Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper – Book Review

I got the opportunity to read Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper as part of the Book Blogger Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) 2022.

It came in 5th place among the 10 finalists.

This review was supposed to go up earlier in May but life gets in the way… so, here it is.

 

Book title: Inheriting Her Ghosts

Publisher: Sleepless Sanctuary Publishing

Length: 120 Pages

Genre: Horror, Adult 

Publication date: 9 July 2021

Book Synopsis:

Inheritance often comes with strings attached, but rarely are they as tangled as those hanging over High Hearth.

When Eudora Fellowes learns she's the sole heir of her estranged great-aunt's seaside manor, she believes it will be the peaceful escape she's longed for.

What awaits, however, is a dark legacy shrouded in half a century of secrets, and it doesn't take long before Eudora realizes she's not the only one to call High Hearth home.

Add Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper on Goodreads.

 

Book Review of Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper

Inheriting Her Ghosts is my first read for S.H. Cooper and certainly not my last. It’s a horror novella of with a sort-of well-known premise. A woman inherits a mansion in the middle of nowhere but what she finds there isn’t what she expected.

The book opens with a strong and powerful statement:

“The house inherited me as much as I did it. We were alike, this house and I. Both filled with bones that creaked and dark hallways where memories lingered still.”

Eudora Fellows, 43, inherits her estranged great-aunt’s seaside manor, named High Hearth. She hopes it’ll be a peaceful escape from society. So, she packs up some of her belongings and takes her large dogs and heads for High Hearth.

But when she arrives there, she discovers that the people in town believe it’s haunted. They despise the house and its former resident, Eudora’s great-aunt.

Despite the fairly-traditional premise, Cooper draws you in with her writing. Her words flow on the page and you can’t put it down even if you’re not deep in the action.

“I awakened something in this house, and the more I sought to understand it, the more it resisted, resented, and in its anger, it took power.”

Though it takes a while for Cooper to get into the ‘action’ in Inheriting Her Ghosts, you still enjoy Eudora’s reflections, her descriptiveness. The book just flows…

“There is a darkness in High Hearth, one that has trapped the dead, and it stems from her.”

One of the things I liked about Inheriting Her Ghosts is that the main character isn’t the usual teen or mother, but a 43-year-old woman with a cynical, strong character.

“At forty-three, I was an oddity…there were expectations, and I’d failed to meet them all...I’d never much cared for the male species. Or, more accurately, the human species as a whole.”

There are many memorable quotes and lines in Inheriting Her Ghosts. I’ve mentioned a fair number in this review, but believe me, there are many more!

“Late was the hour of our arrival. High Hearth stood as a grand silhouette against the sky, its spires and peaks piercing upward and mall the more imposing by the night. The sight of it sent waves of cold washing down my neck, but they did not, could not, run deep enough to extinguish the firestorm within.”

 

Overall rating for Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper: 5 stars.

About the Author

S.H. Cooper is a Florida based, multi-genre author with a focus on horror and fantasy. Her work has been published by Sleepless Sanctuary Publishing, Cemetery Gates Media, and Brigids Gate Press.

In addition to short story collections and novels, she is also the writer for the horror comedy podcast, Calling Darkness.

When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about writing, talking about writing, or sleeping (wherein she dreams about writing). She is kept up and running through the tireless efforts of her extremely supportive family and coffee.

Connect with S.H. Cooper via her website, Twitter, and Facebook.

 

About BBNYA

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner.  

If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website http://www.bbnya.com or Twitter.

BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Find Inheriting Her Ghosts via Amazon Canada, Amazon US, and Amazon UK.

 

Nadaness In Motion's Top Books of 2017

I must say I've read a lot of amazing books in 2017, which means I've met a slew of wonderful authors along the way, whether I picked up their books myself, they requested reviews, or some other way.

Every day, I meet authors, especially via Twitter. The community there is beautiful and supportive.

But not to stray, every year I compile a list of the BEST books I've read in a year. The list for 2017 might be a little longer than the previous ones.

The books below are not arranged in any particular order whatsoever. (The numbering just helps me track what I'm writing)

1)  Magora by Marc Remus

This middle-grade children's books series by American-German artist and author Marc Remus has been the best series I've read in a long time. I haven't gobbled up books like this since I started and finished the Harry Potter ones. In 2017, I read FOUR Magora books! Two of which were published this year.

I couldn't put the series down. While the books are meant for children, they're wonderful to read, as adults.

