Lets talk about Darcy Coates

*Just a friendly FYI when I review books don't expect any spoilers. It's not gonna happen if I can help it.*
I love reading. My taste are pretty much all over the board. And when I am in the mood for horror my go to is Darcy Coates. This woman, well she writes horror like no other. Her books have always been able to captivate my attention and hold it till the very end. Darcy has a way of describing things so that it feels like you are smack dab in the middle of the book. As much as I love horror, I am not one who spooks easily. with that said though, every time i get lost in one of Darcy's books, I find myself wanting to constantly look over my shoulder, the hair on my neck stands on end, and as much as I usually hate to do it I have to take a breather to get my heart rate back to normal. One thing that I absolutely love the most about her books is that they are not predictable. You may have all the puzzle pieces but you cant put them all together until she lets you. It's completely refreshing to read horror done right these days since from books to movies everything seems so dang predictable or done to death, no pun intended.
I am extremely lucky since I have the absolute privilege of being on Darcy's review team. I recently had the opportunity to review her new book "The Haunting Of Ashburn House". In exchange for the privilege of reading the book for free, I have agreed to leave a review for it. All opinions are completely my own.
The Haunting Of Ashburn House
Adrienne didn't know what to expect when she arrived at Ashburn House. She'd never met the deceased owner, her estranged great-aunt Edith, and was surprised that she'd been bequeathed the property. 

By all accounts, Edith was a strange woman. She rarely let guests into her home and a myriad of rumours surrounded the property. The residents of the nearby town claimed to have seen a wraith-like figure pacing behind the drawn curtains and to feel ghostly fingers brush their necks when they passed the driveway. 

Adrienne doesn't believe in ghosts, but it's hard to ignore the unease that grows as she explores her new home. Strange messages have been carved into the wallpaper, her pet cat stares at nothing, and an old gravestone hidden in the woods behind the house hints at a bleak and shocking history. 

One thing quickly becomes clear: Ashburn's dead are not at peace.
One thing is certain, the description of this book doesn't do it justice. Its kinda like the kindergarten Cliffs Notes. But it works because anything more would give to much away. I loved Adrienne aka Addy right away. She is super relatable to all of us kinda loner folks. Her cat Wolfgang is super awesome and not only does he play a pretty big role in this story but he also seems like the kind of cat you would want to curl up with and read. This book had me going back and forth on trying to figure out if the recently departed Great Aunt Edith was the big bad of the book or not. And then of course trying to pinpoint exactly what the big bad was exactly. And like I said before, Darcy kept me guessing and didn't let the picture be complete until she was ready. I was close but I still got it wrong. I feel the main characters of the book are Addy and Wolfgang. Edith of course plays a pretty big role both in the beginning and towards the end. We get to learn about her quirks throughout the whole story. Just don't be quick to judge. The sub characters are just as important as the main characters. Instead of just being filler, each and every one of them play important roles in completing the picture. One of my other favorite things about this book, and all of her books for that matter, is that you can't discount any of the small details. They are all important. And when the story finally reaches the super climatic end, it's all those little details that bring it all together. I absolutely adored the ending of this book. It was wrapped up nicely even though I could defiantly read more about Ashburn House. So woo-hoo for no cliffhangers. 
This was definitely a 5 Star book. I have added a link to this book on Amazon. While you are there be sure to check out all of her books. No matter which one you pick to read you won't be disappointed.
The Haunting of Ashburn House

I want add just how much I love this cover. For me it's kinda spot on for what I imagined Ashburn House would look like.

The World Today

 So here I am again. As you can tell I am not all that consistent. But hopefully that will change. No promises though.
Let's chat for a moment shall we? There has been a lot of fucked up shit in the news lately. This country seems to currently doing an accelerated course in self destruction. I should know since once upon a time I excelled in that course. So let's break it down.
First things first lets talk children. There have been to recent cases in the news where a child has lost his life. And holy shit, the backlash against the parents have been horrendous. Seriously the internet trolls have been out in masses. And yeah I can easily admit to having my WTF moments towards the parents of these children. But then I look at my 4yo and my 1yo and I get it. I have been to a local zoo with my now 4yo. He had his hand in mine 99.9% of the time. But that one moment I let go of his hand to grab something and in a blink it was a good 15 feet away racing to see one of his favorite animals. My heart was in my throat. Because that's all it takes. Just one blink of an eye and your whole damn world can come crashing down. I even had my WTF moments with the masses that were around these families. When did we become compliant with just being bystanders? And the whole thing in Florida, are we really all that surprised? And I mean absolutely no disrespect towards the family and friends of this child, but what the hell do you really think will happen when you take away the habitat of animals that have called this place home before we even thought of coming to this land. I mean seriously. But above all what gives us the right to sit behind key boards and spit venom at these families? Before you attack anyone who has had a child that has died please consider this. Have you ever been to the funeral of a child? Have you heard the gut wrenching cries that come from the parents of said child? Have you seen a parent when he or she wakes from a nightmare years later soaked with sweat and tears and is screaming because it feels as if their heart has been physically removed from their chest with a rusty spoon? And all because of one moment they can never take back. All because they blinked. So believe me when I say that there is nothing you can say, no venom you can spit, that they haven't already made a mantra in their heads. So quit being dicks and show some love. Hell it might make you a better person.
As much as I really hate doing it, let's talk Stanford. In the beginning I avoided this case like it was a pissed of elephant and I had a pocket full of peanuts. I don't function well with rape cases. And I will tell you why. In my preteen years I was molested, beaten, and raped on a almost daily bases. Once I was able to escape that situation the fucking system brutally raped me all over again. And doing that to a 14 year old leaves a lasting impression. What the system and it's counterparts did to me will always feel worse than the actual acts committed against me. Here's why. This group, the system, was supposed to protect me. They were supposed to be on my side. But that's not even close to what happened. I will admit that there was a few people that were on my side. And they were great people, but a few people out of many isn't enough to color the page a different color. And it's because of that that I didn't even attempt to report the rape that happened when I was 29. And what the hell does it say about the system when people can handle a rape better than they can the system? When did the word No get a different definition? When did we start teaching our children that everything means yes. That if a person is drinking it means yes. If a person is wearing or for that matter not wearing any clothes it means yes. If they flirt, talk to you, or make eye contact it means yes. If they can't say anything at all it means yes. And if god forbid you get raped, get assaulted in any way, what the hell is it okay that the line of questioning goes down the what were you... path? Seriously. What the hell does it matter what a person was wearing, how much they had to drink, what, if any, drugs they were on, what they were wearing, how many people they have fucked? When did the answers to these questions become more important than the fact that She/He said no or was unable to say anything at all? When did we as a society become compliant to  the fact that the victims of these crimes are persecuted worse than the people committing the crimes? Why the hell did we become okay with this? Rant over for now. With all of that said though I want to say to the woman, I will not call her a victim because we are all more than that, I want you to know that I stand for you and with you. Let them burn us to the ground because I promise we will rise from the ashes stronger, defiant, and ready for revolution. And that goes to any and every single person who has found themselves on this side of the coin.
Now back to Florida we go. I am still trying to wrap my head and heart around this one. This part will not be about gun control or the lack thereof. It will not be in support or guns or against them. Yes there is plenty I can say, but there are more important facets of this situation. It's about 49 people who were murdered. It's about the 50 something people who were injured. It's about the countless amounts of family and friends of these people who are grieving. Who are trying to just get through today. It's about people who are being persecuted for being born a certain way, people that are being murdered for who they are for just living. It's about people who think they have every right to do these things because for whatever reason they think it's wrong. Am I a Lesbian? No. Am I Bi? No. Am I Gay? Nope. Am I Transgender? Nope again. Am I Queer in any way shape or form. You guessed it, No. What am I then? I am myself. And a person should never be judged for just being themselves. Unless you are causing harm to another living being, then no one has the right to judge you. How the fuck has our society lost sight of that? Shit, did we ever really have sight of it to begin with? And the kicker is I am terrified. Terrified that at any given moment I could lose my best friend, my person just because of the way she was born. I could lose countless friends because of this. I could lose my own life because of this. We can be judged, we can lose our homes our jobs. Why is it okay that we are less than? After this chaotic fuck up in Orlando you would think that the very people who have a hand in running this country would band together to protect all of it's citizens and just not some of us. You would think that they would have the balls to put forth a bill that would protect all of it's citizens, even if the damn thing was piggy backing on a totally unrelated bill. That these very people would realize that their actions speak louder than words. Good, Bad, or Indifferent, actions will always speak the loudest. And that's exactly what happened when they denied a DOD bill that had a no discrimination bill attached to it. "Ya'll are in our thoughts and prayers, but here is a big fuck you." I just hope that as a community of what has become social outcasts that we see that the tides are changing. That the number of people who stand with us and beside us is greater than those who stand against us. That I will always be standing next to you. Hand in Hand. We will always fight together. And I really don't care what your religion is or isn't. No one should be above another human. You just aren't that special sweetheart. And here is where I personally have the biggest problem. Every single solitary person is allowed to their opinion and views. And I know we will never agree on everything. And I support everybody's right to this. But when we start wars on difference of opinions, religions, morals, fucking what shade of blue we think the sky is, it's just time to say enough. When we go out and murder people because of who they are, it's time to say enough. Enough.
I'm more certain now than I have ever been that living off the grid and away from society, well it sounds like the best way to go.

Hello darlings

Well here we are. Well here I am anyway. Y'all are probaly wondering just who I am. Lets go over the basics shall we? My name is Amber. I am a single mom. My boys are my world. I am an avid reader, a Netflix binge watcher, and a die hard fangirl. I am a nerdy women through and through. I am socially awkward, hell lets just say I am awkward all around. Those rare moments when I'm not with my boys and I venture out in public, well I am the one who constantly has her foot in her mouth. Hello no filter. I am a homeschooling momma, I have tattoos, and on occcasion I even eat granola. But I am more squishy than crunchy.
I have created this blog in hopes of having an outlet. If I get followers, awesome. If not, well that's awesome too. I want a place to keep track of all my book reviews. Above all else reading is a huge part of my life. And thanks to the thing we call social media I have even become friends with some fantastic people who just so happen to write some amazing books. And that is something that should always be shared. I want to keep track of all my Pinterest wins and fails. I can hardly remember what i had for breakfast this morning, so having somewhere to keep track of all the wonderful things I've tried on that site will help me out. Plus its always fun to share awesome wins, and sometimes horrid fails. I want this to be a place that I can let all the random things in my head escape, it gets crowed in here sometimes. I want to be able to ramble about all the fandom things that make my heart go pitter patter. So you better believe that there will be things related to Supernatural, Doctor Who, Sherlock, graphic novels, and all things Superhero. Oh and I can't forget my favorite antiheros as well. Basically this is going to be a hodgepodge. Hopefully I can keep things organized but don't hold your breath.
I just want to thank each and every person who stops by and reads my words. Y'all are fantastic.