Slap Happy Fun Time

   The Last Horror Novel In The History Of The World - Brian Allen Carr 5/5 stars                                                                            This is clearly not a novel but what's in a title? The name of the book doesn't really matter anyway. It's just a title that certainly grabs your attention. It's a really short story that blurs the line between bizarro and horror to become something else entirely. Some writers can do that and make it look easy.  That's the strength of The Last Horror Novel. This is a book that flows seemingly well despite its ending which is something you would expect from a bizarro novel. You don't see it coming. When it does you don't know whether to laugh or chuck the book across the room.     Horror novel works because of its characters and Carr's writing style. Once you start reading it's almost impossible to stop. It's a story that you become invested in even though it seems too crazy. You have

  Razor Blade Candies Book One: Loves Lies Dead Kyle M. Scott 5/5 stars                                                                        You ever read a book that seems like it's headed one way and then before you know it everything veers sideways and you find yourself cheering? Love Lies Dead is that sort of book. It's a short but brutal read that basically says; "I'm back did you miss me?" Yes, Scott, we did. The thing that makes this work is that Kyle uses emotions to suck you in. You can almost feel the loss that Paul feels and you can't help but feel for him. He's just lost his girlfriend and Scott details these scenes so vividly you aren't just reading about Paul you feel as if you're right there with him. This is going to be one of those novels right? Okay, maybe a ghost story? Oh, no, that would be too easy and Scott knows this and that's when the book becomes extremely twisted. When I say twisted Scott goes places that I

     Hidden Bodies - Caroline Kepnes 3/5 stars                                                           How in the hell do you top a novel like You? It can't be easy but Kepnes does her best with Hidden Bodies. As I started reading it I wasn't sure what the hell she was trying to do. It was frustrating at first to see a character that I enjoyed so much turn into a whiny bitch. I get it though. In You, Joe was creepy, and in love, but the thing that made it work was that it all felt justified somehow. This was a man that wanted someone so badly that he would hack into her email and Facebook accounts just see what she was up too. Now? Joe is haunted by a cup of urine and this need to destroy Amy Adams a girl that pulled the wool over his eyes.       The first half of Bodies was tedious and boring. At times I felt as if Kepnes was simply trying too hard to make Bodies as good as You so she tried different angles and different ideas, but the problems were Joe. You can'

   You - Caroline Kepnes 5/5 stars                                                     I have a growing list of favorite books and You is among them. It's a cautionary tale wrapped inside of a twisted love story. It makes you think twice about social media and even leaving your house. Kepnes' debut novel is one of those books you just can't stop reading or thinking about. I kept hearing a lot about this novel so of course I had to see what all the fuss was about. As I began reading I couldn't put this thing down. I couldn't even write because I wanted to read more about Joe and Beck. I usually avoid popular fiction because usually those authors play it too safe. This is one novel that goes right for the throat and immediately grabs your attention.       The entire story is told from Joe's point of view. For some damn reason he reminded me of Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. This is a guy that seems to have it all together but on the inside you can s

 The Complex - Brian Keene 5/5 Stars                                                        I received a copy of The Complex from Deadite Press but had a huge backlog of stuff to get through. It taunted me though because this is a Brian Keene novel and I'm a huge fan of his. Forget all the labels and just focus instead on the writing. Keene knows horror. He knows how to pull you into a story and he does that by giving you characters that you actually care about. That's the strength of The Complex. It's a violent novel that focuses less on the why this is happening, and more on the how do they survive this. As you read it you may have more than a few questions, but it doesn't really matter because seeing these people survive the ordeal is far more important than why there are violent naked people wandering around killing people.       If you're a fan of splatterpunk, or horror this is a solid addition to your collection. Yes, we've all read novels of th

Dear John - Nicholas Sparks 5/5 stars                                                             I assure you that no one has hijacked my blog and I am for the most part of sound mind. Sometimes it's perfectly acceptable to step outside your comfort zone and read something different. As a writer I usually genre jump just to see what else is out there. It's important to check out other styles just to see what you can learn from it. I had heard of Sparks but never read any of his work. I was looking for something different to read and figured why not read one of his books.      The thing I liked about Dear John was that it was easy to read and written in a way that allows you to become involved in the story. In popular fiction sometimes you get characters that are one dimensional and not very interesting. Here Sparks gives us John a soldier who falls in love with Savannah but it's not your typical love story. I am in no way shape or form a guy that reads romance novels