“The boy in the bed was just fifteen years old.”

@ShyBookOwl
#FirstLineFridays

4/5 stars. A German doctor and his patient move to an isolated, but not unknown, tropical island to establish a private utopia. Word gets out. Another German couple (she‘s pregnant) & their son follow. An unstable baroness arrives with 3 men in tow. What could possibly go wrong? ⬇️

“The wire reports traveled three thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean and described a gruesome scene: On Marchena Island, a bleak and barren speck of land in the northern part of the Galapagos, passing fishermen found two bodies.”
From the prologue of Eden Undone: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of WWII.
I‘m making time to finish this one today. ⬇️
#FirstLineFridays

4/5🌟
3 different timelines about 3 related women generations apart. One is tried as a witch because of fear. One is naive about the ways of the world because her father turns their home into a prison and pays an awful price. One escapes an abusive relationship until her past finds her. Each one finds the strength to seize the story of their lives and build something new.

#FirstLineFridays

“Samuel Adams delivered what may count as the most remarkable second act in American life.”

#TLT #ThreeListThursday

3 favorites on the list:
The Graveyard Book
Little House in the Big Woods
A Wrinkle In Time

3 that should‘ve been on the list
The rest of the Little House books 😁
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Mrs. Mike

Three on my TBR pile
One Thousand and One Nights
Howl‘s Moving Castle
One of the Moomin books.

1) Yes
2) At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities

#Two4Tuesday

4/5 ⭐️ New cozy mystery releases tomorrow. This one features Jennifer “Jenn” Dalton, mystery author and director of Clarion University‘s writing center. She decides to solve the murder of a cantankerous professor when a student Jenn knows well is accused of killing him. The book is fast paced. Plenty of red herrings to keep a reader guessing. It the 1st book in the Campus Sleuth series.

#cozymystery #Netgalley

5/5 ⭐️. This novel places the reader into Stump Branch, a West Virginia mountain community decimated by mountain top removal mining and opioids. Jasper and Romie, high school sweethearts are trying to make a living in an environment that threatens to destroy them. It is also a novel of perseverance, second (and third) chances, and hope. ⬇️

#Two4Tuesday

1. To read more of my TBR stacks.
2. Tagged book. It releases this summer. “A Botanist‘s Guide to Rituals and Revenge” is the 4th book in the series.

#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern

This whole series, The Christmas Tree Farm Mysteries, is set at Christmas. 🎄 🎅🤶🎁❤️📚

1. Remote cabin with snow

2. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Not specifically Christmas-drawing a blank there, book wise-but has the mountains, snow, and Alaska. A favorite book by a favorite author. 🙂❤️🏔️

#Two4Tuesday

1. Putting up the tree with my grandkids.

2. Good question. I‘ve already read the tagged book. Probably something from my Kindle Unlimited books. 🤷🏼‍♀️Most of the books I want to read are back home in Ohio. I‘m currently in Alaska helping out family, so most of my books aren‘t here. My Kindle and I pad are though. And a few physical books. Oh hey! I just remembered books are waiting for me at the post office! 🎉🥳

#two4Tuesday

Put aside one book and picked up this one. So far, so good. 🤞🏻

I‘m having a hard time reading this book. I just started it, but I‘m setting it aside for now. It‘s too dark and depressing. I‘m not getting rid of it though. I want to try it again later. Maybe. I‘ve read a lot of past posts and it seems like I‘m in the minority. 🤣

Birdie knew her mistake as soon as she cracked open her eyes.

I‘m reading the ARC for this book. I was so excited to be approved! #netgalley #arc

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Reindeer Games Tree Farm looks to establish the new world record for largest gingerbread man. But when a body is found in the cookie cutter, murder takes center stage.
🎄Christmas theme
🎄Great characters
🎄Solid mystery
🎄Book 5 in a series
🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄/5
🎄I love this series that takes place in Mistletoe, Maine.
#cozymystery #Christmas #NetGalley #IllBeHomeForMischief
🎄This book releases tomorrow.

