Twisty!
Jac left her hometown in a cloud of suspicion after her father‘s death, years later she returns after her grandfather-an armchair detective- dies &finds 2 cold case files left unsolved. Theres more, including a nefarious location locals refer to as “Murder Manor”.

Everything comes together, some quite a surprise. Jac‘s impulsiveness had me ready to scream, but it was realistically panicked. Family drama, mystery, murder& more murder.

Soft pick. I liked the setting & the characters but when the point of the whole scenario started happening it kinda fell apart for me. Didn‘t hate it. gory slasher vibes, fast paced.

I never make one of these, but I had a crummy reading month (for me), maybe this will keep me from the social media time suck. #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

Val is sent to find Tormund, Jon‘s broken vow to Stannis to keep her close weighs on him.
Bowen March confronts Jon, the men have concerns about Jon‘s taking in wildlings, splitting men to other forts, selecting Satin as his squire… & guarding corpses that will rise as wights
They call his offer to Tormund treason, but Jon says if they defeat the enemy in the wildlings, they will rise again as a worse enemy.

Balon Swann arrives with The Mountain‘s head. They toast to Tommen. Areo Hotah watches those who do not drink, including Obara, Nymeria & lTyene
Doran proposes to send Tristane &Myrcella to KingsLanding, his nieces have concerns, they seek vengeance, &Ellaria pleads for peace
Doran discovered that Cersei is planning an attack on Tristane that will frame Tyrion
They decide to gram Darkstar for Myrcella‘s attack & send Nym with Myrcella

My attention span is at an all time low but I keep buying books. Audible BOGO sale got me today.

Reek reminds Ramsay‘s bride that she must only think of herself as the role she‘s in, even as she tries to get him to remember who he was.
As the “closest thing to kin”, he is to give her away. But he knows this isn‘t so. By using him no one will question her
Reek thinks back on all the things that happened at Winterfell
He is asked to escort her to the bedding, to unveil her & “help” He feels it‘s a trap, a test… so he does

Dany visits the Astapori camp outside Meereen. She feeds them ignoring warnings. They help bury the dead & wash the sick
Later Dany dresses to dine with Hizdahr, she grudgingly agrees to their betrothal rituals but refuses to open the fighting pits
Daario‘s return interrupts dinner. The Second Sons have gone over to Yunkai. The have to close the gates & arm the walls -locking out the Astapori. She gives in to her desire for Daario

Jon goes beyond the Wall to take new recruits to the weirwood. Wildlings are camped nearby, Jon says he does not want battle here, most of them are wounded, Jon encourages them to shelter at the Wall but they heard wildlings were burned. He curses Melisandre &promises them safety
He has a letter from Stannis telling of Bolton‘s plans for Arya & Winterfell. Jon tries to reconcile Arya‘s situation with Melisandre‘s vision &what he is doing to help

Tough one to rate. This started off really strong, maybe a little dry, towards the end it got very gruesome …&so much starts happening, some characters/plot points disappear &return.
I will likely continue the trilogy because I am pretty invested in Rin & where her choices may lead her.
#authoramonth @Soubhiville

I‘ve been slacking on my #authoramonth selection, I have about 150 pages left & I‘m not leaving here till I finish it.

Bran learns to warg into a raven,but he feels another presence.A woman,long dead,part of her remains in the animal
When the others go to the river,Bran slips into Hodor‘s mind, Hodor allows it easily now
Jojen is ill, Meera is sad,Bran feels useless
Bran puts himself in the weirwood, he can see the past-present-future.Visions of young Ned, a boy &girl child (looks like Arya),a woman asking for a son to avenge her,a white haired woman with a sickle

On the ship Moqorro looks into the flames seeing a small man with a big shadow.
Tyrion frets about Penny &feels badly that someone killed her brother for Cersei‘s reward for Tyrion‘s head, but refuses to take the responsibility or guilt. As she works through her grief they become friendly
Moqorro has a vision of a twisted thing with 1 black eye & 10 arms, sailing on a sea of blood

