October Wrap Up 2016

October Reading Wrap Up!

25 Books Read!

Where Are They Buried by Tod Benoit

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell

You by Caroline Kepnes

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

Doll Bones by Holly Black

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson

The Memory Box by Eva Lesko Natiello

I Hate Fairyland by Skottie Young

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

A House At The Bottom Of The Lake by Josh Malerman

A House At The Bottom Of A Lake

Stars 5/5

A House At The Bottom Of A Lake by Josh Malerman

Oh how I really liked this book! What a unique story line! Two 17 yr olds go on a date in a canoe and find a house at the bottom of a lake. I am not going to go into much more than that other than to say it is a whirl wind creepy adventure. A great read for Halloween Night! I do hope this gets made into a film. I would love to see it on the big screen as well as in my head! So Imaginative and Creative! Lots of spooky in such a short book. 

Happy Halloween!

I wanted to wish Everyone a Very Spooky & Happy Halloween!

The Dead-Tossed Waves

Stars 5/5

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

**SPOILER ALERT**

I do enjoy this creative dystopian environment. Very creative and imaginative. The story is similar to the first book except this is Mary's daughter and her story but there are many similarities.  Two guys in love with one girl and she is an angsty teenager with her temper tantrums. I was glad to see that Mary from the first book had grew up and finally realized her selfishness and total disregard for everyone that was around her. I am going to continue on reading the last book to find out how this ends.

Forest of Hands & Teeth

Stars 5/5

Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

**SPOILER ALERT**

What an amazingly selfish girl! Seems she could careless how many die so she can get to the ocean. She basically walked all over everyone she ever loved or cared about just to get there. When she finally wakes up to find herself there, does she run to search for her brother that risked his life for her... oh no, she had to check out the ocean and take a swim. I feel sorry and sad for everyone that came in contact with this girl and I find myself hoping that she not only gets bit by the zombies but that she suffers for a long time realizing what she has done and how she easily dismissed love and human life. Very unique story line with a female protagonist you want to hate.  

Crooked Kingdom

Stars 3/5

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

**SPOILER ALERT**

I am going to be honest and say that when Matthias died, I put the book down and didn't want to read the rest but I did. To me, this was like Fred Weasley dying in Harry Potter, a useless death that was not needed at all unless there will be a third book in which he will rise from the grave. The book was going along great until his death. It was then so rushed and angering that Nina didn't do more to help him and that her emotions would change so quick when Kaz started to speak of the money. To me, that was unrealistic and made Nina look heartless and unloving. It all makes me wonder. Did Leigh Bardugo just kill off Matthias because it is somewhere written in Writing Fiction 101 - "You must kill off one of the supporting characters" or will he be brought back as a surprise in future books? I am sorry about the low rating but to me the death of Matthias was useless. I feel sad that this book was such a great adventure but the end ruined it all for me.

#NonFictionNovember2016 Books!

#NonFictionNovember2016

4 Challenges!

New > The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben & The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Controversial > The Witches Salem 1692 by Stacy Schiff & The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery

Important > Empire of Imagination by Michael Witwer & The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson

Fascinating > The View From The Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman & The Oregon Trail by Rinker Bunk

These are my picks for the upcoming #NonFictionNovember2016 Read-a-Thon!

I picked 2 books for each challenge because I am trying to clear these off my TBR =) Plus one just isn't enough LOL!

COMING SOON!

A House At The Bottom Of A Lake by Josh Malerman

Release Date Oct 31 2016

* I am so excited for this novella release! *

The book is supposed to be about two 17 yr olds on a date and they decide to canoe across the lake and they find this house. They go into the water and find the door open, so they explore the house. "Just because a house is empty, doesn’t mean nobody’s home."

Amazon Link .... HERE!

Six of Crows

Stars 5/5

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

An awesome adventure. Unique characters. Exciting story line. 

I really loved this story. Very well written and kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. Very hard to put down and even though it is a chunky book, I read through it in a day. A very comprehensive story with new worlds, languages, cultures and diversity. I loved the characters and warmed up to them very quick. I can not wait to read the sequel "Crooked Kingdom"! 

YaY Spooktober Reads Done!

It is official! I have read all the books for the Spooktober event YAY! It has been lots of fun. I was in two Read-a-Thons in October and I have finished them both up with time to spare! I will be continuing my spooky reads for the rest of the month. Happy Spooky Reading Everyone!

I Hate Fairyland #1

Stars 5/5

I Hate Fairyland by Skottie Young

This is a graphic novel series about a little girl named Gertrude that falls down a hole and lands in Fairyland. She wants to go home and so she is given a guide and a map to find the key to open the door to her world. This is her adventure! Very fun and fast read. I am definitely going to be reading the rest that I have in this series. Colorful illustrations and lots of sarcasm! Lots of death so be warned. 

