Review: In the Shadow of Blackbirds

Summary (from Goodreads): In 1918, the world seems on the verge of apocalypse. Americans roam the streets in gauze masks to ward off the deadly Spanish influenza, and the government ships young men to the front lines of a brutal war, creating an atmosphere of fear and confusion. Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black watches as desperate mourners flock to séances and spirit photographers for comfort, but she herself has never believed in ghosts. During her bleakest moment, however, she’s forced to rethink her entire way of looking at life and death, for her first love—a boy who died in battle—returns in spirit form. But what does he want from her? 

Featuring haunting archival early-twentieth-century photographs, this is a tense, romantic story set in a past that is eerily like our own time.

Review: One of the best horror books I've read, In the Shadow of Blackbirds blew me away. Well written, Winters pulls readers in perfectly-- and keeps them captured so blissfully until the last page. Accompanying the superb writing are chilling real photos from the time, the white masks enhancing the terror of the Spanish flu. With fantastic characters, haunting photos, a perfectly executed plot, and so much more, readers will have delicious chills well after the last page is finished.

Thank you Amulet Books & NetGalley for providing me with a lovely ARC. 

Release Date: April 2, 2013 -- pre-order your book below!

Formats: hardcover

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Review: Girl of Nightmares (#2)

Summary (from Goodreads): It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.


Review: How do I describe something so amazing except to say: READ THIS SERIES. Blake has created another stunner with Nightmares that will leave readers clamoring for more, yet luxuriously satiated by the last line. Anna, Cas, and the gang are back for more off-the-page terrors and achingly suspenseful delights. New mysteries are invited into the mix, giving Nightmares its added edge. Best read late at night for optimal enjoyment, yet don't expect the daylight to keep away the shivers crawling up your spine!

Formats: e-book, hardcover, audiobook

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Review: Ten

Summary (from Goodreads): And their doom comes swiftly. 

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury. 

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

Review: Ten blows horror/suspense out of the water. Vibrant and very vivid, you’ll think you’re on the island trying desperately to avoid death from an unknown killer – most likely one of your new friends. Well written, Ten demands visceral reactions from its readers as instinct to hide or turn the page and go deeper into the mindset of each character. Simply put, it’s gleeful terror in perfection.



Formats: e-book, hardcover

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