Misery by Stephen King

Author:  Stephen King

Genre:  Horror, Fiction, Thriller

Reading Experience:  9/10

Story:  8.5/10

Writing:  8/10

My Verdict:  8.5/10

I respect a writer when he or she makes the book come alive.  When a book evokes the same feeling the main character is feeling, or makes the entire atmosphere swallow you whole, then that writer has earned my respect.  Of course, it has to be Stephen King!

The story is simple:Paul Sheldon is a bestselling novelist, famous for his Misery Chastain series.  But his life changes when he was driving through the snow and crashes his car, hurting himself very, very badly.  It's a good thing Annie Wilkes was there!  She has become his nurse since the moment she found him in the wreck.  She takes care of him, nursing him back to health.  And she is also his biggest fan...and his captor.

11/22/63 by Stephen King

Author:  Stephen King

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, 

Suspense, Thriller

Reading Experience:  7/10

Story:  8/10

Writing:  7/10

My Verdict:  7.5/10

We all know what happened that 22nd of November in 1963.  The world stood still and fell silent, to mourn John Fitzgerald Kennedy, as he was assassinated while strolling down the street of Dealy Plaza in Dallas, Texas, in his motorcade.  It shook not only the United States to its core, but also the world.  Every human held their breath, as they watched in horror the development of this tragedy.

Theories and conspiracies began to surface about the man that shot JFK.  Why did he do it?  Was he hired?  Who hired him?  Was it an inside job?  Was he working alone or someone from the government hired him?  They kept coming; more questions and less answers.  But it all lead to the man that pulled the trigger: Lee Harvey Oswald.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Author:  Agatha Christie

Genre:  Mystery, Thriller, Murder Mystery

Target Audience:  All ages, adult

Reading Experience:  9/10

Story:  9/10

Writing:  9/10

My Verdict:  9/10

Bienvenue à l'Orient Express! S'il vous plaît, venez à bord!

Pardon my French, but I couldn't resist!  Even though the train isn't exactly French, I couldn't help it.  The French language has a certain je ne sais quoi, and it kinda fits everywhere!  Okay, I'll stop.  Promise.

Welcome to the Orient Express!  Please, come on board!  (that's what I was trying to say in French.  I have no way of knowing if it's correct, so sorry in advance if you're French).  What we have here is one of the most iconic, well-known story of Agatha Christie's hero, Hercule Poirot!

It's the tenth book of a series of stories and cases led by the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot.  Even though it's the tenth, it's my first and only Poirot novel to date.  And i have to say, Christie has made a fan out of me with her eccentric, one-of-a-kind detective... and that's only with ONE book.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Author:  Shirley Jackson

Genre:  Horror, Paranormal, Supernatural, Gothic

Target Audience:  Adults

Reading Experience:  7.5/10

Story:  7.5/10

Writing:  7.5/10

My Verdict:  8/10

Nothing like a good, old-fashion, haunted house story that makes you question not only the character's sanity in all of the story, but yours as well.  This book is purely psychological; it messes with the character's head, as well as yours.  It leaves you wondering... how much of it was actually real?  

Cell the movie is here!

Remember Stephen King's book Cell?  There's a movie coming out!  This YEAR!  I'm so EXCITED for it!  I was a little worried about the casting, but the trailer proved me that it could become a great adaptation!  Plus, Stephen King himself helped with the screenplay, so you know it's going to be GOOD!  John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson and Isabelle Fuhrman play the main characters in this bloody, action-packed story of a cellphone-caused apocalypse that makes people behave like aggressive monsters, whose only purpose is too kill.  Watch them try to survive here, in the trailer!  AHH!  I can't wait!

If you want to read the book, then check out my review!

Also, you can buy the paperback of Stephen King's Cell here!

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Author:  Gillian Flynn

Genre:  Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Crime, Fiction, Suspense

Target Audience:  Adults

Reading Experience:  8.5/10

Story:  8.5/10

Writing:  8/10

My Verdict:  8.5/10

This should only be categorized as horror.  Pure, raw horror.  I felt like Carrie from Stephen King's novel of the same name, when they poured all that blood on her.  Instead of getting mad, losing my mind and going murderous on everybody present, I was shocked beyond all reason.  Like, literally shocked.  And scared!  I finished the book without any breath left.  I stared at it, in awe of its genius story but horrified of all the things I will never be able to forget after reading it.  Nothing can be unread.  NOTHING.  Once again, Gillian Flynn shows her brilliance in narrative and story-making, and, of course, the unexpected, brilliant, jaw-dropping ending.

Gillian Flynn, you are simply brilliant.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Author:  Gillian Flynn

Genre:  Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Psychological thriller

Target Audience:  Adults

Reading Experience:  8.5/10

Story:  8/10

Writing:  8/10

My Verdict:  8.5/10

Well, I think that after you finish this book, your view of marriage will be forever changed.  Gillian Flynn manages to take you into the mind of a seemingly perfect couple, deep into their psyche, as their marriage goes from the "perfect" union to a harmful one.  It deteriorates, withers and eventually turns into something wicked and downright horrifying.  I won't say anymore because I'll spoil it.  But rest assured, it's jaw-dropping, breathtaking and thrilling (in my opinion).   Makes you think about the fact that people like this actually exist.  Makes you think that things like this can actually happen.  It's a scary thing, my fellow Bookworms.  Very, very scary.

The Minority Report by Philip K. Dick

Author:  Philip K. Dick

Genre:  Science Fiction, Short Story, Mystery, Thriller

Target Audience:  Adults

Reading Experience:  9/10

Story:  8.5/10

Writing:  8/10

My Verdict:  8.5/10

I'll be brief with this review since this book is actually only around 100 pages long and I don't want to spoil it for you.  This book is directed mostly towards Sci-Fi lovers, and mystery/thriller lovers.  And it's actually not complete novel, it's a short story.  This story is written by Philip K. Dick, who is often considered a revolutionary mind of futuristic stories and novels (he wrote the Man in the High Castle... 'nuff said).

World War Z by Max Brooks

Author:  Max Brooks

Genre:  Zombie, Apocalyptic, Horror

Target Audience:  Adults

Reading Experience:  7.5/10

Story:  7.5/10

Writing:  7/10

My Verdict:  7.5/10

I thought I may review this book, since it was a very interesting read.  I read this book a year or two before the movie came out (in 2013), so even though I don't remember everything in the book, I remember plenty enough to say that the book was really good.  It's not a favorite, but it was a very, very good read.  I liked it, a LOT.

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Paranormal

Target Audience: Adults

Reading Experience: 9/10

Story: 8.5/10

Writing: 8/10

My Verdict: 9/10

Okay, I'm going to review my all-time favorite book of Stephen King: Pet Sematary.  Yes, it's spelled like that, and it makes sense when you read the book.  It's actually my highest-rated book so far, and it deserves such a rating.  Anyway, I haven't read many Stephen King books (yet), but to date, it's my favorite.  It was the only book to actually give me chills (that forest scene... man, I still have nightmares with that scene!).

Zoo by James Patterson

Author: James Patterson

Genre:  Thriller, Science Fiction, Horror, Mystery

Target Audience:  Adults

Reading Experience:  7.5/10

Story:  8/10

Writing:  7/10

My Verdict:  7.5/10

Who hasn't heard of James Patterson?  I mean, the man has books virtually EVERYWHERE.  It scares me whenever I want to find out how many books he has written to date.  Because if I'm ever hooked, I won't be able to keep up.  I'm still trying to cope with the fact that I recently became a Stephen King fan; keeping up with his writings will be a challenge.  And don't get me started on Dean Koontz!

Cell by Stephen King

Give me a second.  Let me put my cellphone away.  I'm just going to hide it in the bottom of the clothes' hamper and put it all in the closet.  I'm going to close the closet doors and sit as far away from it as possible.  Okay... now I'm ready.

Stephen King's Cell.  You know the man, and you know that his name is synonymous to blood, violence, horror and brilliant storytelling.  This book was no exception.  It had all of those and much, much, more.

I love apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic stories.  I've never actually read a book with that theme, so when I came across this book in the internet, knowing it was a zombie-like novel AND knowing it was written by the great Stephen king, I decided to give it a go without a second thought.

The story is simple yet engaging and fascinating in a gory way.  I'll draw a scene for you.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

"Welcome, to Jurassic Park!"

You can hear it, can you?  The fanfare?  You hear it while you picture yourself in the Toyota Land Cruisers, which are painted bright green with stripes.  It's automated and you move through dense vegetation, in a secluded island off the coast of Costa Rica, and you near a large, wooden gate.  As you get closer, the music gets louder, the gates open and you go through it.  You have time to look up and notice how colossal it is.

Then you're inside.  Nature stretches before you and all around you. You have arrived, you're finally there, back in time, eons!

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

I thought I would review one of my favorite thrillers so far (besides Gone Girl).  The Girl on the Train is a fast-paced, engaging thriller that hooks you from the first chapter.  Without giving too much away, the story is about Rachel, a girl stuck in time and routine, lamenting everything she has lost and regretting the person she has become because of it.  Rachel takes the same commuting train every day, twice a day.  The same thing over and over.  The only thing that gets her through the day is watching a couple - who she names Jess and Jason, since she doesn't know them - every time she reaches one of her stops.  She sees their life, how perfect it is.  It is nostalgic to her.  She used to have a life like that, once upon a time. and she enjoys watching Jess and Jason as they have breakfast, as they embrace, as they smile and love each other.  It's all perfect.  She evens creates imaginary lives for them: their families, their personalities and their hobbies.  There is no need to meet them personally.  Beauty can be admired from afar.

The Shining by Stephen King

Ah!  The Shining!  Everybody knows the title and the horror it represents.  Everybody has heard of it at least once.  The first thing that comes to mind is the scene where Jack Torrance tries to bring down a door with an ax while his wife screams helplessly on the other side.  And that's the image people who haven't seen it get upon hearing the name.  Those that have seen it, like myself?  We recall the cascade of blood from the elevators, the ghost in the bathtub, the twins, the creepy hotel... and of course, REDRUM.


What about the book?  The book was WAY better than the movie.  But I will only review the book for now.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

I thought it would only be fair to review one of my favorite books next: And Then There Were None, by the brilliant Agatha Christie.  This one is short, I promise (JaJa).  If I write too much about it, I may give away the plot twists and ending, so I'll be brief.

I came across this book when I was searching for books with "great and unexpected plot twists".  This book appeared on all of the lists I came across, so I decided to give it a go.  It did not disappoint.  It had me guessing to the very end.

Making the description as brief as possible, it's the story of ten people that find themselves summoned to an island (called Indian Island) for different reasons by a millionaire host going by the name of U.N. Owen.  These people come from different parts and different worlds, but they share one thing: a wicked, dark secret, that they guard very carefully.  

But when the host never shows up, the group of people become restless.  Each of their secrets are laid bare for all to see, and the atmosphere becomes cold and tense.  What is the meaning of this?!  Then the first guest dies.  Panic ensues.  These people have no communication with the outside world whatsoever, and they can only leave by boat, which hasn't arrived yet.  At the peak of their panic, when they are trying to make sense of what happened, another falls.  Then another...

The remaining guests start pointing fingers (like we will do, as we read the book) only to come face to face with dead ends and brilliant twists.  Who is behind everything?