Novella Review: Wish Upon a Star by Michelle McLean

Wish Upon a Star

by Michelle McLean

Ceri McKinley never stopped wishing that her ex-fiancé Jason Crickett would come back into her life. But when he finally does, he comes with a request that puts them both—and all of humanity—into jeopardy.

Jason only wants two things: to bury his brother properly and to convince Ceri to trust him again after he jilted her. But when Ceri agrees to help him get his brother back, they end up fighting for their lives as the second zombie uprising threatens them all.

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My thoughts: This was a somewhat normal scenario that quickly spiraled out of control.... Oh who am I kidding - this was not a normal scenario.  Ex-wife, Ceri, going to see ex-husband, Russell,  about his visitation with their daughter Skye.  Runs into ex-fiance, Jason, and his father, Max, who also wants to see her ex-husband - to try to get the body of his brother Peter back. Peter was hurt on the night of Jason's bachelor party - only Jason had opted to spend the evening with Ceri.  He feels that Peter's accident would not have happened if he hadn't stayed with Ceri.  

Russell had used some experimental procedures on Peter and had saved his life but made him a cyborg in the process.  His cyborg half-life had been snuffed out during an attempted robbery in which he was shot and killed.  Or so everyone thought. As Ceri, Jason and Max soon learn, Russell has reanimated Peter and turned him into a zombie - one with a chip in his head to do Russell's bidding. 

The situation goes from bad to worse.  Peter infects the secretary, who starts a zombie outbreak. Russell is killed by none other than Peter, and Ceri and Jason find themselves locked into Russell's safe room. At least from there they can get out the word about the outbreak and get them some help. That help turns out to be the military planning to bomb the establishment in two hours.  This would be okay except that Ceri has seen her mother and daughter huddled under a desk in Russell's office on the top floor.  The true story starts here as Jason and Ceri set off to rescue them through a zombie infested building.

This one had a lot of suspense and was an interesting take on the outbreak of zombies.  Enjoyed reading it and turns out according to my spreadsheet, it is the 100th book I have read this year!

~I received a complimentary ecopy of Wish Upon a Star from Entangled Publishing in exchange for my unbiased review. ~

Novella Review: Haunted Chemistry by Lindsey R. Loucks

Haunted Chemistry

by Lindsey R. Loucks

When bookish college co-ed Alexis heads to the laundry room in her new apartment, she runs into Ian Reese, the chem lab partner she crushed on all last semester. And the guy who stood her up on their first date. But she’s down for an awkward reunion, and no better place than her creepy laundry room.

Ian has every intention of making amends, but just when Alexis begins to trust him again, a new threat calls more than their future together into question. A ghost from the apartment’s past is hellbent on revenge, and if he wants to get his girl, he’ll have to get the ghost first.

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My thoughts: This was probably the least favorite of the novellas that I read this week.  It had sort of a campy feel to me.  I couldn't help picturing the girl from The Ring crawling out of the T.V. when she was describing the ghost girl crawling out of the cupboard. 

I did like the romantic aspect of the story, Alexis and Ian running into each other just as the ghost makes her first appearance. Alexis having to overcome the awkwardness of being stood up at the end of spring semester and Ian trying to come up with the way to tell her why he had missed the date. Meanwhile, the ghost kidnaps Tri, her cat and takes her through the walls down to the laundry room.  Ian has read somewhere that salt works against ghosts so taking a handful they head off for the laundry room.  But of course, a handful of salt isn't much against a vengeful ghost!

This was another quick read, and while it didn't hold the same suspense as the other novella's have had for me, it did keep me entertained.

~I received a complimentary copy of Haunted Chemistry from Entangled Publishing in exchange for my unbiased review.~

Novella Review: Mercy by Jan Coffey

Mercy

by Jan Coffey

Julia Klein’s life has begun to unravel—her daughter Amy has been suspended from school, Julia is about to lose her job, and her boyfriend Garrett is being transferred thousands of miles away. Overwhelmed, she and Amy leave for a weekend at a rambling old colonial inn. Julia never suspects that Garrett, desperate to find a way to keep Julia in his life, has decided to surprise her by joining them. Nor does she expect her daughter to befriend a mischievous ghost...or that she herself would be possessed by the malevolent spirit of a long-dead mother.

As a dark secret emerges, Julia, Amy, and Garrett find themselves pitted in a fight for survival against a savage presence that intends to resurrect/repeat/relive a horrible crime committed two centuries ago.  And this time, Amy and Julia will be the victims.

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My thoughts: Now this was an interesting ghost story.  Julia and Amy (mother and daughter) go away for a weekend after Amy is suspended from school for aggression.  Julia doesn't believe her daughter is guilty, but Amy hasn't spoken since she was in a car accident with her father in which he was killed.  

At the hotel, Amy is befriended by Mercy, a young ghost who shows her a secret cupboard in the room of the inn at which they are staying. Meanwhile, Julia begins to have horrific dreams involving rape and hangings. But are they dreams or a ghost's memories?

When Garrett surprises them at the inn, the ghost's rage escalates. Personally witnessing the ghost's wrath, he starts delving into the inn's past and discovers that there have been multiple deaths involving a mother and daughter hanging themselves in the very room in which they are staying. Will he be able to fix the misdeeds and miscommunications of the past before they claim two more victims?

It has been awhile since I have read a ghost story, and this novella was a good start to get me interested in them again.  Care to recommend any good ghost stories for this month?

~I received a complimentary ecopy of Mercy from Entangled Publishing in exchange for my unbiased review.~

Novella Review: One Thousand and One Nights by Ruth Browne

One Thousand and One Nights

by Ruth Browne

Sheri spends her days fighting zombies and her nights chained to a wall, earning her every breath by telling stories to her captor Aleksy—stories that make them both forget the ruined world. Sheri could put up with the conditions—at least she knows her sister is safe in the community Aleksy leads—until she realizes she’s falling for him...even though he wants her dead.

When Aleksy allowed Sheri and her sister into his compound, he didn’t know about the zombie bite on her back. It's only a matter of time before she turns into one of the rising dead and threatens their existence, but Aleksy has a secret need for Sheri and her stories. For everyone’s safety, he chains her to his bedroom wall, hoping for just one more day. But how long will the community allow Aleksy to ignore his own rule: always kill the infected. Always.

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My thoughts: Sheri has been bitten by a zombie - many times over - but the infection has never materialized like it would with anybody else, and no one knows whether it is just lying dormant, or if she is somehow immune.  For a few months she lived in a remote cabin with her sister Dani, but they knew that would not last forever.

Aleksy stumbled upon them and told them about a compound where there were other survivors and took them in.  Upon arriving, Sheri's bites were discovered and she was immediately chained and caged.  The only thing that saved her from death was when Aleksy overheard her telling stories to her sister and he was mesmerized.  He eventually took her to his room - keeping her chained of course - so that she could tell him stories.  

As he starts to see more of Sheri and less of her bites, will he be able to let his guard down and let her in?

Another quick little story that was a fun read.  I liked the storytelling aspect and that it was that little nugget that kept her alive.  She would travel into abandoned towns looking for libraries and books to bring back to read to Aleksy and there is just something life affirming about that to me.

~I received a complimentary ecopy of One Thousand and One Nights from Entangled Publishing in exchange for my unbiased review.~

Novella Review: Ruby Hill by Sarah Ballance

Ruby Hill

by Sarah Ballance

From her earliest memories, Ashley Pearce has been drawn to Ruby Hill Lunatic Asylum, and she's not the only one. Decades after the abandoned hospital ended its institutional reign of torture and neglect, something lurks in the shadows. Since she’s a paranormal investigator, it's Ashley's job to find out what.

Crime scene expert Corbin Malone doesn't believe in ghosts. A born skeptic, he has no interest in entertaining the hype surrounding the mysterious deaths at Ruby Hill, but he won't turn his back while more women die. He agrees to an overnight investigation, never expecting his first encounter would be with the woman he pushed away a year ago. But when he discovers Ashley is a target, he learns his greatest fear isn't living with his own demons, but losing her for good.

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My thoughts: I was pulled into this story right away just for the fact that it was set at an asylum.  Just the word asylum evokes thoughts of despair, horror, torture, general creep factor.  Corbin was there to "babysit" some ghost chasers.  They thought that a ghost had been killing women at the asylum.  Skeptical Corbin doesn't believe that for a minute.  His night just keeps getting better when he discovers the paranormal investigator is his ex, Ashley.  When his brother died in the very same asylum months earlier, it drove a wedge between him and Ashley.

During the next few hours he encounters the unexpected and at times questions his own eyes.  He discovers the victims all had ties to the asylum in some way, including his brother.  But Ashley also had ties to the asylum.  As it dawns on him that she may be the next victim, his skepticism starts to fade.

This was a good little horror story, just right to start off October's readings.