so-soI‘m not sure if I‘ll complete #BOTM‘s #PagePulverizerChallenge, but I‘m trying— this was a #LollyFinalist2024 & the beautiful cover set some high hopes for me…but, the 9 levels of Hell in this haunted house/deadly game show frankly got repetitive. The family secrets failed to shock & mostly this felt like it was steam without substance to the central romance… the OCD added a modern twist but I just wanted something more from this chunkster!
pickThis was such a fun holiday romance. I devoured it and wish I could have stayed with the characters longer. #BOTM
Book 33 of 2025
pickI‘m surprised this was a #BOTM offering, because it‘s a strange story…entrancing, but a weird genre blend. The Haddesley family keeps to themselves on their WV land, inside their crumbling manor bordering the cranberry bog (no mention of the spiders, the one bit of creepiness I was prepared for!). When the patriarch lays dying, his estranged daughter returns after a decade. These 5 adult children flounder in this fresh but grimily beautiful book.
“Catty lines up another bottle on the wooden stump. A swing. A crack. For one brief, beautiful second, the glass dust hangs suspended in the glow from the streetlight, glittering like mist before it falls.”
V.E. Schwab has a way with words.
#botm #vampires #lesbianvampires
pick#Read2025
Getting all my November reviews in so bear with me! I finished this one a couple of weeks ago, switching between my #BOTM & the audio book & I quite liked this unusual story of a guy who can taste the favorite foods of the dead & make them appear when he cooks the dish. It did get a bit long in the middle but I was caught up in Konstantin‘s story & the blend of foodie novel & ghost story. It even ended up on my #AuldLangSpine2025 list.
pickSet in WI, this mystery starts off a bit slowly, despite its strong initial hook with a dead teen found. Shaky Lake, with its woefully underfunded police department welcomes assistance on the case from the Chicago FBI field office. Meanwhile, the sheriff is as concerned with the case as her own son‘s (& deputy‘s) well-being as he flounders with his own PTSD. When a drug connection emerges, an even larger plot unfolds. A bit predictable but solid.
