Rating: 5 Stars

Publisher: Self-Published

Tags: Fantasy, Romance, Vampires, Dark, Violence

Length: 504 Kindle Pages

Reviewer: Karen

Purchase At: Amazon

Blurb:

For humans and vampires, the rules of survival are the same: never trust, never yield, and always – always – guard your heart.

The adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her. Her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the Kejari: a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death herself.

But winning won’t be easy amongst the most vicious warriors from all three vampire houses. To survive, Oraya is forced to make an alliance with a mysterious rival.

Everything about Raihn is dangerous. He is a ruthless vampire, an efficient killer, an enemy to her father’s crown… and her greatest competition. Yet, what terrifies Oraya most of all is that she finds herself oddly drawn to him.

But there’s no room for compassion in the Kejari. War for the House of Night brews, shattering everything that Oraya thought she knew about her home. And Raihn may understand her more than anyone – but their blossoming attraction could be her downfall, in a kingdom where nothing is more deadly than love.

The Serpent and the Wings of Night is the first book in a new series of heart-wrenching romance, dark magic, and bloodthirsty intrigue, perfect for fans of From Blood and Ash and A Court of Thorns and Roses

Review: 

But they were fighting for power. I was fighting for survival.

Another fantasy book that’s been hard to review. I bought this because I love vampires. I love bloody vampires, yet the primary voice throughout is human, Oraya. The book offered me the potential for a kickarse heroine. I’m always up for that. I also loved the cover. So I one-clicked. The title is a mouthful and I still forget it, even as I’m typing this review. The story though, that I do remember.

Oraya was plucked, when young, from the debris of a house by Vincent, King of the Nightborn vampires. From the beginning he knew she had fight in her. She bit his guards and him. She seemingly stared death in the face and was defiant, his little serpent. He knows she wonders about her human family. However, Vincent has shut her down from young whenever she enquired, so she learned to stop asking but she’s never stopped thinking about them.

I knew the logical answer. Human lives were so fragile. Yet it still didn’t stop the dark corners of my mind from wandering. Wondering where they were. Wondering how they had suffered. Wondering if any of them remembered me.  

Those thoughts are encouraged by a friend, Ilana, who lives in a district ruled over by Vincent’s House. She is a blood vendor, a human who allows vampires to feed from her. On one of her trips to the palace, Ilana meets the then fourteen-year-old Oraya and Ilana makes a lasting impression. Ilana always wears colourful clothes, she is stubborn, full of human thoughts and feelings, all of which pulls Oraya magnetically to her. If Vincent is her father, then Ilana is her mother, but only in secret, because she either meets her at the palace when she’s acting as a vendor or Oraya sneaks out to visit her. They’ve known each other for six years. A lot longer than other blood vendors last. Ilana encourages Oraya to move away, to live life somewhere far away from vampires and their politicking and violence, but this is home, how could she leave Vincent? As Oraya is older Vincent ventures more information to her about the day he took her home. The Rishan attacked the area and it remains their territory so he cannot take her there. Nyaxia won’t allow him to intercede on her behalf in another House’s territory.

Oraya has been trained by Vincent since young. He has made sure she knows that she is prey and that she needs to be faster, better, to aim for the heart of a vampire, to thrust so hard into their ribcage that they don’t stand a chance. She’s also been coached to do away with human emotions, they are for the weak. Vincent is a vampire, a powerful one, and that sets up a complex Family or Origin for Oraya. Vincent was so well portrayed as a father who uses emotional duality to keep her, his daughter, obedient safe. On one hand he has kindness, the kindness is relative, he’s a vampire, not human. On the other he has ruled over her life like the Nightborn king he is. He also makes sure she remembers her human frailties. He drills in that any errors made, whether Vampire or human, are either you were wrong or in the wrong place. There are no allowances. Mistakes lead to death in a vampiric world. Which you can see as a kindness given the environment she finds herself growing up in. However, every which way you spin it – and I found Vincent to be both intriguing and mesmerising, he absolutely lights up the page – by his very temperament, his is a toxic paternal role.

When you’re young, fear is debilitating. Its presence clouds your mind and senses. Now, I had been afraid for so long, so ceaselessly, that it was just another bodily function to regulate—heartbeat, breath, sweat, muscles. Over the years, I’d learned how to hack the physicality of it away from the emotion.

***

Vincent’s moon-silver eyes narrowed at me. “You’re an insolent brat, little serpent.” He never sounded more affectionate than when he was insulting me. Maybe it meant something that both Ilana and Vincent cradled their tenderness in harsh words. They were so different from each other in every other sense. But maybe this place made all of us that way. Taught us to hide love in sharp edges.

In this world of vampires, love is definitely hidden in sharp edges. Love can be hoped for by Oraya, but at the same time she implicitly knows that if she opens herself up to it, she’s in danger. She ponders if Vincent loves her, she believes he does but with a degree of reservation. The psychological world building is stellar in this book. Vincent could be ruthless. On the other hand, he would protect Oraya. He’s bandaged her wounds. Kept her on a separate floor of his palace to keep her apart from potential predators. He brings her human medicine that heals her. Before the Kejari, he gives her intel on some of her opponents, and also gives her specially crafted knives that have (refillable) poison hilts so she has an edge. It all seems so conflicting at times that Oraya feels unworthy. 

No doubt several generations of Nightborn kings rolled in their graves to think of such a weapon wielded by an adopted human girl. I felt as if I was tainting these simply by touching them.
“These are…” I started again.
“They are yours,” Vincent said quietly. As if he heard everything I didn’t say.

Throughout the book, and before the Kejari trials, there are some Interludes. These were magic parts for me. They show you the development of Oraya, from a child to a young woman. There is often trauma in the words, like recollections of rape – yet she calls her rapist her “lover” in an Interlude; she was young in a tough world and thought it was love. The Interludes are generally written in a quite dissociative manner. As time progresses, there is far more of a questioning and awareness. The incongruous nature of Vincent can be more readily seen, and yet, you feel deeply for him and his vampiric care for Oraya. Kudos to Carissa Broadbent for her handling of the psychological aspects throughout the book. The fear, the doubt, the anger, wanting to trust, the longing, love, all of it is a palpable, living, breathing entity. 

To be human, and thus safe, is romanticised by Oraya, because if she thinks about what happens to the humans in Sivrinaj districts, it is far from safe. It is also unpalatable. But she compartmentalises the fact that humans are livestock. They’re food. Oraya hates her human weakness, that she is prey to basically everyone around her. It leaves her constantly in a state of fight or flight. Always waiting for someone to trick her. Best her. To bleed her dry. She loves Vincent, inasmuch as she knows the word love, but then she also hates vampires, of which he is their king, but then he is her father…. So, turmoil. No matter how much you want to sit on it, no matter the quieter moments, the environment conflicts her. She goes out on a nightly vampire killing run in the rundown, poverty stricken human districts. Really, it gives her a sense of justice which allows her to tamp down her anger. Vincent doesn’t know because it’s a punishable offence. But it is a big old vampire FU from Oraya.    

He didn’t even stir when I approached. Nor did he move when I took my dagger and plunged it into his chest—pushing hard until the cartilage cracked, pushing until the blade pierced his heart.
Then, his eyes finally snapped open.
Good. I liked to watch it when they realized death was coming for them. 

Then there’s the Kejari. The world building around the Kejari is brutally vivid. There is complete and utter carnage. Nyaxia, the vampire’s deity, their Dark Mother, is a cruel and twisted being, making those who choose the Kejari reenact her time spent being hunted and tortured by the White Pantheon because of unsanctioned love. She was blinded, starved, demons hunted her, etc, and the five trials reflect and represent all of these experiences she had – on freaking steroids. Fifty start off and bit by bit they pick each other off, as well as fighting demons and other things of nightmares. By the Half Moon trial, half of the combatants are dead. You think Nyaxia might have gained some insight from her torture, but no, Mother Vampire likes to inflict the Kejari every hundred years. The milk of black-red blood flows eternal in her veins.  

In the background there is the burning question as to whyyyy Vincent agreed to take in Oraya, a human. Whyyyy he allows Oraya – again, a twenty-year-old human – to take part in the Kejari. Something full of older and more powerful vampires. It can be argued he did what he did for Oraya. It can also be argued he sees a dominant outcome if she wins. Also, our girl Oraya has magic going on, so there’s something telling us she’s probably more than human. That maybe there is more to the story than Oraya knows. Then there’s the fact that Vincent has covert happenings at the same time as the Kejari. He knows Oraya is spurred on to find her human family but that seems a tad off-brand for Vincent’s nature in and of itself. 

What I didn’t realize then was that vampires lived in constant fear of their own family. Immortality made succession a bloody, bloody business. Even Vincent had murdered his parents—and three siblings—to gain his title. Vampires killed their parents for power, then crippled their own children to keep them from doing the same.

Oraya partially believes what she has been told, that Nyaxia will grant a wish to the winner. She’s not into dark deities being real, but Vincent won the Kejari two-hundred-years ago, and look where he is? The wish she wants is for Nyaxia to allow her to become Vincent’s Coriatae. His heart-bound. The stuff of vampiric legend. If she becomes a Coriatis, she is no longer human and becomes a vampire without having been vampire-born, and all with no risk of chancing Turning. Also, a HUGE fact, she cannot kill Vincent. This would make Vincent and Vincent’s House nigh on invincible. Is this about love or power?

No one but the two of them know why she’s in the Kejari. Most are in it for power, a big duh there, and to defeat Vincent. Oraya is motivated by survival and love and that’s complex because there is love for Vincent the father figure, then there’s Vincent the vampire king. And, of course, there’s the strong pull of seeming biology driving her. So, hmmm, how’s this going to play out if the human wins? If only someone placed a bet on it. Oh, wait….     

There is a eventually a relationship, a very, verrryyy slow burn relationship between Oraya and another competitor in the Kejari, Raihn, a Rishan vampire. Meaning a threat and an enemy of the Hiaj. Meaning her father. Meaning the vampires that destroyed her home. He’s a rare Turned vampire. Raihn is there with a friend, Mische, who is the most human vampire Oraya has ever encountered. Mische finds the good in everything, is kind, has humour. This both scares and attracts Oraya because she sees Ilana in Mische. She can’t work Raihn out, though. She finds him hard to read. He has a sense of humour, like Mische, but then uses Asteris as a performative kill at a gathering before the Kejari. Asteris is magic rumoured to be from the stars and is an incredibly powerful, rarer magic that is best described as your opponent(s) being obliterated by a blast. Raihn also does things like leaning against windows, staring at the sun rising or setting, and even though it hurts, he constantly pushes the boundaries around it. Raihn and Vincent share Asteris as a magic. Raihn seems too chill to be a vampire to Oryaya, add his magic and power, and it doesn’t join the dots. That’s because Raihn is like finding her father in another vampire and allowing him in, only this time it’s with all the romantic feels.  

Where Oraya finds Raihn enigmatic, he knows how to read her in most, but not all, circumstances. She surprises him with her tenacity and attitude. However, he does know where her sympathies and fears lie – with Vincent, liking those who are human or close to it – like Mische, even Raihn because he can pass as human. He knows that Oraya, while caring for humans, also feels a weakness in that longing. Still, she doesn’t quite trust him. Raihn does a number of things that appear genuine, but Vincent’s voice is always in her head. You. Cannot. Trust. Anyone. But. Me, little serpent.

“Think about why a Rishan would want to get close to you, Oraya. You.”

Ouch! 

The Half Moon trial of the Kejari requires team work and Raihn wants her to work with him. Even though Oraya knows she needs to work with someone else, it’s still hard to let him in. When she finally agrees, she basically won’t train with him for some time for fear of him using it against her at the next trial. She has been emotionally stripped back and isolated over her years in the House of Night. Thus she has been socially isolated from anyone who may be worth being around. Outside of Ilana, and no real spoiler here, Ilana is human and therefore becomes livestock, she’s lived by one vampire’s ideas and rules.

The men in Oraya’s life do use her in one way or another. This is done via couching all their feelings for her in love, affection, and safety, which definitely aren’t always truths. But she’s made and makes allowances for them: Her lover, the rapist mentioned in an Interlude, her father, who does care albeit with power as his main affect, and Raihn, who also seemingly has an agenda. Even when he does develop feelings for Oraya, those feelings come co-mingled with a vampiric need for payback and power.   

Some extra stuff:

These vampires have wings and Oraya’s description of them makes them sound beautiful. She also has opportunity to fly. What a buzz.

Food: One part of the Kejari starves them because, of course, Nyaxia was starved in her hellscape of an existence that the Kejari is based off. From about the 70ish percent mark Oraya didn’t eat. She was in the middle of a violent tournament and she had given blood to Raihn to help his bloodlust when they were all starved, she’d previously given blood to the Ministaer as a deal with the religious and creepy, she was wounded, emotionally worn down. I was waiting for mention of food at some stage after the starvation portion of the Kejari. The Moon Palace had previously provided both solid food and blood offerings to the competitors. From then on Oraya just remained food absent. It actually worried me. I finished the book stressed with one thought –  ‘won’t somebody please give our girl some food!’ 

Overall:

I want to mention that these books are well priced. Over 500 pages and much less in AUS$ than some of its contemporaries in the genre. As of today’s date it costs AUS $10.62. Some of these fantasy/ romantasy books I’ve been paying nearly $20 AUS for.

I really liked this book. I think the writer has great ideas and a lovely style of writing. Vincent was this larger than life character full of contradictions, I do love that type of character in my books. Like Oraya, it’s hard to know exactly what he’s thinking. He is very much a slave to his nature, and that can be taken any way you choose. I liked Oraya, she fought hard on several fronts. She kept getting up physically and emotionally. I wasn’t so keen on Raihn. He has yet to win me over. This book had a twist with a cliffhanger-esque ending. To be perfectly honest, you could read this book and stop here. I liked it enough to buy the next one featuring Oraya and Raihn, The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King. I believe this is a duology. I’d like to see where it goes and if there is an actual romance that fully takes root because they could be good together, or they could be messy. Either is fine by me. I’ll let you know. 4 Stars! 

Rating: 5 Stars 

Publisher: Self Published 

Genre: UF

Tags: Magic, Mythology, Paranormal, Gay MC, Action, Horror, Humour  

Length: 276 Pages 

Reviewer: Karen

Purchase At:  amazon

Blurb:

Rating: 4 Stars

Publisher: Self Published 

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Tags: Magic, Necromancy, Mythology, Entities/Dieties, Action, Gay MC, Series

Length: 273 Pages 

Reviewer: Karen 

Purchase At:  amazon, Nazri Noor

Blurb:

Review:

It’s carnival time in Valero and the Boneyard boys are out enjoying themselves. Dustin is sucking at winning prizes, Sterling doesn’t let him off the hook about it either, and before they know it, their ongoing motto of carpe noctem turns into a shit sandwich. These guys need to learn to stay in.

The Eldest, those pesky and powerful beings that want to control/destroy the earth as we know it, who don’t give one hoot about the veil between the arcane and humans, also don’t care about downtime or fun for anyone.

Right at the outset it’s all hands on deck to keep the shrikes and their overlords from creating havoc, and they do some damage before the Boneyard fight back and the Lorica join in, then comes the obligatory and difficult clean-up, but you know they’re coming back for Dustin. He can’t be let off too easily.

There are some thick and fast attacks by the Eldest. Dustin gets to meet some more entities and supernatural beings like Baba Yaga and Izanami.

  “I fear that terrible things are coming your way, boy,” Baba Yaga said.
“Tell me something I don’t already know. The Eldest are coming, and they mean business this time.” I raised my chin. “And my name is Dustin Graves.”
Baba Yaga scoffed.

In his search for gifts to those who ask for it, for the knowledge Dustin needs, there are some rather specifically disturbing requirements.

Madam Chien was right. Even a bazaar as diverse and – well, bizarre as the Black Market didn’t trade in things like the breath of the dying, or the screams of those in truest pain.

There is also another of the Eldest’s finest coming Dustin’s way.

“The hell is that?” I muttered.
“This one is named Shtuttasht,” Izanami said, her voice laced with both fear and reverence. “The Overthroat.”

Plenty of the regulars are in Last Rites. I always love Sterling, but now I have this massive soft spot for Asher. He has a sweet disposition and he’s also a fierce necromancer, all in the one non-jaded package. Keeping doing you, Asher.

**Personal rant: I’ve noticed a couple of reviews noting a problem with Dustin being gay. No, it isn’t mentioned previously, but why should it be? Newsflash, people of all sexual identities or orientations exist and they’re allowed to get into relationships, and they’re allowed to exist in the UF and fantasy mainstream genres. I’m glad that feelings aren’t completely neglected in any book, but if you’re worried, it’s way off in the background and the action is to the fore. I agree with my sci-fi/sci-fantasy reviewing colleague John’s sentiments – ‘books where there is no personal connection or sentiments, even some sex to relieve tension, are not real, and sexual orientation should never matter, good content should’. The content in this book, this series, is good. Just for fellow readers who want to know, there is absolutely no sex in this series, not even close. There is no fuss about Dustin and Herald in the writing either. Dustin and Herald have feelings for one another. Big deal. Logically, given the number of characters, someone in this series being LGBTQ is on target for the population. I didn’t hear shock or horror about Gil being heterosexual, and a werewolf, and being in a relationship with Prudence, an arcane human. One more thing. Dustin goes to a bar and the Fuck-Tons are the drag queen owners – Imperial and Metric, loved their names. It was a small part of one chapter of thirty-five chapters, and Dustin had been sent there like the Black Market or the Midnight Convocation. It was fun and it was what it was, part of the series that fit the book. Viva diversity in writing and reading! Hopefully it fuels more openness in UF/fantasy writing and reading. To homophobic readers, grow up is my overall sentiment to you. **Personal rant over. 

Dustin definitely has a lot on his plate and sacrifices are made, very painful ones. Ones that make me unsure how certain skill-sets can be compensated for, or if it’s a temporary situation. I can’t say anymore without spoiling the book. The Boneyard has Dustin’s back, and Dustin has grown a big pair along the way, too. The Lorica are proving to be a help and a hindrance as the series progresses, depending on who it is within that organisation we’re talking about. Some of the entities/dieties prove to be frustratingly apathetic in a situation that affects them as well.

Another good addition to the Darkling Mage series, Last Rites leads into a difficult arcane time ahead for Dustin… some interesting connections with those around him as well, and I know it will be painful for Dustin before it (hopefully) gets better, mwahahaha. Run, Dust. Ruuun…. 

Bring on the rest of the series. 4 Stars.

Rating: 4.5 ‘Dr. Loomis’ Stars

Publisher: Darker Dreams Media

Genre: Horror

Tags: Contemporary, Christmas, Horror, Mystery, Some Gore, Serial Killer

Length: 306 Pages

Reviewer: Cindi

Purchase At: Amazon.com

Blurb –

No one in Holly Brook, IL has forgotten the horror that unfolded on Christmas Eve all those year ago, and now, as a terrifying blizzard descends upon the small isolated town, and teens begin disappearing one by one, it looks as if that gruesome night was just the beginning.

Review –

This is my second book by this author and I can definitely say I’m a new fan. You can see my review of my first, Jimmy, here.

“Death has come to your little town sheriff.” -Dr. Sam Loomis, Halloween

Ten years ago a family was brutally murdered in the small town of Holly Brook, Illinois. The words “Santa Took Them” had been written in blood on the walls. Michelle, who was eight at the time, was the only survivor but only because she’d been in her secret hiding place hoping to see Santa Claus. To say the killings were horrific would be an understatement. Michelle, after the killer was gone, showed up at a neighbor’s house carrying the head of one of the victims. The consensus around town was that young Michelle had slaughtered her family. If she didn’t, why was she allowed to survive? One detective made it his mission to convince everyone the little girl had been the murderer, becoming so obsessed with the case that it ultimately killed him.

One person in particular, Detective Hines, had been adamant about his theory that Michelle had been the killer that night, but others felt there was no way an eight-year-old could go so far as to sever the heads of four people, especially her own siblings, and then stab her mother.

Michelle was placed in a psychiatric home for kids after the murders. Fast-forward ten years and it’s time for her to leave because she’s aged out. Her therapist, Samantha Loomis, never believed the sweet, quiet child was capable of the things she’d been accused of by the cops and media. There was no proof she’d done anything other than hide. She surmised that carrying the head of one of the victims to the neighbor’s house was maybe a form of shock for the child.

I will admit that was pretty creepy.

If the name Sam Loomis sounds familiar, there’s a reason for it. I’ll come back to that.

After leaving the psychiatric home, Michelle moves in with her uncle, who did everything he could to help her, even though he was 16 at the time of the murders. Not long after moving in, the uncle and his girlfriend are both murdered in the same way Michelle’s family had been a decade before. Michelle is nowhere to be found and the words “Santa Took Them” are again written on walls in blood.

Of course, everybody is convinced that the newly released Michelle has struck again. The killings are too similar to the others and it doesn’t appear to be a copycat killing. Dr. Loomis is convinced Michelle is innocent, just as she’s always believed she was innocent of killing her family a decade before.

Then people start disappearing in Holly Brook. Dr. Loomis and law enforcement believe the house Michelle lived in – and that her family died in – is the center of the new murder investigation and the disappearances. It’s recently been purchased by a man named Henry, who has to fix it up and flip it or lose everything.

Henry’s an abusive jerk.

Then we meet Steve, Henry’s teenage son. Steve’s dating the obviously unstable Renee. She flies off the handle at the drop of a hat, accusing Steve of cheating on her with his ex, Hanna. Hanna is the daughter of the original detective in the murder investigation a decade prior that I mention above.

Like in Jimmy, there are a ton of characters introduced, all of which are important to the story. Listing them all would make this already too long review even longer. The entire story is based on things happening at the ‘murder house’ in Holly Brook and trying to figure out where Michelle is now and if she was/is the murderer most believe her to be.

While people keep disappearing, there are also things going on in the background involving Dr. Samantha Loomis.

The mystery of who the killer is wasn’t really that much of a mystery. Don’t get me wrong, the author did an outstanding job pointing in several different directions. I didn’t figure out for sure until around the 50% mark. This was confirmed not much further into it. Knowing who the killer was so early didn’t take away from the rest of the story. There was still a lot of action happening until the very end.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a good mystery that kept me guessing for awhile. I thought the ending, that some readers apparently hated if reviews are go to by, was brilliant. It was the perfect way to end the book. If I wanted everything tied up neatly in a red bow I wouldn’t be reading horror to begin with.

But…

There were a lot of questions unanswered and I’m not referring to the ending. Certain things happened or were mentioned in the book that I didn’t feel were elaborated on enough later. They obviously didn’t matter too much because I rated the book 4.5 stars. but they should be noted.

Horror fans will recognize the name Sam Loomis. Samuel Loomis was Michael’s doctor in the Halloween movies, hence the quote by him at the top of this review. Michelle’s doctor being Samantha Loomis in Santa Took Them obviously wasn’t a coincidence (duh). Fans of the Halloween franchise will see the similarities in other parts of the story as well. There are some between Michael and Michelle (similar names) but I didn’t find myself reading a knock-off of the original. I’m a huge fan of the Halloween movies (early ones, not later ones) so had I thought it was too close I’d be stressing that in this review. There were similarities but not so many that I didn’t see the originality in Santa Took Them.

I didn’t have a problem keeping up with the other characters (and there were quite a few) because the author gave each one enough page time to show their importance to the story as a whole. Some were more important than the others, but you have to read the book to see who they are and what I mean.

Jimmy and what he did was mentioned in this book, something I liked a lot considering I recently read his story.

Overall, another good read. The reader is kept wondering if Michelle is this monster killer child everybody believes her to be. The author does an outstanding job of keeping the reader guessing.

I have Nikki’s Secret and Daddy’s Little Girl on standby to read when time allows. And knowing how I am when I discover a (new to me) good author, I’ll probably go through all his books in the coming weeks.

Rating: 5 ‘Unsettling’ Stars

Publisher: Darker Dreams Media

Genre: Horror

Tags: Contemporary, High School, Horror, Kidnapping, Sexual Violence, Torture

Length: 316 Pages

Reviewer: Cindi

Purchase At: Amazon.com

Blurb – 

His fantasy becomes their reality!

High school can be a difficult time in a young person’s life, especially toward the end where one has to start making the sudden transition into adulthood. For Jimmy Hawthorn it is even worse. Not only does he need to successfully make that transition, he has to do it while hiding the fact that he is the one responsible for the disappearances of two fellow high school girls, both of whom are prisoners in a secret underground fallout shelter he discovered behind an abandoned house on the outskirts of town.

Review –

That was disturbing. First, for the obvious reasons. Two high school girls are kidnapped in broad daylight and tortured. Another reason this is so disturbing is Jimmy himself, and I’m not referring to just what he did with the girls. I’m talking about every day Jimmy.

Jimmy is a high school senior. He’s kind of a loner who used to get bullied until he started fighting back. The bullies (Brett, Ron, and Matt) are still around, and Brett is still trying to get to him, but he now has no problem kicking their butts, and he damn sure doesn’t hide from them. He doesn’t have a lot of friends but he has Alan, his younger brother by two years, and Tina, the new girl who takes a liking to him right off.

I loved Alan. He was the typical high school kid. I liked Tina too but it took awhile for her story to fully come out. She has issues with her mother, who she’s forced to live with after the sudden death of her father. As a mother myself I cringed at some of the things Tina said to hers. But I also found myself understanding it in a way. She only knew one side of the story of why her mother abandoned her when she was a child. Even when she finds out the whole story later I can totally see why she wouldn’t just immediately accept it. She saw herself as simply being abandoned and unloved. Now she’s stuck living with a woman she doesn’t know and really doesn’t like.

The first girl to be taken is Samantha King, who Jimmy grabs as she’s walking home from school one day. Hiding her is easy. There’s an old, abandoned bunker that only a select few are aware of. It’s on property belonging to the Hood family who left town after 9/11 with their conspiracy theories.

Jimmy has fantasized about hanging women by their wrists and using them sexually. The fantasies have been there since he was very young and have grown over time. He’s obsessed with bondage videos and has amassed a large collection of them over the years.

But then the fantasies aren’t enough.

This is when he puts his plan to kidnap and assault into action.

I won’t detail the sexual violence in this review. Thankfully, a lot of it wasn’t on-page but there were a couple of instances that were.

When Samantha disappears, nobody believes she’s been kidnapped except her friend Megan, who just happens to be the town sheriff’s daughter. Megan begs her father to look for Samantha but he brushes her off with basically the ‘kids will be kids and she’ll show up eventually’ attitude.

Only when Megan herself goes missing does he start taking things seriously.

The fact that Jimmy is warped is obvious. But what makes the book so disturbing is that the author allows the reader to see Jimmy outside of the underground bunker, away from Samantha and Megan. We see his day-to-day. We watch him playing video games with his brother, drinking coffee with his mother, and watching TV with his father. We see him dating Tina and are even privy to when they have sex the first time. He’s just so normal, which is probably the scariest thing of it all.

We also watch as he slowly starts to unravel and begins losing control of the situation he so meticulously planned.

Most of my visits feel like necessary tasks, Jimmy realized. Almost as if they are unnecessary pets that I no longer want but need to take care of.

I kept wondering how the author was going to end this. Everything was centered around the prom. Megan knew Samantha wouldn’t run away with prom and graduation so close. Jimmy, kind of a shy loner, was going to take Tina as his date. Even Alan had been asked to go by a stuck up, bitchy, snobby, ‘I’m better than everybody else’ senior girl. I knew whatever was going to happen would be happening either at the prom or somewhere nearby. I wasn’t wrong.

I ended this not sure how I felt about how everything went down. What happened with Jimmy I understood. But my heart also broke a little, and not because of him. I can’t say more than that. The actual ending…. I guess I should have seen that coming. The fact that I didn’t is a huge plus.

Overall, this kept me guessing until the end. I finished it thinking I’d maybe rate it 4 stars because of the broke my heart a little part. But I’m still thinking about it now when I finished a day ago. I’m not meaning for the sake of this review. I mean that the story and characters are stuck in my head and I have a feeling they will be for awhile yet.

I didn’t realize I’d read anything else by this author until I spent 10 minutes this week trying to figure out how to buy another of his, Text Message, and ended up discovering that I’d already read that one over 7 years ago. This was before I met Kazza and started reviewing for On Top Down Under and now Dark Hints. I still have no clue how to buy the book now but if you want to see my Goodreads review from before my official reviewing days, you can find it here.

I’d like to think I’ve improved somewhat since then.

I had planned to immediately start a sweet and fluffy book after this one but ended up starting Santa Took Them instead. I can already tell that book’s going to be brutal.

I’m a big horror reader. It’s nice finding another author to add to my go-to list.

Excellent book. Just go into it knowing what to expect.

Rating: 5 Stars

Publisher: Lethe Press

Genre:  Gay Fiction

Tags: Organised Crime, Gay MC, Arcane/Magic, Social Commentary, Action, Violence, Horror/Gore

Length: 178 Pages 

Reviewer: Karen 

Purchase At: amazon, Lethe Press 

Synopsis:

Denny “The Bull” Doyle steps out of prison only to find a low-level gangster is attempting to take over his organization. Brendan Newton is a newbie to the gang, who’s spent too much time in front of the television, building a grand fantasy about the machinations of the underworld. He’s naive and weak, but he may be the only chance Doyle has. The Bull’s associates are being murdered in violent and bizarre ways, and the next target is his beloved, though wholly sociopathic, brother, Jordie. Behind it all is Malcolm Lynch, a sadistic gangster who has more than guns and knives at his disposal. He’s a sorcerer intent on building an empire, and Doyle is the only thing standing in his way.

Review: 

Down on Your Knees starts with Denny Doyle being picked up getting out of Crainte after nearly two years of incarceration. Brendan Newton is his designated driver home to Doyle’s family and the family’s old-school crime operation. Brendan is seventeen, and picking up  Denny Doyle is a bigger deal than stealing a few cars with his friends. Doyle is a hero in his neighbourhood. Brendan’s father refers to him as ‘his queer angel’, the ‘saviour of Gray’s Channel’. Certainly not a hero who wears a cape, but he looks out for the locals in between doing what has to be done as an enforcer and earner for the family business.

The Doyle brothers protected Gray’s Channel. Some kid knocked down a granny to snag her purse, and Jordie grabbed his Glock. Some guy fiddled with a brat, and Denny used his Makita nail gun to pin the perv’s dick to his belly. One college student-douche refused to turn his stereo down after having been repeatedly asked by his old-man neighbor. The sleepless neighbor complained to Nathan Doyle. So Nathan got himself a machete and paid a midnight visit.

What starts out as some hero worship and an opportunity for his girlfriend to think more of him turns into so much more for young Brendan. Especially when Denny works out the welcome home party is nothing more than a trap by a rival who has moved in on his family’s territory. Denny’s friends are dropping like flies or refuse to acknowledge him out of fear of Malcolm Lynch. Even his crazed younger brother, Jordie, seems to be accepting Lynch more readily than he should be, so what’s going on? Is Brendan in on the deal to off Denny straight out of Crainte?

Never truer words were spoken. Brendan is about to have a very bad day. A very intense week. Welcome to hard-nose crime, pet.

When Denny ends up killing the son of Malcolm Lynch, part of the “welcoming party,” it’s game on. One violent ride ensues. Lynch can’t let that lie and Denny won’t let Lynch have his measure.

One of my favourite books is The Son by Jo Nesbo and what I love about that book is the way you feel sympathy for the anti-hero, Sonny Lofthus. Something Denny is in Down on Your Knees. He is far from a good man, but you can’t help support him because he’s made relatable. And just like in The Son, you get a feel for the MC through other’s eyes – like Brendan who is also a POV narrator of this book. Brendan thinks he’s a tough guy. He isn’t. He’s a kid with romantic ideas about crime. Still, when Denny needs something the kid is… accessible. Mostly, it’s good to see his thought processes in amongst Denny’s.

Brendan didn’t know how many men his passenger had killed. Some said it was well into the double digits. Others, those who took his interest in cock as a sign of weakness, figured he’d ordered a few hits, but didn’t have the balls to pull his own trigger; they said Nathan and Jordie had done the wet work for him, protecting their pansy brother. Sitting there, Brendan felt that those who underestimated Doyle were suicidally mistaken.

You know what else I loved about his book? That Brendan is not the sudden GFY partner. I swear I would have thrown the Kindle if that happened, but I’m so used to thinking that’s the way a book in any gay genre will go nowadays that I was waiting.

I also loved the real and genuine writing around the vocation of Denny and the one man he has feelings for, possibly loves, not meshing. The sad but unwavering reality of it. It’s seen through both Denny and Brendan’s eyes as well which adds immense depth, allows reader empathy to something that isn’t given a lot of page time.

There is organic social commentary written into this crime world that parallels reality for a lot of LGBTQ people – gay in this case. Maybe I looked too hard into the writing. But Denny has to be tougher, stronger, faster, brighter than the others in the world he lives and works in because he’s a ‘fag’ a ‘homo’, a ‘cocksucker.’ Homophobia is bluntly clear in the dialogue or thoughts of others. Crime or not, how much harder has it been to hold a partner’s hand in public, kiss the person you love because they’re the same-sex as you? Take them to work functions? Change or no in some parts of the world, it’s still a challenge, sometimes much worse.

The other men in the organization felt themselves magnanimous for tolerating his bedroom activities, and he knew they only did so because of the reputation he’d built for himself before word had gotten out. He earned. He enforced. And he was better at the life than almost anyone else living it. He had to be. Any weakness would be attributed to his sexuality, amplified by it. One too many failures and he’d go from boss to homo-corpse quicker than his brother Jordie could down a shot of tequila.

The magical elements of this book add an even darker layer to an already dark story. Lynch was brutal. This story is unapologetically tough. Necromancy is a freaky skill-set that Lynch uses in an emotionally disturbing way, along with flat-out violence. Denny can’t let either get in the way of what he has to do to stop this upstart arsehole who thinks he owns Doyle territory – whether Denny wants out or of the business or not, it’s the principal of the thing. And Denny is no slouch when it comes to violence of his own, and doing what has to be done. It’s not the rebar, it’s the way you wield it.

If you want something different in gay fiction. Something very well written, Noir. Fast-paced. A crime/UF/suspense story wrapped up in one, with no shying away from violence, then this is definitely your book. Highly recommended reading. 5 Stars!  

Rating: 4 Stars

Publisher: Sam West

Genre: Extreme Horror

Tags: Contemporary, Extreme On-Page Violence, Gore

Length: 105 Pages

Reviewer: Cindi

Purchase At: Amazon.com

Synopsis –

Welcome to Sunnyside, a bed and Breakfast in the blackened, festering heart of Broadgate – an English seaside town famous for its sex shops, amusement arcades, high-levels of unemployment and sea the colour of a rung-out dishcloth. 

Meet Gary Brown, the homicidal, suicidal, lonely, sexually-frustrated proprietor of Sunnyside. Come join Gary as he waits for his first ever guests to arrive. You know what they say; women are like busses – you wait around forever and then four come along at once… 

Meet Kimberly Henry, a well-to-do socialite who stumbles across Sunnyside after a steaming row with her husband and a two-hour drive from Kensington… Bad luck for her, one could say. 

It’s going to be one HELL of a night. 

Review –

It’s been awhile since I’ve reviewed a Sam West book. You can check out my reviews of two of them on our sister site, On Top Down Under, at these links – Djinn and Victim. Each of those reviews starts with a warning. I’m also throwing out one here for Gary’s Girls. This is EXTREME HORROR and there are quite a few things that may disturb some. I’ve said this before and this book proved it… Sam West is the only author who has ever made me gag while reading a book and I’ve read thousands of books, a lot of them horror.

With that being said…

Gary is one warped human being. He’s recently inherited an old falling down Bed and Breakfast from his mother. It’s not in the best of areas, though Gary doesn’t care either way. He’s done some remodeling and opened it for guests for probably the first time in decades.

Gary has sick fantasies. I’m not talking a bit of kink here and there. Gary’s fantasies involve acting out what he sees (and masturbates to) on the dark web. He’s so obsessed with it when he does the remodel of the B & B he adds secret doors, video cameras that record in real time, and rooms with his sick gadgets. He’s now gone from just fantasizing to wanting to act these things out for real. The video cameras also stream live online to other sick men like him. His plan is to create his own snuff films for their viewing pleasure.

He just has to wait for the right women to show up wanting to rent a room for the night. Oh, he has no intention of actually renting rooms to anybody. He just needs to get the right woman or women in the door, talk them into ‘renting one’ and then he can act out his sick fantasies. He has no problem turning away those that he’s not attracted to. He simply tells them he has no vacancies.

Unfortunately, Kimberly shows up and she’s exactly who Gary is looking for. She’s just left her cheating husband and needs some time to think. She’s a bit too high class for Gary’s place but she’s tired and desperate. That turns out to be the biggest mistake of her life. Not long after she arrives, others do. This is when Gary’s sick ‘party’ begins.

I won’t say more than that.

This was a good horror story. I just know to be prepared going into one of her books because of the gross factor. There’s only one particular scene like that in Gary’s Girls but it’s something others might want to skim over. I can read gore without a problem usually. Gross, not so much. There was a bit of a twist at the end that I really didn’t see coming.

I do find myself wanting to know more about Tristian, a character who makes an appearance later. I know there’s more about him in another book The Dark Side of Red, that I’m sure I’ll read someday. I liked that he was mysterious, though I didn’t love him so much as a character.

It was nice reading another Sam West story. I recommend it to those who are good with what I mention in my warnings and the review.

Rating: 4.5 Star

Publisher: Slumberjack Entertainment

Genre: Revenge Horror

Tags: Contemporary, Graphic Violence, Psychological, Serial Killer

Length: 65 Pages

Reviewer: Cindi

Purchase At: Amazon.com

Synopsis –

On his graduation night something terrible happened to Ray Barber. Twenty years later he has returned to his home town of Haven Hills with only one thing on his mind. 
Revenge.

Review –

Don’t you, forget about me
Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t
Don’t you, forget about me… 

I can’t recall if I’ve ever started off a review with lyrics from a song (Don’t You Forget About Me by Simple Minds for those who don’t know), but those lyrics are important to this story.

Blades of Ray starts off with Ray’s first kill. There are no filler pages of miscellaneous details. The first death literally happens within seconds of the book starting.

Ray Barber is back in town.

Ray had a bad childhood in the small town of Haven Hills. He was heavier than the other kids and different in probably every way from his classmates. It didn’t help that his mother was an addict. Haven Hills is a town where everybody knows everybody and their business. Ray was bullied horribly all through school. If he wasn’t being beat up and bullied for his size it was happening because of who his mother was. He endured it because he didn’t have a choice.

Then graduation night happened.

It’s twenty years later and Haven Hills High School is about to have a reunion celebrating what has always been called the ‘Golden Year’ – called that because every person in the class of 1988 became successful, allowing the town to grow.

That is, except Ray Barber. Ray had left after graduation night and never looked back – or so the town thought.

The reader knows immediately that something horrible happened to Ray on graduation night. Exactly what happened isn’t revealed into long into the story. Little by little comes out with each kill.

Ray won’t be satisfied until every single member of the class of 1988 is dead.

That’s all I can say about that without giving too much away.

This is the third story I’ve read recently where I have sympathy for the killer and not so much for the victims. Every single person that Ray kills was either there on graduation night or had bullied him horribly over the years. From his classmates to even a few adults who should’ve done something – anything – but chose to take part in the bullying themselves.

When the secret comes out of what happened to Ray at the hands of all of these people you want to go back in time and save him. Sadly, people are bullied to this point daily and it breaks my heart. I know they don’t come back two decades later and do what Ray did – and I’m damn sure not saying they should – but Ray’s story proves that after the bullies go on with their lives the bullied person often can’t. It’s something they have to live with for the rest of their lives. It’s heartbreaking. And it angers me. Not much gets to me as bad as watching someone suffer as Ray did when he was a child.

The author says a lot in only 65 pages.

As much as I loved the story I did have a few issues with it, which is why I’ve knocked off a half star from my rating.

The editing. There were a lot of typos. I know it’s only a short story but ‘new’ where ‘knew’ should’ve been and ‘know’ where ‘now’ should’ve been. There are a few sentences where the punctuation was all over the place. Did that take away from the story? I still enjoyed it (obviously) but what I’ve mentioned (and a lot I didn’t mention) were glaring.

Another thing is that I wish I could’ve seen more about Ray’s life in the twenty years he was away from Haven Hills. Nothing is said about what he went on to do, where he lived, or anything else. I didn’t need more details about the townsfolk. The author handled that brilliantly. I just wanted to know more about Ray as an adult.

Overall, this is a really good horror short. I’ll be reading more by this author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Publisher: D.M. Wolfenden

Genre: Horror

Tags: Contemporary, Dark Humor, Past Abuse, Serial Killer, Graphic Violence

Length: 52 Pages

Reviewer: Cindi

Purchase At: Amazon.com

Synopsis –

Well, hello, Sugar, my name is Joanna… 
That’s the introduction that all my victims get. It’s nice to be polite. 
Even serial killers have manners. 

I know what I do isn’t normal, but I also know that I do the country a service. 
And the world is better off with me in it. You’ll understand. 
See, I was once the victim. 
Hurt by the one who should have taken care of me. 
Let down by the system that should have protected me. 
Now I vow to help others, and if I have to hurt people to do it. I will. 

Review –

This is another book where the reader knows exactly why the so-called bad guy, or girl in this case, is the way they are. Joanna’s entire story comes out slowly as you read the book. When you end it you know exactly what turned her into a serial killer. And, honestly? It’s hard not to sympathize with her.

Hell, it’s hard not to cheer her on. While I’m not saying what she does is right (it isn’t), but who hasn’t wanted to see horrible criminals get theirs?

Joanna only kills the worst of the worst – pedophiles, rapists, those who commit other horrible crimes. She doesn’t just go out and kill at random.

Joanna herself is a victim. At one point in her life she was forced to endure things that nobody should ever have to endure. The justice system doesn’t always work in a victim’s favor, as we see way too often in the real world. This is what happened with Joanna. Her abuser was prosecuted but she didn’t feel that his punishment was severe enough, hence her seeking justice of her own against those who harm others.

The violence Joanna inflicts is on page and it’s extremely graphic. If you’re squeamish this book isn’t for you.

This was an excellent horror short. While I may or may not agree with what Joanna does, I get it. She doesn’t want anybody else to be a victim. Her taking out the ‘bad guys’ is her way of saving others, one at a time.

The cover is perfect.

Note that the author lists victim resources at the end of the book.

Rating: 4 Stars

Publisher: Dark Void Press

Genre:  Horror

Tags: Creepy Doll, Gory, Graphic Violence, Psychological 

*** See Note At Bottom Of Review. ***

Length: 85 Pages

Reviewer: Cindi

Purchase At: Amazon.com

Synopsis –

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…

Summer ends, Fall comes, and then Winter kills everything with snow, ice, and bitter winds.

The five tales of horror contained within these pages touch upon the worst of the season – from haunted Christmas presents to secrets hidden beneath a frozen forest floor.

So cozy up next to a warm fire, put on your fuzziest robe, and prepare to have your blood chilled.

Review –

The Toy

It all started with a toy; with the toy, my life ended.

That was disturbing.

Mike, Emma, and Teddy are the perfect family. Teddy is four and kind of a mama’s boy. I’m not saying that in a bad way by any means. He just relates more to Emma than Mike. It’s close to Christmas and Emma has to work on the day she’d planned to pick up the bulk of the gifts. Mike agrees to do it and to make a day of it with their son. Everything is going well until young Teddy spots a toy in the window of an old antique shop. This thing is ugly and more than a little creepy. Of course Teddy begs Mike to buy it for him. Anything to make his boy happy, you know? Unfortunately, buying the creepy toy for Teddy turns out to be the worst thing he would do in his life.

The toy obviously isn’t your average toy. When Teddy removes it from the box on Christmas morning weird things start to happen.

I’m huge on books about family. I always have been. Give me a story with a kid in it and I’m usually happy. I can’t say that about this particular story and I can’t say why. I knew from the first page what was going to happen. I just wish I knew in advance how it was going to happen.

This reminded me of the story of Robert, the ‘haunted’ doll in Florida, I think it was? If you’re not familiar with Robert, I suggest checking out his story. I’d add a link but Robert creeps me the hell out, so there you go.

The writing was good. The way the story was told was good. The ending was perfect.

Good horror short. Just take note of tags above and my ‘final thoughts’ at the bottom of this review.

A Few Steps Away

This was a breath of fresh air after The Toy. I can’t say much other than A Few Steps Away tells the story of a boy and his dog. From the time the boy is quite young until he’s twenty-one he and the dog have a special bond. This bond doesn’t disappear when one of them is no longer in this world.

I really enjoyed this.

Armed Insanity

The title for this is so fitting.

Charlie, 35, has just been through a rather bitter divorce after his wife cheated on him. He lost the wife and his young daughter to some guy named Sean.

A couple of months after the divorce is finalized Charlie makes the mistake of going out for a few beers after work with one of his coworkers. One bar turns into several and before he knows it Charlie is pretty wasted. It’s snowing hard but drunk Charlie decides to try to drive home anyway.

He doesn’t quite make it. What happens on the drive home is bad. What happens later is terrifying.

The Fridge

I’ll never look at a refrigerator the same again. Old, new, whatever, it doesn’t matter. I will now have nightmares of possessed refrigerators, gory deaths, and teeth.

Yes, teeth.

Anything I say beyond that will tell the whole, strange story so I’ll stop here.

The Edge of the World

This is an excellent horror story.

A young couple takes a walk through the woods on a cold, cold night. It’s only their third date. The girl is wanting to see a section of the forest known as the Edge of the World. There’s been talk of disappearances for decades involving the Edge of the World but it’s mostly been laughed off.

If ever there were woods foreboding enough not to enter, it was these. But see, I would’ve done anything for her. I would’ve followed her into hell, if she wanted me to.

The young man really doesn’t want to go but you know how it is with young love. He wouldn’t allow himself to show fear. What would she think of him then?

Unfortunately, the Edge of the World turns out to be more than just a section of the forest that warranted being laughed off. It was everything the ‘talk’ had said it was and more.

Excellent short. This is the type of story I look for when I want horror.

~~~

Final thoughts and Slight Spoilers 

This is a nice collection of quickie horror stories, but be prepared if you’re interested in reading this. One has the rather brutal death of a child and another one involves the violent death of a pet. Expect a little bit of gore and know what you’re getting into before picking up the book.

While all the stories were written well (even if parts bugged me), A Few Steps Away and The Edge of the World are my absolute favorites for two totally different reasons. Excellent short stories. As for the others, make note of my warnings if you go to read them.

I’ll be reading more by this author.