Angela is a relative newcomer to the small town of Point. She moved in with her grandfather after her parents went through an ugly divorce. She figures that Point will be quiet and peaceful, but she's wrong. Angela is at a party when Mary, her best friend, bursts in and starts shooting people with a shotgun. It's horrific, but Mary doesn't seem out of control - she seems to have some kind of goal. She tries to make Jim, her own boyfriend, her final victim, but Angela and a police officer manage to stop her.

After the shooting (which is pretty graphic - be aware of this if school shootings and similar situations are an issue for you), Angela tries to find out why Mary did it. All Mary will tell her is that the people she shot were monsters. She warns Angela to stay away from Jim, but Angela feels herself drawn to him. She has secretly been nursing a crush on him, holding back only because he was dating her best friend. But now that Mary is a killer, Jim is fair game, right? Except what if Mary is right? What if Jim really is a monster?

I knew going in that I had probably read this before, just because of how familiar the cover looked, but I couldn't remember anything about it. Or at least I thought I couldn't. Early on, I pulled a wild guess as to what was going on with Jim out of thin air. I was right, so maybe I retained more of this book than I realized. And I definitely remembered reading the last few pages before.

I disliked Angela. Some of what she thought and did could have been blamed on Jim's affect on her, but not all of it. Angela's taste in guys was abysmal. Jim was the kind of guy who only cared about himself. At one point, his and Angela's conversations touched on the environment, and Jim made it clear that the world only exists for the pleasure of the current generation. Who cares about future generations and what they'll have to live with? He also dipped into potential rapist territory, as he tried to push Angela into sexual behavior she wasn't 100% comfortable with. When he literally bled all over her during a make-out session, I wanted to shake her in frustration. Even Angela knew, on some level, that was he was doing was worrisome, but she waited far too long before looking into what might be going on and trying to fight it.

There was another character, Kevin, who I suspect readers were supposed to interpret as the "nice guy" right under Angela's nose, who she'd have been better off choosing. Unfortunately, I didn't think Kevin was much better. When readers first met him, he and Angela did some kind of roleplaying inside joke where she pretended he was the "other man" sneaking into her and her husband's house for a quickie. WTF? They were teens. They weren't in a relationship - Kevin was interested, and Angela wasn't. And yet she still did this weird adultery roleplay with him? Who does that?

If you like weird Christopher Pike books, this definitely has weirdness. There are dreams of an alien world, one where blood rains from the sky. There's a so-brief-you-might-miss-it mention of a technologically advanced ancient civilization (humans!), with space travel and ray guns. And bat-like things.

Pike included something I don't see much in current YA: an adult POV character. Nguyen was a local cop and Vietnam War vet. I appreciated that he wasn't an idiot and knew enough to keep an eye on Angela - this was not one of those books where teens repeatedly outsmart supposedly experienced cops (genuine monsters were another issue entirely). I think Nguyen was the only on-page adult in the entire book, however. I still think it's odd that Angela's grandfather never had an on-page moment, not even right after the shooting. Even though he didn't seem to be very much into parenting, you'd think he'd still have been at least the tiniest bit worried about his granddaughter.

I can't say that I liked this, but I didn't dislike it either. Angela was frustrating, and I really could have done without the book's sexual aspects (Angela literally got turned on by oil wells, OMG), but I enjoyed the weirdness and wanted to see how everything was going to turn out. And hey, there's a standoffish collie named Plastic! Who survives, in case I have now worried you.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

For the first time since their last fateful slumber party when they were all about 9 or 10 years old, Nell, Lara, Rachael, Dana, and Mindy are getting together again. The difference is that this time Nicole, Nell's little sister, won't be there. When everything went horribly wrong all those years ago, Nicole ended up dead and Nell was badly burned. Celeste, a quiet and shy new girl, is with them instead.

Lara is looking forward to skiing, maybe kissing a cute boy, and catching up with her old friend Nell. However, something has her on edge. How did that snowman in the shade manage to melt and refreeze? When one member of their group disappears, leaving behind a single ski and a patch of dirty ice, Lara starts to wonder if there's something supernatural at play.

