Books With Ghosts, Zombies, and Other Spooky Things | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 10/29/24

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!

This week’s topic is: Halloween Freebie

Books With Ghosts, Zombies, and Other Spooky Things

Is anyone dressing up this year? My son who is 12 is like..nah…and my daughter who is 7 says she wants to be a ghost lol…and I can deal with that. I’ll get a white sheet cut eye holes and call it a night! 👻 So I’m going to showcase books with ghosts, zombies and other spooky things!

All the Dead Lie Down by. Kyrie McCauley | ARC Review

I hope you all have a Happy Halloween if you celebrate! 🎃

What’s on your TTT?

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The Road of Bones by. Demi Winters | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Road of Bones (The Ashen, #1)

Author: Demi Winters

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 560

Publication Date: 11/5/24 (but was first published 6/27/23)

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Categories: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Vikings, Magic

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Delacorte Press for giving me a chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A woman on the run. A crew of Viking mercenaries. A forbidden romance. And the secret which threatens them all.

Silla Nordvig is running for her life.

The Queen of Íseldur has sent warriors to bring Silla to Sunnavík, where death awaits her. When her father is killed, his last words set Silla on a perilous travel the treacherous Road of Bones–a thousand-mile stretch haunted by warbands, creatures of darkness, and a mysterious murderer–and go to Kopa, where a shield-house awaits her.

After barely surviving the first stretch of road, a desperate Silla sneaks into a supply wagon belonging to the notorious Bloodaxe Crew. To make it to Kopa, she must win over Axe Eyes, the brooding leader of the Crew, while avoiding the Wolf, his distractingly handsome right-hand man. But the queen’s ruthless assassin has other plans and hunts Silla obsessively.

Will Silla make it safely to Kopa? Or will she fall prey to the perils of the Road of Bones?

Featuring an immersive world blending fairy tale with Vikings, The Road of Bones leads you on an adrenaline-fueled chase with fun banter and a slow-building enemies to lovers romance. The first book in the Ashen Series, you are one click away from reading it!

Content Warning: violence, drug use, death

I was gifted an arc of this book although I saw it was already published in 2023 and I thought why not? I haven’t read a Viking book in a long while so I thought it would be fun. Here are my thoughts:

Likes:

+ Great world building! Silla is on the run and she finds the Bloodaxe Crew and begs them to take her to her destination. So there is a lot of traveling in this book but I enjoyed it! The forests are teeming with paranormal creatures plus soldiers and other nefarious crews. I thought this book moved on nicely with a lot of things keeping me invested. The book is under 600 pages and I read it in two days because I was hooked. There is romance, politics, secrets, betrayal and magic!

+ Silla is miss sunshine, and the leader of the crew, Rey is mister grumpy and I thought their interactions were great. There were times Silla’s personality got on my nerves because she came off naive but I also like how she was strong, learned to cope in hard situations, learned to defend herself and kept herself alive.

+ The romance was fun, until it wasn’t. And that’s all I can really say about that. There is spice though!

+ I love the found family theme. The Bloodaxe Crew has a vicious reputation but everyone on the crew mostly accepts Silla right away. There was humor but also sadness as we learn about their pasts. Right away you get a feel for this harsh land and way of life.

Dislikes:

~ There were times I wanted to shake Silla because of her actions. It’s understandable because she had to survive but people get hurt and I didn’t like that. There is another character who I liked a lot and in the end showed his true self and made me hate him a lot.

~ Story is just a little bit too long.

My Thoughts:

I was really pleasantly surprised with this book and I’m glad I read it. This book is entertaining and it took me on a wild ride. I now have to read book two because of what was revealed at the end!

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Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Goodreads Monday: The Songbird & the Heart of Stone By. Carissa Broadbent

Happy Monday!

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme where you chose a random book from your Goodreads TBR and show it off. This meme is hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog.

Title: The Songbird & the Heart of Stone (Crowns of Nyaxia, #3)

Author: Carissa Broadbent

Pages: 448

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Publication Date: 11/19/24

Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author and BookTok sensation Carissa Broadbent returns with a brand new novel in the Crowns of Nyaxia series, Songbird and the Heart of Stone, where A Court of Thorns and Roses meets Dante’s Inferno, in an epic fantasy romance of love and treachery between mortals and gods.

Mische lost everything when she was forcibly Turned into a vampire—her home, her humanity, and most devastating of all, the love of the sun god to whom she had devoted her life. Now, sentenced to death for murdering the vampire prince who turned her, redemption feels impossible.

