Assassin (Darkblade #1) by Andy Peloquin

 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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

 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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

🌟🌟🌟🌟 

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

The Shadow Within by Eric Butler

 

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Four "Stalker Slasher" Stars

Stalking Evil!

A taste of what lies within:

Jack and his girlfriend Jill along with his two teenagers, Allen and Kim decide to take a vacation out to the country - a place that Jack has been to before with his kids but Jack wants to spend time with Jill and show her a fun time. 

Though there will be anything but fun as one of the town citizens is gruesomely murdered and the Sheriff is having a hard time solving the case - it is possible that the Shaw family  who is considered to be cursed could be behind the killings. 

There will be hell to pay though when Jack's family crosses paths with the Shaw family as no one is safe from the evil that has possessed one of the family members and Jack and his family will have to do everything they can to survive!

That is about all I can give on a taste without giving away spoilers so if you want to know what happens then go read this book!

Thoughts:

The world building with this book was a little slow and really didn't kick in with lots of action till after the 50% mark of the book then it went into some crazy twists and turns which kept me glued to my kindle.

I would consider this to be a twisted slasher/possession story that goes into gory graphic details with the murders that happen within this book and the pace of the story becomes faster after the half way point. 

The only reason this book is not getting five stars is because there seemed to be too much romance/sex between the characters Jack and Jill and couple of other characters in the story - there was quite a bit of it throughout the book which to me it is okay to have some but not to have the first half of the book to be mostly sex with a trickle of slasher action.  The last half of the book was more slasher action which was what I waiting for to kick in. All in all though the writing is smooth and as always I really do love the writing style of this author. 

Attached is the author, Eric Butler, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19755309.Eric_Butler

Attached is the author, Eric Butler, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Eric-Butler/e/B081FQHVQV

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4172875461

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

 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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

 

🌟🌟🌟🌟

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

 

🐙🐙🐙🐙

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

Authors I Have Discovered - Part VI

My next list of 10 authors that I have discovered in the last five years are as follows:

Jeremy Bates
(Horror)

Goodreads Author Profile: 

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5327980.Jeremy_Bates

Amazon Author Profile:

https://www.amazon.com/Jeremy-Bates/e/B007AX4IVM

Website of Author:
http://www.jeremybatesbooks.com/

Books Reads:

Helltown (World's Scariest Places #3)
Neighbors (The Midnight Book Club #4)

Thoughts:

I discovered this author scrolling across my feeds over on Goodreads back in 2018 - it just seemed that quite a few of my friends were reading books by this author and when I checked him out I noticed that he had quite a few books out. So my first book I read by him was "Neighbors" that I read in 2019 - that book was so good that I went on a Bates spree over on Amazon and grabbed a few more by him. I read the book "Helltown" the following year and now I have some Bates books simmering on my kindle. Actually as of this blog I am planning on reading his book Merfolk for a challenge read in one of my Goodreads groups this month.  

Patrick Reuman
(Horror)

Goodreads Author Profile: 
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15111601.Patrick_Reuman

Amazon Author Profile:
https://www.amazon.com/Patrick-Reuman/e/B01DAPR23O

Website of Author:
https://www.facebook.com/PatrickReuman11/

Books Read:

A Place So Wicked
The Adirondack Witch

Thoughts:

l came across this author over on Amazon as the book "A Place So Wicked" popped up as a "suggested book" in the horror category early last year. I read the blurb on the book which sounded very intriguing so I grabbed it as I love to read about haunted house stories. I can tell you that I was not disappointed either as the story just set the tone for a great haunting. Since then I have a few more books simmering on my kindle by this author and plan to step back into his work soon. 

Ron Ripley
(Horror)

Goodreads Author Profile: 
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14247932.Ron_Ripley

Amazon Author Profile:
https://www.amazon.com/Ron-Ripley/e/B014OQ8ZZ2

Books Read:

The Boylan House Trilogy
Ghost Stories
The Blood Contract Trilogy
Moving In (Moving In #1)

Thoughts:

I found this author by cruising around on Amazon back in 2016 - I was just going through kindle horror books and his book "Moving In" popped up. I grabbed it and really liked the story - though since then there are more books in the series which I do own but I am planning on doing a series read run this year with those books. In 2017 I read The Boylan House Trilogy within 24 hours as that is how well I liked those stories. So now I own quite a few of his books and will need to jump back into him this year. 

Ronald Malfi
(Horror)

Goodreads Author Profile: 
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3512996.Ronald_Malfi

Amazon Author Profile:
https://www.amazon.com/Ronald-Malfi/e/B004VC3JMO

Website of Author:
http://www.ronmalfi.com/

Books Read:

The House on Cottage Lane
The Mourning House

Thoughts:

Goodreads always seems to have book feeds of author, Ronald Malfi - his books are always scrolling across my feeds. My first book by him was "The Mourning House" and wow that took me on a scary horror ride which ended up being a five star read from me! I was still spooked a few days after reading it. I probably need to do a reread of it at some point as the scare factor was high in that book. Last year I read his book, "The House on Cottage Lane" and that book was a great Halloween read. Has quite a bit of spookiness wrapped around it even though it was real short. I have a few more of this author on my tbr which I need to jump back into at some point. 

