2 Bloggers 1 Series - The Invisible Library

 

So after skipping a month, because apparently our TBRs were bigger than our ability to read said TBR, Stormi and I are back and starting a new series.  Both of us had read the first installment a few years back and always wanted to continue so we decided to take the plunge.  Read on for my thoughts and then hop over to  Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! and see Stormi's thoughts.

TITLE: The Invisible Library (Invisible Library #1)

AUTHOR: Genevieve Cogman

PUBLISHER: Tor

PUBLISHING DATE: January 15, 2015

FROM GOODREADS: 

 Irene must be at the top of her game or she'll be off the case - permanently...  

Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, which harvests fiction from different realities. And along with her enigmatic assistant Kai, she's posted to an alternative London. Their mission - to retrieve a dangerous book. But when they arrive, it's already been stolen. London's underground factions seem prepared to fight to the very death to find her book. 

Adding to the jeopardy, this world is chaos-infested - the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic. Irene's new assistant is also hiding secrets of his own. 

Soon, she's up to her eyebrows in a heady mix of danger, clues and secret societies. Yet failure is not an option - the nature of reality itself is at stake. 

MY THOUGHTS: I vaguely remembered this once I started it and it's really no shock that the main things that stuck in my mind were cyborg alligators and Irene's partner-in-training, Kai.  I didn't remember Kai's true nature early on but once I did, I loved him even more than the first time and I'm even more anxious to see where the series heads.  

This book is slow to start but eventually the action and intrigue picks up and I found it hard to put down.  Irene is a strong female character who isn't afraid to speak her mind and I consider the series great for people who love the Veronica Speedwell or Parasol Protectorate books. And the fact that the series revolves around books, libraries, supernatural beings and secret societies means it checks all the right boxes for me.

Instead of rehashing everything, I'm just going to add my original review below.  I will admit that I initially gave this book a 5/5 rating and this time around, I'm bumping it to 4/5.  I think that despite still loving it, I've just read so much more in the past 5 years that make me reconsider my first-time rating.  That being said, I'm really excited to move on the The Masked City.

RATING: 4 PAWS

REVIEW FROM JUNE 2016: I have seen a few mixed reviews about "The Invisible Library" and for a while, I was seriously questioning what I had signed up for when I requested it for review. However, all I can say is to each his own and I am so glad I gave this book a chance. I loved it! The people, the setting, the action, the mystery. I seriously found that it was one of those books where I knew 6 pages in that I was going to enjoy it tremendously.

Irene works for the mysterious "Invisible Library" and has committed her whole life to time jumping and traveling to various worlds to collect certain manuscripts, novels, etc. which can then be housed and kept safely in the main library. These books are important to literature, history and various other aspects, and should not fall into the wrong hands. Toward the beginning of the book, Irene is assigned a new mission and learns she now must train a new librarian, Kai. The mission they are sent off on is set in alternate London and they are basically looking for a book of Grimm fairy tales. Kai has been working inside the library for 5 years and is anxious to get out into the field. Also, not only is he described basically as very easy on the eyes, Kai has some secrets of his own. Needless to say, there are some others seeking this book as well which makes for a crazy, dangerous, action-packed excursion.

There are so many interesting aspects to this book that honestly, it could have been easily to have become overwhelmed. Except it was so interesting and engaging, that didn't happen. There are spies, detectives, and thieves as well as vampires, werewolves, fae, dragons, zeppelins, and even cyborg alligators....yes I said cyborg alligators. I really don't know how Cogman came up with it all. I was never once bored while reading "The Invisible Library" and now I can't wait until the next book in the series is released.

This book did remind me of some others I have read in the past year, but not in a redundant or bad way. I was sort of reminded of Rachel Caine's "Ink and Bone" and Brenda Drake's "Thief of Lies." Also, probably because of its historical setting, the book was also reminiscent of Deanna Raybourne's "A Curious Beginning" which I loved as well. If you enjoyed any of those books, "The Invisible Library" is a must-read for you.

