Guillotine by Delilah S. Dawson REVIEW

Summary:

Thrift fashionista Dez Lane doesn't want to date Patrick Ruskin; she just wants to meet his mother, the editor-in-chief of Nouveau magazine. When he invites her to his family's big Easter reunion at their ancestral home, she's certain she can put up with his arrogance and fend off his advances long enough to ask Marie Caulfield-Ruskin for an internship someone with her pedigree could never nab through the regular submission route.

When they arrive at the enormous island mansion, Dez is floored - she's never witnessed how the 1% lives before in all their ridiculous, unnecessary luxury. But once all the family members are on the island and the ferry has departed, things take a dark turn. For decades, the Ruskins have made their servants sign contracts that are basically indentured servitude, and with nothing to lose, the servants have decided their only route to freedom is to get rid of the Ruskins for good . . .

My Thoughts:

Dez is a poor student on a scholarship majoring in fashion, which her mother is not very happy about - it's not a guaranteed job that will pay the bills and let them live comfortably. When Dez keeps getting rejection letters from internships she applied for, she decides to go out with Patrick Ruskin, a rich man who she would rather not be around, to try and get an internship with his mother. She gets into their family vacation, hoping to meet his mother, but things there are strange. Dez has to sign an NDA, is not allowed to speak or acknowledge the servants, and feels out of place with the odd traditions of the family. When the servants rise up against the Ruskins, Dez must make a choice - side with them or not make it off the island alive . . .

It took me a little while to get into the prose of the book, as it is very different from what I am used to reading. I like the fast-paced writing, and Dez being the reader-insert of looking into the lives of the rich. While I very much love the twists and reveals in the story, one seemed out of place - Dez's unknown father being a rich man. There is no hint towards the beginning of her not knowing her father, just mentions of her mother. There is also no part where Dez asks her mother about her father either. I think that this could have been done well if we knew more about her life before the plot of the story took place. Overall though, I would recommend giving this book a read.

My Rating: 4 stars

Resurrectionist for Hire by Victoria Dalpe REVIEW

Summary:

With the ability to restore life to the dead, "Zombie Queen" Selene Shade has earned quite a reputation. Not that it helps her get dates. Her bed may be empty but business is booming. That is, until her life is thrown into disarray when a brutal killer comes to town and all signs point to her being the next victim.

Enlisted by the police department due to her unique craft, she must make new alliances, deal with old rivals, and maybe even save the world - whether she wants to or not - all the while avoiding the gruesome allure of dark magic and the sacrificial ritual of a mad cultist.

My Thoughts:

Selene Shade has the lonely job of bringing other people back to life for a price - and if they consent to it before dying. Her business partner and only friend recently died, and explicitly did not want to be resurrected. One day, Detective Marlow walks in, begging for her to resurrect a murder victim so that they can get information on the killer. Thus begins her helping the police with the investigation, and a blooming romance with Marlow, who is secretly a vampire. She finds a replacement for her old friend's job - another young resurrectionist who may also be in danger from the killer.

I really like the characters in this book - Selene and Marlow are perfectly developed and perfect for each other. They both prefer seclusion and quiet, and don't like to share their identities with others. Peter is an almost-client who is also a reporter, and despite his flaws does his best to aid in the investigation. Germaine is Selene's apprentice, who is secretly seeing a man who may or may not be the killer. I really wish that the societal acceptance of other beings was explored more, and I hope it's brought into the next book when it comes out. My only complaint was that Germaine's romance wasn't really developed enough to understand why she does the things she does for him.

My Rating: 4 stars

Survivor by J. F. Gonzalez REVIEW

Summary:

It was supposed to have been a romantic weekend getaway. Lisa was looking forward to spending time alone with her husband - and telling him that they were going to have a baby. Instead, it became a nightmare when her husband was arrested and Lisa was kidnapped. But the kidnappers aren't asking for a ransom. They want Lisa herself. They're going to make her a star - in a snuff film.

What they have in mind for Lisa is unspeakable. They plan to torture and murder her as graphically as possible, and to capture it all on film. If they have their way, Lisa's death will be truly horrifying . . . but even more horrifying is what Lisa will do to survive . . .

My Thoughts:

This book is an emotional rollercoaster. Lisa recently finds out that she's pregnant - they have been trying for a while - and plans to tell her husband on their upcoming vacation. But a terrible driver on the highway calls the police on them for a citizen's arrest. They arrest Brad, her husband, and the driver captures Lisa and takes her away. The driver tells her he is not doing this for enjoyment - it's for the money, and brings her to a secluded cabin, where she meets Al and Animal, who plan on using her for a snuff film. The driver assures her that she was picked at random, that the viewers wanted a regular, healthy person for a change. But plans go sideways when Debbie, a neighbor, happens upon Lisa and is forced to star in a film of her own so that she doesn't tell anyone what she saw. After Debbie's torture and death, Lisa stoops to a low to free herself and her unborn child - offering up someone else in exchange for her, as well as all the money in her bank account.

The novel is well-written and terrifyingly realistic. You are made to care about all of these innocent characters that get thrown in the mix, and heartbroken when some of them die. The twist ending of the father-in-law being the one to pay for her specifically on film comes right out of left field. The book assures us multiple times that Lisa was chosen at random, only for it to go a complete 180. While it makes for a good plot twist, it seems hastily thrown in. There is no suspicion for the reader to think this was so methodically planned out, and that Lisa was always the target. Overall though, things mostly stayed consistent. It's a tough read, but done in a way that isn't exploitative of the situation or victims involved.

My Rating: 3 stars

The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky REVIEW

 Summary:

New girl Rachel Chavez is eager to make a fresh start at Manchester Prep. But as a scholarship student, she struggles to fit in among the rich kids and finds herself turning to horror movies for comfort. Somehow, the stabby serial killers and homicidal dolls seem less scary than bored trust-fund babies.

Then Rachel gets caught up in a prank gone awry, going from "weird loner girl" to Public Enemy #1 overnight. To Rachel's surprise, however, the incident attracts the attention of the Mary Shelley Club, a mysterious society of students who orchestrate elaborate pranks known as Fear Tests, which are inspired by urban legends and movie tropes.

At first, Rachel embraces the power that comes with behaving recklessly, but as the Fear Tests escalate, the competition turns deadly and takes on a life of its own. When someone begins targeting the club itself, Rachel has to trach down the killer - even if it means finally confronting the dark secrets from her past.

My Thoughts:

I love the idea of meeting a final girl after she survives, and how she deals with her trauma. Rachel had a break-in happen before switching schools. The intruder wore a mask, and she killed him in self-defense. She turns to horror movies as a way of dealing with her trauma, and becomes an outsider at her new school. But when she gets on the popular girl's bad side, she finds out about the Mary Shelley Club, a group of students who play pranks and watch horror movies. Rachel joins the club, and starts to feel like she is finally fitting in and having friends - and maybe even something more  than friends with one of the members. But when students are reporting seeing a masked man and her clubmates start acting odd around her, she starts to feel uneasy and flashbacks to the break-in that she survived. 

Like I previously stated, I really enjoyed the premise and setup of this book. The main character and a few side characters are really fleshed out and seem like real people. It's a fun and easy read as well. I feel like exploring a final girl after survival isn't really explored much at all, and I absolutely love the way it was done here. The characters all seem like people you would know, and the story is really well done. The only complaint I have is that the notion of the Mary Shelley Club having different chapters at different school felt like it was thrown in as part of the twist ending. It wasn't hinted at in throughout the book, and was only briefly mentioned at the end. If the author was going to add this, it could have been handled better.

My Rating: 4 stars

My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen REVIEW

Summary:

Roos Beckman has a spirit companion only she can see. Ruth - strange, corpse-like, and dead for centuries - is the light of Roos's life. That is, until the wealthy young widow Agnes Knoop visits one of Roos's backroom seances and the two strike up a connection.

Soon, Roos is whisked away to the crumbling estate Agnes inherited upon the death of her husband, where an ill woman haunts the halls, strange smells drift through the air at night, and mysterious stone statues reside in the family chapel. Something dreadful festers in the manor, but still, the attraction between Roos and Agnes is undeniable.

Then, someone is murdered.

Poor, alone, and with a history of "hysterics", Roos is the obvious culprit. With her sanity and innocence in question, she'll have to prove who - or what - is at fault or lose everything she holds dear.

My Thoughts:

Roos is held hostage by a woman she calls her mother, though she has no relation to her. When Mother discovers that Roos truly does have a spirit companion, she exploits it with her seances to bring in money and hoping for a benefactor to bring them out of poverty. Agnes is a seemingly wealthy widow who recently lost her husband and attends one of their seances. She has a spirit companion too, and pays Mother to take Roos to her estate to stay with her. Roos falls for Agnes, but thinks that Agnes is still grieving her lost husband, so she tries to make him a spirit companion so that she can see her again. But Roos is wrong, and it may cost her everything.

The book alters between the past (what has happened with Roos's childhood and time with Agnes) and the present (Roos being questioned about the murder). I like the characterizations of the main characters, as there are really only three: Roos, Ruth, and Agnes. However, this book wasn't really for me. I enjoyed some parts of the story, but others left me not caring about it at all. I'm not sure what it was, as I tend to love gothic horror. It might have been that we barely get a glimpse at what is going on in the present. We know Roos is being questioned as a suspect for the murder trial, but that's all we get. Those glimpses are through transcripts of the questioning, and we don't get her inner thoughts during it.

My Rating: 2 stars 

Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite REVIEW

Summary:

To serial slayer Andrew Compton, murder is an art, the most intimate art. After feigning his own death to escape from prison, Compton makes his way to the United States with the ambition of bringing his art to new heights. Tortured by his own perverse desires, drawn to possess and destroy young boys, Compton inadvertently joins forces with Jay Byrne, a disolute  playboy who has pushed his art to limits even Compton hadn't previously imagined. Together, Compton and Byrne set their sights on an exquisite young Vietnamese-American runaway, Tran, whom they deem to be the perfect victim.

My Thoughts:

Andrew, a convicted gay murderer, escapes prison in England by faking his death. He kills a man and steals his wallet to get into the United States, where he finds himself in New Orleans. Jay is a gay murderer and cannibal living in New Orleans that has been very careful not to get caught. He mostly kills tourists to avoid the eye of the police. Tran is a young gay man who recently broke up with his boyfriend and was kicked out of his home for being gay.

This book is more of a character study rather than much of a plot, and it was beautifully written. It takes place during the AIDs crisis, which also has a drive in the story. Most of the characters, including Andrew and Jay, are incredibly unlikeable, but it was done well, as I didn't outright hate any of them. I found Tran to be the only sympathetic character out of them all, and I felt really bad for all the things he was going through. I would recommend this book to fans of horror and extreme horror, but not for the faint of heart.

My Rating: 4 stars