The Strange by Nathan Ballingrud

Title: The Strange

Author: Nathan Ballingrud

Publisher: Saga Press 2023

Genre: Science Fiction; Horror

Pages: 304

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; I Read Horror - Black, Gray, Orange, or Red Cove

Where I Got It: Library

Since Anabelle’s mother left for Earth to care for her own ailing mother, her days in New Galveston have been spent at school and her nights at her laconic father’s diner with Watson, the family Kitchen Engine and dishwasher, as her only companion. When the Silence came, and communication and shipments from Earth to its colonies on Mars stopped, life seemed stuck in foreboding stasis until the night Silas Mundt and his gang attacked.

At once evoking the dreams of an America explored in Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chroniclesand the harsher realities of frontier life in Charles Portis True Grit, Ballingrud’s “brilliant” (Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of The Cabin at the End of the World) novel is haunting in its evocation of Annabelle’s quest for revenge amidst a spent and angry world accompanied by a domestic Engine, a drunken space pilot, and the toughest woman on Mars.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

Title: Lone Women

Author: Victor LaValle

Publisher: One World 2023

Genre: Horror, Historical Fiction

Pages: 275

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; Spooky Season; Read Around the USA - Montana

Where I Got It: The Bookworm, Omaha NE March 2024

Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes. It’s locked at all times. Because when the trunk opens, people around Adelaide start to disappear.

The year is 1915, and Adelaide is in trouble. Her secret sin killed her parents, forcing her to flee California in a hellfire rush and make her way to Montana as a homesteader. Dragging the trunk with her at every stop, she will become one of the “lone women” taking advantage of the government’s offer of free land for those who can tame it—except that Adelaide isn’t alone. And the secret she’s tried so desperately to lock away might be the only thing that will help her survive the harsh territory.

This was perfect! We dive headfirst into a bleak and unforgiving story of a women attempting to survive on her own in the wilds. We don’t know exactly why Adelaide is running from California, but we know that it was bad. We follow her to Montana where she faces a different set of struggles. Along the way, we meet a varied cast of characters, all of whom are suspicious in their motives at least once. I found myself really rooting for Adelaide to survive and come out stronger than ever. There is violence in this book. There is some spookiness in this book. But ultimately, I found a lot of strength and hope in these pages. This is my brand of feminist rage!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dr. Mutter's Marvels by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz

Title: Dr. Mütter’s Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine

Author: Cristin O’Keefe Aptoqicz

Publisher: Avery 2014

Genre: Nonfiction - History, Medicine

Pages: 371

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; Nonfiction Reader; Cover Lover - Depiction of a Famous Person

Where I Got It: Library

A mesmerizing biography of the brilliant and eccentric medical innovator who revolutionized American surgery and founded the country’s most famous museum of medical oddities

Imagine undergoing an operation without anesthesia, performed by a surgeon who refuses to sterilize his tools—or even wash his hands. This was the world of medicine when Thomas Dent Mütter began his trailblazing career as a plastic surgeon in Philadelphia during the mid-nineteenth century.

Although he died at just forty-eight, Mütter was an audacious medical innovator who pioneered the use of ether as anesthesia, the sterilization of surgical tools, and a compassion-based vision for helping the severely deformed, which clashed spectacularly with the sentiments of his time. Brilliant, outspoken, and brazenly handsome, Mütter was flamboyant in every aspect of his life. He wore pink silk suits to perform surgery, added an umlaut to his last name just because he could, and amassed an immense collection of medical oddities that would later form the basis of Philadelphia’s renowned Mütter Museum.

I’m always interested in micro-history books and this one did not disappoint. We dive into the life of Thomas Mütter, exploring the world of medicine in the early 1800s along the way. I loved how the author tried to explain some of the choices of Mutter by pointing to other events and trends of the day. We get a comprehensive look of the time. We get an in-depth and oftentimes gory look at medicine. Do not pick it up if you are squeamish at all. But for the rest of us, it was a fascinating journey. My only issues are that the overall story meanders some times dragging my reading speed down. If I ever go back to Philadelphia, I definitely want to visit the Mütter Museum. Unfortunately, I was last there when the twins were 10 and they were definitely a bit young for that museum. Still, the book was a very interesting biography in context.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Irresistible Devil by Jenny Nordbak

Title: Irresistible Devil (Black Rose Auction #4)

Author: Jenny Nordbak

Publisher: Trinkets and Tales 2025

Genre: Romance

Pages: 271

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Preordered

Spice Rating: 6

For three days, the doors to this luxe New York estate are thrown wide for anyone with a taste for the obscenely rich, the ultra-exclusive, and the once in a lifetime thrill of the forbidden: where nothing is off the table and everything—and everyone—can be had for the bargaining.