What's Happening (11-29-20)

 

So I'm doing things a tad bit differently this year and will be combining all of my regular weekend posts.  This will enable me to add more content on Fridays and it is just starting to make more sense.  I'll still be linking up with Stacking the Shelves at Tynga's Reviews and Sunday Post at Caffeinated Reviewer.  Both blogs are awesome so make sure you check them out.

It's been a few weeks and as much as I try to do this weekly, I'm failing at life.  Just kidding.  Things have just been really busy.  First and foremost, Cassius celebrated his 7th Birthday on November 22nd.  He had a blast and I can't believe my baby is 7!

Next up Mr. Barb and I celebrated our anniversary the very next day.  He got some some gorgeous roses and some jewelry as well as paid for my haircut (complete with safety mask and all ).  He also made a wonderful dinner and bought a new microwave for our kitchen.  Then of course we had Thanksgiving.  It was just us and the dogs as Stupid Uncle stepped up and did something with Gpa and Mom's boyfriend moved in with her a few months back so they had a low-key one at home because of COVID and all that jazz.  I think everyone had a great time no matter where they were and we hope you did too!

In COVID news, Mr. Barb's stupid employer made a bad decision and exposed his staff to some inmates with COVID.  Mr. Barb is always safe but he was tested and as a precaution, I was too.  Everything came back okay though thank Heavens.

The library is ALMOST done.  I will do pictures next week as long as my main focal picture arrives.  Any guesses?  I love it and it's such a nice place to kick back and relax now and the boys love it - they even have a new dog bed in there as well.

We've actually watched some decent things.  "Run" with Sarah Paulson on HULU was really good and she plays bad guys so well.  We also enjoyed "Let Him Go" with Kevin Costner and Diane Lane.  Costner plays cowboys really well.  And finally we watched "Don't Listen," a new foreign horror film on Netflix. I highly recommend it.

I've been blessed with some really interesting ARCs.  Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers!

Luna Howls at the Moon

Black River Latern

Paws for Love

Day Zero

An Unexpected Peril

Much Ado About You

To Fetch a Felon

Whisper Down the Lane

Next week I'll share some library books with you.  Hope you all are staying safe and are having a joyous holiday season.

This May Be Why I Never Attended Camp

 

TITLE: Camp Murderface

AUTHOR: Josh Berk and Saundra Mitchell

PUBLISHER: HarperCollins

PUBLISHING DATE: May 26, 2020

FROM GOODREADS: 

 Summer camp turns sinister in Camp Murderface, a spooky middle grade read perfect for fans of scare masters like R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike. 

The year: 1983. The place: Ohio. The camp: Scary as heck. 

Camp Sweetwater is finally reopening, three decades after it mysteriously shut down. Campers Corryn Quinn and Tez Jones have each had more than enough of their regular lives - they’re so ready to take their summer at Sweetwater by storm. 

But before they can so much as toast one marshmallow, strange happenings start... happening. Can they survive the summer? Or will Camp Sweetwater shut down for good this time - with them inside? . 

MY THOUGHTS: It's 1983 and Camp Sweetwater in Ohio is reopening after being shut down for over 20 years.  Both Corryn and Tez meet on the bus ride into camp and it's clear that they are going to become best of friends.  Both are escaping issues at home - Corryn is sure she is being sent to camp because her parents are getting a divorce and Tez suffers from Marfan Syndrome and just wants to be seen as an ordinary kid.  

Soon after their arrival, mysterious things start to happen.  Corryn and Tez start to investigate and learn that 20 years ago, three girls disappeared.  Are the activities occurring, including some life threatening one, connected to what happened so many years ago?  And can Corryn and Tez get to the bottom of it before anyone else gets hurt.

This book was just so much fun and if you have middle grade kids in your life, or just need a fun MG yourself, then you need to look for this book.  The mystery is fun and really reminded me of the Scooby Doo gang, minus a cute dog though.  And Corryn and Tez are a great juxtaposition of each other.  Both are smart kids but Tex is book smart where Corryn is more practical knowledge/common sense smart.  And Corryn has such a great wit and snarky attitude meaning I was meant to immediately love her.  This book is told in alternating chapters and it shows how a true friendship can develop during even the worst of circumstances.  I only went to band camp once and it was pure hell.  Looking back maybe I should just be glad nothing tried to kill me!

