Bark At The Ghouls

The cat was adorable but there were too many people in this little story. Crazy, VA by Shannon Hill Cozy Mystery Amazon ♦ Goodreads Sheriff Littlepage Eller of Crazy, Virginia, has her work cut out for her. She started life as the unwanted daughter of both of Crazy's feuding founding families. She's enforcing the law in a quirky town more used to paying bribes than fines. And her love life is in hiding. But Lil's luck changes when she adopts Boris, a foul-tempered tomcat who quickly becomes her feline deputy. Then Crazy gets its first murder in decades: Lisa Littlepage Hunter, heir to the powerful Littlepage business empire and the cousin Lil never knew. Lil's investigation will lead her and Boris through a twisted web of forbidden love and family secrets, and before it's over she'll need all the help her furry deputy can give her - and then some.  My Thoughts   This is a cute little story that clocks in at only 168 pages but for some ...

I saw a post over at  Mailbox Monday  that was encouraging readers to share their best finds of the week via their  Books That Caught Our Eye  posts. I love, love, love that idea so this is my warped version of it. Here are the books I've added to the very top my wishlist with credit to my enablers :) Click on the book cover to head over to Goodreads and click the blue title bars to visit Barb & Char and add to your tbr pile! Barb @ Booker T's Farm Goodreads The Luster of Lost Things by Sophie Chen Keller In this story for readers of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and A Man Called Ove, when all seems lost, he finds what matters most. Walter Lavender Jr. is a master of finding. A wearer of high-tops. A maker of croissants. A son keeping vigil, twelve years counting. But he wouldn’t be able to tell you. Silenced by his motor speech disorder, Walter’s life gets lonely. Fortunately, he has The Lavenders—his mothe...

So creepy, so atmospheric, so mysterious and so NOT shitty! The Well by Marie Sexton   Ghost Story , M/M Released May 2017  Amazon ♦ Goodreads Twenty years after prom queen Cassie Kennedy is brutally murdered, six teenagers break into the house where she was killed to hold a séance. Haven knows his cousin Elise only wants to scare the crap out of him and his friends, but he’s willing to put up with one of her pranks if it means a chance to spend a few hours with the new kid in town, Pierce Hunter.  But when morning comes, Elise has disappeared without a trace.  Twelve years later, Pierce and his twin brother Jordan are professional paranormal investigators, starring in their own ghost-hunting TV show. When Pierce calls Haven, insisting they return to the supposedly haunted building one last time, Haven reluctantly agrees. He’s nervous about seeing Pierce again, but he’s determined to get some answers. Did they really speak to Cassie’s ghost that nigh...

There's still time to get your card for Halloween Bingo over at Booklikes. Visit the Halloween Bingo 2017 thread to learn more (or just ask me here). It's fun, it's free and the more spooky books in my feed, the better! Netgalley Update: Netgalley has responded to reader/reviewer concerns (and possibly prevented a new shitstorm of downvoting campaigns) by promising to remove "NO" voting option via a Facebook comment on their page.  I will believe it when I see because as of today it has not been removed. Note the date they posted their response. I'm not a programmer but does it really take this long? I guess we'll have to wait and see what all of these changes are really about. Personally, I see no need for any voting options on Netgalley. Does anyone actually go to Netgalley to do anything other than nab new books?! NetGalley   We love our community of book advocates. The dedication of our members is what makes NetGalley ...

I keep trying but I'm not a huge fan of young adult fiction. Here's why . . . Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler Narrated by Khristine Hvam Young Adult Fiction Unabridged Audiobook : 6 hours and 33 minutes Amazon ♦ Goodreads I'm telling you why we broke up, Ed. I'm writing it in this letter, the whole truth of why it happened. Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped. My Thoughts   I don't even like YA but I picked this because my library had a copy. That's truly all it takes and I know this review is ...

And it's not too late to join us over at Booklikes! Click on the picture below to learn how to request your card if you're a Booklikes member (it's all free). Here's my beautiful custom card and a little glimpse into what kinds of books I'll be reading over the next several weeks.

For those concerned about the yes/no button installation outlined in my previous post , Netgalley has chosen to remain silent. In fact, they have removed all comments from their initial blog post   and have shut off the comment feature on the post after leaving this vague PR statement: netgalley-admin says: August 18, 2017 at 5:09 pm Hi all! We love and appreciate all the thoughtful input we’re getting from the NetGalley community about these new features. We are actively collecting and analyzing all the comments we’re seeing across various channels, and incorporating your feedback into future changes. Stay tuned, and thank you for your dedication to NetGalley! They have also been deleting comments on their Facebook post and muting their Twitter feed comments regarding reader concerns. Maybe I've read too much dark fiction, but this does not bode well.

Bloggers, I know you love your Netgalley. Or, if you're anything like me, you have a love/hate relationship with them. Love? Hey, free books and you get them early. All you have to do is review them and you do that anyway, right? Hate? Well, it's self-loathing really. Personally, they test my willpower and suddenly I'm requesting and not touching my physical tbr pile in over a year! I love the fact that Netgalley is a separate entity from the usual book haunts. It is all about getting books into the hands of reviewers, librarians and book sellers so they, in turn, can get the word out. Netgalley has been a safe haven away from the sometimes drama filled world of review/reviewer/blogger drama and competition. We request our books and we walk away, hoping for a few requests to come through. We've all been on the same playing field. But after receiving an email from them two days in a row, I fear things may be changing. Please tell me I am wrong. If you have not seen the...

And, no it's not cleaning that dirty fence!  I'll be back to my regularly unscheduled posts when I can peel my butt away from this chair.  To everyone who has so kindly emailed me with queries, thanks so much for taking the time to write me! I will be going through them in a few days. If you don't hear back please feel free to nudge me because email often gets buried. Please note that I am participating in  Halloween Bingo starting September 1 and I will be reading mainly horror fiction. Please feel free to join us! Click on the pic below for more info. It is the best game of the year, if you ask me :)

Looking for some strange little stories? You'll find something to love here. Behold! Oddities, Curiosities & Undefinable Wonders edited by Doug Murano Short Strange Fiction Released July 2017  Amazon ♦ Goodreads Crystal Lake Publishing and Doug Murano, the Bram Stoker Award-nominated editor of GUTTED: BEAUTIFUL HORROR STORIES, are proud to present BEHOLD! ODDITIES, CURIOSITIES AND UNDEFINABLE WONDERS. Embrace the odd. Satisfy your curiosity. Surrender to wonder. Witness as the finest talents of our time bring you tales of the strangeness at the edges of existence. My Thoughts   I took one look at the cover and decided I had to read this. I wrongly assumed it was about the carny life and ever since reading  Geek Love  I’ve been drawn to those types of books. These stories aren’t about sideshow freaks and pop-up carnivals but they’re mostly pretty good despite that. The book is broken up into three sections. Oddities, Curiosities...