Outland by Dennis E. Taylor

 "When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, it's up to six university students and their experimental physics project to prevent the end of civilization."

The plot:  It's Richard's and Kevin's applied physics project, Matt's computer system, and Bill's engineering skills that bring Kevin's theory of an interdimensional portal into existence. What they find on the other side is another earth, one where humans never evolved and mammoths and dire wolves still roam. They bring in geology student, Erin, and zoology major, Monica, to help explore this new world. They have dreams of finding enough gold in this other world to fund their experiment and the rest of their education...and also of winning a Nobel prize. But then the supervolcano underneath Yellowstone erupts, changing all their plans. Now they and several hundred university students are just trying to survive in this other Earth, the one they call Outland.

My thoughts:  Disaster/survival reads have always been favorites of mine, and the premise of this one sounded so fun I couldn't resist checking it out. And it was entertaining, with humorous dialogue, funny movie references, and enough science to believe in the characters without getting bogged down in all the technological details. It's a go-with-the-flow kind of novel. And Taylor keeps the story moving at a good clip. But in juggling so many characters, not all of them are fully fleshed out. There were times I completely forgot Kevin was even in the room; and I felt Matt's martial arts skills should have been used in the story at least once. But the main characters had enough personality and hints of backstory to make them likable and interesting. I did think some of their survival preparations got glossed over, and their stay in Outland felt a little too easily managed, with a lot of the details happening off page. So it's not perfect, but I enjoyed it. A fun popcorn kind of read. And one I gave 4 stars.

Happy Reading!

Randomness

 10 Things I think we need more of in the world:

• Kindness
• Forgiveness
• Faith
• Positivity & Hope
• Dialogue
• Civility
• Integrity
• Understanding & Empathy

Because what we put out into the world is what we get back. Negative words only lead to more negativity. Hate only begets more hate. And that makes the world a very dark and violent place. But the opposite is also true. Kindness, civility, gratitude, and love can fill the world with light and peace. And who doesn't want that?

Top Ten Tuesday

 

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

This week's theme:  BOOK COVERS THAT GIVE OFF FALL VIBES. Only I changed it up a bit. Because when I think of books with fall vibes, I think of books with school settings...whether boarding schools, private colleges, etc. So that's what I went with for my list today, BOOKS WITH A SCHOOL SETTING. Some of these I've read, and others are on my TBR list. 

Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie

Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison

The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason

The Eights by Joanna Miller

Prep School Confidential by Kara Taylor

The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman

Gentlemen & Players by Joanne Harris

The Ivy by Lauren Kunze

The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand

The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis

Happy Reading!

Witchful Thinking by Kristen Painter

 

First line:  Charlotte Fenchurch stared down at the library cart of books waiting to be reshelved and wished for the hundredth time in as many days that her recently acquired status as a witch also came with immediate powers.

Setting:  Everlasting, Maine, where both the normal and the supernatural live.

The plot:  Walker Black, a leopard shifter and witch hunter, is tracking down a dangerous grimoire full of black magic before its evil can be unleashed on the world. The same grimoire Charlotte has just found at her library. She doesn't intend on ever using it, but there are others who aren't so scrupulous. And now Walker must protect her from them.

My thoughts:  This is a cozy paranormal mystery/romance. It's cute and humorous and an easy read if you're running tired--which I seem to be a lot lately. It's also a good book for fall with the whole witch/magic thing. I have to admit, I prefer Kristen Painter's Nocturne Falls books to this one, but it was still a fun read, if a little bit thin. Charlotte and Walker are very likable. I just wish there had been more of them, more magic, more story. But this book has its charms and I enjoyed reading it. (It's also a book from off my own shelves, so it was an added bonus to get another of my own TBR books finally read.)

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: BOOKS ON MY FALL 2025 TO-READ LIST.

