Welcome to Litsy!

I was disappointed with this month‘s Aardvark selections and was going to skip. Tracy‘s review of the tagged book had me curious, but leery. Then I saw that Scott said it was one of his favorites this year and how am I supposed to resist that? I added a book that I didn‘t pick up in July (you know, when I was trying to be good and only pick one).

My December Aardvark box. The tagged book is supposed to be a signed copy. I am having second thoughts about Itch, but it does sound interesting. #aardvarkbookclub

This book was something…all sorts of wrong—in the best sort of Victorian horror ways—and the kind of story that is hard to put down even as you read it through your fingers with a mix of horrified fascination and “eewwww, don‘t get too close because…gross.” There‘s a nanny, a creepy house with even creepier owners & a pair of kids running around underfoot. There‘s also revenge, murder, & horror. This book may not be for everyone but I enjoyed it.

I listened to Titus Groan several years ago and did not especially enjoy it, so it‘s taken me a long time to try this second book. Gormenghast Castle is a world of its own peopled with truly interesting characters. I enjoyed this book more than the first, but it‘s still a slow moving story where I kept waiting for more to happen.

#1001books #audiobook

#wordoftheday

I didn‘t know the second “e” was silent

“Several hundred boats joined the cortège of the river, and almost the entire town participated in the funeral procession that followed the coffin, which was carried by eight sea-captains, up the steps to the grave…. Lucy herself, pleaded to attend the funeral, otherwise I would not have liked to suggest it, fearing it would upset her, and she also wished us to sit on our usual bench and…⬇️

The black hound that jumped from the Demeter and ran through the Whitby Cemetery

The Demeter. From the log-book of the Schooner Demeter (Varna to Whitby).

Two sisters end up entering the same competition in New Orleans. That competition is a haunted house run by demons that prey on the contestants' fears and it's hosted in a huge mansion they aren't allowed to explore for the first week but that shouldn't stop them, right? I had so many theories of my own reading this book and they were all wrong. I loved the intrigue, the thrill, the creativity of the challenges and how the characters overcame.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5

I enjoyed this Bluebeard fairy tale retelling. Two sisters who could be witches are hired by a count to remove a dangerous ghost from his estate. Chaos ensues and I liked the many layers of the story and could easily see a sequel that focuses on the other sister. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️