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Tag Archives: Demons

My Best Friend’s Exorcism ~ By Grady Hendrix – 4.5 Stars

17 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by By Hook Or By Book: Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff in Uncategorized

≈ 34 Comments

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Coming of Age Stories, Demons, Friendship, Friendships, Horror, Possession, YA Fiction

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Thanks to NetGalley and Quirk Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: May 17th, 2016

Synopsis: Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fifth grade, when they bonded over a shared love of E.T., roller-skating parties and scratch-and-sniff stickers. But when they arrive at high school things change. Gretchen begins to act…different. And as the strange coincidences and bizarre behavior start to pile up, Abby realizes there’s only one possible explanation: Gretchen, her favorite person in the world, has a demon living inside her. And Abby is not about to let anyone or anything come between her and her best friend. With some help from some unlikely allies, Abby embarks on a quest to save Gretchen. But is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?

If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you may have guessed that I absolutely LOVE Horror. Books, tv shows, movies… As long as it’s good, count me in! One of my biggest disappointments is that you don’t see a lot of authors writing horror for YAs. There are writers like Laurie Stolartz and Danielle Vega who regularly turn out some truly stellar novels, but YA Horror hasn’t yet taken off like other genres such as fantasy and dystopian fiction. After finishing My Best Friend’s Exorcism, I’m adding Grady Hendrix to my list of favorite authors in this genre. I’m going to be honest and say that some readers may be a little disappointed because most of the action takes place in the second part of the book, but for me it’s all about the anticipation. You know–that mounting sense of dread where you know bad things are gonna happen, it’s just a matter of when? The first half of the book primarily focuses on the close friendship between Abby and Gretchen. After a sleepover with two other friends turns into a terrifying night, Gretchen disappears for several hours. It’s not long after she’s found by her desperate friends that Gretchen starts exhibiting extremely odd behavior, the most heartbreaking of which is her turning on Abby. And from there things slowly get worse. While the suspense is building, Hendrix takes you back to high school life in the 1980s complete with all sorts of cultural references. I’ve had the Go-Go’s We Got the Beat stuck in my head since I finished the book a few days ago. Thankfully they were my favorite band when I was in high school so I’m okay with that. Reading this was like a trip down memory lane. Grady Hendrix not only captures the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of high school life, he is scarily good at getting into the minds of teen girls. So good that I found myself forgetting that this story is written by a guy. One weakness I found concerns the adult characters in the book. With only one exception they’re overwhelmingly portrayed as either weak and ineffectual, or bullying and abusive. After awhile this really got on my nerves but not enough to to spoil my overall enjoyment of the story. I mentioned that most of the horror-based action takes place in the second half of the book. Well, a word of warning. There are some extremely graphic passages which even had me squirming, and I read my first Stephen King book when I was 13. I don’t want to include any spoilers but for those of you who are animal lovers like me, well… Thankfully this scene is brief and I skimmed over it. There was also a scene with involving tapeworms which actually gave me a nightmare. That’s what I get for staying up until the wee hours of the morning to finish this. And finally, there’s the ending which in my opinion is one of the best conclusions to a story that I’ve read in a very long time. It’s a beautiful and poignant finale that had me reaching for a tissue. At it’s heart My Best Friend’s Exorcism is a coming-of-age story about the power of friendship. Think Mean Girls with a dash of the Exorcism thrown in. It’s one of the best YA horror novels I’ve read and I’ll definitely be checking out Mr. Hendrix’s future works.

Consumption ~ By Heather Herrman – 4.5 Stars

28 Thursday May 2015

Posted by By Hook Or By Book: Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff in Uncategorized

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

Adult Fiction, Demons, Horror, Relationships, Small Towns

9781101884744_p0_v1_s300x I received this ebook from NetGalley and Random House Publishing – Hydra in exchange for an honest review.

~ After suffering a miscarriage, Emma Scott and her husband John are traveling west to start over. As they’re passing through small town Cavus, Montana, their car breaks down, and taken with the friendly residents, and bucolic atmosphere, they decide to stay a few days. Maybe in this idyllic setting, they can try to save their failing marriage. 

But, underneath its charm, Cavus is hiding an ancient evil which is now consuming everyone in its path. Soon only a small group of people including Emma and John stand in its way, but what sacrifies will they have to make in order to destroy a malevolent force that’s determined to move its battle far beyond the outskirts of Cavus?

I haven’t had much luck with the last couple of horror stories I’ve read, but Consumption had everything I look for in a good scare! Cavus on the surface is this sleepy little town whose sole claim to fame is it’s annual Black Squirrel Festival. Sounds cute doesn’t it? Well then you find out the true history behind this mining town, and suddenly things get a lot more creepy. The monster, known by the catchy moniker “The Feeder”, is an intelligent and ancient being which slowly takes over it’s victims by bringing out their darker selves and giving them a taste for human flesh. This is a highly original spin on the whole zombie mythos. And it’s not just after adults. Nope. It REALLY loves children.giphyThankfully one of the ways you can tell if a person has been infected is their extreme fear of dogs. This is because dogs are so pure of heart; which we all knew that already, right?gIo133a

Poor Emma and John are just trying to make a last ditch effort to save their marriage when they stumble into this madness. They are saved several times by their sweet dog Maxie. Since I have a problem with cute pets being killed in the horror genre, I really appreciated that despite a couple of close calls, Maxie makes it. The other members of the intrepid band of heroes include: Jarvier, a young illegal immigrant working hard to help support his mother and baby sister; Star, a young teen who has lost her mother and now has lost trust in her father; Riley, the amiable sheriff;  Izzy, Riley’s cute daughter; Bunny, Riley’ s rather weird aunt; and finally, Pill the elderly gentleman who has a journal belonging to his deceased wife, which is the key to their survival. As these characters come together, it’s fascinating seeing them move from distrusting one another to reluctant acceptance. The story builds slowly, but steadily as you get to know the town and its inhabitants. The chapters are told from different views, but in no way was this a distraction. Once Pill enters the picture and the journal entries unveiled, everything comes together. Consumption is disturbing at times both with the blood and gore, as well as the fate of some of the children. The only reason why I didn’t rate this 5 stars was because there were a few loose threads that weren’t completed. That said, this debut fully embraces everything fans of this genre want to see, and adds a unique flavor all of its own. Consumption has been billed for fans of Stephen King, Joe Hill, and Sarah Lanagan. After reading it, I have to agree. Just don’t read it right before bed! As it’s under 300 pages, you’ll have a tough time putting it down!

Skycastle the Demon and Me: Book 1 in the Skycastle series ~ by Andy Mulberry – 5.0 Stars

19 Friday Dec 2014

Posted by By Hook Or By Book: Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Castles, Demons, Fantasy, Juvenile Fiction

2940046413908_p0_v1_s300x-1

Jack Harper is miserable. He and his parents live in the rundown Greencastle. It’s in such bad shape that Jack’s taken to using an umbrella indoors because of the leaky roof. His parents are determinedly trying to make a go of it, but people aren’t exactly clamoring for tours. One day Jack spies a piece of paper sticking out of a mousetrap. Intriguingly it says:

Demons (Free Delivery)

Phone: +555-1-800-GET-A-DEMON

Until Stock Lasts

Before you can say “This is the worst idea in the history of bad ideas!” Jack has himself a demon with an attitude in the form of one Brinklovin Crowley the Third. He plans on using Brink to attract tourists who like haunted castles, but you know what they say about best laid plans…

I absolutely loved this book! Jack is a twelve year old kid with a great sense of humor, and Brink? Well he’s just awesome! I mean how can you not fall in love with a demon who loves to read? And I don’t know if this was intentional, but Andy giving him the last name of my favorite demon on Supernatural just clinched it for me. The verbal sparring between Jack and Brink is absolutely hysterical and had my husband wondering why I kept bursting into giggles. The only issue I have (if you can call it that), is the cover. The demon depicted doesn’t match what Brink really looks like. If I’m nitpicking, it’s just because I love Brink so much. Andy is generously offering this book for free right now on Amazon. I tried to provide a link but as usual my Kindle isn’t cooperating. I highly, highly recommend this not just for kids ages 10-12, but for adults who fancy a quick funny read. And if you like this, Andy’s already written the second book:

2940046430424_p0_v1_s300x

The Demonic Incident in Chinatown. She also has a wonderful blog: “something fishy smells here…” at http://andymulberry.com/blog

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