Santa- By Nicola Mar

Description

"Spanning the course of a few weeks, Santa; details the physical and emotional deterioration of June, a victim of severe bullying after she survives an attack by her classmates. With no one and nothing to trust but faith, she struggles with the idea that the human spirit may not exist"

Ten percent of the sales of this book will be donated to Project Semicolon, an organization providing love and support to those who are struggling with depression, self-injury, and suicide. Visit them online at www.projectsemicolon.org

As a woman, and as a mom  I found this to be a difficult read but I suppose that speaks in favor of how realistic this story feels. Santa is the tale of a teen girl who is bullied both in person and over the internet, attacked, assaulted, raped and shamed to the point that she would rather die than live another day this way. It could have easily been taken from the headlines and was in fact inspired by such headlines. Schools claim a zero tolerance policy and yet they apply such policies to little boys who chew pop tarts into inappropriate shapes while they do little to nothing about the torment millions of students face daily in their halls.

I received a copy in exchange for review

Seize The Night-New Tales Of Vampiric Terror

New short stories from such contributors as Charlaine Harris, John Ajvide Lindqvist, Scott Smith, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Michael Kortya, Kelley Armstrong, Brian Keene, David Wellington, Seanan McGuire, and Tim Lebbon

Simply brilliant. I devoured these stories one by one, like a sugar addict in a candy store finding each to be more delicious than the one that came before. I hated for it to end.  From the first story to the final word any horror lover will be unable to put this book down. Vampire lovers rejoice there is originality and terror overflowing in these pages.
I received an advance copy for review

Dark Screams Volume 5

Mick Garris, J. Kenner, Kealan Patrick Burke, Del James, and Bentley Little pry open a sarcophagus of horror and dread in Dark Screams: Volume Five, from Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar of the esteemed Cemetery Dance Publications.

EVERYTHING YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED by Mick Garris
It was supposed to be the night of his life: a celebration of his one hit slasher flick. But the price of admission is higher than this has-been filmmaker ever could have imagined.

THE ONE AND ONLY by J. Kenner
When he was seven, Will Underwood’s nanny told him she had the Sight. Years later, a broken heart sends him to New Orleans . . . but it’s fate that leads him to Madame Darkling’s Voodoo Emporium. 

THE LAND OF SUNSHINE by Kealan Patrick Burke
Although she was mute long before the affair that nearly wrecked their marriage, her silence has tortured her husband ever since. Now he will seek out what he has lost—or be driven mad by remorse.

MECHANICAL GRATITUDE by Del James
Arnold loves his ’68 Camaro almost as much as he loves his wife, and he’s willing to do anything to protect them both—especially after hearing strange noises coming from his garage.

THE PLAYHOUSE by Bentley Little
A real-estate agent is drawn into a children’s playhouse behind an abandoned property she’s trying to sell—and finds herself strangely reluctant to leave.

Dark Screams Volume 5 contains 5 short horror stories

First up in this collection is the very enjoyable  Everything You’ve Always Wanted by Mick Garris. This is the story of the guest of honor at "Monsterthon", a convention of horror fans and horror has beens revisiting their glory days. When he meets a fan who has a movie of her own for him to view, what he sees leads to a horrifying yet some what comedic turn of events in which he learns it may be best not to get everything he ever wanted, because in the end happiness is fleeting while the cost is permanent.
Next up is The Land of Sunshine By Kealan Patrick Burke
Most of us have been in a relationship where we have been betrayed, or we lost that lovin’ feeling, Maybe our partner lost that feeling. But  is it really just a feeling or is it something more tangible that has been lost. Can it ever be found?
The third entry Mechanical Gratitude by Del James is
sort of a love story with a twilight zone vibe to it, and it was my favorite of the bunch.
Next is The one and only by J kenner
A broken hearted college student heads off to New Orleans with friends after a break up and finds out for himself whether or not Voodoo is real or just for tourists.
Last but by all means not least is The Playhouse by Bentley Little
A real Estate agent’s ordinary work day is anything but, as she discovers in the playhouse of the untended backyard of her new listing.. This story actually gave me chills.
All in all this collection is well worth a read.

I received an advance copy in exchange for review.

 

 

 

Survivor: A Journey Through My Never Ending Nightmare by Angela Caito

Survivor: A Journey Through My Never Ending Nightmare by Angela Caito
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

First off, nothing in this book rings true. For example what 29 year old woman would be surprised that her 18 year old boyfriend's mother is less than thrilled to find out she is going to be a grandmother. As a mom I would not be overly excited to hear that my 18 year old son got this 29 year old pregnant. Also the author states she now knows to run the other way if ever a man tells her he enjoys having her at home and taking care of her. Yet she did not think it was time to run the other way when her 18 year old boyfriend began conversations with his imaginary friends through an imaginary walkie talkie and then beat her up? Oh yes, "breaker breaker one nine" precedes each beating. I think the author has confused the "invisible walkie talkie" as she calls it, with an invisible CB radio. Also the 18 year old has a great job, tons of money, owns his own house.. yes it all seems so real. She mentions that to this very day due to this severe abuse she is now agoraphobic and will not leave her house, yet at the back of the book in the "about the author" section it states that when she is not working she "enjoys traveling camping, bike riding and swimming" none of which are usual activities for someone terrified to leave their house. How exactly does one travel and go camping without leaving the house? Even if this story were presented as fiction it is still poorly written and just plain ridiculous. FYI "anyways" is not a word no matter how many times you repeat it in a "book." but I will not even get into all the other grammatical errors, because there are too many to mention. The 5 star reviews come from people who have joined a web site where they get money sent to their paypal in order to buy this book, so that when they write their fake reviews it will show up as an amazon verified purchase. Also the author herself is the person that these reviews must be submitted to before they are posted and she will "correct" them if she finds them unsatisfactory. People are then paid for the review at that time, never once having stated that they received the book for free or that they were paid, and thus making anyone who is browsing see the "amazon verified purchase" and mistakenly assuming that gives any credence over honesty. As for it being such a great book that people read it in one day? well that may be due to it only being about 60 pages long. It can be read on your lunch break with time to spare. Any woman who has been through an abusive relationship will find this so called book insulting.

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