Horror – World of Bai

Book Review: “Ask For Andrea” By Noelle W. Ihli

I had never heard of this book before the owner of my favorite local independent book store, The Romantics Archive, recommended this book to me. All she had to say was that it was a loose Ted Bundy retailing to pull me in. I immediately went home and downloaded it onto my kindle while I waited for them to stock the physical book in store. I have since finished the book and purchased a physical copy for my shelves, this is a testament to how much I enjoyed this book.

“On a date that isn’t going well? Do you feel unsafe or just a little uneasy? Ask for Andrea at the bar. We’ll make sure you get home safe.”
Noelle W. Ihli, Ask for Andrea

About The Book

Author: Noelle W. Ihli

Publisher: Dynamite Books

Published Date: September 1st, 2024

Page Count: 295 pages

Main Genre: Thriller

GoodReads Rating: 4.08

Format: E Book

“There is no room for questions. The worst is coming, and these words combined with your exact obedience are your only hope for safety. ”
Noelle W. Ihli, Ask for Andrea

Synopsis

Meghan, Brecia, and Skye have just one thing in common.

They were all murdered by the same man.

He hunted them online, masquerading as an eligible bachelor. Then he played the perfect gentleman, a thick layer of charm and a thousand-watt smile hiding the fact that his first dates end in shallow graves.

He’s gotten away with murder three times now.

The only thing that might keep him from killing again? The women he murdered.

Meghan, Brecia, and Skye might be dead, but they’re not gone. They’ve found each other. And they won’t rest until they find a way to stop him.

The haunt is on.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“It’s the tapestry we wove together. The threads still bind us.”
Noelle W. Ihli, Ask for Andrea

Rating

I really appreciate how this book highlights the, often uncomfortable or dangerous, reality of online dating. It also raises awareness of a common getaway strategy that many bars and restaurants have in place.

Have you ever been to a bar on a date and seen a poster that says something along the lines of “Is your date making you feel unsafe or uneasy? If so ask you waitress for (Insert name here).”? This will signal to the workers that you need help getting out of this situation in a safe and inconspicuous manner leaving your date none the wiser.

* (If you frequent a popular date night space this is your sign to ask them if they have anything in place for these situations. If they don’t, encourage them to adopt one of the many that are out there.) *

This book opens up with that exact scenario and snowballs from there.

I really enjoyed the rotating POV of the three girls. Each POV was quite different from one another and also left you on a bit of a cliffhanger. This made reading the book quite fast paced as I was dying (Yes, pun intended) to know what was happening to each girl.

If I had to change anything in the book it would have been what was leading up to the end. I felt like it was going in the right direction but the Girls “helping” out the next victim just didn’t feel like it had as much pay off as I would have liked. I wish the girls had possessed more ghostly powers. It felt as if the girls were merely just there watching things unfold but the author was pushing too hard for us to feel like the girls had power to change things with little to no pay off. Maybe if we did indeed get confirmation that things were happening because of the things the girls were doing I would have given the book a better rating but nothing felt concrete.

Even with that small set back to my rating, I did enjoy the majority of the book and did appreciate the ultimate conclusion to the story as everything came full circle.

Overall, I could see the new age connection to Ted Bundy that the author was going for and appreciated the differences. It makes me wonder what other serial killers people have loosely based books on that I am missing out on.

These kinds of books always make me question what the after life will look like and sometimes I even hope some of their theories are true. But this story mostly left me questioning “What would I do if I were in their shoes?”. I like to hope I would have Asked For Andrea.

“He was the kind of beautiful that drew you in before you even considered the fact that beautiful things can be poisonous.”
Noelle W. Ihli, Ask for Andrea

QOTD: Have you ever been on a date that felt like it was going sideways?

Book Review: “The Spite House” By Johnny Compton

I read this book for my Book Club Pick in the month of May. This book was Co Hosted by my Best Friend Bree and My best Bookish Friend Ireland. The Live Book Discussion is on 06/03/23 at 5 Pm MST.

