the-book-wyrm-reviews

[the-book-wyrm-reviews]

Aurora: A Novel

By David Koepp Book Wyrm's Review is under the cut

Page Count: 289 Estimated Word Count: 84,800 Genres: Thriller, Suspense, Science Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction, Dystopian Fiction, Mystery, Horror Fiction, Supernatural Fiction Year of Publication: 2022

Overview

In Aurora, Illinois, Aubrey Wheeler is just trying to get by after her semi-criminal ex-husband split, leaving behind his unruly teenage son. 

Then the lights go out—not just in Aurora but across the globe. A solar storm has knocked out power almost everywhere. Suddenly, all problems are local, very local, and Aubrey must assume the mantle of fierce protector of her suburban neighborhood. 

Across the country lives Aubrey’s estranged brother, Thom. A fantastically wealthy, neurotically over-prepared Silicon Valley CEO, he plans to ride out the crisis in a gilded desert bunker he built for maximum comfort and security.

But the complicated history between the siblings is far from over, and what feels like the end of the world is just the beginning of several long-overdue reckonings—which not everyone will survive . . . 

Aurora is suspenseful storytelling—both large scale and small—at its finest. 

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

★★★★☆=4/5 stars

I had picked this book up and was exceedingly excited because the author and the blurb from Stephen King prevising the story. It was slow, though held enough pace and popping back and forth between characters in an attempt to keep the story moving. By the end of the book there were connections made and all the different characters were addressed in the end. With what happened in the story its quite easy to tell that plenty of research was put into the writing of this book, though I expected nothing less from the screenwriter of Jurassic Park. I enjoyed it in the end. Not a fan of how slow it was but the book was good enough to possibly read again at a later date. ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

Would you like your own copy? Grab one at the link below! I am not Sponsored or Affiliated with Amazon

[the-book-wyrm-reviews]

Curious Tides

By Pascale Lacelle Book Wyrm's Review is under the cut

Page Count: 560 Estimated Word Count: 152,300 Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Mystery, Dark Acadamia Year of Publication: 2023

Overview

Ninth House meets A Deadly Education in this gorgeous dark academia fantasy “that will capture readers like a rip current” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) following a teen mage who must unravel the truth behind the secret society that may have been involved in her classmates’ deaths. Emory might be a student at the prestigious Aldryn College for Lunar Magics, but her healing abilities have always been mediocre at best—until a treacherous night in the Dovermere sea caves leaves a group of her classmates dead and her as the only survivor. Now Emory is plagued by strange, impossible powers that no healer should possess. Powers that would ruin her life if the wrong person were to discover them. To gain control of these new abilities, Emory enlists the help of the school’s most reclusive student, Baz—a boy already well-versed in the deadly nature of darker magic, whose sister happened to be one of the drowned students and Emory’s best friend. Determined to find the truth behind the drownings and the cult-like secret society she’s convinced her classmates were involved in, Emory is faced with even more questions when the supposedly drowned students start washing ashore—alive—only for them each immediately to die horrible, magical deaths. And Emory is not the only one seeking answers. When her new magic captures the society’s attention, she finds herself drawn into their world of privilege and power, all while wondering if the truth she’s searching for might lead her right back to Dovermere…to face the fate she was never meant to escape.

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

★★★★★ = 5/5 Stars

This was an amazing story that sucks you into its world from the very beginning! With twists and turns that keep you on your toes you cant wait for whats around the corner. Love triangles, mysterious secret cults, magic beyond your comprehension, and the battle of the tides between light and dark will keep you wanting more!! I honestly cant think of anything negative to say about this book, other than complain that I have not been able to find its prequel short story, Uncharted Dreams, in a physical copy and that I have to wait till November 5th of 2024 in order to get hold of a copy of its sequel, Stranger Skies.

I cant insist more that you try to find a copy of Curious Tides to read for yourself and be swept away with the tides of Dovermere!

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

Would you like your own copy? Grab one at the link below! I am not Sponsored or Affiliated with Amazon

[the-book-wyrm-reviews]

I Am Watching You

By Teresa Driscoll Book Wyrm's Review is under the cut

Page Count: 301 Estimated Word Count: 78,500 Genres: Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Year of Publication: 2017

Overview

What would it take to make you intervene?

When Ella Longfield overhears two attractive young men flirting with teenage girls on a train, she thinks nothing of it—until she realises they are fresh out of prison and her maternal instinct is put on high alert. But just as she’s decided to call for help, something stops her. The next day, she wakes up to the news that one of the girls—beautiful, green-eyed Anna Ballard—has disappeared.

A year later, Anna is still missing. Ella is wracked with guilt over what she failed to do, and she’s not the only one who can’t forget. Someone is sending her threatening letters—letters that make her fear for her life.

Then an anniversary appeal reveals that Anna’s friends and family might have something to hide. Anna’s best friend, Sarah, hasn’t been telling the whole truth about what really happened that night—and her parents have been keeping secrets of their own.

Someone knows where Anna is—and they’re not telling. But they are watching Ella. ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

★★★☆☆ = 3/5 stars

The story itself was good, a nice change of pace being able to read a British author and have things based in their home turf. To me the run of the book seemed too slow and meanders in different directions that takes away from the story just as much as it adds to it. While I will offer the book to others, I personally wont be reading it again. The oddity of being speaking and only seeing '-' instead of "-" around spoken words was a bit of a throw off for me. The ending felt rushed and out of the blue but again, a good book with a good story. I understand that it was supposed to be paced and written more like a real life situation but overall I wasn't a fan.

Would you like your own copy? Grab one at the link below! I am not Sponsored or Affiliated with Amazon

[the-book-wyrm-reviews]

The Haunting

By Natasha Preston Book Wyrm's Review is under the cut

Page Count: 354 Estimated Word Count: 80,800 Genres: Horror, Young Adult Year of Publication: 2023

Overview

Haunted by the past . . . terrified of the present. Penny knows she must forget about her ex, Nash. Ever since his father was revealed as the brutal serial killer who traumatized their small town last Halloween, Penny’s parents have forbidden her to have anything to do with Nash or his family. It’s hard not to think of him—but she’s trying. That stops when she goes shopping with friends for a costume. What she finds instead is ripped from a horror movie: someone from school bleeding out on the floor of a dressing room. Stabbed. People are quick to blame Nash and his sister, Grace, but as Halloween nears and the body count rises, Penny can’t help thinking this copycat killer is someone no one else suspects. . . .

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

★★★★☆ = 4/5 Stars

This was an amazing read and I'm honestly glad that I was sucked into reading it! Reading this book wound up taking less than 48 hours total from the time I picked it up to finishing it! And while it was an amazing read, kept me on the edge of my seat and always wanting to turn the next page, I do have one complaint: its "unfinished", and I use that term loosely since obviously the book is being sold already. I am quite upset with the ending personally, the final showdown with the killer, the height of the climax, cops heard pulling up the main girl and her boyfriend about to die when the killer rushes and of all the ways it could have ended, it was with BANG!!!

I praise Ms. Preston with her skills in keeping a reader attached to characters and the storyline but having an ending like that? And not planning / actively not doing sequels to her stories? It feels like a rush only for you to find out someone tore the last few chapters out of the library book before returning it to the shelf. We will never know the true ending, we wont know how the killer finds their end, or if the hero's of the story make it out unscathed other than prior damage, do the cops catch the killer? We can only speculate.

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

Would you like your own copy? Grab one at the link below! I am not Sponsored or Affiliated with Amazon

[the-book-wyrm-reviews]

Hello! I have a question for you Wyrm! Will you be posting book reviews daily?

Not necessarily. I do have a small back log of books I've been reading over the past few months but there's not nearly enough of them for me to do a daily review on. I was hoping to get a few out a week, maybe just one or two but I will eventually figure out a good schedule in which to post them. Thank you for your question friend!

[the-book-wyrm-reviews]

The King in Yellow

By Robert W Chambers

Book Wyrm's Review is under the cut

Page Count: Ranges from 108 - 330 pages per book depending on the publisher and/or year it was reprinted

Estimated Word Count: 79000

Genres: Decadent literature, horror, supernatural, weird, romance

Year of Publication: 1895

Overview

A man pursued by a church organist who wants his soul. An artist plagued by repeated sightings of a watchman who looks like a coffin worm. Ghosts, wayward cats, and scientific dabblings with dire consequences. Each of these ten tales is chilling in its own right, but taken together, they weave a wickedly eerie spell that is sure to enthrall.

United by vague references to a play with the same name, which never appears in the book―a play that "induces despair or madness in those who read it"―The King in Yellow is undoubtedly Robert W. Chambers' finest work. The book quickly gained an influence over generations of writers of "weird tales," long before there was even a name for them. H. P. Lovecraft greatly admired the book, hailing it as achieving "notable heights of cosmic fear."

Chambers' genius will take readers to the most horrifying place of all―their own imaginations.

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

★★★☆☆ = 3/5 Stars

I went into reading this book expecting Lovecraft and wound up reading short stories. Yes all of the stories are interconnected but its not the insanity that the book had been hyped up to have.

