Taylor Fenner's Blog, page 38
July 8, 2023
The Sunday Post: Door County, Respite, and Threads
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.
Door County, Respite, and ThreadsHey Bookdragons! Happy Sunday! I hope you’ve been having a relaxing weekend. I admit I can’t seem to get enough sleep lately.
This past Tuesday was Independence Day here in the U.S. and my family and I decided to go to Door County (a popular tourist area in Wisconsin) for the day. On my mom’s bucket list was a trip to Cana Island Lighthouse so that’s where we started our day. We took a wagon across to the island as during certain times there is extremely low tide revealing a stone and sand path. Once there one of the employees was nice enough to take my mom and I around the island on a golf cart and gave us a great tour. The people were so nice and accommodating!
We also went to an attraction called “The Farm” were you could interact with baby goats, sheep, pigs, and more.
On Wednesday my mom was feeling tired and irritable and on Thursday she fell in the bathroom again and then later in the day needed assistance getting up again so my sister and I and the hospice decided in the best interest of safety that my mom should go to respite care at a nursing facility for 5 days. We’re now looking at long term care in a facility as things decline health wise.
In more carefree news I’m sure you’ve all at least hear of the new app Threads. It seemed like the only thing people were talking about so I broke down and joined the app. If you want to follow me you can do so here
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 3 July 2023
First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros: Reckless
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 10 July 2023
First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros: Summer Rental
Can’t Wait Wednesday: Holly Horror
Book Review: Reckless by Elsie Silver
The Friday 56: Summer Rental by Rektok Ross
(Audio)book Review: The Veil by Rachel Harrison
Amazon First Reads:
Paperback:
None this week
July 3, 2023
First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros: Reckless
First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Socrates Book Reviews where you share the first paragraph of one of the books that you are currently reading. Each week bloggers will choose a book or books of the week (which will be one of the books that you are currently reading) and that book will take part in this book blog meme.
This week I’m participating with: Reckless by Elsie Silver
First Chapter, First Paragraph:“I can’t fathom why you feel the need to go work at that dingy little hospital in the country.”
Blurb:Theo Silva. Rowdy bull rider. Notorious ladies’ man. Scorching hot trouble wrapped up in a drool-worthy package.
And he’s looking at me like I might be his next meal.
But I’m almost free of my toxic marriage and have sworn off men entirely. So all I see when I look back is temptation served up with a heaping side of heartbreak.
The man is hard to trust—and even harder to resist.
Make that impossible. Because Theo is persistent. And no matter how hard I try to freeze him out, he melts my icy exterior and pulls apart all my defenses.
Over a drink in a small town bar, I blurt out my deepest, darkest secrets. Then I spend the singular hottest night of my life with him.
He worships my body. He makes me blush. I come alive beneath his hands.
Then I tell him to forget it ever happened. I want simple, and with him it all feels complicated.
It was supposed to be a one-time thing.
A secret.
But that little plus sign is going to make this secret impossible to keep.
What do you think? Would you keep reading? I read this one last week and loved it!
July 2, 2023
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 3 July 2023
#IMWAYR is a weekly meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.
Hey Bookdragons! If you read my Sunday Post you know it’s been a difficult couple weeks so I haven’t been posting as I should. I’ve read a few books but it’s not as much a priority right now.
What I’ve Read Lately:Reckless by Elsie SilverOmg I loved this book! I think this author is a new auto-buy author for me as I went back and bought the rest of the Chestnut Springs books.
The Veil by Rachel Harrison
I really enjoyed this short audiobook.
Summer Rental by Rektok Ross
This was on my TBR before it released and I was happy to see it on Kindle Unlimited. Friends, I devoured this one in a day! It was so good and perfect for Fourth of July weekend as that is when it is set! A great, creepy vacation thriller!
Currently Reading:Flawless by Elsie SilverI just started this one and I’m enjoying Summer’s story just as much as Winter’s in Reckless.
Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert
I started this one a week or so ago but I set it aside for right now.
Next Read:Hell House by Richard Matheson
I just got this audiobook and I think I might listen to it next. I also have an audiobook to review by the end of the month.
Have you read any of these? What are you reading this week?
July 1, 2023
The Sunday Post: Dark Days, The Support of Family Friends, and Living in the Moment
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.
Dark Days, The Support of Family Friends, and Living in the MomentHey Bookdragons! Happy Sunday. It’s been two weeks since I participated in The Sunday Post again and I’m about to explain why…
On Wednesday, June 21st my mom was supposed to go in for an MRI. Due to a series of events she didn’t make it to the appointment on time and my sister took her to the emergency room instead. She’d been confused and had a headache on and off for a week at this point. At the ER after an MRI was done it was discovered that her cancer had spread to her brain with more than 12 tumors, some the size of marbles. I took off Thursday the 22nd and went along to the radiation oncologist who explained that the cancer is aggressive and resistant to treatment and doing radiation would not prolong things much longer. We were given a prognosis of 3 weeks to a month, two months if lucky. So that weekend I of course took a social media break to spend time with my family. It’s been a long couple weeks of planning for the future, getting hospice sent in, and funeral planning in advance. The good thing is my mom is in good spirits at this time.
I am so grateful for our extended family and friends who have been amazingly supportive since we got the prognosis. I really feel, unlike when I was my grandmother’s caregiver, that I have a support system to fall back on. Even work has been amazingly understanding.
Right now we’re trying to live in the moment and take things day by day. There are some things my mom would like to do and we’re trying to make it happen for her. On a smaller note, I did learn to parallel park since my last post and I accomplished it on my first try. Road test in less than 2 weeks now. I also gave my bedroom a fall/Halloween makeover to cheer myself up.
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 19 June 2023
Book Review: You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron
Can’t Wait Wednesday: Hemlock Island!
Book Review: Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould
Book Review: Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah
Book Review: The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade
Book Review: The Camp by Nancy Bush
Book Review: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 3 July 2023
First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros: Reckless
Can’t Wait Wednesday: Holly Horror
Book Review: Reckless by Elsie Silver
The Friday 56: Reckless by Elsie Silver
(Audio)book Review: The Veil by Rachel Harrison
Might try to squeeze in a What I’m Binge-Watching post if I make much progress on shows.
Kindle Unlimited: Audible:
June 30, 2023
Book Review: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
The Empyrean Series Book 1, New Adult Fantasy
eBook, Hardcover, Audiobook, 528 Pages
May 2, 2023 by Red Tower Books
Blurb:Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general―also known as her tough-as-talons mother―has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter―like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.
Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda―because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.
Three things you must know about me before I begin:
1. I rarely read or enjoy fantasy anymore
2. I usually hate majorly hyped up books
3. I only decided to read this book to prove I was right about # 2
I was wrong. So very wrong. I loved this book. Absolutely loved and devoured this book.
Is it really that unique or original? Absolutely not. I can compare elements of it to probably a dozen other fantasy novels, but in this case it worked because it reminded me of books and tropes that I love.
Violet grew on me throughout the book. In the beginning you can tell she’s kind of teasing and bold toward Dain but has low self-esteem and is constantly wanting her mother’s approval but she grows throughout the book, gets stronger, stops comparing herself to others and decides to not give a damn.
I love the crew of friends that Violet assembles through the book. Each one is fully developed and shines on the page and you root for them as much as you root for Violet.
Then there is Xaden. *sigh* Definitely the kind of love interest that I go for! The broken inside, tough outside, falls first type. His and Violet’s chemistry is off the charts.
For a 500 page book this one moves along at a good, steady pace and I didn’t get bored or feel like the story was lagging at any point. The book ends on a cliff-hanger that makes you instantly want to jump into book 2.
Overall, in this case this book’s hype is well deserved. I’m glad I gave it a chance. It reminds me why I used to love fantasy so much and that occasionally I still can.
**Be aware that as of this writing Fourth Wing is sold out on most US book retailer websites. Possibly in stores as well. I’ve seen potential ship dates of 1-2 months from now (June 2023). If you cannot wait you can get this book instantly in ebook or audiobook (and the audiobook is really good!) Please do not spend $800, $1000, or $2000+ on a first edition copy on PangoBooks, Mercari, eBay, etc… that’s just insane.**
My Rating:
5 of 5 Knives (This Book Was Killer)
June 27, 2023
Book Review: The Camp by Nancy Bush
The Camp by Nancy Bush
Mystery, Thriller
eBook, Paperback, 432 pages
June 27, 2023 by Zebra Books
Blurb:Friday the 13th meets Yellowjackets at a summer sleepaway camp isolated in the woods of Oregon, as New York Times bestselling author Nancy Bush puts a diabolical modern twist on the classic 1980s slasher film trope!
There are always stories told around the fire at summer camp—tall tales about gruesome murders and unhinged killers, concocted to scare new arrivals and lend an extra jolt of excitement to those hormone-charged nights. At Camp Luft-Shawk, nicknamed Camp Love Shack, there are stories about a creeping fog that brings death with it. But here, they’re not just campfire tales. Here, the stories are real.
Twenty years ago, a girl’s body was found on a ledge above the lake, arms crossed over her heart. Some said it was part of a suicide pact, connected to the nearby Haven Commune. Brooke, Rona, and Wendywere among the teenagers at camp that summer, looking for fun and sun, sex and adventure. They’ve never breathed a word about what really happened—or about the night their friendship shattered.
Now the camp, renamed Camp Fog Lake, has reopened for a new generation, and many of those who were there on that long-ago night are returning for an alumni weekend. But something is stirring at the lake again. As the fog rolls in, evil comes with it. Those stories were a warning, and they didn’t listen. And the only question is, who will live long enough to regret it?
This was my most anticipated release of the summer… and it kind of let me down. It’s described as Friday the 13th meets Yellowjackets and I’m afraid I might have missed something.
The first thing I will point out is this listed as a stand-alone (at least on Goodreads) but as soon as I started reading it the character names and the name of the town Emma is from stood out to me from the only other Nancy Bush book I’ve read – The Babysitter. Yep. Same characters, same town, apparently not a part of that series? That was the first thing that kind of put me off… if I hadn’t read The Babysitter and known Emma’s backstory a new reader might not know or understand what caused Emma to be the way she is as an adult.
The camp/outdoorsy setting was the only connection I can make to Friday the 13th as The Camp devolves more into a nearby cult and religious zealots which I found a bit predictive and boring compared to what I assumed the book would be from the description.
I recently read another upcoming release with Friday the 13th vibes that I felt hit it out of the park but this one let me down big and left me confused and asking if I missed something in comparison.
My Rating:
1 of 5 Stars (I’d Rather Poke My Eye Out)
June 26, 2023
Book Review: The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade
The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade 
YA, Mystery/Thriller
eBook, Hardcover, Audiobook, 336 pages
June 27, 2023 by Sourcebooks Fire
Blurb:Sometimes people are lost from you, no matter how much you wish they weren’t and before you can even begin to know how big of a hole they’ll leave behind.
Sutton going missing is the worst thing to happen to Casey, to their family. She’s trying to help find her sister, but Casey is furious. She knows Sutton is manipulative, meanwhile everyone paints a picture of her perfection. People don’t look for missing Black girls–or half-Black girls–without believing there is an angel to be saved.
When Sutton reappears, Casey knows she should be relieved. Except Sutton isn’t the same. She remembers nothing about while she was gone―or anything from her old life, including how she made Casey miserable. There’s something unsettling about the way she wants to spend time with Casey and watch her goldfish swim for hours.
What happened to Sutton? The more Casey starts uncovering her sister’s secrets, the more questions she has. Did she really know her sister? Why is no one talking about the other girls who have gone missing in their area? And what will it take to uncover the truth?
My Review:I was drawn to this book based on the description and the diversity in what I thought was going to be a mystery/thriller.
What I enjoyed: the main characters were well developed and the dynamic between the sisters and how they didn’t get along is relatable to anyone that has siblings. The mention of their ancestry added a deeper element to the story.
What I didn’t like: this story seemed really underdeveloped to me. I went in expecting a sort of thriller in a way – sister goes missing, sister comes back and acts strange, I’ve read books with similar plots where the remaining sister almost becomes an amateur sleuth trying to find out what happened but that wasn’t how this book went which was very disappointing for me. The villain was… pretty much a joke. The villain was so one-dimensional and the resolution of the book left me feeling meh.
My Rating:
2 of 5 Knives (Flesh Wound)
June 23, 2023
Book Review: Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah
Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah
Standalone, YA, Horror/Thriller
eBook, Hardcover, 320 Pages
February 21, 2023 by Wednesday Books
Blurb:Andrea Hannah’s Where Darkness Blooms is a supernatural thriller about an eerie town where the sunflowers whisper secrets and the land hungers for blood.
The town of Bishop is known for exactly two recurring windstorms and an endless field of sunflowers that stretches farther than the eye can see. And women―missing women. So when three more women disappear one stormy night, no one in Bishop is surprised. The case is closed and their daughters are left in their dusty shared house with the shattered pieces of their lives. Until the wind kicks up a terrible secret at their mothers’ much-delayed memorial.
With secrets come the lies each of the girls is forced to confront. After caring for the other girls, Delilah would like to move on with her boyfriend, Bennett, but she can’t bear his touch. Whitney has already lost both her mother and her girlfriend, Eleanor, and now her only solace is an old weathervane that seems to whisper to her. Jude, Whitney’s twin sister, would rather ignore it all, but the wind kicks up her secret the summer fling she had with Delilah’s boyfriend. And more than anything, Bo wants answers and she wants them now. Something happened to their mothers and the townsfolk know what it was. She’s sure of it.
Bishop has always been a strange town. But what the girls don’t know is that Bishop was founded on blood―and now it craves theirs.
My Review:The best part of this book was the prologue. After that it goes and stays downhill riddled with plot holes and a storyline that doesn’t make sense leading up to a lackluster end that doesn’t make any sense.
I was drawn to this book based on the description, the gorgeous cover, and the vibes that reminded me of The Dead and The Dark by Courtney Gould but this book was a disappointment that left me, as a reader, with more questions than answers. The author doesn’t flesh out the story enough to explain to the reader why this is the way things are… perhaps we’re supposed to draw our own conclusion as to why the sunflowers crave the blood of women for example. Maybe the point was to be vague and mysterious… it just didn’t pan out.
I see what the author was trying to accomplish with this book but it just didn’t work for me as a reader.
My Rating:1 of 5 Stars (I’d rather poke my eye out)
June 21, 2023
Book Review: Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould
Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould
YA, Thriller/Mystery, Sci-Fi
eBook, Hardcover, Audiobook, 352 pages
June 20, 2023 by Wednesday Books
Blurb:Two sisters travel to an isolated Arizona town to investigate its connection to their mother’s death, but uncover more than they bargained for in this supernatural thriller from the author of The Dead and the Dark.
Beck Birsching has been adrift since the death of her mother, a brilliant but troubled investigative reporter. She can’t stop herself from slipping into memories of happier days, longing for a time when things were more normal. So when a mysterious letter in her mother’s handwriting arrives in the mail that reads Come and find me, pointing to the small town at the center of her last investigation, Beck hopes that it may hold the answers.
But when Beck and her sister Riley arrive in Backravel, Arizona, it’s clear that something’s off. There are no cars, no cemeteries, no churches. The town is a mix of dilapidated military structures and new, shiny buildings, all overseen by a gleaming treatment center high on a plateau. No one seems to remember when they got there, and when Beck digs deeper into the town’s enigmatic leader and his daughter, Avery, she begins to suspect that they know more than they’re letting on.
As Beck and her sister search for answers about their mother, she and Avery are increasingly drawn together, and their unexpected connection brings up emotions Beck has fought to keep buried. Beck is desperate to hold onto the way things used to be, but when she starts losing herself in Backravel―and its connection to her mother― she risks losing her way back out.
In Where Echoes Die, Courtney Gould draws readers into a haunting desert town to explore grief, the weight of not letting go of the past, first love, and the bonds between sisters, mothers and daughters.
I was looking forward to this one after reading and loving the author’s first book.
This one takes on a more sci-fi plot line than her first book’s paranormal dynamic (which I preferred) but still keeps true with the sapphic love interest for the main character.
This book doesn’t hold as much mystery as I would have liked. The sisters arrive in this weird town that has no cars, cemeteries or churches but instead looks like a military simulation of what a town should look like and for some reason I felt like Dean and Sam Winchester from Supernatural might end up investigating a town like this. The author does do well using the setting to give the reader all the creepy and unsettling vibes.
But moreover this book is about loss and grief as Beck and her sister have lost their mother and Beck is desperate to find out why – what was in Backravel, AZ that caused them to lose the only parent they were really close with. It’s an accurate depiction of how two people, sisters in this case, can show grief in completely different ways.
I still prefer the author’s first book to this one but I did enjoy it.
My Rating:
3.5/5 Rounded to 4 (I Lived to Tell the Tale+)
June 20, 2023
Can’t Wait Wednesday: Hemlock Island!
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released.
Hey Bookdragons! Happy Wednesday! I missed last Wednesday because I got super busy and hadn’t scheduled my post ahead of time. This is one in definitely looking forward to…
Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong
Standalone, Horror/Mystery/Thriller
eBook, Hardcover, Audiobook, 304 pages
September 12, 2023 by St. Martin’s Press
Blurb:A standalone horror novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong.
Laney Kilpatrick has been renting her vacation home to strangers. The invasion of privacy gives her panic attacks, but it’s the only way she can keep her beloved Hemlock Island, the only thing she owns after a pandemic-fueled divorce. But broken belongings and campfires that nearly burn down the house have escalated to bloody bones, hex circles, and now, terrified renters who’ve fled after finding blood and nail marks all over the guest room closet, as though someone tried to claw their way out…and failed.
When Laney shows up to investigate with her teenaged niece in tow, she discovers that her ex, Kit, has also been informed and is there with Jayla, his sister and her former best friend. Then Sadie, another old high school friend, charters over with her brother, who’s now a cop.
There are tensions and secrets, whispers in the woods, and before long, the discovery of a hand poking up from the earth. Then the body that goes with it… But by that time, someone has taken off with their one and only means off the island, and they’re trapped with someone―or something―that doesn’t want them leaving the island alive.
I’ve read and enjoyed books by this author before and this one sounds like a perfect book to kick off the spooky season this fall!
Will you be checking this one out? What upcoming releases are you looking forward to?
