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#TBRMonsterMash
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OutsmartYourShelf
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Pickpick

Violet & her friends are the lucky eight girls who receive an invitation to the annual scavenger hunt for 2020. This year they have to break into the Poison Apple Carnival after hours & collect an item each. When they reach the park, they split off into smaller groups to cover the area more quickly, but a masked madman starts to attack them. One by one the girls are picked off in a series of bizarre & gruesome killings.

OutsmartYourShelf A competent slasher horror read. I thought the setting of the Poison Apple Halloween carnival was great - plenty of scope there with the rides, stalls & attraction. Some of the deaths were brutal - one girl dies by candy floss! The characters were actually not completely annoying for a group of teenage girls. I did find the motivation of the killer a bit blah though. I mean, really?! 3.5🌟

TWs: drug use (mild), violence, murder.
2d
Catsandbooks 👏🏼👻🩷 1d
27 likes3 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
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Pickpick

Welcome to The Venue! Enjoy your wedding in luxurious surroundings whilst we take care of every last detail. Invite your estranged family & frenemies - it'll be a wedding to die for!

When Amy receives an invitation to childhood friend, Caleb Hunt's wedding in an exclusive resort, her first thought is to wonder why he has invited her & her parents. They haven't been close ever since they left school. (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf They haven't been close ever since they left school. They decide to go anyway & at first the resort is everything they could have dreamed. It seems strange that the guestlist is full of people who aren't exactly Caleb's closest friends & relatives but it all becomes clear when the bride & groom announce that everyone is locked in & you can only leave if you kill another guest first! 3d
OutsmartYourShelf This was a fun read in a sick, twisted kind of way. Caleb & his bride Lilith decide to wreak revenge on those they believe have wronged them. Is it over-the-top campy horror? Yes & I'm there for it. Note that this book has a high kill number so please check out the TWs before reading.

TWs: strong language, suicidal thoughts, drug use, violence, murder, blood, gore.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4133941304
3d
See All 6 Comments
DogMomIrene It‘s like a personal Purge. I might like this one, on my sick and twisted kind of days. 3d
PuddleJumper 🖤🖤 3d
Catsandbooks 👏🏼👻🧡 1d
31 likes1 stack add6 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
The Blonde Dies First | Joelle Wellington
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Pickpick

Devon is invited to an exclusive private school party by her twin, Drew. The girls have been together for most of their lives, but since Drew was taken out of their original school & sent to a private one an emotional distance has been growing between them. Now that Drew is graduating early, Devon knows that she will soon be leaving home, so she wants to give her sister one last amazing summer.

OutsmartYourShelf When a Ouija board is produced at the party, it seems harmless fun, but Devon begins to feel as if she is being watched. An attack at her job confirms this but it's what attacked her - not who. It seems a demon is now stalking their friend group & it seems to be following horror movie tropes on the order of victims. Devon is the blonde & first one up but when she survives it moves onto the next. Who will be the Final Girl? 5d
OutsmartYourShelf This is the first book I've read from this author & although reviews are quite mixed, I liked this one. It was quite slow to start off with but after the initial attack, things picked up so I'm glad I stuck with it. The characters are all a bit tropey (obviously due to the storyline) but it works quite well. Honestly I think this one is going to be like Marmite - most people are either going to really like it or hate it. 3.5🌟

5d
PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 5d
27 likes4 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
Carrie | Stephen King
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Mehso-so

You don't really need a synopsis for this book do you? OK, how about bullied teenager uses telekinetic powers to get revenge at the prom.

After reading several of King's other books & not liking them, I decided to finally read one of his books that most people seem to rave about (to see if the problem was the particular books I'd read before) & it was.....ok. It wasn't bad but it wasn't earth-shatteringly good either.

OutsmartYourShelf It was mercifully quite short (I read The Stand & that was tough going) so the author didn't have quite as much time to go all around the houses instead of getting to the point. I skipped the pig killing scene. 3⭐

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6936359474
Read 19th-20th Oct 2024

#Flerken #HauntedShelf 471 points
2w
Librarybelle I‘m not a King reader, but I‘m not a horror reader either…I have way too vivid of an imagination! 2w
See All 8 Comments
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 2w
PuddleJumper 🧡🖤🧡 2w
The_Book_Ninja I‘m not a fan of his books. Way too much waffle 2w
Catsandbooks 👏🏼👻🧡 1w
29 likes8 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
Sanctum | Madeleine Roux
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Pickpick

Following the events of their previous summer at New Hampshire College & the towering presence of Brookline asylum, Dan, Abby, & Jordan have remained in touch but can't seem to move on. Dan is persuaded into going to see Felix, another summer school student who has been institutionalised ever since, by Felix's mother & he tells Dan that he has to return to Brookline & gives him the co-ordinates for three addresses there.

OutsmartYourShelf So the three friends find themselves on campus once more, this time as 'prospies' (prospective students). They will need to sneak away from their guides to check out the addresses, but Dan has more problems - namely he has started to see the ghost of a young boy everywhere. Is he literally haunted?

2w
OutsmartYourShelf I actually thought this was an improvement on the first book. It was much pacier, less focus on Dan & Abby's romance, & Jordan was at his best with the sarky comments. There were no big surprises but the story is unfolding nicely & I'm looking forward to the conclusion. 4🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2327137186
Read 13th-15th Oct 2024

#Flerken #HauntedShelf 776 points
2w
Sace I‘m going to have to check out this series! I hadn‘t heard of it. 2w
See All 10 Comments
PuddleJumper 🖤🧡🖤 2w
OutsmartYourShelf @Sace I hadn't heard of it before, I happened to buy the 3 main books at a charity sale & they've turned out to be quite good. 2w
Sace @OutsmartYourShelf I‘ve got a boxed set in my cart ready for online purchasing 😂 2w
TheSpineView Great job!👍📖 2w
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2w
Catsandbooks 👏🏼👻🧡 2w
26 likes10 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
Battle Royale | Koushun Takami
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Pickpick

A coachload of junior high school students are kidnapped off a 'school trip', their teacher is killed, & they are taken to a deserted island. There they are told that they are this year's 'Battle Royale' & they have to kill each other until just one is left alive. The students will be given backpacks with limited supplies, there is no way off the island, & phones will not work. (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf Add to this, they have metal bands around their necks that if they try to remove them or they are caught in a prohibited zone, it will explode killing them instantly. The students each face a choice: should they try to band together & figure a way out, or play the game & hope to be the winner?

This is an action-packed read but somehow it doesn't seem that fast-paced.
3w
OutsmartYourShelf I'm not sure if it is because it is a translation from the original, but it seemed a little stilted in style, but it was still very readable. There are a staggering 46 deaths in this books - most of them students. - & it's interesting to see the shifting loyalties of those who try to band together versus those who start playing the game straight away. 3w
OutsmartYourShelf Some of it did seem a little contrived: the backpacks were supposed to have been given out randomly & yet the obvious psychopath received a machine gun whilst the others had weapons ranging from handguns, & boomerangs, to flick knives. Seems rather one-sided. Perhaps that is the point? It has been suggested that this was a precursor to 'The Hunger Games' & I can certainly see where certain elements are similar. 3w
See All 7 Comments
OutsmartYourShelf I would say this one slightly edges it on brutality & stone-cold killing. Definitely worth reading. 4🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1142934532
Read 1st - 8th Oct 2024

#Flerken #HauntedShelf 1650 points
Words Found - crisp, ghost, dark, night, read, nibble.

#AfterDarkBingo #BodyCountBingo @puddlejumper
#RedTaylorsVersion @emilymdxn
#31by31 @catsandbooks
#TBRMonsterMash
#SupernaturalBookBingo (Crossroads)
3w
Catsandbooks 👏🏼👻🧡 3w
Librarybelle Hooray!! 3w
31 likes7 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
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Mehso-so

A collection of horror short stories which revolve around body horror. It was a bit of mixed bag with one or two standouts amongst the majority which were ok.

For me, Apples is the best story - it has an intriguing premise & plays on societal attitudes towards women. Overall though, I would say the collection for me is just OK as there were some stories that felt unfinished or I just wasn't sure where the author was going with it. 3⭐

OutsmartYourShelf My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, HarperCollins UK, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6587724555
Read 8th - 9th Oct 2024

#Flerken #HauntedShelf 555 points
Words Found - harvest, chestnut.

#BodyCountBingo @puddlejumper
#RedTaylorsVersion @emilymdxn
#31by31 @catsandbooks
#TBRMonsterMash
#HalloweenAtoZReadathon #AtoZHalloweenBingo @texreader
Plus the bingo boards!
(edited) 3w
Catsandbooks 👏🏼👻🧡 3w
31 likes2 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
The Hitchcock Hotel | Stephanie Wrobel
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Pickpick

5 friends (Samira, Grace, Julius, TJ, & Zoe) are invited to stay at the Hitchcock Hotel - owned by the sixth friend of their university group, Alfred Smettle. When they arrive the hotel is rather strange - Alfred has always been a fan of Hitchcock & the hotel boasts movie props & memorabilia aplenty - but the weirdest thing is Alfred's manner & his aloof housekeeper, Danny. Secrets are about to finally be revealed & decades-long grudges aired.

OutsmartYourShelf I had high hopes for this one but I ended up being rather underwhelmed. I quite like Hitchcock's films myself & I enjoyed the little nods throughout the book & I also liked the twists & turns of the secrets of the past being gradually revealed & the way this affects the group dynamic. I found it a little too easy to spot the killer though, I just had a feeling about that character right from the start & was a little disappointed to be right. 3w
OutsmartYourShelf There was also a little too much 'talk' in the book with police interviews, & characters reminiscing about their university days, & it was rather too much tell & not enough show. It was a good read but it should have been a great read. 3.5🌟

My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Penguin Random House/Michael Joseph, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6786456757
Read 4th-5th Oct 2024
3w
PuddleJumper So many bingo boards! Tagging takes so long 🤣 3w
Catsandbooks 👏🏼👻🧡 3w
35 likes5 comments