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#Spooktober
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Lin3han
Those We Drown | Amy Goldsmith
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Mehso-so

Those We Drown is a YA horror set on the cruise line ship, The Nepethe. There is something terribly insidious and dark going on. The workers, the three influencers nicknamed “The Sirens”, and even the captain have cold, dead eyes as vast as the sea.
Going in, I didn‘t know this was a YA and I wish I did. I was not the target audience for this book. Overall, it was fun but not for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #twowitches #hauntedshelf #spooktober

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Grrlbrarian
A Night in the Lonesome October | Roger Zelazny, Gahan Wilson
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IT‘S TIME. 💀🎃👻 #spooktober

13 likes1 stack add
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OutsmartYourShelf
Untitled | Unknown
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#Scarathlon Bingo cards.

No full houses but quite a few lines:
#BodyCountBingo - 4 lines
#AfterDarkBingo - 2 lines
#BookishFirst - 2 lines
#ThrillerBookBingo - 2 lines
#OctoberBookwormBingo - 3 lines
#Spooktober - 1 line
#ISpy - 1 line
#BookishBingo - 2 lines
#HalloweenReadathon - 2 lines

380 points @StayCurious #TeamCreepinItReal

@PuddleJumper

PuddleJumper Amazing! 11mo
StayCurious great job! 11mo
16 likes2 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
44 | Jools Sinclair
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Pickpick

I first read this about 10 years ago so thought it was time for a re-read. I'm not as easily impressed as I was back then, so I'd probably rate this at a 3.5🌟 now. There's not much backstory given (there is a reason for that that the reader finds out later) & it makes the narrative a bit disorientating as the reader works out what is happening. The twist is still good though.

2015 review: A promising start to what looks to be a good YA series.

OutsmartYourShelf Kept me interested in reading it and had a nice twist at the end. Liked it so much I've just bought the rest of the series.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/809933624
Read 31st Oct 2023

Readathons 150 pts
Post 1pt
Words 870 pts
Genre 20 pts

Total 1041 pts

#TeamCreepinItReal @StayCurious

@puddlejumper @GHABI4ROSES @Andrew65 @DieAReader @TheSpineView @Catsandbooks
11mo
TheSpineView Great job! 11mo
Catsandbooks 🙌🏼🦇🧡 11mo
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 11mo
23 likes5 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
Hamlet, Prince of Robots | M. Darusha Wehm
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Pickpick

Elsinore Robotics maker of humanoid androids powered by true artificial intelligence are continually in competition with their rival, Norwegian Technologies. The last public contest was between their model, Fortinbras, and Elsinore‘s HAM(let) v.1 & Hamlet was victorious. Shortly afterwards he was found deactivated at Elsinore, possibly by rogue malware. Hamlet v.2 mourns the loss of his progenitor, & he becomes obsessed by thoughts of revenge.

OutsmartYourShelf A retelling of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' with the lead character an android rather than flesh & blood. The book looks at what is means to be human, about free will & choice. It mostly works quite well. I haven't read the original play but, like Cher Horowitz in Clueless, I've seen the Mel Gibson film version, so I knew what was coming & who the characters were. 11mo
OutsmartYourShelf It's a quick read at just under 170 pages for the Kindle version so it doesn't outstay its welcome. An intriguing take. 3.5🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5721280995
Read 30th-31st Oct 2023

Readathons 210 pts
Post 1pt
Words 220 pts
Genre 10 pts

Total 441 pts

#TeamCreepinItReal @StayCurious

@puddlejumper @GHABI4ROSES @Andrew65 @DieAReader @TheSpineView @Catsandbooks
11mo
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TheSpineView Great job! 11mo
Catsandbooks 🙌🏼🦇🧡 11mo
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 11mo
24 likes6 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
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Pickpick

Leeds, UK & Gobbelino London (feline PI) & his human sidekick, Callum, are hired by a mysterious client to find a missing book that belongs to her. Gobbelino is a little apprehensive as there is something about the woman that is off but he can't quite put his paw on what. As the hunt begins, it soon becomes clear that Gobbelino's sixth sense was right & this is much more than just a missing book. (Continued)

OutsmartYourShelf I loved this. What a change from the usual morose human detectives, instead we have a snarky feline & his human sidekick. Gobbelino is instantly lovable even though he is unfailingly sarcastic & a bit of a curmudgeon - although he's quick to act the innocent kitty if needs be! Believe me, if you have ever owned a cat, you will recognise your feline friend here. I actually laughed out loud in several places. 11mo
OutsmartYourShelf I am definitely going to read the rest of the series. 4🌟

Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5338532956
Read 28th-30th Oct 2023

Readathons 385 pts
Post 1pt
Words 620 pts
Genre 20 pts

Total 1026 pts

#TeamCreepinItReal @StayCurious

@puddlejumper @GHABI4ROSES @Andrew65 @DieAReader @TheSpineView @Catsandbooks
11mo
See All 6 Comments
TheSpineView Great job! 11mo
Catsandbooks 🙌🏼🦇🧡 11mo
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 11mo
25 likes6 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
The Twelve Days of Murder | Andreina Cordani
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Pickpick

A group of friends from university days are invited to a Christmas Masquerade murder mystery break at a remote hunting lodge. At the last one, the 'victim' disappeared from a locked room & was never seen again. This time it is based around the song 'Twelve Days of Christmas', i.e. Lord Leapworth. As the game begins, past secrets are revealed & friendships are strained until on Christmas morning, Lady Partridge is found hanging from a pear tree.

OutsmartYourShelf The present narrative is told from the point of view of Charley, the outsider in the group of friends. Charley came from a working class background whilst all the others were from rich families & she was treated rather badly by most of the group. Even in the Christmas Masquerade she is playing 'Miss Colly', the only servant in the game & her costumes are dull & boring. 12mo
OutsmartYourShelf The reader gets some background from chapters set twelve years ago one from each of the friend group & as their secrets are gradually revealed you see that none of them are particularly nice people . I did actually guess the guilty party but not the whole reason. I thought it was a diverting, entertaining read & if you like 'locked room' murder mysteries I would recommend this one. 4🌟
12mo
OutsmartYourShelf My thanks to #NetGalley & publisher, Bonnier Books/Zaffre, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5641748023
Read 17th-20th Oct 2023

Readathons 585 pts
Post 1pt
Words 2310 pts
Genre 10 pts

Total 2906 pts

#TeamCreepinItReal @StayCurious

@puddlejumper @GHABI4ROSES @Andrew65 @DieAReader @TheSpineView @Catsandbooks
(edited) 12mo
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Andrew65 Excellent 🎃🎃🎃 12mo
TheSpineView Fantastic! 12mo
StayCurious great job! 11mo
26 likes7 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
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Pickpick

The third book sees Harry, Hermione, & Ron about to start their third year at Hogwarts. On the way there they encounter Professor Lupin, their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, when a Dementor, one of the feared guardians of Azkaban searches the train. Harry seems to be the worst affected of anyone. It seems that a prisoner named Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban & is after Harry to take his revenge for what happened to (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named & the Dementors will be a fixture around the school for a while. The story also takes in werewolves, secret maps, animagi, the trial of Buckbeak, & Gryffindor's quest to win the Quidditch Cup.

This is a re-read & my original rating of 4 stars stands. I'm not a big fan of the Buckbeak storyline in general (Buckbeak is fine, it's the whole 'animal in peril' thing) & I don't particularly like Professor Trelawney
12mo
OutsmartYourShelf (I agree with Hermione's assessment here). On the plus side, there's Quidditch, the Marauders' Map, & the introduction of characters (Lupin, Black, etc) who will appear in further books on the side of either good or evil. It's not my favourite of the series but it's still good. 4🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/747560089
Read 14th-19th Oct 2023

12mo
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TheSpineView Fantastic!🖤🪄 12mo
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 12mo
Catsandbooks 🙌🏼🐈‍⬛💜 12mo
Andrew65 Excellent 👻🎃👻 12mo
33 likes8 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
When Ghosts Call Us Home | Katya de Becerra
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Pickpick

Sophia Galich was twelve when she starred in her older sister Layla‘s amateur horror movie 'Vermillion' filmed in the house their parents were renovating. Originally owned by a rich couple who held wild parties & seances until the tragic death of the wife, it stood empty for years before the Galich family moved in to renovate it. The movie gained a cult following online alongside a website which people use to travel 'The Path'. (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf Layla disappeared two years ago & it seems that she was still obsessed with Cashore & Vermillion & the last known sighting of her was at the house. Now seventeen, Sophia agrees to star in a remake being filmed at Cashore in the hope that this will lead her to the truth of what happened to Layla.

This had a slow start but once it got going it was a good read. The narrative is told from Sophia's point of view mostly in the present,
12mo
OutsmartYourShelf although the reader experiences Sophia's returning memories as she starts to film the remake. Suspicious of everyone & their motives, including Arthur the director's son, as they start to film scenes Sophia starts to remember more of what happened five years before & realises her sister wasn't telling her the complete truth. She also realises that she is now travelling The Path - but what or who is at the end? 12mo
OutsmartYourShelf It wasn't terrifying but it was a spooky unsettling read. 3.5🌟

My thanks to #NetGalley & publisher, Macmillan Children's Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5761905163
Read 13th-17th Oct 2023

#TeamCreepinItReal @StayCurious

@puddlejumper @GHABI4ROSES @Andrew65 @DieAReader @TheSpineView @Catsandbooks
12mo
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DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 12mo
TheSpineView Fantastic 12mo
Catsandbooks 🙌🏼🦇🧡 12mo
30 likes7 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
My Brother's Keeper | Tim Powers
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Pickpick

The Brontes & werewolves - even before starting it, I knew this would be either a triumph or a disaster. It's definitely going to polarise opinion as it's a required taste, but I loved it. I particularly like the way that the author wove actual events into the supernatural narrative, such as when Branwell paints over himself in the portrait of himself & his three sisters. (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf Branwell comes off the worst here as he comes across as petulant, cowardly, & self-centered & I really didn't like him. The others were as you would expect & I felt the author got Emily's character just right. Read it with no preconceptions & no expectations of what a book featuring the Brontës should be like & you may be pleasantly surprised. I thought it was extremely entertaining. 4.5🌟

12mo
OutsmartYourShelf My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Head of Zeus/AdAstra Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5722038873
Read 12th-14th Oct 2023

Readathons x Hours Read 902 pts
Post 1pt
Word Challenge 3160 pts
Genre 20 pts

Total 4083 pts

#TeamCreepinItReal @StayCurious

@puddlejumper @GHABI4ROSES @Andrew65 @DieAReader @TheSpineView @Catsandbooks @Emilymdxn
12mo
OutsmartYourShelf My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Head of Zeus/AdAstra Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5722038873
Read 12th-14th Oct 2023

Readathons x Hours Read 902 pts
Post 1pt
Word Challenge 3160 pts
Genre 20 pts

Total 4083 pts

#TeamCreepinItReal @StayCurious

@puddlejumper @GHABI4ROSES @Andrew65 @DieAReader @TheSpineView @Catsandbooks @Emilymdxn
12mo
See All 9 Comments
PuddleJumper 🧡🖤 12mo
TheSpineView Well done! 12mo
Andrew65 Well done 👏👏👏 12mo
dabbe 🖤🧡🖤 12mo
Catsandbooks 🙌🏼🦇🦇 12mo
24 likes9 comments