#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville

I'm late posting, but this was the one book I was able to read last month for this challenge. Growing up in Southern Louisiana on the Texas border, my family traveled to Galveston a lot for quick vacations. I knew about the severity of this storm from stories I was told as a kid, but I found the science/meteorology information to be fascinating.

I love a nonfiction read that is educational and entertaining.

Such an interesting mash-up! This book is combination of an alternate history, sci-fi, western, with a bit of horror tossed in.

The story is set in 1931 on a Mars colony where 13 year old Annabelle works at a diner with her father. A nearby mining town harvests The Strange, which makes people turn odd with exposure.

Annabelle was a great character and I loved her robot sidekick. Some aspects needed clarification, but overall I enjoyed it.

I went into this read without any knowledge of this crime or of D.C. Stephenson. This was a difficult read, with graphic content about many horrific crimes, but Timothy Egan writes in such a compelling, informative way that I couldn't stop reading this one.

The similarities between Stephenson and some current people in our society are shocking and remind me how important it is to know history so we can see evil and stop it before it's too late.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Keeping June to just categories instead of specific books since I've been a mood reader lately.

#NetGalleyGroup #NGGSummerSmashUp @AllDebooks

Goals:
1. Focus on reading my June/July/August ARCs.
2. Read at least 30 mins of a NG book each day.
3. Do not request any more ARCs until after this challenge. (I may have a problem because I can't stop requesting 😂)

#NetGalley

I've never read this author before but I've always liked reading dark, gritty thrillers set in the South. Wade's writing has been compared to Cormac McCarthy's and I can understand that based on the setting and the tone of this story, but the writing styles are different.

Beasts of the Earth explores the deplorable side of human nature while also showing the struggle it takes to try to be a good person when surrounded by evil.

For fans of spooky YA reads, put this one on your reading list.

I enjoyed the witchcraft/occult storyline being told through two timelines. Ivy's character was well-developed and I liked the growth she showed in her decision making as the story progressed.

Melissa Albert is a great storyteller.

#NetGalley #ARC

I'm a big fan of this author, regardless of my opinion on this book. The idea was intriguing- Mexican horror films, the occult, magic, and Nazis. Personally though, I wanted more creepy atmospheric vibes and that doesn't start happening until the halfway point of the story.

I liked the characters, but the pacing was painful.

I'll still read anything this author writes though, but this one just wasn't for me.

It has been years since I read a book by Lehane and after finishing this one I'm upset I've been missing out all these years.

This book isn't going to be for everyone, but I loved it. Although it's marketed as a thriller, it's also a look at relationships, neighbors, community, and how one person's actions can affect others.

This was a fun read!

Tara Conklin delivers excellent satire about the people and events that take place in a middle-class suburb.

I enjoyed the way the online message board was incorporated into the story.

Charming and hilarious, and just a good read.

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

My bookstore would be open 24 hours so all the night owls and insomniac readers like myself have somewhere to go. And I'd love to have an adult size blanket fort for people to read in.

I'd also love to incorporate an animal rescue with it so there would be furry friends around for adoption and to get comfy with while browsing or reading.

Potential name, Paws & Pages.

@LocalTXLibrarian what's your dream bookstore?

#SeriesLove2023 @TheSpineView @Andrew65

Books that involve folklore from other countries intrigue me and make my inner fairytale loving child excited.

This book uses African folklore/mythology and the tragedy of the slave trade to deliver an amazing Little Mermaid retelling. 💚 It has adventure, heartbreak, romance, and a heroine who will stop at nothing to make things right.

I hope the sequel lives up to this one.

I'm a fan of unreliable narrators and I enjoyed the slow descent into madness that the reader felt through our unnamed narrator.

Obsession is a strong emotion and this book does a great job of showing just how far a person can go.

This was really close to being a pick for me but there was a scene that I had a hard time with that made it a so-so. I'll put it as spoiler in the comments.

I love Lydia Millet! 😍 That being said, this is definitely not my favorite by her and I would not recommend it to people who haven't read other books by her previously.

Millet yet again delivers an insane story full of satire and social commentary that had me engaged and entertained.

And then....she tossed in an off-the-wall ending that was completely crazy, yet strangely satisfying, even if it left me thinking WTH did I just read. 😂

MG/Juv authors impress me with their ability to address such complex issues in a way that's accessible to young readers.

This story involves a boy already struggling with being Black in a world that judges him based on his skin, who also is coming to terms with the fact he is gay. I fell in love with King and was cheering him on every step of the way hoping he'd find the love and acceptance he desperately needed.

This was a beautiful story.

Racism and abuse are addressed through two views in this heartbreaking story. Ella, an 11 yr old, has experienced far too much pain in her young life, and Ms. St. James, the only white character in this book is coming to terms with her exposure to racism through her father, a Klansman.

Set in Mississippi in the 60s, I felt the author did a good job of putting the reader in this turbulent time of history.

