Another great month of reading has ended..
What wonders await us this December?
Hello, my fellow readers, how are you holding up?
Winter has begun, Christmas draws near, and before long we’ll begin a new year.
We have so many incredible books coming out over the next few months so be sure to keep your eyes peeled!
This November I participated in the ‘SpelltheMonthinBooks‘ challenge, thoughtfully created by Jana @ Reviews From the Stacks, and I’m more than happy with the results..
Eight really doesn’t seem like many compared to overwhelming number of books in our TBRs.. but even that is quite a bit when you have life to contend with. I gave myself the goal of getting to at least four of my choices and am delighted to say that I was able to finish five.
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What I have read:
Violet Grenade by Victoria Scott 4/5
You can read my review Here
Her name is Domino Ray.
But the voice inside her head has a different name.
When the mysterious Ms. Karina finds Domino in an alleyway, she offers her a position at her girls’ home in secluded West Texas. With no alternatives and an agenda of her own, Domino accepts. It isn’t long before she is fighting her way up the ranks to gain the woman’s approval…and falling for Cain, the mysterious boy living in the basement.
But the home has horrible secrets. So do the girls living there. So does Cain.
Escaping is harder than Domino expects, though, because Ms. Karina doesn’t like to lose inventory. But then, she doesn’t know about the danger living inside Domino’s mind.
She doesn’t know about Wilson.
Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone 5/5
You can read my review Here
Cat lives in Los Angeles, far from 36 Westeryk Road, the imposing gothic house in Edinburgh where she and her estranged twin sister, El, grew up. As girls, they invented Mirrorland, a dark, imaginary place under the pantry stairs, full of pirates, witches, and clowns. These days, Cat rarely thinks about their childhood home, or the fact that El now lives there with her husband, Ross.
But when El mysteriously disappears after going out on her sailboat, Cat is forced to return to 36 Westeryk Road, which hasn’t changed in twenty years. The grand old house is still full of shadowy corners, and at every turn Cat finds herself stumbling on long-held secrets and terrifying ghosts from the past. Because someone—El?—has left Cat clues: a treasure hunt that leads back to Mirrorland, where the truth lies waiting…
The Noise: A Thriller by James Patterson and J. D. Barker
If you hear it, it’s too late.
“A really entertaining thriller [that] like Michael Crichton . . . keeps racheting up the suspense.” –Booklist
In the shadow of Mount Hood, sixteen-year-old Tennant is checking rabbit traps with her eight-year-old sister Sophie when the girls are suddenly overcome by a strange vibration rising out of the forest, building in intensity until it sounds like a deafening crescendo of screams. From out of nowhere, their father sweeps them up and drops them through a trapdoor into a storm cellar. But the sound only gets worse . . .
They thought she was insane. But what if she was telling the truth?
1942, New Zealand. Edith’s been locked away for a long time. She was just five years old when she was sent to Seacliff Lunatic Asylum. Fifteen years later, she has few memories of her life before the asylum, but longs for one beyond it.
When she survives a devastating fire that destroys her ward, Edith is questioned by the police and a young doctor, Declan Harris. Intrigued by his beautiful patient, Declan begins to doubt the official reasons for her incarceration. Is she truly mad—or could the impossible stories she told as a child actually be true.
Time is running out. With Edie awaiting a new and permanent treatment, soon there will be little of her left to save. Meanwhile intrigue has tipped into obsession—Declan needs to uncover the truth, but in doing so he will risk losing everything. As he sets out to save her mind, will he lose his own?
Echo: A Reverse Harem & Age Gap Novel by Seven Rue
Echo
No one would be looking for me. Or so I thought.
I ran away from the vile man my mother left me with, hoping to start over again in a different town.
But deep in the Alaskan wilderness, where I chose to run off to, there wasn’t a place I could settle down.
After days of walking and getting lost, I found shelter in a cabin, far away from civilization.
Until one day, they arrived.
Three brothers, one stronger and more complex than the other.
They let me stay, and the more time that past, the closer I got to each of them.
I soon realized that all three had an effect on me, and I couldn’t deny the feelings I felt when I was around them.
Our bond grew strong, and before leaving the cabin to go home with them, they promised me to keep me safe forever.
But when the two people I wanted to leave behind came looking for me, promising me to be a family again, I had to decide if I wanted to spend the rest of my life with them, or the three men who took care of me.
What I’m Reading Now:
The Leaving by Tara Altebrando
Six were taken. Eleven years later, five come back–with no idea of where they’ve been. A riveting mystery for fans of We Were Liars.
Eleven years ago, six kindergartners went missing without a trace. After all that time, the people left behind moved on, or tried to.
Until today. Today five of those kids return. They’re sixteen, and they are . . . fine. Scarlett comes home and finds a mom she barely recognizes, and doesn’t really recognize the person she’s supposed to be, either. But she thinks she remembers Lucas. Lucas remembers Scarlett, too, except they’re entirely unable to recall where they’ve been or what happened to them. Neither of them remember the sixth victim, Max–the only one who hasn’t come back. Which leaves Max’s sister, Avery, wanting answers. She wants to find her brother–dead or alive–and isn’t buying this whole memory-loss story. But as details of the disappearance begin to unfold, no one is prepared for the truth.
What I hope to read next.. but may completely disregard for something else entirely:
These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant
No electricity, no family, no connection to the outside world.
For eight years, Cooper and his young daughter, Finch, have lived in isolation in a remote cabin in the northern Appalachian woods. And that’s exactly the way Cooper wants it, because he’s got a lot to hide. Finch has been raised on the books filling the cabin’s shelves and the beautiful but brutal code of life in the wilderness. But she’s starting to push back against the sheltered life Cooper has created for her—and he’s still haunted by the painful truth of what it took to get them there.
The only people who know they exist are a mysterious local hermit named Scotland, and Cooper’s old friend, Jake, who visits each winter to bring them food and supplies. But this year, Jake doesn’t show up, setting off an irreversible chain of events that reveals just how precarious their situation really is. Suddenly, the boundaries of their safe haven have blurred—and when a stranger wanders into their woods, Finch’s growing obsession with her could put them all in danger. After a shocking disappearance threatens to upend the only life Finch has ever known, Cooper is forced to decide whether to keep hiding—or finally face the sins of his past.
Forget Me Not by Alexandra Oliva
What if your past wasn’t what you thought?
As a child, Linda Russell was left to raise herself in a twenty-acre walled-off property in rural Washington. The woods were her home, and for twelve years she lived oblivious to a stark and terrible truth: Her mother had birthed her only to replace another daughter who died in a tragic accident years before.
Then one day Linda witnesses something she wasn’t meant to see. Terrified and alone, she climbs the wall and abandons her home, but her escape becomes a different kind of trap when she is thrust into the modern world—a world for which she is not only entirely unprepared, but which is unprepared to accept her.
And you couldn’t see a future for yourself?
Years later, Linda is living in bustling Seattle, but she has never felt more alone. With social media more ubiquitous than ever before, she is hounded by the society she is now forced to inhabit. When Linda meets a fascinating new neighbor who might just be a potential friend, and who shows her the possibility of a new escape through virtual reality, she begins to allow herself to hope for more by being sucked into a world that feels safe, but isn’t real.
What would it take to reclaim your life?
Then an unexplained fire at her infamous childhood home jolts Linda back to reality. She must return to the property for the first time since she was a girl, unleashing a chain of events that will not only endanger her life but challenge her understanding of family, memory, and the world itself.
And that’s my November in books!
How was yours?
Thanks so much for taking the time, stopping in, and reading my post. I hope you were able to find something of interest to you. Until next time..
Be sure to stay safe out there!
I loved The Noise, Sheri and hope that you did too. The Other Girl looks really interesting, I might see if our local library has it. ❤📚
The Noise was fantastic, Sandy, definitely one of my favorite reads this year. I had forgotten just how intense Patterson’s books could be.
And The Other Girl was interesting but I wasn’t as drawn into it as I’d have liked.. Probably because I read it after The Noise. 🤭
You had a great month of reading, Sheri. My kindle overfloweth, but I just might pick up These Silent Woods. I like those kinds of “stuck in the wilderness” stories. Happy Reading.
I really did, thank you! And that one really has me curious, too, I’m a big fan of survival stories. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that we both enjoy it!
Have you read Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis? You might really like that one.
I haven’t read McGinnis. I’m going to scoot over to Amazon and wishlist it. 🙂
I had never heard of her but that’s one of the great things about blogging.. finding and sharing all these hidden gems.
I added her book to my wishlist. Now to dig out of my tbr pile so I can get to it!
Go towards the light.. The reading light! 🤭😂
🙂
Just added it!
That’s so great! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Ha! Forgot that I already told you I got it.
No worries! With how much there is to juggle with blogging.. It would be more surprising if we didn’t repeat some things every now and then.
Stay safe and have a lovely week!
November was a good reading month! Hope December is as good ❤️
Completely agree!
And it would be so great if it is.. There are still (and always will be) so many more incredible books to read. 💕
Best of luck to you!
Always! ❤️
Wow these all sound so good
They really were! Hopefully the good fortune continues!
How are you enjoying your latest?
I’m doing a Hanukkah readathon, so I’m completely immersed in that and loving it!!
Mazel tof! There are so many fantastic challenges to take part in!
I threw out my original TBR for the month and have decided to try a few Christmas books.. maybe I’ll find some holiday cheer in one of those.
Best of luck!
Thank you! I hope you find your holiday cheer!
You’re welcome and thank you, too.. I’m hoping I’ll find it somewhere!
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What a wonderful tag, Nehal! Is this the one you weren’t sure about because.. Wow! You had nothing to worry about at all.
Thank you so much for thinking on me, I’m touched, and I can’t wait to do this one myself!