This was incredibly tedious. At least half of the book was Lara and Rachael snapping and growling at each other over something - either over the upcoming homecoming queen vote, or Percy, a cute guy they'd met. Dana was their fat friend (who actually said, out loud, "I wish anorexia was contagious and I knew someone who could infect me." (16)), and Mindy was their stupid friend. For some reason Mindy insisted on fighting with Dana about a second guy, Cal, even though Dana made it clear that she wasn't interested in him. The problem was that Cal was very much interested in Dana, or at least in groping her, whether she was willing or not. Cal was gross, despite Pike's weak efforts to reform him at the end of the book.

The book's big twist was both painfully obvious and more than a little far-fetched. Pike tried to complicate things with the melted snowman and Dana's disappearance, but it didn't work out very well and felt at least as weak as his attempt to make Cal look like a decent person at the end.

I can't remember if I ever read this when I was a teen. It wouldn't surprise me if I had and then immediately forgot about it. It's definitely not one of Pike's better works.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

Last summer, seven teens from the same high school went to a concert and, for various reasons, ended up riding back together (oh man, that car must have been cramped). They were drunk, rowdy, and stupid and ended up running someone over in the middle of the desert. Although a few of them wanted to talk to the police, in the end they all agreed to just bury the guy and forget about him.

In the book's present, one member of the group, Fran, has just received a creepy chain letter from someone calling themselves "Your Caretaker." The Caretaker says that Fran must perform a task that will be listed in the newspaper classified ads. Then she must cross her name off of the Column I list in her letter, put it at the bottom of Column II, make a copy of her letter, and send it on to the next person in the list, who is another one of the seven people who were in the car when the man was run over. The next person on the list must receive the letter within five days of Fran getting her letter.

The tasks the Caretaker asks them to do are initially relatively painless. Fran has to alter her painting of the school mascot in the gym. Kipp has to flunk an exam. However, the instant someone decides to defy the Caretaker and refuse to do their stated task, the Caretaker makes it clear that they mean business. If these teens want to avoid getting hurt or killed, they'll have to do what the Caretaker wants, no matter how much they'd prefer not to. The only other way out is to figure out who's behind the Caretaker. Is it one of them? Someone outside their group, watching their every move? Or possibly even the man in the desert. What if he wasn't really dead when they buried him?

I'm pretty sure my first Pike book ever was Chain Letter 2: The Ancient Evil. I don't recall anything about it and I don't think I ever went back and read Chain Letter, because nothing in this book felt familiar. Now that I've read Chain Letter, I can't for the life of me imagine a sequel, especially one with the subtitle like that. But it's Pike, so who knows, maybe reincarnation is involved.

Honestly, Chain Letter wasn't very good. Despite the title, the chain letter aspect felt tacked on, and Pike never took advantage of the classic "if you don't send this to X people in X amount of time, X will befall you" aspect of chain letters. The classified ads had a more prominent place in the story, but I suppose Classified Ad isn't a particularly thrilling title. Then again, neither is Chain Letter.

I did sort of enjoy seeing what the Caretaker would ask the teens to do next, but most of the tasks weren't particularly interesting and a few were even insulting (one task required the person to spread a rumor that they were gay). I also found it difficult to believe that officials at the school wouldn't have gotten wind of at least the earliest tasks - the very first one even used the first name of the person it was assigned to, although the Caretaker got a bit smarter and reverted to initials and code for later tasks.

I correctly guessed most of what was going on before I'd even gotten halfway through. I've either reread too many Pike books and have finally internalized his logic, or Pike just gave away too much too soon, I'm not sure. At any rate, I spent most of the book hoping that the details I'd noticed were just red herrings, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. I outright groaned when Pike bent over backwards to make the ending a combination of bittersweet and happy. Even if you take the Caretaker stuff out of the equation, those seven teens did in fact kill someone, after which they buried the body and never told anyone what they'd done. A happy ending did not feel appropriate.

There was one scene in the book that I really liked, the part where Alison was alone at home. It was good and genuinely scary. I wish more of the book had been that gripping. I didn't hate this, but it was pretty forgettable. (Hey, maybe I did read it at some point and just forgot everything about it!)

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

Erinyes by George Saoulidis
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Egotistical Mahi is beyond ecstatic when she's presented with a new phone by her father; it's top of the line and a new model, one that offers tech never yet seen before. However unbeknownst to the selfie-loving youth, there's more to the phone than meets the eye.

(WARNING: This review contains minor spoilers.)

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to George Saoulidis for giving me the opportunity!

Initially the synopsis caught my eye when I was first directed to this novella; it sounded like just what I wanted at the time - a creepy tale, something to pull me in and keep me entertained. In this case, it was of a frightening Greek deity stalking her victim through phone selfies (of all things, but why not?), perhaps even escalating to increasingly terrifying events, or at least that's what I expected. I was optimistic, very much so, however the execution proved less than thrilling and failed to induce the desired effects; irritation rather than fear, boredom rather than interest. I'm being brutally honest here, in that I didn't consider it a finished work, but rather a draft piece that could've been largely improved upon.

Indeed technology has become a very significant aspect of life, and I'm sure it'll continue to evolve and play a major role in everything we do, but due to the main characters obsessive and downright unhealthy attitude toward social media, I found it difficult to read her narrative. I even questioned; are the adolescents of today really like this, or is this merely an exaggeration? Do underage girls continuously post pictures of themselves for the attention of older men, and depend upon "likes" for their happiness?

It's sad, because I know the answer. All I have to do is take a look at Facebook, or some other similar website.

Mahi was such a dislikeable person. Utterly childish, painfully narcissistic and ridiculously naive, I didn't come to care for her at all. I'm all for teenagers as main protagonists, but when they're portrayed in such a way that makes me want to gouge my eyes out, then I know there's very little that can save the book in terms of my enjoyment. As for the few other characters (her two friends, mostly), they left little impression and ultimately added very little overall.

I feel that with some proper editing and development upon the storytelling, then perhaps this could've been a decent read. As it was, it lacked the build-up of tension and anything remotely eerie. The plot and ending could've been more fleshed out; the ending itself was abrupt and offered no closure. I can't say, even if I had of liked the story, that I would've been satisfied with the conclusion. No questions were answered (what did the phone have to do with anything?), and all in all, it was disappointing.

In conclusion: Like many indie works I read these days, it suffers from grammatical errors and has an unfinished feel to it. I deeply disliked the main character and I feel she had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. It could've been improved greatly with a little TLC, but otherwise I consider this not my type of book.

© Red Lace 2016

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January in Review

(Read: 5 / Reviewed: 9)

It's certainly been an interesting, if not a long, month! Phew, I thought January would never end! Fortunately I got through some great books and was able to write two reviews each week. This new routine really helped me stay on top of things. Let's take a look at all the bookish goodness, shall we?

Read

Splatterpunk Fighting Back by (multiple) - This analogy has eleven individual stories written by different authors. Going in, I was only vaguely familiar with Duncan Ralston, having previously finished Woom. I never would've discovered this had it not been for Horror Aficionados on Goodreads, of who appointed it the January group read with author invite. I was lucky enough to ask some of the authors questions whilst trying to gain more insight into their brutal tales, and I had a blast! The best thing, though? All proceeds of this book go to charity! (Rated: 4/5)

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay - Another one I wouldn't have picked up if not for the Horror Aficionados group. Being the January group read, I was pleasantly surprised by this one! (Rated: 4/5)

The Darkest Torment by Gena Showalter - I started this long-running series in 2011, and it's still ongoing. Whilst I really enjoyed it at the beginning, my enjoyment waned several instalments ago, however I can't just give up without finishing it, can I? Ludicrous! (Rated: 2/5)

What Hides Within by Jason Parent - I found this on Netgalley, and I'm glad I did! Bloodshot Books accepted my request, and I promptly read and reviewed it. (Rated: 4/5)

Morium by S.J. Hermann - I was requested to read and review this novel by the author. Being my last read of January, this one takes priority and will be the first review of February. See my request information here. (Rated: 3/5)

Reviewed 

Blood Song by Cat Adams (WORST READ)
Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith
The Taste of Night by Vicki Pettersson
Stephen by Amy Cross
The Devil’s Work by Mark Edwards
Blood Moon by Graeme Reynolds (BEST READ)
Woom by Duncan Ralston
What Hides Within by Jason Parent
Dark Space by Kevis Hendrickson

Other than that, January was a decent month for me personally. I'm enjoying reading more, getting out more, and generally trying to put more effort into my day-to-day life. I thank everyone who made this past month all the better, including the wonderful authors I had the chance to speak to! Here's hoping for a book-tastic February!

Red xx