New Release Tuesday

 

Alex Easton does not want to visit America.

They particularly do not want to visit an abandoned coal mine in West Virginia with a reputation for being haunted.

But when their old friend Dr. Denton summons them to help find his lost cousin—who went missing in that very mine—well, sometimes a sworn soldier has to do what a sworn soldier has to do...

HAPPY READING!!

Mini Reviews

In case there was any doubt, I picked this up because of the cover. I will say I found this one a little underwhelming. While the concept was a great idea, as well as the writing ability, I felt like this book suffered from being too short. This was one of those stories that needed more pages, in my opinion. I wanted to see the Pumpkin Pie hunt a little more. Because I was left with more questions than anything. And, while I don't mind books ending a little more open-ended, this just left me feeling like I only got a taste of a bigger story.  

This was a two-hour listen, told in three parts, and contains everything I adore about Samantha Downing's writing. Every single time I thought I had it figured out, there was another twist, another clue, something that ruined my assumptions. There's something about the way Downing writes about life that always manages to convey its messiness; this story includes that. It totally works as a short story. I loved how it ended, but I also could have listened for a few more chapters to see if Grady ever figured it 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'll post some of my favorite book covers. Coming soon!

The tradition of a haunted tale at Christmas has flourished across the centuries. These twelve stories, authored by some of today's most loved and lauded writers of historical and gothic fiction, are all centered on Christmas or Advent, boldly and playfully re-imagining a beloved tradition for a modern audience. Taking you from a haunted Tuscan villa to a remote Scottish island with a dark secret, these stories are your ultimate companion for frosty nights.

Featuring new and original stories from Bridget Collins, Imogen Hermes Gowar, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Andrew Michael Hurley, Jess Kidd, Natasha Pulley, Elizabeth Macneal, Laura Purcell, Susan Stokes Chapman, Laura Shepherd-Robinson, Stuart Turton, and Catriona Ward.

HAPPY READING!!

Too Old for This - Review

Author: Samantha Downing

Genre: Thriller

Format: Hardback

Pages: 395

This is my second book by Samanatha Downing, and I can now say without a doubt that I am a fan. Now, stay with me on this. What I love about Downing's stories (at least the two I've read) is that they're messy. Not the actual book or story, but they're messy in the way that life is messy. Because the best laid plans are never perfect. And sometimes good people get convicted of bad things for being at the wrong place at exactly the right time.

So when I jumped into Too Old For This, I felt like I had a pretty good grasp of what I was in for. A thousand twists and turns, some witty dialogues, and just enough real life sprinkled in to make this whole story completely believable. It's not that, too many variables, too many perfect coincidences, but none of that matters. Because I wasn't here for real life. I was here for a wild ride.

And, Downing delivered!

Now, some easy facts about this book. Yes, serial killers get away with it. Many years ago, when I was studying criminal justice, the statistic was something like on average there are 67 active across North America. So yes, someone like Lottie could exist. Someone who has gotten too old and can no longer kill. 

Sidebar: if you really want to fall down a rabbit hole. Google the ones that don't stop and then get caught when they're Lottie's age. There are a couple that will keep you up at night.

So, Downing has the plausible character of a 'retired' serial killer. Everything else after that is what makes this book cold. Would half this stuff work in real life, it would not, but it was so cool. And the idea that Lottie is the one pulling on the strings is even better. This isn't some young buck cleaning up their mess as they sort out their nasty desire for murder. This is a retired bank teller who doesn't want to be a serial killer anymore because she's tired, her bones hurt, and she'd honestly rather be playing BINGO.

But we rarely get what we want. 

Another one of the aspects of this book I thoroughly enjoyed was just Lottie herself and how Downing used her voice. She is a sharp-tongued old gal, though she says a lot of silent parts to herself, so thank goodness this was a first-person point of view. I also liked that she wasn't perfect. While she had her method down cold back when she was an active serial killer, she mentions many times that the time she was killing helped her get away with it.

There were no smartphones, CCTV, or tracking apps, and none of that even touches where forensic science was back then. So she makes mistakes throughout this whole book. Little things that cause her to have to pivot her plans, but it's not just her mistakes. A handful of times, other people surprise her because that's the wonderfully horrid thing about us. We rarely tend to do what others think we're going to do.

This whole book is more of a chapter of what's going to happen next. I can't wait to see how this is going to get worse. Quickly followed up on my favorite, I hope she gets to use that stun gun (spoilers!). 

I personally really loved how Downing wrapped all of this up, and really brought everything full of circle. It was nowhere near tied up with a bow; there were a few loose ends, but I wasn't mad at those loose ends. I kind of hoped that one of the mysteries would stay unsolved as the book finished, so I was happy with that. I was also happy with how things ended with Lottie, and that last line was just perfect. 

This is one of those books where you almost wish it would get turned into a mini series, but don't because you don't want anything to be scerwed up or changed. Because Downing wove a wonderful thriller around Lottie, but each part has a purpose, a reason to the plot down the line. So every piece becomes important, which is one of the many things I've come to like about Samantha Downing's books. It's all a puzzle, you just have to sort out how some of the pieces get smashed into it.

HAPPY READING!!

Spooky Season TBR

Fall is officially here, which means not only is it finally sweater weather, beanie weather, and plaid weather. It's also time to sweep away the Summer TBR (which I did not put a single dent in), and pick out some spooky books for Spooky Season. The picking part is the hardest because spooky books are not in short supply in this house. But! I think I narrowed it down to some books I need to finally pick up! 

I feel like all of these books are small enough that, in theory, I should be able to manage them over the next two months-ish. I am absolutely bad at TBRs because I'm such a mood reader, but these books sparked some joy when I picked them up. So, I have something like hope that maybe, just maybe, I'll make a dent in this one. Plus, I finally have the whole collection of the Creepers series. Maybe I can get all ten read before winter! What?!

HAPPY READING!!

Waiting on Wednesday

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we haven't yet 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 folks at Breaking the Spine.

It begins and ends as always, with the sea.

Sam Vines is struggling. Her boat is up on the hard and she doesn’t have enough money to get her back in the water. Turns out the snorkelers and the scubadivers are looking for the ultra-luxury boating experience, not the single-handed, rarely sober, snarky stylings of sailboat captain Samantha Vines. So it’s a good thing when her former crewmate Loick asks her to help deliver a massive, hundred-year-old sailboat from Seattle to England. Sam is the only one who can handle the ship’s engine, and did Loick mention that the money is good? It’s very good.

The Blackwatch is a huge boat. An ancient boat. It’s also probably (definitely) haunted.

Someone’s standing on deck, no wait, they’re gone. Wet feet slap against the wood at night. Something screams, a wail that rises up through the rigging. Sam’s alcohol withdrawal (sobriety is important at sea) has her doubting her senses, but when one crewmate disappears and another has a gruesome accident, she knows that this simple delivery job has spiraled into something sinister.

By turns terrifying, darkly funny, thought-provoking, and heartfelt, The Night That Finds Us All will seduce you with its salty nightmare lullaby.

Why I'm Waiting: Horror at sea, you have my attention.

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

 

Spread Me is a darkly seductive tale of survival from Sarah Gailey, after a routine probe at a research station turns deadly when the team discovers a strange specimen in search of a warm place to stay.

Kinsey has the perfect job as the team lead in a remote research outpost. She loves the solitude, and the way the desert keeps her far away from the temptations teeming out in the civilian world.

When her crew discovers a mysterious specimen buried deep in the sand, Kinsey breaks quarantine and brings it into the hab. But the longer it's inside, the more her carefully controlled life begins to unravel. Temptation has found her after all, and it can't be ignored any longer.

One by one, Kinsey's team realizes the thing they're studying is in search of a new host—and one of them is the perfect candidate....

HAPPY READING!!

Edmonds Silent Book Club

Hello! I hope everyone is well and enjoying the start of Fall. The equinox is tomorrow, and then Spooky Season is officially upon us. The Edmonds Silent Book Club will meet on October 15th at 7 pm at Leftcraft for a Halloween-themed Silent Book Club. Bring your current read, grab a snack, and join us for a read-along! Our tables are set up by 6 pm. So feel free to come a little early to mingle and have dinner! Leftcraft is a pub that features house music and serves dinner to its patrons. So feel free to bring your headphones; I will have mine, as I get distracted by the background noise. 

