#AllHallowsWeek Review - Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Series: Fever #1

Genre: Paranormal 

Age Group: Adult

Source: Library ebook

Ebook - 382 pgs

Delacorte Press (2006) 

Add it // Buy it

3/5

MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault

Looking back at this book I’m not sure how I made it through the first half, but I’m glad I stuck it out.

The first half of Darkfever is slow and Mac makes some dumb decisions. Until the fantasy side of the story introduced, the story just dragged. If you can get through this section the second half of the book is really exciting and things improve a lot in book two. I feel like I say this about every paranormal series I read, but that is a discussion for another day.

Throughout the book Mac from the future breaks the fourth wall to talk to the reader and I was frustrated Future Mac talked so poorly about Current Mac. It sets a tone for the reader that we shouldn't like this version of the character. Several of the characters also comment on how Mac's attire and style is a reflection of how soft and silly she is which was simply overdone. Mac can kick butt in a pink skirt if she wants to! Moning's writing style just isn't my favorite. In between action scenes she repeats herself a lot and described things in a lot of detail.

However, I did enjoy the ending of this. Mac really starts to become an active participant in her own story. At that point I was invested and I loved how she took the reins to start directing her own fate. It just took her a long time! The action really picked up, so the writing was better, and I was intrigued enough to pick up book two. 

Friday Update - #AllHallowsWeek

This week has been a WEEK. Work has been really busy and I contracted some type of cold last weekend. The beginning of the week went ok. I just had a sore throat, but on Wednesday I woke up with a headache (migraine strength) and a fever. You would think a sick day would be a day I could read in bed, but I slept most of the day and couldn't muster the strength for much else. Even after I went back to work yesterday, I fell asleep early after I started my rewatch of Stranger Things. Anyway if you are interested in a Friday update, I posted a video to Youtube.

 

This weekend I'm hoping to catch up on things. Mainly I want to finish at least one book for the Autumnal Readathon. I was so excited for this before this cold kicked me in the butt. Hopefully I'll have a little time and energy left to do that. I also want to watch Stranger Things! I'm excited for Season 2, but since the first season is only eight episodes I might watch that all over again. Don't look for me too much online this weekend because I'll be avoiding spoilers! 

Happy Reading! 

Check back tomorrow and through Halloween for more creepy bookish posts!

Review - Crimson Peak by Nancy Holder #AllHallowsWeek

Series: Standalone

Genre: Gothic Romance

Age Group: Adult

Source: Purchased from Audible 
Audiobook - 10 hours
Titan Books - 2015
Add it //Buy it 

Rating: 4/5

When her heart is stolen by a seductive stranger, a young woman is swept away to a house atop a mountain of blood-red clay: a place filled with secrets that will haunt her forever. 

Between desire and darkness, between mystery and madness, lies the truth behind Crimson Peak. From acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro.

When the movie Crimson Peak was released a few years ago, I was very intrigued. However, I am not a horror fan so I skipped the film. Afterward I purchased this audiobook to get a taste of what I missed. Overall, I would classify this story as a romantic historical thriller. It is quite creepy and atmospheric for the fall.

Throughout the book I kept comparing this story to The Fall of the House of Usher. Someone had to have taken inspiration from the decaying house and dying corrupt bloodline of that story. Even though the story is a little predictable, I was still addicted to the audiobook and I listened to it as much as I could. Although I did not listen to it when I was home alone one evening. It was too creepy for that!

The characters are quite interesting and I was surprised by their complexity. At each turn of events characters were conflicted and had a lot of complex motivations for their choices. I was not expecting this since this was a novelization of a movie. This was true for the description and the plot as well. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the complexity of this story. The writing is very descriptive and Holder paints a strong picture even though I had images from the movie in my mind.

Honestly I'm excited to watch the movie at some point now and I think I will be able to handle it. After many hours of creepy audiobook filling my ears, I hope I can handle two hour of creepy film.

Recommended: Creepy TV Episodes and Podcasts

#AllHallowsWeek Review - Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Series: Standalone 

Genre: Fantasy/Mythology 

Age Group: Adult
Audiobook - 6.5 hours
Harperaudio- 2017 
Add it // Buy it 

Rating - 5/5

Neil Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he turns his attention back to the source, presenting a bravura rendition of the great northern tales. In Norse Mythology, Gaiman fashions primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds; delves into the exploits of the deities, dwarves, and giants; and culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and the rebirth of a new time and people. Gaiman stays true to the myths while vividly reincarnating Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin’s son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki, the son of a giant, a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator. From Gaiman’s deft and witty prose emerges the gods with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to dupe others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions, making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again. 

I’ve been an avid mythology fan for most of my life. Take my fascination with ancient myths all the way back to the Ulysses episode of Wishbone.  After being curious about the Norse myths for years, but never knowing where to start, this book seemed like something to ease me into the mass of myth.

All of the myths within are rewritten and reworked by Gaiman in a way that makes them accessible and entertaining to read. Though I cannot speak for accuracy, because this is my first foray into Norse myths, the stories feel timeless. They have the elements of old original myths within. They can explain, warn, and entertain.  

The audiobook was a delight. Gaiman read it himself, like he does most of his audiobooks, and that always add something to the experience for me. Most of the chapters are short which I really enjoyed because it made finishing chapters of the audiobook easy and I could stop at the end of each retelling if I needed to stop listening.

Each story was complete and full of adventure. The gods were fickle and they are all related in some strange way. It was fantastic.

NYC Vlog and Haul #AllHallowsWeek

Last weekend I traveled to New York City with two friends for a two day trip to the city. We had a lot of fun and visited a few bookstores as well as other shops. I did pick up a few thing and had a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy my little trip vlog even though I only have a few clips!

Stores Mentioned:

Strand Bookstore

Kinokuniya Bookstore

Waiting on Wednesday #AllHallowWeek

Though most of my anticipated releases for the year have already been released, I still have a few that I am really excited for. Luckily, I don't have much longer to wait for the books I'm talking about today.

1) Romancing the Werewolf by Gail Carriger - (Release November 4th ) - This novella is finally here! The story of Biffy and Lyall is finally being released. I'm so excited and I have the digital version pre-ordered. I can't wait to add a physical version to my collection (which will come later) but it is coming!

2) The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night by Jen Campbell - (Release November 2nd) - Though I don't read a lot of short story collections, I want to get my hands on this. I love Jen and her channel on Youtube. I've heard great things about this collection and it is beautiful!

3) City of Bones (10th Anniversary Edition) by Cassandra Clare - (November 7th) - I've recently reread this first book and I am so excited to get my copy of this Collector's Edition. Not a new release but I am still excited.

  

Creepy TV Episodes, Podcasts and Recommended Reading - #AllHallowsWeek

Are you ready for all things generally creepy? Are you ready to be spooked in many different formats? If so, this is the post for you! Today I'm recommending some creepy TV episodes and podcasts. Then I am sending you out to other blogs to check out some cool posts about costumes and some books I haven't read.

Spooky Listens -

One of my favorite podcasts is Stuff You Missed in History Class. In October they often feature topics outside their normal realm of historical topics. Though all of their episodes are well researched and full of facts, these October episodes are spookier and have more unexplainable elements.

Ghosts of History: A Haunted House Tour - Homes with tragic history!

Beast of Gevaudan - Possible French werewolf attacks!

The Hagley Woods Murder - Who put Bella in the Witch Elm?

The Disappearance of the Sodder Children - Actually the scariest case of arson you will ever read/listen to.

#AllHallowsWeek Review - Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger

Series: Finishing School Series #3

Genre: Historical Fiction Steampunk Paranormal

Age Group: Young Adult

Paperback - 298pgs

ATOM - 2014

Rating: 4.5/5

Sophronia continues finishing school in style - with a range of deadly defences secreted in the folds of her ball gown, of course. Her fashionable choice of weapons comes in handy when Sophronia, her best friend Dimity, sweet sootie Soap and the charming Lord Felix Mersey hijack a suspiciously empty train to return their chum Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland.

But when Sophronia discovers they are being trailed by a dirigible of Picklemen and flywaymen, she unearths a plot that threatens to throw all of London into chaos. With her friends in mortal danger, Sophronia must sacrifice what she holds most dear - her freedom. 

My main complaint about book two was it felt like a holding pattern and we didn't make a lot of progress in the big picture plot. This book definitely changed that. There are a lot of exciting twists and turns throughout this novel and, as I've mentioned before, I find Carriger's writing style and world builiding delightful.

Carriger continues to focus on the girls working together to outsmart their enemies both near and far. As they get older they are worried about boys and marriage, but the focus on on their ambitions. I really like that part of this story.

The love triangle fails a bit in my opinion. Throughout the books I felt like only one of Sophronia's suitors is a serious contender. The other fell flat to me. I don't know if this was a problem with the writing and plotting or if I personally failed to see the appeal in the other character from the start. 

I highly recommend this series as a fun and fast paced read.

#AllHallowsWeek - The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey

Series: The Monstrumologist #2
Genre: Horrror
Age Group: Young Adult
Paperback - 444 pgs
Simon and Schuster 2010
Add it // Buy it 

Rating: 3/5 

While attempting to disprove that Homo vampiris, the vampire, could exist, Dr. Warthrop is asked by his former fiancé to rescue her husband from the Wendigo, a creature that starves even as it gorges itself on human flesh, and which has snatched him in the Canadian wilderness. Although Warthrop also considers the Wendigo to be fictitious, he relents and rescues her husband from death and starvation, and then sees the man transform into a Wendigo.


Can the doctor and Will Henry hunt down the ultimate predator, who, like the legendary vampire, is neither living nor dead, whose hunger for human flesh is never satisfied?

What a mixed bag! This book, unlike the first in the series, has me quite on the fence. There were parts that I really liked. For instance, the action and adventure in this installment rivals the first. We actually visit the Canadian wilderness and throughout the trek the story is quite intense. There were moments of genuine fear and anxiety while I was reading this harrowing journey. The same level of gore and violence were used, but there were fewer occurrences. I did like how the doctor was humanized in this book. There were several instances where he broke his Holmes-like persona and showed more character depth. 

However, one of the main draws for me in book one was the monster hunting. We see significantly less hunting and immensely more philosophizing in this second book. While I did enjoy this character introspective it disappointed me after spending the first half of the book in the dangerous wilderness. To me two halves of the book were warring for dominance and in the end they both lost. The wordy writing style and strange wandering tangents didn't keep my attention. 

I'm sad this book took me so long to read, but I will continue on with the series since the preview of book three promised a return of some familiar faces. 

Throwback ---> The Madman's Daughter Review 

#AllHallowsWeek - Spooktacular Bookish Fun

Happy Hauntings Readers! The time has come for All Hallows Week again! If you haven't seen my past Hallows Weeks, here are how things go down. Over the past few Octobers I've features creepy and spooky reads in the week leading up to Halloween. In October I try to add it a few extra books featuring paranormal creatures and fall vibes then recommend my favorites as well.

This year is a bit different. The idea is the same, but I've been posting everyday in October. I'm doing my best to get back into the habit of blogging since I've been fairly erratic this year. If you want to check out all my October posts, go to my Booktober tag on the blog!

Anyway I have videos and posts ready for your viewing pleasure this week and all the way up to Halloween. To kick us off today I've collected a few of my favorite post from past years here in this post.

My Ten Halloweenish/Spooky TV Episodes

Review - A Madness so Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

Autumnal Readathon TBR

After watching a few TBRs for this readathon I knew I wanted to participate! I have quite a few books on the go right now though so my goal for the week is to start a few of these. I doubt I'll actually finish them though. We shall see! See the challenges here!