Fragments by Dan Wells

Title: Fragments (Partials Sequence #2)

Author: Dan Wells

Publisher: Balzar + Bray 2013

Genre: YA Scifi

Pages: 576

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series; Cover Lover - Futuristic Scene

Where I Got It: Library

After discovering the cure for RM, Kira Walker sets off on a terrifying journey into the ruins of postapocalyptic America and the darkest desires of her heart in order to uncover the means—and a reason—for humanity's survival.

This second volume of the series didn’t really surprise me. I telegraphed almost everything that happened, but still found myself turning th pages waiting to see what happens next. I enjoyed the move out of New York and focusing on Kira and Samm as they attempt to travel hundreds of miles to find answers. We get enough switch in perspective to check back in with those back east, but thankfully we don’t spend a majority of our time there. I must say that Marcus is my least favorite character… he just seems stuck in life and things happen to him as opposed to him doing things. I loved finally meeting Ariel and learning more of the truth about their origins. But my favorite sections were definitely seeing our travelers navigate Chicago and the waste land. I am excited to finish this trilogy soon.

Partials Sequence:

• #1 Partials

• #2 Fragments

• #3 Ruins

Next up on the TBR pile:

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Title: Romantic Comedy

Author: Curtis Sittenfeld

Publisher: Random House 2023

Genre: Romance

Pages: 309

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Quarter of a Century - 2023; Romanceopoly - Festival Barn

Where I Got It: Library

Spice Rating: 4.5

Sally Milz is a sketch writer for The Night Owls, a late-night live comedy show that airs every Saturday. With a couple of heartbreaks under her belt, she’s long abandoned the search for love, settling instead for the occasional hook-up, career success, and a close relationship with her stepfather to round out a satisfying life.

But when Sally’s friend and fellow writer Danny Horst begins dating Annabel, a glamorous actress who guest-hosted the show, he joins the not-so-exclusive group of talented but average-looking and even dorky men at the show—and in society at large—who’ve gotten romantically involved with incredibly beautiful and accomplished women. Sally channels her annoyance into a sketch called The Danny Horst Rule, poking fun at this phenomenon while underscoring how unlikely it is that the reverse would ever happen for a woman.

Enter Noah Brewster, a pop music sensation with a reputation for dating models, who signed on as both host and musical guest for this week’s show. Dazzled by his charms, Sally hits it off with Noah instantly, and as they collaborate on one sketch after another, she begins to wonder if there might actually be sparks flying. But this isn’t a romantic comedy—it’s real life. And in real life, someone like him would never date someone like her . . . right?

With her keen observations and trademark ability to bring complex women to life on the page, Curtis Sittenfeld explores the neurosis-inducing and heart-fluttering wonder of love, while slyly dissecting the social rituals of romance and gender relations in the modern age.

Oh goodness. I truly disliked this book. My main issue with the book is actually the format and writing style. The “Dear Diary” style of relating the week at the non-SNL production got old really fast. It felt super immature and distracted from the characters. The second section of emails was tired and repetitive. I couldn’t even imagine having to listen to that on audio. Thank goodness that I was reading it with my eyes. The third section was the only part that I was okay with. It’s written with first-person narrative, but seems normal. My other issue with the book is the story itself. There’s an attempt to show a story focused on insecure woman as she attempts to not fuck up a New Romantic relationship. I appreciate the attempt, but found Sally so unlikeable and annoying in many ways. I would have liked to see so much more between her and Noah, but instead we don’t get them together until the 70% mark of the book. As an extra note, I hated reading the COVID section. The entire section where Jerry contracts COVID seemed out of place and took my out of the point of the book. This is going to be interesting book club.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Title: The Last Unicorn

Author: Peter S. Beagle

Publisher: 1968

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 294

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Books to Movies; Fairytale Retelling - Mythology

Where I Got It: Library

The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. So she ventured out from the safety of the enchanted forest on a quest for others of her kind. Joined along the way by the bumbling magician Schmendrick and the indomitable Molly Grue, the unicorn learns all about the joys and sorrows of life and love before meeting her destiny in the castle of a despondent monarch—and confronting the creature that would drive her kind to extinction...

Our Nerdy Bookish Friend selection for May (it got bumped from March). It’s been on my TBR for absolute years. I finally got around to it and I’m not sure exactly how I feel about this one. I kept having to remind myself that this was written in 1968. The story felt very dated, but again, 1968. There are a few scenes that were pretty disturbing and I couldn’t decide if they actually fit the story at all. The story meandered a little too much in sections. There are passages that are beautiful and fun. I can see why this became a classic, but I ultimately was sorta disappointed in this read.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair

Title: The Secret Lives of Color

Author: Kassia St. Clair

Publisher: Penguin Books 2016

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 284

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER; Nonfiction Reader

Where I Got It: Kindle

The Secret Lives of Color tells the unusual stories of seventy-five fascinating shades, dyes, and hues. From blonde to ginger, the brown that changed the way battles were fought to the white that protected against the plague, Picasso’s blue period to the charcoal on the cave walls at Lascaux, acid yellow to kelly green, and from scarlet women to imperial purple, these surprising stories run like a bright thread throughout history.

In this book, Kassia St. Clair has turned her lifelong obsession with colors and where they come from (whether Van Gogh’s chrome yellow sunflowers or punk’s fluorescent pink) into a unique study of human civilization. Across fashion and politics, art and war, the secret lives of color tell the vivid story of our culture. 

I randomly picked this from my backlog of Kindle selections. I enjoyed a light journey through various historical vignettes about colors. I liked learning specific shades. There’s a lot of history in here that obviously took a lot of research. It didn’t surprise me that so many colors involve various toxins and poisons. An interesting read in between all my more serious books.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis

Title: Dreadful

Author: Caitlin Rozakis

Publisher: Titan Books 2024

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 344

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Cover Lover - Bookish Elements

Where I Got It: Library

It’s bad enough waking up in a half-destroyed evil wizard’s workshop with no eyebrows, no memories, and no idea how long you have before the Dread Lord Whomever shows up to murder you horribly and then turn your skull into a goblet or something.

It’s a lot worse when you realize that Dread Lord Whomever is… you.

Gav isn’t really sure how he ended up with a castle full of goblins, or why he has a princess locked in a cell. All he can do is play along with his own evil plan in hopes of getting his memories back before he gets himself killed. 

But as he realizes that nothing – from the incredibly tasteless cloak adorned with flames to the aforementioned princess – is quite what it seems, Gav must face up to all the things the Dread Lord Gavrax has done. And he’ll have to answer the hardest question of all – who does he want to be?

A high fantasy farce featuring killer moat squid, toxic masculinity, an evil wizard convocation, and a garlic festival. All at once. All in all, Dread Lord Gavrax has had better weeks.

Overall, this was such a delight. I choose it for my speculative fiction book club because I was hoping for something a bit lighter and fun. It delivered on both of those fronts. We immediately jump into the action and have to puzzle out the past along with Gav. Apparently I really like the amnesia trope in fantasy books. I found it a lot of fun to try and piece together all the mysteries and secrets surrounding the Dread Lord. I was afraid that the book was going to continue with Gav attempting to deceive everyone. Quickly a few others figure out that he has amnesia and even more hijinks ensue. There’s a lot of humor mixed in with the horror and I loved it. Ultimately, I wanted to see a bit more about the larger world and magic. But, I enjoyed my time reading the book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine

Title: My Vampire Plus-One (My Vampires #2)

Author: Jenna Levine

Publisher: Berkley 2024

Genre: Romance

Pages: 372

Rating: /5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romanceopoly - The Frosty Bistro; Cover Lover - Eyewear

Where I Got It: Library

Spice Rating: 4

Amelia Collins is by definition successful. She would even go so far as to say successfully single. But not according to her family, and she's tired of the constant questions about her nonexistent dating life. When an invitation to yet another family wedding arrives, she decides to get everyone off her back once and for all by finding someone--anyone--to pose as her date.
 
