A Soul to Keep by Opal Reyne

Title: A Soul to Keep (Dustwalker Brides #1)

Author: Opal Reyne

Publisher: Opal Reyne 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 534

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season

Where I Got It: Library

Spice Rating: 8

All Reia ever wanted was freedom.

Known as a harbinger of bad omens and blamed for Demons eating her family, Reia is shunned by her entire village. When the next offering is due and the monstrous Duskwalker is seen heading their way, her village offers her an impossible choice – be thrown into the prison cells or allow herself to be sacrificed to a faceless monster.

However, he is not what he seems. His skull face and glowing eyes are ethereal, and she finds herself unwittingly enchanted by him.

All Orpheus ever wanted was a companion.

Each decade, in exchange for a protection ward from the Demons that terrorise the world, Orpheus takes a human offering to the Veil – the place he lives and the home of Demons. The brief companionship does little to ease his loneliness, and their lives were always, unfortunately, cut short.

He'd thought it was a hopeless endeavour, until he met her. She’s not afraid of him, and his insatiable desire deepens
within every moment of her presence.

But will Orpheus be able to convince Reia to stay before she’s lost to him forever?

CW: Death, explicit sex with tentacles

This is another super explicit romance book that I stumbled upon and ultimately enjoyed. At the core, this series is clearly exploring trauma and its affects. Reia has been neglected her entire life after surviving a horrific event. Orpheus is suffering from confusion and fighting against his nature to find a companion. These two unlikely creatures are forced together and begin to peal back the layers. The book itself moves pretty slowly for the first 200 pages. We get a lot of inner monologue from Reia and a lot of world building. I do wish that some of the monologue was trimmed as it become very repetitive later on in the book. The chapters from Orpheus’s perspective were much more interesting. And then we get to the sex scenes. They are not for the faint of heart, nor are they for people who are not open to the weird. Those scenes are extremely explicit earning my highest spice meter rating of 8. Be forewarned. The ending was very rushed and somewhat confusing. There’s a lot of exposition and information dump towards the end that I don’t think I completely understood all. But, I’m willing to keep learning and keep reading this series.

Duskwalker Brides

• #1 A Soul to Keep

• #2 A Soul to Heal

• #3 A Soul to Touch

• #4 A Soul to Guide

• #5 A Soul to Revive

• #6 A Soul to Steal

• #7 A Soul to Protect

• #8 A Soul to Embrace

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Nighthouse Keeper by Lora Senf

Title: The Nighthouse Keeper (Blight Harbor #2)

Author: Lora Senf

Publisher: Atheneum Books 2023

Genre: MG Horror

Pages: 320

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season RC

Where I Got It: Library

Evie Von Rathe has been home for only a few weeks from her adventure in the strange world of seven houses when Blight Harbor’s beloved ghosts begin to disappear. Did they leave without saying goodbye, or has something gone horribly wrong? Soon Evie is invited to a mysterious council meeting, where she learns about the Dark Sun Side and a terrible secret.

Yes, the ghosts have gone missing. And that means serious trouble.

Another fun and creepy adventure story featuring the other side and the dead and living residents of Blight Harbor. I loved seeing the addition of a new companion for Evie with Lark. But, the overall adventure wasn’t as creepy as I would have liked. The bit on the train with the ghouls was delicious, but otherwise, I wanted more creepy. Hopefully, The Clackity actually makes an appearance in the third book. I need to have more dealings with an actually interesting villain.

Blight Harbor

• #1 The Clackity

• #2 The Nighthouse Keeper

• #3 The Loneliest Place

Next up on the TBR pile:

We Kept Her in the Cellar by W.R. Gorman

Title: We Kept Her in the Cellar

Author: W.R. Gorman

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books 2024

Genre: Horror

Pages: 304

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fairy Tale Retellings

Where I Got It: Library

Eunice lives her life by three simple rules: One, always refer to Cinderella as family. Two, never let Cinderella gain access to rats or mice. Three, never look upon Cinderella between the hours of twelve and three a.m. 

