Creature Feature – What Doesn’t Kill You by Ken Brosky #KenBrosky #Horror

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The intriguing cover for What Doesn’t Kill You by Ken Brosky caught my eye and I had to check further. I am glad I did, because I love creature features and stories that put characters to the test…and they will be. Not all will survive and I love that too. (evil grin)

Emma rolls into town, bringing with her a gift that will change the town forever. It invades the town slowly, and has a sweetness to those who claim its gift. Don’t we all know that nothing comes without a cost, and no on knows what the cost will be.

Valerie and Danny are the stars, but they are not alone. Some of the most surprising characters are those staying at the halfway house, seeking help for their addictions.

In a small town, there are no secrets, and Seven Sisters is in dire need of anything that can help the people, since Highway 55 became the Old Highway 55. How many towns have died because progress has passed them by? Why do they stay, when there is no future? What would be the lure that would compel people to move on? Does Emma know?

For Seven Sisters to survive, residents will be put to the test, needing the courage to fight for what is their lives. They will need to work together. They will need to draw from deep inside and find the strength to overcome their fear.

What Doesn’t Kill You by Ken Brosky was not exactly what I thought it would be, but the more involved I became, the more the characters drew me in, the more the tension built. The pacing and action allowed the suspense to build and I did not see the end coming. I do appreciate an author that can make me say, “Well, I sure didn’t see that coming.”

I felt the rating jumping between a three and a four. Whenever that happens, a four it is.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of What Doesn’t Kill You by Ken Brosky.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Valerie Miller and her younger brother have spent their entire lives in the dreary town of Seven Sisters, where most people are resigned to a bleak future of debt and despair. But when a mysterious woman with a dark past arrives, she brings with her a gift that could transform the town’s fortunes – and the lives of Val and Danny.

This extraordinary woman’s power is both awe-inspiring and terrifying, capable of unleashing a force that will shake Seven Sisters to its core. The stakes are high, and danger is omnipresent. Can Val and Danny rise to the challenge and seize the opportunity to finally break free from the suffocating grip of their hometown? Or will they fall victim to the terrors unleashed by this enigmatic figure? One thing is certain–when the sun rises on Seven Sisters, nothing will ever be the same again.

Part creature-feature, part survival story, What Doesn’t Kill You will keep you on the edge of your seat as Val and Danny fight for their lives and all of Seven Sisters.

  • Genre: Fiction, Horror
  • 274 pages, Kindle Edition
  • Expected publication September 5, 2023 by Timber Ghost Press

ABOUT KEN BROSKY

Here’s the short and skinny:

  • I got my bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing from UW-Eau Claire
  • I got my Master’s Degree in Writing from the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
  • I wrote a bunch of books and short stories.
  • Some got published, many did not.
  • I self-published a YA series, which was awesome.
  • More stuff got rejected.
  • I sold a book to Kindle Press.
  • I wrote a mystery novel.

Sometimes, in between this stuff, I do woodworking.

Website

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Early Review – Fault by Lumen Reese @ZoominLumen

I want to thank Book Sirens and Lumen Reese for the opportunity to read and review Fault.

It will be released on 8.24.23 and is available for Preorder.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I love the awesome cover for Fault by Lumen Reese. It told me everything I needed to know. I love creature features and eagerly cracked open my ereader to begin.

And begin we did. An earthquake that sunk part of the California coast gave the creature its freedom. It reveled in it.

Lucille Bennet is in Montana for work when it hits. Her children are lost, but she refuses to leave them for the creature to eat. She proceeds to build a submarine and enters the quarantine zone to retrieve their bodies. Things sure didn’t go the way I thought and I love it.

She is rescued by a ship called the Last Chance. A ship of criminals and rejects. It is dangerous, not just for her, but anyone that takes on the job. It is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. They go to the most dangerous place, where the creature is, searching for oil. Yeah, keep drilling and maybe you’ll find another creature. Only one of three workers will survive the mission.

I am not going to share a ton of details, because the blurb stayed nondescriptive. The parts of the book share a separate character and their point of view. We have some romance and a few laughs. She wins over the crew by cooking good food and with a little help from those she makes friends with.

