Book Review: Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

Publisher: Quirk Books
Publication Date: September 23, 2014
Library: Yup, I checked this book out from myself

Synopsis

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.

2024 Audiobook Challenge Mid-Year Check-in

 

In January I committed to the 2024 Audiobook Challenge run by Caffeinated Reviewer and That's What I'm Talking About! The discussion levels were:

ARC Review: Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams

Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams
Publisher: Labyrinth Road
Publication Date: May 7, 2024
Library: Already on it's way!

Synopsis

Ten years ago, Malik’s life changed forever the night his mother mysteriously vanished and he discovered he had uncontrollable powers. Since then, he has kept his abilities hidden, looking out for himself and his younger foster brother, Taye. Now, at 17, Malik is finally ready to start a new life for both of them, far from the trauma of his past. However, a daring act to rescue Taye reveals an unexpected connection with his long-lost grandmother: a legendary conjurer with ties to a hidden magical university that Malik’s mother attended.

Let's Discuss: Public Libraries Digital Collections

The 2024 Discussion Challenge hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight.

On and off I keep seeing things mainly, on Tik Tok about libraries and their digital collections. While I can scroll, heart, and share with the best of them, I cringe when I think about recording myself so this blog is all I've got and we're about to dive in to public libraries e books and e audiobooks. 

If I were talking to a library user and said something about library e-reading, the first platform to jump to a lot of brains is probably going to be Libby. I love that for you, Libby is cool. The second thought a lot of people have is, I like Hoopla better you don't have to wait for the books. 

Review: The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

Publisher: Mira

Publication Date: March 3, 2020

Narrated by: Sneha Mathan

Library: For sure!

Synopsis

Vivid and compelling in its portrait of one woman’s struggle for fulfillment in a society pivoting between the traditional and the modern, The Henna Artist opens a door into a world that is at once lush and fascinating, stark and cruel.

Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artist—and confidante—to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own…

Review: Troubled Waters by Mary Annaïse Heglar

Synopsis

In this intimate portrait of two generations, a granddaughter and a grandmother come to terms with what it means to heal when the world is on your shoulders.

The world is burning, and Corinne will do anything to put out the flames. After her brother died aboard an oil boat on the Mississippi River in 2013, Corrine awakened to the realities of climate change and its perpetrators. Now, a year later, she finds herself trapped in a lonely cycle of mourning both her brother and the very planet she stands on. She’s convinced that in order to save her future, she has to make sure that her brother’s life meant something. But in the act of honoring her brother’s spirit, she resurrects family ghosts she knows little about—ghosts her grandmother Cora knows intimately.

Review: Frankie and Friends: The Big Protest by Christine Platt Illustrated by Alea Marley

 

Synopsis

Young reporter Frankie and her news crew of beloved toys learn why and how people protest as this engaging series continues.

There’s breaking news on TV at Frankie’s house—a protest to demand justice! Frankie’s mama, a journalist, gets a call to cover the story, and Frankie wants to do her own reporting, too. But what is a protest, exactly, and why do people do it? Along with her news crew, including Farrah the doll, Dan the teddy bear, and Nina the cat, Frankie prepares a feature story by doing research and conducting interviews with Papa and big sister Raven. And when the toys decide to have their own protest in support of the local movement, Frankie is on the scene to help make signs, march, and, of course, get the scoop! In this latest installment of the winning series, Frankie explores big ideas like racial injustice and activism with her supportive family and learns more about journalism in the process. Young newshounds will learn along with Frankie through all-caps vocabulary terms and a glossary at the back.

ARC Review: Safe Passage by G. Neri & David Brame

Synopsis

Thirteen-year-old Darius is going through a rough time. It's almost been a year since a terrible act of violence took the life of his mother and left him with a wound both in his leg and in his heart. With his stepdad out of work; his little sister, Cissy, always on his case; and the looming prospect of foreclosure on their house, he feels his world closing in on him.

Let's Discuss: Are you ever afraid to talk about books?

 

I am very much a mood reader. Sometimes I'm in the mood for something light, sometimes monster romance, sometimes angst, and sometimes I'm looking for something that feels real. Every once in a while we're all going to find one that hits hard. Books that affect us do it in different ways. Sometimes it's a book boyfriend we love or worldbuilding we love or something else. Other times it hits us because of something personal just to us. 

