The darkest Lullaby by Jonathan Janz

The Darkest Lullaby by Jonathan Janz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 4 days

Pages - 304

Publisher - Flame Tree Press

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Ellie Crane doesn't believe in demons or vampires, but she still hates the idea of moving into a creepy old house. But when her husband's aunt bequeaths them a sprawling forest estate, Ellie finds herself stuck in a setting straight out of a horror movie. Then the real horror begins.

After a gruesome accident on the night of their arrival, Ellie awakens to find something lapping at her wounds. Her husband Chris undergoes a radical change--and not for the better. The darkness dissipates, however, when Ellie learns that after three years of trying, she and Chris have finally conceived.

But Ellie and her unborn child are in terrible danger. For fifty years Chris's Aunt Lillith lived a secret life of demon worship, vampirism, and violent eroticism. She and her lover believed they'd have to undergo death and resurrection to continue their reign of terror.

Now Chris, who has been enchanted by a mysterious woman in the woods, is determined to help them. Ellie will have to overcome her husband's madness, her personal demons, the supernatural creatures whose powers are growing--even the very forest, which has grown sentient and malevolent--if she is to save her baby and herself.

But the reach of Lillith's power is unimaginable. And she needs innocent blood to make her resurrection complete.


My Review

Guys this is a dark read, haunted house, satanic worshipers, ghosts (or rather demons with vampireyness tones). Ellie & Chris are moving to Chris's aunts old huge house, small town, quite isolated & financial necessity than want. Ellie was never a fan of the aunt, Chris was the apple of the aunt's eye and death isn't always the end especially if you are into the dark/evil arts.

I liked the creepy haunted house style parts, you know evil forces at at work but you really have no idea what all is going on. I had echoes of The Amityville (the changes in Chris and effect the house had), I felt I was reminded of a few old horror movies in parts as I went along, not rip offs but absolute echoes/influences of them.

I disliked the animal harm and at the opening chapter you know what is going to happen with the innocent wee baby. There is gaslighting, manipulation, the dog stuff - animals is always a hard no for me.

I think the book really gives a suspenseful eerie horrible creepy foreboding atmosphere and you know a book with have dark/ugly sides of humanity/evil when satanicism is involved. Haunted house meets dark spirits with some twisted obsessive/adult themes. It is a bit of a mixed bag, 3/5 for me.

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The Dark Game by Jonathan Janz

The Dark Game by Jonathan Janz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 352

Publisher - Flame Tree Press

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Ten writers are selected for a summer-long writing retreat with the most celebrated and reclusive author in the world. Their host is the legendary Roderick Wells. Handsome, enigmatic, and fiendishly talented, Wells promises to teach his pupils about writing, about magic, about the untapped potential that each of them possesses. Most of all, he plans to teach them about the darkness in their hearts.

The writers think they are signing up for a chance at riches and literary prestige. But they are really entering the twisted imagination of a deranged genius, a lethal contest pitting them against one another in a struggle for their sanity and their lives. They have entered into Roderick Wells’s most brilliant and horrible creation...The Dark Game.


My Review

Ten writers are selected (invite only) to go to one of the most successful but recluse authors mansion/private grounds. They are under strict instructions, secrecy to get there, no phones but the prize, one of them will have ultimate success just like one lucky author who won before. Fame, riches, success, the challenges will be grueling, the demands far more than any of them could imagine but it will be worth it right?

Roderick Wells is the man of the moment, older author, been around a long time and keeps away from the world so all of these authors cannot wait to get started. Wells can be rude, abrupt but he is an old man and amazing at his craft. The authors note his older appearance and signs of ailing health but the longer they spend the more they notice changes.

We hear from the individual authors and they show sides of their personalities and motives/hopes for personal gains than what they present infront of the group. They are not the nicest of people and those we do like we hear more about as the book goes on, they all have something in their past and or struggles with their writing.

As one by one authors *drop out* of the competition the others, at least some, start to question their absence/disappearance. The book gets dark quite quickly and horrors come from the pages to terrorize the authors and us readers. We get a story within a story as Well's pushes them to create stories that push their abilities and tap into darker/raw talent. The staff and house have creepy tones and whilst it is a completely different story it gave me an echo of that movie with Vincent Price where they have to stay/survive overnight to win the cash. This is over the summer rather than overnight and instead of a creepy house the things in here are far darker and dangerous. I think this is my 2nd or 3rd book by this author (I even have a wee bookmark of him to go with it) I have another one or two on my tbrm and look forward to reading them. Creepy, dark, shocking and absolutely of the things that go bump in the night although for Janz horror things they don't always wait for the nighttime, 4/5 for me.

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The Raven by Jonathan Janz Blog Tour

Today is my turn and closing the blog tour for book "The Raven" by author Joonathan Janz.

About the book
Fearing that mankind is heading toward nuclear extinction, a group of geneticists unleash a plot to save the world. They’ve discovered that mythological creatures such as werewolves, vampires, witches, and satyrs were once real, and that these monstrous genetic strands are still present in human DNA. These radical scientists unleash the bestial side of human beings that had been dormant for eons, and within months, most people are dead, and bloodthirsty creatures rule the earth. Despite the fact that Dez McClane has no special powers, he is determined to atone for the lives he couldn’t save and to save the woman he loves. But how long can a man survive in a world full of monsters?

Available to buy now from AMAZON in paperback, hardback and kindle and from Flame Tree Press in paperback, hardback and kindle.

About the author
Jonathan Janz grew up between a dark forest and a graveyard, which explains everything. Brian Keene named his debut novel The Sorrows "the best horror novel of 2012." The Library Journal deemed his follow-up, House of Skin, "reminiscent of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and Peter Straub's Ghost Story" Since then Jonathan's work has been lauded by writers like Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, Tim Waggoner, Bryan Smith, and Ronald Kelly. Novels like The Nightmare Girl, Wolf Land, Savage Species, and Dust Devils prompted Thunderstorm Books to sign Jonathan to an eleven-book deal and to give him his own imprint, Jonathan Janz's Shadow Side.

For my stop I have my review, enjoy xxx

The Raven by Jonathan Janz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 256

Publisher - Flame Tree Press

Source - Review Copy

Blurb from Goodreads

The world is a mess, civilisation has ended as we know it, scientists are our downfall and activate something within our dna, junk dna. Now the world is a ruin, inhabited by creatures of our nightmares, myths and legends now walking among us. Dez is our main character, a guy on a mission trying to find what is his and survive against the many opponents and beings out there.

We have werewolves, vampires, cannibals and that is just the start. Dez has to get over his own insecurities (we see some of these via diary entries) as we follow him through this new world and those he meets along the way. Not everyone can be a baddie can they? You have to trust someone along the way and find your own place in this horrific new world.

Brutal, murder, death, viciousness, cannibalism, horror, gore and dear lord an eyeball scene ooft, fans will be delighted over some of the vicious mank and death splattered over the pages. I think this book is just scratching the surface, a foundation book that has the making for an epic and long series. A drop of humanity in a world of barbarism, a destructive journey that sees one man pushed to lengths and limits that questions who he is at his core. I do hope the author is planning on delving into some of the creatures mentioned briefly or in passing and seeing some of the characters appearing in a book two (three, four etc). 4.5/5 for me, we are on a mission with the main character, danger on every corner and I just wanted to spend more time with so many of the characters, know their stories and transitions! Here is to the writing Gods that Janz is going to revisit these guys and there will be a book two!

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House of Skin by Jonathan Janz Blog Tour

Today is my turn on the blog tour for House of Skin, please check out the other stops as we all offer different content.




About the author:




Jonathan Janz grew up between a dark forestand a graveyard, which explains everything. Brian Keene named his debut novel The Sorrows "the best horror novel of 2012." The LibraryJournal deemed his follow-up, House of Skin,"reminiscent of ShirleyJackson's The Haunting of Hill House and Peter Straub's Ghost Story" Since then Jonathan's work has been lauded by writers like Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, Tim Waggoner, Bryan Smith,and Ronald Kelly. Novels like The Nightmare Girl, Wolf Land, Savage Species,and Dust Devils prompted Thunderstorm Books to sign Jonathan to an eleven-book deal and to give him his own imprint, Jonathan Janz's Shadow Side. His novel Children of the Dark received a starred review in Booklist and was chosen by their board as one of the Top Ten Horror Books of the Year (August2015-September2016). Children of the Dark will soon be translated into German and has been championed by the Library Journal, the School Library Journal,and Cemetery Dance. In early 2017, his novel Exorcist Falls was released to critical acclaim. Jonathan's primary interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children,and though he realizes that every author's wife and children are wonderful and amazing, in this case the cliché happens to be true. You can learn more about Janz at www.jonathanjanz.com.

House of Skin by Jonathan Janz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 312

Publisher - Flame Tree Press

Source - Review Copy

Blurb from Goodreads

All it needs to live again is fresh blood!



Myles Carver is dead. But his estate, Watermere, lives on, waiting for a new Carver to move in. Myles’s wife, Annabel, is dead too, but she is also waiting, lying in her grave in the woods. For nearly half a century she was responsible for a nightmarish reign of terror, and she’s not prepared to stop now. She is hungry to live again…and her unsuspecting nephew, Paul, will be the key.



Julia Merrow has a secret almost as dark as Watermere’s. But when she and Paul fall in love they think their problems might be over. How can they know what Fate—and Annabel—have in store for them? Who could imagine that what was once a moldering corpse in a forest grave is growing stronger every day, eager to take her rightful place amongst the horrors of Watermere?


My Review

When Paul Carver inherits the estate of Watermere he is set for life, estate, money and finally the chance to write the book he has always wanted and escape his mundane life. A family he knew nothing about, his uncle Myles now dead everything is his. The book will be written,, the dead won't rest and Paul will find out why his family was so hated in this wee town.

If you think back to old school horror, the black and white movies on at the weekend in the 80s, hammer horror, haunted houses with eerie back stories you get the feel for House of Skin. We have a duo timeline, current day with Paul and the past with his uncle and the beautiful Annabel. Coveted by many, she is stunning, beautiful a force to be reckoned with, fierce, dark and deadly, Watermere was Annabel's home and Annabel isn't ready to let go.

There is a lot of spooky hair raising scenes, some subtle and as the book progresses the levels of chilling darkness rise. There is also a lot of sex, sexual undertones, obsession, haunting, abuse, some really dark elements of humanity. I think fans of horror will eat this up especially if you like books combined with sex, flips in and out of duo timelines and a building tension, 3.5/5 for me. I have read this author before and will read him again. I think a prequel to this book would be epic and have reached out to the author about it. I think there is so much of this, the past, that would be amazing to explore and uncover it would give readers tons of insight into these characters, I so hope he pens it, fingers crossed.

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Wolf Land by Jonathan Janz Blog Tour

Today I am the final stop on the blog tour for Wolf Land by Jonathan Janz, this is a Random Things Tour, can we just take a minute to appreciate the book cover!.



About the book

BLURB:

Aside from a quaint amusement park, the small town of Lakeview offers little excitement for Duane, Savannah, and their friends. They’re about to endure their tenyear high school reunion when their lives are shattered by the arrival of an ancient, vengeful evil. The werewolf. The first attack leaves seven dead and four wounded. And though the beast remains on the loose and eager to spill more blood, the sleepy resort town is about to face an even greater terror. Because the four victims of the werewolf’s fury are changing. They’re experiencing unholy desires and unimaginable cravings. They’ll prey on the innocent and the depraved. They’ll settle old scores and act on their basest desires. Soon, they’ll plunge the entire town into nightmare. Lakeview is about to become Wolf Land.

You can buy your own copy from Amazon, ebook and tree book format.



About the author:

Jonathan Janz is the author of more than a dozen novels and numerous short stories. His work has been championed by authors like Joe R. Lansdale, Jack Ketchum, and Brian Keene; he has also been lauded by Publishers Weekly, the Library Journal, and the School Library Journal. His novel Children of the Dark was chosen by Booklist as a Top Ten Horror Book of the Year. Jonathan’s main interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children. You can sign up for his newsletter, and you can follow him on
Twitter @JonathanJanz
For my stop I have my review, enjoy!

Wolf Land by Jonathan Janz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 288

Publisher - Flame Tree Press

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Aside from a quaint amusement park, the small town of Lakeview offers little excitement for Duane, Savannah, and their friends. They're about to endure their ten-year high school reunion when their lives are shattered by the arrival of an ancient, vengeful evil. The werewolf. The first attack leaves seven dead and four wounded. And though the beast remains on the loose and eager to spill more blood, the sleepy resort town is about to face an even greater terror. Because the four victims of the werewolf's fury are changing. They're experiencing unholy desires and unimaginable cravings. They'll prey on the innocent and the depraved. They'll settle old scores and act on their basest desires. Soon, they'll plunge the entire town into nightmare. Lakeview is about to become Wolf Land.


My Review

A high school reunion is never easy especially when you have abandoned the love of your life and friends for bigger and "better" things. However when everyone gets attacked by a werewolf, blood guts and fur flies. When you think things can't get any worse, the dead are counted and four survived brutal attacks then things start to get really strange. Changes are afoot, bodies are changing and Lakeview is about to have a real hairy problem!

We are introduced to the key characters and learn some of the not so nice parts of their personality, the boys are not the nicest. One of them is a deviant and derogatory to woman, the other cashed out and is now back with their "tale" between their legs. Once the book really kicks in we get graphic details on the turning, gore, in your face and no details spared foe the animalistic behaviours. I haven't read a werewolf book in years and this one is pretty good to dip my toe back into the water. You get the personal aspect with the friendships, relationships, hierarchy in the group(s) so you get vested in who is who not knowing who will survive the initial slaughter.

It is pacey, grips you and has different layers to the tale, an insight into those turning, how it affects them, the changes both physical and personally. The author is gifted is his trade and when you think you have the story pegged and know exactly where it is going he manages to surprise you again, well he did me! There are some shady characters so expect bad language, sex, violence, blood, guts and gore galore. Not for the faint hearted but going into it knowing it is a werewolf story you know the kind of thing to expect. This was my first dance with this author, it won't be my last 4/5 for me this time!

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The Nightmare Girl by Jonathan Janz Blog Tour

Today is my turn on the blog tour for "The Nightmare Girl" by Jonathan Janz, I am closing the tour and if you missed the previous stops please check them out, we all offer different content.



About the author:


Jonathan Janz is the author of more than a dozen novels and numerous short stories. His work has been championed by authors like Joe R. Lansdale, Jack Ketchum, and Brian Keene; he has also been lauded by Publishers Weekly, the Library Journal, and the School Library Journal. His novel Children of the Dark was chosen by Booklist as a Top Ten Horror Book of the Year. Jonathan’s main interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children.
You can sign up for his newsletter and you can follow him on
Twitter @JonathanJanz
Instagram @jonathan.janz



The Nightmare Girl by Jonathan Janz
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: FLAME TREE PRESS; New edition (14 Feb. 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1787581292
ISBN-13: 978-1787581296
Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nightmare-Girl-Fiction-Without-Frontiers/dp/1787581292/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1548443635&sr=1-1

BLURB: When family man Joe Crawford confronts a young mother abusing her toddler, he has no idea of the chain reaction he’s setting in motion. How could he suspect the young mother is part of an ancient fire cult, a sinister group of killers that will destroy anyone who threatens one of its members? When the little boy is placed in a foster home, the fanatics begin their mission of terror. 

Soon the cult leaders will summon their deadliest hunters―and a ferocious supernatural evil―to make Joe pay for what he’s done. They want Joe’s blood and the blood of his family. And they want their child back.

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER: FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launching in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.
http://www.flametreepublishing.com/


For my stop I have a wee bit from the author, enjoy.
Do your book ideas come from real life horrors? Any real cults that sparked ideas for The Nightmare Girl?

Well, the generic answer would be that I've read about numerous cults, and that I did do a ton of reading about cults.

The less generic answer, but one that's sort of challenging to talk about, is that my biological father was in a cult and tried to convert me when I was eighteen. I hadn't seen him in a long time and wanted to start some sort of relationship with him, so I flew to California in an attempt to establish a connection. He proceeded to take me on a drug deal in a back alley in Westwood, and then he drove the money up to a compound on a mountain in Malibu, where he left me in the truck staring at an armed guard. This was all a few hours after he'd shown me a video trying to persuade me to follow his religion. His whole rationale for believing in this particular cult leader was that the leader was alive "now" and why couldn't a messiah be alive during his (my father's) life? For my biological father, the fact that Christ and other holy figures had lived long ago disqualified them from being worshiped. But because this cult leader was alive now (at that time), he was worthy of being deified and venerated.

Anyway, the weird fervor I experienced that day, in addition to the funding of the cult through the drug trade, most likely played a role in the creation of THE NIGHTMARE GIRL. How's that for oversharing? :-)