Tag: Justin Boote

Monthly roundup – January 2023

Posted on by Traumadoll

My January reads. Nearly all were great and I’ve added a few more authors to my unending tbr. Just bury me with my kindle.

It would be easier to tell you which ones weren’t my favorites. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck was a reread for book club. It’s not bad, but it’s super repetitive and could probably have been a blog post. I still consider it the best self help book I’ve ever read. I’m Still a 10-year-old Boy and Spare are good for what they are, memoirs. I don’t like to be too harsh on memoirs because it feels like I’m judging their lives and I really don’t want to do that. Nancy Cartwright’s book is carried by her colorful narration. This is great for Simpsons fans or anyone who is interested in voice acting. Prince Harry’s book is about what I expected. In a lot of ways, he’s still that sad little boy trying to make his way through life as a Royal after losing his biggest ally, his mother. White Noise was a chore to get through, but still not terrible.

Here are some links to my full reviews for the month. All ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
Incel, by Matt Duchossoy
Like a Tramp Yelling at Trains, by Peter Caffrey
They Are All Monsters, by J. Boote
Strangled Epitaphs, by Axl Barnes
Peculiar Monstrosities, A Planet Bizarro Publication
Songs About My Father’s Crotch, by Dustin Reade
Goddamn Electric Nights, by William Pauley III

I’ve got quite a few ARCs lined up for February. Lots of horror, bizarro, and monster porn. My favorites.

I read a book: They Are All Monsters, by J. Boote

Posted on by Traumadoll

Hot off the presses from the man who forever burned things like demon possessed sex with zombies and the subsequent pregnancies in your brain is the extreme horror novel, They Are All Monsters. This is the story of a pair of detectives leading the hunt for a serial killer who is targeting children who stay out after dark. This serial killer is especially brutal, mutilating his victims and leaving them where they drop.

Before I get any further into this review, if you have any triggers (namely violence against children, murder, gore, cannibalism), this book is not for you. Boote did his research while writing this book and all of the horrors within have been in the headlines at one time or another. Thankfully this is fiction and no one was hurt in the making of this story.

This book starts out like your average run of the mill detective drama with Clive Watson braving a dark and dreary night lurking around Belton, a small village currently being terrorized by a ruthless serial killer and an equally ruthless copycat, in hopes that he might finally crack the case. And he very nearly does, but the killer runs off and Clive is left to deal with the not yet dead young victim. He knows the kid doesn’t have much time left, so he loads him in his car and begins to drive. It seems like he might take the kid to the hospital, but he takes him to his home instead. Uh oh. At this point, my gears are turning and I’m wondering if we are learning the identity of the killer so early in the book. One thing is certain, if you’re thinking you’ve got it figured out already, you are wrong. This book is full of twists and turns. We get the story from the perspectives of Clive, his fellow detective Jeff, and the killer. Everyone has secrets and they are all monsters. Great character development and the story is engaging and keeps you guessing. And the descriptive language will make you squirm.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ It is not often that a book (extreme horror or otherwise) makes me wtf. At around 30%, I paused and made a note stating that I would provide content warnings for this one and I rarely do that. This book kept me up way too late chasing that ending and left me hoping for a sequel.

Big thanks to Justin Boote for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Imagine my surprise when I found my name among the other ARC readers in the acknowledgments at the end of the book. I am humbled. Nearly every author who has seen one of my reviews of their books has been friendly and gracious, but this is the first time I’ve seen my name in a book.

You can pre-order They Are All Monsters on Amazon and begin reading it on January 25, 2023. It’ll also be available as part of your Kindle Unlimited subscription. If you love extreme horror and getting in the minds of serial killers, read this book.

I read a book: The undead possession series (book 1: Infestation), by Justin Boote

Posted on by Traumadoll

I love zombies.

Not as much as Samantha loves them though.

Anyone who reads zombies knows that a lot of them are the same. And I love them despite that sameness. But every once in a while you read one that has a little something that makes it stand out. This is one of those books. Not only do we have zombies, we have different levels of zombies. Zombies and what they call half breeds. There is real hope for a cure. There’s demon possession and a haunted house. There is also some zombie sex stuff, which doesn’t come off as erotic, but the imagery sure is vivid. Because this isn’t set in the USA, the survival experience is way different than most zombie books I’ve read. Fewer guns. No redneck survival groups dominating all remaining survivors. No finding huge trucks to plow their way through the zombie hordes. It’s a refreshing new (to me at least) take on zombies.

This volume ends on a cliffhanger. I think even if it hadn’t, I’d still want to continue the series.

You can find The Undead Possession Series and other Justin Boote books on Amazon for the time being, but they are migrating to Godless on September 17 and sold at a discount for the first five days, so pick them up there! I know I will!

Quick note about Godless: you can find tons of books by indie horror authors at low prices there. Godless offers a platform for authors to sell their books without the Amazon royalties trap, which ultimately means more money in author pockets. It also means not having to dance around Amazon censors and having alternate Amazon friendly cover art. I have purchased many books on Godless, and while I am not crazy about not being able to automatically upload my highlights and track my progress on Goodreads because compatibility issues, it is easy enough to load books onto my kindle and read in the way to which I’m accustomed. And I do like knowing that more of the money goes to the authors. Amazon doesn’t need your money.