Genre: Paranormal


Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Review: The Women in the Walls by Amy Lukavics

Posted by 9 Comments

I received this book for free from Harlequin Teen in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: The Women in the Walls by Amy LukavicsThe Women in the Walls by Amy Lukavics
Published by Harlequin Teen on September 27th, 2016
Genres: Horror, Paranormal, YA
Source: Harlequin Teen
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
two-stars

Lucy Acosta's mother died when she was three. Growing up in a Victorian mansion in the middle of the woods with her cold, distant father, she explored the dark hallways of the estate with her cousin, Margaret. They're inseparable—a family.

When her aunt Penelope, the only mother she's ever known, tragically disappears while walking in the woods surrounding their estate, Lucy finds herself devastated and alone. Margaret has been spending a lot of time in the attic. She claims she can hear her dead mother's voice whispering from the walls. Emotionally shut out by her father, Lucy watches helplessly as her cousin's sanity slowly unravels. But when she begins hearing voices herself, Lucy finds herself confronting an ancient and deadly legacy that has marked the women in her family for generations.

I literally don’t know how to start this review because there are a lot of things to say but they can all just be covered with a big NO. There is potential in this book but it’s all potential that is unrealized. From the spoilt MC who is a cardboard cutout to the world building, this book is just lacking. It isn’t BAD but it isn’t GOOD which is especially disappointing because I was really looking forward to reading this book.

The MC was a clear let down but I was really upset that the MC’s cutting is not at all talked about in ways that isn’t a character trait. It’s used as a description of the MC in the way an adjective might be used.

There are some interesting relationships that I could have gotten behind but all of them are toxic. There are bad parents, bad friends and there is no positive relationship in the book. I get it, this is not the kind of book you’d read if you wanted cuteness but that doesn’t mean that literally everything has to be awful in the book. It doesn’t make sense, in my opinion, for every single thing to suck with no positive things in sight. 

On top of that the entire synopsis is a giant spoiler for the book. It takes 2/3rd of the novel for something to happen and that is way too long given how short the book is. This also meant that all the cool things that actually happened in the last 1/3rd were rushed and just make me ask more questions.

To sum up this very short review, I am not entirely sure I would recommend this to anyone unless they were looking for a quick read with some scary but not a whole lot of substance. It might work for some readers but unfortunately did not do much for this one. 

two-stars

2 Hot Espressos

Review: Nightstruck by Jenna Black

Posted by on 03/17/2016 • 4 Comments

This book was creepy and dark and very enjoyable for the most part. I did feel like there was a whole lot of waiting going on and things weren’t really moving forward, but there was always plenty going on. I know that doesn’t make a lot of sense. What I mean is there is all sorts of creepy, crazy things happening even when the story didn’t seem to be moving forward that fast. I did feel like I wasn’t really sure what was going on, but since this is a start to a series I am assuming that we we get more information in the next ones. I think that it is a great start to a series and am interested to continue with it and see where things go….

Review: The Dead House by Dawn

Posted by on 10/30/2015 • 7 Comments

Disclaimer: this wasn’t a scary book. When we say ‘scary’, that’s something I would give to the likes of Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics and Girl from the Well + The Suffering by Rin Chupeco. This wasn’t even a mind-fuck of a book a la Dangerous Girls

However, that doesn’t mean my mind didn’t reel from it. Even though this didn’t have the quiet or the jumpy horror I am well fond of, how this book delivered a kickass psychological paranormal thriller made me shiver in my boots.

1. Unreliable narrator? Check. 2. A book majorly in a dairy format, showing us the thought processes of our heroine, therefore giving us an intense sneak peek of the insanity of the situation? Check. 3. Notes, transcription of videos, medical reports, letting us also see…

Review: The House by Christina Lauren

Posted by on 10/29/2015 • 5 Comments

I do love a good creepy book so of course I wanted to read this. Right in time for Halloween, it was a spooky read. The characters were great and the story was really cool. Most importantly, House actually kind of scared me. The writing was fantastic at bringing you right into things. I was able to clearly imagine House and Table and other things moving about. It felt very magical at first, but then becomes scary and very unsettling.

Gavin is a boy who there are many rumors about. He lives in the “haunted house”, he doesn’t have parents, he’s weird, all sorts of stuff. He doesn’t have any friends, but it’s because he in fact does live alone. Well, not really alone, but he doesn’t have parents….

Review: A Curious Tale of the In-Between by Lauren DeStefano

Posted by on 10/01/2015 • 2 Comments

This book was all sorts of fun to read. The characters were interesting and so was their story. What I love the most about middle grade books is that even if there is a bit of child romance, that is not the focus. Instead, the focus is more on what is happening or a building friendship. Initially I was thinking, “Oh boy, another ghost story.” but although it does have ghosts, it didn’t wear on me or feel like every other ghost book out there. There was a bit of creepiness to the story, and a lot of thrills. This is a great story for younger ones leading into Halloween season or anytime.

Pram is a very smart little girl who lives with her aunts. Her mother died when…

Review: Nightmares! by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller

Review: Nightmares! by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller

Posted by on 09/10/2015 • 4 Comments

I love a good middle grade book filled with adventure and fun! This is a somewhat horror, but it’s not really all that scary. Of course, it’s for kids so that makes sense. The characters in this book were great, and I loved getting lost inside their adventure along with them. It’s such a great blend of fantasy, adventure, and great lessons. I think that is what really draws me to MG books. There is usually such a great lesson for kids thrown into all the fun and fantasy of reading the story. This one is a lot about family and I thought it was done so well. This book was published last year, but since I was invited to review the second book, I needed to read and review…

Review: Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

Review: Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

Posted by on 08/26/2015 • 10 Comments

Long story short: this book got me out of a dreadful book slump.

One of a bookworm’s worst nightmares? That feeling when you just can’t get into any book. I’ve started feeling this way recently, having started at least five novels in the last five days and not finishing a single one. I just couldn’t feel anything towards them. Is it me or is it the book? Either way, I was a wreck with the guilt, considering the backlog of books, ARCs and otherwise, that have been on my shelves for months.

Leave it to Rae Carson’s fantastic storytelling skills and genuine characters to pull me out of that abyss. ALL HAIL THE QUEEN!

This book gave me newfound life. The Gold Rush era + an uncanny ability to feel…

Review: Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

Review: Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

Posted by on 08/10/2015 • 3 Comments

This sequel has been a very long wait to read and I had very high expectations going into it. It was a little slow going at first, but it was so good. Even though it was slow, we get all of the characters we love (and maybe don’t love so much) as well as new ones. As with the first one, the descriptiveness was amazing and I loved seeing what everyone has been up to and what the new danger is going to put them through. By the time I was nearing the end of this book I was reading frantically needing to see what would happen. And the end… ahhhhh!! I sure hope the next book doesn’t take as long as this sequel did to come out. I assure…