Review: White Walker

White Walker by Richard Schiver

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




I received a copy of White Walker from the author in return for an honest review.

I'm sure everyone remembers the stories of Jack Frost from their childhood. How he would bring the cold and the snow, turn everything he touched to ice. White Walker is a Jack Frost story for grown ups, one not of wonder and imagination but instead a tale of horror and fear. A tale about an ancient deity who carries winter with him and devours the souls of all who get caught in his storm.

I really enjoyed this one it had a really cold and creepy atmosphere. The descriptions of the wind and snow blizzard were excellent, I actually felt chilly just reading it. The story is kinda short, it's 170 pages long, as a result there's not much depth in the characters as a whole but there is enough for the story to work and for it to concentrate on the atmosphere and the fear in the pages. It would make a great movie I think, I'd definitely go and see this as a movie.

White Walker would have been a great book to save and read during a cold snowy winters night, it would really have ramped up the atmosphere and scare factor.

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Review: This Little Piggy

This Little Piggy by Craig McGray

My rating: 3 of 5 stars




This Little Piggy is a short, violent and gory read. It's quite graphic in places but is definitely worth a read.

This is a brutal tale and not for the faint of heart. I had no problem visualising the story as I was reading, right down to the stench described. I must admit, the description of the smells and the tunnel had me turning my nose up just picturing the scene and imagining the smell.

The main character of the book is not what he seems and Craig McGray does a great job of manipulating the readers emotions right from the start.

This is the first I have read from Craig McGray and it won't be the last.

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Review: A Place For Us Part 3

A Place For Us Part 3 by Harriet Evans

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




I received a copy of A Place For Us Part 3 from the publisher in return for an honest review.

You can find my reviews for previous parts here: A Place For Us Part 1 / A Place For Us Part 2

In part two we discovered what the big family secret was and now in part three we learn how everyone copes with that secret now being out in the open.

I really enjoy Harriet's writing style, it's so easy to read and the tension, emotion and grief in part three, like earlier episodes, is very well done. Part three concentrates more on each individual member of the family and how they are dealing with the aftermath of previous events, both personally and in their relationships with each other. We learn a little bit more about each as their stories unfold, their personal history and secrets they have of their own which have yet to be revealed and some that are revealed in the story.

I feel there is still very much to come in part four and I'm looking forwards to finding out how the whole situation is resolved. I have become attached to the characters in these 3 parts of the story, I feel as if I have got to know each of them so well and know them like I would my friends. I really hope they all come together as a family and everything works out for them. They deserve a happy ever after.

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Review: Soulless

Soulless by Amber Garr

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




I received a copy of Soulless from the publisher in return for an honest review.

I wasn't too sure if I wanted to request this one or not. On one hand I enjoy stories set around reapers, the afterlife and light against dark but on the other hand, I don't like love triangles or romance. I decided however to take the risk and it turned out to be a quick and fun read.

Yes it has a love triangle, a kinda predictable love triangle at that, but I can forgive that because of the subject material and how much I enjoyed the actual story and premise of the book. Yes the main character Nora can be a bit of a debbie downer, some may say whiney, but cmon we all know how sulky and unoptimistic teenagers can be at times. I know mine have their moments but I'll spare you those details. Nora died young, she missed out on lots of life experiences, wouldn't we all be a bit peed off in her shoes. It is after all a young adult book, kinda comes with the territory for many books in this genre.

The characters weren't great, the one that stood out for me was Charlie, I loved Charlies humour throughout the book, he was fun. The rest were ok, not great but they worked and kept me reading. I would have loved to have seen and known a bit more about Sani and his connection to Nora. We also have our token bad boy and mr perfect in every way, more clichés but again it didn't spoil my enjoyment.

What held my attention and made the book stand out was the whole light against dark and soul reaping. The shaman thing was a nice surprise and brought something different that I wasn't expecting. The story doesn't go into much detail about the actual reaping of souls, it's more about being a reaper, a look behind the scenes so to speak. You have death wardens, the good guys, the go to the light everything will be unicorns and rainbows side. Then you have the hunters, the not so nice guys who manipulate the souls and steal them from the light.

The book was pretty fast paced and ugh it ends in a cliffhanger. I hate when that happens. I know it's book one in a series but it feels like it finished mid story, there wasn't really a conclusion to part one. I would have much preferred that the book had a nice conclusive finish to it but with still enough questions and curiosity to warrant part two. As it stands I kinda feel like someone forgot to attach the second half of the book.

Would I recommend it? Yes. I enjoyed it, I flew through this story, granted it's not a very long story but it was a fun read. I could easily ignore the clichés and just enjoy the story for what it was. I enjoyed the style of writing, I enjoyed the story itself and it moved at a nice and pace and kept my attention. I will definitely be picking up book two when it's released.


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Review: PathFinder

PathFinder by Angie Sage

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




I received a copy of Pathfinder from the publisher in return for an honest review.

It took me a while to get into this one at first. I enjoyed it from the start but it didn't grip me till the point where magyk came into it, at that point I was hooked and couldn't flip the pages fast enough.

There are a lot of characters in this book, there may be too many for some, but for me it was no problem. The main character Tod is really likeable and I loved joining her in her journey, good parts and bad. I can honestly say there wasn't a character I didn't like, well apart from the ones I wasn't supposed to like, and I enjoyed reading about them all and getting to know them.

The world building was well done, so vivid and full of imagination. I can picture kids totally engrossed in this story, lost in a world of magyk and adventure. This is definitely a book I would love to share with my younger reading group and I'm keen to experience this story through their eyes.


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Review: The Ancient Lawman

The Ancient Lawman by Ian David Noakes

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I received a copy of The Ancient Lawman from the author in return for an honest review.

The prologue takes place in 1656 but there were references to things which were out of place for the time period.

I wasn't keen on any of the characters, there was very little character development. The story jumped between so many different points of view, many of which weren't needed at all, that I found myself unable to care about any of them in any way.

The sex scene was out of place, there was no chemistry or build up towards it. It felt like the kind of cheesy token sex scene that's thrown into bad horror movies without it really adding anything at all to the story.

There was also a lot of formatting errors in the copy I was provided with and a lot of missing words and grammar errors. The story had potential but as it is, it just didn't work for me, it needed a lot more character and plot development.

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Review: No One Gets Out Alive

No One Gets Out Alive by Adam Nevill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




I received a copy of No One Gets Out Alive from the publisher in return for an honest review.

The main character Stephanie is really put through the ringer in this tale. No steady job, short on cash and struggling to make ends meet, she finds herself renting a room in what turns out to be the house from hell on Edgware Road. I loved how her character developed and how much stronger she became throughout the first half of the story but some of her decisions frustrated me. I understand why she made the choices she did in order for the story to progress, but I didn't like how easy she fell into the role of being the female victim. I would have liked to have seen her start to stick up for herself sooner because it felt like it dragged on for a bit too long.

It's been a while since I have read a book and felt so totally disgusted by characters within the story. Fergal is such a disgusting human being, the way the author built and described his character, was so well done that my stomach was literally turning every time he made an appearance.

Knacker sounds like the landlord from hell. I must admit I found his voice really irritating at first but it grew on me. Not in the I like his character way, more of a love to hate way and I found myself wanting to not only kick his arse but to mimic his attitude back to him. He's a bully, he plays a game of intimidation and fear while pretending to have your best interests in mind, but I got the feeling that it's a front and turning his own personality back on him would have gotten under his skin.

The book is split into two parts. The first half being all about Stephanie's stay in Edgware Road and the horrors, both paranormal and physical, she experiences while living there. The second part moves onto her life after she escapes and how she copes with what she went through.

I did have trouble getting into the second half of the story. The jump from her experience in the house to her story afterwards was so different. It felt at first like I had started another book. Although it was a continuation of her story, it was written so differently. It wasn't as full on as the first half but as the story progressed and things started happening, I found myself enjoying it a lot more.

No One Gets Out Alive is the first novel by Adam Nevill I have read. It's dark, it's disturbing and at times nail bitingly terrifying. It touches on both the horror of the paranormal and the cruel human side of horror. I will definitely be reading more of this authors work.

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