Review - Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna Dressed in Blood, Book 1) by Kendare Blake (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Horror
Size: 320 pages
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: August 30, 2011
ISBN: 978-0765328658
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Anna Dressed in Blood series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

I have had this book sitting on my shelf to read for quite some time. I am going to be blunt and say I originally wanted to read this book because of the intriguing and hauntingly beautiful cover. Once I read the synopsis I found that the story sounded intriguing as well. I enjoyed this book, it was a like YA novel version of the Supernatural TV series. It never got too scary for me, but was still very creepy. There is a sequel to this book called Girl of Nightmares that has already been released.

Cas has inherited an interesting job from his father, he kills the dead. Cas is especially interested in killing the dead that are horribly violent and dangerous to the rest of humanity, these are the ghosts who rip people apart in the night or shove cars off of roads. Cas has been doing this job since his father was viciously killed one night and Cas inherited the knife that can damage the dead. Cas has a side mission to hunt down the ghost that murdered his father. As a result of this vocation Cas and his mom hop from place to place, going wherever the trail of dead lead them. That’s when Cas here’s about Anna, aka Anna Dressed in Blood. She haunts a house and what she does to the people who venture in there is truly disturbing. Little does Cas no that Anna is unlike any ghost he’s ever dealt with before.

This was a very well done book. Much of it reminds me of the Supernatural TV series, so if you enjoy that TV show I think you would enjoy this book. Cas and his mom have kind of inherited this ghost hunting thing from Cas’s dad. Cas does a lot of research about ghosts to find the ones that are dangerous, he also gets tips from some of his acquaintances. Of course beneath all of this you have Cas’s terrible desire for vengeance against the ghost that brutally murdered his father.

Cas is an interesting character. He’s kind of chameleon, he can fit in anywhere. He’s very good at blending in at high school and fitting in with the popular group right away because that is where he needs to be to get the information he needs to get. So it’s an interesting contrast. He’s a bit of a loner, yet everyone wants to hang out with him.

Anna is fascinating as well, she has a horribly tortured past and is an interesting mystery to unravel. She is a surprisingly engaging character and, despite her horribleness, you end up very attached to her by the end of the book.

There is a bit of high school drama here when Cas starts hanging with a popular girl, Carmel, and Carmel’s ex gets all bent out of shape. I enjoyed how Carmel, Cas, and Thomas end up joining together to figure out the mystery of Anna.

There is a lot of character development throughout. Cas goes from being a total loner to learning the value of having friends to back him up. Thomas and Carmel also change and mature a lot throughout the book as they learn to deal with the world Cas faces from day to day.

There is a lot of creepy stuff and gore in this book as well, but I never thought it was over the top or too scary. I enjoyed the level of creepy and there were a couple parts where I had this urge to hide under my covers because the suspense was just killing me.

The story is very well written and easy to read. I love that the text throughout the book is in a deep maroon color; it added to the creepiness. Part of the story is wrapped up very well, but the book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger. I was happy to see that there is a sequel to wrap things up.

Overall this was a very well done YA horror/ghost story. I enjoyed it alot. I loved the complex characters and the way they grew and developed through the story. I love the whole theme of fighting off the dead who are killing humans. I also loved the idea of a horribly violent ghost that the reader can be sympathetic towards. There is some excellent mystery, some excellent creepy, and just wonderful moody writing in here. I really enjoyed it and strongly recommend to those who love YA horror. Things never got so gorey or creepy that I felt ill reading this book, but it was still enough to be spooky and scare me. Highly recommended, I am very excited to read Girl of Nightmares.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Paranormal Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

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Early Review- Kill City Blues (Sandman Slim, Book 5) by Richard Kadrey (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 400 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: July 30, 2013
ISBN: 978-0062094599
Stand Alone or Series: 5th book in the Sandman Slim series
Source: eGalley for review from Edelweiss
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the 5th book in the Sandman Slim series and it was an excellent one. I love these characters, the strange cultural references, the gritty surroundings, the crazy action scenes, and of course the hilarious banter between characters. I got a copy of this to review through Edelweiss; thanks to Harper Voyager and Edelweiss for the chance to read this book.