After a chance encounter with Reginald Cleaves, Amelia decides he's perfect for her purposes. He's a bit strange, but that’s fine; it'll discourage tough questions from her family. (And it certainly doesn't hurt that he's very handsome.) For centuries-old vampire Reggie, posing as her plus-one sounds like the ultimate fun. And if it helps his ruse of pretending to be human, so much the better.

As Amelia and Reggie practice their fauxmance, it becomes clear that Reggie is as loyal to her as the day is long, and that Amelia’s first impressions could not have been more wrong. Suddenly, being in a real relationship with Reggie sounds pretty fang-tastic.

The book had been on my list from the fall when I wanted a bit of supernatural angle to my reading. Unfortunately, there were a ton of holds on the book. Overall, this was super cute. Reggie is an oddball vampire who’s not looking for love. Amelia is an accountant pretty stuck in her life. Together they are a strange pairing but one that actually works. We get some ridiculous romance tropes: fake dating, forced proximity, and silly miscommunication. I wasn’t annoyed by any of them, but this isn’t the best romance I’ve read. It was cute and fun, just what I needed for this week, but nothing amazing.

My Vampires

• #1 My Roommate is a Vampire

• #2 My Vampire Plus-One

Next up on the TBR pile:

All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall

Title: All the Water in the World

Author: Eiren Caffall

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press 2025

Genre: SciFi

Pages: 304

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Read Around the USA - New York; Cover Lover - Famous Structure

Where I Got It: Library

All the Water in the World is told in the voice of a girl gifted with a deep feeling for water. In the years after the glaciers melt, Nonie, her older sister and her parents and their researcher friends have stayed behind in an almost deserted New York City, creating a settlement on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History. The rule: Take from the exhibits only in dire need. They hunt and grow their food in Central Park as they work to save the collections of human history and science. When a superstorm breaches the city’s flood walls, Nonie and her family must escape north on the Hudson. They carry with them a book that holds their records of the lost collections. Racing on the swollen river towards what may be safety, they encounter communities that have adapted in very different and sometimes frightening ways to the new reality. But they are determined to find a way to make a new world that honors all they've saved.

Inspired by the stories of the curators in Iraq and Leningrad who worked to protect their collections from war, All the Water in the World is both a meditation on what we save from collapse and an adventure story―with danger, storms, and a fight for survival. In the spirit of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and Parable of the Sower, this wild journey offers the hope that what matters most – love and work, community and knowledge – will survive.

50 pages into this book and I contemplated DNFing it. Not because I hated it, but because it was really bringing all the emotion and I didn’t know if I could handle that right now. I persevered and absolutely ended up loving this one so much. There’s beautiful writing, relatable characters, and suspense. This apocalypse feels very relevant and prescient to our world right now. But we get to experience it through the eyes of a child who doesn’t quite remember The World Before. While the world drowns, Nonie has a love and affinity with the water. That dichotomy alone intrigued me. I loved her commentary about the pull of the water and the wonder at the life that it holds. The book flips between the present escape from AMNH and their life in AMNH after the floods came. We slowly learn more about the characters and their struggles and triumphs over the years. This book deals with a lot of death and it’s very present on th page, but it was told in such a beautiful way that I couldn’t put it down.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Near Witch by V.E. Schwab

Title: The Near Witch

Author: V.E. Schwab

Publisher: Hyperion Books 2011

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 284

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER; Quarter of a Century - 2011

Where I Got It: Kindle

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children. 

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company. 

There are no strangers in the town of Near. 

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life. 

But when an actual stranger, a boy who seems to fade like smoke, appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true. 

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. 

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi's need to know about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy. 

