Not too long ago, one of my blogger friends, Nightwind of The Gothic Embrace, announced the publication of his first book, Tales of Dark Romance and Horror. I couldn't wait to buy it! Now that I've finished reading it, I thought I'd do a short review.
The title is an accurate one, as several of the thirteen stories have romance in them, but all of them have at least a touch of horror (most have more), and the perfect time to curl up and read them is on a gray, rainy day or a dark, stormy night. Gothic or spooky music playing in the background would be good, too. ;-)
I already knew I wanted to read this book even before buying it, because Nightwind was kind enough to put the link to a podcast for one of the stories here. That story, "Night of the Harvestmen", remains my favorite, even after reading the whole book. To avoid spoiling the story, I will only mention that 'harvestmen' is another word for daddy-long-legs spiders; I tell you this in advance because I had never heard that name for them, and had to look it up to know what I was reading about!
My second and third favorite stores are "Jessica" and "Ozark Howler"; both are awesome, in totally different ways. "Rosalie" is extremely long, almost a novella, but the action moves quickly. Be sure to read the Preface before you begin the book, because certain stories are part of a series, and the Preface tells you which ones they are and what order they happen in, although all of them can stand alone.
I will admit that there were a couple of stories that I didn't care for, but that's just my personal preference, so I'm not going to name them and possibly prejudice you, because you may love them!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I'm glad I bought it! The only suggestion I have for a future book (hint, hint!) would be to have one or two people help with the editing. It's always difficult to edit your own work, because you know what it should say, so you don't always catch the typos. And I personally would be more than willing to help (and get a sneak preview)! ;-)
Congratulations, Nightwind, on a lovely addition to modern gothic literature!
What a surprise finding a review of my book here! Thank you so much for doing this, Lucretia. If there's another time around I might just take you up on your offer for editorial services.
ReplyDeleteSurprise! :-) I'm glad you liked it. You're very welcome, and I hope there WILL be another time around.
DeleteOooh I may just look into this! Sounded like some cool stories :)
ReplyDeleteListen to the podcast, you'll get a good taste his style! :-)
DeleteIf I may, I'd just like to mention for Sylvie or any interested persons that, although the above link to the podcast goes to the Horror Addicts dot Net website where the podcast can be found, you'll have to set the player, which appears at the top left of the page, to episode 99 in order to hear it. Please be patient as "Night of the Harvestmen" appears 20 or more minutes into the podcast (if I remember correctly).
ReplyDeleteI think you did mention that in your original post about the podcast, but thanks for the reminder, just in case.
DeleteYou beat me to it, Lucretia! Although it's been a stupid summer and I've only gotten a couple of stories read so far. And that's my excuse why I haven't done a book review yet... **hangs head in embarrassment**
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you, at least, are on top of things! :)
Well, it took me a while to do it; I'd finished reading quite some time ago! And how can you review it before you've finished reading it? :-P
DeleteBTW, what is a "stupid" summer?? Inquiring minds want to know...