While I liked the story as a whole, all of the characters felt one dimensional, and unbearable!

The governess spends the book alternately crying/sobbing at her new friend (the only other member of the staff we have named for the majority of the book) and massively obsessing over “perfect” children she has just met. While I understand it is a classic, it didn‘t really do as much as I hoped. I much prefer the Haunting of Bly Manor tv adaptation!

#OminousOctober #Candy #Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash

One of the first horror authors I got into was James Herbert, and I loved Haunted and The Ghosts of Sleath! When the third in the trilogy came out I bought it but I still haven‘t read it 😳

Anyway! This one is about ghosts.
David Ash (who the trilogy follows) doesn‘t believe in ghosts, but then he investigates a haunting that may make him question whether the supernatural is real.

#ScarathlonDailyPrompts #TeamMonsterMash #Scarathlon2022 #Ghost

One of my favourite #Ghost books is the tagged YA book.

It has haunting, possession, romance, discovery, and overall bittersweet happy endings 👻

#OminousOctober #Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash

My soul to take, the first book of soul screamers.

Kaylee is compelled to #Scream when someone near her is going to die. People think she is mad, but classmates are dying and only she knows who is next.

#ScarathlonDailyPrompts #TeamMonsterMash #Scarathlon2022

I started this for #20in4 along with my buddy read Go Hunt Me

I was aiming for 20 chapters, but alas with forgetting a day and then working today, I achieved 7 chapters of this and 4 chapters (sections) of the buddy read. So 11 total. I was over half way there 😉

Putting #OminousOctober and #ScarathlonDailyPrompts together today

Top picture is for #Killer it‘s the first true crime I read and has stuck with me!

Bottom picture is for #Candle
I have always wanted one of these (I know it as a weeping rose candle but it is also known as vampire tears) since we had them in the shop. I think they are so pretty! But they are also super messy which puts me off a little 🤣

#TeamMonsterMash #Scarathlon2022

And onto Hocus Pocus 2 now

Both films were on my #HalloweenBucketList for #Scarathlon2022

#TeamMonsterMash

A little bit of Hocus Pocus while I work ☺️

#Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash

Here is my October #BookSpinBingo board!

BookSpin is Feedback
DoubleSpin is Samhain (which is also a trapped on an island pick!)

The madman‘s daughter by Megan Shepherd is based on the story of The Island of Doctor Moreau

She finds out her father is alive on a tropical island, and that the rumours of his gruesome experiments weren‘t rumours at all. Many of these experiments have been failures, but some of these experiments are successes, creatures passing as humans, but more animal than man.

#ScarathlonDailyPrompts #Creature #TeamMonsterMash

While not technically a CAMP fire (a fire demon in fact), I thought of one of my favourite characters from Howls Moving Castle for this prompt, Calcifer 🔥

#Campfire #OminousOctober
#Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash

Made my Halloween playlist (one of my #HalloweenBucketList items) this morning. And now I am going to listen while I tidy up the house!

Naturally monster mash was the first song I added 😉
I am sure I have missed many (even though i have 41 songs) so if anyone has recommendations let me know!

#Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash

I scare easy, so tend to stay away from anything too scary film wise.

This year I decided I would try and watch some more horror movies. Mostly aiming for classics and see how I fare!
My fiancé has been wanting to watch this for a while, so Paranormal Activity was the first scary film to come off the #Scarathlon2022 to be watched list!

I didn‘t find it too bad, but we will see if that changes once I try to go to sleep! ?

#TeamMonsterMash

Started #Scarathlon2022 reading with a quick children‘s book about cats on Halloween.

Very cute illustrations, and also fits the #OminousOctober photo prompt for #Cat

#TeamMonsterMash

When we first got Ash (he is 3 and a half now) Lidl were selling pet costumes for Halloween, and we couldn‘t resist the little bat wings! So here he is on his first Halloween for the #ScarathlonDailyPrompts #Black

#TeamMonsterMash #Scarathlon2022

@Allylu here are your 5 #TrappedOnAnIsland picks

Hope you enjoy!

I forgot #20in4 started today! (Or technically now yesterday for me)
Where has September gone?

I will start this tomorrow and aim for 20 chapters!
But which book from my spooky #Scarathlon2022 selections to pick? 🤔

Gabe is a commitment phobe who agrees to keep an eye on his friends little sister. And then spends half the book second guessing his feelings for her now that she is a hot grown woman. He also happens to be a Phoenix.

Misty has been in love with him since childhood, and despite not seeing him for over a decade is immediately in love with him again.

Neither character did anything for me, and Misty‘s boss was a huge ass!

#ParanormalLoveCrew #PLC

I wasn‘t sure about this #HanselAndGretel inspired one, but I actually became super invested!

It was pretty heavy (especially after another heavy read) with LOTS of trigger warnings (kidnapping, abuse etc) and the MCs were all kinds of messed up. But the way they grew after finding each other, and the “happy ending” were worth the read! As I mentioned I became pretty invested in seeing it through 😂

#SuperSeptember #FairytaleReadingChallenge

In preparation for the #HalloweenBucketList / #AutumnBucketList part of #Scarathlon2022 here is my list!

October is going to be a very busy month for me with work (including shifts and on call) and I also have my mum visiting. So this is a mix of things I can do at home when I am not busy, and things I would like to try to go out and do.
Wish me luck in my endeavour! 😂

🎃☠️👻💀🧠🫀🧙🏻‍♀️🧝🏻‍♀️🧌🧛🏻🧟‍♀️🧞‍♂️🧜‍♀️🧚🏽🦇

My October #BookSpinBingo picks :)

This was my pick for #FoodAndLit #Kenya

It covers 3 generations of women living in Kenya, during a time of great change. From Akoko daughter of a chief, married to another chief, to Maria who searches for a new way of life after a series of tragedies, and finally to Elizabeth who works as a teacher and bonds with her doctor daughter in law

But it packs in a lot of events and trauma. Childhood death, world war, missionaries and AIDS among others.

Made Beef Pilau with Kachumbari for #FoodAndLit #Kenya

Made the kitchen smell delicious and it was very tasty (also made soooo much food!)

https://cheflolaskitchen.com/east-african-pilau/

My October #Roll100 😋

Some of my planned watches for #Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash

A mix of tv shows and films. Trying to be brave and watch some horror this year (though I have seen some of these before).
Not listed is the new series of Ghosts (UK) which I think is back in October ☺️👻

#FoodAndLit #Kenya

Just some of the spooky offerings on my October #TBR

There will also be my challenge picks, and #TrappedOnAnIsland pick(s) which may or may not already feature here 😂

#Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash

There is still time to sign up to one of my favourite events of the year #Scarathlon2022

It‘s a casual spooky themed reading and watching extravaganza, combined with some friendly competition between #TeamSlaughter with @Clwojick and #MonsterMash with @StayCurious

And you can get points no matter how much you are able to participate!

Link to sign up form and more information 👇🏻

A little late posting my goals for #SuperSeptember

I would like to finish two challenge books:
The River and the Source
and Never Let You Go

I don‘t think I will manage another book with a busy working week, but I do have a surprise long weekend so if I do fit in another I am looking at reading Hooked on a Phoenix

I think I need to take a month off to do some solid reading 😂

I really enjoyed this #Roll100 pick!

When Rie‘s husband dies, she discovers that he may not have been who she thought he was. She hires a lawyer named Kido to investigate the identity of her husband.

This was part detective story, part philosophical tangents about why someone would want to change their identity. I wouldn‘t say it was a happy book, and I wouldn‘t say the ending was 100% satisfying, but I still enjoyed every word!

This may not be the most inventive of plots, and the author herself has put some trigger warnings at the start, but overall I enjoyed this.
It was a palate cleanser and had the whole alpha man being protective, steamy scenes you expect from this sort of thing 😂

This was my #DoubleSpin for this month ☺️

Nalini Singh remains one of my favourite authors

Wolf rain is part of the psy-changeling trinity series.
More cracks are appearing in the psy net, the e training compound helping the Es come into their power, and keep the net stabilised where possible.

While we saw some previous MCs in this, the focus is on Wolf Alexei and e Memory, found in a bunker on snow dancer territory and learning to be free while the hunt for her captor is on.

September #BookSpinBingo board

#BookSpin is Soulless
#DoubleSpin is Ice Planet Barbarians

Septembers #BookSpinBingo list ☺️

August #BookSpinBingo wrap up:

I finished 5 books
• Maid Marian (Fairytale Reading Challenge and Bookspin)
• The Haunting of Brynn Wilder (Roll 100)
• The Travelling Cat Chronicles (Food and Lit)
• The Night Realm (PLC)
• and Convenience Store Woman (22 in 22 - very bad at tagging this!)

Saved the rest of the #FoodAndLit #Japan dishes for one combined post

I was very excited about this month as you can probably tell. I didn‘t quite get around to trying to make mochi yet though.

The lotus root and chicken meatballs (top left) and okonomiyaki (right) recipes are from the tagged book. Both were absolutely delicious!
The matcha and white chocolate cookies (equally tasty) were from an online recipe.

I might have treated myself to a tea based spooky countdown calendar… something new to get me into the October #Scarathlon spirit 😂

This was a quick read about a 36 yr old woman, who has been working in a convenience store for 18 years. Friends and family begin to worry because she is in a part time job, isn‘t married, and hasn‘t even dated.

Overall I enjoyed this, despite not really liking any characters! I have a lot of jumbled thoughts I won‘t bore you with 😂
I think the main message for me is living the life you want even if it doesn‘t fit with societal norms.

Septembers #Roll100 (number 12) is A Man

Looking forward to this one :)

This was a fun pick for #ParanormalLoveCrew

A nymph (from the overworld) with special magic mimicking abilities is sent on a mission to the underworld to “steal” some weapons, in the hope it will prevent war between her home and the territory of Ra.
But nothing goes according to plan and to get out safely she needs to work with an incubi, one of the master spell weavers.

This is the first in a trilogy. Might look for the others some time!

#PLC

I quite liked this.

There are ghosts/visions, and mysteries, and romance.
But it is mostly about a woman spending summer in a close-knit place, making connections with other summer residents and townsfolk, and learning to overcome her grief and move on with her life.

I did guess one (and a half?) of the twists but it was still an enjoyable read ☺️

#Roll100

And todays food is chicken teriyaki with lime (I added the broccoli just because we had some left over)

The lime was a really nice addition to a classic teriyaki sauce 🤤

#FoodAndLit #Japan

Just finished this bittersweet #BuddyRead for #FoodAndLit #Japan

I swear I am getting softer as I get older. Good job I am working from home so no one sees me crying through my lunch break 🤣

I really enjoyed the narration by Nana the cat, the cute illustrations, and such a powerful story of the bond between an owner and his cat ❤️

Cooked one of the suggested menus from the tagged book tonight

Japanese white rice, sea bass with leeks and broccoli, pickled radishes, miso and watercress soup, and lotus root

We also had some sake to wash it down ☺️

#FoodAndLit #Japan

This was a fairly faithful retelling of #RobinHood for #FairytaleReadingChallenge

I liked it overall, but the large passages of song irritated me a little bit! It was quite interesting to compare key parts of the story to the retelling I read for Robin Hood last year and trying to work out who people were before name changes occurred.

I would have liked more action I think… 😂

This was also my #BookSpin

Here is my August #BookSpinBingo board!

My #BookSpin is Maid Marian (already started this so going strong!)
My #DoubleSpin is Fangirl

My #BookSpinBingo list for August ☺️

Hoping to fit in a few Japanese books from my tbr for food and lit!

By finishing Piranesi, I have got my first #BookSpinBingo line in my memory (maybe I got one before but it will have been a loooooong time ago!)
Yay me! 😂

7 books this month:
•From Brick and Darkness (FairytaleReadingChallenge)
•A Monster Calls (Bookspin)
•The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Roll100)
•Dangerous Liaisons (FoodAndLit)
•Dragon Bound (Previous Bookspin)
•Piranesi
•And Why We Sleep (Previous Doublespin started in June)

“The beauty of the House is immeasurable; it‘s Kindness infinite”

Piranesi lives a seemingly simple life in the house. Recording the tides, the halls, and the statues, and surviving on the food and warmth the House provides. Piranesi knows of 15 humans. 13 are dead, one is the other, and one is him. But the possible arrival of 16 shows that maybe there is more going on than Piranesi remembers.