Review: The American Queen by Vanessa Miller

The American Queen by Vanessa Miller
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: January 30, 2024
Library: Yes! And then I'd tell everyone about it!

Synopsis

In 1869 a kingdom rose in the South. And Louella was its queen.

Over the twenty-four years she’s been enslaved on the Montgomery Plantation, Louella learned to feel one hate. Hate for the man who sold her mother. Hate for the overseer who left her daddy to hang from a noose. Hate so powerful there’s no room in her heart for love, not even for the honorable Reverend William, whom she likes and respects enough to marry.

But when William finally listens to Louella’s pleas and leads the formerly enslaved people out of their plantation, Louella begins to replace her hate with hope. Hope that they will find a place where they can live free from fear. Hope that despite her many unanswered prayers, she can learn to trust for new miracles.

Book Review: You're Breaking My Heart by Olugbemisola Rhuday Perkovich

You're Breaking My Heart by Olugbemisola Rhuday Perkovich
Published by Levine Querido
Publication Date: February 6, 2024

Synopsis

Harriet Adu knows that her brother’s death is her fault. I mean, it’s not actually her fault, but it still kinda is, isn’t it?

Book Blogger Hop: Happy Publication Day

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Each week we respond to the prompt and engage with other peoples post. This weeks question...

Do you post Happy Publication Day posts for books you read? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Review)

Review: Me (Moth) by Amber McBride

Me (Moth) by Amber McBride
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: August 17, 2021
Library: Yup, we have a copy, but I wonder if we should get a discussion set??

Synopsis

Moth has lost her family in an accident. Though she lives with her aunt, she feels alone and uprooted.

Until she meets Sani, a boy who is also searching for his roots. If he knows more about where he comes from, maybe he’ll be able to understand his ongoing depression. And if Moth can help him feel grounded, then perhaps she too will discover the history she carries in her bones.

Book Blogger Hop: Reading in quiet or noisy settings

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Each week we respond to the prompt and engage with other peoples post. This weeks question...

What was your favorite genre to read as a child? Do you still read that genre, or do you read something else now? (submitted by Mark @ Carstairs Considers)

Review: Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

Publisher: Montlake

Publication Date: July 1, 2023

Library Purchase: YES 100% YES!!!

Synopsis

Maggie is an unapologetically grumpy forty-eight-year-old hermit. But when her college-aged son makes her a deal―he’ll be more social if she does the same―she can’t refuse. She joins a new online gaming guild led by a friendly healer named Otter. So that nobody gets the wrong idea, she calls herself Bogwitch.

Otter is Aiden, a fifty-year-old optimist using the guild as an emotional outlet from his family drama caring for his aging mother while his brother plays house with Aiden’s ex-fiancée.

Let's Discuss: Book review anxiety

The 2024 Discussion Challenge hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight.

First, let me say that I'm not one of those people who think a person can't read over 100 books in a year or people don't remember the books if they read over 100 books a year. I'm a librarian. I've seen it all, and once upon a time, I was that person.

ARC Review: Lore of the Wilds

Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Release Date: Feb. 27, 2024

Genre: Fantasy

Library purchase: Yes. I would purchase this for my library in a heartbeat.

Synopsis

A library with a deadly enchantment. A Fae lord who wants in. A human woman willing to risk it all for a taste of power. In a land ruled by ruthless Fae, twenty-one-year-old Lore Alemeyu’s village is trapped in a forested prison. Lore knows that any escape attempt is futile—her scars are a testament to her past failures. But when her village is threatened, Lore makes a desperate deal 

Review: White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books

Publication Date: September 14, 2021

Library: I listened to it on my library audio app! We've already got it!

Synopsis

Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California beach town to the embattled Midwestern city of Cedarville might be the fresh start she needs. Her mom has accepted a new job with the Sterling Foundation that comes with a free house, one that Mari now has to share with her bratty ten-year-old stepsister, Piper.

Let's Discuss: Middle Grade Audio Books

 

I started listening to audio books when I had an hour commute one way and I've love them ever since. I'm also one of those lucky people who can multitask really well. Depending on the project I'm working on I can listen to audiobooks while working and finish a shorter book in one day. 

Book Blogger Hop: TBR List

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Each week we respond to the prompt and engage with other peoples post. This weeks question...

How many books are on your "to be read" list? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)