The Vampire Next Door by JT Hunter is a true crime novel that covers the bizarre case of the Vampire Rapist. While an interesting read, this one unfortunately wasn't my favorite book by Mr Hunter.

I had previously read JT Hunter’s novel, Monster Of All Time: The True Story of Danny Rolling, for another blog tour. So when this one was announced, I signed up immediately!

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book by the author as a participant of the Partners In Crime Book Tour in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

First things first, this one covers sex crimes and it doesn’t shy away from the horrible details, so if that’s a trigger for you, you’re going to want to skip this one!

When the book begins, it’s formatted like a fiction novel as we saw the killer committing various acts. Then we jump to chapters focused on the victims. One specifically is a woman that managed to get away. After seeing her narrow escape, we then take the time to learn all about the killers childhood, young adult life, and the part of his adult life when before things took a darker turn. Then we’re back with the victim that got away as she’s in the hospital… From there, I couldn’t put the book down!

Just like the other book I had read by JT Hunter, I really appreciated all of the information that was included because it really told the full story rather than just focusing on the bad guy. We were given background information about the murderers childhood and plenty of information about his actions. We read the horrific details about the murders and saw some evidence photos. We also followed the court case and what happened to the man once he was in jail. But we were also able to see the impact on the victim’s families and the one woman that was able to get away.

It was absolutely heartbreaking. What a nasty set of crimes! This book certainly made my blood boil and I found many sections to be very difficult to read based simply on the crime. Because of this, I really appreciated the more fictionalized sections that both got us in the mind of the killer, but also broke up the non-fiction elements.

Beware, the negatives
I did have a few small items on my list of things I didn’t like about the book.

The main one was that it was very repetitive. Toward the end especially, I found myself skimming certain sections because we were going over things that we had already gone over a few times before.

I also didn’t really care for most of the other news items. While a couple helped to explain why the news of this guy wasn’t front-page news, the rest were thrown in in a way that didn’t make sense to me and just took us out of the story.

If I had to choose one of his works over the other, I would definitely recommend A Monster of All Time over this one.

My Favorite Passages
And yet, despite his seemingly harmless appearance, a creature of darkness had made the Sunshine State his home. For more than two years, unbeknownst to his Malabar neighbors, a vampire had been living among them, concealed as one of them, hidden in plain sight in an unobtrusive house next door.

My Final Thoughts
The crimes that this book covered were horrific, but I loved how the author organized and presented all of the information in a way that didn’t shine all of the light on the monster.

If you enjoy true crime, and don’t mind a little repetition, this is one I would recommend to you.

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie is a quick little mystery that could easily be read in one sitting.

This was the first book I had read by this author, and I don’t think I chose a great place to start…

This tale was centered around the determination to solve the case of a murder.

When the body of a young woman was discovered one morning, the husband calls for the inspectors, which was understandable. But then, the first thing the wife of the house did was call a Miss Marple to come investigate.

Of course, word gets out and it’s not long before the townsfolk begin gossiping. They began suspecting certain people and the story quickly got a bit twisted.

While reading, I did enjoy this one. But to be honest, I found myself powering through just to see how the case was resolved. At one point, I had a coworker ask if I was reading anything good, and my response was, “Well, I’m reading my first Agatha Christie novel and it’s all about a body that was found in a library. I can’t say I’m really enjoying it, but I want to find out who the murderer was…”

The worst part? When the mystery was finally solved, I was left feeling a little deflated.

I wish that I had known this was the third book in the Miss Marple series… I think I may have done myself a bit of a disservice by not doing my research first. I enjoyed the read, but I didn’t care about a single character and that made it difficult to care about the story overall.

I think I’ll snag the first two books from the library one day, then perhaps give this one a read again.

Stitches: A Neo-Noir Thriller by Kevin J. Kennedy and Steven Stacy is a dark and brutal tale about a group of models who attract the wrong type of attention…

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

This book was a little outside of my comfort zone, but since it was Kevin J. Kennedy, I wanted to give it a go anyway! There was one sex scene that I skipped through as it’s just not my jam. But the rest… I couldn’t look away!

I loved that the novella began with us seeing the models being chosen by the photographer, and then it jumped to them traveling to one of their shoots. Right from the second that the girls asked for directions from someone that made them all a bit nervous, I knew we were in for a trip!

The story just got darker and darker as it went on. There were two scenes that had me reading so fast to see what was going to happen, that after I finished my first pass of the scene, I went back and re-read it to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

This one had me cringing. The action was so addictive and intense, but there’s just something about body horror like this that totally gets under my skin.

