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Showing posts from February, 2020

Book Review: The Bone Weaver's Orchard by Sarah Read

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This one lures you in and then takes a dastardly turn! The Bone Weaver's Orchard by Sarah Read Released February 2019 Dark Fiction   |   Goodreads   |   Amazon   Source: Received for Review Consideration He’s run away from home. That’s what they say every time one of Charley Winslow’s friends vanishes from The Old Cross School for Boys. It’s just a tall tale. That’s what they tell Charley when he sees the ragged grey figure stalking the abbey halls at night. When Charley follows his pet insects to a pool of blood behind a false wall, he could run and let those stones bury their secrets. He could assimilate, focus on his studies, and wait for his father to send for him. Or he could walk the dark tunnels of the school’s heart, scour its abandoned passages, and pick at the scab of a family’s legacy of madness and murder. With the help of Sam Forster, the school’s gardener, and Matron Grace, the staff nurse, Charley unravels Old Cross’ history and exposes a scanda

The Oh-So-Sad DNF Collection: Take 5

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Well, 2020 started off with a DNF. This does not bode well.Or perhaps it does. Maybe this will be the year I stop struggling and listen to my instincts. Anyhow, I had another soon after so here they are. Ooops, nope. That's not what this post is about because I am a jerk. The Night Circus  by  Erin Morgenstern I gave this audiobook five hours of my life. I can't face another eight. I just can't do it. I mean, five hours?! That's a lot of time! I still feel as if I know nothing about any of these characters and I'm so very bored. Nope, I'm out. I sucketh at the reading. I know. I realize people adore this book but I didn't and it makes me sad that I didn't but that is why there are so many books. There is something for everyone. This something is for someone other than me. Full Throttle: Stories  by  Joe Hill A collection like this is typically like a box of gifted chocolates. I'm the type of jerk who

Retro Review: Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha

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I am finally back to my review archive project. I read this back in 2013 and never did get back to the series after this one. Should I bother after all this time? Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha Released September 2012 Romance   |   Goodreads    |  Amazon Source:  Purchased With My Own $ All Noelle Cunningham has ever wanted is a life beyond–beyond the walls of Eden, where only the righteous are allowed to remain, and beyond her stiflingly restrictive existence as a councilman’s daughter. But only ruins lie outside the City, remnants of a society destroyed by solar storms decades earlier. The sectors surrounding Eden house the corrupt, the criminal–men like Jasper McCray, bootlegger and cage fighter. Jas clawed his way up from nothing to stand at the right hand of Sector Four’s ruthless leader, and he’ll defend the O’Kane gang with his life. But no fight ever prepared him for the exiled City girl who falls at his feet. Her innocence is undeniable, but so is their intense

Book Review: River of Souls by T.L. Bodine

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This is a fun little zombie read! River of Souls by T.L. Bodine Released August 2019 Dark Fiction   |   Goodreads   |   Amazon   Source: Received for Review Consideration Undeath is a manageable condition. That's what the media says, anyway: with the help of the miracle life-extension drug, Lazarus, the Undead can retain their humanity and live normal, happy lives. Without it, they become violent, mindless walking corpses. Davin Montoya was eager to believe all of that. Forced to drop out of college to take care of his teenage sister, Zoe, after their father drank himself to death, he was more than happy to sign the no-good alcoholic over to the government's Lazarus House for treatment. That was one less thing for him to worry about. Until an accident left him joining the ranks of the freshly deceased himself. Now, keeping his death a secret is the only way to keep his sister out of foster care. But to do so, he must venture into the underground society

Nothing But Mini's #3

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Recent Mini Reviews Here's the rest of what I've read recently in mini review form because life has been crazy and I might be a little lazy.   The Cult Called Freedom House  by  Stephanie Evelyn 3 Stars This is a gory little tale about a crazy cult and the young girl and tortured policewoman who get caught up in the culty madness. This book is a debut from author Evelyn and the first in what appears to be a series. It moves at a quick pace and I would've preferred to have things slow down a little bit in order to get to know the characters better. There was also a big reveal made in the opening chapter that ruined some of the suspense for me. But that's just me. I like a slower roll out of the grossest of secrets. There are some nasty little surprises here so be warned! The Saturday Night Ghost Club  by  Craig Davidson 4 Stars This a little slice of life, coming of age story about a young boy, his new best friend, his first cr

Retro Review: Doubtless by Cat Grant

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I am back to my review archive project. I read this back in 2012 when I was reading a lot of romances. I should really try to sneak more in these days. Have you read any of Cat Grant's work? Doubtless by Cat Grant Released July 2012 Romance   |   Goodreads     Source:  Netgalley Loving your best friend is hard . . . especially when he's marrying someone else. On the surface, Steve Campbell seems to have it all: a beautiful home, a snazzy car, and a dream job as one of the country’s top 3-D optics researchers. But underneath, he’s restless and dissatisfied, tired of empty encounters with leggy lab assistants and endless evenings alone. A chance meeting with a handsome escort lifts Steve’s spirits and opens his eyes to his long-repressed attraction to men—and his love for his best friend and business partner, Connor Morrison. Connor might’ve loved Steve like that once, but now it’s too late for their happily ever after; Connor’s about to ask his boyfriend to

Book Review: The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

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If you want a fun creepy read, do I ever have a book for you! The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher Released October 2019 Dark Fiction   |   Goodreads   |   Amazon   Source: Purchased When a young woman clears out her deceased grandmother’s home in rural North Carolina, she finds long-hidden secrets about a strange colony of beings in the woods. When Mouse’s dad asks her to clean out her dead grandmother's house, she says yes. After all, how bad could it be? Answer: pretty bad. Grandma was a hoarder, and her house is stuffed with useless rubbish. That would be horrific enough, but there’s more—Mouse stumbles across her step-grandfather’s journal, which at first seems to be filled with nonsensical rants…until Mouse encounters some of the terrifying things he described for herself. Alone in the woods with her dog, Mouse finds herself face to face with a series of impossible terrors—because sometimes the things that go bump in the night are real, and they’re looking

Book Review: Cockblock by C.V. Hunt

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This book is incredibly disturbing and also incredibly readable. Cockblock by C.V. Hunt Released June 2018 Dark Fiction   |   Goodreads   |   Amazon   Source:  Purchased With My Own Money After the daily grind at their jobs all Sonya and Callie want is to enjoy a quiet night out together at a new restaurant. But making it to their reservation is proving to be a challenge. A few men on the street near their destination verbally assault them. And the situation quickly escalates into a nightmare. Once within the safety of the restaurant the two women discover it’s not just the men outside who’ve lost their minds, men everywhere have gone insane. And they believe they’ve found the origin of the mayhem. A radio in the kitchen is playing a hate filled message against women and it’s being delivered by the President. There’s only one way to stop the men from attacking women and logic tells them they need to terminate the chaos at its source. My 2 Cents For Free!

TTT: Let's Celebrate Love My Way!

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Hey bookish friends, it has been a million years since I got off my butt and whipped up one these listacles, spun it all around and spit out some weirdness. I know that's why you love me, right?  ♥  Today's prompt is: Love Freebie  and because I am me, I am throwing a different kind of love your way. Love that's difficult, strange, imperfect and always true. Because that's the best kind of love! Hold on to your hearts because I am going to squish them and rub my hands together in glee while I do it! Click on any cover to be whisked away to my review either here or at Goodreads. My Favorite *ahem* "Love" Stories  Is there anyone more in love with love than our favorite stalker, Joe?! I mean, COME ON! That book loving man is the sexiest narcissistic lover ever created.  Speaking of Joe, here he is again! Still totally and completely in love with Love. I absolutely cannot wait until his next adventure is released. This

Retro Review: Changeless by Gail Carriger

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I originally read and reviewed this book in 2012 and I do believe this is where I stalled in the series. Changeless by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate, #2) Released April 2010 Steampunk  |   Goodreads   |   Amazon   Source: Library Borrow Alexia Maccon, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears; leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria. But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. So even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can. She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it. CHANGELESS is the second book of t

Audiobook Review: The Reaping by Bernard Taylor

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This book is pure madness and you know how much I love pure madness! The Reaping by Bernard Taylor Released October 2019 Dark Fiction   |   Goodreads   |   Amazon   Source: Received for review consideration & self purchase When Tom Rigby is commissioned to paint a young woman's portrait at Woolvercombe House, the offer is too lucrative to refuse. But from the moment of his arrival at the secluded country mansion, strange and inexplicable events begin to transpire. Soon, he is drawn into an impenetrable maze of horror, and by the time he discovers the role he is intended to play in a diabolical design, it will already be too late. For, the seeds of evil have been sown, and the time to reap their wicked harvest is nigh! A classic novel by '70s and '80s horror master Bernard Taylor, The Reaping (1980) is now available as an audiobook.  My 2 Cents For Free! I received this book as part of Valancourt’s “Paperbacks From Hell