Feed Your TBR - Twilight Falls (Shady Hollow #4)

 

 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. 

November 7, 2023

FROM GOODREADS: It's spring in Shady Hollow, and romance is in the air. Even reporter Vera Vixen is caught up in the season as her relationship with new police chief Orville Braun blossoms. But true love is not always smooth sailing, as two of the hollow's young residents come to find. Jonah Atwater and Stasia von Beaverpelt find themselves battling their families in order to be together. And when Alan's father, Shelby, goes over the top of Twilight Falls, all signs point to Stasia being the murderer.

The evidence against Stasia appears overwhelming, and Orville arrests her. It looks like the case is closed, but Vera isn't so sure. There are almost too many clues indicating Stasia is the killer, leading her to suspect someone is setting Stasia up. Besides, what about the mysterious ghostly creature skulking around town at night? Maybe he or she was involved? As Vera investigates further, her sleuthing puts her in direct opposition to Orville, and soon she's stirred up a hornet's nest of trouble.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: I recently started this series and I have to admit, I feel in love with it. I still need to read #3 and a novella but if I space them out right, I can be ready for this one when it releases. I hope we get lots more in this world!

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK?

Dog Days of Summer Challenge

 

Although I'm sure I've missed the last year or so, since I'm back to blogging, I'm excited to once again participate in Dog Days of Summer hosted by La La in the Library.  She is making a wonderful donation of $5.00 per book read and reviewed to her local Humane Society and that's something I can get on board with.  So please visit her website for more information and here are the books I'm hoping I can get to this month!

Do you have any great dog book recommendations?  Let me know in the comments so I can add them to my wishlist.

Farm News - August 6, 2023

 

I can't believe that it is August already!  It seems like Summer is just flying by.  Oh well, I am a tad anxious to smell pumpkin spice in the air so I guess I'm not too upset.

So Mr. Barb's back flared back up this past week so he's back in physical therapy.  Luckily it wasn't as bad as it was in May and his therapist said some minor set-back was to be expected.  He has not had to take off work yet and has still been able to do some moderate activities, including walking Apollo, so we hope those are all positive signs.  

Apollo met a new doggy in the neighborhood named Maynard.  We are not quite sure which house he lives in yet, but he saw him twice this week while walking and seeing other dogs always perks him up.  He also got a special trip to the City Park Friday morning before work which he loved.  The park always has lots of squirrels and Apollo lives for squirrels.  

Movie wise, we broke down and bought Insidious: Red Door when it came out as an early release for home theater on Tuesday.  I was actually pretty disappointed with it and felt that the scariest parts of the movie were highlighted in the trailer.  

I am actually reading on three different books right now.  I'm usually a one-at-a-time reader but over the past year or so have branched out a bit more.  I still primarily focus on one more than the others though. With Love, From Cold World is an ARC that released this week, and I really liked the author's first book, so I started it Thursday night while watching the Hall of Fame Football game - YAY FOOTBALL SEASON!  I've been reading Night's Edge for about two weeks now as it's something I pick up when my Kindle is charging or when I want to read a physical book.  And finally, Finders Keepers is one of my 3 buddy reads with Stormi this month.

This book also saw a trip to one of my local libraries to pick up some holds that came in.  I've read one other book by Samantha Downing and thought it was just okay, but the premise of A Twisted Love Story sounded too good to pass up. I've seen some good reviews for Star Bringer and although it's not something I would normally pick up, when I saw my library had it, I grabbed it.  And finally, I'm still on the search for a 5-paw thriller so I grabbed Bad Parts to check out.

I also had an author each out to me about a horror short-story collection he was publishing, and he was kind enough to send me a copy which I received this week. Thanks Jack!  You can find more details here.

And finally I will leave with a puppy pic because who doesn't want to see a cute puppy?  Here is Apollo in all his glory. 

What Have We Done - Please Just Tell Me!

 

TITLE: What Have We Done

AUTHOR: Alex Finlay

PUBLISHER: Minotaur Books

PUBLISHING DATE: March 7, 2023

PAGES: 320   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: 

A stay-at-home mom with a past. 

A has-been rock star with a habit. 

A reality TV producer with a debt. 

Three disparate lives. 

One deadly secret. 

Twenty-five years ago, Jenna, Donnie, and Nico were the best of friends, having forged a bond through the abuse and neglect they endured as residents of Savior House, a group home for parentless teens. When the home was shut down―after the disappearance of several kids―the three were split up. 

Though the trauma of their childhood has never left them, each went on to live accomplished―if troubled―lives. They haven’t seen one another since they were teens but now are reunited for a single haunting reason: someone is trying to kill them. 

To survive, the group will have to revisit the nightmares of their childhoods and confront their shared past―a past that holds the secret to why someone wants them dead. 

It’s a reunion none of them asked for . . . or wanted. But it may be the only way to save all their lives. 

MY THOUGHTS:  I have read a book from this author in the past and found it pretty enjoyable so when my Libby hold came in for this one, I decided to give it a go. 

Basically, you have a group of friends who were in the same group home as teens.  When the book opens, you see them doing something pretty dramatic and pretty illegal, you just don't know any details. We then move to present day time and see what the kids are doing now and let's just say, life hasn't been good to some of them and it's about to get worse.  Someone wants to systematically take out each and every one of them and can they visit the ghosts of the past and find out who before it's too late?

This is an example of where I didn't really like any of the characters in the novel but it didn't ruin my enjoyment.  I kind of liked the "washed-up" rock star (if you've read the book, you'll see what I've done here) the best but I couldn't tell you why exactly.  The plot kept me engaged and I sort of figured out what was going on by the end so there were no real big reveals. The twist at the very end made the conclusion better for me though and I didn't see it coming.

Overall, this was a decent thrilled and I will continue to pick up books from this author.  I just haven't read too many thrillers this summer that I consider stand-out, and this is just one of the many that I will add to that list.

MY RATING: 3 PAWS

Feed Your TBR - The Sight

 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 Kill at Breaking the Spine. 

September 5, 2023

FROM GOODREADS: In the tradition of Camilla Sten and Victor LaValle, Melanie Golding’s newest thriller is a chilling carnival-set suspense, perfect for fans of Stranger Things .

Look into her eyes—she can tell you how you'll die . . .

As a child, Faith acquired the ability to see when and how people would die—a “gift” she neither wanted nor could get rid of.

After foreseeing a family tragedy and being ostracized, Faith learns to control her visions, and returns to perform in her family’s traveling carnival. But when an unruly customer attacks her, she has a vision in full view of a crowd.

She is banned from the carnival she loves—and loses her only source of income to support her dying mother. Desperate to support her mother and with only one friend standing by her, she sees no reason to continue hiding her ability and goes to dangerous lengths to earn money. But when she sees herself in a man’s future death, Faith must face her own fears of her powers and tune into her gift to fight against a future that would ruin her life—and end someone else’s.

With The Sight, celebrated author Melanie Golding delivers another suspense-driven masterpiece with unforgettable characters and an ending that will leave you stunned.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: I love the traveling carnival setting and am always on the lookout for a good thriller.  I also think the cover is kind of eerie and even though I've not read from this author yet, I have a book or two by her on the good old TBR.

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

This Is Just So Cute!

 

TITLE: Shady Hollow (Shady Hollow #1)

AUTHOR: Juneau Black

PUBLISHER: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard

PUBLISHING DATE: January 25, 2022

PAGES: 222   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: 

The first book in the Shady Hollow series, in which we are introduced to the village of Shady Hollow, a place where woodland creatures live together in harmony--until a curmudgeonly toad turns up dead and the local reporter has to solve the case. 

Reporter Vera Vixen is a relative newcomer to Shady Hollow. The fox has a nose for news, so when she catches wind that the death might be a murder, she resolves to get to the bottom of the case, no matter where it leads. As she stirs up still waters, the fox exposes more than one mystery, and discovers that additional lives are in jeopardy. 

Vera finds more to this town than she ever suspected. It seems someone in the Hollow will do anything to keep her from solving the murder, and soon it will take all of Vera's cunning and quickness to crack the case. 

MY THOUGHTS: I would definitely consider this book a hidden gem.  I believe it was actually published around 2015 but has recently been talked about some on Booktube and other arenas and I'm so glad I decided to seek it out.  And seek out I had to.  I only found one of my 5 library systems I regularly use have these books on Libby and the wait for each installment has been rather long.

So Shady Hollow is a quaint woodsy town where lots of animals live together in harmony - for the most part. A raven owns the local bookstore, law enforcement consists of two bears, the local coffee shop is owned by a moose and his son, and the paper is run by a skunk named B.W. (Black and White). In this first book, Otto Sumpf, a curmudgeonly toad, is found face death is the local pond.  Vera Vixen, ace reported for the paper, takes it upon herself to investigate the death because she has little faith in the police chief, who would rather fish than work.  During her investigation, she engages lots of the townsfolk and teams up with the Deputy to uncover what really happened to Otto.

I've seen this book described as Zootopia meets Gilmore Girls and that's pretty accurate.  It's a wonderful cozy mystery, only with animals which you all know I am totally down for. I'm not sure the covers do this series justice, but I found some older ones for it, and I can say these are definitely an improvement over the originals. I would highly recommend this book to readers who love mystery, animals and cozy settings.  

RATING: 5 PAWS

Farm News - July 30, 2023

 

So today would have been my dad's 73rd birthday.  It's been 10 years since we lost him and special days ae still hard to manage at times.  I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge him before getting started. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

So, it's been an extremely hot and humid week here at the farm.  And along with that, we've had pop-up storms, including a horrible one that blew in rather suddenly Friday afternoon.  I'm really glad Mr. Barb was home from work because our canopy tent out back decided to work itself lose and started to fly over the fence and onto the neighbor's car but luckily, we were able to catch it in time.  However, the metal snapped in half and it's beyond repair. And to top it all off, we both got really soaked in the process and it probably wasn't super safe to be outside in that kind of weather.  Thank heavens Apollo had the good sense to stay inside when we bolted out the door.  Mr. Barb took the whole thing as a sign to order the Georgia Bulldog canopy he has been eyeing and it should arrive next Friday. Have I mentioned I hate storms?

Since I didn't really share any books last week, I have quite a few to mention this week.  I finally caved and ordered a copy of Fourth Wing which arrived early in the week.  I need to see if the hype is real on this one.  I am using it for a Fall Reading Challege so it will be a few months before I read it but I hope I'm not disappointed.

I was also provided several ARCs.  I've been seeing Night of the Witch around and am curious to see if I enjoy it.  Isn't that cover awesome? The Dead Pennies looks really creepy and I think it was be a great October read.  And I was THRILLED to get a copy of Hex Education, especially after so recently featuring it on my Feed Your TBR feature.

I am also preparing for some fun Christmas reads.  It's the one time of year I love holiday themed books and I added ARCS of Christmas at Corgi I Cove, The Christmas Cafe and Along Came Holly.  I've read two other holiday books by Codi Hall and they are some of my faves so I can't wait to see how this one measures up.

It hasn't been a great movie week, but we did watch God is a Bullet which is based on a true story.  It's about a sheriff who infiltrates a Satanic cult to get his daughter back.  I really enjoyed it, but it was the most brutal movie I've seen in ages.  I do recommend it if you like that type of story though.  

So that's about it other than work and daily chores which never seem to end.  I hope everyone is surviving whatever weather you are experiencing where you live.  Did you read any good books this week or watch anything I need to check out?