Author:Kim Idynne Release Date: 15th February 2022 Series: Genre: New Adult, Paranormal Fantasy Format: E-book Pages: 180 pages Publisher: Blurb: When nineteen-year-old vampire Elias Hellström reunites with Aarya, his childhood love, she sets him on a strange and terrifying path to becoming human again. Confronting his own demons is challenging enough, but Elias must also contend with the monsters he has gathered around him: monsters who prey on humans, and who respond to his transformation with varying degrees of hunger, envy, and wrath.
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Mahatmas and Monsters by Kim Idynne is a new adult paranormal fantasy read that proved to be a fast-paced emotional rollercoaster ride. This book started out on a high note and pulled me in right from the beginning. For the length of the book, I was impressed with the number of details it packed and the profiling of the characters.
The writing was good and made this book an even quicker read, which is always a big plus for me. I liked the characters and cared for them enough to know what would happen to them throughout the book. I am looking forward to reading more books by the author.
This book would be a perfect fit for paranormal and new adult genre readers.
Author: C. B. Collins Release Date: 9th September 2018 Genre: Supernatural, Thriller Series: Edition: e-book Pages: 476 Publisher: C.B.C. Publishing Blurb: Thirteen strangers check into the Sunset Inn hoping to find rest. When one of them is murdered in the middle of the night, the survivors realize they’ve found something else entirely; an ancient evil looking to satisfy an undying hunger. If the guests want to make it through the night, they’ll have to discover the secret behind the motel and the mysterious town it serves. However, in uncovering the truth, they might find that the town’s past is nowhere near as dark as their own.
Review
★★★
One Night’s Stay by C.B. Collins is a new supernatural thriller with a lot of potentials that serves as a perfect Halloween read.
When I started reading this book I was pulled into it so fiercely that for the first 30% of the story I was not at all ready to put it down! But, much to my dismay, as the story progressed, I started to feel a little distant as the plot began to drag and the characterization started to falter. It began to get more and more difficult for me to feel a connection with the characters that started to emerge as the main ones as the story progressed. And by the time I finished 80% of the book I wasn’t sure if it was the same book that I had started. Maybe it’s simply my monumental expectations from the story or maybe the story was that way, but I feel that overall the story progression suffered heavily after the first 30-40% of the story. The second half of the story was totally dominated by the first half and wasn’t able to live up to the expectations that were set in the brilliant first half of the story.
Still, it made for a good Halloween read with an engaging plot. If the characterization would have been better, I would have given this story another star, but it wasn’t. So if you like stories with a decent plot and can do with not-very-strong characterization in a supernatural setting then do give this book a try, you might enjoy it more than I did.
Author: Michael Phillip Cash
Release Date: April 6, 2016
Series: None
Genre: YA | Adventure | Urban Fantasy | Post-Apocalyptic | Horror>Zombies |
Paranormal>Vampires | Shapeshifter>Werewolves | Post-Apocalyptic
Edition: Ebook (mobi)
Pages: 336
Publisher: Create Space
Source: NetGalley
Buy it here: Amazon
Blurb
Welcome to Monsterland – the scariest place on Earth. All guests can interact with real vampires in Vampire Village, be chased by an actual werewolf on the River Run, and walk among the dead in Zombieville.
Wyatt Baldwin, a high school student and life-long movie buff is staring bleakly at a future of flipping burgers. Due to a fortuitous circumstance, Wyatt and his friends are invited to the star-studded opening of Monsterland. In a theme park full of real vampires, werewolves and zombies, what could possibly go wrong?
The story line of Monsterland is really unique, fresh and, I must admit, quite chilling (esp. the werewolf part.)
It’s not scary in the literal sense as such but it does gives the chills at more than one occasion. The descriptions are wildly realistic and the images they paint is worth all the time and money spent on this book. I felt that I was the one visiting the Monsterland with my friends and not the fictional characters. The story is beautifully crafted and the detailing is commendable. Being a paranormal/shapeshifter/horror storyline, the author successfully captured the character backgrounds and successfully added layers to the overall concept.
I enjoyed the book right from the first line right till the very last one. The overlapping of the paranormal and horror genres is commendable because, despite my initial reservations, the author managed to woo me with his amazing story and its execution. It is a job well done on the author’s part.
I felt a connection with each and every character of this book. What seemed to be pointless discussions of monster-obsessed teenagers in the initial pages of the book, made more and more sense as the story progressed and finally when it reached the last act.
I also enjoyed the last connection that the author made between the characters. It’s a well thought out storyline with 3-dimensional characters and layers and layers of different elements.
All the elements blended perfectly well together (except for one little thing- why was Raoul the vamp scared of the zombies!?!? Well, this crossed my mind only for a second before I got caught in the thrill of the moment and my mind moved on to other characters who were literally fighting for their lives (when the story is as good as this, who cares?)
I love myself some badass zombies but this is the first time I actually saw them sympathetically as “victims” and poor sick people who are not someone to be shot or bashed in the head by any/everyone, but a sad bunch of unfortunate people who caught the plague.
By the starting of the end, I was actually feeling sad for all the three creatures- the zombies, the vamps and the werewolves- but by the end, all the other things faded from my mind and I experienced what I really wanted to (and why I really picked this book in the first place) – a complete monster massacre.
Other Stuff
Opening Line: The sky was a sparkling, power blue, mosquitoes droned lazily over the tepid water, frogs croaked messages while they sunbathed on waxy lilypads.
Memorable Quotes:
Wyatt looked back at the main area of the park, feeling uneasy he was being led somewhere he shouldn’t be going.
Memorable Paragraphs:
Wyatt glanced back in his rearview mirror and shifted uncomfortable in his seat, remembering why the sign unnerved him. It bore a stricking resemblance to a picture he has seen in his history book. The words were in German and read Arbeit Macht Frei– Work Makes You Free. It was the entrance to the Auschwitz death camp.
Highlights: Superb concept and amazing execution of all the elements.
Lowlights: None.
Final Thoughts: A must read for paranormal and post-apocalyptic readers.
Directed by: Gary Shore
Starring: Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon and Dominic Cooper
Release Date: October 10, 2014
Running Time: 92 minutes
Adapted From: DraculaLanguage: English
Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2aWqecTTuE
Plot Summary
Vlad Tepes (Luke Evans) is a great hero, but when he learns the Sultan is preparing for battle and needs to form an army of 1,000 boys, including Vlad’s son, he vows to find a way to protect his family.
Vlad turns to dark forces in order to get the power to destroy his enemies and agrees to go from hero to monster as he’s turned into the mythological bloodsucker Dracula.
I’ve always been fascinated by Darcula, though I’ve never read about him but I’ve always been curious to know about his life. I’ve always thought of Dracula as a very negative character due to the frequent negative portrayal of him. I’ve always considered him a bloodsucking killing machine, but after watching this movie I felt a strong need to kick myself! I never thought that Dracula can be interpreted in such a glorious and honourable way. He is shown as a caring and protective father who’ll go to any lengths to save his family and empire from the rude and egoistic Turks. After watching Dracula Untold I’ve undoubtedly turned into Dracula’s sincere fan. To be honestly he has successfully hit the top note when it comes to my “Favourite Vampires list”. I can say, without a single speck of doubt, that Vlad is the best vampire that has ever walked on the face of the Earth.
The bats are shown pretty amazingly, specially the bat-effects whenever Vlad took a flight or ran super-fast. Dominic Cooper played the part well, though I thought there should have a bit more action! I was left craving for some one on one bad-ass and gory fight between Vlad and Sultan. There could have been a lot of action in the last 15 minutes but unfortunately the fights were child-like!
Other than the awesomeballs character of Vlad, I really really liked Master Vampire. He scared the hell out of me and I really freaked out at his close-up. He looked every bit like the name suggests and I was actually hoping for the villain to be as scary and dangerous as Master Vampire, as disappointing as it is, that was really not the case.
Vlad looked dangerously scary when, near the end, he bites Dominic Cooper. The effects are awesome and the costumes were up-to the mark. Sarah Gadon’s performance really didn’t stand out. In my opinion, some other heroine might have played the part better!
Sneak Peak
What do you feel about Dracula Untold? Feel free to share your views 🙂
Author: 
The Reading Bud 
