Two for Tuesday! Renee Lake

Welcome back to my book blog. This week we will be diving into a bit of the horror genre with an author that I got the pleasure of getting to know recently, Renee Lake.

During the two month event that I participated in with her, I read her books Forgotten Hills and Bloodborn. I would like to talk about them both so we are doing a little two for Tuesday this week.

First let's talk about Forgotten Hills.

5⭐️

1 🌶

Trigger Warnings:

Ghosts

Death

Curses

Cemetery

Illness/plague

Mortuary and embalming

On page sex

Off page domestic violence

Bisexuals/same sex relationships

If you are still with me, let's jump in!

I devoured this book in just one day.

It offers mystery, death, family conflict, secrets, sisterly bonds, and love.

Forgotten Hills sucked me in and held me captive, and I couldn't be happier about it! Renee Lake does a wonderful job weaving an in depth story of a family legacy and curse, sisterly bonds, mystery, and romance. To me it is a definite must read.

The book does jump back and forth in time. This can be hard to successfully accomplish without confusing the readers. Renee does a wonderful job transitioning back and forth without confusion.

The sisterly bond was my favorite aspect of this book besides the mystery and creep factor of course. The way that all three sisters are bonded not only as children but also as adults is so heart warming. They are so supportive of one another.

All of the characters are very well written and the world building is phenomenal. You can just picture the cemetery, the funeral home, the living quarters, the mortuary, and even the crematorium.

The plot is thick, mysterious, and fantastic. I don't want to give away too much here.

The love story is between the main female character Thana and the mysterious man she met as a child, Draven.

This one is a twisty HEA, happily ever after, and I am here for it.

If you haven't read it yet, I definitely recommend picking it up.

---

On to the second book that I read,

Blood Born.

5⭐️

1 🌶

Trigger warnings:

Vampires

Death

Heart conditions

Desecration of corpses

On page sex

Talk of abortion rights

Same sex relationships

Cheating

This gem isn't for everyone. I think that you have to love Bram Stoker's Dracula and be open minded to truly enjoy this one. Blood Born is a gender bent re-imagining of Dracula but brought into the modern age. Throw in college freshmen, some same sex relationships, twins, and modern day issues, shake liberally and voila! You have an intriguing story.

I truly enjoyed the little nods to the original Dracula novel. It had just enough tiny pieces to make me happy but it was still very much its own unique story. The primary vampire was truly mesmerizing and Renee had me rooting for the villain. You guys, I wanted the monster to win! The back story that Renee weaves for her is heart wrenching. This was another quick read for me. If you love vampires especially Dracula, check it out.

Be on the lookout for Renee's other books as well. She has a few earlier books that she wrote before she had a professional editor including The Bathory Curse. Also check out her newest book, The Infested.

Be on the look out for The Bathory Curse review to hit my IG at some point. I am up to my eyeballs in ARCs and Beta reads, but it's on my TBR, to be read, list. Don't laugh! I will get to it. Eventually. Lol.

Until next time, curl up with a good book