Bark At The Ghouls

I read and reviewed this one a little bit ago but forgot to post it here. But it's never too late to discover a new read, right? Sundial by Catriona Ward Released March 2022 Source: Received for Review Consideration Goodreads  | Amazon Sundial is a new, twisty psychological horror novel from Catriona Ward, internationally bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street. You can't escape what's in your blood... All Rob wanted was a normal life. She almost got it, too: a husband, two kids, a nice house in the suburbs. But Rob fears for her oldest daughter, Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. Rob sees a darkness in Callie, one that reminds her too much of the family she left behind. She decides to take Callie back to her childhood home, to Sundial, deep in the Mojave Desert. And there she will have to make a terrible choice. Callie is worried about her mother. Rob has begun to look at her strangely, and speaks of past secrets. And Callie

Here I am late to yet another party. A Court of Thorns and Roses bby Sarah J. Maas Released May 2015 Source: Purchased from Audible Goodreads  | Amazon When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world. At least, he’s not a beast all the time. As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever. From bestselling author Sarah J. Maas comes a seductive, breathtaking book that blends romance, adventure, and faerie lore

The set up was perfect but somewhere along the way it began to lose me. The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling Released October 2021 Source: Library Borrow Goodreads  | Amazon Practical, unassuming Jane Shoringfield has done the calculations, and decided that the most secure path forward is this: a husband, in a marriage of convenience, who will allow her to remain independent and occupied with meaningful work. Her first choice, the dashing but reclusive doctor Augustine Lawrence, agrees to her proposal with only one condition: that she must never visit Lindridge Hall, his crumbling family manor outside of town. Yet on their wedding night, an accident strands her at his door in a pitch-black rainstorm, and she finds him changed. Gone is the bold, courageous surgeon, and in his place is a terrified, paranoid man—one who cannot tell reality from nightmare, and fears Jane is an apparition, come to haunt him. By morning, Augustine is himself again, but Jane knows something is deepl

This was a little on the meh side for me. Witches Get Stuff Done by Molly Harper Released September 2023 Source: Kindle Unlimited Goodreads  | Amazon Juggling newfound witchy powers, a house full of ghosts, and verbal battles with the handsome local librarian is almost too much for a new witch to manage. A new witch with a coven, however, can get so much more done... From the moment Riley Everett set foot in Starfall Point, magic bubbled inside of her. But with only her late aunt's journals and a cantankerous live-in ghost butler to instruct her on all things witchy—including her newly inherited Victorian haunted house—Riley seeks out a coven for sisterhood and support. The last person she expects to be drawn to is the town's frustrating, yet ridiculously attractive head librarian. Edison Held knows almost everything there is to know about Starfall Point, but Shaddow House was always off-limits, thanks to its elusive owner. If he can convince the new owner, Riley, to let him ta

Just in case you haven't heard of this one, I decided to post a retro review 😀 I reread this in 2017 or around then, I think. My GR dates are all out of wack since they did that facelift ages ago. Anyhow, I never did get around to posting it here so here it is. About the Book It by Stephen King Released September 1986 Source: Library Borrow Goodreads  | Amazon Welcome to Derry, Maine. It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real. They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But the promise they made twenty-eight years ago calls them reunite in the same place where, as teenagers, they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city’s children. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that terrifying summer return as they prepare to once again battle the monster lu

  Recent Mini Reviews Let's face it, most of my reviews lately are what most people consider "mini" anyhow. Most of the time I'd rather be reading than writing an essay deconstructing every part of a book, so it is what it is. Here are the quick takes and the thoughtless thoughts about the recent(ish) books I've read. This week it's all audios. I hope you find something you might like to read here! Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros ⭐⭐⭐ Wow, this is a long book! I know most people will love that fact but for me it felt overstuffed in the middle with needless (and annoying) drama to add some conflict into the romance. The beginning was perfect and the end really drew me in but I didn't love some of it as much as I did Fourth Wing. I'm really mostly here more for the dragons. We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian ⭐⭐⭐ I listened to this book on audio and had a bit of a struggle getting used to the narrator whose accents didn't work for me. The writing style

If you like creepy crawly B movie horror comedies (and why wouldn't you?!) give this one a go. Bee Tornado by Chris Sorensen Released July 2023 Source: Received for review consideration Goodreads  | Amazon Derek Stratton, a broke and widowed storm chaser, is trying his best to support his daughter Mel. Their lives take a dangerous turn when a colossal tornado releases a swarm of prehistoric bees from the Colorado soil, plunging them into a treacherous fight for survival. Derek finds an unexpected partnership with an eccentric bee expert and his sister-in-law, a local cop. Together, they embark on a harrowing race against the clock to rescue Mel from the Bee Tornado. My 2 Cents for Free! Please keep these wild creature features coming! Sometimes a reader (me, okay, it’s me) wants something creepy crawly, sorta ridiculous but maybe completely plausible too . . . Bee Tornado is all of these things and just like Suckerville , the pages fly! Things start off when two young dudes decide

This was a bit of fun on audio. It's a mini-review because sometimes I don't have a lot of words for how I feel. Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood Released June 2023 Source: Borrowed from Library Goodreads  | Amazon The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she’s an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By other day, Elsie makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs. My 2 Cents for Free! This was a cute romance but the heroine was a bit too doormatty for my tastes for most of the story with both her family and her mentor. Woman you are grown. All the way grown up. It is ok to put your annoying mother on mute/ignore FOREVER or to finally tell her she's a mess. She needs to hear it. Grrrrr. Anyhow, th

Why did I wait so long to read this book (that I bought in 2016 😅)? My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix Released May 2016 Source: Purchased with my own $ Goodreads  | Amazon Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fifth grade, when they bonded over a shared love of E.T., roller-skating parties, and scratch-and-sniff stickers. But when they arrive at high school, things change. Gretchen begins to act….different. And as the strange coincidences and bizarre behavior start to pile up, Abby realizes there’s only one possible explanation: Gretchen, her favorite person in the world, has a demon living inside her. And Abby is not about to let anyone or anything come between her and her best friend. With help from some unlikely allies, Abby embarks on a quest to save Gretchen. But is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil? My 2 Cents for Free! I waited far too long to read this book and thought I had ruined the experience by watching the movie first but nah. I lik

I've seen a lot of love for this author. Maybe I've chosen the wrong book? Or maybe I have terrible taste. You've Lost A Lot of Blood by Eric LaRocca Released March 2022 Source: Found in a Little Free Library! Goodreads  | Amazon A disturbing new vision of terror from the author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. "Each precious thing I show you in this book is a holy relic from the night we both perished-the night when I combed you from my hair and watered the moon with your blood. You've lost a lot of blood . . ." My 2 Cents for Free! I’ve never read this author before and found this book inside one of the Little Free Libraries that I steward so I grabbed it up before someone else could (I've since returned it to another Little Free Library). I saw some buzz about this author online and for some reason, I was under the impression that their writing was grossly extreme but that might just be my brain being forgetful and mixing things up. Or m

This guy was a bit frustrating but I'm not sorry I read it. Rules for Heiresses by Amalie  Howard Released October 2021 Source: Purchased from Read, Romance, Repeat Book Box Goodreads  | Amazon Amalie Howard whisks you away with a historical romance full of drama, true love, and the perfect happily ever after. Sometimes, finding love means flouting the rules... Born to a life of privilege, Lady Ravenna Huntley rues the day that she must marry. She's refused dozens of suitors and cried off multiple betrothals, but running away—even if brash and foolhardy—is the only option left to secure her independence. Lord Courtland Chase, grandson of the Duke of Ashton, was driven from England at the behest of his cruel stepmother. Scorned and shunned, he swore never to return to the land of his birth. But when a twist of bad luck throws a rebellious heiress into his arms, at the very moment he finds out he's the new Duke, marriage is the only alternative to massive scandal. Both are qu

This is a great addition to your gothic fiction collection! The September House by Carissa Orlando Released September 2023 Source: Library Borrow Goodreads  | Amazon A woman is determined to stay in her dream home even after it becomes a haunted nightmare in this compulsively readable, twisty, and layered debut novel. When Margaret and her husband Hal bought the large Victorian house on Hawthorn Street—for sale at a surprisingly reasonable price—they couldn’t believe they finally had a home of their own. Then they discovered the hauntings. Every September, the walls drip blood. The ghosts of former inhabitants appear, and all of them are terrified of something that lurks in the basement. Most people would flee. Margaret is not most people. Margaret is staying. It’s her house. But after four years Hal can’t take it anymore, and he leaves abruptly. Now, he’s not returning calls, and their daughter Katherine—who knows nothing about the hauntings—arrives, intent on looking for her missing