Review: Silent Woods by Ofelia Gränd

Do you believe in myths and ancient creatures?

Daniel has never felt the need to leave the city behind, so when his husband suggests a camping trip for their holiday he agrees with reluctance. Even before they step out of the car, Daniel has the feeling of something being wrong. Something about the forest is turning his stomach into knots.

He wants nothing more than returning to the safety of their home, and when their five-year-old son goes missing his fears turn into full-blown panic. What awaits them in the depths of the forest is far more sinister than anything Daniel ever could have imagined. Will they be able to find their son before it's too late?

As if children weren't scary enough!

I kid..

Kinda.

I mean, sometimes kids are creepy, amiright?

#don'tjudgeme.

Here we have Ofelia Gränd doing what she does best, as she weaves a contemporary tale mixed with local folklore to create a story bound to leave you absorbed and chilled.

Anders is a man's man; he loves the outdoors and is pretty much one with nature. He wants to give that same feeling and opportunity to his children, but his husband, Daniel is the polar opposite. If he's not sleeping in a hotel room or resort, surrounded by technology and his iPhone, then it's more like torture than a vacation.

So...the next two days spent hiking and camping in the woods, with two small children in tow, should be awesome!

Eh, not so much.

You see, there's more to these woods than anyone knows.

Sometimes, they go silent.

Sometimes, there's more to an almost forgotten folk tale than anyone could imagine.

Sometimes, you should listen to that nagging feeling that something bad is going to happen.

Ofelia Gränd does MM horror really well, and even though this is one of her older stories, it's still just as creepy and atmospheric as her more recent "adventures". And sexy! Because no camping adventure is complete without a little down and dirty, right?

Suspense and folklore intertwine to create a fantastic and fast little read.

Beware the silent woods!

A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Find out more on Goodreads.

Review: Love is for the Living (Albion Rising, #1) by Nicholas Kinsley

The zombies have arrived, and Blaine needs to escape. He'd always thought of his London neighborhood as a place of safety, but then his infected neighbors tried to eat him. Blaine packed a bag and fled through growing numbers of shambling, voracious monsters--people, he had to remind himself, they're people--toward his family in Bristol. He would surely have died without the turn of luck that brought him Commander Andrew Peterson. Together, they face the horrors and adversities of the apocalypse, trying to protect their loved ones, and—if they’re lucky—find love for themselves.

Do you ever find a book that interests you but then, when it comes to reading it, don't really fancy it? I kind of have to be in the right mood for each book i read - I like a ton of genres, but I need to be in the right mood for whatever I'm reading. If I'm fancying fluff, angst ridden is no going to do it etc. well, that happened to me for this book. The request came in and I thought it sounded interesting but when it came to actually reading it I just kept putting it off. I wasn't in the mood.

MORE FOOL ME.

Seriously. The only idiot in this scenario is me because once I actually started reading this book I loved it. I devoured it. I could not read the thing fast enough.

Zombie apocalypse is not my go to reading material of choice, but this was so well written I just fell in love with it. It is very obviously the start of a series, both Blaine and Andrew are introduced with a background so we know of them individually before we knew them as a potential couple. I loved this. They were very much individuals to me, not just part of a couple. Both characters were very different. Their life experiences were different, their attitudes were different. A zombie apocalypse though is all about survival and survival means stepping out of the known comfort zones. It means making hard choices and life being turned completely upside down. It's about impossible decisions and no regrets. And this book included all of these.

While there is a romance in this book - well a need for love at least - it is about more than that; it is about the need to survive and the interactions between very different people. Now, I'm not a Walking Dead watcher, but I very much imagine if you are, you would love this book. I cannot wait for the next installment in this series. I want to know all the things about these characters. I want HEA's... I don't think they're going to be just handed out though, I'm preparing myself mentally for some tough times ahead for these people I've come to love.

I don't want to go to any more in depth with this review, I don't want to spoil the story, in fact part of me just wants to say, bloody brilliant, go and read it! So I will. Read this book if you like a bit of horror in your reading.

A copy of this book was given ion exchange for an honest review.
For more information see Goodreads and Forbidden Fiction