Thriller

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 5/31/25]

May 31, 2025 — Leave a comment

Y’all are going to laugh that it took this long, but I finally bought a Kindle. I’ve had Kindle Unlimited for two years, and I’ve been reading like a fiend on my phone. However, I decided I needed something with a bigger/adjustable display (after frequent headaches from the constant eye strain of looking at my phone and the computers at work). I decided on the Kindle Paperwhite and so far, I’m enjoying it immensely.

Anyway, I’m telling you that to tell you this: I’ve been sailing through novels since the device arrived! May has been productive. So much so, in fact, that I changed my goal for the year. I am now aiming for 75 books instead of 50.

Here is what I have finished over the past month.

The Cheerleaders (Kara Thomas)

Rating: 3.5/5

Satan’s Affair (H.D. Carlton)

Rating: 3/5

The Summer She Went Missing (Chelsea Ichaso)

Rating: 4/5

No Place Left to Hide (Megan Lally)

Rating: 4/5

Hide (Kiersten White)

Rating: 3/5

Such Quiet Girls (Noelle West Ihli)

Rating: 3.5/4

Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)

Rating: 3/5

The Final Scene (Steph Nelson)

Rating: 3.5/5

The Collector (K.R. Alexander)

Rating: 2.5/5

***

I am currently reading Little Women (Louisa May Alcott), The Collected (K.R. Alexander), and You Shouldn’t Have Come Here (Jeneva Rose).

Progress: 31/75

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 4/30/25]

April 30, 2025 — Leave a comment

Hello! I hope you have had a fantabulous April. Mine has been…well, I guess I’d say wash, rinse, repeat. Lol. Same shit, different month. However, I did read six books, so that’s at least one improvement, right?

Here are the books I finished with my ratings.

Every Summer After (Carley Fortune)

Rating: 4/5

A Peach of a Murder (Livia J. Washburn)

Rating: 3/5

The Stranger in Her House (John Marrs)

Rating: 4/5

The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)

Rating: 2/5

Murder in Cottonwood Springs (Dianne Harman)

Rating: 2.5/3

Home Before Dark (Riley Sager)

Rating: 3.5/5

***

I am currently reading Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte), No Place Left to Hide (Megan Lally), and The Cheerleaders (Kara Thomas).

Progress: 22/50

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 3/30/25]

March 30, 2025 — Leave a comment

March has been a slow month for me. I’m not really sure why, but I’ve only finished four books over the past thirty days. Here they are, with my ratings, and may I do better in April!

We Used to Live Here (Marcus Kliewer)

Rating: 4/5

To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

Rating: 3/5

The House Across the Lake (Riley Sager)

Rating: 4/5

The October Society: Season Two (Christopher Robertson)

Rating: 4/5

***

I am currently reading The Stranger in Her House (John Marrs) and Every Summer After (Carley Fortune).

Progress: 16/50

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 2/28/25]

February 28, 2025 — Leave a comment

I finished six books in February! And one of those was A Tale of Two Cities (finally). Unfortunately, the Dickens novel was my only classic this month. I’ll do better in March.

Anyway, here are the books I read over the past 28 days, and my rating of each.

The Murder of Sleepy Hollow (Michele Pariza Wacek)

Rating: 4/5

Unholy Magic (Stacia Kane)

Rating: 4/5

Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens)

Rating: 5/5

Babydoll (Christopher Robertson)

Rating: 4/5

Nettle & Bone (T. Kingfisher)

Rating: 4/5

A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)

Rating: 3/5

***

I am currently reading We Used to Live Here (Marcus Kliewer) and The House Across the Lake (Riley Sager).

Progress: 12/50

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 1/30/25]

January 30, 2025 — Leave a comment

January has been a slow month, but I still read six books! (The number isn’t my best; in my defense, it took a while to get through Watership Down and The Hobbit.)

Here are the novels I finished and my rating of each.

The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath)

Rating: 4/5

‘Twas the Knife Before Christmas (Jacqueline Frost)

Rating: 5/5

Watership Down (Richard Adams)

Rating: 3.5/5

Horror Movie (Paul Tremblay)

Rating: 4/5

The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)

Rating: 4/5

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)

Rating: 4/5

***

I am currently reading The Murder of Sleepy Hollow (Michele Pariza Wacek) and Unholy Magic (Stacia Kane).

Progress: 6/50

My 2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge

January 1, 2025 — Leave a comment

Hey, y’all! It’s time to start my annual reading challenge via Goodreads. If you’re new here, let me tell you now: I love books. I am a certified bibliophile. And each year, I set a reading goal on Goodreads – a goal I typically break and reset at least twice.

This year, my goal as of today is only 50 books. But there’s a reason for this. I have decided to have a theme for my book choices in 2025. I saw a list of 100 classics everyone should read, and I wrote down those that I have never read. That number was 36. (Before you think I’m exceptionally well-read, be aware that the list included the “complete works of William Shakespeare,” then also included some of those works individually, just to hit their goal of 100, I guess.)

So, I have 36 classics to read, and I’m giving myself 14 books of my choosing. This should be fun!

I am currently reading The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath), Twas the Knife Before Christmas (Jacqueline Frost), and Horror Movie (Paul Tremblay). I have also started The Murder of Sleepy Hollow, the fifth book in the Charlie Kingsley series by Michele Pariza Wacek, but it’s more of a read-for-a-few-minutes-before-bed kind of thing.

If any of you are fellow readers, recommend some books! Or tell me your favorite read of 2024!

Must-Watch Movies/TV Shows?

January 30, 2024 — Leave a comment

Hello! Today, I wanted to ask my followers a favor. Can y’all recommend some good movies or shows, preferably on Netflix, Hulu, or Tubi? I’m a big fan of horror (obviously), thrillers, true crime documentaries, and I do enjoy comedies, but not childish/stupid humor – like everything Will Ferrell does.

Most of the newer movies/shows I’ve watched have been garbage, honestly. I’m keeping the hope, though, because I have stumbled across a few gems. It’s difficult when you don’t want to watch something where the writers voice their political opinions and social commentary every ten seconds.

Anyway, leave me your recommendations! Thank you in advance!

Thoughts on The Menu (2022)

January 16, 2023 — Leave a comment

I’m not going to call this a review, but I just had to post about this film. I said I was gonna write more about movies this year, after all.

I had to let the movie percolate for a couple of days, and now I’m ready to share my thoughts. (No spoilers, I promise!)

For those of you who don’t know, here’s a short synopsis of the film from IMDb.

“A young couple travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.”

When I saw the preview, I was intrigued. I love Ralph Fiennes, first and foremost, and I could easily picture him in the role of a creepy – perhaps murderous – chef. Plus, I had my own assumptions of what the twist would be once the trip went horribly wrong, as it so clearly was going to. Even believing that it was going to be semi-predictable, I still wanted to watch it.

I’ll start by saying up front that my assumption was wrong. I was actually pretty far off. However, and I mean this humbly, my semi-predictable idea would have been better than the reality.

The Menu wasn’t bad, per se, it simply…lacked any excitement. The characters weren’t very likable (except, ironically, the “evil” chef), and it was a story that’s been done before numerous times in numerous settings. There were no shocking moments, or perhaps I’m just immune at this point. It became obvious early on who would survive, and I don’t even want to talk about the absurdity of how that happened.

IMDb categorized The Menu as a “horror, comedy, thriller.” It is none of these things. It wasn’t scary, nor even the least bit creepy. It wasn’t thrilling. And the comedic bits fell flat.

As you can probably tell, I was not impressed. This is one I’m glad I missed in theaters; I would have demanded my money back. Lol.

This isn’t a review, but I would rate this film a 2 out of 5, and the 2 can be attributed only to Fiennes and the performance by Hong Chau, who plays Elsa. It’s watchable, I suppose, so I won’t advise against watching it. However, definitely get it on HBO Max or something.

30 Day Film Challenge: Day 14 – A Film That Gave You Depression

January 14, 2023 — Leave a comment

Okay, when I watched Odd Thomas (2014), I already knew it would rip my heart to shreds because I’d read the book. I have cried during books before, shedding a few tears over fictional deaths or whatever, but I literally sobbed at the end of that one, and that unhappiness lasted days. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the film had a similar effect on me.

30 Day Film Challenge: Day 12 – A Film You Hate From Your Favorite Genre

January 12, 2023 — Leave a comment

My favorite genre is horror, of course, but even I can acknowledge there are some awful horror movies out there. I’m not very big on paranormal horror; ghosts and spirits just doesn’t freak me out at all. And the worst of the worst?

Paranormal Activity (2007)