Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Tell The Story To Its End by Simon P. Clark

Tell the Story to Its End
"Tell the story to its end," says Eren with a grin.His yellow eyes are glowing like embers in the night.
"When I reach the end," I say, "what happens? You'll have the whole story."
"Hmm," he says, looking at me and licking his lips with a dry, grey tongue. "What happens then? Why don't we find out?"



Tell the Story to Its End by Simon P. Clark
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was anxious to read this book after seeing the beautiful cover and reading the description. The illustrations are lovely as well.This is the story of a 12 year old boy Oli who goes with his mother to spend time at his aunt and uncle’s home though he does not really know why, nor why his father is not able to be with them. The target audience is children approximately Oli’s age though I felt the heavy atmosphere, slow pace, and sometimes confusing story may dissuade readers of that age group. There is an ominous oppressing feeling through out and though I really liked the concept of Oli meeting the beast in the attic who feeds on stories, the story itself did not seem to go anywhere. I didn’t really feel any connection with the characters and I felt as if the end of the story just left me hanging.
I received a complimentary copy for review

View all my reviews

Monday, September 28, 2015

The Year Of Yearning By Jeff Harmsen

Description "Part dreamy time machine, part acid flashback, The Year of Yearning delves into the titillating mishaps of two quirky cousins from Kingston Ontario. While attending their final year of high school in 1978, Miles and Jo Martini succumb to profound infatuation; albeit, from entirely different perspectives.

The well read and romantic cousin attempts to woo a raven haired beauty by slipping his heartfelt poem into her locker. The athletic, somewhat crass cousin pursues a Wiccan Bombshell with nothing more than wishful thinking, held spellbound by her love potions and provocative whimsy.

Shocking, mind boggling complications beset both cousins, including a brutal beating and a humiliation common to guys who fall for hot, promiscuous women. Miles and Jo survive their darkest hours by supporting each other. In the end, they want what most of us want, the warmth of a meaningful relationship, like slipping into a cozy cotton sweater on a frigid night in winter.

Brazenly sexual and uniquely bizarre, this novel is heavy with heartache and great awakenings, heady with love and lust churning, all within The Year of Yearning."


I'm not sure how I would categorize this book if pressed to do so, but I can say it was an enjoyable read. Part thriller, part romance, The Year Of Yearning is a fun coming of age tale that mainly tells of the lives, loves and teen angst of cousins/best pals Miles and Jo, Interspersed with humor, a bit of supernatural, and lots of action.

I received a complimentary copy from the author for review

The Horror Challenge Volume I by J.H. Glaze

"Welcome to J.H. Glaze's unique brand of horror. The first volume of "The Horror Challenge" includes 14 short stories that provide the thrills you seek in a good horror tale. From the sentimental story of haunting, 'Spooky', and comical alien abduction tale, 'Bob Saves the World', to the final story in this collection, you will find yourself wildly entertained with the stories created by the author in response to suggestions from his readers."      

 This book was quite short and I was able to read it in a single day. I would not really call these "short stories" but flash fiction, super short, and to the point. It was a fun read but nothing really frightening or scary about it.                                                                 

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Mouthful Of Carrion (Three Days Until Midnight book 1) by Ian Woodhead

From the publisher
'Two decades have passed since that deadly mutagen turned most of our species into the walking dead. Now, millions of blighted corpses migrate across the land, consuming everything in their path.
The few surviving humans live a Nomadic existence, foraging for what little scraps they can find.
In this ravaged world, a lone hunter searches for his human sister, vowing revenge on whoever dared to rip her away from him. She had cared and looked after him, ever since the outbreak, nurturing the hunter, helping him come to grips with his affliction. 
Part human, part zombie, the hunter had relied on her to rein in his base instincts, to stop him from feasting on warm human flesh."



Three Days Until Midnight is a different take on the zombie apocalypse. Not just the usual human against zombie survival story, we also have "hunters" part human part zombie. This is mainly the story of one hunter in particular Colin and how he came to be, and his search for his sister in this new sometimes gut wrenching world.The story begins about 20 years after the virus took hold and we are told in flashbacks how this world came to be. It is definitely not for the faint of heart, it gets quite gruesome and graphic at times. Anyone who enjoys a good zombie story should give this one a read.
I received an advance copy to review.