Tag Team Review: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Amy Rae Durreson

A workaholic teacher and a cranky blacksmith investigate a haunted orphanage in the remote Scottish Borders. What they find together might help them heal the wounds of their pasts… if they survive.

When the charity Leon works for inherits the orphanage, he travels north to see if the site is suitable for a new school. But Vainguard is a place of dark secrets, and Leon unearths a mystery about four children who died there in 1944—a tragic tale with an uncanny connection to the death of Leon’s parents.

Still bitter and guilt-ridden over his daughter’s death, farrier Niall joins Leon in uncovering Vainguard’s cruel history, including not just abuse but a tale about a vengeful spirit preying on local children. As the orphanage’s disturbing past comes to light, another child goes missing.

Niall and Leon know they don’t have long before the child falls victim to a legend straight from the Borders’ blood-soaked past.

4.125 Hearts average

Adam - 3.75 hearts


Amy Rae Durreson always manages to get the right mix of romantic and downright spooky!

Leon is sent to the remote Scottish Borders to explore an opportunity to open a new charitable school in the region. He receives a less-than-happy welcome from Niall, the local farrier.

But even more unsettling is the forbidding building, Vainguard, that Leon was sent to investigate - and it becomes even more so as the days pass.

I’ll admit that I don’t handle paranormal suspense/thrills that well. I will flail at jumpscares. But what really gets to me is atmosphere.

And this book nailed atmosphere with a dark and brooding tension that slowly builds.

Consider me appropriately creeped out!

The story follows Leon as he discovers the horrifying details of Vaiguard and the surrounding area’s past. And how it all connects to him, with past and present colliding.

I really liked Leon. He has some serious blinders on when it comes to his adoptive family, but his heart is always in the right place.

Niall, for his part, is a bit of a cranky asshat at first. But once he looks past his own anger and sorrow, he can’t help the gruff affection he develops for Leon.

This isn’t a steamy book at all, but the connection between Niall and Leon is palpable.

The romance between the two men builds gradually, with many ups and downs. They’re both skittish and have a lot of baggage.

Leon still deals with the anxiety and flashbacks caused by the childhood car accident that killed his parents, while Niall’s sorrow for his deceased daughter is more fresh.

And yet the draw is undeniable. They become each other’s shoulder to lean on, and heal together.

Their relationship grows in tandem to their discovery of the secrets of Vainguard. And with that discovery comes the realization that their own sad stories are intertwined.

I won’t give away the plot, but I will say that it was creepy enough to make my heart pound at times. Nothing like murderous spirits to really get the blood pumping.

The resolution was wildly entertaining, and gave Leon and Niall the happy ending they deserved!

If you’re looking for a paranormal MM thriller, I’d definitely recommend ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’!


Ann - 4.5 Hearts

This book was full on atmosphere and a half, I got sucked into the world of wicked right away. I do love me a creepy ghosty story and Something Wicked This Way Comes delivered. There were MCs I connected to, a haunted orphange, likable secondary characters, some light horror and some optimistic romance.

The mystery that surrounds Vainguard is fascinating and not overdone. By that I mean, it’s balanced with good character development and a fully fleshed out tale beyond just the mystery of what happened to the orphans. And the author tied it all together in a way that made the story flow so well, I didn’t want to put it down. You know how sometimes, you’ll be reading a book and it shifts gears in either time or plot and you get a little bummed because you were just immersed in that particular plot point and you had to refocus? That doesn’t happen here, it just, well, it just flowed. The author struck a balance among all the elements that just plain worked from start to finish.

Leon and Niall are opposites on paper in just about every aspect, but they were the good kind of opposites that complement one another and appreciate their differences. I liked them both separately, even in Niall’s grumpiest of states, but I got even more out of my enjoyment when they started falling in more than just lust. They really brought the best out of one another and they showed me how they felt, I didn’t feel like I was being told about a romance.

The mystery was heartbreaking and just supernatural enough to keep me on edge, but not so much that the humanity was lost along the way. There was a hopeful air that made me look forward to keep on, keeping on to see what happened to the orphans, what the hell happened to Niall, and how was Leon going to make Vainguard work for the kids (being that it was haunted and evil and whatnot).

The resolution of all the things was satisfying and not so neat that it brought down the mystery that had been built. Niall and Leon deserved every bit of HEA they worked for.

