Feel the Bern - Review

Author: Andrew Shaffer

Genre: Cozy Murder Mystery

Format: Paperback

Pages: 288

Andrew Shaffer is a favorite author of mine. So when I heard he had another cozy murder mystery hitting shelves, I couldn't have gotten to the presale fast enough. I thought the Biden Murder Mystery series was hilarious, and I knew this one would be just as good.

This book did not disappoint.

Crash is an easily relatable character, even if you aren't the overachiever that she is. I related to the need to get out of her small town to someplace bigger. 

Feel the Bern is everything you want from a cozy murder mystery. It's full of misdirect, red herrings, and amazing one-liners, and the killer is never who you think it is. Or, in this case, that you want it to be. Though I would say Jagger at least got tackled to the ground. So at least someone got a pop shot at him.

It's fast-paced, full of laughs, and there are recipes! The latter is always a way to my heart. I'm even going to have to try a couple of the recipes, and that last one will go to a friend of mine whose into that kind of baking. 

If you know, you know.

Honestly, I got everything I wanted out of this book and even got a tease of the second book. Which I would love, Crash and Bernie make a great team. But, mostly I want more Ben and Jerry. So happy they didn't stick with Jagger! 

Also, I would love for the Cannon Cove books to become a thing. I would read all of those without question. I'd watch that show without fail. Just saying...

But, Feel the Bern is a riot, and if you love cozy murder mysteries, this is for you!

HAPPY READING!!

Favorite January Read

I read a lot of good books this month. I didn't read a bad book this month, or DNF, either. However, of all eight books I read this month. EIGHT! Two really were the tops. In fact, this was the series I'd bought and then put on my shelf and never picked up again. I'm so glad I finally picked this book up because it was a lot of fun. The stories were crazy, and it's everything you want from a cozy murder mystery. Not to mention, Maude is a great main character. She's the old lady that I inspire to be.

Minus you know the murder and stuff.

So if you like to read cozy murder mysteries this duology is perfect! Cool covers, epic titles, and an absolute riot! I devoured both of these books over a weekend. Hands down An Elderly Lady is up to No Good was my favorite read this month. Because for as good as the second book is, the first is best. It's the book I've recommended to the most people this month The book I've talked about the most, and I still think about it weeks later. Mostly about how I'd love to see this series turned into a TV Show. 

I would watch the crap out of that show! 

But, if you click the image above it'll take you to the Goodreads page to learn about the book and Maude! You can also click here to see my review of the book!  I need to read more books by Helen Tursten books this year. 

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sunday

    

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 new girl in town is having trouble fitting into a community that believes there's a secret Satanic cult conducting rituals in the woods. When her crush goes missing, she starts to wonder if the town's obsession with evil isn't covering up something far worse. Perfect for fans of Fear Street!

To say sixteen-year-old Audre doesn't fit in would be the understatement of the century. She's a city kid who's found herself in a rural town. The only girl at school who'd rather kiss a girl than a boy. Not to mention that the whole town believes there's a secret Satanic cult conducting rituals in the nearby woods--and Audre is a born skeptic.

When the preacher's daughter and Audre's secret crush, Elle, goes missing on Halloween weekend, the town is quick to point fingers--in Audre's direction. While they harass Audre's family for being newcomers and nonbelievers, Audre realizes she might be the only person here who can find her friend.

The deeper she goes, though, the weirder it gets. What happened to Elle--and is the evil this town is hiding really what Audre thinks it is?

HAPPY READING!!

On the Farm - Review

Author: Stevie Cameron

Genre: True Crime

Format: Audiobook

Hours Listened: 24 Hours

I was flipping through my library's audiobooks when I discovered On The Farm by Stevie Cameron. This caught my attention because I'd never heard of the case before. Also, coming at twenty-four hours long, I thought this would be a nice book that would last a few weeks at work through opens, inventory, and my short bust ride. I wasn't wrong, but I wasn't right either. This became my, 'anytime I'm not doing anything that needs my full attention' book. Because once you get through the background of Robert Pickton and into what he did, this book had all of my attention.

