pbanditp's review
5.0
Do you want to know how I can tell that a book is good?
Sure, some books you can’t put down and some books make you get lost in the pages, but there are the special books that you can’t stop thinking about when you are doing other things. Books that distract you at work because your minds wanders back to those pages. Books you can’t wait to start reading again but at the same time, you don’t want to read because you know it will eventually have to end and that is a little depressing.
I have never had an anthology have this kind of effect on me until I picked up The Halloween Grindhouse by E. Reyes. I had to stop my car on the side of the road to jot this down because I was thinking about my book and when I could get back to it. Mind you, while I was driving, I was listening to The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King but I couldn’t stop thinking about Vicki, Adriana, James, and Michael and wondering if they were going to survive the rest of the book. It wasn’t looking good for them.
I don’t want to get into what these stories are about except to say they get a little messy. I hate spoilers and I truly believe going into a story blind is best.
While I am sad that The Halloween Grindhouse has come to a gristly end, I am very happy that I have two other books by E. Reyes waiting for me to get up my nerve, and jump back into his horrific world.
I would also like to thank Mr. E. Reyes for providing me an ebook of The Halloween Grindhouse in exchange for an honest review. Trust me, getting the book free in no way influenced my opinion, it just moves it to the front of the line.
Sure, some books you can’t put down and some books make you get lost in the pages, but there are the special books that you can’t stop thinking about when you are doing other things. Books that distract you at work because your minds wanders back to those pages. Books you can’t wait to start reading again but at the same time, you don’t want to read because you know it will eventually have to end and that is a little depressing.
I have never had an anthology have this kind of effect on me until I picked up The Halloween Grindhouse by E. Reyes. I had to stop my car on the side of the road to jot this down because I was thinking about my book and when I could get back to it. Mind you, while I was driving, I was listening to The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King but I couldn’t stop thinking about Vicki, Adriana, James, and Michael and wondering if they were going to survive the rest of the book. It wasn’t looking good for them.
I don’t want to get into what these stories are about except to say they get a little messy. I hate spoilers and I truly believe going into a story blind is best.
While I am sad that The Halloween Grindhouse has come to a gristly end, I am very happy that I have two other books by E. Reyes waiting for me to get up my nerve, and jump back into his horrific world.
I would also like to thank Mr. E. Reyes for providing me an ebook of The Halloween Grindhouse in exchange for an honest review. Trust me, getting the book free in no way influenced my opinion, it just moves it to the front of the line.
ludwigdvorak's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jenniferlwatson's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lpniskanen's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Solid anthology
ethanz's review
5.0
What a great Halloween themed book. I enjoyed reading this. It was a fun book to sit down and begin my October reads a little early this year.
E. Reyes is a very talented writer. Among the new authors around he is one of my favorites. I can always count on him to bring scares, and fun fast paced reading material.
Plus, the guy mentions The Wanderers. Do you know how many times I quote this movie a year and no one knows what I’m talking about… a ton. Lol but E. Reyes gives a shout out to the movie which I can appreciate.
I hope E continues with his craft.
Cheers!
E. Reyes is a very talented writer. Among the new authors around he is one of my favorites. I can always count on him to bring scares, and fun fast paced reading material.
Plus, the guy mentions The Wanderers. Do you know how many times I quote this movie a year and no one knows what I’m talking about… a ton. Lol but E. Reyes gives a shout out to the movie which I can appreciate.
I hope E continues with his craft.
Cheers!
erinxmegan's review
5.0
*I was kindly sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
This is an anthology of stories all connected by a story called The Watch Party, which is broken up into intermissions.
In this story, 4 friends decide to use an app called RandoCation for some Halloween fun. The app gives them a random location to go to. They are unsure of what actually awaits them there, but they have nothing else to do, so why not?
When they arrive at their location they find a room with a television and several vhs tapes labeled by it.
They decide to watch the tapes because they’re obviously harmless and just a Halloween prank by the app.
The First tape is the story The Ranch. This is about two guys who participate in a major drug deal, but end up in trouble with a drug cartel.
The second tape is the story The Girl. This story is about a group of friends who decide to go to a haunted house where a little girl is supposed to lurk. However, it is not exactly what they imagine.
