John Kaden

I love the gothic cover.It does tell of what’s inside, a 1940s actress and her haunted house. But this haunted house in on steroids.

Past: What happened to Evelyn Leighton? She had starred in B level horror movies and had just hit her stride. Robert and Evelyn were having marriage problems. He is embarassed with her ‘stardom’. Now, Evelyn lives her own kind of hell and it is not in the movies.

Present: The Kellerman family moves into Evelyn’s mansion. It doesn’t take long before it starts ‘falling down’ around them. But there is something or someone that wants their daughter. They will fight tooth and nail to not let them happen. Mom and dad are heroes. They place their lives in danger, more than once, to fight for Ginny. Glen had no idea what it would take to save her, but he goes down the rabbit hole. Thank goodness, there is someone there to help him.

Blood Seance turned out to be so much more than I expected. The past and present converge and it will take all the players to put this demon to rest. Be prepared. Blood Seance may have you checking your house to see if you missed something when you purchase it.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com… (mais)

Chills and Thrills!

A backstory:

Glen and Susan Kellerman move into a mansion in Pacific Palisades and leave their home in Beverly Hills behind. The mansion seems perfect for them and their two kids as Ginny and Ryan will get their very own room. Though things are not all what they seem and they are not in the house very long when things start happening. Scratching noises in the walls making the Kellermans think they might have mice or worse - rats; cracks appear out of nowhere running up the walls, whispers and cold drafts come out of nowhere.

As time goes on though, Ginny starts having bad dreams about a man performing a ritual but then Susan has weird dreams too and they wonder what is actually happening in their house. They find out that the house use to belong to a movie actress back in the 1940's and something happened to her as she came to a bad end.

When they start to investigate what happened to the actress is when things in the house go into overdrive as sometimes things that happened in the past does not want the present to intrude upon its domain and when Ginny's bad dreams become something otherworldly with blood rituals is when the Kellermans learn that maybe moving into this mansion was not a good idea at all as what is laying dormant in the mansion has been waiting a long time for a soul!

Thoughts:

First time reading this author and I was thinking in the beginning of the book that I might end up laying the book down as I wasn't really feeling anything with the story and the characters, but this author had a surprise up his sleeve as the more I read the story the more things started happening in the book which pulled me more into an intriguing mystery of the movie actress and the mansion.

The pace picked up and the mystery deepened with the movie actress to the point where I just stayed glued to my cozy chair as I wanted to know more about what had happened in the past. The book goes back and forth between the past and the present which normally I am not fond of time jumps, but it flows at a smooth pace so it was easy to keep up with what was going on. The past chapters explain more of the actress and what led to the possible haunting of the house then the present chapters of course tell what is happening with the Kellermans and what they have to endure with the haunting.

Lots of haunting action near the last 30% of the book which sent the book into overdrive and I could barely put the book down! I have another book by this author simmering on my kindle so I will be interested to see what that book is like as well. Giving this book five Scary Séance stars!

For images/gifs, please see my blog:
https://booknookretreat.blogspot.com/2022/01/blood-seance-by-john-kaden.html… (mais)

This is a truly fantastic book. It is an apocalyptic novel about two children who were abducted, along with the rest of the children in their village, when their parents were all murdered. It tells the story about their struggle to survive the ensuing years and how they eventually escape, and then make their way back again to help bring an end to the cult, and their king, who had them kidnapped in the first place.

It is not a book filled with mind numbing suspense with twists and turns on every page, but rather it is a beautifully written book with its fair share of suspense, cruelty and murder, but it is interspersed with kindness and adventure, as well as great descriptions of every-day life in a world that no longer bears any resemblance to the world we know today. The descriptions of the landscape and what it looks like hundreds of years after the fall of society is great, and it makes me wish this was a picture book, just to see it all for myself, through the eyes of the author.

It is a great book – I loved it.… (mais)

Alexandria by John Kaden is a beautifully written, enchanting, satisfying, and exceptional post-apocalyptic story. The tale revolves around Jack and Lia, two children who are kidnapped by a supposedly superior society. They are offered comfort, conveniences, and sanctuary if they will just accept the dystopian views of their kidnappers. This is a tough choice to make in a post-apocalyptic America, where most societies are tribal and primitive.

Jack and Lia eventually run away in search of a mythical advanced society called Alexandria, and a big part of the story involves their road trip along the California coast in search of Alexandria.

This story completely captivated me, to the point that I stayed up all night reading, and immediately looked for more books by Mr Kaden. I learned that this is his first book, which makes it that much more impressive. Jack and Lia live in a beautifully imagined and described world. It is completely authentic and fascinating. I want to read more about it. Jack and Lia carry the story; their relationship is strong and, again, beautifully described and written. Their love is woven throughout the story, but it never dominates or becomes a romantic novel...they just have a solid childhood friendship which becomes solid love and commitment over time. Their love carries them through the bleak events in their lives, and their long, arduous road trip.

While the story is about Jack and Lia and the quest for Alexandria, there are many other layers -- supporting characters are vividly illustrated, complex, and interesting. The post-apocalyptic world itself is another well written layer of the story. And finally, the moral questions that are posed by the many characters and the dystopian society are also a fascinating (but never dominating or preachy) aspect to the story.

All in all, an extremely satisfying, immersive, and beautifully written story set in a gorgeously conceived post-apocalyptic world. I am cheering Mr Kaden on for another book! Please keep writing. And quickly!… (mais)