Two Quick Recommendations...

 

An Instruction in Shadow by Benedict Jacka

This urban fantasy novel picks up right where An Inheritance of Magic leaves off with Stephen Oakwood meeting his mother for the first time. He's also looking for his father, trying to find wells of Essentia and master the magic of Drucraft, and survive the ambushes and attacks coming from new enemies and members of his own aristocratic family. It's fun and full of action. I really like Stephen and his friends, and can't wait to read the third book in this captivating series. I'm only sad I have to wait at least another year before it comes out. 

(I also really love Jacka's Alex Verus series!)

The Night Woods by Paula Munier

I bet you can guess one of the reasons I love this mystery series. Mercy Carr and her Belgian Malinois, Elvis, are favorites of mine, as are her game warden husband, Troy, and his Newfoundland, Susie Bear. Despite being eight months pregnant, Mercy gets drawn into a murder investigation, which doesn't make her mother very happy. Then a billionaire out hunting goes missing. And someone's threatening Mercy. Plus, there are wild boars loose in the Vermont wilderness near their home. It's another compelling and entertaining novel from Munier.

(I highly recommend checking out the first book in this series, A Borrowing of Bones.)

Happy Reading!

December's bookish art...

 

“Oh, magic hour, when a child first knows she can read printed words.”
― Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

 

“Stories you read when you're the right age never quite leave you. You may forget who wrote them or what the story was called. Sometimes you'll forget precisely what happened, but if a story touches you it will stay with you, haunting the places in your mind that you rarely ever visit.”
― Neil Gaiman, M Is for Magic

Christmas-y Haiku Reviews....

 

Snowed In by Catherine Walsh

Megan and Christian

team up to survive Christmas

with their families.

Romantic comedy .... 336 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(Fun fake dating holiday romance set in Ireland. Walsh's first book, Holiday Romance, is even cuter.)

The Christmas You Found Me by Sarah Morgenthaler

Sienna marries 

a stranger to help him and his sweet,

but very ill, daughter.

Romance .... 291 pages .... 5/5 stars.

(Have Kleenex nearby when you read this one; it totally made me cry.)

One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery

A quiet Christmas?

Not with her kids, her boyfriend's

kids, his ex, and a dog.

Contemporary fiction .... 316 pages .... 4/5 stgars.

(Unexpected guests, humorous banter, a secret or two, confessions of love, family, friends and exes all in one cabin at Christmas made this a fun read.)

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday...

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. 

This week's theme is supposed to be BOOKS TO READ DURING A STORM. But I'm going a little bit rogue today and doing a list of 10 BOOKS I READ IN DECEMBER OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS. We'll see if they have a wintry storm theme to them, or not. 

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

(This was the first review I ever posted.)

2. Trapped by Michael Northrop

3. Snow Hunters by Paul Yoon

4.  Feed by Mira Grant

5. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

6. The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn

7. The White Christmas Inn by Colleen Wright

8. Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson

9. Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon

10.  The Future is Yours by Dan Frey

Bonus:  Snowed In For Christmas by Sarah Morgan

There you go--ten of my December reads from the last ten years. 

And ALL would be good books to read during a storm.  ☃

Happy Reading!

My Child Is Missing by Lisa Regan

 

The plot:  Two go into the woods, but only one comes out. That's the legend of The Woodsman. And it's spreading across Pennsylvania--scaring elementary-age children, challenging the teenagers. Detective Josie Quinn knows it's just a story, but when two sister go missing, and only the younger girl is found, she also knows something sinister is going on. The investigation into Kayleigh's disappearance is hard enough, but Josie's not sleeping because of some recent traumatic events, and then she learns about two other murders linked to the story of The Woodsman... and she starts to wonder if they have a serial killer on their hands.

My thoughts:  This is the eighteenth Josie Quinn book, and another excellent mystery in this addictive series. Josie and her partner, Noah Fraley, are so good together. I've liked seeing how their relationship has developed and grown over the course of these mysteries. And I found this particular mystery nicely twisty and unexpected. I've been reading this series in order, which I recommend, because Josie's past is fairly complicated. But all the books in this series aren't long and they read fast. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Other Josie Quinn mysteries I've reviewed:

Vanishing Girls (#1)

The Girl With No Name (#2)

Her Mother's Grave (#3)

Her Silent Cry (#6)

Cold Heart Creek (#7)

The Drowning Girls (#13)

Watch Her Disappear (#14)

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

A cryptic invitation.

A trip to Mistletoe Manor.

A Christmas snowstorm.

And a puzzling locked room disappearance. 

It's up to Maggie Chase and fellow author, Ethan Wyatt, to solve this mystery.

First line:  It wasn't until the elevator doors were sliding open that Maggie realized she was about to come face-to-face with her three lest favorite things in the world:  Christmas. A party. And Ethan Freaking Wyatt.  

My thoughts:  This entertaining novel is a great combination of mystery and romance. And I loved it. There's fun banter, and lots of action and humor. Maggie is a very engaging character; she's clever and funny, but also vulnerable and alone. I liked how Ethan really saw her, and how he wanted to help her, and protect her. I enjoyed their swoony kisses, too. They made a great team (even though she saw him as her nemesis at the beginning of the book). And the mystery was very Christie-esque. If you want a fun holiday mystery/romance, check this book out. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Randomness....

 My sister wrote a book!   

A Lady Most Alluring by Amy Newbold is a sweet, clean, and charming Regency romance novella inspired by Cinderella. It's available on Kindle, KU, and in paperback, so check it out! It would make my sister's Christmas if you did. :D 

Have you noticed lately how many book bloggers are either taking a hiatus, or quitting altogether? I started to count up the blogging friends I've made over the years who are no longer around, but quit when my list of names hit 20 because it was just too depressing. I miss them! But I get it. Bloggers get tired, burn out, move on, find something else they want to do with their time. But it still makes me sad. I started blogging because I wanted to find a community of people who love books and reading as much as me. And it makes me sad seeing that community shrinking away to nothing. It makes me wonder how much longer the rest of us will stick around. 

Some of the library books I'm hoping to read this month:

An Instruction In Shadow by Benedict jacka

The Night Woods by Paula Munier

The Reaping by Jess Lourey

Catch and Keep by Erin Hahn

Write For You by Megan Byrd

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

And my glad things last month?  Honestly, November was a rough month for me with a stressful trip to the hospital with my mom, my aunt's funeral, unexpected car repairs that ended up costing $460, another stupid jury duty summons, and lots of cold, gray days. Plus, I haven't been sleeping well, so I've been running tired...and anxious. Which made coming up with a list of happy things for this post challenging. But I did think of four:

• My mom ended up not having anything seriously wrong, and the unrelenting pain in her left leg that she was experiencing has gone away, something for which I am very grateful.
• My next-door neighbor, who I don't know very well, came over when she saw the ambulance to see if we needed anything, which I thought was very kind of her.
• I won two more books from Goodreads that arrived in the mail last week: Give Me Butterflies by Jillian Meadows and Summit's Edge by Sara Driscoll. I look forward to reading both of them later this month. 
• And my car's heater is working again...something much appreciated on these wintry mornings. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Whether you make an ABC list of what you're grateful for, or take turns going around the dinner table acknowledging your blessings, I hope we can each take a moment today to remember all the good things in life that we have been given...and to give thanks. For that's where true happiness lies. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

My gratitude list:  family, friends, home, warmth, sight, autumn leaves, trees, food to eat, (turkey, mashed potatoes & stuffing!), grace, forgiveness, the atonement of Jesus Christ, good books, chocolate, hot showers & flush toilets, game nights, movie dates, laughter, music, birds, electricity, internet, my paycheck, a working car, a place to sleep, hoodies, Squishmallows, garbage trucks, freshly laundered clothes, sisters, Zebra pens, mountains, beautiful beaches, lip balm, pancakes, caring co-workers, nephews and nieces, blogging friends, libraries, food storage in the pantry, Post-It notes...and at least a hundred other things. 

