2 Bloggers 1 Series - Deep Midnight (Alliance Vampires #3)

 

This month Stormi and I continued our series read of the Alliance Vampires series by Shannon Drake (aka Heather Graham).  I have to admit, this book almost broke me and not in a good way.  Read on for my thoughts and then hop over to Stormi's at Storm Reads to see hers.  

 

TITLE: Deep Midnight (Alliance Vampires #3)

AUTHOR:  Shannon Drake aka Heather Graham

PUBLISHER: Zebra

PUBLISHING DATE: September 1, 2001

PAGES: 480   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: The Hour When Dreams Turn Into Nightmares... 

An opulent Carnivale ball in Venice takes a terrifying turn for book critic Jordan Riley. As festivity turns into frenzy, she is rescued by a powerful man disguised as a wolf. But was what she witnessed really just the evening's entertainment--or something far more sinister? 

...And Pleasure Beckons From Beyond 

From a de-consecrated church in Venice to a secret society in New Orleans, Jordan is led on a nightmare journey to the razor's edge of reality. Her mysterious savior is always a shadow behind her. A man whose closeness will both torment and tantalize her as darkness falls--and an eternal hunger threatens to consume her.

MY THOUGHTS: Man, I really struggled with this book.  One of the major problems was that it started out so similarly to book two that I had to check several times to make sure I hadn't already read it.  

Jordan is in Venice to attend Carnivale with her cousin Jared and his wife Cindy.  One night they attend an elite party at the home of an infamous Contessa. Jordan ends up on the wrong floor of the villa and witnesses a horrific scene of blood and death.  She ends up being saved by a mysterious man but no one believes her and everyone claims it was an elaborate staged act.  Strange things continue to happen and Jordan keeps being haunted by her dead fiancé, a cop in the States that was killed while investigating a local cult.  Jordan continues to experience strange things and is soon being followed by a mysterious man named Ragnor.  Is inviting Ragnor into her life inviting something more than she bargained for?

This book really dragged for me.  I found Jordan to be an annoying character as she knew situations were dangerous and she kept doing stupid things. Oh, there is a head in the canal.  Let's go investigate after dark. Oh, I don't trust this man and believe he is behind the murders no one believed I saw so let's sleep with him. I will say there was a twist at the end which totally caught me off guard and that is the only thing which brought the rating up a point.  Also, it took over 300 pages for the connection to the first two books in the series to be made.  

I think this book could have been about 100 pages shorter or maybe not added to series at all.  I am interested to see where book 4 leads but honestly, after this one, and not in too much of a hurry to find out.

MY RATING: 3 PAWS

Feed Your TBR - Play Nice

 

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.

September 9, 2025

FROM GOODREADS: Clio Louise Barnes leads a picture-perfect life as a stylist and influencer, but beneath the glossy veneer she harbors a not-so glamorous secret: she grew up in a haunted house. Well, not haunted. Possessed. After Clio’s parent’s messy divorce, her mother, Alex, moved Clio and her sisters into a house occupied by a demon. Or so Alex claimed. That’s not what Clio’s sisters remember or what the courts determined when they stripped Alex of custody after she went off the deep end. But Alex was insistent; she even wrote a book about her experience in the house.

After Alex’s sudden death, the supposedly possessed house passes to Clio and her sisters. Where her sisters see childhood trauma, Clio sees an opportunity for house flipping content. Only, as the home makeover process begins, Clio discovers there might be some truth to her mother’s claims. As memories resurface and Clio finally reads her mother’s book, the presence in the house becomes more real, and more sinister, revealing ugly truths that threaten to shake Clio’s beautiful life to its very foundation.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: When I saw this cover yesterday, I knew I had to feature it this week. I love haunted house stories, and that cover is STUNNING!  Of course it is primarily purple which doesn't hurt.  I need to know more about the alleged demon that lives there too!

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

Buried by Books #8

 

Welcome to another edition where share why I'm feeling overwhelmed and "buried" by books.  Today, instead of sharing Libby holds and KU want-to-read lists, I'm actually sharing three recent physical books I placed on hold at my local library and just picked up a few days ago.  I'm planning on making these three a priority in March - at least I hope to. 

Our Winter Monster: Dennis Mahoney - I've wanted to read this one since I first heard of it.  I already gave the first few chapters a try and they sucked me right in.  I only put it down due to other priorities in February so I can't wait to pick it up again.

Mask of the Deer Woman: Laurie L. Dove - I love Indigenous tales and this will be a perfect addition to my March reads where I plan on reading The Buffalo Hunter Hunter.

Mirror Lake (Shady Hollow #3): Juneau Black - I feel in love with this quirky cozy mystery series last summer, or maybe even the summer before.  All the characters are animals and it's hard to put into words how much I love it but come on, animals solving mysteries!

Have you read any of these?  If so, let me know if you've enjoyed them.  

Feed Your TBR - Girl Dinner

 

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.

October 21, 2025

FROM GOODREADS: Every member of The House, the most exclusive sorority on campus, and all its alumni, are beautiful, high-achieving, and universally respected.

After a freshman year she would rather forget, sophomore Nina Kaur knows being one of the chosen few accepted into The House is the first step in her path to the brightest possible future. Once she's taken into their fold, the House will surely ease her fears of failure and protect her from those who see a young woman on her own as easy prey.

Meanwhile, adjunct professor Dr. Sloane Hartley is struggling to return to work after accepting a demotion to support her partner's new position at the cutthroat University. After 18 months at home with her newborn daughter, Sloane's clothes don’t fit right, her girl-dad husband isn’t as present as he thinks he is, and even the few hours a day she's apart from her child fill her psyche with paralyzing ennui. When invited to be The House’s academic liaison, Sloane enviously drinks in the way the alumnae seem to have it all, achieving a level of collective perfection that Sloane so desperately craves.

As Nina and Sloane each get drawn deeper into the arcane rituals of the sisterhood, they learn that living well comes with bloody costs. And when they are finally invited to the table, they will have to decide just how much they can stomach in the name of solidarity and power

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  This is the author's first adult horror and dare I say, vampires?  That's all I need to know.

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

I Think I'll Stay Away From Moors!

 

TITLE: HollowGround (Detective Jacob Knox Thriller #1

AUTHOR: Freya Wallace

PUBLISHER: Hamya Press

PUBLISHING DATE: February 17, 2025

PAGES: 244   

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: In the rugged wilderness of Dartmoor, school teacher Sophie Parsons vanishes without a trace during a weekend trek. For Detective Inspector Jacob Knox, Sophie’s disappearance stirs unsettling echoes of a previous case involving another woman who vanished in the same desolate moorland six months earlier. 

As Knox delves deeper, he uncovers the complexities of Sophie’s personal life, including a secret affair with a charismatic colleague and a tense relationship with her long-term boyfriend, Peter. But Sophie’s tangled love life is just the beginning of Knox’s troubles. A local legend about a beast stalking the moors resurfaces, fueling public fear and media speculation. Is it just a myth, or could something more sinister be at play? 

With time running out and the possibility that two women have been claimed by the moor, Knox faces his toughest case yet—one that will test him professionally and personally. As the case unfolds, Knox realizes the dark truths buried beneath the surface of Sophie’s life may be the key to unlocking the mystery.

MY THOUGHTS: I wanted to read this book the minute I saw that handsome dog on the cover.  Well, I now know his name is Dylan and my instincts were correct.  

Jacob Knox relocated to Dartmoor following his divorce a few years back.  Since then, he has enjoyed a bit slower pace than his previous job but is still struggling with some aspects from his past. Out on a run one morning, Sophie Parsons vanishes.  As Knox and his team start investigating, they uncover some similarities between Sophie's case and an unsolved case from six months ago.  Knox learns that Sophie's life was a bit messier than anyone knew, which leads to more suspects each time he turns around.  He and his partner Ava work to connect the two cases and hopefully, find out what is really going on. 

Initially I thought Dylan was Knox's police dog, but he isn't.  Knox purchased Dylan for companionship following his divorce and move.  Dylan does play an adequate role in the book though as he helps Knox unwind and also helps him form a growing connection with his dog-sitter, Lucy. Knox is also battling some family demons as his brother, an active alcoholic, has resurfaced and Knox tries to help him clean up his life.  

The "thriller" part of this book was pretty solid as long as you enjoy police procedurals.  In fact, there were aspects that were pretty creepy at time, especially the few select chapters that were told from Sophie's POV.  Although I felt like the ending was a tad rushed, this was a great first installment from a debut author and I'm excited to see where the series heads.  

MY RATING: 4 PAWS

Is Your House Sick? Hope Not!

 

TITLE: Sick Houses: Haunted Homes and the Architect of Dread

AUTHOR: Leila Taylor

PUBLISHER: Repeater

PUBLISHING DATE: February 11, 2025

PAGES: 322   

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: The history of horror begins with a house. From Otranto to Amityville, the haunted house story endures because it perverts what is equally the most universal and the most personal of the home. Our home is an extension of our self, a manifestation of our identity, and a repository of our memories. It is a micro-universe of our own creation that we control. It is also where we are the most vulnerable because we are supposed to be the most safe. 

Whether it is a decrepit Victorian mansion, a modernist luxury high-rise, a little cottage in the woods, or a starter house in the suburbs, Sick Houses explores how the horror genre in film, television, and literature uses architecture and the ideology of the home against us. It looks at the mythology of the American Dream and how the lure of homeownership becomes a trap. It celebrates the witch house, the power of the crone, and the fear of aging women who live alone. It explores how concrete utopias became ready-made mise en scene for urban terror. 

From the betrayal of sentient shape-shifting houses to shadow-self dollhouse doppelgangers, Sick Houses examines how the horror genre subverts and corrupts that which is the most sacrosanct.

MY THOUGHTS: I'm not a big reader of non-fiction titles but one sure way to suck me in to give me a supernatural subject matter.  When I saw this book pop up on Netgalley, I knew it was one I wanted to check out and I'm glad I did.

Sick Houses analyzes houses of all kinds.  The chapters are broken down into specific categories and include American Houses, Dead Houses, Doll Houses, and Witch Houses to name a few.  The author has definitely completed the necessary research and used examples and references from houses featured in horror movies, houses built by renowned (and sometimes odd) architects, houses lived in by famous killers and television shows such as The Twilight Zone.  This was a definite plus for both a pop culture and true crime junkie like me.  I learned a lot about what really makes a home evil and why haunted house intrigue so many of us.  In fact, the author basically states that since our home is supposed to be our safe place and our second bodies, haunted house become the most intimate kind of horror.  

My only complaint was at times this book read a little bit TOO much like a textbook.  But even so, it was the best kind of textbook in my opinion (kind of the like the summer in college when I took Deviant Behavior and Abnormal Psychology back-to-back for four hours each morning and became good friends with the guy ranting about cutting his ex-girlfriend up into "itty bitty pieces." Don't worry, he was weird but harmless).  Sick Houses contains photos and movie shots, and I added a few older movies I had never heard of but now want to see to my watchlist.

If topics like this interest you, then you definitely want to pick this book up.  The author also has another book out Darkly: Black History and America's Gothic Soul that I also want to pick up eventually.  

MY RATING: 4 PAWS

Feed Your TBR - Fiend

 

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.

September 16, 2025

FROM GOODREADS: Imagine if the Sackler family had a demon at their beck and call.

The Berisha family runs one of the largest import-export companies in the world, and they’ve always been lucky. Their rivals suffer strokes. Inconvenient buildings catch on fire. Earthquakes swallow up manufacturing plants, destroying harmful evidence. Things always seem to work out for the Berishas. They’re blessed.

At least that is what Zef, the patriarch, has always told his three children. And each of them knows their place in the family—Dardan, as the only male heir, must prepare to take over as keeper of the Berisha secrets, Maris’s most powerful contribution, much to her dismay, will be to marry strategically, and Nora’s job, as the youngest, is to just stay out of the way. But when things stop going as planned, and the family blessing starts looking more like a curse, the Berishas begin to splinter, each hatching their own secret scheme. They didn’t get to be one of the richest families in the world without spilling a little blood, but this time, it might be their own.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: I have a love hate relationship with Katsu (The Hunger, I am looking at you), but the cover of this one caught my attention last week.  This is also Katsu's first foray into a book that is set in modern-day times and not historical.  I'm ready to give her another shot because I really want to love her.

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