Welcome to Litsy!

This is such a good mystery, I was drawn in from the beginning.
I love how the story is laid out with the different points of view.
This one is hard to put down, and I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good mystery!

I checked out this book not knowing what it was about, but loving the cover art that looks like ink blot and a pelvis. The first part really captured me, because I have the gift of psychometry too. The rest I felt was a bit long. I didn‘t expect the twist but I didn‘t like the ending. This book is a lot like M. Night Shyamalan‘s The Village. Cult mentality, deep isolation, Stockholm Syndrome. I‘d like to see this adaptated onto the screen.

I‘m a HUGE fan of The Village, have been since I was a kid, so this book was right up my alley. Creepy, atmospheric, and I ate it up so fast. If more BOTM options had been like this one, maybe I wouldn‘t have cancelled my subscription. 👀 Anyway, 4 stars, and a great kickoff to #scarathlon!

#teamwhoyagonnacall #whoyagonnacall #31by31 #readysetread #spookoween #fallingforbooksreadathon #readlikehellathon

A deceptively familiar atmosphere with dynamic characters, this novel weaves threads of deception and doubt through a cozy community. A thrilling mystery with an insightful conclusion.

Book 37 of 2023! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book 37 of 2023! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall I enjoyed this one.

Read for reading challenges.

4/5

Loved this. Had a little bit of the Giver vibes. Inkling of a twist right before it was revealed. Comforting nostalgia/longing of and for a simpler life. Definitely a good summer read. Second draw from my TBR jar and either I'm loving it.

Next pull from my jar 😊 loving that it's so much easier to decide my next read. And thankful to have the first library in Texas on my little island with such a huge selection. I'm pretty sure they have just about every book I have in my jar. And yes my shoes are on, I still have to go back to work after my lunch break 😪

Mixed feelings on this read. I didn‘t see the twist coming until almost the end when it was basically there but overall it was pretty meh to me.

First physical book of 2023. Finn doesn‘t care I have a black shirt on! 🙃 I asked my 8 year old to pick a book from my shelves because I couldn‘t commit. So far so good!

It‘s that time of year again. It‘s time to look back on my reading year and see what worked for me and what didn‘t. As always, I like to get the negativity out of the way first, and then tomorrow we‘ll move on to the best books of the year.

Check out my blog post for a more detailed explanation of why I didn‘t like these.
https://wildwoodreads.com/2022/12/28/disappointing-books-of-2022/

I liked this a lot more than I expected to and, on balance, would recommend it. I had many of the twists figured out early but getting to the "how" made this a real page turner, although the "how" was, IMHO, overly simplistic for an otherwise well-devised story. But it's a well-written, atmospheric novel that's worth checking out.

4⭐/5⭐

Not what I was expecting, but in a good way! Travis has a knack for finding people, so he‘s hired to find Maggie, who‘s been missing for 5 years. His search leads to him into the woods…where he disappears. A couple years later, Theo, Calla and Bee are questioning their life in the secluded community of Pastoral, and they start to find clues about Travis and Maggie…very good mystery, some fun twists, definitely recommend!

This was more of a page turner than I thought it would be, and I enjoyed it while I was reading. But it‘s only a light pick for me - there were just a lot of plot holes and odd threads that didn‘t really come together. The handful of excerpts from Maggie St. James‘s children‘s book didn‘t really add anything, in my opinion. Still entertaining. #botm

My friend lent me this book and I went into it blind…and to be honest…that feels like the best way to tackle this one. I feel like most descriptions would lend itself to spoilers and while I was able to predict a lot of them, by the second half of this one I still didn‘t want to put it down. #doublespin for August

Vacation reads! #sundaybuddyread #bookspin #doublespin

I had no idea what to expect when I started this - or if I did, I was totally caught off guard when it veered in another direction. Amazing slow burn mystery, damaged characters, idyllic setting, atmospheric writing. Really loved it once I got past the first few chapters. This counts for #booked2022 #aboutacult and is also my #bookspin! 😊😊

This book started strong for me. Then the other 3/4 of the book was like rewatching a certain M. Knight Shamalan movie. Predictable!

This was better than I was expecting! I loved how atmospheric it was. It kept me guessing. The character development was great. I loved the ending too.

#LMPBC

I read this in stops and starts. Not a completely original story, but I still enjoyed it

Thanks for the fun #SpookySummerSwap package @LeslieO ! @paperwitchs

This is not what I expected and I loved it. This was such a creative story about a community in the woods and it had so many twists in it that I never saw coming. I loved the writing and the story behind it. It reminded me a bit of The Village, but so much better. I could not out this book down. Read it in less than 24 hours. If you haven‘t read it - you should. Why is no one talking about this book?!!!

This was a good slow-build mystery. I really liked the way the author brought the reader around to figuring out what was going on. I liked the characters and was interested to find out how everything would end up. #BOTM

I finished this today at my favorite breakfast spot. It was so good! Makes me want to live out in the middle of nowhere even more…

Finally read this after saying, for weeks, I was going to & it was underwhelming. I really liked the beginning. Travis's voice & story had me hooked but then we lost his POV. I was still ok with that because I figured the new people would collide with him & blend all their stories. And they did! But the way it happened was pretty weird. Also, the source of the "rot" was clear from early on so that reveal lost something for me. Spoiler below ⬇️

Final #BookspinBingo results for May. I finished both my #Bookspin and #Doublespin and got a bingo! May was a really good month for reading.

I loved this book. I loved her writing style. I love how it kept you on edge the entire time.
I also think you could spin-off the first chapter into its own book.

The Village comparisons are apt, but perhaps give too much away about the mystery at the heart of the community of Pastoral. While I enjoyed this book, and it had a really interesting premise, I feel like it left too much of the world building out of the narrative in order to make the mystery more mysterious. Despite that, I still was able to guess at the main twist. I was more interested in the framing device than the mystery of Pastoral.

Getting Sunday started off on the right foot.

I read this for #LMPBC and it is the best of the group so far. The prose was fabulous! The characters are well done and it has just the right amount of creepy in it. 4⭐️

#WondrousWednesday @eggs

1. Tagged ~ 4⭐️
2. Upgrade
3. My new horse Spicy 💚🐎

#WeekendReading @Andrew65

📖 A History of Wild Places

This is a great palate cleanser for me, after several nonfiction books. I needed a bit of “out there” fiction and this delivered. I‘ve seen this compared to The Village (film) and that works. Don‘t want to say too much about plot, other than a children‘s book author goes missing and a private detective is hired by her parents to find her. Other characters are introduced and the story unfolds from different perspectives. Really liked the ending!

Soccer mom status ⚽️

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

"Death has a way of leaving breadcrumbs, little particles of the past that catch and settle and stain."

#LMPBC Group L @persephone1408

Jenna, it came today! I see the postmark is May 2nd. That is 10 days to make it from your house to mine. I think a snail would have been faster! 😂

I've recently been catching up on the #fantasticstrangelings book club picks. I really enjoyed this one. Now I need to go back and read her witchy YA series. 🌲

I had no idea this was narrated by 5 people. I thought it was narrated by 3 🤦‍♀️.

I really enjoyed this book. I got it from #BOTM but decided to listen to the audio. I wasn‘t sure where the story was going but I was riveted. I didn‘t expect the twist but loved it.

Fresh #BookspinBingo card for May. Mostly #BOTM holdovers from last month, plus a couple others from my #TBR I‘d like to prioritize this month.

BookSpin: A History of Wild Places
DoubleSpin: Cloud Cuckoo Land

I also have a bunch of library borrows I‘m hoping to use for my free spaces. Fingers crossed that 3 free spaces on one line means I‘ll actually get a bingo this month 🤞🏼

@TheSpineView this book goes to you right?? Sorry I'm in 2 groups... Lol I'm sorry I realized that the post office is closed on Saturday so I wont be able to get it out until Monday!

#firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl #LMPBC #groupl

I know this one‘s been a bit controversial but I really enjoyed it! The ominous undertones just pulled me in. I loved living in that space of not knowing. Though it was predictable, it was also an entertaining experience. :)
#botm

I love the cult and manipulative aspects to it but the ending, to me, felt kinda preachy almost… like “in case you didn‘t get it, this is what happened”

3-31-22: My March Book Wrap Up! 👏🏼📖⭐️

3-29-22: My 29th finished book of 2022! Travis can find people by touching objects and he has been hired to find the author, Maggie St. James. After getting his truck stuck in the snow, Travis disappears, as well. Meanwhile, out past that truck is a place called Pastoral, where people live by the land and fear going past its borders. The story comes together beautifully as we follow the lives of Calla, Theo and Bee. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📖#️⃣2️⃣9️⃣

I don‘t know if it‘s my mood or if I‘m just picking up good books, but I‘ve been loving everything I‘ve been reading this weekend. #20in4