Audiobook Review: Willow Man by John Inman

Woody Stiles has sung his country songs in every city on the map. His life is one long road trip in a never-ending quest for fame and fortune. But when his agent books him into a club in his hometown, a place he swore he would never set foot in again, Woody comes face to face with a few old demons. One in particular.

With memories of his childhood bombarding him from every angle, Woody must accept the fact that his old enemy, Willow Man, was not just a figment of childish imagination.

With his friends at his side, now all grown up just like he is, Woody goes to battle with the killer that stole his childhood lover. Woody also learns Willow Man has been busy while he was away, destroying even more of Woody's past. And in the midst of all this drama, Woody is stunned to find himself falling in love - something he never thought he would do again.

As kids, Woody and his friends could not stop the killer who lived in the canyon where they played. As adults, they might just have a chance.

Or will they?

Listening Length: 12 Hours 49 Minutes
Narrator: Austin Rising

It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of John Inman and his words in all their incarnations. I can’t get enough of his love pollen in the Belladonna Arms, his charming slapstick in Shy and his ventures into the dark side in Sunset Lake. Willow Man is definitely filed in the dark column and man did I love every heartbreaking moment.

I was born and raised in San Diego where Willow Man takes place and I remember the crash that is the catalyst for Willow Man well. I was a kid at the time and my mom worked in the area. I remember the panic and the fear as we waited at home for news. This was before you googled for news so we waited. And waited. And waited. Mom came home, all was well with us personally but San Diego was shell shocked for quite a while after. I know the canyons the author writes about and every little detail hit home for me. So, needless to say, I connected with the story from the beginning.

You can draw parallels to Stephen King’s horror masterpiece, IT, as mentioned in reviews here and there, but Willow Man is not IT and is its own horror masterpiece. The flavor is similar enough in that, if you love coming of age stories and you love the classic battle of good vs. evil; you can’t get enough bittersweet love and second chances and most of all you LOVE an epilogue that throws everything you found comfort in out the window, then Willow Man is for you just as much as IT.

Woody, Bobby, the twins Jeremy and Chuck and the total badass that is Cathy are inseparable childhood friends and the author nails the dialog and interactions in this group perfectly. And that is what elevates this to a classic for me. It’s so easy to make kids and preteens terrible, unreadable, but to make them real and to root for them as hard as I rooted for this group is impressive and the connection between their childhood and adult selves is flawless.

This is the first audiobook I’ve listened to with Austin Rising as the narrator and I need to hear more from him ASAP. There was a huge range of characters to cover in Willow Man and he got them all just right. Every bit of terror and every word of love was so organic I got caught up in the story from the first line to the last listening to him read the authors words.

Willow Man is evil incarnate. The amount of detail and backstory for him was just enough to make sure all his motivations were understood, and he’s just subtle enough to keep you extra off center while you’re listening. There’s no question of his terrible words and deeds and good gravy he’s a villain to beat all villains, but he never gets campy or overdone, he made my skin crawl with what was implied as much as what was described.

The kids though. Every one of them made this story. Sure, Woody and Bobby are the cornerstones of their younger years, but nothing would have worked without all of them together. The dynamics were perfect and the transition from childhood to adulthood was seamless considering the years they missed together.

The relationship between Woody and Bobby was, in a word, beautiful. Sure, they were young, but the love they felt for one another was so, so pure. It made my heart so happy and also filled me with more dread than I should ever feel! It’s a horror story, bad things are coming, I know this as I’m listening, but dammit, it didn’t make ANY of it any easier.

Flash forward to second chances and the epic battle between good and evil, and I couldn’t stop listening. How is this going to play out, how do you defeat Willow Man, when you are literally a man down and their nemesis is inhuman? The playout was ideal. I loved how things worked for the remaining friends and the takedown of Willow Man totally worked for the environment he dwelled in and cultivated all his evil.

And the epilogue, damn you John Inman, I love and hate the epilogue sooooooooo much. The part of me that loves the love pollen hated every bit. The part of me that loves good horror reveled in every word. The epilogue had to happen, it had to be there. I had to listen to Austin Rising scare the crap out of me and unsettle everything before it was over. Thanks for that, I mean that both sincerely and sarcastically and I know that horror fans will get that without any explanation.

**a copy of this audiobook was provided for an honest review**

Review: My Boyfriend's Back by Elliot Cooper

After losing both of his parents, Academy of Magecraft student Steven Durant doesn't want to see anyone else lose a loved one before their time. Traditional resurrection methods, however, only create mindless, flesh-hungry zombies; they're no cure for death. He's certain his unique brand of necromancy—using alchemy and blood magic—is the only answer.

When his boyfriend, Dax Everhart, has a fatal accident, Steven sees no choice but to use his experimental Lazarus Elixir. Dax comes back wrong, but the more humans he consumes, the more human he becomes.

With the help of his best friends, his ghostly aunt, and her living doll homunculus, Steven fights to regain normalcy and repair his shattered relationship with Dax. But with Dax openly embracing his monstrous nature, Steven shoulders the guilt of assisting in a murder spree that could lead the mundane and magical police right to their door.

Huh. Well... okay. That was certainly not what I was expecting.  

Confession: I didn't really read the blurb before I snatched this one up. I saw the cover, liked it, and said, "YES, PLEASE." 

Luckily for me, I ended up really loving this... weird, gory, zombie, love story. 

Steven and Dax are both students at Academy of Magecraft. Steven specializes in alchemy and is determined to find a way to bring people back from the dead. But without creating zombies, of course. When Dax takes a fatal fall, Steven hastily uses his experiments to bring him back. 

It worked. Kind of. 

He wasn't a mindless zombie... but still a zombie with a hunger for human flesh. This sends Steven into a tailspin trying to find a way to "fix" Dax. The idea of sentient zombies... not something I've read about before and the idea was more than intriguing. And disgusting. Dax wasn't completely himself after being brought back, but he was aware enough to know what he was doing to survive and to be okay with it. He was heartless and did what he had to do to "live". It was almost humorous. I say almost because I felt weird laughing at his cannibalism. But I did.

At the same time, he was kind of cute. Like I said, he wasn't totally himself and had some things missing. He wasn't sure about his feelings for Steven and he was adorably shy around his long-time boyfriend. Between finding snacks and eating his "leftovers", I pretty much loved Dax. 

I loved Steven, too. He was a frantic mess for most of the story, understandably so, but he didn't give up on helping Dax. Even if he also found himself in a less than desirable position along the way.

I'm not sure I would call this a story with an HEA. But it was more than a HFN... ? I guess, it was the best that could have possibly come out of Steven and Dax's situation. I really liked the ending. If everything ended too perfectly, I don't think it would have done Dax and Steven's story justice. They did the best they could with the situation they created, and their ending felt they way, too. 

If you like zombies and some humor mixed in with your gore, then pick this one up for some Halloween fun. It was a little creepy (did I mention a talking doll? O__O), slightly disturbing, funny, with a sweet couple doing everything they could to stay together.

A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Find out more info on Goodreads.  

Check out the blog tour for this title here!

Excerpt

Elliot Cooper © 2016

All Rights Reserved.

Catrina skipped through the garden, her bangs fluttering below the neat braid pinned across the top of her head. Her hair was darker than the rest of her unearthly blue-green form, the yard partially visible through her translucent skin and clothes. She flopped down on the ground in a way that made her appear to have mass and then poked at the fetid opossum corpse until she managed to flip it to its belly.

“Told you so,” she said matter-of-factly. “You didn’t use enough.”

Steven ignored her and kept digging. She didn’t have any idea what she was talking about. Catrina had admitted to him multiple times that she’d never dabbled in necromancy in life; she’d been too young to get much further than simple charms and potions. Back in her day, they hadn’t even had the local campus of the Academy of Magecraft, which meant she’d been homeschooled by his great-great-grandmother.

“Did you run it over yourself?”

Steven huffed in annoyance and jammed his shovel into the earth. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with one gloved hand and glared at the little ghost.

“No. I found it. I’m a necromancer, not a murderer.” He looked down into the hole he’d made, judged it to be deep enough for the poor animal, and then gently lowered the opossum body into the ground.

The potion hadn’t been potent enough, which wasn’t entirely his fault. Several of the ingredients were out of season and expensive. His little herb garden was already done for the year with the cooler fall weather turning the trees in his yard gold and umber. Steven didn’t like to waste any of his potion supplies and didn’t think it was a fault to be conservative with his elixirs.

