FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHTS: RULES FOR VANISHING SPOTLIGHT

Hey Bookdragons! Welcome to the 4th installment of the Friday Night Frights meme!

How It Works:
On your blog feature a horror novel you loved (it doesn't have to be a new release) and recommend a horror movie you love then come back here and post your link in the comments! That's it, as simple as that! 

Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall

In the faux-documentary style of The Blair Witch Project comes the campfire story of a missing girl, a vengeful ghost, and the girl who is determined to find her sister--at all costs.

Once a year, the path appears in the forest and Lucy Gallows beckons. Who is brave enough to find her--and who won't make it out of the woods?

It's been exactly one year since Sara's sister, Becca, disappeared, and high school life has far from settled back to normal. With her sister gone, Sara doesn't know whether her former friends no longer like her...or are scared of her, and the days of eating alone at lunch have started to blend together. When a mysterious text message invites Sara and her estranged friends to "play the game" and find local ghost legend Lucy Gallows, Sara is sure this is the only way to find Becca--before she's lost forever. And even though she's hardly spoken with them for a year, Sara finds herself deep in the darkness of the forest, her friends--and their cameras--following her down the path. Together, they will have to draw on all of their strengths to survive. The road is rarely forgiving, and no one will be the same on the other side.

What I loved about Rules for Vanishing:

This book is classic urban legend horror that will transport the reader back to their childhood, telling scary stories at sleepovers or around the campfire. Lucy Gallows is a local urban legend in Sara's hometown and her sister disappeared a year ago chasing down the truth. Desperate for answers Sara and her friends find the path and try their best to follow the "rules" as they search for Becca. But in true horror fashion, they will encounter tragedy along the way and not everyone who steps foot on the path will come out alive on the other side. It's eerie, creepy, and mesmerizing. I read this book in a single day and I still can't get over it. 

Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall releases September 24th. Preorder your copy now!

Movie Rec: IT: Chapter Two

I have been waiting for this movie since I saw the first half. It felt like an eternity in between so I'm not the least bit embarrassed to say that I arrived at the movie theater before it even opened this morning and was the first person in the door to catch the 10:30 am showing. 

"In the summer of 1989, evil entity Pennywise terrorized a band of children from Derry, Maine. Twenty-seven years later, Pennywise returns, but this time the group is all grown up and ready to destroy the malevolent being."

First let's talk about the casting. I love James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain so their being in the second chapter of the it remake was an added bonus. I thought overall the people who cast Chapter Two did a fantastic job finding adult actors who resembled the child actor counterparts. And can we talk for a minute about the hotness that is Jay Ryan (who plays the adult version of Ben)?!?! Bill Hader also shone as the adult version of Ritchie - actually I think his character was the one I felt the more emotion toward because of his struggle with his identity. It was a powerful portrayal. 

Being the second half of the IT story we see the kids from the first movie in flashbacks as their adult counterparts return to Derry to finally conquer Pennywise. It gives us extra insight into the aspect of their lives and their beings that we didn't see in the first movie.

Overall, I thought this movie was even better than the first part and even though it's a nearly 3 hour movie I didn't lose interest in the story. The plot is richer, the scares are bigger, and Stephen King even makes a cameo! If you're not afraid of clowns and are looking for a good scary movie head on down to your local movie theater and check this one out!

Book Review: Sublime by Christina Lauren

Sublime by Christina Lauren

Blurb:

Love is...

Beautiful,

Dangerous,

Scary.

Sublime.

When Lucy walks out of a frozen forest, wearing only a silk dress and sandals, she isn't sure why she's there, until she sees Colin.

Colin has never been captivated by a girl the way he is by Lucy. With each passing day their lives intertwine, and even as Lucy begins to remember more of her life—and her death—neither of them is willing to give up what they have, no matter how impossible it is. And when Colin finds a way to physically be with Lucy, taking himself to the brink of death where his reality and Lucy’s overlap, the joy of being together for those brief stolen moments drowns out everything in the outside world. But some lines weren’t meant to be crossed…

My Review:

I fell in love with Christina Lauren's novel The House, so picking up Sublime was a no-brainer. 

The book begins with Lucy waking up in the forest with no memory of who or where she is. A strange, insistent pull guides her past a school grounds to the dining hall where she sees him. Without even knowing his name Lucy knows that she's there for him. 

Colin is a daredevil of sorts, he loves extreme sports that get his heart racing and usually land him in the hospital. It's a rush he's never gotten from any of the girls at St. Osanna's Boarding School. Until he meets her. Lucy is captivating and mysterious. But why does he see her physical appearance differently than everyone else (or at least those that bother to notice Lucy at all)?

As the weeks tick by and Lucy and Colin spend more and more time together feelings begin to form, but as Lucy's memories begin to surface and Colin does research of his own they'll be faced with an obstacle that could keep them apart forever. An obstacle that is the difference between life and death. 

Colin finds a way for him to really be able to connect with Lucy, but is it worth risking his life? Or will Colin be forced to let Lucy go? 

I thought the writing style of this book was a little strange but overall I liked the story. At times it gave me the creeps, but it was compelling enough that I didn't want to stop reading. 

I wished the reader could have seen more of Lucy's memories. Really other than her death and a few other minor things about her life we didn't really learn much about her past. I also found it interesting how accepting everyone was about what Lucy was, Lucy and Colin's relationship, and Jay's willingness to help Colin be able to be closer with Lucy. Maybe it was because the school was rumored to be haunted that everyone just accepted it as fact, but it was a little too smooth. 

Jay was another thing that stuck out to me. At times he seemed either afraid of Lucy or the things Colin was doing to be able to spend time with her, yet he went along with it. Was it all a front? 

I admit the ending was what struck me the most. It was sad that Colin made the choice that he did to be with Lucy for seemingly the sole reason that then he'd be able to touch her and have sex with her. 

Overall, I was mesmerized by this story. I think it will stay with me for quite a while just like The House did. Sublime reminds me of a combination of Tara Hudson's Hereafter and the movie Flatliners. If you're looking for a haunting read that you will feel compelled to read in one sitting, Sublime is your book!

My Rating:

4 of 5 Stars!