Writer and Editor C.B. Calsing/ G.G. Royale

As I’ve mentioned before in my reviews, I love a good adaption of the great works of fiction from our literary past. I’ll link at the bottom to a couple of other reviews that fall into this category. “Unnatural Creatures” by Kris Waldherr is inspired by and closely follows the action of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.” Instead of coming from the point of view of Victor or the creature, it is told from the three women involved in his life: mother Caroline, adopted “cousin” and betrothed Elizabeth, and the maid Justine.  The story is told in three parts, each one focused on one of the women, but also shifting on occasion. Each woman is haunted by the creature at some point, often blamed as a trick of the eye in the dark, a misidentified shadow, or a dream. If you’ve read “Frankenstein,” you’re going to know much of what goes on; we just get it here in a different perspective...until the end. The author takes some exciting liberties there, and it’s worth getting to the finish line to find o

Ah, yes. What’s better than an atmospheric, trope-filled romance that’s also a horror novel? Not much! In this, Kyrie McCauley’s “All the Dead Lie Down” delivers, both with its macabre content and its happily-ever-after (don’t ever take that away from my romances!).  Marin has recently lost her mother and has few prospects. Is this a Regency or Victorian romance? Nope, set in the present day. When a horror novelist she admires hires her as the summer nanny for her two young daughters, Marin takes the position at forlorn and remote Lovelace House. The children’s father has also recently passed. From the beginning, Marin is tested by the mother, the children’s cruel pranks, and the strange nature of the house. When the eldest daughter returns unexpectedly from her summer studies, however, Marin finds it too difficult to leave the strange property. Even though, with Evie’s arrival, things get even stranger. Together, the two must protect the young wards, navigate Mother’s odd behaviors, a