It's always a big decision to choose the first book of the year to read. I decided on Where Stars Won't Shine by Patrick Lacey as it seemed interesting and was also going to be a 'group read' for the month, too. It's always nice to know when you make the right decision! And every time I look at this gorgeous, dark, cold, blue cover... I will be enveloped with the feeling I had while reading this book. It's difficult to explain to others that -actual- feeling, but I am excited to have it and hope that my review will encourage others to read this book and search for that feeling of your own.

Where Stars Wont't Shine has so much going on for fans of any horror sub-genre to love as it blends its horror with true crime and a serial killer, dark fantasy, a little supernatural, haunted house/town, etc. I was totally engrossed from the opening chapter and read it in two sittings. It takes a really good book to not allow me to at least get pulled away to browse social media, turn on a show or movie for a quick break, or pause to play some computer games. I only stopped this book to sleep (because I am not as young as I once was and need sleep so that I function properly and do not end up getting fired for being a total a$$hole at work!)

Some of the chapters were separated by excerpts from a book written about the serial killer IN the book. So basically it was like reading a book within a book sometimes. And it was fascinating and I love when authors do this - I wish it was done more!  It just adds a little bit more to bringing the reader into the story and the psyche of the characters.  It's kind of like when there are newspaper clippings, podcast transcriptions, etc in books.

I found myself rooting for all the characters, even the "villain(s)" of the story. I could connect with each of them on different levels based on their losses, hopes, and experiences. It makes reading a book so much more effortless when you love the characters you are reading about. And the town of Marlowe, Massachusetts is like a character all on its own, too. I love when the setting IS a character and is just as integral with its descriptions and nuances as any character in a story with dialogue and actions. Lacey nailed it when it comes to creating this town!

5 stars to my first completed book of the 2019! Loved this one!! This will most definitely not be the last Patrick Lacey book I read - I plan on getting some more of his works and he is an author that I will seek to read more whenever I get the chance. Thanks to the author for sending the Night Worms copies for an honest review!

This book originally had my attention due to its stunning cover and setting that takes place in Edinburgh. OH! AND it's a haunting! Who doesn't love those? The premise of the haunting surrounding a main character who is a "ghostly" tour guide also made this an easy choice for me. The whole time I was reading I kept thinking about all the haunted ghost tours I have been on and whatnot.

Cavendish did a great job at freaking me out - at least three times when I was in bed late at night I chose to stay IN bed instead of leaving the safe confines of my room to go to the bathroom. There are definitely a few scenes that irked me a bit. And that's just one of the many reasons I love a good ghost/haunting story!

While I continued to read I just knew this was going to end up a 5- star book for me. But then I came across the last 20 pages or so. I am not sure what happened. Maybe I had a mental brain freeze. But the story just got extremely complex and twisty out of nowhere to me and it left me scratching my head. I had to reach out to two other friends who also finished to clarify what happened but they were in the same boat as me. It was almost as if out of nowhere all these different plots started coming together in a rushed way and I just couldn't totally get it.

While the last couple chapters were not up to par with the rest of the book for me, I still thoroughly enjoyed The Haunting of Henderson Close. I did enjoy the MAIN ending (even if I did not fully grasp some of the other plotline endings...) I would recommend this and am still giving it 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Flame Tree Press for sending me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

Deep Trouble is definitely different than any other book in the series I have read so far. Instead of being shocking or scary it is more of a fantasy story. I enjoyed it but was really hoping to be bothered with a little more underwater terror as the cover indicates. 3.5 stars!

YES! This is the reason I loved this series when I was younger and am still enjoying them now. ALL the good twists and fun scares! 5 stars for Ghost Beach

2.5 stars. Pretty overdone aaaaaaaand yawn-worthy. Wouldn't recommend.

Wow - where to even begin?! This book was SO good! I have always been into possession stories so I am sure that played a huge part in my love of this book. I also am a MASSIVE fan of a coming-of-age story - especially when it can be woven seamlessly into a horror book! Glenn Rolfe manages to create a story that has so many of my favorite horror features: possession, demons, coming-of-age, love, sex, gore, etc.

The coming-of-age aspect of the story was just awesome. A young boy spending one last summer with his dad and his friends. He finds love and is just trying to have the best summer of his life. The friendships were sincere as was the group banding together at the end like we see in so many things like The Goonies, The Monster Squad, and IT. And the crush/love story was pure and innocent the way it can be for a lot of teenagers new to the world of romance. LOVED IT.

This book spoke to me on a personal level as the author dropped so many little Easter eggs of authors, movies, etc that I also love: Jonathan Janz, Briane Keene, Pet Sematary, etc. He just kept sprinkling in some of those connections that engaged me and made me feel like the book was tailored just for me the way Salt Bae did in the viral meme from a couple of years ago. I AM HERE FOR ALL THE REFERENCES!

