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Red Rain
The New York Times bestselling author of the Goosebumps and Fear Street series delivers a terrifying horror novel for adults centered on a town in the grip of a sinister revolt.
After travel writer Lea Sutter barely survives a merciless hurricane on a tiny island off the South Carolina coast, she impulsively brings two orphaned twin boys home with her to Long Island. Samuel and Daniel seem amiable and intensely grateful at first, but no one in Lea’s family anticipates the twins’ true evil nature—or predicts that within a few weeks’ time her husband, a controversial child psychologist, will be implicated in two brutal murders.
“The horror is grisly” (Associated Press) in legendary author R.L. Stine’s “creepy, fun read” ( Library Journal )—an homage to the millions of adult fans who grew up reading his classic series and a must-read for every fan of deviously inventive chillers.
After travel writer Lea Sutter barely survives a merciless hurricane on a tiny island off the South Carolina coast, she impulsively brings two orphaned twin boys home with her to Long Island. Samuel and Daniel seem amiable and intensely grateful at first, but no one in Lea’s family anticipates the twins’ true evil nature—or predicts that within a few weeks’ time her husband, a controversial child psychologist, will be implicated in two brutal murders.
“The horror is grisly” (Associated Press) in legendary author R.L. Stine’s “creepy, fun read” ( Library Journal )—an homage to the millions of adult fans who grew up reading his classic series and a must-read for every fan of deviously inventive chillers.
429 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 9, 2012
366 people are currently reading
5602 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,680 books18.7k followersRobert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,111 reviews
September 22, 2012
Exactly what I expected. This is a goosebumps book with boobs in it.
October 23, 2019
Stine has written exactly two novels for adults--Red Rain (2012) and Superstitious (1995). Technically there's also The Sitter (2003) and Eye Candy (2004), but with young protagonists in both they really are teen books too. Actually, Superstitious also has a young protag. Maybe Red Rain is his only book where the point of view shifts into the perspective of a genuine 30+ year-old. The result? Pretty okay!
There's a lot of negative reviews for this book and they aren't wrong. It's certainly not fine literature. But Stine, as always, writes a compulsively readable adventure where you can't help but turn the page no matter how ridiculous it gets. And yes, it does get ridiculous. If you think Stine would challenge himself to write a carefully crafted plot, or people it with well-developed adult characters, you are sorely mistaken.
The leading man is introduced as a child psychologist with a controversial perspective on parenting--that a minimalistic approach to child-rearing creates the best results. It seems like a stark character trait, one that would certainly come up in the narrative. Never does, though. Like Goosebumps characters, Red Rain characters seem intentionally vague, someone for the reader to identify with rather than someone with a distinct personality. And admittedly it does work. By minimizing inner development, the emphasis is placed squarely on the high-stakes drama. We don't feel for the characters on a personal level, but we understand them enough to be carried along for the ride.
Some of the more interesting moments occur during the sex scenes. There's only 1.5 naughty moments, but Uncle Bob goes into surprising detail. On one hand it's fascinating to read--who knew Stine could be dirty?!--but also kinda uncomfortable. Like suddenly realizing that your mom isn't a virgin. Grosss!!
Overall, by no means top-tier horror, but nowhere near bottom of the barrel either. For the true Stine fan looking for Goosebumps with gruesome deaths and even a few bedroom moments, it won't let you down.
There's a lot of negative reviews for this book and they aren't wrong. It's certainly not fine literature. But Stine, as always, writes a compulsively readable adventure where you can't help but turn the page no matter how ridiculous it gets. And yes, it does get ridiculous. If you think Stine would challenge himself to write a carefully crafted plot, or people it with well-developed adult characters, you are sorely mistaken.
The leading man is introduced as a child psychologist with a controversial perspective on parenting--that a minimalistic approach to child-rearing creates the best results. It seems like a stark character trait, one that would certainly come up in the narrative. Never does, though. Like Goosebumps characters, Red Rain characters seem intentionally vague, someone for the reader to identify with rather than someone with a distinct personality. And admittedly it does work. By minimizing inner development, the emphasis is placed squarely on the high-stakes drama. We don't feel for the characters on a personal level, but we understand them enough to be carried along for the ride.
Some of the more interesting moments occur during the sex scenes. There's only 1.5 naughty moments, but Uncle Bob goes into surprising detail. On one hand it's fascinating to read--who knew Stine could be dirty?!--but also kinda uncomfortable. Like suddenly realizing that your mom isn't a virgin. Grosss!!
Overall, by no means top-tier horror, but nowhere near bottom of the barrel either. For the true Stine fan looking for Goosebumps with gruesome deaths and even a few bedroom moments, it won't let you down.
February 18, 2021
R.L. Stine freaked my kids out, and now, he's freaked me out. Great spooky story.
October 19, 2023
Read for my long ago love of goosebumps since it's written by the same guy R.L Stine.
Only problem was this did not even give me goosebumps. I was actually very annoyed by Daniel and Samuel. Starts off with a lady on a Carolinian island. There's a hurricane and she takes home two blonde hair blue eyed kids Daniel and Samuel. Her psychiatrist husband is not happy. The rest devolves as the twins try to "rule the school"
I spent the story wanting to backhand the twins Daniel and Samuel. But maybe that's because I don't have kids. That could change the readers mindset.
Only problem was this did not even give me goosebumps. I was actually very annoyed by Daniel and Samuel. Starts off with a lady on a Carolinian island. There's a hurricane and she takes home two blonde hair blue eyed kids Daniel and Samuel. Her psychiatrist husband is not happy. The rest devolves as the twins try to "rule the school"
I spent the story wanting to backhand the twins Daniel and Samuel. But maybe that's because I don't have kids. That could change the readers mindset.
December 11, 2012
Guys, this book is so sad. I have never read such a tragedy in my life.
Oh wait, no. It's not sad-sad, it's sad because it's so awful.
When I heard that R.L. Stine was coming out with a new book, I about wet myself. Goosebumps was the second series I was ever involved in (first being Boxcar Children!) at age 8 or so. I still have every single Goosebumps novel ever written packed in my closet - I'm saving them for my own kids.
That said, as an adult I recognize that Stine's not the best writer to grace children's fiction. But, you know, nostalgia and stuff.
Anyway, this book is just so awful. Did Stine devolve as a writer, is he not cut out for adult fiction, or is it all because I grew up? The writing was just bad. The story itself isn't awful, especially since Stine specifically states in the acknowledgements that his story is based on horror movies (so he's giving credit where it's due.) But the writing itself...
Lots of ellipses. Lots of very bad, oddly place ellipses. Like: "the leg...the leg...the leg came off." "And his eyes...his eyes...they were red." What?! That's not writing!
There were also lots of unnecessary fragments. "He lost. He lost. He lost his mind."
I also felt like there were SEVERAL typos, or missed editing thingies... like Martha, a minor character, mentions her 30 year old son, Ira. Then Ira turns out to be the name of a main character. Why would you use that same name twice? It confused me at first. The main male character also tells a story about a boy named Sammy, and then one of the other main characters is named Samuel. Do not recycle names like that! It's weird and unnecessary!
It's also like Stine could only think of one or two adjectives. I wish I had kept count of how many times I read "creamy white [butt/breasts.]" Creamy white. Really? (As a side note, I wish I was creamy white. I'm more of a radioactive, ghostly glowing white.)
The only thing that made this an adult horror novel is the addition of gore, extreme language and sex. The F word runs rampant throughout the novel in so many random moments. It reminded me of The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling - Stine's proving he can write for adults by adding as many swear words as possible. The sex wasn't as bad, but it was present and graphic. The gore was very graphic, and not well written. Some people can write gore. Stine can't.
I hold out hope that maybe he'll improve as he "grows up." I was just so disappointed by this novel. As one of Stine's biggest fans in childhood, this was a serious letdown. I'm sorry, Mr. Stine. I still hold fond memories of your books, but I'm just going to try and forget this one.
Oh wait, no. It's not sad-sad, it's sad because it's so awful.
When I heard that R.L. Stine was coming out with a new book, I about wet myself. Goosebumps was the second series I was ever involved in (first being Boxcar Children!) at age 8 or so. I still have every single Goosebumps novel ever written packed in my closet - I'm saving them for my own kids.
That said, as an adult I recognize that Stine's not the best writer to grace children's fiction. But, you know, nostalgia and stuff.
Anyway, this book is just so awful. Did Stine devolve as a writer, is he not cut out for adult fiction, or is it all because I grew up? The writing was just bad. The story itself isn't awful, especially since Stine specifically states in the acknowledgements that his story is based on horror movies (so he's giving credit where it's due.) But the writing itself...
Lots of ellipses. Lots of very bad, oddly place ellipses. Like: "the leg...the leg...the leg came off." "And his eyes...his eyes...they were red." What?! That's not writing!
There were also lots of unnecessary fragments. "He lost. He lost. He lost his mind."
I also felt like there were SEVERAL typos, or missed editing thingies... like Martha, a minor character, mentions her 30 year old son, Ira. Then Ira turns out to be the name of a main character. Why would you use that same name twice? It confused me at first. The main male character also tells a story about a boy named Sammy, and then one of the other main characters is named Samuel. Do not recycle names like that! It's weird and unnecessary!
It's also like Stine could only think of one or two adjectives. I wish I had kept count of how many times I read "creamy white [butt/breasts.]" Creamy white. Really? (As a side note, I wish I was creamy white. I'm more of a radioactive, ghostly glowing white.)
The only thing that made this an adult horror novel is the addition of gore, extreme language and sex. The F word runs rampant throughout the novel in so many random moments. It reminded me of The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling - Stine's proving he can write for adults by adding as many swear words as possible. The sex wasn't as bad, but it was present and graphic. The gore was very graphic, and not well written. Some people can write gore. Stine can't.
I hold out hope that maybe he'll improve as he "grows up." I was just so disappointed by this novel. As one of Stine's biggest fans in childhood, this was a serious letdown. I'm sorry, Mr. Stine. I still hold fond memories of your books, but I'm just going to try and forget this one.
November 8, 2024
It doesn’t matter if he’s written for adult or children R.L Stein can write clear and precise fiction. The tone was just right for this book and it was a unique twist on the creepy kid horror story.
I enjoyed this story through and through, but nothing really popped out at me for being particularly excellent. But there were moments near the end of the story when it’s getting to that big finale that things become a little bit too convenient for the characters and they were too old to believe the crazy stories of what they were being told. It was enough to wreck this book, but it was enough to make what could’ve been a great book into just a good book.
I enjoyed this story through and through, but nothing really popped out at me for being particularly excellent. But there were moments near the end of the story when it’s getting to that big finale that things become a little bit too convenient for the characters and they were too old to believe the crazy stories of what they were being told. It was enough to wreck this book, but it was enough to make what could’ve been a great book into just a good book.
May 25, 2020
As someone who grew up on Goosebumps as a kid I was excited when I found this book at a local store. A horror novel targeted to adults by R.L. Stine!? Awesome!
But I didn't take into consideration how uncomfortable that could actually be when it came to adult parts.
So yea, this book had some uncomfortable parts for me, it just felt to much like a Goosebumps book for adults.
All in all though I did enjoy this book, I thought it was good and had a really interesting concept to it.
I did have a few problems with it besides it just being uncomfortable though. Some characters went through certain things that was never brought up, questioned, or discussed and as a reader you're suppose to just accept it and go on with the story. I really hated that, plus It would get boring at times and I thought about giving it up but I was so intrigued to find out how it ends and already so far into it I just couldn't dnf it. So I finished it and, well, was it a good book? Yea it was ok, not his best work but then again he writes scary stories targeted to children, so how good would a book target to adults really be from a child author? For it being his second adult horror though I'll give this book a 3.5, it was good for being his second.
But I didn't take into consideration how uncomfortable that could actually be when it came to adult parts.
So yea, this book had some uncomfortable parts for me, it just felt to much like a Goosebumps book for adults.
All in all though I did enjoy this book, I thought it was good and had a really interesting concept to it.
I did have a few problems with it besides it just being uncomfortable though. Some characters went through certain things that was never brought up, questioned, or discussed and as a reader you're suppose to just accept it and go on with the story. I really hated that, plus It would get boring at times and I thought about giving it up but I was so intrigued to find out how it ends and already so far into it I just couldn't dnf it. So I finished it and, well, was it a good book? Yea it was ok, not his best work but then again he writes scary stories targeted to children, so how good would a book target to adults really be from a child author? For it being his second adult horror though I'll give this book a 3.5, it was good for being his second.
