First House Horrors: Give Unto Us is a Gripping, Mesmerizing Tale of What Evil is Hidden for First-Time Homebuyers

 

 

Give Unto Us

Justin Lutz

Ghoulish Books, 2024

142 ppg., Ebook

ISBN-10: 1943720991

ISBN-13: 978-1943720996

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When most people buy a house, they typically ask about anything needing repairs, issues the old tenants had and what sort of things they might need to take care of before moving in. But sometimes, no matter how well you inspect the property of a house you consider buying, the bad thing lurking on the property is hidden. So it’s missed during inspection.

 

That’s what happens for Trevor Davis, when he and his wife, Melissa, purchase a house next to a river. Trevor only sees the river, fishing, lake days. He doesn’t see the monster that is hiding in the backyard.

 

But can anyone, really? It’s hidden so well. So well, in fact, that at first sight, everybody thinks it ‘s just typical sand. But it’s not your typical sand. Not by a long shot. And the young couple with a baby soon discover that their new home came with something the realtor neglected to mention.

 

This is a story that grabbed my interest from the very beginning. In fact, I zoomed through this story, devouring its pages, hungry for more.

 

And “hungry” is a term that will show up in this story. A lot.

 

I loved how there was so much mystery surrounding the house. See, the neighbors knew the previous tenant, and apparently, something that happened to him none of them really talk about. And one neighbor in particular knows something about the Bad Thing in the backyard.

 

This is definitely a story packed with suspense, excitement and terror from the very beginning. The characters get ideas in their heads they know they can’t be thinking – like, they weren’t REALLY thinking that, right? They weren’t really about to do something horrible … right? Well, they don’t know, and we don’t know until we get much later into the story. The Bad Thing in the backyard may be hiding, but it won’t stay hidden forever. It’s hungry. Hungry for something the new homeowners may or may not be able to feed it.

 

Give Unto Us is a gripping and terrifying story of how something not of this world slowly tightens its grip around the weakest link. With their last grip of reality slowly dropping away like sand through an hourglass, Trevor and Melissa Davis are at the mercy of something too powerful to escape from.

 

REVIEWER NOTE: While I really enjoyed reading this story, I must say that, as a recovering alcoholic, it was hard to get through most of it. The booze flows freely in this story and all of the adults are always drinking, it seems. So if you’re a recovering alcoholic like me, I must warn you to prepare for reading about this in the story.

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

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

Until Death They Do Not Part: There's Something in Your Mouth is a Gruesome Story of Mismatched Murder

 

 

There’s Something in Your Mouth

Y.M. Miller

Unveiling Nightmares, 2024

ISBN-13: 979-8327113282

215 ppg., Ebook

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Content Warnings: Cannibalism, SA, murder, extreme gore, bestiality, extreme violence

 

Matthew and Julia have the perfect marriage, safe from prying eyes and suspicions. Nothing untoward at all going on between them.

 

That is what Julia wants everyone to think.

 

And she also wants to believe that she has her husband, Matthew, under her control.

 

She saw the sicko he was when they were dating and so she got it into her head that if they were going to be together, things would have to go HER way. If Matthew ever got out of line, she would punish him in the most horrific way. Maybe tell everyone his terrible secret. So she tries to put on a public image that she was a decent, God-fearing woman with a perfectly normal husband.

 

That all spiraled out of control on the day Julia finds her husband amid the bloody remains of his murder victim. But instead of divorce, instead of punishment and instead of calling in the long arm of the law, she hatches a plan that would benefit the both of them.

 

The only problem is, she underestimates Matthew’s murderous side.

 

Marriage is hard, but reading There’s Something in Your Mouth by Y.M. Miller makes me think that it must be a freaking picnic compared to the kind of marriage which Julia and Matthew have. This gory, creepy novel of a couple trying to find some way to keep things under control when one person is just as twisted as the other was a sheer delight to read. It also made me appreciate my VERY normal and “boring” husband all the bloody more!

 

Julia seems to be the kind of person who is trying to make the best of things, despite the cards she is dealt. I was stunned that it never occurred to her that instead of calling the police or reporting Matthew’s latest crimes, she instead decides that she must not only stay with this monster she married but figure out how to turn it into a win-win situation for them both.

 

But once Julia realizes that her plan only made Matthew become unhinged does she know that she must DO something about him. He was out of control. He was being sloppy. This loosening from her grip infuriates her. "She wanted to kill him. It'd gone past wanting to maim him. A grated nipple here, a ball sack there, had evolved beyond the simple act of deforming. She hadn’t wanted to get her hands dirty, yet she was getting them filthy. The day God handed out brains was when Matthew was placed firmly at the back of the queue." (Page 106)

 

Most normal people would get out of a situation like that while they were ahead of the game and could STILL walk away without being thrown into the slammer, but NOT Julia! She is determined to fix this! And that right there is what makes this story all the more entertaining. Sure, I laughed over how she thought she could still retain some kind of control over Matthew, but I knew it only meant that an even better story was ahead for me to read. I was not disappointed.

 

This story reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite TV shows, The X-Files, in which Fox Mulder asks a devil worshiper, “Did you really think you could call up the Devil and ask him to behave?”

 

When it comes to Matthew, that devil is indeed called up. And behave is the very last thing that happens.

 

There's Something in Your Mouth by Y.M. Miller is a gory, horrific and bloodthirsty story that will leave you cringing as you turn each page.

 

Five stars

 

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

That Boy Ain’t Right: The Vile Thing We Created is a Story of a Terrifying Child with Terrifying Powers

 

The Vile Thing We Created

By Robert P. Ottone

Hydra Publications, 2023

410 ppg.

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Couples who consider parenthood go through a whole host of mysteries. Should we start a family now? Is this a good time? Will we be good parents? Will our kid turn out okay?

 

It’s really a toss-up on that last one, but for Ian and Lola Sumner, they have NO control over how their offspring turns out, because something sinister is at work here!

 

Ian and Lola Sumner almost accidentally became parents in the past, but they weren’t ready. Now, in The Vile Thing We Created by Robert P. Ottone, they are absolutely ready to welcome their very own little bundle into the world. But what happens after their pride and joy enters their lives turns out to be a nightmare!

 

I could relate when I read about the whole time the couple are debating what life will be like after their baby arrives. Been there! First-time parents really cannot know what to expect after having a kid! They can only do what they can and just hope for the best.

 

I had to laugh at the scene where Ian and Lola are having dinner with their friends, who are parents and bring their toddler along. There’s all these things that Ian is hearing about what happens when life with a toddler comes around and he is freaking out. Wow, have I been there! Trust me, I kept thinking twice over the whole “becoming a parent” thing before my first was born. And, yes, the expectant parent does need to be careful about what they eat, although I really didn’t see anything wrong with eating frozen mozz sticks. Those were a favorite! But I know that some people are super-careful with foods when it comes to pregnancy.

 

Yeah, becoming a parent definitely changes your life. All of the things that the non-parents take for granted when they don’t have a kid, like sleeping in and being able to leave everything lying around the house, will definitely come to a stop after parenthood.

 

Ian’s sulking over the HUGE disappointment at his job had me laughing. Apparently, he has a hard time dealing with disappointment. I could only think, ‘Parenthood is going to be hard for that guy.’ Because when you’re a parent, you gotta get used to disappointments! They come with the territory!

 

After the baby is born, Ian and Lola have the typical fights most couples have, even first-time parents. What’s not typical is what happens with their pride and joy. The two of them are now both seeing strange figures and strange things keep happening with the kid. The two of them just chalk it up to stress or their imagination, but it’s hard to ignore as it keeps happening. And some of the strange stuff that keeps happening goes on for a long time too. It was very unsettling and VERY scary to read and it made me feel like something BIG was going to happen in the story later on. (It does!)

 

I liked how Ian and Lola try their best to resolve problems and work on forgiving each other for the fights and mistakes. It’s obvious they love each other very much. And it’s good they get out every once in a while sans kid, because couples NEED that together time on their own. It is the best way to keep a marriage strong after a huge life event, like a kid entering the picture.

 

The child Jonesy may seem cute and innocent on the outside, but on the inside lies something sinister. And he seems to be targeting Lola too. She gets the worst of his dark side, and because she has a past of being institutionalized plus she went through postpartum depression, people aren’t taking her claims of what’s happening with Jonesy very seriously. I’m glad she has a protective brother who tells Ian “My sister needs help,” otherwise what Lola goes through would only continue to be dismissed. Even a doctor and her therapist think everything is just her imagination. She gets to a point where she is terrified of Jonesy, and I am too! Lola even gets to a point where she says of Jonesy: “He’s not a child. He’s something else.”  That kid is seriously scary. He’s like a demon child, or something. Did Nana spike the tea she gave to Lola during her pregnancy, or something??

 

Whatever it was, it was enough to keep me reading. The last chapter had me muttering “WTF?” and “holy shit” a lot! WHOA!! I was holding my breath as I read the whole thing. Wow. I was NOT expecting the story to turn out the way it did! The Vile Thing We Created is brilliant, scary and mind blowing! I LOVED it! What a great story. Well done!

 

 

Five stars

 

 

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