The Haunted Book Shop

Kait Layton Reviews How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix – Also we have signed copies left!

Kait Layton reporting in with a review of How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix which released this past Tuesday!

This is my fourth Hendrix novel and I am a huge fan. I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s note at the beginning that states the inspiration behind the story was to get far away from the pandemic and dive into something else. I actually read this book in three days while being in quarantine, so it was exactly the distraction I needed!

I thought it was going to be a ghost story just after reading the title. Then, the main character’s family is very religious and talks about demons and I had just finished “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” and thought, “Oh no, not this story again!” However, that is not how the story ends and I was extremely surprised. It’s one of those stories where you are like, “WTF!” but you keep reading to find out what happens to the family and the house.

My only complaint is that I wish it had more gore. There are tons of creepy moments, but there is only one big scene where the main character and her brother are getting attacked and it was grisly. I just wanted more.

Puppets are creepy, especially when they move around the house independently, leave notes for you, turn the tv on, and start talking. I haven’t read a horror novel that includes puppets before, so thank you, Hendrix, for writing such a creative story that kept me entertained and distracted!

Bret Easton Ellis’s New Novel Releases Tomorrow and We Have Signed Copies!

We only have 8 copies, so if you want one, order a copy online or stop by tomorrow! Also releasing tomorrow is Grady Hendrix’s new novel, How To Sell a Haunted House and we also have signed copies!

About The Shards: A novel

A sensational new novel from the best-selling author of Less Than Zero and American Psycho that tracks a group of privileged Los Angeles high school friends as a serial killer strikes across the city.

Bret Easton Ellis’s masterful new novel is a story about the end of innocence, and the perilous passage from adolescence into adulthood, set in a vibrantly fictionalized Los Angeles in 1981 as a serial killer begins targeting teenagers throughout the city.

Seventeen-year-old Bret is a senior at the exclusive Buckley prep school when a new student arrives with a mysterious past. Robert Mallory is bright, handsome, charismatic, and shielding a secret from Bret and his friends even as he becomes a part of their tightly knit circle. Bret’s obsession with Mallory is equaled only by his increasingly unsettling preoccupation with the Trawler, a serial killer on the loose who seems to be drawing ever closer to Bret and his friends, taunting them—and Bret in particular—with grotesque threats and horrific, sharply local acts of violence. The coincidences are uncanny, but they are also filtered through the imagination of a teenager whose gifts for constructing narrative from the filaments of his own life are about to make him one of the most explosive literary sensations of his generation. Can he trust his friends—or his own mind—to make sense of the danger they appear to be in? Thwarted by the world and by his own innate desires, buffeted by unhealthy fixations, he spirals into paranoia and isolation as the relationship between the Trawler and Robert Mallory hurtles inexorably toward a collision.

Set against the intensely vivid and nostalgic backdrop of pre-Less Than Zero L.A., The Shards is a mesmerizing fusing of fact and fiction, the real and the imagined, that brilliantly explores the emotional fabric of Bret’s life at seventeen—sex and jealousy, obsession and murderous rage. Gripping, sly, suspenseful, deeply haunting, and often darkly funny, The Shards is Ellis at his inimitable best.

Kait Layton Reviews All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

This book ripped me apart over and over. Stacy Willingham has a way of twisting a plot that keeps you guessing until the very end!

Everyone should read this to find out what happens to Isabelle and her missing son, Mason, but also read this because Isabelle is a strong mamma jamma who deserves some recognition!

Kait Layton reporting in with a review of All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham which released on January 10th!

This book ripped me apart over and over. Stacy Willingham has a way of twisting a plot that keeps you guessing until the very end!

Isabelle Drake’s toddler son goes missing from his bed in the middle of the night while she and her husband are sleeping. A whole year has gone by and Mason is still missing, Isabelle’s husband has left her, she has not slept a full night since Mason’s disappearance, there has not been a break in the case, and Isabelle’s ex has started a new relationship and seems to have moved on from her and Mason all together.

Isabelle doesn’t give up, though. Even when everyone suspects her, blames her, shames her, and pities her.

Everyone should read this to find out what happens to Isabelle and Mason, but also read this because Isabelle is a strong mama jama how deserves some respect!

Pre-Order Daughters of Victory: A Novel

Local author Gabriella Saab (The Last Checkmate) returns with another fabulous historical fiction: Daughters of Victory, releasing January 24 for $17.99.

About Daughters of Victory: A Novel

From the acclaimed author of The Last Checkmate comes a brilliant novel spanning from the Russian Revolution to the Nazi occupation of the Soviet Union and following two unforgettable women…their fates intertwined by ties of family and interrupted by the tragedy of war. Perfect for readers of Kate Quinn, Pam Jenoff, and Elena Gerokhova.

Russia 1917: Beautiful, educated Svetlana Petrova defied her stifling aristocratic family to join a revolution promising freedom. Now, released after years of imprisonment, she discovers her socialist party vying for power against the dictatorial Bolsheviks and her beloved uncle, a champion of her cause, was murdered by a mysterious assassin named Orlova. Her signature? Blinding her victims before she kills them. Svetlana resolves to avenge his death by destroying this vicious opponent, even as she longs to reunite with the daughter she has not seen in years.

USSR 1941: Now living in obscurity in a remote village, Svetlana opens her home to Mila Rozovskaya, the eighteen-year-old granddaughter from Leningrad she has never met. She hopes to protect Mila from the oncoming Nazi invasion, but when the enemy occupies the village, Svetlana sees the young woman fall under the spell of the resistance—echoing her once-passionate idealism. As Mila takes up her fight, dangerous secrets and old enemies soon threaten all Svetlana holds dear. To protect her family, she must confront her long-buried past—yet if the truth emerges victorious, it holds the power to save or shatter them. A risk Svetlana has no choice but to take.

Kelly Reviews Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Baldree wrote a coffeeshop AU (alternate universe) within the same universe, giving Viv a chance at the peaceful life of a business owner in a world of swords and sorcery. I sincerely hope this book opens the door to more cozy fantasy novels about retired heroes….This book is made for every person who has ever wished for their long-suffering hero to have a peaceful, happy ending.

Kelly McLeod reporting in with a review of Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree which released November 8th.

This book is made for every person who has ever wished for their long-suffering hero to have a peaceful, happy ending. The heroine, an orc woman Viv, has been adventuring for years and is ready to retire. After slaying one last deadly foe, she takes her prize and travels to the city Thune to open a coffeeshop, the first the city has ever seen. The book follows her as she braves the trials of entrepreneurship and the problems of establishing a market for a product no one has seen before, as well as problems with the local mob and a previous colleague that comes to visit with ill-intent in his heart.
The book is just a delight. Baldree wrote a coffeeshop AU (alternate universe) within the same universe, giving Viv a chance at the peaceful life of a business owner in a world of swords and sorcery. I sincerely hope this book opens the door to more cozy fantasy novels about retired heroes.

About This Book

A delightful fantasy debut for fans of TJ Klune and T Kingfisher, about a retired orc who trades the warrior life for the quiet life. Or so she planned…
The much-beloved BookTok sensation, Travis Baldree’s novel of high fantasy and low stakes.

This new edition includes a very special, never-before-seen bonus story, ‘Pages to Fill.’

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.

The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won’t be able to go it alone.

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.

“Take a break from epic battles and saving the world. Legends & Lattes is a low-stakes fantasy that delivers exactly what’s advertised: a wholesome, cozy novel that feels like a warm hug. This is my new comfort read.”—Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch’s Heart

Kelly Reviews Breakable Things by Cassandra Khaw

Kelly reporting in with a review of Breakable Things by Cassandra Khaw which released Tuesday, October 03 2022

Have you ever tried to describe your dream to someone else and had them respond, “Sounds like a nightmare.”? And you respond, “Oh, no, it was beautiful and strange, yes, but….well, actually….no, that does sound horrific, huh?”

That’s what this collection of short stories feels like. Beautiful, captivating, and plumbing the darkest wells of humanity with lyrical prose. It makes you appreciate how the word “viscera” slides off the tongue, makes you hungry for a bowl of brains, and then sick with anger for what torture our dear protagonists experienced. Lots of gore, body horror, and excellent, eloquent prose. There was no one story I wanted to skip through and I devoured the whole collection in a night. Highly recommended.

About Breakable Things

Cassandra Khaw’s dynamic and vibrant debut collection, Breakable Things, explores the fragile and nebulous bonds that weave love and grief into our existence. This exquisite and cutting collection of stories showcases a bloody fusion of horrors from cosmic to psychological to body traumas.

Interested in a copy? You can order it on our website to ship, deliver (local only) or pick up in store

Cursed by Marissa Meyer Comes out Tuesday and we have signed copies left!

Snag your copy now so you can come by and get it on Tuesday!

About Cursed

The stunning sequel to Gilded, a young adult Rumpelstiltskin retelling from Marissa Meyer.
Serilda and Gild attempt to break the curses that tether their spirits to Adalheid’s haunted castle before the Endless Moon, when the Erlking means to capture one of the seven gods and make a wish to return his lover, Perchta, from the underworld. But it soon becomes clear that the Erlking’s hunger for vengeance won’t be satisfied with a single wish, and his true intentions have the power to forever alter the mortal realm. Serilda and Gild must try to thwart his wicked plans, all while solving the mystery of Gild’s forgotten name, freeing the ghosts kept in servitude to the Dark Ones, and trying to protect their unborn child.

Romance, danger, and Serilda’s journey to finding her power as a woman, a mother, and a storyteller make this reimagining of Rumpelstiltskin one that Meyer fans – old and new – will treasure.

A Night of Romance & Fantasy: The Haunted Book Shop and Oyster City Brewing Company present a book signing with Sierra Simone, Emily McIntire, and Piper CJ

A Night of Romance & Fantasy: The Haunted Book Shop and Oyster City Brewing Company present a book signing with Sierra Simone, Emily McIntire, and Piper CJ—three bestselling authors—November 16, 2022, 5:30-7:30p.m., at 600 Government Street.

Meet Sierra Simone (author of the sizzling trilogy Sinner, Saint, and Priest), Emily McIntire of the dark romance Never After Series in which she gives our favorite villains their happily ever afters, and TikTok sensation Piper CJ, author of The Night & Its Moon fantasy series. Buy copies of their latest releases and have these fabulous women sign your new book treasures.

Yes, if sipping a craft brew while choosing your next spicy read in the Tap Room of Oyster City Brewing Company sounds like a fantasy to you, your dream will become reality on November 16, 2022, 5:30-7:30p.m.

As supplies are limited, The Haunted Book Shop recommends pre-purchasing copies for the event. You can find all the books on our website at this link. Pre-purchased copies can be claimed at Oyster City Brewing Company on November 16. Unclaimed purchases will be brought to our store for you to pick up then.

Praise for Simone, McIntire, and CJ:

“In Saint, Simone delivers a story that does what she does better than anyone else–marry the spiritual and the secular; the filthy and the pure. I was rapt. I was challenged. I was DEBAUCHED, and devoured every minute of it.” — Kennedy Ryan, USA Today bestselling author

“Emily McIntire took time to create a slow burn, a tangible tension.” — Lake Country Press on Scarred by Emily McIntire

“The novel is a solid set-up to a high fantasy epic.” — Portland Book Review on Piper CJ’s The Night and Its Moon

Diper Överlöde (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 17) Releases Tomorrow!

Wimpy Kid lovers rejoice! A new installment releases tomorrow: Diper Överlöde (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 17)!

Diper Överlöde (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 17)

In Diper Överlöde, book 17 of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series from #1 international bestselling author Jeff Kinney, Greg Heffley is finding out that the road to fame and glory comes with some hard knocks.

When he decides to tag along with his brother Rodrick’s band, Löded Diper, Greg doesn’t realize what he’s getting into. But he soon learns that late nights, unpaid gigs, fighting between band members, and money troubles are all part of the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle.

Can Greg help Löded Diper become the legends they think they are? Or will too much time with Rodrick’s band be a diper överlöde?

Kait Reviews The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

Kait reporting in with a review of The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson which released Tuesday, September 06 2022

Tiffany Jackson’s newest novel, ‘The Weight of Blood’, is a retelling of the King novel, ‘Carrie’. I have not read ‘Carrie’, but I have seen the movies, so I had that as a base to go off of when I was reading ‘The Weight of Blood’.

I really enjoyed the modern take on how race is still an issue in our communities and schools. I was interested to see how Jackson tied in dumping a bucket of something on the Maddy’s head, and I was not disappointed to find out what it was and what it symbolized. The whole scene where Kenny is trying to get the police officers involved and how they react….it was beautifully written and heartbreaking. I also enjoyed the writing style where it would break away from the telling of Maddy’s story and show pieces of interviews from different witnesses of Maddy’s destruction.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I read the entire ARC in about 3 days. It isn’t necessarily an original story (being that it is a retelling), but the references to race and police brutality are incredible. It is also just a dang good horror! There are grisly parts that make you want to keep turning the pages and you are drawn in to Maddy’s character.

Interested in a copy? You can order it on our website to ship, deliver (local only) or pick up in store