JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS!!

Hi guys. I just wanted to bring a couple of things to your attention tonight. This week is going to be a bit upside down on the blog. I probably won’t be following my normal routine of guest posts and showing off, due to the party coming up on Thursday. I did, however, just want to remind you of a couple of things.

REVIEW: Thomas S Flowers - Emerging (Subdue Book 2)

Genre: Horror / Thriller

Publisher: Limitless Publishing LLC

Publication Date: 15^th Dec 2015

Pages: 254

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Emerging (Subdue Book 2) was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author Thomas S Flowers in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Limitless Publishing LLC.

So very late in the year last year I got sent Thomas S Flowers’ first book in this series, Dwelling, for review. In case you missed it, I absolutely loved it and you can read the review, here and you can also check out Confessions’ interview with Thomas, here.

I couldn’t wait for Emerging so when it came out a week later, it went straight to the top of the pile! This is what I thought.

**Warning** - you really need to read Dwelling (Subdue Book 1) before reading this one so this review may contain elements of Book One!

Maggie is calling together all the surviving members of the Suicide Squad. She needs them all together in her house. They have no idea why. They have no idea they may not survive.

Still battling their own personal demons, Bobby, Jonathan and Jake make their way to the house on Oak Lee, never suspecting what may happen to them.

Jonathan is still on a mission to get Maggie out of the house. Will he succeed or will they all perish?

REVIEW: Stuart Keane - Grin

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Stuart Keane

Publication Date: 30^th Oct 2015

Pages: 191

MY REVIEW:

OK, it’s confession time from me for a change. I have only ever read a short story by Stuart Keane. None of his novels. There I said it. Shoot me! No…….don’t, please.

The short story in question was Bon Appetite, his contribution to Kill For Copy. You can read my review of that short and the rest of the book here.

I bought Grin as part of my greedy, lustful side taking over when Mr Keane had his launch party. You see I wanted to win the star prize on the evening, a signed Steve Crisp print of one his Richard Laymon covers.

Guess what? I actually won it. Still to get it framed and when I do I will show it off.

That, in no way shape or form has had any influence on my review of Grin. I had heard really good things about this one. Let’s see…..

Dani has it all to live for. Seventeen years old with her life in front of her. Unbeknown to her, her dad is involved with the mob in London. After a failed assassination attempt, her dad is now the target of the mob. He is a loose end that needs to be tidied up.

When the assassin arrives to kill her dad, Dani is in the house with the rest of her family. She is the only one to survive.

Left with a Chelsea Grin, you would imagine her life is over. No one banked on Dani settling the score.

This, my friends was not what I was expecting at all from this book. Not by a very long country mile. To be honest I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t this. Anyway….

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #19 - Jason Parent - What Hides Within

#19 in the Show-Off and Tell feature is a “look what you could win” feature too. The wonderful What Hides Within, by Jason Parent.

Now, when Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love came out, I did a week-long series of interviews and reviews with the guys from The Dead Roses Crew. In case you missed it, you can check it out here.

This is how I got to know Jason Parent a little bit better and discovered that he is definitely one of the good guys that more people should know and read.

I was expecting a copy of Dead Roses in the post from Evans Light and he had recently just met up with Jason who very graciously signed, and included a copy of What Hides Within in the box that was delivered.

This is my copy:

SPECIAL BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT!!

This man is Thomas S Flowers and he writes stuff.

He wrote one called Dwelling.

GUEST POST: Confessions of my Past, Present and Future #22 - Rich Hawkins

Confessions of my Past, Present and Future

by

Rich Hawkins

The Past

It was back in 1989, I was nine years old and in primary school, when I discovered a book called Dracula. Until then, I had merely heard the name whispered in the playground, where rumours of old Hammer films spread along with the head lice and poo jokes. I was already scared of ghosts and monsters under the bed (I had yet to hear about Cthulhu), and the children’s cartoon Count Duckula had introduced me to the notion of vampires – even though that particular character consumed vegetables instead of blood – so I should have been a little prepared for what happened on one of those perfectly sunny days of a lost childhood.

