Assassin (Darkblade #1) by Andy Peloquin

 

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Five "Sword/Dagger Action" Stars

WOW! WOW! WOW!

A small taste of what lies within:

The Hunter (Assassin) wants to clean up his city of Voramis by taking out the trash so to speak as thugs called the Bloody Hand are trying to tarnish the city by ruling it anyway they can even if it means killing people that get in their way. 

The Hunter learns more than he wants to know about the Bloody Hand and he finds out eventually that what is actually ruling the Bloody Hand is far more evil than he realized but stopping it will take everything he has including body and soul! 

That is about all I can hand out without giving away spoilers so if just that tiny bit of info sounds intriguing then you need to go read this book! 

Thoughts:

This book was freaking awesome! It is quite lengthy but it packs a major wallop within as the pages light up with sword/dagger fights, evil villains, and tons of action! Besides all the action, there are tons of emotions within this book as well - lots of characters that interact with our main character the Hunter which you will become attached to as you move through the book. 

There is also suspense, nail-biting tension, breathtaking hitch moments and heart string pulls throughout the book. The visual writing style of the author will literally pull you into his world and you will see and feel everything that happens within the storyline. 

There was a little bit of world building in the beginning but there was action right away too - the book never slowed down - in fact the more I read of it the faster the pace seems to become. 

After the 50% mark the pace became even faster and I would find myself staying up all hours of the night reading as more things were revealed within the story. 

The author, Andy Peloquin is the real deal and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series which there are quite a few books to read now and more to come in the future so I am here for the long haul and absolutely cannot wait to continue on this journey into the world of the Hunter! 

Attached is the author, Andy Peloquin, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8038662.Andy_Peloquin

Attached is the author, Andy Peloquin, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Andy-Peloquin/e/B00J9008MC

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4676039289

Salvage by Duncan Ralston

 

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Five "Ghostly Spine Shivers" Stars

Awesome Ghost Story!

Backstory:

Owen Saddler heads up to the town of Peace Falls to bury his sister Lori as she died while scuba diving in a lake named Chapel Lake. Owen doesn't understand how Lori could have drowned when she knew about scuba diving so he tries to delve deep into the mystery of her death.

There is quite a bit of speculation and dark mystery surrounding Chapel Lake as it is centered around a church that became flooded and now sits at the bottom of the lake. The only landmark that the church ever existed is the steeple sticking up out of the water.

From the moment that Owen arrives in town, spooky things start happening to him as he thinks he sees Lori's ghost but he thinks that maybe it is just the grief of losing his sister. As time goes on he realizes that maybe the town and lake are haunted so he decides to find out what is causing the haunting and why it is centered around the church.

Thoughts:

This story is a reread for me as I read it back in 2017 and it is the debut book by author, Duncan Ralston. When I first read it back then I was just mesmerized by the story telling as the story kept me tied up with spooky atmosphere.

On this second reread of it I think I became more spooked out by the story as I had some really weird ghostly dreams and that says a lot for me as that means the book became locked into my psyche with not letting me go!

There is tons of haunting atmosphere within these pages and the book is definitely staying as a five star read plus will be staying on my favorites shelf. Giving this book five "Ghostly Spine Shivers" stars!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Attached is the author profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7509031.Duncan_Ralston

Attached is the author profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Duncan-Ralston/e/B00F23Y41Q

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1986190654

The Haunting of Willow House by Anthony M. Strong

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Four "Spooky Scares" Stars

Haunting Horror Vibes! 

A taste of what lies within:

Andrew Whelan along with his children, Sarah and Jake decide to leave the city of Boston after losing his wife in a car accident and moving out to the country to start a new life. Andrew, being an author, thinks that maybe being away from the city that he can finally get back into writing books so he fixes a room in the house where he can get his writing done.

Everyone starts settling into the old house, but it doesn't take long for things to start happening. Sarah knows right away that something is not right with the house so she talks to her friend Becca that lives in Boston about the strange things going on in the house. Sarah's brother, Jake in the meantime starts conversing with someone or something on a toy telephone which Sarah at the time thinks he just has an imaginary friend.

Becca decides to stay with Sarah for a weekend and she brings along a Ouija board to find out what could be haunting the house. Sarah doesn't believe in ghosts, but Becca talks her into using the board. After using the board, things take a twisted turn as they come to find out the house and property date back to the Salem witch trials.

Andrew keeps himself locked up in his study and seems to be oblivious to what is going on around him, but as more things start happening in the house, he has to come to grips with the reality that there is something wrong with the house and that it could be haunted!

What is haunting the Willow House? Who is Jake talking with on the toy telephone? What happens to the Whelan's while living there? No spoilers here as if you want to know more you will just need to read the book!

Thoughts: 

The creepiness of the story just wrapped itself around me and the more I delved into the book the more haunting it became as there are twists, turns, and a suspenseful atmosphere that swirls within these pages.

When the Ouija board was introduced in the story is when the book went into major overdrive as the haunting increased in intensity within the storyline making it hard to put this book down! 

The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat as when I became more hooked into the story I kept wanting to find out what exactly was haunting the Willow House. The story just grabbed me from the beginning and kept me in its clutches throughout the book. 

Attached is the author, Anthony M. Strong, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14779336.Anthony_M_Strong

Attached is the author, Anthony M. Strong, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Anthony-M-Strong/e/B019L8RBBC

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2013059744

How to Survive a Horror Movie: All the Skills to Dodge the Kills by Seth Grahame-Smith

 

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Five "Screaming Survivor Horror Skills" Stars

Cool Book!

This book would be hard to do a backstory as there really isn't one, so I am just giving out thoughts on it.

Thoughts:

The whole book is about what kind of scenarios you would go through if you were stuck in a horror movie and what you would have to do to survive. If you are a horror lover and you love to watch horror movies - this book is for you. Every situation that happens in horror movies good or bad is in this book. I found myself laughing a lot as there is just so many things that were funny with the survival skills needed to get through the horror movie tropes. 

Highly Recommend!

Attached is the author, Seth Grahame-Smith, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/169377.Seth_Grahame_Smith

Attached is the author, Seth Grahame-Smith, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Seth-Grahame-Smith/e/B001JP4STO

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4711656982

Subterrestrial by Michael McBride

 

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Four "Subterranean Shiver" Stars

Ocean Horror!

A taste of what lies within:

A tunnel accident under the ocean out in the Bering Strait reveals a huge maze of subterranean tunnels that lead to an ancient species and when it is discovered it sends Reinhard Thyssen who works for (DARPA - Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to gathering an expert team together so they can all go down into the ocean depths to investigate. 

There are quite a few people that Thyssen pulls together for the ocean expedition, but once they get down there they all realize that the maze is more treacherous than they thought and while they are down there exploring they come across some form of creatures in the water that want to do them harm. 

Between trying to survive the creatures and making sure they all don't run out of tank air the team will do anything to survive, but they feel that Thyssen is hiding something from them and that he has lead them on a death trip down to the ocean depths! 

Thoughts:

This is my second book by this author and I was pulled in right away to the storyline as there is action right away with the tunnel accident. The gathering of the expert team took time though and there was information for each character of their field of expertise. 

I felt the story was great and the pace was quick, but the reason this book is not getting five stars is because there was more cavern and water action with the characters trying to traverse the maze, plus there are tons of characters including the team to keep track of as well which made this book character overload. 

The first part of the book was kind of slow with world set up and learning about who the team would be but the last half of the book was when it took off with underground cavern exploration. 

Attached is the author, Michael McBride, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/300145.Michael_McBride

Attached is the author, Michael McBride, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Michael-McBride/e/B0034NWL84

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2105911545

Night of the Kraken by Mark L 'estrange

 

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Four "Tentacles Terror" Krakens

Killer Kraken!

A taste of what lies within:

The fishing port of Skullen Bay on the coast of England is usually peaceful and quiet, but something stirs in the sea and when it comes partially ashore swiping an elderly man (Cappy) off the dock while he is sleeping is when the village is turned upside down as no one believes Sam who is the village drunk that a creature from the sea is responsible. They just assume that Sam is making up stories from the bottle. 

Then a couple nights later it happens again with someone being snatched from the beach and Sam tells Oswald Seaton the police sergeant that something is out there in the ocean - a sea creature. No one still believes Sam. The police just think that they have a "someone" on their hands that is up to no good not a "something". 

As time goes on and more deaths start taking place with people missing is when action is finally taken as they realize that there is a kraken that has gone wild with hunger and it is on a feeding frenzy spree as nowhere seems to be safe around Skullen Bay! 

Thoughts:

This was a great story and there was action right away with the kraken along with some suspense buildup throughout the book as more characters became involved in the story. There are a few characters you get to know from the village of Skullen Bay and what their part in the story becomes as the book moves into a fast paced speed. 

The last half of the book went into overdrive as the kraken creature became even more active, but there is a small twist at the end of the book that made me think there could be a sequel later. All in all the story has lots of creature action and I stayed away a couple or so nights flipping through the pages to see what was going to happen next! 

Attached is the author, Mark L 'estrange , profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16584821.Mark_L_estrange

Attached is the author, Mark L 'estrange , profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Mark-LEstrange/e/B07R66P156

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4240269211

Klondike Slaughter by David Haynes

 

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Five "Frightening Folklore" Stars

Horrifying Nightmare!

A small taste of what lies within:

Setting 1898 - Alaska

Jake and Willie (friends) decide to head into the Klondike to seek their fortune in gold. On their way there they both end up with some other people that tag along with them on the journey. 

They all come across some different things that happen to them along the way including unsavory men (Charlie and Cullen) that are out to cause trouble. 

There is another type of trouble brewing though as there are rumors that men have disappeared or been killed in the Klondike so everyone has itchy trigger fingers. As time goes on the group finds out that there is something out in the wilds that is stalking them (a folklore legend) and it can invade their minds, but what is worse they cannot see or hear it until it is too late! How are they able to fight such a creature?  

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 book had quite a bit of slow suspense in the beginning of the story with lots of information of the Alaskan/Klondike territory and the gold rush days. The story is wrapped around a creature that is folklore for that time era and it really made for interesting reading. 

As always with this author the book became fast paced as the more that happened to the small group of people the more I couldn't put the book down! The folklore creature becomes the focal point in the last half of the book which sent this book into overdrive! I literally read the last 60% within 12 hours and I could not sleep most of the night as I wanted to keep reading to see what would happen next!

There is quite a bit of blood and gore in this story so it was a good thing I had my gore suit ready as it was definitely needed for this book. The graphic descriptions by the author of what happens to some of the unfortunate victims along the way were cringe-worthy as I could see the visual images in my minds eye! 

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

David Haynes

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review