The Darkside of Midnight and The Golden Basement

Happy Tuesday, fellow readers! Happy February! I hope that this month is treating you better than it has been me so far. My son got the flu. I have the flu and an upper respiratory infection. My husband is getting sick now. Even the dog threw up. It's been crazy. Whether you are taking vitamins like they are candy or you are down with the sickness, maybe a good book or two will help. This week, I have two lovely dark pieces of literature to share with you. Let's go check them out!

Our first pick is a short story called "The Darkside of Midnight" by one of my favorite up and coming indie authors, Johnna Dee. It just released yesterday.

First, the trigger warnings.

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Triggers:

Attempted Murder

Stalking

Kidnapping

Blood/Gore

Abuse

Trapped/Imprisoned

Stockholm Syndrome

On page sex

See? Dark themes. This short story is Johnna Dee's first foray into dark romance. I love that she is dipping her toes in to other genres and growing as an author. I think that there is definitely promise for her in the darkness if she enjoyed her mini trip there. I know that the dark spaces aren't for everyone.

This little gem brings suspense, the darkness of past trauma, and the terror of the unknown together with carnal delights of a little Stockholm Syndrome.

Here is my official review:

The Darkside of Midnight is Johnna's first short story in the erotic horror/dark romance genre. The story caught my attention immediately, and I quickly devoured it. It does deal with dark themes but as it is a short story there aren't a lot of scenes or a ton of details. I would love it if this gets redone into a full length book. I need to know where this goes.

As I said above, I would love for this to become a full book. I need more! I want to get to know Saline and her story. Overall, this is a fabulous short story that I sincerely hope is just a taste of more to come.

If you want to check our "The Darkside of Midnight" you can get it here or read it on KU.

https://a.co/d/2u5f3jv

On to our second and final dark delight of the week. I am happy to bring to you "The Golden Basement" by David Norman Lewis.

Of course, we'll start with the triggers.

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Clean

Trigger Warnings:

Detailed mentions of murder

Child abuse/neglect/endangerment

Mention of suicide and suicidal ideations

Graphic deaths

Homophobia

Mental health

Drug use

Alcoholism

This one is weird in the best way! I can honestly say that I have never read another book quite like it. David Norman Lewis takes us back to the 1990s in this Seattle based horror thriller. I have never lived in or been to Seattle, Washington and live all the way on the east coast of the US, so I didn't get the complete experience that I'm sure that native Seattle dwellers received from the book.

I did enjoy the bits of poetry and quotes scattered throughout the book. The biggest thing that I liked is the interconnectivity of all of the characters in the book. Everyone who is mentioned is connected in some way. From the random book seller to the cult leader to the run away wanna be rockstars.

I also have to applaud this author on creating a character so vile that I loathed him immediately and immensely. Gideon Weed is a fat, washed up, communist conspiracy theorist. Not in that he has theories against communism. No, he is a communist and would rather live in a communist country. The author did an amazing job bringing him to life and capturing the reader's feelings right away in a most unexpected manner.

The book has sci-fi ties as well involving aliens and alien technology. So there is a bit of everything in here except smut. It is clean. I would not recommend it for all ages however, due to the tons of triggers that I mentioned earlier.

Here is my official review:

The Golden Basement" is different from anything I've read before. It is sci-fi, horror, and tragedy mixed with 1990s angst and nostalgia. I enjoyed the puzzle like manner that connected all of the characters and events throughout the book. David Norman Lewis did a tremendous job bringing such visceral characters to life. I don't think I've ever immediately disliked a character as quickly or intensely as I did Gideon Weed. Jesse July is a million stories in one character which is fascinating. I did find that the pacing got a bit slow at some points but did pick back up. Unfortunately, I was disappointed at the ending. Overall though, the book is dark and entertaining and will keep you turning the pages.

As I mentioned in my review, I was disappointed in the ending, but it was because I wanted more. I wanted more satisfaction for one of the characters. I wanted something less anticlimactic. However, David Norman Lewis told me that there may be a second one coming so the vagueness in the end was entirely intentional.

I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

If you'd like to plunge into the madness that is "The Golden Basement" you can get it here or read it on KU.

https://a.co/d/6qnKxuQ

That does it for me for this week, dear readers. I hope that you enjoyed our trip into the darkness of two very different basements. I also hope that we all start feeling better soon, for those of us who are sick. Please join me again next week for a new book recommendation. Until then, curl up with a good book.