But when Mische is saved by Asar, the bastard prince of the House of Shadow with a past as brutal as his scars, she’s forced into a mission worse than execution: a journey to the underworld to resurrect the god of death himself.

Yet, Mische’s punishment may be the key to her salvation. In a secret meeting, her sun god commands her to help Asar in his mission, only to betray him… by killing the god of death.

Mische and Asar must travel the treacherous path to the underworld, facing trials, beasts, and the vengeful ghosts of their pasts. Yet, most dangerous of all is the alluring call of the darkness—and her forbidden attraction to Asar, a burgeoning bond that risks invoking the wrath of gods.

As her betrayal looms, the underworld closes in, and angry gods are growing restless. Mische will be forced to choose between the redemption of the sun or the damnation of the darkness.

Do you have plans to read this book? Let me know in the comments below!

Weekly Wrap Up | 10/27/24

Aloha friends!

Not a lot happened this week, just the usual Sunday school for the kiddos, and school the rest of the week. It’s been warm in Hawaii this week! I’m always wishing it would cool down for Halloween but it never does and I think because the election is in full swing here, I feel like people aren’t in the Halloween mood. My daughter totally is though – we have parent conference this week, then on Halloween morning she has a Halloween Parade at her school and then we go trick or treating at night! She’s excited – but I think my son is over it plus he has school the next day and she doesn’t! 😅 Lucky her!

I hope everyone has a nice Halloween week if you do celebrate and if you are in the USA, please go out and VOTE. I already did my mail-in ballot, woohoo!!

Blog Posts:

Goodreads Monday: A Monsoon Rising by. Thea Guazon
Books With Witches | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 10/22/24
New Book Releases This Week | 10/22/24
WWW Wednesday | 10/23/24
The Games Gods Play by. Abigail Owen | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Eleven Houses by. Colleen Oakes | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Books I Read:

A Queen’s Game by. Katharine McGee
The Games Gods Play by. Abigail Owen

Currently Reading:

The Whispering Night by. Susan Dennard
Stranger Skies by. Pascale Lacelle
Bull Moon Rising by. Ruby Dixon
Vilest Things by. Chloe Gong

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

APT. Rosé and Bruno Mars – because it’s so addictive!

How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!

The TBR Book Tag!

Hi everyone! I haven’t done a book tag in so long but I saw this one on Leslie’s blog Books Are the New Black and I thought okay, I think it’s time for me to really take a look at my TBR list. Scary thought huh?! lol…

Here are the questions:

How do you keep track of your TBR pile?

Um…Goodreads? LOL…I will confess, I add titles to Goodreads but never check on it ever. I’d also say I have a mental list of books I want to read and when I see it come up somewhere I remember it’s on my list. Also, because I do a new release post on my blog, I keep a written log of when books are being released, so that’s part of my TBR list also.

Is your TBR mostly print or e-book?

It’s mostly e-books because it’s easier for me to read e-books at night. But I have a very small TBR list of print books that I want to get for my bookshelf and these are usually the pretty books with sprayed edges or a whole complete series I’ve been wanting to get.

How do you determine which book from your TBR to read next?

Good question. I’m a mood reader so that is what determines any book I read but if I get a backlist book from the library, I try to read that first because I have a time limit. Unfortunately, there are a lot of books on my physical book shelf that I own, that I haven’t read and are on my TBR list. 😅

A book that’s been on your TBR the longest

A Darker Shade of Magic by. V.E. Schwab has been on my Goodreads list for the longest time and I even have a physical copy of it on my book shelf. 😆 I don’t know why I haven’t read it yet!

A book that you recently added to your TBR

The Jasad Crown by. Sara Hashem. It has a cover! I’m excited to read this sequel to The Jasad Heir.

A book on your TBR you strictly bought because of the beautiful cover

I saw it at Barnes and Noble and on the whim just bought it because of the cover. It’s gorgeous!

A book on your TBR you never actually plan on reading

I added Ninth House by. Leigh Bardugo because of the hype I think but I don’t think I will ever read it.

An unpublished book on your TBR that you’re excited for

The Scorpion and the Night Blossom by. Amélie Wen Zhao looks amazing. I’m tempted to buy the hardcover but I just got approved for the arc so I’m excited to read this one!

A book on your TBR that basically everyone has read except you

A Sky Beyond the Storm by. Sabaa Tahir is the book I need to read to finish the series but the more time goes on I keep putting it off because now I feel like I need to start from the beginning to remember all the details from the previous books. I really should just do it.

A book on your TBR that everyone recommends

I see Legends & Lattes by. Travis Baldree on different blogs a lot! I still have to read it.

