Title: Mr. Monster

Author: Dan Wells

Series: John Cleaver, #2

My rating: 5 of 5

(Book read from May 3rd-11th, 2013)

Warning:  

If you haven't read the 1st book I Am Not A Serial Killer, there are spoilers about it in the summary below, as well as in the review below!

 Summary:

In I Am Not a Serial Killer, John Wayne Cleaver saved his town from a murderer even more appalling than the serial killers he obsessively studies.

But it turns out even demons have friends, and the disappearance of one has brought another to Clayton County. Soon there are new victims for John to work on at the mortuary and a new mystery to solve. But John has tasted death, and the dark nature he used as a weapon - the terrifying persona he calls “Mr. Monster” - might now be using him.

No one in Clayton is safe unless John can vanquish two nightmarish adversaries: the unknown demon he must hunt and the inner demon he can never escape.

In this sequel to his brilliant debut, Dan Wells ups the ante with a thriller that is just as gripping and even more intense. He apologizes in advance for the nightmares.

My Thoughts on the Book:

After the heart-pounding events & the conclusion of I Am Not A Serial Killer, John Cleaver's carefully structured life of rules had started to unravel. The killer in him had been released, he calls himself Mr. Monster, and John barely manages not to give in. He struggles with himself through out the book, he has even darker thoughts than ever before, and sticking to all of his rules isn't possible anymore. He has to break some of them, so he can keep Mr. Monster in check, and he doesn't end up going over the edge. 

On top of all of that, there's a new serial killer in town, who kills women & seems that he wants to communicate with him. As I said, John barely manages to keep himself in check, he doesn't have Dr. Neblin anymore to talk to, his mom pretends that the events at the end of I Am Not A Serial Killer never happened, so he turns to Agent Forman, who came in town trying to find the Clayton Killer, and now is researching the new killings.

John decides to track down this new serial killer before he tracks him down, and to kill him, because he has a suspicion that this might be another supernatural killer.

And so, you'll get yourself wrapped up in the story & John's world, as well as his struggles, and then suddenly something shocking will happen. I seriously didn't expect that to happen, and for the book to take such a turn, but I absolutely loved every second of it. It was suspenseful, heartbreaking, terrifying, gory, hopeful (in a way you hope John will get through this without turning himself into a killer), and definitely mind-blowing. As I said, all of that was unexpected, but every fan of serial killer thrillers will love it.

Once again I absolutely loved John Cleaver as a character, and I kept rooting for him through everything he went through. And the writing itself was amazing, Dan Wells has done it again.

What I think I have to point out is that Mr. Monster shouldn't be read as stand alone. I mean, sure, the events in I Am Not A Serial Killer are explained, but you have to have read I Am Not A Serial Killer so you can understand John Cleaver as a character.

Mr. Monster is one amazing sequel that I can't recommend enough. If you love thrillers, you have to read this one, so I highly recommend this book, as well as the John Cleaver trilogy!

 

Challenges:

2013 TBR Pile Challenge

2013 Books-In-A-Series Reading Challenge

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists.

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

So, My Top Ten Favorite Book Covers Of Books I've Read (in no particular order) are:

What about you? 

Leave me your TTT links!

Title: I Am Not A Serial Killer

Author: Dan Wells

Series: John Cleaver, #1

My rating: 5 of 5

(Book read from April 28th to April 30th, 2013)

Summary:

 The first book in a darkly comic new series from a debut author 

John works in his family’s mortuary and has an obsession with serial killers. He wants to be a good person, but fears he is a sociopath, and for years he has suppressed his dark side through a strict system of rules designed to mimic 'normal' behavior.  

Then a demon begins stalking his small town and killing people one by one, and John is forced to give in to his darker nature in order to save them. As he struggles to understand the demon and find a way to kill it, his own mind begins to unravel until he fears he may never regain control. Faced with the reality that he is, perhaps, more monstrous than the monster he is fighting, John must make a final stand against the horrors of both the demon and himself.

My Thoughts on the Book:

I've wanted to read the John Cleaver trilogy for a long time now, even since one of my fav bloggers (Carolyn @ Book Chick City) praised it a lot on her blog a few years ago, but I just haven't gotten around to it. But, I have to say that I was a little bit under wrong impression about it. Why? Well, I thought it was your standard serial killer thriller, only YA, but it's actually a YA serial killer horror or as it says on the cover of the 3rd book - A Serial Killer Thriller with a Twist - this is definitely the perfect description.

I Am Not A Serial Killer is one of those books that stays with you long after you've finished them.

To be honest, I have no idea how to review this book without including any spoilers & going into details why it was so awesome, but I'll try.

John Cleaver is a 15-year old boy, who has a great potential to become a serial killer. He's obsessed with serial killers, he studies them, and he has traits that 95% of all serial killers have, he has murderous thoughts often, and he knows that if he isn't careful, he might become a killer, something he doesn't want to be. That's why he has these strict rules that he follows to prevent that. He also loves helping his mother & aunt at their mortuary with the embalming of the dead, although this hasn't influensed his tendencies, but actually helps him control them. He also visits a therapist - Dr. Neblin - with whom he talks about all of this, and visits because of it.

 The most fascinating thing in this book is definitely the main character - John Cleaver. He's one really well-developed character, and surprisingly thoroughly likable - I actually loved him as a character. I mean, he's almost a sociopath, he doesn't feel any empathy, and he thinks about hurting people, and about killing people all the time, so, you wouldn't expect to love him as a character. I absolutely loved learning how he realised that something isn't normal about him, and how he started coming up with his rules to stop behaving in a way that will make him hurt those around him, and even other rules for the previous rules in case he breaks one. I thought all of that was brilliantly done.

So, when suddenly someone starts killing people in his town, he's fascinated, and he wants to learn why he's doing it, and of course he tries to track him down. So, when he caughts the killer in the act, and his first attempt at stopping him doesn't work, he realizes he's probably the only one who can stop him. So, he starts breaking his rules one by one, trying to find out more about the Clayton Killer, and how to stop him.

But, after he has stopped keeping his bad impulses in check & released his darkness, will he be able to contain it again?

I thoroughly loved this book! I found it fascinating, suspenseful, brilliant, gory, thrilling & filled with lots of twists & turns. Amazing thriller that I think everyone would enjoy, even adults. I expected it to be great, but I was still blown away.

I loved the story, although we learn quite early who the killer is, but it's not your usual story about who the killer is & catching him, but about how John faces all of his killing tendencies in a situation that can make him go over the edge. But there were plenty of surprises & I definitely didn't expect lots of the things in the end. Also, my heart was breaking for John again & again through the book. Yeah, I totally cried a lot, and I'm not sorry to admit it, because I also found this book really heartbreaking. Yeah, I bawled my eyes out.

As for the writing style, I absolutely loved it. Dan Wells has crafted quite a tale with his words & he's got himself a new fan. And this was his first book, and it was totally enthralling.

Also, I should mention the goriness in this book, that isn't only about blood & the killing, but about the embalming, too, which is really detailed, so this might not be a book for everyone. But, I found it really interesting to learn about it. I've never thought about it, but it was obvious the author did a lot of research on it, as well as serial killers, and incorporated all of that in a perfect way.

I Am Not A Serial Killer is one of the most memorable thrillers I've read, with one of the most memorable main characters, and I can't recommend it enough. The John Cleaver trilogy joined my list of all time fav series, and I know I will thoroughly enjoy reading these books again & again!

Challenges:

2013 TBR Pile Challenge

2013 Books-In-A-Series Reading Challenge

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. 

This is a great weekly event where everyone can keep track of the books finished last week & the books planning to read this week!

 

What did I read last week?

Last week I loved all of my reads. I started & finished The Summer I Became a Nerd, Rogue Oracle, Crazy Little Thing Called Love & I Don't Want to Kill You, and I also finished Hot Blooded. So, it was a great reading week!

What I'll be reading this week?

This week I'm planning not to read a lot, but to use my free time for writing reviews & blogging, but if I read, I'll continue reading The Shadow of the Wind & I should really start Black City for this month's read-along, I'm really behind.

So, what are you reading this week? 

Leave me your links!

The NetGalley & Edelweiss Month is hosted by Donna & Jess @ Book Passion for Life.

The goal is to read & review books received for review from NetGalley or Edelweiss.

I hope to read & review at least 5 books. 

I'll just list the books below as I read & review them.

For more details & to link up reviews, visit the post HERE!

My Reading List:

1.