A Flame in the Night by Morgan Dante

Published: April 11, 2023Publisher: SelfAuthor: WebsiteInfo: Goodreads

The start of bloody decadence...The definition of marriage: Two people and their silver-haired vampire.In 1924, Paris is a bastion of sexual freedom, even for shell-shocked Leon Laflamme, the most dramatic blond this side of the Seine. After years of loneliness and secrecy, he's married the clever and sumptuous burlesque dancer Claire. However, Leon truly finds liberation when he meets the stoic, intriguing, and silver-haired Count Matthias, who offers true freedom in his dark gift: immortality. (goodreads.com)

I'm just a hair shy of saying the florid writing of A FLAME IN THE NIGHT was too much for me, but most of the time it created a sumptuous scene that was just luscious to read. It did occasionally lose itself in the language, though, as I had a hard time working my way through some of the sentences and certain scenes, especially the sex scenes because the descriptions got a little boggy. It sometimes slowed the reading down to the point where I got a little lost in what was happening.Dante nails painting vivid characters from the moment they step on the page. Claire and Leon and Matthias were all fully formed using so few words. In their cadence of speech, how they viewed the world, and how they interacted with each other. The development there was enviable.The pacing was a little slow, which is kind of surprising for such a short book. There is a lot of character setup and their interaction with Matthias, and getting to the point of his story arc, took more than half the book to get to. As a result, the ending felt rushed, albeit it satisfactory. I liked where the story went and how the arc was resolved. I liked the realization of just how shallow the monster now lives under their skin and how they now must control it forever. It creates a good cyclical plot. Leon and Claire were running from monsters, and they ended up fighting fire with fire.If you're looking for a lush read that's sexy as hell (those sex scenes were something else) that's worth the payoff of a slower start to the plot, you'll like A FLAME IN THE NIGHT.3.5I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

The Black Slide by JW Ocker

Published: August 16, 2022Publisher: HarperCollinsAuthor: WebsiteInfo: Goodreads

Griffin Birch isn't known for being brave, but there's something about the new black slide on the elementary school playground that's made him curious. Against his better judgement, he just has to follow his best friend Laila down.But the Black Slide is no ordinary piece of playground equipment. What Griffin and Laila find at the other end of this strange portal is a cruel world, populated by bloodthirsty creatures on a quest to become immortal.And it's up to Griffin to save himself, his best friend--and the future of earth itself. (goodreads.com)

THE BLACK SIDE is on the younger side of middle grade, the characters about nine-years-old and in fifth grade. I must have missed the elementary school part in the blurb. Not that I didn't know this was MG. I just didn't realize it was as young as it was. Thankfully, it didn't affect the reading any. In fact, I think the ages of the students are largely irrelevant when it comes to them being nine, ten, eleven, twelve. The voices were pretty fluid that way.There's definitely a classical horror element to the storytelling. It actually reminded me of Stranger Things, especially when the kids got into the Painful Place and started walking around. It was basically an upside down world of our own, where there was a painground instead of a playground, and none of the creatures made sense to their normal world sensibilities.I liked how the story led into the black slide and that whole world. How the focus was originally on the teacher, Mrs Pitts, and how she ended up being just a brick in the wall, as it were. I also really liked the notion that something as innocuous as a slide is what transports kids to another world to get tortured, basically. That adds a layer of creepy to it.It was a fun read, but it didn't really resonate with me (and no, not just because it's a middle grade books there are plenty that do). I'm not too thrilled with how it tries to shoehorn child abuse into the storyline (and I don't mean by the Merciless). Like, it works with the plot, but it also tries to add a depth that feels disingenuous to the story. It just sat a little odd with me.The storytelling style was a little standoffish too. It kept the characters at a bit of a distance and prevented me from really immersing myself in the story and taking the ride with the kids. I wanted to be more involved in it, but the story wasn't letting me. It's kind of odd to explain, but there's just a narrative distance there.THE BLACK SLIDE isn't a bad story. It's fun and creepy and does the trick for a scary tale. But it didn't blow my hair back.3.5I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Eternal Spring edited by Rhonda Helms

