The Cabin in the Woods is one of my all time favorite movies. When I first watched it, I was expecting a true horror film, but I was so happy to learn that it was a wonderful mashup of horror comedy!

So when I saw a copy of The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion at my local Goodwill, I was ecstatic! Of course I snatched it up immediately and went directly to the register.

This was absolutely everything I was hoping it would be.

The forward by Drew Goddard was such a great start to the book! It was so funny and interesting and it made me ever more excited to read on!

Next up was an interview with Josh Whedon and Drew Goddard! I really enjoyed getting to learn more about the two of them and what their process was like in making this film. One of my favorite facts that I learned: the two of them locked themselves into a hotel room to write together and get the screenplay down!

I really enjoyed that Josh and Drew discussed the genre of horror overall and just how many horror elements went into this film. One of my favorite bits was where Drew explained how this is a film that is, "designed to be watched repeatedly." That was so exciting for me to read because I have been saying that for years! I have told so many people that you can't just watch this film once; the more you watch, the more you get out of it because you will notice more and more each time!

Also in this section, there were wonderful photos included of the two of them on set during various situations such as the first day of shooting at the gas station when it was snowing, or inside the cabin directing the actors.

The main chunk of the book was the screenplay. I absolutely adored this section! It was so wonderfully put together! I loved that there were lots of photos, short interviews with the characters, blurbs about the characters, and fun facts mixed in with the screenplay! And I mean, just reading the screenplay itself was awesome, but all the extra bits really added to the excitement!

The texture on each of the pages was awesome! There was just so much going on if you took the time to look at everything rather than just cruising through the story and looking at the photos.

Next was the "Creature Feature," which was absolutely incredible! I loved learning more about the “creatures” and seeing photos of them up close all while reading short blurbs from David Leroy Anderson and Heather Langenkamp Anderson who discussed how the effects and creatures were made.

The book concluded with a section from Josh Whedon, which wrapped things up wonderfully.


My favorite line from the screenplay:
MARTY
Nemo, man, you gotta wake up. Your shit is topsy-turvy.


My final thoughts:
An absolute must read for any fan of the film! I thought that this book was wonderful! It was organized really well and the imagery and overall design was just perfect. I'm so happy that I own this one!

Now, I'm off to re-watch the film again!!

A Little Tea Book: All the Essentials from Leaf to Cup is an absolute treat to read while sitting with a great cup of tea! A must-read for any tea lover!

I won a copy of this book in a giveaway. So thanks again to Nicole from Bloomsbury for sending a copy my way!

The book's introduction begins with:

You’re holding this book because you love tea.
Perhaps you can’t begin your morning without
a cup of English Breakfast. You may have a favorite
mug. You might carry that mug to work, along with
an assortment of teabags.

I was already wicked excited to dive into this book, but from that passage, I knew I'd be in for a treat!

First things first, I just love the cover designed by Katya Mezhibovskaya! The entire book was designed so beautifully. Even the naked book looks lovely!

I learned so many things from this book! A few of the things that really stood out were:
- All tea comes from just one plant: the Camellia sinensis.
- There are only six types of tea- white, green, yellow, oolong, black, and dark. All others like chamomile aren’t tea, they’re made from other plants.
- A tea is defined by the variety/cultivar used and what happens to the leaf after plucking.
- Taste varies depending on weather, the soil, time of harvest, the part of the plant, and what happens to the harvest after it is removed from the plant, but the quality can still vary greatly.
- Teas can be categorized into flavor groups including; fruit, floral, marine, mineral, sweet, spice, wood, earth, and others.
-The debate of whether the milk goes in before or after the tea is ongoing. This author and George Orwell say after. I agree!

This book was organized so brilliantly. There were so many wonderful sections! One of my favorites, which rather surprised me, was the “A little history” section. The information in this chapter was written so well and it was rather short and sweet, but it still packed quite the historical punch!

I loved that the author threw in quick personal stories here and there and that there were also various drink recipes thrown in every now and again!

The photos included were incredible! As were the illustrations!

