My Love Lies Bleeding by Alyxandra Harvey ( Drake Chronicles # 1)

Here comes another series! Vampire YA series- ”Drake Chronicles”. I really didn’t think I will like it. Because there are  hundreds of vampire YA books, all some how similar and boring. But this one stands apart from all. This book has its own identity. There is a new imaginary world of vampires where there are different types of them. Wicked humor, funny romance makes it more interesting to read.

There has never been a female vampire born from many years. But there is Solange, who is born as vampire and she is direct threat to vampire queen,according to some prophecy. When she is about to turn 16 everyone wants to get her. Some to marry her and some to kill her. Solange’s family lives with humans surrounded and her best friend Lucy and her family knows them from years. Nicholas, Solange brother is attracted to Lucy and the feeling is mutual. Now that Solange is kidnapped and everyone’s life is in danger, Solange  meets this vampire hunter who is set to kill the vampires who killed his father. Solange likes this vampire hunter but will he like her is he knew that she is about to change into a vampire very soon?

Its a good read if you are vampire YA fan. There is lot of creativity in writing. My ratings: 3 out of 5.

The Liar if the White Worm by Bram Stoker

Being a Bram Stoker’s Dracula fan how can I leave this book unread. But now I wish I could have just left it untouched. This was written one year before Stoker’s death. This is a weird book, With a strange set of characters that get involved in dangerous adventures and later talk about it as nothing happened at all. There is a total lack of feeling or emotion between the characters.

Adam Salton comes from Austria to meet his uncle where he finds strange pale, white lady- Arabella March, coldblooded monster dwelling in the bowls of earth. There are two lovely ladies who have some supernatural powers, to whom evil Edgar Caswall developes attraction for and ends up with hypnotic battles. In strange way animals are dying and children are getting bitten by something. Adam Salton discovers some white snake like monster who is responsible for this and developes passion for snake-killing mongooses.

This is a little strange book filled with all supernatural powers. I was expecting this book to be like Dracula but from the starting it was strange! But wanted to read it because Bram Stoker is the author. My rating is 1 out of 5.

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

It is a classic thriller, I watched the movie before I read this book, in a way it spoiled the suspense but it was a good read, I can say I liked it  better than the movie. After reading the book I came to know that it is second book in ”Hannibal Lecter” series. I don’t know how well these series are related with each other but I am surely going to read the remaining books in this series.

Hannibal Lecter is a psychologist but he is in jail because of few murder cases. Clarice Starling is main character of the book who is trainee at FBI but she has chosen to work on a series case of serial killer known as ”Buffalo Bill” whose identity is unknown to everyone.  His speaciality is to kill the girls and then skin them and throw them in water. Clarice Starling has to take information from Hannibal Lecter because he know him  when he was working as a doctor. But Hannibal Lecter loves to play games and act smart. But he agrees to talk to only Clarice Starling. Will she be able to take the information from him? Who is this Buffalo Bill and what is he up to by killing all these ladies?

This book is seriously disturbing so I don’t recommend this book to young adults. Readers will have fun guessing the clues given by Dr. Hannibal Lecter. This is a wonderful book for thriller fans.

Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake

”Anna Dresses in Blood”, I was thrilled when I read this name! It is a creepy name for a novel, but then horror novels should have something creepy  and scary about them

First time I read a novel about ghosts and I totally liked it, no I loved it. I don’t know how to describe the feeling, I got chills all over my body while reading it. Have you ever felt hair rise on the back of your neck when you listen some noise in empty house? Or did you ever felt that there is somebody looking at you or standing beside you when you are alone at room? In my childhood I have heard many stories about some haunted places or houses ( may be that is the reason why I am scared to be alone at nights )

Among the ghost stories I have heard from my childhood I can relate many stories to this novel. One story goes like this-  There was a lady,every night who waited for taxi in a place where there were less vehicles and people at mid night. Poor taxi driver will stop when he sees this lady, feeling pity for her, he will give a ride to destined place. This  beautiful lady will start talking, taxi driver attracted to her beauty will keep talking too. But after certain time she will stop talking, when the driver will turn back or look at her face in mirror he will find a ugly, bleeding, scary face instead of beautiful face. Then next day people will find this taxi driver lying near some bush or tree, dead! That used to happen to every taxi driver who stopped for that lady. I was very scared after listening to this story for many months.

