Collecting Death (Haunted Collection #1)
7.0
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The eyes of a cuddly child’s toy glow with demonic fire… Exhausted from an academic...
Blood in the Mirror (The Haunted Collection #3)
8.0
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A mirror’s gleaming reflection bears untold secrets of a dark and haunting past… Stefan Korzh...
Ever After (The Hollows, #11)
7.7
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New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison returns to the Hollows with the electrifying...
Merissa (14024 KP) rated Prince of Hollow Desires (The Demon Reflected #2) in Books
May 19, 2026
This was a fantastic read with plenty of wit and humour along the way. You wouldn't think a book that begins with a traitor and an execution would have that, but you'd be wrong. Ixthan and Eric were absolutely made for each other in every way, although they had their own concerns and questions, as you do. They are literally childhood friends-to-lovers, and it definitely worked. I loved how Ixthan was concerned Eric wouldn't love him in all his demonic glory. I also loved how Eric proved him otherwise.
Once I started this story, I couldn't put it down. I was totally engrossed and loved every moment. I can't wait to continue with the series. Highly recommended by me.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 19, 2026
Commander (Hellfire #3)
10.0
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When you meet the one demon with more trust issues than you, what better thing to do than fall in...
Paranormal Romance
Trancing the Tiger (Chinese Zodiac Romance, #1)
10.0
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He's a Tiger. She's a Rabbit. She'll entrance him. He'll devour her. After the Red Death...
Fantasy Romance Chinese Mythology
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Annabelle (2014) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Annabelle, the possessed doll, is mentioned a few times in “The Conjuring,” but it doesn’t contain any of the cast from the original . The film takes place in the 1970s and focuses on a married couple who have just moved in to a new house and the wife, Mia (Annabelle Wallis) is pregnant. Her husband (played extremely woodenly by actor Ward Horton) buys her a long sought after custom doll named Annabelle. Shortly after, the couple is attacked by their neighbors who we find are satanic cult members. Mia is stabbed in her belly (threatening the life of her child); the female Satanist neighbor dies clutching the Annabelle doll, her blood dripping and seemingly sucked into the eye socket of the doll, ushering in the demonic reign of Annabelle.
You’d assume that this is a standard “killer doll” horror flick, you’d also be a bit misled, and that’s a good thing in my opinion. This isn’t Chucky. You won’t see Annabelle speaking or running around the house brandishing a knife. That isn’t to say that the movie doesn’t have its share of genre tropes, it has plenty of those.
As so many other possession/haunting movies involving a couple, for the most part the lonely wife is preyed upon while the husband is away at work. Throughout the film the writers find multiple ways of keeping Mia at home alone with the demon. John is called away on a business trip on one of the more traumatic encounters Mia has with Annabelle, resulting in Mia being placed on bed rest, giving her a reason to stay at home in the demons clutches. Later John is placed on the night shift, once again placing him out of the way so the demon can terrorize Mia at night where things are scary. It is inevitable that a scene takes place where her husband doesn’t believe her and thinks she’s going crazy. I can think of so many films that go this same route. The prerequisite priest comes along to help the family figure out their demonic happenings and oh yes, let’s not forget the sagely African American that needs to help Mia find her way and lead her both in knowledge of the demon and its demise. The story manages to throw in some mysterious children to once scene just to make sure that the trope is checked off the list. The remainder of the movie after the introductory attack by the satanic neighbors has Mia and later her child being threatened by the demon possessing Annabelle, the search for what it is, and what it wants and then its climax and disposal. Nothing new to this genre found here.
Annabelle does come with its share of scares (most of these can be seen in the previews), however the pacing is bad. I found myself bored out of my mind by the plot between the scares. So bored and disinterested that once the scary scenes occurred which seemed to be paced almost on a timer there wasn’t enough scare to raise the adrenaline needed to make it to the next fright. I will say that having a child endangered and threatened by the demonic spirit does bump up the tension and nerves and was a necessary inclusion to raise the stakes and pull out some reason to care about the victims by the audience.
Mia and John are so one-imensional that one would be hard-pressed to care about what happens to either of them. The demon effects are about as scary as a guy in a rubber suit lurking around a two-bit horror house, I mean pretty bad. I’ve seen a scarier demon on a TV episode of “Unsolved Mysteries” from 1988. Annabelle is good for a fright or two, and a reason to grab some popcorn and pig-out, but just be prepared to take a siesta three or four times in-between bouts of popcorn binge.
Lady Midnight
9.0
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The Shadowhunters of Los Angeles star in the first novel in Cassandra Clare's newest series, The...
Seven Terrors
Selvedin Avdic and Coral Petkovich
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After nine months of self-imposed isolation following his wife's departure, the hero of Seven...
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Satanic Panic (2019) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020
The "eat the rich" concept is a tried and tested method of giving a movie some hateful antagonists, and Satanic Panic does it well, as a working class pizza delivery girl stumbles upon said cult, and quickly finds herself fighting for her life as the cultists seek to use her virginity as a method to bring about Baphomet and blah blah blah, you've surely heard this one before.
My main gripe with this movie is precisely that - it offers nothing new to the table. That, and the fact that it's low budget prevents us from seeing any demonic creatures, which is a shame.
Honestly though, apart from these negatives, Satanic Panic is actually a lot of fun. It's got a good sense of humour, a likeable heroine in Hayley Griffith, some pretty nasty practical gore effects here and there, and a somewhat cheap but charming aesthetic.
The cast also includes Rebecca Romijn, Jerry O' Connell, and a few horror mainstays such as Jordan Ladd, Ruby Modine and Jeff Daniel Phillips.
You could do a lot worse, and Satanic Panic does just about enough to scramble above the depths of horror shittiness.