Seriously, I have never been so caught up with laundry. 

What should have taken me probably about a month to read, took me a week and a half to read. This was one of those cases where when you don't think anything else could go wrong, it does. And, it's not just the twists and turns that keep you guessing, or even an overly intelligent do-er outsmarting cops. It's "decent" people at their absolute worse. So many people let these women down, and so many more people should have had to answer for that.

This case from start to finish broke my heart. I was a teenager when all of this was making the news. Wrapped into my senior year of high school and freshman year of college. So it's no surprise that I don't remember it.

Stevie Cameron doesn't a great job with On The Farm because this isn't a book about Robert Pickton. Yes, the first few chapters are about his life growing up, about his family, and a little about adult life. But there was never a moment when I felt sorry for him, it was glorifying what he did. It was just here is the life of Pickton leading up to the horrid thing he did. What was even better was how this book was about the victims. Their names were said, and as many backstories as possible were told. They were given names and lives, and they were remembered. Cameron treated them like human people, which is more than they got while this case was ongoing.

It's hard to enjoy a book like this. There's nothing to enjoy, but for the size of this book, for the information that was laid out, it was easy to follow along. It was easy to pause and pick back up. After a couple of seconds, my brain caught up with where I left off. Not that there was ever a good stop to pause. I was honestly making myself finish a chapter before pausing for the day. Cameron did a crazy amount of research while writing this book and it shows. It feels like you move through this case from start to finish.

And, if you come into this book knowing nothing about this case, the end will piss you off. The last 45 minutes of this book had me rage-cleaning. This is one of those stories, that moment in history, where we should have done better as people. Where these women deserved better. And, I feel like Stevie Cameron did a great job of telling their story. Of the people, and the system, that failed them.

HAPPY READING!!

Book Unhaul

The time has come. I've been putting off this unhaul since I moved into this apartment going on seven years now. Basically, I've just been putting them into a steamer trunk and then forgetting about them. Until a couple of weeks ago when I was looking for a book for my roommate and had to do a deep dive into the trunk. It was then I realized I couldn't put it off any longer. It's time to donate these to new homes.  

So books were piled and split into three groups: books going to half-price books, books being just donated to thrift stores, and books going to the roommate's job. And some went to my job with one of my co-workers. So four stacks, maths is hard! But this cleared up two new shelves for books, and now I have an empty steamer trunk that will hold my winter jackets! All of this is happening just in time for my birthday because apparently there will be many bookstores happening over that weekend. So I don't think those shelves will be empty for long!

HAPPY READING!! 

Wait Till Helen Comes - Review

Author: Mary Downing Hahn & Scott Peterson

Genre: Horror / Graphic Novel

Format: Paperback

Pages: 160

I just recently discovered Mary Downing Hanh's books last year thanks to my Aunt. Despite reading this genre when her books were being released, I never stumbled across them at my local library at the time. Which wasn't surprising because it was small and struggling. It's still small and struggling. But, thanks to my Aunt bringing one from a book drive at her local library, I've discovered them. And, their fun, spooky, and something pre-teen me would have devoured.

Wait Till Helen Comes is everything you want from a '90s middle-grade, young adult, horror novel: parents who don't understand, unfortunate siblings, a spooky house, and a scary story surrounding it. In all those things this book doesn't disappoint and thinking it's the perfect story to have been turned into a graphic novel. Having illustrations of the church, house, and little graveyard help the story. Along with little glimpses of Helen here and there. It all folds perfectly into the story that Hahn originally weaved.

Since I never read the original book, I can't tell you how well this sticks to that story. I can say the story moves along at a decent pace. I like that there are cutouts of Molly's inner dialogue so you aren't just relying on the panels to help the story. So much of this story is based around Molly's fears, it's nice to have them laid out in front of you. Things that younger, and maybe older readers can relate to as the story unfolds.