Now about this novel, Theseus Cassio kills ghosts. Not just any ghosts,only the ghosts that harm other people. Like I said in my story. He inherited this ability from his father who died mysteriously when Cas was seven. But he knows who killed his dad! After 10 years Cas comes to Thunder Bay, Ontario, with his mom in search of a ghost called Anna dressed in blood. Anna, as a young lady, who was murdered in 1958 and now she haunts the house in which she lived and kills everyone who dares to enter. But when Cas goes there she doesn’t do anything to him. Instead of killing her he is fascinated by her! It seems like for some reason she can’t harm him. But he has to face something which was waiting for him from a long time other than killing Anna. What is this problem? Will he kill Anna or start liking her? Will his mom and his friends will accept the fact that he is in love with a ghost? There is somebody killing out there other than Anna who is that?

This book is well written, spooky and scary. I wanted to give 5 starts then I felt in some places its slow so I ended up giving 4 instead.

World War Z by Max Brooks

This is a major war against enemies, who don’t rest till the end.They don’t need water to drink or air to breath. They don’t rest because their motive is to eat as many people as possible. Yes, here enemies are walking dead zombies! This is the first zombie novel I have read, I liked  reading ”The walking dead” comic series but never read a novel before. Vampires and werewolves are my favorite supernatural characters, but I don’t know where this zombies fit in? there is nothing properly mentioned in this book about their origin. I guess it started after the world war because many of  the diseases started after that. I don’t know if I have to call it a disease or supernatural thing.

World War Z is a oral history about the zombie war. It is written in the form of interviews, where survivors reveal and share their horrible experiences from all over the world.  The book begins with how first few cases of this zombie madness found.  Later it explains how it started infecting in worldwide when  infected refugees started travelling, what did the government do to prevent this,how people suffered by loosing their loved once and living in terrible fear for years, fighting dead things. Every war have to see the end so that’s what happens here too. World war Z ends after many years but leaves damages on human mind and body forever.

I felt this book was very slow going and I didn’t feel that excited while reading. May be oral history is not my type. Reasons for finding this book less exciting:  I felt that  all   characters had similar voices. Subject was little dry for the zombie concept, because when you say zombie that word gives you lot of ideas. So I personally feel that it is boring, I want to read about people in real time, like struggling to survive, not being told how people surivived after it was over.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

”Eclipse” is the third book in ”Twilight series” and it is my favorite out of three. It  is because there is a prominent role of Jacob Black. I don’t know why I have developed a soft corner for Jacob from the beginning. I feel he is more suitable for Bella than Edward but as usual love has no limits, especially in Bella’s case when she is ready to leave her life and turn into a vampire.

Last two books were kind of slow and boring, but this book was comparatively better. As Edward is returned now and  Bella is happy again, problems are returned too. As they say Bella is danger magnet, danger is again following Bella. Jacob and her friendship is bloomed again but same time his feelings for her is increased. Bella realizes that she too has feelings for him. But choice is hers, it will be her decision to choose one soul mate out of two. But in between this Victoria is back, this time with an army of vampires.

I don’t know what more can be there in the 4th book when everything is settled in this book. I am now eager to read the ”Breaking Dawn”. 

 

Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore

Life can be really tough for a girl in her 20′s trying to maintain relationship, job and suddenly waking up a vampire. I know how it sounds crazy right! ”Blood sucking fiends” is a vampire story with lots of humor in it. I think it should come with a label: Make sure you read it alone, when you laugh aloud reading this book people may think you have lost your mind I totally liked author’s writing style a wonderful tale of  Vampire girl.

Jody never asked to be a vampire but one evening she was forced to become one, when she woke up she was no more human, she can feel it with her supernatural strength, thirst for blood and fast heeling power. She meets ( by coincident) C. Thomas Flood, a writer ( or wanna be writer) who’s in San Francisco with little money and a place to share with 5 Chinese men and works in Garvey yard  shift with group of people called as ”Animals”. She moves in with him to an apartment where they can stay together by helping each other. She can pay bills and take care of money and he can do day time works which she cant go out and do due to sun light. From there the real twist starts, there is a elder vampire killing people and making it look like Jody and Tommy are responsible for that. What is the suspense? Where it takes them? What is Tommy’s story and what will he do when he learns that he is staying with vampire?

Although the book has the sub-title “A Love Story” tagged on to it, I don’t particularly think of this as a romance novel. It is a humorous story, filled with weird but funny characters. I would recommend this to Vampire fiction fans. Its actually trilogy with 2 more books as sequels

You Suck

Bite Me

Dracula’s Guest and Other Weird Stories by Bram Stoker

This is collection of short stories. Mainly contains a great collection  of paranormal or supernatural stories from Victorian era, first published in 1914, two years after Stoker’s death. It also contains a deleted first chapter from novel ”Dracula”.

But it took me ‘forever’ to read this book. I kept putting it down and not really wanting to pick it back. I found it little extra detailed about the places, houses and surroundings. But its fascinating and kind of exploration of the origins of the vampire in modern literature. I would recommend this book to patient readers who are ready to read all descriptions even though it seems  unnecessary sometimes.

It includes-

• “Dracula’s Guest”
• “The Judge’s House”
• “The Squaw”
• “The Secret of the Growing Gold”
• “A Gipsy Prophecy”
• “The Coming of Abel Behenna”
• “The Burial of the Rats”
• “A Dream of Red Hands”
• “Crooken Sands”

I should warn you that all stories are not about vampires. Only Dracula’s guest is  vampire related( as it is believed as deleted first chapter from novel ”Dracula”), rest are about different types of supernatural power.

5 things I plan to do apart from reading.. (Fingers crossed)

There is no better hobby than reading! So I don’t need to think about improving my hobbies. I already have many hobbies to keep me happy and engaged. ( Thank God I am not that lazy on week days ).

Now I have to concentrate on other things. 5 things I plan to do apart from reading-

1. Try not to close my eyes, or hide my face behind pillow or run away to bath room while watching a horror movie. ( Every time I do that while watching horror movie, so I have decided to try watching no matter what comes on screen)
2. Get a job, that I love to do.( I don’t think everyone loves their job, so its important)
3. Finish watching all movies which are in the ”Movies to watch list”. ( There are more than 100 movies)
4. Find tops for my 2 new skirts. ( I know it seems easy, but I have been searching for almost more than 7 months now! thats why they are still new to me)
5. Arrange my clothes and discover whats there in my wardrobe ( very tough!)

Hopefully I can finish these tasks soon. There is no time limit so I am not hurrying

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Its been a long time that I read “real horror or real Vampire” novel. I am tired of reading same horror novels about Vampire falling in love with human, or a werewolf or a witch or what not?  Finally got a real Classic, Vampire, Gothic novel to read. Thanks to this post I found in a blog I follow- Freepagenumbers after reading this I wanted to read a real horror novel.

Dracula is an 1897 vampire novel written by an Irish author Bram Stoker. This novel is narrated in the form of letters or diary entries in that way reader will know what every character feels or thinks. Here Dracula is not sexist as we read other vampires are. May be becuase its  written in 1897, there is not much about romance.

 When Jonathan goes to the countryside of Transylvania to meet up with noble man Count Dracula to discuss about business, he realizes that what you hear as horror stories aren’t stories but real. He learns that castle of Dracula is full of horrifying things and he is a prisoner there. Dracula travels to England by leaving him with his women, who are equally horrifying and undead. From there the real story starts. How Jonathan’s fiance Mina, her friends are involved ? What Dracula wants? How can they hunt him down? How Jonathan can escape from three blood sucking vampire women? To know all these you should read “Dracula”. I am in love with this book  and I got nightmares about this as well ( may be few will find it as little over acting but I really got horrifying dreams ) for a while I am in no mood to read any vampire novel and spoil the taste of this wonderful book ( may be I am over acting now )

I watched the movie as I always do  most of the time after reading a book. Movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 1992 . Its a new version of Dracula. It tells an additional story how “Dracula” became vampire. Mina was revealed here to be the Count Dracula’s greatest love, which is not part of Stoker’s original ( I liked the original concept better than this one). Its completely different than the book. May be I should try watching old versions, Nosferatu,  Tod Browning’s version (1931), Hammer Films version ( 1958).