My Final Thoughts
I had so much fun reading this. This tale was action packed and it was incredibly scary! It’s definitely one that you should pick up when you have an hour or so to just cruise through it. You won’t be able to put it down!

Are you a fan of horror with a splash of erotica? If so, go snag this one right away!

Love zombie tales? This YA horror tale is 140 pages filled with teen angst and terror!

When we meet the three main characters, the tension is already very high!

The three teens are stuck in a very warm basement with someone on the other side of the door who just keeps scratching at the door…

One character is complaining about pain, the second character is absolutely terrified, and the third is having an internal struggle with the entire situation as well as some personal struggles. And of course, two of the characters are already fighting with each other.

We soon learn that the three characters are in a situation where they are being held captive in the basement because there is a zombie on the other side of the door. We also get a flashback to learn what happened before they wound up where they are in the present.

For the remainder of the tale, we see the characters deal with many situations that get darker and darker, and more terrifying and horrible as the story progresses.

Some of the scenes had be cringing. Some had me reading as fast as I could to see what would happen next. Some scenes will be stuck in my head for a long time to come.

Of course, this is just day one. So there’s a bit of a cliffhanger. I cannot wait to see what day two is like!!

My Favorite Passages:
Jennie is obviously out of the picture – she couldn’t hit the floor if she fell down, especially not with her wounded arm.

“What do you think was the point of the ritual?” Dan asks.
“No idea. I didn’t go to Hogwarts.”
Dan doesn’t seem to hear the joke. He just starts turning pages again.

My Final Thoughts:
Phew! What a read! I definitely recommend this one to fans of YA horror. This one certainly didn’t shy away from the gruesome details!

Sarah’s Cross by Dean M. King is the best ghost story that I’ve read in quite some time! Centering around a little girl that passed away in a car crash, but was still tethered to the world, this tale was heartbreaking but also full of love.

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

When the story begins, we meet our main character, Tommy Ryan. He’s clearly a bit shaken from meeting a girl, but before we learn much else, he suddenly hits a fawn that crosses his path in his driveway. Tommy then focuses on trying to help the fawn by calling in a local vet.

When that emergency quiets down, we get back to learning about the girl and find out that she’s a ghost who can’t move on. She also can’t speak, but she guides Tommy through the woods to point to a house on the other side of a lake. Tommy wants to help her so he decides to try to find that house. Once he makes it there, he’s left with more questions than answers so he decides to do some research about the crash. Little does he know, there is a darker force in play here…

I absolutely loved the main character! I adored that he was so kindhearted and determined to go the extra mile to help whenever he could. I also loved how quickly he was drawn to the little girl as he wanted to protect her.

The writing style was wonderful. Everything was described perfectly so the scene was set in my head. The dialogue was realistic and the characters were perfectly developed for their roles. The pacing was also excellent! This was a book that was extremely difficult for me to put down! Thank goodness I picked it up on a day off!

The elements of mystery in this one kept me so engaged! I was nervous but also very excited to see Tommy research the crash and slowly learn more as some of the puzzle pieces began to fall into place.

My goodness, the action and horror in this one. The author certainly didn’t shy away! I mean… the murder of crows?! It may be because I watched The Birds when I was far too young, but the second we saw this gathering, I got spooked. The scene in the junkyard had me tensing my whole body like I was the main character, getting ready to run at a moments notice.

One last thing that I wanted to note… The scene of Sarah’s death shown only to Tommy with what happened to her body was absolutely heartbreaking.

Needless to say, this one kept me on the edge of my seat!

My Favorite Passages
I thought about that for a moment. The President of the United States wants to spend a half-billion dollars to put a man on the moon, and here I am worrying about a fawn nobody would miss if I had killed it outright. I’ve always believed that little things matter, and though, while not very important in the grand scheme of things, right now the only help that fawn was going to get was me, and it mattered.

I climbed out of my truck and stood by the open door taking in my surroundings. The breeze was coming from the direction of the lake and the morning air was redolent with pine and dew-dampened earth and the aroma of the trout lily that cover the forest beneath the maples, basswood, and hemlocks. A cluster of Jack-in-the-pulpit had thrust up from the soil near a rotting stump to my left, and everywhere, nodding trillium were preparing to bloom.

He couldn’t see her. She was right there in my peripheral vision, and I could feel her gloved hand, smooth and cool, holding onto mine, but he could see only me seated on the birch log.

I left my memories to hang in the air over the bandstand and pulled myself away from the window.

There didn’t appear to be any logic to the distribution of the several thousand junked vehicles. They lay strewn about as if left haphazardly by some giant child after playing with his toys.

