So Busy

Hey guys! I have been really busy ( and sick) the past couple of weeks and haven't been able to update anything. Sometimes life just gets in the way and other stuff has to take priority.

 I'm still reading (when I get the chance) two books: Feed by Mira Grant and The Bachman Books by Richard Bachman (Stephen King). I've kinda pushed Feed aside and have been reading the Bachman Books more. Honestly, the stories are more interesting than Feed. I'm having a really tough time staying interested enough to keep reading. I am REALLY TRYING not to give up on it and toss it into the DNF pile. I hate giving up on books.

Anyhow, I am still around, but just taking a mini break from posting.

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REVIEW: VAMPIRE STORIES FROM THE AMERICAN SOUTH

TITLE: VAMPIRE STORIES FROM THE AMERICAN SOUTH

SERIES: --

AUTHOR: LAWRENCE SCHIMEL & MARTIN H. GREENBERG

GENRE: HORROR

EDITION READ: HARDBACK

AMAZON PRICE: USED FROM $2.87

SYNOPSIS:

Few parts of America are as historied as the South, so it’s no surprise that many southern horror stories feature the long-lived vampire. Vampire Stories from the American South is a feast of fear for lovers of vampire fiction, offering a dozen tales in which insatiable vampires prowl plantations and scour the bayous in search of mortal blood.

Spanning settings that range from Virginia to Louisiana, and from Florida to Texas, these stories feature creatures of the living dead that are haunting incarnations of local color and folklore unique to the southern states. Some of those raised here include:

*a blood-drinking monster of the Mardi-Gras in Susan Shwartz’s “The Carpetbagger”
*femme fatale who stalks the Civil War battlefields in Manly Wade Wellman’s
“The Cursed Damozel”
*an Elvis Presley immortalized by more than his music in Tracy A. Knight’s
“Blessed By His Dying Tongue”

The South rises again in these eerie tales of the supernatural, and the shape it takes is sure to bring a chill on the most sultry southern summer night!

MY RATING: 3 STARS

This anthology includes 12 vampire stories set in the south. Being a southerner myself, I thought this would be a neat little read. Honestly, I only enjoyed about half (maybe less) of the stories.

The short stories included in this anthology are:

*The Carpetbagger (Louisiana) by Susan Shwartz

*Claim-Jumpin' Woman, You Got a Stake in My Heart (Georgia) by Esther Friesner

*The Silver Coffin (Virgina) by Robert Barbour Johnson

*Like a Pilgrim to a Shrine (Florida) by Brian Hodge

*The Cursed Damozel (Tennessee) by Manly Wade Wellman

*The Scent of Magnolias (Alabama) by Lawrence Schimel & Billie Sue Mosiman

*The Flame (North Carolina) by Fred Chappell

*God-Less Men (Texas) by James Kisner

*Blood Kin (Louisiana) by Delia Sherman

*Carrion Comfort (South Carolina) by Dan Simmons

*Blessed by His Dying Tongue (Tennessee) by Tracy A. Knight

*She Only Goes Out at Night (West Virginia) by William Tenn

By far, the most famous story included is Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons. I purposely opted NOT to read this particular story. The reason being I actually have the novel sitting on my shelf and I haven't read it yet.

The stories I found enjoyable were:

The Silver Coffin

The Scent of Magnolias

The Flame

God-Less Men

She Only Goes Out at Night

Of Course, being an anthology is going to be a hit and miss with the stories. I have yet to find an anthology in which I enjoyed all the stories. If you chose to read this book, I would suggest checking it out from your library or finding a cheap used copy from Amazon or Thriftbooks.

*Book Hollow*

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REVIEW: CRAWLSPACE BY EVANS LIGHT

TITLE: CRAWLSPACE

SERIES: --

AUTHOR: EVANS LIGHT

GENRE: HORROR

EDITION READ: KINDLE

AMAZON PRICE: PB $-- / KINDLE $0.99

SYNOPSIS:

A Novella--

Fooling around on your wife can be hazardous to your health.