October 18, 2013
Like most kids of my generation, Goosebumps books were part of my formation as a reader. What elementary school kid didn't pick up at least a few of them on library trips. R. L. Stine was a freaking genius of horror to my childhood self. In fact, his books terrified me to the degree that I could only handle reading the Choose Your Own Adventure books, which, ironically, scared me less even though it was purportedly me dying over and over again, since I invariably made all the wrong choices. The other ones, though, I just did not have the mettle for at the time.
Because of my childhood fear of his books, I just could not pass up the opportunity to review his adult horror novel when the opportunity appeared in my inbox. Even at the time, I knew it was probably a bad idea, back before I started to see the negative reviews rolling in, but my inner child just had to see for itself what frightened me so much back in the day. As feared, Red Rain was not a good book, however it was thankfully bad enough to be highly entertaining in parts, which was pretty much its only saving grace.
For one thing, Stine's bread and butter has been writing for children, young ones, and he's been doing it since the 1980s. I remember the children's books of those days, because I read them for a while, before shifting to adult novels pretty young. The standards for children's literature were just not as high writing-wise as I feel they are today. I found the writing in Red Rain rather juvenile, though certainly there are plenty of successful authors of adult novels who make good careers on that. This style of writing does not appeal to me, however.
The biggest issue with the way he chose to write this novel, though, was that he set a lot of the action off-screen. He would be ramping up to something scary and would then the chapter would end and we would be stuck again with the mundane family drama. He did this to build suspense I think, as to who was committing the series of brutal murders, but, unfortunately, this was insanely obvious all along, so all that it did was take away a possibly terrifying scene. All told, there are only a few horror scenes in the whole book, and they take place in the last hundred pages or so.
Rather than giving the audience any actual action, he tries to keep them on the edge of their seats with suspense by constantly foreshadowing the horrors to come. This method can work, but its handled here with the subtlety of a brick through a window. For instance, Lea, a travel blogger, decides to go to the mysterious and creepy island off the coast of South Carolina, Cape Le Chat Noir. Oooh, the Cape of the Black Cat. Oh no, black cats are bad luck! Ahhhhhh!
There are also comments like this one from Lea in regards to the island ritual where people are purportedly killed and brought back to life: "'I always think these rituals are a hoot, don't you? They're almost always like from a bad horror movie. Hope I don't burst out laughing'" (17). That deftly sums up the whole book, and, spoiler alert, I totally did bust out laughing.
For those of you that fear spoilers, now is probably about the time to duck out; you have been warned.
During all those other pages where you're waiting for Stine to finally admit to the insanely obvious twist about what precisely is occurring here, you get to enjoy a lot of time with the characters. Sadly, the characters lack depth and a lot of things happen for no apparent reason. Mark, the father of the family, cheats on his wife with his assistant, but nothing ever comes of this at all. Lea never finds out, so this apparently happens only to add one more cliché to the book.
As the blurb mentions, the family adopts blond twins from Cape Le Chat Noir. Let's disregard the fact that the adoption process does not take just a couple of days and focus on the twins, Daniel and Samuel. Yes, these kids are rather creepy, and I am terrified by creepy children. They could have been super scary, I imagine, but I wanted to kill them not so much for being evil but for being incredibly annoying. These kids, though they're from an island off the coast of South Carolina, speak in some weird accent that seems like some combination of Irish and Cockney English, constantly calling people 'bruvver' and 'boyo.'
Even worse than their obnoxious way of speaking is their evil plan, which definitely reveals Stine's experience in writing horror for children and not for adults. Daniel and Samuel aim to take over the world middle school. Yup, that's their grand evil aim: "to rule the school." Pardon me while I shiver in my boots. I mean, damn, middle school is like the worst part of life and they are welcome to it. Also, their scheme for domination involves painting blue arrows on the cheeks of themselves and their comrades, like demented Avatar rejects.
Then there's the big showdown, which is where I totally lost it. Seriously, I was sitting in my house, reading about the cops arriving to confront the kids that had taken over the middle school and I was cackling like a mad woman. Inside, the kids have gotten the kitchen staff to cook for them, bacon and eggs, because school food is so incredibly delicious. The boys then go outside and totally dominate the police force with their powers (though Daniel's power is merely making Samuel use his really). Also, Sam's power? He shoots laser beams out of his eyes. He's a poor kid's Cyclops, basically.
Despite the superiority of laser eyes, the kids are taken out by the supremely lame action moves of Mark. Right. Then there's the tear-inducingly hilarious reveal of the final twist and the final destruction of the twins. Now, since this is running through classic horror territory, it can't just end that way, so there has to be one more final twist, leaving room for another hilariously awful book: the powers have moved to someone else, even though it makes no sense whatsoever even by the book's own logic. Hurrah!
Probably I should rate this lower than I have, but I'm giving it bonus points for giving me some good laughter. I didn't have enjoy it in the way I was supposed to, but I did get entertainment from it. If only I could believe this was intended to be a parody.
Because of my childhood fear of his books, I just could not pass up the opportunity to review his adult horror novel when the opportunity appeared in my inbox. Even at the time, I knew it was probably a bad idea, back before I started to see the negative reviews rolling in, but my inner child just had to see for itself what frightened me so much back in the day. As feared, Red Rain was not a good book, however it was thankfully bad enough to be highly entertaining in parts, which was pretty much its only saving grace.
For one thing, Stine's bread and butter has been writing for children, young ones, and he's been doing it since the 1980s. I remember the children's books of those days, because I read them for a while, before shifting to adult novels pretty young. The standards for children's literature were just not as high writing-wise as I feel they are today. I found the writing in Red Rain rather juvenile, though certainly there are plenty of successful authors of adult novels who make good careers on that. This style of writing does not appeal to me, however.
The biggest issue with the way he chose to write this novel, though, was that he set a lot of the action off-screen. He would be ramping up to something scary and would then the chapter would end and we would be stuck again with the mundane family drama. He did this to build suspense I think, as to who was committing the series of brutal murders, but, unfortunately, this was insanely obvious all along, so all that it did was take away a possibly terrifying scene. All told, there are only a few horror scenes in the whole book, and they take place in the last hundred pages or so.
Rather than giving the audience any actual action, he tries to keep them on the edge of their seats with suspense by constantly foreshadowing the horrors to come. This method can work, but its handled here with the subtlety of a brick through a window. For instance, Lea, a travel blogger, decides to go to the mysterious and creepy island off the coast of South Carolina, Cape Le Chat Noir. Oooh, the Cape of the Black Cat. Oh no, black cats are bad luck! Ahhhhhh!
