Random Things Tours - The Influence

Once again I'm proud to be part of the blog tour for another great title from Flame Tree Press.  Read on to learn more about Ramsey Campbell's The Influence.  

TITLE: The Influence

AUTHOR: Ramsey Campbell

PUBLISHER: Flame Tree Press

PUBLISHING DATE: October 24, 2019

FROM GOODREADS:  Queenie is the ageing matriarch of the Faraday family, and even death can’t break her hold over her eleven-year-old granddaughter Rowan. She’s buried with a locket that contains a lock of Rowan’s hair, and soon afterwards Rowan is befriended by a mysterious uncannily intelligent girl of her own age. Only her aunt Hermione suspects how sinister this is, but will retrieving the locket save her niece? By the time anyone sees what effect the ghostly influence on Rowan is having, it may be too late for her. if the child who takes her place in the family isn’t Rowan, Rowan may be somewhere else not quite like our world…

MY THOUGHTS: By now most people who stop by here know I love horror so I was thrilled to get a chance to read The Influence.  Flame Tree Press has had such great titles since their debut that I knew the odds were good that I would enjoy this book.  And enjoy I did!

First I have to say that Campbell is excellent at creating an atmospheric read.  I truly love a Gothic setting and a slow-burn and this book delivered.  As mentioned above, Queenie, once the head of the Faraday family has passed and with all her supernatural powers, she has managed to maintain a grip on the youngest member of the family, eleven year old Rowan.  About the same time, Rowan becomes friends with a very mysterious girl who just may or may not be real.  Can anyone figure out what is going on before it's too late?

I really enjoyed Rowan as well as her family even if at times I questioned their awareness of what goes on around them.  And basically, Queenie is pretty evil and about as scary at they come.  This book does contain perspectives as well as a timeline that sometimes jumps back and forth but they work well together to add to the tension-building of Ramsey's tale.  In addition, I would be amiss not to mention that I found in this novel, the creepy old house and the English setting increase the creepiness factor and actually combine to form a character of their own.

If you like atmospheric horror and enjoy tales of possession (yes, I realize how weird that sounds) then pick up The Influence.  You might just discover a new favorite.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Also - be sure the catch the Neflix adaptation. I really enjoyed it as well and think it's one of their better original movies.

RATING: 4 PAWS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  
Ramsey Campbell was born in Liverpool in 1946and still lives on Merseyside. The Oxford Companion to English Literature describes him as “Britain’s most respected living horror writer”. He has been given more awards than any other writer in the field, including the Grand Master Award of the World Horror Convention, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Horror Writers Association, the Living Legend Award of the International Horror Guild and the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award. 



AWARDS: The Influence, British Fantasy Award, Best Novel,1989 and Premios Gigamesh,1994(for Spanish translation, Ultratumba) 

Grand Master Award, World Horror Convention, Atlanta, Georgia, 1999 

Lifetime Achievement Award of the Horror Writers Association, 1999 

Living Legend Award of the International Horror Guild, 2007 

Life Achievement Award, World Fantasy Awards, 2015

Can't Wait Wednesday (236)

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

So the public has spoken - Cass is now a full-time contributor to Can't Wait Wednesday.  That means each week you'll see two books here. Of course Cass is already lobbying for an increase in salary (at least he works for treats - and bandanas).

FROM GOODREADS: The first in a delightful new cozy series by Hannah Dennison, featuring two sisters who inherit an old hotel in the remote Scilly Islands and find it full of intrigue, danger, and romance.

When Evie Mead’s husband, Robert, suddenly drops dead of a heart attack, a mysterious note is found among his possessions. It indicates that Evie may own the rights to an old hotel on Tregarrick Rock, one of the Islands of Scilly.

Still grieving, Evie is inclined to leave the matter to the accountant to sort out. Her sister Margot, however, flown in from her glamorous career in LA, has other plans. Envisioning a luxurious weekend getaway, she goes right ahead and buys two tickets—one way—to Tregarrick.

Once at the hotel—used in its heyday to house detective novelists, and more fixer-upper than spa resort, after all—Evie and Margot attempt to get to the bottom of things. But the foul-tempered hotel owner claims he's never met the late Robert, even after Evie finds framed photos of them—alongside Robert's first wife—in his office. The rest of the island inhabitants, ranging from an ex-con receptionist to a vicar who communicates with cats, aren't any easier to read.

But when a murder occurs at the hotel, and then another soon follows, frustration turns to desperation. There’s no getting off the island at high tide. And Evie and Margot, the only current visitors to Tregarrick, are suspects one and two. It falls to them to unravel secrets spanning generations—and several of their own—if they want to make it back alive.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: I love the idea of a mystery on an island and the threat of high tide meaning no one can leave.  Also, I kind of fell in love with the cover but don't tell Cass because there's a cat on the cover!

CASSIUS'S PICK:

FROM GOODREADS: Second in a new series from national bestselling author Kylie Logan, The Secrets of Bones is a riveting mystery following Jazz Ramsey as she trains a cadaver dog.

Assembly Day at St. Catherine's dawns bright and cloudless as professional woman gather from all around Ohio to talk to the schoolgirls about their careers in medicine, at NASA, and as yoga instructors. Administrative assistant Jazz Ramsey is involved herself, giving the girls a taste of her lifelong passion: cadaver dog training. Her adorable new puppy Wally hasn't been certified yet, so she borrows the fully-trained Gus from a friend and hides a few bones in the unused fourth floor of the school for him to find.

The girls are impressed when Gus easily finds the first bone, but for the second Gus seems to have lost the scent, and heads confidently to a part of the floor where Jazz is sure no bones are hidden—at least not any that she's put there. But Gus is a professional, and sure enough, behind a door that shouldn't have been opened in decades, is a human skeleton.

Jazz recognizes the skeleton as Bernadette Quinn, an ex-teacher at the school who'd never returned after one Christmas break, though letters and postcards from her had seemed to indicate there was no cause for worry. But now it seems Bernadette never left the school at all, and her hiding place makes it clear: this was murder.

Bernadette's strident personality means there are a plethora of suspects inside the school and out of it, and as Jazz gets closer to the truth she can't help but wonder if someone might be dogging her footsteps . . .

WHY CASS CAN'T WAIT:  Mom loved the first book in this series and was thrilled when she saw the second one announced.  In the first one Jazz was dogsitting but now she has her own pup again and how cute is the name Wally???  

And Mom thinks she's slick, trying to sneak a cat past me!

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK????

TTT - Favorite Bookmarks

The top 10 weekly meme used to be hosted by The Broke and the Bookish they  handed over the reins to ThatArtsyReaderGirl who can be found HERE.  Each week she will focus on lists which cover various topics related to books and reading.

This week's topic is favorite bookmarks.  I love collecting bookmarks so I think I can handle this one.  Sorry the pictures aren't better though.  Its gets dark so early here now that when I get home from work, I don't have a lot of light to work with.

I ordered these from Strange the Dreamer some time ago.  I have The Purge, Cousin It, Daryl from The Walking Dead and Cujo.

Of course I have to have dogs right.  These are holographic ones which I'm blaming for the bad photo.  The first two are boxers, the second is a raining cats and dogs one and the third is just a collection of dogs.

I've had these pups in tennis shoes forever.  They remain some of my faves.

And finally we have a zombie on, a tiger and cub, and Frankenweenie.

So I have a lot more but this is all I could throw together on short notice.  Thanks for visiting!

Always Running Behind! (Challenge Announcement)

So I'm a tad late posting this but I technically have been participating already.  I just figured it was time I got my post up and shared.  Anyway, this is hosted by Berls and Michelle @ Because Reading and the goal is to know some series reads off our TBR.  So here are the rules: 

1. Pick 1 series. Yes, just 1. Announce which series you’ve picked on your sign up post.
2. Read EVERY book in the series. You don’t have to read novellas or short stories, just the core books.
3. Read them all between 12am (your time) November 1st and 11:59pm (your time) November 30th. They MUST be marked (on Goodreads) as started and finished in the month of June to count.
4. Enjoy bragging to everyone about how you’re all caught up on whatever series you read (AKA – have fun)!

