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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Love is a Crematorium and Other Tales by Mercedes M. Yardley

 

A woman builds her lover from carefully scavenged pieces and parts. A young girl is groomed for madness by one who loves her most. A neurodivergent boy organizes his life, and loss, by the ticking of a clock. And love can be the most splendid and destructive force in the entire world.

Love is a Crematorium and Other Tales is a collection of seventeen stories that are both bleak and beautiful, devastating and sweet. Enter the crematorium to experience grief, starlit nights, and gorgeous tragedy that make our souls burn from the inside out.

Beautiful and sickening, disturbing and hopeful. Wonderful, warped, haunting and heartbreaking are all words that come to mind when I reflect on what I've just read. These incredible stories put me through the wringer.

A mother's love, a sister's trauma, and an abused beaten-down daughter felt all too real in these tales. 

I thought I might be in for something more lighthearted as I began to read about a woman with sentient hair but no. Even the surreal and fantastical managed to rip my heart out.

There are stories with impossible situations and others that could happen and do happen. The title story and "Clock" are especially hard-hitting. If I seem to be cutting this review short it's because I'm sitting here stunned.

My thanks to Cemetery Dance Publications.

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Movie Review- Lyvia's House

 

Stonecutter Media is proud to announce the North American release of the mystery thriller LYVIA’S HOUSE, a film inspired by the real-life murders committed in northern California by Juan Corona in 1971, from director Niko Volonakis and writer/producer Patricia V. Davis, author of the beloved Secret Spice Café book series. Stonecutter Media will release the film exclusively on Vudu/Fandango at Home and local cable & satellite providers on October 1, with additional platforms including iTunes/Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play to follow October 15.

When a young journalist suspects the disappearance of a beautiful artist is connected to murders that took place 20 years earlier, she uncovers a reality she never could have imagined. Inspired by true events.

Up-and-coming journalist Tara Manning has a job she loves and a posh lifestyle in Lake Las Vegas. Everything changes when she falls in love with aspiring architect, Johnny Beers, and he asks her to move in with him, six hundred miles away, to a house previously owned by an Italian artist named Lyvia.

After a whirlwind romance, Tara, a young journalist agrees to move 600 miles from home to be with her new boyfriend Johnny in a rural California town. She expects to keep her job by way of the internet and is dismayed to find very limited phone service and a lack of internet in their home.

Our first hint that something is off with this romance is the way Johnny seems intent on keeping Tara isolated. He promises satellite internet but never delivers. He appears upset when Tara becomes friendly with a postal worker who tells her how she can get online. Again he is upset when she mentions speaking to a local on her walk in the woods, and  he seems nervous when she wants to use the internet in the local bar. 

It seems to take longer for Tara to start digging into this behavior than I would expect from the inquisitive mind of a journalist but if one is willing to suspend disbelief you could say she was blinded by love.

The cinematography was gorgeous. This is a movie I would describe as visually stunning  Flashbacks and dream sequences gave a surreal quality to this film. The best acting performances were Ann Marie Gideon as the sharp-as-a-tack postal worker and Andrew Diego as the mentally and emotionally challenged young man who is dealing with past and present trauma. There were times I wanted to scream at Tara to pack up and get the hell out of there but of course had she listened we could not have had such a suspenseful climax and shocking reveal.

 I enjoyed this twisted Indie thriller and gave it 8 out of 10 stars on IMDB

Watch the trailer here

Directed by: Niko Volonakis

Written by: Patricia V. Davis

Starring: Tara Nichol Caldwell, Joshua Malekos, Danielle Octavien,

Ann Marie Gideon, Andrew Diego, Deborah Tucker, Brit Zane, Cami Oh

Produced by: Patricia V. Davis

Executive Produced by Pete Davis, Nicholas Levis,

Joni Cuquet

Cinematography by: Cody Martin

Edited by: Niko Volonakis

Music Composed by: Niko Volonakis