A Tale Of Three Trees
One tree clinging to summer.
A second tree conceding it is time for fall.
The third tree embraces fall in red-leafed glory.

These three trees caught my attention yesterday at our local park. Each in different stage of fall, despite their close proximity to each other. 🍃🍂🍁

#fall #falltrees #October #fallcolors

4/5 ⭐️
When an old college acquaintance ends up dead in a secret room at The Secret Bookcase bookstore, bookseller Annie Murray is swept up in the investigation.
This book is a quick read. There are several plausible suspects, a plot that twists and turns, and an ending that ties up all the loose ends. I‘ll be reading the second book in the series.
#cozymystery #bookstore #secretbookcasemystery

“When your best friend is murdered, it can be kind of hard to get over.”

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Corn maze
Pick apples
Nature walk
Bonfire
Curl up with a book
No apples 🙂
Chili and cornbread
Apple cinnamon

#WonderousWednesday

@Eggs

5/5. Based on the shipwreck of the Essex. A whaler based out of Nantucket, it was sunk when an angry sperm whale rammed it. This story was the inspiration for Moby Dick. The portrayal of cannibalism the crew was forced to resort to in order to stay alive is horrifying. (Side note-apparently cannibalism became so common after shipwrecks that when survivors were rescued they were quick to say when they hadn‘t resorted to cannibalism 😳)

#FirstLineFridays

Like a giant bird of prey, the whaleship moved lazily up the western coast of South America, zigging and zagging across a living sea of oil.

5/5 ⭐️ for me. The first in a new-to-me cozy mystery series. It ticked a lot of my boxes even though I solved the killer‘s ID early on. Boxes ticked: witty dialogue, solid relationship between main characters, well-developed setting. There are a total of 11 books in the series, at least so far. I‘ve ordered the next two. 🙂

#cozymysteries #cozymystery #EnglishVillage #LadyHardcastleMystery

I finished this book because I wanted to know the murderer‘s identity. And now that I think about it, I can‘t remember who that was. I only finished a short time ago. 😳 I didn‘t much care for the characters, and I won‘t be reading any more in this series. This is the first book in the series.

I‘m emptying out bins of books-stored because of drywall work and painting in my office. I forgot about this one. Small book, but full of bookish art and essays. 🙂 I‘m putting it on my desk where I can easily reach it.

#WonderousWednesday

1) Leaving with 4 or so books. My mom would drop me off at the library while she went to the grocery store around the corner. Every Saturday morning.

2) ARCs and various online bookstores.

3) Currently reading The Busy Body. It‘s not wowing my sock off or anything, but it‘s a good read. Will pass it on to my daughter when I am done.

I read this last night before bed. Mistake. I had weird dreams all night. 🤣 Now I‘m dragging today. If I had really enjoyed the book the dragging today would‘ve been worth it. But at best I can say it was so-so. I enjoy reading different takes on fairy tales, but not this one. The world building didn‘t draw me in, and I didn‘t care about the characters-even the dying one. 😬 I think it was too short for what it was trying to accomplish. ⬇️

After hearing about this book for years, I finally bought a copy and read it yesterday. I enjoyed the epistolary format. It was a different and fun way to get to know the characters. I‘m glad I finally read it. 5/5 ⭐️

#nationaleggmonthchallenge

1) Tag a favorite mystery you read
Just one?! 🤔 Okay. The Thursday Murder Club

2) What is your favorite way to prepare eggs?
Scrambled. With lots of cheddar cheese. 😋

I finished this last night. 4.5/5 ⭐️. Preachy is a spot or two, but overall I enjoyed it. Book addresses poverty, racism, class and other issues. A lot of characters to keep straight. The book is also a mystery when a dead body is discovered during construction. The who, how, and why is an unexpected twist that I enjoyed. James McBride can be difficult to read, but he‘s one of my autobuy authors. The Good Lord Bird remains a favorite. ❤️

#WondrousWednesday

1) family, 📚, 🏔️

2) 📝 🛫🌄 (my writing, spending summer with family, Colorado sunsets)

#WonderousWednesday

1) Tulips

2) The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones

3) Spend time with the grandkids

#Two4Tuesday

1) Done

2) It‘s a toss up between The Demon of Unrest by Eric Larson or The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride.

