Posts By: Bonnie

Lover of tea. Crazed Bibliophile. Daydreamer.
I have a ridiculous love for the written word. I read anything and everything: Adult fiction, YA, Middle Grade, even the occasional Non-Fiction.

When I'm not reading I'm caring for my step-children, drinking obscene amounts of tea and contemplating what life will be like in the impending apocalypse.

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Something To Look Forward To – Week of December 2nd, 2019

December 2, 2019 Bonnie Something To Look Forward To 0 Comments

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Week of December 2nd, 2019

Wicked Hour (Heirs of Chicagoland #2) by Chloe Neill
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Berkley Books

Blood of Empire (Gods of Blood and Powder #3) by Brian McClellan
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Orbit

Where Gods Fear to Go (West of West #3) by Angus Watson
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Orbit

Dead Astronauts (Borne #2) by Jeff VanderMeer
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by MCD

Joe Hill: The Graphic Novel Collection by Joe Hill
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by IDW Publishing

Down Among the Dead (The Farian War #2) by K.B. Wagers
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Orbit

The Revisionaries by A.R. Moxon
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Melville House

Cypher (The Violet Wars #2) by Rich Larson
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Orbit

Just Watch Me (Riley Wolfe #1) by Jeff Lindsay
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Dutton

A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Berkley Books

Winter Grave (An Embla Nyström Investigation #2) by Helene Tursten
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Soho Crime

The Sacrament: A Novel by Olaf Olafsson
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Ecco

How the Dead Speak (Tony Hill & Carol Jordan #11) by Val McDermid
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Atlantic Monthly Press

Reputation: A Novel by Sara Shepard
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Dutton

Trace of Evil (Natalie Lockhart #1) by Alice Blanchard
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Minotaur Books

Thin Ice: A Mystery by Paige Shelton
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Minotaur Books

Genesis (Jack Stapleton & Laurie Montgomery #12) by Robin Cook
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Ghost of a Flea (Lew Griffin #6) by James Sallis
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Soho Crime

Lost Tomorrows (Rick Cahill #6) by Matt Coyle
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Oceanview Publishing

Treachery: A Novel (Giordano Bruno Thriller #4) by S.J. Parris
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Pegasus Books

Laetitia Rodd and the Case of the Wandering Scholar (A Laetitia Rodd Mystery #2) by Kate Saunders
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Bloomsbury Publishing

Now You See Them (Stephens & Mephisto Mystery #5) by Elly Griffiths
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

This Is Happiness by Niall Williams
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Bloomsbury Publishing

Blitzed (Playbook #3) by Alexa Martin
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Berkley

Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Meg and Jo by Virginia Kantra
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Berkley Books

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Something To Look Forward To – Week of November 25th, 2019

November 25, 2019 Bonnie Something To Look Forward To 1 Comment

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Week of November 25th, 2019

The Rise of Magicks (Chronicles of The One #3) by Nora Roberts
Expected publication: November 26th 2019 by St. Martin’s Press

Lady Takes the Case (Manor Cat Mystery #1) by Eliza Casey
Expected publication: November 26th 2019 by Berkley Books

Under Occupation: A Novel by Alan Furst
Expected publication: November 26th 2019 by Random House

Sword of Kings (The Saxon Stories #12) by Bernard Cornwell
Expected publication: November 26th 2019 by Harper

Spy by Danielle Steel
Expected publication: November 26th 2019 by Delacorte Press

Scarlet Fever (“Sister” Jane #12) by Rita Mae Brown
Expected publication: November 26th 2019 by Ballantine Books

Tiny Love: The Complete Stories of Larry Brown by Larry Brown
Expected publication: November 26th 2019 by Algonquin Books

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Something To Look Forward To – Week of November 18th, 2019

November 18, 2019 Bonnie Something To Look Forward To 0 Comments

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Week of November 18th, 2019

Sabbath by Nick Mamatas
Expected publication: November 19th 2019 by Tor Books

False Value (Rivers of London #8) by Ben Aaronovitch
Expected publication: November 19th 2019 by DAW Books

Upon the Flight of the Queen (The Ring-Sworn Trilogy #2) by Howard Andrew Jones
Expected publication: November 19th 2019 by St. Martin’s Press

The Lights Go Out in Lychford (Lychford #4) by Paul Cornell
Expected publication: November 19th 2019 by Tor.com

A Minute to Midnight (Atlee Pine #2) by David Baldacci
Expected publication: November 19th 2019 by Grand Central Publishing

Impossible Causes by Julie Mayhew
Expected publication: November 19th 2019 by Bloomsbury Publishing

The Second Sleep by Robert Harris
Expected publication: November 19th 2019 by Knopf Publishing Group

Wyoming by JP Gritton
Expected publication: November 19th 2019 by Tin House Books

Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks
Expected publication: November 19th 2019 by St. Martin’s Press

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Book Review | Memories Become Unreliable in ‘Recursion’

November 12, 2019 Bonnie 2019, Adult, Book Reviews 8 Comments

Recursion by Blake Crouch
Published by Crown Publishing Group (NY) on June 11, 2019
Pages: 336
Genres: Sci-fi, Time Travel
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Audible
Goodreads

four-half-stars

Memory makes reality.

That’s what New York City cop Barry Sutton is learning as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived.

That's what neuroscientist Helena Smith believes. It’s why she’s dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious memories. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent.

As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face-to-face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds but the very fabric of the past. And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it, only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it.

But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them?

re·cur·sion /rəˈkərZHən/: the determination of a succession of elements (such as numbers or functions) by operation on one or more preceding elements according to a rule or formula involving a finite number of steps

The year is 2018 and we’re introduced to an NYPD officer named Barry who is responding to a call of a potential suicide. The woman’s name is Ann Voss Peters and she says she has False Memory Syndrome. About a month ago, Ann was suddenly filled with memories from a different life where she had a husband and a son where they lived in Vermont. She remembers everything from their life in excruciating detail and it’s a life with everything she could possibly want but nothing she’ll ever have and it leaves her broken. Her death leaves Barry to contemplate the mystery behind Ann and the prevalence of False Memory Syndrome and he manages to uncover enough truth to believe it’s possible that the strange memories that flooded her brain at random are actually real.

The year is 2007 and we meet a scientist named Helena who is studying how a brain processes memories. Her mother suffers from Alzheimer’s and she hopes to create something to help her from the disease that’s destroying her mind. When one of the richest men in the world, Marcus Slade, makes an offer to fund her continued research she realizes she’ll never get a better opportunity. She spends years perfecting her research, but her own intent for the research becomes slowly overruled by Slade and by the dark direction he wishes to take things. Helena realizes far too late that the good thing that she tried to create has become a terrifying weapon with potentially horrifying ramifications.

“Because memory…is everything. Physically speaking, a memory is nothing but a specific combination of neurons firing together—a symphony of neural activity. But in actuality, it’s the filter between us and reality. You think you’re tasting this wine, hearing the words I’m saying, in the present, but there’s no such thing. The neural impulses from your taste buds and your ears get transmitted to your brain, which processes them and dumps them into working memory—so by the time you know you’re experiencing something, it’s already in the past. Already a memory.”

There’s something about time travel that sings to my soul. The concept of being able to go back (or forward) to a time you had only ever read about in history books (or knew that you’d never live to see) is fascinating. Of course, each iteration of time travel has its own set of rules, some don’t make sense and some do. Crouch’s approach to time travel is truly mind-boggling and I can only imagine that him trying to brainstorm this plot to make everything work looked something very close to this:

Image result for guy crazy whiteboard meme

Or maybe that’s just me, trying to figure out if his rules actually work. After a while, I stopped trying to contemplate the logistics and took a step back just to enjoy this truly imaginative and well-written story. Crouch very easily could have bitten off far more than he could chew but he somehow transformed this chaotic plot with multiple points of view and multiple timelines into something shockingly streamlined. But Recursion is more than just your standard time travel story. Rather than a story about time travel and how to scientifically make this happen, he takes it a step further and forces us to think responsibly, to think along the lines of the butterfly effect. Would you go back in time, knowing all that you know now, to change something that you’ve always wished you could change? Would you still do that if you knew your changes could have catastrophic consequences?

What makes this even better is his inspiration for this story, an article from The Smithsonian about scientists that figured out how to implant fake memories into a mouse. Incorporating the time travel aspect into that, essentially traveling back through memories instead of time, was pretty freaking brilliant. If you’re looking for more time travel goodness, make sure to watch Dark on Netflix. If Recursion’s time travel rules don’t blow your mind, Dark will help finish it off. I can’t wait to see what zany goodness Crouch comes up with next.

Something To Look Forward To – Week of November 11th, 2019

November 11, 2019 Bonnie Something To Look Forward To 0 Comments

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Week of November 11th, 2019

The Killing Light (The Sacred Throne #3) by Myke Cole
Expected publication: November 12th 2019 by Tor.com

Revolution (Cold War Magic #2) by W.L. Goodwater
Expected publication: November 12th 2019 by Ace Books

Flamebringer (Heartstone #3) by Elle Katharine White
Expected publication: November 12th 2019 by Harper Voyager

Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender
Expected publication: November 12th 2019 by Orbit

The Menace from Farside (Luna) by Ian McDonald
Expected publication: November 12th 2019 by Tor.com

Peter Watts Is An Angry Sentient Tumor: Revenge Fantasies and Essays by Peter Watts
Expected publication: November 12th 2019 by Tachyon Publications

Realm of Ash (The Books of Ambha #2) by Tasha Suri
Expected publication: November 12th 2019 by Orbit

The Pursuit of William Abbey by Claire North
Expected publication: November 12th 2019 by Orbit

Twisted Twenty-Six (Stephanie Plum #26) by Janet Evanovich
Expected publication: November 12th 2019 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons

River Run (A Delia Chavez Mystery #1) by J. S. James
Expected publication: November 12th 2019 by Crooked Lane Books

Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens
Expected publication: November 12th 2019 by Mulholland Books

Anything For You (Valerie Hart #3) by Saul Black
Expected publication: November 12th 2019 by St. Martin’s Press

The Wrong Girl by Donis Casey
Expected publication: November 11th 2019 by Poisoned Pen Press

Not the Girl You Marry by Andie J. Christopher
Expected publication: November 12th 2019 by Berkley

Manhunters: How We Took Down Pablo Escobar, the World’s Most Wanted Criminal by Steve Murphy & Javier F. Peña
Expected publication: November 12th 2019 by St. Martin’s Press

My Penguin Year: Living with the Emperors by Lindsay McCrae
Expected publication: November 12th 2019 by William Morrow

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Monthly Rundown | October 2019

November 7, 2019 Bonnie Monthly Rundown 10 Comments

Books Read = 14

It never fails, I make a game plan for the month and I end up doing the opposite. I’ve been struggling for a while now to balance blogging and reading and have for many weeks ended up avoiding both completely, but I feel like I’m finally getting back into the swing of things, at least in terms of reading. Blogging is still a whole other matter but, baby steps. I did manage to post some reviews this month so I’m considering it a success. I didn’t manage to read quite as many horror books as I planned on but I read a whole lot of other things and all in all it was a good month.

Posted Reviews

[4 Oct] Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren ★★
[4 Oct] Wanderers by Chuck Wendig ★★
[4 Oct] The Unkindest Tide by Seanan McGuire ★★★
[4 Oct] Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews ★★★

Unreviewed Reads

Kill the Queen (Crown of Shards #1) by Jennifer Estep ★★★
Dead Voices (Small Spaces #2) by Katherine Arden ★★★★
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell ★★★★
Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan ★★★
Paper Girls, Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan ★★★★
Paper Girls, Vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan ★★★★
The Unwritten, Vol. 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity by Mike Carey ★★★★
The Unwritten, Vol. 2: Inside Man by Mike Carey ★★★★

Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners #3) by Libba Bray ★★★★★
No Happy Endings: A Memoir by Nora McInerny ★★★★
Summer Frost (Forward Collection #2) by Blake Crouch ★★★★★
Evil Has A Name: The Untold Story of the Golden State Killer Investigation by Paul Holes ★★★★★

Best of the Month: Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners #3) by Libba Bray ★★★★★
By this point, I’m already fully aware that Libba Bray is an incredible storyteller, but she continues to astound me with how much better she seems to get. This series is simply fantastic. Complex and creepy storytelling with one of the largest cast of characters that amazingly enough all end up being central in some way to the plot. January Lavoy is an absolute marvel and is quickly becoming my favorite audiobook narrator ever.

Least Favorite: Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren ★★
It’s sad, but I think I’ve fallen out of love with CL. I’ve read every single one to date and with each new release I feel they keep getting less and less special. (And actually, I’ve already attempted their upcoming 2020 release and it’s sitting firmly on my DNF shelf). I think it’s time to call it quits.

Biggest Surprise: Evil Has A Name: The Untold Story of the Golden State Killer Investigation by Paul Holes ★★★★★
Admittedly, this could probably be considered more a podcast than an actual book, but however you want to designate it, this was riveting. Having read I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, I thought this would just be Paul Holes’ side of things but it was a fascinating look at the ins and outs of the investigation that eventually led to the Golden State Killer finally being captured.

Biggest Disappointment: The Unkindest Tide by Seanan McGuire ★★★
This series has been consistently well but this installment had me all frustrated. It took me ages to get through and I just wasn’t loving it and I couldn’t understand why. Still not sure if it was the book or myself (and my mood) to blame.

Something To Look Forward To – Week of November 4th, 2019

November 4, 2019 Bonnie Something To Look Forward To 4 Comments

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Week of November 4th, 2019

Fortuna (The Nova Vita Protocol #1) by K.S. Merbeth
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Orbit

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Doubleday Books

Fate of the Fallen (The Shroud of Prophecy #1) by Kel Kade
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Tor Books

The Toll (Arc of a Scythe #3) by Neal Shusterman
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Call Down the Hawk (Dreamer Trilogy #1) by Maggie Stiefvater
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Scholastic Press

Life and Limb (Blood & Bone #1) by Jennifer Roberson
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Daw Books

The New Voices of Science Fiction by Hannu Rajaniemi (Editor)
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Tachyon Publications

Jakarta by Rodrigo Maarquez Tizano
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Coffee House Press

And Go Like This: Stories by John Crowley
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Small Beer Press

The Siberian Dilemma (Arkady Renko #9) by Martin Cruz Smith
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Simon Schuster

36 Righteous Men: A Novel by Steven Pressfield
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by W. W. Norton Company

Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry by Mary Higgins Clark
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Simon Schuster

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Atria Books

The Poppy Wife: A Novel of the Great War by Caroline Scott
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by William Morrow Paperbacks

On Swift Horses by Shannon Pufahl
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Riverhead Books

The Revisioners by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Counterpoint

The Worst Kind of Want by Liska Jacobs
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by MCD

Space Invaders: A Novel by Nona Fernández
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Graywolf Press

The Book of Lost Saints by Daniel José Older
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Imprint

This Is Pleasure: A Story by Mary Gaitskill
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Pantheon

The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Hachette Books

The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness by Susannah Cahalan
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Grand Central Publishing

Acid For The Children: A Memoir by Flea
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Grand Central Publishing

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Avon

We Met in December by Rosie Curtis
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by William Morrow Paperbacks

Deadly Little Scandals (Debutantes #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Freeform

Someone to Remember (Westcott #7) by Mary Balogh
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Berkley Books

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Spotlight On: November 2019 Releases

November 1, 2019 Bonnie Spotlight On 2 Comments

Spotlight On is a new feature that focuses on the ones I’m most excited about in the coming month.

We’re getting to that time of year when fewer and fewer books are being released. In theory, this would be the perfect time to get caught up on all those books we missed. In theory. 🙂 I’ve already pre-ordered my Audible copy of The Toll (the narrator is fantastic for this trilogy) and I treated myself to an early birthday splurge and got the OwlCrate limited edition copy of Call Down the Hawk. Cannot wait to see how gorgeous that is in person!

The Toll (Arc of a Scythe #3) by Neal Shusterman [Purchase]
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

From New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman comes the thrilling conclusion to the Printz Honor–winning series Arc of a Scythe.

Call Down the Hawk (Dreamer Trilogy #1) by Maggie Stiefvater [Purchase]
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Scholastic Press

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Raven Boys, a mesmerizing story of dreams and desires, death and destiny.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern [Purchase]
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Doubleday Books

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world–a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.

Deadly Little Scandals (Debutantes #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes [Purchase]
Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Freeform

No one is quite who they seem to be in this twisty, soapy, gasp-inducing sequel to Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ unputdownable Little White Lies.

What are you most looking forward to releasing this month?

Happy Halloween!

October 31, 2019 Bonnie Holidays 1 Comment

Today, I get to fulfill my lifelong dream of dressing up as Wednesday Addams. 💀

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Ominous October – Terrifying Reads for All Ages

October 30, 2019 Bonnie Ominous October 3 Comments

Personally, I’m always looking for a new list of books telling me what I simply must read next, especially this time of year. Horror can be kind of an obscure genre that tends to be hidden in mystery sections or paranormal and it can sometimes be hard to find true, terrifying, horror stories. Most often when you do manage to find a list it’s full of well-known titles (and especially anything and everything King, which I love, but I’m already well aware of everything he writes.) So in an attempt to write a list that I myself would love, here are some horror novels for all ages, and hopefully there’s a title or two you might not have heard about before.

Adult