Friday, July 24, 2026

Suburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer

 


πŸ‘ΏπŸ‘ΏπŸ‘ΏπŸ‘ΏπŸ‘Ώ

Five "Dreadful Demon" Stars


What Darkness Lies in a Chicago Suburb? 

A small taste of what lies within:

Four friends (Amy, Jess, Melissa & Liz) all live in a Chicago suburb and they are all tight knit friends. Their children play together and go to school together. The suburb where they live is just perfect for them as it seems so peaceful.  The four friends decide they want some kind of club house for themselves where their husbands and children will not be around so they decide to have a She Shed built in Liz's backyard. 

However before things can get off the ground with building the shed the friends decide to christen the area with wine for their upcoming personal club house but things go awry after the christening as a wind blows up and the area where the shed is supposed to go just feels off for some reason. 

Not too long after their christening Liz starts behaving oddly and she doesn't seem herself. When the friends try to find out what is going on they realize that Liz has become something else entirely as it seems that an evil presence has invaded their friend! 

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 this is the author's debut book too.  This book just kept me glued to my kindle as once the friends christen the area where the She Shed will go things turn dark quickly and the story takes off into the unknown! I was captivated by the speed at how quick the book took off as I just could not put it down! 

I literally read this book within 48 hours as I just could not break away from the storyline. The story has some humor and dark humor wrapped within its pages but it also has a story of friendship and what friends will do when they are faced with something beyond their control. It shows what true friends will do for each other and how they go about to make sure their friendship will endure.  

The story also had some "creep me out" moments too along with some horror action and suspense. The story is heavily laced with the occult and demonic activity but the author wrote it in a way that you do not need to leave the lights on with this book. The author wrote the story in a mild mannered way which there is evil involved but nothing to scare the pants off of you! :) 

Looking forward to reading more books by this author as I see she has a couple more out there to read. 


Attached is the author, Maureen Kilmer, profile page from Amazon:

Maureen Kilmer

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Sleep Savannah Sleep by Alistair Cross

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Supernatural Suspense" Stars


What Secrets Lie Within Shadow Springs? 

A small taste of what lies within:

Jason Crandall along with his son and daughter have settled down in the town of Shadow Springs as they all come to terms with the loss of Jason's wife. They move into an old mansion as Jason is a massage therapist and he wants to set up shop in the mansion. 

When Jason is introduced to Savannah Sturgess is when things start to slowly go awry as Savannah has a lot of the men in town chasing after her but when she ends up missing is when things take a bad turn and Jason finds himself in the middle of her disappearance! 

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 is what I would consider a supernatural suspense mystery that starts out a little slow which was due to background world building. As the story slowly moves along I found myself caught up in a supernatural mystery as the story has quite a bit of supernatural content as I moved through the story. 

Around the 40% mark the book picks up speed and I found myself staying up half the night one evening to the early morning hours as I became tangled up in the story and could not put the book down! 

The suspense of the story kept me guessing as once the character, Savannah Sturgess disappears the book goes into complete overdrive with many questions that need to be answered. All the questions are answered at the end of the book and I was floored to learn the answers! 

This book kept me guessing to the very end and I enjoyed this book so much. The author, Alistair Cross keeps the book flowing along with lots of surprises, twists and turns throughout the story. I have read books before by this author and have loved every one. Looking forward to reading whatever else he has coming down the pike! 


Attached is the author, Alistair Cross, profile page from Amazon:

Alistair Cross

Attached is the website of author, Alistair Cross:

Alistair Cross


My Goodreads Review:

My Review


Sunday, July 19, 2026

The Exorcist Code 3: Apocalypse (The Exorcist Code #3) by William Massa

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Demonic Terror Technology" Stars


Demon in the Data? 

A small taste of what lies within:

Father Callum is back with a new mission and this time he is reunited with Michael from the first book. Except Michael is little different this time around but he is there to help Father Callum stop an evil force that has become a demonic super data computer. 

This time around the duo will have to use their wits along with Michael's computer technology to beat the demon that has become embedded in the data computer. Do they win or lose this fight? 

No spoilers here as you will need to read the book to find out what happens! 

