Name the last three books you have read...

[Tamstrong]

I was named after Gerwalta Faust, and if that means nothing to you, then you don't know the real story of Little Red Riding Hood. It is my birthright to lead the House of Red, my destiny to be the next Grand Matron of all hoods. But as the namesake of the Betrayer, am I also doomed to repeat her crimes?
Maybe. I too have fallen in love with a werewolf, and that alone could get us both killed. I don't want to be his enemy, but I also can't imagine living without him. Soon, I'll have to make a choice: my heart or my hood.
Or can I rewrite history and become the Gerwalta who can have them both?
The prequel to the bestselling urban fantasy fairy tale, The Red Hood Chronicles.

5 Books in the series:

For generations, wolfsretter have held dominion over werewolves. They are animals and we, the shield between them and humanity. Or so my mother wants me to believe. The harder she tries to make me like her, however, the more I seek a truth beyond the red riding hood. When her arrogance costs me the man I love, I turn my back on it all: my abilities, my birthright... even my family.

But destiny follows on swift feet, and no sooner have I settled into a mundane existence than the supernatural world draws me back in. Tobias Somfield risks his sanity and even his life trying to find a member of his pack kidnapped from England and brought to Chicago. Alone in the big city, the last thing the rogue werewolf wants is to ask one of my kind for help. Believe me, I'm not thrilled about giving it. But what we discover is far bigger than the two of us: hidden legacies and ancient enemies bent on revenge. If we don’t learn to work together, the supernatural world may fall apart.

The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. The journey of a thousand years? With one full moon and a silver blade...

I enjoyed the series, and I'm looking forward to checking out the author's other stuff.

 

[Ol'Skool Classic]

5 Books in the series:



I enjoyed the series, and I'm looking forward to checking out the author's other stuff.

I take it this is one of those e-book series rather than physical? I might check it out if/when I can find the time to read regular prose novels around the house.

 

[Tamstrong]

I take it this is one of those e-book series rather than physical? I might check it out if/when I can find the time to read regular prose novels around the house.

Yep, it is. Bookbub had a good deal on the set, so I gave it a try. I think you'd like it.

 

[Tamstrong]

Not a bad beginning for the series.

What will you do when they come for your children?
The world has turned inward, away from the sun, in the wake of a mysterious disease that has altered the human race. No longer able to bear healthy human children, our mothers and daughters have brought vampire-like hybrids into the world, and with it a new order. Now that reproduction has been banned, those left with young children face a terrible and devastating decision - turn your babies over to the government or pay the price. For young Freya, keeping her brother hidden is the only real option.

Enemies of the state, Freya must stand between her family and the forces of a fearful world. Although her brother may not be human, there is little else separating her and those of the blue skin.

Choices will be made. Lines will be drawn. The battle for humanity has only just begun.



BLUE SKIN is the first book in a 5 part vampire dystopian, thriller horror series.

Well written, but not for everyone. It's extremely violent and disturbing.

Moving from school to school is never easy. You're constantly struggling to catch up to the level of the other students. You're forever meeting new friends just to have to leave them and establish new colleagues at the new schools. You always find yourself lost in the never-ending maze of corridors as you battle to get to grips with where everything is...

But it's worse when the more unfriendly students decide to take an instant dislike to you. Tormenting you each day...Pushing you to see how long it is before you're going to snap. Wondering what you're going to do in retaliation to their harsh words and cruel pranks. Are you going to stand up to them or are you going to be yet another pupil who goes out of their way to avoid them whilst crying yourself to sleep until you feel as though you can't take the suffering anymore?

You're going to stand up to them of course. You're going to turn the tables on them. You're going to be the teacher to a very special class. A class where the lessons will be heard through-out the world...Lessons which will never be forgotten.

This is your classroom now and lessons will be learned.

This one is meh. It was contrived, corny, and predictable.

After a string of violent murders occur in their town, the senior class of Redwood High School is terrorized by a masked killer. Charlene Sanchez, a popular senior, believes everyone is a target—and everyone is a suspect. When videos of the murders begin to surface on social media, Charlene enlists the help of her closest friends and races to find the serial killer. Can she stop the killer before he stops her?

Jon Athan, author of Butcher Road and Camp Blaze, brings you another violent slasher inspired by the classics.

 

[Tamstrong]

You can't run forever.

In a crumbling society, danger is everywhere, enemies come in many forms - and not all monsters have blue skin.

Fugitives from the government, Freya and Ben find themselves living in a decrepit flat, in a dying town infested with lowlifes and vigilantes.

But in the shadows, a light shines.

The enigmatic Maggie, protector of vampires and leader of a fortified community, provides respite and salvation.

The fences may be high; the watchtowers heavily armed. But how long before the darkness finds them again?



The second book in a 5 part vampire dystopian, thriller horror series.

A secret lab. A prison. Deathrow.
Welcome to The Facility.
Broken and alone, Freya must find a way through its thick walls, and free her vampire brother before it’s too late.

But beyond the security cameras, the armed guards, and the smell of burnt bodies, something is waiting for her.

Something much worse…



The third book in a 5 part vampire dystopian, thriller horror series.

The World is Dying
Boarded-up shops, burnt-out cars and abandoned homes. The government hangs on by a thread. Looters control the day. And hordes of ravenous monsters own the night.

Ben is out there somewhere, living with his vampire brothers and sisters, leaving Freya and Sean to hunt for him in the darkest of corners. But without money, food, or a real home, their chances of finding him feel impossible.

Amidst the chaos, a stranger reaches out. A new friend. An ally with the promise of a better life.

But in a world this decrepit and dangerous, friends are a rare commodity.

And just like humanity - trust is on the brink of extinction.


The fourth book in a 5 part vampire dystopian, thriller horror series.

Entertaining series. No word yet on when the 5th book will be released.

 

[Ol'Skool Classic]

Entertaining series. No word yet on when the 5th book will be released.

Nevermind. I was going to ask about Book One but it was in your last post.

 

[tp480]

Last 3 books

Disintegration the splintering of black America
48 laws of power
Every little step Bobby Brown Story

 

[Tamstrong]

Great series!

The Six-Gun Tarot
The sheriff bears the mark of the noose around his neck; some say he is a dead man whose time has not yet come. His half-human deputy is kin to coyotes. The mayor guards a hoard of mythical treasures. A banker’s wife belongs to a secret order of assassins. And a shady saloon owner, whose fingers are in everyone’s business, may know more about the town’s true origins than he’s letting on. Some think the worst has come and gone, but the nightmarish trials of Golgotha have only just begun.

The Shotgun Arcana
Golgotha in 1870 is a haven for the blessed and the damned, including a fallen angel, a mad scientist, a pirate queen, and a deputy who is kin to coyotes. The town has come through many nightmarish trials. Now an army of 32 outlaws, lunatics, serial killers, and cannibals are converging on the town, drawn by a grisly relic that dates back to the Donner Party . . . and the dawn of humanity.

The Queen of Swords
Maude Stapleton, late of Golgotha, Nevada, is a respectable widow raising a daughter on her own. Few know that Maude belongs to an ancient order of assassins, the Daughters of Lilith, and is as well the great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Anne Bonney, the legendary female pirate. Leaving Golgotha in search of her daughter Constance, who has been taken from her, Maude travels to Charleston, South Carolina, only to find herself caught in the middle of a secret war between the Daughters of Lilith and their ancestral enemies, the monstrous Sons of Typhon

 

[Tamstrong]

When Your parent Becomes Your Child tells the story of one family's journey through dementia while offering hope to family members and friends, that they might better understand the effects of the disease. Don't let this catch you by surprise—be informed before you face the challenges and difficulties of a loved one with Alzheimer's or dementia. This book can help.

There were some helpful things in this book, but not helpful enough. That's not the book's fault though.

Since its immediate success in 1813, Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen called this brilliant work “her own darling child” and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, “as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print.” The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy, is a splendid performance of civilized sparring. And Jane Austen’s radiant wit sparkles as her characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book the most superb comedy of manners of Regency England.

Pretty good.

Friends Claire and Roxie are both trying to escape from unhappy events in their recent pasts. When a realtor offers them a fixer-upper project in the country at a good price, they jump at the chance to transform the old property into a pleasant family home and make themselves some money in the process.

However, it isn't long before things start to turn sour. Roxie invites her new boyfriend to join them and Claire is unable to take a liking to the mysterious David. Not only is the atmosphere inside the house becoming increasingly tense, but a series of tragedies around the property and in the local community soon have Claire investigating possible reasons.

She is shocked to discover that the current tragedies have strong links to past accidents - and the links seem to be related to every decade of wallpaper that the women have removed during their renovations. Tension is building, there are too many questions that need answers, and Claire is now regretting her decision to partner with Roxie in this project.

Can Claire find the answers that she is seeking or is it already too late?

This one was okay, but it missed the mark for me. The way the author handled the ending was a corny letdown.

 

[Tamstrong]

Red Riding Hood: A tragic love story, told in three acts…

Act I: Temptation

Gerwalta Faust may be the youngest daughter of the Red Matron, but she is still a capable warrior, a righteous wolf-watcher. She knows better than to trust a lupine, especially one as handsome as Andreas Baron.
Andreas despises the wolf-watchers, but what self-respecting werewolf wouldn’t? They lord over his kind, ruling with ruthless silver fists. The last thing he wants is to spend time with one, let alone come to see her as something more than the blood red cloak she wears.
But as Andreas and Gerwalta set out to retrieve a runaway wolf, they discover not the beasts they expected, but the beauty within. Each fights against the tendering of their heart, knowing that there is one immutable law neither can outrun: it is a crime for a wolfsretter and a lupine to love.
A crime punishable by death.
Beauty and the Betrayer is the story of Die Verräterin, the infamous betrayer referenced in the contemporary paranormal urban fantasy fairytale, the Red Hood Chronicles.

To love her is lethal, but how can he live without her?

Act II: Seduction

A year of separation has done little to discourage a werewolf's heart. Alpha Andreas Baron loves Gerwalta Faust, even if she is his natural enemy, and he will have none other for his mate. If only he can convince her of that before the Grand Matron awards his beloved's hand to another...

Gerwalta knows that to give in to her desires would sentence Andreas to death. What she feels is irrelevant. She will not condemn him by falling for his attempts at seduction. When she's given a mission that will take her far from the Black Forest, Gerwalta pushes forward, thankful for the distance. Until she discovers that Andreas will be part of the party, that is.

Their purpose: capture a band of seven deadly vampires whose schemes would place werewolves and vampires on opposite battlefields for Europe's two great empires. The true danger, however, arises when the wolf and the watcher, away from the influence of clan and pack, cross the point of no return, changing the course of the supernatural world forever...

ACT III: DAMNATION

Run.


It was the only thing Gerwalta could think to do, the only chance she and Andreas had to stay alive. No matter how far away they travel from the Black Forrest, however, it will never be enough. Especially when the sanctuary they believe they’ve found holds its own hidden dangers.

Andreas knew there would be consequences when he decided to make a wolfsretter his mate, but he could never have imagined the lengths he’d have to go to protect his family. When both he and Gerwalta lose an aspect of their powers, can they still stand against forces determined to tear them apart?

The final installment of the tragic love story of the real Little Red Riding Hood, and the close of the prequel trilogy to the bestselling Red Hood Chronicles.

Like a lot of prequels, it's not as good as the Red Hood Chronicles, but it was still enjoyable.

 

[Tamstrong]

Duology:

They thought they’d lived through hell. Until it came calling from the grave…
Savannah has witnessed enough in her life. With a drug addict for a mother, she protects her younger brother and tries desperately to maintain a social life. But after a Halloween prank turns deadly, she's unsure she can conceal her friends' dark secret. And not even her close-knit group of friends can hold a stalking, demonic creature at bay forever…

Through years of suffering the fury of his father, Evan learned to keep his head down and his mouth shut. Counting on his band of misfits for moral support, the sins of their holiday mistake have come back to hunt them. And he's about to learn the hard way that they'll only pay for their secrets in screams.

Can Savannah and Evan battle a demon of their own creation or will their silence end with their slaughter?

Some secrets you take to the grave…

...some secrets take you there.

Annie is a detective for the Ayser Sheriff’s Department. One night, she arrives at a murder scene. The victim is chopped in pieces. A list of five names is found written in blood. And a face is drawn over a stone.

The same face from the Masked Massacre incident a year ago.

Did they arrest the wrong person last year? Is there a copycat in their small town? Can she find the killer before another murder takes place? Before she loses her job and sanity?

Savannah has seen the murderer. She knows who it is…

Except, rotting in a psychiatric hospital, no one will believe her claims. No one will even listen to her assertions.

To stop a monster, two women must face the deadly, bloody truth.

The premise behind this set isn't terrible, but the writing itself ruined whatever potential there was. There are so many mistakes, it drove me nuts. The mistakes in the first book were worse than the second; it didn't seem to be proofread at all. What's crazy is the author is actually an English teacher! Not a good look. lol I won't waste time reading anything else he's written.

A voice is telling Sarah to kill her baby.

It comes to her in fevered snatches of sleep, between her daughter’s cries. It lingers in her mind when she wakes, alone and sad and scared.

She wants to love her baby, but she doesn’t know how. Suffering from a deadly disconnect with her identity due to her mother's religion, Sarah doesn’t even know how to love herself.

So the voice torments her. She will suffer. She will weep.

But she will also endure.

Unforgettable and truly unique, Rebecca takes hold of you on the first page and drags you headlong into the hellscape of a tortured young mother’s mind — a journey that will either end with unspeakable horror, or the triumph of a mother’s love over darkness.

This was a solid read. It's the second book I've read by this author, and I am impressed with his writing skills.

 

[Sigrid]

Technically cheating I guess, but I’m only listing one as it’s a massive series, but anyway. The Wheel of Time. If you like Lord of the Rings then this may pique your interest.

 

[Tamstrong]

In Lyseira's world, the priests do whatever they want. They steal. They lie. They kill. Because they hold the world's only magic, there's nothing she can do.

Now, in the dead of night, they've taken her best friend. They'll kill him in the morning.

It's time to fight back.

You'll love Children of a Broken Sky because it is classic epic fantasy. Ancient evils long forgotten. A little group of heroes rebelling against impossible odds. A small, personal story that snowballs into a world-shaking epic. A narrator with a deep mastery of the written word. Everything you love from your favorite epic fantasies — Children of a Broken Sky has it all. And at this price, you have nothing to lose.

The second seal has been broken, unleashing an age of sorcery and chaos. Legendary terrors will walk the earth. Empires will shake. Peasants will rise up.

And the Church will commit any sin to keep its power.

The long-awaited sequel to the bestselling Kindle Fantasy, Children of a Broken Sky.

It is a time of rebirth, as a new church rises from the ashes of the old and witches curry the favor of kings.

It is a time of hope, when even the lowliest peasant can craft a new fate for themselves, unburdened from the yoke of the Fatherlord's rule.

It is a time of possibility, as six children from a distant village find themselves at the heart of a changing world.

But rebirth, hope, and possibility are not only for the good of heart. Ancient evils stir as well, hungering for their own second chances, and other evils—closer and more intimate—will take their toll on friendships that have already been strained.

The children of Southlight are about to face tests that could destroy them. And the fate of the kingdom hinges on their survival.

These were all good. There's supposed to be one more book he's adding to the series, but no word on the release date yet.

 

[Tamstrong]

THE END IS HERE...

Alone once again, and pregnant with Sean's child, Freya must hunt in the darkest of places, praying that he's still alive. A prisoner, maybe. Human cattle for vampires to feed on.

But as time passes, and with so many nests to explore, danger lurks behind every shadow, and hope has all but dissolved.

Freya can't give up. She's already lost so much. Her parents. Her brother. Friends.

Sean is all she has left.

Will Freya fight to the bitter end?

Or will she become another victim to this broken world of blue skin?


The final part in the Blue Skin vampire dystopian series.

Solid series. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of his stuff.

Everyone is gone. Earth is theirs now.

In a single instant on a summer afternoon, all life on the planet vanishes. For reasons they don't understand, only Alan and his young son Todd are spared.

But they aren't alone. They soon realize an invisible presence is remaking the planet, preparing it for some awful purpose—and Alan is powerless to fight it.

As the earth transforms before their eyes, turning more alien by the day, Alan and Todd search for the means of their survival: not merely food and water, but purpose. Meaning. Though they can't oppose the changes happening around them, Alan eventually realizes their love for each other—their very existence—is a shout of defiance.

Austere and beautiful, Todd is a story about the reasons we persevere; about finding hope in the darkest of places, and the power of holding hands. Its ending will leave you breathless—and the journey will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

Another good story by this author.

Georgia Woodrow isn't winning any prizes for Daughter of the Year--it's been far too long since she last visited home, for starters. But after receiving a late-night phone call from her father, she finds it impossible to stay away...

Georgia's sister has gone missing. Sixteen years old, vanished in the dead of night, and hardly a clue to go on. No friends, no lovers, no belongings taken. However, after flying home to be with their father, Georgia soon uncovers a strange secret of her sister's--a dark fascination Georgia can't begin to understand, but which leads her to the dark shores at the edge of town...

...to the ocean deep, where a blood-soaked mystery threatens to claim Georgia just as it's claimed so many lives before her.

I only gave it 3 stars on Amazon, but it's still entertaining.

 

[Tamstrong]

The first four are actually a collection of novellas and short stories called The Broken Veil (I got it free on the author's website), but I'm listing them separately.

My world used to be simple. The life of a junkie.
Wake up. Get high. Repeat...
Even the sight of my dark, mould-infested flat never bothered me. I liked the darkness. It felt like home. It felt safe.
But now, there's someone else here. A little girl that watches me. Follows me.
She wants me dead.
But I won't let her beat me. I won't give her the satisfaction - because she's in my head.
She's not real.
And neither are ghosts...

Yep.

She can smell it. Touch it.
Her husband can't see it. He thinks she's having a nightmare. Her therapist believes it's the trauma of the car accident. And Hayley doesn't believe in ghosts.
But with every day that passes, the vile stench of death gets worse.
Who is this rotting woman?
Why is she under Hayley's bed?
And more, importantly...
Who killed her?

Yep.

A brand new drug has infected the streets.
Thread.
The first hit: a high unlike any other.
The second hit: the addiction takes hold.
The third hit: the sun starts to burn your skin.
The last hit: you become one of the horde. A Junkie. A Monster. A Thread-Head.
A Vampire.

Yep

We all fear death’s dark spectre, but in a zombie apocalypse, dying is a privilege reserved for the lucky few. There are worse things than a bullet to the brain—much worse.

The dead are walking, and they’re hungry. Steven Jenkins, bestselling author of Fourteen Days and Burn The Dead, shares five zombie tales that are rotten for all the right reasons.

Meet Dave, a husband and father with a dirty secret, who quickly discovers that lies aren’t only dangerous…they’re deadly. Athlete Sarah once ran for glory, but when she finds herself alone on a country road with an injured knee, second place is as good as last. Howard, shovelling coal in the darkness of a Welsh coal mine, knows something’s amiss when his colleagues begin to disappear. But it’s when the lights come on that things get truly scary.

Five different takes on the undead, from the grotesque to the downright terrifying. But reader beware: as the groans get louder and the twitching starts, you’ll be dying to reach the final page.

Yep

In the first novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dresden Files series, Harry Dresden’s investigation of a grisly double murder pulls him into the darkest depths of magical Chicago…

As a professional wizard, Harry Dresden knows firsthand that the “everyday” world is actually full of strange and magical things—and most of them don’t play well with humans. And those that do enjoy playing with humans far too much. He also knows he’s the best at what he does. Technically, he’s the only at what he does. But even though Harry is the only game in town, business—to put it mildly—stinks.

So when the Chicago P.D. bring him in to consult on a double homicide committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name...

Yep. Thanks to Ra for the recommendation. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Lizzy Moon never wanted Moon Girl Farm. Eight years ago, she left the land that nine generations of gifted healers had tended, determined to distance herself from the whispers about her family’s strange legacy. But when her beloved grandmother Althea dies, Lizzy must return and face the tragedy still hanging over the farm’s withered lavender fields: the unsolved murders of two young girls, and the cruel accusations that followed Althea to her grave.

Lizzy wants nothing more than to sell the farm and return to her life in New York, until she discovers a journal Althea left for her—a Book of Remembrances meant to help Lizzy embrace her own special gifts. When she reconnects with Andrew Greyson, one of the few in town who believed in Althea’s innocence, she resolves to clear her grandmother’s name.

But to do so, she’ll have to decide if she can accept her legacy and whether to follow in the footsteps of all the Moon women who came before her.

Yep

 

[Tamstrong]

Lily’s gone.
Someone took her.
Unless she was she never there…

A little girl has gone missing.

Lily was last seen being tucked into bed by her adoring mother, Nova. But the next morning, the bed is empty except for a creepy toy rabbit.

Has Nova’s abusive ex stolen his “little bunny” back for good?

At first, Officer Ellie James assumes this is a clear custody battle. Until she discovers that there are no pictures of the girl and her drawers are full of unused toys and brand new clothes that have never been worn…

Is Ellie searching for a missing child who doesn’t actually exist?

Not bad.

Marshal Apostle Richardson faces off against bloodthirsty outlaws, flesh witches, ruthless vigilantes, and more in this gritty, magical re-imagining of the Old West.

Almena Guillory, better known as the Grizzly Queen of the West, has done plenty to warrant the noose, but US Marshal Apostle Richardson enforces the law, he doesn't decide it. When a posse tries to lynch Almena ahead of her trial, Apostle refuses their form of expedited justice - and receives a bullet for his trouble. Almena spares him through the use of dangerous flesh magic but escapes soon after saving him.

Weeks later, Apostle fears the outlaw queen has returned to her old ways when she's spotted terrorizing Kansas with a new gang in tow. When cornered, however, Almena makes a convincing case for her innocence and proposes a plan to take the real bandits down. Working with a known killer opens Apostle up to all sorts of trouble, not the least being his own growing attraction toward the roguish woman. Turning Almena away from vengeance may be out of the question, but if he doesn't try, she'll wind up right where the law wants her: at the end of a rope.

And if Apostle isn't careful, he'll end up joining her.

Not bad.

Still haunted by her brother’s disappearance and the high profile murder trial that gripped the nation, New York homicide detective, Kara Walker deals with survivor’s guilt by tracking down killers. But as the anniversary of her brothers abduction approaches, Kara receives news of her mother’s death and is drawn back to her rural hometown in the Olympic Peninsula to tie up loose ends. She soon makes a shocking discovery that brings into question the facts surrounding her brother’s case, her mother’s obsession, and the man who pled not guilty.

In a race against time to find the real killer, Kara must risk losing her mind, jeopardize the safety of those close and face her darkest fear, all to answer the question — who is truly innocent?

Full of twists and turns that keep you guessing, I’m Still Here delivers a captivating mystery thriller that forces you to question how far you would go to solve the disappearance of a loved one.

Good.

 

[Max Mosley]

The Dragons of Eden
The Isis Papers
The Grand Chessboard

 

[Tamstrong]

Not what I'd call best seller level, but still an entertaining series. The third book had a painfully slow start, but I did like how he ended the series.

It's a dirty job - but someone's got to do it.
Robert Stephenson burns zombies for a living.

It's a profession that pays the bills and plays tricks on the mind. Still, his life is routine until his four-year-old son becomes stranded in a quarantined zone, teeming with rotters.

Does Rob have what it takes to fight the undead and put his broken family back together?

Or will he also end up in the incinerator - burning with the rest of the dead?

Making a living by hunting the dead.


There are those who run, while others hide. And then there are the Cleaners.

The living dead have staggered straight out of Hell, and all that keeps humanity from crumbling is a small team who catch the rotters, before cleaning up the mess left behind.

New recruit, Catherine Woods, has dreamed of becoming a Cleaner all her life. A chance to join the war against the undead. To protect the streets. To make her parents proud.

The only problem is—even the best dreams can become nightmares in an instant.

A sold-out stadium.
A virus unleashed.
For 17-year-old Alfie Button, today was always going to be a memorable day.

The cheers of excited fans soon become desperate, bloodcurdling cries for help as a legion of the undead overwhelms the stadium. Panic erupts as 21,000 people rush for the exits, only to find them sealed.

With nowhere to run, suffocating in a torrent of blood and chaos, all Alfie and his friends can do is fight for survival—and pray that help will come.

But in every game, in every stadium…

There has to be a loser.

 

[Tamstrong]

Three kids went in.
Now, twenty years later, the two survivors are going back…

For Tricia and Alex, the idea is simple: find and rescue their friend, Sam, from his insane mother.

But when they enter the forest, they discover that their idea is anything but simple. Because this forest isn’t like any other.

In this forest, a silver mist cloaks the truth. In this forest, a simple trip of a few miles can turn into a nightmare.

In this forest, the monsters are real.

Twenty years later, Tricia and Alex remember nothing of what happened that day they lost their friend. They know only that three kids went in, but only two came out.

Now, they are going back. To find their lost memories. To discover what happened to Sam that day.

To encounter fear itself.

The forest, as Alex and Tricia will discover, is a place where madness reigns. A place where a simple path becomes an ordeal. A place where the past comes to life, and the future is anything but certain.

Because the dead don’t stay dead… in The Forest.

Great idea, but the execution missed the mark for me. It felt like it took a couple of years to read this book; it was so long and drawn out. I've liked most of what I've read from this author, but this one is the newest addition to the disappointment pile for me.

Andrew McCarthy grows concerned for his family after he catches a young man, Zachary Denton, photographing his daughter, Grace McCarthy, and other children at a park. To his dismay, Zachary talks his way out of trouble when he’s confronted by the police. He hopes that’s the end of it. Then he finds Zachary at a diner and then at a grocery store. He knows their encounters aren't coincidences. And just as Andrew prepares to defend his family, Grace vanishes.

As the police search stalls and the leads dry up, Andrew decides to take matters into his own hands. He starts by searching for sex offenders in the area and researching enhanced interrogation techniques... He convinces himself he’ll do anything to rescue his daughter, unaware of the pure evil he'll face in his journey. He’s willing to hurt—to torture—anyone to save his family.

Jon Athan, the author of Into the Wolves’ Den and The Abuse of Ashley Collins, delves into the underworld of internet predators in this disturbing horror novel. Are your children safe?

WARNING: This book contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

This was another miss for me. Again, the story concept was good, but the author failed to make it work. He tried too hard to make it graphic and over the top, so it came across as forced and awkward as hell.

You’d think there’d be a little more action for the only professional wizard listed in the Chicago phone book. But lately, Harry Dresden hasn’t been able to dredge up any kind of work: magical, mundane, or menial.

Just when it looks like he can’t afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise. There’s a brutally mutilated corpse, and monstrous animal markings at the scene. Not to mention that the killing took place on the night of a full moon. Harry knows exactly where this case is headed. Take three guesses—and the first two don’t count...

Another great installment of The Dresden Files.

 

[Ol'Skool Classic]

Great idea, but the execution missed the mark for me. It felt like it took a couple of years to read this book; it was so long and drawn out. I've liked most of what I've read from this author, but this one is the newest addition to the disappointment pile for me.

This was another miss for me. Again, the story concept was good, but the author failed to make it work. He tried too hard to make it graphic and over the top, so it came across as forced and awkward as hell.

Another great installment of The Dresden Files.

I was planning on offering up another Jim Butcher series recommendation once you'd read a few more of the Dresden File novels to make sure that you actually liked them, but I'll throw it out now. The Codex Alera. There are only six books in the series (he told the story he wanted to tell but left some seeds for revisiting the world if he had other things to explore in the future). The first book is on Kindle for $3.99. The prices vary on the other books from $5.99 to $9.99.