Welcome to my stop on the Fractured Blog Tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. Click here to follow along with the full tour schedule.
Title: Fractured
Author: Erin Hayes
Publication date: July 8th 2014
Genre: Adult, Horror
Source: Review copy
Blinded by a mysterious seizure when she was three years old, Bash Martin has managed to carve out a normal life for herself as an adult. Yet she still yearns for a deeper connection with her twin sister Lily, who has always been jealous of the attention their parents bestowed upon Bash due to her disability.
A dream vacation seems like the perfect chance to heal their relationship, but Bash soon realizes there is something terribly wrong with Lily and that her sister is hiding a dark secret. And when a supernatural fire engulfs their hotel and corpses come back to life, the sisters are plunged into a nightmarish world that threatens not only their lives, but their very souls.
After reading Fractured, I don't want to go anywhere alone in the dark for a while! After finishing the book, I had to take time to think about what I was going to say in my review. I really liked the horror aspect but didn't like any of the characters. Connecting with the characters in a horror novel isn't a necessity for me - I don't have to like them to enjoy a good horror story. This is the only genre I can think of where I'm okay with not liking the characters.
Part of the reason I didn't like Bash, probably the one character who's supposed to be the most likable, was that she was completely naive about her sister, Lily. It was easy to see why Lily distanced herself from Bash and was hostile about her relationship with Seth. Did Bash not realize she was their parents' favorite? Did she not remember Lily met Seth first only to watch him fall for her sister?
While I'm not on Bash's side, I'm not on Lily's either. There's definitely a supernatural creep factor to Lily. She was so weird!! When she met Seth, she falls madly in love with him without even knowing him? I didn't understand how she could feel that way but did feel her pain when he saw Bash and forgot about her. I just thought her feelings for him were a little over the top. The self destructive path she's on makes her even creepier.
I do want to say that though I may not have felt a strong connection with either Bash or Lily, other readers might feel differently about them. My feelings about the characters are based on personal preferences and have nothing to do with the way they were written.
The horror was well done. This was a book I didn't want to read at night alone. Demons scare me more than anything - even more than zombies. I think it could be because the first horror movie I ever saw was Night of the Demons (the original 80's version). Plus I can't help but think I'd be more aware of my own personal horror if a demon took over my body rather than if I turned into a mindless zombie. I could be wrong, though, and hope I never have to find out!
There are scenes from this book that will stand out in my mind for a long time, and that's a task that's difficult to accomplish yet so rewarding for a horror fan. I LOVE to be scared, and I don't want to forget those scenes anytime soon.
My Rating:
Sci-fi junkie, video game nerd, and wannabe manga artist, Erin Hayes writes a lot of things. Sometimes she writes books, like the fantasy mystery Death is but a Dream and the sci-fi middle grade book Jacob Smith is Incredibly Average.
You can reach her at tiptoegirl87@gmail.com and she'll be happy to chat. Especially if you want to debate Star Wars.
Blog Tour organized by:
Too bad you didn't connect with the characters more, but it sounds like it has a great creepy/horror factor which is awesome! :D
ReplyDeleteIt was really scary! I don't want to go anywhere by myself in the dark for at least a week!! I read this at night, too, with just a booklight, and my heart was racing. I don't mind not connecting with the characters in the horror genre since any you might like could bite it at any moment. But the ending was shocking - I had no idea that was coming, and it was a really good ending!
DeleteThanks for stopping by, Giselle! :D
"I love to be scared" That is the opposite of me! I'm too wussy. I read a Dean Koontz book that was labeled horror, but it wasn't any scarier or more gruesome than Ilona Andrews. I don't like when it's humans, the devil, or ghosts that are the ones on a horror murder/terror spree. You should see me watch a scary movie, I keep pausing it and finding some excuse to leave the room for a minute. I'm so annoying. I'm glad you have a few scenes to keep your up at night. hehe. I hope you're doing well. Are you gearing up for the football season? Because my sister already bough velveta for the cheese dip my mom and sister make for football Sunday, chili conqueso? something like that.
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to get a bit soft as I get older. I have to be careful of movies I watch or books I read. Sometimes I get too disturbed rather than scared. I love to be scared - I am sometimes okay being disturbed, sometimes not. I'm SO excited for football! We have tickets to the first Bengals home game, and the kids are super excited, too! That cheese dip sounds yummy!
Delete