Review: Dark Carnival (Hawker's Drift book 2) by Andy Monk

Description:
The carnival has come to town...

“After the sun goes down the pleasures here are darker. A man takes his wifey and kiddies to the Day Carnival an keeps em entertained, but he’ll creep back here under the moon for his own pleasures... we got just about anything a heart might desire. A girl, a boy, a nip, a smoke, a sniff, a snort, a turned card, a rolled dice... However a man cares to burn his money, we got a fire stoked and ready for him…” 

At the same time, on the same day, every year, the wagon’s of Thomas Rum’s travelling carney roll into Hawker’s Drift and the town celebrates the 4th of July. But beyond the games and rides, the carousels and candy apple stalls, the bunco booths and fortune-tellers, the jugglers and clowns there is another show that only comes to life at night. 

The sequel to The Burden of Souls takes the inhabitants of Hawker’s Drift on a dark ride as the Mayor continues to manipulate their souls for his own mysterious purposes. And as Amos the Gunslinger is drawn into the heart of the Dark Carnival he’ll glimpse the secrets behind the town of Hawker’s Drift as well as his own terrible demons. 

Book Two of the Hawker’s Drift series.


My Thoughts:
This series. Wow. This was just an engrossing story that pulled me right in. There is an interesting bunch of characters and I was caught up in each person's story. They are all part of something larger and sinister with the Mayor behind it. I spent the book caught up in the little stories while at the same time trying to figure out the big picture. Very mysterious. I thoroughly enjoyed and I know that Stephen King fans will enjoy this series. Just be sure to start with The Burden  of Souls. I will be impatiently awaiting book 3.

My Rating: *****
Steam Factor: !!
*Notes: Language, dark subject matter.

My Source: author



Where to get it:

Amazon


Where to find the author:

Website  | Facebook | Goodreads

Burden of Souls: Hawker's Drift Book 1 by Andy Monk

Description:
Small Town, Dark Heart…

A long way from anywhere, on a road going nowhere, lays a small, unremarkable town. It seems a peaceable, prosperous little place, on the surface at least. Away from prying eyes however, in the shadows and the forgotten corners, there is a web being weaved through the lives of its inhabitants by the town’s urbane and mysterious Mayor. A man prepared to make a deal for your heart's desire and, maybe, for your very soul…

Welcome to Hawker’s Drift, a town where nothing is quite as it seems…


My Thoughts:
Intriguing story about a mysterious little town. The point of view switches between the different characters in the town such as the gunslinger, the widow, the songbird. We slowly learn about the characters and their backgrounds and they help us to get the big picture. This is the kind of story that, even though you're not quite sure what's happening, you can't help but want to read on. Plenty of little twists that assure you that even though you think you have things figured out, you have no idea. Excellent read. Reminded me of a Stephen King novel.  I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book.


My Rating: *****
Steam Factor: !!
*Notes: Language, rape.

My Source: author


Where to get it:

Amazon | Amazon UK


Where to find the author:

Website | Facebook | Goodreads

Review: The Love of Monsters by Andy Monk

The Love of Monsters (In the Absence of Light #4) by Andy Monk

Description:
All roads end...

Caleb Cade, liar, thief, womaniser and sharper of hearts has fled into the night many times before, but always alone and never pursued by monsters, both vampire and human.

Now he must care for the wounded Morlaine and nurse her back to health whilst keeping them safe from a world that would see them both dead. Their only protection the anonymity of the road and the wits of a man well practised in disappearing from sight.

Caleb knows his salvation rests in his love for a woman who does not appear to be capable of the emotion. Her love could bring him redemption while her rejection could finally destroy him. But just how do you make a monster love you?

Where the road leads Caleb will follow, on a journey that will take him back to his past and deliver him to his future; a journey which will teach him that there is a high price to pay for the love of monsters.

Book Four of the dark romance series In the Absence of Light; a story of love, loss, vampires and the black hearts of men.

My Thoughts:
A worthy conclusion to the Absence of Light series. I have loved this series so much. Dark, gritty, and historical with a twist of paranormal and horror. Caleb Cade's story finally comes to an end. He grows so much over the course of the series. I was worried for a while where the story was going, but you just never know what is going to happen. I was pleased with the way things turned out. And I may have teared up once or twice. I definitely highly recommend this series, but start with King of the Winter. (My reviews are a bit messed up as Ghosts in the Blood has since been split up into two books.)

My Rating: *****
Steam Factor: !!!!!
*Notes: Language, blood and gore.

My Source: author

Where to get it:

Where to find the author:
Website
Goodreads

Review: Ghosts in the Blood by Andy Monk

Ghosts in the Blood (In The Absence of Light #2) by Andy Monk

Description:
Monsters live behind all manner of masks.

Dr Rothery and his friends are probably insane, but Caleb has agreed to help them in their search for the vampiric essence so he can stay close to the Doctor’s wild and intoxicating daughter. That is what he tries to tell himself anyway.

Could the vampiric essence free him from the grave and allow him to find love? Or is that just the ghost of Louis Defane living in his blood, whispering madness in his mind?

When Rothery and his colleagues capture a vampire alive, Caleb travels with them to Captain Lazziard’s remote manor house where there will be no prying eyes to watch them work. As they apply their curiosity to the creature they chain in the cellar, Caleb is increasingly unsure who the real monsters are.

When people begin to die Caleb must decide where his loyalties lie; but are his perceptions being manipulated by the ghost in his blood, his own selfish desires for immortality or the fact that the creature Rothery is experimenting on happens to be the most beautiful woman he has ever seen…

My Thoughts:
If you have not read King of the Winter (In the Absence of Light #1) you should start there. You can see my review here. That is the book where we get to know who Caleb is and how he came to be that way. In this installment he has joined a band of vampire hunters. Oh, Caleb. I want to like him and hate him at the same time. He doesn't want to continue on the path he has set for himself, but he doesn't want that badly to change, either. He is a self-professed coward and quite comfortable with being a theif, liar, and user of women. He tells himself he wants to be a better man, but doesn't always follow through. All he really wants is love, but doesn't think he is capable of it, so he will grab whatever comes his way.

This is a dark tale about vampires and human nature. It doesn't shy away from the gritty realities of life. (It is quite graphic at times.) There is a slow build and all of the details serve to heighten the suspense and I was quite surprised by the ending. Can't wait for the next book to see how the series will end! I recommend for anyone who likes dark, psychological stories.

My Rating: *****
Steam Factor: !!!!
*Notes: Strong language, blood, violence, gore, and references to rape.

My Source: author

Where to get it:
Amazon
Amazon UK

Where to find the author:
Andy Monk
 

Review: The King of the Winter by Andy Monk

The King of the Winter (In the Absence of Light #1) by Andy Monk

Description:

The road has brought him home.

Running from a broken heart and the hangman’s noose he followed the road across Europe; searching for happiness in a pretty girl’s smile, the turn of a card and the depths of a brandy glass. Instead he became a womaniser, and then a thief living behind a charmer’s mask until, finally, the road ensnared him in insanity and murder. 

It is 1708, the Age of The Enlightenment, and, in the shadow of the nearly completed St Paul’s Cathedral, Caleb Cade has returned to London a broken man; incapable of love and terrified of the grave, his only friend the half imagined ghost of his dead brother.

The road has now brought him home for there is nowhere left to run and his only hope of redemption is to find the man he might have been.

Haunted by his own ghosts and demons, he relives the events that led to him fleeing England twenty years before whilst trying to make sense of the selfish wasted life he has lived.

He is befriended by a fellow libertine who shows him that not only is it still possible for him to feel love, but that he could also free him from the grave and the clutches of The King of the Winter who has been waiting patiently for him for so many years.

When love and immortality are snatched from his grasp his friend is revealed to be a monster even more broken by love than Caleb. Although he knows what he felt was just a vampire’s trick, what price would he pay to feel such love again…

My Thoughts:
Caleb is a thief, womanizer, and gambler and is basically not a good guy. He ends up being likable anyway and I found myself rooting for him to get his life figured out. There is sort of a slow build to the story. In the beginning, I wasn't sure where it was going, but the author paints a vivid picture of what Caleb's life is like. The story alternates with Caleb's earlier life and it shows how he became the person he is at present. It is so well done that you can't help but read on to get all the pieces of the puzzle to try to figure Caleb out. There are some excellent twists that I didn't see coming. It is a long book, but I was disappointed when it ended because I wanted more. The second book is out already (which is good because I need to read it) and a third book is due out in the new year.

My Rating: *****
Steam Factor: ***
*Notes: Some profanity and crude language.

My Source: author

Where to get it:
Amazon
Amazon UK

Where to find the author:
Andy Monk