3:33 by Mark Towse

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genre: Horror

Format: eBook

Pages: 119

Read: 12/22/22

Synopsis: 

A very exclusive club.
Invitation only, and by rather unorthodox methods.
How will you know? You’ll know.
No cash or credit card required.
Leave your sanity at the door.

Review:

Aging can be rough. Depending on the perspective one views in their life. Looks change, relationships change, children grow up and often drift, and sometimes it becomes too much to accept. 

This is Frank. He isn't happy with his looks, his wife lives in her own world of vanity, and his children are teens too cool to want to spend time with dad.

Frank is given an offer to a members only club. One that makes many promises, but at a cost, and a signed contract. He can only receive if he at first promises to give in return. Even though it is a high price to pay, Frank agrees hoping for a better life to look forward to but eventually learns that the price he has paid slips him into his own persanal hell. 

"When time splits the Devil in two. When time splits the Devil in two. 666—3.33!"

With mind bending horror and feels of going down a hallucinogenic "Alice in Wonderland" rabbit hole of fever dreams, erotic encounters, and offers of sinful pleasures too hard to refuse, you may just be more thankful for your own life and appreciate what you have. You certainly would never want to experience anything that happens in this story. It's freaky, bizarre, and creepy! There is nothing as it seems, a dream, within a dream, within a....nightmare!!

Bonus short story: Last Train

Goodreads Author Link:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/

Amazon Author Link:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mark-Towse/author/

D&T Publishing Godless Link:

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Website/Blog:

https://marktowsedarkfiction.wordpress.com/

Review Links:

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https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/

Reg E. Rat's Birthday Fun Center and Same Day Outpatient Care Facility by Frank J. Edler

 

Rating: ★★★★

Genre: Horror Comedy

Format: eBook

Pages: 156

Read: 12/03/22

Synopsis:

For Mortimer, there are only two things in life to fear: kidney stones and children’s birthday
parties. For his son, Ichabod, its bullies and lame birthday presents. The father and son duo are
about to spend an afternoon facing their worst fears at the quirkiest place on Earth: Reg E. Rat’s
Birthday Fun Center.
Reg E. Rat’s is full of fun and games for the whole family. It’s also filled with maniac
animatronics, a questionable food menu and, somewhere in the back, the zaniest medical staff
imaginable.
Spend a hellacious afternoon with Reg E. Rat and friends. You’re gonna have a bloody good
time!

Review:

"Reg E. Rat's was the last place on Earth he wanted to spend a Saturday or any day of his life for that matter. If Hell had a basement, Reg E. Rat's Birthday Fun Ceneter was one floor below it."

Mortimer did not want to take his son, Ichabod to a Birthday Party at Reg E. Rat's. But he does what any good parent does and takes him anyway. Ichabod is excited and picks out what he thinks is the perfect gift. What starts out as an exciting party quickly turns into a chaotic blood bath of epic proportions and a fight to stay alive.

This was hilariously bizarre. Killer anamatronics, clown doctors at the Outpatient Care Facility that are crazy and weird. Gross pizza, cheesy fingernails, dead bodies in piles, quirky characters, and even a lesson on how to handle a bully. 

Join in on the crazy at Reg E. Rat's Birthday Fun Center and watch out for the Kooky Clowns at the Same Day Outpatient Care Facility, either way you're going to have a bloody good time!

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/

Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/Frank-J-Edler/e/

Godless Link:

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Review Links:

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Blood Rose at Sundown by Brent Shepard

 

D&T Publishing LLC & Godless Emerge #11

Rating: ★★★★

Genre: Horror

Format: eBook

Pages: 16

Read: 11/27/22

Synopsis:

A disgraced, guilt-ridden ex-Calvary trooper, wanted dead or alive after killing a young mother,  finds demons from the past have driven him straight into the arms of one made of flesh and blood, and hungry enough to damn him to a special kind of purgatory.

Review:

"So quiet, not a ghost town, more like a town that had seen a ghost. Perchance wasn’t a man frightened easily. And he needed no ghosts to feel haunted."

Life for Perchance hasn't been a stellar one. He has caused a bit of trouble along his journey and now he is being hunted, wanted dead or alive. 

When he arrives in the desolate dusty town of Little Rose looking for some respite, fate deals him a hand there is no turning back from, for Little Rose is waiting with open arms. 

 A lonely, hunted soul and an enticing companion that shares her dreadful gift!

An entertaining short western horror.

Godless Link:

https://godless.com/collections/t

D&T Publishing on Godless:

https://godless.com/collections/

The Dead Heart by Lucas Milliron

 

Rating: ★★★★★

Genre: Horror

Format: eBook

Pages: 135

Read: 10/30/22

Synopsis:

A Tale of Resurrection and Necrophilia.

Wilbert’s a kind recluse, happier in his woodshop than the company of people. After the accidental resurrection, he’s ready to take his secret to the grave.

