Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr.'s Blog, page 10

The Last Halloween by Fred Gracely

The Last Halloween by Fred Gracely

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Epic.

This is a story about a young boy named Goff who gets repeatedly bullied by others around him. On a tragic night, he goes from human to… you’ll have to read the rest of the story to find out.

For me, this gets two thumbs way up. I have no problem saying that this is one of the best books I have read all year. I can tell that the author had fun creating this novel, and it was expertly crafted. I would compare this to the Harry Potter series, as Goff is joined by others in his adventure. I already knew by the eighth chapter that I was going to give this text a five-star rating.

The prose is well thought out, the twists and turns are great, the book cover is good, the chapter header illustrations are a spectacular add-on, the dialogue is funny, and the bonus content was a splendid addition to this novel. This chronicle contains a blend of genres: fantasy, supernatural, mystery, adventure, humor, suspense, and action. I would recommend this book to both adults and children alike, as the anecdote contains clean dialogue. Some of the end of chapter cliffhangers were spot-on. I’m not sure how long it took the writer to create this yarn, but you can tell that he worked hard on it.

It’s no wonder why this book has won literary awards. I was sucked into Goff’s world from the prologue, and the only bad thing was that I waited this long to dive into the tale and finish it. If you’re reading this review, and you’re considering whether or not to give this book a shot, I would highly suggest that it be your next read. This is a high-quality book. The text is easy to see, the book is well formatted, and it is edited.

The bonus content was a delight to read, and it gave a further foray into Goff’s character. It was disheartening to see how much he suffered. I was glad to see how Pam changed as time went on. I won’t say more than that; read the book.

Although I issued this book a five-star rating, it was not perfect. There were a few times I wished this anecdote was shorter. For me, part of the narrative dragged. I think it might have been because of how long the yarn is, but I understand why the author did what he did, opting to take his time as the narrative unfolded. Halstrom and Lydia irritated me at times, but I was delighted to see what happened later in the tale (I will not specify this to avoid spoiling it for you).

Please note that I personally prefer shorter fiction, but I have read longer fabrications in the past.



View all my reviews

The post The Last Halloween by Fred Gracely first appeared on Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr..

A Sky of Tragic Moons – Compiled by Nathaniel Luscombe

A Sky of Tragic Moons by Nathaniel Luscombe

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Good.

I’m certain that the writers had fun making this anthology together. It is difficult to create a collection of short stories that fit well into a theme, but this compilation was good. Some chronicles were better than others, but I think competition is essential to help elevate an author to the next level.

My favorite tale in this album was An Unfortunate Time to Be Alive.

I give props to the authors who submitted more than one work in this anthology.



View all my reviews

The post A Sky of Tragic Moons – Compiled by Nathaniel Luscombe first appeared on Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr..

When Dead Men Bleed by K. Weikel

When Dead Men Bleed by K. Weikel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Good but could have been better.

This chronicle is about a zombie named Zeke who transforms into something rather unique. Along the way, he meets other supernatural beings and has quite a few experiences. Read this tale to find out more.

Let me start by saying that I love the book cover, and I think it is better than the one she made for the sequel When Dead Men Breathe.

The arena that Zeke and the other supernatural creatures were in was amusing too. I like the description of the vampires and bleeders. I thought it was cool that the vampires had red irises, that they could camouflage themselves, and turn into bats. Well done!

It was a nice surprise to see the skull illustrations in the book; I thought that was genius.

First, this book would have benefited from keener editing as I noticed some errors in the text. Second, this novel would have been better if it was shorter. I noticed that the pace of the book slowed down, but the beginning did have me absorbed by it. Third, K. Weikel should think about hiring a professional beta reader to grade her work before publishing it. That way, she can level up her story. Finally, I felt that this book was all over the place, regarding zombies, bleeders, and humans.

I recommend releasing a second edition of this novel to fix some of these issues.

The metamorphosis that can take place between species didn’t make sense to me, even though this is fantasy writing. I can understand a human becoming a vampire or a human becoming a werewolf, but for transformations regarding the main character? That might have been overdoing it. Normally, in other fictional works, zombies already bleed, and I found it strange that in this universe zombies are fragile creatures that can think. The mindless zombies made more sense, but they were also useless.

This may just be me, but I found Mikey to be irritating. Since Zeke despises her, I ended up not liking her, and it was troubling to see her pop up as much as she did. This could have been “fixed” by shortening the book a little bit or by having something happen to her so she could disappear.

K. Weikel is a talented writer, and I look forward to reading her other literary works. But she should invest more money and time into her books.

I was torn between giving this text a 3-star or 4-star rating. For me, it is not a five-star book, but it by no means is a two-star book either. In the end, I ended up giving her a 4-star rating because of the awesome book cover, the skull illustrations to match, a great introduction and rendition of the vampires, and a decent narrative.



View all my reviews

The post When Dead Men Bleed by K. Weikel first appeared on Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr..

Rue Rosco 13 by Eddie Russell

Rue Rosco 13 by Eddie Russell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


It was OK.

For me, this is not a five-star book because the ending was whack and I didn’t enjoy the amount of blaspheming in it. I found it ironic that this book has religious themes, but there is also blaspheming in it. I know that there were non-believers in this anecdote, but I cannot wholeheartedly say that I loved it. I understand that a lot of horror books contain profanity and/or blaspheming, but I think the author should tone this down a notch in the future. It detracts from the reading experience.

The storyline was OK. I liked the illustrations, and I was debating as to whether I should issue this book a four-star rating instead, but that would suggest that I really liked the book when I didn’t. I personally will never read this novella again.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

View all my reviews

The post Rue Rosco 13 by Eddie Russell first appeared on Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr..

A Beast Within by Aidan Lucid

A Beast Within by Aidan Lucid

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Fun.

I enjoyed reading this novella. The prologue was fantastic, and the author switching POVs was brilliant. I liked the addition of scene breaks, and the descriptions were vivid. I fancied the twists and turns that this book utilized. I admire the decision to not stretch out this book longer that it had to be.

I highly recommend this book other book lovers, and I look forward to reading more from this writer.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.



View all my reviews

The post A Beast Within by Aidan Lucid first appeared on Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr..

The Mice of Dumpler: The Haunting of Boulder 351 by Chris Weld

The Mice of Dumpler: The Haunting of Boulder 351 by Chris Weld

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Not bad.

I applaud the author’s creativity, as well as Lovely’s artworks. I don’t know if this series will only be a trilogy or not, but in my opinion, Jonah’s Adventure was the best book of the three. I love how the visuals add interest to the story, and this series demonstrates the power that illustrations can do for your anecdote.

For this picture book, I felt that the pacing was a bit slow, and I wasn’t as intrigued with it as the other two. The story did get better as the plot unraveled, but overall, I did not think that the narrative was amazing. It didn’t “wow” me like the first two books did. For this reason, I did not issue this book a five-star rating. I cannot wholeheartedly say that this book was amazing. Still, if you have read the other two books, you should consider reading this one as well.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.



View all my reviews

The post The Mice of Dumpler: The Haunting of Boulder 351 by Chris Weld first appeared on Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr..

Kat Got Your Tongue? by Ashley Michele

Kat Got Your Tongue? by Ashley Michele

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This short story could have been better.

I decided to read this yarn because I read a previous book by the author, and I like short stories and novellas. Ashley is a talented writer, which is evident as you read through the prose. Also, I like the book cover a lot; her book cover designer and her deserve mad props for the artwork.

What I didn’t like was the book cover misleading me in the sense that I thought this book would have a vampire/vampiress in it. Minus a star for the ending of the book; it wasn’t good. Minus another star because the narrative was too short, and it left more to be desired. I understand that Ashley wanted to make a quick short story, but it affected my reading experience. She could have easily made this book longer, and I wish she did.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.



View all my reviews

The post Kat Got Your Tongue? by Ashley Michele first appeared on Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr..

The Last Haunt by Max Booth III

The Last Haunt by Max Booth III

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


It was not what I expected.

What I liked about this chronicle:
1) The book cover is phenomenal. Props to the author for a great pick.
2) The interviews gave plenty of alternating POVs throughout the book.
3) There are at least two laugh out loud funny moments.
4) The contract was a great addition to Gus’s haunts as it makes this novella a psychological horror, as well as the other torturous things that he does to foolish saps willing to participate in his haunts.

What I didn’t like which led to me not giving this book a five-star rating:
1) The ending was lame.
2) The profanity was excessive, and superfluous at times.
3) The blaspheming: minus a star for this and the overbearing swearing. It impeded my reading experience because there was a lot of it. I thought it was unrealistic for people being interviewed to cuss a storm like this. For those of you who are reading this review who haven’t read the book, it seemed like every person interviewed used obscenities, and I’m not exaggerating.
4) There weren’t any scary moments in this book – it’s purely psychological.
5) This book did drag at one or two points. I could have easily put this book down, and not gotten back into it. In fact, I forced myself to push through wanting to get the full picture of the story. I wanted to know what would happen that way I could judge it fairly.
6) With the number of characters being interviewed, it was somewhat difficult for me to keep up at first. Since the main character is already dead, this didn’t help my reading experience.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.



View all my reviews

The post The Last Haunt by Max Booth III first appeared on Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr..

The Mice of Dumpler: Horatio’s Gold Rush by Chris Weld

The Mice of Dumpler: Horatio’s Gold Rush by Chris Weld

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Great.

Having first read Jonah’s Adventure, I decided I wanted to read this story as well. This work is different from Jonah’s Adventure, which is a good thing. I thought the illustrations were perfect for the story, and I zoomed right through it. I can picture children and adults enjoying this book, despite it being somewhat lengthy. However, that is not necessarily a bad thing since the story flowed well, and it perhaps gave way for more visuals to be added to the book.

It was great being able to witness Horatio’s ability to influence everyone around him. He has such a knack for digging; readers will be able to relate and may be motivated to discover their own gifts/strengths.

I think this is great for at least one read through, and I recommend it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.



View all my reviews

The post The Mice of Dumpler: Horatio’s Gold Rush by Chris Weld first appeared on Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr..

Melon Head Mayhem by Alex Ebenstein

Melon Head Mayhem by Alex Ebenstein

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Eerie and suspenseful.

The book cover is fantastic, and I thought it was creative that the author used VHS tapes as a tool to get the yarn going. The writing, editing, and formatting of this novella is top-notch; you can tell that the author put in a lot of effort to create this book. I liked the dark twist near the end; it increased the tension in the narrative. I do not want to say more than that to prevent spoiling it for other readers. That alone in itself warrants a read from any novella/short story enthusiasts thinking of sinking their teeth into this.

I hated Carson. He was a bit sheepish and unintelligent at times. I wish his Winnie the Pooh joke was omitted from this story.

Sophia is the true star of this chronicle. The level of profanity that erupted from her lips was realistic, especially when having to deal with Carson (who at times proved to be a burden, rather than being helpful). She was a delight to follow, and Carson is lucky to have her on his side.

The amount of blaspheming in this book hampered my reading experience (I am not talking about swearing, although blaspheming can be counted as such). It was irritating to see the Lord’s name used as a cuss word. I can see this part of this story not appealing to Christian bibliophiles. This ties into using the name “Isaac” as a supporting character, and the reference of non-heathens going to church on Sunday. At first glance, you may think that I am nit-picking, but if you read this story yourself, you’ll know what I mean (especially if you’re a bible-believing Christian).

This book would have benefited from illustrations, which would have heightened the scare. I wish the author would have included this in, which would have been a delight to see, given that the book cover is spectacular. I hope that the author goes back and gives his readers this.

To be clear, I did not give this book a five-star rating due to the amount of blaspheming in this novella, a lack of illustrations (which is a secret weapon in immersing readers into the story, mainly with a book like this), Carson’s off-putting behavior, the terrible Winnie the Pooh joke (which the author ironically states is a bad jest in the book), and the POV only being through Carson’s eyes. I wish the writer would have switched POV’s at some point in this book, so we could have seen it through Sophia’s eyes, which would have made this dark chronicle more irresistible.

The author is gifted in giving vivid details, realistic dialogue, and building the suspense. You can feel the anticipation intensify as the characters make a mistake or explore. I could sense the adventure aspect of this story, chiefly near the conclusion of this great novella. I liked how the story closed, and I am glad that the author shared his insights at the end of the anecdote with his book lovers.

Despite its flaws, I recommend this horror novella, and I can see it winning literary awards.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.



View all my reviews

The post Melon Head Mayhem by Alex Ebenstein first appeared on Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr..