The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender

Title: The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall
Author: Katie Alender
Publisher: Point/Scholastic
Release Date: August 25th 2015
Source: eARC from Publisher (thanks Scholastic!!)

Summary from Goodreads:

Asylum meets Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, in this riveting tale of ghosts, secrets, and family, from master of suspense Katie Alender.

Delia's new house isn't just a house. It used to be an insane asylum, a place to lock up "troubled" young women long ago. And a restless, wicked spirit is still at play--and it doesn't want defiant girls like Delia to go anywhere.

So the house kills her.

Now Delia is a ghost, trapped in her creepy home forever. As she meets the other ghost girls who haunt the narrow hallways, as well as the handsome ghost boy on the grounds, she learns shocking truths about the house's history. Delia also realizes that her alive and grieving sister might be the house's next target. Can Delia unlock the mystery of the old asylum, save her sister, and free herself?

Review

Wow, I really enjoyed this book, there were so many unexpected twists and turns, it had me flying through the pages. There was such a perfect balance of creepy horror and crazy ghost action. Delia inherits her great aunt’s property but little does she know she has inherited a super haunted abandoned asylum. This asylum was home to many women; women who range from being just opinionated to a tad bit unstable. Back when the site was at full capacity many women were unjustly admitted into the asylum. Now in its vacant state there are lingering spirits both friendly and malicious. Delia has to solve the puzzle through clues from her dead aunt and with the help of her ghostly friends.

Without giving away some twists in the story, friendship and team work is a huge factor in the book. I love each ghost’s quirky personality, their background on what led them to the insane asylum, and their role in the overall plot. Delia is a fighter, she grows throughout the story to care for others and really be a strong leader, a true friend, and loving sister. There is a good bit of lighter horror aspects; nothing too scary to give you nightmares but the writing is descriptive enough for you to picture some pretty intense images. I thought the amount of horror was just right. The plot weighs heavily on the scary mysterious evil presence, if you are looking for some romance blended into it, this is not the book.

Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall is a creepy, haunting, page-turning thriller. I highly recommend this book; the surprising adventure Delia has to embark on is a whirlwind, haunting good versus evil battle. I hands down plan to read more from Kate Alender.

Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff

Title:Fiendish
Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date:August 14th 2014
Pages: Hardcover, 352 pages
Source: Library

Summary from Goodreads:
Clementine DeVore spent ten years trapped in a cellar, pinned down by willow roots, silenced and forgotten.

Now she’s out and determined to uncover who put her in that cellar and why.

When Clementine was a child, dangerous and inexplicable things started happening in New South Bend. The townsfolk blamed the fiendish people out in the Willows and burned their homes to the ground. But magic kept Clementine alive, walled up in the cellar for ten years, until a boy named Fisher sets her free. Back in the world, Clementine sets out to discover what happened all those years ago. But the truth gets muddled in her dangerous attraction to Fisher, the politics of New South Bend, and the Hollow, a fickle and terrifying place that seems increasingly temperamental ever since Clementine reemerged.

5 Reasons I DNF (Did Not Finish) this book

1. Strong start but slow middle: The beginning of the book started off quite strong; the reader is introduced to a young girl who some how survives in a cellar for years. When she is found, she is magically still living from the aid of a bag of 'tricks'.  Oh yea and her eyes are sewed shut. Creepy but intriguing.  That said bag of tricks, while the contents are explained, provided no insight as to how she survived.  I felt like I need more information.

2. Lack of details and explanation: The reader learns of Fiends yet they are never truly explained; it can be assumed they have some dark magic, evil, creepy powers and no one likes them.  All the creepiness just lingers in the air without any explanation

3. Lose of interest in characters: By the middle the book, I just felt impartial to all the characters.  Some odd events occur and instead of trying to piece together the details and make sense of it all I just no longer cared.  It was as this point I really decided I should put this book down.

4. Odd romance:  Clementine immediately feel in love with Fisher, which I guess is understandable since he is the guy that saved her.  I can understand her naivety to love and romance since she has been locked up but I just did not like the romance.

5. Overall confusing:  I really enjoyed Yovanoff's Paper Valentine so I had high hopes for Fiendish; I was hoping for a creepy, Pre-Halloween read.  Fiendish was pretty confusing with its lack of development and details leading to my overall lack of interest.

Welcome to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Title:Welcome to the Dark House
Author: Laurie Faria Stolarz
Series: Dark House #1
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date:July 22nd, 2014
Pages: Hardback, 368 Pages
Source: ALA Midwinter

Summary from Goodreads:
What’s your worst nightmare?

For Ivy Jensen, it’s the eyes of a killer that haunt her nights. For Parker Bradley, it’s bloodthirsty sea serpents that slither in his dreams.

And for seven essay contestants, it’s their worst nightmares that win them an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at director Justin Blake’s latest, confidential project. Ivy doesn’t even like scary movies, but she’s ready to face her real-world fears. Parker’s sympathetic words and perfect smile help keep her spirits up. . . at least for now.

Not everyone is so charming, though. Horror-film fanatic Garth Vader wants to stir up trouble. It’s bad enough he has to stay in the middle of nowhere with this group—the girl who locks herself in her room; the know-it-all roommate; “Mister Sensitive”; and the one who’s too cheery for her own good. Someone has to make things interesting.

Except, things are already a little weird. The hostess is a serial-killer look-alike, the dream-stealing Nightmare Elf is lurking about, and the seventh member of the group is missing.

By the time Ivy and Parker realize what’s really at stake, it’s too late to wake up and run.

What I liked

- The mood.  Throughout the entire story I felt stressed and scared for the characters.  The knot you sometimes get in your stomach when you think something bad is going to happen, well that feeling pretty much just stays with you through the entire book.

-The horror.  Both the nightmares and the events that transpired were definitely scary.  That being said, this is not a book I would recommend to individuals who dislike scary movies and horror movies.  Welcome to the Dark House has its fair share of horror.  It might leave you wanting to keep the lights on at night when you finish it. 

-The characters.  While I did have some issues with the characters, I did feel like the individual nightmares each character faced was unique and well suited to their personalities.  Certain characters were very well rounded and well developed, I could just sense their unease through the story. 

What I did not like

- The ending.  When I watch scary movies I always look forward to the ending, the satisfying some how explanatory ending.When I do not get some conclusion in a scary movie I feel like it sticks with me more, in a creepy haunting way.  This book just left me hanging, I felt like I just needed more, I am happy to see that it is a series so I can eventually get some resolution!
 

-The multiple POVs.  90% of the time I absolutely love multiple POVs, this time it just did not work for me.  There were 6 narrators, each with their own background story and their own nightmare.  Conceptually I thought it was a good idea, I just found that some characters did not have enough of a distinctive voice that it was easy to get confused.  I would have to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to confirm who was the narrator.

Bottom Line

If you a creepy and scary horror book that might just give you nightmares, Welcome to the Dark House is the book for you!  The multiple narrators had to face their nightmares and hope they could make it out alive; one character has a nightmare all her own that haunts and will continue to into book two.

REVIEW: Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

Title: Another Little Piece
Author: Kate Karyus Quinn
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: June 11th 2013
Pages: Hardcover, 419 pages
Source: Traded on YA Book Exchange

Summary from Goodreads:
The spine-tingling horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn's haunting debut.

On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.

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• WOW I knew going into this book it was going to be a different read but I was not expecting what I read.  It was dark, grim and the horror border-lined too much but it kept the pages turning and plot fast paced.  
• The writing style was so unique.  There were flashbacks mixed in with poems that all just flowed together it its own crazy way.  There were no chapters, just segments sometimes a couple pages sometimes only a couple paragraphs.   
• The suspense and mystery was awesome I felt on edge throughout the whole book wanting to know more while being kinda creeped out. 
• The characters and the romance were well developed.  You wanted to root for the characters sometime yet on the flip side you almost feel like you are rooting for the wrong person.  Such an interesting dynamic between the characters. 

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• It is easy to get lost and confused.  I did have to go back a couple times and make sure I did not miss something (I didn't, the story is jumpy).  
• There is not much I did not like but something I do wish was better was the explanation.  Parts of the ending made sense and were clear both one aspect leaves me a bit hanging.  I am also still a little confused about the over all explanation I am chalked it up to it is just a different kind of paranormal, one that leans more of an occult nature. 

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Another Little Piece is a crazy, creepy, mess with your mind kind of book.  It is hard to describe without giving away pieces of the story but I definitely recommend the book if you want a unique horror story.  **There is a good bit of gore and blood**  That being said if you do not like gore, horror, or things that lean more toward the occult this would not be a book for you  

REVIEW: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (Between #1) by April Genevieve Tucholke

Title: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Series: Between#1
Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: August 15th 2013
Pages: Hardcover, 360 pages
Source: Library

Summary from Goodreads:
You stop fearing the devil when you’re holding his hand…

Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town… until River West comes along. River rents the guest house behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard.

Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more?

Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery... who makes you want to kiss back.

Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.

Blending faded decadence and the thrilling dread of gothic horror, April Genevieve Tucholke weaves a dreamy, twisting contemporary romance, as gorgeously told as it is terrifying—a debut to watch.

I have been struggling with this review; it is a hard book to summarize and review because it was a different and unique book.  Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is a dark gothic love story with mysterious main character and a creepy old town setting.  Basically a great Halloween read :)

Violet White and her brother are living in their recently passed away grandmother's house while their artist parents are off traveling the world, so they are essentially on their own.  Violet decides to rent the guest house to the new dark haired mysterious and intriguing young River.  Right off the back Violet can tell something is different about him.  River can set her on edge and gives off an overall sense of unease while on the flip side when they touch she is just absorbed right into him and his charm.

