September Summary

September Summary 

1. Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler - finished 9/1/10 
2. Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers - finished 9/2/10 
3.  The Absolute Value of -1 by Steve Brezenoff - finished 9/3/10
4. God is in the Pancakes by Robin Epstein - finished 9/4/10
5. Candor by Pam Bachorz - finished 9/7/10
6. Last to Die by Kate Brady - finished  9/10/10 
7.  Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie - finished 9/11/10
8.  The Strain by Guillermo Del Tor & Chuck Hogan - finished 9/13/10
9.  Tough Customer by Sandra Brown - finished 9/14/10
10. Finny by Justin Kramon - finished 9/14/10 
11. Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales - finished 9/15/10 
12. Terminal Care by Christopher Stookey - finished 9/17/10 
13. The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff - finished 9/18/10
14. Three Quarters Dead by Richard Peck - finished 9/18/10 
15. Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin - finished 9/20/10 
16. Bitter Frost by Kailin Gow - finished 9/21/10
17. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris- finished 9/22/10
18. Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich - finished 9/23/10 
19. Secret Society by Tom Dolby - finished 9/23/10
20. The Trust by Tom Dolby - finished 9/24/10
21. The Ivy by Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur - finished 9/24/10
22. The Skull Ring by Scott Nicholson - finished 9/26/10
23. Jenna and Jonah's Fauxmance by Brendan Halpin and Emily Franklin, finished 9/29/10
    

Review books:17
Library Books: 4
Books from my bookshelf:2


Favorite of the month: Really tough call this month with lots of great books.  So I'm going to break it down a little:

Favorite YA:  Tie between The Ivy and Mostly Good Girls
Favorite Paranormal: Personal Demons
Favorite Audiobook:  Hard Eight - I laughed until I cried

Favorite Adult/Suspense:  Tough Customer with The Skull Ring and The Strain running very close.

Progress in Challenges: 

• Support your local library challenge: 42/75
• 100+ Reading Challenge: 156/225
• 2010 Pub Challenge: 35/30
• A Tournament of Reading Challenge: 1/3
• Debut Author challenge: 20/20
• Twenty Ten Challenge: 12/20
• Audio Book Challenge: 16/20
• What's In a Name 3 Challenge: 5/6
• Romance Challenge: 20/20
• Finish That Series Challenge: working on this one
• Take Another Chance Challenge: need to work on this one
• 2010 Reading From My Shelves Project: 3/30
• 2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 99/75
• Awesome Author Challenge: 8/10
• Countdown Challenge 2010: 52/55

So how was your reading month?

Book Review: Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie

 
Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie

Publisher: The EDGE

Publish Date: September 7, 2010

Hardcover, 240 pages
Young Adult Paranormal

My Review:
Why I read this: The title, the blurb for the book, and the cover all three sucked me in and no I have read the Wicked books yet, but I have them.


How is the novel driven:  This one is mainly event/action/plot-driven, but there is some character-development as well.



My thoughts: Honestly, I had a hard time getting into this one at first, but once I caught on to the society and how things worked and what was going on I was able to get into it.  It's an interesting premise, a group trained to kill vampires even as society as a whole is starting to embrace vampires.

The characters were interesting, this book focuses on Jenn, I'm not sure if future books will focus on the others, or she will remain a main character.  Jenn feels she is the weakest of the group she is a part of and really has no self-confidence.  Then she has to return home for her beloved grandfather's funeral, and what awaits her at her home is not what she expected.  Things go crazy and Jenn is just trying to stay alive until she can meet back up with her group and find her sister.

After the world-building is set up the book starts to speed along, though at times I thought it felt a little choppy.  No matter that, it is still an entertaining book.  One I would recommend, but not one I'm shouting from the rooftops.

If you enjoy a different take on vampires where they can be bad guys and where an elite group hunts them, then give this book a try.  I think the series has promise so I will be checking out the next one as well.


My Rating: 3.75/5.0

About the Book:
The ultimate battle. The ultimate love.

For the past two years, Jenn has lived and trained at Spain’s Sacred Heart Academy Against the Cursed Ones. She is among the few who have pledged to defend humanity or die trying. But the vampires are gaining power, and the battle has only just begun.

Forced to return home after death takes a member of her family, Jenn discovers that San Francisco is now a vampire strong-hold. As a lone hunter apart from her team, Jenn is isolated—and at risk. She craves the company of her fighting partner, Antonio: his protection, his reassurance, his touch. But a relationship with Antonio comes with its own dangers, and the more they share of themselves, the more Jenn stands to lose.

Then Jenn is betrayed by one who was once bound to protect her, causing her to doubt all she had held as true. To survive, Jenn must find the courage to trust herself—and her heart.


About the Author:
Nancy Holder has published sixty books and more than two hundred short stories. She has received four Bram Stoker awards for fiction from the Horror Writers Association, and her books have been translated into more than two dozen languages. She has written or cowritten twenty Buffy and Angel projects. Her books from Simon Pulse include the New York Times bestselling series Wicked and the novel The Rose Bride. A graduate of the University of California at San Diego, Nancy is currently a writing teacher at the school. She lives in San Diego with her daughter, Belle, and their growing assortment of pets. Visit her at nancyholder.com.

Debbie Viguié has been writing for most of her life and holds a degree in creative writing from U.C. Davis. Debbie loves theme parks and has worked at both Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland in California. When Debbie is not busy writing she enjoys traveling with her husband Scott. Debbie grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and now lives in Florida.

Nancy's website
Nancy's fan page on Facebook
Nancy's Blog
Nancy on Twitter
Debbie's webpage
Crusade's fan page on Facebook


FTC Information: I received this book through Book It Forward Tours for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Book Review: Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

 
Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Publisher: Dial

Publish Date: October 18, 2010

Paperback, 180 pages
Young Adult

My Review:
Why I read this:  Since my teens I have had a fascination with the book of Revelation and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are very much a part of that book.  So it was a given when I heard there would be a book series based on the Four Horsemen I was intrigued.  Add to that dealing with hard teenage issues and I was definitely in.


How is the novel driven:  Character, this is all about Lisabeth and her coming to terms with her own self and her problems.



My thoughts: A fascinating and short book.  But somehow the shortness works, I don't feel like it should have been longer or it was limited, to me the length worked perfect.  Hunger deals with the difficult subject of teenage girl self-esteem and how so much of that is wrapped around body image and weight.  Lisabeth has an eating disorder, and she's trying to hide it.  Then she is told she is Famine, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  At first she doesn't accept this but as she travels as Famine she learns what power she has can do and while that takes her away from  her problems for awhile, it ultimately shines a light on her real problems.


As I said before this book is fascinating and felt very original.  I don't think I've ever read or heard of a book like this so I feel like Ms. Kessler took an difficult subject and used a very different scenario to bring it to light.  Hunger is well-written, reads quick and made me think.  It's dark, but eating disorders are a dark subject and an epidemic we need to know about.  The darkness suits it and sets a great tone for the book.  In the beginning I wasn't sure if I liked Lisabeth, but as the book went on I felt I could relate to her more and more.


Interesting and original plot, fascinating characters and well-written, Hunger is a great YA book to pick up and read and I look forward to the next in the series.


My Rating: 4.5/5.0

And here is the cover of the next book in the series (Isn't it amazing), Rage will be out April 18, 2011.

About the Book:

"Thou art the Black Rider. Go thee out unto the world." 

 

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

     

Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home—her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power—and the courage to fight her own inner demons?

     

A wildly original approach to the issue of eating disorders, Hunger is about the struggle to find balance in a world of extremes, and uses fantastic tropes to explore a difficult topic that touches the lives of many teens.

About the Author:

JACKIE MORSE KESSLER is the author of several paranormal and dark fantasy books for adults. Hunger is her first book for teens. She lives in upstate New York.

Her Website
Her Blog
Twitter


FTC Information: I received this book through 1-ARC Tours for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Fall Into Reading 2010

You know me - I love challenges and I especially love the ones that Callapidder Days hosts.  They are easy going, just list books you would like to read, it can be modified any time and then read from September 22 - December 20.  I think I will set my goal at 45 books.  Here are some of my titles high on my tbr.

Join in Callapidder Days by signing up here, more information is available on the site.  She will be having weekly questions and other things to participate.  I look forward to the fun and the reading.

