The Fade by Demitria Lunetta

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal, Mystery, Ghost Story
Content: Strong Language



We don't want to disappear.
We want to be found.

Something terrible happened in her basement. Haley can feel it.

Four girls went missing several years ago, and the police never solved the case. But Haley knows the missing girls were murdered. How else can she explain the hostile presence in her house?

Since it's October I've been wanting to read something creepy. The Fade is a stand-alone ghost story that I thought would be perfect for reading around Halloween. Unfortunately it wasn't as creepy as I would have liked. The story is a slow burn, and I would have liked more happening earlier on in the book. When the twist came I did find myself surprised by it to an extent, but not completely, because of the book description. I don't want to spoil anything so I'm not going to say anything else about the plot. If you want to be completely surprised about this book then I would avoid reading the full description as it compares this book to a couple of other stories that would be a dead giveaway -no pun intended there. I will say that after the twist I found myself going back and rereading part of the book with that new perspective in mind. This is a short book, so it didn't really take that long to read even with the back tracking. I can't say I completely liked the way things turned out in this book, especially the last revelation about a certain someone, but it was good enough to give 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing me with an ARC of this book.

October 2018 Book Club: Bones of the Dragon

Bones of the Dragon by Margaret Weis

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong Language



Skylan Ivorson is a sea-raider of the Vindras and eventually becomes the Chief of Chiefs of all Vindras clans, an honor he truly feels he deserves as one who has been blessed by Skoval, the god of war.

But sometimes a blessing is a curse in disguise.

DNF @50%

This was our book club book this month and I'm pretty disappointed in it. I really enjoyed The Dragonlance Chronicles and The Deathgate Cycle but unfortunately Weis and Hickman did not win me over with this one. The biggest problem I have with this book is that I hate just about every one of the characters, especially the main character, Skylan, which is sad because I really love the characters in their other book series.

Skylan is just dumb in my opinion. He's like the big dumb jock that has an inflated ego. And when it comes to women he thinks like a narcissistic sexual predator. For example, he wants this one woman in the book and refuses to see that she doesn't want him. He convinces himself that she really does want him even though she doesn't and has never given him reason to think that she does. This is the worst character they've written since Mina from the War of Souls. I hated that character so much I wanted her to die a horrible death and that's how I feel about Skylan. This is just one example of why I dislike him, but it was one reason too many. I've heard he improves greatly in the next book, but I just don't care.

I also really hated what was done with another character in the book that started out sympathetic because of her abusive situation, but then she ends up not being so sympathetic and it felt like the book was trying to justify Skylan's awful opinion of her and the way she looks. Also the hairy nipples...what did I just read??? Sorry but I don't even want to try to explain that. Needless to say I will not be continuing on with this series.

Toxic by Lydia Kang

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Sci-fi, Horror, Romance
Content: Strong language, Non-descriptive teen sex, Two gruesome deaths



Cyclo, the first and largest biological ship of its kind, is dying. A small crew of mercenaries have handed over the rights to their life to document the death of the ship, but the abandoned ship is anything but abandoned―one girl has been left behind. 

This is kind of a sci-fi, horror, romance mashup. There were some things about it that I really liked, like the whole organic living spaceship thing, and the mysterious girl that was left behind when the crew evacuated. But then there were things that annoyed me, like the teen romance with 16 year olds having sex and falling in love after only knowing each other for a short time. Insta-love is not my thing. That pretty much ruined the book for me, but I'm still giving it 3 stars because the other aspects of the book were very well done.

The reason I'm calling this book part horror is because there are things that go awry on the ship. I don't want to spoil anything so I'm not giving any details, but this leads to more than one death. There were a couple of pretty gruesome deaths in this book, they kind of surprised me because the book seemed pretty mild up until that point. Overall I was a little disappointed in this one, but it wasn't a bad read. I probably would have enjoyed this a lot more if the romance had been toned down. If you like sci-fi type horror stories, and teen romance then you might want to give it a try.

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this bok in exchange for a review.

The Dream Gatherer by Kristen Britain

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Clean



This book consists of three stories related to the world that Green Rider is set in. One thing I really liked about this book is the author tells how the Green Rider series began and came to be published. The book also includes some of her own drawings that relate to each story. I enjoyed these stories quite a bit, especially the main one that the book is titled after. I'll put my reviews for each individual story below.

Wishwind

Finding peace during the Long War. Raised in an orphan camp, Green Rider Danalong has known only war and strife, until a shipwreck leaves him stranded on a mysterious island.

3 stars. This is a short story and I liked it a lot. I found it a little hard to get into a first, but by the middle of the story I was really enjoying it and I loved the conclusion and the lesson taught.

Linked, on the Lake of Souls

A story of friendship within a story of friendship. In the sixth volume of the Green Rider series, Firebrand, a wounded Karigan G'ladheon asks her friend Estral to tell her a story to take her mind off her pain. This is that story.

3.5 stars. Another short story, I liked the strong bond of friendship and how the characters used their individual strengths to work together.

The Dream Gatherer

Dreams can be dangerous. A visit with the eccentric Berry sisters turns dangerous when an arcane device is discovered in their house that can summon dreamers through their dreams, and one of them is a nightmare.

4 stars. I adore the Berry sisters and was really happy that this novella was about them. We start out with a little back story of the ship that's stuck in the house and one pirate that they find who has been secretly still living there. The gorgeous cover art is of the house from this story and I think the artist did a great job depicting it. This story features Estral, Karigan's best friend and I enjoyed reading about her as well. This was quite the fun read and I really don't think I could ever get enough of the Berry sisters. Here's hoping Kristen Britain writes more about them one day.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with and ARC of this book.

Suppressed by Bridget E. Baker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic
Content: Clean



A blood-borne virus requires a blood-born cure, but can Ruby survive saving everyone else?

I was really excited to read this second book in the Sins of Our Ancestors trilogy. Ruby barely escapes from Galveston and joins up with the Marked to try to develop a cure. Unfortunately her escape comes at a high cost. The loss of someone important and the loss of her father's last journal, which holds the key to developing the cure. I was delighted to see that the Marked have a major base in my home city of Baton Rouge in this book. I knew exactly where they were and it was easy to picture the setting changed to a post-apocalyptic one.

Wesley plays a much bigger role this time around and I like him quite a lot, and there ended up being a few parts involving Wesley that I thought were amusing. I can't say that I like him as much as Sam, but I like him in a different way, and it was fun to read and see the differences in the two characters and the strengths they each bring individually to the story, and how they each have helped Ruby through this.

That being said, the love triangle is a negative for me in this book. It didn't bother me in the last book, but unfortunately this time around it became a bit of an annoyance. Ruby ends up a bit conflicted about her feelings here. I like ruby but this did cause me to have some conflicting feelings about her, but at the same time she is a teenage girl who never had a romantic relationship in her life before, so I can see that perspective of it as well. On a positive note - I was extremely happy when she realized she shouldn't be blaming herself for so many things that weren't her fault, but it did take a long while for her to get there.

The book ends with Ruby left in a situation that she is not happy about, but it's not a cliffhanger at all. Although I didn't like this one quite as much as the first book, I thought it was still very good. I'm looking forward to reading the final book in the trilogy, and I'll definitely be looking for more from this author in the future.

Thanks to the author for proving me with an ARC in exchange for a review.

An Hour Unspent by Roseanna M. White

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Christian
Genre: Historical Romance, Mystery
Content: Clean



Once London’s top thief, Barclay Pearce has turned his back on his life of crime and now uses his skills for a nation at war. But not until he rescues a clockmaker’s daughter from a mugging does he begin to wonder what his future might hold.

This third and final book in the Shadows Over England companion series was just as entertaining as the previous two books. Roseanna M. White has become one of my favorite Christian romance authors. I love the historical settings of her books and the added mystery involved in each of them. This series involved spies during World War I. She makes sure to include little bits of history in each of her books, including real people from history who make appearances.

My one problem with this book, just like most historical romance, is that there is a silly thing that breaks the couple up for a while. It's always either a lie or a misunderstanding. This time around it was a lie that was believed way too easily. I began to dislike the character Evelina to an extent at this point, and it took until the end of the book for me to really like her again. I do wish that authors would come up with some other way to create drama in their romance stories. On the other hand I loved Barclay throughout the book. It was really nice to get to read his story this time around.

Other than that I thought this was a good ending to the series. All three books included themes that I found interesting. The first book was about books -so that was a given- and the second one was about music. This time around it's clocks and mechanical inventions. I liked the clock-maker aspect of the book and all of the toys and things he invented, and the invention of the synchronization gear for the bi-planes during the war was a good plot devise. This time around, the historical figure we meet is the inventor of the Rolex watch. We see the beginnings of the use and popularity of the wristwatch, an idea that was embraced by the military because of its ease of use during wartime.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bethany House for providing me with an ARC of this book.

The Rose and the Thorn by Michael J. Sullivan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Some brutal killings



For more than a year Royce Melborn has tried to forget Gwen DeLancy, the woman who saved him and his partner Hadrian Blackwater from certain death. Unable to get her out of his mind, the two thieves return to Medford but receive a very different reception --- Gwen refuses to see them.

I really enjoyed this second book in the Riyria Chronicles (the prequel series to the Riyria Revelations). It's always good to be back with Royce and Hadrian, but I also really loved the other characters in the book as well. It was nice seeing Hilfred, Arista, Alric, and the Pickerings as young teens. The frog hunting scene was one of my favorite parts of the whole book.

On another note, I was completely surprised at how dark Royce was in this book, and how far he went to exact revenge on someone. I mean, I knew he was an assassin who had killed people, but this was worse than I thought. I'm still a bit stunned.

I'm looking forward to continuing on with this series. I really can never get enough of these characters.

Culinary Mysteries

Do any of you like reading culinary mysteries? A friend of mine on Goodreads has created a great resource for them. I'm pretty sure she has every one ever written on there! Check out her website. https://culinarymysteries.net/

Murder on Millionaires' Row: A Mystery by Erin Lindsey

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Historical Mystery, Paranormal
Content: A small amount of strong language



Rose Gallagher might dream of bigger things, but she’s content enough with her life as a housemaid. After all, it’s not every girl from Five Points who gets to spend her days in a posh Fifth Avenue brownstone, even if only to sweep its floors. But all that changes on the day her boss, Mr. Thomas Wiltshire, disappears.

Having previously read Erin Lindsey's fantasy Bloodbound, I was curious to see what she would do with a mystery. It also intrigued me that this book included a paranormal element. The result was an engrossing start to a new series. Set in New York during the Gilded Age, Rose is a maid who longs for something more. She also has a huge crush on her employer Mr. Wiltshire, and when he goes missing she sets out to investigate his disappearance. The story includes several other interesting characters. Most noteworthy is Clara the cook, who harbors some secret skills and may have dreams of something more herself. I felt like the story moved a little slower than I would have liked, but I loved the plucky Rose, her employer Mr. Wiltshire, and the cook Clara.

Just as I hoped, the paranormal element was an interesting addition to the historical mystery. I thought it was incorporated into the story pretty well. At the end of the book we are left with a mystery to solve that relates to a ghost in this story. I'm expecting her to show up in at least one more book in the series, but I'm curious to see how other ghosts and possibly other types of creatures will play a role in future books.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book.