This is a fast paced installment you The Cheerleaders books... and we get to watch once more as Corky and her friends/family are being tormented by the evil spirit. Who is it this time? How does it all connect with Sarah Fear? Can it truly be stopped?? Find out! Fun fun fun!

For most of my life growing up I had the greatest vacations! It was always such a treat to just hop in the van with my family and drive for hours and hours to our destination. The entire trip had everyone so carefree and positive... just... good times, right?!

As an adult, I see movies and read stories and the news about just how some vacations go horribly wrong. And that's scary! You are so out of your element and comfort zone when on vacation and that level of vulnerability is dangerous. WORST LAID PLANS is an anthology of stories that digs deep into just all the scary and awful things that can go wrong on vacations. It has some fantastic authors using their voices to truly knock us off our beach chairs. The diversity in these stories from age, gender, race, culture, and everything else is all crafted together for this perfect mix of vacation terror. And like with many/most anthologies, I got to discover some new authors that I will definitely be checking out more! 4 stars!

Review to come!

Devil's Creek has so many elements in a book that I find enticing, one of the main factors being cults. I always find cult books so intriguing and I devour them! Small towns are another trope I gravitate towards and this book has got that covered perfectly. This is a fairly big book and I am going to put it down as one of those "Epic Reads" because it deserves that distinction. Devil's Creek takes us to the past and back to the present, and it does so effortlessly while keeping us engaged and wanting more. The cult leader is a true terror to read about and I can say I would never want to be anywhere near him or his followers. This is one of those horror books that you feel deep inside you, and can even hear dark whispers when you are alone. It is scary on a whole new level - and that is why Todd Keisling is going to be an auto-buy author from here on for me! His massive cast of characters in Devil's Creek felt like true family, friends, and enemies where applicable, and Keisling just writes them so perfectly. 4.5 stars!

Review to come!

I went into this book expecting a little more horror - and maybe that is my own fault - but what I received was definitely more of a literary science fiction read than anything resembling horror. The writing is extremely well done, but this book is just not what I expected it to be based on the synopsis. The pacing was slightly off as well - and since it was already a book I had not planned on reading, this made it a little harder to get into. I kept stumbling over the characters' names which further impeded my own pacing with this book. The blurb says this is a mixture of The Shining and Shirley Jackson and I see no resemblance to either. Like the plot, I feel the blurb/endorsement is misleading. This comparison is one of the reasons I picked up the book and feel further let down because of the inaccuracy.

I really enjoyed Baby Teeth (even though all I wanted to do was SCREAM at that mother so many times to just turn on a camera or recorder somewhere UGH!) and thought I would have similar thoughts on this book. But between the misleading of the plot/review blurbs and the slow pacing mixed with a literary science fiction novel (not my cup of tea) I just could not get into the book.

All That's Fair is a dark, fun collection of short stories. Like most short story collections, this one has a theme and it focuses on "women who are made up of anything but sugar, spice, and everything nice." The stories were pretty short (mostly 5-10 pages or so) which helped the pacing and speed at which they were read. And since some of these were so short, you can expect that twisty punch at the end of each one to hit you quick and hard right in the gut! Each story is different and each story will affect you in a more profound way. A couple definitely gave me goosebumps on the back of my neck as I could feel the dark whispers!

My favorites include "The Crone's Wood," "No Love Lost," Auntie Bells," and "Red String."

Thank you to the author for a review copy in exchange for an honest review!

The Sun Is Also a Star is the second book from Nicola Yoon that I have read - and I am just going to say that I will read anything and everything she puts out on the market! She has this way of crafting a story that connects us all in so many ways... and in each story she connects people that we would not likely see as being connected. She has a gift with finding each other in our differences and bringing us together. I am never going to be a fan of the "instant love" that is so prevalent in many YA books (as an adult looking back I just do not see that as being realistic), but that does not take away from the story or intent with this one. Yoon is just a wizard when it comes to writing a compelling and engaging story! Get your Kleenex...


4.5 stars!

Negative Space is an anthology of survival horror inspired by video games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Each story has drops you right in the middle of the horror as if you are a character waking up in one of these iconic games. However, you do not have to be a fan of these video games, or games at all, to enjoy or understand the stories in this anthology. Each story possesses its own gripping quality and haunting twist or morose ending. The stories presented here are solid and there is not one that I skimmed or wanted to DNF (you never know when it comes to anthologies or collections). These pages are loaded with suspense, action, monsters, foreboding, and straight up dark terror.

My favorites include "The Collectors," "It's Inside," "Rhapsody In Flesh Minor," and "The Whale Hunts."

Thanks to the editor/publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review!

Eidolon Avenue is a collection of shorts that follows the secret and dark lives of residents of five of its apartments. Each apartment has its own past, its own ghosts, and its own horror. What I find most captivating is Jonathan Winn's ability to vividly detail what is going on. The imagery is spot on and the prose almost reads like a dark dream. The first story of Apartment 1A is my favorite story. While slightly confusing as it kicks off, it follows a retired Chinese assassin and all the ghosts of those she's killed. It is truly difficult to explain how it reads, but "fever dream" of past and present is not an understatement. I left that story feeling truly gutted, haunted, but simultaneously wowed.

The other four stories are equally as well-crafted, but there is something about what's behind the door in Apartment 1A that is always going to stick with me, as if I would turn around some dreary day and see a physical manifestation of it in my own reality. It really got under my skin.

Winn's creativity shines in Eidolon Avenue as each tale brings a uniquely haunting, sometimes violent, story to the forefront. Before this collection, I really never wondered what goes on inside those old, dilapidated buildings. And if real life is anything like Eidolon, then maybe I am best not knowing! But let's just say I will definitely take a pause and be reminded of this book when I see one.

"There is a place on Eidolon
that stands five stories tall.
Beyond locked doors,
dreams dreamt no more,
the tenants await their fall.

And on this day
on “Eye-da-lon,”
which waits five stories tall,
vindication sweet
feeds the hunger replete
as the walls inside whisper
Let’s eat."

There are even more doors on other floors in this broken building that we did not get to open and investigate, so I am hoping there will be more "feasts" as this title indicates is the FIRST. 4 stars! Thanks to the author for this review copy in exchange for honest feedback.