Review: Deadman’s Tome: Monsters Exist

Goodreads Summary:

From the time we are young, we fear the monster under the bed or in the closet, making it impossible to sleep without a nightlight. Then, we hear stories of Bigfoot, and maybe even the Mothman around campfires. When we are adults, we wonder if there might actually be supernatural creatures lurking in the shadows. Are these tall tales and urban legends only metaphors for what horrific things humanity is capable of—or do monsters exist?

Go to some terrifying places with this cast of authors. You will be dragged into mystifying realities where demonic fairies hide, where devil monkeys lure carnival-goers to their demise, where Goatmen seek to destroy their prey, and where the goddess of death puts out a hit on victims of her choice. These shocking tales will have you biting your nails and locating that childhood nightlight. Because, in the end, we all know monsters do exist.

My Review:

Did somebody say monsters? MONSTERS! So, I was pretty ecstatic to read this book because A. I love monsters and B. I haven’t read a book of short horror type stories since well… since back in elementary school with Scary Stories, More Scary Stories etc. So, an adult type of book filled with short monster stories sounded awesome! And it was!

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As with any short stories book filled with stories by different authors, some stood out more than others, but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole ride. I really loved Braun’s Legend Trippers and Demmer’s Never Sleep Again. I have always had a weird thing when I was younger of wondering about monster’s under the bed!

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I loved the creep factor and wondering what was going to unravel in each of the stories. What I feel like needs to happen is we need a more up to date movie filled with short horror segment intertwined into a full length movie like some of the films from the 80’s like Tales From the Darkside the movie, Twilight Zone the movie, Cat’s Eye, Creepshow, Trick ‘r Treat (Okay maybe that one isn’t 80’s but it was good!). Somebody make this happen with some of the stories from this book!

 

Do you like monsters?

Review: A Conjuring of Magic

Title: A Conjuring of Magic

Author: V. E. Schwab

Date of Publication: February 21st, 2017

Goodreads Summary:

Witness the fate of beloved heroes – and enemies.

THE BALANCE OF POWER HAS FINALLY TIPPED…
The precarious equilibrium among four Londons has reached its breaking point. Once brimming with the red vivacity of magic, darkness casts a shadow over the Maresh Empire, leaving a space for another London to rise.

WHO WILL CRUMBLE?
Kell – once assumed to be the last surviving Antari – begins to waver under the pressure of competing loyalties. And in the wake of tragedy, can Arnes survive?

WHO WILL RISE?
Lila Bard, once a commonplace – but never common – thief, has survived and flourished through a series of magical trials. But now she must learn to control the magic, before it bleeds her dry. Meanwhile, the disgraced Captain Alucard Emery of the Night Spire collects his crew, attempting a race against time to acquire the impossible.

WHO WILL TAKE CONTROL?
And an ancient enemy returns to claim a crown while a fallen hero tries to save a world in decay.

My Review:

I feel like I have been fiddling around with this book forever! I really really loved book one, but I feel like both these other books didn’t live up to that first book. This book, however, was still pretty cool, though!

My thing was that I don’t mind multiple POV’s, but there were just too many here, and sometimes it would take a while to get back to the one that I wanted. I also felt the book could have been cut down because it was really long which is fine because ACOWAR was long, but it was a bit much here.

Romances however were on point! Kell and Lila I love love love! Magic was awesome as it always is. Rhy and Alucard… Yes!!!!!!!

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Overall a unique series, but I still love Schwab’s This Savage Song so much more. That book owns my heart!

Have you started this series yet?

Review: The Bird and the Sword

Title: The Bird and the Sword

Author: Amy Harmon

Date of Publication: May 11th, 2016

Goodreads Summary:

Swallow, Daughter, pull them in, those words that sit upon your lips. Lock them deep inside your soul, hide them ‘til they’ve time to grow. Close your mouth upon the power, curse not, cure not, ‘til the hour. You won’t speak and you won’t tell, you won’t call on heav’n or hell. You will learn and you will thrive. Silence, Daughter. Stay alive.

The day my mother was killed, she told my father I wouldn’t speak again, and she told him if I died, he would die too. Then she predicted the king would trade his soul and lose his son to the sky.

My father has a claim to the throne, and he is waiting in the shadows for all of my mother’s words to come to pass. He wants desperately to be king, and I just want to be free.

But freedom will require escape, and I’m a prisoner of my mother’s curse and my father’s greed. I can’t speak or make a sound, and I can’t wield a sword or beguile a king. In a land purged of enchantment, love might be the only magic left, and who could ever love . . . a bird?

My Review:

First off this book is written really well, and the prose just sucks you right in. The main girl, Lark, isn’t able to speak, and when she is taken as prisoner by King Tiras, she discovers that she can speak sort of mind to mind with some people. Also, I like anything with birds!

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I did like the story itself, but I just didn’t connect with the characters as well as I would have liked to. The romance is good… Tiras has a secret of his own that makes the book even more interesting, and the book does end perfectly. I just wasn’t jumping up for joy, but I do recommend picking it up for the beautiful words alone!

Have you started this series?

Review: Death and Night

Title: Death and Night

Author: Roshani Chokshi

Date of Publication: May 2nd, 2017

Goodreads Summary:

An exclusive Star-Touched novella over 100 pages long!

Before The Star-Touched Queen there was only Death and Night.

He was Lord of Death, cursed never to love. She was Night incarnate, destined to stay alone. After a chance meeting, they wonder if, perhaps, they could be meant for more. But danger crouches in their paths, and the choices they make will set them on a journey that will span lifetimes.

My Review:

I love love love Roshani’s writing. I liked A Crown of Wishes a lot more than The Star-Touched Queen, but I really wanted to read this prequel to TSTQ. It pretty much entails how Maya (Night) meets Amar (Death).

The writing is exquisite and captures my soul into its beautiful pages. There was also some humor with Gupta and Death. Gupta is one of my favorite characters, and I feel like he needs his own book! The meetings between Death and Night had me feeling butterflies, and I need more!

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“She tasted like the edge of imagination, like the shadows of a new idea, which chases away your thoughts and leaves you lost in dreams.”

Have you read any of these books?

Review: The Beautiful Ones

Title: The Beautiful Ones

Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Date of Publication: October 24th, 2017

Goodreads Summary:

Antonina Beaulieu is in the glittering city of Loisail for her first Grand Season, where she will attend balls and mingle among high society in hopes of landing a suitable husband. But Antonina is telekinetic, and strange events in her past have made her the subject of malicious gossip and hardly a sought-after bride. Now, under the tutelage of her cousin’s wife, she is finally ready to shed the past and learn the proper ways of society.

But Antonina, who prefers her family’s country home to the glamorous ballrooms of the wealthy, finds it increasingly difficult to conform to society’s ideals for women, especially when she falls under the spell of the dazzling telekinetic performer Hector Auvray. As their romance blossoms, and he teaches her how to hone and control her telekinetic gift, she can’t help but feel a marriage proposal is imminent.

Little does Antonina know that Hector and those closest to her are hiding a devastating secret that will crush her world and force her to confront who she really is and what she’s willing to sacrifice.

My Review:

So, I really loved this one. It had a slow pace that was very character driven, but I never found myself bored with it at all. I was really interested in the characters throughout. There are three POV’s which include Hector, Antonina, and Valerie.

Valerie was a real piece of work, and I truly hated her throughout the book. Hector at first was just so melancholy with his love (obsession) over Valerie. This guy had been pining away for this woman for ten years even though she had married someone else more for status. I wanted to shake him—-HARD.

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Antonina was my favorite character because she was just so cool, she was interested in different types of bugs, and maybe that is the nerdy side of me kicking in, but it was great! I never quite knew how the story was going to play out with betrayal going on, misunderstandings happening and heartbreak occurring. Overall, I definitely recommend this one.

What do you think of the cover?

Review: Puddle

Title: Puddle

Author: A. Renee Hunt

Date of Publication: September 16th, 2014

Goodreads Summary:

Urban legends are told every day. We hear them and laugh, then they’re forgotten. If you live in the town of DeSoto, you can’t forget. Every autumn rain, there’s a reminder of something sinister, something deadly. If you aren’t safe in your home or traveling by car, you’re not long for this world. Every puddle could be an illusion, a trap for something waiting below. Be careful in the rain, especially when walking through a puddle.

My Review:

Puddles? Yes, you know after it rains, those tiny bodies of water! One would think let me splash in that with both of my feet… well not after reading this book. This was an awesome short story.

The MC Quinn was really likable, and I could connect with her even with the story’s length being short. She felt real, and I liked the bond between her and her friend Max.

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Now, when the action comes into play with the whole puddles situation, you wonder so is there something in the puddle or is it all talk? Well, once those hands get going, the creep factor sets in. The story left me wanting more, and I want to know more about these puddle people. This is an excellent short story that everyone should pick up and read. You might start avoiding puddles after reading! Book 2 please!

Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin

Title: A Court of Wings and Ruin

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Date of Publication: May 2, 2017

Goodreads Summary:

Looming war threatens all Feyre holds dear in the third volume of the #1 New York Times bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses series.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit-and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords-and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all.

My Review:

So, first off loved this book! Sarah J. Maas just has a way of sucking me in with all her characters. Pretty much the bond between Rhysand and Feyre is the heart of this book, but there is loads of action, character building, and I could visualize each and every one of her sentences.

Characters… Rhysand is so my number one, but Azriel, Cassian, Nesta, Mor, Elain, Lucien, Amren… Each of them has their own specific personality, and I care about each one differently as if they were my own. It’s hard for me to connect to characters like I have here.

There is action, and I’m not going to lie, I was scared in some of the book, not knowing what was going to happen to everyone. I’m not going to spoil anything, so read it. I am so anxious to know who is going to be at the center of narrating in book four because there are a few that I definitely want to hear from first!

Have you started this series yet? Who are you hoping to narrate book 4?