Fault by Lumen Reese unraveled like a B movie, and I devour them like the creature devoured anything that got in its way. Fault seems to be a bit different, not just a creature feature, but scifi and a bit of time travel?

The beginning was action packed and set the hook. The middle introduces us to the cast of characters and life aboard the Baton Rouge. The end is tense and thought provoking. All in all a very satisfying read.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of Fault by Lumen Reese.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS REVIEW

A grieving mother.
A monster.
A ship crewed by the damned.

The Thing swam out of the magma in the Earth’s core and clawed its way up through the San Andreas Fault on the night that a chunk of the California coast sank into the Pacific. Millions died, including the two children of Lucille ‘Ceely’ Bennett, an accomplished engineer stranded in rural Montana when the cataclysm occurred. Ceely builds a submarine, complete with mechanical arms and a set of harpoons -the biggest on the market- with the intention of going down among the ruins of Los Angeles to collect her daughters’ bodies.
A mother’s love -and fury- drive her to hunt the creature across oceans and decades in this story of grief and revenge.

  • List: Fantasy, Horror, Queer, Science Fiction
  • 396 pages, Paperback
  • Expected publication August 24, 2023

ABOUT REESE LUMEN

Writer of diverse science fiction, fantasy and horror from Michigan. I failed many math classes in high school to write first drafts of the books I’ve published. It was worth it.
I think that a story should be entertaining, but should handle important social and class issues in order to be an accurate portrayal of our world. I value honest resolution over shock-value, and happy endings wherever possible, especially for my LGBT characters.
You can find me on Twitter @ZoominLumen
Or follow me on Goodreads for sales and announcements.

FAULT is a SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR novel.
(Out August 24, 2023! Available in ebook and paperback.)

THE BRIDE HUNT OF ELK MOUNTAIN is a SPECULATIVE/SCIENCE FICTION novel.
(Out now! Available in ebook and paperback.)

MONSTER MIDWIFE is a FANTASY/HORROR novel.
(Out now! Available as an ebook.)

TRIAL OF THE LOVEBIRD BUTCHER is an URBAN FANTASY/THRILLER novel.
(Out now! Available in ebook and paperback.)

CLAIRE GOT HERSELF IN TROUBLE is a YA/NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY novel. A portion of all proceeds go to Planned Parenthood.
(Out now! Available in ebook and paperback.)

MONARCH FALLS is a SCI-FI MYSTERY novel. (1st in the FOUR QUARTERS OF IMAGINATION TRILOGY)
(Out now! Available as an ebook.)

THE UNDESIRABLES is a WWII THRILLER.
(Out now! Available as an ebook.)

ROMANI and ROMANI: AMBASSADORS were the first two parts of a trilogy that I started when I was seventeen. At the time, I intended to bring awareness to an underrepresented and much maligned group, in a story about how the privileged in our society have a moral responsibility to help the less fortunate. I have since decided that I did not have the right to be telling that story, and have unpublished both books.

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Review – Confirmed Sightings: A Triple Cryptid Creature Feature by P L McMillan, Bridget D Brave & Ryan Marie Ketterer @AuthorPLM @RyanMarie47

I want to thank the authors for the opportunity to read Confirmed Sightings: A Triple Cryptid Creature Feature by P L McMillan, Bridget D Brave & Ryan Marie Ketterer.

The cover spoke to me, does it speak to you?

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I love that each novella started with a full page illustration and the cover, along with Mothman set the hook. This is a different, yet the same, Mothman I have come to know, except now he is hooking up with a human, going to outer space and being involved in a murder. If you have a love of creature features, supernatural creatures or Mothman, Confirmed Sightings would be a great addition to your reading list.

A Piasa for Christmas by Bridget D Brave was a walk on the wild side. Mothman killed with impunity, bodies falling by the wayside. Kaycee was enthralled by him, but little did she know what his ultimate goal was. I almost laughed at the gruesomeness. What does that say about me? If you read it and can visualize as easily as I did, you will understand.

eyeofmoth.exe by P L McMillan was my first trip to space with Mothman. P L McMillan kept me captivated with mystery and suspense. I loved the story…and the ending…so sad, yet appropriate. Could it have ended any other way?

Once Upon A Time by Ryan Marie Ketterer is a murder mystery with so many creatures I couldn’t keep track of them all, and I couldn’t figure out who did what to who, until Ryan Marie Ketterer filled me in.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Confirmed Sightings.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

Horror fans and cryptid lovers unite! Grab your popcorn and candy, settle into your seat, and make sure to silence your phone for this triple creature feature!

A Piasa for Christmas by Bridget D. Brave Kaycee has returned to her hometown and finally found her soulmate in the most unexpected package: a transdimensional, all-powerful creature once trapped in a temporal prison. Can true love prevail between this headstrong aspiring influencer and an ancient immortal god?

eyeofmoth.exe by P.L. McMillan When the crew of the CRS Piasa encounter a space station drowning in madness caused by a creature from Pre-Calamity Earth, they become desperate to get back to their ship and warn the Company in a race against the clock.

Once Upon a Time in Turu by Ryan Marie Ketterer When a jackalope from the good part of town ends up dead, Policefoot Orli is tasked with solving the bizarre murder before the already tense town of Turu erupts in cryptid fury. But it won’t be as easy as it looks when all the usual suspects are very unusual themselves.

With full page illustrations for each novella and a foreword by Laurel Hightower, this is one anthology you don’t want to miss.

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Review – The Deep by Michaelbrent Collings @mbcollings

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

  • #1 The author
  • #2 The cover
  • #3 The story

I have read numerous books by Michaelbrent Collings and will grab anything I see by him. I love, love, love creature features that read like B movies and The Deep definitely fits that bill. We have good characters, bad characters, and a down right evil one. Treasure? Desires? The ocean is a vast mystery and when you seek, you will find. Just what you will find is the question.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Deep by Michaelbrent Collings.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

There are places we were never meant to go…

A woman searching for a sister lost at sea. A man bent on finding lost treasure. A mother who has lost all hope. A maniac who believes all life exists for his pleasure. The man who would keep them all safe.

Together, they will all seek below the waves for treasures long buried, and riches beyond belief. But those treasures hide something. Something ancient, something dark. A creature that exists only to feed on those that would enter into its realm. A creature… of The Deep.

ABOUT MICHAELBRENT COLLINGS

Michaelbrent Collings

Michaelbrent Collings is an internationally-bestselling novelist, multiple Bram Stoker Award nominee, produced screenwriter, and one of the top indie horror writers in the United States.

He hopes someday to develop superpowers, or, if that is out of the question, then at least to get a cool robot arm.

Michaelbrent has a wife and several kids, all of whom are much better looking than he is (though he admits that’s a low bar to set), and also cooler than he is.

Michaelbrent also has a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/MichaelbrentC… and can be followed on Twitter through his username @mbcollings. Follow him for cool news, updates, and advance notice of sales. You will also be kept safe when the Glorious Revolution begins!

STALK MICHAELBRENT: Website / Twitter

MY MICHAELBRENT COLLINGS REVIEWS

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MOTHMAN – Below by Laurel Hightower #LaurelHightower

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I love creature features, and Mothman, I have read numerous books about Mothman and am always eager to add another. So, let’s check out Below by Lauren Hightower. I have read one other book by her, Whispers In The Dark and Loved it.

Below

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I love the simple old time feel of the cover and creature features. Below, a terrifying novella by Laurel HIghtower, has all the requirements for a B movie. Whenever I come across a story like this, it unrolls through my mind like a piece of film, each frame worse than the last. I love it!

Mothman and a snowstorm! YAY! A whoosh in the air, a blackness…oh yeah.

I must say, she is a much nicer (or dumber) person than I am. I would have got the hell out of there. Something isn’t right. I can’t imagine how she feels, but I can see it through Laurel Hightower’s words. I love when an author can paint a picture through words.

She’s alone. In the dark. Something is out there. What is it and what does it want? She keeps on going. Pushing forward. What else is there to do? She won’t quit.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Below by Laurel Hightower.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO HELP A STRANGER?

While driving through the mountains of West Virginia during a late-night snowstorm, a recently divorced woman experiences bizarre electrical problems, leaving her with little choice but to place her trust with a charismatic truck driver. But when an unexplainable creature with haunting red eyes gets between them, she is forced to make one of the toughest decisions of her life. Will she abandon the stranger who kept her safe—or will she climb down below, where reality has shapeshifted into a living nightmare?

ABOUT LAUREL HIGHTOWER

Laurel Hightower

Laurel Hightower grew up in Kentucky, attending college in California and Tennessee before returning home to horse country, where she lives with her husband, son, and two rescue animals. She works as a paralegal in a mid-sized firm, wrangling litigators by day and writing at night. A bourbon and beer girl, she’s a fan of horror movies and true life ghost stories. Whispers in the Dark is her first novel.

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I Have Been Waiting For Dragon Clan by Kristie Clark #KristieClark

I am excited to be sharing Dragon Clan by Kristie Clark. I want to thank Kristie Clark, Delphi Imprint and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review a copy.

Don’t ya just love that cover?

Dragon Clan (Order of the Dolphin, #3)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

It is fantastic to be back in Roatan with Eva and the gang to find out what happens next in this creature feature. No slow start. Action from the getgo.

Now, they are being moved from Roatan, Honduras to Hawaii, courtesy of DARPA and the US Navy.

Kaili is the guardian spirit of the Dragon Clan. She is a Komodo Dragon like no other.

Eva is worried about her dolphins. They have dealt with a mutant Tylosaurus, drug lords, mutant CobiX fish ad Julian Gulliver. It’s hard to tell which is the most dangerous. As if that isn’t enough, now we have to deal with tsunamis.

Kristie Clark does insert ecological, climate change as it applies to the events in the story. She doesn’t get preachy, just includes the pertinent data, just like any other part of the story. I find, when an author does that, it adds that real element and makes the story richer.

You may wonder how someone can write a series with dolphins as the stars. Ask Kristie Clark. She has managed to keep me eager for more and surprises me with how quickly I become involved. She blends fact and fiction seamlessly.

I caught the hint, but was still surprised when she hurt her arm.

I am soooo loving this series. Kristie Clark does her due diligence when it comes to research, sharing the rich history, myths and legends of Hawaii.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Dragon Clan by Kristie Clark.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

A dragon will kill her creator to protect her family.

Dr. Eva Paz wants only a peaceful life on Roatán for herself and her dolphins, continuing their research in dolphin communication and educating children on the importance of caring for the reef.

But when the Navy reactivates Taffy and Finn for exercises in Pearl Harbor, that all changes. For she finds Julian is there as well, and he is armed with yet another genetically modified creature. This time, it has the spirit of an actual dragon.

Thankfully, Eva has her friends and her family—and Thomas—on her side. Not to mention a whole host of new friends: the members of Dragon Clan.

Join Eva as she works with Thomas and her dolphins to save the Hawaiian Islands from an environmental disaster that could destroy them all.

For fans of Michael Crichton, Dragon Clan is book three in Kristie Clark’s Order of the Dolphin series.

Book club questions included. May be read as a standalone, but Dragon Clan is best enjoyed with the other Order of the Dolphin series books: Killing Dragons and Dragon Gold.

ABOUT KRISTIE CLARK

Kristie Clark

KRISTIE CLARK, a pediatrician, lives on the High Plains with her husband, sons, border collies, and a cat named Bonsai. An avid scuba diver, she holds a Roatan Marine Park Bay Islands Lionfish Spearing License.

You can see more about Kristie on her WEBSITE.

MY KRISTIE CLARK REVIEWS

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Sasquatch Sighting in White Anvil by Matt Betts @Betts_Matt

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I’m always up for a creature feature and Matt Betts has supplied one in White Anvil.

White Anvil: Sasquatch Onslaught

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Reggie and Margo are seismologists that happened to appear at the same place as Frank, a park ranger, Adam, a local constable that are determined to get on THAT train. The one no one knows about or talks about. BUT, the train won’t be leaving due to….

In order to board, they had to give up their cell phones, laptops, anything that could connect to the outside world. Do you see where this is going? I think I do.

So far, things are pretty predictable, but I am hopeful we will have some twists.

In times of trouble, people’s true colors come to the surface. There is no shame in fear. I would be terrified. This is one of those stories that has me asking myself, what would I do? I hope I would act as well as Margo and Reggie, Denton, and some of the others, especially when they find out they are up against so much more than a derailed train and the snowy weather.

I knew right off that Frank was an ass, and he kept on proving it.

Nora, I don’t know what the hell she’s thinking. I’d love for her to be eaten first.

Government secrets, danger, survival, White Anvil is a safe lab and holding facility for things that go bump in the night and we all know it can’t be good when they break free, so buckle your seatbelts, because we are in for a bumpy ride.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of White Anvil by Matt Betts.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
3 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

As if the cold wasn’t enough…

Fleeing an approaching blizzard, a military train carrying prisoners and a handful of citizens derails in the mountains. The survivors fight to stay alive and regroup as the terrible storm buries them in snow. Only then do they discover the train also carried another cargo—two cars loaded with biological experiments—genetically-altered sasquatches conditioned to annihilate anything they find.

Can the few remaining soldiers team with a pair of sisters and a police constable to fight the relentless beasts, icy temperatures, and escaped prisoners long enough for help to arrive?

ABOUT MATT BETTS

Matt Betts

I’ve been writing for a number of years and had some good fortune in getting my work in print and online venues. I’ve also contributed as a staff member to a few magazines. I’m a big fan of pop culture. I love old movies; good ones, bad ones, doesn’t matter. Actually, I sometimes prefer the bad ones.

My first book, Odd Men Out, was launched in the summer of 2013 from Dog Star Books. It has some steampunk, some alternate history, some horror and a giant lizard. That’s plenty for the first book, right?

My second book, Indelible Ink, is an urban fantasy crime story that’s sort of my homage to the late Elmore Leonard by way of the Dresden Files. I had so much fun writing this and I think it shows in the book.

Two of my novels were released in 2018: The adventure/kaiju/scifi book The Shadow Beneath the Waves, and the dark fantasy/comedy Indelible Ink.

I’ve also written two books of speculative poetry – See No Evil, Say No Evil and Underwater Fistfight.

I’m working on a sequel to Odd Men Out and a stand-alone monster book.

I love attending cons – I’ve been a panelist, moderator, invited guest, and presenter. It’s always a joy to interact with readers, other writers, and creators.

Website / Twitter / Facbook

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Friday 56 #146 – Vostok by Steve Alten @meg82159

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The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

OMG. Such a fabulous cover of Vostok by Steve Alten, a Meg(a) Hit. There is no way I will ever pass on the chance to read one of his novels.

You can see my 5 star review here.

Vostok

Amazon  /  Goodreads

MY 56

At one point she interrupted the conversation to remind me that Willy’s nanny was due to leave soon and that we really needed to get back to our room

And then she winked!

That was all the prompting I needed.

(Pages 56 in hardcover published in 2015)

GOODREADS BLURB

East Antarctica: The coldest, most desolate location on Earth. Two-and-a-half miles below the ice cap is Vostok, a six thousand square mile liquid lake, over a thousand feet deep, left untouched for more than 15 million years. Now, marine biologist Zachary Wallace and two other scientists aboard a submersible tethered to a laser will journey 13,000 feet beneath the ice into this unexplored realm to steve

In this sequel to The Loch and prequel to the upcoming MEG 5: Nightstalkers, New York Times best-selling author Steve Alten offers readers a crossover novel that combines characters from two of his most popular series.

Steve Alten is the New York Times and International bestselling author of fourteen novels, including the MEG series about Carcharodon Megalodon, the 70-foot, 100,000 pound prehistoric cousin of the Great White shark and Domain trilogy, a series about the Mayan Calendar s 2012 doomsday prophecy. His work has been published in over 30 countries and is being used in thousands of middle and high school curriculum as part of Adopt-An-Author, a free teen reading program, which he founded with teachers back in 1999.”

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