Book Review! This House is Haunted by John Boyne

     I have been really unsure for quite a while on what to blog about next, so I decided to go with what I do best and write a review for a fantastically creepy book that I just finished reading.
  The name of this wonderful book is "This House is Haunted" by John Boyne. This has been one of the greatest paranormal stories I have ever read. Even with my job and house cleaning I do not always get a chance to read, but I had this done within 48 hours of getting it at the library. It is written in fantastic Dickinson Prose and sucks you in from the first page. We open with the main character Eliza and her father going to a live reading by Charles Dickens who is her father's favorite writer. However, her father has not been very well and tragedy strikes and she loses her father the following day. In her grief stricken state, she takes a suspicious governess position and leaves London only a week after her fathers untimely death. As she arrives frightening experiences have already occurred, and once she arrives at the estate there are no adults present. The children are there of course, but do not answer any questions about their parents. Many more frightening experiences plague Eliza and frighten her to no end. Soon, she finds out the horrible secret that the house holds. She only wants to protect the children. I will not write anymore as I do not want to give too much of the story away, but in my opinion if you love ghost stories you must pick up this book! It is sure to please you.

Phantom of the Opera(not that one) Movie Review

 I'm writing a review for another one of my favorite Cult Classics, and it's called "The Phantom of the Opera" starring Robert Englund! If you have not heard of this movie it's no surprise. This is a pretty underground film. It came out in 1989 and starred Robert Englund as "The Phantom". This movie although unknown is my favorite depiction of The Phantom of the Opera. It lacks the music that the musical version we all know has (yes it still has some music, just not as much). This movie is definitely

a lot more bloody than the original and it takes place in London instead of Paris. The unnamed phantom has sold his soul to the Devil so that he can be loved for his music, of course that is all he will be loved for. When he sold his soul to the devil he became horribly disfigured and he created a mask of human skin from his victims so he may appear normal. Enter the beautiful young singer Christine, he is in love with her Voice, her voice is perfect for his music. His obsession leads him to murder many all for her and all very bloody messy ways. Although this film is not the traditional Phantom of the Opera it's one of the best. I highly recommend it. Once again five out of five stars.

Edge of Sanity movie review

 My first movie review!

   For this week, I decided to choose one of my favorite cult movies from the '80s.  Edge of Sanity, starring Anthony Perkins (who also stole my heart in Psycho) This wonderful film, which was released in 1989 and directed by Gérard Kikoïne. It is supposed to be set in the Victorian age, yet, because of some of the language and clothing, its very obviously an '80s movie. However, this movie is still a wonderfully unique film.

   Combining the stories of Jekyll and Hyde and Jack the Ripper to create one unique story!  It focuses  on Doctor Henry Jekyll (Anthony Perkins) who has a new numbing agent for surgeries; however, an accident causes his new numbing agent to mix with other chemicals, creating cocaine!

 Of course he inhales a lot of the smoke, and thus becomes the monster known as Jack Hyde (aka Jack the Ripper). He stalks the prostitutes of London while consistently smoking cocaine throughout the film. This movie(although its cheesy at times) continues to please and entertain the audience. I highly recommend it and rate this film 5 out of 5 stars.

The Darker Passions of Dracula Book Review

 

     Ok so I was going over and over in my head what book or movie I should review next. Then it hit me, I would review the very best erotic BDSM book I have ever read called "The Darker Passions: Dracula". These books are written by Nancy Kilpatrick, writing under the pen name Amarantha Knight.  If you like Gothic horror, Erotica, BDSM, and Vampires then you have found The  Darker Passions: Dracula.
     This book along with other in the Darker Passions series is taking the classic story of Dracula and turning it into a deliciously erotic BDSM fantasy world. The story is so well written and each scene is described so well its like you are right there witnessing all the fantastic sex/bdsm filled orgies. My male character(other than Dracula) has got to be Van Helsing, such a commanding strong man, yet has a soft place in his heart for the Domineering Miss Lucy Westenra.
     As for Lucy herself well although she starts out in the begining of this amazing story as a very strong woman who Dominates all of her suitors, once she is under the spell of Dracula she soon is on the other end of the Dom/Sub life. Although this is not what she is used to she craves it and obeys very willingly.  This is just a tidbit of this amazing story. Johnathan and Mina Harker are at the beginning prudish to say the least, but as our story and each character is exposed to"Forbidden Pleasure" they each become for sexually free than either could of imagined.
   I love this story more than I can say, it has everything so if you are looking for a truly good BDSM story look no further than The Darker Passions: Dracula. Along with this book she has also written other books in The Darker Passions..they include Jekyll and Hyde, Carmilla, Frankenstein, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit in the Pendulum and Dorian Grey. You will not be disappointed  in any of these fantastic stories.

The Accession of the Blind Princess Book Review

Now I am sure that my review for the "Me and my Friend Maddie" Gothic books series was enjoyable but now I would like to write another review for Mr. Tomoguchi's other book(and my personal favorite) The Accession of the Blind Princess.  This book is absolutely beautiful. A gruesome fairy tale set in the kingdom of Tyria where a baby girl is born with violet eyes. Sadly for this young girl and her family this captures the attention of the cruel King Kilbourne. This story has many wonderful moments woven throughout the book. It has sadness, tragedy, and triumph. However the story of the Princess Bless is a wonderful one. A unique gruesome fairytale that is sure to be loved by all who read it. However this wonderful story is not all that is to be loved about this book, but the artwork is definitely a work to be admired. The artist (The late Ashley Vargas) is beautiful and really helps bring the story to life. However at the beginning of the story we are told that Ashley was diagnosed with cancer, and had passed away in the middle of a new drawing she was working on. We are told that in honor of her memory the pages which would have contained her art would be left blank in her memory. All the art (even the unfinished piece) is beautiful, and you can imagine how it would have looked had Ashley gotten to finish it. For me this made the book even more special and unique. I have never seen any other book do that in honor and memory of an artist. Ashley was someone who was not only a wonderful artist, but obviously a wonderful person who touched the heart of not only the writer, but everyone she knew. I absolutely adore this book, and have read it five times so far. The story with the beautiful art and the dedication to Ms. Ashley Vargas definitely makes this book one to remember.

Book Review for the "Me and My Friend Maddie" series by Robert Tomoguchi

A couple years ago I discovered the first book in the wonderful series, "Goth Girls Don’t Taste like Chicken". Of course the first thing that grabbed me about this book was the title. So I found it online for Kindle and started reading. I fell in love right from the start. This book is clever, funny, and very easy to relate to. I absolutely love the un-named character Maddie's BFF. He is comical and a very entertaining character. Maddie is someone I admire smart, funny, and always knows how to handle a situation. These characters together make this first book absolutely wonderful.

The second book “So This Bitch” focuses on a new girl coming between Maddie and her BFF and the jealousy and drama that ensue. I like this book because I am able to relate to the character of Gloom Dollie. Being new to the Goth scene can be intimidating and scary; making friends can be difficult. Luckily, Gloom Dollie meets Maddie and her BFF. Although at first things are rocky between the three because of the jealousy the BFF feels towards Gloom Dollie they accept her and become friends. I love this one the most because of all of this knowing that although you have a BFF you can have many other BFFs and friends and still love that person just as much. It’s a beautiful lesson and a great story to learn that lesson from. I highly recommend to anyone who may be having the sort of problems Gloom Dollie faced or if you’re having the jealousy Maddie's BFF felt.

The third book, “A Goth Noob Picnic” in the Cemetery where DJ Dumbshit is buried takes a slightly more serious turn. In this book Maddie and her BFF meet a baby bat. They take him under their wing and soon learn that he is being bullied. Maddie's BFF takes action and stands up for him. However, later due to a mix up, he learns about notes where the baby bat had talked about suicide and hurting himself. This book really opens your eyes to this issue. It still has the same elements as the other books just a very important lesson is included.

I love all of these books and I highly recommend them to all Goths in the subculture you are sure to find great pleasure with all of them. The writer expresses himself very creatively and this is what keeps you reading. I found mine digitally on Amazon. However, you may also buy them in paperback.

I hope you enjoyed reading my review of these wonderful books.