All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn

I’ve had this book for a while and I’ve heard good things about the author, so I decided to finally read it. It’s about two kids, Travis and Corey, who are spending the summer at their grandmother’s inn in Vermont. When she tells them that the inn doesn’t get much business and that it’s also featured in a book about haunted hotels they decide to play pranks around the hotel to get guests talking about the “ghosts” and accidentally awaken the real ghosts on the property.
The characters are written well and the ghost activity is well written, but the story wrapped up a little too neatly for me. This is a kids book though. Some parts are repetitive and certain words (like “twittering”) are really overused.

Cursed Cruise (Horror Hotel #2) by Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren

This is the sequel to the first Ghost Gang adventure, Horror Hotel, and this time they’re going on a cruise…but it’s cursed. You can read this one by itself, but some things might not be explained all the way. I liked being back with this group of characters again and seeing where they were in life after the events of the first book.

We catch up with them as they’re about to board the RMS Queen Anne luxury liner, a ship with a past full of deaths (and hauntings). Things go wrong on the first night when a member of their group goes missing and it just gets worse from there. There’s a mystery in this one on top of the hauntings just like last time as well as some drama between the characters.

I enjoyed getting each character’s pov like in the last book, and the first 3/4 of the book was fun, but I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and things were tied up a bit too neatly. I wouldn’t have minded the book being a few chapters longer to let things fully play out.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own. This book will be available on (or around) March 19, 2024 in paperback and on Kindle.

Horror Hotel by Victoria Fulton & Faith McClaren

Horror Hotel is about a group of four teens with a ghost hunting show on Youtube called the Ghost Gang who are planning to spend the night in a haunted hotel in Los Angeles. I liked getting to know the different characters (we get chapters from each pov) and it added to the book for me, especially Chrissy’s chapters. She’s psychic and what she describes seeing is vivid and creepy.

It turns into a murder mystery halfway through, and I figured out the killer, but I don’t think that took away from the story. It’s not a long book and it moves along at a good pace. It was a fun read for me and I recommend it if you want a quick, spooky read. 3.5 stars from me.

Railway Ghosts and Highway Horrors by Daniel Cohen

This book is 13 short chapters long. It recounts ghost stories, monster encounters and urban legends going back to the 1800s (or earlier). There are common ones like the ghostly hitchhiker (with a few variations of it), ghosts who are warning people and ghosts who haunt where they died.

Cohen does a good job of making the stories spooky enough, but not too spooky, for kids. I really think the illustrations added to the stories and found it funny that they were used for each story where someone ended up losing their head. My favorite stories in the book are Big Joe, which is about a nice truck driver, and the one where the man leaves his wallet in the diner.

This was written in 1992 and I feel like it still holds up well today. I’d recommend it to people who like ghost stories and urban legends.

Fear: 13 Stories of Suspense and Horror by R.L. Stine

Fear’s collection of thirteen stories ranged from good to just ok.  My favorite one of the bunch is “She’s Different Tonight” by Heather Graham.  It’s got a fun twist that made me smile.  I also liked “Dragonfly Eyes” by Alane Ferguson.  It has a great lesson in there about being nicer to people before it’s too late.

I honestly could’ve finished this in a lot less time, but work and life got in the way.  It’s an ok anthology.  I just expected it to be better.  This is classified as a young adult book, but some stories seemed almost more middle grade level. Check it out if you’re a fan of R.L. Stine and/or the other authors.  Otherwise, you’re not missing much.

I gave this 3/5 stars.

Dark Moon Fell by Mari Biella

“ “Deliver us from evil…”

When Angela Martin finds a job looking after Fell House for its absent owners, it seems like a dream come true. Her new location offers peace, privacy – and a chance to escape from the stalker who has been making Angela’s life a misery.

As the days pass, however, Angela gradually becomes aware that there is something wrong with the house. The words “Deliver us from evil” are carved beside the gates. A nearby hill, Dark Moon Fell, is said to act as a gateway between the worlds of the living and the dead. And as Angela learns more about the house’s former owner, violinist Meredith Baker, she begins to notice parallels between their lives – and becomes convinced that she has to help Meredith’s tortured spirit find peace.

But Angela soon realizes that Meredith may not be the only ghost in Fell House – and that she is in danger from an all-too-human threat from her past.

And this time escape may be impossible…”

I loved the set up of this book. A woman all on her own in a secluded, haunted house who also has a stalker out there. It started out with a tense atmosphere and made me wonder what would get her first.
Unfortunately, it devolved into a less scary murder mystery with a ghost where people keep pointing out the similarities between our MC Angela’s life and the deceased woman’s life as if it wasn’t completely obvious. Honestly, after chapter 4 or so I had this whole thing figured out and had to wait for the predictable stuff to happen, which felt like it took forever.
The book ends on a happy note, which is nice, but Angela’s love interest is a little too convenient for me.
I won this book through a First Reads giveaway on Goodreads. All opinions are my own. I gave it 2/5.

Review of Cast No Shadows (Curiosity Quills Anthology)

I got this book from NetGalley (for free in exchange for an honest review) and it was a lot longer than I thought it would be. Sometimes I would read 4 or 5 stories and only get through 3% more of the book. The stories varied in length, but they were all about ghosts. They took place in haunted houses, cemeteries, back roads and other locations in New York, with a few taking place elsewhere. It took me a few months to get through this one.
To me, this one was just ok. The stories were alright, but none of them were particularly memorable and I got bored a few times waiting for something to happen. There wasn’t any blood, guts or scary moments, even in ones that should’ve been scary. I won’t be reading anything else from Curiosity Quills.

Huge Birthday Book Haul

Hi everyone! I am really behind on posting. These are all of the books that I bought on or around my 30th birthday (11-12-16). They are from the thrift shop, Dollar Tree and a Harvest Bazaar that a local church was having. I found a ton of R.L. Stine’s Fear Street books! Thanks to the great prices, all of these books only cost me $11.22 total. For 36 books! The books I got are:

• Room 13 by Henry Garfield
• The Scent of Shadows (The First Sign of the Zodiac) by Vicki Pettersson
• The Taste of Night (The Second Sign of the Zodiac) by Vicki Pettersson
• Sister by Rosamund Lupton
• Blood Memories (Vampire Memories #1) by Barb Hendee
• Hunting Memories (Vampire Memories #2) by Barb Hendee
• Memories of Envy (Vampire Memories #3) by Barb Hendee
• The Graces by Laure Eve
• Trinkets by Kirsten Smith
• Every Which Way But Dead (Rachel Morgan #3) by Kim Harrison
• Cheerleaders: The First Evil by R.L. Stine
• Cheerleaders: The Second Evil by R.L. Stine
• Cheerleaders: The Third Evil by R.L. Stine
• Cheerleaders: The New Evil (Cheerleaders #4) by R.L. Stine
• The Thrill Club by R.L. Stine
• Truth or Dare by R.L. Stine
• The Dead Girlfriend by R.L. Stine
• The Boyfriend by R.L. Stine
• The Girlfriend by R.L. Stine
• Party Summer by R.L. Stine
• Silent Night by R.L. Stine
• The Dead Lifeguard by R.L. Stine (Accidental repurchase. Oops!)
• Betty Crocker’s Easy Meatless Dishes
• Night Terrors edited by Lois Duncan
• Strangest of All by Frank Edwards
• Sabrina the Teenage Witch #15 Harvest Moon by Mel Odom
• Twilight #21 Evil on the Bayou by Richie Tankersly Cusick
• More Ghost Stories
• Railway Ghosts and Highway Horrors by Daniel Cohen
• Pillsbury Fast and Healthy Magazine low-fat Italian!
• Evernight by Claudia Gray
• Tantalize by Cynthia Smith
• Spin Magazine’s Underground USA
• Stories of Ghosts, Witches and Demons edited by Freya Littledale
• The Shadow and Other Strange Tales by Howard Goldsmith
• Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Have you read any of these books? If you have, were they good? I’ve read Tantalize and most of the R.L. Stine ones before, but I wanted them for nostalgia’s sake. Now I just need to find time to read.

If anyone is interested, I also filmed a Youtube video of this haul.

Review of The Ghost Sitter by Peni R. Griffin

The Ghost Sitter is is a children’s book about a young girl named Charlotte who moves into a new house with her family, only to discover that it’s haunted by the ghost of a little girl who lived there 50 years ago. Susie, the ghost, doesn’t seem to know that she’s dead and Charlotte wants to help her move on.
The book isn’t spooky at all, so it’s great for younger (elementary) readers. It uses the usual ghost detecting methods (cold spots, random breezes, disembodies voices, etc), which I expected. I like that Susie’s not a scary ghost. She just likes to play with the other kids. I like the scene where they’re tossing the toy around in a circle like a normal group of kids.
It wraps up nicely, reflects on the bonds between siblings and has a happy ending. I’d recommend this to younger readers and anyone who wants  nice, light read. I gave it 3/5 stars on Goodreads.

Review of Asylum – 13 Tales of Terror by Matt Drabble

Asylum – 13 Tales of Terror is about a man named Martin who is starting his new job as a custodian at a mental health facility. He is being trained by an older guy named Jimmy and, after Jimmy discovers that Martin was a writer, he suggests that Martin write a book about the residents. I like that the short stories are part of the main story. After each resident’s tale, it goes back to the present where Jimmy gives Martin more information about them and we get to see Martin’s reaction and learn more about things. I really enjoyed that format and it worked well.

My favorite stories were “No Strings Attached” and “The Devil’s Music.” “No Strings Attached” is about a poor kid who works at a toy store. It could be an episode of Tales from the Crypt or a show like it. “The Devil’s Music” is about a teenage devil-worshipper who plays guitar in a metal band. Sure it’s a cliché, but Paul is a fun character and the last line is funny.

Unfortunately, there were some editing issues and a lot of the stories, including the main one, were predictable. It was still an enjoyable read, but it’s not something that I would read again. 3.5/5 stars