Tag: Dark Roads

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Animals in Them

On By JolieIn book reviewLeave a comment

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

How it works:

She assigns each Tuesday a topic and then posts her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

As with all TTTs, today’s prompt gave me a huge grin on my face. I love animals and I love it when animals are featured in books I am reading. For me, sometimes just having an animal (notice I didn’t say pet) adds that extra oomph that I need to enjoy the book.

Do you like books with animals? If so, what are your favorite books? Let me know so I can either A. say “Oh I read that” or B. Go and add it to my already overfull TBR shelf….lol.

1. The Others series by Anne Bishop

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This series features shape shifting Wolves, Bears, Panthers, Sharks, Crows, and Hawks. There are also mentions of Bobcats and Lynx. But these shape shifters are definitely NOT human or desire to be human. They are the Alpha predators and humans must confirm to their laws or get eaten.

2. Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens

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One of the main characters, Hailey, disappears into the Canadian wilderness with her dog, Wolf. Now, Wolf doesn’t show up until halfway through the book but after that, he is a constant. I absolutely loved him and his relationship with Hailey!!

3. Bones of a Saint by Grant Farley

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RJ is gifted two homing pigeons by Mr. Leguin (you need to read the book to understand why) and they are featured a bit until well, Mr. Peabody comes onto the scene. Then they aren’t (catch my drift).

4. Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

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S.T., a crow, and Dennis, his dog, have front row seats to the end of humanity. People became too dependent on their phones and it turned them into zombies. S.T. is the savior of the pets who were left behind, rescuing them from houses or other animals. I loved S.T. and his wiseass commentary of how the humans destroyed themselves.

5. Shadow Pack by Marc Daniel

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This is a shifter book. Michael is a bear shifter (thought to be extinct) and is hunting down a murderous pack of werewolves. There is so much more to the story than what I mentioned here.

6. Mutts Like Me by Keri Armstrong

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Another shifter book. The female main is a werewolf. Her love interest is a Kitsune. There are also fox and dragon shifters in the book. I picked it up for the title but ended up loving it for the storyline (and the fact that the shifters can interbreed)

7. Moonrise by Joseph Hagen

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This book is a werewolf horror novel and its actually pretty good. The main character gets turned, against his will, and then hunts down the Alpha to exact revenge for the murder of his family. He is helped by werewolf hunters (witches) with this.

8. Incubus Caged by A.H. Lee

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I hesitated with putting this book on the list. The incubus spends 90% of his time in panther form (including one memorable dinner scene at the beginning of the book). The other times, he keeps the form of a man. But in reality he is a demon who shifts into human and panther form. Make sense as to why I hesitated?

9. Hunting the Past by J.C. Diem

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Another werewolf story. Seems like I like to read a lot of shifter books. Oh well…lol.

10 Swimming Monkeys: Genesis by Steve Hadden

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A non shifter book!! This book reminded me of a combination of National Treasure and the Indiana Jones movie series. And the animals? Monkeys of course!! But not just any monkeys. These monkeys are special and it is up to the main character to get them to safety while outwitting bad guys around every corner.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

On By JolieIn book review3 Comments

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels or anything in those genres – join them.

What I am Reading Now:

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Exploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.

2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher.

2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager—and who professed to worship only her—may be far different from what she has always believed?

Alternating between Vanessa’s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield. Thought-provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessa is an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself.

I am struggling with reading this book and I am considering DNF’ing it. I am a little disappointed because I have read so many great reviews on My Dark Vanessa. So, I am going to give it one more try. If I can’t read more than a couple of pages tonight, then I am returning it to the library.

What I plan on reading this week:

With Miss R and Miss B being back in school 4 days a week, I am hoping to up my reading game by 100%. The books I plan to read this week are pretty much set but I do have two Anne Bishop books that should be coming off hold this week (the start of The Others series). If/When that happens, then they get priority over the books on the list.

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For decades, people have been warned about the Cold Creek Highway. Hitchhikers have vanished along it over the years, and women have been known to have their cars break down… and never be seen again. When Hailey McBride decides to run away from an unbearable living situation, she thinks that her outdoor skills will help her disappear into the Cold Creek wilderness, and she counts on people thinking that she was the victim of the killer.

One year later, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek to attend a memorial for the victims of the highway, but it might as well be one week for the amount of pain that Beth is still dealing with after her sister, Amber, was murdered the previous summer. Beth has quit university, is lying to her parents, and popping pills like Tic Tacs. Maybe this will finally bring her peace.

When she gets a job at a local diner where Amber once worked, she connects with people who knew her sister. Beth wants to find who killed her sister and put her own life back together, but as she gets closer to the truth, she learns that there is more than one person lying in Cold Creek.
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Could finding love be his greatest scandal of all?

The Duke of Griffin has never lived down his reputation as one of the Rakes of St. James. Now rumors are swirling that his twin sisters may bear the brunt of his past follies. Hiring a competent chaperone is the only thing Griffin has on his mind–until he meets the lovely and intriguing Miss Esmeralda Swift. In ways he could never have expected, she arouses more than just his curiosity.

Esmeralda Swift considered herself too sensible to ever fall for a scoundrel, but that was before she met the irresistibly seductive Duke of Griffin. His employment offer proves too tempting for her to resist. She can’t afford to be distracted by his devilish charms because the stakes are so high for his sisters’ debut Season. . .unless one of London’s most notorious rakes has had a change of heart and is ready to make Esmeralda his bride?
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Ten thousand years ago, a mysterious race that we only know as the Overseers took primitive humans and scattered them on dozens of worlds across the galaxy. Now, some of those people have found their way back to Earth. A young Justice Keeper named Anna Lenai has tracked a criminal through unexplored regions of space in the hopes of recovering a symbiont that grants its host the ability to bend space and time. Her search leads her to Earth, where she befriends a young man named Jack Hunter. Together, they will face enemies with advanced technology as they struggle to recover the symbiont before its power falls into the wrong hands.
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What to do when your crush turns out to be a monster (and other such problems).

Just when correctional nurse October Grace has a handle on her stressful job and taking care of her mentally ill mother, a shapeshifting warrior and a half-vampire plunge her into a foreign land that’s on the brink of starvation. Now, with a ticking clock and a target on her back, October takes up the mantle of becoming one of the rare Omens who can bring hope to a dying world.
Mason and Von remain by her side to shield the national treasure while she sacrifices herself to reap the souls that will feed the nations of Terraway. As the death toll rises daily, October finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat world where fairytale creatures run wild… and every day is a new bloody battle.

WWW Wednesday: April 7th 2021

On By JolieIn book reviewLeave a comment
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Personal:

It looks like my infection is gone. The medication that the Dr prescribed to me is working (knock on wood). So I am doing a cautious yay!!

Miss R got braces on her upper teeth last week. I have had a lot of people (in real life) question why I chose braces at 7. Here’s my answer: When she got her teeth pulled back in August (she had two extra teeth that needed to come out), the oral surgeon pulled 7 extra teeth. When her orthodontist found out, he was upset because the oral surgeon didn’t consult him before hand. The result of the extra teeth being pulled was her adult teeth shifted on top. She had a huge gap and a top tooth that was coming in sideways. Plus, the way the teeth shifted, her other adult teeth couldn’t come through. So, she needed to get braces to A) turn the sideways tooth and B ) push together the teeth and to make room so her other teeth can come in. She will only have them on for 6 months but still. If the oral surgeon just pulled the teeth that he was supposed to, then this mess wouldn’t have happened.

Miss B got selected to join The Beta Club. I am so proud of her. For those of you who are new to the blog, Miss B has ADHD, GAD, and a non specific math learning disability. When we moved, Miss B was found to have a kindergarten math level in 4th grade. Thanks to a school with a great special ed program (they call it Exception Children here) and teachers that were willing to help (unlike her previous school), she is almost up to grade level. She is super excited (as is her EC teacher) and there is an induction ceremony in a couple of weeks. If she keeps her grades up, she gets to wear a special cord with her graduation gown. So, yes, I am very proud of her!!

There is nothing new going on with Mr. Z. He’s not going back to school next week (I gave him the choice) and he is pretty pumped to be doing his school work without interruptions from his sisters.

I have gotten sucked into the world of The Magicians. I am at the end of Season 1 (there are 4 seasons) and am in shock. Unfortunately, I will not be watching it until next week (when BK is traveling for work). I also have been watching a lot of YouTube with Miss R. She watches this one YouTuber, Gloom, who is freaking hilarious. She is among the very few YouTubers that I can watch without wanting to poke my eardrums out.

I made Slow Cooker French Onion Chicken last night. It was eh. The chicken was dry (it almost always is when I cook chicken in the crockpot). But the taste was fantastic!! I will not be making this again. Dry chicken doesn’t do it for me when I eat.

Blog

I did nothing to my blog last week. Nada. I wasn’t feeling it (plus, I got busy). I plan on doing more work on it this year.

Reading

I actually got through 95% of the books from last weeks WWW. I surprised myself with that. I also had one book come off hold from the library, with 2 more looking like they will come off within the next couple of weeks.

