Monthly Archives: January 2024

Horrorlicious – Dread by Kevin Bachar @KevinPangolin

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Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Isn’t that cover fantastic? Dreadfully awful, yet so very intriguing. Just imagine the possibilities inside. Ghosts, monsters, and so much more of those don’t go in the forest type of moments. A couple of my favorites was the ending for the woman plagued by blood sucking mosquitoes and the rare, tropical fish.

Kevin Bachar has created a collection of horribly terrifying short stories combining fact and fiction. So, like Kevin Bachar says at the end of the book….

Now head outside and go for a walk.

Ya never know what might happen.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREAD BLURB

A child died in an avalanche, and she won’t leave me alone.

A woman plagued by blood-draining mosquitoes on the Alaskan tundra figures out a horrific way to scratch her unending itching.

There’s something outside my tent…and I think it’s hungry.

A collector of rare tropical fish, receives a new species that is both fascinating and terrifying.

DREAD – Thousands of people have gone missing out in the wild and here is a collection of tales that offer up some horrifying reasons why. Emmy-award-winning National Geographic cinematographer Kevin Bachar has swum with sharks, climbed the peaks of mountains, and explored the darkest of forests. In DREAD, he weaves together terrifying true stories from his real-life adventures with twisted fiction from the depths of his frightening imagination. Flip open the pages to indulge in the dark side of nature— haunted forests, tree demons, monstrous snakes, and a search-and-rescue team terrorized by the ghosts of those they couldn’t save.

Read… if you dare.

  • Genre: Anthology, Fiction, Horror, Short Stories
  • 207 pages, Kindle Edition
  • Published November 8, 2023 by Black Widow Press

ABOUT KEVIN BACHAR

Kevin Bachar is a national EMMY award-winning natural history documentary filmmaker and WGA writer. The elevated horror film he wrote – The Inhabitant – https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/the-inh… – was released through Lionsgate and is available on most streaming services.

If you’ve watched National Geographic, PBS, or The Discovery Channel over the years you’ve seen his work. He’s the idiot in the water filming sharks or crawling into caves to photograph vampire bats. You can see Kevin at work filming sharks here – https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2703407897/…

The natural world has always captured his imagination and the supernatural world inspires his stories. Through his journeys, he’s interviewed scientists who’ve enlightened him, heard folk tales that have frightened him, and seen quite a few things that have challenged his skeptical mind.

His collection of short stories that weaves together the natural world and the supernatural world entitled, DREAD, is available on Amazon. He’s currently working on his second collection entitled – CREEP.

Complimenting his writing, Kevin has lectured and given presentations at prestigious institutions such as Rutgers University, American University, and the Rubin Museum of Art.
To keep up to date with Kevin’s movies, documentaries, and books –
www.kevinbachar.com
https://twitter.com/KevinPangolin
https://www.instagram.com/kevinbachar/
https://www.tiktok.com/@kevinbachar?l…
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjEKM_m…
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1423190/

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Library Borrow – To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee #harperlee #tokillamockingbird

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Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I quickly discovered why To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee has become a classic and won the Pulitzer Prize. I was immersed in the struggles of a lawyer, a widowed father, raising two young children, while defending a black man charged with raping a white girl.

All the darkness of the times came through the story, racism, classism, and violence in the Deep South during the 1930s. My disgust and anger brought a tear or two to my eye.

Scout, an eight year old girl had me in stitches. Her older brother, Jem, matures as the story develops.

I was smiling and laughing at their thoughts, their innocence, and their vivid imaginations.

“Maybe he died and they stuffed him up the chimney.”

The sophistication of the writing stands the test of time!

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

‘Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’

A lawyer’s advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee’s classic novel – a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man’s struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much.

  • Genre: Classics, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Young Adult
  • 331 pages, Kindle Edition
  • First published July 11, 1960
  • Literary awards:

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1961), Audie Award for Classic (2007), The Quill Award for Audio Book (2007), National Book Award Finalist for Fiction (1961), Alabama Author Award for Fiction (1961)

Original title: To Kill a Mockingbird Series

To Kill a Mockingbird (#1)Setting

Maycomb, Alabama (United States, 1933), Alabama (United States)Characters

Scout Finch, Atticus Finch (The Sanibel Sunset Detective Returns), Jem Finch, Arthur Radley, Mayella Ewell, Aunt Alexandra, Bob Ewell, Calpurnia (housekeeper), Tom Robinson, Miss Maudie Atkinson, Judge John Taylor, Dill Harris, Heck Tate, Stephanie Crawford

ABOUT HARPER LEE

Harper Lee, known as Nelle, was born in the Alabama town of Monroeville, the youngest of four children of Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. Her father, a former newspaper editor and proprietor, was a lawyer who served on the state legislature from 1926 to 1938. As a child, Lee was a tomboy and a precocious reader, and enjoyed the friendship of her schoolmate and neighbor, the young Truman Capote.

After graduating from high school in Monroeville, Lee enrolled at the all-female Huntingdon College in Montgomery (1944-45), and then pursued a law degree at the University of Alabama (1945-50), pledging the Chi Omega sorority. While there, she wrote for several student publications and spent a year as editor of the campus humor magazine, “Ramma-Jamma”. Though she did not complete the law degree, she studied for a summer in Oxford, England, before moving to New York in 1950, where she worked as a reservation clerk with Eastern Air Lines and BOAC.

Lee continued as a reservation clerk until the late 50s, when she devoted herself to writing. She lived a frugal life, traveling between her cold-water-only apartment in New York to her family home in Alabama to care for her father.

Having written several long stories, Harper Lee located an agent in November 1956. The following month at the East 50th townhouse of her friends Michael Brown and Joy Williams Brown, she received a gift of a year’s wages with a note: “You have one year off from your job to write whatever you please. Merry Christmas.”

Within a year, she had a first draft. Working with J. B. Lippincott & Co. editor Tay Hohoff, she completed To Kill a Mockingbird in the summer of 1959. Published July 11, 1960, the novel was an immediate bestseller and won great critical acclaim, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961. It remains a bestseller with more than 30 million copies in print. In 1999, it was voted “Best Novel of the Century” in a poll by the Library .

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Tortured and Near Dead – Extreme Risk by Jane Blythe @jblytheauthor #romanticsuspense

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MY REVIEW

Jane Blythe is one of my most favorite authors and for the first time, she ended a book with a cliffhanger. Sure, her books run in series and the characters keep making appearances, but each story is told before she moves on to the next, except for Lethal Risk. The hunkalicious, heroic men were left in a precarious position. They had been betrayed, set up, captured, tortured, and were wondering if they were going to make it out alive.

It had all begun with a survivalist that wanted to create utopia, his own version of it. I think we all know there is no such thing and his dream becomes perverted, thriving after his death. Who was running things now, they did not know. As he waited for his turn of torture he wasn’t sure he could survive, there came a bright light and a soft voice, “You buys ready to go home?”

Piper was a psychiatrist working at Prey Security. The guys were sent to her, but there was no way he was going to spill his guts to her. They had a mutual attraction going, but never acted on it. Piper had a past she kept hidden, but we all know that the past will rear its ugly head until it is dealt with. You can run, but you can’t hide.

When someone breaks into her apartment, her world changes. Not just for the bad, with a stalker out to get her, but for the good too. Prey Security rallies around her and she learns what it means to have family. They are a tight knit bunch and if you take on one of them, you take on them all.

I didn’t see the danger coming at her the way it did. It draw Piper and Arrow closer.

There are many things predictable about romantic suspense novels, but Jane Blythe manages to create a story that keeps me on my toes, throwing in a twist or a turn here or there. Of course, I do want a happy ever after and she delivers that too, all while making me crave the next book in the series. Who is the lucky guy that is going to find his happy ever after? What dangers will the couple face? Each and every one of these gorgeous, manly men put their lives on the line, so they all deserve whatever good life can offer.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Can she accept an offer of help from a patient she’s attracted to?

Dr. Piper Hamilton is used to keeping on the fringes. She knows what it’s like to be responsible for the death of someone you love and she’d do anything to protect herself from feeling that pain again. But now she’s being stalked and a man she’s been attracted to for years is offering her not only his protection but a chance at happiness as well. Only problem is he’s a patient which makes him off limits.

Antonio “Arrow” Eden has been attracted to the pretty doctor ever since he met her, but after almost losing his life he’s decided it’s time to make his move. He’s a fixer, a healer, and he’d do anything to wipe away the sadness he sees lurking in Piper’s eyes. When he learns she’s in danger he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe, until he realizes he might be the biggest threat of all.

With a stalker circling closer, and demons from their pasts standing in the way, Arrow and Piper might never get a chance to have the happy ending they both desperately want.

  • Genre: Fiction, Military, Romance, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, Thriller
  • 274 pages, Kindle Edition
  • Published March 14, 2023
  • Series: Prey Security, Alpha Team, #3

ABOUT JANE BLYTHE

USA Today bestselling author Jane Blythe writes action-packed romantic suspense and military romance featuring protective heroes and heroines who are survivors. One of Jane’s most popular series includes Saving SEALs, part of Susan Stoker’s OPERATION ALPHA world! Writing in that world alongside authors such as Janie Crouch and Riley Edwards has been a blast, and she looks forward to bringing more books to this genre, both within and outside of Stoker’s world. When Jane isn’t binge-reading she’s counting down to Christmas and adding to her 200+ teddy bear collection!

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MY REVIEWS FOR JANE BLYTHE’S BOOKS

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Review – Secrets That Gnaw At The Flesh by C J Weiss

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MY REVIEW

I wanted to love Secrets That Gnaw At The Flesh by C J Weiss. The fantastic title drew me in and I love the eerie cover, but…

The story drew me in, a haunted house novel with a twist. We do have ghosts AND demons and that is different from the norm. We have plenty of characters, human, demon and ghostly. At times I found myself confused, trying to figure out who was who.

I was curious why Garrett would have to put his life on hold for a few months every so many years, if he chose to be a part of her life permanently. He’s going to Harvard and I don’t know how that would work. Would he give up his career?

Wheeling and dealing with a demon caught my attention. Would the demon hold up his end of the bargain, or was he luring them in, only to betray them?

Secrets That Gnaw At The Flesh by C J Weiss did have its Oh No moments, but, at times the pace was too slow to keep my attention and I found my mind wandering. It did pick up once the Breach approaches.

Of course, by the title, secrets will be exposed and I always enjoy that. 🙂 Possession. Ghosts. Demons. Lured me in and I couldn’t stop until I knew the end, but it didn’t work for me and I find it hard to recommend. But, don’t let that stop you from checking it out for yourself. Just because it didn’t work for me doesn’t mean it won’t work for you.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
2 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

A haunted house novel with a twist. The main characters are supernatural experts who know the ghosts going in, but more powerful forces than ghosts prowl the haunted house, and they’ve been biding their time.

Garrett Mueller proposes to his girlfriend, Marie Renault. She rejects him, distressing him until he learns why. Her family watches over a haunted house, where every several years a Breach opens to the world of the dead. Everyone related by blood or oath must return, or the Breach widens, endangering the family and world at large.

To marry Marie, he must also bind himself to that house.

The Renaults estimate a week until the Breach opens, offering Garrett a short trial period. Despite the risks, he will try it for the woman he loves. The Renaults are professionals when it comes to the supernatural, and they’ve always prevailed.

Only, as the week progresses, the family discovers this Breach is shaping up to be one of historically dangerous proportions. Risks mount higher as secrets leak out, threatening to divide the family. And even if Garrett changes his mind, it might be too late to leave.

