I just finished reading an ARC of Shadow Frost by Coco Ma, which is set to release October 2019. This is a YA Fantasy which is the debut novel for Coco Ma. I got my copy of this ARC from NetGalley and boy I am so incredibly glad I did!

Description

In the kingdom of Axaria, a darkness rises. Some call it a monster, laying waste to the villagers and their homes. Some say it is an invulnerable demon summoned from the deepest abysses of the Immortal Realm. Many soldiers from the royal guard are sent out to hunt it down. Not one has ever returned. 

When Asterin Faelenhart, princess of Axaria and heir to the throne, discovers that she may hold the key to defeating the mysterious demon terrorizing her kingdom, she vows not to rest until the beast is slain. With the help of her friends and the powers she wields—though has yet to fully understand—Asterin sets out to complete a single task. The task that countless trained soldiers have failed, To kill it. But as they hunt for the demon, they unearth a plot to assassinate the princess herself instead. Asterin and her friends begin to wonder how much of their lives has been lies, especially when they realize that the center of the web of deceit might very well be themselves. With no one else to turn to, they are forced to decide just how much they are willing to sacrifice to protect the only world they have ever known. 

That is, of course, if the demon doesn’t get to them first.

What I loved….

The characters are amazing, as you see them grow and change and develop throughout the book. The Kingdom of Axaria is very well created and I was wishing I could go visit! It felt modern but ancient at the same time. I absolutely love that everyone has an ability for magic, but some more than others. Princess Asterin, the protagonist, is such a strong and feisty character. You just can’t help but love her!! Her bodyguard Orion is funny and endearing with how he teases Asterin, yet you learn important facts about him as the story progresses. It was a little bit of a surprise, as I don’t feel that what you discover about him was built up to, it felt just kind of thrown in like an afterthought. It worked though, so that was lucky. My absolute favorite character though is Quinlan, cousin to mystical Queen Rose of Eradore. He is proud and confident, yet has a sensitive side that he hides. His witty banter with Princess Asterin just put a huge goofy grin on my face and melted my heart. I couldn’t get enough of the scenes between him and Asterin.

I really hope that this is turned into a series, especially with how the book ended. I would be astounded if it was left as a standalone. This is by far one of my favorite reads of 2019 so far!!! 5 star read!!!! People….. get this book when it releases in October 2019. Seriously, you will not be disappointed!!

I’m going to go process all of the amazingness I just read, as I can tell I’m already in a book hangover from Shadow Frost. Happy Reading!! 🤓

You all must think I’m crazy for always doing Readathons. Sometimes I think I’m crazy for doing so many, but I just love them!!! It’s not like I really need an excuse to spend my days doing nothing but reading. That’s actually how I prefer to spend my days (Yes, I do still make time for adulting).

This weekend I am participating in a 36 hour Readathon with one of my favorite Facebook book groups! So far we are off to a good start. I started the Readathon off by picking one of my childhood favorites, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark by Alvin Schwartz.

Still so this day the stories in this book send chills down my spine. I love that creeped out feeling!!! When we were little my friend Leslie and I would take turns reading the stories to each other and scaring each other. Call us strange or demented but we loved it!!! 😂

My next read is an ARC of #Shadow Frost by Coco Ma, which I got from #NetGalley. I am absolutely loving this YA Fantasy debut!!! So far the character development is phenomenal, which I have to applaud Coco Ma for as there are 6 characters who remain the focal point of the story line. There are no dull moments and I’m dying to find out what happens. Thanks to Shadow Frost I have another new book boyfriend, Quinlan, and he is such a heartthrob!!! 😍😍 This Book is available for purchase in October 2019, just Incase you are interested in reading it. 😊

Well, I’m going to take a quick break to attend to Baxter, as he’s begging to go outside.

….. then I’m going to find something to eat and get back to reading!! I’ll check in tonight with my progress and maybe a book review. Happy Reading!! 🤓

I just finished reading this fantastic psychological thriller and I am absolutely in love with it! I am a huge fan of reading about Serial Killers, watching the tv show Criminal Minds, and the book series Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson. I have to say, The Whisper Man by Alex North is right up there with those things for me. The Whisper Man exceeded my expectations for a story about crime fiction with serial killers. I definitely give this book a 5/5 star rating!!