The third tape is the story Mischief. This is about a gang who like to cause trouble, but they end up picking on the wrong person
The fourth and final tape is the story Herbert’s Halloween. This tells the story of Herbert and his interesting Halloween activities.
The last story is Slasher, which has the characters from The Watch Party and shows the aftermath after they finish the tapes and how their night comes to an end.
I loved loved loved the whole vibe of these stories. I really liked how everything revolved around The Watch Party and how each story was a different video tape they were watching.
Gave me major found footage movie feelings and I really like the whole found footage genre. I think it can be really awesome when done correctly.
I also really liked the RandoCation app, if you’ve been on tiktok or heard about the Randonauting trend that’s been going on, then I think it makes the story very fresh and modern.
Each story is very different from each other and I think it does a great job of showing a different type of horror in each one.
I enjoyed every single story, I thought they were all interesting and gripped me from beginning to end.
My favorite story was Herbert’s Halloween. You know I’m a very big fan of realistic horror and this is definitely that. I don’t want to give too much away about this story because it’s just...better when you’re not expecting it.
I also really liked the story Slasher, I’m a sucker for a good slasher story and I think this was a really good one to end the whole book on. This one reminded to me of Michael Myers a lot, which is my favorite slasher.
I think The Ranch was probably the most surprising story because I had no idea where it was going. The drug cartel plot was very different and something I don’t see too much of in horror. It was a good story to start on because it was a nice surprise opening the rest of them.
This book is pretty descriptive and gruesome, so if gore is not your thing, then this might not be a collection for you.
Overall, very pleased with this collection and I think it’s a perfect Halloween read, I’ll definitely have to re-read it next year!
This is an anthology of stories all connected by a story called The Watch Party, which is broken up into intermissions.
In this story, 4 friends decide to use an app called RandoCation for some Halloween fun. The app gives them a random location to go to. They are unsure of what actually awaits them there, but they have nothing else to do, so why not?
When they arrive at their location they find a room with a television and several vhs tapes labeled by it.
They decide to watch the tapes because they’re obviously harmless and just a Halloween prank by the app.
The First tape is the story The Ranch. This is about two guys who participate in a major drug deal, but end up in trouble with a drug cartel.
The second tape is the story The Girl. This story is about a group of friends who decide to go to a haunted house where a little girl is supposed to lurk. However, it is not exactly what they imagine.
The third tape is the story Mischief. This is about a gang who like to cause trouble, but they end up picking on the wrong person
The fourth and final tape is the story Herbert’s Halloween. This tells the story of Herbert and his interesting Halloween activities.
The last story is Slasher, which has the characters from The Watch Party and shows the aftermath after they finish the tapes and how their night comes to an end.
I loved loved loved the whole vibe of these stories. I really liked how everything revolved around The Watch Party and how each story was a different video tape they were watching.
Gave me major found footage movie feelings and I really like the whole found footage genre. I think it can be really awesome when done correctly.
I also really liked the RandoCation app, if you’ve been on tiktok or heard about the Randonauting trend that’s been going on, then I think it makes the story very fresh and modern.
Each story is very different from each other and I think it does a great job of showing a different type of horror in each one.
I enjoyed every single story, I thought they were all interesting and gripped me from beginning to end.
My favorite story was Herbert’s Halloween. You know I’m a very big fan of realistic horror and this is definitely that. I don’t want to give too much away about this story because it’s just...better when you’re not expecting it.
I also really liked the story Slasher, I’m a sucker for a good slasher story and I think this was a really good one to end the whole book on. This one reminded to me of Michael Myers a lot, which is my favorite slasher.
I think The Ranch was probably the most surprising story because I had no idea where it was going. The drug cartel plot was very different and something I don’t see too much of in horror. It was a good story to start on because it was a nice surprise opening the rest of them.
This book is pretty descriptive and gruesome, so if gore is not your thing, then this might not be a collection for you.
Overall, very pleased with this collection and I think it’s a perfect Halloween read, I’ll definitely have to re-read it next year!
ghostinthepages's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
This was a great read! It definitely could have benefit from a editor but the Author did address that recently on Instagram. I get it and can over look that.
I've always loved a story with multiple story lines that tie back together at the end. I thought all the stories were great but really loved The Girl
I've always loved a story with multiple story lines that tie back together at the end. I thought all the stories were great but really loved The Girl
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