I was randomly perusing my Kindle app looking for a lighter fantasy read and this one caught my eye. I have really enjoyed many of Schwab’s books. Apparently this is her first published book. I went into the book with no expectations and immediately fell into this folk story featuring a lost girl and a lost boy finding their way through the world. I loved the mix of folklore and supernatural aspects. We get some great scenes with the sisters and The Near Witch. It ended up being a shorter book, but was a great lighter fairy tale-esque read.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Werewolf's Guide to Seducing a Vampire by Sarah Hawley

Title: A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire (Glimmer Falls #3)

Author: Sarah Hawley

Publisher: Berkley 2024

Genre: Romancce

Pages: 448

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series; Romancceopoly - Heroine’s Rising (Strong, Independent Female Character)

Where I Got It: Library

Spice Rating: 5

Werewolf Ben Rosewood is happy with his life. One hundred percent. Everything is fine. His business, Ben’s Plant Emporium, is thriving, and he’s even expanding the shop. His anxiety disorder is…well, it’s been better, but that comes with the territory of running a business and having beastly urges every full moon, right? As for romance—who has the time? Though his family is desperate to see him settled, Ben is fine approaching forty as a single werewolf. But after drunkenly bidding on and winning a supposedly-possessed crystal on eBay one night, he finds himself face-to-face with a beautiful yet angry vampire.

Eleonore Bettencourt-Devereux is a rare breed—a vampire succubus born from two elite European bloodlines during medieval times. Thanks to an evil witch, she’s been stuck in a crystal since she was thirty, forced to obey orders from the possessor of the rock. Eleonore's been dreaming of breaking the spell and severing the witch’s head for centuries. But did this witch really sell her to someone new, and for only ninety-nine cents?

Eleonore would claw this werewolf’s heart out and eat it, if only the binding spell would allow her to. But Eleonore and Ben soon realize they can help each other with both vengeful and less hostile needs. And why not have a little fun along the way?

I finished another series! Unfortunately, this volume didn’t quite land for me. I love Oz and Mariel and Astaroth and Calladie were at least interesting. While I was rooting for Ben and Eleonore, I found their actual relationship to be pretty surface level. Too much of the narrative was focused on Ben’s inability to say no to anyone and then Eleonore’s revenge schemes. It was a bit unbalanced for me. I wanted to see them have more conversations and growth as a couple. Oh well. They can’t all be winners for me.

Gimmer Falls

• #1 A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon

• #2 A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch

• #3 A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire

Next up on the TBR pile:

Alice in Borderland Vol. 9

Title: Alice in Borderland Vol. 9

Author: Haro Aso

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC 2024

Genre: Comics

Pages: 400

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series; Books (Manga) to Movies (Television Shows)

Where I Got It: Library

Eighteen-year-old Ryohei Arisu is sick of his life. School sucks, his love life is a joke, and his future weighs on him like impending doom. As he struggles to exist in a world that can’t be bothered with him, Ryohei feels like everything would be better if he were anywhere else. When a strange fireworks show transports him and his friends to a parallel world, Ryohei thinks all his wishes have come true. But this new world isn’t an empty paradise, it’s a vicious game. And the only way to survive is to play.

After stumbling on a dealer’s bunker, Arisu is even more determined to uncover the terrible truth behind Borderland. But that means he and Usagi will have to abandon their plans to sit out the games and instead seek out the last person who might have the answers—the Queen of Hearts. Will taking on the queen find them a way home, or will it be their final game?

And we come to the end of the story. We get a wrap-up of the previous games and a reconnection of characters. We slowly start to wind down, but not without one last game to play. This time we get the Queen of Hearts, who we’ve already met. But in this game, the focus comes back to Arisu and his experience. I appreciate how the story started focused on Arisu and ended focused on Arisu. We get a nice bookend to series. But then, the big reveal at the end of the games. I’m not quite certain how I feel about the twist, but I did enjoy the wrapping up pages. Overall, I truly enjoyed this series and am so excited to now go and watch the television series.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Alice in Borderland Vol. 8

Title: Alice in Borderland Vol. 8

Author: Haro Aso

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC 2023

Genre: Comics

Pages: 360

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Library

Eighteen-year-old Ryohei Arisu is sick of his life. School sucks, his love life is a joke, and his future weighs on him like impending doom. As he struggles to exist in a world that can’t be bothered with him, Ryohei feels like everything would be better if he were anywhere else. When a strange fireworks show transports him and his friends to a parallel world, Ryohei thinks all his wishes have come true. But this new world isn’t an empty paradise, it’s a vicious game. And the only way to survive is to play.

