Farm News - April 21, 2024

It's been a while since I've done a "news" update so thought I better pop in today before the day was over.  Two weeks ago on a Saturday morning, we got a phone call that my mother-in-law had been discovered dead in her apartment.  She was 85 and had some health issues which were maintained through medicine but no major illness, so this was kind of a shock for all involved.  I took off several days to be with my husband and help with all the arrangements.  She wanted to be cremated so we took care of that and then yesterday, we had a Memorial gathering for family and friends at a local church.  It seems she died peacefully in her bed at home and when it all comes down to it, I think that's not a bad way to go.

The pups are doing fine.  Zeke is growing and is still in the skinny awkward phase.  Boxers really don't "beef" up until they turn one and he is only eight months old, so he has a way to go.  He still insists on putting anything he can into his mouth, and we have to keep on him all the time.  I keep reminding myself he is just a puppy.  Apollo loves him though even if he does try his patience at times and I can't imagine the house without them both.

I have been managing to get quite a bit of reading done this month, but I can't believe how fast it is flying.  I have training the last few days of the month and the first three of May.  I will be coming home each night but it's still about an 80-minute drive each way so it will be a long week.  It's so I can become a certified training.  I won't be changing jobs but doing so makes me eligible for a 5% raise at the end of the year.  I am currently reading One of Us Knows by Alyssa Cole. It was just released this week so I'm not sure how it came in on Libby so fast.  Her last thriller was just okay for me and I'm not sure about this one.  I'm only 80 or so pages in and to be honest, I want to know what happens but apparently, I don't want to read it because it's been slow going.

I managed to get some review books in from Netgalley and want to thank them and the publishers for sending them my way.

Cinderwitch: Cherie Priest 

How to Help a Hungry Werewolf: Charlotte Stein

Through the Midnight Door: Katrina Monroe

How to Kill a Guy in Ten Ways: Eve Kellman

Long Live Evil: Sarah Rees Brennan

Worst in Show:  Anna E. Collins

So, I hope everyone is having a great week. Look for a few reviews and my usual Feed Your TBR post on Wednesday.  Thanks for visiting Booker T's Farm!

New Favorite Dog Character!

 

TITLE: Bless Your Heart (Bless Your Heart #1)

AUTHOR: Lindy Ryan

PUBLISHER: Minotaur Books

PUBLISHING DATE: April 9, 2024

PAGES: 304   

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: Rise and shine. The Evans women have some undead to kill. 

It’s 1999 in Southeast Texas and the Evans women, owners of the only funeral parlor in town, are keeping steady with…normal business. The dead die, you bury them. End of story. That’s how Ducey Evans has done it for the last eighty years, and her progeny―Lenore the experimenter and Grace, Lenore’s soft-hearted daughter, have run Evans Funeral Parlor for the last fifteen years without drama. Ever since That Godawful Mess that left two bodies in the ground and Grace raising her infant daughter Luna, alone. 

But when town gossip Mina Jean Murphy’s body is brought in for a regular burial and she rises from the dead instead, it’s clear that the Strigoi―the original vampire―are back. And the Evans women are the ones who need to fight back to protect their town. 

As more folks in town turn up dead and Deputy Roger Taylor begins asking way too many questions, Ducey, Lenore, Grace, and now Luna, must take up their blades and figure out who is behind the Strigoi’s return. As the saying goes, what rises up, must go back down. But as unspoken secrets and revelations spill from the past into the present, the Evans family must face that sometimes, the dead aren’t the only things you want to keep buried. 

A crackling mystery-horror novel with big-hearted characters and Southern charm with a bite, Bless Your Heart is a gasp-worthy delight from start to finish.

MY THOUGHTS: I'm going to be honest here.  During the first 50 or so pages of this book, for a few reasons, including that I had a hard time keeping all the characters in the Evans family straight in my head, it was shaping up to be a 3/5 read.  However, when it finally all clicked for me and with what happened in the book, it quickly jumped in rating and enjoyment.  

For years, the Evans family have secretly guarded their town and kept it safe from the restless dead.  Generations have run the local funeral home and know the story of what happened during the "Godawful Mess" incident.  Now, for some reason, the dead are once again rising.  Ducey, Lenore and Grace fear it has something to do with Grace's daughter, Luna, who has no idea what the family is involved in.  When an odd boy named Crane arrives in town and takes an interest in Luna, the family is sure everything is related.  But can they get to the bottom of the situation before the secret is exposed and before too many people die? 

Once I got them all straight, I loved the characters.  Ducey is the eldest, her daughter Lenore is next in line and then finally there is Grace and her daughter Luna.  They are definitely Southern Texas women with southern charm and language to boot.  Luna is trying to figure her life out and once a HUGE secret is revealed, she is even more confused.  I also loved Belle, the idiot Sheriff's dog.  I thought this book was going to go there and kill off Belle, but man, the author pulled it out and SMALL SPOILER - Belle lives!  Despite it being touch and go (and let's get real, all animal lovers don't really consider this a spoiler, right?).  I also enjoyed the side characters which heavily lent to explaining the backstory of the town and its current state of affairs.

Finally, I have to mention the monsters in the book.  They are referred to as strigoi, and seem more like a cross between zombies and vampires.  They are definitely not your romantic, sparkling vamps and I couldn't be more pleased.  This blood is moderate on horror, blood and gore and high on charm and mystery.  I would best compare it to the books by Grady Hendrix and if you enjoy him, then definitely pick this up.  I had no idea until this week that apparently there is another book in the works, and I can't wait to see what happens next!

MY RATING: 5 PAWS

Feed Your TBR - Good Dogs

 

Can't Wait Wednesday, which I have adapted to better suit my blog as "Feed Your TBR" is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

October 1, 2024

SYNOPSIS: The debut novel from viral horror sensation Brian Asman, Good Dogs is a heartfelt and harrowing story of survival, belonging, found family, and the lengths we’ll go to protect it.

No one ever said being a werewolf was easy. Take Delia, for instance. She’s spent much of her life fighting against her own nature, plagued by nightmares of childhood trauma, and trying to find her place in the world. Many werewolves are just like her: ostracized by their families, forced to live alone and in secret as they await those nights when the Change overtakes them.

Becoming the den mother to an odd bunch of lycanthropes in Southern California isn’t exactly the answer Delia was looking for. But under the strict rules of the house, they are able to manage the Change safely, and hunt without endangering their San Diego suburb. And they aren’t lone wolves anymore, they’re a pack—a family.

But when one member’s carelessness leads to the discovery of a severed leg in their backyard, Delia and the rest of her family are forced to confront the cold, hard fact they’ve known all along—they don’t belong here. Their only option is to cover up the kill and head into the wilderness, far from people. There, hopefully, they can live out their lives without posing a threat to anyone else.

At home, they might’ve been apex predators. But in the wilds around Talbot—a town abandoned for a century—Delia and her pack aren’t the only ones with a savage bite …

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: I love a good found-family trope when you add in werewolves, definitely one for me!  Plus, I love this cover and could see me even preordering it. 

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK???

A Slow Trip Into Madness

 

TITLE: Their Hearses

AUTHOR: E.L. Giles

PUBLISHER: Horrorsmith Publishing

PUBLISHING DATE: April 1, 2024

PAGES: 125   

SOURCE: From Publisher

FROM GOODREADS: Years ago, John Berryman was responsible for the deaths of his two children and their nanny. But John Berryman was never seen or heard from again. He simply...vanished.

Now, decades later, someone has finally purchased John Berryman's rambling old house. Marc Larose is no stranger to loss. He hopes to bring the decaying structure to its former glory, a warm place where his family can heal and begin anew, but if these walls could talk, they'd speak of death. Only, Marc isn't listening. 

Something vengeful still lingers in the shadows of the old willow, and it has its eyes set on Marc. It isn't long before he is caught in the tangles of mystery, fear, and deceit, where forces beyond his control are vying for his very soul. Will Marc figure out who...or what...is haunting his new home before he becomes its next victim?

MY THOUGHTS: I guess I have discovered that I may not be that big of a fan of grief horror.  However, I do not think that should reflect negatively on this book or the author as Giles has done a great job with his latest book.  This book filled me with sadness, an overwhelming feeling of dread, and anxiety - not bad for 125 pages!

Marc lost his son to a tragic accident over a year ago.  Since then, he has distanced himself from his wife and daughters.  Hoping to rebuild his family, he has purchased a fixer-upper in a local town.  Marc starts to work on the place and as he does, learns that maybe has has made a mistake.  The home is the location of a triple homicide, with two victims being young children, similar in age to his children.  Marc starts to become obsessed with a particular location under a weeping willow on the property, and also with the spirit telling him how he can be reunified with his lost son.

This novella is technically a sequel to Giles' book Will-o the Wis but the publisher is clear it can also be read as a standalone. However, as a completist, I did pick up the other book first and I think it made reading Their Hearses that much more intense.  Marc is full of grief and Giles makes the reader experience his grief alongside Marc. It didn't take long before I felt like I was falling into the same despair as the main character.  

My main problem with this book was basically that I may have read it too closely to a recent death of a family member, so it only intensified an already present feeling of dread and depression.  So, as I said, I found Their Hearses to be well-written and quite interesting, but I will probably be staying away from grief horror for a while.  If you enjoy this subgenre of horror though, this is definitely a book you will want to grab. 

