Taylor Fenner's Blog, page 46
February 5, 2023
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 6 February 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! Happy February! What was your first read of February?
What I Read Last Week:In the Hall with the Knife by Diana Peterfreund
This was a reread for me and I enjoyed it just as much the second time.
Currently Reading:In the Study with the Wrench by Diana Peterfreund
Again, a reread. I’m having trouble connecting with the new books I’ve gotten recently so I’m comfort reading right now.
Next Read:The Best Goodbye by Abbi Glines
I’ll still have In the Ballroom with the Candlestick by Diana Peterfreund to get to but I’m going to take a quick break and read The Best Goodbye because I need a breezy read.
Have you read any of these? What are you reading this week?
February 4, 2023
The Sunday Post: Sick Again, Mom’s Retirement Dinner, and Valoween Nails
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.
Sick Again, Mom’s Retirement Dinner, and Valoween NailsHey Bookdragons! Happy Sunday! How was your week and start to February?
I got sick this week again. For the past three weeks I’ve been sick during my days off – strep throat, cold, and cold again. I can’t seem to catch a break. So I’ve been carrying a box of Kleenex around all week. I hope I’m getting close to the end of it 
My mom retired from her job at the courthouse on Friday and a bunch of family friends got together for a retirement dinner Friday night. It was a lot of fun and the owner of the restaurant we went to went out of his way to make it extra special. I’m looking forward to seeing what my mom will do with more free time. (She is also running for municipal judge right now.)
Yesterday I had my nail appointment. I decided to get a little something cute for Valoween (nope, we’re not doing Valentine’s Day… scratch it off your calendar… its now Valoween! Celebrate with your favorite spooky or not so spooky movies).
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 30 January 2023
First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros: Daughters of the Lake
Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books I’ve Recommended to Others in the Last 3 Months
Can’t Wait Wednesday… The Lake House!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 6 February 2023
First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros: In the Hall with the Knife
Top Ten Tuesday: 2023 Debut Books I’m Excited About
Can’t Wait Wednesday… The Island!
Book Review: The Girl Who Survived by Lisa Jackson (rescheduled because of illness last week)
The Friday 56: In the Hall with the Knife
Book Review: In the Hall with the Knife by Diana Peterfreund
My BOTM pick. I read an ARC of this and enjoyed it. My review is here.
January 31, 2023
Can’t Wait Wednesday… The Lake House!
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.
The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst
Standalone, Horror/Thriller
Ebook, Hardcover, Audiobook, 368 pages
April 25, 2023 by HarperTeen
Blurb:Yellowjackets meets One of Us Is Lying in this masterful survival thriller from award-winning author Sarah Beth Durst.
Claire’s grown up triple-checking locks. Counting her steps. Second-guessing every decision. It’s just how she’s wired-her worst-case scenarios never actually come true.
Until she arrives at an off-the-grid summer camp to find a blackened, burned husk instead of a lodge-and no survivors, except her and two other late arrivals: Reyva and Mariana.
When the three girls find a dead body in the woods, they realize none of this is an accident. Someone, something, is hunting them. Something that hides in the shadows. Something that refuses to let them leave.
Irresistible and action-packed until the very final page, The Lake House will have readers glued to their seats as tension builds and danger mounts-and a final, shocking twist is revealed.
Why I Want to Read The Lake House:I love thrillers set at summer camps. I always think there is something so sinister about summer camp, don’t you think? This book is definitely up my alley and I have high hopes.
Will you be checking this one out? What upcoming releases are you looking forward to?
January 30, 2023
Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books I’ve Recommended to Others in the Last 3 Months
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish and currently hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.
Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books I’ve Recommended to Others in the Last 3 MonthsThis week’s TTT is a freebie so I decided to do books that I’ve recommended to others (usually my mom who doesn’t read often enough) in the last 3 months.
