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Dear Laura
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Every year, on her birthday, Laura gets a letter from a stranger. That stranger claims to know the whereabouts of her missing friend Bobby, but there’s a catch: he’ll only tell her what he knows in exchange for something...personal.So begins Laura’s sordid relationship with her new penpal, built on a foundation of quid pro quo. Her quest for closure will push her to bizarr
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And this is where I stand up on a soapbox and preach about indie/self-published horror fiction.
I don't know how I came to know about Gemma, I believe she submitted her collection, CRUEL WORKS OF NATURE to me for a review and I was very attracted to the grisly cover so I said, "YES PLEASE" and I also asked if she would send her book to our Night Worms crew of reviewers as well. She obliged.
That collection is AMAZING. I am forever singing its praises. Gemma Amor is so insanely talented. Not only d ...more
I don't know how I came to know about Gemma, I believe she submitted her collection, CRUEL WORKS OF NATURE to me for a review and I was very attracted to the grisly cover so I said, "YES PLEASE" and I also asked if she would send her book to our Night Worms crew of reviewers as well. She obliged.
That collection is AMAZING. I am forever singing its praises. Gemma Amor is so insanely talented. Not only d ...more
Video review: https://youtu.be/u6hG66NbGkU
Chapter 29, paragraph two...
Chapter 29, paragraph two, is some of the best writing I've come across. The rest of the book is great, but that one paragraph wrecked me. My highest possible recommendation. ...more
Chapter 29, paragraph two...
Chapter 29, paragraph two, is some of the best writing I've come across. The rest of the book is great, but that one paragraph wrecked me. My highest possible recommendation. ...more
Heartbreaking, tragic, horrifying.
This book is about lost lives, or more specifically: stolen lives and the price of not letting go.
I had seen other glowing reviews for this and had pretty high hopes, which were ultimately met, but what I wasn't expecting was something this layered. On its surface its a scary story in and of itself but underneath there's the sick desperation, the paranoia, the dashed hope, by the end of the story, which is only around a hundred or so pages, I was reeling. This ...more
This book is about lost lives, or more specifically: stolen lives and the price of not letting go.
I had seen other glowing reviews for this and had pretty high hopes, which were ultimately met, but what I wasn't expecting was something this layered. On its surface its a scary story in and of itself but underneath there's the sick desperation, the paranoia, the dashed hope, by the end of the story, which is only around a hundred or so pages, I was reeling. This ...more
Absolutely fucking awesome!
Dang! This book sure is a kick in the teeth. I picked Dear Laura up after hearing good things about it from people whom I trust know their shit when it comes to book recommendations. The writing is excellent, the characters authentic, and the prevalent gloom and despair that hangs over you as you read are suffocating. Dear Laura broods throughout, leaving you to feel dirty, angry, and a whole mother-load of other emotions. I finished this knowing that I'll be reading more from Gemma Amor in the
...more
OH.....K. Now this is a thriller!
Bobby is gone and even after 30 years, Laura wonders what became of him....why he got into the van....and who the BIG man was behind the wheel.
The annual coded letters began on her 14th birthday. He always wants something....nasty, personal and hurtful things. She must bring them to each mystery destination....mindful that he is always watching.
"If a woman falls in a forest and no one is around to hear....does she make a sound?"
A dark and haunting little 100
...more
3.5 Stars
This was an engaging novella that told a life story of lifelong obsession. The mystery letter writer was definitely a creepy persona that made for an uncomfortable, yet compelling read.
This was an engaging novella that told a life story of lifelong obsession. The mystery letter writer was definitely a creepy persona that made for an uncomfortable, yet compelling read.
Mini Review: Dear Laura is a well written novella of psychological horror. While the horror aspect was rather dim, it was certainly there in a psychological sense. I could feel the grief coming off Laura and could understand (although I didn't agree) her need to find out what happened to Bobby. There were a few disturbing moments (a little gore) but mostly this is a book about overcoming grief and laying the past to rest. If you're a fan of the book Penpal (which creeped me the heck out) then
...more
Dec 10, 2019
Lilyn G. | Sci-Fi & Scary |
added it
Note: Gemma reviews movies twice a month on Sci-Fi & Scary. However, I did not receive this book from her for review consideration and I will not be letting her contributor status influence the following review. Source for Dear Laura is Kindle Unlimited.
