An overall solid mystery/thriller with a good twist ending. Well crafted, but with an unlikable main character. 4⭐️

I only had 3 5 star reads in June, and I may still add the others in Wild Card spots. This tagged book was the most fun read and helped me get out of a reading slump. It is a delight!

Here is my #Junereadingwrapup!
19 books read, 1 DNF
5⭐️ reads:
The Hollow Dead by Darcy Coates
The Ornithologist‘s Field Guide to Love
Can‘t Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan
King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby
16 Audiobooks
2 Ebooks
1 Manga

Here is my #bookspinbingo board for my #JulyTBR!

My #bookspin pick is The Vengeful Dead by Darcy Coates, which I actually finished yesterday.
My #doublespin pick is Cascade Failure by L. M. Saga

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.
What a fun book, and impressive debut novel! This takes inspiration from the classic locked room mystery and gives it a horror twist. I would call this Clue crossed with 13 Ghosts - two movies that I adore, and the concept worked well.⬇️

A very satisfying finale to this series. It has been great following these characters and gradually unwrapping the mystery of Keira and her abilities. If you are a fan of cozy mysteries and ghost stories, I highly recommend this series. Note you do want to read these in order! 5⭐️
#bookspin pick done!

I enjoyed this slow burn Romantasy overall. It has inspiration from Peaky Blinders but the magic systems is reminiscent of The Last Airbender and some other supernatural creatures. This is a very slow burn romance and the first half is quite info dumpy as this is the first book in a series. I really liked our protagonists and I look forward to continuing the series.

Bailing on this one.
I am a mix of bored from the repetitive story and super frustrated at various character‘s stupidity. #hailthebail

Here are my #roll100 picks for my #JulyTBR!

Down These Strange Streets - short story collection
The Road of Bones by Demi Winters
The Lightning Bottles by Marissa Stapley

S. A. Cosby does it again. Writing a timely devastating thriller, this time about a family that makes tough decisions and the consequences they must live with. The author does such a great job of making you care about morally grey characters, he is an auto-buy author for me now! 5⭐️
Another #bookspinbingo!

I‘m just not fully engaged, and I don‘t know why, all the elements are there. Also characters keep making stupid choices and it‘s annoying. So DNF.#hailthebail another #bookspinbingo & #roll100 done.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. This was overall an entertaining vampire horror/thriller. This takes place in the 70‘s, post Vietnam War. The time is important as our main character Duane Minor is a veteran, working at his in-laws bar. He has some mistakes in his past, but is working to be a good husband and guardian to his wife‘s niece Julia.⬇️

This was a fantastic contemporary romance. As always Kennedy Ryan creates main characters that you absolutely love and root for as they go through difficult circumstances. This book also deals with contemporary issues without simplifying or sugar coating. I think this my favorite of the series, as I have loved Hendrix throughout the series, and her finding such an amazing love interest was wonderful.⬇️

Here‘s my July TBR. It‘s summer break so I‘m back in more concrete TBR mode. As always I‘m participating in #bookspin #doublespin #bookspinbingo & #roll100 to chip away at my never ending TBR. 😎

A solid installment, though it definitely feels like a middle book and a little long/repetitive at times. It is still great to be back with these characters, though I am very concerned about their well being at the end of this book. 4⭐️

I can see the appeal of this set of interconnected stories. Some say it‘s even cozy. I just found it sad and just ok. 3⭐️

An adorable and funny historical romance with a touch of fantasy. The banter between the love interests is great and I read this slow just to savor it. 5⭐️

This started with a exciting premise but ultimately fell flat and the twists were quite predictable. An easy fast read though. 3⭐️

A just ok follow up that had a lot of moments of repetition, some from book 1. Not terrible, and does answer questions left hanging in book 1, but I doubt I‘ll continue more if this has future books. 3⭐️

Another beautiful chapter in this manga series. 4.5⭐️

One of my favorite in the series, with a well realized world and characters you grow attached to in a short time. A sad ending as the portal books tend to be though. 4.5⭐️
#doublespin and another #roll100 pick done! I‘m now caught up with this series too.

Another great installment in this paranormal mystery series. We start to get answers to the overarching mystery and I‘m excited to read the next (and last I believe) book in the series. 5⭐️

A new, unique vampire story with multiple intertwining POV‘s. I was engaged and liked the overall story but there were a few elements that kept me from loving it. Some of the timelines felt long a bit boring. The repetition of the title throughout made start to think, ok we get it already! A little additional editing would make this a more consistently engaging story. I still recommend for fans of vampire stories & fans of the author.⬇️

This is not an easy book, that mixes real historical horrors and paranormal horror. The first half is quite slow, but very fascinating. The second half is more horror/thriller and action packed. This story is told mostly in journal entries and has three points of view. It is a wholly original vampire tale from an indigenous perspective. If you like historical fiction and/or are fan of this author I definitely recommend.⬇️

A cute cozy mystery, which begins a series with a town of delightful characters that also happen to be animals. I look forward to checking out more in this series. 4⭐️

A solid second half of this epic Viking Romantasy story. It had a slow first half, and I was frustrated with our heroine. However, the action kicked up the second half and wrapped up our story in a satisfying way. 4⭐️
#bookspin done as I got this from the library.

A unique suspense horror with inspiration from Little Shop of Horrors. This was a fun read, great audiobook.
The plant is the best character of the story, the humans don‘t quite compare. There are a few convenient moments and the ending didn‘t quite hit for me, but I would recommend this one. It is not too gory and something new. 4⭐️

This was a fascinating sci-fi that poses the question “what would we do if things in our world just start to disappear?” This has elements of mystery, horror and a bit of an unconventional love story (not a romance). There is also a book within the book which is a horrific story on its own. This is not a happy book, but I am glad I read it. 4⭐️
A #roll100 TBR book done!

Here is my #bookspinbingo board for my #JuneTBR!
My #bookspin pick will be a Library Book
My #doublespin pick will be Adrift in Currents Clean & Clear by Seanan McGuire.

I read this for my RL book club and it was my BOTM for May. Overall I liked this. It was a mashup of family drama, mystery and a little bit dystopian. The children and their personalities were the best part. I didn‘t love the two adults and never quite felt chemistry between besides forced proximity. Beautiful writing though! 3.5⭐️

Here are my #Mayreadingstats:

17 books read
3 DNF‘s
3 read on Kindle
14 via audiobook
1 ARC - Psychosis Diagnosis 4⭐️

5 Star reads:
Shield of Sparrows, Age of Legend, Victorian Psycho & The Lady Who Left.

Biggest disappointments: Great Big Beautiful Life-I think I‘m done with Emily Henry. The Love Haters by Katherine Center-DNF‘d twice due to eating disorder not written well.

Slowly checking out T. Kingfisher‘s backlist. This was a fun read, but not as good as her later books. This began the world that I so enjoyed in Swordheart and The Saint of Steel series. So worth checking out if you are a fan! 3.5⭐️
One more #bookspinbingo for May. And another #roll100 off my TBR.

Sad to see this series end, and sadly this was my least favorite of the series. This is mainly due to it just being too long. Some additional editing would have worked wonders. I do love the characters though and what a great love for fan favorite Rio. A soft pick for sentimental reasons. 3.5⭐️ #roll100 book done

This is a very unhinged and gory horror novella. There is a mix of horrors of the Victorian age and actual gruesome murder - written in extreme detail. Both entertaining and disgusting. This would make a great movie - my recent watch of The Ugly Stepsister on Shudder made me want more historical horror. 5⭐️
#bookspinbingo #2!

A truly excellent fantasy romance (very slow burn). This has genuine world building, characters that you care deeply about and I cannot wait to continue this series. Highly recommend to those that like a good love story in their fantasy but an actual story and not just steamy scenes. 5⭐️

Soft DNF, I‘m a bit bored, may return to this later.

Here is my loose #JuneTBR to again allow me more mood reading. As always I will be participating in #Roll100 #bookspin #doublespin & #bookspinbingo

Another solid entry in the Wayward Children series! 4⭐️ Another #roll100 pick done!

A fast entertaining read. It was fun to follow Millie the maid again. The writing isn‘t great, but the author is good at writing a fast paced read with a good twist. 3.5⭐️

This started strong but veered off course 2/3 of the way through. I also never really felt Cam as a character nor understood Dusty‘s love. Dusty was great though. 3⭐️ Just ok.

A cute mystery with a touch of romance. Not amazing, but an easy quick read. 3.5⭐️

First #bookspinbingo!

Here are my #Roll100 picks for my #JuneTBR! My goal being to read down my owned TBR.

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a solid mystery thriller with supernatural elements. The first thing to note is don‘t judge this book by its cover, it is far more complex and interesting than the cover implies. We have three main POV‘s two young men and one single mom all dealing with complicated family and relationships. The audiobook had a full cast as well.⬇️

This was an engaging vampire thriller (I would definitely label this more thriller than horror). Told through 2 perspectives and letters, this is a strange disturbing story of desperation. Definitely one to check out if you want a new type of vampire story. 4⭐️

I really enjoyed this new and original take on epic fantasy. A young woman is given the chance to live and falls into her favorite fantasy epic. It is funny and full of delightful characters. It did feel slow at times and could have used a bit more editing, but I really liked the overall story. I look forward to book 2. 4⭐️

This was an excellent entry in this series. I can‘t really dive into it as it is book 4 of the series. This does have great character moments, action and moments of anguish. I will be getting to the next book next month for sure! 5⭐️
#roll100 pick done!

A solid and overall fun historical romance with a considerable amount of steam. I am interested in checking out more by this author. 3.5⭐️

This is a gut punch of a read. If you read the original trilogy or saw the movies, you know this is going to be tragic. However, the author still gives us hope@and keeps us reading and then crushes you to itty bitty pieces. Still an excellent read, but now I need to go rewatch/reread the original so I know it is not all for nothing. 4.5⭐️

I think if you work in a library this is for you. I‘m bored.
#hailthebail

This was a fine read. This is a comfort series for me, nothing super surprising and the characters are lovable. A little bit of annoying miscommunication, but it was short lived. 3.5⭐️