Ash hearts books!

I received this book to give an honest review. 

If you like zombies then I think you will like this book. I have always been a huge zombie fan, the more blood and gore the better.

Though with this one not too much gore but it is there. So we are introduced to Eve who is a college student and is in Egypt with some classmates and professor. When she enters into a forbidden place that is when things start to go down hill. She becomes the undead. Though we slowly get answers to why the professor was in that certain place where things happen.

Eve is good at keeping a secret especially one like this but yet when her friends find out they are there to help her in anyway. Those are true friends. Eve tries to curb the hunger but that might not work, especially when we get to the ending! Can you say CLIFFHANGER!!!

Now while dealing with Eve and trying to keep her secret under wraps she starts a dilemma that will cause a whole lot of deaths. Though it seems that our government friends seem to know about everything. So will Eve be safe? Or will they use her as a weapon?  

Her best friend Cameron has his own things going on and will find himself in the crosshairs of a zombie who will stop at nothing to get him. Alex is there too back her friends up and goes in fighting when she can.

I am not sure how much more I can write on the review because I feel like I will give away a lot of things. Just pick this book up and give it a try. There is plenty of action, a bit of crushing going on, along with an awesome friendship.

It's all about love during the Valentine's Week. Each day of the Valentine's week will present one book love story with a different genre insight. Today, it's all about horrors. We're happy to welcome Charlene from Char's Horror Corner on BookLikes blog. 

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A guest post by Charlene from Char's Horror Corner

Why Horror is My Bloody Valentine

My love for horror is great, so when Kate from BookLikes asked me if I would be interested in writing about why, I hopped on the chance!

When I was young, there were very few children in my neighborhood, so I spent a lot of my time reading. The Bookmobile would come around once a week and I would check out as many books as I could hold. Back then, (only allowed to check out children's and young adult books), it was Agatha Christie, Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Conan Doyle that tickled my fancy. Poe-especially. I remember reading his story The Black Cat and getting a delicious case of the shivers-and so my love of horror was born!

When I got a little older my parents used to bring me to the drive-in theater for horror movie marathons. (For those who don't know, Drive-ins were theaters you attended while in your car. You pulled up to these speaker stands, removed the speaker and hung it on your car window and Voila! Movie sound! These days, I don't go in for horror films as much as I used to-but my love of horror books remains the same. 

So, why is that? What is it about horror books that I find appealing? Well, there's the aforementioned "delicious shivers" and I still love to get them.

You know-that feeling you get when you're reading a scary book all alone in your house and you hear a noise?

That accelerated heartbeat?

That little bead of sweat that breaks out on your brow while you're hunting down the cause of that mysterious noise? Yeah, that's one reason for sure. 

Another is because horror is often about outsiders. I was not exactly a cool kid in high school. I wasn't exactly a "Carrie" either- but I could identify with her. Not having the "right clothes", not having the "cool" friends, etc... When I first read Carrie, I felt so terrible for her and what she went through. I didn't condone her actions, but I certainly understood them. Since I felt I could relate to outsiders, it stands to reason that I would enjoy reading stories about them. 

Another thing I love about horror is all of its different facets. I think there are more aspects to horror today than ever before. Let's examine some of my favorite aspects and tropes below.

The Haunted House:  Here we have one of my favorite horror tropes, (when it's done well), which is the "Haunted House." The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson  is probably the best example of this horror icon.  In this literary tale we follow the story of Eleanor and a small group of others, investigating a house with a reputation. The opening sentences are some of my favorites in all of literature: 

No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.

Atmospheric and/or mood driven horror. This is the type of horror that slowly builds over the course of the story, usually creating a sense of tension, (often, with little to no actual blood or gore), that if done right, pays off with a denouement of epic proportions. Michael McDowell's The Elementals is a perfect example of this type of story. The characters are vividly drawn and memorable and as the story unfolds, you can feel the tension settling in around your neck and shoulders.  You can't quite put your finger on why, (at least not until close to that savory ending), but you just KNOW that when "it" arrives, it is NOT going to be good.

Splatterpunk Wikipedia says: "Splatterpunk was a movement within horror fiction in the 1980's distinguished by its graphic, often gory, depiction of violence and 'hyperintensive horror' with no limits." In my opinion, there is room for super gory fun in horror fiction. (My friend here at BookLikes, Grimlock, helped me to better define the Splatterpunk genre and turned me on to some great books, back when we both met on Goodreads, years ago.) These days, I lean more towards the atmospheric type of horror, but Splatterpunk will always hold a special place in my heart. Some great examples would be Skipp and Spector's The Light at the End or The Books of blood by Clive Barker. 

Cosmic Horror. Back in the day, (1908 to be exact), William Hope Hodgson wrote a story called The House on the Borderland. Many years later, H.P. Lovecraft would cite this story as one of his biggest influences. Terry Pratchett named it as one of his big influences as well. Why is that? The answer is not totally clear, but one of the reasons might be because the depiction of the cosmos as cold and unfeeling and the depiction of humanity as insignificant –well, those are scary thoughts!  Lovecraft later took this idea and made it his own, with the creation of all kinds of cosmic gods and the cursed elements of mankind that served them. This type of horror is now usually referred to as "Lovecraftian". These days, H. P. Lovecraft is more clearly seen as the racist he was, but the mark he and Hodgson have made upon the horror genre and legions of authors cannot be denied. 

Creature Features. These types of stories are some of the most fun that horror has to offer. I like to think of them as the B-movies of the horror genre. They are generally fast paced and feature creatures, (see what I did there?), whose only reason for existence is to kill humans. There is usually not a lot of moralizing, (though some of these do highlight an environmental message), and as such they can be a heck of a lot of fun to read. Some of my favorites include: The Rats by James Herbert, Clickers by J.F. Gonzalez  and Night Of The Crabs by Guy N. Smith  . 

Supernatural Horror and Legends of Horror will be my last word on the subject of horror today. These terms encompass so many types and creatures of horror- it's almost too large of a subject to tackle here. Probably my favorite type of supernatural horror would be the kind that is never fully explained-or might not even exist at all. An AWESOME example of this type of story is The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons. This is a tale where a LOT is left up to the reader's interpretation-(usually these types of books lead to the very best discussions!  The Supernatural aspect can also include stories of ghosts, (or not ghosts as in Henry James' The Turn of the Screw), vampires, (not Twilight vampires though, because those are YA and romance, NOT HORROR), and all sorts of creatures of myth and legend like Werewolves, Wendigos, The Jersey Devil, Bigfoot, Witches,  etc... There is so much quality dark fiction available about all of these subjects, so a horror fan will never find themselves short of great material to read!             

So there you have it! These are just some of the reasons I love horror so much. It appeals to outsiders, insiders and everyone in between. There is often a horror story for every sort of reader, be they full of jump scares, blood and guts or just mysterious things, glimpsed out of the corners of your eyes. Horror can be intelligent and hard to fathom, or it can be stupid, blood and guts. It’s up to you! One thing is sure though, a good horror story is GREAT fun and I hope you have yourself some this year!

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Watch out for more Book Love Stories on BookLikes blog this week! If you'd like to join, please do! Write your book love story on your blog and add the link in the comment section below. Make sure to add why I love tag to your post so we could find it and share it. 

Books are the best gifts for book lovers regardless of the occasion. It is nice, though, to give or receive an interesting companion, an intriguing detail, a special piece along with the book, of course. Today we've prepared this set of gifts for your No 1 book lover.

And starting from Monday watch out for a special Valentine's week book love story project with great bookish pieces written by BookLikes bloggers :)

1. Peacock Paper Heart Stud Earrings ->

"These heart stud earrings feature tiny, delicate folds that create a soft shaped heart full of love to go around, perfect for a gift."

2. Message in a Bottle Necklace ->

"Message in a Bottle Necklace with a beautiful love poem ~ this handmade pendant is a token of heartfelt love."

3. Paper read and gold hearts necklace->

"This origami hearts necklace is perfect for the heart lover. With three hearts folded from red and gold washi paper it will add love to your outfit."

4. Literary brooch ->

"This lovely little handmade brooch is just perfect for the person in your life who has a passion for books and literacy."

5. Temporary tattoos for book lovers, set of two->

Not sure if a tattoo is your cup of tea? Give it a try with this temporary set of literary tattoos, the set of two matching tattoos is a perfect Valentine's evening project.

6. Origami paper roses ->

"An abandoned book (usually collected from charity shops) will get a second chance to create dreams for the one you love."

7. You and Me artwork ->

"This artwork is made from paper hearts cut from a range of lovely vintage sheet music and romantic poems. The hearts have been layered and stitched into chains with a single red heart nestled in amongst them. The heart is printed with the words, 'You and Me' but can also be personalised."

8. Personalized location map print ->

"Make a beautiful print of anywhere you choose-- for example: a place you've lived, where you got married, your favourite destination... The world is your oyster!"

9. Cat notebook ->

"This fab A6 cat notebook is a perfect little gift for that crazy cat lady you know or makes a lovely treat for yourself!"

10. Cinder by Marissa Meyer inspired T-shirt ->

11. The Lord of the Rings Middle-Earth Map Scarf ->

This chiffon scarf is a perfect companion for romantic evening walks. And it's big enough to cover two sets of shoulders.

 

 

 

12. Personalized Kindle Case ->

"Each case is fully lined and wadded, with an elastic loop and button fastening at the top. Ensuring that your kindle or tablet will be safe and secure.Available in 3 colour ways. Choose from stone linen, pink cotton or blue cotton."

 13. Wuthering Heights bookmark ->

"This bookmark is completely hand made and handwritten. It features a quotation from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: "Whatever our souls are made of his and mine are the same", hand-calligraphed in permanent and waterproof purple ink on lilac cardboard. The bookmark is decorated with small leaves and red flowers."

 14. Glasses case from Which glasses are which ->

"Makes a brilliant gift for anyone who mislays their specs, especially bookworms and crossword puzzlers"

15. Romantic bookmarks with quotes ->

Beautiful bookmarks are always the best gifts and when they present the romantic quotes they become the best Valentine's present.

What are your perfect Valentine's gift ideas?

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