Review: Empire of the Vampire

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SO FN GOOD.

PROS
-Violence
-Carnage
-Mayhem
-Fun, unpredictable characters
-Interesting adventures
-Lots of rep and real world issues disguised by violent vampire adventure horror story
-Dior
-Colourful insults
-No f**ks given
-Illustrations are INSANE
-Sneaky low-key LOTR references I SEE YOU

CONS
-Jumps back and forth between timelines so my precious brain got confused
-Some predictable moments/characters

Honestly this was just so much fun and it is SO GOOD to meet bloodthirsty vampires again <3 Thank you for ripping out people's throats and drinking their blood and doing horribly monstrous things.

LOVED IT.

Minus .5 of a star because I did get a little confused jumping back and forth and also because some of it I saw coming but these are minor complaints that will quite possibly vanish into a 5-star rating after further consideration of how this book made me feel (devilishly entertained).

BELIEVE THE HYPE.

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Review: Mark of Fire

Mark of Fire by Richard Phillips
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I would probably have loved this if the narrator was better.

As it was, still a solid, enjoyable fantasy with some fun characters.

I enjoyed the magic system, even though I definitely zoned out through some important bits. Did I mention the narration is pretty terrible? Inflections in all the wrong places and she can make battle scenes sound like just another dull day. So I would kinda zone out and then hear something important and be like, 'wait, what?!' and then have to rewind. So that was frustrating. This story definitely deserved a more excited narrator.

I really liked the characters, and may even go back and just read the e-book so I can get to know them better. I really liked Ty and that lil band of three so I want to go back and properly appreciate their adventures.

The names put me off to start with because you've got all these cool, fantasy-esque names and then the main heroine is named Carol?! But then I discovered Carol is the author's wife's name and I can't argue with that. There's enough creativity elsewhere for me to overlook something as little as a name or two.

The villain seems like a straight up a-hole so he made things fun!

Honestly, I really did zone out for a fair bit of the story but it was way more entertaining than I expected it to be so I'll probably go back and re-read then continue on with the series.

Highly recommend for fantasy lovers, but FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T LISTEN TO THE AUDIO.

Sorry to the narrator.

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Review: Kill Your Brother

Kill Your Brother by Jack Heath
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another fast-paced thriller from Jack Heath!

I have to admit - the three stars is more me than this book. I've seemingly become a little jaded with reading about murder, assault, rape, etc. so it just doesn't quite hit the same for me any more.

So, that in mind, let me mention all the things that are great about this story.

First, there's the unique premise: Elise can go free from her captor, but only if she murders her (also captive) brother. If that's not an original hook, I haven't read as much crime as I thought! I found the sibling dynamic was quite fascinating, especially when their true colours started coming out.

The twists were aplenty, and while I did see a few coming there were still some that kept me guessing and had me surprised. This is a rather convoluted story with many seemingly disconnected characters that somehow weave together into the same narrative.

I found Stephanie to be a really interesting character, and would have loved to explore her story more thoroughly. I didn't particularly like Elise or Callum, so Stephanie actually attracted most of my sympathy.

This book travels at a fast pace which means you do have to put some things together for yourself. Sometimes I rather missed the lack of detail, and I do feel this story could have been fleshed out further by adding more meat to the characters.

As mentioned, I've become a bit jaded with crime, so for me it was the unique aspects of the story that kept me hooked. I got a bit tired reading about some of the details of the various crimes discussed in this story, and I think that's just because of how sad it makes me that these things are still happening for real all around the world.

An excellent crime novel and a brilliant follow up to the Hangman series that should leave fans satisfied.

Personally, however, I think it's time for me to disappear back into some fantasy.

With thanks to A&U for an uncorrected proof ARC

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Review: Midnight in the Snow

Midnight in the Snow by Karen Swan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A cute lil holiday story which is utterly predictable but no less cute for it.

The story is about doco filmmaker Clover as she sets up in the enemy camp to get the real story on Kit Foley - the nemesis of the hero she featured in her most recent film. But Kit doesn't want her and her crew in his fancy Chalet, so be prepared for some chilly winter nights as they reluctantly get to know each other.

Now, obviously with this being romance they're destined to fall in love, but damn do they make things difficult! This is an excellent enemies-to-lovers story with a lot of anger and hatred. Clover is incredibly biased and naturally jumps to all the wrong conclusions which can be frustrating, but I still found it gelled well with the story. The hate between these two is deliciously strong.

I did really enjoy getting to know these characters. There's a big predictability factor and you'll have met many of these characters before in various forms, but I did really enjoy the way they shaped this story.

The sport side of things did not interest me a bit, so the fact that I held on to it all through this story and was still entertained speaks volumes about the character relationships. The dynamics were really interesting and, even though I could pretty much guess where everyone was going to end up, I enjoyed the way it played out.

So yes. Predictable, but good. This is a character-driven story and a fun enemies-to-lovers romance.

This opinion is brought to you by someone notorious for disliking romance, so be prepared to add a star or two if you're into this sappy stuff. :)

With thanks to Macmillan for an ARC to read and review

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Review: Winterset Hollow

Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Boy did I end up loving this twisted lil psychotic animal story!

I'll be thinking about this one for a while.

The plot sees three friends travelling to Addington Isle - once home to the great Edward Addington, author of Winterset Hollow. The book is a favourite of Eamon and Caroline (Caroline's boyfriend, Mark, is mostly just along for the ride) who love this innocent story of animals preparing for their annual Barley Day feast. However, upon arriving at the island, the gang discover more about their favourite book than they ever wanted to know.

At first, I felt the story was a little slow but I kept reading because the writing really drew me in. The language of this book is exquisite and I really enjoyed the sensation of playing these sentences over my mental tongue. Absolutely adored the writing and, even though I'm not one for poetry and tend to skip it in novels, I was even drawn in to the verses of Winterset Hollow scattered throughout.

As the gang arrives on the island and begins to explore, I was anxiously waiting for something to happen. Yet when it did, I was wondering if I'd confused the genre. We meet a host of characters seemingly out of a children's fairy tale and I honestly had no idea where it was going so I was a bit befuddled.

When the action picked up, however, this book grabbed hold and refused to let me go. I was completely at its mercy as I rampaged through 200 pages of carnage and mayhem and just the weirdest, most entertaining horror I've read in a long time. Something about this story really excited my inner child while slaking the bloodlust I get when I read horror. It just hit the spot.

These characters truly fascinated me, and I simply adored them. Even though most of them have a few screws loose, I just loved the way they were written. There was a depth to these characters that I wasn't expecting, and it had me hanging off every word of this story.

Some of the saves were a little too convenient, but I still found myself completely immersed in what was happening so it never really bothered me. I was just reading something so unique that some of the familiar tropes never really landed as overdone. This book was totally refreshing.

This is a truly unique work of horror, so if you're looking for something a little different in the genre, I highly recommend it. It took me all kinds of strange directions and I ended up committing so much of myself to this story. It was an absolute delight to read.

Many thanks to the author for a copy to read and review.

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