Not every visitor to Borderland spends their time struggling to survive. Much like Arisu, some are hunting for the truth behind the strange and deadly world they’ve landed in. But whether that means searching for the boundaries of their strange prison or finding ways to expose Borderland to the media back home, does the truth even matter if everyone dies before they can share it?

Oh goodness, we are nearing the end of the story. We get an interesting interlude featuring a player attempting to record the experience for the future. Seemingly it’s not related to the main story, but then we get some clues as to other going-ons. I have really enjoyed seeing how disparate stories come together into the main story or at least give us clues to the mysteries. Plus we get an excellent story featuring the King of Diamonds. The reveal was absolutely perfect. Plus, we get to check in with another player we’ve met before. I was fascinated to see it all go down. And now I am ready for the conclusion.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan

Title: The Keeper of Lost Things

Author: Ruth Hogan

Publisher: HaperCollins 2017

Genre: Magical Realism

Pages: 288

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Quarter of a Century - 2017; Cover Lover - Piece of Jewelry

Where I Got It: Library

Anthony Peardew is the keeper of lost things. Forty years ago, he carelessly lost a keepsake from his beloved fiancée, Therese. That very same day, she died unexpectedly. Brokenhearted, Anthony sought consolation in rescuing lost objects—the things others have dropped, misplaced, or accidently left behind—and writing stories about them. Now, in the twilight of his life, Anthony worries that he has not fully discharged his duty to reconcile all the lost things with their owners. As the end nears, he bequeaths his secret life’s mission to his unsuspecting assistant, Laura, leaving her his house and and all its lost treasures, including an irritable ghost.

Recovering from a bad divorce, Laura, in some ways, is one of Anthony’s lost things. But when the lonely woman moves into his mansion, her life begins to change. She finds a new friend in the neighbor’s quirky daughter, Sunshine, and a welcome distraction in Freddy, the rugged gardener. As the dark cloud engulfing her lifts, Laura, accompanied by her new companions, sets out to realize Anthony’s last wish: reuniting his cherished lost objects with their owners.

Long ago, Eunice found a trinket on the London pavement and kept it through the years. Now, with her own end drawing near, she has lost something precious—a tragic twist of fate that forces her to break a promise she once made.

As the Keeper of Lost Objects, Laura holds the key to Anthony and Eunice’s redemption. But can she unlock the past and make the connections that will lay their spirits to rest?

A sentimental novel full of ridiculous coincidences, conveniences, and a lackluster protagonist. I absolutely struggled to get through this novel less than 300 pages. It should have taken me a few days. Instead, it took me over a week. Right away, I knew that I was going to dislike Laura. She’s a 35 year old women who’s just a sad sack of nothing. She continues to be a sad sack for almost the entire book. I could not handle her constant pessimistic attitude. From there, I just kept cringing at her actions and dialogue with other characters. It was painful. As for the plot, it was all coincidence and timely magic. I just could not. The book club discussion for this one is going to be brutal.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Alice in Borderland Vol. 7

Title: Alice in Borderland Vol. 7

Author: Haro Aso

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC 2022

Genre: Comics

Pages: 352

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Library

Eighteen-year-old Ryohei Arisu is sick of his life. School sucks, his love life is a joke, and his future weighs on him like impending doom. As he struggles to exist in a world that can’t be bothered with him, Ryohei feels like everything would be better if he were anywhere else. When a strange fireworks show transports him and his friends to a parallel world, Ryohei thinks all his wishes have come true. But this new world isn’t an empty paradise, it’s a vicious game. And the only way to survive is to play.

