Ravens in the Rain: A Noir Love Story by Christie Santo & Jeff Santo

 

Lucky me, new authors, Christie Santo and Jeff Santo reached out to me via email and asked me if I'd be interested in reading and reviewing their recently released novel, Ravens in the Rain: A Noir Love Story for my blog. 

After reading more about Ravens in the Rain: A Noir Love Story, I said, yes, to their offer as their novel sounded intriguing to me. I was able to download the audio version of Ravens in the Rain: A Noir Love Story by Christie Santo and Jeff Santo for FREE from Audible and finished listening to it in two days time!!

Listening time for Ravens in the Rain: A Noir Love Story by Christie Santo & Jeff Santo is 5 hours, 41 minutes and is narrated by the authors.

Below is my honest, unbiased review for Ravens in the Rain: A Noir Love Story by Christie Santo & Jeff Santo.

If you are a fan of mysteries, love stories, and noir fiction, then I think you'll like reading Ravens in the Rain: A Noir Love Story by Christie Santo & Jeff Santo. The writing is solid from the beginning through to the very end. I felt the authors developed the main characters really well and made them pop. The plot kept me captivated and wanting to see the story through to the end.

I urge readers to listen to the audio edition of Ravens in the Rain: A Noir Love Story by Christie Santo & Jeff Santo. The audiobook feels like listening to a noir film and is well read by both authors. Jeff Santo reads most of the book with Christie Santo reading the lines for the female main character... And the dialogue between characters is fun!

Below is the YouTube video of the Virtual Book Launch / Book Reading - Ravens In The Rain with the authors:

Below is a summary for Ravens in the Rain: A Noir Love Story by Christie Santo & Jeff Santo from Audible:

Ravens in the Rain is an unconventional noir love story between a woman with a past and a man with no future where love is no fairy tale, fantasy is foreplay, and sex is had on second dates.

Carney and Pru, down on luck and down on love, meet over a game of chance, and the mystery of the other's intentions, compounded by their overwhelming attraction toward each other, compels them into a game of cat and mouse. They ante up and play this game of love or survival that has you wondering who's the villain and who's the hero and how it will all play out. When murder is brought to their doorstep the game gets serious.

A psychological tale between a poet and a filmmaker that has even the cat wondering if it's really the mouse, what is real, and who is telling the truth. Is love on the table? Or is it life?

I am giving Ravens in the Rain: A Noir Love Story by Christie Santo & Jeff Santo a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

 

Ravens in the Rain Book Trailer!

As a book blogger, I periodically receive requests from authors or publishers to read and review upcoming or recently released books here on Captivated Reader.

This kind of situation is a win-win for all parties involved in my opinion. I receive a free copy of the book in exchange for giving an honest review of the book. Plus, readers of my blog may discover a new book they may enjoy reading.

This morning, I was able to download the unabridged Audible edition of Ravens in the Rain by Christie and Jeff Santo for FREE from the authors. Ravens in the Rain is a a recently released novel and is considered a noir love story.

I look forward to listening to and reviewing Ravens in the Rain here on my blog once I've had a chance to listen to it. In the meantime, enjoy watching the above book trailer on YouTube about Ravens in the Rain. It looks to be a very good read.

Mary Shelly's House of Frankenstein Museum has opened in Bath, England!!

 

How did I not hear about Mary Shelly's House of Frankenstein Museum in Bath, England sooner? This attraction recently opened in July 2021 and it sounds amazing!! I would love to visit this immersive museum in person some day.

Watch the brief video above about Mary Shelly's House of Frankenstein Museum. Additionally, click on the above link to check out this museum's website.

The Vampire's Assistant (Cirque du Freak #2) by Darren Shan

I read and reviewed Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare (Cirque du Freak #1) by Darren Shan last month. I totally enjoyed this children's book and decided to continue the Cirque du Freak series for the Fright Fall Readathon during the month of October... And what better way to celebrate the upcoming Halloween holiday than by reading a spooky novel with vampires, the wolf man, and other nonhuman creatures?

I listened to the unabridged audio version of The Vampire's Assistant (Cirque du Freak #2) by Darren Shan and narrated by Ralph Lister.

Once again, Ralph Lister's narration proved to be superb. Ralph Lister narrated the previous novel in the Cirque du Freak series as well. 

The writing for The Vampire's Assistant is wonderfully delightful! I can see why it has been a popular series for children over the years. The characters are fun and well developed. I liked the storyline very much for The Vampire's Assistant.

The main character, Darren Shan (half vampire), is very lonely traveling alone with Mr. Crepsley (a full vampire) from place to place. So Mr. Crepsley decides to return to the Cirque du Freak with Darren so that Darren may make friends with children his own age at the circus. Of course, many adventures and misadventures ensue along the way, which make for great fun to read about.

Below is the summary for The Vampire's Assistant (Cirque du Freak #2) by Darren Shan from Audible:

The nightmare continues for the new vampire's assistant in the second installment of the New York Times best-selling Saga of Darren Shan.

Darren Shan was just an ordinary schoolboy until his visit to the Cirque du Freak. Now, as he struggles with his new life as a vampire's assistant, he tries desperately to resist the one temptation that sickens him, the one thing that can keep him alive. But destiny is calling. The Wolf Man is waiting.

I am giving The Vampire's Assistant (Cirque du Freak #2) by Darren Shan a rating of 5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

California Book Club Presents Maxine Hong Kingston Discussing Her Legendary Memoir, 'The Woman Warrior'

 

I admit that I have yet  to read The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston. But her memoir is currently on my reading wishlist.

On Thursday, October 21, 2021, I enjoyed attending another wonderful virtual author event hosted by the California Book Club.

