Stephanie
A Heian era mansion sits alone and haunted. Buried beneath its creepy floorboards is a blushing bride's bones and her human sacrifices.
Talia's getting married. She always adored exploring haunted houses, so the mansion is the perfect wedding venue. Talia and her friends head to the mansion for a night of celebration, hoping to catch a glimpse of the ghost bride that inhabits it's walls.
The cover of this novella is gorgeous
A very cute book that packs some scares. I enjoyed this book. I like that the stories are brief and to the point, perfect for a quick chill. Out of all the stories, I found 2, maybe 3 that fell flat. Maybe I didn't get the idea behind the story but either way the others made up for it. On a side note, this book is beautiful and the cover is a nice add to my collection.
Ghost Roast is perfect for lovers of the paranormal. Think ghost busters with a flare for mystery. I adore the historical vibes. I'm a sucker for anything historical.
Characters are charming and unique. Chelsea's relationship with her friends is cute. I love how she is accepted as a nerd despite the other characters “cool kid” lifestyle. It's also sweet to see Chelsea fall for mysterious Oliver, adding some paranormal romance aspects into the story. I won't say too much on that. Read it to find out!
There is a serious topic amongst this fun adventurous graphic novel that speaks on slavery and racism. I love where the story went with this arc.
Ghost Roast is fun. Kudos to the Gibbs sisters Shawnelle and Shawnee. I also adore the artwork and coloring by Emily Cannon (illustrator) and Aishwarya Tandon (colorist) The illustrations are captivating.
A favorite of 2023 for me.
Okay so I have a few things to say about this novella. The story was interesting and definitely unique but I realized I just wanted it to be over. I expected something different. With the title Night of the Mannequins I expected creepy mannequins popping up around town or something more spooky.
This is my first time reading Stephen Graham Jones and I don't know if I'm a fan. His writing is too wordy and kind of veers off often with descriptions and tidbits I feel are unnecessary for the story. To be honest, I feel like there are too many run-on sentences that make the story confusing and overwhelming at points. It's like an information overload. I want to read his other works specifically The Only Good Indians, but I'm reluctant to because I could barely get through a novella of only 131 pages. I can't imagine trying to read an entire novel of run on sentences and extra descriptive words. It sounds tedious and boring. I gave the novella 1 star. I did enjoy some parts of the story but his writing style is not for me.
I loved this manga. The stories were short, dark and entertaining. The illustrations are beautiful. Looking forward to more from Junji Ito.
This book was the choice for a book club that I am in on Facebook. I was immediately intrigued by the cover, and colors of the book. It's eye-catching. This is my first Grady Hendrix book and I adore the authors writing style. There is no lack of detail and the story sunk me in. It was a quick read and I enjoyed every part of it except the ending. The ending came up a bit dry for me but in defense of the author, I'm picky with endings. I enjoyed the book so much I went out and bought a copy for my shelves.
Honestly I'm a little annoyed that I wasted my time reading this. It was a literal drag and extremely tedious to get through. I understand a lot of people enjoyed it but it was just everywhere. The author has some serious mommy issues as well and should probably seek therapy for that and the other issues that stemmed from her early childhood. Not a fan and in reality I'd give this 1.5 stars. The only part of the book I enjoyed was the descriptions of Athena and the Oracle of Delphi. As a practicing witch I don't get anything out of this story.
This review contains 2 spoilers
Another book I should have read a lot sooner in my life but hey it's never too late. I enjoyed the characters, which seems to be my favorite thing about King's works. As always, I gobbled up every word King wrote. The book was fast-paced, interesting and spooky. I rarely feel uncomfortable when reading horror considering it's all I read but this one delivered the terror. I think it's partly to do with the fact that I'm a mother of 3 and can't imagine losing a child. It also upends my nerves because it brings to mind the question of “would
I do the same for my children and family?” Hm something to ponder. Great read.
If I have any complaints; as an animal lover Church should have lived.
Once again Junji Ito does not disappoint. The stories were different from your traditional horror. They were bone chilling. The cover art of the hardcover is absolutely gorgeous and the illustrations are amazing and creepy.
I really dislike this book. After all the hype, I'm let down. I understand the ending is supposed to wrap it up in a neat little bow but it was PREDICTABLE! I knew that the girl was a figment of Jake's imagination. It wasn't much of a shock like everyone told me it was going to be.
I also despise the main character. She complains about every little thing and it was frustrating to listen to the narrator b***ch the entire time. I felt no connection to any character at all and could care less what happened.
Also, what's with the phone calls from “her number?” Personally I feel like that little tidbit was added to make the story seem creepier but it was more confusing than anything.
Kind of disappointed I wasted my audible credit which is the only reason I even saw this book through.
Meh. This took me awhile because I couldn't get into it. Nothing about this collection was scary. At least not to me. I was disappointed by The Black Phone as well. I expected more. There are 3 stories I enjoyed, but only a little bit. Good writing though so I'll give him another chance.
For Goodreads purposes I'll round up to a 4. I enjoyed three out of the four stories. The third story is boring in my opinion and took away from the collection considering there are only 4 in the first volume. Since it's the first in the series I'll cut the author some slack and write it off as world building/story building.
The illustrations are dope and give it that edge that bumps up the rating for me. Hopefully it becomes scarier as I read each volume.
For a collection titled “This is Halloween” I was confused because a lot of the short stories were not Halloween themed at all. I actually had high hopes for this collection and it started off decent but after reading consecutive short stories actively describing women for their physical traits only, I lost interest and skimmed the remainder of the stories. It seems like rape and any type of harm towards women is the main theme of this collection and it's honestly ridiculous. The author is a good writer but for me there seems to be a lot of underlying sexism. There's honestly no excuse for it. I wish someone would explain to these sexist, male authors that women aren't going to think someone who's actively trying to attack her is “sort of cute.” Like dude, get a grip. A bit outdated. I could care less about nominations and awards he has won for other material, it's a hard pass on the rest of his work.
I'm going to start by saying it baffles me to see people label this “ The Scariest book I ever read!” It wasn't scary at all. There is barely any build up, tension, dread, anxiety or anything really to these scares. The scares are popped into certain parts of the story and over in literal seconds. Almost the equivalent to a tacky jump-scare in an Indie horror film. I guess I can see this book scaring my child or someone who is easily frightened.
It's extremely repetitive and I contemplated not finishing it. I read a review on here that mentioned how disappointed they were with the ending so I continued to see if I felt the same way and I have to agree. I don't understand how “the hollow one” completely backed off the second she said “Enough” We're talking a creature that literally stalked and haunted this girl to the point of obsession and demented love and it ends that abruptly?? It is definitely rushed. As an author, you should leave readers with answers. Thorough explanations or at least some type of foreshadowing or hint at what could be the reason for things. It's lazy writing at best.
Character development is almost non-existent. Even the setting isn't fleshed out or descriptive enough to paint a picture in the reader's mind.
The word “suddenly” was used so often that it's burned into my mind. Adverbs are not your friend when writing a novel.
Also, I don't understand how the prologue reeled people in for being absolutely “terrifying.” It's odd to me how the prologue was focused on the parrot but the parrot is only mentioned one or two other times in the story.
The meaning behind the number “5” is predictable and honestly a let down. I wanted something mind blowing but instead I was left with confusion. Why is it important to “the hollow one?” I feel like a lot of elements of the story are never explained. Why was the wedding ring so significant? What about the dream catchers?” Side note: dream catchers are meant to protect against nightmares, so I'm unsure how the spin on them in this story even makes sense. What about the basement and whatever broke out of there?
The afterword blew my mind. Blackwell goes on to talk about the exploitation of Native American culture, stories, characters etc, only to do the very thing he spoke against. Two major Native American characters are killed off when they should be the ones with knowledge to defeat this “spirit”/“creature” considering its native to their land. Yikes.
