St, Germain and Vodka Marry Well

So I want to wish a happy Easter to all of my readers! Even if you don't celebrate it in any form, I hope you can appreciate one or two of the drinks I have made today. I was put in charge of the booze for my family gathering, and what I brought was a big hit with everyone. St. Germain, for those of you who are not aware, is a French liqueur made from elder flowers.  It is a sweet liqueur, and it mixes very well with several things. I made a sangria with it, and a before dinner drink while the sangria was setting. First off, was equal parts St. Germain, vodka, and sprite, although any clear carbonated beverage will do. I also used a rather inexpensive vodka with this; the St. Germain is the dominant flavor in this drink so that didn't matter. Everyone loved it!

And for the main course, was what turned out to be an excellent sangria. What better drink to usher in spring? To make this, you need one bottle of sauvignon blanc, one cup of St. Germain, and fruit. I cut up some local strawberries into bite sized pieces, added some grapes, and orange slices, then put the whole mixture in the refrigerator to chill for twenty minutes, and  voila! It was an excellent accompaniment to a beautiful spring day.

I give St. Germain and the two drinks I made five cocktails!

Girl Blue

When I picked up Girl Blue, I was expecting the typical haunting ghost story, one where the main character would  be tormented by a spirit that has attached itself to an inanimate object that he had the misfortune of acquiring. What I got was so much more than that. If I had one word to describe this novel, it would be sensual. The main character is a sculptor, and the descriptions of the artwork by Nayes make you wish these objects d'art were real and you could reach out and touch them yourself. Art lovers everywhere will be nodding their heads in agreement with the idea that true works of art seem alive.

This was a slow steady read. One where descriptions of tactile sensations had me feeling things right along with the characters, but it did not lack the sense of dread that I like to have with any good horror novel. The chills here were subtle, and the pay off at the end was a good one. I would recommend this book to readers of any genre. 

amazon US

amazon UK

Barnes and Noble

I give it five cocktails.

The Vetala Cycle- A Collected Edition

G.R. Yeates is one of my favorite writers, so it should come as no surprise that I grabbed the collected edition for his first three novels. The Vetala Cycle is the name for the trilogy that contains The Eyes of the Dead, Shapes in the Mist, and Hell's Teeth. These are books that are set during the first world war, and each deals with  a different  aspect of the war. At this time I currently have reviews up of the last two, and plan on reviewing The Eyes of the Dead soon, after I read it for a third time. It should be obvious that I have enjoyed it and I can assure you my review will be a positive one, so I won't go into each of them here. What I will say is that even if you have one, or all three of them already, get this collection! This is much more than a box set. Yeates has included chapter by chapter commentary for each of the books, the short story and creation myth that were found in Hell's Teeth, and a brand new short story that was so bittersweet it brought tears to my eyes. The table of contents is enabled  which allows you to flip through this just like you would in a paper book. So even if you have read one or all of the books, you can jump right to the chapter by chapter commentary that follows each book and short story, and to the new short story as I was eager to do.  Highly recommend this collection!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Vetala-Cycle-Collected-ebook/dp/B007QP4DRS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1333665948&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Vetala-Cycle-Collected-ebook/dp/B007QP4DRS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1333489269&sr=8-4


I give it five cocktails.

High Moor

High Moor by Graeme Reynolds is the only strictly werewolf novel I have ever read, and I really enjoyed it. Most books that include werewolves seem to have them playing secondary roles to vampires, and it was refreshing to read a book that was based solely on them. High Moor was a very character driven novel, and Reynolds takes his time in fleshing out the characters, starting from their early childhood experiences. This is not a happy feel good book; it is quite brutal in fact.  Reynolds does not attempt to sugarcoat anything experienced by the characters and I think that is what makes it resonate so much with a reader. Even though this was a book about werewolves, that sense that things will not always be good and happy in the end added an element of realism that I find is missing in most character driven stories.

Overall this was well paced novel that had a good blend of action and dialogue. I would recommend it to any horror readers as well as anyone who just wants a solid entertaining read.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0957010338/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img

http://www.amazon.co.uk/High-Moor-ebook/dp/B0068NOYM8/ref=sr_1_1?


I give it four cocktails.

Attic Toys

Attic Toys in an anthology from Evil Jester Press, edited by Jeremy C. Shipp. It took seeing two of my favorite authors listed in the table of contents to get me to pick up this anthology, and that is because I have a fear of dolls. Guess what most of these stories are about? That's right, dolls, evil stuffed animals come to life, dolls that want to take over the lives of their owners, all of this and more can be found within the pages of Attic Toys. There were, however, a few stories that I felt were weaker than the others. This did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the anthology, mostly because the good stories in here were, in fact, excellent.

Dreams of a Ragged Doll by Cate Gardner stood out as an absolute gem. It is no secret that she is one of my favorite writers, and stories like this one are why. Her story is wonderfully original and quite disturbing

Give It a Name by Gary McMahon is the second reason why I decided to read this anthology. His story is dark, haunting, and bleak, in other words, quintessential McMahon. Fans of his will not be disappointed, and if you have never read anything by him, now is the time to start.

The Doll Tree by Amelia Mangan was another favorite of mine. This is the first story I have read by her, but I plan on reading some others based on this. Even though dolls terrify me, I couldn't help being captivated by the amazing and disturbing imagery in this story.

Overall this was a good disturbing read, and I recommend grabbing a copy.

http://www.amazon.com/Attic-Toys-Jeremy-C-Shipp/dp/0615614140/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333331634&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Attic-Toys-ebook/dp/B007ILCVQ0/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333331733&sr=1-1


I give it three and half cocktails.

Bad Valentines

Bad Valentines is a collection of three short stories by Steve Vernon. This was an entertaining quick read, and offered something quite different from normal horror fair.
The first story, Change of Pace, features a well meaning bumbling man who just wants to please his wife. Enter his best friend and sidekick, who is full of not so good ideas. This was a very humorous story, and I really did find myself laughing at the characters as they unwittingly set things in motion that would have not so pleasant results.
Then there is Westside Story. This is the second story in this collection, and it is  very tongue in cheek and deals with homophobic FBI agents and love between squids. Yes, I said squids. There is also an assortment of other sentient sea creatures. Again this was another humorous story, although this one takes us in to the world of science fiction.
There is a big change when we get to the third story, Potboiler, Told in a Spanish Key. This one was much darker in tone and more in line with what you would expect from a horror collection. It is said that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, well the woman in this story brought down the wrath of an angry god upon her ex-lover.

As a whole, this was a very enjoyable collection. I will admit to being a bit startled when I got to the third story, as I was expecting another humorous one after reading the first two, but Potboiler was my favorite out of the three.  The three stories do go together in this collection, however, as they all deal with problems in relationships in some fashion. I think it also shows that Vernon has a wide range when it comes to storytelling, and I am looking forward to reading more of his work.

http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Valentines-ebook/dp/B0075XA4HO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1333064592&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bad-Valentines-ebook/dp/B0075XA4HO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333065840&sr=8-1

I give it three and a half cocktails.

Intergalactic Affair

If you are looking for a light and fluffy read that blends romance and scifi, then you will likely enjoy this book. Other than the fact that one of the main characters was born on another planet, Intergalactic Affair treads no new ground. It follows the romance formula of fall in love even though they will deny it at first, then there are problems that keep them apart, and then they overcome said problems for the requisite happy ending. The fact that it followed this formula was not a problem for me, nor will it be for most romance readers. I was looking for something mild, light, and entertaining, and I found it. Recommended for those looking for a quick read that will provide escape for a bit. 

http://www.amazon.com/Intergalactic-Affair-Romantic-Suspense-ebook/dp/B006H9OT6Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332560781&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intergalactic-Affair-Romantic-Suspense-ebook/dp/B006H9OT6Y/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332561335&sr=8-1-spell 

I give it three cocktails.