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!

Kira Fujikawa has always been a girl on the fringe. Bullied by her peers and ignored by her parents, the only place Kira’s ever felt at home is at her grandfather’s Shinto shrine, where she trains to be a priestess.

But Kira’s life is shattered on the night her family’s shrine is attacked by a vicious band of yokai demons. With the help of Shiro—the shrine’s gorgeous half-fox, half-boy kitsune—Kira discovers that her shrine harbors an ancient artifact of great power . . . one the yokai and their demon lord, Shuten-doji, will use to bring down an everlasting darkness upon the world.

Unable to face the Shuten-doji and his minions on her own, Kira enlists the aid of seven ruthless shinigami—or death gods—to help stop the brutal destruction of humankind. But some of the death gods aren’t everything they initially seemed, nor as loyal to Kira’s cause as they first appeared.

With war drawing nearer by the day, Kira realizes that if this unlikely band of heroes is going to survive, they’re going to have to learn to work together, confront their demons, and rise as one to face an army of unimaginable evil. 

HAPPY READING!!

Book Haul

I got a lovely surprise from the library this week, His Hideous Heart arrived at the perfect time. This is the perfect weather for some Poe retellings. I figure it's the perfect bedtime book since the last thing I want to do is read The Shining before bed. Plus I can't wait to read Rin Chupeco's version of The Murders in the Rue Morgue.

So excited for Why My Cat is More Impressive Than Your Baby  from the Oatmeal. It's going to be ridiculous and let's be honest, I'm not going to wait until I finish either book I'm reading right now. I also added Asylum because I've meaning to read it, and this feels like perfect season to do it. I also picked up Spill Zone while I was there. This is has been on my TBR forever as well and I've heard really god things. So I'm excited to jump into this series.

HAPPY READING!!

Quarterly Updated

I cannot believe there is only three months to 2019. In some ways this year has been really long, but some months have just flown by. While most this year has been pretty steady with reading. The last two months have really taken off. It's been a while since I've read this many books in one month, let alone managing it in two straight months. My fingers are crossed I keep the momentum clear to the end of the year. 

Though, it's hard to tell if I'll reach my Goodreads Challenge goal or not. I seem to be stuck at four to five books behind no matter how many books I finish. Even when I'm only nineteen books under my goal for this year, which is about seven books a month. Something the last two months I've been able to do, and even with the Holidays coming I feel it's still doable. We've had some slim staff weeks at work which means I've been working the hours I normally work through the Holiday season.

Hey, look at me thinking positive for a change!

On that positive note, even if I don't make my Goodreads Challenge this year. It does look like I'll make three of my personal goals this year. Firstly, I have knocked quite of few books off my TBR this years. Books I've been meaning to read of ages. Which is thanks to the second goal, I've read less Graphic Novels this year. I have read quite of few amazing ones this year, and finished a couple of series, there has been less of them on wrap ups. Lastly, it looks like I'll beat my Pages Read goal from last year. 

Pages Read 2018: 8052

Pages Read 2019: 7398

Between my current two reads, Six of Crows and the The Shining, I'll have blown that number out of the water by the end of this month. Which means I'll up my goal to 9364 pages read, which was how many pages I managed in 2017.

And last, never least, 2019 BINGO. Do you see that?! Finally a freaking BINGO. It's taken nearly all year, but I finally managed to stop dancing around a BINGO. By the end of this month I'll have managed a second one with Six of Crows. Hard telling if I'll wrangle out a third. But at this point I'll take the two and run!

Here's to hoping the last three months of the year look as good as the last three! I'd love to reach all my goals for 2019. It's been a while since I've been able to do that.

HAPPY READING!!

September Wrap Up

Kicked my month off by going to see Ready or Not over the long weekend. I was not expecting that much gore, but I really enjoyed it. I also started binge watching Master Chef while I've been working. Mostly because it combines two of my favorite things: Gordon Ramsey and cooking competitions. And of course I've watching Great British Bake-Off as it popped on Netflix. I'm not an animal!

Did manage to clear an afternoon to go to lunch with a friend while her mom was in town. Which was fun. Tried some new foods, got an awesome surprise in the form of a bookshelf blanket! The Fat Cat loves it very much and it came at the perfect time. The weather out here is cooling down and we've pulled out all the blankets as an excuse to not turn the heater on quite yet.

Honestly despite how much I worked it was a good month. Didn't get to go out and do much, but I had a really good excuse to stay in and read. October is gearing up to be fun. We're slowly decorating the house and my parents are due to arrive in a week! So freaking excited!!

Books Read:  7
BINGO Books: Middle Grade 

Pages Read: 1157

DNF: 0

Currently Reading: Six of Crows 

• Dewey's 24-hour Readathon (10.26.19)

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 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.

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?

Why I'm waiting: You had my Arthurian re-telling. 

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

When Mouse’s dad asks her to clean out her dead grandmother's house, she says yes. After all, how bad could it be?

Answer: pretty bad. Grandma was a hoarder, and her house is stuffed with useless rubbish. That would be horrific enough, but there’s more—Mouse stumbles across her step-grandfather’s journal, which at first seems to be filled with nonsensical rants…until Mouse encounters some of the terrifying things he described for herself.

Alone in the woods with her dog, Mouse finds herself face to face with a series of impossible terrors—because sometimes the things that go bump in the night are real, and they’re looking for you. And if she doesn’t face them head on, she might not survive to tell the tale.

HAPPY READING!!

Spooky TBR

So I have a love for horror movies and books. It all started with R.L Stine books and escalated from that point until I had my favorite 80's horror movie villain. For me, there's nothing better than curling up in the Fall with a cup of tea and a book that'll have me jumping every time one of the cats storms through the house. Every year I tried to read a few classics and mix in some new stuff. This year I'm hitting a big on with The Shinning and We Have Always Lived in the Castle. My flatmate as been on my to read that latter for at least a year now, and I can't watch the Netflix show before a read the book. Otherwise I'll never be able to go back and read it without feeling weird. Which is the exact reason I've never read the first Harry Potter book.

I'm honestly really excited to read all four of the books this year. I've even got a few other's set aside in case I managed to read all of these before Winter comes. Cause I have some cozy little mysteries lined up for when it's too cold to function outside.

What spooky reads does everyone else have lined up for the Halloween and Fall season?

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! 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!

Hope had abandoned them to the wrath of all the waters.

In the last days of the twenty-first century, sea creatures swim through the ruins of London. Trapped in the abyss, humankind wavers between fear and hope—fear of what lurks in the depths around them, and hope that they might one day find a way back to the surface.

When sixteen-year-old submersible racer Leyla McQueen is chosen to participate in the prestigious annual marathon, she sees an opportunity to save her father, who has been arrested on false charges. The Prime Minister promises the champion whatever their heart desires. But the race takes an unexpected turn, forcing Leyla to make an impossible choice.

Now she must brave unfathomable waters and defy a corrupt government determined to keep its secrets, all the while dealing with a guarded, hotheaded companion she never asked for in the first place. If Leyla fails to discover the truths at the heart of her world, or falls prey to her own fears, she risks capture—or worse. And her father will be lost to her forever. 

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.

Once upon a time, a princess slept in a magical tower cloaked in thorns and roses.

When she woke, she found no Prince Charming, only a surfeit of hair and grotesquely long fingernails--which was, honestly, better than some creep who acted without consent. She cut off her long braids and used them to escape. But she kept the beard because it made a great disguise.

This is not a story about finding true love's kiss--it's a story about finding yourself. On a pirate ship. Where you belong.

But these are no ordinary pirates aboard The Puffy Peach, serving under Filthy Lucre, the one-eyed parrot pirate captain. First there's Vic, a swole and misogynistic centaur on a mission to expunge himself of the magic that causes him to conjure tea and dainty cupcakes in response to stress. Then there's Tempest, who's determined to become the first dryad lawyer--preferably before she takes her ultimate form as a man-eating tree. They're joined by Alobartalus, an awkward and unelfly elf who longs to meet his hero, the Sn'archivist who is said to take dictation directly from the gods of Pell. Throw in some mystery meat and a dastardly capitalist plot, and you've got one Pell of an adventure on the high seas!

Why I'm Waiting: Because I love this series so very much!

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

The city of Elendhaven sulks on the edge of the ocean. Wracked by plague, abandoned by the South, stripped of industry and left to die. But not everything dies so easily. A thing without a name stalks the city, a thing shaped like a man, with a dark heart and long pale fingers yearning to wrap around throats. A monster who cannot die. His frail master sends him out on errands, twisting him with magic, crafting a plan too cruel to name, while the monster’s heart grows fonder and colder and more cunning.

These monsters of Elendhaven will have their revenge on everyone who wronged the city, even if they have to burn the world to do it.

Bunnicula - Review

Author: Deborah and James Howe

Genre:  Fantasy

Series: Bunnicula #1

Format: E-book

Pages: 98

Some how throughout my childhood this book never once made an appearance. Which is saying something because I read Dracula in elementary school, and since then have loved vampire fiction, lore, TV, etc. But, miss it a I did until years later while at Pub Quiz this was an answer and I felt betrayed. 

After a stressful couple of days at work my flatmate convinced me to borrow it from the library. I saw no flaw in her plan.

This was the cutest thing I've read all year. It's not hard at all to see why Bunnicula is considered a classic. It's a book that all ages can enjoy, and honestly was exactly what I needed after the last two nights on my long bus rides home. I have no shame and will giggle out loud. Which I did for most of this book.

Bunnicula told from Harold's, the family dog, point of view. I love when he describes anything about Chester the cat. Because I feel like it's all things we've thought about cats at one time or another.  I also really like that both Harold and Chester just aren't just pets, but part of the family. Harold sitting at the table is normal as long as feet stay of the table. Chester has his own chair. I also really enjoyed how these two characters weren't made to seem too human. Yeah they talked, but they still had the little animal ticks. Chester with his need to bathe, Harold's begging for bacon and chocolate cupcakes. 

As for the story itself, it's super cute, hilarious, and moves a quick pace. I loved the bits of lore we got as Chester tried to defeat the vampire bunny, and how Harold became attached to the cute little ball of fluff through out the ordeal. It was nice that between the schemes you get see the family as a unit, being together. Trying to solve the mystery of the white vegetables. I loved how it all sort of ended in the best way possible, with a vet visit. I even loved the changes they made to lore to make it a bit more kid friendly. Because when your a kid what's more scary than eating your vegetables?

There are also illustrations in every chapter, and they were also super cute. My favorite is definitely Chester's sad face when he stuck outside all night. I've got a cat who wouldn't enjoy a night sleeping outside either.

Honestly I don't have anything bag to say about the books. I'm sad these weren't apart of my childhood, but I'm glad I picked it up now. It was an adorable read after a long day on my feet. Something I could have read to my little brother when he was younger. The perfect Halloween bed time story.

Buy, Borrow, or Skip:  If you got little kids who like monster stories, I say add it to their collection. If your a kid at heart with a library card, borrow it from Libby. It's worth the space!

HAPPY READING!!