Review: We'll Never Be Apart by Emiko Jean | #CreeptasticReads

Title: We'll Never Be Apart

Author: Emiko Jean

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Source: Netgalley

Goodreads Summary: 

Murder. 

Fire. 

Revenge. 

That’s all seventeen-year-old Alice Monroe thinks about. Committed to a mental ward at Savage Isle, Alice is haunted by memories of the fire that killed her boyfriend, Jason. A blaze her twin sister Cellie set. But when Chase, a mysterious, charismatic patient, agrees to help her seek vengeance, Alice begins to rethink everything. Writing out the story of her troubled past in a journal, she must confront hidden truths.Is the one person she trusts only telling her half the story? Nothing is as it seems in this edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller from the debut author Emiko Jean.

As I write this I happen to have just finished the book, not even 10 minutes ago, and I just don’t know how I feel about it. On Goodreads I gave it four stars, but it might be 3.5. We’ll Never Be Apart tells the story of Alice, her twin sister Cellie, and what really happened on the night of a deadly fire.

This is an extrememly short book. I read the e-arc, but I think it’s about 280 pages. It’s one you can fly through in one sitting. This story is so short that I don't want to say anything for fear of ruining it. Just know what if you're looking for something creepy, but not scary, this is a book you might want to pick up. There are disturbing scenes that will make you cringe, but you won't be terrified or scarred for life.

The characters were eerie and emotional. One of my favorite characters, if not my favorite, was Chase. He’s the guy that Alice meets in the facility she’s staying in. He's tough and definitely the bad boy type, but he's also caring and soft. He has a lot going on in his head but he still tries to set that aside to help Alice. Most of my favorite scenes were with him. Especially in the last chapter. I just melted and felt so much for him. I think Emiko Jean created fantastic characters, where even when they were disturbing, like Cellie, they were done well. The only character I truly disliked was Jason, and even he was done well.

The big twist? I guessed it from the very beginning. Like 5 pages in I was like, "oh, obviously this is happening" but then I started second guessing myself in the middle and by the end I was like "nahhhh" and then it turned out I was right. Even then that didn't ruin the story for me so it wasn't that big of a deal. 

The thing that left me unsure of my feelings was the ending. The last chapter left me happy and hopeful, and then the epilogue sort of ruined that for me. It left me feeling uncomfortable and a little upset. Maybe that was the point of it and that was what the author was going for. That's why my rating is wavering a little. Maybe in a few days I'll be able to work through my feelings and determine how I really liked We'll Never Be Apart, but for now I'm still a bit undecided.

★ ★ ★ .5 / 5 stars

(3.5 stars)

Author Interview + Giveaway: Elle Cosimano | #CreeptasticReads

I read Nearly Gone last month and absolutely loved it. I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel, but in the meantime, enjoy the interview!

Bones meets Fringe in a big, dark, scary, brilliantly-plotted urban thriller that will leave you guessing until the very end.Nearly Boswell knows how to keep secrets. Living in a DC trailer park, she knows better than to share anything that would make her a target with her classmates. Like her mother's job as an exotic dancer, her obsession with the personal ads, and especially the emotions she can taste when she brushes against someone's skin. But when a serial killer goes on a killing spree and starts attacking students, leaving cryptic ads in the newspaper that only Nearly can decipher, she confides in the one person she shouldn't trust: the new guy at school—a reformed bad boy working undercover for the police, doing surveillance. . . on her.Nearly might be the one person who can put all the clues together, and if she doesn't figure it all out soon—she'll be next.

 The Interview

1. Hey! I'm so excited to have you on the blog today! Let's break the ice a little by talking about your characters. I absolutely love how none of your characters are black and white. Which was your favorite character to write?

When I was a teenager, I was lucky to have a few wise souls in my life. They challenged me to think in different ways, and were always a little cryptic with their advice, never telling me directly how to solve a problem, but rather arming me with just enough information to figure it out for myself. I wanted Nearly to have someone in her life like this. Hard core criminal Lonny Johnson is that character for me. He’s a wise, old soul in a young man’s body. He’s street smart and full of sage advice, but you would never assume that by the look of him (or his rap sheet), which I love because it makes him surprising to both Nearly and the reader.

2. The way you incorporated mathematical elements into your story was fantastic. How did that come to be? Did you know this was going to be a numbers mystery from the very beginning?

Actually, I had no idea. I knew I wanted my character to be flawed in a lot of the same ways I remember being flawed as a teen, but I also wanted her to be heroic, strong and capable in ways I had never been. Growing up, I dreamed of becoming a scientist, but I had always been terrible at math. Even through college, I failed basic math classes over and over again. Numbers just didn’t speak to me in a language I could understand. When I sat down to imagine her character – to make a list of all these traits I wanted her to have—the ones I found most admirable and heroic were intelligence and empathy, so I gave her both. The mathematic elements really lent themselves to the mystery. In many ways, math is really about solving puzzles. And so it seemed natural to me that I could challenge my character to apply this skill to solve a murder.

3. What was the most difficult part of writing Nearly Gone and Nearly Found?

Plotting a mystery is HARD! Breadcrumbs, red herrings, twists, and the timing of reveals… They all take a lot of careful planning and thoughtful revision to execute in a way that will keep readers guessing until the very end of the story. I revised these books more times than I care to count. But the hard work pays off when a reader tells me that the ending surprised them or they “should have seen it coming, but didn’t”.

4. Can you tell us a little bit about your next novel, Holding Smoke? We're dying for any information we can get our hands on!

YES! I am so excited about this book! HOLDING SMOKE has been described as The Shawshank Redemption meets If I Stay. It’s the story about a boy serving time for a murder he didn't commit. After a near-death experience, he finds himself gifted with astral projection, the ability to separate his soul from his body, which enables him to “travel” outside the prison walls in a quest to find the real killer and clear his name. What I love about this book is that it juxtaposes freedom of thought over prisons of the body, exploring the power of the mind over the ghosts inside. It’s a powerful, suspenseful, tangled and creepy book! HOLDING SMOKE will release on May 3 from Disney*Hyperion, but a few precious ARCs are already out in the wild.

5. I know you've had to do a lot of research for your novels. I'm always interested to know the research that goes on behind the story. What's the strangest or most interesting piece of research you've come across for any of your books?

I’d be very surprised if my Google search history hasn’t already put me on some government watch list. A few examples? How to make a cyanoacrylate fuming chamber out of a coffee can (for finding latent fingerprints), how to escape a GPS ankle tracking device, how to transport lethally toxic chemicals into public places without detection, how to make explosives and poisonous gas from items found in your garage, the decomposition rates of bodies buried in expeditious graves, and the process for collecting evidence from a corpse. But the subject I’ve always found most surprising is a phenomenon called “The CSI Effect.” The general public learns a lot about forensic investigation from TV shows and fictional media. These exaggerated portrayals of forensic science have influenced public perception, to the point where readers, viewers, and even jurors are having a harder time separating fact from fiction. On TV, identification of human remains and fingerprint IDs happen instantaneously with the help of sophisticated computer programs. On TV, DNA evidence is collected from every crime scene and processed almost overnight. In reality, these assumptions couldn’t be farther from the truth. Most forensic investigation is still a manual process, subject to manpower, human error, and budget constraints. Glamorizing and expediting these processes is a necessary evil in television, where we only have an hour to move the viewer through a high stakes plot. And yet, these kinds of assumptions have become our societal perception of the truth, which I find both disturbing and fascinating.

6. I asked this question in Creeptastic Reads interviews last year and I enjoyed reading the answers, so if your book characters were thrown into a slasher movie, who would probably die first and who would you be rooting for until the very end?

I love this question. I’d be rooting for all of them, because I love them all to death. But I think Jeremy would be first to die, because he’d be too busy taking pictures to run. (Anh would be a close second… she’s terrified of blood.) If I had to guess which character would survive the longest, I’d have to go with Oleksa. He’s pretty bad ass.

7. What fall books can you recommend for us?

Fall is my favorite time of year, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. I just loaded my Nook with some fun, fall scary reads, like Blood and Salt and The Dead House, and I’m looking forward to hiding under my blankets while I read. My favorite creepy books feature ghosts (and bonus points if they have strong romantic elements). A few I recommend? A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb, Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith, Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff, and of course, HOLDING SMOKE, which you might be surprised to learn has a few creepy ghosts of its own.

Thank you Elle for being part of Creeptastic Reads!

About the Author 

Elle Cosimano is the daughter of a prison warden and an elementary school teacher who rides a Harley. She majored in Psychology at St Mary’s College, Maryland, and set aside a successful real-estate career to pursue writing, She lives with her husband and two young sons in the Washington DC area.

www.ellecosimano.com

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Author Interview: Mindy McGinnis | #CreeptasticReads

Today we have Mindy McGinnis on the blog to talk about her newest release, A Madness So Discreet. This book sounds like the perfect mixture between creepy and magical. I hope you enjoy reading the answers as much as I did!

Grace Mae knows madness.She keeps it locked away, along with her voice, trapped deep inside a brilliant mind that cannot forget horrific family secrets. Those secrets, along with the bulge in her belly, land her in a Boston insane asylum.When her voice returns in a burst of violence, Grace is banished to the dark cellars, where her mind is discovered by a visiting doctor who dabbles in the new study of criminal psychology. With her keen eyes and sharp memory, Grace will make the perfect assistant at crime scenes. Escaping from Boston to the safety of an ethical Ohio asylum, Grace finds friendship and hope, hints of a life she should have had. But gruesome nights bring Grace and the doctor into the circle of a killer who stalks young women. Grace, continuing to operate under the cloak of madness, must hunt a murderer while she confronts the demons in her own past.

The Interview

1. Hello! I'm so happy to have you on the blog. So to break the ice a little, can you describe A Madness So Discreet in a tweet (140 characters)? 

It's a Gothic historical thriller set in an insane asylum, with madness, murder, and mystery.

2. Your previous novels, Not A Drop To Drink and In A Handful of Dust, were dark survival stories. What inspired you to step into the mystery genre? 

I always write whatever story inside me wants to come out next. I read widely, and so I write widely. MADNESS just happened to be the story that said, "It's my turn now."

3. Every time I read the description of A Madness So Discreet I get more excited. I think it's the "criminal psychology" part because I have a bachelors in psychology and I'm hoping to specialize in forensic psychology. That being said, I'm super interested in the research you did. Did you find that you had to do a lot more research than with your other books? 

I researched for an entire year before writing a word of this book. There was much to learn – the beginnings of criminal psychology, the history of asylum medicine (both the good and the bad), and of course historical details in general. What kind of lighting would be in a room in 1890? What would an asylum inmate be wearing? I’m very particular, and there were days when I couldn’t finish a sentence without doing half an hour of research in order to make sure I got it (hopefully) right.
The specific setting – the Athens Lunatic Asylum in Ohio – has an amazing history. You can do a quick Google and learn about how it’s one of the most haunted places in the world and hear horror stories about the graveyard. And while I’m a fan of the supernatural, I’m also a fan of data. That type of history doesn’t interest me, because most of it quite frankly, just isn’t true.
The Athens asylum was actually an amazing model of humane treatment for the insane. If you were crazy (or just unlucky enough to be deemed so) in 1890, it was a good place to land. One of my best resources for the history of the asylum was Asylum On The Hill: History of A Healing Landscape, by Katherine Ziff. If you’d like to learn more about the actual history of the Athens Lunatic Asylum give it a shot.

4. If so, what was one piece of research that caught your attention but you didn't include in A Madness So Discreet? (If not you can completely ignore this question haha)

The spinning chair was something I wanted to get into the asylum, but there wasn't room for it in the narrative. Some doctors believed that madness was caused by the non-mixing of humors within the body, and so a "treatment" was to hang a chair from the ceiling, tie a patient into it, and spin them around until they passed out. 

To learn more about the spinning chair, and other not so useful medical treatments, check out this YouTube video I made. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fcdsZBI14s

5. Ohhh, for those who don't know, you have a short story in Among the Shadows, a darker anthology. Can you tell us a little about your story and how it was different writing a short story versus a full length novel?

Sure! My short is titled "Phantom Heart" and is about a girl who absorbed her twin in the womb. But her sister's heart was stronger than her own, and retained it's position. As she ages it becomes clear that her sister would have been a very different person than she is, attracted to a totally different type of guy. It causes some issues for her.
In a lot of ways I think writing shorts is much more difficult than writing a novel. You've got less space to create tension and empathy.

6. There are some amazing books coming out this fall, which ones are you most excited for?

I'm most excited for SPINNING STARLIGHT by RC Lewis,  WALK ON EARTH A STRANGER by Rae Carson and VENGEANCE ROAD by Erin Bowman .

7. What are your favorite things to do to get into the fall spirit?

Just being outside does the trick. The chilly air, the leaves falling - out where I live, the corn rustling. That's all it takes!

Thank you Mindy for being part of Creeptastic Reads!

About the Author 

Mindy McGinnis is an assistant YA librarian who lives in Ohio and cans her own food. She graduated from Otterbein University magna cum laude with a BA in English Literature and Religion. Mindy has a pond in her back yard but has never shot anyone, as her morals tend to cloud her vision.

Mindy also contributes to the group blogs From the Write Angle, The Lucky 13s,Friday the Thirteeners, The League of Extraordinary Writers & Book Pregnant. She is a member of the Class of 2k13 and a volunteer moderator for the writing community at AgentQuery Connect, under the screenname bigblackcat97.

Welcome to the Fangirl Side: Abigail Haas | #CreeptasticReads

Okay, so I've been mulling over what my next fangirl post should be on and it came to me as I was driving home from work. If a book keeps popping into your mind at random times a year, or more than a year, later it's time to share it with others. The thing is that in this case I might have to share more than one book. I blame the incredibly talented Abigail Haas, aka Abby Mcdonald. If you're a fan of psychological thrillers and mysteries and you still haven't picked up Dangerous Girls and Dangerous Boys...uhh...I don't know what you're doing with yourself. Even if you aren't that into mysteries, start with Dangerous Girls. I promise you'll be hooked.

Let me start with how I fell so deeply into this Abigail Haas hole. Racquel from The Book Barbies was blabbing away about some book on twitter and raving about it's awesomeness, turns out it was Dangerous Girls. When I looked at my shelves for my next read I realized that I had an arc of it but had put it off for reasons unknown (that strange cover might have had something to do with it). So I decided to see what Racquel was going on about. I still remember her warning, "don't start this if you have anything due for school soon". Seriously, why don't I listen to these warnings?

Dangerous Girls

It's Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives. But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations. 
As Anna sets out to find her friend's killer; she discovers hard truths about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.
As she awaits the judge's decree, it becomes clear that everyone around her thinks she is not just guilty, but dangerous. When the truth comes out, it is more shocking than one could ever imagine...

 

The interesting thing about this book, among many, is that there are excerpts and police evidence and conversations throughout the novel. This makes the reader feel engaged in the investigation. I wanted to find out who the killer was and what was happening from page one. The very first page hooks you with a transcript of the 911 conversation from when the kids found Elise's body. It's something that makes you feel like YOU need to solve the murder.

The characters are also fascinating. Once again, I wanted to get into the minds of these teenagers and see their inner thoughts. A young adult thriller that makes me want to crack the minds of the characters? That's what I want to find more often. Not cliche characters, but characters with intrigue and maybe a little crazy.

The story is also told in flashbacks, so the reader gets to meet Elise before she's murdered. Elise is that reckless, careless girl that always ends up getting murdered. She kind of reminded me of Allison from Pretty little Liars (the show at least). In the flashback chapters she was always saying things that hinted toward her future. Things like, don't leave the door open, you never know who can walk in, and I felt like the horror movie viewer who sits there watching things play through, yelling at their screen for the main girl to turn around and see what was coming. But I love being in that position. It keeps me engaged with the story. If you are still doubtful about this book, please read it for the ending. The ride is totally worth it. And to this day I still can't bring myself to rate this book on Goodreads. That's how much it fucked with my mind, in a good way.

My favorite quotes:

“Wouldn't we all look guilty, if someone searched hard enough?”

“Any one of us could be made to look a monster, with selective readings of our history.”

Dangerous Boys

Three teens venture into the abandoned Monroe estate one night; hours later, only two emerge from the burning wreckage. Chloe drags one Reznick brother to safety, unconscious and bleeding; the other is left to burn, dead in the fire. But which brother survives? And is his death a tragic accident? Desperate self-defense? Or murder?
Chloe is the only one with the answers. As the fire rages, and police and parents demand the truth, she struggles to piece together the story of how they got there-a story of jealousy, twisted passion, and the darkness that lurks behind even the most beautiful of faces… 

To me Dangerous Boys was even more psychological than Dangerous Girls. Dangerous Girls appeals to the thriller fan, while Dangerous Boys had a truly disturbing undertone. It's so disturbing, but in a good way? I feel like only people who have read this before will understand what I'm talking about. I don't want to give away ANYTHING about this story, but just know that the characters are probably some of the most messed up characters you'll ever encounter, but you won't be able to stop reading until the last page.

I don't think this has been picked up by an American pulisher yet (WHYYYYYY? SERIOUSLY WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?) but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it does because more people need to read this book. I've probably already discussed it with everyone I know that has read it. I NEED MORE PEOPLE TO DISCUSS WITH. So please go read this book. Actually, just writing this has made me want to reread it.

Readathon Announcement! | #CreeptasticReads

Hi! This is just a super quick announcement to let you know that I will be doing a readathon this coming week, October 19-25th. This is a very simple readathon, there are no rules or daily posts. The point is just to read some of those creepy books we've probably been hoarding all year. But if you do join be sure to let me know on Twitter with #creeptasticreads or @YA_Bookmark! I love seeing what everyone is reading.

I'm not sure exactly what I'll be reading, but I'll be updating my twitter with my daily reading.

What do you have on your creepy TBR?

Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake | #CreeptasticReads

Title: Girl of Nightmares

Author: Kendare Blake

Publisher: Tor Teen

Source: Library

Goodreads Summary: 

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.
His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.
Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.
Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor. 

Right off the bat I want to say that I didn’t enjoy Girl of Nightmares as much as Anna Dressed in Blood. So I’m going to do a list type review and tell you what worked and what didn’t.

Things that didn’t work for me:

The pacing of this novel was very slow. It took me a while to really get into it. I have
very limited reading time, so when I finally sit down and read at night, I need a book that
can suck me in and not let me go. If the book doesn’t do that, I find myself distracted by
twitter and YouTube. That’s exactly what happened with Girl of Nightmares. It was the
first book I read in October, and it took me from the 1st to the 13th to get through. Even
when I finally sat down and decided I needed to finish it, there wasn’t a point in the novel
when I found myself excited to turn the pages. It was just a very mellow read.

The second thing that didn’t work for me were the characters. If you’ve read Anna
Dressed in Blood you’ll understand that the main character, Cas, has great reason to be
depressed at the start of this novel, but I wasn’t feeling his attitude. Everything annoyed
him, and most of Cas’ thoughts were hoping his friends wouldn’t do something stupid or
that they would just leave him be. He was unnecessarily rude at times, and I didn’t
appreciate that. The only character I found myself loving, as always, was Cas’ best friend
Thomas. He’s loyal, adorable, lovable, and even when he’s going through some things he
just asks for time, like a reasonable person, flaws and all.

Another thing that was missing was the scare factor. Anna Dressed in Blood had a really
great creepy tone with scary scenes interspersed throughout and I found Girl of
Nightmares to be missing this. Cas wasn’t hunting down terrifying ghosts, he was too
busy brooding over Anna. I guess I just wanted more.

Things that worked for me:

As I mentioned earlier, Thomas’ character was great for me. Along the same lines, even
though Cas wasn’t great at the beginning of the book, his friendship with Thomas was
fantastic. I love the dynamic the two of them have together. They work well, and
although it’s carrying all the weight most of the time, when Thomas was hurting and
needed a friend, Cas was there to offer the awkward shoulder.

I also thought that the third musketeer in their club, Carmel, was a very real teen.
Kendare Blake did a good job portraying the real difficulties that teenagers face. It’s not
all about the paranormal drama. Carmel having second thoughts about being involved in
the paranormal world was realistic, God knows I would be having ALL THE SECOND THOUGHTS.

The ending kind of redeemed the book for me. We get more Anna, which I always enjoy, and things wrap up pretty nicely. I enjoyed the ending more than I did the rest of the book. I would say, if you loved Anna Dressed in Blood then you can pick this one up if you want some conclusion, but it's not an essential sequel. If you haven't read the first book then it's a definite must read. Go pick it up now!

October TBR | Creeptastic Reads

Can you believe it’s already October? At the same time, it’s finally October! Tis the season to pull out all those creepy books we’ve been saving all year. It’s also time for my annual Creeptastic Reads event! This year I’m hoping to knock out a little bit of everything in the mystery genre. I’ll try to keep the blog up to date as I finish them. Below are some of my options for the month!

Some adult…

You by Caroline Kepnes

New releases…

We’ll Never be Apart by Emiko Jean and The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

The Original Psychological Thriller…

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

A little bit of everything…

Slasher Girls and Monster Boys Anthology by a ton of awesome authors

Middle Grade...

Warren the 13th and The All-Seeing Eye by Tania del Rio and Will Staehle

I know a lot of you are hoping to read some mysteries this month. What’s on your tbr? Have you read any of the ones on my list?

Creeptastic Reads 2015

Hello and happy October! I'm so excited to announce the return of Creeptastic Reads. I've been doing this since 2012 and this year there are some pretty awesome things to come. 

This is an event that I first put together just to satisfy my need for all things creepy. I usually pick up some of the horror/mystery novels I've had my eye on all year, snuggle up with a cup of hot chocolate, and get some reading done. Now I've asked some authors to join in on the fun! There will be an author interview each week along with some giveaways, so keep an eye out for that. There's also going to be a readathon one of the weeks, but there will be more information on that in the near future.

If you want to join me and read some creepy books, please do! The more people, the more fun. Even if you aren't planning on joining you should still stop by and check out the posts that will be going up throughout the month. It's going to be a fun month!

What is your favorite thing to do to get in the fall spirit?

Creeptastic Reads Review: Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

Title: Horrorstör

Author: Grady Hendrix
Publisher: Quirk Books
Source: Publisher

Goodreads Summary:

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.
To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.
A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstör comes packaged in the form of a glossy mail order catalog, complete with product illustrations, a home delivery order form, and a map of Orsk’s labyrinthine showroom. It’s “a treat for fans of The Evil Dead or Zombieland, complete with affordable solutions for better living.”—Kirkus Reviews.

The one thing I can tell you for certain about Horrorstor is that it's an experience in and of itself. The manufacturing of the book is so unique. It’s shaped like an Ikea catalog, of course the name is changed to Orsk, and even the pages within look like blueprints. The font is blue, there are pictures of  the items they sell, and each chapter even starts with a description of one of the products. If not for the story, I would recommend this book just for the experience of reading it. Plus, it looks fantastic on my shelf or just laying out on the coffee table. It's definitely a great conversation starter.

Horrorstor revolves around this normal furniture store where weird things start happening, and three employees who get assigned to stay the night so they can find out what’s going on when the lights go off and the doors close. That’s basically all you need to know. They think it’s an intruder at first, but it’s so much more than that! The mystery behind what’s really going on is unique, and the only complaint I would have is that I wish it would have been better explained in the end. I wanted to know the whole background story with all the scary details.

The characters Grady Hendrix created were completely realistic. Amy is a young college dropout simply trying to make a living by working at this store. She has roommates hassling her for rent money, a crappy car, and is just plain struggling. As a college student myself, this is very relatable. I can’t say that I’ve experienced that level of struggle, but I’m surrounded by struggling college kids on the daily. I had roommates so I know the problems that arise from that and to me, anyone who has been a college kid will be able to relate very strongly with her. And even if you’re not, I think you’ll appreciate these characters. I’ve been reading some very flawed characters lately and I’m really liking it. I don’t need my characters to be perfect, in fact, I prefer it when they aren’t. The other characters are kind of obscured by Amy, but you still get some of their background, especially Ruth Anne (whom I loved). Two of the other characters, Matt and Trinity, were very interesting and I wish I could have gotten more of their back story as well.

The writing hooks you in from the first page and keeps you glued to the pages. The last 30 pages I was literally at the edge of my seat, and let me tell you that I don’t use the word literally very loosely. If you would have walked through the doors of my house you would have found me sitting on the edge of my couch, shaking my legs, and with a disgusted (in a good way) look on my face. And along with the creepy dark parts, you get these sprinkles, or should I say - bursts of humor. I loved the quirkiness and wittiness Grady Hendrix brought to the characters. I also really enjoyed their progression and growth throughout the novel. It's always great to see character development, especially in a "horror" book.

To summarize my thoughts, I absolutely loved this book. It was my favorite "Creeptastic Reads" book of the month and probably my favorite read of October. Truly, the only thing I can say was that I wanted more when I turned that last page. I was happy with the ending, but that epilogue pulled me right back in and now I definitely wouldn't mind another book. I'll be picking up future Grady Hendrix novels without a doubt.

Rating:

★★★★.5/5 stars

Creep factor:

The horror isn’t too strong, but it was enough to make me shiver at some parts.

Creeptastic Reads: 3 TV Shows to Get You In the Halloween Mood

While this isn't a post about books, I thought it would be fun to share my top TV shows that get me into that eerie, dark mood we all look for during the fall months, especially around Halloween. We all refer back to our childhood favorites when it comes to movies (thanks ABC family and Disney channel original movies), but these might turn out to be some new favorites.

I did entire posts on Harper’s Island and Supernatural, so if you want to read a rambling of gush for these two shows (especially Supernatural) you can head over to those posts. But today I’m just going to tell you why these shows would be perfect for the Halloween spirit. Each show is for a different audience, so there’s something for everyone!

HARPER'S ISLAND:

If you’re one of those people who loves slasher films or fell in love with Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, then Harper’s Island is the show for you. It’s perfect for a rainy, gloomy day where you just curl up on the couch or in bed and marathon a show, especially since there are only 13 episodes! It's about a bunch of people who go to this island for a wedding. Of course they start getting killed off one by one. You can even use this guide with all the characters to cross out the people who are no longer suspects and circle the people you think are absolutely guilty. This one even has an old legend in it! I watched the entire season in one day, and at night I couldn’t even look out my window because I was scared someone was coming for me. Be prepared to leave the lights on because sometimes the reality of things can be scarier than any ghost.

GRIMM:

Grimm is a new addition to all the shows I already watch. I would say if you're not into horror shows, but still want to get that mystery feel, then watch Grimm. It's kind of like a crime show, but with supernatural creatures. Our main character is from a long line of Grimms and he's in charge of keeping these creatures in check. People who love fairytale retellings will for sure love this one. I love the bright colors the show uses, especially in the first episode. Also, some of the characters bring comedic relief to the more tense moments so it's not all serious. I'm still on season one so let me know if you start this show anytime soon, or already watch it. Maybe we can fangirl together! Plus, a lot of the episodes can be enjoyed on their own (at least in the first season).

SUPERNATURAL:

The final show I'm going to talk about is probably the one that I will be ringing in Halloween with. SUPERNATURAL. This one is for those of you looking for the scariest of the scariest, but most of the time I alternate between being terrified and laughing at their snarky comments. There are demons, vampires, ghosts, genies, possessions, exorcisms, werewolves, and everything else you could ever think of. I was religiously watching this show over the summer (again re: THE FANGIRL POST), but when school started again I had to let up on my obsession. That said, this one has fantastic characters, especially the two main brothers, Sam and Dean. As with Grimm, you can watch some of the episodes on their own without having to continue the rest of the series, although I'm sure you'll be just as hooked as the rest of us.

Let me know if you'll be watching any of these for the Halloween season, or what you would recommend. I'm also looking for movie recommendations so leave those in the comments!

Creeptastic Reads Review: Very Bad Things by Susan McBride

Title: Very Bad Things

Author: Susan McBride
Publisher: Delacorte Press

ReSource: Author

Goodreads Summary:

Katie never thought she'd be the girl with the popular boyfriend. She also never thought he would cheat on her-but the proof is in the photo that people at their boarding school can't stop talking about. Mark swears he doesn't remember anything. But Rose, the girl in the photo, is missing, and Mark is in big trouble. Because it looks like Rose isn't just gone…she's dead.Maybe Mark was stupid, but that doesn't mean he's a killer.Katie needs to find out what really happened, and her digging turns up more than she bargained for, not just about Mark but about someone she loves like a sister: Tessa, her best friend. At Whitney Prep, it's easy to keep secrets…especially the cold-blooded kind.

Amongst all the underwhelming mysteries I've read lately, Very Bad Things was a pleasant surprise!

The story starts off with our main character, Katie, in the library dozing off. Suddenly she feels like she’s being watched, and when she turns around she finds this single rose. To give a bit of background, Katie has recently been having these very realistic nightmares where she gets the overwhelming sensation that she’s being watched and always wakes up to the smell of roses. How creepy is that?

While the book itself is pretty short, the story did take a while to unravel parts of the mystery. Not that that's a huge complaint because it’s slow and juicy and every piece of information is a vital one. Pull out your notepads because you’re going to want to be taking notes while you read. The characters each have their certain weird factor that keeps you doubting them until the end and the multiple POVs add to this. Different points of views can be tricky because the voices can melt together, but Susan McBride did an excellent job distinguishing her character's voices. There is no "good" character or "bad" character. Each one had their questionable moments and I think that's realistic. As a reader, I got frustrated with some, laughed along with others, and felt all the feels near the end. Obviously they weren’t the most detailed characters since Very Bad Things is just under 250 pages, but they were just the right amount of developed for such a short story. 

The blurb on the back of the book was kind of the reason I picked this one up prematurely. I wasn’t planning on reading Very Bad Things but that blurb called out to me, so of course I’m going to include a snippet so everyone else gets as hooked as I was by it.

Katie set the package on the floor and pried off the twine. There was no note, just something rolled up in yellowed paper. Something that smelled rank enough to make her hold her breath as she began to unwrap it. Toward the end, the paper unrolled all by itself and dumped the contents between her feet. Plop. "Oh, my God," she whispered when she saw what it was.

Doesn’t that make you want to pick this up? If not, then maybe the fact that the mystery was so different from what’s typically out there, will. As I’ve mentioned in other reviews, I’m pretty good at guessing the twist before the big reveal. To be honest, I did have my suspicions in Very Bad Things, but it’s such a different take on young adult mystery that I doubted myself until halfway through the book when things started coming together. That was the final deciding factor between 3 and 4 stars. I obviously don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say that the psychology major within was very interested in what was going on. The fact that this book took something I read so often, and churned out something refreshing, made it a pleasure to read. It was just the right amount of eerie, at the right pace, with the right mystery elements. I wouldn’t say you’ll be sleeping with the light on after reading it, but you’ll be thinking about the characters in Very Bad Things (some more than others) for days after putting it down.

Rating:

★★★★/5 stars

Creep factor:

Nothing too scary, but definitely some creepy scenes. I suggest this to mystery fans that can't deal with too much gore or horror. Perfect for this time of year.

2/5

Creeptastic Reads: Interview with Kim Harrington

I've read most of Kim Harrington's books (just need to catch up on her newest release) and I've thoroughly enjoyed all of them. Check out my review of The Dead and Buried right here! That said, you can imagine my excitement to have her on the blog today!

The Interview:

Hi Kim!

I'm a pretty big fan of scary books, but as I was reading The Dead and Buried I found myself leaving the lights on at night. You wrote some amazingly terrifying scenes! What was the scariest story you stumbled upon while researching for any of your books?

Because I wrote a scary book, people love to tell me their own personal ghost stories. And I’ve heard some terrifying ones! The worst was a friend who woke up and saw someone ghostly at the foot of her bed. Yikes.

What is one of your favorite things to do to get into the fall spirit?

I love decorating the house for Halloween. Pumpkins, ghosts, light-up crystal balls--the cheesier the better.

You've written different takes on the mystery genre, from horror to thriller to psychic detective (my personal favorite). What was your favorite style to write? Do you have any idea what your next project might fall under?

I’ve loved writing it all. Sometimes when I write something a little lighter and funnier, I feel the need to write something dark next. And then after that, I want a lighter touch again. It’s fun to switch gears. I really enjoyed writing FORGET ME. The fast pace of the thriller plot and the humor between a couple of the main characters was a great combo for me. I have two projects that I’m hoping will sell next, both very different in tone. Crossing my fingers!

The first book in your Sleuth or Dare series took me back to my childhood. What did you draw from in order to write a mystery that worked for kids? Any particular books that inspired the feel of the series? I know it took me back to my Bailey School Kids days.

To create the SLEUTH OR DARE books, I took a lot of time to think about what kind of book I would have loved to read at that age. And then I wrote it. So I basically wrote for Lil’ Kim. ;)

I know you enjoy the topic of space exploration, especially the different moons. Would you ever write a book that took place in space? I would love to read a horror novel set in space!

You know me well! I would love that. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. I’ve played with a couple ideas but none of them were fresh enough for me to get excited about. Someday, though. Someday.

Can you share some of the books on your fall TBR?

BLACK ICE by Becca Fitzpatrick sounds great! And I recently vacationed in Grand Teton National Park, so the setting hooked me already.

Finally, if all your main characters suddenly came to together on the big screen in a horror movie, which one do you think would be the first to reach their untimely demise? Which one would you be rooting for until the end? (I know this must be tough, they're your babies)

Wow, what a fun question! Faye from THE DEAD AND BURIED would probably die in Act One. Sorry, Faye! And the last one standing would have to be Clarity “Clare” Fern because she’s so tough and she has that extra gift up her sleeve that could help her out.

 Thanks for being part of Creeptastic Reads!

About Kim Harrington:

Kim Harrington is the author of Clarity,Perception, The Dead and Buried, and Forget Me for teens and the Sleuth or Dare series for kids. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and son. When not writing, she's most likely reading, watching one of her favorite TV shows, or fantasizing about her next vacation. Her first book, Clarity, received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly, was a 2012 ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, sold to nine countries, and was optioned for television by Warner Brothers.

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