Tim and Adelaide Smithfield are haunted by memories of loss too raw to
forget, and too painful to remember. Their 11-year-old daughter,
Michaela, has her own set of sensory processing challenges, not to
mention an overwhelming sense of guilt that she might be at the root
of her parents’ problems.
The sprawling ranch house on the outskirts of the quaint West Texas town
of Big Spring promises a fresh start for a young family on the verge
of collapse.
But the house is haunted by memories of its own… and a guilt that West
Texas’ famed thunderstorms can’t wash away.
Sara is a mother of four, animal lover and advocate, and conservationist.
Little House on the Prairie, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, and Lonesome
Dove are among her favorite shows/movies and books. Sara holds her
B.A. in History and is the author of the historical romance series,
An Everlasting Heart, from 5 Prince Publishing and recently debuted
into the children’s book realm with Chunky Sugars (5 Prince Kids),
written for her own chunky baby.
The Haunting of Thores-Cross
Ghosts of Thores-Cross Book 1
by Karen Perkins
Genre: Paranormal Suspense
“The ghost of a wronged young woman in the village of Thores-Cross waits 230 years to have her story told in Perkins’s suspenseful and atmospheric first Yorkshire Ghost novel” – BookLife by Publishers Weekly *Silver Medal Winner, European fiction – 2015 IPPY Book Awards *#1 Bestseller in 6 Amazon Categories, including Ghost Suspense, British Horror and Gothic Romance *Top 10 Bestseller in 8 more, including Historical Thrillers and Occult Horror *Over 100 5-STAR reviews on Amazon.comLikened by independent reviewers on Amazon to the Brontë sisters, Edgar Allen Poe, Barbara Erskine and Nathaniel Hawthorne, Karen Perkins’ novels are filled with unflinching honesty and an acute understanding of human nature. She explores not only the depths of humanity, but the depths of human motivation behind the actions and pain people inflict upon each other, as well as the repercussions of these actions not only in the short term, but also the later generations who live with the implications of the past. Emma Moorcroft is still grieving after a late miscarriage and moves to her dream house at Thruscross Reservoir with her husband, Dave. Both Emma and Dave hope that moving into their new home signifies a fresh start, but life is not that simple. Emma has nightmares about the reservoir and the drowned village that lies beneath the water, and is further disturbed by the sound of church bells – from a church that no longer exists. Jennet is fifteen and lives in the isolated community of Thores-Cross, where life revolves about the sheep on which they depend. Following the sudden loss of both her parents, she is seduced by the local wool merchant, Richard Ramsgill. She becomes pregnant and is shunned not only by Ramsgill, but by the entire village. Lonely and embittered, Jennet’s problems escalate, leading to tragic consequences which continue to have an effect through the centuries. Emma becomes fixated on Jennet, neglecting herself, her beloved dogs and her husband to the point where her marriage may not survive. As Jennet and Emma’s lives become further entwined, Emma’s obsession deepens and she realises that the curse Jennet inflicted on the Ramsgill family over two hundred years ago is still claiming lives. Emma is the only one who can stop Jennet killing again, but will her efforts be enough? Goodreads * Amazon
Cursed
Ghosts of Thores-Cross Book 2
Jennet’s here. No one is safe.
A skeleton is dug up at the crossing of the ways on Hanging Moor, striking dread into the heart of Old Ma Ramsgill – the elderly matriarch of the village of Thruscross. And with good reason. The eighteenth-century witch, Jennet, has been woken. A spate of killings by a vicious black dog gives credence to her warnings and the community – in particular her family – realise they are in terrible danger. Drastic measures are needed to contain her, but with the imminent flooding of the valley to create a new reservoir, do they have the ability to stop her and break her curse? Goodreads * Amazon
Jennet
Ghosts of Thores-Cross Book 3
‘Jennet will have your heart and your fear in equal measure’ ‘Through Jennet we see how cruelty can drive even the most ordinary people to hatred and, in Jennet’s case, evil’ Yorkshire is in the grip of a heatwave, and Thruscross Reservoir has dried up to reveal the remains of the drowned village of Thores-Cross beneath. Playing in the mud which coats the valley floor, four-year-old Clare Wainwright finds an old inkpot, and can’t wait to show it to her best friend, Louise. But when Louise’s mother, Emma, sees it, her reaction is shocking, and both families are plunged into their worst nightmares. Emma knows what the inkpot portends:Jennet has woken.Now she wants the children. This is not a gore-ridden, jump-scare horror story. This is more real than that. Jennet is a story about the horrific things that people do to each other, and the way we react to that maltreatment – which does not always end with death. Jennet’s story is a horror story because it’s not necessarily fiction. It reflects the way women were treated in the time that Jennet lived. It reflects the psychology of the abuse cycle. And it reflects real life. All of it. If, as I believe, the spirit does not die when the physical body dies, then how many spirits are looking for vengeance today? What wrongs will you want to right when you pass through that veil? What will I? This is the conclusion of Jennet’s story, which began in The Haunting of Thores-Cross. I hope she finds peace. I really do.Goodreads * Amazon
