prettylittlewriter

'Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fifth grade, when they bonded over a shared love of E.T., roller-skating parties, and scratch-and-sniff stickers. But when they arrive at high school, things change. Gretchen begins to act….different. And as the strange coincidences and bizarre behavior start to pile up, Abby realizes there’s only one possible explanation: Gretchen, her favorite person in the world, has a demon living inside her. And Abby is not about to let anyone or anything come between her and her best friend. With help from some unlikely allies, Abby embarks on a quest to save Gretchen. But is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?’

This was such a fun read. 

I loved diving into the 80’s era; the fashion, the roller skating scenes, amongst other things, really set the vibe and it felt very authentic!

The overall theme of the book is a mashup of some familiar things, like The Exorcist and Carrie, and it really feels very nostalgic to read. Although I wasn’t born until the 90’s, I’ve watched plenty of TV and movies from/about the 80’s, some of which blended into the 90’s, so it felt quite familiar to me.  I also loved that there were so many references to pop culture, such as Madonna, and certain songs/lyrics were threaded throughout the story, including a particular song that actually helped Abby during an incredibly difficult moment.

Abby and Gretchen’s relationship was cute, although Abby could be quite selfish on occasion, but you could clearly tell they were made to be best friends. It was a brilliant dynamic between them, and it was clear that Abby was desperate to help her friend, even when no one else could see that she’s wasn’t okay, and Abby was actually frozen out by a lot of people (Gretchen’s parents really pissed me off!).

The exorcism side of things was cleverly done also, I enjoyed the character of Christian, and although felt disappointed that he wasn't as good an Exorcist as we were first led to believe, it meant that Abby had her 'moment'. 

It’s the usual balance of Horror and comedy that you see with Grady’s writing, and in my opinion, it works incredibly well. I cannot fault a thing about this novel, I enjoyed it 1000% and will definitely be recommending it to plenty of people!

I can’t really say much else without fully going into details and spoiling it, so I’ll just leave you with the fact that it is wonderfully clever, and I am yet to be disappointed by one of Grady’s books!

5/5 stars

TRIGGER WARNING**

**This book contains some seriously fucked up situations, including rape of young teenage girls and the POV of a manipulative psychopath. If you may struggle with this kind of story, please do not read this book.

Thank you to Black Crow PR for allowing me to read and review and be part of the blog tour for this dark and cleverly sinister novel.

This book was a wild ride from start to finish. I really had no clue how it would pan out, and I went into it pretty blind n0t even reading the synopsis, so when we went into the mind of a sadistic and psychopathic rapist/killer, it really did shock me.

Although this novel was written by two people, you cannot tell, the story runs smoothly and coherently.  

We delve into the minds of a few characters, including Leslie, Dawn and Beau. Leslie is a strong and kind character, always trying to protect her sister Dawn, and knows her own mind when it comes to judging Beau and sticking with her own boyfriend even though her parents don’t approve.

Dawn was Beau’s puppet, a seemingly confident girl in every other aspect apart from when around Beau. Her character ARC was seriously impressive, and at the end of the novel, she becomes probably the bravest and strongest character of them all.

Moving on to Beau, the psychotic and incredibly entitled snob that every ‘high school’ seems to have (probably minus the psychotic though). He truly is probably the darkest and scariest character that I have ever read about; Weis & Astor have done an incredible job of creating a character that you cannot like in any way whatsoever; it doesn’t matter that his father is an arsehole and has probably suffered mental abuse, because whatever he may have experienced, does not justify any of his actions.

Most of the time his Father is telling him he cannot show his true side, and that he has a reputation to uphold (His father definitely knows most of what he has done before, especially involving the animals). His Mother is also not much help, seemingly an alcoholic, but this only occurred after an incident with Beau that scared her to drink.

Another part of the novel that I thought was incredibly well done was the paranormal side that included ‘The Woman in White’ and the rabid dogs that roamed the Abbey, a little bit of folklore which you’re not sure is real at the start, but as the novel comes to a close, you realise that it may be more believable than you think.

Without going into any further details in case of spoilers, if you enjoy delving into the mind of a psychopath, with some very dark and hard-hitting scenarios but with that YA-esque storyline to it, then this is the book for you (please note, this is not actually a YA book, this is 100% adult, with the storyline based in a school with teenagers at the forefront, which makes it have similarities to YA novels). 

As previously mentioned at the beginning, if topics such as rape or murder trigger you, do not read this book.

4/5 stars

‘In the summer of 1988, the mutilated bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town. The grisly evidence leads police to the terrifying assumption that a serial killer is on the loose in the quiet suburb. But soon a rumor begins to spread that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human. Law enforcement, as well as members of the FBI are certain that the killer is a living, breathing madman—and he’s playing games with them. For a once peaceful community trapped in the depths of paranoia and suspicion, it feels like a nightmare that will never end.
Recent college graduate Richard Chizmar returns to his hometown just as a curfew is enacted and a neighborhood watch is formed. In the midst of preparing for his wedding and embarking on a writing career, he soon finds himself thrust into the real-life horror story. Inspired by the terrifying events, Richard writes a personal account of the serial killer’s reign of terror, unaware that these events will continue to haunt him for years to come.’

This novel had me thrown completely. Chizmar has created such a believable and realistic story, convincing me as a reader, that this is indeed, a true crime story, and led me to googling it afterwards. Of course, this was definitely Chizmar’s intention for the novel, and it is incredibly well done. 

The novel starts with Chizmar giving us an in-depth look into his childhood; the games he used to play with his friends, his relationship with his parents, and many other little titbits. This initial section, although added to the ‘based on a true story’ effect of the book, I personally found it quite a slog to read as I felt that this level of detail just wasn’t necessary. I didn’t need to know that Richard used to thrown rocks at passing cars as entertainment, this actually made me dislike him slightly, and I almost gave up on the book during that chapter.

Once I got past that part of the novel, and the murders within the town started occurring, the story really opened up for me and I was gripped.

The murders were brutal, and the killer a mystery right up until the very end, with a twist that left me gawping at the book in my hands in disbelief. I really felt for the young girls that were murdered, and the family members left behind.

I’ve never seen a writer add themselves into a novel as a main character, never mind one that they have created as a true crime story, pictures and all. It’s incredibly unique and clever, and well worth a read for thriller/horror/true crime fans alike.

I won’t say anything else, except that if you’re a Stephen King fan, you will most likely enjoy this novel!

4/5 stars

 A slow burn full of intensely unnerving and eerily atmospheric horror.

Synopsis
'The trees are coarse and tall in the winter light, standing like men. Lauren and her father Niall live alone in the Highlands, in a small village surrounded by pine forest. When a woman stumbles out onto the road one Halloween night, Niall drives her back to their house in his pickup. In the morning, she's gone.

Lauren looks for answers in her tarot cards, hoping she might one day be able to read her father's turbulent mind. Neighbours know more than they let on, but when local teenager Ann-Marie goes missing it's no longer clear who she can trust.'

I managed to read this book in one day as I was desperate to finish it once I'd started. The main character of Lauren is a teenage girl filled with heartache and longing for a mum she doesn't remember, that she lost long ago. When she starts seeing a dishevelled lady in a dressing gown, but no one else seems to remember her, she starts to slowly unravel the secrets of her small tight-knit community. 

I never expected to get so emotionally invested in this novel, but I felt so bad for Lauren, and I wanted to protect her. There were certain scenes I found very difficult to read, especially the constant bullying Lauren has to endure from a school 'friend'.

Francine has created a story that keeps you guessing throughout; I certainly didn't see the ending coming, and was thoroughly impressed by it. 

I liked that it was a modernised gothic folktale, as usually gothic novels are historical, but the mention of Disney's Frozen and getting a local Aldi supermarket built brought a little extra familiarity to the novel. 

Overall, very impressed and definitely recommend to any gothic genre fans!

5/5 stars

 A brilliantly atmospheric and eerie ghost story.

‘Alone in the world, Elspeth Swansome takes the position of nanny to a family on the remote Scottish island of Skelthsea.

Her charge, Mary, hasn't uttered a word since the sudden death of her twin, William - just days after their former nanny disappeared.

No one will speak of what happened to William. Just as no one can explain the hypnotic lullabies sung in empty corridors. Nor the strange dolls that appear in abandoned rooms. Nor the faint whistling that comes in the night . . .

As winter draws in and passage to the mainland becomes impossible, Elspeth finds herself trapped.

But is this house haunted by the ghosts of the past?

OR THE SECRETS OF THE LIVING . . . ?’

I was so incredibly excited when I got the email asking if I would like to participate in the book tour for this highly anticipated novel. I’d had my eye on it for some time, so I jumped at the chance to take part!

The novel starts out with our main character, Elspeth Swansome, arriving at the isolated island of Skelthsea (just off of Scotland) to start a new job as Nanny to a young girl called Mary.

Elspeth discovers upon her arrival that young Mary has been through a lot in recent months, firstly losing her mother, then her previous Nanny Hettie abandoned her and her brother, William, and then poor William also died under strange circumstances.

As Elspeth gets to know Mary, even though Mary is mute and they can only communicate through body language and facial expressions, Elspeth grows very fond of Mary and forms a close bond with her.

Elspeth herself has had loss in her life, after losing her younger sister Clara, whom Mary often reminds her of.

There are many tales from the residents of the island surrounding the house she is living in, and the possible ghosts that live within.

As time goes by, Elspeth starts hearing strange whistling sounds, and footsteps in empty corridors. All is not as it seems at Iskar, and Elspeth is determined to protect Mary at all costs.

This is a wonderful historic ghost story with so many creepy gothic elements that make it a perfect read for spooky season. There is also an element of whodunit, as it is not clear from the offset that the death of William was truly an accident.

I truly felt a connection to Elspeth and Mary, and I so desperately wanted them to both be okay, and for Mary to let Elspeth in so she could protect her. Their relationship was a sweet one, with a true bond between them both.

I was not expecting the twist at the end, I already had a character in mind for the ‘baddie’, but I was wrong.

It took me longer to read this book than I expected, mainly due to the fact I was reading it late at night for all the spooky vibes but ended up almost falling asleep each time!

Netley’s writing is beautiful; she creates vivid imagery of the island and its characters, and the story gives me ‘Haunting of Hill House’ vibes.

Overall, I would highly recommend this spooky tale to anyone who enjoys a slow burn spooky story.

Thanks again to Ella Watkins from Penguin Michael Joseph for allowing me to read early and participate in the tour!

5/5 stars

An eerie, complex and brilliantly written historical ghost story.

Synopsis
Two years after the sinking of the titanic, high society has become obsessed with spiritualism. In Belfast, Ireland, William Crawford is a man of science and a sceptic, but one night with everyone sat around the circle of a séance, something happens that places doubt in his heart and a seed of obsession in his mind.

Are spirits really trying to communicate with him? Or is it just a load of parlour tricks?'

Only after I finished this novel did I realise that this was based on a true story! 

This novel had everything you could want in a ghost story, from terrifying descriptions of the ghosts (and the humans), to the uncertainty of whether Crawford was even really seeing these ghosts, if it was in his head, or if he was being hoaxed.

I was so impressed with AJ's writing, it was complex in places, but I could vividly picture each character and the places he described, and it was also incredibly intense in some places, especially in the third part of the novel. I also found it comedic in some places, with some brilliant one-liners from both Crawford himself, as well as other characters, such as Blithe.

I found that William was a very unlikeable character from the offset, he treats  both his wife and children unkindly, and sees himself higher up the social hierarchy than his peers, due to his engineering role and that he is a soon-to-be published author. My dislike of him took nothing away from the story however, it simply made it even more interesting to find out what would happen to Crawford.

Without going into too much detail as I do not wish to spoil the story, I was completely taken by surprise by the huge twist at the end. Awestruck and dumbfounded, I thought it was absolutely brilliant! Did not expect it all all, and thoroughly impressed!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I will recommend it to anyone that loves a a spooky story! 

5/5 stars

Synopsis 
'When librarian Sigrun falls head-over-heels for the sophisticated and very married Edgar Leyward, she never expects to find herself in his bed—or his heart. Nevertheless, when his enigmatic wife Octavia dies from a sudden illness, Sigrun finds herself caught up in a whirlwind romance worthy of the most lurid novels on her bookshelves. Sigrun soon discovers Octavia wasn't Edgar's first lost love, or even his second. Three women Edgar has loved met early deaths. As she delves into her beloved's past through a trove of discovered letters, the edges of Sigrun identity begin to disappear, fading into the women of the past.

Sigrun tells herself it's impossible for any dark magic to be at play—that the dead can't possibly inhabit the bodies of the living—but something shadowy stalks the halls of the Leyward house and the lines between the love of the present and the obsessions of the past become increasingly blurred—and bloody.’

I managed to squeeze this novel in as my last one of August, as its only 280 pages long, and I read it in a couple of days.  I went into it knowing it was going to be a thriller, but didn’t actually realise there was supernatural element to it until the novel was coming to a close. It was a great surprise, and the twist was very clever.

However, I did not enjoy this novel as much as I’d hoped. I found Sigrun’s character quite annoying at times, and I often had no sympathy for her, especially as she complained about Edgar’s wife Octavia, as she knew full well he was married when they met.

Parts of Sigrun’s personality becomes clearer as the novel progresses, as you realise that it’s not necessarily her own free will that is causing her to act this way, but I still had a bit of an issue with how she treated her friend that she worked with in the library.

I actually did like the character of Edgar, he seemed to be a very kind man, and I think he did care for Sigrun in his own way, even if there was more to it than met the eye. What he did for love, was very sweet, and he was incredibly devoted.

The twist at the end was definitely the best part, it was very clever and unexpected, and something I hadn’t seen before, which is why I am giving this a slightly higher rating than I would for the rest of the novel!

Overall a very interesting concept and story, just let down by it's unlikeable main character.

3.5/5 stars

Publication date; 25th January 2022

 I was very kindly gifted this ARC by Faber books.

'If everything in Amanda's life is so perfect, then why the mood swings, the obscene thoughts, the urge to harm the people she loves? What are those tapping sounds in the walls? And who's that woman following her?'

Come Closer by Sara Gran is a thrilling, horrifyingly brilliant story about a slow progression demon possession.

Told in the first person perspective, most of the horror within this book takes place within the mind of protagonist. This blends together elements of traditional horror with psychological suspense as we experience first-hand, what Amanda is going through.

As it is such a small novel (less than 200 pages) I was expecting it to be fast paced and to pack a punch.
However, it was more of a slow burn, with the steady progression of the demon taking over Amanda's life. This was in no way a negative however; it created more intrigue and an incredibly tense atmosphere. 

I really felt for Amanda; even before the Demon had started altering her life in a big way, her husband Ed, seemed to be quite selfish in my opinion, so he was never going to realise that something was seriously wrong with her. 

The small things that Amanda started doing, such as the shoplifting, was something I hadn't really seen with Demon possession before; with Amanda not realising what she was doing until afterwards, or the blacking out; it was really interesting to read.

The way Gran described some of the appearances of other demons that Amanda met along the way were ridiculously creepy; I could picture them quite vividly and it was not a pretty vision.

Without spoiling anything further, I would seriously recommend this novel. I will be sharing with my family and friends and encouraging them all to read! A brilliant, absolutely chilling horror novel.

Watch out for Come Closer, being published on 1st July 2021.

4/5 stars

If you're a horror fan, this book is for you.

M. J. Aldridge has created a dangerous and sneaky villain that evades everyone until the very end.

'When two people go missing and end up locked in a room together with no food, no water, and no escape, they realise that they have been kidnapped and left for dead.
The only item left in the room with them is a gun, with a single bullet inside.

Only one person can leave that room alive.

DI Helen Grace is on the case when a young girl appears; dishevelled, malnourished and full of terror. After hearing of the brutal situation she was in, and more bodies being found along with other survivors, DI Grace realises this is a serial killer with a passion for games and a deadly motive.

It's a race against time to solve the murders and put a stop to the game before too many bodies drop.'