Under The Book Cover: r.f. kuang

Mini-Review Monday: 24 July 2023

Hi hello and welcome to the first Mini-Review Monday! I've been trying to find a good weekly post for Monday's and haven't been very successful. And then I remembered how much I enjoy doing mini-reviews and thought it would be perfect for a Monday post! I'll be sharing a few shorter reviews of some books I've read recently but maybe haven't talked about for longer than a few sentences here and there. I love reviewing books (that's the whole reason I started my blog) but I don't do my long reviews as often anymore, for many reasons. But I still love sharing my thoughts on the books I read and I think mini-reviews are a great way for me to do that! I’ll also be including my favorite quote from each book that I’m reviewing, just for a little added fun and a quick look into the book. Let’s get started!

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Title: Mister Magic
Author: Kiersten White

Pages: 288

Genre: Horror

Release Date: 01 August 2023

From Goodreads: "Thirty years after a tragic accident shut down production of the classic children’s program Mister Magic, the five surviving cast members have done their best to move on. But just as generations of cultishly devoted fans still cling to the lessons they learned from the show, the cast, known as the Circle of Friends, have spent their lives searching for the happiness they felt while they were on it. The friendship. The feeling of belonging. And the protection of Mister Magic. But with no surviving video of the show, no evidence of who directed or produced it, and no records of who—or what—the beloved host actually was, memories are all the former Circle of Friends has. Then a twist of fate brings the castmates back together at the remote desert filming compound that feels like it’s been waiting for them all this time. Even though they haven’t seen each other for years, they understand one another better than anyone has since. After all, they’re the only ones who hold the secret of that circle, the mystery of the magic man in his infinitely black cape, and, maybe, the answers to what really happened on that deadly last day. But as the Circle of Friends reclaim parts of their past, they begin to wonder: Are they here by choice, or have they been lured into a trap?”

Mini-Review: I am someone who loves creepypasta stories, and this feels exactly like a creepypasta story. If you’ve never heard of Candle Cove and you like the sound of this book, I encourage you to go check it out because it has a similar concept and it’s great. Okay, let’s talk Mister Magic! This was so so good and actually, my first full Kiersten White book. I’ve read bits of And at Darken and Hide but never fully finished them. This book actually creeped me out at a few points and I definitely monitored the dark corners of my room for any suspicious shadows and/or capes. I will say, I wasn’t expecting this to go where it did or end how it did, but I also don’t know how I didn’t see either of those things while reading. The writing did feel like it was a little slow in places, and occasionally a bit repetitive with the main characters inner voice, but it wasn’t terrible and didn’t ruin my overall reading experience. This was a pretty enjoyable horror book and I am very interested to see if Kiersten White continues in this genre, because I think this was a success. Also, I recommend reading the acknowledgments at the end because it gives insight into the root of this book and it makes a lot of things make sense.

Favorite quote: “It’s a chain, and you’re right—I’m the link holding everything together and it’s all just weight. It’s weight, and it never lets up, and no one else ever holds it. No one else even notices it. I don’t understand how I can be there every moment of every single day and somehow not exist at the same time. Most days I think I’m not even a person. Not to them, not to myself.”

Title: The Only One Left
Author: Riley Sager

Pages: 398

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Release Date: 20 June 2023

From Goodreads: "At seventeen, Lenora Hope

Hung her sister with a rope
Stabbed her father with a knife

Took her mother’s happy life
“It wasn’t me,” Lenora said

But she’s the only one not dead

Now reduced to a schoolyard chant, the Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast one bloody night in 1929. While most people assume seventeen-year-old Lenora was responsible, the police were never able to prove it. Other than her denial after the killings, she has never spoken publicly about that night, nor has she set foot outside Hope’s End, the cliffside mansion where the massacre occurred. It’s now 1983, and home-health aide Kit McDeere arrives at a decaying Hope’s End to care for Lenora after her previous nurse fled in the middle of the night. In her seventies and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora was rendered mute by a series of strokes and can only communicate with Kit by tapping out sentences on an old typewriter. One night, Lenora uses it to make a tantalizing offer—I want to tell you everything. As Kit helps Lenora write about the events leading to the Hope family massacre, it becomes clear there’s more to the tale than people know. But when new details about her predecessor’s departure come to light, Kit starts to suspect Lenora might not be telling the complete truth—and that the seemingly harmless woman in her care could be far more dangerous than she first thought."

Mini-Review: I don’t think it’s a secret that Riley Sager is one of my all-time favorite authors. I’ve given every book of his five stars, including The Only One Left! This one was, in my eyes, a perfect mystery thriller. It was slow, but not so slow that it got boring, just enough that the tension built at a great pace. The characters were interesting and I really enjoyed following them and trying to figure out which ones were more suspicious than the others. And the plot was insane, holy crap. I can always count on a Riley Sager book to have twists but this one took it as a challenge to see just how many times it could make me freak out and scream about what was happening. By the end, I was crying and could confidently say that The Only One Left was my new favorite book that he’s written. I even got my mom to read it and she had pretty much the same reaction as I did, even down to the crying part! I just really enjoy the way that Riley Sager writes and this one was another easy five star book for me.

Favorite quote: “At seventeen, Lenora Hope, hung her sister with a rope. Stabbed her father with a knife, took her mother’s happy life. “It wasn’t me,” Lenora said, but she’s the only one not dead.”

Title: Yellowface
Author: R.F. Kuang

Pages: 322

Genre: Literary Fiction

Release Date: 25 May 2023

From Goodreads: "Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars: same year at Yale, same debut year in publishing. But Athena's a cross-genre literary darling, and June didn't even get a paperback release. Nobody wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena's death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena's just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers to the British and French war efforts during World War I. So what if June edits Athena's novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song--complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn't this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That's what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree. But June can't get away from Athena's shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June's (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves."

Mini-Review: I’m almost positive that any time I’ve spoken about Yellowface, I mention that it was my first experience with an R.F. Kuang book and that I’m so glad for that. I loved this book. I’m not a big literary fiction girlie but this was incredible. Something about how this was written had me absolutely glued to the page and reading big chunks at a time because I just did not want to put it down. And June?! Holy crap she was awful, yes, but so well written! I found myself reading and just somehow knowing that there was no getting through to this woman, so we were just going to be on the choo-choo train to delusional town and I was along for the ride. And the commentary on the publishing industry felt so on point and incredibly necessary. