Tag: mystery

Let's Talk · Lists & Recommendations

Let’s Talk | Series I Read or Started in 2020

bookishluna6 Comments

Hello and welcome to a post where I share a few of the book series I finished or started in 2020. Now, to be honest I don’t read too many series so the ones I start I really have to be interested in. I have realized that series reading is not something to take lightly because of the commitment. I have realized that type of reading is generally not for me as the years have passed, but there are a few exceptions and here they are!

Series I Started

Assassination Classroom by Yūsei Matsui

Assassination Classroom, Vol. 01

Now, I will be honest here. I have watched the entirety of the anime and loved it. The next logical step for this reader was to read the manga. So, I finally decided to start reading them this year and at this point in time I have read the first two volumes and I have a few waiting for me on my shelf. This series takes place in a school where the students are tasked by the government to assassinate their teacher who seems to be a monster or alien that blew up the moon and promises to do the same to Earth. The funny thing is, this teacher is probably the best teacher ever and really cares about the kids and helps train them to try and get him. It really is hard to explain but I cried a few times and it takes a lot for me to cry.

Frankenstein by Dean Koontz

Prodigal Son (Dean Koontz's Frankenstein #1)

This series I started as a buddy read with Jenna and Reg. We all read the first book, Prodigal Son, in the series together but we have all stalled funny enough. It was a good start for sure, but just something I am in the mood for currently. It has a mixture of horror with an immortal and also has aspects of a thriller with a serial killer on the loose. It really left off on a great point in the plot so I really do want to continue one day.

Series I Continued

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

An Echo in the Bone (Outlander, #7)

I have been reading this series over the last few years and I have been enjoying it, but I have been reading about two a year. At this point in time I am up to An Echo in the Bone, which his book 7. I am hoping to read it the last week of December or early January. I tend to read one in the Winter and one in the Summer. Since I am so far in the series I don’t want to say too much at this point.

Series I Finished

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Café

I read the first two books in this series, that is all that is available in English at this time so I am going to count this as completed. I do hope the third installment of this whimsical, emotional, and magical collection of short tales. I don’t want to say too much about these because I feel like the less you know the better, but do know that these are amazing!

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

The Magicians Trilogy Boxed Set

This year I started and finished Th Magicians Series. I have to say I really loved this series throughout. If fact it got better as it went on. I really loved that the characters started learning magic in college and that it took place in a world hidden within our own. I also loved the fact that his fantasy novel is new adult as well. I also liked that the main character isn’t perfect, it really makes all of the characters feel like actual humans with flaws and all. I really feel like I might reread this series in the future as well. I also read these with Jenna and Reg!

Margaret Harkness and Arthur Conan Doyle Series by Bradley Harper

Queen's Gambit

This last series I read this year because I was part of a blog tour of the first book, A Knife in the Fog. I then decided to continue the series because I enjoyed the first one. This fast paced historical mystery was a ton of fun and gave off a ton of Sherlock Holmes vibes.

What series have you read this year?

Sign Off 2020

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Let's Talk · Tags

Let’s Talk | Baby It’s Cold Outside Book Tag

bookishluna17 Comments

Hello and welcome to a tag post, I was lucky enough to be tagged by Erin over at Reading on a Star, who also created it! As you can see they are creative and have a ton of fun stuff over on their blog and I really think you should check it out! I am very excited to share my answers and please feel free to complete his tag even if you are not tagged because it was certainly fun to answer.

Rules

  • Thank the person who tagged you and link to their post.
  • Display the banner(copy and paste).
  • Link to the original creator: erin @ Reading On A Star !
  • Answer the questions!
  • Tag however many people as you want!

Snow Day – What’s your “comfort” book? 

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, this books I read and adored with my mom as a child. To this day it is a book I go back to time and time again. It has such great memories tied to it, but also I love the story and the relationship between the family members so much.

Snow Angels – What’s a book that you love so much you would want to be buried with it(a little morid, but…)? 

Well, I don’t think I can pick the same book again so, I will go with Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. I once again enjoy the relationships within the story, but I also like the discussion of no one being truly good or truly bad and you are not always what you are defined to be. I also think it would be interesting being buried with a book that has to do with angels and demons. If ever found it might makes things a bit interesting.

Warm Socks – What’s a book that makes you feel warm inside?(The fluffiest, cutest romance you’ve ever read?) 

I think I will go with Beach Read by Emily Henry. I read though it so quickly, I adored the characters and I will always love reading books about authors.

Hot Cocoa – What winter-themed novels have you previously read? 

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon is a great horror read set in the winter. It has disappearance, legends, family secrets, and a bit of historical fiction thrown in. It is a wild ride and I was a book I was pulled into right from the beginning. Th best part is that it is just over 300 pages and is not too long, but has a lot going on.

Sledding – What’s a book with the best plot twists? Who’s an author that always keeps you on your toes? 

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, this book seriously kept me on my toes from start to finish. I don’t want to say too much, but this author is so talented and became an auto buy author because of it.

Ugly Sweaters – What’s a book with the ugliest cover?

The first book that pops up in my mind is the green edition of The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I enjoyed the book and the movie for that matter, but I always disliked the lime green edition of this book.

Movie Marathon – What’s the last book you binge read?

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, I sat down last weekend thinking I would read a few chapters. Well, I ended up reading the entire book in a single day and I was honestly tempted to reread it almost right away. I honestly loved the characters and the dynamics of their relationships. I also adored the touch of magic the author added, it was perfect!

I also want to mention The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi, a very similar thing happened when I went to read this book. I sat down to read a chapter or two and ended up reading the entire thing. While this is a beautiful story of a family truly learning who their child is, but it is so heart breaking and emotional. I don’t want to give too much information because I don’t want to spoil anything but I HIGHLY suggest you check this one out. It is one of the few books that made me cry.

Letter to Santa – What’s a book that’s on your wishlist this year? 

As of right now I have a whole list you can see here, but the one book I want the most would be Dark Archives by Megan Rosenbloom, a librarian. It is a nonfiction book that discusses a ]very morbid, but interesting topic of books bound in human skin. The author explores the science as well as the historical significance that led to these books being created. I am curious to see how the author will discuss such a dark topic and if she will be telling the story of those who became victims.

I Tag

Misty @ Misty’s Book Space

Jenna @ JK I’m Exploring

Jenna @ Westveil Publishing

Noly @ The Artsy Reader

Tarra @TLC Book Nook

Aoife @ Pretty Purple Polkadots

Rebbie @ Rebbie Reviews

Sarah @ VoyageThroughWor(l)ds

Sign Off 2020

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Reviews

Gifted Book Review | The Canary Keeper by Clare Carson

bookishlunaLeave a comment
Book Review

Hello and welcome to a book review! Today I am trying something new where I review books that have been gifted to me. Many moons ago the lovely and wonderful Adrianna, who you can find on twitter as @romancebookbing., gifted me a copy of a book I really wanted. She is such an amazing person with a huge heart and the book arriving was a totally needed surprise at the time and I am still very grateful for. Anyway, if you caught the title chances are you know what book she sent me, The Canary Keeper by Clare Carson.

Picture of The Canary Keeper by Claire Carson in a wreath.

One Sentence Review

A wonderfully written and enthralling historical fiction mystery that kept me hooked.

Description

“In the grey mist of the early morning a body is dumped on the shore of the Thames by a boatman in a metal canoe. The city is soon alive with talk of the savage Esquimaux stalking Victorian London and an eye witness who claims the killer had an accomplice: a tall woman dressed in widow’s weeds, with the telltale look of the degenerate Irish.

Branna ‘Birdie’ Quinn had no good reason to be by the river that morning, but she did not kill the man. She’d seen him first the day before, desperate to give her a message she refused to hear. And now the Filth will see her hang for his murder, just like her father.

To save her life, Birdie must trace the dead man’s footsteps. Back onto the ship that carried him to his death, back to cold isles of Orkney that sheltered him, and up to the far north, a harsh and lawless land which holds more answers than she looks to find…

The Canary Keeper is a must-read historical epic, weaving suspense, adventure and romance into an exhilarating thriller.” –goodreads.com

What I Liked

One of the main things I loved about this story is that it includes real events and such, but the author is able to mix fact and fiction in such a flawless and remarkable way. The murder and the overall plot felt like it could have really happened in the Victorian era. As someone who studied history, this really makes or breaks a book set in the past. But as I said, he author sews the past with fiction in a masterful way.

On top of mixing the truth with fiction, the setting and atmosphere throughout the novel was on point as well. Since I have read a lot of mysteries and thrillers over the years, I often find myself on a rollercoaster of interest when reading a run of the mill mystery, but the level of suspense through this novel was just the right amount. I was pulled in for most of the story, more on that later, but I was also not too anxious while reading. As I said earlier, the setting was just wonderfully done, the novel felt as if it was the Victorian era, it had the perfect feel to it. Which, I think shows the talent of the author.

What I Didn’t Like

As I said in the previous section, most of the story I was really drawn in. But honestly, there was a dip about 2/3 of the way through that I was kinda loosing interest, but then it turned around again.

Overall

Overall, I am so happy that I was able to read this story. It was a really wonderfully done historical mystery. The characters were great, the setting was perfect, the atmosphere really lent itself to the plot in a seamless way. I really think if you enjoy a good mystery and maybe just general historical fiction you should look further into this one!

Have you read this book before or is it on your TBR?

Sign Off 2020

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Hauls & Unboxings

Book of the Month | September 2020

bookishluna5 Comments

Hello and welcome to another unboxing of my subscription of BOTM. This month I am happy to say I actually picked two books for my box and both just sound amazing! I honestly had a really hard time between all the awesome choices. One good things was they had Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson and if I had not bought it the day before I would have picked that one so I was able to pick another as well as a book from a previous month. Now, on to my picks and why I chose them!

Descriptions

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Gifty is a fifth year candidate in neuroscience at Stanford School of Medicine studying reward seeking behavior in mice and the neural circuits of depression and addiction. Her brother, Nana, was a gifted high school athlete who died of a heroin overdose after a knee injury left him hooked on OxyContin. Her suicidal mother is living in her bed. Gifty is determined to discover the scientific basis for the suffering she sees all around her.

But even as she turns to the hard sciences to unlock the mystery of her family’s loss, she finds herself hungering for her childhood faith, and grappling with the evangelical church in which she was raised, whose promise of salvation remains as tantalizing as it is elusive. Transcendent Kingdom is a deeply moving portrait of a family of Ghanain immigrants ravaged by depression and addiction and grief–a novel about faith, science, religion, love. Exquisitely written, emotionally searing, this is an exceptionally powerful follow-up to Gyasi’s phenomenal debut. -goodreads

The Shadows by Alex North

You knew a teenager like Charlie Crabtree. A dark imagination, a sinister smile–always on the outside of the group. Some part of you suspected he might be capable of doing something awful. Twenty-five years ago, Crabtree did just that, committing a murder so shocking that it’s attracted that strange kind of infamy that only exists on the darkest corners of the internet–and inspired more than one copycat.

Paul Adams remembers the case all too well: Crabtree–and his victim–were Paul’s friends. Paul has slowly put his life back together. But now his mother, old and senile, has taken a turn for the worse. Though every inch of him resists, it is time to come home.

It’s not long before things start to go wrong. Reading the news, Paul learns another copycat has struck. His mother is distressed, insistent that there’s something in the house. And someone is following him. Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day twenty-five years ago.

It wasn’t just the murder.

It was the fact that afterward, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again… -goodreads

Why I Picked These Books

When it comes to Transcendant Kingdom, I picked it because I have been really enjoying hard hitting emotional reads as of late. This book really tells the story of a woman who is spending her life trying to find a way to help her family while they suffer from mental illness, addiction, and loss. I think it will also explore the pressure this puts on Gifty and her struggles that come from this. Not only does this book peak my interest, so does the author. I have heard such wonderful things about this authors outstanding gift when it comes to writings and I just felt like I needed to pick up a book by them.

The second book I picked, The Shadows, was added to my book because I have been into true crime and horror a lot lately and this seemed like a fictional combination of these. On top of that, I have heard promising things about this authors works and I have not read anything by them before.

What was the most recent book added to your TBR?
Does this book sound interesting to you?

Sign Off 2020

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Reviews

Book Review | One by One by Ruth Ware

bookishluna4 Comments

*Book given via netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

One by One

Description: 

Getting snowed in at a beautiful, rustic mountain chalet doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a cozy fire, and company to keep you warm. But what happens when that company is eight of your coworkers…and you can’t trust any of them?

When an off-site company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and collaboration goes utterly wrong when an avalanche hits, the corporate food chain becomes irrelevant and survival trumps togetherness. Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be?

What I Liked

First and foremost, Ware has once again shown her talent when it comes to creating an atmosphere perfect for a thriller. Again and again Ware has proven that she can in a short time make you feel as if you are in the story along with the characters. You get suspicious of people right away and you feel trapped right along side them on the mountain top chalet. This has always been my favorite aspects when it comes to reading one of her novels, I fall right into the world because she builds it up perfectly. Another thing I really liked was the fact that the feeling I felt while reading One by One are the same feeling I had when I read Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None.

Additionally, I really liked the tech company that was created and used throughout this novel. No only was it used to give structor to the story, it was fun to see a made up company and product that seems like it could really be on the app store. I thought using this company really brings it into modern times and ensures it does not feel like the story takes place long ago. It also lends itself to creating very interesting dynamics that are a key component to this story. The suspicion and high tensions within this story, it really lends itself to the narrative. It leads to emotions getting higher and higher and leads to hidden, deep distrust to come to the surface.

What I Didn’t Like

The only downside was I felt one of the two narrators, I was so happy there were only two main voices in this story, read someone what juvenile from time to time though not consistently. So, it really was not anything that ruined the story or pulled me out of it in anyway. Which, for a thriller to be effective needs to really keep you in the narrative, and this really does.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed this thriller. The setting was amazing, the atmosphere was palpable, the characters were interesting as well as their dynamics, and the story fully pulled me in. Once again Ware has proven to be an amazing writer and continues to be one of my auto-buy authors. Even though I received this book for free, I am going to go pick up another on publication day. If you want a good secluded thriller that appears to be a dream come true at first, but turns into a horror, I feel like this is one you should certainly look into.

4stars

Author Links

Ruth Ware

Book Information

Publication Date: September 8th 2020

Publisher:  Scout Press

List Price: $27.99

ISBN:  978-1501188817

Pages: 384 pages

Sign Off 2020

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Wrap Up

Wrap Up | June 2020

bookishluna6 Comments

Wrap Up

Hello and welcome to my June wrap up, wow it feels so weird typing that. Already halfway through 2020. This month was quite an improvement reading wise for me, I actually did some reading. I am not quite sure what happened in May and what put me out of the mood to read, but thankfully it has passed and I ended up reading quite a bit. Here are the books I read, my backlist checkin and my monthly stats!

Read 2

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Overall, I felt that this book was average for me. Not amazing and not bad at all, it was just in the middle. I enjoyed the world, but I was not invested in the plot or the characters. I was just someone following along. Now, this could be because as I stated earlier I don’t read a lot of YA anymore and I am annoying specific when it comes to fantasy. I really did enjoy the world building in this novel and I feel like Schwab has a lot of talent when it comes to this. I will say I am happy that I gave it a try and finally read it. I always had the feeling of “Fear of Missing Out” when it came to this series, now that question has been answered. Thank you for picking my book Melinda!

View all my reviews

UntamedUntamed by Glennon Doyle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A very interesting collection of stories to make up the author’s memoir. I found the stories shared to be heart warming and raw. The author really sharers herself with her readers, but also gives them something to reflect on.

View all my reviews

Twelfth NightTwelfth Night by William Shakespeare

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Review to come!

View all my reviews

Prodigal Son (Dean Koontz's Frankenstein, #1)Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Overall, I felt that this novel has a lot of potential, it was dark, twisted and let’s face it inspired by one of the most popular horror novels of all time. I really enjoyed a lot about this book, but what lost me was the characters actions. Sometimes I just felt like, wow, they are meant to be detectives? Their actions just were not believable. That aside, I did enjoy parts of it and I am curious enough to be thinking about continuing this series. That is a big deal for me, because I tend to hate series.

View all my reviews

Full Dark, No StarsFull Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

1922-5/5 psychological and dark real world horror

Big Driver-2/5 the assault is r*ape.

Fair Extension-3/5 – interesting, but I wasn’t really feeling it.

A Good Marriage-5/5 Just when you thought you knew someone completely, another story were man is the true monster.

View all my reviews

Anansi BoysAnansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a really interesting story sett in the same world as American Gods. It was a twisting tale and as always Gaiman has a way with words. As always the writing was done very well and the story was imaginative to say the least. The reason I took a few stars off it because there were a few parts I became bored with, but over all I really did enjoy it. If you liked American Gods, I think you will like this as well.

View all my reviews

Before the Coffee Gets ColdBefore the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this and I really want to read more from this author. I really liked how the author mixed the magical with the mundane to create such a heart warming story.

View all my reviews

Middle Mark Books 2

Beat the Backlist 2

Start of 2020: 51

Current: 6

Reading Stats

What was your favorite book this month?

Sign Off 2020

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

To Be Read

To Be Read | May 2020

bookishluna12 Comments

To Be Read

Hello and welcome to another TBR post! This month my reading is going to be a bit more relaxed than it was last month with the #OWLsReathaon. I still cannot believe I read so much! Anyway, I just have a few books on my TBR I really wanted to get to. Without more of a delay, on to the books!

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire, picked by Evelyn over at evelynreads.com.  I am really excited to be giving this a go this month. I have read about 4 of their books already and I really enjoyed them. I know this one has met some mixed feelings so I am really excited to see if I end up loving it or not.

The Canary Keeper by Clare Carson, gifted by Adrianna over at romancebookbinge.com. I am so grateful to be able to read this in May. I have been wanting to read this book for months, maybe even over a year? May is the month to get it read!

The Magicians Land by Lev Grossman, buddy reading with Reg from bookishinbed and Jenna from jkimexploring. I cannot wait to see what the last book in this series is going to bring. This series could easily become one of my favorites, I am so glad that we ended up reading this together because I might not have ever read it. Also, with that ending in book 2, I need to know what happens next!

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel, I picked this up at my local bookstore because it was given the title of ‘April 2020 Indie Next List #1 Great Read’ on indiebound.org. The description confused me quite a bit, but it said a few of my key words; ghost, hotel, and island. So, I bought it to support my local store.

The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, what can I say? This is book 5 in the series and I am ready to get it read!

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, this is my May Shakespeare as voted by on my twitter account. I actually know nothing about this play at the time of writing this, but since I loved Macbeth I am more excited about reading his works than ever before.

What are you reading in May? Are there any releases you are looking forward to?

Sign Off 2020

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Reviews

Book Review | Salvation Station by Kathryn Schleich

bookishluna2 Comments

Book Review

*Book given by the publisher via aWunderkind PR in exchange for an honest review*

Salvation Station
Description: 

When committed female police captain Linda Turner, haunted by the murders of two small children and their pastor father, becomes obsessed with solving the harrowing case, she finds herself wrapped up in a mission to expose a fraudulent religious organization and an unrepentant killer.

Despite her years of experience investigating homicides for the force, Captain Linda Turner is haunted by the murders of the Hansen family. The two small children, clothed in tattered Disney pajamas, were buried with their father, a pastor, in the flower garden behind a church parsonage in Lincoln, Nebraska. But Mrs. Hansen is nowhere to be found—and neither is the killer.

In St. Louis, the televangelist Ray Williams is about to lose his show—until one of his regular attendees approaches him with an idea that will help him save it. Despite his initial misgivings, Ray agrees to give it a try. He can’t deny his attraction to this woman, and besides, she’d assured him the plan is just—God gave her the instructions in a dream.

Multiple story lines entwine throughout this compelling mystery, delving into the topics of murder, religious faith, and the inherent dangers in blindly accepting faith as truth. While Reverend Williams is swept up in his newfound success and plans for his wedding, Captain Turner can only hope that she and her team will catch the Hansens’ cunning killer—before more bodies surface. goodreads.com

What I Liked

I will openly admit that thrillers that involve police detectives are normally not my thing, but Kathryn Schleich has managed to write a book I enjoy that deals with a police captain. The I was drawn in within a few pages, you don’t need to wait for the story to start up. This story has a very ghastly murder of two children and their paster father and a mother that has gone missing. One of the threads through this book follow the investigation. The second main thread throughout this book a church in desperate need and starts to follow the direction of one of its members. 

The main things that stood out to me was the authors ability to portray the work put in by the police to help solve this crime. It felt like the characters care and really wanted to having this murder solved, not just a plot device and the story continuing. The second thing that stood out to me about the plot was the authors ability to deal with the difficult topic of religion. In this story there is discussion of a church that is cult like and the things those in charge will do for power and esteem.

Now, I don’t want to say much about the plot because this is a thriller and it is best to know the least as possible about it to get the full affect. But, I will say the authors writing was surprising. The effort and talent is apparent in the quality of the writing. There was not a point where I was very aware of a plot-hole or where I felt the characters were, well out of character. This is something many talented authors who have many books under their belt sometimes still struggle with. This thriller flowed nicely and I was not jarred by anything or shaken out of the story.

What I Didn’t Like

Honestly, this point is a very personal thing and I kind of mentioned it above. I am not a huge fan of reading thrillers that deal with police. But, like I said earlier Schleich has still written a book so well that I still liked it quite a bit.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I found this novel to be very interesting and pulled me in very early on. I really enjoyed the different points of view/perspectives and I felt they were balanced very well. It is common when I read a novel that has various points of view and I feel like I want to skip a section, in this novel I did not want to skip at all. I needed to know everything that was happening. The writing was so wonderful that I want to read more of her works. If you enjoy thrillers I would suggest that you look into this one and see if it is write for you. It was enthralling, page turning, and an all around wonderful thriller.

4stars

Author Links

Book Information

Publication Date: April 2020

Publisher: She Writes Press

List Price: $16.95

ISBN: 9781631528

Pages: 256 pages

Sign Off 2020

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Hauls & Unboxings

Unboxing | BOTM February 2020

bookishluna7 Comments

Hauls & Unboxings

Hello and welcome to my monthly Book of the Month post! This month I picked only one book, I am trying to read all of my backlisted BOTM books so I don’t want to add too many more to the pile. This month I chose something a bit outside my normal reading, but I am still excited about it. Now, on to the haul!

Description

“In this twisty tale from Moore (The Sherlockian), the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of The Imitation Game, young juror Maya Seale is convinced that African American high school teacher Bobby Nock is innocent of killing the wealthy white female student with whom he appears to have been involved and persuades her fellow jurors likewise. Ten years later, a true-crime docuseries reassembles the jurors, and Maya, now a defense attorney, must prove her own innocence when one of them is found dead in Maya’s room.” –goodrerads.com

This month I decided on The Holdout, a thriller of sorts that is driven via the court system. I normally do not read thrillers or mysteries that have a lot of law enforcement, courtroom drama, or themes along those lines. Normally, my thrillers of choice are more domestic and psychological. If there is law enforcement. it is usually towards the end, not the entire plot.  I will say the exception to this would have to be the Mr. Mercedes series by Stephen King, although it. was a mix of a detective mystery and something else.

I am excited to give this one a go because it seems like it’s a mixture of a detective mystery and a domestic thriller. So, I feel like this would be a good way to see if I enjoy thrillers along those lines, just dipping my toes while still in my comfort zone a bit.

I will also openly admit, I loved the Imitation Game, so that was also a bit of a selling point of this book. If you do get the chance, it is a wonderful story, but totally heart breaking and could be very difficult to watch. Do a bit of research to see if it would be triggering for you before giving it a go.

Does this book sound interesting to you?

If you have BOTM what book did you pick this month?

Sign Off 2020

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

To Be Read

To Be Read | February 2020

bookishluna6 Comments

To Be Read

Hello and welcome to my February TBR! This year is leap year, which means we get an additional day in February to read. So, this month I am thinking about taking on some of my larger books, with one in particular being a goal.

Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann is my Man Booker short list book of the month. As I am writing this I have not finished Girl, Woman, Other, but I am putting the next one on the list on my TBR. This one is truly a hefty book, I could probably use it as protection against a bad person. It is a bit intimidating, but the description sounds really interesting and I am excited to jump in.

Little Children by Tom Perrotta, is on my list this month due Reg picking it out for me to read for my relaunched Someone Picks My Books series. In January I read a book recommended by my aunt, Where the Crawdads Sing and it was a total win, I think this one is going to be as well. If you want to check that out, you can do that here: Someone Picks My Books | Aunt Edition & Series Return!

Othello by William Shakespeare, this is another book I am reading for a series this year. Othello is going to be my Shakespeare play of the month. I have decided this year to read a Shakespeare play a month and really determine if I hate his works because I was forced to read them, or they truly are not for me. Last month I read A Midsummers Night’s Dream, you can see my thought on it here: 2020 Shakespeare Challenge | January

The Langoliers by Stephen King, last but not least is a horror I picked up in January and I am very excited to read it this month. Something about the setting being an eerie train just pulled me in. It also just feels like the classic scary monster vibe I have been missing as of late.

While I have only picked four books for my TBR this month, I am planning on reading more, but these are my priority. After I get through these my mood reading can really take off!

Bonus Books

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, this was a leftover from last month, I started it and still have to finish it, but so far so good! 

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, I was meant to read this last month, but I ran out of time sadly so I want to get to it this month.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman, I am buddy reading with Jenna and Reg, which I am super excited about. I have been wanting to read it for a long time now and I finally get the chance to read it with two awesome people. 

 

What books are you planning on reading this month?

What book are you currently reading?

Sign Off 2020

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads