Not my usual type of book, but I started this with an open mind. Found it an excellent storyline and really dark and twisted. A very graphic horror, so if you are prudish in anyway or do not like graphic violence or stuff like that keep away! Other than that I found it past paced and kept me hooked till the last page. First book by this author, but believe me I shall look out for more!

I suppose I was in the right mood when I read this book because I had a lot of fun in reading it.
It's quite far from those I usually read but this is an attractive mix of different themes and the writer makes the mix work.
It's very dark and creepy and perfect if you're in the mood for some good horror.
I appreciated the plot, the characters and the style of writing.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't be the last.
Highly recommended unless you're prude so I suppose this won't be your cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

The Devil's Equinox is a good, twisted, dark horror story. It is graphic and we'll written. I will read smothering John Everson.

So I went back and read the blurb on this to see if possibly I misread it when I requested it. I didn't.

The positives - the writing was ok. The author had some nice passages that left a distinct visual. I liked the last paragraph of the book. along with the imagery when Angie first reappears. Babies - we all love babies, Right?!

The negatives - I started to get intrigued thinking that the author was going to maybe explore the seven deadly sins when we were introduced to the food room in the Equinox. Unfortunately, that didn't pan out. I didn't like any character (maybe the baby). I guess I wasn't expecting soft erotic horror. If you are going there - go all the way or not at all. The "twist" - if you have seen a horror movie or read a horror book then you saw this one coming a mile away. I know there is an audience for this book out there. It didn't do it for me. Several times I almost shoved it into my DNF pile but I feel obligated to see ARC novels to the finish. This didn't get better and I found myself rushing to just get through this. I think maybe this story would make a decent low budget horror flick and would take less time than reading it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchage for an honest review.

There was this glorious period in horror history during which The Devil (caps firmly intended) was everywhere. From Rosemary’s Baby to The Devil’s Cat by Johnstone to weird movies starring Ernest Borgnine dressed in a black robe muttering something in Latin.

With The Devil’s Equinox, John Everson brings us back to that glorious time when over-the-top deviltry was fun. And fun it is!

Now, I do warn you that it’s gruesome. You’ve got sex, perversions of all kinds, and blood! If you aren’t into things that get…graphic…you might try a different book.

And, usually, I’m not really fond of main characters who get into a world of trouble by thinking with their ‘little heads’ rather than actual brains, but I liked this guy.

This one was a lot of fun!

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

John Everson has become one of the best writers of dark erotic fiction. He's so good at it that I sometimes wonder what his private life is really like! This book is no exception. His mind Goes to some very dark places and you willingly follow. Highly recommended.

Nasty and dark, this excellent novel will have you looking over your shoulder, guaranteed. The characters are vividly portrayed, and you can't help but feel empathy for the father, though you also can't help but think he just might have brought it all on himself. Nail-biting suspense; I loved it! Recommended.

** I thank the publisher and/or author for allowing me to read this novel as an ARC, without recompense, in exchange for my honest review. **

John Everson captivated me with this truly graphic and erotic horror.
Not the type of book i normally read but although there was too much eroticism for my taste i found the novel rather exciting and dramatic.
The motto here is be careful what you wish for and who may overhear your innermost thoughts and make our wish come true.
Good book to read over a couple of winter nights.

Everson’s tale of witchcraft and suburbia is an interesting tale that kept me absorbed in this world but unlike his previous novel, House by the Cemetery, did not hold a lot of surprises for me. The book is good little page turner but left me a bit cold after reading.

The characters are very well crafted but found it very difficult liking the hero of the piece as I found him to be largely lack of character. He is egotistical, self wallowing and worst of all, a moaner who never takes responsibility for any of his actions. Austin is what Austin does basically. On the other hand, we have Regina who is very much alive and she is what she is with no distractions or excuses. She is the meat in the story and that keeps things interesting. Her character and although she does despicable things, I personally was drawn more to her character and if it wasn’t for the child scenario that played out, I probably would be championing her more.