Thoughts:

This story took off once again as this book threw me right back into the melee with Father Callum. I was happy that Michael had returned and once again he was a great help to Father Callum.  

The pace was fast as usual and kept me wrapped within the story as it moves along at a great speed! There was no slowing down with this book as the story escalated the more I became involved with the story. The last 40% the story goes into overdrive and kept me moving at the speed of light! 

Looking forward to reading book four and the final book in this series to see what happens next for Father Callum and Michael! 


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

William Massa

Attached is my Goodreads review:

My Review

Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Corona by David Kempf


 πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ

Four "Typewriter Terror" Stars


What Would You Do with a Haunted Typewriter?

A small taste of what lies within:

A man buys an antique typewriter not realizing that it is haunted until it starts to type out instructions of things to do that the man would normally not do!

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste as this book was super short at 14 kindle pages! 

Thoughts:

This was a creepy short story that kept me glued to my kindle! I will say this I will not look at an old typewriter the same again as I have seen some in thrift stores! 

I guess I have never thought about it but even an old typewriter could be haunted. You just never know who or what owned it in its machinery lifetime. :) 

As always I love these short stories by author, David Kempf as the stories will make me think about whatever the story is about. Just like that where I said I have seen typewriters in different thrift stores before but what secrets do they hide. Could a typewriter be haunted? You just never know in real life but in this story this one is haunted and it has its own secrets that are revealed by reading the story. 


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

David Kempf

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

The Myrtles Plantation: The True Story of America's Most Haunted House by Frances Kermeen

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟

Four "Spooky Suspenseful" Stars


I am not doing my traditional small taste as I am just going to give out thoughts.

Thoughts:

The author of this book, Frances Kermeen bought the Myrtles Plantation back in the 1980s as her and her husband were hoping to restore the plantation and turn it into a bed and breakfast. The author didn't believe in ghosts and/or hauntings but she soon learned from local townspeople and helpers at the plantation that there were hauntings on the grounds. 

The author endured quite a bit with the haunting happenings on the plantation with footsteps, voices, apparition sightings, etc. throughout her time that she stayed there. 

I really didn't find the book scary but I did find it mysterious. Also the author gives some historical history about the house as well which kept me intrigued and in a state of suspense as I was wondering what she would be enduring next. 

I will say there are quite a few up and down reviews for this book but I really enjoyed it and I felt that what the author experienced there felt real enough for her to write this book. I have heard about the Myrtles Plantation being haunted for a long time. It has been featured on a few of the ghost hunting shows too. I see that the author wrote another book about ghost/hauntings at inns and hotels across the U.S. At some point I will read that book as well as I will be curious to see what the author came across on her road trip ghost journey. 


Attached is the author, Frances Kermeen, profile page from Amazon:

Frances Kermeen

My review from Goodreads:

My Review


Saturday, July 11, 2026

The Rest Stop by Eric Butler

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟

Four "Road Terror" Stars


Do Not Stop to Rest! 

A small taste of what lies within:

Uncle Jack along with his nieces, Kylie and Sara decide to stop at a rest area but they don't realize that they are being watched but as they get ready to get back on the road is when all hell breaks loose!

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste without giving away spoilers so if you want to know more then go read this book! 

Thoughts:

This was a short story by the author, Eric Butler but it packs quite a punch as when the main characters realize something is wrong then everything goes wrong fast and the story goes into overdrive! This story not only packs a punch but I had to grab my gore suit for this story as things turn bloody quick! 

Another great book by this author and I found out there is a sequel to this story so I will be reading that story soon! 


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

Eric Butler

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

Friday, July 10, 2026

Puzzle House by Duncan Ralston

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Twisted Terror" Stars


Can Anyone Escape Puzzle House?

A small taste of what lies within:


Alexei Vasiliev a puzzle master had passed away and left quite a bit of money to six beneficiaries that will need to split the monies if they survive his last puzzle which has to do with escape rooms and survival in a building with unique trap settings. Six strangers come together for a fight of survival - who wins and who dies?

No spoilers here as that is about all I can hand out with a small taste so if you want to know more than you will need to read this book and series!