About The Book

Author: Johnny Compton

Publisher: Tor

Published Date: February 7th, 2023

Page Count: 261 Pages

Main Genres: Horror, Gothic, Paranormal

GoodReads Rating: 3.54

Format: Physical Book

Synopsis

Eric Ross is on the run from a mysterious past with his two daughters in tow. Having left his wife, his house, his whole life behind in Maryland, he’s desperate for money–it’s not easy to find safe work when you can’t provide references, you can’t stay in one place for long, and you’re paranoid that your past is creeping back up on you.

When he comes across the strange ad for the Masson House in Degener, Texas, Eric thinks they may have finally caught a lucky break. The Masson property, notorious for being one of the most haunted places in Texas, needs a caretaker of sorts. The owner is looking for proof of paranormal activity. All they need to do is stay in the house and keep a detailed record of everything that happens there. Provided the house’s horrors don’t drive them all mad, like the caretakers before them.

The job calls to Eric, not just because there’s a huge payout if they can make it through, but because he wants to explore the secrets of the spite house. If it is indeed haunted, maybe it’ll help him understand the uncanny power that clings to his family, driving them from town to town, making them afraid to stop running. A terrifying Gothic thriller about grief and death and the depths of a father’s love, Johnny Compton’s The Spite House is a stunning debut by a horror master in the making.

Synopsis From GoodReads

Rating

Review

This book was neither a hit or a miss. I honestly have pretty neutral feelings towards this book. I loved the paranormal aspect to this read as I have been dying to find a spooky read that makes me questions if spirits are truly there or not and this book did give that! But I did have a few things that brought more questions than answers. With that being said I think if this book was just 50 pages longer I think this book would have ended nicely or even a second book about the family now that all this has happened.

This book had so many POV’s, in fact I think you get a POV from all main characters. I can count at least 9 POV’s from the top of my head. This caused a lot of confusion for me but was honestly needed for the book to make any sense. The Spite House has an Extensive history and without the Multiple POV’s I don’t think we as readers would have been able to grasp what was going on throughout the entire book. But having Multiple POV’s also left me wanting to learn more about each and every character.

Overall I am glad I read this book but I could have lived without ever reading it. This really gave off Stephen King Vibes such as The Shinning and Pet Semetary, so if those are your vibes you might like this book. Lasty, If there was a second book ever made about Stacy I would read it as I cared about her character the most and would love to know more about her situation.

“You can do anything you want, you just have to make it happen.”
Johnny Compton, The Spite House

QOTD: What is the best paranormal book you have ever read?

Book Review: “Lock Every Door” By Riley Sager

Look at me, giving Riley Sager a second chance after DNF’ing Final Girls. I only made it about 100 pages into Final Girls before I decided it wasn’t for me, the writing was just so boring! So giving him a second chance wasn’t really on my radar, but Lock Every Door was a book that everyone was saying to give a try so here I am.

“Never take anything you haven’t earned, my father used to say. You always end up paying for it one way or another.”
Riley Sager, Lock Every Door

About The Book

Author: Riley Sager

Publisher: Dutton

Published Date: July 2nd, 2019

Page Count: 381 Pages

Main Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction

GoodReads Rating: 3.91

Format: Physical Book

“Every so often, life offers you a reset button. When it does, you need to press it as hard as you can.”
Riley Sager, Lock Every Door

Synopsis

No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.

As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly, disturbingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story—until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.

Searching for the truth about Ingrid’s disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew’s dark past and into the secrets kept within its walls. Her discovery that Ingrid is not the first apartment sitter to go missing at the Bartholomew pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent.

“One time is an anomaly. Two times is a coincidence. Three times is proof.”
Riley Sager, Lock Every Door

Rating

Review

I went into this book with basically no expectations which was probably for the best with this one. The only expectation I had was that this could possibly be a paranormal read and spoiler alert, I was wrong.

This book started off really strong. in fact, I flew through the first 100 pages! But after that we hit a slow part in the book that felt like it would last forever, and it did. In fact it lasted for practically 200 pages, almost till the very end of the book where it finally decided to get good again and man oh man did it get good!

Honestly, this book had a really interesting conclusion that saved this book from being a 2 star read. If you don’t want any kind of spoilers I would stop reading right now, don’t even skim the rest of this paragraph. Ok so the ending of this book reminded me a lot of the movie “The Menu” It talks about how the rich take advantage of the poor and man oh man did they take advantage of these apartment sitters!

Now the big question remains, after DNF’ing one of Riley Sagers books and giving this one a 3.5 star rating, will I be interested in picking up any of the other books from this author? Ummmm, I do have two of his books currently on my shelves, they are House Across The Lake and Home Before Dark. I think I want to try Home Before Dark as I have heard some good things about this and possibly even that it has paranormal aspects which I am here for. SO yes, I will probably try one more book from this author.

“Because here’s the thing about being poor—most people don’t understand it unless they’ve been there themselves. They don’t know what a fragile balancing act it is to stay afloat and that if, God forbid, you momentarily slip underwater, how hard it is to resurface.”
Riley Sager, Lock Every Door

QOTD: Do you have a favorite Riley Sager Book?

Book Review: “The Sun Down Motel” By Simone St. James

This book was my Book Clubs pick for the month of October and I don’t think we could have picked a better book for the spooky season! I know a lot of my book Club peeps were busy this month so not many of us were able to finish but that is perfectly fine because we are friends first before a Book Club. Over all I really enjoyed this book and I can’t wait to tell you my thoughts.

“For the odd girls, the nerdy girls, and the murderinos. This one is yours.”
Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel

About The Book

Author: Simone St. James

Publisher: Berkley

Published Date: February 18th, 2020

Page Count: 327 Pages

Main Genres: Mystery, Horror, Thriller

GoodReads Rating. 4.03

Format: Physical Book

“I think it’s instructive to be awake in the middle of the night every once in a while. To really see what you’re missing while you’re usually sleeping.”
Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel

Synopsis

Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn’t right at the Sun Down, and before long she’s determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden…

Synopsis From GoodReads

“I’m the one you didn’t kill,”
Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel

Rating

Review

This book started a bit slow to me and took maybe 150 pages to really get into. But by the time I met that 150 page mark I was hooked and did not want to put it down!

At the beginning of this book everything just felt too perfect, like she was out of money and had no where to stay but then she finds a rich roommate, like what? Why was it so perfect? That kind of story telling really gets under my skin. But honestly you forget about how perfect this book started after a little while and just get sucked into the atmosphere of The Sun Down Motel and the story of all the missing girls. You really want to help them figure out the truth!

I did really enjoy all of the characters in this book, and there were many. They all played a pretty important part in this book and really made the story. Carly made some really good friendships which was a really cute part that I enjoyed a lot, I was afraid she wouldn’t know anyone and be doing all this research on her own.

If you are looking for a paranormal book that actually gives you chills, I highly recommend picking up this book.

“The person who could be truly alone, in the company of no one but oneself and one’s own thoughts—that person was stronger than anyone else. More ready. More prepared.”
Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel

QOTD: What are some good paranormal books?

Book Review: “The Perfect Child” By Lucinda Berry

October has been such a great reading month for me! I have had many four and five star reads and this one was no different! I had heard nothing but good reviews for this book so I went in with High expectations and it really did live up to the hype.

“Parenting a traumatized child is horribly difficult. Most of them suffer from severe attachment issues, and mothers are usually the targets of their rage. It can get pretty awful.”
Lucinda Berry, The Perfect Child

About The Book

Author: Lucinda Berry

Publisher: Thomas and Mercer

Published Date: March 1st, 2019

Page Count: 371 Pages

Main Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Horror

GoodReads Rating: 4.10

Format: Audio

“She crawled up on my lap and whispered in her sweet voice, “I like hurting people. Do you?”
Lucinda Berry, The Perfect Child

Synopsis

Christopher and Hannah are a happily married surgeon and nurse with picture-perfect lives. All that’s missing is a child. When Janie, an abandoned six-year-old, turns up at their hospital, Christopher forms an instant connection with her, and he convinces Hannah they should take her home as their own.

But Janie is no ordinary child, and her damaged psyche proves to be more than her new parents were expecting. Janie is fiercely devoted to Christopher, but she acts out in increasingly disturbing ways, directing all her rage at Hannah. Unable to bond with Janie, Hannah is drowning under the pressure, and Christopher refuses to see Janie’s true nature.

Hannah knows that Janie is manipulating Christopher and isolating him from her, despite Hannah’s attempts to bring them all together. But as Janie’s behavior threatens to tear Christopher and Hannah apart, the truth behind Janie’s past may be enough to push them all over the edge.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“What are you talking about? We can’t just give her back—we’re her parents. Her parents, Hannah. Whether you like it or not, that’s what we signed on for.” His body shook as he tried to control his anger. “You can’t just give your kids away when it’s rough.” “You can if your kid is a monster.”
Lucinda Berry, The Perfect Child

Rating

Review

If you are going to read this book I highly recommend the audio book! I loved the cast of voices they had and it just made the book really come to life!

Before diving head first into this book like I did, I really recommend checking out the trigger warnings. If things about child abuse, domestic abuse, animal abuse and death happen to be triggers for you then I highly suggest not picking this one up. When reading this book I found myself comparing it to “The Push” by Ashley Audrain which I believe I also gave five stars. So if you liked one of the above maybe try the other!

This book made me cry and a lot of that is due to the specific trigger warnings I mentioned above. The author describes these situations in ways that really get to you which is great writing! This really added to the suspense of the book and overall horror element. This is probably the most unsettling book I have read in quite some time.

“It never crossed anyone’s mind that someone else might be in trouble. I wished it would’ve. Maybe then things would’ve ended differently.”
Lucinda Berry, The Perfect Child

QOTD: Give me a recommendation such as “If you liked this book then you will love this one”.

Book Review: “Hidden Pictures” By Jason Rekulak

This book has been read by everyone under the sun, Ok maybe not really, but it does feel like it. I have seen it everywhere with raving reviews so I was extremely excited to finally get my own copy and devour this book and what better time than the beginning of spooky season?!

“hardest things about recovery is coming to terms with the fact that you can’t trust your brain”
Jason Rekulak, Hidden Pictures

About The Book

Author: Jason Rekulak

Publisher: FlatIron Books

Published Date: May 10th, 2022

Page Count: 373 Pages

Main Genres: Horror, Thriller, Mystery

GoodReads Rating: 4.25

“I’m grateful to the judge who sent me to rehab instead of prison.”
Jason Rekulak, Hidden Pictures

Synopsis

Fresh out of rehab, Mallory Quinn takes a job in the affluent suburb of Spring Brook, New Jersey as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.

Mallory immediately loves this new job. She lives in the Maxwell’s pool house, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.

As the days pass, Teddy’s artwork becomes more and more sinister, and his stick figures steadily evolve into more detailed, complex, and lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to suspect these are glimpses of an unsolved murder from long ago, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force lingering in the forest behind the Maxwell’s house.

With help from a handsome landscaper and an eccentric neighbor, Mallory sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy—while coming to terms with a tragedy in her own past—before it’s too late.

“seemed so epic. But I mentioned the challenges to Adrian’s mother and she gave me some good advice. She said I shouldn’t try to write a book, I should just sit down at my laptop and tell the story, one sentence at a time, using the same language I’d use to tell a friend over coffee. She said it was okay not to sound like J. K. Rowling. It was fine if I sounded like Mallory Quinn from Philadelphia.”
Jason Rekulak, Hidden Pictures

Synopsis From GoodReads

Rating

Review

This book was everything I hoped for plus so much more!

I used to be a nanny so while I was reading this book I was imagining this happening to me and how I would have handled the situation, and I don’t think I would have made it out of this house alive.

I really loved that this book had pictures because without them I don’t think it would have been as scary as it was. The pictures just really helped you see that something was really weird with this situation. I think I stared at each picture for a good five minutes a piece just to get a real good look at what was going on.

The one thing I want to shout out is that this wasn’t as predictable as most thrillers I have read and I really appreciated that. I think this book is probably the scariest thing I have read in my whole two years of being on bookstagram and I am so glad I was able to finally read this one! I highly Recommend it!

“I see her every night,” Teddy says. “She sleeps under my bed so I can hear her singing.”
Jason Rekulak, Hidden Pictures

QOTD: What is the scariest book you have read?