MY RATING: 3 Paws

Ewwww!!!! 🐀🐀🐀

 

Stormi reached out to meet late last night and asked if I wanted to join her for a couple of horror reads in April.  She is participating in the Old School April over on Booktube and I'll use any excuse to read more horror books.  So, she picked this one and another one for later in the month.  Read on for my thoughts and then hop over to Storm Reads to hear her take on it.

TITLE: The Rats

AUTHOR: James Herbert

PUBLISHER: Pan Publishing

PUBLISHING DATE: January 1, 1974

PAGES: 212   

SOURCE: Own

FROM GOODREADS: For millions of years man and rats had been natural enemies. But now for the first time - suddenly, shockingly, horribly - the balance of power had shifted and the rats began to prey on the human population.

MY THOUGHTS: Not much of a synopsis huh?  Well, even though there is a plot, the book is a lot of rats mutilating and scaring people and animals so if creature features aren't your thing, then you might want to pass this one up.  

This book takes place in 1974 London.  A giant mutant rat has been spotted and right off the bat, we have human, baby and dog death.  However, I was warned so I was prepared and let's be honest, I rarely care what happens to human beings in horror.  The MC, Harris, is pretty much a teacher who has returned to his hometown with his girlfriend, grasping for something from his past but I'm really not sure what. He came from the poorer part of town and is bent on saving other kids facing similar situations.  However, when one of his students gets attacked, Harris finds himself right in the middle of a mass rat invasion and an intense extermination mission.

This book is short and fast.  There were some chapters which seemed like their own short story, yet the author did manage to make them all tie in and add relevance to the plot.  This book came close to being a 4/5 but there was one scene where SPOLIER ALERT puppies were used as bait.  I would have rather seen them sacrifice humans - mean I know but I make no apologies.  I am glad to finally read some classic horror and might even consider reading the next two books in the trilogy.  If you like action-packed blood and gore, then give this one a go.

MY RATING: 3 Paws

Feed Your TBR - You Better Watch Out

 

Can't Wait Wednesday, which I have adapted to better suit my blog as "Feed Your TBR" is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

October 15, 2024

FROM GOODREADS: Forty-eight hours until Christmas, Jessica Kane wakes up with blurred vision, ears ringing, and in excruciating pain. A gash in her head and blood running down her face, the last thing she remembers is going for a run and something or someone hitting her in the head. It doesn't take her long to realize she is trapped in an unknown, deserted town with five other strangers who share similar stories of being attacked and stranded there.

Unsure why and how they got there, she knows one thing for certain, she has to find a way out. That becomes nearly impossible when someone is meticulously orchestrating their deaths, one by one, and the only thing Jessica can do is watch the life leave their eyes. The fenced-in town is the killer’s very own playground and there's nowhere left to hide... she better watch out because she could be next.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  I've read a few other books by this author combination and am a fan of James S. Murray from Impractical Jokers, even though I can I only take him in small doses. This one sounds like a fun and it's nice to plan a few Christmas reads each year which AREN'T romances.

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK???

An Interesting Sequel

 

TITLE: Everyone on This Train is a Suspect

AUTHOR: Benjamin Stevenson

PUBLISHER: Mariner Books

PUBLISHING DATE: January 30, 2024

PAGES: 320   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each other. Obviously, that didn’t pan out.

The program is a who’s who of crime writing royalty: 

the debut writer (me!) 

the forensic science writer 

the blockbuster writer 

the legal thriller writer 

the literary writer 

the psychological suspense writer 

But when one of us is murdered, the remaining authors quickly turn into five detectives. Together, we should know how to solve a crime. Of course, we should also know how to commit one.

MY THOUGHTS: I really loved this author's debut last year, so I was thrilled to pick up this sequel.  After writing a book detailing his family's murder adventure last year, Ernest has been able to claim some fame and is now working on his second book.  He is invited to be a panelist on a crime-writing festival where he will get to sit alongside of some of the biggest names in the crime fiction game.  It doesn't take long before Ernest finds himself in the middle of another murder mystery, except this time he and his girlfriend are on a train traveling through Australia with very few stops and even fewer ways to not be the next victim.  Surely, Ernest and the others can figure out who murdered their fellow writer before someone else dies.

What works best for me about this book and the previous one is the way the writer breaks the 4th Wall with the main character, which adds an extra level of intrigue and sarcasm.  The book is full of devious characters doing devious things and it's fun to be along in the mind of Ernest as he tries to unravel what is happening.  In addition, Ernest's uncle again makes a brief appearance and while you kind of have to suspend some belief regarding the role he actually plays in everything, he does add a big dose of comic relief and made me shake my head on more than one occasion.

If you haven't tried this series yet, you really need to do so.  I think the first book is slightly better, but this one is a strong follow up and I'm curious to see if the author has anything else planned for Ernest in the future.  Even if he doesn't, I'm still interested to check him out.

MY RATING: 4 PAWS