My favorite read for the month of June is Strange Practice. This is a fun monster story wrapped up in a murder mystery. Great characters. Loved it.

Not the tagged book.

An interesting novella. A look at the end of the world as we know it. A father/daughter relationship is at the heart of the story. While I was rooting for them, I did feel that the daughter was very annoying. I know she is supposed to be young, but her constant questions made me want to yell at her.

This book had an interesting plot. In her last year of training as a child psychiatrist, Hannah encounters a patient that is possessed by a demon.

This book had so much potential to be great. I would have loved to go into more depth on the children. Unfortunately, the writing style was very simplistic and things were resolved too quickly. It might be interesting for the author to revisit this idea in a few years after some more experience.

Does anyone want a Pokémon Go friend?

5825 6911 3676 is my trainer code

I thought this book was amazing. First of all, Black Wells, Colorado was such a cool setting. A town with a million residents that manages to stay mostly hidden, and full of creepy happenings. Lauren, a newcomer to the town, gets attacked by 3 spirits while out on the town. She is referred to an ex-priest and current exorcist to help her. I would love to read more with these characters. The writing was great and I enjoyed the whole book.

I loved this. A good old fashioned monster story. Well written and exciting. An earthquake releases the Crota from the underground cavern where it has been imprisoned for centuries. When some bodies are found horribly mutilated, people blame it on a bear. Then the sheriff has a run in with the Crota, but no one believes him.

I felt the story moved at a fast pace and was great. I definitely recommend this book.

I loved this book. I felt I was reading a very original story. It took me places I usually don't find in books. There is so much to like here. The mysterious family mansion in the woods with the creepy room full of books and the insane asylum next door kept me guessing until the end. Ben was a good protagonist and I was never quite sure if he was innocent or not. The image of the moths covering the dead twisted trees will stay with me awhile.

An amazing story, and hard to believe they survived for so long stranded in the antarctic. The descriptions say the men were constantly wet from snow, ice and rain. I feel they all should have frozen solid! The book ends with them all being rescued. I was hoping for a little more about their lives after rescue, but still a great book.

A short, 60 page story. This is different from other shifter romances I‘ve read because it is a male/male romance and one of the men is asexual. I loved the representation and the attempt to educate others who don‘t understand asexuality. A cute little love story.

The book follows two cases. A bank robbery where a murder occurs, and the death of Harry‘s former lover Anna. Anna‘s death is ruled a suicide but Harry is sure it was murder.

I enjoyed watching Harry try to solve the two cases. The book was great until the last couple chapters. Then it was just a massive info dump as Harry explained what happened. I think fans of the series will enjoy this but it may be a bit hard to follow otherwise.

There were interesting parts but over all I didn‘t feel this was anything special. Cassie‘s parents have problems and do not give her much guidance. Her sister is becoming distant and the local boys are being attacked. Cassie wants to figure out who is attacking the boys. She doesn‘t seem to have any thoughts about her own safety. I felt the most tension in the book came from Cassie‘s relationship with her father.

My reading for May 2022. Nine books. My favorites were Crota and Bloodless. Currently reading Endurance by Alfred Lansing.

My top book for May 2022 is Crota. A good old fashioned monster story.

The Last Podcast on the Left is an entertaining podcast. Both informative and humorous. This book tries to recreate the magic of the podcast but falls flat. The narrative is interspersed with comedy material. The jokes mostly fell flat and soon became annoying. Luckily the jokey comments were written in a different color so I began to skip them. The paragraphs about the serial killers were pretty interesting. This could have been so much better.

I love this shoutout to my favorite mutant animal movie Prophecy 😍

My plans for a relaxing 3 day weekend. Currently reading Crota.

Very interesting and very confusing. People become infected and start seeing the world differently. They believe everyone around them has turned into monsters and they must protect themselves. Meanwhile the uninfected don‘t understand why the infected are suddenly trying to kill them. Each side has their own version of truth. Makes you question the very nature of reality.

A good story about mysterious deaths in New Orleans. Pendergast and Coldmoon are brought in to solve it. There is an unexpected sci-fi element at play which surprised me. But then I remembered Relic so I guess there is a precedent.

I enjoyed reading this. I loved the setting in New Orleans. Constance is here too and contributes to solving the case.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

The fifth book in a series of seven sisters. Takes place in the 1200‘s in a world similar to our own with the addition of some magical elements. I didn‘t care for the writing style. Time passed in jumps. One chapter on one day, the next in the next month. I felt no connection to the characters and just wanted to finish so I could move on to something better.

Does anyone subscribe to the Bookish Box? Do you recommend? I was thinking of trying it.

The final book in the trilogy. We get a lot more of the Andie and Sascha will they or won‘t they. Andie‘s brain works overtime to find a compromise everyone can agree with. And the vampires show up!

All in all a satisfying ending.

I am reluctantly enjoying this series. Andie is a very confused character. Her sister/cousin Rhona has turned from her new best friend to her new mortal enemy. She is making the werewolves look like the better option. Sascha is still super horny for Andie. She is increasingly horny for him. And her best friend Wade is turning into the best part of the book. On to book 3.

I thought this book was wonderful. It takes place almost entirely during a mountain climbing expedition. I love reading about experiences and places I will probably never visit.
I loved every minute of it. Cecily and the other members of her expedition were interesting characters. I was kept guessing the whole way through.

I received a free copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars. I feel like I need to reread this to better understand it.

The conversations between Ambrose and Martyr are so annoying. I can see why Martyr hates him.

I'm loving the novella within the novella.

This book was disturbing, mainly for the fact of how awful people were acting when they knew the world was going to end. The first half was pretty interesting. The second half just got crazy. Because this was a story of a sentient planet, I just went with it. I hate to say it was unrealistic, but that's how it felt, especially when the planet was spinning towards the end. The imagery was stunning. 4 stars

This felt a little formulaic. Like so many other books where a woman is pursued by an Alpha male, or in this case a Sigma male. I felt like Andie, the main character, was just stringing along Sascha, the werewolf. I didn't really understand her on again off again vibe. And I kept expecting it to be revealed that she was half werewolf or something, to explain her sexual attraction. So, I will probably read the next book in the series.

This wasn‘t a bad book. It‘s just not what I was looking for at this time. I‘m giving up, about half way through.

A sweet meditation on life and taking it slow. The author has a debilitating illness that keeps her bedridden. She begins watching a snail in a potted plant to pass the time. The author and the reader both learn a lot about snails.

At one pont she mentions The Quest for Blank Claveringi by Patricia Highsmith. That story of giant man eating snails traumatized me as a child.

The word of the day is “desuetude”. Although I can gather the meaning from context, I have not seen this word before. It means a state of disuse.

Kari is the new owner of the Serenity Animal Sanctuary. Her ex-husband shows up claiming they are still married and he wants her property. She must find out if they are really still married and how to stop him from destroying the sanctuary.

The actions of the husband, Charlie, really made me angry. The nerve he had in demanding Kari‘s land and business made me instantly hate him. He is a greedy sociopath. I enjoyed this book.

Kate‘s sister Lacie disappeared while vacationing at their summer home on the coast of Maine. 18 years later Kate returns following the death of her mother, for the first time since Lacie went missing.

The book was good but felt formulaic. I guessed some of the reveals but not all. This shows that you can never really know someone.

I received a free ARC from LibraryThing and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

11 books read this month. Breathless was my favorite, although Kingdoms of Savannah was a close second. In my 2022 reading bracket it is just edged out by Empire of the Vampire for the top read so far. Both are excellent books.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I got this book. But it said it was a mystery, and I do enjoy mysteries, so I gave it a try. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It is well written and interesting. The book starts right off, jumping into the action. A young man is killed. Another man is in jail, claiming he was framed for the murder.

I received a free copy from Celadon Books in exchange for my honest review.

The book started a little slow, but by the end I was fully invested in the characters. Anders, a journalist, travels to Frick Island for a story. While there he meets Piper, recently widowed and acting as if her husband is still alive. Anders becomes fascinated with her, and by extension all the islanders. He also learns that the island is threatened by rising tides due to climate. He wants to help both Piper and the island.

I was hoping for more. Slow to start, some obscenely rich people decide that the world will end, and they are the only ones who will survive. The characters were so unlikable. I did find myself interested towards the end. I wanted to see what would happen. Unfortunately the ending was a disappointment for me.

I was drawn in by the cover. The first half was good, but the second half was better. Once Tybalt has his encounter in the bar things got weirder more interesting. This is a story of cosmic revenge.

I downloaded this free from Amazon after seeing another post about it.

Started out great. I liked how Lori kept trying to tell herself she wasn‘t a serial killer groupie when clearly she was. As Lori and her sister Abby got further into their journey to see the river man, Lori‘s true persona came out and boy was she a terrible person.

The book itself started out interesting, following the lives of gay men who disappear from Toronto. Starting in 1984 and going to 2016, I felt the time jumps were very abrupt. We would be in one time line, and the next chapter would be in a new year, following new characters. It got to be too much, too many people.

I enjoyed the supernatural aspect of this and wanted more. And I didn't understand the ending at the dinner party.

This started out great. Unexplained deaths, with feathers around the body. Slowly the detectives realize these people were killed by pigeons. Things get crazy when the pigeons increase the attacks. I really enjoyed it, until the pigeons started talking. Then it felt silly.

I received a free copy from Book Sirens and the author in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date July 7 2022

How wonderful it was to be back in the world of Rizzoli and Isles. It was like reuniting with old friends. And I loved how much Angela was featured in the story. She played a big part in this one. Her voice was fun and refreshing.
The central murder case was interesting and kept me guessing.

I received a free copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely adorable. I was left with a smile on my face.

At the suggestion of his parents, Hudi is trying to find a sports activity he likes. We watch him try several until he finds his true love, theater. I love Hudi‘s optimistic attitude. It was great seeing him throw himself into everything with such enthusiasm.

Elementary/middle school reading level.

The story of Annie, who served as a maid on The Titanic and later as a nurse on its sister ship The Britannic. As a maid Annie develops feelings towards Mark, one of the passengers. Later on the Britannic she runs into Mark again, this time when he comes aboard as a wounded soldier.

The timeline switches between the two ships. The story on the Titanic was fascinating. There is a mild supernatural element here with possible ghosts and possession.

Even though this is an ARC and not out until July, this was my favorite read of the month.

I read 9 books this month. 3 were good, 6 were average. I recommend Listen to Me, Chunky and The Deep.

3.5 stars

Pippin and Grey are trying to lift the curse on their family, with their fathers research to guide them. A group of evil treasure hunters is also trying to get to the information, although not to lift the curse, but in the hopes it will lead to ancient treasure.

After 3 books they still don‘t seem any closer to solving the overarching mystery. The murder of the antiquarian book dealer seems incidental and doesn‘t move the story much.

My favorite- Tiptoe by Laird Barron and Skinder‘s Veil by Kelly Link.

Yes, I did get a Shirley Jackson vibe from the book. The stories were good but nothing spectacular. I think because the stories have a sense of dread, but never really show you anything.

Thank you to LibraryThing and Beaufort Books for this lovely ARC. I am excited to start reading this suspenseful thriller.

From an author known for extreme horror, this was pretty tame. The snowy wilderness setting was nice. A hunter in the frozen woods comes across a woman who needs help. Helping her is not a good idea.

3.5 stars. Body horror. A woman‘s journey to find her true self and where she belongs in the world. Angela is so beaten down by men‘s expectations of her that she doesn‘t trust her own feelings. You find yourself rooting for her to take back her life.

The story in 1962 was fascinating. The horrors of life in a asylum combined with the horror of a real life boogy man. It all felt very realistic to me. The framing story, set in the present, wasn't as interesting and seemed unnecessary.

I didn't know what to expect with the book and was pleasantly surprised with the storytelling. I enjoyed reading it.
I received a free review copy from Book Sirens in exchange for my honest review.

Janie and her companion Andrew get an opportunity to join a circus. This circus is fantastical and they travel aboard an extravagant cruise ship to get to their next location. The time spent traveling on the ship was fascinating and probably my favorite part. It seems like the perfect job, except for the circus owners, the Mandeville's. They demand perfection and will fire anyone who doesn't perform up to standard.