Taylor Fenner's Blog, page 62

What I'm Binge-Watching - 27 May 2021

What I'm Binge-Watching is a weekly meme to document all of our favorite binging obsessions. Follow along and let me know what you've been binge-watching lately!
Last weekend I binged almost all of a really great show on Paramount+ then Monday I caught up on one of my soaps that I've been really behind on...

Continuing

Current Episode: Season 10 Episode 17 - The Dying Game I'm getting to the point where there are more episodes I don't like than I do like in this show, but once I get to the end I can go back and start from the beginning... or I could make that list I've been wanting to of my favorite episodes and just watch those.   

Current Episode: Season 2, Episode 11 - There's Something About MiraI'm alternating between watching this and a few other shows before bed at night when I'm not reading or listening to an audiobook. 

 

New Obsessions & Recent Binges

Current Episode - Season 1 Complete  My mom and I started watching the first season Sunday, finished it Monday and I'm hooked! It's witty, and dark and overall addictive to watch. I think season 2 will be a whole new cast and if it's as good as season 1 I'm excited. It kept me guessing what was to come.
Current Episode - Season 62, Episode 109 I took a break from watching Corrie after Seb got killed off on May 7th. I just needed a break. But Monday I got caught up and out of all of it, it was hardest watching Nina. She's still my favorite character but watching Abi break into her and blame her that Seb died because of how Nina looks just broke my heart. I know Abi is grieving but it was still uncalled for. 

Just Added to My Watchlist  / Just Gave it A Try

Premiering May 28, 2021!This is based on a book by Lauren Oliver, and while I have not read this one yet it's been on my TBR. If it holds all the twists of Broken Things then I think I'll really enjoy the show!

What are you currently binge-watching? Let me know in the comments!Happy binging!

I Can't Wait For... THE GOSSIP!

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.
I've been a fan of this author's sister for years and last year I read the first book in this series and loved it. I can't wait to see what else will shake up River Glen in...

The GossipRiver Glen Book 2by Nancy Bush
Thriller
eBook, Paperback, 416 Pages
June 29, 2021 by Zebra

Blurb:
From New York Times bestselling author Nancy Bush, a gripping page-turner that explores the dark side of popularity, when harmless high school gossip turns deadly...

Every word you whisper
In high school, rumors can make or destroy a reputation. A thoughtless nickname can turn each day into a living hell. Gossip is irresistible--and contagious. But sometimes, gossip can kill...

Every secret you share
Mackenzie Laughlin, formerly with Oregon's River Glen police department, has reluctantly agreed to investigate a local woman's disappearance. The case reconnects her with Jesse James Taft, a P.I. gifted at getting under Mac's skin. But when the body is found tangled in river weeds, Mac and Taft realize that the case has changed, from one missing woman to a hunt for a terrifying and relentless killer...

Could be your last
In his old school yearbooks, they were the pretty, popular ones, confident and callous. Back then, they held the power. But now, it's all his. He's been waiting to teach them the lessons they should have learned long ago: that gossip and popularity have a price, and it's time to pay...
Add to Goodreads | Amazon| Snowbound Books (Help Support My Favorite Indie Bookstore)
***Will you be checking this book out? 

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Favorite Book Quotes

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 Book QuotesThis week’s TTT is all about book quotes that fit a certain theme... motivational quotes, romantic dialogues, quotes that fill you with hope, etc. I chose to do my favorite quotes in general.  1. “To the people who look at the stars and wish, Rhys."Rhys clinked his glass against mine. “To the stars who listen— and the dreams that are answered.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury
2. "Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win."- Stephen King

3. "Don't ever trust anyone who's writing a book. They make up lies for a living." - Rosemary Clement-Moore, Texas Gothic

4. "Don't let the hard days win."- Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

5. “The Darkling slumped back in his chair. “Fine,” he said with a weary shrug. “Make me your villain.” ― Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone

6. “I missed you every hour. And you know what the worst part was? It caught me completely by surprise. I'd catch myself just walking around to find you, not for any reason, just out of habit, because I'd seen something that I wanted to tell you about or because I wanted to hear your voice. And then I'd realize that you weren't there anymore, and every time, every single time, it was like having the wind knocked out of me. I've risked my life for you. I've walked half the length of Ravka for you, and I'd do it again and again and again just to be with you, just to starve with you and freeze with you and hear you complain about hard cheese every day. So don't tell me why we don't belong together," he said fiercely.” ― Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone

7. “If I told you monsters could be tamed, would you want to live with monsters? Even a tame monster is still a monster.” ― Julie Eshbaugh, Crown of Oblivion

8. “When you fall in love, you will carve out your heart and throw it into the deepest ocean. You will be all in - blood and salt.” ― Kim Liggett, Blood and Salt

9. “Life,” he said softly, “is more than flesh. Your body is a candle, your soul the flame. The longer I burn the candle...” He did not finish. “A candle unused is nothing but wax and wick,” I said.“I would rather light the flame, knowing it will go out than sit forever in darkness.”
― S. Jae-Jones, Wintersong


10. “Being woken by a scream is like the feeling of crushing glass with your bare hands: instantaneous, distinct, painful.” - Camilla Sten, The Lost Village

***What are some of your favorite book quotes?Let me know in the comments or drop a link to your TTT!Happy Reading Bookdragons!-Taylor

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - 24 May 2021

#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.
Happy Monday Bookdragons! We're nearing the end of May! I'm enjoying the warmer weather but hoping it will get sunnier out soon so I can go out and enjoy it. In the meantime I'm enjoying staying in and reading. I didn't read as much last week but I did still finish an audiobook and an ARC that I reviewed yesterday.
What I Read Last Week: Fresh Brewed Murder by Emmeline Duncan I finished listening to Fresh Brewed Murder at the beginning of last week and I really enjoyed it. I don't know when the next book comes out but I already know it's an auto-buy for me!
No Way Out by Fern Michaels
This was a DNF book for me. I just didn't enjoy the way it was written and couldn't get past the first few chapters. 
He'll Be Waiting by Liz Alterman
This was an ARC read for me. I reviewed it yesterday on the blog and I really enjoyed it. I almost didn't give it a chance because whoever formatted the ARC did a poor job - the words "uncorrected galley, no distribution or sale" appeared randomly on each page - sometimes in the middle of a paragraph and there were no hard breaks between chapters. But the story itself was great. More than a thriller it was a heartbreaking story of grief and learning to move on. Currently Reading:Heartless by Marissa Meyer
I'm giving this book another chance tonight. I tried reading it once before and couldn't get into it, but at that point I wasn't in a fantasy mood. 
Next ReadCorpse Queen by Stacey Rourke
I just got this book recently and it sounds so good that I can't put off reading it any longer. 
*** 
 What are you reading this week? Have you read any of my recent reads?

{Blog Tour and Book Review} HE'LL BE WAITING by Liz Alterman

 

  I'm thrilled to help spread the word about Liz Alterman's debut release,HE'LL BE WAITING!He'll Be Waiting is a standalone YA Thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat and up reading all night!  GoodReads ~ Amazon ~ Indiebound ~ Barnes&Noble  Synopsis:  What would you do to remember? What would you give to forget?

When Tess Porter agrees to pick up her boyfriend’s college pal at the airport on a snowy December night, she has no idea she’s about to embark on the most dangerous ride of her life.

Two days later, the 17-year-old wakes up in a hospital with broken bones, unable to remember how she got there. Her parents are acting strange, and neither James, her boyfriend, nor her best friend, Izzy, has visited. As she struggles to physically recover, Tess wrestles with haunting questions: What happened? Will her memory ever return? And what if she’s better off not recalling any of it?         And check out Liz's He'll Be Waiting playlist to enhance your read!Spotify Playlist     
Excerpt:

“Tess! Tess!’ Mom pats my right arm gently. “Honey, wake up, you’re having a bad dream.”

I stare at her, confused. It was so real. I’d been tumbling, falling down beside a flat cement wall. I’d tried to stop myself, but there was nothing to grab on to, no banister or ledge. All I could smell was damp, wet earth. A man stood above me. I couldn’t see his face and had no idea who he was. But one thing was clear: He’d come to hurt me. Me specifically. 

In my nightmare and in real life, my mouth is dry, my tongue as sandpapery as Daffy’s. I can’t speak. My heart gallops, thumping hoofbeats pound in my ears.

“This is how it ends!” he shouted in the dream, his voice echoing as I plunged into total darkness and struggled to crawl out of sight. I couldn’t move. My legs wouldn’t work. 

I want to tell Mom everything, but I can’t catch my breath. Was it only a dream or does it have something to do with my accident? What if it’s one of the flashes Lydia talked about? Memories attempting to resurface? Is the man in the dream Nick? My head hurts thinking about it. For once, I'm actually grateful to be in this hospital bed. Safe.  
My Review:I went into this book expecting a thriller but He'll Be Waiting is so much more. It's about Tess's journey through grief, remembering what happened to her, and learning to move on even when it seems unbearable.
Tess is 17, it's just before Christmas and she's waiting on her perfect boyfriend James to come home from college for the holidays. But James has a request, a friend of his is stranded at the airport. He's lost his phone, wallet, and luggage and he needs somewhere to stay for the night. Could Tess go pick him up? Wanting to do anything for James, Tess quickly agrees. Driving in the growing blizzard Tess picks up "Nick" from the airport. He seems to know all about her, even the layout of her house. He gives Tess the creeps... but just who is the person she picked up at the airport really? The answer to that will put Tess and James in the crosshairs of a deranged killer with a vendetta against Tess's family. And not everyone will make it out alive.
I couldn't stop once I started reading this book. It was tense and twisted but the further I read, as I watched Tess experience grief, loss, and reliving the events of that awful night I had all the feels, including more than a few tears. 
I really loved this book and I'll definitely read more by this author. 
My Rating: 4.90 of 5 Stars!Meet the author:Liz Alterman lives in New Jersey with her husband and three sons. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Parents, McSweeney's, and other publications. He'll Be Waiting is her first young adult novel. When she isn't writing, she spends most days microwaving the same cup of coffee and looking up synonyms.     Connect with Liz:Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram 

The Sunday Post - 23 May 2021

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

🍀 It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - 17 May 2021🍀 Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Book Titles That Are Complete Sentences🍀 I Can't Wait For... IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER!🍀 What I'm Binge-Watching - 20 May 2021🍀 {Book Review} SHADOW TOUCHED by Becky Moynihan🍀 {Audiobook Review} THE LAST FINAL GIRL by Stephen Graham Jones

🥀 {Blog Tour and Book Review} HE'LL BE WAITING by Liz Alterman🥀 It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - 24 May 2021  🥀 Top Ten Tuesday: 10 of my favorite book quotes 🥀  I Can't Wait For... THE GOSSIP! 🥀 What I'm Binge-Watching - 27 May 2021 🥀  {Book Review} THE 2ND BEST HAUNTED HOTEL ON MERCER STREET by Cory Putman Oakes🥀 {Audiobook Review} FRESH BREWED MURDER by Emmeline Duncan

Learn More:Corpse Queen by Stacey Rourke with M. Rourke and E. Rourke

💀 This Week I Bookmarked: Signed Riley Sager Preorder5 Hair Raising Historical Horror NovelsFresh Brewed Murder Signed Copies

{Audiobook Review} THE LAST FINAL GIRL by Stephen Graham Jones

 

The Last Final GirlStandaloneStephen Graham JonesHorror216 Pages
Blurb:"The Last Final Girl is like Quentin Tarantino's take on The Cabin in the Woods. Bloody, absurd, and smart. Plus, there's a killer in a Michael Jackson mask." - Carlton Mellick III, author of Apeshit

Life in a slasher film is easy. You just have to know when to die.

