Waiting on Wednesday

 Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they are books that have yet to be released but don't have to be. It is based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous at Breaking the Spine.

In the second installment of the award-winning, critically acclaimed Lightfall series, Bea and Cad continue their quest to stop Kest, the mythic bird who stole the sun. Perfect for middle-grade fans of Amulet and Avatar the Last Airbender, Lightfall: Shadow of the Bird is another breathtaking journey into the magical world of Irpa, where epic battles and powerful creatures abound.

After a battle that nearly cost them their lives, Bea and Cad awaken in the hidden settlement of the Arsai, mysterious creatures who can glimpse into the future. The Arsai's vision paints a dire picture for their planet, as the bird Kest Ke Belenus--now awoken from a restless slumber--threatens to destroy all the Lights of Irpa. Desperate for a solution, Bea and Cad seek out the help of a water spirit known as Lorgon, whose ancient wisdom may help them find a way to take down Kest and save Irpa from utter destruction.

But when their time with Lorgon presents more questions than answers, Bea and Cad must decide what's more important . . . stopping Kest or uncovering the truth.

Why I'm Waiting: I really adored the first book in this series. So I'm really excited about the next installment!

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

Arek hadn’t thought much about what would happen after he completed the prophecy that said he was destined to save the Kingdom of Ere from its evil ruler. So now that he’s finally managed to (somewhat clumsily) behead the evil king (turns out magical swords yanked from bogs don’t come pre-sharpened), he and his rag-tag group of quest companions are at a bit of a loss for what to do next.

As a temporary safeguard, Arek’s best friend and mage, Matt, convinces him to assume the throne until the true heir can be rescued from her tower. Except that she’s dead. Now Arek is stuck as king, a role that comes with a magical catch: choose a spouse by your eighteenth birthday, or wither away into nothing.

With his eighteenth birthday only three months away, and only Matt in on the secret, Arek embarks on a desperate bid to find a spouse to save his life—starting with his quest companions. But his attempts at wooing his friends go painfully and hilariously wrong…until he discovers that love might have been in front of him all along.

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sundays

  

They say don't judge a book by its cover, but we all know we do it. Sometimes it's the cover that originally catches our eye, drawing us to give a book a closer look. It's the first thing we see, our first impression. Every Sunday I'm going to post some of my favorite covers of books coming soon!

The challenge: spend a week hiding in an abandoned amusement park and don't get caught.

The prize: enough money to change everything.

Even though everyone is desperate to win--to seize their dream futures or escape their haunting pasts--Mack feels sure that she can beat her competitors. All she has to do is hide, and she's an expert at that.

It's the reason she's alive, and her family isn't.

But as the people around her begin disappearing one by one, Mack realizes this competition is more sinister than even she imagined, and that together might be the only way to survive.

Fourteen competitors. Seven days. Everywhere to hide, but nowhere to run.

Come out, come out, wherever you are.

HAPPY READING!!

Book Mail

I love surprise book mail! When I went to get the mail over the weekend I wasn't expecting to find any books inside, but here we are. Quirk Books sent me the paperback version of Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman! I read this last year during the chaos of me going back to work after lockdown and my roommate heading away for the summer. A lot was going on, and I really enjoyed the book. But, I definitely want to read it again. I feel like I wasn't able to give it my full attention so it would be great to go back and be able to see all the little details I missed.

Still despite all the things going on while I was reading this, I really, really enjoyed the book. I've recommended it to a lot of friends who enjoy the horror genre, and the true-crime genre since it pulls a lot from the1980s Satanic Panic. 

So a huge thank you Quirk Books for the surprise book mail, and I can't wait to get my hands on Chapman's new book, Ghost Eaters! Which, hits shelves on Sept. 20th of this year!

HAPPY READING!!

Mini Review

 

These re-reads have continued into another weekend! I have forgotten how much happens in these series. My timeline with Locke & Key is off because I thought by volume three we met the Keeper of the Keys. Which is wrong. And, I've reached the conclusion I've erased all memory of the American Vampire plotline from my memory. 

I finished volume three over the weekend and I was left with one main thought, I'm glad they changed the mother's and Duncan's plotlines for the Netflix series. Because Duncan didn't deserve what he went through just for a plot point for Dodge. So I'm glad that was rewritten for the show. As for the kid's mother, I'm glad the changed the way she handled her trauma. While the book version holds drama and leads them to more keys, I'm glad she got a less dark storyline for the show. It's hard to read her scenes in the graphic novels, I can't imagine I'd want to watch it happen on screen. On a different note, I'm loving the little bit of back story we get at the end of the book about the creation of the keys. Not going to lie, I'd love to a prequel series out of Netflix about the original Locke siblings. Lastly, the Shadow Key is my favorite key. 

Okay, so I know I read this book, Goodreads confirms I read it, and I understand that seven years have passed since then. That's a lot of time, I've moved twice since then. I remember a little about a lot of the books I've read since then. How is it I remember nothing about this series other than Skinner?! Nothing in this book jogged my memory of what was coming next. Likey I didn't know what Cash had in that bag, and I don't remember what exactly Felicia is. I can tell you it ain't human. This plot is completely crazy and I don't know how I forgot any of these. I think my favorite bit is that Synder has brought in a large amount of vampire lore from around the world. So many cultures have their own version of vampire liked creatures, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses. So I like that we're seeing that in this book. There aren't just one set species, there are several, and Skinner and Pearl are something new. So it was also nice to see where Pearl ended up after volume one. She's walking a different path than Skinner, which is nice. Since she sort of drop-kicked into the vampire life. It's nice that she's gotten a happy-ish ending.

HAPPY READING!!

Waiting on Wednesday

 Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they are books that have yet to be released but don't have to be. It is based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous at Breaking the Spine.

1978: At her renowned treatment center in picturesque Vermont, the brilliant psychiatrist, Dr. Helen Hildreth, is acclaimed for her compassionate work with the mentally ill. But when’s she home with her cherished grandchildren, Vi and Eric, she’s just Gran—teaching them how to take care of their pets, preparing them home-cooked meals, providing them with care and attention and love.

Then one day Gran brings home a child to stay with the family. Iris—silent, hollow-eyed, skittish, and feral—does not behave like a normal girl.

Still, Violet is thrilled to have a new playmate. She and Eric invite Iris to join their Monster Club, where they catalogue all kinds of monsters and dream up ways to defeat them. Before long, Iris begins to come out of her shell. She and Vi and Eric do everything together: ride their bicycles, go to the drive-in, meet at their clubhouse in secret to hunt monsters. Because, as Vi explains, monsters are everywhere.

2019: Lizzy Shelley, the host of the popular podcast Monsters Among Us, is traveling to Vermont, where a young girl has been abducted, and a monster sighting has the town in an uproar. She’s determined to hunt it down, because Lizzy knows better than anyone that monsters are real—and one of them is her very own sister.
The Children on the Hill takes us on a breathless journey to face the primal fears that lurk within us all.

Why I'm Waiting: Creepy kids and a haunted house, you have my attention!

HAPPY READING!

New Release Tuesday

Created as an homage to the 1980 classic horror anthology, Dark Forces, edited by Kirby McCauley, this collection contains 12 original novelettes showcasing today’s top horror talent. Dark Stars features all-new stories from award-winning authors and up-and-coming voices like Stephen Graham Jones, Priya Sharma, Usman T. Malik, Caroline Kepnes, and Alma Katsu, with seasoned author John F.D. Taff at the helm. An afterword from original Dark Forces contributor Ramsey Campbell is a poignant finale to this bone-chilling collection.

Within these pages you’ll find tales of dead men walking, an insidious secret summer fling, an island harboring unspeakable power, and a dark hallway that beckons. You’ll encounter terrible monsters—both human and supernatural—and be forever changed. The stories in Dark Stars run the gamut from traditional to modern, from dark fantasy to neo-noir, from explorations of beloved horror tropes to the unknown—possibly unknowable—threats.

It’s all in here because it’s all out there, now, in horror.

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sundays

  

They say don't judge a book by its cover, but we all know we do it. Sometimes it's the cover that originally catches our eye, drawing us to give a book a closer look. It's the first thing we see, our first impression. Every Sunday I'm going to post some of my favorite covers of books coming soon!

A girl would be such a blessing...

The last time Maeve saw her cousin was the night she escaped the cult they were raised in. For the past two decades, Maeve has worked hard to build a normal life in New York City, where she keeps everything—and everyone—at a safe distance.

When Andrea suddenly reappears, Maeve regains the only true friend she’s ever had. Soon she’s spending more time at Andrea’s remote Catskills estate than in her own cramped apartment. Maeve doesn’t even mind that her cousin’s wealthy work friends clearly disapprove of her single lifestyle. After all, Andrea has made her fortune in the fertility industry—baby fever comes with the territory.

The more Maeve immerses herself in Andrea’s world, the more disconnected she feels from her life back in the city; and the cousins’ increasing attachment triggers memories Maeve has fought hard to bury. But confronting the terrors of her childhood may be the only way for Maeve to transcend the nightmare still to come…

HAPPY READING!!

Mini Reviews - Rereads

It's been a while since I've done one of these. Mostly because I've had the time to decorate full reviews to everything I read, including novellas and graphic novels. The two original reasons I added mini-reviews to my way of reviewing. Why revive them now? Because finally my roommate is reading the Locke & Key series, after years of my telling her to do so. Which means I'm reading them again so I can watch the Netflix series and get confused. Because it's been a cool minute since even I picked them up. This re-read lead to me realizing I never did finish the American Vampire series. So I'm jumping back into the series from the start because again, I don't remember a lot of what happened.

It's weird the things I remember about this series. Mostly I forgot how much actually happens in the first volume. A hundred percent it is a first book in the series. Not all do you get a hold on exactly who our three main characters are, but you get a taste of what the keys do. A hint of how dangerous Dodge is, and little bit about what happened with the Locke kids' father and his friends. This subject is touched on even more in the second volume, and you get a bigger look at the keys. We even get to see a couple fo the keys still hidden around the house. As a hint on what the omega key is and how dangerous it is. What I think is great about this series is that after all this time I remember the cast characters vividly, even have my favorites. What I forgot were little things about the keys, about the plot, and just how much I hate Dodge.

American Vampire was the first thing I ever picked up by Scotty Synder. I'm always a sucker for a vampires in the old west mash-up. It didn't take me long to remember why I enjoyed this the first time around. Skinner Sweet is the perfect villain turned sort of ant-hero. He's not a good person, he doesn't pretend to be, but I do also really like Pearl. She handles everything like a badass. I had forgotten quite a bit about this story, but that meant I go to enjoy it all over again. Even after this re-read I don't remember what's suppose to happen next. I really like how this book set up the characters, told Skinner's backstory, and set up future books all in one. While I'm a huge Stephen King fan, and loved his chapters about Skinner's backstory. I was definitely more into Synder's chapter with Pearl!

HAPPY READING!!

Book Mail

I don't show off this book mail enough, and I don't have a good excuse as to why. Nightworms is the one nice thing I do for myself every month. My treat yourself thing because it gives me access to a lot of indie horror and supports a local business. On top of allowing me to support other small businesses.

This month the theme was Nightfire, and only one of the books had been on my radar. Sundial was one I hadn't heard of until Nightworms announced it for the March Theme. Then, of course, I was seeing it everywhere. However, the more I saw, the more I thought I might actually really dig this book. 

I don't have enough cult trope books in my life.

Certain Dark Things has been on my TBR for a minute, and again I don't have a good reason as to why I haven't picked it up. I've heard great things, it sounds right up my alley, and that cover thought. That cover! So huge thank you to Nightworms for putting this book in my hands.

My second favorite thing about Nightworms is the goodie bag. This month we got a beverage from one of my favorite little shops. I can't wait to make a cup!

Both of these books are high on my TBR, but we all know what they mean. The best-laid plans and all that!

HAPPY READING!!

Undiscovered Country Vol. 1 - Review

Author: Scott Synder

Genre: Graphic Novel

Format: Paperback

Pages: 144

This was a lot. Like I had to take breaks, a lot. So I found this gem while I was looking for something else at my library. I'm a huge Scott Snyder and Charles Soule fan. So it was a no-brainer to pick this one up. Ultimately, I did like this first volume and I've put the second volume on hold. The underlining plot has my attention, and I want to see how it pans out. But, like a said it's a lot. It's a lot of information to be taken in for one volume and it's a lot emotionally as well.  While the book is science fiction, it doesn't so much feel like our world is too far from this. 

Not to mention how tropes are already been introduced in under a hundred and fifty pages: chosen one's trope, dystopian, pandemic scare, etc. 

Did I mention this was a lot, but somehow I think I managed to keep it all straight in my head? Because not only are we jumping into with no back story on why the USA sealed off, or what has happened in the thirty years prior. Even at the end of the book, we've only got a small look at what led to this moment. Even the timeline at the end doesn't offer much help. So even by the end of the book, I'm still in the dark about what's going on, what this Aurora is. 

Though part of me thinks it's AI-related. I hope it's AI-related. I do love a good evil AI trope. 

Despite not getting much information on what happened thirty years ago, we know it connects to Daniel and Lottie and their parents. We know they were chosen to go on this weird journey to save the country, and in the end, they'll be given a choice. Though, we have no idea what kind of choice they'll be given. We also know that they have to do it with a cast of misfit characters that no one wanted. They can die along the way, but they cannot just quit. Something that left me with more questions.

What information we do get is everyone's backstory of how/why they joined the team. Which added to the obscene info drop of this volume. I can't say I'll remember each story as the story progresses, but I'm glad we got a number of those backstories out of the way first, instead of dragging it over several volumes. So that was a plus. Though as for right now I'm kind of attached to one character. That's Ace our historian. He's the character no one listens to, despite the fact he's the only person they should be listening to. I'm already over Daniel, he is a hundred percent that chosen one guy. Lottie is no better, I'm over her and her high horse as well. Both are annoying and over-looking the bigger picture that Ace has been trying to tell them.

And while we've only got a hint of how bad it is, I have a few theories on how the time thing happened. Which is another reason I want to continue this series. I want to see if I'm right, or if it's time travel. The latter will annoy me. Not a fan of time travel, not only does it screw with tenses, we need to stop messing with the timeline.

However, I was in love with the Mad Max intro to the new USA. Only this version had genetically modified animals. So it had my attention. 

Another plus to this was I liked the artwork throughout the volume. There were a lot of details in the panels. A lot of hidden gems of the "old" world. I liked when graphic novels use the art to world build, instead of waiting for panels on it. I think it's a great way to make the art feel more like a part of the story than just an afterthought to give people something to look at.

So, I liked it. The plot has my attention because it left me with a few questions. I hope I retained everything because it's a lot happening in a hundred and forty-four pages. We'll see when volume two rolls in. I've got my fingers crossed this plot will start to iron itself out and a clear path will appear in the next installment as well. Because I'm still not sure where we're headed on this crazy train.

HAPPY READING!!

Waiting on Wednesday

 Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they are books that have yet to be released but don't have to be. It is based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous at Breaking the Spine.