A champion dead lifter and veterinarian, Arielle’s taste in men is has left a trail of corpses in her wake. While indulging her lust for macabre, she discovers powers that allow her to explore beyond the limitations of life and flesh.

We all have skeletons in our closets, some more alive than others.

Not every secret can be taken to the grave.

Review:

“Just because you do the right thing, doesn't make you a hero anymore than not acting makes you a villain.”

Wilbert has a special gift. A gift he wishes he didn't have. He only wants to live a quiet life and be left alone. He has been hiding his secret for 17 years, but when this gift is discovered and it all comes out, people go crazy and he becomes the center of attention. 

Arielle is a dead lifter and a veterinarian, loves animals way more than people. She also has a deep hidden secret. Arielle is a dominatrix with horrifying, unatural macabre fetishes. 

When Arielle discovers Wilberts secret, she must have him and know how it is that he is capable of giving his gift to others. 

Two lives crossing paths turns into a grisly nightmare!

"Wilbert and Arielle couldn't have been more different, more detached from the world. Yet something terrible and strange tied them together. It was a gift, and a curse, a power neither compre‐ hended nor asked for."

Wow, wow, wow! As dark and disturbing as this is, the characters were excellently written. Wilbert is so likable, while Arielle is so damn vile one can't help but be completely disgusted by her. The whole story comes together so well and the ending is so, so good. Excellent prose that had me going back and re-reading certain parts. There is meaning in here alongside the disturbing that makes this an even more excellent read!

Hot damn, I love this one!

"There is no lover like a dead heart,"... "They don't break the living."

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/

Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/Lucas-Milliron/

Godless Purchase Link:

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D&T Godless Link:

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Review Links:

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It Doesn't Give Anything Back by Jacob Steven Mohr

D&T Publishing LLC & Godless Emerge #10

Rating: ★★★★★

Genre: Horror

Format: eBook

Pages: 30

Read: 10/22/22

Synopsis:

Grief takes many forms. When a gruesome carcass washes up during a broken family's beach vacation, a father and son must confront both heartbreaking loss and unspeakable evil. 

Review: 

“I HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED in evil.”

Sloan Rand and his son Will are grieving. Too soon have they lost a wife and mother. But Sloan is not only grieving, he is angry for he believes the world has taken her on purpose. Sloan and Will go on a vacation at their beach house to spend some quality time together and mark the two year date of their loss. They are forced to face their grief, but more is happening and their reality turns into facing something evil. 

“It doesn’t give anything back,” she said. “Never, ever. Hold onto him. It won’t give him back once it gets him, it’ll never give him back…”

Sloan and Will are characters that are so easy to connect with as we have all felt the heaviness of grief. They are doing thier best to navigate life and move forward, but when confronted with an evil, more loss becomes their new reality. The darkness gets inside and consumes them. The descriptive imagery is captivating. You can almost hear the crashing waves and smell the ocean. The sadness and grief portrayed is so dreadfully heavy. The ending is heartbreaking. This is not a happy story, but it is beautifully written and pulls on the threads of your heart and soul.

Godless Purchase Link:

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Godless Author Page:

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D&T Publishing on Godless:

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Wulfen by Ryan LaPlante

 

Rating: ★★★★★

Genre: Horror

Format: eBook

Pages: 74

Read: 10/01/22

Synopsis:

Amara is bitten by a werewolf and forced to flee her village. Luckily, she’s found by Father Barnabas, a priest who has dedicated his life to battling supernatural threats. Soon, she’s training with him to control the Beast inside her, and to hunt down the werewolf that created her. But with the threat of a vampire invasion looming, can she save everything she’s come to love? Or will she lose her world to a monstrous threat a second time?

 Advanced Review:

"THEY’D BEEN RUNNING the whole night and still the monsters closed in. Amara led the children, two dozen of them, in their flight through the woods. They sprinted as fast as they could, exhausted by countless hours of forcing their way through the brush."

Amara, once young and full of hope, has now had to begin a life of learning to control the beast that has been born inside of her. It was not a gift she wished to receive, but on a dark night, a predatory beast gave her the bite that began her journey of saving herself from the monstrosities she now had to endure.

After traveling many nights, she finds the one that can save her and so begins a new life.

“Lightbringers are priests who dedicate themselves to battling the darkness in the world,” he explained. “We fight the supernatural, and we do so to protect the innocent from the dangers of the night.”

She learns to accept her new existence and becomes a new hope for others that are like her. Others that are lost in this new darkness. They are now together as one and stand together to fight the darknesses of the world.

They are the Wulfen.

Werewolves and vampires, an unconventional priest, a witch, finding hope when it feels as if all is lost, and a battle between what is good and what is evil, what’s not to love? 

I enjoyed reading this so much! The plot, elements, characters, and the imagery. Absolutely fantastic writing! 

Godless Purchase Link:

https://godless.com/products/

D&T Publishing Link on Godless:

https://godless.com/collections/vendors

Amazon Purchase Link:

https://www.amazon.com/

Review Links:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/

ABC's of Terror, Volume IV

 

Rating: ★★★★★

Genre: Horror Anthology

Format: eBook

Pages: 259

Read: 09/25/22

Amazon Synopsis:

When you think of your neighbors, what do you think of? The friendly older couple that wave each day as you return home from work. The guy across the street that is always working in his yard. The lady that walks her dog around your home. What if you found out those people had horrifying secrets? Secrets not meant for the world to know. This book contains 26 stories of neighbors to hope you never encounter.

Review:

An amazing line-up of authors, shining in their creativity! I had a lot of fun reading all of these, each one centering on the theme of neighbors written in each author's own style. Showcasing their talent in horror stories!

A is for Abscess Aphrodisiac by Connor McQueen

If you have a nasty, pus filled abscess, go to the doctor, not the neighbor nurse.

This one made my stomach roil!

B is for Beyond the Rift by Benjamin Chadwick
Oooo….Cosmic horror, love, love this one! “I’ve seen the beyond, and it is filled with terror.”

C is for Crash by Harrison Phillips
When playing ball in the yard, be careful where the ball goes. The neighbor has a hidden secret, disturbing and grotesque!

D is for Draugr by Colt Skinner
Ratting out friends finds one young man in a sticky situation when they plot their revenge. There is a danger lurking in a basement, creepy!

E is for Elderly (Ethel Edgerton) by Chris Grindstaff
Wiles of a witchy woman.  “Come over here, dear. I want to thank you for all your help tonight…”

F is for Foe Killer Creek by B. M. Tolkovsky

Neighbors are not always what they appear to be. 

Excellent plot twist!

G is for Gary Gilroy by John Lynch

This is one of those “WTH”did I just read? stories, but it also made me chuckle! The meat on the grill is not a prime choice.

H is for Happy Homemaker by Shawnna Deresch
Remember the old days when the door to door sellers were considered the “Ding Dong ladies?” Pushy and often talked many into buying their products, would not take no for an answer. There is more to this story than meets the eye, there is something hidden underneath the surface of all that make-up!

I is for Inside by Nathan D. Ludwig

A quiet suburban neighborhood gets a new neighbor and he has plans of his own for this tight little community. He craves the essence of humans and causes mental and physical pain. 

J is for Jawbreaker by Joe Scipione
Beware of the monster next door!

Monsters don’t live like us!

K is for Killer on the Loose by Steve Thompson
If you want a unique way to murder, try a box of cereal! Trust no one!

L is for The Lacrimosas by Matt Henshaw
Impending doom upon the town of Kaskaskia when the Lacrimosas move in. 

Murder and mayhem!

M is for Marty by Gary McDonough
“Marty Fissure was a geek, an uber-geek.”

A superhero and comic book fetish turns into a vision of building a perfect team.

Marty is one effed up dude! 

N is for Ned Jrs’ New Neighbor by Matt Micheli

Ooooo….this one is a naughty little nugget! Quickly turning to dark and sinister!

O is for Ojo Amarillo by Arther Wick

“Free drinks, free food, creepy house.”

Thou shalt not steal for it is forbidden and one may be visited by unsightly monsters!

P is for Patrick by W. Dale Jordan

Steamy! Obsession evolves into possession.

Q is for Qwaint by Megan Stockton

Edie Qwaint, dog lover, monster slayer.

R is for Rachael (Like From Friends) by Ash Ericmore
A noisy neighbor has a reason for loud music. Beware the hungry neighbor above!

S is for Screamer by John Shupeck

Pay attention to what you see. See the person.

Spicy, dirty, juicy horror!

Ending in screams!

T is for Transformation by Todd Love

A young man thirsty for acceptance among other desires,  finds the family he belongs with. 

A combination of lust and bloodshed. 

I love the direction this one went in, great story!

U is for Unacceptable by Mark Towse

Anxiety, self isolation, agoraphobia, hatred of humans.

I don’t like change, either!

The main character is so easy to connect with and the ending is a jaw dropper!

Love, love, love this one! 

V is for Venomous by D. A. Latham

Poor Ned! Peeping at the neighbor women put him in deep trouble with these two vixens.

What a story!! 

Loved it!

W is for Won’t You Be My Neighbor? by R.J. Benetti

LMAO! 

Creepy vibes, but I chuckled so much I had tears rolling!

Awesome! 

X is for ‘XXX_PartyBoi69’ by Elton Skelter

Whew! This one is really dark and brutal!

Really great writing!

Y is for Yuri by J Snow

Hillbilly Gunner and the taxidermist neighbor, Yuri. Just what is he stuffing? 

I really enjoyed the “hillbilly” writing style!

Z is for Zimmer Frame by Peter Caffrey

Youth begets youth in the most vile way possible!

Jeepers creepers, that was one sick and twisted story! 

Goodreads Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/

Amazon Page:

https://www.amazon.com/

Godless Purchase Link:

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Review Links:

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