Review: Tales of Terror from the Black Ship

Title: Tales of Terror from the Black Ship

Author: Chris Priestley

Publisher: Bloomsbury 

Publication date: 07/03/2011

Format: Paperback - 272 pages

Genre: YA - Horror

 

 

Two sick children wait alone for a doctor one storm-lashed night. But instead a sailor knocks on their door seeking shelter.

Telling gruesome and creepy seafaring tales, he helps them while away the dark hours. Before the night is through Ethan and Cathy will learn the secret of the Black Ship and many more terrible truths.

My thoughts:

I love me a good horror story and this book had more than its fair few.

This book has a few creepy tales within the actual main plot. A sailor turns up at an inn while a storm rages outside and spends the time telling the two children, Ethan and Cathy, a collection of tales from his seafaring days. 

I will say that I did start to get bored of the little stories being told. It seemed quite repetitive at times and I found myself wanting to skip a few chapters. As a whole the stories genuinely creeped me the hell out but when it's story after story with little or no introduction between them, it becomes redundant. 

I loved, loved, loved the overall plot that didn't include the scary stories told by the sailor. What happened was so unexpected that I had to sit and think about the book for five minutes after finishing it. It was so shocking and downright horrifying - I'm still not over it. I thought I knew what was coming but Priestley took it to a whole new level and then some. 

What I loved most about this book was definitely the writing. I really enjoyed how Priestley kept this bleak and edgy atmosphere throughout the whole read even when nothing was happening at that given moment. 

Overall, this was a really creepy read that I finished in just two hours. I really recommend it for fans of horror if only to get a feel of this author's writing. 

My rating: 7/10

Chris Priestley:

Goodreads | Website 

Teaser Tuesday #45

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week I'm reading Jane by April Lindner.

'Nothing so glamorous,' I said, and immediately realised the truth I was hiding was even stranger than the fictions that the sisters had invented for me. For a moment, I wished I could share my story, if only because I knew it would amuse them.

page 284

Review: The Thin Executioner

Title: The Thin Executioner

Author: Darren Shan

Publisher: UK - HarperCollins | US -  Little Brown

Publication date: UK - 30 September 2010 | US - 08/03/2011

Format: Paperback - 410 pages

Genre: YA - Horror

 

 

 Jebel Rum's biggest weakness…is weakness.

As the son of Um Wadi's executioner, he's expected to try out for his father's job - except that he's too skinny to wield the heavy axe. A laughing stock in his home town, Jebel embarks on a perilous quest to the lair of a mysterious god. It is a dark, brutal, terrifying journey.

But to Jebel Rum, the risk is worth it...

My thoughts:

I am a huge fan of Darren Shan's books and this was no exception even if I did feel like it didn't live up to his other work.

It was definitely not what I was expecting from Shan. I was actually pleasantly surprised when I finished in since it was more about the characters and the plot (as it usually is) but with less emphasis on the horror side than usual. It did fit with the story in this case. I thought that the characters in this read just carried me through the whole book.

There was definitely still a whole load of horror and gore involved. I love how Shan never shies away from including the little details that are lacking in most horror reads. The level of hardship in the settings of this book really adds to the story. At times I felt there was no hope for anybody. That everybody was just going to end up dead because of their ignorance and the rest of the several towns involved would suffer for it - it was definitely a page turner. 

Like I said before, I thought the characters were really well written. My favourite characters definitely have to be Master Bush and Master Blair. The only reason is because they thoroughly creeped me out to the extreme! Every time they cropped up in the story I would immediately start flicking through pages as fast  as I could just to find out what they were going to do. They are the kind of characters that you would avoid to the ends of the earth if they existed in real life...

 

 The big problem I had with this book was its predictability. It's something I cannot stand at all in any way and in any book. I enjoyed the read but throughout the whole thing I was wishing I couldn't just guess what was going to happen. It makes everything seem so anticlimactic in the end. I knew how the book was going to end by the middle of the read, therefore, when it eventually came to it, I was dreading reading the end because I already knew what I was going to read to a big extent. 

 

All in all, I did enjoy the read and do recommend it to fans of this genre and definitely to Darren Shan fans.

 

My rating: 7/10

 

Darren Shan:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

In My Mailbox #37

In My Mailbox is a weekly post hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren where bloggers can discuss the books we got in the mail this week.

 

This week I got:

 

Crewel by Gennifer Albin

 

Incapable. Awkward. Artless.

That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: she wants to fail.

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they’re coming for her—tonight.

Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her Dad’s stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because once you become a Spinster, there’s no turning back.

 

Happy reading!

Series Spotlight: Need #4

Title: Endure

Author: Carrie Jones

Publisher: Bloomsbury (UK | US)

Publication date: UK - 10/05/2012 

Format: Paperback - 288 pages 

Genre: YA - Paranormal

 

 

There was a time, not long ago, when all Zara wanted was to have Nick back. Rescuing him from Valhalla should have made all her problems disappear. He's Bedford's greatest warrior, not  to mention Zara's true soulmate. Except Nick isn't the person he used to be. And neither is Zara. She's a pixie queen. Astley's queen.

Zara has a plan to stop all the evil pixies that are ravaging her town, and her ideas are not the same as Nick's or Astley's. One thing they can all agree on though: war is here. And not everyone will survive. Zara's gravest choice is yet to come.

My thoughts:

I was really apprehensive before reading this one since I wasn't a big fan of the second or third in the series. It was sort of the last chance to get me enthusiastic about the whole pixie taking over the world idea.

I have to say it was definitely a big improvement to Captivate and Entice. I had a big problem relating to or caring for any of the characters in the second and third book. This one was different though. Zara especially seemed so much more mature and decisive which I found a really great relief. Nick was less obnoxious and Astley behaved realistically for the most part. It wasn't to the level as I found it to be in the first book, Need, but it was getting there. 

What I didn't like, that I actually didn't have a problem with in the other books, was the fact that Zara was so easy to sway in terms of who she wanted to be with. It was decided in an instant and I found that really annoying. I'm not a fan of the really unrealistic 'soulmate' idea so that really bugged me. I won't say anymore in case there are those of you who don't know who she ends up with but it was pretty obvious to be fair.

The plot was so much better in terms of how it was paced and what happened when. It was similar to everything else that had happened in previous books - it was almost like reading the same book over and over again. There was a lot less predictability and a lot more intensity which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Overall this series was pretty much average for me. I do recommend it for people who are big fans of pixies, fey and the like. It was definitely full of mythology - plus, there was loads and loads of glitter!

My rating: 7/10

My rating of the whole series: 5/10

Carrie Jones:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

Books in the series:

1. Need
2. Captivate
3. Entice
4. Endure

Trailer Reveal: Opal

 

Opal - The third book in the Lux series.

 

Available in both print and digital version on December 18, 2012

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

 

Official Trailer:

 

 

 

 

 Check out Jennifer L. Armentrout on the following sites:

Facebook

Twitter

Official Website 

Teaser Tuesday #44

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week I'm reading Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs.

Oooh, this is so juicy. It's not like Thane hasn't dated before - he's just really particular - and it's not like he couldn't have almost any girl he wanted.

Page 259