1944: As World War II rages on, the threat has come to the home front. In a remote corner of Idaho, Meiko Briggs and her daughter, Aiko, are desperate to return home. Following Meiko's husband's enlistment as an air force pilot in the Pacific months prior, Meiko and Aiko were taken from their home in Seattle and sent to one of the internment camps in the Midwest. It didn’t matter that Aiko was American-born: They were Japanese, and therefore considered a threat by the American government.

Mother and daughter attempt to hold on to elements of their old life in the camp when a mysterious disease begins to spread among those interned. What starts as a minor cold quickly becomes spontaneous fits of violence and aggression, even death. And when a disconcerting team of doctors arrives, nearly more threatening than the illness itself, Meiko and her daughter team up with a newspaper reporter and widowed missionary to investigate, and it becomes clear to them that something more sinister is afoot, a demon from the stories of Meiko’s childhood, hell-bent on infiltrating their already strange world.

Inspired by the Japanese yokai and the jorogumo spider demon, The Fervor explores a supernatural threat beyond what anyone saw coming; the danger of demonization, a mysterious contagion, and the search to stop its spread before it’s too late.

Why I'm Waiting: I really enjoyed The Deep, so I'm excited about Katsu's next book!

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

The story of nine strangers who receive a cryptic list with their names on it - and then begin to die in highly unusual circumstances.

Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke - until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list. First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from oncology nurse to aspiring actor.

FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who is on the list herself, is determined to find out. Could there be some dark secret that binds them all together? Or is this the work of a murderous madman? As the mysterious sender stalks these nine strangers, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who will be crossed off next...

HAPPY READING!!

Currently Reading

Happy Monday, Nerds! Here's to hoping it's a positive one out there. I'm one of the lucky few that get to have Mondays off. I love non-traditional days off! Anyway, back to the books. After February I fell into a small reading slump. I was even having a hard time finishing my last February read. Thanks to a quick run into my library I picked up Locke & Key for my roommate. It's taken me years to get her to read this series, and finally, she is finally reading them. This means I'm re-reading them because it's one of my favorite series, and it's been years since I've picked them up. 

And, I want to catch back up on the show!

That story is important because thanks to the re-read I busted through my reading slump before it could pull me too far down. I couldn't even tell you why I was in this slump. Maybe it was my new work schedule, maybe it's that I'm over the gray/wet weather, but it was there. Was being the keyword. Now I've snagged two books off my TBR and I'm looking forward to my three-day weekend so I can properly dive into them!

I'm only a chapter into this, and I'm not sure how I'm feeling about it. The main character is weird and it's something I'm jiving with it. I can't wait to get to dive into this a little more over the next three days. 

THIS! Thank you so much, NetGalley. I finally started this a couple of nights ago, and I've been reading it every morning while I wait for the bus. So far it's absolutely adorable. It's a big nerd fest, and while I'm not a big DnD person or a video gamer person. However, I love watching other people do those things, and that's exactly what this feels like. 

So glad I managed to shove off the reading slump and I'm excited that both of these books are good so far. I definitely have higher hopes for So This is Ever After, but The Ripper's Shadow might surprise me. I'm still waiting to meet the rest of the cast of characters.

What's everyone else reading this week?

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sundays

  

They say don't judge a book by its cover, but we all know we do it. Sometimes it's the cover that originally catches our eye, drawing us to give a book a closer look. It's the first thing we see, our first impression. Every Sunday I'm going to post some of my favorite covers of books coming soon!

Whenever Molly Southbourne bled, a murderer was born. Deadly copies, drawn to destroy their creator, bound by a legacy of death. With the original Molly Southbourne gone, her remnants drew together, seeking safety and a chance for peace. The last Molly and her sisters built a home together and thought they could escape the murder that marked their past.

But secrets squirm in Molly Southbourne's blood--secrets born in a Soviet lab and carried back across the Iron Curtain to infiltrate the West. What remains of the Cold War spy machine wants those secrets back, and to get them they're willing to unearth the dead and destroy the fragile peace surrounding the last copies of Molly Southbourne.