My biggest issue with the book is the ending, I was so intrigued and in a state of suspense the whole story until the end.  There was so much build up but not enough resolve.  The book is supposed to be a series so I suppose that could explain it but I wanted to know more about the River's family traits and needed more out of the love story.  Don't get me wrong I did like River, he was dark and kind of evil and that made him all the more intriguing but the roller coaster love hate between him and Violet started to get old.  I do hope that the love story stabilizes more in the following book.

I do not normally comment on the writing style yet I feel compelled to mention how well the story was written.  Tucholke's words drew me in immediately and just kept me enraptured in the eerie old town's drama and devilish happenings.  The overall mood of the story is actually perfectly captured in the cover, the old script writing gives off a haunting vibe, with the red devil lettering covering the powerful ocean and the romantic cliff side.  

Overall, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea was 3.5 stars, after thinking on it some I felt the ending could have been stronger, the supernatural aspects were unique but needed more development, and the love story was quite a roller coaster.  That being said the story blends gothic horror with romance to make a one-of-a-kind captivating story.

REVIEW: Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Title: Asylum
Author: Madeleine Roux
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: August 20th 2013
Pages: Hardcover, 310 pages
Source: Library

Summary from Goodreads:
Asylum is a thrilling and creepy photo-novel perfect for fans of the New York Times bestseller Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it's a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.

As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it's no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

Featuring found photos of unsettling history and real abandoned asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Madeleine Roux's teen debut, Asylum, is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity..

I have not read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, so I can't speak to their similarities or differences.  I have heard that Miss Peregrine's has pictures scattered throughout the books as well. The pictures were a great addition to the story and added a layer of creepiness to the story

The book started off pretty well, I was sufficiently intrigued and creeped out.  As the story progressed my intrigue and level of interest kind of plateaued.  The secondary characters where all over the place. Jordan's role was unclear, he was beyond moody and his friendship with Dan was just confusing. Abby's mood changes and overall behavior was just odd.  Even though it was sorta explained at the end I did not find enough resolution in it.

What truly changed the book from a 4 or 5 star book to a 3 star book was the ending.  There was so much build up with so little resolve.  I felt like I had more questions after finishing the story.  I DISLIKED the villain, the choice made sense but the actions and reasoning behind the villain's actions did not make sense.   It all felt forced and a bit convoluted.

I am not jumping up and down to recommend this one.  The beginning held promise.  A well done story about students staying in a renovated mental asylum  has great potential.  I think with a different ending I would have enjoyed the story but Asylum did not live up to the potential.

REVIEW #134: The Madman's Daughter (The Madman's Daughter #1) by Megan Shepherd

Title: The Madman's Daughter
Series: The Madman's Daughter #1
Author: Megan Shepherd
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Release Date: January 29th 2013
Pages: Hardcover, 420 pages
Format: Audiobook, 12 Hours 50 Min
Source: Library

Summary from Goodreads:
In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect.

Earlier this year I kept reading fantastic reviews about The Madman's Daughter but I just couldn't bring myself to read the book.  When I found the audio book version at the library I was thrilled.  The story is told from Juliet's point-of-view; the narrator selected for Juliet suites the character perfectly.  (Since listening to  The Infernal Devices, I have  a soft spot for British narrators.)  Even the very beginning of the audio book is creepy and sets the mood for a dark and mysterious setting. 

Megan Shepherd did a phenomenal job of creating a haunting atmosphere and equally creepy and unique characters.    Juliet’s father was a well-crafted villain. All of his creations are “done in the name of Science.” Shepard’s descriptions paint a vivid picture of the creatures and the madness within Juliet’s father. As for Juliet, she was strong protagonist, even though she was scared at time she had no problem throwing a fit or hiding a weapon in her dress. There was a bit of a long triangle but it blended into the story seamlessly and made sense in the situation the three were in.   

Overall, my experience with this book was mostly positive, but there were a couple of issues which gave me pause while reading. Specifically, the ending (last couple chapters) seemed a bit dragged out. It became easier to guess what was going to happen and what twists were about to unfold.

Unfortunately, before reading I wish I had freshened up on the story of Dr Moreau’s island, just so that I knew a little background prior to getting into this extension of the original. While it was not necessary by any means (the novel still does an excellent job explaining and giving context from the backstory), I personally think it would have bettered the experience.

The Madman's Daughter was a solid 4 star book.  It gets slow at times, and though there is definitely a creepiness factor present, the story lacked a bit of suspense and buildup.I would definitely recommend this title if you are in the mood for an eerie story with well-developed characters and a haunting island full of hidden secrets.