Violent Hearts: A Haunted Journey by Keith Deininger

  Years ago, in college, Owen, a man on the brink of suicide after losing his wife and baby daughter in a brutal drunk-driving accident, and Chloe, a dispassionate academic who believes in scientific research as a means to make the world a better place, took part in a ritualistic act in the woods. After, neither of them can remember exactly what happened that night, but darkness has since haunted them both.

Now, as adults living separate lives, the once minor manifestations from that night have grown into threats not only malignant and dangerous to them, but to all of humanity.

A surreal tale of horror and heartbreak, rife with dark oddities, wonderfully realized characters, and terrifying nightmares. Here the blind Guitar Man gives insane advice on the brink between reality and nightmare; eerie clones known as umbriates sneak into the world with murderous intent; and the once-imaginary being called Ozy is gathering strength and followers in his effort to rip through the very fabric of reality with the intent of dominance and darkness. And only Owen and Chloe can stop him.

 

When I first started reading Violent Hearts, I thought it might end up in my pile of unfinished books. At 10% through the book I still didn't really have a clue what was going on, and the use of words like "umbriates" and smudgemutters" which even now my auto correct wants to change.. did not help me understand what was happening. I can't really say what made me stick with it, when I would normally move on to the next book on my list. Something about it managed to grab my attention I suppose, but it was not until 25% through the book that I began to understand that Owen and Chloe had opened up a doorway to a dark and deadly shadow world that was now hunting them down in this realm. It was more of a fantasy than a horror, which is not really my thing, but I did enjoy the story once it got going. It was worth sticking with to the end and I'm glad I didn't give up on it.

 

I received a complimentary copy for review.

 

 

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About the author

Keith Deininger is an award-winning dark fiction author. His titles include WITHIN, MARROW'S PIT and A GAME FOR GODS. He is best known for blending elements of fantasy with horror in his surreal, literary style. He grew up in the American Southwest and currently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife and daughter.

www.KeithDeininger.com

 

Owl Manor: The Dawning by Zita Harrison

Description

Stifled by the repression of women in the 1800s, trapped in a loveless marriage, Eva lives a life of dissatisfaction and frustration. The tide sweeps her to the Rocky Mountains during the gold rush in 1859, where she finds unexpected hope at Owl Manor, a strange, dark place with owls in the very fabric of its walls.

But the stakes are perilous. Shadows wander the dim corridors. The owner of the manor is moody, volatile. Does she dare trust him?

Owl Manor – the Dawning,the first standalone book in a trilogy of Gothic romantic suspense novels, is inspired by authors such as Daphne du Maurier (Jamaica Inn, Rebecca), Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Marina, Shadow of the Wind), Kate Morton (The Forgotten Garden).

Filled with Poe-esque atmosphere, dark desires and supernatural elements, this book is a must read for fans of Gothic Romance

 

 

I confess that the description put me off a little. I am not a fan of romance novels but I do love a good historical fiction.

Eva is a young woman with a strong will and bright mind who feels there must be something more to life than the drudgery of settling into marriage and bearing children that she doesn't really want, with a man who turns out to be less than what she had hoped for. Not having many opportunities in the 1850s she is swept by circumstance to live in squalor and poverty while her husband pursues his dream of striking gold.

 

There's a serial killer on the loose, whose hatred of his mother drives him to murder prostitutes, believing the world is a better place without these unclean women. Money and privilege conceal his heinous acts and seem to keep him above suspicion from everyone...except the owls. When he crosses paths with Eva, her strong will may be her salvation or her demise.

 

4 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

 

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The Sorrows by Jonathan Janz

Ben Shadeland and Eddie Blaze are the hottest young music composers in Hollywood. Fresh off an Oscar nomination, they've just been chosen to score a big-budget horror movie by Lee Stanley, the most demanding director in film. But Ben, the creative half of the duo, hasn't written a note since his wife divorced him and got custody of their three-year-old son.
Chris Blackwood is the gambling-addicted heir to the Blackwood fortune, which includes the Sorrows, an island off the coast of northern California. The island and its castle have been uninhabited since a series of gruesome, unexplained murders in 1925, but Chris needs money, and to get it he allows Ben, Eddie, Claire Harden (an aspiring composer), and Eva Rosales (Lee Stanley's gorgeous assistant) to stay a month in Castle Blackwood.
Eddie is certain an eerie, isolated setting is just what Ben needs to find musical inspiration for a horror film. But what they find is more horrific than any movie.


The premise sounded simple enough as I settled in to read what I expected to be a spooky but not unusual tale of a haunted castle. I should have known after my last foray into horror with Jonathan Janz (The Siren and The Specter) that this is not an author who does "simple." While this book is heavy with supernatural horror, it also showcases the fact that sometimes the worst monsters are of the human variety. It frazzled my nerves and had me terrified over whether  or not the characters I cared about would survive, while simultaneously wishing a horrific death to those who deserved one.
5 out of 5 stars
I received a complimentary copy for review.


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About the author
Jonathan Janz is the author of more than a dozen novels and numerous short stories. His work has been championed by authors like Joe R. Lansdale, Jack Ketchum, and Brian Keene; he has also been lauded by Publishers Weekly, the Library Journal, and the School Library Journal. His ghost story The Siren and the Specter was selected as a Goodreads Choice nominee for Best Horror. Additionally, his novel Children of the Dark was chosen by Booklist as a Top Ten Horror Book of the Year. Jonathan’s main interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children. You can sign up for his newsletter (http://jonathanjanz.us12.list-manage....), and you can follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, and Goodreads.

The Stranger in Our Home by Sophie Draper

Have you been bad enough?
After her stepmother’s sudden death, Caro returns to her childhood home, a now-empty farmhouse in Derbyshire. But clearing through her stepmother’s belongings unearths memories Caro would rather stay buried. As snow descends, trapping Caro in the strange village, where the neighbours stare and whisper about her, Caro’s past will catch up to her with deadly consequences. What is it about the summerhouse that makes her shiver? Who is the young boy she seems to remember playing with? And why did her stepmother taunt her with a haunting fairy tale about two sisters, enticed to commit a terrible act?
As Caro digs into the dark corners of her past, she starts to realise that she has been bad. More than bad enough.

"The flashy one or the nutcase?"

If ever there was a wicked stepmother, it was Elizabeth, who made a point of letting Caro know she didn't belong, and tormenting her with horrid stories. That may explain why Caro's older sister Steph flew the coop when she was barely old enough. It doesn't explain why decades went by before she would ever bother with her sister again.
Now a grown woman, Caro will uncover the reason why her childhood memories are so sparse and what secrets her own mind has hidden from her, as she heads back to her childhood home to clear it out after Elizabeth's death. The locals are less than welcoming, and a charming neighbor who rents the cottage on her property may know more about Caro's past than she does.
This was a twisty psychological thriller with lots of suspense and a bit of romance thrown in.

4 out of 5 stars.
I received an advance copy for review.