Karen Perkins is the author of eight fiction titles: the Yorkshire Ghost Stories and the Valkyrie Series of historical nautical fiction. All of her fiction has appeared at the top of bestseller lists on both sides of the Atlantic, including the top 21 in the UK Kindle Store in 2018. Her first Yorkshire Ghost Story – THE HAUNTING OF THORES-CROSS – won the Silver Medal for European Fiction in the prestigious 2015 Independent Publisher Book Awards in New York, whilst her Valkyrie novel, DEAD RECKONING, was long-listed in the 2011 MSLEXIA novel competition. Originally a financial advisor, a sailing injury left Karen with a chronic pain condition which she has been battling for over twenty five years (although she did take the European ladies title despite the injury!). Writing has given her a new lease of – and purpose to – life, and she is currently working on a sequel to Parliament of Rooks: Haunting Brontë Country. When not writing, she helps other authors prepare their books for publishing and has edited over 150 titles, including the 2017 Kindle UK Storyteller Award winner, The Relic Hunters by David Leadbeater, and has also published a series of publishing guides to help aspiring authors realise their dreams. Karen Perkins is a member of the Society of Authors and the Horror Writers Association. Website * Facebook * Facebook Group * Twitter * Instagram * Amazon * Goodreads
I was looking for something easy to read and all I had to do is sit back and enjoy. Well, My Big Fat Demon Slayer Wedding by Angie Fox was just the ticket.
Outrageously funny band of biker bitches witches help Lizzie battle the evil Earl and plan her wedding kept me laughing, because of its cast of quirky characters with magical spells that don’t always work the way they should and creatures that cover the supernatural world.
I picked this up on an Amazon free day and I’m glad it didn’t get buried in my Kindle.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Lizzie Brown is about to have the destination wedding of her dreams. But as this former preschool teacher knows, being a demon slayer makes everything more complicated. The vengeful Earl of Hell is still on her tail. And now it seems that one of the guests at the eccentric, seaside mansion is possessed and trying to kill her. Maybe she should just elope.
The groom, studly shape-shifting griffin Dimitri Kallinikos, vows to protect her at all costs. Yet even he is acting suspiciously. And minions of the devil are popping up everywhere. Now Lizzie must protect her socialite mother, her Greek in-laws and her grandmother’s gang of biker witches – all of whom are convinced they know what’s best for her, and her big day. As the wedding draws closer, Lizzie has to learn who is behind the attacks – and fast – or risk losing everyone she loves.
When the only child of a humble medicine woman is murdered for ritual magic, she will call on all the awesome powers of her deity, the Earth goddess, and exact a terrifying vengeance on an entire village. The angry dead shall rise again and a dark cloud of terror will shroud both the guilty and the innocent in a deadly supernatural curse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
There were three doors leading off the living room. He paused again, uncertain which door to try first. The last thing he wanted was for the witch to hear him trying out the wrong door.
That was when the light came on in the room to his right, seeping out from the high gap underneath the shut door. Fucking witch had wakened. Eze cursed and reached for the light switch on the nearest wall, flooding the living room with light from the single dusty bulb overhead. There was no time anymore for caution or delay. He rushed to the door, his movement surprisingly swift, adrenalin fuelled. He turned the knob and pushed the door in with a loud shout, intent on shrieking terror into the heart of his opponent.
His shout caught in his throat. Hot piss gushed out of his bladder, washing his trousers with terror ammonia. A tight band gripped his heart, squeezing the breath out of his lungs. He stumbled back, backwards to the door through which he’d crashed into the room. His eyes, horror-wide, starred at the apparition before him, the albino girl he had last seen inside a secret shrine, drenched in her own blood, her warm heart pulsating inside the witch-doctor’s bowl. Eze moaned, his lips quivering like a child deprived of food. Her cackle hit him like a bullet, sending chills right through his veins to every nerve in his body.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links
Nuzo is an author of horror fiction from the African continent. She has featured on numerous media platforms, spearheading this new and unexplored horror subgenre.
A British writer of African descent, Nuzo Onoh lived through the Biafran/Nigerian civil war as a child refugee, an experience that has continued to influence some of her works. She attended Queen’s School, Enugu before proceeding to the Quaker boarding school, The Mount School York, England and St Andrew’s Tutorial College, Cambridge, from where she obtained her A’ Levels.
Nuzo holds both a Law degree and a Masters degree in Writing from The University of Warwick, England. Her published works include, The Reluctant Dead (2014), Unhallowed Graves (2015) The Sleepless (2016), as well as featuring in some anthologies. Nuzo enjoys playing the guitar and the piano as well as taking long walks, haunting cemeteries and ancient gravestones. She is a strong believer of The Law of Attraction.
. The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.
Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.
Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.
~~~
I won an ebook of Mary Hades by Sarah Dalton some time ago, but I loved this story so much, I wanted to share it with you.
My thanks go out to Sarah Dalton and Laura @ fuonlyknew.
“I don’t blame her,” Seth says. “What I saw that night…I’ll take it with me to my grave. It’s with me every day. Every day. She is with me every day. We’re connected – like rope on an anchor – and we will be forever.” He shrugs.
MY ONE SENTENCE REVIEW
Mary Hades by Sarah Dalton is a creepy and fantastic tale of a girl who is able to see and communicate with the spirits, her vacation adventure that turns into a young girl’s ghostly revenge and I loved every minute I spent with her and her friends, leaving me wanting more.
I love the beautiful cover for The Haunting of Hotel LaBelle by Sharon Buchbinder. I am always eager to pay a visit to a haunted place and this is the perfect time of year to do so. Come and in…if you dare.
The Haunting of Hotel LaBelle by Sharon Buchbinder starts me out with a laugh and I love that.
The story begins at Hotel LaBelle in 1905. Finally Lucius’ dreams came true. He’d worked hard, sacrificed much, including his love. He was ‘left’ with a curse from Mourning Dove’s powerful mother.
Present Day: Tallulah was at the Hotel LaBelle to find out why the hotel’s renovations were being delayed. The outside looked like Hotel LaHelle. She hadn’t had a vision in a year and she wondered, “Why now?”
Enter Lucius: who is neither alive nor dead. My thoughts are of a very unusual romance. Is it possible?
Both the living and the dead want her there, to fix what is broken, to save Hotel LaBelle.
The Native American mysticism adds that extra element that intrigues me, that takes this creatively written paranormal/supernatural read to a special place. I love haunted buildings and ghosts. Tallulah also has a dog, a pug. Any time a critter appears in a book I am reading, it adds a little spice to the story. The writing has a humorous side, along with the mystery, and all I can say is, “I want to return to Hotel LaBelle:”
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Haunting of Hotel LaBelle by Sharon Buchbinder.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
When hotel inspector, Tallulah Thompson, is called in along with her pug, Franny, to investigate renovation delays, she meets an extremely annoyed and dapper turn-of-the-century innkeeper. The only problem is he’s in limbo, neither dead nor alive, and Tallulah and the pug are the first to see him in a hundred years. Cursed by a medicine woman, “Love ‘em and Leave ‘em Lucius” Stewart is stuck between worlds until he finds his true love and gives her his heart. When he first sees Tallulah, he doesn’t know what he’s feeling. Yet, her stunning beauty, and feisty attitude pull him in. With the fate of Hotel LaBelle on the line, Tallulah with the help of a powerful medicine woman turns Lucius back into a flesh and blood man. She and Lucius team up to save the hotel, but Tallulah can’t help but wonder if he will ever let go of his past love and learn to love again.
“…You won’t get help. Not from me, not from the white shirts, not from the docs. Demons don’t simply play with their food. They take prisoners of war…”
Ari is a virgin, young, innocent and head over heels for Marcus. He’s a dick, with a capital D. He only wants to get into her pants and place another notch on his belt.
For their date, they are heading to the Lodley farmhouse. Ari should have listened to her instincts and Marcus should have listened to Ari when she said it was a very bad idea.
Now, they are both being haunted, each in their own terrifying and deadly way and these ghosts do plenty more than go bump in the night.
The tension and anticipation I feel as I wait for whatever is coming on the next page and the next page, makes it hard to contain my excitement. I don’t know what’s coming but I am thinking it will get so much worse…
I am loving what S M Boyce has done with this ghostly story about haunting and redemption as it comes full circle.
Now, I have met Mel and Marcus and I can hardly wait to spend more time fighting demons and monsters with them.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
A Ghostly Paranormal Horror Novel
A crumbling farmhouse lies on the outskirts of the sleepy borough of White Haven, Pennsylvania. No one lives there anymore, but it’s never been empty.
Ari Bowers is a nerdy high school junior with a crush on the Varsity wide receiver and a healthy fear of the paranormal. When her crush Marcus Wagner takes her on a date-gone-wrong to the local haunted farmhouse, her fear is tested. A dark entity latches onto them both in that house, and they pay for their mistake with blood.
Marcus won’t admit something followed him home from the farmhouse even though shadows lurk in his periphery. It’s a prank, all of it… until a local girl dies with similar wounds on her body. Now he’s convinced he’s gone insane. His life spirals out of control, and it all boils down to his stupid date with Ari. As he sinks into addiction and women to ease his pain, he’s left with a choice: lose everything, or acknowledge the darkness slowly taking over his soul. He’s running out of time, and if he doesn’t face this creature, it’s going to take him the same way it took Ari.
For Ari and Marcus, it’s not about whether or not monsters lurk in the dark—they just don’t know which one is after them.
3 Stars
The Friday 56 is hosted by 
so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.