Haiku Reviews...

One Last Play by Annah Conwell

She loves football...and 

his daughter. Can he convince 

her to love him, too?

Sweet romantic comedy .... 252 pages .... 5/5 stars.

(Clean single dad sports romance that I totally loved.)

Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe

He's into cryptids;

she's not. But when they team up,

their new web show rocks.

Romance .... 334 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(Cute and humorous with lots of fun banter.)

Reel Love by Savannah Scott

Online word game brings

famous actress and marine

biologist together.

Romantic comedy .... 372 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(Opposites attract in this sweet romance. Loved the island setting.)

Happy Reading!

The Next Everest by Jim Davidson

 

First line:  We climbed the deadliest section of Everest at night.

From the blurb:

 "On April 25, 2015, Jim Davidson was climbing Mount Everest when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake released avalanches all around him and his team, destroying their only escape route and trapping them at nearly 20,000 feet. It was the largest earthquake in Nepal in eighty-one years and killed about 8,900 people. That day also became the deadliest in the history of Everest, with eighteen people losing their lives on the mountain.

"After spending two unsettling days stranded on Everest, Davidson's team was rescued by helicopter. The experience left him shaken, and despite his thirty-three years of climbing and serving as an expedition leader, he wasn't sure that he would ever go back. But in the face of risk and uncertainty, he returned in 2017 and finally achieved his dream of reaching the summit."

My thoughts:  I read Jim Davidson's previous climbing memoir, The Ledge, several years ago and have never forgotten it. It's a gut-wrenching and emotionally powerful read. His chronicle of climbing Mt. Everest is equally compelling. I love reading these kinds of books. And this one is richly detailed and descriptive, and honest, too. Davidson weaves in moments from his past that taught him valuable lessons that helped him on this difficult adventure. He writes about the importance of patience and persistence, hard work, inner resilience, dealing with grief and loss, choosing confidence over fear, and "focusing on the climb, not the drop". I highly recommend it. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

November's bookish art...

 

William Worchester Churchill - Woman Reading on a Settee

"Life is like a book: some chapters are sad, some happy, and some exciting. But if you never turn the page, you will never know what the next chapter holds." 

--Anonymous

The Hunter's Daughter by Nicola Solvinic

 

First line:  The first time I killed a man was on Tuesday.

Plot summary:  Anna Koray is a sheriff's lieutenant in rural Bayern County. It's where she grew up. But no one knows that. Just like no one knows her father was Stephen Theron, the notorious serial killer known as the Forest Strangler. For a long time, even Anna didn't know it because when she was young, a psychiatrist helped seal away her memories of him. But those memories are starting to return. And she's blacking out and losing time. Not only that, they just found a murdered young woman posed in a way that eerily resembles her father's victims. Is it a copycat? Her father returned from the dead? The Forest God he served? Or is it her?

My thoughts:  Taut. Eerie. Dark. Atmospheric. Disturbing at times (though never graphic or gory). And very compelling. The Hunter's Daughter is a layered mystery that kept me guessing until the end. Anna is a complex character haunted not only by her childhood memories, but by her father's legacy. There are times when she questions her own sanity. She's tried to be a good person and a good police officer, but people keep dying around her. And she's desperate to keep her past a secret, even to the point where she interferes with the murder investigation. I liked how I was never totally sure if I could trust her or not, though I really wanted to, because she's also a very sympathetic character. There were a lot of twists and red herrings along the way, but good hints and clues, too. And the ending was satisfying. I liked this one a lot. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday...

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme is DESTINATION TITLES which I thought was a very fun idea. And easy, too. I just went to my bookshelves and came up with a list of these ten books...all with destinations in their titles. 

1. Haven by Laury Falter

2. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

3. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns

4. Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

5. A Death in Vienna by Daniel Silva

6. The Ghost Riders of Ordebec by Fred Vargas

7. A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute

8. The Red Planet by Robert Heinlein

9. The Valley Where Time Stood Still by Lin Carter

10.  Treasure of Egypt by Barbara Ivie Green

Don't you just love traveling by book to all of these fun, faraway places?

Happy Reading!

Runaway Bride and Prejudice by Emma St. Clair

 

"People say when one door closes, another one opens. And maybe that's true. but I wanna know what people say when one door opens and you find the groom hooking up with someone who's not the bride--less than an hour before the wedding. In a church, no less."

Van's known as a bad boy in hockey. He's no one's hero. But he can't let Amelia marry her cheating fiancé. Because he cares about her. Not that he can admit that...to anyone. 

"As for how I know Amelia...it's a simple story. We met randomly. Talked. Thought she might be my soulmate. Then I realized she was my coach's daughter. The quintessential Romeo and Juliet story. But with more hockey and hopefully less death and mayhem."

As Amelia's wedding ends before it begins, Van ends up running off to Florida with her on her non-honeymoon...just to make sure she's okay. He definitely did not plan on what happened next.

"We laughed. We flirted. I started to think maybe this could be something--the kind of something I'd never had. I mean, it was way too fast and definitely stupid to think about that, but Amelia stirred to life the kinds of feelings I've never had. The kind of easy enjoyment mixed with potent attraction that left me feeling woozy." 

What can I say? Van is the best! And I loved this sweet, closed-door, hockey romance. Amelia and Van have great chemistry. And Emma St. Clair knows how to write clever banter, fun and humorous interactions, and swoony kisses. And I love the Appies hockey team. This book made me happy. Here's one more favorite quote from it:

"She and I argued over whether rereading a book should count toward your reading goals for the year. She nearly took my head off arguing about keeping your reading tally 'pure' with only first-time reads. ... And she's wrong, by the way. Rereads totally count." 

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Happy Reading!

Gathering Mist by Margaret Mizushima

 

First line:  Weather could make or break a search and rescue mission, and the wind would play havoc with the scent trail today.

Series:  Timber Creek K-9 Mystery

Summary:  When Deputy Mattie Wray and her German Shepherd, Robo, are asked to fly out to Washington's Olympic peninsula to join in the search for a missing nine-year-old boy, she can't say no. Even though she's supposed to be getting married to her veterinarian fiance, Cole Walker, at the end of the week. Because there's a lost child and the local police need Robo's air scenting skills. Luckily, Cole has her back, even traveling to Washington to offer his doctoring skills to all the SAR dogs there and their handlers helping to search the dense forest area where they think the boy wandered off into. But Mattie soon starts to suspect his disappearance is the result of something more sinister. Can they find him in time?

My thoughts:  I love this series and a big reason why is the dogs and all their search-and-rescue skills. It's so interesting! I like learning about the difference between ground tracking and air scenting, each dog's speciality, and how their handlers guide them. And Mattie and Robo certainly have their work cut out for them this time trying to track a small child through such a rainy forest setting. This mystery also has good action and suspense. And all of these characters are so great. I've loved seeing Mattie's and Cole's relationship deepen over the course of this series. And Robo is the best! Gathering Mist is another winning read from Margaret Mizushima.

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday...

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme is COVERS WITH AN ITEM OF YOUR CHOICE ON THE COVER.

And I decided to go with CLOCKS. Because I just had to change all of mine...again. And could we please choose one time, either Daylight or Standard, and stick with it? I'm so tired of having to change my clocks, both inner and outer, twice a year. But these covers with clocks on them are kind of awesome. 

Hooked by Emily McIntire

The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie

The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk

Timekeeper by Tara Sim

The Betrayals by Bridget Collins

The Love Proof by Madeleine Henry

The Watchmaker's Daughter by C.J. Archer

The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton

Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene

Happy Reading!