Freakin Fridays!
Freakin Fridays is my own little meme. I’ll be posting about books, movies, and all things scary.
Feel free to join in and do your own Freakin Fridays posts!
Tune in every Friday. Get your scare on!
Let’s have some fun!
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With the new year here, I’ve started implementing my new plans for my blog.
While I’ll still be doing my memes and posting for book tours and giveaways, I’m going to be doing a lot more reviewing.
I asked you to help me with this. Below are the 5 books I’ll be reviewing for the 5 Fridays in January. You’ve let me know which one you want me to review first. The book with the most votes for my first 2014 Freakin Fridays review was The Little Mermaid of Death!
There is a link further down in the post for my review if you missed it.
Your next pick was Spooky Short Stories. You can check out my review further down in this post.
And your next pick was The Monster Man of Horror House which I’ll be reviewing now along with the next choice Days With The Undead!
I had a glitch and had to miss my Freakin Fridays post last week so making up for that now.
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The previous week’s choices!
The Monster Man of Horror House
by Danny King
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My Review
Every town has one. That mysterious person. A recluse. You can’t help but listen to the rumors about him. His very aloofness invites it.
John Coal has been having trouble with a group of teenage boys. They pull pranks, destroy property, and torment him. At first, he’s at a loss, wondering, “Why me?”
Then it hits him. He’s that creepy old guy in the creepy house. The odd one that everybody whispers about. People cross the street to avoid contact.
The gang of boys continue to plague him so he figures he’ll give them what they believe. He’ll be the monster man.
So he sets the bait, making it easy for the boys to get, and adds one more thing to entice them further into the house. Then he springs his trap and the boys end up in his cellar, scared and shaken.
Who knows what horrible plans he has in store for them. They should have minded their own business.
John Coal has quite a history. He’s dealt with things we only dreamed about in our nightmares. Drawing on his past experiences, he goes to extremes to teach these boys a lesson.
The author threw me for a loop from the moment John trapped those boys. I didn’t have any idea whether John was just a grumpy old loner or something else. I quickly found out. I can see why he’s called the monster man now.
I had to stretch my imagination a bit about the elaborate trap John set. But as I learned about his past, it became easier to believe and them I was all in to the end.
A good read for a dark and stormy night.
3 Stars
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Days With The Undead
by Julianne Snow
My Review
This was a bit different for me. The story is narrated by Julie as an ongoing journal on the internet. She is recording everything that has happened to her and her 4 friends starting three days after the outbreak, as they go on the run, seeking someplace safe from the zombies.
Right away, I liked how the author addressed people’s reactions to the news of the flesh-eating outbreak. Many just went about their daily lives. That is, until the zombies came calling.
Some of the towns they passed through were untouched, while others were ravaged. They had to be careful not only of the zombies. There were pirates out there, goons who would as soon shoot you as help you. They want what you’ve got, plain and simple.
While telling her tale, Julie begins relating each of her friends stories. What happened to them when the outbreak occurred and how they came to be together.
If you are going to survive, you have to get tough, keep your group small, and keep moving. No stopping to help anyone, and no letting someone join the group, no matter what.
It’s easy to think, but harder when they’re faced with some choices.
Zombie fans know that things happen. Not everyone can survive. You expect losses. But don’t you wish it didn’t have to be that way?
By writing this as a journal, Julianne did an excellent job. I was actually picturing the scenes, nodding at some things, and hoping the zombie apocalypse stayed what it is. Fiction.
You can learn a lot about surviving the apocalypse by reading Julie’s journal.
I was going to give this 4 stars but the ending bumped it right up to 5! I read it several times and it floored me.
5 Stars
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Your previous choices were:
Spooky Short Stories
by Kathryn Meyer Griffith
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Your first choice!
The Little Mermaid of Death
by Kevin Richey
And for next week!
#1
Cold Blood
by Donna Ansari
As the winter holiday season descends on New York City, vampire Emma Hammond is anticipating celebrating with Tammy and David, her witch and werewolf roommates. But when an odd Christmas ornament unleashes waves of the undead from her neighborhood graveyard, Emma finds herself as an unwilling shield between ravenous zombies and an unsuspecting city. Even worse, despite having everyday dealing with supernatural creatures, Emma finds that she has an unnatural aversion to the shambling dead, and must get to their source and stop the invasion before she’s forced to cancel her holiday party!
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Stay tuned for February. I’ll be giving you some new choices!
Thank you Laura – so glad that you enjoyed it!
Thank You! Julianne. I was hooked from the start and when I read that ending I think I went into shock! Great job!
I would love to have you on my blog anytime!
Love the cover Julianne. Great selection of horror Laura.
You know me. Never can get enough of the stuff!
I think recluses should be considered a natural resource for horror literature.
They do add atmosphere, mystery. The monster man had a bunch of surprises in his bag of tricks!