ARC REVIEW Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong

 Rockton #4, First off it is wise to read this series in order, this book picks up almost right after the end of the last book and that ended in a way that was teasing about what would happen next. Rockton is a quiet little town in the middle of the frozen Yukon where people go to disappear, if they have enough money. It's a town straight out of the wild frontier days no T.V., no phones, no internet, and regulated electricity. Where there is no money people work on a credit basis, if you help out and do work duty you get credit to buy splurges, and if you don't work you don't eat. Because of the location there are plenty of rules to follow that are in place to keep you alive, break them at your own peril.

Casey and Eric make a quick trip to Vancouver to ask for her sister's help. One of the residents was shot in the back and the placement of the bullet is to close to the spin for either their medic or butcher to attempt. April is a neurosurgeon but she's genius and a brilliant surgeon. Reluctantly April agrees. On the homebound journey though they are followed and before they know it April isn't the only stranger in Rockton. U.S. Marshal Garcia claims he's there for a certain person who is probably more dangerous than they think. But the dickwad doesn't tell them anything and ends up getting shot before Casey and Eric find out who he is there for.

With just about everyone in town having a reason for being there and more than half of them lying about why, Casey has a hard time tracking down the truth and in the process she learns more about supposed friends and their newest resident. Armstrong once again left threads dangling parts of the story that weren't concluded in this book and left it open for the next.

Overall, another outstanding Rockton book. I love Casey and Eric they are so real to me. The whole book just weaves it's magic and transports you there it keeps you on the edge of your seat and if I had my way I would have ignored the world until the book was finished. Told in first person through Casey's perspective which help adds to the mystery of the story.

ARC REVIEW This Fallen Prey by Kelley Armstrong

This Fallen Prey is book three of Kelley Armstrong's Rockton series. I recently just back into reading Kelley Armstrong, I fell in love with her Women of the OtherWorld series when they first came out but lost track of her book releases. I saw this up for review and I nabbed it, when I saw it was book 3 I quickly hopped on Amazon and ordered the first two. That's how much faith I have in Armstrong I knew without a doubt these books would be amazing, and the freakin' are. Armstrong has such a way with words, her active setting pulls you in and everything else around just falls  away and you are completely immersed in this town and tied to these people. This is one of those series where I think it best to read them in order just because background for all the major characters and the town happened in the first book and events of the second book are mentioned.

Spring has arrived in Rockton, the isolated Canadian town where people go to disappear, where Casey Duncan has become Casey Butler. But that's not the only thing that has arrived. The council has send up a serial killer for them to keep safe for six months. Completely unprepared and unsure of how to handle a person like this Sheriff  Eric Dalton, Deputy Will Anders, and Casey struggle on what to tell the rest of the town and what to do with Oliver Brady, serial killer, especially when their holding cell isn't big enough to keep him for six months and whenever he gets the chance he's spouting off his innocence. Things only get more convoluted the longer he's there and when he manages to escape it all goes to hell in a handbasket. Casey and Eric have to not only track down Oliver, but face the elements, the wildlife, find Eric's missing brother, a sniper, a traitor, deal with the primitive First Settlers, the string of dead bodies they seem to keep running across, and unravel the mystery of Oliver Brady.

Overall, OMG this book. It's one of those books where I just have to sit back after I'm done reading it and just let my brain absorb everything that happened and the ending, oy vey. I know it's only February but it's going to take a lot to knock this book down from my favorite read for this year. 

ARC REVIEW Halloween Carnival Vol 3

All this week I will posting books for to help you get into the Halloween spirit, or just help you find book that will creep you out and keep you up.

THE WAY LOST by Kelley Armstrong
"The kids in Franklin don’t ask questions. Each Halloween, one of them disappears into the forest. Dale promised his mother he’d never go into the woods alone. But the kids in Franklin also lie."

I'm leaving the blurb as the descriptive because it just so creepy. I haven't read Kelley Armstrong in what seems like forever, I loved her Otherworld series and I love her writing style and this short story is well damn, I wasn't expecting that. It was a really good story with an unexpected ending.

LA CALAVERA by Kate Maruyama
A Calavera is the representation of a human skull, for Dia de los Muertos it is often used as an offering for the dead. Trish was just another gringa until Jasmine, and now that Jasmine is gone Trish wants to honor her with a special Calavera.

Really predictable but I positively enjoyed it nonetheless.

THE DEVIL’S DUE by Michael McBride
Pine Springs, Colorado, has never wanted for anything. It's always been prosperous and never any crimes or drug problems. The reason why is just as evil as you might imagine, and this year one family isn't willing to pay the devil his due.

A genuinely good scary monster horror short story. After the start it was kind of slow but it escalated pretty quickly and ended bittersweetly.  

A THOUSAND ROOMS OF DARKNESS by Taylor Grant
"Samhainophobia: an irrational fear of Halloween. Phasmophobia: an irrational fear of ghosts. For Anne, these terrors are more rational than she knows." blurb. Newly married Anne has not told her husband about her phobias yet, she's scared that he will leave once he finds out but with Halloween getting closer and her phobias getting worse she confides in him. But this is not a happily ever after romance no, this is a horror.

Well I didn't see that coming, just when I started to get disapointed in the story I had a, "oo what a twist" moment. It has an ending that kind of makes you want to do a maniacal laugh at the end.

THE LAST NIGHT OF OCTOBER by Greg Chapman
Gerald is a crotchety old man on death's bed, he did nothing with his life and never left home and ever since he was diagnosed with emphysema every Halloween is tormented by his past. 

I liked this one but not as much as the others and it's mainly Kelli's fault she was annoying AF.

Overall, this is my favorite book out of the series.