The plot is very well put together and although there is a lot of debauchery and lack of morals being played out at Club Equinox, this is very fitting for the story. The plot is somewhat predictable and through foreshadowing, you can pretty much guess where the story is going to go. Saying this, it did keep me interested to the final page. The final scene was ok and though I understand the reasoning, I feel that a better ending could have been initiated that wasn’t so expected. The final word on Club Equinox left me with a lot of questions and maybe hopefully we may be able to visit this world again to see what the final outcome was.

Overall, this is an interesting and quite a well written book with twist and turns and a very readable factor. This is the second novel that I have read by Everson and I liked it but did not love it but did find it very enjoyable. I have downloaded a few of his other books. Although, it did not hit the height that House by the Cemetery did for me, I would recommend this to people who like their sex and dark fiction dark. A worthwhile book overall.

Review Copy

Take 1 part PAINFREAK mix in 3 parts magic and then add a shot just because. Now you've got not just a fun John Everson novel but a great drinking game as well.

John is all about sex and horror. Prudish? You won't like this. He's the author most likely to. To what? *shrug* Whatever. Read his book and see. THE DEVIL'S EQUINOX is just his latest, start here and work your way back. He's awesome.

Recommended reading.

These "villains" really believe--and that's what is so scary. Not the hangers-on, those folks who just participate at Club Equinox for the orgies and BDSM and funky alcoholic concoctions and the pleasure of perversions--but the inner core, the real "bad guys," the ones who quite literally will stop at nothing to obtain the Power. Those are terrifying. Fanatics always are.

John Everson's newest novel is so powerful, so terrifying, so implacable in the evil it describes, that I could not stop reading. I'm not sure which terrified me more, the implacable fanaticism of the believers--or the ending. Just when you thought it was safe----. What a conclusion!

Austin is a Marketing Manager in a quiet, laid back, community in Central Illinois. He is married to a woman he once deeply cherished, and the father of a beloved infant daughter (approaching toddler age, but not yet walking). He and wife Angie just don't get along any more, or perhaps Angie is just contemptuous of him. At any rate, Austin makes an enormous error; drinking at his hquiet local, he tells a stranger, at midnight, he wishes his wife would die. If that resulted in the Devil taking Austin's soul, that would be one consequence, and perhaps understandable. But Austin, in his alcoholic fog and lust and thoughtlessness, embarks on a course which will damage not only him, but those he holds dear. A foolish "wish" which immediately becomes a horrifying lesson in "Be careful what you wish for."

I’m the first to review this one and honestly wish I had nicer things to say. But then again, reviewer’s integrity and all that. So..Pick up a sort of book you used to like reading years ago and see if it still appeals. It’s fascinating to see how one’s tastes change and mature. But change and mature they do and, as such, crap like Devil’s Equinox no longer works. And I know for a fact it isn’t Everson, it’s definitely me. John Everson has always wrote books just like this, erotic scary stories, albeit this is still substandard even for him, because it’s neither erotic nor scary, nor really. Just some trite tale of devil worshippers, witches and one idiot man, who cries way too much and thinks way not enough or at least not with his upstairs brain. Or your basic story of a boy meets girl who is way too good to be true and finds out she’s a witch who wants his baby for a ritual. And mind you I didn’t expect a tour de force or even something especially literary, Everson seems to have hit his comfort level and either can’t or won’t rise above and that probably works for him, he’s been around and has his fans and that’s all ok, but this was just dumb. Not mindless, mindless is ok, but intelligence insulting. And while I may no longer read all that many horrific stories, when I do, I still have some standards. Plus Flame Tree has been putting out considerably superior genre books. This is definitely toward their lower bracket. Very cheap, cheap thrills, cheap sex. If you’re in a mood for schlock, this is it. Quick read, at least, but as it progressed, my opinion of it went down, so it was like a countdown, initially 3, then down to 2 and the ending brought it down to 1. Not to say there isn’t a readership for this out there, but definitely didn’t work for me. Thanks Netgalley.