This book is very personal to me. As a person who battles with mental illness on a daily basis, some of the elements in these stories are very real. I caution my readers as I do touch on some very serious things such as self harm and suicide. However, I also hope that my readers enjoy what they experience in this book and that it will (hopefully) have them come back for more. I have tried my very best to stay true not only to the horror genre, but also to the mental illnesses themselves. I hope that I have done so with this book.
This book is not for everyone, I'm not going to lie. It definitely has some triggers to be cautious of. But I think that many people will not only appreciate this book but connect with it in a deep and profound way. My sincerest hope is that everyone who reads this book enjoys it in one form or another. Enjoy dear readers. Love to you all!
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***SPOILERS AHEAD***
Warning: this is going to be a long review. Ugh where to begin with this book... Ok this book has 2 very different stories running simultaneously through the book. The main story is about the Navidson family moving into a new home where VERY strange things happen. The second story takes place in the footnotes where we follow a man named Johnny Truant as he finds, reads and obsesses over the first story which is referred to in the book as The Navidson Record. First off, this is a monster of a book (I'm reading the Remastered Full-Color Edition). In finally having completed this book (this was my second attempt at it) I found there to be absolutely NO reason for this book to be as long as it is. The author goes on rants about things like echoes and mazes throughout the book which are nearly nonsensical and really don't need to be included for the reader to grasp the stories or the severity of the events within them, which I believe is the author's intent with these rants. The one thing that people notice about this book, and perhaps what sets it apart from others, is the formatting/printing. There is text that is written backwards, upside down, mirror image, and some pages that only contain a few words or just a few letters. There are also passages in different languages including German, Greek, Latin and even Braille. Basically, ANY way you could think of to write has been used in this book. While I enjoyed SOME of this extravagant approach, most of it I found annoying to read especially towards the end of the book. I found it to be completely overdone and unnecessary. Some may call this innovative, I call it ridiculous. The footnotes... there are footnotes on nearly every page and most of them are just straight up BS leading the reader to people, books and magazine articles that don't exist and never have. They are literally there for no purpose whatsoever. The characters are all WELL documented throughout the book and I have different personal feelings about each. Due to the length of this review I will omit my feelings on each individual. One character I will talk about however is Johnny. His story takes place in the footnotes as I've stated and the reader reads his story along with that of the Navidsons. In my personal opinion, Johnny is simply a person with untreated severe mental illness who blames his rapid and steady decline on The Navidson Record as he obsesses over it. Refusing to listen to friends and co-workers, he falls uncontrollably into dementia following the path of his mother before him. His story was irritating for me to read for more than just this reason. Johnny is not admirable by ANY means. His story is filled with nothing but drugs, sex and madness and has absolutely NO bearing on the Navidson story whatsoever. Most of what he says in his story is nonsensical blather. In my personal opinion, Johnny's story doesn't even compliment the Navidson's story well at all. Now on to the Navidson's story. This story was entertaining and intriguing. It really felt like a horror story and was well written once you get past all the BS in this book. However, the author decided to (again) ramble on with more BS of the main characters returning to their "haunted" house after their story was done and over. There was really no need to continue on with their story this way. The author could have very well left the ending at Tom's death. That would have been perfect. But instead, true to form, he felt the need to ramble on with adages to the story and more backstory to the main characters, repeating himself and adding absolutely nothing to the story overall. After reading a monster of a book like this you would think that the author would give the reader some sort of justification at the end of the book but we receive none. Instead the ending simply leaves you with more questions. Questions that will remain unanswered. I wanted to stop reading this book so many times. I wanted to put it down and be done with it forever. It made me so mad at times that I wanted to pick it up and throw it across the room. And I don't think anyone would blame me if I had put it down and walked away. But the fact that this was my second time attempting to read this book I knew that if I didn't finish it this time it would haunt me for the rest of my days. I refused to let this book defeat me twice. So I finished it. With great determination and much mental turmoil, I finally finished it. And that really is the only triumph that this book holds at the end is the fact that you were able to finish it where others have failed. Don't get me wrong, this book is not a terrible book it just has a lot of terrible elements to it. So would I recommend this book to others? That in my opinion is a loaded question. On one hand I would recommend it for the Navidson story because it is unique and worthwhile to read. However on the other hand, this book has so much extra BS in it that I couldn't bear the thought of someone having to struggle through this book (as I did) on my account. So I will simply say this: READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! What a wild ride...
The story follows Bela a half angel half mortal that has befriended another like him only half demon. Together in a place they call The Farm, they decide to seek out others like them and give them a place to call home. But Bela has a wrench thrown in his plans when he falls in love and the curse that was set upon him takes effect. Can Bela break the curse and set out to mend this world's wounds from an eternal conflict all in one? Okay so I am a student of world religions and mythology and I have to say a very big kudos to the author of this book for the obvious research and time spent weaving the story together. Seal obviously cares very much about her work and it shows. The characters in the book were very well thought out but a bit one-dimensional. I wish that they had more of a backstory to them so that we could get to know them a little better. Perhaps in future books? This book is definitely action-packed and I found myself having to stop and take rest points every now and again in order to take a breath. It seems that once you get used to things the way they are in the book you got thrown a curveball and things change. Seal definitely has the ability of keeping her audience's attention. All in all a very fun read that I would be happy to recommend to others who like mythology, paranormal and a touch of romance. Sweet story...
Owens introduces us to Kya "The Swamp Girl" as we follow her life's story. Love, loss and a murder mystery make this book an enjoyable read. I don't really do murder mysteries. Those of you who read my reviews probably already know that. But for this one I was willing to make an exception as it has gotten such high praise. As with most murder mystery books, I had this one figured out almost from the beginning. The book held no surprises for me. But the difference about this book is that it wasn't really soley tuned in on the murder and the mystery of who done it. This book was more about the journey that the reader takes and getting to know the cast of characters. This book was very sweet in many of the details. You can't help but fall in love with Kya and feel sympathy for her. She is a very well-written character. The rest of the cast is also very well written. As for the story I'm a little torn. As I stated before the ending was no surprise to me but the way that the book is written with the murder taking a backseat is something that I really appreciate and it and helped me get through this book. All in all I'd have to say this book was very decent. I know a lot of people already love this book and I can see why. However this definitely isn't the type of book that I would read twice. Riveting...
Horror knows no bounds as we follow the story of young Alice who is having troubling dreams which are beginning to take over her day life as well as her night life. But that's the thing about these dreams, they're really not dreams at all. They seem to be memories of a long forgotten past for Alice. Can Alice overcome the demons that wait for her in the corners of her memories? This is a spectacular read! This is the second story in the Ghostly Shadows series which is an anthology series. For a novella, this short read packs quite a punch when it comes to descriptions. This book is very well written and descriptive to a great degree however not so descriptive that it makes you lose interest. The gore scenes are so well described that you can survey the scenes in your mind quite vividly which of course increases the horror aspect of the read. The build-up is slow but steady and the ending makes the read all worthwhile for the readers who love horror. The unexpected twists are not only surprising but well-thought-out and put into play. I tip my hat to the author for this one and thank him for the wonderful adventure he took me on with this book. I also ask that you please let me know once the movie drops! 😉 Definitely recommend! The three little pigs...
In this book, Bliss takes us on a journey following Joan and Joey, a widowed mother and her son, as they move from place to place and, at times, only staying one step ahead of the evil that stalks them. This book is very well written. Much like the author's other work. And it proves without a doubt that this author has not only talent but imagination to boot. Again Bliss is able to pull you right in from the beginning and you have no choice but to just go with it. Questions of the "why" and "how" seem futile in this very dark twist on the classic fairy tale. Just keep repeating to yourself: "just go with it!" LOL You'll get there! 😉 I really enjoyed this one. Not as much as I enjoyed The Bride Stripped Bare, but I definitely enjoyed it none the less. And for the author to be able to fit that much story and detail into a novella definitely is astounding. If you like dark fairy tales and fantasies or horror, you would most certainly enjoy this delightful short read. I recommend this one for sure. Good and dark...
Eighteen years after the eclipse that brought about a new world order, Kayla is now pulled into a situation where she must make choices. Some of which will dictate the fate of the world. Will she be able to grasp her true destiny, fall in love and make the choices that will save humanity? This book is slow starting out. However you really need to stick with this one because it does get better! It is well written and very well-constructed. This is not your normal dystopian tale as you are thrust into this world awaiting the second apocalypse and Kayla who is the one who will grow and come into her own legacy (not to mention fall in love). I did enjoy the romance in this book as it is not the norm in a dystopian novel. However I did have some trouble connecting with Kayla. On the flip side I really enjoyed Za'in. He was great. This book has many genre elements all mixed in together to say the least. However Clyman is able to string these elements together with ease in this book. In a novel of this size you really need to be able to keep your reader's attention and the author does just that with her well thought-out and (most definitely) imaginative storyline. I would most definitely recommend this one to those who like a bit of romance mixed with dystopian and a coming-of-age with lots of mythological references. |
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