I may get jumped here by all the “fans” for this negative review but if I purchase something, I have the right to review it so I don't really care about the hate I'll get for my review. If it should be titled anything it should be “Stolen Time”
“Go then, there are other worlds than these”
This is probably my 4th read through of The Gunslinger and it's enjoyable every time. I decided this time around to listen to it on Audible and enjoyed it even more. The narrator was great and entertaining. Can't wait to continue my journey to the dark tower (again)
Okay so I would give this book a 3 for a few reasons and that's because it's not for me. It was well written and I enjoyed some parts but overall it's not my style.
The pace of the story was too fast and the story felt rushed. I don't understand the hype and it seems more like a YA book. Also, the story was scattered and events would happen too quickly and jump around.
I'm discouraged to read the rest of the series.
Oo I need more of this series ASAP.
I love the blood and gore, and of course vampires.
Okay, so when I decided to pick up American Psycho, EVERYONE expressed their love for this book so I was excited to dive in. That's the last time I listen to people. This book is a hot mess. I could even go as far as saying I hated it. Let's start with the elephant in the room. I'm convinced the author is sexist. I know, I know the whole point of Patrick Bateman is to showcase that he's a sexist pig, but when you have zero strong female characters, basically no female characters with even a smidgen of personality outside being dumb, shallow eye candy for a serial killer and his obnoxious friends, that says something. His constant use of “hardbody” is annoying, as well as his basic descriptions of women in the novel. He could have put in a little more effort considering he doesn't shy away from excessive detail in other areas of the story. Also, I looked into interviews with the author and he openly says sexist comments, including comparing his younger self to Patrick Bateman. He also openly expressed his discontent for a woman directing the movie American Psycho. Considering a few of his books revolve around the themes of hurting, raping, and degrading women, that further enforces my opinion. If it quacks like a duck...
That aside, the book is a drag for the first 75%. Ellis overloaded American Psycho with an obnoxious amount of designer labels and details. The novel becomes tedious to get through. Once again, I understand it was done for character development but we get the point after the first 50 pages of detail overload. The excessive detail along with the absolute boring dinner conversations that brought minimal to the plot bored me. Let's be honest here, his writing isn't anything special. I'm not a fan of an author basically “telling” the entire story.
The gore was alright, however some of it was unrealistic and random. Often times it feels like Ellis wrote the actions of Bateman just for shock value and I wasn't impressed. The graphic scenes didn't bother me, but it came off sloppy and disorganized.
I'm going to have to pass on reading anything else from Ellis. I can only imagine how much worse it gets.
It's my favorite anime so naturally I love this manga. My favorite character is Monokuma of course.
2.5 ⭐️
Okay, so I like Grady Hendrix and I plan on reading more from him, however this one fell flat for me. I have noticed this book a few times at my local book
Store and kept skipping over it. I was on audible and saw that it was included with my membership so
I figured it a win-win. I was disappointed but happy that I didn't waste my credit. I honestly would give it a 2.5 if I could. It's just not my cup of tea. The characters were flat. I didn't particularly like any of them. The story was odd and would have worked better as a movie imo. I was bored.
I couldn't wait for it to be finished. I will continue to read Grady Hendrix and hope the others aren't similar to this experience.
In the afterword, Junji Ito mentions he was going through a phase where he couldn't “write” horror. I wouldn't even have known that considering how horrific the stories are in this collection. It's one of my new favorites of his work and it shows how expansive his imagination truly is.
I'm going to start by saying I was pleasantly surprised to see the setting of this book is in Rhode Island, my home state. It's always a treat when RI is mentioned, being the smallest state we tend to be forgotten. I've also been to Block Island a bunch of times so it was easier to envision the setting of the story as well as events.
There are 5 main characters and the reader follows each through a different narrative/perspective. Characters in this novel are diverse and morbid. My favorite is Chrissy, and Angela. There is a ton of family drama and tension, so if you're into that, pick up this book asap.
My only small complaint would be the family bickering even during times of survival. It seems odd to me that characters would pick fights with each other during crucial moments.
This is my first time reading a book by this author and I like his writing. I'm definitely interested in reading more by him. The horror elements were spot on and the scene in the beginning of the book really set the tone for the entire novel. Creepy, disturbing and straight out of your nightmares.
It's refreshing to read a creature feature that isn't too cheesy and over the top. Much like the creatures in this story, I devoured this book.