Ramsay returns in a foul mood, as does Roose who reports the Freys that were with Lord Wyman are gone. Wyman stopped to feast &the men disappeared
Roose &Ramsay try to keep stories straight about the Starks/Winterfell, Reek struggles with the repressed memories
Roose takes Reek &reveals he knows about Ramsay‘s wickedness. He offers to clean Reek up, but Reek is terrified. He is brought before Lady Barbrey &announced as Theon heir to iron isles

She looks into the fires for Stannis or the girl in grey, but she sees a wooden face &a wolf boy. Then Jon again, enemies all around him, daggers in the dark. “I pray for a glimpse of Azor Ahai and R‘hllor shows me only Snow” she thinks
She asks Rattleshirt to find the girl she presumes is Arya to win Jon‘s trust
3 rangers heads are on spears, Jon orders them burned &asks her to look for the remaining rangers
She reveals her plan to him, &a glamor

Liked it, didn‘t love it.the writing doesn‘t seem mature or researched enough for the subject matter example- a main POV is an FBI agent but most of the detecting relies on chance encounters &her sending texts to an analyst who spits out answers.
But it was bingeable &as trope-y/stereotypical as the characters were I was still excited to see it pan out.

Dany counts the enemy ships. She needs ships but there is no timber to build. There have been no killings for 26 days, Hizdahr has made good on his promise but some are suspicious
Astapor has fallen. Nothing can stop Yunkai. The survivors flee to Meereen, but they are ill. Dany is counseled not to let them in. They also appeal to her to free the dragons &use them against her enemies
She needs Hizdahr in hopes to unite the city against their foe

Hey #lmpbc friends! Thought I‘d check in &say hi & see who has what books are where 😅 no hurry with mine, but I am interested for thoughts on 🛸👽
@Readergrrl @Captivatedbybooks @BethM

Davos has written his goodbyes but Robett Glover comes. His brother was &is again lord of Deepwood Motte now that Stannis took it back
Lord Wyman has killed someone &posed him as Davos. A farce for the Freys. Wyman‘s son is home &his games are almost done. He brings in Wex, Theon‘s squire who saw Winterfell fall
Wyman still has a force of warships that will benefit Stannis -if Davos meets his price
Wex has told of the escape of 2 Stark boys

Thoroughly enjoyed this. The pieces come together fairly early so it‘s not as much about the mystery as the action. Finally writes complex characters, bad people trying to do good things, or doing horrible things for somewhat understandable reasons &good people who have done bad or irresponsible things. Bingeable.

Jon sends out rangers. He spars with fledglings.Rattleshirt calls him out. Jon is astounded by Rattleshirt speed with a two handed sword. Jon topples him, they fight with fists &Rattleshirt is the clear winner
News arrives:Ramsay is marrying Arya, who he presumed died in KingsLanding. But he has only his Brothers at the Wall now
He encounters Melisandre who tells him not to hide from the Power he &Ghost have, 3 rangers will die &Arya will come

Tyrion gets to know his captor. They see Benerro the red priest telling of the prophecy, Dany stands in peril with minions of the night plotting her destruction. He is put in fetters &taken to an inn. His questions are evaded but soon it is reaped that he will be taken to Meereen. They go to a widow to book passage, but she does not trust Jorah. The widow tells Tyrion to take a trading ship bound for Qarth &to tell Dany to hurry

Ramsay has taken Moat Cailin… &sent a piece of Theon. Asha knows they will come for Deepwood Motte.
She refuses to go to her husband, her lover suggests Old Town, but she‘s not ready to give up the isles.
They are attacked in the night. They make for the ships but unable to safely travel the woods in the dark, they wait. Before daybreak they are caught by Northmen. Asha fights fiercely but is out matched by a man with an ax. She hears a trumpet..

I really liked the MC I found him very nuanced &relatable. His deal with God leads him to being a Good Samaritan helping a neighbor, &then a quest &a then another quest with much higher stakes. Very endearing. Too long in the middle, but I did like the distorted fairy tale elements.

#losersclub

Quentyn expects to face Dany soon, to marry or fight he doesn‘t know. Rumors of Dany‘s rise to power &her alleged madness are spreading. Quentyn & Gerris debate the best time to desert the Tattered Prince, knowing steep consequences if caught. The Dornish are called before the Tattered Prince, surprisingly, he has decided to play both sides &send them to defect to Dany

Griff is growing impatient. They arrive at the camp of The Golden Company & he presents his son as Prince Aegon. Strickland had previously spoiled the announcement. All are increasingly frustrated with Dany‘s lingering. The Prince proposes going to Westeros to make his claim instead. It is agreed. Griff takes the glove from his hand seeing the growing grey, hoping for time to see his son on the throne

Dany is finding it hard to combat the Sons of the Harpy‘s cruelty. But she doesn‘t wish to be a Butcher Queen. She is encouraged to marry someone with noble Ghiscari birth, Hizdahr. She only feels stirring for Daario but considers it if Hizdahr can stop the killings. Ser Barristan says they should stop lingering & proceed to Westeros. Daario returns &they dine, but he oversteps asking her to lure out her enemies &she pushes him away.

Tyrion wakes on the Shy Maid. He & Young Griff/the prince play cyvasse &prods for details of his escape from Robert &his plan for Dany. Tyrion advises him to go to Dorne &raise his banners then head on to Westeros to impress Dany
In Selhorys a priest is urging people to war for the Lord of Light. Dany is fulfilling a prophecy.
At a brothel & stinking drunk he is surprised by a knight with a bear on his cloak who wants to take him to the queen.

My first time reading Frieda McFadden.
This was good! Very binge-able. A few things irked me (Adrienne is really stupid for an MD/PhD) the twists got CRAZY but it all worked.

Stannis has marched South while Jon travels to the freefolk at the Wall, but the food shortages bring short tempers. Jon sets his terms, reminds them of their common enemy &has 63 recruits. But they still need training &feeding.

Audiobooking this month‘s #losersclub while I play Princess Peach Showtime.

Todays mini haul / did I need these things?
I wasn‘t trying to buy this Jeneva Rose book (I like her more than I like her writing 🤦🏻‍♀️) but I found the one with the bloody handprint (& I know that‘s a THING) & red edges. & the graphic edges on Toni Adeyemi‘s book called to me, they are in Walmart edition blue. I just bought the 1st book at the used bookstore last week. Haven‘t read it yet. Hopefully I like it 😂

Reek is sent on a mission by Ramsay to secure Moat Cailin. He comes with Ramsay‘s terms, claiming that he is ironborn, true of the boy he once was. But the guards are unsure, Victarion told them to hold. He tells them, rightly, that Victarion has forgotten them, Euron is crowned &has other wars
The castle secured, Ramsay rewards him. He drinks himself sick. The next day they proceed on & meet up with Roose, Lady Walda &Ramsay‘s betrothed “Arya”

So good. Juliet is amazing. Roma & Juliet are enemies again &Juliet needs to keep it that way, but then they are forced to work together to find a blackmailer. The gang fighting gives was to civil war. Alliances change. And there‘s still monsters to worry about. So much happens. Could be too much happens but the characters motivations are clear throughout. Really good.

Davos faces Wyman Manderly with the Freys in audience. The Freys have spun their own tale about the Red Wedding &Robb Stark‘s role. Davos explains that Tommen is not Robert‘s child but he sent his proof awAy. Cersei has captives in KingsLanding, but Lady Wylla pushes back, they should fight on behalf of the Starks. But “Arya” is being married to Ramsay Bolton, she tells of Ramsay‘s misdeeds & is ousted. Davos is seized & threatened with death

I read the 1st in this series with #lmpbc Witchy group we all rated it “eh” to soft pick, but I was in the mood for some 🌶️ & fluff so I tried the 2nd book. The world is established but it‘s a much slower setup, doesn‘t quite fit “enemies to lovers” since the enemy has amnesia, 🌶️doesn‘t start til much further in (fine, but not what I expected) does get really entertaining towards the end but the setup is silly &harder to care about the couple

The Shy Maid travels through the fog. The debate Garin‘s Curse, or greyscale that causes cracked calcified skin. Tyrion thinks of poisoning Griff. Tyrion reveals he knows the identity of Young Griff -saying his father Tywin laid down his body beside his sister‘s as a gift for the new King. Revealing himself in the process. They fight the stonemen, in the fight Tyrion is pulled under water unable to get free

This was crazy. I was riveted through most of the book. Loved the theme of algorithms making ethical decisions, or rather the people responsible for them. Manipulation from people in power or with a political or financial agenda. Just really crazy, probably too close to the truth stuff. PLUS the whole soap opera with the secret lives of the Passengers. The ending rushed a bit, but it was quite good.