1. The Girl Who Survived by Lisa Jackson
2. Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton 
3. Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan
4. Verity by Colleen Hoover 
5. The Midnight Game by Cynthia Murphy 
6. Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell
7. A Quiet Retreat by Kiersten Modglin
8. Corpse Queen by Stacey Rourke
9. Her Dark Lies by J.T. Ellison
10. No Check Out (hey.. it’s still release month! )
Have you read any of these? What books have you recommended lately? What did you do for this week’s freebie post?
First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros: Daughters of the Lake
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.
My book of the week is: Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb
First Chapter, First Paragraph:It was finally time for the lake to give her up. And so, one morning in late summer, her body washed gently into the shallows, as though it, she, had simply been floating in a peaceful, watery slumber.
Teaser Tuesday:Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Ambrosia @ The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Teaser:But some stories, especially peculiar, hidden ones involving murder and mystery, have a way of bubbling to the surface, especially when wrongs need to be righted. They make themselves heard despite efforts to keep them silent. All in the proper time. And now was the proper time.
Blurb:The ghosts of the past come calling in a spellbinding heart-stopper from the “Queen of the Northern Gothic.”
After the end of her marriage, Kate Granger has retreated to her parents’ home on Lake Superior to pull herself together―only to discover the body of a murdered woman washed into the shallows. Tucked in the folds of the woman’s curiously vintage gown is an infant, as cold and at peace as its mother. No one can identify the woman. Except for Kate. She’s seen her before. In her dreams…
One hundred years ago, a love story ended in tragedy, its mysteries left unsolved. It’s time for the lake to give up its secrets. As each mystery unravels, it pulls Kate deeper into the eddy of a haunting folktale that has been handed down in whispers over generations. Now, it’s Kate’s turn to listen.
As the drowned woman reaches out from the grave, Kate reaches back. They must come together, if only in dreams, to right the sinister wrongs of the past.
What do you think? Would you read this book?
January 29, 2023
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 30 January 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! It’s almost the end of the month! How many books did you read this month? What will be your last read of January?
What I Read Last Week:The Girl Who Survived by Lisa Jackson
I loved this one. I haven’t read Lisa Jackson in a while and this was a great book to dive back in with.
Immortality: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz
The first half of this book, while good, seemed to drag and took forever to get through. My full review will be up on release day – 2-28-23.
Currently Reading:Daughters of the Lake by Wendy WebbI loved The End of Temperance Dare which I read at the end of 2022 and I’ve been thinking of this author ever since. Luckily I have a couple of her backlist on my kindle including Daughters of the Lake. This one grabbed me from the first line.
Next Read:The Cloisters by Katy Hays
I’ve been wanting to read this one ever since I read a review a week or two back. I found a used copy on PangoBooks and just got it in the mail this past week.
Have you read any of these? What are you reading this week?
January 28, 2023
The Sunday Post: Spooky Moments, Sleepless Nights, and Weird Food Cravings
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.
Spooky Moments, Sleepless Nights, and Weird Food CravingsHey Bookdragons! Happy Sunday. (It’s technically my Friday so I feel pretty good about it.) How was your week? Can you believe this coming week is already February?!
On Friday I was watching The Amityville Horror and my bernedoodle Toby was laying sleeping in my lap. About 45 minutes into the movie Toby wakes up and starts growling and barking at something on the floor. I looked over the footstool expecting one of the cats to be hanging out there ready for playtime but there was nothing there. I got up, Toby still growling and barking as he followed me into the dining room, and turned on a light but I have no idea what he was barking at. Spooky, huh?
Earlier this week insomnia was majorly kicking my butt. I was on my days off trying to sleep nights and be up days instead of the opposite like on my work days but for several nights I wound up tossing and turning until almost 6 am without a wink of sleep.
On top of that, I’ve been hungry for the strangest things. Now don’t be jumping to extreme conclusions. I’m definitely not in the way that usually causes weird cravings. But this week I’ve been eating all the pasta, chocolate, and fish. Not together of course. Chocolate and fish sounds revolting. Part of me thinks I was just bored and eating whatever was simple and at hand (and of course Friday Fish Fry’s are a staple here in Wisconsin, I’m trying to eat more meat and fish/seafood are mostly what I go for).
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 23 January 2023
Top Ten Tuesday: 10 New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2022
First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros: The Girl Who Survived
Can’t Wait Wednesday… Four Found Dead!
Book Review: Hot Vampire Next Door Seasons 2-3 by Nikki St. Crowe
The Friday 56: The Girl Who Survived
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 30 January 2023
First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros: Daughters of the Lake
Top Ten Tuesday: Freebie (10 Books I’ve Recommended to People in the Last 3 Months)
Can’t Wait Wednesday… The Lake House!
Book Review: The Girl Who Survived by Lisa Jackson
The Friday 56: Daughters of the Lake
January Wrap Up
None This Week! I’m way behind on comments and reading posts!
January 27, 2023
New Review Rating Scale
Hey Bookdragons! Lately you might have seen me using the knife emoji instead of a star emoji 
when I post reviews. I’m trying something new, trying to create a niche for the blog as I mostly read horror and thriller books lately and write in the same genres. So here is my new review rating scale…
I’d Rather Poke My Eye Out A book I didn’t like at all or DNF’d
Flesh WoundA book I barely liked or barely finished.
I Lived To Tell The TaleJust okay, did not love or hate. May read more by the author, may not.
This Book Stabbed My HeartI really liked this one!
This Book Was KillerLoved this book! Adding to my favorites list!
How do you rate your books? Do you have any special icons you use for rating that tie into a theme for your blog?
January 26, 2023
Book Blogger Hop: Do you use social media to keep up with your favorite authors?
Book Blogger HopThe Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Jennifer @ Crazy-For-Books in March 2010 and ended on December 31, 2012. With Jennifer’s permission, Billy @ Ramblings or a Coffee Addicted Writerrelaunched the hop on February 15, 2013. Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end the following Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book related question. The hop’s purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.
January 27 – February 2, 2023Question of the Week:Do you use social media to keep up with your favorite authors?AOTW:To an extent. I follow some of my favorite authors on Instagram and like a few on Facebook but I mostly follow bookish friends on social media instead.
Do you follow your favorite authors on social media? Who are some that you follow?
The Friday 56: The Girl Who Survived
The Friday 56 is a weekly blog meme hosted by Freda’s Voice. How to participate: Grab a book, any book. Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay. Find a snippet, short and sweet. Post it, and link up on Freda’s Voice so everyone knows to visit.
This week I’m participating with: The Girl Who Survived by Lisa Jackson
Blurb:In this deviously volatile, deliciously creepy thriller from the #1 New York Times bestseller, the lone survivor of a brutal family massacre must uncover the awful truth about the fateful night that left her forever marked…
Has she already had her last chance to be the final girl?
All her life, she’s been the girl who survived. Orphaned at age seven after a horrific killing spree at her family’s Oregon cabin, Kara McIntyre is still searching for some kind of normal. But now, twenty years later, the past has come thundering back. Her brother, Jonas, who was convicted of the murders has unexpectedly been released from prison. The press is in a frenzy again. And suddenly, Kara is receiving cryptic messages from her big sister, Marlie—who hasn’t been seen or heard from since that deadly Christmas Eve when she hid little Kara in a closet with a haunting, life-saving command: Don’t make a sound.
As people close to her start to die horrible deaths, Kara, who is slowly and surely unraveling, believes she is the killer’s ultimate target.
Kara survived once. But will she survive again? How many times can she be the girl who survived?
A sadness stole through her as she thought of the sister she’d lost, a sibling whom she had been closer to than her own mother. And now she was getting messages about her.
You don’t know that. The text and voice said, “She’s alive.” You decided that whoever is behind it is talking about Marlie. That’s a leap, Kara. A big leap.
What do you think? Would you read this book?
