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beverleyleeauthor's Reviews (178)
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
When horror sceptic David Caine arrives at the supposedly haunted Alexander House he finds much more than he bargained for...
This, in a nutshell, is the premise of this story. But what explodes from the page is much, much more. Jonathan Janz is a master at creating multi-dimensional characters who all have their part to play, even if some make you shudder for all the wrong reasons.
David isn't a typical hero figure, he's flawed and slightly self-centred and has metaphorical skeletons in his cupboard which the reader will discover, but I really liked him and was rooting for him to discover exactly what was going on in the house and solve the supernatural mystery at its heart.
Fast-paced and well-written my only complaint is that there are possibly too many threads to this and one close to the end didn't quite work for me.
This, in a nutshell, is the premise of this story. But what explodes from the page is much, much more. Jonathan Janz is a master at creating multi-dimensional characters who all have their part to play, even if some make you shudder for all the wrong reasons.
David isn't a typical hero figure, he's flawed and slightly self-centred and has metaphorical skeletons in his cupboard which the reader will discover, but I really liked him and was rooting for him to discover exactly what was going on in the house and solve the supernatural mystery at its heart.
Fast-paced and well-written my only complaint is that there are possibly too many threads to this and one close to the end didn't quite work for me.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love it when a book surprises me. I love it even more when a vampire book surprises me!
May I introduce you to Beguiled by Night and The Vampire Louis de Vauquelin. Born to darkness in the year 1668, we first meet Vauquelin in modern day Los Angeles, where he has just donated his extensive collection of clothing to a museum.
And then everything changes....
The mystery grabs you. Why? What purpose is there in making a vampire relive his life?
I'm not going to go into the details because they're best left for a reader to discover, but we learn, through a catalogue of vivid scenes and events, exactly how Vauquelin came to be. We learn of his loves and his losses. Of his mistakes.
Beautifully written and with sumptuous historical detail, Beguiled by Night is a feast of Gothic delight and a worthy addiction to any vampire lover's library.
I very much look forward to the next offering from this author.
May I introduce you to Beguiled by Night and The Vampire Louis de Vauquelin. Born to darkness in the year 1668, we first meet Vauquelin in modern day Los Angeles, where he has just donated his extensive collection of clothing to a museum.
And then everything changes....
The mystery grabs you. Why? What purpose is there in making a vampire relive his life?
I'm not going to go into the details because they're best left for a reader to discover, but we learn, through a catalogue of vivid scenes and events, exactly how Vauquelin came to be. We learn of his loves and his losses. Of his mistakes.
Beautifully written and with sumptuous historical detail, Beguiled by Night is a feast of Gothic delight and a worthy addiction to any vampire lover's library.
I very much look forward to the next offering from this author.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a book I've been meaning to read for ages, but here's the thing, I'm really torn with how to review.
First of all I loved the base story. Loved Sunshine and her cosy coffee house family. Loved how she came to be what she was. And I loved Constantine, and how he interacted with her, how vampire he was. Loved the world building and the different species of Others and how they fit (or didn't fit) into society.
But what didn't work for me was the narrative. There was too much internal thinking which took me out of the story, even though said internal thinking was informative and cleverly done, but damn, so rambling.
For me it was just over-written.
But saying that it still gets four stars for the story, world-building and characterisation.
First of all I loved the base story. Loved Sunshine and her cosy coffee house family. Loved how she came to be what she was. And I loved Constantine, and how he interacted with her, how vampire he was. Loved the world building and the different species of Others and how they fit (or didn't fit) into society.
But what didn't work for me was the narrative. There was too much internal thinking which took me out of the story, even though said internal thinking was informative and cleverly done, but damn, so rambling.
For me it was just over-written.
But saying that it still gets four stars for the story, world-building and characterisation.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This one ticked so many of my boxes! Historical setting (lovely to see Edwardian for a change) Wild and remote landscape (The Fens) Something dark from long ago (The Doom).
Add to this some wonderful characters and gorgeous prose, makes this an easy page turner.
The isolated manor house, Wake's End, is owned by historian Edmund Stearne (and what a fabulous example of a man you come to loathe), a man who slowly descends into madness as a terrible event from his childhood comes back to haunt him. But this is no redemption tale. He will stop at nothing to try to cast out the demons in his mind, demons he is convinced he is responsible for, after an old Medieval painting is uncovered in a local church.
But the story really belongs to Maud, his only living daughter, whose love for nature and the watery landscape she is forbidden to enter, carry this tale from her early childhood desperate for her father's love, to her later years where she secretly devours the contents of her father's diary, only to discover the kind of monster he is.
But this book is so much more. The misogyny of the times. The social injustices. Superstition still rife in villages.
It's very slow-paced. Very detailed. But if that's the kind of writing you love, this is a must-read!
Add to this some wonderful characters and gorgeous prose, makes this an easy page turner.
The isolated manor house, Wake's End, is owned by historian Edmund Stearne (and what a fabulous example of a man you come to loathe), a man who slowly descends into madness as a terrible event from his childhood comes back to haunt him. But this is no redemption tale. He will stop at nothing to try to cast out the demons in his mind, demons he is convinced he is responsible for, after an old Medieval painting is uncovered in a local church.
But the story really belongs to Maud, his only living daughter, whose love for nature and the watery landscape she is forbidden to enter, carry this tale from her early childhood desperate for her father's love, to her later years where she secretly devours the contents of her father's diary, only to discover the kind of monster he is.
But this book is so much more. The misogyny of the times. The social injustices. Superstition still rife in villages.
It's very slow-paced. Very detailed. But if that's the kind of writing you love, this is a must-read!
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I always know when I pick up a Kealan Patrick Burke book that it's going to deliver, and this was no exception.
It has a factual tone to the narrative as we are drip fed the sinister history of Number 56 Abigail Lane and the people who lived within its shadow. And this is so brilliantly crafted by the author that you are left wondering if maybe, just maybe, this house existed.
I love that it incorporates real life events. It's such a great grounding for a story. And even though the characters aren't on the page for long, you feel for them, which is the mark of a writer at the top of his game.
Whatever Kealan feeds his imagination with, I want some. So many creepy AF moments!
A haunted house story, yes. But unlike one you've ever read.
It has a factual tone to the narrative as we are drip fed the sinister history of Number 56 Abigail Lane and the people who lived within its shadow. And this is so brilliantly crafted by the author that you are left wondering if maybe, just maybe, this house existed.
I love that it incorporates real life events. It's such a great grounding for a story. And even though the characters aren't on the page for long, you feel for them, which is the mark of a writer at the top of his game.
Whatever Kealan feeds his imagination with, I want some. So many creepy AF moments!
A haunted house story, yes. But unlike one you've ever read.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A Seed in a Soil of Sorrow (one of the best titles of the year!) is a short horror story about a man who gets involved with a cult. But the Veridian Chapter and their callous leader don't quite deliver the experience he expects.
I can't delve too deeply into this one, but suffice to say that it's a well-written and chilling piece of dark fiction, cementing Baird firmly in the camp of Must-Reads.
And that ending. Oh boy. Absolutely perfect!
I can't delve too deeply into this one, but suffice to say that it's a well-written and chilling piece of dark fiction, cementing Baird firmly in the camp of Must-Reads.
And that ending. Oh boy. Absolutely perfect!
This was an advanced reading copy from a Goodreads giveaway. First of all I came to this fresh from Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. Because of that I found the writing amateurish at first but it's a completely different animal to Burial Rites, so I was a little harsh. This isn't my usual genre either, in fact the last detective novel I read was probably something Sherlock Holmes many years ago!
So, award winning this isn't but it is an easy, fast paced read. I didn't get bored and the short chapters actually made it easy to pick up and devour in short bursts, kind of a detective equivalent of chick lit. There were some continuity mistakes but hopefully a good edit will iron them out.
The action never let up which helped to keep me interested and there was a neat little twist halfway through that I didn't see coming. If you want something to take on holiday that won't tax you too much pick this one up.
So, award winning this isn't but it is an easy, fast paced read. I didn't get bored and the short chapters actually made it easy to pick up and devour in short bursts, kind of a detective equivalent of chick lit. There were some continuity mistakes but hopefully a good edit will iron them out.
The action never let up which helped to keep me interested and there was a neat little twist halfway through that I didn't see coming. If you want something to take on holiday that won't tax you too much pick this one up.
I must admit I did struggle with this one at first. Not because it was badly written, far from it, but because the language is so rich and the descriptive qualities are so heady. It was a bit like not being able to eat all those truffle chocolates at once on Christmas Day!
This book was from Waterstones as a review copy but it is quite likely that it would have been a book I would have pulled off the shelf and browsed through, and then purchased. The subject matter, sibling rivalry, family drama/trauma and history, mainly in masculine form are crisply laid out and the characters appealing, especially in their flaws. I really liked the story within a story that played out and some of the later revelations surprised me - that little pang of emotion that a good story hits you over the head with!
I did find the beginning a little confusing and had to re-read some paragraphs on more than one occasion but this is a well crafted tale and very worthy of your time and concentration.
This book was from Waterstones as a review copy but it is quite likely that it would have been a book I would have pulled off the shelf and browsed through, and then purchased. The subject matter, sibling rivalry, family drama/trauma and history, mainly in masculine form are crisply laid out and the characters appealing, especially in their flaws. I really liked the story within a story that played out and some of the later revelations surprised me - that little pang of emotion that a good story hits you over the head with!
I did find the beginning a little confusing and had to re-read some paragraphs on more than one occasion but this is a well crafted tale and very worthy of your time and concentration.
On the whole I liked it, the characterisation being King's strongest point as always, but it did take me a while to plough through it. For that reason I have only given it 3 stars but really I would have liked 3 and a half!
King's ability to launch you right into the story and in creating a world in which you can quite accept the supernatural, are unparalleled. I didn't expect to lose the character we did at the end which just goes to show that even as a hardcore King reader he can still surprise me!.
King's ability to launch you right into the story and in creating a world in which you can quite accept the supernatural, are unparalleled. I didn't expect to lose the character we did at the end which just goes to show that even as a hardcore King reader he can still surprise me!.
This is a classic horror tale from James Herbert (old haunted house, new family in residence) but I'm still not sure if I liked it or not. Despite some unnerving occurrences the family Caleigh are determined to stay put when most sane individuals would have packed up and run for the hills!
It was very a 'descriptive' book but maybe too much, the imagination has to have room to run, and I don't like every tiny detail spelling out for me, but that could be personal preference.
The story could have easily been 100 pages shorter and not lost any of its impact.
It was very a 'descriptive' book but maybe too much, the imagination has to have room to run, and I don't like every tiny detail spelling out for me, but that could be personal preference.
The story could have easily been 100 pages shorter and not lost any of its impact.