And here is what I'm going to be (or maybe have already started) reading:

So stayed tuned for some reviews of this wonderful series!

What's Happening (11-09-19)...

So I'm doing things a tad bit differently this year and will be combining all of my regular weekend posts.  This will enable me to add more content on Fridays and it is just starting to make more sense.  I'll still be linking up with Stacking the Shelves at Tynga's Reviews and Sunday Post at Caffeinated Reviewer.  Both blogs are awesome so make sure you check them out.  

So I guess things are going better.  Mr. Barb is still under the weather because that medicine did a number on him but at least we know what happened and now it just takes time to heal.  He's not been sleeping well so he's being Grumpy Cat.

Cass is doing well but hasn't seen his friend Jack all week.  I think the time change messed up walking schedules so I've been trying to remedy that for him.  It's basically been a pretty average week which I'll take but I will say the temps are getting too cold for my liking.

I have been getting some reading done but as always, I need more time.  Don't we all.  Here's is what's up next on the stack.  I'm about 100 pages into The Remaking and The Puppy Who Knew Too Much so at least there's that.  Look at those poor puppies in the middle of all that horror!

So it's been a while since I've done a haul so here we go.  I ended up getting 2 physical books from Barnes & Noble.  I really wanted the Bethany Blake one because it's a spin-off of the Petsitter Mysteries but darn it, it was a Barnes & Noble exclusive. Luckily I had a gift card I've had for a while so I picked up A Brushstroke with Death and got The Pomeranian Always Barks Twice which is a new series and ALSO a B&N exclusive.  Please tell me that's not going to be a regular thing!

And now for review books.  I got one of my most anticipated books this week and I'm thrilled to have Cold Nose, Warm Heart to read in the new year.  Another one I also featured on Can't Wait Wednesday is King of the Dogs, Queen of the Cats. Both of these are January 2020 releases.  And on the horror side of it, I also got The Return and The Chill. Looks like I have a lot of good reading ahead in 2020!

And finally, Cass showed off his Mickey Mouse bandana on instagram this week.  Thursday was a rainy day and our walks got cut short so he cheered himself up with The Mouse!

So I hope you all had a wonderful week and have lots of fun plans for this weekend. 

So Halloween Might Be Over But Witches Are Forever

TITLE: Season of the Witch (The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina)
AUTHOR: Sarah Rees Brennan
PUBLISHER: Scholastic
PUBLISHING DATE: July 9, 2019

FROM GOODREADS: It's the summer before her sixteenth birthday, and Sabrina Spellman knows her world is about to change. She's always studied magic and spells with her aunts, Hilda and Zelda. But she's also lived a normal mortal life - attending Baxter High, hanging out with her friends Susie and Roz, and going to the movies with her boyfriend, Harvey Kinkle. 

Now time is running out on her every day, normal world, and leaving behind Roz and Susie and Harvey is a lot harder than she thought it would be. Especially because Sabrina isn't sure how Harvey feels about her. Her cousin Ambrose suggests performing a spell to discover Harvey's true feelings. But when a mysterious wood spirit interferes, the spell backfires in a big way. 

Sabrina has always been attracted to the power of being a witch. But now she can't help wondering if that power is leading her down the wrong path. Will she choose to forsake the path of light and follow the path of night? 

MY THOUGHTS: So this book is set before the Netflix series and is supposed to lead up to it.  Just like I'm trash for Riverdale, I'm pretty much trash for The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina as well.  I think both appeal to my dark side and I am always for more darker series to watch.  That being said, if I wasn't such a fan, this book would have really missed the mark for me.

So it's right before Sabrina's 16th birthday, and those who have watched the show or read the graphic novel all know that is the night she must pledge herself to Satan.  Sabrina is starting to doubt Harvey's feelings for her after seeing him looking at another girl (yep, so high school right - "But you looked at her!"  Anyway, her cousin Ambrose helps her cast a spell so see how Harvey really feels and you can pretty much assume it was going to backfire from the start.