#Two4Tuesday

🐴🐔Country/farm

🌋🏔️ Split time between Alaska (currently) and Ohio. 🏈(Grandkids in both places)

#WondrousWednesday

1) Alone time (says introvert me 🤣)
2) Writing time
3) My family ❤️

5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow. This book. What. A. Ride. I don‘t read a lot of horror, but this book/trilogy pulled me in from page one. This is book 3 of The Indian Lake trilogy. These aren‘t stand alone books.
Jade has returns to her hometown of Proofrock, Idaho after her release from prison. When the horrors of the lake arise once more, Jade must find it within herself, again, to fight for the hometown that has betrayed her over & over. #horror #IndianLake

Read the #NetGalley ARC in two days. Addie Greyborne spends a year in England after the implosion of her wedding back in the States. Right before she‘s ready to come back home (again), she‘s pulled into a murder investigation. This is book 10 in the series. Moving the Addie to another country with a new cast of characters, while keeping #cozymystery elements really worked. And the ending! Ready for #11.
5/5⭐️ ❤️ Pub date 5/21/24
❤️ the cover

#FirstLineFridays
#horror
#StephenGrahamJones
#IndianLakeTrilogy

The Savage History of Proofrock, Idaho opens looking through the eyeholes of a mask, with some heavy, menacing breathing amping up the menace.

#WonderousWednesday

📚Hardcover
📚Fiction
📚Historical
📚Recent
📚Water when reading 🙂
📚Physical
📚Print

Yay for book mail! Also-book whiplash. Amanda Flower‘s book is a historical/cozy mystery mashup and SGJ‘s book is a horror novel.

#FirstLineFridays

Because he had enjoyed almost every advantage since birth, one of the few privileges denied to Benjamin Rask was that of a heroic rise: his was not a story of resilience and perseverance or the tale of an unbreakable will forging a golden destiny for itself out of little more than dross.

#TLT
#ThreeListThursday

1) Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Just finished it several days ago. 🙂

2) Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder

3) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

#WonderousWednesday
1) Craig Johnson, Louise Penny, Carlene O‘Connor, Amanda Flower, Heather Weber, Kate Khavari,

2) Right now, the tagged book

3) Craig Johnson, Louise Penny, Amanda Flower, and Carlene O‘Connor (sorry. Choosing one was too stressful. 🙂)

Started this one last night. Anyone else read it? I was drawn in by “At once an immersive story and brilliant literary puzzle…” from the description. I‘ll see if it lives up to the hype. 🙂

5 star read for me. Genres: Historical (WWI), literary. The novel follows identical twin sisters Peggy and Maude, bindery girls for Oxford University Press. Issues of class, women‘s rights (or lack thereof) are woven throughout the book. What this novel brings to the forefront is the erasure of women and their contributions in history. If interested, read Williams other book The Dictionary of Lost Words first-there is crossover between the books

#FirstLineFridays

Scraps. That‘s all I got. Fragments that made no sense without the words before or the words after.

This was a quick cozy mystery read. Juni Jessup owns Sip and Spin, a vinyl record shop/coffe shop with her three sisters. When an aggressive potential investor ends up dead in front of the shop, Juni is determined to solve the mystery. The characters are well written. Plenty of suspects and motives kept me guessing. 📚e-copy provided by NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for review.
📚Pub date 3/26/24 📚 4/5 stars #cozymystery

Currently reading this one and enjoying it. Love the cover as well. #historicalfiction #oxforddictionary

1) Fairy

2) Emily Wilde‘s Encyclopaedia of Faeries and Emily Wilde‘s Map of the Otherlands. Looking forward to Emily Wilde‘s Compendium of Lost Tales

#TwoForTuesday