A father and son are caught in the crosshairs of an investigation to catch a serial killer preying on a small town. Until Frank Carter was caught, he was nicknamed “The Whisper Man” because he would lure his victims out by whispering at their windows at night. Tom Kennedy and his son Jake have just settled into this new small town for a fresh start after the passing of Rebecca, wife and mother. A boy in the town has just vanished, and the circumstances are quite unsettling as they highly resemble Frank Carter’s crimes. Then, Jake starts hearing whispering at his window…..

This book definitely had the creep factor turned on high! I would lay in bed reading it at night and I just couldn’t do it for long without having a light on. I swear I’m not a chicken!! The writing was phenomenal and everything flowed so well. I enjoyed that a few of the chapters were written in Jake’s perspective as you got more invested in the story. Starting out I would get a little confused between Tom and Pete’s narrations, but soon settled into being able to easily differentiate between the two. I felt that The Whisper Man was a very well thought out, well structured psychological thriller. To me, anytime children are involved, and the slightly supernatural elements are used, it’s hard not to have that feeling of fear that feeds to the reader. I also felt that the familial connection and resolution of past issues between Pete and Tom added something extra to the book. A happiness among all the dark and scary.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good Psychological Thriller, or likes reading about serial killers (real or fake), as this book truly will not disappoint! Keep an eye out for The Whisper Man by Alex North as it releases in August 2019. Thank you Celadon Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC, it was truly a pleasure! Thank you to Alex North for writing such an amazing book, it was truly a wild adventure.

Hi my bookish friends! I did a thing last night and finished two books! I got home around 5:15pm and sat down and finished the Sci-Fi book I was reading, as well as the Psychological Thriller I got from NetGalley. The book I got from NetGalley out of the Read Now section is called Click by L. Smyth. This book is being released for sale on March 29th, so just a few days away, by the publisher Harper Collins UK.

Eva is a very socially awkward young women who goes off to University looking to make a new life for herself, and make lots of friends during her first year. Unfortunately, it is nothing like what she expected and spends most of her free time obsessing over the social media accounts of the other students in her courses, almost as a substitute for having face to face social interaction. One day she notices Marina, a girl having an argument with one of her English Professors who teaches a lecture.  After witnessing a questionable interaction between Marina and the Professor, Eva starts stalking Marina on social media but doesn’t find a lot and ends up befriending her. From there, the friendship between Eva and Marina is questionable and seems very one sided as Eva portrays Marina as a very attention seeking and demanding person. At first Eva loves the attention and the demand of being Marina’s friend but as mid-semester break arrives Eva starts sticking up for herself against Marina. They get into an argument which results in Eva pushing Marina over in her chair and they stop talking. Over break Eva starts to feel guilty about what happened between them and begins stalking Marina again, only to find that her social media accounts are shut down. Eva starts to panic that Marina has blocked her, so she sends a bunch of messages to their mutual friend and classmate, Henry. When Henry reaches out to Eva toward the end of break, asking if she’s spoken to Marina and knows where she is because she’s run off, Eva flies off into a frenzy trying to find out what has happened. I’m sure you can imagine the degree of creep from there, but oh it gets even better! To find out you should really, really read the book!

 

What I absolutely loved about this book….

I loved how creepy L. Smyth made Eva, she is basically a super stalker with a very unhealthy obsession with Marina. I started to wonder if Eva was having psychotic breaks, as sometimes the incidents she would talk about just seemed too out there to be reality, and you definitely start to wonder in the last 50 pages of the book. The ending absolutely blew me away! I did not see that ending coming and was very surprised. This was my first time reading anything by L. Smyth and I instantly fell in love with the writing style. It was very smooth and flowed really well, there were certain points where I could not put the book down. I enjoyed that the book was written in Eva’s perspective, as she recounts her story of her friendship with Marina, and the events leading up to present day. Occasionally we come back to present time as Eva provides an explanation or further details and then the story delves back into the events leading up to the chaos. I almost feel that if there had been an additional Point of View added it would have taken away from the Psychological aspect and it wouldn’t have been as horribly creepy. I’m really starting to question being on social media thanks to this book!!!

What I struggled with….

There were times where the story had a lull,  where Eva was describing what she was doing, or what she and Marina would talk about. Which isn’t bad, as there were only a few parts that felt like that for me. In a way the lulls made for a great dynamic to the excruciatingly awkward and creepy parts of the book.

 

If you like Psychological Thrillers, or are looking to branch out and don’t particularly want something too gruesome, then I definitely recommend this read! I basically read it in two sittings, half the book one sitting and half the other. It was a very clean, gripping Thriller and I really hope this Author writes more books. Thanks for checking out my review of Click by L. Smyth, and Happy Reading!

I’m not really sure if I should consider this weekend’s Readathon a success or not. Usually I finish about 3 books, but this time I only finished one and read about 150 pages of The Shining. I had a lot of outside forces against me this time. For starters the Readathon started at 12am Friday and I work Friday’s so no way was I staying up all night just to work an 8 hour day. I also had plans on Sunday to visit my Brother and his family for St. Patty’s day and to celebrate his Birthday a day early. I honestly can’t tell ya what I did on Saturday!!

I’ll call it a success based on the pure fact that I really only had about 24 hours to dedicate to reading and for how much I read, well it’s a win in my book!

I had Today off from work, a much needed day off, and finished The Shining by Stephen King just a little bit ago. I’m having a hard time deciding what to read next, so I might just stare at my TBR cart for a while.

I got this fabulous idea from watching one of the vlogs by Hailey in Bookland’s booktube channel. I also could pick up my Kindle and keep reading the new Thriller I got from NetGalley, it’s called Click by Lucinda Smyth. I am enjoying it so far, but I’m not very far in. Too many choices!!! Hahaha

Well, while I figure out my reading dilemma, I’ll wish you all Happy Reading! 🤓

Hello! Welcome, welcome! This weekend I’m participating in another Readathon… SURPRISE!!! But not really 😂 I chose a book of poetry as my first read for a few reasons. 1) I needed to complete a topic from the 2019 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge, a collection of poetry published since 2014. 2) I wanted a quick read to help get me in the mood for reading. Lastly, 3) I have had this book on my Kindle forever and finally decided to read it.

What I liked:

So I really enjoyed that the book of poems was split up into three categories to really display the author’s works in the best lineup. Rupi Kaur’s writing is very profound and really spoke to me. There were poems that I could really relate to, and then there were some that I don’t relate to but might later in life. I think that she really wrote something for everyone, and because of that I would definitely recommend Milk and Honey to every woman I know, and even some men. I think it would be great to give them some perspective and insight. I also thought that her illustrations added something extra to the poems they accompanied. I would love to see her artwork in person someday.

What I didn’t care for :

It isn’t really much to do with Rupi Kaur’s poems or writing style or the book itself, but my lack of knowledge about poetry. I feel like once I become better educated with different poetry styles and authors I will definitely revisit Milk and Honey in hopes to appreciate it even more. Other than that, I gave this book a 4/5 Star rating on Goodreads and am so happy I finally read it!!!

Happy Reading friends! 🤓

I can’t believe it’s Monday and that the day is almost over already! Weekends fly by and time in general goes even faster. I guess that would be where I could insert the infamous bookish phrase, “So many books, so little time.”, but is that too cliche? Just kidding!

Over the weekend I revisited some favorites of mine, both of the page (book) and of the land (food). We had a very cold, blustery Sunday so I snuggled up and dove into the classic King novel, The Shining, and made a pot of my delicious venison stew! Boy, I couldn’t have planned that better. Nothing like a hearty meal to keep you warm while the book chills your bones. Stephen King really is the master of Horror novels!

Saturday night was creamy crockpot chicken and rice. While I was sitting on my couch with a plate piled with chicken and rice, and my beloved King book in hand, I had a thought of making this a Saturday night tradition from now on. Dinner and a book, instead of movie. I would much rather spend my night with a literary masterpiece playing in my mind as my eyes speed over the words than watch a movie, especially if a homemade meal is involved.

I’m totally geeking over my new Saturday night tradition, and hopefully it’ll get me cooking and reading more. I might even start pairing my meals to match the book I’m currently reading at the time…. hmmm genius? I think so!

Well I have to get back to the Overlook Hotel and check in to see if Danny’s nightmares that Tony shows him really will come true. I have some reviews coming up soon of books I’ve recently read, so stay tuned!

Happy Reading friends! 🤓

As a kid growing up I used to love the pictures in my books. They added something extra to the stories and made them so magical. The older you get the less we see illustrations in books. Why is that? Why do adults books not have pictures periodically places throughout the book? I personally would love it! I’m not saying there has to be a picture every 5 pages, but maybe an illustrated page every 5 Chapters or so? Am I just crazy?

