Where Fiction and Reality Meet
Title: Straight Author: Chuck Tingle Publisher: Self-Published Length: 84 Pages Category: Horror Rating: 3.5 Stars At a Glance: Straight is not for the sensitive reader. It's a bit spendy for its length, and it could have used a proofreader, but its goal was the happy ending for a group of queer friends, and in that,... Continue Reading →
Title: The Taking of Jake Livingston Author: Ryan Douglass Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Length: 255 Pages Category: YA, Paranormal Thriller, Horror Rating: 5 Stars Content Warnings: See below as part of my review At a Glance: The Taking of Jake Livingston is a tour de force of horror, an absolute spectacle of storytelling, and the... Continue Reading →
Title: Lethal Control Series: The DuPage Parish Mysteries: Book Three Author: Gregory Ashe Publisher: Self-Published Length: 274 Pages Category: Horror Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: One question that never goes unanswered in this author's work is "What are the stakes?" because every scene builds toward something significant to the characters and their story. This... Continue Reading →
Title: Beneath the Loch Author: SD Simper Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 44 Pages Category: Dark Romance, Fairy Tale Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: Beneath the Loch is a story in which religious doctrine and mythology collide in a question of what is evil and what is simply a different sort of miraculous in the... Continue Reading →
Title: Hell Followed with Us Author: Andrew Joseph White Publisher: Peachtree Teen Length: 412 Pages Category: YA, Fantasy, Monster Fiction Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Hell Followed with Us is not my story. I will never know firsthand what it means, or feels like, to walk in Benji’s shoes. That doesn’t mean I can’t... Continue Reading →
Title: A Dowry of Blood Author: S. T. Gibson Publisher: Redhook/Hachette Length: 250 Pages Category: Historical Fantasy, Gothic Horror Rating: 4.5 Stars At a Glance: A Dowry of Blood is an homage to Dracula, passionate and evocative with a lushness of prose that heightened the emotions of the story Constanta tells. It’s a sort of... Continue Reading →
Title: Exodus 20:3 Author: Freydís Moon Publisher: NineStar Press Length: 93 Pages Category: Horror, Erotic Fantasy Rating: 4.5 Stars At a Glance: This novella packs a lot of punch, and I was completely absorbed by the author’s voice and their storytelling. I’ll be watching for their next release to see what boundaries they’ll explore, and... Continue Reading →
Titles: Finna and Defekt Series: The LitenVerse: Books One and Two Author: Nino Cipri Publisher: Tor/Macmillan Length: 103 Pages/170 Pages Category: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Rating: 4 Stars/5 Stars At a Glance: Nino Cipri’s imagination is so impressive, and their knack for inspiring my own vision of a place that was fraught with danger, but shouldn’t have been,... Continue Reading →
Title: The Bayou Author: Arden Powell Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 97 Pages Category: Southern Gothic, Horror, Fantasy, Historical Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: Arden Powell melds the feral and predatory with the fantastical and dreadful. Their writing is claustrophobic in the best ways, capturing the sultriness of the setting, and that special something for... Continue Reading →
Title: Subcutanean 36619 Author: Aaron A. Reed Publisher: Self-Published Length: 251 Pages Category: Horror, Suspense Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Aaron A. Reed tells an overwhelmingly compelling story. His writing is impactful, at times almost lyrical, and impressively vivid. For fans of the Horror genre, this story plays out in the imagination in some... Continue Reading →
Title: Stray Fears Author: Gregory Ashe Publisher: Self-Published Length: 284 Pages Category: Horror At a Glance: One sure bet in a Gregory Ashe novel is that when the going gets tough, the tough get bloody. Stray Fears is full of pure, goose bump inducing perfection. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: Elien Martel is a survivor, but... Continue Reading →
Title: Boys of Alabama Author: Genevieve Hudson Publisher: Liveright Length: 301 Pages Category: Southern Gothic, Coming of Age At a Glance: Boys of Alabama packs an impactful emotional punch and succeeds in painting a none-too-flattering picture of the times and then reflects it back to its readers in striking ways. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: In... Continue Reading →
Title: F4 Author: Larissa Glasser Publisher: Eraserhead Press Length: 150 Pages Category: Horror At a Glance: I wouldn’t go so far as to say F4 is a must-read for Horror fans. When I say it defies conventions, I mean that, fervently, but if you’re looking for a story set in a world that’s a lot... Continue Reading →
Title: Something Wicked This Way Comes Author: Amy Rae Durreson Publisher: Self-Published Length: 343 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance, Paranormal, Horror At a Glance: There’s a lovely romance in this story that finds its own way amidst the trauma and turmoil of the horror, and the author conducts each chapter and verse of Something Wicked This... Continue Reading →
Title: The Wrath of Wolves Series: Dark Is the Night: Book Three Authors: Kelley York and Rowan Altwood Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 371 Pages Category: Historical Romance, Horror At a Glance: Superb storytelling and irresistible characters set against an excellent alternate historical backdrop populated by various supernatural entities elevates this series to the top of... Continue Reading →
Title: Steam Author: Jay B. Laws Publisher: ReQueered Tales (2nd Edition) Length: 577 Pages Category: Horror At a Glance: Clocking in at a robust 577 pages, Steam takes a fair amount of word count to pick up steam (if you’ll pardon the pun), but once all the significant parts and pieces fell into place, and... Continue Reading →
Title: The Unfinished Author: Jay B. Laws Publisher: ReQueered Tales Length: 349 Pages Category: Gay Fiction, Horror At a Glance: Jay B. Laws' gift for spinning an effective tale is evidenced by the balance of shock he provokes with the empathy he inspires for his characters. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: Jiggs, a hearing-impaired gay man... Continue Reading →
Title: Masquerade Author: Joel Abernathy Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 202 Pages Category: Gothic Horror, Historical Romance At a Glance: In this semi-faithful homage to The Phantom of the Opera, Joel Abernathy offers up some truly beautiful prose, inspiring the appropriate emotional tone and often tugging at the heartstrings. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: We all wear... Continue Reading →
Title: Shift Series: Flesh and Bone: Book Three Author: Joel Abernathy Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 247 Pages Category: Horror, Paranormal At a Glance: This is some lovely speculative fiction, though not one to seek out if you're looking for a soft romance, but the way Joel Abernathy turns a phrase encompasses a lot of emotion... Continue Reading →
Title: On Your Knees, Prospect Series: Kings of Hell MC: Book Three Author: K.A. Merikan Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 321 Pages Category: BDSM, Horror At a Glance: K.A. Merikan is known for their great writing style, and On Your Knees, Prospect is no exception. The books in this series are page turners, the read all... Continue Reading →
Title: Gargoyle Author: J. Scott Coatsworth Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 1700 words/short story Category: Horror At a Glance: For being a short story, I thought J. Scott Coatsworth gave a good portrayal of the characters. It's a creepy, quick and easy read that leaves us with a lesson to be learned. Reviewed By: Maryann Blurb:... Continue Reading →
Title: A Hymn in the Silence Series: Dark Is the Night: Book Two Authors: Kelley York and Rowan Altwood Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 198 Pages Category: Historical, Horror At a Glance: One of the singular highlights of York and Altwood's collaboration on this series is their ability to draw every scene, whether it be terrifying... Continue Reading →
Title: Devil Take Me Authors: Jordan L. Hawk, TA Moore, Ginn Hale, C.S. Poe, Rhys Ford, and Jordan Castillo Price Publisher: DSP Publications Length: 450 Pages Category: Horror, Paranormal At a Glance: 4.5 Stars overall, Devil Take Me is a wonderful anthology. Reviewed By: Jovan Blurb: Temptation lurks around every corner in worlds sometimes dark,... Continue Reading →
Title: A Light Amongst Shadows Series: Dark Is the Night: Book One Authors: Kelley York and Rowan Altwood Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 344 Pages Category: Gothic Horror, Mystery/Suspense, Paranormal, Historical Romance Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: This was, without a doubt, the perfect storm of everything I look for in a book. My imagination... Continue Reading →
The Novel Approach Reviews 