Spider Eats Fright

by H. Roberts

Urban myths are becoming urban facts, gods have started to ride the subway and a monster from ancient folklore is hungrily stalking the streets.

While working in the vibrant city of Osaka, Australian bush witch, Alley Weaver, is suddenly gifted with the ability to see the ghosts and spirits that normally remain hidden. She soon finds that her housemate is being tormented by a murderous poltergeist and a dangerously seductive creature, known as a nukekubi, is hunting her friends. To save them, Alley will have to break her oath to ‘do no harm’ and delve into the forbidden side of the craft, but wielding the dark magic needed to destroy these otherworldly horrors always has consequences.

Genres: Fantasy

258 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2014

About the author

After completing a degree in linguistics, H. Roberts decided to move from her sleepy home in country Western Australia to the megacity of Osaka. This gave her the opportunity to research popular Japanese ghost stories, mythology and local urban legends and resulted in her first novel "Spider Eats Fright."

It was also there that she discovered her greatest passion— tea.

H. Roberts has spent many years learning the varying processes behind making a perfect cup of tea and now that she's back in W.A. she spends her time growing it.

Reviews

[Andretta Schellinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book, I was enthralled by it. It had suspense, great description, likable characters that people can relate it, and a good plot. If you read about the author you can tell that she has lived in Japan and Australia due to the extent of the research and description that the author is able to impart into the story. The history of Japan is outstanding and it really gave me a lesson in the religious undertones that run through Japan on a daily basis. Another thing that you know right away is that the author is a witch, or at least has enough of a history to be able to accurately depict what a witch has to do to perform spells.



The one thing that I had an issue with is that Devan and Jade just go along with what happened, they don't question why Alley can do all of this magic or why they just went along with maggots started appearing or doors started to be thrown around. While she may or may not have been a friend and no matter how chill you are, there is no way that that is going to be okay. ESPECIALLY when heads start flying around. I am just saying that while the story was really good it was a little disjointed why they blindly followed her. I am not saying that I wouldn't follow her if I was in their position, but the main thing is how Jade just magically was able to perform magic. I was like huh?

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book through first reads so thank you very much!

I absolutely adored this book! The story was very interesting and I loved the Japanese setting and all the urban legends mixed into it.
The characters were really likeable and I desperately wanted to go ghost hunting with the three of them!

One of the best books I've read in a while!

I've already got friends lining up to borrow it and will be recommending it to more!

[Pamela Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast paced story, the narrative flowed and the descriptions of Japanese places, temples and myths were interesting. The story held my attention and using Japan as the setting with the 3 central characters all of different nationalities was unique!

[Emma Buckett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, please tell me there will be more!!?'

[Eisah Eisah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

(Spoilers within)

I'm writing this a few days after reading it so I might not remember everything as clearly as I usually do in reviews. This was a nice read. It didn't pull me all the way in but it got close at points.

Basically, Alley is a practicing witch who has moved to Japan because her dreams told her to, but she keeps seeing spirits there. Many of whom are dangerous. She meets some people like her new roommate, Hannah, and two coworkers, Devan and Jade. Together they have to deal with hauntings and ghost stalkings. A lot of Japanese folklore is brought up in this book, whether it's mentioned briefly or used as a main plot point. I do like Japanese mythology, so I enjoyed hearing about the different spirits and even knew some of them right away.

Sometimes not much happened with them which left me with some questions about why they appeared. It did explain why Alley could see the ghosts suddenly, but it didn't really explain why they all seemed to be in one spot. But, that's not really a big deal.

There were some errors.

Sugi wa Awaza.

Should be "tsugi".

Hannah exexplained.

Jade was n never...

...Devan a and Jade...

...depths of h her...

Alley hadn't quite make it in time.

Then I got a bit confused because in Japanese "kaeru" is "frog" and it can also be "to return", but it kept saying "kaerou". That works as a conjugation for "to return" (it would be "Let's return" or something that effect) but not for "frog".

There were also some inconsistencies.

"This place does good ramen, it's got a TV, and even better, a drinks vending machine. Trust me, you'll want the drink," she said.
"You think it's that spicy?" Devan scoffed. "Seriously?"

Little things like this. She mentioned a lot of things, but never mentioned anything about it being spicy, so while I was reading I did a double-take.

I don't have too much to say. I generally enjoyed it enough to keep reading without a problem, and there were a few spots I was really drawn in, but it didn't captivate me as much as some other books. I'm not sure I can exactly pinpoint why. There's nothing terrible I have to say about it, either. There were a couple things that may have been too much (too many spirits mentioned, or like with Devan and his weapons). Those parts could feel likes they were just listing Japanese words.

We also do find out the ghost haunting a teapot is the ghost of a murderer, but I still didn't feel like I had enough explanation. Alley found an article and learned the very basics of his crime, but I don't recall there being much explanation of his motive or what happened. (I know he apparently drowned someone but I mean who were they? Why did he drown them? How were they connected to him?) I understand the idea that in Japan spirits can be resentful and lash out at anyone, even people totally unrelated to what happened, but I felt like I needed more of a "why" explanation. The nukekubi didn't need much of an explanation because feeding on humans is just what it does, but the ghost was of a previous person and people need some sort of motivation. I didn't come away feeling like I understood why he murdered people while he was alive.

I did like in the end that they used a ghost from England to defeat spirits from Japan. I wasn't expecting that, but it was great that there was some brief acknowledgment of other folklore.

Thinking on it now, usually I tell people these days that they split up one book into many unnecessarily, but this is a series that's probably the opposite. Instead of having so many spirits crammed into one book just to make brief appearances, it would be good to have a story revolving around different ones in different books. There's a lot to work with. I could easily imagine Alley trying to deal with something like a series of attacks by Kuchisake-Onna.

Overall it came together. If you have any interest in folklore, particularly in Japanese spirits, you'll probably enjoy this book. I probably got more distracted by things like the Japanese than some other people would because it stuck out to me when it was wrong.

Read more reviews here.

[Drew Constance · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like urban fantasy- Ghosts and are curious about Japanese Myths and Lore you will enjoy Spider Eats Fright. It features friendship, fighting, magic and questions the belief of faith, practice and ritual and when it is right/not right to question your own principles [especially if dark forces are involved] and what are the consequences of the choices you make if you do.

The thrilling, creep factor alone was enough of a page turner, and I really loved delving a little into myths I hadn’t heard before, and how H. Roberts explored them in the context of the story. I was certainly putting the book down time and time again, because of the eeriness and almost reality of the lore freaked me out.

You really get a sense of alienation and claustrophobia from Ally [our MC] as she navigates her way through the streets and buildings of OSAKA. The culture is compacted and expansive. The customs and lore are intimidating to Ally. Glad to have friends, I enjoyed the developing relationships with her co-workers Jade and Devan [although Jade left me questioning her personality many times- frustratingly] I liked that they had their own ideas, and cultural backgrounds from the countries they were from and how it reflected in their personalities and added dimension to the overall story. Admittedly I didn’t like some aspects of Ally’s character. I understood the need to protect and withdraw given that she worked with energy [ as a Witch myself I know this is a constant lesson that needs honing and energy is defiantly something to be conscious off], sometimes though to me she seemed more passive then she needed to be. Overall though the character development and journey was a ride – exciting, hilarious, stressful [haha] and I was invested from the get go.

For fans of spells, haunting and a fresh take on Witches [Australian Bush Witch – loved this] I recommend that you check out this book.

[Beth Gorence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wicca meets Yōkai, what more could you want?