"There's Someone Inside Your House" by Stephanie Perkins

Genre: YA Horror
Publication: September 2017
Format: Hardback
Cover Rating: 5/5 Stars

From Goodreads: Love hurts...

Makani Young thought she'd left her dark past behind her in Hawaii, settling in with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska. She's found new friends and has even started to fall for mysterious outsider Ollie Larsson. But her past isn't far behind.

Then, one by one, the students of Osborne Hugh begin to die in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasingly grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and her feelings for Ollie intensify, Makani is forced to confront her own dark secrets.



My Thoughts: I was so excited when I heard about this book. I loved Stephanie Perkins past books and they're all sitting pretty on my favorites shelf, so the fact that she was combining her talents with one of my favorite genres really thrilled me.

Before starting this one though, I noticed that it didn't exactly have a high GR rating (3.44 at the moment- her other books all average over 4 stars), which made me wonder exactly what the deal was. Well, after reading I can tell you I'm still wondering. Honestly, I really enjoyed this one! It was exactly what it proclaimed itself to be a Teen Slasher novel. I read someone compared it to the classics Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, and it definitely has that same campy slasher feel to it. I wasn't expecting some deep complex mystery here. I was expecting some sexy romance, some scary chills, and a quick page turner to get me through Halloween- which is exactly what I got. I'm really glad I bought this one in hardback because I have a feeling it will be one of my go to Halloween reads in the future.

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

"The Shining" by Stephen King

Genre: Horror
Format: Audio
Narrator: Campbell Scott
Publication: Anchor in 1977
Cover Rating: 5/5 Stars

From Goodreads: Danny was only five years old but in the words of old Mr Halloran he was a 'shiner', aglow with psychic voltage. When his father became caretaker of the Overlook Hotel his visions grew frighteningly out of control. 

As winter closed in and blizzards cut them off, the hotel seemed to develop a life of its own. It was meant to be empty, but who was the lady in Room 217, and who were the masked guests going up and down in the elevator? And why did the hedges shaped like animals seem so alive? 

Somewhere, somehow there was an evil force in the hotel - and that too had begun to shine...

My Thoughts: Oh, Stephen King, you creepy, creepy man! I'm going to keep this review short and sweet. Basically, if you enjoyed the movie, you're going to love the book. If you love horror, you're going to love this book. If you love Stephen King, you will love this book. So with that said, here are some things that I particularly enjoyed while listening to the novel:

• The narrator. Campbell Scott does an *excellent* job of making each character distinct. When you're listening to an audio-book, it's important that each character has their own "voice". Mr. Scott does a wonderful job at this.
• The Creep Factor. Obviously, Stephen King is, well, the King of Horror, so of course this book was going to be terrifying. I just didn't realize how terrifying. There were so many times that I actually had to cut off my phone to stop listening because I got so creeped out.
• Danny and Jack. While I just wanted to punch Wendy Torrence in the face for being an idiot, I did love Jack and Danny's characters. Jack was just this insane ball of intelligence and violence. He was constantly trying to do the "right" thing, and always failing. Danny was just as interesting with his interactions with Tony and his psychic talent. I was so thrilled to know that King picked up Danny's character again in his novel Doctor Sleep. He's definitely one character I'm not ready to leave behind yet.
• The Comedy. I was pleasantly surprised to find that while, yes, this novel could be considered absolutely completely horror, it also had some laugh-out-loud moments (although very few and in between). There were times while I was cleaning my kitchen that I would snicker out loud while my husband looked at me like I was crazy.

Bottom Line: While Pet Sematary will always be my favorite King book (at least until I read It anyway), I would definitely recommend The Shining to any horror fan.

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

Fright Fest Day 1: Welcome/ Your Favorite Horror Story!

Hi Everyone! Welcome to Day 1 of the Fright Fest Blog Hop!

If this is your first time here, please visit the signup page (found here) so you can be eligible to win all the awesome prizes that we're going to be giving away this month!

If you don't have a blog, don't fear! You can still participate by simply leaving your own "posts" in my comment section.

What's Your Favorite Horror Story and Why?

You can interpret today's topic any way you wish! Because I'm such a horror junkie, I'm choosing to do my post on my Top Favorite Short Story Horror Tales:

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

As a Poe fanatic (I mean, in case you couldn't tell, I know it's kind of hard to imagine), The Fall of the House of Usher has to be one of my most favorite creeptastic short stories ever written! 

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner

Who could have ever imagined little old ladies to be so creepy? I read this story in high school, and it has stayed with me ever since. One of the most incredible bizarre, Gothic tales out there!

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.

I think the root of my fear for small towns must have started here. Thanks Shirley Jackson. Thanks a lot.

Don't forget to Link Up! If you don't have a blog just put your name with the word (comment) beside it!