My Tentative List:

1. I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
2. Saving Max by Antoinette van Heugten - finished 10/2
3. You by Charles Benoit - finished 10/2
4. Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin
5. Love Means Zero by Daisy Jordan
6. Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn
7. The Unidentified  by Rae Mariz
8. Call Me Kate by Molly Roe, Mary Garrity Slaby
9. Sloane Hall by Libby Sternberg
10. Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Linn
11. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
12. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
13. Hothouse Flower by Margot Berwin
14. Solitary by Travis Thrasher
15. What Alice Knew by Paula Marantz Cohen
16. Don't Look Back by Lynette Eason

This is just a few - I'll mark these as I finish them and add more as I get them.

Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-Thon

Dewey's 24-Hour Read-A-Thon is next weekend and I can't wait, I'm already trying to figure out what to read and if I can send my kids somewhere for the weekend. :)  It's so much fun.  I hope the weather is nice and fall-like so I can sit on my porch swing and read.  Last year I think I would read for about 50 minutes an hour and then get on my computer, blog hop and make update posts.  It was just amazing.  I even had my kids at home and one had a friend over, but it was okay, they were really cooperative, plus Daddy helped out quite a bit - what a wonderful husband!

So do you want to join?  Or be a cheerleader?  Then check out this website for more information. 

Book Review: God is in the Pancakes by Robin Epstein

 
God is in the Pancakes by Robin Epstein

Publisher: Dial

Publish Date: May 13, 2010

Hardcover, 272 pages
Young Adult

My Review:
Why I read this: The title was very intriguing as well as the write-up about what the book was about.  It seemed more serious than a lot of books I've been reading lately and I wanted to read it.


How is the novel driven:  Character.  This is about Grace and decisions she has to make and how she learns more about life as a 15-year-old.


My thoughts: I really enjoyed this book.  Ms. Epstein took an interesting premise and way able to pull off centering the book around that premise while adding more layers and not becoming confusing.  Grace is a wonderful 15-year-old and she's a typical 15-year-old.  She's trying to figure herself out and when Mr. Sands asks her to help him die, she really goes through a thought process on whether to do it.  The book is thought-provoking.  Grace doesn't simply have this problem, she has others as well.  She meets Mrs. Sands and likes her as well and then there is her own personal life.

The book is amazing, it's uplifting and it deals with the serious subject of watching a loved one with a debilitating disease suffer and change.  This is heady stuff and Ms. Epstein handles it in a marvelous way.  The novel never really becomes depressing as it could dealing with this subject.  There is appropriate humor throughout the book that helps with the seriousness of the subject-matter.  Through the whole book Grace amazed me, I love her character and I really enjoyed this book.


In the end I liked it because I didn't feel like Ms. Epstein as an author was trying to shove an agenda down the readers throats.  It's not like that at all, she's just writing a story dealing with a somewhat controversial subject but in the end she leaves the decision of what is truly right and wrong up to you.  She doesn't deliver a definite statement, but presents facts and feelings through the book that work through this.  I loved it, it's marvelous and a great book for teens and adults as well to read.

My Rating: 4.75/5.0

About the Book:
Fifteen-year-old Grace Manning is a candy striper in a nursing home, and Mr. Sands is the one patient who makes the job bearable. He keeps up with her sarcasm, teaches her to play poker . . . and one day cheerfully asks her to help him die. At first Grace says no way, but as Mr. Sands’s disease progresses, she’s not so sure. Grace tries to avoid the wrenching decision by praying for a miracle, stuffing herself with pancakes, and running away from all feelings, including the new ones she has for her best friend Eric. But Mr. Sands is getting worse, and she can’t avoid him forever.

Robin Epstein has delivered an incredibly engaging, thought-provoking debut YA novel, with all the snappy dialogue and attitude of the movie Juno.

About the Author:
Robin Epstein is a former sitcom writer who lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Her Website



FTC Information: I received this book through 1-ARC Tours for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Guest Post: Author Daisy Jordan

Today I have author Daisy Jordan with me here at My Reading Room.  Daisy is the author of Love Means Zero which I will be reviewing next week.  So please welcome Daisy!

Love Means Zero – Meet the Roommates

In my novel Love Means Zero, Hilton, Jill, Todd, and Luke are roommates, best friends, and, essentially, their own little family. Here are 4 things you may not know about each member of this Fab 4.

Hilton

1)      I’m an only child. I like to think it’s made me a strong person because I spent a lot of time alone growing up and I got to know myself really well.

2)      I was named after the hotel where I was conceived – I don’t know which Hilton it was and I don’t intend to ask!