It's a difficult read, but a good one.

I judged this book before reading simply because it says "a love story" on the cover. This YA historical fiction was great though.

Hazel is such a strong female character. She wants to be a surgeon in a world that refuses to let her. I loved the experiments, and that Hazel wasn't just portrayed as some fainting girl at the sight of blood.

This book has mystery, science, social/class injustices, and a budding young love that didn't annoy me. ?

I loved this MG read! 💚💚💚

The story follows a young girl who just moved to a new town. Her family is at odds over the move and she finds herself seeking comfort at the local library. She discovers a book that takes her on an adventure that she certainly wasn't expecting.

The author's love for libraries, librarians, and reading is apparent throughout. And the adventure was full of mystery and excitement.

#SeriesLove2023 @TheSpineView @Andrew65

Going in I really had no clue what this book was about. I didn't read the cover flap, or look up reviews, I simply picked it up because a friend mentioned wanting to read it.

I love that the author starts with a trigger warning page complete with resources for people. Although there are a lot of TWs, this book is still absolutely amazing. The main character is a badass female assassin. Need I say more? 😉

Nope.
This did not work at all. The insta-love made me want to throw the book at someone, the sex scenes were ridiculous, and the overall thriller/mystery storyline wasn't developed well enough to be interesting at all.

Fans of books like Verity by Colleen Hoover may enjoy this one, but I wasn't a fan of that one either.

This audiobook was available through my library so I decided to read it early for #camplitsy23.

Let me just state that I rarely read books in this genre because they normally make me bored and/are irritated. But this book surprised me because I actually really liked it. 😀

It worked great as an audio and I enjoyed the characters and even found myself laughing at a few parts.

As a child who grew up when satanic panic was sweeping the nation, I thought this book did a great job of addressing how people reacted during that time.

I'm a fan of books that use a true crime story to spin a fiction story. While this book isn't perfect , I enjoyed it. It's more a psychological thriller than a horror read. The two timelines were a great way to have the story unravel too.

I'll definitely be trying other books by this author.

While I didn't like this book as much as I had hoped, there were still some aspects I thought were brilliant.

House of Cotton is more of a character study focused on Magnolia than a gothic horror novel. She finds herself alone and without any money when her grandmother dies and what follows is her struggle to survive as a young woman in the South.

It's dark, gritty, and has some supernatural components with even more trigger warnings.

This book, and Vera, were an absolute delight. Yes, the murder mystery it revolves around has it's unbelievable moments, but as a whole, this is just a fun, fast read that doesn't disappoint.

Vera and her found family will warm your heart and make you laugh.

I really hope the author gives us more Vera one day. 💚

May #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Hopefully I'll be better this month with my Litsy reviews too.

I haven't been as active on Litsy the past few months but I couldn't miss out on getting my books in for #CampLitsy23.

Thank you @squirrelbrain @megabooks and @BarbaraBB for doing this again. I can't wait to see the longlist. All books will be tagged in the comments. #CampLitsy2023 #Camplitsy

Loved the idea, but I ended up getting bored with the story. The characters weren't as well-developed as I would have liked which made the story start to drag. And the romance aspect was too predictable.

If you're looking for a light fantasy read without too much depth, this one would be perfect.

This dystopian novel focusing on choice, women's rights, and how society forces us into boxes to define ourselves had sections I truly loved, but overall it felt incomplete.

The story starts with young girls given a ticket; a white ticket means a husband and children and a blue ticket means a childless life to focus on your "freedom" to do whatever you want.

I liked it and the thoughts it brought up, but there are better reads out there.

This one was a soft pick for me. I found it easy to read and the mix of heartwarming moments and funny moments made it a quick read for me.

The two sisters are a bit eccentric and their relationship felt genuine. The storyline from their childhood was stronger than the present day. Also, I enjoyed the ads turned into poems. Although I'm not sure they added much to the story, I still found them entertaining.

Loved it!

I read this a couple weeks ago, but I'm very behind on my reviews here.

Hendrix does a great job of mixing creepy moments with flat-out hilarious moments. I always tell people that reading Hendrix for me is like watching a cheesy horror movie, which is something I love to do.

The dolls/puppets in this one really spooked me. 😱

I love Katherine Applegate and Wishtree might be my absolute favorite book by her. 💚💚💚

She explores themes of acceptance, racism, love, and friendship and uses a talking tree to bring everything, and everyone together.

This book made me want to just sit outside and listen to all the nature around me.

#NetGalley

What a great old-school horror novel! It's dark, full of TWs, but it's a creepy read that had a few similarities to early King.

A horror writer trying to get on the bestseller list again comes in contact with an ancient evil. He suddenly can't stop writing but it comes at a price. 💀

I really enjoyed this one and I'm excited to read more by this author.

This was such a smart read. I loved the dark humor, the feisty female characters, and the exploration of how women are treated in India.

Parini Shroff has a way of presenting injustices in a clever story that leaves you pondering things long after you've finished this one.

#NetGalley

I love that so many overlooked women in Greek mythology are getting recognition with retellings. I applaud this work for the way it handles the struggles of women, while also focusing on Phaedra's quest for justice. However, this book had way too many different POV's and our main character never really found her voice through all the extra noise.

This was a very unique fairytale retelling. A support group of women meets once a week to tell their stories of survival. They've been labeled by society as liars, gold-diggers, and whores, and all they want is for the truth to be told so they can move on from their trauma.

How to be Eaten is a dark look into how women are often treated by men and by society. I love that the author used fairy tales as the background stories for each woman.

I can't believe I've already read over 100 books this year. I might have a reading problem. 😂

Sometimes you just need a good body horror story to freak you out and keep you up at night and Eric LaRocca is a master of that genre.

Each story was like a gory bad dream that I couldn't wake up from. The writing felt so real in parts that I had to step away because of the intensity and yet I still couldn't wait to see what happened next.

Great horror collection! 💀

I loved Last Night at the Telegraph Club, but this companion read just wasn't for me.

I wanted to know more about Aria's family and the book just barely brushed the surface. The focus is on her coming out and embracing who she is, which I love, but YA romance tends to bore me.

This is true, hardcore, badass sci-fi. Someone in my IRL book club loaned it to me and I'm so glad she did.

It's the beginning of a trilogy that centers on what happens when humans make contact with life from another planet. The political background added so much angst to the story, and there's so much actual science used that it made my nerd heart happy.

I can't wait to start book 2. # SeriesLove2023 @TheSpineView @Andrew65

I will read anything written by Matt Ruff! Even before Lovecraft Country I was a huge fan and I'm beyond happy that he has finally gotten the praise he deserves.

This follow-up book puts the reader right back in the non-stop action that Ruff had in the first book. All our favorite characters are back fighting the supernatural and societal injustices as each individual story weaves together for a climactic conclusion.

Loved it.

Chris Bohjalian is one of my favorite authors. Although this book probably isn't my favorite by him, I still enjoyed it.

I think it probably would have worked better for me not as an audio because there are a lot of characters to keep track of.

This book has quite a bit of action, and it's written in a way that could easily be translated to a movie. It was entertaining, but I wasn't a big fan of any of the characters.

MG fantasy reads are becoming some of my favorites. 💚💚💚

This is another wonderful adventure wrapped up in a fun story mixed with Greek mythology and the exploration of what value art has to different people.

It is very rare that I find myself loving every short story in a collection but this collection spoke to my soul while reading it. 💚

The writing is superb and each story felt like a magical journey, whether into a fairytale setting or in a library with a character soul searching for answers, I loved them all.

I wish this had made the shortlist for #ToB23, but I'm thankful it was on the longlist or I might have missed out on it.

I can now understand completely why this book has received so much praise; it is one of the best YA books I've ever read.

Going in I wasn't quite sure what the book was about, and I avoided even reading the synopsis. This story of friendship and growing up is beautiful, heartbreaking, and hopeful. It made me angry, it made me laugh, and it made me tear up several times.

It's a wonderful book and I highly recommend it.

I'll admit that I'm not really into birds, but I love a good science/nature read. Meiburg has done a wonderful job with this book and I found myself thoroughly enjoying all the fantastic information that was presented about a bird I knew very little about, caracaras.

I think I spent as much time looking up photos online of these marvelous creatures as I did reading the book. 😀

Well researched, well written, and just a delight to read.

#AuthorAMonth2023 @Soubhiville

I discovered my love for Steinbeck only in the last couple of years. My husband found this set of books at an estate sale last year and surprised me with them. I'm hoping to start Tortilla Flat soon.

This was another lackluster thriller for me. I think I'm over using the unreliable female narrator in mysteries/thrillers. Yet again, this book features a female going through benzo withdrawals who drinks to excess. At first the mystery pulled me in, but then it gets messy and predictable. At the point I was ready to give up, the author tosses in a paranormal twist, which I thought was interesting.

Another quick read that left me underwhelmed.

I loved this! 💚

Veronica Roth really delivers with this futuristic Antigone retelling. I listened to this short read on audiobook and thought the narration was excellent. The story is told through each character's perspective and the story comes together in such a satisfying way.

It's been years since I've read Antigone but this made me want to revisit the original now.

#BookSpin #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks #ToB23

The idea behind this book sounded so great, but the execution ended up being disappointing.

Following the meandering plot in this one became a struggle for me. While I do appreciate the vision the author had and his look into current American politics in this dark, futuristic tale, it was all a bit vague and repetitive for me.

I love a book that explores climate change, but although that is the backdrop of the dystopian setting, this book has a lot to say about survival, adaptation, and human relationships.

It wasn't perfect, but it was still a great read. And I might be in the minority but I enjoyed the magical realism mixed in.