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thegrimhobbyist's reviews
174 reviews
The Keeper by JJ Carpenter
5.0
Reading The Corner of Her Eye: The Keeper by J.J. Carpenter felt like running a marathon and curling up for a cozy movie night all at once. It's a story that seamlessly blends warmth and heartbreak, creating a haunting yet comforting atmosphere. Even now, moments from the book play on a loop in my mind - scenes so vivid and emotional that they’re bound to stay with me for a long time. I’ll admit, this book had me in tears more than once. I even had to put it down to grab tissues and reassure my worried husband that I was okay!
Carpenter skillfully takes familiar tropes from ghost stories and paranormal horror and weaves them into a rich narrative rooted in Australian history, with a cast of memorable, lifelike characters who feel like old friends. My heart ached for them, and I found myself deeply invested in the central mystery, the fascinating historical details, and the unique supernatural rules that govern the ghostly phenomena in this world.
This story isn’t just creepy for the sake of being creepy - it’s a heartfelt journey alongside the main character, full of discovery and growth. I’m thrilled to have the second book in hand so I can continue this incredible adventure.
That said, I encourage readers to check the trigger warnings, as the book does touch on some heavy and potentially uncomfortable topics. Otherwise, I highly recommend this remarkable story. It’s a perfect balance of intrigue, emotion, and the paranormal - a must-read for fans of ghostly tales with depth.
Carpenter skillfully takes familiar tropes from ghost stories and paranormal horror and weaves them into a rich narrative rooted in Australian history, with a cast of memorable, lifelike characters who feel like old friends. My heart ached for them, and I found myself deeply invested in the central mystery, the fascinating historical details, and the unique supernatural rules that govern the ghostly phenomena in this world.
This story isn’t just creepy for the sake of being creepy - it’s a heartfelt journey alongside the main character, full of discovery and growth. I’m thrilled to have the second book in hand so I can continue this incredible adventure.
That said, I encourage readers to check the trigger warnings, as the book does touch on some heavy and potentially uncomfortable topics. Otherwise, I highly recommend this remarkable story. It’s a perfect balance of intrigue, emotion, and the paranormal - a must-read for fans of ghostly tales with depth.
Coming Home by Craig Randall
4.5
Buckle up for a poetic road trip with Craig Randall as he takes us on a deeply personal journey of finding home—not just as a physical place but as a sense of belonging within. Home is where the heart is, after all. If you've read Randall's previous collections, you'll know to expect a transformative experience from start to finish. In fact, all his poetry books together weave a long, extended exploration of self-discovery, though each collection stands solidly on its own.
This latest collection masterfully balances short-form and long-form poetry, interspersed with thoughtfully placed interludes that guide readers seamlessly from one phase of the journey to the next. Randall's poetic road trip moves through sadness, acceptance, and ultimately, the profound realization of what "home" truly means.
Like his earlier works, this collection resonated deeply with me, and I believe it will connect with many readers on a personal level. Among the standout poems, "Retracing Your Steps" stood out as particularly clever and moving. If you're searching for poetry that will tug at your heartstrings and leave you reflecting on your own journey, this collection is a must-read.
This latest collection masterfully balances short-form and long-form poetry, interspersed with thoughtfully placed interludes that guide readers seamlessly from one phase of the journey to the next. Randall's poetic road trip moves through sadness, acceptance, and ultimately, the profound realization of what "home" truly means.
Like his earlier works, this collection resonated deeply with me, and I believe it will connect with many readers on a personal level. Among the standout poems, "Retracing Your Steps" stood out as particularly clever and moving. If you're searching for poetry that will tug at your heartstrings and leave you reflecting on your own journey, this collection is a must-read.
The Devil's Replacement by Michael D. A. Clarke
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
The story became rather tedious and boring, and the writing style started to devolve the further I read. Interesting premise, but poorly executed.
Division X by Ryan August Hill
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
The premise was fascinating, but the writing style is just not for me. Very dry, sentence structure is poor, it's very 'tell' and not 'show' in the way it's written, and there's just a lot of mistakes.
A Winter for Doves Part II: Book I of Project Suncloud by Rachel Oestrich
5.0
Thank you to the author for giving me a copy of the book. This review is my own honest opinion.
Holy moly what a roller coaster of emotions I'm feeling right now. I want to cry, scream, hurl the book, and also hug it at the same time? I enjoyed the first book, but I absolutely love this second one, and I'm frothing at the mouth for more. You get to watch a story unfold from ALL sides. As I mentioned in the first book's review, this story has a lot of moving parts which means a lot of PoVs of different characters. I struggled with how many there were in the first, but I embraced it here in the second - I guess I'm just used to it now and so invested in all the characters that I welcomed each PoV shift?
All these characters are VERY flawed and very human, and it makes me scream at all of them for their stupidity and also love them as they work through their differences. Except for a select few that I have zero sympathy over, I can just love to hate those ones. There's some pretty messed up individuals you follow along with...which brings me to my next point.
Please be aware, as I mentioned in the first book review, this dystopian scifi horror is very brutal and very adult. This second book I feel amped that up considerably. You witness some horrifying things, from body horror to SA to substance abuse to physical abuse and many other triggering topics. Be aware of this before going in, even I got a bit uncomfy reading some of the scenes.
That being said, if you can stomach all of that, I'm highly recommending this series!
Holy moly what a roller coaster of emotions I'm feeling right now. I want to cry, scream, hurl the book, and also hug it at the same time? I enjoyed the first book, but I absolutely love this second one, and I'm frothing at the mouth for more. You get to watch a story unfold from ALL sides. As I mentioned in the first book's review, this story has a lot of moving parts which means a lot of PoVs of different characters. I struggled with how many there were in the first, but I embraced it here in the second - I guess I'm just used to it now and so invested in all the characters that I welcomed each PoV shift?
All these characters are VERY flawed and very human, and it makes me scream at all of them for their stupidity and also love them as they work through their differences. Except for a select few that I have zero sympathy over, I can just love to hate those ones. There's some pretty messed up individuals you follow along with...which brings me to my next point.
Please be aware, as I mentioned in the first book review, this dystopian scifi horror is very brutal and very adult. This second book I feel amped that up considerably. You witness some horrifying things, from body horror to SA to substance abuse to physical abuse and many other triggering topics. Be aware of this before going in, even I got a bit uncomfy reading some of the scenes.
That being said, if you can stomach all of that, I'm highly recommending this series!
A Winter for Doves Part 1: Book I of Project Suncloud by Nicholas J Ripley
4.5
Rating: 4.5
Thank you to the author for giving me a copy of the book. This review is my own honest opinion.
Uhm...wow. Can that be the end of my review? No? Okay, I'll elaborate, if I can find the right words to do so. This was one epic grimdark rollercoaster that I don't want to end - thankfully I have book 2 to keep reading, because that ending... I--yep. Can't say more than that, you'll just have to read it to know.
This gives me 'urban fantasy' vibes but make it futuristic and scifi. It's a post-apocalyptic world set in 2057 where what remains of the world's population is all roped into one city-nation called Salutem under one government called United World Federation. The overall populace blindly think the world is at peace after everything leading up to this, but there's things going on in the background citizens are unaware about. From shady politics, underground organizations, bio warfare, and mutants. We get to see all the nitty gritty bits beneath this city-nation in this book.
Please be aware, this book is DARK and also very adult. Explicit scenes of gore, body horror, and sex are mentioned. There's also an uncomfy SA scene, bigotry, among other things that's wrong with this world. You follow multiple characters, so you get to see even the morally gray and evil character's point of view. Trust me, I growled at quite a few of these characters. They're definitely written to be hated. Hell, every one of these characters are dynamic and flawed in one way or another.
I will say, since it bounces from one PoV to the next, it can get overwhelming and confusing at times. Too many characters to keep up with. BUT, these characters all have an important role to the story as the story has A LOT of moving pieces. Trust me, it's worth it in the end. Jared was my favorite - 'goth' guy with tattoos and piercings who wields a double ended scythe? C'mon!
Thank you to the author for giving me a copy of the book. This review is my own honest opinion.
Uhm...wow. Can that be the end of my review? No? Okay, I'll elaborate, if I can find the right words to do so. This was one epic grimdark rollercoaster that I don't want to end - thankfully I have book 2 to keep reading, because that ending... I--yep. Can't say more than that, you'll just have to read it to know.
This gives me 'urban fantasy' vibes but make it futuristic and scifi. It's a post-apocalyptic world set in 2057 where what remains of the world's population is all roped into one city-nation called Salutem under one government called United World Federation. The overall populace blindly think the world is at peace after everything leading up to this, but there's things going on in the background citizens are unaware about. From shady politics, underground organizations, bio warfare, and mutants. We get to see all the nitty gritty bits beneath this city-nation in this book.
Please be aware, this book is DARK and also very adult. Explicit scenes of gore, body horror, and sex are mentioned. There's also an uncomfy SA scene, bigotry, among other things that's wrong with this world. You follow multiple characters, so you get to see even the morally gray and evil character's point of view. Trust me, I growled at quite a few of these characters. They're definitely written to be hated. Hell, every one of these characters are dynamic and flawed in one way or another.
I will say, since it bounces from one PoV to the next, it can get overwhelming and confusing at times. Too many characters to keep up with. BUT, these characters all have an important role to the story as the story has A LOT of moving pieces. Trust me, it's worth it in the end. Jared was my favorite - 'goth' guy with tattoos and piercings who wields a double ended scythe? C'mon!
February 29th by A.C. Crowne, A.C. Crowne
4.5
Yet another amazing short story. Each of his stories have been set in the horror genre, but most definitely in different subcategories of the horror genre. This one is definitely more of a thriller than horror, but there's some pretty horrific and unsettling scenes to this that leaves you gasping. I can't really say much about this story without giving too much away. Let's just say, nothing is as it seems.
Once again I have to complain about the length, I want more! I want to know how this wraps up! If A.C. Crowne ever does a full length novel or at least a longer novella, I would be all over it. Seriously, an amazing writer that needs more attention.
Once again I have to complain about the length, I want more! I want to know how this wraps up! If A.C. Crowne ever does a full length novel or at least a longer novella, I would be all over it. Seriously, an amazing writer that needs more attention.
Midas Court by A.C. Crowne
4.5
Yet another amazing short story by A.C. Crowne! After enjoying Diary of A.S. that he asked me to read and review, I decided to grab up his other short stories and once again I am not disappointed! His writing is suburb and he really has a knack for sucking you into a story and making that story impactful in so few pages. Would I like more pages? Absolutely! Simply because the story being told is amazing enough that I want more.
I will point out that I wished there was a bit more information about certain things. Why did the family move into this place, when it sounds like they loved their old place so much? Why were these folklorish hauntings happening to them? Some of these questions came up but I never did get answers to them. But beyond that? This was a truly haunting, spooky story that amps up the further you read.
I will point out that I wished there was a bit more information about certain things. Why did the family move into this place, when it sounds like they loved their old place so much? Why were these folklorish hauntings happening to them? Some of these questions came up but I never did get answers to them. But beyond that? This was a truly haunting, spooky story that amps up the further you read.
Osgood Riddance by Cooper S. Beckett
4.0
Yet another amazing addition to The Spectral Inspector series! I'm also finally caught up until book 4 comes out since I read book 3 out of order. Yet again, action hits you from the beginning of this book and does not let up until the very end - which did not end on a cliffhanger, thankfully. Book 1 and 2 are their own continued story before they move on to a new problem for the spectral inspector team in book 3.
This one definitely has more eldritch horror vibes compared to the urban legend mystery horror books 1 and 3. I do love me a creepy eldritch vibe, so I was living for that in this one. Beckett's ability to write such detailed vivid scenes continues with this book, which really sucks you in and places you right there with the others as they witness these horrors.
My only complaint was that the dialog heavy scenes got a bit jarring with how the characters were constantly cutting each other off. That's it, though!
I'm hooked for life on this series and can not wait for more!
I also posted a YouTube video over on my channel thegrimhobbyist reviewing this whole series as it stands now. Go give it a watch!
This one definitely has more eldritch horror vibes compared to the urban legend mystery horror books 1 and 3. I do love me a creepy eldritch vibe, so I was living for that in this one. Beckett's ability to write such detailed vivid scenes continues with this book, which really sucks you in and places you right there with the others as they witness these horrors.
My only complaint was that the dialog heavy scenes got a bit jarring with how the characters were constantly cutting each other off. That's it, though!
I'm hooked for life on this series and can not wait for more!
I also posted a YouTube video over on my channel thegrimhobbyist reviewing this whole series as it stands now. Go give it a watch!
Monster Blood IV by R.L. Stine
2.5
I'm honestly pretty over the Monster Blood series. It's the same kids having the same problems, only the problems are SLIGHTLY different. This time the Monster Blood is blue and does something completely different than the green Monster Blood. Still, it's a can of the stuff and the kids STILL haven't learned their lesson after the last three books. I choked this one down. The different types of Monster Blood is a fascinating premise, but I just can't get over the fact the same exact thing keeps happening to these kids because the kids don't learn. It also dragged out too much for more with its over-the-top twists just to pad the story and make the ending drag.
My recommendation is choosing only one of the four Monster Blood books to read, which ever one sounds the most interesting. Leave the others alone.
My recommendation is choosing only one of the four Monster Blood books to read, which ever one sounds the most interesting. Leave the others alone.