After hearing Maxine Hong Kingston discuss her memoir, The Woman Warrior, which was published in 1976, I want to read it more than ever. It sounds so unique in terms of how a memoir is normally written.

Have you read The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston? If so, what did you think of it?

Dolly: A Ghost Story by Susan Hill

Once again, I've chosen another horror themed audiobook to listen to during the month of October in honor of Halloween. This time it is a "ghost themed" audiobook titled, Dolly: A Ghost Story by Susan Hill and narrated by Cameron Stewart.

Dolly: A Ghost Story by Susan Hill is a short story and listening time is 3 hours, 16 minutes. This audiobook started out slowly, but soon picked up rather quickly and grabbed my attention. The story itself is told through Edward's point of view as he recounts his life pertaining to part of his youth spent with his aunt and young cousin, Lenora, and how this time period effected events his life and Lenora's as well. 

I didn't like the two main characters, Edward or Lenora, very much. Although, I did have a lot of sympathy for Edward's character. Anyway, I wasn't keen on many of the characters in Dolly, mainly because most of them didn't have much depth to them or they were too one dimensional. 

The ending for Dolly: A Ghost Story by Susan Hill was intriguing, but  not what I was expecting. This is the second short story I've read and reviewed by Susan Hill. I think I'll pass on anything else written by her in the future.

Below is the plot summary for Dolly: A Ghost Story by Susan Hill from Audible:

A chilling ghost story from the author of The Woman in Black, set in a crumbling English house...

The remoter parts of the English Fens are forlorn, lost, and damp even in the height of summer. At Iyot Lock, a large decaying house, two young cousins, Leonora and Edward, are parked for the summer with their aging spinster aunt and her cruel housekeeper. At first the unpleasantness and petty meanness appear simply spiteful, calculated to destroy Edward's equanimity. But when the spoiled Leonora is not given the birthday present of a specific dolly that she wants, affairs inexorably take a much darker turn with terrifying, life-destroying consequences for everyone.

I am giving Dolly: A Ghost Story by Susan Hill a rating of 2 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!!

 

Shadow on the Sun by Richard Matheson

 

In 2012, I listened to a collection of short stories written by Richard Matheson titled, The Box: Uncanny Stories by Richard Matheson, which was my first experience with Matheson's writing. I enjoyed The Box and have been meaning to read something else written by Richard Matheson ever since. 

I finally decided to give the unabridged audio version of Shadow on the Sun by Richard Matheson a go and loved this western/horror themed novel a lot... I enjoyed it more than I thought I would actually as generally westerns and horror books aren't big draws for me as a genre.

I really liked the setting for Shadow on the Sun. This novel is set in the southwest in the 1800s. It deals with the tense relations between Native Americans and a remote frontier community. A supernatural being begins to cause major trouble shortly after a truce agreement is drawn between the Native Americans and a remote frontier community making the frontier community fear that the Native Americans have decided not to uphold their end of the truce agreement between the two communities. When an unknown stranger arrives at the frontier community looking for a particular individual and acting strangely, the people begin to take notice... especially, when supernatural events start occurring.

I loved how Richard Matheson builds tension and suspense throughout Shadow on the Sun. Shadow on the Sun is a short read, but filled with great writing and storytelling.

Below is the plot summary for Shadow on the Sun by Richard Matheson from Audible:

Southwest Arizona, a century ago: an uneasy truce exists between the remote frontier community of Picture City and the neighboring Apaches. That delicate peace is shredded when the bodies of two white men are found hideously mutilated. The angry townspeople are certain the “savages” have broken the treaty, but Billjohn Finley, the local Indian agent, fears that darker, more unholy forces may be at work. There’s a tall, dark stranger in town, who rode in wearing the dead men’s clothes. A stranger who may not be entirely human.

Originally published as a mass-market Western in 1994, Shadow on the Sun has been largely overlooked by horror fans and general readers. But this tale of supernatural terror is sure to chill the blood of Matheson’s many fans.

I am giving Shadow on the Sun by Richard Matheson a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

The Torment of Rachel Ames by Jeff Gunhus

 

The Torment of Rachel Ames by Jeff Gunhus is another audiobook that has been on my radar for a long time now. I finally decided to listen to the unabridged audio version this month as a way too ease into the Halloween spirit.

I think the storyline/plot summary is what initially drew me to The Torment of Rachel Ames by Jeff Gunhus. Overall, I felt this novella missed the mark in terms of how the storyline was executed. Early on, I became disinterested in what was happening to the main character and where the story was headed. To be honest, I almost gave up on this audiobook a couple of times. The last few chapters were the most captivating in my opinion.

Listening time for The Torment of Rachel Ames by Jeff Gunhus is 4 hours, 21 minutes. I did not like Lisa Stathoplos as a narrator, so I will try to avoid audiobooks with her as a narrator in the future.

Below is the summary for The Torment of Rachel Ames by Jeff Gunhus from Audible:

Suffering from writer's block, novelist Rachel Ames escapes to a lake cabin to calm her mind and regain a sense of herself. The location is perfect. Isolated. Beautiful. Inspiring. It even comes with a good-looking landlord who shows an interest in her. But she can't shake the sense that something terrible has followed her to the lake, something just beyond her consciousness, something out on the edge where the sounds of a raging fire and sirens linger whenever she slows down to listen. Determined to make the cabin work, she tries to settle in and give her new life a chance. But when strange things begin to happen around her, she wonders if she's made a terrible mistake. As the darkness that's followed her manifests itself in inexplicable ways, her concept of reality is stretched thin and she realizes nothing at the lake is what it seems. As she fights to survive with her sanity intact, she understands too late that the location she's chosen for herself is far from perfect.

I am giving The Torment of Rachel Ames by Jeff Gunhus a rating of 2 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!