Mini Review

 

I am obsessed with this audio series! I mean I'm obsessed with this series to begin with because Royce is without a doubt one of my favorite fictional characters. The love of my life despite being a walking red flag. And, I've read the first book so many times my copy is hanging on by a thread. This was my second time reading The Rose and the Thorn, but in this case, they got to bring the book to life was amazing. And, while I remembered the main plot of this book, I'd forgotten about little pieces, like the Viscount. Who I adore for no other reason than he vexes Royce at every turn. 

And, while I hate to give anything to Amazon, I kind of have with this project. This is a series I've wanted to be green-lit for a show, or a movie, or something. A full-cast audio was my something. This was great, I listened to this over the course of two days. I started Monday while I was solo opening, and finished it Tuesday night before bed. I picked up things on I missed during the first reading, little foreshadowing moments that make more sense now for some reason. Or, maybe they made since last year, I'd just forgotten them. Either way, I might have this audiobook more than Crown Tower. 

Probably because Royce has an actual voice now I'm all about it! I am gearing up to read the third book, The Death of  Dulgath next. I have yet to read this book, or The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter, yet. These were added on after I had finished the series. So I'm behind on the filler books, and this feels like a great way to finally jump into them. Do a little read-a-long to fill the cold, dark, days of winter in the PNW. Plus, rumor has it Royce and Hadrian are coming back in 2024 with a new adventure!

If you are a fan of fantasy, buddy comedy, and sword fights, Royce is a stab-first-and-ask-later kind of guy, you need to pick up this series. They are easy to fall into and fast-paced, and Royce and Hadrian are a fun duo to watch bumble through one heist after another!

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.

The Cotswolds, 1924. At the Old Forge in the quiet village of Maybury-in-the-Marsh a cry of anguish rings lady of the house Amy Phelps has been discovered dead. But with all the windows and doors to her room locked from inside, how – and by whom – was she killed? Arbuthnot ‘Arbie’ Swift finds himself in the unlikely position of detective. The celebrated author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost-Hunting is staying at the Old Forge to investigate a suspected spectre, but now the more pressing matter of Amy’s murder falls to him too. With old friend Val, he soon uncovers a sorry tale of altered wills, secret love affairs and tragic losses – and plenty of motives for murder. When events take another sinister turn, Arbie must find the killer, fast. And to do so will mean cracking a most perfectly plotted crime…

Why I'm Waiting: I do love a good cozy murder mystery!

HAPPY READING!!

Mini Reviews

This is not only my favorite fantasy universe but my favorite book in the series. I don't even know how many times I've re-read The Crown Tower, but it's enough that I can quote whole sections. Most of them the banter between Hadrian and Royce. So when I was looking on Audible for a book to listen to while I was doing inventory at work, I lost my cool when I saw this series has a full case audio edition. I didn't even think about it, I just used one of my credits and then proceeded to listen to this for the next three days. It was so good, and the actors who voiced Hadrian and Royce did a great job. The team that created really brought this book to life, and it was an amazing way to jump back into this series. It's very much a comfort read for me. They really did this book justice. I was nervous throughout this whole book about whoever was going to play Royce because he's got a dry sense of humor. When he cares to have a sense of humor, he was after all raised by wolves. But, the voice actor who portrayed did an amazing job. No one wields sarcasm like a weapon quite like Royce.

I enjoyed this so much that I'm already a couple of chapters into The Rose and the Thorn. This whole case and production team did an amazing job. So far in both books, they've not only had me realizing there are still moments in the first book that I forgot, but there's so much foreshadowing through this series. Little pieces that despite the fact I've read this series through once, I just noticed. Maybe it's because I'm the stories being laid out before in a different way, or that it's easier to see when I'm not skipping ahead to all the Royce parts. But, it's been a fun way to sort of read my favorite book for the first time again.

So if you're a fan of the series and have access to Audible, because sadly they are only available there, you definitely need to check these out!

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sunday

   

They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but we all know we do it. Sometimes the cover initially 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! 

In this irresistible and thrilling debut novel, a former antique hunter investigates a suspicious death at an isolated English manor, embroiling her back in the dangerous world of tracking stolen artifacts.

