The Shadows
The Shadows
Author: Alex North
Published: July 7, 2020
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Jessica’s Rating: 2 stars
Dates Read: July 28- August 6, 2020
Book Description:
You knew a teenager like Charlie Crabtree. A dark imagination, a sinister smile–always on the outside of the group. Some part of you suspected he might be capable of doing something awful. Twenty-five years ago, Crabtree did just that, committing a murder so shocking that it’s attracted that strange kind of infamy that only exists on the darkest corners of the internet–and inspired more than one copycat.
Paul Adams remembers the case all too well: Crabtree–and his victim–were Paul’s friends. Paul has slowly put his life back together. But now his mother, old and senile, has taken a turn for the worse. Though every inch of him resists, it is time to come home.
It’s not long before things start to go wrong. Reading the news, Paul learns another copycat has struck. His mother is distressed, insistent that there’s something in the house. And someone is following him. Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day twenty-five years ago.
It wasn’t just the murder.
It was the fact that afterward, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again…
Jessica’s Review:
After last year’s The Whisper Man did not work for me, I was not going to read North’s newest. But then I read the description, and I decided to give it a chance and this was the wrong decision for me. The Shadows had everything I would be interested in, but it didn’t work out for me. When we found out what happened to Charlie… Ok …. Whatever.. No big deal for me.
The one thing I did actually like was the reference to The Whisper Man in The Shadows, these books are in the same universe! And the covers both just belong together.
I think some of what might not have worked for me was the back and forth nature along with all the lucid dreaming stuff. These boys think they were having the same dream/can make things happen in their dreams.
I know this is an unpopular opinion, but all books/authors are not for everyone and sadly, after both of Alex North’s book failed to deliver for me I have decided he is an author I need to just stay away from.
Many thanks to the publisher Celadon Books for granting an audiobook copy to listen to and review via Netgalley.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK (Published as The Shadow Friend)
Engines of the Broken World
Engines of the Broken World
Author: Jason Vanhee
Published: November 5, 2013
272 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 2 stars
Book Description:
Merciful Truth and her brother, Gospel, have just pulled their dead mother into the kitchen and stowed her under the table. It was a long illness, and they wanted to bury her—they did—but it’s far too cold outside, and they know they won’t be able to dig into the frozen ground. The Minister who lives with them, who preaches through his animal form, doesn’t make them feel any better about what they’ve done. Merciful calms her guilty feelings but only until, from the other room, she hears a voice she thought she’d never hear again. It’s her mother’s voice, and it’s singing a lullaby. . . .
Kim’s Review:
What a weird book. The whole time, I just sat, puzzled. This animal that wasn’t an animal, but looked like an animal, but kept changing its appearance to different animals . . . What?? I thought maybe, once the mother started moving and talking even though she was dead, things were gonna get good. Not really at all. I had such high hopes with the cover and the description. But by the end, I was more confused than when I started!
I’m not even sure how to describe what I read. I think it was supposed to be some kind of post apocalyptic tale, but even then, I’m not sure. Different worlds that can communicate with each other, ministers that look like animals but aren’t, snowstorm that shrinks the world. But then it just ends with no resolution. I just didn’t like it. I don’t get what happened. I don’t understand what the author was trying to say. I just don’t know. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend this book to anybody.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Reviews of the Night Fall Series Books 10 and 12
The Night Fall series is a series of 12 books aimed at young adults written by different authors. I recently listened to two of the series on audiobook and I am sharing my reviews for both The Prank and The Late Bus today:
The Prank
Series: Night Fall #12
Author: Ashley Rae Harris
Published: August 1, 2011
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Read: June 25, 2020
Jessica’s Rating: 2 stars
Book Description:
Pranks make Jordan nervous. But when a group of popular kids invites her along on a series of practical jokes, she doesn’t turn them down. As the pranks begin to go horribly wrong, Jordan and her crush, Charlie, work to discover the cause of the accidents. Is the spirit of a prank victim who died twenty years earlier to blame? And can Jordan stop the final prank, or will the haunting continue?
Jessica’s Review:
I was waiting for another audiobook to arrive and saw this was available and also a short one, right around two hours. It is part of a series that seemed reminiscent of the R.L. Stine Fear Street book series I absolutely loved as a teen. But it did not deliver for me.
First, it takes place in high school, and yes, I do enjoy YA books, but the teen drama was too much for me in this. There is a reason you may not want to go back to high school and this book showed it.
Jordan doesn’t like pranks but then the ‘popular kids’ invite her to come join with them. She doesn’t at first but then gets pulled in because they used an item of hers and left it at a location. Then things begin to get out of hand. Quite honestly, I don’t even remember the ending and even though it is a short audiobook, I will not go back to it as I did not really even care about the teens. It just tries to give a lesson for teens to not prank others or face consequences.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
The Late Bus
Series: Night Fall #10
Author: Rick Jasper
Published: August 1, 2011
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Date Read: June 26, 2020
Book Description:
Lamar takes the late bus home from school after practice each day. After the bus’s beloved driver passes away, Lamar begins to see strange things–demonic figures, preparing to attack the bus. Soon he learns the demons are after Mr. Rumble, the freaky new bus driver. Can Lamar rescue his fellow passengers, or will Rumble’s past come back to destroy them all?
Jessica’s Review:
The Late Bus is the second audiobook in the Night Fall series I listened to. This one was much better than The Prank. This one was a 45 minute audiobook, but Warning Warning: We have a problem Libby App: This is only part of the story! If you look on Amazon, it says the book is 116 pages. 116 pages cannot be read in 45 minutes! Also when I started the beginning of the audiobook, the narration began with chapter 10. So we are missing the first half of the book. This is very unfortunate as I enjoyed this one. It is not ‘scary’ but a mystery. I don’t think it would be scary to ‘younger readers’ either. I was invested in the story and really enjoyed the ending and if I had gotten the whole story, I am sure I would have given it 4 stars. You can’t really review something when you don’t have the whole story, but being I enjoyed it, I tried to review it the best I could.
I am far from the target audience for these two books, I don’t think I would listen to the others in the Night Fall series based on these two books, but if I had the chance to read the whole book of The Late Bus I would. I would like to get the whole story. I hope if I ever re-read some of the Fear Street series I hope they hold up well for adult readers as they did for teen readers all those years ago.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK