Friday Favourites #1

This meme is about showcasing favourites. Each week I plan to showcase a favourite book or series, past and present and tell you all why I love it and why you should try it! If you want to join in, please go to our host Natalie and leave a comment on her Friday Favourites post with a link to your post. If enough of us join in, she'll provide a linky for us all to connect. So what are you waiting for?

http://bookloverslife.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/friday-favourites-6.html 

THIS WEEK: IT by STEPHEN KING

The first thing that attracted me to the book was the creepy cover. Who doesn't love the idea of that monster lurking in the drains ready to reach out and grab you? I was 12 or 13 when I first read this so I could relate perfectly to the kids feelings about this monster that took the shape of everything that terrified them: werewolves, mummies, lepers and a scary ass clown! I mean, who could love clowns with those creepy grins? Watching these misfit kids trying to battle a monster that kills children in a town where adults were content to look the other way was chilling. Each child had their own scary encounter with the clown as well as the group encounters and the tension that built up was great. There was also a great side story of the school bully psycho who is also trying to kill them all summer. If this wasn't good enough, we then have the children returning as adults to battle the monster again, finding that it is harder to deal with this as a grown up when you are even more scared of what is in the dark.  Brilliant. Loved the characters, loved the plot and LOVED Pennywise the Clown. 

To the children, the town was their whole world. To the adults, knowing better, Derry, Maine was just their home town: familiar, well-ordered for the most part. A good place to live.

It was the children who saw - and felt - what made Derry so horribly different. In the storm drains, in the sewers, IT lurked, taking on the shape of every nightmare, each one's deepest dread. Sometimes IT reached up, seizing, tearing, killing . . .

The adults, knowing better, knew nothing.

Time passed and the children grew up, moved away. The horror of IT was deep-buried, wrapped in forgetfulness. Until they were called back, once more to confront IT as IT stirred and coiled in the sullen depths of their memories, reaching up again to make their past nightmares a terrible present reality

My Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/93864762

Harry Potter Moment of the Week #2

 

This is a weekly meme hosted by Leah at Uncorked Thoughts: http://uncorkedthoughts.blogspot.co.uk/p/harry-potter-meme.html

Each week we share our personal opinion on a specific Harry Potter question chosen by Leah. Want to join in the Harry Potter fun? Follow the link above!

THIS WEEK: FREE WEEK!

This means I can choose anything from Harry Potter to talk about so I'm going to pick a few questions that were asked before I joined the meme. So I'm picking my favourite funny moments from books 1 and 2  to discuss.

THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE:

For funny moment, I think it has to be when Hagrid hatches Norbert. 'Norbert Norbert where's mummy!' It just cracks me up. I laughed like a drain when Hagrid was bitten and when Hermione was trying to remind him that he lives in a wooden house with a dragon! Hagrid was brilliant during this whole plot, telling Ron off for getting bitten by Norbert and giving the dragon a teddy bear to cuddle which he then rips apart. Great fun!

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS:

I thought Lockhart was so funny so my favourite funny moments were to do with him. There was his reaction to Colin wanting a photo of Harry and Harry's fear about 'The Harry Potter Fan Club'. But my very favourite bit was when Harry got the singing card from Ginny, especially when he was rugby tackled to receive it. Very funny.

 PLEASE NOTE: 

I love visiting blogs and leaving comments but I don't give my details to third party companies like DISQUS so if you are using this system for leaving comments, sadly I can't say hello to you. Sorry!

Book Review: Hillary: Flesh and Blood(Hillary #2)

WARNING: This novel contains disturbingly explicit sexual and deviant content that may be considered offensive to some readers, including rape, incest, torture and cannibalism.

The death of innocence gives birth to evil….

Thirteen year-old Hillary Greyson lived a charmed life until one ill-fated night changed everything. Hurt and betrayed by her own father, she finally confronts her mother for help, only to be turned away, criticized and blamed.

With her innocence lost, Hillary has no one to turn to until she discovers a peculiar friend, an ally she learns to trust...learns to obey.

Frustrated and angry, hurt and dejected, Hillary screams out for help, cries out for compassion.

Hillary just wants to be heard….

Where can I buy this book? 

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/350033

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hillary-Flesh-and-Blood-ebook/dp/B00D52QQK8/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380201224&sr=1-2&keywords=Angel+Gelique 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hillary-Flesh-Blood-Angel-Gelique/dp/1490325034/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380201224&sr=1-3&keywords=Angel+Gelique

http://www.amazon.com/Hillary-Flesh-and-Blood-ebook/dp/B00D52QQK8/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380201306&sr=1-2&keywords=Angel+Gelique

http://www.amazon.com/Hillary-Flesh-Blood-Angel-Gelique/dp/1490325034/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380201306&sr=1-5&keywords=Angel+Gelique 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hillary-angel-gelique/1116875033?ean=2940045252713

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/hillary-flesh-and-blood

My review:
*I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*

Hillary's happy life vanishes the night that her father starts to molest and rape her. After months of agony she confides in her mother who refuses to help her. Alone and angry, Hillary discovers a new friend inside her head who knows exactly how to make everyone listen to her.

In book one we see the psycho that Hillary became and there was no real sympathy for her or her actions but this prequel novel shows how a good, normal teenage girl becomes that twisted monster because of the abuse she has been subjected to. Her gradual descent into madness was gripping and compelling, seeing the girl you have sympathy for inflicting horrific cruelty on her family and former friends. I had no sympathy for Michael or Kathy for their part in Hillary's appalling experiences but I felt sorry for her brother and sister who really had done nothing wrong. And poor Storm! I couldn't even READ that scene because I love beagles and I didn't want to see it in print!

We get more opportunity to see what kind of girl Hillary was before the abuse and how Michael's reign of terror affected firstly Kathy and then his daughter. Kathy is a sympathetic figure at the start of the book when you see the monster that Michael was, manipulating, violent, bullying, leaving her with no self esteem or mind of her own. It is when she betrays her daughter that my sympathy for her ended. Hillary herself is a bit of a pantomime villan through the book and I did laugh at a few of her twisted comments during the torture. Not sure what that says about my personality!

This book will appeal to horror fans who like the Jack Ketchum/Edward Lee kind of twisted gorefest. The plot as before is brutal and gory with scenes of rape, incest, cannibalism, torture and death. If you don't have a strong stomach, don't go there! I'm looking forward to seeing the continuation of Hillary's story and will also be keen to see what else the author writes in the future.

Throwback Thursday #4

Throwback Thursday #4

This Meme is hosted by Melissa at My World in Words and Pages. Go to her blog and join us!

I blog about great looking new releases, new books sent to me for read and review, book reviews of what I've read and features about exciting new authors to try.

But what about all the books that are already on my TBR, waiting for me to read them? Don't they deserve a mention and a chance to be highlighted? Yes they do!

Welcome to Throwback Thursday, where I will take the time to tell you about some of the books that have been on my shelves for a while and maybe a few of you will add them to your wishlists/tbrs. If you have read them, why not leave a comment to tell me what you thought of it-but no spoilers please!

This week I have delved into the bowels of my wishlist for a few that have been there for a while and really need to be read before the next Millenium! I've actually read and enjoyed Glass Houses but need to go back and read it again when I go to read the next book and rest of the series. Who knows when I'll find the time!

HORROR CHOICE:

REMAIN CALM. DO NOT PANIC. TAKE SHELTER. WAIT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS. THE SITUATION IS UNDER CONTROL.

Society is rocked by a sudden increase in the number of violent assaults on individuals. Christened 'Haters' by the media, the attackers strike without warning, killing all who cross their path. The assaults are brutal, remorseless and extreme: within seconds, normally rational, self-controlled people become frenzied, vicious killers. There are no apparent links as a hundred random attacks become a thousand, then hundreds of thousands. Everyone, irrespective of gender, age, race or any other difference, has the potential to become a victim - or a Hater. People are afraid to go to work, afraid to leave their homes and, increasingly, afraid that at any moment their friends, even their closest family, could turn on them with ultra violent intent.  Waking up each morning, no matter how well defended, everyone must now consider the fact that by the end of the day, they might be dead.  Or perhaps worse, become a killer themselves.  As the status quo shifts, ATTACK FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER becomes the order of the day...  only, the answers might be much different than what you expect.... 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6444093-hater 

DYSTOPIAN CHOICE: 

Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him -- something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6043848-the-knife-of-never-letting-go 

URBAN FANTASY CHOICE:

From the author of the popular Weather Warden series comes the debut of an exciting new series set in Morganville, Texas, where you would be well advised to avoid being out after dark.

College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation. When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life, but they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood. Will she be able to face the town's terror or will she drown like everyone else?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6667618-glass-houses 

Wishlist Wednesday #2

Wishlist Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Pen to Paper at http://www.pentopaperblog.com/

Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop where we will post about one book per week that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added (it's entirely up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our wonderful shelves.

The Count is VERY grumpy when he adds books to his wishlist because he wants them NOW! So which book is he so keen to get a hold of this week?It is Dead Trees by Eli Constant. I heard about it through a retweet from my author friend Ken Mooney who wrote the excellent Godhead. He was retweeting a message posted by Claire C. Riley, author of Limerence on her brilliant blog:
http://www.clairecriley.com/blog.html It sounded like just my kind of book!

A scientist mommy battling beasties better be handy with a scalpel.

Elise Swanson is trying to give her daughters a decent childhood. This should be a simple task, but the invading undergrounders – subterranean humanoids that have existed since the dawn of mankind – make outdoor playtime a tad tricky.

After fleeing Georgia and surviving six months of bumbling self-sufficiency, Elise and her daughters meet Jason. He's tough and nature-savvy. Pit stop fights with beasties define the survival-road that the four companions navigate. The bloody pavement finally ends in Washington State at a government safe zone where the trekkers hope to build a stationary life.

A little rest and rehab would be nice, but Elise is quickly led down a path of research and deception where humanity's future isn't a priority. She becomes leader of a secret plan and long nights in the lab keep her busy. She strives to destroy the undergrounders and the life of an underhuman crossbreed hangs in the balance.

The H2H (Humanoid-to-Human)inoculation has a small probability of success, but Elise has to believe it will work. Hour by hour, she becomes less confident and more emotionally compromised by the rapidly growing, stunning underhuman. Her maternal nature leads to a late-night escapade resulting in a platinum-haired, third daughter and a million uncertainties.

Fleeing her home, Elise had two loved ones to shelter. That number has risen. When the not-so-safe zone is invaded by beasties, she will save her family... no matter the consequences.

Dead Trees is a classic dystopian, post-apocalyptic, Sci-Fi novel. It contains scenes of graphic violence, mild romantic elements, and some foul language.