The Midwives

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Five "Twisted" Stars

Thrills, chills, and blood spills! 

The cover on this book just gives you the willies, right? Well the storyline will not only give you the "willies" you will have the shivers for days on end even after reading it as the story stays with you long after you put the book down! 

The story literally takes off quick as things happen right away and then its off to the races with the terror as the story just goes into a bloody twisted ride! 

The characters in the storyline are so believable that you feel everything they go through within the story and as the suspense keeps kicking up a notch with every turn of the page, you literally feel that you are in the story!  

I have never been disappointed with anything that author, Duncan Ralston writes as he has that special knack for pulling the readers into the horrors of his mind! What?! You think I am kidding?! Then go grab this book and be prepared to be scared! 

For my full review of the book, Midwives, by author, Duncan Ralston, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3165467730

Attached is the author, Duncan Ralston, profile page from Goodreads:

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

Attached is the author, Duncan Ralston, profile page from Amazon:

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

The Carrow Haunt by Darcy Coates

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Five "Spooky Boo" Stars

What is Happening at Carrow House? 

A small taste of what lies within:

Tour guide, Remy loves taking people through Carrow House explaining things that have happened within its walls as the house is known for being haunted. People from previous tours have literally disappeared through the years or ended up dead. When one of Remy's tourists (Mark) shows an interest in the house and tells her that he would love to have her host a week long stay for seven guests, Remy thinks nothing of it as she has personally never seen anything happen as long as she has been a tour guide. 

The seven guests arrive which includes a psychic medium and a ghost hunter in the mix along with other people that are interested in the ghostly house. Once everyone meets and greets along with picking out the rooms they will be staying in, the house seems to settle down and then the "crap hits the fan" as once the house wakes up then there will be hell to pay! 

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

Thoughts:

Haunting ghost stories are always a theme with author, Darcy Coates, as she is able to weave ghostly tendrils around your mind as you read her books. This book "The Carrow Haunt" is no exception and when I read the blurb of the book, I had a feeling this might be really good. I can tell you that I was not disappointed! 

The author lets her imagination run wild with this story and the book takes off into almost an unknown portal of your mind as you read the book.  The characters in the book capture not only your attention, but also your psyche as you are drawn into the world of house. The house haunting has all the normal phenomena that usually happens when a house goes into berserk mode and this story could easily transition to a non fiction true paranormal story as that is how close author, Darcy Coates writes this story. Another great haunted house story by this author. 

Attached is the author, Darcy Coates, profile page from Goodreads:

Darcy Coates

Attached is the author, Darcy Coates, profile page from Amazon:

Darcy Coates

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

Thoughts on Bad Reviews

So is honesty really the best policy on reviews? 

This is something I have been thinking about for a very long time and I have seen reviews that are so bad that I have come very close to not reading reviews from readers as all it does is make me wonder what is truly wrong with the book for the reviewer to trash it so bad? Is the storyline bad? Is the author not clear on what they are trying to convey to the reader? 

Questions just swirl around me as I think about why I should or shouldn't read the book that is being dragged through the mud with the author being dragged along right behind it. Now with that being said I do once in awhile not even read the reviews of the books as I would rather just read the blurb and if it sounds like it might be something I would like then I read the book.

Reviews from other readers sometimes get to be too critical to the point where I would sit and think about if I wanted to even read the book which really shouldn't be that way as I remember when I was growing up there was no social media for books and I would just read the books if the story struck a chord in me - there were no reader reviews to pour over and give me pause of do I really want to read this book or move on to something else. I just read the book if it sounded great and moved on to the next book. 

So getting back to this honesty thoughts on reviews. 

Too much honesty can hurt an author - this is an interesting concept really as everyone wants to be honest on reviews but there can be honesty but not "drag the author through the hot coals by their toes" honesty! If you are a reader doing this to an author by being mean spirited and just want to rant on a review because the book just did not work for you then shame on you. 

I have literally seen readers go on rants through a review - it happens more often than not - I have seen readers cussing a blue streak on the reviews as well just going off on the author. There is no cause in doing that as when doing reviews all that is basically needed in a review is saying what you liked or didn't like about the book. There is no need to go off on a ranting streak of why you didn't like the book - it is no use at all to other readers as readers will more than likely shy away from the book because they get it in their heads that since the one person(s) didn't like the book and was ranting about it then the book must be bad so there is no sense for them to read it either. 

I literally saw this about two weeks ago on Goodreads - I kid you not - a reader gave a bad review on a book and the first person that jumped on there said that after reading the review then they were not going to read the book either. Now interesting enough that book has received quite a few four and five star reviews, but just because a reader didn't like it then another reader decided it wasn't for them either. That reader let someone else make a decision for them of why the book shouldn't be read instead of making up their own mind by reading the book themselves.  

This is a wrong way of looking at it because not all readers are the same - everyone is different with how they read books. So my thoughts on what should be done on a review of a book that a reader doesn't like is that they should put some sort of disclaimer at the bottom of the review that would read something like this: "I did not care for this book, but just because I didn't like it doesn't mean that the next person will not like it - it's just not for me."  Readers can be nice about it if they calm down when they write their reviews.

This is probably why so many authors struggle to get their work noticed as these antics that the readers pull on their reviews because if the reviews are bad then no one is going to want to read the books. All reviewers need to be mindful of how they do their reviews because the books that we all read would not be here on this earth if if wasn't for authors.

Now on the other hand if you are an author/reader and you go into a rant dragging the author over the hot coals shame on you twice fold.  Now this might get sticky but I am just going to stick it out there anyway as it needs to be said. 😊

This leans more toward respect if anything as in my honest opinion authors are truly a rare breed and I would think that they should stick together, but that is not always the case with reviews I have seen. Authors tend to be sometimes more critical because well "they are authors" so they look at things differently and they look at books from an authors viewpoint, but that doesn't mean that they should be raking the author over hot coals of the book they didn't like either. 