In IRRESISTIBLE DEVIL by Jenny Nordbak, a Rumpelstiltskin remix, a society darling is willing to make any bargain to benefit her family, but each deal draws her deeper into a dark and decadent world ruled by the dangerous man who's been pulling her strings from the start...

I enjoyed the Katee Robert story in this series. I did not enjoy the RM Virtues story in this collection. I was hoping that this one was going to be a hit and it was. I am always drawn to the villains in stories as they are much more complex and interesting. In this one, we finally get to explore Reaper (Rumplestiltskin) and learn more about his own wants and desires. I knew he was going to be a great character. I was just concerned that he wouldn’t find his partner. Thankfully Juliet shows a spark right away and continues to grow and strength throughout the story. I was glad that she didn’t immediately submit to Reaper, but ended up finding her own path even if it was difficult. We get to see her come into her own identity and eventually take what she wants. I sped through this book in two days not wanting to put it down for even a minute.

Black Rose Auction

#1 Wicked Pursuit
#2 Divine Intervention
#3 Stolen Vows
#4 Irresistible Devil
#5 Shattered Innocence
#6 Royal Heart

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck

Title: A Short Stay in Hell

Author: Steven L. Peck

Publisher: Strange Violin 2011

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Pages: 104

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season

Where I Got It: Library

An ordinary family man, geologist, and Mormon, Soren Johansson has always believed he’ll be reunited with his loved ones after death in an eternal hereafter. Then, he dies. Soren wakes to find himself cast by a God he has never heard of into a Hell whose dimensions he can barely grasp: a vast library he can only escape from by finding the book that contains the story of his life.

Our book club selection for October. I am very unsure what I feel about this novella. I went into the story completely blind (as I think you should as a reader), but at the end, I wasn’t sure that I actually enjoyed the story. We get about a hundred pages of existential rambling. Overall, I enjoyed the philosophical thought-experiment. But that’s basically all this is. We cannot read this as an actual story with characters and an arc. We get just a snippet of some rambling thoughts. I would have liked to se more from the main character and more from his journey. This story feels incomplete.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Antidote by Karen Russell

Title: The Antidote

Author: Karen Russell

Publisher: Knopf 2025

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Pages: 432

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Cover Lover - Real Historical Photograph

Where I Got It: Amazon purchase

The Antidote opens on Black Sunday, as a historic dust storm ravages the fictional town of Uz, Nebraska. But Uz is already collapsing—not just under the weight of the Great Depression and the dust bowl drought but beneath its own violent histories. The Antidote follows a "Prairie Witch,” whose body serves as a bank vault for peoples’ memories and secrets; a Polish wheat farmer who learns how quickly a hoarded blessing can become a curse; his orphan niece, a basketball star and witch’s apprentice in furious flight from her grief; a voluble scarecrow; and a New Deal photographer whose time-traveling camera threatens to reveal both the town’s secrets and its fate.

I kept waffling between three and four stars for this book. There are some parts that I absolutely adored! On the other hand, there were parts that stretched believability (not the magical parts) and parts that dragged on so much. I fell for the strange otherworldly atmosphere of Uz Nebraska during the Dust Bowl. The historical fiction aspects of the book really sucked me into a time and place. I loved those parts! I also really enjoyed the magical realism sections. The short chapters narrated by the scarecrow were great. I loved the injection of strange-ness to the story. I also really enjoyed the Prairie witches and their entire lore. The parts that I did not like all centered around Dell and Cleo. Dell was such a flat character most of the time that I really got annoyed with her. The long passages about Dell and basketball really pulled me out of the story in a very bad way. I did not care at all. Also, the completely dropped mystery of her mother’s murder left me wanting. As for Cleo, I just could not believe that a single Black woman in 1930s Nebraska could really join the community that easily. It really stretched my belief in this story. While I had mixed feelings about the book, I ended up enjoyed most of it. Cannot wait until tonight’s book club meet to discuss!