Aerial View: A suburban town in Texas. Everyone's got an automatic garage door opener. All the kids jump off a perilous cliff into a shallow river as a rite of passage. The sheriff is a local celebrity. You know this town. You're from this town.

Zoom In: Homecoming princess, Lindsay. She's just barely escaped death at the hands of a brutal, sadistic murderer in a Michael Jackson mask. Up on the cliff, she was rescued by a horse and bravely defeated the killer, alone, bra-less. Her story is already a legend. She's this town's heroic final girl, their virgin angel.

Monster Vision: Halloween masks floating down that same river the kids jump into. But just as one slaughter is not enough for Billie Jean, our masked killer, one victory is not enough for Lindsay. Her high school is full of final girls, and she's not the only one who knows the rules of the game.

When Lindsay chooses a host of virgins, misfits, and former final girls to replace the slaughtered members of her original homecoming court, it's not just a fight for survival-it's a fight to become The Last Final Girl.

My Review:

This was my first book by Stephen Graham Jones although I've seen his books recommended by booksellers before and added them to my TBR.
 The Last Final Girl is a satirical homage (in my opinion) to the campy 80s horror that fans know and love. If you like movies like Scream and Friday the 13th I think you'll really like this book because it reminded me of elements of both. 
The way it reads (or is told as I listened to the audiobook) is like you are watching a movie that pans from one character's perspective to another. It is like you're watching a movie, and I love how that was done because I enjoy books that are unconventional. 
The cast of characters are a mixture of what you'd normally find in a horror movie along with a bunch of unlikely heroine types. The one thing I didn't get was the Billie Jean thing (as I am neither a fan of Michael Jackson or a child of the 80s) so I had to look it up. 
If you like the horror genre and know it's not to be taken seriously, you'll enjoy this book. I didn't really find it scary which is why I think of it more as satirical horror.  I recommend listening to the audiobook!
My Rating:🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟4.75 of 5 Stars!

{Book Review} SHADOW TOUCHED by Becky Moynihan

 

Shadow TouchedA Touch of Vampire Book 1Becky MoynihanYA/NA Paranormal Romance305 Pages
Blurb:Some truths are best kept in the shadows...

At nearly eighteen, I’m months away from escaping my aunt’s secrets and lies. Except, I’m harboring a big secret of my own.

A red-eyed man cloaked in shadow has been stalking me at night.

I wanted Rosewood, Maine to be my final destination before college. My chance at normalcy. But strange, unexplainable things are threatening to derail my plans.

The red-eyed man followed me here, and he’s not the only one. Two hot guys transfer to my new high school right after I do. They track my every move, especially the aloof and mysterious Lochlan D’angelo.

As I’m sucked into a dangerous world embroiled in secrets, I start to question everything I’ve ever known. Including who I am.

Fans of Twilight, Vampire Diaries, and modern Beauty & the Beast retellings, sink your teeth into a world of dark mystery and forbidden desire.

SHADOW TOUCHED is the thrilling first installment in a steamy upper YA/NA paranormal vampire romance series. If you like enemies-to-lovers and fated mates, heartrending twists, a tough heroine, and a sexy antihero, this book is for you.

My Review:

Let me start of by saying that Becky is a talented author. I've read and enjoyed her Elite Trials books and her cowritten series with Tyffany Hackett but Shadow Touched is my new favorite!

