Yolanda Sfetsos's Blog, page 42

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS Tarot Deck & Guidebook by Minerva Siegel & Abigail Larsen

 

The Nightmare Before Christmas Tarot Deck and Guidebook by Minerva Siegel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love The Nightmare Before Christmas and I love tarot cards, so this is definitely something that I've wanted to add to my collection for a while. And last year, my daughter gave me this lovely deck for Christmas. 😍

Everything about this deck is beautiful. Starting with the very sturdy pretty box, the guide book, and the actual cards.

The guide book is full of explanations to help you read the cards,...

THE SMALL HAND by Susan Hill

 

The Small Hand by Susan Hill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We used to go on thrift-store adventures a lot, but then Covid hit and we don't do that anymore, but I've still got a bunch of unread books from those hauls in multiple piles, and this is one of them.

I wasn't planning to read anything today because I wanted to sort through these books, but once I started this one I couldn't stop. 😬

Adam Snow is an antiquarian bookseller who is going home after visiting a client, when he takes a wrong tur...

Took a Break & Ended Up Doing Stuff

 

Hey! How are you today? What have you been up to? It's Friday, so I'm looking forward to this afternoon so we can start the weekend. 😍

As you probably already know, I always like to take a few weeks off between writing projects. But this time, I did things a bit differently. I took three weeks off and although I did take a reading break, I also wrote and revised two short stories.
One of them is just under 4k, and the other just under 1.5k. Both were dark ideas that I couldn't shake and demanded ...

BENNY ROSE, THE CANNIBAL KING by Hailey Piper

 

Benny Rose, the Cannibal King by Hailey Piper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've got a bunch of Rewind or Die novellas on my Paperwhite that I've been meaning to read for a while, so I thought I'd start with a Hailey Piper story.

Desiree lives in Blackwood, a boring town with a big legend. Benny Rose, the Cannibal King is a mysterious figure responsible for killing and eating children, as well as every other scary story they can attach to him. But during Halloween 1987, while trying to prank the new gir...

BOTTLED by Stephanie Ellis

 

Bottled by Stephanie Ellis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After reading an awesome and intense long book, I was in the mood for something shorter. While looking through my Paperwhite, this novella caught my eye because it sounded so different, and strange.

Tyler isn't in a good place right now. He's divorced, rarely sees his son, and is living with his pushy mother. That could all change if he abides by a stipulation in his grandfather's will. The only problem is that the house he has to return to left d...

DEAD TO HER by Sarah Pinborough

 

Dead to Her by Sarah Pinborough
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I always love reading a Sarah Pinborough book because she never disappoints. Her stories hook me in from the very beginning, and this was no different.

Marcie is married to Jason Maddox and is part of Savannah's high-society, but has several secrets stashed away. Keisha is William Radford IV's new young bride, living in the shadow of his dead wife, trying to live this unfamiliar life for the sake of survival and escape. But when one woman sus...

IN THE ARTIC SUN by Rowan Hill

 

In the Arctic Sun by Rowan Hill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I pre-ordered this novella and it hit my Paperwhite last week, so I was eager to get stuck into it. The premise sounded so intriguing.

Sarah lives in Alaska, isolated from the world after her husband and her exchanged the fast-paced city life for something quieter. But their marriage has hit a stumbling block and she's living alone. Well, as alone as she can be with the bright orb of the sun burning in the sky all day, constant drilling, a ne...

CURSED OBJECTS Strange but True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items by J.W. Ocker

 

Cursed Objects: Strange But True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items by J.W. Ocker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This little beauty caught my eye for two reasons: that cover is amazing, and cursed objects intrigue me. Besides, I'm always looking for new research fodder for my own stories. 😁

I had a LOT of fun reading this book, and liked the awesome illustrations throughout. The hardcover edition is stunning and packed full of interesting info. As well as some unexpected humour, which I wasn't ex...

KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE by Eiko Kadono

 

Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service is one of my comfort movies. A movie I've watched countless of times and always look forward to watching again because I love it so much. And to be honest, I didn't know it was a book first... but when I found out, I couldn't wait to check it out.

Kiki is a witch with a black cat called Jiji. She lives in a small town, but when she comes of age, she has to fly out into the world to find her own ...

THE EYES BENEATH MY FATHER'S HOUSE by Tyler Bell

 

In the dusty agave fields of the Guadalajara countryside, a peasant girl cuts a deal with the insidious thing living beneath her father’s house. An industrial accident aboard a space station in humanity’s distant future forces an unappreciated laborer to survive an unpredictable alien menace. A young man recounts his last days as the caretaker of a reclusive elderly woman in her remote - and possibly haunted - mansion. Welcome to the Westside Fairytales, where nothing is as it seems and everyth...