Ho Ho Ho Readathon!

 

 

So today starts a new readathon and I'm super excited about.  This one is being hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer and all the details can be found HERE.  I love my spooky reads, but I will admit I'm ready for some lighter ones.  I have quite a few holiday themed books on my TBR so I'm hoping to knock out quite a few.  I start a 9-day stay-cation after work on the 17th so I'm hoping that will give me lots of extra reading time.  Here are some books that might get picked up.  Click on the title if you want the description on Goodreads.

The Twelve Months of Christmas - Sheila Roberts

It's a Wonderful Dog - Keri Salas

Wrapped With a Beau - Lillie Vale

Faking Christmas - Kerry Winfrey

Pup and Dragon: How to Catch an Elf - Alice Walstead
Apple Cider Slaying - Julie Ann Lindsey
A Christmas Candy Killing - Christina Romerill
The Twelve Dogs of Christmas - Susan Wiggs

So make sure you hop over to Caffeinated Reviews if you are interested in signing up and joining the fun!

Feed Your TBR - Some Like It Cold

 

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: A big-hearted small-town romance from bestselling, award-winning author Elle McNicoll, Some Like it Cold is perfect for fans of Alice Oseman, Talia Hibbert and Gilmore Girls.

Jasper Montgomery is heading home for the holidays and keeping secrets. Determined to return to her small-town home one last time before leaving for good, Jasper doesn’t bank on accidentally ruining her sister's engagement - or bumping into her teen adversary, budding filmmaker Arthur Lancaster. Jasper came back to Lake Pristine for one to say goodbye. But during the holidays, old relationships come to light, small-town tensions rise, and a certain brooding film buff starts to look like a very big reason to stay. Can Jasper decide what she wants from Arthur, and from Lake Pristine, before she leaves them both forever?

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: I stumbled across this when I was looking for some books to add to the TBR for an upcoming reading challenge which starts tomorrow.  The Gilmore Girls reference immediately caught my attention.  Wish I had paid closer attention to the "4" in 2024.  Oh well, now I can share it with you guys too!

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

2 Bloggers 1 Series - Whispers at Dark

 

Stormi and I are enjoying the Krewe Hunters series so much we couldn't wait to start the spin-off series.  There's only three in this offshoot - well, so far, and they can definitely be read without starting off with the original quite lengthy series.  So read on to see my thoughts on this one and then hop over to Stormi's at Storm Reads to see hers! 

TITLE: Whispers at Dark (Blackbird Trilogy #1)

AUTHOR: Heather Graham

PUBLISHER: MIRA

PUBLISHING DATE: June 27, 2023

PAGES: 345   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: When darkness falls, there’s nowhere to hide. 

Four bodies have been discovered along Europe’s riverbanks, placed with care—and completely drained of blood. Pinpricks on their throats indicate a slender murder weapon, but DNA found in the wounds suggests something far more sinister. Tasked with investigating, the FBI recruits Agents Della Hamilton and Mason Carter to Blackbird, an international offshoot of the Krewe of Hunters. If you want to catch a vampire killer, you need agents who can speak with the dead. 

The pair travel to Norway, where the shadowy forests of Lillehammer reveal a gruesome scene. The killer is thirsty for more victims, and the bloodless trail soon leads Della and Mason to a group that believes drinking blood is the key to immortality. To catch the culprit of such an intimate crime, the agents will have to get close. Mason’s already lost one partner; he’s not ready to risk Della as bait. But sometimes justice requires a sacrifice…

MY THOUGHTS: This trilogy is basically a spin-off of the author's Krewe Hunters series which takes off with an expansion of the Krewe overseas. I also suspect this trilogy completely focuses on one main team hunting a faction of killers obsessed with vampires whereas the main series features a new "mystery" each book.

The two main characters in this one are Della and Mason. Mason has recently lost a partner and is a new recruit for the Krewe and Della has been with them for under a year.  Both have the ability to see and communicate with passed spirits and this book is worth the read just to meet their ghost "partner" Gideon.  A serial killer focused on killing lovely young women and draining them of their blood is running around overseas leaving a trail of bodies behind. This book jumps from New Orleans, Norway, Romania and a few other places as the newly assembled team works to track down the main killer as he keeps recruiting followers to do his dirty deeds, promising them eternal life.

I really enjoyed the vampire elements of this one and even though the killer isn't a REAL vampire, he definitely has the charisma and charm needed to convince some he can promise eternal life.  Della and Mason are both interesting characters with just enough baggage to make the reader want to know more about what makes them tick.  There is also some sexual tension between the two early on and it was nice to see how the author played on that to make the plot even more intense. 

I think this would be a great trilogy to start if you want to a sample of this author's works and want a taste of the Krewe Hunter mysteries without starting and possibly committing to a 25+ book series.  I will definitely be continuing on!

MY RATING: 4 PAWS

Just What I Needed - Another Series

 

TITLE: Enchanted to Meet You (Witches of West Harbor #1)

AUTHOR: Meg Cabot

PUBLISHER: Avon

PUBLISHING DATE: September 5, 2023

PAGES: 368   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: In her teenage years, lovelorn Jessica Gold cast a spell that went disastrously wrong, and brought her all the wrong kind of attention—as well as a lifetime ban from the World Council of Witches. 

So no one is more surprised than Jess when, fifteen years later, tall, handsome WCW member Derrick Winters shows up in her quaint little village of West Harbor and claims that Jess is the Chosen One. 

She’s the Chosen One - not chosen by West Harbor’s snobby elite to style them for the town’s tricentennial ball—though Jess owns the chicest clothing boutique in town. And not chosen finally to be on the WCW, either—not that Jess would have said yes, anyway, since she’s done with any organization that tries to dictate what makes a “true” witch. No, Jess has been chosen to help save West Harbor itself... 

As Summer Ends, Her Power Grows But just when Jess is beginning to think that she and Derrick might have a certain magic of their own—and not of the supernatural variety—Jess learns he may not be who she thought he was. And suddenly Jess finds herself having to trust Derrick and work with him to combat the sinister force battling to bring down West Harbor, or use her gift as she always to keep herself, and her heart, safe. Can she work her magic in time?

MY THOUGHTS: This is a book I had really hoped to read before Halloween season ended but I just couldn't squeeze it in.  However, I made time to read it last weekend and I'm glad I did.  

Jess and her tight-knit group of friends, have all landed back at West Harbor after college and figuring out what they want to do with their lives.  Jess and her bestie have been practicing witches since they were in school, and Jess cast a love spell on the high school football star.  The spell backfired, or so they thought it did, and ended up creating a life-long enemy on the girl who wanted to guy all to herself. Jess is now running her own clothing boutique and her friend is an attorney.  One day a hot, biker guy enters her store and tells her she is the Chosen One and without her help, the town of West Harbor will cease to exist.  All she has to do is find the Bringer of Light, who just happens to be an Emo high schooler, and together battle the evil forces.

I really liked so much about this book. The friend group/found family is awesome, and Jess and Derrick have enough angst and tension between them to make them an interesting couple and even though there was a definite attraction from the start, it wasn't necessarily an insta-love situation.  I also liked the young girl Jess has to train.  The witchy elements were fun and there were a few unforeseen twists I didn't see coming.

The main thing that didn't work for me and why the rating fell a bit was the ending was kind of anti-climactic.  It's built up to be this big battle at the end of good vs. evil and it just didn't deliver.  But hey, at least there were magical wolves. 

So, if you are looking for a rom-com with some paranormal elements and a book you don't have to concentrate on too hard to enjoy, this might be one you want to consider.  I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment.

MT RATING: 4 PAWS

Feed Your TBR - How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying

 

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. 

April 25, 2024

FROM GOODREADS: A young woman stuck in a time loop tires of defending humanity from the Dark Lord and decides to become the Dark Lord herself.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: Let's be honest, the synopsis doesn't give us a lot to go on but you know what?  Sometimes a title is all you need!

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

So, Can I Blame Stormi for This One????

 

TITLE: In My Dreams I Hold a Knife

AUTHOR: Ashley Winstead

PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Landmark

PUBLISHING DATE: August 3, 2021

PAGES: 345   

SOURCE: Hoopla

FROM GOODREADS: A college reunion turns dark and deadly in this chilling and propulsive suspense novel about six friends, one unsolved murder, and the dark secrets they’ve been hiding from each other—and themselves—for a decade. 

Ten years after graduation, Jessica Miller has planned her triumphant return to southern, elite Duquette University, down to the envious whispers that are sure to follow in her wake. Everyone is going to see the girl she wants them to see—confident, beautiful, indifferent—not the girl she was when she left campus, back when Heather’s murder fractured everything, including the tight bond linking the six friends she’d been closest to since freshman year. Ten years ago, everything fell apart, including the dreams she worked for her whole life—and her relationship with the one person she wasn’t supposed to love. 

But not everyone is ready to move on. Not everyone left Duquette ten years ago, and not everyone can let Heather’s murder go unsolved. Someone is determined to trap the real killer, to make the guilty pay. When the six friends are reunited, they will be forced to confront what happened that night—and the years’ worth of secrets each of them would do anything to keep hidden.

MY THOUGHTS: So many people rave about this book and love it dearly so when Stormi recommended we buddy read it, I jumped at the chance to finally get it off my TBR.  Maybe I should have just jumped???

So it's been 10 years since a college group of friends knows as the East House Seven return for their college reunion.  The only problem though is there is one who can't attend because she tragically was killed during their senior year.  Everyone has their own agenda for returning, and everyone seems to be hiding something. The reader gets alternating timelines and slowly the author reveals exactly what played out and who was to blame.

This book didn't work for me. All the characters are highly flawed and unlikeable.  I don't have to have a likeable character to enjoy a book, but I hated all of these characters so much, I found little to enjoy.  The book is full of pretentiousness, infidelity, lying, addiction, and oh and how can I forget, murder.  I'm surprised these characters even made it 10 years past graduation.  The main character has so many "daddy issues" and I get it, your childhood had issues.  But a lot of other people are in the same boat so deal.

My main complaint with this book is not enough people died.  I know that sounds horrible but in all honestly, I would have enjoyed it much better if they were each getting picked off one by one. Even the one character I came close to trusting turned out to also be a slimeball in the end.  Please don't let my review keep you from reading this if you are interested.  I know my thoughts are in the minority.  I do plan on picking up the author's newest release but if it doesn't work for me, I might just have to give up and move on.

MY RATING: 2 Paws

Farm News - November 5, 2023

 

I can't believe that it is already November.  It seems like the day after Halloween, Christmas began.  I won't lie, even I'm kind of in the holiday spirit already but I still want to enjoy Thanksgiving and Fall while it is still here. 

As I type this, both pups are roughhousing and playing.  They are growing closer each day and Apollo has taken on the role of big brother, babysitter and protector and it's a role he takes seriously.  Zeke was introduced to my work unit via a Zoom meeting this week and made an honorable employee.  We've only had him two weeks and he's grown so much already.  He has his second set of booster shots Thursday and he already weights 15.8 pounds.  The picture quality isn't that great because they won't stop moving but you get the idea.

I won't say I'm in a reading slump, but I really don't know what I want to read right now.  I still have some horror titles to get to, but I think I overdid that genre in October so I'm throwing in a witchy rom com this weekend in the hopes that it sparks some interest.  Stormi and I did not finish It in October and are focusing on a November finish now.  I did finish In My Dreams I Hold a Knife Friday which was the first buddy read for the two of us this month.  Look for our reviews Tuesday because they should be interesting to say the least.

I have actually picked up a few books lately.  I had two preorders arrive from Amazon the last week of October and then I grabbed one from Wal-Mart as a "just because" gift to myself - well, that and the hold list at all my libraries, including Libby, was WAY too long.  I have loved John Stamos since his days of playing Blackie Parrish on GH and I would watch it with my mother so I had to grab If You Would Have Told Me. Tessa Bailey has quicky become a favorite author, so Wreck the Halls is the one I grabbed on impulse at Wal-Mart.  And finally, of course I had to grab some Christmas horror with Christmas and Other Horrors.

So that's about it for this week.  Hope everyone is having a great weekend and as always, thanks for stopping by Booker T's Farm!