Stark (Sandman Slim) has finally gotten rid of his job as Lucifer and he is trying set up a life for him and Candy in LA. Of course somewhere along the way he misplaced the Qomrama Om Ya, and this kind of was the weapon that is preventing the old gods (you know the ones that want to destroy the earth and humanity) from escaping their prison. So of course he needs to find it, and to find it he will have to venture into the incredibly creepy and dangerous Kill City.

Excellent continuation of this series! I just love these books so much, they are so much fun. I read them and chuckle and laugh out loud the whole time. The violence is hilariously over the top and Stark just has so much attitude. I love watching him trash all the rules and knock heads together...because of course you know he’s doing it all for the good of mankind...and maybe a little bit for his own chuckles.

All of our favorites are back in this story. Candy, Brigette, the Father, Kasiban, and of course all the pieces of God. They all interact so well together and are so crazy they are just a pleasure to read about.

Stark, with Candy and his friends at his side, is different than before. Now he has backup and people he cares about. Really it’s made him a better person, now he has a reason for all the violence that goes beyond survival.

The action scenes are awesome and gory and hilarious, the settings are creative and dank and creepy, the banter between characters in hilarious, and the obscure cultural references make you feel a bit warm and fuzzy inside when you understand them. This series just keeps getting better and better. It is wrong to laugh and chuckle at the murder of people? Nah, not if they are really bad people...right?

The book is lots of fun to read and incredibly entertaining...it was also very hard to put down. Parts are disturbing and parts are hilarious and all of it is downright wonderful. I love that each book wraps up a portion of the story nicely but is part of a broader story as well.

Overall a perfect addition to this series. I love these books so much. This book is gritty, funny, has great interesting characters, wonderfully creative settings, and is spectacularly entertaining to read. Definitely an adults only read, duh. I also love that these are complete stories but are part of a broader story as well. HIghly recommended to those who love gritty urban fantasy. Seriously this is one of my favorite urban fantasy series out there. I can’t wait to see what this series brings next.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Paranormal Reading Challenge
- Color Coded Reading Challenge

Graphic Novel Review - The Walking Dead (Hardcover, Vol 1) by Robert Kirkman (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Graphic Novel/Horror
Size: 304 pages
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: July 2006
ISBN: 978-1582406190
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Walking Dead HC releases
Source: Gift
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

I love graphic novels and zombies and have been wanting to read this graphic novel series for a while now. This volume 1 Hardcover edition is a compilation of the first two trade paperbacks in the series, Days Gone By and Miles Behind Us. While I didn’t love it as much as I had hoped it was still an engaging read. It’s more of a drama read than a zombie read. I guess I was really excited to read it and really expecting something special, so I feel a bit let down.

Rick Grimes, a small town cop, is in a coma from a gunshot wound. When he finally wakes up things are changed. The hospital is abandoned, the cafeteria is full of vicious dead things that used to be people. The worst is that his family is gone; he assumes they went to Seattle so he sets off to find them and try to figure out what’s going on.

The illustration is very well done. I enjoyed the illustrator for Days Gone By more than for the second book, Miles Behind. Mainly because it was more detailed artwork. The whole book is in black and white. It’s easy to tell what is going on in the illustration and easy to read facial expressions and things like that.

I absolutely loved the first book, Days Gone By. Rick is an engaging character and him meeting up with his family is wonderfully done. He’s a natural born leader who is doing his best to survive and find his family. It’s when he meets up with the other small group of survivors that things get a bit well, I don’t know...I guess just so typical.

These are very typical zombies of the shambling and flesh eating sort. When they bite you, you get sick and turn into a zombie after a few days time. Pretty normal zombie stuff. In this hardcover edition there isn’t any speculation yet as to what caused the outbreak or what happened. The survivors Rick runs into are sitting outside of Seattle waiting for the government to come help them...this seemed a bit naive to me. I mean if whole cities are overrun, why would the government be available to rescue civilians? And would you want them to, giving that means lots of stressed people crammed into some government facility? Anyway, I guess I have read too many zombie books.

The second book, Miles Behind, was way more drama than the first book. This one starts dealing with whom among the survivors is sleeping with who, who dislikes who, etc. etc. It gets very soap opera like with occasional zombie attacks sprinkled throughout. I get exasperated with people that do stupid things and make their situation worse. I mean really would you sleep with some guy after being away from your husband for a week because you think he is dead? Wow, that is some strength there, must have been a really solid marriage. The survivors attack each other, making things even worse. I understand these people are stressed, but why be so stupid and make things so much worse?

Eventually they end up at a farm with a guy who’s locked up zombies to cure them later. Yeah, okay totally read that scenario before a number of times...we all know how that ends up.

So while I enjoyed the detailed illustration and found the first part of this book very engaging, I started to get a bit annoyed at the second half of the book. Having these people surviving the zombie apocalypse isn’t enough, they also have to do a lot of really stupid things that make the situation worse. Towards the end I just couldn’t stop rolling my eyes every time yet another crazy thing happened that made their lives worse; especially since many times these things happened from the people just not thinking.

Let’s take a quick diversion to talk about the mess that is Rick’s wife Lori. Wow do I hate her. She has got to be the most incompetent woman on the planet. Why did Rick marry her? She is whiny, unfaithful, and can’t even raise a gun to protect her son from being eaten by zombies. Ugh, I disliked her. She doesn’t want Rick to take risks to help them survive, but also won’t take risks herself. She doesn’t want her son Carl to learn to protect himself because he is too young...seriously?! Many of the women characters in this book leave a lot to be desired.

As with many zombie stories you just know things aren’t going to end well. By the end of this book the level of stupidity coupled with all the bad things going on was just annoying and depressing. I didn’t expect this to be an uplifting read, but I did expect it to be a creative read that wasn’t just soap opera plus zombies.

Reading what I wrote above I don’t sound very positive about this book. I did enjoy the first book and I think it was well done. I did not enjoy how the second book turned into a soap opera with intermittent zombie attacks. Right now I am kind of on the fence about whether or not I will keep reading this series. So some feedback from people who are further into it would be nice. Does it get better? It is all just people making stupid mistakes and having increasingly horrible things happen to them to rachet up the drama? Do we actually get to a back story about why all of this is going on? Or is it just more of people being mean to each other, sleeping with each other, and dying?

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Graphic Novel Reading Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Paranormal Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Review - Slither (The Last Apprentice, Book 11) by Joseph Delaney (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Horror
Size: 416 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: January 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0062192349
Stand Alone or Series: 11th book in the Last Apprentice series
Source: Gift
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This is the eleventh book in The Last Apprentice series. The twelfth book will be titled, I am Alice, and is scheduled for a September 2013 release. This book was a good read and engaging, but did not feature the normal characters in the series.

This book diverts from our normal group of characters, to a different part of the world far from Tom Ward’s country. The story is told from Sliter’s point of view. Slither is a dark mage that makes a deal with a farmer in his region. When the farmer dies he promises Slither his eldest daughter, Nessa, as a slave if only Slither will see Nessa’s two younger sisters to their aunt and uncle. When Slither gets on the bad side of another dark mage all of their lives are in danger. Although things take turn for the better when the strange witch named Grimalkin pops into the story.

This book is written in the same dank and dark tone as all of the previous books. Slither is not really a good character at all, but he is an honorable one. Sure he eats human blood to survive, but when he makes a promise to Nessa’s dad he is bound to keep it. He is not kind, he is not caring, but he honors his bargains.

Parts of the book are also told from Nessa’s point of view. Nessa is a surprisingly resilient character; I loved her bravery in the face of things more horrible than she has ever before faced. I loved how she did her best to shelter her younger sisters as well. She is one tough cookie and an excellent heroine to add to the series.

Slither’s world is a dangerous and interesting one. It’s bound by rules that are followed strictly but it is a vicious world. I enjoyed reading and learning about the world outside of the one we normally read about.

Grimalkin does enter the book for the last third or so of the story. As normal Grimalkin is my absolute favorite character in this series. Like normal she is neither good nor bad. Here we see some of what she has gone through and continues to go through in an effort to destroy the Fiend’s head. She was awesome and the collaborations between her and Nessa were interesting and made me wonder what the future holds for Nessa.

While I wasn’t totally thrilled to have the resolution to this series delayed by this diversion, I have to admit this book was well done and very entertaining. It is formated like previous books with creepy pictures opening each chapter. The book is creepy and dark and a bit scary, but never terrifying.

Overall I really enjoyed this addition to the Last Apprentice series. It was fun to get a look at a different part of the world this series takes place in. Slither was an interesting evil but honorable type of character. Nessa was a surprisingly engaging heroine as well. The parts with Grimlakin were wonderful and it was interesting to see what else she has done on her travels. The book was well paced and incredibly engaging. I really love this series. I can’t wait to read I Am Alice and then see how things wrap up in the 13th book of this series! This series is highly recommended to fans of middle grade/young adult horror/fantasy.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Early Review - Yellowcake by Margo Lanagan (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Short Stories
Size: 240 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0375869204
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Amazon Vine for Review
Rating: 4/5 stars


I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. Previously I had read Lanagan’s Brides of Rollrock Island and really loved it. This was a collection of short stories that I enjoyed overall. Some stories were spectacular and some were a bit hard to follow.

This is a collection of stories that span fantasy, horror, and paranormal genres. Some of the stories are really well done, a couple I had to reread to figure out exactly what was going on. In general Lanagan tends to be a bit vague in her writing, leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions about what really happened. This can lead to the reader having more questions than answers by the time they get to the end of a story.

This is aimed at young adults, but there is one story “Catastrophic Disruption of the Head” that was very adult. This story had a ton of violence including a rape scene and discussion of mutiple rapes on a young woman...so just be aware of that.

My favorite stories of the bunch were: The Golden Shroud (a beautiful retelling of Rapunzel with a happier ending than the traditional fairy tale0, Into the Clouds (a story about a young boy whose mother gets called to go somewhere else), Ferryman (a story about how the young Sharon got the job as Ferryman of the dead) and Eyelids of the Dawn (in which a building decides it needs a vacation).

All of the stories included are listed below along with ratings and brief descriptions. I haven’t read any of Lanagan’s other short story collections yet, so I don’t know how they compare to this one. I did enjoy The Brides of Rollrock Island a lot more than this story collection.

Overall it was a decent collection of stories. I will be checking out more of Lanagan’s short story collections. I recommend to those who love quirky and slightly ambiguous fantasy/horror stories. A lot of these stories are very creative and very different.

The Point of Roses (3/5 stars)
The first story is about a boy who can make things come true from objects. Very vague and a bit hard to follow.

The Golden Shroud (5/5 stars)
A retelling of Rapunzel with a happier ending than the traditional fairy tale

A Fine Magic (4/5 stars)
When two young girls reject the attentions of an old wizard, he gets his revenge on them.

A Honest Day’s Work (4/5 stars)
About a town where the workers harvest creatures of gelatinous goo from the ocean.

Into the Clouds on High (5/5 stars)
Story about a boy whose mother is called to the sky.

Night of the Firstlings (3/5 stars)
About a family who survives a sickness and an attack, only to be forced to journey from their home. Another story that is very vague and was a bit hard to follow.

Catastrophic Disruption of the Head (4/5 stars)
Story about a soldier who comes across an old woman with magical dogs. A bit hard to follow since it jumps around in time, also very graphic violence.

Ferryman (5/5 stars)
Story about how Sharon came to be the Ferryman. Wonderfully done and clever.

Living Curiosities (4/5 stars)
A story about people living at a circus and a suicide.

Eyelids of the Dawn (5/5 stars)
When a building gets uncomfortable it decides to take a vacation out to sea. This was a fun story that was easy to follow and very creative.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Color Coded Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Review - The Diviners (The Diviners, Book 1) by Libba Bray (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 592 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: September 18, 2012
ISBN: 978-0316126113
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Diviners series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars


This is the first book in the Diviners series by Bray. I have read all of Bray’s previous books and really enjoyed them. I am unsure how many books are planned for this series, but the 2nd one is scheduled for a 2014 release. I enjoyed this book just as much, if not more, than Bray’s A Great and Terrible Beauty series. This book is masterfully written and was just an absolute pleasure to read.

Evie O’Neill has been shipped off from her hometown to New York City to stay with her uncle because of some secrets she revealed that hurt the reputation of one of the powerful families in Ohio. Evie is so excited to be in New York even if her Uncle does run the strange museum known affectionately as The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies. Then strange occult murders start happening and Evie’s uncle gets called in to consult. Evie gets drawn in as she starts to use her own special powers to help her uncle with the case.

I loved the setting for this book, the whole thing is set in the 1920’s flapper era. Bray obviously did her homework here. The slang she uses throughout as well as the descriptions of surroundings, fashions, and events make this world and era come alive in a way that is sparkling and fascinating.

The story is mainly told from Evie’s POV, but we also hear from a number of other character POVs. We hear from Theta (a chorus girl), Mabel (Evie’s best friend), Malcolm (a man with his own mysterious powers), and Sam (a pickpocket of sorts that Evie has a run in with early in the story). We also hear from the murder victims as they meet their demise.

Evie was a super fun heroine. She is brash and just a little too much for those around, she’s adventurous and loyal. She definitely has her flaws; she can be a bit too self-absorbed and a bit too in-your-face. These flaws just serve to make her more interesting and engaging.

The characters surrounding Evie have backgrounds that are just as complex and interesting as Evie’s. There are a number of characters in here with supernatural or paranormal powers. The maelstrom of these interesting characters starts to come together as the story progresses.

The book touches on a number of controversial issues as well (at least controversial for that time). There is discussion about inter-racial relationships and quite a bit of discussion about same sex relationships as well. None of this is the feature of the story but all of it goes on in the background, making the story more complex and even more engaging.

More than anything this book is a supernatural mystery. Basically Evie and team have to solve this series of grisly occult murders before one of them ends up as a victim. There are parts of this book that are extremely creepy where you feel like screaming at the characters “No! No! Don’t go down into the creepy basement cellar.” At points it was bad enough that I was torn between hiding behind a blanket so I didn’t have to see what was going to happen and reading it as fast as possible so I could finally know what was going to happen!

The story ties up very nicely, although there are still things left undone for future books. I am intrigued to see how all of these interesting characters with supernatural powers come together in future installments.

Overall an absolutely fantastic novel. The setting is realistic and absolutely comes alive; I loved reading about the roaring 20’s. The plot is mysterious and creepy with strong supernatural elements. The characters are quirky, mysterious, and super fun to read about. Highly recommended to those who love a good mystery with supernatural elements. I really, really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next in the series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- GHOSTS: Paranormal Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Early Review - The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction
Size: 432 pages
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: January 29, 2013
ISBN: 978-0062128027
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in a Trilogy
Source: ARC through Netgalley.com
Rating: 4.5/5 stars


I got a copy of this book to review through Netgalley(dot)com. Thanks to Balzer and Bray and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book. This was an engaging and disturbing young adult retelling of the Island of Dr. Moreau.

Juliet Moreau is struggling to make a living as a maid; years ago her father disappeared and not long after that her mother died of cancer. Then Juliet hears rumors about a strange doctor staying in a nearby inn and sees copies of her father’s drawings. When she goes to investigate she finds the her father is not dead as thought, but merely on a deserted island continuing his questionable medical studies. She travels there with her childhood friend and Dr. Moreau’s assistant, Montgomery, and finds things more horrific than she could ever have imagined.

Excellent young adult retelling of The Island of Dr. Moreau. This story has a bit of a gothic/thriller type feel to it. The mystery unravels slowly. Those who are familiar with the Island of Dr. Moraeu won’t be surprised by what Juliet finds when she goes to her father’s island but you will be surprised as the mysteries surrounding Juliet herself are revealed.

The book is beautifully written and very well done. There is a bit of a love triangle here, which I am not a huge fan of. Still it was decently done.

Juliet is a strong character that is easy to admire and engage with. The other characters on the island are similarly interesting. You are constantly wondering why Montgomery continues to work for Dr. Moreau and what Edward’s mysterious background is. There is just a lot of mystery hidden within all of these characters.

