Phantoms of Christmas Past by Paul Weatherhead

Rating:

3 Stars

Themes:

Non-Fiction, Supernatural

Thoughts:

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. What an interesting combination of the spooky and macabre of Halloween and Christmas, perfect for the period in between the two holidays. The images throughout the book are great and it’s interesting to have them from the periods and papers being referenced. I liked that the proven hoaxes and false reporting were pointed out in the chapters to give it a more balanced feel rather than skewing it all to support the author's view on the ghost. I also liked the epilogue bit, especially for King Richard 3 with the more recent findings of his body and potential sighting afterwards. Overall, an interesting read.

Favourite Quote:

“The bleak midwinter is a border between the old year and the new, and borders have always had a mysterious, exotic, or magical quality.”

Comments

Mint and Murder by Carly Winter

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The War of Sober by Edward Rand

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Holly by Stephen King

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Horror, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Fiction Thoughts: I had such mixed feelings coming away from this book. I did love Holly as a character in the other books so I loved seeing more of her personality and the way she worked in depth this time, especially since the last bit I read was only the short story (If It Bleeds). I also thought this book had an even worse monster for Holly to stop since they’re human so it shows the extent of suffering humans can inflict on each other. It was so surreal reading all the elements of COVID after having lived through it as this is the first book I’ve read set in that period. However, there were too many references made to smoking to me as it added nothing to the plot and only padded out the pages, especially since Holly was supposed to have given up already so it’s not like we’d notice it missing. There was also no need for the use of derogatory terms since the monsters were already horrible enough without needing them to be ...

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