Tag: book challenge

Cats in the City of Plague

September 11, 2023

Cats in the City of Plague
By: A.L. Marlow
Published: 2021
# of pages: 140
Challenges: Alphabet Soup, Book Bingo (features cats)

Set amidst the chaos of the worst pandemic in history, the Black Death of the 14th century, Cats in the City of Plague tells the tale of a group of cats who are unfairly blamed for the plague.

The main character, Leander, and his fellow cats cannot understand why people they have trusted have turned against them. But they realize that their only hope of survival is to escape from the French city that has long been their home and return to the forests where, cat legend has it, their kind originally lived.

While evading the humans who seek to destroy them, the cats embark on what Booklife calls “a tense and dramatic journey through the city, powered by the danger and sacrifice inherent in tales of epic quests.”

Racing over rooftops, hiding in the cathedral’s crypt, can they make it out of the city before dawn reveals them? And if they do make it, can these city cats learn to live in the wild?

Goodreads

This was a sweet and action packed story. I read it several months ago, but it has stuck with me and I think about it often. The story follows feline Leander and the other cats in his city as their lives are turned upside down and they suddenly find themselves on their own.

The writing isn’t too complex, but it’s very descriptive, I could imagine myself there with the cats as they travel around the city. The author did a good job of capturing the personality of cats and how they are often solitary creatures, but can get along sometimes, especially as needed.

I recommend this to adults and young adults looking for a quick but interesting read. There obviously is some description of violence to cats, nothing too detailed, but disturbing. Sadly, that was a non-fiction occurrence in those times. 😦

R.I.P. XVIII

September 8, 2023

My favorite time of year! R.I.P. is back! It’s active on Instagram this year, but go HERE for the goals.

The purpose of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as:

Mystery.

Suspense.

Thriller.

Dark Fantasy.

Gothic.

Horror.

Supernatural.

The emphasis is never on the word challenge, instead it is about coming together as a community and embracing the autumnal mood, whether the weather is cooperative where you live or not.

The goals are simple. 

1. Have fun reading.

2. Share that fun with others.

My list this year:

Peril of the Fiction:
Vampires of El Norte by: Isabel Cañas
What Lies Between Us by: John Marrs
Dark River Inn by: J.R. Erickson
Hidden Pictures by: Jason Rekulak
My Darling Girl by: Jennifer McMahon
Starling House by: Alix E. Harrow
Duma Key by: Stephen King

Peril of the Real:
The Stranger Beside Me by: Ann Rule
Coast to Coast Ghosts by: Leslie Rule

Peril of the Screen:
The Fall of the House of Usher (TV series on Netflix)

Peril of the Short Story:
The Willows by: Algernon Blackwood

What’s in a Name 2023 Sign Up

December 12, 2022

Welcome to the 16th annual What’s in a Name reading challenge!

In years past, this challenge was hosted by Charlie at The Worm Hole. I took over in 2019 and I’m excited to host again this year!

The challenge runs from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023. You can sign up any time, but only count books that you read between those dates.

Read a book in any format (hard copy, ebook, audio) with a title that fits into each category.

Don’t use the same book for more than one category.

Creativity for matching the categories is not only allowed, it’s encouraged!

You can choose your books as you go or make a list ahead of time.

Sign up using the Mr Linky below with a link to your WIAN challenge page/post, not your main blog URL. Feel free to save and use the graphic at the top of the page! Also, link back to this sign up page in your challenge post so others can join too.

The categories below are links to each category sign up link.  Add your book review for each category so we can see what you’ve read and discover ideas as needed.

In 2023, choose 6 books that have titles that contain:
(Click on the links for more examples and info)

Click the Mister Linky graphic above to enter your name and/or blog name (many people use this format: Andrea @ Carolina Book Nook) and the URL to your challenge post.  If you have any issues, email me through the contact menu at the top of my blog and I’ll manually sign you up.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!  Thanks and happy reading!

#wian2023 on Instagram!

R.I.P. Time!