There is a way to give a review without "ripping the heart out" of an author as the author that is doing the "ripping" wouldn't want to be on the other end of the "ripping" so when giving out reviews you can be honest but not "heart ripping" honest. 

My thoughts on how I am when writing a review. For one thing I am not a "heart ripper". If I do not like a book I will just say what didn't work for me or just say what was wrong with the book as not everyone sees or feels the same way about a book. I just think that a review needs to be told in a way that will leave other readers maybe wanting to try the book for themselves.

So the moral of the story on these thoughts are:

Try to be nice on reviews as it is truly not that hard on giving out thoughts on how you feel but while the review is being written think of how the person on the other end is "feeling" while reading the review. Also ask yourself these questions while you are writing the review too. Is my review going to be the one that makes or breaks an author? Is my review going to make readers pick up the book or turn away from the book? Does my review reflect what I feel without dragging the author's work through the mud?  

Think about the reviews as you write them as you are in control of your thoughts when writing up the review, but do it in such a way that makes other readers want to try out the book because if the review is written in such a way that makes the book look bad then there will be those select few that will not want to read the book as those readers are usually the ones that rely on the reviews to help them make their decision. Those readers do not think for themselves - they only go by what other readers say in their reviews. 

For you readers that rely on others to make your decisions stop being a follower and be a leader in reviews as a great review always helps not only the author but other readers that want to read the book or books. 

So those are my thoughts on bad reviews. 

Happy Reading Everyone! 

Retribution Ridge by Anna Willett

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Five "Stalker Suspense" Stars

Who Is Watching and Stalking?

A small taste of what lies within:

Two sisters (Milly and Judith) haven't spoken to each other in years, because of a tragic incident that had happened to them when they were younger. Milly's friend Harper invites her on a hiking trip letting her know that they will be meeting up with Milly's sister, Judith.

Judith invites a man along, Lucas, to help them get through the back wood country. When Milly and Harper finally arrive, things seem tense between the sisters at first. But then things start happening that puts everyone in danger as someone is stalking them and it has to do with the tragic past! 

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

Thoughts:

The book is full of twists, turns, along with some unexpected revelations, and a revenge stalker. I had a hard time putting it down as every chapter was full of suspense and intrigue! 

This book was chock full of suspense and tension when I read the story back in early 2018 as I had a "feeling" that it was going to be good as I had read the author's book The Backwoods Ripper which kept me in state of suspense the whole time reading it back in 2016, so I kind of knew this book would probably be the same way. 

It definitely was a "gripper" and it sent me spiraling through the book at a breakneck speed as I read this book within two days!  I have really started liking these psychological thriller books as these kind of books normally will keep you in state of twisted suspense as you barrel along through them! The author, Anna Willett, is one of those authors that is able to grab you from the get-go and keep you "captive" in her world for awhile! 

Attached is the author, Anna Willett's profile page from Goodreads:

Anna Willett

Attached is the author, Anna Willett's profile page from Amazon:

Anna Willett

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

The Bones of Morden Gray

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Four "Haunted" Stars

I read this book last month and this it definitely a walk on the wild side of life! What more could you ask for when the story takes place inside a funeral home that just happens to be haunted? 

I was pleasantly surprised as there was quite a bit of blood and gore when things hit the fan during the storyline which kept my interest peaked throughout the story. 

I have read a few books by author, David Brian, and I haven't been disappointed yet! Now this book is a hefty read topping at 400+ pages so grab a bottle of your favorite drink, grab some snacks, and sit down in your cozy chair as you step inside this story as when the crap starts to hit the fan you are not going to want to move! 

For my full review of the book, The Bones of Morden Gray, by author, David Brian, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3345074820

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

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1068132.David_Brian

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

https://www.amazon.com/David-Brian/e/B005OKXVVG

Survive by David Haynes

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Four "Survival of the Fittest" Stars!

Unwanted Guests with a Motive? 

A small taste of what lies within:

Jonesy and Lisa along with their dog Lad are living out in the backwoods of Alaska. Winter is upon them and they have stocked up on food to help them get through the winter. But what they don't know is that two people are getting ready to grace their doorstep and they are anything but good people.

They find a woman named "Laura" laying at their cabin when they come back from one of their hunting excursions. She doesn't talk much and she won't tell them much of nothing about herself. She finally lets them know that she left "Olin" out in the winter conditions. They end up finding "Olin" and bringing him back to the cabin. But after Olin wakes up is when the terror begins and Jonesy and Lisa are left wondering how they are going to "survive" their guests! 

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:

The book starts out a little slow as the author builds up the suspense as he performs the world building of the story, but then picks up speed when the "guests" arrive. The terror then begins and doesn't end till the last chapter. 

There are a lot of twists and turns along with some action that captivated my interest.  I couldn't put the book down the more I got into it and I stayed up till the wee hours of the morning wanting to finish it to see how it all ended. 

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

David Haynes

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

David Haynes

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

Ode to Death

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Four "Twisted" Stars

This was a book of short horror stories and poems which I really enjoyed as all the stories had a touch of tense moments along with some interesting "twist" of horrors! 

Believe me when I say "twist" as quite a few of the stories were really twisted, but with some of the stories the author built up the suspense and then has the ability to pull the rug out from under you at the last minute!

I have a few more books by author, Andrew Lennon on my kindle and I am looking forward to reading the rest of his books! 

For my full review of the book Ode to Death by author, Andrew Lennon, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2852283775

Attached is the author, Andrew Lennon, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7257030.Andrew_Lennon


 Attached is the author, Andrew Lennon, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Lennon/e/B00F18CKBS