Taylor Fenner's Blog, page 49
January 9, 2023
First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros – The Midnight Game
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: The Midnight Game by Cynthia Murphy
First Chapter, First Paragraph:The figure emerged from the shadows. It slunk past the playground gates, slow, almost melting into the night. Its progress was deliberate but painful. One leg dragging, a harsh, hollow wheezing emanating from its chest.
Ooh, mysterious. What do you think of the first line?
Teaser TuesdayTeaser 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:Nothing. No one was there. Nothing was there.
Then she felt it. A cool, targeted puff of air.
Blurb:RULES OF THE MIDNIGHT GAME
Do noi turn on the lights.
Do not go to sleep.
Do not leave the building.
When a group of strangers who met on a creepy Deddit thread decide to meet in real life, they only have one objective in mind: to summon the Midnight Man. But once you start The Midnight Game, you must finish it – there’s no other way out!
Six players. One night.
The explosive new novel from the master of plot twists, Cynthia Murphy.
But how many survivors?
Bonus:My second book of the week is my novel releasing this Friday: No Check Out by Taylor Fenner (me!)
First Chapter, First Paragraph:The building breathed, its brick walls inhaling and exhaling quickly to absorb the life force within. It wasn’t the wind rattling the buildings’ frame like brittle trees in the forest. And it wasn’t the casual clicking and settling of plaster and wood like the cracking of bones. The building was alive. And it was furious.
Teaser Tuesday:
Teaser:“I’m telling you a story, Huntleigh,” Jerrod says my name in that same eerie way as he advances on me. “Don’t you want to hear my story, Huntleigh?”
Blurb:Can a building be inherently evil? With every board, window, and brick that went into building The Williamson Hotel, nestled at the mouth of the Great Smoky Mountains, a dark being was forged. Some say the hotel is haunted, others swear it’s cursed, But nobody knows the truth.
When a team of paranormal debunkers is invited to The Williamson to spend the night and dispel the rumors of its haunting, they think it’s just another routine job. Huntleigh Graves and her friends have investigated many “haunted” locales around the southern United States and proved them all to be fakes. But they had no idea what they were getting into when they agreed to investigate The Williamson.
From the moment they arrive at The Williamson, the team knows something isn’t right. But what starts off as a simple investigation into the paranormal turns into eight hours of horror. Eight hours that not all of them will make it through alive.
Welcome to The Williamson Hotel. We hope you enjoy your stay. Because once you check-in, there is… No Check Out
What do you think of these? Would you read them?
January 8, 2023
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 9 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! Happy Monday! Did you get some reading time in over the weekend? Have you finished your first read of 2023 yet?
What I Read Last Week:Haunted Charleston: Scary Sites, Eerie Encounters, and Tall Tales by Sara Pitzer
I really enjoyed reading some of the dark history of one of my favorite cities! I’ve been to a couple of the locations and really doubt their hauntedness however. I did add a bunch more places to visit when I go back this year though!
Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict
This was basically a gender-swapped Christmas themed retelling of Murder on the Orient Express. I liked the audiobook but felt that it was just okay.
Currently Reading:The Midnight Game by Cynthia MurphyI am loving this book! I read almost all of it in one sitting yesterday and I’m hoping to finish it this afternoon!
Next Read:The Family Game by Catherine Steadman
I haven’t picked my next physical read (although I have that huge stack from my December Haul) but I’m trying to read more audiobooks this year and The Family Game is next on my list!
What are you reading this week? Love it? Hate it? Somewhere in between?
January 7, 2023
The Sunday Post: New Schedules, Air Fryers, and The Countdown
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.
New Schedules, Air Fryers, and The CountdownHey Bookdragons! Happy Sunday! How was your first week of 2023?
Now that it’s the new year, I’m on my new schedule at work and I couldn’t be happier. I’m definitely a night owl, no doubt about it!
One of my Christmas gifts was a bigger air fryer. I haven’t had a chance to do much with it but I did make my favorite egg roll mozzarella sticks and they turned out great!
Like I probably mentioned last week, my new novel is coming out on Friday the 13th! I’ve been promoting it all week on Instagram and so far it’s my most preordered book to date and a couple of my ARC readers reached out to tell me how much they’re loving it! I’m so excited!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 2 January 2023
Book Review: Her Mates: An All Plane Winter Solstice Novella by Jade Presley
First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros: Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Favorite Books of 2022
Can’t Wait Wednesday… End of Story!
Book Blogger Hop: What was the first book you read this year?
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 9 January 2023
First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros – The Midnight Game
Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2023
Can’t Wait Wednesday… She Is A Haunting!
Audiobook Review: Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict
The Friday 56 (if I have something to post)
Book Blogger Hop: Are there any new books you’re excited to read in 2023?
Book Review: Haunted Charleston by Sara Pitzer
Physical:
I borrowed an ebook copy of this from the library last year when I read it and finally got my own physical copy!Amazon First Reads:
20 Psychological & Domestic Thrillers We’re Excited to Read This Year
Saturday Book Review Catch Up – The End of Temperance Dare, Hauntings & Havoc, and Hot Vampire Next Door
Hey Bookdragons! With the holidays over the past couple weeks and an my impromptu cut back on blogging, I’m behind on a few reviews so I’m catching up on them all at once.
The End of Temperance Dare by Wendy Webb
Standalone, Supernatural Horror
ebook, Paperback, Audiobook, 316 Pages
June 6, 2017 by Lake Union Publishing
Blurb:Haunting and atmospheric, The End of Temperance Dare is another thrilling page-turner from the author reviewers are calling the Queen of the Northern Gothic.
When Eleanor Harper becomes the director of a renowned artists’ retreat, she knows nothing of Cliffside Manor’s dark past as a tuberculosis sanatorium, a “waiting room for death.” After years of covering murder and violence as a crime reporter, Eleanor hopes that being around artists and writers in this new job will be a peaceful retreat for her as much as for them.
But from her first fog-filled moments on the manor’s grounds, Eleanor is seized by a sense of impending doom and realizes there’s more to the institution than its reputation of being a haven for creativity. After the arrival of the new fellows―including the intriguing, handsome photographer Richard Banks―she begins to suspect that her predecessor chose the group with a dangerous purpose in mind. As the chilling mysteries of Cliffside Manor unravel and the eerie sins of the past are exposed, Eleanor must fight to save the fellows—and herself—from sinister forces.
My Review:This is my first read by this author, though I do have others on my kindle. It definitely won’t be my last!
The setting is atmospheric and is described in a way that allows the reader to feel as though they’ve stepped into the story.
The story is intriguing, from the prologue set in the perspective of what we assume to be an innocent little girl locked away in a tuberculosis sanitarium, a scary, awful setting that is heartbreaking to remember children actually were sent to back in the day. Then the story shifts to modern day and we follow Eleanor as she arrives at Cliffside Manor and slowly experiences the horrors of the house along with the fellows who arrive for the session.
A few of the twists I figured out early on and was surprised that Eleanor didn’t, while others truly did surprise me. I found this book hard to put down although at the end I felt the resolution was a bit quickly stitched up. It felt like things ended abruptly and that was slightly unsatisfying for me as a reader.
Overall, I really did enjoy this book and will definitely check out the author’s other books that I have on my kindle as well as the rest of her backlist.
My Rating:
.5
4.5 of 5 Stars!
Hauntings & Havoc by Stacey Rourke with M. Rourke and E. Rourke
Death Digger’s Handbook #6, Paranormal Fantasy
ebook, Paperback
October 17, 2022
Blurb:Haunted by the past, hungry for revenge,
Malaria Cain is slowly coming unhinged.
Luring her father out of hiding is her lone goal, even if the cost is her eternal soul.
Yet darkness stirs at Crane’s Roost Inn,
causing Malaria’s sanity to grow quite thin.
A malevolent entity seeks to block her escape,
preventing her return home from taking shape.
Will her need for vengeance be her downfall?
Or will she break the Crane family curse once and for all?
This was a quick, fast-paced conclusion to Malaria Cain’s story. We see her go from unhinged and unwilling to accept help to having her redemption in the end.
While it was an enjoyable read, like all of the books I’ve read by this author so far, I have to admit that I preferred the first three original Corpse Queen books in the series over Malaria’s story arc. I just didn’t like her that much as a character and I found her story a bit boring compared to Tempest’s.
Overall I liked the story for the most part and I’m glad I saw the series through to the end.
My Review:.75
3.75 of 5 Stars!
Hot Vampire Next Door: Season 1 by Nikki St. Crowe
Kindle Vella Series, Season 1 Collection of 3 (So Far), Spicy Paranormal Romance
Kindle Vella, ebook, Paperback, Audiobook, 134 pages
Paperback Edition Published December 4, 2021
Blurb:“Look at me,” he says. “Look at me when I touch you.”
It’s near impossible to ignore my vampire neighbor, Bran Duval, when he has a habit of shucking off his clothes while the blinds are up. He’s playing games with me, but I don’t mind a challenge.
Only problem is, I’m supposed to pledge myself to a rival vampire family and now all I can think about is Bran Duval, black sheep of the Duval vampire family, and the wicked things he’s promising to do to me in the dark.
NOTE: Hot Vampire Next Door is first and foremost a Kindle Vella serial. This version is a boxset of episodes 1-18. It is considered ongoing and does not have a scheduled end date. You can expect high heat, lots of twists, and a vampire who realizes he might be a little more protective of his little mouse than he first realized.
Please check the author’s website for CWs/TWs.
Move over Vicious Lost Boys, there’s another sexy villainous bad boy to love! My first introduction to this author was The Vicious Lost Boys series but I decided to check this one out after reading the author’s newsletter.
Hot Vampire Next Door is primarily a Kindle Vella series and is best read that way if you want to read the most recent chapters. The author has also combined the story into “seasons” which are in print or in kindle for those of us that prefer to read that way.
I devoured this book. It’s addictive, sexy, and unputdownable. It does kind of feel as if it’s taking a little inspiration from True Blood for example with the vampires and other creatures as well as the “special snowflake secret” of the main character, but that’s fine for me because I loved True Blood.
I read this book in one sitting and I can’t wait to go back in for more!
My Rating:
4 of 5 Stars!
January 5, 2023
Book Blogger Hop: What was the first book you read this year?
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 6-12, 2023Question of the Week:What was the first book you read this year?Answer of the Week:The first book I started was Haunted Charleston: Scary Sites, Eerie Encounters, and Tall Tales by Sara Pitzer. I’m also just finishing up the audiobook I started this week, Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict and I just started reading A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
What about you? What was your first read of 2023?
January 3, 2023
Can’t Wait Wednesday… End of Story!
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.
End of Story by Kylie Scott
Standalone, Romance
eBook, Paperback, Audiobook, 314 Pages
February 14, 2023 from Graydon House
Blurb:New York Times bestselling sensation Kylie Scott’s sexy, smart and unconventional opposites-attract love story looks at what happens when fate refuses to give up on what’s meant to be…
When Susie Bowen inherits a charming fixer-upper from her aunt, she’s excited to start living her best HGTV life. But when she opens the door to find that her contractor is none other than her ex’s best friend, Lars—the same man who witnessed their humiliating public breakup six months ago—she isn’t exactly eager to have anyone around whose alliance is with the enemy. But beggars can’t be choosers, and the sooner the repairs are done, the sooner she can get back to embracing singledom.
Things go from awkward to unbelievable when Lars discovers a divorce certificate hidden in a wall and dated ten years in the future—with both their names on it. It couldn’t possibly be real…could it? As Susie and Lars work to unravel the document’s origins, the impossibility of a spark between them suddenly doesn’t seem so far-fetched. But would a relationship between them be doomed before it’s even begun?
Why I Want to Read End of Story:Kylie Scott is one of my auto-buy authors. This sounds a little different than her usual books but I’m here for it!
Would you read this book? What upcoming releases are you looking forward to?
January 2, 2023
Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Favorite Books of 2022
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 Favorite Books of 2022This week’s TTT is all about our favorite books of 2022. On New Year’s Eve I did my 2022 wrap up post which includes my most read authors and more, along with my 10 favorite reads, but here are my top 10 again…
1. The Reunion by Kiersten Modglin
I also really loved A Quiet Retreat by Kiersten. They’re both about writers.
2. Her Villains by Jade Presley
A smutty reverse-harem series inspired by Marvel characters? Do I need to say more?
3. The Never King by Nikki St. Crowe
A dark, reverse-harem reimagining of Peter Pan… are you sensing a theme here? 
This book was so beautifully written it almost felt like you were right there alongside the characters. It was haunting, horrific, and most of all it taught me about a part of history I didn’t know existed.
5. The Woman In the Library by Sulari Gentill
This one was fantastic in audiobook and I couldn’t put it down!
6. The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz
This was an ARC read of an early 2023 release and I definitely recommend it for all my thriller loving friends!
7. Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell
The first horror novel to make me uneasy in possibly ever? You bet it made my favorite list!
8. The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling
I read both The Ex Hex and The Kiss Curse in 2022 but I liked The Kiss Curse just a bit more!
9. Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain
This was one of my favorite reads in early 2022. It was so atmospheric and well written!
10. The End of Temperance Dare by Wendy WebbOne of my last reads of 2022 and it definitely left an impression!
What were some of your favorite reads of 2022? Let me know in the comments or drop me a link to your TTT!
First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros – Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore
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: Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore
First Chapter, First Paragraph:The goat was in the tree again.
I hadn’t even known goats could climb trees. I had been livestock-sitting for three days before I’d figured out how the darned things kept getting out of their pen. Then one day I’d glanced out an upstairs window and seen Taco and Gordita, the ringleaders of the herd, trip-trip-trip-ping onto one of the low branches extending over the fence that separated their enclosure from the yard around Aunt Hyacinth’s century-old farmhouse.
The goat. Was in. The tree. Again. Enough said! For humor, look no further than this book! It’s one of my all-time favorites!
Teaser TuesdayTeaser 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:“Don’t yell at me, you stupid cow!” I jabbed a hand toward the calf, who taunted me from behind its mother. “Keep your juvenile delinquent away from my car!”
Blurb:Amy Goodnight knows that the world isn’t as simple as it seems. She also understands that “normal” doesn’t mix with magic, and she’s worked hard to build a wall between the two worlds. Not only to protect her family, who are all practicing witches, but to protect any hope of ever having a normal life herself.
Ranch-sitting for her aunt in Texas should be exactly that: good old ordinary, uneventful hard work. Only, Amy and her sister, Phin, aren’t alone. There’s someone else in the house with them–and it’s not the living, breathing, amazingly hot cowboy from the ranch next door.
It’s a ghost, and it’s more powerful than the Goodnights and all their protective spells combined. It wants something from Amy, and none of her carefully built defenses can hold it back.
This is the summer when the wall between Amy’s worlds is going to come crashing down.
Would you read this one? I’ve never actually met anyone else who has read this book but I always reread it at the end of the year or beginning of the new year.
Book Review: Her Mates: An All Plane Winter Solstice Novella by Jade Presley
Her Mates: An All Plane Winter Solstice Novella by Jade Presley
Blurb:This is a novella filled with pure smutt and takes place before the events of The Assassins 
Lock hasn’t spent a winter solstice in the All Plane in years. He can’t even remember the last time he looked forward to the celebration. But now that Cari is his mate and the All Plane queen, he wants to make it as special as possible.
However, the All Plane and the Shattered Isle have vastly different traditions, and Cari is being incredibly stubborn when it comes to telling him what she wants. He never reads her mind without permission, and this is one topic she’s keeping locked up tight.
With the help of his brothers, they’re determined to do whatever it takes to give their mate some semblance of peace during such a tumultuous time. And with a little luck, a lot of lust, and a bit of help from a new friend, they might just pull it off.
Her Mates is a steamy why-choose marvel-inspired fantasy novella filled with spicy scenes suitable for readers 18+.
Yay for more Cari and her mates! More of Lock was a perfect Christmas gift! (And Tor, Talon, and Steel of course 
). This is a short, smut heavy, fun novella to tide readers over until The Reckoning releases and I enjoyed every minute of it. While I definitely recommend reading Her Villains and Her Revenge first to get to know the characters, there aren’t really any spoilers to keep you from reading this before or after The Assassins.
4/5 Stars!
January 1, 2023
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 2 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! I took a blogging break for part of last week and I was able to read 3 short books and listen to an audiobook.
What I Read Last Week:Her Mates: An All Plane Winter Solstice Novella by Jade PresleyThis was a short l, spicy novella perfect for reading over the holidays.
Hauntings & Havoc by Stacey RourkeI finally finished this series! I liked the original Corpse Queen trilogy more than the Malaria Crane books if I’m being honest.
Hot Vampire Next Door: Season 1 by Nikki St. CroweI’m so glad I checked out this one! I love Nikki’s Vicious Lost Boys but I loved this book just as much if not more!
Shiver by Allie Reynolds
This was a reread for me and I loved it in audiobook!
Currently Reading:Haunted Charleston: Scary Sites, Eerie Encounters, and Tall Tales by Sara PitzerMy mom got me this one for Christmas because I love Charleston. It’s really interesting so far!
Next Read:The Midnight Game by Cynthia MurphyI got my preorder from Book Depository so quickly and I can’t wait to dive into this one!
What are you reading and loving this week? What was/is your first read of 2023?