Also, it seems liked at the end a sequel could be in the works and I can't wait!

RATING: 4 PAWS

Can't Wait Wednesday (299)

 

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

FROM GOODREADS: Merit Cravan refused to fulfill her obligation to marry a prince, leading to a fairy godling's curse. She will be forced to live as a beast forever, unless she agrees to marry a man of her mother's choosing before her eighteenth birthday.

Tevin Dumont has always been a pawn in his family's cons. The prettiest boy in a big family, his job is to tempt naïve rich girls to abandon their engagements, unless their parents agree to pay him off. But after his mother runs afoul of the beast, she decides to trade Tevin for her own freedom.

Now, Tevin and Merit have agreed that he can pay off his mother's debt by using his con-artist skills to help Merit find the best match . . . but what if the best match is Tevin himself? 

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  I'm a sucker for a Beauty and the Beast retelling so sign me up.  

CASSIUS'S PICK:

FROM GOODREADS: The award-winning author of A Dog Like Daisy returns with a moving middle grade novel from the point of view of Luna, a Labrador therapy dog who accompanies her group therapy kids when they set off on an adventure across Austin, Texas.

Luna has always wanted to be a therapy dog at Therapy Dogs Worldwide. Now she’s a whisker away from reaching her fifty-visit pin that will make it official. But when her “clients”—the children who visit her—are put into a therapy group, Luna’s routine is upended.

Like the moon, Luna shows different faces at different times. And her clients each have different needs—Beatrice is tangled in knots of anger, Caleb rushes like a waterfall, Amelia carries fear heavy like a shadow, and Hector is quiet as a rock. To comfort the kids, Luna can be what they need her to be, but can she be everything to them all at once?

When Hector doesn’t show up to a session one day, the kids set off on an unexpected quest to find him. Luna joins to keep them safe, and they must work together to almost learn the truth.

WHY CASSIUS CAN'T WAIT:  First of all I think Luna is just so darn cute.  I can't wait to read about her adventures and think it will be a fun book to share with my oddball brother Cassius.  Maybe he can learn some things from her!

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK???

Random Things Tours - The Chalet

 

TITLE: The Chalet

AUTHOR: Catherine Cooper

PUBLISHER: HarperCollins Publishers UK

PUBLISHING DATE: November 12, 2020

FROM GOODREADS: 

Four friends. One luxury getaway. The perfect murder.  

French Alps, 1998 

 Two young men ski into a blizzard… but only one returns. 

20 years later 

Four people connected to the missing man find themselves in that same resort. Each has a secret. Two may have blood on their hands. One is a killer-in-waiting. 

Someone knows what really happened that day. 

And somebody will pay. 

MY THOUGHTS: When I first discovered The Chalet, I noticed it contained so many of my favorite elements.  A dual timeline, a snowed-in setting and secrets.  And man, did this book ever deliver!

Twenty years ago two brothers, who often didn't get along, took their girlfriends skiing.  However, only one of them returned. Now a group of people once again gather at the chalet for a vacation but this time a snowstorm is wrecking havoc and the only road has been blocked.  The four individuals also have ties to what happened twenty years ago and when a body is discovered in an avalanche, everyone is left to wonder how and if it ties in to the death so many years ago.

This book is a perfect winter read and I hope plenty of people find it beneath their Christmas trees because I can think of nothing better than diving into this on winter holiday.  Cooper sets a dark and foreboding atmosphere and I could almost feel the walls closing in on our characters.

Speaking of characters, I didn't really like them but man, they were fun to dislike!  They were all full of themselves but as the book progresses, they are fully fleshed out and the reader at least understands them all a tad better.  And finally the mystery. I've complained several times this year about books I loved which were ruined by the last sentence.  The Chalet is another one of those last sentence book but this time I loved it.  If you love Lucy Foley or basically what amounts to a close-circle mystery, then this is the book for you!  

RATING: 5 PAWS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: CATHERINE COOPER is a freelance journalist writing for many national newspapers and magazines, specializing in travel. Most recently she has written several ski pieces for the Guardian and is currently compiling a 50 best family holidays round up for the Telegraph. She also makes regular appearances as a talking head on daytime TV. She lives in France with her husband and two teenage children, and is a keen skier.

2 Bloggers 1 Book - One for the Books (Library Lover's Mystery #11)

 

This month we chose a book both Stormi and I chose a book from our favorite series.  I turned her on to this one and I'm so glad she fell in love wit it like I did.  So read on for my thoughts and then head to  Stormi's at Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! to see her opinion! And I'm pretty sure we're both going to be gushing!

TITLE: One for the Books (Library Lover's Mystery #1)

AUTHOR: Jenn McKinlay

PUBLISHER: Berkley

PUBLISHING DATE: September 1, 2020

FROM GOODREADS: 

Love is in the air in Briar Creek as library director Lindsey Norris and boat captain Mike (Sully) Sullivan are finally tying the knot. The entire town is excited for the happy day, and Lindsey and Sully's plan for a small wedding evaporates as more and more people insist upon attending the event of the year. 

When Lindsey and her crafternoon pals head out to Bell Island to see if it can accommodate the ever-expanding guest list, they are horrified to discover a body washed up on the rocky shore. Even worse, Lindsey recognizes the man as the justice of the peace who was supposed to officiate her wedding ceremony. When it becomes clear he was murdered, Lindsey can't help but wonder if it had to do with the wedding. Now she has to book it to solve the mystery before it ends her happily ever after before it's even begun.... 

MY THOUGHTS: I really don't want to give a lot away as this is the 11th book in the series but even the first sentence tells you that Lindsey and Sully are finally getting married.  Boy am I glad because it's been a long yet enjoyable ride for them to get to this point.  That being said, I knew it wouldn't go off easily.

Sully's friend, and the individual who was to conduct the ceremony, ends up dead after a holiday party.  This time around Sully is completely on board with helping Lindsey find out what happened because he wants their wedding to be able to proceed without a cloud hanging over it.  And while all this is going on, they have to find someone else to marry them on short notice and around the holidays.

All the regulars are present in this novel and I've grown to love Briar Creek and someone like Hallmark is really missing the boat not adapting this series for TV.  The mystery in this installment really had me going and McKinlay did a great job making several suspects quite viable.  And once again, Lindsey's adorable dog Heathcliff makes a few appearances which always makes me smile.

If you love cozy mysteries, then why haven't you read this one yet?

RATING: 5 PAWS

Can't Wait Wednesday (298)

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

FROM GOODREADS: For fans of Wilder Girls and Ninth House comes a dark, twisty, atmospheric thriller about a boarding school haunted by its history of witchcraft and two girls dangerously close to digging up the past.

Felicity Morrow is back at Dalloway School.

Perched in the Catskill mountains, the centuries-old, ivy-covered campus was home until the tragic death of her girlfriend. Now, after a year away, she’s returned to graduate. She even has her old room in Godwin House, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirits of five Dalloway students—girls some say were witches. The Dalloway Five all died mysteriously, one after another, right on Godwin grounds.

Witchcraft is woven into Dalloway’s history. The school doesn’t talk about it, but the students do. In secret rooms and shadowy corners, girls convene. And before her girlfriend died, Felicity was drawn to the dark. She’s determined to leave that behind her now; all Felicity wants is to focus on her senior thesis and graduate. But it’s hard when Dalloway’s occult history is everywhere. And when the new girl won’t let her forget.

It’s Ellis Haley’s first year at Dalloway, and she’s already amassed a loyal following. A prodigy novelist at seventeen, Ellis is a so-called “method writer.” She’s eccentric and brilliant, and Felicity can’t shake the pull she feels to her. So when Ellis asks Felicity for help researching the Dalloway Five for her second book, Felicity can’t say no. Given her history with the arcane, Felicity is the perfect resource.

And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway–and in herself.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  I admit it was the cover that initially caught my eye but after I read the synopsis, I added it to the wishlist right away!

CASSIUS'S PICK:

FROM GOODREADS: One dog. Two strangers. An unfurgettable romance.

Wanted: someone nice, normal and trustworthy to housesit a beautiful cottage in the Lake District while the owner is away on a business trip. Must like dogs.

Wanting to escape from crap bosses and useless boyfriends, Becky jumps at the chance of being a dog sitter and the perfect escape – rest, relaxation and a very cute pooch called Bella.

But looking after Bella comes with a catch, namely gorgeous, brooding, Chris Hemsworth-worthy Ash James, who claims Bella is his dog and will stop at nothing to get her back!

Becky’s not about to hand over lovely Bella to any Tom, Dick or Ash.  She’s determined to watch every move Ash James makes…even if it gets her very hot under the collar.

WHY CASS CAN'T WAIT:  I think Mom would make a good dogsitter but I don't want to share my time with her.  So she can read about it instead.  I hope Bella gets the best owners ever!

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK????

Top Ten Tuesday - Bookish Pet Names

 

The top 10 weekly meme used to be hosted by The Broke and the Bookish they  handed over the reins to That Artsy Reader Girl who can be found HERE.  Each week she will focus on lists which cover various topics related to books and reading.

This week we are looking at books and characters who would make good pet names.  You know I love my pets and I should be able to breeze through this pretty fast (considering I probably have my next three dogs named before I even have them)!

Hands down Stoker will be one of the pets in our house one day!

I love Jinx as a sidekick and actually think it would make a cute pet name.  No surprise since I call Apollo Binx half of the time anyway.

I think Enzo is a perfect name for a dog.  And apparently Garth Stein thinks so too!

We've never had a female pet but honestly, I think Khaleesi is a wonderful name.

If I ever had a black cat, I'd name her Lilith.

I sort of like the name Curran... or maybe I just like the character.  This one's a toss-up!

I think the name Socrates is perfect - especially for a Basset or a Bloodhound.  

I know right now Mr. Barb would never go for it but I LOVE the name Jughead!

We almost named a dog Bishop once and while it wasn't after Diana, I'm counting it.

And finally, there's Ghus from Saga.  Imagine him as a white fluffy mutt - PERFECT!

Flame Tree Press Blog Tour - Mondo Crimson

 

TITLE: Mondo Crimson

AUTHOR: Andrew Post

PUBLISHER: Flame Tree Press

PUBLISHING DATE: November 2020

FROM GOODREADS: When Melanie, a car thief, is sent to find a certain vehicle only to discover it’s owned by dangerous hit-woman, Brenda, the two begin to wonder if their fateful encounter wasn’t just pure coincidence. It turns out they both work for a man named Felix Eberhart, who may or may not have had the hopes that Melanie and Brenda opened fire the second they laid eyes on each other. Melanie learns that Felix’s network of car thieves, fixers, and drug runners have all been set against one another. But why? Business was going so well... 

MY THOUGHTS: Andrew Post has quickly become an auto-read author for me.  This is the third book I've read by him and whenever I see an invitation to a blog tour and his name, I automatically sign up.  I'm so glad I discovered him when I read Chop Shop because I've been loving his books ever since. 

Mondo Crimson centers around four characters - Brenda, Mel, Felix and Merritt.  In the beginning, we learn that Melanie has gotten in over her head financially and is having to work off her debt by doing jobs for Felix, a creep on even his good days.  She is sent to Minnesota to steal a car but when she does, she meets Brenda.  Brenda also knows Felix and it isn't exactly accidental that the two run into each other.  Brenda is a badass and even though she secretly kills people for a living, she was easily my favorite character. 

So throughout the novel Post takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride of dirty deeds and manipulation.  everyone seems to have their own agenda and as the climax built, I had no idea how everything would play out.  I ended up reading most of this book late one night when I was restless and it was a great payout.  I quickly lost myself, and my growing Playstation 5 frustrations were left behind - at least temporarily.  If you love dark gritty tales and complex characters who live in what I like to call "morally grey world," then Mondo Crimson is the book for you!

Bring on the next book Andrew!

RATING: 5 PAWS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Andrew Post was born in Erie, Pennsylvania (imagine Eraserhead but in color). While he was honing his craft as a writer (those early stories were awful) he worked in a gift shop in one of the scuzziest hotels in the Midwest, he cleaned rental cars (also gross), he was a butcher (despite being a vegetarian),and in 2013 his first novel, the cyberpunk thriller, Knuckleduster, was published. No one really seemed to care much but he kept at it and has since published a handful of other works to varying degrees of resulting public interest with a few seeing translations and one almost became a movie (that lit agent has since been fired). 

Andrew lives in a sleepy river town in Minnesota where he may or may not be planning aquatic "accidents"to befall the many other authors who live in the area and he has been mistaken for Rob Zombie on no less than ten separate occasions. 

Flame Tree Press Blog Tour

 

TITLE: City of Angels

AUTHOR: Kenneth Bromberg

PUBLISHER: Flame Tree Press

PUBLISHING DATE: November 2020

FROM GOODREADS: 

The year is 1924. Sam Lacy, a tough-as-nails homicide detective, follows his own code of conduct within the racist and corrupt Los Angeles Police Department. Sam's beautiful ex-girlfriend has been murdered and a sadistic predator is assaulting young Chinese women. Are the crimes connected and can Sam stop the killers before powerful forces stop him? Sometimes, a good detective can't let the law get in his way. 

Sam navigates L.A.'s seedy underbelly with help from an unlikely trio: Sam's partner, Lonnie, a handsome detective whose cavalier attitude conceals a troubled past outside of the law; Sam's friend, Edward Bixby, a brilliant man whose crucial forensic work is performed off the books since the LAPD would never hire a Black man for a murder investigation; and Susan, Sam's sister and moral compass, a war widow and mother who pursues leads of her own. The story takes place in the movie capital of the world, a city that attracts wide-eyed innocents and cold-hearted killers; a City of Angels.

MY THOUGHTS: This book is a very atmospheric read and I really enjoyed being transported back to the 1920's.  As mentioned in the synopsis, Sam Lacy is investigating the death of his ex-girlfriend, along with assistance from a very unique group of characters.  Bixby is Sam's friend and a very intelligent Black man who does excellent forensic work.  Then you have Lonnie, Sam's partner, who has a colorful past of his own.  Finally, there is Susan, Sam's sister, who also works for the department. All of these characters play important roles and the author definitely has a talent for character development.  Although the plot jumps around a bit and I had to really focus in a couple of areas to make sure I was connecting everything, I still very much enjoyed the tale.

I also have to address the seedy side of Los Angeles which Bromberg shares.  He is not afraid to address issues of racist behavior, human injustice and corruption, not only within law enforcement, but with the movie industry as well.  Susan is in herself a refreshing character because while the book delves in abuse of women by men in power and human trafficking and money laundering, she is a strong character who doesn't want to be defined just by the fact that she is female. And it was painful to see the lengths Bixby's wife Velma goes to in order to keep her husband safe.

City of Angels was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone who likes noir mysteries.  Just be prepared for some hard-hitting topics which are made all the more sad because many of them still exist of 100 years later.  Bromberg is an author to watch and I'm amazed at the talent Flame Tree Press has managed to secure.

RATING: 4 PAWS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kenneth Bromberg grew up in the beach cities of Southern California with a passion for tennis, American history,and literature. His first novel, American Dreams, is based upon stories told by his grandmother, who emigrated from a small Jewish village near Kiev in the first years of the 20th century

Flame Tree Press Blog Tour - Human Resources

 

TITLE: Human Resources (Anders Nordvelt #2)

AUTHOR: Robin Triggs

PUBLISHER: Flame Tree Press

PUBLISHING DATE: November 2020

FROM GOODREADS:

The sequel to Night Shift, praised by Crime Review and Cemetery Dance. 

Antarctica. A city on the edge of nowhere. 

Anders Nordvelt is chief of security in this frozen land, so, when a prominent member of a dissident group is murdered, it is his job to find the killer. Unsatisfied with the obvious explanation, Anders keeps pushing until the body of a colleague turns up in his apartment. 

Could Anders really be the killer? Why does he half-remember wielding the knife? And why are the whispers of a fabled Human Resources black-ops team getting ever louder? As for Anders, he’s about to enter a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with a ruthless killer.  

MY THOUGHTS: I absolutely adored Night Shift and even rated it 5/5.  I wanted to love this sequel just as much and I almost did.  However, the first one had the whole trapped-in-the-snow-and-might-die vibe which happens to be one of my favorite tropes and it wouldn't make sense for this to be exactly the same thing right?

Anders is now Chief of Security and in fact, all the survivors of the last novel show up in some fashion, which I enjoyed because the reader gets to see bits of what happened after Night Shift ended.  Anyway, a group of individuals have been sent to help build the new community and some aren't so happy.  In fact, a group of them advise they really had no choice and don't want to be there.  Little things start happening in the colony and someone is found dead.  Anders is in charge of figuring out the mystery, but when another body shows up in his apartment, he's left to wonder what role he played in the deaths.  

I really enjoyed watching the mystery unravel and while I won't go as far as saying the book was action-packed, it did have a pretty energetic pacing.  I'm not sure I really like Anders but I also don't feel my uncertainty made me like the book any less.  The only thing I'm sure of is that I would never hire Anders for anything because death and disaster sure have a way of following him around.  I also have to admit that the author did a good job of stumping me on the culprit because as soon as I had a suspect in my sights, my theory would get blown and I would have to develop another one.

I don't know if this is a planned series but if so, I'll definitely be picking up the other.   Definitely a solid choice for anyone who like me, loves snowy mysteries.

RATING: 4 PAWS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Robin was raised in a Bradford library but now lives in Oxfordshire with his wife and freshly-minted small person. Trained as an archaeologist, he now works as a proofreader when not wrangling tourists at the Bodleian Library.

Can't Wait Wednesday (297)

 

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

FROM GOODREADS: Stranger Things meets One of Us Is Lying in this creepy paranormal mystery about four friends who find themselves hunted by a malevolent presence in their sleepy hometown.

It knows your fear...

Summer, 1989. Four best friends—Gabe, Kimberly, Charlie, and Sonya—are preparing for their last summer together before senior year, after which they’ll all be splitting up to start college in different parts of the country. They make a promise to always find their way back to each other, no matter how far away from their sleepy Pennsylvania hometown they get.

But their plans are destroyed when a plane crashes right on top of their favorite hangout outside of town—and right on top of them.

In the catastrophic aftermath of the incident, Gabe, Sonya and Charlie are plagued by eerie visions and messages from an unknown watcher. They soon realize that the plane crash was no accident, and now they are being hunted by a sinister presence. And everyone is still searching for Kimberly, who has been missing ever since Gabe saw somebody wearing a gas mask carry her out of the woods the day the sky fell down on them...

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: I love that this takes place in a sleepy town and in 198

CASSIUS'S PICK:

FROM GOODREADS: What do you do when you discover your four-legged best friend might belong to someone else? From the acclaimed author of Who Rescued Who comes the charming story of a custody battle between two pet parents who would do anything for the dog they both adore.

Justine Becker could not be more in love with her rescue dog, Spencer. He's her best friend and "colleague" at her dog supply store, Tricks & Biscuits, in upstate New York. When she discovers a heartbreaking social media post trying to locate a dog that looks suspiciously like Spencer, Justine realizes that her beloved pup might actually belong to someone else.

Her worst fears are realized when she and Spencer meet up with Brooklyn-based Griffin McCabe, and he wants Spencer back. He claims he is the dog's rightful owner, and has the paperwork to prove it. But Justine refuses to roll over and let him take Spencer without a fight.

It's not easy juggling Spencer's burgeoning new career as a dog actor, along with the demands of her life upstate, all while constantly trying to prove she's a better pet parent than Griffin. Their not-so-friendly competition teeters on the edge of flat-out hate, so when romantic feelings for Griffin catch Justine off guard, she needs to determine if it's all part of his plot to win the pup back, or if the guy who was good enough for Spencer might also be good enough for her.

WHY CASSIUS CAN'T WAIT:  I've heard Mom say she enjoys hate to love tropes - whatever that means.  I think this sounds like that and with that cute dog on the cover, I know she'll have to have this one.  

And boy, am I glad my parents are happily married because I would hate to have them fight over me and Apollo.  How sad!  There are plenty of dogs that need home so I think Justine and Griffin both need one!

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK???