Saturday, October 31, 2015

The Hanging of Cousin Charlotte

Haven, T. (2015). The Hanging of Cousin Charlotte. Self-Published.

MG / Horror / Paranormal / Short Story

5 out of 5 Stars for the Story
2 out of 5 Stars for Editing***




Justine seeks to solve a mystery. Why doesn't Charlotte like sleeping in her own room?

Narrator Justine Clare tells the story of ten years before, when her older cousin Charlotte came to live in England with Justine and her family. After a few months, something terrible began to happen to Charlotte in her room in the darkest hours of the 11th of every month. Was it just a recurring nightmare or something more that was taking a very physical toll on Charlotte?

I had intended to just take a quick peek after I downloaded this book, but I was immediately engrossed and fifteen minutes later was wide-eyed and finished with the story.  As in another of her short stories, Mama Cried, Author Talia Haven manages to pack a big punch in very few pages and builds a setting and story that will stay with readers long after the last page is read.  (And that last page provides an excellent surprise ending.) The cover, designed by Sytiva Sheehan, is an excellent representation of the story and will deserve a closer look by readers after they finish reading.

At just fourteen pages, this is a great story to give to an impatient or reluctant reader from middle grade level on up.  It's sufficiently spooky without being graphic, so it won't be too much for younger audiences and is still enough to engage older readers.  The only disappointment is that there were over a dozen errors including errors in spelling, punctuation, wrong words, dropped words, added words, and some formatting issues. The story is good enough that it might not distract some from the story, but it did for this reader; hence the second 2 out of 5 rating. The errors were excessive for the short page count, and another editing pass would take this short story to top notch. ***UPDATE: I shared the errors I found with the author, and she has since corrected them. My understanding is that the current version available does not have these errors. Hooray! That makes it a full-on FIVE STAR STORY.  

Thank you to the author for providing me an eBook copy in exchange for my honest review -- the only kind I give.   

Click to follow Author Talia Haven and learn about her other books: Goodreads   Facebook   Twitter 

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CLICK FOR HALL WAYS REVIEW

Friday, October 30, 2015

It Happened at the Book Fest ~ ~ Book Blog Tour

Welcome to the Lake Morgan Book Festival!
Each year, Mr. Denton McCray and his eclectic team of volunteers hosts the most anticipated, and the most mysterious, book fest in a cozy, lakeside community near the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Though many accounts have highlighted strange occurrences, readers are drawn to the book fest each year by the hundreds, and authors are thrilled to receive a hand-delivered invitation to participate.

The season is autumn. The day is overcast. There's an electric crackle in the air that foreshadows the arrival of approaching storms. Tops of trees sway under the weight of winds that bear more than the threat of rain.  The book fest takes place in an old building that once served as a high school.  It has been decades since students roamed the halls ... living students, that is. 

The Lake Morgan Book Fest opens at 6 PM and runs until midnight.  So, grab a cup of hot tea, and dive in!

Be among the first to devour the story! Both Volumes release on October 31st, but you can pre-order now!

SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY!!

A Weird Thing Happened at the Book Fest
Within these pages, readers will discover just how weird the Lake Morgan Book Fest can get.  Tales of time travel, science fiction, paranormal, speculative fiction, urban fantasy, comedy, and even a little romance await discovery!

Authors of This Volume:

Kimberley Montpetit
Tyber North
Belle Whittington
A.L. Kessler
Linda M. Au

H.A. Lamb
A Sexy Thing Happened at the Book Fest

Within these pages, readers will discover just how sexy things can get at the Lake Morgan Book Fest.  Tales of romance, paranormal, and erotica await discovery! *This volume is for more mature audiences.*
Authors of This Volume:


Alexia Purdy
Dicey Grenor
Mia Bishop
Lizzy Pope
http://www.amazon.com/Sexy-Thing-Happened-Book-Fest-ebook/dp/B0167KLD5M/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1445220839&sr=1-1
J.L. McCoy

 



 
Check out the book trailer!


  GIVEAWAYS! GIVEAWAYS! GIVEAWAYS!























Check out these awesome stops on the Blog Tour schedule:

October 15th:     Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin'
                        Rising Indies United

October 16th:     Bitten by Romance

October 17th:     Home of A.L. Kessler
                        A Whole World Of Things To Do

October 18th:     Linda M. Au Books

October 19th:     Books & Broomsticks

October 20th:     Book Crazy Gals

October 21st:     I Read Indie

October 22nd:     Friends with Books
                        NarlyNut's Book Lovers

                        The Crazy Booksellers
                       
October 24th:     missusgonzo.wordpress.com

October 25th:     Book Nerd Ramblings

October 26th:     Hey Y’all Use Butter

October 27th:     All for the Love of the Word

October 28th:     Book Lover’s Hangout Blog
                        Contagious Reads

October 29th:     Blogging for the Love of Authors

October 30th:     Hall Ways
                        EndlessReading

October 31st:     Platypire Reviews
                        Tanyas Book Nook