At the end of the book there was a glossary, more information about the photos included, recommended reading, and an index.


My final thoughts:
I had so much fun reading this book! Of course, it also made me super thirsty! I brewed a cup of green tea, and multiple cups of loose white tea to sip on while reading, and a cup of black tea to drink while writing up my review!

I would highly recommend this book to any tea lover! It's packed with wonderfully interesting information and written in a very easy-to-read way.

Elevation by Stephen King wasn't what I was expecting from a book categorized as horror. But simply thinking about the plot afterward... now that was truly terrifying!

About the storyline:
This story is about a man named Scott Carey who lives in a small town and works from home as a web developer. While his work life is going great, Scott has a very difficult personal life. No matter how much he eats, he has been steadily losing weight but his body hasn't been reflecting the weight change.

To make things even stranger, the things that he holds seem to lose their weight completely, according to the scale. This was proven when he stepped on a scale wearing a coat with the pockets filled with change, stripping, then going back on the scale to see that nothing had changed...

Scott is also struggling with two dogs who keep doing their business on his front lawn. When he confronts one of his neighbors with proof, he is thrown off by how cold she is. He soon learns that this neighbor is so icy because of the way that many townspeople are treating her and her wife, who recently moved to town to open a restaurant. Simply because the two women are married, many of the townspeople won't step foot in their restaurant.

After hearing a nasty comment at a local diner, Scott is determined to show the ladies that not all of the townspeople are close-minded, nasty people. So he decides to go eat at the restaurant, only to learn that they are at risk of going out of business because of how the townies treat them.

Even though Scott is losing weight daily, he is still determined to help. But can he help someone who doesn't want his help in the first place before his weight drops down to nothing?

My thoughts:
Overall, I thought this was a decent novella that followed a nice storyline about overcoming prejudices and assumptions, and letting love win. There were many timely elements thrown in that we difficult to read, but important.

The characters were a little one-dimensional, but I thought that they were developed just enough for their roles. We had a rather stereotypical cast, but a solid cast nonetheless. We had the icy neighbor with a chip on her shoulder, the quiet and skittish neighbor that played peacekeeper, the doctor that just wanted to help, the doctor's wife that was a bit stubborn with her mindset at first but was easily swayed, and the main character that wants to do anything he can to help others!

None of the characters were all that likable. Even at the very end I didn't care much for any of them, but I did really enjoy seeing them grow while their relationships with one another developed.

At one point, the author mentioned a high school dance, a local band had renamed themselves “Pennywise and the Clowns.” This made me chuckle! I love when authors do little crossovers like this to their other work.


Beware, the negatives:
This book seemed to need another round of edits... There were a number of bits that didn’t flow very well, and some instances just seemed like autocorrect issues like: “I swan, men in middle age lose all their sense.” Swan? Shouldn’t that be swear? Yikes.

All of the fat-shaming comments were a bit tiring. Many of them made sense for the story, especially at the beginning. But after a certain point I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Like, we get it, the main character looks like he is overweight. Let's move on.


My favorite passages:
Not a wind, not even a high, exactly, but an elevation. A sense that you had gone beyond yourself and could go farther still.

He rose slowly from the chair, the coverlet trailing below him like the hem of a long skirt, feeling absurdly like Mary Poppins, minus the umbrella.


My final thoughts:
I'm glad I gave this one a read. I was hoping for more horror than sci-fi, but I still enjoyed the overall plot. Thinking about what happened to Scott is quite chilling!

I would recommend giving this one a read. It would be a great book to read during a readathon because it was pretty quick and the storyline will totally suck you in while reading! And the ending is pretty lovely.

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia was a dark, brutal, and action-packed read about vampires in Mexico City that I could not put down.

It has been a very long time since I read a book about vampires that I enjoyed. I picked this one up after reading a review from Deanna of Deanna Reads. I was so happy when my copy arrived! I began reading and right from the first page, I totally sucked in.

So heads up, once you sink your teeth into this one, you won't want to let up. (Ha! Sorry, I just had to.)

This story is set in Mexico City, where gangs, drugs, and corruption run rampant. However, the gangs and the police can agree on one thing: they want to keep the city vampire-free. But little do they know that at least one vampire has been living in the city right under their noses for generations, and two others have recently made it across the border. While one of these vampires is on the run, the other is thirsty for revenge and won't stop until he claims his prize, destroying anyone who gets in his way.

My goodness... the history and detail about the vampires that was put into this novel was very interesting! I loved learning that the humans in this world first discovered that vampires were real in 1967. I also really enjoyed learning that there were ten subspecies of vampires, all with different strengths and weaknesses. I was so eager to learn more about each subspecies and I was thrilled each time a new piece of information was offered up.

I thought it was wonderful that the author helped the reader learn more about vampires through the questions Domingo asked Atl or other interactions or thoughts that various other characters had. There was a ton of information given to the reader throughout these pages that definitely could have strayed into info-dumping, but this author avoided that!

The overall storyline was rather simple but it was also super thrilling! I just could not wait to see what would happen next. This is one of those books that I seriously could not put down. I walked around our place numerous times with my nose stuck in the pages of the book while I went to get more tea or a snack.

The story was fast-paced and the action was so exciting! This author certainly didn't hold back when it came to the brutality of certain situations.

Then there were the characters. I just loved the characters! They were all so wonderfully developed for each of their roles! I really enjoyed that we mainly focused on two characters, Domingo and Atl, but that the chapters also focused on other characters to really give us the full story before their storylines all met up in one bloody grand finale.

Domingo was adorable. While he may have been a bit naive, he was also very loyal! I loved how interested he was in Atl and how he kept referring back to the characters of his comic books before he finally realized how different real vampires were from the media. I also loved that he was so willing to help whenever he was needed and that he was never willing to just walk away or give up. He was such a sweet person, and so thoughtful! The fact that he never had much money, but when he came into some money, immediately bought a gift for another person says a lot about his character.

Atl was strong, even though she was also bit broken and jaded. I really enjoyed seeing her storyline develop. Though she was a bit harsh, it totally made sense with what she had gone through, and was continuing to go through along with the deep internal struggles she was deal with. I loved when she would poke fun at Domingo for making a reference to the vampires seen in their media.

Cualli, Atl's trusty doberman, was so wonderful! Of course, I'm just a sucker for any dog character, but this one was especially exciting. Cualli was much larger than the regular doberman and he was trained to give warnings to Atl to help her survive.

Bernardino was so interesting! He seemed to be a stereotypical elder character; he didn't want to help at first and would prefer to be left alone in his dark home, but was pretty easily persuaded.

Ana, the cop, was a lovely addition. While her storyline was rather predictable, I really enjoyed the chapters that we spent with her. She was so strong and all she wanted to do was provide a better life for her daughter.

Nick Godoy was a horribly angsty teenage vampire that was so set on revenge that he could hardly think of anything else. I found his character to be very chilling and rather disgusting. He was quite the bad guy!

Rodrigo was one that I didn't care much for. Perhaps that was because he was a bit overshadowed by the nastiness of Nick. I did enjoy how straight to the point he was when dealing with Nick, however.
Then of course there were various other characters that, while they played smaller roles, played very important parts in this story.

Overall, an absolutely wonderful cast that made this story so exciting.

I could go on and on about this book! I just loved it so much! But let's move along here...


My favorite passages:
Ana kept working this shit job for her daughter. But she worried. She wasn’t home nearly enough and the city had a hungry maw, one ready to swallow the young and the innocent.

Domingo gave the gate an experimental push. It swung on its hinges, groaning a welcome.

He’s never seen a door knocker except in horror movies, but there was one, a heavy iron ring, which he slammed against the wood.

Uncomfortable conversations with your deceased relatives should be saved for the Day of the Dead or a night of binge drinking.

He knelt by the bed, a cup in his hands, and looked at her. With her eyes closed, Atl’s features seemed to soften, like a switchblade that has yet to snap out.

“Vampires, we are a diverse lot. So many differences. Yet we are united by one simple unavoidable fact: we are our hunger.”

He loved the sound of her voice, like incense. It belonged in vast, elegant rooms lit with candles and strewn with fragrant, pale flowers.

He tilted his head slightly and planted a kiss on the corner of her mouth, very brief, like the question mark at the end of a sentence.

No one had ever looked at him like that. Like he was ever a star shining down on them that night and the ground beneath her feet, and every other ridiculous phrase found in books that he’d never believed could possibly be true.


My final thoughts:
This book has rock solid world-building, very compelling characters, and a wonderfully addicting storyline filled with action and violence.

If you're looking for a great vampire read, look no further! I highly recommend this one!

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James is a tale that occurs in two timelines that are woven together so wonderfully. I was so impressed by all the smaller details that went into this storyline and how it all built up to that ending!

This is a book that I already cannot wait to read again!

Full disclosure: I was gifted an ARC of this book from a fellow blogging friend, Chris Wolak of WildMooBooks (thanks again, Chris!!). Any quotes I have pulled out in my review below may no longer be accurate, unfortunately I was not yet able to compare it to the final version.

In this novel, we follow two timelines;

Vermont in 1950-
In this timeline, we focus on a group of girls at a boarding school, called Idlewild Hall, who are struggling to keep their cool under the pressures of their personal histories and frustrations with their families, keeping up with school work, dealing with rough women that oversee the girls, and, most terrifyingly, the ghost named Mary Hand that haunts the school and who has been making more frequent appearances. But then one day, one of the girls goes missing.

Vermont in 2014-
In this timeline, we focus on a journalist named Fiona Sheridan who's sister was found murdered and dumped on the field of Idlewild Hall. When Fiona hears that someone has purchased the property and wants to renovate it, she convinces the local paper to let her cover the story, much to her boyfriends dismay. And the boyfriend? He's a cop. The two struggle with a bit of a Romeo and Juliet situation, but both become heavily invested in the story that they begin to uncover.

I usually don't like dual timelines simply because I tend to prefer one timeline over the other, and sometimes the organization confuses me. However, these two timelines were both written and organized very well! I loved each of the timelines, and I really enjoyed how each of them held their own levels of suspense. I loved how many different side stories were also woven into the overall storyline. I was super impressed when each of the smaller elements began coming together toward the end.

The characters were so interesting! I loved learning more about each of the girls from 1950 whether that was through their timeline or through what Fiona was uncovering in her timeline. I was just so antsy to learn what each of the girls histories were and how they ended up at Idlewild Hall. I also really enjoyed Fiona, the main character from the 2014 timeline, and how brave and determined she was to find answers.

When it comes to the suspense, I definitely felt that there was an overall chilling factor, but the suspense didn't really ramp up until the middle of the book. However, toward the end, that's when things got really intense!

But the mystery? Wonderfully done! From the very first page to the very last page, this tale had me totally captivated.


My favorite passages:
This was a detail that was rubbing her raw, keeping her wound bleeding, long after everyone else had tied their bandages and hobbled away. She should grab a crutch - alcohol or drugs were the confident ones - and start hobbling with the rest of them.

There was something soothing and meditative about the side of a road, a place most people passed by. As a child she'd spent car rides looking out the window, thinking of the places they passed, wondering what it would be like to stop there, or there, or there. It had never been enough for her just to get from one place to another.

That twenty-year-old fear was buried deep in the tenor of his voice, but Fiona could hear it. IT was like a whistle on a dog's frequency, that fear. Only someone who felt the same would know.

Fiona arrived at Margaret Eden's home at Mitchell Place, a gated community of expensive townhouse built during the book years before the 2008 crash. Even then, the neighborhood's existence had hinged more on hope than on actual local wealth; there wasn't much demand for "executive" homes for wealthy professionals in Barrons, and the houses had taken years longer to complete than planned.

Fiona thought about this, still staring at her ceiling. The story itself was a horror so large it threatened to overtake everything in its path. She had to try to control it, not to let the nightmare send her off the path of what she was really after.

Roberta Greene tilted her head up slowly, then looked up at the ceiling, and Fiona watched grief fall over her like a blanket. The old woman blinked, still looking up, and two tears tracked down her parchment cheeks. Her sadness was so fresh, so raw, it was as if none of the years has happened at all.

And for the first time in twenty years, Fiona let the words into her head, like a cold draft from a cracked window: Could they have gotten it wrong?

CeCe’s anger was like an overfilled balloon she couldn’t tuck away and didn’t want to touch it for fear it would explode.


My final thoughts:
I thought that this book was very well written and the flow of the storyline made it so difficult to put down! From all of the smaller details that were woven in and the organization of the overall storyline, to the development of the characters and how they all interacted with one another, this was such a great story. I was totally sucked in while reading and it had me guessing right up until the very end. I already cannot wait to reread this one!

I cannot wait to check out more from Simone St. James!

Collected Christmas Horror Shorts 2 was an awesomely dark collection of short stories.

When Kevin J. Kennedy sent me a copy of Collected Christmas Horror Shorts 2, I was so antsy to dive in! I just couldn't wait for Thanksgiving to come and go so I could read this one.

On November 23rd (the day after the US Thanksgiving), I turned on my Kindle and started the first tale...

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the authors in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

My thoughts:

Per usual with these types of collections, here are my rating breakdowns for each story along with some immediate thoughts/reactions:

Christmas Lunch by Amy Cross- 5/5
The wording in this story was so clever! I had an inkling of what was going on, but it was still so interested to see what was going to happen next!

Frau Perchta by Suzanne Fox- 2/5
I enjoyed the gore toward the end in this one, but the dialogue and the sexual scene in the beginning wasn't for me.

Duende by Christina Bergling- 3/5
Oh siblings... I didn't love the first half of this story because of how rotten the older sister was. But I really enjoyed the second half of this one!

A Noel in Black by Matthew Brockmeyer- n/a
Not a story for me.

The Mall Santa by Christopher Motz- 4/5
I loved the take on punishing those on the naughty list. And the little creatures that would one day be elves? Super creepy!

The Yuletide Butcher by Mike Duke- 5/5
Phew! So dark and gory! I really enjoyed this one!

The Ghost of Christmas Office Party Past by C.S. Anderson- 4/5
Terrifying in a very real world way. Stories like this give me the chills; just one person cracking up and having access to a gun...

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Matt Hickman- 5/5
So creepy! I loved the idea behind this one! And that ending!!

The Kringle by Peter Oliver Wonder- 5/5
What an interesting sci-fi twist!! This story mentioned that while Earths population continued to grow, Santa’s job got easier and easier as more people moved to the naughty list, even kids who were being raised to be selfish. This was rather sad but how it came back around at the end was so awesome!

Ho Ho Hollow by Mark Cassell- 4/5
Terrifying! This poor family.

How the Witch Stole Yuletide by James Matthew Buyers- 3/5
A fast paced poem about the witch and Grendel causing some terror.

Sugar Vision by Sara Tantlinger- 4/5
So creepy! Parts of this were mouth-watering, others made my stomach turn a bit. Very well done!

The Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy- 5/5
I loved the storyline of this one! It was very upsetting, but the revenge and the ending was so wonderful and gory.

Something in the Stocking by P. Mattern- 5/5
Brutal from the start and that ending!!

Black Eye Friday by J.C. Michael- 3/5
Interesting. I certainly didn’t see the ending coming.

Christmas in Hell by Kevin J Kennedy- 5/5
In this version of hell, no one answers questions. They just give bits and pieces of information in general conversation. That would drive me insane! And of course, who doesn’t love a Krampus story?!

Santa Claus Comes At Night by Andrew Lennon- 3/5
Eek! So terrifying! Poor Marcus.

Catching Santa by Michael A. Arnzen- 5/5
Yes! What an awesome paranormal tale!

