Book Review #5: Flesh and Blood by Simon Cheshire

Title: Flesh and Blood

Author: Simon Cheshire

Published: March 2nd, 2015

Page Count: 336

Price (eBook): ~ $8.89

Format Read: NetGalley PDF

Genre: Horror

Date Read: November 6th - November 8th, 2015

Rating: 2/5 Stars
Recommendation: Not Recommended

Summary:  Sam Hunter's family has always struggled until his father, a musician, sells a song and suddenly they have millions of pounds to allow them to move to an affluent neighborhood. The family moves into a large house near an estate (in England, an "Estate" is like the American "Projects") and they meet their new neighbors, the Greenhills. But why does everyone they meet have a thin line of yellow mucous on their upper lips? And why do his parents seem so cheerful all of a sudden? Everyone around him seems strange, and Sam believes that the Greenhills must be up to something. He begins to investigate, using all of his skills as a journalist, but he never expects what he actually finds.

My Thoughts: Ugh. I hated it. Not so much as to give it a one-star rating, but this book was quite awful.

To begin with, the book starts out with several pages (I didn't count) of a massive info-dump that details the life that Sam and his family had before they moved, through to the journey to their new home, and details of how his father got the money. All of this information is redundant, and the reader doesn't need to read it in order to get into the book. This is the sort of thing that I hate in a novel and I hope that when I finally begin writing mine, I won't do this myself. 

I won't ever read another book by Simon Cheshire because of this one annoyance. It's death for an author in my books.

The second thing that bothered me is that the author made a show of being English. I've lived in England, and I know the slang pretty well as a result, but I felt like the entire book was anglicized to the point that it was difficult to read as an American. And I mean that it wasn't just an annoyance, but that I almost couldn't get through it because I had to use context to figure out terminology I hadn't encountered when living in England or enjoying British literature in books, movies, and television. 

This is the second book I've read with this problem recently. 

The story simply didn't make up for these things. It was an alright story, when it moved, but it didn't move quickly, and once the author reached the climax (another one who hit the timing right, so he gets kudos there!), the book actually slowed down again. Action around the climax was slow moving and, for me, boring. It didn't entertain and I wasn't impressed with it at all. 

I have to admit that the ending was something of a redeeming quality, as it was the best-written part of the book (maybe the author wrote this part first!) and it startled me more than most horror novels manage to startle me. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to save this book, and though it might have brought it from a 1 to a 2 star rating, I don't plan on reading something from this author again.

Not 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.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Book Review #4: The Beast of Barcroft, by Bill Schweigart

Title: The Beast of Barcroft

Author: Bill Schweigart

Published: November 17th, 2015

Page Count: 202

Price (eBook): ~ $2.99

Format Read: NetGalley PDF

Genre: Horror

Date Read: October 29th - November 6th, 2015

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Recommendation: Recommended

Summary: Ben McKelvie moves into a nice neighborhood in the suburbs with his fiance, but he doesn't realize that he's moving next door to an animal hoarder. Madeline feeds the wild animals, and her yard is unruly. Birds poop on Ben's car, rats infest the neighborhood whenever the lawn is mowed, and the yard is a pit. The neighbors complain about her property, but once she dies, animals begin to pick them off one by one. What is it that's stalking Barcroft, with its glowing eyes? Is it really the mountain lion, the rats, or a wolf? Ben and his little team of believers will find out!

My Thoughts: Another book that I enjoyed, I still must note that this book could still do with some editing and that I don't feel it's ready for publication on the 17th. The author is fond of the word "suddenly" and several actions appear to be very rushed, like Mr. Schweigart doesn't know quite how to make certain transitions (like a particularly awkward kiss in the middle of the novel).

In particular I was happy to see a lesbian couple in a novel, and to see their relationship treated as no more "outstanding" than a heterosexual relationship. I'd like to see more of this.

Both females in the book were strong, stand-up women with good heads on their shoulders (in completely different ways). Schweigart writes women the way that I like to read them, and these two didn't sit back for any man, no matter how chauvinistic both Ben and Richard behaved throughout the book.

The novel actually scared me (which is hard to do with the amount of horror reading I've done) and I jumped several times when interrupted during reading this book. While I'd hardly say that it's at the level of Stephen King (as the description suggests), it definitely frightened me, and that's what I'm looking for in a good horror book!

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.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Book Review #2: 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.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

I receive a small commission on purchases made through Amazon. If you click through my link and make any purchase on Amazon through this link within the next three days, I will receive a commission. This helps to support my book habits! I'd appreciate any commissions I can make through this blog. Thank you!