WWW Wednesdays #131 – April 5th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m currently reading three books; the first two being for the Beat The Backlist challenge because I have been neglecting this challenge terribly in March. The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a (modern) classic I somehow never picked up before and I’m still deciding what to think of it. And I’ve been wanting to read the sequel ever since I finished the first book, so I’m hoping to continue Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken as soon as I finish  the first. Although I might read the ARC sequel Sleep Tight by Caroline Mitchell first, because I’m in the mood for another thriller.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

* I first finished The Yellow Envelope by  Kim Dinan, which didn’t turn out to be as good as I was hoping for. Instead of a travel memoir, it was more of a self-discovery journey and I had a lot of problems with the tone, focus of the story and (negative) cliches. More details in my review…
* I then read the collection of short horror stories Silence Under Screams by Collin Henderson, and it sure turned out to be a proper horror read. There are four stories in total and each is unique in its own way and represents a different subgenre. Warning: some of them have very graphic descriptions!
* The last book I was able to finish in March was History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera and I can definitely understand why so many people seem to love this book. I enjoyed reading this book, although it kind of feels bad to say that since part of it is really sad. Excellent character development and loved the prose! Not a 5 star read as expected (it felt a bit messy), but definitely more than recommended for fans of the genre.
* My first April read was an ARC: Blood Moon by John David Bethel. The fact that this story is somewhat based on a true event is without doubt shocking, because the main character sure has to go through a lot. Interesting read with a lot of action and graphic scenes (warning if you don’t like those!), and I liked the use of Spanish even though there were quite a lot of mistakes.
* My last read was actually a reread: The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda. Back in January I couldn’t help myself and had to read this ARC as soon as I got a copy, and I decided to reread it before writing my review, since it’s going to be published soon. I enjoyed this thriller just as much the second time around. She is definitely one of my new favorite authors of the genre. I love LOVE her writing style.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

Next up are three more ARCs… All for the April ARC month. What Doesn’t Kill You by Ed James is a Netgalley ARC and part of a detective series I’ve been enjoying so far. Among Friends: Travels In Cuba by Heather Murray was sent by the author and sounds like an intriguing travel read. Enchanters by K.F. Bradshaw is a Reading Alley ARC and will give me just the dose of fantasy I need (hopefully). I also still want to read Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult , probably after I finish these three ARCs though.

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ARC REVIEW: Silence Under Screams – by Collin Henderson

Title: Silence Under Screams
Author: Collin Henderson
Genre: Short Stories, Horror, Thriller
First published: October 19th 2016
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Finished reading: March 30th 2017
Pages: 108

“I could hear the sound of my own breathing over the humming in the room. It filled my ears, quickened my heart, took control of me and didn’t let me go.”

*** A copy of this collection of short stories was kindly provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I’m a bit ashamed it took me this long to pick up this collection of short horror stories, but I’m glad I finally gave Silence Under Screams a go. I was in the mood for a proper horror read to inaugurate the upcoming Autumn months, and this was just what I was looking for. This collection by Collin Henderson is a real treat: you get to have FOUR different horror subgenres/styles all in one bundle!

I will be doing this review slightly different than usual and both give a summary and my thoughts on each of the four short stories below instead of having different sections.

 Silence Under Scream starts out strong with a short story called Old Strings… Basically a tribute to every B horror movie out there and delightfully creepy! It’s about a crazy Hollywood director coming back as a puppet and has all the classic B horror movie moments. A lone cabin in the woods… Check. Creepy creature attack moment… Check. Lots of graphic scenes… Check. Classic surprise moment… Check. Do you need more? A little warning for swearing and graphic descriptions, but Old Strings was one of my personal favorites.

The second story is called Deus Ex Corpus, and is without doubt something completely different. It belongs to a genre called bizzaro and partly inspired by an author called Jeremy Robert Johnson. I have to admit it might have been a bit too much for me to handle… This story is about a strange sect worshipping a strange god and an undercover journalist trying to get her next article, and it was without doubt nothing like I have ever read before. It’s a bit too weird to my taste and is packed with heavily graphic scenes… Don’t read it if you are grossed out easily or don’t tolerate for example the mention of body fluids. It does seem to be a good example of the genre though.

