Julie's books

 

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

Pages: 400

Peter Aykroyd spent his childhood watching his family's parlor seances through the crack of a basement door. Here, for the first time, Aykroyd tells the strange and delightful story that inspired his son, Dan, to make the mega-hit, "Ghostbusters." Part history, part family legend, "A History of Ghosts "starts in 1848 in upstate New York, where the spiritualist craze first began. Aykroyd introduces the reader to notable mediums while telling the story of the development of spiritualism, interweaving a personal history marked by a fascination with ghosts and spirits with the larger narrative about the role the paranormal has played in our culture. Such legendary figures as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini appear and vanish.

Pages: 256

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

 

Pages: 416

"Nineteen-year-old Signa Farrow, orphaned as a baby, has been raised by a string of guardians, each more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her last remaining relatives are the Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at the glittering and gloomy estate of Thorn Grove. Thorn Grove’s patriarch, Elijah, mourns his late wife, Lillian, through wild parties and drink, while eldest son Percy grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation and daughter Blythe suffers from the same mysterious illness that killed her mother. And when Lillian’s spirit confronts Signa and claims she was poisoned, Signa realizes that Blythe could be next to die.

Signa’s best chance of uncovering the culprit and solving Lillian’s murder is an alliance with Death himself—the very man she hates most. And Death, that fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side, shows her that their connection may be more powerful than she ever dared imagine."

I was initially drawn to this one for the cover. The first edition hardback is gorgeous and I need to find one;

I really enjoyed Signa discovering society life is not what she thought it was while at the same time trying to solve a mystery. I could not have predicted the ending and the Gothic vibes were amazing. Who doesn't want a murder mystery in a haunted mansion, being assisted by Death himself! I am now obsessed and want the next book to come out.

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

I don't even know how to describe this book but I love it. and I'm dead (ha). 
sfdjklafjdsaklfjdskal the characters. fjkldsajfkldsafjklsajkj
Also the small town
Also the doge. fdsjkfjaljfkl;  too pure
All of the death puns are just. chef's kiss...also I aspire to be Wednesday Addams, and like...have a love like Gomez and Morticia so like....
368 Pages

TS Song: ....does the title make me think "New Romantics" yes....

The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R. M. Romero

I'm not crying, you're crying
It's the blue-eyed boy for me.
And it's also the Jewish folklore and the history for me. 
384 Pages

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

 Alex and Ellis. Similar sounding names.

....I'm...like...sus of these people
Also...my Catholic senses are just...nah bro, don't do any of that.


384 Pages

Horrid by Katrina Leno

Don't mind me, not liking the mom. because that right there is not a healthy parental relationship. 
Will is cool. 
I'm still trying to figure out if eating paper is like...a fun fantasy thing in the story, or part of an eating disorder as it is in the real world....because like...Can we please address this.... Xylophagia....please.
The triangulation in this is making me uncomfy...
Yeah no I hate Ruth
Ummmm....Wut.
336 Pages

Some January Reads

Go Team Venture! The Art and Making of The Venture Bros.

I have loved The Venture Bros. for years and I finally got this companion book for Christmas. It's awesome, has great pictures from the show and insights on each episode.

Pages: 376

 The Sun Down Motel

Ghosts, murder, mystery??!! Everything I love in one book!

Pages: 327

The Kind Worth Killing

Holy crap, twists and turns everywhere!!! I don't even want to reveal too much here since it would take away from all the surprises. Let's just say it's an awesome retelling of Strangers on a Train. 

Pages: 311

Mysterious Missouri by Ross Malone

 

Mysterious Missouri

by 

Ross Malone

Pages: 157

4 out of 5 stars

A fun book to read around Halloween, or closer to Thanksgiving, if you check out to many books at once. ; )
What do you know about MoMo the Missouri Monster? ...The truth is in this book.
Who are some of the strangest people who have lived in the Show-Me state? Where might you find buried treasure in Missouri?
What do you know about Booger Dogs or those Ozark Howlers?
Are there really ferocious fish bigger than a person in Missouri’s rivers and lakes? Ever seen a phantom light or mysterious floating orbs?”

This book was fun to read and reminded me when in college, a car-load of friends and I went out in search of the ghost light late one Saturday night in the countryside between Bolivar and Springfield. It sounds very similar to the Phantom Light in the book. 

Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman

 

Skylight Confessions 

by Alice Hoffman

Pages: 264

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Cool, practical, and deliberate, John is dreamy Arlyn's polar opposite. Yet the two are drawn powerfully together. John builds a house made of glass in the Connecticut countryside, the pinnacle of his career. But he appears to love the house more than Arylyn and their son or daughter. Glass breaks, love hurts, and families make their own rules. Ultimately, it falls to their grandson, Will, to solve the emotional puzzle of his family and of his own identity.

Paranormal Missouri: Show Me Your Monsters

  Paranormal Missouri: Show Me Your Monsters by Jason Offut

Pages: 160 

Rating: 4 out of 5

As we approach the Halloween season, do you wonder where you might find some ghosts or other paranormal activity? This book has all sorts of suggestions throughout the state of Missouri. From lonely cemeteries and abandoned buildings to a secret UFO base in Jefferson City. Come explore the unusual side of your state. 

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

The intrigue. The mystery. The Ivy Leagues. The secret societies. Beautiful.
When I think of Yale, I think of Gilmore Girls...but I love the grittier side with all of the magic and darkness.
Also someone hug Darlington and his overachieving butt... He's such a nerd

Ok but I love super elite private schools and the vibes they give off--with the old buildings made out of stone.
I always wanted to be tapped and part of a secret society.....

I need to know all of the secrets
All of the fall vibes. The found family, and the living in the dorms, and the shenanigans.
.....WHY ISN'T THE SECOND BOOK OUT.... 2020 IS TOO ROUGH...
480 Pages

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

This book was awesome. Lovecraftian horror infects two families in Chicago during 1950s Jim Crow era.  Tentacled rock monsters, a secret cult society of alchemists, mechanical clockwork space machinery, ghost mansions, demon dolls, and those aren't even the really scary parts. Set up as a collection of interrelated short stories, it makes for a really fun yet thought-provoking read. Also, I hear it is being turned into an HBO series soon!

Fun, social-commentary filled horror.

372 pages

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

Boys are stupid. Daisy deserves the world and she should be protected.
Ahh ducks.
A dog. Named Oscar Wilde. Perfect.
Alastair... a beautiful cactus
Thomas is a sweetie.
All of my ships.. beautiful
Me catching all of the hints Clare is dropping and guessing plot twists/evil characters:


624 Pages

The King of Crows by Libba Bray

The last book of the Diviner series. The group of 1920s teenagers from New York have to have their final battle with the King of Crows and seal the breach between the world of the living and the dead before the dead consume America and eventually the world.

Not my favorite book in the series, and honestly thought the showdown would last longer than 50 pages, but overall I'm satisfied with the end.

Pages: 560

Haunted Missouri: A Ghostly Guide to the Show-Me State's Most Spirited Spots

  Haunted Missouri: A Ghostly Guide to the Show-Me State's Most Spirited Spots

by Jason Offutt

Pages: 198

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The author covers all kinds of haunted and spooky spots around the state of Missouri. He draws from personal interviews, folklore and the history of an area to relate the tales. Then he takes the reader along as he visits these spirited spots. An entertaining read for someone looking for folklore and a travel guide for those wanting to go ghost-hunting. It is a down-side of being a library staff person that I had to wait until all the Halloween books were off our popular display. So, I end up reading spooky stories around Christmas and in January. Oh well, the nights are still long and dark and perfect to read a spooky tale or two. 

Civil War Ghosts of Southwest Missouri

 Civil War Ghosts of Southwest Missouri
by Lisa Livingston-Martin
Pages: 128
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This book not only offers legends and folktales about ghosts but more detail about the Civil War in Southwest Missouri than I had studied in any of my history classes in school or college. Even if you are not interested in ghosts, IF you are interested in the Civil War this book is a good source of history. The author travels to spots that are supposedly haunted by spirits from Civil War times, mostly union or confederate soldiers who died in the area during the war. I even talked my husband into reading this because of his interest in the civil war. He is totally not interested in ghost stories and doesn't even like to watch scary movies or Grimm or Supernatural, but he read it for the history.

Sheets by Brenna Thummler

Sheets
by Brenna Thummler

239 pages

3/5

Marjorie Glatt feels like a ghost. A practical thirteen year old in charge of the family laundry business, her daily routine features unforgiving customers, unbearable P.E. classes, and the fastidious Mr. Saubertuck who is committed to destroying everything she’s worked for.

Wendell is a ghost. A boy who lost his life much too young, his daily routine features ineffective death therapy, a sheet-dependent identity, and a dangerous need to seek purpose in the forbidden human world.

When their worlds collide, Marjorie is confronted by unexplainable disasters as Wendell transforms Glatt’s Laundry into his midnight playground, appearing as a mere sheet during the day. While Wendell attempts to create a new afterlife for himself, he unknowingly sabotages the life that Marjorie is struggling to maintain.

The beginning of the book rocks.  It's utterly poignant and really touched my heart.  The middle to end of this book is 'meh' - at best.  I was so disappointed!  I needed more of the deep and less of the campy side characters.  I'm glad I read it, as it reminded me how much I like graphic novels, but I won't be recommending it anytime soon.  I may keep an eye on this author, though.  There is massive potential there; I saw it.  It just wasn't sustained.

Hell House by Richard Matheson

Four people go into the Belesco House (commonly known as Hell House) to investigate the supposed haunting, but will they all come out alive? If the previous investigations are anything to go by...they won't.

This book has been on my horror to-read list for years and I finally got to it. You can definitely tell that it was written in the 70s, but it's effectively tense and creepy and kept me guessing on what would happen next. A must read if you are into the paranormal horror genre.

Rating 3.8/5
Pages: 301

The Prophet (Graveyard Queen, #3) by Amanda Stevens

The Prophet (Graveyard Queen, #3)
by Amanda Stevens

3.5/5

347 pages

I am the Graveyard Queen, a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. My father passed down four rules to keep me safe and I've broken every last one. A door has opened and evil wants me back.

In order to protect myself, I've vowed to return to those rules. But the ghost of a murdered cop needs my help to find his killer. The clues lead me to the dark side of Charleston—where witchcraft, root doctors and black magic still flourish—and back to John Devlin, a haunted police detective I should only love from afar.Now I'm faced with a terrible choice: follow the rules or follow my heart.

The Kingdom (Graveyard Queen #2) by Amanda Stevens

The Kingdom (Graveyard Queen #2)
by Amanda Stevens

376 pages - 2.5/5

My name is Amelia Gray. They call me The Graveyard Queen. I've been commissioned to restore an old cemetery in Asher Falls, South Carolina, but I'm coming to think I have another purpose here.

Why is there a cemetery at the bottom of Bell Lake? Why am I drawn time and again to a hidden grave I've discovered in the woods? Something is eating away at the soul of this town, this withering kingdom, and it will only be restored if I can uncover the truth. 

I enjoyed the first of this series, so I was expecting to enjoy this one as well.  And while I did finish it, I found myself disengaging and not really caring about the characters at all.  That could be because the author chose to put the main character, Amelia, into a new town with all new people, none of whom I actually liked.  The romance felt forced, and the big reveal was less big reveal and more convoluted explanation.  I think this novel would have been best served as a novella or short story addition.  I'm going to continue on to book three, but unless I'm seriously impressed, I may stop there.