A Vision in Velvet

Title: A Vision in Velvet (Witchcraft Mystery #6)

Author: Juliet Blackwell

Publisher: Obsidian 2014

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Pages: 309

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR

As soon as Lily opens the trunk, she feels strange vibrations emanating from a mysterious velvet cloak. When she tries it on, Lily sees awful visions from the past. And when the antiques dealer who sold her the cape is killed, Lily suspects a supernatural force might be behind his death.

Then Lily’s familiar, Oscar the potbellied pig, disappears. Lily will do anything to get him back—including battling the spirit of a powerful witch reaching out from the past. But even with the aid of her grandmother, unmasking a killer and saving Oscar might be more than one well-intentioned sorceress can handle.

After a volume that wasn't my absolute favorite, this one in the Witchcraft Mystery series got me right back in the groove. I loved the storyline of the oak tree, Oscar's disappearance, Deliverance, the Ashen Witch, and Bart. I loved the interlude at the cocktail party hosted at the Cal Academy (seriously, I love that museum, wish we lived a bit closer, or at least that it was easier to get to by public transit as I hate parking there). I loved the return of Sailor even if I don't think he's ultimately the right guy for Lily. I loved the bigger storyline for Conrad. And I definitely loved all the action in this one. Can't wait to pick up the next volume in the series. Good thing it's sitting on my nightstand!

Witchcraft Mystery

• #1 Secondhand Spirits

• #2 A Cast Off Coven

• #3 Hexes and Hemlines

• #4 In a Witch's Wardrobe

• #5 Tarnished and Torn

• #6 A Vision in Velvet

• #6.5 A Haunting is Brewing

• #7 Spellcasting in Silk

• #8 A Toxic Trousseau

• #9 A Magical Match

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

Title: The Demon Lover (Fairwick Trilogy #1)

Author: Juliet Dark

Publisher: Ballantine 2011

Genre: Paranormal Fiction

Pages: 416

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Popsugar - Based on Mythology; New to Me

Since accepting a teaching position at remote Fairwick College in upstate New York, Callie McFay has experienced the same disturbingly sensual dream every night: A mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly satisfying ways possible. Perhaps these dreams are the result of her having written the bestselling book The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. Callie’s lifelong passion is the intersection of lurid fairy tales and Gothic literature—which is why she’s found herself at Fairwick’s renowned folklore department, living in a once-stately Victorian house that, at first sight, seemed to call her name.
 
But Callie soon realizes that her dreams are alarmingly real. She has a demon lover—an incubus—and he will seduce her, pleasure her, and eventually suck the very life from her. Then Callie makes another startling discovery: Her incubus is not the only mythical creature in Fairwick. As the tenured witches of the college and the resident fairies in the surrounding woods prepare to cast out the demon, Callie must accomplish something infinitely more difficult—banishing this supernatural lover from her heart.

Random read off my shelf. Don't know why I haven't read it before as I really really enjoyed this volume. I fell right into this collection of odd characters and beings. I immediately connected with Callie and her search for self. I loved the fact that Honeysuckle House became a character in its own right. I loved the slow unraveling of the world into a full-fledged reality. I especially loved the short but fascinating scenes featuring Adelaide. I can't wait to read the next book in the series. 

Fairwick Trilogy:

• #1 The Demon Lover
• #2 The Water Witch
• #3 The Angel Stone

Next up on the TBR pile:

Tarnished and Torn by Juliet Blackwell

Title: Tarnished and Torn (Witchcraft Mystery #5)

Author: Juliet Blackwell

Publisher: Berkley 2013

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - Audiobook

When Lily arrives at an antique jewelry fair, her bargain sensors go off left and right—but she also picks up a faint vibration of magic. Could the hard-bargaining merchant Griselda be a fellow practitioner? It certainly seems that way when a sudden fire sends panic through the crowd, and Lily discovers Griselda murdered in a way that nods to an old-fashioned witch hunt…
 
A crime that hits close to home turns into an unwelcome flash from the past when the police bring in their lead suspect—Lily’s estranged father. Though he may not deserve her help, Lily is determined to clear her father’s name and solve a murder that’s anything but crystal clear. 

Grabbed this one in audiobook form as I thought it would be easy to listen while driving everywhere and I needed an audiobook for the Popsugar challenge. Unfortunately the audio version wasn't super enjoyable to me. Overall, I really enjoy these books. They are fun little supernatural mysteries that can speed through in between heavier books. While reading then, I often skim through the sections where Lily talks about her background (stuff I've already learned by reading the previous books in the series). With the audio version, I had to listen to all those passages (can't fast forward while driving) and there are many of those passages. It really got annoying after awhile. However, I really did enjoy the characters and the storyline in this one. The opening at the gem fair was especially fun. Definitely a good read. I'll just stick to the print versions for the rest of the series.

Witchcraft Mystery

• #1 Secondhand Spirits
• #2 A Cast Off Coven
• #3 Hexes and Hemlines
• #4 In a Witch's Wardrobe
• #5 Tarnished and Torn
• #6 A Vision in Velvet
• #6.5 A Haunting is Brewing
• #7 Spellcasting in Silk
• #8 A Toxic Trousseau
• #9 A Magical Match

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton

Title: The Custom of the Country

Author: Edith Wharton

Publisher: 1913

Genre: Classics

Pages: 224

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Classics - Romance; Popsugar - Takes Place Over a Character's Lifetime

Undine Spragg is an exquisitely beautiful but ferociously acquisitive young woman from the Midwest who comes to New York to seek her fortune. She achieves her social ambitions—but only at the highest cost to her family, her admirers, and her several husbands. Wharton lavished on Undine an imaginative energy that suggests she was as fascinated as she was appalled by the alluring monster she had created. It is the complexity of her attitude that makes The Custom of the Country—with its rich social and emotional detail and its headlong narrative power—one of the most fully realized and resonant of her works.

I must say that I was a bit disappointed in this one. I really enjoyed Wharton's The Age of Innocence, but this one felt flat in comparison. Undine is one of the most unlikable characters in literature. No one is rooting for this spoiled brat of a teen in the beginning and no one is rooting for her at the end. I could see Wharton's social commentary, but I just couldn't really get into the characters and storyline to really care. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

East of West Volume 7

Title: East of West Volume 7

Author: Jonathan Hickman, Nick Dragotta

Publisher: Image 2017

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 128

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

The final year of the apocalypse begins! Armies rage! Nations at War! A family fights to be reunited. Collects EAST OF WEST #30-34.

I got the next volume of one of my favorite comic series. Things are really coming to a head in this series. I'm guessing that there will be 10 volumes of the comics and things are getting super intense. Loving where this volume took us. So incredibly crazy!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Saga Volume 7

Title: Saga Volume 7

Author: Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples

Publisher: Image 2017

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 152

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

From the worldwide bestselling team of FIONA STAPLES and BRIAN K. VAUGHAN, “The War for Phang” is an epic, self-contained SAGA event! Finally reunited with her ever-expanding family, Hazel travels to a war-torn comet that Wreath and Landfall have been battling over for ages. New friendships are forged and others are lost forever in this action-packed volume about families, combat and the refugee experience. 

What can I say? I love this comic series so much. Every volume, we are treated to more adventures, more characters, and more crazy. Love it so much! It was nice to focus most of the story on the reunited core family adding in their fellow travelers. I can't wait to see where this story goes next. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

How to Talk to Girls at Parties by Neil Gaiman

Title: How to Talk to Girls at Parties

Author: Neil Gaiman, Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon

Publisher: Dark Horse 2016

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 64

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

Two teenage boys are in for a tremendous shock when they crash a party where the girls are far more than they appear!
From Neil Gaiman—one of the most celebrated authors of our time—and award-winning artists Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá, this sumptuous graphic novel is not to be missed!

Love Gaiman's super weird stories and this one is just fabulous. As with most of his works, this story start out very normal and of-our-world, but then little things start to catch you attention. Suddenly things are not quite normal. And that's where the fun really starts. This one is so much fun and the art just reinforces all great weirdness. Loved it!

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Devil in the Shape of a Woman by Carol Karlsen

Title: The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England

Author: Carol Karlsen

Publisher: Norton and Company 1987

Genre: Nonfiction U.S. History

Pages: 370

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (NonAd); Mount TBR

Confessing to "familiarity with the devils," Mary Johnson, a servant, was executed by Connecticut officials in 1648. A wealthy Boston widow, Ann Hibbens was hanged in 1656 for casting spells on her neighbors. The case of Ann Cole, who was "taken with very strange Fits," fueled an outbreak of witchcraft accusations in Hartford a generation before the notorious events at Salem.

More than three hundred years later, the question "Why?" still haunts us. Why were these and other women likely witches―vulnerable to accusations of witchcraft and possession? Carol F. Karlsen reveals the social construction of witchcraft in seventeenth-century New England and illuminates the larger contours of gender relations in that society.

I'm always up for a good history book. And this one doesn't disappoint. I was fully into Karlsen's examinations of the events that led to and resulted from the Salem Witch Trails. More than merely a recounting, Karlsen dives into the motivations of the colonists in New England and focuses on gender dynamics of the time. This volume is very dense, but a great examination of the time. Diehard history fans will love this volume.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Coldest City by Antony Johnston

Title: The Coldest City

Author: Antony Johnston

Publisher: Oni Press 2012

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 176

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel; New to Me

November 1989. Communism is collapsing, and soon the Berlin Wall will come down with it. But before that happens there is one last bit of cloak & dagger to attend to. Two weeks ago, an undercover MI6 officer was killed in Berlin. He was carrying information from a source in the East - a list that allegedly contains the name of every espionage agent working in Berlin, on all sides. No list was found on his body. Now Lorraine Broughton, an experienced spy with no pre-existing ties to Berlin, has been sent into this powderkeg of social unrest, counter-espionage, defections gone bad and secret assassinations to bring back the list and save the lives of the British agents whose identities reside on it.

J and I were intrigued by the trail for Atomic Blonde and picked it up to watch. But before we did, I wanted to read the graphic novel that the movie was based on. This is a slim volume full of black and white stark images. The reader is treated to a great spy thriller full of twists and turns and who-dun-its. We get to see our main character venture into a Berlin ready to be reunited. I loved following the twisty storyline, eager to find out the real story behind the events. Very much an enjoyable read. Now we get to watch the movie!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Bad Girls Throughout History by Ann Shen

Title: Bad Girls Throughout History: 100 Remarkable Women Who Changed the World

Author: Ann Shen

Publisher: Chronicle Books 2016

Genre: Biography

Pages: 222

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (NonAd)

Aphra Behn, first female professional writer. Sojourner Truth, activist and abolitionist. Ada Lovelace, first computer programmer. Marie Curie, first woman to win the Nobel Prize. Joan Jett, godmother of punk. The 100 revolutionary women highlighted in this gorgeously illustrated book were bad in the best sense of the word: they challenged the status quo and changed the rules for all who followed. From pirates to artists, warriors, daredevils, scientists, activists, and spies, the accomplishments of these incredible women vary as much as the eras and places in which they effected change. Featuring bold watercolor portraits and illuminating essays by Ann Shen, Bad Girls Throughout History is a distinctive, worthy tribute.

An awesome collection of short biographies of extraordinary women throughout history. I knew the stories of most of the women featured, but it was still a joy to read about their lives. And I even learned about some women I hadn't known before. On top of the great biographies, the beautiful watercolor portraits are a joy to behold. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner

Title: A Bride Across the Ocean

Author: Susan Meissner

Publisher: Berkley 2017

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 363

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - Set in a Hotel; New to Me

February, 1946. World War Two is over, but the recovery from the most intimate of its horrors has only just begun for Annaliese Lange, a German ballerina desperate to escape her past, and Simone Deveraux, the wronged daughter of a French Résistance spy.
 
Now the two women are joining hundreds of other European war brides aboard the renowned RMS Queen Mary to cross the Atlantic and be reunited with their American husbands. Their new lives in the United States brightly beckon until their tightly-held secrets are laid bare in their shared stateroom. When the voyage ends at New York Harbor, only one of them will disembark...
 
Present day. Facing a crossroads in her own life, Brette Caslake visits the famously haunted Queen Mary at the request of an old friend. What she finds will set her on a course to solve a seventy-year-old tragedy that will draw her into the heartaches and triumphs of the courageous war brides—and will ultimately lead her to reconsider what she has to sacrifice to achieve her own deepest longings. 

I randomly picked this up at the library after hearing about it on What Should I Read Next?, Anne Bogel's podcast. And I'm so glad I did. The premise sounded intriguing and it's a different kind of WW2 novel than I have read. I immediately fell in love with all of the historical character. Annaliese, Phoebe, and Simone were great. I loved learning more and more about their stories and speculating on where they ended up. I loved the mystery of "she" aboard the Queen Mary. The transitions between time periods and characters were well done. I never felt ripped out of the storylines. I ended up speeding through this one because it was so good. Definitely a fan. Must check out more of Meissner's works.

Next up on the TBR pile:

In a Witch's Wardrobe by Juliet Blackwell

Title: In a Witch's Wardrobe (Witchcraft Mystery #4)

Author: Juliet Blackwell

Publisher: Berkley 2012

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Pages: 337

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR

Taking a night off from running her successful San Francisco clothing store, Lily attends a local art deco ball where vintage fashions steal the show. But when a young woman at the event falls under a mysterious sleeping sickness, Lily senses that a curse was placed on the woman’s corsage. 

Before Lily can solve the woman’s magical ailment, she’s asked to assist in investigating a string of poisonings in the Bay Area witchcraft community. She’s gained the trust of the local covens by supporting women’s charities through her clothing store. But soon, Lily suspects that one of her new acquaintances might not be so well intentioned and could be dabbling in dark magic and deadly botany…

I feel like this series is finally hitting it's stride. I love the storyline revolving around the Art Deco Ball, the Paramount Theater, and other great places around the Bay. I loved meeting some new and interesting characters, especially Calypso. I loved the development of Lily and Sailor's relationship. I loved seeing more from all the great side characters like Bronwyn and Maya. And Oscar is just a treat. I really really love where the series is taking Lily's story. I can't wait to start the next one in the series.

Witchcraft Mystery

• #1 Secondhand Spirits
• #2 A Cast Off Coven
• #3 Hexes and Hemlines
• #4 In a Witch's Wardrobe
• #5 Tarnished and Torn
• #6 A Vision in Velvet
• #6.5 A Haunting is Brewing
• #7 Spellcasting in Silk
• #8 A Toxic Trousseau
• #9 A Magical Match

Next up on the TBR pile:

Omega Days by John Campbell

Title: Omega Days

Author: John Campbell

Publisher: Berkley 2013

Genre: Horror

Pages: 360

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: New to Me

San Francisco, California. Father Xavier Church has spent his life ministering to unfortunate souls, but he has never witnessed horror like this. After he forsakes his vows in the most heartrending of ways, he watches helplessly as a zombie nun takes a bite out of a fellow priest’s face…
University of California, Berkeley. Skye Dennison is moving into her college dorm for the first time, simultaneously excited to be leaving the nest and terrified to be on her own. When her mother and father are eaten alive in front of her, she realizes the terror has just begun…
Alameda, California. Angie West made millions off her family’s reality gun show on the History Channel. But after she is cornered by the swarming undead, her knowledge of heavy artillery is called into play like never before…

I had checked this out a few months back, but ran out of time to read it and had to return it to the library. For Halloween, the librarians put up a special display and it was just sitting there calling my name. So I grabbed it, sat down and read this in two days. Campbell pushes you right into the madness and doesn't stop until the last page. And even then there's a cliffhanger... I thoroughly enjoyed this zombie book. It won't land on my Top 10 list for the year, but I am defiitely going to keep reading this series. 

Omega Days:

• #1 Omega Days
• #2 Ship of the Dead
• #3 Drifters
• #4 Crossbones

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Title: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Author: Neil Gaiman

Publisher: William Morrow 2013

Genre: Fantasty

Pages: 181

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Popsugar - Someone I admire

A brilliantly imaginative and poignant fairy tale from the modern master of wonder and terror, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is Neil Gaiman’s first new novel for adults since his #1 New York Times bestseller Anansi Boys.

This bewitching and harrowing tale of mystery and survival, and memory and magic, makes the impossible all too real...

I first read and reviewed this novel in September 2013. Upon rereading my review, I think everything I said still holds true so I am going to reprint it here today. "I love how all of Gaiman's books and stories start out fairly normal.  You think you're in the world we know.  But then, a few pages or a few chapters in, something happens that is not normal.  Something appears to throw off our balance.  And we find ourselves in a world not quite like ours.  This story is no exception.  The first chapter lulls you into a sense of normalcy and then bam! you're thrown into something completely different.  I loved this little novel about a boy's adventures with "other" things.  Since it is told in flashback, I can even imagine the man sitting beside the pond recollecting long forgotten memories of childhood.  It's such a peaceful and yet disturbing moment.  And as with all Gaiman stories, I could not predict the ending.  I had no idea what was going to happen.  That made the story all the more fascinating and engaging.  Overall, a short but powerful piece.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Hexes and Hemlines by Juliet Blackwell

Title: Hexes and Hemlines (Witchcraft Mystery #3)

Author: Juliet Blackwell

Publisher: Obsidian 2011

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Pages: 314

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; What's in a name - X

Lily gets called away from her vintage clothing store to give police a witch's take on how the leader of a rationalist society could be murdered, surrounded by superstitions he discredited. 

Evidence points to dark witchcraft. Lily's determined to use magic of her own to find the murderer, before everyone's luck runs out.

Another great volume in this oh-so-fun series. I loved getting to know Lily even more and see her get more comfortable in her newly adopted hometown. And oh my the secrets that are starting to come out. Each volume we get just a bit more of what is going on behind the scenes. I love how Blackwell teases out some clues and hints about the larger paranormal world in the Bay Area. This one was super fun. I loved the new incarnation of the Thirteenth Club. Great subject matter!

Witchcraft Mystery

• #1 Secondhand Spirits
• #2 A Cast Off Coven
• #3 Hexes and Hemlines
• #4 In a Witch's Wardrobe
• #5 Tarnished and Torn
• #6 A Vision in Velvet
• #6.5 A Haunting is Brewing
• #7 Spellcasting in Silk
• #8 A Toxic Trousseau
• #9 A Magical Match

Next upon the TBR pile:

A Cast Off Coven by Juliet Blackwell

Title: A Cast Off Coven (Witchcraft Mystery #2)

Author: Juliet Blackwell

Publisher: Obsidian 2010

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Pages: 312

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR

Lily Ivory is not your average witch. She runs a vintage clothing store called Aunt Cora's Closet and has the magical ability to sense vibrations of the past from clothing and jewelry. When students are spooked at the San Francisco School for the Arts, Lily is called in to search for paranormal activity. She finds a dead body and a closet full of old clothes with some very bad vibes.

Really digging this series... I loved diving back into Lily Ivory and her witchy ways. We get more appearances by some great side characters (hello Aidan!) and a fun storyline involving an old nunnery, ghosts, and a demon. The only thing I'm not loving is Max. I get that we need a skeptical character, but seriously he treats Lily like crap most of the time. I hope he gets his act together in the next book. Overall, this series is just what I need for a fun enjoyable read!

Witchcraft Mystery

• #1 Secondhand Spirits
• #2 A Cast Off Coven
• #3 Hexes and Hemlines
• #4 In a Witch's Wardrobe
• #5 Tarnished and Torn
• #6 A Vision in Velvet
• #6.5 A Haunting is Brewing
• #7 Spellcasting in Silk
• #8 A Toxic Trousseau
• #9 A Magical Match

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Gates by John Connolly

Title: The Gates (Samuel Johnson Vs. The Devil #1)

Author: John Connolly

Publisher: Atria 2009

Genre: Horror

Pages: 296

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; New to Me

Young Samuel Johnson and his dachshund, Boswell, are trying to show initiative by trick-or-treating a full three days before Halloween, which is how they come to witness strange goings-on at 666 Crowley Road. The Abernathys don't mean any harm by their flirtation with the underworld, but when they unknowingly call forth Satan himself, they create a gap in the universe, a gap through which a pair of enormous gates is visible. The gates to Hell. And there are some pretty terrifying beings just itching to get out.... Can one small boy defeat evil? Can he harness the power of science, faith, and love to save the world as we know it? 

Another long-time resident of my TBR shelf. I finally picked it up and it was such a joy! Reminded me of Good Omens or any of Christopher Moore's books. I loved the combination of horror and comedy. Samuel is a great foil for the forces of Hell. And Nurd was so much fun. I started reading this as a holdover while my hold book was arriving, fully intending to put it up when my other book came, but I ended up flying through this book instead. Love love loved it!

Samuel Johnson Vs. The Devil

• #1 The Gates
• #2 Hell's Bells
• #3 The Creeps

Next up on the TBR pile:

Haunted Castles by Ray Russell

Title: Haunted Castles

Author: Ray Russell

Publisher: Penguin Classics 2013

Genre: Horror

Pages: 235

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsguar - Story within a Story; New to Me

Haunted Castles is the definitve, complete collection of Ray Russell's masterful Gothic horror stories, including the famously terrifying novella trio of  "Sardonicus," "Sanguinarius," and "Sagittarius." The characters that sprawl through Haunted Castles are frightful to the core: the heartless monster holding two lovers in limbo; the beautiful dame journeying down a damned road toward depravity (with the help of an evil gypsy); the man who must wear his fatal crimes on his face in the form of an awful smile. Engrossing, grotesque, perverted, and completely entrancing, Russell's Gothic tales are the best kind of dreadful.

How have I never heard of Ray Russell? And to find out he is one of Guillermo del Toro's favorite authors? Holy cow this was a great find on the random library shelf. I love love loved every single story included in this collection. But I have to say that my favorite was "Sagittarius" involving Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, and Jack the Ripper. The way Russell crafts his stories fascinated me. I loved the story within a story format for a few of the stories included. I loved the throwback to Gothic storytelling. And I loved the stories themselves. There were thoroughly scary. Perfect pick for my spooky October reads.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Reading People by Anne Bogel

Title: Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything

Author: Anne Bogel

Publisher: Baker Books 2017

Genre: Nonfiction 

Pages: 217

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Popsugar -- Career Advice

For readers who long to dig deeper into what makes them uniquely them (and why that matters), popular blogger Anne Bogel has done the hard part--collecting, exploring, and explaining the most popular personality frameworks, such as Myers-Briggs, StrengthsFinder, Enneagram, and others. She explains to readers the life-changing insights that can be gained from each and shares specific, practical real-life applications across all facets of life, including love and marriage, productivity, parenting, the workplace, and spiritual life. In her friendly, relatable style, Bogel shares engaging personal stories that show firsthand how understanding personality can revolutionize the way we live, love, work, and pray.

I'm a huge fan of Anne Bogel's podcast What Should I Read Next and was intrigued by the entire premise of her new book. I ended up preordering this one so I would get it when it released, but life got in the way of me reading this when it arrived. I ended getting this book this week and really did enjoy it. I read through all the various personality frameworks Bogel discusses but probably only really absorbed about 60% of the information presented. This book will definitely need a reread in a few weeks to continue my understanding of personality framelworks and how they apply to our lives. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

Title: Paper Valentine

Author: Brenna Yovanoff

Publisher: Razorbill 2013

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 304

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; New to Me

For Hannah, the summer is a complicated one.  Her best friend Lillian died six months ago, and Hannah just wants her life to go back to normal. But how can things be normal when Lillian’s ghost is haunting her bedroom, pushing her to investigate the mysterious string of murders?  Hannah’s just trying to understand why her friend self-destructed, and where she fits now that Lillian isn’t there to save her a place among the social elite. And she must stop thinking about Finny Boone, the big, enigmatic delinquent whose main hobbies seem to include petty larceny and surprising acts of kindness.

Another random book that's been sitting on my shelf for too long. I thought it would be perfect for a spooky October. Unfortunately, I was very bored by this volume. I was not impressed by the characters or the storyline. I usually need one of the two to really get into a book. This one did not give me either. So I pushed through the story, but was thoroughly bored. Oh well. At least I made another space on my shelf.

Next up on the TBR pile: