Tag: BookSirens

I read a book: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: The Novelization, by Jeff Strand

Posted on by Traumadoll

While I mostly write about books, my love of horror began with old movies and branched off into comedy horror shows like The Addams Family and The Munsters. The more ridiculous the premise, the better. Enter Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. It’s been forever and a half since I last watched the movie, but I do remember that ridiculous is an understatement. The fact that it inspired multiple sequels, a children’s cartoon, two video games, a comic book, a couple of similarly themed books, and now this novelization written by Jeff Strand and audiobook narrated by Joe Hempel is actually pretty amazing considering the poor reception of the movie in its time.

Let’s talk about the audiobook. Joe Hempel is a treasure. Like the movie, the audiobook is speckled with songs and faux advertisements and that one awful puberty song. Hempel narrates with gusto and paired with Jeff Strand’s humor, this audiobook is a joy to listen to.

As for the book itself, if you’ve seen the movie, you know the story. Humanity comes under attack by constantly mutating killer tomatoes. Everyone is an idiot and there’s little hope that humanity will figure out how to survive, except for maybe China and their secret weapon, Bruce Lee. It is ridiculous and hilarious. I know it’s cliche to say the book is better than the movie, especially when the book is a novelization of that movie, but it’s true. Characters that didn’t get much screen time, like master of disguise Sam Smith, come to life in this book. Jokes that barely registered in the movie are amplified. Imagery that were probably cost prohibitive to produce in a movie are elevated by Strand’s colorful writing.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me. This book is 233 pages or 5 hours of pure fun. This book filled in a lot of gaps that the movie left wide open. I particularly enjoyed all the fourth wall breaking commentary. The whole thing was just so funny.

Big thanks to Jeff Strand, Joe Hempel, Encyclopocalypse Publications and BookSirens for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. You can preorder Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: The Novelization on Amazon or Audible for its April 14, 2023 release.

I read a book: The Comfy-Cozy Nihilist, by Nathan D. Ludwig

Posted on by Traumadoll

They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but let’s be real. We all do it. No one would care about bookstagram without beautiful images of eye-catching book covers. In my opinion, horror and bizarro books tend to have the coolest cover art. The cover art on this one is reminiscent of Happy Tree Friends and I just love it. The Comfy-Cozy Nihilist: A Handbook of Dark Fiction, by Nathan D. Ludwig is wild. It’s dark and hilarious. It fulfills my bizarro weirdness loving desires.

This collection starts off strong with a story called Fuck Fangsgiving. The reader follows a pair of siblings who go home for Thanksgiving under the impression that their family are vampires and have invited them home to feast on them rather than turn them. It’s violent, sad, and totally absurd. So good. I knew the general direction Welcome to the Show was headed, but what a twist. I freaking love a bizarre twist. Adding Worst Laid Plans to my watch list. Nearly every story leans toward dark comedy (which I love!). My favorite was probably the doppelganger clown story, For My Next Switch, I’ll Need a Volunteer. There’s just something about doppelgangers and clowns that I find super entertaining. Don’t be fooled by the cheerful looking cover (yes, I consider it cheerful even with the bear about to blow its brains out). These stories are dark and there’s lots of gore, but it’s got just the right amount of humor.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me. The stories themselves are all great, but I think my favorite part of this collection is the author commentary after each one. I love that little peek into the creative process. I enjoyed the intro and outro chapters. It makes me feel like I’ve gotten to know the author in a more personal way. And while I didn’t care to try and figure out what authors of the classics were trying to say back in high school English class, I do enjoy being clued in via author commentary now. I suppose it’s different when you’re existing in the same webspace as the authors you’re reading.

Big thanks to Nathan D. Ludwig, GenreBlast Books, and BookSirens for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. You can buy The Comfy-Cozy Nihilist, by Nathan D. Ludwig on Amazon for a couple bucks.

I read a book: Grouch (Backyard Goblin Gods #2), by Roxy Collins

Posted on by Traumadoll

Grouch, by Roxy Collins is the second book in the Backyard Goblin Gods series. We met the two main characters, Drew and Grouch, in the first book. To be honest, I didn’t expect Drew to be the next one to make an offering but I was pleasantly surprised.

There is a lot to love about this book. I found Drew’s character to be far more fleshed out than Cassie’s was in the first book. The reader really gets to know Drew and understand her motives behind her offering to Underhill. Unlike Cassie, Drew knows what she is doing when she drops a gold ring into the crack in the crust. She understands the implication of her actions and does so with a plan. While she does seem to understand some of the gobelin tradition, she is not in it to find a mate. She has a lot of stuff to work through and the reader is along for the ride. And Grouch, despite his name, is delightful. His initial reaction upon meeting her is less than dignified, but he dials it back immediately and though he knows she is his fated mate, he respects her boundaries and follows her lead. He is also fighting his own demons and they find they have a lot of common ground.

I have noticed in other reviews that there is not a lot of love for Drew. People love a strong independent female lead until she proves that she truly is strong and independent. I actually really liked the fact that she didn’t fall all over Grouch right away. She was on a mission and was determined to see it through. She knew what she didn’t want (a relationship/mate) and didn’t really warm up to the idea until she’d nearly completed her mission.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me. Collins addresses a lot of the issues I had with the first book by creating stronger characters with solid arcs. The main characters grow to know and care about each other before the big frenzy, which is something that is often missing in a fated mate story. There are some loose ends (what happened to Drew’s aversion to sex?), but overall a satisfying story. I am looking forward to the third book, Grot, coming to Kindle Unlimited on February 19, 2023.

Big thanks to Roxy Collins and BookSirens for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. You can buy Grouch, by Roxy Collins on Amazon for a couple bucks or read it as part of your Kindle Unlimited subscription. It’s Valentine’s Day. Treat yo self.

I read a book: Grunge (Backyard Goblin Gods #1), by Roxy Collins

Posted on by Traumadoll

When I started this book and first third was dominated by the biker gang stuff, I nearly put it down and moved on. I’m not interested in the usual romance tropes with all human characters. I chose this book because I’ve never read a goblin romance before, and the man on the cover is green. I like green. Bring on the goblin lore. If the goblins are humans, meh. Fortunately Grungu was introduced before I got bored of reading about bikers harassing Cassie and her siblings. Don’t get me wrong. Cassie is great character. She’s a badass who does what needs to be done to take care of the ones she loves. Her life and her story leading up to her meeting Grungu are what makes her the badass she is. But I’m here for the goblin aspect and this book delivers.

Before I go on, let me list a few possible content warnings. Skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want them or are worried about spoilers. Consider yourself spoiler warned. So. Content warnings include: attempted rape, gang violence, guns, biting, oral sex on a sleeping person. If any of these things are not for you, pass on this one. I will also say that the attempted rapist is punished. Continuing on.

Cassie Wild finds herself caring for her siblings after her mom ditches town, leaving her to deal with her debt to the Iron Goblins. The head of the MC decides she’s not paying off the debt fast enough and puts her to work at the club’s strip club. She begrudgingly goes to work (not that she has a choice) and things immediately get worse for her. And then she accidentally sends an offering to the gobelins who live in a magical place underground and things start to look up.

Grungu aka Grunge is the leader of the gobelin horde living in a magical underground world called Underhill. Every 20 or so years, the crust opens and the gobelins have the opportunity to seek a human mate. They need humans to procreate and the leader of the horde must find his mate before any of his clan can attempt to find theirs. We learn that there is a history between humans and gobelins that is passed down the generations. Unfortunately it seems the humans are no longer keeping their end of the deal because Cassie doesn’t even know gobelins exist. Not only do they exist, but they’re the opposite of what the humans have always been told. They are fierce warriors, but they’re also cinnamon rolls who would do anything for their clan and especially for their mates.

This book is full of twists and turns. Sometimes it feels a little all over the place, but it all comes together nicely. And spice is close to the levels I like in my monster romance. I’m looking forward to seeing where Collins takes this series. If the path to the surface is only open for about a month, that doesn’t leave a lot of time for many gobelins to find their mates. It will either be a short series or there will be time skips. I’m okay with either.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me. There is room for improvement. I would love more details about the deal between humans and gobelins. What happened with the Iron Goblins? Will the twins be safe without Cassie? Will the gobelins be more welcoming to Cassie after all that happened? Overall I really enjoyed this one and immediately picked up the next book in the series.

Big thanks to Roxy Collins and BookSirens for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. You can buy Grunge (Backyard Goblin Gods #1), by Roxy Collins on Amazon for a couple bucks or read it as part of your Kindle Unlimited subscription.