Only maybe he’d been overly cautious. Maybe he needed to take a cue from his boyfriend, Dax, and get overzealous with his potion making and application rituals.

Steven’s mouth screwed into a sour frown at the thought as he shoveled the pile of dirt back into the hole.

“Is it really smelly?” Catrina peered up at Steven from her seat on the grass. She plucked at the hem of her dress and pulled it down over her knees.

“It’s not too bad.” Steven shrugged one shoulder as he tamped down the loose dirt with the flat side of the shovel. “I can’t even smell it now.”

“So that’s your ‘I just thought of something that offends my Stevie senses’ face.” Catrina pursed her lips at him and then skipped off toward the house.

“Don’t call me that!” Steven called after her. Catrina was the only one who called him that, and she’d done so since he was little enough to want to play games with her. But he’d outgrown the nickname a long time ago. It was a child’s name, not the name of a future world-renowned mage.

He heard Dax’s car pull into the driveway as he put the shovel and gloves back in the shed with the rest of his gardening equipment. At least Dax wouldn’t get all holier than thou about his failed attempt to raise roadkill from the dead. Again.

“Hey, babe!” Dax called to Steven as he walked around to the front of the house. “You wanna help me with these groceries? I got you a little something special.” He waggled his dark brows and grinned but then noticed his jovial expression wasn’t catching. “Everything all right?”

“Opossum number three was not, in fact, the charm,” Steven said with a shake of his head. He let out a sigh and sidestepped Dax to reach into the car for the bags.

Release Day Review - A Frost of Cares by Amy Rae Durreson

Military historian Luke Alcott leaps at the chance to live in the seventeenth-century country mansion of Eelmoor Hall, home of the Royal Military School of Medicine, after being offered a job cataloging the school’s archives. Luke believes he chose the perfect place to start a new life and put his broken past behind him. But soon after settling into the old house, he hears strange noises—like footsteps—and he begins to suffer from terrible nightmares.

 The only person Luke can turn to for help is the taciturn caretaker, Jay, a veteran of the Afghanistan war who carries an old battle wound. Together they try to understand Eelmoor Hall’s history and decipher what could be causing the haunting. As the weather grows colder and snow dusts the countryside, a child goes missing. Luke needs to deal with his own demons and learn to trust in love again if he hopes to face down the angry spirit and find the missing girl.

I love how the author told this story. It sooo worked. Luke is telling their story and I don’t mean it’s just in his POV, I mean he is writing down the story of Eelmoor Hall at Jay’s insistence with the hopes that Luke will be able to let the ghost go. It really reads as if a friend is telling me a truly great ghost story because it’s so story-tellerish. That totally makes sense in my head. It’s very personal from the beginning so I felt an immediate connection to Luke because his voice was so strong. Not to short change Jay at all, his presence was just as strong as he made comments to Luke throughout. Jay’s little digs and endearments as he peeks over Luke’s shoulder at what he’s writing, as told through Luke’s voice was completely charming. Note, pay special attention to 21%, it was yummmm and dayum and awwwwww all at once. It also is exactly why I love Jay and Luke together.

We know from the get go that they are an established couple, no mystery there, but that in no way takes away from the romance as the two get to know one another through Jay’s retelling of their winter at Eelmoor Hall. There is more than just one ghost in this story too. Not only is the mystery of the Mistletoe Bride told, but so is Luke’s history and the missing ex who still has a piece of him. That was a heartbreaker right there. It spoke to Luke’s strength of character and loyalty in a way that was really well done.

 You’ll especially enjoy this if you are a native and have any interest at all in history. I’m across the pond from the stories setting and I found it fascinating. I’m sure a big part of that was in how Luke communicates. He’s that awesome history teacher you had (or wish you had) that teaches through anecdotes and makes the historical figures into real relatable people. It’s not that the story was particularly heavy with historical information, just balanced perfectly to make the ghost story make sense to what was happening to them.

 I really love a good old fashioned ghost story and this is exactly that. It’s a story that has roots as a mysterious tragedy and that has been told and retold so many times the truth has been lost along the way. With Luke being a historian, it made perfect sense that he would be able to research the story of the Mistletoe Bride and figure out what facts fit their locale. The story is not overtold, it’s the perfect less-is-more approach. A few perfectly placed words and the absolute best chapter endings ever kept me hooked and deliciously creeped out.

The author did a really great job of balancing the ghost story with the romance between Jay and Luke. They may have been thrown together via circumstance and a haunting, but they didn’t shy away from the good thing they had going. I loved the evolution of their relationship, their banter and the building heat between them. They were both so real and honest, it was refreshing to read the beginnings of a relationship without unnecessary angst. They said what they felt and showed affection naturally. Plus, they had snark, I love snark. Considering the situation they found themselves in, the story could have been too heavy and dark, but the banter and aforementioned snark kept the story relatable throughout. I loved it.

Jay waited longer than I would have done, long enough that I was starting to get restless, but at last he said, “Clear.” 

“I don’t think she’s going to shoot us.” 

"Keep walking, Luke.” 

“I’m walking. Just saying.” 

I was pretty sure the look he was giving me was less than fond. “You’d be a pain to rescue.” 

“Oh, is this a rescue now? I thought we were both just running away.” 

Some of the absolute best parts were when the two were getting to know each other and divulging the stories of their own personal ghosts and then the reaction of the other. The reactions were always very thoughtful, words weren’t thrown into conversation to fill space or placate, every revelation had meaning. When Luke spoke about his ex, Danny, Jay was honest but respectful. Jay lost a leg on a tour in Afghanistan. He’s self-conscious in front of his new lover and the honesty that Luke respected him with was just perfect.

While Jay’s assignment to Luke was to write their story with the hopes of finally letting the ghost go, the conclusion that Luke came to in the end was ideal. This will no doubt be a reread for me in the future. The characters are too good to read just once and I had too much fun with the mystery not to revisit it.

To get your copy of A Frost of Cares follow the link to Dreamspinner Press.

**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**

Review: Channeling Morpheus (Channeling Morpheus #1-5) by Jordan Castillo Price

Michael is a waif in eyeliner who's determined to wipe vampires off the face of the earth.

Wild Bill's got the hots for Michael, and will stop at nothing to go home with him.

Forget about moonlit castles and windswept moors. These bad boys haunt all-night diners and cheap motels, cut-rate department stores and long, lonely stretches of the Interstate. Ride along with Wild Bill and Michael as the twists and turns of Channeling Morpheus for Scary Mary unfold in America's Heartland.

 "Mallet? Check. Wooden stake- hickory, of course? Check. Crucifix? Check. Holy water? Check. Eyeliner? Check."

This was on page one and all I could think was OMG THERE'S GUYLINER.

Then we met Wild Bill...

"He was... amazing. Tall and lean, with ripped up jeans and spiked blond hair, earrings, a snake tattoo on his neck and chipped black nail polish."

Well, fuck me, could they be any sexier? 

Ah yes, I found that they can.

Channeling Morpheus is a set of the first 5 novellas in crazy ride with Michael and Wild Bill. Michael is set out to find and kill the vampire who murdered his best friend, Scary Mary. Along the way, he meets Wild Bill. Bill decides to join in on the fun and help Michael out. Only thing is, Wild Bill is a vamp himself. Which kind of put a wrench in Michael's whole "all vamps are evil" theory. 

But, holy hell, thank the book gods that he did. 

Now, this isn't your run-of-the-mill vampire romance. Ha! No, it is certainly not. It's dark and gritty and twisted and creepy as all get out. And it's also sexy as fuck.

All the stories are under 100 pages, which makes for a fast paced read because a lot happens in each installment. Michael continues on his journey to rid the world of the bad vampires, but at the same time, learning more about them. It certainly makes me curious to know where they go from here. 

I totally felt the connection between Bill and Michael deepen throughout the novellas. 

"I'd been combing through my vocabulary for a word that meant lust-smacked. And skinless. And fucked up, and scared, and invincible. But I'd come up empty-handed. 

All I could say was, 'I love you, you know.' Because that was about as close as I could come up with words."

That, my unicorn friends, is great writing right there. This describes so perfectly what I felt between them. Something raw and lusty. I would have felt this regardless of this quote being there or not, it was woven into every part of their relationship. 

I loved the POV switches. Each book alternates the POV and book 1 started with Michael, so I was a little thrown when I started the second novella. It took me a minute to realize that it was Bill, but I was too ecstatic to be bothered.

All in all.. I FREAKING LOVED IT. Will I pick up the rest of the series? I'll give you one guess.

A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Find out more info on Goodreads.