Despite what some reviewers have said, I like that this story wasn't "aged up" or rewritten to fit into right now. It gives the story a throwback feel that I don't think is amiss with younger readers, and draws in older readers, especially ones like me who sometimes want that nostalgic read after a heavier read. Which is what this was, I had summers like this, chasing fireflies, trekking through a creak. Keeping those elements along with the '90s sort of dialog was really fun for me.

Also, I really liked the ending. For the age range this graphic novel, and book, was targeted for, I feel like a tidy ending is what's called for. I wouldn't say everything was tied up with a bow, but the main mystery was solved, my heart broke a little at the climax of the story, but I was left feeling hopeful. 

My only complaint about this one was that some of the panels were too dark. I had to sort of contort the book toward the light and somehow avoid the glare from the glossy pages to see what was going on. So I'm sure there were little details that were missed because the panels were too dark. Also, if you read under the covers with the flashlight on, those panels would be almost impossible to see. 

But, this was a creepy, kind of sad, but a solid read. Nice little cleanser between listening to my very intense audiobook! And, I feel like this team did Mary Downing Hahn justice, and I really need to read more of her books!

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.

Sister, Maiden, Monster is a visceral story set in the aftermath of our planet’s disastrous transformation and told through the eyes of three women trying to survive the nightmare, from Bram Stoker Award-winning author Lucy A. Snyder.

To survive they must evolve.

A virus tears across the globe, transforming its victims in nightmarish ways. As the world collapses, dark forces pull a small group of women together.

Erin, once quiet and closeted, acquires an appetite for a woman and her brain. Why does forbidden fruit taste so good?

Savannah, a professional BDSM switch, discovers a new turn-on: committing brutal murders for her eldritch masters.

Mareva, plagued with chronic tumors, is too horrified to acknowledge her divine role in the coming apocalypse, and as her growths multiply, so too does her desperation.

Inspired by her Bram Stoker Award-winning story “Magdala Amygdala,” Lucy A. Snyder delivers a cosmic tale about the planet’s disastrous transformation ... and what we become after.

Why I'm Waiting: I, uhm, this book is going to be a trip, and I have absolutely no words, except I really want to read this one.

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

Fade to Black is the newest hit ghost hunting reality TV show. It’s led by husband and wife team Matt and Claire Kirklin and features a dedicated crew of ghost-hunting experts.
 
Episode Thirteen takes them to Matt's holy grail: the Paranormal Research Foundation. This crumbling, derelict mansion holds secrets and clues about the bizarre experiments that took place there in the 1970s. It's also, undoubtedly, haunted, and Matt hopes to use their scientific techniques and high tech gear to prove it. 

But, as the house begins to slowly reveal itself to them, proof of an afterlife might not be everything Matt dreamed of. 
  
A story told in broken pieces, in tapes, journals, correspondence, and research files, this is the story of Episode Thirteen — and how everything went horribly wrong.

HAPPY READING!!

Book Haul

 

Okay. Okay, but hear me out. I know I've been talking a lot about working through my physical TBR. Putting a dent in the books I own. Never once did I say I wasn't going to be adding books to that never-ending physical TBR. That was an assumption that should have never been made.

I've tried book-buying bans, but I do love the thrift store. Not just for books, I've had really good luck finding cozy hoodies there. But I digress!

I unhauled a lot of sweaters and hoodies I haven't worn much in the last year and needed a comfy house hoodie. One I wouldn't wear to work that would eventually start smelling like garlic. The downside of working in the kitchen, everything I own smells like garlic.

Again, digressing.

Anyone, I found a couple of books by authors I wanted to give a try. I see these two authors often on Bookstagram (the books side of Instagram). So it seemed like a great time to pick them up. Every Last Fear seems like it's going to be a wild ride and hard to put down. And, I've just heard great things about Lucy Foley's books!

So yeah first thrift store haul of the year, and I have a large unhaul coming in the next couple of weeks! Which will give a few more shelves to fill as the year goes on!

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sunday

    

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!

