The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Title: The Frozen River

Author: Ariel Lawhon

Publisher: Doubleday 2023

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 432

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Character-Driven Novel; Lifetime - Character in Their 50s

Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.

Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.

Loved loved loved this reimagining of Martha Ballard’s story. (After reading, you must read the author’s note where she details the places she took liberties and changed history.) I often don’t love when authors take a real story and change things to make an exciting book. In Lawhon’s case, I always buy her story. She stays true to the real life characters and their imagined motivations. I completely bought this story. In looking at the story itself, we get a fascinating look at the intricacies of life in early America along with gender politics and business. I loved seeing Martha navigate her world with precision but also passion. I loved seeing her support the women of her village while holding various people accountable for their bad deeds. I felt her heartbreak at misfortunes and bad actions. I felt her joy. Lawhon is most definitely one of my go to writers.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

Title: A Tale Dark & Grimm (A Tale Dark & Grimm #1)

Author: Adam Gidwitz

Publisher: Dutton Books 2010

Genre: MG Fantasy Horror

Pages: 256

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fairy Tales; 52 Book Club - Author Self-Insert

In this mischievous and utterly original debut, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm-inspired tales. As readers follow the siblings through a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind (and beyond) the bread crumbs, edible houses, and outwitted witches.

Fairy tales have never been more irreverent or subversive as Hansel and Gretel learn to take charge of their destinies and become the clever architects of their own happily ever after.

A lovely horrifying spin on the Hansel and Gretel stories. I love how Gidwitz mixes up the classic stories into one large narrative. With every story, the situation becomes even more horrifying and my love for this book grew. But I think my favorite story was the story were Hansel tricked the devil. The narrative voice with the author inserts was an added bonus to the book. I will most definitely have to continue reading the series.

A Tale Dark & Grimm

#1 A Tale Dark & Grimm
#2 In a Glass Grimmly
#3 The Grimm Conclusion

Next up on the TBR pile:

What Stalks Among Us by Sarah Hollowell

Title: What Stalks Among Us

Author: Sarah Hollowell

Publisher: Clarion Books 2023

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 400

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Neurodivergent Author; Library Love

Best friends and high school seniors Sadie and Logan make their first mistake when they ditch their end-of-year field trip to the amusement park in favor of exploring some old, forgotten backroads. The last thing they expect to come across is a giant, abandoned corn maze.

But with a whole day of playing hooking unspooling before them, they make their second mistake. Or perhaps their third? Maybe even their fourth. Because Sadie and Logan have definitely entered this maze before. And again before that.

When they stumble on the corpses in the maze, identical to them in every way (if you can ignore the stab and gunshot wounds)--from their clothes to their hidden scars to their dyed hair, to that one missing tooth--they quickly realize they’ve not only entered this maze before, they’ve died in it too. A lot. And no matter what they try, they can’t figure out what—or who—is hunting them.

I cannot remember exactly who recommended this book to me, but I was immediately intrigued but he premise. I fell into this book just like Sadie and Logan fall into the corn maze. The entire premise really spoke to my horror loving heart. But then the novel started to evolve and grew more and more complex. This is not just a simple horror novel. This is a book focused on two people finding the courage to become their true authentic selves. We see Sadie and Logan slowly open up to each other and expose their insecurities and fears. So many times I really felt for Sadie and Logan. I don’t possess many of their insecurities and fears, but I can completely related to a few of them. At the end of the book, there was a hopeful feeling that I absolutely loved.

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

Next up on the TBR pile:

Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert

Title: Midnight Ruin (Dark Olympus #6)

Author: Katee Robert

Publisher: Sourcebooks 2024

Genre: Romance

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; She Reads Romance - Spicy

Spice Rating: 8

Eurydice Dimitriou has always been the innocent sister, but she's finally ready to step out of the long shadow cast by her powerful family…and the ex who shattered her heart. Perhaps rough hands on soft skin are exactly what she needs to forget her heartbreak once and for all?

Charon Ariti has been Hades's right-hand man for years. He's given everything to the lower city, but now he's ready to take something for himself. He's only too happy to give Eurydice a special kind of education…but is her heart really free enough to be claimed?

Orpheus Makos will do whatever it takes to make things right. Once the golden boy of the upper city, he's now a shadow of his former self. He'll do anything to get Eurydice back…even if it means she's not coming into his arms alone. Three hearts. Three futures. Countless ways to get it wrong.

But with enemies slipping through Olympus's faltering barrier to lay siege on the lower city, a trio of broken hearts will be the least of these would-be lovers' worries…

Oh this one was intense! We get a very dramatic and yet beautiful romance story wrapped around the larger political and fantastical storyline affecting Olympus. We move our action to the Lower City and find Eurydice attempting to find her new balance after the events in the first book in the series. I was very much into following her journey. At times, she is much too immature for my personal tastes. Enter Charon, the stabilizing force in her life. I have been wanting his story since the very first book. I was so very excited to see how he connected with Eurydice. As a bonus, we get to see how Orpehus fits into Eurydice and Charon’s relationship. And it was very spicy! I was so very into their relationship evolution. Even more, I’m very into the larger storyline featuring all the characters in the Dark Olympus series.

Dark Olympus

#0.5 Stone Heart
#1 Neon Gods
#1.5 Hades and Hades
#2 Electric Idol
#2.5 Zeus and Hera
#3 Wicked Beauty
#4 Radiant Sun
#5 Cruel Seduction
#6 Midnight Ruin
#7 Dark Restraint

Next up on the TBR pile:

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire

Title: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known(Wayward Children #9)

Author: Seanan McGuire

Publisher: Tordotcom 2024

Genre: Fantasy

Pages:146

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - No People on the Cover; Library Love

Antsy is the latest student to pass through the doors at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children.

When the school’s (literally irresistible) mean girl realizes that Antsy's talent for finding absolutely anything may extend to doors, Antsy is forced to flee in the company of a small group of friends, looking for a way back to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go to be sure that Vineta and Hudson are keeping their promise.

Along the way, they will travel from a world which hides painful memories that cut as sharply as its beauty, to a land that time wasn’t yet old enough to forget―and more than one student's life will change forever.

“People who’ve been hurt often think they have some sort of right tot go around hurting other people,” said Sumi. “They think trauma’s a toy to keep handing down forever. Bu the fact that someone hurt you and tied you up in knots doesn’t give you the right to it to anybody else.” Pg. 94

That quote right there sums up the entire series and literally had me in tears. Beautiful story about a collection of characters struggling to find their places in the world (or multiple worlds). This volume is most definitely directly continues the story in the previous volume. We get a concise story of Antsy finding her way back and helping other characters on the way. I felt something akin to catharsis when I reached the final page. One of the best feelings.

Wayward Children

Next up on the TBR pile:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Title: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Dawn of the Dreadfuls #1)

Author: Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Publisher: Quirk Books 2009

Genre: Classics; Horror

Pages: 359

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf

Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is an audacious retelling of English literature's most enduring novel. This expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem begins when a mysterious plague falls upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield. It's the perfect read for literature lovers, zombie fans, and anyone who loves a reanimated Austen.

Technically this is a reread for me, but it was chosen as a Nerdy Bookish Friends selection. After we picked it, we realized that there are two different versions: the original and a reissue with 30% more zombies. Apparently I read the original, but own the new deluxe edition. So this was basically a new read for me. To be clear, this is not high literature. Sure it’s Jane Austen’s writing for 90%. But then we thrown in random zombie phrases and scenes. It create a mishmash of genres. But I enjoyed every page of it. I love Austen and zombies, and this was the perfect read for me. I suspect that this won’t be a favorite amongst my Nerdy Bookish Friends, but I still really loved it.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Butcher's Masquerade by Matt Dinniman

Title: The Butcher’s Masquerade (Dungeon Crawler Carl #5)

Author: Matt Dinniman

Publisher: Dandy House 2022

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 726

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Apostrophe in the Title

Attention. Attention. The gates are down. The hunters are loose.
Run, Run, Run.

A lush jungle teeming with danger. Savage dinosaurs seeking blood. A fallen princess intent on vengeance. A mysterious, end-of-floor celebration for the top crawlers, dubbed “The Butcher’s Masquerade.”

The sixth floor. The Hunting Grounds.

As the remaining crawlers battle for their lives, a new, terrible threat looms. Outside tourists are finally allowed to enter the game, and they are here and ready to hunt. Among them is Vrah, a famed and veteran hunter, intent on collecting the biggest trophy of her career.

But their prey is far from harmless, and this season they are fighting back.

I finally made it through this giant chunker of a book. And holy cow was it a ride! I cannot believe every thing that happened in these pages. Carl and Donut are put in more impossible situations that they then have to concoct ridiculous plans to get out of. I don’t want to spoil the events, but I will say that there are some real emotional moments in this one. I am going to take a short break before diving into the next book. As much as I love Carl and Donut, I need to process this one for awhile.

Dungeon Crawler Carl

Next up on the TBR pile:

Malamander by Thomas Taylor

Title: Malamander (Legends of Eerie-on-Sea #1)

Author: Thomas Taylor

Publisher: Walker Books 2019

Genre: MG Horror

Pages: 304

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; 52 Book Club - Features an Ocean

It’s winter in the town of Eerie-on-Sea, where the mist is thick and the salt spray is rattling the windows of the Grand Nautilus Hotel. Inside, young Herbert Lemon, Lost and Founder for the hotel, has an unexpected visitor. It seems that Violet Parma, a fearless girl around his age, lost her parents at the hotel when she was a baby, and she’s sure that the nervous Herbert is the only person who can help her find them. The trouble is, Violet is being pursued at that moment by a strange hook-handed man. And the town legend of the Malamander — a part-fish, part-human monster whose egg is said to make dreams come true — is rearing its scaly head. As various townspeople, some good-hearted, some nefarious, reveal themselves to be monster hunters on the sly, can Herbert and Violet elude them and discover what happened to Violet’s kin? This lighthearted, fantastical mystery, featuring black-and-white spot illustrations, kicks off a trilogy of fantasies set in the seaside town.

Oh this was utterly delightful! I love a good setting and this series set in Eerie-on-the-Sea is perfect. We get some fun spooky town in winter full of wonderfully quirky characters. From there we are flung into a mystery of the Malamander and Violet’s parentage. Herbert is the perfect narrator for the story. We get to see the town through his encounters and rambles. I especially loved Mrs. Fossil and her shop of oddities. Once the action begins, it truly doesn’t stop until the end. It was perfect and so much fun. I will have to read the rest of the series.

Legends of Eerie-on-Sea

#1 Malamander
#2 Gargantis
#3 Shadowghast
#4 Festergrimm
#5 Mermedusa

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dead Voices by Katherine Arden

Title: Dead Voices (Small Spaces #2)

Author: Katherine Arden

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons 2019

Genre: MG Horror

Pages: 256

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; 52 Book Club - Timeframe of a Week or Less

Having survived sinister scarecrows and the malevolent smiling man in Small Spaces, newly minted best friends Ollie, Coco, and Brian are ready to spend a relaxing winter break skiing together with their parents at Mount Hemlock Resort. But when a snowstorm sets in, causing the power to flicker out and the cold to creep closer and closer, the three are forced to settle for hot chocolate and board games by the fire.

Ollie, Coco, and Brian are determined to make the best of being snowed in, but odd things keep happening. Coco is convinced she has seen a ghost, and Ollie is having nightmares about frostbitten girls pleading for help. Then Mr. Voland, a mysterious ghost hunter, arrives in the midst of the storm to investigate the hauntings at Hemlock Lodge. Ollie, Coco, and Brian want to trust him, but Ollie's watch, which once saved them from the smiling man, has a new cautionary message: BEWARE.

With Mr. Voland's help, Ollie, Coco, and Brian reach out to the dead voices at Mount Hemlock. Maybe the ghosts need their help--or maybe not all ghosts can or should be trusted.

After reading the first book in this series, I was completely hooked. I love a good spooky series and this one has a great premise. This one picks up soon after the first book. I loved the change of scenery and new situation that our kids find themselves in. The hotel in the middle of the snowstorm gave awesome Overlook Hotel in The Shining vibes. From there, we very quickly dive into the main conflict. I love how the mystery unravels. The scary parts are truly terrifying and I loved very single page of it. I’ll definitely be continuing this series soon.

Small Spaces

#1 Small Spaces
#2 Dead Voices
#3 Dark Waters
#4 Empty Smiles

Next up on the TBR pile:

Haunted Holiday by Kiersten White

Title: Haunted Holiday (The Sinister Summer #5)

Author: Kiersten White

Publisher: Delacorte Press 2024

Genre: Middle Grade Horror

Pages: 272

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Revenge Story; Lifetime - Child Protagonist

Trapped in Aunt Saffronia’s spectral house, Theo and Alexander must work together to escape, stop their newfound nemesis Essa and her henchman Edgaren’t, save Wil and their friends, find their parents, and maybe, just maybe, get things back to normal.

Following the clues left behind, the twins find themselves at Siren’s Song Seaside Amusement Park. Old faces and new surprises await them in a park that was built to lure in visitors…and their secrets.

As they get closer to answers, the twins are left with the biggest question of all: Who is Essa really, and why is she so determined to find their parents?

And we come to the end of the Sinister Summer series! And it was utterly delightful! I loved this play on A Series of Unfortunate Events with references to classic horror stories. In this volume, everything and everybody finally comes together for a happy ending. We get to see the family reunited as they solve the last mystery of the summer. I especially loved the setting of the amusement park in this one. The kraken and robot battle at the end was the cherry on top of the sundae. Definitely a recommendation for most of my friends.

The Sinister Summer

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman

Title: The Gate of the Feral Gods (Dungeon Crawler Carl #4)

Author: Matt Dinniman

Publisher: Dandy House 2021

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 632

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

New Achievement! Total, Utter Failure.

You failed a quest less than five minutes after you received it. Now that’s talent.

A floating fortress occupied by warrior gnomes. A castle made of sand. A derelict submarine guarded by malfunctioning machines. A haunted crypt surrounded by lethal traps.

It was supposed to be easy. One bubble. Four castles. Fifteen days. Capture each one, and the stairwell is unlocked.

Here's the thing. It's never easy. Carl and his team can't go it alone. Not this time. They must rely on the help of the low-level, I-can't-believe-these-idiots-are-still-alive crawlers trapped in the bubble with them. But can they be trusted?

Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the fifth floor of the dungeon.

Yet another amazing Carl book in which I gasped out loud no fewer than 10 times. The level got a little convoluted in itself, but the characters shine through to really make this book. It was lovely to see more scenes involving other crawlers and the larger storyline at play. We get some epic action scenes and some great adversaries. Denise, the feral goose, was absolutely amazing! Hands-down my favorite boss in the series. Once we got to the last two hours of the book, I couldn’t put it down. Shit hit the fan and I had to keep reading to find out how Carl and Donut were going to survive this one! Cannot wait to read to the next one in the series.

Dungeon Crawler Carl

#1 Dungeon Crawler Carl
#2 Carl’s Doomsday Scenario
#3 The Dungeon' Anarchist’s Cookbook
#4 The Gate of the Feral Gods
#5 The Butcher’s Masquerade
#6 The Eye of the Bedlam Bride

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook by Matt Dinniman

Title: The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook (Dungeon Crawler Carl #3)

Author: Matt Dinniman

Publisher: Dandy House 2021

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 534

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Welcome to the Gun Show!

The top ten list is populated. The sponsorship program is open. The difficulty is ramping up. The first three floors were nothing compared to what Carl and Donut now face.

The Iron Tangle. An impossibly-complicated subway system built out of the world's subterranean railway systems, all combined and then tied together into a knot. Up is down. Down is up. Close is far. The cars are filled with monsters, the railway stations are less than safe, and the exit is always just a few stops away.

But there is hope. For the first time, the crawlers are all working together. The loot is better than ever. And the secret to unraveling it all may be hidden in the pages of a seemingly-useless book. Welcome, crawlers. Welcome to the fourth floor of the dungeon.

Oh yes! Another crazy adventure starring Carl and Donut! This time, the floor is all about a messed-up train system complete with multiple lines, different mobs, and a larger mystery of the construction itself. I loved seeing how our character navigated this one and finally figured out that they need to make more connections amongst the other crawlers. Brandy the fire demon was a lovely addition to their encounters. And I always love the appearance of mimics (not when actually playing Dungeons & Dragons, I hate them then). But the best part of this book was the acquisition of the title object. I cannot wait to see how Carl uses the information within on future levels. As always, the audiobook is the only way to go for this book!

Dungeon Crawler Carl

#1 Dungeon Crawler Carl
#2 Carl’s Doomsday Scenario
#3 The Dungeon' Anarchist’s Cookbooks
#4 The Gate of the Feral Gods
#5 The Butcher’s Masquerade
#6 The Eye of the Bedlam Bride

Next up on the TBR pile:

Signal Moon by Kate Quinn

Title: Signal Moon

Author: Kate Quinn

Publisher: Amazon 2022

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Pages: 57

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER

Yorkshire, 1943. Lily Baines, a bright young debutante increasingly ground down by an endless war, has traded in her white gloves for a set of headphones. It’s her job to intercept enemy naval communications and send them to Bletchley Park for decryption.

One night, she picks up a transmission that isn’t code at all—it’s a cry for help.

An American ship is taking heavy fire in the North Atlantic—but no one else has reported an attack, and the information relayed by the young US officer, Matt Jackson, seems all wrong. The contact that Lily has made on the other end of the radio channel says it’s…2023.

Across an eighty-year gap, Lily and Matt must find a way to help each other: Matt to convince her that the war she’s fighting can still be won, and Lily to help him stave off the war to come. As their connection grows stronger, they both know there’s no telling when time will run out on their inexplicable link.

Do not let the short length fool you. Kate Quinn packs this short story with so much plot and characterization that you would swear that it had to be longer. But at the same time, the prose does not lag. I zipped through this story and then wished that I could turn around and read it again for the first time. With a very quick but concise setup, we are thrown into the mystery of the transmission as Lily tries to understand what she just heard. From there, we switch to Matt and piece the two storylines together. I was absolutely tearing up by end of the story. There’s a reason that Quinn is one my favorite writers.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

Title: Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl #1)

Author: Matt Dinniman

Publisher: 2021

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 446

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - More Than 40 Chapters

The apocalypse will be televised!

A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.

In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth - from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds - collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground.

The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.

Only a few dare venture inside. But once you're in, you can't get out. And what's worse, each level has a time limit. You have but days to find a staircase to the next level down, or it's game over. In this game, it's not about your strength or your dexterity. It's about your followers, your views. Your clout. It's about building an audience and killing those goblins with style.

You can't just survive here. You gotta survive big.

You gotta fight with vigor, with excitement. You gotta make them stand up and cheer. And if you do have that "it" factor, you may just find yourself with a following. That's the only way to truly survive in this game - with the help of the loot boxes dropped upon you by the generous benefactors watching from across the galaxy.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. But for Carl, it's anything but a game.

J has been trying to get me to start reading this series for a few months now. I just wasn’t really in the mood for an RPG style narration until now. Once I started, I really couldn’t put this one down. Carl and Princess Doughnut are great protagonists that you can’t help but root for. As they stumble their way through Levels 1 and 2 of the dungeon causing chaos in their wake, I was on pins and needles desperate to see what was around the next corner. I really felt like we were in a video game encountering obstacles and bosses, figuring out puzzles, and attempting to survive just one more hour. Meeting other crawlers added the human element in a decidedly non-human environment. I can’t wait to read (or listen, the audio performance is great) the next book in the series.

