Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
#ISPyBingo
review
LiseWorks
My First Veggie Bible Stories | Pamela Kennedy, Anne Kennedy Brady
post image
Pickpick

My kids grew up with these guys. I'm still working on September's #ISpyBingo @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! I'm still working on January, so you're doing pretty well 😂 2d
15 likes1 comment
review
TheAromaofBooks
The Poison Season | Mara Rutherford
post image
Pickpick

I wish I loved this book more, but it ended up being a soft pick for me. The concept was very intriguing, but it also felt a little draggy through the middle bits. I've been kind of sad lately, so I'm not sure if this book really was pretty melancholy, or if it just felt that way to me 😂 But look at that GORGEOUS cover! I honestly may keep it just because it's SO pretty.

DieAReader 🫂💖 Sending love & healing energies your way. 4d
PuddleJumper 🧡🖤🧡 4d
See All 8 Comments
julieclair The cover is gorgeous! I‘d keep it. I wish the rest of the book had lived up to it! Sending hugs as you deal with your sadness. 💝 4d
Yuki_Onna It looks so beautiful... I'd keep it as well. #coverlove Hope you'll overcome your sadness soon❣️🫂 4d
AnnCrystal Gorgeous cover and beautiful bookstaging 🤩💝. 💝💝💝 May your sadness leave you soon...may the sadness leave you like falling leaves blown away in the Winds 💝🫂💝. 4d
TheAromaofBooks @DieAReader @PuddleJumper @julieclair @Yuki_Onna @AnnCrystal - Thank you all so much!! 💕 Grief is such a strange thing - you know that you are going to come through it and be okay (although never the same), but you still can't just... skip ahead to that part. But we are getting there a day at a time. 3d
AnnCrystal 💝💝💝 “There is no timeline for grief, no template for healing, no guideposts to follow. There is only our heart letting us know when we're ready to heal in our own way and time,“ -Melvina Young. 💝💝💝 3d
61 likes8 comments
review
kwmg40
Be the Serpent | Seanan McGuire
post image
Pickpick

A good installment in the October Daye series with a lot of unexpected revelations and the usual amount of faerie chaos.

#HauntedShelf #ScreamTeam
#OneSnacktoRuleThemAll #AllThingsApple
#Witchathon
#BookSpinBingo
#ISpyBingo (author's name in red)
#PumpkabooHunt (large)
@PuddleJumper

Bookwormjillk 🍎 🍎 🍎 6d
PuddleJumper 🖤🧡🖤 6d
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 5d
36 likes4 comments
review
kwmg40
Cryoburn | Lois McMaster Bujold
post image
Pickpick

An excellent installment in the Vorkosigan series, in which Miles encounters the seedier side of the cryogenics industry.

#HauntedShelf #ScreamTeam
#OneSnacktoRuleThemAll #AllThingsApple
#BookSpinBingo
#ISpyBingo (orange title)
#PumpkabooHunt (large)
#AfterDarkBingo (corporate dragon)
#BodyCountBingo (meddling kids are useless)
#GottaCatchEmAllSpooky (Gimmighoul: greed)

33 likes4 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
Medlock | S.G. Hartnell
post image
Mehso-so

1978 & Mrs. Medlock is housekeeper to Lord & Lady Ashton at Marwood Manor including caring for their sickly young son. When an orphaned distant relative, a young girl named Mary, comes to live at the Manor, Mrs Medlock knows she is going to be trouble from the off. Sullen, uncooperative & unruly, the only thing that interests Mary is a locked door in a long wall outside.....

OutsmartYourShelf Probably like a lot of people, I was drawn to this one by the seeming 'Secret Garden' references (Medlock, Mary, sickly son, etc). but it feels a bit like bait & switch. Rather than a retelling or even reimagining, the similarities are surface only. I can't understand the decision to set it in the 1970s, it doesn't fit the characters who seemed like they were from an earlier time, & I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn't a period piece. 1w
ShananigansReads A secret garden imagination? Interesting (at least the concept) 1w
OutsmartYourShelf Also the female characters were either vapid flibbertigibbets or matronly dragons - a bit of nuance was badly needed. Sadly I found this one to be a bit of a disappointment (except for the cover which is great). 2⭐

My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Little, Brown Book Group UK/Sphere, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7731397534
Read 4th-5th Oct 2025

#GrimReaders @CSeydel #HauntedShelf
1w
See All 9 Comments
ShananigansReads @OutsmartYourShelf I should have read your whole review first. 🤣🤣🤣 1w
OutsmartYourShelf #ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
#BodyCountBingo Can You Help Me Hide the Body?
#AfterDarkBingo Unfazed everyman @puddlejumper
#SPNBookBingo2025 Men of Letters
#ISpyBingo Orange Title @theAromaofBooks
#TBRCampSlasher Orange on cover

Words found: Autumnal & Darkly
1w
OutsmartYourShelf @ShananigansReads Quite a few reviewers seemed to like it. It was not for me though. 1w
DieAReader 👋🏻👋🏻 1w
TheAromaofBooks It annoys me when it sounds like a book can be an interesting riff on a classic, but it ends up just being a bit of a trick to convince you to read it. 1w
OutsmartYourShelf @TheAromaofBooks Other people liked it but it just didn't work for me. 1w
30 likes9 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
post image
Pickpick

This one landed as a soft pick. It kept me glued to the pages while I was reading it, but I felt a little let down by the ending. This seems to be a common theme for me with this author.

This one is on its way to you @bookandbedandtea !! And @Jerdencon - I received Her Every Fear this week!! #TravelingThrills

Bookwormjillk Wooo! It‘s you an me supporting the apples so far 🍎🍎🍎 1w
PuddleJumper 🧡🖤🧡 1w
TheAromaofBooks @Bookwormjillk - I have always been the apple girl, even when I was little 😂 It's probably somewhat inevitable that I ended up working at an orchard! 1w
61 likes4 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
The Lingering | S.J.I. Holliday
post image
Pickpick

Jack & Ali move to a self-sufficient commune in the English Fens. They are desperate for a fresh start & hope that the quiet & communal living will help. The commune is situated in 'Rosalind House' a former psychiatric facility (or as they used to be known, an insane asylum) with a chequered history & one of the commune residents, Angela, is trying to prove the existence of ghost activity there.

OutsmartYourShelf The other residents start to become suspicious when it's clear that Jack & Ali have secrets they are running from, but with the weird occurrences since their arrival & the local history of the witches who once lived there, Ali wonders why no-one seems to want to talk about it.

I wasn't sure about this one at the start but it turned out to be worth sticking with. It's told from several points of view but the main voices are Ali & Angela.
1w
OutsmartYourShelf It does jump the shark a little towards the end, but it was a good read although I'm not sure it would hold up to repeat readings once you know the ending. 4🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4589134059
Read 2nd-3rd Oct 2025

#GrimReaders @CSeydel

#ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
#Witchathon @TEArificBooks
#ISpyBingo Initials in Author's name @theAromaofBooks
1w
See All 6 Comments
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 1w
PuddleJumper 🧡🖤🧡 1w
DieAReader 👻👻👻 1w
31 likes1 stack add6 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
post image
Pickpick

A collection of twenty-one short stories of haunting horror - perfect for the spooky season! There's probably something for everyone here, but be warned that there is an extensive list of trigger warnings at the start. This is not for the faint-hearted.

Usually I find that short story collections vary widely in quality, but this one was really good with some very eerie stories indeed.

OutsmartYourShelf All of the stories had merit, although one or two really grossed me out, but for me the standout stories were:

4) Dead Air by Ellis Hart (like a very twisted episode of 'Midnight Caller')

8) Dead Line by Alessandra Benini (an old style telephone brings misery to whoever owns it)

11) Kindred by Ellis Hart (The ultimate in online dating)

Very good overall & recommended for horror fans. 4🌟
2w
OutsmartYourShelf My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Dusk and Dagger Publishing, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7958462459
Read 1st - 3rd Oct 2025

#ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
#BodyCountBingo Free Space #AfterDarkBingo They Walk Among Us @puddlejumper
#SPNBookBingo2025 Crossroads
#ISpyBingo Fire @theAromaofBooks
#FallReadingBingo Read whilst it's raining

2w
OutsmartYourShelf #TBRCampSlasher features monster or ghost
#GrimReaders @CSeydel #HauntedShelf

An absolute goldmine for the wordsearch:

mischief, grotesque, bite, spirit, cradle, snap, warmth, creep, skin, friend, home, feast, cosy, night-time, brush, cool, owl, screech, moon, rise, blanket, dream, mystical, nightfall

(edited) 2w
See All 9 Comments
PuddleJumper Oh nicely done! Each short story will count as a 'book' so you'll get additional points 2w
OutsmartYourShelf @PuddleJumper Really? Is that in the TBR/Spooky/Other category points? 2w
PuddleJumper @OutsmartYourShelf Yes, each short story is its own thing. So if you've got an anthology with 5 spooky stories each one would get 20pts for 100pts total 2w
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 2w
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 1w
33 likes2 stack adds9 comments
blurb
TheAromaofBooks
post image

Somehow, it's already time for October's #ISpyBingo board!!! Anyone is welcome to join!! Find these items anywhere on a book's front/back cover or spine!! One book can check multiple prompts.

All of the 2025 boards can be found here - https://www.canva.com/design/DAGVO4NctsY/-lGsmflP3sUW9FsAung8hg/view?utm_content...

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) All the 2025 prompts are also in a Storygraph challenge here - https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/85a6eb78-a914-4e84-a200-9073f75...

I am hoping to carry this challenge into 2026!!! If you have some prompts you'd like to send to me, please feel free to comment here or to email me - itsthegoodlife15 at gmail. Obviously I am going to be repeating most of the prompts from this year just in a different order, but if you have⬇
3w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) a prompt that has driven you absolutely crazy/feels impossible, please let me know. For instance, HANDCUFFS are NOT getting mixed in again 😂

Thank you to everyone who plays these boards with me - I don't know why, but I just absolutely love treasure hunting my covers!!
3w
See All 15 Comments
LiseWorks It's an addiction for me lol 3w
PuddleJumper Flip flops! I don't read many summery books 🤣 3w
Faranae I barely read contemporary, so things like flip flops have been absolute nightmares 😂 Also, I mostly read e-books these days for access reasons (no money for books and no English library near me, so it's all digital library stuff) so it's hard to do anything with “spine“ prompts unless I happen to spot a suitable book I want to read in someone's book shelf or haul photos. ☠ 3w
willaful The ones that apply only to physical books are a bit annoying for me, but that's okay.

I know there was one I found so impossible recently, now what was it... oh right, power line!
3w
willaful Lol, I didn't see your comment when I made mine, @Faranae. 3w
TheAromaofBooks @PuddleJumper @Faranae @willaful - Thank you for the thoughts!! It helps me know how to keep it fun for everyone!! 😁 3w
TheAromaofBooks @LiseWorks - RIGHT?! Why?? 😂 3w
LiseWorks I think it's because some are hard to get, and when I have a book with no prompts, I'm so surprised 😅 like the book Well Met, absolutely no bingo spots. So, I guess my book choices are bingoless 😆 3w
Kiwidragonnerd I have to ask, what does the initials one mean? My initials? 1w
TheAromaofBooks @Kiwidragonnerd - I'm pretty flexible on interpretations 😂 In my mind, it's an author who uses their initials instead of their name, so a book cover that says L.M. Montgomery instead of Lucy Maud Montgomery. 1w
Kiwidragonnerd @TheAromaofBooks Ohhhhh thanks :) (edited) 1w
TheAromaofBooks @Kiwidragonnerd - No problem!! Also, if you'd like to be added to the tag list for each month when I post a new board, just let me know!! 😁 1w
46 likes15 comments
blurb
readingjedi
post image

Current read. Nice cover.

willaful Great for #ISpyBingo, I bet! 3w
37 likes1 comment