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!

Inspired by a true story….
Pregnant out of wedlock, sixteen-year-old Annie Moore is sent to live at a convent for fallen women. When the nuns take her baby, Annie escapes, determined to find a way to be reunited with her daughter. But few rights or opportunities are available to a woman in the 1860s, and after failing to find a respectable job, she resorts to prostitution in order to survive.

As a highly sought-after demi-mondaine, Annie—now Bessie—garners many expensive gifts from her admirers and eventually meets and marries the son of a wealthy jeweler, a traveling salesman with a gambling problem. With her marriage, she believes her dream of returning to proper society has finally come true. She’s proven wrong when she suffers the ultimate betrayal at the hands of the man she thought would be her salvation. But Bessie doesn’t let her story end there.

Set against the backdrop of the burgeoning women’s rights movement, The Lives of Diamond Bessie is a haunting tale of betrayal and redemption that explores whether seeking revenge is worth the price you might pay.

HAPPY READING!!

Book Mail

More book mail! This mail was supposed to be part two of two, but now it is part two of three. I have zero regrets. But, back to this book mail that I have in my hands. Last year I was still on furlough in January so I missed the first Night Worms box of 2021. Since then I've been having a bit of FOMO every time I see this book on Bookstagram. Finally, FINALLY, I have added it to my collection. It's currently sitting on the TBR section of my book cart of books I want to read before the end of the year. 

Not only do I love this cover, but all three novellas sound so good. I'm really excited to finally have this book in my hands. It's going to be a lot of fun to show on my mantle above my fireplace. And, I have high hopes all three of these novellas will keep me up at night. 

Maybe I should invest in a nightlight...

HAPPY READING!!

Possums Are NOT Cute - Review

Author: Ally Burguieres

Genre: Nonfiction

Format: Hardback

Pages: 128

A huge thank you to Quirk Books and Ally Burguieres for allowing me to get an early copy of Possums Are NOT Cute! What follows is my honest review.

I was so excited when Quirk Books reached out to me about this book. Growing up in rural Kansas where there is always the risk of running into an opossum in the woodpile at my grandparents' place, or in the barn. This fact is important because I have heard a hundred times a lot of the misconceptions and myths surrounding opossums because of this. None of which have stopped me from thinking them adorable and wanting one as a pet. So I was all about getting my hands on this book.

The first thing I did when I got my copy was to flip through and look at the photos that were included of the possum ambassadors. I just love their weird little face so much. So I'm so very excited that there was page after page of adorable photos. Some of which I follow on Instagram because who doesn't love adorable animals popping up on their feeds.

But, the book itself is also really good. Ally Burguieres has not only filled this book with adorable possum photos and fun facts but also teaches about the lives of these adorable little creatures. So not only was it a fun read, but it was educational as well. Not just teaching about these little critters, but also how they affect the world around us. Teaching us why they are so important.

Never once did this book get boring though. Burguieres didn't just fill the pages with cold facts about possums and assume people would love them. Instead, she told a story about her journey into the world of possums and laid out the facts in a fun way. This book is written in a narrative that feels like you are being spoken to as a person, not just lectured out. This is something I really appreciated because sometimes nonfiction books, especially about animals and anatomy, can become dry.

One of the things I think that helped break up the facts is the fun little section about possums in history. It was a fun look at the random sort of celebrity roles possums have had throughout our history. An odd history at that. But, a fun way to break up the not-so-fun parts. I also think the fact that each section was kept so short, only a page or two, kept this book from feeling dry and boring. Also, being told in an easy way to understand, explaining things that got a little science-heavy with terms. You felt how much Burguieres wanted the readers to learn about these creatures, so she took the time to explain in a way everyone good understands.

Possums Are NOT Cute! is a hundred percent adorable and perfect for both possum lovers and animal lovers in general. It's a fun coffee table book that can spark conversation, and my copy now lives about the fireplace. The whole house has read it and loved it!

Possums Are NOT Cute! comes out May 10, 2022!

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.

No matter how different best friends Adelle and Connie are, one thing they’ve always had in common is their love of a little-known gothic romance novel called Moira. So when the girls are tempted by a mysterious stranger to enter the world of the book, they hardly suspect it will work. But suddenly they are in the world of Moira, living among characters they’ve obsessed about for years.

Except…all is not how they remembered it. The world has been turned upside down: The lavish balls and star-crossed love affairs are now interlaced with unspeakable horrors. The girls realize that something dark is lurking behind their foray into fiction—and they will have to rewrite their own arcs if they hope to escape this nightmare with their lives.

Why I'm Waiting: I cannot get over this cover, it's absolutely stunning. Everything else is just a bonus, but it also sounds like a really great read!

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

Beth and Fran spend their days traveling the ravaged New England coast, hunting feral men and harvesting their organs in a gruesome effort to ensure they'll never face the same fate.

Robbie lives by his gun and one hard-learned motto: other people aren't safe.

After a brutal accident entwines the three of them, this found family of survivors must navigate murderous TERFs, a sociopathic billionaire bunker brat, and awkward relationship dynamics―all while outrunning packs of feral men, and their own demons.

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!

In 1873 the people of Labette County, Kansas made a grisly discovery. Buried by a trailside cabin beneath an orchard of young apple trees were the remains of countless bodies. Below the cabin itself was a cellar stained with blood. The Benders, the family of four who once resided on the property were nowhere to be found. The discovery sent the local community and national newspapers into a frenzy that continued for decades, sparking an epic manhunt for the Benders.
 
The idea that a family of seemingly respectable homesteaders—one among the thousands relocating farther west in search of land and opportunity after the Civil War—were capable of operating "a human slaughter pen" appalled and fascinated the nation. But who the Benders really were, why they committed such a vicious killing spree and whether justice ever caught up to them is a mystery that remains unsolved to this day. Set against the backdrop of postbellum America, Hell’s Half-Acre explores the environment capable of allowing such horrors to take place. Drawing on extensive original archival material, Susan Jonusas introduces us to a fascinating cast of characters, many of whom have been previously missing from the story. Among them are the families of the victims, the hapless detectives who lost the trail, and the fugitives that helped the murderers escape.

HAPPY READING!!

Book Haul

 Last weekend I felt overly productive and finally cleaned and organized my closest. Opening boxes that were taped from when I moved in five years ago. I tell you that because that project turned into organizing my bookshelf since I cleared one shelf for my new book cart. Which lead to a complete overhaul of my bookshelf. The downside was that the small project turned into an all-day project. On the upside, I went book shopping on Tuesday. I also had some birthday cash burning a book-sized hole in my pocket.

I'm really excited about this haul. All of these are books that I've had my eye on for a while and finally gave in and added to my collection. Dead Silence is my Spotlight book for this month and will be on my Hopeful pile for March reads. I've already heard so many good things about this book! I have a lot of high hopes for this one, so hopefully, it won't let me down! Actually, I have high hopes for all these books in that stack.

There is still one more book I'm wanting on for this month! I also came into some Barnes and Noble money. So I picked snagged a book I've seen all over the Horror side of Bookstagram. So keep an eye on this space for the arrival of that one. It's also going on the Hopeful TBR for March!

Is anyone else gathering quite a haul for February?

HAPPY READING!!

Sarah's Scribbles: Oddball - Review

Author: Sarah Andersen

Genre: Comicbook

Format: Paperback

Pages: 105

I adore Sarah Anderson's comics, and I've been not so very patiently waiting for the fourth installment of the Sarah's Scribbles Collection. She speaks to my introverted soul.

What I love about this series is by now I know what to expect when I picked this up. I know Sarah Andersen's work on sight, I know the humor they will use, and I know I'm going to laugh. So I always get really excited when I see she has another collection coming out. Each one has been fun and it pokes fun at things that a lot of us deal with daily.

Do I relate to everything in the book? No, but I can still see the humor in it. I can see how Sarah pulls from her own life when she's drawing each little comic. And, I enjoy that. 

I love the kind of art Sarah Andersen puts in these books. It's got that newspaper cartoon feel to it that speaks to my childhood when I use to love reading the funny pages in my grandad's newspaper. Andersen has held onto that style for four books now, and I can pick out characters at this point that she's used throughout the series. So there is cohesion there even though each page is episodic in a way. No story lasts more than a couple of pages, which makes the books easy to read.

From start to finish I enjoyed this installment as much as the others. I went into it expecting to laugh, and I did just that. Totally worth my wait for both the release date and for it to finally arrive at my local library. I always suggest these to friends when they want a fun quick read. And this one came at the best time. I'm reading a very depressing book, and this was a nice little pick me up that I needed!

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 winter hike is meant to bring their nature group together.
Emily, the sister who never lets her hearing loss hold her back.
Lauren, the sister who always feels a step behind.
Morna, who doesn’t get on with Lauren.
Ben, whose feelings for Emily border on obsession.
Dan, the quiet newcomer to the group.
Kai, who isn’t just on the hike to enjoy the wildlife.
And Alec, the one who knows all their secrets.


As the sun sets, a gunshot rings out on the nature reserve.


One of the seven is dead. And one of their numbers killed them…

Why I'm Waiting: Isolated horror is one of my favorite genre, add in murder among them, and you have my attention!

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

Twenty years ago, eighteen-year-old Francis Quick was convicted of murdering her best friend Cora King and sentenced to death. Now the highly debated Accelerated Death Penalty Act passes and gives Frankie thirty final days to live. From the Kings’ own family rises up the one who will challenge the woefully inadequate evidence and potential innocence of Francis Quick.

The at-first reluctant and soon-fiery Nyla and her sidekick (and handsome country island boy), Sam Stack, bring Frankie’s case to the international stage through her YouTube channel Death Daze. They step into fame and a hometown battle that someone’s still willing to kill over. The senator? The philanthropist? The pawnshop owner? Nyla’s own mother?

Best advice: Don’t go to family dinner with the Kings. More people will leave the dining room in body bags than on their own two feet. And as for Francis Quick, she’s a gem . . . even if she’s guilty.

HAPPY READING!!

Happy Valentine's Day

AND, HAPPY MONDAY! Romance has never been one of my go-to genres. In fact, it was one I rarely read. However, every so often a book from that genre catches my eye, and a dip my toe into the world of Romance. I mostly stick to the light-hearted, happy ending, side of the genre with the occasional turn into 'I'm not crying, you're crying' territory. Since it's Valentine's Day I thought I share a few of my favorite Romance reads over the last few years. Only two of which came with a side of angst!

There are even a few Romance books sitting on my TBR. I still need to finish the Heartstopper series, and Circe by Madeline Miller. But, I know both of those will bring me pain. I also have F.T. Lukens new book, So This Is Every After, waiting for me to pick it up on NetGalley. I'm really excited about that one, I've heard really good things. And, I really should do a rewatch of Blood Ties which is the TV adaptation of the Blood Books series.

 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!

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

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

HAPPY READING!!

Book Mail

Is there anything better than coming home to book mail? This one came at the perfect time since I celebrated my birthday last weekend! I've also been really excited to get this book because it sounded absolutely adorable. At least the cover is super adorable. This is on the top of my weekend TBR this weekend!

How could I turn this book down? Look at this adorable cover! I love possums, and this book is jammed packed with fun facts about possums and even more adorable photos. Author Ally Burguieres is a wildlife rehabber and possum advocate! Possums Are NOT Cute hits shelves May 10, 2022!

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.

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

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

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

Why I'm Waiting: I adored In Deeper Waters so I've got high hopes for F.T Lukens next book!

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

A GHOST SHIP.
A SALVAGE CREW.
UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS.

Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed—made obsolete—when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate.

What they find at the other end of the signal is a shock: the Aurora, a famous luxury space-liner that vanished on its maiden tour of the solar system more than twenty years ago. A salvage claim like this could set Claire and her crew up for life. But a quick trip through the Aurora reveals something isn’t right.

Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Words scrawled in blood. Claire must fight to hold onto her sanity and find out what really happened on the Aurora before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate.

HAPPY READING!!

She Kills Me - Review

Author: Jennifer Wright

Genre: Nonfiction

Format: e-book

Pages: 176

I liked this for what it was, a small collection of female killers throughout history. It's been sitting on my TBR for over a year and was sadly one of the ARCs that fell through the cracks. I saw it was available through my local library, and I needed a nonfiction book for my BINGO card! Wins all around.

