Indie Book Reviews and Recommendations
This garden is full of haunted people. There’s Wash Greavor and his friends, lost on backwoods logging trails, who stumble on an ancient graveyard where a monstrous sentry from long ago awaits them. Then there’s Corbin Grimwood and his new gun. It hums in his hand like a can full of bees. And there are others. Lost souls seeking a way out. But there’s no escaping the bitter truth that awaits us all in the heart of the garden.
There are no safe spaces... When Tess Porter agrees to pick up her boyfriend's college pal at the airport on a snowy December night, she has no idea she's about to embark on the most dangerous ride of her life. Two days later, the 17-year-old wakes up in a hospital with broken bones, and unable to remember how she got there. Her parents are acting strangely, and neither James, her boyfriend, nor her best friend Izzy has visited. As she struggles to physically recover, Tess wrestles with haunting questions: What happened? Will her memory ever return? and what if she's better off not recalling any of it?
Within this collection, you will find unique takes on the zombie short story, from the perspectives of survivors as well as the zombies themselves. You will find stories rooted in humour, stories that will yank on your heartstrings, and stories that make you question your own existence. Lose yourself in a world where your biggest fear is staying alive--and not zombified!
When a hike through the mountains goes wrong, Catherine and her SO's brother Nate find themselves in a world of trouble. Both are children of some of the richest and most influential families in their nation, but even that may not save them when they acquire a strange burning disease that may threaten the wellbeing of the rest of the citizens. Nate, a known rebel and ex-convict, believes that their only chance to survive is to flee their country and reach a place where their King has no control. But in order to reach that place, they must sneak through the entire country, not to mention survive the horrible creatures defined as mutants and rabids. Will they be able to find peace? Or will they die trying?
I originally picked this book up because I wanted to read a "modern classic." I'd read The Road and loved it, so I decided why not? (I also needed a book that started with "N" for my A to Z Reading Challenge in 2020) Normally, not my first pick as I don't care too much for crime novels, especially cowboy-esque ones. BUT this was worth the read! I ended up finishing it off in 2 straight days. I'll spare the summary, because the blurb tells all you need to know without giving anything away.
In this dystopian novel by Christina Dalcher, America is eerily similar to our own. However, in that world, women are only allowed 100 words a day, or else they are shocked by their wrist counters, the magnitude exponentially increasing with each additional unauthorized word. Jean, a cognitive linguist in another life, is given an opportunity after the president's brother is gravely wounded. The government needs someone who can help him, someone who can reverse Wernicke's aphasia. Helping the government will mean that she can go back to work, can get the abominable wrist counter off--for a while. But something doesn't sit right with Jean. The government seems to be wanting her research for another reason... What price will the world pay after she finishes her research? What price will she and her family pay?
In this short novel by K.R. Doroc, we get to see the unfolding of a completely new fantasy realm, Andor. It is home to a King, Baron, Duke, and various other officials, all of which are plotting against each other. Andor has had a bloody history up until recently, will they be thrown back into a war because their nobles can't get along? We follow the footsteps of the Duke, a spy, a noble loyal to the Duke, and two soldiers on opposite sides. Each viewpoint shows the tensions of Andor growing ever taut... Who will be the one to break first?
In this mysterious novel by Tim Cole, one of the main characters, Max, is able to time travel after taking a new sleeping aid pill. His time traveling lasts 1 full year and has no consequences in the present time. As we travel through the book and Max's past, we find that there is an even bigger conspiracy at play here. Duncan and Pierre hide their involvement in the creation of Insynnium, Max's mom Grace and Duncan hide their relationship, Max and his wife Rachel struggle through rocky times, and new age technology is cropping up in the Middle East. How does all of this connect to Max and Insynnium? Only time will tell!
In this novel of intermixing stories of reality and fantasy, Jack is our guy. He is the man whose life we follow in the reality version along with his wife's (soon-to-be-ex) life. We see both struggling in their different relationships, while also steadily overcoming their respective pasts. As for the fantasy side of the novel, we meet a variety of characters, almost as a short-story anthology, all connected at the end. We go on various journeys with different races, different magic, different purposes in mind. But all seem to bear some similarity to the real world that Jack is suffering through currently. He uses this fantasy world to cope with his reality, and it creates a surreal narrative that is an ultimate pleasure to read.
The premise of this novel is that Milly and her friends are keeping a secret from everyone... A secret that has something to do with the Wolf-Lords. When the same Wolf-Lords that guided the emigration are called into Redcross to help the Premier with something, Milly and her friends must go through risky measures to ensure that their secret stays safe. Not only that, but Milly is offered to the Wolf-Lords in some kind of deal with the Premier, and now she must go live with them for 6 months. The story takes off, narrating Milly's friends' exploits in Redcross as well as Milly's stay with the Wolf-Lords. Are any of the girls safe?
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