morganjanedavis's Reviews (396)

This was a great ghost story, especially for spooky season. The story follows used to be rock star Jude and his girlfriend Georgia (Marybeth) as they deal with a haunting brought on by one of Jude's exes family member(s). This book picked up very quickly and was fast paced from around page 30. The ghost in the story is truly terrifying and the imagery Hill creates genuinely spooked me at some points! While I liked the storyline and the spookiness of the haunting, I really disliked the main character, Jude. He consistently treats those around him (especially women) as disposable objects, going as far as to call the women he gets with solely by their state of origin. It is even supposed to be a "sweet moment" in the book when he begins to call Marybeth Marybeth and not Georgia even though she's told him that it bothers her when he calls her Georgia. Along with this, every woman he gets with is 20+ years younger, and at the beginning of the book he even admitted that seeing Marybeth barefaced and asleep she looked like a child and he felt a pang of weirdness for even being with her. I liked the story but I hated that Jude was made out to be a guy who treated women poorly then learned his lesson when this one stuck around thorough loads of bs (supernatural and Jude just being Jude) and he turned out to be a "good guy". Personally, I feel that a "good guy" wouldn't have taken advantage of this abused woman 20+ years his junior, and then chalk it up to being in love after she'd stuck through his shit. Overall I loved the plot and the haunting/events truly did keep me interested. I would have liked it more if Jude wasn't such a selfish creep. If you're looking for a spooky haunt I do suggest this but beware of the toxic main character FR.

Hell’s heaven! Unbury Carol was an okay read but, I did have some issues with the novel. Malerman is a great storyteller but I feel that this was entirely too repetitive and droned on at a snail’s pace in places. I get that Carol was in Howltown so obviously there wasn’t much “going on” there but I felt those scenes were super boring because of it, even with the character Rot. Smoke and Moxie’s back and forth was interesting but it got stale for a bit for me. The most interesting aspect of the book was Dwight’s mental unraveling as he continued to lie. With this being said, the events in the story just moved too slow for me. Even with characters that weren’t in a coma-like state most of them seemed to live inside their heads instead of DOING things, and when they did it was predictably mild and boring. While I liked the initial story line I would have appreciated it much more if there were more actual events instead of inner dialogue. Overall I feel that this would have been more interesting if the story had some more “meat” or was made a bit shorter. In some portions of the book I felt that it was literally previous chapters being reprinted, verbatim, because they all sounded the same! I also expected a little more horror from this book but Malerman seemed to focus more on “The Trail” and the Wild West style enemies in the book. The ending also was extremely predictable and it’s almost like Malerman wrote it to so the reader predicts the ending correctly and then sets the book up so that the reader clearly sees that outcome and the steps it takes to get there. Ultimately, this was a fun read but it wasn’t something that hooked me and drew me in. It would have if it were shorter or more eventful.

I like to sneak in some YA books every once in a while and this one did not disappoint. The writing, themes, and symbolism throughout the book was beautifully presented and well thought out. The struggles of trust fund babies and the lies, manipulation, and secrets that stacked one on top of the other made the book that much harder to put down. I didn't enjoy Cadence as much as the supporting characters but, I did enjoy reading through her character development as the book progressed. The book could be tedious at times and I could have absolutely done without the "Once upon a time.." chapters (srsly this was so cliche and annoying and something I considered skipping through EVERY TIME I HEARD IT) but the plot was so good. I did wish more of a resolve was given about the granddad's racism because Lockheart just sort of said, "Yes he is racist" and left it at that...very weird. Quick interesting read.

A fun collection of short stories! Perfect for anyone looking for spooky reads for the upcoming fall months. Highly recommend!

3.5 uuuh I really just don't know if I like Jones' writing style. This is my 2nd book by him I've read (had to quit the first one) and it may not be for me. This book was interesting enough but, I wasn't blown away by it by any means. The characters did not resonate with me and I felt the end was predictable. If it were any longer than it is I would have rated it a 2.5.

Very quick novella but so beautifully written. I only wish it could have gone on longer.