HAPPY READING!!

Batman/The Shadow: The Murder of Geniuses - Review

Author: Scott Synder

Genre: Graphic Novel

Format: Hardback

Pages: 168

This was just okay. I wanted to like it more than I did, which bums me out a bit. Normally I love Scott Synder's stuff, and I was excited for a Batman and the Shadow mashup. For all their faults I've always had a love for the old detective stories. 

However, this was just okay, and maybe it's been so long since I've heard any of The Shadow episodes. But, I went into this thinking I knew what I was going to get myself into. Sadly I was let down a little and the use of The Shadow character. Honestly, I disliked him a lot and tried to block him out as much as possible. Everything else was what I expect for one of Synder's graphic novels.

As for the story itself, I always really like that the way Synder writes both Batman and Alfred. We got to see neet "bat gadgets", and I thought the storyline was solid. And, I'm always down for Joker to pop in to go toe-to-toe with Batman. I liked the idea of everything going back to Gotham's first murder, and a killer who hunts Gotham's 'best'. Because let's be honest the list of honest, good guys in Gotham is small.

Throughout the whole story, I wished the Shadow hadn't gotten involved. I got quickly got sick of him. He seemed more concerning with forcing this idea that he mentored Bruce. I didn't mind that he had this sort of black and white view of crime-fighting. But by the second monologue of 'you were my replacement'. Dude, suck it up, Bruce said no. Deal with it, bigger fish. 

Also, the whole circumventing the issue until it's too late. I hate it. If the Shadow would have checked his ego from the get to and explained things to Bruce, maybe we have gotten a different ending. But, here are an old man. Here we are. Though, I did enjoy those just desserts at the end for the Shadow. 

I liked the artwork that was done for this as well. It's a darker pallet with little pops colors with The Shadow and the Joker. Some of the panels have a lot going on, but the artwork flows so well it's easy to keep pace with the movement of everything. There were a lot of little details, especially with the Batsuit. 

Feel like the art was my favorite part about this, the story was secondary. And, honestly, I could have done with the Shadow just being any the start of this and just letting Bruce handle the rest as Batman. The Shadow didn't add anything to this story but annoyance. But, it still held a lot of what I love about Synder in this, it was a quick and fun read.

HAPPY READING!!

Book Haul

What did I say about not buying any more books in the month of March? I swear I told myself that I was going to try to get everything from the library because I went book store happy last month. There are so many books in this house that I need to read. And yet! Here we are because I went book shopping while I was also grocery shopping.

How did that happen? Let me tell you. The zipper on one pair of non-work jeans broke last week, so I was going to run to my favorite thrift store to find a new pair. A quick little in and out, maybe browse through the graphic t-shirts. In and out. I was not in and out. In fact, I found two books to add to my basket and a new coffee mug. All things I did not nee

I have no regrets. Because I did find a new pair of pants to wear on the rare occasions I go out into the world on my days off. So it was a successful trip. 

For those playing at home, you'll notice there is a third book. That was actually thanks to a friend. We popped into the bookstore before going to see the Batman, and she bought me a book. I have started Devolution a couple of years ago but had to return to the library before I finished. I remember liking the parts I got to, so I'm excited to pick it back up.

HAPPY READING!!

In the Garden of Spite - Review

Author: Camilla Bruce

Genre: Historical Fiction

Format: Hardback

Pages: 480

I'm always a sucker for the True Crime genre. So I was pretty excited for In The Garden of Spite even though it is a fictional retelling of Belle Gunness and the crimes she committed. While I know who Gunness was, the things she'd done, I didn't know a lot about her in general. I've heard her story on true crime podcasts and shows. I think having that bare knowledge is what made this book enjoyable. Because I didn't really know where fact and fiction always collided, though I could guess from time to time.

Camilla Bruce had to have done so much research for this book and not just one Belle, but on the period itself. On what was going on not only in Chicago at the time, but the world. On the living conditions both here and in Norway. All of that shows throughout the whole book. Bruce really plunges you into the period, and while personally, I'm normally all about the characters, for a story like this I'm glad we got an immersive view on the period.

I also really loved the small mention of Homles and the Murder Hotel. 

Another great aspect of this book is the dueling points of view. We just watch as Belle Gunness turns into a serial killer. You also watch as her sister discovers the truth about her sister. Personally, I think that helps the story because if the whole book down through Belle's eyes I don't think I could finish it. Her monologuing would have done me in. But, because Belle and her sister, Nellie, are polar opposites it breaks the story up but allows it to continue to flow. Nellie is so content with her quiet and simple life. Grateful for the things she's worked for, and she still has dreams, but she is practical. Whereas Belle thinks she's owed something. Having both points of view really shapes the monster Belle is in a way that just one point of view wouldn't accomplish.

Nellie will always see Belle as her little sister, watching Nellie struggle really broke my heart. All she wanted was what was best for her sister. And, while I part of me wanted to feel bad for Belle, to her rough start in life. For this reason, she needed to come to America. You really lose feeling halfway through the book, when she finally has what she wants and you watch her throw it all away.

I think Bruce did a really good job with Belle because of that. You start feeling so bad for this girl, but that quickly fades that farther into the book you get. And not because Bruce just created a monster. She created a woman who had two faces: the one the world saw and the was all her. Never once did Bruce give platitudes about why Belle did what it did. No punches were held and I appreciated that as well. Belle Gunness was a terrible person, and Bruce writes her that way.

In the Garden of Spite is definitely a heavy book, even though there is very little violence in the book. Yes, Bruce doesn't spare details of what Belle did the men she killed, but there is no unneeded gore about it. Belle had a sad start to life, her sister goes through several miscarriages. This book is not for everyone there are a lot of trigger warnings for this book: domestic violence, miscarriages, child abuse, etc. So I would suggest doing a bit of research before jumping into this book if any of those things are triggers.

For those reasons, this wasn't a book I read quickly. I would read small stretches here and there, but the somber nature made it hard to read for long periods. The upside to that is with Bruce's writing style I never had any problems jumping back into the story. Bruce had described everyone and everything so well that it was easy to fall back into this story after a couple of days away.

I think my only issue with this book, and this probably all me, is after about the three hundred pages make the book start to feel long. Those last hundred pages took me longer to get through than the first three hundred. At this point, I was ready to get to the end and see if Belle was going to make a daring escape at the end. I didn't skip ahead, I read the pages, but the will to do was there.

But, it was a good read all said and done. An interesting take on the life of Belle Gunness. It left me with a need to do a bit of my own research on the woman, and separate the fact from the fiction. 

HAPPY READING!!

Waiting on Wednesday

 Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they are books that have yet to be released but don't have to be. It is based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous at Breaking the Spine.

All her life, Jani has dreamed of Elsewhere. Just barely scraping by with her job at a tannery, she’s resigned to a dreary life in the port town of Durc, caring for her younger sister Zosa. That is, until the Hotel Magnifique comes to town.

The hotel is legendary not only for its whimsical enchantments but also for its ability to travel—appearing in a different destination every morning. While Jani and Zosa can’t afford the exorbitant costs of a guest’s stay, they can interview to join the staff, and are soon whisked away on the greatest adventure of their lives. But once inside, Jani quickly discovers their contracts are unbreakable and that beneath the marvelous glamour, the hotel is hiding dangerous secrets.

With the vexingly handsome doorman Bel as her only ally, Jani embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of the magic at the heart of the hotel and free Zosa—and the other staff—from the cruelty of the ruthless maître d’hôtel. To succeed, she’ll have to risk everything she loves, but failure would mean a fate far worse than never returning home.

Why I'm Waiting: You had me at an enchanted hotel, everything else is a bonus.

HAPPY READING!!