WHAT ARE WE READING & REVIEWING IN OCTOBER 2021?

Tell us what you plan to scare up in October.

Carol's Scary & Non - Scary Reads for October
📌 - ★

📌Absolution - Henry Hack - 5★ (Early reviewers) from Sept.
📌Alien's Captive - Tina Moss 3.5★ - (Early Reviewers)
📌Plain Bad Heroines - Emily Danforth - 3★ (Pick A Winner, Make A Friend)
📌The Deck of Omens - Christine Lynn Herman - 3★
📌The Remaking - Clay Chapman - 4★
📌The Return - Rachel Harrison - 5★
📌Craven Manor - Darcy Coates - 5★
📌House of Furies - Madeleine Roux - 4.5★
📌The Carrow Haunt - Darcy Coates - 5★
📌Shelter - Catherine Jinks - 2★
📌Survivor Song - Paul Tremblay -2★
📌Cassidy's Corner - Henry Hack - 4★
📌Out of Character - Annabeth Albert -3★
📌The Charm Offensive - Alison Cochrun -3.5★
📌Defining Moments - Ben Burgess - 4.5★
📌The Witch's Familiar - T.J. Nichol - 3★
📌The Haunting of Leigh Harker- Darcy Coates- 4★
📌Under The Whispering Door - T.J. Klune - 5★
📌All The Dead Voices - Declan Hughes - 4★
📌The Remaking of Corbin Wale - Roan Parrish - 5★
📌A House At The Bottom of a Lake - Josh Malerman - 3★
📌In The Dark - Loreth Anne White - 4★
📌The Vanishing - Bentley Little -3★
📌Goodnight Moo - Mollie Cox Bryan - 3★
📌Bread and Books - Hollis Shiloh - 3.5★
📌The Dead Girls Club - Damien Angelica Walters - 5★
📌Before There Were Three - L.A. Witt - 5+★
📌Perron Manor - Lee Mountford - 5★
📌The Devil's Highway - Luis Albert Urrea - 4★
📌Séance On A Summer's Night - Josh Lanyon 5★
📌Indigo Slam- Robert Crais - 4★
📌Pretty, Pretty Boys - Gregory Ashe - 3★
📌Dark Rivers - Morgan Brice 5★
📌Dead To Me - Annie Anderson - 4★
📌Deadly Curiosities - Gail Z. Martin - 2.5★
📌Red-Headed Stepchild - Jaye Wells - 2★
📌Witchy Whiskers - Danielle Garrett - 4.5★
📌Spells, Salt & Steel – Season One - Gail Z. Martin & Larry Martin - 3★
📌Jack & Jill - Kealan Patrick Burke- 4.5★

Lynda and Oliver's October Reading Plan

Mystery
👻 About That Night - Julie James - 3.5 Stars - 10/24/21 - set in Illinois
👻 Ape Who Guards the Balance - Elizabeth Peters - 3 Stars - 10/28/21 - set in Egypt
👻 Arctic Fury - Greer McAllister - 3.5 Stars - 11/12/21 - set in Boston and the Arctic Circle
👻 Bones Don't Lie - Melinda Leigh - 4 Stars -:10/31/21 - set in New York
👻 Cocaine Blues - Kerry Greenwood - 3.5 Stars - 10/10/21 - set in Australia
👻 Dead to Her - Sarah Pinborough - 2.5 Stars - 10/3/21 - set in Georgia
👻 Deadly Brew - Karen McInerney - 3 Stars - 10/30/21 - set in Texas
👻 Every Vow You Break - Peter Swanson - 5 Stars - 10/14/21 - set in Maine
👻 Forgotten in Death - J. D. Robb - 4.5 Stars - 10/5/21 - set in New York City
👻 Halloween Hijinks - Kathi Daley - 3 Stars - 10/16/21 - st in the fictional town of Ashton Falls
👻 If You've Got It, Haunt It - Rose Pressey - 3 Stars - 10/2/21 - set in Georgia
👻 Long Range - C. J. Box - 4.5 Stars - 10/23/21 - set in Wyoming
👻 Mastermind: A Theo Cray and Jessica Blackwood Thriller - Andrew Mayne - 3.5 Stars - 10/15/21 - set primarily in New York, Malaysia annd Singapore
👻 Murder on Pleasant Avenue - Victoria Thompson - 4 Stars - 10/21/21 - set in New York
👻 Paragon Walk - Anne Perry - 3.5 Stars - 10/30/21 - set in England
👻 Survive the Night - Riley Sager - 3 Stars - 10/6/21 - set in Ohio
👻 Teed Off - Nicola Furlong - 3.5 Stars - 10/18/21 - set on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
👻 Twenty Centavos - John Scherber - 4 Stars - 10/8/21 - set in Mexico
👻 Valentine - Elizabeth Wetmore - 4 Stars - 10/20/21 - set in Texas
👻 Wolf Pack - C. J. Box - 4.5 Stars - 10/1/21 - set in Wyoming
👻 The Wreck - Landon Beach - 3.5 Stars - 10/17/21 - set along the Great Lakes but I'm not sure which state.
👻 Wrong Alibi - Christina Dodd - 3.5 Stars - 10/9/21 - set in Alaska

Other
👻 All My Puny Sorrows - Miriam Toews - 5 Stars and 💕💕 - 10/19/21 - set primarily in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
👻 Five Magic Spindles - Multiple -4 Stars - 10/25/21
👻 Lady Most Likely - Julia Quinn - 3.5 Stars - 0/30/21 - set in England
👻 Ms Gloria Steinem - Winifred Conkling - 3.5 Stars - 12/11/21
👻 Network Effect - Martha Wells - 10/26/21 - set in Space
👻 One Red Rose - Julie Garwood - 3 Stars - 10/22/21 - set in Montana
👻 Ransom - Laramie Briscoe - 3 Stars - 10/11/21 - set in Alabama
👻 River Marked - Patricia Briggs - 5 Stars - 10/13/21 - set in Washington State
👻 Seven Sisters - Lucinda Riley - 4 Stars - 10/2/21 - set in Brazil
👻 Touch of Fire - Linda Howard - 3 Stars - 10/7/21 - set in Arizona
👻 Wild Animal School - J. W. Lynne - 3 Stars - 10/27/21

>1 Carol420: You've inspired me to include 1 scary book in October. I'm going to read The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton. The reviews sound like it's creepy with a possible ghost and maybe a bit of other supernatural occurrences with a generally ominous feel.

>4 gaylebutz: I've read it and it is very good. Enjoy and think of your friend..."The Ghost Story Junkie", while you're reading :)

Craven Manor - Darcy Coates
5★
Daniel is desperate for a fresh start. So when a mysterious figure slides a note under his door offering the position of groundskeeper at an ancient estate, he leaps at the chance, even though it seems too good to be true. Alarm bells start ringing when he arrives at Craven Manor. The abandoned mansion is straight out of those old gothic mysteries: the front door hangs open, and leaves and cobwebs coat the marble foyer. It's clear no one has lived here in a long time... but he has nowhere else to go. Against his better judgment, he moves into the groundskeeper's cottage tucked away behind the old family crypt. But when a candle flickers to life in the abandoned tower window, Daniel realizes he isn't alone after all. Something awful happened here long ago, and it's a paranormal mystery Daniel is afraid to solve. Because Craven Manor is hiding a terrible secret... One that threatens to bury him with it

Why does it take these characters so long to realize that there is something really, really wrong here? I guess it would be a very short book if they got it as quickly as we...the readers...do. The overall tone of this book is creepy and off-setting as it’s certainly not lacking in the gross and gory element. The main character, Daniel... is a delightfully compassionate and very ethical young man with a surprisingly open mind in the face of extremely bizarre circumstances...in other words “ghost fodder”. I have read almost everything that Darcy Coates has written and loved them all but this one just my hold the top place of “The Best One Yet”. Craven Manor sinks its claws into you from the eerie cover, to the well-drawn, easy to like characters. Daniel's fate remains uncertain throughout the story and this, if anything, is what will keep you reading and rooting for this young man.

The Deck of Omens - Christine Lynn Herman - (New York)
The Devouring Grey series Book #2
3★
Though the Beast is seemingly subdued for now, a new threat lurks in Four Paths: a corruption seeping from the Gray into the forest. And with the other Founders preoccupied by their tangled alliances and fraying relationships, only May Hawthorne seems to realize the danger. But saving the town she loves means seeking aid from the person her family despises most -- her father, Ezra Bishop. May's father isn't the only newcomer in town -- Isaac Sullivan's older brother has also returned, seeking forgiveness for the role he played in Isaac's troubled past. But Isaac isn't ready to let go of his family's history, especially when that history might hold the key that he and Violet Saunders need to destroy the Gray and the monster within it. Harper Carlisle isn't ready to forgive, either. Two devastating betrayals have left her isolated from her family and uncertain who to trust. As the corruption becomes impossible to ignore, Harper must learn to control her newfound powers in order to protect Four Paths. But the only people who can help her do that are the ones who have hurt her the most. With the veil between the Gray and the town growing ever thinner, the Founder descendants must put their grievances with one another aside to stop the corruption and kill the Beast once and for all. But the monster they truly need to slay may never been the Beast .

Of course, I didn’t read the first book first...what else is new under the sun? So, I didn’t really get exactly what the Beast was but I had it figured out by the middle of the book. The Beast is a mysterious sentient creature which was trapped by the four founders of the town over a century ago and therefore becomes the problem of every generation that comes after. The Beast will stop at nothing to break its constraints. The main characters of the story must work together to keep the town and the rest of the world, safe from what creeps through the woods when no one is watching. The question comes up asking is the Beast really that evil? Could there be deeper...darker secrets going back to the founders' days that may unravel everything that has been taught and passed down? Of course, the Beast could be playing games with the founding families as a way to pay them back for years of being a prisoner in the Gray. The ending of this book ties up the storyline in a way that is both curious and questionable...and I really believe I should have started with book 1 but I'm not sure I liked this one enough to make the effort.

Goodnight, Moo - Mollie Cox Bryan (Virginia)
A Buttermilk Creek Mystery
3 ★
Welcome to Shenandoah Springs, Virginia, the bucolic small town where Brynn MacAlister keeps cows, churns cheeses—and is sharper than the ripest cheddar when it comes to solving mysteries . . .With a foster cow in her corral and a new calf on the way, Brynn MacAlister has a lot on her plate. Especially since her micro-dairy farm is hosting the first annual cheesemakers contest at this year’s summer fair. A relative newcomer, Brynn’s hoping the contest becomes a tradition, bonding her even more strongly to the community. But when a mysterious tractor accident looks suspiciously like murder, Brynn suspects someone is up to no-gouda . . . Some folks say the lead suspect was just defending his underage daughter from a suitor more mature than a vintage provolone, but Brynn isn’t buying it. Especially when another dead body turns up and Brynn’s top cheesemaker falls under suspicion. It’s enough to make a girl bluer than her best Stilton. But not enough to stop Brynn from getting to the bottom of things. What she discovers is the small-town harbors some pretty unsavory characters. And the closer Brynn gets to the killer, the deeper she gets into danger.

The lengths I will go to for a challenge never ceases to amaze me. I needed a book with cattle on the cover...preferably a cow with horns. I went searching and this was so cute I took it for the cow alone...to heck with what the story was like. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Cute cow...and even though it isn’t my usual type of mystery...not a bad story at all. The book is packed with action and suspects. The characters continue to develop as the story goes on and they are well-rounded. The setting is in a valley that sounds absolutely lovely. The plot moved at a good pace and kept me engaged as I read. What more could you ask for? I kept waiting for that cute cow to have a bigger role but I guess they were all busy making milk for Bryann’s cheese. Fun story with more mystery than I thought it would have.

The Dead Girls Club - Damien Angelica Walters (Maryland)
5★
"Red Lady, Red Lady, show us your face"... In 1991, Heather Cole and her friends were members of the Dead Girls Club. Obsessed with the macabre, the girls exchanged stories about serial killers and imaginary monsters, like the Red Lady, the spirit of a vengeful witch killed centuries before. Heather knew the stories were just that, until her best friend Becca began insisting the Red Lady was real--and she could prove it. That belief got Becca killed. It's been nearly thirty years, but Heather has never told anyone what really happened that night--that Becca was right and the Red Lady was real. She's done her best to put that fateful summer, Becca, and the Red Lady, behind her. Until a familiar necklace arrives in the mail, a necklace Heather hasn't seen since the night Becca died. The night Heather killed her. Now, someone else knows what she did...and they're determined to make Heather pay.

Creepy, creepy and more creepy. When you were 12 years old did you and your friends huddle under a blanket at a sleepover and tell scary ghost stories... serial killer stories, and "dead girl" stories.? Did you and your friends listen breathlessly believing you heard footsteps from something that wasn't there yet and you hoped would never arrive...but on the other hand, couldn't wait to see? I did....there was 8 of us...and we couldn't get enough. So I could so see myself and my friends maybe forming a club like Heather and her friends and scaring the s**t out of each other. Of course we did that without the club title. Unfortunately for these girls "something" did answer their summons. "Something" took Becca and now no one believes Heather or her friends. Becca and Heather were solid friends with very different backgrounds. Heather came from a stable home...while Becca was being abuse in a broken home. I empathized with both girls. Becca was troubled and Heather had a genuine desire to save her friend. Now we meet "Adult Heather" who is a child psychologist. She has a successful career, a stable marriage, a well-ordered life but carries a disturbing childhood secret. Everything in her life runs smoothly until some very odd events occur that threatens her carefully-constructed façade. Somebody mails Dr. Heather Cole one tarnished half of a heart-shaped "best friends" necklace...she panics since the last time she saw this particular bit of jewelry, she was 12 years old and it was hanging around the neck of her dead BFF, Becca Thomas. What's true? Is there something Heather isn't remembering about that night in 1991? Readers will miss sleeping time, perhaps dinner time, who needs to eat anyway when you just have to find out how this ends? You may be very surprised.

The Remaking - Clay Chapman - (Virginia)
4★
n the 1930s, Ella Louise and her daughter Jessica are dragged from their home at the outskirts of Pilot’s Creek, Virginia, in the middle of the night. Ella Louise is accused of using her apothecary for witchcraft, and both are burned at the stake. Ella Louise’s burial site is never found, but the little girl has the most famous grave in the South: a steel-reinforced coffin surrounded by a fence of interconnected white crosses. Some wonder: If the mother was the witch, why is Jessica’s grave so tightly sealed? This question fuels a legend as their story is told around a campfire in the 1950s by a man forever marked by his boyhood encounters with Jessica. Decades later, a boy at that campfire will cast Amber Pendleton as Jessica in a ’70s horror movie inspired by the Witch Girl of Pilot’s Creek. Amber’s experiences on the set and its meta-remake in the ’90s will ripple through pop culture, ruining her life and career after she becomes the target of a witch hunt herself. Amber’s best chance to break the cycle of horror comes when a true-crime investigator tracks her down to interview her for his popular podcast. But will this final act of storytelling redeem her—or will it bring the story full circle, ready to be told once again... and again... and again...

I really liked this book. It was horror but yet not horror. Creepy would best describe it but I don’t believe that is a genre. If sitting around a camp fire telling ghost stories is something you like...or have ever liked to do... then this book is diffidently written just for you. Some of the facts in the story are true...and yes...I asked “Mr. Google.” I learned that it is based on an unsettling horror story and does contain true events that took place in 1931 in Pilot’s Creek, Virginia. The townspeople accuse Ella Louise Ford and her daughter, Jessica, of witchcraft and burn them at the stake. This begins an urban legend that echoes through the decades. I love a good ghost story. I am the “Ghost Story Junkie”.

Before There Were Three - L A Witt - (India/Washington/Pennsylvania)
Sequel to Out of Focus
5+★
Delhi, 1999 – On assignment in India, photographer Ryan Morgan has one focus—his job. Then hot bachelor Dante James quite literally stumbles over him, and suddenly Ryan’s not concentrating on anything except him. From the start, the chemistry between them sizzles. From Delhi to Seattle to Pittsburgh, the chance encounter blooms into something much deeper. But as the two young photographers learn who they are as men and as a couple, Ryan worries Dante will learn who he is. Because if his ex-wife and ex-boyfriend couldn’t live with him, what makes him think Dante can? Or that he’ll want to?

It’s been quite some time since I felt like this about these two books...Out of Focus And this sequel, Before There Were Three. Both stories of Angel, Dante and Jordan left its mark in my mind and heart. It’s one of those times that one of those 70 or so book series would be more than welcome. Alas... it’s probably not going to happen so rereads are diffidently in the schedule. As I stated in the review for Out of Focus the men are incredible characters but the reader...Nick J. Russo puts the cherry on the top with the beautiful voices he gives the characters. These guys just mesh together with their obvious love of one another and their sometimes-teasing, snarky remarks. It was wonderful to read how their relationship started and grew, and how some traits of their personalities were present from day one and became the groundwork and the bond that cemented their lives together. Both these books will take a top, front, and center, place on my list of books that I’ll read over and over again. Loved getting a little extra added to a fantastic story and a set of characters that I absolutely had to love. I really did not want this book to end.

The Return -Rachel Harrison
5★
Julie is missing, and no one believes she will ever return-except Elise. Elise knows Julie better than anyone. She feels it in her bones that her best friend is out there and that one day Julie will come back. She's right. Two years to the day that Julie went missing, she reappears with no memory of where she's been or what happened to her. Along with Molly and Mae, their two close friends from college, the women decide to reunite at a remote inn. But the second Elise sees Julie, she knows something is wrong-she's emaciated, with sallow skin and odd appetites. And as the weekend unfurls, it becomes impossible to deny that the Julie who vanished two years ago is not the same Julie who came back. But then who-or what-is she?

The story revolves around four good close friends.... Elise, Julie, Mae, and Molly. Each are now in their respective careers and locations, but still connected to each other. When the only married woman, Julie, disappears suddenly...her loss is of course immediately felt by the others...but it seems that the only one who refuses to believe that she's dead is her "best friend"...Elise, and Julie's husband, Tristan. Two years go by and “She’s BAACK” … minus her memory. ” Two years to the day she went missing, Tristan found her sitting on the porch swing . . . " just sitting there like it was any other day.” Through all the guesswork and no matter how much the friends want to welcome her back...you can’t get away from the fact that Julie is . . . "off" . . . in so many ways that will now continue to gnaw to the bone at the other characters...and to the reader. Goose bumps a plenty to go around and then some. "We're all getting used to each other again . . . Not to mention we had a funeral for Julie, and now she's here” . . .While it becomes more and more apparent that something is seriously "wrong", (to put it mildly), ...with Julie, other events start to happen that intensify the feeling of apprehension and dread for whatever the inevitable outcome will bring to light. All the while the atmosphere is changing... bringing with it more sinister undercurrents. The emotions and bonds between the friends are becoming clear to the reader. This...the psychological aspect... is what captivated my attention the most. It was like being given a private window into the thoughts and feelings of others. I can't express enough how well this was accomplished... and how it drew me so much closer to these characters. I haven't even touched on the ending and the differences in Julie...this is intentional, as I feel that to allude to anything more would potentially spoil the experience for other readers. This is a novel you simply need to experience for yourself. Oh... be sure that the lights are all on and the doors are locked.

