Did you grow up playing boardgames? Do you still? Then check out this tag!
Carrie @ Carries Book Reviews and I were chatting about ‘In the Hall with the Knife‘ by Diana Peterfruend, a book based off the nostalgic and quirky board game ‘Clue‘. Brilliant idea, really.
We thought, how fun would it be if an author/authors were to write a collection of retellings inspired by the many fantastic games we grew up knowing and loving.
Wouldn’t that be something else?
Our conversation gave me the inspiration for this tag.
This one’s for you, Carrie!
Happy Reading!
The Rules:
- Thank the creator and link back to their page, that’s me, Sheri @ ReadBetwixtWords
- Choose any book you feel is the most suitable for each question
- Tag your friends to share the fun!
I also encourage you to support these blogs and the bloggers who put in countless hours by liking and commenting. Thank you!
(Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Any purchases made through my links may earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you.)
Clue: A Mystery!
A mystery you’re looking forward to/or enjoyed unraveling:
I’m looking forward to many.. but here’s one of them!
New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson weaves a delicate tale of murder and mystery in the first book of a striking new series, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and E. Lockhart.
Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.”
Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history.
True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester.
But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder.
Mouse Trap: Don’t Get Caught!
A character on the run or is keeping secrets they don’t want revealed:
Enter the world of the Others in the first novel in New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop’s thrilling fantasy series: a place where unearthly entities—vampires and shape-shifters among them—rule the Earth and prey on the human race.
As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.
Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.
Monopoly: No Happy Ending
A book that doesn’t end well for anyone:
The Queen of All That Dies by Laura Thalassa
In the future, the world is at war.
For the last decade, King Lazuli of the Eastern Empire has systematically taken over the world. No one knows much about him other than a series of impossible facts: he cannot die, he has not aged since the conflict began, and he wants to rule the world.
All Serenity Freeman has known is bloodshed. War has taken away her mother, her home, her safety. As the future emissary of the Western United Nations, the last autonomous region of the globe, she is responsible for forging alliances where she can.
Surrender is on the horizon. The king can taste it; Serenity feels it deep within her bones. There is no other option. Now the two must come face to face. For Serenity, that means confronting the man who’s taken everything from her. For the king, it means meeting the one woman he can’t conquer. But when they meet, something happens. Cruelty finds redemption.
Only in war, everything comes with a price. Especially love.
Life: Like Coming Home
A character that finds somewhere they belong:
Love Is Not Lost by Nikki Bolvair
All sixteen-year-old Faith Daniels, or Daniels for short, wanted was a chance. A chance to forget her dark past and forge her own future. But that’s hard to do when your past is full of great darkness.
Death always comes at a hefty price, more so, when you’re unsure if you’ve carried out such a sentence.
Given the chance to break free from her hometown with an officer by her side, Daniels will find out that sometimes it’s not the past you have to be worried about; the future can be just as scary. Especially in a new town where three hot neighbor guys want your attention.
As Tyler, Kayden and Lincoln McGuire try to break down the walls Daniels has formed; things get a little out of hand.
Maybe it was the dumb mutt that kept harassing her or the crazy cop foster parent that seemed to keep her on her toes, either way; Daniels walls were cracking. Sometimes it takes more than just one guy to keep your walls down. To gain your trust. To help you love again.
Maybe for Daniels, three guys was her lucky number.
Snakes and Ladders: Power and Greed
A book filled with untrustworthy characters:
In My Dreams I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead
Six friends.
One college reunion.
One unsolved murder.
Ten years after graduation, Jessica Miller has planned her triumphant return to her southern, elite Duquette University, down to the envious whispers that are sure to follow in her wake. Everyone is going to see the girl she wants them to see—confident, beautiful, indifferent. Not the girl she was when she left campus, back when Heather Shelby’s murder fractured everything, including the tight bond linking the six friends she’d been closest to since freshman year.
But not everyone is ready to move on. Not everyone left Duquette ten years ago, and not everyone can let Heather’s murder go unsolved. Someone is determined to trap the real killer, to make the guilty pay. When the six friends are reunited, they will be forced to confront what happened that night—and the years’ worth of secrets each of them would do anything to keep hidden.
Told in racing dual timelines, with a dark campus setting and a darker look at friendship, love, obsession, and ambition, In My Dreams I Hold A Knife is an addictive, propulsive read you won’t be able to put down.
Operation: I’d rather not..
A book you found particularly disturbing:
The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison
Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden.
In this garden grow luscious flowers, shady trees…and a collection of precious “butterflies”—young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble their namesakes. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens.
When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers. But the girl, known only as Maya, proves to be a puzzle herself.
As her story twists and turns, slowly shedding light on life in the Butterfly Garden, Maya reveals old grudges, new saviors, and horrific tales of a man who’d go to any length to hold beauty captive. But the more she shares, the more the agents have to wonder what she’s still hiding…
Candyland: Loved it!
A book with sweet, fun, and lovable characters:
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl’s castle.
To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there’s far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.
In this giant jigsaw puzzle of a fantasy, people and things are never quite what they seem. Destinies are intertwined, identities exchanged, lovers confused. The Witch has placed a spell on Howl. Does the clue to breaking it lie in a famous poem? And what will happen to Sophie Hatter when she enters Howl’s castle?
Sorry!: Not Sorry!
A book that was unpredictable or unexpected:
All the Missing Girls: A Novel by Megan Miranda
Like the spellbinding psychological suspense in The Girl on the Train and Luckiest Girl Alive, Megan Miranda’s novel is a nail-biting, breathtaking story about the disappearances of two young women—a decade apart—told in reverse.
It’s been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched.
The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is dating Annaleise Carter, Nic’s younger neighbor and the group’s alibi the night Corinne disappeared. Then, within days of Nic’s return, Annaleise goes missing.
Told backwards—Day 15 to Day 1—from the time Annaleise goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her younger neighbor’s disappearance, revealing shocking truths about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne that night ten years ago.
Twister: Natural Disaster
A book that respects mother nature or the elements:
The Wardens Association has been around pretty much forever. Some Wardens control Fire, others control Earth or Water or Wind—and the most powerful can control more than one. Without wardens, Mother Nature would wipe humanity off the face of the earth…
Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden. Usually, all it takes is a wave of her hand to tame the most violent weather. But now, Joanne is trying to outrun another kind of storm: accusations of corruption and murder. So, she’s resorting to the very human tactic of running for her life…
Her only hope is Lewis, the most powerful warden known. Unfortunately, he’s also on the run from the Council. It seems he’s stolen not one but three bottles of Djinn—making him the most wanted man on earth. And without Lewis, Joanne’s chances of surviving are as good as a snowball in—well, a place she may be headed. So, she and her classic Mustang are racing hard to find him—because there’s some bad weather closing in fast…
Not exactly what we had in mind, Carrie, but it was a great distraction!
If you enjoyed this tag, join in the fun, all are welcome to participate!
What was your favorite game growing up?
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Wonderful post, Sheri! You’ve just added several more titles to my TBR. ❤📚
Thank you! I’m so glad you found something you liked, tags are such a fun way to share!
What an unusual tag. I would love to see Clue on there.
I did read All the Missing Girls. That one was really different with the reverse telling!
Your wish.. is my command! Just playing around but, really, I did go back and add Clue. I can’t believe I actually forgot to include it so.. thank you!
And it really was! The author did a fantastic job weaving it all together like that, it kept me on the edge of my seat!
Thank you for stopping and commenting, I really appreciate it! 🌹
Such an interesting book tag idea! I have to do it too.
Thank you, I’m glad you liked it! I can’t wait to see yours!
Fascinating tag! I think Sorry was my favorite game growing up. Tough, Mousetrap was my favorite game to set up and play with – I don’t know if I ever actually played the game as it was intended. lol.
Thank you! I enjoyed making it! Sorry was fun but.. I’m pretty sure Mouse Trap is the only reason I can assemble IKEA furniture. That game was so much fun to do all kinds of things with. 😅🤣
I don’t think I could choose just one as a favorite.. they all had something great about them.
Thanks so much for your comment, Tessa, have a beautiful weekend!
Haha wonderful idea Sheri! I love how creative you were linking the games! Now we just need to find our author to fall in love with the idea of writing a series.😀
Thank you! I couldn’t have done it without you! 😋
Or several authors! Maybe make it into a collaborative collection or something?
Ooohhh perhaps their favorite childhood game? I am picturing something like the cozy character has to find the killer over on Park Place in one story and in the library with the candlestick in another.
Oh my goodness.. that just made me picture the Scooby-doo part where they’re all in a hallway going through one door and coming out another as the others do the same thing. So maybe the character would step Through Park Place after solving that murder and Into the library of another book..
We have the most interesting conversations. 😆
Haha that could turn the whole series into a middle grade mash up, which may not be a bad market either as I’d probably still read it!
I can see that actually working out pretty well! I wouldn’t begin to know how to get someone to write it, though.. What are your feelings about becoming an author? 🤔
Jk! I think..
Oh believe me if I had a creative bone in me I would have started writing already since I love reading them!🤣
Have you not read your own reviews? Girl, you’re crazy good at writing! I do get that it’s different though.. or I would be doing it myself!
Haha definitely a lot different to come up with everything from scratch than a couple lines for a summary. I would be an editor’s nightmare, I just know it! 🤣
Hey, that’s their job.. to edit. All you would have to do is come up with an idea, do a crapton of research, create people/places/worlds/an interesting plot/opposition/and more.. Easy peasy!
This is such a fun tag! I’m adding several of these to my TBR. Truly Devious is a fantastic series, hope you enjoy it!
That really is the best compliment you could give! Thank you and Happy reading!
And I just hope I haven’t set my expectations too high with Truly Devious..
What a fun tag, Sheri. Very creative. I loved board games as a kid and I think my favourite was Sorry. I think it was probably because I played it at my grandparents all the time when I was there. I play it now with my grandchildren, they love it. Mousetrap was one I didn’t enjoy as a child, but when I had children, we played it all the time, probably because I knew how it worked by then. 😁
Thank you, Carla, I had so much fun making it! Sorry seems to be the general favorite, probably even with Clue, which makes sense!
I don’t think I could pick just one. I love almost all games. Even Monopoly.. which is just dangerous.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the tag, thank you for taking the time to check it out, and I hope you have a lovely night!
I loved the idea! I am definitely doing this tag when I have the time!
Thanks! I really liked putting this one together. Let me know if you get a chance to do it alright? I would love to see!
I will! 🙂
Thank you! Be well and have a beautiful week! 😊