Someone else described this as feeling like AI was fed scripts of Golden Girls and told to write a cozy mystery, and this is what came out. I 100% agree. It was just…not for me. I love the GG, but I couldn‘t do this one. I made it 100 pages, and was so tired of St Olaf wedding traditions. 😔

My favorite book of April! I need the sequel!

Books of Horror Indie Author Brawl 2025! I‘ve loved everything I‘ve ever read from Ben Farthing, and this was no different. What a fun ride! It had some genuinely creepy moments, and some great body horror.

I just reread this book for a bookclub; the first time was in 2021. In these ensuing 4 years, I remembered nothing. None of the plot, not the ending, nothing. Now I don‘t normally remember books that well since I read so many, but generally when I reread something I‘ll start to go “oh yeah…that‘s familiar…”. Not with this. But hey, I enjoyed it, so maybe in another 4 years I‘ll enjoy for the first time again!

This had me until the epilogue. If it hd ended at the end of the last chapter, I‘d have been a lot happier.

Besides the epilogue, this was fun. I enjoyed the gore, and I laughed out loud a couple times. And I REALLY want to know what happened at Applebees.

I was not expecting this to be as good as it was. It‘s a bit of a slow start I guess, but when it gets going, it REALLY gets going. I got so frustrated with the main characters, which I think we‘re supposed to. The slow and insidious horror…so good. And 50 years later, it still seems timely. “Whatever I‘ve done, you‘ve let me do.” (Shivers)

Red Inside, by Bridgett Nelson. I‘d say 3 1/2 stars. I was here for the beginning, when the spiders were first appearing. It quickly became…a lot. Like, the characters would be together and then someone new would say something, and I‘d think “wait where did they come from??” That happened I think twice. And I know they needed to explore the whole hospital for the book, but immediately jumping to “the children‘s cancer ward!” was flimsy…cont…

Mall horror is fun! I do wish there was more of it. This story was fun, and art was great, and I loved all the creatures.

Mall horror is fun! I do wish there was more of it. This story was fun, and art was great, and I loved all the creatures.

I absolutely adored this book. The world-building was so much fun! All the characters had so much personality; I loved the Five. I‘m in love with Aspeth and Hawk‘s love, I‘m in love with the beautiful book itself (the cover and the edges are gorgeous!), and even Squeaker has a bit of my heart. All the stars and hearts and spicy pepper emojis.

This was fun! It was like a call-back to the stories I‘d read my kids about cute animals and their lives in a small town. Except here we have serial killers. And Samantha is pissed that someone is murdering people in her hometown, which she never does; she goes to the big city for that. What will she do??

I loved this! Is this the next ACOTAR/Fourth Wing?? I hope so! I loved the world building, this world of fae. The magic, the intrigue, coming war…I need the next book like NOW.

I‘m so glad I went to Kansas City‘s comicon and found the booth for Lexi Night. Read this!!

While it wasn‘t the most exciting month for reading, this was definitely my favorite.

Since a new book is coming out, I figured I needed to catch up and read this one. I did see the movie, so I knew the overall story, but I still enjoyed the book. Could‘ve been shorted; it dragged on in several places. It‘s a little clunky, but was interesting to see all the tie-ins to the original trilogy.

This was cute. Though my least favorite of the trilogy, the ending to the wives‘ story was very satisfying. Overall a delightful journey.

This was a fun, wild ride! It had some creepy moments, some laugh-out-loud moments, and a lot of statements about society. And I want to say that I am one of those people that watch the Oscar nominated shorts. I seek them out, and go to theater to see them. Also, I have this thing with the word “vast.” I love it, and take note of it in every book I read. Cont in comments…

This was surprisingly poignant. While not as creepy as circus tent or puppets, I found the exploration of being an older woman intriguing. As my kids are getting older (my youngest is 13), I‘m staring down that shift in life, from care-giver to empty-nester to needing to be cared for. And that change in life, that trying to accept a new life, is so scary.

This was an interesting read. Like the author, I love basketball. I played it as a kid, though in high school I focused on soccer. I grew up going to University of Memphis basketball games (Memphis State at the time!); my parents have stories of me being a baby and being passed up and down the row with other season ticket holders. March madness is my favorite time of year.
Cont…

This was good, but not reeeaaaallllyyyy good. I got very frustrated with Cass. She was so over emotional that I got to the point I was rolling my eyes. Like she flat out panicked every time she heard any sound. It got old. Still, it was fun, and while the ending was pretty predictable, it was satisfying.

Definitely my favorite book of February!

I loved this book! To use my teenage daughter‘s favorite word, it was whimsical. The writing is beautiful; the magic seems to come off the page. The characters are so great and alive, though I admit my favorite is the apple tree. I loved every minute of the story.

Absolutely fantastic book. I had all the feels while reading it. Just…heartache and hope and terror and light and darkness and sorrow.

This was a quick read. I enjoyed the drawings, and did NOT see the ending coming. I had a whole other idea of what was going on. Glad to be wrong—this was a fun ride!

Domestic abuse books are hard to read; they sometimes bring back bad memories. This one was harder than normal, so I looked up the end—I had to know what happened before I could proceed. Still, the book was a very quick read and very tense.

I mean, it‘s not like there was any other choice for this month…🐉 (Although House of Deceit is 2nd!)

I do love Sierra Simone, but this was my least favorite of hers I‘ve read (which isn‘t saying it‘s bad, it‘s just that the bar with her is so high). My biggest complaint is car sex; I can‘t get into her doing stuff to him while he‘s driving, because all I‘m thinking about is how dangerous it is. And honestly, people at the dinner table would know. Iykyk.

I think the reason I gave this four instead of five stars was how long it took me to get into the story. I almost dnf‘d several times, but stuck with it. My husband loved the book and asked me to read it, so I kept going. It did eventually pick up and the last 100 or so pages were really fun. Was it worth the previous 300+ pages? I‘m not sure. I liked it enough, but…(cont in comments)

Like how am I supposed to just go on with my life until the next book?? HOW?!

I loved it! I loved seeing more of Parker (physically and emotionally 😏), and Anya is so fun. Plus the characters we loved in the first book were there! The story is super cute and made me smile, kept me turning the pages for just one more chapter. The book itself is gorgeous—the cover is beautiful, and the page edges are a matching pink. Is the next one going to be Dom and Ryan?? I know it‘s basically Taylor and Travis, but I‘m here for it!

If not for my book club, I would never have picked this book up. I‘m glad I did though. I found Denver‘s story so compelling. It‘s so humbling to know that someone who was basically in slavery, who spent decades as homeless, can be so loving, so spiritual, so faithful to God. In his place, I don‘t know that I would have that grace. The world is a better place for him being in it. As well as Debbie, who was an angel. Cont…

This is definitely an interesting book. I found the writing too flowery, but it does keep the story very surface-level, much like the desired beauty in the book. I loved the gore and body horror.

It was fine. The stories were ok, though there were some grammar issues. I prefer Durgin‘s novels to his shorts.

This book is delightful! I loved all the characters, and I loved the reality show aspect. Super fun. I could have used some more 🌶️, but that‘s my only complaint. I already have House of Desire. ❤️❤️❤️ READ THIS BOOK!!!

Super quick read, very typical Freida McFadden. Not her best, but still a fun ride.

Honestly I‘m just relieved I finally finished it. The sentence fragments drove me crazy, and the language was pretentiously flower-y. I didn‘t care about the characters at all; any of them could have died and I wouldn‘t have cared. The murder mystery was interesting, and the characters could have been interesting, but the book was about 300 pages too long.

This was…weird. Not scary, not even creepy, but disturbing. There‘s a short prologue that happens 100 years ago, then the bulk of the book that‘s 15 years ago, then the last 35ish pages in present time (relative, since the book was written in the late 70s). I think I read most of the book like 🤨.

And I have to say every time the town, Port Arbello, is mentioned, all I could think of was portobello mushrooms.

It was ok. I thought I had it figured out, but I was wrong-I did not see the twist coming. Even still, the story was lacking. I didn‘t like Sydney at all. Red herrings were thrown in left and right, and some were painfully obvious. Still, it was a quick read, and I‘ll definitely read more Freida McFadden. This just isn‘t her best.

This was EVERYTHING. I love the world-building, the characters, the story, the 🌶️🌶️🌶️…oh the smut. It has AAAALLLLLL the smut. I cannot stress how much I love this book, how the characters were constantly wrecking me and rebuilding me. ❤️❤️❤️

It was a REALLY hard decision with my favorite book of the year. I loved Fourth Wing so much, but this one just makes me emailed every time I think about it.

Impulse, by Megan Stockton. Jason is having a bit of a midlife crisis. While on his way to cheat (again) on his wife, he picks up a hitchhiker. He quickly realizes he made a huge mistake. The story is immensely satisfying. TW for SA and graphic violence.

Well, it wasn‘t great. It was not well-written, the pacing was wild, the scenes laughable. But…I enjoyed it. It‘s like a movie that‘s so bad you love it.

Besides Violet and Xaden‘s relationship annoying me, what am I supposed to do now?? How do I just go on with life all nonchalant while waiting for the next book?!

This was ok. There was a lot less revenge than I was expecting. Also, the grammar mistakes were a little distracting. The writing was well done, the characters good, it just fell a little flat.

This is a collection of short extreme horror stories. The whole thing is less than 90 pages, so it‘s a quick read. And holy sh!t it‘s gross. Loved it. Title: Sick! Sick! Sick! By Robert Essig.

It‘s a cute read for Christmas. Since the blurb about the book is in first person, I didn‘t know the main woman‘s name until I started reading it (I know, I‘m dumb). My daughter‘s name is Elle, so that was…weird. Couldn‘t get into the sexy times. But still a cute story.

The stories are hit-and-miss, but there are some good ones! Especially the titular story, last in the collection. Duncan Ralston rocks.

This was fun! It put us right back in the world of Frendo, about a year after the events of the first book. It‘s a quick read, with lots of action, and a couple fun twists.

I had to bail at 50%. I couldn‘t take it. The writing was so pretentious, and it felt like the author was trying so hard. Twice using the word demure to describe the same character‘s face? No thanks. Also, a viola is not a fiddle. A violin is a fiddle, but not a viola. Two different instruments. That was so frustrating, like a quick goog could have taught him they‘re not the same.

I loved being back in Christmas Notch! Winnie and Kallum are adorable, and I enjoyed it, even though I‘m not a fan of the trope in the second half of the book. I‘m ready for Isaac‘s story now!

I could not put this down. It was addicting and fast-paced and twisty. But the last like 2-3 pages…what? How? It made flip back to previous chapters, trying to figure stuff out, and I still have questions.