Demonic Games Series Books 1 - 3

Scary Supernatural Horror with Demons

By: Sara Clancy, Scare Street

Narrated by: Thom Bowers

Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's Summary

No secret stays hidden forever....

Mihail Vaduva has long forgotten about his grandmother and their ancestral home. That is, until he comes across an opportunity to stay at Castle Vaduva. Mihail’s excited to have a bit of freedom and reconnect with his family’s history. But he never could have expected the shocking horrors hidden within the ancient walls....

This collection contains all books from the Demonic Games trilogy:

Nesting (Book 1): Eager to escape boarding school, Mihail decides to spend his final year of high school in the castle. But he soon unearths secrets darker than anything he’s ever imagined....

Buried (Book 2): Trapped within the twisted web of revenge and murder, Mihail and his friend Abe search for a way to stop the horrors about to be unleashed onto the unsuspecting world.

Captive (Book 3): As Mihail and Abe uncover the mysteries and madness surrounding Castle Vaduva, Mihail starts to question everything he’s ever known about himself and his family.

©2019 Scare Street (P)2019 Scare Street

Intriguing Series!!

Loved this series!!

Nesting, book 1:
Mihail Vaduva grew up in Castle Vaduva but left when he was little. He's now decided to come back and help his grandmother and do his final year of high school there. But upon entering the grounds, unexplainable things happen and Mihail discovers that secrets have a way of coming out and his very life might be in danger.

This was awesome!! The story takes off right from the start and it's pretty much non stop all the way through. A lot of mysterious things happen and not everything lines up, but the suspense kept me reading. I was as clueless as Mihail half the time and was wondering if I missed something, but no, it eventually comes together and we get some answers! Not all of them though, there is still an awful lot left open and it made me eager to read the next one!!

I loved Mihail!!! He is terrified most of the time and reacts how I'd expect someone with no experience of the supernatural to react. He was really easy to like and I was rooting for him the whole way through. I also loved Abe!! He is a tattooed, Jewish medium, and quite ripped by the description. How could you not like him!!! I'm on the fence about Grandmother though. I'm not sure what to make of her!!

In all, a fantastic start to what seems to be an incredibly eerie series. I loved the setting, the characters and the story and I need to start book 2 straight away!!

Thom Bowers has an impressive array of tones, voices and accents and his performance here felt like listening to multiple narrators! I highly recommend his work.

Buried, Book 2:
Book 2 sees Mihail and Abe getting closer and closer to the castles secrets. Mihails' Grandmother refuses to leave the castle and Mihail has no option but to stay there with her. But with the ghosts and spirits getting more restless and other things happening, Mihail knows it's not safe for anyone to live there. Would a blessing from a priest help? Mihail and Abe go in search of answers.

I simply adore Abe and Mihail! Both are such amazing characters. Mihail is still as scared as ever but he is also able to overcome his fear and help his friend when it's needed. I also have to say that I love Abes' parents, and want them as my own!! ;) Abe is one of my absolute favourites though. He is strong, kind, funny and above all, a good friend.

The plot of this one again only answers some of the questions I have but I can feel a resolution of sorts coming!! I'm seeing certain characters are showing their true colours at last, though Mihail still can't see it! Secrets have an uncanny way of not staying secret for long and boy are there some secrets here!! I'm diving straight into book 3 because I'm anxious to see what happens!

In all, a chilling and addicting read. It may not be as bloody or brutal as some of the horror I've read before, but this one gets under your skin and there were times where I had to pause and take in where the story was going. Give me more of Mihail and Abe!!!!

Thom Bowers always gives a great performance and this is no exception. His tones and voices make the story and characters come to life and he was clear and easy to follow.

Captive, Book 3:
Finally!!! Everything from the past two books come together and we get all the answers!!

The plot is pretty much non stop because Mihail finally finds out about his family, his grandfather and ...... other things (not going to spoil it for you!!!) There is plenty of action, plenty of suspense and plenty of ghost and demons, even a doppelganger!! It was the best in the series so far!!

My heart went out to Mihail in this one because he finds out things about his family that were heart breaking for him. But this knowledge also allows him to do what is needed to save Abe and himself.

I don't want to say too much more because it's very easy to spoil this edition!! All I'll say is this series is well worth a read. I finished all three books in quick succession and I didn't want it to end. It was well written, fast paced, entertaining and intriguing. The characters are some of the best I've read and I really hope we see more about them sometime!

Thom Bowers is such a talented narrator. He has plenty of tones and voices and is able to perfectly capture the atmosphere. His performance for all 3 books were flawless.

I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

Very creepy, and kept me riveted!

The creep factor in this book was high, which is a big deal to me. The creepier, the better! It kept me focused, and had me wondering what was going to happen next. I couldn’t even predict it. Thom Bowers has grown on me as well. I highly recommend this book!

Aaaghhh!!!

I couldnt enjoy the story because of the narrator. He annoyed me to no end! The main character is a 17 year old boy, not a woman! And he makes him sound like one. I cant! I just cant!

Generally, I don't write less than a 4-star review

Certain things annoy me, personally. When an author uses the same word more than three times in a paragraph, for example. "His FEET flew upward. The ground shifted beneath his FEET and he struggled for balance. There, not more than 10 FEET ahead." I'm serious. It's exactly like this. Same thing with phrases: "ICE filled his veins as terror overtook him." Then, five more references to ICE and freezing in the same paragraph.
A couple of truths are obvious. I don't believe the author wrote the novel with Thom Bowers incredibly over-the-top, punch-every-word-to-death, melodramatic "Le Cage" narration in her head. I hope not. When you combine her writing style with his narration style, it makes one want to laugh. There's no glue holding the pages to the binder. One second, the ridiculously named main character is walking, talking and smiling and ten seconds later, he's getting his flesh torn off and screaming "Abe!" sixteen times a time while his FEET FEET FEET FEET... This is how Thom reads it: "calm passive small charming grin OMG! OMG! OMG!". It's the definition of passive-aggressive meets manic-depressive.
In summary, I dislike this work because I expected an adult-themed work in the horror genre. Instead, I got the winning submission in Mrs. Henry's 8th grade drama screenplay competition read by her gay uncle who almost made it to Broadway.

Great horror tale

Really enjoyed the tales of Mihail and his buddy Abe. Great horror and a well written and narrated story.

Wow! Another Awesome Series!

I have to admit the thought of listening to an audible didn't used to thrill me, until I got a copy of a favorite book & I was hooked. Don't get me wrong, I still love the feel of a book in my hands or having several ebooks on my Kindle, but the freedom of hands free listening adds a lot to one's enjoyment.
The books in this series are well written, the storyline well thought out, the characters have enough background information so you not only get to know them but you care about them as well, the pacing carries you along & having all three books in this set makes it even harder to find a stopping point. As for the audible itself, Thom does an excellent job with his narration, his pace, and especially with his his voice inflection, it really draws you in. Highly Recommended!

Creepy Castle Series

Highly recommend this series with good narration. I totally enjoyed these horrific Ghost/Demon books. Book 1 starts out when Mihail Vaduva returns to his birthplace, a castle in Romania to complete his last year in high school and to help his elderly grandmother Bunica Draciana. He find s out there is much paranormal activity occurring and keeps getting lost in so many passageways. He seeks the help of Abe Claymont a Scottish/Jewish medium to get rid of spirits and find dangerous activity. Book 2 Mihail is living with his strange grandmother Bunica Draciana in creepy Romania castle; he and Abe have developed a great friendship. They still battle with the ghosts, demons and now witches, it has great descriptions. Esther and Duncan Claymont, Abe’s parents as well as Abraham and Sabrina are again in the book. Book 3 Mihail and Abe finds his grandfather’s body, his grandmother is not as sweet and frail as she seemed. Frank form 1st book is back, new character Radu a police offer helps them, and Esther and Duncan were great. It is full of ghosts some good and some bad ends up getting what they deserve. Loved all of the characters and the ending. Just listen is well worth the credit

Great listen!

This was a great series. Mihail arrives in Romania to help his grandmother but right from the start weird things start to happen and he quickly realizes that there are (not so friendly) ghosts in the castle where his grandmother lives. In the first book we meet Abe, a medium who Mihail quickly becomes friends with. We learn that something you find should not be played with. We meet a demon and someone even gets possessed by a ghost.

In the second book we learn about the past and find out that grandma might not be exactly the nice little old lady that Mihail that she was. Growing more fearful of the restless spirits in the house Mihail consciences grandma to let him find a priest to bless the house. Abe goes with him but the adventure into town doesn’t quite go as planned and someone ends up in jail. Meanwhile this demon ghost keeps showing up trying to kill Mihail. Towards the end of the book we find out who this demonic ghost is and a few more things come to light about the history of grandma and her castle.

The third book (the best of the series in my opinion) we get the answers to so many questions. We learn early in the series that Mihail’s grandfather went missing long ago, we find out what happened to him. We find out why there are so many spirits in the castle. We find out why, at the beginning of the book, there is a man who looks and sounds like Mihail and claims to be him and tries to take over his place in the castle. Doppelgänger be damned our dynamic duo won’t let this imposter take over Mihail’s life!

I, clearly, don’t do the series justice you must listen or read it and see how great it is yourself! The characters are fantastic, the development of their relationships are expertly done. The twist and turns of the story will keep you guessing and wanting more.

Author did not do any research

It would take many paragraphs to elucidate exactly how badly the author failed to do research, especially regarding Romanian history. Just as the tip of the iceberg, they seem to have forgotten what side Romania fought on during the majority of WW2, to the tune of about 300,000 misattributed deaths. Relatedly, they have also seemingly mixed up the Romanian people with the Roma people, which is possibly the most genocidally inaccurate case of homophone confusion ever. They have also seemingly forgotten that there ever was a Soviet era or that the Ceausescu regime existed, and as a result have misattributed the main reason for the existence of those famously horrendous orphanages. In terms of the modern era, they seem to have no idea that elementary English is taught throughout the EU and that young people (especially young people in an area with sufficient reception to have Skype calls come through!) in Romania, and very likely middle-aged and older people as well, would most likely have working knowledge of English. Anyone who writes in a world that is “like the ordinary present day but with paranormal”, such as in haunted house fiction, should be aware that they need to do research on the location in which their story is set.
The writing is not terrible and the narrator was decent if a bit Shatner-ish in his enunciation, but the historical and cultural inaccuracies are absolutely flagrant and fixable by half an hour on Wikipedia.

Great narrator

good story had you guessing awesome narrator brought characters to life. Good humor throughout storyline.

A series that will have you hooked

I love the fact that this audible title came as the full set of books. The story had mr gripped from the start and I practically listened to the whole series within the course of 3 days . The narrator was the ideal choice as there was such tone and depth to his voice . Although this series is aimed as a young adult book... I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm in my thirties. I was drawn into the mysteries and secrets each character held and u was sad when the book ended. I was given this book by the author/narrator in return for an honest and unbiased review

Preferred Banshee series + Bell Witch series

I absolutely adore both the Banshee series and the Bell Witch series but could not get interested in this one. I could not connect with the characters so it was hard going.

Could Have Been Better

I was very interested in this book when it started, though I started losing interest the more it went on. It could have been better and I felt it just got worse as it went on. The narration was excellent, as I love Thom Bowers as a narrator, he's very good and does many different accents. I just didn't care for the storyline and unfortunately I did lose interest.