Better Dead - Pamela Kopfler

Current TBR List: 16
Currently Reading: 6
Books Finished in December: 26

A GoodReads First To Read free physical copy in exchange for an honest review.

Better Dead by Pamela Kopfler

Publication Day: December 26^th, 2017

First book in the A B&B Spirits Mystery series this is a great cozy mystery. A quick easy read we get all the elements of a typical cozy mystery but with a supernatural element and second chance romance.

Holly is all about Southern hospitality and will do anything to make Holly Grove, her historical plantation, survive as a bed and breakfast. The home has been in her family for generations and she doesn’t want to be the one to lose it. Against Holly’s best intentions her childhood moniker, Hurricane Holly, seems to have a good reason to still stick to her. Though things go awry, her financial troubles are all Burl’s fault, her recently deceased husband. Just like Burl’s mess though, Burl won’t go away. Holly’s ghost ex-husband haunting her would be enough of a headache but now her old flame is renting a room, can the house fit both men?

Holly is doing everything she can to stay on track to saving her home and business but it seems like her financial troubles are only the tip of the iceberg. Turns out Burl was using Holly Grove as a front to drug smuggling and his unfinished business is the new drop that is coming any day now…

I was thoroughly entertained as I read through the story! Can’t wait to see what the rest of the series brings.

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

Attachments and other personal stories

Current TBR List: 15
Currently Reading: 5
Books Finished in December: 23

My love for Rainbow Rowell continues!

I finished Attachments, my third Rainbow Rowell book this year, and it was super cute! Don’t get me wrong, its Very problematic, yes capital V not a typo. It still doesn’t stop me from loving it though. Rainbow Rowell just knows how to hit you in your feels. I must read all her books now. Eleanor and Park is still my favorite one though!

In Attachments, Lincoln is awkward and back living with his mom. His weekends are spent playing D&D and mooning over his first love from a decade ago. To shake things up he just signed up for a great paying job as cyber security for a newspaper company. He wanted an easy job where he would have plenty of time to sort out his life, or lack of life. Instead, he gets caught up in reading personal emails, not everyone’s though. Just the ones between Beth and Jennifer. He slowly grows to love her through her inappropriate emails. Then one day the emails start discussing him. Now what does he do?

This is far from a perfect relationship, or even a healthy one, but you root for it all the same. Which brings me to my side rant, why is okay for attractive people, and people that are attracted to each other, to behave in these stalkerish ways and it be deemed acceptable?! 

When I was in college I was in the phone store a lot because I had the worst luck with phones, they literally would be put in my hands to die. I was in the store at least twice a month for an entire semester and the guy there was cute and he flirted with me while I hung out (it was a very long walk back to the dorm). One day I got a text message from him… I had never given him my number outside the “what’s the number on the account”. I immediately looked at my friend and was like “I should be creeped out right?!?! But he is just sooooo cute”. Well, I should have trusted my initial instincts because on the “first date” he was flirting with the waitress and even managed to score her number, well, I scored $50 in sushi so it was a wash in my books. So as I cringed my way through Attachments I knew what the characters were going through. It could be possible and I wanted the happy ending because this was supposed to be a cute contemporary read not horror!

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

The Monster of Selkirk Book 2: The Heart of the Forest - CE Clayton

I am so lucky to be part of this second book tour! I read the first one and I loved the world that was starting to be built. I cannot wait to dive back into it. I received a free e-book copy in exchange for being part of this tour and honest review when I am finished!

http://www.ceclayton.com/

Dec. 18th:
Jen (http://www.happylilbooknook.com)

Dec. 19th:
Sarah (http://www.transientdrifter.blogspot.com)

Dec. 20th:
Paige G. (http://www.popthebutterfly.wordpress.com)

Dec. 21st:
Jess (https://xlittlebookwormx.wordpress.com)

Dec. 22nd:
Kat (http://www.instagram.com/katsbookstagram)

Dec. 23rd:Kira (http://thelonelybookclub.blogspot.com)

The Chalk Man - C.J. Tudor

Current TBR List: 16
Currently Reading: 6
Books Finished in December: 21

A free e-book from Penguin First to Read in exchange of an honest review.

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
Publication day: January 9, 2018

BAM BAM BAM

Damn…The opening, the first chapter… You are hit with a lot very quickly when you start this story. Very gruesome things so the squeamish beware.

I absolutely loved the way this book started. Yes, it does drop off and becomes a more mellow mystery after the opening but the horror that was inspired in the start remained with you and hooked you to see what the hell happened.

Told in past and present we follow a group of friends from Eddie’s perspective. The little group of misfits ride around on their bikes, hang out around town and in the forest. A gift of chalk and an inspiring talk with a teacher leads to secret messages being left, a secret code of chalk men to say who was calling and where they were going. A fun little prank leads to very real dead and dismembered body in the woods.

Though nothing is the same after finding the body Eddie was not expecting the chalk man to show up again, especially not decades later. Each friend receives a note with the ominous drawing and the solved mystery is reopened for the friends, especially when one of them turns up dead.

Reading this story, especially after the huge revival hype around It by Stephen King, all I could think of was “is this set in Derry? Is chalk man a euphemism for creepy ass clown?”

We have a group of misfit boys and one tomboy girl that has an abusive father. The similarities continue from there. There are the bad kids in town that molest and terrorize everyone else. Lots of unexplained deaths and creepy drawings and visions. Where It relied on supernatural though there was nothing  supernatural in this story. The events in this story could actually happen. Everything that happened was horrific. What made it even more horrible was the ending. That last little bit of extra the author puts in. So normal, so every day and yet…

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

Catching Up

Current TBR List: 17
Currently Reading: 7
Books Finished in December: 20

AHH! I "fell behind" in my reading schedule because I was knocked out sick over the last weekend… I slept for 13 hours on Sunday and lost precious valuable reading time! Still though, reading game is strong this month even though I am neglecting my TBR in lieu of some mood reading.

I picked up the short story For I Have Sinned by Darynda Jones after reading First Grave on the Right. Even though it was less than 100 pages it was pretty emotional and lets you see Charley Davidson in a different light. It makes the character that more endearing and I seriously cannot wait to pick up the rest of the series.

Switching gears I listened to A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. I don’t think I was emotionally prepared for this story. I see where all the hype is and I was thoroughly impressed with the story myself. Ove is a grumpy old man. At least, that’s what his behavior screams. Looking into his thought process though you see the emotion and the reasoning behind his behaviors and you cannot help but love him. A great reminder that you never know a person and you cannot imagine the journey their life has taken them through. A great read for everyone (unless you are sensitive to suicide/suicide attempts). Ove has lost the love of his life and is on a journey of closing up his affairs so that he might be able to kill himself in peace. Then the new neighbor keeps interrupting, he can’t leave without everything being in perfect order. This book was super touching and the last couple chapters just killed my heart. 

I then finished Because You Love to Hate Me edited by Ameriie. Just like all anthologies there were hits and misses. I did not care too much for the start of this book. I get what was happening but the execution was just okay for me. The latter half of this book though I really started to enjoy! Favorites: The Sea Witch by Marissa Meyer, Beautiful Venom by Cindy Pon, Death Knell by Victoria Schwab, Julian Breaks Every Rule by Andrew Smith, Indigo and Shade by April Genevieve Tucholke and Sera by Nicola Yoon.

After each short story there was the prompt and then a couple pages from the YouTube personality. In my personal taste, I would have liked to see the story prompts and the reason behind the prompt before the actual story. Not all the prompts/character draws were as self-explanatory or well known as others so it was a bit harder to connect to the story. Some are well known villains i.e. the sea witch, death, and the beast, so it was easier to set an expectation for behaviors of the characters knowing it is such a short story and you don’t get a lot of room for background. As for the YouTube personality pages, some added a lot to the story. Made you think deeper either about the short story itself or about the topic that faced that particular villain. Others just seemed very young and impromptu additions.

Overall, it was a good collection but not my absolute favorite. I would love to see some of my favorite stories expanded though!

  

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

The Wife Between Us - Greer Hendricks; Sarah Pekkanen

Current TBR List: 17
Currently Reading: 8
Books Finished in December: 18

A free e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

With the reviews this book was getting, I had much higher hopes. I wouldn’t call this a thriller, more a mystery, and a slow burn one.

After finishing this book the cover and description make so much more sense. Good job marketing!

Vanessa (Nessa) is having a hard time letting go of her ex-husband Richard. So she of course stalks him and his new fiancé. We are tossed between past and present, between Nessa and Nellie. I found myself interested enough to keep reading but at the same time bored because I saw the ending coming by page 100.

The characters were not easy to like and the constant clothes name branding that happened for no reason at all was just boring to read about. How many times did I read “Chanel with a dented button” and “it was 4 seasons out of date”.

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

First Grave on the Right - Darynda Jones

Current TBR List: 16
Currently Reading: 7
Books Finished in December: 17

A free e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
Published on: February 1, 2011

How did I just discover this series?! Thank you NetGalley for having this book available! Darynda 

Jones just released the 11^th book in this series, Eleventh Grave in the Moonlight earlier this year and I guess to build interest they were giving away book one.

If you ever read the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich you know what this series is, just add a bunch of dead people and steamy scenes and BAM you have Charley Davidson.

Charley Davidson is a private investigator by day and a grim reaper by…well…24/7. Charley helps the dead deliver their last messages such as “I didn’t use the last of her mousse” and “my lily pad is bigger” sometimes she is sucked into solving murders. Which tends to be easier for her to do since she can talk to the victims.

Just like the Stephanie Plum series there is the normal guy who she buts heads with, the mysterious guy that she has the ultimate hots for and the uncle that gets her into the business. She also is a bumbling hot mess and obsessed with food. Though the two series have a lot in common I cannot wait to dive into Charley’s next story! I would say this is the PG and PC version of the Plum series and the jokes made kept me laughing out loud.

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

The Music Shop - Rachel Joyce

Current TBR List: 17
Currently Reading: 8
Books Finished in December: 16

A free e-book from Penguin First to Read in exchange for an honest review.

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce
Release date: January 2, 2018

Reading this all I could think was, The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin but with music.

Frank owns a music store that only sells vinyl records. He has unique ability to know what song will help the listener, that is, until he meets Ilse Brauchmann aka the mysterious girl in the green pea coat.

This is hugely character driven and therefore the plot is very slow. It is beautifully written though. There is also a Spotify for the book so if you missed out on the musical references you can get more interactive experience that way.

Frank had a uniwue upbringing and all he wants is normal. Ilse also wants a life that she cannot have. This is a story of music, hope, healing, death and love and so much more. This by no means was a bad book but for me it was just okay. I can relate better to The Storied Life of AJ Fikry more since I do not listen to music and do not get the same emotional experience from music as I do books.

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

December Mid Month Check In

Current TBR List: 18
Currently Reading: 8
Books Finished in December: 15

I cannot believe how quickly this year is coming to a wrap! I also cannot believe the amount of books I have read this year! I am so excited to see the yearly wrap up that GoodReads does. I think this is my best reading year ever and its not just the quantity of books read. Being part of The Charmed Book Club and having wonderful reading friends has really pushed me to read not only more books but more diverse books as well. I was also introduced to BookTube so I was able to see more books and diverse opinions on books as well as discovering Libby by Overdrive which allows me to check out audiobooks and ebooks from my library right on my phone for ease of listening! I cannot wait to see what the new year brings! Especially now that my kiddos are getting older and I am able to read more to them so I am getting to dive into picture books and young chapter books with them!

Anyways, I digress. My next little wrap up is…

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, this book absolutely wrecked me. I listened to the audio book while pulling reports for work and I was hooked. I did see the movie first so I knew the plot and was prepared for an exceptionally emotional tale but as we all know, movies only scratch the surface of books. The book is a million times better. I really enjoyed the full cast audio too. It really gives you a different feel when the POV shifts for the couple chapters sprinkled throughout. Ugh… It will take me a while to recover from this one.

I then finished a physical borrowed copy of Dating You Hating You by Christina Lauren. Not going to lie, for the first 150-200 pages I was entertained but had no idea what all the hype was about. It was cute, funny, easy to read and entertaining but there was no real WOW factor. Then the real hating game started to play out and I got what I was missing through the first half. I literally laughed out loud during the first part of them really diving into hating each other. It was the perfect co-worker romance. The end was cute, tied everything into a nice little bow but really the part that made this worth the reading was the hating game.

A quick easy read to keep my book a day streak going, I picked up I Hate Fairyland by Skottie Young from the library. The artwork is amazing. I love the bright colors, the cute little fairyland things and how it contrasted with all the blood and gore. What I didn’t care too much for was the way the story was executed. The content is mature but the language was “fluff this” and “fluffing that” and then “hey pig…why do you assume everyone is a cop” line was so random and unnecessary. If I pick up the rest its because I borrow them and it will mainly be for the artwork.

I also finished Discipline Without Shouting or Spanking by Jerry L Wyckoff. I really enjoyed the setup of this book. Each idea was basically its own chapter. Though only a couple chapters applied to my family right now I can see this as a good reference tool for when certain unwanted behaviors pop up. Every family is different and every child is different so this may not be the perfect read for everyone and like all advice books should be taken with a grain of salt. I think it was good ideas I can test with my kiddos for sure.

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

11 books in 11 days!

Current TBR List: 18
Currently Reading: 8
Books Finished in December: 11

Still on track for a book a day! This is insane! Seriously my best reading month ever. Not only am I reading a lot of books, they are pretty much all really entertaining. I think I can officially say I am out of my slump!

My most recent reads are…

Leviathan by Scott Westerfield, first book in the series. I believe I saw this on Jesse the Readers YouTube channel. I listened to this on audio during my commutes. While it was interesting I think it was just a bit too young and a little too sci-fi for my reading tastes. Not a bad book though! I was entertained by it and I really enjoyed the note from the author at the end that reviewed the real historical events that inspired the story. I am not too sure if I will continue on with the series.

I finally also got around to The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. This was another audio on my commutes and I LOVED it. It was narrated by multiple voice actors so you really got strong connections to the multiple point of views in the story. I saw the movie before I got to the book and so I knew how the story would unfold and still enjoyed the journey getting there. Worth the read/listen!

Then I squeezed in another graphic novel! Bakuman Volume 7. This series is getting better and better. It is very dense so each book takes me a while to get through and I absolutely love looking at the art work. As mentioned in previous blogs, I saw this on Jesse the Readers Youtube and so happy for the recommendation! I have volume 8 and 9 checked out from the library and cannot wait to get to them!

Wrapping up the weekend with Summer Knight by Jim Butcher, book four in the Dresden Files. This is another audio book. I had a lot of driving to do over the weekend so I was able to fly through it. I am thoroughly enjoying this series and so happy that I am finally getting around to it! This has been on my TBR since 2012!!!

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

Death Below Stairs - Jennifer Ashley

Current TBR List: 18
Currently Reading: 8
Books Finished in December: 7

Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley
Publication date: January 2, 2018

**I received a free e-book from Penguin First to Read in exchange for an honest review.**

A cozy Victorian mystery. The story line is character driven making it a slow paced read. We open the story to Kay Holloway starting as a cook in a new house, the next morning she stumbles across the dead body of her young assistant. Though it is the maid that is killed in the first chapters the real mystery doesn’t start until well over halfway through the story.

Reading this, I felt like I was missing something so went researching online more about the story. I felt this novel heavily relied on the character development that happened in entirely different story and I think I might be right? There is a novella that initially starred the characters in these stories. Though the author labels the novella a prequel to this series I feel like I needed to read it in order to enjoy this story more fully.

Kat is an interesting character and seems to have a lot of facets to her character that this story failed to explore as the first in a series. I just felt like I constantly was left behind and honestly was relieved when I found out about the novella/prequel.

I also really enjoyed Daniel and James characters but again felt shorted when they never seemed to be built but glossed over, again this might be due to the novella/prequel?

Overall the story was entertaining enough. I was never too invested due to previously mentioned reasons and was sorry I couldn’t get more involved in it. I think this series has potential but would probably recommend that everyone start with the novella even though I have not read it.

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

A book a day...

Current TBR List: 18
Currently Reading: 8
Books Finished in December: 6

December is shaping into my best reading month yet! I am basically at a book a day so far! Woot woot! Yes, audio and graphic novels are helping me out a lot in this accomplishment but its an accomplishment none the less! So happy to finally get out of the slump I was in.

Bakuman continued! I was able to complete volume 5 and 6. I want to say outside of the introduction to the story in volume 1, number 6 is my favorite. It ends in a cliffhanger though and I don’t have number 7 on hand! UGGHHHHH This is why I tend to buy the series in its entirety, or buy series that are 20+ books already so that I am never left with a cliffhanger!!! I will hopefully be able to stop by a store that has number 7 this week….really hope I can find it or ill have to order it and it will take that much longer to solve the ending!

I was never big into graphic novels when I was younger. I was a snob and cheap so I never wanted to buy “small” books and opted for huge tomes to spend my meager dollars on. I also tend to never re-read books, they are a select few I have re-read, so I don’t like to buy expensive small books.

In between the two graphic novels I was able to listen to Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry on my commute. This book…

Nora goes to visit her sister only to find her brutally murdered. Lots of triggers in this tiny book, rape, abuse, harm against a poor innocent pup. This book throws a huge sucker punch from page one. Nora is trying to solve her sisters murder since she doesn’t have a lot of faith in the police department per prior experience with another attach they could not solve.

There are so many secrets, emotions and memories peppered throughout this story. I constantly was confused and lost, in a good way. I have to agree with other reviewers though when they say that the book starts at level 100 and then kind of lags over the next several chapters. It does pick up momentum again but that initial dip did cause me to get bored for a bit and if I had been reading a physical copy I might have set it aside for a couple weeks while I perused other books. The narration on this audio book was great though so highly recommend the listen!

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

Kicking off December

Current TBR List: 18
Currently Reading: 8
Books Finished in December: 2

I am one of those people that if I open a book and read the first sentence I 

know I will eventually have to read the whole thing. Even if it takes me years to do so. I feel like even the worst books I have read there is always a line or a chapter that just hits me right in the gut. That being said, I was so happy to finally get the audio book for Fan Girl. Please don’t hate on me for my next couple comments! I picked this up immediately after reading Eleanor and Park, that book was 5+ stars <3 ohhh the feels after just 50 pages! Anyways, I digress, I picked up Fan Girl immediately after E&P and did NOT like it at all. UGHHHH. Flash forward a couple months and the audio is finally available. I ended up really enjoying listening to it! Nowhere near as good as E&P in my humble opinion, but good nonetheless! My main problem with it was the characters were a lot older than those in E&P but I felt they were super young and immature. I needed to take a break and get away from my overwhelming emotional connection to E&P to truly enjoy Fan Girl. I also had to put all the hype aside and go in with a better formed picture of what Fan Girl was about. Overall it was enjoyable listen but it would not be the first Rainbow Rowell book that I would recommend. Seriously though, a prime example of why I don’t give up on books ever. I enjoyed this read and I would have been said for the version of me that didn’t give it a fighting chance!

I am still really liking Bakuman! I just finished volume four out of a million! I first saw this on Jesse the Readers YouTube channel and thought I would give them a whirl and I have not been disappointed yet. This graphic novel series is about two young boys that want to make it big as manga artist. That is right, a manga about manga. I really enjoy the characters and the art in this series and cannot wait to continue them!

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

Salvageable - Jean Baxter

Current TBR List: 18
Currently Reading: 8
Books Finished in December: 3

A GoodReads first to read giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

This paperback copy was published November 25^th, 2017 by Soul Mate Publishing.

I was hooked from the start when I saw the cover art and title. Reading the synopsis I just had to know more so I was so happy to win a free copy.

Michael Jarrid is about to experience his worst birthday ever. His ex-girlfriend and her parents are about to arrive at his parents’ house to let them know she is pregnant. Pushed to the edge by his parents lack of trust and belief in his version of the events he stumbles across his neighbor Lacey. A new promising relationship that ends just as badly as his first. Betrayed and hurt, one bad decision leads to another and Michael is forced to re-evaluate all his choices, is his life salvageable?

Salvageable is a super easy read and keeps you wanting to know what happens next. That being said, I had to suspend my belief on some of the relationships/decisions being made by some of the characters.

The relationship between the ex-girlfriend and Michael is easy to understand. Michael’s reactions to his parents and the situation is easy to understand, even as you want to slap him and say “listen to your parents fool!” Where my suspension of belief happens is with the relationship with Lacey.

We are introduced to Lacey and her 2 year old son very quickly into the story. As a mom to two young children I cannot imagine diving into a relationship with a much younger man and letting him into my kids life as easily as Lacey did. She is much older than Michael in the life experience department, the age gap between his just graduated high school 18 and her graduated from college with a nursing degree, divorced, I have a two year old self. If she was younger, maybe still going through school this would have been a little bit easier to swallow.

Outside of that, I think the author did a very good job navigating an 18 year old twice burned by love view point. I would be interested in reading more by this author!

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

Saving Paradise - Mike Bond

A NetGalley e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Saving Paradise - Mike Bond

Published: 12/01/2014

I wanted to like this book. Set in Hawaii, a Special Forces veteran for a main character, and murder mystery genre. It had all the right ingredients but failed in execution for me.

Sam “Pono” Hawkins, the Special Forces veteran, is a character I have seen before and executed much better. He is supposed to be a great ladies man but there is no connection between the women he sleeps with other then, hey I think I will sleep with her, doesn’t matter I left another girl in my bed. Pono is supposed to be a bad ass veteran but that seemed like a side note in his character development to justify some of his physical skills.

The plot was *squirrel* interesting but at the same time *squirrel* so disjointed that it *squirrel* was hard to read. Yes, everything did seem to loop back in to join the rest of the story but *squirrel* I just couldn’t really immerse myself in the story.

The language used was even more horrific. I have visited Hawaii on several occasions and I promise that the native Hawaiians I met did not speak in grammatically butchered English to the extent that was in this story. It also was not consistent enough to be a specific character quirk, or if it was, it was done poorly and not consistently. 

2.5 stars is my rating because the mystery was good, the politics playing out was interesting, even if a bit forcefully overdone at times. It was decently fast paced, especially when you skim by the lists that pepper throughout the book. Let me just add... seriously, lists?!?! That is not a good way to cover word count.