Cinderella has dark and terrifying powers. As her stepsister, Eunice is expected to care for her and keep the family’s secret. For years, Eunice has faithfully done so. Her childhood flew by in a blur of nightmares, tears, and near-misses with the monster living in the cellar. But when she befriends the handsome Prince Credence and secures an invitation to the ball, Eunice is determined to break free. 

When her younger sister, Hortense, steps up to care for Cinderella, Eunice grabs her chance to dance the night away—until Cinderella escapes. With her eldritch powers, Cinderella attends the ball and sweeps Prince Credence off his feet, leaving behind a trail of carnage and destruction as well as a single green glass slipper.   

With Cinderella unleashed, Eunice must determine how much of herself she is willing to sacrifice in order to stop Cinderella. Unsettling and macabre at every turn, this page-turning horror will bewitch horror fans and leave its readers anxiously checking the locks on their cellar doors.

Oh yes! This was exactly the kind of horror I was hoping to read this season. We get a fairy tale turned on its Lovecraftian head. Everything starts normal, but then as soon as Cinderella arrives. we now that things are just a little off. Very quickly things go from bad to worst. I absolutely reveled in Cinderella’s creepy nature and the ways in which she tried to mess with Eunice. And then the second half of the book really kicked into high gear. I was dreading where the story was going, but in for the ride. This boo is not for those that get squeamish easily. There are some horrifying scenes throughout. I was in it until the very last page.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Clackity by Lora Senf

Title: The Clackity (Blight Harbor #1)

Author: Lora Senf

Publisher: Atheneum 2022

Genre: MG Horror

Pages: 288

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season

Where I Got It: Library

Evie Von Rathe lives in Blight Harbor—the seventh-most haunted town in America—with her Aunt Desdemona, the local paranormal expert. Des doesn’t have many rules except one: Stay out of the abandoned slaughterhouse at the edge of town. But when her aunt disappears into the building, Evie goes searching for her.

There she meets The Clackity, a creature who lives in the shadows and seams of the slaughterhouse. The Clackity makes a deal with Evie to help get Des back in exchange for the ghost of John Jeffrey Pope, a serial killer who stalked Blight Harbor a hundred years earlier. Evie reluctantly embarks on a journey into a strange otherworld filled with hungry witches, penny-eyed ghosts, and a memory-thief, all while being pursued by a dead man whose only goal is to add Evie to his collection of lost souls. Will she ever find Des, or is The Clackity planning something far more sinister?

I have no idea where I heard about this series, but I’ve found that I really enjoy Middle Grade horror. So I dove into this series and fell in love with it. We get a fascinating setting filled with fascinating characters. I would have been perfectly content to stay in Blight Harbor. But even better, we get to travel to a fantasy world and a journey through a proper horrifying fairy tale. I loved seeing how each house presented Evie with a new challenge and horrifying aspect. I sped through this one hoping to see Evie succeed in her quest. I definitely need to read the next book in the series and read the further adventures of Evie.

Blight Harbor

• #1 The Clackity

• #2 The Nighthouse Keeper

• #3 The Loneliest Place

Next up on the TBR pile:

Year Zero Vol. 2

Title: Year Zero Vol. 2

Author: Benjamin Percy, Kaare Andrews, Juan Jose Ryp, Frank Martin

Publisher: Artists, Writers, and Artisans 2020

Genre: Graphic Novel Horror

Pages: 144

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Reading Season

Where I Got It: Library

Upshot's hit series Year Zero returns with four new harrowing tales of survival from around a post apocalyptic world, set several months after the events on Volume One: A grizzled Norwegian sea captain and her two young grandchildren navigate an ocean teeming with undead while eluding the relentless pirates on their trail. A Colombian cartel boss indulges all of his most sadistic whims unaware that a threat far greater than zombies is headed toward his jungle fortress. A Rwandan doctor must overcome the crippling fear that has plagued him all his life as he stumbles through the African bush. And a pregnant woman barricaded in an American big box store discovers that the greatest threat to her life – and her unborn child's – might not be undead. Benjamin Percy (Wolverine, X-Force) once again pens this global look at the zombie apocalypse, now joined by artist Juan Jose Ryp (Britannia) and colorist Frank Martin (Infinity Wars).

