Synopsis (Goodreads):
Two chilling novellas of horror by Peter Giglio and Catherine Cavendish...My Thoughts:
Cold Revenge
Some dinner invitations are best ignored... For no apparent reason, Nadine, Maggie, Gary, and Nick are invited to dinner at the lavish home of top fashion writer, Erin Dartford. But why has she invited them? Why doesn't she want her guests to mingle? And just what is it about the mysterious Erin that makes them want to run for their lives? Little do they know that as they prepare to eat their first course, an evil as old as mankind is about to be unleashed. And revenge really is a dish best served cold...
A Spark in the Darkness
On the final day of her second life, Edie returns to the family she abandoned five years earlier. Edie is not merely a vampire, she's a Goddess...one of the vanishing race of beings the vampires need to keep their kind alive. But being dead has taught her much about life, and Edie's determined to destroy the evil thing she's become. For something has changed within her, something almost alive in her dead soul. But can a single spark in the darkness be enough to save all she holds dear?
A Spark in the Darkness
I ended up thinking this was a pretty awesome story, despite the fact that I tend to like my vampires of the less evil variety. Still, this story worked for me. I like how Edie went from someone who was borderline morally bankrupt to someone who tried to make amends (of a sort) when the chips were down. Honestly, Edie wasn't someone I particularly liked in the beginning. She was ... not a nice person. Then life throws her a curve ball and she gets to be awesome for a bit until, you know, her world comes crashing down and she's just wholesale entertainment in the company of some rather unsavory men.
So, what does she do with herself? She tries to fix the things that have gone wrong. It was creepy how she goes about it while also being weirdly compelling. I loved her interaction with the little Hunter boy. She gave his life validation just by believing in what he could see. Like I said, creepy but weirdly compelling.
I still prefer my vampires a little more cuddly, but I liked dipping my toes in such a different world.
Cold Revenge
This was one of those stories that snuck up on me. It was nicely dark, moved quickly and kept me guessing as to what was going to happen right up to the end. I like that. I like when I'm making predictions in my head and they're all a little off.
Nadine, Maggie, Gary, and Nick's stories unfold in bits and pieces. On the surface they all seem like upstanding folks who have great lives. As their stories progress you begin to see that they might not be quite as good as they pretend to be. Each one has something unsavory in their past that is coming back to haunt them.
Nicely written with interesting characters, this was a fun, creepy ride that was a perfect way to spend a damp, cold morning.
(Note: Cold Revenge was previously reviewed on this blog as a stand-alone novella)
Author Links
Peter Giglio - | Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon | Kindle |
Catherine Cavendish - | Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon | Kindle |
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Cold Sparks was provided for review.
I like my vampires kinda cuddly. I'm wacky like that.
ReplyDeleteSomehow this doesn't surprise me at all.
ReplyDeleteCuddly with a side of bite. Rawr!
ReplyDelete