Also, there are so many amazing bookish events happening around the Edmonds and Seattle area. You can check out my Instagram stories or my Highlights on my main page (@Bookish_Whispers). My Instagram is public, so you don't need an Instagram account to see any of these things!

Hope to see everyone on the 15th!!

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'll post some of my favorite book covers. Coming soon!

No one cares about the girls in Sister’s Place, a group home in Avan Island, Maryland. Five years ago, eight girls from Sister’s Place disappeared, one by one.

Only one ever returned.

Now, Nev has done her best to leave everything that happened in the forest on Avan Island behind. But when the men who ran her group home start turning up dead, Nev realizes this might be her only chance for answers about what happened to her sisters.

As Nev is pulled deeper into Avan’s secrets—and more bodies pile up—Nev must unravel the mysteries locked in her own mind as she hunts down a killer who is willing to do anything to make sure the past stays buried.

Lost sisters, female rage, and the determination to survive drive Nev on her propulsive journey to find answers and peace—and maybe even revenge.

HAPPY READING!!

Waiting on Wednesday

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we haven't yet 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 folks at Breaking the Spine.

Margaret lives with a rare autoimmune condition that has destroyed her life, leaving her isolated. It has no cure, but she’s making do as best she can—until she’s offered a fully paid-for spot in an experimental medical trial at Graceview Memorial.

The conditions are simple, if grueling; she will live at the hospital as a full-time patient, subjecting herself to the near-total destruction of her immune system and its subsequent regeneration. The trial will essentially kill most of, but not all of her. But as the treatment progresses and her body begins to fail, she stumbles upon something sinister living and spreading within the hospital.

Unsure of what's real and what is just medication-induced delusion, Margaret struggles to find a way out as her body and mind succumb further to the darkness lurking throughout Graceview's halls.

Why I'm Waiting: This sounds like a book I'll need to read and pace. 

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

Imagine if the Sackler family had a demon at their beck and call.

The Berisha family runs one of the largest import-export companies in the world, and they’ve always been lucky. Their rivals suffer strokes. Inconvenient buildings catch on fire. Earthquakes swallow up manufacturing plants, destroying harmful evidence. Things always seem to work out for the Berishas. They’re blessed.

At least that is what Zef, the patriarch, has always told his three children. And each of them knows their place in the family—Dardan, as the only male heir, must prepare to take over as keeper of the Berisha secrets, Maris’s most powerful contribution, much to her dismay, will be to marry strategically, and Nora’s job, as the youngest, is to just stay out of the way. But when things stop going as planned, and the family blessing starts looking more like a curse, the Berishas begin to splinter, each hatching their own secret scheme. They didn’t get to be one of the richest families in the world without spilling a little blood, but this time, it might be their own.

HAPPY READING!!

How to Survive Camping: The Man with No Shadow - Review

Author: Bonnie Quinn

Genre: Horror

Format: Paperback

Pages: 320

I've never been much of a Reddit user, just casual things here and there when doing research on this or that. Like when I fall down a rabbit hole because of a book or something. That means I missed when Bonnie Quinn originally posted her stories that would eventually lead up to 'How to Survive Camping.' When I first saw this book, it was described as being for fans of Night Vale, and that immediately caught my attention. Because it's so rare to find something as truly rare as Night Vale. So I've been so excited for the release of this book. A mix of Reddit's creepy pastas and one of my favorite podcasts. What more could a person ask for? 

The answer: for this not to be a massive disappointment. Because I was so excited and the cover was so good, and it was a little book that was supposed to be full of weirdness. I just had so many high hopes for this.

Enough lead-up? Alright.

How to Survive Camping: The Man with No Shadow was everything I wanted it to be, and a little bit more. The little bit more was because I was expecting a field guide on how to not get eaten by things residing in Kate's Camp Ground. And to some degree, it was that. But, there was also a plot, and not a 'I'll just sneak in a little bit of plot' kind of situation. It was well thought out, engaging, and without it, I honestly don't think this book would have made any sense. So yes, this is a guidebook to survive your time in Goat Valley.

But it's a really good story.