September 7, 2022

My favorite time of year again, R.I.P. time! This is year 17! I’m excited and have a list of books I am considering……

Ghost Story by: Peter Straub (the only one on last year’s list I didn’t read)
The Children on the Hill by: Jennifer McMahon
The Hanging Tree by: Irina Shapiro
The Shadow House by: Anna Downes
Devil’s Creek by: Todd Keisling
Brother by: Ania Ahlborn
Kill Creek by: Scott Thomas
Bone White by: Ronald Malfi

As for Peril of the Real, I’m considering:
The Stranger Beside Me by: Ann Rule

Any suggestions for Peril of the Short Story and Peril of the Screen?

Dragon’s Reach

July 31, 2021

Dragon’s Reach

By: J.A. Andrews
Published: 2020
# of pages: 614
Series: The Keeper Origins (#1)
Challenge: What’s in a Name? (Possessive Noun)
Quote: “’That is the curse of life. Judging your past actions in the light of what you know now.’ She tilted her head. ‘Give your past self grace, my child. She did the best she could.’”

Goodreads description:

Sable, a reluctant thief from the slums, can feel truth when people speak. For years she’s been using that skill to try to break free from the vicious gang boss she’s indebted to.

Escape comes in the form of an odd set of companions:
-a dwarf running from the past,
-an actor with a magical, glowing tree
-a too-helpful kobold,
-a playwright with a knack for getting stories out of people, and
-a man and woman with suspicious, magical powers.

But Sable’s freedom is short lived.

On the edges of civilization, they discover hidden, terrifying lies in the offers of peace from the brutal Kalesh Empire.

Now, she must return to the city she fled, and along with her companions, attempt an impossible task—convince everyone, including the powerful Dragon Prioress, of the truth.

Except the Kalesh web of lies has ensnared everyone.
With her land, her people, and everything she loves hanging in the balance, Sable is the only one standing between freedom, and certain death.

Review:

Don’t ask me how I found this book, but it’s been on my TBR list for a while. I was picking out a book to match the What’s in a Name possessive noun category and here we are: a possessive noun in the word “Dragon’s.”

I was very pleasantly surprised by this first book in a series! Yes, it’s a typical fantasy, but I still found it refreshing and interesting. I enjoyed the author’s take on “common” fantasy species like elves, dwarves, magicians, but I also liked the inclusion of a kobold (basically a house elf from the Harry Potter series!)

Sable is living a life of crime to protect her sister, but she’s been waiting for a way to remove herself from the crime boss she works for in her part of the city and move to another neighborhood to live an honest life. Soon her big chance arrives, but of course nothing can go the way she planned. Before she knows it, she’s on the road with a traveling troupe and soon discovers that nothing about her country and its religious and political structure is what she belives to be true.

The characters are likeable and relateable, the backstories and world building aren’t overwhelming or boring, and the plot is interesting. I recommend this to both young adults and adults who enjoy fantasy.

R.I.P. XV

September 6, 2020

It’s finally time for R.I.P. XV! Not much is motivating me to get on my blog these days, but this is the highlight of my year! I can’t believe we’re a week into September now.

This has been a very busy year so far, in spite of staying home more and having so many things canceled. But a foster parent’s life never really slows down, especially one with a baby. But my sister’s wedding was yesterday and I find myself with a little more time so I’m ready to set up my R.I.P. list.

I was a little disconcerted to find that R.I.P. XV doesn’t have a blog home this year. There’s also no levels, it’s just read scary books and post them to Instagram or Twitter! I don’t really use either of those platforms, but I do have an Instagram account so I’ll get on there some to see what’s up.

My list this year:

Mexican Gothic by: Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Turn of the Screw by: Henry James

Home Before Dark by: Riley Sager

The Shadows by: Alex North

Ghost Story by: Peter Straub

An Unwanted Guest by: Shari Lapena

The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft

What’s in a Name 2020

January 13, 2020

The challenge extends from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020.  You can sign up any time, but only count books that you read between those dates.

Read a book in any format (hard copy, ebook, audio) with a title that fits in each category.

Don’t use the same book for more than one category.

Creativity for matching the categories is not only allowed, it’s encouraged!

You can choose your books as you go or make a list ahead of time.

Here are my ideas for this year:

  • An ampersand – &: Blanca & Roja  by: Anna-Marie McLemore
  • An antonym: Wicked Saints
  • 4 letters or less: Vox
  • A given/first name: Malorie  by: Josh Malerman
  • Reference to children: Children of Blood and Bone
  • One of the 4 natural elements – water, air, fire, earth: Little Fires Everywhere  by: Celeste Ng

What’s in a Name 2020 Challenge Sign Up

December 1, 2019

Welcome to the 13th annual What’s in a Name challenge! In years past, this challenge was hosted by Charlie at The Worm Hole. I took over for 2019 and I’m excited to host again this year!

The challenge runs from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. You can sign up any time, but only count books that you read between those dates.

Read a book in any format (hard copy, ebook, audio) with a title that fits into each category.

Don’t use the same book for more than one category.

Creativity for matching the categories is not only allowed, it’s encouraged!

You can choose your books as you go or make a list ahead of time.

Sign up using the Mr Linky below with a link to your WIAN challenge page/post, not your main blog URL. Feel free to save and use the graphic at the top of the page! Also, link back to this sign up page in your challenge post so others can join too.

The categories below are links to each category sign up link.  Add your book review for each category so we can see what you’ve read and discover ideas as needed.

Here are the categories for 2020:

Click the Mister Linky graphic above to enter your name and/or blog name (many people use this format: Andrea @ Carolina Book Nook) and the URL to your challenge post.  If you have any issues, email me through the Contact menu at the top of my blog and I’ll manually sign you up.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!  Thanks and happy reading!

Finished with What’s in a Name?

November 26, 2019

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Have you completed the What’s in a Name challenge?  Please share your post with a list of all the books you’ve completed, whether it’s your updated original sign up post or a new post.  Also, please give suggestions for next year’s challenge and any thoughts on this year’s in the comments!

I’ll be sharing the 2020 sign up on December 1st unless someone else would like to take over hosting.  I’d love to host again and already have the categories lined up, but obviously I’m not the most interactive host, especially since my family started fostering back in May.  So if someone else would like to take over I’m perfectly willing to hand over the reigns and simply participate in 2020.

The Turn of the Key

September 8, 2019

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The Turn of the Key

By:  Ruth Ware
Published:  2019
# of pages:  384
Challenges:  R.I.P.

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Goodreads description:

When she stumbles across the ad, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss—a live-in nannying post, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan Caine arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten—by the luxurious “smart” home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.

What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting trial for murder.

Writing to her lawyer from prison, she struggles to explain the unravelling events that led to her incarceration. It wasn’t just the constant surveillance from the cameras installed around the house, or the malfunctioning technology that woke the household with booming music, or turned the lights off at the worst possible time. It wasn’t just the girls, who turned out to be a far cry from the immaculately behaved model children she met at her interview. It wasn’t even the way she was left alone for weeks at a time, with no adults around apart from the enigmatic handyman, Jack Grant.

It was everything.

She knows she’s made mistakes. She admits that she lied to obtain the post, and that her behavior toward the children wasn’t always ideal. She’s not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty—at least not of murder. Which means someone else is.

Review:  This is my favorite Ruth Ware book I’ve read so far.  I enjoyed her others just fine: The Woman in Cabin 10, In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Death of Mrs. Westaway, and The Lying Game.  However, I enjoyed The Turn of the Key the most.  I haven’t read the classic The Turn of the Screw yet, but I gather this is either a retelling or has a similar storyline.

In her letter to an attorney, Rowan states she is guilty…but not of the worst crime she’s been accused of committing.  She goes on to tell the story of how she was hired as a nanny at a large modern estate in the remote countryside of England.  She’s told right off the bat that the house may be haunted, at least that’s what overly superstitious people believe.  Rowan isn’t superstitious so she doesn’t give that claim a second thought.  Not, that is, until strange things begin to occur in the house.

I definitely enjoyed this Gothic suspense and was surprised at the plot twists.  I recommend this to those who enjoy the Gothic and/or physicological thriller genres.

Why I gave this book 4/5 stars:  Interesting and suspenseful story, was able to relate to the character more than some of Ware’s other characters.