Whatcha Reading Wednesday - House of Roots and Ruin

House of Roots and Ruin - Sisters of the Salt #2

by Erin A. Craig

What they say: In a manor by the sea, one sister is still cursed.

Despite dreams of adventures far beyond the Salann shores, seventeen-year-old Verity Thaumas has remained at her family’s estate, Highmoor, with her older sister Camille, while their sisters have scattered across Arcannia.

When their sister Mercy sends word that the Duchess of Bloem—wife of a celebrated botanist—is interested in having Verity paint a portrait of her son, Alexander, Verity jumps at the chance, but Camille won’t allow it. Forced to reveal the secret she’s kept for years, Camille tells Verity the truth one Verity is still seeing ghosts, she just doesn’t know it.

Stunned, Verity flees Highmoor that night and—with nowhere else to turn—makes her way to Bloem. At first, she is captivated by the lush, luxurious landscape and is quickly drawn to charming, witty, and impossibly handsome Alexander Laurent. And soon, to her surprise, a romance . . . blossoms.

But it’s not long before Verity is plagued with nightmares, and the darker side of Bloem begins to show through its sickly-sweet façade...

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YA Scary Treat - Magic Dark and Strange

Magic Dark and Strange

by Kelly Powell

What they say: The Bone Witch meets Sherlock Holmes in this thrilling historical fantasy about a girl with the ability to raise the dead who must delve into her city’s dangerous magical underworld to stop a series of murders.

Catherine Daly has an unusual talent. By day she works for a printer. But by night, she awakens the dead for a few precious moments with loved ones seeking a final goodbye. But this magic comes with a price: for every hour that a ghost is brought back, Catherine loses an hour from her own life.

When Catherine is given the unusual task of collecting a timepiece from an old grave, she is sure that the mysterious item must contain some kind of enchantment. So she enlists Guy Nolan, the watchmaker’s son, to help her dig it up. But instead of a timepiece, they find a surprise: the body of a teenage boy. And as they watch, he comes back to life—not as the pale imitation that Catherine can conjure, but as a living, breathing boy. A boy with no memory of his past.

This magic is more powerful than any Catherine has ever encountered, and revealing it brings dangerous enemies. Catherine and Guy must race to unravel the connection between the missing timepiece and the undead boy. For this mysterious magic could mean the difference between life and death—for all of them.

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Spotlight - Fear Street

Fear Street: The Beginning

by R.L. Stine

What they say: The classic and heart-pounding Fear Street Series from beloved author R.L. Stine is back with the first four books now in one thrilling package!

Welcome to Fear Street… 

Where strange things happen, people go missing, and nightmares come true.

This is where it all began. When Fear Street became legend, forever linked with danger, and curses, and things that go bump in the night. Go back to how it all started—to the moment when Corey Brooks falls for perfect, incredible Anna, only to learn that she’s gone missing...on Fear Street.

Venture into the terrifying Fear Street woods where Meg Dalton’s best friend Evan died under mysterious circumstances, and discover why only Meg can uncover the truth behind his death. Follow Della to Fear Island and learn about the terrifying threats that force Della to confront her past—and the incident that occurred on the island between her and a dangerous stranger.

Return to Fear Street with Mark and Cara Burroughs who come home to find that their parents have disappeared, plunging them into a nightmare of chaos that neither of them could have ever predicted. The only thing they know for sure is that though Fear Street may be a mystery, not everyone escapes such an evil place alive.

Only danger awaits those brave enough to travel down Fear Street. You’re not afraid…are you?

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Gimme Gimme Gimme - The Deathless Girls

UK release 2nd April 2020

The Deathless Girls
by Kiran Millwood Hargrave 

What they say: They say the thirst of blood is like a madness - they must sate it. Even with their own kin.

On the eve of her divining, the day she'll discover her fate, seventeen-year-old Lil and her twin sister Kizzy are captured and enslaved by the cruel Boyar Valcar, taken far away from their beloved traveller community.

Forced to work in the harsh and unwelcoming castle kitchens, Lil is comforted when she meets Mira, a fellow slave who she feels drawn to in a way she doesn't understand. But she also learns about the Dragon, a mysterious and terrifying figure of myth and legend who takes girls as gifts.

They may not have had their divining day, but the girls will still discover their fate...

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Top Spooky Reads 2019

Not released this year but still three of my favs. What would be on your list?

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, featuring as its primary antagonist the vampire Count Dracula. 

Dracula has been attributed to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature. Structurally it is an epistolary novel, that is, told as a series of diary entries and letters. Literary critics have examined many themes in the novel, such as the role of women in Victorian culture, conventional and conservative sexuality, immigration, colonialism, postcolonialism and folklore. Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, the novel's influence on the popularity of vampires has been singularly responsible for many theatrical and film interpretations throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

This is the story of Louis, as told in his own words, of his journey through mortal and immortal life. Louis recounts how he became a vampire at the hands of the radiant and sinister Lestat and how he became indoctrinated, unwillingly, into the vampire way of life. His story ebbs and flows through the streets of New Orleans, defining crucial moments such as his discovery of the exquisite lost young child Claudia, wanting not to hurt but to comfort her with the last breaths of humanity he has inside. Yet, he makes Claudia a vampire, trapping her womanly passion, will, and intelligence inside the body of a small child. Louis and Claudia form a seemingly unbreakable alliance and even "settle down" for a while in the opulent French Quarter. Louis remembers Claudia's struggle to understand herself and the hatred they both have for Lestat that sends them halfway across the world to seek others of their kind. Louis and Claudia are desperate to find somewhere they belong, to find others who understand, and someone who knows what and why they are.

Louis and Claudia travel Europe, eventually coming to Paris and the ragingly successful Theatre des Vampires--a theatre of vampires pretending to be mortals pretending to be vampires. Here they meet the magnetic and ethereal Armand, who brings them into a whole society of vampires. But Louis and Claudia find that finding others like themselves provides no easy answers and in fact presents dangers they scarcely imagined.

Originally begun as a short story, the book took off as Anne wrote it, spinning the tragic and triumphant life experiences of a soul. As well as the struggles of its characters, Interview captures the political and social changes of two continents. The novel also introduces Lestat, Anne's most enduring character, a heady mixture of attraction and revulsion. The book, full of lush description, centers on the themes of immortality, change, loss, sexuality, and power.

source: annerice.com

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The classic supernatural thriller by an author who helped define the genre. First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting;' Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own. 

E.V.A.IN.E. Book Blitz

E.V.A.IN.E.
by Jackson Burrows

E.V.A.IN.E.: Book 1 There Was a Place

Horror Romance/Science Fiction

A world exists where the Incomparable Beauty of an Alien Technology Meets Its Ultimate Challenge: To remain Protector of Their Secret Transcendent Yet to Be Born.

Set within their spiral galaxy, between the expanse waves of Mira and Axis Prime, an exploring society called Deneva has created the answer to a harmonious continuance in the universe. One citizen of remarkable insight and intelligence, Dr. Shesgal Ollemanhalu, has created a transferable, virtual representative from his doctorate work in the natural world to aid his people in establishing the natural development of genesis in order to save his race. He name his virtual creation, E.V.A.IN.E. She is the carryover of Shesgal's doctorate breakthrough in behavioral progression that leads to transcendence. The revelation which was meant only for his world becomes Shesgal's remarkable change to life in the universe. It is known by the greater name of E.V.A.IN.E. World Foundation. In the search for fulfillment beyond their own survival, others, along with Shesgal would develop nature's greatest creation; a super being of transcendent capability who can lead them all into their place of higher belief in the universe.

Other book in this series:

E.V.A.IN.E.: Book 2 Lessons Learned from the Old Makers

Publisher: Page Publishing

Date Published: March 26, 2018

All life forms dream. Even the overlooked organism in the soil beneath our feet which ventilate the soil. Many of these have extended life spans exceeding our own. Likewise among this category are variations that achieve remarkable transformations to their physical makeup. The struggling caterpillar, which has the ability to acquire a state of metamorphosis, can attain a winged form capable of drinking the nectar of its culminating attainment...its philosophy if you will. Thereby fulfilling its destiny. The passage of time has shown the prediction to evolve a thought to take a form that will result in an action of beauty and resounding results. My daughter will also dream one day following this pattern of evolution and guard the flower's nectar for the future transcendent and its proclamation to the universe. The "fractal key" will propel my created daughter to acquire a complexity that surrounds the observer and instructs him to abolish the excess that is defeating its efforts to become something more than before...To transcend!

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Author Spotlight:

Jackson Burrows currently lives in Deep South Texas along the perimeter of the Rio Grande. Earlier in Life, he worked in many occupations ranging from an agricultural tree farmer to a gravedigger at a cemetery. During the Vietnam conflict, he was drafted from Oklahoma State University during his sophomore year through the 'lottery system' developed by the Nixon administration to fill up the ranks for the already lost war. After serving in the USCG search and rescue detachment, he rode the deep sea ships of the merchant marine. In 1981, he became an emergency services personnel and eventually completed his employment of twenty five years as a fire captain and emergency medial tech. He is now retired and has completed the first book of his novel he developed those many years ago when he attended OSU.

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Review - Demon Veil

Demon Veil

by Grace Hudson

What they say: An ancient evil is unleashed.

Maia Gellman is the house roadie for her uncle’s bar. Life is simple until one horrific night changes her world forever. Alone and terrified, she finds herself on the run from an evil she cannot name. An evil that calls out to the part of her she would rather not face.

Now she is a killer, whether she likes it or not, and she must stay one step ahead of those who wish to destroy her. A meeting with a mysterious stranger finds her in the company of new friends, friends she is determined to keep safe. But the one who stalks her seems to know her, perhaps better than she knows herself. To face him, she must face the truth about who she is, and what she has become.

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Pre-order - Coming 27th June

What I say: To say Maia's shift at work takes an unexpected turn is a massive understatement She goes from helping set up bands to being on the run from unknown mystical forces in the blink of an eye. A few pages in and all I could think was that escalated quickly! 

I enjoyed the Almost Famous band road trip meets Supernatural vibes although would have loved more character and story development. It would be nice to see Maia learn more about her history and start to challenge herself in the future.

Maia's survival tactics range from clueless and comical to badass acceptance - this makes more sense when you read it I promise. I wasn't the biggest fan of a certain band member that I'm sure other people will love. I'm not a big fan of lying by omission but I can see the appeal...

The twists are dramatic and fit the plot, so they never feel forced. I enjoyed the drama and pace of Demon Veil and found myself quickly engrossed in Maia's story. I would have liked a longer book as it did seem to end rather rapidly. Perhaps there's another instalment coming soon?!

3.5 Stars in my Sky!

Whatcha Reading Wednesday - Anna Dressed in Blood

In honour of Halloween I'm rereading this dramatic ghost story...

Anna Dressed in Blood

by Kendare Blake

What they say: Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

Yet she spares Cas's life.

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Released This Week - The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein

Ooh hello!?

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein

by Kiersten White

What they say: Elizabeth Lavenza hasn't had a proper meal in weeks. Her thin arms are covered with bruises from her "caregiver," and she is on the verge of being thrown into the streets . . . until she is brought to the home of Victor Frankenstein, an unsmiling, solitary boy who has everything--except a friend.

Victor is her escape from misery. Elizabeth does everything she can to make herself indispensable--and it works. She is taken in by the Frankenstein family and rewarded with a warm bed, delicious food, and dresses of the finest silk. Soon she and Victor are inseparable.

But her new life comes at a price. As the years pass, Elizabeth's survival depends on managing Victor's dangerous temper and entertaining his every whim, no matter how depraved. Behind her blue eyes and sweet smile lies the calculating heart of a girl determined to stay alive no matter the cost . . . as the world she knows is consumed by darkness. 

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The Lovely Dark - Book Blitz

The Lovely Dark

by K.A. Last



Genre: YA Urban Fantasy/Horror
Release Date: October 2017


Three teenagers.
One witch.
Twelve souls.

Harvey Anderson always knew the universe was against him, but there’s a lot of stuff he never expected to happen, like having a crush on the most popular girl at school, and then falling into a giant hole in the middle of nowhere with her. And if that wasn’t enough, somehow they managed to release a soul-sucking, ancient witch as well. So yeah, there’s that. You’d think it’d be pretty hard to beat, but knowing Harvey’s luck, it’s about to get a whole lot worse.

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Excerpt:

I glance around at the empty camp. All the other groups have moved off in various directions. I bite my lip, knowing what I’m about to say isn’t going to go down too well with Toni.

“I vote for Lian’s plan,” I say.

“What?” Toni puts her hands on her hips. Her mouth opens and closes. She’s too nice to say anything really mean while Lian can hear, but I know she doesn’t like her. I’m not even sure if I like her, even though she’s given me no reason not to.

Lian looks at the map. “Point eight is north-east.” She turns on the spot. “This way.”

“That’s the wrong direction,” Toni says.

Lian frowns. “Which way then?”

Toni holds the compass so we can all see. Lian nods then marches off, the map in front of her. Toni glares at me. I sigh and follow Lian. Toni will get over it. All I want is to get this done, and the only way to do that is to start somewhere.

We make our way through the bush. Now and then, I hear the voices of other students. We’ve picked a route that should lead us straight to point eight, but it doesn’t cross paths with any of the other points. I begin to wonder if this plan was the best one, or if we’re wasting time. What if the farthest point has no flag?

“Odds are they’d put a flag at the point that takes the longest to get to,” Toni says.

“Are you a mind reader?” I ask. “Because I just thought about how possible it would be that it didn’t.”

“Have a flag?”

I turn to look at her. “No, a hippopotamus. Yes, a flag.”

“You’re acting really weird today.” Toni studies the compass, and I wonder how she hasn’t fallen over.

I stumble on a rock and mumble a swear word. “Weirder than I usually am? That’s … weird.”

Toni stops, and I almost bump into her. She looks at the compass and frowns. “The needle keeps jumping around.” She glances up and scans the trees around us.

“Can you hear that?” Lian asks.

Greg moves away from us a bit, crunching sticks and leaves. “I can’t hear anything.”

“Stand still, you big oaf.” Toni glares at him.

“Don’t tell me what to do, nerd girl.”

“Is that the best you’ve got?”

“What are we supposed to be listening to?” I ask.

The four of us stand here, silent, with our heads cocked to the side. If someone came across us we’d probably look pretty funny.

A low howl sounds through the trees. Goosebumps rise on my arms.

“What was that?” Lian turns towards the noise.

Before anyone can answer, a crow caws and takes flight, its feathers rustling.

“Crows,” Greg says. “Don’t be scared.”

“I’m not.” Lian clutches the map to her chest

I am. “Since when do crows howl?”

Author Spotlight:

K. A. Last was born in Subiaco, Western Australia, and moved to Sydney when she was eight. Artistic and creative by nature, she studied Graphic Design and graduated with an Advanced Diploma. After marrying her high school sweetheart, she concentrated on her career before settling into family life. Blessed with a vivid imagination, she began writing to let off creative steam, and fell in love with it. K. A. Last is currently studying her Bachelor of Arts at Charles Sturt University, with a major in English, and minors in Children’s Literature, Art History, and Visual Culture. She now resides in the countryside on the mid-north coast of NSW.

      

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