The Fall Of The Fomorians by Benjamin Haynes

 

This is the first published writing project from HaynesCraft, and it was produced with the entertainment of the reader in mind. A classic hero's tale, reimagined for a modern age. Maureen McTiernan hasn't known peace ever since she was seven years old. Now in her thirties, the event that took her away from her family will be faced in a small town in Ireland, whose residents are involved in a multitude of dark practices. If that didn't make things difficult enough for her, a legion of enormous mythical creatures dwell in the caves beneath the town, having haunted her family's history for thousands of years now. This is the story of their demise at the hands of Maureen. This is the tale of their death. The Fall Of The Fomorians is a celebration of Irish history and culture, as well as an homage to heroism in itself. If enough copies of this book are sold each year, a portion of the sales will be donated to fight homelessness and child trafficking, which are the two themes of the Contains scenes of gore and violence.

MY REVIEW: 5 Stars 

*Trigger warnings are listed on the actual book and at the end of the summary. Violence against children being the main them. The rest is your normal fantasy violence. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I haven’t read anything quite like it and y’all know I’ve read about every kind of book out there. 

I would say for me, this book falls into fantasy and science fiction - more fantasy though. This is also a character driven book. If you’re looking for large bits of world building this is not that book. The bit of world building we do get fits in perfectly with the story. I feel like at times this was a demented children’s fairy tale. It will make more sense when you read the book! 

This tells the story of Maureen and her family going back to her grandfather. You have to read their stories to understand and weave together how Maureen becomes the (my) hero of the story. I love nothing more than heroic women that beat all the odds stacked against them. The book does give quite a bit of information at the end and throughout that shows the story is a lot older than Maureen and her immediate family.

The creatures in the book are undeniably horrific and scary and I loved nothing more then when one was taken out. 

I don’t want to give away spoilers so I’ll leave it at this and it’s so simple…. Read the book. I know many of you will love the story and possibly relate to some of the things that happened in Maureen’s life. This is an excellent first book for the author in my opinion. 

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

Holly Horror Book 1 by Michelle Corpora

 

Playmate, come and play with me..."

A beloved classic reimagined with a dark twist.

After her parents' painful divorce, Evie Archer hopes that moving to Ravenglass, Massachusetts, is the fresh start that her family needs. But Evie quickly realizes that her new home—known by locals as the Horror House—carries its own dark past after learning about Holly Hobbie, who mysteriously vanished in her bedroom one night.

But traces of Holly linger in the Horror House and slowly begin to take over Evie's life. A strange shadow follows her everywhere she goes, and Evie starts to lose sight of what's real and what isn't the more she learns about The Lost Girl.

Can Evie find out what happened the night of Holly's disappearance? Or is history doomed to repeat itself in the Horror House?

MY REVIEW: 3 Stars 

The cover is awesome and so is the story line. Funny thing is I still have my old Holly Hobby doll. lol

The only reason I didn’t give the book more stars is it was a little bit too young adult for me, almost borderline middle grade. 

I enjoyed the characters and the almost old time feel to the book and some of the creep factors. I think plenty of people will love this book. 

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. 

Mel 

Inheritance by Nora Roberts

 

Inheritance is the first in The Lost Bride Trilogy by #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts―a tale of tragedies, loves found and lost, and a family haunted for generations.

1806: Astrid Poole sits in her bridal clothes, overwhelmed with happiness. But before her marriage can be consummated, she is murdered, and the circle of gold torn from her finger. Her last words are a promise to Collin never to leave him…

Graphic designer Sonya MacTavish is stunned to learn that her late father had a twin he never knew about―and that her newly discovered uncle, Collin Poole, has left her almost everything he owned, including a majestic Victorian house on the Maine coast, which the will stipulates she must live in it for at least three years. Her engagement recently broken, she sets off to find out why the boys were separated at birth―and why it was all kept secret until a genealogy website brought it to light.

Trey, the young lawyer who greets her at the sprawling clifftop manor, notes Sonya’s unease―and acknowledges that yes, the place is haunted…but just a little. Sure enough, Sonya finds objects moved and music playing out of nowhere. She sees a painting by her father inexplicably hanging in her deceased uncle’s office, and a portrait of a woman named Astrid, whom the lawyer refers to as “the first lost bride.” It’s becoming clear that Sonya has inherited far more than a house. She has inherited a centuries-old curse, and a puzzle to be solved if there is any hope of breaking it…

MY REVIEW: DNF/Skim Finish 

I love Nora Roberts so don’t take my "no star review" as anything personal. I’m sure I still love her old books and will probably love future books. The thing that’s happened to me is I’m changing my reading preferences. I can’t even really tell you what I’m going to love, like or not love any more. 

I’ve fallen out with a lot of genres with too much cursing, Grimdark, young adult angst and smut or sexy times. Of course, I just don’t like certain characters. In this case, there are a few from my list. 

I kinda wish this was just a full on haunted house book. Either way, I have no doubt Nora Roberts fans will love this book. 

*I would like to thank Netgalley and publishing for a copy of this book. 

Mel