The Horror Zine's Book of Monsters~ Blog Tour

 Publisher: HellBound Books Publishing

Publication Date: 26th January 2024

Genre: Horror

Summary:

With an Introduction by Shirley Jackson Award-winner Gemma Files, this outstanding anthology of all things monstrous includes spine-chilling stories from Bentley Little, Simon Clark, Elizabeth Massie, Tim Waggoner, Sumiko Saulson, plus some of the best emerging horror writers working today.

“This anthology gives us a chilling glimpse at the dark and dangerous things prowling in the minds of some of today’s best horror writers.” – JG Faherty, author of Ragman and Songs in the Key of Death

“Throughout the pages are creepy tales by up-and-comers who you may have read, plus writers brand new to a horror reader’s discerning eye. Embark on a journey to the realm where monsters—familiar or unique—dwell. Highly recommended to horror aficionados obsessed with eldritch fiction—this one’s for you!” – Nancy Kilpatrick, author of Thrones of Blood Series and the Darker Passions series

Review:
Firstly thank you to Henry Roi PR and Hellbound Books Publishing for having me on this tour and sending me a copy of the book.
I've come to love an anthology, it's something I can easily dip in and out of and take my time with. Plus if I find a story that I'm not so keen on the subject matter of I can just skip it and still have got some reading in. All the writers in this anthology are new to me writers, and they're all brilliant at writing horror from what I've read. Each of the stories I've read has been fantastically written, and the descriptions have been so vivid that I can easily picture each of the monsters, so much so that I managed to creep myself out reading it! And I can't be sure that I won't have the last couple I read playing on my mind when I head to bed this evening(I best read something less creepy before then I think). If you have any phobias, best to proceed with caution when reading this because you'll probably find your phobia turned into a fantastically creepy story that will have you failing to sleep.
If you are a horror/monster lover then I think this will be a fantastic addition to your collection, and you should definitely go buy a copy!

Krystina xx

Spread: Tales of Deadly Flora Edited by R.A.Clarke ~Blog Tour

 Publisher: Page Turn Press

Publication Date: 1st December 2023

Genre: Fiction

Summary:

GREEN THUMBS BEWARE

Plants are beautiful, peaceful, abundant, and life-sustaining...

Plants are beautiful, peaceful, abundant, and life-sustaining. But what if something sinister took root in the soil, awakening to unleash slashing thorns, squeezing vines, or haunting greenery that lured you in? Perhaps blooms on distant planets could claim your heart, hitch a ride to Earth on a meteor, or simply poison you with their essence. Imagine a world where scientists produced our own demise in a lab, set spores free to infect, even bred ferns to be our friends only to witness the privilege perverted. When faced with botanical terror, will humanity fight to survive, or will they curl and wither like leaves in the fall?

Read ten speculative tales ripe with dangerous flora to find out.

Review:
Firstly thank you to Rachel's Random Resources and Page Turn Press for having me on this tour and sending me the book.
I've really enjoyed flipping through this collection, I did as was suggested by Hollie Rae Garcia and started with Black Thumbs and it was fantastic. Suitably creepy, brilliantly written and had me looking at my pitcher plant oddly for the rest of the day! Seedling was another one that I really enjoyed, the weirdly clever idea for adding plant DNA into humans sounds way too much like something a scientist somewhere might be working on, and again it was brilliantly written.
Id never heard of any of the authors featured in this anthology until I started making my way through the stories but I've definitely added some more to my want-to-read list of authors because each of these stories is so cleverly written that I really want to know what they do with a bigger word count!
I have to say the only thing about the book I'm not keen on is the front cover! Whilst I think it probably fits the anthology well I just don't really like it, it is just a matter of personal taste  I think here.
I haven't read all of the stories yet, i keep picking out one or two whose titles take my fancy when I want a reading break from my Christmassy books but I think that's the joy of having a collection of shorts you can dip in and out to break up a block of books.

Krystina xx