Christmas Curse by Weston Kincade- 3/5
An action-packed, interesting twist on things.

Weihnachtstag by Mark Fleming- 4/5
Woah.

Secret Santa by Veronica Smith- 5/5
So creepy and so sad! I really enjoyed reading this one! The dreams that acted as flashbacks were put together so wonderfully in order to give the reader just a bit more information as the story progressed.

The Joys of Christmas by Lisa Morton- 5/5
This was a great story to end up! Terrifyingly real-world and it makes a great point about how out of control gift giving has gotten!


My final thoughts:
Overall, a wonderful collection! This is definitely one that I would love to pick up each year to read through my favorites! I highly recommend this if you're looking for a darker holiday read!

Weight of Ashes by Rook Winters was an awesome read set in a dystopian aftermath that was filled with action, devastation, and a whole lot of heart!

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

This was such a enthralling read! Right from the start, I was drawn right into the action and it never let up! I was constantly on edge; just waiting to see what would happen next. So needless to say, I thought that the plot was incredible and the writing style was fantastic! It was so easy to get totally immersed in the tale and everything from the dialogue to the action sequences, it all flowed so well.

I loved the characters, even the villains. They were all so wonderfully developed.

Each of the main characters were so interesting. I really enjoyed that there was a great variety; we had the young man that gets thrown into a situation that was way over his head, an older wise man who is guiding his people but also doesn’t hesitate to do what’s right, the young girl that is also thrown into a very intense situation where she has a crucial mission to carry out, the woman with all the connections, the man with the elusive tech, the woman helping save many lives, the man that was helping to do whatever he can in hopes that he will see his wife again, the woman on the other side who just wanted to help the good guys, and many, many more!

From the villainous side of things, the creatures that had taken control of the planet were incredibly eerie! These creatures were called the Qyntarak and they were large (8 feet tall) and terrifying creatures, with four spindly legs, six arms, and a long, curved body that looked “like a branch bearing too much fruit.” Yikes! Even more terrifying? They can sense heat which can tell them how exactly how a human is feeling and they also eat people from time to time. These creatures weren’t all bad, however.

And of course, the Qyntarak also had many humans under their control who would do their bidding. One of these humans was a man named Kane who had no problem killing other humans in order to stay on task.

All of the gadgets and technology that was included in this tale was so interesting! For example, there were the grav control flyers which were large ships that hardly make any noise. These ships had the ability to shoot a weapon that opens up a black hole, momentarily sucking things into it and spitting out nothing just dust. There were also nanobots that could heal injuries very quickly.


My favorite passages:
It was a beautiful day. Late summer or early fall, depending on one’s point of view. A day too beautiful for death and dying.

Through an old door, they descended stairs that groaned with each step and Walker feared one would give away before he made it to the bottom.

Despite a lifetime of being taught that violence was rarely the best course of action, Court had an intense urge to introduce Maud’s forehead to the top of her desk.


My final thoughts:
I can't recommend this one highly enough! It was such a fun and interesting read! I would love to see a follow up to this novel!

DNF at page 46.

I think I would have had better luck with this one if I had picked it up at a younger age, like when I was in middle school. Unfortunately for where I am now, this was just a miss for me. The main character was 18 but seemed much younger through the way that she acted which got on my nerves. The writing was also very repetitive and the storyline was pretty jumpy.

I will say though, I loved all of the other elements that were added in to the story like the maps, letters, notes, or newspaper entries.

Hark! the Herald Angels Scream was an interesting collection of holiday themed stories. There were a handful of tales that I really enjoyed, but others weren't such a hit for me.

But that cover design... How awesome is the old school horror feel?! I'm obsessed with this cover.

Many of the tales were wonderfully written! There are definitely some new-to-me authors that I discovered thanks to this book that I cannot wait to check out more work from soon!

Per usual with short story collections, I will break down my thoughts upon finishing each story along with my personal ratings.

Absinthe & Angels by Kelly Armstrong- 2/5
A bit gory and the thought of people coming up to a window of a cabin the characters were staying in was certainly creepy!

Christmas in Barcelona by Scott Smith- 3/5
Oh my goodness. This one had a bit of a slow start, but then the magic introduced was so interesting. And that ending... Oofh.

Fresh As The New Fallen Snow by Seanan Maguire- 4/5
That was such a cool tale! I loved the take on the people that watch and the message of having a home filled with love.

Love Me by Thomas E. Sniegoski- 3/5
Eek! How creepy! A little predictable, but still a fun tale.

Not Just For Christmas by Sarah Lotz- 4/5
Such a powerful message in this one! I equally love and am totally terrified by storied with tech going bad!

Tenets by Josh Malerman- 3/5
Argh! What happens next?!

Good Deeds by Jeff Strand- 5/5
Oh my goodness! I hate that song so much! This story was very extreme, but a very understandable take on a story behind the Christmas song...

It’s a Wonderful Knife by Christopher Golden- 4/5
A very timely story considering the news this year... Gross and blood boiling but a great idea!

Mistletoe and Holly by James A. Moore- 2/5
The thought of losing a husband is so painful. This story was just too slow and dull for me. I think I would have liked it better if we learned more about the sisters girlfriend.

Snake’s Tail by Sarah Langan- 2/5
Weird.

The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel by Joe R. Lansdale- 5/5
Yes! Now this was a great tale! I love the creepy tone and the paranormal twist was so fun! I couldn’t wait to see what happened next!

Farrow Street by Elizabeth Hand- 2/5
Slow to start with an odd ending.

Doctor Velocity - A Story is the Fire Zone by Johnathan Maberry 2/5
The poetic dialogue and all of the various metaphors in this one were very intriguing! The overall story for me was too slow and dull for me though.

Yankee Swap by John McIlveen- 5/5
Now that was quite a tale!! By far my favorite of the collection! I loved how dark and suspenseful this one was!

Honor Thy Mother by Angela Slatter-3/5
Phew! An interesting twist toward the end!

Home by Tim Lebbon- 3/5
Hmm. I liked the overall abandoned world tone, but I left this story just wanting to know more...

Hiking Through by Michael Koryta- 4/5
Oh no. The minute I read Geraldine Largay’s name, I got chills and got so sad (learn more about Geraldine here). What an upsetting true story. However, I’m a sucker for any story about Maine and the woods. I really enjoyed this one.

The Hangman’s Bride by Sarah Pinborough- 5/5
What a wonderful tale! I kind of wish this one was at the front of the book to kick-start the collection.


My final thoughts:
Overall, this was a let down for me. I think I was expecting it to be much more on the horror side of things than it ended up being, which threw me.

But it was still a fun read for the holidays that I would still recommend! If you are looking for something with light horror, this would be a good pick.

Krampus: The Yule Lord by Brom was an awesome tale of revenge and true wickedness. However, it was also about personal belief, friendship, loyalty, and family.

I was expecting this book to be wicked dark and focused only on terror. However, the horror and gore elements were rather light (in my opinion of course!).

There were a few scenes that made me cringe, and there were elements that may put this one firmly into the horror section for others; abuse, murder, torture, alcoholism, corrupt cops, gore, violence, and even one troubling scene with some meth addicts. In my opinion though, all of this happened so briefly! The main portion of the book focused more on loyalty and belief.

While this book may not have been at all what I was expecting, I still absolutely loved it!

This was quite a hefty book! I snagged a hardcover copy from my local library and phew! It made my hands sore to hold it up! I loved the size of the book though, especially how the pages were larger than a "regular" book. And of course, I loved the deckled edges!

I also really enjoyed all of the illustrations that were included on the end pages and at the beginning of each chapter.

I loved how this story related back to Norse mythology! It was so interesting to see this fun twist on certain characters and what their dynamics with one another were in this instance. The author did a great job explaining things. For example, when Krampus was speaking to Jesse, he gave us a bunch of history in such an interesting way that really helped to get readers caught up to speed.

The characters were so wonderful together! I loved seeing each of them interact with one another, no matter what type of situation they were in.

I was really interested in learning about the Belsnickels and their relationship to Krampus. I thought it was so clever that it was similar to a vampire relationship, complete with turning others into beings that Krampus himself could command.

Here are my thoughts on a handful of the characters:

Jesse- The main character. He was a gifted musician that was down on his luck and struggled to believe in himself. All he wanted to do was prove himself and get his wife and daughter back. But fate had something headed his way soon enough that would put him on the right path.

Krampus- I just LOVED his character. I totally expected him to be nothing but terrifying, but he was surprisingly human-like; he was a total emotional rollercoaster! I especially enjoyed his character in times when he was upbeat and happy, but also when he was ready to be terrible.

Isabel- She was one of my favorites! I loved how open minded and positive she always was. She also seemed so fun compared to the others. When we learned more about her history, I loved her even more!

Wipi and Dipi- These two were so intriguing! I wanted to know more about their histories as soon as we met them!

Vernon- A grouch that you couldn’t help but love! I really enjoyed his one liners and realism. I also felt pretty bad for him and the situation he was in, though I loved that he vocalized his frustrations.

Chet- His character was interesting. It was clear he didn’t love what he was involved in when we were first introduced to him. By the end he had grown on me.

The Bad Guys- There were a whole slew of bad guys! Like the Police Chief named Dillard, The General, "Santa Claus," and all the little henchmen. They were each wonderfully wicked. Dillard was my least favorite simply because of some of the things he said that I could have done without. However, as an evil character overall, he was very well done. He was incredibly creepy!

And many others! There were various characters that had very small roles, each were interesting in their own ways!

In the middle of the book, I was so thrilled to see that there was a little section of character illustrations!

Overall, I thought that the pacing was a tad slow, but not in a bad way! Everything that happened occurred over the course of a few days but there just seemed to be quite a lot of downtime mixed in with the drive the characters had to accomplish their goals.

While I say this was slow, I really think that it only helped to increase the overall suspense! I just could not wait to see how things played out... And the bits of slowness got me even more anxious!

The story itself was broken up into three main sections; Jesse, Krampus, and Yuletide. Here are a few of my thoughts on each section:

Part I- Jesse
Phew! This first part did a wonderful job getting the reader invested!

At first I felt bad for the main character, Jesse. Then I didn’t really care for him. But toward the end of this first part, I was totally rooting for him! I really enjoyed how dedicated he was to his family, even though they are in quite a tough situation.

I also really enjoyed how the author presented the Belsnickels and the history between Krampus and “Santa Claus”. The beasts that worked for “Santa” were terrifying; large ravens that can track the sack, and wolves the size of horses... both originally pets of Odin.

What a wild ride! The action picked up quickly and then they were off and running, literally. The characters were running for their lives.

Part II- Krampus
Just as packed with as many intense situations as the previous section. But in this sections, things got much darker! There was torture and lots of death!

Part III- Yuletide
Definitely the strongest section of the book! My goodness, I couldn’t put it down! There was so much action and suspense! And that last scene was perfect!

The Afterword was also wonderful! I loved getting a glimpse into how the author felt about the characters while also learning a bit if history.


My favorite passages:
The structure had a slight lean to it, as though one more hard wind would see it over. The boards and siding were stripped of paint and weathered pale gray. A large wooden cross lay splintered upon the front steps, apparently having tumbled from its perch atop the steeple.

Krampus’s voice sounded stronger, fuller, deep and lyrical like a bass cello.

“A house built on lies has a weak foundation, my dear old friend.”

“He gave them what they wanted, a pretty lie, and they believed, because a pretty lie is easier to believe than an ugly truth.”


My final thoughts:
A must read for anyone interested in Krampus or the "darker" side of the holiday. If you enjoy books with wonderful characters, a semi-slow moving plot that is also filled with suspense (if that makes any sense), and a bit of gore, then this is a great pick for you!

This is definitely one that I am going to be rereading from time to time!