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!

Two Bloggers One Book ~ My Vampire Vs. Your Werewolf

Today Barb and I have a middle grade book for you. It's the start of a series that came out this month. Once you check out what I said go on over to Barb's blog at Booker T's Channel and see what she thought.

Gabe and Hayden have a vampire. Joon and Tradd have a werewolf. And they're going to fight. After modern society pushed monsters into hiding, the Crafters Guild was An organization of humans and other creatures intent on creating community amongst these exiled beings and combating the decline in monster mental health. Their solution? A no-holds-barred clash of the titans, where two monsters can fight it out with no limits. With young coaches like Gabe, Hayden, Joon, and Tradd to guide them, the monsters must prepare for a battle that will test their strengths, smarts, and special abilities. But it's just a friendly competition-nothing could possibly go wrong…right? My Vampire vs. Your Werewolf is the first in an epic horror series from bestselling author Paul Tobin featuring all your favorite monsters--from mummies and ghosts, to dragons and zombies, and witches and warlocks--daring to answer the Who would win in a fight?

I am a huge fan of middle grade horror books and this one features two of the top monsters and so in theory this should be a great read, but for me it had a few flaws.

It's about two teams, one team is looking for a vampire and the other team is looking for a werewolf to fight each other. We are thrown into this fright from the start and we have no idea really want is going on except some nine or ten year old's are looking for creatures on their own! We find out they can control these creatures because of some medallion's that they had to find before they could go after the creature.

They are after these creatures for an epic battle between the two monsters and both monsters are very eager to fight. If you read the blurb about what is suppose to happen you will see it' mentions the monsters mental health, but I feel like we didn't really get any backstory into this and why they are all locked away, etc. 

The beginning is a bit slow till we get to about 50% into the book and they start doing a little training which doesn't really go the way the kids want. Once we get to the actual battle then it really pours on the action and gets a little spooky (for kids).

Right off the bat this book felt different than other middle grade books I have read. I read a lot of middle grade where kids are battling things and you wonder where their parents are and how adults would let them go off on their own. This just felt different. We are thrown into the story with two kids breaking into the vampires lair alone, and I felt like where are the adults! I don't normally feel this, so it has to be the writing.

Then the kids just didn't act a lot like kids. One point there was one kid who was contemplating life like she was 40 instead of 10. This author writes a lot of adult books but he also writes the Plants Vs. Zombies series so I thought he would be decent at middle grade but I think he was writing a book as if it was an adult book with middle grade characters at times. There was times when they acted like kids, when they were scared of the monsters during the battle, but far to often they felt like adults in little bodies.

Also as I sort of mentioned above you get thrown into this world where monsters are real, but they are locked away or hard to find. The only way to get a monster is if you have first found their medallion. Then you have to go to where they are known to be, as in travel to foreign lands on their own. The mental health thing, I don't feel like it was hit on enough to know why they need to fight to feel better. I don't like feeling confused right off the bat when reading. This is a series so I do hope they expand on this as the series goes on. 

I do think that if you have middle graders into monsters and they like spooky books that this would be a good one for them. Just don't expect the action or the spooky parts to be all through the book. It could be a tiny bit eerie at the beginning when getting their monsters but then nothing till the battle.

3.5 stars

Week in Review #97

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 seriously lead a boring life as I can't think of one thing that is really worthy of chatting about on here. I am pretty antisocial so I don't really go anywhere or do much besides going with my father a couple times a week to coffee at Hardees. I think I could be a hermit if I could. :)

Have a great week and happy reading!

What you might have missed on my blog

Review of Spy Ring

Books I have added

• Murder in the Scottish Highlands - First in a cozy mystery series set in Scotland with a newly retired MC who opens a guesthouse.

Books I Read

• Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Hunting - Had potential to be really good but got bogged down in being a bit to preachy about social issues and then I just wasn't a fan of how it ended, was very dark for middle grade to me. Not sure if I will continue the series. 
• The Chosen One - The last book in the Revenge of Magic series and I really enjoyed this fun fantasy series for kids and glad that I finally read the last book to finish it up. 
• Summer Vamp - This was cute but not exactly what I thought it was going to be. She looks so scared at being at a vampire camp but there was no scary parts in it (even MG level scary), so basically just a summer camp story of finding friends. 
• Vampiric Vacation - So I wasn't a huge fan of book one but after reading book two I think it was because I felt very confused with book one and some of that confusion was fixed in this one so I enjoyed it more even though I don't think this will be a series high on my list.
• Secrets - I really liked book one but this one sort of fell flat. There wasn't much of a mystery, it was mostly about the MC and whether or not the Marshall really liked her and if there relationship was going to go farther than friendship, felt a bit juvenile. I feel that the cover of this book and the blurb is a bit misleading. 

Currently Reading

• My Vampire Vs. Your Werewolf - Not as good as I was hoping but it's okay. 
• Assignment in Brittany - I had to start this one over and get the ebook to follow along with the audiobook as I kept getting lost in what was going on. So not any farther in this one.
• Witch Slapped - Just started this one yesterday but so far it's not bad.

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

Review of Spy Ring

 I am trying to catch up on some of my review books that I am behind on and this is one of them. So I got this from Edelweiss for a fair and honest review.

About the Book:

Two modern-day kids discover the truth about an American Revolutionary War–era female spy through a treasure-hunt adventure in their hometown of Setauket, New York.

With codewords and secret signals perfected, best friends Rachel and Joon are ready to spend their summer practicing spycraft—especially if they can uncover secrets like the one Joon’s parents have been keeping, that his family is about to move out of town.

When eavesdropping leads them to a ring rumored to have belonged to Anna “Nancy” Smith Strong—according to local Long Island legend, the only female member of George Washington’s famed Culper Spy Ring—they think they’ve hit the jackpot. Then they discover Nancy left a coded message in the ring!

Decoding her message leads to another cryptic clue, and then another, and soon Rachel and Joon are racing to decipher a series of puzzles that must surely lead to hidden treasure! But can they solve the final mystery before Joon’s moving day? And just what did the centuries-old spy hide away—and why?

What I thought:

I am a little hit or miss with this author but when I seen she had a middle grade book I grabbed it up. Then I sat on it instead of reading it which was dumb as it was really good. 

Rachel and Joon have been friends since they first started school. They have played at being pirates and now that they are a little older they have decided to be spies. Rachel wants to distract Joon from thoughts of maybe having to move, so they spy on her mother and soon to be stepdad. Finds out he has a ring he wants to give Rachel that belonged to a relative of long ago who was said to be a spy.

Rachel and Joon know who this is because they have learned all about Anne Strong the female spy of the Culpepper spies that were said to be with George Washington. Cleaning up the ring shows them a engraving that leads them on a sort of treasure hunt. 

The author weaves in historical facts with a fun treasure hunt and it's a great story about this female spy that not many know about. It's also a great story of friendship and accepting new people into your life (soon to be stepdad). 

If you like middle grade mysteries or have kids that do I think this would be a great one to try. 

Week in Review #96

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.

Well the temps were a bit cooler this week which during the day was nice but we have some nights dipping into the 40s and I am not ready for that...that is not right! Especially since it's still Summer! Our summer has been pretty decent this year which makes me worry a bit about the colder months so I am so not ready for this. I am holding on to  Summer as tight as I can! :) 

I didn't do a whole lot worth chatting about. I did go to some thrift stores with friends and picked up some vintage books for my collection. I didn't take a pic of them to show off as there was a few...lol.

Have a great week and happy reading!

Books I have added

Nothing for review.

Books I Read

Had a Middle Grade reading week...lol.

• Summer Vamp - This was a cute little graphic novel. I was a bit mislead as I thought it would be a little spooky as she looks afraid on the cover...lol. 
• Moon Madness - The second book in the Camp Sylvania series and it was okay but I liked book one more. 
• Ravenfall - This was a reread as I want to continue the series and my brain was a bit fuzzy on the details. I really liked it and hope to get to book two sometimes this month.
• Trapped in the Horror Dome - This was a tiny bit spooky or I think some might think it was because of the monster and the fact they are running out of oxygen. It's probably my favorite in the Monsterous series. If you like Goosebumps you would like this series.
• Spy Ring - A good mystery about two kids looking into a ring that is suppose to be from a female spy in one of the kids soon to be stepdads family. Blends some history with fiction and then at the end the authors note goes a bit into a little to much detail about the actual historical facts. Story end at about 88%  and the rest was authors note. Still it was good.
• Theodora Hendrix and the Curious Case of the Cursed Beetle - The second book in the Theodora Hendrix series and it was super cute with some really fun graphics. 

Currently Reading

• My Vampire Vs. Your Werewolf - Not sure about this one as it's suppose to be middle grade but feels a little adult or the kids are acting more adult that kid. First in a new series.
• Assignment in Brittany - My third spy book from this author. It's okay but I will admit to feeling a bit lost.
• The Hitchcock Hotel - Not liking this one like I hoped. I feel like some I know will like this more than me. I am giving it till 30% and if I still don't care I am bailing. I don't care if it was a review book if I don't like it I am not torturing myself.

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

My TBR for Vamptember

 

So I am co-hosting Vamptember with Barb from Booker T's Farm and though I did do a September TBR on my booktube channel, Storm Reads, I never put anything here. So here are the books I hope to get to for this reading challenge. 

• My Vampire Vs. Your Werewolf - Middle grade book about kids controlling various monsters in epic battles. Buddy read with Barb.
• Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Slaying - Ghanaian folklore about Adze, shapeshifting vampires and Serwa is going ot have to kick some booty. :) 
• Summer Vamp - This is a graphic novel about a human girl who accidently gets sent to a vampire camp.
• Bless Your Heart - Group of women in a family have to fight vampires in the south. 
• When Darkness Falls - The second book in the Alliance Vampire series. Paranormal romance/mystery. Buddy read with Barb.

Hope I enjoy these and I am a mood reader so there could be add ons or I could change out something...lol. 

Week in Review #95

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.

You might have noticed but I have revamped my header and working on getting all my graphics to match. I really like this and I made it with AI in Canva as I am not that talented...lol.

I can't believe it's the first day of September! Where did August go? I am holding on to summer though I know a lot of you are looking forward to fall. Don't get me wrong I don't mind fall but I hate what comes after it so I am not ready for that yet so I am holding on to Summer as it's not officially over yet even though a lot of people think as soon as it's Sept. it's fall, but it's not...lol. :)

Did you know there is a MeTV Toons? It's great! I have been just watching all sorts of old cartoons, the good cartoons! :)

Okay, I don't have anything else to say. Have a great day and happy reading!

What you might have missed on my blog

Review of Grave Peril

Review of The Black Bird Oracle

Books I have added

Nothing!

Books I Read

• Adventures in Babysitting - This was short (140 pages) and a lot of fun. I watched the movie after I read it and it was really close to the movie with just a few changes. 
• Hard Riding Posse - This was the perfect Garbaugust book and it was so cheesy!! It was fun too but I don't need to read any others books in this series...one was enough...lol.
• Grave Peril - Loving my reread of this series! 
• Theodora Hendrix and the Monstrous League of Monsters - This was so cute!
• Homicide at the Haunted House - This was a decent start to a series and very paranormal so if that is something you don't like you might not like it but if you do I say try it! :) 
• Nightmare in the Backyard - This was just okay. I an not a huge fan of close circle anything and being trapped for most of the book in a treehouse is kind of boring and then the ending was just a bit over the top. 

Currently Reading

• The Hitchcock Hotel - A guy has a hotel that is all things Hitchcock and he invites some old film student friends for the weekend, because every Hitchcock movie needs a body! I haven't gotten far but I hope it's good.
• Moon Madness - The second book in the Camp Sylvania series. Summer camp with a werewolf!! 

What Might Be Up Next

• The Chosen One - The last book in the Revenge of Magic series, so I would like to finally knock it off my series list.
• Witch Slapped - Book three in the Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery series. 

How was your week? Hope it was a good one!