Saturday 10 January 2015

Frozen Charlotte (Red Eye Series #1) - Alex Bell; Review


Book Details:
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Stripes Publishing (5th Jan 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1847154530
ISBN-13: 978-1847154538
Source: Purchased/Review/Gift

Summary:

We're waiting for you to come and play. Dunvegan School for Girls has been closed for many years. Converted into a family home, the teachers and students are long gone. But they left something behind...Sophie arrives at the old schoolhouse to spend the summer with her cousins. Brooding Cameron with his scarred hand, strange Lilias with a fear of bones and Piper, who seems just a bit too good to be true. And then there's her other cousin. The girl with a room full of antique dolls. The girl that shouldn't be there. The girl that died.

Links To Buy:




Rating:
Review

Thank you firstly, for Stripes Publishing for involving me in the promotion for the new horror series they’re publishing, Red Eye, which features 4 books from individual authors, the first of which is Frozen Charlotte. 

Dolls have always been a bit of an ehhhh kind of thing for me. I feel like everyone has a doll story, of whether they had one they loved, or one that scared them. Mine is middle ground. I used to have one as a kid, a bald baby doll that would cry when you tipped it sideways. Then one day, when I was around 5 or 6, I saw this Indian horror movie that was about a killer doll *insert scoffing here* which at that time, scared the beejezus out of me, and of course, out went the doll, from my house and life 5eva. 

When I got an email about this book, upon reading the premise, my initial reaction was “oh no, not dolls”. Having read the book, I’m still thinking, “oh no, really, not dolls”. 

Frozen Charlotte is creepy, I’ll give you that. I’m what people refer to as a seasoned horror movie lover, and given my inability to get scared, almost ever, I think my lack of scare from this book stems from that. However, Frozen Charlotte will give you some definite creeper moments. With engaging and easy to read writing, you’ll find yourself drawn to the story one way or another. With an old folk song tale weaved in to the story and present day ouija board shenanigans, I feel like you get a taste of both past and present in a neat way. Set mainly on an isolated Scottish Island, I felt like the backdrop was great to add a touch of extra creepiness to the story. 

I liked the voice that our main character, Sophie had and I felt like there were a strong array of characters and events littered throughout the story to keep your interest; from the mystery of what happened to Jay, the creepy ass dolls and the dealio with Sophie’s cousins, all which tie in together. I would have liked more depth to the characters, and maybe I’m having an off day and didn’t find myself drawn into the romance element, but I don’t think that brings the book down by much since the main focus wasn’t about the broody and handsome guy.

I could almost imagine this book being played out as a movie, one with a lot of silence and creep-up-on-you scenes. Maybe some twists in the book were predictable, or maybe I’ve just seen too many horror movies and read too many creepypasta stories, but nonetheless, it’s a refreshing change to have more horror stories on the market, as it’s a genre that I’d love to read more on and I’m looking forward to the 4 other books in the series! Come back to the blog on Monday to see my review for another horror tale, Sleepless. 

Also keep an eye out for further releases coming this year, Flesh and Blood by Simon Cheshire, and Bad Bones by Graham Marks are in the works for this coming March and May.

In the meantime, check out the Red Eye series trailer here.

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