Release Day Review: The Envious Siblings
The Envious Siblings and Other Morbid Nursery Rhymes
Author: Landis Blair
Published: Today, October 8, 2019
240 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
Eight gleefully macabre vignettes by an award- winning comics artist, as delightful as they are deadly.
Inspired by the dark imagination of Edward Gorey, Envious Siblings is a twisted and hauntingly funny debut. Comics artist Landis Blair interweaves absurdist horror and humor into brief, rhyming vignettes at once transgressive and hilarious. In Blair’s surreal universe, a lost child watches as bewhiskered monsters gobble up her fellow train passengers; a band of kids merrily plays a gut-churning game with playground toys; and two sisters, grinning madly, tear each other apart. These charmingly perverse creations take ordinary settings—a living room, a subway car, a playground— and spin them in a nightmarish direction.
Envious Siblings heralds a brilliant new cartooning talent, and will captivate readers who have thrilled to the lurid fantasies of Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake, Charles Addams, Shel Silverstein, and Tim Burton.
Kim’s Review:
I was surprised and excited to get this book in the mail. I received a free arc copy in exchange for an honest review. I’m torn between saying that I’m totally gonna read these stories to my kids and horrified that I would even consider that! I truly enjoyed this stories and found them imaginative and entertaining! Obviously I couldn’t recommend that all people read these to their kids, but hey, I wouldn’t mind reading them to mine. The rhymes are cute and the artwork is macabre but not explicit.
Overall, this is a great collection and I think a wide range of audiences would really enjoy it.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
VIDEO Sunday Series Review of Asylum I & II by Sian B. Claven
Today we bring you Kim’s series review of Asylum I & II by Sian B. Claven. This time the review is different: She did a video review! Kim felt she could bring better words talking versus typing.
**DISCLAIMER**
These books will NOT be for everyone: Proceed with Caution!
Books in the Series:
Asylum I
Asylum II
Asylum I
Published: February 15, 2019
253 Pages
Hans is a brilliant doctor, sent to an Asylum in the middle of nowhere to continue his post-world war experiments on the insane.
Karen is a bubbly nurse whose sole intention in the world is to do good and help those that cannot help themselves.
Good intentions cross into power hungry mania in this horrific tale of how all their failed experiments come back to haunt them, and how the Asylum holds its own secrets.
“Asylum makes your hair stand on end. This is creepy and dark, yet incredibly fascinating. To delve into the mind of the ‘scientist’ at this asylum is to find sheer madness roiling in those depths, as well as utter self-delusion. The very stones of this madhouse is drenched with horror … a clever and twisted MUST read!”- Elaina J. Davidson
Asylum II
Published: June 15, 2019
169 Pages
For cop killer Bradley Walker, pleading insane was the easiest get out of jail free card he ever played. Left in the hands of the cops to decide where he is sent, he is dropped off at an Asylum in the middle of nowhere. All is not as it seems and Bradley is left questioning his sanity when the orderlies, nurses and doctors all around him appear more insane than the patients.
Kim’s Rating of the Series: 4 Stars
Kim’s Video Review:
Purchase Links:
Asylum I
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Author Spotlight: David Nora
Today we bring you an Author Spotlight for David Nora and his debut published novel Slasher Crasher. Kim will also be sharing her review.
When David Nora isn’t writing silly horror stories about his high school friends, he’s trying to inspire future generations of children as a social studies teacher of the blind/visually impaired. He lives in New York City with his beloved stuffed polar bear, Po Po. He can be found on Twitter and Instagram at davidnorajr [all one word, lowercase]. Your support of indie authors is greatly appreciated.
Slasher Crasher
Published: August 22, 2019
348 Pages
It was the night HE tried to go home…but got caught in THEIR drama…
It’s Halloween. Nick Roesch, a towering figure of evil and stupidity, escapes from the upstate New York mental hospital he’s been committed to for the past five years. Planning to return to his childhood home, where he brutally murdered his babysitter’s boyfriend, his plans are halted when he crosses paths with an even more terrifying beast—two high school friends with some serious beef. Caught in a battle of loyalty that has been brewing for ten years of their friendship, the two girls, Kathleen Strife and Betsy Coleman, force the feud into a savage showdown, pitting the escaped monster against each other. Who will survive this epic death-match, and is it totally wrong to fall in love with the murderous lunatic who just tried to kill your ex-best friend with a machete?
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Barnes and Noble
Black Rose Writing
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars
Kim’s Review:
I found this book on Instagram and was drawn to the cover. Once I read the description, I knew I wanted to read it. This book is pretty entertaining! Obviously it needs to be taken for what it is, a classic 80s horror tale filled with extremes. Unfortunately, my one criticism is one of those extremes. I really hated Kathleen. No wonder no one liked her at school, she was disgusting! But everyone else was pretty in line with those cheesy 80s horror movies and it worked really well. The story was interesting (though slightly too long), the characters were engaging and believable, and the writing style was easy. There was only one point where I thought that the book was dragging on, but that passed quickly and I liked the story arc. There were some twists that were unexpected to me and I liked them! The ending was awesome! David was the best part of the book. He simultaneously added humor and a seriousness that made the story richer.
Overall, this was an engaging and entertaining read that I would recommend to anyone who loves campy horror. Not good for teens due to a lot of language and adult themes. I’m very glad I read it!
Contact David:
Twitter: @davidnorajr
Instagram: @davidnorajr