The Memory Box

Stars 1/5

Spoiler Alert!

I was disappointed with this book from the beginning. I thought the story line sounded unique but right away I lost interest. When Caroline first googled herself and found out about her sister then ran off through the house to find a newspaper was the exact moment I knew this was not going to be good. Being a so called writer or anyone that has used a computer would right away know the time and date is located on the bottom right hand of the screen on every pc and all the vomit references was just too much. I just wanted to scream "get on with it" the whole book. It was so drawn out. Honestly, I had to choke it down and found myself wishing it would just end. I never leave a book half read but I wondered if this would be my first. The ending was bad. I am sorry there was just no closure at all to this book. The only good thing I can say about this book was the cover is nice and I am glad it is over. 

The Secret of Platform 13

Stars 5/5

The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson

This was one book that became a favorite that I read with my daughter when she was young. It is a wonderful book to read year round but especially during October! The story is about a Prince that is trapped in this world and the door to his world only opens every nine years. When he first came to this world, he was only a baby and has no memory of where he is from or who his parents are or that he is royalty. His parents wait and when the door opens, send in a group of rescuers to bring the Prince home. No spoilers but you will go on an adventure of who's who and hurry hurry hurry! I would recommend this book to everyone young and old! 

Note - This is the book that many question whether J. K. Rowling kinda snagged up some ideas for Harry Potter. Many things are similar including names and story line. Eva Ibbotson passed away in 2010 and I hope she rests in peace.

We Have Always Lived in The Castle

Stars 3/5

We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson

I have wanted to read this story for a very long time now and glad that I finally got to it. It is a book about a little girl, her sister and uncle that were the only survivors of a poisoning that killed the rest of their family. The older sister, Constance, who loved to cook was accused of the crime but was not convicted and she hid in the house away from people in her town because they believed she killed them all. No spoilers! I have read a few novels from Shirley Jackson and I must say that as they are a bit disturbing and twisted, they are more mental illness than spooky or horror. I ended up giving this book 3 stars because it was a bit of a slow read in my opinion. I was half way into the book before even finding out anything about the family members.

YaY I Finished #Spookathon Reads!

I finished up early on my #Spookathon reads for this October! I really enjoyed this event and have posted reviews here on my blog, Facebook and of course on Goodreads. I am still finishing up a few books I have left for the Spooktober event. Lots of Reading! I love it! <3

Dark Matter

Stars 3/5

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

This is a story about a physicist named Jason who decided 15 yrs ago to stay with the woman he loved because she was pregnant instead of following his dream job. Until one night when he is kidnapped and thrown into another life. This book had a very unique story line which was refreshing. I really enjoyed the adventures Jason went on and I also kinda wish I knew what ended up happening to Ashley. I liked the nice pace the book kept through out and it was a fun read. I think the end kinda put me off a bit thus only 3 stars. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a mystery with scientific flare!

Cleaning Up My Ebooks!

Cleaning Day!

Today is a rainy day so I am cleaning up my ebook's folder because it is long overdue! It is a horrible mess. I have recently moved from a kindle to a tablet and the e-reader I am using is epubs not mobi so I think I am going to need to convert as I go. Thank goodness for Calibre! I am also listening to Dark Matter by Blake Crouch audio book as I work so it is going faster it seems. Of course, I will post my review when I finish. Have a Wonderful Day! HuggZ <3

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Stars 3/5

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

This is a story about how vampires plague the world so much so that the government built Coldtowns to house the vampires and the infected. A young girl, Tanna, helps save an old vampire and her one friend that was not killed at a party they went to and set out for Coldtown because they were infected. I wish I could rate this story as parts because in the first part of the book I was having fun and captivated by the fast pace story line and would of got 4 stars but then as the book came towards the end, I could foresee a bad ending. I was really disappointed at the ending of this book. It started with Tanna's sister coming to Coldtown and how that was rushed and didn't even make sense. I know this is written for a younger audience but it is so predictable and even absurd. The ending of this book would be 1 star. I really wanted to love this story =(

Dark Places

Stars 4/5

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

This is a story about a girl that survived almost her whole family being murdered when she was 7 years old and she testified against her brother claiming he was the murderer. She grew up being shoved from family member to family member because she was violent and rebellious even to the point of killing her aunt's dog. She lived on the charity money that people sent in because she was the little angel that survived but as she grew older, the money ran out and she wasn't in the lime light anymore. To make a few bucks, she started making appearances with this Murder Club, that was obsessed with her case and thought her bother was innocent. She was forced to relive it all and she wondered if she was right in what she thought she remembered. That is all I am going to say so no spoilers! I really liked this story and I loved the fact that I hated the main character Libby at the beginning of the book. Wondering how many people who have been survivors live off charity and feel that it is owed to them. As the story went along, Libby changes and my thoughts of her did as well. I really like how that happened. Books that do that are always high up on my list. Love the writing style and would recommend it to all. 

The Night Circus

Stars 5/5

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This has to be the most magical books I have read in a very long time. It is about a circus that comes to town at night, while you sleep and when you wake you are amazed to see the huge tents. It only opens at night and everyone floods from your town to the field to wait and as the sun sets, the lights come on and the wonder fills all your senses. The book is full of everything! Love, romance, comedy, violence, hate, pain, competition, amazement, fantasy, dreams, ghosts and so much more, This is one of those books that you just have to read to understand the extent of it. This story will trap and pull you into this enchanted world. I love this book! I never wanted this to end and I will be rereading this year after year. I do hope their is another Night Circus one day. I hope to explore the tents with Bailey and find out what happened next! I am a Reveur!

The Black Cat

Stars 5/5

The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe

This is a creepy short story about a man and his relationship with alcohol and how it affects his relationship with his pet cat. This is one of those stories that is fun to read as well as listen to in an audio book. I have heard some really spooky versions through the years. I love Poe's writing as I am sure most do. My bedroom has a Poe/Hogwarts theme so I enjoy reading his work year round but especially during October and Halloween! 

A Head Full of Ghosts

Stars 3/5

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

Basically, this is a story about a teenager getting possessed by a demon and the family goes on a reality tv show to do the exorcism. I am not going to give out spoilers but I need to say a few things about this book and why I only gave it 3 stars. I liked the story line and thought it was unique and definitely a change. What I didn't like was the main character, Merry, the little sister. The book gives flashbacks of when she was only 8 years old going through this ordeal and flash fowards of when she is an adult remembering things about what happened. I think that it was over stretched to the extreme about how much this woman would of remembered at the age of 8. Even going so far into remembering every word she made a sign for, when she decided not to speak. It was a bit much. As for her, she was just as annoying at the age of 8 as she was as an adult. I never did get to the point of understanding her and so the book was painful to read at times for me. It was slow. I do hope this book makes people aware of mental illness and no more superstitious nonsense.

Doll Bones

Stars 4/5

Doll Bones by Holly Black

This is a book about 3 friends that love to play together in their imaginary worlds that they create. The Queen, in all their scenarios, is the antique doll that sits at Poppy's house in her mom's curio cabinet and the kids are forbidden to play with her. One day, Poppy tells her friends that the doll spoke to her and is haunted by the dead daughter of it's creator and the ghost wants to be reunited with her family.

I can see this story being made into a film. This is a coming of age film and I loved the whole Ohio pottery creepy aspect of it but the characters in the book were predictable and almost text book. One girl pretty & kinda snobby, one girl quirky and not as pretty and one boy that will be a jock.  I gave this book 4 stars because of the creepy part of the story-line. Growing up in Ohio, I know how this area was filled with pottery creators and artists. I, in fact, lived for awhile in an old pottery factory converted to an apartments that still had the firing buildings out back. The bone china doll, Eleanor the Queen, made this book creepy great!

Hidden Bodies

Stars 5/5

Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

This is the sequel to her earlier book "You" in which I loved! I really don't want to say much about this book because I don't want to spoil it or the first one. Let me just say that the craziness continues and more chaos! I have heard many reviews on this book and most say it is not as good as the first and I do agree with that BUT one has to be better but they both are 5 stars in my opinion. I really hope this is not the last of this series because I really need to know what is going to happen next! Caroline Kepnes has a wonderful writing style. It is fun and easy to read. I just get lost in her books. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a twisted, psycho, sex crazed lunatic in their heads LOL!

The Haunting of Hill House

Stars 3/5

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

This book was written in 1959 and is a classic. The story is about a Dr who had this great idea to invite a few random people to a haunted house for an experiment to see if it was really haunted and what effect it would have on the guests. Nell is the main character and she is a woman who had recently lost her mother after taking care of her for years and blamed herself for her death. Without giving away spoilers, I will say that this book was a slow read for me. I do believe that because of it's age, the scary was just not scary. In fact, I think this had more to do with a mental health issue than a haunting but that is my over rational brain kicking in lol. This book did have a film adaptation called "The Haunting" in which I also watched. I didn't care too much for it though because they changed the film so much to make Catherine Zeta-Jones' character the main which threw the whole story off. I would recommend this book more for the nostalgia than the spooky. 

Neverwhere

Stars 5/5
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Another Neil Gaiman Masterpiece! This is the story about a place where people slip through the cracks and go into a crazy magical world called Neverwhere. Richard had a boring life with a boring job and an abusive relationship until his random act of kindness opened up a world that he never would of imagined! I loved this book and all of it's adventure and hated to see it end. As with most Neil Gaiman stories, I hope he brings us back to this world to see Richard and Door again. I would love to see an artist do pictorial books of this author's stories. That would be a treasure indeed!

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow!

Stars 5/5
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

What can I really say about one of the greatest stories every told! This book has to be my favorite for October! I grew up watching it as a cartoon and when I got older I found many other ways to enjoy it. There was a few film adaptations, books (of course), audio books and plays. This is a story about a sleepy little town in New York that has many superstitious people and even more tales of spirits. A fearful school teacher, Ichabod and his infatuation with the fair Katrina and her money. One of the most descriptive stories I have ever read describing the Autumn season and all it's glory.                The Headless Horseman rides this Halloween!!  

My #Spooktober Books

#Spooktober

Oct 23-29 2016

Paper Faerie and a few other YouTubers are hosting a Read-a-Thon #Spooktober. You can find the announcement video > HERE!

These are the books that I have chosen to read for this event! 

My #Spookathon Books!

#Spookathon

Oct 17-23 2016

BooksandLala and a few others on YouTube are hosting a Read-a-Thon #Spookathon! You can find all the links > HERE!

These are the books that I have chosen to read for this event! 

The Girl on The Train

Stars 3/5
The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins

This was a story about a girl that rides the train everyday and makes up stories in her mind about people that she sees as she passes. One day, she sees something different that destroyed her imaginary ideas regarding these people and this sets off an array of craziness and chaos!

I wanted to read this book before the film came out because I would rather read the book than see the film. I did like the story in that was very unique but I found that the book was a bit slow going until the last 70 pages or so. I am really not into reading books about drug addicts or alcoholics so maybe that is why I felt the pace was so slow. The story is very twisty and the ending a surprise which was good!

The Graveyard Book

Stars 5/5
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

A family is murdered all except the baby that climbed from his crib and wandered outside and up the hill to the graveyard before it all began. This book is wonderful. A little boy, Nobody Owens, raised and protected by ghosts. I really enjoyed this book. The characters are so much fun and I loved being immersed into their world. I can just imagine how much fun it would be to surround yourself with so many people from different eras and different walks of life. I was sad when this book ended and I do miss this world. I wonder about what ever happened to Bod and everyone from the graveyard. I really hope Neil Gaiman will allow us to revisit the graveyard one day!  

You

Stars 5/5
You by Caroline Kepnes

3 words... creepy, odd and twisted! I really liked this book and the story was so unique. Told in the second person by Joe, it was crazy reading "You" and "Beck" as he was talking about her or to her but sounding as though he was talking to me! My name is Becky so this was truly creepy and freaky! A story about a man who is a stalker turned boyfriend! I don't want to say much as not to spoil but it is a must read! Very generously peppered with sex, sexual content & sexually explicit language, with a dash of violence and a pinch of comedy. What an amazing story! I would recommend this!

Kindred Spirits

Stars 3/5
Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell
This is a story about a girl who loved Star Wars and wanted to be apart of it's fandom by sitting out on the sidewalk for 3 days waiting for the new film to be released even though she already had bought her tickets for that showing lol. 

All the anticipation and hype kinda put me in the same spot as the characters in this story in that the expectations overpowered the end result. Don't get me wrong, I did like this short story but it wasn't what I hoped it would of been due to all the great things I had heard. I do hope to see the characters in the future. It would be nice to see how their friendship held up or lost out. My favorite quote in this story came from Gabe... "Everybody likes everything these days. The whole world is a nerd." - Rainbow Rowell.

Where are They Buried?

Stars 5/5
Where are They Buried? by Tod Benoit
This is one of those books that you read on from time to time. The time in which it took this author to gather all this info is worth more than 5 stars in my opinion. This book tells of the deaths of famous and infamous people. It also gives the location and pics of the graves. I was amazed to see them all. The author also gives a little background story of each person and even tells about how they died. I really enjoy reading this book and keep it on me all the time just in case a get a few minutes of reading here and there. Great Read for October! 

Prison Ramen!

Stars 5/5
Prison Ramen by Clifton Collins Jr and Gustavo "Goose" Alvarez
I found out about this book on EmmyMadeInJapan's YouTube channel. She cooked a burrito recipe from the book. You can find her video HERE. Now I am not a fan of Ramen Noodles at all but was so curious I had to get this book. It really amazes me the ingenuity that went into creating all these recipes from just prison food. I would recommend this book to anyone who can stomach those noodles LOL! 

Under Construction but Not for Long!

I have been away for awhile now and going to try to get this up and running asap! I am making lots of changes to this blog and hope to use it for my book reviews and other adventures! I will be uploading new things very soon and hope to catch it up! Take care and have a wonderful day! HuggZ