Horror

Photo Credit: Dutton, July 11th

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Final Girls

Summary: Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet.

Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.

That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished. Continue reading →

Photo Credit: Goodreads

This book was sent to Traveling With T in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Starter House

Lacey and Eric, a young married couple, are looking for a house. Their 2 will becoming 3 in a short few months and both Lacey and Eric desire a place of their own to raise their child, in a neighborhood that has good schools and a nice look. Lacey, though, wants a house with character- not a square cookie-cutter house- a house with character. When Lacey sees this 1 house and finds out that it is for sale- she falls in love with the house. Eric is happy because it’s in the neighborhood they want, is in their price range, and makes Lacey happy. Too bad neither of them really listened to the real estate agent when she tried to discourage them from buying the house.

Shortly after moving in, Lacey begins having difficulty with her pregnancy- and is concerned. She and Eric begin making alternative arrangements- Lacey sleeping downstairs, her mother moving in temporarily and Lacey trying to keep stress to a minimum. Still, Lacey feels uneasy. The house, at times, has a different feel to it- not warm and welcoming; but dark and mysterious. There is a little boy who Lacey keeps seeing… in her house. This boy, Drew, appeals to Lacey and her teacher/maternal instincts. But, slowly, she begins to pick up on things- that Drew is not what he seems. That Drew is a jealous child and quick to anger- which Lacey finds out the hard way.

Determined to get to the bottom of what has happened in this house and the story of Drew- Lacey begins to look for clues. What she finds is dark and chilling. Will Lacey be able to put an end to evil in the house- before she and her baby pay the ultimate price?

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

This is Sonja Condit’s first book and while I enjoyed it- I was a bit conflicted at times. Sonja’s characters- Lacey and Eric, I did not completely connect with either. Lacey, at times, seemed like she was cracking up and Eric, was an obsessive workaholic.

The story is compared to The Thirteenth Tale and since I have not read that book, I can’t accurately say if Starter House is like that book. I was a bit worried that it would be too scary- similar to the movie, The Conjuring, but it was not super-scary. Starter House has more of a creepy vibe- and Sonja Condit does that very well.

Would I recommend? Yes. Was it perfect? No. But, Starter House kept me flipping pages because I had to know what happened in that house- and if or when it would ever end.

*Thanks to William-Morrow for sending Traveling With T STARTER HOUSE. Above thoughts and opinions are mine alone.