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Marionette by Antonia Rachel Ward
Marionette by Antonia Rachel Ward Book Review
3 Stars
Ward crafts a compelling premise complete in this spicy supernatural horror. Cecile Dulac is a French prostitute turned dancer/performer who gets roped into a séance. A vengeful spirit is conjured into her body, forcing Cecile to fight for her autonomy. Meanwhile, the charming George Dashwood swoons over Cecile and is determined to play the role of knight in shining armor, but at what cost? Will Cecile and George survive the spirit's deadly intentions?
Cecile is a sex-positive character who falls prey to the spirit who overtakes the woman's body and uses it for lustful acts while Cecile is unable to stop the events from occurring. Since Cecile can't offer her consent, some readers will find the actions in this book a bit troubling, despite the woman's own love for intimacy. George is equality polarizing as some readers may find his attraction and attention to Cecile romantic, while others will reason that his connection is based largely, if not entirely, on her shapely body. His desire to be with her seems less about love and more about lust, which makes his motivations throughout the plot a little challenging to believe.
In spite of these hiccups, Ward weaves a quick paced tale of revenge and thwarted love. Readers looking for a spicy spooky read will enjoy this one.
Thank you to NetGalley for my review copy!
Books I Recently Rated Five Stars
FIVE STAR READS
Here’s a list of books I’ve recently read and rated five stars! Hopefully, there’s something on the list that you will find enjoyable!
DESCRIPTION:
Nat Cassidy’s highly commercial, debut horror novel Mary: An Awakening of Terror, blends Midsommar with elements of American Psycho and a pinch of I'll Be Gone in the Dark.
Mary is a quiet, middle-aged woman doing her best to blend into the background. Unremarkable. Invisible. Unknown even to herself.
But lately, things have been changing inside Mary. Along with the hot flashes and body aches, she can’t look in a mirror without passing out, and the voices in her head have been urging her to do unspeakable things.
Fired from her job in New York, she moves back to her hometown, hoping to reconnect with her past and inner self. Instead, visions of terrifying, mutilated specters overwhelm her with increasing regularity and she begins auto-writing strange thoughts and phrases. Mary discovers that these experiences are echoes of an infamous serial killer.
Then the killings begin again.
Mary’s definitely going to find herself.
DESCRIPTION:
Kate is a hard of hearing homeless woman fighting for her own survival.
All she wants is safety and a place to call home. Instead, she is suddenly able to see visions of the future.
She dreams of disasters and is unable to prevent the events alone.
Will anyone help her? Who gave her the curious ability and who are the tall, sinister men that follow her so closely?
Society does not see her, no one will listen.
Kate is determined to be heard...
DESCRIPTION:
The trees of Alaska’s Arctic wilderness have always been Sarah’s sentries and her house, a fortress, isolated from society and an abusive marriage.
Until it isn’t.
The arrival of a new neighbor and an oil company drilling through primordial, cold earth changes the forest of her valley. It bleeds through the serenity and disrupts her home, her sanity. Plagued with insomnia from the midnight sun, Sarah increasingly suspects something is using her sanctuary to hide from the bright, incessant light. An insidious menace, ancient and beyond explanation, using the wilderness for cover. Her personal demon that cares nothing for Sarah or her mental health. Something that won’t stop until it takes it all
DESCRIPTION:
A short story on the horrors of dating during a zombie apocalypse by bruja and award-winning writer and educator, Maria DeBlassie.
You know how it goes.
You go out, hoping to meet someone.
You wade through your fair share of brainless automatons, lifeless bodies, and ravenous undead, good at passing as human.
The more you go out, the less hope you feel and the colder your body gets.
But you keep at it.
All you need is one beating heart to match your own before yours stops pumping altogether.
How hard can it be to find one living, breathing human in a city full of bodies?
Dating.
It's hungry business.
Advance Praise
"Simple yet detailed, unique, and innovative. A brilliantly written little gem that is equal part creepy with the plague of walking dead and equal parts cozy with the hot chocolate and watching the neighbor's cat."
"Drawing parallels between the pitfalls of dating and dating in the zombie apocalypse, this short story packs a big world into a few pages."
"Just the right size to occupy your time while waiting. I hope you find the humor I found."
Beyond the Creek: The First Review is in!
Beyond the Creek by Nico Bell First Book Review!
Thank you so much to Christina Pfeiffer @n_dhorrorbooks for this lovely review!
I’m sorry, but where have I been that I haven’t read any Nico Bell before last night?! Like, hello, rock I’ve been under, you have to go.
In her novella, BEYOND THE CREEK, Alex Foster is running from darkness, and his name is Robert (all Robert’s are butt farts, just saying). She needs money because she is pregnant and well, baby crap is not cheap. She takes a job as a caretaker for Peter Nox, a man who just had a stroke. The problem is, there is some shady shit going down in the Nox household and poor Alex is in the middle of it. You want suspense? This is for you. Spiders? Yep, this has them. Kick ass female (and one male) side characters? YUUUUUUP. I read this book in record freaking time.
I can’t remember the last time I speed read because I was not going to go to sleep without finishing it. This one is going to rock your socks off. I 100% promise that. D&T Publishing is hitting nothing but got dang homeruns in 2022 and it’s NOT EVEN FEBRUARY! Available on Godless 1/28/22 10/5 closeted family secrets
Helena by Claire L. Smith #BookReview
Helena Book Review
4 stars
Helena is a fun fast-paced mystery horror book set in the 1800s and staring a strong female protagonist. Helena Morrigan is a mortician and funeral home director who can see ghosts. Unfortunately, her circumstances lead her to take up residency in an old home on the brink of a graveyard. While this creates obstacles for Helena, it weaves a fun mystery for readers as Helena finds herself in the web of a serial killer and his victims.
The gothic elements great a dark and macabre tone, set from the opening chapter where we are first introduced to Helena and her unique ability. Her arch starts as a woman with little self-confidence and blossoms into a heroine who courageously battles evil. She’s a bold character with many likeable and relatable traits. In fact, all the female characters were extremely well developed and came alive from the page. Since this plot was set in the 1800s, it would have been easy to create females more stereotypical of how females were perceived in that time period, but these women challenge those conventions, and thank goodness for that!
I enjoyed the horror elements of this book but I’m not sure I would classify it as a horror novel. The mystery elements outweigh the horror, and while there are stark and vivid horror descriptions, those who enjoy a strong dose of horror might be a little disappointed. However, those who enjoy atmospheric horror without the overwhelming guts and gore will find a pleasurable read in the handful of disturbing imagery and themes. (Think more along the lines of The Alienist and Penny Dreadful in terms of horror.)
Overall, it was a fun quick read with some unsettling scenes and a solid mystery plot. Thank you for the free ARC!
Top Five Reads of the Summer #BookReview
This has been a crazy summer! With the world in chaos, I’ve escaped into the fantasy world of literature and emerged with these five hidden gems just waiting to be discovered! While some of these books are only a available as ARCS through NetGalley, they are all 5 star reads that are worth the wait of the impending release days! My full reviews of these books will be on SciFi And Scary throughout the rest of 2020. In the meantime, allow me to entice you with these sneak peak summaries. Here is my list of Top Five Reads of the Summer:
Crosshairs by Catherine Hernandez
Available December 8, 2020
Set in a terrifyingly familiar near-future, with massive floods leading to rampant homelessness and devastation, a government-sanctioned regime called The Boots seizes on the opportunity to round up communities of color, the disabled, and the LGBTQ+ into labor camps.
In the shadows, a new hero emerges. After he loses his livelihood as a drag queen and the love of his life, Kay joins the resistance alongside Bahadur, a transmasculine refugee, and Firuzeh, a headstrong social worker. Guiding them in the use of weapons and close-quarters combat is Beck, a rogue army officer, who helps them plan an uprising at a major televised international event.
The First Sister by Linden Lewis
Available Aug 4, 2020
First Sister has no name and no voice. As a priestess of the Sisterhood, she travels the stars alongside the soldiers of Earth and Mars—the same ones who own the rights to her body and soul. When her former captain abandons her, First Sister’s hopes for freedom are dashed when she is forced to stay on her ship with no friends, no power, and a new captain—Saito Ren—whom she knows nothing about. She is commanded to spy on Captain Ren by the Sisterhood, but soon discovers that working for the war effort is so much harder to do when you’re falling in love.
Lito val Lucius climbed his way out of the slums to become an elite soldier of Venus, but was defeated in combat by none other than Saito Ren, resulting in the disappearance of his partner, Hiro. When Lito learns that Hiro is both alive and a traitor to the cause, he now has a shot at redemption: track down and kill his former partner. But when he discovers recordings that Hiro secretly made, Lito’s own allegiances are put to the test. Ultimately, he must decide between following orders and following his heart.
The Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones
Available September 1, 2020
Stephen Graham Jones returns with Night of the Mannequins, a contemporary horror story where a teen prank goes very wrong and all hell breaks loose: is there a supernatural cause, a psychopath on the loose, or both?
The Crowman Chronicles of the Fallen Volume One by Gareth Clegg
Some say the world is shattered, that our way of life is dying. Our sun fills half the sky and the scorched lands struggle to provide enough to sustain us. Still, there has always been hope. But as that fiery red orb descends below the rocky skyline, then comes the shadow: Dark spirits hell-bent on destroying what’s left of humanity, as if we needed any help.
My name is Cheveyo Santiago. I cheated death as a child, but that trauma marked me, and now I sense the evil in others. So here I am, drawn like a moth to the flame. Though I carry a revolver, I’m no gunslinger, there are plenty faster on the draw than me. My real edge is knowledge.
Old family recipes passed down through the ages – the secrets to banish the shadow back to the hells that spawned it. Salt, Brimstone, Silver and Tallow shall be my weapons.
So, hear this, all creatures and spirits of evil. I know you. I see you. Prepare yourself for judgement.
The Conductors by Nicole Glover
Available April 13, 2020
As a conductor on the Underground Railroad, Hetty Rhodes helped usher dozens of people north with her wits and magic. Now that the Civil War is over, Hetty and her husband Benjy have settled in Philadelphia, solving murders and mysteries that the white authorities won’t touch. When they find one of their friends slain in an alley, Hetty and Benjy bury the body and set off to find answers. But the secrets and intricate lies of the elites of Black Philadelphia only serve to dredge up more questions. To solve this mystery, they will have to face ugly truths all around them, including the ones about each other.
Shepherd's Warning by Cailyn Lloyd #BookReview
For years the abandoned MacKenzie mansion remained hidden in rural Wisconsin. Rumors and stories of apparitions, odd noises, accidents, and strange deaths in or near the property were enough to convince the townsfolk it was haunted and they stayed away.
Lucas MacKenzie and his brother Nate know nothing of this when they inherit the property and decide to bring their families to Wisconsin for a major renovation project with HGTV stardom in mind. As they tear out old fixtures and open shuttered windows, the house begins to reveal secrets of a terrible past and it soon becomes clear the MacKenzies are in grave danger. In the end, only one person can save them.
Shepherd’s Warning 4 Star Review
Shepherd's Warning is a slow, but tantalizing haunted house story that left me breathless. A family inherits an old mysterious house and soon discovers that something dark is lurking within the walls.
There's a lot of characters to keep track of, which was a little confusing from time-to-time. But each of them play a vital role in the outcome, adding flavor and texture to the page. Laura MacKenzie is the lead heroine, and she's all grit, even if she's a bit reluctant to admit it. Her arc starts as a doting wife, grief stricken over the loss of her son, and escalates to an empowered fighter of evil. She's the heart of the story, and as evil seeps onto the page, it's her survival I was most invested in.
But I also loved the ghost story. I saw each scene play out in my mind like a horror movie, filled with deliciously sinister jump scares and bloody fight scenes. I could almost hear the eerie music in the background as I explored the basement of the haunted house alongside the characters. The ability to put me right in the thick of the plot truly made this an incredible reading experience. There's plenty of "showing" rather than "telling" and I found myself holding my breath for the final scene.
Yes, haunted house books are plentiful. And there are some cliches in this one, but that doesn't diminish the incredible writing, plot construction and character arcs of this story. It's gripping from start to end and I highly recommend it for anyone who loves a scare. Just make sure to read it with the lights on!