Always Me

      Happy Friday everyone!  Today's Halloween and I thought I'd share what I read my wrap up and mini reviews for the spooky books I read in October.  I wasn't able to get to all the books on my original tbr , but I think I did pretty good.  Without further ado, let's get to the reading material: ❋   ❋  ❋  ❋   Blood Debt  ( Vicki Nelson  #5) by Tanya Huff  isn't quite as good as the previous installment but I still enjoyed revisiting the characters even if so much has changed.  Vicki is different this time around and I totally didn't mind that at all.  It was interesting to see her coming into her new identity.  I can't wait to read Blood Bank and the Smoke Trilogy My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph . ❋   ❋  ❋  ❋   Religious cult horror set at a craft store is a pretty cool idea and  Crafting for Sinners  by Jenny Kiefer  really worked for me. It is a bit...

      On Friday's I take part in two weekly link ups - The Friday 56, currently hosted by  Anne @ My Head Is Full of Books , and Book Beginnings, hosted by  Rose City Reader .  For The Friday 56, you choose a book, a book you have just finished, a book you are about to start, your current read, and share a line or a few lines that grab you (but don't spoil anything) from page 56 or 56% of the way through the ebook. Post it and share your post's url on Anne's most recent Friday 56 post. As for Book Beginnings, you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires, and then link up your post's url with Rose City Reader. Happy Friday everyone!  This week I'm spotlighting one of my  Halloween Reads 2025  books,  Devil's Wake  ( Devil's Wake  #1) by Stephen Barnes and Tananarive Due .  I've been meaning on getting more caught up on Due's works and this seems like a good as a pla...

    Happy Thursday everyone! Welcome back to  Books from the Backlog , the weekly linkup I'm taking part of which is hosted by  Carole's Random Life in Books .  This is a great way to put a spotlight on books that I've had sitting on my shelf for awhile.  I don't know when I'll get to my weekly featured book, but I hope to some time hopefully soon. This Week's Neglected Book: Knight's Shadow ( Greatcoats #2) by Sebastien de Castell Published: December 8th, 2014 Genre: Fantasy My Copy: Format: Hardback Pages: 573 Where I Acquired It: Ollie's Bargain Outlet Summary (From Goodreads): A few days after the horrifying murder of a duke and his family, Falcio val Mond, swordsman and First Cantor of the Greatcoats, begins a deadly pursuit to capture the killer. But Falcio soon discovers his own life is in mortal danger from a poison administered as a final act of revenge by one of his deadliest enemies. As chaos and civil war begin to overtake the country...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by  That Artsy Reader Girl .  This week's topic is a Halloween Freebie, so I'm featuring ten of the best horror books I've read since this time last year.  Without further ado, here we go in alphabetical order by title: Blackout ( Newsflesh #3) by Mira Grant Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle Craven Manor by Darcy Coates Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman The September House by Carissa Orlando The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer To the Bone by Alena Bruzas Tombs by Junji Ito We Shall Be Monsters ( We Shall Be Monsters #1) by Tara Sim Have you read any of these books?  What are your recent favorite horror stories?  As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!

    Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let's share some songs we've been enjoying lately!  If you would like to play and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below. Rules: Every Monday share a few songs you've been enjoying lately.  It doesn't have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites - just something you'd like to share with others.  If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s). If you would like to participate in Music Monday, please join the link up by sharing your post's url.  Welcome back again!  Today, I'm featuring some of my favorite ghost videos from Louie Zong in honor of Halloween.  If you haven't heard these before they're so wholesome. Give a listen to Ghost Janitor , ghost castle , ghost swing , and ghost cowboys : You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter

      On Friday's I take part in two weekly link ups - The Friday 56, currently hosted by  Anne @ My Head Is Full of Books , and Book Beginnings, hosted by  Rose City Reader .  For The Friday 56, you choose a book, a book you have just finished, a book you are about to start, your current read, and share a line or a few lines that grab you (but don't spoil anything) from page 56 or 56% of the way through the ebook. Post it and share your post's url on Anne's most recent Friday 56 post. As for Book Beginnings, you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires, and then link up your post's url with Rose City Reader. Happy Friday everyone!  This week I'm spotlighting one of my  Halloween Reads 2025  books,  Our Wicked Histories  by Amy Goldsmith .  It sounds like the perfect time to read this YA horror story to me. Beginning: Rain spattered aggressively at the oval window as th...

    Happy Thursday everyone! Welcome back to  Books from the Backlog , the weekly linkup I'm taking part of which is hosted by  Carole's Random Life in Books .  This is a great way to put a spotlight on books that I've had sitting on my shelf for awhile.  I don't know when I'll get to my weekly featured book, but I hope to some time hopefully soon. This Week's Neglected Book: A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge Published: May 1st, 2012 Genre: YA fantasy  My Copy: Format: Trade paperback Pages: 496 Where I Acquired It: Ollie's Bargain Outlet Summary (From Goodreads): In the underground city of Caverna, the world’s most skilled craftspeople toil in the darkness to create delicacies beyond compare—wines that remove memories, cheeses that make you hallucinate, and perfumes that convince you to trust the wearer, even as he slits your throat. On the surface, the people of Caverna seem ordinary, except for one Their faces are as blank as untouched...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by  That Artsy Reader Girl .  This week's topic is Cozy/Atmospheric Reads and I've decided to feature Cozy SFF On My TBR.  I've enjoyed quite a few cozy fantasy and I need to read more.  Without further ado, here we go in alphabetical order by title: Brigands & Breadknives ( Legends & Lattes #2) b y Travis Baldree Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales ( Emily Wilde #3) by Heather Fawcett Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands ( Emily Wilde #2) by Heather Fawcett The Goblin Emperor ( The Chronicles of Osreth #1) by Katherine Addison The Keeper of Lonely Spirits by E.M. Anderson The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk Somewhere Beyond the Sea ( Cerulean Chronicles #2) by T.J. Klune The Spellshop ( Spellshop #1) by Sarah Beth Durst Swordheart ( Swordheart #1) by T. Kingfisher Wormwood Abbey ( The Secrets of Ormdale #1) by Christina Baehr Have you read any of these books?  What are some of...

Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let's share some songs we've been enjoying lately!  If you would like to play and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below. Rules: Every Monday share a few songs you've been enjoying lately.  It doesn't have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites - just something you'd like to share with others.  If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s). If you would like to participate in Music Monday, please join the link up by sharing your post's url.  Welcome back!  Today, I'm featuring some more favorites from  Brandon Fiechter's Music .  Like I keep saying, I always look forward to new stuff from these guys.  You can check out the last time I featured this channel on January 11, 2021 here .  Give a listen to Haunted Paintings and Pool of Dreams : You are invited to the Inlinkz link ...

      On Friday's I take part in two weekly link ups - The Friday 56, currently hosted by  Anne @ My Head Is Full of Books , and Book Beginnings, hosted by  Rose City Reader .  For The Friday 56, you choose a book, a book you have just finished, a book you are about to start, your current read, and share a line or a few lines that grab you (but don't spoil anything) from page 56 or 56% of the way through the ebook. Post it and share your post's url on Anne's most recent Friday 56 post. As for Book Beginnings, you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires, and then link up your post's url with Rose City Reader. Happy Friday everyone!  This week I'm spotlighting one of my  Halloween Reads 2025  books,  Voices in the Snow  ( Black Winter  #1) by Darcy Coates .  This author has become one of my favorites and what better time to read more from her in October!  This ...

  Happy Thursday everyone! Welcome back to  Books from the Backlog , the weekly linkup I'm taking part of which is hosted by  Carole's Random Life in Books .  This is a great way to put a spotlight on books that I've had sitting on my shelf for awhile.  I don't know when I'll get to my weekly featured book, but I hope to some time hopefully soon. This Week's Neglected Book: The Dark Sleep ( Vampire Files #8) by P.N. Elrod Published: 1999 Genre: Urban fantasy  My Copy: Format: Mass market paperback Pages: 368 Where I Acquired It: Yard sale Summary (From Goodreads): For vampire detective Jack Fleming, stalking the mean streets of post-prohibition Chicago is a walk in the park compared to the jealousy he's feeling about his girlfriend. A famous radio star has promised to get her some airplay, but Jack's convinced the star is more interested in a private performance. Before he can resolve this situation, Jack is hired to retrieve incriminating let...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by  That Artsy Reader Girl .  This week's topic is a non-book freebie, so I thought I'd feature ten favorite postcards I've received via Postcrossing .  I'll be the first to admit that some of these are bookish, but that's okay.  Now that I think about it, I've hardly ever mentioned that I'm a Postcrosser on here, but it quickly became one of my favorite hobbies.  Basically, the idea of Postcrossing is to send and receive postcards from all over the world and it's so cool! I've gotten a lot of great book recommendations from users over the last 2 years.  Anyway, for each of the cards I'm featuring I'll share the country I received it from and how far it traveled to get to me in Ohio.  Here we go, from closest to furthest away: United States (Virginia) - 273 miles - I think I need to get some postcards like these to send! United States (Illinois) - 342 miles - What a magical c...