I liked that Wright broke the book into sections: Psychos, Pretty Poisoners, Bad Family, etc. While the book is short enough to read in one sitting, I broke up the sections to one, or two, a day. It meant I could take my time with this book because I have a hard time reading nonfiction books even when the topic holds my interest. It also collects the stories into their categories so you know what kind of crime, or event, you read about. 

Normally when I read these there is always a handful of chapters that I skip. This was not one of these books. I only knew three of the women in this book, everyone else was a new name for me. And, since each section is so small about one, there is a handful I want to do my research about. So this was not an introduction to some badass women in history, but parts of history I hadn't known.

This is another thing I liked about this book, it wasn't just serial killers or traditional murders. Some of these women did what they thought was best for their country, for their people, or just to protect themselves. Women imagine history would like as all to forget.

Despite, each chapter being so small, it was clear Wright did a lot of research for this book. I also really liked that Wright cited everything at the end of each chapter. This way you can see where Wright got their information, but also pick those books up yourself for more information on these infamous women.

I also really liked the bit of sass that Wright added to each story. It was a reminder that most of these women were bad people, just people in bad circumstances. Stuck in a morally grey area of doing bad things for sort of decent reasons. Kind of. Maybe. That's for you to decide.

My biggest issue with She Kills Me is the illustrations at the start of each chapter. I understand that it's supposed to be an introduction to the women, a first look, but for me, it felt unneeded and a little child-like. I could have done with it out. But, all-in-all I enjoyed this read, glad I finally got around to it. If you are into true crime or forgotten women in history, I suggest grabbing this one from your local library. 

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sundays

 

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

Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home—to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home, it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways.

Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant—but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules overall. Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from.

Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him?

HAPPY READING!!

Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments - Review

Author: T.L Huchu

Genre: Young Adult

Format: eBook

Pages: 370

First, a huge thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for an early copy of this book for my honest review!

Second, the cover, the title, and the synopsis were enough for me to hit the request button that I didn't do any more research. I was a solid hundred pages in when telling my roommate about the book, realizing that this was the second book in the Edinburgh Night series, and I haven't read The Library of the Dead yet. However, the great thing about this book is I didn't need to read it. T.L Huchu includes an index of characters and places at the start of the book, and I didn't feel lost on the magic side of things, or world-building since this series takes place in an alternate Edinburgh.

The author also didn't spoil the first book, so I still don't know what happened, which I'm grateful for because I liked the second book, and would love to jump into the first book. I missed a lot of the introduction to Ropa's heritage and I'd love to dive into that part of her story.

I think my favorite thing about Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments is the magic. I'm a sucker for science-based magic, and I could read about Ropa nerding out theories behind this world's magic all day. I love the weave of science fiction into fantasy, and I adored how T.L Huchu weaved into this story. A little bit of science fact mixed with science fiction. Loved it!

The world-building in this was also first class in my opinion. Huchu takes a world a lot of people know and turns into a war zone. I liked seeing it from Ropa's point of view, and you get a real look at the Edinburgh of this reality.

And then there is our cast of characters. I would follow Ropa anywhere. You see the whole story through her first-person point of view, and honestly you forget how young she is. Ropa has had to grow very quickly to help keep her Grandmother and sister afloat during these hard times, and I too keep reminding myself that she wasn't an adult. She was a teenager, but she has just a strong narrative, and she has such a big heart. And, her sass! I adore her, and I think without her all-around demeanor this book would have fallen a little flat for me. There are so many things happening at once, build up to a bigger plot, and so much on Ropas plate, that having her narrator makes a lot of things a lot more visceral.

I'm also in love with Priya and Jomo, the latter I just want to wrap up on bubble wrap to keep him safe. He's too precious for this world! I also really like Ropa's Grandmother, there's a story there that was hinted out a few times through the book that I hope we get soon. Because I think her Grandmother is more badass than we know. Also, I'm not sure how much I trust Callander. While I don't think he's a bad guy, he's not a good one either. I also don't have enough space to talk about how much I dislike Cockburn. Like I get it things are changing and that's hard, but like give Ropa a freaking break you classist snob. If something could eat her in the future that would be a win for me.

All of the issues I had with this book were my own and not worth bringing up. I liked this book and I'm eager to get my hand on the first book to dive back into this world.

Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments is on shelves on March 8, 2022!

HAPPY READING!!