Secrets Gnaw at the Flesh differs from other haunted house novels in three key ways:

1. The characters are supernatural experts who are equipped to “fight” the ghosts, but the house has its own tricks.
2. Strong personalities and backstories add a dimension interpersonal drama that will leave the reader unclear on who to trust.
3. Worldbuilding is closer to something you’d find in fantasy or sci-fi.

This novel is the second in the Virulent Nightmare Origins series and can be read as a standalone or as part of the series in any order.

Virulent Nightmare Origins
A Broken Clock Never Boils (2022)
Secrets Gnaw at the Flesh (2023)
TBD (2025)
TBD (2026)

  • Genre: Demons, Fiction, Ghosts, Horror, Paranormal, Supernatural
  • 387 pages, Kindle Edition
  • Published October 23, 2023

ABOUT C J WEISS

C.J. Weiss loves hiking, board/video games, traveling, and obviously reading (particularly speculative fiction and some history). Walking around the neighborhood with a podcast or audiobook playing is a daily occurrence. He enjoys exploring new ventures and the unknown, leading to a healthy respect for storytellers able to craft believable worlds.

That respect led to his diving into writing and publishing his debut novel, A Broken Clock Never Boils, in 2022. Feeling excited over where this journey might lead is an understatement. He’s thrilled to interact with his supporting readers along the way.

Finally, he’s as big a fan of peanut butter as it gets. Only the natural stuff – oil separation is normal!

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The Rose Bowl – Michigan Wolverines vs Alabama Tide #therosebowl #michigan #alabama #football

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We’re #1 Michigan Wolverines

This is what I will be anticipating all day long….GO BLUE!

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The Chaos Theory – The Ripple Effect by Cally Jackson @callyjackson

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MY REVIEW

I was looking for a pallet cleanser, a break from the dark and dangerous. A simple love story…But is love ever simple? Especially when you are a time traveler like Caitlyn in The Ripple Effect by Cally Jackson.

Caitlyn is a Gen Z girl, totally unprepared for what befalls her on her twenty first birthday. She finds she has inherited a disorder that causes her to time travel. She has no control over when it will happen. Imagine, you are here, then, POOF, you are gone.

She will have a tough choice to make, seeing the condition is not permanent. It usually passes after a period of time. So, what would you do? Grasp every second in the past with the man you love? Throw caution to the wind, regardless of your present life? Could you even threaten your own life? Could it cause you to never to have been born?

What a quandary The Chaos Theory is and I appreciate a book that can get my mind spinning.

The Ripple Effect by Cally Jackson is a series, so be prepared for answers to be found at a later date. C’est la vie.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
3 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

A Gen Z girl with a time travel disorder. A gorgeous 1980’s guy. Can she stop their love from rewriting history?

A quirky, touching and highly original Australian time travel romance.

When Caitlyn Richter turns twenty-one, she begins having strange, unsettling episodes. To her horror, she learns she’s inherited a disorder that causes her to travel through time uncontrollably, and to make matters worse, one small change to the past can have massive consequences for the present.

Caitlyn realises she must do whatever it takes to leave the past unchanged. But that’s easier said than done, especially after she meets Toby Beech, an attractive 1980’s carpenter who wants to spend as much time with her as possible, and who she finds herself falling in love with.

She has two choices. She can force herself to stay away from Toby and keep her life in the present intact. Or she can follow her heart and risk the ripple effect wreaking havoc on everything and everyone she loves.

The Ripple Effect is the first book in an addictive new series by Australian author Cally Jackson.

  • Genre: Fiction, Romance, Time Travel, Teen and Young Adult
  • Published September 14, 2023
  • Series: The Ripple Effect, #1

ABOUT CALLY JACKSON

Cally Jackson grew up in the small country town of Gatton, Australia. Her passion for fictional writing first emerged in grade two when she got in trouble for penning her own tale instead of copying directly from a story book as she was supposed to be doing – it was a handwriting exercise, after all.

Cally now lives in Brisbane with the two loves of her life – her husband, Mark, and their dog, Lucy. The Big Smoke is her first novel.

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