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Twelve Nights at Rotter House
Twelve Nights at Rotter House
J.W. Ocker | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book has stuck with me. I read Ocker's non-fiction book @Cursed Objects: Strange but True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items, the other day, so I decided to try out his novel.

In the first chapter, we find out that the original title of the book was 13 nights, rather than 12. So, obviously, something happened. The main character is a travel writer (like the author), and a skeptic (like the author), who decides to spend 13 nights in a supposedly haunted house.
There were hints, dropped throughout, as to what is actually happening, various movie and book references. Crimson Peak was the most obvious one.

After one night spent alone, the author's best friend comes to visit. There's some unspoken thing that happened a year ago, that's not all that hard to figure out. When things begin to happen, screams, apparitions, etc, the author explains them away. He is a skeptic after all.

The woman character/ghost, has a head that's split down the middle... wonder what that symbolizes.

Towards the end, the author gradually unravels. The end, with the twist... Honestly, I have mixed feelings about it. That's why I just rated this as ok. It was entertaining, and haunted me for about three days,
  
Dying in a Winter Wonderland
Dying in a Winter Wonderland
Vicki Delany | 2020 | Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
After Christmas Murder
Merry Wilkinson has gotten talked into designing the decorations for Luanne Ireland’s wedding. However, on Christmas Eve, Luanne drops the bombshell that she is moving the wedding up from summer to Valentine’s Day, and naturally it causes chaos. Just two days later, Luanne’s fiancé is found murdered, however, and Merry’s brother, Chris, becomes the prime suspect. Luanne and Chris had dated back in high school, but is that enough motive for murder? Merry doesn’t think so, and she sets out to prove him innocent. Can she do it?

No matter when the books in this series are set, they always immediately put me in the Christmas spirit, and this book is no exception. Merry and the rest of the characters are their usual charming selves, and I always enjoy spending some time with them. Okay, so there are a few characters who regularly annoy Merry, but I enjoy those scenes, too, and we got some interesting developments with them in this book. The plot introduced lots of drama before the murder takes place, and that pulled me in from the first chapter. I never wanted to put the book down until I reached the logical conclusion. This latest book is perfect for any time you need a dose of Christmas.
  
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Becs (244 KP) rated Stars Like Fate in Books

Oct 2, 2019  
Stars Like Fate
Stars Like Fate
Brie Farmer | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Highlights: I loved the cover design, it helped give an idea of what Nyole looked like. I wish there were pictures of the other characters, like as a gallery at the back of the book. It was nice of the author to put a character list and their pronunciation at the beginning of the book. It helped tremendously!!

Style: Casual to light

Point of View: Third person

Difficulty reading: First couple of chapters were difficult to get into but after the fifth chapter, I couldn’t put the book down! It has it’s fast-paced moments that has you flipping through pages and it has its slower moments that take a bit more effort to get into. A very fun read!

Promise: The book promised a fantasy, adventure packed book and it delivered it on a silver platter. The characters are mythical, the countries are mythical, and magic is involved – leading to the fantasy aspect of things. Nyole and Saphryis both go on a long and heartbreaking journey to gain Saphryis her memories and power back – leading to the adventure aspect of things.

Quality: An all-around great book. If you like World of Warcraft, you’ll like this book. It touches on the mythical creatures in a way that resembles characters in World of Warcraft.

Insights: I loved the fact that it was a fantasy young adult book. These types of books are one of my favorite genres. When I first got the book, I read the synopsis and instantly thought of World of Warcraft. Reading, I had a difficult time with the first five chapters. It wasn’t that they were bad, it was more along the lines of they lacked in the background and the flow seemed like it was all over the place. Once I hit chapter six though, I couldn’t put the book down. The background and plot leveled out so it was a much easier read. As I was coming down to the last couple of chapters, I realized I didn’t want it to end. I wanted it to continue on into an everlasting void of Stars Like Fate because fate is simply ineffable.

Ah-Ha Moment: When Nyole finally realized that he was related to King Aryon. I would also become furious if I was related to someone as cruel as King Aryon the murderer.

Favorite Quote: “Fate is unexplainable, Fate is unfair, but Fate will always happen.” – Nyole realizes that if he never would have met Saphryis, then he would have never known what was coming in the future. But with meeting her, he realizes what is coming and has a faint idea what Saphryis will mean to him.

“ ‘I need you to live, Saphryis. I need you around,’ Nyole murmured before adding a selfish wish. ‘I want you beside me.’ ” – I feel this is the moment that Nyole falls just a bit in love with Saphryis. Which is good, because I ship them 110%.

What will you gain: A love for a new and upcoming author with an imaginative world that you can just step right into. Plus an awesome book worth a re-read!

Aesthetics: Cover design was really nice, character list was great, nice size book – not too heavy and not to thin, font and size was good – didn’t strain the eyes, there were a few grammatical errors – but are barely noticeable, third-person point of view, a riveting action fantasy book that will keep you on your toes.

“Fate is simply ineffable.”