Stacking the Shelves (112) / Sunday Post

Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves or TBR piles, may it be physical or virtual.  This means you can include books you buy in a physical store, online, books you borrow from the library or friends, review books, gifts and of course, ebooks! The original meme was started over at Tynga's Reviews. And it now has a new co-host where individuals can link up as well - Marlene from Reading Reality.  Clicking on the book (or title) should take you to the Goodreads page.

I'm also now linking up with the Sunday Post which is hosted byKimberly@Caffeinated Book Reviewer. I'm hoping to discover some new blogs to love.

This week I received an order from Amazon of 2 physical copies I just had to add to my shelves. Even though I think it was over priced, I had to add Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar just because it's King.  I also grabbed Grim Death and Bill the Electrocuted Criminal because I love Sniegoski's work and I didn't realize this book was even by him until I saw it in a bookstore a few weeks ago,

Of course I had to grab a few books either for free or on the cheap for Paul Anka (my Kindle). Actually I think all four of these were free this week but please double check before you buy.  I have several other Willow Rose horror novels so I had to grab Humpty Dumpty.  I saw a review for Sharp Shooter on YouTube and the reviewer really enjoyed it so when I looked and it was free, Paul Anka gobbled it right up.  Who can resist a cover like Nicor!?  Plus it was already on my wishlist and Suffer a Witch has one of my buzzwords - witch.

Finally I received a few review copies and once again, I'm not making any excuses.  Strange Practice sounds awesome and is a historical fiction about a doctor to the undead.  Just look at the cover of Noelle and act like you don't know why I requested it.  Bonfire is by Jessica Jones herself so I wanted to give it a try and Demon Leap caught my attention too.  

So what did you add to your shelves this week and have you read any of these and can provide a recommendation?  Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Weekly Reads (05/26/16)

So this week has been kind of up and down. As you are reading this, I am traipsing across the hills of West Virginia taking my grandfather to place flowers on the family graves.  There are two remote cemeteries which we need to visit so it's about a 6 hour day and lots of back roads.  I took the day off though because it's supposed to be pretty tomorrow and rain the rest of the weekend and we don't want to go in the rain.

We've had some small plumbing issues this week which can't be fixed until the plumber comes on Tuesday. I hope it doesn't end up being too much but somehow things always turn bigger so we'll see. Right now I just keep saying "It could be worse....it could be worse."

We ended up watching "Logan" the other night and it's definitely a 5 star movie (or in my case 5 paws).  I even teared up in a place or two and am amazed that a Marvel movie made me that sad. Anyone who likes the franchise should watch it because I think overall it's one of the best.

I had a good reading weekend last weekend but when Monday hit, things slowed down.  I blame "Flame in the Mist" because I can't seem to get into it,  I'm hoping that changes.  Here are the books I hope to dive into over my 4 day weekend.  I am on page 130 of "Flame in the Mist" and halfway done with "Harley Quinn."  The other two are fairly short and I'm in the mood for horror so we'll see what plays out.

So what are your plans this upcoming week???

I Think My Detective Skills Are Improving - Bad to the Bone Review

TITLE: Bad to the Bone (Barkery and Biscuits Mystery #3)
AUTHOR: Linda O. Johnston
PUBLISHER: Midnight Ink
PUBLISHING DATE: May 8, 2017

FROM GOODREADS:  Veterinary technician Carrie Kennersly, owner of the Barkery & Biscuits bakery for dogs, is reluctant to sell her recipes to pet food manufacturer VimPets. Jack Loroco, a VimPets representative, assures Carrie that it would be a great opportunity to grow her business. His promising new relationship with Carrie's friend, Billi Matlock, doesn't hurt his cause. But the budding romance takes a bad turn when Wanda Addler, another VimPets employee, sets her sights on Jack.

After threatening to ruin Jack's career if he doesn't give her what she wants, Wanda is found dead. Jack and Billi are put at the top of the suspect list, and Carrie is doggone determined to rescue them from a life behind bars.

MY THOUGHTS: 
After pondering this book for a few days, I've had to change my rating but don't worry, that doesn't mean that it's not an enjoyable read and it's still a cozy series I will continue to follow. In "Bad to the Bone," Carrie is still being courted by VimPet, an elite pet food manufacturer, to share some of her healthy recipes which will not only help her pay off her business loan sooner, but which will also provide added publicity for her newly opened "barkery." However, the deal is quickly put on hold because one of the execs, who happens to be a mean and manipulative woman no one really likes, turns up dead. Fortunately for Carrie, she isn't a prime suspect in this murder but two of her friends are so once again, she gets right in the middle of her third murder investigation.

I still enjoy the small town setting and many of the characters in this series. I can also say that Carrie no longer seems to be the "man magnet" I mentioned in my review of the first book and her love life has settled down some. That alone was cause for relief on my part because I hate love triangles (or maybe square was the more appropriate analogy). Carrie's dog Biscuit is still a prominent fixture in the book as is Hugo, her boyfriend's dog which is always a plus. However, I'm still having difficulty with the way this book is written. It's told from Carrie's first person perspective and perhaps because of that, I find some of Carrie's thoughts annoying. For example, she keeps wanting to give her employees a raise, which is totally commendable and understandable, but this thought keeps entering her mind and often at times when I feel she should be focusing on other things. It really is hard to explain but if you look at my reviews of the other two books, you might get a clearer idea of the writing style I find problematic. Also, I was able to deduce the identity of the killer early on in the book and while that normally doesn't bother me, I felt it was such a no-brainer that I just wanted everyone else to catch up so it could be over.

I'm sure I'll continue on with this series which I still consider a cute read. However, I didn't feel this installment was as strong as the other two which is why I bumped the rating down to 3/5.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

RATING: 3 PAWS

 

Can't Wait Wednesday (107) - The Definitely Odd Edition

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: Sixteen-year-old Walt thinks he’s left his problems behind him when he runs away from a broken home to live with his eccentric uncle. The simple, semi-rural, semi-anti-social lifestyle seems at first to be exactly what Walt wants, but he soon learns his new life isn’t just about ditching school and drinking beer with his friends.

Uncle Brucker is a Rat Killer; a tireless rat tracker, an expert in rat lore, a speaker of the rat language, and a decorated veteran of two bloody uprisings. His uncle begins to train Walt in the ways of rat killing, and explains to his nephew the ancient and bloody history of men and rats. Before the rise of men, he says, rats ruled the earth. They’ve been hiding in another dimension ever since they were kicked out by humanity, planning to retake the planet.

In the middle of Walt’s training, Uncle Brucker is called away by mysterious men from the government. When he fails to return from his mission, Walt discovers a portal to the rat dimension and realizes he must travel alone to Rat Land to save his uncle. Perhaps the most unusual dark fantasy debut of the year, Uncle Brucker the Rat Killer is a surreal exploration of honor, duty, and inter-dimensional genocide.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  Every once in a while I stumble across a book that sounds so odd and so weird that I have to give it a try.  That's what happened with this one and now I'm counting the days.  

What book can't you wait for this week???

TTT - A Different Kind of Summer Read

This top 10 weekly meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and can be found HERE.  Each week they focus on lists which cover various topics related to books and reading. 

Today is a Summer Reads free topic.  Now when I think of Memorial Day and Summer, I tend to think of long nights staying up late with some scary reads and Jaws marathons, which is probably my favorite beachy movie (don't judge 😏).  So I'm sharing with you 10 horror-related books I hope to read this summer.

Yep, I've seen the movie tons of times and it always reminds me of my Dad as it was one of his faves but I've never read it.  I hope to rectify that this summer.

I'd love to do a re-read of"IT" this summer.  It seems like a perfect time to do it with the new movie coming out but it's a mammoth!

I read "The Hatching" last summer over my July 4th Vacation so I want to continue that tradition and read "Skitter." I really want to know where the story is headed.

This sounds like a blast and I've already committed to reading it with Stormi in June.  It sounds like it will be a great summer monster read.

I really need to get my order in for this one.  I can't resist a new King release.

I adore the creepy cover on this one and it seems like a great summer horror addition.

I bought this one about a month ago and really want to dive into it!

I've really been wanting to give this author a try so if I don't read this one, I hope to definitely pick up another of his books - any suggestions???

I received this one for review and how can I resist a tagline of "The Greatest Monster is Man?"

What's balmy summer nights without a gritty vampire tale?  Hope this one fits the bill.

So, what "beachy" reads do you plan on reading this summer???  Hey, at least there's a beach in Jaws!!!

No Pointed Hats Allowed - Wytches review

TITLE: Wytches
AUTHOR: Scott Snyder
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PUBLISHING DATE: June 24, 2015

FROM GOODREADS: Everything you thought you knew about witches is wrong. They are much darker, and they are much more horrifying. Wytches takes the mythology of witches to a far creepier, bone-chilling place than readers have dared venture before. When the Rooks family moves to the remote town of Litchfield, NH to escape a haunting trauma, they're hopeful about starting over. But something evil is waiting for them in the woods just beyond town. Watching from the trees. Ancient...and hungry.

MY THOUGHTS: 
I've been wanting to read this for ages so I was thrilled when I finally found a copy at my local library. "Wytches" tells the story of Sailor and her family. There was some trauma in their previous town regarding Sailor and the disappearance of a classmate so the family moves to make a fresh start. Her father clearly has some issues of his own going on and her mother had a bad accident which left her wheelchair-bound. Strange things start happening and Sailor is kidnapped by evil "wytches" who live in the forest. Apparently people can "pledge" children to these entities in return for favors. Sailor's father sets out to save Sailor and uncovers a lot of secrets along the way.

I really liked the premise of this graphic novel. I think the idea would be great played out in a movie or more lengthy novel. It was definitely terrifying and scary in all the right places and the ending provided enough twists and turns to keep the reader on their toes. While the artwork was good, in places, it was also messy. Basically some of the pages were intentionally done in a haphazard fashion, I suppose to heighten the darkness of the plot. but I found those visually annoying. There was too much going on with those pages for my brain to sift through what it was supposed to be seeing (this might have been complicated by the fact that I read it while on cold medicine too - perhaps not the greatest choice).

There is some narrative at the end of the book which I enjoyed reading and which shows this project really was a labor of love for Snyder. I'm glad I was finally able to make time for "Wytches" and if you are a fan of horror tales and graphic novels, I would definitely recommend picking it up.

RATING: 4 PAWS

 

Stacking the Shelves (111) / Sunday Post

Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves or TBR piles, may it be physical or virtual.  This means you can include books you buy in a physical store, online, books you borrow from the library or friends, review books, gifts and of course, ebooks! The original meme was started over at Tynga's Reviews.  Clicking on the book (or title) should take you to the Goodreads page.

I'm also now linking up with the Sunday Post which is hosted byKimberly@Caffeinated Book Reviewer.  I'm hoping to discover some new blogs to love.

I did have to make a trip to the library this week after receiving notice that 2 of my requests were in. I swear I do not remember requesting these books or asking the library to order them but I'm happy to have them nonetheless.  Can't wait to see what trouble Tony Chu gets into next in Vol 3 and Vol 4.

I found some pretty decent books listed on Kindle for free so Paul Anka grabbed them up.  I'm always afraid I'll want it later and it won't be free anymore?  #Kindledilemma. "When Darkness Falls" is an occult-centered book, "The Parasite" is straight-out horror (and I've read other good things by the author) and "Undertaking Irene" is a mystery.  "Made a Killing" is the first in a series of Scottish crime books which I thought might be interesting.  They say "Email From a Vampire" is Sookie Stackhouse meets London and another Amy Cross book, "The Ash House" showed up.  All of these were free when I grabbed them but as usual, check before you click.

Finally I've scored some awesome review books!  "Murder on Black Swan Lane" is the start to a new series and "The Goblins of Bellwater" involves goblin curses and I'm fascinated by the idea of goblins.  I think I jumped up and down when I received approval for "Odd & True" and "The Party" might be a decent thriller (although I've not had great thriller luck lately but maybe "You Were Here" has changed that pattern).

So what books did you add to your stacks this week?  Hope everyone has a great weekend and is avoiding storms and bad weather if you live in the US.