Psycho Island: Creation of a Final Girl #1 by Keith Evans Gore

 

So that happened! Holy crap you guys!! Let’s talk about this insanely action packed story!

Yellow Dress Girl wakes up on an island with no memory of who she was before. What she does know is that she is on an island filled with psychopathic murderers. She meets some nice people along the way and they become a group and watch out for each other. They all fight to survive three nights on the island. 

For those of you who want gore, with some more gore, and a sprinkling of a bit more gore, here you go! If you want to read an 80s horror movie, this is it! If you want viscera, a little bit of sex, and some witty banter, this is definitely a book for you. 

Keith Evans Gore starts out the story with some action and it just keeps going like the Energizer Bunny. A non-stop gore-fest you can read in just a few days. There is just enough character buildup to have you care what happens to Yellow Dress Girl, you end up being her cheerleader. The world building and the evil people on the island is the perfect amount of description necessary for this story. It isn’t over-done or underwhelming, it's a very well rounded story altogether. 

But there is more!! There is a second book, and I need to grab that one and see what happens next!

Every Woman Knows This: A Horror Collection by Laurel Hightower, Death Knell Press, Publishes March 3, 2023

Last year I read a book called Below by Laurel Hightower and it was one of the best stories I read. I still remember the story vividly. Now, Hightower has a collection of horror short stories and let me tell you, AMAZING! I freaking love Laurel Hightower’s writing, she is a truly gifted storyteller. Twenty awesome short stories in this gorgeous book.

Buckle up! I’m breaking it down again, believe me, it’s worth it. When I give a synopsis for these stories, I want you to keep in mind that they are very vague. So much more happens in these stories, but I don’t want to give it all away, of course. When you read these synopsis, keep in mind that they are just the tip of what the story is.

There are five short stories called Vignettes of Womanhood, that are all one to two pages in length. Since they are so short I am not going to give a synopsis for them. They are titled: Scar Tissue, Broken Branches, Iron Lung, Pop Quiz, and Bullet Proof. They are all amazing little snippets. 

Every Woman Knows This. A story about a woman being followed at night and her fears playing out in her mind about what the stalker wants from her. A harrowing story.

The Dance. This is a beautiful and dark love story. A husband wants one last dance with his wife. Written like a long song playing in your head due to the ambiance Hightower writes. 

The Bride Wore Black. A young woman returns home to find a book she remembers when she was a child. A quick story with a gut punch at the end.

The Midwife. A midwife that does show up during childbirth, but for completely different reasons than you would think. A frightening plot twist all throughout the story. The ending was amazing.

The Little Head. From a young age, Elise can hear a little girl crying at night. It followers her throughout the years. I loved the ending for this story. So gruesome and evil.

Goddess of Need. Such a phenomenal story. Oh my gosh, you will love this one. It is a revenge story about Ophelia. She learns a lesson about mankind. 

Distress Call. A missing submarine rises from the depths of the ocean and shares its secrets. Creepy and awesome. A great deep ocean scare.

Starman. A young child has someone or something visit her at night when she has really bad days. As she grows older, the entity doesn’t visit until she is much older and gives her an ultimatum. My favorite story out of all of these. 

One of Those Faces. This is a really neat story. A woman uses her skills to help another woman take care of unwanted attention from a guy. 

Though Your Heart Is Breaking. Women are always told to “smile, it’ll get better!” But sometimes, the wrong woman is told this and she gets a little bit angry and acts out. I was satisfied with the plot twist. 

Hooking Up: A female serial killer short story! You gotta enjoy a nice female killer seeking out some mayhem. 

The Goodbye House: The Goodbye House is a place you can say your peace to a loved one that has died. The house and its keeper can only take so much. It is a good story, has a fantastic ending.

Ghosted: This is how to go about getting rid of a ghost in your house. A really short story but so much fun. I loved the last sentence, hehe.

Someone Has to Do It: Zombie!!! I love zombies, so this is close to my heart. I don’t want to give anymore details. Really entertaining!!

The Smallest Places: Can you feel death as it happens? What a neat story about death. 

I really enjoy Laurel Hightower’s writing and her stories. She is becoming one of my favorite authors of all time. I need to read all the things she writes. Her stories feel like when she has an idea of what she wants to write, she just starts putting it to paper and the story unfolds on its own. It is as if she has no idea where it’ll end up, but when it ends, it is amazing. I hope this makes sense. When you read anything by Laurel Hightower, you will see what I mean. It is so worth it. 

Tales Corpses Tell by J. D. Allen, self published

 

Ten short stories by J. D. Allen. You think you know the endings to these stories, but I guarantee you will be wrong with at least eight of them. Allen is a talented author with a gift of changing the endings to stories making them one of a kind.

Kill It! Oh my gosh, what a story!! There is a pest that is freaking out a couple when they see it on the floor and it keeps scurrying away. They keep trying to catch it but it always evades them. This one is my favorite story in this anthology. Entertaining, the right amount of spooky, and the ending was unexpected!

Mirror Image. A guy is just going about his day when he sees someone who looks just like him, so he decides to follow the guy. Another totally unexpected ending. 

Face Lift. Another different kind of story that I could determine where it was going. It’s about a young actress that is beautiful, talented, and always in demand to be cast in movies. One day, she decides to lay low for a bit, becoming a recluse. This story went in a totally unexpected direction, really blew my mind.

The Nag. What an entertaining story! A man is married to a woman who is always nagging about everything. Obviously there is more to this story than just a nag. 

Two Heads Are Better Than One. Woah…what on earth did I read? This was completely unexpected!! Another ending that is so out there, and it works!

Under the Bed. Something is under Tommy’s bed and it is terrifying him!! Finally, he figures out what is under his bed and freaks the hell out! I would too, Tommy! I would run and freak out and probably knock myself out running away.

Boo!. Stranger danger!! A cute little game of Peek a Boo with a baby turns nasty. I got a little chuckle out of the twist on the ending. 

Cat and Mouse. A man's wife just died and her stray cat is missing her. The story completely backfires on my prediction…again! Allen is good at throwing in twists and turns.

Secret Santa. A nasty little story. Carol Singer lives alone with her two cats. Times are tough and she does what she can to survive. I enjoy cat stories, so this one is another favorite of mine.

The Creature of Driftwood Beach. This is a cool story for the end of the anthology. In 1888, a young woman finds a hidden beach that suddenly appears. That ending…it makes me speechless.

Once you finish reading these short stories, you will see that J. D. Allen can think outside of the box, coming up with some unique endings. I enjoyed this collection for the most part. At times it was repetitive, but it was still entertaining enough to hold on and finish the stories. In most of these stories, there is a theme that is common in the horror trope, but Allen puts a twist on these endings that make them stand out and become a distinctive story unlike your typical endings in these tropes. I think lots of horror readers will enjoy this quick collection. 

Orchard of Skeletons by Eli Wilde, self published. Releases March 27, 2023

Oh damn! You know those stories that draw you in, and you can’t put it down; and then it is over and you lay the book down and think how amazing the story is and the ending was unexpected but still managed to end perfectly? That was my experience reading Orchard of Skeletons. I read that book in two days. I ignored all the chores and job duties just so I could finish this novel. 

Isaac and Macy live in a dystopian world. The world has seen many pandemics and destruction leaving behind a desolate and dead world. 

Macy has lived a very sheltered life until Isaac shows up and eventually shows her compassion. Isaac has had a hard childhood, and is soon given a home by Finch. In return for helping Finch’s family run an auto shop, Isaac is given a free room and food. All he has to do is stay in line and follow the rules. Macy has a job to fulfill as well for Finch’s family and friends. Isaac and Macy form a strong friendship and decide they should leave and find the ocean. The journey sends them through the forests with wolves, Finch hunting them down, and meeting a replicant that will help them find the ocean. 

This is a remarkable story. The imagination and storytelling is quite magical in my opinion. It is brutal and raw, but is laced with hope, love, and the idea that you can achieve anything you set out to achieve with someone you love by your side. Throughout all the scenes of the story, I felt I was with Isaac and Macy. I could see what they saw, I could taste their food. I fell in love with these two. 

I would classify this as a dystopian, coming of age story. It is quite graphic in some scenes and the descriptions are told so effectively. A definite 5 star story. 

Ooze: Little Bursts of Body Horror, Edited by Ruth Anna Evans

Wow! I am almost speechless with some of these stories. I do enjoy some body horror, but I think I have found some limits, eyeballs being one of them. Evans found some fantastic authors sharing their wickedness with us. I think every story in this collection is excellent…some more disgusting than others, but I still liked those icky stories, too. Some will make your eyes water, you’ll cringe, and probably get a bit queasy. Don’t be eating something when you read this. I hope Evans puts together another anthology. They did a bang-up job with this one!

P.S. I know normally I break down each story for a review, but there are some short and freaking sweet stories that any synopsis would be a spoiler. This is one anthology that needs to be a complete surprise.

Pieces of Me by RJ Roles, self published.

 

Pieces of Me by RJ Roles, self published.

If you haven’t heard yet, RJ Roles has his own collection of short stories coming out tomorrow, February 17th. There are 15 stories in all; from baking to the apocalypse. A wide variety of awesomeness. I’ve reviewed each story to lure you in to picking this one up. 

The introduction is written by M. Ennenbach. It is very cool to read how these two met, through the Books of Horror Facebook group. There is a lot of respect in BoH and RJ Roles plays a big part in it. Ennenbach reminds us that not only is RJ an awesome person and great friend, he is also a fantastic author. 

Firefly Light. A group of kids are playing tag at night and whoever is “it” has a jar of fireflies to use as a light to hunt for the others. A neat little twist at the end. A highly entertaining story to start off this anthology.

The Happiest Nightmares on Earth.  ZOMBIES!!! Enough said. I freaking love zombies. That this little story is in this selection, Chef’s Kiss!

The Wishing Well. Oh man what a fantastic turn of events in this story. Wishing well wishes turned up a bazillion degrees. It was so much fun to read this one!

Dream Vacation. This is more science fiction like, but ends up being horror in conclusion. A man is given the gift of having lots of dream vacations, but as always, these things come with a price! How does RJ come up with these twists on a basic story? This one is really good.

Leviathan. I don’t know if you are like me, but when I think of a Leviathan, I always think of a nasty sea creature that can think logically and has reasoning. Just kick that thought up a few notches and RJ goes there. A few sailors are stranded on an island with no way off. Yikes!

Secret Recipe. So this one is hilarious but also dreadful. Grandma likes to make cookies and certain people get a super special cookie to fix their bad behaviors permanently. I would definitely try to stay on her good side. 

Sinner’s Holiday. A family has a tradition they hand down to each generation. When the next generation's son kinda goes off script, chaos ensues and all hell breaks loose! A cute little love story. *wink*

Hag’s Hollow. I think this is a kind of historical horror story that could be written into a novella. It’s about a town in the 1500’s that all but vanished, leaving behind questions as to what happened to the town and its citizens. I got a Roanoke vibe from it, I loved it.

In the Deep Dark. This story pulled at my heart-strings in conclusion. A brother and sister are going on a hike in search of treasure, but they end up lost in the woods until they stumble upon what appears to be an abandoned cabin. This is probably the most classic-esque story I’ve read by RJ. A very enjoyable story.

Man of the House. During the apocalypse, a family is just trying to survive what is left of the world. All the death, unbearable heat, and finding the next meal. Told in both journal and first person point of view. 

Swine of Another Kind. A retired cop takes on the corrupt cops with some wholesome sweet revenge. I really enjoyed the twists and turns this took all throughout the story!

Pennies for Santa. What a hoot! I laughed while reading this one. I don’t know if I wasn’t supposed to, but sometimes the bad guys are downright stupid and funny. Highly entertaining story of a good guy turning bad guy during the holiday season.

Until That Day Arrives. This story is quite unique and completely wonderful. I don’t know how RJ came up with this story, but it is a true testament to what his imagination is like. It is unlike any story I have read before. A young boy loses his parents and is sent to an orphanage. The orphanage is everything but nice. Evil with a creature feature. Completely absorbing.

Old Soul.  A woman experiences different  peoples deaths over and over again off and on throughout her life. It gets to be too much for her after years of it. 

Something Wrong With the WIFI. Another funny and entertaining story. A husband and wife are enjoying their own hobbies when the WIFI goes out. He is tired of it always dropping so he heads to the shop. And boy, the loopholes he has to go through for WIFI! 

I enjoyed all these stories with quite a few of them being my favorites. RJ Roles is a gifted author with a unique imagination and shares a whole lot of humor! His writing is anywhere from bleak sadness to evil destruction to entertaining day-to-day horrors. You get a wonderful variety of stories in this anthology.

Sleeping Among Wolves by Robert Royal Poff, self published

 

Sleeping Among Wolves by Robert Royal Poff, self published, March 4, 2023

This is my first time reading anything by Robert Royal Poff. I hope to read some more of this talented author. 

I enjoyed this story, a horror story with a focus on love. This is a great little novella perfect for those wanting a more subdued horror story, but still need fast and gory, bloody scenes. This is a story that is more focused on love, to be with them during an apocalypse. 

Atlas and Moose are on their third date when the apocalypse happens. They find safety for a short while with other survivors. But soon, they must flee and find a new home. They do everything they can to make it to a new place, meeting friends and enemies while avoiding those with an illness that turns humans into cannibals. 

I feel that a lot of heart and soul went into this story. There is a depth to it that is usually not present in some horror stories. Poff was able to create characters I came to care for and relate to, while also building a believable world. I actually could feel the love between Atlas and Moose and hoped for a perfect ending for the two. My adrenaline would increase during some of the attacks on these two. And yes, I did get teary eyed a couple of times. 

I highly recommend this for anyone that is wanting to step away from the heavy fear induced horror stories and need a little breather. A lot of us need to step away from the heavily gory stories out there, and this is a great book to pick up for that reason. There is plenty of gore and blood, but there is equal measure of love and devotion. A solid story from start to finish.