Check Your Carbon Monoxide Detectors Everyone!

 

TITLE: Night and Day in Misery (Shivers Collection)

AUTHOR: Catriona Ward

PUBLISHER: Amazon Originals

PUBLISHING DATE: April 15, 2025

PAGES: 35    

SOURCE: KU

FROM GOODREADS: Room 17 was the last stop on her husband and son’s journey. Eight years after their deaths, Stella books the same room, hoping to commune with their memories. But as she tries to sleep, disturbing and urgent visions blur the lines between reality and the supernatural, and the other side sends a terrifying message.

MY THOUGHTS: I've read several books from this author and keep giving her chances.  I still can't decide if she is a good fit for me.  I didn't like The Last House on Needless Street.  I loved Sundial, but then Looking Glass Sound left me with a giant question mark over my head.  I have to admit it though, this short story really worked for me so maybe I need to focus more on her shorter works.  It has some pretty interesting quotes as well.

"Bridges are made to cross great heights, and over danger, so by their nature they bring one close to these things."

"'Welcome to Missouri,' he said. 'Or Misery, we call it.  It's a terrible place.'"

MY RATING: 5 PAWS

Feed Your TBR - DuMort

 

Can't Wait Wednesday, which I have adapted to better suit my blog as "Feed Your TBR" 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.

July 22, 2025

FROM GOODREADS: Mrs. Mina Braithwaite has never quite fit into Mydalla’s polite society. Her features are so different from the other noblewomen, more like the city’s foreign workers, and she chafes at all the rules. Then there’s the furious entity that has followed her for years, crawling from shadows to hurt her and staining every memory with fear. Desperate for help, Mina crashes a private gathering to see the infamous occultist Alexandre DuMort in action. She doesn't expect the pull of attraction towards the man, nor his invitation to join him in his work.

But DuMort has enemies, dangerous ones, and they dog his steps as closely as Mina's entity does hers. Mina must choose between her old life, and the angry spirit that stalks her, or follow the famed occultist down a new path, where even worse things might haunt her.

Like the truth.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  I feel in love with the cover, and I love all things related the occult in books. This one is a must read!

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

I Know Where I'm NOT Vacationing

 

TITLE: The Blanks

AUTHOR: Grady Henxrix

PUBLISHER: Amazon Originals

PUBLISHING DATE: April 15, 2025

PAGES: 36    

SOURCE: KU

FROM GOODREADS: Jeckle Island offers Rachel’s children the chance to spend summers roaming wild and free, as long as they follow the rules. But when her son comes face to face with a terror they dare not speak of, she must prepare for their perfect world to change. Forever.

MY THOUGHTS: This one would be really easy to spoil so I don't want to give anything away other than the synopsis, which I also shortened because it said too much.  I love Hendrix's writing and have read several of his books. I enjoyed this tale but honestly, felt like it needed a longer book or at least a novella.  I have so many unanswered questions. Anyway, here are a few of my favorite quotes.

"'I hate pickles,' he says, quiet.

'They hate you too,' I say."

"'That's what men do,' Tom Docks says, sitting under the string lights on our back deck, shucking oysters with a flathead screwdriver.  'Something goes wrong with the car, and they pop the hood and look at the engine.  They don't know what they are looking at or what to do about it, but they feel that caveman compulsion to stand there and scrutinize.'"

MY RATING: 3 PAWS

Beware of Trees That Walk

 

TITLE: Jackknife

AUTHOR: Joe Hill

PUBLISHER: Amazon Originals

PUBLISHING DATE: April 15, 2025

PAGES: 46    

SOURCE: KU

FROM GOODREADS: Dennis awakens something evil when he removes a decades-old jackknife from the trunk of a gnarled old sycamore. Once pinned in place—now thoughtlessly freed—the tree returns to its roots. An act of vigilante justice took place under its boughs long ago. But its taste for blood has only grown stronger…

MY THOUGHTS: This story is part of the new Shivers Collection from Amazon Originals. There are five stories in all, and my hope is to get them all read and reviewed soon.  Of course, since I love Joe Hill, I had to read his first.  And on top of that, look at that cover!  Isn't it awesome?  In order to avoid saying too much, which would be easy given their length, I've decided to do something different and just share a few of my favorite quotes from each one. Needless to say, I loved Jackknife, and it was a perfect one to start with!

"You had to make rules for yourself, and you had to follow them, or you were really lost."

"...in America, even disgrace could be monetized.  Even shame had market value."

MY RATING: 5 PAWS

Janitors Have It Rough!

 

TITLE: Janitors vs. The Living Dead

AUTHOR: Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason

PUBLISHER: Death's Head Press

PUBLISHING DATE: April 1, 2025

PAGES: 284    

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: In the pristine landscape of Serenity Canyon Country Club, situated in the majestic red rocks just outside of Sedona, Arizona, there is little leniency for anything grotesque. The staff ensures constant tranquility, their priorities glued to maintaining this slice of paradise on Earth in their gated community with private pools, a golf course and a members-only club. But when member Dr. Reinart becomes obsessed with his newest experimentations however, this facade begins to crumble. He unknowingly carries a parasitic virus into the neighborhood and his wife unleashes it when she decides to end their marriage swiftly and violently. Chaos envelopes the community as the virus spreads throughout. Once high-class ruling members of society shift into bumbling monsters covered in bile and decaying flesh. Their only salvation? The lowly janitors they dedicated their living days to belittling.

MY THOUGHTS: My thoughts after reading the first chapter or so was that this book was one of my first forays into extreme horror, but the note at the end leads me to believe it is actually more splatterpunk.  Not exactly sure of the difference but whatever it is, this was a wild ride I won't soon forget.

Stephi and her jerk husband Teddy live in an elite, closed-gated community outside Sedona.  Teddy is a lying, cheating jerk but he is also a scientist who is working a secretive government experiment. One night he comes home but unbeknownst to him, he is carrying a lethal parasite.  Something happens to Teddy which sets the parasite free and before you know it, the trusty janitors, along with a couple of governmental officials with guns and grenades, are left to clean up Serenity Canyon before it's too late. In the meanwhile, Teddy's coworkers are back at the lab trying to find a cure before the whole world goes to hell.

This book is action-packed from the first chapter and never slows down.  It wasn't really a book which encourages the reader to form any emotional attachments to any of the characters, but I will say the janitorial crew really stole my heart.  Speaking of hearts, this book is not for the faint of heart.  There is blood, gore, feces covered zombies, body fluids being spewed everywhere and as well as limbs and other various body parts.

This book was a fun romp.  I know no other real way to explain it but I think the action-lover horror fans out could really find this to be a hidden gem.  My only complaint was the extremely long chapters which seemed to make the story lag just a bit, despite all the action.  I will definitely look to read more from these authors in the future.

MY RATING: 4 PAWS

This book is almost 100% action.

Feed Your TBR - If Wishes Were Retail

 

Can't Wait Wednesday, which I have adapted to better suit my blog as "Feed Your TBR" 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.

June 17, 2025

FROM GOODREADS: Alex Delmore needs a miracle. She wants out of her dead-end suburban town, but her parents are broke and NYU seems like a distant dream.

Good thing there’s a genie in town—and he’s hiring at the Wellspring Mall.

It’d help if the Jinn-formerly-of-the-Ring-of-Khorad knew even one thing about 21st-century America. It’d help if he weren’t at least as stubborn as Alex. It’d really help if her brother didn’t sell her out to her conspiracy theory-loving, gnome-hating dad.

When Alex and the genie set up their wishing kiosk, they face seemingly-endless setbacks. The mall is failing and management will not stop interfering on behalf of their big-box tenants.

But when the wishing biz might start working, the biggest problem of all remains: People are really terrible at wishing.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: I think people are really throwing the "cozy fantasy" label on anything lately.  While I don't necessarily seek them out, if one catches my attention, I will definitely give it a go.  This one sounds fun but it's only available in paperback so far so I'll have to decide if I want to spend the money on it or wait for a library copy if my local ones obtain one. 

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

Farm News - April 13, 2025

 

What a week!  I cannot believe that it is actually Spring because it sure doesn't feel like it.  We even had a freeze warning last night.  On top of that, if you remember at the end of February mt grandfather's home, which I became co-owner of with my Stupid Uncle (SU) when my grandfather passed.  I was finally contacted by him through an attorney Friday.  Apparently, he now wants us to buy him out or him buy us out and has made an offer.  I don't trust him and think he's trying to pull a fast one with the offer, so I spent some time Friday doing my own investigating on the situation and meet with an attorney on the 21st.  I hope it can get resolved because I want to put that behind me.

The pups are doing fine.  Zekey has a tendency to pull when walking so I've cracked down and have been working hard on training him.  I even bought a special harness to assist.  He is the only dog we've had who has done this, so I don't know if we did something wrong or if we've just gotten lucky in the past.  

It was a great two weeks for arcs and I got a some of my most anticipated reads.  Again, thanks to Netgalley and the publishers.  

My Ex, the Antichrist: Craig DiLouie

The Mean Ones: Tatiana Schlote-Bonne

Slayers of Old: Jim Hines

Let's Split Up: Bill Wood

I also have a few books on the go right now.  I should be able to finish Janitors vs The Living Dead today and will then jump into The Lair.  Minneapolis Reign is a non-fiction about Prince and his hometown and I've just been picking it up here and there and reading a chapter or two between things. 

Mr. Barb and I are also watching The Bondsman on Amazon Prime.  I think we have three episodes left and I'm really enjoying it.  Of course, I am a huge Kevin Bacon fan.  This show reminds me a bit of his character in Tremors meets the TV show Supernatural.

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by Booker T's Farm.