What brought this thought to mind was the book I just finished, And The Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness. What a great retelling of Moby Dick that was creative and didn’t copy the original Moby Dick storyline. I loved the creative and unique pieces that Patrick Ness adds to all of his books. This book however, had some of the most beautiful illustrations I’ve seen in a long time and they made the book the amazing piece of work that it is.

This books is told in the point of view of a pod of hunting whales as they follow the trail of the mythic trail of a man thought to be the Devil himself. As they go on their journey a unique world under the “Abyss” otherwise known as the human world, is created and provides an absolutely unique and stunning story. Patrick Ness does not disappoint and as always, leaves a great message in his story. I rated this book 4/5 stars and read it in 24 hours.

So needless to say, this make me what more pictures in my adult (and Young Adult) books. Another great book with lots of pictures is Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (and it’s 4 other books in the series). Stories can be built around pictures, no matter what age group is the target.

Happy Reading! 🤓

Don’t you Just love days where you have absolutely nothing that requires immediate attention? Laundry is done, dishes are washed, and so on. You get a day all to yourself to just relax and do fun things? That was my Sunday! 😊 I had booked myself an hour massage to improve my personal heath. It was an hour of pure heaven as I felt the stress melt away. Soothing acoustic music playing quietly in the background and the slight scent of peppermint oil and eucalyptus in the air.

Journey Massage and Spa in Pittsford, NY is where I go if anyone needs a good massage therapist! They are so professional, friendly and they have the cleanest facility. They run monthly specials sometimes too, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on their website or sign up for their emails.

Afterwards as I was getting I my car to come home I realized how hungry I was. Or more like my stomach made the biggest rumble ever, so I drove on down the road to one of my favorite shopping places in Henrietta, NY where all the stores and restaurants are on Jefferson Rd. To my surprise there was a new healthy food restaurant called B Good. So I stopped in to check it out. They offer a variety of burgers all free range and grass fed (beef, turkey, chicken, bean), grain/broth bowls, and salads. I grabbed a seasonal salad and an açaí berry smoothie made with almond milk instead of Greek yogurt.

Talk about an amazing marriage of flavors! The sweetness of the beets and sweet potato perfectly balance the slightly spicy radish and tart blood orange. The Kale has either been massage or slightly wilted, making it an enjoyable texture and to top it off a refreshing lemon vinaigrette dressing and creamy avocado. The smoothie was a perfect balance of tart and sweet and was very refreshing. Nothing like filling your body with good food! If you’re going to eat food, you might as well enjoy it but have it provide something for you as well.

I will definitely be trying other menu items at B Good!! The staff were friendly, although a little slow but that is to be expected with a newer restaurant. Nothing some extra training can’t fix! I’d love to eat in next time too. Their atmosphere is light and open with some chic modern tables and chairs. It feels like a fun, calm place to grab lunch on a date or with friends and just get to hang out and chat without the hustle and bustle of busier more bar like places.

Stay tuned for the next food adventure on booksnbites! Sunday I’ll be dining in at the Silk District Pub in Rochester. First time for me and I have no idea what to expect but I hope it’s a good time. I mean, I will be there for a book club meeting after all. 😊

Happy Reading! 🤓 (and eating!)

Hope everyone is enjoying watching the Super Bowl. Go Pats Go!!! Ok, so considering I’m distracted with the game this is the perfect time for me to talk about my Feb TBR list! First, I made crockpot buffalo chicken wing dip and it’s amazing. I’ve been enjoying it with celery and I am trying really hard not to eat the entire pot of it. 😂

Now let’s talk books!!!

I’m a few books behind in my 2019 Goodreads challenge so this month I’m trying to read 13 books in hopes of catching back up! Hey 13, that’s my lucky number!!! 😊 I have 4 books that I’m reading for book clubs, and the rest are just because!

Books for Book Clubs

everyone’s a aliebn when ur a aliebn too by Jomny Sun

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

The Black Tides of Heaven by J.Y. Yang

I’m really excited for The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Dreamers (a 2019 release) and these are books that really sound like a story I will love. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle sounds almost like a clue-esque Murder Mystery but with a twist to it. I do love a good murder mystery!!

The rest of the books I want to read are continuations if series I started last year, or new releases to series I’ve read, and a few others that have caught my attention. I think I’ve done well with the variety. I have some fantasy, a murder mystery, some sci-fi, a poetry/graphic novel, horror and a government vs drug cartel thriller. All in all I’m hoping for a really big reading month!!!

I’m off to finish watching the Super Bowl and finish reading World War Z by Max Brooks. Happy Reading!! 🤓