Wait, this book was written *before* Dracula?

Before I transition completely to holiday mode, I'm sharing one last spooky season review.  Have you ever heard of this book?  

 Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu was written well before the book everyone knows by Bram Stoker.  This tale, however, isn't about a male vampire.  It's about a young woman who lives on an estate in the country with her father and their servants, she is a little bored and definitely lonely. So when a carriage crashes in front of her and a mother begs them to keep her daughter safe for a few months, she begs her father to let this beautiful young woman stay at their home.

While the local village begins to experience a strange illness, causing the deaths of young women.  The young noblewoman is increasingly drawn to and repelled by her houseguest. She has so much longing for what her guest offers and ultimately falls under her spell. How will the story end?  

Lucky for us readers, this tale can be read in an afternoon or over a weekend, it's one that is very hard to put down.

5 starts to Carmilla 

Get Ready !!The Latest Installment from #ItHappenedOneMidnight #NetGalley

Here is the description from the publisher: 

"Saranna DeWylde brings her trademark mix of quirky charm, sexy comedy, and a touch of magic to the third Fairy Godmothers, Inc. installment, as Ever After, Missouri’s resident fairy godmothers Petunia, Jonquil, and Bluebonnet are doing their best to restore their hometown’s deep well of enchantment by conjuring true love, one happy couple at a time. This time, the godmothers set their sights on their very own goddaughter, a romance novelist whose fib about a fake engagement is about to transform into a friends-to-lovers story worthy of the bestseller lists…"

 Part of what keeps bringing me back to this series is I love the godmothers! I mean sure their charges are great and it's fun to see them fall in love--or admit they are in love. But it is just delightful to get to know Petunia, Jonquil, and Bluebonnet.  I can't wait for Saranna to give us a book where one of the godmothers has a romance! 

In this book, we see the romance of Juniper and Tomas. This one is a friends-to-lovers. Now even though this is the third book in this series, and I should be certain that a HEA is destined to happen at the end, I still was real worried Tomas would blow his chance for a HEA with the love of his life.  That's good writing.

The humor this series is known for continues and we get to spend time with some of our Ever After favorites. If you haven't started this series yet, now is a great time to start as you'll get to read two books, and then this one will be out!  Put this series on your Christmas List! Then we will all have to wait for the next installment and hopefully a Rumplestilskin sighting! 

4 stars for It Happened One Midnight thank you NetGalley!  I loved the opportunity to read this joyful book! 

The Sunday Post! Happy Halloween!!! - Old Pictures and to #Nanowrimo or not?

  

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.  See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

Here are some pictures of Halloween past.  I do intermittent fasting so I'm waiting to have a chocolate candy-filled day until 11am. How about you?  Will you be having a few fun-sized candy bars today? Or maybe a spooky cocktail?  In any case, I hope you have a fun Halloween and that any ghosts you meet are friendly! 

I have been pondering Nanowrimo, should I participate this year?  Do I want to write?  I don't know. I think I might write 'just for me' and see what happens? 

This week I'll be sharing reviews of two ARCS from Net Galley and then an old Vampire book Called Carmilla (spoiler alert - it is delightful!) 

Happy Halloween!!!

Snowed: A Rylie Cooper Mystery

 This is a novella-length cozy mystery and is the latest installment in Stella Bixby's Rylie Cooper Mystery series. Rylie Cooper is a Park Ranger so she is an amateur sleuth, but law enforcement adjacent which is helpful in this series since she keeps running into dead bodies. 

This series is available as part of a Kindle Unlimited subscription, so if you haven't already done so, do yourself a favor and start reading this fast-paced cozy series. Stella Bixby pushes the boundaries of 'coziness', which I enjoy but if you are not one who wants any romance or talk of romance, this series is not for you. 

Snowed is a real page-turner, I could not put it down! In addition to finding out if a murder had happened, I needed to know if the wedding was going to happen!  

After a fall filled with above-average temperatures, this week we finally got those cool 50 degrees (or 10 degrees Celcius)  days, reading about a massive snowstorm felt extra cozy as it rained outside my window! 

4 Stars! 

The Hallmark Channel Itself Could Not Out Do This Book For Perfect Autumn Romance Ambiance!

 The Ex-Hex By Erin Sterling is like a perfectly made Pumpkin Spice Latte in Book Form.  This book feels like it was blessed by the Good Witch Cassie Nightingale herself.  

I can't imagine anyone who enjoys Autumn or tales of sorcery who would not enjoy this book.  It really puts you in the spirit of the Spooky season.  As I was listening to this book and really enjoying the story unfold, I realized that when it comes to romance, I enjoy the romance more if there is an obstacle that the couple has to unite to overcome. On that front, like most paranormal romances this book delivers.

We may be too old for trick or treating, but we can still treat ourselves to Halloween treats right?  This book is better than any fun-sized Snickers bar by far! 

Four Stars to The Ex Hex! 

I am lucky enough to be in a book club that is going to have Erin Sterling as a guest! I plan to ask if this book is to be a series. I'm hoping maybe it will be! I would like to return to this town!

Speaking of Halloween-- How cute are these two! (I'm pretty sure this picture is from about 2004)

Cozy Mystery Talk! A New Series! #LiveLocalandDead #NetGalley

A new voice in the cozy-sphere, Live, Local and Dead (A Vermont Radio Mystery)  by Nikki Knight introduces us to WSV radio DJ and station owner, Jaye Jordan. 

Nikki Knight weaves a decent cozy mystery for our sleuth to solve, and in this story, the town really shines. I would like to visit ASAP, even if there is a snow or ice storm.  Nikki Knight gives the reader a real flavor of Vermont from Maple syrup tasting and a friendly moose to that independent spirit of New England. 

This book is more romance-heavy than some cozy mysteries. There is no love triangle, so if you like some nice romance but dislike a triangle, I think you'll be pleased. If you don't like any romance, this is not the book for you. 

Jaye has a dry sense of humor which I enjoy in my reading. Jaye converted to Judaism and the Jewish faith plays a role in this book, I can't think of another cozy that I have read where the sleuth was Jewish and I liked learning about some of the traditions of the faith through Jaye especially when it came to discussion of Jewish Hamantaschen Cookies. 

Where we find the dead body in this book sounds like something another writer dared Nikki Knight to try, unique to say the least. Additionally, the subplot hinges on one of my favorite motives, greed.  Everything comes together nicely at the end and I would like to read more in this series. I'm giving this book 4 stars because of the witty writing, the depth of the characters and because we make it through a whole book wherein the amateur sleuth is not physically assaulted during the sleuthing--- which is far too common in cozies. 

4 stars to #LiveLocalandDead thanks for the ARC #NetGalley! All the opinions are mine! 

Well I did finish the Marathon.. and Cozy Mystery Review #NetGalley #MurderAtTheLobstahShack

My poor toes have let me know, in no uncertain terms, that they think I should switch to running half-marathons.  I have to agree with them.  Oh my goodness what a long day! I am glad I can say I finished, that's about all I can say. I looked like I was auditioning for a part as a zombie in the Walking Dead for about the last five miles! 

Here I am before the race started as we stood around waiting to move up to the starting line. I don't know how accurate my FitBit is, but it said I had over 69,000 steps. I was so done at the end of the race, I didn't take advantage of the Mimosa Bar! 

My poor big toes are super sore, I'm not ready for regular shoes, but we have a  wedding to go to on Saturday so hopefully by Saturday I can wear a pair of flats with my dress! 

Now on to a Cozy Mystery book review!

If I had to describe this cozy mystery in one word, the word would be solid.  Solid setting, solid cast, solid plot. They sure do eat a lot of seafood in Westham, MA, but that does make sense since this town is part of Cape Cod.

Mac is a likable and savvy sleuth, she runs a bicycle shop and seems to find dead bodies on the side. The relationship between Mac and law enforcement is more plausible than many other books.  Mac gives the sheriff tips and gossip and he doesn't tell her much about the case. Now, one might think well if I was up to no good in Westham, MA I would definitely steer clear of this Mac person--but that's a problem for another book. 

The book deals with social issues that plague small and large towns alike, including mental illness, addiction, and people who are without housing. Maddie Day does an excellent job talking about these issues and humanizing the characters involved. 

4 solid stars for Murder at the Lobstah Shack by Maddie Day!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review! #MurderattheLobstahShack #NetGalley

#TheSundayPost Marathon Day is Here! Wish me luck!

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.  See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

I'm writing this the night before the long-awaited Chicago Marathon. The weather is going to be really hot for a marathon, so I am not feeling too great about going out in the morning and running 26.2 miles. I was really hoping we could get a nice crisp October day with highs in the low 50s.  Alas, tomorrow is going to be 80ish and humid.  It will be an adventure!  I'll let you know how it turns out! 

Next week I'll be sharing reviews for these books: 

How was your week?  Read anything good? 

When The Lights Go Out by Mary Kubrica ( there will be a spoiler)

 Not since Sally wasted her entire night, losing out on all her tricks and treats, sitting in a pumpkin patch with Linus waiting on the Great Pumpkin to show, has anyone been hoodwinked and cheated as I was by this book. 

On GoodReads the book is described like this: 

"Jessie Sloane is on the path to rebuilding her life after years of caring for her ailing mother. She rents a new apartment and applies for college. But when the college informs her that her social security number has raised a red flag, Jessie discovers a shocking detail that causes her to doubt everything she’s ever known.

Finding herself suddenly at the center of a bizarre mystery, Jessie tumbles down a rabbit hole, which is only exacerbated by grief and a relentless lack of sleep. As days pass and the insomnia worsens, it plays with Jessie’s mind. Her judgment is blurred, her thoughts are hampered by fatigue. Jessie begins to see things until she can no longer tell the difference between what’s real and what she’s only imagined."

So this book is supposed to be a psychological thriller and I enjoy that type of book. As a reader you expect certain things from thrillers or mysteries--just like a romance isn't a romance with out a happily ever after (HEA).  

This book is not as described. As I was listening I thought that the plot and what was going to was getting to be more and more implausible and around the halfway point I thought to myself...

*here comes the spoiler, bail now if you want to read this book for yourself and don't want to know this*

**still here?**

ready?

I thought to myself, this story has become so absurd; is this all a dream the character is having?

Guess what?

It was!  The plot of the book is a dream. That's not a psychological thriller, that's just a mean trick to play on the reader.

BAH! 

A Couple of Short, Seasonal, and Slightly Spooky Listens

I love this time of year, I love the decorating, the food, and of course the ghost stories! I found a couple of short listens via audible and the Libby app from my library. 

The first is an audio play of the famous Agatha Christie book And Then There Were None. The audio play is from the BBC and crams the book into a very digestible hour and about twelve minutes.  It's a great accompaniment to walk in the woods, or while raking leaves, or baking a  pumpkin pie!  The plot of And Then There Were None is clear in the title. There is a group of people and someone is picking them off one by one.  The mystery is not that people are going to die, it's the who and the why. And if you want more Agatha Christie there is a good adaptation of Crooked House streaming right now. 

I also listened to a novella-length book called The House by Raelyn Drake.  It was listed as YA, but I think it was mislabeled The House was definitely a middle-grade story.  Again it was a short engaging listen, perfect for this time of year. The story is about a group of high school kids who spend a few hours in their town's alleged Haunted House. The kids are trying to debunk the myth.  It's fun to see how things turn out. It's a very cozy mystery-type listen, you can picture the quaint town and the kids are determined to figure out the mystery. 

4 stars for sure! 

I picked up googly eyes so I'm ready to make some fun Halloween treats this month! 

I'm going to try to make these brownies or make cupcakes with the same frosting and decorations!