3)      I was in one serious relationship before Luke. It (not just the guy, but the situation too) totally broke my heart. It took me over a year to recover.

4)      I want everything I can get out of life. There’s no reason to stop going after more!

Jill

1)      I was pretty shy in high school, but I loved every minute of it. I had great friends and a great time. But it’s been over the last few years and the end of college that I’ve really become “me,” the person I am today, where I’m not shy anymore and I can always just act like myself and not hide any of my feelings. I love it, and I love my life!

2)      I am fascinated by the 1920s and kind of wish I’d been young in that decade.

3)      Todd and I have a messed-up history, some people might say. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything, and I’m really happy about where we are now. J

4)      I am obsessed with the show Friends. I still try to watch at least one episode a day, and I can tell you within 30 seconds of it coming on which episode it is.

Todd

1)      I am a joker and love to mess with people. Watch out. ;)

2)      I need to travel more; I haven’t been that many cool places. I think it’d be fun to live somewhere else someday.

3)      I have a dog Scrappy who lives with my mom. Jill got him for me as a present in high school when she worked at the humane shelter. Best present ever. I wanna bring him back to live w/ us now that we live together.

4)      I have crazy hair. It’s why Jill first liked me. Now…well…she loves everything. Who wouldn’t? Okay, just joking…I warned you.

Luke

1)      I’m in law school but have no idea what kind of law I really want to practice, so I went with corporate stuff as my focus.

2)      I am really dreading the bar exam. I try not to think about it too much, but it’s this annoying nagging thing in the back of my head every day.

3)      Hilton is the only girl I can say I’ve loved.

4)      I’m 100% happy. Love my girlfriend, love my roommates, even love all the law school pressure…especially complaining about it. J

Daisy Jordan is an obsessive tennis fan and wrote Love Means Zero, in which Hilton gets a job as a photographer for a tennis magazine, so she could live out her dream-job fantasy through Hilton. But don’t worry If you’re not a tennis fan; Love Means Zero still has all the drama and suspense of Daisy’s previous books! Those books include Everything Happens for a Reason…, the Spin the Bottle series, and All That Sparkles Isn’t Real Sapphire. Before she published her first book, Daisy grew up in Indiana watching tennis all summer every summer on TV and having her own fair share of high school and college boy drama, much like her characters. She now lives in Denver and religiously fills out brackets for every Grand Slam with her brother Josh, while still managing to find time for boy drama. Daisy can be found online at:

daisyjordan.com

http://www.facebook.com/AuthorDaisyJordan

http://twitter.com/DaisyJordan06

http://myspace.com/daisy_jordan

Book Review: Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales

 
Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publish Date: October 5, 2010

Hardcover, 368 pages
Young Adult

My Review:
Why I read this:  The title drew me in.  Why are they Mostly Good Girls, plus I loved the cover.

How is the novel driven:  Character, this is all about Violet and her best friend Katie and their friendship and navigating the difficult waters of high school.


My thoughts: I say it often I know, but I loved this book.  I could completely relate to this book.  I saw it well from Violet's point-of-view.  She wants, like Katie to be different and to be noticed and not the ordinary good girl, but in truth she doesn't want to change.  Katie however starts to change and therefore their friendship starts to change.

How many girls in high school have been through this - it's such a tumultuous time and add to it friend problems and it just magnifies everything.  What girl isn't trying to find herself and respect herself just like Violet?  What girl isn't experimenting with things that aren't acceptable to their parents?   How many just want some attention?  I think this book addresses all of this is a wonderful entertaining way.  I found myself laughing a lot through the book.  Vi and Katie are very interesting together and as they try out ways to become not-so-good girls, it's amusing.  I  love the humor and the sarcasm through the book - it sounds very much like the way teenagers truly are.

Wonderfully written, highly entertaining and meaningful.  Ms. Sales pulls off a wonderful book with Mostly Good Girls and I look forward to more of her books.


My Rating: 4.75/5.0

About the Book:
The higher you aim, the farther you fall….

It’s Violet’s junior year at the Westfield School. She thought she’d be focusing on getting straight As, editing the lit mag, and figuring out how to talk to boys without choking on her own saliva. Instead, she’s just trying to hold it together in the face of cutthroat academics, her crush’s new girlfriend, and the sense that things are going irreversibly wrong with her best friend, Katie.

When Katie starts making choices that Violet can’t even begin to fathom, Violet has no idea how to set things right between them. Westfield girls are trained for success—but how can Violet keep her junior year from being one huge epic failure?

About the Author:
Leila Sales grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts, and graduated from the University of Chicago. Now she lives in Brooklyn, New York, and works in the mostly glamorous world of children’s book publishing. Leila spends her time thinking about sleeping, kittens, dance parties, and stories that she wants to write. Mostly Good Girls is her first novel.

Her Website


FTC Information: I received this book through Traveling ARC Tours for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

My Banned Books Week Post

Note:  It has come to my attention in the comments that this may come across as only Christian parents should monitor their children's reading material.  That is not what I meant at all - I believe all of society has an obligation to monitor their child's reading material, regardless of sex, religion, race or whether you are from Earth, Jupiter or the moon, vampire, werewolf, shape changer, hot viking vampire, whatever.  I only brought up my Christianity to show not all Christians are people who want to ban books.  Thank you to the people who commented and brought this to my attention.  I hope I do not come off high and mighty because that is not how I mean to come off. 
Back to the post now:

Wow - it seems this year that Banned Books Week has really created a ton of posts and lots of bloggers and authors speaking out.  What is amazing is I think all of the posts and tweets I have read have been civil, well-thought out and not condescending at all.  I think bloggers and authors and others have shared their point of view in a wonderful manner and a way that is not offensive to anyone and that is amazing with a controversial subject like banning books.  If we as a people could work out other differences this civilly I think a lot more could get done in this country, but that is another topic and not one for my book blog.

So my thoughts on banning books - I am completely against it.  I made a post last week about a choice of they banned books, a book that I have read (or a series in this case) which was the Gossip Girl series.

First off I would like to state I am a Christian, and I do stand behind my belief in God and in moral decisions.  That being said I still feel it is the right of the parent to help a child or young adult choose books to read, not the government, a church group or any other group, or individual.  I say what my children read, not the school board or some bored member of society with nothing better to do.  I think you would find most Christians share this view, we are not the enemy nor do I feel we are being made the enemy in this fight.  This fight is against individuals who believe they have more rights over what my children read than I do.  Do I keep tabs on what my children read.  Yes I do and I will continue to.  But I will also continue to nurture their love or reading and what I limit will only be because I believe it could be harmful to my child at the age they are at.  I actually have been trying to find more boy-type young adult books so I can steer my oldest son to great books for discussion between us.  Will I let him read books that have drinking in them?  I am sure I will when he gets a little older and I hope to discuss the right and wrong in the book.  I feel most young adult books are out to make a point and the point does lead to right.

Let's go with Freefall by Mindi Scott as an example.  The protagonist in this book is in an extreme downward spiral as the book starts.  There is drinking and drug use and possible promiscuous behavior.  But as the book progresses, the protagonist tries to turn his life around and the whole time he knows what he is doing is wrong, but he can't seem to stop it.  I don't believe this book is promoting drinking or drugs in the least.  It is showing a side of teenage life that most parents know is out there but don't want to believe their child would fall into.  I say if this book interests my son I would encourage him to read it and let us talk about it.  I think through that dialog I can help him grow and mature and that this book would be a help.

I don't have daughters, but if I did I am sure Speak would make the list of books for them to read if they were interested and for them to discuss with me if they would like.  I think these books are out for a reason, the author believed in sharing a difficult subject to let teens know they are not alone and there are ways to deal with things and people to talk to.  What is wrong with that?

So to sum up a post I know I have rambled on in, I am Christian and believe that book banning is wrong.  Once upon a time we were a society where the parents cared about their children and stayed more in tune with them.  Now I think we as a society have become less in tune with our children and therefore others feel like they need to step in.  Let's take our rights back, know what your children are reading, talk to them about it.  Don't feel the need to ban books, read, become aware and talk.  I think this is the key to raising the future leaders of tomorrow.  Not letting others tell them what they can and can't read.

Off my soapbox now.  Am I over the top?  Do you agree, do you disagree, do you think I'm a bad Christian, do you think I'm right on?  Tell me how you feel - I'm interested.  And if you have any great YA books about boys to recommend, please do.  I have a few more years, my oldest is only 9, but he is already reading books above his grade level and more interested in longer chapter books.

