drakaina16's Reviews (2.21k)

It takes a whole lot to surprise me these days. I regularly read upwards of 25o books a year, so I've read the same tropes over and over again. Revelator not only surprised me, but managed to make me say wtffff quite a few times. This is extremely well done historical Appalachian horror. Seeing how things unfold is quite the experience that kept me on my toes. 5 stars

Thank you to Crystal Lake Publishing for providing a review copy. 

Crystal Lake has put out another top-notch themed anthology. The author lineup is fantastic - three of the best indie authors today bring us spine-tingling tales of urban legends. All different, but all three managed to make me stop at points to think about how creepy they are. 4.5 stars

Knock on Wood by Leigh Kenny ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Nesting by Dan Franklin ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Poltergeist Password by Nick Roberts ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

A Dark Breed is a creature feature that doesn't reinvent the wheel, but definitely has a lot going for it. The pacing is great and the writing is cinematic. I didn't feel like I knew the characters well enough to really care about them. The creatures themselves aren't described super well, and maybe that's on purpose, but the rest of the writing was so descriptive that I felt a little cheated there. Overall, a good read that would make a great movie. 3.5 stars

Thank you to Encylopocalypse Publications for providing a review copy. 

When I saw that Encylopocalypse was putting out a novelization of Deadgirl (by Bridgett Nelson, no less!), I jumped right on that. Deadgirl is a difficult movie to watch, and the book is the same. The subject matter is abhorrent, made even more so by the fact that Deadgirl has been given a name and a backstory. And it is a doozy of a backstory, much more interesting to me than the present-day story. The horrors of real life history intersect with the evil that modern men do. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time. 4.5 stars

I've had this novella on my Kindle forever, and I'm glad I finally picked it up. Dolls in general don't really creep me out, but there is something so nightmarish and uncanny valley about ventriloquist dummies. Nightmarish is actually a pretty fair description of the whole book. This one is short but impactful, with a couple of scenes that made my skin crawl. I would have happily read it at twice the length. 4 stars

This anthology starts off with a bang, with two 5 star stories from two of my favorite authors. I enjoyed all the stories, with one exception (the story was absolutely ridiculous and made no sense). All in all, a strong collection. 4 stars

The Second Hand by Kealan Patrick Burke ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Governess by Ania Ahlborn ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Urban Moon by Mercedes Yardley ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
A Circle That Ever Returneth by Kevin Lucia ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Bury Me in the Garden by Mike Duran ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
This is How it Goes by Gemma Files ⭐⭐⭐⭐.75
Comfortable Gods by Michael Wehunt ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fly away, little fledgling by Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Forget the Burning Isle by Michael Whitehouse ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
Three Lanes Deep by Gemma Amor ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
The Switch by Cameron Chaney ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
The Red Rose by Caytlyn Brooke DNF
Can We Keep Him? by C.W. Briar ⭐⭐⭐.5
Alone in the Dark by J.D. McGregor ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to the author for providing a review copy. 

Port Luck is one of the best creature features I've read in awhile. I read Seven Rabbits last year and was highly impressed with Timothy King. He has a real ability to make you feel for his characters, whether that emotion is love or hate (and there are definitely a couple to hate here). The writing is very cinematic and descriptive, with lots of gore and action, and ending is awesome. 4.5 stars

I knew that Witchcraft for Wayward Girls was going to be a hard read, based on the subject matter alone. I still wasn't prepared for the emotional battering at hand. This book made me rage and cry and feel right along with the girls in the maternity home. I wouldn't personally classify it as horror, but it is most certainly horrific. The fact that things these girls went through happened to actual people (without the witchy slant) is unconscionable. All in all, a very timely book about a very uncomfortable part of history. 5 stars