I wasn’t.

I suspect that chaffinches were frolicking in the trees outside and I was probably thinking about what Mum was making for tea as I went to the mini-library at one end of the classroom (it was basically two bookshelves and a patch of threadbare carpet to sit on), looking for something to read.

And I was not prepared.

I saw this little hardback book peering out from between the adventures of Roger Red Hat and Jennifer Yellow Hat. I took the book from its hiding place and appraised the front cover.

Count Dracula.

REVIEW: Kit Power & Chris Barnes - GodBomb! Audio Book

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Kit Power

Publication Date: 19^th Nov 2015

Length: 5 hours and 56 minutes

MY REVIEW:

A copy of GodBomb!, the audio book was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the narrator, Chris Barnes in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is written by Kit Power and published by The Sinister Horror Company.

Confessions of a Reviewer reviewing an audio book? Never! Well yes, I am actually. I am as much an audio book virgin as Chris Barnes is at featuring on Confessions. I have never finished a whole one before. I normally get bored very easily, or fall asleep and wake up as the credits are rolling.

With GodBomb! hitting my joint top spot in my books of 2015, and Chris Barnes being a generally all round nice guy, I decided to give this one a go. I was a bit dubious to be honest because I loved the book so much that I didn’t know how to approach this. I didn’t want it to end up spoiling it for me.

This review is not of GodBomb! itself. If you want to read my opinion on what I thought of the book and the story in general, then check out my review of it here. This review is purely of the audio book and my impressions on how it was put together.

REVIEW: Sinister Grin Press - Cut Corners Volume 2

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Sinister Grin Press

Publication Date: 28^th Oct 2015

Pages: 66

MY REVIEW:

A copy of the collection, Cut Corners Volume 2, was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the publishers, Sinister Grin Press. This time it wasn’t sent specifically in exchange for an honest review. It was a little thank you for reviewing other stuff but I couldn’t resist giving an honest review anyway. This is said review.

I do enjoy getting ARCS from Sinister Grin Press. You never know quite what you are going to get because they do produce a very wide range of stuff. This one was no exception. This is the first time I have read a collection from Sinister Grin so I was anxious to get into it and see what it was like.

In terms of the authors involved in this one, I have read them all in one form or another. Ray Garton wrote a short story I read in Widowmakers called, The Guy Down the Street, Monica J. O’Rourke wrote What Happens in the Darkness and Shane McKenzie was involved in the wonderful collaboration, Jackpot. Other than that I have not read anything else by these three. So are they worthy of being in this collection? Let’s find out.

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #18 - Duncan Ralston - Salvage

#18 in the Show-Off and Tell features one of my top books of 2015. The wonderful Salvage, by Duncan Ralston.

This is his debut novel and believe me, debuts don’t get much better than this.

It’s a very creepy ghost story that is so full of emotion, it will have you feeling many different things as you read it and will have you close to tears. It will also scare the bejesus out of you.

This one just appeared out of nowhere so I was very pleasantly surprised and very happy when I opened it.

This is my copy.

ANNOUNCMENT: UPDATE ON UPCOMING BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS!!

Hi guys. A very quick message, but just in case you missed it I wanted to let you know the link for the Facebook birthday party for Confessions’ first birthday party!

I will hopefully have some wonderful prizes on offer for a few competitions that I will run on the night and generally just make it a fun night with plenty of laughs.

Please pop in for a while and remember to tell all your friends!

Thanks.

Nev.

Birthday Party Invite!!

REVIEW: Dallas Mullican - A Coin For Charon (Marlowe Gentry Book 1)

Genre: Thriller

Publisher: Winlock Press

Publication Date: 10^th Sept 2015

Pages: 281

MY REVIEW:

A copy of A Coin For Charon (Marlowe Gentry Book 1) was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author Dallas Mullican, in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Winlock Press.