Plain Bad Heroines - Emily Danforth -(Illinois)
3★
Our story begins in 1902, at the Brookhants School for Girls. Flo and Clara, two impressionable students, are obsessed with each other and with a daring young writer named Mary MacLane, the author of a scandalous best-selling memoir. To show their devotion to Mary, the girls establish their own private club and call it the Plain Bad Heroine Society. They meet in secret in a nearby apple orchard, the setting of their wildest happiness and, ultimately, of their macabre deaths. This is where their bodies are later discovered with a copy of Mary’s book splayed beside them, the victims of a swarm of stinging, angry yellow jackets. Less than five years later, the Brookhants School for Girls closes its doors forever - but not before three more people mysteriously die on the property, each in a most troubling way. More than a century later, the now-abandoned and crumbling Brookhants is back in the news when wunderkind writer Merritt Emmons publishes a breakout book celebrating the queer, feminist history surrounding the “haunted and cursed” Gilded Age institution. Her best-selling book inspires a controversial horror film adaptation starring celebrity actor and lesbian it girl Harper Harper playing the ill-fated heroine Flo, oppo­site B-list actress and former child star Audrey Wells as Clara. But as Brookhants opens its gates once again, and our three modern her­oines arrive on set to begin filming, past and present become grimly entangled - or perhaps just grimly exploited - and soon it’s impossible to tell where the curse leaves off and Hollywood begins.

The story idea and delivery were good but the book its self was just too wordy. The same good story could have been told and been just as good in about 100 less pages. The tale went back and forth from 1900 to modern day with alternate viewpoints by different characters present during that time period. I also don’t understand why it’s deemed a “horror” novel. Maybe it is if you’re 12 years old but it loses the creep factor for adults. I believe the author was trying to connect the strange occurrences taking place during the filming of the movie being made at the school and what happened on the site in the early 1900 events. Something was lost in the time spans. The book seems to have two themes; one about the proposed supernatural events and the other about being gay. It would have been better if one theme or the other was the main event.

Perron Manor - Lee Mountford
Haunted series Book #1
5★
Sisters Sarah and Chloe inherit a house they could never have previously dreamed of owning. It seems too good to be true. Shortly after they move in, however, the siblings start to notice strange things: horrible smells, sudden drops in temperature, as well as unexplainable sounds and feelings of being watched. All of that is compounded when they find a study upstairs, filled with occult items and a strange book written in Latin. Their experiences grow more frequent and more terrifying, building towards a heart-stopping climax where the sisters come face to face with the evil behind Perron Manor. Will they survive and save their very souls?

OMG! Was this written just for me, the "Ghost Story Junkie:? Quiet possibly....and I hope this author is planning a 50 or so book series here. It certainly clicked all the reasons that I love ghost stories. It begins with "Britain's most Haunted House"...Perron Manor...in the present time. The history of this mansion goes way back to its very construction. There were periods of dormancy followed by absolutely horrific events. The last tragedy recorded there was when Chloe was only six years old, and was staying there as her parents helped her Uncle and his partner, Marcus. Chloe and Sarah weren't worried after all "....the past can't hurt you"...right? The fact that her family was the ONLY survivor has completely slipped her mind. So Chloe and her sister Sarah move in along with Chloe's husband and small child. ". . . Back to Devil's House . . . " Now the fun truly begins. The parts that dealt with the house itself and its sordid, bloody history were in a word, "captivating"... to say the least. "This house is special. It is, I believe, alive.". If only they knew...but they are by this time beyond any reasonable resemblance of clear thought or reasonable actions. The best thing they could have done was throw a match in a big puddle of gasoline and RUN. I'm not going to say much more about the outcome but let's just say the reader might want to start checking windows and doors and make sure you have plenty of light. I don't scare easily but part of this were almost heart stopping.

There really is and was a Perron family and a mansion in, I believe, Manchester England. The house has some disturbing events that have occurred in it and was the setting for the movie The Conjuring …that is actually rooted in a horrifying true experience of Ed and Lorraine Warren. Not saying that any of the book or the movie are based on actual occurrences...but who knows? As the bard, William Shakespeare said "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Absolution - Henry Hack- (New York)
5★
A teenager, Joey "Noonz" Mastronunzio, is forced to participate in a home invasion in Queens leaving a young couple dead and their infant son an orphan. Although he did not pull the trigger, he is determined to atone for his actions that night by joining the Marines Corps and then joining the seminary after his military service. The baby, Michael Simon, grows up to become an NYPD homicide lieutenant determined to locate and arrest the "guy who got away" from the scene of the murders. When Lieutenant Simon finally discovers the identity of the second perpetrator, he is shocked to learn he has known him most of his life. What follows is an unlikely alliance between Simon and the Bishop of Brooklyn as they uncover the rampant pedophilia in the Church. Battling threats, intrigue, deception, and murder, the duo comes up against the highest echelons of power in the NYPD and the Church as both institutions desperately seek to keep their records of depravity and coverups from ever being released to the public.

The author served twenty-two years in the Nassau County, NY Police Department. He commanded the Scientific Investigation Bureau and was qualified as an expert witness in several forensic evidence areas. He also commanded the Eighth Patrol Precinct. His credentials speak volumes for his unquestionable ability to produce a reality-based crime novel. My husband, who also served 27 years with law enforcement in Florida and Michigan also read the book and said it was the one of the best he had ever encountered. My husband doesn’t do much reading but he was enthralled with this one and read in in one sitting, which says volumes for the novel. Behind the fictional characters is a too true scenario that is going to slightly disturb some readers and give others varying degrees of discomfort...but in the end it’s all so...unfortunately...plausible. I loved the book and it kept my attention from the beginning to end. I did mostly feel that Joey really had only committed the “sin of omission” but I’m sure that other readers will assign him a greater degree of error. One thing for certain is that I’m certainly going to be watching for more of this author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Black Rose Writing in exchange for an honest opinion. The views expressed by this reviewer are entirely my own.

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
4 ★
It's 1634, and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Traveling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent. Another guest is Sara Wessel, a noblewoman with a secret. But no sooner is their ship out to sea than bad things happen. A strange symbol appears on the sail. A dead leper stalks the decks. Livestock dies in the night. And then the passengers hear a terrible voice, whispering to them in the darkness about unholy miracles and a slaughter. With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent and Sara can solve a mystery that stretches back into their past and threatens to sink the ship.

I was looking for something spooky to read for Halloween and this fit the bill. This is a long book but there is a lot that happens that has to do with an evil demon and lots of superstition. Add to that a bad storm and lots of people that can’t be trusted and the result is many twists and surprises all the way to the end. The plot is complex and I’m not sure I like how it ended but I did enjoy reading this book.

Bread and Books - Hollis Shiloh
Baking Bears series Book #3
3.5★
To Matthew, Jake is a mild-mannered mystery. He bought a failing bookstore, but he doesn't know how to run a bookstore at all. And by the number of books he's giving away, the man has to be an optimistic idiot. A business can't survive by giving things away! Still, neighboring bakery owner (and secret bear shifter) Matthew can't help being drawn to him and finding excuses to talk to him. The man calls to him in a way no one else does: with his pheromones, his sweet smiles, and his cinnamon-colored eyes. He makes Matthew want things desperately... The two men grow closer, and friendship turns to something more. They might even have a chance at forever, if they can bear to share their secrets with one another.

I’ve read other Hollis Shiloh books and found that this one is very different. He does like the “shifter” theme for his characters but the “heat factor” between the guys is much milder than in the other books. Actually, it was a great idea...bookstore owner that gave most his books away and a baker that wanted a bit more from the bookshop owner than just free books and friendship...but it came across a bit too “wordy” ...especially with the history information of the bear shifters. Overall, it was a warm, sweet story. I loved the ways that Matthew's bear incorporated its characteristics into his human side. Anyone that doesn’t mind same sex romances and likes cozies will like this little series.

All The Dead Voices - Declan Hughes
Ed Loy series Book #4
4★

PI Ed Loy wants to escape his past—but it won't be easy. Soon after moving to a Dublin apartment from his childhood home on the city's outskirts, he's approached by Anne Fogarty, whose father was murdered fifteen years ago. Anne thinks the police nabbed the wrong person, and the three most likely culprits are two ex-IRA men and George Halligan—Loy's underworld nemesis. Jack Cullen, one of the other suspects, may somehow be connected with the death of a rising soccer star—another case Loy is asked to take on. And as his two investigations collide, Loy finds himself in grave danger in a city divided—where the wounded Celtic Tiger walks hand in hand with the ghosts of a violent past.

In my recent searches for future reading material...I ran across a copy of of this book that just happens to be a part of a series that I haven't read in a long time but always enjoyed...So I thought I would see what Ed Loy is up to after the first 3 books. Ed is a man with a strong moral compass who has friends on both sides of the law. Although he may not agree with the actions or the mindset of the criminal syndicates that were spawned from The Troubles...he has a deep understanding of the reasons for and against the IRA. As a first generation American of Irish background I understood more after reading the first couple of books why my grandparents took my mother and her older sister and fled Ireland for America in 1926. In this part of the series, Ed...as a private detective finds himself working two separate cases that turn out to be linked by strands of violence resulting from the days of, and just after, The Troubles. Declan Hughes combines historical facts and fictional storylines to result in novels that are deeply enjoyable as well as very informative.

House of Furies - Madeleine Roux - (California)
4.5★
House of Furies invites readers to a world where the line between monsters and men is ghostly thin. After escaping a harsh school where punishment was the lesson of the day, 17-year-old Louisa Ditton is thrilled to find employment as a maid at a boarding house. But soon after her arrival at Coldthistle House, Louisa begins to realize that the house’s mysterious owner, Mr. Morningside, is providing much more than lodging for his guests. Far from a place of rest, the house is a place of judgment, and Mr. Morningside and his unusual staff are meant to execute their own justice on those who are past being saved. Louisa begins to fear for a young man named Lee who is not like the other guests. He is charismatic and kind, and Louisa knows that it may be up to her to save him from an untimely judgment. But in this house of distortions and lies, how can Louisa be sure who to trust?

Madeleine Roux is one of my favorite writers …but of a different genre ...so I was very anxious...as well as surprised to read something different from her. Louisa’s troubles begin from the time she accepts a gold coin from an old woman and follows her promise of employment at Coldthistle House. The House is full of characters with. “Interesting abilities” that makes...or at least should make... the reader question the thin line here that stretches between what is right and what is wrong. The ending was a little disappointing and it cost it a half star... but I believe it’s because the reader becomes so engrossed in the characters...especially funny, cunning Louisa that you just imagine a different ending. If you like gothic stories...you’ll love this one.

The Carrow Haunt - Darcy Coates
5★
Remy is a tour guide for the notoriously haunted Carrow House. The old place is a haunt for the superstitious, but Remy hasn't seen any proof of the paranormal yet. So when she's asked to host guests for a week-long stay in order to research Carrow's phenomena, she hopes to finally experience some of the sightings that made the house famous. At first, it's everything they hoped for. Then a storm moves in, cutting off their contact with the outside world, and things quickly take a sinister turn. Doors open on their own. Séances go disastrously wrong. Their spirit medium wanders through the house at night, seemingly in a trance. But it isn't until one of the guests dies under strange circumstances that Remy is forced to consider the possibility that the ghost of the house's original owner―a twisted serial killer―still walks the halls. And by then it's too late to escape.

I have always...from a very early age...been a fan of ghost stories. So, Darcy Coates stories are perfect. She always manages to include things of my worst nightmare as a child...unseen things grabbing me and catching me off guard. There are plenty of things here to give me delicious nightmares for a month or two. "Welcome, dear ones, to the dreaded Carrow House." Remy Allier...the tour guide...gives guided tours through the area's "most haunted houses" once a week, when the weather permits. Located in an island-like area, with only one bridge spanning Carrow's land to the "mainland", the isolation of the location is as absolute as it can get. Remy knows all aspects of Carrow's long and sullied history. Built by John and Marie Carrow as a sanitarium initially, a tragic fire led to it being renovated into a Grand Hotel. Their biggest mistake was in the hiring of a certain gardener, by the name of Edgar Porter. . . “In small towns like the ones nearest Carrow House, there was a pervasive subconscious assumption that the rich and influential couldn't be criminals . . . " Yeah...Right! The estate had always carried an unmistakable taint...a “wrongness”. Deaths and disappearances continued on...unabated... until it was eventually left abandoned. A spoiled rich teenager, April Mahon, had the former hotel purchased for herself. She took great pains in having the original furnishings restored to how it was in its murderous heyday. ". . . There's a recurring theme of tragedy befalling anyone who lives in the building . . . aside for brief research-related stays, no human has attempted to live in it since." This makes the house itself an unforgettable, unforgiving character...as much “alive” as any of the actual breathing human beings. The story will capture your undivided attention from the very beginning...while tightening it's hold over and making you very aware of who or what is really in charge here.

Out of Character - Annabeth Albert - (California)
3★
Jasper Quigley is tired of being everyone's favorite sidekick. He wants to become the hero of his own life, but that's not going to happen if he agrees to help out Milo Lionetti, his former best friend turned king of the jocks. High school was miserable enough, thanks, and Jasper has no interest in dredging up painful memories of his old secret crush. But Milo's got nowhere else to go. His life is spiraling out of control, and he's looking to turn things back around. Step one? Replace the rare Odyssey cards he lost in an idiotic bet. Step two? Tell his ex-best-friend exactly how he feels - how he's always felt. Jasper may be reluctant to reopen old wounds, but he never could resist Milo. There's a catch though: If Milo wants his help, he's going to have to pitch in to make the upcoming children's hospital charity ball the best ever. But as the two-don cosplay for the kids and hunt for rare cards, nostalgia for their lost friendship may turn into something even more lasting.

This is a continuation of the story and characters in the first book, Conventionally Yours. At what is probably his lowest point.... Milo is in trouble, so in spite of his misgivings about what he is about to do... he reaches out to Jasper, the boy he used to know and considered his best friend. I enjoyed the first book in the series and while I also liked this one, I thought it felt very similar to the first book. I have read almost everything that Annabeth Albert has written and always loved them all...always feeling the characters were friends come to visit. This one just didn’t do it for me the way her others have. Still a soft venture into the gay world and those that are a little uneasy about some of the other more “in your face” ventures will probably be very comfortable meeting Jasper and Milo.

Shelter - Catherine Jinks - (Australia)
2★
Meg lives alone. Her little house in the bush outside town is the perfect place to hide. This seclusion is one of the reasons she offers to shelter Nerine, a young woman escaping a abusive ex-partner. The other is that Meg knows what it’s like to live with the looming threat of a violence at the hands of someone you love… Nerine is jumpy and her two little girls are frightened. This tells Meg all she needs to know about where they’ve come from, and she’s not all that surprised when Nerine asks her to get hold of a gun. But she knows it’s unnecessary. They’re safe now. Or so Meg thinks… Then she starts to wonder about some little things. A disturbed flyscreen. A tune playing on her windchimes. Has Nerine’s ex tracked them down? Has Meg’s husband turned up to torment her some more? By the time she finds out, it’ll be too late to do anything but run for her life.

The only word I can think of to describe it is ‘brutal”. Meg relationship with her parents caused her to leave and go as far from them as possible. Her abusive ex-husband still manages to harass her occasionally...but for the most part she’s content. Different definition of “content” than I have, but I guess it’s better than what she had. Seems to be enough that she offers a friend, Nerine, and her two daughters' refuge in her home for a month. Here's where the whole story made the reader want to hide in a closet. Nerine’s husband was worse than Meg’s if that was even possible, and Nerine is terrified of EVERYTHING making her children literally basket cases. The story by this point made me want to nail the door to my closet shut from the inside. Just way too much...too much violence...too much fear...too much paranoia. I had to give it up. I can’t imagine life like this ...not even in a book.

Cassidy’s Corner - Henry Hack - (New York)
4★
When veteran beat police officer Harry Cassidy violates his oath of office by standing by and allowing a despised bartender, Richie Winston, to suffer a cruel beating and stabbing, he must withstand an intensive internal investigation while battling his inner demons over his betrayal of the shield. When Richie, who has been in a coma, dies a few days later, a murder investigation is commenced led by veteran homicide detective Charles "Pop" Hunter, a friend and former fellow police academy classmate of Harry's. Complicating Harry's situation is a developing love affair with his chief inquisitor from Internal Affairs, Sergeant Susan Goldman, who fights her own turmoil between her career ambitions and her love for Harry. As the psychological pressure builds on him with both Pop hunter and Susan Goldman inching ever closer to the truth, Harry becomes involved in a gun battle with the perpetrators who killed Richie Winston suffering gunshot wounds. Having recently admitted the truth to Susan after making love, she now agonizes over her next course of action. Will she betray the man she loves for the sake of her career, or will she destroy the tape recording she secretly of Harry's admission?

Good and evil abides all in the main character who made a choice and is now tormented to make things right, even at the cost of his own career. Cassidy’s close friends are there to help him but his enemies are bent on his destruction. The author fully develops the moral dilemma that Harry Cassidy faces when he neglects to fulfill his responsibility. The reader is also torn between the decisions Harry needs to face. Lots of twists, turns and surprises in this book and Mr. Hack’s 22 years of personal experiences in the law enforcement field in Nassau County gives added belief to the situations...thus making for a really good read.

The Devil's Highway: A True Story - Luis Alberto Urrea (Arizona Mexico)
4★
In May 2001, a group of men attempted to cross the Mexican border into the desert of southern Arizona, through the deadliest region of the continent, the "Devil's Highway." Three years later, Luis Alberto Urrea wrote about what happened to them. The result was a national bestseller, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a "book of the year" in multiple newspapers, and a work proclaimed as a modern American classic.

I needed a book that was set in Mexico for...yes...those of you that know me know that some books that are not my usual fare are for more than likely for....another challenge. I just don't seem to be able to resist them:) I was prepared to read it...I liked the title (not really a "good" reason to read a book I know) but as I got into it I found myself really drawn in. My grandparents and my mother were immigrants from Ireland, so I grew up hearing the reasons that drove immigrants to flee their native countries, and I saw firsthand the heartache that it causes. I saw my grandmother cry for her Ireland until the day that she died at 98 years of age. Mr. Urrea graphically described what people will do out of desperation to help their families, as well as how governments around the world have time after time failed these individuals. The book is sad, it's graphic and it's sometimes painful to read...but it should be "required reading". The book does include what some would call "tall tales" that can't be substantiated...but then most of history can't be accurately substantiated...but the fact remains that occurrences that take place in this book are a part of our history...for better or for worse.

Defining Moments - Ben Burgess Jr.- (Washington D.C.)
Black and White series Book #1
4.5★
When the prestigious law firm of Wayne, Rothstein, and Lincoln catches two major cases--a rape case against a white NBA star who allegedly raped a black stripper, and a murder case against a black rapper who allegedly killed a gay couple and two policemen...Bill O'Neil and Ben Turner are tasked with handling these racially charged litigations.

The story shows that all things, no matter how cut and dry they might be or might seem, are not as black and white as we might assume. It tackles the truths, that people face every day, through the stories of two young attorneys. Fighting for a partnership in their law firm, the two are put on cases that seem impossible to win. Meet Ben. Ben is a man who has found his skin to be too black to find equality in his prominently white firm and too white for the black community. He is in charge of defending an infamous black rapper who is excused of killing a white gay couple and two police officers. He struggles with his own morals and prejudices while investigating this case, along with his own scars from his past. On top of all that, the evidence is overwhelming, clearly showing a racial hate crime. Yet even with his own prejudices and the pile of evidence he still can't rid this nagging feeling that his client may be innocent. Now we meet Bill...a white man who grew up poverty stricken, and faced his own prejudices because of the color of his skin. But in this firm of bigots his skin color gives him the upper hand. He is in charge of defending a white NBA star who has been charged with the rape of a black stripper. He knows in order to win this case he has to paint this woman as a gold digger looking to make a quick buck, using sex as a tool. But the evidence doesn't show that. This goes against everything in his moral code. He would be lying and stereotyping a woman because of her skin and job. He could never do this and face his girlfriend, who is a black police officer, and ask her to ever respect him again. This would be something Bill could never live with. The story can be scaled down to two facts. 1. When we let ourselves weigh all that we know or assume about any event, we may find that there are situations that can either make or break us...and 2....that there are really more things that unite us than divide us.

Survivor Song - Paul Tremblay - (Massachusetts)
2★
In a matter of weeks, Massachusetts has been overrun by an insidious rabies-like virus that is spread by saliva. But unlike rabies, the disease has a terrifyingly short incubation period of an hour or less. Those infected quickly lose their minds and are driven to bite and infect as many others as they can before they inevitably succumb. Hospitals are inundated with the sick and dying, and hysteria has taken hold. To try to limit its spread, the commonwealth is under quarantine and curfew. But society is breaking down and the government's emergency protocols are faltering. Dr. Ramola "Rams" Sherman, a soft-spoken pediatrician in her mid-thirties, receives a frantic phone call from Natalie, a friend who is eight months pregnant. Natalie's husband has been killed—viciously attacked by an infected neighbor—and in a failed attempt to save him, Natalie, too, was bitten. Natalie's only chance of survival is to get to a hospital as quickly as possible to receive a rabies vaccine. The clock is ticking for her and for her unborn child. Natalie’s fight for life becomes a desperate odyssey as she and Rams make their way through a hostile landscape filled with dangers beyond their worst nightmares—terrifying, strange, and sometimes deadly challenges that push them to the brink

I’m 99.9% sure that there are some readers out there that will devour this book. I hate to call it a “bad book”...but I have read so much better by this author. I actually checked to see that it was written by the same Paul Tremblay that I had read before. I just couldn’t feel any connection towards the characters or even for the story itself. People running around biting people was just a bit too much on the ridiculous side. Not that there probably aren’t some out there that would take great delight in participating in that activity, and there are some that I might also like to get in a nip or two:). October doesn't seem to be my month. This is the third book that I just couldn’t make any connection with. Good luck to whomever wishes to tackle this.

Every Vow You Break - Peter Swanson - 5 Stars

Abigail is wracked with guilt after a drunken one-night-stand with a stranger named Scottie during her bachelorette weekend, She debates on whether to confess this encounter to her wealthy fiance, Bruce, but ultimately decides against it. She's determined to put this mistake in the past but gets a bad feeling when Scottie approaches her the week before the wedding and wants her to cancel it to be with him. The wedding takes place and Abigail believes she has safely buried her indiscretion as they leave for their honeymoon on a technology-free lodge on an island off the coast of Maine.

There are only a few people staying at the lodge and only two other women. Abigail befriends Jill, another honeymooning bride. After drinking too much Jill confides that she also has a past affair she wants to keep secret from her new husband. It turns out her ex-boyfriend has now turned up as a guest at this ultra-exclusive lodge. But then, so has Scottie. When she arranges to meet Jill the next day, she doesn't show and now Abigail can't help feeling something is out of control.

This was just what I was looking for in a well crafted psychological thriller. Creepy gothic setting, well written characters, an intriguing plot, plenty of mystery and suspense and an ending that took me by surprise. If you are a fan of old movies, you might especially like this atmospheric mystery.

The Charm Offensive - Alison Cochrun
3.5★
Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show "Ever After". As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star. Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming Ever After expects. He doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. In front of the cameras, he’s a stiff, anxious mess with no idea how to date twenty women on national television. Behind the scenes, he’s cold, awkward, and emotionally closed-off. As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars. But even reality TV has a script, and in order to find to happily ever after, they’ll have to reconsider whose love story gets told.

I enjoyed seeing both the main characters figure out who they were and their journey to find happiness and health...and possibly love. It just took both of them time. Alison Cochran...a new author for me... created a world that is very current and relevant and gives us characters that you can't help but love. It’s a book that is entertaining, while also making you feel good and letting you feel like you are part of this messed up family. It tackles big topics …mental illness, identity and acceptance. There is a diverse cast of characters with so much diverse representation. If I had to come up with one word to describe the book I’d have to say “sweet". It was a little slow in places and could have used a little more “heat”. Not graphic sex...just a little more depth. It was also a lot like the book, The Love Study by Kris Ripper which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The Witches Familiar - T.J. Nichols - (Colorado)
Familiar Mates series Book #1
3★
He can hold lightning in his hand, but will love slip through his fingers? Jude Sullivan has one more chance to prove he isn't a danger to the paranormal community. If he fails, he'll be stripped of his magic, a painful process to make a witch human. As a test, the Coven sends him to Mercy South, Colorado, to stop a creature that's been mutilating cows and scaring the locals. Jude hates cows and small towns. The Coven should've sent a nature witch. Rob Mackenzie is the local mechanic and bear shifter. If the locals knew his secret, they'd run him out of town. He wants someone to really know him and not be afraid. With several chewed-up cows and some other weird happenings, he's wondering if he's no longer the strangest creature in Mercy .After meeting Mack, Jude thinks he's found the cause of the trouble. But the trouble is only just getting started when Mack realizes he's Jude's fated mate. As the cow-mutilating creature starts hunting in town, Mack and Jude will have to stop fighting their attraction and each other, to stop the creature from killing again.

I wasn't sure I wanted to read anything about “cow mutilating” or any other animal mutilating.... but what the heck? It’s Halloween season and maybe the cows were lucky enough to escape. The cows weren't the only ones with problems...our two main characters were destined to be together as mates...but someone in the “Destiny Office” must have been on vacation.... because they hated each other. One of them was in danger of losing his magical powers because...ready for this??? He uses his electrical abilities...his magical power... to rig a jackpot win in Vegas. That brings him to the Coven's chopping block???? Who’s going to take care of the cow slaughtering, cow chewing monster??? Coven 1, Cows 0. While the monster was devouring cows it should have put the editor and proofreader on the menu also. Oh wait...maybe it did and that was why the book was filled with miss-constructed sentences and misspelled words. I hate to see authors work hard on a book and have the people that should be looking out for their interest let them down like this. I gave the book 3 stars for the authors hard work and it wasn’t a totally bad idea. Oh yeah...the cows are safe now.

The Devil Went Down to Austin by Rick Riordan
4 ★
Tres Navarre, Ph.D., has taken a summer teaching job at the University of Texas at Austin. He plans to live with his brother Garrett, a computer wizard, while enjoying a laid-back academic term. But when Garrett's partner in a start-up company is murdered, Tres must switch from professor to detective.

Tres is a sometime PI who tries to help his brother who doesn’t want his help even though he’s the number one suspect. I really liked the Tres character. I liked the way he handled situations, and his somewhat sarcastic sense of humor, which made things more interesting than usual. The underwater diving scenes were pretty tense. Switching the story between Tres’s perspective and the unknown killer kept me guessing who he was. This is the first book I’ve read by Riordan but now I am looking forward to the next one.

Badlands - Morgan Brice
Badlands series Book #1

Medium and clairvoyant Simon Kincaide owns a Myrtle Beach boardwalk shop where he runs ghost tours, holds séances, and offers private psychic readings, making a fresh start after his abilities cost him his lover and his job. Jaded cop Vic D’Amato saw something supernatural during a shootout and reporting it nearly cost him his badge. He’s still skeptical about the paranormal. But when the search for a serial killer hits a dead end, Vic battles his skepticism to ask Simon for help. As the body count rises, Simon’s involvement makes him a target, and a suspect. But Simon can’t say no, even if it costs him his life and heart. Badlands is a thrill-packed urban fantasy MM paranormal romance with plenty of supernatural suspense, hurt/comfort, found family, ghosts, magic, a second chance at true love, spooky chills and sexy thrills!

Since this is my 350th book of this year and will complete the challenge on Goodreads, I thought I would end it with a reread of a favorite...a favorite series...a favorite author...and a sexy, hot favorite couple....Simon Kincaid and Vic D'Amata. I've have to confess that this is the third reread of this series and I have reread several of her other series as well. I am well assured that this won't be the last time for this one either. I can't seem to leave the guys for very long. Simon and Vic are perfect. Perfect in their chosen professions...perfect in their love for one another and perfect and comfortable in their own skins. Vic, the cop, and Simon the professor that was fired from the university in Columbia, South Carolina where he taught a class on folklore and mythology. A students rich, influential father made accusations to the board that he was teaching devil worship. Leaving the city behind he found himself in Myrle Beach running a shop that sells books, protection charms, gives physic readings, and leads ghost tours. He has many interesting friends that only add to the stories. In this opener...a serial killer with supernatural abilities is killing people with various levels of physic talents. Vic reluctantly brings Simon...who he had only just met... in as a consultant. This brings Vic and Simon together both on the job and then into one another's lives. I have read three of Morgan Brice's series...several times... and all of them are 5 star quality. She brings characters from all her other series into each of her books, so we get to always see our "old friends". I wish the books were longer, but there is that thing known as the "reread" that I have honed to an expert level.

Under The Whispering Door - T.J. Klune
5★

Welcome to Charon's Crossing. The tea is hot, the scones are fresh, and the dead are just passing through. When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead. And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead. But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days. Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home.

It’s a story about grief, a tale filled with love but also tinged with sadness. Even though the story is a somewhat tragic one...it’s still uplifting...and yes, it hurts at times...but it’s the very definition of the word “bittersweet”. We meet Wallace Price, a Scrooge-like character who starts out as a lawyer with no empathy and little concern for others. It’s not his life that will concern us... it’s his journey after his death that is the heart of the story. The plot in this story moves very slow...maybe too slow for some readers, but hang in there. You won’t be sorry. You’ll journey to the tea shop where these souls and we the readers, will gather to meet the owner, or the cosmic entity who enforces the rules of the afterlife. In short, it’s a story about grief...life, love and the human connection that will always live on as long as there remains someone that loved you and remembers you.

Séance On A Summer's Night - Josh Lanyon - (California)
5★
Theater critic Artemus Bancroft isn’t sure what to expect when his aunt summons him home to California with vague but urgent pleas about being unable to cope with “the situation. ”The situation turns out to be the apparent haunting of Green Lanterns Inn—along with alarming rumors that long-suffering Auntie Halcyone may have murdered her philandering husband. In fact, the rumors seem to have been started by the late Mr. Hyde himself—from beyond the grave.

Take a haunted mansion, complete with 25 bedrooms and a ballroom that is collecting dust. Add a revenge-seeking ghost. Sprinkle in a suspicious death and an evil secret. Garnish with a mysterious gardener... a sweet, elegant aunt and a crazy as a bat step-aunt. Toss in a couple of disgruntled servants...mix well with a huge dollop of a remarkably accurate psychic... and you have the makings of another excellent story by one of my favorite m/m romance writers, Josh Lanyon. Its a thoroughly enjoyable read, with a great crew of characters...but then I have never found one of Josh Lanyon's stories that wasn't...and I think I have read almost everything she has ever out on paper between two covers. The mysteries in her books are never so complex that you don't get it...but they do have the ability to make you want to read them again and again.

The Vanishing - Bentley Little - (California)
3★

In Beverly Hills, a wealthy CEO goes on a bloody rampage and videotapes the slaughter. He leaves behind a chilling cryptic message: “This is where it begins.” Miles away, an alarmed mother receives an unsettling letter from her estranged husband, stained with bloody fingerprints. And all across California, children are becoming affected by a monstrous change - and their parents by a mounting fear.

It's really two stories...each of which takes place in California. One is in the nineteenth century and the other is in the present. Both had the possibility to be compelling stories that were interwoven and intertwined...but a 100 years apart. As the connection between the two become clearer...the two stories should have melded into one. Unfortunately the combining attempt made the book a bit of a mess. I've always liked this authors scary books but this one didn't quiet make it. Overall...it wasn't Bentley Little's best by any means yet it was an interesting story...hence the 3 stars.

Indigo Slam - Robert Crais - (Washington)
Elvis Cole & Joe Pike series Book #7

Three years ago, a Seattle family ran for their lives in a hail of bullets. Hired by three kids to find their missing father, Elvis now must pick up the cold pieces of a drama that began that night. What he finds is a sordid tale of high crimes and illicit drugs. As clues to a man's secret life emerge from the shadows, Elvis knows he's not just up against ruthless mobsters and some very angry Feds. He's facing a storm of desperation and conspiracy -- bearing down on three children whose only crime was their survival.

I've read everything in this series and really liked them all...so when needing a book for a challenge I revisited them. Elvis and Joe are perfect investing partners and perfectly good friends. What should be a simple missing person case spirals out of control bringing in the Russian mafia with the Feds close on their heels. Staying alive is a struggle...saving three kids looks beyond even Cole's and the world's toughest guy, Joe Pike's abilities. Robert Crais's skill as a story teller plus two wonderful characters combine to make this a good, if not great. Elvis Cole entry. This one was written 25 years ago and it hasn't lost anything over the years.

A House at the Bottom of a Lake - Josh Malerman
3★
At seventeen years old, James and Amelia can feel the rest of their lives beginning. They have got this summer and this summer alone to experience the extraordinary. But they didn’t expect to find it in a house at the bottom of a lake. The house is cold and dark, but it’s also their own. Caution be damned, until being carefree becomes dangerous. For the teens must decide: swim deeper into the house...all the while falling deeper in love? Whatever they do, they will never be able to turn their backs on what they discovered together. And what they learned: Just because a house is empty, doesn’t mean nobody’s home.

While on a canoe date James and Amelia couldn’t believe their eyes when they see the house...at the bottom of the lake. They know that there's no way a house could survive being under water for any length of time and especially not remain intact. But there it is...bigger than life and ready to be explored. I’ve read other books by this author and one of his many talents is that he can make you believe that the unbelievable is not only possible, but completely probable. Although there are some things that I didn’t quite understand...I found the story spellbinding. The ending was a problem. There just seemed that there were so many ways the author could have ramped up the tension and cemented the story and the young lovers together. The hole in the ending was the main reason that I didn’t understand it …and why the book only received 3 stars. A better ending, or a better explained ending...would have diffidently earned it 5 stars. I bet this is one book that many many readers are going to offer their opinions on...so maybe that was Josh Malerman’s intentions all along.

Pretty Pretty Boys- Gregory Ashe - (Missouri)
Hazard and Somerset series Book #1
3★
After Emery Hazard loses his job as a detective in Saint Louis, he heads back to his hometown--and to the local police force there. Home, though, brings no happy memories, and the ghosts of old pain are very much alive in Wahredua. Hazard’s new partner, John-Henry Somerset, had been one of the worst tormentors, and Hazard still wonders what Somerset’s role was in the death of Jeff Langham, Hazard’s first boyfriend.When a severely burned body is discovered, Hazard finds himself drawn deeper into the case than he expects. Determining the identity of the dead man proves impossible, and solving the murder grows more and more unlikely. But as the city’s only gay police officer, Hazard is placed at the center of a growing battle between powerful political forces. To his surprise, Hazard finds an unlikely ally in his partner, the former bully. And as they spend more time together, something starts to happen between them, something that Hazard can’t--and doesn’t want--to explain. The discovery of a second mutilated corpse, though, reveals clues that the two murders are linked, and as Hazard gets closer to answers, he uncovers a conspiracy of murder and betrayal that goes deeper--and closer to home--than he could ever expect.

I have some good feelings and a few other kinds about this one. The writing was good and the idea behind the story was intriguing and should have come together...but somehow it lack something. The two guys were attracted to one another but their history with one another was just plain nasty...and not in a sexy or any kind of good way. Neither of them had an emotional thought in their heads and they didn't know at all how to handle the stress their relationship was producing. On the good side the crime part is very good. An unidentified skeleton at a burned-out trailer is the first victim, and there are few clues to go on. It's a good police procedural also and the dual points of view give us interesting insights, with each man having very different methods of figuring things out. Gregory Ashe expertly doles out the clues bit by bit and there are plenty of interesting twists. The killer is fairly easy to figure out in just a few pages and before the detectives do.

The Remaking of Corbin Wale - Roan Parrish - (Michigan)
5★
Last month, Alex Barrow’s whole life imploded...partner, home, job, all gone in forty-eight hours. But sometimes when everything falls apart, better things appear almost like magic. Now, he’s back in his Michigan hometown, finally opening the bakery he’s always dreamed of. But the pleasure of opening day is nothing compared to the lonely and beautiful man who bewitches Alex before he even orders.Corbin Wale is a weirdo. At least, that’s what he’s heard his whole life. He knows he’s often in a fantasy world, but the things he feels are very real. And so is the reason why he can never, ever be with Alex Barrow. Even if Alex is everything he’s always fantasized about. Even if maybe, just maybe, Corbin is Alex’s fantasy too. When Corbin begins working at the bakery, he and Alex can’t deny their connection any longer. As the holiday season works its magic, Alex yearns for the man who seems out of reach. But to be with Alex, Corbin will have to challenge every truth he’s ever known. If his holiday risk pays off, two men from different worlds will get the love they’ve always longed for.

It’s an interesting story with a very unique main character. Corbin is in his head nearly all the time. What started out as a survival/defense mechanism gradually became his way of life. The reader will soon learn that Corbin’s life so far has been one giant disaster, so it's no wonder he lives inside himself. No one has ever taken the time, or the interest, to pull Corbin out of his self-made prison. As far as Corbin is concerned, he is either all or nothing. Then along comes Alex. You have got to like this guy. He cares, and sees, a side of Corbin that no one, including Corbin himself...has ever seen. This story is unlike most of Roan Parrish’s books. It’s a very cerebral m/m romance. It’s not a light, or fast read. Not dark by any means... just complex with a very slow burn. Corbin is like a wounded baby animal. I wasn’t sure at first what Alex saw in him other than the need to protect him. They didn’t feel like equals in age or mental acuteness. Corbin isn’t dumb by any means...but he’s definitely stunted emotionally in many ways...so I found myself holding my breath hoping that Alex was sincere in his attraction and wasn’t going to hurt him any more than he already was. I loved this story. Better Than People is another of this author’s books with an emotional challenged main character that she portrays beautifully, just as she has Corbin. As you may have figured out...I am a huge fan of Roan Parrish...so I wasn’t too surprised that it was a 5-star read like her other books.

Dark Rivers - Morgan Brice (reread)
Witchbane series Book #3
5★
Seth Tanner and Evan Malone are learning to navigate their new partnership—as lovers and as monster hunters—while hot on the trail of a coven of dark warlocks. Seth has never been in love like this before, consumed by white-hot passion and willing to risk his life to protect Evan. His quest to avenge his brother’s murder used to be an obsession, one he was willing to die for. Now, Seth worries that his reckless pursuit of vengeance might get Evan—or both of them—killed. But he can’t walk away—the witches’ century-long killing spree has to stop. Seth prays that both he and Evan make it alive and together to the finish line, when the fight is done. Evan’s normal world turned upside-down the night a dangerous stranger rescued him from being sacrificed in a bloody ritual. Now he knows that magic and monsters are real, legends and lore are true, and fighting for his life has become an everyday event. He’s learned to hold his own. But when a vengeful ex-lover stalks him while they’re on a case, Evan has to confront his past and confess an ugly truth. His love for Seth had been strong enough to get them this far, but he fears that the stalker or the warlock could tear them apart forever. If the skills they possess aren’t enough to protect them and their bond can’t keep them together, the ancient evil will remain unchallenged, and more people will die.

I can't believe I didn't review this book the first time I read it. This is reread #3 or it could be #4...who knows:) I love everything about this series...actually I love ALL Morgan Brice's series. The monster hunting and of course the romance are a big plus. Both the lead men are strong but they are also vulnerable in their own ways. Every book we meet some new characters and get further into the "Hunter" community as Seth and Evan make some new friends. Another great thing about these books is that the characters from the other series are frequent visitors...so we never loose contact with them...but they don't over-shadow the new book. I look forward to many more by this author. If you have not read one one of her other series... "Badlands"...consider going there after you finish the 5th book of this series. Of course I'll be anxiously awaiting Book #6. (NOTE: LibraryThing and Amazon show this as being book #2 but it is actually #3 if you are reading the series in order. Burn- Witchbane series is a novella but it is #2 in the series.)

In The Dark - Loreth Anne White - (Canada – British Columbia)
4.5★
A secluded mountain lodge. The perfect getaway. So remote no one will ever find you. The promise of a luxury vacation at a secluded wilderness spa has brought together eight lucky guests. But nothing is what they were led to believe. As a fierce storm barrels down and all contact with the outside is cut off, the guests fear that it’s not a getaway. It’s a trap. Each one has a secret. Each one has something to hide. And now, as darkness closes in, they all have something to fear―including one another. Alerted to the vanished party of strangers, homicide cop Mason Deniaud and search and rescue expert Callie Sutton must brave the brutal elements of the mountains to find them. But even Mason and Callie have no idea how precious time is. Because the clock is ticking, and one by one, the guests of Forest Shadow Lodge are being hunted. For them, surviving becomes part of a diabolical game

Eight lucky guests have been promised a vacation at a fabulous spa located in the wilderness. After they arrive it soon becomes obvious that they were lured there under false pretenses. And now they must worry about their lives because it looks like somebody wants to pick them off, one by one. The story alternates between the past in which the murders are taking place as well as the present when we find out someone is alive and homicide cop Mason Deniaud and search and rescue expert Callie Sutton are trying to figure out what happened. The author gives interesting backstories to both Mason and Callie making them the most developed characters in the book. It’s bit tricky at first to keep track of all the guests as the story bounces around from each of the characters but because the list keeps getting shorter as more them die it does become easier t keep the characters straight. I read a lot of mysteries and I have to say that I was very impressed with this one. This is not a romance/suspense thriller. This is thriller all the way and should appeal to all fans of the genre.

The Saturday Night Ghost Club - Craig Davidson - (Canada)
4★
Growing up in 1980s Niagara Falls - a seedy but magical, slightly haunted place - Jake Baker spends most of his time with his uncle Calvin, a kind but eccentric enthusiast of occult artifacts and conspiracy theories. The summer Jake turns twelve, he befriends a pair of siblings new to town, and so Calvin decides to initiate them all into the "Saturday Night Ghost Club." But as the summer goes on, what begins as a seemingly light-hearted project may ultimately uncover more than any of its members had imagined. With the alternating warmth and sadness of the best coming-of-age stories

I picked this book up for my Halloween ghost stories fix. The cover and title made it seem like a cute little story kids and their "Ghost Club", to get in the Halloween spirit. However, it turns out the story really isn't about the kids and their "Saturday Night Ghost Club", but about the tellers' quirky uncle, and his struggle with mental illness. I really did enjoy the story, and would certainly recommend it. It's certainly worth your time to pursue...but if you're looking for a story about the kids and their "Ghost Club", the title and description are a little misleading.

The Haunting of Leigh Harker - Darcey Coates - (Canada)
4★
Sometimes the dead do come back Leigh Harker's quiet suburban home was her sanctuary for more than a decade, until things abruptly changed. Curtains open by themselves. Radios turn off and on. And a dark figure loom in the shadows of her bedroom door at night, watching her, waiting for her to finally let down her guard enough to fall asleep. Pushed to her limits but unwilling to abandon her home, Leigh struggles to find answers. But each step forces her towards something more terrifying than she ever imagined. A poisonous shadow seeps from the locked door beneath the stairs. The handle rattles through the night and fingernails scratch at the wood. Her home harbors dangerous secrets, and now that Leigh is trapped within its walls, she fears she may never escape. Do you think you're safe? You're wrong.

The story is absolutely beautiful even if it is in a tragic way. A classic take on a gothic horror novel that moves at a fast pace. Darcey Coates is an expert at this type of story and has created an atmosphere that draws you in from the moment you start reading. You can feel Leigh’s emotions...her terror...her anger...and most of all, her sadness. She struggles to make sense of what is happening to her and her struggles will haunt you long after the covers are closed. I have read everything this author has ever written and if you are a “ghost story junkie” like me...you will love every single one of them.

An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed - Helene Tursten - (Sweden)
Elderly Lady series Book #2
3★
Don’t let her age fool you. Maud may be nearly ninety, but if you cross her, this elderly lady is more sinister than sweet. Just when things have finally cooled down for 88-year-old Maud after the disturbing discovery of a dead body in her apartment in Gothenburg, a couple of detectives return to her doorstep. Though Maud dodges their questions with the skill of an Olympic gymnast a fifth of her age, she wonders if suspicion has fallen on her, little old lady that she is. The truth is, ever since Maud was a girl, death has seemed to follow her. In these six interlocking stories, memories of unfortunate incidents from Maud’s past keep bubbling to the surface. Meanwhile, certain Problems in the present require immediate attention. Luckily, Maud is no stranger to taking matters into her own hands . . . even if it means she has to get a little blood on them in the process.

The first book in this series is entitled An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good and it really should be read first to get to know this lady. Both books feature an 88 year old Gothenburg woman, who has a mysterious past. People close to her keep dying and local police officer Irene Huss has centered her interest on this elderly lady. This spirited senior citizen solves problems in her own way - permanently. In the first book she took on the Swedish police but in this one the South African police get to find out that they have a lot to learn and have lost before they even get started. Maud lives alone and has a penchant for using her age as a barrier to doing anything she doesn't want to do, like...talking to the detectives about a dead man found in her apartment who had been there for several days before being noticed. (Is that even possible?) When questioned by them, she immediately acts confused...saying that she has forgotten where her hearing aids were (they were fake anyway). She wonders if the detectives suspect she had something to do with the man's death. Heaven help them if the do. Death has always seemed to follow Maud, as the stories in this novella will show. There are 6 interlocking stories, featuring Maud's memories of her past, as well as something from the here and now that needs to be dealt with. The book is getting a reluctant 3 star rating, but the first book should have really been an only child.

Dead To Me - Annie Anderson - (New York)
Grave Talker series Book #1
4★
Seeing dead people and solving their murders is Darby Adler's bread and butter. What's not on the menu? A nosy Fed poking around her crime scenes who seems to know a hell of a lot more than he's saying--especially about the ghosts surrounding Darby and the murderer who's desperate for her attention

Picked up the book by mistake... but it's a mistake I was more than happy to have made. The story grabbed my attention right from the start with Darby’s sense of humor and wit. I was immediately invested and the more I read, the more drawn in I became. Darby’s supernatural abilities and the circumstances surrounding the murder were intriguing. The deeper the reader goes, the more they uncover. When you add in the fascinating Bishop LaRue you have a concrete story that you just know you are going to want more of. Annie Anderson creates an exciting read with a great mix of humor and mystery. Her characters are complex and bold and I know that we’ve only just begun to scratch the surface. I can’t wait to find the next one and learn more about these characters. This was a fantastic first installment in a great new series with a great deal of promise.

Deadly Curiosities - Gail Z. Martin - (South Carolina)
Deadly Curiosities series Book #1
2.5★
Welcome to Trifles & Folly, a store with a dark secret. Proprietor Cassidy Kincaide continues a family tradition begun in 1670... acquiring and neutralizing dangerous supernatural items. It’s the perfect job for Cassidy, whose psychic gift lets her touch an object and know its history. Together with her business partner Sorren, a 600-year-old vampire and former jewel thief, Cassidy makes it her business to get infernal objects off the market. When a trip to a haunted hotel unearths a statue steeped in malevolent power, and a string of murders draws a trail to the abandoned old Navy yard, Cassidy and Sorren discover a diabolical plot to unleash a supernatural onslaught on their city. It’s time for Kincaide and her team to get rid of these “Deadly Curiosities” before the bodies start piling up

I am a huge fan of several of this writer's other series...Witchbane. Badlands...and Treasure Trail which I have reread numerous times and she writes under the name of Morgan Brice. In the last Witchbane book Cassidy Kincaide and her team helped the characters from Witchbane with a hunt that they were on. Seems that she is the cousin of one of the hunters in Witchbane and she has also given advice to the characters of Badlands and Treasure Trail. It’s what I love about this author’s works...she never lets our favorite people disappear. For some reason I hadn’t read any of this series until I spent time in her shop with the two guys from Witchbane. I decided then that I had to know more about Cassidy and Teag and Sorren. I liked the characters when they were in the series above, but to my surprise I couldn’t get into this series. In all fairness I may try it again when I can get the book instead of the audio book. The reader either has a terrible southern accent, or is trying to too hard to come across as “southern”. I’m not prejudice...I’m from the south... but this didn’t do anything to help the story at all. Actually it was a big turn off.

Red-Headed Stepchild - Jaye Wells (California)
Sabina Kane series Book #1
2★
In a world where being of mixed-blood is a major liability, Sabina doesn't really fit in. And being an assassin - the only profession fit for an outcast - doesn't help matters. But she's never brought her work home. Until now. Her latest mission is uncomfortably complex, and threatens the fragile peace between the vampire and mage races. As Sabina scrambles to figure out which side she's on, she uncovers a tangled political web, some nasty facts about her family and some unexpected new talents. Any of these things could be worryingly life-changing, but together, they could be fatal.

Some characters needed a bit of work. I wasn't really convinced by Adam Lazarus, the mage, who seemed put in there to add some sort of romantic element and Clovis wasn't really much of a villain. The addition of Vinca, the fun-loving nymph, confused me a little at first. Her interactions with Sabina were too cozy and did not fit into the world of the novel created beforehand. I think I should give up on these magic creature books.. especially by authors that I'm not at all familiar with. The author throws way to much nonsense into the plot...forbidden love...tragic deaths...orphaned child...supernatural warfare...and the potential for a love interest in her stalker... and if you can believe it, a demon side kick the guise of a hairless cat that tries repeatedly to kill her...and a reformed porn fairy. It was exhausting trying to keep up with this bumbling bunch.

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
3.5 ★

Perveen Mistry has just joined her father's law firm, becoming one of the first female lawyers in India in the 1920s. Mistry Law has been appointed to execute the will of Mr. Omar Farid, who has left three widows behind. But as Perveen is going through the paperwork, she notices something strange: all three of the wives have signed over their full inheritance to a charity. The Farid widows live in full purdah--in strict seclusion, never leaving the women's quarters or speaking to any men. Perveen tries to investigate, and realizes her instincts about the will were correct when tensions escalate to murder.

It was interesting, and sometimes disturbing, to read about the cultural differences and legal restrictions for women at that time. Perveen was a likeable character who took chances sometimes when getting involved to help someone. This was a solid mystery and I enjoyed it.

Witchy Whiskers - Danielle Garrett
Nine Lives Magic Mystery series Book #1
4.5★
Have you ever wished your cat could talk to you? If so, allow my story to be your cautionary tale. My life was going just fine by most standards. I ran a successful business in a tight-knit magical community, and lived just blocks from a beautiful lake and series of hiking trails. Then Selene showed up. According to some magical code I inherit my aunt’s ancient familiar; a grumpy ten-pound cat with a broken filter. She fancies herself something of a saber-toothed tiger, and claims to have wrestled the thread of her ninth life from the hands of the Fates themselves — although, I’m pretty sure that last part isn’t true. Almost positive. I’m still looking into the magical fine print, but in the meantime I’m stuck as the guardian to a cat with the personality of Sophia from the Golden Girls. Oh, and by another cruel twist of fate, my ex-husband just moved back into town. I thought I couldn’t take any more, but when a murder rocks my small community, I wind up entangled in the investigation thanks to a handsome stranger. If only life came equipped with a rewind button.

I won this book from a reading challenge from my library. Free book? You bet I'll take it! I loved the idea of the talking cat before I even opened the book. After all I was owned by various cats in my lifetime...the last ownership lasted 19 years...I am absolutely positive that my Margie could not only talk but she was choosey in the human's that she did this with...throughout her long, luxurious life...I was the only one that she deemed worthy of communicating with. Back to Selena...she really is more rude than snarky, but as I read on I could understand why. Cora...the human...runs a magical candle shop in a town that's mostly magic but has human tourists. She's temporarily taking care of her aunt's familiar, Selene, a cat with a major attitude problem. Who could blame her for that. The aunt took off without any notice whatsoever and we find out that Selene is a grumpy old lady cat that is on her last life. Cora and Selena are barely putting up with each other...Selena wonders "why she didn't just learn to use a can-opener ???... then a murder happens and the weapon just happens to have come from Cora's shop. Just for fun lets throw in an ex-husband who doesn't understand the "ex" part yet...and a potential new boyfriend who just might be the murderer. The mystery and characters are so very well drawn. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson
3.5 ★

Abigail has a drunken one-night stand on her bachelorette weekend. She puts the incident out of her mind, and now believes she wants to be with Bruce for the rest of her life. Their honeymoon on a luxurious, secluded island will be the beginning of their blissful lives together. Then the mysterious stranger suddenly appears—and Abigail’s future life and happiness are turned upside down.

I liked the premise of the story. I was really drawn in during the first half of the book, trying to figure out who to believe. But then the story became far-fetched and a bit disappointing for me. Sill there was good suspense throughout and it kept my interest.

Alien Captive - Tina Moss
Earth Brides & Alien Warrior series Book #1
3.5★
All I’ve wanted since my abduction from Earth’s first long-range space flight is freedom from my alien captives. But when I’m sold off to a Rhonar warrior, I learn I'm not the only one enslaved on this hellish planet, and survival comes at a cost. The dominant alpha alien they call Xelan may be my new master, but his fair dealings—and devilishly sexy charms—give me hope for the future. If I can strike an agreement with the battle-scarred warrior, perhaps together we can change the destiny of those bound in chains. And if I can’t—well, I haven’t backed down from a fight yet. However, as enemies line up to destroy the alien warriors and subjugate the galaxy, I discover that the universe has a sense of humor. Fated mates are real. And Xelan declares me his. How can I attain my freedom if I’m tied to another being? Even if his possessive growls and single-minded attention ignite my desires in ways I’ve only dreamed, I cannot be his. But how long can I fight the pull of a mating bond before I lose my head—and my heart—to the heat burning between us? Only the stars know.

I have to admit that I probably wasn’t the right reviewer for this book. It’s not a genre that I would have paid money for but I thought I would give it a try because the character of Xelan sounded...well no other word for it folks...he was ...HOT. Ana wanting her freedom from him showed just how much space radiation her little brain had absorbed. I know that romances of any genre are not usually “Jane Austen” material...(thank God...I hate Jane Austen} … or “high-class” literature. What they can be, and usually are...is a heck of lot fun and almost always entertaining on some level. All this said...I sat back to enjoy the story... and Xelan:) Now we come to Ana, our main character gal. I simply didn’t like her. I can’t imagine any one taking her to the closest city on Planet Earth let alone the next outer galaxy. Seems the main reason she elects to go to space is because...by her own words... “brave and wants new experiences.” Hijinks quickly ensue and she ends up crossing paths with our HOT main dude...Xelan. He's kind of a baddie in a good way. Or maybe I was just totally “smitten". He enjoys freeing slaves so yeah, we like Xelan...a LOT. Unfortunately, I just didn't care much for the writing. I know this is book #1 and I am tempted to try book #2 whenever it comes out...especially if Xelan is in it. The jarring flashbacks and info dumps were okay...but what really got me was the alien language. You know we couldn’t have aliens' named Jim, Jack or George but you could tell Ms. Moss had a really great time coming up with the most alien of alien names she could think of. It is absolutely NOT a bad book by any means. Dyed in the wool space adventure lovers will really, really like it. People that will read novels with any promise of romance in it at all will be a little critical depending on the sexual orientation and the species of the characters that they want to read about being romantic with each other or any other object of their affection...but those that have no problem putting their imaginations into overdrive???...they’ll be camped out on the sidewalk at the bookstore/library for the next installment.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from City Owl Press in exchange for an honest opinion. The views expressed by this reviewer are entirely my own.

soooo, I've been gone a long time. Haven't been reading a lot lately, and definitely not doing any reviews, but.....

I finished Gods of Gotham last week. It had been on my TBR pile for several years. Glad I finally got to it. 4.5 stars. I love historical mysteries, and this one's a winner. Lyndsay Faye truly brought NYC of 1846 to life for me. The beginning of the police department, the politics of the day, the anti-Irish sentiment....and an interesting mystery to boot. I liked it so much I'm now reading book 2 Seven for a Secret.

Spells, Salt & Steel – Season One - Gail Z. Martin & Larry Martin - (Pennsylvania)
3★
“When all else fails, the ass end of a carp makes a damn fine weapon.” Your new favorite monster hunter has arrived! Bubba the Monster Hunter has some competition in this horror comedy collection from best-selling author duo Gail Z. & Larry N. Martin! By day, Marck Wojcik can be found elbow-deep in engine grease, making cars and trucks safe for the highway. By night, he can be found traipsing through the wilds of Pennsylvania, making the world safe for humans. He’s more than just a mechanic, he’s a New Templar Knight. He travels the backroads and byways fighting weresquonks, ningen, selkies, ghosts, and…gnomes? Is that gnome…naked? (sigh). Season One collects the first four novellas in the Spells, Salt, & Steel series – Spells, Salt, & Steel, Open Season, Deep Trouble, Close Encounters

Mark Wojcik...who I first met in the “Witchbane” and “Badlands" series... is a mechanic by day and monster/ghost/paranormal mystery solver by calling. He doesn’t get paid to get rid of ghosts or monsters but it’s a huge part of his life. The 4 stories are broken into pieces by monster or event but are connected overall. There are recurring characters...so if you didn’t turn the page and go into another story you could think that Mark is just chasing another monster. The story of the Sentient painting was a little creepy. Everyone has seen those paintings where the eyes seem to follow you around the room. a little difference her is that the painted characters actually turn to face out to look at you. There is some humor throughout... some situational...some in the monsters themselves. The repetitive butchering of his last name sometimes gets a little old, but is explained by the fact this is 4 books combined like a TV series into a single season. I don’t think it really matters which book or season you start with as background for Mark and what he does and has done, is well explained in each story. At the end there is a cliffhanger on the last monster hunt. Overall, it can be called intriguing and entertaining. Not quite on the true horror level... but fans of Gail Z. Martin, will add these stories to their ‘to read” list. If you, like me, are mostly a fan of her writing as Morgan Brice will find that these stories are quite a bit different than her series written under that name. Even though Mark makes some appearances in those books, the atmosphere and the characters are very different.

Jack & Jill- Kealan Patrick Burke
4.5★
When they were kids, Gillian and John used to visit the local cemetery every Sunday after church. It was a curious place for children to frequent, but they had their reasons. The main attraction was the lofty hill that separated the cemetery from the elementary school, and the act of tumbling down it like Jack and Jill was a ritualistic escape from the abuse they were suffering at their father's hands. It was an escape that lasted only until John's tragic death. Now, Gillian is all grown up. Married with two children, she has managed over the years to force the trauma of her nightmarish childhood into the darkest recesses of her mind. But lately there are dreams, and in them Gillian sees impossibly vivid reenactments of the horrors she endured as a child. Nightly, she sees John die all over again, only not in the way she remembers. And something else is in those dreams, stalking her, a terrible figure with wire-hanger hands and a plastic bag wrapped around its rotten face. A monster whose reach starts to extend beyond the boundaries of sleep into the waking world, threatening everything Gillian holds dear. A monster she once called Daddy.

It's only 104 pages. But WHAT horror is crammed into that small amount of pages. To say this story got to me would be an understatement. Kealan Burke has easily easily earned himself a place on my list of favorite authors. This story is horrifying and chilling in so many ways. The story is told from the perspective of Gillian, our "Jill" .."jack" was her little brother John who died. Even as an adult and mother Gillian sufferers from PTSD and has nightmares that see more real to than the everyday reality. The monster that haunted her childhood is a constant terror, and with her mind set on blaming the "monster", Gillian sets out to try and fix things. Things escalate quickly, and we see the damage mental illness and childhood trauma can cause. The only fault I have with this novella is that the ending seemed too sudden...but it doesn't negatively affect the overall plot at all.