THE MILESTONES KEEP A COMING!!

Would you believe it! Two milestones within a week!

Milestone one:

Confessions of a Reviewer celebrated its half birthday on 4^th August!

Six months since I started my journey into the unknown world of blogging. I was a total virgin. No knowledge of what to do or how to go about doing it. All I knew what to do was pick up a book, read it, then ramble about it.

It appears that some of you out there like to read my ramblings. There is no one more surprised at that than me.

REVIEW: Evans Light / Adam Light / Edward Lorn / Jason Parent / Gregor Xane - Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love

Well folks I am very very sorry to say that this is the last instalment of the Dead Roses Special week. Some of you may be glad of that fact to get away from my ramblings but I have enjoyed myself so much with this one that I want to do it all over again! Right now!

I honestly can’t find the words to properly thank the guys for taking part in this for me. Mike, Edward, Jason, Gregor, Adam and Evans were all kind enough to take time out from their busy schedules to answer all of the questions I threw at them to put this feature together. None of them moaned or complained and were only too happy to help in any way they could. For all of this I am eternally grateful.

I have discovered that these six are all totally down to earth guys with huge hearts and a massive love for horror, writing, art and anything to do with their fans. I like to think I have made some new friends through this and hope to keep a hold of those friendships for a long long time.

All the info you need for either contacting this crew or buying their stuff is at the bottom of this page. Please please support them in their work so that we can all enjoy reading their words and appreciating their artwork for years to come.

Thank you again for visiting the blog this week. I will have some more features coming up in a week or two’s time as well as my normal reviewing in between times so please keep coming back for more Confessions of a Reviewer……and please tell your friends!!

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Corpus Press

Publication Date: 16^th March 2015

Pages: 250

MY REVIEW:

This copy of Dead Roses was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer as part of a special article on the site for the books launch and in return for an honest review. This is that review.

I have been looking forward to this one for a long long time after hearing such good stories about this group’s previous collaboration, Bad Apples: 5 Slices of Halloween Horror. I have read all but one of these authors previously and already know they can produce some very powerful short stories.

ELEANOR BY JASON PARENT

Stuart is a priest in a small West Sussex church. Someone abandons a child on the steps of the church. The little girl was extremely disfigured. Stuart took her in and kept her from harm. Fifteen years later Eleanor is growing up. She is becoming sexually aware but surely Stuart can do nothing about this? He is a priest. Eleanor just wants to be beautiful. But how can she when she always must wear a mask? She can fix this. She can make herself beautiful.

Beautifully twisted. That’s about the only way I can describe this tale. On one hand you have a priest trying to do his level best for an abandoned, disfigured young girl. God will help him with this. But why keep her hidden away for fifteen years and tell no one?

ANNOUNCEMENT: IAIN ROB WRIGHT IN THE HOT ZONE STARTING 16TH MARCH

I am very pleased to announce the first ever Confessions of a Reviewer author interview which kicks off next Monday, 16th March with a special event featuring four nights of British horror author Iain Rob Wright.

Over the four nights I will have an exclusive interview with Iain, split over the first two nights ( he rambles on a bit ) where he talks about his life, his writing so far, his new book Hot Zone: An MCU Thriller and what's in the future for his fans. He will also be confessing all in the unique Ten Confessions feature.

I will also have the pleasure of exclusively giving you all a first peak at Chapter One of Hot Zone so you can see for yourselves what it's all about.

The event will finish with my own review of Hot Zone on the fourth night.

Please make sure you watch out for the posts going live and tell anyone you think would be interested to get themselves over to the blog.

Thanks.

Nev.

REVIEW: Jack Rollins - The Seance

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Dark Chapter Press

Publication Date: 31^st Oct 2014

Pages: 56

MY REVIEW:

Albert Kench has just returned to Victorian London from Australia. He has been summonsed home after his sister Sally has been admitted to Oakbridge Asylum. When he visits her, he discovers she has become unrecognisable. She is near skeletal. She hasn’t spoken in over a year and she is missing an arm. He finds out she has been visited daily by an old childhood friend Rachel Darby.

Albert seeks out Rachel to try and find out what happened to his beloved sister. The story Rachel tells him is an unbelievable tale of a fraudulent spiritualist they went to visit at an exhibition and the evil Lord Aubrey Levi-Black who is an apparent master of the dark arts and seems to be in possession of a mirror that may be holding Sally’s very soul. Albert embarks on a crusade to free Sally from her glass prison but not everything he believes is true and not everyone he trusts is true either.

Jack Rollins. I have heard the name but never read anything by him. This came up to review for Ginger Nuts of Horror so I grabbed it due to my recently discovered love of gothic tales and all things Victorian, in terms of horror. This developed after discovering William Hope Hodgson’s Carnacki tales. I have read a few gothic and Victorian tales since and there are some shockers out there with authors not being able to “get” the atmosphere of the Victorian times.

BLOG: It's Not Easy Being a Reviewer - Part One!!

This blog turned into such a long thing (sorry but I ramble) that I have now divided it into two parts. This is obviously part one.

So here we go. The first official blog from Confessions of a Reviewer.

Um…….eh……hang on…….I’ll think of something soon. Nope, not that. Pffft definitely not that if I don’t want to be banned from the interwebie thing. Ahhhhh, I know. Let’s talk about how easy it is to be a reviewer. 

Here goes:

It isn’t.

The end.

I thought it was going to be. I’ve been reading for years and started doing the old minimum twenty word Amazon review from the Kindle. This was mainly because when trying to write an in-depth review using one finger on a Kindle it can be a bit time consuming and ultimately I just gave up. Then I started thinking, you know what (?) some of these guys really deserve some credit for the stuff I’m reading. When I think back to the hundreds of books I have read since I was a kid, there are so many I wish I had written a review for at the time.

At first I thought I would just write a paragraph or two for the ones I really liked. This progressed into a paragraph or two for the ones I really hated. It then moved onto the ones in between and soon enough I was reviewing everything.

REVIEW: Glenn Rolfe - Abram's Bridge

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Publication Date: 6^th Jan 2015

Pages: 85

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Abram’s Bridge was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer in exchange for an honest review. This is said review.

Li’l Ron Sawyer is twelve years old. He has just moved back to his father’s home town with him after his parents have split up. He likes nothing more than riding his bike while listening to Metallica on his MP3. When his MP3 player flies from his belt over Abram’s Bridge, he fears the worst. After climbing down to the creek to search for it, he comes across Sweet Kate. He quickly realises she is a ghost and gets away even quicker. Curiosity gets the better of him and he goes back to meet her. It becomes clear to him that Kate was murdered and he sets about trying to find out by who, and why.

First thing I have read by Glenn Rolfe and from what I can gather his first book. If that’s the case then I’m impressed. It’s a supernatural mystery / thriller. A short one at that. It’s a plot that has been done before – boy meets girl ghost and sets out to uncover her killer – but it’s done well with a fair amount of tension throughout.

REVIEW: Jonathan Janz - The Nightmare Girl

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Publication Date: 6^th January 2015

Pages: 304

MY REVIEW:

This review of The Nightmare Girl by Jonathan Janz is the result of a copy sent to Ginger Nuts of Horror in exchange for an honest review.

So all I see on peoples feeds at the minute is Jonathan Janz this Jonathan Janz that. All I could think is who is this guy and I must check him out. I was then delighted to get a copy of The Nightmare Girl to review for Ginger Nuts of Horror. Did I like it? Read on…….. (The fact I have since bought another 5 of his books might give it away though).

Joe Crawford is returning home with his wife Michelle and daughter Lily when they stop for gas. In the station, Joe witnesses a young mother abusing her toddler son. He doesn’t stop to think and immediately does the honourable thing and confronts her. This results in a huge argument and fists are raised before the mother makes a quick exit. The police are called and the child taken from the mother into care. This is the start of a situation that spirals so quickly out of control for Joe and his family that it looks doubtful anyone will survive. Especially where the “cult” is concerned. They want the child back and they want revenge.

I can now see what all the Jonathan Janz fuss has been about. This guy can write. The concept of this story is one ordinary, hardworking guy doing the right thing. Often as not though the nice guy gets the raw end of the deal. That happens to Joe Crawford. In abundance. In the beginning you can do nothing but applaud him for his actions. He deserves a medal. But as things start to go wrong you can’t help but feel sorry for the man and his family. He is a genuinely nice guy and you can see where things are going for him and it doesn’t look pretty.

REVIEW: Nate Southard - The Slab City Event

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Sinister Grin Press

Publication Date: 15^th Aug 2014

Pages: 178

MY REVIEW:

A copy of The Slab City Event was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the publishers, Sinister Grin Press, in exchange for an honest review. This is it.

The Slab City Event is a weekend of fast custom cars and bikes. It is a weekend where all the people there will eat, drink and be merry. Very merry! Old friendships will reignite over booze, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. The inhabitants of nearby town Niland have a different idea though. Well they would if they could think or act like humans. They want to go to The Slab City Event as well. They don’t want booze, drugs or rock ’n’ roll. They just want to eat! Will anyone survive the coming riot?

I seem to be saying this at the start of reviews regularly, but for differing reasons but – Well now – where do I start?

Zombie books and post-apocalyptic books featuring zombies are probably not my favourite ones to read in the horror genre. I think the reason for that is because they can all be a bit more of the sameish – make sense? I feel sorry for an author writing a zombie story because they need to make them original to hold the reader’s attention if they are like me. Nate Southard certainly held my attention in this one but I’m still undecided as to how I feel about it. He undoubtedly has a talent for writing, that can’t be denied. This is the first thing I have ever read by him and to be honest I would definitely pick up something by him again.

REVIEW: Peter C Middleton - The Britannia Conspiracy (Britannia Chronicles Book 1)

Genre: Horror / Thriller

Publisher: Britannia Publications

Publication Date: 19^th March 2014

Pages: 369

MY REVIEW:

NOTE: This is an old review I did last year but just discovered book 2 in this series is out this week so thought I would give it a little bump up the list again. This is a really fun book by a really nice down to earth guy. Give it a whirl guys and spread the word. Thanks.

Another debut novel by someone I have never heard of......but I am very glad I've heard of him now. This book is so much fun!!

2000 years ago Boadicea drove the Romans from Britain, but thousands of Roman soldiers were slaughtered and buried in mass graves or simply where they fell. In the present day Liberius, who was Roman Tribune at the time and made immortal by a witches curse, has taken possession of the Amulet of Ankhef which gives him the power to raise and control the dead. He raises the bodies of every Roman soldier to fall on British soil in a bid to finally conquer Britain. It falls to a small band of everyday people to come together and trace the only ancient relic that can defeat Liberius and his hoard.

REVIEW: David Bernstein / Adam Cesare / Shane McKenzie / Kristopher Rufty - Jackpot

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Sinister Grin Press

Publication Date: 23^rd Sept 2014

Pages: 142

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Jackpot was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the publishers, Sinister Grin Press, in exchange for an honest review. This is it.

Booker is a serial killer. He wants to win the lottery. He picks his numbers by randomly selecting victims, torturing them, and using their ages for his numbers. Tonight’s jackpot is over $200 million and he has just won it.

Enter Frank. He is a lowest of the low lawyer who wants a slice of the winnings. He intends to get his share by offering his services to Booker, or to be more exact, conning him and also expecting to play on the fact he thinks Booker is none too intelligent.

Enter Winona. This meek little old lady believes the money should be hers. She intends to get her hands on it by any means necessary, using her inbred family to help.

The hunter, Booker, has now become the hunted. Who will finally get their hands on the cash and at what cost?

Well now. Where do I start with this one? Definitely do not open this to read as you sit down to eat. What we have here is the definition of a gore fest. Torture on virtually every page. Blood on every page. Large amounts of blood I may add. Some of the subject matter in this story is probably at the very extreme of the spectrum of my tolerance levels. But do you know what? I “bloody” loved every bit of it!

REVIEW: Iain Rob Wright - The Picture Frame: A Horror Novel

Genre: Horror

Publisher: SG Horror

Publication Date: 9^th Nov 2014

Pages: 231

MY REVIEW:

Blake Price is a famous author, in fact he is the most celebrated mystery writer since Agatha Christie. A horrific attack on his wife drives him and his family from the city to now live in a cottage in the countryside. He needs to get his priorities straight and is trying very hard to reconnect with his wife Liz and his son Ricky. When they find an old picture frame buried in the field next to their house, their horrors are really just beginning. Unbeknown to them, anyone who has their picture in the frame is cursed and the curse does not let go until everyone in the picture is dead. They wish they knew this before Liz put a beautiful family photograph in the frame.

I have everything Iain Rob Wright has written. I still have a couple to read but heard good things about this one so picked it up to review for Ginger Nuts of Horror. I would love to be able to say that this is another example of Mr Wright’s mighty fine writing and storytelling, but I’m afraid I can’t.

This, in my opinion, goes way above and beyond anything he has written before. It is quite simply superb. This is classic. It’s a classic ghost story. It’s a classic horror story. It’s a classic example of how to paint a picture with words. It’s a classic example of how to trap a reader, grab them by the throat and shake them till their teeth fall out.

WELCOME!!

This blog is the result of my growing passion for book reviewing and my desire/need to share all the good things (and occasionally bad) that I read in a book or discover on websites or other blogs....about books.

I aim to post a new blog every week or more frequently if I have something that's on my mind or generally just want to rant about whatever.

The blog is 95% book related however, you will notice, I have tabs for my other big loves, motorbikes and music. The motorbike tab will be full of pictures of......motorbikes....both my own and other peoples. I will also feature links to any upcoming races I would recommend and also coverage of MotoGP when the new season starts in March. The music tab will be for.....music.....anything I fancy.

In the coming weeks I will be posting interviews with some fantastic authors who have offered some of their valuable time to answer my questions. This will kick off in a few weeks with an interview with British horror and thriller writer Iain Rob Wright with a little exclusive from him as well.

Please feel free to add comments on any of my posts/pages and if you want me to host something for you on my blog or have any other questions, please email me at confessionsofareviewer@gmail.com.

If you have come across the page by accident, thank you for visiting. If you purposely brought yourself here then I hope you found what you were looking for and in each case, I hope you liked it enough to return.

Either way can I please please please ask you all to follow me here (by email is best) and my Facebook page and Twitter.

Finally, this is brand new for me. I want to get it out into the big bad world. Can you share it for me please? You can share it on any social media site you may be connected to.....and get all your friends and their friends to share as well!

Thanks.

Nev.