Shelf Control | Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Shelf Control is a feature at Bookshelf Fantasies where we confess each week the books we have on our shelves that we haven't read. This week I'm going with a classic.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again."

So the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter remembered the chilling events that led her down the turning drive past the beeches, white and naked, to the isolated gray stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast. With a husband she barely knew, the young bride arrived at this immense estate, only to be inexorably drawn into the life of the first Mrs. de Winter, the beautiful Rebecca, dead but never forgotten...her suite of rooms never touched, her clothes ready to be worn, her servant -- the sinister Mrs. Danvers -- still loyal. And as an eerie presentiment of the evil tightened around her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter began her search for the real fate of Rebecca...for the secrets of Manderley.

I always keep Rebecca in that stack of books I hope to read next. She's RIGHT THERE waiting to be read, but it still hasn't happened.

Have you read Rebecca?

If you ever want to buddy read a book I've mentioned on Shelf Control, please let me know!

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This post is being shared as part of Bookshelf Fantasies's Shelf Control?

Book Review | The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner is a YA dystopian novel by James Dashner. It is also the first book in the Maze Runner series.

If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Everything is going to change.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run.

Take this review with a grain of salt.

I tried to read The Maze Runner back in January with no luck. I couldn't get into it at all, and I decided it wasn't for me.

This past month, however, my hubs wanted to watch the movie. I have strict rules against watching a movie before I read the book, but since I had no intentions of reading the book, I thought what the hey. It's not often hubs is requesting one of "my" movies so I went with it.

Here's the kicker - I really liked the movie. So much so that I wanted to read the book.

The book was much easier for me to get into this time around because it was more like a reread. I was also listening to it on audio with a good narrator so it was altogether a nice read for me.

I can't say what my original rating would have been if I had forced my way through it, but I do know my interest in this series is high right now. I just need to decide if I'm going to read The Scorch Trials now or stick with watching the movies.

6/10: Good Read

Have you read The Maze Runner? What about the movie - have you seen it? I'm really looking forward to The Scorch Trials. I'm leaning more toward doing the movie again, though.

September 28 | Currently Reading

In case you missed it, last week I posted my review of Darkness Rising by Brian Moreland. I also talked about the one book I should have read by now.

Last week was a light reading week. I felt book funkish all week. I bounced around between a few books, but nothing really stuck. I did read Katherine Applegate's Crenshaw. She's the author who wrote The One and Only Ivan. Crenshaw was pretty heartwrenching. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.

I'm not sure what book is going to pull me out of my funk, but I do plan on starting Seize the Night: New Tales of Vampiric Terror this week.

What about you? What are you reading this week? Be sure to let me know in the comments or leave me a link!

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This post is being shared as part of Book Journey's It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Book Review | Darkness Rising by Brian Moreland

Darkness Rising is a horror novel by Brian Moreland.

It’s all fun and games until...

Marty Weaver, an emotionally scarred poet, has been bullied his entire life. When he drives out to the lake to tell an old friend that he’s fallen in love with a girl named Jennifer, Marty encounters three sadistic killers who have some twisted games in store for him. But Marty has dark secrets of his own buried deep inside him. And tonight, when all the pain from the past is triggered, when those secrets are revealed, blood will flow and hell will rise.

Why did I read Darkness Rising?

The reviews. It's hard to pass up a new horror release that is getting great reviews.

The Strengths

I love imaginative horror. Now, there is a lot of gory slasher horror in Darkness Rising, too, but there is also some of that coveted original horror I don't find very often.

The main character becomes something awesome.

Love and light. I love when light is well placed in a horror novel. Light reminds us of how dark the darkness can be, and darkness reminds us of how much we need the light.

The Weaknesses

The characters were very immature. The college setting felt far more like grade school. It wasn't just the young adults, though, it was everyone. The killers, the victims, the bystanders, the coworkers. Unfortunately this spilled over into the horror, too, and it made a lot of the shock gore and drug use come off as annoying.

The exposition. The dialog in this book killed me. There is no way the characters (especially in the circumstances they were in) would have spent that much time telling each other information they would already know.

There was also a lot of inconsistency regarding the main character and the dark entity Cerulean.

Would I recommend Darkness Rising to others?

Yes. In the end, the good outweighed the bad in Darkness Rising. There were flaws for me, but some of the good was so good I'd recommend it to horror fans.

6/10 Good Read

Review copy provided by publisher

Shelf Control | Ghost Story by Peter Straub

Bookshelf Fantasies has a new feature called Shelf Control where we share the books we have on our shelves that we've never read. This week I thought I would share the book I'm most shocked I still haven't read.

Ghost Story by Peter Straub

In life, not every sin goes unpunished.

For four aging men in the terror-stricken town of Milburn, New York, an act inadvertently carried out in their youth has come back to haunt them. Now they are about to learn what happens to those who believe they can bury the past -- and get away with murder.

Peter Straub's classic bestseller is a work of "superb horror" (The Washington Post Book World) that, like any good ghost story, stands the test of time -- and conjures our darkest fears and nightmares.

This is the one book of all books that I should have read by now. Nothing tops a good ghost story for me, and this obvious selection sits on my shelf unread. I can't imagine what I'm saving it for.

Not only is Ghost Story considered a must read ghost novel, it's a must read horror novel in general. Basically, this is me failing at books.

Have you ever read Ghost Story? Is there a book that is a perfect fit for you that you have no excuse for not having read yet?

If you ever want to buddy read a book I've mentioned on Shelf Control, please let me know!

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This post is being shared as part of Bookshelf Fantasies's Shelf Control?