This book has tremendous amount of loss and heartache in it as well. But all of that adds to the variety of horror that Rolfe gives us with just this ONE book. This book gets an easy 5 stars from me! I HIGHLY recommend it if this review resonates with you at all. I can't wait to read more from Rolfe!

Thanks to the author for this free copy in exchange for my honest review.

From the opening pages I knew I was going to be hooked. I found myself cozying up in my chair with my coffee and saying, "OoOoOoH, this is going to be good!" Yes. I said it out loud. Here is what I read:

"If you try to kill your wife without a plan, you will fail. There are plenty of assholes who do just that, men who decide to murder their significant other on the spur of the moment because they're angry or drunk or jealous or just plain tired of the nagging or they don't want to go through the hassle of a divorce, and they get caught. They always get caught."

Epic. The whole book was fast-paced and had twist and turns sprinkled throughout that kept me on track. I never had a chance to slow down with this one because every time I thought I was about to figure it all out I had another curve ball thrown at me.

I highly recommend this one if you love a good domestic thriller! 4.5 but rounding up my star rating on here! Can't wait for more from JoAnn Chaney.

Thanks to Flatiron Books for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Hellsworld Hotel is the first book by Matthew Vaughn that I have read, and if any of his other works are similar, it definitely will not be the last. Fans of iconic horror franchises The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and House of 1,000 Corpses will identify parallels and rejoice in Vaughn's ability to put in words some scenes that we have seen on the big screen.

This novella is PACKED with all the brutal horror, gore, and sex that you can imagine. So if those are things you enjoy seeing and reading about, then I highly recommend this one for some quick entertainment. There were a couple times I closed my eyes while reading because the scenes were freaking me out. The only problem with closing your eyes while reading? YOU CAN'T KEEP READING! So between that and my random gasps I am sure I provided those around me while reading a lot of entertainment as well.

When it comes to novellas, if they leave me wanting more then that means they did their job for me. And this book is no different. I wanted more! I found myself engrossed with this haunted house attraction and wanting more and more people to go inside.

One thing that I would have liked to see from this book is to build the characters up a little more so that I have more of a connection to them. I wanted to be sad and a little more afraid that they are being butchered and strung up alive. There are a lot of deaths in this compact novella so I can also see how that might have been difficult. It did not take away from my experience, but it definitely would have made it better for me if I got to know some of the characters a little more.

In the end I am giving this 4 stars! This is a must-read for lovers of slasher horror and for those who are not afraid of some gore!

I had to sleep on this review. I knew if I just went straight into writing it after finishing the book that I would sound like an uncontrollable hot mess who lacks the ability to express any sort of rational thought. This. BOOK! This book is solid gold, that's what it is.

The basic premise of the story is that "an elderly funeral home worker, struggling with the loss of his wife, finds an unnatural attraction to a corpse at work resembling his late bride in her younger years. A story of desperation, loneliness, and letting go." And while at 103 pages long, this tiny book is packed with SO much.

The grief and loneliness practically drip off the pages. You really start to feel for and connect with Emmett, our protagonist who has lost his wife of ~50 years. Reading about him and how he goes on with his daily routines as if she's still there or to honor her memory is undeniably heartbreaking. But life was getting to the point for Emmett to make him wonder, "What good are pearly whites if you've got no one to smile for?" *crying eternally*

Lutzke just performed some sort of dark magic on me, I just know it. The multitude of emotions that overcame me while I was invested in Emmett's story came as a huge surprise. And now here I am singing its praises. Everyone just needs to pick this one up and read it ASAP. "This isn't about sex. This is about hating yourself enough to go to extremes. It's about surviving, when all you want to do is wake up dead."

This story is tragic, poetic, and beautiful. This story is sad. This story is dark. "This isn't romance.
This is intimacy. This is coping. And this is needed." And this story is perfect. 5 stars! I just can't stop thinking about this one. This story will mesmerize you. Do it now!

Maud is a spicy elderly Swedish woman who has no qualms with a little death and murder. This book is split into a few stories that expound upon Maud and her crazy antics. These stories aren't quite tame enough to be considered a cozy mystery but then they also aren't hardcore enough to be a straight on murder thriller either. Tursten has nestled this book somewhere in the middle of those two and I haven't read anything quite like this before. The author even has a way to throw in dark and witty humor with Maud. I would love to read more about Maud - whether in short story format or in novels!

Thank you so much to Soho Crime / Soho Press for the copy in exchange for an honest review! 4 stars from me!