Hard Magic - Larry Correia - 3.5 stars

I was recommend this book by a friend, so I decided to try it out even though it is an adult fantasy and I rarely do well with this genre. I both listened to this book and read along with it which helped since I don't really like Audio all that much. The story did keep my interest, it just did not blow me away. I am glad I read it and I think there is enough here to the story for me to venture into the next one.

Synopsis
Jake Sullivan is a licensed Private Eye—with a seriously hardboiled attitude. He also possesses raw magical talent and the ability to make objects in his vicinity light as a feather or as heavy as depleted uranium, all with a magical thought. It's no wonder the G-men turn to Jake when they need someone to go after a suspected killer who's been knocking off banks in a magic-enhanced crime spree. Problems arise when Jake discovers the bad girl behind the robberies is an old friend, and he happens to know her magic is just as powerful as his, and the Feds have plunged Jake into a secret battle between powerful cartels of magic-users--a cartel whose ruthless leaders have decided that Jake is far too dangerous to live.

First off let me say that the world building was not the greatest, it was lacking a bit, which was probably the biggest problem I had with the story. I did like the plot of this story once I recognized what the plot actually was. There was a lot going on in the story and was not always easy to follow at the beginning, but it does come together. I liked the writing style of the author which helped a lot. There were also not so many characters that I got confused by who was who, as many fantasy books do and that made me happy. There was plenty of action and excitement to keep me very entertained and engaged. I have to say that this is not your normal run of the mill fantasy which is why I enjoyed it.

I found the characters to be my favorite part. This book is very character driven I think. I found them to be quite fun. They were well developed throughout the story and most were very likable as well. I really liked Jake Sullivan's character a lot. He was very flawed, gritty, and very strong willed. I also enjoyed Faye a lot as well. I was not too sure of her in the beginning but she really grew on me. There is a great cast of very unique characters in this story.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a different kind of fantasy, because this is it. Even if you don't do well with fantasy I think you would enjoy this one. I look forward to the next book in this series, Spellbound. I am giving this book a 3.5 star rating.

Criminal - Karin Slaughter - 4 stars

I have really been enjoying the Will Trent series a lot this year, and have a goal of completing all the books that are out right now. This one is book 6 which means one to go. I was eager to get started on this but when I started reading it I was not all the sure that I was going to like this one like I had the last 5.

In this book we cover Amanda's career when it first gets started in the 1970's. It was a rough run for her and Evelyn both, lots of chauvinistic men who really disapprove of women out in the field. They both still keep poking around this case of prostitutes who end up missing when one is found dead. In present day an investigation is surrounded around a local college student's disappearance, as Will begins a battle with his past.

This book did a huge turnaround for me. I found the beginning kind of slow not realizing I was going to learn so much more about Amanda and Will both, and what the 'obvious' connection is that Amanda feels toward Will. It started to really pick up for me around page 150 and then it just continued. The plotline became much more interesting to me and also very engaging and so much easier for me to get into both the past and present. It opened a lot of windows on both of their lives. I loved that because now I feel like so much more is cleared up.

Of course the characters are probably my favorite part of this series. I love the flawed and twisted roles they all play. They are all so well developed and we can love them or hate them, and they are equally enjoyed. Everyone is imperfect, but perfect for the roles they play and I love that the most. I also love learning so much more about them in this book, especially Will. I look forward to more of these characters in this last book that is out.

I recommend this book/series to anyone who loves a great mystery, to those who love flawed, twisted characters, to those who love psychological elements in a mystery. This is definitely the book for all of those mentioned, written by a very gifted writer.

Edgewise - Graham Masterton - 5 stars

I read this book as a read along with several people and this is now my third time reading it. I come to the same conclusion, Graham Masterton is an amazing writer. Even after reading it for a third time I do not find it boring or repetitive.

In this book Lily's children are taken from her by a group called FLAME which stands for Father's League Against Mother's Evil. She does not feel like the FBI are doing enough for her to get her children back and she turns to George Iron Walker who claims he can summon the Wendigo, a Native American forest spirit, who will find her children and bring that safely back to her, but it will be for a pretty high price.

This is a very quick read and a definite page turner even after reading it many times. I read this in one sitting and still loved it just as much as the first time I read it. I love that it is based on Native American folk lore, the "Wendigo". I find it to be so engaging right from page one and it is very easy to follow. Some parts of the story are very graphic though so if you are faint of heart it might not be something you want to read.

I also have some favorite characters in the book. My favorites being John Shooks, who is supposed to be "not loved by many" and then also Special Agent Nathan Kellogg. Both have great characters. Although there is not a lot of background to these characters and not the greatest character developement it is still enough to fall in love with them anyway. The main character Lily, my favorite character, has a lot on her plate to deal with, she goes through so much and never seems to give up. I love the strong, perservering type, not the defeated, whiny ones that you wanna kill yourself.

I would recommend this book to anyone that loves horror, mystery or thriller and wants a quick easy to read book that is hard to put down. It won't disappoint!

Melophobia - Jim Morris - 3 stars

I had received this book in exchange for an honest review from the Author. This is the second book I have read by this author. I did find that this book was very engaging which kept me quickly turning the pages. So it was good, it just did not WOW me.

In this book you have a world where the government controls all forms of art, and music is one form that is prohibited. Merrin, who is a 'Patrol Officer', is on the case to seek out and apprehend 'the source', a fugitive musician, so that this new world is no longer jeopardized.

I thought the premise of the story was pretty unique since there are not of too many stories about music being illegal, unless of course you include Footloose. First off, I found this story to be very fluid. It flowed really well and was pretty easy to follow. The writing style does keep you turning the pages. There was some great action scenes. However, there were some aspects of the book I found unnecessary though. I don't want to get into those so I don't spoil the story. Overall it was very well written and very entertaining.

With that said, lets talk about characters. I did not really enjoy our main character Merrin. I could not connect to her at all. To me she seemed pretty wishy washy and could not decide what she wanted or didn't want. She made some dumb mistakes along the way as well. She really does not think before she speaks. She does grow on you a bit by the time the story is over, I just wish she would have been more grounded than she was. The only character I really liked was Rowan, I think he could have been much bigger than he was in this story by playing a more influential role. I don't feel like we got to see enough of him. I would have loved to have seen much more of Rowan.

The House Jack Built - 5 stars

Another great book by one of my favorite Paranormal-horror Authors, Graham Masterton. I decided I wanted to read this for spook season because I love to read some creepy books this time of year. I knew that I would not be disappointed by this one at all.

In this book you have Craig Bellerman who stumbled across an old 1930's house named Vallhalla and he was determined to make it his, claiming the house was him. His wife Effie was discovering some pretty odd things going on in this house and she did not get good vibes from it at all, but after seeing how it gave her husband confidence she agreed to look at it and later make plans to buy it. Effie knew they were getting much more than they bargained for.

I loved the plot of this story so much. So unique and different. Something I really enjoyed about this book was that there was no random stuff just added to it. Everything had it's place and everything was backed up to make a very rich story full of creepiness and some edge of seat action. This book was also very fluid and easy to follow, with lots of great plot twists and an ending I never saw coming. It was also very interesting with it's great historical elements.

I liked how the characters evolved in this story. They were developed so very well and were very realistic and believable. I think I probably liked Effie the most of all of them. She was such a strong character and she told it how it was. I found Craig had a very unique character and I don't really want to go into why since it would spoil the story a bit, but I liked how the author wrote him, it made readers pay attention.

I recommend this to anyone who likes horror, historical or Graham Masterton stories. It is sure to soothe any lovers of these genres. Graham Masterton is a great talent.

Bird Box - Josh Malerman - 4.5 stars

I wanted to read creepy books for this month and came across this one at our local UBS and decided to get it. I had not heard a lot about the book but from a friend so I decided to just go into it blindly, and wow I am glad I did.

In this story the world is very different, something terrible has happened. There is something out there that makes people go mad and when this happens the madness takes over, killing and destruction is everywhere. Malorie and her children are left to their own devices living their lives inside an old house that has sheltered them from this madness only to go outside to get water from the well and all the while blindfolded to keep from seeing the creatures that lurk there.

Wow this book was pretty intense. I could only imagine how horrible it would be to have to go around blindfolded while outside and with children. It had such a great creepy aspect to the story not knowing what was around you, and I loved that. It makes it a great read for Halloween. The perspective changes many times from Malorie in present time and then also in the past that works it's way up to where she is now. Despite this the book stayed very fluid and easy to follow. One thing that I was a little disappointed about was that there was not a clear understanding at what these 'creatures' were. A mental image of them would have been interesting.

I really enjoyed the characters of this story, especially Malorie. She is a very strong character and she is very disciplined almost to a point of being to disciplined which can make her feel a little unrealistic at times. It could have maybe used a bit more about her and the children in the span of about 4 years that is only mentioned and not really included in the story, but it might have a added a bit more depth and we would have gotten to know her and children a little bit better.

The story is left somewhat open I think where perhaps a sequel will come into play, but it has enough closure in the chance that there is not a sequel. I recommend this to anyone who loves creepy mysterious books. Tis was a treat to read. I am rating this a 4.5 stars.

Gerald's Game - Stephen King - 4 stars

I decided to read this book for the season and I had not read it yet so I thought it would be good book to read for spook season. I am glad that I finally got to this one though because finally I found a book that creeped me out sufficiently enough.

In this book we have Jessie and her husband who get away to their cabin in a pretty remote part of Maine for some kinky play time. Jessie finds herself handcuffed to the bed and before things take off in a way she is not comfortable her husband dies leaving her there in a very compromising situation. While thinking that is worse thing that could happen, Jessie soon discovers that it is not.

At first while reading this I did not understand all of these flashbacks in the book, and kinda threw me off because I did not see the importance of them, but it was made pretty clear to me that they are a very important part of the story. I also thought that our main character was not always very smart and I was made to realize a lot of the things she did or did not do was directly affected by the fact that she was handcuffed to the bed causing some restrictions that she would normally not have. Once I got head wrapped around the story it made for a pretty creepy read, and when I can find a story to creep me out I find that refreshing. I liked how King strings along the readers almost to the breaking point until finally there is some relief. I also did not expect the ending to this book. There may be some scenes in this book that people will not care for but I feel like they do well to define the person Jessie is in this story.

Now onto our character Jessie. I don't think she is a very smart person, again, her situation is a huge part of that, so I can be lenient on her in that aspect. I think she has pretty good development due to her flashbacks because it explains a lot about her and her personality and why she is the way she is. I liked her and I found that I could really feel the way she was feeling while reading this. The Apprehension, the fear, and the loneliness as well. I could only imagine being in her situation and how I would react to it. I loved her slow decent into the insanity of the situation.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good psychological thriller and for those who crave the creepiness and does not always get that in books. This one had that creep factor for me and I loved that, which is why it gets a 4 star rating.