Which is always an easy one...my TBR list is long and constantly growing. But here are 10 books I am definitely planning on reading this fall: 

1. Ghost Business by Jen DeLuca
2. Dying Cry by Margaret Mizushima
3. A Judgement of Powers by Benedict Jacka
4. Death at a Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong
5. Her First Mistake by Kendra Elliott
6. The White Road by John Connolly
7. An Ancient Witch's Guide to Modern Dating by Cecilia Edward
8. Bad Luck Charm by Julie Johnson
9. The Paranormal Ranger by Stanley Milford Jr.
10. Skinwalker by Faith Hunter
11. If All Else Sails by Emma St. Clair

Counting to 10 is obviously not my strong suit. But this list could have been even longer, there are so many books I want to read before the end of the year. What books are you hoping to read this fall?

Happy Reading!

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

 

From the blurb:  "You know what's worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what's worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That's what. 

"Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world--or just get to the next level--in a video game-like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that's actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly drug-dealing llamas. This ain't your ordinary game."

My thoughts:  After a string of mediocre 3-star reads, it was a relief to immerse myself in this entertaining, quirky, and irreverently hilarious book. If you ever played an RPG like D&D, get ready for some fun. This is a crazy, action-filled adventure with fantastic monsters, loot, and leveling up. Though there's also a fair amount of language and a little gore at times, too. Despite that, I really enjoyed this book. Carl is such a great character, trapped in the dungeon without shoes or pants. And the snarky, full-of-herself Princess Donut, a talking Persian cat, totally made me laugh. They make an awesome team. I've already put the second book on hold and I can't wait to check it out.

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Happy Reading!

Haiku Reviews....

 

As You Ice It by Emma St. Clair

Single mom and son 

get second chance at love 

with hockey defenseman.

Sweet hocky romance .... 304 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(Loved Camden Cole's interactions with Naomi and her son, Liam; such a cute romance.)

We Won't All Survive by Kate Alice Marshall

Survival was just

part of the show until people

 started dying for real.

YA thriller .... 326 pages .... 3.5/5 stars.

(Readable and fun.)

Once Upon a Boy Band by Jenny Proctor

He was a pop star.

She was a fan. Music and

dogs bring them together.

Sweet romance .... 342 pages .... 5/5 stars.

(Love, love loved this one!)

Happy Reading!

September's Bookish Art...

 

James Tissot -- Woman Reading By the Harbor 

"There is nothing more luxurious than eating while you read--unless it be reading while you eat."

--E. Nesbit

The Cave by Amani Ballour, M.D.

 "I know what happened because I lived it. I survived it. This is my story which I am telling for history's sake. I will not live forever, but these testimonies, these truths, should.... I will always speak out rather than remain silent. When it comes to illuminating the suffering in Syria, I believe I must speak for the ones who were silenced. I also believe we must tell the truth for history's sake--to let the world know, including the criminals who harmed us, that we are still here. That we have not forgotten what they did to us, or our cause, and that we will fight for freedom until one day we get it." 

 

Amani Ballour grew up in Kafr Batna, a smaller, more rural community in Eastern Ghouta, Syria. The fifth child (and youngest daughter) in a family of eight children, she attended medical school in Damascus in 2006, focusing on becoming a pediatrician. Then the Syrian revolution began in 2011 and life changed for Amani, her family, her community, and the thousands of Syrians who dared to stand up against the brutal Assad regime and demand their basic human rights and freedoms. Amani ended up returning home and going to work in an underground hospital dubbed The Cave, where they treated anyone who needed help, even though they had little equipment, money, or medications.

This is her story. It is also the story of Syria. And of all those killed by Assad just because they longed for democracy and liberty. It's gut-wrenching and heartbreaking...and one of those must read books. The international community may have ignored the dreadful things that happened in Eastern Ghouta-- starvation, shelling, children dying, bombings, Sarin gas attacks, disappearances, arrests, torture, threats, fear, and brutal crackdowns--but we shouldn't.

Yes, this book can be hard to read at times. But this is such an important book!  Amani's story and determination and strength will inspire you. And her sorrows and heartbreaks will make you cry. 

Here's just a taste of her words:

• "I thought the International community would surely do something to stop our misery, that it wouldn't just let Assad kill and punish people for protesting. And I couldn't imagine that starvation would be used as a tactic in the 21st century."
• "I learned through experience that the human capacity to endure hardship is vast; we are capable of extraordinary resilience."
• "I fear for my family and friends in Syria, for my beloved countrymen and -women, and always for the children. But I am not hopeless. I know that human beings are capable of changing history. I believe in the ability of people in democracies to change government policies and to help others elsewhere through humanitarian gestures if their governments won't. We can all do our part. My colleagues and I in The Cave never faltered or wondered. What difference can one person make? Every helping hand is precious. Individual efforts can snowball into group efforts. And group efforts can change the world."

My rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

Happy Reading!

Runner 13 by Amy McCulloch

 "An exhilarating thriller set against a 250-mile footrace in the Sahara Desert, where more than one ultramarathoner will be running for their lives."

What I loved:  The extreme setting. The extreme sport. And all the twists along the way. McCulloch, who herself completed the Marathon des Sables in the Sahara Desert, writes with such compelling authenticity. I loved the tension she creates among the different elite runners and the race director; the weather and the harsh terrain also play an important role in this story. I also liked how McCulloch weaves in the past with the present in a way that added to the mystery and the suspense. And I admired the resilience of her main character, Adrienne Wendell, as she navigates the tough race and the mysterious murders happening around her. This is a fabulous and fun thriller.   ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Randomness...

 Recently finished reading Rage by Linda Castillo. (#17 in her Kate Burkholder series):

I love this series! Kate Burkholder grew up Amish, left the faith when she was 18, and is now the Chief of Police in Painter's Mill, Ohio...the town where she grew up. She straddles both the English and the Amish worlds as she tracks down murderers and solves crimes. Her husband, John Tomasetti, works with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. They make a great team, and this is another excellent mystery in this always suspenseful, well-written series. (Though I do agree with Rachel@Waves of Fiction, Kate really does need to learn to wait for backup!)

Went to see the movie SKETCH on my birthday and thought it was very creative and fun, and surprisingly suspenseful. 

My glad things from August:

• A Rufous hummingbird hung out in my backyard all August--I guess my yard is a stop on its fall migration. Rufous hummers are so colorful...and so territorial! The one in my yard kept chasing away the Black-chinned hummingbirds from the feeders, even though there was plenty of food for all.
• Bought a new computer so I could upgrade to Windows 11, and managed to get it up and running without any huge problems. (A decided feat for non-techie me.)
• My sister and I have been revising our KindleVella story, Ghosts of Grayhaven. (Some of you might remember reading it.) Since KindleVella is now defunct, we're going to release it on Kindle this fall. 
• Bought some books for my birthday. Now I just have to find room for them on my shelves. Funnily enough, it's not a problem I mind having. 
• Project Runway, one of my favorite reality TV shows, is back. While I don't love all the overly dramatic personalities, I do love seeing the fashion they create.
• My African violet is blooming again! 
• And I heard a Western Screech Owl outside my window last night and again this morning. Any day with owls in it is a good day!

Top Ten Tuesday

 

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

This week's theme is BOOKS WITH OCCUPATIONS IN THE TITLE.

I tried to find 10 books that I've read with 10 different occupations in the title...here's what I came up with:

1. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
2. The Archivist by Martha Cooley
3. The Geographer's Library by Jon Fasman
4. The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe
5. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
6. The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips
7. The Matchmaker by Rexanne Becnel
8. The Teacher by Frieda McFadden
9. Eddy Johnson, Book Dealer by John Wiley
10. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley
11. Stardoc by S.L. Viehl
12. The Cinderella Governess by Georgie Lee

I know...I listed 12 books, not 10. But I couldn't decide which 2 to not include, so I just decided to include them all. Because I enjoyed reading them all. And I liked that every occupation in each of these books is so unique. 

Happy Reading!

The Innocent by David Baldacci

 One more trip.

One more kill.

It would be difficult, but then they all were.

He could easily die.

But that was also always the case.

It was a strange way to spend one's life, he knew.

But it was his way.

Brief plot summary:  Will Robie is a clandestine hit man for the US government; the man they call on to take out the ruthless and evil people no one else can stop. But when he's assigned a target that doesn't fit that definition, he refuses to make the kill. Now he's on the run with a teenage girl in tow who's fleeing the men who killed her parents. And this time, Robie makes it his job to keep her alive. 

My thoughts:  David Baldacci is one of my mom's favorite authors; she's read every book he's ever written more than once. But this is the first book by him that I've ever read. And I really liked it. Will Robie reminds me of Gabriel Allon and Evan Smoak--two of my favorite action/thriller heroes. And I loved his interactions with Julie, the sarcastic and streetwise yet very vulnerable teenage girl whose life he saves. This book has good writing and is well-plotted, fast-paced, and entertaining. And it won't be the last Baldacci novel that I read. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Happy After All by Maisey Yates

 

"It's a truth universally acknowledged--at least, in a romance novel--that the moment the main character has her life in order, the exact person she doesn't want to meet will come along and knock all that careful order into disarray. For example, when a respectable motel owner who has decided to focus on her writing career and her own personal happiness is beginning to feel satisfied with the way she's rebuilding her life, a disastrously gorgeous man will walk in and disrupt everything."

Amelia fled to Rancho Encanto to rewrite her life. She's not looking for romance. Then Nathan Hart comes to her motel to write for the summer. He's aloof and keeps to himself, but Amelia can't help feeling a spark of attraction between them. Not only are they both writers, they're both grieving loss and trying to move forward and heal. But heartbreak is hard to overcome. 

"We would never have met if our lives hadn't crashed and burned. But it doesn't feel like something that happened because of tragedy. It feels like a small miracle. An oasis in the middle of the desert, which in many ways is what Rancho Encanto is."

This is such a good book! I loved how Yates starts each chapter with a romance trope, and how Amelia, a romance writer, uses that framework to narrate her own story. I thought it was very clever and fun. But this is not a simple summer romance. There's a range of emotions in this one: laughter and loss, hurt and hiding from that sadness, grumpiness, joy, lots of tears, and love. Both Amelia and Nathan had to navigate their own grief in order to find healing and hope. I also loved Amelia's found family full of quirky characters living in this small desert community. They made me smile. 

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:  NON-BOOKISH FREEBIE. Which means you can do pretty much anything you want. Which, for some reason, always feels like a lot of pressure on me to choose just the right topic. Which is dumb, but there you go. So, after much thought and deliberation, I decided to go with 10 Favorite Bookish Memories.

1. My mom making up bedtime stories just for me when I was little about a mischievous fairy named Golda and all her fun misadventures.
2. My dad teaching me to read using his old copy of Dick and Jane and Hop on Pop among other books.
3. Trips to the library from the time I was little (we went several times a week in the summer because the library was air-conditioned and our house was not).
4. Library book sales that lasted for days. Me and my sisters would go everyday with our wishlists and come home with bags of books. 
5. Book orders in elementary school from Troll, Arrow, and Scholastic. I loved coming home with a new armful of books every month.
6. Teachers who read favorite books to my class like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Where the Red Fern Grows, and A Wrinkle in Time. They are books I still love today.
7. Fun Buddy Reads with my mom, my niece, Bettina and Melody.
8. Getting to meet Jane Yolen, Gary Blackwood, Laurie Foos, and Stephanie Black at writer's conferences.
9. My dad buying me each new Harry Potter book on the day it came out so I could read it right away even though I was more than old enough to go out and buy them myself. (Thanks, Dad!)
10. Reading A Long Walk to Water with a group of 4th graders and seeing their eyes light up when they finally see the connection between Salva and Nya at the end. 

Happy Reading!

Tears of the Wolf by Elisabeth Wheatley

 

First line:  "Marriage was the second fastest way to get rid of a woman, and the King was quite eager to get rid of Brynn. ... But for King Aelgar to marry her off to the husband of his choosing, he first had to deal with Brynn's current one."

Plot summary: Brynn is an Istovari sorceress grieving the death of her young son. Her mother chose her first husband for her, an older widower who neither loved nor respected her. This time she's choosing for herself. Cenric of Ombra is an alderman in the far northern reaches in need of a sorceress. He has no connection to the king or her mother. Marrying him offers Brynn escape, and freedom. Or so she hopes. She's not hoping for love. But Cenric just might surprise her.

5 Things I loved:

• The richly detailed viking-esque setting and all the magic.
• Brynn's and Cenric's tentative friendship that grows into something more.
• Brynn's steely resolve to not be anyone's pawn ever again, and Cenric's own resolve to protect his new wife.
• All the personable dyrehunds that belong to Cenric (and that can talk to him).
• And all the many fun side characters.

My thoughts:  I saw this fantasy on the new books shelf at my library and picked it up on a whim, and I'm SO glad I did. I loved everything about this one and I really hope Wheatley hurries up and writes a sequel!

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Haiku Reviews

 

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Two sisters deal with

heartache in different ways.

Find love in the end.

Classic .... 353 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(My 2025 Jane Austen reread to celebrate her 250th birthday this year; it's not my favorite Austen novel, but I liked it more this time around than I did the first time I read it. Though I still love the Emma Thompson movie version best.)

Fly Girl by Ann Hood

The reality and

adventure of being a 

flight attendant for TWA.

Biography .... 265 pages .... 3.5/5 stars.

(Remember when flying used to be a more glamorous way of traveling? Ann Hood does in this interesting memoir.)

Star-Crossed Crush by Sarah Deeham

Hot rock star. Cute dog.

Best friend's little sister.

Secret crush. True love.

Contemporary Romance .... 335 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(Slowburn romance with lots of heart, humor, and only a few steamy scenes...it also has a very cute Corgi name Archie.)

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:  BOOKS WITH A HIGH PAGE COUNT...or "Chunksters" as I like to call them. Here's 10 of the longest books I've read:

The Stand by Stephen King  (1472 pages)

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand  (1168 pages)

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell  (959 pages)

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke  (846 pages)

Middlemarch by George Eliot  (852 pages)

The Passage by Justin Cronin  (766 pages)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling  (759 pages)

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand  (736 pages)

Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville  (722 pages)

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse by Peter Matthiessen  (688 pages)

Whew! 

These days I prefer much shorter books, but these were all good.

Happy Reading!

Do No Harm by Robert Pobi

 

Meet Lucas Page:  devoted husband, father, professor, astrophysicist, ex-FBI agent, double amputee, and a genius when it comes to analyzing numbers and patterns, and spotting unexpected connections. Which is why he's the only one who notices the strangely high number of doctors either committing suicide in the city or suffering fatal accidents. The odds are mathematically impossible. Now he just has to convince the FBI they were all murdered. And then try to figure out why. And by whom.

My thoughts:  I could not put this book down. This psychological thriller is propulsive and perfectly plotted. And Lucas Page is the greatest character. He sees things others don't, and he has no tolerance for small talk or fools. I loved his snark and his smarts. Though it puts him and his wife (who's a doctor) both at risk. His investigation becomes a race to find the murderers before the killers come for him. This book is fast-paced, full of action, and so well written. I loved it. I can't wait to read Pobi's first two books about Lucas Page.

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey

 

What this book is about:  Birdie, a young single mother, and her six-year-old daughter, Emaleen, who live in Alaska. Birdie yearns for freedom and flight and wild places. And Arthur Nielsen, a quiet, scarred recluse who lives in an isolated cabin in the mountains beyond Wolverine River. He and Birdie fall in love and for awhile the three of them are happy living together far away from everyone else, exploring the wilderness, picking berries, catching salmon. But Arthur has a secret--a side of himself that isn't so tame. And it threatens their fairy tale ending.

My thoughts:  I loved Ivey's fairy tale-inspired novel, The Snow Child. She has a way of evoking a sense of wonder with her lyrical prose while at the same time creating a setting so real you can practically smell the wildflowers. And she's done it again with this novel. I loved the richly drawn Alaskan wilderness setting, and I loved Arthur and Emaleen and their cute interactions, too. But like many a Grimm fairy tale, I sensed early on I might not get my hoped for happy ending in this one. Because this book is sad. Which didn't make me like it any less, though it did break my heart just a little. I wanted more for Arthur, Birdie and Emaleen. But I still love the way Ivey writes.

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

August's bookish art...

 

Rupert Bunny -- Woman Reading

"Books are good company, in sad times and happy times..."

--E.B. White

Dark Ride by Lou Berney

 "This is not the plot twist that my life required. I wish I'd never noticed those kids on the bench. I wish I'd never walked over. I wish, most of all, that I existed in a version of the multiverse where hurting kids with the glowing tip of a cigarette falls far beyond the boundaries of the human imagination. But I don't and it's not."

 

Hardly Reed is not a hero. He's a twenty-one year old college dropout who spends his days blissfully stoned and his nights working at an amusement park as a scare actor for minimum wage. And he's extremely content to drift through life hardly working, hardly trying. It's how he got his nickname. 

Then he spots two young children sitting silently, alone, scared, and sporting cigarette burns. And something inside Hardly shifts. He has to help those children. And when CPS does nothing, he knows he'll have to do it himself. 

"I'm not delusional. I know this is kind of crazy. I do. But look me in the eye and tell me it's not worth the risk. How many times in a lifetime do you get an opportunity to actually make a real difference. Like, a true life-changing difference. This might be the one point in my entire life that is the entire point of my life."

My thoughts:  From the first sentence to the last, this book is brilliantly written and compellingly intense. And such great characters! Hardly is a funny, engaging, and heartbreakingly likable narrator. I loved him and all his quirky friends. And everything he does to save those kids! What a gripping ride. He makes mistakes along the way and some of the outcomes are brutal, but he never gives up. This is a book I won't soon forget. It reads fast and packs a punch. And it might make you cry at the end. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Top Ten Tuesday...

 

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

This week's theme:  GENRE FREEBIE.

And I was going to go with my favorite historical mysteries, because there are several series I'm currently reading and loving, but then at the last minute I changed my mind. Instead, here's a list of 10 of My Favorite Post-Apocalyptic Books:

 Alas Babylon by Pat Frank

(Because it was the first one I ever read in this genre.)

 

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

(Because who didn't read and love this one?)

One Second After by William R. Forstchen

(This is one of my favs.)

Until the End of the World by Sarah Lyons Fleming

(Yes, there are zombies in this one.)

The Wolves of Winter by Tyrell Johnson

(I read this one with Melody.)

The Stand by Stephen King

(It'a classic!)

Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill

(This one has robots. And Pounce is the best!)

Going Home by A. American

(Dystopian survival at its best.)

Outage by Ellisa Barr

(A great YA survival novel.)

Positive by David Wellington

(You knew there would be a 2nd zombie book somewhere on this list.)

Other books I've read and loved that I could have added to this list: World War Z, The 5th Wave, Divergent, Autumn, Feed, Life As We Knew It, When the Power Is Gone, Devil's Wake...and the list goes on and on. I do love reading these kinds of dystopian novels. So if you know of any good books to add to my list, please let me know! 

Happy Reading!

Post from the past...

 I was searching my blog the other day for a certain book set in England and ran across this one instead...and for a moment I couldn't even remember reading it. Sad when you can't remember a book you read only three years ago. Good thing I wrote about it. So, just for fun, I'm re-posting my short review of it, because I think it's worth remembering. 

Title & Author:  Friend of the Devil by Stephen Lloyd

Setting:  Danforth Putnam, an elite boarding school located on a private island off the coast of New England.

Main characters:  Sam, an insurance investigator and former marine who's tough, perceptive, sarcastic, haunted, and funny; and Harriet, a teen reporter with epilepsy who's determined, smart, and spunky, Sam's looking into the theft of a rare book, and Harriet's investigating an incident of bullying when their paths intersect. Dark and strange things at Danforth Putnam surprise them both.

My thoughts:  This book is a fun combination of mystery, detective fiction and supernatural horror. There's good suspense and lots of humorous moments, and it reads fast. I loved Sam's snarkiness and Harriet's stubborn fearlessness. And there's a very explosive demonic twist at the end that I was NOT expecting. But I thought it was a good one. I ended up really liking this book. It's an entertaining summer read. 

Happy Reading!

(Review first posted on this blog on August 25, 2022)