Karen E. Taylor

**I received a copy of this novel as part of a horror anthology, Modern Magic, from Falstaff Books via NetGalley in return for an honest, fair review.**


Laura Wagner notices some strange things about her new house in Woodland Heights. Phantom hands grabbing her in the cellar. Voices urging her that she would be better off dead. Weird sounds interrupting her phone calls. Disturbing nightmares about her children. A recovering alcoholic and prescription drug addict, Laura thinks the voices and strange things she sees in her house are just hallucinations brought on by getting clean during a month's stay in rehab. But soon she realizes that there is more to what's happening to her than just her body recovering from chemical and alcohol abuse.

This story, masterfully written by Karen Taylor, is incredibly creepy. It builds slowly, delving into the personal demons plaguing Laura Wagner -- her divorce, alcohol, valium, past mistakes, losing custody of her children. Her nightmares, hallucinations and suicidal thoughts seem to be part of her addiction recovery, but slowly morphs from hallucination to haunting. Culminating in a wonderfully creepy surprise ending, this novel is a must-read for supernatural horror lovers!

I was caught up in this story from chapter 1. At first I was pulled in by concern for the main character, but the creepy factor of this story snuck up behind me, catching me by surprise. The pacing was perfect. The creepy-stuff-happens-in-the-basement plot has been used before, but Taylor makes it her own, adding a new spin on an old storyline.

All in all, a great horror novel!!

Cellar is a re-issue of Taylor's earlier novel, Twelve Steps from Darkness. The author says the story is basically the same, but has been edited and expanded, adding new scenes and an epilogue.

Learn more about this book and Karen E. Taylor on her website: www.karenetaylor.com… (más)

Review as posted at http://www.myparanormalbookreview.blo...

Thirst combines two books (The Vampire Vivienne and Resurrection) of The Vampire Legacy Series. Viviene Courbet is the main character in The Vampire Vivienne of Thirst. Taylor takes the readers back in time to the 17th Century, then moves into present day. In the 17th Century, Viviene becomes a vampire, manages a brothel and falls in love. Her love, Eduard, becomes a victim of the French Revolution. Then the readers are thrust forward to present day. Vivienne is the head of the Cadre, an vampire organization. The Cadre becomes under attack from a group called the Others. Vivienne and other vampires meet to discuss how to handle the Others. When the Others leader shows up to interrupt their meeting, I expected a exciting fight and intense emotions. However, the confrontation ended without any excitement or emotion.

Resurrection focuses on Deirdre Griffin and her lover, Mitch. All the vampires are in hiding for two reasons: the public knows of the existence of vampires and the Others hunt them. Deirdre is poisoned by the Others and starts to lose her memory. Again, their is very limited action in Resurrection. The story is told from Deidre's POV. Taylor uses the same scenery (Abbey ruins) over, over, and over. After awhile, I tired of the Abbey.

Overall, Thirst was an average book. Parts of the book bored me and I pushed myself to continue reading. Will I continue to read other books in the series? Probably not. However, other readers will more than likely enjoy this series. It just wasn't for me.

The publisher provided me with a copy of Thirst in return for an honest review. Thanks for allowing me to read Thirst.… (más)

I initially wanted to review this book because of it's exquisite cover. I'm a sucker for book covers!! They say you can't judge a book by it's cover but when dealing with actual books that's how it ends up in your hand. I thought if the cover of this book had me at first glance then I can only imagine how the inside can be. So I got in touch with the author and to my surprise she agreed to let me review it. I was so excited!! It's taken me a long while to get in the mood of reading again but finally I did. So this past Friday I started reading HUNGER and, to be honest, when I first started to read it I was a little unsure if I would like it. After the second chapter I found that I just couldn't put it down!!! I was sucked in with every page I turned like it beckoned to me. I grew to know the characters as if they were a real part of my own life. If I absolutely love a book I get lost in the world that lives between the covers, and let me tell you, I was completely lost. the twists and turns in this book are breathe taking! You can try to figure it out but will never know for sure until you turn the last page and even then you're still left wondering. Karen did a fabulous job in making this book worth reading. If I could give this book a higher rating I so would!! This book just isn't a "MUST READ" it's a "MUST HAVE" so you can read it over and over again!! I highly recommend that you buy it if you are at all into paranormal romance or vampires. The love between the two characters is like the love every woman wants but not every woman is lucky enough to get.

I want to Thank Karen for letting me review this AMAZING book!! I can't wait to read the next and so on!!! THANK YOU!!… (más)