Christopher C. Payne's Blog, page 30

Afterlight

AFTERLIGHT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterlight

Author Elle Jasper

SIGNET ECLIPSE BOOKS, year 2010

Available format: Paperback & ebook

ISBN: 978-0-451-23167-3

There is a reason we fear the night…

As Savannah's most unconventional tattoo artist, Riley Poe is quite familiar with the local underground scene. She lives and works on the edge of it every day. Now, she's about to step over the edge.

When her younger brother is taken by a sinister cult led by centuries old vampires, Riley discovers a world of shadows and blood – and those who exist there.

Her ally is the hot-tempered vampire Eli Dupre, who is attracted to Riley's beauty as well as her one-of-a-kind blood type. A blood type that he is not alone in craving.

To save her brother from certain undeath, Riley will face dangers she's never dreamed of , ruthless, bloodthirsty enemies, and endless hunger that wants to devour all in its vile grasp.

This book was good, don't get me wrong it really was, but there were times where I thought "Do we really need to know this…?" But, we all know there are parts like that in almost all books we read. Now, don't let that stop you, this book was good – there's no denying that; however, Afterlight has quite a bit of sex in it, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone below the age of 18!

Plot – ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ The plot was good and I really liked how it was something that has been done before, but it had a twist to it. Why didn't I give it five stars you may ask…? Well to me it was missing something that it dearly, dearly needed. It was something that nags at the back of my brain, we all know the feeling, I guess you could say it was missing that certain pow!

Writing – ☆ ☆ ☆ I would have to give the writing three stars, it was good, but it was a little to easy to read. I mean I would have liked a little bit more of a reading challenge- but that's just me.

Characters – ☆ ☆ ☆ I enjoyed the characters; I thought that they were well thought. Of course my favorite characters would have to be Riley Poe and Eli Dupre of course! I'll mention why their my favorite characters in my characters reviews!

Riley Poe – Riley is a tattoo artist from Savannah, Georgia and she has a very special blood type that will drive all vampires crazy and most likely get her killed if she's not too careful of what she does or says. To make sure none of that happens, she drinks a special Gullah brew that masks the scent of her blood from vampires. What can be said about Riley Poe… Well for one, she was a really cool character, she was hard headed, she was stubborn and totally not into taking orders from anyone, especially a hot 200 year old vampire!

Eli Dupre – Eli Dupre is the eldest of four siblings and the strongest. He is sent to watch over and protect Riley after her bother is taken by Victorian and his brother Valerian. As you can expect feelings grow between Eli and Riley…. I really liked Eli, he was strong and had a wicked temper and really hated it when Riley didn't listen to him and do what he said.

Preacher Man – He is Riley's surrogate grandfather, who she owes her whole life to. He helped her get clean and in the right direction when she was into drugs and other baddies like that…

Gilles Dupre – You don't really see him that much in the book. You see his kids more often, then him and his wife, Elise. I liked him though. He gave warning to Riley of the consequences of her and Eli's growing relationship. Telling her that nothing good would come of it. She would die, as all humans do, and Eli would go on living.

Victorian – Is an centuries old vampire, who has his eye on Riley…

Valerian – The oldest of the vampire brothers, not much is known about him.

Overall I give this book ☆ ☆ ☆ – nothing more and nothing less.

Review by Lura

Shade

 

Author: Jeri-Smith Ready

Published May 4th 2010 by Simon Pulse

ISBN 1416994068 (ISBN13: 9781416994060)

Available Format : Hardcover, Paperback, E-Book

Love ties them together. Death can't tear them apart.

Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.

Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart…and clues to the secret of the Shift.Amazing, Marvelous, engaging, captivating, that's a hell of lot of adjectives for one book!

This book is totally un-put-down-able! I loved every second of the time I was reading it. What was introduced in this book was unique and fresh, some 'concepts' that I had never come across in the hundreds of books I've read in my life. Although the writing could be a little odd, but the plot is an A++. Aura (ooh, sounds ominous….) is the protagonist in the story, who was the First born of the Shifters and could see, well, dead people – let me correct myself – souls of dead peoples. Despite the 'gift' she was born with, she hated it because the spirits bugged her. You know how ghosts are with their "unfinished business" and "the inability to pass over". She is head over heels in love with Logan, her rocker boyfriend, who in return is also extremely in love with her too; they were a match made in heaven. But, just when they were about to do 'it', Logan died. What the heck?

But, the ability to see ghosts might be a gift after all because Aura had took advantage of that to actually 'see' Logan again, although he was all…urm….violet. Still, Logan's Ghost is better than no Logan at all. I was particularly devastated at how Aura handled Logan's death, she blamed herself because she thought it was her fault. You'll understand when you read the book.

Anyway, after Logan's death (before she met his ghost), swept in Mr. Transferred student from Scotland, Zachary. He was dreamy and I really liked him *sigh*. He became her study partner, and they were assigned to go out for star gazing.

Okay, now let's skip to the part where Zachary started to fall in love with Aura, and Aura was feeling very insecure and missing Logan's real touch. That was an emotional turmoil for me because I read how Aura started to let go of Logan and try to move on by liking Zachary. I cried, honestly, when Aura told Logan that they should end things. That seemed so final. Throughout the book I had utterly no idea who Aura is going to end up with, for all I know, she could stick with Logan, or she could go on with Zachary, both are really good choices! To make things even harder, I love both of them, and I would never, ever dreamed of a bad ending for them. Logan is a bad boy, but completely sweet and loving. Zachary is a very nice guy and very very heroic. So you surely could understand the attraction I had towards them – two different poles. Pardon the chemistry analogy (or was it Physics?)

But, then, some things happened which caused Logan to turn into a different sort of soul, and it's up to Aura to 'save' him. Now, Shade left us with a huge question mark, one which I still bear even now. I love cliffhangers and hate it at the same time (something about me, I love to contradict myself). I love it because it pumps me up for the next book; I hate it because I can't wait for the next book. So would I get the sequel? Hell yeah!

I'm not going to leak any spoilers so I'm going to end this note with my thoughts. If you decided to check Shade out, be sure to clear out your schedule and just sit back and turn into a shade yourself for the next few hours.

Natasha Anne

My Blood Approves

My Blood Approves

By:  Amanda Hocking

ISBN-13: 978-1453816721

Available format:  ebook and paperback

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

In the first of Amanda Hocking's My Blood Approves series, we are introduced to seventeen-year-old Alice Bonham.  When things take a turn for the worse while out with a friend, she is rescued by a mysterious young man named Jack.  Suddenly, her life turns into a crazy roller coaster ride.  As things seem to spin far beyond her control, she recognizes a strange connection is growing with Jack.  Things get even more complicated when she meets his brother, Peter.  It is as if her body itself is both drawn to and repelled by his presence.  But it appears that Peter cannot even stand the sight of her.  To make matters worse, Peter and Jack are both vampires, and Alice is caught in a truly bloody love triangle.

It is pretty obvious in the beginning (even from the title) what the story is going to be about, so there was no shock when it is revealed that Jack and his family are vampires.  The addition of the gorgeous, but mysterious, brother, Peter, was a nice twist.  Hocking did a great job building the tension between Alice and Peter and the brothers, Jack and Peter.  She even managed to leave some questions unanswered at the end, giving the reader time to anticipate what might arise in the rest of the series.

I enjoyed the diversity of the characters.  The fact that Alice's mother is basically absent bothered me somewhat, but otherwise how would these teenagers have been able to stay out at all hours of the night every night?   Milo, Alice's brother, is probably one of Hocking's best characters in this story.  He has such charm about him, although he is not as important a character in this book as he is in the following books of the series.  He is something that I felt kept Alice grounded when things could have really been hard to follow.  He was also the perfect way for Hocking to interject a bit of wit that had nothing to do with vampires or supernatural events.

This was one of those "I-guess-I'll-try-it-out" reads for me.  I had not heard much about these books, but I had read Hocking's Trylle series, which I really enjoyed.  The first chapter immediately reminded me of another extremely popular young adult vampire series, so I was a bit put off.  Pretty soon, although there are countless similarities, it was apparent that for all intents and purposes Hocking was creating her own story.  I am certain that these books are endlessly compared to Twilight; actually I know they are because I have read lots of reviews about it!

Aside from the writing being a little rough at times and the story being a bit less fresh and unique, I still was unable to put the book down and finished it in two short reading sessions.  I have already recommended this and Hocking's other books to friends who share my reading interests, and overall I truly wasn't disappointed with this book or the series.  This was unquestionably a great escape from my tiresome mommy life—who doesn't want to be a carefree seventeen-year-old loved desperately by two gorgeous guys at least for a little while?!?!

 

Review written by Cassie McCown

 

 

Clive Barker's Book of Blood

Get reading!

When judging a horror movie, I first check if the content is cheesy or cool. If it's the latter, is it all atmosphere and no substance, or is there an interesting story?

Bless Clive Barker's twisted little brain, Book of Blood passed on both counts.

American supernatural scholar Mary Florescu (Sophie Ward) travels to England

Mary makes some friends.

to teach a class and do some research at a house said to be haunted. There, one of her students, Simon (Jonas Armstrong), shows a talent for otherworldly detection, and Mary eagerly asks for his help exploring the house. And her body (seducing your students is the mark of a professional, apparently). They start out having a lot of fun, but both Mary and Simon have secrets that fuel obsessions the house can sense, and will use for its own designs the longer they stay.

I liked this movie. Great atmosphere, solid acting (an all-too-often overlooked, and very important, element in horror movies–if I don't believe characters are evil or scared, I'M not scared), a story that made sense but still had a few pretty cool twists, interesting characters…Book of Blood had it all. Plus enough gore for those who love their scares with "Ewwww!" moments, but not so much gore than those who don't will get bored.

Are you sure this is sanitary?

Given that it must've been made on a shoestring budget the effects were pretty good; nothing left me laughing instead of cringing. Also, bonus points for the use of Doug Bradley, best known as Pinhead from the Hellraiser franchise, appearing in a small role as a slimy psychopath.

Book of Blood walked the line between character-based horror and splattergore horror quite well by exploring the depths of its characters and finding bloody, torturous things within them. It's a solid movie for either type of horror fan to enjoy.

It's just what I wanted!

*

Review by Elizabeth Reuter

Living with the Dead: With Spring Comes the Fall

Living with the Dead: With Spring Comes the Fall by Joshua Guess

Joshua Guess 2010

ASIN: B004A14V7S

Available in e-book

 

The worst scenario in a zombie apocalypse: a.zombie's incessantly pounding at every entrance trying to eat your vital organs b.unending fear of your inevitable death or c.having to slice into the brain of the walking undead? Your answer would be wrong. Don't answer that question. Although all of those fears are truly horrific, nothing could be worse than having to fight, maim and kill your fellow human survivors for the right to live.

 

Josh is a die hard (sorry pun intended) zombie fanatic. He has read all the survival guides and watched every zombie movie made. When the epidemic started in Cincinnati, he was one of the only ones who saw it for what it was. Hell on here had arrived. For many people it ended quickly. For others, the term quickly was no longer applicable to them; they had been transformed into mindless zombies. Josh and his wife Jess had fortified their home and laid in wait for what they new was coming.

 

Scavenging, farming, killing, and back breaking labor is all josh and the collection of apocalypse survivors had to look forward to. When they thought they had moved forward at all, they ran into murderers, thieves, rapists, and cannibals. Then came the smarties, and we are not talking about a group of tasty treats….

 

This book wasn't all I was hoping for. I had read some great reviews and it came highly recommended, but parts of this book just stretched on and on. I loved the blog style writing to the book, and I know that the author tried to make it as authentic as possible, but I really think the repeating of certain things was, by definition, redundant. It made it hard in spots to continue to read.

 

The parts of the book that made me want to keep reading were often times glossed over because the blogger, Josh, was too worked up, stressed out, or distraught by the happenings. Zombies existed in this book that is titled "Living with the Dead", but the book itself really glosses over the zombie parts quite a bit until you learn of what becomes of these zombies. It captures your attention at the end, but for some, they may not have made it that far. So practice your patience, get out your zombie survival guide and prepare for the apocalypse…

Hush, Hush

Hush, Hush

Author Becca Fitzpatrick

SIMON & SCHUSTER publishing company,  year 2009

ISBN: 978-1-4169-8941-7

Available format: Paperback & ebook

What did I think of Hush, Hush…again. Well I can  say that I loved every second of it! I'm so glad that I  reread it, and read it in less then two days to boot!  Okay now on with my review…

Romance was not in Nora Grey's plans. She had never been attracted to any boy that went to her school, even with her best friend, Vee, pushing them at her. That is until Patch showed up. With his easy smile and deep dark eyes, that look deep down inside of her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgement. But after some terrifying events, Nora's life is turned upside down and she doesn't know who she can trust. And Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her then any of her closest friends. She doesn't know if she should fall into his arms, or run and hide. When she seeks out some answers she finds out things that she wish she hadn't…for she is in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those who have fallen- and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice could cost Nora her life.

Plot – ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ As you can see from the five stars I gave it. I totally loved the plot, and how it leaves you wanting more and more!

Writing – ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ I give the writing five stars because I loved and it was original, well to me anyway. I loved also that it wasn't chalked full of cliche, that's what really won me over…!

Characters – ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ What can be said about the characters, only that I totally loved them! I loved them all from Nora, Patch, Vee- even Marcie, Nora's archenemy! I know Marcie's not in the book that much, but she was the classic arch-enemy and every books got to have one!

Nora Grey – I liked that she was strong, but weak at the same time. I mean if you were face-to-face with a fallen angel who kill you with the snap of his fingers, wouldn't you be a little weak and afraid? Now she had her flaws, I mean who doesn't? The biggest of her flaws is that she doesn't listen to her instincts and puts herself in needless danger when she could have easily avoided it. Now you might be thinking "What is she talking about?" and then other's are probably be thinking "What needless danger?"

Patch – What can be said about Patch… Can you say, bad boy to the core? I loved him and that he was so arrogant and full of himself, but he didn't rub it in peoples faces- okay maybe he did that a little to Nora- okay maybe he does that a lot to her, but she was an easy target. You can tell right away that he's up to no good. He wants something from Nora, but just what does he want from a plain ordinary girl…?

Vee Sky – She was the typical best friend, always trying to fix Nora up with a guy, but Nora never really asked her to. It was both sweet and considerate, and annoying all at the same time!

Ms. D. Greene – I can't say much without giving to much away, but I'll just say two words and that will be the end of it…cold and withdrawn.

Elliot Saunders – I both liked him and disliked him. I thought he was sweet and your all bred american boy, but some how I found him sort of creepy…like he had something to hid.

Jules – Can you say uber creepy? I didn't like him at all and I think that what Becca F. was aiming for- mind you that is only my opinion.

Overall I would have to give this book ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ – no more and no less!

Review by Lura

A Mortal Glamour

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's "Mortal Glamour"

 

Author Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

This is the kind of story that makes horror such an engrossing genre to me. A Mortal Glamour is a tale of dark, fetid corners of the human soul, of sins left unpaid for and hatred ignored, until something ignites a character's potential for evil. This is horror in the vein of Hellraiser, Black Swan, and The Shining, horror about humans who might have supernatural help committing the evil they do, but the potential for that evil was always their own.

In France, just after the Black Death wiped out some 30 to 60% of Europe's population, a small convent of nuns receives a young sister named Aungelique. She took holy orders against her will and naturally goes about making as much of a nuisance of herself as possible, putting the convent's new Mother Superior, Leonie, to the test.

But then a strange man shows up in the convent, a seductive man, whom Aungelique is all too happy to welcome inside. Suddenly the convent crops begin to die, the farm animals to eat each other. The nuns see strange things in the night and begin going mad with fear.

A Mortal Glamour moves slowly, not following a straight narrative so much as wandering over each nun, and the priests and soldiers who visit them. This is not to say the book is dull. Rather, it takes the time to set each scene and character, to detail each injury and sin, so watching the cast slowly rot inside and out is that much more awful. You want to yell at the cast to do something, but whenever they do, it's almost always the wrong something. In particular, watch out for the coming of the Flagellants, a (actual historical) band of religious zealots that claimed the Black Death was God's punishment for human sins. They marched through the countryside with whips, torturing peasants to death in the most heinous ways they could devise until soldiers stopped them or their bodies gave out. Their first appearance in the book, while not bloody (at first), is terrifying.

A Mortal Glamour is not about action or torture porn. If you are interested in people and the depths the greatest of us can fall to, in the darkest parts of human history, in stories without heroes, this is the book you've been looking for. It's beautifully written and tense to the last page.

Review by Elizabeth Reuter

A Modern Witch

A Modern Witch by Deborah Geary

FireWeed Publishing 2011

ASIN   B004RZ2660

Available in e-book

Refreshing. Does that seem like the right word to describe a book about witches in today's world? Well, whether you agree with me or not, I'm sticking with the word. REFRESHING! I just went on an adventure with a troop full of witches – on of them not even able to tie his shoes yet. In the process, I met quite a few fun people, and wish that it didn't have to end.

Miss Lauren and her best friend, Nat, have quite the life built up in Chicago. It may be cold, but the windy city has been great to the two of them. Lauren is an untouchable real estate agent, and Nat is the yoga instructor everyone wants to see. They have been friends since high school and nothing is going to tear these two apart. Well, they thought nothing ever could, until one day Lauren was trying an online grocery shopping site when she was sucked in by Nell to an online witches website..

Nell is surprised, she and her brother Jamie had set this up in the hopes of bringing witches together from around the country to be able to chat with one another…So how did Lauren get here? Could she be an undiscovered witch? If so, she could be a danger to herself and to others. Jamie is now sent to the rescue! Turns out, the rescue routine isn't really needed, but a proper trainer is. Well, the next part gets a little complicated. Jamie is a great trainer and all, but once he figures out what he has on his hands, and at this point, it's more than just Lauren, Jamie calls in for some backup.

I am going to go back once again to the word "refreshing"….aaahhhh….it has been a long time since I read a book like this. It was a great story line, lots of fun, lots of learning and a lot of love. The characters in this book range from cute to lovable to charming to admirable. There is not an ugly, nasty witch in the bunch (unless you run into Lauren before her coffee) and there is no demons trying to steal anyone's souls.

You do get to see what a witch in today's world would be able to do with his or her talents, and learn what a family of witches may do for a living. Video games make a great occupation for the magically inclined it seems! So, if you are looking for soul sucking, vile monsters and the cauldrons bubbling with the blood of a virgin, do not pick up this book. It is not for you. If you are looking for a story about witches that you can read and your children can read, then this is definitely for you.

Pick up this book and you will find,

that not even a child will be left behind.

The story is grand,

and I give a great hand

As I will, so mote it be.

Review by Amy Eye

Dinosaur Planet

Dinosaur Planet by Anne McCaffrey

Del-Ray 1978

(ISBN13: 9780345319951)

Available in mass paperback, omnibus edition, and for the Kindle

I wanted to do some good, old-school science fiction, and one can hardly do better than some Anne McCaffrey.  Of course everyone knows about her world of Pern, but have you been to Ireta?

A scientific team of explorers go to a new planet to explore and look for ore deposits that make life for this future race of beings possible.  They explore planets all over the galaxy looking for metals that these people use to survive.  Only this planet, at first, doesn't seem to have anything they are looking for.  A biologist on the team, Varian, is in awe of the many varied species of life being discovered on this stinky planet (they had to use fancy nose plugs to block the stench for quite some time), but the most intelligent life on the planet she had discovered was were golden furred flying creatures she labeled "giffs".

All is going well for the diverse crew on Ireta, or so it seems.  In this universe, there are beings classified as ship-bred, light worlders, or heavy worlders.  The build of each is unique.  The gifts of each are unique.  But, the heavy worlders are by far the most removed group of the three.  Kai, the leader of the expedition, and Varian notice the heavy worlders are starting to act strangly.  Is it due to the effects of some rather new "distilled beverages" or could it just be their innate differences?

Things start to disappear and native wildlife is being killed or maimed.  What is truely going on?  What secrets is this planet hiding?  Nothing seems to add up and things are becoming deadlier by the day.  When the ships scientist reveals a truly remarkable and disturbing discovery about the wildlife on Ireta, the leaders will have to do some quick thinking.

As always with Anne McCaffrey's work, the writing is superb. There are a multitude of characters in this cast and it can become confusing at times if you aren't paying attention.  Some of the minor characters are quite forgettable, and I'm sure I have forgotten who they are even as I write this, but even the main characters still hold a bit of mystery for me.  Usually, by the time I finish a McCaffrey book, I have my favorites and characters I despise.  This isn't quite the case in this book.  We haven't learned as much about these characters as we usually do; you can tel this book was never made to be just a stand alone novel.  There are too many things left unanswered about our protagonists as well as our antagonists.

The plot took some time to build, and didn't really get going until the end.  The way it does end did leave me reaching for the sequel, it was quite the cliff hanger, and I'm not one to abandon a story by such a phenomenal storyteller just when things are getting good.  I know she has something astonishing waiting for me in Dinosaur Planet Survivors!!

Carnival of Fear

Carnival of Fear by J G Faherty

Graveside Tales 2010

ISBN: 978-0-9801338-9-9

Available in paperpack and e-book

Pick a fear, your worst fear. Is it vampires? Warewolves? Zombies? How about dealing with Hell? The Carnival of Fear has a fun house that promises to be the biggest and best scare you have ever had! Come on in…if you dare….

A small New York town is abuzz with excitement this Halloween. A carnival has set up shop overnight and the citizens are ready for some Halloween thrills and chills. No one is immune to the pull of having the pants scared off of them on this holiday, it's a tradition…it's your right…and you're going to have fun, even if it kills you. And, in this carnival, you may just want to die.

As in any high school, you run into the jocks, the nerds, the stoners, and the artsy kids. None of them hang out together, but they all have seen each other, picked on each other, and crushed on each other. None of these groups planned on spending any time with any of the "other" groups. That just isn't how things are done. They never knew that in the span of less than an hour, these groups will have suffered what seems an eternity together.

As midnight approaches, several kids from each of these groups enter into the Castle of Horrors with the Proprietor silently watching on. Once you enter, the kids learn, you cannot leave until you have visited every room in the castle. Every nightmare imaginable lays in wait inside the castle. The kids will enter eagerly anticipating a good scare. Soon after they will be running for the exit, screaming for their lives. Can they really survive all the Proprietor has in store for them?

Carnival of Fear has something for everyone's horror taste. There is blood, gore, dismemberment, and a special fear for just about everyone. I loved this book because it took me back to the good old days of horror. We see all of our favorite horror style characters in this book, and it kept me wanting to keep entering the next room, even though I knew I wouldn't be able to turn my bedroom light off for a while.

The book is written in parts, and each part is from the view point of one of the teenagers trapped inside the castle. This really helps you bond with each of the characters, and it helps you to be able to even like the characters you really thought would be the perfect person to be decapitated. All of these kids learn to work together and get past their differences if any of them are to survive. Unfortunately, some of them do not learn this lesson quickly enough.

This book is not for the squeamish. There are certain scenes that are quite brutal if you have a vivid imagination. Several times I was quite grateful I had chosen to read during the daytime. Otherwise, I would have NOT been sleeping for a while! I give this book 5 stars, and will definitely be picking this up again to make sure that there was nothing I missed! No tickets necessary for this carnival, but I guarantee one Hell of a ride.

-Amy Eye