Another great collection of stories. I really enjoyed the Norwegian sea captain story. We get to see children added into the mix and a fun setting. I also really enjoyed the art style of that story. It was bleak and yet fun of emotion and action. Another great collection of stories from the zombie apocalypse.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Year Zero Vol. 1

Title: Year Zero Vol. 1

Author: Benjamin Percy, Ramon Rosanas, Kaare Andrews, Lee Loughridge

Publisher: Artists, Writers, and Artisans 2020

Genre: Graphic Novel Horror

Pages: 144

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Reading Season

Where I Got It: Library

Ben Percy (Wolverine) and Ramon Rosanas (Star Wars: Age of Resistance) team up to present an epic tale that offers a global look at the Zombie Apocalypse. A Japanese hitman, a Mexican street urchin, an Afghan military aide, a Polar research scientist, a midwestern American survivalist – five survivors of a horrific global epidemic who must draw upon their unique skills and deepest instincts to navigate a world of shambling dead. Year Zero wrestles with the weighty moral and theological questions posed by the pandemic and investigates its cause and possible cure.

I cycled back around to the actual beginning of this series. Love the multiple storylines as we watch the zombie apocalypse unfold. My favorite was definitely the Afghan military aide story. I found her story to be very compelling even within such a short amount of time. I sped through this collection as I could not put it down. Love this spooky story for spooky reading season.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Ghost Camera by Darcy Coates

Title: Ghost Camera

Author: Darcy Coates

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press 2024

Genre: Horror

Pages: 352

Rating: /5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season

Where I Got It: Library

When Jenine finds an abandoned polaroid camera, she playfully snaps a photo without a second thought. But there's something wrong with the image: a ghostly figure stands in the background, watching her.

Fixated on her.

Moving one step closer with every picture she takes.

Desperate, Jenine shares her secret with her best friend, Bree. Together they realize the camera captures unsettling impressions of the dead. But now the ghosts seem to be following the two friends. And with each new photo taken, a terrible danger grows ever clearer…

This is actually a reimagined version of one of Coates’ first stories. Ghost Camera is the novella included in this otherwise collection of short stories. Short story collections are not usually my favorite as they tend to be very uneven. This one isn’t an exception, but I still did enjoy most of the stories included. Ghost Camera is the stand out featuring a few very creepy scenes. I loved using the camera as a device to explore the creepy otherworld. Loved it.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Year Zero Vol. 0

Title: Year Zero Vol. 0

Author: Daniel Kraus, Goran Sudžuka

Publisher: Artists, Writers, and Artisans 2023

Genre: Graphic Novel Horror

Pages: 128

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season

Where I Got It: Library

In this action-packed prelude to the hit series, acclaimed horror writer Daniel Kraus (George Romero's The Living Dead, The Autumnal) unveils four globe-spanning tales from the earliest days of the zombie apocalypse when even the wildest rumors couldn't measure up to the horror to come. A streetwise Russian cop patrols the back alleys of the opportunistic black market that emerges in response to the crisis...a North Korean soldier observes strange happenings on the DMZ...An E.R. nurse in the rural South fights to protect her hospital from threats without and within...A transgender flight attendant who has observed disturbing clues as she crisscrosses the globe keeps a wary eye on the passenger in seat 23C.

I somehow completely missed this series. I absolutely love zombie stories so I definitely needed to grab this one. I didn’t even realize that this is prequel, but it was still a fun ride to see the beginnings of a zombie apocalypse. We follow a few characters as they slowly get the sense that something terrible is happening. The Korean storyline was my favorite. We get a few very introspective conversations and monologues by those characters. I really loved the reveals as the stories progressed. I most definitely need to keep reading this series.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Behind the Horror by Lee Mellor

Title: Behind the Horror: True Stories that Inspired Horror Movies

Author: Lee Mellor

Publisher: DK 2020

Genre: Nonfiction - True Crime

Pages: 288

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library

Where I Got It: Library

Which case of demonic possession inspired The Exorcist? What horrifying front-page story generated the idea for A Nightmare on Elm Street? Which film was based on the infamous skin-wearing murderer Ed Gein?

Unearth the terrifying and true tales behind some of the scariest Horror movies to ever haunt our screens, including the Enfield poltergeist case that was retold in The Conjuring 2 and the serial killers who inspired Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.

Behind the Horror dissects these and other bizarre tales to reveal haunting real-life stories of abduction, disappearance, murder, and exorcism.

Overall, the stories behind the horror movies are pretty uneven. A few were very detailed and sufficiently creepy. I loved the chapters that detailed the background of the The Exorcist and Poltergeist. I found some of the chapters very detailed and informative. But then many of the chapters were too plodding. I found myself getting bogged down in some of the details. And a few times even I found the details to be too gross.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dead Lake by Darcy Coates

Title: Dead Lake

Author: Darcy Coates

Publisher: Black Owl Books 2020

Genre: Horror

Pages: 158

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; In Case You Missed It - 2020

Where I Got It: Library

A week's visit to the remote Harob Lake cabin couldn't have come at a better time for Sam.

She's battling artist's block ahead of a major gallery exhibition. Staying at the lake house is her final, desperate attempt to paint the collection that could save her floundering career. It seems perfect: no neighbors, no phone, no distractions.

But the dream retreat disintegrates into a nightmare when Sam sees a stranger by the lake.

A tall, mysterious man stands on the edge of her dock, staring intently into the swirling waters below. He starts to follow her. He disables her car. He destroys her only way to communicate with the outside world. And something about the man seems… unnatural.

Soon Sam suspects he's responsible for the series of disappearances from a nearby hiking trail.

Completely stranded, Sam realizes she's become the prey in the hunter's deadliest game…

Another fun creepy Darcy Coates book for my Spooky Season. I didn’t realize that this was actual a novella and a few short stories. But I still really enjoyed each story. The novella was a fun take on the isolated cabin and a killer in the woods with a supernatural bend. As always, Coates excels at the creepy imagery that gets me every time. The second story featuring a monster in the woods was my favorite of the collection. I was truly horrified by that one.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Lost Boy by Christina Henry

Title: Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook

Author: Christina Henry

Publisher: Titan Books 2017

Genre: Horror; Fantasy

Pages: 292

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fairytale Retellings; Spooky Season

Where I Got It: Library

There is one version of my story that everyone knows. And then there is the truth. This is how it happened. How I went from being Peter Pan’s first—and favorite—lost boy to his greatest enemy.
 
Peter brought me to his island because there were no rules and no grownups to make us mind. He brought boys from the Other Place to join in the fun, but Peter's idea of fun is sharper than a pirate’s sword. Because it’s never been all fun and games on the island. Our neighbors are pirates and monsters. Our toys are knife and stick and rock—the kinds of playthings that bite.

Peter promised we would all be young and happy forever. Peter lies.

This book has been on my TBR list for years now. I had previously enjoyed Henry’s brand of mixing horror and fairy tales and this one definitely hit the spot. Right away, we know that we are going dive deep into how Jamie become Captain Hook. I was hoping for a villainous portrayal of Peter Pan and I got exactly what I was hoping for. In fact, he was much more horrendous than even I imagined. (I have always very much disliked the Peter Pan character from literature and the movie/tv versions.) We quickly learn how demented Peter is and attempt to navigate his impossible situations alongside Jamie and the other Lost Boys. In a short amount of time, I really came to care for those kids. But I knew that this story was not going to end well. Overall, this one is not for squeamish people and especially not for anyone who cannot handle violence involved children.

