Review : Imaginary Friend

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chobsky

Genre: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Paranormal, 

Goodreads: Click

Purchase Link: Amazon | BN | iBooks | Walmart eBooks 

Pages: 705

Published: October 1st 2019 by Grand Central Publishing

Christopher is seven years old.
Christopher is the new kid in town.
Christopher has an imaginary friend.

We can swallow our fear or let our fear swallow us.

Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life for her and her son, Christopher, she flees an abusive relationship in the middle of the night with her child. Together, they find themselves drawn to the tight-knit community of Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. It's as far off the beaten track as they can get. Just one highway in, one highway out.

At first, it seems like the perfect place to finally settle down. Then Christopher vanishes. For six long days, no one can find him. Until Christopher emerges from the woods at the edge of town, unharmed but not unchanged. He returns with a voice in his head only he can hear, with a mission only he can complete: Build a treehouse in the woods by Christmas, or his mother and everyone in the town will never be the same again.

Twenty years ago, Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower made readers everywhere feel infinite. Now, Chbosky has returned with an epic work of literary horror, years in the making, whose grand scale and rich emotion redefine the genre. Read it with the lights on.

I had this book on my TBR list for so long and decided to finial take a chance when I came across a audiobook. It seemed less intimidating tackling this book that way. It was one of my anticipated reads then I saw the amount of pages that are in this and was iffy about it. The synopsis dosent give much up and I was curious what this book would contain and whew was this a trippy ride. There was so much to get through in this book when things seemed to chill clearly there was more to come. Nothing was as it seemed and I can defiantly say I really loved this. I kinda wish I waited till October to read this but I'm definitely glad I did. Maybe I'll see about a reread then because this book has so much to offer I'm sure there's a detail or two I missed and will enjoy this book just as much. I love a good trippy read like this and defiantly recommend. Don't let the amount of pages intimidate you if you like a spooky read its defiantly worth it. Highly recommend. 

Blitz : Feed

Feed by Mira Grant

(Newsflesh #1)

Genre:  Dystopia, Zombies, Horror, Science Fiction,

Goodreads: Click

Purchase Link: Amazon | Kobo | BN

Pages: 599

Published May 1st 2010 by Orbit

 The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. 

The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED. Now, twenty years after the Rising, bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives—the dark conspiracy behind the infected. 

The truth will get out, even if it kills them.

So the one thing that I didn't expect from this book was that it got political. I mean these characters are following someone they believe who will be the next future president and blogging about it. If I had known that getting into this book I wouldn't have picked up this book. Now that I'm deep into this book I just can't put it down.

Graphic Novel Review : Lady Killer

Not even sure why I never considered writing a review for a graphic novel but when I come across a book I have strong feelings towards I make sure to let others know about it and this is definitely one of those kind of books.

Betty Draper meets Hannibal!

Josie Schuller is a picture-perfect homemaker, wife, and mother—but she’s also a ruthless, efficient killer for hire! A brand-new original comedy series that combines the wholesome imagery of early 1960s domestic bliss with a tightening web of murder, paranoia, and cold-blooded survival.

* New original series by Joëlle Jones!
* Dark comedy, gritty action, and killer laughs!

To summarize this book is about Josie, a mother, wife, a homemaker but there are times where shes a complete a ruthless killer for hire. This book is set in the and is set in the 50's. One of the things that I can really say drawn me to this book was that gruesome yet beautiful cover. The art style / illustrations were made by Joëlle Jones and she did an amazing job on this graphic novel. The storyline of the book was interesting enough, and I managed to finish this book fairly quickly. I had first borrowed this book from the library, but I'll be purchasing this book fairly soon. A book this beautiful and gruesome needs to go on my shelves. Highly Recommend.

As a side not with how this came out I'll be sure to check out other books that Joelle Jones had illustrated because I really love her art style.

Review : The Madman's Daughter

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Genre : Historical Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Gothic, Science Fiction, Young Adult.
Goodreads: Click
Pages : 420
Published January 29th 2013 by Balzer + Bray
 Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect.

I did enjoy this book. the overall story was interesting and unique. What I loved about this book was that there was the whole mystery about her father and what from then on wondering what her father was doing that caused people to believe he was a mad man. At times this book was gruesome which didn't bother me it just helped paint a more vivid picture of how everything was. The only thing the was a turn off for me was the I guess time setting. Some of the time setting stuff confused me but I took to it really quickly but I don't really like historical fiction much. Overall there was so much going on that keeps the readers guessing that I'm sure many of you reader will like.

Review : The Frenzy

So I just realized that my local library has an eBook library which is simply amazing because I'm usually so busy were I can only go to the library one time a week for like 5 minutes at a time. Now I can look through all the available book and get them sent to my kindle without paying and at the end of the time limit which is usually 15 days it'll return itself no fees. Love it!

The Frenzy by Francesca Lia Block

Genre : Paranormal, Romance, Werewolf, Horror, Fantasy, Young Adult.

Goodreads: Click

Pages : 258

Published September 28th 2010 by HarperTeen

Purchase Link: Amazon

Love is a werewolf, influenced by the moon and terror, and always about to change.

Liv has a secret.

Something happened to her when she was thirteen. Something that changed everything. Liv knows she doesn’t belong anymore—not in her own skin, not in her family . . . not anywhere. The only time she truly feels like herself is when she’s with her boyfriend, Corey, and in the woods that surround her town.

But in the woods, a mysterious woman watches Liv. In the woods, a pack of wild boys lurks. In the woods, Liv learns about the curse that will haunt her forever. The curse that caused the frenzy four years ago. And that may cause it again, all too soon.

While Corey and Liv’s love binds them together, Liv’s dark secret threatens to tear them apart as she struggles to understand who—or what—she really is. And by the light of the full moon, the most dangerous secrets bare their claws. . . 

Francesca Lia Block is one of my favorite authors, so I was pleastly surprised that there was a book out there that I hadn't read from her. I guess I should look up her most recent books and catch up. I just wasnt to point out how much I loved the cover to this book, if I didn't already know of the author and saw that cover I would've definatly checked this book out based on just that. As for the book itself I enjoyed it. Thing is that throughout the story I thought that this book was progressing to some amazing ending of discovery and found that it kinda fell flat. Other then that I thought it was interesting to see Liv's journey into discovering herself and what she is and just her life in general. This was fast paced with enough drama and some romance to keep things interesing.

Dark and Hollow Places

The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan
Stars 5 of 5
Pages: 374
Genre: Young Adult, Zombies, Dystopia, Horror, Fantasy, Romance

Summery:

At a very young age Annah and Elias left Annah's twin sister in the forest of hands and teeth by herself and when they went to go find her they managed to get lost. For many years Annah and Elias managed to roam around till the made it to the Dark City meanwhile Abigail Gabriel lived in Vista both leading different lives.

When they finally come together, they find themselves in trouble with the city being overrun by inconcecrated/Mudo (Zombies). With the help of Elias and Catcher they are sent with recruiters to a secure place where they can be safe... for a price. Since Catcher is immune to the infection he must help the recruiters gather supplies and foods and in exchange his friends have a safe place to stay. Soon enough Annah comes to realize they aren't safe as they thought they where and will try to come up with a way to get out. 

My say:

Where has this book been hiding? Just perfect. Finally a great zombie book from Carrie Ryan. The first two books should be chucked out the window and this book should just be the only one left. This book had loads of zombies, a decent amount of action and suspense to keep me wanting more. 

My favorite character is Annah, I love how courageous and selfless she was. She faced danger to help the ones she cares about and helps those who she doesn't even know. Shes also resourceful and smart coming up with ways to help escape when they where in trouble. Shes definitely a quick thinker and managed to narrowly escape many situations that should've left her dead. The only problem was her insecurities about how she looked. She compared her looks to her sister a lot and I just felt like screaming at her, that looks aren't important. I also loved how strong she was and how she didn't depend on any one to help her, She didn't play the victim  When she was in trouble she'd face it head on and take what ever consequence that came with it. She didn't like when she guys tried to fight her battles and defend her, she fought for herself.

So to those who haven't read this trilogy or what ever you'd call it, don't bother reading the first two just skip ahead to this book. The great thing about that too is if you ever do actually take my advice and do just that you wouldn't be missing anything because there is pretty much a recap of what happens in the past books when they talk about old memories.

Highly Recommend!

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Dystopia, Horror, Zombies, Romance
Pages: 404

Summery:

Gabry has lived her life safe in a light house between the forest of hands and teeth and the ocean. Happy with her life in the the town that she grew up in, leaving the town was never something wanted. One day her friends decide they want to cross the barriers to have a little fun and visit an abandoned amusement park. They managed to convince Gabry to join them despite her objections. They knew of the dangers and still chose to go and end up finding themselves in trouble. Friends were bitten and turned, some friends were caught by the officials but Gabry ran abandoning her friends. From that day on Gabrys life has changes as one after another things are turning for the worse, then she meets a stranger and ends up running from the life she once knew. 

My Say

If I had to compare The forest of hands and teeth and this book I would have to say that the first book to this series is the best. This book really was a disappointment. The first book I liked, its wasn't that big of a deal though. I was hoping for the best when I came to read this book and I found that this book isn't even something I would recommend to another or read again. I'm the type of person that when I start a series I don't stop till the end and this book has got me thinking whether I should trudge forth and get to the the last book of this trilogy (If this is a trilogy). I keep hearing good things about the third book so I might read it and hopefully it'll be good.

First of all I didn't like Gabry I thought that she was coward and she made a lot of stupid choices and could've helped save her friends from this situation. There wasn't enough conflict to keep me interested  There was no suspense. A lot of things were predictable that I kept getting bored and putting it down. I felt like it was a book I've read before, and if you've read the first book you'll pretty much know what happens in the second book  because everything is pretty much the same just different names and places. Both stories had the love triangle  an equally annoying main character who is a coward or selfish, they both and both are chased into a another town by either the dead or living. It just felt like there could've been more I enjoyed the first because it was unique but it was still a good but but the second is OK.

If you want a summery of the book check out this review its the greatest. I couldn't help but laugh because this review is true. Architeuthis's review.

If you are reading this series or considering it I don't recommend you read this book. Its not that interesting and there are thousands of other books that are like 100x better then this.

If you still want to get a copy of the book to see for yourself you can get it on: Amazon Paperback or Kindle

The Forest Of Hands And Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The Forest Of Hands And Teeth by Carrie Ryan
4 of 5 Stars
Pages: 223
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Zombie, Horror, Romance

Goodreads Summery

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

My Say

I've had this book for a while and just never could find the time to pick it up. Then when I did I could only get a couple pages in before I got disinterested. Little did I know that if I had red a couple pages more I would've had a hard time to put it down. The book was well written, gruesome and very intense. I had no problem pretty much devouring the book, the fact that it was a Inconsecrated (zombie) book and had loads of action and the suspense of what happens next kept me hooked. 

One problem I had was the main character Mary. Mary is selfish, immature, and very annoying at some points. Yea I get that she has dreams but at what expense? Loved ones have suffered for her dreams that lead to her making stupid and dangerous choices. Some other points that kind of annoyed me about Mary is that when it came to dangerous situations happening she'd be all I wonder what Travis doing. Death and destruction is happening, that's not exactly the time to think about love and what the guy shes crushing on is doing. 

The end I didn't like too much, it was good but I wanted to know more. The ending just kind of fell flat. At first I thought it was just because the author might pick up where she left off with this book to the next but no its a different characters point of view from the same time. So I'm curious of what happens next. Hopefully they will be more interesting then Mary was. 

If you want a copy of this book you can click here for : Paperback or Kindle Edition