“The Store”–Review

No refunds.

No exchanges.

No exit.

In Juniper, Arizona, a retail chain called The Store plants its flag, selling just about everything residents could possibly need and want. Not only is it all so convenient, but the prices are also amazing. Residents are ecstatic about The Store’s deals, including job opportunities.

Of course, not everyone is thrilled about The Store. Bill Davis, a technical writer for a software firm, feels that there is something off ever since the construction of The Store. Even when The Store finally opens, everything seems too good to be true. Why did a chain retailer have to open up in a small town, he wonders? It wouldn’t be good for long-time, small businesses. Sure enough, The Store’s success gradually shuts down mom-and-pop stores, with the owners mysteriously disappearing. To make matters worse, Bill’s two teenage daughters get jobs at The Store, where customers suddenly become nothing but loyal to the retail giant. Behind closed doors, employees are forced into rituals and rules by the orders of their sadistic manager.

When Bill starts sensing evil in his town, including the fact that his daughters are no longer themselves since working for The Store, he knows it’s time that he and other concerned citizens take a stand. When he tries to find a way to get his daughters away from The Store, he is left with having to make a choice where there is no going back.

Whoa, is what I have to say about this book. While the story shows society’s obsession with consumerism, it revolves more around big corporations and the amount of money and power they desire, and that they’ll stomp on anyone who gets in the way. This book was downright disturbing and creepy. I need more books by this author. Feel free to post your comments. Happy reading!

About the author: Bentley Little is the author of numerous novels, short stories, articles, essays, and reviews. After earning a BA in communications and an MA in English, Little sold his soul and abandoned all artistic integrity, working for eight years as a bureaucrat for a midsized city in Orange County, California. His first novel, The Revelation, won the 1990 Horror Writers Association Bram Stoker Award for best first novel.

“Kallista”–Review

Good evening, bloggers! I can’t believe this month is almost over. I’m actually looking forward to Halloween, so I’ve been trying to catch up with some scary books. I recently got around to reading Kallista, the second book in the Butcher series, so here’s the description:

Kallista is the follow up to the first book, Tatum. In the first book, Tatum was haunted by a ghost known as the Skeleton Woman, who Tatum fears is associated with death. The images haunted and affected her so much that her friends, including her sisters, started thinking something was wrong with her. Along with the images of the Skeleton Woman, brutal deaths were taking place within the community. Bodies were strung up, heads were severed, tongues were missing, and no evidence was left behind. The Butcher was killing anyone connected to Tatum, yet she had no idea why it was happening.

The second book takes places years following Tatum’s gruesome death. Her sister, Kallista, has put off any chance of a normal life to figure out who the Butcher is and why he targeted Tatum and her friends. While she is working on the case, the haunting figure from all those years ago is suddenly appearing wherever Kallista is. Is it all in her mind, though? Does it have any relation to the Butcher? With the possibility the Butcher might still be out there, Kalli needs to get answers fast….or meet her own demise.

I can’t remember when I read the first book, but I think it was worth the read. Aside from the fact that the first title and I share the same name, the story’s description was right up my alley. Kallista was just as good because the story featured more of the point of view of the Butcher. Fair warning, the chapters featuring the Butcher are disturbing, so it might not be for the sensitive reader. There’s plenty of gore for the hardcore fans, so enjoy it. I highly recommend you read Tatum before starting this book, so you’ll get a better idea of the story. I’ll have to buy the third book in the series, and I hope it’ll be a good one. Feel free to post your comments. Happy reading!

About the author:

Known as the International Bestselling, Award-winning Author of horrific old-school terror titles such as Buried and the Asylum Series, Sian B. Claven brings back a nostalgic telling of creepy tales.

Aiming high, this misleadingly bubbly author terrifies her fans with tales of ghosts, murderers, and demonic possessions as though handing out candy to children, all while expanding her releases from her first young adult horror in 2017 to her more recent explicit demonic occult horror in 2021.

With an on the edge of your seat series, Claven enthralled her readers with her Butcher series, surprising them with a fourth and now final book in the series in 2021 as part of the Notorious Mind’s Boxset, along with Shh, which were both part of the Soul’s Day Boxset which made her an International Bestselling Author.

Claven also dabbles in the Science-Fiction Space Adventure genre, having republished her Spacehiker Adventure Series – Unlikely Hero with an updated cover and storyline after receiving criticism about the book’s length. Claven looks forward to expanding this universe.

Further challenging herself, Claven also tackled writing a paranormal romance series, the first of which released as part of the Possessed by Passion boxset in March 2021. The series will continue, and Claven looks forward to exploring this new world.

Born in Southern Africa, Claven resides in Johannesburg, where she grew up with a vivid imagination and has been writing for as long as she can remember. When she was not immersing herself in books, she created her own worlds, both by herself and with her friends.

After her sister immigrated in 2017, Claven wrote and published her first book and has been on an amazing journey ever since.

Claven is an avid Harry Potter and Star Wars fan, Funko Pop Collector, 3d Puzzle builder, Diamon Art painter, and studying addict. She also has a penchant for Lego. She resides with her two best friends, their six dogs, and two cats.

“Petrified Women”–Review

• 

Some pranks go too far. This one could be deadly.

Despite her best friend’s constant warnings, Harley ignores the fact that her boyfriend, Aiden, isn’t as great as he appears. Just because he thrives on practical jokes, it doesn’t make him a terrible person. Does it? He’s played practical jokes on Harley, after all, yet it was never a big deal. Unlike the last boyfriend who left her with trauma, Harley finally found a good guy.

Aiden is an artist who likes wood carving his own life-size female figurines. Sure, it all seems odd. But big deal, right? He’s an artist; it comes with the territory.

No matter, Aiden’s birthday is approaching, and Harley finally has the perfect plan to out-prank him. All for fun, of course. But while she hides in his apartment, waiting to really give him a good scare, Aiden eventually comes home. And that’s when Harley witnesses a more sinister side to Aiden. But is it all a prank? Or was Harley’s best friend right?

I’d recently read The House Plant, which I enjoyed, so I thought I’d give this novella a chance. While I find some practical jokes funny, I was curious about the deal behind the wooden women. In a way, it sort of made me think of House of Wax. This is a recommended read, especially for horror fans. I look forward to more. Jeremy is a great storyteller. Feel free to post your comments. Happy reading!

About the author:

Jeremy Ray graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a MFA in Dramatic Writing. He is the recipient of the Max K. Lerner Playwriting Fellowship for his play Boiling Point and the Shubert Playwriting Fellowship for his play Sisters of Transformation. His work has been performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and his screenplays have placed in the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards Competition, The Academy Nicholl Fellowship, and the ScreenCraft Drama Contest. However, he is most fond of prose. He spends his free time devouring books like the bookworm he is. For more info, click here.

“Come Forth in Thaw”–Review

Good evening, bloggers, and Happy first day of March! I’m looking forward to new reads. In the meantime, I recently read Jayson Robert Ducharme’s latest book, so here’s the description:

The Adrienne Forest State Park is one of many, beautiful state parks in the White Mountains. It is a popular destination for tourists, painters, hikers, and even weddings. Yet the forest is also a place of great pain and torment, and is an equally popular destination to end your own life.

The only thing young mother Eleanor Jackson has left in her life is her son, Alan–a troubled teenager who has gone to the forest to commit the unthinkable. As Eleanor goes to find him in the forest, she witnesses bizarre and fantastical happenings that try to manipulate and distract her from rescuing her child. When the sun goes down, the specters of the tormented emerge. She will come to discover so much more than just her son.

Based on Japan’s Aokigahara Forest, also known as Suicide Forest, near Mt. Fuji, this novella talks about not only suicide, but the realities of trauma, loss, and mental illness. The twist toward the middle of the story caught my interest even more. I took a few guesses as to how it would go down, yet I wasn’t even close. It was still worth the read, and I look forward to more stories by the author.

Feel free to post your comments. Happy reading!

About the author: Jayson Robert Ducharme is the author of over 40 short stories, ten novellas, and two novels. His work has appeared in the New Hampshire, Science Fiction and Horror editions of Z Publishing’s America’s Emerging Writers series. His collection of novellas Come Forth in Thaw is available for purchase on Amazon. For more info on the author, click here.

“Birthday Girl”–Review

Anna may survive the carnage… but who will she be once the ocean of blood clears?

On the night before her 18th birthday, Anna surrenders her virginity, all to just be done with it. It’s okay for her, anyhow, since she intends to leave Miss Codie’s Orphanage once she’s 18. When her best friend, Kate, convinces her to stay up later to celebrate before her departure, they come across a mysterious boardgame, which accidentally frees Magriol, a sadistic exile from Hell, who thrives on practices that disgust even the Devil himself. After the girls witness his gruesome tricks, Magriol lures them into a game, where they must find something special, which he won’t name until they get toward the end. Should the girls succeed, Magriol will spare them. But with every gruesome obstacle they take on, Anna wonders if it’s all a trick.

Past reviews have mentioned how brutal this story is, and they weren’t kidding. It’s filled with gore, mayhem, rape, and dismemberment. You know I enjoy horror stories, yet I didn’t expect this much detail. I was already cringing at certain scenes. But that’s what I need in a story. I started reading this book on my birthday, which was five days ago, and I’m happy to have purchased this copy. For horror fans, this one might be right up your alley. Feel free to post your comments. Happy reading!

About the author: Ash Crowlin graduated from Bowling Green State University with a BAC in Theatre. He lives in Port Clinton, OH, where he spends his time giving wealthy tourists poor advice. He loves coffee, gin, and art films concerning human centipedes. For more info, click here.

“Alessa’s Melody”–Review

Set in Quebec, this is the story of Louis Delacroix, who grew accustomed to a childhood of work and neglect, never knowing what it was like to receive love. Then his baby sister, Sophie, entered the picture. While he held a grudge against his parents for all the love they gave Sophie, Louis eventually grew to love her. They were in an inseparable pair.

Then Sophie died.

Fifty years later, Louis is an old man, a butler in a mountain estate to a dying steel tycoon, Marshall Turner. With nothing to show for his life, all Louis has are memories of his dead sister, along with his regrets. With the holidays approaching, Marshall’s son and daughter-in-law pay a visit, along with their little girl who holds a special talent that sends Louis back down memory lane. During the Turners’ stay at the estate, Louis is going out of his mind, questioning whether or not the girl’s presence is meant to be.

This book has quite a heartbreaking backstory, yet I enjoyed reading it all. It went from sad to a bit creepy, which is what I usually seek in horror stories. Great job to the author. I look forward to his next work. Check it out, if you’re interested. Feel free to post your comments. Happy reading!

*I received this copy from the author, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much!

About the author: Jayson Robert Ducharme is the author of over 40 short stories, ten novellas, and two novels. His work has appeared in the New Hampshire, Science Fiction and Horror editions of Z Publishing’s “America’s Emerging Writers” series. His collection of novellas, “Come Forth in Thaw,” is available for purchase on Amazon. For more info, click here.

“Ceremony of Ashes”–Review

In Leinster Village, no one is safe.

On Halloween night, a mother and her little girl are out trick-or-treating. Once they’re ready to head back home after their adventure, a woman covered from head to toe approaches them. All the woman wants to do is show them a harmless, magic trick…

The next day, Adrian Holloway receives a phone call that changes everything: his sister and niece are missing. In haste, Adrian drives back to his childhood home in Leinster Village to check up on his grieving, emotionally unstable mother. While he anxiously awaits answers from the police who are on the case, mysterious disappearances and gruesome deaths are happening so fast, the residents are constantly paranoid. Parents are afraid to leave their children, let alone leave their homes for anything else.

While everything keeps going from bad to worse, Adrian eventually learns of a woman from generations ago, whose powers are beyond imagination, who will stop at nothing until she gets her revenge on the entire town. But why? What happened to this woman and what connection does she have to Adrian’s family tree?

Rarely do I read horror stories, yet I enjoy them. I especially like stories involving cringe-worthy moments and gore, so this story was right up my alley. I’ll be on the lookout for more. For fans of supernatural horror, get yourself a copy of this novella. Feel free to post your comments. Happy reading!

*I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, again. I’m always happy to put the word out there.

About the author: Published in Z Publishing’s AMERICA’S EMERGING WRITERS SERIES; Horror, Science Fiction, and New Hampshire issues. Author of contemporary supernatural and psychological Gothic fiction with high doses of drama, suspense, and mystery. For more info, click here. You can also find him on Facebook and Instagram.

“Psycho”–Review

Good evening, bloggers! I hope you all are well. Lately, I’ve been in the mood for horror stories, so I ordered a copy of Psycho and finished reading it within three days. The beginning of the story hooked me and I knew I’d like this one.

Norman Bates—owner of the Bates Motel he runs with his mother—has always been a bit odd, according to those who knew him back then. He’s in his forties, fat, shy, insecure, and apparently has never left his mother. Then, again, his mother is dead. She’s been dead for years. At least, that’s what other people assumed.

On a late, rainy evening, a young woman checks into the motel, badly in need of a hot shower and a good night’s rest. While the woman is in her room, getting ready to shower, Norman spies on her. But he wouldn’t dare to go beyond that, not while his mother is around to protect him. She’ll do anything to protect him.

And that’s as far as I’ll go with the description. For horror fans, I recommend this book. The writing is excellent and I enjoyed all the creepy surprises, toward the end. Now I’ll have to see the movie; hopefully, it’s just as good. Because the book is based on Ed Gein, a serial killer and body snatcher who lead a dual life, I’m curious to read about him. Feel free to post your comments. Happy reading!

“#RIPJohn”–Review

Be careful what you post online.

Good evening, again, bloggers! Rarely do I read horror novels, but I knew I had to read this one, so here’s the description:

All John King wanted a was chance to fit in when he started his new life in his new high school, especially after he’d endured constant bullying at his previous school. No matter, he had high hopes that everything was going to turn around for him. On his first day, he is befriended by Devan, the star basketball player. Moments later, however, Devan turns on him, and it isn’t long after John is ridiculed by Devan’s friends and classmates.

Then there’s Melinda, the student writer and blogger for the school newspaper, who intends to humiliate John in writing.

And last, but not least, is Jenny, the pretty girl on whom John has a crush. But she has a plan for him, too.

After months of torment and humiliation, John commits suicide. Then when the news of his passing starts to fade, classmates start moving on with their lives. But what his bullies don’t realize is that although John took his life, he doesn’t stay dead.

I started reading this book, this morning, and finished it this evening. That’s how much I enjoyed the story. It sends the message that actions come with consequences, that bullying is a sensitive issue that really needs to be addressed. It got me so mad, though. This poor boy just wanted friends, yet all he got was ridicule. However, I loved the second part of the story. I promise you, it gets better.

Feel free to post your comments. Happy reading!

About the author: Hailing from Johannesburg South Africa, Sian B. Claven has enjoyed stories for all her life, whether she was reading them or making them. She has written for as long as she can remember, but Ensnared is the first book she decided to publish. Moving towards writing more for the horror / paranormal thriller genre, Sian has subsequently published the first two books in The Butcher Books series, Tatum and Kallista. When Sian isn’t thinking of ways to terrify people, she enjoys writing science fiction stories, poetry, and rather long and gushy birthday wishes. When she isn’t working on her writing you can find her knitting, scrapbooking, reading, or playing Xbox. Sian previously reviewed for The Blithering Bibliomaniacs and still reviews in her private capacity. She clearly doesn’t know what the words rest and relaxation mean, at least not in the traditional sense. For more info, click here.

“Tatum”–Review

Watch Your Back.

A strange woman is haunting Tatum’s nightmares. When this woman—the one Tatum calls the Skeleton—begins to appear in her reality, Tatum starts to wonder if she’s going crazy. Why is she the only one who sees this woman?

It isn’t long before murders start happening in her neighborhood. Along with her sanity, Tatum’s life is on the line. Unfortunately, she can’t bring up the woman; it’ll just make her sound crazy, after all. Then she learns that her nightmares, the recent deaths, and the Skeleton all are connected. But is the Skeleton the murderer? And how can Tatum prove she’s not insane?

Good evening, all! I just realized that this is my first book review for this year, so I’m excited to share a new read. Not only did this story catch my attention, the title especially aroused my curiosity. After all, how often do I come across a book with my name as the title? I rarely read horror novels, but this story was interesting. In fact, I’m curious about the next book, Kallista, which should be available this year.

As always, feel free to post your comments. Happy reading!

About the author: Hailing from Johannesburg, Southern Africa, Sian B. Claven has enjoyed stories all her life, whether reading them or making them. She has written for as long as she can remember. Ensared is the first book she decided to publish. Moving towards writing more for a horror genre, when Sian isn’t thinking of ways to terrify people, she enjoys writing science fiction stories, poetry, and rather long and gushy birthday wishes. When she isn’t writing, you can find her knitting, scrap-booking, reading, or playing Xbox. Sian also reviews for The Blithering Bibliomaniacs and clearly doesn’t know what the words rest and relaxation mean. At least, not in the traditional sense. Check her out on Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads.