Friday, October 31, 2014

REVIEW : Inferno Park by J.L. Bryan


Inferno Park by J.L. Bryan 

Publication date: Aug 11th 2014 

Genres: Horror

Source: ARC given by author for honest review.

Links : Goodreads / Amazon 



Carter was only twelve when he witnessed the disaster that killed more than a hundred people at Starland Amusement Park. Five years later, Carter’s hometown is no longer a busy Florida panhandle resort, but a slowly dying town full of empty motels and attractions rusting behind chains and padlocks.

Now something evil stirs in the ruins of the old amusement park...something with an alluring siren song drawing visitors into the dark mysteries of the forbidden world behind the gate. Something with an appetite for restless, yearning souls.

Carter reluctantly returns to the old park in the company of a new girl in town, who is obsessed with urban decay and pop-culture ruins, and discovers the evil at work. To stop it, and protect the children of the town, Carter will have to face his oldest and deepest fears.

                    My Thoughts                   


Inferno park, or really Starland Amusement Park was super successful until one grim day, when a sinkhole opened up and took down most of the park. Let me start off by saying that the events that took place up until the collapse of the park were amazing, like I could see everything coming down in slow motion ( how it happens in movies, specifically Final Destination ).

Carter was only 12. He was at the park that day with his friends when the whole park collapsed and hundreds died. It should have been him, he should have been on the Inferno Mountain ride but he chickened out at last minute.  Now, 5 years later he has to deal with the decisions he has made, and the decline of the town since the park has closed. The worst part is that now, kids are going missing. Carter and his friends have to stop what is happening in the park. He has to face going back into he park, and and evil being that still lingers in the park, longing for more souls! 

I thought Inferno Park was a great read, Thrilling and exciting it kept me on my toes trying to figure out what or who was lurking in the park! The description of the park and the rides were great, I could imagine all the rides and the layout. J.L Bryan does wonders describing the park so I felt like I knew what it was like. 


Since we are talking about the description of the park, every time he described the huge devils head of the Inferno Mountain ride I kept thinking about the entrance to the freak show in season 4 of American Horror Story. It is exactly what I have pictured in my head! 



And while I was searching for the devils head from American horror story, I also found these great pictures of this ride, which reminds me of the Inferno Mountain ride ( on a smaller scale ). The great thing is that the pictures shows how this park looked like when it was full and bustling with people, and then later after the park had been abandoned. Reminded me very much of Inferno Park. This was a book that not only thrilled me and scared me but also made me think about how small amusement parks like Starland Amusement park made or broke small towns. I am always a huge fan of J.L. Bryan, and this book was a great book to read to get me in the Halloween Spirit. 

Plot : Great, I enjoyed all of the twist and turns. The final scene in the park was a little long, but overall a great read!

Characters: Loved Carter and Victoria, and even Jarred, but it was a little tough to feel connected to Jarred's big group of friends.

Cover: love love love the cover, definitely  draws me in. J.L. Bryan had the cover up for vote between two options, and this cover won my vote ! 

You might like: TV / Movies : American Horror Story season 4 : Freak show, Goosebumps, Are you Afraid of the Dark, ... and lets add Final Destination while we are at it! 

Rating: 4



                    Author Bio                    

J.L. Bryan studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on the English Renaissance and the Romantic period. He also studied screenwriting at UCLA. He enjoys remixing elements of paranormal, supernatural, fantasy, horror and science fiction into new kinds of stories.
He is the author of The Paranormals series (starting with Jenny Pox), The Songs of Magic series, Nomad, and other books. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Christina, his son John, and some dogs and cats.



Website   /   Twitter 


Check out other amazing books by J.L. Bryan, and my Reviews !


I am currently reading Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper by J.L Bryan , so check back soon for a review! 

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