The Best Books I Read in 2014

The Best Books I Read in 2014

 

1) The Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman
My thoughts:
This was a beautifully written gothic romance with dark fairy tale ties.
Synopsis
Death hasn't visited Rowan Rose since it took her mother when Rowan was only a little girl. But that changes one bleak morning, when five horses and their riders thunder into her village and through the forest, disappearing into the hills. Days later, the riders' bodies are found, and though no one can say for certain what happened in their final hours, their remains prove that whatever it was must have been brutal.

Rowan's village was once a tranquil place, but now things have changed. Something has followed the path those riders made and has come down from the hills, through the forest, and into the village. Beast or man, it has brought death to Rowan's door once again.

Only this time, its appetite is insatiable.

2)Sweet Unrest by Lisa Maxwell
For my thoughts and Synopsis see the Review I wrote

http://hauntedgravebooks.blogspot.com/2014/11/sweet-unrest-by-lisa-maxwell.html

3)Welcome to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz
My thoughts: This was a GREAT Young Adult Horror novel, that had very disturbing imagery, a little gore, a hint of a ghost and kept me wanting to read long into the afternoon.
Synopsis:
For Ivy Jensen, it’s the eyes of a killer that haunt her nights. For Parker Bradley, it’s bloodthirsty sea serpents that slither in his dreams.

And for seven essay contestants, it’s their worst nightmares that win them an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at director Justin Blake’s latest, confidential project. Ivy doesn’t even like scary movies, but she’s ready to face her real-world fears. Parker’s sympathetic words and perfect smile help keep her spirits up. . . at least for now.

Not everyone is so charming, though. Horror-film fanatic Garth Vader wants to stir up trouble. It’s bad enough he has to stay in the middle of nowhere with this group—the girl who locks herself in her room; the know-it-all roommate; “Mister Sensitive”; and the one who’s too cheery for her own good. Someone has to make things interesting.

Except, things are already a little weird. The hostess is a serial-killer look-alike, the dream-stealing Nightmare Elf is lurking about, and the seventh member of the group is missing.



4)The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee

Want to see what I thought and what it's about...Check out my Review

http://hauntedgravebooks.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-midnight-dress-karen-foxlee.html

5)The Fall by Bethany Griffin

http://hauntedgravebooks.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-fall-by-bethany-griffin.html

6)This House is Haunted by John Boyne
My Thoughts:
This was a great gothic horror novel, about two children who are haunted by their mother's ghost who kills or frightens away anyone who tries to care for or love her children. It had a great historical feel, with brilliant writing that made me shiver with hints of fear.
Synopsis:
1867. Eliza Caine arrives in Norfolk to take up her position as governess at Gaudlin Hall on a dark and chilling night. As she makes her way across the station platform, a pair of invisible hands push her from behind into the path of an approaching train. She is only saved by the vigilance of a passing doctor.

When she finally arrives, shaken, at the hall she is greeted by the two children in her care, Isabella and Eustace. There are no parents, no adults at all, and no one to represent her mysterious employer. The children offer no explanation. Later that night in her room, a second terrifying experience further reinforces the sense that something is very wrong.

From the moment she rises the following morning, her every step seems dogged by a malign presence which lives within Gaudlin’s walls. Eliza realises that if she and the children are to survive its violent attentions, she must first uncover the hall’s long-buried secrets and confront the demons of its past

7)The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine

See my Review here

8)Sea of Shadows by Kelly Armstrong
My Thoughts: Plot and action driven YA with fantasy world building, strong female characters and good writing, while being a little dark and very creative.
Synopsis:
In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire’s worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.

Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.

Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters’ journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they’ve ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court—one that will alter the balance of their world forever.


9) The Savages by Matt Whyman


Check out my Review to see what its about cannibals and what I thought.

10)The Witch With No Name by Kim Harrison

My Thoughts:
The last book of this series and it ends perfectly, just a great series ending where pretty much everyone get their happily ever after.
Synopsis:
Rachel Morgan's come a long way from the clutzy runner of Dead Witch Walking. She's faced vampires and werewolves, banshees, witches, and soul-eating demons. She's crossed worlds, channeled gods, and accepted her place as a day-walking demon. She's lost friends and lovers and family, and an old enemy has become something much more.

But power demands responsibility, and world-changers must always pay a price. That time is now.

To save Ivy's soul and the rest of the living vampires, to keep the demonic ever after and our own world from destruction, Rachel Morgan will risk everything