Thoughts:

This book grabbed me from the beginning as I was intrigued by all the different characters and their backgrounds. This book is being compared to the Saw movies which I tend to agree as the author took what happens in those movies and added his own unique twist to it.

I have read many books by this author and this one does not disappoint. It took me on a twisted ride into an escape room hell as I found myself staying up late a few nights as I could not seem to "escape" out of the book! :)

I loved all the characters in this book and with this being a series I am looking forward to reading book two here soon.

Attached is the author Duncan Ralston profile page from Amazon:

Duncan Ralston


My Goodreads Review:

My Review


The Coworker by Freida McFadden

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟

Four "Twisted Suspense" Stars


Do You Really Know Your Coworkers?

A small taste of what lies within:

Dawn Schiff and Natalie Farrell work for a nutrition company called Vixed and they only co-exist alongside each other because they have to but when Dawn Schiff does not show up to work one morning it throws her office workers off kilter because Dawn is never late - she is always there at her desk. 

When Natalie becomes concerned she expresses that concern to her other coworkers and her boss but as time goes on something is off kilter about Dawn missing and then when a dead body turns up that throws the employees at Vixed into a tizzy and Natalie somehow becomes the focus of the police!

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste without giving away spoilers so if you want to know more then go read this book!

Thoughts:

This was my fourth book by author, Freida McFadden. I have read all her Housemaid book series and loved them. This book grabbed me right away as there was quite a bit of mystery and suspense at the get-go and the momentum of that suspense kept flowing throughout the rest of the book to the point where I could barely put it down!

There were a lots of twists and turns in this book but the last 40% of the book is when the book goes into overdrive and just kept me riveted to my cozy chair! Freida McFadden pulled the rug out from under me and gave me a jolt of surprise - that rarely happens but in this book there is a jolt! :) 

I have a few more books by this author on my kindle and will be reading them soon.  I have found a mystery/suspense/thriller author that I love and I am sticking with her! 


Attached is the author, Freida McFadden, profile page from Amazon:

Freida McFadden

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

Sunday, June 28, 2026

Fave Horror Authors - Part 1 (June 2026)


 My first 10 horror authors - in no particular order are:


Two of my favorite books by Graham Masterton


Amazon Profile: Graham Masterton



Two of my favorite books by Catherine Cavendish
     









Website: Catherine Cavendish

Amazon Profile: Catherine Cavendish


Two of my favorite books by Brian Moreland










 Website: N/A

Amazon Profile: Brian Moreland



Two of my favorite books by Lee Mountford





Website: Lee Mountford

Amazon Profile: Lee Mountford



Two of my favorite books by David Haynes











Website: David Haynes

Amazon Profile: David Haynes



Two of my favorite books by Hunter Shea









Website:
 Hunter Shea

Amazon Profile: Hunter Shea



Two of my favorite books by John Everson


Website: John Everson

Amazon Profile: John Everson




Two of my favorite books by Tim Meyer


Website:  Tim Meyer

Amazon Profile:  Tim Meyer






Two of my favorite books by Ambrose Ibsen
















Website: Ambrose Ibsen

Amazon Profile:  Ambrose Ibsen




Two of my favorite books by Eric Butler

















Website:  Eric Butler

Amazon Profile: Eric Butler




That is my wrap up for my fave horror authors and two of my fave books by them. In August I will do my next 10 horror authors I love to read. See you in August! 😁

Saturday, June 27, 2026

Perfect Specimens: A Horror Collection by Patrick James Ryan

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Gore & Goo" Stars


I am not doing my traditional small taste as this book was a collection of horror short stories along with some horror poems too. Going to list out my favorites that I really enjoyed with a small cryptic note next to it to just give a peek into what to expect. 


Favorite stories are:


January 31st - A parasite turns a man into something tasty

It Awakes - A corpse gets his revenge.

Border Journey - A surprise transformation. 

You've Got Grubs - Not your garden variety grubs. 


So those were my favorites, but this book has a whole lot more for readers that will delve down deep under your skin and take you on a blood and gore ride of stories that will keep you glued to your cozy chair. It was a good thing  I had my gore suit handy as it was needed for this book! 

Another great book by this author and looking forward to whatever else he has coming down the pike! 


Attached is the author, Patrick James Ryan, profile page from Amazon:

Patrick James Ryan

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review


Tuesday, June 23, 2026

The September House by Carissa Orlando

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Twisted Spooky Suspense" Stars


Would You Dare Enter September House?

A small taste of what lies within:

Hal and Margaret move into a house that they soon learn to be haunted but only in September as the house emits strange sounds along with moans and then the walls start bleeding.  When Hal ends up disappearing though is when things go bad for Margaret as she believes that Hal left her as he couldn't deal with the haunting. 

When Katherine shows up (Hal and Margaret's daughter) is when things go more awry as Katherine knows something has gone horribly wrong when her father no longer answers her phone calls so she decides to go see her parents to see what is going on but little does she know that the house is not ready to reveal its secrets until it wants to and when that happens all hell will  break loose! 

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 but I had been seeing this book circulating over in my Goodreads feeds for the last three years as quite a few of my Goodreads friends have read this book.  This book was almost like a slow burn horror - normally I struggle with slow burn books but this one just kept piquing my interest and I would have a hard time putting it down. 

Lots happen within this story that kept me invested with keeping on reading to see what would happen next as this story goes on an emotional roller coaster of a ride with lots of twists and turns that kept me pinned to my cozy chair. The haunted part of the story was never really scary - this haunted house book is a little different then some other haunting books out in the world. There was almost like a satire weaved into the story and I would find myself chuckling at different scenes in the story. 

All in all this story was crazy wild near the end of the book which I ended up reading the last 30% in just a few hours as things escalated in the house and the book made me feel like I was on a bullet train that just sent me careening to the end of the story! What a wild ride this story turned out to be and I can see now that the hype for this book is real! 


Attached is the author, Carissa Orlando, profile page from Amazon:

Carissa Orlando

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

The Selkie Wives (Old Wives' Tales Book 2) by Tamara Thorne

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Spooky Selkie" Stars


What Happens in Fort Charles Stays in Fort Charles!

A small taste of what lies within:

Sheriff Tully has been asked to take over sheriff duties in the coastal town of Fort Charles so him and his wife, Kate leave Eternity to go to Fort Charles. 

They are not there very long when a dead body is found pinned to a boat mast and is unrecognizable. When more bodies start turning up, Tully finds out that living in Eternity with all its problems was a walk in the park compared to what he has to deal with in Fort Charles as there are secrets that are to be kept within the town.

Mythical lore of Selkies are surrounding the deaths which Tully is finding hard to accept but he is wondering if there really is any truth to the sailor tales which he intends to find out one way or another!  

(Selkie on the beach in Fort Charles)

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

Thoughts:

Once again, author, Tamara Thorne hooked me into the clutches of this story as I was thrown straight into a spooky mystery that is wrapped around mythical lore creatures and the story just runs smoothly along with Sheriff Tully trying his best to make sense of what is happening in the town of Fort Charles.  

There are quite a few characters in this book and there are cameo appearances from characters that were in the first book, Eternity. This story goes deep into mythical lore and I could see the lore research the author took as she created this story. I found myself being caught up in the web of intrigue as the story rolled along.  There is tons of suspense wrapped within the pages of this story and the pace became faster as I careened through my kindle pages which one night I stayed up till near 4 am reading this book as I just could not lay it down! 

There is another book coming down the pike with Sheriff Tully and I am looking forward to seeing what other mysteries he will need to solve.


Attached is the author, Tamara Thorne, profile page from Amazon:

Tamara Thorne

Attached is the website of author, Tamara Thorne:

Tamara Thorne


My Goodreads Review:

My Review



Note:  

These books might seem to be stand alone but they are not as characters from previous books make appearances and things happen within the lives of the main characters that are in these books so these books need to be read in order to understand the lives of the characters.   

Eternity (Old Wives' Tales Book 1)

The Selke Wives (Old Wives' Tales Book 2) 

Monday, June 8, 2026

Fave Horror Authors Blog Addition from Book Nook Retreat

I have decided to do something different with highlighting favorite horror authors that I have read in the past and enjoyed their work. 

Every other month I will be listing out 10 favorite horror authors with an author link to their website (if they have one) and/or a link to their Amazon profile. I will also be listing two of my favorite books by the authors. 