The plot is very engaging and there are some huge twists in the story which caught me by surprise. There is also quite a bit of medical talk in the book since Juliet has been learning from all of the medical books her father left behind, I enjoyed this as well.

The book is definitely best for young adult and older. There is an attempted rape scene, torture, and rather gory maiming of animals...just a heads up to be ready for some disturbing gore.

Overall I found the book very hard to put down and very engaging. It was a fantastic read. The enjoyed the mystery and the twists and turns the story took. I also enjoyed Juliet, she is a strong female lead with some interesting aspects to her personality. I strongly recommend to fans gothic horror, who don’t mind a somewhat disturbing read.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Debut Author Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Review - I Saw Zombies Eating Santa Claus (A Breathers Christmas Carol) by S.G. Browne (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Zombie/Post-Apocalyptic
Size: 208 pages
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: October 30, 2012
ISBN: 978-1476708720
Stand Alone or Series: Sequel to Breathers
Source: Goodreads First Reads
Rating: 4/5 stars


I got a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review through the Goodreads First Reads program. Thanks to Gallery Books and Goodreads for allowing me the opportunity to review this book. I read Browne’s book Breathers when it was released a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I was really looking forward to reading this book as well. This ended up being a fun, yet short, zombie Christmas read. It was gory, disturbing, entertaining, and even a bit heart-warming.

This book picks up where Breathers left off. Andy is being held in an experimental facility. This book is mostly about Andy escaping from that experimental facility and then returning to rescue some friends. In between this he meets a sweet eleven year old girl who mistakes him for the one and only Santa. She wants nothing more than for her mother to spend some time with her once in awhile and Andy is determined to help her out.

This was a fun read but pretty short, it took a little over an hour to read. This is full of the wit and dark humor Browne is known for. It was a very well written and engaging story that was hard to put down.

As with Breathers this is a zombie book with gore, violence, dark humor, and surprisingly some heart as well. Parts of the book are laugh out loud funny and others are disturbingly gory...in between all of this the story is surprisingly touching.

Andy is a loyal and courageous zombie who knows how to live his unlife better than most live humans life their lives. Along the way he reminds a mother of her duty to her daughter and reminds us all of the true meaning of Christmas spirit.

Overall a great read, I really enjoyed it. This is a truly unique, if somewhat disturbing holiday read. Recommended to zombie fans and those who enjoy dark humor. Full review to follow.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Zombie Reading Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Short Story Review - Devil in the Dollhouse (Sandman Slim, Book 3.5) by Richard Kadrey (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 259 KB
Publisher: Voyager
Release Date: July 31, 2012
ASIN: B00851M4SC
Stand Alone or Series: 3.5 in the Sandman Slim series
Source: Free for Kindle
Rating: 4/5 stars


I got this story free for Kindle. This is a story that takes place between books 3 and 4 of the Sandman Slim series. It was an interesting addition to the series and full of the all that bad-assness that is Sandman Slim.

Sandman Slim is trying to adjust to life as Lucifer and searching for a way back home. Then he is informed by his minions that he has to travel through the circles of Hell to confront a particularly naughty Hellion.

This was a very short read (took maybe half an hour to read) but it was entertaining. It’s full of the all the dark humor and fast-paced action that we’ve all grown to love from this series.

It’s gory, gritty, and absolutely twisted and disgusting at times...but at the same time oh so very engaging and wonderful.

It fills in a bit of the story about what Sandman Slim did while he was in Hell. It’s not necessary to read (I actually read book 4, Devil Said Bang before this book) to know what’s going on in the series. But it’s free and it’s a fun diversion.

Overall a fun read. It’s fast-paced, action-packed, and full of the all the dark gritty humor that is Sandman Slim. Ultra-violent, at times a bit stomach turning....but tons of fun all the same. If you are a fan of the series give it a read, you’ll enjoy it. I wouldn’t recommend reading if you haven’t read the series, unless you just want to get a feel for Kadrey’s writing style.

Review - Lure of the Dead (The Last Apprentice, Book 10) by Joseph Delaney (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre:Fantasy/Horror
Size: 432 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: August 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-0062027603
Stand Alone or Series: 10th book in the Last Apprentice series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This is the tenth book in the Last Apprentice series. In this book we are back to hearing from Tom and the Spook. It was an excellent addition to the series and really shows how the story is shifting away from the Spook and more to Tom.

