This is the third Fiona McCallum book I've read, and the second one I've rated two stars. There's one main reason this book tanked in my opinion. 

Apologies in advance for the tirade below:

Jessica, the main character, is a self-centred, immature and selfish adult-child. The constant inane babbling of her inner thoughts drove me batty, and her complete inability to think about anyone outside of herself left me wanting to wring her scrawny neck. 

Add to this continued form of abuse to the reader, Jessica's incapacity to put basic symptoms of pregnancy together after the reader was subjected to copious PG-rated coitus between Jessica and Steve, her rough-on-the-outside-but-soft-on-the-inside husband, and you're left wondering how this TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) character even made it to adulthood. 

Considering the amount of inner dialogue the reader is subjected to, Jessica's character has very little character growth, the one tiny speck of change really didn't warrant the 220 pages of torment within the covers. What's with that?! Really? Are there people like this in the world?

This book gets added to my swear-tastic shelf, not because it has a lot of vulgar language in it (there is a little, it's fairly light on), but instead it's added because of the quantity of vulgar language it elicited from me as I read it.

The ONLY reasons this book gets 2 stars instead of 1, is Laurel and Hardy, the farm dogs who were adorable, and the Plain-Jane-but-not-really, Faith. The little filly, Faith, is a welcome piece of sunshine and amusement to the book. If only we'd spent more time in her mind and less in Jessica's. 

I was left thinking:



Not Fiona McCallum's best, but still might appeal to horsey people who don't mind reading about characters that are annoying and downright unlikable.

**Note: I was provided a copy of this book from the Publisher in return for an honest review**

This is the first part of The Quest of Dragons and will most certainly be the last one I read by this author.

The list of issues I encountered in this 42 page story is almost longer than the story itself.

If you are thinking about being a writer, publishing books, please do not do what this author has done, and publish something that is barely but a first draft. EDIT YOUR WORK! Get someone else who is good at writing or editing to look it over.

Worst example of a story I've read so far! The only redeeming features, are the fact it was only 42 pages long and the fact that I paid nothing for it!

Things I noticed:

Issues including overuse of the same word in close sentences:
'Very well' is used excessively.
'Tree, deal, wall, Sapphire' all repeated too much.

Overwritten text:
'You will perish a long painful, agonising death.'
There's only four words too many in that sentence.

Changes in POV mid paragraph.

Use of 'He seen'. Wrong!

Some paragraphs are indented, while others not. This occurs the whole way through the story.

Continuity issues at 82%. The group fled with no supplies yet they unpacked supplies when they arrive at Taisai.

82% - wrong use of their:
'The three sat their(there) for a moment...'

86% - if Taisai is the multicultural hub described when they arrived, why would their presence be unusual?

93% - WTF?!? That is horse shit!

While the finish of the story on the whole was a little rough around the edges (see things I noticed at the end of the review), the pace was fast enough that the issues didn't detract from the story being told.

Some seriously messed up people in this book, none more so than that creepy little mistress of murder. She's enough to seed nightmares for months.

Horrific in some of its simplicity, Rape Van offers a twisted view into the lives of serial killers. It included some imaginative ideas and sadistic scenes. One wicked little ride that will likely scare the bejesus out of readers and turn stomachs of all but a hardened few gore veterans.

I would have liked more time spent with the victims, it felt a little rushed at times, which detracted from the impact of some of the scenes.

An easy read in one sitting, if you dare.

The first Tim Miller read for me, but it won't be the last.

A few things I noticed:

Pg 9 - ...Why did you do that?" Mar(t)in screamed.
Pg 21 - Mar(t)in had gone completely hysterical...
Pg 56 - ...I'll get in(it) in the oven...
Pg 61 - chapter 6 needs to be on a new page.
Pg 189 - The(y) did pull back some, at least.

You know when you have a great idea, and you're really excited to explore that great idea, delve deep into it and have a poke around to see if it really is a great idea?! Well, sadly, I fear that Rudolf could have done a bit more digging and a bit more polishing of what he found.

The outline of the story is reasonable. In fact I'd argue that it's a rather ingenious idea, but alas the way in which it was executed fell far, far below the mark.

The main character, Richard, is a useless imbecile. He's not even funny when he thinks he's being funny. He's abrasive and immature and immediately put me off reading the story. The female characters also leave little to be desired, Mia is snarky and rude, Anna: a poster child for mental health issues managed poorly and don't even get me started on Richard's best friend...

The writing is stilted and repetitive to the nth degree. At several points in the book there's about 15 lines that start with the same few words. The same ideas and concepts are hashed and rehashed and driven so far into the reader's face it's almost as invasive as having your eyes examined by an optometrist.

The way in which society crumbled in the book seemed rather explosive, but not so far outside of the realm of possible that it wasn't believable, at least a little. If the writing were more palatable I might have allowed some of the other issues, but sadly all together this was a pretty average read. I'm quite glad it was a freebie.

I liked the idea, but loathed the execution of the book. I honestly couldn't recommend it, unless you wanted editing practice.

A few things I noticed:
36-37% pay phone is hyphenated in one instance and not in another.
57% - We walk(talk) about waiting on the couch...
92% - I can't breath(e) and I reach...

Looking for a night time tale to put you off to sleep? Well don't pick this one up
You'll be in for nightmares.

Full of short stories and poetry of the darkest nature I've read in a long time, Cupid in Bondage will not fail to deliver if you want gore and erotica in the same breath.

My favourite (if you could call it that), was by far Larger than God, despite the gruesome occurrences, the writing was divine (pun totally intended). Some of the poetry also was a glorious look at the macabre. Sickening was my favourite poem. Sexxxy was an interesting idea, despite the rather lurid descriptions.

I was extremely pleased to see a raft of different types of characters, including age, body type, sex, race, and kinks. And the varying POV from top to bottom, male and female was a delightful mix.

The further into the book you go, the further down the rabbit hole you go, the more grotesque and extreme the stories. It got to the point where I wasn't enjoying the reading, merely observing it as I read. The actions of the characters so far outside of the realm of my reality it placed it into the realm of complete fantasy.

Definitely not for those who are squeamish or value keeping their lunch down. Cupid in Bondage should only be read by adults who want to experience erotic gore and horror at fever pitch.