Crack open your spell book and enter the world of the illustrious Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary. There's been a murder on campus, and it's up to the students of Galileo to solve it. Follow 18 authors and 18 students as they puzzle out the clues and find the guilty party.

Professor of Magical History Septimius Dropwort has just been murdered, and now everyone at the Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary is a suspect.

A prestigious school for young magicians, the Galileo Academy has recently undergone a comprehensive overhaul, reinventing itself as a roaming academy in which students of all cultures and identities are celebrated. In this new Galileo, every pupil is welcome—but there are some who aren't so happy with the recent changes. That includes everyone's least favorite professor, Septimius Dropwort, a stodgy old man known for his harsh rules and harsher punishments. But when the professor's body is discovered on school grounds with a mysterious note clenched in his lifeless hand, the Academy's students must solve the murder themselves, because everyone's a suspect.

Told from more than a dozen alternating and diverse perspectives, The Grimoire of Grave Fates follows Galileo's best and brightest young magicians as they race to discover the truth behind Dropwort's mysterious death. Each one of them is confident that only they have the skills needed to unravel the web of secrets hidden within Galileo's halls. But they're about to discover that even for straight-A students, magic doesn't always play by the rules. . . .

Contributors include: Cam Montgomery, Darcie Little Badger, Hafsah Faizal, Jessica Lewis, Julian Winters, Karuna Riazi, Kat Cho, Kayla Whaley, Kwame Mbalia, L. L. McKinney, Marieke Nijkamp, Mason Deaver, Natasha Díaz, Preeti Chhibber, Randy Ribay, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Victoria Lee, and Yamile Saied Méndez.

HAPPY READING!!

Festival - Review

Author: Christopher Golden & Tim Lebbon

Genre: Horror

Format: Hardback

Pages: 73

I was excited about this one based on its premise. We've got a metal festival, an old Viking murder plot, and the evil spirits of those old dead Vikings. So I was ready for this one. Add on the fact that not only is illustrated but two of my favorite authors in horror. 

All boxes ticked.

This starts with a bang. It introduces us to a lot of the main characters at the start, gives us a lowdown on the layout, and doesn't waste any time getting weird. I also really love any book with multiple points of view. I think this adds a bit of depth to stories because you're getting the events from several different points of view. And, this story needed that. To see things from inside and outside the chaos.

I also really love how this ended. That moment of like 'its over, we survived' to 'oh no'. It's that moment when the main story has wrapped up, but now there is so much more to the story. While still knowing how that story is going to end just by what happened in this main story.

What sort of got me was despite how small this book is, only seventy-three pages, there were a couple of chapters that just sort of dragged the story itself. I just found myself putting the book down to do other things. Picking it back, rinse, repeat. Until I got the last maybe three, or four, chapters.

Then it was hard to put down. Like need to put dinner, but putting it off to see how this ends.

So yeah, it was an alright book. I'll be passing it along to a couple of friends who read horror who I think might like this one! A solid three-start book that overall I enjoyed.

HAPPY READING!!

Library Haul

First library haul of 2023! Both of these will be BINGO books as well, so double the fun! This year I'm trying to work through the actual TBR that I have here at the house. But, I do enjoy supporting our local library, especially now since mine has been renovated over the last year after it flooded!

Since everything has to be put on hold right now, it's going to work in my favor. This way I can't go in and go crazy with a bag full of books. Listen, they are free and I have no self-control at the bookstore. So at the library, it's worse okay. But, I'm excited about both of these books. 

Thanks to my Aunt I was introduced to Mary Downing Hahn last year with The Girl in the Locked Room. It was a funny, spooky, little read. So I'm excited to pick up a graphic novel version of one of her books! And, I love a good weird book about monsters and creepypastas!

HAPPY READING!!

My Best Friend's Exorcism - Review

Author: Grady Hendrix

Genre: Horror 

Format: Paperback

Pages: 332

This is the second book I picked up by Grady Hendrix. I absolutely loved Horrorstor, it was one of my favorite reads from last year. So I was really excited to jump into another book by him. Especially since this was optioned by Amazon and made into a movie last year. And, I've never been a person who can watch a movie and then go read the book. If I'm going to read the book, that has to happen first, and I was so excited about this one. Classic exorcism trope, the just plain weirdness of the '80s, and Hendrix's writing style. I was in.

While there was a lot I liked about this book, and I devoured it in three seatings. Which is pretty good for me because I'm a slow reader. As a whole, this one hit the middle of the road for me. I liked it, and laughed out loud in places, mostly due to the power of Phil Collins. But when I finished it something just left me wanting. Maybe it was that everything really got tied up with a bow, and I get it that's also a trope from the '80s. Everything worked out in the end.

Yeah, parts moved really slowly, but I liked that we saw how the four girls were before everything. How their friendship worked, who they were, and I liked seeing it all devolve. I felt like the classic possessed tropes got hit, I wasn't left wanting there. Maybe it was the exorcism itself. The lead-up with Brother Lemon, and Brother Lemon himself. Because I loved how Abby saved Gretchen. How they saved each other.

I loved the classic '80s parents as well. The one you see in all the shows and books. 

I think the problem was I kept hoping to get scared. Parts of Horrorstor creeped me right out. Like slept with the lamp on, freaked out. Was not a fan of under my bed or open closet doors at night scared. That never really happened with this one. 

But, as I whole I really enjoyed the story as a whole. Abby was a great main character, one I found myself rooting for every time the chips were down. You feel for her plight as everyone turns on her, and you hope for one second her parents notice her. But she's got the plucky can-do attitude that was in so many of the books I read growing up. And, she did this all alone.

Because Brother Lemon was absolutely no help.

So yeah, it's a good read. I'd totally recommend it to friends. Already told my roommate to have it to her list, and a couple of other people. Not overly scary, but a solid book on friendship and the crazy that came with the Satanic Panic. I will pick up a book by this author very soon! In fact, his newest book How to Sell a Haunted House hit shelves this last Tuesday, January 17th! My copy is incoming!

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.

Eric Ross is on the run from a mysterious past with his two daughters in tow. Having left his wife, his house, and his whole life behind in Maryland, he’s desperate for money–it’s not easy to find safe work when you can’t provide references, you can’t stay in one place for long, and you’re paranoid that your past is creeping back up on you.

When he comes across the strange ad for the Masson House in Degener, Texas, Eric thinks they may have finally caught a lucky break. The Masson property, notorious for being one of the most haunted places in Texas, needs a caretaker of sorts. The owner is looking for proof of paranormal activity. All they need to do is stay in the house and keep a detailed record of everything that happens there. Provided the house’s horrors don’t drive them all mad, like the caretakers before them.

The job calls to Eric, not just because there’s a huge payout if they can make it through, but because he wants to explore the secrets of the spite house. If it is indeed haunted, maybe it’ll help him understand the uncanny power that clings to his family, driving them from town to town, and making them afraid to stop running. A terrifying Gothic thriller about grief and death and the depths of a father’s love, Johnny Compton’s The Spite House is a stunning debut by a horror master in the making.

Why I'm Waiting:  I'm always game when there's a haunted house involved.

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

Your past and your family can haunt you like nothing else… A hilarious and terrifying new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Final Girl Support Group.

Every childhood home is haunted, and each of us are possessed by our parents.

When their parents die at the tail end of the coronavirus pandemic, Louise and Mark Joyner are devastated but nothing can prepare them for how bad things are about to get. The two siblings are almost totally estranged, and couldn’t be more different. Now, however, they don’t have a choice but to get along. The virus has passed, and both of them are facing bank accounts ravaged by the economic meltdown. Their one asset? Their childhood home. They need to get it on the market as soon as possible because they need the money. Yet before her parents died they taped newspaper over the mirrors and nailed shut the attic door.

Sometimes we feel like puppets, controlled by our upbringing and our genes. Sometimes we feel like our parents treat us like toys, or playthings, or even dolls. The past can ground us, teach us, and keep us safe. It can also trap us, and bind us, and suffocate the life out of us. As disturbing events stack up in the house, Louise and Mark have to learn that sometimes the only way to break away from the past, sometimes the only way to sell a haunted house, is to burn it all down.

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sunday

    

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 young squire tackles mysteries, monsters and magic, but the inept knight he serves takes the credit. Every time.

Squire is brainy, bookish, and terribly under-appreciated by the brawny, inept knight Sir Kelton, who somehow always gets all the glory. So when the two mismatched heroes find themselves in a cursed village plagued by a demonic dragon, Kelton rides off to slay it and Squire stays behind to catch up on some reading. But Squire starts to notice that something isn’t quite right about this town . . . Can he uncover its strange secrets?

HAPPY READING!!

An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed - Review

Author: Helen Tursten

Genre: Murder Mystery

Format: Hardback

Pages: 261

As I mentioned in my review of this first book, found here, I jumped into this one right after the first book. I don't remember the last time I did that with a book series. My toxic trait is that I have a bad habit of finishing series. 

This is the quickest I've finished a series.

Book Two kicks off right after Book One, listen the titles are great by long as all get out, so Book One and Two are where I'm using, deal with it. Anyway, this book takes off right after the last book ends. Maude is getting ready for a Safari vacation.

What I like about this book is the first few stories take place while Maude is on the plane to South Africa. During that time we get a look back at her backstory. Which I thought was great. We get to look at her childhood, as a teacher, and what happened to her sister. I thought it was a clever way to tell her backstory.

I also really liked the story of her South Africa. At first, I was worried she was going to pass away on the trip, especially when I was halfway through the story and no one had yet to die. I was so glad that wasn't the case. It's a bit of a long story but it is my favorite of the two books.

I love how this duology ended for Maude, but I was also bummed this was the last book. Why does it have to be a duology? I could read several books set around Maude all year! Though I feel like Tursten gave her a great send-off.

It's also a really good reason to jump into other books by Tursten.

 

HAPPY READING!!

Book Mail

First Night Worms package of the year! January's theme was A Haunted Past. This will be my second year of getting this horror-themed book box, and I'm really excited to see what this year brings. Night Worms introduced me to a whole bunch of new authors last year, helped me re-find my love of horror, and was something both me and my roommate loved.

Our favorite part is how small Night Worms are. While I call it a book box, it's more of a package. They don't send us an abundance of things in the box. The books are the stars of the show, but they always include a new beverage to drink while reading. Which is always from small businesses. As well as something fun like stickers or magnets. And of course some really cool bookmarks.

A Haunted Past did not disappoint, and it held something for everyone in my house. I was excited about the Festival and my roommate wants to read Bad Cree!  So both of us were excited about this one, and we're both excited to try the tea this month!

HAPPY READING!!

Star Wars The Life Day Cookbook - Review

Author: Jenn Fujikawa

Genre: Cookbook

Format: Hardback

Pages: 128

This was adorable. As of late, I've been collecting cookbooks both pop culture and vintage. This is one of my favorites. 

The great thing about this book is the recipes are things you want to eat. What they did was take normal dishes we've all had and mold them into the Star Wars Universe. They used places and creatures to recreate these dishes. Which made this a lot of fun.

Because these recipes are things everyone can make at home I filled his book full of tabs. Some are new recipes I've never tried, some are just new versions of things I've made before, and the other is blue milk. I will be making blue milk in this house.

BLUE MILK!

And no, it's not just adding blue food dye to milk. It sounds like something enjoyable. So it's the next marathon, that is on the menu!

Another piece of this that I loved is how through these recipes you learn more about the Star Wars Universe. Books aren't my cup of tea, so my knowledge of this universe is limited to movies and TV shows. So this was a lot of fun for me.

My favorite part is which character they use from the Universe to tell this story. I adore Cookie! He was a great pick to tell these stories and share these recipes. So it was a lot of fun with some great recipes as well!

HAPPY READING!!