Dark, twisted, and impossible to put down. J.R. Blanes crafts a haunting world that lingers long after the last page. If you love horror that’s equal parts beautiful and unsettling, this one’s for you.

Portraits of Decay has been one of my favorite read this year from Netgalley library.

A dark and gore thriller with a New Orleans setup and a dash of voodoo. Take old Cajun lore and a bit of twisted romance (No smut thanks for that) with a artistic multi medium background and you've got an interested, wicked, twisted and gory tale with a great character development and an emotional creative approach that I deeply loved !

We are following 5 lead characters with an alternative pov during the whole book, I thought it was a bit too much at first but the author put it together perfectly.

Every one of them is connected in some ways, and emotionally broken in a way. I love how bold and straightforward the narration is.. When the story is starting to kicks and the characters shows their wicked face, you need to be ready. It's a nightmarish, creative and psychological dark thriller dipping deep and perfectly in old cajun lore and mixing together New Orleans artistic vibes, cajun folklore, and frankenstein-ish tale of love, friendship, control and doing everything to reach a goal (career, love, ...).

I totally recommend this one.

J.R. Blanes does an amazing job in writing this book, it had that element that I was looking for from a horror novel. I was hooked from the first page and thought the characters worked overall in this. J.R. Blanes has a strong writing style and glad it worked so well in the genre.

New Orleans, voodoo, and the local art scene combine in this terrifying tale of love, possessiveness, and madness.

Jeffrey is a local artist in New Orleans who's making waves. He's romantically involved with a woman who is abrasive, controlling, and possessive. But he's having an affair with another artist and when his girlfriend finds out, some very bad mojo is coming.

With the help of a witch living deep in a bayou, she'll give him a potion of sorts which turns hom into her slave, taking away his free will. But his true love isn't going to just give up and a bloody voodoo hexed battle will ensue for the prize of his soul.

New Orleans, Creole, and the history of the city play a big part in this novel. It's a great setting in my opinion because who doesn't love some creepy swampy hoodoo magic? Jeffrey isn't really a zombie in the traditional sense but it reminds me of the "zombies" in the movie Serpent And The Rainbow. This potion rots him physically though he's very much aware of what's going on though is helpless to stop it. He's under the control of this woman and her need for recognition and power knows no bounds.

I highly recommend this one.