Jeff Strand
(Horror)

Goodreads Author Profile: 
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/207708.Jeff_Strand

Amazon Author Profile:
https://www.amazon.com/Jeff-Strand/e/B001K8D3F0

Website of Author:
https://jeffstrand.wordpress.com/

Book Read:

Sick House

Thoughts:

This author kept coming across my feed quite a bit back in 2017/2018 and I went to check out his books. I read this book "Sick House" which was really good and since then I have a few more on my kindle I need to read. I have a buddy read coming up in July for his book The Odds which I am looking forward to and hopefully step into more of his work this year as well. 😊 

Jasper Bark
(Horror)

Goodreads Author Profile: 

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6569671.Jasper_Bark

Amazon Author Profile:

https://www.amazon.com/Jasper-Bark/e/B003KTACZG

Book Read:

Stuck on You

Thoughts:

With this author, I kept coming across this book - it was just popping up here and there across my feeds and it looked interesting, so I thought "what the heck" I will try it out so I did and "wow" it was great. Though it is on the extreme gag-reflex spectrum but I had a feeling that it was going to cross over into the extreme side just by looking at the cover of the book! lol   I have a couple or so more books by him on my kindle and will get back to reading his work hopefully soon! 

Michael Bray
(Horror)

Goodreads Author Profile: 
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2301413.Michael_Bray

Amazon Author Profile:
https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Bray/e/B009GH9XCO

Website of Author:
https://www.michaelbrayauthor.com/

Books Read:

Whisper (Whisper Trilogy #1)
Seat 6A
Hope House Chronicles Volume 1

Thoughts:

Back in 2018, I was seeing this author coming across my feed here and there so I went to see what he had out there. He wrote a haunted house story "Whisper" so I decided to try it out and I was not disappointed as I loved the story. I actually did a reread of it back in 2020 in hopes of continuing on with the trilogy but I still have not continued it yet as I became side tracked with other reads. It is on my reading schedule this year to finish out the trilogy. I then read his book "Seat 6A" which is a short read but packed a power punch - I really enjoyed that book. Then I jumped into the book "Hope House Chronicles Volume 1" which is another short story but that book too packed a punch. I have quite a few books by this author simmering on my kindle and I am hoping to get back to his work this year. 

Jeffrey Caston
(Horror)

Goodreads Author Profile: 
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20027977.Jeffrey_Caston

Amazon Author Profile:
https://www.amazon.com/Jeffrey-Caston/e/B084TQYBM7

Books Read:

Immunity
The Raven and the Eye
How the Raven Met the Angel
Food
Food: The MVP Room 
Food: Winner, Winner, Chicken _ _ _ _

Thoughts:

The first book I read by this author was Immunity and it took me on a scary twisted journey! Something different but has some "Firestarter" by King vibes to it but super advanced if that makes sense. Way more twisted I can tell you that plus it is really in-depth so I took my time reading it to absorb the story. Since then I have read "everything" that this author has out there as he has some other cool books too with extreme elements entwined within. Looking forward to whatever else he has coming next! 

Ray Garton
(Horror)

Goodreads Author Profile: 
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20559.Ray_Garton

Amazon Author Profile:
https://www.amazon.com/Ray-Garton/e/B000ARBIQI

Website of Author:
https://www.raygartononline.com/

Book Read:

Ravenous

Thoughts:

This author always comes across my feeds for different books, but back in 2020 I kept seeing this book "Ravenous" come across my feeds so I went to check it out - it is about a werewolf story so I was in the mood for such a creature. I grabbed the book and "wow" I stayed wrapped in that book for a few days as I was just overrun with "fur and fangs"!  Since then I have a few more books on my kindle simmering and need to get back to his work as I loved that story so much it earned 5 stars from me. :) 

Adam Cesare
(Horror)

Goodreads Author Profile: 
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5623119.Adam_Cesare

Amazon Author Profile:
https://www.amazon.com/Adam-Cesare/e/B0074VA0JY

Website of Author:
https://adamcesare.wordpress.com/

Book Read:

The Summer Job

Thoughts:

This author once in awhile will come across my Goodreads feeds but back in 2018 this book, "Summer Job" seemed to rolling more than usual as it kept popping up here and there with friends reading it. The book looked really good as it is about a cult out in the woods so I was in the mood for some cult activity - lol - so I decided to try the book out. I was happy that I did as it was definitely a spooky read - lots of fast paced terror and mystery. I need to step back into this author's work as he has quite a few more books that look fun! 

That is a wrap for this blog post!

Happy Reading Everyone! 

Klondike Slaughter by David Haynes

 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Frightening Folklore" Stars

Horrifying Nightmare!

A 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?  

No spoilers here as you will need to read the 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 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! 

Highly Recommend! 

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

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6521221.David_Haynes

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

https://www.amazon.com/David-Haynes/e/B00983PM9Y

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2862916354