All the books I've read in the series have received five-star reviews from me. Yes, they're that good. While I'd recommend you begin at the beginning, you can always start from book 2. However, starting with book 1 allows you to relate things to each other and gives you a kind of depth or rootedness to the novel.

By book 4, you'll be joining my ranks and begging Remus to speed up the publication of books 5 & 6.

Read my book reviews for Magora: The Gallery of Wonders, Magora: The Golden Maple Tree, Magora: The Bridge in the Fog, Magora: The Uprising.

You can also read my short article on the series titled 2017, the Year of Reading Magora.

  

2)  Lies She Told by Cate Holahan

This heart-clenching psychological thriller is intense! It boggled my brain and I loved it.

Intense! Is the first word that comes to mind while and after reading Lies She Told by Cate Holahan. The novel kept me on edge from start to finish.

"My emotions don't vacillate between happy and sad like a pianist alternating between major and minor scales. They're stuck in a discordant chord."

There are two parallel worlds in the novel, the first is Liza's, a struggling suspense author, while the second is that of the main character in her work-in-progress, Beth, who recently had her daughter Victoria and suspects her husband is cheating on her.

Half-way through the book I knew this was a five-star read. Finishing it, I confirmed my expectations

3)  The Steps by Iveta Redliha

Somehow reminiscent of Emily Bronte's writing style and settings, The Steps by Iveta Redliha is a stunning gothic but tragic novel.

The story centres around people who lived or were connected to a property called The Bradbury, from the greedy surrogate mother Leonora to Reyna, who discovers that her mother, who died of natural causes, somehow purchased The Bradbury mansion even though they just made ends meet, to the ever evasive and creepy-but-handsome Lucas.

"The empty window frames like dark forest lakes conveyed chilling secrets. It seemed as if the massive wooden doors were nailed shut in order to keep them from spilling too much information."

The book is available in English and Latvian.

4)  JoyfulTrouble by Patricia Furstenberg

Inspired by true events, Joyful Trouble is a historical fiction, children's novella that can be enjoyed by both adults and children, who will love it when their parents read it to them.

Fast-paced and with lots of humour, the story is about a Great Dane named Joyful Trouble, who befriends seamen on a naval base in South Africa and is later added to the base as a member.

"Doggies! I want to see the custard Danish!"

"Great Danes, Tommy. They are Great Dane."

5)  Hero (Book 1 in The Hero Rebellion trilogy) by Belinda Crawford

Those who know me or have approached me for reviews would probably know that I'm very picky when it comes to science fiction. A "handle with care" kind of genre for me. BUT, Belinda Crawford's Hero flushed all my sci-fi worries and fears down the toilet with amazing writing, a well-held story line, and realistic and fun characters.

The novel is set in the distant future, where earth is no longer habitable so people live several kilometres above the planet. The main character Hero has lived most of her life in her prison-like home because she's "special".

She has an adorable leopard-rat pet hybrid called Fink with whom she shares thoughts. Tech-savvy and constantly trying to escape her prison-like-home, Hero slowly realises that there is so much more to her being "special". I liked how Crawford's setting and how she was able to feed the reader bits of information about the characters.

6)  Writing Fight Scenes by Rayne Hall

Writing Fight Scenes by Rayne Hall is an encyclopedia of writing tips, tricks, and knowledge about the writing fight scenes regardless of the genre you have in mind. It's truly a gem and an excellent reference. The advice mentioned in the book is priceless.

"Success in a fight depends on three factors: Strength, Strategy, Skill. To win a fight, your protagonist needs at least one of them. Otherwise, a good outcome is implausible."

One of the things I truly enjoyed is Hall's "Blunders to Avoid" at the end of each chapter which as the name says are items to be avoided while writing and which act as a summary to the chapter.

7)  Magick & Mayhem by Sharon Pape

When Kailyn Wilde attempts to summon a familiar, a kind of animal guide believed to help witches with their magic, she instead discovers an old man in her basement who goes by the name of Merlin. To her and Tilly's surprise – and to the reader's – the great wizard himself was somehow thrust forward in from the Middle Ages to Kailyn's storeroom.

One of the best cozy mysteries and I love those with a paranormal aspect, Pape's Magick & Mayhem is fast-paced and downright hilarious.  

"The kettle had gone from whistling to screeching like a banshee, by the time I plucked it off the stove. Merlin stood in the middle of the kitchen, rotating like a clumsy ballerina."