My Final Thoughts
I loved this story so much! Everything from how the story line traveled from the very first chapter to the last, to the characters and the paranormal elements… This one was a home run for me!

If you enjoy ghost stories with a lot of heart, you gotta check this one out!

Sworn Guardian by T.L. Branson is the first book in the Forbidden Magic series, and what a series kick-off this was!

I definitely picked this one up at a bad time because it took me a couple weeks to get through it… But with how interesting and fast-paced the plot was, this is a book I easily could have read over the course of a weekend if I had had adequate time!

I love T.L. Branson’s writing style so much! His tales are always so action-packed and exciting. When I got the email that this one had launched, I was so pumped! I dove in just as soon as I could.

When this tale begins, we’re dropped into the middle of a battle where something just happened that has thrown the main character for a loop. It’s clear that time is running out and that things are not going well… But before we get much more information, an explosion occurs.

In the next chapter, the main character wakes up in a bed on a ship. He has a bad feeling about things, but can’t remember much. Over the course of the book, we follow this character on an epic quest where he tries to save his sister, and the world all while working to re-learn everything that had been wiped from his memory.

Right from the start, it’s clear that there is magic involved in this world. Though as we were dropped right into the action, we didn’t learn more about that detail for a short while. Instead, we learn all the ins and outs of the magic gradually over the course of the book as our main character re-learns the things himself. I really enjoyed this as it was easier for me to digest this information slowly rather than getting the information all at once.

I also really enjoyed the gaming element and how each character had MP, EXP, AP and such things. I’m not a huge gamer, whether that’s with video games or table top campaign-based games, but I have played a few and I could easily follow this theme.

For some reason, when picturing the stones that the characters could use to augment their powers, I was picturing those little plastic stones that were Harry Potter themed that you could collect back in the 90’s…

Anyway! The characters themselves were so fun. They each had their own strengths and weaknesses and I couldn’t help but chuckle at quite a bit of their bickering. I already cannot wait to see who returns in the next book in the series.

The main character was definitely a strong character. I didn’t agree with some of his choices, but keeping in mind how terrifying this world may seem to someone that had had lost most of their memories and is just trying to stay strong and stay alive, it all made sense. This was especially the case with his sister Claire and some of the discussions that they had. I felt that the author walked a find line between having Claire give Alton just enough to see how things would play out based on fate without giving him too much just in case that lead them down the wrong path.

Bring on book two!!

My Favorite Passages:
So, I did what any self-respecting person would do, I ran for my life.

“What’s going on?” Claire asked as she struggled to sit up again. “How am I not dead?”
“You sure looked it when you flew out of that vortex,” Bella said.
“After I did what now?” Claire asked with her eyes wide and mouth agape.

“Love isn’t something you brush aside or save for later because there will never be a later. It’s something you make time for today. Without it, what point is there to all of this? Why fight for our kingdom except to protect the ones we love? Without love, we have nothing worth fighting for.”


My Final Thoughts
After I finished reading this and I went to log it here on Goodreads, I saw it labeled as a “LitRPG.” I had never heard of that before! LitRPG is a literary genre that combines some standard conventions of and RPG (role playing game) with science-fiction and fantasy novels.

It was interesting for me to see that this would be in the same category as Ready Player One because I was getting some of those vibes with the elements of this book. I’m definitely going to have to look into more books like this!

So in that case, if you’re looking for an action-packed LitRPG featuring magic, monsters, friendships, and betrayal, then this is one you gotta check out!

A World of Horror edited by Eric J. Guignard is an amazing collection of tales from all over the world! If you’re a horror fan, you have to check this one out!

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

This was such an awesome collection! I really loved how it was organized and how it allowed me to read from authors from many countries that I hadn’t read from before!

Each tale had an illustration before it with a caption below that was pulled from the story. These illustrations were created by Steve Lines.

On the page where we see the title, there was also a graphic to indicate which nation the writer was from as well as a lovely blurb from the editor that introduced the tale!

Introduction: Diversity In Fiction by Eric J. Guignard
I loved that the editor discussed why he wanted to undertake this project and how he went about completing it! He also included some stats that I was happy to learn! The diversity of the authors included in this book is awesome; 22 stories from 18 nations, with a 45/55 percent gender split!

“Truly, there’s no shortage of tales to be
shared from the rest of the world,
but not everyone has the opportunity.
Which is why I wanted to undertake this venture.”

Mutshidzi by Mohale Mashigo – 5/5
South Africa
Heartbreaking and spooky! These two siblings are so brave. I loved how positive Mutshidizi was with what she was going through as she tried to keep the home together after the death of their mother.

