Saturday Book Review Catch Up – The End of Temperance Dare, Hauntings & Havoc, and Hot Vampire Next Door
Hey Bookdragons! With the holidays over the past couple weeks and an my impromptu cut back on blogging, I’m behind on a few reviews so I’m catching up on them all at once.
The End of Temperance Dare by Wendy Webb
Standalone, Supernatural Horror
ebook, Paperback, Audiobook, 316 Pages
June 6, 2017 by Lake Union Publishing
Blurb:Haunting and atmospheric, The End of Temperance Dare is another thrilling page-turner from the author reviewers are calling the Queen of the Northern Gothic.
When Eleanor Harper becomes the director of a renowned artists’ retreat, she knows nothing of Cliffside Manor’s dark past as a tuberculosis sanatorium, a “waiting room for death.” After years of covering murder and violence as a crime reporter, Eleanor hopes that being around artists and writers in this new job will be a peaceful retreat for her as much as for them.
But from her first fog-filled moments on the manor’s grounds, Eleanor is seized by a sense of impending doom and realizes there’s more to the institution than its reputation of being a haven for creativity. After the arrival of the new fellows―including the intriguing, handsome photographer Richard Banks―she begins to suspect that her predecessor chose the group with a dangerous purpose in mind. As the chilling mysteries of Cliffside Manor unravel and the eerie sins of the past are exposed, Eleanor must fight to save the fellows—and herself—from sinister forces.
My Review:This is my first read by this author, though I do have others on my kindle. It definitely won’t be my last!
The setting is atmospheric and is described in a way that allows the reader to feel as though they’ve stepped into the story.
The story is intriguing, from the prologue set in the perspective of what we assume to be an innocent little girl locked away in a tuberculosis sanitarium, a scary, awful setting that is heartbreaking to remember children actually were sent to back in the day. Then the story shifts to modern day and we follow Eleanor as she arrives at Cliffside Manor and slowly experiences the horrors of the house along with the fellows who arrive for the session.
A few of the twists I figured out early on and was surprised that Eleanor didn’t, while others truly did surprise me. I found this book hard to put down although at the end I felt the resolution was a bit quickly stitched up. It felt like things ended abruptly and that was slightly unsatisfying for me as a reader.
Overall, I really did enjoy this book and will definitely check out the author’s other books that I have on my kindle as well as the rest of her backlist.
My Rating:
.5
4.5 of 5 Stars!
Hauntings & Havoc by Stacey Rourke with M. Rourke and E. Rourke
Death Digger’s Handbook #6, Paranormal Fantasy
ebook, Paperback
October 17, 2022
Blurb:Haunted by the past, hungry for revenge,
Malaria Cain is slowly coming unhinged.
Luring her father out of hiding is her lone goal, even if the cost is her eternal soul.
Yet darkness stirs at Crane’s Roost Inn,
causing Malaria’s sanity to grow quite thin.
A malevolent entity seeks to block her escape,
preventing her return home from taking shape.
Will her need for vengeance be her downfall?
Or will she break the Crane family curse once and for all?
This was a quick, fast-paced conclusion to Malaria Cain’s story. We see her go from unhinged and unwilling to accept help to having her redemption in the end.
While it was an enjoyable read, like all of the books I’ve read by this author so far, I have to admit that I preferred the first three original Corpse Queen books in the series over Malaria’s story arc. I just didn’t like her that much as a character and I found her story a bit boring compared to Tempest’s.
Overall I liked the story for the most part and I’m glad I saw the series through to the end.
My Review:.75
3.75 of 5 Stars!
Hot Vampire Next Door: Season 1 by Nikki St. Crowe
Kindle Vella Series, Season 1 Collection of 3 (So Far), Spicy Paranormal Romance
Kindle Vella, ebook, Paperback, Audiobook, 134 pages
Paperback Edition Published December 4, 2021
Blurb:“Look at me,” he says. “Look at me when I touch you.”
It’s near impossible to ignore my vampire neighbor, Bran Duval, when he has a habit of shucking off his clothes while the blinds are up. He’s playing games with me, but I don’t mind a challenge.
Only problem is, I’m supposed to pledge myself to a rival vampire family and now all I can think about is Bran Duval, black sheep of the Duval vampire family, and the wicked things he’s promising to do to me in the dark.
NOTE: Hot Vampire Next Door is first and foremost a Kindle Vella serial. This version is a boxset of episodes 1-18. It is considered ongoing and does not have a scheduled end date. You can expect high heat, lots of twists, and a vampire who realizes he might be a little more protective of his little mouse than he first realized.
Please check the author’s website for CWs/TWs.
Move over Vicious Lost Boys, there’s another sexy villainous bad boy to love! My first introduction to this author was The Vicious Lost Boys series but I decided to check this one out after reading the author’s newsletter.
Hot Vampire Next Door is primarily a Kindle Vella series and is best read that way if you want to read the most recent chapters. The author has also combined the story into “seasons” which are in print or in kindle for those of us that prefer to read that way.
I devoured this book. It’s addictive, sexy, and unputdownable. It does kind of feel as if it’s taking a little inspiration from True Blood for example with the vampires and other creatures as well as the “special snowflake secret” of the main character, but that’s fine for me because I loved True Blood.
I read this book in one sitting and I can’t wait to go back in for more!
My Rating:
4 of 5 Stars!
