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Book a Week 2022 - BW41: Vampires, Werewolves, and Ghosts! Oh My!


Robin M
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Happy Sunday! Our spooktacular reading month continues and it isn't all about horror.  Oh no! Especially since I'm not into blood and guts violence.  I like the type of books that get your adrenaline going, keeps you guessing, finger nail biting, keep you up all night reading suspense.  There are a number of ways to go with psychological thrillers, gothic, paranormal reads that run the gamut from the supernatural to urban fantasies. Books full of bad guys, ghosts, and scary as well as delicious vampires, and werewolves.  

Authors whose books I've enjoyed:

Stephen King's World of the Dark Tower or his psychological thriller Duma Key.  

Dean Koontz's series: version of Frankenstein or take a trip with Odd Thomas who communicates with the dead. 

Christian writers that will scare the pants off you: Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker. I've read all their books which are chilling and thrilling.

Take a tour through stories about haunted houses.

Psychological thrillers that will play with your head. 

The Best Gothic Horror Books Of All-Time.

30 Best Vampire Romances to sink your teeth into. 

17 Werewolf Romance Books That Will Have You Howling for More.

Need something a little lighter? Check out Cozy Mystery's Halloween Mystery Book list

This week's A to Z and back again letter and word of the week are L and Looming.

 

 

Link to Book Week 40

Visit  52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini, and perpetual challenges.

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Clearing my palate with a fluffy romance before I dive back into James Rollin's thriller Kingdom of Bones.  Also on the nightstand is the suspense novel The Last Second by Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison.  I like one author's writing and the other's not so much and I can tell the difference in their writing so expect I'll like only half of the book. LOL! 

"Galactus, France’s answer to SpaceX, has just launched a communications satellite into orbit, but the payload actually harbors a frightening weapon: a nuclear-triggered electromagnetic pulse.  When the satellite is in position, Galactus’s second-in-command, Dr. Nevaeh Patel, will have the power to lay waste to the world with an EMP. A former astronaut, Patel believes she is following the directions of the Numen, aliens who saved her life when she space-walked outside the International Space Station. She is convinced that with the Holy Grail, just discovered by the owner of Galactus—eccentric treasure hunter Jean-Pierre Broussard—she can be reunited with the Numen, change the world’s destiny, and become immortal with them.

The countdown has begun when Special Agents Nicholas Drummond and Michaela Caine are thrown into the pending disaster. They must stop the EMP that would wreak havoc on communication and electronic systems on Earth, resulting in chaos and anarchy.

 

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Re-reads only; Ruth Park's The Harp in the South, and Playing Beatie Bow. She was a famous Australian author and the latter book was one almost every kid studied at school when I was younger. It's a time-travel story, whereas the former book, also set in Sydney, is a gritty adult story, very much like your "A Tree Grew in Brooklyn", perhaps a bit grittier.

Re-read the super comfort fantasy read, Legends and Lattes. Recommended if you want a warm friend-focused fantasy book. 

I stupidly lent my Kobo to someone and they've mislaid it - never again! Hopefully will get it back safe and sound.

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I just lost my post so am going to do a much shorter version!

I have been having fun with Spooky…….

I found a good new to me series, The Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53825514-the-slaughtered-lamb-bookstore-and-bar checked a lot of boxes.

Hailey Edwards is an author that I enjoy listening to her paranormal stuff.  I started her Black Hat series last week. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58452582-black-hat-white-witch

Swamp Spook https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42246178-swamp-spook and another in the Vampire knitting club were also enjoyed.

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I quite enjoyed The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid which I read for my forthcoming distant book group meeting. I look forward to the discussion.

"Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways."

**

I also read a new contemporary romance that I won in a giveaway ~ Did Not Finish by Nicola Marsh. This had a few issues but overall was a pleasant read; I don't see rereading it though.

"Stranded…with my nemesis!

AXEL: It’s bad enough an unseasonal blizzard means I’m stuck with my PA’s annoying cat, but to make matters worse, Mia Samson and her poison pen are in my house too. The renowned reviewer has tanked enough books with her dreaded DNF and I need to teach her a lesson.

But my enemy is not what I expect and if I’m not careful, I’m in danger of revealing my secret to the one person who can use it against me.

MIA: I know people in publishing call me the career-wrecker behind my back. What they don’t know is, I’m writing a novel, and when I’m lucky enough to win a week-long retreat with bestselling Axel Low in quaint Sugar Plain, Nebraska, I’m thrilled.

Until I discover being snowed in with the reclusive grump is merely the first trope my life has turned into, and soon I’m sorely tempted to enact enemies to lovers…

Which one of us will lose the plot first?"

Regards,

Kareni

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13 hours ago, bookbard said:

I stupidly lent my Kobo to someone and they've mislaid it - never again! Hopefully will get it back safe and sound.

I hope it will get back to you soon!

13 hours ago, bookbard said:

Re-read the super comfort fantasy read, Legends and Lattes. Recommended if you want a warm friend-focused fantasy book. 

I bought and started that a while ago; I need to return to it.

Regards,

Kareni

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I read Retribution: A Gripping Paranormal Thriller (The Psychic Detective Kate Pierce Crime Thriller Series Book 1) by C. M. Sutter. Gripping is a bit generous, but I did finish the book! I don't imagine I will reread it though. Incidentally, the book is currently free for US Kindle readers.

"The violent drug-related murders of two prominent attorneys have the homicide division of the Chicago Police Department scrambling for answers, but without clues, a motive, or a suspect, not even the FBI can track down the killer.

With the media demanding an arrest and at their wits’ end, the Chicago Police Department makes an urgent call to the Washburn County Sheriff’s Office in hopes of bringing in Kate Pierce, a psychic detective, on the case. A reluctant Kate agrees only when word comes that Jesse McCord, a new friend and top-notch Chicago homicide detective, has gone missing.

Partnered with Detective Henry Johnson of Chicago’s homicide division, Kate goes on the hunt for the killer, armed with clues from her revealing dreams—and her dogged determination. As they inch closer to locating Jesse and learning the identity of the suspect, they realize the killer may be much closer than they think."

Regards,

Kareni

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Some bookish posts ~

From the Word Wenches: What We Are Reading!

https://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/2022/09/what-we-are-reading.html

You Can Procrastinate Anything If You Have Enough Books

https://www.tor.com/2022/09/15/you-can-procrastinate-anything-if-you-have-enough-books/

10 COZY DETECTIVE SERIES YOU NEED IN YOUR LIFE

https://crimereads.com/10-cozy-detective-series-you-need-in-your-life/

Regards,

Kareni

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I am finally getting caught up on my way back through the alphabet.

Nothing Ventured by Jeffrey Archer was the first in one of his series and had an N.  I have never read anything by Jeffrey Archer who is pretty prolific and popular so wanted to find a reason to try one.  I really liked the characters and enjoyed the book so I probably will make my way through the series on audio since my library has them. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43263542-nothing-ventured

Now the latest in the Lady Harleigh cozy series was just plain entertaining and was my M.  I had thought the series was losing itself in its popularity but the wedding of  Frances and George (the main characters) was an event filled with murder as well as being entertaining.  I officially love this series again.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59201093-a-bride-s-guide-to-marriage-and-murder

So for L I am reading the latest by Charlie Lovett an author that I have really loved in the past.  The Enigma Affair isn’t as good.  The formatting on Kindle is really bad for a newly published book with not even a skipped line between timeframes which is unsettling.  The story is great in places but much of this book is spending so much time jumping between groups of unbelievable  characters and situations  that I can’t get too caught up in it.  I may end up loving the ending and give it a 4*. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60201081-the-enigma-affair

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Lovely quick vacation trip and family reunion. A bit of culture shock too as the area I grew up in has gone from early suburb, anglo-hispanic with open fields to densely populated and bilingual asian with about 6 restaurants on every corner and very little green space. Had to drive all over town to find a non-asian grocery store so we could buy potato salad to take to the (chinese family) reunion. Made for a lot of humor, shall we say? And a very good time was had by all, aside from the 9 hour drive each way.

I've been reading a multi-book urban fantasy series by Michael Anderle and Kevin Williamson on The Steel Dragon - a woman who grew up in a human family and then finds out she's really a dragon and has to learn about her new culture while being a cop in the old one, then becomes a cop among the dragons, fighting against the onset of a cross-cultural war fueled by human resentment (read blue collar) and dragon hubris and wealth (read billionaires), all set in and around Detroit. Really enjoyed the first few books but by #8 I am ready for something else and just feel both sides are portrayed as utterly unreasonable (perhaps some deliberate commentary on current political polarization?).

 

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I've fallen in like with M.L. Buchman's political technothriller Miranda Chase series.  It's interesting how she relates to the people around her and how they relate to her and how she navigates through the world of a corrupt CIA and cranky military generals. 11 books in the series. Currently on book three. 

#1 Drone. 

"The lead NTSB air-crash investigator—trapped between a stealth drone and a hard crash.

A US Air Force C-130 transport plane, bearing top-secret cargo, lies shattered in the Nevada desert at Area 51’s Groom Lake. China’s prototype fifth-generation jet fighter goes missing. Far above, a stealth drone flies a very lethal, and very covert Black Op. The CIA, the US military command, and the secretive National Reconnaissance Office are all locked in a political battle for control of the nation’s future.

Miranda Chase, the NTSB’s autistic air-crash genius investigator, lands in the center of the gathering maelstrom. Burdened with a new team and a unique personality, she must connect the pieces to stay alive. And she must do it before the wreckage of her past crashes down upon her and destroys US-China relations forever."

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On 10/16/2022 at 6:42 AM, Kareni said:

Currently free for US Kindle readers ~

Alawahea: The Azellian Affairs, Book One by Sara L. Daigle

The Last Single Girl (Brew Ha Ha #1) by Bria Quinlan

The One You Love (Emma Holden Suspense Mystery Trilogy, Book 1) by Paul Pilkington

Dark Planet Warriors: A Science Fiction Romance by Anna Carven

The Water Castle: a time travel romance by Dan Alatorre

Regards,

Kareni

I love to read books and that is why I always save those links where I find links to e-books. I will surely read them. I want to discover this site because I am writing an essay assignment on analysis of steven kings essay why we crave horror movies and when I was searching for that website link online, I found your post as well.

Thank you Kareni 🙂

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