Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Book Review #2: Frozen Charlotte, by Alex Bell

Frozen Charlotte, by Alex Bell

Title: Frozen Charlotte
Author: Alex Bell
Published: January 5th, 2015
Page Count: 352
Format Read: NetGalley PDF
Series: Red Eye
Genre: Young Adult Horror
Date Read: October 27th, 2015
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Recommendation: Recommended

Summary: Sophie and her friend Jay think it's innocent enough when it starts. What harm can a Ouija app on a cell phone do, anyway? But when the lights go out in the cafe and Sophie sees the figure of a girl in a long dress standing on one of the cafe's tables -- right before a woman starts to scream from the kitchen -- things take a dark turn. Can the ouija board, in fact, release something evil from beyond the grave? She's going to find out, whether she wants to or not!

My Thoughts: Let me tell you, it's been a long time since I read an entire book in one day -- including the little 70 page novellas I've downloaded free from Amazon. This book grabbed me, sucked me in, and held me until I read the last page. I came to the end shuddering with horror -- which is exactly what I like when reading a horror novel!

The book is atmospheric -- but then you might expect it to be, set on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It reminded me in some ways of stories like The Woman in White, The Good Son, and Orphan. When a book sucks me into the setting with its outstanding atmosphere, it's harder to put it down, and results in a faster, more entertaining read.

Considering that I'm making a concerted effort to read for pleasure at this point in my life, this book hit the spot!

I have to admit that I thought I'd figured the book out -- that it was something similar to My Sweet Audrina -- and I was waiting to be proven right. Ms. Bell successfully pulled me through to the very end without spoiling the results for me. How wonderful!

If you're looking for a spooky read, this is a great choice. It includes classic components of great horror: Atmosphere, an item commonly connected to phobias (dolls), excellent characters, decent writing, and a fast pace. The book never slows down, doesn't include unnecessary wordiness, and though written simply (for younger readers), the ease with which I read this encouraged me to continue by picking up the next book on my TBR stack -- tonight.

To note: The writing could do with some improvement. At times choppy, the flow in the beginning of the book requires some improvement, but it got better as the book went on. Either that, or I was so enthralled with it that I ceased to care. It's well-enough edited: Few grammatical errors and no spelling errors that I noticed. A copy editor could deal with some of the leaps in the novel, but they aren't significant enough to bother me -- and I'm a tough reviewer, in general.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This is my honest opinion of the novel.



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