THE WARRIOR RETREAT
BY JOHN LYNCH
"The concussive force of the explosion turned Ray's world black, rendering him unconscious. After a short time, his mind clawed its way out of the abyss and back to reality.
Confused, he did not know where he was, but before long the reality of the situation set in. He checked himself, for injuries. Blood soaked the right leg of his trousers and his hand, grazed a piece of Shrapnel sticking out of his thigh."
The Warrior Retreat follows a group of Marines on assignment in Iraq as their unit is hit with an IED and then ambushed by the enemy taking heavy fire. Great loss and injuries are sustained, and we follow their journeys as they readjust some more poorly than others to civilian life back in the states. Simpson has taken it upon himself to set up a retreat to bring them all back together and help his brothers heal and work through their PTSD as best as he can, however as we find out one of the men is too far gone and it becomes brutally clear at the retreat.
Going into this book I was not expecting the thorough examination of the marines' lives post combat but learn that John himself served it makes perfect sense. While I would've loved that this book was about 30 pages longer to really play out the events at the retreat, I do love the attention to detail he gave the story setting up the lives of these men and showing us just how much PTSD affects their lives and that in the end sometimes no matter what we do the mind is fragile and can't always be healed.
I highly recommend this book but if you are triggered by war stories, over the top vulgar language and extreme brutality then you might want to skip this one but if you can handle all that this is a must read and tied for for my book of the year so far!
5/5
A WHISPER IN THE DARK
BY GUY QUINTERO
"Well, during the Antediluvian Period, the Nephilim were the children of fallen angels and mortal women. They were born giants, but because they didn’t have the nephesh from God after their mortal bodies perished, they couldn’t ascend to heaven. Their spirits remained trapped in the lower etheric layers. They became the demons that we know and love today. Oh, and they’re responsible for most of the wonderful monsters we hunt now in the present. They created them in labs. It’s all in the Book of Enoch, which was one of the dozens of books removed by the church after the enemy infiltrated it. They didn’t want the public knowing the truth about what’s going on. My guess is they tapered down the bible just enough to keep us blind, without incurring God’s wrath.”
A Whisper in the Dark is the first book in a series that follows the Unholy Slaying Agency. The are a secret government agency whose main priority is to investigate and eradicate all hostile threats from supernatural entities! In this book we follow Ghost team that investigates a unknown and powerful energy disturbance in Los Angeles where they discover that a Voodoo Priest has teamed up with demons to help bring a demon Prince into our world by any means necessary.
This book was an action-packed thrill ride that was the perfect mix of horror, thriller, military fiction and comedy. I loved the banter between the members of the team that kept things fresh as we were constantly throw for a loop by homicidal asylum patients and staff possessed by demons to religious zealots that live underground. If you're looking for a book that will make you laugh, cry and keep you on edge the whole time I highly suggest this book and can't wait to start the second book in the series!!!
4.5/5 ⭐️
THE SUFFERING
BY MJ MARS
“All we know of how the events unfolded that night comes from Lucius himself, the only person to escape the house. Grant, along with his seven-year-old son, their maid, Lucius’s beloved cousin, Jenna, and two of Grant’s friends, perished at the hands of the ghosts that were released in the séance. Lucius managed to use his powers to vanquish the spirits, banishing them within the walls of the house. This house.”
I am a believer in the occult and love all things spooky and scary. I’ll stay at A supposedly haunted hotel or go through haunted tours in New Orleans (which I’ve done multiple times) and go to cemeteries at night when it’s nice and spooky but a seance and using a ouija board is where I draw the line. Some of you all are out of your fucking minds and I will never understand you. Who brings the demonic forces into their life willingly, like don’t you want to sleep peacefully at night in your own homes. Well boys and girls, this here book is about a dumbass group of friends that decided to fuck around and find out. My black ass could never, lmao!
Kyle and his friends at university live in the Brackenby House which was the site of the infamous Victorian suffering. Their house supposedly is haunted by 5 ghosts that died that fateful night and after their stupid decision to hold a seance, they learn just how true the legend and haunting is. However, things do not go as you might think.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book despite the absolute dumb decision they made but nonetheless I highly recommend this book if you are in need of a good book about ghost and hauntings!
4/5 ⭐
THE FILM STUDENTS CABIN
BY DANIEL BAYER
“He walked over to the table once more, picking up the other half of the sheet and dropping it on the ground. Jill, so far into her own head, could not register the danger she was now in as he picked up a cat o’ nine tales, spinning it beside him to test the balance. He gracefully walked over, striking it in the air a few times before hitting her in the back. She was shocked out of her trance, screaming in agony as the metal hooks attached to the nine leather lashes, dug in, catching into her back and ripping the skin as they were pulled out."
In today’s episode of “it be ya' own friends” we have a nice short, twisted tale Godless that reminded me a lot of the movie Hostel in a way. The prologue starts with a death scene of a young woman that just happens to be getting filmed for a snuff film. Then it’s revealed that the film was shown as a final project for in film class, obviously no one knows it’s a real snuff film, but the teacher is a little unnerved by the brutality of it. Our cast of characters are film students in film school on their way to a weekend getaway at a cabin in the woods. And then all hell breaks loose as they are killed one by one by strange, masked killers in the woods with them.
This is a good old-fashioned slasher with a twist at the end as to who and why these killings are taking place. As you all know slashers are my bread and butter and while this isn’t groundbreaking in any way it is still a very enjoyable read and will make you question going on the weekend away with friends to a remote cabin. At the end of the day isn’t that what we want a book to do?
3.5/5 ⭐
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