The Breaker of Chains by Tim Facciola REVIEW

 Summary:

New Rheynia has woken from peace's slumber to a nightmare. Denied the nightly rains, crops fail, people divide, and revolution blooms between every crack in the kingdoms' failing foundation. King Varros - supposedly dead. Laeden, the traitor, a fugitive. And the Uprising's patience has ended. Following Zephyrus's open defiance of the crown, war has come. No one will emerge unscathed.

While Danella directs Damascus to finish the war her father started, Laeden frees gladiator slaves to raise an army against them. With New Rheynia burning, Vykinallia, a prisoner of the Uprising, attempts to prove herself more valuable than a king's ransom. And Iylea, after skirting death to become a servant in the divine realm, learns of a treacherous plot amongst the Gods with Zephyrus at the center of it all. Now, with the aid of Iylea in the divine realm and Laeden in the mortal, Zephyrus must claim the lost relics of long dead Gods if he has any chance of facing the traitor God and breaking the chains that bind all of humanity. But plans are in place . . . The Age of the End is coming.

My Thoughts:

Never in my life have I ever read a sequel that was even better than the first book - but here we are - this was somehow even better than the first book. I loved the fleshing out of the characters, especially smaller ones from the first book like Fenyx. Vykinallia's stoy arc in this made me like her even more, as did Laeden's.

Laeden is not only freeing the slaves to raise an army, but he's giving them a choice to join or to try to live out their lives peacefully. While on the journey, he runs into his father, King Varros, who isn't actually dead and tries to convince Laeden to choose peace instead of joining the war. While Laeden wants peace, he knows that his stepmother Danella and King Damascus will never go for that, and the war is an essential part in not only bringing peace, but bringing much needed change to the kingdom. Varros also tries to convince Danella, but she refuses to stop the war

Iylea is brought back by the Gods to break the chains, which will supposedly help the world. But while being there, she discovers that one of the Gods is actually plotting to end the world.

Zephyrus is sent on a journey to collect lost relics so that he can do his part in the war, but finds obstacles along the way. He also goes home to try to find his family with no luck - they've all disappeared.

The book ends with the Traitor God finding someone human to help him with his plan.

I loved this novel, and I didn't want it to end. I am very excited for the next one though!

My Rating: 5 stars

Recreational Panic: Stories by Sonora Taylor REVIEW

 Summary:

Fear is so much a part of our lives that instead of running away from it, we're finding ways to relax with it. Could it be through a true crime obsession that leads to stalking, or a camp song sung with murderous intent? Maybe it's better suited in an unwieldy email chain, or making crafts with materials dug from the grave. It could even be as simple as petting a kitten - whether it's truly a kitten remains far from simple . . .

My Thoughts:

I flew right through this book. A collection of short stories is a hit or miss, and this was definitely a hit. 

While a couple stories fell flat to me, the majority were intriguing and fun to read. My favorites were definitely "Harvey Carver", "Easy Bake", "Laughter in the Night", "From Scratch", "Bones Into Blood", and "Salty Air".

Sonora Taylor does a fantastic job with her writing. The vivid imagery is arguably the best part of these stories.

I would whole-heartedly recommend this anthology to any horror fan.

My Rating: 5 stars

In the Valley of the Headless Men by L. P. Hernandez REVIEW

Summary:

Nahanni National Park is one of the last truly wild places on earth. Accessible only by plane, and only when the weather cooperates, it's the perfect place for estranged brothers Joseph and Oscar to have an adventure following the death of their mother. Gillian, Joseph's first love, invites herself along in the spirit of friendship.

The park is much more than beautiful. It's mysterious. Legends of giants and hidden prehistoric animals. And among its few visitors, an outsized number of violent deaths inspiring it's second, more seductive name.

While dreaming of the future, the group will find themselves confronted by the past. Far from home and far from help. In the Valley of the Headless Men.

My Thoughts:

This was such a good read. It pulls you in through the emotions of the grieving brothers at the beginning when they are going through their mother's things at her home. 

The idea of the trip comes from letters Oscar found from Joseph's dad that his mother had kept. His parents had separated, and the longer they were separated, the longer time was between his father's visits, which eventually stopped altogether. Having a different father who was also abusive, Oscar was never close to his brother, and suggests they take a trip to Nahanni after reading about it in a letter from Joseph's father. 

The trip itself was uneventful, but the place starts to fuck with their heads. Oscar is reliving memories of his terrible father, while Gillian is reliving her pregnancy that ended in a still birth. Joseph seems to be the only one not effected - until they meet a stranger who is also wandering the area. He takes them to his cabin, and Joseph starts reliving some of his past memories. But the stranger isn't normal - he's been dead for decades, and he urges the group to travel to the heart of the valley.

I love the raw emotions and realism that this novella exudes, but I can't help but wish it was longer. The ending seemed rushed and unfinished - although maybe that's how it is supposed to feel. Gillian never returns at the end - leading me to think she is dead or she became one with the valley - although maybe that's the same thing.

My Rating: 4 stars

Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix REVIEW

Summary:

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.

To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they'll patrol the empty Showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstor is designed to retain its luster and natural appearance for a lifetime of use. Pleasingly proportioned with generous French flaps and a softcover binding, Horrorstor delivers the psychological terror you need in the elegant package you deserve.

My Thoughts:

Amy is the main character, and what a character she is. She's semi-unlikable, and the embodiment of every customer service worker in existence. She does her job, overworked and underpaid. Her manager is constantly pissing her off, and she's worried she'll be fired and unable to pay rent. Amy thinks she's fired when she is called to the manager's office, but instead is asked to work overnight to find the culprit of the break-ins with a coworker and her boss.

It's creepy at night, and they think they've found the culprit, only to find a harmless homeless man and a couple co-workers eager to go ghost-hunting. Orsk was supposedly built where a 'rehabilitation' center used to be - and not the helpful kind.

I went into this with high hopes - and boy was I satisfied. The moment I picked it up, I could not put it down. It isn't super complicated or heavy, but it's a lot of fun. The characters, as annoying as they can be, are well written. My only complaint is that there wasn't a whole lot of the backstory of the haunting. I think it could have been better if the chapters alternated between the past and the present.

I would definitely recommend reading this.

My Rating: 4 stars

Killers of A Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn REVIEW

 Summary:

Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills.

When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses-paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they've been marked for death.

Now to get out alive, they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and one another to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They're about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman - and a killer - of a certain age.

My Thoughts:

I picked this up in a Barnes&Noble (thanks to a date), and immediately fell in love with this concept. Billie is the main character, and she's a loner outside of her friends. Mary Alice is married to Akiko, and the two of them have a cat named Kevin. Helen is mourning the loss of her husband, and Natalie has had many husbands. Most of the character development goes to Billie, Mary Alice, and Helen. I do wish Natalie had more development like they did.

The books goes back and forth in time, showing the present and the past of the women. This would often provide an insight into their past work, and sometimes it helps them currently. While I enjoyed the flashbacks, it just seemed that more thought was given to them than to the present storyline. I honestly think it would have been best to just make the book longer in order even it out.

The fighting scenes were nicely done, but I was expecting a lot more than just a handful. 

Despite all that, I really enjoyed reading this. It was a fun ride, and I'm glad I did end up picking this one up.

My Rating: 4 stars