Tag: horror

Review: Her Dark Promises by E.H. Raven

~ likelystory18 ~ 2 Comments

Synopsis:

Stuck in a dead-end job and unable to afford independence, Jamila’s dreams of success fade daily. Desperate, she agrees to an arranged marriage orchestrated by her father, but it backfires, deepening her depression. 

She finds solace in horror movies about demonic possession, leading her to research real-life cases. Discovering some achieve success through dark means, she decides to summon her demon, hoping to change her fate. Possession grants Jamila immense confidence and success, but the dark alliance exacts a steep price.

The demon consumes her sanity, blurring reality and nightmare.

Can Jamila escape the darkness she unleashed?

Favorite Lines:

“Nothing I eat satisfies my hunger. This must be what stress eating is.”

“She recognized the tragic irony in humanity’s plight: their yearning for a better life had led them into an inescapable trap.”

“In her moments of clarity, Jamila realized the irony of her situation. She had sought possession to gain knowledge and power, but it was only in her damnation that she truly understood the depths of the world’s corruption. The knowledge she had gained was vast, but it came at the highest cost imaginable: her soul.”

My Opinion:

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion and just in time for spooky season to begin!

Can I start this review off by saying that something that really drew me in to this book was the cover alone. It was the perfect level of creepy and ends up fitting this book very well!

This story follows Jamila, a young woman who feels trapped in a mundane existence with a draining job who is unable to see a light at the end of the tunnel. To make matters worse, her father keeps insisting on an arranged marriage that she is less than thrilled about. To escape her reality, Jamila watches a lot of horror movies and becomes interested in real-life stories of people who have summoned demons. Taking inspiration from these stories, Jamila tries to summon a demon herself. What starts as a confidence boost for Jamila, quickly spirals out of control and readers follow along as Jamila fights a darkness as it begins to consume her.

I am a sucker for any psychological thrillers and this one did not disappoint – and it came just in time for spooky season! This is my first book by Raven and I loved the way that the world was set up only to have a purposeful tone shift once Jamila summoned the demon. Raven did a great job at setting up a terrifying and thrilling plot that had me on the edge of my seat. Throughout reading this, I regularly found myself picturing this on the big screen and think it could be a great plot for a scary, demon possession movie!

If I had to nitpick one thing, it would have to be the flow of the book. As some points, it came off as a bit choppy and could have probably flowed more smoothly from one scene to the next. However, I want to emphasize that this didn’t take away from the overall plot which I still found to be creative and interesting.

I wanted to put a trigger warning that this book does contain graphic violence, self-mutilation, sexual content, horror themes, and more and may not be suited for everyone.

Summary:

Overall, while this was my first book from Raven, I am confident that it won’t be my last. This was the perfect blend of creepy, thrilling, and addicting and I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of horror and psychological thrillers. Happy reading!

Check out Her Dark Promises here!

Review: Fireside Horror: The Wendlelow Mysteries by P.A. Sheldon

~ likelystory18 ~ Leave a comment

Synopsis:

There is a troubled town nestled on the border of Shropshire and Powys. Steeped in folklore, domain of ghosts, it is witch haunted Wendlelow. Pity those who dwell there.
Here is an collection of interconnected tales, ghostly, gothic and monstrous, so curl up by the fire, dim the lights, and prepare to be horrified.

Favorite Lines:

Rather than picking favorite lines, I thought it would be more appropriate to pick out a couple of my favorite short stories from this collection:  The Witch-Brands of Wendlelow and The Tunnel.

My Opinion:

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

I grew up with Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, so you know I was excited to read this collection of mysterious and creepy stories. Spoiler: I was not disappointed. Sheldon brings a unique twist to both classic legends and new supernatural tales alike in this collection of short stories.

I chose to read this collection at night to really get in the mood for the creepy tales and I found myself having to turn a couple extra lights on! As an American, I am not very familiar with the area that this takes place in, near Shropshire and Powys, but they are real places and I imagine that if you are local, this book will have you nostalgic and maybe a touch paranoid. Nonetheless, being a local isn’t a prerequisite for enjoying this book as I certainly devoured it in one sitting.

I found that the tales were very well written and, as I had mentioned previously, Sheldon did a great job putting a unique spin on each plot. I was turning page after page and fully invested from start to finish. I hope that there are more to come for this collection in the future!

Summary:

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I will certainly be reading it again closer to Halloween – but I’ll maybe make sure to leave some lights on…If you’re a fan of thrillers, horror, suspense, mystery, and the supernatural, then this book could be for you!

Check out Fireside Horror: The Wendlelow Mysteries here!

 

Review: The Exorcism of Adolf Hitler by Connor Gunnin

~ likelystory18 ~ 1 Comment

Synopsis:

 It is March 1938 and Nazi Germany has plans for war. But it doesn’t have to happen. Can one exorcism change history?

When Werner Stengel entered the Nazi fold, he was a young Catholic priest. World War I had ended in defeat. He was desperate and loyalty to his country pushed his faith aside. It seemed Adolf Hitler had the answers Germany needed. But as Stengel watched Hitler’s rise, his skepticism grew. Was something more than evil at play? Something demonic?

Now, as Minister of the Interior, and with Germany’s plans for an even greater war in motion, he’s reached a critical point. Stengel’s small, loyal team of conspirators has just kidnapped the Nazi leader. They suspect Hitler is demonically possessed, but what they find is darker and more horrifying than they could have imagined.

The Rite of Exorcism may reveal the truth…if they survive. Can their plan actually prevent a second world war? You’ll love this chilling supernatural thriller because the clever melding of horror, historical events, and unholy possibility by Connor Gunnin will keep you hooked until the end. Get it now.

Favorite Lines:

“The weariness and humility sewn into her face made her beauty feel earned.”

“We exorcised a demon but unleashed a monster.”

“Because to him, faith was not about evidence. He taught her that if
people all had proof, there would be no test, no purpose, and ultimately, no redemption.”

My Opinion:

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

I must admit that when Gunnin contacted me about this book, I read the title and thought to myself that there was no way this wasn’t going to be satire despite Gunnin reassuring me it was a serous tone – I was quite wrong.

This story explores a creative blend of history and horror, presenting readers with a creepy what-if scenario that I found to be both disturbing and addictive. Without giving any spoilers away, this book is as the title suggests – it presents the possibility that perhaps Hitler was not “human evil” but rather, was demonically possessed.

Gunnin did a great job at both world and character building. I also thought the mix of history with horror was really unique and only added to the world building. I could definitely see reading this around Halloween with the lights dimmed in order to be thoroughly creeped out and I could also most definitely see this being on the big screen someday.

Summary:

Overall, if you are a fan of horror, historical fiction, and thrillers especially of the supernatural variety then this book could be for you. Happy reading!

The Exorcism of Adolf Hitler

 

Review: Early Adopter by Drew Harrison

~ likelystory18 ~ 4 Comments

Synopsis:

The Price of Tomorrow, Paid Today

“Early Adopter” is a collection of short stories from the edge of human progress. Eight stories hold dark mirrors to our own world… experience thought-provoking sci-fi, technologic tragedy, and pulse-pounding thrillers.

To Run Again: Dr. Laura Brandie is ready to change the world.
She’s the lead researcher behind the KSE, a revolutionary cure for paralysis and neurodegenerative conditions. And now, by good fortune, she’s found the perfect candidate for her first human trial: a man who suffers from locked-in syndrome.
Brett Harmon’s paralysis is total: he can’t move his arms, legs, torso, neck, or face. To the outside world, he’s little more than a statue that breathes… but Dr. Brandie’s KSE might be the miracle that allows Brett to run again.

Homonoia: The world faces an unprecedented alignment of catastrophes and failing systems, far too intricate and interconnected for any human to solve. Frank Burman joins with seven other volunteers for Project Homonoia–a radical, last-ditch effort to postpone the apocalypse. Separate minds link to form one multidisciplinary consciousness, the world’s first human superorganism… a hive mind. But with the world’s health rapidly failing, can Project Homonoia work out its kinks in time to make a difference?

Early Adopter: A loner enters into a relationship with a new type of partner: an AI agent, programmed to be the “perfect companion.” Sure, it’s all self-deception and a game of pretend, as she’s not actually real… but where simulated consciousness is concerned, maybe the lines between real and real enough can get blurry.

And many more!

Favorite Lines:

“A notification on the bottom corner of your screen shows Larry sent you a link. ‘It’s a list of psychological clinics in your area,’ Larry explains. ‘You should check into the nearest one and explain to the labcoats there that you just did the most braindead thing a man’s ever done, intentionally uglifying your partner.'” 

“…sidestepping outside your own normal head is the best way to acquaint yourself with the lens you see reality through.”

My Opinion:

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

When Harrison requested a review for this book, it was described to me as a collection of short stories with an overall tone similar to Black Mirror. As a fan of Black Mirror, I knew I needed to check it out and I was not disappointed. I am a sucker for a good science fiction with a twist type of story and this collection was a creative collection that touched on a variety of thought provoking topics that hit a bit too close to home and were chilling in how close we are from that type of reality.

This was overall a very well written collection of stories. Harrison does a really good job at world building and I found myself constantly at the edge of my seat torn between wanting to close the book and not being able to turn the page fast enough because of all the suspense and twists and turns.

My two favorite stories in this collection were To Run Again and the name sake of the collection, Early Adopter. To Run Again centers around the story of a researcher who proposes a cutting edge treatment for neurodegenerative conditions. As the first short in the collection, this one really set the tone for how the rest of the series would go. The ending left me thoroughly creeped out but still wanting more. Early Adopter reminded me of the movie Her where the main character has a romantic partner that is programmed to be a romantic companion. This story had me pondering ethics that I haven’t had to really think about before and I found it to be very thought provoking and even a bit sad.

Summary:

Overall, I really enjoyed this collection. Harrison did a fantastic job at shining light on too-close-for-comfort alternate realities that left me thoroughly disturbed in the best way possible. If you’re a fan of fiction, thrillers, suspense, sci-fi, and mirrored realities similar to Black Mirror, then this book could be for you. Happy reading!

Early Adopter