Bark At The Ghouls

This is a good choice if you want to escape the world for a bit. My 2 Cents for Free! The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst Released July 2025 Source: Purchased Audio See more @  Goodreads Once upon a time, Terlu was lonely because people always thought her “too much” and she used magic when she wasn’t supposed to (because magic is reserved for the “well-schooled”) and created a sentient plant to keep her company. She was discovered, made an example of, and harshly turned into a statue and stuffed into a closet for years. This all happened previously and is spoken of in “ The Spellshop ” (which you don’t have to read in order to enjoy this story, but you'll probably love it if you enjoy this one). This story begins when Terlu is awakened six years later. There’s a lot of bad self talk going on in Terlu’s head. She feels she’s too much, and that she pushes her friendship on people when they don’t really want it and she beats herself up a whole damn lot. She doesn’t come acros...

This was a fun opening book to a long-running series. My 2 Cents for Free! The Watchmaker's Daughter by C.J. Archer Released August 1983 Source: Audible Purchase See more @  Goodreads This was a fun start to a series, and it looks like there are 13 of them now. It’s not perfect but in this horrid year of 2026 that’s ok.  This is a historical fantasy that starts out with our heroine, India Steele, ranting at her former fiancé. Apparently, he wooed her only to steal the family business right out from under her. What a prick. Anyhow, back in those times, women weren’t allowed or trusted to fix the watches of men even when they’ve been trained by a master and are now a master themselves. Grrrr. When she’s finished berating the jerk, she’s approached by a dashing man with a foreign accent who needs her help and who offers her a job and (eventually) a place to stay since she’s lost everything. His reasons are vague, but it has something to do with a watchmaker, and she accepts becau...

So much cottagecore coziness. My 2 Cents for Free! The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst Released July 2024 Source: Spotify Audio Get it at your local library or see more @  Goodreads I'm giving this a five because I didn't want it to end. It is a bit rushed at the end which is my only complaint but it's going on my favorite shelf so five stars it is. If you want something that is magical and leaves you with that cozy feeling, this one is probably meant for you too. I originally picked it up because I requested The Enchanted Greenhouse from Netgalley not realizing that it was a sequel. I'm not sure if they need to be read in order but I didn't want to take a chance. The Spellshop tells the story of Kiela, an introverted and sorta grumpy librarian who is forced to grab her sentient plant, hop in a little boat and leave her beloved safe place when the overlords who want to hoard all of the magic start destroying everything, as overlords tend to do. She sails over to the i...

Le Sigh. The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer Released July 2024, 352 pgs Source: Purchased from Book of the Month Goodreads  |  Amazon Inspired by C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes—just in case—from the author of The Wishing Game. As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived. Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy. Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth ab...

Well, I finished. Winter's Fury by A.E. Rayne Released July 2017, 738 pgs Source: Purchased from Audible Goodreads  | Amazon IN A WORLD RULED BY MEN, ONE WOMAN WILL RISE She was their greatest warrior; the daughter of the king. But her uncle stole the throne and sent her away to marry Eadmund, the drunken son of their worst enemy. Now she must pick up her sword again to restore her family’s honour and return to the home she loves. Despite her skill with a sword, her prowess in battle, and her reputation as the greatest warrior in Brekka, without her father to protect her, Jael was merely a pawn, a woman to be married off so her uncle could forge an alliance to fulfil his own desperate ambitions. Eadmund is broken hearted, tortured by the murder of his first wife, but his father had lost patience with him. He wanted heirs for his kingdom. He wanted his son back, restored to the fierce warrior he had once been. And when his daughter has a dream about Jael, the woman who would save h...

Recent Mini Reviews Let's face it, most of my reviews lately are what most people consider "mini" anyhow. Most of the time I'd rather be reading than writing an essay deconstructing every part of a book, so it is what it is. Here are the quick takes and the thoughtless thoughts about the recent(ish) books I've read.  How to Sell A Haunted House by Grady Hendrix ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was a good read with some terribly flawed characters who pissed me off multiple times before I learned all of the circumstances. It's a well-crafted spooky read with some great characterization. Stick with it if the fighting between the siblings starts putting you off. I probably would've quit if I weren't listening on audio because it's long and the arguments drove me nuts but I'm so glad I finished. I’m also pretty sure my mother’s creepy ass Ashton Drake dolls feature heavily in this book so that was an extra level of creep. Recommended if you don't mind being very a...

This was so cozy!  Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree Released February 2022 Source: Library Borrow Audiobook   |   Goodreads   | Amazon High Fantasy with a double-shot of self-reinvention Worn out after decades of packing steel and raising hell, Viv the orc barbarian cashes out of the warrior’s life with one final score. A forgotten legend, a fabled artifact, and an unreasonable amount of hope lead her to the streets of Thune, where she plans to open the first coffee shop the city has ever seen. However, her dreams of a fresh start pulling shots instead of swinging swords are hardly a sure bet. Old frenemies and Thune’s shady underbelly may just upset her plans. To finally build something that will last, Viv will need some new partners and a different kind of resolve. A hot cup of fantasy slice-of-life with a dollop of romantic froth.  My 2 Cents for Free! This was such a cozy read. If you're in need of something comforting and aren't expecting (or wan...

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. ...

This one worried me but it turned out to be a five star favorite! You never know. A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher Released April 2019 Audiobook Fantasy Adventure   |   Goodreads   |   Amazon   Source:  Library Borrow When a beloved family dog is stolen, her owner sets out on a life-changing journey through the ruins of our world to bring her back in this fiercely compelling tale of survival, courage, and hope. Perfect for readers of Station Eleven and The Girl With All the Gifts.My name's Griz. My childhood wasn't like yours. I've never had friends, and in my whole life I've not met enough people to play a game of football. My parents told me how crowded the world used to be, but we were never lonely on our remote island. We had each other, and our dogs. Then the thief came.There may be no law left except what you make of it. But if you steal my dog, you can at least expect me to come after you. Because i...

This is post #2 in my Twitter fueled Amazing Book Recommendations series. If you missed the first one you can read it here . These posts celebrate the amazing people that make up the book loving community on Twitter. These readers generously shared their most recent five star reads so the rest of us can go buy more books! 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. Fantasy/Humor GOOD OMENS by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaimen According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (the world's only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner. So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, temp...

I don't like to DNF but I also don't like the idea of struggling through a book that doesn't get along with me. Here is a little collection of books I had to give up on because I am a quitter and I have entirely too many books in my tbr pile. Our Frail Disordered Lives by Mary M. Schmidt I requested this title from Netgalley thinking it was a horror novel because it was in the horror category. I must be more careful about hitting that request button without doing a little research first. This book is a comedy about a demon gone rogue because his boss Satan is an unappreciative pain in the bum. Satan sends all of his bounty hunters out to drag the demon’s sorry butt back to Hell. But this is not a horror novel. At least not the first 25%. It is written in the sarcastic spirit of Christopher Moore and Clive Barker’s Mister B. Gone which is a book that did not get along with me and I normally adore Barker so you can see how this going to go, can’t you? Not ...