Bark At The Ghouls

                 New Books This Week! This is where I spotlight the sparkling new releases that are tempting me so you can succumb to temptation too. The focus will be on dark fiction and romance with the occasional thriller tossed in that catches my eye.  This week has been far too busy but I managed to find a good mix of horror, thriller, romance and fantasy romances. If only there were enough hours in the day to read them all! HORROR,  HORROR-Adjacent & THRILLERS Not Your Final Girl by Mikayla Randolph A feminist slasher novel fueled by female rage and haunted by gruesome murders, in this contemporary reimagining of Tess of the D’Urbervilles there can only be one Final Girl. Darcy and her high school friends haven’t gathered together in seven years. After a tragic murder on prom night, the group graduated and never looked back. But when the lakeside cabin they spent their summers at is put up for sale, they reunite for one la...

I really do like reading but some of my recent choices have been bad ones for me. I believe in sharing the good, the meh and the not for me's so here's a book I should've DNF'd but didn't. My 2 Cents for Free! Freakslaw by Jane Flett Released June 2024 Source: Purchased See more @  Goodreads I'm sad to say that this story which sounded perfect for me turned out to be a dud for me instead. It was a book I should've dnf'd about 1/4 of the way in but instead I kept going hoping the writing style would finally click with me, but it absolutely did not. There are tons of characters and unfortunately, I was unable to get invested in any of their stories because it all felt so incredibly disjointed and a bit boring. There are some gross moments but nothing near what I'd call shocking or "riotous". It sort of comes together in the end, but at that point I just didn't care about any of it and I had to force myself through it. I don't know if ...

It's a DNF. My 2 Cents for Free! Dead End Girl by LT Vargus & Tim McBain Released April 2017 Source: Kindle Unlimited See more @  Goodreads I tried. This has to be the most unthrilling thriller I've attempted to read in a while. It's about a rookie agent who always wanted to be an FBI profiler but instead spends her days doing paperwork. She gets called in on a serial killer case because the agent in charge appears to be sleepwalking his way through the job. So, she's basically his babysitter, I guess. Anyhow, it stars out when a dead woman is found in a grease dumpster and off we go. From there, we learn every detail about everyone who has any slight moment in the story. The boring-est of boring details. What they're eating, wearing even sometimes how they're pooping. And what they ate to cause such a mess of a poop. I wish I were kidding. Agent Violet Darger does her best but let me tell you, her best is not very good and I kinda see why she was stu...

This one wasn't meant for me. My 2 Cents for Free! The Unworthy Released September 2023 Source: Purchased See more @  Goodreads This is a short book and I'm rather glad for that fact because I did not enjoy it very much. It takes place in a world ravaged by climate change and plagued by illness and religious zealots. This story focuses on a violent religious cult-like group that places women in different groups. Our main character is in "The Unworthy" group and they are kept in the dark about outside goings-on and forced to believe the earth is basically unhabitable for all forms of life. They all seem to dislike each other, but I suppose that's to be expected in this bleak world. It's all very unpleasant. I don't know how to gently put this. This book bummed me out. I enjoyed  Tender Is the Flesh  but this one didn't hit the same. Terrible things occur and I'm not saying that to be all hyperbolic. If you need a content warning, let me know. This w...

This is a strange little folk tale. My 2 Cents for Free! The Cellar Below the Cellar by Ivy Grimes Released March 2026 Source: ARC See more @  Goodreads This is a strange little coming into your own story about a woman who finds herself trapped at her grandmother’s house by circumstances beyond anyone’s control. Jane was visiting her grandma when a loud pop awakened her from sleep to find the sky glowing. It’s not aliens (that we know of!) but a mysterious aurora-like light arrived and apparently doesn’t have plans to leave. It knocked out power and forced them to live off the grid. This actually feels like a not so bad option in 2026. Technology has gone poof and they learn to help out their walkable neighbors in their teeny community. Well, some of them anyway. Some are just bossy, entitled and excellent at overstepping but that’s how some people are so it felt realistic. This is a slower paced, odd little book with some quirky characters. Jane is the main character. She’s 30ish ...

                New Books This Week! This is where I spotlight the sparkling new weekly releases that are tempting me so you can succumb to temptation too. The focus will be on dark fiction and romance with the occasional thriller tossed in that catches my eye.  It's a super-sized release week this week because I'll be skipping next week due to busyness. Look at all of these good sounding books! HORROR,  HORROR-Adjacent & THRILLERS Accumulation by  Aimee Pokwatka A twisty, searing, conversation-starting novel about a filmmaker-turned-housewife who moves into her dream house and is forced to consider whether it's the house or herself that is haunted. When documentary filmmaker turned stay-at-home mom Tennessee Cherish moves into the the dream house her husband bought for her, a brighter future seems to be on the horizon. Even if her husband is frustratingly absent due to his new high-paying job. Even if their two young child...