Vampires are coming back to popularity in books lately and this is the first one I've really enjoyed recently. This has all the elements to love - vampires, werewolves, witches, secrets, swoon-worthy boys, great friendships, and steamy chemistry between the main character and her love interest.
McKenna is a strong female lead. I liked her personality and her sense of style. After her Aunt Tess moves her (yet again, this time t0 ->) Rosewood, Maine she makes friends (possibly for the first time ever) with a feisty girl named Isla and her friends Peyton and Hailey. Isla was a great secondary character and I liked how fast and easy their friendship was. Then there are the boys - Reid, Kade, and *sighs* Lochlan. I was kind of iffy about Reid throughout the book and I'm still not sure if I liked him or not. Kade was hilarious and he lit up the page in every scene he appeared in. But Lochlan? *Fans self* Me likey the Loch! The chemistry between Lochlan and McKenna is off the charts, which considering they couldn't really touch and I'm still swooning over the steamy scenes is saying something. 
I can't wait to see where things are headed in book 2. I definitely recommend this books to anyone who loves enemies-to-lovers, broody boys, and a great cast of characters. There are some steamy scenes, which I am all in favor of!, but may not be suitable for younger readers. 
My Rating:🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟5 of 5 Stars!

What I'm Binge-Watching - 20 May 2021

What I'm Binge-Watching is a weekly meme to document all of our favorite binging obsessions. Follow along and let me know what you've been binge-watching lately!
I have a few shows I need to catch up on and binge over the weekend as well as a mini-series I'd like to rewatch. Other than that, I'm still watching the same shows over and over again...

Continuing

Current Episode: Season 10 Episode 8 - Love and Hate in Cabot Cove Yep, still watching. 
Current Episode: Season 6, Episode 2 - Gypsy Sisters Bridal BrawlMy mom and I have been rewatching this when we have spare time and we're down to the last few episodes. 

 

New Obsessions & Recent Binges

Current Episode - Season 2 Episode 3 - Psy vs.  Pay I'm back to watching Psych! I love this show and it's on my rotation of shows I regularly rewatch. 

Just Added to My Watchlist / Just Gave it A Try

Current Episode: Season 1, Episode 3 - Don't Worry, It's His Sister I gave this show a try because every seems to have been raving about it forever and there's a book coming out this summer that sounds amazing and has Schitt's Creek vibes so I thought I'd see what the show is about. Honestly, I'm not sure I get the appeal. But I have a weird sense of humor and this just isn't hitting it.

Current Episode: Season 7, Episode 1 - The Party I'm trying to figure out if the Hallmark Movies Now app has Good Witch on it because I need to see Season 7! Wish me luck!

What are you currently binge-watching? Let me know in the comments!Happy binging!

I Can't Wait For... IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER!

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.
I read this author's book Reborn Yesterday last year and enjoyed it, now I'm interested in checking out this standalone rom-com...

It Happened One SummerStandaloneby Tessa Bailey
Rom-Com
eBook, Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, 416 Pages
July 13, 2021 by Avon Books

Blurb:
Tessa Bailey is back with a Schitt’s Creek-inspired rom-com about a Hollywood “It Girl” who is cut off from her wealthy family and exiled to a small Pacific Northwest beach town... where she butts heads with a surly, sexy local who thinks she doesn’t belong.

Piper Bellinger is fashionable, influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off, and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father’s dive bar... in Washington.

Piper hasn’t even been in Westport for five minutes when she meets big, bearded sea captain Brendan, who thinks she won’t last a week outside of Beverly Hills. So what if Piper can’t do math, and the idea of sleeping in a shabby apartment with bunk beds gives her hives. How bad could it really be? She’s determined to show her stepfather—and the hot, grumpy local—that she’s more than a pretty face.

Except it’s a small town and everywhere she turns, she bumps into Brendan. The fun-loving socialite and the gruff fisherman are polar opposites, but there’s an undeniable attraction simmering between them. Piper doesn’t want any distractions, especially feelings for a man who sails off into the sunset for weeks at a time. Yet as she reconnects with her past and begins to feel at home in Westport, Piper starts to wonder if the cold, glamorous life she knew is what she truly wants. LA is calling her name, but Brendan—and this town full of memories—may have already caught her heart.
Add to Goodreads | Amazon| Snowbound Books (Help Support My Favorite Indie Bookstore)
***Will you be checking this book out?