There were a few things I liked about this book.  I really like Ambrose and his twisted sense of humor and his strong sense of loyalty to his family.  And as always, the Aunts are hilarious, especially Hilde.  Harvey was annoying but that's pretty much how I feel about him all the time.

Now for what I didn't care for.  Basically I just don't see why this book was needed.  But I guess I could say the same thing about the Riverdale books I read.  They're all kind of pointless.  Also, I had a physical copy and there were some black page chapters thrown about which made it hard to read at times (hmmmm...see above). 

So overall, if you're curious, or someone gives you this book like I plan to pass mine on, maybe pick it up. Just know you're not missing a whole lot of you don't.

RATING: 3 PAWS (purely for entertainment purposes)

Tad Bit Biased - But Still an Awesome Read

TITLE: The Soul Collector
AUTHOR: Laura Daleo
PUBLISHER: Story Bound Publishing
PUBLISHING DATE: August 28, 2019

FROM GOODREADS: 
As I lay trapped inside this quiet realm,
My soul adrift, my body earthbound
A magical book guards my flight, 
Will it keep me safe till morning's light? 

It begins with darkness. Are they dead, or trapped inside a horrible dream? No one can hear them, see them. Has the world forgotten them? Are they invisible? Not to the Soul Collector. They have stepped into her Kingdom, and she is waiting for them. 

MY THOUGHTS: So first let's get the review out of the way and then I'll share the backstory.  When The Soul Collector starts, the reader is thrown smack-dab into the middle of a boxing match.  However, it quickly turns South when Bayfield is knocked unconscious and taken to a local hospital when he gets emergency surgery.  There's only one little hitch - he doesn't understand why he is outside his body and watching all that is happening.  Bayfield soon learns that his soul has left his body when he is approached by a Mad-Hatter sort of guy and asked to sign a magical book which will allow him to live in a mansion with others and encourage his loved one to keep praying for his survival and not give up on him. Along the way Bayfield runs into Arielle who is also trapped in this limbo and they work together to figure out what is really going on.

This book really does have a magical/supernatural element to it that is done fantastically.  The mansion the "souls" enter is decked out and kind of put me in mind of a modern day Wonderland.  But while the supernatural element really appealed to me, what Daleo does even better is the relationships in the book.  Bayfield lost his parents as a young child and was raised by his Godfather/boxing coach.  This man is totally devoted to his Godson and what he goes through trying to pull Bayfield through the injury is such a testament to the bond they have.  On the other hand, Arielle doesn't have the best relationship with her father and that itself plays out on how she manages to pull though the situation.

And finally we have the "big baddie."  Drara is the "evil" entity that is behind the soul collection and the magical book.  However, she is not the black and white villain readers usually encounter.  Her character is pretty much morally grey.  I could tell you more but will say you just need to read the book.  But I will tell you I hated Drara, or as Bayfield and Arielle call her - Catwoman, when I started the book and actually liked her toward the end.

At under 200 pages, this is an ideal book to pick up for a quick read.  There isn't really insta-love as much as there is a relationship connection and bond so don't let how things play out between Bayfield and Arielle put you off.  This was a unique read and I think Laura is working on a horror novel now.  Personally I can't wait!

RATING: 4 PAWS

AND NOW FOR THE PART WHERE I CRIED......

So I've read a few of Laura's books before and enjoyed them.  She's always been great about contacting me when she has a new release.  A few months back she emailed me and told me The Soul Collector was coming out and asked if I'd be interested.  She also asked about Booker T and Cass.  So I sadly informed her about how tragically we lost Booker T but that we were still blogging in his memory.  She said when the book was done she would send me a copy in memory of Booker T.

Laura has sent me signed books in the past so when it arrived and didn't have a signature, I thought nothing of it.  Heck, we all get busy and things get past us.  I was just thrilled that people were still asking me about my poor dear boy.  So imagine my surprise when I sat down to read this book, opened it up, and saw this...

"In memory of Booker T.  Always loved, never forgotten, and forever in our hearts."

Words can't express how much this meant to Mr. Mike and myself and Laura, thank you for such a cherished gift.

ALL THE PAWS IN THE WORLD!!!