A book on your TBR that you’re just dying to read

Onyx Storm by. Rebecca Yarros and I hope it’s better than book two which I didn’t love. I didn’t hate it but it was just okay. Just a few more months for this one!

The number of books on your Goodreads shelf

It says I have 627 which is WRONG, but I actually have to switch a bunch of them to “Read”. It just takes so long. 😅 Actually, after doing this post I’m very motivated to clean up that list so I think that’s what I’ll do right now.

Here are the questions from this book tag if you feel like doing it:

The Questions:

How do you keep track of your TBR pile?
Is your TBR mostly print or e-books?
How do you determine which book from your TBR to read next?
A book that’s been on your TBR the longest
A book that you recently added to your TBR
A book on your TBR you strictly bought because of the beautiful cover
A book on your TBR you never actually plan on reading
An unpublished book on your TBR that you’re excited for
A book on your TBR that basically everyone has read except you
A book on your TBR that everyone recommends
A book on your TBR that you’re just dying to read
The number of books on your Goodreads shelf

And I’m not tagging anyone, feel free to do the tag if you like! ☺️

First Lines Fridays – Can You Guess What Book? | 10/25/24

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

“I have dog kibble in my bra.”

⬇️

⬇️

Can you guess what book it is?

Did you guess it? Have you read this one?

📖 ~ Yolanda

Eleven Houses by. Colleen Oakes | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Eleven Houses

Author: Colleen Oakes

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 416

Publication Date: 10/22/24

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Zombies, Paranormal

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for giving me a chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Midnight Mass meets The Vampire Diaries in this epic romantic tale of a mysterious island and the houses who have stood for centuries to guard against the dreaded nightmare of beings waiting to strike from the ocean’s depths.

On a forgotten part of Nova Scotia, there lies an island.
On that island are Eleven Houses.
In those houses sit eleven ancient families.
And they are waiting…

Mabel is one of the last surviving members of House Beuvry, one of the eleven houses on the haunted island of Weymouth. Her days, like all the other teens on the island, are spent readying her house for The Storm: a once-a-decade event that pummels the island with hurricane-level wind, water, and waves. But that’s not all the Storm brings with it—because Weymouth Island is a gate between the world of the living and the dead.

When Miles Cabot arrives on Weymouth Island after the death of his mother, he realizes quickly it isn’t like other places—and Mabel Beuvry isn’t like other teenagers. There’s an intense chemistry between Miles and Mabel that both feel, yet neither understand—nor the deadly consequences that will come with it.

With the suspicious death of an island elder, a strained dynamic with her younger sister Hali, and the greatest Storm in years edging ever closer, Mabel’s life is becoming as chaotic as the weather. One thing becomes clear: if the fortified houses of Weymouth Island can’t stand against the dead, then she—and everyone she loves—will pay the price.

Fares Well the House That’s Ready.

Content Warning: violence, grief, death, alcoholism

I thought the synopsis of this book was really intriguing. Here are my thoughts:

Likes:

+ There is some history about Nova Scotia which I like because I don’t know much about that place. There are only 11 families on this island and these families have to stand up to storms that kill people because in those storms are the dead – like zombies! I like the different families and the history we get from diary entries from storms in the past. I like the mysterious vibe of the story and that kept me reading so I could find out more. There is also a lot of action in the second half of the book.

+ Mabel is the main character and she is from the last house. She has a best friend Norah and I love their relationship. A new boy Miles comes to the island and learns what goes on there and a romance between him and Mabel grows. I also like her growth as a character.

+ There is a twist in the story that I didn’t expect but I did like how the story dealt with the theme of grief.

Dislikes:

~ I had to suspend reality for this one a bit because only 11 families on one island to protect…who? The world? I’m not sure…but there is a big deal about the storms and the dead and protecting the island from the dead. But I didn’t quite believe all of it and just needed a lot more world-building. By the middle of the story I was questioning everything but I shifted focus to the romance story.

~ The romance between Mabel and Miles is insta-love but I still don’t understand why the two of them getting together made the storm more volatile. Again, I think that’s due to lack of world-building and explanation about the magic system.

~ The synopsis boasts “Midnight Mass meets The Vampire Diaries” and I don’t know what Midnight Mass is but I was an original fan of the original The Vampire Diaries by. L.J. Smith. And I actually didn’t see how The Vampires fit into this story at all so it’s not a good comparison. I’d say The Circle by. L.J. Smith fits more because that was about different families fighting evil.

My Thoughts:

This was an interesting read and good for spooky season if you want to read about a mysterious island and dead rising in these storms. The romance was a bit insta-love and I needed a lot more world-building to be invested in the story but I did like the main character’s journey through grief. This one would appeal to teen readers.

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Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Games Gods Play by. Abigail Owen | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Games Gods Play (The Crucible, #1)

Author: Abigail Owen

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 634

Publication Date: 9/3/24

Categories: Greek Mythology, Romance, Fantasy, New Adult

Percy Jackson for adults meets The Hunger Games with a slow burn romance between a contestant and Hades himself.

Every hundred years, the gods toy with us mere mortals.
And we let them.

The gods of myth are alive and well.
Once every century, they select a new ruler in a cutthroat competition, pushing mortal players to the limit. But this year, Hades is done sitting on the sidelines. And he’s picking a champion no one expects—in this modern mythic romantasy, she’ll fight for her life…
for the god of Death.

Content Warning: violence, death

I’ve wanted to read this book since it came out but for some reason – maybe the reason being I have to get into a MOOD to read anything inspired by Greek Mythology – it took me to get into this one but I finally pushed through and finished! Here are my thoughts:

Likes:

+ The Gods hold a tournament called a Crucible every one hundred years and they each pick a mortal to represent them in the games. Lyra is picked by Hades but one thing about Lyra is she’s been cursed by Zeus to be unlovable. Lyra is pretty capable because she is a thief and a somewhat good one. There are a lot of Labors – that’s what each tournament is called, each God creates their own Labor and winner gets a prize to help them in the next Labor. I thought the Labors were interesting and entertaining, the action was good!

+ The Gods are hot, of course. And who doesn’t love the story of Hades and Persephone though I thought it took an interesting twist in this story that works for me. There is no denying an instant attraction between Lyra and Hades and it’s a very slow burn, especially with this book (at least the ebook version) is over 600 pages! There is a spicy scene between them but it’s almost at the end.

+ I did enjoy the cast of characters like the Gods and the mortals fighting in the tournament. Alliances have to be made but who can Lyra really trust? I loved Cerebus of course, since he’s basically a 3 headed, scary dog.

Dislikes:

~ For some reason, throughout the story I kept asking myself why is Hades obsessed with Lyra so soon? What is it about her that is amazing to him? It’s a bit of insta-love, or more like insta-attraction. She’s a thief and yes she helped out the other mortals throughout the Labors which shows she has a good heart but other than that, I was left wondering. I didn’t really connect to her, I thought she was okay as the MC – she’s unlovable, which is sad, but it’s made her close herself off to people and it shows. Not even her relationship with Boone showed more of her personality and I think that’s what was missing. I needed more from Lyra and also I kept thinking she was a teenager but she is 23!

~ I think I had a hard time really getting invested in the book at first because of the massive cast of characters. Once I made myself buckle down to keep reading and learn the characters, I did get more invested but still – so many characters between the Gods and mortals.

~ This book needed to be a bit shorter. There are so many Labors and maybe some of them could have been showcased in book two? But I get how the ending of the book is setting up book two to get in the next direction. Still, it could have been shorter.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, this was entertaining despite the issues I had with it! I think I’ll read book two, if I’m in a Greek Mythology kind of mood and hopefully it’s a shorter book.

Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Instagram (crafts🎨) | Twitter (X) | Etsy (Shop)

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read from This Author:

The Liar’s Crown by. Abigail Owen | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Stolen Throne by. Abigail Owen | Book Review ⭐️⭐️💫

WWW Wednesday | 10/23/24

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Is Halloween next week?! I don’t feel like it’s been very Halloweeny this year – less decorations on our street (or maybe more will pop up next week?) – it kinda makes me sad thinking maybe the kids in the homes that used to decorate are now older or something and maybe that’s why there are less decorations. I hope to always decorate even when my kids are over it!! I have a feeling my daughter will never be over it, but who knows when they get older, right? I will do a little more decorating the day of Halloween only because I don’t want my sprinkler system to ruin some of the decorations.

What are you currently reading?

Stranger Skies by. Pascale LaCelle – 23% – going kinda slowly but I’m pushing through!

The Whispering Night by. Susan Dennard – 22% – I’m working on this one.

Dating and Dragons by. Kristy Boyce – 10% – I didn’t finish this one last week, but maybe next week!

A Queen’s Game by. Katharine McGee – 13% – this one is…not what I expected. I may finish this one soon because it’s a quick read, but I don’t know if I love it.

What have you just finished reading?

The Games Gods Play by. Abigail Owen – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What are you going to read next?

What are you reading right now?

New Book Releases This Week | 10/22/24

Happy book birthday to these new releases! Check out this list today:

The Blood Orchid by. Kylie Lee Baker

Since Zilan entered the world of royal alchemists, she has learned that alchemy comes at a price. She has lost loved ones in her search for broader justice against the evil Empress and all she wants now is to find some way to bring them back. Resurrection is her specialty, after all.

In search of the myth of Penglai Island, where it’s rumored life can be fully restored, Zilan starts a new adventure. But when old threats come back to haunt her and the path to Penglai Island means facing down unpredictable, sometimes dangerous, alchemists, she wonders just how high of a price she may be willing to pay.

Goodreads | Amazon

Eleven Houses by. Colleen Oakes

On a forgotten part of Nova Scotia, there lies an island.
On that island are Eleven Houses.
In those houses sit eleven ancient families.
And they are waiting…

Fares Well the House That’s Ready.

Goodreads | Amazon

Love & Lattes by. Beth Reekles

From the author of the bestselling phenomenon, the Kissing Booth, comes another sizzling story about an overachieving girl who unknowingly kisses the one guy she shouldn’t the night before her new internship begins.

One summer internship. Two complete opposites. And a connection neither expected…

Annalise Sherwood has worked herself to the bone to get a place on a prestigious internship program and nothing is going to stop her now. Work hard, play later, that’s her motto. She figures one night letting her guard down won’t hurt, though – especially when it ends with the best kiss of her life.

But to Anna’s horror, she discovers that the mystery guy she kissed that night is none other than Lloyd, the company CEO’s son. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he’s everyone’s favorite guy and a total charmer, swanning around like he owns the place. And from the moment they meet again, he rubs Anna up the wrong way.

As the summer and the internship wane on, Lloyd seems to be finding any excuse to annoy Anna, and she’s not afraid to give it right back to him. But when a lot of late night working brings them unexpectedly closer, she begins to wonder if there’s more to him than she originally thought..

Goodreads | Amazon

Spectacular (Caraval, #3.5) by. Stephanie Garber

Welcome, welcome back to the mysteriously enchanting world of CARAVAL! Return to the legendary magic and the whimsical wonder with this beautifully illustrated holiday novella.

Snowflakes are falling.
Invitations are arriving.
And holiday magic is swirling in the capital city of the Meridian Empire.

It’s Great Holiday Eve Eve. Scarlett Dragna is planning a spectacular Holiday celebration for the city. Donatella is searching for the perfect gift. Julian is looking ridiculously handsome in green. And Legend . . .

Well, sadly Legend is not fond of the Great Holiday. Tella is hoping her perfect gift will change his mind. Unfortunately, she hasn’t found this perfect gift just yet. But it is Great Holiday Eve Eve . . . surely there’s some holiday magic swirling around.

Welcome, welcome back to the world of Caraval, where even holidays are not as they seem.

Set after Stephanie Garber’s #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling Caraval series, this delightful novella will take readers on the ultimate holiday adventure full of clockwork boys, poisoned candy, impish snow globes, merriment, and―if Tella gets her way―love.

Gorgeously illustrated by Rosie Thorns, SPECTACULAR is the perfect edition for collectors, readers, dreamers, and lovers of holiday magic.

Goodreads | Amazon

Christmas is All Around by. Martha Waters

A former child star learns that holiday magic can come from a change in perspective in this charming and hilarious holiday rom-com.

Charlotte hates the holidays. As a former child actress, she starred in a modern classic of a holiday movie, and its fans won’t let her move on. When a piece revealing that her reluctance nixed plans for a reboot, she flees to London to spend the five-week countdown to the holidays with her sister.

But the ghosts of Christmas past follow her there when she ends up at Eden Priory, a filming location for the movie she has never visited. There, after being recognized by a fan while viewing the extraordinary holiday decorations, she’s accidently left behind, forcing her to accept a ride back to London by Graham, the son of the owners. Their family business—and the funds to keep their historic house running—relies on holiday cheer, and Graham knows a visit from a holiday star would bring in more visitors.

Now an illustrator, Charlotte accepts a commission illustrating iconic holiday movie scenes in London and its environs. Graham offers to help escort her, as long as she’ll commit to an art workshop at Eden Priory. But as Charlotte’s chaotic family holiday goes awry, she begins spending more time scouting locations with Graham. Charlotte may not love Christmas, but is it so bad if you’re also falling in love?

Goodreads | Amazon

Are you getting any new books this week? I loved The Blood Orchid and Spectacular looks like it would be a great holiday read!

Happy Reading!