Gaby Triana

Ah, this book! The first few pages already had my attention, but I kept having to set it down to deal with real life. (Terrible, I know.) Finally, earlier this week, I settled in on a quiet evening to read. In 4 hours, at midnight, I was done. Let me tell you, friends. Gaby Triana deserves some kudos for this book. Similar to my favorite horror movies, this is the kind of book that is a lovely slow burn. It gives you just enough to keep you absolutely invested, while hanging that one show more important fact that will uncover the dark truth right over your head. I had a blast reading this!

First off, I absolutely loved Valentina. Or Vale as she liked to be called. As someone who also went through the pain of questioning their religious upbringing, and the divides that can cause, I felt for her deep in my heart. What I liked most about her character though was that Vale was real. She was flawed, and she knew it. She made bad decisions at times, and she knew it. She held pain deep down inside, instead of actually confronting it. I felt like she was a character made for me, and that made reading this story a breeze. I wanted Vale to be happy and safe, although I was pretty sure that was going to be a tall order to fill.

I also have to applaud Triana for all the inclusiveness in this book. From LGBTQ characters, to families broken by divorce, to addressing the tough topic of losing a parent, it was in here. I think that all readers know how easy it is to apply this kind of content with a heavy hand. I am happy to share that this wasn’t the case at all in Moon Child. Everything feels like it belongs right where it is. Just like real life, Vale’s world is full of beautiful things and not so beautiful things. Of trials, and of happiness. I absolutely loved that.

It would be entirely too easy to gush about the atmosphere that is built here in this book, and of how easy it is to get immersed in. While there were a few small things I had trouble with, mostly while the story was first unfolding, the fact remains that this book begged to be powered through. If you’re looking for something a little scary, and full of spiritualism? This is your next read. show less

It should be known, first and foremost, that I'm a sucker for anything related to Sleepy Hollow. I grew up addicted to the wonderfully chilling story of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. So it's no surprise that when Gaby Triana's book made its way onto my radar, I snatched it up without hesitation. Sleepy Hollow is steeped in such rich lore. I had high hopes that Triana would put her own spin on it. Spoiler alert: I was right.

First off, I loved that this book wasn't simply a show more retelling of the same story. While it definitely borrows some of the atmosphere and the tension, Micaela's experiences are on a level all their own. I could feel the anxiety on the page from the moment that Mica stepped foot into her childhood home. True to its roots, the Sleepy Hollow here has this overall aura of the supernatural. Things that might have felt odd anywhere else, feel completely normal. Triana had no problem convincing me that Mica's life was destined to be special, and I was definitely on board.

As events unfolded, this brilliant sense of doubt started to overcome me. Mica didn't know who to trust, and to be honest neither did I. Which was so wonderful. There are plenty of times where I've figured out an ending well before it comes to fruition. In this case, I was ecstatic about the fact that I had no idea where things were going. Mica was rushing pell-mell into the unknown, and all I could do was hold on tight. The paranormal part of this, mixed in with the expertly woven mystery, created a book that I just couldn't put down. I was so terribly annoyed every time I was interrupted while reading this. You could have cut the tension with a knife.

Now, I admit that the ending left me a little cold. I'm not sure how I wanted this to end, and it's possible that I was just too invested to ever really be happy with whatever happened, but it didn't vibe for me. The good news is that this barely registered on my overall scale for this book. Wake The Hollow had me so swept up, that I wasn't really bothered. I was more upset that it had come to an end. show less

Review Copy

I've stepped back a bit from reading and reviewing this year. Now that I'm retired I have so many more options for my time. For that reason, I haven't been reading as many new authors, or maybe I should say authors I haven't read before. I tend to read what I want to read by those I'm already familiar with. That being said, when Gaby Triana reached out to me requesting I read and review her new book, Island of Bones, I was a bit hesitant, until she mentioned Tim Waggoner had show more suggested she contact me. Tim is one of my favorite authors and I've been fortunate to read more than a dozen of his books in the six years I've been reviewing horror. So, his recommendation was good enough for me.

"I was Ellie Whitaker, unmarried, childless, and twenty-six years old. And I'd been dreaming. I wasn't dreaming as myself. I was dreaming as Nana."

When Ellie's Nana, Leanne Drudge, passed away, it was decided to return her ashes to her old home in Key West, Casa de los Cayos. The problem was that was a long time ago and Ellie had no idea where the house even was. Not to be deterred, Ellie set's out on her quest and battles the owner of the current property, a category two hurricane, and ghosts to return her grandmother to her ancestral home and find the truth about her history.

"Nostalgia for a place I'd never known hit me hard. The drink wasn't helping either. Everyone had someone to party with, and I was alone with a ghost in my purse and memories of a place I'd never been.

The author has a light touch in telling her ghostly tale and fills her story with believable characters, some charming, others disagreeable, but all richly developed.

The title, Island of Bones, comes from the English translation of the original Spanish name for Key West, Cayo Hueso.

All told, Island of Bones is one of the better pure ghost stories I've read recently, and one I can easily recommend.

The work is self-published and is available in both paperback and e-book formats.

From the author's bio - Gaby Triana is the bestselling author of horror and YA novels, Island of Bones, Cakespell, Wake the Hollow, Summer of Yesterday, and many more, as well as 40+ ghostwritten novels for best-selling authors. When she's not obsessing over Halloween, Christmas, or the paranormal, she's taking her family to Disney World, the Grand Canyon, LA, New York, or Key West. Gaby dreams of living in the forests of New England one day but for the meantime resides in sunny Miami with her boys, Michael, Noah, and Murphy, her husband Curtis, their dog, Chloe, and four cats—Daisy, Mickey Meows, Paris, and Bowie. show less

All right, let's be upfront here and say that my five stars for this book are essentially for my absolute unmitigated DELIGHT that someone wrote a YA book that takes place in River Country, the (now closed) water park attached to the Fort Wilderness camp gound at Walt Disney World.

I should probably say what the book is about before going on with my ranting about River Country. A teenage girl goes back in time, to the 1980s, and ends up at River Country, where she meets a cute boy. That was show more all fine.

This book is essentially about teenagers at Fort Wilderness, and I was about 8 on the first of the vacations we took there, and 11 on the second -- which is exactly when this book is set, and it completely brought back memories of being 11 years old and having fun with other kids, but also watching the teenagers and thinking they were SO COOL and how I couldn't wait to be a teenager so I could have the BIGGEST FEATHERED HAIR IN ALL OF DISNEY and sit on my Minnie Mouse towel on a beach chair in all of my feathered glory. The author nailed every tiny detail, it was a rush, even when she would describe the characters walking from place to place, it was EXACTLY how it was. She described the chairs. And the gift shops. And the attitude of the 80s. Um, why would you need a life jacket? Are you planning on falling out of the canoe? show less