Oh, I was not the target audience for this book LOL
I am a stagehand, and this is a microcosm worst of the people I work with.

It was pompous, overdramatic, full of itself, the mystery was as transparent as a play you‘ve seen before.

The only thing I‘ve retained from this book was the unnecessary hate the costume department and stagehands got. Departments, might I add, that did NOT have any hand in killing someone. Get bent.

I‘d read the first three Finlay books last year on rec from a friend. While I liked the first book, I found myself liking the second and third book less and less.

This fourth book I found I liked more than the second and third. Maybe because it felt less like sequel bait? Maybe it leaned more into the nonsense? Less? I can‘t put my finger on it but it‘s worth one more dive in if you weren‘t thrilled with #3

A fun little historical… supernatural thriller? I guess?
It hits all the right beats and while that did make it predictable, it was still an enjoyable read.

Take that with a grain of salt however- I like my fantasy and scifi on the short story / magical realism side of things.

And a throwback to my first finished book this year!
The alternate title - “Judgmental old bat take out everyone who bothers her BUT ITS OKAY the people she kills are shitty so it‘s fine.”

It‘s like is Jessica Fletcher were not solving crimes but the root cause of all of them.

If you don‘t mind some dark humor and holier-than-thou narration it‘s a short fun romp

Starting off with my latest read book.

It‘s not a book for the faint of heart- but I found it dark and funny and a little preachy- but who‘s inner monologue isn‘t?

I don‘t think I‘d have stuck with it on paper, but it was a good audio listen. Stream of consciousness but followable. I wasn‘t lost until the abrupt end.

Hey hey Listy- long time no see

I‘m about 36 books deep in the year so far. Gonna try to post here once a day- just to build a habit that is constructive for a change. Expect a bunch of backlogs!

Not the most exciting of posts but things are still Rough

Italian Folk Tales has 200 stories at 15 a piece for a TBR read- so uh that explains that absurd number lmao

A huge thanks (and sorry) to @Julsmarshall and team #RestingGrinchFace for #Wintergames2023

Maybe next year I‘ll actually participate lol
Happy New Year!!

Hey uh
Been having a hell of a Month you guys.

I‘ll play some catchup tomorrow but. Hope y‘all are having a safe and happy end of the year

Snagging some early bird points last minute- as you do!

Super low key TBR this time around. Trying to finish off my Storygraph challenges for 2023 while I have the chance. Wish me luck- I‘ll be contending with the yearly hell that is Nutcracker

#WinterGames2023 #TeamRestingGrinchFace

Another #backlogpost from Scarathon lol

I think this is my favorite Moreno-Garcia so far! I am also biased- I like film-based horror. I just think it‘s a lot of fun. It feels like a new medium that‘s been underutilized compared to like a magic item or cursed book.

Give it a shot if you like cursed stuff and headstrong protagonists and learning about old film history and techniques

Getting back into the swing of things with a #backlogpost

This was a fun one with an interesting premise! However I found myself getting more frustrated than immersed. The MC was a little more clueless than necessary. I got the vibe it wanted to be strong independent woman and felt more Lifetime Halloween Special :/

I wouldn‘t discourage anyone because it was fun overall! But I probably wouldn‘t pick it up for the shelf.

Final tally- with this post this makes my total very pleasing

I had a rough end to the month BUT it was still pretty proactive! Word Search was a godsend.

My favorite book was either Shrader‘s Chord for the Steven King Vibes or Out There Screaming because Quality.
Be prepared for a slow trickle of actual reviews lol.

Thanks @StayCurious @Clwojick and team captain @Bookwormjillk for a wonderful #Scarathon !!
Go team #BOOklovers !!

EVERYONE SHUT UP
HALLOWEEN MONTH IS SAVED

I‘ve had a terrible time but this- THIS masterpiece. This will stand the test of time. It already has. A holy grail. A hand bound personalized copy of My Immortal.

I‘m the happiest I‘ve ever been.

Not the best picture but I‘m still struggling LOL

I binged this series to make myself feel better! It‘s an 80‘s cartoon like Galaxy High and modern day Monster High but also kind of not finished? Listen it‘s charming and silly and mostly aged okay somehow! It‘s free on youtube so give it a shot :D

Bucket list points! I‘m also calling it as Grave for Scarathon Photo Challenge I‘m so tired guys.

#scarathon #scarathonphotochallenge #teamBOOklovers

Trying to dress up some photos to make myself feel better!

Day 16 of the #scarathonphotochallenge - Haunt! Or haunted. Close enough. I love anthologies, and the art in this one is so varied but all so so good augh.

#scarathon #teamBOOklovers

A cheap cop out on Scarathon Photo Challenge you say? Don‘t mind if I do!

Been a bit of a rough weekend and day tbh. Hoping this week goes by relatively painlessly. I‘m not even sure I totaled my Scarathon points right :(

Started Out There Screaming though! I didn‘t want to clutter the tag but it‘s quite good.

#scarathon #scarathonphotochallenge #teamBOOklovers

A little more pink than purple but I think it fits for day 15 of the photo challenge!

This one was fun! More trauma processing than I thought. Also more mormonism. A lot less body horror. Take all that as you will!

#scarathon #scarathonphotochallenge #teamBOOklovers

Man this one hurt. A painful exploration of grief and how it grows in ways you can‘t expect and shapes relationships and sense of self.

Very well written. The last part hurt me.

#scarathon #scarathonphotochallenge #teamBOOklovers

In retrospect, I should have saved Mooncakea for this prompt lol

But this is the only other TBR Book I have with a moon on the cover so here we go! Maybe I‘ll try to get an actual shot of the moon tonight- but everyone knows how well those turn out.

#scarathon #scarathonphotochallenge #teamBOOklovers

An excellent anthology of native horror! The narrators had great range too. Please do yourself a favor and pick this up- I‘m going to get my hands on a physical copy asap!

Of the 26 stories- I think I like Collection and Scariest. Story. Ever! the most

#scarathon #scarathonphotochallenge #teamBOOklovers

I‘ve been neglecting poor Archibald so I let him help me take a picture of todays Scarathon Photo Challenge post!

I am sorely lacking in witches in my TBR- this one is the most obvious lol.

#scarathon #scarathonphotochallenge #teamBOOklovers

Kinda cheating a little but the cover is mostly orange shades!

I‘m super excited to get into this one this weekend!

#scarathon #scarathonphotochallenge #teamBOOklovers

Another from the TBR because work is eating me aliiiiive

# 9 - Dark! Kind of a stretch but this is about a club party that lasts waaaaay too long.

#scarathon #scarathonphotochallenge #teamBOOklovers

I may have missed yesterday‘s photo challenge post- but I won‘t miss today‘s prompt- Coffin!
Another from my TBR- but Kel McDonald never disappoints!

#scarathon #scarathonphotochallenge #teamBOOklovers

A really fun and surprisingly action packed read for Scarathon and a great fit for number 6 on the photo challenge “Shadow”!

This one was a trip. A lot more modern fight-back-survive-the-night over a slow creeping dread. Saw and Ready or Not Vibes. It felt a liiiittle preachy in places but overall fun!

#scarathon #scarathonphotochallenge #teamBOOklovers

My current audio read and my pick for # 5 on the Scaratjon Photo Challenge! There‘s only a little blood (so far!) but this one is shaping up to be a great read.

#scarathon #scarathonphotochallenge #teamBOOklovers

Back on track with the Scarathon Photo challenge- and a new pal for Archibald my Skelefriend! Meet my new fave little ghostly ornament. Unnamed as of yet but SO super cute.

Not yet finished with the tagged book- but so far really good and touching.

#scarathon #scarathonphotochallenge #teamBOOklovers

Oops oops oops looks like I never actually posted this one! Haven‘t finished quite yet, but it‘s shaping up to be a compelling dark academia murder mystery!

#scarathon #scaratjonphotochallenge #teamBOOklovers

Kingfisher never disappoints! I love the protagonist for this one. I wasn‘t expecting it to go as long as it did- and I say this with all the affection in the world. I got bait and switched into a fourth act I wasn‘t expecting, but really liked.

#scarathon #scarathonphotochallenge #teamBOOklovers

Despite the name, a solid collection of 20 short stories perfect for the first #scarathon post!

This also nails the first prompt for #scarathonphotochallenge - Black!

#teamBOOklovers

Oops!
Almost forgot this one too.

Short list, mostly because I never get around to it. But if I do one thing it‘s gonna be that apple. So good.
If you‘ve never watched Gravedale High it‘s a campy early 90‘s cartoon and worth the youtube search.
And last but not least- Archibald is my sassy skelefriend in my previous post- but he needs a new pal this year I think.

#scarathon #teamBOOklovers

Archibald, Quackers, and I are late- but not missing these points!
My overly ambitious physical TBR- my audio TBR is at the whim of my beleaguered library.

Hope everyone has a fruitful and spooky Scarathon 2023!

#scarathon #teamBOOklovers

I‘m super slacking but it‘s almost time for the most spookiest time of the year!! Sign up link below- go team BOOklovers!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdnawYo1IDsBAr2s_LlqzBQlxM8KGwIqDxE1Dm4...

#scarathon2023 #teamBOOklovers

An extremely fascinating read! I learned quite a bit and just how far back the representation stretches. I for one would have never thought of All In The Family as being groundbreaking for any minority group- but I‘ll be damned.

Be aware there are era appropriate slurs, so if you‘re sensitive to that don‘t get caught off guard. It‘s a very respectful and nuanced look at the past both distant and near.

A light pick- if only because it was batshit but could have been so much MORE batshit.

I wanted more publishing world tea, more barely disguised contempt for people the author has met, more horrible people to make the MC look good for a split second and make you go HEY WAIT.

I liked it, it was funny, the ending was wild, but I wish it went full tilt batshit

Solid collection of short stories! It‘s got some supernatural, some magical realism, some straight up human- drama. I really liked the last story in particular, but honestly none of these “missed” outright. The style is quick to take in and enjoyable, even if the story isn‘t your fave the craft is very well done.

I didn‘t expect to like this half as much as I did. It was heart wrenching at points and surprisingly funny. The ending hurt more than I thought it would too- and this was just supposed to be a quick fill in for a Storygraph challenge!

If you‘re into historical fiction give it a shot- it just might surprise you!

I always feel funny reviewing memoirs I didn‘t super like- I did like most of it! Just not the more present parts of her life. It felt like it diverged in tone - which makes sense? Like you can‘t look back on life that is happening at that moment with the same amount of life you‘ve lived looking further back.

Overall- don‘t let the title deter you but be prepared for the shift as it gets closer to current times.

This was a wild ride. Bizarre character driven borderline nonsense that reminded me of Gilmore Girls almost? But also I‘ve never actually seen Gilmore Girls I just know there‘s some pretentious flat talking.

But hell if it wasn‘t enjoyable!

It is extremely funny to me that gatekeepers in a fandom are the same whether they‘re championing a video game, tv series, anime, or a guy who died 400 something years ago.

Very fun in a grind-your-teeth kind of way. Overall Winkler presents a lot of varied opposing points that are very grounded and convincing.

Personally I think Shakespeare was just a producer who slapped his name on things.

Another #bookshelfclearout and good riddance!! This was insufferable. Everyone sucked, everything sucked, it was sticky and gross without even going into gore and if I didn‘t have this on audio I‘d have DNF‘d.

It all just felt mean spirited. Which may have been the point! But I didn‘t enjoy my time on the journey or arriving to that point.

I did have a very appropriate enamel pin to go with it though 👍

#bookmail !
Bookmail from me to me lol

I went down a rabbit hole and watched a Youtube video about ergodic literature (think House Of Leaves, which I also brought LOL ) and was hooked by the concept. In the video S was mentioned and sounded the most interesting so snatched it up- thanks Thriftbooks!

#backlogpost

I wasn‘t sure how much I liked it right after I read it- but looking back now I like it more! The multiple POV‘s are different but cohesive enough that it doesn‘t feel like a fun gimmick. Plus the ending was great I was yelling while walking the dog - in a good way like YEAH GET HIS ASS.

Fun!

I really liked the styles of this one! It‘s very twilight zone- especially the first part. Though I did also like the last story particularly- the dialogue was best in that one I felt.

Another #backlogpost

This one wasn‘t bad! Buuut it super engaging either. A lot of it was very lyrical and purple prose-y that didn‘t land with me.

The story is fun though! It‘d got good gothic vibes for a YA audience. I just wish it kept the lyrical parts to one character instead of having them interspersed.

Got a bit of a backlog to post here so here‘s an audio of a hardcover I finished earlier this year!

I ended up liking and not liking this as much as I wanted. I was looking for more Big Fish than what it gave, but that assumption from the blurb was on me. Overall it was really touching and adventurous, but I did unhaul it after I was done.

It did make me cry- so take that for what it‘s worth lol

Strange little book. It reminded me of all the pretentious musing I‘d do as a teenager in my fancy Moleskine journal, except about a double decker super store in France.

Yes yes capitalism is bad and the self check out is scary and we‘re always on camera especially in big box stores. There- saved you $16 or a library loan.

I don‘t know- maybe historical fiction isn‘t for me. I always get so aggravated.

It‘s a pick only because the MC doesn‘t take shit… most of the time. Also because of the ‘hideous progeny‘ in question and location made me laugh once it clicked. You‘ll get it if you read, if not, I‘ll spoil in the comments.

Oof this one hit closer to home than I thought it would. Add it to the ‘made me cry‘ pile. I‘m glad it hurt the way it did. The healing was worth the hurt.

The audiobook narrator was really good too. Highly recommend that format for this book.