Next up on the TBR pile:

From Below by Darcy Coates

Title: From Below

Author: Darcy Coates

Publisher: Poisoned Press 2022

Genre: Horror

Pages: 469

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season RC

Where I Got It: Library

Years ago, the SS Arcadia vanished without a trace during a routine voyage. Though a strange, garbled emergency message was broadcast, neither the ship nor any of its crew could be found. Sixty years later, its wreck has finally been discovered more than three hundred miles from its intended course...a silent graveyard deep beneath the ocean's surface, eagerly waiting for the first sign of life.

Cove and her dive team have been granted permission to explore the Arcadia's rusting hull. Their purpose is straightforward: examine the wreck, film everything, and, if possible, uncover how and why the supposedly unsinkable ship vanished.

But the Arcadia has not yet had its fill of death, and something dark and hungry watches from below. With limited oxygen and the ship slowly closing in around them, Cove and her team will have to fight their way free of the unspeakable horror now desperate to claim them.

I also enjoy a Darcy Coates book for some spooky fun. This one involves a sunken ship and lots of creepy creepy scenes. I will say that every Coates book is a wild ride. I never know exactly where we are going and I really enjoy the journey. We dive in (haha) to this story featuring a cast of unreliable characters on a mission. I suspected every single one these characters of having nefarious intentions on the mission. With every chapter, the tension and creep factor increased. I ended up speeding through the book dreading what they were going to find inside the ship. Once the horror begin to be revealed, I was thoroughly horrified. Lovely!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Never Whistle at Night

Title: Never Whistle at Night

Author: Various

Publisher: Vintage 2023

Genre: Short Story Horror

Pages: 400

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Indigenous Culture; Spooky Season

Where I Got It: Library

Many Indigenous people believe that one should never whistle at night. This belief takes many forms: for instance, Native Hawaiians believe it summons the Hukai’po, the spirits of ancient warriors, and Native Mexicans say it calls Lechuza, a witch that can transform into an owl. But what all these legends hold in common is the certainty that whistling at night can cause evil spirits to appear—and even follow you home.

These wholly original and shiver-inducing tales introduce readers to ghosts, curses, hauntings, monstrous creatures, complex family legacies, desperate deeds, and chilling acts of revenge. Introduced and contextualized by bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones, these stories are a celebration of Indigenous peoples’ survival and imagination, and a glorious reveling in all the things an ill-advised whistle might summon.

Randomly found this collection of horror filled stories at the library and knew that I needed to read it. Like every short story collection, some stories are outstanding, while some are not-so-great. Thankfully this collection erred on the better side. I found myself actually a bit creeped out by many of the stories included. I especially loved the ones that incoprotated folklore and mythology into the horror. The ones that were much more based on the horror of current life didn’t work as well for me. I’m not as much of a real-life horror fan. I like the weird, the strange, and the supernatural. Overall, this was a good collection and shared a lot about indigenous life.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Murder Road by Simone St. James

Title: Murder Road

Author: Simone St. James

Publisher: Berkley 2024

Genre: Thriller/Horror

Pages: 341

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; Spooky Season

Where I Got It: BOTM March 2024

July 1995. April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They’re looking for the small resort town where they plan to spend their honeymoon. When they spot what appears to a lone hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But not long after the hitchiker gets into their car, they see the blood seeping from her jacket and a truck barreling down Atticus Line after them.

When the hitchhiker dies at the local hospital, April and Eddie find themselves in the crosshairs of the Coldlake Falls police. Unexplained murders have been happening along Atticus Line for years and the cops finally have two witnesses who easily become their only suspects. As April and Eddie start to dig into the history of the town and that horrible stretch of road to clear their names, they soon learn that there is something supernatural at work, something that could not only tear the town and its dark secrets apart, but take April and Eddie down with it all.

Not my favorite of St. James’s books (that’s The Book of Cold Cases), but still an enjoyable thriller/horror book. I enjoyed the random throwback to the 90s as we follow Eddie and April on their ill-fated honeymoon. They are both carrying secrets and I enjoyed seeing them be revealed throughout the story. Our book opens with a great propulsive sequence, so of course I was intrigued. Once the Carters start investigating the murder and the mystery of Atticus Lane, the book slowed down. There was a lot of circular conversations and actions in the middle that started to drag things down. Thankfully it picked up towards the end and we barreled across the last pages. I didn’t love the neat-as-a-bow wrap-up, but overall enjoyed this book with moderate ghost involvement.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Universal Monsters: Dracula

Title: Universal Monsters: Dracula

Author: James Tynion IV, Martin Simmonds

Publisher: Image Comics 2024

Genre: Comics; Horror; Classics

Pages: 120

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season - D

Where I Got It: Library

THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH creators, James Tynion IV (W0rldtr33, Something is Killing the Children)and Martin Simmonds, reteam to tell a new tale of the monster who started it all!

When Dr. John Seward admits a strange new patient named Renfield into his asylum, the madman tells stories of a demon who has taken residence next door. But as Dr. Seward attempts to apply logic to the impossible...his daughter falls under the spell of the twisted Count Dracula!

Collects UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: DRACULA #1-4.

A wonderfully creepy graphic novel version of a classic story. The art is decidedly vague when it comes to the count and the horror and very clear when we follow our human characters. I loved the dichotomy of style within each page. As for the story being shown, I do appreciate that they focused on the part back in England. We see what happens to Lucy and Mina and Renfield. I do love seeing classic stories retold in different ways. A quick fun read for the day.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Nice House on the Lake Vol. 2

Title: The Nice House on the Lake Vol. 2

Author: James Tynion, Alvaro Martinez Bueno, Jordie Bellaire

Publisher: DC Comics 2023

Genre: Comics

Pages: 176

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: None

Where I Got It: Library

One of the most critically acclaimed and bestselling horror books of 2021 returns for its shocking second act—and now is the perfect time to enter the house! The 10 hardy survivors gathered in the house by their mutual friend Walter thought they’d finally cracked the code on his plans…and now everything they thought they knew has literally changed. Can they free themselves from their patterns? Or are they all just determined to build a prison of their very own?

I finally grabbed the second trade in this series and goodness, it was a journey. The first couple of pages really threw me. The reader has to orient themselves to the story being told. Once I got my bearings, I sped through the next chapters of this story. I loved the interplay of the different personalities and their reactions to the events. I do wish that the story would have a progressed a bit more before we got to the end. Now I just have to wait I guess. No idea when the next chapters will be released.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Deading by Nicholas Belardes

Title: The Deading

Author: Nicholas Belardes

Publisher: Erewhon Books 2024

Genre: Horror

Pages: 304

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Where I Got It: Library

If you want to stay, you have to die.

In a small fishing town known for its aging birding community and the local oyster farm, a hidden evil emerges from the depths of the ocean. It begins with sea snails washing ashore, attacking whatever they cling to. This mysterious infection starts transforming the wildlife, the seascapes, and finally, the people.

Once infected, residents of Baywood start “deading”: collapsing and dying, only to rise again, changed in ways both fanatical and physical. As the government cuts the town off from the rest of the world, the uninfected, including the introverted bird-loving Blas and his jaded older brother Chango, realize their town could be ground zero for a fundamental shift in all living things.

Soon, disturbing beliefs and autocratic rituals emerge, overseen by the death-worshiping Risers. People must choose how to survive, how to find home, and whether or not to betray those closest to them. Stoked by paranoia and isolation, tensions escalate until Blas, Chango, and the survivors of Baywood must make their escape or become subsumed by this terrifying new normal.

