Oi, pessoal! Estou de volta com uma resenha para um livro nacional: O Hospício de Muskov: Antologia de Contos de Memórias, organizado por Tyanne Maia e Valquíria Vlad! 🙂 Como o blog aqui é originalmente escrito em Inglês, publiquei primeiro a resenha em inglês e agora vamos de português!
Construído em 1812, o Hospício de Muskov trouxe sofrimento para seus pacientes, médicos, enfermeiros e vizinhos por 133 anos antes de seu colapso, durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial. Nesta antologia ambientada em uma Rússia especialmente fria, 28 autores nos contam, através das memórias do Hospício de Muskov, alguns dos horrores e injustiças que seus pacientes viveram.
A única certeza sobre o Hospício de Muskov, desde a inauguração até seu declínio, é que nenhum humano está à salvo de sua insanidade.
Hello, darlings! I’m back with a review for a Brazilian Portuguese written book: Muskov’s Asylum: Tales and Memories, an anthology by Wish Publishing House! 🙂 As the blog is originally written in English, I’ll post my English review first and then leave you with a link to the Brazilian Portuguese review. Fasten your seat belts, this review is one of those rides!
Built in 1812, Muskov Asylum brought misfortunes for its patients, doctors, nurses and neighbors for 133 years before its collapse, at World War II. In this anthology set in an especially cold Russia, 28 authors tell us through Muskov Asylum’s memories some of the horrors and injustices that its patients have been through.
The only thing to be sure about Muskov Asylum, from its rise to downfall, is that no human is safe from its insanity.
Hello, dearings! I’m alive yet again =D I have been making some solid progress on my readings, which brings us here today: MORE MINI REVIEWS! This time, our theme is Edgar Allan Poe, as I’m reading this pretty and giant book with his main works =) I’m not done yet, hence the ‘part 1’ deal, haha!
Just remembering that the mini reviews deal is a combination of inspirations from Cait, of The Paper Fury, and from Lindsey, of @thepagemistress, and that I do those with books that: a) I really liked, but the book didn’t change my life; b) regardless of my feelings, were too short for a complete review; c) regardless of my feelings, weren’t unforgettable.
In this post, you’ll find mini reviews for these Edgar Allan Poe’s books:
Good afternoon, my loves! Welcome to the cover reveal for Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault, by Candace Robinson =D In this post, you’ll find overall info about book and author and my cover analysis!
Good day, bamboo lovers! Welcome to the book blitz for Confessions of the Very First Zombie Slayer (That I Know Of), by F.J.R. Titchenell! In this post, you’ll find overall info about the book and the author, my cover analysis, what people are saying about the book, a killer excerpt and a giveaway!
Confessions of the Very First Zombie Slayer (That I Know Of)
by F.J.R. Titchenell
Genre: YA Horror, Comedy
Release Date: April 4th, 2017
The world is Cassie Fremont’s playground. Her face is on the cover of every newspaper. She has no homework, no curfew, and no credit limit, and she spends her days traveling the country with her friends, including a boy who would do the chicken dance with death to make her smile.
Life is just about perfect—except that those newspaper headlines are about her bludgeoning her crush to death with a paintball gun, she has to fight ravenous walking corpses every time she steps outside, and one of her friends is still missing, trapped somewhere in the distant, practically impassable wreckage of Manhattan.
Still, Cassie’s an optimist, more prone to hysterical laughter than hysterical tears, and she’d rather fight a corpse than be one. She’ll never leave a friend stranded when she can simply take her road trip to impossible new places, even if getting there means admitting to that boy that she might love him as more than her personal jester.
Skillfully blending effective horror with unexpected humor, this diary-style novel is a fast-paced and heartwarming read.
(Alternative title: HOLLY F*, THE CREEPS. ALL. OVER. THE. PLACE! =OOOOOO)
Hello to you that decided it was a good time to seat and read a review! Or not sit, but happily scroll down through your phone. Oh, well. Welcome to you, no matter if you are seated, on your feet or laid down. My only piece of advice before cutting the crap and start talking about today’s book is: do not read this with the lights off. You know, safety matters and all. Thanks!
Without further ado, today I took the day to review a DELICIOUS book that I received from the author in exchange for an honest review: Black Water Tales: The Unwated, from JeanNicole Rivers! Technically, this is the second book in the series, but they are totally unrelated to each other, so I will just treat is as a standalone 🙂 Thanks so much for sending me your book, JeanNicole! I don’t have the words to describe what it meant to me! Actually I kind of do, as I am writing all about my feels for the book as we speak, but never mind that.
Blaire Baker is one of those people who is in a serious need to find a purpose in life. Which better way than to volunteer herself to teach special children at a poor orphanage in eastern Europe? St. Sebastian sounds like the perfect place to escape her problems and make herself useful, maybe even changing some lives for good. Paired up with Travis, a funny and easy-going nurse on the same mission as her, Blaire heads to Borslav to start her life.
She knew not to expect a nice looking place or even healthy children, but nothing prepared Blaire to the eerie creeps that St. Sebastian gave her. She also wasn’t prepared to deal with emotionless and stoic children that couldn’t care less what happened around them. Or even to hear so many whispers about the basement.
As if caring for those lost children wasn’t already a big deal, Blaire also started to be haunted by her own past. She would have to fight her own demons before trying to dig up the mysteries around the night noises and voices of St. Sebastian.
The only question is… Will she survive long enough for that?
Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂
DEAR HEAVENS, WHERE DO I BEGIN?! This book scared me on a whole new level. I admit not being an avid reader of terror books so far in my life, but NOT A SINGLE BOOK THAT CAME BEFORE THIS ONE WRACKED ME SO HARD! Nearing the end, I would shiver in broad daylight, with the sun on my back and many people around me, feeling utterly alone in the world. As I finished it on a very crowded subway station, I kept looking over my shoulder, being sure that ~something~ was watching for me, if you know what I mean. I only avoided a panic attack because I managed to run home and burn my energy. And when I say run, I mean it. I must have looked absolutely crazy, because I only stopped to cross streets and to enter my building… Oh well, it happens to the best of us. For all those sensations, that are priceless on their own twisted way, A MILLION STARTS FOR THIS BOOK!
The narrative had to be my favorite style: third person with switching points of view between Blaire and Travis. As both them are oblivious to the things that really happen at the orphanage, the narrative choice fit as a glove. Even when one of them discovered something else, we all kept in the dark (quite literally) about what was real and what was paranoid delusion. In the end of the book, I truly didn’t know any more if things were actually happening of if it was a glitch from one of their minds. Rivers plays with your mind that hard.
The plot was all kinds of brilliant. I admit that the story starts off a little slow with Blaire going to Borslav with Travis, but as soon as they step on St. Sebastian for the first time, you are doomed. It’s a mix of morbid curiosity with pure agony that makes you go on. You want to see these poor children winning in life after so many problems. I have to also admit that I was actually cool in the scary side while I thought things were supernatural. While I thought that ghosts were behind the bad things and that was a simple matter of calling Sam and Dean, you know?
I thought it would be the case of involving the Impala brothers 😛
However, Rivers played me like a puppet and laughed (metaphorically) at my face. No Sam and Dean were required and just like that my biggest fears came alive: REAL PEOPLE DOING NASTY THINGS. This is what truly scared the shit out of me and Rivers had me at my fear of real people. Well played, Rivers. Well played indeed.
Ok, focus. Now we have characters. Oh, the characters. I was soooo in love with Blaire and Travis once that I got to know them! What I really liked about this book is that the author didn’t push the romance – no, it’s all about the mystery and remaining true to yourself. Despite some facts, it would have been really easy to turn Travis and Blaire into a couple and I am so proud of Rivers for not falling into that trap ❤ From the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU!
What I really love about Black Water Tales: The Unwanted is that every character has a shady edge, even the children and St. Sebastian building. By the way, the building pulses with life, which is so freaking odd and creepy. I love decadent places, but I doubt I would have the courage to enter St. Sebastian.
The only complaint that I have is that I ended the book without many vital details. I felt more tying up right before the end and I doubt that the next instalment of this series will also be in Borslav, so it is a bit disappointing. I only overlooked this on my rating because all the rest is SO FREAKING AMAZING that I could deal with some plot holes, haha!
