And Then There Was Me by Sadeqa Johnson

Description

On Memorial Day weekend in posh Spring Lake, NJ, Bea is vacationing with her husband Lonnie and their two children. A surrogate, she is hot, bothered, and very pregnant with Lonnie’s cousin Mena’s baby. But Bea is also secretly bulimic. No one knows her secret, especially not Lonnie.
Controlling husband Lonnie has recently plopped them into the middle to upper class suburb of Evergreen, New Jersey, which lacks the diversity that Bea, half African-American and half Dominican, craves. The demands of motherhood and fitting in to this new environment, while pretending not to know that her husband is cheating on her, again, is more than she can handle.
And Then There Was Me is the story of a woman who is stripped down to her lowest point and then has to turn inward to save herself from her own destructive behavior and find the will to press on.


Poor Bea! She learned early in life how to comfort herself with food as a substitute for love, and then to throw it all up instead of dealing with her feelings. Secretly bulimic for years, she does have long periods of time when she is able to control herself. However, this "dark horse" does rear it's head when she is going through times of extreme stress, such as finding out her husband is cheating on her again (and again and again)
On the outside Bea seems to have a great life, a handsome and attentive husband, great kids, and wonderful home. On the inside she is losing it, and losing herself. She beats herself up for staying with her husband through all of his cheating, but his latest affair takes the biggest toll of all.
4 out of 5 stars from me.

I received an advance copy for review.

Something (Wisteria, Book 1) by Shelby Lamb

Description
“I will find true love and everything will be okay. I will find true love and everything will be okay…” she chanted.

They say be careful what you read. Something is wrong. Something is very wrong. It can happen to anyone. This is just four teenagers’ story. Aubrey Golding hates her face, her body, and is devastated after Nathan Silva leaves her. Alone, suicidal, and desperate for love, she discovers a book called Something and unknowingly links others to a dark and terrifying curse that is beginning to consume her. Nathan is glad to be moving on with someone new and can hardly believe what is happening now. Wild child and amateur porn star, Bella Broadhurst, loves bullying that “emo whore” Aubrey with the other girls, but mostly she loves partying, hookups, and plain ol’ drama when terror arises. And Kendra Coke is just a new teen mother working on a delicate relationship when things start becoming utterly bizarre. Chilling sleep disturbances and figures hiding in the corners of their rooms are just warnings of what is to come. Be careful what you read, they say. Tread carefully.


I don't know what I just read. Is it porn? Is it horror? Is it horror porn? Part of me wants to say this book is for younger readers as the main characters are in their late teens, though it would not be appropriate for anyone under 18, with it's vast amounts of sex and partying.
Aubrey is suicidal over her break up with Nathan, who unbeknownst to her has hooked up with her best friend. At one of many parties (all these kids do is drink get high and switch sex partners) someone tells a creepy story of sleep paralysis and a stick woman who moves things around and leaves twigs behind. After this, everyone starts seeing strange visions, and shadowy demonic figures, and waking up with weird marks or pustules on their bodies. It's a complicated and convoluted tale.

I received an advance copy for review.

Death & Pestilence A Horror Anthology by Sands Press (Editor)

Twenty authors from Canada, USA, England, South Africa, Australia and Brazil take you on a journey of terror and fright that will leave you looking over your shoulder, wondering what lies beyond the next turn and asking yourself what is hidden in the shadows.
Sands Press collected the top twenty submissions from a short story horror contest and showcased them in "Death & Pestilence." These stories will have you sitting on the edge of your seat questioning your better judgment as to why you decided to read this book when you were alone.
Stories by B.G. Strong, E. J. Walker, Guy Cheston, Caito Caol, Dennis Stein, Flynn Gray, Rob Powell, Steve Kreidman, Micky Neilson, Victoria Griffen, Chevoque, Andrea Merchak, Michaela Turcotte, Nathan S. M. Knapp, Rod Martinez, J. P. Frost, Rick Weiss, Jasmine Love, Paul Pickett, Jay Michael Wright II

I love short horror stories, and more than that I love discovering new (to me) authors, So I got a lot of enjoyment out of these creepy little gems. Some of my favorites were "Plague II" by B.G. Strong in which the world has become a place where you can smell your own eyes rotting in your head. Too gross for you? Don't worry there are some less graphic stories, though others that are even more so.
"The Curse of Greenwater Falls" by Flynn Gray is a good old fashioned spooky tale, and for anyone like me who lives in a small town we all know there are certain roads best not traveled if you can avoid it. "Trail's End" by E.J. Walker Is a not so cheery story even though the birds are chirping in the awakening forest as Thomas and his wife share what will be their last camping trip together. "Blood of a Sinner" by Guy Cheston tells the story of an abusive foster mother and the boy she will not be abusing any longer. "My Friend Bruce" by Caito Caol was probably one of the most brutal but also most impressive stories as we are told by Robert how he came to meet Bruce and what happened to that friendship. "Vodka Memories" by Victoria Griffin was both chilling and heartbreaking as we learn how Melanie lost the love of her life. "The Monsters Outside the Well" by Nathan S.M. Knapp was probably my absolute favorite of the bunch. 5 boys uncover an old well and after they do, there are only 4 boys left to fill it in. "The Lantern" by Dennis Stein is the story of a woman who is drawn to a lamp in a curio shop who learns that some things are best not illuminated. "Captive" by Kristine Barker is the story of a woman who finally finds the strength to get out of an abusive relationship, but at what cost..
I would highly recommend this anthology to any horror fan.
5 stars from me

I received an advance copy for review.

Doll House by John Hunt

Description

Olivia is excited for university. She will be on her own, in a new place hopeful to meet new friends.

On the night she moves in, she is taken off the street by two masked men. She is placed in a room which is little more than a cell. A pink cell. A room made for a doll. She is now part of their collection.

 

 

Olivia and her dad Harry said their good-byes when he dropped her off at University. He knew he would miss her terribly but he never dreamed it would be the last he saw of her.

Olivia was kidnapped that very night by 2 masked men she would come to think of as The Gorilla and The Jackal for the next 5 years. She is dumped in a cell of putrid pink, and systematically raped, tormented and tortured on a regular basis by the Gorilla as the Jackal watches.

Meanwhile Her father Harry has slipped into a stupor of alcoholism, never knowing for sure if Olivia is alive or dead until that one fateful night when her captors make a fatal mistake and she seizes the opportunity to make her escape. The Jackal however, is not willing to give up on tracking her down and bringing her back.

This was a fast paced, suspenseful thriller often quite brutal in it's graphic violence. Not for the faint of heart and not something to read while snacking if you are weak of stomach. 4 out of 5 stars from me. Currently free at Amazon at the time of this post.

 

I received a complimentary copy for review.