Review: I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS by Andrew Wolter

It has been too long since we've heard from one Andrew Wolter.

The man is a prolific writer with many, many irons in the fire right now but just in time for the holidays, he has found the time to time to bestow a scary little stocking stuffer upon us, I'll Be Home For Christmas.

I'll Be Home For Christmas is the story of Jessie Sutter, all alone in the family home after the death of his mother, dealing with the first Christmas since her passing.  Christmastime holds the fondest memories of his childhood for him, because it was a time when the family acted as a family; no fighting, no screaming, only peace.

Wolter savors every word he writes and just as swirling wine in a glass releases the wine's bouquet, his storytelling swirls around us, enveloping us in his words.  You will keep reading til the end, as I did, as Jessie recalls a surreal meeting with Santa, the secret that Santa gave him and the reason why his hair and beard are white.

I'll Be Home For Christmas is a delicious little tapas of a tale, a tasty morsel to tide us over til Wolter's next big book and you will devour it in one sitting.  It's dark, it's glam...it's Christmas.

Happy Reading!



(This counts towards the 2013 Horror Reading Challenge hosted by Midnyte Reader)

I Couldn't Resist The Power of the Dark Side

Ok, only because she's hosting it again and only because I enjoyed last year's challenge so much, I am once again going to participate in  the 2014 Horror Reading Challenge hosted by the lovely Midnyte Reader.  It was a blast and I got to encounter a lot of book/authors that I hadn't had the pleasure of reading before.  So here we go again.  :)

Happy reading!

2014 Netgalley Reading Challenge

So in 2013, my success with the reading challenges I'd entered was hit and miss; I excelled at a couple, while a couple fell to the way side.  In an effort to not overextend myself, with the added benefit of putting a dent in my Netgalley TBR pile, I will be entering only one challenge this year, the 2014 Netgalley Reading Challenge hosted by Ariel Avalon.  The goal is to get your feedback percent to 80, so I have decided to go "hardcore" by reading 21 or more books.  Wish me luck!  Happy reading!

Review: BUDDY by Brett Williams (Zoe Books)

I read Buddy by Brett Williams based solely on Mr Williams' reputation, and I am glad I did.  In all honesty, there were several moments reading this story that made me cringe, or plucked unmercifully at my heart strings, but Mr Williams' skill as a writer was not to denied and I soldiered through til the end.  Buddy is a harrowing read, and not one for the faint of heart.

The story opens with our young protagonist, Danny James, saving a young puppy from attack by rats.  The vermin have already injured the dog but Danny rescues it and wanting to heal it from its injuries, sneaks it into the house to nurse it back to health.  Dogs are not allowed in the house, so Danny has to hide the puppy, which he names Buddy,  in his room, the better to avoid the wrath of his mother and her boyfriend.  We also find out that Danny's brother Tom bullies him at every turn, so Danny and Buddy spend alot of time in his bedroom.  Unfortunately, Tom finds out about Buddy and threatens both the boy and his dog daily, making life a living Hell for the young companions.

Again, Buddy is a hard read but it is fast paced and Williams knows how to keep you in your seat, hanging on every word.  There were plenty of times I wanted to put the book down for a minute, if only to shake off the emotions the story was wringing out of me but I didn't.  The material is not easy to stomach but Williams writes with a very sure hand, telling a story of abuse and love and companionship and trust that hits home all the more harder because stories like this are happening everyday, these things are real.  And that's the real horror.     


(This counts towards the 2013 Horror Reading Challenge hosted by Midnyte Reader)

Review: THE WOKEN GODS by Gwenda Bond (Strange Chemistry)

I don't usually read too much Young Adult fiction, unless word of mouth is so rampant that my interest can't help but be piqued.  But when one of my favorite publishers Angry Robot started releasing daring, new YA fiction under its Strange Chemistry imprint, I threw caution to the winds and took a chance.  First came Blackwood by Gwenda Bond, then Shift by Kim Curran and I thought to myself, now here was YA fiction that I could sink my teeth into and really enjoy!  There were no angst ridden teenage girls or pale, tragic vampire teen heartthrobs in sight, just more great speculative fiction  in the glorious Angry Robot tradition, and I started to read all the SC titles that I could get my hands on.

And along came The Woken Gods.

When I was younger, and due to my father's influence, I read alot of books on mythology and ever since then have always enjoyed reading fiction that integrates those familiar myths and legends.  So I was very interested in The Woken Gods from the start.  And I can report that it is a novel that I enjoyed very much; full of enough adventure to keep me satisfied but leaving me wanting more from the promise I feel went unfulfilled.

The premise is awesome: gods from the earth's mythologies are very real and have returned to earth.  All the major pantheons are here and Bond chooses to keep the gods among us as they should be; mysterious, aloof and certainly beyond the understanding of we mere mortals.  In Washington, D.C.,where the novel takes place, there are liaisons from each pantheon that interact with the Society of the Sun, an organization created to deal with the newly awoken gods.

Also in Washington live Kyra Locke and her father, a "librarian" with the Society.  Only, unbeknownst to Kyra, he isn't really a librarian at all and has made off with an ancient relic that the Society would like to have returned to it...

Both the action and fantasy sequences in The Woken Gods are well written, and once the pacing of the book picks up, keep it moving right along.  For me, it is a book with a slow introduction; there is alot of information and back story that Bond has to impart to us to get the party started and sometimes the expositions got to be quite lengthy.  After a few chapters, however, the narrative found its legs and I dived right in.

Kyra and Oz, the two main characters, are well developed and they and their supporting cast kept me engaged throughout the book.  I do feel that The Woken Gods is just the first adventure that we will share with them, since the climax of the book feels open ended and I believe that there is plenty more of this world that Bond can explore.

I would honestly recommend The Woken Gods to anyone who are looking for something different in the YA field, or who are just looking for a great read.  I was entertained and am now left wanting to see what happens next...happy reading!



(This counts toward the Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Reading Challenge 2013 hosted by Book Chick City)

"UNDER COLLAPSING SHELF", a Mini-Death Tale

As a thank-you for reviewing This Is How You Die: Stories Of The Inscrutable, Infallible, Inescapable Machine Of Death, contributor 'Nathan Burgoine wrote a "mini-death" tale for each of the reviewers, picking a card from that dread machine himself.  My review is here and this is the death that was dealt to me.  I am especially chuffed by it because 'Nathan could have had no idea ahead of time, but the though of this particular death would terrify me, so I was tickled and traumatized at the same time!  Thank you, 'Nathan!

"In return for his lovely review of This is How You Die, here's the fourth "mini-death" thank you story. The reviewer drew "UNDER COLLAPSING SHELF" from my remaining cards, but you can get a result from the http://www.machineofdeath.com/ site, too.

If you want a mini-death tale of your own, just write a review of This is How You Die wherever you'd like, and link it back to this page for me (or my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/apostrophen).

UNDER COLLAPSING SHELF

Finding a house without them had been too tricky, so in the end, he took a generous part of his inheritance and had a small home of his own design built. A perk, he supposed, of being an interior designer.

A retired interior designer.

Thanks to the world of e-reading, he didn’t miss his books, and thanks to online streaming, he didn’t miss his movies. Shoes and sweaters were placed on the floor, or inside hollow bench-seats that run along all the glass windows that faced the other side of the valley. He had similar ones installed in the kitchen – the other most challenging room, given the limitations. Top-load freezers and fridges.

Reselling, if it ever came to that, would be a bitch.

Still, it wasn’t the weirdest home that had been built since the machines had appeared. He’d heard of a woman who’d received SPLINTER as her result, and had a house built entirely of adobe and stone. 

He smiled, and went out to sit on the stone deck. There was no cover – that felt a bit too similar to him – and besides, it was a cool night with no rain. He drank some wine, and relaxed, and opened his portfolio. He set to work with a pencil, sketching out a rough idea for a Thai-Japanese fusion restaurant that had hired him to design their tables and chairs.

He only noticed the first tremor when it caused his pencil to scratch a line he hadn’t intended. He looked up when it happened again, frowning. He picked up his phone and thumbed the screen, moving to the social networks. The hashtags crossed his screen even as he watched.

#Earthquake.

He raised his eyebrows. It was his first in the new home. He refreshed the screen, and one of the hashtags was linked to an article. He tapped the screen.

It was a history of the earthquakes in the coastal areas, due to the nearby fault line and the continental shelf.

He dropped the glass of wine, and it shattered as the earthquake began in earnest."

Yes, I hate earthquakes...happy reading!

American Horror Story: Coven Posters and Teaser

On October 9, one of my favorite television shows, American Horror Story is returning for its third season on FX with a new horror story, this one entitled Coven.

After the amazing, wild insanity of last year's Asylum, I just didn't know how Ryan Murphy and team were going to top it.  Turns out, I needn't have worried.  This season is going to be (as the title suggests) all about witches!  And not just any witches...both Angela Bassett and the incredible Kathy Bates have joined the cast this season!  Imagining these two legendary actresses sharing the screen with show veteran Jessica Lange has me counting the days until the show's premiere!

As usual, there are plenty of creepy posters and teaser trailers to tide us over til then; here are my faves:

And the trailer that sent my head spinning, finally featuring all three actresses, "Initiation":