This will be for all horror authors that write horror whether they are in the indie horror community or even if they are traditionally published.  All horror authors will be listed together in a blog edition every other month.  

This new blog edition that I will be working on will replace my "author's discovered list". I have decided to do a complete favorite horror author list as I think it will help friends and blog followers to see who I love to read and what books I loved by each horror author. 

Sometime this month I will be putting out my first 10 favorite horror author list and will publish it to my blog then post it over to my Facebook.   

To find each list I do for every other month in one easy step -  I have added a tab to my scrollbar on my blog which is under my blog art header. You cannot miss it - you will see a tab that says "Fave Horror Authors". 

So get ready as it will be coming sometime this month. 😁

Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Whistle by Linwood Barclay

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟

Four "Creepy & Cursed" Stars


What Would You Do With a Cursed Train Set?

A small taste of what lies within:

Annie Blunt along with her son, Charlie move out of the city to a small town in upstate New York as they are trying to start over after Annie lost her husband in a car accident. 

Annie and Charlie want to move on in a new life but when Charlie finds an old train set in the shed behind their house is when things go from serene and peaceful to a nightmare hell for both Annie and her son! 




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 this horror story about a cursed train set piqued my interest. I love anything with creepy curses that are weaved into horror stories and this was a great story that just slowly built up with spooky terror the more I read the story. 

Having said that though I felt the story dragged a little bit along the way and also the author did some time jumps within the story as well which normally I am not crazy about time-jumping especially when the characters are completely different than what the story starts out with in the beginning. 

The time jumps are related to how many paths the cursed train set ended up being in children's hands during the course of its existence which was interesting but I felt that I wanted the story to return to the original characters that started out in the story and it seemed to take a long time to get there which drops this book down to 4 stars.  Other than that small quibble the rest of the book was mysteriously spooky and kept my attention span through some insomnia nights. 


Attached is the author, Linwood Barclay, profile page from Amazon:

Linwood Barclay


My Goodreads Review:

My Review

Friday, May 29, 2026

Eternity (Old Wives' Tales Book 1) by Tamara Thorne

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Killer Chiller" Stars


Would You Want to Live in Eternity?

A small taste of what lies within:

Sheriff Zach Tully has left the big city of Los Angeles homicide unit and has arrived in the small town of Eternity hoping to help the town out with what they need but Tully soon learns that Eternity is not what he thought it would be with small town problems. 

Tully soon realizes that he is going to be just as busy in Eternity then he was in L.A. as there is some kind of serial killer on the loose and bodies are starting to pile up. The mayor along with some of the townspeople Tully feels is hiding something but he will do whatever he can to catch the killer and put everyone's fears to rest.....hopefully! 

(Zach Tully overlooking Eternity)

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 story slowly took off as I came to know Sheriff Tully - he is the small town sheriff that everyone might want in their town to help when help is needed.  

The story moves at a great pace and the deeper I became involved in the story the faster I was turning the pages of my kindle! There are quite a few characters in the story that makes up the town which I loved them all as they all have their own personality and I found myself wondering what was going to be happening next! There are some twists and turns throughout the story with tons of suspense, intrigue and mystery! 

The author, Tamara Thorne kept me wrapped in a web of mystery as I tried to figure out who the killer could be and to me I felt that nearly everyone was a suspect! Truly enjoyed this first book that kicks off the Old Wives' Tales series and looking forward to reading book two here soon! 


Attached is the author, Tamara Thorne, profile page from Amazon:

Tamara Thorne

Attached is the website of author, Tamara Thorne:

Tamara Thorne


My Goodreads Review:

My Review



Monday, May 18, 2026

The World's Most Haunted Hospitals: True Life Paranormal Encounters in Asylums, Hospitals, and Institutions by Richard Estep

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟

Four "Spooky Suspense" Stars


Thoughts:

Just going to give out thoughts on the book as there are quite a few chapters to explore with different haunted hospitals and asylums from around the world. 

This book was very interesting as the author goes into quite a bit of detail on all the hospitals and the history of them before they became haunted. I was fascinated by the history of each hospital and what had taken place there. Quite a few of the hospitals were built in the 1800's so many things had taken place within the walls. 

Quite a few of the hospitals have quite a bit of ghosts and other spooky things that are found within these haunted buildings.  The author has interviews too with other investigators throughout the book and what they had endured with their investigations. 

All in all I really enjoyed this true ghost book with all the hospital locations and I loved to read about all the history of the hospitals as well.  The author went into quite a bit of research within this book and it shows when reading each story.  I am looking forward to reading more true ghost stories by this author in the future. 


Attached is the author, Richard Estep, profile page from Amazon:

Richard Estep

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

Tuesday, April 28, 2026

I Hate It When They Don't Stay Dead (A Short Story) by Andrew S. French

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟

Four "Dangerous Dolls" Stars

What is Wrong With the Dolls?

A small taste of what lies within:

Vincent inherits his dad's doll store after his dad passes away but Vincent is not prepared for what lies within the store as the dolls seem to have a mind of their own and when Vincent has problems with a loan shark and his crew of bad men Vincent sees first hand what happens when you mess with the dolls! 

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 was my first time reading this author and I was intrigued by the book cover of creepy dolls so I decided to read this short story of horror. 

I was glad that I did as I really enjoyed the story even though there wasn't much background on the doll store or the character Vincent but this story kind of packs a small punch too with some doll activity. I will be checking out more of this author's works in the future as I want to see what else he has out there. 



Attached is the author, Andrew S. French, profile page from Amazon:

Andrew S. French

Attached is my Goodreads review:

My Review


Spiteful Creatures (The Spite House Chronicles Book 3) by Tamara Thorne & Alistair Cross


πŸ‘»πŸ‘»πŸ‘»πŸ‘»πŸ‘»

Five "Spooky Specters" Stars


Would You Step Foot on Spite Island?

A small taste of what lies within:

The Manchester home is not to be trifled with which the authors that are staying there learn more about the mansion along with the ghosts that inhabit the place and what they learn is not a good thing as the ghosts start invading their spaces.  The ghosts have completely woken to alert status and they are not happy that their home has been invaded by authors snooping around. The ghosts and the house are going to do their best to toss the authors out the door any way they can! 

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

Thoughts:

The third and final book in this series was loaded with ghosts and how they do not put up with any snooping from authors trying to get a story about the house. There are many characters in this book with their own stories of why they are there and what they expect to learn from the house. A handful of characters I could have slapped - lol - but all in all the characters were lovable to an extent and the ghosts turn out to be beyond mischievous and some will go to extreme lengths to preserve their space and home.  

This book had more activity from not only the ghosts but the character authors as well as some of them do things they shouldn't be doing either which riled up the ghosts even more. There are more blood and gore scenes in this book then the previous two books but it was to be expected with how the story turns out. Quite a few twists and turns in this final book too which the last two or three days is the only book I decided to read as I wanted to stay on this final book to see what happens to everyone and the ghosts as well. A great and final end to this series as I was happy with the way things turned out in the end! 


Attached is the author, Tamara Thorne, profile page from Amazon:

Tamara Thorne

Attached is the website of author, Tamara Thorne:

Tamara Thorne


Attached is the author, Alistair Cross, profile page from Amazon:

Alistair Cross

Attached is the website of author, Alistair Cross:

Alistair Cross


My Goodreads Review:

My Review



Final Note:

Just want to say that all three books must be read in order - none of them are stand alone so in order to understand what is going on it is best to read the books in order as each book follows the previous one. 

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Play Nice by Rachel Harrison

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Spooky Scares" Stars

What Kind of Entity Lives in the House on Edgewood Drive?

A small taste of what lies within:

Clio Barnes along with her two sisters (Daphne and Leda) have inherited their childhood home from their mother who has just passed away.  Clio's sisters, Daphne and Leda want no part of the home as all they can remember when they lived there were bad times and their mother acting crazy.  

Clio on the other hand wants to fix up the house to maybe sell it however her memories about the house do not coincide with her sisters and their memories. The house is also considered to be haunted and the only sister brave enough to enter the house seems to be Clio. What Clio finds there though is more than she bargained for as when she starts to fix up the house there is a presence that tries to make itself known which sends Clio down a rabbit hole of curiosity and spooky speculation! 

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 I wasn't sure how spooky or scary this book was going to be until I read a couple or so reviews which I usually do not do as normally I go into a book blind by just reading the synopsis of what the book is about. But a couple of reviews that I read said the book was scary so I love scary books and being spooked out of my skin which is what this book does eventually. 

The story has a slow build up of suspense and mystery - there is also quite a bit of family drama that is throughout the whole book with the sisters bickering about the house but once I delved deep into the story of the house then the creepy factor of the story slowly started to simmer bringing it to a full blown haunting by the time I finished the book! I can actually say that I was spooked out of my skin after I passed the 60% mark of the book as the haunting becomes more focused on what happens in the house and how the characters have to deal with it. 

Looking forward to reading more by this author at some point as I see that she has quite a few books out there to read. 


Attached is the author, Rachel Harrison, profile page from Amazon:

Rachel Harrison

Attached is my Goodreads review:

My Review


Thursday, March 26, 2026

Spite Island (The Spite House Chronicles Book Two) by Tamara Thorne and Alistair Cross

 


πŸ‘»πŸ‘»πŸ‘»πŸ‘»πŸ‘»

Five "Shivering Suspense" Stars

Would You Stay on Spite Island Knowing It Is Haunted?

A small taste of what lies within:

Grandson, Cody Manchester comes home to Spite Island as he has not been there since he was a boy as he was frightened by something that happened there when he was young.  As Cody tries to learn what scared him as a boy - the authors that are staying on the island are having more encounters with the ghosts that inhabit the island and as they try to write about the house/island the ghosts and the hauntings escalate! 

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

Thoughts:

The second book moves along a great pace which kept me in a state of suspense. This sequel covers more information about the house and the island itself with why it is haunted. I am still loving the author characters as they wander around the mansion and island trying to figure out why the place is haunted. 

The authors, Thorne and Cross bring the magic of the storytelling alive on the pages of this book with drawing me into the world of the Manchester's and their haunted island.  

Once again I found myself staying up late into the night reading as the mystery and suspense of the hauntings kept me intrigued with the flipping of my kindle pages as I made my way through the story. Looking forward to reading book 3 and the final book of this trilogy shortly. 


Attached is the author, Tamara Thorne, profile page from Amazon:

Tamara Thorne

Attached is the website of author, Tamara Thorne:

Tamara Thorne


Attached is the author, Alistair Cross, profile page from Amazon:

Alistair Cross

Attached is the website of author, Alistair Cross:

Alistair Cross


My Goodreads Review:

My Review

Monday, March 16, 2026

Evil Whispers by Owl Goingback

 


🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Voodoo Folklore" Stars


What Lies Within the Blackwater Lagoon?

A small taste of what lies within:

Robert and Janet Patterson along with their 10 year old daughter Krissy decide to stay at the Blackwater Fish Camp that is located in a rural part of Florida where life is more peaceful than what they are used to in the city. When Krissy starts telling her parents about her "special friend named Mansa" that she met out by the lagoon her parents kind of shrug it off thinking that Mansa is an imaginary friend. 

The Pattersons learn soon enough though that Mansa is anything but imaginary as they find out from an old Seminole Indian that lives in the area that the imaginary friend is really an evil spirit named Mansa Du Paul who was once a voodoo sorcerer in that area.  Mansa is trying to do whatever he can to get back to the living so that he can continue practicing his evil magic and Mansa wants Krissy to help him complete the task of once again walking the earth! 



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

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author and this book took me on a ride into the pits of voodoo hell as the story kept me glued to my kindle! I became so caught up in the story that everything disappeared around me and the visuals of the story just jumped right off the page! 

The author just pulled me straight into the story and didn't let me go as I found myself barreling along wanting to see what would happen next. There are some gory parts that are weaved into the story as well which kept me turning the pages faster! 

I loved all the characters in this book as they were well rounded and felt that they were like people that you could just sit down to talk with about things in Blackwater. 

This author has quite a few more books out there that I will be exploring in the future. 


Attached is the author, Owl Goingback, profile page from Amazon:

Owl Goingback

Attached is my Goodreads review:

My Review