What antique would you kill for?

Freya Lockwood is shocked when she learns that Arthur Crockleford, antiques dealer and her estranged mentor, has died under mysterious circumstances. She has spent the last twenty years avoiding her quaint English hometown, but when she receives a letter from Arthur asking her to investigate—sent just days before his death—Freya has no choice but to return to a life she had sworn to leave behind.

Joining forces with her eccentric Aunt Carole, Freya follows clues and her instincts to an old manor house for an advertised antiques enthusiast’s weekend. But not all is as it seems. It’s clear to Freya that the antiques are all just poor reproductions and her fellow guests are secretive and menacing. What is going on at this estate and how was Arthur involved? More importantly, can Freya and Carole discover the truth before the killer strikes again?

HAPPY READING!!

The Butcher's Return - Review

Author: James Tynion IV 

Genre: Horror / Graphic Novel

Format: Paperback

Pages: 144

I've enjoyed the original series, Something is Killing the Children, though I'm two books behind in that series. This is a series that is a part of that universe, I'm pretty sure it runs parallel to what's happening there. But, I'm two books behind so I might be wrong. Either way, this is book three, and I did like the first two books in this series.

Edwin and Aaron are two of my favorite characters in this universe.

However, now that he's finally gotten his. Jace is just okay. I much prefer the others, and Jessica (the main character of the original series).

However, I did like that we got a look at the other monster school, Boucher. We even got a little more of Jace's backstory and the fire that burned the original house down. And, to see the differences between the two schools, along with a little more about the Boucher family itself.

It held a lot of what I like about this series. I love the artwork. Each panel is as detail-heavy as the other volumes. I'm sure if I went back to re-read, I'd find things I missed the first time around. 

The bad guys are just so easy to hate in the way they are written. Nothing about them is good, and any time you think there is, it's quickly ripped away from you. Even the story is a good one, Jace's past mixing with his present, and creating a future he should have known he'd never been run to. 

I'm hoping this all comes to a point where Jace, Edwin, and Aaron are joining up to help Jessica. Because I refuse to believe one point of this story. Until I'm proved otherwise Mauve was lying. And, because I'm two volumes behind on the main series, I can live in this delusional land. Though, if she's right, I'm gonna be pissed. 

They are my favorite character so I'd love it if they aren't dead. Again.

So yeah, of all the volumes in this series, this is my least of the storylines. I feel like this one was mostly filler. Because while it's nice to know more about the Boucher line. I'm not sure this was a necessary addition. It kind of just was for me. 

Normally, I devour these books, but this one took me all day to read. I kept putting it down. Which kind of bummed me out because this is one of my favorite ongoing series.

However, I'm excited to catch up with this series over the winter. No matter how much of a letdown this one was. Even if it was well done. I'm just not a fan of Jace Boucher. 

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.

She thought she had her life back. She was wrong. It was a mistake to trust him.

Shivering and bruised, a teen wakes up on the side of a dirt road with no memory of how she got there―or who she is. A passing officer takes her to the police station, and not long after, a frantic man arrives. He's been searching for her for hours. He has her school ID, her birth certificate, and even family photos. He is her father. Her name is Mary. Or so he says.

When Lola slammed the car door and stormed off into the night, Drew thought they just needed some time to cool off. Except Lola disappeared, and the sheriff, his friends, and the whole town are convinced Drew murdered his girlfriend. Forget proving his innocence, he needs to find her before it's too late. The longer Lola is missing, the fewer leads there are to follow…and the more danger they both are in.

Why I'm Waiting: This sounds like it could keep me on the edge of my seat!

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

The small town of Harrod’s Reach has seen its fair share of the macabre, especially inside the decrepit old train tunnel around which the town was built. After a young boy, Sully Dupree, is injured in the abandoned tunnel and left in a coma, the townspeople are determined to wall it up. Deputy sheriff Beth Gardner is reluctant to buy into the superstitions until she finds two corpses at the tunnel’s entrance, each left with strange calling cards inscribed with old lullabies. Soon after, Sully Dupree briefly awakens from his coma.

