Book Review: Ritualistic Human Sacrifice by C.V. Hunt

Posted on 05/09/2023 by Lenn

Title: Ritualistic Human Sacrifice

Author: C.V. Hunt

Publication Date: October 15, 2015

Number of Pages: 208

Format: Ebook

Publisher: GrindHouse Press

Genre: Horror, Bizarro Fiction, Splatterpunk, Occult

Synopsis:

Nick Graves is a miserable man. Every day he comes home from his dream job to a stale marriage. On the day he finally summons the courage to tell his wife, Eve, he wants a divorce she has exciting news for him – she’s pregnant.

Nick is a spiteful man. He purchases his dream home in an ideal location far away from family, friends, and coworkers. It’s a life changing decision he’s chosen to make without Eve’s consultation.

Nick is a terrified man. He quickly realizes the residents of his new hometown are a bit eccentric. After a trip to the local doctor’s office Eve begins to behave strangely. And once Nick finds out what’s really going on he’ll never be able to look at Eve the same way. Continue reading →

Stuff I’ve Been Reading Lately #33

Posted on 05/08/2023 by Lenn

BOOKS READ:

Monster Vol. 2 by Naoki Urisawa
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
The Summer House by James Patterson & Brendan DuBois
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Horrid Henry & the Secret Club by Francesca Simon
Ritualistic Human Sacrifice by C.V. Hunt

BOOKS BOUGHT:

Outsider by Stephen King
Misery by Stephen King
The Lost Boy by David Pelzer
The Push by Ashley Audraine
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Couple at No. 9 by Claire Douglas
The Whole Truth by Cara Hunter
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Continue reading →

Book Review: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Posted on 04/28/2023 by Lenn

Title: The Poet X

Author: Elizabeth Acevedo

Publication Date: March 6, 2018

Number of Pages: 368

Format: Audiobook

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: Poetry, Contemporary, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about.

With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out. But she still can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent. Continue reading →

Book Review: The Summer House by James Patterson & Brendan DuBois

Posted on 04/27/2023 by Lenn

Title: The Summer House

Author: James Patterson, Brendan DuBois

Publication Date: June 8, 2020

Number of Pages: 429

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Century

Genre: Crime, Mystery, Suspense, Military

Synopsis:

For seven unsuspecting victims, death comes in the dark . . .

Once a luxurious getaway for a wealthy Southern family, the Summer House has long since fallen into disrepair. Its fall from grace is complete when it becomes the scene of a horrific mass murder.

Shocking evidence points to four Army Rangers recently returned from Afghanistan. The Army sends Major Jeremiah Cook, a war veteran and former NYPD cop, to investigate.

As Cook and his team struggle to put together pieces of evidence that just won’t fit, powerful forces rally against them to try to ensure that damning secrets are buried along with the victims. Continue reading →

Book Review: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Posted on 04/26/2023 by Lenn

Title: The Silent Patient

Author: Alex Michaelides

Publication Date: February 5, 2019

Number of Pages: 368

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Publisher: Celadon Books

Genre: Thriller, Psychological, Mystery

Synopsis:

The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband―and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations―a search for the truth that threatens to consume him…. Continue reading →

Book Review: The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo #4) by Rick Riordan

Posted on 04/25/2023 by Lenn

Title: The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo 4)

Author: Rick Riordan

Publication Date: September 24, 2019

Number of Pages: 439

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Genre: Fantasy, Middle-Grade

Synopsis:

In his penultimate adventure, a devastated but determined Apollo travels to Camp Jupiter, where he must learn what it is to be a hero, or die trying.

It’s not easy being Apollo, especially when you’ve been turned into a human and banished from Olympus. On his path to restoring five ancient oracles and reclaiming his godly powers, Apollo (aka Lester Papadopoulos) has faced both triumphs and tragedies. Now his journey takes him to Camp Jupiter in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the Roman demigods are preparing for a desperate last stand against the evil Triumvirate of Roman emperors. Hazel, Reyna, Frank, Tyson, Ella, and many other old friends will need Apollo’s aid to survive the onslaught.

Unfortunately, the answer to their salvation lies in the forgotten tomb of a Roman ruler . . . someone even worse than the emperors Apollo has already faced. Continue reading →

Book Review: Finding Me by Viola Davis

Posted on 04/19/2023 by Lenn

Title: Finding Me

Author: Viola Davis

Publication Date: April 26, 2022

Number of Pages: 304

Format: Audiobook

Publisher: HarperOne

Genre: Non-fiction, memoir

Synopsis:

In my book, you will meet a little girl named Viola who ran from her past until she made a life-changing decision to stop running forever.

This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. This is the path I took to finding my purpose but also my voice in a world that didn’t always see me.

As I wrote Finding Me, my eyes were open to the truth of how our stories are often not given close examination. We are forced to reinvent them to fit into a crazy, competitive, judgmental world. So I wrote this for anyone running through life untethered, desperate and clawing their way through murky memories, trying to get to some form of self-love. For anyone who needs reminding that a life worth living can only be born from radical honesty and the courage to shed facades and be . . . you.

Finding Me is a deep reflection, a promise, and a love letter of sorts to self. My hope is that my story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you.
Continue reading →

Book Review: I’m a Therapist, and My Patient is a Vegan Terrorist: 6 Deadly Social Media Influencers (Dr. Harper, #3)

Posted on 04/02/2023 by Lenn

Title: I’m a Therapist, and My Patient is a Vegan Terrorist: 6 Deadly Social Media Influencers (Dr. Harper, #3)

Author: Anonymous

Publication Date: March 8, 2020

Number of Pages: 192

Format: E-book

Publisher: Independent

Genre: Thriller, Splatterpunk, Horror, Extreme Horror

Synopsis:

The Explosive Conclusion to the Dr. Harper Therapy series

I’m a therapist, and I’ve worked with the wildest internet celebrities… A vigilante who treated humans as factory farm animals. A germaphobe who warned of the next major plague. My own best friend. A rapist who got cancelled online — and in real life. A psychic medium with a disturbing prediction.

And the last patient I ever worked with: The one who asked me to take them off life support.

It all started with a big social media festival on a little island. We were promised endless days of sunshine, beach bonfires under the stars, and a chance to party with the world’s most renowned influencers.

Instead, we were lucky if we made it out in one piece.
Continue reading →

Stuff I’ve Been Reading Lately #32

Posted on 03/31/2023 by Lenn

BOOKS READ:

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
Talia by Daniel J. Volpe
How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight For Our Future by Maria Ressa
Mukbang Princess by Rayne Havok
Sheets by Brenna Thummler
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
You’ve Lost A Lot of Blood by Eric Larocca
I’m a Therapist and My Patient is a Vegan Terrorist (Dr. Harper, #3) by Anonymous
The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4) by Rick Riordan
Finding Me by Viola Davis

BOOKS BOUGHT:

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier
The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor
Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix
The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Bat by Joe Nesbo
World War Z by Max Brooks
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

BOOKS RECEIVED:

The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum
Killing Stalking #1 by Koogi
Saving Noah by Lucinda Berry
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
The Girls by Lisa Jewell
20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Continue reading →

Book Review: You’ve Lost a Lot of Blood by Eric Larocca

Posted on 03/30/2023 by Lenn

Title: You’ve Lost A Lot of Blood

Author: Eric Larocca

Publication Date: March 11, 2022

Number of Pages: 210

Format: E-book

Publisher: Independent

Genre: Splatterpunk, Horror, Extreme Horror

Synopsis:

A disturbing new vision of terror from the author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke.

“Each precious thing I show you in this book is a holy relic from the night we both perished-the night when I combed you from my hair and watered the moon with your blood.

You’ve lost a lot of blood . . .”
Continue reading →

Lenn of Spades ♠

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