Great story, tons of suspense! My Review: This is an intense story from the get go. Porsha is on her last leg home after being held captive for two years. She's greeted by her neighbor Boone who is tending the farm in her parents absence. She soon learns her mother has cancer and both her parents are in New York for her treatment. Porsha is a complete mess and the descriptions are very strong and moving. As the story progresses her parents come home as her mom's cancer is in remission. As a family they work through Porsha's captivity, giving the gruesome details. The book is filled with suspense and the author did a nice job with it. If you have a weak stomach this might not be a story for you. I love gruesome with taste so it was right up my alley. I wished more of the gruesome was mixed into the story more instead large, bold chunks but either was a great listen. The narrator did an amazing job with everything from pacing to changing up per character. Find on Amazon/Audible
My Reviews: Book 1 Gripping from the start! The kind of book I couldn't put down as terror seized me and curiosity drew me in. College student Serena is shaking in fear as she's hiding within her storage pod during a violent protest on the campus she attends. It brings flashbacks of living in Iraq flying back as she struggles to deal with her PTSD. While shivering in fear a handsome man, Kyle, enters her pod. She clings to him for safety and security. More blasts outside jar the pod door and they get trapped together, Within that time they get to know each other both the good and the freaky before their rescue. This is the beginning of their chilling relationship as Kyle is a little more than his attractive appearance leads on. The writing is as intense as the characters relationship and dark secrets are unleashed. I'm wasting no time in getting into book 2! Book 2 Book 1 captivated me from the start so I had to continue the series. The second book is just as exciting as Serena and Colt explore their relationship and Colt's dark past. The author has a great writing style, making the series a pleasure to read and adding a touch of suspense to the romance. Visit Jasmine LaPerla on Amazon
My Review: This story centers around three groups. The Order is driven around order. They carry an Ordan worm inside them that bonds with the individual who then begins to think in terms of order and logic. I admire the authors ability to relate to that order and create individuals who think in terms and use order to define their every move. Chaos is as it sounds. Their world is changing, unordered and crazy. Then there's Maker. The amount of world building the author did to create this story is phenomenal. One minute the characters are living in the US. The next they are taken into the Abyss becoming nightmarish. The next moment they are back in normalcy and can't exactly remember that only moments earlier they were living a nightmare. Action scenes followed action scenes without leaving any dull moments and left me curious what horror would befall the characters next and how were they all entangled in the story. The narrator Stephanie Neff had great pacing that mimicked the speed of the story. Author and narrator were a perfect combination for me! Amazon/Audible
The sequel to The Vampires Next Door is almost here. Release date set for March 7th. This series is home to me. The only series I have currently placed in a setting close to my home -- St. Augustine Florida. In similar fashion there are places of interest noted in The Monster Upstairs. These places exist. In this book the Slayers find themselves not beneath St. Augustine but Jacksonville, sister city to St. Augustine.
Help support the release please share this post and/or support the Headtalker https://headtalker.com/campaigns/bloodseekers-in-st-augustine/
These underground tunnels really exist and some are open to tours. The transportation tunnels here made for a nasty adventure for Alison and the acquaintance of a new creature -- Alistair the Boghart, Excerpt:
She found the voice. It was attached to an odd looking
creature with wild brown hair, a large nose, and round cheeks peering at her
with two outstretched hands from a hole in the bricks no more than a foot or so
above her head. Another set off blades hit the ground and she jumped, reaching
for the creature’s hands. He grasped them and pulled her upward while she
planted her feet along the wall and climbed it.
“’Bout time. Follow me,” he said as he crawled through the
small space. It was large enough for him to crawl, as he was no larger than a
four-year-old child. She felt like a giant and had to wriggle on her belly, her
ribs throbbing with each movement, and the dampness soaking through her shirt and
jeans. She was glad she wore old clothes and running shoes for her little
venture. The gunk coating the crawl space oozed through her fingers as she
clutched between the bricks to get to the other side.
What's happening?
demanded Rodham.
It was a booby trap.
I'm OK.
The creature jumped out of the space and grabbed her hands,
pulling her out. She was impressed with his strength as she tumbled out of the
tunnel onto her butt and the gunky ground of yet another tunnel. He was no more
than half her height and she wasn't exactly tall at five foot three inches.
“Thank you,” she said, lifting her aching body off the
ground. She felt like an old woman and desired a long, hot bath filled with
bubbles and the scent of strawberry or vanilla, anything but the nasty odor
that coated every inch of her body and made her cringe.
“It's not every day I find a young lass traveling these
tunnels,” he muttered. “Or anyone...” he finished, his voice trailing off.
But those aren't the only tunnels used in the book. There are also tunnels beneath Jacksonville that contain bank vaults. They're still used today for tours and businesses.
And in St. Augustine style there is a battle in one of the existing forts. A small fort called Fort Matanzas.
The picture purchased as the fort is closed due to damage from Hurricane Matthew.
The background on the book cover also contains a draw bridge from one of the forts.
