June Edmonds SBC

I'm so bummed I missed this month's Silent Book Club, but I know Michelle is a wonderful hostess! I will be back next month for the June SBC. As always, we'll be meeting at 7 pm at Leftcraft! Come a little early and grab something to eat and drink. I can't wait to see all the photos of what everyone was reading on Wednesday, and I can't wait to see what everyone is kicking off their summer reading!

A few things to remember about the Edmonds SBC. We are totally kid-friendly. Leftcraft not only has a kids' menu but also root beer on tap! The restaurant is open while we read, so feel free to bring headphones if needed. If you're listening to audiobooks and want to work, they also have public wifi! Lastly, I'll have a few fun announcements next month that I'm still ironing out the details of! So hopefully I'll see everyone next month!!

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.

When the Girls accept a very strange invitation to a lavish party on a remote island estate, they find that murder has a way of ruining even the most glamorous of evenings.

The invite delivered to 6151 Richmond Street was short on details, only promising to celebrate “the greatest artist of the century” and accompanied by a jewel-encrusted brooch—the whole package a brand of mysterious opulence that another Saturday night of gin rummy just can’t match.

Blanche Devereaux’s passionate dalliances are as plentiful as hot Southern nights, and surely one can’t be expected to remember all of one’s suitors. But when the Girls disembark the party’s ferry at a small Biscayne Bay island and meet their secretive host, the memories come flooding she a Radio City Rockette in her twenties, he the poor artist who could offer her nothing but his love. Fate drove them apart, but Declan, now a famous artist El Toro, professes that Blanche has always been his muse.

Featured prominently in his artworks and central to El Toro’s return to the apex of the art world, Blanche is thrilled to have been such an inspiring figure to this man. But looking around at a party filled with those who have made their livings off the artist’s fame—his assistant, his art dealer, his greatest critic, and more—Dorothy isn’t so sure they’re welcome on the island after all.

When a tropical storm knocks power out across the island, an optimistic Blanche proclaims that everyone looks better by candlelight anyway. But when Declan is found dead the next morning, all eyes are on her, his supposed muse of thirty-plus years. Trapped at the estate with the other guests—suspects all—the Girls must band together to find the true killer and get back to pleasant evenings of card games and cheesecake.

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

 

Be careful what you wish for. It might come true....

In 1910, on a small, remote island that boasts more sheep than people, life does not hold a lot of promise for spirited Charlotte North. Her only escape from both this insular community and a family who does not understand her seems to be through marriage—an institution she is not at all eager to join, given the unhappiness of her parents' own union. Plus, eligible suitors are few and far between, which is why Charlotte has fallen hard for one the few outsiders to join their community in recent the handsome—and likewise unhappily married—new priest.

And then an ancient tower once rumored to have imprisoned a witch—or an unfaithful wife—crumbles, and releases . . . something. A restless spirit that knocks inside the walls and sends household objects flying. A spirit that seems to have an affinity for Charlotte herself. Though many on the island are terrified of this new interloper, Charlotte sees in it potential. Power. And perhaps even a way to get everything she has most wanted out of life.

HAPPY READING!!

Mini Reviews

This series is gross, and creepy, and weird, and I'm loving it. Seriously, I can't believe I slept on this series for so long. I love that it's a serial with each volume introducing new characters and new scenarios, but it's all connected with old characters coming into play. This episode was a little different because it could be read normally, or you could read it back to front. I think this might be the weirdest volume to date. Though I'm liking the fact that the timeline is also not straight, issues fit into the timeline differently. So there's a bit of background on characters from issue one, or more of the story in later issues. Honestly, the only reason I'm not jumping into volume 5 right now, I need to read some of the books I own. So I need a library break. But I'll be putting the next volume on hold the second I jump back into the library. 

This was great! I will admit that I have not seen the original movie from Universal Monsters. So I cannot compare it to that. I've only seen the movie from the 90's, which would be like comparing apples and oranges. Which is a dumb turn of phrase because I hate both. ANYWAY! Despite not having seen the original, I did thoroughly enjoy this. The pace was quick, and the story was something we've all heard before about people way back when studying ancient Egypt. Yelling, 'Do not read from the book,' is one of my favorite things. So, a bonus point that I did get to yell that while reading this. Extra points for weird deaths, possession, and creepy mummy deaths at the end! I enjoyed this from start to finish!

Hellraiser is one of my favorite series, from the books to the movies to the graphic novels. I saw the movies first (probably way younger than I should have), and only after did I realize they were based on books. This series was the first time I was introduced to body horror. Reading this, I realized two things: one, I need to read The Hellbound Heart again because it's time, and two, I have never read The Scarlet Gospels. So, to do the former, I need to reread the first book. The Toll falls in between those two books. There were parts of this that I really liked and that I found interesting. There were also some parts that sort of fell flat for me. As a whole, it was an interesting filler between books one and two. And I love that it was a way to jump back to the literary version of this universe. I'll be adding the first book to my summer TBR!

 

This was the perfect audiobook for my job, filled with vignettes of Texas women who committed some crazy crimes. So not only was this filled with cases I've never read about before, but Skip Hollandsworth was able to interview most of the women in these stories. So they were able to tell their own stories to him. Not just second or third-party accounts, but primary sources able to tell their own tales. Which made them harder to listen to in places, but more real. It's just something different since most of the true crime books I listen to were from so far back there's no one alive to speak to. So facts get distorted. But in She Kills, so many of these women were able to tell their own stories, and honestly, a few times you couldn't really blame them.

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 take a closer look at a book. It's the first thing we see, our first impression. Every Sunday, I'll post some of my favorite book covers. Coming soon!

A spirited look at Sleepy Hollow’s haunted corners, local lore, and its connection to one of America’s most famous ghost stories.

National best-selling and Edgar Award–winning travel writer J. W. Ocker investigates the town that inspired Washington Irving’s famous short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Ocker dives into the storied history of the Headless Horseman’s stomping grounds, visiting the village’s graveyard where Irving himself is buried and exploring all the present-day spookiness of one of the strangest towns in the country.

Blending travelogue, cultural criticism, and behind-the-scenes reporting, Ocker uncovers the tensions between tourism and tradition, profit and preservation, fiction and fact. With wit and curiosity, Chasing the Headless Horseman tells the story of how one small town reinvented itself as America’s Halloween capital, complete with statues, street signs, and an 18-foot-tall Headless Horseman. A must-read for anyone who loves ghost stories, Halloween, or small-town drama, Ocker’s new book does for Sleepy Hollow, New York, what his A Season with the Witch did for Salem, Massachusetts.

HAPPY READING!!

Summer TBR

Is it too early to announce my summer TBR? We're still two weeks away from June and a month away from the Solstice. Still, my summer does kick off in June when I start living solo for three months. My roommate is off to their summer job. And I'm so looking forward to reading outside at the park, at the beach, and by the pool. I'm also really excited to see our new pool; my apartment is giving it a once-over. I'm also hosting a summer reading event at a taphouse with a cute little outside area!

Also, have you seen these books I put together? Some of them are probably not the best to read when you're living alone. It's not going to stop me; I have an air mattress and free will. This also feels like a lot to read in the course of three months. Because I am a slow reader. One way I plan on helping myself next month is with a reading challenge. There will be a post on that later.

A personal reading challenge, SBC, and a reading event every week, I should be able to put a huge dent in this list. Maybe even a dent in my library TBR. Maybe I'm dreaming big. I do still have work through all of this and things to do. Tickets to baseball games, movies to see, TV shows to finish, and random other things I want to do while the weather is nice. 

So yeah, I'm really long-winded way of saying, I picked books to read this summer. It's a big list for a slow reader, probably even longer for a mood reader. So you know, good vibes on this!

 

HAPPY READING!!

Reading Events Next Week

Sadly, I won't be hosting a Reading Event next week at Edway. I'm off to a reading weekend with a friend next week! However, I will be back at Edway on May 26th and hosting an event there every Tuesday until July! We'll start reading from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm! Hope to see you there!

Also, next week is Edmonds Silent Book Club at Leftcraft at 7 pm. Reading kicks off at 7:30 pm. So everyone has time to get comfortable, grab food, maybe a drink, and mingle before we kick off! Reading is an hour, then a book stack photo, and you can stay to mingle or read a little more! Sadly, I won't be there this month. I'm off to a reading retreat with a friend for their birthday. But, Michelle will be there to make sure it's a great night, and I'll be back for the June meet-up!!

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.

1914, Wendy Darling works by day as a school teacher and by night, she assists soldiers who have returned home from the Western Front. There is one mysterious patient who despite all the care they’ve given him, is in a deep sleep, unable to wake up. One night, when he murmurs the words “Peter Pan,” Wendy is thrown back to a darker time, one that she wishes she could forget.

When one of her students goes missing, it brings back memories of when children went missing and were later found murdered in London many years ago. Wendy believes that Peter Pan, the entity that she believed killed those children, is back. She and her brothers had a close encounter with Peter Pan, after all. But her brothers only remember Peter Pan and Neverland as a fantasy of childhood games.

When another child goes missing and signs start to point to Wendy, Scotland Yard digs into old reports, finding that Wendy knew the names of all the children who had been killed. As Wendy tries to prove her innocence, she also has to find a way to stop Peter Pan once and for all.

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

Adopted as a newborn, Tessa has always wondered who her biological parents are. After turning 18, she takes a DNA test in hopes of finding the answers. With best friend El and lab partner Victor, Tessa uses the results to start building her family tree. But they find more dead ends than answers. Her biological mother, who was raised in a religious cult, has cut all ties with her controlling family. And her biological father remains a complete mystery, at least until the police show up. For fifteen years, they’ve been trying to identify a serial killer known as the Portland Phantom. Tessa is the link they’ve been waiting for.

April Henry delivers a twisty tour-de-force about the families who choose us—and the ones we’re born into. Biology doesn't have to be one's destiny.

HAPPY READING!!

Age of Calamities - Review

Author: Senna Ahmad

Genre: Short Stories

Format: Paperback

Pages: 240

This was actually more of a 3.5 stars. Like with any book of short stories, there were some I liked, and a couple that I didn't like so much. They were all well-written stories, ones that you always seem to want a little more of. The twenty-some pages never seem enough. Even though they really are complete stories in just a few pages. Senna Ahmad is an author I can't wait to see what they'll do next.

I will say I almost DNF'd this book with the first chapter, "Let's Play Dead." It's not that I'm not intrigued by Anne Boylen, or her husband, I am, but the weird mix of timelines had me confused for pretty much all of this story. I struggled to get through it, and found myself wondering if I even wanted to finish this story. Or, even go further into this book. So after I finished the story, I took a break from the book before jumping back in.

I'm glad I jumped back into this because there were a handful of these stories I really enjoyed. The Wolves is the story of werewolves in the era of Genghis Khan, loved this. One of my favorites was Our Lady of Resplendent Misfortune, which is a story of Joan of Arc possessing a girl years later. It's both creepy and heartbreaking. It's one of the stories I would have read a book on. 

Then some were just weird, like the ones with the Neoplanons that were just appearing out of nowhere. And maybe they had powers, or they were ending the world. We don't really know, or I didn't really know. It was a weird little story. Then the last one, Choose Your Own Apocalypse, was also really weird. I love the idea of an adult version of the Choose Your Own Adventure books, and this totally fit the bill and worked as one. I even like the choices where blacked out, like a file would be. So you had to be clever about your jumps. I also liked that it felt like we didn't get the story.

All the stories inside here were weird, which fits the bill of what I usually read. It was also a fun book, wacky in places, and extremely different from what I usually read. Still, I did enjoy this book, and it was totally worth the wait of getting it from my library. It was a fun way to look at history and weave it into the now, or a "what if" kind of scenario. And like I said, Senna Ahmad is an amazing author. It takes a lot of talent to tell a solid story in barely twenty pages. Something she did in every single story. Whether I liked them or not, it doesn't mean they weren't well written.

A solid debut by this author, and I can't wait to see what they'll do next.

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 HARROW HOME FOR WAYWARD GIRLS has long stood as a place of secrets. The estate has housed hundreds of young women hidden away during their pregnancies, their homesick cries echoing through the halls, providing a haunting score to Grace Harrow’s childhood.

Now, in the summer of 1947, the Home has been sold to a wealthy hotelier. Grace expects the new owner's daughters to be spoiled. Yet Rose, the eldest daughter―unaware of Mr. Harrow's abusive tendencies―is jealous of Grace's seemingly easy confidence. But as they’re drawn into each other's lives, an unlikely friendship begins to form. Fortunately so, because not all of the wayward girls made it out...

One still lingers. Lurking in the shadows. Looking for vengeance.

To expose the truth buried in the walls of the Harrow Home, Grace and Rose must unravel a legacy of silence and cruelty. But Grace’s father will stop at nothing to keep the past hidden, and if the truth comes to light, it could destroy both their families.

HAPPY READING!!