Chuck Wendig never fails to surprise! This was such a unique story. We go on a JOURNEY…into a kind of liminal space/game world that is truly terrifying. The characters are complicated and realistic, which is to say you don‘t always like them but you are rooting for them. I always know I‘m in for a good time when I read his books! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Ummmm…this one was rough! Not only is the subject matter unsettling but the audiobook narrator‘s lack of inflection or feeling in his voice was particularly disturbing and sometimes monotonous. I also really didn‘t like the ending either and there is a part dealing with puppies that I especially hated (which might sound weird given everything else going on). The overall theme though of the worth of humanity was intriguing. 🌟🌟🌟

I took a journey with this book! I wasn‘t a huge fan at first as it felt very YA even though I believe this is billed as the author‘s adult novel debut. The main character, while endearing and funny, was very juvenile in her choices. It almost became unrealistic - I mean, being told you have a week to live didn‘t mean you have EXACTLY a week to live, it‘s an estimate 🤣! That being said I LOVED THE ENDING!! I can‘t say much about it but it ⬇️

This was GREAT! Based on a real woman who was “the first witch of Boston”, this is a devastating story about a compelling, complicated woman and the husband who loved her through it all. If you love witch trial stories you can probably guess how this goes but the journey is amazing! The narrator of the audiobook was also compelling. Highly recommend!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was a super quick, dark and disturbing short story! There are some massive trigger warnings here that I‘ll try to put in the comments as a spoiler because it will give too much away otherwise. I really enjoyed it, other than wishing the story was a little more flushed out (I know it‘s a short story but I wanted more!). If you‘re ok with graphic content give it a try! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was another wild adventure of a novel! The no-end house is basically built of a series of escape rooms where your life - and your very soul - are actually at stake. While disturbing and unsettling I wouldn‘t actually say it felt like horror to me (maybe I‘m weird 🤣). Apparently it‘s based on a creepy pasta which I need to look up next. Even so it felt very unique to me and unlike anything else I‘ve read. Highly recommend! 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

This was a wild ride! Daisy Jones and the Six meets Omen with all the rock, drama, and horror that would entail. It‘s heavy on the background of what it‘s like to be in a rock band and the ups and downs inherent in that type of career. I have to admit I zoned out a little as I‘m not really into music on that sort of level, but the last 3 hours or so were solid devastation and horror…which I loved! Definitely an interesting concept! 🌟🌟🌟💫

My #botm October pick came in and IT‘S GORGEOUS!! I don‘t know if you can tell but it‘s got a textured cover and the back is beautiful too! Book of the Month is really delivering on the book quality lately!

Twists and turns and so…many…lies that my brain couldn‘t keep up. I actually said at one point “wait, what did they just say?!”. I had to go back and make sure I heard the audiobook correctly 🤣. These characters are just awful but it‘s definitely an entertaining ride. If you like a good popcorn thriller like I do pick this one up! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

A visual representation of all the books on my TBR list (and more!) that I want to read next month!

Got my #spooky #tbr ready to go! I honestly want to read all of these next month but I doubt I‘ll be able to get to them all 😬. A girl can try!! Trying to get a bingo for #bookspinbingo does help!

This was a solid mystery with a touch of the supernatural (I think…not sure how much was supposed to be “real” and how much was just in our main character‘s head). It was kind of slow for my tastes - not really a page turner for me - but I ended up enjoying it overall. A few twists and a satisfying ending. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Ahh this is a hard one! Full disclosure I saw the movie first and loved it! It‘s heartbreaking and hard to watch at times but they did an excellent job of building the relationships between the walkers, keeping the tension high, and ended it in a somewhat satisfying way. The book…did not. It‘s not bad by any means - I love me some King - but it dragged on and don‘t really solidify the friendships. And the ending - no thank you! 📚🌟🌟🌟 🎬🌟🌟🌟🌟

I loved this! Perfect for spooky season with a snarky protagonist (which I love!) and a possession story that I wasn‘t expecting but thoroughly enjoyed. It‘s also about family trauma, mothers/daughters/sisters, and the stories we tell each other in the name of protection. Highly recommend! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This mystery/thriller novel was SO GOOD!!! I could not put this down! I went back and forth between the physical copy and the audio and both were captivating. I will say it was pretty graphic at times but that doesn‘t bother me. I had an idea which sister was also the “butcher” but they definitely lead you to believe it could have been any of them. Highly recommend! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Not my favorite Riley Sager novel but still very good! Twists and turns aplenty, some easy to see coming and some a little more surprising, and plenty of action to keep the reader reading. This is your typical locked room, Orient Express type story that doesn‘t really offer anything new to the trope, s if you‘re sick of this sort of structure this might not be for you. For me I enjoyed it! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was a unique way to present a domestic drama/mystery! When letters a group of high school age students wrote to their future selves are delivered years later their lives are thrown into disarray, including a death. Was it suicide or murder? What really happened when they were kids? One of the letter writers, Audrey, is determined to find out! A solid mystery that kept my attention! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

While I enjoyed the family drama in this story - drama that includes cheating, betrayal, revenge, and murder - it was very predictable and middle of the road as locked room thrillers go. I did like the setting but almost all of the characters were unlikable and sadly the ending was kind of too good to be true. Not a bad story, just average overall. 🌟🌟🌟

This story and It Was Her House First had very similar themes - grieving woman moves into haunted house, the people in her life don‘t really believe her, she has to solve some mystery from the past - but I have to say the former was a little better. In The Farmhouse the husband was such a jerk and not only didn‘t believe her but actively gaslit her at every turn. There also wasn‘t really any surprise to it - we know the secret and she has to ⬇️

So I am fully in the mood for fall and decided to buy my first spooky blind date with a book box! It was soooo cute! I wasn‘t crazy about the plastic cup included- it got bent in the box and didn‘t match the glass/metal reusable cups in the website photos - but everything else was great! I‘m a little nervous about the book as it seems really graphic but I‘ll give it a try in October for spooky season 😳.

Wow this was good! Our main character, Ronnie, is grieving and isolating herself from the world - what better place to do it than a haunted house 👻 😲😱! There were some legitimately unsettling parts and I absolutely LOVED the ending! I will say there weren‘t really any big twists that typically seem to be in these sorts of stories but I didn‘t honestly care. Solid spooky story! 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

The science behind this one was a little boring at first, but once I switched to the audiobook I enjoyed it much more. The countdown aspect kept the thrill factor up and I truly didn‘t know how this would end. I can‘t say how realistic the outcome was but it seemed plausible. The ending felt a little rushed but it was satisfying, heartbreaking, and uplifting all at once. Not my favorite of her novels but still good. 🌟🌟🌟💫

It was down to the wire but I got my September #bookspinbingo list posted in time 😮‍💨😁! I‘m almost done with both Worst Case Scenario and One Big Happy Family so I had to push those over into the new month. Beyond that I really want to make a dent in my #botm books so I can HOPEFULLY 🤞 win the challenge and get a book sleeve by the end of the year! I also want to read The Long Walk before I see the movie adaptation. #tbr #bookspin

This is a reread (or re-listen, I guess, since I listened to the audiobook this time) and it was just as good this time as before. I don‘t know what I can say that hasn‘t already been said. 5 🌟. Excited to read the sequel!

This was such a beautifully written story that I sometimes forgot how brutal and horrific it actually was. Then mouths would be stitched shut and heads cleaved and it was brought immediately back to me 😂. This is sort of a dark horror fantasy and I was here for it! There‘s a sequel coming out next month I believe and I, for one, am excited to read it! 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

It‘s #botm time and there are TWO horror novels! I‘m so excited!!

I read the 2nd book in this series first and I have to tell you I like this first novel better! We really get to know the members of the Martini Club, especially Maggie Bird, and it was great going into her exciting past in strange lands, working for the CIA. I would definitely recommend reading the series in order and I‘m so excited to read the next book coming out soon! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is the 2nd novel I‘ve read by A.R. Torre and DANG they write some sick twists!! I feel like my brain is doing loops trying to keep up with the turns. This one involves a couple - one cop and one doctor - who seem to have an unconventional if perfectly happy marriage. Mixed in with their story is the story of a girl who‘s gone missing. That‘s all I‘ll say! I can‘t wait to read more from this author! 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

Not sure why this one isn‘t on Litsy but I definitely recommend it! It‘s a quick, satisfying whodunnit involving one man and the workers, wives, and children who all might have a reason to kill him. I listened to this is one afternoon and actually would have liked it to be a little more fleshed out - I was enjoying it so much I wanted more! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This wasn‘t a bad mystery/thriller but it was pretty predictable. The characters were seriously all horrid people and I didn‘t much care for any of them. Are they all murderers? Would they kill again to keep their secrets? Honestly who cares 🤣! Just kidding…this was kind of like a train wreck you can‘t look away from, which can be a good thing! 🌟🌟🌟

Dang this book was good! You‘ve got two sisters - one that seems to have her act together and our main character who is seriously floundering - both of which had their sisters mysteriously disappear seven years ago from the side of the road within a few weeks of each other. The journey these two go on is wild and I kept changing my mind on what really happened. Let me tell you I could never have guessed the truth! Crazy ending! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was great! It had a Needful Things sort of feel to it and definitely had a uniquely monstrous villain. It was maybe a little longer than it needed to be, but overall it captivated my attention. I think this is the first horror novel by this author but I really hope he writes more! I‘ll also take a peek at some of his other novels as I really enjoyed his writing style. 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

I absolutely LOVED this!!! My only complaint was that I wish I‘d read this sooner and during fall/spooky season. In fact, this book has put me in the mood for all things orange, brown, cozy, and pumpkin flavored 😂. This is the story of a woman trying to find herself after heartbreak and the town - and a special friend - who help her on her journey. I will say this was more of a cozy story than a horror novel but I loved it just the same! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I don‘t think I‘ve read this author before but the premise was great! I love the idea of former CIA agents now serving as cozy detectives. The other characters were kind of meh but I enjoyed the connection between a crime in the past and a current mystery unfolding as the story progresses. This is the second book in a series but can definitely be read alone. I‘ll definitely read more by this author! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I can‘t believe it‘s almost August! It‘s been insanely hot here in Florida so I‘ve been spending even more time than usual inside reading 🥵☀️. I even got a bingo on July‘s #bookspinbingo board! I have high hopes for August reading as well - hopefully i can get to a good amount of these 🤓📚🙌🏻

I hate to say it but I‘m DNFing this one for now. It‘s just too slow for my brain at the moment, and it‘s due back at the library in a few days and I‘ve only read 35%. I think I‘m definitely in the minority here. I can get my hands on the audiobook I might finish it that way!

Ruth Ware is always a fun, easy mystery read! It was interesting getting to see familiar characters again (although it‘s been a while since I read the 1st book) and to find out what they‘d been up to and where they were hoping to go. I‘m not going to lie, the mystery was extremely easy to figure out, but I still had fun anyways. I went back and forth between the ebook and audio and I really think the narrator did an excellent job! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Twist after twist after twist! It‘s been a while since I was truly shocked by a book but there is one point in particular that stopped me and made me go back and listen again…is that really what‘s happening? I love that! It started off just ok, shaping up to be your typical mystery, but then definitely goes down a path I couldn‘t have predicted. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

While not my favorite of her novels, this was still a good domestic drama with one of the most unlikeable male characters I‘ve come across. If you can imagine a man who only tells lies, leads multiple women on at the same time, and would have a master‘s degree in gaslighting if there was such a thing, you‘d have our main male character. You know from the beginning what he‘s doing and the story is more about watching all the pieces fall then ⬇️

This was DARK! It isn‘t as simple as a possible serial killer mystery, the entire town is hiding deep-seated secrets that I wasn‘t expecting and that were pretty disturbing. It‘s also a little bit coming of age to womanhood story combined either way family drama. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

The best way I can describe this is a con inside of a con inside of a con. So many twists and misdirections and characters with surprise motives. I really loved that! I also loved how short and punchy the chapters were…that always keeps me turning those pages (or listening to those chapters). At one point, however, all of the characters were so bad that I just assumed they all had a twist, which was nearly always true. Still a fun read! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Apparently my tastes run DARK because this is disturbing and I LOVED IT! These are some twisted up characters and I loved to hate them. This is the perfect example of not liking any characters but still enjoying a story overall. Now I want to read more from this author! I don‘t want to give anything away but if you like books like The Butcher by Jennifer Hillier definitely pick this one up! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Holly Gibney is BACK! This time the big baddie is very much human and the issue is more of a psychological nature. We‘ve got all of our fav characters in the Gibney series with some solid additions, including a famous jazz singer and a brash women‘s rights activist turned famous speaker. Not his best but still worth the read. I will say one thing: can we maybe let Holly have a break and have a novel without her as the main protagonist? 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Now THIS was amazing!!! Absolutely horrifying, heartfelt, and even funny at times, I can‘t think of anything I would change. Oh my god these characters broke my heart 💔. Jess was AMAZING and the boy was so sincere. The ending…🤯. I would recommend this to just about everyone and will be thinking about it for a while! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Another book I hoped to love but that, sadly, fell a little flat. The story took SO LONG for anything to happen (to the tune of nearly 70% in!) and during that time I really hated these characters. They were rich, vapid teenagers who were so spoiled and unlikable that I truly didn‘t care what happened. I will say I was wrong when I guessed who the big baddie was but, again, I didn‘t really care. Just not my cup of tea. 🌟🌟🌟

I really wanted to love this series 😫!! Everyone else seems to love it and I‘ve been really trying to expand my horizons and read more sci fi/fantasy. I‘ve been having such success but something about this series just isn‘t connecting. Maybe I‘ll try again at some point down the road but, for now, I say goodbye to the murderbot 🫡👋

Oh be still my heart 🥹😍!! This was nothing like what I expected! Yes, there‘s space travel and really cool behind the scenes aspects to NASA, but the real heart to it all is a tender love story for the ages. Joan is such a special character and watching her struggle with her hideous sister while trying to balance her love for her brilliant niece and the true love of her life, one she has to keep secret, was heart wrenching. So freaking good! 5🌟

My July #bookspinbingo TBR is ready to go! Very summer murder mystery heavy 🤣. #bookspin #doublebookspin #summerreading

This book is classified as horror so I was really hoping for some scares, however while good it was not what I‘d call “scary”. It‘s more of a historical fiction/domestic drama that has some mystical elements to it. I did enjoy it and thought the writing and narrator were great, I would have just preferred more horror. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Oh my gosh, I‘m going to miss Molly the Maid!! While this one wasn‘t my favorite in the series I did think this was a nice cozy way to end things. I love these audiobooks and I have to admit this one had me tearing up a little towards the end. A feel good mystery if I‘ve ever read one! 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