Review: The Hike by John Inman

Ashley James and Tucker Lee have been friends for years. They are city boys but long for life on the open trail. During a three-hundred-mile hike from the Southern California desert to the mountains around Big Bear Lake, they make some pretty amazing discoveries.

One of those discoveries is love. A love that has been bubbling below the surface for a very long time.

But love isn’t all they find. They also stumble upon a war—a war being waged by Mother Nature and fought tooth and claw around an epidemic of microbes and fury.

With every creature in sight turning against them, can they survive this battle and still hold on to each other? Or will the most horrifying virus known to man lay waste to more than just wildlife this time?

Will it destroy Ash and Tucker too?

John Inman’s stories run the gamut of genres and I love that there is really something for everyone. I happen to love all manner of his words and The Hike reminded me why. One of my favorite themes is horror, but I do have to be in the mood. John can write stories that will haunt your nightmares, but they are always well balanced with memorable characters. I also get that not everyone is down for the horror thing so his stories that focus more on the love pollen that gets spread are more their jam. The Hike is kind of horror-lite compared to say, Sunset Lake or Willow Man but it wouldn’t play well with the Belladonna Arms boys either. The scare level is more along the lines of Spirit or My Busboy. Any Inman fan worth their salt knows what I’m rambling on about here.

The real strength in this story is the bond between Ash and Tuck. The Hike is an angst free (I’m just talking about the relationship here, not the horror that nature becomes) friends to lovers story. There is no question from page 1 that these two are best friends on their way to more. The evolution of their relationship was a treat to read, the banter was adorable without being sappy and the chemistry was dripping off every page. Once Ash and Tuck got together the romance was sublime, seriously, not many authors can write romance the way John Inman does for me. The sweetest thing was the appreciative awe they each felt about the other, Ash planned this whole hiking vacation to have Tucker all to himself and then found out Tucker wanted the same and the realizations and confessions made me swoon repeatedly. They shared firsts that solidified their bond, the kind of things that you only share with someone you trust with your heart and the magnitude of those firsts was not lost on either of them.

As I said, Ash planned this hike to get Tucker all to himself for three weeks, neither of them are great outdoorsmen, and reading about them getting ready and setting off was pretty damn funny. They prevailed and conquered though and that in and of itself was a story. Being a native San Diegan I loved reading the setting that was basically my backyard that we camp in often. John captured the atmosphere perfectly! So, these two are hiking from southeast San Diego to Big Bear and even without the scary AF mystery, their would have been a solid story. The scare factor elevated the tale just how I like though and I ate up the gradual tension that built as Ash and Tuck got further along the trail and further away from civilization.

I think the scariest part was that what was happening could be a legit thing. Unlikely? Sure. But if I heard about it years later as an urban legend, I’d buy it. When Ash and Tuck reached the cabin I was into the book until I finished. There was no putting this thing down at that point and I loved it. I was most certainly stressed out, but the ride the author took me on was a heart pounding and heartbreaking one. The thing that kept this on the horror-lite side was that I never felt like Ash or Tuck would meet their end. Not that everyone made it home, but I felt pretty solid that those two would be find and honestly when you’re reading a horror tale, that’s all you can ask for with your MC’s.

The Hike isn’t a sequel kind of story, but man, I would love to read more with Ash and Tuck. I loved these two and while there were moments of extreme sadness, nature can really be a bitch I swear, there was heavy doses of romance, friendship and some humorous banter that kept me locked into this book.

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

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: The Rascal by Eric Arvin

Lana is a faded movie star who lives alone in a big house on a hill that overlooks the sea. She has lived this way since the death of her daughter and the disappearance of her husband.

Jeff and Chloe are a couple who live in a cabin below the big house. It was Chloe’s idea to strengthen their marriage; but she see’s now that it isn’t working. Jeff has become obsessed with the cabin and the old water well. Chloe only sees strangeness around her.

One night while talking on the computer with Ethan, Jeff’s brother, a feeling of dread comes to the fore. When Ethan sees a figure behind Chloe, he leaves his boyfriend and baby and sets out to save Jeff.

Chloe, Ethan and Lana come together to fight an evil that would destroy Jeff. Will they succeed or will all of them fall to the taste of a young cannibalistic ghost?

If you like being scared silly then this is the book for you! A warning though, it really isn't a romance, so if you're looking for some romance in your reading you aren't going to find it here. What you will find is a beautifully crafted, scary as fuck, story.

I love Eric Arvin's writing - it speaks to my soul. He is a writer who doesn't waste words, but instead uses them to sculpt the perfect story. This one is the perfect example of that. Ghost stories often veer to the side of melancholy, at least the kind I read seem to, this a one though filled me with good old fashioned fear. 

I have no idea how it was going to turn out. I had no idea how I wanted it to turn out - I was just swept along in the words and took each twist and turn with gritted teeth and half shut eyes. You know when you watch a horror film and that creepy music starts playing - you know you're about to be scared witless but you still jump when it happens. somehow Eric Arvin manages to write the screenplay (the story) while also writing the fright into the undertones (the music score). It's a talent I envy.

One of the ways he does this is writing amazing characters. I never knew who I liked. Who I didn't like. Who I felt sorry for or whose side I was on. Not one of our characters was written as a clean cut goodie or baddie. 

Chloe and Jeff, the main couple - well it would seem that they would be the ones to love. But they have their secrets, their own pasts. The marriage they - or at least Chloe - is trying to desperately save should be the focus, should have me rooting for them but...

Gah.

No spoilers. No spoilers. Just - if horror does it for you, then this is a  must read. It is everything I've come to expect from this author and more.

For more information check out Goodreads.

A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.