The Sleepwalkers by J. Gabriel Gates: Reviewed by Mary Reiss @ Sweeping Me

The Sleepwalkers
By J. Gabriel Gates
Published October 3rd 2011 by HTC

Synopsis borrowed from Goodreads:

A chilling and masterfully crafted teen horror novel guaranteed to keep the pages turning, the mind reeling, and the lamp on any reader's bedside table on long after midnight. Privileged and popular Caleb Mason is celebrating his high school graduation when he receives a mysterious, disturbing letter from his long-lost childhood playmate, Christine. Caleb and his jokester friend Bean decide to travel to his tiny hometown of Hudsonville, Florida, to find her. Upon arrival, they discover the town has taken a horrifying turn for the worse. Caleb's childhood home is abandoned and his father has disappeared. Children are going missing. The old insane asylum has reopened, and Christine is locked inside. Her mother, a witch, is consumed with madness, and Christine's long-dead twin sister whispers clues to Caleb through the static of an a.m. radio. The terrifying prophesies of the spirits are coming to pass. Sixteen clocks are ticking; sixty-six murdered souls will bring about the end of the world. As Caleb peels back layer after layer of mystery, he uncovers a truth more horrible than anything he had imagined, a truth that could only be uttered by the lips of the dead.

by Mary Reiss from Sweeping Me

My Opinion:

OK, I usually don’t get too excited over books. I like some,I love some,I even hate some,but I usually don’t get excited about them,so I was surprised that this YA book has done just that! I am usually a romance/thriller book junkie those have been my favorite forever.. until now! I am officially a YA fan.

In “The Sleepwalkers”,J. Gabriel Gates spins a thrilling tale that is made for YA’s. Why didn’t I know about this author sooner? I guess it’s because I just assumed that YA books were dull and filled with immature,little kid things. I know,that makes me sound old and sad. J. Gabriel Gates is a terrific writer and is better then I could have hoped for. I didn’t need blood,guts,gore or anything of the sort for this book to grab my attention. What I needed,and this book provided so well,was its ability to make me feel like I was part of the story. The characters were believable and acted as I would have in the same given situations. “The Sleepwalkers”was riveting and had me hooked from page one. J. Gabriel Gates is now an author I will be looking for more from.

“The Sleepwalkers”takes its readers through the thrilling tale of Caleb and his best friend Bean. They have just graduated High School and are deciding their future when Caleb receives a letter from an old friend letting him know that she hasn’t forgotten what happened in their youth and needs his help. Caleb puts his plans on hold and takes Bean to Florida where he grew up and a dreadful thing happened. They try to uncover what is going on and why Caleb’s father has disappeared. Along the way,they find out many disturbing things and learn what has happened during all the years Caleb has been gone. This book is well written and a real page turner,even if you happen to be,like me,much older than the normal YA book demographic. You will love this thrilling tale.

I give “The Sleepwalkers”by J. Gabriel Gates 5 of 5 stars.

Author Bio:

Author J. Gabriel Gates is a native of Marshall,Michigan. The son of an English teacher,his passion for the written word began at a young age. During college,another passion – for performing – led him to get his B.A. degree in theater from Florida State University.

During his years in Los Angeles,he appeared in a dozen national TV commercials and penned several screenplays while laying the groundwork for his career as a novelist.

His first novel,Dark Territory:The Tracks,book 1,is now in stores and his second novel,The Sleepwalkers,is coming out October 3rd. Both are being published by HCI Books.

He currently lives in Southwest Michigan.

You can connect with J. Gabriel Gate at his website http://jgabrielgates.com on Facebook Or Twitter

Mary Reiss's rating...

Wanna see what else Mary is up to? Catch her on her blog @ Sweeping Me!

Legend of the Black Angel and a Zompacolypse giveaway from Sean Thomas Fisher

Thank you so much to Darkfallen and Greta for the opportunity to be a guest blogger during their Zompacolypse 2011! What a great event and to tell you the truth, this is my first time being a guest blogger and I’m a little nervous. But I shouldn’t be, after all, Halloween is my time to shine. I mean, not only do I write horror books, but I was the kid who liked coming to grade school dressed up as a flesh-eating zombie paperboy with a bag full of bundled brains. And that was on St. Patrick’s Day.

I went on to become the guy in college who used to ride his mountain bike into Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City to visit the eight foot tall Black Angel. At night. Alone. With only a Leatherman for protection. No joke. And let’s be honest, going into any cemetery at night by yourself will make ya pretty paranoid, let alone when the Black Angel is looming on a nearby hillside. You see, local lore has it that Teresa Feldevert’s eighteen year-old son, Eddie, died of meningitis in 1891 and was buried beneath a tree stump-shaped monument in Oakland Cemetery. When her husband, Nicholas, died a few years later he was buried next to Eddie beneath a huge bronze angel statue Teresa had made by a sculptor in Chicago. Now, here’s where it gets tricky… When Teresa died in 1924, she was placed next to her husband, under the protective wings of the shiny bronze sculpture. But soon after her remains hit the dirt, the angel turned black. Legend has it, that Teresa killed her son after catching him with one of her friends, and it is her evil that caused the change in color, which serves as a warning for people to stay away from her grave.

When you Google it, you’ll see that is said if you touch or kiss the Black Angel on Halloween night, you will be struck dead…unless you are a virgin. And I am proud to tell you today, that I have indeed touched the Black Angel on Halloween night and survived. And to this day, no one believes me…that I wasn’t a virgin. And I’m like “come on, man, it was college! I wasn’t a virgin. Don’t be ridiculous!” And they’re all like, “Uh-huh, riiiiiiight…”

Darkfallen: I believe ya Sean...I mean male virgins in college? Ummmm now THAT would be hard to believe. Lolz *waggles eyebrows*

And that, my friend, is the curse that grows a little darker each and every Halloween since. But now that I’ve had a real life girlfriend for over six years, I plan on returning to Oakland Cemetery this Halloween and, once and for all, proving my power over this silly superstition by touching the angel’s cold darkness once again. So if I’m still blogging in November, you will know that I have some serious Jedi powers, which I promise only to use for evil. And if I’m not still blogging come this November…you will know that I should have never started dating my girlfriend.

Thanks for hanging out with us! And we REALLY hope your still alive come November. Do you need us to come hold your hand on Halloween? Because we can probably arrange that. Better yet we will even kiss the angel with you. Then we will see...will she kill us all? LOLz For more zombie action you can visit Sean at his blog: http://www.fishblogwash.blogspot.com/ He's just DYING to meet you ;) muhahahahahs!

*** Sean Thomas Fisher is offering Paranormal Wastelands and exclusive e-book giveaway of his novel " Cold Faith and Zombies" !!


The scripture warns that in &;the last days; & the love of the great body of believers will grow cold and maybe that's why people who aren't people anymore began pounding on Paul's front door. With his zombie movie and gaming experience, his wife, Sophia, and trusty friend, Dan, know they have an edge against extinction. Paul quickly gets them guns, a siphon-kit and a plan to head south, because if the walking stiffs don't get them, the freezing Iowa temps will.

Overnight, Paul goes from the unemployment line to the front line in a battle against evil, where he finally finds his calling as a leader. However, his swelling confidence quickly propels them towards tragedy, putting his faith to the ultimate test while the fate of others hangs in the balance.

This contest is international!! Just follow the bouncing ball and sign up below!!

And by bouning ball we mean fill out the Rafflecopter below. Be sure to leave you email address so we can email you the book. Also this giveaway is open to follows only so if your not already lost in the wastelands, join us!

We don't bite...much! lolz