I‘m not sure I‘ll reach my goal of finishing my backlog of audiobooks this year, but I have got the TBL down to so very few! Up next! #currentlylistening

I feel like I‘m on a winning streak with Goodreads! Two books in two years. LOL Excited to read this one next!

Rebus is on trial, and the aging, ill, retired detective may not be able to get out of trouble this time. The latest Rankin was a tad slower than previous additions to the long running series, but still enjoyable. In fact, what I loved about this book, was Rankin‘s skill in giving the reader only what the characters have, and leading you on what turns into a shocking ending.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one is a mixed bag for ppl, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. This one really shows that Reid can write real people, with real trauma and anxieties and disorders. And that‘s important, because ppl need to see themselves represented in books, and HEAs. It‘s not all about the wham-bam. The slow burn build up to the MCs discovering themselves is just as important.

Plus, Stardew Valley.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not that I really need to be sold on a Reid book, but when the MC mentions a Stardew Valley and chill day with her friends?? I squeed, because guess what my fave thing to do while listening to an audiobook is?? 🤣

It‘s been a hot minute since my last Reid… read. Next up for #currentlylistening!

A mix of paranormal and mystery (little more mystery though), The Sun Down Motel is a place where a lot of people have gone missing from, died at, or just generally met misfortune. In 2017, Carly is trying to discover what happened to her Aunt Viv in 1982, who mysteriously disappeared during one of her night shifts. Split POV between Carly and Viv unveils the mystery slowly but intensely. A great listen!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A bit of a delay but the reading challenge is done and dusted!! Tagged the official 180th book (an adorable manga series I‘m currently reading!). So far the totals are:

79 GNs/Manga
41 audiobooks
65 novels

Happy Reading!! 😊

I think my brother will enjoy this more because it is mostly The Maxx. Batman is clearly a secondary character used as a sounding board for The Maxx‘s crazy rambling. Sometimes it works and it got a few snorts out of me, because it is ridiculous, and that‘s what I expected. The art is beautiful and it is like a trippy dream world.

Overall, expect crazy… and you‘ll love it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The next audiobook! #currentlylistening

My brother loves The Maxx. I‘m a diehard Batman fan. Usually we don‘t share likes or interests but this? This might be our moment. One of his Christmas presents… and yes, I‘m reading it before giving it to him. LOL

Well that‘s a big nope. I got far enough to realize that I really didn‘t like any character. What I got was just a group of whiney, unstable couples. Sure, stick them all together for the weekend and see what happens. 🤦‍♀️ The narrator also decided to do zero voices… which meant the constantly switching POVs were completely indecipherable.

Less than ⭐️

The next audiobook! Only 6 audiobooks (not including my credits for the next two months) left in my library! Can I finish all before the end of the year?! 🤷‍♀️

Where are my Ward fans at? After the last few duds, I‘m not sure I want to continue. I might just wait until Lassiter‘s book before getting any more.

@CoverToCoverGirl

I‘m struggling staying focused on full-length novels lately. Manga has been my jam and I‘ve been devouring volumes as they come in (delivery man has been busy). Despite that, I‘m trying to get back into novels. Here are my two latest choices! Two of my fave authors; extremely different reads.

Honestly, Reid knows how to end a series by picking the right couple. Dan, alone, makes this book beyond enjoyable! His idioms, antics and use of the F-word are amazing. The narrator for him, was perfect. Cat and Dan, together, were even cuter. The only downside to this novel, is it felt cut off at the end. I think this is the only time I‘ve had this complaint, but it didn‘t take away from the overall enjoyment I had.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not my favourite Ito. While his art was beautiful and scary as usual, the stories fell flat, felt disjointed and cut short. I‘d say this collection of short stories were mostly of the body horror nature, and that usually isn‘t my favourite. Overall, a meh.

⭐️⭐️

I‘m still in the spooky mood, so I‘m continuing even though I may not finish by October 31. What‘s more scarier than humans? #currentlyreading

While this novel kind of felt like it was tripping over its feet in the beginning, it really took hold later on. I‘ve watched Hocus Pocus so many times, I was reading the novel using the voices (and songs) of the movie. Overall, I really began to enjoy it. And the illustrations? Absolutely gorgeous! I wish there were more!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really will take any story that features gods, but Lore Olympus is probably my favourite in graphic novel form. It‘s awkward high school, meets grown up issues. It is gods behaving badly in the greatest of ways. And it is so beyond beautiful. Eagerly waiting for volume 4!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Is it that time of year for me to scare myself reading an Ito? Yep, yep it is. Here we go. 👻☠️🎃

I‘m always sad to reach the end of a Reid series… but I have already started her newest Three Kings trilogy.🤣

This is a perfect example of an epic journey in graphic novel. I‘m glad it‘s back up and running because it was such a long hiatus!! Saga is definitely in my top 10 of favourite series, and it continues with the hilarity, action, intrigue, heartbreak and beauty.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I think this story is still trying to find its footing. Two volumes in and I still really don‘t know what is going on, where it‘s going, or the actual point. The stuff that‘s keeping me connected is the Berserker lore and that‘s about it. I‘ll keep going for a third volume, but I sadly feel it‘s running too slow.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

While my novel TBR pile/shelf is completely out of control, my GN/Manga TBR pile is kept up! Here‘s my current October choices (two more manga volumes on the way😉).

A perfect spooky read! Ambiguous enough so the reader is unsure if the issue is psychological, paranormal, or completely fake. Did it scare the hell out of me? No. But I did close the book multiple times and look at the dark corners of my room for shadows. It‘s unnerving.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Performance wise: amazing! Production wise: amazing! But overall it didn‘t really jive with me in this format. At times it was hilarious, scary, disturbing… and then at times, it dragged to the point where I almost zoned out. I did zone out on the last chapter (pictured), and barely listened. It was just to get it done.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I‘m so in love with this series! Super excited to finally get volume 3. Will be diving in shortly!

I think if I were to describe a near perfect first volume, it would be this one. Enough craziness, action, and story given to keep me engaged; but also, plenty of tidbits dropped to keep me wondering about future volumes. The title is the synopsis and it seems a fairly ‘simple‘ storyline, but they‘ve added so much more to keep it on the fun side of crazy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alright, I slept on it, and I‘m going to stick with Hyperion, but I need a break. I think I‘m just in full spooky mode that it wasn‘t jiving. October is for 👻👻! So here are my two choices to get me in the mood for 🎃🎃.

Oh boy, all… I‘m faltering on this. I‘m maybe half-way through the Soldier‘s tale, and there are literally pages I‘ve ‘read‘ and have had no idea what I‘ve read… I don‘t do well with sci-fi for this reason. I get the premise. But man… I didn‘t make it through The Canterbury Tales either… 🤦‍♀️ This might be my second DNF of Simmons‘.

Let‘s try this experience! It‘s slightly spooky right? 👻

When I first read Hendrix, I thought he was a female author, he wrote females so well… and then there‘s this. Yikes. I don‘t know why ‘trauma‘ has to equate to selfish, annoying and spoiled, but I had zero sympathy for any of these characters. It‘s a trope I‘ve seen before, and hate. I should be able to empathize a little bit for characters that have gone through terrible events. Don‘t make me hate them. And the narrator? Yikes. All round bad.

It‘s officially spooky season! So let‘s get some spooky books going! #currentlylistening

Oh these books are a slow burn, but we‘re getting there! The story is just so cute and sweet that I wish volume 5, and on, were translated and out already! I can‘t wait to see where Mika takes Kakeru and Yamato, but I‘m oh so excited to see!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Well my night‘s been decided! Manga delivery waiting for me after work! 😊

Probably my fave Hendrix so far, and that‘s mostly because I cringed, I laughed and I snorted while driving home. It was both creepy and disgusting, and yet hilarious (the product intros to each chapter, that get increasingly disturbing… amazing!). I feel like I won‘t be visiting an IKEA anytime soon. But if I do, I know what I‘ll be keeping an eye out for.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It‘s almost October which means it‘s basically Spooky Season! 👻🎃💀☠️ Let‘s get the spooky listens going!

Quite a sentence! #FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Gotta get a Dan Simmons read in each year. Next book club theme is a Hugo award-winning book!

Well the vacation reads are locked in: 2 audiobooks, 2 novels and 4 mangas. I‘ll be starting my last novel today, but probably won‘t be able to finish it before the Sunday drive.

Whole series review: overall, I enjoyed this humorous parody. It‘s not for everyone but I enjoyed the over-emphasized ridiculousness of the characters. Levi‘s cleaning was extreme; Connie was beyond stupid; Sasha was almost murderous with her food obsession; and oh Reiner, Bertholdt and Erwin. Story wise, some chapters were a flop and more filler than others, but it ended on a high note.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I‘ve reached the last volume, with 3 more days to go of vacation. No more quick reads, but I do still have a novel I can start if needed 🤣. Prepared.

A sweet, wholesome story of two childhood best friends, where unrequited feelings develop. Yamato and Kakeru are so beyond adorable in their cluelessness. It is just the right amount of ‘Awwww‘ with a story that tugs at the heartstrings.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I‘ve been enjoying a quiet week at my parent‘s house, spending time outside (fall weather with a heavy plaid jacket = heaven), and getting some reading done! Next up!

I got drawn in by the cover, had no idea what it was about, but thoroughly enjoyed it. Literally small tales surrounding a kingdom, it‘s full of intrigue, suspense, darkness and moments of joy. It‘s an interesting world, and ends in such a cliff hanger, that I‘ll of course get the second volume.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I toured KP a while back. In the dome, there was a picture of the prison after the riot. It was quickly shown and dismissed without discussion. As Fogarty discusses, the events at KP and other prisons are largely kept under wraps. Here she clears the air, focusing on the riot in ‘71 but also discussing the failings of the penitentiary system. An enlightening and engaging read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Yeah I loved this one. I thought it was going to be a memoir on the dark side of fans but it was actually the most crazy, 10% memoir, 90% fan fiction story about the dark side of fans. The audiobook was genius. Most of the cast of Next Gen joined in and between music and sound effects, it was a full immersion experience, and a fun commentary, making fun of what can certainly become a scary situation.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So thoroughly enjoying these that I‘m now at the penultimate book in the series! #currentlylistening

An ex-Marine and an ex-CIA operative get married… fast forward 14 years. 🤣 It sounds like a crazy joke. But this one was refreshing, because I don‘t recall reading a romance of a nearing two decades, married couple. It was still crazy and snort out loud funny, but the trials and tribulations were different. And that was fun to experience.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️