Hell Followed With Us 
By Andrew Joseph White
[Review]

Print Length: 416 pages
Publisher: Peachtree Teen

Release date: June 7th, 2022

Purchase link here: Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph : 9781682633243 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

Synopsis

Prepare to die. His kingdom is near.

Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him—the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can’t get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the bioweapon they infected him with.

But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC. The ALC’s leader, Nick, is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and he knows Benji’s darkest secret: the cult’s bioweapon is mutating him into a monster deadly enough to wipe humanity from the earth once and for all.

Still, Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens, as long as Benji can control the monster and use its power to defend the ALC. Eager to belong, Benji accepts Nick’s terms…until he discovers the ALC’s mysterious leader has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own.

A furious, queer debut novel about embracing the monster within and unleashing its power against your oppressors. Perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth and Annihilation.

My Review 

The very first thing I am going to write about this novel is how hard it is to write a review on a book as good as this, I am rightly afraid of not being able to do the story justice.

I'm going to put this out there, this is the BEST book I have read so far this year, in just 398 pages, Andrew has managed to build a whole dystopian earth filled with deeply thought-out characters with motives you can only guess at. This story has plenty of gore and violence but still manages to be brilliantly beautiful in its description. Right anyway, I'll get to the main part of the review.

The story is told from two different perspectives: Benjamin and Nicholas.

Benjamin and her father are running away from the religious cult that absolutely dominated the world. The Flood destroyed the past civilisation and now people are running towards whatever or whoever can save them. The very cult that Benji is running from is desperate to get him back, Benji is their ultimate weapon, and they will destroy anything or anyone to get Benji into their possession again.

This story whilst filled with blood, guts, monster and hate which is spread across these wonderful pages, also leaves you with a great sense of hope and Queer pride which poured into my very soul. You cannot deny the talent that Andrew possesses, he draws fantastic and terrifying parallels between this dystopian horror-filled world with the very one that we are currently living in.

This book provokes you to really think about what it is that makes a good person. It's not enough for a person to have done good things but it's also about imperfect people embracing the darkness that lurks within and using that very darkness for good. I have never read a book as gruesome as it is beautiful like this one and I cannot wait for Andrew's next book.

This is more than just an LGBTQ+ horror story, it's a story about humanity and all the horrors that are born and spread through us.

About The Author

Andrew Joseph White  is a queer, trans author from Virginia, where he grew up falling in love with monsters and wishing he could be one too. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University in 2022 and has a habit of cuddling random street cats. Andrew writes about trans kids with claws and fangs, and what happens when they bite back.

Follow Andrew on Twitter: @AJWhiteAuthor

Find out more about Andrew: www.andrewjosephwhite.com

 Curse of Grief Hollow: Sour Roots 
By Shawn Burgess
[Review]

Synopsis

Roger and Gertrude Davis enjoy an idyllic existence in the small Appalachian town of Harper Pass. With vast landholdings, a successful business, and love for the family they’ve built, they’ve avoided the suffering The Great Depression has wrought on the area until it all comes crashing down on a sweltering summer day in 1932.

With the twin daughters they dote on gone missing and ominous signs of foul play evident, a suspect quickly emerges. But not everything is always what it seems. Amidst the murder, madness, and mayhem, they soon learn there’s blood to pay when the past comes calling.

Review

A wonderful beauty of a horror novel, perfect for all those desperate to sink their teeth into something dark and nefarious.

Shawn Burgess introduces us to the idyllic town of Harper Pass and it's looming dark secrets of Grief Hollow. The Davis family appear to have it all, a successful business, a happy marriage and two twin girls to show for it. Nobody realised that a curse within their perfect small town was about to bring an end to all of their happiness. The twin girls Myrtle and Thelma are typical children who feel they want an adventure out of their allowed boundaries, but when they don't return home after taking a visit to the forest, the whole town is on the lookout, and most importantly they're after someone to blame. 

Shawn does a fantastic job of keeping you gripped and wondering where the story will take you next, he gives you the answers to what founded this cruel curse that haunts the Davis family and sets you up perfectly for the next book in the series. 

Shawn intertwines a story full of secrets with horror that will keep you in it's grips until it's completely ravaged you. This story had me so hooked as with it's vigilante justice and racism, it made this story feel all the more real and terrifying. 

Purchase your copy here

About The Author

Shawn Burgess is a dark fiction author (thriller, horror, mystery & urban fantasy). He has a BA in English from the University of Florida, and focused on literature for his postgraduate studies at the University of North Florida. His travels have taken him to most parts of the country, where he often draws inspiration for his stories through meeting interesting new people and experiencing unique places. Beware! If you find yourself behaving curiously
within the crosshairs of his vision you might end up on one of his pages.

Click here to find out more about Shawn Burgess 

Follow Shawn on Twitter: @shawnbinjax

The Beach House
By Beverley Jones
[Blog Tour]

Print Length (paperback): 272 pages
Publisher: Constable
Publication Date: 21 April 2022

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

The beach house was perfect place to hide. Or so she thought . . . 

When Grace Jensen returns to her home one day, she finds a body in a pool of blood and a menacing gift left for her.

The community of Lookout Beach is shocked by such a brutal intrusion in their close-knit neighbourhood - particularly to a family as successful and well-liked as the Jensens - and a police investigation to find the trespasser begins. But Grace knows who's after her. She might have changed her name and moved across the world, deciding to hide on the Oregon coast, but she's been waiting seventeen years for what happened in the small Welsh town where she grew up to catch-up with her.

Grace might seem like the model neighbour and mother, but nobody in Lookout Beach - not even her devoted husband Elias - knows the real her. Or how much blood is on her hands.

My Review

The Beach House jumps straight into a mysterious start when Grace finds a bloodied body in her house. Grace appears to be in shock but what the police fail to realise is that this isn't the first time that things have gotten bloody in the presence of Grace. The book flips from the present time when Grace is living in Lookout Beach in Oregon to Grace's childhood in South Wales, where in another life Grace spent her childhood sharing the local legends with her friends. Beverley does a fantastic job weaving the past and the present into one storyline, keeping you constantly on your toes wondering what secrets Grace has hidden away.

Growing up Grace had a small group of friends who would often pass the time sharing the local welsh legends, but when a new girl appears on the scene, things take a drastic turn and Grace's world is thrown upside down.

Grace hides away from her past by running to Lookout Beach in Oregon, where she manages to create herself in the image she wishes, but the secrets refuse to stay hidden and someone is desperate to make Grace confront her past.

I absolutely loved reading about Grace's childhood, Beverley does a wonderful job describing the perfect Welsh scenery and local legends that I grew up loving myself. It was really refreshing to read a book that really puts Wales in the spotlight and Wales is incredibly lucky to have an author like Beverley Jones to represent them.

This book is the perfect nail-biting suspense novel which every mystery lover will find unputdownable.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Karen who gifted me a copy of The Beach House in return of an honest review for the blog tour.

Karen is a book blogger from Wales and is an ambassador for Welsh authors. Find Karen on Twitter at @bookertalk or visit Karen's blog at www.bookertalk.com

Don't forget to check out the upcoming reviews from the following bloggers.

About The Author

Beverley Jones (B E Jones) is a former journalist and police press officer. She was born in a small village in the valleys of South Wales and worked as a print journalist with Trinity Mirror newspapers, before becoming a broadcast journalist with BBC Wales Today.

She also worked as a press officer and media manager for South Wales Police, participating in criminal investigations, security operations, counter terrorism and emergency planning. She channels these experiences of true crime, and her insight into the murkier side of human nature, into her dark, psychological thrillers.

Her most recent novels, Where She Went, Halfway and Wilderness are published by Little Brown. Wilderness has recently been optioned by Firebird Pictures for development into a six-part TV series by Amazon Prime, due to air in 2023. 

You can follow Bev on Twitter and Instagram @bevjoneswriting 

The Triangle (The Rise Trilogy) Book #1 by Robert P. Ottone - Review

The Triangle 
(The Rise Trilogy) - Book #1
by Robert P. Ottone 
[Review]

Print Length (Paperback) - 244 pages
Publication Date - 5th April 2022 

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

The world, as we know it, is over. Sea level rise has all but finished off life on Earth.

Born with a gift for engineering and technology, Azlynn and her father Merrill spend their days running a small shop in the flotilla community of Coral Cove. They scavenge shipwrecks, sunken vessels, and what precious little remains of the world before the planet drowned. With her best friend Ellis, they do their best to support their community, while struggling to survive.

When a group of scouts sent by The Order, a mysterious and powerful northeastern cabal, goes missing in the nearby Bermuda Triangle, Merrill is tasked with finding them. Unbeknownst to him, Azlynn and Ellis have snuck aboard to join in on the mission to find out what lurks within The Triangle. The ancient, cosmic truths they discover may be more terrifying than they ever imagined.

Review

An absolute gem of a story that will be every young adult's perfect horror read.

As a person who loves reading, horror and the ocean, what could possibly be more perfect than a horror novel set in the chaotic world of the ocean? 

The main star of the show is the wonderful Azlynn, who is a typical teenager who just so happens to be extremely talented at engineering. Azlynn is a funny and sarcastic teenager who likes to push the boundaries as much as she can which happens to lead her to a whole new world of which she is somehow part of. Azlynn lives at home with her dad and loves him the most in the world, their relationship is so wholesome and you really get a feeling for the love that they share for one another. 

Then there is the brilliant Ellis who stands to be the voice of reason and always tries to keep Azlynn on the straight and narrow but is somehow always pulled into the danger that seems to have some kind of magnetic pull on Azlynn and her family.

Robert's writing is absolutely stellar, the words flow right off the page and into your soul. He's able to create characters that are not easily forgettable and manages to pull at all the right heartstrings whilst giving you a fantastic visceral image of blood, guts and gore. What else can a horror lover ask for?

If you love horror, post-apocalyptic, coming of age novels then this is absolutely perfect for you!

About The Author

Robert P. Ottone is the author of the horror collection HER INFERNAL NAME & OTHER NIGHTMARES (an honorable mention in THE BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR VOLUME 13) as well as the young adult dystopian-cosmic horror trilogy THE RISE.

His short stories have appeared in various anthologies as well as online. He’s also the publisher and owner of Spooky House Press.

Robert is also an English as a New Language teacher, as well as a teacher of English Language Arts. He can be found online at SpookyHousePress.com or on Twitter/Instagram (@RobertOttone). He delights in the creepy and views bagels solely as a cream cheese delivery device.

 The Ghost Ship Mary Celeste
by Marie-Louise Gregory and illustrated by Nicola Brooks
[Review]

My Daughter's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

History fan Sophia Slewfoot is a budding amateur detective who loves nothing more than curling up with a good whodunnit or, even better, finding a real life mystery to unravel. Join Sophia, her best friend Betty and her beloved Beagle Toby, as they embark on amazing adventures to solve some of the many mysteries which, throughout history and even to this day, have otherwise remained unexplained…

Sophia Slewfoot is an ordinary ten year old girl, but today is not an ordinary day. Today is the day that Sophia makes an extraordinary discovery which catapults her into a world of excitement, intrigue, adventure and mystique.

What happened to the Victorian ghost ship, the Mary Celeste? Was it magic or malevolence of some kind which caused the crew to disappear? Can Sophia solve the mystery that has baffled some of the world's greatest minds over the last century? Can she somehow even save the day?!

Delve into myth, legend, fact and more than a little fiction, to accompany Sophia on the very first of her history's mystery-solving missions.

Review 

My 10 year old daughter was very kindly gifted a copy of The Ghost Ship Mary Celeste for her birthday and has given me some lovely feedback which I wanted to share.

My ten year old is fascinated by history and loves to learn new things about past events and so she was absolutely delighted to receive a copy of this novel as she had already learned all about this mysterious ghost ship. My ten year old is not unlike myself and enjoys a good detective novel but we often find it hard to get a book which really captivates her attention for a lengthy period of time. 

This book managed to keep her attention very well and my daughter particularly found Sophia interesting and enjoyed the similarities between them both, I think it really helped her identify with amateur sleuth detective 10 year old Sophia Slewfoot. 

Sophia Slewfoot has just moved into a historic house built in the 1700's and discovers that the house has plenty of charm and secrets for Sophia to discover. My 10 year old was easily sucked into the magical whirlwind of a story that allowed my daughter to feel like she also time travelled besides Sophia. 

This is a perfect book for 10-12 year olds that will have them eagerly awaiting to find out the secrets that the adventures have to discover. Sophia is a very relatable and amusing character which allows children to easily relate to. Myself and my daughter recommend this book to any history loving child! 

Purchase links here:

Amazon|BookDepository

About The Author

Marie-Louise Gregory - Author

Having always enjoyed curling up with a good book, especially old-fashioned mystery and adventure stories, Marie-Louise studied English Literature at Leeds University.

Marie-Louise’s passion for language, literacy and traditional storytelling prompted her to write the part-fact, part-fiction ‘Sophia Slewfoot Solves History’s Mysteries’ series (https://sophiaslewfoot.co.uk/), with which she hopes to challenge, inspire and entertain a new generation of mystery- and history- loving bookworms.

When she is not reading or writing, Marie-Louise enjoys indulging in food and wine, walking the dog, and taking horse-riding lessons with her daughter and friends.

Nicola Brooks - Illustrator 

Nicky Brooks grew up in a small town in South Cheshire.  Following periods living in Birmingham and Manchester, Nicky returned to Cheshire where she now lives with her husband, two daughters and playful Labradoodle.

 

Nicky studied Printed Textile Design at UCE Birmingham, which led to a career in fashion buying that saw her travelling the world.  When she became a mum, Nicky chose to retrain as a Teaching Assistant, enabling her to spend more time at home with her children.  Nicky has found being a Teaching

Assistant to be hugely rewarding. Helping primary aged children to learn and grow has given Nicky an invaluable insight into what motivates children, which has been inspirational in her illustrations.

When not working or illustrating, Nicky enjoys being creative around the house and garden.  She also loves family outings to the beach, socialising with friends, walking her dog, Rusty, and attending ballet classes.

 Say Her Name by Dreda Say Mitchell 
&
Ryan Carter - Review

Print length: 316 pages
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication date: 1/04/2022

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

In this chilling thriller from the bestselling authors of Spare Room, one woman just wants the truth about who she really is. But she’s not the only one looking…

It’s twenty years since Eva, a biracial woman, was adopted as an eight-year-old, and Cherry and Carlton ‘Sugar’ McNeil have always been the only parents she’s wanted or needed. But when she’s dealt the double blow of Cherry’s death and her own suspension from work, Eva decides it’s time to discover who she was before she was theirs.

Against Sugar’s advice, Eva joins a DNA database, desperate for a match that will unlock her identity. And when a positive hit comes, she’s excited to learn there are relations out there who might hold the key. But the closer Eva gets to uncovering her past, the more it appears someone is trying to stop her finally finding the truth…

As she continues to dig, Eva is drawn into a dark and merciless underside to society, where black women disappear without a word. Names erased from history, no search parties, no desperate pleas for their return. Once, someone tried to save Eva from all this. Someone wanted a better life for her. But now that she’s torn down the facade of her life, has she come too far to be spared again?

Review

The story begins with Eva burying her adoptive mother. It is clear from the beginning that Eva's relationship with both her adoptive mother and father was a good one, Eva holds the highest respect for her adoptive parents but especially for her former police officer father called Sugar. What I really enjoyed about this story was how big of a part race played into the story. Her father became a policeman at a time when that opportunity for a black man was incredibly unlikely to achieve but against the odds, he was successful and was able to help instil Eva with confidence in her own beautiful skin colour. 

The story explains that Eva had a troubled past in a children's home where she was mistreated and subjected to horrific abuse at the hands of those who were supposed to care for her. Eva has spent her life ensuring that she doesn't end up as just another failure in the care system but becomes a doctor, a job of which she is very proud but finds herself in a tough spot when she is suspended. 

A big issue for me in this story was the lack of character depth, Eva's husband Joe was supposedly her rock, yet nothing in the story really highlights this. One moment Joe is supportive, the next he is shifty and then all of the sudden everything is great again. Despite Joe being described as Eva's confidante and true love, you really don't see her relying on him or even communicating with him much at all. 

When Eva finds her birth father through a DNA test, she also unexpectedly finds herself a half-sister Miriam with whom she instantly befriends. Eva is aware that there is more to Miriam than what meets the eye but she enlists the help of her birth father and half-sister to find her biological mother but in doing so, Eva finds not just dark secrets but also finds herself in immense danger. 

I loved the storyline for this book, I particularly enjoyed the fact that this highlighted how differently people from an ethnic minority group are treated when being considered a victim of a crime and how they are underrepresented when they have gone missing etc. This is clearly a very important message this book is sending out and it's something that is crucial to change and for that part, I feel this book did a great job.

The main letdown of this book is the lack of character development, Eva is supposedly an intelligent doctor but makes decisions that I would hope no doctor would, she comes across as extremely naïve which I think is bizarre when she has gone through so much in her life, she is easily manipulated and has extremely poor decision-making skills. I also feel like Joe is a pointless character, who really doesn't develop any depth whatsoever. 

Another issue is the twists in the book are extremely predictable, the story is enjoyable enough as I really liked the whole background set-up and the message that it was trying to portray but nothing was shocking about this whole book, I knew where it was going from the start and I think it needed something extra just to put a little suspense into this book. 

Overall, the actual story is a great one even if it was obvious as to where it was leading, Eva is a likeable character despite my frustrations with her naivety and raising awareness on how ethnic minorities are treated by the government, media and everyday people in cases where a serious crime may have taken place. 

Amazon purchase link: here

About The Authors

Dreda Say Mitchell & Ryan Carter

Her Majesty, The Queen appointed Dreda an MBE in her 2020 New Year’s Honours’ List. Dreda scooped the CWA’s John Creasey Dagger in 2004, the first time a Black British author has received this honour. Dreda and Ryan write across the crime and mystery genre – psychological thrillers, gritty gangland crime and fast-paced action books Spare Room, their first psychological thriller was a #1 UK and US Amazon Bestseller. Dreda is one of twelve acclaimed and bestselling international female writers contributing to a new Miss Marple anthology. Dreda is a passionate campaigner and speaker on social issues and the arts. She has been a frequent guest on television and radio including BBC Breakfast,, Celebrity Pointless and Celebrity Eggheads, The Stephen Nolan Show, Front Row and Woman’s Hour. She has presented Radio 4’s flagship books programme, Open Book. Dreda was named one of Britain’s 50 Remarkable Women by Lady Geek in association with Nokia. She was the 2011 chair of the Theakston Harrogate Crime Fiction Festival. Dreda was born and raised in the East End of London where she continues to live. Dreda’s family are from the beautiful Caribbean island of Grenada and her name is pronounced with a long ‘ee’ sound in the middle. 

Visit Dreda Say Mitchell's website: here

Follow Dreda Say Mitchell on Twitter: @DredaMBE

Impromptu by Martin Lilley
[Review]

Print Length: 62 pages
                       Publication date: 14th February 2022

             My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

The unforeseen is killing everyone who gets in its path. Nobody knows what it is or why it’s happening. People across the globe appear to be dying on their birthday, at the exact time they were born.

Inseparable twins, Cat and Tom, have two days left to live. With their sweet sixteenth fast approaching, they have to accept that this may be it. See ya later!
But then, Cat, a gifted writer who lacks confidence in her ability, is handed a mysterious brown envelope by her mother with the clear instructions; don’t show your brother, it will kill him.

Amidst a world gone crazy and people from all walks of life dropping dead, can the Government figure out a way to stop the unforeseen from taking those who are left?
And how will Cat and Tom survive in a world Cat had only ever dreamt of writing about herself?

Review

Impromptu is a novelette which is something I don't tend to read very often as I am a greedy reader. I always want more but Impromptu's synopsis had me intrigued and I knew I needed to read it. 

It's written from Cat's point of view as she scrawls down what is happening right up until the moment of her impending death. Cat and Tom are twins also referred to as 'TomCat' which I thought was a very cute touch! Cat tells the story of how people all across the globe start dying on their birthday at the precise moment of their time of birth but with no idea why, the government is clutching at straws, hopelessly trying to stop the world from falling apart who just so happen to have a leader who looked like Worzel Gummidge which should remind you guys of a leader of our own. 

The government fails of course and people become more and more unhinged when they are forced to face the fact that their next birthday will also be their death sentence. 

Cat is struggling to come to terms that she and her twin brother are going to die and she decides to document the moments that lead up to their birthday in a sarcastic and humorously way which perfectly reminds you of how young and vulnerable the twins really are. 

The tale is a sad one, there is no escaping death but Cat's humour really adds a lighter touch to the story and made me like her fairly quickly. Cat is given a mysterious letter by her mother which she is demanded not to open until a specific time to avoid hurting her brother but when she opens that envelope, it really throws a spanner in the works. 

I enjoyed the quick pace of this story, the character's personalities were strong and the twist was brilliant, but as I say, I am a greedy reader. I wanted to know more, I needed to know what happens after the big twist and why this happened in the first place? I felt like there were too many loose ends but that does give Martin the perfect excuse to write a sequel which I would love to read.

If you are after a short but unputdownable read then I highly recommend this unique novelette!

Please go and show this wonderful author some support by purchasing Impromptu from Amazon today.

About The Author

Martin was born and raised in Nottingham, but moved to Manchester in 1999 to study Illustration & Animation. After graduating with a First Class Honours, he backpacked down the east coast of Australia for a year.

He now lives in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, with his wife and two children.

Martin's dream is to be a published author and to see his work on a shelf in a bookshop. Ultimately, he wants to make those people around him immensely proud of what he has achieved.

He is now working on his next story in order to make that dream come true.

Follow Martin on Twitter: @yellilnitram