8)  Murder by the Book by Devorah Fox

The naïve and sheltered Candy goes to work one day and is shocked to find her boss dead on his desk. After she calls the police and other work colleagues start filing in, Candy begins to see that her boss was not simply mean but that almost each of her colleagues had a reason to want him dead.

Murder by the Book is a short novella or long short story that is exciting and highly entertaining.

9)  Zoey's Post-It Notes by Zoey & Jeff Steiner

Written by 10-year-old Zoey Steiner, Zoey's Post-It Notes is a beautiful book on bullying and raising awareness about the issue especially when it comes to children.

"When you don't have faith in yourself, it gets you down. You are not able to do what you want to do. That can set you back a lot."

It is a book about self-discovery, motivation, awareness, and understanding. At the end of the book, there are activities for children to create their own post-its.

10)               Crazy Crab by Mark Evans

Crazy Crab is a short, fun, children's picture book by Mark Evans, with illustrations by Steve Page.

Steve, an excellent Hermit crab marketer who "can sell fried calamari to a squid", is unhappy with his life despite his success. Steve dreams of becoming an astronaut but is put down by friends who think he's crazy.

Crazy Crab is a beautiful story with a lesson at the end. If you work for it, your dream will become a reality.

11)               Monsters Exist – Anthology by various authors

The book is a collection of 14 short stories from the worlds of horror and often the dark paranormal, written by a great assortment of horror-writing authors, most of whose names already strike fear in the reader!

"Kleaver, Buller, Demmer, Deadman…"

BOO!

Happy reading!

Update: Other editions of this post:

Nadaness In Motion's Top Books of 2019

Nadaness In Motion's Top Books of 2018

Nadaness In Motion's Top Books of 2016

Nadaness In Motion's Top Books of 2015

Nadaness In Motion's Top Books of 2014

The Steps by Iveta Redliha – Book Review

Book Name: The Steps

Author: Iveta Redliha

(Available in Latvian and English)

"The empty window frames like dark forest lakes conveyed chilling secrets. It seemed as if the massive wooden doors were nailed shut in order to keep them from spilling too much information."

The Steps by Latvian author Iveta Redliha is a gripping but heartbreaking story centered around people who lived or were connected to a property called The Bradbury.

Leonora, a fresh-out-of-school greedy graduate is secretly hired to become a surrogate mother. She views the opportunity as easy money and posh living and lies her way through to get the job. She thinks she will have the time of her life partying, but soon realises that her dreams will not come true as the family she's being a surrogate for insist that she live on their premises, the Bradbury, for the duration of the pregnancy and under their rules and supervision.

Kurt and Nelly are a married couple who have been unable to conceive. They hire Leonora through a surrogacy programme to carry their baby. The moment the three of them arrive at the Bradbury, the reader meets Greta, their maid and helper, whom Leonora immediately despises and mistreats.

Meanwhile, Reyna receives a phone call, telling her that her mother has died. The investigation soon dries up after it is discovered that her mother died of a heart attack and not murdered. However, things don't add up to Reyna. Her mother had left their shared tea shop without closing down and had been meeting with an unknown man.

When Reyna receives the will, she discovers that her mother had been keeping secrets, including recently purchasing the Bradbury mansion. When she visits the run-down house, she encounters Lucas, a secretive but handsome man, who entices her from the first moment.

"Shivers ran down Reyna's spine. For a moment, she thought his last words were meant as a threat. The stranger's look had been so sharp and penetrating, horrifying and exciting at the same time."

Lucas, on the other hand, appears to despise Reyna, even though he has never met her before. However, bit by bit, he too begins to develop feelings for her. Lucas is a little reminiscent of Heathcliff from Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, except that The Steps is a much better and more exciting book.

The Steps is gripping from the start. Its pace is fast, especially as the author jumps between scenes and characters without being all over the place.

I felt that Reyna was too gullible and very trusting, particularly of strangers. She was also a bit slow, and while I realise that the purpose of her slowness is to confirm the reader's suspicions or unveil new information for the reader, I still felt she could have been a little smarter, especially since she's not a child.

I like that there are no superfluous characters in The Steps. Each character has a role to play, including the quirky, helpful and ever-giggling Lucy. Sometimes the reader wonders if she's crazy, but she is definitely the main source of comic relief in the novel.

Another character in the novel is Greta, the Bradbury's maidservant. What I liked about her is that she has her moments. In addition to always keeping tabs on Leonora, she sometimes even makes Leonora think and wake up from her attempts at seducing Kurt.

Lucas strikes the reader as a calculating character from the start. I like how Iveta Redliha give the reader bits from Lucas' thoughts, making excellent opportunity for suspense, especially since he does not mean Reyna well and the reader has no idea why he feel such animosity to someone Lucas has never met.

I liked how Iveta Redliha kept me guessing, connecting the dots, then guessing all over again.

The Steps handles a variety of themes like family, marital relationships, greed and growing up. I like how the author made the characters progress differently. Not all of them move forward, but all the main ones had some sort of character development, particularly Leonora.

One of the few things that bothered me about The Steps was the speech. There was no use of quotation marks. Instead every line begun with a dash, and there were intermittent dashes in between, making it hard to follow on who is speaking and what is part of the characters' thoughts.

Some chapters were rather long, particularly at the beginning. I don't like stopping mid-chapter.

I liked the use of imagery, both metaphors and similes throughout the novel. The description of the setting is quite picturesque and nicely done as well.

"Once their eyes locked, they couldn't look away, the gaze of their blue and grey waters merging into one whirlpool."

The Steps is full of irony, role reversals and all the literary elements a reader can dream of. Simply brilliant.

I couldn't put the The Steps down, and when I wasn't reading, I kept thinking of the characters. When I finished reading, I couldn't stop thinking about them.

"A quiet noise, like a moan or a sigh broke the silence thus startling the visitors. Lucas took it as a sign that the old building was weeping with him. If only he were alone and could let loose his suppressed grief about the house, once a beautiful home, turned into an abandoned shack, just like his soul, like his whole life…"

I liked how Iveta Redliha tied up all the loose ends at the end and I was glad I was able to correctly guess many if not all of them.

Overall, The Steps is a suspenseful, heart-breaking, gripping dark tale of a house and its inhabitants. A 10-star must-read.

Purchase The Steps by Iveta Redliha via Amazon

About the Author:

Iveta Redliha is a 39-year-old author from Latvia. She is a married mother of three wonderful children.

We have two pets, chocolate Lab named Horton and Birman cat named Smurfette. As you can see we like animated movies. :-)

I have degree in Psychology, and two professional diplomas in Stress Management Coaching and Consultancy, and Neuro Psychological Immunology. I am looking forward to work in my sphere one day.

Writing is my true passion! I have been writing since I was 8 years old, and besides prose, I love to write poetry, too.

I write fiction in the thriller/suspense/crime and mystery genres.

The Steps is my first book, not just the first translated in English, but my actual first book. It was published in Latvian in October 2013 in my country and you can still buy Soļi (The Steps) in book stores.

When I was 17, I found the poem “The Steps” by Paul Valery in my school library. The poem touched my soul so deeply, so I wrote it out on the small piece of paper. As time passed, I read the poem again and again, and knew that it has and will have some impact in my life.

When I was writing my book, I knew that the poem “The Steps” will be one of the most important things in it, and will play the major role at some point. So, when I came to choosing the title for my book, there were no doubts for me about that – The Steps was the only choice of my soul.

As for my inspiration, surprisingly for myself, mostly I find my inspiration in music, and particularly in some songs. For example, when I wrote the chapters with Lucas in them, I listened K.D Lang’s version of song “Hallelujah”, and Latvian band’s Instrumenti song “Pieturi mani sev klāt” (Hold me tight). When I wrote my new book, I mostly listened kora musicians and singers Toumani Diabaté and Sona Jobarteh (Western Africa).    

One month ago I finished my second book, and now working on it with publishers in Latvia. It is thriller/suspense as well.

Follow Iveta Redliha on Facebook.

Set Me Free by London Setterby - Book review

Set Me Free by London Setterby

Publication date: 8 July 2016

Genres: Gothic, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

Miranda Lewis is desperate to get away from her controlling ex–so desperate she leaves him in the middle of the night. She ends up on a remote island off the Maine coast, where she befriends a bubbly shopkeeper, Claire, and becomes fascinated with Claire’s son, big, brooding Owen Larsen, a woodworker who keeps to himself. Even the friendliest locals here are secretive–and Owen is at the center of their secrets.

Still, Miranda loves the salt air, the craggy coastline, and, most of all, the work of the island’s beloved local painter, Suzanna White. Miranda wants to stay–to claim a life of her own, to paint again. But the longer she stays, the more her fascination with Owen increases. Why is there a painting of his stern, handsome face in the art gallery by the beach? And why is everyone so afraid of him?

Book Review by Nadaness In Motion

“If you’re not an English major, what are you?” Owen asked.

“I’m…” Before Rhys, I was a bartender and a painter. But since then? “I’m nothing.” Absolutely nothing.

Set Me Free by London Setterby is an interesting emotional read. The story opens with main character, Miranda, named after Shakespeare’s Miranda in The Tempest, running away from her abusive and domineering boyfriend Rhys. She has no idea where she’s going except that she needs to get as far away from him as possible.

I liked how the title Set Me Free, not only involved the protagonist Miranda but also Owen. The whole town of Falls Island needs to be set free from a tragedy that happened seven years before.

Everyone has a secret in the novel; Miranda’s is the fact that her ex was abusive and that she ran away from him. She is constantly terrified that he would find her – and for good reason – which constantly keeps her on edge, thinking that any sound might be him. He, too, is relentless in his search.

“Anything that made me think of Rhys – Scott grabbing my arm, a hand raised in the darkness – terrified me, until my bones shook and my lungs felt crushed.”

I particularly liked how Setterby portrayed Miranda, the abuse victim’s emotions throughout the novel. Even when Miranda stands up for herself, she begins to have a change of heart about her actions. This happens several times in the novel.

“I should have been proud of myself. But instead fear and adrenaline gave way to numb shock. Over? Truly over? How would I live without him? How long could I sleep in my car and live off leftover French fries?”

As soon as Miranda sets foot on Falls Island, she discovers artwork by a painter called Suzanne White, whom she learns died seven years before. She later learns that Suzanne was believed to have been murdered by her boyfriend.

Miranda is enamoured by Suzanne’s work and later by the woman herself when she sees a self-portrait of her. As she begins to get to know Owen, she starts to compare herself to Suzanne, who as “Beloved of All” in the town.

I loved Miranda’s attempts to solve the mystery behind Suzanne’s death and the bit of amateur sleuthing involved. The way she made the discovery at the end and exposed the hidden killer was brilliant; it was very creative on Setterby’s part.

 “I knew enough about grief to know that it never truly went away, even after seven years. Sometimes it was just a stone you carried around with you, hardly remembering it was there, and other times it hit you with its full shrieking malevolent force – always at the strangest moments, like when you were driving or at the bank.”

One of the fun things about the dark tale of Set Me Free was the references to literature. Miranda’s father is professor who teaches the works of Shakespeare, hence her name, while Owen’s mother, Claire, names her dogs after famous British writers and poets.

I also liked Setterby’s hints as the possible paranormal aspect of the novel, leaving the reading wondering whether things happen for a reason or there is some other force at work guiding the characters and events.

“The hair on the back of my neck prickled. I couldn’t help imagining the island plucking Owen and I from our beds and setting us down on the granite hilltop – chess pieces on a board only the island could see.”

Although I did not feel the gothic aspect much, which for me felt like a lot of mist. I also felt that sometimes I was unsure if the weather was cold or warm in the novel, like the grass being icy but Miranda is wearing just a dress and jacket. Felt odd.

Still I liked the novel, which had a lot of romantic and mushy lines and quotes, another aspect that the author is lauded for.

“Owen was already temptation personified, no matter what skeletons he had in his closet.”

There is major character development for both Owen and Miranda, along with the whole town, which has become used to believing things that aren’t true but because they are the norm or what everyone is doing. The development part for me is important and Setterby has done a splendid job for the two main characters.

“Being brave once was not enough, or even a dozen times; I had to keep being brave, no matter how hard it was.”

Add the book to your Goodreads’ to-be-read list: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29973030-set-me-free

Keep up with the tour schedule here.

Purchase Set Me Free via Amazon and iBooks.

Giveaway

As part of the tour, there is a Giveaway open to US & Canada for 2 signed copies of Set Me Free. Enter here.

Note: I received a free copy of Set Me Free by London Setterby via Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review as part of a blog tour for the book.

About the Author:

Hello! I’m London, a writer, lawyer, and life-long New Englander. I write all flavors of romance, from surreal fantasy romances to raw gritty contemporaries. I also write across the gender and sexuality spectrums. Everything I write is a little bit funny, a little bit sad, and probably kind of strange.

You might know me from Wattpad–my Wattpad Featured Read, Set Me Free, a Gothic romance, will be released as an ebook and in print in summer 2016.

My gritty erotic romance, Breathe, is currently being serialized on Radish, a free app. It will be released in ebook/print as well sometime after Set Me Free.

Author links:

http://www.londonsetterby.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15061712.London_Setterby

https://twitter.com/LondonSetterby