Vince and Audra's marriage is more than on the rocks, it's on life support. Audra has already left Vince once in the middle of the night and then couldn't go through with leaving her twin boy's, one of which is diabetic, and her husband all alone and returned. Vince is looking for anything that can save their marriage. He turns to a mysterious billboard that he sees on his way to work one morning. Its advertising Dream Woods, an old amusement park that burned to the ground when he was a kid. Apparently, it's opened back up and Vince is encapsulated with excitement at the prospect of being able to share the awesome experience he had as a kid with his family. But is Dream Woods really open for business? Especially, after what all happened so many years ago?

Have you ever woke up from a dream that seemed so realistic while you were sleeping that you're left in a fog when you awake, half in reality and half stuck in the dream, and it takes you a little bit to clear the fog out of your head? At first, the dream feels so realistic and then, after a while, you realize how silly it was and you can't believe that you ever thought it was real. That's kind of how you feel when you start reading Dream Woods. You have to be ready for it. Lacey's latest isn't a straight forward story told in the realistic here and now, and that's what tripped me up for the first 1/3 to 1/2 of it. It should be read as a messed up fairy tale. Think of it as if C.S. Lewis wrote about an old, Disney World-esque theme park in rural Massachusetts and then Clive Barker and Bentley Little got a hold of the first draft while tripping on acid and made some revisions. As you can imagine, you have to let your imagination go and have fun with it. It's not meant to suspend your disbelief. It's meant to steer you into an almost comic book/nightmare type of world. If you can get past that, you'll enjoy Dream Woods. Lacey's story is energetic and well written. But it's kind of stuck in the middle. It's not straight forward enough to be taken seriously and it's not so over-the-top that it's a pure fantasy, and maybe that's what Lacey intended. The characters are well rounded for a novella length story. But, Audra comes across as more annoyingly ungrateful than a lost soul trying to find herself and that makes it hard to root for her. The gore is poured on by the bucketful, but the people that are being offed are the extras on the set. You don't get to know any of them and it becomes kind of numbing when faceless people are killed by the trainload. I go back and forth on this book. There were parts that I could really get into and then there were paths that Lacey took that I wish he would've went a different direction. That doesn't mean that I think it's bad. Not at all. But, it's kind of like being in the mood for a traditional pizza and then getting some version with broccoli, goat cheese and pine nuts on it. While that may not be a bad thing, it's not what you had in mind when your taste buds were all primed for pepperoni and mushrooms.

3 Blood Stained Mascots out of 5

You can also follow my reviews at the following links:

https://kenmckinley.wordpress.com

http://intothemacabre.booklikes.com

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5919799-ken-mckinley

Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason are described as "The Sisters of Slaughter" and Mayan Blue is their debut. And a confused debut it is.

Four students and their assistant professor head for the mountains of Georgia where they are to meet up with their professor who feels he's made a great discovery that will change the way history books are written. Once near the rendezvous point, all hell breaks loose. In what they think is the professor crying out for help, Wes and Alissa go off to find him. What they discover an open doorway to a Mayan underworld located deep within a cave inside the mountain. Mayans in Georgia? I like the idea. Unfortunately, that's about as good as it gets.

Mayan Blue had some promise. The premise of a Mayan underworld in Georgia had lots of possibilities. Instead, it ended up being one long chase scene where way too little happens. The beginning of the story starts out as a B-horror movie style story. Annoying cannon fodder characters that scream I'm going to be killed before the story even gets going. Then it opens up into the Mayan underworld with good shapeshifting characters. Then the last 1/2 to 1/3 ends up being a murky chase scene where characters are introduced for no apparent reason adding nothing to the story. Our heroes get injured so many times that you start wondering why they haven't dropped long ago from blood loss. Too little character and plot development dampens what could've been a great story.
You can see the talent is there. They simply need to focus on tightening up the story, spending more time on plot.

2 1/2 Sacrifices out of 5

This ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

You can also follow my reviews at the following links:

https://kenmckinley.wordpress.com

http://intothemacabre.booklikes.com

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5919799-ken-mckinley

A collection of short stories from David Bernstein. Here we go:

The Trojan Plushy -

Another revenge tale that combines the werewolf with witchcraft and the Trojan Horse. Has a Twilight Zone-kind of feel.

4 out of 5 stars

The Booglin -

You'll think twice the next time you have a booger stuck and it won't come out. Fun, silly story.

4 out of 5 stars

Eaten Un-Alive -

Life isn't easy when you're a vampire in a zombie apocalypse.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

It's Nice Not To Have To Share -

Georgia shares everything with her sister Gerri, but some things she wants to keep to herself.

3 out of 5 stars

Invasion -

Aliens plan to overtake earth by imitating a cockroach and using the neighborhood adolescent psycho.

4 out of 5 stars

Samurai Zombie Killer -

A zombie contagion in the water supply of the local samurai warrior.

3 out of 5 stars

Small Town, Big Trouble -

The werewolf legend to help explain Sasquatch. I love it.

