Haunted by Heather Beck Review

___

*This book was given to me, in exchange of an honest review.

Title: Haunted (The Horror Diaries #1-5)

Author: Heather Beck 

Description: When darkness falls and the air turns cold, ghosts come out to play. Heather Beck presents Haunted, an anthology of ghostly encounters and paranormal events. *Haunted contains The Horror Diaries Volumes 1-5.

Ghost Park
After discovering a mysterious playground in the woods, Chase is stalked by angry ghost children.
A Haunting Past
Truce’s class trip to an old native reserve turns deadly when Bear, an infamous chief who died two hundred years ago, blames him for the tribe’s extinction.
The Manor On The Rocks
Grey, damp and surrounded by jagged rocks, Calla Lily’s new home isn’t only unpleasant, it’s also haunted by the world’s most evil boy.
A Medieval Nightmare
When Ellie and Brandon get trapped in a medieval museum that’s a bit too real, they fall under a spell and become pivotal players in a ghostly regime.
A Watery Grave
A camping trip becomes a heart-pounding race for survival when Justine meets a ghost who’s determined to change her fate by trading bodies with a living entity.

Review:

While reading the book: 

This was an interesting light horror read. It wasn’t that bone-chilling, or extremely scary, but it was quite interesting. The stories started getting creepier, and honestly I don’t know if that was what the author intended. The book starts with a not-so-scary story, but as the stories go on, I see some rising of the creepy factor. If this book was read by a normal reader, he would have found it incredibly scary, but for a horror lover not so much. I actually enjoyed the last story.

The extra element:  

All these stories included ghosts, and even though some parts were the usual cliché scenarios (only some parts), overall I enjoyed reading about the legends. The legends included different cultures and time periods, making the stories differ from each-other. In the first story the ghost children can't handle sunlight, because their skin will be burnt. (Do I sense some vampires here?)

What I didn’t like: 

I feel like the stories had potential. If only some cliché parts were removed, and some interesting plot twists were described better, I think that the stories could have been much creepier. It is a shame, because I really liked the stories, the legends, and the uniqueness of the ghosts, but sometimes the writing style made it less scary.

Recommended To:  

 I think that this would be a perfect book for readers, who want to enter the dark side (those who want to start reading horror). If you are transitioning into the horror genre, I would recommend this book.

Rating:

Links: 

Goodreads / Amazon

Have a great day!

Happy Scary Reading!

In Search Of Monsters #13: Vampires VS Ghouls

___

Hello bookworms

How have you been doing? For this “In Search of Monsters” I decided to talk a bit about ghouls. Now, I am not a ghoul expert, just like for example I am a vampire expert, but I did see all the episodes of “Tokyo Ghoul”, I did read the manga, and also I did my research on ghouls. So, here we go.

Firstly, people tend to confuse vampires with ghouls, and vice versa. Both of these creatures look somewhat human, they feed on human flesh, and they do have extraordinary hearing, smelling, fast reflexes, and stuff.

Well, not really! Vampires do not eat human flesh, they just drink human blood. The victim of a vampire usually turns into a vampire, unless he is burned, or his head is cut off and filled with garlic (What Van Helsing did to Lucy, not to let her Dracula control her anymore, and save her soul.) Ghouls just eat human flesh, they are carnivores.  Their victims die, they don’t transform into ghouls.

Vampires are dead people, whether they are bitten by other vampires, risen from their grave because of their sins, or maybe their soul is transformed in lugat, when the death rituals aren’t respected (Albanian Legends). Ghouls aren’t particly dead people, they are just monsters. Vampires used to be human at some extent, while ghouls no. They are born this way.

Basically let’s say that vampires are sophisticated creatures, while ghouls are all about violence. Vampires are immortal, and they don’t age, while ghouls do age.

If you try to kill a vampire, you might need special weapons, you know, you can’t just run them in your knife. When you stab a ghoul, your knife will pierce through his flesh, but still it will heal itself. If you want to kill a ghoul, you have to stab him several times, until he can't heal anymore

Have a great day!

Happy Scary Reading!

April's Guide To Reading: Spring Reading Music Playlist

___

Hello bookworms

It's me, Klejda. This is my spring reading playlist. This is what I plan to listen to when spring eventually comes. For those of you who are enjoying the lovely, spring weather I hope you like it.

All of Shawn Mendes’ songs. Trust me they are all awesome. Check out Stitches, and Never Be Alone.

Sam Hunt – Take Your Time (it has a nice combination of spoken voice and singing)

Scorpions – Wind Of Change

Sam Tsui – Don’t Want An Ending

Robin Schulz feat. Jasmine Thompson – Sun Goes Down

Bruno Mars – Young Girls

Lewis Watson – Into The Wild; What About Today

Kodaline – Honest; Autopilot; The One

Ben Rector – Song For The Suburbs

Lumineers – Ho Hey

Have a great day!

Happy Scary Reading!

First Chapter First Paragraph ~ Tuesday Intros -

___

Hello Bookworms

This is a feature hosted by Bibliophile By the Sea.  We have to share the first paragraph or (a few) of a book we are reading, or thinking about reading soon.

I am currently reading "Haunted" by Heather Beck (Goodreads)

"Fifteen-year-old Chase Macmillan looked expectantly at her father from across the dining-room

table. She’d been doing so since his arrival and subsequent

announcement that he’d just received some

good news. Chase’s dinner, which consisted of meatloaf

and broccoli, was getting cold as she watched

Mr. Macmillan eat his own meal in a hurry."

Have a great day!

Happy Scary Reading!

Follow And Feature #14 : Reoccurring Nightmares?

____

Hello bookworms

Before we jump to our weekly question, can I get applause for being very productive these two last weeks, and posting almost every day?

Anyways, now straight to the topic: This is a weekly feature, hosted by Parajunkee and Alison. Click here for the rules.

This week’s question:

"Have you ever had a reoccurring dream? What was it?"

My dreams are kinda horror/action/sci-fi movies. I swear! Strangely enough, I used to have this nightmare almost every week, where I was in a dark room, and Dracula would appear. I would scream, but no sound would come of my mouth. I had these nightmares, when I wasn't on good terms with Dracula. At the age of 13, I was fascinated, but in the same time scared of him. 

 What about you?

Have a great day!

Happy Scary Reading!

In Search Of Monsters #12: The rain spirit? Ameonna

____

Hello bookworms

I have solved the mystery of my life. As a curly haired girl, I know the pain of looking like the lion king, when it rains, especially when I have done my hair so perfectly.  

After my last dangerous visit in Ireland, while running away from the headless knight, Dullahan, I returned to Japan again. (in my imaginary world, LOL). 

A certain female spirit called Ameonna hates me, therefore she makes it rains everytime my hair is perfect.

She is a female spirit illustrated in Toriyama Sekien's Konjaku Hyakki Shūi. Ameonna is a woman , who stands in the rain, licking her hand. But she is known as a goddess from China's Mount Wushan, who is a cloud in the morning and rains in the evening.  Well, she seems harmless, beside the ruining my hair thing. I forgive her anyways. I’ve had worse. Dullahan almost threw a bucket of blood on me, just because I wanted to interview him. So rude!

Have a great day!

Happy Scary Reading!

Dead Radiance by T.G. Ayer Review

Title: Dead Radiance  

Author: T.G. Ayer

Description: Bryn Halbrook had always seen the glow. But it is only when her best friend dies that she discovers the meaning of those beautiful golden auras — Death. Alone, lost in the foster system, she struggles to understand who she is and why she was cursed with the ability to see the soon-to-be-dead. 

The new foster kid, Aidan, isn’t helping any. Mr. Perfect seems to fit in no matter what, making her feel even more pathetic. But when his affections turn to her, Bryn finds him hard to resist. Impossible actually. A mystery himself, Aidan disappears, leaving behind a broken heart and a mysterious book that suggests Bryn might not be entirely human.

Bryn stands at the threshold of a journey of discovery. Will destiny help her find herself, find her purpose and her place in a world in which she’d never belonged?

 Review:

While reading the book: 

This was a fast read. Nothing too scary, but not monotonous either. The mystery was evident in every chapter.  Bryn, a girl who sees people glow before they die, finds out that she is a Valkyrie, a reincarnation of the Warrior Brunhilde to be more exact. 

Main Character:  Bryn was someone you could easily follow her point of view. She didn’t have any friends, and people called her a “freak”. They mostly judged her for being an orphan, and that made me extremely mad.

The extra element:  

The YA genre has had its fair share of vampires, werewolves, ghosts, demons, etc. It's difficult to find something new. Norse mythology! I love books with strange, unique mythology. Even though the Norse mythology has been known for quite a while on TV, I still enjoyed the book. Just for your information Valkyres, put simply, are females with wings, who choose those who may die in battles, and those who may live.

What I didn’t like: 

Personally, I think that Bryn’s relationship with Aidan escalated quickly. They just met, and the next day they were making out, then he tried to save her life. Calm down, people! I wish their relationship would have developed in a slower pace. Their lives drastically changed, and their romance was kind of unnecessary. They were faced with mythological creatures, for God’s sake. They didn’t have time for romance. If there would have been just a tiny bit of chemistry hinting the romance for the next book, I would’ve enjoyed the reading much more.

Recommended To:  

YA lovers, who are getting sick of the usual creatures, and legends.

Rating:

Three cats and a kitten

Links:

 Goodreads / Amazon

Have a great day!

Happy Scary Reading!