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Dread Wood by Jennifers Killick – The Write Read Ultimate Blog Tour – Book Review

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59660562-dread-wood

About the Book

Turn the lights on. Lock the door. Things are about to get SERIOUSLY SCARY!

The brand new must-read middle-grade novel from the author of super-spooky Crater Lake. Perfect for 9+ fans of R.L.Stine’s Goosebumps

It’s basically the worst school detention ever. When classmates (but not mate-mates) Hallie, Angelo, Gustav and Naira are forced to come to school on a SATURDAY, they think things can’t get much worse. But they’re wrong. Things are about to get seriously scary.

What has dragged their teacher underground? Why do the creepy caretakers keeping humming the tune to Itsy Bitsy Spider? And what horrors lurk in the shadows, getting stronger and meaner every minute…? Cut off from help and in danger each time they touch the ground, the gang’s only hope is to work together. But it’s no coincidence that they’re all there on detention. Someone has been watching and plotting and is out for revenge…

About the Author

Jennifer Killick is the author of Crater Lake, the Alex Sparrow series, and middle-grade sci-fi adventure Mo, Lottie and the Junkers. She regularly visits schools and festivals, and her books have three times been selected for The Reading Agency’s Summer Reading Challenge. She lives in Uxbridge, in a house full of children, animals and Lego. When she isn’t busy mothering or step-mothering (which isn’t often) she loves to read, write and run, as fast as she can.

Twitter: @JenniferKillick

What I Thought

This book was so much fun. It’s a Middle Grade horror that crosses The Breakfast Club and One of Us is Lying with Tremors and Arachnophobia. There’s even faint echoes of IT! – Club Loser is the first chapter title.

I really liked the cast of child characters and the creepy adults and their motives were not something I would have guessed. There were some cute piglets at risk too and I love the idea of having farm animals at school. I was not as keen on the Spiders – but they definitely are scary to me so – horrifying monsters brief achieved.

The teacher overseeing the detention calls it a Back on Track session (Teamwork, Respect, Attitude, Curiosity, Kindness) and it is interesting to see all these qualities at play.

Naira, Gus, Hallie and our narrator Angelo all seem likeable though, so what was it that got them all a detention? And most importantly will they all get out of it in one piece?

It’s spooky when what is being sacrificing is chickens… but are children next on the menu?

The story wrapped up and the ending gave us the promise of a sequel. Reading this has reminded me how much I enjoyed Point Horror books when younger. I’m off to catch up with Jennifer’s other horror series Crater Lake now.

Thanks to The Write Reads Tours and the publisher for a gifted copy for the purposes of an honest review. Do check out what everyone else on the tour thought too.

Posted in Book Reviews

Wicked Little Deeds by Kat Ellis – #TheWriteReads #UltimateBlogTour Book Review

Aug 18

Posted by kirstyes

About the Book

*THE BRAND NEW TERRIFYING THRILLER FROM KAT ELLIS*

‘Riverdale meets The Haunting of Hill House’ – Amy McCaw, author of Mina and the Undead

‘Kat Ellis wields an oppressive atmosphere like a sharply honed blade‘ – Sera Milano, author of This Can Never Not Be Real

‘Horrifyingly good fun!‘ Kathryn Foxfield, author of Good Girls Die First

From its creepy town mascot to the story of its cursed waterfall, Burden Falls is a small town dripping with superstition. Ava Thorn knows this well – since the horrific accident she witnessed a year ago, she’s been plagued by nightmares.

But when her school nemesis is brutally murdered and Ava is the primary suspect, she starts to wonder if the legends surrounding the town are more fact than fiction.

Whatever secrets Burden Falls is hiding, there’s a killer on the loose, and they have a vendetta against the Thorns…

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55600867-wicked-little-deeds

About the Author

Kat Ellis is a young adult author whose novels include Wicked Little Deeds/Burden Falls (August 2021), Harrow Lake (July 2020), Purge (September 2016), Breaker (May 2016), and Blackfin Sky (May 2014). She is a fan of all things horror and sci-fi, and a keen explorer of ruins, castles and cemeteries – all of which are plentiful in North Wales, where Kat lives with her husband.

You can find out more about Kat at http://www.katelliswrites.com or connect with her on social media.

Email: katelliswrites@gmail.com

Website: katelliswrites.com

Facebook: facebook.com/katelliswrites

Instagram: @katelliswrites

Twitter: @el_kat

(from https://katelliswrites.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html)

What I Thought

This was so good. All gothic and horrifying, a cross between The Ring, The Grudge, Scream and I Know What your family did a few centuries back, with a dash of Romeo and Juliet thrown in.

Kat Ellis has created a truly spooky mystery thriller with lots of twists and turns. I did manage to guess who done it but literally only just before the book’s characters. I was led a merry dance with all the missteps and clever authorly suggestions too.

The Burden Falls legend of Deadeyed Sadie added a spooky layer to this murderous tale and I definitely got that horror movie heart racing vibe whilst reading this. I also loved that the manor and setting became a character in this tale too.

Full of newspaper clippings, family feuds and a hit teen version of Most Haunted this is a book to read with the lights on and 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻 A film to watch with the lights off! I just hope I don’t get nightmares like Ava 😱😬😴.

Main character Ava is a intriguing heroine, one who maybe isn’t an innocent as she seems. Is there curse on her family? And will she be the one to survive it?

Wicked Little Deeds is out now so don’t delay, read and scare yourself today!

Thanks to Dave at The WriteReads and the publisher for the gifted ecopy for the purposes of an honest review. Check out the hashtags #WickedLittleDeeds #KatEllis #TheWriteReads to see what everyone else thought.

Posted in Book Reviews

Wonderland Blog Tour – Book Review

Sep 25

Posted by kirstyes

Good morning and welcome to my spot on the blog tour for this anthology of work inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

I think most people are somewhat familiar with the original stories. My first introduction to Alice, I’m fairly sure, was via the Disney animated film, and to be honest I’m not convinced if I’ve even fully read the original stories. I really must rectify that soon (would love a MinaLima to design an edition btw). The genre bending children’s fantasy, has definite horrific aspects and many a joke has been made about what Carroll was on when he wrote these tales. They are a true classic, and have been a springboard for many a spin off or retelling both on film, and on the page.

The majority of the works in this anthology are short stories although these are bookended by two poems by Jane Yolen. The second of which I preferred. Some of the tales may be better appreciated by people who are familiar with the originals but despite this most can stand alone.

I was only familiar with 3 of the 20 names associated and so I had the pleasure of being introduced to other authors, some of whose other work I am now likely to seek out as a result.

There is something for everyone in here, but as with most short story collections perhaps not everything will be for everyone. Stories that although are well written, don’t quite make that connection. There’s historical, contemporary and futuristic tales in fantasy, science fiction, horror, historical and more. Topics such as capitalism and child abuse are discovered. Not be shelved in the children’s section next to the original. And most of the characters from Hatter to Cheshire, The Jabberwock, and even the more obscure Walrus, appear in one form or another across these tales. For me there were many more hits than misses and I will mention a few of the hits next.

First up is the author I was most familiar with – MR Carey with There Were No Birds to Fly. The tonal similarity with his other works was apparent. That apocalyptic creepiness. Oddly this was the least recognisable in terms of its connection to the original, until the very end. Carey shows that being inspired by something can still lead to a highly original story.

Next was Genevieve Cogman. I was aware of her and have her Invisible Library series waiting on my TBR. Her tale The White Queen’s Pawn had a wry and dark humour, and a be careful what you wish for moral. I definitely plan to bump her tales up the list.

And the stand out for me was Cavan Scott’s Dream Girl. I won’t mention the genre as that is sort of a spoiler in itself but it was perfection. It reminded me of the Wizard of Oz/Wicked retelling and I would love to be able to read a longer work based on what this becomes at the end of the story.

Thank you to Titan for the gifted review copy and to editors Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane for bringing this together. Do check out the rest of the blog tour stops to see which stories stood out to everyone else.