Posts Tagged: Adult Fiction

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Review: Darkhouse by Karina Halle

Posted by 24 Comments

Darkhouse
Karina Halle
Series: Experiment in Terror, #1
Publication date: March 10th 2012
by Metal Blonde Books

 

With all the vampire, werewolf and faerie books out there, it’s easy to become numb to all things supernatural. The antidote? Darkhouse introduces two real and unforgettable characters, Perry Palomino & Dex Foray, amateur ghost hunters who are “attractive, relatable and oddly heroic,” “flawed but loveable,” “slightly crazy” and just the most endearing pair to ever tackle the paranormal…just don’t call them normal. Darkhouse is a thrilling and sexy new take on concepts like Supernatural and The X-Files, bringing a breath of fresh air to a genre that has been inundated with the dead.

*A copy was provided by Karina Halle for review purposes*
Coming highly recommended by so many friends, I couldn’t resist from checking out this creeptastic looking series any longer. All you need to convince me, really, is to tell me it has ghosts–and these are not the sweet ghosts you can fall in love with either (which I will never be fond of), these are evil: truly and relentlessly evil.

Having been reading a lot of Young Adult novels, it was a nice change to get a protagonist that’s a bit older. At 22 years old, Perry is dealing with an unfulfilling job, a non existent sex life, and her bubbly teenage sister. Then she gets a pretty unexpected surprise when she goes to explore an old light house and something… more than normal, occurs. Talk about an exciting start! Not to mention this hot guy she happens to stumble upon–Dex. These characters are a lot of fun to go through this story with. They both have mysterious pasts that lends even more creepy to this story. Dex, especially, with his more than secretive personality. I was always on edge when he was around, yet somehow, I didn’t feel threatened, just highly suspicious. He has this bizarre aura that screams something is not right with this fella. Nonetheless, the two of them have a lot of chemistry, making this book very compelling in a lot of ways.

While the characters are endearing, it takes a little bit to get the story moving along. The pacing at the beginning wanders. Like I mentioned, it starts with a bang when something hugely creepy happens, but afterwards it slows down tremendously until the half way point. I wasn’t bored per say, mostly wondering where the plot was headed. Once we do reach the half way point, however, it’s a pretty fantastic and spine chilling ride until the end. There’s more than enough menacing encounters and strange discoveries to make up for the slower half. If it was not the first in a series, though, I would have been disappointed by the lack of answers from both the characters’ lives and the plot. We don’t get very deep into the mysteries surrounding everything, but knowing there are a lot more books to follow, it simply makes me indefinitely curious for answers. Everything is so cryptic and perplexing, it’s certainly feeding our thirsts for mysteries and the unexplained.

From terrifying old ladies (I mean, she stares! Creepily! And that’s just creepy!), to adrenaline filled paranormal occurrences, this is a book any ghost fanatic should absolutely check out. The description of “Supernatural meets X-Files” says it all! 

4 Hot Espressos

Review: The Becoming by Jessica Meigs

Posted by on 11/15/2012 • 19 Comments

The BecomingJessica MeigsSeries: The Becoming, #1Publication date: November 12th 2011by Permuted Press

 

The Michaluk Virus is loose.

In the heart of Atlanta, Georgia, the Michaluk Virus has escaped the CDC, and its effects are widespread and devastating. Most of the population of the southeastern United States have become homicidal cannibals. As society rapidly crumbles under the hordes of infected, three people—Ethan Bennett, a Memphis police officer; Cade Alton, his best friend and former IDF sharpshooter; and Brandt Evans, a lieutenant in the US Marines—band together against the oncoming crush of death and terror sweeping across the world.

As Cade, Brandt, and Ethan hole up in a safe house in Tupelo, others begin to join them in their bid for survival. When the infected attack and they’re forced…

Review: Deadline by Mira Grant

Posted by on 11/06/2012 • 27 Comments

DeadlineMira GrantSeries: Newsflesh Trilogy, #2Publication date: June 1st 2011by Orbit

 

Shaun Mason is a man without a mission. Not even running the news organization he built with his sister has the same urgency as it used to. Playing with dead things just doesn’t seem as fun when you’ve lost as much as he has.

But when a CDC researcher fakes her own death and appears on his doorstep with a ravenous pack of zombies in tow, Shaun has a newfound interest in life. Because she brings news-he may have put down the monster who attacked them, but the conspiracy is far from dead.

Now, Shaun hits the road to find what truth can be found at the end of a shotgun.

This review contains no spoilers…

Review: Crusher by Niall Leonard

Posted by on 10/23/2012 • 18 Comments

CrusherNiall LeonardPublication date: September 11th 2012by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

 

The day Finn Maguire discovers his dad bludgeoned to death in a pool of blood, his dreary life is turned upside down. Prime suspect in his father’s murder, Finn must race against time to clear his name and find out who hated his dad enough to kill him.

Scouring the sordid, brutal London underworld for answers, exposing dark family secrets, and facing danger at every turn, Finn is about to learn that it’s the people you trust who can hit you the hardest…

*A copy was provided by Random House of Canada for review purposes*

 

When I first heard or Crusher I had never heard of it or of the author before, and when…

Review: Feed by Mira Grant

Posted by on 08/11/2012 • 39 Comments

FeedMira GrantSeries: Newsflesh, #1Publication date: May 1st 2010by Orbit

 

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beat the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED.  NOW, twenty years after the Rising, Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives-the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will out, even if it kills them.

“The zombies are here, and they’re not going away, but they’re not the story. They were, for one hot, horrible summer at the beginning of the century, but now they’re just another piece of the way things work….

Review: One Good Hustle by Billie Livingston

Posted by on 07/26/2012 • 29 Comments

One Good HustleBillie LivingstonRelease date: July 24th 2012by Random House of Canada

 

The child of 2 con artists, 16-year-old Sammie Bell always prided herself on knowing the score. But now she finds herself backed into a corner. After a hustle gone dangerously wrong, her mother, Marlene, is sliding into an abyss of alcoholic depression, spending her days fantasizing aloud about death–a goal Sammie is tempted to help her accomplish. Horrified by the appeal of this, Sammie packs a bag and leaves her mother to her own devices.

With her father missing in action, she has nowhere else to go but the home of a friend with 2 parents who seem to actually love their daughter and each other–and who awkwardly try to extend some semblance of family…

Review: The Tale of the Vampire Bride

Posted by on 07/13/2012 • 29 Comments

The Tale of the Vampire BrideRhiannon FraterSeries: Vampire Bride, #1Release date: December 7th 2009by Library of Horror Press

 

All Lady Glynis Wright ever wanted was the freedom to live her life as she pleased. When her family becomes guests to one of the most fearsome and powerful vampires of all time, Glynis finds her fate is far more terrible than an arranged marriage. The Tale of the Vampire Bride is sure to thrill fans of the terrible, yet romantic vampires of literary past.

I don’t give 5-stars often, in fact, half of the ones I gave this year are all for Rhiannon’s As the World Dies series, so I was a bit afraid to give this a 5 and have you think it’s only because I heart…

Review: Solstice by Donna Burgess

Posted by on 06/29/2012 • 25 Comments

Solstice: A Novel of the Zombie ApocalypseDonna BurgessRelease date: May 7th 2012by E-Volve Books

 

On the eve of winter Solstice, a massive flash envelopes the Earth and then there is nothing. The sun no longer shines and civilization is plunged into unending darkness. Those exposed to the mysterious flash have changed—they have become bloodthirsty, cunning, and determined to devour anyone who is not infected. They are Ragers.

In Sweden, a group of uneasy travelers hears a broken broadcast. There is hope. Something called Sanctuary waits, but it is thousands of miles away, somewhere on the shores of the British Isles.

Meanwhile, in a London supermarket, a high school English teacher from the States finds himself stranded along with a handful of students on a senior trip. Outside, hoards…