Justin Holley

If I told you I just read a creepy book about people trapped in a haunted hotel with a raging blizzard on the way you might think I just finished The Shining. You'd be wrong. I just finished Seven Cleopatra Hill.
What seems to start off as a simple ghost story soon morphs into murder and mayhem when romance writer Vic and her school teacher husband James decide to ride out the storm instead of getting the hell out of dodge when they had the chance. Also stranded at the hotel are a couple of ghost hunting kids who have experience that may come in handy if only the spirits were the worst things to fear. The ghosts in the hotel are pretty tame compared to what's out there in the blizzard and heads will roll if it doesn't get what it wants. If you're looking for a gory good time, this is it.

I received a complimentary copy for review.… (mehr)

Mia has grown up with religious fanatics for parents although she does remember when they were more party animal than religious zealot. Her church is of the opinion that everything is a sin, even something as simple as yoga or meditation. Mia's parents expect her to attend bible college but she decides to stand up for herself and attend the state university.
With the way she has been raised, coupled with her random bouts of tears caused by her anxiety disorder it seems like living on campus would be a huge culture shock for her. Somehow she manages to fit right in. Even her sex crazed, wannabe rock star, room mate doesn't seem to phase her.
After she attends one talk on astral projection and has a quick peek at a book on the subject she succeeds in leaving her body on her very first try. Her second attempt does not end as well for her and she gets trapped outside her body when an entity moves in.
I enjoyed parts of this story but did not care for several of the characters or the way they interacted with each other. I wanted to like Mia's new friend Bruce, but the running commentary in his head put me off. I couldn't stand the roommate and it seemed weird that Mia would be hanging out with her. Pastor Matt was nauseating, though I assume he was intended to be, as was the boyfriend. The father was weak. Professor Colista grew on me but I think his cat was the only character I really cared about. The plot was clever in theory but the execution didn't quite make it.
I have enjoyed previous works by this author, and you may enjoy this one more than I did.
2.75 stars rounded up to 3
My thanks to Silver Shamrock Publishing for the review copy.… (mehr)

This has a LOT going on. I really wanted to like this more but to be totally honest I did not.

Plot - It seemed instead of having one or two great ideas and developing those we threw a bunch of good ideas together. More does not always equal better.

Characters - Other than the children they read mostly the same and lacked a distinct voice. A lot of the forward momentum hinged on Angela and Em's relationship(?); if you count falling madly in love, wanting to have children and get married within a span of a few minutes a relationship.

I found it disturbing and unrealistic how obsessed James and Vic were with sex. I'm talking your wife is one step away from being killed, you've seen people murdered, almost been killed yourself and you're still cracking sex jokes? I'm certainly not a prude but it felt very forced like the author was constantly trying to work sex into the situation.… (mehr)

3.5 rounded up. I read this as a group read with one of my favorite groups Horror Aficionados. All I knew going in was that it was about Astral Projection. But it also had occultism, cultish religious zealots, abuse, familiars and a cat named Crowley. It started out a bit slowly, getting to know the characters, setting the scene, etc. And I felt like the instant love connection between characters was a bit far-fetched. However, I don't read books for their romantic believability, I read them for the weird shit. That I received in large quantities. Once the action kicked in it was hard to put down. The climax was pretty intense and the ending was satisfying. Overall I was very impressed with my first reading of a Justin Holley book. Would recommend.… (mehr)