Win a copy of Alexander Death!

The third book in the Jenny Pox (well, Preternaturals) trilogy by JL Byran, Alexander Death, is winging its way to us like an airborne plague on 30 September 2011.

But three lucky sods are going to get the chance to read it before then because of this awesome giveaway! The giveaway is international, which makes this little Rooney very happy.

Jenny Pox follows the tale of some very gifted - and in the case of Jenny - cursed individuals, who are not quite who or what they seem to be. Jenny is a character you can greatly empathise with. Her foe is someone I would very much like to drop down a well. Please can I drop her down a well?

This trilogy is not for the faint of heart. Adult themes, naughtiness and some gore is found within its pages.

Don't delay. Grab Jenny Pox and its sequel, Tommy Nightmare, from Amazon or Smashwords.

The Well by Peter Labrow

The Well by Peter Labrow

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Horror

Publisher: indie/self-published

Where I got it: I won it! Amazon

Warnings: violence, adult themes

The review (spoilers past this point):
The Well could easily be called The Surprise.

I think the first thing I thought when seeing this book was "how on earth do you keep a story going about some people trapped in a well?"

The answer is "with a lot of care".

What makes The Well so compelling is the human element. The narrative follows several lives over the course of a week, beginning with Becca and Matt, who end up trapped in an isolated well after their parents leave town for a few days. Becca, as a point of view character, is quite a likeable protagonist. She's spunky, determined and resourceful. I felt her emotions and actions were quite realistic for such a harrowing ordeal.

Seeing the parents first face the realisation that something is terribly wrong, and then fracturing as the painful reality sits in, is equally heartbreaking for very different reasons. They can escape the well they've put themselves in, if they'd only realise and act on it.

All of the characters - from the antagonistic crossing guard to the police officers on the case and Becca's friends - are well-fleshed out, with care taken to explore their lives and propel them along a path that easily be described as "fate". One character in particular, Sammy, is endearing, brave and completely sure in her convictions. It's a rare gem of a character that reminds the reader that the world doesn't have to be an apathetic place devoid of people making the hard, but heroic choices. Sammy contrasts sharply with her mother, Abby, who, while trying to do the right thing, is in fact making no choice at all and remains as trapped as Becca. For this reason, Sammy becomes an excellent catalyst who forces several characters to move forward, for good or bad. It's a very cool parallel with Becca.

There are numerous moments that have you biting your fingernails and pushing to read "just one more page", but there are also moments that have you pumping your fist in the air. Small triumphs and large ones. It's a wonderful balance to have in a horror novel that is surprisingly free of gore, but high on characterisation and quality story-telling.

Final word
A surprisingly addictive horror novel that is a strong showcase of character limits, failings and successes when faced with an impossible situation



View all my reviews

Review: Jenny Pox

Jenny Pox by J.L. Bryan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A writer I follow on twitter linked me to an Amanda Hocking blog post, which in turn linked me to this book. I'm quite glad that odd chain of events occurred. This was a rather macabre but awesome tale of Jenny Morton, the unfortunate bearer of the "Jenny Pox". Any living thing she touches, dies.

At first Jenny is a wallflower, doing her best to stay out of sight and mind of a rather nasty piece of work named Ashleigh. Ashleigh is all sugar and spice and everything nice to people who can give her what she wants, but anyone on her bad side may very well imagine they've stepped into "hello, this is your life on steroids... in hell". As a thoroughly nasty creature, I spent a great deal of the book wishing she'd get a massive dose of karma. Jenny's emergence as a more confident person put Ashleigh in her place briefly, but even the girl who doesn't fear snakes, spiders and ghosts knows to fear the picture-perfect cheerleader.

The ending is rather gruesome and serves as a declaration of independence for two of the leads, which in turn opens the door for a more proactive sequel, one in which the leads may need to abandon the shackles of normalcy and embrace their natures and pasts if they are to make something worthwhile of their current lives. There is a rather sweet romance running through-out, which affected each of the main characters in profound ways. I can only imagine that the author is an animal lover, because Rocky the dog was quite simply the most inspired choice of catalyst to trigger these changes.

Well worth a look at, and I'll definitely be checking out the sequel.

A few minor niggles were to be had on the ebook version,which had a few formatting errors that occasionally distracted.

I would, personally, not classify this as YA - rather paranormal fantasy or horror fantasy. Even though the novel features teens, there are some rather adult scenes in it.

View all my reviews

Review: Still Life

Still Life by E.E. Horlak

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Still Life is the book that started me on my quest to find and read more of Sheri S. Tepper.

On the surface, it is a paranormal fantasy with elements of horror. What set it apart for me was how it didn't give into the clichéd happy endings and romance. It is well thought out and executed with a palpable atmosphere of foreboding and magic. I must admit, each time I read it, I still have the smallest bit of hope that there will be a happier ending... one day.

View all my reviews