Friday, March 20, 2026

Clowns in the Cemetery: The Horror of Shadow Valley is a YA horror story of evil clowns and dark family secrets

 

The Horror of Shadow Valley

Jerry Blaze

Independently published, 2026

ASIN: B0GRWZTGRP

Ebook, 123 ppg.

Buy link

 

Sadie and Aiden are high school students who are best friends. When they are dared to spend the night in a supposedly haunted cemetery by a wealthy friend of theirs, to the tune of one thousand dollars, they agree to the challenge, thinking it’s easy money. Little do they know what lies in store for them in the Shadow Valley Cemetery, because on that particular night, a group of clowns are up to something in the cemetery. Something sinister. Something wicked.

 

Something that Sadie and Aiden get into trouble for after they discover the cultish ceremony. Now they have to try to run for their lives!

 

I don’t know how old Sadie and Aiden are, only that they are high school students, but it seems like they have a good, strong friendship. They have been friends for forever and they treat each other like brother and sister. This strong friendship will help them as they try to find out the truth behind what they saw that night at the cemetery, as well as fight whatever it is they are up against.

 

This story has a lot of surprises. These surprises kept me reading to find out more and to see if anybody else discovered the dark secrets of Sadie and Aiden’s ancestors. I loved how they both did research to find out why there was a group of clowns doing some kind of weird ritual in the cemetery. Both of them worked to get to the bottom of things and they both act bravely when they come up against clowns trying to kill them. They make a great team.

 

The ending of the story was very satisfying. Everything is pretty much explained and wrapped up at the end. I liked how Sadie and Aiden’s friendship remains strong no matter what happens in the story. I also liked how their relationships with their families grows stronger after everything the two teenagers went through.

 

The Horror of Shadow Valley is a suspenseful, frightening tale of a secret cult of clowns and horrifying family secrets. This YA horror novella is a must-read for fans of horror, as well as anyone who enjoys reading stories about freakish clowns committing terrifying crimes.

 

 

Five stars

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


Thursday, March 19, 2026

A Different Kind of Love Song: Rock My Stars is a story of an unlikely romance

 


Rock My Stars (Starstruck Universe)

Ellie Potts

Independently Published, 2021

ISBN-13: 979-8767487950

Ebook, 258 ppg.

Buy link

 

When I posted about my books being available for free as well as at discount prices on Smashwords for Read-an-Ebook-Week, my friend Ellie Potts let me know that her novel, Rock My Stars, was available for free through Kindle Unlimited. I grabbed a copy to read for Read-an-Ebook-Week, but it took me longer than one week to read this book. It actually took me two weeks. It was such an enjoyable story to read! I was hooked from the very beginning!

 

Rock My Stars by Ellie Potts is about a young woman named Tabby who has a HUGE crush on band member Spencer Tate of the band, Suspected Tragedy. Tabby is a music blogger, so music is her whole world! (Along with books, video games, and her best friends.) She’s been blogging about the band for years, so when she has a chance to see the band at a concert with her two best friends Walt and Danny, she jumps at the opportunity! While she is at the concert, she happens to meet her crush, along with the rest of the band, and Tabby’s world is about to change when she discovers that her crush just might turn into something more!  

 

Even though I am profoundly deaf, I was not born deaf, so I have been exposed to music in the past. So I totally get how music is such a big deal for Tabby! Music has the power of changing people’s lives, stirring up emotions, offering comfort, and leaving a lasting meaning for people. Tabby has loved music for, like, forever, and everything about music shows in her blog posts and live videos she writes and creates from the concerts that she goes to. It is this role of being a “music blogger” that turns Tabby into a media person, and she has a chance to be in that role not only to participate in Q&A sessions with the band but also to help the guys boost their presence on social media. Apparently, this is effective, because her notifications of likes and comments blow up after she posts things about the band.

 

I thought it was cool how Tabby also interacted with other bands and she got to include these other band members in her posts and videos. The other band members all treat her like she is a friend, not an outsider, and it’s just so awesome to see how everybody welcomes her and accepts her as one of their own. They all hang out together, do stuff together, and have fun together. It’s like suddenly having the biggest family ever. As Tabby observes on one occasion, after the guys in the Suspected Tragedy band all come to her defense:

 

“I freaking loved these guys so much. We were strangers when we started this journey, and now we were family. They had accepted me as part of the group. At the moment, they had me in protection bubble.” 

 

It should be noted, however, that not everyone is so welcoming and friendly with Tabby. Anika, Spencer’s ex, keeps giving Tabby a lot of grief, all which Tabby is not afraid to fight. Seamus, Spencer’s brother, has a grudge against Tabby after she physically fought back against him when he groped her, and Hector, the band’s manager, also dislikes Tabby. He even tells her this point blank, to which Tabby replies, “The feeling’s mutual.”

 

And that’s the thing I love about Tabby. Aside from two creepy weirdos she tries to avoid running into at music events, she is not easily intimidated by people. She is gutsy, bold, and defensive. She is not afraid to stand up for herself, even with Spencer, and draw the line when someone is trying to use her, hurt her, or take advantage of her. She even clobbers her best friend, Danny, after he slaps her.

 

The story line with Tabby and Danny was also interesting. I kept wondering how it was going to turn out in the end. Tabby did have a crush on Danny at the beginning of the story, but she learns about his true colors as the story unfolds. I could only shake my head over Danny telling Tabby that she was his fallback, his “safety net.” He never took her feelings seriously and then it was too late. That’s what happens when you are put on hold while the object of your heart goes chasing after someone else. People want to be the choice, not the option.

 

I also appreciated how Tabby understood all of the hard work that is required from Spencer because of his job with the band. And she makes it clear how she feels about him every time a doubter comes along saying that she’ll dump him or how Danny sees it as a “fling.” I loved how Spencer never got jealous over Tabby’s friendship with Walt. He understands that it is strictly platonic, with Tabby saying that she loves Walt like a brother. Spencer DOES get jealous of other guys, though, and Tabby has to make it clear to him that she her heart only belongs to him. Another thing I really liked about this story was how Tabby and Spencer’s relationship survives challenges. He doesn’t get rid of her when things get hard. That’s love.

 

Rock My Stars is a sweet and steamy romance that takes readers behind the scenes of the music world. The characters and the story are so well-written, and the ups and downs of a relationship that gets off to an unusual start will keep readers guessing on how everything will turn out in the end. This novel is sure to be enjoyed by readers of romance novels, as well as readers who enjoy stories about music and rock bands.

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I downloaded this ebook through Kindle Unlimited. This review is entirely voluntary.   


Sunday, March 15, 2026

All the Hearts They Ate: The Beauty in the Wreckage is a story of the struggle for individuality and freedom

 

THE BEAUTY IN THE WRECKAGE: OR THE BIBLIOTHECA TREATMENT: AN EXPERIMENTAL HORROR NOVELLA

Andrew Buckner

Alien Buddha Press, 2026

ISBN-13: 979-8246708750

Buy link

  

Fiorella leaves hearts on the doorstep of houses and everybody who eats the hearts will die. Her plan is to go from one town after another, leaving these hearts on doorsteps for the unsuspecting residents, until everyone is dead and she can create her own world of Fiorellas. But then Fiorella starts to question why she is doing this and if she is being programmed to do this. This changes everything and Fiorella is plunged into a world she no longer understands.

 

THE BEAUTY IN THE WRECKAGE: OR THE BIBLIOTHECA TREATMENT: AN EXPERIMENTAL HORROR NOVELLA by Andrew Buckner is a bizarre story of a young woman who has lost all memory of who she is and her past and only functions by doing what she is programmed to do. What she has been brainwashed to do. It is only when she breaks free – or tries to – that everything turns to chaos. When she begins to rebel against religion and against presidential orders, she becomes a target, and she knows she must do something to save herself before it is too late.

 

Even as Fiorella thinks about what she is doing and tries to change her actions, something called the “Father Figure” tries to stop her. It talks to her through her dreams. I couldn’t help but see this as religion forcing its beliefs and its ways on people, and stopping them from trying to get out of their bubbles and think for themselves. This is reinforced when I later read that the Father Figure’s spiel is ““not thinking and just doing is easier and more comfortable for you.” (page 58)

 

I loved how Fiorella’s love for books inspires her to write her own. On page 53, it reads (in Fiorella’s POV): “Now, I, too, must take up my pen, the mightiest of weapons in this barren warzone of bombs, tanks, and guns we naively call “life”, and fight by writing my memories, carving them for myself as well as for eternity, and dreams habitually, creating in any way that I can, so that the whole world can wake up through words and remember.”

 

I especially liked how she also uses her love for books to find a way to fight book bans. This love for books changes her and gives her new ideas, something the “monster-in-chief” oft mentioned in this story, as well as the “Father Figure,” would not approve of.

 

The Beauty in the Wreckage is a story not only of an individual who struggles to have the independence to think for themselves but also of an individual who wants to be free of an oppressive regime. Readers get to know Fiorella’s world through her stream of consciousness poetry and journal entries. She brings to light our natural desire for self-expression in a world that forbids individuality. Her story is a voice crying out for freedom from the chains her country has her in and one which readers may take heed of to create change in our own country.

 

Five stars

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


Clowns in the Cemetery: The Horror of Shadow Valley is a YA horror story of evil clowns and dark family secrets

  The Horror of Shadow Valley Jerry Blaze Independently published, 2026 ASIN: B0GRWZTGRP Ebook, 123 ppg. Buy link   Sadie and ...