Before falling back into his slumber, Sully manages to give his older brother a message. Sully's mind, since the accident, has been imprisoned on the other side of the tunnel in Lalaland, a grotesque and unfamiliar world inhabited by evil mythical creatures of sleep. Sully is trapped there with hundreds of other coma patients, all desperately fighting to keep the evils of the dream world from escaping into the waking world.

Elsewhere, a man troubled by his painful youth has for years been hearing a voice in his head he calls Mr. Lullaby, and he has finally started to act on what that voice is telling him—to kill any coma patient he can find, quickly.

Something is waking up in the tunnel—something is trying to get through. And Mr. Lullaby is coming.

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sunday

   

They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but we all know we do it. Sometimes the cover initially 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! 

Retired soldier, Alex Easton, returns in a horrifying new adventure.

After their terrifying ordeal at the Usher manor, Alex Easton feels as if they just survived another war. All they crave is rest, routine, and sunshine, but instead, as a favor to Angus and Miss Potter, they find themself heading to their family hunting lodge, deep in the cold, damp forests of their home country, Gallacia.

In theory, one can find relaxation in even the coldest and dampest of Gallacian autumns, but when Easton arrives, they find the caretaker dead, the lodge in disarray, and the grounds troubled by a strange, uncanny silence. The villagers whisper that a breath-stealing monster from folklore has taken up residence in Easton’s home. Easton knows better than to put too much stock in local superstitions, but they can tell that something is not quite right in their home. . . or in their dreams.

HAPPY READING!!

2024 Reading BINGO

Yep, it's that time of the year again! The new year is only a few weeks away, so it's time for me to start thinking about my 2024 goals. I will say this year it feels about time. While the summer seemed to fly by in the blink, the last few months haven't felt like that. I went from having something to do all the time, to almost nothing the second the weather got cold. Or, maybe I've just gotten used to the business of it all. Who knows! What I do know is it's almost time to build the 2024 Reading BINGO board.

We still have a few suggestions sitting in our BINGO cup (yeah we have a decorative mug that holds our ideas as they come to us) that didn't make this year's board. But, I already know it's not enough to all 24 spaces. So that's what this post is about. I need ideas! We've done all sorts of squares over the years from themes, genres, cover colors, tropes, publishing years, etc. And honestly, the weirder the better. It also doesn't matter if pertains to a genre I read or not because I'm not the only one who does this challenge. 

It started, I don't how many years ago, with just me and my roommate, and now it's evolved to include many of our friends. To, over the last few years, being something I post about here, and is open to anyone who wants to participate. There's not one way to read with this challenge. This year alone I've included everything from audiobooks to graphic novels to fill challenges. Reading is reading with the challenge.

If you have any thoughts on what we should add this year, drop a comment below and we'll add to the Dracula cup that holds challenges! We seriously need outside help. The 2023 board was almost too easy for us. As of this post, I'm a book away from clearing this year's board. ONE BOOK! No one has ever cleared a board before, and we've been doing this for a pretty long time. 

So yeah, we're ready for some challenge squares!

HAPPY READING!!

Slender Man - Review

Author: Anonymous

Genre: Horror 

Format: Paperback

Pages: 335

But I believe that there are things that live in the darkness, and I believe those things have teeth.

While I've never really jumped on the Reddit train, I do remember when the Slender Man was created. I remember the two girls who blamed it for a murder they committed. And, I know he creeps my roommate out to no end. I also know that I adore Creepy Pastas, and Slender Man is my favorite of all of them. It's a creature that's effortlessly creepy because it's that thing in the darkness that's both there and not there. Plus the suit-looking thing, how tall it is the lore, it all sings to me. So when I found this book tucked away in the horror section, I saw it was written by "Anonymous" and done in the found footage format. 

I was all in. Then this book sat on my TBR card for a year until I put it on the stack of books to read in 2023. So glad I didn't put this off another year. While this book wasn't exactly what I was expecting, I devoured it because it blew away my expectations. I'm a slow reader for many reasons, but I read this book in three days. I can normally sit still long enough to read about a hundred pages a day on my days off, and a little less when I work. 

Slender Man consumed any free time I had over three days. Anytime I wasn't at my job I was reading. Bus, got me to work early, go to Starbucks and throw down a hundred pages. Have to wait thirty minutes for my bus after work, get a beer, and read. This was how attached to Matt I was through the whole book. How hellbent I was to know what exactly was happening, and what was going to happen next.

And grant it, the Found Footage format does make it easier to consume page count because there's less on the page. You can have that point. But, the format doesn't always work with every story. I've DNFed a few books where this format makes the story hard to read. But, for Slender Man I don't feel like there was another way to tell this story as effectively.  One is because our phones, social media, and internet intake these days are massive for every generation. Whole lives are lived online. So it makes sense that if something terrible was happening, the record of it all would be on our main character's, Matt, phone.

I also liked the unknown aspects of this story. Things Matt couldn't remember, things Lauren couldn't remember. Audio that we never got to hear. All of those things work into the lore and into this story well. Watching how Matt isolated himself, and 'hearing' him talk about how scared he is. For me, it made me so much visceral how scared this kid was. 

Then add on the police interviews and the clever little news articles to make it feel like this could have really happened. It all flowed very well into a cohesive story that I don't think I would have read as fast or really enjoyed if this had been written in the traditional sense. So many good choices were made with this book that is so easy to fall into the story, the school, and the lives of the Bakers. Every little thing has a purpose if at the time you don't really understand at the moment what is. Steve's actions had the perfect fallout for the end.

But, hands down the connection with Brad and why he was important was perfect to the ending of this story. I honestly thought Brad was kind of a throwaway character, or maybe another trick. I was very wrong because the ending to the book, no matter how much I thought maybe we'd get a happy kind of ending. It was amazing. I love how this book ended. It was kind of like being dropped off a cliff and the drop was much shorter than you thought it was. 

This was a solid read for me. Yeah, I only gave it four stars, and here's why. I wanted it to be just a bit scarier. Hands down this book is a total mind game, and it did give me some trippy freaking dreams for a few days. Like the lucid ones where you can't quite remember if you woke up until you awake. Still, I'd have loved a few more jump scares. However, there are some solid creepy-as-hell moments in this.  It was way more of a mind-bend than I thought it would be, which was solid.

Still, I wanted a bit more need to sleep with lights on moments. 

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.

These stories will let readers get to know some of the human members of the B.P.R.D. and the unique talents they bring to the organization. Even Hellboy needs backup from time to time!

All five issues of Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1957 are collected in this paperback with writing by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson, featuring art by Mignolaverse veteran Laurence Campbell (B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know), Stephen Green (Lobster Johnson: Garden of Bones) Shawn Martinbrough (Thief of Thieves), Alison Sampson (Jessica Jones), and Mike Norton (Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1956), plus the short “Happy New Year, Ava Galluci” by Mignola and Ben Stenbeck, featuring colors by Dave Stewart and a bonus sketchbook section.

Why I'm Waiting: I love Hellboy!

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

A heartwarming picture book for children and adults featuring everyone’s favorite flying cryptid from the New York Times bestselling author of How to Survive a Sharknado Few have seen the West Virginia creature known as Mothman, but everyone agrees nothing good happens when he’s around—there always seems to be an accident or some other mishap. Is he really an unlucky charm? Even he’s unsure. When Rudolph takes an unexpected vacation one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa Claus comes to Mothman with a “Mothman with your eyes so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?” Whether he saves Christmas or accidentally destroys it, one thing is for the holidays will never be the same.

HAPPY READING!!

Night Worms Unboxing

November Theme: Night Terrors

It's that time again! The beginning of the month is the best part because it's when Night Worms ships! This month had one of my Most Anticipated reads in it, Nestlings by Nat Cassidy. So I'm very excited to have that on my shelves now! Root Rot is for sure going to creep me out because I have teeth anxiety. So teeth, and teeth-related issues, freak me out. So that one is going to creep, and probably gross me out, from start to finish.

So I'll probably be picking this up sooner rather than later. Also, I'll be surprised if Nestlings is still on the book cart by the end of the weekend.

So funny story, I buy a lot of Bones Coffee throughout the year. And, I looked at this one when I ordered my last batch of coffee. I was kind of on the fence about pear coffee. In the end, I passed on it because I didn't want a big bag. And, now I get to give it a try! 

I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it smells really good!

Also, another magnet for my growing collection! These have been my favorite part of this year's Night Worm goodie bags. Our fridge needed something. It was starting to look a little bare!

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sunday

   

They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but we all know we do it. Sometimes the cover initially 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 lyrical culinary journey that explores the hidden legacy of Black Appalachians, through powerful storytelling alongside nearly forty comforting recipes, from the former poet laureate of Kentucky.

People are always surprised that Black people reside in the hills of Appalachia. Those not surprised that we were there, are surprised that we stayed.

Years ago, when O. Henry Prize-winning writer Crystal Wilkinson was baking a jam cake, she felt her late grandmother’s presence. She soon realized that she was not the only cook in her kitchen; there were her ancestors, too, stirring, measuring, and braising alongside her. These are her kitchen ghosts, five generations of Black women who settled in Appalachia and made a life, a legacy, and a cuisine.

An expert cook, Wilkinson shares nearly forty family recipes rooted deep in the past, full of flavor—delicious favorites including Corn Pudding, Chicken and Dumplings, Granny Christine’s Jam Cake, and Praisesong Biscuits , brought to vivid life through stunning photography. Together, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts honors the mothers who came before, the land that provided for generations of her family, and the untold heritage of Black Appalachia.

As the keeper of her family’s stories and treasured dishes, Wilkinson shares her inheritance in Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts. She found their stories in her apron pockets, floating inside the steam of hot mustard greens and tucked into the sweet scent of clove and cinnamon in her kitchen. Part memoir, part cookbook, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts weaves those stories together with recipes, family photos, and a lyrical imagination to present a culinary portrait of a family that has lived and worked the earth of the mountains for over a century.

HAPPY READING!!

Mini Reviews

This was interesting. I really liked the idea of the school stuck in time, and I loved the Hellboy universe. These characters fit well into the universe, and the storyline definitely started out well, fast-paced, with enough mystery to keep you reading. The problem is, at about halfway through the plot starts to grow to a point that a stand-alone couldn't, and didn't, solve. The main plot of why Sara was brought to school was solved, but in the process of solving that opened a lot of doors that lead to questions. It sucks this is a stand-alone.

I'm not entirely certain what I listened to with this, but it was crazy. I've never heard of Charlie Schmid and after hearing about what he looked like, how he tried to look like a cross between Elvis and James Dean. Harold Schechter always does a good job with his writing, and I thought I knew what I was going to see. But, I was wrong. Between the story of Schmid's crime, the way he made himself look, and the fact he escaped for like three days! What the hell?! This was a crazy case that somehow I've never heard of, a story Joyce Carol Oats used as inspiration for a story. This Bloodlands series has been really good. The Pied Piper is probably one of my favorites from the series. Also, in case I haven't said it, I really like the narrator for these! 

HAPPY READING!!

Reading Check-in

Well hello there! We are in the final two months of 2023, the holidays right around the corner, and a new year is just right there. It feels a little weird to start making plans for 2024. Thinking about a new Reading BINGO card, new reading goals, and what I want to do with the blog in the new year. Spitballing ideas with friends about this and that. I've even got a couple of ideas that might be more than ideas. One might even be a collab with work. But, the new year isn't why we're here! 

It's another reading check-in! Despite having two months I read a grand total of three books during those two months. I met my reading goal! So at this point, everything is just a bonus book. Because there's no way I'm just done reading for the year. Even if work does pick up with parties during the Holiday Parties over the next month and a half. 

As for my other reading goals, there is a pretty good chance I won't make my page goal. Fifteen thousand pages was pretty lofty for me, and I knew that going in. I'm currently sitting about a little over ten thousand pages. So I'll least be in the ballpark of what I wanted to hit. I managed to do a bit of catch-up on my A to Z Challenge last month. I probably won't finish the board, but I'll get close enough I'll want to give that challenge a go again next year! 

If it kills me I'm going to manage to clear this year's BINGO board! I've only got two squares left on the board and finally sorted out what I'm going to read to finish them. Once is going on my December TBR because it's a cozy mystery and those are my favorite to read during the winter months when it's dark, cold, and wet. As for the other, I'll probably pick it up this month. I'm still on Spooky Book Kick, so it's a good time to pick it up! 

I'm in a much better place than I thought I'd be there for a minute. I just got so busy with work and plans that I wasn't really reading much. But, last month outside of work, I wasn't going and going. So I caught up on those months where I couldn't be bothered to pick up a book. 

And, it feels good to complete one of my goals this year! Now, just remember to walk next door to work and get a tattoo appointment sorted!

HAPPY READING!!

Holly Horror - Review

Author: Michelle Jabes Corpora

Genre: Horror / Young Adult

Format: Hardback

Pages: 320

Did the house just eat Desmond? Because it feels exactly like what just happened. Need help understanding? Then I'm going to kindly ask you to read this book. It's one of those stories that the longer I sit with it, the more I wonder if I want to give it more stars than three. There's nothing new in this book, Corpora uses classic horror and thriller tropes, but they are classics for a reason. And, she weaves them into this story so well. I liked our main character, I like Demond, that should be noted right off the bat. I'm not amused by this ending. Book Two, or now book two. 

Something about this book is lingering with me. Even after finishing two more books since reading this. The ending plays a big part of it. Maybe I can unpack it in this review.

Okay, so Holly House combines a haunted house story, a family secret, and a small town with so many secrets. And, maybe a demon, entity thing that attached to the mine. More, on that later. But like I said, Michelle Jabes Corpora weaves all those things into a wonderful fall story based on the East Coast. And, my heart hurt for the main character she created in Evie. I also really love it when authors create characters you just hate with every fiber of your being, which Corpora did with Evie's mother. A lot of this story could have been avoided if that woman had been around, listened to, or looked. I don't care how this book ended, she's terrible and I hope that house eats her next.

On the note of characters, I still don't fully trust the Sherrif's daughter in this, I've forgotten her name. But, still. I spent the whole book waiting for her to convince the school, or the town, or something that Evie was crazy. She gives off that kind of two-faced vibe. I don't like her. Desmond, however, I adore him. I adore that we meet him while he's bad at something despite being the town's golden boy. I like how he likes Evie and all of her quirks. It was adorable. And I will say it one more time, I'm mad that house ate him.

Speaking of the house. I have never read a book when there have been so many red flags about a house! There is a laundry list of reasons why no one should live in this house. Here are some of my favorites: your own cousin disappeared from inside the house, your psychic sister won't go inside the house, and it's built on top of a mine. Oh, and your cousin disappeared from inside the house! No, thank you! Not even a little bit. Full pass.

 I will say that I was a little annoyed as this story went on because it felt like there were these walls blocking us from learning about a piece of the house, and the town itself, history. We don't have out nearly enough about the Patchwork Girl, or that thing we saw in the mirror land, mine, place. I was frustrated with that until the very end when I realized what else happened the night of the big showdown and realized there was a whole other book coming out.

Yes, I'm still frustrated about the wait, and I'm gonna be more than annoyed if the house really did eat Desmond. But! But, I am excited for the second book to see what Holly found out about the other girl who went missing in the house.

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.

What's it like to be the first to enter an Egyptian burial chamber that's been sealed for thousands of years? What horrifying secret was found among the prehistoric ruins of the American Southwest? Who really was the infamous the Monster of Florence?

Douglas Preston's journalistic explorations have taken him from the haunted country of Italy to the jungles of Honduras. He was granted exclusive journalistic access to the largest tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, broke the story of an extraordinary mass grave of animals killed by the asteroid impact that ended the Cretaceous period and caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, and explored what lay hidden in the booby-trapped Money Pit on Oak Island. When he hasn't been co-authoring bestselling thrillers featuring FBI Agent Pendergast, Preston has been writing about some of the world’s strangest and most dramatic mysteries.

The Lost Tomb brings together an astonishing and compelling collection of true stories about buried treasure, enigmatic murders, lost tombs, bizarre crimes, and other fascinating tales of the past and present.

Why I'm Waiting: I mean they had me at buried treasure!

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned.

Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk—so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it.

What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine.

Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.

HAPPY READING!!