Jessica (HDB)

Since I know you all won't mind if I spam you with sappiness :). 16 years together, 6 years married, and alllllllllllllllllllll the dog kisses. LOL.

 

 

 

Right under the wire y'all. I was on vacation and forgot to check in, and then came back and was like YAY!

 

I'm too lazy to do a full wrap up post, so here's my card and the bingo books. I'll go and claim my spots now <3.

 

 

Bingo 1 - Across:

Romantic Suspense - Window on the Square

Southern Gothic - Where All The Light Tends To Go

Free Space - The Detained

Ghost Stories -  The Empty Grave

Country House Mystery - And Then There Were None

 

Bingo 2 - Diagonal

A Grimm Tale - A Thousand Beginnings and Endings

Doomsday - Girl With All The Gifts

Free Space - The Detained

13 - Reservoir 13

Terrifying Women - Experimental Film

 

 Now that my hold for Reservior 13 by Jon McGregor came in, I'm only one read away from a bingo! Better still, my hold for Window on the Square came in at the same time. So when Romantic Suspense is called, I'll have two bingos!

 

WOO!

 

Better STILL, I'm going on vacation as of Thursday, and so I'll actually be able to power through some books.

 

I am a very, very happy girl.

 

 

Called But Not Read

Creepy Carnivals - Joyland by Stephen King

Relics and Curiosities - Needful Things by Stephen King

Genre: Suspense - Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Shifters - Written in Red by Ann Bishop

Gothic - Unnatural Creatures by Neil Gaiman

 

 

Read But Not Called

 

 

 

 

Currently Reading

Cryptozologist - The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

13 - Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor

Romantic Suspense - Window on the Square by Phyllis A. Whitney

 

 

Read and Called

FREE SPACE - The Fleshless Man by Norman Prentiss

Modern Masters of Horror - Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke

New Release - Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman

Cozy Mystery - A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert

Southern Gothic - Where All the Light Tends to Go by David Joy

Ghost Stories - The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud

 Terror In a Small Town - The Detained by Kristopher Triana

A Grim Tale - A Thousand Beginnings and Endings by Ellen Oh

Doomsday - The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

Terrifying Women - Experimental Film by Gemma Files

Fear The Drowning Deep - The Terror by Dan Simmons

Country House Mystery - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Spellbound - The Color of Magic by Alice Hoffman

 

I'm stalled, hahaha. I got a rash of review books that I've been trying to fit in, I'm in between library holds, and our weekends have been crazy busy. In other words, I'm soooooooo close to getting a bingo and yet so far away. I'm still determined to try.

 

If the bingo gods would just be so kind as to call "Fear the Drowning Deep", I'd be all set!

 

 

Called But Not Read

Creepy Carnivals - Joyland by Stephen King

Relics and Curiosities - Needful Things by Stephen King

Genre: Suspense - Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Shifters - Written in Red by Ann Bishop

Doomsday - The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

13 - Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor

 

 

 

Read But Not Called

Fear The Drowning Deep - The Terror by Dan Simmons

Country House Mystery - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Spellbound - The Color of Magic by Alice Hoffman

 

 

 

Currently Reading

Cryptozologist - The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

Terrifying Women - Experimental Film by Gemma Files

 

 

 

Read and Called

FREE SPACE - The Fleshless Man by Norman Prentiss

Modern Masters of Horror - Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke

New Release - Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman

Cozy Mystery - A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert

Southern Gothic - Where All the Light Tends to Go by David Joy

Ghost Stories - The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud

 Terror In a Small Town - The Detained by Kristopher Triana

A Grim Tale - A Thousand Beginnings and Endings by Ellen Oh

*sigh*

 

One of the worst parts about being the person at work who constantly picks up slack, fixes problems without turning them into full blown panics, and does it all quietly without complaint, is going on vacation. Every time I leave, without fail, something happens and my coworker who is supposed to cover me freaks out, turns it into a huge thing, and then I come back and quickly and efficiently clean up the mess.

 

It's so dang frustrating! I just want to go on vacation, come back, and move on with my day to day work. When he goes on vacation nothing breaks, I do everything I need to, and he comes back to silence and calm.

 

*sigh*

 

It's that kind of Monday.

 

Thanks for listening to me rant, and please accept this picture of Luna with our little 2nd cousin for your time.

 

What is about Alice Hoffman? Seriously? It's like everything that she writes is pure magic, and I can't ever feel my own sadness or my own anxiety when I listen to/read her books. I didn't even realize that this book existed until someone was kind enough to put it on the recommendation list for the "Spellbound" square and, even then, I didn't know it was a prequel to Practical Magic. Which, I should state, is one of my favorite books ever.

 

*happy sigh*

 

This book is beautiful. It's equal parts heartbreaking and uplifting. True to all of Alice Hoffman's books, it's full of the kind of magic that feels like it could be right at your fingertips if you only deigned to notice. I LOVED it.

Thanks to whomever posted about LibraryThing's treasure hunt (I'm sorry I forgot who that wonderful person was), I have a free lifetime membership now! It had been so long since I'd been on that website that I forgot how much I love their cataloging system. I'm determined to go back and put alllllllllllllll the books I've read in the last 4 years on there hahaha. Will it take me a year? Possibly.

 

Goals.

 

 

Slowwwwwwwly working my way towards a bingo, y'all.

 

I keep going through these phases where I have a ton of time to read (I read a whole book on Saturday), and then where I have no time to read. So it's been balanced but I can't get ahead lol. Still, my bingo card is looking better than I expected it to at this point, so I'm happy.

 

Here's how my card looks right now!

 

 

Called But Not Read

Creepy Carnivals - Joyland by Stephen King

A Grim Tale - Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Relics and Curiosities - Needful Things by Stephen King

 

 

Read But Not Called

 Terror In a Small Town - The Detained by Kristopher Triana

Fear The Drowning Deep - The Terror by Dan Simmons

Country House Mystery - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Spellbound - The Color of Magic by Alice Hoffman

 

 

Currently Reading

Cryptozologist - The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

Terrifying Women - Experimental Film by Gemma Files

 

 

Read and Called

FREE SPACE - The Fleshless Man by Norman Prentiss

Modern Masters of Horror - Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke

New Release - Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman

Cozy Mystery - A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert

Southern Gothic - Where All the Light Tends to Go by David Joy

Ghost Stories - The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud

 Guys, I am sooooooooooo close to a bingo if only my squares would be called. Hahahaha. Still, I'm pretty proud of this darn card. I've read some great books, and I'm a happy camper!

 

I'm taking a quick break from Halloween Bingo to read some MG steampunk, because I needed some happy in my life, but I'll be back to it soon.

 

 

Called But Not Read

Cryptozologist - The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

Terrifying Women - Experimental Film by Gemma Files

Creepy Carnivals - Joyland by Stephen King

A Grim Tale - Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Relics and Curiosities - Needful Things by Stephen King

 

 

Read But Not Called

 Terror In a Small Town - The Detained by Kristopher Triana

Fear The Drowning Deep - The Terror by Dan Simmons

Country House Mystery - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Ghost Stories - The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud

 

 

Currently Reading

 

 

 

Read and Called

FREE SPACE - The Fleshless Man by Norman Prentiss

Modern Masters of Horror - Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke

New Release - Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman

Cozy Mystery - A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert

Southern Gothic - Where All the Light Tends to Go by David Joy

Oh, this book. Where to start? I honestly did not expect to be so addicted Cross Her Heart. My original plan was to start this, and then read it in between other books that I'm working on at the same time. Since, normally, Thriller/Mystery books take a little time to really get going. Well, scratch that idea. Sarah Pinborough's book is a slow burn sure, but one that just keeps you on your toes as every single turn. She expertly pulls you one way, then the other, never really allowing you to settle in. In short, I flew through this book. I'm really pleased about that.

It's going to be rough to say a lot about this story, because I absolutely don't want to give anything away. The joy of discovery is half of the fun of reading this book. What I can say, is that Lisa's character is perfection. Both her and her daughter are fully fleshed out people who you'll slowly finding yourself falling in step with. Even Ava's teenage petulance made me smile. There's something wonderful about reading a story like this and feeling like the characters could be your next door neighbors. In the case of a story like this, there's always something vaguely ominous about it too.

When I say that twists abound, I'm really not kidding. Cross Her Heart has a steady pace that just grabs you by the hand and tugs you along, never letting go. Even when you stop in your tracks because of what's around the next corner, it just pulls you along. I so appreciated the fact that nothing in this story felt forced. Every action, every plot point, felt expertly laid out. I felt like I was being told a real story which, like I mentioned above, added to the unease I felt while reading this book. I thought I knew where Sarah Pinborough was taking me. I was so wrong.

If you're looking for a very well written, very quick moving Thriller this is your next read.

This book has broken me. Heart, soul, body, all entirely shattered because of this damn book. I'd read it again though, because it was honestly that good of a book. David Joy has my utmost admiration and respect for his writing abilities. He's definitely going on my list of authors to watch.

 

Hilariously, this book affected me so much that I tried to listen to my cozy mystery book this morning and I wanted to scream at the protagonist about how easy of a life she had and would she just SHUT UP about all her woes? I might need a buffer book before I read anything cheesy.

 

Phew.

 

 

Quote that just sticks with me:

 

“It’s funny how it only takes one person taking the time to show you they care for all that bad shit to not seem so bad for a moment. It’s not like the demons go anywhere. What haunts you is still right there when you go back under, but that one gesture from one person can bring you to the surface for a second or two. And for a very long time, all I’d really needed was to come up for air.”

This book is really bleak overall, which would normally put me off, but Joy has managed to keep Jacob just above all the shit that's trying to drown him.

 

In fact, I can't even being to explain how impressed I am with Joy's ability to keep this book from getting too depressing. Don't get me wrong, the subject matter is rough. Jacob's family is like shattered glass. His mom is an addict, his dad is a drug pusher and yet, somehow, Jacob still shines through. He's not perfect. He's not even close to being a normal young adult, because of everything that he lives through on a daily basis, but he has a huge heart. He has some empathy and avoids the "meanness" that his dad radiates.

 

I'm wondering if that heart is going to get him in trouble.

You have NO IDEA how proud I am of the progress on this card. Hahaha. Last year in a funk, and my progress was so slow that I gave up halfway through. This year I'm loving all my reads (even the ones driving me crazy), simply because reading is fun again. I'm having a blast with this year's bingo!

 

Here's my current card:

Pulling a Dory today with this one and repeating over and over:

 

 

This book is SO SLOW. It's finally getting better, now that Carol is getting herself together, but the whole "Hell's Heaven!" thing is grating hardcore on my nerves.

 

Still, I am determined to finish this darn thing. I've had it forever and, boring or not, I WILL check this off Halloween bingo.

 

 

Ah, this classic never gets old. I opted for the audio version this time around, and was pleasantly surprised at how well Dan Stevens depicts each one of the characters. I think his John Wargrave was my favorite!

 

5 stars to this mysterious story. Always and forever.

 

Country House Mystery square - CHECK.