Review: Wrong Number 2 (Fear Street #27) by R.L. Stine

Title: Wrong Number 2

Series: Wrong Number #2 | Fear Street #27

Previous book in this duology: The Wrong Number

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: January 1995

Published by: Archway Paperback

Source: Purchased paperback

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Synopsis:

Don’t answer that phone!

“You’re not safe anywhere. I’ll get my revenge!”

Can it really be Mr. Farberson on the line? He has to still be locked up after trying to kill Jade and Deena last year. Maybe the calls are just someone’s idea of a sick joke. But who else could possibly know the things the caller knows?

Then they realize that someone is nearby, watching them, close enough to know their every move. Someone who desperately wants revenge. Someone who wants to reach out... and kill them.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

Call waiting... to kill!

Last time Deena, Jade, and Chuck made some prank phone calls... some that got them in trouble. But now they’re the ones getting the calls... threatening ones.

Review: Bad Moonlight (Fear Street Super Chiller #8) by R.L. Stine

Title: Bad Moonlight

Series: Fear Street Super Chiller #8 (Can be read as a standalone)

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: June 1995

Published by: Archway paperback

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

She wasn’t just crying wolf...

Danielle Verona can’t believe the band picked her to be their new lead singer. She’s on the road, performing at all the hot clubs. The adoring fans, the bright lights—it’s a dream come true!

But when nighttime falls, Danielle can feel the terror in the darkness. There’s eerie howling outside her window. And then a band member is killed—ripped to shreds by a wild animal. Danielle knows something is out there, lurking in the moonlight. Something savage...and hungry.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

Night time is the right time for terror!

Danielle is in a band, touring and singing with them, but she keeps having these awful “fantasies” of horrible deaths and stuff. She says fantasies, I say hallucinations. Lol. But at least she admits she needs help with her mental health issues. There were no stereotypes in this book about that and I really loved it. Needing help is not something you should be ashamed of. Anyway, Danielle just graduated from high school and her aunt, who she lives with now after her parents died in a car accident, actually encouraged her to get into this band stuff before she went off to college. You know, just a year off of fun before you settle down and focus on your studies. It’s usually the opposite of what parents want their kids to do, but I thought it was pretty cool.

Review: Beach Party by R.L. Stine

Title: Beach Party

Series: Point Horror

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: August 1990

Published by: Scholastic

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

It's the ultimate beach party in California. And Karen, who's just broken up with her boyfriend, is going to enjoy every minute of it—especially having two new guys who like her. But the party takes a nasty turn when Karen realizes someone is out to spoil the fun by getting rid of her.

My rating: ★★★☆☆
Karen’s friend Anne-Marie comes to visit her for summer break after having moved across the country a little while ago. They’re staying at Karen’s dad’s beach side apartment by themselves, and it should be nothing but fun and beach parties. And it starts out like that. Karen meets these two guys and she is having a blast. And then strange things start happening. Someone keeps threatening Karen to stay away from one of the guys, but are they serious enough to kill?

Review: Hocus Pocus & The All New Sequel by A.W. Jantha

Title: Hocus Pocus & The All New Sequel

Author: A.W. Jantha

Publication date: July 10th 2018

Published by: Freeform

Source: e-ARC from publishers via Netgalley

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Synopsis:

Hocus Pocus is beloved by Halloween enthusiasts all over the world. Diving once more into the world of witches, this electrifying two-part young adult novel, released on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 1993 film, marks a new era of Hocus Pocus. Fans will be spellbound by a fresh retelling of the original film, followed by the all-new sequel that continues the story with the next generation of Salem teens.

Shortly after moving from California to Salem, Massachusetts, Max Dennison finds himself in hot water when he accidentally releases a coven of witches, the Sanderson sisters, from the afterlife. Max, his sister, and his new friends (human and otherwise) must find a way to stop the witches from carrying out their evil plan and remaining on earth to torment Salem for all eternity.

Twenty-five years later, Max and Allison's seventeen-year-old daughter, Poppy, finds herself face-to-face with the Sanderson sisters in all their sinister glory. When Halloween celebrations don't quite go as planned, it's a race against time as Poppy and her friends fight to save her family and all of Salem from the witches' latest death-defying scheme.

My rating: ★★★☆☆
I absolutely adore the Hocus Pocus movie! It is such a classic Halloween movie and you bet I watch it every single year!

So, because of this, I was super excited to read this book! Unfortunately it fell kind of... flat.

Review: The New Boy (Fear Street #20) by R.L. Stine

Title: The New Boy

Series: Fear Street #20 (Can be read as a standalone)

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: January 1994

Published by: Archway Paperback

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

He stole their hearts... Does he want their lives, too?

What a hunk! When handsome, mysterious Ross Gabriel comes to Shadyside High, all the girls want to date him... even the ones who already have boyfriends! Janie, Eve and Faith go so far as to make a bet... which one of them will he go out with first?

But then the murders begin, and it starts to look like dating Ross means flirting with a gruesome and untimely death. Will Janie’s dream date with Ross turn out to be the night of her life? Or the night of her death?

My rating: ★★★☆☆

He was a hunk of trouble...

There’s a hot, new guy at school and so many girls want him, including Janie and her two friends. Her two friends who already have boyfriends, btw. But regardless, they make a bet to see who he goes out with first. It’s too bad one of the girls winds up dead! Did Ross actually kill her?

Review: Beach House by R.L. Stine

Title: Beach House

Series: Point Horror

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: August 1991

Published by: Scholastic

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

Swim.
Sunbathe.
Die.

The sun is hot. The water's cold. And the kids are cool. Too cool to live. Because a killer is stalking them, one by one. A killer who never leaves a clue. Who disappears as completely as a footprint in the sand.

A killer who has found a very special place in the sun

for some very special sun...

My rating: ★★★☆☆
There are a couple of parts to this book that alternate between the summer of 1956 and the summer in the present (which I’m assuming is in 1992 because that’s when this book is published. Lol), each with their own set of characters. And these two different groups of friends in these two different decades are connected by a beach house... and murder.

Review: Bad Dreams (Fear Street #22) by R.L. Stine

Title: Bad Dreams

Series: Fear Street #22 (Can be read as a standalone)

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: March 1994

Published by: Archway Paperback

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

Every night Maggie Travers has the same horrible dream. Every night she is forced to watch the same murder. And every night the girl in her dream cries out for help. Maggie is afraid to go to sleep again. But when the terrifying dream starts to come true and the gruesome accidents begin, staying awake is the real nightmare!

My rating: ★★★☆☆

Don't go to sleep!

Maggie keeps having these horrible recurring nightmares, and, well, this is basically Maggie’s life right now:

What was she supposed to do? Pour her heart out? My father died, my boyfriend has been ignoring me ever since I told him about my weird nightmare, I found a knife in my pillow, and I think my bed is haunted.
No, that wouldn't sound too good.

Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway: Jinxed by Thommy Hutson

Title: Jinxed

Author: Thommy Hutson

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Young Adult

Publication date: March 13th 2018

Published by: Vesuvian Books

Source: For review

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Synopsis:

High School Can Be a Real Killer

Break a mirror
Walk under a ladder
Step on a crack

Innocent childhood superstitions …

But someone at the secluded Trask Academy of Performing Arts is taking things one deadly step further when the campus is rocked with the deaths of some of its star students.

Layna Curtis, a talented, popular senior, soon realizes that the seemingly random, accidental deaths of her friends aren’t random—or accidents—at all. Someone has taken the childhood games too far, using the idea of superstitions to dispose of their classmates. As Layna tries to convince people of her theory, she uncovers the terrifying notion that each escalating, gruesome murder leads closer to its final victim: her.

Will Layna’s opening night also be her final bow?

My rating: ★★★☆☆
It’s Spring Break in an elite boarding school on a secluded island right off of Seattle. Most everyone has gone home, but not Layna and her friends. Little do they know, someone is out to kill them. It’s too bad they’re stuck on the island with a murderer... with no way out.

Review: Tangled Dreams (Elemental Assassin #3.5) by Jennifer Estep

Title: Tangled Dreams

Series: Elemental Assassin #3.5

Previous short stories in this series: Poison (#0.1) | Web of Deceit (#0.2) | Spider's Bargain (#0.5) | Web of Death #1.5 | Wasted (#2.7)

Books in this series: Spider's Bite (#1) | Web of Lies (#2) | Venom (#3) | Tangled Threads (#4)

Author: Jennifer Estep

Publication date: 2011

Published by: Jennifer Estep

Source: Free on author's site

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Read it for free HERE!

Synopsis:

This short story takes place in between the events of Venom and Tan­gled Threads. It’s told from the points of view of Jo-Jo Dev­er­aux and her sis­ter, Sophia Dev­er­aux. When a car­jacker fol­lows an injured Gin back to Jo-Jo’s beauty salon, Jo-Jo and Sophia join forced to elim­i­nate the threat.

My rating: ★★★☆☆
Tangled Dreams is told in the POV of Jo-Jo and Sophia, and it takes place between books 3 (Venom) and 4 (Tangled Threads).

Review: Because We Told Her To by Sal Conte

Title: Because We Told Her To

Author: Sal Conte (pen name of E. Van Lowe)

Publication date: April 2015

Published by: EViL E Books

Source: Gift from author for signing up to newsletter

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Synopsis:

*This is a 4000 word short story*

It was supposed to be a simple babysitting job, a way for teenage runaway, Kim, to get off the mean streets of Hollywood three nights a week. Then, Amaryllis and Hyacinth said "Let's play Twitter," and things got murderously strange.

My rating: ★★★☆☆
It all started with a babysitting job for Kim. She thought this was going to be a great job, and it was a plus that the girls were so damn cute! Well, it was initially great, because then the girls wanted to play this Twitter game that eventually ended in murder. Supernatural powers and creepy kids—there isn’t much Kim can do, except do exactly as the girls say, because otherwise...

Review: Come to the Cemetery (Young Adult Horror #1) + The Haunting of Hex House (Young Adult Horror #3) by Jackson Dean Chase

Title: Come to the Cemetery

Series: Young Adult Horror #1

Author: Jackson Dean Chase

Publication date: February 2015

Published by: Jackson Dean Chase

Source: Own Ebook

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Synopsis:

A weird tale of ghostly love and revenge!

All of sixteen-year-old Cara Jones's friends are dead. Their bodies were found lying atop the same grave in Duskhaven Cemetery. The coroner's report lists the girls' cause of death as "massive cerebral hemorrhage," but Cara doesn't believe it. She knows something strange and terrible is happening.

When Cara hears a voice in her head commanding her to "Come to the cemetery," she knows time is running out. With no one else to turn to, Cara asks her secret crush, Jake Rogers, for help. As they begin to put together clues, the mysterious voice gets louder and it feels like she's losing her mind...

Can Jake and Cara unravel the ancient secret before she joins her friends in death?

My rating: ★★★☆☆
Cara’s friends are all dead. They died one by one, in the same way and in the same place—the cemetery. Cara fears she’s next, so she goes to the cemetery to decipher this mystery before she also turns up dead. All with the help of her crush, Jake, of course.

Review: Ski Weekend (Fear Street #10) by R.L. Stine

Title: Ski Weekend

Series: Fear Street #10 (Can be read as a standalone)

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: September 1996

Published by: Simon Pulse

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

Snowbound!

“Red” Porter was a stranger they’d met on their ski weekend. But Ariel Munroe, Doug Mahr and his girlfriend Shannon Harper were grateful he was there when they set out for home on the icy roads. Thank heaven for Red! He spotted the hilltop lodge when they were stranded by the blizzard. He took charge when they stumbled into strange surroundings, scared, tired and looking for refuge. But can he save them when their refuge becomes a trap? Suddenly their hosts are acting very sinisterly. Doug’s car is gone. The phones are dead. And the house is full of guns. If they steal one, maybe they can escape! Until a shot is fired and the real terror begins…

My rating: ★★★☆☆

It was a perfect setting—for murder!

Red to the rescue! The near-stranger Red was the one who spotted the lodge when Ariel and her friends Doug and Shannon thought they were going to be stranded in the blizzard. It’s too bad the owners are f*cking insane!

Review: The Bargaining by Carly Anne West

Title: The Bargaining

Author: Carly Anne West

Publication date: February 2015

Published by: Simon Pulse

Source: Own hardcover

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Synopsis:

The fact that neither of her parents wants to deal with her is nothing new to Penny. She’s used to being discussed like a problem, a problem her mother has finally passed on to her father. What she hasn’t gotten used to is her stepmother…especially when she finds out that she’ll have to spend the summer with April in the remote woods of Washington to restore a broken-down old house.

Set deep in a dense forest, the old Carver House is filled with abandoned antique furniture, rich architectural details, and its own chilling past. The only respite Penny can find away from April’s renovations is in Miller, the young guy who runs the local general store. He’s her only chance at a normal, and enjoyable, summer.

But Miller has his own connection to the Carver House, and it’s one that goes beyond the mysterious tapping Penny hears at her window, the handprints she finds smudging the glass panes, and the visions of children who beckon Penny to follow them into the dark woods. Miller’s past just might threaten to become the terror of Penny’s future…

My rating: ★★★☆☆
I was very excited to read The Bargaining, especially after reading and loving this author’s other book, The Murmurings! Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

Review: The Diviners by Libba Bray

Title: The Diviners

Series: The Diviners #1

Author: Libba Bray

Publication date: December 2013

Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Source: Owned paperback

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Synopsis:

Do you believe there are ghosts and demons and Diviners among us?

Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It's 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.

Evie worries he'll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.

As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfurl in the city that never sleeps. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened...

My rating: ★★★☆☆
This book was weird in that I didn’t like it... but I did?

Review: Dead River by Cyn Balog

Title: Dead River

Author: Cyn Balog

Publication date: April 2013

Published by: Delacorte

Source: Own Hardcover

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Synopsis:

My friends and I are spending prom weekend at a remote wooded cabin on the Dead. The Dead River.

I thought it was going to be just us.

I was wrong.

Nothing is what it seems in this creepy paranormal thriller by Cyn Balog.

My rating: ★★★☆☆
Ki, her boyfriend Justin, her cousin Angela, and Angela’s friend (or whatever) Hugo go to Angela’s cabin for a weekend of rafting on the Dead River. Ki lied to her overprotective father in order to come to this trip. One she didn’t even want to go on in the first place because A.) she wanted to go to prom instead. Justin didn’t want to, preferring to go rafting. And since Angela is also outdoorsy, Ki apparently didn’t have any other choice but to go. Seriously? Just tell him you want to go to prom instead! *sigh*

 And B.) she hates water. You see, her mother committed suicide by walking into the Dead River and drowning. Oh, and every time she is near any body of water she hears voices in her head. And after so many year of quiet, yes, the voices are now back. And seeing the dead is just another added bonus, or minus. Whatever ;)

Review: Tainted (Broken #2) by A.E. Rought

Title: Tainted

Series: Broken #2

Previous book in this series: Broken

Author: A.E. Rought

Publication date: October 2013

Published by: Strange Chemistry

Source: For review from publishers via Netgalley

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Synopsis:

Alex Franks believes the madness is behind them. With Ascension Labs under his direction and the forces threatening Emma's life overcome, they have a chance at a normal life, and keeping his secrets safely buried. But a shadow rises from Alex’s past, and she wants him back. Criminally brilliant, Hailey Westmore will stop at nothing to claim the boy she was meant to be with.

Without warning, Emma Gentry finds she cannot trust anything. Not her mind, her memory, not even herself. Tragic events and unexpected deaths stalk Alex and Emma, testing them in ways they would never imagine, and may not survive. Alex carries a new secret, and a horrifying guilt that Hailey uses to her advantage.

Emma’s life and sanity hang in the balance, and Alex may have created a monster...

My rating: ★★★☆☆
I remember really loving Broken, the first book, so I was very excited to start this! But, unfortunately, this ended up being kind of meh.

Review: The Dead Boyfriend (Fear Street Relaunch #5) by R.L. Stine

Title: The Dead Boyfriend

Series: Fear Street Relaunch #5

Previous books in the relaunch: Party Games (#1) | Don't Stay Up Late (#2) | The Lost Girl (#3) | Can You Keep a Secret? (#4) (can be read as standalones)

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication date: September 2016

Published by: St. Martin's Griffin

Source: For review from publishers via Netgalley

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Synopsis:

R.L. Stine's Fear Street series is back, and in The Dead Boyfriend, he tells the frightening tale of teenage love - and how it can go terribly, murderously wrong.

Caitlin has never had a real boyfriend before. When she starts seeing Colin, she throws herself into the relationship with fervor. She ignores her friends who warn her that Colin may be a phony and that she is taking the whole thing too seriously. Caitlin is smitten. She doesn't care if she loses her friends. All she wants is Colin. When Caitlin approaches Colin with another girl, she completely loses it. She snaps. Everything goes red. When she comes back to her senses, she realizes that Colin is dead - and she has killed him.

But if Colin is dead, how is he staring at her across a crowded party?

My rating: ★★★☆☆
The Dead Boyfriend has such a gorgeous cover and when I first heard about it, I thought it sounded amazing! Plus, it’s freaking Fear Street! I had high hopes for this one, though I don’t know why since the relaunch, overall, has been pretty meh.

Review: Shadow (Paper Gods #0.5) by Amanda Sun

Title: Shadow

Series: Paper Gods #0.5

Author: Amanda Sun

Publication date: June 2013

Published by: Harlequin

Source: Borrowed

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Synopsis:

Meet two teens whose worlds are about to change forever in this paranormal Young Adult novella, a prequel to Ink by debut author Amanda Sun...

Katie Greene’s worst nightmare comes true when her mother dies, and she’s devastated to learn that she will have to leave the only home she’s ever known. Desperate to find where she belongs, she must decide if she has what it takes to start a new life across the ocean.

For Yuu Tomohiro, every day is a nightmare. He struggles to control his strange ability, and keeps everyone at a distance so they won’t get hurt—even his girlfriend, Myu. At night, a shadow haunts his dreams, and a mysterious woman torments him with omens of death and destruction. But these haunting premonitions are only the beginning...

My rating: ★★★☆☆
I was very intrigued by the concept of Japanese mythology--I LOVE mythology but have not read much about Japanese mythology in particular. Unfortunately, not much mythology (that I could tell) was intertwined in this novella, which is understandable since it’s only a prequel.

Review: The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

Title: The Reformed Vampire Support Group

Author: Catherine Jinks

Publication date: September 2010

Published by: HMH Books for Young Readers

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

Think vampires are romantic, sexy, and powerful? Think again. Vampires are dead. And unless they want to end up staked, they have to give up fanging people, admit their addiction, join a support group, and reform themselves.

Nina Harrison, fanged at fifteen and still living with her mother, hates the Reformed Vampire Support Group meetings every Tuesday night. Even if she does appreciate Dave, who was in a punk band when he was alive, nothing exciting ever happens. That is, until one of group members is mysteriously destroyed by a silver bullet. With Nina (determined to prove that vamps aren't useless or weak) and Dave (secretly in love with Nina) at the helm, the misfit vampires soon band together to track down the hunter, save a werewolf, and keep the world safe from the likes of themselves.

My rating: ★★★☆☆
This had a very interesting concept--I mean, a Reformed Vampire Support Group? What? Haha. However, I found it all to be... underwhelming. The way the vampires are portrayed all sickly-like... I get it, really. Vampirism being more of an illness, I appreciate the different take, but it was just a bit disappointing. Though I admit I might be a bit biased since I’m not exactly the biggest vampire fan. I did, actually, liked Nina’s fiction character (she’s a writer!), the vampire Zadia Bloodstone, so much better! She was pretty badass! But the characters themselves in this particular novel... they were okay, though none really stood out to me. This seems to be the norm for me with standalone novels.

Review: Freak Show (The Nightshade Cases #1) by Patti Larsen

Title: Freak Show

Series: The Nightshade Cases #1

Author: Patti Larsen

Publication date: June 2014

Published by: Patti Larsen Books/Purely Paranormal Press

Source: E-book from author for review

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Synopsis:

When transsexual starlet Aisling is murdered, Detective Geraldine Meyers is assigned the case. With help from medical examiner Dr. Rachel Hunter, Gerri realizes this is no ordinary killing. While she might not want to call in over-eager anthropologist Dr. Kinsey DanAllart, the detective is forced to trust her friend's expertise in symbology, even though doing so means admitting "weird" things might be happening in Silver City. As the three friends unravel the mystery of the dancer's death, one thing is made absolutely apparent--something isn't right in their new hometown. And someone is doing everything they can to make sure the truth doesn't come out.

In Silver City, sometimes friendship can be murder.

Welcome to the first Nightshade Case, a series of twenty-one episodes in twenty-one weeks. Please note: this episodic series is based on the television show model, with screenwriting notations and shorter formats. There will be a complete mystery each week, with cliffhangers only occurring in the full season story line.

My rating: ★★★☆☆
Freak Show was a very interesting book in that the format of it was very different than your typical novel. It was actually set up like a TV show and I really, really liked that! That was pretty cool and very unique.