BOOK REVIEW: Stephen King’s IT

It

Written by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars (3.5 STARS)

It is always difficult for me to rate Stephen King’s novels. I am in awe of his warped twisted mind that comes up with such amazing tales and characters. Most times I am enjoying the story, but sometimes King gets in the ramble and the spooky mood lifts. I get taken out of the story. I watched It, the 1990 TV series version, when I was ten and LOVED IT. I tried the book, and thank gawd I didn’t get very far. There are certain scenes or things that can be too much. This is not a novel for everyone. I loved the characters – good and bad – and that we get to see the point of view from a various of characters. The opening of the novel always tugs at my heart – and I have read the first bit a few times. I have started and stopped this novel for 30 years. The size of the book, has me stoping to read something else and not coming back right away. I would stop at the rambling bit, so found it hard to come back. And when I mustered up the courage to come back I would forget what was going on. This year (2021) I was determined to finish this tome, and check off that on my bucket list. I listened to this one on audio, and am glad I did. It was easier to get through quicker and Steven Weber is a great narrator.

This is a maybe me thing – but I just don’t get all the sexual scenes in this book, and the need for it as part of the story. For those that have read it, the one at the end was a bit more disturbing than anything else. This is a great book to read with someone as you may need to have “wtf” moments with someone that has/is reading the book. I didn’t add the synopsis of this book because I think most people have an inkling of what this book/movie is about, and I am not sure what could be a spoiler. I might also go on a ramble myself, lol.



View all my reviews

BOOK REVIEW: Misery🎃🔪🔨

Misery

Written by Stephen King

My rating: 5 of 5 stars (4.5 STARS)

Let me start this review with a warning…I love the movie adaptation of this novel, so I might have some biases. I have had this novel on my list for decades but just never got around to actually reading it. Earlier this year, I decided that this would be the year I would finally cross this off my list. Now, if you haven’t read any Stephen King, I will warn you there is a reason why all his books are tomes. He is wordy and rambling, but I love that. I love tangents and making short stories long lol. If you thought Annie Wilkes was batshit crazy in the movie, the book will make her seem like Mother Theresa. My dad who watches violent action movies/shows, could only watch the movie once or twice. He didn’t care for my retelling of the book to him. It is gory, silent and well…Stephen King. Many times with King, I will enjoy the book as I am reading it, but then reflect later that it was just an okay book. I am not sure if that is because I am trying to rate it as a reviewer or a reader. From this moment forth it will be just based on what I think, and I loved this psychological twisted gory story. I will say, I am not a fan of Misery, the book within the book. I am a romance reader, and I enjoy Gabaldon, but I just could not get into that aspect of the story. This was a perfect read for Halloween. I did listen to this one audio, and the narrator was pretty good, but I just wanted Kathy Bates!



View all my reviews

Happy Halloween! BOOK REVIEWS: For All Ages

Image: Goodreads

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

Based on the series created by Joss Whedon

Illustrated by Kim Smith

2018; Quirk Books (40 Pages)

RATING: 4 STARS

I am a HUGE fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series.  I have seen all the seasons a few times through, and even have some of the novelizations.   Buffy was everything I loved as a teen – sarcasm, cute guys, paranormal/supernatural, strong women and teen angst – that just kind grew up with me.  I was about the same age as Buffy when the show cam on so I could really relate.  I know if I ever have a daughter this is a series I hope that I can share with her.  Now with this book, I could introduce her to the Scooby gang much sooner.  I like Smith’s illustrations, they fit with how I would imagine a children’s animation would be like.  This is a must-have for all Buffy fans, and this is on my wish-list.

Image: Goodreads

YOU MAY NOW KILL THE BRIDE

(Return to Fear Street: #1)

Written by R.L. Stine

2018; Harper Teen (352 Pages)

RATING: 3 STARS

Fear Street is back in another relaunch, with Stine still at the helm.  I loved Fear Street as a preteen to my late teens.  This series was unlike any other as it wasn’t just vampire love stories. The series had romance but it wasn’t the central theme of the books.  I have read the new “Fear Street Relaunch” books, but I am not really feeling them.  I don’t know if it is me, being an adult, or the books have lost their magic, or they aren’t written as well.  I will have to go back and read an old Fear Street book to put the to the test.  I started this novel with a bit of trepidation, but liked it a lot more tan I expected.  This novel goes back to the Fears if Fear Street and their enemy the Goodes.  Two sisters are torn apart when they fall for the same boy, and tragedy leads to more tragedy in present day Fear Street. It was a decent story that was perfect for the Halloween season.  I will be continuing with with book two!

***I received an eARC from EDELWEISS***

Image: Goodreads

PROVIDENCE

Written by Caroline Kepnes
(Narrated by Paul Michael, Emily Rankin and MacLeod Andrew)
2018; Lenny/Simon & Schuster (367 Pages)
(Audio length: 12 hours and 42 minutes)

RATING: 2 STARS

I was expecting book to be a bit like Room or  Then She Was Gone but it turned out to be quite different.  The book starts out great – a young boy is ready to confess his feelings to a girl when he is kidnapped.  The young girl feels like it is her fault and starts to change and rebel.  When the young boy escapes and returns home that is when the story really starts, but at the same time it is where it starts to lose me.  By the end of the audiobook I was just happy it ended.  I will say that I enjoyed Kepnes writing and found her ideas interesting.  I am really looking forward to reading her novel, You, as I have heard great reviews.  This book seems to have very mixed reviews.  I would  normally say give it 50 pages but those are the best parts that sucks you in…I would say pass on this unless you are a big fan of Kepnes and want to read all of her books.

READING CORNER: Happy Halloween!

wallpaper mania.eu

I hope y’all had a safe and spooky Halloween.  Before I post my book reviews, I wanted to post my top 10 Scary Reads Lists. So Part 1 is my list and Part 2 will be 3  reviews for tomorrow 🙂 Without any further, rambling….

Top 10 HORROR Novels that had Me Spooked:

(in NO particular order)

1. CARRIE – Stephen King – I was 13, and had a knee injury that was keeping me home, but in books.  There are certain scenes in this book – between Carrie and her mother – that had me spooked. 20 plus years later I can still see the images in my mind, and makes me shudder.
2. DIFFERENT SEASONS (Novellas) – Stephen King – This enology has the 4 best novellas I have read.  There is the “The Body” (movie Stand By Me was based on this one), “Apt Pupil” (movie by the same name), “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” (movie The Shawshank Redemption) and “The Breathing Method”.  It took me a week or so to read these stories as each one were intense.  I am not sure I could reread “Apt Pupil” even though it was a brilliant piece of writing.  The intensity of the story and evilness of the characters I just…it’s too real.  It is the monsters that exist and give my anxiety anxiety.
3. FRANKENSTEIN – Mary Shelley – To be honest, I don’t think I would have read this book if it hadn’t been assigned reading for my first year English course.  I was expecting it to be “science fiction” and not so rich in Gothic suspense.  It really gave me insight to what the “horror” genre from that era was like and I really enjoyed Shelley’s writing. It really made me frightened of men like Frankenstein, and see compassion for the creature I didn’t get from the movie adaptions.
4. THE WOMAN IN BLACK – Susan Hill – This is the classic ghost story that I have loved since I was a kid.  Ghost stories have been apart of my life since I was a kid.  My cousins and I would tell each other scary stories and urban legends.  We love the horror genre and started watching horror movies before we should have.  This book reads like an elaborate campfire story.
5. REBECCA – Daphne Du Maurier – One of my favourite books, that is everything a gothic novel should be.  Mrs, Danvers – in book and the Hitchcock movie – was so terrifying, I had a bad dream where she was just lurking about.  It is one I recommend to anyone that enjoys a well-written story!
6. WAIT TILL HELEN COMES and THE DOLL IN THE GARDEN – Mary Downing Hahn – I read these two novels several times as a child and LOVED them among a few more of Hahn’s novels.  I am hoping to reread these to see if the spooky factor is still there as an adult reader.  Highly recommend Hahn for your kiddies.
7. THIS HOUSE IS HAUNTED – John Boyne – I read this one for a group read and really enjoyed the story and writing.  It is like the Woman in Black in that it gives a spooky story
8. GEMMA DOYLE series and THE DIVINERS series – These two series are labeled as young adult, but are so well-written, I believe they work for any age.  These novels are more “supernatural” than horror but have a very Gothic feeling and the good ole, good versus evil.
9. MACBETH – William Shakespeare – This is my favourite Shakespeare play, and when I read it I get so absorbed into the story and atmosphere.
10. THE WITCHES – Roald Dahl – This novel uncovers how to spot a witch when they blend in so well with humans, and what is scarier than that as a kid?

Top 10 SUSPENSE THRILLER Novels that had Me Creeped Out:

(in NO particular order)

1. RED DRAGON and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS – Thomas Harris – I would not recommend these novels unless you love gritty dark intense suspense thrillers.  The books are even more gruesome, but so interesting.  I read these in my early 20s, and while I didn’t get nightmares, I did find them intruding in my mind for months.  It’s the realism that makes them so terrifying.
2. INTENSITY – Dean Koontz – I read this book when I was in high school.  We were going visit family a few towns over, and so my parents let me buy a book to read on the car ride over.  One page in, and I was hooked.  I sat in the corner of the sofa and just read.  This book TERRIFIED me as I read it and for days afterwards.  This book read like my worst nightmare.  (Sensing a theme so far?)
3. A TIME TO KILL – John Grisham – This book had me questioning law and justice, while keeping me on the edge of seat, and well-written characters.  The intensity is not for everyone, but a very interesting novel.
4. STILL MISSING – This novel had me hooked from the first chapter and Stevens has been on my favourites list ever since.  Before all the “girls” and “kidnapped but found” books came out, this one had me freaked out.
5. THE LOVELY BONES – This book is the worst nightmare come true, but there is so much pain, intensity, suspense and emotions, it’s a book that takes you on a ride that you need two days of rest after finishing it.
6. THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY – Patricia Highsmith – This novel leaves me feeling uncomfortable and a bit creeped out.  Love this book!
7. Karin Slaughter‘s novels are gritty, realistic and pack an emotional intensity.  I would recommend any novel!
8. SHADOW MAN – Cody McFadyen – A great mix of Thomas Harris and Karin Slaughter!
9. STRANGERS ON A TRAIN – Patricia Highsmith – Two people trade murders so they don’t have “motive” and I am not sure if I am rooting for anyone….it’s so complex, the game of murder.
10. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? – Henry Farrell – the movie had me enthralled and the book (which I listened to on audio) was so crazy!  Twisted Sisters is an underestimation!

This list will change over time, the more I read, but this is it for October 2018.  Any you want to add?  I could use more TBR books…honest! I love lists!