BotW: 10/18-10/24 - Malice by Griffin Hayes

This week's book of the week is one that is near and dear to my heart.  I am a huge horror fan as most of you know, and there are quite a few fantastic horror authors that are out there.  However, I've been a huge fan of this author and honestly own quite a few of (if not all) of his works on Kindle, and even was lucky enough to be gifted a copy of my favorite novel of his in paperback, signed.  

This author is absolutely wonderful, and I'm glad to share his work with you and feature this novel with you this week here at Confessions!  So, without further adieu, I give you this week's Book of the Week: 

Malice
Griffin Hayes

I highly recommend reading this book during daylight hours, or if you read it in the dark do not do so before you are going to bed.  I will not be blamed for your recklessness of reading this too close to bedtime! You have been warned! 

I have owned this book for several years now, and have my review posted here on the blog, you can click here to find it.  

Set in Millingham, Massachusetts, there are several unexplained suicides happening.  There is a common thread to all of these deaths.  The authorities have no idea how or why the victims are killing themselves, or more importantly - why they are gouging out their eyes.  

Lysander Shore, a seventeen-year-old, knows that the deaths aren't suicides.  He knows that there is a serial killer stalking Millingham.  The killer has a list, a list dating back 350 years, and as Lysander continues to dig - he soon realizes he is next.  

The writing in this book is phenomonal, and I've always been a sucker for a story that leaves my skin crawling and leaves me afraid to turn off the light for fear of what goes bump in the night.  

If you are looking for a fantastically dark and twisted story, I highly suggest Griffin Hayes' Malice! 

Halloween Countdown: 24 Days

This month is by far one of my absolute favorite!  It is the month of Halloween, and probably my absolute favorite holiday (well aside from Christmas of course!).  This month I will be sharing with you some of my favorite spooky stories, movies, and various other things! Why? Because it makes my heart happy and I'm all about Halloween and things that go bump in the night!

Over the next few weeks I'll be featuring my top five favorite authors in this genre, and these are in absolutely no particular order, they are just my absolute favorites: 

Stephen King

Joe Hill

Paul Wigmore

Griffin Hayes

Ted Dekkar 

Who doesn't love a good Stephen King book? I mean really! Something that makes your skin crawl, makes you look over your shoulder, worry about who is knock, knock, knocking on your door! 

I have several favorites by this author, and I'll just share a few of these titles with you as recommendations for this ghoulish season!  Just remember, just don't read them before bed!  You've been warned! 

Redrum! Redrum! This book, coupled with the paranormal event hosted at The Stanley Hotel where this book is centered absolutely top my list of Stephen King favorites.  This is a book that I constantly re-read and immerse myself in the terror  that builds within the pages.  I'm also a fan of the movie, as well as the sequel to this book Doctor Sleep. 

As if clowns were terrifying enough, we venture into Derry, Maine and meet Pennywise the Dancing Clown.  Terrifying.  This book is another one of my favorites, and it pretty much solidified my fear of clowns all over again in the thousand pages of this book.  It also makes me never, ever, ever visit Derry, Maine! This movie is again, right up there with my absolute favorites when it comes to spine-tingling, hide under the blanket thrillers! It also is pretty much the only role, where Tim Curry absolutely terrifies me. 

Okay, I've mentioned before my absolute lack of desire to visit Derry, Maine.  This book, revisits the boys from It, twenty-five years later. Things in Derry are no different than they were twenty-five years ago as those four boys, now men, reunite in the woods for their annual hunting trip.  This time, it's to deal with a creature from another world! As if we needed a second warning not to visit Derry, Maine.

What are some of your favorite Stephen King reads? 

Fear Filled Reads

It is that time of year, Happy Halloween.

This is the time of year that I tend to read more horror, thrillers and scary stories.  What are some of your favorite scary books?  Here are some of mine...

Griffin Hayes has managed to suck me in to his twisted, delightful world.  He has easily become one of my favorite authors, and I love turning to him any time of the year, but especially this time of year.  Malice is by far one of my favorite Griffin Hayes books, and I highly recommend them and encourage you to check him out.

My review of Malice is here.
               

Stephen King is the spinner of many tales that craft the twisted landscape of my nightmares. The Shining is by far one of those books that gets under your skin, at least it gets under mine and I love books like that, I really, really do.  If I had some extra money, or if it was readily available at my library I would be reading Doctor Sleep, the second book in the Shining Series this Halloween.  It is one that I will definitely be adding to my collection because I'm by far a huge fan of Stephen King.

This book by Todd Russell absolutely is not a book to read in the dark.  It will definitely get under your skin and make you fear things in the dark.  I only read this in daylight hours because it got under my skin that much, and I loved each and every moment of this book.  It was fantastic! I highly recommend it, and it is still free on Smashwords if I remember correctly!

My review of Fresh Flesh can be found here.

There are several other books that I won't read in the dark, and I love them dearly.  I tend to read to them especially around this time of year, among other times when I want the spine tingling thrill that they bring.

Review: Saving Halloween by Lisa Ard

Title: Saving Halloween

Author: Lisa Ard

Format: E-book (Kindle)

Read: Dec 29-30, 2012

Rating: 3/5

Recommend: For 3rd Grade and Up.

Summary: When book-smart Anne Parson meets Halloween Spavento, she sees exactly what she wants to see -- a friend. Halloween waves away trouble, magically silences school bullies and offers Anne unfailing friendship. But, when the Spavento family's enchanting exploits are exposed, will Anne face her fears and save Halloween?

Review: I had received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.  Anne's parents had high expectations from her. They ensured that she did well in school, but weren't the kind of parents who would spend a lot of time with her. She didn't have friends, and in fact she was a target for bullies, that is until Halloween Spavento and her family. The townsfolk like the Spaventos despite their eccentric hobbies, well everyone except the bullies. Anne does end up becoming good friends with Halloween, and the strange traditions (talking to deceased relatives) don't bother her.

However, thanks to Mrs. Spavento, who overhears the bullies talking in a shop, saying that they “hate Halloween,” and she thinks that they mean the holiday, not her daughter, they will be planning and hosting the best Halloween party the town has ever seen!

I did like this middle grade story, and I do like how Ms. Ard tells her story, however I did find this book a little lacking and I can't entirely put my finger on just why that is. But, it is a good read for a young advanced reader, and definitely as a good balance of spooky and not spooky. Definitely a good book to read around Halloween.   

Halloween Treat: Blog Take Over: Casey Holden - Picking Up Women

In honor of the Falling Immortality Blog Tour starting tomorrow, November 1st, and the first stop being here at Confessions of a Bibliophile, I am sharing with you the second guest post that I'd requested from Robert Downs.  Robert won't be taking over the blog until tomorrow, but today's treat for you is from my new favorite P.I, Casey Holden.

So, here is Casey's advice to picking up women...


Picking up women isn’t as hard as women, or the tabloids would have you believe. I stopped reading the rags years ago after an individual, whom I’m not willing to name, was belittled for what must have been the twentieth time. Since women always seem to have the upper hand, I decided to assert some authority over these beautiful, exotic creatures by turning them to Play-
Doh with the right smile or wink. In order to do it successfully, it has to be about them, not you.

Listening isn’t just some mysterious, three-syllable word that has made its way into our vernacular through sheer will. No, it must be permanently ingrained in the male psyche for you to have a chance on the field of battle. And believe me, it will be a battle. I’ve stuck my head in the trenches, I’ve fired my guns at the enemy, and I’ve covered miles and miles of the blood-
soaked earth with no more than my smile and wits to save me. I’ll say this again because it’s worth repeating: it can’t be about you, it has to be about them. Women can smell the scent of a weak man a half-mile away, and your strength becomes your true power over them. This goes back to the days of the caveman, and it hasn’t changed over the course of thousands of years.

It’s not about being a nice guy, or a jerk, a good man, or a prick, or tall, or short, or any of the countless other adjectives used to describe men from the moment we exit the womb: it’s about your ability to retain and project power. Any woman who would say she prefers some drooling, slobbering weakling over a man is either a liar, or simply not worth pursuing. I’ve met women
who prefer puppets, and I’ve run as hard and as fast as I could in the opposite direction, because in the end, it doesn’t do either of you any good. It’s simply a disruption of the universe, and Darwin needs to strike before it’s too late.

Casey Holden is the main character of Falling Immortality: Casey Holden, Private Investigator.
The first in a series of mysteries that compile some of his more interesting cases and endeavors.
Robert Downs is the author of said novel, and while he and Casey have an interesting, yet
complicated relationship, it’s a relationship both of them treasure. A sample chapter of his
MANfiction mystery debut, as well as other interesting information about the author, or his main
character, can be located at his website.

Welcome to October!

As you can see, things have taken on the Halloween spirit around here. I love October, I love the fall and hopefully through the coming days I will be able to get more content to you.  I know I've a lot of things in the wings, and a lot of things planned.  I know you are all expecting a review for some of the books I've read recently, especially Falling Immortality by Robert Downs, but you'll have to wait until November 1st for that to happen because I've got the first day of that blog tour! There will be a review, an interview, and a guest post going up for that!

However, for October, I've got lots of things planned for all you wonderful kiddies out there! Some Bibliophile Eats will have some Halloween featured goodies, as well as the introduction of some of my fall favorites throughout the rest of the season.

Also, I plan on getting to some of those long awaited reviews (my pending review list just keeps growing and growing and I need to make a dent in it).  I've also got a new book on my shelves that I won from a giveaway over on Natasha McNeely's blog not too long ago.  I need to get to that (I've started reading my signed copy of Trinity by Clare Davidson), and I've also been re-reading Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.  I also need to rewrite a couple of reviews and repost them to Goodreads because apparently I'm not allowed to use similar wording to other reviewers in my reviews without someone reporting them and having them removed.

I've also got another guest post to put up from Voluspa Co-Author Ray, and it's gonna be a fun one.  Beyond that, I've got a few reviews that I need to get finished and tossed up to the blog, so I will definitely be stepping things up here because I've been lazy lately.

Also, I've been working on a blog that focuses on my spiritual journey, and you can find it here: Sanctuary for My Soul and I'm working on that as I work on this.  Just starting it, so there is still a lot to work with.

That's just an update and some of the things you can look forward to in the coming days this month in October.