There are also comments like this one from Lea in regards to the island ritual where people are purportedly killed and brought back to life: "'I always think these rituals are a hoot, don't you? They're almost always like from a bad horror movie. Hope I don't burst out laughing'" (17). That deftly sums up the whole book, and, spoiler alert, I totally did bust out laughing.
For those of you that fear spoilers, now is probably about the time to duck out; you have been warned.
During all those other pages where you're waiting for Stine to finally admit to the insanely obvious twist about what precisely is occurring here, you get to enjoy a lot of time with the characters. Sadly, the characters lack depth and a lot of things happen for no apparent reason. Mark, the father of the family, cheats on his wife with his assistant, but nothing ever comes of this at all. Lea never finds out, so this apparently happens only to add one more cliché to the book.
As the blurb mentions, the family adopts blond twins from Cape Le Chat Noir. Let's disregard the fact that the adoption process does not take just a couple of days and focus on the twins, Daniel and Samuel. Yes, these kids are rather creepy, and I am terrified by creepy children. They could have been super scary, I imagine, but I wanted to kill them not so much for being evil but for being incredibly annoying. These kids, though they're from an island off the coast of South Carolina, speak in some weird accent that seems like some combination of Irish and Cockney English, constantly calling people 'bruvver' and 'boyo.'
Even worse than their obnoxious way of speaking is their evil plan, which definitely reveals Stine's experience in writing horror for children and not for adults. Daniel and Samuel aim to take over the world middle school. Yup, that's their grand evil aim: "to rule the school." Pardon me while I shiver in my boots. I mean, damn, middle school is like the worst part of life and they are welcome to it. Also, their scheme for domination involves painting blue arrows on the cheeks of themselves and their comrades, like demented Avatar rejects.
Then there's the big showdown, which is where I totally lost it. Seriously, I was sitting in my house, reading about the cops arriving to confront the kids that had taken over the middle school and I was cackling like a mad woman. Inside, the kids have gotten the kitchen staff to cook for them, bacon and eggs, because school food is so incredibly delicious. The boys then go outside and totally dominate the police force with their powers (though Daniel's power is merely making Samuel use his really). Also, Sam's power? He shoots laser beams out of his eyes. He's a poor kid's Cyclops, basically.
Despite the superiority of laser eyes, the kids are taken out by the supremely lame action moves of Mark. Right. Then there's the tear-inducingly hilarious reveal of the final twist and the final destruction of the twins. Now, since this is running through classic horror territory, it can't just end that way, so there has to be one more final twist, leaving room for another hilariously awful book: the powers have moved to someone else, even though it makes no sense whatsoever even by the book's own logic. Hurrah!
Probably I should rate this lower than I have, but I'm giving it bonus points for giving me some good laughter. I didn't have enjoy it in the way I was supposed to, but I did get entertainment from it. If only I could believe this was intended to be a parody.
July 31, 2020
I really liked this one. Picked it up for a bit of light reading. The setting is very vivid and immersive and the story is fun
June 15, 2019
1.5 stars
I got 300 pages or 70% of the way in. And...I just can't anymore. It's such a hot mess.
I say this as a fan of R.L. Stine. Please...stick to kids & teens. This was painful. Obviously one can write whatever they wish. But if Stine writes another adult novel...I think i'll pass. It started out ok-ish and just went downhill from there. Then I looked up spoilers and decided finishing it wasn't worth the struggle.
I got 300 pages or 70% of the way in. And...I just can't anymore. It's such a hot mess.
I say this as a fan of R.L. Stine. Please...stick to kids & teens. This was painful. Obviously one can write whatever they wish. But if Stine writes another adult novel...I think i'll pass. It started out ok-ish and just went downhill from there. Then I looked up spoilers and decided finishing it wasn't worth the struggle.
August 31, 2024
I was obsessed with this author as a teen. So obviously I had to read this. I was hoping for more. More scare. More adult content. It was just ok.
February 13, 2017
2.5 stars
The story works okay, but the book fails on other levels - if Goosebumps/Fear street had a love child with an adult John Saul novel, this would be the offspring.
The author, who is talented when it comes to writing a ridiculous amount for children, stumbled when he brought most of the same writing techniques into an adult novel. The story wasn't too bad, especially for a horror novel that's aiming to pay homage to flicks the author grew up on, but the overuse of ellipses, the repetitive phrases, and the chapter cliffhangers don't translate well.
Kids have short attentions, they need the in-your-face, non-subtle chapter cliffhangers, they need the obvious spelled out for them in black and white. Adults don't, and it comes across cheesy when tried.
The characters aren't too bad, even if they don't stand out much more than paper-people used in the Goosebumps and Fear Street books. I could guess where some of it was going, although that didn't bother me. There was a twist or two I hadn't guessed, but it didn't win me over. The base storyline was okay - two oddball powered kids, a freaky storm the lead travel writer knew nothing about (how could she not know a giant killer hurricane was coming until getting to the island??), a nifty island idea that spawns dead people....but it got convoluted and wasted when the kids come back to raise chaos by wanting to do cheesy antics like mind control groups of children.
Sometimes the author seemed to relapse and forget himself, slipping into pure kid writing mode for some of the scenes. Other times he seemed to remember and climb out. There's some profanity which obviously didn't exist in younger works, a randomly tossed in sex scene I still can't figure out, but nothing troubling or over-indulged.
It's not a horrible book once you can sink into it. It takes a while to sink in and forgive some annoyances, however, and you may not have the patience to test the waters that long.
On the plus side, I had a dream come true when I got to meet R.L. Stine in person at a convention when I got this book autographed, as well as hear him speak in a writer's conference about his life's work.
June 9, 2019
WE ARE GOING TO RULE THE SCHOOL!!!
R.L. Stine's adult novel. All his original fans are all grown up now and we are here to support him!......
well.... The book starts off with Lea on an island. there's some great and creepy stuff going on but we don't stay there. After a hurricane completely destroys the island, she's out of there. along with 2 random kids she picks up off the beach.
Well, these aren't ordinary 12 year olds.
some throwbacks to Stine's Fear Street books: Division Street, scrunchies, sweaters, leggings or tights, sweaters, unfaithful partners and sweaters.
But seriously, this wasn't very good at all. i won't give up on Stine, he had a huge impact on my childhood and i think he has a good novel in there somewhere but this is so not it.
Michael Cerveris is such a great job narrating. there was many different accents and he did great on all of them.
R.L. Stine's adult novel. All his original fans are all grown up now and we are here to support him!......
well.... The book starts off with Lea on an island. there's some great and creepy stuff going on but we don't stay there. After a hurricane completely destroys the island, she's out of there. along with 2 random kids she picks up off the beach.
Well, these aren't ordinary 12 year olds.
some throwbacks to Stine's Fear Street books: Division Street, scrunchies, sweaters, leggings or tights, sweaters, unfaithful partners and sweaters.
But seriously, this wasn't very good at all. i won't give up on Stine, he had a huge impact on my childhood and i think he has a good novel in there somewhere but this is so not it.
Michael Cerveris is such a great job narrating. there was many different accents and he did great on all of them.
June 27, 2024
Village of the Damned (1995 Film) meets Tin & Tina from Netflix vibes.
A traveling writer, Lea, finds herself amidst the first winds of an upcoming hurricane in an unfamiliar area off the coast of South Carolina. Lea soon discovers the inhabitants of this island partake in a ritual of which the hurricane pales in comparison. As the storm makes it way out of town Lea is left in the devastation only to uncover a set of golden haired twins who she decides she will just take with her back home.
As you can imagine with bringing any sort of strangers into your home 12 years old or not, the family Lea attempts to force together soon begins to fall apart as these two boys reveal they are not as angelic as their appearance leads everyone to believe...
As obsessed as I am with R.L. Stine's Fear Street books, I always find myself just a little disappointed in his adult books. I was very into the beginning, with the storm and the mystery and the ritual....but, then I was left with a strange feeling... Something was missing from this story and I am not 100% sure what it is. I found I disliked all the characters except the twins, who I found to be quite amusing.
"We want to rule the school!" being one of my favorite quotes. I would say to listen to the audiobook and it will be an enjoyable time.
A traveling writer, Lea, finds herself amidst the first winds of an upcoming hurricane in an unfamiliar area off the coast of South Carolina. Lea soon discovers the inhabitants of this island partake in a ritual of which the hurricane pales in comparison. As the storm makes it way out of town Lea is left in the devastation only to uncover a set of golden haired twins who she decides she will just take with her back home.
As you can imagine with bringing any sort of strangers into your home 12 years old or not, the family Lea attempts to force together soon begins to fall apart as these two boys reveal they are not as angelic as their appearance leads everyone to believe...
As obsessed as I am with R.L. Stine's Fear Street books, I always find myself just a little disappointed in his adult books. I was very into the beginning, with the storm and the mystery and the ritual....but, then I was left with a strange feeling... Something was missing from this story and I am not 100% sure what it is. I found I disliked all the characters except the twins, who I found to be quite amusing.
"We want to rule the school!" being one of my favorite quotes. I would say to listen to the audiobook and it will be an enjoyable time.
January 15, 2013
First I must say that I have a tremendous amount of respect for R.L. Stine. He's been entertaining children for years with his Goosebumps series and Fear Street Series, not to mention his television shows, like The Haunting Hour. Naturally, I was excited to see that he had written a novel for adults.
When I was about halfway through, I kept fighting my feelings of disappointment. I thought perhaps I was judging him too harshly because he was a children's author--that maybe I'd been somehow holding him to a different standard. Yet, I think it's because he is (or has mostly been) a children's book author that "Red Rain" was sadly, not very good. I hate to say it, truly...I was so excited to read this book and I wanted to love it, but it read like one of his books for adolescents, only sullied with bad language and sex!
The plot was not realistic, but it's fiction, it doesn't have to be.... I think it was an "okay, so-so" sort if book, but unfortunately, it was not what I expected from such a talented author.
When I was about halfway through, I kept fighting my feelings of disappointment. I thought perhaps I was judging him too harshly because he was a children's author--that maybe I'd been somehow holding him to a different standard. Yet, I think it's because he is (or has mostly been) a children's book author that "Red Rain" was sadly, not very good. I hate to say it, truly...I was so excited to read this book and I wanted to love it, but it read like one of his books for adolescents, only sullied with bad language and sex!
The plot was not realistic, but it's fiction, it doesn't have to be.... I think it was an "okay, so-so" sort if book, but unfortunately, it was not what I expected from such a talented author.
Want to read
March 6, 2016Are you fucking kidding me?!? R.L. Stine has a new book coming out?!?
I can't begin to tell you how excited I am for this.
:D
ETA on 9/13: Edelweiss just approved me! Can't wait to start this.
I can't begin to tell you how excited I am for this.
:D
ETA on 9/13: Edelweiss just approved me! Can't wait to start this.
January 9, 2013
I want to give this an extra star just because I love R.L. Stine, and have been anxiously anticipating this book since March 2011, but I can't. Red Rain is a truly, truly awful book.
This isn't R.L. Stine's first horror book for adults. Red Rain is simply a Goosebumps book with some sex and cursing thrown in so readers will be fooled into thinking it's an adult book.
Red Rain is the story of an adventure travel (or is it travel adventure?) blogger, Lea, who willingly goes to an island off the Carolina coast while a hurricane is supposed to hit. When the hurricane does make landfall, it is a COMPLETE SURPRISE!! To everyone except the reader.
In the aftermath of hurricane Ernesto, Lea stumbles across 12 year old twins who claim to have just lost their home and family. I assume Daniel and Samuel are Irish, thanks to the excessive use of "boyo," but there is never any real explanation of that.
The book continues as Lea brings the twins home to her family, and R.L. Stine is finally in his element. He now has three 12 year old boys and a 14 year old girl to write about, with the occasional chapter focused on the grown ups.
There is Lea's husband, Mark, who is the spitting image of Jake Gyllenhaal. Mark gets raped by his assistant, Autumn, but I don't even think R.L. Stine realizes that.
There is Roz, Mark's sister, who serves no real purpose at all.
And of course, there's Officer Pavano. We are gifted with several chapters detailing Pavano's love life, which has NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING, except trying to justify why he wants to be a hero at the end of the book. I think. I don't know, I'm grasping at straws just like R.L. Stine obviously was when he wrote it.
I marked the page I was on when I thought I had the whole book figured out: 48.
On page 357 I found out that yes, Red Rain really was that predictable.
The only scary part about this book was how horrifically underwhelmed I felt when I finished it.
Do not read this book. Do not think you will be able to love it out of the nostalgia you have for its author. You will only wind up disappointed in him and yourself.
This isn't R.L. Stine's first horror book for adults. Red Rain is simply a Goosebumps book with some sex and cursing thrown in so readers will be fooled into thinking it's an adult book.
Red Rain is the story of an adventure travel (or is it travel adventure?) blogger, Lea, who willingly goes to an island off the Carolina coast while a hurricane is supposed to hit. When the hurricane does make landfall, it is a COMPLETE SURPRISE!! To everyone except the reader.
In the aftermath of hurricane Ernesto, Lea stumbles across 12 year old twins who claim to have just lost their home and family. I assume Daniel and Samuel are Irish, thanks to the excessive use of "boyo," but there is never any real explanation of that.
The book continues as Lea brings the twins home to her family, and R.L. Stine is finally in his element. He now has three 12 year old boys and a 14 year old girl to write about, with the occasional chapter focused on the grown ups.
There is Lea's husband, Mark, who is the spitting image of Jake Gyllenhaal. Mark gets raped by his assistant, Autumn, but I don't even think R.L. Stine realizes that.
There is Roz, Mark's sister, who serves no real purpose at all.
And of course, there's Officer Pavano. We are gifted with several chapters detailing Pavano's love life, which has NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING, except trying to justify why he wants to be a hero at the end of the book. I think. I don't know, I'm grasping at straws just like R.L. Stine obviously was when he wrote it.
I marked the page I was on when I thought I had the whole book figured out: 48.
On page 357 I found out that yes, Red Rain really was that predictable.
The only scary part about this book was how horrifically underwhelmed I felt when I finished it.
Do not read this book. Do not think you will be able to love it out of the nostalgia you have for its author. You will only wind up disappointed in him and yourself.
December 3, 2013
When Stine first started in the YA thriller genre, he actually wasn't half bad. Books like Blind Date were loads better than the crap he churned out (almost weekly) once the Fear Street and Goosebumps factories ramped up production. But I hadn't seen anything new from him come out in quite some time, so when I saw this book (and the glowing blurbs from other authors on the cover), I decided to give it a chance.
Red Rain is, in a word, terrible.
It was like he took a rejected plot from one of his childrens' series, dropped in some awkward sex scenes and a few F-bombs, and called it "Adult." There is no trace of anything resembling a coherent plot, and characterization seems to consist chiefly of spare descriptions of the clothes they are wearing (which happens every time anyone enters the scene). Not one character feels anything like a real person, with the twins being the worst-written of the bunch. The side-story involving the cops is pointless and unnecessary, apparently existing for the sole purpose of expanding the page count.
The book lacks even a single scare, both of the big "reveals" are obvious from miles away, and the final "shock moment" has absolutely no foreshadowing (and makes absolutely no sense).
I'd say Stine should go back to writing books for kids, but kids deserve much more than this pablum.
Red Rain is, in a word, terrible.
It was like he took a rejected plot from one of his childrens' series, dropped in some awkward sex scenes and a few F-bombs, and called it "Adult." There is no trace of anything resembling a coherent plot, and characterization seems to consist chiefly of spare descriptions of the clothes they are wearing (which happens every time anyone enters the scene). Not one character feels anything like a real person, with the twins being the worst-written of the bunch. The side-story involving the cops is pointless and unnecessary, apparently existing for the sole purpose of expanding the page count.
The book lacks even a single scare, both of the big "reveals" are obvious from miles away, and the final "shock moment" has absolutely no foreshadowing (and makes absolutely no sense).
I'd say Stine should go back to writing books for kids, but kids deserve much more than this pablum.
April 5, 2018
Simple, yet captivating. Didn't want to stop reading. ignore the poor reviews and pick it up for yourself.
June 4, 2024
i really enjoyed his second adult novel. thought it was fun , fast paced and nostalgic
RE-READ 6/4/24
I thought this was a very fun read and a treat if you grew up a RL Stine fan. It is a fast read with typical end of chapter cliffhangers that Stine used in Fear St and Point Horror books of yore, BUT, this had a lot more gore, very visceral, AND some sexy times. Being an adult horror novel, it was nice to see Stine get more into the horror and adult aspects of the genre. Also, taking place on Long Island was a treat for me since I live and grew up here. I can see how he got inspiration from Children of The Damned and that particular franchise. You get some voodoo death rituals, some evil twins, some gory murders, some "Carrie" like deaths , a nice twist at the end that I should have seen coming but was happy I didn't and in the end you get a nice Stine experience you remember from your childhood.
RE-READ 6/4/24
I thought this was a very fun read and a treat if you grew up a RL Stine fan. It is a fast read with typical end of chapter cliffhangers that Stine used in Fear St and Point Horror books of yore, BUT, this had a lot more gore, very visceral, AND some sexy times. Being an adult horror novel, it was nice to see Stine get more into the horror and adult aspects of the genre. Also, taking place on Long Island was a treat for me since I live and grew up here. I can see how he got inspiration from Children of The Damned and that particular franchise. You get some voodoo death rituals, some evil twins, some gory murders, some "Carrie" like deaths , a nice twist at the end that I should have seen coming but was happy I didn't and in the end you get a nice Stine experience you remember from your childhood.
May 19, 2015
Ok I gave this 4 stars... It was well written and had a good storyline. I didn't like how the husband cheated or how the twins had fire eyes as burned people. I think the story would have been scarier if when Lea brought the twins back they would have killed without their special powers and tried to frame it on the real brother and sister. However it kept my interest and I wanted to see what happened. The ending with Axl was quite interesting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2024
I am a big fan of the goosebumps series so hearing the author had written an adult horror novel instantly interested me. This has Stines signature style all through it, but that style doesn't translate brilliantly in to the adult genre. There's a fake out tease at the end of most chapters, and the ending is very camp and at odds with the rest of the serious tone he was going for. There were some well described horror moments, but not sure if I'd reccommend this one :/.
Leah writes a travel blog and goes to a remote island to write an article. During an intense storm, she comes across 2 orphan twins who's parents have died so she brings them back to America. But when people start to die and kids in the town go missing, she realises the twins are much more demonic than they seem.
Leah writes a travel blog and goes to a remote island to write an article. During an intense storm, she comes across 2 orphan twins who's parents have died so she brings them back to America. But when people start to die and kids in the town go missing, she realises the twins are much more demonic than they seem.
October 26, 2012
Back in the days of my elementary school's mobile book fair, R.L. Stine was starting to make waves with his, at the time brand new, series Goosebumps. It was enjoyable to a point. It always embodied a fun, campy spookiness, and each installment was always liberally littered with entirely unbelievable premises. Yet, even though I enjoyed them I never considered myself a great fan. I would argue that it was because by that age I'd already read half of Stephen King's offerings, and those - especially his earlier works - are truly the stuff of nightmares, so I'd already been desensitized to the spook in Stine's work.
Fast forward a few decades and I found myself intrigued by Stine's latest effort, "Red Rain" in, dare I say it, the adult horror genre. To tell the truth I can't say I walked into it with particularly high expectations... in fact, I'd remembered so little of his writing style from before that I approached this much like I would a newly minted author.
But then I remember something: The only reason I ever went out of my way to get my hands on anything from Goosebumps was because my mom would always give me ten bucks to spend at the book fair. I'm not sure if you remember your grade school book fairs but the ones I attended were explosions of Lissa Frank (not interested), some series about twins named Jessica andSamantha Elizabeth (Sweet Valley High I think?) and other assorted garbage like locker mirrors, calendars, posters of Saved by The Bell actors and - oh yeah, a handful of semi-interesting books.
Why am I telling you this?
Well, it turns out that I didn't really like R.L. Stine much growing up either - but when I saw this new title come up a yearning of nostalgia came with it. Unfortunately, for this title, it fell flatter then his kids books ever did.
The premise of adorable twins being swiftly adopted by travel writer Lea and transplanted from their island home to suburban family life is so mundane it hurts. The writing is blocky, pedantic, technical and entirely devoid of a sense of humor. The characters are flat and predictable. What's worse than any of that is that it failed to scare me even once. No sharp intake of breathe, no struggle with myself on whether it would be best to keep reading and find out what happens or put it down and get a glass of water. None of that.
Overall, this one was dead, dry and boring. A book that I would imagine being a tough sell to even the most die-hard now adult Goosebumps fan. My final advise? Steer clear.
To comment on this review or read more like it, please pay me a visit on my blog, To The Point!
Fast forward a few decades and I found myself intrigued by Stine's latest effort, "Red Rain" in, dare I say it, the adult horror genre. To tell the truth I can't say I walked into it with particularly high expectations... in fact, I'd remembered so little of his writing style from before that I approached this much like I would a newly minted author.
But then I remember something: The only reason I ever went out of my way to get my hands on anything from Goosebumps was because my mom would always give me ten bucks to spend at the book fair. I'm not sure if you remember your grade school book fairs but the ones I attended were explosions of Lissa Frank (not interested), some series about twins named Jessica and
Why am I telling you this?
Well, it turns out that I didn't really like R.L. Stine much growing up either - but when I saw this new title come up a yearning of nostalgia came with it. Unfortunately, for this title, it fell flatter then his kids books ever did.
The premise of adorable twins being swiftly adopted by travel writer Lea and transplanted from their island home to suburban family life is so mundane it hurts. The writing is blocky, pedantic, technical and entirely devoid of a sense of humor. The characters are flat and predictable. What's worse than any of that is that it failed to scare me even once. No sharp intake of breathe, no struggle with myself on whether it would be best to keep reading and find out what happens or put it down and get a glass of water. None of that.
Overall, this one was dead, dry and boring. A book that I would imagine being a tough sell to even the most die-hard now adult Goosebumps fan. My final advise? Steer clear.
To comment on this review or read more like it, please pay me a visit on my blog, To The Point!
October 30, 2012
It’s funny, but reading this book, I could tell it was written by R.L. Stine. There’s just something about his voice that translated from Goosebumps and Fear Street into this novel. That being said, I decided that I like R.L. Stine best when he’s writing for kids. Actually, I liked him best as Jovial Bob Stine, writing humor back in the day, but second best when writing horror for kids. There was something really uncomfortable for me reading the sex scenes in this book (yes, there are sex scenes). It was like finding out my third grade teacher is now writing erotica–I’d rather keep Stine as a beloved part of my childhood and not think of him in those terms, which isn’t entirely fair to him, but is nonetheless how I feel.
As for the story, there was good and bad. It starts strong, with a deadly hurricane on a mysterious island known for mixing the living with the dead. Travel blogger Lea is visiting when such a hurricane hits. She is witness to both the ceremony to bring the dead back to life and to the tragedy when the hurricane levels the town. I’d have actually liked to have spend more time exploring the island and its rituals, since this was the most compelling part of the story to me. Most of the story, however, revolves around a pair of creepy twins that Lea finds in the wreckage and decides to adopt and bring home, despite her husband’s protestations. These twins are totally creepy: they speak in a strange style, are too thin, always have weird smiles on their faces, and, oh yeah, THEY KILL PEOPLE. I could say spoiler alert, but you kind of see it coming.
There’s a lot in the plot of this book that makes you scratch your head. Why, for instance, is everybody okay with the rushed adoption? It never quite made sense how all the adults are willing to go along with this. There are also a lot of elements that felt like that could have come from a 1950s chiller thriller. The twins become laughable at times instead of terrible, especially when they are constantly exclaiming that they want to “rule the school.” Even with its problems, though, I enjoyed the book, overall. I did feel like Stine didn’t write in an adult style as much as he wrote in his normal style but included “adult” elements. I’d have liked a bit more complexity to make this a truly adult book.
As for the story, there was good and bad. It starts strong, with a deadly hurricane on a mysterious island known for mixing the living with the dead. Travel blogger Lea is visiting when such a hurricane hits. She is witness to both the ceremony to bring the dead back to life and to the tragedy when the hurricane levels the town. I’d have actually liked to have spend more time exploring the island and its rituals, since this was the most compelling part of the story to me. Most of the story, however, revolves around a pair of creepy twins that Lea finds in the wreckage and decides to adopt and bring home, despite her husband’s protestations. These twins are totally creepy: they speak in a strange style, are too thin, always have weird smiles on their faces, and, oh yeah, THEY KILL PEOPLE. I could say spoiler alert, but you kind of see it coming.
There’s a lot in the plot of this book that makes you scratch your head. Why, for instance, is everybody okay with the rushed adoption? It never quite made sense how all the adults are willing to go along with this. There are also a lot of elements that felt like that could have come from a 1950s chiller thriller. The twins become laughable at times instead of terrible, especially when they are constantly exclaiming that they want to “rule the school.” Even with its problems, though, I enjoyed the book, overall. I did feel like Stine didn’t write in an adult style as much as he wrote in his normal style but included “adult” elements. I’d have liked a bit more complexity to make this a truly adult book.
October 20, 2020
A very fun and VERY gory story! Really weird to read R.L. Stine write “creamy white ass” though.
April 19, 2022
Even though it was a bit predictable I still had a good time reading it! Kids are creepy as it is and this plays on that
November 12, 2012
When I heard that R.L. Stine was coming out with a horror novel for adults, words cannot describe how thrilled I was. As an avid fan of horror, I grew up reading R.L. Stine's "Goosebumps" and "Fear Street" stories, as well as his novels for young adults. That being said, I went into "Red Rain" with high hopes, and unfortunately, Stine's effort here doesn't pan out all that well.
First, the synopsis. Lea Sutter, a travel writer and blogger, lands on an island off the east coast of the U.S. with extremely bad timing - a hurricane is on the way. After it gives the island a merciless pounding, Lea comes upon two twin boys, Daniel and Samuel, in the midst of a mysterious red rain that washes over the island. She decides to adopt them on the spot, much to the chagrin of her husband, psychologist Mark Sutter, and their son and daughter, Ira and Elena.
I think you can pretty much figure out that things are going to go from bad to worse, since the two children predictably aren't the little angels they make themselves out to be. I won't say anymore for fear of spoiling the plot, which, I'm sad to say, is full of holes. That isn't the only problem with "Red Rain," however.
There were several points throughout the book in which it felt as though R.L. Stine was trying to tell an adult-oriented story through a narrative framework that's typically found in children's or young adult books. To be fair, this is a framework that Stine has been using throughout his literary career as a children's/young adult novelist, so it isn't all that surprising to see it pop up in places. But when it's paired with the harsh language, gory violence, disturbing imagery, and sexual situations that he introduces, it comes off as awkward and difficult to believe. They also feel, in some places, like they've been tacked on in order to make the book feel more adult.
I'm glad to see that Stine is expanding beyond young adult books, but if he wants to write a really good and scary adult horror novel, he's going to have to step into the adult world with both feet and not just keep one foot firmly planted in books for young adults. That being said, I hope that Stine continues to develop his craft in terms of adult-oriented horror, because "Red Rain" is unfortunately not all that great of a start.
First, the synopsis. Lea Sutter, a travel writer and blogger, lands on an island off the east coast of the U.S. with extremely bad timing - a hurricane is on the way. After it gives the island a merciless pounding, Lea comes upon two twin boys, Daniel and Samuel, in the midst of a mysterious red rain that washes over the island. She decides to adopt them on the spot, much to the chagrin of her husband, psychologist Mark Sutter, and their son and daughter, Ira and Elena.
I think you can pretty much figure out that things are going to go from bad to worse, since the two children predictably aren't the little angels they make themselves out to be. I won't say anymore for fear of spoiling the plot, which, I'm sad to say, is full of holes. That isn't the only problem with "Red Rain," however.
There were several points throughout the book in which it felt as though R.L. Stine was trying to tell an adult-oriented story through a narrative framework that's typically found in children's or young adult books. To be fair, this is a framework that Stine has been using throughout his literary career as a children's/young adult novelist, so it isn't all that surprising to see it pop up in places. But when it's paired with the harsh language, gory violence, disturbing imagery, and sexual situations that he introduces, it comes off as awkward and difficult to believe. They also feel, in some places, like they've been tacked on in order to make the book feel more adult.
I'm glad to see that Stine is expanding beyond young adult books, but if he wants to write a really good and scary adult horror novel, he's going to have to step into the adult world with both feet and not just keep one foot firmly planted in books for young adults. That being said, I hope that Stine continues to develop his craft in terms of adult-oriented horror, because "Red Rain" is unfortunately not all that great of a start.
December 18, 2012
Hey hey so this is my 55th book read and reviewed this year--Goal Acheived :) EXCITED..and I so wanted to give this book a solid three star but I cant as this was a decidedly a 2.5 star book for me and it only got the boost up because of my literary respect for the author..Stine's Fear Street books had me hooked as an adolescent and I remember them as eerie with lots of foreshadowing, groteseque descriptions and storylines with enough secrets thrown in to make you want to read and I expected nothing less here just pumped up as this is touted as however this first Adult novel I really wanted more intensity, more gore, more suspense and more evil and despite some mature situations and language (not that bad) there was really no distinction from a Young Adult novel, I felt that there could have been more and like he was letting us sip wine coolers instead of giving up the hard shot we want and need LOL...Okay so the story follows Lea, a travel journalist as she is intrigued and lured to explore a beautiful, abandoned island off South Carolina with a spooky past rumored to be haunted with the dead coexisting with the living. So intrigued Lea decides to travel and leave her husband Mark and children home and immerses herself in the culture and sights of the island when a hurricane hits and devastes everything..With the island and its inhabitants basically destroyed alone and traumatized Lea wanders around when a blood red rain starts to fall and she sees two beautiful twin boys standing there almost waiting for her. Lea falls instantly in love with them and takes them back home (mistake) and the evil she was warned about manifests.. I kinda thought the story should have took more focus on Mark and his BS and the twin's origin and I admit I wanted and expected more but I did enjoy, recommended for those who loved him as a child..see what you think.
August 31, 2016
This was a story about a women who was on an island during a hurricane and ended up adopted orphaned twins. Blending them into the family when she got home was not so easy.
The premise was a good one and it read like an R.L.Stine book, but there was something missing for me. It seemed like sentences were missing and there were a lot of holes. The characters were inconsistent, especially the parents. I did enjoy the brothers and their lingo. It felt like the author couldn't decide if he was writing for children, young adults or adults. A so-so read for me.
The premise was a good one and it read like an R.L.Stine book, but there was something missing for me. It seemed like sentences were missing and there were a lot of holes. The characters were inconsistent, especially the parents. I did enjoy the brothers and their lingo. It felt like the author couldn't decide if he was writing for children, young adults or adults. A so-so read for me.
March 2, 2016
Having grown up reading the Goosebumps and Point Horror stories R. L Stine has always been one of my first favorite authors, so to learn that he was bring out an adult aimed book was something I couldn't resist.
This book is terrible, the plot is dull and unimaginative as the story revolves around two orphan boy twins and there's something not quite right about them (sound familiar?!?)
Even the sex scenes that have been thrown in as its an adult aimed novel are just plain weird aswell!
This book is terrible, the plot is dull and unimaginative as the story revolves around two orphan boy twins and there's something not quite right about them (sound familiar?!?)
Even the sex scenes that have been thrown in as its an adult aimed novel are just plain weird aswell!
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