Nine Candles of Deepest Black
Matthew S. Cox
Published by: Curiosity Quills Press
Publication date: September 15th 2016
Genres: Horror, Paranormal, Young Adult
Matthew S. Cox
Published by: Curiosity Quills Press
Publication date: September 15th 2016
Genres: Horror, Paranormal, Young Adult
She saw it coming. She knew it would happen―but no one believed her.
Almost a year after tragedy shattered her family, sixteen-year-old Paige Thomas can’t break free from her guilt. Her mother ignores her, doting on her annoying little sister, while her father is a barely-functioning shell. He hopes a move to the quiet little town of Shadesboro PA will help them heal, but Paige doesn’t believe in happiness anymore.
On her first day at school, a chance encounter with a bullied eighth grader reawakens a gift Paige had forgotten, and ingratiates her into a pack of local outcasts. For weeks, they’ve been trying to cast a ritual to fulfill their innermost desires, but all they’ve done is waste time. After witnessing Paige touch the Ouija board and trigger a paranormal event, the girls are convinced another try with their new fifth member will finally work.
Once the darkness is unleashed, it’s not long before they learn it will give them exactly what they asked for―whether they want it or not.
My Review
**I received a copy of the book in exchange for a review**
Nine Candles of Deepest Black is one of those books that you can't seem to pull yourself away from, no matter how hard you try. It's creepy, edge-of-your-seat, nail-biting terror that will leave you anxiously turning pages, eager to see how it ends. And when you finish, you'll be left breathless and amazed.
The book reminds me of something you'd see in an episode of Supernatural, Buffy, or maybe The X-Files. Heck, it could even be its own movie. That's how good it is. I loved all of the imagery, and while reading it, I imagined it taking place in a small town in PA (which is actually where it's set, but I had a real town in mind).
Enter Paige. She's our main character. Her older sister is dead, her younger sister is clingy, and Paige... well, she's just super emo. Understandable, though. She also has something special about her: she's clairvoyant.
On her first day of school, Paige stumbles across an 8th grade girl trapped in a locker. Without understanding why, she sees the combination to the lock in her mind and is able to free the girl. It's from this moment on that things start to slowly spiral out of control for Paige.
Her new group of friends, desperate to have their innermost desires come true, embrace Paige and ask her to be a part of their witchy ritual. Believing it to be a silly thing that won't work, Paige agrees. Then all hell breaks loose.
I absolutely loved this book. It was intense and thrilling, and it elicited so many emotions. Fear, anger, worry, a bit of sadness, and, eventually, satisfaction. The plot moved at a quick pace that made the book easy to read, as well as enjoyable. The setting and imagery brought about by the wording also helped make the story even better, as I could picture the town and each event that was happening with pretty clear detail in my head.
Character-wise, everyone was pretty well developed. Paige seems like a stereotypical emo girl suffering from teenage angst, but she's got more to her than just what she portrays on the outside. She's actually one of my favorite characters. You find yourself wanting to help her and be her friend, while also wanting to fuss at her for the way she treats her little sister sometimes. One of my most hated characters is Makenzie. She's probably the worst person ever, and when you read the story, you'll see why.
Overall, Nine Candles of Deepest Black is a fantastic read filled with thrills, chills, and the moral that children shouldn't play with dead things... or books filled with dark magic they don't understand. I highly recommend it! I rate it 4.5 stars. Definitely check it out!
The book reminds me of something you'd see in an episode of Supernatural, Buffy, or maybe The X-Files. Heck, it could even be its own movie. That's how good it is. I loved all of the imagery, and while reading it, I imagined it taking place in a small town in PA (which is actually where it's set, but I had a real town in mind).
Enter Paige. She's our main character. Her older sister is dead, her younger sister is clingy, and Paige... well, she's just super emo. Understandable, though. She also has something special about her: she's clairvoyant.
On her first day of school, Paige stumbles across an 8th grade girl trapped in a locker. Without understanding why, she sees the combination to the lock in her mind and is able to free the girl. It's from this moment on that things start to slowly spiral out of control for Paige.
Her new group of friends, desperate to have their innermost desires come true, embrace Paige and ask her to be a part of their witchy ritual. Believing it to be a silly thing that won't work, Paige agrees. Then all hell breaks loose.
I absolutely loved this book. It was intense and thrilling, and it elicited so many emotions. Fear, anger, worry, a bit of sadness, and, eventually, satisfaction. The plot moved at a quick pace that made the book easy to read, as well as enjoyable. The setting and imagery brought about by the wording also helped make the story even better, as I could picture the town and each event that was happening with pretty clear detail in my head.
Character-wise, everyone was pretty well developed. Paige seems like a stereotypical emo girl suffering from teenage angst, but she's got more to her than just what she portrays on the outside. She's actually one of my favorite characters. You find yourself wanting to help her and be her friend, while also wanting to fuss at her for the way she treats her little sister sometimes. One of my most hated characters is Makenzie. She's probably the worst person ever, and when you read the story, you'll see why.
Overall, Nine Candles of Deepest Black is a fantastic read filled with thrills, chills, and the moral that children shouldn't play with dead things... or books filled with dark magic they don't understand. I highly recommend it! I rate it 4.5 stars. Definitely check it out!
Author Bio:
Born in a little town known as South Amboy NJ in 1973, Matthew has been creating science fiction and fantasy worlds for most of his reasoning life. Somewhere between fifteen to eighteen of them spent developing the world in which Division Zero, Virtual Immortality, and The Awakened Series take place. He has several other projects in the works as well as a collaborative science fiction endeavor with author Tony Healey.
Hobbies and Interests:
Matthew is an avid gamer, a recovered WoW addict, Gamemaster for two custom systems (Chronicles of Eldrinaath [Fantasy] and Divergent Fates [Sci Fi], and a fan of anime, British humour (<- after="" also="" and="" cats.="" deliberate="" fiction="" fond="" happens="" he="" intellectual="" is="" it.="" life="" nature="" of="" p="" questions="" reality="" science="" that="" the="" what="">
Great review! This sounds like a fun and def creepy read! :)
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