lauriereadslohf's reviews
1518 reviews

A tale of terrible friends, horrible ex husbands and undead rockstars. Review to come

 

The Ancestor is a book about family secrets, yes! my favorite, that takes some wild and unexpected turns. Just when you think it’s going to be one thing (a straight-up gothic tale perhaps?) it turns out to be something else entirely and I LOVED that. I enjoyed the foray into the strange and unexpected and that it bravely went the last place I would’ve expected it to go!

Alberta “Bert” is separated from her husband Luca when the story begins. She’s grieving the loss of her relationship and several miscarriages when she receives a letter from someone in Italy stating she’s inherited an estate in the wilds of Italy. Apparently, she is the last living relation and the legal folks are going to fly her out so she can become the mistress of a castle. Oh, and also become a Countess! She and Luca (the husband who wants to reconcile) fly out to see what’s what.

This is a slower-paced tale filled with rich detail and history and other things that I can’t mention without spilling too much and it begins very much like a typical gothic creep-fest with a heroine who doesn’t stop to question too much. She goes with the flow. I mean, if I were struggling with everything and then suddenly told I was a Countess of a secluded castle I might hop on a plane and keep my pesky questions to myself too. Let them give it all to me officially and in writing, before I mess it all up with my annoying questions in case they change their mind! Anyhow, she kind of continues this behavior as the book goes along (especially when it comes to Luca) but this is usually the case in a slow burn. You find out the information slowly and that’s just how it is and likely how it should be. 

As the story continues, ominous details are doled out slowly. There are rumors of a goat and child-eating beast living near the secluded castle - amongst other things. She is also not alone in the castle. At times, it gave me some little Castle Freak vibes and I love that movie and its reboot even though I know I probably shouldn’t but you gotta love what you love, right? The creepy atmosphere of that castle, the sounds, the sights, the unknown hanging over everything, it was just all so perfectly done.

I can clearly see why this book has mixed reviews. Somewhere past the midway point, it turns into something else, and that something else was certainly something else 😳😹. I grew up reading and watching some of the most twisted kind of things so nothing here upset me but know that the roads taken here may not be for everyone. There are some very disturbing things in these here pages and the very end might leave you a wee bit melancholy (yeah I’m being annoyingly vague on purpose). Be prepared for that going in and for some terrible behavior from some tormented people and you’ll be okay. Probably. Just don’t yell at me if you’re not because I am sensitive, haha.

I enjoyed it very much and recommend it if you’re looking for something that just might surprise you.

 

Review to come 

Review/rating to come 

 

oOOOOOh this book! I loved it so very much! It was so unique to me and it kept me enthralled from beginning to end. I don’t want to ruin it by telling you all about it so I’ll do my best not to do that. To be completely honest here, I was a little worried after I glanced at the blurb because I’m not really a huge fan of what it was saying. It was talking about prisons and conspiracies and, well, I didn’t think I would fall in love with the story but the best thing happened and I immediately did just that. I’m so thankful for my friends who put it on my radar with their positive reviews because it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year and I’d like everyone to give it a read.

We meet strangers Robin and Jack as they’re traveling to an island and we quickly learn they’re not on any kind of lavish vacation! Salt Island is enclosed beneath a wire mesh cage penning them in on all sides. Sounds very much like a prison island, eh? Yeah, that’s because it is even if they’re told it’s a “place to reflect”.


It’s all very mysterious and the reveals are doled out slowly. What is this island? Why are they here? What terrible things have these people done?!! And why aren’t they allowed to speak to the 100 or so locals still living on the island? What the heck is going on?

My overly dramatic notes are filled with “What is happening here?! I will perish from the suspense!!” But it is sort of true. Once this book gets its hooks in you, it will be hard to stop reading until you learn everything and you’ll have more questions with every page you turn. It read a wee bit like the best kind of Black Mirror episode. Greed and a mix of modern technology fucking things up blended with an ancient . . . well, I’m not going to tell you that part. I absolutely AM NOT.

It’s a horror novel so expect things to get bloody. There’s a pretty big warning sign right off the bat. They’re not allowed any outside communication with the world. That means no cell phones, no CB radios, no rabbit ears, no nothing! The island also smells very bad. Soon a dead body is found. They may or may not be seeing very strange beings wandering around in the shadows after darkness. Now imagine having no option to leave and being completely left in the dark about EVERYTHING. That’s the situation these people find themselves in and it gets terrifying rather quickly.

I enjoyed nearly everything here except the bit in my CW below and I can’t find anything to complain about - not that I was looking but you know I can be a picky witch sometimes (yikes, wish I weren’t like this but I am what I am). The author takes her time developing her characters, revealing their backstories, building the relationships and trust between them. The circumstances are wild but also completely believable. When the ahhhh!! oh-my-gods! things begin to happen you’re invested in these people and it’s too late to turn back!

There’s action, there’s adventure, there’s a terrifying ancient *nope still not saying* and an excellent cast of strong women who must bond together to outsmart the evil situation they’re stuck in. I recommend it with my whole heart or at least what’s left of it. 

 The Ghost Tree is a tale set in the 80’s about murder, secrets, witches and a friendship that’s falling to pieces. It’s gorier than I expected and not quite as creepy as I’d hoped. It was a pretty solid 3 star read for me and 3 stars are type of books I absolutely dread reviewing but I’ll take a stab at it . . .

Things start off when two young women are found torn to pieces in the local bigots backyard. This is a quiet, sleepy town and this is a big deal. Or one would think so. Instead of everyone being in a huge panic screaming “LOCK YOUR DOORS THERE’S A MURDERER ON THE LOOSE!” people seem a bit “hmm, guess I better go water my lawn and mind my own damn business”. Weird, right?

Well, things only get weirder as the story moves along.

Told from multiple POV’s the main voice that stuck out for me was that of teenager Lauren who has been having migraines and visions and finds the forest a calming place. Her father died a year earlier, a grisly victim of murder whose killer was never found. Hmm, perhaps this town isn’t so “quiet” after all. The case gets brushed under the rug as everyone moves on with their lives but Lauren can’t move on quite so easily. She has a strained relationship with her mother and her best friend has suddenly gone boy crazy so she’s having a real shit time now and I felt for her. She starts her own poking around into all of these deaths that no one seems interested in solving and what she finds is far more than she could’ve dreamed up.

If the story had focused more on Lauren’s POV I think I would’ve enjoyed it more than I did. There’s a lot going on here and some of it is important but feels a bit underdeveloped even though the book is over 400 pages. There’s also one big reveal that read like a dark fairy tale. I love dark fairy tales but as far as this one goes I feel like it’s one that’s been told too many times. Or perhaps I’ve just read too many books or maybe I'm just too grouchy. Either way that reveal didn’t work for me. I’m also going to complain about Lauren’s love interest here because I’m me and also because I do believe she was 13 or 14 years old and he was in college (if my brain is remembering correctly) and he was at least 18 and maybe I’m just an old biddy now but that felt like too big of a gap at those ages and it bugged me.

What did thrill me were the imperfect and sometimes unlikable characters. There’s enough fiery rage, grief and assholery going around to fuel this whole cursed town and some of these people made me crazy but in the best way because it felt realistic to coming of age and also to the situations. There were few unblemished angels here. Almost everyone (except the innocent brother & the new to town policeman) had the potential to be a bit of a cruel dick at one point or another and there’s quite a few characters who are just despicable through and through and I don’t know why but I enjoyed that type of character honesty in this story even if some of them aggravated and upset the hell out of me at times! I'm looking at you Miranda (kiddo don't let boys ruin your self esteem) and also at you Mrs. IForgotYourNameButYour'reAnEvilBigot.

I guess I’m going with a 3.5 and I hope that rating matches my words. 

 
I'm not going to write a plot-filled review because so many before me have done it so well and because I am very lazy and I think your time would be better spent reading this book of cosmic horror rather than reading my mishmash of words to describe the story.

The Worm and His Kings has a strong lead who you’ll hope finds everything her heart desires. I crossed every finger and toe I possess hoping that Monique would make it through this wild Worm King mind-bending world and come out the other side with everything her heart desires. She’s a fantastic character with a painful history and even though this story tried to break my brain and my heart, I could not stop reading it.

The comparisons to early Clive Barker, particularly his Books of Blood series (have you read 'em?! drop everything if you haven't because you need to read 'em!!), are very apt here. The writing is dense and smart and bloody and sensual and grimy with little surprise smatterings of levity - all those things I loved the most about Barker's early books are here and it made me incredibly happy.
 

A toxic marriage in its final death throes, an isolated cabin, strange beasts make for an intoxicating mix. Review to come.

This book was big pile of bleak 😳😩. Maddening, disturbing, disgusting and without hope. Read it if you’re feeling too happy. I will write an actual review when I gather myself which could be never!

 

Dead Eyes is a gory, fun read in the Rewind or Die series. I would love to see these 80’s themed novellas turned into films. There is such cheesy goodness to behold. But for now, we have these great books that don’t take things too seriously and that is perfectly fine by me.

Lisa is a teen writing a story for a college scholarship about the funeral home across the street. Many years earlier it was the scene of a massacre and has since remained empty until now . . .  She spies a mother and her teen daughter moving in and wastes zero time getting to know Trisha and weaseling her way into the home. Who can blame her? I’d need to snoop it for myself too! Don’t even tell me you wouldn’t!

There’s a lot of fun stuff going on here plotwise including a creepy as hell murder house, mismatched but somehow still perfectly matched friendships, a mystery to solve, some bloody revenge, and enough EYEBALLS for everybody! It’s all here and it’s all incredibly amusing. 

The characters are well written, sometimes they’re aggravating dumbasses (as they need to be here), and our main character Lisa has a great handle on sarcasm. The author uses 80’s references and tropes in the best way, often teasingly poking fun at them instead of throwing them at the reader. 

“Did these fools know how much of a cliche they were?”

I may have guessed one of the secrets early on but that doesn’t take away from the joy of watching this all play out. If you’re a fan of 80’s slashers you shouldn’t miss this one!