Bark At The Ghouls

This started out great but disappointed me in the end. My 2 Cents for Free! One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford Released July 2025 Source: Audible Purchase See more @ Goodreads It’s been ages since I read a zombie novel and read this along with the Horror Spotlight discord https://discord.gg/xQuPPJus6U . This one is set soon after a mysterious outbreak strikes in London that makes the infected sick, then they die and then they rage back to life to infect others. Supposedly the outbreak is now over and contained and scientists are rushing to find a reason and a cure and of course probably find ways to use it for nefarious reasons. Scientist Kesta lost the love of her life and the only person she cared about in the outbreak when he was bitten. She’s told everyone he is dead but the moans and groans and noises coming from her home tell another story. She’s been accepted into a secret group called Project Dawn who are working on the cure (and the other things) and uses her knowledge hoping to ...

This was beautifully written but it wasn't meant for me. My 2 Cents for Free! Where I End by Sophie White Released October 2022 Source: Purchased See more @ Goodreads I honestly don't know how to rate this one, so I'll fall in the middle with a 3. The descriptions are often beautifully written, nearly poetic but the content is incredibly cruel and difficult to read, and it left me feeling sick to my stomach in the worst way. There are some major things here that no one is talking about that bothered me throughout the story. Especially if you are disabled, care for someone who is disabled, have an ailing parent or have empathy for those who need help. The horror in this one is 100% the people. Terrible, hateful, selfish and broken people taking out their sadness/frustration/evilness on weaker people. I don't know, maybe if I read this book at a different point in time my feelings would've been different, but I read it now when things are looking pretty bleak, and too...

This is a cute read with a little too much going on. My 2 Cents for Free! First Witches Club by Maisey Yates Released March 2026 Source: TBR See more @ Goodreads This was a cute book about three women who all happen to have lousy cheating cheaters for husbands. They come together when yet another victim of a cheating spouse lands in the hospital. They become unlikely friends and all find some kind of work in a nearby witchy apothecary. It moves along at a steady clip and new romances blossom super fast. Too fast for me actually. I think each woman deserved her own book because the romances felt really under baked. All three in one made it feel crowded and rushed and sometimes made my head spin. But it’s decent and a little witchy and has a slightly cozy feel despite all the dickhead husbands. Final Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Publisher Plot Synopsis  When three betrayed wives stumble into a magical apothecary shop, they discover that revenge is sweet—but finding true love and their own power is ...

Need a slightly spooky read? You might like this one. My 2 Cents for Free! Grave Birds by Dana Elmendorf Released July 2025 Source: Spotify Listen See more @ Goodreads Grave Birds is a decent enough rainy-day summer read but it fell a little flat for me in the end. The southern atmosphere and mysterious start hooked me in pretty good. The heroine sees "grave birds" who tell her stories about people. Dark, tortured stories mostly and she has to piece it all together. Hollis is living in a greenhouse on a property she's been doing her best to buy until a handsome stranger comes to town and swoops in to steal it out from under her. Is he the devil? Is he part of the murky history that keeps coming back to her in flashes? Or is he just a handsome devil who wanted the house? Does it even matter? This book felt more like a light(ish) spooky mystery to me with a thread of under-developed romance. It was a pleasant enough read but I don't think it's going to stick with me...

It's always a horror show here, but Tammy is hosting the SUMMER OF HORROR over on her blog and you should check it out for more horror fun. Click the pic to check out her blog. My 2 Cents for Free! Body Count by Codie Crowley Released May 2026,  Source: Netgalley, Check it out @ Goodreads Body Count is a pretty good name for this one for two reasons. The first being it’s a monster/slasher novel and the second being that the teens are all vying to win the “slut cup” on their prom trip. So prepare yourself for some sexy times and some murder. Personally, I think the blurb here gives too much away as the prelude to the story isn’t completely revealed until midway through the story and much of the fun of the book is the discovery. So, if you haven’t already, maybe don’t read that publisher blurb. It's included below for anyone who doesn't mind being a little spoiled. Anyhow, Sundae is our main character and she’s about to go through some stuff. She, her friends and the new lov...

That ending though . . .  My 2 Cents for Free! Little Girls Sleeping by Jennifer Chase Released May 2019 Source: Purchased See more @  Goodreads This was a decent enough start to a series featuring an army veteran named Katie and her service dog Cisco. It's too bad it blew the ending. Katie's given an office job by her uncle at a police station and is soon snooping into a cold case of a missing child. The snooping leads to her and Cisco stumbling on to the graves of two little dead girls. Katie seems to stumble her way into a lot of things in this book and if I ever decide to continue with the series I hope this changes. I loved Cisco and am glad he wasn't injured in any way, but I'll be forever perplexed about why he wasn't on the cover instead of the generic thing we get instead. There's a little flirtation but no romance and there's a bunch of resentment with the men on the force who think she doesn't belong there and isn't qualified to do what sh...

I love Chuck Tingle's work but this one wasn't my favorite. My 2 Cents for Free! Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle Released August 2025 Source: Purchased See more @  Goodreads I’ve read all of Tingle’s horror novels and each and every one is a little weird, but this one definitely wins the prize for most imaginative and outrageously strange turns. It’s deeper than many books I typically read and in all honestly wasn’t my favorite of his work. I realize it’s delving into matters of identity and existence and nihilism and bi-erasure but there was so much zaniness going on at points and a few changes in tone that were disorienting to me as I was reading. It almost felt like an X-Files episode with some insane trauma, an unsupportive mother and something called the Low Propensity Event that must be investigated tossed in. It was all a little too chaotic to keep my focus at times but maybe it’s just me. Lucky Day starts out introducing Vera who is about to celebrate her first book release ...

I didn't like this one nearly as much as I thought I would. My 2 Cents for Free! The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch Released October 2024 Source: Purchased See more @  Goodreads I thought I was going to love this one, but I only ended up liking it. The plot had too much political nonsense that was no fun at all. I picked it up to escape reality and instead I found myself reading about yet another man attempting to control the world (holidays) to enrich his holiday and make himself look like some sort of savior. Ugh. I wasn't at all in the mood for this so it's probably me not the book. And, oof, the capitalism of it all.  Anyhow, the romance was cute and the two MC's adorable although I wish Hex had been given more of a POV, but the bigger plot overshadowed it all for me and sucked a lot of the joy out of it. A 2.5 bumped up to 3 because though I was bored and annoyed by the political wrappings, the characters weren't awful and I'll probably read the ne...

The one that nearly fell through the cracks . . . My 2 Cents for Free! No Child of Mine by Nichelle Giraldes Released September 2023 Source: Netgalley See more @  Goodreads This is a very late review (sorry author, publisher & Netgalley) because I needed a long break from arc reviews. I’m not sure what drew me to this title two years ago but it was probably the haunting cover. It looks pretty spooky but that baby carriage and the blurb should’ve clued me in. The story is pretty much as the blurb promises. A pregnancy drama with spooky overtones but unfortunately for me it was heavier on the pregnancy drama than the spooky and probably because of that it really dragged in spots. There are two timelines featuring two different couples and for nearly the entire book I had no idea how they tied together. It was a little jarring as they switched back and forth with little tying them together but eventually everything came together. I can’t say it all worked for me but I didn’t hate ...

I had no idea Kelley Armstrong was writing in the horror genre (and has been for a little bit). Guess I don't know everything, lol. My 2 Cents for Free! The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong Released October 14, 2025 Source: Netgalley See more @  Goodreads This is the Horror Spotlight Discord pick for February 2026. You can join us anytime here . We vote on 3 books each month and discuss it all month long. It's casual, stress-free fun. We often host buddy reads too. I don’t think I’ve read a Kelley Armstrong book since Dime Store Magic and Bitten in 2004. Yikes, that was over 20 years ago! I gave both books a 4 but she somehow fell off my radar when I started reading more horror and less pnr. This brings me to The Haunting of Paynes Hollow which leans more on the horror-side so here I am again. The cover is lovely and should’ve given me a clue or two about the supernatural aspect here, but I never pay close enough attention and just jump in. “Hollow” in the title w...

 The fact that so many of these creatures walk freely among us will never become less disturbing. My 2 Cents for Free! The Man Who Killed Boys (The John Wayne Gacy, Jr Story)  by Clifford L. Linedecker Released January 1980 Source: Purchased See more @  Goodreads I've had this paperback in my tbr for years (gah, imagine if paperbacks were still $3.99 new?!) and its time finally came up. I read it on and off for over a month, having to take breaks because it's just so tragic and a difficult read. The failures of our law enforcement system and the failure to protect innocents from a predator are very hard to read. The ability of some people to discard their gay children is also heartrending and sadly hasn't changed in a big meaningful way in a lot of households. None of this needed to happen but as it goes people fall through the cracks and warning signs are ignored if one has a little charisma. It's all so gross. It is well researched and I learned a lot about Gacy and t...

A fun popcorn read despite my many complaints. My 2 Cents for Free! The Housemaid by Freida McFadden Released April 2022 Source: Library Borrow See more @  Goodreads I think the entirety of Goodreads has read this before me but my turn with the audio finally came in from the library and I dropped everything else to give it a listen and I have no regrets. These books are always fun and often they are so very silly and that’s exactly why I keep reading them! I never pick one up expecting some literary treasure for the times or a story where every plot hole is secured up nice and tight. I always pick one up when I need something to clear my head and they always do that. Millie is a down on her luck young woman living out of her car after being released from a ten-year prison stint. She’s having trouble securing a decent job but finally has a little luck when a wealthy family with a creepy looking Children of the Damned daughter offers her a job as their live-in housemaid and gives her...

 This one was a little too cruel for me. My 2 Cents for Free! Cruelty Free by Caoline Glenn Released February 3, 2026 Source: Netgalley See more @  Goodreads “You’re not ugly you’re just poor” Ok, then. “Cruelty Free” is a pretty hilarious title for this one because the book is filled with grief, torment, and cruelty! It is filled to the brim with cruelty. I mean, the whole thing is based on a woman’s pain and mental collapse after a tragic event. And, I feel this must be said, if you dislike reading about the death of an innocent SPOILER dog there is one here and, yes indeed, it is still bothering me many hours later. Of all the awful scenes in this book, I am struggling to get that one out of my head. It came out of nowhere. It was too descriptive for my liking, and it was kind of unnecessary. There are two things I prefer knowing ahead of time. That was one, the other is suicide, and a heads up is always appreciated. I wish I’d had it here. Maybe you’ll get a warning in ...