One Last Wayang by L Chan – 5/5
Singapore
I loved this one! A tale of monsters and shadows that are alive, told to a grandson by a grandfather. The last line really got me!

Things I Do For Love by Nadia Bulkin – 3/5
Indonesia
From curses to seers, this one was so interesting!

On A Wooden Plate, On A Winter’s Night by David Nickle
Canada
I unfortunately missed something here…

Country Boy by Billie Sue Mosiman – 3/5
United States
Phew! What a smart kid! This tale was about a town where a murderer was on the loose. When shovels started going missing, a young kid that was a fan of Sherlock books solved the case. But would the adults listen to him?

The Wife Who Didn’t Eat by Thersa Matsuura – 3/5
Japan
Creepy! I’m gonna have to do research on this fairy tale!

The Disappeared by Kristine Ong Muslim – 4/5
Philippines
A very sad and spooky piece of flash fiction about a river that claims a life once a year.

The Secret Life of the Unclaimed by Suyi Davies Okungbowa – 3/5
Nigeria
Oh goodness! This poor teen. What a nightmare! Puberty is rough enough, but add a more unnatural transformation to the mix…

How Alfred Nobel Got His Mojo by Johannes Pinter – 3/5
Sweden
What a fun but heartbreaking tale!

Sick Cats in Small Spaces by Kaaron Warren – 3/5
Australia
Oh, this was a neat one! I kept waiting for the horror to show, and when it did… wonderful.

Obibi by Dilman Dila – 4/5
Uganda
Phew! What a dark and sad start. the chase in the woods was certainly creepy! I loved the shapeshifting element and how this one turned out!

The Nightmare by Rhea Daniel – 4/5
India
Interesting! I did not see that ending coming. I really enjoyed this one but I was so nervous for the girl the whole time.

Chemirocha by Charlie Human – 3/5
South Africa
What an interesting tale! While this one wasn’t horror focused, there was an underlying unsettling vibe.

Honey by Valya Dudycz Lupescu – 5/5
Ukraine
This was definitely one of my favorites from the collection! I really felt for the characters and didn’t want harm to befall either of them. There’s also just something about homes in the middle of the woods that draw me in. Add the setting of this one and the fear around both the radiation from Chernobyl and unseen monsters… this was right up my alley.

Warming: Flammable, See Back Label by Marcia Douglas – 4/5
Jamaica
Woah! This one was like a fever dream! I’m not sure what exactly was happening, but it was eerie!

Arlecchino by Carla Negrini – 4/5
Italy
Yikes! This poor guy. What a tale! Nothing like being haunted by monsters from childhood…

The Man at Table Nine by Ray Cluley – 4/5
England
How odd and creepy!! What a premise.

The Mantle of Flesh by Ashlee Scheuerman- 3/5
Australia
A eerie tale of family tradition, lore, and the quest to end a cycle.

The Shadows of Saint Urban by Claudio Foti – 3/5
Italy
How spooky! Not a good one if shadows already creep you out. Also, not a brilliant idea to finish the tale and then immediately go into your basement to gather your Spring decorations either…

Warashi’s Grip by Yukimi Ogawa – 4/5
Japan
Woah! This tale. I did not see the end coming! So frustrating and sad that it was all tied to selfishness.

The White Monkey by Carlos Orsi – 3/5
Brazil
Another tale similar to a fever dream and quite spooky!

The West Wind by David McGroarty – 3/5
Scotland
Another sad and spooky one!

My Final Thoughts
This was such a great collection! I had so much fun picking it up from time to time to read a tale.

I highly recommend this collection to those that love horror, and to those that are just dipping into the genre!

The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson is such an original horror story filled with life, death, and lots of blood. While reading, I felt very unsettled and anxious throughout; I loved it!

What an amazing plot! I thought it was so interesting that clones were created whenever Molly bled and didn't dispose of it properly. What a terrifying idea, especially for a woman! And then to top it off, you could never guess how quickly a molly would turn on her. One second they could be friends, the next they're fighting to the death! Phew!

Check out this quick passage:

The rules are simple.
If you see a girl that looks like you, run and fight.
Don't bleed.
If you bleed, blot, burn, and bleach.
If you find a hole, find your parents.

I get the chills each time I read that!

I thought that Molly was such an incredible character! I really enjoyed seeing her grow up while dealing with her very unique issue. I mean, it’s confusing enough to go through puberty, but add this on top of it all?

I also really enjoyed Molly’s relationship with her parents and how real it all seemed, especially during her teenage years!

The writing style and the pacing of the novel was perfect; it started with a bang and swept right me along. I was totally captivated with each and every page!

When I finished the last page, I was so happy with where the author had taken the story. I loved that it circled back to end this book in a wonderful way that could be left as a standalone (if you wanted to stop there of course), but an ending that also that leads perfectly into a second book.

My favorite passages:
I know things, but I can’t remember them. I feel teased by them. Have I had a head injury? It’s odd remembering that a head injury can cause memory loss but not remembering my phone number or my mother’s name or if I like coffee black. It’s like knowing someone is beside you, but not being able to turn your head.

“If you ever see a girl who looks like you, run. If you can’t run, fight…”

At night Molly sees monsters sometimes. She no longer gets scared because it has been going on since as long as she can remember. She sees them only at night, hiding in the bushes. They have long black bodies and eyes that sometimes glint, although sometimes they have no eyes at all. Her father told her that they are just bushes shaped like monsters. Her mother taught her a word for it: pareidolia. It is true that in the daytime she does not see them, but what Molly does is she stands at her window at night and draws the outline of the monster she sees each night. Come daylight she compares the night shape against the shape of the grass or trees or bushes. They do not match.

She is mostly surrounded by darkness. Her back is cooled by the roofing slats and the sky is made of ink, with an untamed spray of glitter, the Milky Way.

After this, James takes blood samples and biopsies at different times, depending on Molly's emotional state. He deliberately provokes her to anger, then tries to take a sample. This does not quite work out, because Molly punches him in the face.


My final thoughts:
This novella really packed a punch! It was chilling but also heartfelt. The level of suspense made it an unsettling read, but a fantastic read nonetheless.

This is a book that I immediately wanted to begin reading again as soon as I had finished reading it the first time. And it was just as amazing the second time around!

I highly recommend this book to fans of light body horror, or to readers that simply don't mind a lot of blood!

Christmas at Miss Moonshine’s Emporium is a wonderfully heartwarming collection of cute romances. I had so much fun reading this!

If you’re looking for a great short story collection to curl up with while drinking some hot cocoa, this is a great one to snag!

I really enjoyed that while each of these stories were so different in tone and style, that they were all linked together by Miss Moonshine and her lovely shop.

Each of the authors really painted a wonderful picture of the town and the people that lived there. This is a place that I would absolutely love to visit!

As this was a collection of stories, I will add my quick notes about each below.

The Ghost in the Machine by Mary Jayne Baker – 5/5
This was so cute! I loved all the bookish references. Definitely a tale that moves very quickly from strangers to love interests, but so adorable. I really related to the main character when she discussed how busy she is and how she’s always working, though I’m definitely not as bad as she is. The reminder to take time off was good for me to read.

The Boy Next Door by Helen Pollard – 3/5
I really didn’t care for the journal entries from the teenager. The other bits were enjoyable though. I loved Jan and Bob!

My True Love Gave To Me by Sophie Claire -5/5
So cute! I was a bit nervous about how this story was going to turn out, but it went the way I had been hoping it would. This tale was such a classic trip that I both love and hate as a little bit of communication could clear things up. But it’s also a terrifying situation to find yourself in.

How to Save Christmas by Kate Field – 5/5
SO cute! This woman coming to stay for the holiday was certainly a Christmas miracle for this little town! I loved how much she was able to help the people she encountered. With what she had going on, she very easily could have been grumpy and withdrawn. I’m so glad she stayed positive and put herself out there. I would love to see a follow up story to this one. I also want her to meet Jan from a previous story.

A Raven’s Gift by Angela Wren – 4/5
A sad but exciting one! I loved how things started to fall into place. If only she had been a bit more patient at the start!

Make My Wish Come True by Helena Fairfax – 4/5
Such a cute tale. I loved how much this boy wanted to impress his crush. I also loved how dedicated he was to helping his dad on the farm. What a great kid!

Christmas Magic by Marie Laval – 5/5
I loved this one so much! I love tales of reuniting after a long time and in this one there were two of these situations! This tale was so adorable. I loved the play in Christmas miracles and luck by shaking the snow globe.

The Timepiece by Melinda Hammond – 3/5
A bit sad, but overall cute tale of two widows trying for move forward from their grief.

Miss Moonshine’s Advent Calendar by Jacqui Cooper – 5/5
This one was my favorite of the bunch! I loved the characters so much and the story line was wonderful. Per usual with stories like this, there was a bit of tension but I’m so glad that it passed really quickly.

My Final Thoughts
I had so much fun reading this collection! I really enjoyed seeing how many people Miss Moonshine was able to help. The organization of the tales was the only thing that I didn’t totally love as the timeline was slightly confusing… However, I think I may have been trying too hard to fit them all together.

If you enjoy cute tales of light romance, then this is one you gotta pick up!