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 August 13th, 2018

August 13, 2018 Bonnie Something To Look Forward To 2 Comments

Here’s what’s releasing this week: a blend of YA, Adult, and the occasional Middle Grade. Something for everyone to look forward to! All book purchase links go to their respective Amazon page.

Help support this blog and use the purchase links to get your copy!

_________________________________________________

Week of August 13th, 2018

The Raging Ones (The Raging Ones #1) by Krista Ritchie & Becca Ritchie [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Wednesday Books

How to Breathe Underwater by Vicky Skinner [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Swoon Reads

Our Stories, Our Voices: 21 YA Authors Get Real About Injustice, Empowerment, and Growing Up Female in America by Amy Reed [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Simon Pulse

The Dark Vault: Unlock the Archive (The Archived #1-2.5) by Victoria Schwab [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Disney-Hyperion

See All the Stars by Kit Frick [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by McElderry Books

The Looking Glass by Janet McNally [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by HarperTeen

Freak ‘N’ Gorgeous by Sebastian J. Plata [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Sky Pony Press

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Illustrated Edition by Rick Riordan [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Disney-Hyperion

Fresh Ink by Lamar Giles [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Crown Books for Young Readers

Case Closed: Mystery in the Mansion by Lauren Magaziner [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Katherine Tegen Books

So Done by Paula Chase [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Greenwillow Books

Where the Woods End by Charlotte Salter [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Dial

Wild Hunger (Heirs of Chicagoland #1) by Chloe Neill [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Berkley Books

Ball Lightning by Liu Cixin [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Tor Books

Bad Faith (The Dragon Lords #3) by Jon Hollins [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Orbit

The Moons of Barsk (Barsk #2) by Lawrence M. Schoen [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Tor Books

Stars Uncharted by S.K. Dunstall [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Ace Books

Relic by Alan Dean Foster [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Del Rey Books

The Sea Queen (The Half-Drowned King #2) by Linnea Hartsuyker [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Harper

The Moons of Barsk (Barsk #2) by Lawrence M. Schoen [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Tor Books

Noumenon Infinity (Noumenon #2) by Marina J. Lostetter [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Harper Voyager

My Pet Serial Killer by Michael J. Seidlinger [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Cinestate

The Million by Karl Schroeder [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Tor.com

The Warrior Queen (The Hundredth Queen #4) by Emily R. King [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Skyscape

Denied: A Novel of the Sazi (Luna Lake #3) by Cathy Clamp [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Tor Books

Sweet Little Lies: A Novel by Caz Frear [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Harper

Abandoned (Max Revere #5) by Allison Brennan [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Minotaur Books

Feared (Rosato & DiNunzio #6) by Lisa Scottoline [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by St. Martin’s Press

Don’t Eat Me (Dr. Siri Paiboun #13) by Colin Cotterill [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Soho Crime

Last Looks by Howard Michael Gould [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Dutton Books

The Secret of the Irish Castle (Deverill Chronicles #3) by Santa Montefiore [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by William Morrow Paperbacks

The Sapphire Widow by Dinah Jefferies [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Crown Publishing Group (NY)

The Line That Held Us by David Joy [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons

A River of Stars by Vanessa Hua [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Ballantine Books

Our Homesick Songs by Emma Hooper [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Simon Schuster

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Let Me Be Like Water by S.K. Perry [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Melville House

Pretty Things by Virginie Despentes [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by The Feminist Press

Severance: A Novel by Ling Ma [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Flights by Olga Tokarczuk [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Riverhead Books

Mysterium: A Novel by Susan Froderberg [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Eleanor, or, The Rejection of the Progress of Love by Anna Moschovakis [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Coffee House Press

The Kill Jar: Obsession, Descent, and a Hunt for Detroit’s Most Notorious Serial Killer by J. Reuben Appelman [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 14th 2018 by Gallery Books

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Six Degrees of Separation: Atonement

August 10, 2018 Bonnie Six Degrees of Separation 8 Comments

Six Degrees of Separation is a literary exercise where you connect six books in whatever way makes sense to you and each month, a new book is selected as the starting point. Interested in joining in too? You can read more about it here.

