I Bought a Haunted Christmas Tree Farm by Sam Whittaker

 

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Four "Tinsel Tree Terror" Stars

When You Inherit a Farm Always Check for Spooks!

A small taste of what lies within:

Roger and his family have inherited a Christmas tree farm but though he doesn't really know much about growing trees he doesn't look a gift horse in the mouth so he moves his family to the farm. 

However as time goes on there are some quirky things that happen on the farm that makes the family wonder what they got themselves into and wondering what is happening on the farm with the weird things happening to them.

Thoughts:

This was my second book by this author and I really enjoyed the story. The book is set up as an Advent Calendar where you would read a chapter every day however I just read the whole thing as I became caught up in the story line and wanted to keep reading. 

The story had some spookiness to it but different things that happened in the story made me chuckle some too. It wasn't a scary horror story but just a fun and festive holiday horror book that captured my attention. Looking forward to reading more books by this author as it seems he has quite a few books out there. 

Attached is the author, Sam Whittaker, profile page from Amazon:

Sam Whittaker

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

Top 25 Reads of 2025

I know I say this every year about "this year being a great year for books" and it is true - every year is a great year for reading books as I tap into the minds of authors and see what lies beyond my horizons. 

This year I once again hovered around the horror realm and I did stray a little bit into true paranormal along with some true crime but the books that made this list are either horror or have some type of horror within them and as most of you know horror is my favorite genre. 

It is always hard to try to figure out what books make this list but I do have 25 books that kept my insomnia fueled throughout the year. I discovered new authors to explore and revisited authors I have read in the past. 

So without further ado here are the 25 books that fueled many a night and kept me glued to my kindle and all authors are listed in no particular order. 

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HORROR/HORROR SUSPENSE

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JOHN EVERSON

My Blog Review Link:

Five Deaths for Seven Songbirds

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

                    

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CATHERINE CAVENDISH

My Blog Review Link:

The Stones of Landane

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀

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JOHN DURGIN

My Blog Review Link:

The Envelope

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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JEREMY EADS

My Blog Review Link:

Reptile

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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GRAHAM MASTERTON

My Blog Review Link:

Heirloom

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

                               

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DUNCAN RALSTON

My Blog Review Link:

Helloween

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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WILLIAM MASSA

My Blog Review Link:

The Exorcist's Code

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

                  

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TAMARA THORNE & ALISTAIR CROSS

My Blog Review Link:

Five Nights in a Haunted Cabin

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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JED KENT

My Blog Review Link:

Behind These Walls

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀

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THOMAS SMITH

My Blog Review Link:

Something Stirs

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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DAEMON MANX

My Blog Review Link:

The Ojanox 1: Scream in the Dark (The Ojanox Series Book 1)

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

 

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PHILIP FRACASSI

My Blog Review Link:

Boys in the Valley

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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JEFFREY CASTON

My Blog Review Link:

FOOD: All Hate the King (Food #5)

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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MICHAEL PENNING

My Blog Review Link:

Devil Music

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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J.D. ALLEN

My Blog Review Link:

Tombstones

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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STEVEN PAJAK

My Blog Review Link:

The Devil's Doorway

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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W.D. GAGLIANI & DAVID BENTON

My Blog Review Link:

Acolytes of the Dead

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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TIM CURRAN

My Blog Review Link:

Blackout

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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JEFF STRAND

My Blog Review Link:

Your Body Will Never Be Found

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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CANDACE NOLA

My Blog Review Link:

Shadow Manor

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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DAVID IRONS

My Blog Review Link:

Night Creepers

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

                                   

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JEFF DEGORDICK

My Blog Review Link:

Ghostlords (The Haunted Hamlet #4)

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

                                  

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SAM WHITTAKER

My Blog Review Link:

I Bought A Haunted Thanksgiving Table

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

                            

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NICK ROBERTS

My Blog Review Link:

The Exorcist's House: Resurrection (The Exorcist's House #3)

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀

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LEE MOUNTFORD

My Blog Review Link:

Dark Spirits: The Watcher (Book 1 in the Dark Spirits series)

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀

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New to me Authors:

Jed Kent

Thomas Smith

Daemon Manx

Philip Fracassi

Steven Pajak

W.D. Gagliani 

David Benton

David Irons

Sam Whittaker

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Final Thoughts:

This was another great year for horror and I spent lots of time in my favorite genre this year. I have more horror books than any other genre stuck in my cloud - literally thousands of books are in there and 90% of them are all horror. So this year I decided once again to stay within my favorite genre and knock some more horror books off my tbr shelf. 

By staying within horror I found some new to me authors and visited authors that I have read in the past. There are tons of great horror books out there still that I need to read and explore. Looking forward to stepping back into the horror realm in 2026! 

Till next year! Happy Reading! 

The Yuletide Butcher by Mike Duke

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Four "Merry Slasher" Stars

Will the Police Catch Their Man? 

A small taste of what lies within:

The Yuletide Butcher is hard to catch as law enforcement have been pursuing the killer for years as he only kills the day after Christmas and he is long gone before they arrive on the scene. 

As the police are tied up with trying to catch a killer, Jack Randall an upstanding citizen of the community hates his life and wants to get away from his family but things start to go south when the police start looking his way on maybe somehow being connected to the Butcher!

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste so if you want to know more then go read this book! 

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author and it won't be my last. I fell directly into the storyline and stuck with it as I put down my other books I was reading to just read this book. The pace is fast with this story as it moves quickly with different things happening. 

I really liked the characters in this book and I kind of had a feeling of the mystery of who the Butcher could be and the brutality of the killings just slams into the story as it kept me rooted in my easy chair! Looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future. 

Attached is the author, Mike Duke, profile page from Amazon:

Mike Duke

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

Shadow Detective (Books 7 - 9) by William Massa

 

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Five "Action Packed Kick Ass" Stars

I am going to set each book out with a taste and then give overall thoughts for all three books.

Book 7: Witch Wars

Mike Raven is back in this installment as he is fighting a powerful witch who has captured his friend and mentor, Joe Skulick's soul and trapped it into an artifact. The witch has summoned all her witch minions to fight off Mike but Mike is determined to do whatever he can to get his friend's soul back and do what he can to put an end to the witch and her reign on the Mike's city! 

Book 8: Crimson Circle

Mike Raven is still fighting the good fight within this story as the Crimson Circle has made a return and Mike along with his allies will need to stay on their toes if they want to protect the city! 

Book 9: Hell Breaker

Mike Raven is taking the fight to hell this time as the demon, Morgal is not finished with Raven as Archer needs to be saved and Raven will go through Hell or high water to get her back! 

Overall Thoughts:

All three books were action packed, fast paced, suspense filled with tons of tension as Mike Raven fought the fight to save his city from demons and other entities! 

I took my time reading this three book omnibus collection to absorb all the stories within. There are two more books in this series though which came out while I was absorbed in this omnibus collection. Looking forward to stepping into the last two books in the future to wrap up this series. 

Attached is the author, William Massa, profile page from Amazon:

William Massa

Attached is my Goodreads review:

My Review

A Dark World by David Kempf

 

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Four "Crime Capers" Stars

Crime Confession or Hoax?

A small taste of what lies within:

Melody, a defense attorney receives an unexpected letter with details from a crime that was committed and the man that sent the message is wondering if she would represent him. But when Melody receives another letter from the man is when she receives a twisted jolt! 

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste as this story is super short so if you are intrigued then go read this short story!

Thoughts:

I never know what to expect when stepping into a Kempf story and this story took me down a dark path of crime deeds. Even though the story was short it packed a punch of emotion with why the crimes were committed and then the story takes a 360 degree turn which made me wish this had been a novel as I wanted to read more with these characters. :)

I read the book within just about an hour and the pace was fast from beginning to end. Another great book by this author and looking forward to reading more by him as I have a few more simmering on my kindle. 

Attached is the author, David Kempf, profile page from Amazon:

David Kempf

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

I Bought a Haunted Thanksgiving Table by Sam Whittaker

 

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Five "Twisted Terror" Stars

Be Careful of What You Buy in a Thrift Store! 

A small taste of what lies within:

Scott and Wendy are browsing through a thrift store when Wendy sees an antique table that would be perfect for Thanksgiving. Scott isn't so sure about it as to him the table gives off some kind of creepy vibes but he shrugs it off and they end up buying the table. 

As soon as it is delivered some crazy things start to happen involving the table and within just a day or so Wendy starts experiencing sleepwalking issues and zoning out episodes. Scott knows that it is somehow connected to the table but what he doesn't know is that he will be regretting ever laying eyes on that table as the table seems to have a life of its own! 

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste so if you are intrigued then go read this book!

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author and I was hooked into this book right away as the story just flows along. The story kept me glued to my kindle as I had a hard time putting it down! The story moves fast as the pace picks up with more things happening to the characters. 

There is a twist though near the end of the book that I wasn't expecting and the book literally accelerated into high gear and I finished the last 20% within an hour as I could not break away from the story!

Looking forward to reading more books by this author as it seems he has quite a few books floating around out there in the book world! 

Attached is the author, Sam Whittaker, profile page from Amazon:

Sam Whittaker

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

A Christmas Haunting by Blake Croft & Ashley Raven

 

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Four "Haunting Holiday Horror" Stars

What Lurks in the Family Photo Album?

A small taste of what lies within:

Vincent and his wife Ally are trying to deal with the loss of his parents right before Christmas. Vincent starts to go through all his parents belongings in their home but when he comes across the family photo album he notices something strange with all the pictures. 

All the pictures have some sort of anomaly within each photo and the same image lies throughout all the photos. Upon closer inspection, Vincent realizes that the anomaly is really a ghost girl embedded within each picture! What is going on and why do all the pictures have this ghost girl?

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste so if you want to know more then go read this short story!

Thoughts:

This short story packs a holiday punch as there is quite a bit of suspense and intrigue throughout the story then the pace picks up when more is revealed with the characters. The short story is not spooky or scary but it has a few creepy moments but it mostly becomes a holiday haunting tale of emotion and mystery. 

This was my second book by these authors and it won't be my last as they have quite a few books out there to read. Looking forward to stepping into more of their work in the future. 

Attached is the author, Blake Croft, profile page from Amazon:

Blake Croft

Attached is the author, Ashley Raven, profile page from Goodreads:

Ashley Raven

My Goodreads Review:

My Review