Tag Archives: Contemporary

December 12, 2024 · 1:00 am

Winter Solstice Delights: A Review of Midwinter Magic and Mayhem

Book cover for Midwinter Magic and Mayhem edited by Frances Evelyn. Image on cover is a drawing of a pale-skinned woman who is standing outside in a snowstorm with no clothes on. (You can only see her face, neck, and a little bit of her shoulders). Her straight, dark blonde hair is swirling around her head and she is staring at the audience with a serious expression on her face as the snow blows around her. Title: Midwinter Magic and Mayhem

Author: edited by Frances Evelyn

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: October 15, 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Holiday, Romance, Contemporary, Historical

Length: 199 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

Short stories for the darkest of nights
Midwinter fantasy from award-winning fantasy authors

Witches, demons, spirits and ghosts haunt these pages, tricking, trapping and seducing unwary mortals. Humans, meanwhile, are wielding magic and the spirits for their own ends, with no guarantee of good intentions or great success. Along the way, God and Lucifer wash their hands of us all.

Real-world and epic fantasy rub shoulders with fantasy romance and horror in this new collection of short stories by much-loved authors. Ration yourself to one a night to colour your dreams or binge through them all in search of your next favourite series.

Why so cheap? What’s the catch?
Don’t you worry about that. Just put out your hand and let us take you into the chill of a winter night. What could possibly go wrong?

Content Warning: Migraines. Ancient curses and ancient blessings. Characters drinking alcohol. Hypothermia. Death. I will not discuss any of these topics in my review.

Review:

Prepare for something delightful.

Galyna received warnings in her dreams from one of her ancestors about various forms of danger that were threatening her and those she loved “The Horse Woman.” This was something established pretty early on on in the storyline, so I don’t consider it a spoiler. What I found interesting about this tale is that Galyna’s ancestor had lived so many generations ago that nobody in the family knew anything about her other than these few sparse facts. Imagine getting warnings from someone so far back in one’s family tree. Where the storyline went from there surprised me and made it difficult to stop reading. What creativity! I’d read an entire book about these characters if such a thing existed.

“Daisy” showed what happened when Janie decided to adopt an odd little stray cat that showed up in her garden one autumn. There are so many details of this story that I can’t share without giving away the plot twists, but what I can say is that I loved Janie’s compassion for her new pet no matter how strange life became for the two of them. One of my all-time favorite tropes involves ordinary people performing acts of kindness for those who can’t possibly repay them. There is something so wholesome about someone who simply wants to make the world a better place in whatever small ways they can without any expectations of being noticed or thanked, and I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of reading about these quiet, sweet moments that happen regularly both in fiction and and in real life.

One of the things that frightens me the most about winter is the possibility of getting stuck outdoors in the cold for too long. After Jessica’s car died, she became so hypothermic she fell asleep and then woke up in a bizarre bar in ‘The Spirit of Winter.” Due to the dangerous beginning of this story, I was pleasantly surprised by where it meandered off to after Jessica’s exposure to the cold weather began to affect her so seriously. It was not at all what I was expecting, but it worked well for the characters and plot and gave me multiple hints about how it could be interpreted depending upon how a reader reacts to certain clues.

Midwinter Magic and Mayhem was the perfect read for the holiday season.

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December 5, 2024 · 1:00 am

A Review of Christmas Inc.

Book cover for Christmas Inc. by Tim Vee. Image on cover shows one row of metal shelves in a warehouse that are stuffed full of boxes. The florescent lights overhead are dimmer than one would expect and give this scene a sad feeling, especially when combined with the fact that there are no people to be seen anywhere. Just what feels like endless merchandise. Title: Christmas Inc.

Author: Tim Vee

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: November 15, 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Satire, Political, Contemporary

Length: about 181 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

When a new US president is elected, and war is declared on illegal immigration, there is one “illegal immigrant” to America firmly in the cross-hairs of this new president, who was always a very naughty boy and was never, not even once, on the nice list.

Christmas Inc. tells the story of Mrs. Claus, four elves, the reindeer, and a little red crab, and their battle to save Santa and Christmas from the forces of greed, hubris, and dysfunction.

Christmas Inc. is an anarchic, subversive, timely, and satirical look at populist politics, greed, capitalism, slave labor, the cult of the billionaire, and (of course) the magic of Christmas.

Content Warning: Reindeer being harmed. Smoking. A detainment camp for undocumented people. A few brief references to waterboarding (but it wasn’t actually shown). Pigeon pie made from pet pigeons. Someone choking on a bone while eating.

Review:

Not even Santa is safe this Christmas.

It takes a lot for someone to end up on naughty list year after year. Santa would much rather see everyone be judged as nice from what I observed! Some of the most memorable passages for me were the ones that explored how the North Pole worked in this universe and what Santa, Mrs. Claus, and the elves did in the lead up to Christmas Eve to ensure everything ran smoothly. As someone who wasn’t taught to believe in Santa, there were a lot of things about his mythology that I quietly wondered about as a kid when children who did believe tried to figure out how it all worked. It was amusing to see how these characters explained it all and what happened to people who consistently disappointed Santa with their naughtiness.

I thought the satirical elements of the storyline were a little heavy-handed, especially in the beginning. In my opinion, satire works better when it requires some additional work from the audience to figure out what the author is poking fun at. It will be interesting to see if other reviewers agree with me there as I do agree this is a subjective topic and that some readers do need things to be spelled out more clearly in order to understand what’s going on.

With that being said, I enjoyed the thought of Santa of all people being one of people the president targeted as immigrants were identified and removed from society.  One would think that Santa would be loved and admired by everyone who believed in him, but that wasn’t so for reasons I’ll let other readers discover for themselves. This was a fun twist that helped to smooth over the heavy satire in the beginning as it drove home the author’s points.

Christmas Inc. made me chuckle.

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November 14, 2024 · 1:00 am

Urban Magic: A Review of Bodega Botanica Tales

Book cover for Bodega Botanical Tales by Marianne Rodriguez Bross. Image on cover shows a preteen Hispanic boy who is wearing jeans, white sneakers, and a puffy black jacket standing in the doorway to a greenhouse. What’s interesting about this scene is that the door appears to be outdoors in an alley or urban street as you can see a brick wall surrounding it and some trash on the sidewalk nearby. The greenhouse is lush and filled with flowers and other healthy plants. Title: Bodega Botanica Tales

Author: Maria Rodriguez Bross

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: September 5, 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 46 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

Eleven-year-old Jose has always felt invisible, surrounded by problems no one seems to notice—an empty belly, neighborhood bullies, and a mysterious green-and-yellow bracelet given to him by the Bodega man. One fateful day, as Jose’s struggles reach a breaking point, he is rescued by a supernatural being who transports him to a magical bodega that transports him to a breathtaking, enchanted rainforest filled with magic and mystery. In this extraordinary world, Jose meets another supernatural being, named Don Wicho, who grants him a single wish that will change his life forever. Without hesitation, he makes his wish, desperate to escape his troubles. But once he returns to reality, the boundaries between fantasy and his own world begin to blur. As Jose grows older, he wrestles with the consequences of his wish. Was it all just a dream born of childhood anxiety or did it truly happen? When a chance meeting with someone from his past brings up traumatic memories back to the surface, Jose realizes he is not ready to confront the past. But every wish has a cost, and the consequences of that wish are confirmed. Bodega Botanica Tales- Jose’s Story is the first tale in a series of a magical, coming-of-age stories about courage, resilience, and the price of wishes. Perfect for readers who love fantasy, adventure, and magical bodegas.

Content Warning: Bullying, theft, mental illness, and a developmentally-delayed child.

Review:

Cities are full of secrets.

So much of the fantasy I’ve read was set either out in the woods or in tiny little towns near vast stretches of nature that it was refreshing to read something from an urban environment. Being surrounded by thousands of other people doesn’t mean someone can’t still feel alone or in need to guidance from paranormal sources, and I enjoyed the ways Ms. Rodriguez Bross explored how the unseen world might operate in such a setting.

The world building was strong and memorable. I loved the way the neighbourhood bodega was also a character of sorts in this short story. It influenced the lives of the people who visited it in all sorts of intriguing ways, both magical and realistic. Readers who have been lucky enough to live near a bodega will have a few extra treats to enjoy as they read this, but one doesn’t have to have that particular life experience in order to get something fabulous out of this.

Jose was a relatable protagonist who didn’t always know which decision was the right one to make but who did have good intentions in life. Yes, he was a preteen, but this didn’t feel like a middle grade story and that was part of the charm of it and of this character as well. The storyline was a little more serious and gritty than most middle grade fiction even though I’d agree that some kids may relate to those aspects and enjoy them just as much as adults can. In the end, I think the author was right in marketing this to adults, but I appreciated how easily Jose’s concerns about his family could cross over to younger audiences, too, as he decided how to handle everything from his sister’s physical health problems to his mother’s mental health problems and the bullying he was experiencing from other kids. Writing to more than one audience like this isn’t easy, so I appreciated the chance to view Jose from multiple perspectives as he grew older.

Bodega Botanica Tales made me yearn for a sequel. Bravo!

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October 31, 2024 · 1:00 am

A Review of Old Forests and Older Things Within

Book cover for Old Forests and Older Things Within by Rudolph Kohn. Image on cover is a photo taken of a mountain range on a very foggy day. It’s so foggy, in fact, that this looks like a black and white photo! You can see pine forests growing on the smaller mountains (or maybe large hills) in the foreground, but the fog grows thicker as you look up. It’s an overcast day and only thin ribbons of sunlight make it through the clouds overhead. Title: Old Forests and Older Things Within

Author: Rudolph Kohn

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: August 9, 2024

Genres: Science Fiction, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 25 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 stars

Blurb:

Victor Martinez-Silva thought he was going to enjoy a leisurely vacation in Peru with his wife.

As they were hiking up to the ruins of Choquequirao, something happened to his wife, Amy–something Victor couldn’t explain, much less stop.

However, a stranger found them in the nick of time, and he seemed to know exactly what to do.

Enjoy this short story introducing Lawrence G. Samson, hunter of otherworldly monstrosities hiding on our planet, waiting for the opportunity to wreak havoc on humanity!

Content Warning: parasitic infection

Review:

Hikes are supposed to be relaxing, right?

Nature can be a little intimidating at times for some of us, so I appreciated the fact that Mr. Kohn leaned into this fear in order to set the scene. There’s nothing like a character being many miles away from help in an emergency to highlight just how quickly things can go wrong and how much courage it takes to race to safety when the unthinkable happens. If any outdoors readers check this tale out, I’d love to read your takes on the themes here as I’m sure they can be a read differently by experienced hikers and campers.

I would have liked to see a little more time showing the characters’ personalities. Obviously, the fast pacing and short length can’t leave a lot of room for exposition, but I’d struggle to describe the characters if someone asked me what it would be like to meet them other than to say that Lawrence didn’t always give the clearest instructions and Victor didn’t always comprehend what he was asked to do because of how panicked he was about his wife’s condition. This could have easily been expanded upon in a few more paragraphs, and I would have happily gone with a five-star rating if the author had made that choice. Everything else about it was well written.

One of my challenges as a book blogger involves figuring out how to talk about twist endings without giving them away in my reviews. The twist is this tale was something I suspected might be coming, but I’m not the sort of reader who has to be surprised in order to enjoy something. It was still fun to see how it played out once Victor had more information about what was happening. I suspect that he would have figured it out sooner under calmer circumstances as my first impression of him was of someone who is generally capable and smart.

Old Forests and Older Things Within was an atmospheric autumn read.

 

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October 3, 2024 · 1:00 am

A Review of The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion

Book cover for The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion by Margaret Killjoy. Image on cover shows a drawing of a deer standing in a shallow pool of blue-green water. You can see the reflection of it’s antlers and face in the water, but the ripples in the water do not make specific features of it’s face, antlers, or upper body easy to figure out. Title: The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion

Author: Margaret Killjoy

Publisher: Tor Books

Publication Date: August 15, 2017

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, LGBTQ, Contemporary

Length: 120 pages

Source: I borrowed it from the library.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion by Margaret Killjoy pits utopian anarchists against rogue demon deer in this dropkick-in-the-mouth punk fantasy that Alan Moore calls “scary and energetic.”

Searching for clues about her best friend’s mysterious suicide, Danielle ventures to the squatter, utopian town of Freedom, Iowa, and witnesses a protector spirit — in the form of a blood-red, three-antlered deer — begin to turn on its summoners. She and her new friends have to act fast if they’re going to save the town — or get out alive.

Content Warning: Brief reference to a previous suicide and a death by drug overdose. Dead and dying animals (livestock and wild animals, not pets). Blood. A demon. Murder.

Review:

Good intentions aren’t everything.

Some of the most memorable scenes to me were the ones that described how the residents of Freedom lived their lives. They were squatters who had banded together to create an ecologically-friendly commune where nothing was wasted and everyone’s basic needs were met thanks to a combination of gardening, gathering wild plants, visiting food banks, dumpster diving, and occasionally dipping into less legal forms of procuring  food and supplies.  Honestly, I would have read another hundred pages that described how their community worked and how they dealt with members who took more than they gave.

I struggled with the plot holes, especially the ones that protected Danielle and the other protagonists even when they were playing around with dangerous ideas that had gotten other characters killed off. Of course I wanted them to live happily ever after, but by protecting them from things the plot had repeatedly hammered home were terrible choices to make it watered down the message of it and left this reader feeling confused.

It was cool to realize how many of the characters in this tale were part of the LGBTQ+ community in part because of how it inverted the assumption that most characters should be cisgendered and heterosexual with only the occasional side character who breaks that rule. Representation is important, and I loved the fact that the characters identities were shared in ways that didn’t make a big deal out of any of them and quickly moved on to furthering the plot. That, too, makes a difference to those of us who are not cisgendered heterosexuals. Not everything needs to be announced with bells and whistles. Sometimes we just exist and go about our normal lives…albeit hopefully without seeing any supernatural deer causing havoc in the real world.

The themes in this novella were interesting but undeveloped. There was so much more the author could have done with ideas like the corruptive side effects of having power over others and how people who seek out positions that give them more power over others should be viewed with suspicion. I didn’t always agree with their thoughts on those topics, but I was intrigued and wanted to learn much more than I did about why the narrator – and maybe the author, too – feels this way.

After reading the last few pages, I wondered where this new series is going next. While I can’t go into a lot of detail about those scenes for spoiler reasons, there was obviously time spent setting up the characters for what was to come for them. While I thought some of the directions the end was hinting at didn’t mesh well with the themes that had been already established, I’m very open to being proven wrong about that. You never know what twists and turns might be ahead for a character, so it will be interesting to see what the author has up their sleeves.

The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion was creepy.

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September 5, 2024 · 1:00 am

A Review of In These Pieces – A 9/11 Short Story

Book cover for In These Pieces - a 9/11 Short Story by Sean McDevitt. Image on cover is a photo of a white rose lying on part of the memorial to the victims of 9/11. Several names are etched into grey stone in this memorial. Otto Casper is one of them, and you can also see the names Caro Voskirillan and Alexandra. The other names are too blurry to read. Title: In These Pieces – a 9/11 Short Story

Author: Sean McDevitt

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: September 8, 2016

Genres: Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 22 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

A visitor to the 9/11 Memorial in New York City does exactly what a tour guide tells him NOT to do; the result is an unexpected insight at the heart of a dark tragedy.

Content Warning: references to 9/11, grief, terrorism, and deep regret.

Review:

Remembrance is for everyone.

It makes me smile when authors write stories about characters while sharing as few details about them as possible. I never knew basic information about this protagonist like their name, age, race, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or other common identifiers that might be used to introduce someone to an audience, and yet I still felt as thought I might recognize them if I passed them on the street. Their passion for history and New York was so strong that I could imagine the joy on their face as they visited their favorite spots there and soaked in all of the sights they had never seen in person before. That is not an easy thing to accomplish, but it sure makes the reading experience better.

While I do not expect as much plot and character development in short stories as I do for longer works, I needed more of both of these things here. The final scene ended without wrapping up some important questions I had about why the narrator behaved the way they did and how the spirit world deals with terrible acts of injustice that cannot be otherwise remedied. This is something I’m saying as a reader who liked the premise and storyline in general and would have loved to give it a higher rating. There was a lot of good material here, but it needed more development in my opinion.

With that being said, there was a strong sense of justice in this tale that I found satisfying. I can’t go into too much detail on this subject without sharing spoilers, but this is definitely something to check out if you’re in the mood for characters to feel the repercussions of their choices in life and learn lessons about the things they have done that were not helpful or kind. Sometimes it’s nice to dig into fiction that has such a strong correlation between actions and consequences in its world building as those are not always necessarily things one can easily or reliably find in the real world.

In These Pieces – a 9/11 Short Story was interesting.

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August 29, 2024 · 1:00 am

A Reason for Everything: A Review of Tin Foil Hat

Book cover for Tin Foil Hat by Lisa Shea. Image on cover shows a closeup photo of some slightly rumpled tin foil. Title: Tin Foil Hat

Author: Lisa Shea

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: October 3, 2019

Genres: Horror, Contemporary

Length: 18 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

It’s another lonely night in a crowded bar, and even Marissa’s margarita is stale. Everyone at Ralph’s is staring at their smartphones like brain-dead zombies.

But when she learns the about insidious damage that all those cell phone signals, stacked up on each other, can do to a human brain, she knows she has to take action. Because the headaches, memory loss, and insomnia were only the beginning.

* * *

Tin Foil Hat is a psychological horror suspense short story. My horror stories explore the frailty of the human psyche – how tenuous our grasp on reality can be. They delve into how alone each of us really is, as we navigate the short, brief flicker of life we are granted. My stories focus on the psychological aspects of fear and do not contain overt gore. They are suitable for teens and up.

This short story is part of my series: Lisa’s Dark Gripping Short Tales. You can read the short stories one at a time if you wish – each is available as a standalone ebook. If you prefer, you can get each set of nine short stories compiled together in ebook or paperback format. The title of that compilation is, naturally enough, Lisa’s Dark Gripping Short Tales (1, 2, etc.) I offer full discussions of each storyline on YouTube, for those who wish to delve deeper into the plot and meaning behind the scenes.

Content Warning: Paranoia and memories of past sexual abuse. I will discuss these topics briefly in my review.

Review:

Nothing is more important than feeling safe, right?

One of the most memorable portions of this short story had to do with the facets of Marissa’s personality that were slowly revealed over time. My first impression of it her was soon replaced by a deeper and more thorough understanding of her strengths and weaknesses, from her dedication to her work to how susceptible she was to information that she did not bother to verify. I’ll leave it up to other readers to discover more about her, but I thought she was well written and an interesting collection of both positive and negative character traits just like the rest of us!

The twist at the end that explained why Marissa avoided other people so regularly involved a very sensitive topic that I think is heavily overused in fiction, especially when it comes to the challenges women and girls face in life. This isn’t to say that it is an unimportant subject in any way, only that it’s something I’ve read about so often that my interest immediately wanes when it pops up yet again. I was set to give this a four or five star rating before that scene happened, and I did think the rest of it was thought provoking. By all means give this a chance if you don’t have the same aversions I do. Reviews are subjective, after all, and what I strongly dislike might be exactly what another reader was hoping to find.

With that being said, I did appreciate the way the author explored the importance of developing and retaining sharp critical thinking skills, the dark side of conspiracy theories, and how much damage urban legends  can cause to one’s mental and physical health. The Internet is not always a bastion of truth and scientific accuracy, after all, and there are people I know personally who have fallen for all sorts of dangerous misinformation about a wide variety of topics. No, there was not a hidden political slant to this tale. The warning it provides applies to people from any point on the political spectrum who have ever been tempted to believe something without evidence.  Honestly, that could be just about any of us at one point or another!

Tin Foil Hat was my first introduction to Ms. Shea’s work, and I am looking forward to seeing what else she has written.

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August 1, 2024 · 1:00 am

A Review of Among Mirages

Book cover for Among Mirages: A Short Story by Billie Dean Shoemate III. Image on cover shows a drawing of a ship mast and a tattered sailed against a blackish-purple sky. It is past dusk and night has almost completely fallen, so precious little else can be seen in this image. Title: Among Mirages

Author: Billie Dean Shoemate III

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: October 8, 2020

Genres: Paranormal, Contemporary, Historical

Length: 33 pages

Source: I receive a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

The crew of the ship tell preposterous stories. Stories of dry land, of other ships that sail the ocean. Of vast cities populated by people. Odd visions. Blasphemies that would get a person tossed into the ocean. Still . . . those on the crew talk in hushed tones. Something about the ocean is haunted, and it has something to do with this ship in particular.

Billie Dean Shoemate III puts a new twist on an age-old story. The story of a ship that, when the reader figures it out, has been terrifying sailors for centuries. ‘Among Mirages’ will breathe new life into a tale that has always been told by seafaring people . . . and always will be.

Content Warning: Religion (an amalgamation of various types of Christianity).

Review:

Certainty isn’t everything.

I loved Martin, the doubtful narrator of this piece. Honestly, I would have had the exact same questions about where the ship came from and why they kept seeing things their captain insisted did not exist if I were in his shoes. The tension between observable facts and religious certainties in this universe was handled beautifully. Regardless of your thoughts on religion in general, there is a lot of food for thought here for anyone who has ever found an inconsistency in their own belief structure and puzzled over it.

This was inspired by a popular nautical legend that I wish had been shared in more detail in the last few scenes. I ended up looking it up online as I was only vaguely familiar with the stories associated with it and did not know in advance that this was going to be the theme. The storytelling would have been tighter in my opinion if a few sentences explaining this legend had been included for the sake of other readers like me, but I do look forward to hearing dissenting opinions from people who were similarly unaware of this legend and did not have my same experience here. Writing reviews is subjective, after all. What didn’t quite work for me might be perfect for someone else!

The twist at the end was excellent. I enjoyed going back and taking note of clues that were shared earlier on in the timeline I hadn’t exactly known how to fit together earlier, especially when it came to the purpose of this ship. It’s difficult to go into much detail without sharing spoilers, although I appreciated the way the author talked around the subject until it was time for the big reveal…much as I am attempting to do now! This isn’t an easy thing to accomplish, but it sure makes for an entertaining reading experience when it’s done as smoothly as it was here.

Among Mirages made me wish for a sequel.

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July 4, 2024 · 1:00 am

A Review of The Killer Catfish of Cape Cod

Book cover for The Killer Catfish of Cape Cod by Bill Russo. Image on cover shows a few dead trees in a flooded area that could be a swamp or the overflow area for a river. The sky above the trees is blue with a few puffy white clouds in them, and you can see a forest of healthy trees in the distance. The water looks like it has been recently disturbed as it is not perfectly still.Title: The Killer Catfish of Cape Cod

Author: Bill Russo

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: September 9, 2017

Genres: Horror, Contemporary

Length: 26 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

This is not a Halloween story though you might find monsters in it, depending on what your definition of a monster is. Rather, it is the tale of two young men in search of an eerie pond they read about in a book – a strange lake said to be filled with man-eating catfish. Against the counsel of a wily old Cape Codder who claims there’s no truth to the story, they venture into the wild, uninhabited area in hopes of collecting specimens to sell to a museum in Maine. You could go to that Museum (It really does exist) and see if there are any collections of Killer Catfish on display – or if you find it more convenient, you may read the story!

Content Warning: Murders. I will not discuss it in my review.

Review:

If you know better, will you do better?

There wasn’t a lot of time for character development in such a short piece, but Mr. Russo definitely made the best of what he had. I especially enjoyed getting to know Anse, a slightly crusty old man who worked at a tackle shop and often gave tourists advice on the best fishing spots in the area. He was a little gruff at first glance, but he had excellent reasons for coming across this way that I’ll leave up to other readers to decipher for themselves. Honestly, I probably would have behaved the same way if I were in this character’s shoes. He didn’t exactly live in the safest part of the world, after all, and dealing with constant streams of visitors who weren’t always keen to listen to reason only made things worse.

I liked Anse’s explanation for why Rico and Angelo, the visitors, decided to brush aside his warning and go fishing at Kaycee Pond despite its scary reputation. Not everyone in the world has common sense or is willing to consider other points of view. Sometimes this only leads to minor inconveniences, but occasionally it can be wildly dangerous to ignore the advice of people who have many years of experience on a specific subject like, say, catfish that are much larger and smarter than they should be.

The ending was perfectly frighting. While I can’t go into much detail about what happened in it without giving away spoilers, I can say that it added new layers of meaning not only to everything Anse already knew about that area but also to why nobody lived near that pond anymore and why everyone else in the area was also terrified of getting too close to the water. This was one of those cases when basic details about what happened were more than enough to tickle my imagination and make me feel very glad that fishing isn’t one of my hobbies.

The Killer Catfish of Cape Cod made me shudder.

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June 6, 2024 · 1:00 am

A Review of A Creak in the Night

Book cover for A Creak In The Night by by BL Maxwell. image on the cover shows a ghostly white mist floating through the dusty hall of an old house. The floors are made of pretty little tiles and there is a skylight in the ceiling. The mist looks like it is beginning to coagulate into a ghostly-shape, but it is still pretty formless and ethereal at the moment. Title: A Creak in the Night (Valley Ghosts Series)

Author: B.L. Maxwell

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: April 29, 2024

Genres: Paranormal, LGBTQ, Romance, Contemporary

Length: 41 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Dean surprises Jimbo with a weekend way to the exotic location of—Virginia. Since the two of them got married Dean has become more curious about the paranormal, while Jimbo prefers to distance himself from it. As soon as they arrive at the hotel Jimbo knows something isn’t quite right, and one ride in the elevator confirms it. What was supposed to be a romantic vacation soon turns into a ghost hunting mission, but this time Jimbo and Dean are on their own without the rest of the Running Scared Paranormal Research guys. Dean is thrilled, but Jimbo knows, it’s never as simple as a creaky elevator.

Review:

Content Warning: Characters getting stuck in an elevator.

It’s hard to find time for romance when ghosts are getting into mischief.

One of the interesting things about this short story was that I was never quite sure where it fit into the rest of this series. It gave me the impression that it was written a decent amount of time after the first book as it discussed some characters and events without going into them in great detail. On the other hand, this also felt a little too lighthearted to have taken place in the most serious phases of a series when tensions are running high. I enjoyed my attempt to figure out where this should be placed and didn’t mind one bit that it was never made clear. To the best of my knowledge, this was written to be an easy introduction to these characters and the exciting sorts of adventures they have while trying to clear disruptive spirits from all sorts of different buildings. There is definitely something to be said for releasing such a tale!

The communication between Dean and Jimbo was inconsistent. In some scenes, they wordlessly anticipated what each other needed before being asked, but there was also a moment when Dean purposefully withheld an important piece of information about this romantic trip from Jimbo. Obviously, there are times in just about any relationship when one might not communicate as clearly as they should for a wide variety of reasons, but I was still surprised by this oversight and didn’t think it fit in very well with what I’d learned about Dean’s meticulous and safety-conscious personality thus far.

I thought the paranormal storyline was handled nicely, especially given how short this piece was. Not every haunting needs a drawn-out  conclusion, so keeping things moving was a good choice for both the plot and the characters. It whetted my appetite for more and reminded me that, just like in life, it’s best not to assume in advance how easy or difficult something will be. Worrying doesn’t do any good, and just because one haunting was a tough case doesn’t mean that the next spirit will behave the same way.

A Creak in the Night was intriguing and made me curious to check out the rest of the Valley Ghosts adventures.

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