Jusk ask Tom.

He's a man who has a lot to juggle: a frustrated wife, a secret new girlfriend, and the unpleasant task of trying to keep his deteriorating farmhouse from falling down around him.

Now with his wife out of town for the week, Tom is eager to get busy under the covers with his beautiful new lover - but first there's something he has to finish up...in the CRAWLSPACE.

"If you love writers like Joe Hill, Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson or Joe R. Lansdale, you owe it to yourself to give Evans Light a try...this new voice on the scene packs enough inventive storytelling twists to delight even the most jaded fans of horror and suspense."

MY RATING: 4.5 STARS

Oh, Evans Light, how you creeped me out with this story!

How far will a scorned wife go to teach her cheating husband a lesson in fidelity? Ladies, just let your man read this story and I doubt he will even think about straying (okay, I'm just kidding...kinda).

This story is creepy and unpredictable. I knew from the get-go that Tom gets trapped in the crawlspace, but everything after that...unpredictable! You just have to read this story to be able to understand. Craziness at its finest!

The ending was very unpredictable and not what I expected at all. I felt a slight disappointment, then I was like, “oh, hell, that makes this even creepier!”.

Just read this!

Evans Light just scored himself a new fan!

*Book Hollow*

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REVIEW: A TIME TO LOVE BY ANGELINA ROSE

TITLE: A TIME TO LOVE

SERIES: MILL CREEK CROSSING #1

AUTHOR: ANGELINA ROSE

GENRE: ROMANCE

EDITION READ: KINDLE

AMAZON PRICE: PB $-- / KINDLE $2.99

SYNOPSIS:

A Novella--

Gracie Tillman is well known in Mill Creek Crossing as the sassy waitress at Stella's diner. But what many people don't know is that she has virtually no family left, and the one person she should have in her life is her sister, Eva. Unfortunately, Eva did some rotten things to her sister years ago, and Gracie says she'll never forgive her.

As Eva's life starts to fall apart in Atlanta, she finds out that the only way to survive is to depend on her sister and crawl back to Mill Creek Crossing. Keeping a major secret, she shows back up in town and tries to convince her sister to forgive her. At the same time, Eva starts to change when she meets an interesting biker named Brice.

Will the sisters be able to mend their relationship? Will love bloom between high class Eva and biker Brice?

MY RATING: 4 STARS

This was a sweet story about two sisters, Gracie and Eva, finding their way back to each other after many years of being estranged.

Gracie got left out in the cold after their mother left Eva a large sum of money in her will. After living the high life and blowing through her inheritance, Eva has to crawl back to her sister for help. Eva is hard to like through the first part of this story, and Gracie is very stubborn. Eva seems to be only looking out for herself, but soon realizes that money and social stature isn't everything.

This is a quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

*This book was provided in exchange for an honest review by the author.

*Book Hollow*

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MARCH CONTEST WINNER

March Contest

$10 Thriftbooks.com Giftcard Giveaway

Congrats to Laurie! 

Your email has been verified and you should receive your prize shortly!

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SHORT REVIEW: SUICIDE NOTE BY TERESA MUMMERT

TITLE: SUICIDE NOTE

SERIES: N/A

AUTHOR: TERESA MUMMERT

GENRE: ROMANCE

EDITION READ: KINDLE

AMAZON PRICE: PB $6.37 / KINDLE $0.99

SYNOPSIS:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Novel.

Sometimes in life it feels like everything that can go wrong does, but everything happens for a reason. A relationship crumbles so someone else can mend the pieces of your broken heart. A change of plans can lead you to something you didn’t even know you were missing. You help others and discover that it was you who needed to be helped all along.
Jenn’s life is nothing as she had imagined it would be. She is twenty-something with a failing career and her love life has officially ended with an ultimate act of betrayal. She is ready to throw away her dreams when a chance run-in with a soldier, dealing with his own misfortunes, alters her course and changes her perspective on life.

MY RATING: 4.5 STARS 

 

I'm slightly behind on my reviews so this one is going to be short and to the point.

This story is told from both main characters POV. Each chapter switches from Jenn to Shane. We get to know the inner thoughts and feelings from both characters this way, but it was off-putting for the first few chapters.

Both main characters are probably two of the saddest individuals I've read in a while. I felt so bad for both of them. Most of the book had a very somber feel for me. However, together these two characters work for each other. You can see the happiness start to creep back into their lives.

I really enjoyed Suicide Note, and the cover art is wonderful. I love the simplicity of it.

*Book Hollow*

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REVIEW: BOREALIS BY RONALD MALFI

TITLE: BOREALIS

SERIES: N/A

AUTHOR: RONALD MALFI

GENRE: HORROR

EDITION READ: KINDLE

AMAZON PRICE: PB -- / KINDLE $2.66

SYNOPSIS:

A novella-

On a routine crabbing expedition in the Bering Sea, Charlie Mears and the rest of the men aboard the trawler "Borealis" discover something unbelievable: a young woman running naked along the ridge of a passing iceberg. The men rescue her and bring her aboard the boat. But they will soon learn her horrible secret. By the time they find out why she was alone on the ice and what she truly is the nightmare will have begun, as one by one she infects them with an evil that brings about unimaginable terrors.

MY RATING: 4 STARS

So far, I'm two-for-two. This is my second story by Malfi and it didn't disappoint.

Although this is a novella, the characterization and imagery did not suffer from the short length. Borealis was a unique story for me because I don't think I have read anything like this in the past—that alone was refreshing.

The girl in this story seriously creeped me out. The strange way she spoke, mannerisms, having no name, etc., made shivers run down my spine. She just feels “wrong”.

There is so much I would like to say about this story, but they would all include spoilers—so you will just have to read Borealis.

Other reviews for this author: 

The Mourning House by Ronald Malfi

*Book Hollow*

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REVIEW: STALK ME BY JILLIAN DODD

TITLE: STALK ME

SERIES: THE KEATYN CHRONICLES #1

AUTHOR: JILLIAN DODD

GENRE: YA / NEW ADULT

EDITION READ: KINDLE

AMAZON PRICE: PB 14.99 / KINDLE $0.99

SYNOPSIS:

Gossip Girl meets Hollywood in this steamy new series by That Boy author, Jillian Dodd.

Keatyn has everything she ever dreamed. Her life is following the script she wrote for the perfect high school experience. She's popular, goes to the best parties, dates the hottest guy, and sits at the most-coveted lunch table.

She's just not sure she wants it anymore.

Because, really, things aren't all that perfect.
Her best friend is threatening to tell everyone her perfect relationship is a scam.
Her perfect boyfriend gets drunk at every party they go to.
It's exhausting always trying to look and act perfect.
And, deep down, she isn't sure if she has any true friends.

To add to the drama, her movie star mom has a creepy stalker.
A hot, older man flirts with her and tells her they should make a movie together.
And she's crushing on an adorable surfer. Dating him would mean committing social suicide.

So she writes a new script. One where all the pieces of her life will come together in perfect harmony.
But little does she know, there's someone who will do anything to make sure that doesn't happen.

MY RATING: 2.5 STARS

Okay, I'm not with the masses on this story. I really didn't like it very much. I felt Keatyn was extremely shallow and I didn't really feel she evolved all that much throughout the story. The only time I felt she wasn't self centered was when it came to her little sisters. Another thing that irked me about Keatyn was the fact that she boy-flopped constantly. She would tell a boy she loved him, and in the next chapter she was in love with a different boy.

The book is called Stalk Me, so I assumed this would be the main focus of the story. I didn't feel it was. I felt like the stalking took a backseat to Keatyn's boy-crazy antics. I also felt the stalker was pretty predictable. I would've liked to have seen more mystery with his identity.

Overall, there wasn't much I really enjoyed about this book. Will I read the next book in this series? No. Will I ever read anything by this author again? Probably. I just didn't like the particular story.

*Book Hollow*

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REVIEW: THE MOURNING HOUSE BY RONALD MALFI

TITLE: THE MOURNING HOUSE

SERIES: N/A

AUTHOR: RONALD MALFI

GENRE: HORROR

EDITION READ: KINDLE

AMAZON PRICE: PB N/A / KINDLE $2.99

SYNOPSIS:

Devastated by tragedy, Dr. Sam Hatch is a shadow of his former self. He travels the byroads of America, running away from a past he cannot escape. There is no salvation for him.

And then he sees the house. Like a siren, it calls to him. Yet the house is not what it appears to be. Is it a blessing, a gift...or a curse?

MY RATING: 5 STARS

I'd like to thank Laurie (Fetch Me My Fainting Couch) for bringing this book to my attention.

I kid you not, I think this novella gave me heart palpitations. The Mourning House the haunting and frightening tale of Dr. Sam Hatch. After losing his family tragically, he is left a shell of his former self. The despair, loneliness, and guilt that Sam experiences comes across loud and clear through this expertly written novella.

With many novellas I'm left feeling like the story isn't complete and lacks the detail that draws you into the story. This is NOT true of The Mourning House. This novella was solid and complete from start to finish. This story has the “wow factor” that will have you searching out more of Malfi's work.

I usually have at least one complaint about a story, but not with this one...not even one. The Mourning House is an amazing story that I would suggest all horror fans read. 

 

*Book Hollow*

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REVIEW: DEAD CITY BY JOE MCKINNEY

TITLE: DEAD CITY

SERIES: DEAD CITY #1

AUTHOR: JOE MCKINNEY

GENRE: HORROR

EDITION READ: PAPERBACK

AMAZON PRICE: PB $6.89 / KINDLE $4.30

SYNOPSIS:

Battered by five cataclysmic hurricanes in three weeks, the Texas Gulf Coast and half of the Lone Star State is reeling from the worst devastation in history. Thousands are dead or dying but the worst is only beginning. Amid the wreckage, something unimaginable is happening: a deadly virus has broken out, returning the dead to life with an insatiable hunger for human flesh...

The Nightmare Begins
Within hours, the plague has spread all over Texas. San Antonio police officer Eddie Hudson finds his city overrun by a voracious army of the living dead. Along with a small group of survivors, Eddie must fight off the savage horde in a race to save his family...
Hell On Earth
There's no place to run. No place to hide. The zombie horde is growing as the virus runs rampant. Eddie knows he has to find a way to destroy these walking horrors...but he doesn't know the price he will have to pay...

MY RATING: 3 STARS

This is your typical zombie book. It was a little better than okay, but I wasn't amazed by it either. As with any book, the tone is set within the first couple of chapters. Within the first chapter of Dead City, I didn't know if I would even like the main character. Eddie is a San Antonio police officer who is introduced, in my opinion, somewhat weak. He is on the phone with his wife and she is (excuse my bluntness) a raving bitch. If I were Eddie, I would have fed that woman to the zombies. Yeah, I didn't like the wife at all.

As with other zombie novels, there is total devastation and chaos. Eddie witnesses his friends and co-workers being killed. Dead City didn't lack action, but it did lack that extra little something that makes a really great book stand out amongst others of its kind. The book did pick up and interest me a little more when Marcus was introduced. He was funny and made for some interesting scenes. However, it wasn't too long before we were bidding Marcus a somber farewell.

The end of the book seemed to tie up way too nicely for me (especially to be part of a series).

Overall, I liked this book, but didn't love it. I doubt I will bother reading the other books in the series, but I will probably read more books authored by McKinney.

*Book Hollow*

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