drakaina16's reviews
2116 reviews

Abigail by Daemon Manx

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I had such a good time with this surprising sweet and heart-warming novella. I absolutely loved the direction the story went - it's kind of hard to surprise me these days, but Daemon Manx did it. 4.25 stars
Helloween by Duncan Ralston

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy. 

I had such a great time with Helloween! This book has a LOT going on and is an absolute brick, but the plot never gets bogged down and the story moves along at the perfect clip. When a story has this many .moving parts and a large cast of characters, I sometimes have issues remembering who the characters are. Ralston managed to make his characters memorable enough that I was able to both remember them and the plot points they were involved with. 4.5 stars
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Father of Lies: The Complete Series by Sonora Taylor, Steve Stred

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Cult horror is one of my favorite subgenres, and the Father of Lies trilogy is one of the best cult books I've read. It is tremendously creepy, brutal, and pulls no punches. Although I rated the contents individually, overall this was a 5 star experience, enhanced by the Book of Lies at the end. 

Ritual ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Communion ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Sacrament ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eucharist ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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EUSECT by C.L. Methvin

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Thank you to BookSirens for providing a review copy. 

C.L. Methvin is a new author to me, and their debut collection is very impressive. There's a lot of body horror to be found within the pages, as well as extremely interesting and unique speculative horror. 4.25 stars

My Roommate’s Locks ⭐⭐⭐.5
Eusect ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Aurozoa Sleep ⭐⭐⭐.75
Doors and Dead Men ⭐⭐⭐⭐
An Account of Five Hundred and Nine, or Sower’s Descent ⭐⭐⭐.5
Ximena’s Fall ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Need Only Be Closer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
In Miriam's Arms ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mouths ⭐⭐⭐.25
We, the Water, the Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Tender Writhing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Firetender ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
A Stagnant Song ⭐⭐⭐.25
Stay ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Dead Man's Heart by Axl Malton

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dark tense medium-paced

3.0

Thank you to the author for providing a review copy. 

I didn't love Dead Man's Heart as much as I wanted to. To me, the book definitely leans more thriller than horror and runs a little long. I also found it incredibly predictable, although the book is written well and the characters are well developed. I loved Cries of Joy and The Devil's Tree, but this book missed the mark a bit for me. 3 stars
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Obscenely Bizarre: A collection of Twisted novellas and shocking short stories by Matt Shaw

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 56%.
I'm sick to death of reading torture porn against women
25 Days by Per Jacobsen

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dark sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Let me tell you, it was a Herculean effort of will to stop after just one chapter every day. I did end up finishing a day early, since I know Christmas will be busy for me. 25 Days is a super cool concept - a book that is also an adventure calendar. Per Jacobsen keeps the tension high, using this format. The story was pretty good, but man, that family made some CHOICES. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun with it 3.5 stars 
100% Match by Patrick C. Harrison III

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challenging dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

100% Match is 100% a book that I never would have picked up if it wasn't a BoH Short Smack contender. I'm just not a fan of gross out. That being said, I not only finished it, but read it in a single sitting. Gross out is still not my thing, but I found 100% Match more entertaining than most. 3.25 stars
Within by Edmund Stone

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 28%.
This book has a severe case of "men writing women" syndrome
The Conservator's Collection: Derelict by Jay Bower, Lynch John, John Durgin

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

 Three novellas from three of my favorite indie authors? I'm all the way in! I quite enjoyed each story. All of the stories involve derelict places, and it's always so interesting to me to see how different authors interpret a theme. 4.25 stars 
Blank Space by John Durgin ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
 Eyebiter’s Revenge by Jay Bower ⭐⭐⭐⭐
 Expiration of Sentence by John Lynch ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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