I was reluctant to read Dear Laura because, quite frankly, books involving human evil aren't really my jam. However, Gemma Amor is a great self-promoter and promoter of other people's work, so I decided to give it a read.
Dear Laura is a quick, ea ...more
I was reluctant to read Dear Laura because, quite frankly, books involving human evil aren't really my jam. However, Gemma Amor is a great self-promoter and promoter of other people's work, so I decided to give it a read.
Dear Laura is a quick, ea ...more
Review to follow...
![destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1557144778p2/15335689.jpg)
Another A+ creepy read from Gemma Amor, nobody is surprised here. 🖤 Seriously, though, I just think she's such a talented, brilliant author. This little story kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time, and the stakes felt so much higher than I expected them to based simply off of the synopsis. There's a lot more going on here than you realize at first glance. And that ending? Bittersweet, but flawless. I loved the time jumps between modern, adult Laura and her life as a teen, receiving thes
...more
I rarely read novellas...why...I have no idea! I think it’s because I’m afraid it’ll lack a lot of things: world building, character development, a satisfying conclusion, etc...
Well, luckily, I did not experience any of that with this novella. Even though this story is a short read it’s very powerful. I could really feel the emotions portrayed in this book. The grief. The rage. And the disgust. I felt it!!!
If more novellas are like this one: packed with a punch, short and to the point, then I w ...more
Well, luckily, I did not experience any of that with this novella. Even though this story is a short read it’s very powerful. I could really feel the emotions portrayed in this book. The grief. The rage. And the disgust. I felt it!!!
If more novellas are like this one: packed with a punch, short and to the point, then I w ...more
As soon as Gemma Amor announced the release of this novella, I instantly headed over to Amazon to purchase it. I am utterly hooked on her stunning and effortless stories. They are grim but deeply human, and quite reminiscent of Tim Lebbon’s early work. Between Amor, VH Leslie, Gwendolyn Kiste, Nadia Bulkin, Lucy Snyder, and so many more, the past few years have seen almost an embarrassment of riches when it comes to women writing horror.
I seriously need to gather myself before I can write a full review.
Does anyone cry when reading horror? I sure did with this one! Made my heart bleed!8/16/20
Update:8/17/20 I'm still feeling the heart punch!
This is a story that's going to stick with me for a very long time.
It is very dark and unsettling, delving into the darkness and evilness of humanity.
Two young lives and families forever affected by one man's heinous crime and control.
Two young lives lost, never to be regained.
Is there r ...more
Does anyone cry when reading horror? I sure did with this one! Made my heart bleed!8/16/20
Update:8/17/20 I'm still feeling the heart punch!
This is a story that's going to stick with me for a very long time.
It is very dark and unsettling, delving into the darkness and evilness of humanity.
Two young lives and families forever affected by one man's heinous crime and control.
Two young lives lost, never to be regained.
Is there r ...more
Dear Laura,
I hope this review finds you well. God, I don't even know how old you'd be now. I have just finished reading what happened to you inside those pages - Your friend Gemma Amor did such a wonderful job telling your story - and I was blown away. I knew instantly that I had to write you a letter, although I pray this one is better received than the many you received for all those years ( I'll use a stamp so you know its safe and no yellow envelopes, I promise!) so, here it goes. This is m ...more
I hope this review finds you well. God, I don't even know how old you'd be now. I have just finished reading what happened to you inside those pages - Your friend Gemma Amor did such a wonderful job telling your story - and I was blown away. I knew instantly that I had to write you a letter, although I pray this one is better received than the many you received for all those years ( I'll use a stamp so you know its safe and no yellow envelopes, I promise!) so, here it goes. This is m ...more
I honestly do not even know where to begin with this. Can I just say it was bloody brilliant and move on? Okay, okay... I guess I can say some more things about why I loved it.
Well, first of all... I have read a few things from Gemma Amor and the way she writes about loss and grieving is unlike anyone else. She can take those emotions and build any story around them I think. In this story, Laura loses her friend Bobby when they are young to a man i a van in the woods. And she never forgot it. Sh ...more
Well, first of all... I have read a few things from Gemma Amor and the way she writes about loss and grieving is unlike anyone else. She can take those emotions and build any story around them I think. In this story, Laura loses her friend Bobby when they are young to a man i a van in the woods. And she never forgot it. Sh ...more
After her best friend, and first boyfriend, is abducted, 14-year-old Laura begins receiving strange letters from a mysterious - and supremely creepy - writer identified only as X. Thirty years later, Laura braves the forest to finally put an end to the darkest chapter of her life and find out what ultimately happened to Bobby.
Gemma Amor has crafted a helluva potent novella with Dear Laura, one that is reliant on the all too real horror of a missing child and the perverted stalking of another. Am ...more
Gemma Amor has crafted a helluva potent novella with Dear Laura, one that is reliant on the all too real horror of a missing child and the perverted stalking of another. Am ...more
Loved it. Creepy. Pay back always has consequences.
Dear Laura pulls you in immediately and refuses to let go. I could have easily read this in one sitting. I wanted to read it in one sitting. Life had different plans, however. It usually does. In the end I was happy that it took me a few days to finish because I got to stay in this darkly alluring world for a little longer.
The premise itself is terrifying. Laura loses her best friend and boyfriend, Bobby, one day. He is kidnapped, never to be seen again. She was thirteen at the time, saw it happ ...more
The premise itself is terrifying. Laura loses her best friend and boyfriend, Bobby, one day. He is kidnapped, never to be seen again. She was thirteen at the time, saw it happ ...more
4 Stars
I'm so glad I finally got around to reading this novella. I've followed Gemma on Twitter for a long time and have meant to check out her work for such a long time because I've heard nothing but good things. They were right!
The last time Laura saw her friend, he was getting into a strange van. She's been haunted by his disappearance, but her world is rocked when she starts receiving disturbing letters from the man who claims to have taken him. He sends her a strange letter on her birthday ...more
I'm so glad I finally got around to reading this novella. I've followed Gemma on Twitter for a long time and have meant to check out her work for such a long time because I've heard nothing but good things. They were right!
The last time Laura saw her friend, he was getting into a strange van. She's been haunted by his disappearance, but her world is rocked when she starts receiving disturbing letters from the man who claims to have taken him. He sends her a strange letter on her birthday ...more
I'm doing 3.5 stars rounded up. I'm reading these five star reviews and scratching my head. I do think the story was interesting, but I felt like half the book was nothing but whining, which doesn't interest me. A murderer playing mail games with her, very cool. Sending him a tooth,used maxi pads, etc, was fun.the back and forth of her walking in the woods to past flashbacks, not so fun.
I also have so many unanswered questions. Why did he play with her for so long? Why did her friend willingly ...more
I also have so many unanswered questions. Why did he play with her for so long? Why did her friend willingly ...more
Dear Laura is a scary novella that certainly has that creeptastic feel! It has all the things you need in a horror book: fear, anxiety, grief, wondering what will happen next, hope, love, and more. There are lots of twists and turns to keep you turning the pages!
Synopsis: Every year, on her birthday, Laura gets a letter from a stranger. That stranger claims to know the whereabouts of her missing friend Bobby, but there’s a catch: he’ll only tell her what he knows in exchange for something...personal. So begins Laura’s sordid relationship with her new penpal, built on a foundation of quid pro quo. Her quest for closure will push her to bizarre acts of humiliation and harm, yet no matter how hard she tries, she cannot escape her correspondent’s demands. T
...more
I devoured this book in one sitting. Gemma captivated me with this story of a young girl that witnessed her friend get into a van and was never seen again. She started getting letters on her birthday from the abductor. He wanted something personal of hers in exchange for more information of her friend.
It was heart wrenching. Being 13 is hard enough. But watching your friend get kidnapped and then get targeted by the creep that did it? This poor girl.
I LOVED THE ENDING. I actually read the last ...more
It was heart wrenching. Being 13 is hard enough. But watching your friend get kidnapped and then get targeted by the creep that did it? This poor girl.
I LOVED THE ENDING. I actually read the last ...more
Dear Laura is one of those stories that you’ll have to clear your calendar for because once you start reading it you won’t want to put it down. A story about tragedy, obsession, and a mystery that, much like Laura, you will become heavily invested in, maybe against your own will.
This Bram Stoker Award nominee is well-written, perfectly-paced and keeps you guessing until the last couple of pages. The story doesn’t glorify the horrific crime or the perpetrator. Instead, it portrays the reality of ...more
This Bram Stoker Award nominee is well-written, perfectly-paced and keeps you guessing until the last couple of pages. The story doesn’t glorify the horrific crime or the perpetrator. Instead, it portrays the reality of ...more
This little book comes highly recommended and boy, does it pack a punch. It's just long enough to give the right amount of detail, without losing the the threads of story, which is very important in a novella. I read this in two sittings, one late at night, and then the next morning. It's that compelling.
The focus of the story is thirteen year old Laura, whose teenage boyfriend, Bobby, disappears from her life very suddenly. And then the letters start coming...
I'm not going to go into any more d ...more
The focus of the story is thirteen year old Laura, whose teenage boyfriend, Bobby, disappears from her life very suddenly. And then the letters start coming...
I'm not going to go into any more d ...more
Quid pro quo, you suffer, I suffer...
Rather suddenly, Gemma Amor - author of 2018's Cruel Works of Nature - has released a short novella circling our addiction to answers. On a personal level, this alone speaks to me deeply, as I am also the kind of person to obsess on the "why" of things. As such, Dear Laura immediately had me hooked, sitting upright or twisting in place (squirming for release, if you will), as I eagerly followed the story along. It's suspenseful, disturbing, and absolutely rea ...more
Rather suddenly, Gemma Amor - author of 2018's Cruel Works of Nature - has released a short novella circling our addiction to answers. On a personal level, this alone speaks to me deeply, as I am also the kind of person to obsess on the "why" of things. As such, Dear Laura immediately had me hooked, sitting upright or twisting in place (squirming for release, if you will), as I eagerly followed the story along. It's suspenseful, disturbing, and absolutely rea ...more
3.5⭐ rounded up
"Because once a secret has grown old, and burrowed itself like a tick under the skin, it is harder to dig out than she could fathom."
Dear Laura is the second book I've read by Gemma Amor, and her stories are always intriguing. Dear Laura has a fairly grim plotline, and it focuses on themes like guilt, grief, sadness, loneliness, and mental health. This is not a light read.
I was interested in seeing how everything would turn out, but I feel like a lot of the book was just waiting ...more
"Because once a secret has grown old, and burrowed itself like a tick under the skin, it is harder to dig out than she could fathom."
Dear Laura is the second book I've read by Gemma Amor, and her stories are always intriguing. Dear Laura has a fairly grim plotline, and it focuses on themes like guilt, grief, sadness, loneliness, and mental health. This is not a light read.
I was interested in seeing how everything would turn out, but I feel like a lot of the book was just waiting ...more
When Laura sees her best friend, Bobby, get kidnapped, her world is turned upside down. Then she gets a unstamped letter from a stranger, that calls himself X, saying he knows where Bobby is. Laura gets a new letter every year, on her birthday. The letters offer clues to Bobby's location in exchange for something of Laura's. This begins their relationship of quid pro quo and Laura's quest for closure.
I read this in one sitting after some starts and stops related to the beginning of the school ye ...more
I read this in one sitting after some starts and stops related to the beginning of the school ye ...more
I picked this book up today and tried to finish it in one sitting because I didn't want to stop reading. I settled for 2. The story grips you right from the very start. Laura is in an unfortunate and horrifying situation, plagued with guilt and abuse for most of her life. This was an excellent book by Gemma Amor and I can't wait to read more!
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I'm a horror fiction author, podcaster, artist and voice actor from Bristol, in the U.K.
I write for the wildly popular NoSleep Podcast and various other horror fiction audio dramas. I'm also writing, producing and acting in two shows, 'Calling Darkness', and 'Whisper Ridge', out in 2019. My first anthology of short stories, 'Cruel Works of Nature', was released in 2018, and my next book is the no ...more
I write for the wildly popular NoSleep Podcast and various other horror fiction audio dramas. I'm also writing, producing and acting in two shows, 'Calling Darkness', and 'Whisper Ridge', out in 2019. My first anthology of short stories, 'Cruel Works of Nature', was released in 2018, and my next book is the no ...more
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“Sometimes, all you could do was give in. Sometimes, you just had to let the night win. Lose the battle, win the war,”
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“Because once a secret has grown old, and burrowed itself like a tick under the skin, it is harder to dig out than she could fathom.”
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