Week in Review #101

How was your week? What did you get? The Week in Review is where I combine Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post and It's Monday! What are you reading?  If you have never joined in on these meme's you can check them out by clicking on the meme and it will take you to the host blog.

So this week went a lot smoother than the previous week. Got the car fixed and it seems to be doing pretty good so hopefully it stays that way for a bit. 

I didn't do a lot this week but read during my free time. Middle grade  and kids books make me feel like a fast reader...lol. 

Have a great week and happy reading!

Books I have added

Nothing!

Books I Read

I took a few hours one day and read some seasonal picture books and they were a lot of fun! 

• The Skull - This one is popular but I didn't really get it. The artwork was great though a bit dreary.
• Cyclops Witch and the Heebie Jeebies - This was a cute one about a witch who was scared of children and it had several different other creatures featured in it. I loved the artwork.
• I Need My Monster Series - I am grouping the four together as they are a series. These were very cute and I loved the artwork. These stories are about a boy and his monster who lives under his bed. 

I read a lot this week, way more than I relized till I made this post. None of these books were very long and I listened to most of them. Middle grade books are easy to read but I still did great. I guess you can tell I have no life...lol. 

• Mummy Man and Waffles - I read this one and it had a lot of fun illustrations. This was just a lot of fun. Movie props that came to life, clown vampires, zombie squirrels, and of course the mummy. :) 
• Nighty Nightmare/Return to Howliday Inn - I listened to a bind up of Bunnicula #4 and #5, I loved these books as a kid and it's been a lot of fun reading through them again. 
• Wild Wave - Book Three in the Wilds series. I listened to this one and its a fun survival adventure book. It's short and is packed with action. Very unbelievable at times but fun. I have enjoyed this whole series.
• The Halloween Tree - This was a very strange, short read. It's my first time reading it and I think I need to read it again next year just to make sure I got everything out of it...lol. It was very strange.
• Ghost in the Attic - This is the second book in a cute chapeter book series called Haunted Library. It's about Claire and her ghost friend who open a ghost detective agency.
• Cursed Cruise - Second book in the Horror Hotel series and I wasn't a fan. It's a YA series and I wasn't a fan of book one but was hoping the second would be better and it wasn't.
• Night of the Living Mummy - This is the third book in the House of Shivers series and it was fun, not sure how I feel about the ending but it was good. 
• Surf's Up, Creepy Stuff - The third book in the chapter book series called Desmond Cole, Ghost Patrol. It was just as cute as the first two, great for spooky season.
• Attack of the Forty-Foot Chicken - The second book in the Bonker! series and it was cute but left me hanging so I will be reading the third book soon. Hoping to get the audiobook but if not I will read it as they are quick.

Currently Reading

• Caught Dead - I haven't been working on this one like I should, so hopefully this week I will get more into it. I think I am around 16% into it. This is on ebook.
• The Kolchak Papers - This is a bind up of the two original Kolchak books. I never knew it there were books before the show! Almost finished with this audiobook.
• The Creepening of Dogwood House - Just starting this audiobook.

How did your week go? Hope you had a great week!

Week in Review #100

How was your week? What did you get? The Week in Review is where I combine Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post and It's Monday! What are you reading?  If you have never joined in on these meme's you can check them out by clicking on the meme and it will take you to the host blog.

I can't believe it's October!! Though this does me I am once again hosting Hallowtween on my youtube channel. So you will see a lot of fun middle grade books on my reading and read list, though lets get real I read middle grade all the time...lol. This year I have a merch shop attached to my youtube channel so thought I would let you know in case you want to check it out. Here are some of my fun shirts. https://storm-reads.myspreadshop.com/

If you wondering what Hallowtween is it's a readathon that I created to read spooky and/or non spooky seasonal middle grade and I even read some picture books. You can see my potential tbr as I really stick to one but I do want to read all of these. :) 

Watching a lot of spooky or fun seasonal movies too. Mostly older movies like THEM!, EARTH VS. SPIDER, THE DAY OF THE TRIFID. :) My fun movie was MOM'S GOT A DATE WITH A VAMPIRE, I haven't seen that one in a long time! 

So we had to put out car back in the shop again and buy two tires, so that hurt the wallet a bit. It sounds a lot better so I am hoping this is the last thing for a while! We need to use out extra money for gathering up wood for the winter. It's the one big thing I hate about living in the country with a wood stove for heat. I am getting to old for gathering wood in the cold. UGH. 

So it's been one busy week here and I hope this coming week is a bit slower. I did get a lot of fun books and movies watched in my spare time but I do prefer the slower weeks. :) 

Have a great week and happy reading!

What you might have missed on my blog

Review of When Darkness Falls

Books I have added

• Specters in the Glass House - Excited to get this one even if they gave it to me right on it's release date.  This is a Christian fiction book, with two timelines, one historical and one present day. Her books are ususally a bit mystery/suspsense with a spooky kind of vibe. I have been wanting to try her for a while now so hope I can fit this in soon! 

Books I Read

• Curse of the Reaper - So I thought this was going to be a slasher, don't compare to Scream and it not be a slasher book. It's more of a psychological thriller with a bit of horror at the end. I was not impressed. 
• The School for Wicked Witches - New series. This was a cute book set in the Ozverse with some fun nods to things like the yellow brick road, etc. The main character is a witch from the west. 
• The Terror in Jenny's Armpit - New series. This was fun and slightly silly but I think middle graders will love it. I may have the second book on my tbr for this month now. 
• Everybunny Loves Magic - The last book in a trilogy and I am glad to get this finished. I think the concept of this trilogy was cute but the MC could be a bit annoying and self absorbed at times.
• The Ghost of Nameless Island - This was a fun spooky middle grade book and one real complain was how it just seemed to drop off at the end with a bit of a cliffy and I didn't know it was going to be a series. 
• Stinetinglers - This was okay, its a set of short stories from R.L. Stine and just like some of his books some were fun and some left me scratching my head going what...lol. I don't do well with short stories...lol. 

Currently Reading

• The Monstrous Adventures of Mummy Man and Waffles - This is cute. I am a little over 50% into it. 
• Caught Dead - I am enjoying this one but it's going slow as I read slow and sometimes prioritize audiobooks. I am about 18% into this one. 
• Cursed Cruise - I wasn't a huge fan of the first one and this one is not much better. I was hoping it would be but I am very hit or miss with YA horror. With this one there are just some things in it that I am not a fan of that lessens my enjoyment. I am almost finished with this audiobook. If there is a third one I am not sure I will try it. 

How did your week go? Hope you had a great week!

Two Bloggers One Series ~ When Darkness Falls (Alliance Vampires #2)

 

I got Barb into this series and it just so happened to work for Vamptember so that was great. After you see what I thought head on over Booker T's Farm to see what Barb thought.

WHEN DARKNESS FALLS...
In a windswept Scottish cemetery, Jade MacGregor's carefree vacation abroad is marred by a seemingly random tragedy. A year later, back home on a shadowy French Quarter street, she glimpses an oddly familiar face. Coincidence--or something far more disturbing?
AND TERROR TAKES HOLD...
Surrounded by her friends and engrossed in her work, Jade should feel secure. But somebody is dogging her every move. Somebody who knows what she saw on that long ago afternoon. Somebody who will try to rescue her from the evil that is waiting to destroy her.
INNOCENCE DIES...

In this one we get a new female main character but the vampire love interest was from the first book. I will admit I wasn't always a fan of Lucian but I was interested in his story and I really liked him in this book.

We are introduced to both characters when Jade goes on a cemetery tour in Scotland that gets very scary and dangerous and she is saved by Lucian. Then we go to present day and we are back in New Orleans and Jade has been having dreams of the man from before and trying to get over the tragic thing that happened previously. 

Jade has a nice male friend that she wants to have a relationship but she keeps hesitating because of feelings for a man she doesn't even know at least not yet. Then there are some murders happening and Jade finds out that its some of the others from that night in the cemetery and is worried that someone might be after her. 

Then Lucian comes to town because he is tracking the vampires and also is worried that Jade is in danger. The two MC's from the previous book come into play in this one too as they are worried about Jade and Lucian and everything. The two bad vampires are very wicked and some things happen to a couple of Jades friends, not going to say what. 

I liked this one but I did think there were some things that made me roll my eyes a bit. The female main character does some very dumb things even after she finds out vampires are real! She knows that they have killed these other people and yet she puts herself in harms way by being stupid. Something with the guy that she was almost in a relationship with had something happen that I can't say but it just seemed a bit unrealistic (yes I know I am talking about a vampire romance book...lol. Just go with it)

I am curious about the next one and hope we still get to have some of the characters from this book in it like we did with those from book one being in this one. 

3.75 stars (4 stars on Goodreads)

Week in Review #99

How was your week? What did you get? The Week in Review is where I combine Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post and It's Monday! What are you reading?  If you have never joined in on these meme's you can check them out by clicking on the meme and it will take you to the host blog.

So this week I had a doctors appointment and he said I have a heart murmer, so I have to set up an eco cardiogram or something like that and my hip has been bothering me and it's hard to walk so I have to get an x-ray....I am falling apart. :( So it hasn't been the best of weeks but hopefully this week will be better.

The weather is a bit cooler but not to cool so I am okay with it, but the nights are getting a bit chilly and I am not a fan of that...lol.

Have a great week and happy reading!

What you might have missed on my blog

Review of Summer Knight

Couple of Anticipated Reads

Books I have added

Nothing!

Books I Read

• The Marlow Murder Club - First book in a series by the same name. This was a fun cozy type mystery with an older MC who was pretty spunky and her friends were cool too. 
• When Darkness Falls - The second book in the Vampire Alliance series and probably my last book for Vamptember and it was enjoyable. 
• The Highway - This is the second book in the in a series that has more than one name. It's weird because the first two books has Cody Hoyt in them, then something happens to Cody which I was not a fan of as I liked him but this second book introduces Cassie Duvall which is who is in the rest of the series, it's called The Highway Quartet but there are six books, anyway that is confusing...lol. I did like it though. 
• A Bite Above the Rest - A fun paranormal middle grade book about a boy who believes his town has real vampires, werewolves and witches in it and decides to out them. It ended as if it's going to end up a series and I am curious.
• The Miraculous - This was a pretty good contemporary/magical realism middle grade book. 

Currently Reading

• Curse of the Reaper - Slasher horror book, I am currently 36% into this one and it's okay but nothing has really happened yet, so I hope it gets good soon. 
• Caught Dead - The second book in the Bite Risk series about werewolves they call Rippers. I liked the first one and so I am hoping this will be good. I am curious because of how things went with book one. I am only 8% into the ebook so just getting started.
• The Monstrous Adventures of Mummy Man and Waffle - So far this has been fun but I am only 17% into it so not to far into it. Just been introduce to the Mummy. :) 

How did your week go? Hope you had a great week!

Two Bloggers One Series ~ Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

Continuing our read of the Dresden Files as we read one each month. I love this series and it's a reread for me, but I couldn't remember half of what is going on...lol. After checking out what I have to say go on over to Booker T's Farm to see what Barb thought about it. 

HARRY DRESDEN -- WIZARD

Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment

Ever since his girlfriend left town to deal with her newly acquired taste for blood, Harry Dresden has been down and out in Chicago. He can't pay his rent. He's alienating his friends. He can't even recall the last time he took a shower.

The only professional wizard in the phone book has become a desperate man.

And just when it seems things can't get any worse, in saunters the Winter Queen of Faerie. She has an offer Harry can't refuse if he wants to free himself of the supernatural hold his faerie godmother has over him--and hopefully end his run of bad luck. All he has to do is find out who murdered the Summer Queen's right-hand man, the Summer Knight, and clear the Winter Queen's name.

It seems simple enough, but Harry knows better than to get caught in the middle of faerie politics. Until he finds out that the fate of the entire world rests on his solving this case. No pressure or anything...

-------------

Harry is his own worst enemy, especially when he opens his mouth. He is in a bit of trouble because of some events in the previous book. The red court vampires are not happy with him, more than one wizard wants to kill him and now he has to deal with the Winter Queen of Fairies as Mab wants him to find out who killed the Summer Knight, easy peasy right?

Not for Harry as nothing ever goes right for Harry Dresden the only wizard advertising in the Chicago phone book! 

I love this series, all the cast of characters even the ones you despise you still enjoy. Harry is one of my favorite characters of all time. I named my dog Dresden after him...lol. I love Murph, the young werewolves, some of the other wizards. Just a lot to love about this series. 

If you like Urban Fantasy but you haven't given it a try I highly recommend, especially on Audiobook as James Marster (Spike from Buffy) is the narrator. I will admit it takes him a few books into the series to really hit his stride with the characters but with each book you can tell he is more at ease and starts giving more characters there own flare.

5 stars

Couple of Anticipated Releases

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books. I have decided to name mine "Feed Your TBR" since they are books I will be adding to my Libby TBR.  They may not always be books that have yet to come out. It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

I will be listing one Middle Grade and one Adult book. These books came out yesterday but I am still excited and it's not like I am getting to them any time soon so still anticipating them. :) 

In this modern, spooky novel by New York Times bestselling author Chuck Wendig, a boy must face his many fears to save his friends from a cursed videotape. Ethan Pitowski is afraid of everything. Luckily, his best friends don’t mind, and when their entire class gets invited to watch a long-buried horror movie at the most popular boy in school’s house, Ethan’s friends encourage him to join in the fun. But when the “scariest movie ever made” reveals itself to be not just a movie about a monster, but a movie that is a monster, only a terrified Ethan escapes its clutches. Now he must find a way to stop the monster and save his friends (and also, um, get their heads back). With his signature balance of kid-friendly horror and humor, Chuck Wendig crafts a spookily heartfelt novel about anxiety, friendship, and finding your unique voice and inner strength.

I have never read this authors horror books so I thought it was cool to see he has a middle grade book that came out Yesterday! (Sept. 24th) The Publisher is Little Brown and Co. for Young readers!

Celebration is in the air at Wrexford and Charlotte’s country estate as they host the nuptials of their friends, Christopher Sheffield and Lady Cordelia Mansfield. But on the afternoon of the wedding, the festivities are interrupted when the local authorities arrive with news that a murdered man has been discovered at the bridge over King’s Crossing, his only identification an invitation to the wedding. Lady Cordelia is horrified when the victim is identified as Jasper Milton, her childhood friend and a brilliant engineer who is rumored to have discovered a revolutionary technological innovation in bridge design. That he had the invitation meant for her cousin Oliver, who never showed up for the wedding, stirs a number of unsettling questions.

Both men were involved in the Revolutions-Per-Minute Society, a scientific group dedicated to making radical improvements in the speed and cost of transportation throughout Britain. Is someone plotting to steal Milton’s designs? And why has her cousin disappeared?

I can't wait to get to this new Wrexford and Sloane book! This is one of my favorite historical mystery series  It is the 8th book and it came out yesterday (Sept. 24th) from Kensington. 

What have added to your TBR?

                                     

Week in Review #98

How was your week? What did you get? The Week in Review is where I combine Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post and It's Monday! What are you reading?  If you have never joined in on these meme's you can check them out by clicking on the meme and it will take you to the host blog.

This week was a pretty busy week as my father had two doctors appointments, one in a couple towns over. The good thing about that is that there is a bookstore and so I might have got a few vintage books for my collections. :) This store has a section outside that is donation based, so you can donate a dollar or more and pick out books, so it's almost like getting free books. They are not in the best of condition but sometimes I find some pretty decent ones. :)

Our car is having problems again which sucks as it will cost 350 bucks to fix it so saving up the money to do so and in the meantime hoping it don't quit on us before we get it fixed. :(

Have a great week and happy reading!

What you might have missed on my blog

Review of My Vampire Vs. Your Werewolf

Books I have added

• The Meadowbrook Murders - A YA murder mystery about a young lady in trouble after her friend and her friends boyfriend are found dead and she was in the house when it happened. 

Books I Read

• My Vampire Vs. Your Werewolf - This was just okay, hope the next one in the series is a bit better as I am curious to continue.
• Golden Gate - Second book in the City Spies series. I like this series, yes kids are doing things that you wouldn't think but it still feels very middle grade in tone. There is also two adults with them. 
• Witch Slapped - The third book in the Beechwood Harbor series and it wasn't bad. If you like cozies with all sorts of paranormal beings then you will enjoy this series.
• A Very Woody Murder - I thought this was okay for first in a new series, but the MC annoyed me at times. I love this author but I think nothing can compare to my favorite series by her Cajun Country Mysteries. 
• Skandar and the Chaos Trials - The third book in the Skandar series and it was pretty good. This series is for fans of middle grade fantasy lovers. 
• Summer Knight - The reread for this series is still going great! :) 

Currently Reading

• The Marlow Murder Club - First in a mystery series and so far it's pretty good. The MC is a seventy something spunky lady. :) 
• A Bite Above the Rest - Fun middle grade paranormal book where a kid who is not a huge fan of Halloween moves to Samhain a town that does Halloween all year and he is pretty sure his teacher is an actual werewolf, his neighbor a witch and the mayor a vampire. 

How did your week go? Hope you had a great week!