Friday Reads: October 5, 2018

This has been a crazy week with work and having a migraine that didn't let me read as much earlier in the week. But I was able to finish The Tiger's Daughter last weekend and absolutely loved it! That brought my total books read for the month of September to 11. I'll be posting my September wrap up this weekend (video and blog).

Another really cool change this week was posting my BookTube Newbie video and receiving some really great feedback. I had a lot of encouragement and it has been so much fun so far!

Below are the three books I plan on focusing on this weekend. Happy reading!

Title: The Phoenix Empress

Author: K. Arsenault Rivera
Page Count: 544
Progress: 10%
Format Read: e ARC
Genre: Fantasy
Keywords: Friendship, Loyalty, Demons
Kid Appropriate: Teens and older
Release Date: October 9, 2018

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The Phoenix Empress, the sequel to K Arsenault Rivera's wildly buzzed about The Tiger's Daughter, an epic historical fantasy in the vein of Patrick Rothfuss and Naomi Novik.

Since she was a child, the divine empress O Shizuka has believed she was an untouchable god. When her uncle, ruler of the Hokkaran Empire, sends her on a suicide mission as a leader of the Imperial Army, the horrors of war cause her to question everything she knows.

Thousands of miles away, the exiled and cursed warrior Barsalyya Shefali undergoes trials the most superstitious would not believe in order to return to Hokkaran court and claim her rightful place next to O Shizuka.

As the distance between disgraced empress and blighted warrior narrows, a familiar demonic force grows closer to the heart of the empire. Will the two fallen warriors be able to protect their home?

Thoughts so far:

I was honestly so disappointed when I started this one immediately after finishing The Tiger's Daughter as that one finished on such a high note and then this one begins in a darker place of almost depression. While it makes sense that this is where the story would be, it was still jarring.

Now that I am a bit further into the book it is beginning to pick up and I am finding myself enjoying it.

Title: Kat Wolfe Investigates

Author: Lauren St. John
Page Count: 304
Progress: 25%
Format Read: e ARC
Genre: Middle Grade
Keywords: Mystery, animals, adventure
Kid Appropriate: Yes
Release Date: October 9, 2018

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When twelve-year-old Kat Wolfe starts a pet-sitting agency, she soon finds herself unraveling a mystery, in this first book of a new middle-grade series from award-winning author Lauren St. John.

After a break-in at their London home, Kat Wolfe and her veterinarian mum decide it's time to move to the country. Dr. Wolfe's new job on England's Jurassic Coast comes with a condition: They have to adopt Tiny, a huge Savannah who resists Kat's best attempts at cat whispering. Kat starts a pet-sitting agency to make pocket money, but then the owner of her first client, an Amazon parrot, vanishes from his gadget-filled mansion. Only one person shares Kat's conviction that he's the victim of foul play: Harper Lamb, an American girl laid up with two broken legs thanks to her racehorse. Kat and Harper team up, but what starts out as mystery-solving fun turns deadly for the duo. When all clues point to a nearby army base, can they count on their unruly animal friends to save the day--and their lives?

My thoughts so far:

Oh boy did I hate the first chapter of this one. It seems to be a theme this week. The writing was in no way realistic of any 12 year old I have ever met. However, the story is getting better and I could easily see readers between the ages of 8 and 14 (depending on their comprehension level and maturity) really loving this book. It is making me miss the days where I watched Animal Planet and Crocodile Hunter incessantly as a little girl.

Title: Lethal White

Author: Robert Galbraith
Page Count: 647
Format Read: Hardcover
Progress: 0
Genre: Mystery
Keywords: Detective, PI, Murder
Kid Appropriate: Probably not
Release date: September 18, 2018

Synopsis from Goodreads:

“I seen a kid killed…He strangled it, up by the horse.”

When Billy, a troubled young man, comes to private eye Cormoran Strike’s office to ask for his help investigating a crime he thinks he witnessed as a child, Strike is left deeply unsettled. While Billy is obviously mentally distressed, and cannot remember many concrete details, there is something sincere about him and his story. But before Strike can question him further, Billy bolts from his office in a panic.

Trying to get to the bottom of Billy’s story, Strike and Robin Ellacott—once his assistant, now a partner in the agency—set off on a twisting trail that leads them through the backstreets of London, into a secretive inner sanctum within Parliament, and to a beautiful but sinister manor house deep in the countryside.

And during this labyrinthine investigation, Strike’s own life is far from straightforward: his newfound fame as a private eye means he can no longer operate behind the scenes as he once did. Plus, his relationship with his former assistant is more fraught than it ever has been—Robin is now invaluable to Strike in the business, but their personal relationship is much, much trickier than that.

Spooky Reads Day 4: The Walking Dead Compendium 1 by Robert Kirkman

Title: The Walking Dead Compendium 1
Author: Robert Kirkman
Page Count: 1088
Rating: A
Format Read: Paperback
Genre: Comic
Keywords: Zombies, Apocalypse, Survival
Kid Appropriate: Teens and older

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Introducing the first eight volumes of the fan-favorite, New York Times Best Seller series collected into one massive paperback collection.

In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally start living. With The Walking Dead #1-48, this compendium features more than one thousand pages chronicling the start of Robert Kirkman's Eisner Award-winning story of zombie horror, from Rick Grimes waking up alone in a hospital, his band of survivors seeking refuge on an isolated farm and the controversial introduction of Woodbury despot, The Governor.

Why it's perfect for October:

I have read the first half of this massive comic collection and it's the perfect read for fans of the show! While the comic and show are similar, there are some key differences that I noticed while reading so it isn't a total repeat of the story you may already know. The pacing is a bit on the slower side but there are plenty of zombies and adventure to be explored.

Spooky Reads Day 3: Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots by Debbie Dadey

Title: Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots
Author: Debbie Dadey
Page Count: 80
Rating: A+
Format Read: Paperback
Genre: Children's Book
Keywords: Vampires, Kids, Mystery
Kid Appropriate: Early Elementary 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The kids in the third grade at Bailey Elementary are so hard to handle that all of their teachers have quit. But their new teacher, Mrs. Jeepers, is different to say the least. She's just moved from the Transylvanian Alps and she seems to have some strange powers that help her deal with these mischief-makers. Her methods may be a little unconventional, but, then again, Mrs. Jeepers may be just what the Bailey School kids need.

My Review:

Today's #SpookyRead is for a younger audience. The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids was one of the very first book series that I was able to read on my own in elementary school and was absolutely obsessed with as a second and third grader. Each book is less than a hundred pages and easy to consume for readers that are either reluctant or just beginning to read.

Each installment is a mix of monsters, fun adventures, friendship, and kids playing detective.

With the first book originally published in 1991, this series is an older one that is a perfect fit for any monster and mystery loving young reader. According to Goodreads the series contains 51 books covering creatures from vampires to leprechauns to werewolves and even cupid. I have included both the original cover for the first book and the cover change done more recently.

Spooky Reads Day 2: The Shining by Stephen King

Title: The Shining
Author: Stephen King
Page Count: 447
Rating: A+
Format Read: Mass Market Paperback
Genre: Horror
Keywords: Redrum, Ghosts, Hotel
Kid Appropriate: Teens and older

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Jack Torrance's new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he'll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote...and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.

My Review:

This is by far one of my favorite horror books and what first got me into reading Stephen King books! I read this when I was 13 and I had the edition with the cover pictured above. I distinctly remember getting in trouble more than once for sneakily trying to read this in my 8th grade algebra class. As a strict rule follower all my life this says a lot.

This book scared the hell out of me and I absolutely loved it! I remember hiding the book whenever I wasn't reading both from the content creeping between the covers and because the kid on the front freaked me out. Even if you have seen the movie, some of the scenes in this book will still be new to you and get your heart pounding.

If you have read this book then you know about that scene in the maze. It was horror gold.

Get the book that Joey hid in the freezer! #Friends

Spooky Reads Day 1: The Merciless by Danielle Vega

Title: The Merciless
Author: Danielle Vega
Page Count: 279
Rating: B
Format Read: Hardcover
Genre: YA Horror
Keywords: Devil, Military, Exorcism
Kid Appropriate: No, there's literally a mature audiences only warning in the front of the book

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Forgive us, Father, for we have sinned

Brooklyn Stevens sits in a pool of her own blood, tied up and gagged. No one outside of these dank basement walls knows she’s here. No one can hear her scream.

Sofia Flores knows she shouldn’t have gotten involved. When she befriended Riley, Grace, and Alexis on her first day at school, she admired them, with their perfect hair and their good-girl ways. They said they wanted to save Brooklyn. They wanted to help her. Sofia didn’t realize they believed Brooklyn was possessed.

Now, Riley and the girls are performing an exorcism on Brooklyn—but their idea of an exorcism is closer to torture than salvation. All Sofia wants is to get out of this house. But there is no way out. Sofia can’t go against the other girls . . . unless she wants to be next. . . .

In this chilling debut, Danielle Vega delivers blood-curdling suspense and terror on every page. By the shockingly twisted end, readers will be faced with the most haunting question of all: Is there evil in all of us?

My Review:

I picked this up at the 50% off sale that Barnes & Noble had at the beginning of September as a birthday treat to myself along with a tote of other books. I remembered hearing people reading this when it first came out in 2014 and figured I would give it a try. I did not read the synopsis first. Hence, my reading experience fell quite hard into the category of "what the hell did I just read?".

Now, if you go into reading this after reading the synopsis you probably will not be as shocked as I was but just be prepared for how disturbing and gory this book becomes. I like darker themed stories and the horror genre quite a lot but this one still grossed me out.

I read it in a single afternoon and can confirm that it was a fast paced read that is as addicting as a bag of chips. You can't read just one page and put the thing down. Once you start you have to keep reading. Despite this there are so many elements of this story that make it hard to recommend whether it be the ritual exorcism, animal mutilation, or any of the other messed up events.

The writing itself was fairly good, occasionally verging on corny in the beginning but Vega maintains the intensity of the tale throughout quite well. There is heavy influence from the movie Mean Girls that is impossible to not notice. After reading some other reviews this bothered some people but I just accepted it and moved on without any issues.

It was not a perfect book by any means, hence my B rating, since there were moments when I could not understand why a character did what they did or had a hard time believing the circumstances of certain situations. If you are looking strictly for entertainment and not the next great American novel then this book is actually pretty good.

Sofia was a likable character. She lives with her mother who is in the military, resulting in their family moving often, and her maternal grandmother. The grandmother suffered from a stroke prior to the beginning of this story and we primarily get to know her through flashbacks Sofia has from their time in Mexico where the family is originally from. The family element was interesting but not overbearing on the mayhem of the rest of the tale.

I definitely recommend reading this one if you are into the horror genre, do not gross out easily, and if you're looking for a scarier exorcist read for near Halloween!

31 Days of Spooky Reads

Hello! Just a quick announcement that in the month of October I will be posting every day a book review or recommendation. Every book will be appropriate for the Halloween season with some featuring monsters and other fantasy creatures, psychological thrillers, and other spooky reads!

I already have books planned out for children, YA, and adults. Check back every day for a new spooky read.

Click here to check out Spooky Reads Day 1!

#FashionVictim by Amina Akhtar

Title: #FashionVictim
Author: Amina Akhtar
Page Count: 268
Rating: D
Format Read: BOTM Hardcover
Genre: Fiction
Keywords: Fashion, Competition, Obsession
Kid Appropriate: Nope

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A darkly thrilling take on the fashion world, #FashionVictim is Heathers meets The Devil Wears Prada.

Fashion editor Anya St. Clair is on the verge of greatness. Her wardrobe is to die for. Her social media is killer. And her career path is littered with the bodies of anyone who got in her way. She’s worked hard to get where she is, but she doesn’t have everything.

Not like Sarah Taft. Anya’s obsession sits one desk away. Beautiful, stylish, and rich, she was born to be a fashion world icon. From her beach-wave blonde hair to her on-trend nail art, she’s a walking editorial spread. And Anya wants to be her friend. Her best friend. Her only friend.

But when Sarah becomes her top competition for a promotion, Anya’s plan to win her friendship goes into overdrive. In order to beat Sarah…she’ll have to become her. Friendly competition may turn fatal, but as they say in fashion: One day you’re in, and the next day you’re dead.

My Review:

I've seen plenty of reviews claiming that this is a thriller and others saying that it is clearly not a thriller, but rather a well done comedy. Honestly, I don't care which it was meant to be this book was a flop for me.

I originally chose this for my September Book of the Month box because I am drawn to unreliable narrators like we see in Caroline Kepnes' You. That book was an absolute masterpiece in terms of drawing you into the mind of someone unstable and feeling both repulsed and intrigued by them. Anya is certainly unreliable but she is also incredibly two dimensional and uninteresting. This is a first person narration and beyond Anya being mentally unstable and liking to wear black clothes at all times I still don't really know much about her or care to learn more. To make this even worse, her actions and impulses became too repetitive to be interesting.

The first 50 pages were the best part of the story with a degree of intrigue and some lines that made me smirk while I was reading. This is where you are introduced to the main cast that will be killed off as well as the fashion industry. After this point the story drags on longer than it needs to with the death toll rising beyond any realistic number that would avoid a greater investigation than the barely existent one we witness in Akhtar's book.

Catty characters with no development and a ludicrous plot makeup the meat of this tale that had a great concept but poor execution.