Tom makes a journey to find out what needs to be done to bind the Fiend's soul for good. Then Tom and the Spook journey to a small town to get more books from the Spook's library. When they arrive they find out that the town is infested with Romanian witches on a mission for the Fiend.

This book progresses the story nicely. We find out what must be done to bind the Spook’s soul and what a horrible thing it is. All of these books are dark, but I thought this was one of the darkest books yet. This book was more of a YA reading level than a middle grade read I thought. Very violent at times and kind of creepy and scary too.

All of our favorite characters are here; Tom, the Spook, and Alice. We also get to meet a new character that is one of the Spook's previous apprentices and he made a good addition to the story. Tom definitely takes front and center and is really coming into his own as a Spook.

The Spook is definitely showing his age and takes a backseat to the other characters in this book.

Alice is growing in power and continues to flirt with the dark, yet she remains steadfast to Tom and does her best to try and combat the Fiend. You see a lot of her struggling to balance the necessity of using the Dark and the want to stay with her friends in the Light. She is also absent a large portion of the book since she is off helping Grimalkin.

We meet some new horrible and creepy creatures of the dark. The book gets fairly violent at points, with some scenes of torture as well. Just a heads up for younger readers.

The book ends at a good spot, with things being set up for the next installment. Not a lot of twists or turns in the story, but it is still an engaging read. The creepy illustrations throughout really add to the story.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, it progressed the story nicely. It was a bit darker than other books in the series, more violent with some torture scenes...so just a heads up to younger readers. Tom is really coming into his own as a Spook and it was great to see him take on the Dark by himself. Alice also continues to grow in her dark power. This whole series is highly recommended to those who enjoy adventure fantasy with horror in it.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review - Attack of the Vampire Weenies: And Other Warped and Creepy Tales by David Lubar (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Horror/Humor/Short Stories
Size: 224 pages
Publisher: Starscape
Release Date: April 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-0765363237
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Copy from BEA
Rating: 3/5 stars

I got a copy of this book at Book Expo America in 2011 (yep it’s taken me a while to get to it). This is definitely one of those books aimed at reluctant boy readers in the 8-13 age range. Some of the stories are amusing, but they are all very short and end up being more sketches of ideas than fully realized stories.

There are 30+ stories in this slim 224 page book. So that alone will give you an idea of story length. The stories run a large range of weird and creepy. There’s a story about a boy who gets the ride of his life on an amusement park ride. There’s a story about mutant ants and one about a dragon. There is a parody story that pokes fun at sparkly vampires fans too.

All in all a pretty large range of the strange and creepy here. Many of the stories end with the lead boy dying or being hurt in some gruesome way; so if that bothers you as a parent just a heads up. Also given the frequent death I wouldn’t recommend this for younger kids, I honestly think it might be too intense and scary for them.

The stories are decently written but pretty simple stories with pretty simple sentence structure. This is definitely aimed at reluctant boy readers ages 8 to 14 or so. So if you are a boy in that age range I think you will really relate to and enjoy the stories. In many cases the main protagonist in the story is a boy, so that seems to be the audience Lubar is aiming for.

As an adult reading these stories I thought they were okay. The stories are very short and are basically quick sketches of ideas. Not a lot of character development and world building here; although most of the stories are full of some sort of irony that is darkly humorous. Again though, it is dark humor, I think while middle grade kids will enjoy it, younger kids might take it too literally and be scared.

I am going to keep this book around for my son to read when he’s a few years older (he’s five now). On a side note I got to meet Lubar and talk to him about this book at BEA. He was an incredibly nice guy who warned me right off the bat that these stories would be to intense for younger kids.

Overall an okay book. While I wouldn’t recommend this to adults, I do think boys in the 8-13 year age range will get a kick out of these stories. They are creepy and eerie horror stories filled with irony and dark humor. They poke fun at things boys will get into (like obnoxious older sisters and crazy classmates). If you have a middle grade reader who enjoys humor and horror definitely check this out.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge