Full Brutal by Kristopher Triana REVIEW

 Summary:

Kim White is a very popular cheerleader. She's pretty, healthy, and comes from a well-off family. She has everything a girl of sixteen is supposed to want. And she's sick to death of it.

In search of something to pull her out of her suicidal thoughts, she begrudgingly decides to lose her virginity, having heard it's a life-changing event. But Kim doesn't want to do it the same way her peers do. She seduces one of her teachers, hoping to ruin his life just for the fun of it. This starts Kim on a runaway train of sadism, and she makes every effort to destroy the lives of those around her. But soon simple backstabbing is not enough to keep her excited, and she nosedives into sabotage, violence, and even murder. 

When Kim finds out she's pregnant with her teacher's child, a new madness overtakes her, and she realizes there's only one thing that will satisfy her baby's hunger . . .

My Thoughts:

Wow. This was brutal (haha). Some parts I loved, some I didn't.

Kim is such an interesting character. We know from the jump that she has psychopathic traits, but it's just her thoughts. And then she dives further into madness. After she seduces the teacher, she makes a point to befriend his daughter, who she decided to teach for cheerleading tryouts. She finds herself discontent with just this, and Kim decides to ruin the daughter's life too.

Kim is able to get away with murder, but when she learns she's pregnant, the baby wants human meat on the menu.

I liked the added touch of the torture porn to murder pipeline. I found myself disliking the sex scenes though. Kim is unlikeable, and I love when authors pull it off by making you hate the character but needing to read more, and Triana does this so well.

The ending did feel a little rushed, but it was good regardless. 

My Rating: 4 stars

Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick by Jason Pargin REVIEW

 Summary:

In the futuristic city of Tabula Ra$a, Zoey Ashe is like a fish so far out of water that it has achieved orbit. After inheriting a criminal empire, the twenty-three-year-old finds herself under threat from all sides as a rogues' gallery of larger-than-life enemies thinks they smell weakness.

On the eve of the world's most lavish and ridiculous Halloween celebration, a steamer trunk-sized box arrives at Zoey's door, and she is shocked to find that it contains a disemboweled corpse. She is even more shocked when that corpse, controlled by an unknown party, rises and goes on a rampage through the house. Speaking in an electronic voice, it publicly accuses Zoey of being its murderer. This is the kind of thing that almost never happened at her old job.

The city was already a ticking time bomb of publicity-hungry vigilantes with superhuman enhancements, and Zoey knows this turn of events is unlikely to improve the situation. Now she and her team of high-tech tricksters have to solve this bizarre murder while simultaneously keeping Tabula Ra$a from descending into chaos.

My Thoughts:

So I picked up this book in a bookstore, looked at the description and the first page, and decided I needed it. Best. Decision. Ever. I mean, this is the first sentence: Zoey Ashe surveyed the carnage and said, "Sorry we're late, it was my cat's birthday." I did not realize this was a sequel, so keep that in mind.

Zoey is a scarily accurate depiction of a women in her early twenties. I can say that, since I am one myself. She hates large gatherings, and prefers to stay in her home.

I really like the setting. It is familiar enough to visualize, but not enough that it isn't futuristic.  Other than Zoey, my favorite character has got to be Echo.

The action scenes are very fun, and when Zoey is going after her cat's potential kidnapper, it very much reminded me of John Wick.

If you like sci-fi, comedy, and horror, definitely check this one out.

My Rating: 4 stars

Woom by Duncan Ralston REVIEW

Summary:

The lonely motel holds many dark secrets . . . and room 6 just might possess the worst of them all.

Angel knows all about pain. His mother died in this room. He's researched its history. Today he's come back to end it, no matter the cost, once and for all.

Shyla, a plus-sized prostitute, thinks that the stories Angel tells her can't be true. Secrets so vile, you won't want to let them inside you.

But the lonely motel doesn't forget. It doesn't forgive. And it always claims its victim.

My Thoughts:

I honestly wish this was longer. I would love to have heard more stories than the ones included here.

In the beginning, we don't know much about Angel. All we know is that his mother died in the motel room that he is renting. He hires a prostitute, and I originally thought that he was going to kill her by the end. Instead of having regular sex, Angel uses toys on her while telling her three stories about this particular motel room. The stories seem random at first, but by the end, it is revealed that they are all connected to Angel in one way or another. This leads to him stuffing his head inside the prostitute to be "reborn".

I ended up really enjoying Angel's character, though that could be because he is really the only developed character here.

I read this very quickly. It is not for the faint of heart, but I would recommend this book to any fans of extreme horror.

My Rating: 5 stars

Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner REVIEW

Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner follows Princess Catrin, a young Celtic warrior. She has an unlikely bond with ravens, which allows her to use a raven as her eyes to see things from a distance. However, her parents have forbidden her from using these powers, believing that the power will be too much for her mortal body to handle. The former queen had cast a curse on the king’s future daughter, making them nervous about what may happen to Catrin. One day, the family’s banished son, Marrock, returns to the kingdom with Roman soldiers, whom he had tricked into changing a truce between them and the king that would recognize him as the rightful heir despite his disownment. While the king goes to meet with the Romans in a secret location to renegotiate the treaty, Marcellus, a Roman boy, is left with the Celtic royal family as a prisoner. Catrin finds herself drawn to the boy, and falls in love with him, leaving her torn between her love for Marcellus and her loyalty to her family.

I loved learning about Catrin’s kingdom, and the world of Ancient Britannia. The imagery that the author uses is so well done and gives the reader a good idea of what the locations in the novel are like: “The sheer chalk cliffs formed an impenetrable wall against the crashing waves (12).” 

Several characters, including Catrin, her mother, Mor, and Marcellus are very well developed. This is good, as the reader can connect with more than just the main character, Catrin, and care about what happens to them. Even the lesser developed characters are interesting to read about, such as the warriors at the feast after Marcellus agrees to stay as a prisoner, who are boisterous and blunt.

One thing about this novel that I am not a fan of is the repeated mentions of rape. While an important thing that is later revealed has to do with this subject, the other mentions are unnecessary and distasteful. Marcellus’s father is often found talking crudely about sex, but it is his flippant remarks about rape and encouraging his son to do so that is appalling. Marcellus is vocally against this, making him an even better character in my eyes. This is honestly probably the only barrier that would stop me from recommending this to my friends. These mentions are completely unneeded in terms of the storyline.

I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.