The third story is probably the most ‘light’ horror read and is mostly phsychological. It’s called Stranger and sort of a coming of age story where a trauma/scary childhood moment keeps haunting the main characters as they grow up. I liked the fact that the ‘monster’ appeared in their nightmares and how things evolved. It’s not too scary, but without doubt still an interesting read (and maybe a welcome little break from the graphic scenes as well.)

The final story is called Fake Man Watches and is without doubt fascinating. It shows that the author is trying to give the story a ‘Stephen King‘ feel, because I had exactly that impression while I was reading it. It’s probably my favorite of the bunch and it is also the longest story of the collection. As in most of King‘s stories, Fake Man Watches talks about a very realistic situation and adds a surreal element to it with just the right dose of creepy… The abusive situation at home both Stephanie and Justin have to endure is something all too real unfortunately, and is very well described. I also liked the ‘fantasy’ element and the whole final scene in the cabin in the woods. Lots of twists for such a short story as well!

As you might have guessed already, I really enjoyed reading this collection of horror stories. My favorite would be between Fake Man Watches and Old Strings for completely different reasons; the first for the mix of different elements and just the right dose of suspense and terror, the second for the entertaintment factor and tribute to B horror movies in general. My least favorite would be Deus Ex Corpus, but that’s more due to the fact that the genre and me simply aren’t a good fit. In short, if you are looking for a proper horror read, enjoy reading short stories and appreciate a variety of different horror (sub)genres represented in the same bundle, Silence Under Screams is an excellent choice. Just be warned that especially the first two stories can get really graphic!

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WWW Wednesdays #130 – March 29th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m currently about to finish one of my pending Netgalley ARCs: The Yellow Envelope by Kim Dinan. I was really looking forward to this travel memoir, but it sort of fell flat for me. Rather than a true travel memoir, this story has mostly been a (rather self-centered) description of the author’s failing relationship with her husband and feelings; definitely not what I expected at all and not as enjoyable to read… I’ve also started History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera, which I will continue as soon as I finish the memoir. I’m so excited to be finally reading it!

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

* YESSSS!!! I’ve finally been able to read A Conjuring Of Light by V.E. Schwab, the final book in one of my all time favorite fantasy series. And it sure didn’t disappoint; I loved every single minute of this third book and I still sort of have a book hangover (the fact that I didn’t really like the next three books I picked up didn’t help either). I’m going to miss this fictional world and its characters; luckily I have my own little Delilah Bard to keep me company now. 😉

Little Delilah Bard, Lila for short.

* I also read The First City by Joe Hart, another final book in a trilogy… And I had a really hard time finishing this one. I’ve never liked the main character Zoey, but in this third book she is becoming almost impossible to tolerate. I’ve seriously considered DNFing it at various points… Her self-centered, annoying and whiney dialogues and actions made this read into a true struggle. The other POVs were slightly better, although I’m not too sure about the plot either. The ending is ok enough I guess.
* The last read I finished is Rose Petal Graves by Olivia Wildenstein, which started out interesting enough and I liked the general idea behind this story (faes and fae hunters). That said, this turned out to be yet another YA fantasy series destroyed by a… yes, you can already guess… a freaking LOVE TRIANGLEEE!!! I’ve become seriously allergic to them, and all these forbidden love interests and love triangles just made me enjoy the story a lot less. Also, the main character changes ‘teams’ constantly and it’s not really realistic.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

Next up are two more ARCs… The horror story Silence Under Screams by Collin Henderson has been on my list for way too long already, so I’m hoping to finally read it this week. I also need to read Blood Moon by John David Bethel. After so many ARCs, I’m hoping to finally read more of my own books as well, and both Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken and Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult are high on my list.

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WWW Wednesdays #128 – March 15th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

Words cannot describe how excited I am to be reading the newest Erika Foster novel! Last Breath was literally only posted at Netgalley yesterday and I decided to put my other pending ARCs on hold and read this one first shortly after my request was approved. So far it looks like Robert Bryndza has written another winner! 😀 I’ve also started with Bull by David Elliott, but somehow reading on my phone feels a bit awkward… It does sound like an intriguing read though.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

