Who is TJ Klune….oh just my top favorite author as of finishing this book! I was just a tad bit skeptical I was going to like all the super hero stuff, not really my jam, but it was so good. Nicky is just absolutely perfect. His obsession with Shadow Man steers him in some peculiar decision making, not helped by his ADD, but with his rag tag of friends he comes out mildly unharmed.
The friendships in this book are so beautiful. I love how tight they are, but also aren’t afraid to call each other out. They always have each others back no matter what. Its so refreshing to see.
The plot is mainly overshadowed by the relationships, but that’s fine. It’s not really about that anyway. I adored the love story, adored the friendships. Honestly there wasn’t much I didn’t adore about this book.
Now I’m off to read EVERYTHING from TJ Klune.
**I received an ARC of this book for free from BookishFirst and Tor Teen in exchange for an honest review
Wildly vivid and immensely magical, All The Stars And Teeth is the YA book that I didn’t even know that I was looking for! Filled with mermaids and pirates and a magical sea creature, it will keep you deep in your imagination and excited for the next adventure.
The book follows Amora Montana who is destined to rule the kingdom of Visidia until a demonstration of her magic goes terribly wrong. She ends up fleeing her home with a pirate and goes on an epic adventure with mermaids and monsters in order to clear her name and save her kingdom.
I thought this book was amazing, although it took me a decent minute to get into it. I’m not sure if it was the point of view as it’s told in first person and I’ve read so many books recently that were not. Overall, the book is FULL of imagination and definitely worth the read.
I’ve recently become obsessed. Like so obsessed with Baruch. She is a goddess.
I started with Six of Crows and I’ll soon be getting the Shadow and Bone series to complete my collection.
Since I’ve competed both Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, I thought I’d give a short review of both.
Six of Crows
My first trip into the Grishaverse and I was sucked right in! I felt instantly immersed in the universe that Bardugo created. She did a wonderful job going back and forth between the current time and giving backstory of the characters. You can’t help but be attached.
I read Gilded Wolves before this book and I thought at first that it gave off that same vibe. Which I LOVE Gilded Wolves as well, but I was worried that I would constantly be comparing SoC to it. But I only did once. The plot may have felt the same, it the meat and the potatoes were so different, and so filling!
The first chance you get, read this book!
Crooked Kingdom
This book is going to make me reevaluate how I give ratings. If I could give it higher than five stars, I would. Bardugo’s books are just amazing. Just like Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom had all of the twists I expected, but there was more heartache. With the way she writes, you connect so much to the characters and when something happens to them, you feel it happen.
I absolutely didn’t want this story to end, but the ending took it right where it needed to be. Crooked Kingdom is an absolutely amazing story.
At the end of February, I started Six of Crows. Like the very end. So that’s on the top of my March TBR list (listed below), but then I started The Conference of The Birds as an audiobook from Libby and I’m already done and I never added it to my “currently reading list”…. so maybe I’m actually not behind haha All I know for sure is that a nap is needed!
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo -physical book
You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendrix and Sarah Pekkanen -ebook and ARC
The Stone of Sorrow by Brooke Carter -ebook and ARC
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgensrern –physical book and FB group read
The Conference of The Birds by Ransom Riggs -audiobook
Hello my lovely book friends. I am cold. Who else is cold? Yes, yes…I do know that technically 68 isn’t considered cold…but to this Southern California desert girl, that is down right freezing!
Anyway, now that we have the weather out of the way, what’s up? How are you? I am currently cozy, at home trying to get all the things done. I only work two days a week this month…sooooo…..one would think I have plenty of time. Where does it all go???? That is always the burning question.
It has been quite a while since I have updated you on…well, anything. I am going to pretend that November to January just fell in an abyss and start right from February.
Annabeth Albert is certainly becoming a favorite for me. I really enjoyed this story. One of my favorite tropes in M/M romances right now, is the First Time Gay trope. I just enjoy men recognizing something that they have been denied or have denied about themselves. The self journey they take, and the love and happiness they find because of it. I just gobble it up. Highly recommend!
This months Buddy Reads
Kill Creek by Scott Thomas
Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Top Secret by Elle Kennedy & Sarina Bowen
Alice by Christina Henry
Undeniable by Melanie Harlow
ARCs
A Blight of Blackwings by Kevin Hearne
Woman in the Water by Katerina Diamond
House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon
Ice Hard by Tracy Goodwin
Love Her, or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey
The Little Bookshop on the Siene by Rebecca Raisin
The Majesties by Tiffany Tsao
These are my plans for this week. As you can see, I am pretty much booked (har har, pun very much intended) solid.
Let me know what you are reading? Do you also read a million books at once. or do you prefer one and done?
This was an interesting reading month more me. I read a whole lot of Adult books and once again the majority of my reads were Romance; specifically of the M/M variety. I seem to be developing a reading kink. I participated in a few events, and of course failed at the readathons, but this months Truth and Dare event hosted at We Be Book’N was a blast!
I also discovered a new FAVORITE author this month. I am devouring Anyta Sunday’s back list as you read this! I have LOVED everything so far. I didn’t think I was a fan of the slowburn, but Sunday has made me a believer!
I feel this was a pretty good month. November has some great reads in the works for me, plus it is Graphic Novel Readathon this month at We BE Book’n so expect an insane amount of books for November’s wrap up
The month of September didn’t plan out like I had hoped. I flitted between wanting to read but not really wanting to read. It was a mild slump. I read 14 books, and that was due a lot in part to a Shorties Readathon I participated in.
Librarian Carrie Singleton is building a haven, but one of her neighbors is misbehavin’. Can resident spirit Evelyn help Carrie catch the culprit who made her a ghost?
In winter, the Haunted Library is a refuge for homeless townspeople. When a group purchases a vacant house to establish a daytime haven for the homeless, Carrie offers the library as a meeting place for the Haven House committee, but quickly learns that it may be used for illegal activities.
As the new Sunshine Delegate, Carrie heads to the hospital to visit her cantankerous colleague, Dorothy, who had fallen outside the local supermarket. She tells Carrie that her husband tried to kill her—and that he murdered her Aunt Evelyn, the library’s resident ghost, six years earlier.
And then Dorothy is murdered—run off the road as soon as she returns to work. Evelyn implores Carrie to find her niece’s killer, but that’s no easy task: Dorothy had made a hobby of blackmailing her neighbors and colleagues. Carrie, Evelyn, and Smoky Joe the cat are on the case, but are the library cards stacked against them?
My Review
This book is rounded up to a 3 star, I don’t do half stars…but if I did this would be a 2.5. Solid plot, decent characters, and a haunted Library. The execution I think was lacking a bit.
I didn’t like the writing style. This type of book, where there is no distinction between small movements, is my least favorite style. For example the main character would be in the middle of a conversation with someone, a decision or point would be made, and the next sentence she has moved on to the next day or a new setting. I have a very hard time staying in the story with this style of writing.
The other reason I knocked off some points is because I didn’t like the reveal. The culprit of the crime was believable, I could absolutely see this person doing it, but the way this person revealed their guilt was, albeit within character, it lacked any sort of suspense and ended so quickly.
Despite those two things I did like, it was enjoyable for what it was. I don’t think I’ll pick up any more in the series though. Not particularly my cup of tea.
A new segment on my blog is going to be a preview of the Netgalley ARCs I have received and plan to review. I hope this will help me be more accountable in regards to getting these books read and reviewed timely!
Netgalley is a source for librarians, bloggers, vloggers, book shop owners, baisically anyone with a platform that reviews or sells books; to receive ARCs (advanced reading copies) before the books is published. This is a way to drum up some notable attention on the books.
In this masterful collection of short fiction, Joe Hill dissects timeless human struggles in thirteen relentless tales of supernatural suspense, including “In The Tall Grass,” one of two stories co-written with Stephen King, basis for the terrifying feature film from Netflix.
A little door that opens to a world of fairy tale wonders becomes the blood-drenched stomping ground for a gang of hunters in “Faun.” A grief-stricken librarian climbs behind the wheel of an antique Bookmobile to deliver fresh reads to the dead in “Late Returns.” In “By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain,” two young friends stumble on the corpse of a plesiosaur at the water’s edge, a discovery that forces them to confront the inescapable truth of their own mortality… and other horrors that lurk in the water’s shivery depths. And tension shimmers in the sweltering heat of the Nevada desert as a faceless trucker finds himself caught in a sinister dance with a tribe of motorcycle outlaws in “Throttle,” co-written with Stephen King.
Featuring two previously unpublished stories, and a bevy of shocking chillers, Full Throttle is a darkly imagined odyssey through the complexities of the human psyche. Hypnotic and disquieting, it mines our tormented secrets, hidden vulnerabilities, and basest fears.
Nick: As one of the New York Nighthawks, I’ve got it all: fame, success, wealth, plus I’m handsome as hell. As for my relationships? They could be better. I know how to do one-night stands, but I’m starting to crave something more. Then I meet Camille Benetti. She’s sexy, smart, sarcastic—totally my kind of girl. The only problem? Cami doesn’t date hockey players. But she’s never met me. . . .
Cami: Nick George is impossible to resist. Not only is he scorching hot, he’s kind, he’s funny, and he wants me bad. But I learned my lesson the hard way: no jocks. So why do I agree to be Nick’s date to the wedding of the year? One night . . . that’s our deal. He is the best man, after all. But Nick is crystal clear about his intentions. He wants a relationship. And he’s tempting me to break all my rules. . . .
When a woman’s body is found submerged in icy water, police are shocked to find she is alive. But she won’t disclose her name, or what happened to her – even when a second body is discovered. And then she disappears from her hospital bed.
Detectives Adrian Miles and Imogen Grey follow their only lead to the home of Reece Corrigan, and when his wife Angela walks in, they immediately recognise her. She’s the woman from the river, with her injuries carefully masked.
The more they dig into the couple, the less they understand about them.
Why have people in their past been hurt, or vanished?
A supernatural thriller in the vein of A Head Full of Ghosts about two young girls, a scary story that becomes far too real, and the tragic–and terrifying–consequences that follow one of them into adulthood.
Red Lady, Red Lady, show us your face…
In 1991, Heather Cole and her friends were members of the Dead Girls Club. Obsessed with the macabre, the girls exchanged stories about serial killers and imaginary monsters, like the Red Lady, the spirit of a vengeful witch killed centuries before. Heather knew the stories were just that, until her best friend Becca began insisting the Red Lady was real–and she could prove it.
That belief got Becca killed.
It’s been nearly thirty years, but Heather has never told anyone what really happened that night–that Becca was right and the Red Lady was real. She’s done her best to put that fateful summer, Becca, and the Red Lady, behind her. Until a familiar necklace arrives in the mail, a necklace Heather hasn’t seen since the night Becca died.
The night Heather killed her.
Now, someone else knows what she did…and they’re determined to make Heather pay.
Look out for Reviews for these books in the coming months.
Oh how I love the crisp fall weather, the cozy socks, the warm beverages, the spooky books!!
It is finally here, my time has come…I can embrace my spooky nature, and read all the chills and thrills my heart desires.
However, this is also the month of over booking myself, haha.
I am participating in two bookish events and focusing me energy on the 2019 reading challenge prompts and monthly books for We Be Book’N book club.
You can check out all these books on my October TBR reading shelf.
The first event starts October 1 and is a month long Truth or Dare bookish competition organized by the lovely moderators of We Be Book’N. This event involves daily dares that once done gives you a point towards your team. There are also random pop up dares and of course the Double Dares that contain the actual reading. This sounds so fun and I am beyond excited!
The Double Dare books I plan to read
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
The Other Woman by Sandie Jones
Never Contended Things by Sarah Porter
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
The First Mistake by Sandie Jones
Also for We Be Book’N the monthly book discussion are
The Turn of the Key
The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker
The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay
The #2019readingchallenge prompts are
A Ghost Story: A Stir of Echos by Richard Matheson
A Book About Death or Grief: Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman
A Book Set in Space: Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
#Spookathon is also happening October 14-20. To make my life easier, I will just combine the challenges with the books I am already reading this month. I don’t forsee getting 5 books read, but I am going to try my best.
Read a thriller: The Woman in Cabin 10
Read a book with red on the cover: The Cabin at the End of the World
Read a book with a spooky word in the title: Unbury Carol
Read a book with a spooky setting: The turn of the Key
Read something you wouldn’t normally read: A Simple Wild (I’m not fond of the enemies to lovers trope)
If this isn’t enough, I also have some Netgalley ARCs to get through
Ice Hard by Tracy Goodwin 10/8/2019
Full Throttle by Joe Hill 10/1/2019
Woman in the Water by Katerina Diamond 11/11/2019
And lastly some overdue Netgalley ARCs I never got to that I hope to read
Thirteen by Steve Cavanaugh
Chop Shop by Andrew Post
The Conjoined by Jen Sookfong Lee
Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger
Well, as TBR’s go this is pretty daunting…but October is super cozy, so I forsee lots of warm snuggling and reading!
adventuresofabibliophile 