Happy Halloween: Zombies

 
 
 
Halloween is the time of year for all of us to put on Halloween costumes from our favorite horror movies, to go to hunted attractions and scare ourselves silly, its the time of year where horror gives most who don't usually like it a thrill. Sadly for me that isn't true, I am a big wuss when it comes to anything horror related even if its Halloween. I have a very over active imagination and if I am reading or watching a horror movie I am convinced it is going to happen to me! Even though most horror aspects scare me senseless there is one horror sub genre I like and that is....
 
So. Very. Hungry. Zombies have an insatiable hunger for raw meat.
 
Yes, Zombies! I am a massive fan of zombie books, zombie movies, zombie TV shows any Zombie related thing. I don't know why out of all the horror sub genres, it is zombies I like. I think it is maybe because Zombies are an extension of humans, as in most zombie's used to be human so maybe to me they aren't as scary! This assumption probably isn't a good one as they can still eat you.
 
So what sub genre of horror do you like? Leave me a comment below!
 
 
 
 
 


Blog Tour: Curse of the Granville Fortune by Kelly Hashway- Guest Post & #Giveaway

 
 
Halloween, Curse of the Granville Fortune Style
 
 Halloween means ghosts, goblins, and everything spooky. But for the characters in Curse of the Granville Fortune, every day is scarier than Halloween. They don’t need a trip to a haunted house, because they are trapped inside a forest that brings their worst fears to life. Trees, rocks, and caves transform into creatures ready to devour them. You’d think they’d be safe just keeping their scary thoughts to themselves, but the forest has a way of making them voice those fears.

What’s more frightening than watching your childhood nightmares comes to life before your very eyes? J.B. and the gang would probably take ghosts and goblins over Braeden Forest any day of the week. But the seemingly unending labyrinth of pathways though the forest won’t let them escape and turns them in circles.
 
Oh, and did I mention that there is a band of thieves living in the heart of the forest? These guys aren’t just after fortune. They’ll take out anyone who crosses their path, and don’t even think about trying to steal from them, no matter how hungry you get or how much food they have. It just might be the last thing you ever do.
 
 So if you’re really up for a scare this Halloween, join J.B., Holly, and the others on a terrifying journey through Braeden Forest. Just keep in mind this isn’t a corn maze. You might never find your way out.
 
 

Curse of the Granville Fortune
Title: Curse of the Granville Fortune (Granville Fortune #1)
Publication Date:  October 21, 2014
Publisher:  Tantrum Books
Author: Kelly Hashway
 


Blurb:
 
Find the fortune, break the curse! The hunt is on for an ancient treasure tied to nine-year-old J.B.'s family history. He's been having visions that make him sweaty, lightheaded, and certain he’s turning into some kind of freak—or worse, going insane. But things are worse than he imagined. The visions stem from a family curse. An ancient ancestor was accused of stealing the massive Granville fortune, and now J.B.’s entirely family will suffer. To break the curse, J.B. must find and return the Granville’s stolen property. But he's not the only one searching for the treasure. As he sets out on his journey through a dark and foreboding forest, he'll battle his worst fears and fight terrifying creatures along the way. And when he meets two others who share the missing pieces of his visions and suffer from the same curse, the three soon realize they need to work together to break the curse before it's too late
 
 
About Kelly Hashway

Kelly Hashway grew up reading R.L. Stein’s Fear Street novels and writing stories of her own, so it was no surprise to her family when she majored in English and later obtained a masters degree in English Secondary Education from East Stroudsburg University. After teaching middle school language arts for seven years, Hashway went back to school and focused specifically on writing. She is now the author of three young adult series, one middle grade series, and several picture books. She also writes contemporary romance under the pen name Ashelyn Drake. When she isn’t writing, Hashway works as a freelance editor for small presses as well as for her own list of clients. In her spare time, she enjoys running, traveling, and volunteering with the PTO. Hashway currently resides in Pennsylvania with her husband, daughter, and two pets.
 
Author Links:  Website  | Twitter Facebook | Goodreads

 
 

 

Waiting on Wednesday #18

 
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're excitably anticipating.
 
The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
 
The Darkest Part of the Forest
 
 
Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does…

As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?
 
Expected Publication: January 15th 2015 via Indigo (UK) , January 13th 2015 via Little Brown Books (US)
 
My Thoughts:
 
I have only read one of Holly Black's books which was The Coldest Girl in Coldtown and I really enjoyed it so I am excited to read something else new from her. This line makes me what to read The Darkest Part of the forest it ASAP "At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives."
 
What are you waiting for? Leave me a comment below
 

Guest Post: The Case of Howard Phillips Lovecraft by Marcus Sedgwick

The Case of Howard Phillips Lovecraft by Marcus Sedgwick

 Very few writers can truly be called unique; American horror stylist H.P. Lovecraft is surely one who can. Lovecraft, never a success in his own lifetime, and barely more than a cult figure since, is nevertheless one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. The same can be said of the writer whose work in turn most influenced Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe. Poe’s work was perhaps a little wider read than Lovecraft’s ever was during their respective lifetimes, but Poe’s nevertheless was derided and belittled while he was still around to hear such things. Only in France, for some reason, was Poe truly celebrated, and outside of that it’s been the sad fate of these men to only achieve their true worth after their deaths.

 If you don’t know Lovecraft’s work, a few titles will begin to give you the idea: The Shadow out of Time, The Dunwich Horror, At the Mountains of Madness, The Dreams in the Witch House. But these are no conventional horror tales; Lovecraft not only created a style all of his own, he also created an entire occult mythology for the world in which some of his tales are set. His pantheon of hideous ancient gods; the Old Ones, Cthulhu being the most notable, are painted as being horrible dark influences on humanity from times before our imagining and places beyond our understanding.

 Lovecraft created his own corner of New England; Arkham, Dunwich, Innsmouth, the Miskatonic river as the diabolic centre of unnameable terrors and lurking creatures, drawing upon (modern) America’s oldest places as his inspiration for twisted versions of reality. Here, we find decrepit houses touching eaves across foetid alleyways, we find unknown and unknowable things sliming their ways from murky harbours, and time and time again, we find madness. Madness was one of Lovevcraft’s recurring themes. His own father was confined to a mental hospital when Lovecraft was just three years old, possibly suffering with General Paralysis of the Insane (as it was known then) – the tertiary stages of a syphilitic infection.  It’s hard not to see this as a direct influence on the writer, a writer whose own life was riddled by ill health and strange behavioural issues.

 In coming to write the section of The Ghosts of Heaven known as The Easiest Rom in Hell, I decided I wanted to pay homage to a writer whose work I have always enjoyed. This part of the book is set in an insane asylum on Long Island, New York in the 1920s, and features a poet who has gone mad. His name (and Lovecraft fans will know why) is Charles Dexter. Dexter spends his days writing a novel in his head, much to the confusion of his doctors. He strikes up a friendship with a newly arrived Dr James, who hasn’t heard of the poet before. When he learns about his writing, he gets hold of a copy of Dexter’s poetry collection, On Drowning, and reads one of the mad poet’s poems. And here then, was a chance for me to let rip and write some Lovecraftiana of my own; the poem called...

 
Poquatuck
 
Sea-found, wind-worn and wild;
the land will lose.
Here are places so old as to defy memory;
The point, the creek, the inlet.
The old tide mills, dilapidated,
were but a blink in the eye of time.
And there are older things here,
things which the oyster boats dredge from the deep.
 
There on the headland;
the asylum,
and the asylum boneyard,
where the land-borne dead are corrupted,
harmless bodies are sucked of life;
in the cemetery.
 
Graves grow from the soil;
the black fingernails of the monstrosity beneath.
It lies far down, under the ground, under the sea,
pushing an arm up,
up to the air
a hand with a thousand fingers; and every fingernail a grave.
 
Deep in the sea, at the other end of the arm
sits its heart-brain,
this being from beyond the stars, from the beginning of time:
its mashy form quivers inside the shell
which protects
and resonates its thought-waves across the world
in ancient reverberation.
 
Spiral-set shell mind,
It blows a soundless horn to us all, a warning:
I am coming.
 
 
Check out Marcus' latest book The Ghosts of Heaven
 
 
 The Ghosts of Heaven
 
Blurb:


The spiral has existed as long as time has existed.
It's there when a girl walks through the forest, the green air clinging to her skin.
There centuries later in a pleasant green dale, hiding the treacherous waters of Golden Beck that take Anna, who they call a witch.
There on the other side of the world, where a mad poet watches the waves and knows the horrors they hide, and far into the future as Keir Bowman realises his destiny.
Each takes their next step in life.
None will ever go back to the same place.
And so their journeys begin...


 

THE GHOSTS OF HEAVEN by Marcus Sedgwick published by Indigo on 2 October 2014

 



 

About Marcus Sedgwick


Marcus Sedgwick is a full time author. His first novel, FLOODLAND, won the BRANFORD BOASE AWARD for the Best Debut Children's Novel of 2000. Since then his books have been shortlisted for the GUARDIAN CHILDREN'S FICTION PRIZE, the BLUE PETER BOOK AWARD, the COSTA BOOK AWARD, the CARNEGIE MEDAL and the EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD. His previous novel, MIDWINTERBLOOD, won the 2014 MICHAEL L. PRINTZ AWARD. He lives near Cambridge.


www.marcussedgwick.com and Twitter @marcussedgwick


 

#Review Glass House ( The Morganville vampires #1) by Rachel Caine

This week my posts will all be Halloween themed and today starts of with a review of Glass Houses by Rachel Caine, this is the first book in the Morganville vampire books and I just started reading this series and I am loving it. It is a great Halloween read as it has the ultimate scary creatures, vampires!
 
Note: I know I am way behind on this series it released 8 years ago! Bad Book Blogger :(

Glass Houses (The Morganville Vampires, #1)Book: Glass Houses
Author: Rachel Caine
Series: The Morganville Vampires #1
Pages: 348
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Bought own copy
Rating: ✪✪✪✪✪

Blurb:

College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation. When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life, but they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood. Will she be able to face the town's terror or will she drown like everyone else?

Review:

I have been wanting to start this series for ages. Now I have started it I am kicking myself for not starting it sooner. Its amazing!! I couldn't put it down!

I love vampire stories and I am glad to find another series I know I am going to love. The storyline is different to any other vampire storyline I have read. These vampires are proper scary vampires who immerse themselves into society and are part of it, they rule the town of Morganville and everyone who lives (was born and bread) in Morganville know the vampires exist. I liked this as usually the humans haven't a clue what is going around them even when it is usually right in their face! 

I loved the characters in Glass House. Claire the main protagonist, grows up so much in only one book. She goes from this naïve, unconfident girl to someone who is so strong and deals head on with the situation she is in and still retains the insecurities all girls have making her very relatable.  

I also loved Eve and cant wait to hear more of her story. I love her Goth attitude and confidence but I know underneath she is just as scared and insecure as everyone. The boys, Shane and Michael . Ahh!! I have to say I have a softer spot for Michael but I love Shane too. Michaels secret??!! How he became a .....

What I loved about Glass houses is I didn't see something happening in it with regards to how Michael got in his situation! Wtf!! Also the end of Glass houses!! Rachel Caine is great at making things happen you didn't see coming or couldn't have guessed which makes for an awesome and compelling read.

If you haven't started to this series now, get started. It has action, secrets, shocks, romance, amazing characters and an awesome story premise! Go what are you waiting for, get started!


Have you read this series? Let me know what you think of it by commenting below! What are some of your Halloween recommendations!

#Review : Famous in Love (Famous in love #1) by Rebecca Serle

Famous in Love
Book: Famous In Love
Author: Rebecca Serle
Series: Famous In Love #1
Pages: 432
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Received paperback for an honest review
Rating: ✪✪✪


Blurb:

She fell in love with him in the books - now she has the chance to star opposite him in the film . . .
Paige doesn't think she's particularly special, but after getting the starring role in a massive film adaptation of the bestselling Locked trilogy, the rest of the world would disagree. Now she's thrown into the spotlight, and into a world of gossip, rumour and deceit. The only people who know what she's going through are her two male co-stars, and they can't stand the sight of each other. Paige knows it's a mistake to fall in love on the set of a movie, but days
of on-screen romance and intensity start to change her mind. The question is, can she keep what happens behind the scenes a secret when the world is watching her every move?


Review:

Famous in love is about a girl named Paige who stars in a movie and all the stuff that comes with it. Going from a normal girl to this girl thus into the spotlight. I think Rebecca Serle really showed the betrayal of what its really like to be in the spotlight. She showed what we don't see, she showed us the faces and feelings behind the stars.

There was romance in Famous in love but it wasn't a straight forward boy meets girl, girl falls in love. It wasn't even your typical love triangle. I think this is what I struggled with though out Famous In Love as I love a romance and always want it to be as uncomplicated as possible.

I did also feel that I at times struggled with the female protagonists voice and it really made me struggle to get though parts of the story.

Overall even with the issues I had with the book I still ended up enjoying it. I don't think the book will be for everyone and I definitely have mixed feelings about the book but I will be picking up the next book in the series which go to show I had to like it enough to pick the next one up!


Waiting on Wednesday #17

 
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're excitably anticipating.
 
Milayna ( The Milayna Series #1) by Michelle K Pickett
 
Milayna
 
 
From the bestselling author of PODs comes an unforgettable tale of action, intrigue, and following your heart in the midst of betrayal.

It’s hard being good all the time. Everyone needs to be bad once in a while. But for seventeen-year-old Milayna, being good isn’t a choice. It’s a job requirement. And it’s a job she can’t quit. Born a demi-angel, Milayna steps in when danger and demons threaten the people around her, but being half angel isn’t all halos and happiness. Azazel, Hell’s demon, wants Milayna’s power and he’ll do anything to get it. But he only has until her eighteenth birthday, after which she becomes untouchable.

With the help of other demi-angels, Milayna thwarts the trouble Azazel sends her way. Fighting by her side is Chay. He’s a demi-angel who's sinfully gorgeous, and Milayna falls hard. But is Chay her true love… or her nemesis in disguise?

When she learns of a traitor in her group, there’s no one she can trust… not even the one she loves.
 
Expected Publication: March 17th 2015 via Clean Teen Publishing
 
My Thoughts:
 
I love Michelle's POD's series and can't wait to read something else from her and Milayna sounds like something I will love. Demi angels, hot guys , what else could you ask for, oh yea an awesome story!

Curse Of The Granville Fortune Scavenger Hunt


Let the hunt begin!

Curse of the Granville Fortune officially releases into the world today, October 21st! This middle grade fantasy adventure involves a race to a treasure, so there's a scavenger hunt to celebrate.

But first, check out the cover and blurb:



Find the fortune, break the curse!

The hunt is on for an ancient treasure tied to nine-year-old J.B.'s family history. He's been having visions that make him sweaty, lightheaded, and certain he’s turning into some kind of freak—or worse, going insane. But things are worse than he imagined. The visions stem from a family curse. An ancient ancestor was accused of stealing the massive Granville fortune, and now J.B.’s entire family will suffer.

To break the curse, J.B. must find and return the Granville’s stolen property. But he's not the only one searching for the treasure. As he sets out on his journey through a dark and foreboding forest, he'll battle his worst fears and fight terrifying creatures along the way. And when he meets two others who share the missing pieces of his visions and suffer from the same curse, the three soon realize they need to work together to break the curse before it's too late.

Order it on Amazon or B&N.

Now for the scavenger hunt. Below is a list of bloggers helping out with the hunt. Visit each of their pages and collect a letter that is "hidden" in their post in either a different color or a larger font size. If you go through the list in order, the word will spell itself out for you. If you don't go in order, you'll have to unscramble the word. Either way is fine and totally up to you. Then enter the word on the rafflecopter form for bonus entries. You don't have to find the word to enter the giveaway, but the word will earn you the most entries.

What's up for grabs?


 
SwAg from ALL of Kelly's books!

Yes, that's right. There's a drawstring bag, coins, buttons, a mood ring, a heart bracelet, a flame pendant, trading cards, a key, and bookmarks! All this loot could be yours!

Here are the stops for the scavenger hunt (in order):
 

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Discussion: We bloggers love comments

COMMENT
 
Comments... blog post comments! This is a question I have been asking since I started blogging over 3 years ago, why don't people leave comment apart from if they are a requirement for a giveaway!
 
COMMENT
 
 A lot of my posts get great views but no comments and I don't know why. I love comments, it shows me people are liking what I post and I like interacting with people who view my blog.
COMMENT
 
So my question to you is why don't you comment? If you are reading my blog now why are you reading it and not leaving a comment. I really want to know so I can improve my blog and hopefully get people who view my blog interacting with me here and not just though social media but actually on the blog itself!
 
COMMENT
 
Leave me a comment below (I no the irony in this) and let me know your opinion!
 
COMMENT
 
 
 
 

#Review Life After Theft ( Life After Theft #1) by Aprilynne Pike

Life After TheftBook: Life After Theft
Series: Life After Theft #1
Author: Aprilynne Pike
Publisher: Harper Collins
Borrowed copy from library
Rating: ✪✪✪✪

Blurb:

Kimberlee Schaffer may be drop-dead gorgeous... but she also dropped dead last year. Now she needs Jeff's Help with her unfinished business, and she is not taking no for an answer.

When she was alive, Kimberlee wasn't just a mean girl; she was also a complete kleptomaniac. So if Jeff wants to avoid being haunted until graduation, he'll have to help her return everything she stole. But Jeff soon discovers it's much easier to steal something than it is to bring it back.


Review:

I haven't read anything by Aprilynne Pike so when I saw Life After Theft at the library and read the blurb I thought I would give it ago and I really enjoyed it. However I must say I really don't like this cover! :(

On to the review, I thought Life After Theft was a fun, funny, quirky read with a serious side thrown in to make for an good read.

Life After Theft's protagonist is a male called Jeff and I usually struggle with male voices leading the story but in Aprilynne Pike's Life After Theft I really got into the story right away and I really liked Jeff's character.

The story itself was a good one where Jeff starts at a new school and meets Kimberlee with two "ee's" who happens to be a ghost. Jeff is the only one that can see her and he has to help her so she can cross over. Kimberlee was a great character who started of as I someone I didn't like to one who changed and turned my whole thoughts on them around, she also injected some great humor into the story with Jeff.

Life After Theft had a serious side and I think it shows people really can change. I know the saying a leopard can't change its spots but I think people can change if they are willing.

Overall Life After Theft was a good read it had a little bit of everything in it, fun, comedy, romance, high school drama and a lesson to be learned. I look forward to the next book in the series!


Waiting On Wednesday #16

 
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're excitably anticipating.
 
The Winners Crime (The Winners Trilogy #2)  by Marie Rutkoski
 
The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Trilogy, #2)
 
 
Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.
 
Expected Publication: March 3rd 2015 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR),   March 12th 2015 by Bloomsbury Children's UK
 
My Thoughts:
 
I loved The Winners Curse, it is one of my favorite 2014 reads and I can't wait to see what happens next in the trilogy. You can check out my review of The Winners Curse here