Bonnie Quinn did one of my favorite things in books, where the author just drops us into the story, tells us to trust the process, and lets us go. So, trouble has already hit Goat Valley by the time you start this book. In fact, it starts farther back in this book. Quinn does a great job of weaving the past and present together, using moments as little plot twists here and there. Keeping just enough away to make your jaw drop, and occasionally giving enough crumbs to piece things together yourself. This was one of the reasons that this book was so hard to put down. Because you just keep thinking how much worse it can get, and then after a certain point, you just like, oh, no, what.

The other thing I love about this is how imperfect Kate is. In fact, at times, she is the absolute worst. She makes bad decisions, I'm not really sure she's even a good person, but I adore the ever-loving crap at her. I loved her journey through this first book. I loved that Bonnie Quinn gave her emotions; she wasn't just this unfeeling thing that found her emotions later. Throughout the whole book, she feels the loss of the people around her. Feels the pain of the town turning against.

She just feels, but eventually she realizes, she's got to do the thing. 

I also really like that this was, in a way, a lot of little stories that wove into a bigger one. Like it kept its Reddit roots that way, but it also broke up, which could have been some very boring moment in the book. While the Man with No Shadow was very cool, I liked that the plot moved along while also showing us the other things that lived in Goat Valley. Some more dangerous than others, but those were the moments this book became a field guide. Kate would give the specs of the creature and sometimes how to kill it, in that unique way of hers.

To give it perspective, she and Dean Winchester probably would have trauma-bonded. 

No matter how you shake it, this was a great read and hit every expectation I had. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I'm excited for the next book in the series. I will say this was pretty gory in places, though I didn't find it scary. There is a lot of ick in this book. So if gore makes you wobbly, maybe not this one, but if you want a little Grady Hendrix and Night Vale action. May I suggest this book?

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'll post some of my favorite book covers. Coming soon!

The Gothic. Brooding, atmospheric, chilling, and not always the outpouring of a feverish imagination. Reality can be even stranger as borne out in this lush and ghostly look at real people who lived—and died—amidst the trappings of the Gothic.

Fog clinging to an isolated mansion. A dangerous patriarch or an overbearing matron. Locked doors and forbidden rooms. Whispers of murder and madness. And a woman shadowed by omnipresent threats. You’ve guessed it. You’ve stumbled into a Gothic tale, and it will haunt you like a ghost.

     We often think of the enduring tropes of the Gothic in terms of fiction and film—breath-catching escapes that tap into our fears, anxieties, forbidden desires, and unsettling dreams. But what if some of these chilly vibes are rooted in the experiences of real and tragic people who danced a macabre waltz with love and death? That’s why we’re here. Take the case of teenage Mercy Brown, victim—or was it predator?—of Rhode Island’s vampire hysteria of the 1890s. Marguerite de la Roque, a French noblewoman condemned for “sexual crimes” to Canada’s long-lost Isle of Demons. What happened to her and the barren landscape itself is the stuff of legend. And “Mad Lucy” Ludwell, the decidedly peculiar eighteenth-century high-society hauteur driven mad in the Virginia estate she prowls to this day. President Helen Peabody’s spirit still stringently watches over her Women’s College, now part of Ohio’s Miami University. Ghosts of workers lost in horrific conditions while building the Hoosac Tunnel warn of imminent danger. Settle in. There are more.

     Welcome to the phantom ships, haunted academic halls, menacing landscapes, and family curses of America’s Most Gothic—a tour of true spectral sightings and disordered minds. But it’s sure to get under your skin. The haunted—and haunting—figures herein want it that way.

HAPPY READING!!

Night Worms Unboxing

September Theme: Rage Becomes Her

I think my favorite Night Worms packages are the ones where I don't know anything about the authors or the books. While I trust both of the women (Sadie and Ashley) who run Night Worm, I'm always hesitant with new authors. I'm such a comfort reader. But! I'm always down for a book of short stories to get to know an author; something about What Hunger has my attention. While I wasn't sure at first if I was going to enjoy it, having a second look weeks later, well, now it might be the perfect read for the gross, dark winters we have here in the PNW.

These stickers! I know I say this every single month when I unpack a new package, but I seriously need to find a place to put these stickers. Because I'm out of space on the bookshelf, out of water bottle space, etc. Pretty sure the Punch Like a Girl is my favorite. On the other hand, I'm not overly sure how I feel about this hot cocoa. In theory, I like all of these flavors; I'm not just sure how I feel them all together. Still, I give it a try, you never know. 

HAPPY READING!!

Mini Reviews

Sometimes you need a comfort character to get you through whatever you're wading through. Apparently, my soul needed Henry Sturges. This was the third time reading this book, only this time I snagged myself the audiobook. The narrator was great, and it had been just long enough that I had forgotten some of what happened to Henry (also realized I got a bit of the plot confused with another vampire book...oops). What I didn't forget was how much I adore Henry, and still to this day, I wish that there was a third book. I'd love another broody adventure with the vampire Sturges.

Another re-read for me, but this wasn't really planned. One of the Bookstagrammers I follow was going through some books (I don't even remember why, or who the said person was), but they got to talking about Ring Shout. They mentioned how great the audiobook was, and it was short enough to fill my solo hours at work last week. And I wish I could remember whose video I saw because I loved this book three years ago when I picked it up, but the audiobook took it to a whole new level. Not only do you get to hear the emotion in Maryse's voice throughout her telling of this story, but the narrator goes as far as to make the squeaks and groans. It leveled this story up to the point I was shuddering my way through scenes. This is still one of my favorite reads, one I'm still telling people to pick up, only now I'm telling to pick up the audiobook. Duel read this book. Read it twice. I will never get over how much story P. Djeli Clarke packed into this book at just under two hundred pages, and barely two hours of audio. I cannot recommend this one enough, it feels so underhyped to me...

You ever read a book and realized public school did you dirty? Personally, it's an experience I have a lot due to when and where I went to school. But nothing has made me feel quite as ignorant as this graphic novel. While I thought this would be fun (and it was, don't get it twisted), it was also annoying how many of these things I didn't know. I'm not surprised by this, but I'm mostly annoyed, mostly because I learned more from a graphic novel than from my many years of schooling. So yeah, this is worth everyone's time. Whether because you're like me, and have failed many times, or just want to read something both fun and depressing about women's history. This one's going to bother me for weeks. But a huge thank you to everyone who worked on this book. 

HAPPY READING!!

Waiting on Wednesday

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we haven't yet 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 folks at Breaking the Spine.

Skip Hollandsworth has been covering true crime since long before the podcasts, networks, and television shows discovered it. Texas born and bred, the revered journalist joined Texas Monthly in 1989, and the stories he has written over three-plus decades have helped define a locale and a culture.

Curated by Hollandsworth, She Kills brings together the favorite stories he has written for the magazine, from the tale of the high schooler who grew so close to dear old Dad that she had “no choice” but to poison his refried beans, to the suburban dentist who killed her loving husband by driving over him three times with his teenage daughter in the car.

These are expertly crafted tales that will stop readers in their tracks and leave them gasping with shock and pleasure. Each story is updated by Hollandsworth, who provides background on his original storytelling and new information on the perpetrators and victims, where available.

She Kills is jaw-dropping, addictively readable compendium of the evil that women do. And why. 

Why I'm Waiting: Because I have an unhealthy obsession with true crime, and this book will feed into that.

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

 

Three courses. Seven guests. One card. It's a deadly evening they'll never forget. 

Seven strangers meet for an anonymously hosted dinner party. As the evening winds down, seven cards appear, one in front of each of the guests. On each card is a number - the age at which the guest will die. Spooked but skeptical, the guests disperse into the rainy night with the hope of forgetting the morbid turn of events. 

Two weeks later, one guest is dead. At exactly the age the card predicted. 

More guests begin to die as the years go on, each one dead at the same age as their card. It soon becomes clear that something much more sinister is abound. Now, it's up to the quickly dwindling group of dinner guests to figure out who (or what) was behind that fateful dinner party all those years ago, before their numbers catch up with them too. 

Told from the perspectives of each of the seven guests, which span from hilarious to hateful, Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests is a spellbinding and mysterious exploration of mortality, begging the how would you live your life if you knew your number was up?

HAPPY READING!!