Such a disappointing read! I was hoping for some great cli-fi horror involving snails and an otherworldly presence. I was hoping for something like Annihlation. Instead, this is a disjointed (not in a good way) mess of random characters and about fifty (it feels like) plots. We never really focus on any one thing. Instead, every chapter is jumping around characters, time, space, and plot lines. I grew very frustrated that we never knew who was speaking until almost halfway through each chapter. It wasn’t mysterious, it was just confusing. That choice made it very hard to connect to the story in any meaningful way. The horror involving the snails was interesting, but never fully explored. The story keeps turning to the deading and a semi religious cult that spring up. Pretty boring. And I really didn’t need almost a 100 pages of random birdwatching. Seriously, I started skimming those sections. Too detailed and very off-putting for the reader. This has not been a good week for my reading…

Next up on the TBR pile:

Temptation by R.L. Stine

Title: Temptation

Author: R.L. Stine

Publisher: Simon Pulse 2008

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 407

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library

Where I Got It: Library

In this collection of three fan-favorite stories, the vampires of Sandy Hollow crave the summer months. Summer means plenty of beach tourists…and plenty of fresh blood after months of deprivation. But this year the Eternal Ones have decided to spice things up with a little bet: The first to seduce a hot date of the human variety, and then turn him into a fellow creature of the night, wins.
The catch? In order to successfully turn their prey, they must take only three small sips of blood on three different nights. If they take too much blood on any night, the human will die and the bet will be lost.
The setup sounds simple enough, but things quickly get complicated—especially since each vampire is just dying to quench her thirst...

I saw this book featured on an episode of The Big Door Prize and of course I had to grab it. I knew that it was going to be some cheesy young adult vampire stories. It did deliver on that. But I must say that it also didn’t have enough at all. The dialogue was terrible and kept pulling me out of the story. It really felt that these teenagers were living int he 70s, not now. I wanted to see a bit more modern language and interactions. This book was good for just some silly stories.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Nice House on the Lake Vol. 1

Title: The Nice House on the Lake Vol. 1

Author: James Tynion, Alvaro Martinez Bueno, Jordie Bellaire

Publisher: DC Comics 2022

Genre: Comics

Pages: 200

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: None

Where I Got It: Library

Everyone who was invited to the house knows Walter-well, they know him a little, anyway. Some met him in childhood; some met him months ago. And Walter’s always been a little…off. But after the hardest year of their lives, nobody was going to turn down Walter’s invitation to an astonishingly beautiful house in the woods, overlooking an enormous sylvan lake. It’s beautiful, it’s opulent, it’s private-so a week of putting up with Walter’s weird little schemes and nicknames in exchange for the vacation of a lifetime? Why not? All of them were at that moment in their lives when they could feel themselves pulling away from their other friends; wouldn’t a chance to reconnect be…nice? Collects The Nice House on the Lake #1-6.

How did I miss this series? Probably because it came from DC Comics. I’m definitely more of an Image reader. But I finally picked this one up and devoured it. This is a story that starts slow, but hooked me immediately. I desperately wanted to unravel the mystery presented with the inhabitants of the house. We get clues here and there and then the story takes a huge turn. I was absolutely floored and cannot wait to grab the next volume.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert

Title: The Bad Ones

Author: Melissa Albert

Publisher: Flatiron Books 2024

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 400

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Omniscient Narrator; Library Love

Where I Got It: Library

In the course of a single winter’s night, four people vanish without a trace across a small town.

Nora’s estranged best friend, Becca, is one of the lost. As Nora tries to untangle the truth of Becca’s disappearance, she discovers a darkness in her town’s past, as well as a string of coded messages Becca left for her to unravel. These clues lead Nora to a piece of local lore: a legendary goddess of forgotten origins who played a role in Nora and Becca’s own childhood games. . . .

An arresting, crossover horror fantasy threaded with dark magic, The Bad Ones is a poison-pen love letter to semi-toxic best friendship, the occult power of childhood play and artistic creation, and the razor-thin line between make-believe and belief.

Such a disappointment. I loved Albert’s Hazelwood series and was hoping for more dark fantasy. This one started very very slow and failed to go anywhere for too many pages. Once we finally kick the plot into gear, the horror doesn’t deliver like I had hoped. It’s very lackluster. And don’t get me started on the “romance” sections. I just couldn’t buy those two characters being together and didn’t care what happened to them. Overall, I found myself being extremely bored throughout this book.

Next up on the TBR pile: