The Haunting Scent of Poppies by Victoria Williamson - Review and Blog Tour

Hello and welcome to my post for this tour for Victoria Williamson's brilliant new ghost story, The Haunting Scent of Poppies. I signed up for this tour because I've really enjoyed everything I've previously read by Victoria and also because I really like ghost stories! This novella is less than a hundred pages long, but it fits a lot in in that time! It's set at Christmas too so it helped get me into a festive mood. 

The book is set the first Christmas after World War One ended, which had ended obviously just a few weeks earlier. Charlie didn't serve as a soldier and in fact is very scathing of those who did. He is a small time thief who has had to escape London due to his crimes, and has arrived in Petersfield just a few days before Christmas. He needs to lie low to escape the heat, but he also doesn't have a lot of spare cash. He plans on robbing a few shops or something, and he finds a book shop that is barely open. He talks to the owner and the assistant, and happens to notice that the owner is reading a very rare book. Stealing the book and selling it on would set Charlie up for quite a while, so he manages to make that happen. He takes it back to his hotel, where he has several other of his ill gotten gains - a fancy watch, a sharp suit, a bag. And then of course the book. He falls asleep, and when he wakes up all the stolen stuff is gone, except for the book. Charlie assumes he has been robbed, and possibly that he was sedated, as he's suffering some weird effects.

He has to leave the hotel suddenly and ends up in a downtrodden B&B. It turns out that the book belonged to the nephew of the owner there and that he died in the trenches. Charlie begins to see flashbacks of this, and is haunted by something very, very weird. The ghost in this story is all too real and believable. I really liked it. I'm giving this four out of five, and I'm so glad I was on this tour! Victoria Williamson just keeps writing amazing stuff! 

The Haunting Season by various authors - Review

I heard of this book because my friend Janet posts some Kindle deals on Instagram every month, of books that are like a pound to buy. I don't always buy them, but this one piqued my interest so I spent 99p on it. It's still showing as 99p when I write this, so here's the link. I thought this would be a good book to read in October and I was right! I really enjoyed all the stories. 

I really enjoyed Kiran Millwood Hargrave's story which had echoes of The Yellow Wallpaper and which featured a woman who was about to give birth. I enjoyed the story about a woman fleeing an abusive husband with their child. And I liked the one set on the Jurassic Coast about a newly married man uncovering a prehistoric skeleton and believing it would make him famous. Those are the ones that stick out a couple of weeks after I read the book, but honestly I liked them all and would thoroughly recommend the book if you like gothic stories. I'm giving this four out of five.

Dread Wood by Jennifer Killick - Book Tour and Review

Hello and welcome to my blog for my stop on the blog tour for Dread Wood by Jennifer Killick. It is a pleasure to welcome you! I don't read a lot of middle grade but I was so intrigued by the premise of this book that I just had to sign up for the tour. I know I've got another of Jennifer's books somewhere, so I'll have to dig it out soon as I enjoyed this one so much. 

The book is suitable for ten year olds and older, but be aware there are parts that are genuinely scary and horrific - I am very much a grown up and still found some parts shocking! I want to warn as well for some parts of animal cruelty, which I know some people and kids especially can find difficult to read. 

So, the book is narrated by Angelo. He has got into trouble at school, and must now serve a Saturday detention. Joining him are Naira, Hallie, and Gustav. The four of them had some kind of riot in the dining room, and have to serve their punishment with Mr Canton. Mr Canton insists on taking their phones from them, but before he can get them to start doing what they're doing, he disappears. 

The school has some animals on site, including some pigs and their piglets, and chickens, as well as lots of insects, spiders, reptiles and all kinds of others inside the school. Angelo, who is a bit of a loner, particularly likes the pigs and spends a lot of time with them. 

The kids see some strange behaviour from the caretaker, Mr Latchitt, and his wife, and go to their house to see what's happening. They shockingly see Mrs Latchitt throw a live chicken down the well, and realise that she is feeding something down there. They start back towards the school and find Mr Canton - only then a hole opens up on the field below him and he disappears. Angelo tries his best to save him, but can't. The hole then reseals itself, taking Mr Canton with it. But Angelo is pretty sure that there was something else in the hole with Mr Canton, something with hairy legs, something which is kind of familiar...?

The kids realise something funny is going on. They try to unravel it, getting themselves into quite some danger as they do. They each have a secret too. Angelo doesn't have many friends; his parents work two jobs each to keep the family afloat and Angelo doesn't always have enough food to feed himself and his brother properly. I loved this bit - I really appreciate it when working class families are shown in books because that's reality for a lot of kids. The four aren't particularly friends at the start of the book but they definitely are by the end. I loved how tough the girls were too, how they got stuck in to every fight and showed no fear. I also really liked Gus' secret, but I won't spoil it. 

I think this book left itself open to a sequel, which I would love to see! I am giving this five out of five as I thoroughly enjoyed it! 

Wicked Little Deeds by Kat Ellis - Blog Tour and Review

Hello and welcome to my stop on the tour for Wicked Little Deeds by Kat Ellis! I am thrilled to welcome you to my blog. If you haven't been here before please do click around and read some of my other reviews. I read a lot of YA so I'm sure there's something that will whet your appetite. 

I liked the premise of this book, which I'll copy here because it's a good introduction:

From its creepy town mascot to the story of its cursed waterfall, Burden Falls is a small town dripping with superstition. Ava Thorn knows this well - since the horrific accident she witnessed a year ago, she's been plagued by nightmares.

But when her school nemesis is brutally murdered and Ava is the primary suspect, she starts to wonder if the legends surrounding the town are more fact than fiction.

Whatever secrets Burden Falls is hiding, there's a killer on the loose, and they have a vendetta against the Thorns...

So, Ava is almost eighteen and she lives with her Uncle Tyler and his wife Carolyn. They live in Thorn Manor, which has been in Ava's family for generations, but they're having to move out. A year ago, Ava was in a car accident which killed both her parents, and which left her with some injuries that she's still recovering from, and with nightmares in which she sees the last few seconds before the car crash. 

Also present at the crash was Madoc Miller. There's bad blood between the Millers and the Thorns, and there has been for generations. Ava blames Madoc for her parents' deaths, but she also thinks she saw Dead-Eyed Sadie just before the crash. That's the local folk horror story, about a woman who had her eyes plucked out after death and whose appearance precedes a death. 

So Ava and her aunt and uncle move into a local mill, from where they can just about see the Manor and the waterfall which runs through the manor's grounds. Then Ava learns that Madoc Miller has bought the Manor. He and his family, including the "Miller Twins", Dominic and Freya, will be living there.

Ava and Freya are both talented artists and are vying for a place on a summer art programme. They have a bust up at school that everyone sees. Later, Ava sneaks back on to manor grounds because she needs to paint over a personal mural she did in the pavilion. As she does this, she sees Dead-Eyed Sadie on the bridge and rushes towards the bridge. In doing so, she interrupts Freya and Dominic and their friends doing one of their horror lives on Instagram or whatever - there was no ghost at all. Ava's friend Ford is also there and she can't understand why - he knows how she feels about the Millers AND about having to have left the Manor, so why would he hang out with them?? 

Ava and Ford have a bit of a fractious relationship, but she does have real friends - Dahpne and Carla. They're a couple, and Daphne works with Ava at the local gas station. I liked them and how grounded they kept Ava. She has a lot going on her life and it's hard to not feel sorry for her. Basically everything she's ever known has been ripped from her. 

Another night (the book all happens within a short space of time) Ava sneaks again into the Manor grounds - still trying to cover up the mural - and finds Freya's body there, with its eyes ripped out. Dominic is close behind her and then the police - and Ava is the prime suspect. 

She and Dominic start getting friendly, which is a bit weird yes but I really liked it, he's adorable, and work on a comic together. Dominic has some stories about the history of the town that will show why Ava's family is known as the "Bloody Thorns", and he doesn't believe Ava killed Freya - so can they work together to find out who did?

I did guess one of the twists in the book and that's not because it was obvious but probably just because I've read a lot of books. I liked it anyway. And there were some things I didn't see coming but really enjoyed! 

I liked the book a lot - it had a great setting in a spooky old town, with a spooky old manor, and a family with so many secrets and tragedies. I liked Ava and Dominic and the blurring of lines between reality and hallucination and stuff. It had a good ending and I was enthralled throughout! I'm giving this five out of five and I'll definitely read something else by the same author. 

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

 

I heard of this book ages ago and bought it on Kindle when it was only 99p. I had basically forgotten about it though, but then I was scrolling through my Kindle and noticed it so brought it up to read. I really wish I'd got to it sooner as I really enjoyed it and thoroughly recommend it. 

The book is set in 1950 in Mexico, but it has all the hallmarks of a Victorian gothic novel set in England - the creepy house, the silent servants, the creepy patrician of the family, and of course, the horror. I loved the setting, though. 

Noemí is twenty two years old in the book and is living in Mexico City with her wealthy parents. She spends her time at cocktail parties with boys and driving her convertible car; she has yet to choose a major at college which seems to be irritating her father. He calls her home from a party to speak to her about her cousin, Catalina.

Catalina lives a long way away, in her husband's family home. Noemí only met her husband, Virgil, once or twice before their wedding, and didn't fully understand what Catalina saw in him. They had had a a whirlwind romance and gone back to his home with Catalina's money. Catalina has sent a confusing letter to Noemí's father, one in which she is rambling and seems almost unhinged. She is supposedly suffering from tuberculosis, but Noemí's father thinks she needs a psychiatrist and wants Noemí to go to the Doyle house, see how Catalina is, and if necessary get medical care for her in Pahuca or even Mexico City. 

Noemí travels to the tiny town where the Doyles live and is met by Francia, Virgil's cousin. The car they travel back in is old. The town is nearly abandoned, and unloved. The Doyle house is huge, and sits on an abandoned silver mine. The family owned the silver mine, but all the miners got sick and died, and it had to close. 

The house itself is in a state of disrepair. Noemí isn't allowed to use too many lights, or too hot water for her bath. At dinner time, she must remain silent as she eats with Francis, his mother Florence, and sometimes Virgil. She is told Catalina is ill and must not be disturbed. She meets the patriarch of the family, Howard, who is very old, and dying, and who smells of death, but who seems to take a shine to Noemí. 

When she does catch up with her cousin, Catalina veers between being lucid and rambling. Noemí is determined to get another opinion, so takes a car into the town one day to visit the doctor there. She also visits the local healer woman to get a tincture that Catalina has asked for. However, she gets in trouble for taking a car without permission and while she gets kindness from Francis, she is treated badly by Virgil and Florence. The servants also refuse to speak to her, but seem to always be in the way when Noemí tries to speak to Catalina by herself.

And then there's Noemí's disturbed sleep. She starts to sleepwalk again, and she dreams of a woman with a golden face coming towards her. She sees things moving in the walls, and finds mushrooms in the cemetery, and can't escape the mist that surrounds the house... 

I loved the book, I thought it was brilliantly realised and was done so well. I'd love to read something else by the author. I loved the beginning, the middle, and the end, and am giving this five out of five. 

Good Girls Die First by Kathryn Foxfield - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it a few weeks ago. I saw Kathryn talk about the book in one of the YALC at Home panels, and thought it sounded interesting, so bought it on eBay I think. 

What's it about? Ava is sent an invitation to attend some kind of gathering at a pier near her house which has been abandoned for years. The place burnt down and is now left alone by the locals, full of rumours about what happened there. Ava's invitation is basically blackmail - there's a photo on the front about a secret she has, and she doesn't know who else knows that secret. 

When she turns up, there are nine other teens there. One, Jolie, is her best friend, although the two of them have been growing apart recently and there's a lot of resentment between them. Another, Clem, is a really popular boy at school but he and Ava have been working together on a project with her photography and his music. They kind of had a thing, but it's fallen apart and Ava isn't too pleased to see him. Among the other teens are a posh boy called Teddy, an ice queen called Esme, and a boy called Noah who kind of mysteriously disappeared a year ago and hasn't been seen since. 

The pier appears to not be abandoned - there's lights and music and in every reflection there is a man. The old owner of the pier, Baldo, was a magician, and his assistant, Whispers, is the man who appears in the reflections. He can also get into people's heads, and he suggests that each of the teens kill the others in order to protect their secrets. 

Now, I will say a couple of things. Firstly, in reading some reviews of this book, I saw that a few people didn't realise it was in the horror genre and thought there would be some physical explanation for the supernatural happenings. That's an easy mistake to make and I have to say I veered towards wondering that a few times - I hoped someone would be behind it and there would be a rational explanation. As it was, it is pure horror, and if you read that you should know that.

Secondly I felt like there were parts that were written really well, that were genuinely terrifying and which spooked me. There's a great bit with some mirrors that I really liked. But there's lots of bits which are probably supposed to be scary but which just turn out confusing. For instance, as Ava is a photographer, she keeps taking photos. As time goes on, it becomes evident that time is behaving strangely, and there's photos on the camera that Ava doesn't remember taking. Tha's really scary! I love that! But there's no resolution to it, it's baffling as to why it happens, and as a reader it left me unsatisfied. I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. I think the premise is great but there was a lot going on and too much left unfinished. It took me a week to read this which is unbelievable for me, but it just wasn't gripping me. 

I also thought some of the secrets the teens were being blackmailed with were ridiculous. A few made sense but at least one left a bad taste in my mouth, too 

What age range is it for? 14+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yeah, although it's not really a focus

Are any main characters people of colour? I don't think so 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? I think there's some mental health stuff going on with at least a couple, which could have been expanded upon and I'm sad it wasn't. 

Is there any sex stuff? No 

Are drugs mentioned or used? They're mentioned, and used, but again this was kind of said in passing and not unpacked enough for me. 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, and actual deaths, some of which are graphic. 

Are there swear words? No I don't think so 

What criticisms do I have? I think I've been quite critical and I'm sad about it because I wanted to really like this book 

Would I recommend the book? Honestly, no 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I had such high hopes for it! 

 

What do I think of the cover? I like it, I think it's eyecatching. I will say also that I don't quite understand the title. Good girls don't seem to really.... die first? I was expecting the title to link in a bit more. 

 

What other books is it like? I don't know any 

How many stars? Three out of five. I will give the author another go, though! But this one just didn't hit it for me. 

Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell - Review

I'm not going to use my normal questions for this book review, even though it's a Young Adult novel, because it is a horror novel and has a very claustrophobic setting. There isn't a huge cast of characters so I think this format is better.

I bought the book on Kindle when I saw people raving about it a couple of years ago, but I hadn't got round to reading it. Then I was browsing my Kindle and thought, oh yes I'll get to that next.

The book starts where Sophie, the heroine, and her friend Jay are in a diner in their hometown when they decide to play with a ouija board app on Jay's phone. They think it's a bit of fun, but Sophie asks if the spirit is her dead cousin Rebecca and the board says yes. The board then starts to recite a poem, Frozen Charlotte, and then all the lights in the diner go off and Sophie sees a little girl standing on a table and feels something cold holding her hand. When the light go back on, a waitress has been injured. The friends leave the diner to make their way home, only Jay dies in the canal on the way and Sophie is left upset.

A few weeks (I think) later, Sophie is heading to the Isle of Skye to stay with her uncle and cousins, Rebecca's siblings. There's her uncle, who kind of keeps to himself painting; Cameron, who Sophie remembers from being little, who has had his hand badly burnt in a fire before Rebecca died; Piper, Rebecca's sister, who Sophie also remembers, and little Lilias, who was born after Rebecca died so never knew her. Their mother is in hospital so the three siblings are basically looking after each other. To begin with, Piper seems really friendly, and Cameron seems to resent Sophie being there. Lilias is quiet and withdrawn and never smiles.

Sophie tries to explore the cottage, which is actually an old schoolhouse. The living room has a stage at one end where Cameron's prized grand piano lives. Upstairs, all the windows have been sealed shut with some kind of wax. In Rebecca's room there are tons of porcelain dolls. They are known as Frozen Charlottes, like in the poem, and they are broken and creepy. Weird things start happening and Sophie is trying desperately to find out whether the spirit of Rebecca is back and causing chaos.

There are really creepy bits in the book but I think it is appropriate for an audience aged about fifteen and older.

The book really reminded me of Your Turn To Die by Sue Wallman which I read last summer. They're both creepy and atmospheric and set in enclosed places which makes everyone act in ridiculous ways. I really liked it, I'm giving it eight out of ten!

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell - Review

My partner read this on his tablet last year and really enjoyed it. I've been encouraging him to read more gothic horror books so he's got quite a collection. Then he saw that I had the book in paperback - it was a present I think - so he said I should read it. So I put it to the top of the pile. I'm so glad I did because I loved it, it really kept me engrossed.

It's set in the 1860s and to begin with we meet Elsie in an asylum. She is unable to speak due to trauma. Her new doctor wants her to write down what happened because he has to give a report to the police about whether she is fit to stand trial. So Elsie does.

So we discover that about a year before, she was newly widowed. Her husband Rupert had been an investor in the match factory Elsie owns with her brother Jolyon. Rupert has returned to his family country seat, The Bridge, in order to make it habitable for Elsie and their coming child. However, while he's there, he dies, so Elsie goes immediately to bury him, with Rupert's cousin Sarah alongside.

Elsie and Sarah stay at the Bridge after Rupert's funeral and strange things start happening. Firstly there are splinters on Rupert's neck before he is buried. Then at night Elsie hears a hissing kind of noise, a sound of wood on wood, and gets up to look for the source. She thinks there's something in the garret, but it's locked, so she and Sarah attempt to get in. While there, they find some wooden painted statue things called silent companions.

Sarah likes them so they bring a couple down, but then the statues start to move and appear at will. They also find a diary, kept by the mistress of the house from the 1660s, Anne Bainbridge. Anne is suspected to be a witch and through her diary we find out what happened in the house to make the local villagers distrustful of the Bainbridges and the house.

I could barely put this book down - I thought it was really creepy and unnerving and really wanted to know what was going to happen next to the women. I loved that there were no men in the house full time; it was so easy for the men to dismiss what was happening as just hysteria. I'm giving this five out of five - if you like horror, do read it!