Having so many indie authors as friends on Facebook and Twitter inevitably leads to you seeing other author names floating around that, you think you must connect with these people because they seem to be interesting chaps or chapesses. Dallas Mullican is a name I have seen around for a long time but for one reason or another never connected with. That was up until a short time ago when he was looking for reviews for A Coin For Charon. I thought I would finally take the plunge and ask. Was it a good move or should I have left well alone?

Marlowe Gentry is a cop on the edge. The last serial killer case he worked on only ended when his wife was killed and his daughter scarred for life.

Seraphim is the latest serial killer on the loose. His real name though is Gabriel. Gabriel believes he is killing to save his victims and finally set them free. The law, and Marlowe, would dispute this.

With Gabriel seemingly killing at random and Marlowe with no clue as to how to stop him, what follows is a furious clash of personalities within their own minds as they both struggle with their own demons and struggle to end the battle. But who will be victorious?

GUEST POST: Confessions of my Past, Present and Future #21 - Michael Grumley

Confessions of my Past, Present and Future

by

Michael Grumley

The Past

Hi, Nev. Let me start by thanking you for hosting me on your blog. You’re extremely well read and your reviews are top notch, so I’m grateful for the invite.

Writing started for me at a very young age, like it mostly did for many of us with some small, fun but silly story. I’d also written some short stories in my teens that I thought were kind of cool (and probably I alone), but then something interesting happened in my early twenties.

I was reading a series of science fiction books by a writer named Jack L. Chalker. They were really quite good, and at the time the predominant “online” system was a predecessor to AOL, called CompuServe. I wondered if Mr. Chalker might be a member, given his technological slant. As luck would have it, he was. I sent him a quick email asking if he was the famous SF writer and he responded that he was.

REVIEW: Lisa Vasquez - The Anti-God (The Unsaintly Chronicles #1)

Genre: Paranormal / Demonic

Publisher: Lisa Vasquez with Burning Willow Press

Publication Date: 31^st July 2015

Pages: 312

MY REVIEW:

A copy of The Anti-God (The Unsaintly Chronicles #1) was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author, Lisa Vasquez in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Lisa in collaboration with Burning Willow Press.

I recently connected with Lisa on Facebook without even knowing she was a writer. After a short conversation she asked if I would like a copy of The Anti-God for a review. After reading the synopsis I fancied a look at this one. After reading some of the reviews I wasn’t so sure. I still wanted to read it though and as always, honesty is my best policy.

Isabel has had a troubled upbringing. Born into nobility, she decides to give it all up and follow God’s call to be a nun. God is not the only one who has been watching her throughout her life. The forces of evil, and others, have been paying close attention.

The forces of good and evil are finally coming together in a battle to end all battles. Now in adulthood, Isabel is a pawn in this battle with all sides fighting for her allegiance and Isabel fighting for her life. She must decide who to stand with and whether to give up everything to save the world.

ANNOUNCMENT: UPCOMING BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS!!

Hi everyone. This is just a quick note to let you know about what I am planning for the first birthday of Confessions of a Reviewer!!

The actual birthday is on the 4^th February. On that day I will be hosting a party on Facebook, sort of like all the book launch parties you may have seen on there in the past.

I will have competitions and prizes galore (I hope) (if some generous people step forward or answer my requests) in the way of e-books and possibly some others, so please come along and join in for some fun. You never know, you might pick up something you haven’t got or have always wanted!

REVIEW: Karen Malena - Sound of Silence

Genre: Dystopian

Publisher: Tuxedo & Beans

Publication Date: 15^th June 2015

Pages: 124

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Sound of Silence was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author Karen Malena in exchange for an honest review. This is said review.

I suspect you may not have heard of Karen Malena if you are coming straight into this review. I hadn’t heard of Karen before she contacted me to talk about a review for Sound of Silence and the possibility of doing an interview for Confessions. If you want to learn more about Karen then head on over here, where you will find an in depth interview with her to find everything you need to know.

This is not Karen’s normal genre of writing so I was interested to see what she could do with this dystopian type of story and thought I should give it a chance.

Was I right?

The year is 2050. After years of terrorist attacks across the world, the government needed to come up with a way to police spoken, and written communication, to try and curb these attacks.

In an extreme measure, speaking aloud has been outlawed for some years. All newly born children have implants put in their voice boxes to make sure they cannot speak. All adults must not under any circumstances speak out loud or the consequences could be dire.

Ray Warren comes to the aid of an old woman who falls over. When she thanks him, he makes a fatal mistake and tells her she is welcome. Amidst gasps from the people surrounding him, he runs. He knows he has nowhere to hide and must make some careful decisions to protect his family. Or does he take a stand against the tyranny?

INTERVIEW: Karen Malena: Part Two

Welcome to Part Two of Confessions of a Reviewers’ interview with Karen Malena.

In tonight’s section, Karen starts by answering some specific questions on her newest book Sound of Silence, continues to talk about her writing and life in general and tackles The Ten Confessions.

It’s only Tuesday but go grab something nice like a pizza and a beer, sit back and relax, but mostly……enjoy!

COAR - Moving on to Sound of Silence, where did the inspiration for this one come from?

KM - Sitting in a restaurant watching a family of four, each engrossed on some electronic device in front of them, none of them talking or making eye contact with one another, is how I came up with the idea. What if speaking became outlawed and a punishable crime? Would we miss it then? Would we risk everything to hear our child’s voice even one more time? And who would make such a law? It would have to be someone hugely popular and well-loved. He would have to prove to the public that it was in their best interest to put the edict of silence into order, for their protection so to speak. It had to be a politician.

INTERVIEW: Karen Malena: Part One

Welcome to Part One of Confessions of a Reviewers’ interview with a lovely lady that many of you will maybe not know of, Karen Malena.

If you don’t know a lot, or indeed anything, about Karen then read on. In this interview, Karen was kind enough to take the time out to give us some detailed and, inspiration inducing answers to all the questions I threw at her.

In Part One, tonight, we find out some general information about Karen and her writing and inspirations. In Part Two, tomorrow night, Karen will give us some specifics on her new book, Sound of Silence and she also takes on the mighty Ten Confessions.

On night three as always, I will be posting my review of Sound of Silence.

Nothing left to say other than go grab some nibbles and a drink and sit back, but most of all……enjoy!

COAR - So tell everyone a bit about yourself in general?

KM - First of all, I’d like to thank Nev for having me as a guest on his blog. (Nev blushes) It’s extremely fun to connect with other bloggers, and I found that his questions are refreshing and different. So, something about myself. . . Reading, gardening, taking long walks in the woods, writing and spending time with my loud Italian family are all of my favorite things.

CALLING ALL AUTHORS, PUBLISHERS AND PRESSES!!

Hey everybody (or hey you if no one reads this), as part of me thinking of new ideas for the blog, and how I can help out all my wonderful author friends, publishers and presses, I am thinking of adding a new page to the blog.

It will simply be called Author Profiles. What it will have is a series of authors names with links attached to profiles that will be hosted on the Confessions of a Reviewer blog.

This is where you come in. Would you like me to have a spot on the blog with a profile of yourself or one of your authors attached? Basically what I would do is have an author pic, an author bio, a couple of book covers if you wanted, links to any reviews of books I have done on the blog and also all links on how to find you on Amazon and social media. Depending on the amount of work involved I would also add in some extra stuff for you if you wanted.

ANNOUNCEMENT: LET'S GET THIS SHOW BACK ON THE ROAD!!

So it’s back to the grindstone again! Not only have I returned to work after nearly five months off after my surgery, I reckon it’s about time to get this blog back up and running and start talking books again!

I am not planning any great changes to the format of the blog at the minute because it seems to be working well for me and for anyone interested enough to read it, so I will be sticking with the same format.

I am in the process of developing some new ideas for pages and features over the coming months and will post about them when I know more. Maybe as early as tomorrow!