New Release Tuesday

In every person's story, there is something to hide...

The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet until the tranquility is shattered by a woman's terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who'd happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation, and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer.

HAPPY READING!!

Horrorstor - Review

Author: Grady Hendrix

Genre: Horror

Format: Paperback

Pages: 248

This was an absolute delight! I have put all of Grady Hendrix's books on my TBR, and I've seen so many other Bloggers and Bookstagramers gush about them all. Even my roommate was a fan of Horrorstor,  and maybe that's why I put off reading any of the books. I'm so weird about books with a big hype. I never seem to like them as much as I want to. 

Horrorstor was not one of those books. I was immediately pulled into the story because who doesn't like the idea of a haunted IKEA? Also, I'm glad I waited for a physical copy of this book just for the little extras that really sell the IKEA experience. Each chapter is also named after pieces of furniture that can not only be fan inside this knock-off IKEA but also pertain to that part of the story in some small, or large, part.

I also really liked that the main character Amy grows on you. At the start of the book, I wasn't her biggest fan. In fact, I pretty much assumed that she wasn't going to make it through the whole story. However, as everything unfolds, Amy sort of finds herself, and I really started to like her. She wasn't this perfect 'final girl' who walks away from this stronger and better. Sure she has to dig deep and find a part of herself she lost over the years. But, I really like how her story ends.

In fact, I love how this book ends as a whole. The main part of the story is resolved for each of the characters. Both for the better or the worse, but that's not the end. We get a look a few months down the line, and I really liked how Grady Hendrix tied it all up. I'm a sucker for the open ending. And I hope Amy kicked more ass.

However, my absolute favorite thing about Horrorstor is how it combines an actual horror story trope that is tried and true but also pokes fun at itself. While this book didn't have me sleeping with the light one. It did have me at the edge of my seat. I'm a slow reader, normally it takes me a solid week to finish a book, even one I'm into it. But, with Horrorstor I read it in three days. Work and sleep were the only things that slowed me down. 

I was super into this story from start to finish, and I'm so glad I finally picked this up. I will definitely be picking up another one of Grady Hendrix's books in the near future. As soon as I decide which one!

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!

Gianna is the average seventeen-year-old girl living in 1918 New Orleans. She worries about her family's store, the great war, and a mysterious illness that's about to take hold of the city she loves.

It doesn't help that there also appears to be a mad man on the loose in her neighborhood. The attacks started as burglaries but soon escalate to cold blooded murder. There's a killer out there, and the police can't seem to figure out how to stop him.

Gianna enlists the help of her friend Enzo to investigate. And as they study the crimes, they see a common link between the victims, and Gianna can't help but wonder if it's the same man who attacked her family years before.

As Gianna gets closer to the killer, she discovers a connection between them that she never would have suspected.

HAPPY READING!!

June Spotlight

 

This sounds like so much! Like the perfect book to read at the beach or by the pool. Something to lose myself in over a long weekend! This one is definitely top of my to-get list for June.

For Dracula lovers and fans of Diana Urban’s All Your Twisted Secrets, this spine-tingling thriller follows seven horror buffs as their dream trip to a remote Romanian castle turns into a nightmare when they begin to be killed one by one.

Alex Rush is ready for the trip of a lifetime.

She and her friends have made some creepily awesome films together throughout high school, so with only a few months left before they go their separate ways for college, they’re determined to make the best one yet: an epic short film that reimagines the story of Dracula, filmed on location at a remote castle in Romania.

But when they get there, it’s not quite the majestic setting they planned for. Menacing weapons line the walls, the twisted halls are easy to get lost in, and with no connection to the outside world, the group is unexpectedly off the grid. After just a few hours spent under its roof, Alex and her friends have no trouble imagining how this dark, terrifying castle inspired one of the most enduring horror novels of all time.

Only soon they no longer have to use their imaginations to understand the location’s terrifying history—just as they get the film’s first shot rolling, one of Alex’s friends disappears, and she’s nearly certain she saw a cloaked stranger lurking in the shadows. As more members of the group begin to meet an untimely demise, Alex is desperate to stop the bloodshed, even if it means facing a monster she never thought would be let loose.

HAPPY READING!!

May Wrap Up

This month was dumb. I spent most of it under the weather, and in a way that made it hard to read. I've mostly been in panic mode since I still don't know what made me so ill. Upside I think I'm on the mend. For the first time in three weeks, I finally feel like myself. So I'm counting that as a win!

In other news, Bookish Whispers turned six! I've had my heart ripped out by Stranger Things, and now I don't want to talk about it. I'm still processing! My summer TBR (post coming soon) is stacked very nicely. A lot of good books to read at the beach! I even bought a new chair so I can be comfy. 

And, I even have a vacation on the books! 

Books Read: 7
BINGO Books: 1 (officially two BINGOs)

Pages Read: 948

Currently Reading: The United States of Cryptids by JW Ocker

 No events this month. 

Thanks to a sale at Book Outlet, I got one good book haul this month! I thought about passing on it, but I found a handful of books that caught my attention. Plus the little gem I found at Target in honor of the new season of Stranger Things. And of course my favorite book mail, Night Worms. I was excited for this box because both of the books this month have been on my TBR for a minute.

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.

Jack and Sally are "truly meant to be" ... or are they?

Sally Skellington is the official, newly-minted Pumpkin Queen after a whirlwind courtship with her true love, Jack, who Sally adores with every inch of her fabric seams -- if only she could say the same for her new role as Queen of Halloween Town. Cast into the spotlight and tasked with all sorts of queenly duties, Sally can't help but wonder if all she's done is trade her captivity under Dr. FInkelstein for a different -- albeit gilded -- cage. But when Sally and Zero accidentally uncover a long-hidden doorway to an ancient realm called Dream Town in the forest Hinterlands, she'll unknowingly set into motion a chain of sinister events that put her future as Pumpkin Queen, and the future of Halloween Town itself, into jeopardy. Can Sally discover what it means to be true to herself and save the town she's learned to call home, or will her future turn into her worst... well, a nightmare.

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

Sisters by choice.

That’s how Goldie and her best friends, Ava and Imogen, define their friendship, which formed years ago at Camp Alpine Lake.

This year, Goldie is back at camp as a counselor, desperate for summer to start and for Ava and Imo to arrive. With the dark secret Goldie’s been keeping, she’s more in need of their comfort than ever. When the boy who broke Goldie's heart, turns up dead in the lake, this last summer before college is completely upended—and Goldie learns that she’s not the only person at camp who has been lying. Asking questions offers Goldie no answers, only danger, and betrayals deeper than she ever imagined.

HAPPY READING!!

Blog-a-versary

HAPPY MONDAY! Hope everyone is doing well! Things here at Bookish Whispers are amazing. Today the blog turns six! For something that was supposed to this thing, I did from time to time to share my love of books, has taken a life of its own. Not only have been doing this for six years now, but Bookish Whispers has also expanded to Instagram (@bookish_whispers) as of last year, I've been able to work with amazing authors, and I've been privileged to work alongside Quirk Books for the last two years. 

Of course, I'm celebrating today by curling up and finishing the two books I'm currently reading. I can't think of a better way to celebrate. I even have all my favorite snacks, and my fat cat to keep my company! But, that's not the only way I'm celebrating. Check out my Twitter (@BookishShh) page to enter a 24-hour giveaway! I will randomly select three people to get a book off their wishlist!

I don't know what's next for Bookish Whispers, but I can't wait to find out!

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!

The Victims . . .

When pregnant Saffron Cutler moves into 9 Skelton Place with boyfriend Tom and sets about renovations, the last thing she expects is builders uncovering human remains. The remains of two bodies, in fact.

The Investigation . . .

Forensics indicate the bodies have been buried at least thirty years. Saffy has nothing to worry about--until the police launch a murder inquiry and ask to speak to the cottage's former owner. Her grandmother, Rose.

The Witness . . .

Rose is in a nursing home and Alzheimer's means her memory is increasingly confused. She can't help the police, but its' clear she remembers something.

The Killer . . .

As Rose's fragmented memories resurface, and the police dig ever deeper, Saffy fears she and the cottage are being watched.

The Truth . . .

What happened thirty years ago? Why did no one miss the victims? What part did her grandmother play? And is Saffy now in danger?

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.

In every person's story, there is something to hide...

The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet, until the tranquility is shattered by a woman's terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers sitting at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer.

Why I'm Waiting: This sound like it could be an edge of my seat, hard to put down, kind of read!

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

In the explosive, thrilling sequel to This Is Not the Jess Show, 18-year-old Jess is out for revenge as she confronts the corrupt media empire that documented every moment of her childhood.

Finally free of Swickley and a life that was broadcast to the whole world on Stuck in the 90's, Jess is doing her best to adjust to existence on the outside–but she can't outrun her past forever.

Like-Life Productions has tracked down Jess and her boyfriend, Kipps, and forced Kipps to come back to set for the rest of his contract. Determined to rescue Kipps and exact revenge on Like-Life Productions for what they did to her, Jess teams up with a reporter who's investigating the seedy underbelly of the TV production company–including a series of suspicious disappearances. Jess agrees to return to set under the guise of missing her friends, family, and old life. Then she can take them down from the inside.

Jess must play along in order to gain the power she needs to expose the truth–but fact and fiction blur as Jess struggles to stay one step ahead of Like-Life Productions. How far will she go to maintain control of the narrative, and what will it cost her?

Packed with twists that race toward a shocking ending, this second book will keep you guessing.

HAPPY READING!!