Book Review: The Skull Ring by Scott Nicholson

 
The Skull Ring by Scott Nicholson

Publisher: Ghostwriter Publications/Haunted Computer Books

Publish Date: March 10, 2010

Paperback, 328 pages
Supernatural Thriller

My Review:
Why I read this:  I have seen Scott Nicholson's books around for several years, starting with The Farm and kept meaning to read him, then I got away from the horror or supernatural thriller genre for awhile.  Then I saw this one and some of his other books reviewed on a blog and saw they were relatively inexpensive for the Kindle and I had to have it.  Since then I was contacted by Scott to participate in his blog tour (see the interview and giveaway post) and he sent me some of his other books as well. 


How is the novel driven:  This is kind of interesting to think about.  I think about suspense or horror type books as being mainly plot or event driven and while there is quite a bit of that in this book, I really think the characters, or really the character of Julia Stone is what the book is all about.




My thoughts: After interviewing Scott I think he refers to his genre as supernatural thriller.  I think I agree.  I always thought of him as horror but after reading The Skull Ring, I see more of the thriller aspect than the horror aspect.

Sure this is a book I am glad I did not start on Friday night when I was actually home alone.  This is one of those read during the day books or read while others are home at night.  It's scary in that thriller way - where the bad guys are real and really bad.

The Skull Ring focuses on Julia Stone who has moved to a small town in the mountains of NC to work on healing.  When she was 4-years-old her father disappeared and she believes she was part of a Satan-Worshiping ceremony.  She is seeing a therapist, working at the local newspaper and trying to make sense of her life and move on so she can marry her fiance back in Memphis.  However unlocking Julia's mind is scary and she is never sure what to believe.

I loved this book - Julia's character development pushed this book along at a speedy clip.  The other people she meets are put into question at every turn and I had a hard time figuring out who was good and who was bad and what exactly was going on with Julia.  And in this type of book that is a great thing.  Scott Nicholson writes a tightly plotted book with wonderful plot and character development.  It's sufficiently frightening as well.  Who is the bad guy, is Satan at work in Julia, is there God to help Julia, is Dr. Forrest helping her or hurting her and is Walter a friend or foe?  These are all things that swirl around as Julia learns about herself and her past.

I loved the small mountain town setting.  I could picture it so well.  And everyone knows I am a sucker for a book set in my home state. It was also the perfect setting for this type of book.

If you like thrillers with a supernatural element then this is definitely the book for you.  Well-written, perfectly paced and just an all-around exciting read, The Skull Ring scores high on my must-read scale.  And I am really glad I have several more books by Scott on my Kindle ready to read as well.


Just a Note:  I had several comments on the interview post say they like suspense, but not the blood and gore of horror.  I can't speak for Scott's other books, but there really  isn't much blood and gore in this one, it's mainly the suspense-type blood, not the horror type. 

My Rating: 4.75/5.0

About the Book:
Dr. Pamela Forrest is determined to bring Julia's memories to the surface, hoping to heal Julia's panic disorder. The therapist keeps returning Julia to a night twenty-three years ago when Julia was four. A night of hooded figures, strange chants, pain, and blood. The night her father disappeared from the face of the earth.

Julia rebuilds the past a piece at a time during the mind-wrenching therapy sessions. But the line between the past and the present begins to blur. Julia finds a silver skull ring that bears the name "Judas Stone." The same ring had been worn by one of the hooded figures who scarred her both mentally and physically on that long-ago night.

Someone is leaving strange messages inside her house, even though the door is locked. The religious handyman, who has a key, spends a lot of time in the woods behind her house. Her boyfriend Mitchell becomes distant and violent. And the cop who investigated her father's disappearance has followed her to the small Appalachian town of Elkwood.

Now she has a head full of memories, but she doesn't know which are real and which are the creations of Dr. Forrest. The shadows of Julia's panic are growing larger and darker. But succumbing to madness seems safer than heeding the whispers of the master who claims ownership of her body and soul.

About the Author:
Scott Nicholson is the author of seven novels, including THE RED CHURCH, DRUMMER BOY, and THEY HUNGER. He's written more than 60 short stories and has released the collections ASHES, FLOWERS, and THE FIRST, as well as the comic series DIRT and DREAMBOAT. A member of International Thriller Writers, he works as a journalist and freelance editor in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

Scott's website
Twitter
Community Facebook Page


FTC Information: I purchased this book for my Kindle at Amazon.com.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.