We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s topic is Authors I’d Love a New Book From (These could be authors that have passed away, who have retired from writing, who have inexplicably gone quiet, or who might jut not be able to keep up with how quickly you read their books!)
Buried in a Good Book (By the Book #1)
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Pub Date: 24 May 2022
Genre: Cosy Mystery
Panda Rating:
(4 pandas)
Bestselling thriller writer Tess Harrow is almost at the end of her rope when she arrives with her teenage daughter at her grandfather’s rustic cabin in the woods. She hopes this will be a time for them to heal and bond after Tess’s recent divorce, but they’ve barely made it through the door when an explosion shakes the cabin. Suddenly it’s raining fish guts and…is that a human arm?
Tess was hardly convincing Gertie that a summer without Wi-Fi and running water would be an adventure. Now she’s thrust into a murder investigation, neighbors are saying they’ve spotted Bigfoot in the woods near her cabin, and the local sheriff is the spitting image of her character Detective Gabriel Gonzales―something he’s less than thrilled about. With so much more than her daughter’s summer plans at stake, it’s up to Tess to solve this case before anyone else gets hurt.
Murder, dismemberment (off page), animal endangerment, infidelity (off page, recounted)
TL;DR: I’m so glad that I finally read Buried in a Good Book! I had no idea what to expect going in but I didn’t think the writing would be so amusing, even with the murderous plot. I loved the humour and the cosy yet spooky atmosphere of this quaint and quirky small town surrounded by thick woods and nature near the Canadian border. Tess was a fantastic main character and I loved the role many of the side characters play, especially Sheriff Boyd, Gertie, and Nicki! It’s a wildly adventurous and murder-filled read and I can’t wait to continue this series.
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We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent your time reading in bed or wish you had time to read today!
I’m spending my Sunday in bed with The Magic Paintbrush by Kat Zhang. This is for a tour later mid-week and I’m behind on it because I can only read the ARC on my phone or laptop as there’s no Kindle copy. I love the concept and am enjoying the illustrations, even if they’re not final.
Hello, friends. ✨ Today I’m excited to be part of the blog tour for Summer Vamp by Violet Chan Karim! Special thanks to the TBR & Beyond Tours team for organising the tour and including me in it.
Thanks to Random House Graphic for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Click here or on the banner above to check out the rest of the fantastic bloggers on tour!
Summer Vamp
Publisher: Random House Graphic
Publication Date: 14 May 2024
Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy
Panda Rating:
(4 pandas)
What happens when a very human kid ends up at the wrong summer camp—FOR VAMPIRES?! This quirky and heart warming graphic novel about making friends and getting in trouble is perfect for fans of Witches of Brooklyn.
After a lackluster school year, Maya anticipates an even more disappointing summer. The only thing she’s looking forward to is cooking and mixing ingredients in the kitchen, which these days brings her more joy than mingling with her peers… that is until her dad’s girlfriend registers her for culinary summer camp! Maya’s summer is saved!… or not.
What was meant to be a summer filled with baking pastries and cooking pasta is suddenly looking a lot… paler?! Why do all of the kids have pointy fangs? And hate garlic? Turns out that Maya isn’t at culinary camp—she’s at a camp for VAMPIRES! Maya has a lot to learn if she’s going to survive this summer… and if she’s lucky, she might even make some friends along the way.
What happens when you realize you haven’t gone to culinary camp and ended up at not just any regular old summer camp, but a camp for vampires?! Well, it turns out you can have a whole lot of fun in the last place you’d expect to! 😂
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Hello, friends. ✨ Today I’m excited to be part of the blog tour for Wrath of the Talon by Sophie Kim! Special thanks to the TBR & Beyond Tours team for organising the tour and including me in it.
Thanks to Entangled: Teen for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Click here or on the banner above to check out the rest of the fantastic bloggers on tour!
Wrath of the Talons (Talon #2)
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Publication Date: 2 April 2024
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rep: Asian, Korean
Panda Rating:
(4.5 pandas)
Everyone thinks the Reaper of Sunpo—eighteen-year-old assassin Shin Lina—is dead. The only ones who know the truth are her cherished little sister and Haneul Rui, the icily gorgeous Dokkaebi Emperor, who she was sent to kill…and kissed instead.
Now, with the potent Imugi venom surging in her veins, Lina’s returned to right all wrongs. Already her body is changing, growing stronger, stealthier, and more agile, with serpentine scales she can call at will. She is living vengeance, seeking retribution for the massacre of the Talons. She’ll become the sword who cuts down the rival Blackbloods gang, along with their ruthless crime-lord leader. And when she is through, she will take the kingdom as her own.
But there is a mysterious side to Lina’s growing power, a dark voice inside her that whispers and guides her as she slips through the shadows of Sunpo’s streets. One that warns her not to trust the Dokkaebi, especially Rui.
Because if her destiny isn’t to love him…it must be to destroy him.
The Talons series is best enjoyed in order.
Violence, murder, mild sex scenes (on page)
TL;DR: Holy wow, this was a sequel! That ending had me floored because no way was that the choice! Author!! The way you built up hope is illegal!!! I can’t remember the last time I was so thrilled by the second book in a trilogy but this, to me, did not suffer from that dreaded second/middle book syndrome. Perhaps it’s because I went in with lowered expectations having thought the first book was okay; however, I think the writing, plot, and character development were sharper and I’m happy to see that author growth. With such high stakes and a whole lot of tension and angst, this sequel got me invested in this series and after that ending, I can’t wait for the finale!
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Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s topic is Favourite Book Quotes (You can pick your favourite quotes from books, or about books! You can set a theme like quotes from books about love, friendship, hope, etc. or you can just share quotes you loved from your recent reads!)
Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1)
Publisher: Gallery/Saga Press
Pub Date: 26 June 2018
Genre: Dystopian Fantasy
Panda Rating:
(4.5 pandas)
While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters.
Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much more terrifying than anything she could imagine.
Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel the rez, unraveling clues from ancient legends, trading favors with tricksters, and battling dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology.
As Maggie discovers the truth behind the killings, she will have to confront her past if she wants to survive.
Welcome to the Sixth World.
Dismemberment, gore, blood, extreme violence, substance abuse, racism
TL;DR: This was a reread for me but I read it back before I wrote reviews so despite giving it 4 stars I didn’t remember what I loved and didn’t love about it. I’m blown away by how much I enjoyed this especially because there are horror aspects in this that fall outside my usual reading comfort zone. Despite the stomach-turning moments and the fact that these pages are filled with a fairly depressing post-apocalyptic setting and dark mythology, I found myself being unable to turn away and I often didn’t want to stop reading even when adulting responsibilities called me back to reality. This review is a bit all over the place but that tends to happen with a book I’ve thoroughly enjoyed! 😂
Read More » We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent your time reading in bed or wish you had time to read today!
I’m spending my Sunday in bed with The Only One Left by Riley Sager. I started this yesterday and as I always find with Sager’s books, even though you’re quickly hooked and feel the need to know what happened, his stories aren’t necessarily fast-paced. I just got to the twist and I saw it right before the reveal and I’m having fun!
Hello, friends! I hope everyone is having a good weekend. 🌻 After close to two weeks of unbearably hot and muggy weather, it finally rained heavily this afternoon and it’s the perfect moment to sit down and curl up with a good read. 🌧️ So I thought it’d be the perfect time to post my favourite part of each monthly wrap-up and I share some reads from around our wonderful book blogging community. Happy reading! 📖
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