Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Top Ten Tuesday #57: (HALLOWEEN FREEBIE) Top 10 Creepy Covers


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.


This week's top 10 Tuesday topic is a Halloween freebie and I have decided to choose "Top 10 Creepy Covers!"  So, I will be choosing books that have REALLY CREEPY covers, even if I hadn't read the book (because let's face it, I haven't read that many horror themed books unless it's picture books).

So here's my top 10 Creepy Covers (in no particular order, of course)!



1.  Shutter by Courtney Alameda




.


2.  Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs







3. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness





4. Scary Stories Treasury by Alvin Schwartz





5.  Pet Sematary by Stephen King







6.  The Vivisector by Patrick White







7.  Misery by Stephen King






8.  Haunted  by Chuck Palahniuk








9.  The Dead of Winter by Jack Night






10. Thirty Scary Tales by Rayne Hall







HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!




I want to wish everyone a HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Stay safe and enjoy the day!

Monday, October 30, 2017

New Releases on the Horizon #34: October 29, 2017 - November 4, 2017


Hey everyone!  I just started this new thing on my blog called "New Releases on the Horizon!"  It's where I list all the new books being release throughout the year and I choose from 10 books that I have the most interest in checking out and I also will list the dates the books will be released and where you can find them if you are interested.


So, be on the lookout for some new books on the horizon!




Beasts Made of Night by Toby Onvebuchi  
Expected Publication: October 31st, 2017 by Razorbill 


The Empress (The Diabolic #2) by S.J. Kincaid     

Living with the Dead (Famished #3) by Annie Walls 
Expected Publication:  October 31st, 2017   


Expected Publication:  October 31st, 2017 by Scholastic Press   


Expected Publication:  October 31st, 2017 by Monster House Books, LLC   







Otherworld (Otherworld #1) by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller 
Expected publication: October 31st, 2017 by Delacorte Press  


Expected publication:  October 31st, 2017 by Tor Teen     
 

Expected publication:  November 1st, 2017 by Rescue Press   


Heather, the Totality  by Matthew Weiner   
  

  
Expected publication:  November 2nd, 2017 by Macmillan Children's Books   

Saturday, October 28, 2017

[BOOK REVIEW] Afterlife with Archie: Escape from Riverdale Volume 1 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa









Title:  Afterlife with Archie: Escape from Riverdale Volume 1  

Author:  Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa  

Artist:  Francesco Francavilla  


Genre:  Horror / Drama / Zombies / Alternative Universe / Friendship

Year Published: 2014

Year Read:  10/28/2017

Publisher:  Archie Comics

Series: Afterlife with Archie #1

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 15+ (Gory Violence and Some Language)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository



Introduction:

Alright, so I will admit that I have not read many Archie Comics where the gang is put into a darker situation that is different from the “wholesale family entertainment” adventures that they are usually in (and this was BEFORE the reboot came along, although the reboot was not as dark as this comic).  So, since Halloween is around the corner, I just had to pick this graphic novel up called “Afterlife with Archie: Escape from Riverdale Volume One” which is written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa along with artwork by Francesco Francavilla, where Archie and the Gang end up in a for real zombie apocalypse!

What is this story about?

The story starts out with Hot Dog, Jughead’s beloved dog, being run over by a car and Jughead ends up going to Sabrina the Teenage Witch, to see if she can help his dog.  Unfortunately, Sabrina’s aunts tell Jughead that there is nothing they can do for Hot Dog and that he should let Hot Dog stay dead.  But then, Sabrina decided to help out Jughead anyway and she ends up resurrecting Hot Dog.  Unfortunately, it turns out that when Sabrina brought Hot Dog back to life, Hot Dog became a zombie dog and he ended up biting Jughead, which turned Jughead into a zombie! So, when Jughead went to the school dance, he ended up affecting most of the school by biting most of the students, with the exception of the main cast, which consisted of Archie, Dilton, Midge, Moose, Reggie, Betty, Veronica and many others.  The remaining students ended up going to Mr. Lodge’s mansion in order to protect themselves against the zombies, while also trying to see if there are any survivors from the zombie apocalypse.

What I loved about this story:

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s writing:  Wow!  I never would have thought that I would live to see the day where there would be a graphic novel series that has Archie and the gang getting involved in a zombie apocalypse!  Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has done a fantastic job at giving the usual sweet natured Archie Comics a darker and scarier tone in this graphic novel and it never felt so out of place to me that the Archie gang in this story are portrayed in a much more mature and cynical way, since they are stuck in a zombie apocalypse and it is appropriate for this type of story.  I also loved the way that Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa created a different spin for each of the main characters, such as Betty and Veronica being more antagonistic with each other rather than be good friends with a small rivalry with each other, Sabrina and her family being more realistic and intense versions of witches and Nancy and Chuck…well, I will let you find out for yourselves what is going on with Nancy and Chuck in this comic!  I really loved the fact that this comic is much more serious and frightening in tone since the gang are facing a zombie apocalypse and I found myself a bit creeped out by some of the moments in this comic, such as the zombified citizens of Riverdale attacking the main protagonists.

Francesco Francavilla’s artwork:  Francesco Francavilla’s artwork fits the scary and serious tone of this comic quite perfectly as the zombies in this comic are quite terrifying to look at such as the images of the zombified Hot Dog.  I loved the fact that the art style is much more realistic in this comic as it really captures the mature and serious nature of this story. I also loved the way that Francesco Francavilla did the coloring of this book as the colors are mostly in red, black, orange and grey that greatly convey the horror elements of this story.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

Anyone who does not like language or gory violence might be a bit uncomfortable with some of the gory violence and language in this comic.  The language in this comic is not as strong as some of the more mature comics as only the “h” word is uttered in a couple of sentences and as for the gory violence, there are many images of zombies biting into people which is pretty graphic.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Afterlife with Archie: Escape from Riverdale Volume One” is a fantastic graphic novel that anyone who loves both the Archie Comics and zombies will easily enjoy!



* 2014 Harvey Awards Nominee for Best New Series
* 2015 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Nominee for Best Lettering (for Jack Morelli), Best Cover Artist (for Francesco Francavilla)



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Friday, October 27, 2017

Book Blogger Hop #35: HALLOWEEN EDITION! - October 28th - November 2nd

Hello everyone! I'm participating in another book meme called the Book Blogger Hop which is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer!  Basically, you just answer weekly questions and then post up your link on the question's page.


This week's question is : 

 This week's question is submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer.

  Candy Corn, a chocolate bar, or Popcorn. Which of these snacks are your favorite to eat while reading?



CANDY CORN!!!  I have always loved eating Candy Corn when I was little and it has become even better for me as an adult because now I have a yummy Halloween snack to eat whenever I'm reading my favorite spooky book.




Wednesday, October 25, 2017

[ARC REVIEW] The Fairy in the Kettle by Pauline Tait









Title:  The Fairy in the Kettle

Author:  Pauline Tait

ArtistDebbie Bellaby

Genre:  Fantasy / Weather / Homes / Fairies

Year Published: 2016

Year Read: 2017

Publisher:  Matador  

Series: The Fairy in the Kettle #1

Source:  eARC (NetGalley)

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 









I would like to thank NetGalley and Matador for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I went surfing around NetGalley again for some new children’s books to read and I spotted this cute children’s book called “The Fairy in the Kettle” which is written by Pauline Tait along with artwork by Debbie Bellaby and this book was truly adorable to read through!


In the land of Bramble Glen, there lives a village full of fairies and they all lived in various flowers across the village.  One fairy however, who was called Leona, actually lived in an old round cast-iron kettle and she loved her kettle home, despite the fact that the other fairies thought that the kettle was too noisy on certain days.  One day however, a huge storm hits Bramble Glen and at first, the fairies and Leona are unaware of the storm coming, but when the storm gets worse, the fairies immediately try to find a safe place to hide from the storm.

Will the fairies survive the storm?

Read this book to find out!


Wow!  I found this book to be so adorable and inspiring as I not only found it interesting to read a fairy story where the fairy in question lives in a kettle pot, but a fairy story that teaches children about the importance of loving your home for what it is, no matter how strange your home is.  Pauline Tait has done a great job at writing this story as I found the story to be extremely cute to read through, especially since it involves fairies doing cute activities like dancing and living in flowers.   I also loved the message that Pauline Tait sends to the audience about the importance of having a loving home, no matter how bizarre it is, as I found the story about Leona living in a kettle pot and not caring about its flaws to be truly inspiring!  Debbie Bellaby’s artwork is truly gorgeous to look at, especially of the images of the flowers surrounding the fairies and of Leona’s gorgeous pink and purple dress.


The reason why I gave this book a four-star rating was because I felt that the pacing was a bit slow in parts and I wished that more had happened in the story besides the fairies mostly dancing around in the story.




Overall, “The Fairy in the Kettle” is a truly cute story about the importance of staying in a home that is safe and useful to you no matter how different it is from other homes.  I would recommend this book for children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.



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Waiting on Wednesday #62: Wolves and Roses by Christina Bauer




Hello everyone! "Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, that is hosted by Breaking the Spine and the purpose of this event is that we spotlight upcoming releases of books that we are excited for!  This will also tie into Wishful Ending's Can't Wait Wednesday post!





This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:





Title:  Wolves and Roses
Author:  Christina Bauer
Expected Publication Date:  October 31st, 2017


Seventeen-year-old Bryar Rose has a problem. She’s descended from one of the three magical races—shifters, fairies, or witches. That makes her one of the Magicorum, and Magicorum always follow a fairy tale life template. In Bryar’s case, that template should be Sleeping Beauty. “Should” being the key word. Trouble is, Bryar is nowhere near the Sleeping Beauty life template. Not even close. She doesn’t like birds or woodland creatures. She can’t sing. And she certainly can’t stand Prince Philpot, the so-called “His Highness of Hedge Funds” that her aunties want her to marry. Even worse, Bryar finds herself attracted to a hottie werewolf named Knox and is under attack by evil mummy-zombies. If Bryar can’t figure out who—or what—she really is, it might cost both her and Knox their lives… as well as jeopardize the very nature of magic itself.




Oooh!  Another "Sleeping Beauty" retelling with a twist!  I can't wait to check this one out!



So, what upcoming books are you looking forward to?  Please respond below!