This month’s pick? Atonement by Ian McEwan

It’s rare that I watch an adaptation and still read the book. It’s even rarer that I thoroughly enjoy both book and movie. Atonement is the rarity that falls into that category.

Another book + adaptation that I loved in equal measure? Winter’s Bone. This was my first Woodrell and it got all five stars. Despite loving his writing style, I have yet to pick up anything else of his.

It doesn’t make much sense to have loved a book so much yet the author’s other words remain unread. John Fowles happens to be another one of those though. The Collector got all five stars and I have yet to read anything else, yet four of his novels are gathering dust on my shelves. The Collector was a creepy story about a kidnapping, which always makes me feel weird for loving it as much as I do/did.

Stolen by Lucy Christopher is also about a kidnapping, with a whole lotta Stockholm Syndrome going on. It’s also the only book that could get me to say things like “The camel was my favorite character.”

Whenever I think of animals as characters, Syg the coyote is one of the first that pops into my head. Dark Alchemy is the first in an Urban Fantasy series is an interesting blend of alchemical mysteries and Native American folklore.

Stories regarding Native American life seem to be few and far between but Louise Erdrich can always be counted on. Round House was a National Book Award winner back in 2012 and for good reason.

Challenger Deep, another National Book Award winner, chronicles the internal struggles of living with a mental illness. The author’s son Brendan Shusterman was his inspiration behind this story.

Waiting on Wednesday – Miraculum by Steph Post

August 8, 2018 Bonnie Waiting on Wednesday 3 Comments

Waiting on Wednesday – Miraculum by Steph Post

Miraculum by Steph Post
Published by Polis Books on January 22, 2019
Pages: 320
Genres: Southern Gothic/Country Noir, Historical Fiction
Format: Hardcover
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Goodreads

Also by this author: Lightwood

The year is 1922. The carnival is Pontilliar’s Spectactular Star Light Miraculum, set up on the Texas-Louisiana border. One blazing summer night, a mysterious stranger steps out onto the midway, lights a cigarette and forever changes the world around him. Tattooed snake charmer Ruby has traveled with her father’s carnival for most of her life and, jaded though she is, can’t help but be drawn to the tall man in the immaculate black suit who has joined the carnival as a geek, a man who bites the heads off live chickens. Mercurial and charismatic, Daniel charms everyone he encounters but his manipulation of Ruby becomes complicated when it no longer becomes clear who is holding all the cards. For all of Daniel’s secrets, Ruby has a few of her own. When one tragedy after another strikes the carnival, and it becomes clear that Daniel is somehow at the center of calamity, Ruby takes it upon herself to discover the mystery of the shadowy man pulling all the strings. Joined by Hayden, a roughneck-turned-mural-painter who has recently reentered her life, Ruby enters into a dangerous, eye-opening game with Daniel in which nothing and no one is as it seems and yet everything is at stake.

About Steph Post

Steph Post was born in St. Augustine, Florida and attended Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina on the Patricia Cornwell Scholarship for creative writing. While at Davidson College, she won the Vereen Bell writing award for short fiction. She later attended the University of North Carolina at Wilmington as part of the Graduate Liberal Studies program where she continued to write both creatively and academically. She currently lives in St. Petersburg, Florida and teaches Writing at a performing arts high school in Tampa. She is the author of the novels A Tree Born Crooked and Lightwood.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

You should all know by now that I’m nuts for Southern Gothic books but Southern Gothic fantasy was not a thing I knew I needed until now. 😍

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Release Day Feature – Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood

August 7, 2018 Bonnie Adult, Book Reviews, Read in 2018, Release Day Feature 2 Comments

I received this book free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Release Day Feature – Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood

Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood
Published by St. Martin's Press on August 7, 2018
Pages: 352
Genres: Historical Fiction
Format: ARC
Source: the Publisher
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Goodreads

four-half-stars

Camden, NJ, 1948. When 11 year-old Sally Horner steals a notebook from the local Woolworth's, she has no way of knowing that 52 year-old Frank LaSalle, fresh out of prison, is watching her, preparing to make his move. Accosting her outside the store, Frank convinces Sally that he's an FBI agent who can have her arrested in a minute - unless she does as he says.

