Kindle Ninja Review: RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB Edition #7
Kindle Ninja Review Edition #7 featuring The Reunion, Dangled Carat, and It Lives In the Basement
4 / 5 ★★★★
A.A. Pencil is a member of Rave Reviews Book Club.
The Reunion is the club's Book of the Month (May)
The first chapter of
the book introduces the characters – a whole lot of them. Although author A.A. Pencil created quite an ensemble, it’s a struggle to remember them all (but
this is more of a reader’s shortcoming rather than a story flaw).
It’s a bit of a slow
start, but the personality clashes and banters are enough to keep my interest. It’s
not established who the core characters are so you’d be in the dark about 90%
of the time, which means you’re speculating most of the time (a good thing!).
What started as shallow
bickerings and embarrassing trips down memory lane, quickly turned into a gruesome
murder spree from an unknown assailant. And this is where it gets maddeningly
twisted. It’s reminiscent of slasher films of decades past, but more violent and bizarre.
What’s really good
about this book is that you will never get close to figuring “it” out – which really
messes you up a little bit.
The events that lead up
to the final scene cleverly tie up loose ends, but it was rather lengthy that
it almost loses the momentum it had going.The ending is quite unexpected and destroys all my theories.
You might need therapy
after reading.
The Reunion is the club's Book of the Month (May)
***
5 / 5 ★★★★★
In Dangled Carat by Hilary Grossman, we pretty much know where the story is heading because that’s the
build-up (see the subtitle/blurb). This leaves us to expect more from the
beginning and the middle part, which is tricky for a story based on real events.
We can’t expect more from something that has already happened. It’s just not
fair to do so.
The beginning is delightful
because the conflict is established in a very restrained manner, then it slowly
builds up until the conflict is strong enough that it can no longer be ignored,
thereby causing chaos in the lives of Hilary and Marc. As the tension rises, all I wanted to know was how Hilary did it - how she converted the commitment-phobic Marc into a doting husband. Because that's all there is to it, really. But as the story moves along, I begin to care about Hilary's feelings. welfare, and state of mind. And her mother too!
I have to praise
the narrative structure because it feels
like you’re part of the story, witnessing how their love evolved and progressed
through the years.
The story is straightforward
and rather predictable in some parts, but it never really weakens.
Hilary Grossman is a member of the Rave Reviews Book Club.
***
5 / 5 ★★★★★
‘It Lives in the
Basement’ by Sahara Foley takes me back to the time when horror stories were
all about creatures and monsters that go bump in the night. They don’t
necessarily have to emerge from their dwelling, but the thought of their
existence was enough to terrify.
The story begins (quite
somberly) when the police investigates a case of missing persons and cats,
believed to be killed without a trace. Lieutenant Flynn finds some clues from a
written account of the male victim, pointing to a creature that lives in the
basement.
The story has two
distinct parts presented 4 years apart. At first, it feels disjointed, but as
the story moves along, the link is revealed. And the mythical creature finally
gets a name – Tescara.
The author masterfully
describes how the Tescara attacks its prey, enough to instill fear and terror.
The sheer power of the creature can only mean a brutal end to its victims.
This is the kind of
storytelling that works because the author is a skillful wordsmith. He/She can
be very subtle with words, but can easily shift gears and be very disgustingly
graphic (perfect for this kind of story!).
The ending ends with a
bang, but leaves the possibilities open.
Sahara Foley is a member of the Rave Reviews Book Club.
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