Creeping Beauty

BookBub Review

Song Pairing: Wrong Side of Heaven by Five Finger Death Punch

Industrial Divinity by Regina Watts

Don't miss the exquisite illustrations by cover artist Nuno Moreira that enrich this paperback edition of the transgressive novel from DOTTIE FOR YOU author Regina Watts!

Once upon a time lived a woman who was immortal but not invulnerable. This is the story of everything that happened after she discovered that fact. This is the story of a virus. It is the story of a country that is afraid of change. This is the story of a woman who becomes a sadomasochistic performance artist called "The Degenetrix" during a time when the human race is more isolated than ever before.

This is the story of the Degenetrix and the career she built by mutilating herself on the Internet for the pleasure of strangers, of stalkers, and of a mysterious benefactor who showers her with wealth but refuses to reveal his identity. This is the story of love during pandemic, of alienation in an alienated world. This is the story of pain and of lust and of the immortality of the human mind.

But don't worry. This is a happy story, and you are permitted to feel happy while you read it. Empathy is the greatest of all human virtues and the human race has been put on this planet called "Earth" so as to learn it.

Such is the will of the spider-mother.

"She had once read, however, that the human brain responded to fantasies about a thing as if it were truly experiencing that thing—that books, for instance, impacted the human mind as if the reader lived the protagonist’s life."

Transgressive fiction delves us deep into the tropes of one woman's immortality. Set during a pandemic related to the times, her reclusive lifestyle and her discovery of her human condition sets her on a path of creating human body art and sharing it with the world. Her ability to self-harm herself unto the brink of death and yet defy it in all its forms has the world fascinated. Her fan base grows as they watch her through her video postings, her popularity grows exponentially and she grows more and more dangerous in her acts. The more dangerous she becomes, the more popular her Only Fans website grows and she is given monetary donations. As the world watches her, she watches the world. Humanity is not always pleasant, greed, unwanted sexual advances, comments that reach to destroy her and yet she comes to know an everlasting love.

My thoughts: There is so much to this story that creates a deep thinking. A woman's painful life, searching for a way to connect with her inner self and find some hope in a world filled with ugliness. She is tired of the world and its expectations put upon woman and humanity itself. Through her journey she is able to find a connection to life and death and traverse through a spirituality that brings her a peacefulness that she has been searching for. Now let's talk about her finding her one true love, the one who desires her, accepts her, and loves her deeply and unequivocally. Is there anything more beautiful? I think not!!

There is much brutality as this is a splatterpunk love story at its deepest core, to love oneself and find true love in all its glory. The beauty of it far outweighs the gore. There is so much passion within, it feels as if you have become a part of it. The feelings, the beauty, the passion, the love, and a unique experience of LIFE!

Enthralling and riveting writing that makes one really think and inclusion of learning new is an experience that cannot be easily forgotten!

Format: Purchased Physical Copy

Song Pairing: Stay by Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko

Sunday, March 8, 2026

Sisters of the Crimson Vine by P.L. McMillan

John Ainsworth nearly died in that car crash.

Soon he’ll learn there are worse fates.

After a brutal accident, John awakens in the dilapidated Crimoria Convent under the care of thirteen unconventional nuns. Grievous injuries trap him within the borders of the ruined sanctuary and its strangely successful vineyard. When his body starts healing faster than nature allows, John’s questions quickly pile up.

A pair of Church auditors arrive to look into the convent’s finances. It’s obvious the pair are unwelcome guests, but John has bigger concerns. The order’s annual ritual draws near and John begins to discover things that make him wonder if any of them are truly safe in the hands of the Sisters of the Crimson Vine.

“Old wounds heal and the scars remain to remind us,” she said. “It’s important to remember and appreciate each and every day.”

John Ainsworth is an auditor traveling to a convent. On the way there, he has a car accident and becomes debilitated. The sisters are welcoming and take care of him, but there are many occurrences that have him confused and questioning. There are seemingly many secrets and an underlying strangeness that surrounds the sisters and the convent. As the secrets are revealed, Mr. Ainsworth must make a difficult decision that will affect a life and all the lives of the sisters.

In the vein of cosmic horror and folklore, this is an atmospheric novella where the unknown is dark and menacing. The sisters are the heart of the story as they are shown to be strong in their convictions and powerful in their commitments to each other, the convent, and the preservation of the land. They hold strong in their yearly sacrifice that is paramount to their survival. They follow the ways of the old and timeless. They are the "Sisters of the Crimson Vine."

Grim and foreboding. Isolating and unnerving. The dread is quietly built which leads to some shocking and horrifying details. It's ominous, uncanny, and has an evocative quality within the storytelling.

“Year after year, the grapes are nourished in the soil that our sisters died on. Their blood fed the earth and, in turn, the earth feeds us,” Agatha said.

Format: Purchased Kindle eBook

BookBub Review

Song Pairing: A Beautiful delusion by Peter Gundry

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Behind the Veil by E.J. Dawson

Can she keep the secrets of her past to rescue a girl tormented by a ghost?

In 1920s Los Angeles, Letitia Hawking reads the veil between life and death. A scrying bowl allows her to experience the final moments of the deceased. She brings closure to grief-stricken war widows and mourning families.
For Letitia, it is a penance. She knows no such peace.

For Alasdair Driscoll, it may be the only way to save his niece, Finola, from her growing night terrors. But when Letitia sees a shadowy figure attached to the household, it rouses old fears of her unspeakable past in England.

When a man comes to her about his missing daughter, the third girl to go missing in as many months, Letitia can’t help him when she can’t see who’s taken them.

As a darkness haunts Letitia’s vision, she may not be given a choice in helping the determined Mr Driscoll, or stop herself falling in love with him. But to do so risks a part of herself she locked away, and to release it may cost Letitia her sanity and her heart.

“There’s another fate waiting out there for you, tangled up in your past,” Old Mother Borrows said, “and you’ve got to go find it to get through it, even if it means revisiting your worst fears.”

Letitia has striven to unburden her past and make peace with her inner self. She has lived through tragedy, turmoil and loss. She tries to keep her life as secret as possible, but her calling to help others slowly unveils that which she has tried to keep hidden. Letitia can see behind the veil of life and death and through her gifts she is able to provide some peace to grieving families. When she is called upon to try to help reveal the disappearances of little girls, she is brought into a darkness of murder and a malevolent spirit is brought forth. She must do all she can to unburden the little girl that is being tormented and save her life. She must delve deep within herself to find the strength she needs to confront her own inner demons and the demon taking lives.

There is so much to love about this book. Set in the 1920's, a gothic atmosphere, characters to be invested in and routed for, wanting so much for them to have that happy ending. Death, sorrow, and evil forces. The darkness and the light in this is very well balanced. There were many spine chilling and shivering moments, but there is also many elements of humanity such as love, caring, forgiveness and healing. Letitia is very frail but through it all she finds her strength and finds a love she never thought she would ever have again.

Very engaging and well written. A recommended read for anyone that enjoys spine tingling, paranormal suspense with a little romantic element.

Format: Purchased Kindle eBook

BookBub Review

Song Pairing: Trapped by MiyaVi Amore