The Wall will run out of food if they have to keep feeding Stannis‘s men &wildlings. Jon has no immediate solution so they cut back rations. Rattleshirt has been bound to Melisandre. Jon advises on battleplans, he draws the line at arming them. Stannis again implores Jon to take his fathers name &Winterfell. He declines. Jon send Stannis to the mountain clans for more men &after the ironmen at Deepwood Motte. Wildlings will stay at the Wall.

The weekend begins 🥳🎆

Xaro of the Thirteen propositions Dany. She needs his shops &trade with Qarth.He offers trades she can‘t make, but gives a gift of a fleet. With the condition that she leave for Westeros now.
Astapor needs her help to defend against Yunkai‘i she says they have to defend themselves.
The shops are solid, but there is the issue of what will happen to Meereen w/Dany gone. Westeros must wait.
Xaro leaves insulted, the ships left behind, war is declared

Davos arrives in White Harbor. He is hopeful that Lord Wyman hasn‘t picked a side until he sees a Warship with Lannister banners.
He overhears men talking about the other Kings -& Viserys & Rhaegar‘s baby & finally of Dany- but not of Stannis.
Deterred, but not willing to give up hope, he calls on Lord Wyman

Griff forces Tyrion into sobriety. But he finds other ways to amuse himself lusting after Speta Lenore, tumbling & playing games. He plays a game of cyvasse with the Halfmaester gambling for secrets. But still thinks of the wine as they reach Nymeria‘s palace &he thinks of Tysha

I was really excited for this one after reading The Survivors for #authoramonth …this is more about the family drama than the mystery so the issue may have started with my expectations, but the middle of this book felt like a slog. But I liked Nathan & Xander, the brotherly Christmas brawl w/Bub & the setting in the rural outback.

It was too gloomy for my beach day plans yesterday so I went and traded a few books at Book Barn, got Children of Blood and Bone & The Mere Wife (which I‘m really excited about, I was looking for that author‘s Beowulf translation & this is a retelling. Im intrigued. I didn‘t go to Chapter 3 which is usually my fave because my thriller/mystery backlog is out of control. But I did stop Downtown for a $1 copy of Carrie for when #losersclub resets.

Jojen‘s health declines, Meera struggles with him as Bran, Hodor &Coldhands make for the cave. The wights attack. Summer &Coldhands take the brunt while Bran pulls himself away, but Hodor is in danger &Bran is in his skin, fighting as Hodor &helping Jojen. Saved by a girl with a torch, she leads them on, but the ranger must stay behind. Tangled in the weirwood is a pale lord who says Bran will never walk, but he will fly

In the dark dungeon eating rats, Reek has lost all sense of time when Lord Ramsay calls him from his cell. The other lords at the table realize who Reek was, the Stark‘s ward. He counts his missing fingers & toes as Ramsay shares news of his upcoming wedding to Arya & enlists Reek to come to fetch her.

Sons of the Harpy have killed nine of Dany‘s servants. she decides Meereen must defend itself & considers hostages &torture. She comforts Missandei, pines for Daario. Quaithe comes to her &warns of the pale mare, Kraken and Dark Flame, Lion and Griffen, the sun‘s son & the mummer‘s dragon
The people request fighting pits opened
She goes to see 2 of her dragons who have been chained down after the child‘s death, Drogon has flown off

The beginning was very good. River‘s childhood was quite sad &strange. It‘s clear throughout the book how he was used by his parents. classic scenario of child stars who are substance abusers and/or hanging by a thread but no one cares as long as they‘re bringing a paycheck

The book though was incredibly disjointed with random 90s stuff added in to fill out the whereabouts of the Phoenixes &friends. Things not fact checked, misspellings, etc.

Ok. I‘ve had some issue with this book that I have let go. But calling Hocus Pocus a forgettable comedy?! A whole cult classic. (& Rosie O‘Donnell was not in it, who fact checked this)