This chilling novel traces the next two harrowing years as Frank mentally and physically assaults Sally as the two of them travel westward from Camden to San Jose, forever altering not only her life, but the lives of her family, friends, and those she meets along the way.

Based on the experiences of real-life kidnapping victim Sally Horner and her captor, whose story shocked the nation and inspired Vladimir Nabokov to write his controversial and iconic Lolita, this heart-pounding story by award-winning author T. Greenwood at last gives a voice to Sally herself.

About T. Greenwood

T. Greenwood is the author of twelve novels. She has received grants from the Sherwood Anderson Foundation, the Christopher Isherwood Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and, most recently, the Maryland State Arts Council. She has won three San Diego Book Awards. Five of her novels have been BookSense76/IndieBound picks. BODIES OF WATER was finalist for a Lambda Foundation award. Her twelfth novel, RUST & STARDUST, will be published in August 2018.

She teaches creative writing for San Diego Writer's Ink and online for The Writer's Center. She and her husband, Patrick, live in San Diego, CA with their two daughters. She is also a photographer.

“She couldn’t ever tell anyone the things he had done and said to her. The secrets her skin kept now, the horror that flowed in her veins. Her marrow poisoned.”

Rust & Stardust is an affecting novelization of the true crime story that ultimately inspired Nabokov’s writing of Lolita. The facts: Sally Horner was kidnapped from Camden, New Jersey, in the summer of 1948, by a man claiming to be with the FBI after he caught her stealing a five-cent notebook. The man’s real name was Frank La Salle who had been released from state prison in January of the same year for sex crimes against young girls. The unknown: All of the tiny details that Greenwood had to infer in order to recreate the tragic story of Sally Horner.

The story melds the horrifying point of view of Sally Horner with that of the family she left behind and various individuals that were unwittingly impacted by La Salle’s crimes. Sally’s story is, of course, heinous especially when you consider this girl was a mere 11-years-old and the ease with which she was convinced that her minor crime was worth what she endured was heartbreaking. But it was the normalcy of life that her family was forced to revert back to that was the most heartbreaking for me. The efforts they were forced to exude, all because of the continuous passing of time with the vestiges of hope deteriorating with each passing day.

‘How sad it is that grief has a shelf life […]. It’s only fresh and raw for so long before it begins to spoil. And soon enough, it will be replaced by a newer, brighter heartache – the old one discarded and eventually forgotten.’

Within the first 100 pages you start to feel as if Sally had already endured a lifetime of suffering, but of course, the book was far from over. Her story, far from over. It’s hard to understand how an 11-year-old could be convinced the situation was credible, but then again, this happened in the year 1948 when crime wasn’t quite so common and it was normal for children to be mostly sheltered from the nightmares of the world. Also, we’re taught at a very early age to respect authority, especially police officers, so I can understand even if something seemed wrong, how would someone at that age really know? And of course, it wasn’t until months into her abduction as Sally grew up that she finally started asking the questions that you, as the reader, were no doubt screaming at her to question when this all began.

Rust & Stardust was, as expected, a most difficult read but Sally’s story was gracefully told. Do yourself a favor and don’t go searching for Sally’s story to find out what became of her; I made the mistake of doing just this and I wish I hadn’t so that the ending could have remained elusive.

Something To Look Forward To – Week of August 6th, 2018

August 6, 2018 Bonnie Something To Look Forward To 0 Comments

Here’s what’s releasing this week: a blend of YA, Adult, and the occasional Middle Grade. Something for everyone to look forward to! All book purchase links go to their respective Amazon page.

Help support this blog and use the purchase links to get your copy!

_________________________________________________

Week of August 6th, 2018

Catwoman: Soulstealer (DC Icons #3) by Sarah J. Maas [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Random House Books for Young Readers

These Rebel Waves (Stream Raiders #1) by Sara Raasch [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Balzer + Bray

Dance of Thieves (Dance of Thieves #1) by Mary E. Pearson [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Henry Holt & Company

Nine by Zach Hines [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by HarperTeen

Ruin of Stars (Mask of Shadows #2) by Linsey Miller [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Sourcebooks Fire

The Forest Queen by Betsy Cornwell [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Clarion Books

Neverwake (Dreamfall #2) by Amy Plum [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by HarperTeen

Girl at the Grave by Teri Bailey Black [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Tor Teen

Echoes by Alice Reeds [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Entangled: Teen

Star-Touched Stories (The Star-Touched Queen #2.5) by Roshani Chokshi [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by St. Martin’s Press

Finding Yvonne by Brandy Colbert [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Smothered: A Novel by Autumn Chiklis [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Wednesday Books

The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Bérubé [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Sourcebooks Fire

Garrison Girl by Rachel Aaron [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Quirk Books

#Murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Freeform

The Other Side of Lost by Jessi Kirby [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by HarperTeen

Let Me List the Ways by Sarah White [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by HarperTeen

The Last Best Story by Maggie Lehrman [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Balzer + Bray

This Story Is a Lie by Tom Pollock [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Soho Teen

Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Katherine Tegen Books

Illegal by Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Sourcebooks

Estranged by Ethan M. Aldridge [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by HarperCollins

A Festival of Ghosts by William Alexander [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

Echo’s Sister by Paul Mosier [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by HarperCollins

King of Assassins (The Wounded Kingdom #3) by R.J. Barker [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Orbit

The Tower of Living and Dying (Empires of Dust #2) by Anna Smith Spark [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Orbit

Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries #3) by Martha Wells [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Tor.com

The Point by John Dixon [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Del Rey Books

Before She Sleeps by Bina Shah [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Delphinium

A Short Film about Disappointment by Joshua Mattson [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Penguin Press

Serpentine (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #26) by Laurell K. Hamilton [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Berkley Books

Bad Man by Dathan Auerbach [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Doubleday Books

Friendly Fire (The Fifth Ward #2) by Dale Lucas [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Orbit

Privateer (The Dragon Corsairs, #2) by Margaret Weis & Robert Krammes [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Tor Books

The Tropic of Eternity (The Amaranthine Spectrum #3) by Tom Toner [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Night Shade Books

Alternate Routes by Tim Powers [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Baen

Temper: A Novel by Nicky Drayden [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Harper Voyager

The Middleman by Olen Steinhauer [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Minotaur Books

With You Always by Rena Olsen [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons

A Long Time Coming by Aaron Elkins [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Thomas & Mercer

Under a Dark Sky by Lori Rader-Day [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by William Morrow Paperbacks

Read Me: A Novel by Leo Benedictus [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Twelve

The Bouncer by David Gordon [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Mysterious Press

An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Pamela Dorman Books

Sister of Mine by Laurie Petrou [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Crooked Lane Books

Blood Highway: A Novel by Gina Wohlsdorf [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Algonquin Books

After Nightfall by A.J. Banner [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Lake Union Publishing

The Washington Decree by Jussi Adler-Olsen [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Dutton Books

Our House by Louise Candlish [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Berkley

Desperate Girls (Wolfe Security #1) by Laura Griffin [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Gallery Books

The Drama Teacher by Koren Zailckas [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Crown Publishing Group (NY)

Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Sourcebooks Landmark

The Prisoner in the Castle (Maggie Hope Mystery #8) by Susan Elia MacNeal [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Bantam

Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding (Her Royal Spyness #12) by Rhys Bowen [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Berkley Books

Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by St. Martin’s Press

The Last Hours by Minette Walters [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by MIRA

The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Dutton

If You Leave Me by Crystal Hana Kim [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by William Morrow

Becoming Belle by Nuala O’Connor [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Good Luck with That by Kristan Higgins [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Berkley Books

The Good Luck Charm by Helena Hunting [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Forever

The Bucket List by Georgia Clark [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Atria/Emily Bestler Books

Goodbye, Paris by Anstey Harris [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Touchstone

Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Flatiron Books

The Reservoir Tapes by Jon McGregor [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Catapult

So Much Life Left Over (The Dust That Falls from Dreams #2) by Louis de Bernières [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Pantheon Books

Horse by Talley English [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Knopf Publishing Group

Certain American States: Stories by Catherine Lacey [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

This Mournable Body: A Novel by Tsitsi Dangarembga [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Graywolf Press

The Third Hotel: A Novel by Laura van den Berg [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

The Viking Wars: War and Peace in King Alfred’s Britain: 789-955 by Max Adams [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Pegasus Books

Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History by Keith O’Brien [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Eamon Dolan/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Ticker: The Quest to Create an Artificial Heart by Mimi Swartz [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Crown Publishing Group (NY)

Judas: How a Sister’s Testimony Brought Down a Criminal Mastermind by Astrid Holleeder [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 7th 2018 by Mulholland Books

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Monthly Rundown: July 2018

August 2, 2018 Bonnie Monthly Rundown 12 Comments

Books Read = 15

I had my second most productive reading month in July! Which is even crazier when I actually look at my book spreadsheet because apparently, I didn’t even finish my first book of the month until the 11th. Which is great because, not sure if anyone noticed, but I didn’t do a June Rundown because… I read 4 books. lol It was a massively busy month at work trying to get everything done before my two-week vacation to Ireland so my priorities were elsewhere. But I’m back at it! I read some pretty great books too (and actually wrote some reviews) so fingers crossed I can keep up that momentum into August. 🙂

Posted Reviews

[13 Jul] Invitation to a Bonfire by Adrienne Celt ★★★
[13 Jul] The City Where We Once Lived by Eric Barnes ★★★½
[13 Jul] The Broken Girls by Simone St. James ★★★½
[13 Jul] We Are Where the Nightmares Go and Other Stories by C. Robert Cargill ★★★★½
[20 Jul] An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim ★★★
[29 Jul] The Line That Held Us by David Joy ★★★★
[29 Jul] I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara ★★★½
[29 Jul] Nightflyers by George R.R. Martin ★★★½
[29 Jul] Awakened by James S. Murray, Darren Wearmouth ★★★½

Unreviewed Reads

Wittgenstein’s Lolita and The Iceman: Short Stories by William Gay ★★★★
Crosstalk by Connie Willis (audio) ★★★
Obsidio (The Illuminae Files #3) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff ★★★
The Pirate (Bloodlands Collection) by Harold Schechter (audio) ★★★
I Dare You (The Hook Up #1) by Ilsa Madden-Mills ★★★★
The Naturalist (The Naturalist #1) by Andrew Mayne (audio) ★★★
Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock ★★★★
Queenpin by Megan Abbott ★★★★

Best of the Month: We Are Where the Nightmares Go and Other Stories by C. Robert Cargill ★★★★½
I’ve read several of Cargill’s novels and have thoroughly enjoyed them but I was pretty blown away at his short fiction. It takes a real talent to tell a story effectively in a short amount of words and boy did he ever accomplish that task. There were a few stories that I didn’t care for as much as the others, but Nightmares is a solid short story collection for horror fans.

Least Favorite: Invitation to a Bonfire by Adrienne Celt ★★★
I read a stupid amount of 3 star reads this month, so picking a least favorite is basically my most mediocre read. I’ve been actively trying to accept review books only when I’m very much looking forward to these. Invitation to a Bonfire was one of those. The inspiration behind the story was intriguing but calling it a psychological thriller was way far off base. It should’ve been a DNF, honestly.

Biggest Surprise: Queenpin by Megan Abbott ★★★★
I’ve read Abbott’s Dare Me and The Fever and loved them both. In the early days of Abbott’s career, she primarily wrote female-centric noirs. I picked up Queenpin for $0.99 years back but kept putting it off. This past weekend, I decided to spontaneously participate in Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon and I picked up a few shorter stories that I could knock out and this was one of them. I don’t know why I waited so long. I also need the rest of her noir books, stat.

Biggest Disappointment: I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara ★★★½
Yes, I listed this under biggest disappointment but that might be a bit of an exaggeration in this case. Unfortunately, it fit the bill best. I had high hopes for this one following all the hype with this book being released and shortly after the police using DNA to identify the Golden State Killer. I’m a big ol’ True Crime fan so I had my sights on this one for quite some time, but the need to read it became extreme. It was very obviously incomplete at the time of her death and was pieced together by her husband in the best way he could, but it was obvious it was working with an incomplete puzzle. I am still glad I read it, I am still glad that he published this posthumously, but I do so wish she had the opportunity to truly see the story to its end.

Waiting on Wednesday – Limetown: The Prequel to the #1 Podcast by Cote Smith, Zack Akers, Skip Bronkie

August 1, 2018 Bonnie Waiting on Wednesday 4 Comments

Waiting on Wednesday – Limetown: The Prequel to the #1 Podcast by Cote Smith, Zack Akers, Skip Bronkie

Limetown: The Prequel to the #1 Podcast by Cote Smith, Zack Akers, Skip Bronkie
Published by Simon & Schuster on November 13, 2018
Pages: 304
Genres: Mystery
Format: Hardcover
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Audible
Goodreads

From the creators of the #1 podcast Limetown, an explosive prequel about a teenager who learns of a mysterious research facility where over three hundred people have disappeared—including her uncle—with clues that become the key to discovering the secrets of this strange town.

On a seemingly ordinary day, seventeen-year-old Lia Haddock hears news that will change her life forever: three hundred men, women, and children living at a research facility in Limetown, Tennessee, have disappeared without a trace. Among the missing is Emile Haddock, Lia’s uncle.

What happened to the people of Limetown? It’s all anyone can talk about. Except Lia’s parents, who refuse to discuss what might have happened there. They refuse, even, to discuss anything to do with Emile.

As a student journalist, Lia begins an investigation that will take her far from her home, discovering clues about Emile’s past that lead to a shocking secret—one with unimaginable implications not only for the people of Limetown, but for Lia and her family. The only problem is…she’s not the only one looking for answers.

Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie are first-rate storytellers, in every medium. Critics called their podcast Limetown “creepy and otherworldly” (The New York Times) and “endlessly fun” (Vox), and their novel goes back to where it all began. Working with Cote Smith, a PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize Finalist, they’ve crafted an exhilarating mystery that asks big questions about what we owe to our families and what we owe to ourselves, about loss, discovery, and growth. Threaded throughout is Emile’s story—told in these pages for the first time ever.

About Cote Smith

Cote Smith grew up in Leavenworth, Kansas, and on various army bases around the country. He earned his MFA from the University of Kansas, and his stories have been featured in One Story, Crazyhorse, and FiveChapters, among other publications. His first novel, Hurt People, was a Finalist for the 2017 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction, longlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, a 2017 Kansas Notable Book Award winner, and winner of the 2017 High Plains First Book Award.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

This podcast was a ton of fun to listen to. I haven’t listened to too many fictional podcasts (I tend to prefer the non-fictional ones) but the story was definitely interesting and reminded me a lot of some classic X-Files. Will be fun to get a backstory on Limetown in print form!

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Top Ten Tuesday – Award Winning Books Worth a Read

July 30, 2018 Bonnie Top Ten Tuesday 22 Comments

A book is #1 on the New York Times bestseller list? I couldn’t care less. A book just won a literary award? I need a copy NOW so I can see what all the fuss is about. (That is unless your book just won the Booker Prize, then, unfortunately, I couldn’t care less.) There is a multitude of literary awards these days and I avidly await the announcement of winners. Sure, the winners aren’t always as amazing as an award would seem to merit, but sometimes those awards shine a spotlight on some real gems.

Here are just ten that I have read and loved, that have been honored with an award, and it’s clear just why that is.

Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature (2016): Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

National Book Award for Young People’s Literature (2015): Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel (2013): American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett

Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Historical Fiction (2013): Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Hugo Award for Best Novel (2009): The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original (2008): Queenpin by Megan Abbott

Bram Stoker Award for First Novel (2007): Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2007): The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel (1987): The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

World Fantasy Award for Best Novel (1987): Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind

Something To Look Forward To – Week of July 30th, 2018

July 30, 2018 Bonnie Something To Look Forward To 4 Comments

Here’s what’s releasing this week: a blend of YA, Adult, and the occasional Middle Grade. Something for everyone to look forward to! All book purchase links go to their respective Amazon page.

Help support this blog and use the purchase links to get your copy!

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Week of July 30th, 2018

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Katherine Tegen Books

Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Heart of Thorns (Heart of Thorns #1) by Bree Barton [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Katherine Tegen Books

The Darkest Legacy (The Darkest Minds #4) by Alexandra Bracken [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Disney-Hyperion

Storm-Wake by Lucy Christopher [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Chicken House

Light Mage (The Black Witch Chronicles #1.5) by Laurie Forest [Purchase]
Expected publication: August 1st 2018 by Harlequin Teen

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Delacorte Press

The Letting Go by Deborah Markus [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Sky Pony Press

If Only by Jennifer Gilmore [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by HarperTeen

How We Learned to Lie by Meredith Miller [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by HarperCollins

Lovely, Dark, and Deep by Justina Chen [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Arthur A. Levine Books

The Girl You Thought I Was by Rebecca Phillips [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by HarperTeen

Dreadful Company (Dr. Greta Helsing #2) by Vivian Shaw [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Orbit

Arabella The Traitor of Mars (Adventures of Arabella Ashby #3) by David D. Levine [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Tor Books

A Study in Honor (The Janet Watson Chronicles #1) by Claire O’Dell [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Harper Voyager

Planetside by Michael Mammay [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Harper Voyager

Portents: A Collection of Cainsville Tales by Kelley Armstrong [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by KLA Fricke Inc

The Future is Blue by Catherynne M. Valente [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Subterranean Press

This Body’s Not Big Enough for Both of Us by Edgar Cantero [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Doubleday

Pale as Death (Krewe of Hunters #25) by Heather Graham [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Mira Books

Shadow’s Bane (Dorina Basarab #4) by Karen Chance [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Berkeley

Redemption’s Blade: After The War by Adrian Tchaikovsky [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Solaris

A Double Life by Flynn Berry [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Viking

She Was the Quiet One by Michele Campbell [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by St. Martin’s Press

A Measure of Darkness (Clay Edison #2) by Jonathan Kellerman [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Ballantine Books

Paradox (FBI Thriller #22) by Catherine Coulter [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Gallery Books

Murder at Ochre Court (Gilded Newport Mysteries #6) by Alyssa Maxwell [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Kensington Publishing Corporation

The Quiet Side of Passion (Isabel Dalhousie #12) by Alexander McCall Smith [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Pantheon Books

The Locksmith’s Daughter by Karen Brooks [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by William Morrow Paperbacks

Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Doubleday

The Shortest Way Home by Miriam Parker [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Dutton

Dune Drive (Chesapeake Diaries #12) by Mariah Stewart [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Pocket Books

A Duke by Default (Reluctant Royals #2) by Alyssa Cole [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Avon

Immigrant, Montana by Amitava Kumar [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Hamish Hamilton

Brother by David Chariandy [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Bloomsbury USA

The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Riverhead Books

I Didn’t Talk by Beatriz Bracher [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by New Directions

The Strange Case of Dr. Couney: How a Mysterious European Showman Saved Thousands of American Babies by Dawn Raffel [Purchase]
Expected publication: July 31st 2018 by Blue Rider Press

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Rapid Reviews – The Line That Held Us, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, Awakened

July 29, 2018 Bonnie Adult, Book Reviews, Non-Fiction, Rapid Fire Reviews, Read in 2018 2 Comments

Sometimes review writing is hard. Sometimes you don’t have a lot to say. Sometimes you’re just lazy as fuck. These are Rapid Fire Reviews.

The Line That Held Us by David Joy
Illustrator: David Palumbo
Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons on August 14, 2018
Pages: 272
Genres: Southern Gothic/Country Noir
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Audible
Goodreads

Also by this author: Where All Light Tends to Go, The Weight of This World

Short Summary: Darl Moody knows that he’s poaching when he sets out to go hunting late one night but he’s got many mouths to feed. The bullet he fires intended for an animal turns out to be none other than Carol Brewer who was also poaching on the same land, and instead of owning up to his mistake he buries the body and hopes that his terrifying brother Dwayne doesn’t ever connect the dots.

Thoughts: David Joy’s novels are impressively engaging and invoke the essence of the South in all the best (and terrible) ways

Verdict: The Line That Held Us was a riveting story of the reverberations of vengeance that was poignantly written. In his third novel, David Joy is clearly only getting better.

I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara
Published by Harper on February 27, 2018
Pages: 328
Genres: True Crime
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Audible
Goodreads

Short Summary: I’ll Be Gone in the Dark is the posthumous culmination of Michelle McNamara’s research into the identity of the Golden State Killer, a man who committed at least 12 murders and more than 50 rapes.

Thoughts: The shining light of this true crime story is the passion and drive that McNamara possessed to uncover the mystery of a serial killer that haunted people for decades, and how heartbreaking it is that she wasn’t able to witness the day that he was finally found.

Verdict: Despite this being very obviously incomplete, I understand why the publication was so important. Did her research point directly to the killer? I would say no, however, the continued interest in the investigation clearly kept it alive when so many cases would have normally been forgotten, relegated to a basement alongside other cold cases.

I received this book free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Nightflyers by George R.R. Martin
Illustrator: David Palumbo
Published by Bantam on May 29, 2018
Pages: 208
Genres: Sci-fi
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Audible
Goodreads

Short Summary: A group of individuals set out on a scientific expedition to uncover the mysteries of an alien race but along the way, an alien presence makes itself known and the group is fighting for their lives while trying to figure out if this is the same alien presence that they sought.

Thoughts: This novella has an impressive concept but the wide cast of characters that went without proper development and the strange focus on the sex lives of these 9 individuals was needless and I would’ve much preferred more details on the mysterious alien race instead.

Verdict: Nightflyers is a very unsettling little read and I’m very much looking forward to the visual aspects of bringing this novella to life on the small screen.

Awakened by James S. Murray, Darren Wearmouth
Series: Awakened #1
Published by Harper Voyager on June 26, 2018
Pages: 287
Genres: Horror, Sci-fi
Format: ARC
Source: the Publisher
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Audible
Goodreads

Short Summary: When a new subway line connecting New Jersey and New York makes its inaugural journey, it arrives in the station to a crowd of spectators that watch in horror as they realize that the train is completely empty but there’s blood everywhere.

Thoughts: This one was a ton of fun and full of creepy moments but the shift in the second half where the story focused primarily on political drama/conspiracies instead was somewhat disappointing.

Verdict: With similarities to The Strain and the very script-like way this was written, this would be a most excellent tv show.

I received this book free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.