Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

Title: Butcher and Blackbird (Ruinous Love #1)

Author: Brynne Weaver

Publisher: Slowburn 2023

Genre: Romance

Pages: 360

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; She Reads Romance - Romantic Suspense

Spice Rating: 5 1/2 (due to all the murder)

When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, they find something elusive—the friendship of two like-minded, pitch-black souls who just happen to enjoy killing otherserial killers.

From small-town West Virginia to upscale California, and from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country.

But as their friendship develops into something more, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love.

Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves?
Or have they finally met their match?

A friend chatted with me about this book thinking that I had recommended it to her. In fact, she just recommended it to me! This book is not for everyone. It is a blend of spicy romance and murder on the page. Read the summary above; that’s what you get. Rowan and Sloane hunt and kill serial killers. They are killers. They find fulfillment and success in life from taking out the worst people they can find. Along the way, they fall in love. I absolutely loved this one. We get great banter and sexual tension. We get a guy who falls first and has to convince the girl he’s worth it. We get a strong independent woman who is only with the guy because she wants him around. And oh boy, we get glimpses into the lives of Rowan’s brothers. I finished this one and immediately went and bought it and the sequel.

Ruinous Love

• #1 Butcher and Blackbird

• #2 Leather and Lark

• #3 Scythe and Sparrow

Next up on the TBR pile:

Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes

Title: Ghost Station

Author: S.A. Barnes

Publisher: Tor Nightfire 2024

Genre: SciFi Horror

Pages: 377

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

An abandoned plant. A hidden past. A deadly danger.

Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray has dedicated her life to the study and prevention of Eckhart-Reiser syndrome (ERS)—the most famous case of which resulted in the brutal murders of twenty-nine people. It's personal to her, and when she's assigned to a small exploration crew who recently suffered the tragic death of a colleague, she wants to help. But as they begin to establish residency on an abandoned planet, it becomes clear that the crew is hiding something.

Ophelia's crewmates are far more interested in investigating the eerie, ancient planet and unraveling the mystery behind the previous colonizers' hasty departure than opening up to her.

That is, until their pilot is discovered gruesomely murdered. Is this Ophelia’s worst nightmare starting—a wave of violence and mental deterioration from ERS? Or is it something even more sinister?

Terrified that history will repeat itself, Ophelia and the crew must work together to figure out what’s happening. But trust is hard to come by…and the crew isn’t the only one keeping secrets.

Another proper space horror adventure! I really enjoyed Barnes’s previous book Dead Silence and was hoping with would be another good horror adventure. Thankfully it completely delivers on the promise! Right away we’re introduced to our main characters and have to decide whether or not to trust them. As the plot slowly unravels, we learn more about the characters, their motivations, and their secrets. I really fell for Ophelia and found myself really hoping that she would be a truthful main character. And obviously Severin was positioned as a mysterious and yet intriguing counterpoint. I loved seeing the characters respond to the events on the station. The last 60 pages or so were a wild ride. I was very much there for it until the end. Really enjoyed this adventure.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Poison by Sarah Pinborough

Title: Poison (Tales from the Kingdom #1)

Author: Sarah Pinborough

Publisher: Titan Books 2013

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 181

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fairy Tale - Snow White; Library Love

Meet handsome prince, the jealous queen, and the beautiful girl as you’ve never seen them before . . . Sarah Pinborough’s charming, provocative, and adult spin on Snow White will captivate fans of the classic fairy tale all over again.

Poison is the first of Sarah Pinborough’s three sexy, contemporary retellings of classic fairy tales featuring the heroes and villains we all love.

Such a disappointment! I love a good fairy tale retelling and this was not it. The book tries to make a more risqué Snow White story, but ends up getting confused about what it wants to be. At times, we get a very immature story of a young girl (who’s incredibly annoying I might add). At other times, we get a story of a misunderstood woman rebelling against the bounds of society. And at other times, we get a spicy romance. None of it quite works together for a cohesive narrator. I have incredibly disappointed and left with so many questions. Given my feelings with this volume, I will not be attempting to get those answers in the rest of the series.

Tales from the Kingdom

• #1 Poison

• #2 Charm

• #3 Beauty

Next up on the TBR pile:

Horror Hotel by Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren

Title: Horror Hotel (Horror Hotel #1)

Author: Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren

Publisher: Underlined 2022

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 224

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

When the YouTube-famous Ghost Gang—Chrissy, Chase, Emma, and Kiki—visit a haunted LA hotel notorious for tragedy to secretly film after dark, they expect it to be just like their previous paranormal huntings. Spooky enough to attract subscribers—and ultimately harmless.

But when they stumble upon something unexpected in the former room of a gruesome serial killer, they quickly realize that they’re in over their heads.

Sometimes, it’s the dead who need our help—and the living we should fear.

I spied this on a library featured shelf and immediately snatched it. I was hoping of a creepy fun ghost adventure. And that’s exactly what I got! We dive right into the adventure with a group of ghost hunters with a YouTube channel. Of course I had to keep in mind that this is a young adult novel. There were a few times when I got very annoyed by the character’s reactions to things, but then remembered that they are teenagers. This was much like the R.L. Stine novels of my early teen years. The plot was fast moving. The creepy scenes wee sufficiently creepy. I finished this one in two days and enjoyed the time. I am definitely going to read the sequel.

Horror Hotel

• #1 Horror Hotel

• #2 Cursed Cruise

Next up on the TBR pile:

Diavola by Jennifer Thorne

Title: Diavola

Author: Jennifer Thorne

Publisher: Tor Nightfire 2024

Genre: Horror

Pages: 293

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; 52 Book Club - Year of the Dragon

Anna has two rules for the annual Pace family destination vacations: Tread lightly and survive.

It isn’t easy when she’s the only one in the family who doesn’t quite fit in. Her twin brother, Benny, goes with the flow so much he’s practically dissolved, and her older sister, Nicole, is so used to everyone—including her blandly docile husband and two kids—falling in line that Anna often ends up in trouble for simply asking a question. Mom seizes every opportunity to question her life choices, and Dad, when not reminding everyone who paid for this vacation, just wants some peace and quiet.

The gorgeous, remote villa in tiny Monteperso seems like a perfect place to endure so much family togetherness, until things start going off the rails—the strange noises at night, the unsettling warnings from the local villagers, and the dark, violent past of the villa itself.

A Nerdy Bookish Friend suggested this book as a good horror selection for me. And she was so right! This was exactly the type of horror book I wanted! We get the lush setting, the absolutely creepy atmosphere, actual ghosts, and a scrappy heroine. I loved the slow descent into madness and horror that the entire Pace family experiences at the hands of the La Dama Bianca. Every description of creepy feeling or sighting was perfectly horrifying. I absolutely adored the mystery surrounding the haunting. And we get to see a very dysfunctional family at play throughout. So many times I really wanted Anna to just turn her entire family (well maybe not the nieces) over to the malevolent spirits. I was with this book to the very end!

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Casanova by TL Swan

Title: The Casanova (Miles High Club #3)

Author: TL Swan

Publisher: Montlake 2021

Genre: Romance

Pages: 500

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - A Smelly Book; Library Love

Spice Rating: 5

My favorite hobby is infuriating Elliot Miles. Just the sight of my boss’s handsome face triggers my sarcasm. God knows how he earns his Casanova reputation—if a million women want him with his personality, what the heck am I doing wrong?

Disgusted with my love life, I join a dating app under a fake name. I start chatting to a man named Edgar. He’s not my type and lives on the other side of the world, but we hit off a friendship, laugh and confide in each other.

But lately things are getting weird at work. Elliot’s being…attentive. His eyes linger a little longer than they should, and there’s a heat behind them that I haven’t felt before. And then, in the shock of all shocks, he tells me that my vulnerability is appealing. But when was I vulnerable?

Ugh! This book was so incredibly frustrating! I absolutely detested Elliot throughout most of this book. He runs so hot and cold every chapter and I just couldn’t root for him at all. The way he treated Kathryn made me ragey. The way that Kathryn could call out his bad behavior and then sweep it under the rug really made me mad. I really dislike agro heroes and miscommunication. I barely got through this book and definitely did not like it. I could never fall for someone like Elliot. Unfortunately he never redeemed himself and I never really enjoyed this book. I will probably finish off this series, but did not enjoy this one.

Miles High Club

• #1 The Stopover

• #2 The Takeover

• #3 The Casanova

• #4 The Do-Over

• #5 Miles Ever After

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Long Time Coming by Meghan Quinn

Title: A Long Time Coming (Cane Brothers #3)

Author: Meghan Quinn

Publisher: Meghan Quinn 2023

Genre: Romance

Pages: 448

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: She Reads Romance - Friends to Lovers; Library Love

Spice Meter:  5

Have you ever heard of a man-in-waiting?
Yeah, neither has my best friend's soon-to-be monster-in-law. Ooo, sorry, I meant mother-in-law. Nor has she heard of the term, what the bride wants, the bride gets.
With wedding planning underway and a short timeline, my best friend, Lia, has recruited me to help her battle the snarly beast that is Mrs. Beaver. Not scared at all, I accept the challenge as her man-in-waiting--aka, man of honor--and take matters into my own hands.
The only problem is, with every second we draw closer to the wedding, I'm starting to see my best girl in a different light.
She's always been beautiful to me, but now . . . I find myself staring a touch too long. My hand lingering for one more minute. And when she's upset? Allowing her to sleep in my bed.
And before I know what's happening, it hits me like a ton of bricks. I'm in love with my best friend. Not just in love, but infatuated.
No one compares to her and nothing seems to distract me from that realization.
Not the girl I try to date while I help plan Lia's wedding.
Not her angry fiancé who thinks I'm growing too close.
And not the looming deadline of her nuptials.
Which means, there's only one thing left for me to do. Prove to Lia I'm the one she should be with instead. But with the pressure of her engagement, the stress from her soon-to-be mother-in-law, and the breath-stealing nerves running through me, I'm finding it a lot harder to claim the girl than I would like to admit.
Say a little prayer for me . . .

Thankfully a strong showing for the ending of this contemporary series. Breaker is a terrible name for our MMC, but I did love him. His friendship with Lia was delightful. I completely bought the idea of their friendship. And I completely bought their progression to a romantic relationship. I usually don’t like Friends to Lovers as usually there’s a big unrequited love aspect to the story. This one avoids most of that and focuses on their growing attraction. There were a few sections that dealt with Brian and Lia where I just really wanted to see Lia punch him. Thankfully this is a good contemporary romance with a Happily Ever After, so no worries. Light, fluffy, and with some great steamy scenes. I enjoyed this one.

Cane Brothers

• #1 A Not So Meet Cute

• #2 So Not Meant to Be

• #3 A Long Time Coming

Next up on the TBR pile:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1)

Author: Laini Taylor

Publisher: Little, Brown Books 2011

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 418

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Everyone But Me; Library Love

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Oof that was not a book for me. I was expecting a great fantasy adventure story with world building and great characters. To be fair, the story started out great. I loved the setting in Prague. We get some great atmosphere throughout the first section of the book. I loved following Karou around on her errands and dealing with her everyday life. I was very intrigued by the mystery of Karous’ family and what was through the other door. I wanted to explore the mystery of the conflict between the angels and the others. But the book took a turn about 50% of the way through and become a whiny young adult romance. From there, every chapter was a bunch of angsty romance. When the big twist was revealed (seriously who didn’t see that coming?), I completely threw the book down. I will not be continuing with this story at all.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

• #1 Daughter of Smoke and Bone

• #1.5 Night of Cake and Puppets

• #2 Days of Blood and Starlight

• #3 Dreams of Gods and Monsters

Next up on the TBR pile:

Witnerset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham

Title: Winterset Hollow

Author: Jonathan Edward Durham

Publisher: Credo House 2021

Genre: Horror

Pages: 274

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: In Case You Missed It - 2021; Library Love

Everyone has wanted their favorite book to be real, if only for a moment. Everyone has wished to meet their favorite characters, if only for a day. But be careful in that wish, for even a history laid in ink can be repaid in flesh and blood, and reality is far deadlier than fiction . . . especially on Addington Isle.

Winterset Hollow follows a group of friends to the place that inspired their favorite book—a timeless tale about a tribe of animals preparing for their yearly end-of-summer festival. But after a series of shocking discoveries, they find that much of what the world believes to be fiction is actually fact, and that the truth behind their beloved story is darker and more dangerous than they ever imagined. It’s Barley Day . . . and you’re invited to the hunt.

Winterset Hollow is as thrilling as it is terrifying and as smart as it is surprising. A uniquely original story filled with properly unexpected twists and turns, Winterset Hollow delivers complex, indelible characters and pulse- pounding action as it storms toward an unforgettable climax that will leave you reeling. How do you celebrate Barley Day? You run, friend. You run.

Someone (I truly cannot remember who now) said that this was one of the scariest books that they have ever read. Of course, I had to pick this one up and read it immediately. While the book doesn’t live up to the hype, I still enjoyed this horror novel. I got a lot of reminders of The Magicians and Narnia with a splash of The Wind in the Willows and Watership Down. Once the second part started, I knew exactly what was going to happen in the storyline, but I was still interested in reading the rest of the novel. We follow our main trio as they explore a childhood inspiration from a favorite book. Of course, things are not all that they seem. We know that things are much more dire and dangerous than should be. Once the story truly gets going, it doesn’t let up until the end. Fascinating look at the nature of humanity and conquest. A solid horror book to pick up.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler

Title: The Tusks of Extinction

Author: Ray Nayler

Publisher: Tordotcom 2024

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 101

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Women in STEM; Library Love

Moscow has resurrected the mammoth. But someone must teach them how to be mammoths, or they are doomed to die out again.

Dr. Damira Khismatullina, an expert in elephant behavior, was brutally murdered trying to defend the world's last elephants from the brutal ivory trade. Now, her digitized consciousness has been downloaded into the mind of a mammoth.

As the herd's new matriarch, can Damira help fend off poachers long enough for the species to take hold? Or will her own ghosts, and Moscow's real reason for bringing the mammoth back, doom them to a new extinction?

"We come from our own pasts. We rise up out of our memories, and once there are enough of those memories to stand upon, we move forward with their support beneath us, drawn toward the future they allow us to conceive. We are continually shaped by our past, and we continually reshape it.” pg. 80

A beautiful heart wrenching story of loss and identity. We get the human side of the story featuring an activist desperately trying to save the elephants and a young man desperately trying to save himself. And we get the mammoth story about learning to survive in a new world and time. I absolutely love how Nayler takes an issue and illustrates it through science fictions settings. We get fantastical premises, but at the heart of his story is a struggle that everyone can relate to. So many times I was stopped by the beautiful prose and stunning revelations. I found myself rooting for the mammoths and humanity throughout the story. It’s short, very short, but it packs a punch. Nayler is most definitely going on my must read author list.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Empty Smiles by Katherine Arden

Title: Empty Smiles (Small Spaces #4)

Author: Katherine Arden

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons 2022

Genre: MG Horror

Pages: 208

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Includes a Personal Phobia (can you guess?); Library Love

It’s been three months since Ollie made a daring deal with the smiling man to save those she loved, and then vanished without a trace. The smiling man promised Coco, Brian and Phil, that they’d have a chance to save her, but as time goes by, they begin to worry that the smiling man has lied to them and Ollie is gone forever. But then a terrified and rambling boy who went missing at a nearby traveling carnival appears with a message for the trio from the mysterious man who took him: Play if you dare.

Game on! The smiling man has finally made his move. Now it’s Coco, Brian, and Phil’s turn to make theirs. And they know just where to start. The traveling carnival is coming to Evansburg.

Meanwhile, Ollie is trapped in the world behind the mist, learning the horrifying secrets of the smiling man's carnival, and trying everything to help her friends find her. Brian, Coco and Phil will risk everything to rescue Ollie—but they all soon realize this game is much more dangerous than the ones before. This time the smiling man is playing for keeps.

And the end of this fun and spooky series! I have really enjoyed the fun creepy bits here and there and this one really amped up the spook factor. I was all for the carnival setting and the return of the smiling man. Plus we get some very creepy minions. The mystery of how Olivia and friends can ge3t out of the situation was extra fun. The storyline kept moving and progressing quickly just how I liked. My biggest problem was how quickly the ending happened. We don’t get to see Brian and Coco get through the carnival to save Olivia. They just show up and everything happens super quickly. I wanted to see more. sStill, it was a great ending to the series.

Small Spaces

• #1 Small Spaces

• #2 Dead Voices

• #3 Dark Waters

• #4 Empty Smiles

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

Title: The Housemaid (The Housemaid #1)

Author: Freida McFadden

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing 2022

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 325

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Lifetime - Character in 20s; Library Love

“Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I’ll soon learn that the Winchesters’ secrets are far more dangerous than my own…

Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.

They don’t know what I’m capable of…

I’ll admit that I was hesitant about this book club selection. I usually find thrillers to be very trite and predictable. For the first section, I thought this book as going to be the predictable crazy wife trope. And then a shift happens. I bumped up my star rating to a 3 during the second portion of the book. And then we get to the last two chapters and I was completely sold on the book. I don’t want to spoil the story, but it ended in such a way that I was pumping my fists and yelling “yes!” I cannot wait to discuss this book at book club in a few weeks. And I might just read the second book in the series.

The Housemaid

• #1 The Housemaid

• #2 The Housemaid’s Secret

• #3 The Housemaid is Watching

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

Title: The Spirit Bares Its Teeth

Author: Andrew Joseph White

Publisher: Peachtree Teen 2023

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 387

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Picked without reading the blurb; Library Love

Mors vincit omnia. Death conquers all.

London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old trans, autistic Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife.

After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness—a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness—and shipped away to Braxton’s Finishing School and Sanitorium. When the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its guts to the world—so long as the school doesn’t break him first.

Featuring an autistic trans protagonist in a historical setting, Andrew Joseph White’s much-anticipated sophomore novel does not back down from exposing the violence of the patriarchy and the harm inflicted on trans youth who are forced into conformity.

Be forewarned, this book is full of horror and gore. It is not for for the feint of heart, but it’s such a great story about a person finding their self. We are immediately thrown into Silas’s confusing world full of expectations and horrors. We follow along as he attempts to carve his own path in the world only to butt up against societal expectations. The story really gets going when we transition to the Braxton school. From there, the mystery starts to unravel. The plot was fast moving and truly horrifying. I was very involved in the story and figuring out what happened to the girls at the school. My favorite parts with the scenes with Daphne. I loved see Silas and Daphne slowly find their partnership. Apparently, I’ve really been on an identity finding books kick lately.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Guest in the House by Emily Carroll

Title: A Guest in the House

Author: Emily Carroll

Publisher: First Second 2023

Genre: Graphic Novel Horror

Pages: 256

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

After many lonely years, Abby’s just gotten married. She met her new husband―a recently widowed dentist―when he arrived in town with his young daughter, seeking a new start. Although it’s strange living in the shadow of her predecessor, Abby does her best to be a good wife and mother. But the more she learns about her new husband’s first wife, the more things don’t add up. And Abby starts to wonder . . . was Sheila’s death really by natural causes? As Abby sinks deeper into confusion, Sheila’s memory seems to become a force all its own, ensnaring Abby in a mystery that leaves her obsessed, fascinated, and desperately in love for the first time in her life.

Emily's masterful balance of black and white, surreal colors, rich textures, and dramatic lettering is assured to bring this story to life and give readers a chill up their spine as they read.

Now this book was much more up my alley. We get a horror comic examining a life of complacency and self-doubt. I loved how Abby’s story spirals with Crystal and Sheila’s stories. The interplay between black and white images and bursts of color drove home the push and pull between reality and dreams and nightmares. Throughout the pages, I was rooting for Abby in every encounter. After reading this volume, I definitely need to get more from Carroll.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dark Waters by Katherine Arden

Title: Dark Waters (Small Spaces #3)

Author: Katherine Arden

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons 2021

Genre: MG Horror

Pages: 256

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

Until next time. That was chilling promise made to Ollie, Coco and Brian after they outsmarted the smiling man at Mount Hemlock Resort. And as the trio knows, the smiling man always keeps his promises. So when the lights flicker on and off at Brian's family's inn and a boom sounds at the door, there's just one visitor it could be. Only, there's no one there, just a cryptic note left outside signed simply as —S.

The smiling man loves his games and it seems a new one is afoot. But first, the three friends will have to survive a group trip to Lake Champlain where it's said Vermont's very own Loch Ness monster lives. When they’re left shipwrecked on an island haunted by a monster on both land and sea, Brian's survival instincts kick in and it's up to him to help everyone work together and find a way to escape.

One thing is for sure, the smiling man is back and he wants a rematch. And this time Brian is ready to play.

The third book in this fun middle grade horror series and I am still very intrigued. In this one, we get a fun shipwreck adventure featuring a sea monster and more ghosts. We get some more information about what happened back in the fall and the reintroduction of a previous character. I loved seeing Brian take a more central role in solving this particular mystery. And of course, we get one heck of a cliffhanger. I completely predicted what was going to happen, but it was still a great ride. And now, I just need to finish this series.

Small Spaces

• #1 Small Spaces

• #2 Dead Voices

• #3 Dark Waters

• #4 Empty Smiles

Next up on the TBR pile:

Ruthless by Anne Stuart

Title: Ruthless (House of Rohan #1)

Author: Anne Stuart

Publisher: MIRA 2010

Genre: Romance

Pages: 409

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

Spice Rating: 5

Viscount Rohan is a very bad man. Leader of the notorious Heavenly Host, he steers the dissolute and pleasure-seeking aristocracy in their revels. Content in his wickedness, he knows there is no room for a starchy, brave English spinster in his self-indulgent existence, but his body disagrees.

Elinor Harriman is so intent on protecting her baby sister and their dying mother that she doesn’t realize the danger she’s in. The notorious Viscount Rohan could have no interest in someone like her, thank God, and no idea that she melts with longing every time he touches her. She’s an intelligent, plain woman, and his tempting, his teasing has to be some kind of joke.

But Rohan takes his appetites very seriously, and sensible or not, he wants Elinor Harriman in his bed. There is only one problem with indulging himself–he’s starting to want her in his life as well. And that would destroy everything.

I picked this up because I had the three other books in this series sitting on my Unread Shelf. I dove in not knowing what to expect. I loved the first section of this book. The tension between Francis and Elinor was delightful. I was intrigued by the setup and was hoping for a good payoff. But I ultimately thought the book ended much to abruptly and without the catharsis that I wanted. I didn’t feel like Francis and Elinor ever really connected with each other. There wasn’t enough relationship talk for me. I will still continue on with the series as I own the rest. We’ll see how I feel after the next one about continuing farther.

House of Rohan

• #1 Ruthless

• #2 Reckless

• #3 Breathless

• #4 Shameless

• #5 Heartless

Next up on the TBR pile:

The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg

Title: The One Hundred Nights of Hero

Author: Isabel Greenberg

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company 2016

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 224

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

In the Empire of Migdal Bavel, Cherry is married to Jerome, a wicked man who makes a diabolical wager with his friend Manfred: if Manfred can seduce Cherry in one hundred nights, he can have his castle -- and Cherry.

But what Jerome doesn't know is that Cherry is in love with her maid Hero. The two women hatch a plan: Hero, a member of the League of Secret Story Tellers, will distract Manfred by regaling him with a mesmerizing tale each night for 100 nights, keeping him at bay. Those tales are beautifully depicted here, touching on themes of love and betrayal and loyalty and madness.

As intricate and richly imagined as the works of Chris Ware, and leavened with a dry wit that rivals Kate Beaton's in Hark! A Vagrant, Isabel Greenberg's One Hundred Nights of Hero will capture readers' hearts and minds, taking them through a magical medieval world.

Random comic recommendation from Goodreads that actually landed for me. This is a remix of the story of Scheherazade with added influences for other cultures. There’s an element of feminist rage that I really enjoyed. The stories and legends are inset into the larger story of Cherry and Hero. I loved seeing elements of other well-known and some other not-so-well-known stories.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

Title: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands (Emily Wilde #2)

Author: Heather Fawcett

Publisher: Del Rey 2024

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 342

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Published in 2024; Library Love

Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore—she just wrote the world’s first comprehensive of encylopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Folk on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival, Wendell Bambleby.
 
Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, and in search of a door back to his realm. So despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of marriage: Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and danger.
 
And she also has a new project to focus on: a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by Bambleby’s mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambley’s realm, and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.
 
But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors, and of her own heart.

Another amazing story featuring the adventures of Emily and Wendell. We get to change the setting and explore new worlds and new creatures. I loved seeing how Emily’s story progresses as she learns to trust her instincts and stand up for herself. And we get to see her interact with new characters in Wendell’s search for his door. I absolutely adored the reappearance of Poe and the introduction of Snowbell. At times this is a quiet story. We get small moments between the characters. And then the plot really amps up and barrels ahead. I cannot wait until the next book in this series.

Emily Wilde

• #1 Encyclopaedia of Faeries

• #2 Map of the Otherlands

• #3 Compendium of Lost Tales

Next up on the TBR pile:

So Not Meant to Be by Meghan Quinn

Title: So Not Meant to Be (Cane Brothers #2)

Author: Meghan Quinn

Publisher: Bloom Books 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 480

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; She Reads Romance - Enemies to Lovers

Spice Meter:  5

Am I friends with JP Cane?
Ha! That's laughable.
Besides the fact that he’s adopted some far-fetched notion from the movie When Harry Met Sally that says men and women can't be friends and work together, it’s safe to say we're not friends. He's annoyingly loud, obnoxiously handsome, and has made an art out of poking all my hot buttons . . . multiple times a day.
So you can imagine how disgruntled I am when I not only have to fly to San Francisco with him for work, but stay in the same penthouse. Yup, we're sharing the same air, twenty-four-seven. We're talking full-fledged working roommates.
The man doesn't know what it means to wear a shirt, thrives off protein bars, and you guessed it, moans loud enough for people to believe he's Meg Ryan in a restaurant.
Spoiler Alert: I WON'T be having what he's having.
Tack on his continuous flirting and his polished good looks, and I'm caught staring down the barrel of a seductive temptation that makes it hard for me to sleep at night.
But guess who can control herself? This girl.
Because if there is one thing I know for certain, it's that JP Cane and I are so not meant to be.

Enemies to lovers is my favorite romance trope, so of course, I picked up this series. I was into the first book and hoped I would love the second. Unfortunately, I really disliked JP and that fact really turned me of to the entire book. We start out strong with a fun slightly antagonistic relationship between Kelsey and JP. We get some good banter and ridiculous situations. But then, JP’s entire demeanor and personality really started to bother me. At a certain point in the book, JP tells the readers that he is completely in love with Kelsey and is going to attempt to get her to see that. But all of his actions are so hot and cold. She does one thing, such as go on a date with another man, and he completely shuts her out. Mind you, she has no idea that JP supposedly loves her. He just completely shuts down and then gets mad at Kelsey when she questions him. His inability to communicate or at least modulate his moods raised some serious red flags for me. I doubt that them declaring their love is going to eliminate his mood swings. Very scary behavior from the male lead. I just couldn’t root for them at all.

Cane Brothers

• #1 A Not So Meet Cute

• #2 So Not Meant to Be

• #3 A Long Time Coming

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.

Next up on the TBR pile: