Book Review / Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

 

‘I did an evil thing to be put in here, and I’m going to have to do an evil thing to get out.’

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. There, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to keep her baby and escape to a commune. Zinnia, a budding musician who plans to marry her baby’s father. And Holly, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

Every moment of their waking day is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid . . . and it’s usually paid in blood.

Published:  16th January 2025

Publisher:  Tor / Penguin / Random House 

Goodreads :  Click Here

Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone

Source:  Bought

MY REVIEW

What I loved about this story...   This was a fun read for me.  I already know and adore Grady Hendrix, having loved the majority of his previous books, so I was very excited to get stuck into this one.  I liked that it was not set in present day, but in the 1970s where, it appears, there was a history of unwed mothers being sent somewhere to have their baby type of situations.  So you have this bunch of girls who are stuck in Wellwood House, not being able to escape and being treated in a way that they want to escape or try and get out of it.  Its no wonder they get sucked into the occult and all it has to offer.  From then on its just a downward spiral into mayhem.  Although I would have loved to have been surprised by some twists and turns (most of them were predictable for me) I enjoyed this story nonetheless.  

Would I recommend?  A must pick up for those who have already enjoyed stories by this author.  For those who like a bit of history in their horror, this is a good one to try out also. 

Book Review / How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

 

Grady Hendrix takes on the haunted house in a thrilling new novel that explores the way your past—and your family—can haunt you like nothing else.

When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to leave her daughter with her ex and fly to Charleston. She doesn’t want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. She doesn’t want to learn how to live without the two people who knew and loved her best in the world.

Most of all, she doesn’t want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown, gets fired from one job after another, and resents her success. Unfortunately, she’ll need his help to get the house ready for sale because it’ll take more than some new paint on the walls and clearing out a lifetime of memories to get this place on the market.

But some houses don’t want to be sold, and their home has other plans for both of them…

Published:  17th January 2023

Publisher:  Berkley

Goodreads :  Click Here

Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone

Source:  Bought

Genres:     Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery and Paranormal

MY REVIEW

What I liked about this story...  This has to be my most favourite book yet from this author!  I went into this story blind, not knowing much about it apart from what it said on the cover.  Not only did this author make me absolutely hate a particular character at the beginning of the novel to then turn it around to actually be my favourite character by the end of it!  Great suspense and there certainly were parts in this book where I was really creeped out...  

What I didn't like about this story...  Nothing - I loved this book!

Would I recommend...  Absolutely!  A fun horror with plenty of twists and turns along the way.  

Book Review / Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.

To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstör is designed to retain its luster and natural appearance for a lifetime of use. Pleasingly proportioned with generous French flaps and a softcover binding, Horrorstör delivers the psychological terror you need in the elegant package you deserve.

Published:     23rd September 2014
Publisher:  Quirk Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Bought
 

 

MY REVIEW

 

I can't tell you how much fun I had reading this book and I certainly won't tell you how much I bought this book purely for the cover art and art inside!  

This is such an odd story but I just couldn't stop reading!   It is certainly creepy at the beginning but when the day is done and three of the employees at Orsk are left to investigate what goes on after dark, that is when the fun begins!

What I loved the most about this story was simply how bizzare and fun it was.  I can't tell you specific details, to avoid spoilers, but this story is pretty much like a downward spiral where the story slowly descends down it bit by bit, page by page.

The ending was what did it for me.  I was wondering how such a bizarre story would end up and I did have some options that I was hoping might happen, but none of those came up.  Instead I was given a completely different ending but it turned out that it was the ending I wanted but never knew I wanted!

This was such a creepy but fun novel that I would highly recommend!

 

 

 

Book Review / The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias meet Dracula in this Southern-flavored supernatural thriller set in the '90s about a women's book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious and handsome stranger who turns out to be a blood-sucking fiend.

Patricia Campbell had always planned for a big life, but after giving up her career as a nurse to marry an ambitious doctor and become a mother, Patricia's life has never felt smaller. The days are long, her kids are ungrateful, her husband is distant, and her to-do list is never really done. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. In these meetings, they're more likely to discuss the FBI's recent siege of Waco as much as the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood.

But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighborhood, the book club's meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. Patricia is initially attracted to him, but when some local children go missing, she starts to suspect the newcomer is involved. She begins her own investigation, assuming that he's a Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she--and her book club--are the only people standing between the monster they've invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community.

 

Published:     7th April 2020
Publisher:  Quirk Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Bought 

 

 

MY REVIEW

 

I adore this novel!  Its been a while since I read a horror novel and I am so happy that this was what I had picked up.  I had been meaning to pick this up since it came out back in 2020, but never got around to it, until now.   

Although this a very typical story of someone new coming to the neighbourhood who could be not quite as they seem and a person/people from that neighbourhood goes in hunt for the truth and try to expose the newcomer for this, I loved every minute of the journey.  There are many twists and turns that kept me turning those pages very quickly!  

What I loved the most was the history to the story.  I wont' go into too much detail as that would spoil the story, but there is a certain amount of history that we see and gets revealed as the story goes on that I found fascinating.  Also, that ending!  LOVED IT!

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review / The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

 

 A fast-paced, thrilling horror novel that follows a group of heroines to die for, from the brilliant New York Times bestselling author of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires.

In horror movies, the final girl is the one who's left standing when the credits roll. The one who fought back, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends. The one who emerges bloodied but victorious. But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on, what happens to her?

Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she's not alone. For more than a decade she's been meeting with five other actual final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette's worst fears are realized--someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again, piece by piece.

But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now, and no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up. 

 

Published:     13th July 2021
Publisher:  Berkley Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Bought

 

 

MY REVIEW

 

Having only discovered this author recently, I couldn't wait to pick up this latest novel.  I was intrigued about this as having earlier this year read Final Girls by Riley Sager and wondered what Grady's take on this would be.

What I loved with this story was the idea that there is a support group for final girls which is something I had not read before (there may be novels about this somewhere that I haven't come across) and the idea that there is someone out there trying to kill the final girls, I found amusing (and horrified at the same time, of course).  Just when these girls thought they had been through their worst, this then happens!

I have to admit that I did get bored in a few places and by the end of the novel I had predicted most twists and turns, so I would have loved to have had more surprises in this one but I still enjoyed the journey this story took me on.  If I were to recommend what book to read first written by this author I do have to admit that although this was good, his other books are a lot better. 

 

 

Book Review / My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

 

Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fifth grade, when they bonded over a shared love of E.T., roller-skating parties, and scratch-and-sniff stickers. But when they arrive at high school, things change. Gretchen begins to act….different. And as the strange coincidences and bizarre behavior start to pile up, Abby realizes there’s only one possible explanation: Gretchen, her favorite person in the world, has a demon living inside her. And Abby is not about to let anyone or anything come between her and her best friend. With help from some unlikely allies, Abby embarks on a quest to save Gretchen. But is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?

 

Published:     17th May 2016
Publisher:  Quirk Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Bought

 

 

 

MY REVIEW

 

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this book.  It has been so long since I read a horror novel.  Of course, this book was completely a cover buy.  I mean, look at it.  It looks stunning!  How would I not want to pick it up and read more! This story covers the type of horror that I love to both read and watch.  Horror that is not too gory but creepy and a bit 80s cheesy as well.  

There are so many aspects of this story that I loved.  Firstly you have all of the 80's culture references which, as I was a kid in the 80s, I remembered a lot of them.  Next, there was a great story build up.  Yes I knew that there was something wrong but I wanted to see it play out and see what each of the characters do.  Of course, I also wanted to find out what on earth was going on.   There are so many more that I could list but I don't want to spoil the story for you.

This book was so much fun to read.  I couldn't put this down and actually read it in one sitting!