5 out of 5 stars

Bad Cutlery -

When good knives go bad. A fun possessed object story.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Potty Mouth -

This is one messed up story! I won't even try to explain it. It's simply something you'll have to experience for yourself. Kudos to Bernstein for probably the most far out there original tale I have ever read! You need professional help, sir!

5 out of 5 stars

STD -

If you weren't convinced to practice safe sex before, you will be by the time you finish this story.

5 out of 5 stars

All in all, a nice collection of macabre tales. There were only a couple that didn't do it for me. The rest were fun and there were even some that I have to question Bernstein's sanity or blood alcohol level. Good stuff.

Overall:

4 1/2 Bags of Blood out of 5

You can also follow my reviews at the following links:

https://kenmckinley.wordpress.com

http://intothemacabre.booklikes.com

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5919799-ken-mckinley

Confession time: I've had several of Jonathan Janz's prior novels on my Kindle for months now, all unread, and so my first experience with this author comes courtesy of this ARC for Children of the Dark courtesy of the man himself. I've neglected reading Janz's prior stuff and now feel like a giant fucking idiot for not having dived into those books sooner. Brian Keene gets a cover blurb here saying, "Janz is one of my new favorites." Well, Mr. Keene, this book put me well over the moon and I think I can safely say he's now one of my new favorites, too.

So, what is Children of the Dark? Simple answer - it's a fucking amazing creature feature horror romp.

Longer answer - it's a smorgasbord of a horror mishmash. There's a serial killer, murder, monsters, and mayhem - oh my! So much murder and mayhem.

Children of the Dark is a brutal coming of age tale, with a trio of fifteen year old's squaring off against their hometown of Shadeland's urban legend, the eerily and inappropriately named Children. These suckers are huge and dwell in a network of caverns and caves dotting Shadeland's woods, where our brave kids have a tree fort and square off against bullies, and have midnight swims with the girls they're crushing hard on. At least until news breaks of a serial killer on the loose, and one of said girls goes missing.

What follows is a fast-paced, frenetic, heart-breaking read. It's harrowing and tough, populated with incompetent local police with heads firmly up their own asses, and some of the most well-written teenagers since Stephen King's The Body. Janz knows how to write, man, and he wrings every scene sublimely for maximum impact, whether it's to tug at the heartstrings or wow you with gory creature-feature violence.

This book gets a solid A+, 5-stars, I want-slash-demand a sequel immediately rating from me. Highly recommended

(By the way, this book is evidently a prequel of sorts to Savage Species, but each book covers different ground and characters. At about a quarter of the way into my reading of Children of the Dark, I bought Savage Species because I already wanted more Janz and more Children in my life. But it's worth noting there is plenty of wiggle room to get another book in this series, and I WANT Children of the Dark II pronto!)

[Note: I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.]

I was given a copy of this book by Sinister Grin Press in exchange for an honest review. In no way has this shaped my opinion on this book.

The Killings is a book that is cooperatively written by the two authors. Each chapter moves forward or back 100 years and is clearly indicated by adding a date before the chapter begins. Each story would do well on its own but compliment each other well. 

This is a story of slavery, of revenge, of voodoo. Sable is a powerful voodoo priestess, so powerful in fact there is some evidence that she had lived to see 170 years. No one wants to talk about her, for fear her voodoo curse come into their lives. Originally, her voodoo spell was something designed for the protection of her grandson but something happened and Sable put a dark and hateful energy into her ritual and conjured forth something very dark, something that wanted to kill, maim, torture and disfigured. The scenes of torture in this book are not for everyone, but they illustrate the deep seated hate that this spirit has for the opposite sex. Our story takes place in Atlanta. Three generations since have had it's boogeyman. An unsolved series of serial murders. The killer each time wasn't found. The killings have just started again. Carmen Mendoza is a reporter who works for the oldest paper in Atlanta. She is trying to solve the case by looking into the past murders and she is getting close to answers, but will it cost her everything.

This book was a superb story. A tribute to the writing styles of both men. (RIP JF Gonzalez) The main characters from each timeline, Carmen and Robert, are fleshed out and very detailed. They really help to keep the story moving. I really enjoyed this book... until the ending. It really lost me after the garage scene. The action that takes place after that scene in the present time just wasn't in line with the rest of the book for me. It seemed forced to me. Overall, though, this story was a good example of great books coming out of Sinister Grin.

If you are a fan of horror, you will want to pick up this one!!

Synopsis:

In 1911, Atlanta’s African American community was terrorized by a serial killer that preyed on young bi-racial women, cutting their throats and mutilating their corpses. The killer was never found. In the 1980s, more than twenty African American boys were murdered throughout Atlanta. In 2011, another string of sadistic murders have begun, and this time it’s more brutal than ever. 

Carmen Mendoza, an investigative reporter working forAtlanta’s oldest newspaper. has uncovered a link between the three murder cases 
suggesting an unending series of murders going back more than a century. If she can solve the murders, she may find the key to ending the violent curse grippingAtlanta’s Black community. If not, she might just become the next victim. 

From J.F. Gonzalez and Wrath James White comes a novel of hatred, prejudice, extreme violence and bone-chilling terror.

Go to Sinister Grin Press to purchase this book or use this Amazon link.