Evelyn Hugo is a former starlet from the golden age of Hollywood. She decides to share her life‘s story with a reporter on the condition they wait until she dies to publish it.
While the focus is about Evelyn‘s husbands, it‘s actually about the love of her life, who decidedly is not her husband.
Really great book with a huge surprise twist at the end.

Such a great ending to the trilogy!!
Adrian Montague, budding political reformist and anxious mess sets off to discover the meaning behind his late mother‘s spyglass, the first stop brings him face to face with Monty, the older brother he never knew he had. The brothers set off to find Felicity, the sister Adrian didn‘t know about, to aid in the venture. From Africa to Iceland, the Montague siblings form the family they never got to have.

I just couldn‘t get into it. I may circle back someday but moving on for now.

My first foray into cozy mystery & I wasn‘t sure I would like it. I was pleasantly surprised.
A fun mixture of Hallmark Channel Christmas movies, Sabrina the teenage witch, & Veronica Mars.
Hal runs her family‘s ornament factory in Marshmallow Hollow, Maine. When a slimy developer is found dead at the annual winter festival, Hal takes it upon herself to find the killer with her cute tenant, Hobbs. Oh, Hal is a witch. And her grandma is a reindeer.

There were some weird stories, some I didn‘t like at all, and some that I loved. It was an interesting collection of vampire stories, many that pushed the definition of what a vampire is. Definitely a testament to quality horror written by women.

I‘ve lived in Nebraska my entire life so I‘ve always known about the 1888 blizzard (there‘s even a mural about it in the capitol) but hearing the whole story is so much more heartbreaking and rage-inducing.
Thousands of people, mostly children, died in a freak blizzard across the northern plains in Jan 1888. The budding national weather service didn‘t seem to care to warn people until the cold threatened cash crops in the south.

Moll is probably the luckiest women in all of literature. Considering her close calls with the law, death, poverty, motherhood, love, marriage, &prosperity she lived a dozen lifetimes in the span of a few hundred pages.
There wasn‘t much for character development & Moll herself isn‘t overly likable but there‘s something about her that I can‘t help but like. Maybe it‘s her tenacity & charisma but I spent most of the book shaking my head & laughing.

I haven‘t read Holes since I was in middle school but dammit does it hold up. The characters are multidimensional, the three storylines twist into one perfectly, and it‘s just so entertaining.
Stanley Yelnats is an overweight teen, arrested for stealing shoes that he didn‘t actually steal. He‘s sent to Camp Green Lake where he is to spend the next 18 months digging holes and cursing his no good, rotten, pig stealing great great grandpa.

Vianne Rocher and her daughter Anouk moved to the small, conservative town of Lansquenet at the beginning of Lent and opens a chocolaterie, much to the frustration of the local priest Reynaud and his followers.
Full of characters from the ball-busting Armande to the abused Josephine, the proud Roux and the gentle Guillaume, Vianne gathers a new family around her and changes their lives with her strength, her chocolate, and her magic.

I have no words.
This book is the amazing, heartwarming, and heartbreaking story of 9/11/2001 and all the planes forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada when American airspace closed.
There was no question in the Newfies‘ minds that they would rally anything and everything they could to help the plane people, adopting over 6,000 passengers from all over the world for nearly a week.
I laughed and I cried. Have tissues handy.
#comefromaway

Omg they sent the fire truck with lights and sirens to the next town to get more toys for the kids!!!! I‘m not crying, you‘re crying 🥺😭

Sense & Sensibility has always been my favorite Austen movie adaption (Emma Thompson, amiright?) but this is the first time I‘ve read the book. I think it might be even better than the movie! The surprising funny moments, Eleanor‘s long suffering eyerolls, and Marianne as her foil. It‘s such a wonderful book.

Vinnie and Fred, two American English professors are in England doing research for their books. They both end up having affairs, Fred with an unstable British actress, Vinnie, with an uncouth tourist from Tulsa, OK, USA. Both affairs end badly.
Not a whole lot actually happens, just a lot of talking about things happening. Not for me.

Did you ever wonder what the monsters were doing while the humans were in lockdown or if there were supernatural reasons behind some of 2020‘s weirder news stories? Check out my brand new book available in print and digital on amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JZ1P3JC

Definitely not your normal beach read but it is October.

Schiff did a great job delving deep into Cleopatra, instead of painting her as a sex-crazed seductress as many do, the author tried to show her as a human and a ruler, making hard choices and doing what‘s best for her country. Schiff also included primary sources but worked to include the cultural biases the authors would‘ve had.

That old nursery rhyme took a dark turn 😳

You know how male authors sometimes describe how female characters think of their appearance and it‘s always sexualized and ridiculous?
I found a female author doing the same to a male character!

I don‘t know if Charlie and Eli Sisters are bumbling idiots posing as ruthless killers or ruthless killers posing as bumbling idiots.
That being said, the only character in the book I cared about was Tubs, who was a horse.
There were some ok things about the story. Eli had some decent character development but I didn‘t care for the rest. I picked it thinking it was a comedic western, it was more obtuse than funny.

Such a great book! Carol Burnett reminisces about her time on the Carol Burnett show. Peppered with interviews and guest speakers, the book covers the show from the first idea to the last episode.
And what I was looking forward to the most: the Curtain Dress from their Gone With the Wind parody. It was just as funny hearing about as it was seeing it.
Burnett is a comedy genius and a great person.

I... am not sure how to feel about this book.
The beginning was interesting. It followed the MC‘s horrible upbringing that lead to his job in a perfumery. He has no scent of his own but he also has a super sniffer which makes him a great perfumer.
But then the story takes a left turn when he becomes a cave dwelling hermit. And then the murders...
The end was a total WTF.
It was interesting then got weird.

When the computer system is down at work, you get to read and drink tea.

I say we throw out “prodigy” and all start using “wunderkind.” Who‘s with me?
(Book translated from German)

Brenna, oldest & core of the 3, has been in love with Fin since they were kids. When Cabhan's mark showed up when they were teens, showing him a descendant of the enemy, she buried her feelings, tolerating his presence as a friend. When it became clear that Fin needed to be part of their circle, Brenna was forced to put her hurt & anger aside. As they worked close to defeat Cabhan, the old love bubbled to the surface too strong to set aside again.

I read this as part of a reading challenge and it‘s as delightful as I remember it being.
Fawn rescues the runt from a litter of pigs and sells him to her uncle to save him from becoming dinner. Wilber quickly becomes part of the barnyard but when the animals hear he‘s to be butchered, they plot ways to save him. Charlotte, the spider living in the doorway, decides to weave compliments about Wilber in her web to convince the humans to spare him.

Five sisters: Bluebell, Rose, Ash, Ivy, and Willow gather together to save their father after he falls into a magical coma.
To Bluebell, nothing is more important than family but her sisters are all preoccupied with their own problems, be they selfish or legitimate concerns.
Meanwhile, their treacherous step-brother plots to take the throne from Bluebell.

Connor, one of the three Dark Witches of Mayo, spends his days working at falcon school and his free time with his sister and cousin working on ways to defeat Cabhan or flirting with the local gals. He definitely wasn't expecting to fall in love with his life-long friend and fellow combatant in the fight, Meara. But their journey isn't easy or clear with plenty of obstacles, both magical and ordinary.

Sorcha, the Dark Witch of Mayo, gave her life to protect her 3 children, giving them her power & spending the last of it to destroy Cabhan, a powerful witch who wants her magick & her body.
American Iona Sheehan is in Ireland to meet her cousins and follow her destiny. As a descendant of Sorcha and one of the 3, it is up to the cousins to end Cabhan once and for all. One thing Iona wasn't expecting: falling in love with Boyle, her cousin's friend.

Michael, fresh out of prison for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, is living with his sister in Ballymuir until he gets his feet under him.
Kylie, teacher at the local Irish school, is working to repay the money her father swindled and running from her past.
When they cross paths, they are drawn together, no matter how they each resist.

When a high school student in Kansas stumbles upon a small article about unsung heroes of the Holocaust, she didn‘t know she was about to change the world. With two of her classmates and their teacher, they began the Irena Sendler project to let the world know about the amazing woman who helped save 2,500 children from the Warsaw Ghetto.
This fantastic book covers their project and also Sendler‘s activities during WWII.
Read with tissues. 😭♥️

Oofta do not start this book when you‘re having a bad mental health day because it will make it worse.
I fully intend to finish it when I‘m feeling better because I‘ve heard great things, just have to bail for now.

1959s: June and Micky meet, fall in love, get married, and start a family. Then, Micky‘s music career takes off and he lets it and other women come between him and his family.
1980s: The four Riva kids have been fending for themselves for far longer than they should have, watched over by oldest Nina who dropped everything to be mother and father to them. Their annual summer end party will inexplicably change each of them, for better or worse.

Two series of book thefts from the New York Public Library ties two generations of a family together.
Laura Lyons and her family live at the library when a series of thefts bring suspicion on her husband.
Sadie Donovan works in the library when a second round of thefts rebounds on her when her familial connection to the first comes to light.
Two wonderful stories of women coming into their own in the shadow of the library.

Hedy escaped Austria ahead of the Nazis only to find herself imprisoned with them on the island of Jersey. This would be bad enough but Hedy is Jewish, everyday of the occupation is filled with terror.
Kurt just wanted a quiet life of being an engineer in Germany when he was conscripted and sent to Jersey.
Hedy and Kurt find comfort and love while doing what they can to undermine the occupiers and keep Hedy safe from command‘s attention.

Jackson is a brand new constable with a chip on his shoulder & a point to prove.
Kit is the head of a street gang who‘s mission is to support the needy of Victorian London.
Kit leaves a lasting impression on Jackson when she swindles him out of a coin, & when their paths cross again during a missing person‘s case he‘s working, sparks fly.
It got oddly religious at times which caught me off guard. Overall, not bad, some of it was a bit of a reach.

The Scholomance is a magic school to teach young wizards to control their power but Hogwarts it is not. The stakes are oh so much higher as the school is full of mals that see students as a tasty treat.
El is a loner, desperate to survive. The two ways to do that is to stockpile magic and to make alliances, things she is struggling to do.
Then there‘s Orion Lake. Golden boy of the NY conclave and inexplicably clinging to El like a hungry mal.

Loved it. Read it in a day.
Book two starring Sunshine Vikrim, single mom, sherif of Del Sol, and magnet for bad stuff. When love of her life and bane of her existence, Levi Ravinder, gets hit by a truck while protecting his friend in a bar fight, Sun is floored when it crosses with a missing child case she worked 8 years earlier. Sun also gets some quality time with Levi's uncle and some missing pieces in her own case.

Valentine spent 8 years working in various mortuaries in the UK before moving on to curate the medical museum at St Bart‘s. It was really interesting reading about how differently things are done in the UK vs the US. She didn‘t hold back when telling about some of the more unsettling things she‘s experienced and used humor to bring it all together.

Found my October reading in the library book sale stack!

The beginning is really slow, full of angsty exposition & self loathing, also hints at action, then nothing happens. Saying that, the last half made it worth it.
The High Five band together to save the OASIS (after bringing about the cause of the crisis to being with) after users are trapped by new ONI headsets that allow users to experience the OASIS like never before. Anarak is back with a very Frankenstein-esque plan & only Wade can stop him.

I seriously loved this book so much!! From leaches to arsenic to mesmerism, Quackery covers some of the strange, bizarre, and deadly ways humans have attempted to cure different ailments throughout history. The authors imbued the book with humor and filled it with historic photographs along with brief accounts of “cures” gone wrong.

Blowing Smoke Up Your Arse
God forbid you accidentally inhaled. The results would not only be beyond disgusting but also potentially deadly. If your victim had cholera... then you‘d be a goner, too, by virtue of sucking down cholera bacteria. And that, my friends just about takes the cake for “worst ways to die” featured in this book.

Princess Clarice, eldest daughter of a small duchy, sets out on her own to explore the world and ply her trade as a sword master under the name Clarence Swan. When her chosen ship mutinies, then puts in at a pirate stronghold, she does what she can to help her her friends among the crew and keep herself alive, while falling in love with the captain.
It starts out a bit slow but when it picks up, it goes fast!

Brief summaries of some bizarre historical events. I liked how the author wrote them, he didn‘t dwell on the salacious details too much, he just laid out the story.

If you like The Dollop podcast, you‘ll like this book (and vice versa).

Follows Michell McNamara‘s years-long hunt for the Golden State Killer.
It was strange listening to the book knowing GSK/EAR/ONS is in prison for his crimes. I kept waiting for his name to pop up but it never did. It‘s so sad that McNamara never got to see him arrested but she played a huge part in keeping the case alive.
Wonderfully written true crime that focuses more on the people than the crimes.

Think Greek hero journey but with Mexican mythology.
Casiopea, living as a servant in her grandfather‘s house, opened a forbidden chest and accidentally resurrected Hun-Kamé, one of the gods of the underworld. Her need for adventure and fear for her life has her following the god across Mexico in his quest to retake his throne from his treacherous brother.

To escape a life of drudgery and a loveless marriage, Addie makes a deal with a god of the night, her soul for her freedom. What she didn‘t know was it was ultimate freedom: freedom from things, freedom from relationships, and freedom from time.
300 years of living alone, being forgotten by all she passed, until she met Henry.
The ending was brilliant!

Prince Hayes of Oldenburg is in England securing their alliance... or is he? Lady Elsie‘s father has recruited her to spy on the prince to see where his loyalty truly lies, with England or Napoleonic France.
It had some lovely things but overall, not for me.
Sweet romance

Do any of you use a book catalogue app for your personal collections? I want to start but I‘m not sure which one to use. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don‘t really read gothic horror so it might be a genre thing.
I really wanted to like this book but my feelings are lukewarm at best. The gothic horror parts were fantastic, lots things that my own imagination uses to scare me, but many of the characters were difficult to care about and the ending didn‘t feel complete, like a lot of things were left hanging that I wanted wrapped up.
I did appreciate all the lgbtq characters in it.