Next up on the TBR pile:

In the Shadow of Spindrift House by Mira Grant

Title: In the Shadow of Spindrift House

Author: Mira Grant

Publisher: Subterranean Press 2019

Genre: Horror

Pages: 197

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; Read Around the USA - Maine

Where I Got It: Library

Nature abhors a straight line. The natural world is a place of curves and softened edges, of gentle mists and welcoming spirals. Nature remembers deviation; nature does not forgive.

For Harlowe Upton-Jones, life has never been a straight line. Shipped off to live with her paternal grandparents after a mysterious cult killed her mother and father, she has grown up chasing the question behind the curve, becoming part of a tight-knit teen detective agency. But “teen” is a limited time offer, and when her friends start looking for adult professions, it’s up to Harlowe to find them one last case so that they can go out in a blaze of glory.

Welcome to Spindrift House.

The stories and legends surrounding the decrepit property are countless and contradictory, but one thing is clear: there are people willing to pay a great deal to determine the legal ownership of the house. When Harlowe and her friends agree to investigate the mystery behind the manor, they do so on the assumption that they’ll be going down in history as the ones who determined who built Spindrift House—and why. The house has secrets. They have the skills. They have a plan. They have everything they need to solve the mystery.

Everything they need except for time. Because Spindrift House keeps its secrets for a reason, and it has no intention of letting them go.

Nature abhors a straight line.

Here’s where the story bends.

This short novella packed a serious punch! The book dumps the reader right into an unsettling, confusing story full of mystery and horror. We meet our four characters, learn a bit about their past, and then are thrown into a very scary house. The imagery sucked me into the atmosphere. I had the sense of drowning throughout the entire book, exactly what Grant intended. As the story unfolds, you just know that things are not going to end well. But I loved seeing just how badly this situation ended. A quick read that only took me two settings, but I loved every page of it. Extra points for not belaboring the story, but telling it in the time that was needed.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson

Title: Dark Tales

Author: Shirley Jackson

Publisher: Penguin 2016

Genre: Horror Short Stories

Pages: 195

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; Cover Lover -“Dark” in Title

Where I Got It: Library

After the publication of her short story “The Lottery” in the New Yorker in 1948 received an unprecedented amount of attention, Shirley Jackson was quickly established as a master horror storyteller. This collection of classic and newly reprinted stories provides readers with more of her unsettling, dark tales, including the “The Possibility of Evil” and “The Summer People.” In these deliciously dark stories, the daily commute turns into a nightmarish game of hide and seek, the loving wife hides homicidal thoughts and the concerned citizen might just be an infamous serial killer. In the haunting world of Shirley Jackson, nothing is as it seems and nowhere is safe, from the city streets to the crumbling country pile, and from the small-town apartment to the dark, dark woods. There’s something sinister in suburbia.

I have very much enjoyed many of Jackson’s stories in the past, but this collection fell pretty flat for me. Many of the stories seem to abruptly end without any satisfying conclusion. Or the stories have a twist that feels trite and boring in many cases. And then there are a few stories that are so confusing that I’m not sure what exactly happened. There are a few bright spots in the collection including the first story “The Possibility of Evil” and a later story called “A Visit.” In general I enjoy Jackson’s unsettling brand of psychological horror. I just prefer some of her other stories.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove

Title: Of Monsters and Mainframes

Author: Barbara Truelove

Publisher: Bindery Books 2025

Genre: Sci-fantasy Horror

Pages: 411

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; Unread Shelf

Where I Got It: Afterword Books and Tavern, Kansas City MO - Bookish Retreat June 2025

Demeter just wants to do her job: shuttling humans between Earth and Alpha Centauri. Unfortunately, her passengers keep dying—and not from equipment failures, as her AI medical system, Steward, would have her believe. These are paranormal murders, and they began when one nasty, ancient vampire decided to board Demeter and kill all her humans.

To keep from getting decommissioned, Demeter must join forces with her own team of monsters: A werewolf. An engineer built from the dead. A pharaoh with otherworldly powers. A vampire with a grudge. A fleet of cheerful spider drones. Together, this motley crew will face down the ultimate evil—Dracula.

On a whim, I picked this one up during this year’s Bookish Retreat. Something about the vibes of the summary gave me pause. I wanted to understand exactly what type of book this was. Thankfully it was an utter delight and a wild ride. I loved every single page of it. We get a cross between the Universal Monsters and the Murderbot series with a mash-up I didn’t realize I needed. Demeter and Steward are great narrators as we span time, space, and realities. We get a beautiful found family story wrapped up in horror and blood. Every chapter felt like a surprising new adventure for me. I kept turning the pages with glee. Ultimately I sped through the book desperate to find out what would happen next. Definitely going to be going onto my year’s Top 10.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Title: Worth Fighting For (Meant to Be #5)

Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto

Publisher: Hyperion Avenue 2025

Genre: Romance

Pages: 320

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series; Romanceopoly - The Highpoint (Workplace Romance)

Spice Rating: 3

Following one’s heart isn’t easy when family honor is at stake.

As the right hand of her father’s hedge fund company, Fa Mulan knows what it takes to succeed as a woman in a man’s world: work twice as hard, be twice as smart, and burp twice as loud as any of the other finance bros she works with. So when her father unexpectedly falls ill in the middle of a critical acquisition, she is determined to see it through. There’s just one hitch: the family company in question is known for its ultra masculine whiskey brand, and the brood of old-fashioned aunts, uncles, and cousins who run it—lead by the dedicated but overworked Shang—will only trust Mulan’s father, Fa Zhou, with the future of their business.

Rather than fail the deal and her father, Mulan pretends she’s Fa Zhou. Since they’ve only corresponded over email, how hard could it be to keep things moving in his absence?

But the email leads to a face-to-face meeting, which leads to an invitation to a week long retreat at Shang’s family ranch. One meeting she can handle, but a whole week of cattle wrangling, axe-throwing, and learning proper butchering techniques, all while trying to convince Shang’s dubious family that this young woman is the powerful hedge fund CEO they’ve been negotiating with? Not so much—especially as she finds it harder and harder to ignore the undeniable spark between her and Shang. Can she keep her head in the game and make her father proud, all while trying not to fall into a trough, or in love with Shang?

Rom coms are really not my jam right now. I mostly felt bored while reading this one. I got all the Mulan references, but they seemed very off-putting to me. I truly dislike the miscommunication trope and this entire plot hinged on that. I just kept yelling at the characters to talk to each other. And then there is the family. Patriarchal bullshit really makes me angry. Shang’s family was absolutely trash and I wanted all of them to go away. And then we get to the insta-love trope. I just couldn’t really understand why our main characters loved each other. Not the book for me.

Meant to Be:

#1 If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy
#2 By the Book by Jasmine Guillory
#3 Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Córdova
#4 Tangled Up in You by Christina Lauren
#5 Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. Sutanto

star-rating-remains-the-most-important-part-of-a-review-cad0047.cad0047.png

Romanceopoly 2025 Board Light Skin Brown Hair.jpg

Next up on the TBR pile:

Lore Olympus Vol. 8 by Rachel Smythe

Title: Lore Olympus Volume 8

Author: Rachel Smythe

Publisher: Inklore 2025

Genre: Fantasy Comic

Pages: 416

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Where I Got It: Library

“You have no authority here.”

Revelations rock Olympus as Persephone’s trial ends, threatening to throw the gods into a new war.

Though Persephone and Hades become closer than ever after she opens up to him about all she has endured, their peace is shattered when another truth is revealed: Apollo is Zeus’s son. The announcement shocks the pantheon, and the king of the gods realizes that the would-be usurper wants Persephone’s power to take the throne.

Zeus banishes Persephone to the Mortal Realm and, out of fear, cuts it off entirely from the rest of the gods. This decree succeeds in undercutting Apollo’s plan, but also inadvertently begins a decade-long divine cold war when Hades strikes back by shuttering the Underworld. With the gods scattered and weakened, Kronos uses the ensuing bedlam to finally escape his imprisonment and begin staging his own coup.

Persephone has only one choice when she discovers all the realms on the verge of collapse: Descend into the Underworld to try to defeat the power-hungry Titan, claim her rightful place as queen, and reunite with her one true love.

Finally! We get to see Persephone as the Queen of the Underworld. I’ve been waiting for eight volumes to see her come into her power. After a terrible trial and a forced separation, we finally get some major movement in the larger storyline. And we get to see true communication between our main characters. I really despise when characters purposely keep important information from each other “for their own good.” It’s so incredibly annoying and drags out the drama. Thankfully we get to see characters talk and share the important information. And now we’ve set up everything for the last act of the story.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Vol. 4

Title: Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Vol. 4

Author: singNsong

Publisher: Ize Press 2022

Genre: Manwha

Pages: 264

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series; Books to Movies

Where I Got It: Library

At this rate... Junghyeok Yu will die today. Dokja has his hands full dealing with relentless monster attacks, as well as the Landlord Coalition’s tyranny. But when Junghyeok disappears amid the chaos, Dokja is faced with a chilling question―when the main character of this universe dies, what happens to the rest of the world? Not wanting to find out, he ventures into the Cinema Dungeon to find the missing Regressor!

We finally get to see what happens with the Landlord Coalition and the monster scenario. I loved how the story has really started to pick up and movement is being made. I loved the addition of Jihye to the group and the move to the Cinema Dungeon. I cannot wait to see how this new scenario evolves and involves Junghyeok Yu.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Vol. 3

Title: Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Vol. 3

Author: singNsong

Publisher: Ize Press 2021

Genre: Manwha

Pages: 248

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series; Books to Movies

Where I Got It: Library

IF YOU HAVE A SHRED OF PRIDE LEFT, STAND UP AND FIGHT!Inside the ruthless scenarios of TWSA, something as simple as getting a meal is a life-or-death struggle. With all the food destroyed by the goblin, Dokja’s group is forced to venture into the dark tunnels full of vicious creatures. But in the cruel new world, monsters are not the most dangerous enemies...Fear and desperation among the survivors cause Geumho Station to erupt into wanton bloodshed. And amid the chaos, Huiwon’s true power awakens―the Time of Judgment is here!

I’m still really enjoying this series. We get to see the conclusion of a scenario involving a Death Warden. Also, we get to see characters level up and evolve in pretty interesting ways. I’m very interested to see how the group around Dokja changes as the scenarios get deadlier and more complicated.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Is She Really Going Out with Him? by Sophie Cousens

Title: Is She Really Going Out with Him?

Author: Sophie Sousens

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons 2024

Genre: Romance

Pages: 368

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER; Romanceopoly - Starlight Cinema (Group read)

Where I Got It: Kindle deal

Spice Rating: 3

Columnist Anna Appleby has left her love life behind after a painful divorce. Who needs a man when she has two kids, a cat, and uncontested control of the TV remote? Besides, she’d rather be single than subject herself to the hell of online dating. But her office rival is vying for her column, and no column means no stable source of income. In a desperate attempt to keep her job, Anna finds herself pitching a unique angle: seven dates, all found offline, chosen by her children.

From awkward encounters to unexpected connections, Anna gamely begins to put herself out there, asking out waiters, the mailman, and even her celebrity crush. But when a romantic connection appears where she least expected it, will she be brave enough to take another chance on love?

Our in person book club selection this month. My reading has really been impacted with life and fan fiction, but I was determined to read this one before the meeting on Tuesday. I started on Sunday night and finished Monday night. So a very quick read for me. Unfortunately, this book was a little too predictable and bland for me. I found it to be reminiscent of Bridget Jones’s Diary. Which would have been okay, but it’s 2025. I just didn’t want to read about a beautiful woman who complains about how frumpy and disheveled she is. The conceit of the dates set up by her kids was kinda fun, even if it was aborted halfway through. I liked the glimpses of Anna’s columns, but felt like we spent too much time talking about how print media is dying. Yeah, it has been for decades… Will was a fine MMC, but didn’t find him particularly swoony. I didn’t hate this book, but it really was not for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Letter from the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall

Title: A Letter from the Lonesome Shore (The Sunken Archive #2)

Author: Sylvie Cathrall

Publisher: Orbit 2025

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 384

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Former correspondents E. and Henerey, accustomed to loving each other from afar, did not anticipate continuing their courtship in an enigmatic underwater city. When their journey through the Structure in E.'s garden strands them in a peculiar society preoccupied with the pleasures and perils of knowledge, E. and Henerey come to accept—and, more surprisingly still, embrace—the fact that they may never return home.

A year and a half later, Sophy and Vyerin finally discover one of the elusive Entries that will help them seek their siblings. As the group's efforts bring them closer to E. and Henerey, an ancient, cosmic threat also draws near...

I absolutely adored the first book in this duology. I loved how quiet the mystery was. I loved how atmospheric the writing was. I love the epistolary nature to the structure. I had such high hopes going into the second book. And for the most part, I really loved it. We get pick up right where we left off and dive into the mysteries. We catch up with E and Henerey in their new world. We see Sophy and Vyerin attempt to understand what happened their siblings. We get the same structure and atmospheric writing. But about halfway through the book, the revelations of the “mysteries” of the larger world starts getting a bit muddled. It became harder and harder to follow exactly what the universe was and the characters’ place in it. The book wraps up well, but I will admit to not loving parts in the middle.

The Sunken Archive

#1 A Letter to the Luminous Deep
#2 A Letter from the Lonesome Shore

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Title: The Bewitching

Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Publisher: Del Rey 2025

Genre: Horror

Pages: 357

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Read Around the USA - Massachusetts; I Read Horror - Folk Horror

Where I Got It: Library

“Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches”: That was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter Minerva—stories that have stayed with Minerva all her life. Perhaps that’s why Minerva has become a graduate student focused on the history of horror literature and is researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of macabre tales.

In the course of assembling her thesis, Minerva uncovers information that reveals that Tremblay’s most famous novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by a true story: Decades earlier, during the Great Depression, Tremblay attended the same university where Minerva is now studying and became obsessed with her beautiful and otherworldly roommate, who then disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

As Minerva descends ever deeper into Tremblay’s manuscript, she begins to sense that the malign force that stalked Tremblay and the missing girl might still walk the halls of the campus. These disturbing events also echo the stories Nana Alba told about her girlhood in 1900s Mexico, where she had a terrifying encounter with a witch.

Minerva suspects that the same shadow that darkened the lives of her great-grandmother and Beatrice Tremblay is now threatening her own in 1990s Massachusetts. An academic career can be a punishing pursuit, but it might turn outright deadly when witchcraft is involved.

Moreno-Garcia is such hit or miss author for me. I absolutely loved a few of her books and then I really really disliked a few of the books. The summary of this one really caught my eye. I love witch themed books and was looking forward to a fun spooky mystery book. The first few chapters were intriguing. But as the book went on, I was less and less interested. The story seemed to just drag and drag. There were a few spooky things here and there, but mostly nothing for the longest time. I just wasn’t compelled to keep reading. I kept at it because it was a book club selection, but mostly I was just really really bored.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 26

Title: Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 26

Author: Junji Ito

Publisher: VIZ Media 2024

Genre: Manga Horror

Pages: 192

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Library

In a world where cursed spirits feed on unsuspecting humans, fragments of the legendary and feared demon Ryomen Sukuna have been lost and scattered about. Should any demon consume Sukuna’s body parts, the power they gain could destroy the world as we know it. Fortunately, there exists a mysterious school of jujutsu sorcerers who exist to protect the precarious existence of the living from the supernatural!

The battle between the two strongest sorcerers—Gojo and Sukuna—unfolds on a mind-blowing scale! The combatants repeatedly open their domains and repair burnt-out cursed techniques. Their back-and-forth clash continues, but when Sukuna summons Mahoraga, will the balance of power tip his way?

Ooof that one was rough! We basically spend the entire volume focused on the battle between Sukuna and Gojo. I could have used some more other story or at least more from the other characters. But I still enjoyed following along with the great battle.

Jujutsu Kaisen

Next up on the TBR pile:

Feathers So Vicious by Liv Zander

Title: Feathers So Vicious (Court of Ravens #1)

Author: Liv Zander

Publisher: Ink Heart Publishing 2023

Genre: Romantasy

Pages: 412

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: She Reads Romance - Fantasy

Where I Got It: Library

Spice Rating: 8

Perched between branches and shadows, We watch, we scheme, Fighting for a kingdom forgotten and forlorn.

Until we rip her away with our claws, Our prisoner, our pawn, our plaything.

She’s innocent and pure, Fragile and helpless… …but oh so guilty by blood.

She calls us beasts, Wicked and evil, Vicious and cruel.

We are all that and worse.

One of us offers her shelter beneath his wings, Whispering promises of pleasure, Seeking redemption.

The other longs to shatter her into a million pieces, Whispering promises of pain, Seeking revenge.

Caught between our feathers, She endures our deranged desires, Our secrets, our lies, Our twisted plans.

Will she surrender to our darkness, or fight for a destiny growing ever elusive?

Welcome to the Court of Ravens, little white dove.

While I loved the magic system and some of the world building in here, I just could not get behind the romance. The literal torture the FMC received from the two men was too much for me to suspend my disbelief and go with it. I guess I found my limit for dark romance.

Court of Ravens

#1 Feathers So Vicious
#2 Shadows So Cruel

Next up on the TBR pile:

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Vol. 2

Title: Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Vol. 2

Author: singNsong

Publisher: Ize Press 2020

Genre: Manwha

Pages: 240

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Books to Movies

Where I Got It: Library

THE ENDLESS TRAGEDIES OF THIS WORLD ALL BEGIN WITH THIS CHARACTER.Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse is Dokja’s favorite novel, or it was...until it became reality. Thanks to his knowledge of the story, he managed to survive the first chaotic moments of the new world. But the relentless scenario waits for no one, and Dokja finds himself in yet another life-or-death struggle. Isolated from his group and surrounded by horrific creatures, his story seems all but doomed to a premature ending...That’s when an unmistakable presence makes an entrance. It’s time for Dokja, the only reader of TWSA, to meet its main character―the Regressor Junghyeok Yu!

We get to learn more! We get a fun situation in a sea serpent and the introduction of some new characters. I loved piecing together the folklore and mythology references (with the help from some notes at the end) along with speculating about the larger mystery of the worlds and especially the constellations. My son was reluctant to tell me spoilers (not that I necessarily want them), but he did give me some interesting teasers. I am excited to keep reading and see where Dokja goes next.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes

Title: Cold Eternity

Author: S.A. Barnes

Publisher: Tor Nightfire 2025

Genre: Thriller/Horror

Pages: 293

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Cover Lover - Something you might see in a hospital; I Read Horror - Female Author

Where I Got It: Library

Halley is on the run from an interplanetary political scandal that has put a huge target on her back. She heads for what seems like the perfect place to lay low: a gigantic space barge storing the cryogenically frozen bodies of Earth’s most fortunate citizens from more than a century ago…

The cryo program, created by trillionaire tech genius Zale Winfeld, is long defunct, and the AI hologram "hosts," ghoulishly created in the likeness of Winfeld’s three adult children, are glitchy. The ship feels like a crypt, and the isolation gets to Halley almost immediately. She starts to see figures crawling in the hallways, and there’s a constant scraping, slithering, and rattling echoing in the vents.

It’s not long before Halley realizes she may have gotten herself trapped in an even more dangerous situation than the one she was running from….

If I want a thriller/lite horror novel, I turn to S.A. Barnes now. I love her space horror books so much! We get creepy settings, unreliable narrators, and some lovely body horror all wrapped up in a tightly paced, easily read package. This one is no exception. Right away, we know that there’s something wrong on the ship, but we have to slowly and creepily encounter the truth along with Halley. The little odd occurrences and sensory jump scares add to the tension. And we are guaranteed a fast-paced ending full of horror! My only quibble with this book is the overly long passages about Halley’s previous political dealings. They didn’t blend seamlessly with her current story. I even found myself wanting to know more details of exactly what happened. But overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this space romp.

Next up on the TBR pile: