#COYER Summer Reading List Challenge (sign up post)

So a few years ago I signed up for COYER on a whim and I'm really glad I did.  I've met some truly wonderful bloggers and have this challenge to thank for one of my best blogging buds - Stormi.  The rules for 2017 are a little more lax and there are two directions a reader can go.  They can either come up with a reading list or do a "read everything" version.  I've decided to do the reading list because I'm a glutton for punishment.  Seriously, that's how it feels after working and reworking this list for several weeks now. COYER consists of more than just a challenge though.  There's daily interaction on a COYER Facebook page and several twitter parties as well.  HERE is the link for the complete rules.

So I had to come up with a list of 30 books to read from over the next 3 months which really felt like I was creating a 3 month TBR - and it was hard.  The only plus is that for every 5 you read, you can add 5 more.  That's the saving grace for mood readers (or people constantly asking for review copies) if you ask me.  Anyway, here's my final list:

1. Missing - Kelley Armstrong
2. Saga Vol. 6
3. Skitter - Ezekiel Boone
4. The Right Side - Spencer Quinn
5. Summer at the Dog & Duck - Jill Steeples
6. Final Girls - Riley Sager
7. See What I Have Done - Sarah Schmidt
8. Only the Dead Know Brooklyn - Chris Vola
9. Murder on Black Swan Lane - Andrea Penrose
10. Gork the Teenage Dragon - Gabe Hudson
11. Lost Boy - Christina Henry
12. A Kiss Before Doomsday - Laurence McNaughton
13. Strange Alchemy - Gwenda Bone
14. Gwendy's Button Box - Stephen King
15. Hollywood Homicide - Kellye Garrett
16. MAD - Chloe Esposito
17. The Luster of Lost Things - Sophie Chen Keller
18. The Coven - Chrissy Lessey
19. Empty Threat - Danny Bell
20. Rise of the Sea Witch - Stacey Rourke
21. Slither - Melody Steiner
22. Spill Zone - Scott Westerfeld
23. Of Jenny and the Aliens - Ryan Gebhart
24. Shark Island - Chris Jameson
25. Kiss Me Kill You - Larissa C. Hardesty
26. Slaves of the Switchboard of Doom - Bradley W. Schenck
27. A New Leash on Love - Debbie Burns
28. Unsub - Meg Gardiner
29. Einstein - Miles Gibson
30. The Bookshop at Water's End - Patti Callahan Henry

If you are interested in joining COYER this time around, there's still plenty of time.  Hope to see you there!

Think Your Childhood Was Messed Up? (The Marsh King's Daughter)

TITLE: The Marsh King's Daughter
AUTHOR: Karen Dionne
PUBLISHER: G.P. Putnam's Sons
PUBLISHING DATE: June 13, 2017

FROM GOODREADS:  I was born two years into my mother's captivity. She was three weeks shy of seventeen. If I had known then what I do now, things would have been a lot different. I wouldn't have adored my father.'

When notorious child abductor - known as the Marsh King - escapes from a maximum security prison, Helena immediately suspects that she and her two young daughters are in danger.

No one, not even her husband, knows the truth about Helena's past: they don't know that she was born into captivity, that she had no contact with the outside world before the age of twelve - or that her father raised her to be a killer.

And they don't know that the Marsh King can survive and hunt in the wilderness better than anyone... except, perhaps his own daughter.

Packed with gripping suspense and powerful storytelling, The Marsh King's Daughter is a one-more-page, read-in-one-sitting thriller that you'll remember for ever.

MY THOUGHTS: 
I don't always have the best luck with thrillers, especially the past year or so, but it seems my luck might be changing with "The Marsh King's Daughter." Helena, her husband and their two daughters live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where they live a rather simple life. Early on the reader learns something dramatic happened in Helena's life which has had a dramatic effect on everything she has done since. While picking her daughter's up from school one day, she learns a dangerous man who once kidnapped a young teen and held her captive for years has escaped from prison two hours away. That man just happens to be Helena's father and it might just be up to her to track him down and end her ongoing nightmare once and for all.

This books has so much tension and action throughout that at times, it was very hard to put down. I immediately felt a connection with Helena and wanted to learn more about her twisted childhood. It was interesting to see the dynamics of her both loving her father, yet learning what kind of man he really is inside. The book flashes back from past to present as the reader witnesses Helena's hunt for The Marsh King and her childhood. She spent so much of her childhood in captivity and didn't really know it at the time.

Overall, I'm thrilled with Dionne's novel. She weaves her tales with snippets from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale of the same name which gives a whimsical element to an extremely dark and twisted story. I am tempted to give "The Marsh King's Daughter" 5/5 stars, but there happens to be a small part which features two dogs both named Rambo which sort of upset me as I don't for animal cruelty in my books. However, it really is only a small element and I don't feel it was thrown in for shock value so I can cut the author a small break.

If you love thrillers, this is a wonderful book to pick up. I haven't seen it compared to "Gone Girl" which seems the norm nowadays, and I'm glad or else perhaps I might not have even given this book a second glance. I predict this will be one the smash books this summer and next year, people just might be comparing books to "The Marsh King's Daughter."

I received this book from Penguin First to Read in exchange for an honest review.

RATING: 4 PAWS

 

Also, I think this would be an awesome movie and if it's ever made, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE cast Tatiana Maslany as Helena (and not just because I started watching Season 5 of "Orphan Black" yesterday!

Stacking the Shelves (114) / 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.

I actually thought I didn't have much to show you but now I'm not so sure.  I mentioned yesterday I was in a foul mood for some reason and I might have used some 1-click therapy.  And from the looks of things, I guess we can determine that when I'm in a foul mood, I look to dogs to cheer me up.  Anyway, let's get on to what you guys came her for.  I did grab a few freebies from Amazon.  "Wendigo Crisis," "Witch Myth," "Funhouse," and "Dead by Morning" were all free.  And how great is that cover on "Funhouse?"

I had been eyeing "Chester Gigolo: Diary of a Dog Star" for some time and in making my TTT post I realized I hadn't bought "Slouch Witch" yet so I grabbed it.  I saw "Barking up the Wrong Bakery" somewhere and thought heck, why not and "Dog Collar Knockoff" is a sequel to a book I already own.

I remember I never showed you guys the last two books I got from the Penguin First to Read program.  I couldn't resist the cover of "Akata Witch" and I've seen some buzz for "Library of Fates" so I had to grab it too.

And finally here are some ARCs I received.  And yes, it IS a very dog-centric haul this week!  No sooner did Booker T feature "Canal Days" on a Can't Wait Wednesday feature it went up on Netgalley and I knew I had to request this second in this series.  Also, apparently my foul mood transfers to doom somewhere whether it's a switchboard in "Slaves of the Switchboard of Doom" or a dog dish in "The Dog Dish of Doom."  Finally, to not like alien books, I've been asking for my fair share of them.  In "Of Jenny and the Aliens" an 18-year-old teen falls in love and solicits love advice from invading aliens.  I can't wait to hear what they say!

So, what did you add to your shelves this week???  Did your reading this week go as expected?

Weekly Reads (06/09/17)

It's been an odd week at The Farm this week.  I say odd because pretty much nothing much is really standing out.  We haven't watched any really good movies (we did watch Fist Fight which was a crude and as rank as I suspect).  Let me change that.  I did watch Jaws II on Sunday afternoon in my continued effort to appease my 2017 summer shark obsession.  It was a fun watch even if it was teenager focused and they annoyed me at times.  Let's just say there were a few scenes where I was rooting for the shark.  Overall, I can't really think of much to talk about.  We did work in the backyard some on Sunday and the Walk Your Paws event was Saturday so the boys spent some nice time in the city park and made a donation to the less fortunate pets.  I'm in a foul mood today as I type this and have no reason to be so who knows what's going on.  Oh well, I'm sure it will pass.

I have been having some blogging fun.  I am participating in #Getsocial17 hosted by Anna at Herding Cats & Burning Soup and have met some wonderful new bloggers.  The Summer Commenting Challenge also started up so I'm really enjoying visiting my partners blog and getting to know Liliyana better.  Also, Stormi and I have a special surprise planned for our "2 Bloggers 1 Book" feature later this month.

I don't know what is on the agenda this weekend but I do plan on doing some reading.  I'm over 70% done with "The Marsh King's Daughter" and really enjoying it although I hit a point last night which may eventually scar me, we'll see.  I then would like to knock out "Chew Vol 3" and "Booked 4 Murder" before the COYER Summer Reading List Challenge starts next weekend.

Hope everyone has a great week ahead of them and plan to have some fun this weekend.  What are you reading and watching. 

PS - Pittsburgh Penguins suck!

Mormoma - So NOW the Title Makes Sense!

TITLE: Mormama
AUTHOR: Kit Reed
PUBLISHER: Tor Books
PUBLISHING DATE: May 30, 2017

FROM GOODREADS: MORMAMA is a riveting supernatural, southern gothic tale from Kit Reed. Readers of Joyce Carol Oates and James M. Cain will enjoy this unnerving tale.

Dell Duval has been living on the street since his accident. He can't remember who he was or where he came from. All he has is a tattered note in his pocket with an address for the Ellis house, a sprawling, ancient residence in Jacksonville. He takes up residence under the house in the basement unknown to the residents upstairs. He just needs time to figure out why he's been sent here.

In the house, Lane and her son Theo have returned to the family home—their last resort after Lane's husband cleans out her bank account and leaves. The old house is ruled by an equally ancient trio of tyrannical aunts, who want to preserve everything. Nothing should leave the house, including Lane.

Something about the house isn't right. Things happen to the men and boys living there. There are forces at work one of which visits Theo each night—Mormama, one mama too many.

MY THOUGHTS: 
So basically I don't think this book is getting many good reviews but I really enjoyed it and am glad I picked it up. There are numerous characters in "Mormama" and the story often flashes back so the reader can learn more about the historic Ellis house and its inhabitants, past and present. Years ago the home was built for Minette, who married into the Ellis family, but was basically spoiled rotten (and extremely ungrateful) since birth by her maternal grandmother. Minette abandoned her own mother who eventually moves in with Minette, her husband, and their numerous children when she becomes financially destitute. When she arrives, Minette's husband tells his children she is "One more mama than the house needed." Thus the name of the book (and was I glad that was cleared up early).

Catastrophe strikes the Ellis family members through the years and one believes Minette may have actually been taken over by an evil spirit who then made everyone else miserable. Men in the Ellis house REALLY don't fare well. A man names Dell wakes up in the hospital one day with no memory of who he is and the address to the Ellis house in his pocket. He begins living in the basement while trying to find out his connection to the family and meets up with Lane and her son Theo, who have moved in with Lane's great aunts after her husband left her high and dry. So are you getting the impression at this point in the review that there is a lot going on in this book? Well, truer words have rarely been spoken. The horror and the mystery continue to unravel as the book progresses and Theo is tormented by Mormama. But is she an evil presence or a helpful entity?

This Southern Gothic tale is probably not for everyone. Reed's writing style does take some getting used to and the book jumps from POV to POV. Funny story which proves this point. At one point my Kindle somehow jumped ahead to a chapter and I read it and then realized it said 96% done when I had just been at 48%. I went back, picked up where I left off, and was no worse for wear. I'm not sure what that says about the book in general but many will argue it isn't good. There is also a lot of foul language in the book but that doesn't really bother me much - especially in a horror tale. However, I was really engrossed in finding out Mormama's purpose, learning all about the Ellis family, and discovering how this book could ever present me with a satisfying ending.

About the ending, I do feel it was sort of rushed and I wasn't happy about one main element of it but overall, I'm glad I gave "Mormama" a chance. This isn't a book that has me rushing out to read everything else ever written by this author, but I definitely recommend it to readers who don't mind a slow burn horror.

I received this book from Netgalley and the published in exchange for an honest review. 

RATING: 4 PAWS

 

June Musts and Mights - Yep, I'm Running a Tad Bit Late

Wow, looking back, I somehow managed to at least read all of my May Musts which is a pretty solid accomplishments.  Of course I only managed two if the Mights but that's OK.  I've kind of been wanting to mood read lately which is good for me, but not necessarily good for the challenges or TBR.  Oh well, let's take a look at June's plans anyway.

I need to add a note that on June 17th I am starting the COYER Summer Reading List Challenge.  I had to list 30 books which I wanted to read and it's really had me hung up.  I think I finally finalized it though so look for that kick-off post with the list in a week or so.

MUSTS

MIGHTS

Overall I think it's a pretty good mix.  Have you read any of these?  What are you June plans?

June 2017 Cloak & Dagger Link-Up

Hope everyone is having fun with their challenge and are where they want to be.  I can't believe we are almost half-way through.  Stormi is vacationing in the Philippines this month so I wanted to make sure to get this posted.  Sorry it's so late.

JUNE LINK UP