Dungeon Crawler Carl

#1 Dungeon Crawler Carl
#2 Carl’s Doomsday Scenario
#3 The Dungeon' Anarchist’s Cookbooks
#4 The Gate of the Feral Gods
#5 The Butcher’s Masquerade
#6 The Eye of the Bedlam Bride

Next up on the TBR pile:

That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert

Title: That Kind of Guy (Ravenswood #3)

Author: Talia Hibbert

Publisher: Nixon House 2019

Genre: Romance

Pages: 272

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Spice Meter: 5

She wants a fake relationship. He needs something real.

If there’s one thing Rae can’t stand, it’s pity. She’s forty, frazzled, and fed up—so attending an awards ceremony alone while her ex swans about with his new wife? Not an option. To avoid total humiliation, Rae needs a date of her own. And her young, hot-as-hell new best friend is the perfect candidate…

Zach Davis, king of casual hookups, has a secret: the notorious womaniser craves emotional connection, and anonymous encounters leave him feeling hollow. After years of performance, Zach’s desperate to be himself. So why does he agree to play Rae’s fake boyfriend? And why does it feel so easy?

When the line between pretence and desire blurs, Zach’s forced to face an unexpected truth: there’s nothing phoney about his need for Rae. But the jaded divorcée’s been hurt by playboy men before. Can a weekend of faking it prove that Zach’s for real?

I think I finally found the selection for dirty book month! I have previously read Hibbert and loved her inclusion of a variety of characters, not just skinny and “normal” people finding romance. This is one of her previous books, but I was pulled to it because of the older protagonist. Once I started the book, I immediately fell for Zach and Rae. I loved the idea of a woman finding her place after divorce and finding it with a misunderstood man. Their sexual tension was palpable throughout the first half of the book. I usually want to see steamy scenes earlier in the book, but this was the right balance of tension and action. And then we get to the conversations between the characters. I loved how Zach and Rae finally reveal themselves to each other and come to a beautiful understanding.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Christmas Fix by Lucy Score

Title: The Christmas Fix (Fixer #2)

Author: Lucy Score

Publisher: Bloom Books 2017

Genre: Romance

Pages: 384

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Spice Rating: 5

She'll save Christmas just to spite him…

There's only one thing standing in the way of Cat King saving Merry, Connecticut's Christmas festival: Grumpy town manager Noah Yates.

Single dad Noah takes his responsibilities seriously. When a late season hurricane turns his town into a disaster, he's left scrambling to pick up the pieces of the town he loves.

At least, until home renovation expert and reality TV star Catalina King arrives with a camera crew and a budget big enough to put the town back together again. But Noah doesn't want a celebrity diva capitalizing on their tragedy or filling his young daughter's head with visions of glitz and glam.

Blonde bombshell Cat is used to being underestimated, but Noah has an uncanny knack for getting under her skin. They can't be in a room together without rubbing each other the wrong way…except that time in the dark alley where the rubbing was just right. Can these enemies work together to pull off a Christmas miracle or will their fighting leave them both on the naughty list?

What do we get if we mix a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie, HGTV, and a lot of steamy scenes? A rocking good time! I really really loved this one for my holiday reading. Cat is a take-no-nonsense driven career woman who butts up against a stick-in-the-mud small town leader. I loved seeing Noah and Cat go from hating each other’s guts to making out everywhere in the small town of Merry. A great romance full of amazing banter with a heartwarming story running underneath. I might just have to go and read the first one in this duology. Love the fun writing and steamy scenes!

Fixer

#1 Mr. Fixer Upper
#2 The Christmas Fix

Next up on the TBR pile:

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Title: Starter Villain

Author: John Scalzi

Publisher: Tor Book 2023

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 264

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.

But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.

It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyper-intelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.

In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat.

Another utterly delightfully entertaining science fiction romp by John Scalzi. I really enjoy his light and fluffy adventure stories every once in awhile between more serious scifi picks. This one drops you, and Charlie, into an unknown world. We have to slowly navigate our way through the villains, supervillains, and common assholes. My favorite parts involved Hera and the dolphins. Seriously, they stole the entire show when they appeared on the pages. There’s not a ton of substance to this book, but it’s one hell of an entertaining ride.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay

Title: The Last Conversation (Forward #5)

Author: Paul Tremblay

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories 2019

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 56

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER

What’s more frightening: Not knowing who you are? Or finding out? A Bram Stoker Award–winning author explores the answer in a chilling story about identity and human consciousness.

Imagine you’ve woken up in an unfamiliar room with no memory of who you are, how you got there, or where you were before. All you have is the disconnected voice of an attentive caretaker. Dr. Kuhn is there to help you—physically, emotionally, and psychologically. She’ll help you remember everything. She’ll make sure you reclaim your lost identity. Now answer one question: Are you sure you want to?

Surprisingly, this was my other favorite out of the collection. I have not been a huge fan of Tremblay’s writing, but this story was spot on. We get a bit of horror-tinged science fiction in this short, fairly ambiguous story. I loved how details are slowly revealed through the pages until we get to quite a gasp-inducing ending. So good.

Forward

#1 Ark by Veronica Roth
#2 Summer Frost by Blake Crouch
#3 Emergency Skin by NK Jemisin
#4 You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles
#5 The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay
#6 Randomize by Andy Weir

Next up on the TBR pile:

Emergency Skin by NK Jemisin

Title: Emergency Skin (Forward #3)

Author: NK Jemisin

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories 2019

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 38

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER

What will become of our self-destructed planet? The answer shatters all expectations in this subversive speculation from the Hugo Award–winning author of the Broken Earth trilogy.

An explorer returns to gather information from a climate-ravaged Earth that his ancestors, and others among the planet’s finest, fled centuries ago. The mission comes with a warning: a graveyard world awaits him. But so do those left behind—hopeless and unbeautiful wastes of humanity who should have died out ages ago. After all this time, there’s no telling how they’ve devolved. Steel yourself, soldier. Get in. Get out. And try not to stare.

My favorite story from this collection! Jemisin is a master at dropping the reader into new worlds but not overwhelming you with confusion. We learn about the world as we need to, adding layer and layer to the story being told. In this case, when the characters name the resource the traveler needs to retrieve, I gasped out loud. Jemisin manages to connect this fantastical story directly to our current world with a commentary on social justice and environmental responsibility. She packs a punch in this very short story.

Forward

#1 Ark by Veronica Roth
#2 Summer Frost by Blake Crouch
#3 Emergency Skin by NK Jemisin
#4 You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles
#5 The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay
#6 Randomize by Andy Weir

Next up on the TBR pile:

The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers

Title: The City of Dreaming Books

Author: Walter Moers

Publisher: Overlook 2007

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 464

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Optimus Yarnspinner’s search for an author’s identity takes him to Bookholm―the so-called City of Dreaming Books. On entering its streets, our hero feels as if he has opened the door of a gigantic second-hand bookshop. His nostrils are assailed by clouds of book dust, the stimulating scent of ancient leather, and the tang of printer’s ink.

Soon, though, Yarnspinner falls into the clutches of the city’s evil genius, Pfistomel Smyke, who treacherously maroons him in the labyrinthine catacombs underneath the city, where reading books can be genuinely dangerous . . .

In The City of Dreaming Books, Walter Moers transports us to a magical world where reading is a remarkable adventure. Only those intrepid souls who are prepared to join Yarnspinner on his perilous journey should read this book. We wish the rest of you a long, safe, unutterably dull, and boring life!

I don’t quite know how to explain this book and why I enjoyed it. It’s a weird meandering trip through a strange land that reveres books and authors above all else. We follow Optimus Yarnspinner as he falls into a treacherous situation full of shady and shadowy characters. We stumble around in the dark catacombs under Bookholm and begin to uncover its secrets. This book is very descriptive and meandering in its plot. There are portions where not much happens. But I was still intrigued in following Yarnspinner through the dark hoping he can find his way out again. I literally gasped out loud a few times when the twists were revealed. Utterly delightful. I can’t wait to discuss this with my Nerdy Bookish Friends. One final note: this book is meant to be read with your eyes, Moers includes a variety of illustrations that add to the fantastical nature of the book. Without those illustrations, I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much as I have. You must read it on paper or as an ebook.

Next up on the TBR pile: