. In this case it not only feeds on peoples greed and wants, it exposes their deepest and darkest desires and nature. Everyday people, consumed by something evil, follow their baser natures and the result is total chaos and destruction.

The characters are very well written and believable. I really liked Slims character, she was strong, sassy and very likeable. The dialogue was great and I ended up with many quotes highlighted. I enjoyed the sarcasm and attitude in the interactions between the characters, it felt real and was a lot of fun to read.

Kyle M. Scott has become one of my favourite horror authors, he takes me back to all the classic 80's horror books that I read as a teenager and reminds me what it is about horror that I love so much.

Highly Recommended!


Amazon UK                                  Amazon US


Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
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Tuesday 3 March 2015

Review: Crash & Burn




  Crash & Burn by






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