Most of the Face Card games continue to be a deadly challenge to Borderland’s visitors, their often complicated or confusing rules meant to trick players into dooming themselves. In contrast, the King of Spades’ game is refreshingly direct—kill or be killed! Can an uneasy coalition of visitors band together to take down the sniper King before his bullets declare game over for everyone?

This volume didn’t quite hit for me like the others. We continue the game with the King of Spades (and end up finishing it), but the action and the characters meander a lot in these parts. I wanted more Arisu and a check back in with some of the other characters. Instead, we get an extended section focused on Aguni. Not my favorite character, but it was nice to see him as more than just a thug. The bright spot was really the game involving the Jack. I really enjoyed that one.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Alice in Borderland Vol. 5-6

Title: Alice in Borderland Vol. 5

Author: Haro Aso

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC 2022

Genre: Comics

Pages: 400

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Library

Eighteen-year-old Ryohei Arisu is sick of his life. School sucks, his love life is a joke, and his future weighs on him like impending doom. As he struggles to exist in a world that can’t be bothered with him, Ryohei feels like everything would be better if he were anywhere else. When a strange fireworks show transports him and his friends to a parallel world, Ryohei thinks all his wishes have come true. But this new world isn’t an empty paradise, it’s a vicious game. And the only way to survive is to play.

Arisu and his companions have managed to defeat the Dealers, but the battle isn’t over yet. Now they must take on the Face Cards—12 players who have the dubious honor of being Borderland “royalty.” Arisu hopes they are close to going home, but the games the Face Cards play might be worse than any of the cruelties the Dealers came up with.

And we dive into another game, this time with one of the Kings. The game is not all is seems and the players have to understand just how to manipulate the rules to win. We don’t get to the see the conclusion in this volume, but we get a lot of game play and discussions about the future in Borderland. Plus, we get two more side stories, one featuring a player that we have already met. One of those players that seemed so mysterious a few volumes back. We don’t necessarily get a bunch of backstory, but we do see how the player fared in their first game.

Title: Alice in Borderland Vol. 6

Author: Haro Aso

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC 2022

Genre: Comics

Pages: 400

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Library

Eighteen-year-old Ryohei Arisu is sick of his life. School sucks, his love life is a joke, and his future weighs on him like impending doom. As he struggles to exist in a world that can’t be bothered with him, Ryohei feels like everything would be better if he were anywhere else. When a strange fireworks show transports him and his friends to a parallel world, Ryohei thinks all his wishes have come true. But this new world isn’t an empty paradise, it’s a vicious game. And the only way to survive is to play.

The battle against the King of Clubs continues as Arisu and his team struggle to make up for their shocking point deficit. But no matter what strategy they try, the king and his compatriots maintain the upper hand. When each move is a matter of life or death and no victory comes without sacrifice, can Arisu and his team bear another loss to secure the win?

We get to see the end of the King of Clubs’s game and some big changes for our players. I’m constantly surprised by how this story can absolutely gut me. I truly get hit in the feels so many times. And we start another side game involving some very interesting characters. I love following the breadcrumbs of the larger mystery as we navigate Borderland. I don’t think that I can hold off on reading the rest of the volumes.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Way is Up is Death by Dan Hanks

Title: The Way Up is Death

Author: Dan Hanks

Publisher: Angry Robot 2025

Genre: Horror

Pages: 368

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Cover Lover - Spooky Scene; I Read Horror - Cosmic Horror

Where I Got It: Library

When a mysterious tower appears in the skies over England, thirteen strangers are pulled from their lives to stand before it as a countdown begins. Above the doorway is one word: ASCEND.

As they try to understand why they’ve been chosen and what the tower is, it soon becomes clear the only way out of this for everyone is… up.

And so begins a race to the top with the group fighting to hold on to its humanity, through sinking ships, haunted houses and other waking nightmares. Can they each overcome their differences and learn to work together or does the winner take it all? What does the tower want of them and what is the price to escape?

I am not quite sure how to review this book, but I do know that I absolutely loved it. There’s a lot of plot in here, from the characters to the tower levels. But at its core, this book is attempting to answer some philosophical questions. What is the meaning of life? How should we, as humans, grow and change throughout our lives? What is our individual purpose? How should we operate within a community or society? We get to see 13 strangers wrestle with this questions while attempting to survive the horror within the tower. I know that I will be thinking about this book for awhile…

Next up on the TBR pile:

Horseman by Christina Henry

Title: Horseman

Author: Christina Henry

Publisher: Berkley 2021

Genre: Horror

Pages: 302

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Books to Movies

Where I Got It: HPB December 2024

Everyone in Sleepy Hollow knows about the Horseman, but no one really believes in him. Not even Ben Van Brunt's grandfather, Brom Bones, who was there when it was said the Horseman chased the upstart Crane out of town. Brom says that's just legend, the village gossips talking. 

More than thirty years after those storied events, the village is a quiet place. Fourteen-year-old Ben loves to play "Sleepy Hollow boys," reenacting the events Brom once lived through. But then Ben and a friend stumble across the headless body of a child in the woods near the village, and the discovery makes Ben question everything the adults in Sleepy Hollow have ever said. Could the Horseman be real after all? Or does something even more sinister stalk the woods?

Somehow I missed that Christina Henry published a book based on Sleepy Hollow. I got very excited seeing this in the used book store and immediately bought it. The book did not disappoint. We get a story set about 30 after the events in Washington Irving’s story. We are thrown back into the town of Sleepy Hollow and have to parse out what is real and what is legend. In the course of the book, we see the world through Ben’s eyes, a young man who does not fit into society’s conventions. There was a timeless quality to the book that really sucked me in and creeped me out at the same time. As the story slowly unfolds, I was eager to the turn the pages and learn more. I could not put this one down at all.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Scythe and Sparrow by Brynne Weaver

Title: Scythe and Sparrow (Ruinous Love #3)

Author: Brynne Weaver

Publisher: Zando 2025

Genre: Romance

Pages: 416

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Read Around the USA - Nebraska

Where I Got It: Amazon February 2025

Spice Rating: 5

Doctor Fionn Kane is running from a broken heart, one he hopes to mend in small-town Nebraska, far away from his almost-fiancé and his derailed surgical career. It’s a simpler life: head down, hard work, and absolutely no romantic relationships. He wants none of the circus he left behind in Boston.

But then the real circus finds him.

Motorcycle performer Rose Evans has spent a decade on the road with the Silveria Circus, and it suits her just fine, especially when she has the urge to indulge in a little murder when she’s not in the spotlight. But when a kill goes awry and she ends up with an injured leg, Rose finds herself stuck in Nebraska, at the home of the adorably nerdy town doctor.

The problem is, not every broken heart can be sewn back together.

. . . And the longer you stay in one place, the more likely your ghosts are to catch up.

I was highly looking forward to this release; so much so that I preordered it. I hardly ever preorder books, but I had to have this one the week it released. I got it, dove in, and was slightly disappointed. I absolutely adored Butcher and Blackbird and was hoping to recapture that feeling with this one. Instead, there’s a bit of filler in this one. I wasn’t a huge fan of the time jumps and recapping of events that happened in the first two books. It made this volume feel a bit bloated. But it was redeemed by the characters. I really love Fionn and Rose is a firecracker. I just wanted to see more and more of them together. It took a bit too long for them to get together in any way. Once we got there, I was all in on the story. I just wish this volume had a bit more editing.

Ruinous Love

• #1 Butcher and Blackbird

• #2 Leather and Lark

• #3 Scythe and Sparrow

Next up on the TBR pile:

Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

Title: Shark Heart

Author: Emily Habeck

Publisher: Marysue Rucci Books 2023

Genre: Fantasy?

Pages: 416

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Read Around the USA - Texas

Where I Got It: Book of the Month March 2024

For Lewis and Wren, their first year of marriage is also their last. A few weeks after their wedding, Lewis receives a rare diagnosis. He will retain most of his consciousness, memories, and intellect, but his physical body will gradually turn into a great white shark. As Lewis develops the features and impulses of one of the most predatory creatures in the ocean, his complicated artist’s heart struggles to make peace with his unfulfilled dreams.

At first, Wren internally resists her husband’s fate. Is there a way for them to be together after Lewis changes? Then, a glimpse of Lewis’s developing carnivorous nature activates long-repressed memories for Wren, whose story vacillates between her childhood living on a houseboat in Oklahoma, her time with her college ex-girlfriend, and her unusual friendship with a woman pregnant with twin birds. Woven throughout this “heart-wringing” (Adam Roberts, internationally bestselling author of Salt) novel is the story of Wren’s mother, Angela, who becomes pregnant with Wren at fifteen in an abusive relationship amidst her parents’ crumbling marriage. In the present, all of Wren’s grief eventually collides, and she is forced to make an impossible choice.

I am really not sure how exactly I feel about this book. The writing was beautiful. I was sucked into the story by the prose. I even really loved the different passage structures: short scenes, play scenes, flashbacks, etc. I loved how the mixing up of the plot and timeline really kept me turning the pages to see what happened next. But… and this is a big but, I truly disliked Wren and her entire character. We never really get to truly connect with her and understand her. She is so closed off throughout the book that I don’t even think Lewis understood her. I found her entire story to be so incredibly frustrating. And the entire second section of the book was such a bummer for me. I wanted to spend more time with Lewis and Wren, not her mother. This book is our book discussion fro book club next week. I’m interested to hear what everyone else thought about the book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks by David Gibbins

Title: A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks

Author: David Gibbins

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press 2024

Genre: Nonfiction - History

Pages: 289

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Reader

Where I Got It: Library

The Viking warship of King Cnut the Great. Henry VIII's the Mary Rose. Captain John Franklin's doomed HMS Terror. The SS Gairsoppa, destroyed by a Nazi U-boat in the Atlantic during World War II.

Since we first set sail on the open sea, ships and their wrecks have been an inevitable part of human history. Archaeologists have made spectacular discoveries excavating these sunken ships, their protective underwater cocoon keeping evidence of past civilizations preserved. Now, for the first time, world renowned maritime archeologist David Gibbins ties together the stories of some of the most significant shipwrecks in time to form a single overarching narrative of world history.

Of course I was going to grab the book about shipwrecks. I have a weird obsessions with ghost ships and shipwrecks. Diving into this book, I was hoping for some great shipwrecks stories and information about underwater archaeology. We got some, but then a ton more super detailed history about the time the ships went down. Some of the chapters started to even bore me and I love reading history books. This one would have benefited from a more narrative style than the dry recitation of history with some shipwreck finds thrown in.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Title: The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient #1)

Author: Helen Hoang

Publisher: Berkley 2018

Genre: Romance

Pages: 314

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER; Retreat Recommendations

Where I Got It: Kindle

Spice Rating: 5

Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases—a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.

It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice—with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan—from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but crave all of the other things he's making her feel. Their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic...

This book has been on my TBR for years and I decided to take the plunge and choose it for my Dirty Book Month selection. Thankfully I ended up really enjoying this reverse Pretty Woman romance. Right away we know that Stella is autistic and struggles with the idea of romantic relationships. From there, she devises a plan involving hiring a male escort to teach her. This male escort has his own issues and struggles. As we learn more about each of the characters, we start to see just how perfect they might be for each other. I really loved seeing Michael interact with his family and attempt to protect them from all struggles. And we get to see Stella interact with them. Overall, this was a very satisfying romance and start of a series. I cannot wait to have our discussion next week and unpack all the aspects of this story.

The Kiss Quotient

• #1 The Kiss Quotient

• #2 The Bride Test

• #3 The Heart Principle

Next up on the TBR pile: