The nitty-gritty: Gritty, fast paced and full of humor, C.T. Phipps takes the tried and true vampire genre and gives it a unique spin. A good half of the thugs present pulled out pistols, crossbows, swords, and bats with silver spikes, and one guy grew what look to be Wolverine’s claws. “Damn,” David said, surveying the […]
The nitty-gritty: A tense and violent thriller with surprisingly sympathetic characters and surprises at every turn, Vicious Rumer will be a hit with readers who like their stories on the gritty side. I did a thing I don’t normally do: I accepted a review request directly from an author, and I actually had a blast […]
The nitty-gritty: A bloody good time, Awakened has plenty of twists and will appeal to fans of survivalist horror. I featured Awakened on a Waiting on Wednesday post some months back, and author Darren Wearmouth actually contacted me to see if I’d like a review copy. And I’m so glad I had the chance to […]
The nitty-gritty: An unexpectedly delightful and varied collection of stories about a most magical place, the underwater ballroom. Having enjoyed Stephanie Burgis’ adult fantasy novels, I was thrilled to receive a review copy of her new anthology. I had never heard of underwater ballrooms—I mean, really, is that a thing?—but Burgis has based her idea […]
The nitty-gritty: Dark, complex and terrifying, The Hunger fuses historical events with a creeping, supernatural horror, making this a standout book of 2018. A quick note for those who might be sensitive to the use of the word “Indian” when talking about Native Americans: Please note that during the timeframe of these events, Native Americans […]
The nitty-gritty: An uneven collection of short horror fiction that nonetheless delivers some truly terrifying tales. It’s very rare these days that I accept a book for review directly from an author, especially one unfamiliar to me. But I decided to take a chance on Deborah Sheldon and her debut short story collection, Perfect Little […]
The nitty-gritty: A stylish and atmospheric tale, part ghost story, part psychological thriller, that sneaks up on you slowly. The creepy mirror was full-size and seemed unnaturally enormous hanging on the wall that way and reflecting only darkness. Framed in antique scrollwork, the glass within was pitch-black, and there was no image beyond the impression […]
The nitty-gritty: As twisty and complex as Shakespeare, this story surprised me in every way possible. This is definitely one of 2017’s “must reads!” When Curtis Craddock asked me if I’d like a copy of his debut to read and review, I didn’t know much about it at the time. But I’m ecstatic that I […]
The nitty-gritty: Heart-pounding horror meets a touching story about friendship and family bonds. It’s an odd thing that I start 2017 off by reading three very similar books in a row (and those reviews will all be up in the next week or so). It wasn’t planned, it just shook out that way. If you’ve […]
The nitty-gritty: A unique tale with glimmers of magic and wonder, but with some writing inconsistencies that distracted from the story. The city was a huge place of death with very little life. He could not sense the ghosts of the dead, but they had to be out there. And what about the ghosts of […]