Happy Bunny and Other Mischiefs by Rebecca Gransden

Dangerous creatures, neglected kids and dejected employees face the weird, odd and perilous. Enter a world where possessed pageant girls get their revenge, a pigeon leads to an underground cult, and a video game mod threatens to unleash hell itself. Enjoy fourteen stories of spite, mischief, and malevolence!
  

This book was wild! 

In reading this I have taken a surreal trip through strange worlds beginning with a sentient Turducken that has escaped its packaging and discovered the internet.

A boy is helped out of his abusive home life by his cousin.

There is a video game console unlike any other, that empowers real-life avatars with incredible abilities.

A prank goes way too far in Slug Slick 

Stage-Mothers lose the upper hand in Pageant

Friends who share an ulterior motive take a road trip down memory lane in SparrowEyes

A group of "mean girls" get physical with an unfortunate woman who has a shocking  secret in Gut Punch.

These are stories of the strange and macabre, unlike anything I have ever read before. Rebecca Gransden has created a unique and unnerving collection.

My thanks to the author for the ARC

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Black Magick: 13 Tales of Darkness, Horror & the Occult Edited by Raven Digitalis

 Darkness is interpretive. It’s in our nature to explore the shadows. Through the 13 stories presented in Black Magick, compiled and edited by award-winning occult author Raven Digitalis, the reader is transported into mysterious settings that blur the line between fiction and reality.

Each story uniquely integrates occultism and magick, deepening the mysteries of the shadow. By acknowledging darkness through the written medium, we can better come to terms with the darkness within ourselves.

Black Magick is a distinctive collection of modern occult fiction. Esoteric themes permeate 13 engrossing stories, invoking a sense of wonder and terror. The stories within this anthology explore occult themes across eras and cultures, proving to be both entertaining and educational.

These haunting tales are finely crafted by a wide variety of writers, and each story is uniquely different from the other.

When we bravely explore the darker aspects of life, we more accurately come to know what it means to be human.

This! This is exactly what I mean when I say I love dark fiction. These unsettling stories are some of the best I've read this year. 

A diverse cast of characters find themselves in unnerving situations, abusive relationships, love, lust, obsession, and misplaced trust, all under the dark cloak of magic and the occult.

I have always wanted to befriend a crow and have it leave me little trinkets. I've often left them nuts and berries but they rarely return. After reading about a student who rescued one I think I'll just mind my own business and let them mind theirs.

A woman in love with the idea of love, though no man can ever meet her expectations sets her sights on a new conquest. They have never met but she is sure she can make him hers.

A witch settles in to her new home while on a trial separation from her husband, in a town where witches are unwelcome. 

A man in an abusive relationship finally sees his lover for what he truly is.

A lonely man accepts a dangerous invitation from a stranger he meets while shopping in the small town where he is stuck waiting for his car to be repaired.

These stories are all delightfully disturbing and kept my dark little heart entertained for hours.

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Raven Digitalis

Available for Pre-order

Stories contained:

1. Candle Magic by Storm Constantine

2. Spanish Jones by Adele Cosgrove-Bray

3. 3:33 by Rhea Troutman

4. Entombed by Corvis Nocturnum

5. Fata Morgana by S.M. Lomas

6. Automatic Writing by Gabrielle Faust

7. The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe

8. Don’t Forget to Feed by Miranda S. Hewlett

9. The Night Everything Changed by Raven Digitalis

10. ReBound by Tracy Cross

11. Captured by Jaclyn M. Ciminelli

12. Red Gifts by Daniel Adam Rosser

13. The Iconoclasts by Mona Fitzgerald-King

The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: Volume 5 Edited by Paula Guran

 From the back cover :

This outstanding annual exploration of the year's best dark fiction journeys into the shadows to deliver nineteen tales of the haunted, weirdly surreal, evil incarnate, frightening futures, and much more.

I loved volume 4 of this anthology so I was beyond thrilled when volume 5 showed up at my door unexpectedly. 

Horror is my happy place and I have loved anthologies for as long as I can remember. I'm like a kid in a candy store any time I open one. There's just so much to choose from. There are so many delightfully dark tales here. 

If I had to pick a favorite it would be Return To Bear Creek Lodge by Tananarive Due where a family gathers as their mother is dying. It takes place in the 1970s and reminds me of how terribly afraid I was of my own grandmother. Is that an awful thing to admit? Oh well, it's done now and it takes a damned good horror story to dredge up my own past trauma.

I also loved The Dark House by A.C. Wise, partly because it takes place in my own state of Rhode Island. There's a mystery surrounding the life and death of a photographer whose many photos featured a particular house that is now abandoned but not necessarily empty. When curiosity leads people to its unlocked door some things are best left undiscovered.

A reminder of the cruelty of children, and the cruelty of being a child can be found in The Demon Lord Of Broken Concrete by Alex Irvine.

Not all of the stories in this anthology are scary but they are all wonderfully weird and creepy in their own way. 

My thanks to Pyr Books.

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Movie Review - Alien Country

 

A swarm of alien creatures has invaded the small town of “Blue River.” Now Jimmy, and his pregnant girlfriend, Everly must work together to stop the monsters, or the planet and their relationship is doomed.

If  love really conquers all, how will it stack up in a no-holds-barred arena battle against extra-terrestrial monsters?

When Jimmy Walker, a local demolition derby driver, finds out his girlfriend Everly is pregnant, he figures it's the toughest news he'll get that day. Yet, somehow, the two of them also manage to accidentally open a mysterious portal, and a horde of bio-engineered alien creatures are set loose in the small desert town of Blue River.  In a race against time, these soon-to-be parents must quickly learn to work together and stop the invasion, or their town, their planet, and their relationship will be annihilated.

I was invited to watch an early screener of this comedy/sci-fi

ALIEN COUNTRY will release on October 22 on digital and streaming platforms, including iTunes/Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Fandango at Home, Vimeo, DirecTV, Dish Network, Dish Digital, and local cable & satellite providers.

Everly has dreams of leaving her small town and becoming a singer. These hopes are interrupted when Jimmy, (her baby daddy-to-be) accidentally opens a portal that allows aliens through, and they do not come in peace.

 From there it's up to this bickering couple and a small cast of zany characters to fight them off and save the town.

What I liked:

KC Clyde and Renny Grames as the bumbling Jimmy and Everly have good on screen chemistry and their back and forth squabbling was amusing, but also made me care about whether  or not they would end up together. 

Barta Heiner as Nana, the kooky grandma was endearing and hilarious at the same time. 

What I didn't like:

The alien creatures weren't seen in much detail. In most scenes, they were just zipping by so fast that you barely get a look at them probably due to a low budget for special effects. In the only scene I recall with a close-up that lasted more than a split second the alien just didn't look that impressive.

All things considered, it was an entertaining 97 minutes that I rated 6 out of 10 stars on IMDB

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I Believe in Mister Bones by Max Booth III

The email’s subject line reads DO YOU BELIEVE IN MISTER BONES?
 

The recipient: Daniel Addams, one half of the Texas small press known as Fiendish Books, co-run with his wife Eileen.

Despite being closed for submissions, curiosity gets the best of him and he takes a look at the anonymous author’s bizarre manuscript—only to find himself obsessed with the titular Mister Bones, a mysterious entity rumored to steal your bones as you sleep, one by one, until he's replaced your entire skeleton with an unknown substance.

But is Mister Bones real, and has Daniel unintentionally summoned him?

Or, as Eileen suspects, has he finally cracked from stress and lost his mind?

From the writer of WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING and ABNORMAL STATISTICS comes Max Booth III’s I BELIEVE IN MISTER BONES, a harrowing exploration of indie horror publishing, internet curses, and the universal terror of the human skeleton.

Daniel and his wife Eileen are small press publishers preparing to host a book festival when a weird email pops up in Daniel's inbox with the subject I Believe In Mister Bones. Since they are closed to submissions, he ignores it. Unfortunately, he is unable to stop thinking about it. He retrieves the email from his trash and soon becomes obsessed with it. Before long, he starts to believe in Mister Bones, a supernatural being that steals the bones of its victims and replaces them with an unknown substance.

This was such a fun read because it alternated between hilarious and creepy scenes. I loved the back-and-forth banter between Daniel and Eileen. I personally have anxiety over all things medical and I can relate to not having health insurance so one of my favorite parts of the book was their visit to the only doctor they could afford.

I would recommend this to any reader who enjoys a touch of satire with a splash of comedy mixed into horror.

My thanks to Book Sirens.

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No Road Home by John Fram

 

For years, single father Toby Tucker has done his best to keep his sensitive young son, Luca, safe from the bigotry of the world. But when Toby marries Alyssa Wright—the granddaughter of a famed televangelist known for his grandiose, Old Testament preaching—he can’t imagine the world of religion, wealth, and hate that he and Luca are about to enter.

A trip to the Wright family’s compound in sun-scorched Texas soon turns hellish when Toby realizes that Alyssa and the rest of her brood might have some very strange plans for Toby and his son. The situation only grows worse when a freak storm cuts off the roads and the family patriarch is found murdered, stabbed through the heart on the roof of the family’s mansion.

