Tina CallaghanRezensionen

The plot itself was amazing. I loved that it was so suspenseful and heart racing, but I just wish the characters were more in depth and detailed. Overall though, the book was fantastic.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from LibraryThing in return for an honest review.

After the suicide of her father, Lia runs away from her home and her mother to see her Uncle Harry at his remote island home in Ireland, the place where her father died. She is looking to understand why her father did what he did. But Lia finds more then she bargained for. Something strange is happening on the island. As the winter storms roll in it is only a matter of time till everyone is trapped on the island and they may not survive the winter.

This story is told from the perspective of multiple characters. It is full of twists and turns. It sucked me in right away and I could not put it down. That being said I did find it to drag in parts and left multiple questions unanswered. Overall I enjoyed this book.

This is a solid piece of YA supernatural/thriller story-telling steeped in Irish Gothic/horror atmosphere. If you are a reader like I am and tend to give stories a bit of a reality fact check while reading, you might question some minor points as I did, like a 16-year-old who secretly decides to board a plane from New York to Ireland and on to an island she has never visited and just "show up" unexpected on her uncle Harry's doorstep. Each chapter is prefaced with a quote, usually from a novel. Given the frequency of quotes derived from Bram Stoker's Dracula, it is kind of hard to not take these quotes as foreshadowing. That being said, I enjoyed this one, predominantly for the secluded island setting and the overall dark, suspenseful atmosphere. The secret the island harbors and the outcome were okay, but didn't pull me in like I had hoped it would. I think I would have preferred it better if the secret had an Irish folklore aspect to it.½

I received this book as an ARC, but am voluntarily and honestly reviewing it. It was a good read. The story line was interesting but a bit slow. I enjoyed going through the discovery with the main character Lia who goes to an island to find out what really happened to her father.

The thrill of finding out what was really happening on the island and why was interesting. Even though i tended to be a bit slow in some parts I enjoyed it enough to finish reading it. Which says a lot for me, because if I find a book too slow I don't complete it.

I had the opportunity to review this novel from the Library Thing Early Reviewers Program. I can definitively say this: It is like nothing I've read before. In a really really good way! The prose is well-written, and flows along perfectly. Although, I feel that the main character’s use of words were not quite what an NY girl would use. Though, a small comment. The plot is as interesting and in-depth as it gets. I didn't go into this novel, knowing the plot, and was quite shocked with the turn of events! I would definitely recommend.

I received a free copy of this book through LibraryThing Early Readers.

For me this was a book of two halves. The first half was great, the suspense build up was good and I wanted to read the rest of the book. However, once we had the "reveal" (I won't say what as I don't want spoil this for anyone else) the book slowed and the second half really dragged, it could have been over in half the time. I also had concerns about how young the main character was. She had left home in America and flown all the way to an Irish island and then took up with a young man there and no one seemed particularly worried. Her character came across as a lot older than her stated age and in fact she could have been older without the plot being affected.

Something is wrong in the town of Bailey, something lurks in the river that seems to take its toll on the town in a longstanding pattern. After Josh loses his older brother, Callum to the river, he finds Kate and Gabe. Kate and Gabe have also lost their fathers to the water. Since each of the deaths, the teens have seen strange things surface in the water, images of their loved ones, hallucinations and dreams that seem more like memories. With the help of the town historian, they try to solve and stop the plague that haunts Bailey.

Dark Wood Dark Water presented and intriguing mystery and a multi-layered horror story. It did take me a while to get into and to sort out all of the characters. There were quite a few characters introduced at the beginning and the chapters switched between their points of view. This made it difficult for me to place how everyone fit together. Once the three main characters were together,this was a bit easier. I enjoyed the connection to the past and the uniqueness of the curse, however I was left confused with some of the characters that played a part in the curse. I am still unsure as to what role Alma and Richard played and I'm not sure they were even necessary to the plot. Josh, Gabe and Kate were well thought out and were characters that I cared about. I would have loved a little more information as to how the curse began in the past, it seemed like the originator of the curse was dabbling in some dark arts that may have been rooted in Bailey even before the curse began. The horror elements kept me reading as they ranged from haunting to gruesome to psychological. Overall, a unique young adult horror that could use a bit more polishing up.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.½

I really enjoyed Dark Wood Dark Water by Tina Callaghan. It's the first work I've read by her, but I look forward to reading more. Well written, nicely paced, and I cared about the characters, who seemed pretty well thought out, though I think Kate could have been a little more fleshed out than she was. A nice haunting ghost story without too much blood and guts.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Library Thing in return for an hones review.

Josh's brother has just drowned in the local river in Bailey. But he isn't the only one in town that has lost family members to the river. Some say the town of Bailey is cursed. Josh has been having strange dreams about a ship's captain and a monk. When he meets Kate and Gabe they discover they are all contact somehow, to each other and the town's past. With the help of local historian Naylor can they put an end to the curse or will they become the curse's next victims.

Overall I enjoyed the overall plot of this book however I felt like there where a lot of questions left unanswered. At times I had to re-read sections because I felt like I missed something. That being said I found myself invested in the characters and their struggle.

I really enjoyed Dark Wood Dark Water by Tina Callaghan. It's the first work I've read by her, but I look forward to reading more. Well written, nicely paced, and I cared about the characters, who seemed pretty well thought out, though I think Kate could have been a little more fleshed out than she was. A nice haunting ghost story without too much blood and guts.

"Dark Wood Dark Water" by Tina Callaghan, is a story about a town with a violent past and a cursed river which comes to life to take the lives of local villagers. When Josh, Kate and Gabe lose relatives and friends to the evil river, they become embroiled in the history of the curse, and must work together to stop the evil before it takes their souls.

"Dark Wood Dark Water" is an entertaining and easy read, for those who like YA stories with elements of romance, combining the past and present, and with a bit of "spooky" thrown in. Great fun and a good Halloween read.

I received a free copy of this book as part of Library Thing’s Early Reviewer Program.

Dark Wood Dark Water is a classic tale of the battle between good and evil. Strange and horrible things are happening in the town of Bailey and the three main characters have each lost a loved one to the menacing and deadly creatures in the river. The three decide to confront the evil head on and the battle for Bailey begins. The story pulled me in and kept me reading to the end. I liked how the author connected the past with the present. At times the story was a bit repetitive but overall it was a good read.

Something, indeed, is wrong in the town of Bailey – people are dying – and three teenagers will have to face a dark and evil nemesis emerging from the town’s past. Our three reluctant heroes know the agony of loss:
Kate – her father drowned in the river; her mother hospitalized.
Gabe – his father drowned in an old well.
Josh – his older brother also killed by the river.
These three young people must come together and put aside their teen angst and jealousies to fight an evil that they will find is deeply rooted in the town and its river.

Tina Callaghan’s dark portrait of the town of Bailey is a riveting read. The characters are fully fleshed and identifiable and, therefore, easy to invest in. The dark and dreadful history of the town is well documented as Callaghan weaves together the past and the present.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It was fast-paced and hard to put down. An excellent read for young adults and adults who enjoy dark fiction and fantasy.

I received a free copy of this book as part of Library Thing’s Early Reviewer Program.

Demon Rum is an anthology I've been looking forward to since it's announcement back in 2013, for a couple of reasons. First, because the folks at Angelic Knight Press do such a great job of selecting submissions and in particular, because I really liked the theme with this one.

Seems there were more good pieces submitted than the editors could use for the main anthology and, as a result, we are given this companion collection, A Shot of Terror.

No big names in this mini-anthology of alcohol induced terror, but the writing is above average and there is not a bad story in the bunch.

I particularly liked the first selection, "The Wild Hunt" by Tina Callaghan. Set in an Irish pub, there are three strangers who come in from the cold. The whisky the one orders goes right through him, literally. Yes, I do know the proper usage if the word literally. "They want the souls of the dying, which would be me, and they want the souls of those in despair, which would be any or all of us, I'd say. They'll take a happy soul too if they get the chance, but they're drawn to the other kind. Vultures really."

"Scrumpy Making In the West Country" by Stephen Gepp was fun, if somewhat predictable. And I thought "The Merry Green Widows of Waterman's Inn" by Rachel Anding was a nice way to wrap up the collection. Rachel's prose was especially enjoyable. "Chadwick Krane slipped his moleskin sketchpad along with a handful of stubby pencils into the pocket of his messenger bag which he lowered carefully into the rowboat. Pungent oders of decomposing swamp matter and pre-storm ozone filled his nostrils." Certainly paints the picture, doesn't it?

Shots of Terror is a great setup for Demon Rum and is available now from Angelic Knight Press through Amazon.com.

Highly recommended and please read responsibly.