And now I remember what it feels like to be a kid again discovering horror for the first time in books. Like many other young Constant Readers, R.L. Stine was my guide into this literary genre. While the stories themselves may not be terrifying to to us as adults, I think we can all still find enjoyment and entertainment from them as well as appreciate R.L. Stine for the gift he gives the younger readers. I forgot how the series title on the cover of the book is textured to give a blood or ooze effect! And the chapter titles numbers are the same font – so as a reader it makes you keep turning those pages faster!

Welcome to Dead House, published in 1992, is the first EVER in the Goosebumps series! The book follows Amanda and Josh whose father’s Uncle just died and left them a house no one knew existed. A free, bigger house is too good of an offer to pass up, so the family moves to the spooky, dreary town of Dark Falls, which is about four hours away from life as they know it.

When they arrive the start to suspect their house is haunted as they begin to experience strange things, and their dog, Petey, begins to act peculiar, too. Thinking they are overthinking, Amanda and Josh start to make friends in the neighborhood. But these friends are also a little odd. And they want to be friends with Amanda and Josh… forever!!! *maniacal laugh maniacal laugh*

One of the aspects I love most about this book was its ability to pull you in to the story and the characters as quickly as it does. Being a book of only 123 pages it has to, right? I actually found myself panicked a couple times hoping that Amanda, Josh, and Petey were going to make it out of a couple situations. From what I remember, R.L. Stine will George RR Martin a bitch so fast you could never see it coming! Being able to cause the reader to immediately connect to the protagonists is something that not all authors can do.

Another feature of the book I enjoyed was some of the language and wording. Yes, this is catered to adolescents. But that doesn’t mean it has to read like a Dick and Jane book. And it doesn’t! I find the descriptive imagery that R.L. Stine uses to be the kind that forces the readers to think a little and also has the ability to place them in that exact scenario as if they, themselves, are inside the story. Isn’t that the whole point?

Welcome to Dead House? More like “Welcome to the first book of this series that I am totally going to fanboy over until I am done!” 4 out of 5 stars for me on this introductory book to a spooky and fun series! On to the next…

The second book in the Goosebumps series, Stay Out Of The Basement, did not disappoint!  What started out slightly slow picked up in a couple of chapters.  On the surface this book is about a father who was recently been fired from his job, his obsession with making a scientific breakthrough, his descent into madness, and the two children suffering to learn their father's secrets.  Stay Out Of The Basement is a brilliant combination of a story where Poison Ivy meets Frankenstein meets Little Shop of Horrors.

Stay Out Of The Basement did seem slightly heavier than Welcome To Dead House in terms of its themes.  Reading this as an adult, I was able to see so many different issues that I did not notice as a child, issues that Margaret and Casey (the two adolescent protagonists) probably overlooked as well.  Some of the themes/issues include: man vs nature, grief over familial illness, work/life balance (we TOTALLY get that in the Atlanta metro area), and so on.

This book is a nice blend of science and horror that our future biologists, botanists, and chemists of the world will definitely appreciate.

As the father begins changing in physical form, behavior, and attitude, Margaret and Casey start questioning his identity.  Is it really their dad who has been locked in the basement for days on end working on his scientific experiments on plants?  And what happened to their dad's former boss who stopped by?  They can't remember if they saw him leave or not.  In the end, it almost makes me question how well do we know the people we love and see every day?  Could we identify our true loved ones in a situation of life and death?

The. Haunting. Of. Hill. HOUSE! I can’t believe it took me so long to finally read this one. Ghost stories and haunted house stories are not my go-to when it comes to books, but I have always loved the movies and shows. I need more haunting book so I can expand my horizons. While I absolutely loved this one, I was DEFINITELY not a fan of Susan Hill’s The Woman In Black. So feel free to send me recommendations!

What I loved most about this book is how it still stands up after so many decades since its release and publication. And I am impressed with how Jackson was able sustain the underlying sense of dread, terror, and fear throughout the entire book. I can only imagine if I were one of the main characters and trying to go to bed in this house. I am always the person who hears branches hitting the windows, my cat walking on the creaky floors, etc in the middle of the night. I have a HUGE fear of waking up and seeing someone walking towards me down the hallway at night. All of these things were constantly racing through my mind as I read this, putting me in their shoes, and making it that much more real for me. Yea… imagining someone walking at “It Follows” speed down my hallway … *cringe*

Additionally, Jackson does something that I have not seen done so well in novels (but I have noticed in movies before). She made the house an actual character. A living, breathing, thinking, changing character. In my opinion it is the MAIN character of the story. She totally brings this house to life makes it terrifying for the reader.

This is also one of those books that will hook you from the first paragraph and first page. I am always in awe of authors that are able to do that from time to time and it makes me want to read even more of their works. Case in point:

“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.” ~ The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson

If anyone is looking for a classic horror novel or a haunting/ghost story and don’t know where to begin, I suggest this book. It has countless positive reviews and the people are not wrong. She has inspired so many authors and there have been quite a few inspirations for movies from this book, too. 4 out of 5 stars for me!

Pandora, by Anne Rice, was written in 1998 and it is the first book in The New Tales of The Vampires series.  This is the first Anne Rice book I have read since 2000, where I read Interview With The Vampire and part of The Vampire Lestat.  I am so glad I have been finding near-mint conditions of her books at library book sales and started adding them to my collection over the last year.  Her writing is on another level of gorgeousness.  She writes with such poise, elegance, and mystique.  And, from what I remember about her previous book(s) I read, Pandora is no exception to the wonders of her writing style.

One of the things I enjoyed so much about Pandora was all the history woven into the story.  The story of Pandora's past begins around 15 BC in the times of the Roman Republic.  This story, however, is being told in writing as Pandora (in the "present" time) is writing her story in a letter.  Pandora tells us of her travels and her weird dreams/nightmares about blood drinkers and whatnot.  Like many vampires we know, Pandora is "a morose, despairing immortal who initially wanted immortality but soon regretted her choice and turns into a dark, indifferent cynic." In this book, we get to learn more about Roman times and religions, about Queen Isis, Osiris, and we get to learn a little more about some other vampires famous in Rice's world like Akasha and Lestat.

If you are a fan of Anne Rice's works, this is a no-brainer to pick up and continue your journey.  If you are new to her world or returning after a long absence, then this book is quite nice to pick up and use to reacquaint yourself with her style and the world of vampires she has so wonderfully crafted.  This one gets a 4 out of 5 stars from me and I am ready to add this woman to a list of authors whose complete bibliography I want to read!

Sins of the Father is one of those books you find yourself totally immersed in and never has a dull moment.  There’s never a good “stopping point” to put your bookmark because it really is that fast-paced.  You don’t want to stop turning those pages.  I had pretty high expectations going into it based on friends’ reviews and after reading the first book in the Logan Falcone series, Debt of Fear.  That being said, Sins met and exceeded those expectations on every page!  I found myself reconnecting with the characters from the first book and forming stronger bonds with them.  And I felt what they felt.  Each character has a different outlook on the war and on terrorism but you find yourself seeing it through all their eyes and minds.

 

There is one character, The Candyman, that I basically fell in love with.  I do not want to give too much away, but I am happy that Reid introduced such an awesome character in the second book of this series.  Sins is not just a continuation of the characters in Debt of Fear, it is a total evolution with new locations and characters.

 

One thing I noticed in going from Debt of Fear to Sins of the Father is the growth in the writing style of the author.  Reid’s ability to weave together multiple story lines and give us the descriptions and dialogue we need is spot on.  Debt of Fear is a great book, but Sins completely blows it out of the water in every way, shape, and form.  I am not what you would call a “Military Thriller lover” by any means, but I will definitely read more of this series/author and it makes me wonder if I have actually been missing out on a really good, heart-pounding genre??

 

Another thing Reid does here is he never makes you question the story.  I mean, I am no expert in government, military, or terrorism, but nothing here seemed far-fetched or out of control like a Mission Impossible movie.  Everything just felt real – and even if it isn’t, the point is that I *thought* it was based on how Reid told the story.  One thing Reid never skimps on when writing is proper research behind the subject and story.

 

This was an easy 5-star read for me!

full review to come!

Dexter Boomstick is a book that I kept seeing pop up all over Instagram it seems.  “Why don’t I have this, too?!” I cried out.  And it’s as if the bookstagram gods parted the skies and I opened up my inbox and saw a message from the author, M.P. Lombardo, asking if I wanted a copy of the book.  HELLZ. YEA. 
 

Starting out, I love the premise of the book and the underlying story.  Lombardo’s creativity is on another level with some of the things he comes up with (especially some of the “monsters” or “demons”).  A downside here is that I wanted even more of his creativity to shine through.  The monsters/demons seemed to come and go in a matter of paragraphs.  I did not really have enough time to let the terror build up inside me.  I was able to read enough about them to want more but then I was disappointed when nothing else came.


On to the characters.  I definitely enjoyed the titular character, Dexter.  He is a confident guy who knows how to swing that golden bat!  If you don’t have a strong lead, the rest of the book can crumble around it.  One scene in here I really loved was when Dexter was in attack mode and we are told to imagine Marilyn Manson’s “Beautiful People” song playing.  I TOTALLY pictured it and could see each jump and swing of the bat to the rhythm of the song.  I loved that Lombardo was able to make that scene even more alive and real in this experience.


Then there is Joe.  I love Joe, I hate Joe, and  I also love to hate Joe.  He is the quintessential fratty douchebag kind of guy that we have all been annoyed with over time.  But he still makes me laugh and I gotta love him for that.

Roxanne is Dexter’s girlfriend and I wish we had seen more of her.  It would have been interesting for her to be a stronger character and allow us to see through her eyes what all is going on.  All we really get is a lot of, “Oh, Dexter, I am so scared! Save me!” type stuff.  But maybe she was excluded to draw some mystery onto whether or not she was alive or dead the whole time?  Who knows!  I just wanted more of her and I wanted her to be stronger and less co-dependent. 

NOW we get to Gabby.  Gabby.  I never liked girls like this.  Thirsty, desperate, pathetic, homewreckers.  Leave Dexter alone and support his committed relationship, yo!  HE DON’T WANT YOU!  

 
This is a 3.5 out of 5 read for me.  It was fun, campy, and had certain horror elements that I thought were executed well.  I do recommend this to people and at 170 pages, it can be ready fairly quickly if needed.  Thanks to M.P. Lombardo for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and I definitely look forward to seeing this series continue and grow!  And I want to read more about the scary monsters!