drakaina16's Reviews (2.21k)

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy. 

I had such a great time with Helloween! This book has a LOT going on and is an absolute brick, but the plot never gets bogged down and the story moves along at the perfect clip. When a story has this many .moving parts and a large cast of characters, I sometimes have issues remembering who the characters are. Ralston managed to make his characters memorable enough that I was able to both remember them and the plot points they were involved with. 4.5 stars

Cult horror is one of my favorite subgenres, and the Father of Lies trilogy is one of the best cult books I've read. It is tremendously creepy, brutal, and pulls no punches. Although I rated the contents individually, overall this was a 5 star experience, enhanced by the Book of Lies at the end. 

Ritual ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Communion ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Sacrament ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eucharist ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to BookSirens for providing a review copy. 

C.L. Methvin is a new author to me, and their debut collection is very impressive. There's a lot of body horror to be found within the pages, as well as extremely interesting and unique speculative horror. 4.25 stars

My Roommate’s Locks ⭐⭐⭐.5
Eusect ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Aurozoa Sleep ⭐⭐⭐.75
Doors and Dead Men ⭐⭐⭐⭐
An Account of Five Hundred and Nine, or Sower’s Descent ⭐⭐⭐.5
Ximena’s Fall ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Need Only Be Closer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
In Miriam's Arms ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mouths ⭐⭐⭐.25
We, the Water, the Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Tender Writhing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Firetender ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
A Stagnant Song ⭐⭐⭐.25
Stay ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to the author for providing a review copy. 

I didn't love Dead Man's Heart as much as I wanted to. To me, the book definitely leans more thriller than horror and runs a little long. I also found it incredibly predictable, although the book is written well and the characters are well developed. I loved Cries of Joy and The Devil's Tree, but this book missed the mark a bit for me. 3 stars

I'm sick to death of reading torture porn against women

Let me tell you, it was a Herculean effort of will to stop after just one chapter every day. I did end up finishing a day early, since I know Christmas will be busy for me. 25 Days is a super cool concept - a book that is also an adventure calendar. Per Jacobsen keeps the tension high, using this format. The story was pretty good, but man, that family made some CHOICES. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun with it 3.5 stars 

100% Match is 100% a book that I never would have picked up if it wasn't a BoH Short Smack contender. I'm just not a fan of gross out. That being said, I not only finished it, but read it in a single sitting. Gross out is still not my thing, but I found 100% Match more entertaining than most. 3.25 stars

This book has a severe case of "men writing women" syndrome

 Three novellas from three of my favorite indie authors? I'm all the way in! I quite enjoyed each story. All of the stories involve derelict places, and it's always so interesting to me to see how different authors interpret a theme. 4.25 stars 

Blank Space by John Durgin ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
 Eyebiter’s Revenge by Jay Bower ⭐⭐⭐⭐
 Expiration of Sentence by John Lynch ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to the author for providing a review copy.

What an interesting book this is. Even though I've been a non-believer for almost as long as I can remember, I always dig religious horror. As a non-believer, I've always had a bit of sympathy for the devil, so to speak. Lucifer's confession brought up many of the questions I've asked myself and others, but the way his hatred of humanity is portrayed here is very unique. Faithful or not, there are a ton of reasons to read The Morningstar Confession. 4.5 stars