Published: April 9, 2012Publisher: SelfAuthor: WebsiteInfo: Goodreads

Flowers, vacation, baseball, prom...what does spring mean to you? From unicorn hunters and teenage exorcists to Egyptian princesses and aspiring ballerinas, this collection of thirteen stories by some of the most exciting authors in Young Adult fiction explores young love and new beginnings during the most beautiful time of the year. (goodreads.com)

A fun collection of short stories that I enjoyed reading. Just to keep in mind, they're all kind of dated (check that published date) in terms of content and style, and it's kind of short on diversity. Also the characters are on the younger side for YA nowadays, many of them coming in around 15 (which can speak to the style) whereas a lot of YA today aims toward 17 or 18. I enjoyed the works despite these things, although they were all very obvious reading ETERNAL SPRING.My favorites were The Vanishing Spring (almost horror-esque, no surprise there), The Princess of Egypt Must Die (you had me at Egypt), Picture Not Perfect (I liked the message in this one), and Potionate Love (it has a fun twist). There's a good mix of stories in here, spanning contemporary, historical fiction, fantasy, dark fantasy, and paranormal. So there's literally something for everyone.I don't think the stories themselves aged poorly or anything. In fact I think they held up quite well, if just the style aimed toward a slightly younger audience. And in all honesty there's a dearth of books for this younger YA age range today so it can at least fill in a gap (although there is one story in here that is New Adult, however there's no sex on the page, just a baby and a father who doesn't know about it).I don't really have a whole lot else to say about ETERNAL SPRING. I enjoyed myself reading it. It reminds me of a time back when I first started book blogging, and it's a book that's really representative of the YA market at that time, the good things and the less than good things. Take that for what you will. I recommend it because it's a fun anthology.3.5

Remember Me by Chelsea Bobulski

Published: August 6, 2019Publisher: Feiwel and FriendsAuthor: WebsiteInfo: Goodreads

Nell Martin is moving again, this time to the Winslow Grand Hotel, built in 1878. As Nell is settling in, strange things begin to happen. Doors lock of their own accord, writing appears on bathroom walls--and most horrifying of all--visions of a dead boy permeate her waking life. Thinking it was her mind playing tricks on her, she soon finds the past and the present colliding as she learns horrific details of a murder that happened at the hotel in 1905 involving a girl named Lea.Nell and a mysterious bellboy must relive that day in hopes of finally breaking a curse that imprisons them both. And Nell discovers what truly links her to the history of the Winslow Grand Hotel. (goodreads.com)

I don't comment on book covers very often at all, but I feel bad for the author and the short straw she drew on this one. It's so very 'self-published author created in Canva' or something. Actually, I think it's worse than Canva. Considering the publisher, it takes me aback when I look at it. Like, why was it allowed to go to print like this? Really, it's the title. The title just screams 'I don't know how to graphic design.' And I'm not saying I'm a graphic designer, by any means. Because I'm not. But whoever put this together should be. This is a just a very amateur cover and coming from a Big 5 arm, I'm insulted on behalf of the author. Obviously this book was not a pick for a marketing budget, and that sucks.Because it really is a good story. The ghost story is low grade creepy most of the time and The Shining the rest of the time. It's like Titanic meets The Shining, without the boat.The past tense of the story is very reminiscent of Jack and Rose. Like I could not escape that comparison, from the destitute and hiding it parents to the abusive fiance to the whirlwind romance that has the rich girl abandoning her life for a chance at "true love." It's all there. Doesn't mean I wasn't rooting for it, and it's not like that Jack/Rose situation isn't a trope, but just a lot of things lined up for it to match. Part of me doesn't like this trope because it puts the MC, in this case, Lea, in a situation of potentially coming off as selfish because she's willing to just throw her family to the wolves and save herself just because she's going to marry a guy she doesn't like. But at he same time her family was willing to sacrifice her for the sake of maintaining appearances and lifestyle. So I think it's a wash in that respect.I liked both Lea and Nell as characters. They're very much your standard strong-willed heroine who's not willing to accept her fate in life and will do anything to change it. They're not particularly stand-out characters, but they're okay.The ending I found rather lackluster for a few reasons. Potential spoilers ahead so skip the next paragraph if you don't want to read it.One, I feel like it took too many iterations of Lea to figure out how to break the curse. It really was a simple solution that one of them should have posed before now, IMO. And two, I feel like so much emphasis was put on the rose bushes that they just had to have something to do with breaking the curse, but nope. They're just there, not doing anything except growing.I thought it was a fun, engaging story. It certainly kept my attention and I didn't want to put the book down. I liked the alternating timelines and how they merged at the end. There was a lot to like in this book, and I also kind of liked how Lea and whatshisname were actually able to develop their relationship over the course of so many years, so in the end it felt less like a Romeo and Juliet-type relationship and more like something that was actually a real relationship. It was enjoyable, at times creepy, and really hit the spot in the end.3.5

Teen Killers Club by Lily Sparks

Published: November 10, 2020Publisher: Crooked Lane BooksAuthor: WebsiteInfo: Goodreads

Seventeen-year-old Signal Deere has raised eyebrows for years as an unhappy Goth misfit from the trailer park. When she's convicted of her best friend Rose's brutal murder, she's designated a Class A--the most dangerous and manipulative criminal profile. To avoid prison, Signal signs on for a secret program for 18-and-under Class As and is whisked off to an abandoned sleep-away camp, where she and seven bunkmates will train as assassins. Yet even in the Teen Killers Club, Signal doesn't fit in. She's squeamish around blood. She's kind and empathetic. And her optimistic attitude is threatening to turn a group of ragtag maniacs into a team of close-knit friends. Maybe that's because Signal's not really a killer. She was framed for Rose's murder and only joined the program to escape, track down Rose's real killer, and clear her name. But Signal never planned on the sinister technologies that keep the campers confined. She never planned on the mysterious man in the woods determined to pick them off one by one. And she certainly never planned on falling in love. Signal's strategy is coming apart at the seams as the true killer prepares to strike again in Teen Killers Club. (goodreads.com)

That blurb is vaguely misleading, especially the last few sentences there. I feel like the focus of the book isn't what it's saying here. I mean, the book insists it is, but the way the story plays out leads me to believe differently.It's not that I didn't like TEEN KILLERS CLUB. I thought it was dark and fun at the same time, like a really messed up Breakfast Club. The setting is ambiguously in the near future enough to give us the technology that's needed to make the story work. I didn't have an issue with that and I thought it was done well enough to get past that vaguery.I also really liked all the characters, granted I felt like the twins and Javier kind of blended. Signal, Erik, Jada, and Dennis all stood out quite well to me. Everyone else felt . . . expendable, which ended up kind of fitting, unfortunately.What kind of irked me was the ending. The climax felt equal parts fitting and ridiculous. Like, the high level purpose of it made sense, but the situation Signal ended up in just seemed really forced for the sake of drama. Plus the overarching plot of Signal getting framed for Rose's murder isn't really wrapped up. I guess it technically is because you know who killed Rose, but Signal isn't a benefactor of that revelation. It assuaged her fears that she did black out and kill her friend, but that's really it. So that whole driving force behind why Signal is even in this situation to begin with is left hanging and unresolved and since it doesn't look like this is a series, that leaves me wanting.At the same time I don't feel wholly left behind by the ending either. I don't feel unfulfilled. I would even say I liked the ending because it did resolve a lot, just not the major piece of the story. A lot of wrenches were dogpiled into this story and all but the main wrench had somewhere to go at the end of it. So, satisfying yet lacking at the same time.I wouldn't say I'm torn about TEEN KILLERS CLUB. I did like it. I'm just bothered by the major plot arc not being resolved by the end of the book, at least not in a way that benefits Signal at all. Except I'm supposed to feel vindicated by what happens at the end. In part, I am. But largely I'm not and really that's what's weighing the rating on this one down. Granted this probably would have been a really long book had that ball kept rolling, but at the very least not making this a stand alone. Because a stand alone says there's no more story to tell except there very much is and it's probably the most important part of the story.3.5I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.