Music Monday - SKÁLD

 

This meme is hosted over at Always Me

    Today I thought I'd share two new songs by one of my favorite groups! It's epic viking music. One is soft and the other makes you want to grab an axe and find the nearest boat to hope aboard for an epic adventure.

    I hope these songs find you happy and safe. Have a great week my friends. Let me know which was your favorite of the two below.

Daughters Unto Devils By Amy Lukavics - Book Breakdown

God bless the little children

When sixteen-year-old Amanda Verner's family decides to move from their small mountain cabin to the vast prairie, she hopes it is her chance for a fresh start. She can leave behind the memory of the past winter; of her sickly Ma giving birth to a baby sister who cries endlessly; of the terrifying visions she saw as her sanity began to slip, the victim of cabin fever; and most of all, the memories of the boy she has been secretly meeting with as a distraction from her pain. The boy whose baby she now carries.

When the Verners arrive at their new home, a large cabin abandoned by its previous owners, they discover the inside covered in blood. And as the days pass, it is obvious to Amanda that something isn't right on the prairie. She's heard stories of lands being tainted by evil, of men losing their minds and killing their families, and there is something strange about the doctor and his son who live in the woods on the edge of the prairie. But with the guilt and shame of her sins weighing on her, Amanda can't be sure if the true evil lies in the land, or deep within her soul.

~~~~~~~~~

I've been getting into horror recently and I saw this on the Overdrive app. Sure, they also had a copy ready at the library but I am not stepping foot into that place right now. Also, I just want to mention how much I miss my library. 

Moving on, I wanted to start on this one ASAP and it only took me a few nights to read because I couldn't put it down. It's creepy. Very creepy.

Amanda and her family have been suffering since last winter when Ma had a baby that was born blind and deaf and where Amanda got cabin fever. To make things worse, she's been meeting with a boy who got her pregnant and shocker, doesn't want to marry her and take care of her.

Did I mention this was set in the 1800s?

Her family is super religious, which means she's scared to tell them. But Pa decides they need to move somewhere better and bigger. After a rough trip, they make it, but the cabin they decide to settle into is covered in blood. That's the first thing to go wrong and honestly the least freaky thing to happen.

This book is dark, not just when it comes to horror but there's even a miscarriage. It's not an easy read at some parts because Amanda is fighting demons of her own. Even the demon that got her Ma said she's already got one in her. Plus, that ending! It should NOT have ended there! I needed to know more. I NEED the answer!

The writing is great!  It keeps the story flowing perfectly! I was never bored but I often found myself huddled under my blanket, unable to put the book down.

If you're looking for a very creepy book that's not too scary, then I say give this one a go! I really liked it!

  

Werewolf Magick: Authentic Practical Lycanthropy - Book Breakdown

 

    Unleash the wolf within you with the help of this empowering guide to lycanthropic magic. Denny Sargent shows you how to improve your confidence, authenticity, and personal power using werewolf rituals, spells, meditations, folklore, and more.

    Werewolf Magick teaches you to shed the restrictive bindings of the modern world and answer the call of your feral side. Once you embrace the wolf within, you'll transform into your fearless animal self and enjoy a more honest, primal, and intuitive way of being. Explore the modalities and invocations of werewolf magick. Discover shamanic shapeshifting, wolf deities and spirits, and werewolf herbalism. This book reveals deep secrets of primal magick and encourages you to awaken your full potential.

Book Breakdown 

    Thanks to NetGalley for this title in exchange for an honest review

    You ever finish a book, close the page and place it on the shelf, and think to yourself, you know, I'm glad I read that book but it wasn't for me at all? Well, that's how I felt with this one. I've never read a book about werewolf magick before so when I saw it, I just knew I had to give it a go. Werewolf magick is not for me at all. Some parts of this book just had me blinking and wondering how it even worked but it takes all kinds to make the world go round.

    It's well written the author seems very down to earth, very in touch with his animalistic self. Sometimes it's good to simply focus on our base needs most problems can be found in these simple areas we often overlook. That was something I took away from this book personally.

    So if you're into werewolf magick, are just curious like I was, I do say give this a try, you might learn something nifty.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark - Mini Review

 

    The iconic anthology series of horror tales that's now a feature film!


    This is a new edition of the complete original book. Stephen Gammell’s artwork from the original Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark appears in all its spooky glory. Read if you dare!


    Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a timeless collection of chillingly scary tales and legends, in which folklorist Alvin Schwartz offers up some of the most alarming tales of horror, dark revenge, and supernatural events of all time.

Mini Book Breakdown

    Full of cute little stories that would have freaked me out as a little one. As an adult, they aren't scary at all, naturally. But most are still entertaining, and I read the whole book in one sitting. As a child, my father would tell me this scary story about the "vindow viper' I never knew where he'd heard the story, but it creeped me out! It was in this book! My father never read, and he was most older than this book. It was still cool to see.

    "I vish to vash and vipe the vindows." - The Viper

    Now my favorite story is one that talks about this couple who spent the night with an elderly pair. They put some money on the table and left. When they arrived at the next town they learned the place they had stayed at and the people they'd stayed with were much different! Sure enough, when they went back, the house was burned, had been for years. No one lived there. Yet, their money lay untouched on a table.

    This is perfect for parents who want to read to their kids but still enjoy themselves. It's really an easy but fun read.

    This is one of the books I read for ScreamAThon so it's nice to knock one off the list! 

Music Monday - Vampyr Soundtrack

This meme is hosted over at Always Me 

    So Playstation Plus members always get two free games every month. This month one of the options was the game Vampyr. I've wanted to play this game since it came in 2018 but never got the chance. When my partner saw it was free... he got it for me. I am in LOVE with this game. I can't stop playing it. I even dreamed about it once night I'm that obsessed! 

    I'm only going to share one thing today but it's over an hour long so it more than makes up for it. If you like Peter Grundy or darker instrumental music; you'll love this! It's so great for this time of year! 

  

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    Well, that's it for this post! Hope you have a safe and happy week! Until next time, happy reading!

Watch Her Vanish (Rockwell and Decker #1) by Ellery A. Kane - Mini Book Breakdown

 

    Fear hits her like a wave crashing against the sheer cliffs nearby. She sees the woman’s feet first, then the legs bent like broken driftwood. Then, the blouse strewn open; the marks on her beautiful neck. Her knees buckle as a hand grabs her elbow to break her fall.

    Forced home to Fog Harbor, California, to look after her little sister, Criminal Psychologist Olivia Rockwell is struggling to adjust to life in a town so small she can hardly breathe. Until, at church one morning, the sound of a scream leads her to the body of a missing local teacher in the shallows nearby. All the evidence points to Olivia’s most threatening patient, Drake, who is safely locked up behind bars…

    Convinced of Drake’s innocence—and desperate to believe in the system that’s keeping her own murderer father behind bars—Olivia gets to work on her own suspect list. All her life she’s run towards trouble, but this time she’s treading on the toes of brooding and handsome Detective Will Decker.

    Then a second woman’s body is discovered, strangled while out on an evening jog. The strip of blue material used to choke her implicates Drake once again, forcing Olivia and Will to admit they are out of their depth and must work together to crack the case.

    The deeper they dig, the deadlier the trail becomes. It’s clear more innocent women will die if they don’t get one step ahead. But then a note written on a scrap of paper found in the last victim’s car leads them to a terrifying realization: the killer has his sights on Olivia’s little sister as the next victim…

    An addictive and unputdownable crime thriller that will keep you up all night. Perfect for fans of Melinda Leigh, Kendra Elliot and Mary Burton.

Mini Book Breakdown

    If that opening doesn't grab you and make you want to keep reading then I don't know what to tell you because that opening was epic!

    This author just keeps getting better with her new book that comes out. I can see so much improvement from her YA trilogy! But enough about that, let's just talk about this fast-paced read, shall we?

    Olivia and Deck are our main characters and boy do they both harbor some deep secrets that we get to slowly uncover. We get to watch them try and figure out who is killing women that work at the prison before anyone else gets killed. The book rally speeds up towards the end and makes you feel like the killer is waiting in the shadows.

    Overall, I can't complain, this was amazing! Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the chance to read this great book! It's a perfect read for this time of the year!

Gotham High By Melissa de la Cruz - Book Breakdown

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Alex and Eliza and The Witches of East End comes a reimagining of Gotham for a new generation of readers. Before they became Batman, Catwoman, and The Joker, Bruce, Selina, and Jack were high schoolers who would do whatever it took--even destroy the ones they love--to satisfy their own motives.

After being kicked out of his boarding school, 16-year-old Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City to find that nothing is as he left it. What once was his family home is now an empty husk, lonely but haunted by the memory of his parents' murder. Selina Kyle, once the innocent girl next door, now rules over Gotham High School with a dangerous flair, aided by the class clown, Jack Napier.

When a kidnapping rattles the school, Bruce seeks answers as the dark and troubled knight--but is he actually the pawn? Nothing is ever as it seems, especially at Gotham High, where the parties and romances are of the highest stakes ... and where everyone is a suspect.

With enchanting art by Thomas Pitilli, this new graphic novel is just as intoxicating as it is chilling, in which dearest friends turn into greatest enemies--all within the hallways of Gotham High!

+++++++

    So, I have no idea what I just read. My partner, who loves Batman, says this is terrible and they and I quote: "Butt fucked the characters." I told him some of the stuff that happened and he just shook his head and begged me to stop telling him. Now, I don't normally read this kind of stuff but I've been branching out, and, if you've been around here long enough you'll know that I love Blue Bloods by this author. A great series! You should read it! So I wanted to try this...

    Oh Lord, here we go.

    So, I'm trying to figure out how to start this without just ripping this graphic novel into pieces. Honestly, I feel like the perfect way to describe this book is an SJW checklist. That's all this felt like to me, not a story that you want to get lost in but a list that hit all the boxes that people are looking for now just so you'll be convinced to buy it. But there's no story to keep you gripped once you start reading.

    But this boils down to the true problem I have with some books that are geared towards the SJW crowd. They often forget to tell a story! It's all just one talking point to the next or just showing you this diverse character and then doing nothing else with them. Just to show off what they know people want to see, but it's like a tease. They give us these things but only halfway.

(Joker) Jack's Obsession - Creepy

    When did we stop telling a story?

    So Batman is now a brooding Asian-American that is trying to solve who keeps kidnapping rich kids from his school. Joker is some weird white trash guy that's way too into Catwoman. And Catwoman just wants to get money to help her father. But don't even get me started on Selina! She's a bitch! Sorry for the language but she is. She plays both the boys and then proceeds to let them think she killed herself for money for her very sick father.

    Even when Bruce offers to help with her father, she won't accept it because she has to do this on her own! She's an independent woman! Don't you dare forget it! And that means, as a strong woman, she can't take help from anyone! Heaven forbid!

    I love a strong female character! I mean, I read mainly female lead stories for this reason, BUT, when did being a strong woman mean you have to be mean to everyone and never accept help? That's what I've seen in some stories recently and it just doesn't sit well with me. I don't care how strong you are, everyone is going to need help at least once in life.

    This could have been something very good but I just felt it was trying to tick boxes off a spreadsheet rather than tell a story. I don't understand why it's hard to create a story that still flicks off their lists and gives everyone what they want. For this graphic novel, it was too much to ask I guess.

    Don't even get me started on the love triangle... nope. We're not going there! I'll also skip on the art but it's not the best either.

    So, we're just going to end this here, I don't recommend this graphic novel. I don't think this is going to save comics either. Sorry.