Burnt Scrolls: A Review

Over the past year, I've had the pleasure of coming in contact with some really incredible people in horror. I won a giveaway and met Zach Bohannon who is now one of my good friends, and through him, I was put in touch with Shannon of Nightmarish Conjurings. Afterwards, I followed someone on Instagram, and it turns out he's a really, really amazing writer...Mr. Jeremy Megargee.
Now, I've reviewed Jeremy's work here before. You may remember me reviewing his novel Dirt Lullabies and totally fangirling over it. His descriptive language is impeccable. His storytelling is beautiful. So when I got a message asking if I'd like a copy of his newest creation, Burnt Scrolls, I almost fell out of my chair, but "calmly" responded "oh yeah sure cool thanks!"
I just recently moved out of my house (a little over a week, when you all read this) so I ran home to pick up a few things (a Harley Quinn costume, a tea infuser...the essentials), and I had a package! I shredded the thing apart when I saw who it was from. I held the book up to the ceiling Lion King-style, and smiled. My book of short stories and poetry was here!! And it had the sweetest note inside!
I took Burnt Scrolls to work with me. I hoped it would be slow. It was. So I sat and I read, and as usual, I blew through another one of Megargee's books in 48 hours.

There's something about the way he writes; it's like a fine wine. You marvel in its beauty with each sip you take, and eventually you're so consumed by its delectable flavor that you drink and drink and drink until you're incoherently drunk. That's the best description I can give of what happens when I read his work- I become drunk on literature, and I can't consume enough.
This book is a little different than anything he's written before- it's much more personal. "Cathartic", as he puts it. It's a book of short stories and poems, and for those of you that have read his other works, you're in for a treat! The short stories (3 of the 4) are "prequels" and stories of characters from his other novels. The poems are a journey; some are horrific and creepy and others are personal and sweet.

Let's talk about a few of my favorites:
All of the short stories are totally consuming, but I'll talk about my top 2 as to not give away much more than I need to.
Welcome to Rust Valley takes place ten years after the events in Dirt Lullabies. As always, it's beautifully written, and the descriptions of the cave that Benjamin travels into...it practically had my mouth watering, it was so stunning. The characters, as usual, are fun to connect with and although the story is short, you find yourself rooting for them.
Black Rose Petals tells the story of my girl Thorny Rose from Dirt Lullabies. Before I go any further talking about this story, let me tell you a little something about myself: I have the tendency to fall in love with certain characters, specifically the underdog of most stories. Now, when I read Dirt Lullabies and I learned about Thorny Rose, I started doing my makeup the way she was described, I wanted to be her friend, I wanted her to come over and drink tea with me. SO when I saw that she got her own short story, I nearly fainted. Okay, maybe not literally, but I was way too excited. Her story is sad, believable, and tragic. She's every Halloween-lover's dream. I can't get enough of her. She's amazing and this story is amazing. Yes.

As far as the poetry goes, it's all very personal. You can tell that the topics are from a deep place within Jeremy's soul, so reading it is like sitting down across a table from him while he tells you about the deepest, darkest places of his mind. It's really an experience that I wasn't expecting, but I was deeply thrilled by the end of the book.
A specific poem in particular really touched me: The Stray. I wont' tell you what it's about, but what I will tell you is that I messaged Jeremy to let him know that I was sitting at work crying like a fool because of it.

All in all, this book is a solid read. Like I said, you can blow through it with the intensity of the stories- they reel you in and don't let go until you hit the poetry, which then takes you on such an intense roller coaster ride that you may end up crying. I don't know, maybe it's just me.
However, I highly suggest it! If any of you guys pick it up and read it, let me know! I'll link the page where you can buy it here: http://www.amazon.com/Burnt-Scrolls-Collection-Tales-Poems/dp/1515352250/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

You can follow Jeremy on Facebook and on instagram at @xbadmoonrising!

Until next time, ghosts and ghouls, stay spooky!
Taylor Terrible <3

Sweet Treats: A Review

Last time I reviewed a novel by author Jeremy Megargee it was Dirt Lullabies, featuring creepy floor-demon M. I got lucky enough to receive a copy of Sweet Treats, his newest novel, featuring a new demon for me to want to hang out with.

I'm always excited to get new reading material; I consider myself a bookworm where I can sink my teeth into just about anything and everything. When you send me a novel about a demon possessing a child in order to take down a psycho killer? Count me in.

I've always been fascinated with the idea of demonic possession, so when I ripped into this book (as I always do with Jeremy's novels), I was really excited to see it come up! Basically, the premise of the story is that Jack, a twelve-year-old boy is kidnapped and tortured by a nasty man named Edgar. Left for dead, Jack is thrown into a sewer and encounters an unexpected light at the end of the tunnel in demon-friend Verminort. From there, some really awful things ensue, like Edgar holding his sister captive in his house upstairs, and downstairs he keeps a room full of preserved "treats"...-shudder-

I'll leave you with that little synopsis because I do highly suggest giving this novel a read. I've never come across anything like this story before. The characters, as usual, are really fun to read. Jeremy knows how to appeal to readers with his characters in a way that most writers don't- he makes them your friend. You aren't reading about someone you've never heard of and you have to learn about; somehow from the first time they speak, their first action, you know them. Jack is a kid, which makes the story sadder than intended, I'm sure...at least to me, Verminort is a chatty demon with daddy issues, and Edgar is the most repulsive, bumbling human being I think I've ever heard of. This was all within 101 pages that I developed these intense feelings for these characters.

Also, for those of you that read Dirt Lullabies, there may or may not be mention of one of my favorite characters here in Sweet Treats!

So as always, I leave you with this: Jeremy Megargee is one of the most talented authors that I've had the pleasure of reading. He and Zach Bohannon are both forces to be reckoned with in the horror genre among the likes of Stephen King and RL Stine; they have the ability to go to a very, very dark place, and they drag you right there with them...and they never cease to impress me.

One of the most important things we can do as a community of horror lovers here on the internet is support each other, and as always, it was a pleasure having the opportunity to support and incredible indie horror writer.
Purchase a copy of Sweet Treats on Amazon and support indie horror!

Until we meet again, spooks <3
Taylor Terrible

Dirt Lullabies: A Novel Review!

I had the privilege of reading the new novel by author Jeremy Megargee, Dirt Lullabies.
Honestly, the opportunity came about in a pretty cool way...we've been following each other on Instagram for some time, when suddenly, a message appeared! Jeremy asked me to read Dirt Lullabies and I agreed, hence where we are now!

Let me tell you, guys, I ripped through this book. 5 hours, and I was finished with the whole thing. It was a snowy day here in New York (I'm writing this on Thursday night, but you guys will see this on Tuesday) so I had a little time on my hands to sit down and truly get involved in a book.
Well, I didn't exactly expect that I would be so immersed in this book that I would finish it in one sitting. I also didn't know I could sit still for 5 hours.

Let me give you a quick synopsis:
Roman Merrick lives in West Virginia with his parents, and the family is just barely scraping by. He discovers a crack in the ground in the root cellar beneath his home that could just be the answer to all of his family's problems...when a melodic voice calling itself M drifts up from the crack promising a way out, Roman is faced with a life-altering decision.

I KNOW, even the synopsis is awesome. The story is very original, and I found myself slightly crushing on the antagonist, M, which is pretty disturbing. I mean, you're going to have to read it to find out why.

It's gory, it's gripping, it doesn't let you go, and I was turning pages like a madwoman. I probably looked insane reading it. Good thing I was curled up in a ball under the blanket to read it during this insane weather. The characters are awesome and memorable, and I absolutely love their stories. It just feels so complete- you don't finish reading with any questions like "wait why did that happen?" or "who was that?" or anything like that, it's completely full-circle and cohesive, which is nice. Also, there may or may not be an awesome goth girl that reminds me a lot of myself.....she's my favorite.

I honestly don't have enough good things to say about this novel. I loved every second of reading it and I am so honored to have been asked to give it a read. If you're looking for a novel to really grab your attention, Dirt Lullabies is absolutely a great place to start. Also, you'll be supporting Indie writers, which is even more awesome, because their talent needs to be exposed!

Let me know if you decide to read Dirt Lullabies, you're really missing out until you do!!