Need An Amazing Book? Here's 8 of Them Curated by the Experts! (1)

Most days I feel as if Twitter is an energy suck, a happiness vampire, and a seething a pit of negativity. If you've spent any amount of time there you will know what I mean. It is easy to fall into a pit of despair if you spend too much time scrolling but as much as Twitter wounds my heart it is also a wonderful place where creatives, readers and introverts of all kinds can connect. Our not-so-little book community comprised of readers & writers LOVES books and these people know their stuff so you can feel safe with their recommendations. I am going to start a new series to celebrate the amazing people that make up the community and I will share their most recent five star reads on these posts. I think it's safe to say that there is likely something for everybody here. Please visit their links and befriend them and also hold on tight to your wallets because we are here to tempt away all of your money! Click on any cover to go to the Goodreads page.

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Historial Fiction

THE ILLUMINATION OF URSULA FLIGHT by Anna Marie Crowhurst

Born on the night of an ill-auguring comet just before Charles II's Restoration, Ursula Flight has a difficult future written in the stars.

Against the custom of the age she begins an education with her father, who fosters in her a love of reading, writing and astrology.

Following a surprise meeting with an actress, Ursula yearns for the theatre and thus begins her quest to become a playwright despite scoundrels, bounders, bad luck and heartbreak.

Recommended by Lisa @ https://twitter.com/OwlBeSatReading who says, "This gorgeous thing  Beautiful to hold, smooth, caress, and Recommended by writer Yolanda Sfetsos. She says,"I absolutely loved this book and recommend it to anyone and everyone who enjoys a quirky, action-packed tale full of memorable characters you'll miss after finishing the last page." Read her entire review on her blog HERE! of course, read! 😍😁💕 #TheIlluminationOfUrsulaFlight by @writercrow"

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PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK by Joan Lindsay

It was a cloudless summer day in the year nineteen hundred.

Everyone at Appleyard College for Young Ladies agreed it was just right for a picnic at Hanging Rock. After lunch, a group of three of the girls climbed into the blaze of the afternoon sun, pressing on through the scrub into the shadows of Hanging Rock. Further, higher, till at last they disappeared.

They never returned.

Whether Picnic at Hanging Rock is fact or fiction the reader must decide for themselves.

Recommended by writer Yolanda Sfetsos. She says,"There are so many things to love about this story, and one of my most favourite things was the gothic atmosphere that drips off every page. Not to mention how well the author captured the bush, the climate and how harsh Australia's landscape can be. I felt like I was there with the characters, every step of the way."

Read her entire review on her blog  HERE!

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Suspense/Thriller/Mystery Crime

HELL CHOSE ME by Angel Luis Colon

Bryan Walsh is a killer for hire. 

He is haunted by those who have fallen by his hand. 

He will stop at nothing to avenge his brother's death.

When a lifetime of bad karma finally lands on Bryan's doorstep and leaves his brother dead, he must survive long enough to find the killers and get his revenge, but as the path only grows bloodier, Bryan may not be able to handle the steps he'll need to take against his enemies.

As he becomes more unstable and his past crashes into his present, Bryan must decide if vengeance is worth becoming the monster he always denied or if he could find a another path; one that could lead to something like redemption. 

Recommended by Tracy. She says, "This book is something else. While about 90% of my reads are within the horror genre, I find myself looking for a great crime/noir read every so often. I saw a few other bookish friends who also enjoy a great noir mention this one and I decided to give it a ago. Man, am I glad I did."

You can read the rest of Tracy's review at Goodreads.

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Tracy knows how to pick books and had two recent five star reads this month. Here's her second must-read recommendation.

WHERE ALL LIGHT TENDS TO GO by David Joy

The area surrounding Cashiers, North Carolina, is home to people of all kinds, but the world that Jacob McNeely lives in is crueler than most. His father runs a methodically organized meth ring, with local authorities on the dime to turn a blind eye to his dealings. Having dropped out of high school and cut himself off from his peers, Jacob has been working for this father for years, all on the promise that his payday will come eventually.  The only joy he finds comes from reuniting with Maggie, his first love, and a girl clearly bound for bigger and better things than their hardscrabble town.

Jacob has always been resigned to play the cards that were dealt him, but when a fatal mistake changes everything, he’s faced with a choice: stay and appease his father, or leave the mountains with the girl he loves. In a place where blood is thicker than water and hope takes a back seat to fate, Jacob wonders if he can muster the strength to rise above the only life he’s ever known.

Recommended by Tracy. She says, "Does this author write his ass off? Yes. It’s speaks to me. Is this story gripping/engaging/heart breaking? Yes. Will I read every sentence Joy publishes for the foreseeable future? All the yes."

You can read the rest of Tracy's review at Goodreads.

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Bizarro Fiction

THE HAUNTED VAGINA by Carlton Mellick III 

Steve is madly in love with his eccentric girlfriend, Stacy. Unfortunately, their sex life has been suffering as of late, because Steve is worried about the odd noises that have been coming from Stacy's pubic region. She says that her vagina is haunted. She doesn't think it's that big of a deal. Steve, on the other hand, completely disagrees. 

When a living corpse climbs out of her during an awkward night of sex, Stacy learns that her vagina is actually a doorway to another world. She persuades Steve to climb inside of her to explore this strange new place. But once inside, Steve finds it difficult to return... especially once he meets an oddly attractive woman named Fig, who lives within the lonely haunted world between Stacy's legs.

Recommended by Alex. He says, "Somehow Mellick turns this into a little love story!  Sure, it’s a love story with skeletons crawling out of vaginas and people being “unzipped” from their skin at times, but love abounded in the end.  I mean, it would have to right? Nothing else could explain the motivation behind ANY of the actions taken by a single character. Mellick stunned me in the best way with this piece of bizarro fiction.  I give it 5 stars and I cannot wait to read more bizarro and more Mellick!"

You can read the rest of his review and find out more about him HERE!

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Horror Fiction

CATS LIKE CREAM by Renee Miller

It's okay to watch. Watching hurts no one, as long as you don’t touch.

Elwin likes to watch. His position as star employee at a real estate agency gives him plenty of access to the homes of his clients. A camera or two hidden where no one will find it, and he can watch as often as he pleases.

No one knows. No one gets hurt.

But it’s hard to look without touching. Touching leads to bad things. Elwin knows this, but allows himself a moment of weakness.

And then another.

Soon, watching isn't an option anymore. Not if Elwin wants his secrets to remain buried.

Recommended by author Sara Tantlinger. She says,"This is a great piece of long fiction. A wild, unforgiving horror story where Miller holds nothing back." 

Read her Goodreads review HERE!

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Yolanda Sfetsos is on a hot streak and shared several five star reads with us!

CHOP SHOP by Andrew Post

Amber Hawthorne and Jolene Morris, business partners and roommates at the Hawthorne Funeral Home, are drowning in debt. People are complaining about the makeup jobs they're giving deceased loved ones--the word clownish has been used--and both young women have a little trouble keeping their partying habits in line. 

When they start selling body parts on the black market to keep their business alive (Jolene much more reluctantly than Amber), their new buyers seem friendly and trustworthy enough at first. That is until the dead gangster they've recently parted up turns out to have been full of disease. Now Amber and Jolene's buyers want something else to make up for lost profits, leaving the two undertakers to learn sometimes running your own business can cost you an arm and a leg. Literally.

Recommended by writer Yolanda Sfetsos. She says,"Chop Shop turned out to be an interesting, hilarious crime novel guaranteed to please anyone interested in a fast-paced story full of fumbling characters with a good dose of despicable. It's gory, focuses on heavy adult content, and is definitely not for the faint of heart. Not to mention that every chapter raises the stakes, and leads to a morbid, hopeless, yet strangely satisfying ending that fits perfectly."  

Read her entire review on her blog  HERE!

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GHOST MINE by Hunter Shea

Deep in a Wyoming mine, hell awaits. Former cattle driver, Rough Rider and current New York City cop Nat Blackburn is given an offer he can't refuse by President Teddy Roosevelt. Tales of gold in the abandoned mining town of Hecla, in the Deep Rock Hills, abound. The only problem-those who go seeking their fortune never return. Roosevelt's own troops are among the missing, and the President wants to know their fate - and find the gold. Along with his constant companion, Teta, a hired gun with a thirst for adventure, Nat travels to a barren land where even animals dare not tread. Along the way, they are joined by a Selma, a fiery and beautiful woman in search of her brother who was swallowed up by Hecla years earlier. Hecla is an eerie ghost town, its cemetery filled with crooked tombstones, the dusty streets scored by tumbleweed, the windows of the abandoned houses like eyes, following their every move. Terrifying wraiths flit throughout the town at night. Settling into a vacant home, Nat, Teta and Selma are approached by strange, black eyed children who then disappear like twin vapors. A trip to the mine ends with them galloping for their lives, chased by immense, hairy wild men. No, Hecla is far from abandoned - it's teeming with the supernatural, strange beasts and phantoms both luring them deeper into the mystery and driving them away from the mine. Only when a strange preacher and his hulking mute assistant arrive (on a Godly mission after hearing the blaring horns of Revelation) do they realize they cannot leave the town's borders, an invisible wall refusing to let them go. There's only one thing to do - plumb the chilling depths of the ghost mine and find the source of Hecla's bizarre power. What they stumble upon is a hellish battle of underworld forces while being tortured by the ghosts of their checkered pasts. There's a mystery in Hecla thousands of years old. Solving it could spell the end of the world. 

Recommended by writer Yolanda Sfetsos. She says,"I absolutely loved this book and recommend it to anyone and everyone who enjoys a quirky, action-packed tale full of memorable characters you'll miss after finishing the last page."  

Read her entire review on her blog  HERE!

GHOST MINE is also recommended by writer Sarah Budd. Sarah is currently reading it and agrees with Yolanda that it is amazing.

You can learn more about Sarah and her writing at her website HERE!

I hope this post helps you find some new book loving friends and a few must-read books to add to your collection. Let me know all of your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for reading, book friends!