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Sunday, October 18, 2015

ARC Review- THE SHADOWS OF TARNSIDE HALL by








Escaping from her drab life in post-war Manchester, Eleanor Barfield questions her instincts when she first sets eyes on Tarnside Hall. Brooding over its secrets, the home of Dr Levens stands remote and forbidding on the Coniston Fells, warning Eleanor to come no further.

An exciting new job and luxurious living prove too much of a temptation: Eleanor embarks on her role as the doctor’s secretary.
Winter closes in. The shadows of Tarnside Hall decide it’s time to play with the new arrival.



I received a copy of this novel in return for an honest review


I love a good creepy story, I especially like a Gothic creepy story. This was an okay creepy story, not the best but not horrible.  The back drop of Tarnside Hall, scary outside, luxurious interior, did the trick, where it was off putting because as you read you knew something was wrong, but just couldn't put your finger on it.  The writing wasn't bad, but VERY British.  The story had all the right components; house keeper, check. Creepy house, check. Woman leaving her life behind to go live somewhere she's never been before, check. Isolation, check. Old man warning you to leave at once, check.

The reason this is getting 3.5/5 is because it felt a little too much like The Haunting of Hill House for me, the main character is named Eleanor, she gets hired by a doctor to come and be his secretary in an isolated old mansion where awful things begin to happen. Maybe if the author had changed the MC's name or made who she was working for NOT a doctor that would have been better, like if he were simply a rich business man.

This is  short novella, so it felt a bit rushed, it could have done so much better if it had been longer. I was a little confused at the end whether there was an actual ghost or just some crazy people, which was actually appealing.  The epilogue was also a little confusing. However I did enjoy reading this and if  you want a little something disturbing right in time for Halloween then you should read this, preferably in the dark.






ARC MINI REVIEW- Sparkle by B. Patterson










Tedward Culling hates everything, but particularly: geometry (the one class keeping him from graduating), Genicelle Eaglin (the high school girl with an obsessive crush on him), and Jesper (his homicidal older brother who also happens to be the world's top assassin). With Jesper now in town and on the prowl, Tedward is asked by the vampire elite to create an army of day-walking vampires called Sparklers in exchange for a passing grade in geometry. Can Tedward finally stand up to his older brother and save the town?


I received a copy of this novel in return for an honest review

This was pretty funny. I mean it's making fun of Twilight so how could it be bad? The author does a pretty good job of pointing out a lot of the flaws in Twilight by making them laughable it is a parody. The names are great and the writing is so so. I laughed quite a bit through this quick read, it is a novella and very short, in fact the author could have turned this into a full fledged novel had they wanted to.

There is some bad language which I don't mind because I like to swear and I really enjoyed the added factor of characters from the LBGTQ community.

The reason for 3.5 stars is simply because it felt a bit rushed, the author had plenty of substance and could have lengthened the novel out and still achieved the desired effects. However that is a personal opinion and I really do think it is worth picking up and readings