Source: Borrowed from the Library BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5
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I enjoyed this one. It's a historical cozy mystery, that's how I'm going to classify iSource: Borrowed from the Library BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5
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I enjoyed this one. It's a historical cozy mystery, that's how I'm going to classify it. Our main character is a very serious and respectable English Lady, who has recently suffered misfortune in her life. Her father has died, with debts, leaving her and her sister penniless. Lady Caroline has now entered the ranks of the working class by becoming a lady's companion to Mrs. Frogerton. Mrs. Frogerton is a self-made business woman, so society doesn't really except her. Lady Caroline is there to help her and her daughter make their way into society. Lady Caroline is invited to her cousin's birthday bash at her aunt and uncles residence, where her sister still resides. Caroline's aunt reminds her again and again of her place. Lady Caroline says she can only come if Mrs. Frogerton and her daughter can come too. When people start dying at the party, Lady Caroline and Mrs. Frogerton must solve the mystery. Lady Caroline is a character that's not a whole lot of fun, but I enjoyed her anyway. She is definitely the serious detective type, no-nonsense. Mrs. Frogerton is a little more fun, and I've heard she plays a bigger part in book two. The mystery in this was interesting. I can't say I solved it, but it wasn't hard to solve either. This is a book where the killer reveal isn't that shocking or serious. It almost has an unfinished feel to it in the mystery department. There's not the most satisfying of conclusions. It's just an Oh Well. I can see myself reading more of this series. If you're looking for a historical cozy mystery series, then check this one out....more
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5 Source: Physical Library Book
Triggers: violence, sexual violence, violence against women, murder, child sexual abuse, rape
[imageBOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5 Source: Physical Library Book
Triggers: violence, sexual violence, violence against women, murder, child sexual abuse, rape
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I'm continuing on with the next book in the In Death Series. It's pretty good that I'm up to Book 7 already. I'm doing okay reading through a series, for me. I'm really bad about reading book 1 and then taking forever to actually continue series. This one is set during Christmas time. Eve is a bit of a Scrooge that is made worse when she's called on a case where Santa is murdering people in a sexual nature. He's a bad Santa for sure. I enjoyed this one. It was funny reading this during a hot summertime, when Eve and all her people are freezing and celebrating Christmas. I did not figure out the baddie until it was revealed, but I'm not great on picking up clues, so this could have been one that the reader could actually solve. Roarke didn't have any personal connection to this case except for owning the buildings. Hooray! Eve has some flashbacks to her childhood trauma, which is where the triggers for child sexual abuse come in. There is also description of a rape scene, which was a little hard to read. McNab gets called in to help work the case, which drives Peabody crazy. That was fun. Roarke has a couple of controlling tendencies in this one, but they were minor. Once again, Eve solves the case and saves the day. We don't get the Christmas present gift exchange, which I would have liked to see. Eve does buy and pick out presents for people, but I would have loved to see the reaction of the people receiving the gifts she's bought. I can't wait to go on to the next one....more
Source: Physical Copy from Library BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL: 4/5
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This was entertaining. I'm not mad at it. I think it's better than some of Sager's morSource: Physical Copy from Library BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL: 4/5
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This was entertaining. I'm not mad at it. I think it's better than some of Sager's more recent releases. My favorite part of this book was setting. We have a house built on a literal cliff, and it's slowly falling off. When our characters are walking through the halls, they are tilted. I could feel the tilt as a reader. That's creepy. I also liked the Lizzie Borden premise of it all. Our main character is caring for an elderly woman who the stories say killed her whole family. The mystery of it all was just really fun. It did make me wonder what if Lizzie Borden had shared her story with someone. Did she do it?? Lenora Hope is our Lizzie Borden, our mystery. Kit gets a job as the caretaker of Lenora Hope. She's fascinated, but also a little scared. One thing I didn't find the most believable is how quickly Kit gets obsessed with learning the truth. She's only been working there a week. I just didn't believe that Lenora would trust her that quick to share her story. I definitely enjoyed this when I was reading it. It kept me entertained, wanting to turn the pages to find out what happens next. I don't think it's a book that's going to stick with me, but it was a fun time while reading it. There are a lot of twists and turns in this one, but none of them really hit me hard. Maybe because there were so many twists included, I didn't feel shocked like I should. A couple of the twists were kind of wacky. I always enjoy Sager's books and I will continue to read them. This is a good one. It doesn't jump to the top of my favorite Sager books, but it's probably upper middle. ...more
Source: Borrowed from the Library BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5
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I've been awful with reviewing books this year, which means there is a lot I need to catSource: Borrowed from the Library BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5
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I've been awful with reviewing books this year, which means there is a lot I need to catch up on before 2024.
I really enjoy Megan Shepherd's stuff. I've read a couple of their YA series and have really enjoyed them. I was excited to see what their adult books were going to be like, because I knew there was the ability to go farther and darker than the YA stuff. Malice House had a bit of a slow start. The pace of it just seemed on the slower side. I was always interested in the story, seeing where it was going to go. Is is a haunted house? What is going on with the neighbor? Is Haven going to be able to sell her dad's manuscript with her illustrations and make some money? I was not expecting the direction this story took. I enjoyed the direction. It felt more fun and unhinged than what I was expecting. There were definitely some unnerving bits to it. There were some scary individuals. I really enjoyed the starting of each chapter and the excerpts we got from Amory Marbury's hidden manuscript. The dark fairytales were just so interesting, and I wanted to read more of them. The last 25% of the book was just chaos, a chaos that I enjoyed. It was all just so interesting. I'm also really intrigued by this being the start of a series. I don't know how long it's going to be, maybe just two books. I plan on reading the sequel, hopefully sooner rather than later. I want to know what happens next....more
FEAR STREET BABY! Or Return to Fear Street. Was this the best book I've ever read? Probably not, but I had fun with it.BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5
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FEAR STREET BABY! Or Return to Fear Street. Was this the best book I've ever read? Probably not, but I had fun with it. It gave me the best feeling of nostalgia. These are the kind of YA books that were around when I was in middle school and young teens. I had R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, L.J. Smith. It's definitely not like the YA of today, so don't judge it on those terms. This was a really fast read, sometimes cheesy and overdramatic and immature. There were a bunch of cliffhanger chapters, the dun dun duuun! We had two stories that connected. One set in the 1920's (that was the more enjoyable of the two) and the other set in present day. They both involve sisters who aren't really that close, which I enjoyed. They both feature a hotel/lodge where things happen. It was a lot of crazy stuff. Drama, drama, drama. Not everything gets resolved. It also could have been shorter. I'll continue with the series....more
I enjoyed this. I liked this better than the first book. We didn't have to go through that slow process of beingReview to Come
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4.3/5
I enjoyed this. I liked this better than the first book. We didn't have to go through that slow process of being introduced to the world. I did like the expansion of the Otherworld in this. I'm really pumped to keep reading the series. Ty Winsloe is awful....more
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5 ARC from Publisher Magical Readathon Orilium Spring Equinox - Book at the top of you TBR
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I received an arc for honest revieBOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5 ARC from Publisher Magical Readathon Orilium Spring Equinox - Book at the top of you TBR
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I received an arc for honest review from the publisher. I was definitely excited to read this one. I read Camilla Sten's first book, The Lost Village, and really enjoyed the creepy atmosphere it delivered. The Resting Place is another book with a great, creepy atmosphere. I really love Sten's settings. The Resting Place is a manor house, in the middle of the forest, where dark secrets have been hidden. I really enjoyed it. It was a quick read. It had pretty short chapters, so it was easy to want to read a lot of it in one sitting. It alternated between the present day and diary entries from a previous resident. I was definitely intrigued finding out the story of what had happened in this place, with this family. I thought it did a great job of slowly revealing things. It could be a little confusing in that there were multiple characters who had more than one name. It was a thing I had to keep track of in my head. Our main character also has Prosopagnosia, face blindness. This mostly comes into play when her grandmother gets murdered at the beginning of the book and she's not able to recognize the killer. I liked the way the disorder was explained. It was like she couldn't put the pieces of the face together into a recognizable way. She would look for specific things to recognize people, like eyebrows or hairstyles. The Prosopagnosia was important, but kind of a background element at the same time. Something that Eleanor just had to learn to live with. This had a tense feel to it that I enjoyed. Our characters our stuck at this house, with frigid temperatures and snow. There were parts of the ending that were interesting. The ultimate who-done-it was a little lackluster. Just more of a why? Why go to all this unnecessary trouble. Through the diary entries, the readers discover the secrets of the manor, but I don't think the main characters ever really do. I also would have liked a little more about what happened after, especially with Eleanor and her boyfriend, they didn't seem to be the most in love through most of the book. Are she and her aunt closer now? What happened with the other guy? Also, why was Vivianne so mean? I definitely enjoyed it. I'll read more stuff by Camilla Sten in the future, when she comes out with her next book....more
I am a fan of this series. We are following Paige and Lucas in this one. Someone is killing off CabBOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5 Source: My Owned Shelf
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I am a fan of this series. We are following Paige and Lucas in this one. Someone is killing off Cabal children, so Lucas gets pulled back into the family business to investigate. We do get some of the gang being involved in this one too, not throughout the whole story, but parts of it. Clayton, Elena, Savannah, Cassandra, Adam, and Jeremy all make appearances. I know I forgot some characters. I just really enjoyed all of them teaming up to solve this case. I read this for the Orilium Yearly 2023 challenge. I needed a book over 500 pages. Even though this was 500+ pages, it never felt like it. This story has such a fast pace. There is always something going on, always some new angle that they are having to investigate. There is magic and danger. I enjoy it a lot. I also like Paige and Lucas. Their romance isn't the most steamy on the scale. They very much feel like an old married couple, to me. I like them together. I think they make a good team. I also enjoyed the necromancer Jaime. I don't remember meeting her in previous books, but she's fun. I was just kept on the edge of my seat with this. I can't wait to read more in the Otherworld series. I love how it just combines all of these different kinds of creatures living in the open, but hidden. I know the next book follows Eve, which should be interesting, considering where she is....more
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.7/5 Read for The Magical Readathon Orilium Spring Equinox: Source of Light on Cover Review Copy through Netgalley, Physical Copy frBOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.7/5 Read for The Magical Readathon Orilium Spring Equinox: Source of Light on Cover Review Copy through Netgalley, Physical Copy from Library
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I've been excited for this book for a while. There was so much hype around it, that I was excited to see what it was going to deliver. This was an interesting book. I was confused for the majority of it, trying to piece all the things together and have them make sense. This was also a slower paced kind of thriller. It wasn't really an edge-of-your-seat read. It's told from three perspectives: Ted, a cat named Olivia, and a woman searching for her missing sister named Dee. The ending had some twists, some turns, definitely some stuff that I didn't see coming. This book didn't hit me as hard as it did other readers, but I did enjoy it. I'm going to read more by Catriona Ward....more
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.7/5 Source: Review Copy from Netgalley
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*Contains: suicide, violence against women, sexual abuse involving a child, animal abBOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.7/5 Source: Review Copy from Netgalley
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*Contains: suicide, violence against women, sexual abuse involving a child, animal abuse, and murder*
I really enjoyed this thriller. I was interested from page one. The subject matter of this story was just very intriguing. The way it was put together felt like a puzzle. I needed to keep reading to see how everything was going to end up, and what the reveal was going to be. It's probably all been done before, but I was hooked. Heather is our main character, she's brought back home after the suicide of her mother. A mother she didn't have the closest relationship with. She's back in her childhood home, having to go through all the things. She finds a box of letters written by a serial killer (Michael Reave) to her mother. This causes Heather to try to find out more about her mother's past. How does she know Michael Reave? Why did she write to him? Heather was a character I didn't really have strong feelings for. She did have a tendency of keeping secrets, not reporting things to the police that she should have. I enjoyed trying to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together. Some of the villains were obvious, but trying to figure out how they were all connected was fun. There were a couple of disturbing scenes in here. There was some animal cruelty that was just very distressing to read. This does have some back and forth timeline stuff. Even though Michael Reave is a sick and twisted soul, there were instances that I felt sorry for him. He didn't have a very fair go at life. The ending definitely had some surprises, but I would have like a little more closure from all the build up, but I'm not disappointed in it. I think I would have liked a little more explanation in some areas too. This is the first book I've read from Jen Williams and I'd definitely read more. I learned that they have some fantasy books that I might have to check out....more
This book was a wild ride, and I enjoyed it. It was entertaining from start to finish. The whole time I was reading this, I was ju[image]
Finlay
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This book was a wild ride, and I enjoyed it. It was entertaining from start to finish. The whole time I was reading this, I was just curious how Finlay was going to get herself out of this not safe, not smart predicament. The lure of money mixed with bad decision making, got her into one big mess. I had a fun time with this. It was a page turner. Something was always happening that just sunk Finlay deeper and deeper into this hole. I did think things were going to go differently when Vero showed up, but then she surprised me. Finlay also has two men who have popped into her life. I liked both of them, but it did feel just a little jarring when Nick is introduced. He came on so strong from the first, which didn't feel the most natural. I mean, Julian is pretty quick to fall for her too, but the way he was introduced just didn't feel as forced. I'm not sure who I'd pick. There's definitely some challenges when it comes to one of them. I mentioned Vero before, but I really enjoyed her and Finlay's team dynamic. Finlay is lucky to have her. I mean, I question their choices, but they made a good team. This book also ended with a tantalizing lure, so I'm curious to see where things go in the next book. I received a free electronic copy for honest review through Netgalley and checked out a physical copy from my library.
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5 Finlay, this is not a good idea....more
I liked this. It had enough mystery to leave me really intrigued. I'm Review To Come
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5
Review Copy from publisher through Netgalley
I liked this. It had enough mystery to leave me really intrigued. I'm interested to see where the story goes next. I'm also a fan of the art style. It's sketchy feeling, but it feels finished at the same time. The colors are muted and dim. Our main girl does have a weird style to her that works. I liked it....more
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.7/5 Okay, this was something. I did like it. It was fun in a thriller, action movie kind of way. I really liked the art sty[image]
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.7/5 Okay, this was something. I did like it. It was fun in a thriller, action movie kind of way. I really liked the art style. It was different and added a cool kind of effect. There's a lot of violence in this, a lot of bad language. Almost all the men are terrible, which I didn't necessarily find to be the most believable. I wasn't expecting that ending. I'm interested to see where it goes next....more
Deck of TBR: June 2021: Assassins or Mercenaries (this might have been a cheat, but Elena and Clay do have to track down and kill people)
Review to ComDeck of TBR: June 2021: Assassins or Mercenaries (this might have been a cheat, but Elena and Clay do have to track down and kill people)
Review to Come
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5
I'm glad I finally started this series. I did like this. It was pretty action packed and I'm a sucker for paranormal urban fantasy. I do think this book was a little too long though. There were some sections where nothing was really happening. The first 100 pages were kind of slow and tedious. It was a lot of info dumping in the first 100 pages, and it definitely felt like info dumping. Elena is an okay character. I think she's a little hard. She needs to get better at communication because that would solve at least some of her issues. She's had a lot of bad things happen to her. (Trigger Warning for death of parents, car crash, and child sexual abuse) Maybe she's almost had too much bad stuff happen. In the beginning, I didn't really like Clay, but toward the middle and end, I did like him more. He's very macho and alpha when we first meet him, but he does become kinda sweet further into the book. I don't agree with everything he does, but I feel like he tries. Philip was a weird choice for Elena, in my opinion. The book does explain why she chose him, which... okay, sure. It just didn't seem like a romance full of passion, and him wanting her to wear a nightgown was just kind of weird. I know Elena wanted to be "normal" and that was part of Philip's draw, but it kind of showed how bullheaded Elena was in the first place. She's doing all this running and searching for normalcy, but the Pack really does give her what she always wanted, a family. It's not necessarily a family she would have picked by choice, I'm not condoning Clay biting her and thus turning her into a werewolf, but I don't think her Pack is as bad as she sometimes makes it out to be. I'm rambling. I did enjoy this and I'm excited to continue on with the series. I really like the idea of The Otherworld and having different kinds of creatures in this series. It reminds me of The Nightworld Series by L.J. Smith. I loved those books when I was a young teen....more
I am a fan of Mercy Thompson and this series. She's always getting herself into situations. This situation iFirst book of 2020 finished!! Yayy!
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I am a fan of Mercy Thompson and this series. She's always getting herself into situations. This situation is one of the darkest yet. I did not expect this book to go there. Trigger warnings for rape and sexual assault. I wasn't kidding when I said it got dark. The triangle seemed to reach a conclusion, and I'm happy about the decision made. I like Adam. I'm excited to read the next book in the series. They are fun, fast, and I just really, really like them. I need to know what Mercy is going to get caught up in next.
So I read this omnibus edition and it was a lot of fun. I've got two separate reviews down below for the two books included.
Bite: In all my lif[image]
So I read this omnibus edition and it was a lot of fun. I've got two separate reviews down below for the two books included.
Bite: In all my life, I have never ever rooted for cannibals, and then this book happened. It was a madcap, post-apocalyptic wasteland adventure. It was bloody, gross, violent, and a whole lot of fun. Wolf, Tank, Pretty Boy, Dolly, and Kid are a ragtag team that I'm rooting for, even when they are killing literally everyone in their path just because. They aren't really the good guys, but in a way, I want them to win. Bite is written in such a fun, strange way. It's got a very dark sense of humor to it. It is a strange story. It is violent and crazy. It was quite a ride. I really did enjoy the band of characters. The reader never gets to really know that much about them. We get some backstory for Kid, Dolly, Pretty Boy, and Tank, but Wolf remains a mystery. We never even get to learn their real names. I enjoyed their camaraderie. I loved how wherever they went, there was really no plan. It was just run straight in and shoot stuff. I enjoyed the ambience of the story. The setting of this post-apocalyptic desert that just goes on and on for miles. It nailed it on that desolate feeling. I had a lot of fun reading Bite. I can't say that I enjoyed the cannibalism because that's just disgusting, but everything else was a lot of fun. I'm planning to jump right in to the next book Raid, and I fully intend on checking more stuff out by K.S. Merbeth.
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5 Whoa Nelly!!
Raid: Clementine is a Bounty Hunter whose main goal is to catch Jedediah Johnson, the man who ruined her life and killed her family. This is the second book in The Wastelanders Series, it follows different characters than the first gang. Clementine is a more serious character than the gang from Bite. She's not as much fun, if I'm being honest. Raid is not as much fun as Bite. They both take place during the same time period, which I appreciated. Characters from Bite do make an appearance in Raid, which I loved. I did enjoy Raid. I don't want to make out like I hated it, because I didn't. Bite was just so over the top and fun, while Raid introduced a character that believed more in law and order. As a bounty hunter, she's kind of one of the good guys, and it was so different after we'd been following bad guys in Bite. Clementine is a more reserved character too, there's something about that screams the possibility for danger. She and Dolly kind of have some things in common. Raid did have those moments of craziness, violence, and dark humor for sure. The character of Jed, I don't know how to feel about him. He's definitely the more fun one of the bunch, he added a lot of levity to the story, but he's so complicated. My feelings are so complicated. I also don't know how I feel about the ending. Like where is Clementine going to go from here? Does her future end with her becoming something she once hated? I just don't know. I definitely enjoyed the whole Wastelanders Series. It's crazytown. It's fun! I'd definitely recommend it and I'm gonna read more by K.S. Merbeth BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5 I'm so conflicted...more
Review to Come BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.8/5 Thanks to Wednesday Books for letting me review this through Netgalley.
I enjoyed this. There was a lot of actionReview to Come BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.8/5 Thanks to Wednesday Books for letting me review this through Netgalley.
I enjoyed this. There was a lot of action. It had a nice pace. A lot of killing. I think there needed to be a little more world building. At least give me a map at the beginning of the book or something. I feel like some characters could have used a little more fleshing out. I'm interested in seeing where the sequel goes.
I liked this! I'm definitely going to read more from Ania Ahlborn. Within These Walls was a slow burn scare. It had a lot of build up to an end[image]
I liked this! I'm definitely going to read more from Ania Ahlborn. Within These Walls was a slow burn scare. It had a lot of build up to an ending that shocked me. It was definitely an experience of a book. It had a Charles Mason vibe to it, which made it really weird and really creepy. I was really looking forward to Lucas getting that interview with Jeff Halcomb, and it made me a little crazy that it never happened. It would have been such an intense and creepy scene. I liked getting all the flashbacks to the time of the original crime. They were really interesting to read and experience. I felt so badly for Audra Snow. She seemed like such a lost and lonely soul, and these people just took advantage of her. What have I learned? Never invite a bunch of weird, beach living strangers into your house. I wish she would have kicked them out, especially as they got more and more sinister. I wish she could have recognized that there was no love there, no belonging, they were just using her. I won't say that I ultimately understood everything that happened. I didn't understand all the whys. I still have questions about the baby. Questions about just what really was going on. It was very weird. I also had questions when it came to Lucas's ex-wife. Why didn't she try to get in contact with her daughter more? I will say I did guess who one of the villains might be, so I wasn't that surprised when they were revealed. Within These Walls was one crazy ride. It was a slow-burn scare that I really ended up enjoying. It's not a book that will scare the pants off you, but it does have a creep factor that will stay after turning the last page. I'm going to be reading more by Ania Ahlborn. BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4.5 Spooooky!...more
Ashley (gotbookcitement)
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