Suspicion immediately turns to Toby, but when his son starts describing a spectral figure in a black suit lurking around the house with unfinished business in mind, Toby realizes this family has more than murder to be afraid of. And as the Wrights close in on Luca, no one is prepared for the lengths Toby will go in the fight to clear his name and protect his son.

After a whirlwind romance, single dad Toby marries wealthy Alyssa Wright, the granddaughter of a famous televangelist. The newlyweds along with Toby's young son Luca are headed to the Wright family compound, for what Toby thinks is Alyssa's birthday celebration. 

Before long, bigotry, cryptic messages, and a murder mystery occur and Toby realizes he needs to take Luca and escape this family's evil plan for his son, but a sudden storm and washed-out roads make leaving impossible and lack of phone or internet prevent calling for help.

The first thing I have to do is disagree with the blurb that claims Toby must "protect his queer son" Luca is a very sweet and sensitive child who has not labeled himself queer so let's not do it for him. There is a line in the book that strongly suggests he may be transgender, which does not equal queer. Not everyone who is transgender is gay.

Anyway back to the story, the Wrights are not the only ones with secrets. There are mysteries and traumas in Toby's past. Toby has unbearable memories that he tries to lock away in his mind. To repress the pain of his sister's death, the loss of his parents, his troubled childhood and the truth about Luca 's mom.

I can't say much else about the plot without spoiling it, so I will just say it is intricate and twisty and I never saw that ending coming. The author has managed to weave together a story of corruption, revenge redemption and the supernatural and kept all these plates spinning at once while never dropping one.

My thanks to Atria Books.

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Dastardly Damsels Edited by Suzie Lockhart

 

A transcendental anthology of women in horror, altering all you know by revamping traditional lore while exploring the unfathomable and the obscure.

Prepare yourself for a harrowing journey through Dastardly Damsels, an anthology that redefines horror with a powerful lineup of female authors. This collection dares to explore the darkest corners of the human psyche and the supernatural, presenting a diverse range of chilling narratives that will captivate and unsettle you.

This was an awesome anthology of short stories and poems by a talented group of women who know what horror is all about.

A drug addict gets clean but with horrifying results, an Indian goddess of misfortune teaches a racist jerk the error of his ways, a young girl meets her secret crush in the woods but danger lurks, a babysitter has ulterior motives, an artist puts herself into her work...

There are just so many great stories in here.

Tales of werewolves, witches, unearthly beings, and a version of Snow White that the Brothers Grimm would never have dared to tell were among my many favorites.

I loved the suspense and psychological twists. There is even a sentient elevator that is displeased when the elderly elevator operator is fired. 

I laughed, I cheered, and I sometimes cringed. These ladies are not afraid to spill their guts or yours to have a good time.

My thanks to Crystal Lake Publishing.

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The Nightmarchers by J. Lincoln Fenn

 

In 1939, on a remote Pacific island, botanical researcher Irene Greer plunges off a waterfall to her death, convinced the spirits of her dead husband and daughter had joined the nightmarchers—ghosts of ancient warriors that rise from their burial sites on moonless nights. But was it suicide, or did a strange young missionary girl, Agnes, play a role in Irene's deteriorating state of mind?

It all seems like ancient family history to Julia Greer, who has enough problems of her own. A struggling journalist, she’s recovering from a divorce and is barely able to make rent, let alone appeal the court’s decision to give sole custody of their daughter to her ex-husband. When her elderly great-aunt offers her an outrageously large sum to travel to this remote island and collect samples of a very special flower, as well as find out what really happened to her sister Irene all those years ago, Julia thinks her life might finally be on an upward swing. She’s also tasked to connect with the island’s Church of Eternal Light, which her great-aunt suspects knows more about Irene’s tragic death than they’ve said.

But Julia finds this place isn’t so quick to give up its secrets. The Church is tight-lipped about the deaths that have contributed to its oddly large cemetery, as well as Irene’s final fate. The only person who seems to know more is a fellow traveler, Noah Cooper, who thinks that Julia's not the only one on a mission to find the rare flower...which, if the rumors are true, could have world-changing properties.

What Julia does know is that the longer she stays on the island, the more the thin line begins to blur between truth and lies, reality and the fantastical...until she finds herself face to face with the real reason why the island is taboo....

This was a slow burn, twisty mystery. It took some time to get to the horror. I was intrigued by the opening which starts off with journal entries from the now deceased Irene Greer. Her writings are increasingly more alarming as we are not sure if she has spiraled into madness or been besieged by something supernatural.

In the present day, we meet her descendant Julia, who is struggling with finances and depression because her ex-husband has left her with nothing after their divorce. With no way to pay her bills and no way to scrape up funds to visit her daughter, she accepts a strange offer from her great aunt, the sister of Irene, to travel to the island where Irene died to find out what really led to her demise all those years ago.

I liked the atmosphere of this mysterious island. What was once a religious group in Irene's day has turned into a cult in the present day. I liked Julia but I didn't care for the way every negative or intrusive thought she had was attributed to her ex-husband.

 I enjoyed the parts about the past and the secrets that were revealed in Julia's family. The scientific parts didn't always work for me. There is a lot going on here. Science, horror, the mysterious properties of the island, family secrets, dark history... It was a lot to take in. Knowledge is power but some things are best left undisturbed!

My thanks to Gallery Books

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American Rapture by C.J. Leede

 

A virus is spreading across America, transforming the infected and making them feral with lust. Sophie, a good Catholic girl, must traverse the hellscape of the midwest to try to find her family while the world around her burns. Along the way she discovers there are far worse fates than dying a virgin.

Sophie is a 16 year old girl who has never had a friend or been allowed to attend any classes other than at church. To say she has had a sheltered life is an understatement. Raised by devout Catholics who believe that even the simplest, most innocent of pleasures are sins, Sophie is not allowed TV or music, and her reading choices are monitored. There is nobody she can trust or confide in ever since her parents sent her twin brother away for his sins.

When the virus hits, the most protected are the least prepared. As Sophie tries to make her way to reunite with her brother across a dangerous land that she would have already found frightening in normal times, she will meet many obstacles, the least of which is a challenge to all her beliefs and everything she has ever been taught.

I wasn't sure I was ready to read about another virus. Throw in a coming-of-age tale during the end of the world as we know it, and the next thing I knew I had devoured 80 pages when I only meant to take a peek at the first chapter. The dangers lurk on every corner. The infected are not only spreading the virus but are fueled by lust and unnatural strength. The ultra-religious believe it is God's will and a cleansing of the earth. Sophie is a brilliant girl but with zero street smarts from living such an isolated existence. Can she survive? The characters she meets along the way will help shape her path, be they villains or saviors. American Rapture is a fast-paced, violent, and bloody trek across the Midwest with an ending that ripped my heart out.  

This was my first read by this author and I intend to change that as soon as possible.

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Tor Nightfire for the Hardcover copy

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Haunted Halls by W. A. Roberts

 

Children were never supposed to go inside the house. Kasey and her young son, Max, are about to find out why... Kasey doesn't understand why her grandmother was so against having children in the house, why the old woman even stayed in the guest quarters in the back instead of within the stately home. But after her grandmother's death, Kasey finds herself to be a single mother with no place to stay and must move with her son, Max, into the main house. It's her dream to transform it into a bed and breakfast.

Before they've even finished unpacking, Kasey wakes to Max standing over her bed at night, talking about the woman in his closet. And a few days later, he's gone. Simply vanished.

But it isn't long before Kasey begins to suspect Max is within the walls of the house, and the woman in the closet knows how to reach him. Will the ghost help Kasey, or will she find out for herself why her grandmother forbid children from entering the haunted halls?

A single mom and her young son are terrorized by spirits in their new home.

Grandma knows best! 

Years ago something happened that caused Grandma to lock up a room and move out of the main house and into her guest house. She never allowed children into this home. When she passed away she chose not to leave the house to her granddaughter Kasey but to a cousin instead. Luckily (or unluckily?) Kasey got the house anyway because the cousin didn't want it.

Kasey's son Max is terrified of the house and although she doesn't want to admit it Kasey is none too comfortable in it herself. When Max goes missing after complaining about a woman in his closet, Kasey must unravel the house's dark history if she ever hopes to see him again.

I enjoyed the back story of the house's history and its former occupants. It was a creepy mystery that I couldn't wait to unravel along with Kasey. The restless ghosts that remained in the home were terrifying at first, but their actions were repetitive at times, making the middle of the story drag too much for my taste. I couldn't stand the boyfriend Carson who seemed to be straight out of a Hallmark movie. In typical male movie character fashion, he first cajoles Kasey into drinking wine when he clearly knows she never touches alcohol and then dismisses all her experiences in the house as being caused by drinking.

So in the end I have mixed feelings on this one but if you enjoy haunted house stories this book may be for you.

My thanks to Horrorsmith Publishing.

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