Books and tomfoolery: Libba Bray

Tuesday, 20 October 2015

Halloween Reads!

Halloween is almost upon us, and I know this is a really exciting time for most of you guys, but in India we don't really celebrate Halloween. I mean, honestly, there are so mnay festivals that we are celebrating, and we don't need another one on that long list.
BUT, I do love the extra attention spooky books get at this time. Watching horror is one thing, but reading it, thats another thing entirely.
So here is my collection of books that are sure to spook you and make the even more worth the wait.

1)The Woman In Black by Susan Hill

You've all seen the movie featuring Daniel Radcliffe. But the original novella is a must for the early build up to the day!

2) The Fall on the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe

Reading anything by him, be it the Raven, or Dream with a dream, can rattle you, but this cllection of stories speaks straight to the brain and sends shcok waves. Trust me, I'm telling you a first hand account.

3) The Diviners by Libba Bray

Trust me, I still have bad dreams imagining the Naughty John tune. This is the kind of book that you will HATE, But completely fall for at the same time. Because come on, Libba Bray is the DA QUEEN.

4) The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton

This one is an absolute gem! Winner of the Pullitzer and nominated for Nobel 3 times. But that doesn't count it down on the spook meter.

5) Pet Semetary by Stephen King

We all know Stephen King's The Shining, Carrie and countless others which have given us the spook and nightmares for days. Guess what this spook master had to say about this book: "this is a terrible book. Not in terms of writing, but how dark it is. I never knew so much darkness could come out of me.." Right, you are.

So, that was my collection of scary books that I will be reading in my #HalloweenBookAThon and I hope you guys join me too!

(P.S. I'm reading Simon v/s the Homo Sapiens Agenda and review to be up soon!)

Thursday, 11 June 2015

The Diviners By Libba Bray Review (No Spoilers)

Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling

streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with

speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her

uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.

Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her

trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will

is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.

As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never

sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta

is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And unknown to all,

something dark and evil has awakened.(Synopsis from Goodreads)

Review: 5 stars

THIS. BOOK.

OH. MY. FREAKING. GOD. If you haven't picked it up yet. WHAT. ARE. YOU. WAITING. FOR?

You know, when you start a book, you tend to read the back of the book to know what its about? Guess what mine said:

"A Restless wind sweeps the streets..Dashing along the Hudson river, past the crowded bars of Harlem, the air filled with smoke, laughter and jazz, it comes to rest outside a deserted Mansion. Something is stirring deep within its dilapidated walls..."

Wow. This is like the new Shadowhunters TV series teaser. Gave away DAMN too much. What was I supposed to make out of this? So, I jumped into this book without any forethoughts and what I found was indeed a treasure.

When I thought of reviewing this book, I don't know what was up with me. I don't KNOW how one can review a book like this. A masterpiece is an understatement, every praise will be fallen short as and when I keep remembering more events from this book. I find myself short of talent to be reviewing this. So if I leave out anything, I think I've written a pretty impressive apology.

Now, if you've read Libba Bray's previous works like the Gemma Doyle trilogy, you know that she is the queen of Historical Fiction Land. She puts all her heart into her characters and her scenarios, That it feels almost as if you are in 1926 New York City, living the life of a flapper girl. But this is where it twists. Gut twisting twists. Our amazing and powerful protagonist Evangeline O'Neil has superpowers. Where she can touch the belongings of any person, and its almost as it a movie is playing before her. She can find out anything about that person. Now that would be a cool superpower in another world. In this world, Its downright spooky.

A serial killer from 1800s is back again, through an Ouija board, of course. His name is Naughty John. Not scared? Imagine this: When you're watching a horror movie, all the characters and ghosts have been made and thought from a few people's minds and out on the screen. As far as their imagination goes, the characters go. But when you, reader, think of the possibilities and make up a Naughty John in your head, NOPE. SCARY SHIT.

And when the Naughty John tune plays? *Shudders*

This book doesn't leave poor Evie alone with her misfit superpowers. Nope. The thing is, There are WAY too many people in this book that half of the time you're confused where you actually are and whose life you're living. There is Memphis, a handsome (also was my first guess as Evie's gonna be guy) and gifted healer, Theta Jones, the quintessential flapper 20s girl with powers to yield and control fire, Jericho, with a secret that was so overhyped, but literally nothing, and Sam Lloyd, a rakish pick pocket with the power to disappear, but not in the way you think.

This book takes you through a series of oooohs and aaaahs and WTFs? But the creepiest part is, the characters and Naughty John just feel so real to you..I still shiver from the memory. I remember when I had finished the book and I had to switch off the lights to the main door at night. I'd literally dragged my half asleep brother with me taken by the absolute fear of Naughty John. The story keeps you guessing so much, and nothing you expected will even happen.