Orenda Blog Tours - Hinton Hollow Death Trip

TITLE: Hinton Hollow Death Trip
AUTHOR: Will Carver
PUBLISHER: Orenda Books
PUBLISHING DATE: August 6, 2020

FROM GOODREADS: 

It’s a small story. A small town with small lives that you would never have heard about if none of this had happened.

Hinton Hollow. Population: 5,120. 

Little Henry Wallace was eight years old and one hundred miles from home before anyone talked to him. His mother placed him on a train with a label around his neck, asking for him to be kept safe for a week, kept away from Hinton Hollow. 

Because something was coming. Narrated by Evil itself, Hinton Hollow Death Trip recounts five days in the history of this small rural town, when darkness paid a visit and infected its residents. A visit that made them act in unnatural ways. Prodding at their insecurities. Nudging at their secrets and desires. Coaxing out the malevolence suppressed within them. Showing their true selves. 

Making them cheat.
Making them steal. 
Making them kill. 

Detective Sergeant Pace had returned to his childhood home. To escape the things he had done in the city. To go back to something simple. But he was not alone. Evil had a plan.  

MY THOUGHTS: So if you don't know how much I tend to love books by published by Orenda Books, then you apparently haven't read my reviews.  For the past year or so, some of my favorite and most memorable reads have come from Orenda.  Well, this book pretty much solidifies it and given the time and the opportunity, I'm pretty sure I'd read anything they toss my way.

Hinton Hollow Death Trip is the third book in the Sergeant Pace series.  Have I read the first two? No.  Did I feel I missed out on something? Not really but let me clarify.  I clearly don't think I would have enjoyed the book anymore than what I did, but I do think I would have known a tad bit more about Sergeant Pace which might have filled in some gaps.  And in a rarity, did I go and immediately order the first two books?  Yes, because I'm pretty sure Will Carver is on the way to be one of my favorite must-read authors.

When the book opens, we are introduced to a little boy who has been put on a train alone with a note around his neck.  He has been sent away by his mother and has been told to keep quiet about where he lives for seven days.  See, his mother knows something is on its way to Hinton Hollow and she wanted her son clear of the devastation. Evil has come to town.  And it systematically has a plan for destruction.  Slowly the reader is introduced to the townspeople.  Some are pure of heart. Some are good but Evil tells us good isn't good enough anymore.  And some are bordering on the brink of doing bad deeds and all they need is a little push in the right direction.  I held on to every word and every chapter not knowing where Carver was leading me or how it would end.  All I know is I loved some of these characters and some deserved their outcome.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't address the unique style of this book.  As mentioned, it is narrated by Evil.  And through the take, the reader gets a good hard look at humanity, ethical dilemmas, and individuals faced with choices.  Evil is such a unique character and dare I say isn't all bad.  And the atmosphere Carver creates along with an eeriness and feeling of dread is reminiscent of some of my favorite horror authors.  I could actually see this playing out as a movie the further I read.

So yep, Orenda Books does it again.  They've yet to fail me and this time they introduced me to an author and series I absolutely have to start from the beginning.  Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.  Oh and last but not least, don't let the pretty cover fool you.  There is very little pretty in this book and I for one loved it even more so because there wasn't!

RATING: 5 PAWS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series. He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his two children. Good Samaritans was book of the year in Guardian, Telegraph and Daily Express, and hit number one on the ebook charts.

Can't Wait Wednesday (283)

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: Adventures in Babysitting meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this funny, action-packed sequel about a coven of witchy babysitters who realize their calling to protect the innocent and save the world from an onslaught of evil.

Esme Pearl's life used to be all about bumming rides and babysitting. Sure, it wasn't glamorous, but it was predictable. All that changed when Cassandra Heaven came to town, and they discovered their complicated, and connected, legacy: Esme and Cassandra are Sitters, supernaturally-gifted teens armed with an ever-changing grimoire of Sitter witchcraft to help them protect the innocent and keep evil demons at bay. You know, the typical teenage stuff.

But just as Esme is starting to adjust to--and maybe even like--her new normal, life lobs another glitter bomb her way. The Synod--the Sitterhood's governing circle--has called a Summit, a once-in-a-generation gathering that promises training, education, and whole lot of ice-breakers.

Esme should be excited--a Summit might mean she can finally get the answers she desperately wants--but she can't shake a building sense of panic. Especially since Cassandra's not acting like herself; Esme's dad is MIA; Pig is out of dog food; Janis is scared to be alone; and there's a guy who seems too good to be true, again. Worst of all, it soon becomes clear, there's no one watching the kids. It's obvious the Summit is a haute mess, but will it be a deadly one, too?

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  I had tons of fun with the first book in this series and can't wait to see what happens next with this group of witchy teens.  I also think this cover coordinates well with the first one.

CASSIUS'S PICK

FROM GOODREADS: An irresistible chapter book series from the New York Times bestselling author of A Dog's Purpose Puppy Tales featuring Lily, a rescue dog who rescues other animals!

Lily lives with her girl, Maggie Rose. Once a stray, Lily was rescued by the kind people at the animal shelter run by Maggie Rose’s mom. Now she has a very important purpose: to rescue other animals in trouble.

On a camping trip with Maggie Rose’s dad, Lily gets sprayed by a skunk. But the skunk has no stink! That means it can’t defend itself against big animals. Can Lily find a way to help? It’s

 Lily to the rescue!

WHY CASSIUS CAN'T WAIT:  Mom bought the first two of these children's books to read to me and Apollo for the Dog Days of Summer Challenge hosted by La La in the Library this month.  I'm sure after we read those, I'll be anxious to see what Lilly is up to next.  Mom has also warned me about skunks but I've never met one.  It looks kind of cute.  MAYBE I can convince Apollo to find one!

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

Top Ten Tuesday - Books With Colors in the Title

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

This week's topic is books with colors in the title.  I don't think I've done any topics similar to this one before so let's see how it goes!

RECENTLY READ:

Blood Red City - Rod Reynolds

Blackwood - Michael Farris Smith

Violet - S.J.I. Holliday

White Elephant - Trish Harnetiaux

Into the Black Nowhere (Unsub #2)

Okay, so this is surprisingly hard.  I've had to go back three years to find five.  So let's look at the TBR/wishlist and see if that's any easier.

Ruby - Nina Allan

Black Hollow - Myria Candies

Blood Red Sky - Paul Kane

White Trash Warlock - David R. Slayton

Red Noise - John P. Murphy

Yep, the wishlist was much easier to find some.  Seems like black, red and white are popular choices.  Can't wait to see everyone else's lists!

What's Happening (08-01-20)...

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 while since I've done an update and basically all I can say is while I haven't been in a reading slump, I have been in a bit of a life slump.  

Gpa finally made it out of the hospital after having a geriatric psychological evaluation.  They determined he is in early stages of dementia but also feel it could have been aggravated by extremely low B12 and lack of sleep because he was suffering from severe insomnia.  He is home with home health, neighbors and family and friends checking on him to see how he is doing.  I've been trying to go down twice a week instead of just once and doing some of his shopping.  Let's keep our fingers crossed this works. 

Cassius hasn't felt good the past two days.  We think he had some allergies flare up which made a lot of mucus in his stomach and he's had some difficulty eating.  We are watching him closely and he's starting to eat some this evening.  He's still drinking water but if he isn't better tomorrow, off to the ER vet he does.  Apollo is still growing like a weed and is over 70 pounds now.  His biting has gotten much better but every once in a while he still slips into Nosferatu.  I am participating in Dog Days of Summer (will have the announcement and all the info up next week) so look for some more Apollo posts (and Cass as well).

As I mentioned, I have been doing a lot of reading but to be honest, don't know what I'm picking up next.  I have also acquired a few books for review and can't wait to dive into them. 

The Betrayals: Bridget Collins

Black Veil: Greg Jolley

It Came From the Multiplex: 80s Midnight Chillers

The Lost Village: Camilla Sten

Silent Night: Nell Pattison

The Christmas Killer: Alex Pine

 So look for an indie horror haul next week as I have some saved on my Amazon wishlist that are seriously calling my name!  Hope you all are staying safe!

Another Romance - Don't Worry, I'm Gearing Up For Lots of Horror Soon!

TITLE: Beach Read
AUTHOR: Emily Henry
PUBLISHER: Berkley
PUBLISHING DATE: May 19, 2020

FROM GOODREADS: 

A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters. 

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast. 

They're polar opposites. 

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block. 

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.  

MY THOUGHTS: Man did I love this book!  The only thing which would have made it more perfect was if there had been a dog.  By the way, Ms. Henry, why wasn't there a dog?

So I easily devoured Beach Read in two days, or to be more precise, probably closer to a 24-hour period in a two day span.  But I need to say, this was no "cute" rom com.  Henry tackles some pretty heavy topics including infidelity, trust and self esteem.  There are even some hints of child neglect which are subtly interspersed and used to develop Gus's character to the point that even though he was rather frustrating most of the time, I still wanted to give him a big hug.

January (and can I stress how much I love that name) is having trouble writing her next romance novel and fresh from a break-up and falling on financial struggles, she decides to spend the summer in a beach house her father left her when he died.  A home she didn't know existed and which he shared with his lover.  She arrives and soon discovers her neighbor is another famous author who just happened to be one of her biggest rivals in college.  Enter the hate to love trope which I enjoy tremendously.

I loved the banter and disdain between the two main characters.  I also loved seeing their relationship grow to that of a friendship before they even considered taking it any further.  January has a lot of emotional baggage to unpack and Gus clearly has kept himself closed off for years.  In fact, some of the residents of the small beach town are actually related to Gus and it takes forever for the pieces to fall into place.

Henry has written a spot-on book which just happens to feature romance.  I honestly don't feel it should be looked at as romance driven because there are so many other themes which to me were much more important.  Very rarely do I give a book of this genre a 5/5 rating, unless of course there is a cute dog, so you know my rating speaks volumes.  If you have ever even remotely considered picking this book up, do it!  I doubt you'll be sorry.

RATING: 5 PAWS

2 Bloggers 1 Series - Blameless

So in July Stormi and I are continuing on with our buddy read of the Parasol Protectorate series.  I have to admit this one is going to be a tad hard to review because a major plot point in the book is also a massive spoiler.  However, I'll do my best.  So read on for my thoughts and then make sure you visit Stormi @ Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!

TITLE: Blameless (Parasol Protectorate #3)

AUTHOR: Gail Carriger

PUBLISHER: Orbit

PUBLISHING DATE: September 1, 2010

FROM GOODREADS: 

Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season in the third book of the NYT bestselling Parasol Protectorate series. 

Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead. 

While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto.

MY THOUGHTS: If I'm honest, this has been my least favorite of the series so far.  That's not to say I didn't like it, I just had a hard time picking it up and at times felt I was struggling to read it when I read the previous two so darn quickly.

So something has happened which has caused quite a riff between Alexia and Lord Maccon.  Because of this, most of the book they spend apart.  And unfortunately, part of the appeal to me of this series is the constant banter and wit between the two.  Which is probably why I found it more lacking.  In addition, the majority of this book is Alexia being on the run because numerous people are trying to kill her - like every single time she turns around.  By the time I was two-thirds through the book, this trope was getting really old.

Now I will say that I enjoyed getting to know a tad bit more about Alexia's deceased father and it was also nice to see her old butler, Floote, step up his game and take a more important role.  Even Ivy, whom in the past I've found annoying, played an important part and I'm beginning to think her air-headedness is actually just an act.

So while this book does play an important part in the series (can't give too much away), I'm hoping that it sets up a bang of a finish for books 4 and 5.  And I'm also hoping I get to see more interaction between our two main characters.

RATING: 3 PAWS

BONUS REVIEW!

TITLE: Meat Cute: The Hedgehog Incident (Parasol Protectorate #.75)

AUTHOR: Gail Carriger

PUBLISHING DATE: February 2020

FROM GOODREADS: 

From the comedic mind of New York Times bestseller Gail Carriger comes the much requested prequel short story to Soulless. 

Alexia Tarabotti attends what appears to be a very dull London party, until the new werewolf Alpha turns up, is unconscionably rude to her, and sits on a hedgehog. 

Don’t miss this charming novelette featuring the very first encounter between the Parasolverse’s most popular power couple, preternatural Alexia and supernatural Lord Conall Maccon. 

Look out for cheeky appearances from other much beloved characters, not to mention the strategic application of a certain wicker chicken. 

A Note On Chronology 
Set in the spring of 1872 this story occurs just prior to events chronicled in The Parasol Protectorate series (featuring Alexia and Conall) and after those in Defy or Defend. Alexia also appears briefly in Romancing the Inventor, and Conall and England’s most scandalous wolf pack is referenced in The Finishing School series. Want more hot gruff werewolf gentlemen and practical tough ladies? Try How to Marry a Werewolf. 

This is a quick read at 9000 words (about 15 printed pages) available in print only as part of Fan Service (collected Supernatural Society omnibus). It is best read if you are already familiar with Gail Carriger’s gaslight universe and comedy of manners style, as it was written specifically with her fans in mind. 

MY THOUGHTS: So many times in the first and second books the infamous hedgehog incident is referenced.  In fact, I'm kind of surprised to see this wasn't published until 2020 because it tells a very important, and quite hilarious tale, about how Alexia and Lord Maccon initially meet.

The tale is very short and I was able to grab it from Overdrive which is good because I think Amazon has it priced way too high for something that was easily read in under a half hour.  However, I am glad I read it because it was extremely cute and yes, it involved hedgehogs!

RATING: 4 PAWS

Can't Wait Wednesday (282)

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: MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN MEETS THE ADDAMS FAMILY IN THIS HAUNTING STORY OF ONE GIRL'S ATTEMPT TO RECONNECT WITH HER MONSTROUS FAMILY.

Eleanor has not seen or spoken with her family in years, not since they sent her away to Saint Brigid's boarding school. She knows them only as vague memories: her grandfather's tremendous fanged snout, the barrel full of water her mother always soaked in, and strange hunting trips in a dark wood with her sister and cousins. And she remembers the way they looked at her, like she was the freak.

When Eleanor finally finds the courage to confront her family and return to their ancestral home on the rainy coast of Maine, she finds them already gathered in wait, seemingly ready to welcome her back with open arms. "I read this in the cards," her grandmother tells her. However, Grandma Persephone doesn't see all, for just as Eleanor is beginning to readjust to the life she always longed for, a strange and sudden death rocks the family, leaving Eleanor to manage this difficult new dynamic without help.

In order to keep the family that abandoned her from falling apart, Eleanor calls upon her mysterious other grandmother, Grandmere, from across the sea. Grandmere brings order to the chaotic household, but that order soon turns to tyranny. If any of them are to survive, Eleanor must embrace her strange family and join forces with the ghost of Grandma Persephone to confront the monstrousness lurking deep within her Grandmere-and herself. 

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  I won't lie, I was pretty much sold just on the cover alone.  But then I saw a comparison to the Addams family and a mention of a monstrous family and I was all in.\

CASSIUS'S PICK:

FROM GOODREADS: As the town of Greenwich, Connecticut, counts down to a spooky celebration on October 31st, a horrifying murder leaves Melanie Travis pawing for clues in a hair-raising game of trick-or-treat . . .

With just a few days left before Halloween, everyone at Howard Academy is anticipating the guaranteed sugar high they'll experience from gorging on Harriet Bloom's famous marshmallow puffs. The private school's annual costume party revolves around the headmaster's assistant and her seemingly supernatural batches of gooey goodies. So, it's a shock when Harriet's elderly neighbor is suddenly found dead with the beloved dessert in his hand. In a snap, police start questioning whether Harriet modified her top-secret recipe to include a hefty dose of lethal poison . . .

Melanie knows her tenured colleague would never intentionally serve cyanide-laced puffs to a defenseless old man. But as explosive neighborhood gossip reveals a potential culprit, it also brings her closer to sealing her own doom. Because on an evening ruled by masked revelers, bizarre getups, and hidden identities, Halloween might just be the perfect opportunity for a cold-hearted killer to get away with murder once again--this time sending a nosy, unsuspecting sleuth to an early grave! 

WHY CASS CAN'T WAIT:  This is the 26th book in a mystery series that features dogs and I can't believe Mom hasn't read any of them!  I think this cover is too adorable and it already has me thinking what I should dress Apollo up as this Halloween.  It will be his first after all.  Any suggestions guys???

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