I think I have already went on too much today, so let me just wrap things up by saying that if you love mystery and terror, you simply have to read this book asap. After that, message me for us to fangirl about it together, please! =D
Thanks for reading another unnecessary long and fangirling review, you rock if you reached the bottom of my post! Also, another round of thank-yous for JeanNicole herself for being incredible in both writing this masterpiece and sending it my way ❤ ❤ I loved this experience! But of course you couldn’t tell by this review. #sarcasm
Hi, there! I AM GRADUATED OMG! I DID IT! GOODBYE COLLEGE!
Okay, I’m controlled now. This is my first review as a graduated journalist and I’m so happy that the book is Shielded Past, from sweet Patti Morelli! I received it from the author in exchange of an honest review and this is it! Let’s do this!
Kate was raised by a foster family and never really knew anything about her past. It wasn’t a problem: she had her best friend ever, Annie, a loving husband, Greg, a foster mom that was very proud of her… Or so she thought.
After moving to a lovely house and getting pregnant, Kate starts to feel that there is something off with her so-called perfect life. Everything looks creepy: her house, her neighborhood, her new dog, her past…
Now that she is expecting a child of her own, Kate needs to know whether those scary incidents are really happening or if she is losing her mind and could be qualified to be in a place like the old mental hospital near her home…
The Analysis
Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion while reading the book 🙂
This book was AWESOME. SO AMAZING. SO PERFECT. I apologize in advance, as it is so much more complex than my humble description, but it was a creepy and intelligent read! It surpassed all my expectations and for sure was one of the best horror/mystery books that I’ve read in my life! Overall rating was 4 stars 🙂 Now let’s get serious, haha!
The writting technique is the point that lost a star on my rating. Specially on the beginning of the book, I felt that I was reading a screenplay that had been transformed into a movie. And there were other minor typing/grammatical errors along the way, so this is the only reason I didn’t gave this book a full and big 5 stars rating. It was a third person narrated book with switching point of views, in the exact way that I like, so we always knew all that was going on. Moreover, Morelli was brilliant at this because we couldn’t be sure of nothing until the really final chapters, as the mystery was too big. Morelli has a simple writing style that makes you fly by her story and feel the intensity of it like a punch, haha! I was constantly breathless each time that I picked up this book to read and couldn’t sleep after the end, haha!
The plot was brilliant and very well executed. For every aspect of her life that Kate solved, there were other four or five new that she had to question. PERFECTION. The mystery remains until the very end, as the real villain threatens to kill Kate and we don’t know if she is going to survive. And I’m not going to tell you if she did ❤ There are no loose ends on this book, everything gets solved – oh, almost. There is a bit of a cliff hanger on the epilogue, but I can live with that, it was nice, haha! I hope this becomes a series!
Bonus point: this is a horror/mystery book that has an old mental institution on its plot. I love those! It’s one of my favorite scenarios for horror books, haha! That’s why I lost my mind in the Asylum series, haha!
I also freaking loved the way Morelli builds her characters: they are so real in the little things, you know? Good or bad, their actions are true and you can understand their minds, their problems, desires and developments. I loved Annie and really connected with her (I swear is not just because my middle name is Anne, haha!). She was always so funny and optimistic despite everything that happened in her life and her eventual boyfriend is one of my new bookish boyfriends (oh the list that I never made, haha!).
The scenarios description was always very detailed, but not that kind that tires off the reader. I could see all the places just like in a movie in my head, where nothing passes in blank for Morelli. This is that type of book that, after you finish, you want to re-read just to see if you could have figured everything out sooner, haha! If you like a good thriller / mystery / horror book, just read this one. Just do it.
That’s it! Thanks for reading and thanks again to Patti Morelli for trusting me with her work! I loved this ❤ Do you guys like books that talk about the horror of mental institutions??
If you follow me at my Instagram account (follow me! :D), you may have notice how much I loved the Asylum series, by Madeleine Roux. I’ve read Asylum in less than three days and Sanctum, in four (I was already back to classes and work, LOL). I love those kind of books that create a psychology terror with only a touch of supernatural events.
Anyway, Catacomb is the third book of the Asylum series and it will be out in September, published by HarperTeen (I love these people so much <3).
Senior year is finally over. After all they’ve been through, Dan, Abby, and Jordan are excited to take one last road trip together, and they’re just not going to think about what will happen when the summer ends. But on their way to visit Jordan’s uncle in New Orleans, the three friends notice that they are apparently being followed… And Dan starts receiving phone messages from someone he didn’t expect to hear from again—someone who died last Halloween.
As the strange occurrences escalate, Dan is forced to accept that everything that has happened to him in the past year may not be a coincidence, but fate—a fate that ties Dan to a group called the Bone Artists, who have a sinister connection with a notorious killer from the past. Now, Dan’s only hope is that he will make it out of his senior trip alive.
In this finale to the New York Times bestselling Asylum series, found photographs help tell the story of three teens who exist on the line between past and present, genius and insanity.
In other words, it can be read as “I need it right now”. If you got interested in the series, you check here the description of Asylum, The Scarlets, Sanctum and The Bone Artists:
Hello! Today I’ve finished The Murders in the Rue Morgue, from Edgar Allan Poe. Sadly, I’ve read it in my Lev, so the pic is not that charming 😦 Bad side of online reading, LOL.
My Lev with the pdf copy 🙂
Anyway, the book has six tales:
The Imp of the Perverse
A little like The Tell-Tale Heart, the base of the plot is the guilty that the narrator feels after doing something bad. In this case, the main character murdered another man to inherit his proprieties and, as he was very clever, the police never got him. However, the narrator always feels like he may be caught at any moment and his paranoia is the crux of the problem.
What I thought: My mom gave me a book with 22 stories from Poe some years ago and this one I had already read in the past, but I almost didn’t remember it. It was very nice to feel the thrill that Poe constructs in his writing like it was the first time. This one became one of my favorites ❤
Hop Frog or The Eight Chained Ourangoutangs
This is the story of two dwarfs at a king’s court. The male one, Hop Frog, was the court jester and limped a lot. The female one, Tripetta, was a beautiful dwarf, well proportionated and very charming. The two of them bound, as both are slaves of the king, who likes most of all, to mock Hop Frog with his consultants. After a particular unfortunate incident with Tripetta, Hop Frog elaborates a plan to avenge her and punish his king and his consultants.
What I thought: Another one already read and this one I remembered well, as Hop Frog’s plan was audacious, brilliant and cruel. But there was another thing that marked my good: the happy ending. It’s a rarity among Poe’s tales, LOL.
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
In this tale, the narrator is a doctor interested in mesmerism, a kind of hypnotism. He’s specially interest in the effects of mesmerism on a dying person, so he is given the chance to test his theories at his dying friend, Mr. Valdemar. Of course, things don’t go as planned.
What I thought: This one also was in my other book, but I totally forgot it. And I have to say I know why: I didn’t like it. It was too much fantasy for Poe’s style, in my opinion
The Black Cat
This is the tale of a man who loves animals very much, but an incident with his cat Pluto transforms his conception of reality in a way that drives him insane.
What I thought: I don’t know which is more famous: The Black Cat or The Tell-Tale Heart, LOL. I first read this when I was in junior high and it’s wonderful every time I read again. It’s simply ingenious.
Never Bet the Devil Your Head
Tommy Dammit was the hateful kind of person you want to punch in the face. This friend, the narrator, tries during the whole story, to bring him to the “good” side, but Tommy won’t go for it. The result is that, after so many bets to the devil, Tommy finally delivers the so-promised prize.
What I thought: this one was new for me, as it wasn’t present on my other book. It was very interesting, specially the way of how the narrator’s thoughts change during the tale, but wasn’t anything breathtaking. I guess, when you know a bit or two about Poe, some kinds of plots became a little foreseeable. Anyway, it’s worth the reading 🙂
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
The tale that names the book presents us to Mr. Dupin, a very intelligent man who uses his observation powers to solve a murder case that even the police considered a lost cause.
What I thought: Dupin is Poe’s French version of Sherlock Holmes. He’s very talented, intelligent and eccentric, just like Sherlock, but a little more insane, if you ask me. I didn’t know this one too and it was amazing how things are so not what they look like. It’s now in my heart, along with The Black Cat, William Wilson, The Tell-Tale Heart and Berenice ❤ ❤
That’s all, folks! If you want to know what I’m reading right know or what I want to read or what I’ve already read, check out my Goodreads profile and don’t forget to follow me on Instagram to always know when there will be a new post available!
Thank you for reading! Do you like Poe’s tales too? 😀
PS: This is my physical edition, that my mom gave me:
The Book Adventures of Annelise Lestrange 