thriller books

Update: Goodreads Reading Challenge 2023 (2/13/23)

February 13, 2023 — Leave a comment

I didn’t intend to do this exactly one month from the last update, but maybe I should actually start scheduling them this way. Haha. Once a month is enough, right? 🙂

I finished A.M. Shine’s The Creeper, and while it was an eerie tale (reminiscent of The Bye Bye Man, in my opinion), I didn’t love it overall. The twist at the end wasn’t terrible, but…the story lost something with the revelation. I enjoyed Shine’s writing style, though, and I still intend to read The Watchers.

Rating: 3.5/5

I also read Poltergeist by Kat Richardson. It has been sitting on my bookshelves since I found it in an apartment my friends and I cleaned out. I’m not sure if I’d have gotten more out of it if I’d read the first book in the series, well, first. However, I didn’t love this book. I think there is potential for Richardson to build an interesting fantasy/supernatural world, so I will certainly try at least one more from the Greywalker series.

Rating: 3/5

The third book I completed since my last post is the final in Katherine Arden’s Small Spaces series, Empty Smiles. This was my least favorite of the four. The build-up was so promising, but the ending was rushed and fell flat. I still say these books are worth the read; I just wish the conclusion had been…more.

Rating: 4/5

I am currently reading two books. (I’m the world’s worst to start a second book before finishing the one I initially started.) I finally decided to check out Emilie Autumn’s The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls, and I also dove into my second Riley Sager novel, The Last Time I Lied. I’ll let y’all know my thoughts in about a month!

Any recommendations for me? Please leave them in the comments!

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2023

January 6, 2023 — 2 Comments

I have started my Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2023! I’ve already finished one book – Ask for Andrea by Noelle W. Ihli – but to be fair, I started it back in November. Lol. It counts, though, because I finished it this year.

I have since started my second book, Stacia Kane’s Unholy Ghosts. It is the first in the Downside Ghosts series. (I needed a new series to get invested in after finishing The Morganville Vampires.)

Unholy Ghosts is an urban fantasy novel that centers entirely around, you guessed it, ghosts. Here’s the synopsis, per Google Books:

“The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen, and the living are under attack. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully tattooed witch and freewheeling ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for banishing the wicked dead. But Chess is keeping a dark secret: She owes a lot of money to a murderous drug lord named Bump, who wants immediate payback in the form of a dangerous job that involves black magic, human sacrifice, a nefarious demonic creature, and enough wicked energy to wipe out a city of souls. Toss in lust for a rival gang leader and a dangerous attraction to Bump’s ruthless enforcer, and Chess begins to wonder if the rush is really worth it. Hell, yeah.“

I’m enjoying it so far, and I’m over halfway through. All of the characters that have been introduced are likable, even those without many redeeming qualities. I like Stacia’s writing style, as well.

I’ll give my rating with my next update! And please consider joining me for the challenge this year!