A Colossal Injustice

by Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr.

Giveaway ends January 31, 2025.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

It is perfect for James Patterson and Robert Galbraith fans, as it features alternating POVs and a blend of genres.

The Rabbit Man: A Collection of Short Terrors & Flash Fiction by T.R. Slauf

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Terrifying.

The Rabbit Man is a haunting collection that contains stories about serial killers, witch-hunting, paranormal horror, and more.

Pros:
1. A variety of frightening tales.
2. All the stories within this collection are good.
3. Excellent, creepy book cover. I recommend inspecting it.
4. The illustrations are a splendid touch.
5. The stories are short.
6. Easter egg mini-game.
7. There is a connection between these horror chronicles.
8. T.R. Slauf is an expert of the macabre.

Cons:
1. Blaspheming and profanity.
2. This compilation would benefit from keener editing.

The flaws listed above prevented me from giving this collection a five-star rating.

I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Last Liar Standing by Danielle M. Wong

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Not bad.

Last Liar Standing by Danielle M. Wong is a story about a woman named Vonny who suffers from amnesia. When she wakes up in the hospital, she remembers nothing about her past. Vonny makes friends and enemies, and people aren’t who they seem to be. Everyone seems to have secrets, and Vonny isn’t sure who she can trust. It doesn’t help that the two detectives following her have hidden knowledge that could make things more complicated. Did something happen that triggered Vonny’s amnesia? You’ll have to read this novel to find out.

Danielle M. Wong is a talented writer. She takes time her time giving vivid details of Vonny’s surroundings, and the characterization is superb. I like the book cover, and the twists were good. I did not issue this a five-star rating because Last Liar Standing was too long, and it would have benefited from keener editing. I noticed several typos as I read through this novel.

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Digger by Arjay Lewis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Godlike.

This book showcases the power of a standalone novel and why it is important not to underestimate them. The narrative is crisp, sucking you in straight from the first chapter. It was captivating how the author omitted the typical prologue in fiction, and started straight from chapter one. The author richly portrays the characters. I felt like I was walking through a horror mausoleum as the writer shares his knowledge of frightening creatures, and his preference in creepy flicks. It was fascinating how Arjay Lewis gave the protagonist a handicap, but still made it work in the prose. This eerie chronicle will transport you into a world full of devilish, supernatural beings and will unravel the enigma behind the title. What I found alluring was the author’s deft blending of mystery with mayhem. The wordsmith’s well-formatted fabrication aided my reading experience. The yarn flowed well and continued to do so as the plot unwinded. I imagine the creator of this work made a detailed outline for this text, and I can envision him smiling as he developed this book. Arjay Lewis is a gifted writer, and he knows how to keep readers engaged. I thought it was cool how he separated the book into different parts, and I’m not referring to chapters. I like that Arjay Lewis offers readers freebies in this book.

I wish there were more illustrations planted in this outstandingly composed novel to immerse readers more into this provocative anecdote. I wish the story was a little shorter, as I felt myself become a little restless while digging into this novel. The editing wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough to not impede my reading experience. Arjay Lewis should revamp the book cover because it could be better. Still, I would disagree with any other reviewer who rates this book less than four stars.

If you’re reading this review and wondering if you should read this horror chronicle, yes, you should. The first sentence of this novel hits hard, and chapter one does not disappoint. While this tale concludes well, I like how the author made it so that he can choose to turn it into a series if he wanted to. The Wizard of Odd has showed why every author should include a few standalone yarns in their arsenal. If you haven’t figured it out already, what I’m saying is I’m a fan of this tale, and I would be interested in reading other works by this talented novelist.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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The Last Halloween by Fred Gracely

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Epic.

This is a story about a young boy named Goff who gets repeatedly bullied by others around him. On a tragic night, he goes from human to… you’ll have to read the rest of the story to find out.

For me, this gets two thumbs way up. I have no problem saying that this is one of the best books I have read all year. I can tell that the author had fun creating this novel, and it was expertly crafted. I would compare this to the Harry Potter series, as Goff is joined by others in his adventure. I already knew by the eighth chapter that I was going to give this text a five-star rating.

The prose is well thought out, the twists and turns are great, the book cover is good, the chapter header illustrations are a spectacular add-on, the dialogue is funny, and the bonus content was a splendid addition to this novel. This chronicle contains a blend of genres: fantasy, supernatural, mystery, adventure, humor, suspense, and action. I would recommend this book to both adults and children alike, as the anecdote contains clean dialogue. Some of the end of chapter cliffhangers were spot-on. I’m not sure how long it took the writer to create this yarn, but you can tell that he worked hard on it.

It’s no wonder why this book has won literary awards. I was sucked into Goff’s world from the prologue, and the only bad thing was that I waited this long to dive into the tale and finish it. If you’re reading this review, and you’re considering whether or not to give this book a shot, I would highly suggest that it be your next read. This is a high-quality book. The text is easy to see, the book is well formatted, and it is edited.

The bonus content was a delight to read, and it gave a further foray into Goff’s character. It was disheartening to see how much he suffered. I was glad to see how Pam changed as time went on. I won’t say more than that; read the book.

Although I issued this book a five-star rating, it was not perfect. There were a few times I wished this anecdote was shorter. For me, part of the narrative dragged. I think it might have been because of how long the yarn is, but I understand why the author did what he did, opting to take his time as the narrative unfolded. Halstrom and Lydia irritated me at times, but I was delighted to see what happened later in the tale (I will not specify this to avoid spoiling it for you).

Please note that I personally prefer shorter fiction, but I have read longer fabrications in the past.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Boarded Windows, Dead Leaves by Michael Jess Alexander

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A good selection of grisly stories to read before you go to bed.

I like how there is a connected theme throughout this book. I’ve always been a fan of short chronicles, and this group’s brevity is welcome.

My favorites in this collection are Warm and Tender, The Delivery, Accident at the Laboratory, and Vic.

There are some great twists given in these stories, my favorite being The Delivery. After reading it, I found myself thinking about this ghastly tale while devouring my delicious meal. At first, the description of the villain wasn’t frightening to me, but after thinking about it, it dawned on me how creepy it is!

Accident at the Laboratory had me thinking about The Flying Spaghetti Monster, and I enjoyed the different style of this work compared to the others. I relished the transformation given in Vic, and karma is something to watch out for in Warm and Tender.

Only four stars because the selection as a whole has to be fantastic to get a five-star rating. Nonetheless, this is a great fiction assembly; if you don’t mind getting goosebumps, I recommend feasting on this ensemble of grim stories.

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Conjured Darkness: Six Macabre Tales by Michael Jess Alexander

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Good short stories.

Out of the six short stories in Conjured Darkness: Six Macabre Tales, my favorites were The Experiment, and The Screaming Void. I noticed that my reading engagement was the highest when reading these two.

For those of you wondering, here are the meanings of the incantations in Small Revolution and The Screaming Void:

Small Revolution

Contarso = account (Portuguese)
rencollo = quarrel? dispute? (Spanish-English Dictionary)
ivist = visit?
Eldri = older (Icelandic)
enn = than (Norwegian)
Kandveer = cane spring (Afrikaans)

The Screaming Void

jasu = brightness (Czech)
bhitho = be (Scottish Gaelic)
Xaant = barn (Somali)
maati = family (Oromo); maati o = don’t you (Yoruba) or dirty
otrok = a child (Slovenian)
devosto = devoted (Italian)

What I really liked were the characters in the The Screaming Void. Mrs. Loneagan and Treat (notice the names). When you read the book, it fits so well. As for the mad scientist, that was eerie indeed.

Only four stars because not all the books were that great, but I do applaud the author for trying.

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