The Black Farm (The Black Farm #1) by Elias Witherow

 

The Black Farm (The Black Farm #1) by Elias Witherow - 325 pages

After the loss of a child along with a slew of agonizing misfortunes, Nick and Jess decide to end their lives. Unable to cope with the misery that fills their days, they commit one last act together and die in loving relief.
But when Nick wakes up, he soon realizes that death isn't the gentle darkness he expected. Panicked and horrified, he struggles to understand the twisted abominations and hellish world he's now trapped in.
Driven by desperation and a sudden will to survive, he sets out to find Jess and is unable to cope with the thought of her having to suffer through the terrors this new reality holds.
But nothing could prepare him for the nightmares he found... nothing could prepare him for The Black Farm.

*Trigger warning: There is a brief rape scene so be aware

I am not sure what the heck I just read but holy crow, it was AWESOME!  The mere idea of this place existing is horrifying in of itself.  Existing in a place for eternity where there are all kinds of mutilated beasts whose only enjoyment is the torture of Suicidals.  The only way out is to die and respawn somewhere else and do it all over again?  Yikes.  I love the creativity of this author and will definitely read the next in the series.  For those that like horror this is a must read!

Playground by Aron Beauregard

 

Playground by Aron Beauregard - 341 pages

ONCE IN A LIFETIME

Three low-income families have been given a handsome retainer to join Geraldine Borden for a day at her cliffside estate. All the parents must do to collect the rest of their money is allow their children to test out the revolutionary playground equipment Geraldine has been working on for decades. But there’s a reason the structures in the bowels of her gothic castle have taken so long to develop—they were never meant to see the light of day.
When a band of dysfunctional children is suddenly thrust into a diabolical realm of violence, they must grow up instantly to have a chance at survival. Will they find a way to put their differences aside, or be swallowed up by the insidious architecture all around them?

I knew this book would be a hard read when I started, I mean, it's a book about killing kids on a playground.  But honestly, this is the first book that totally grossed me out to where I had to take a hiatus from reading for a week or so because it was so gross.  "Was it how the children died?" you may ask.  Nope, it wasn't because of that. The chapter towards the beginning where we learn a bit about Geraldine and take a glimpse into her fantasies turned my stomach.  Well, not literally, but I was pretty grossed out; it stuck with me for a while and I had to take a break.  After that I started back up with the book and it was fine.  Will I read another by this author?  Probably not, I think I may have found my line in the sand.

P.S.  Please don't judge me by this book; I'm already doing that myself!  😉