Why name the book "the King in Yellow" and yet only reference the book of the play and the insanity and blasphemy that book/story/play is causing? I Digress.

For the book as written, it is a good story though deffinately a product of its writers time. Being written in 1895, It does have situations, names, and terms that may or may not upset more modern readers.

As for me, I would love to ACTUALLY read the story of the King in Yellow, not just the stories referencing the play/story so that I could properly experience a more horrific kind of story but for that, alas, I will need to turn to H.P. Lovecraft if I want horrors beyond my own comprehension.

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

Would you like your own copy? Grab one at the link below!

I am not Sponsored or Affiliated with Amazon

[the-book-wyrm-reviews]

Build Your House Around My Body

By Violet Kupersmith Book Wyrm's Review is under the cut

Page Count: 388 Estimated Word Count: 97,000 Genres: Magical Realism, Coming-of-age story Year of Publication: 2021

Overview

A century of Vietnam's history and folklore comes to life in this "brilliant, sweeping epic that swaps spirits and sheds time like snakeskin" (Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and Survivor Song).

Two young women go missing decades apart. Both are fearless, both are lost. And both will have their revenge. 1986 The teenage daughter of a wealthy Vietnamese family loses her way in an abandoned rubber plantation while fleeing her angry father and is forever changed. 2011 A young, unhappy Vietnamese American woman disappears from her new home in Saigon without a trace. The fates of these two women are inescapably linked, bound together by past generations, by ghosts and ancestors, by the history of possessed bodies and possessed lands. Alongside them, we meet a young boy who is sent to a boarding school for the métis children of French expatriates, just before Vietnam declares its independence from colonial rule; two Frenchmen who are trying to start a business with the Vietnam War on the horizon; and the employees of the Saigon Spirit Eradication Co., who find themselves investigating strange occurrences in a farmhouse on the edge of a forest. Each new character and timeline brings us one step closer to understanding what binds them all. Part puzzle, part revenge tale, part ghost story, this book takes us from colonial mansions to ramshackle zoos, from sweaty nightclubs to the jostling seats of motorbikes, from ex-pat flats to sizzling back-alley street carts. Spanning more than fifty years of Vietnamese history and barreling toward an unforgettable conclusion, this is a time-traveling, heart-pounding, border-crossing fever dream of a novel that will haunt you long after the last page. ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

★★★★☆ = 4/5 Stars 🌶️ - - - - = 1/5 Spice level

This book has an interesting story even with how confusing I found it. 4 different stories all mixed together and intertwined to complete one murder/mystery about 2 different girls in Vietnam. Winnie is the main basis of the story, her disappearance being the reasoning behind the way each 'chapter' is titled. My only real complaint about the book is that the story bounces around depending on the chapter. '9 Months before the disappearance', ' 18 years before the disappearance', 'the day after the disappearance', '69 years before the disappearance', etc. While I personally am not a fan of how it bounces around between stories and timeframes, the story itself does end wrapped up nicely and all character connections are able to be seen and easily mapped out on where they connect to the main storyline with Winnie. Though with the realism, having a sudden twist of the spiritual magics that come along throughout the story is both confusing to the basis of reality and an amazing way to build the world up and interconnect things that are so far removed between each stories timeline that it fits together. While I no longer have a copy of this book on hand, I do intend on getting 2, just so I can go through and keep one pristine and one to tear the pages apart to properly have each section of the story in chronological order just to see if the story reads any differently to the way it was written. It has love, romance, a small scene or two of something a bit spicier, but the story is mostly based around its mystery and trying to put all the proper pieces in their places

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

Would you like your own copy? Grab one at the link below! I am not Sponsored or Affiliated with Amazon

[the-book-wyrm-reviews]

Welcome to the Wyrm Den

Thank you for coming to my blog! Here I plan on leaving reviews on different books I've read and hopefully to have Links on where to find them. I do want to put emphasis on the fact that these are my personal reviews and to be taken with that in mind. Each book should have an image of the front cover, word/page count, author, title, a 1-5 star rating, its genre, and any spice ratings that may or may not be needed. If you have any suggestions or comments on the books I've already posted about, feel free to send me an ask under: 'Book Suggestions' or 'Special Submissions'

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

My Current TBR

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow (Current Read)

The Black Gryphon by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon

Demon Stone by Cat Adams

Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala

Dracula by Bram Stoker

The Burning by Susan Squires

A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair

Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Texting Titan by Kaci Rose

Elusive Dom by Kaci Rose