* First up is The Missing Ones by Patricia Gibney, a psychological thriller ARC that is due to be published tomorrow. I had high hopes for this one as I’ve heard a lot of great things about it, and I have now joined the fan-crew. Well written, intriguing and complex plot, interesting characters and some very disturbing details and plot twists! I loved the flashbacks and little Rome bits as well. (Me and the Santa Maria Maggiore have a little history so my heart skipped a beat when it was mentioned!)
* I then read The Last Gods Of Indochine by Samuel Ferrer, a historical fiction ARC that was way overdue. I’m glad I finally had the chance to give it a go, because it was without doubt a very very intriguing story. This novel is set in Cambodia and has two different storylines: one set in the 1920s and one in the 13th century. While it took me a some time to connect to the main character Jacquie, I was instantly charmed by the story of Paaku the Lotus-Born. Well written, great plot and fascinating read in general.
* And just as I thought it couldn’t get better, I decided to pick up Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner. I loved his other novel The Serpent King and this one has been one of my most anticipated releases ever since… And I think I have just found my new favorite Zentner story. Basically, this story took my feelings, put them on the middle of the road and ran them over repeatedly with a bulldozer. It doesn’t happen often that a book managed to make me cry, but Goodbye Days was one of them. Brilliant prose, excellent characters and those feels!! I think Carver just made my heart break a little.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

Next up are two ARCs… I’m still hopelessly behind with them, but I’m slowly getting there. First is The First City by Joe Hart, the final book of a trilogy that is hopefully going to keep improving. I also need to read the horror story Silence Under Screams by Collin Henderson. Which might be a nice change of genre and just what I needed. And remember I was saying I was going to read A Conjuring Of Light next? I guess I was wrong. xD I’ve been dying to read it though, so I might just give myself an (early) birthday present and read it first. I also need to read another pending ARC: Rose Petal Graves by Olivia Wildenstein…

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WWW Wednesdays #127 – March 8th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m currently reading two pending ARCs… March is really turning into an ARC month, but at least my Netgalley ratio is finally above 80% again! 😀 The first one is The Missing Ones by Patricia Gibney, a psychological thriller I’ve heard great things about and I’ll be looking forward to. The second title is an historical fiction read that the author sent to me: The Last Gods Of Indochine by Samuel Ferrer. It took me longer than expected to finally pick that one up, but I’m hoping to finish it before the weekend.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

* The first book I finished since last week is I Found You by Lisa Jewell, which was even better than I thought it would be. Without doubt an excellent psychological thriller that had me on the edge of my seat and guessing about the facts until the very end. And even though the amnesia element isn’t all that original on its own, it works perfectly together with the rest of the plot. Recommended!
* I then read The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman, which I picked up on a whim when I wanted a little break from my ARCs. I totally didn’t realize this was actually a series! There were things I loved about this book, especially the Library/Language elements, but it wasn’t as good as I hoped. Part of the problem is that so many different elements are being squeezed together in the plot that it just all seems a bit chaotic… I mean: magic, science fiction/steampunk, supernatural creatures (vampires, fae, werewolves AND dragons), a superdetective and an evil supervillian in one story? It just seemed a bit too much and mostly distracted from the very interesting idea behind the Library, Language and alternative worlds.
* Next up was The Wanderers by Meg Howrey, a book I was really looking forward to, especially after it was compared to The Martian. Unfortunately, this turned out to be false advertisement, because the two basically have NOTHING in common. The Wanderers mostly focuses on the psychological effects of a Mars mission SIMULATION (Yes, the astronauts don’t even go to Mars), which definitely wasn’t what I had signed up for. Sure, a psychological analysis can be interesting and I liked the diversity of the characters, but overall the pace was quite slow and the sometimes dense prose didn’t really help either. Things improved later on, but I don’t think I would have actually made it to that point if this wouldn’t have been an ARC: In one word: disappointment.
* After two mediocre reads, I had both my fingers and toes crossed when I started reading Renegade Red by Lauren Bird Horowitz. I ran out of time and dived straight into the second book, but it by no means ment I enjoyed it less. I definitely understand the love for this series now, because I had a blast reading this story. A fast pace, interesting characters and plot, well written… It does have a love triangle I’m not sure about, but this is one of the exceptions where I’ve forgiven the story for it.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

Guess who is finally going to pick up her copy of A Conjuring Of Light?! I’m a huge V.E. Schwab fan and I’ve been wanting to read this final book ever since I finished AGOS last year, so I guess you can imagine how excited I am to be finally reading it. I was initially going to reread the first two books before, but I really don’t have time right now with all those pending ARCs…. Looks like I will be having a Shades Of Magic reread later this year! 😉 I also need to read the two ARCs Bull by David Elliott and Silence Under Screams by Collin Henderson, and I might read History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera after that just to change genres a bit. (Ok I confess, it’s also because I REALLY want to read it in the first place.)

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WWW Wednesdays #126 – March 1st

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I have only one current read right now, which is basically a miracle haha. I’m trying to get rid of the backlog of reviews before I start a new story, so that might explain why though. I’ve only just started my ARC copy of I Found You by Lisa Jewell, but it’s without doubt a story I’ve been looking forward to.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

* The first book I finished since last week is The Killing Game by J.S. Carol, an ARC I wasn’t able to read before the publish date and I feel kind of bad now I’ve waited this long to finally pick it up. I ended up really enjoying this disturbing and plot twist-packed thriller! The plot was quite refreshing as well; a hostage situation where you learn more about the POV of both the bad guy, the victims and the press. Fast-paced, well written and REALLY hard to put down before the story was finished!
* I then read A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles, a historical fiction story I have been looking forward to ever since I first heard about it and I was delighted to receive an ARC copy of. I LOVED the setting and the prose! This is without doubt a beautifully written novel and even though the pace isn’t fast, the character development and many many descriptions made up for it. Fans of the genre will more than appreciate this story.
* The last book I read was The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller; just in time to count as one last book for February. I’ve been wanting to read this one for ages now… And not just because so many fellow booklovers seemed to enjoy it; I’ve read/translated part of the ‘original’ story during my high school Latin/Ancient Greek classes and I really wanted to revisit the story. I definitely understand the love for this book now! Not only is the story well written, but the character development is very well done and I loved Patroclus’ character. The pace is quite slow at points, but I personally didn’t mind. This mythology adaptation of the Achilles & Troy story is without doubt excellent!

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I’ve decided to use March to try and get rid of the backlog of pending ARCs, so I have the following three lined up to read next: Bull by David Elliott, Silence Under Screams by Collin Henderson and The Last Gods of Indochine by Samuel Ferrer.  I also want to read Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken as part of my promise to start finishing more pending series.

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WWW Wednesdays #125 – February 22nd

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m currently reading two Netgalley ARCs, depending on the genre I’m in the mood for. The first is the thriller The Killing Game by J.S. Carol, which I actually should have read two months ago and it’s about time I finally picked it up… And the other title is A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles, a historical fiction story set in the Russia of the 1920s and a very enjoyable read so far. I’ve also read the first few pages of The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller, and I’m definitely looking forward to continue it as soon as I finish my current ARCs. And I’ve decided not to mention my current audiobook (Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison) anymore until I actually make progress again. 😉

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

* The first book I finished since last week is The Truth Will Out by Brian Cleary, an ARC that has been on my TBR for way too long. And wow, what a disturbing and messed up story! This crime thriller is set in Ireland and the plot is without doubt intriguing. On top of that it’s well written, full of twists and without doubt a gripping story in general.
* I then read The Light That Gets Lost by Natasha Carthew, which I had picked up on a whim after browsing my kindle. I should have checked goodreads first instead, because I can definitely understand the very low rating now… I had a REALLY hard time reading this story and was close to DNFing it more than once. I had a strong dislike for the prose and the story simply didn’t make sense at all. I guess I was as lost as the light in the title…
* To make up for the previous read (and also because I finally finished the Rebel Of The Sands review) I continued with Traitor To The Throne by Alwyn Hamilton. And this series is definitely one of my new favorite fantasy series! I enjoyed this sequel just as much or even better than the first book, and it will be a long long wait for the last book. The writing, the plot, the characters, the magic… Everything just works.
* The last book I finished is The Paris Mysteries by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro as part of my promise to start finishing more series. I enjoyed the first book of this series last year, but the books are steadily declining in quality. This third book was actually quite a struggle. I don’t think I would have finished it if it wouldn’t have been for the superfast pace… Because between the extremely annoying main character, sappy romance scenes and general blah I had a hard time finishing this story. It makes me really worried about the final book…

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I’m trying to tackle the mountain of pending ARCs that are waiting for me, so I have the following three lined up: I Found You by Lisa Jewell, Silence Under Screams by Collin Henderson and The Last Gods of Indochine by Samuel Ferrer.  I also want to read both Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken as part of my promise to start finishing more pending series.

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