What I Recently Finished Reading:

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It’s been 20 long years since a night of horror where Detective Jess Antler’s 10-year-old brother Billy was abducted. Despite Jess seeing the intruder face to face, neither he or her brother were ever found. After enduring a terrifying adolescence at the hands of her abusive Aunt, Jess has learnt to push away her feelings about her brother, and her drive to find him.

As everyone says, Billy’s never coming back. It’s time to move on.

However after uncovering Billy’s secret diary, Jess begins to unravel the mystery further and discovers shocking truths about her family and what Billy was really mixed up in.

This book was OK until the last chapters. Then it did a total 180 (that didn’t make sense). I was left with a WTH feeling after reading it.

What I am currently reading:

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Cursed with the ability to weave thread into gold, Brie has learned to trust no one. Her parents keep her around so they can gamble their money away and now her boyfriend’s only staying because he’s got a collection of game systems to grow.

When Brie grabs the attention of Stilt, the new guy in town, it changes everything. Brie is a Legend—a character in a fairytale—and she belongs in a realm of magic called Fable. But when she crosses over to the new world with Stilt, she soon learns that the cruel ruler of the realm has taken an interest in her ability-and it could cost Brie her life.

Stilt promises that he can help her escape, but in return, he asks for something that she might not be able to give. Can Brie put her trust in Stilt or will she die at the hands of greed?

I am enjoying this book. What I am enjoying is that this isn’t your typical fairytale retelling. It is a darker retelling (much darker than the original one). I can’t wait to see what Fable has in store for Brie. I also can’t wait to see if Brie takes her own destiny in her hands.

What books I think I’ll read next:

The first two books, I will definitely read. One is a library book and the other an ARC that I need to read. I am iffy about the other 4 books. I have 2 books that are on hold at the library that could come off hold. If that happens, then I will read those first.

Book Cover
Exploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.

2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher.

2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager—and who professed to worship only her—may be far different from what she has always believed?

Alternating between Vanessa’s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield. Thought-provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessa is an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself.
Book Cover
For decades, people have been warned about the Cold Creek Highway. Hitchhikers have vanished along it over the years, and women have been known to have their cars break down… and never be seen again. When Hailey McBride decides to run away from an unbearable living situation, she thinks that her outdoor skills will help her disappear into the Cold Creek wilderness, and she counts on people thinking that she was the victim of the killer.

One year later, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek to attend a memorial for the victims of the highway, but it might as well be one week for the amount of pain that Beth is still dealing with after her sister, Amber, was murdered the previous summer. Beth has quit university, is lying to her parents, and popping pills like Tic Tacs. Maybe this will finally bring her peace.

When she gets a job at a local diner where Amber once worked, she connects with people who knew her sister. Beth wants to find who killed her sister and put her own life back together, but as she gets closer to the truth, she learns that there is more than one person lying in Cold Creek.
Book Cover
Could finding love be his greatest scandal of all?

The Duke of Griffin has never lived down his reputation as one of the Rakes of St. James. Now rumors are swirling that his twin sisters may bear the brunt of his past follies. Hiring a competent chaperone is the only thing Griffin has on his mind–until he meets the lovely and intriguing Miss Esmeralda Swift. In ways he could never have expected, she arouses more than just his curiosity.

Esmeralda Swift considered herself too sensible to ever fall for a scoundrel, but that was before she met the irresistibly seductive Duke of Griffin. His employment offer proves too tempting for her to resist. She can’t afford to be distracted by his devilish charms because the stakes are so high for his sisters’ debut Season. . .unless one of London’s most notorious rakes has had a change of heart and is ready to make Esmeralda his bride?
Book Cover
Ten thousand years ago, a mysterious race that we only know as the Overseers took primitive humans and scattered them on dozens of worlds across the galaxy. Now, some of those people have found their way back to Earth. A young Justice Keeper named Anna Lenai has tracked a criminal through unexplored regions of space in the hopes of recovering a symbiont that grants its host the ability to bend space and time. Her search leads her to Earth, where she befriends a young man named Jack Hunter. Together, they will face enemies with advanced technology as they struggle to recover the symbiont before its power falls into the wrong hands.
Book Cover
What to do when your crush turns out to be a monster (and other such problems).

Just when correctional nurse October Grace has a handle on her stressful job and taking care of her mentally ill mother, a shapeshifting warrior and a half-vampire plunge her into a foreign land that’s on the brink of starvation. Now, with a ticking clock and a target on her back, October takes up the mantle of becoming one of the rare Omens who can bring hope to a dying world.
Mason and Von remain by her side to shield the national treasure while she sacrifices herself to reap the souls that will feed the nations of Terraway. As the death toll rises daily, October finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat world where fairytale creatures run wild… and every day is a new bloody battle.