Wednesday 7 January 2015

Book Reviews: Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell and Sleepless by Lou Morgan

So, Stripes Publishing have a little imprint called Red Eye where horror stories are being published. I don't read much horror, but I tend to enjoy what I do. Here's a review of the first two books out from Red Eye.

Title: Frozen Charlotte
Author: Alex Bell
Series:  Red Eye 
Published:  5 January 2015 by Red Eye/ Stripes
Length: 368
Source: Publisher
Review:Sophie is playing with her best friend when they recieve an ominous message through a Ouija board. A few days later, Sophie is sent to a schoolhouse to live wirh her cousins: Cameron, whose hand was badly burned, Piper, who seems perfect, Lilias, who's terrified of bones, and Rebecca, who has the dolls in the house. And is dead.
When I first heard of the Red Eye series that Andersen Press were bringing out, I was very excited. Because I enjoy horror and there should be more YA. Oh, and Lou Morgan (see me profess undying love for her adult series here). So, yes. A series with snazzy covers and different concepts. Yay!
Its quite predictable in some places-though in others, the twists were great. The level of interest fluctuation mirrors the level of creepiness fluctuating- while the dolls are definitely creepy in places. Lilias attitude and the things she does are brilliant, at times it seems a little too forced. What made it a lot scarier to me  is the  way the ideas got into the characters heads and took them over. The idea that you cant get away due to this being set on an isladn also helped.
I really liked Lilias. I'm not sure why  but she's the most memorable for me. Piper-oh my gosh yes. Sophie was a bit like the stereotypical teen horror film heroine and it worked well.
The supernatural elements are nicely contrasted with the real life elements  of grief and loss that added a bit more depth to the characters. Also, I liked the tie-ins to the history of the school.
The plot goes slow to start and speeds up towards the end. It's very easy to read and enjoy.


Overall: Strength 3 tea to a creepy story. Looking forwards to seeing what else RedEye puts out.
Links:Amazon | Author Website | Goodreads


 

Title:
 Sleepless
Author: Lou Morgan
Series:  Red Eye
Published:  5 January 2015 by Red Eye/Stripes
Length: 334 pages
Source: Publisher
Review: At Clerkenwell, you just dont fail. But with exams coming up, Izzy and her friends need to study. But Tigs has pills she bought off the internet, that claim to make you better at studying. They take it. And then start hallucinating. And then it all gets worse.
This is the book that  made me highly excited for the Red Eye series because of Blood and Feathers and the fact that horror was coming to the YA market hopefully more.  
The characters feel like stock tropes, especially Tigs. I didnt feel I could connect or get to like any of them, except Kara, because for going to a highly prestigious school, they must have understood the risks of taking a random pill and more than one of them should have had enough common sense to not take it (looking at you, Noah. I understand exam pressure, but really?)
The tension is built up really well in places. I liked the use of more relatable settings, bringing it most definitely to a contemporary setting, the Barbican in London (I cant think off the top of my head of any horror books/films that are set in the middle of a city; abandoned/far out settings come to mind more when thinking about horror settings ).
The endingerm, the last few paragraphs. Its ambiguous, and I think I get what happened, but the explanation  behind those last few paragraphs is unclear and I didnt really like it.
Like Frozen Charlotte, its scary levels went up and down. Some things again felt forced, especially some peoples *****s in the second half. But also, theres a section where they start getting very paranoid and I couldnt stop reading that bit.
Overall: Strength 3.5, slightly more a  4 tea to a book that was quick and easy, and sometimes scary, but not always.


Initial thoughts on the series: I was excited for both these novels. The quality of both in terms of scares and of  varies throughout, but were both quick, easy, and enjoyable reads. Coverwise, theyre brilliant. Im looking forwards to Flesh and Blood and Bad Bones, the Red Eyes coming in March and May. Finally,  in the hands of good directors, both these books would make excellent films. 

4 comments:

  1. Fab reviews! I've just finished Frozen a Charlotte and really loved it. I love the whole horror genre anyway and YA horror is always fun. Cannot wait to read Sleepless

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh, I hope you enjoy it! I'm looking forwards to the rise of ya horror-there's comparatively little of it on my shelves!

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  2. So cool! I have nominated you for the Liebster Award because you have such a great blog. See instructions here: https://eclecticfeelblog.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/ive-been-nominated-for-a-liebster-award/

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking time to read this!
Comments are much loved.
Nina xxx

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