New Release Tuesday

Astrid is the surrogate for Princess Renya, which means she bears the physical punishment if Renya steps out of line. Astrid has no choice—she and her family are Outsiders, the lower class of people without magic and without citizenship.

But there is a way out of this life—competing in the deadly Race of Oblivion. To enter the race, an Outsider is administered the drug Oblivion, which wipes their memory clear of their past as they enter a new world with nothing to help them but a slip of paper bearing their name and the first clue. It’s not as simple as solving a puzzle, however—for a majority of the contestants, the race ends in death. But winning would mean not only freedom for Astrid, but citizenship and health care for her entire family. With a dying father to think of, Astrid is desperate to prevail.

From the beginning, the race is filled with twists and turns. One of them is Darius, a fellow racer Astrid meets but isn’t sure she can trust. Though they team up in the race, as Astrid’s memories begin to resurface, she remembers just who he was to her—a scorned foe who may want revenge. Astrid also starts to notice she has powers no Outsider should—which could help her win the race, but also make her a target if anyone finds out. With stakes that couldn’t be higher, Astrid must decide what is more important: risking her life to remember the mysteries of the past, or playing a cutthroat game in order to win her—and her family’s—freedom. 

HAPPY READING!!

Mini Reviews

How cute was this?! So, Pumpkinheads was my first Rainbow Rowell book, and I got say I'm sold on her writing style. This was down right adorable. The story was fun, upbeat, full of excitement, and great snacks. I adored everything about Deja, her attitude, the fact she was curvy, and her love for snacks. But, I also Josie and how much he loves the pumpkin patch. Most of all I loved their friendship. The story itself is brilliant and relatable to a lot of people. The artwork was great and full of those warm fall colors. It also added to the side stories going on around our two main characters, and who doesn't love a book with a map in the front! 5 STARS!!

I wasn't sure if this was going to be my jam, but notorious for picking up books with amazing covers. This was one of those times where it worked in my favor. Bloodlust & Bonnets is not be taken seriously. In fact it makes fun of my Regency era tropes, and a bit at the fantasy genre at well. From start to finish this is absolutely ridiculous. The artwork itself was different than what is normal seen in Graphic Novels, but I thought it fit with the overall theme of the story. It was a wonderful little read that me giggling to myself while was bundle up on my sofa with my cats. 4 STARS!

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! Some are by authors I already enjoy, some are the reason I gave the book a longer look. Either way they're all going to find their way here!

Someone, or something, is haunting the Titanic.

This is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the passengers of the ship from the moment they set sail: mysterious disappearances, sudden deaths. Now suspended in an eerie, unsettling twilight zone during the four days of the liner's illustrious maiden voyage, a number of the passengers - including millionaires Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim, the maid Annie Hebbley and Mark Fletcher - are convinced that something sinister is going on . . . And then, as the world knows, disaster strikes.

Years later and the world is at war. And a survivor of that fateful night, Annie, is working as a nurse on the sixth voyage of the Titanic's sister ship, the Britannic, now refitted as a hospital ship. Plagued by the demons of her doomed first and near fatal journey across the Atlantic, Annie comes across an unconscious soldier she recognises while doing her rounds. It is the young man Mark. And she is convinced that he did not - could not - have survived the sinking of the Titanic . . .

HAPPY READING!!

Book Haul

Look at all lovely things that were waiting on me at the library this week! Sorcery for Beginners is my new bedtime book to break up the thrillers I've been reading everywhere else. The other three I'll be reading today, starting with PUMPKINHEADS, which will be my first Rainbow Rowell book. My flatmate said it was super cute so I'm most excited about that one. The artwork for Bloodlust & Bonnets caught my eye because it's a bit different than you see in most Graphic Novels, and the nerd in my couldn't turn down the Star Wars book. Lucky for me it looks like a great day to curl up outside with a blanket, tea, and lots of books.

HAPPY READING!!

Mini Reviews

I wasn't really sure what to think of this when I picked it up. It sounded really cool and Joe Hill wrote the introduction, but I was still a little hesitant. Which I shouldn't have been because I adored this. Behind You is a collection of spooky and creepy art with just a sentence to describe what happened. Everything else is up to your imagination. And, while some pieces are more spooky then anything. A couple of them were hands down creepy. Because don't notice the thing until at first until you read the small description. It was a great, and quick, read. Perfect for being curled up under a blanket at home in the evening. Very glad I picked this up. 4 Stars!

This one has been are my radar for a minute, and for no really good reason I just haven't picked up. The covers were amazing and what originally drew me into the series. It was only made better by the plot and the fact the story was based in an asylum. Thus the name of the book. Everything after just sort of fell short for me. The characters I started out loving never developed past that first few pages, the romance that develops between two of our three main characters seemed forced and stilted, and I just kept waiting for it to get scary, or spooky, or something. I wanted to a reason to keep turning the pages, a bigger mystery, or something to get my heart racing. Sadly I was left hanging to the point I kept finding reasons to not read. So sadly I decided to move on from this series. DNF.

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 what 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.

Lady Victoria Aston has everything she could want: an older sister happily wed, the future of her family estate secure, and ample opportunity to while her time away in the fields around her home.

But now Vicky must marry—or find herself and her family destitute. Armed only with the wisdom she has gained from her beloved novels by Jane Austen, she enters society’s treacherous season.

Sadly, Miss Austen has little to say about Vicky’s exact circumstances: whether the roguish Mr. Carmichael is indeed a scoundrel, if her former best friend, Tom Sherborne, is out for her dowry or for her heart, or even how to fend off the attentions of the foppish Mr. Silby, he of the unfortunate fashion sensibility.

Most unfortunately of all, Vicky’s books are silent on the topic of the mysterious accidents cropping up around her…ones that could prevent her from surviving until her wedding day.

Why I'm Waiting: While not my usual go to type of book, but this one sounds like it's in the vein of Gentleman's Guide. Another book I took a chance on and it turned in my favor. So I've got pretty high hopes for this one.

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

There was nothing in the world as magical and terrifying as a girl.

Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom's borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution--send in Guinevere to be Arthur's wife . . . and his protector from those who want to see the young king's idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere's real name--and her true identity--is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot.

To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old--including Arthur's own family--demand things continue as they have been, and the new--those drawn by the dream of Camelot--fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land. Arthur's knights believe they are strong enough to face any threat, but Guinevere knows it will take more than swords to keep Camelot free.

Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself?

HAPPY READING!!

Book Haul

Another mini book haul from the library this week! I had totally forgot that I put The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher on hold. So that was an awesome surprise to see in my inbox, and a good addition to my Spooky TBR. Because that's exactly what that needs right now, more books for me to read in November! 

While I was there, I had some time to spare. So I shuffled through shelves for a few quick reads to jump out at me that would help boost up my Goodreads Challenge numbers. For a second I thought I was going to come up empty handed, but then Behind You caught my eye. The title alone screamed Halloween read, and the premise wasn't something I'd seen before. 

So I pretty good haul for the season. Behind You will be the first one I crack open and The Twisted Ones will probably be soon after. I've been pretty excited about this one.

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! Some are by authors I already enjoy, some are the reason I gave the book a longer look. Either way they're all going to find their way here!

Winter blankets the land, and more than just hope has died. Prevented from invading the Fhrey homeland by the tower of Avempartha, the western army seeks a way across the Nidwalden River before the fane obtains the secret of dragons. As time runs out for both humanity and the mystic Suri, the only chance for the living rests with the dead. Having made their fateful choice, can a handful of misfits do the impossible, or are they forever lost to an inescapable grave? Do gods truly exist? Is it possible to know the future? And what lies beyond the veil of death? In the tradition of Virgil’s Aeneid, Dante’s Divine Comedy, and Milton’s Paradise Lost, the most epic of tales transcend the world of the living. It’s time to see what lies in Elan’s Age of Death.

HAPPY READING!!

Spooky TBR Update

Well October has finally wrapped up and in true form I managed to add more books to my Spooky TBR then to read. But, at this point in the game I'm use to having zero control over any TBR. Still I'm excited about every single book on this list. What I need is more hours in the day to read them. Then again, don't we all.

So far I've managed to not read any of the books on my original list because other stuff popped up into my life. However, I have read some really good Spooky season books. I've been really lucky as well that I've enjoyed all of them but one. I'm just very picky when it comes to book like this. Upside is I'm a few pages into We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I have zero idea what's going at this point, but I do like Mary Katherine's brand of crazy.

SPOOKY BOOKS FINISHED:

SPOOKY BOOKS ADDED TO THE TBR:

I have no goal going into the last month of this. Now that I'm over this cold I've back to being able to read on the bus without getting motion sick. Which was something I've been fighting the last week. It's also been hard to be awake when I don't need to be doing work stuff. So now that I'm back to almost full strength again. I'm excited to bust back into this TBR!

HAPPY READING!!

October Wrap Up

Started my month out with a bang. Both of my parents came out for a long weekend vacation. It was my Ma's second trip and my Pops' first. So we did a handful of touristy things, which is always fun since I live here and don't normally do things. We also hit a few of the breweries out here I hadn't gone to yet, and put a few more on my radar that we couldn't quite get to in the few days they were here. My Pops even got to see whales! Which I think was like the one thing he really wanted to do. I'm glad they both finally got to come out and see me.

One of the theater groups out here put on Dracula this Halloween season and I snagged some tickets for me and my flatmate. It was an amazing out night. She took my to a bar that use to be a funeral home, we filled glass skull full of gummy candy, and had a good night out at the theater. I'm still not over Dracula's last custom.

The rest of month as been spent at work and watching horror movies. It is the season for the later and all that. I did get to pass out candy at work on Halloween. It's one of my favorite things I get to do for my job. So much fun seeing all the kids, and dogs this year, all dressed up.

Books Read:  5
BINGO Books: 0

Pages Read: 859

DNF: 1

Currently Reading: We Have Always Lived in the Castle

• Misha and Vicki Collins Book Event

HAPPY READING!!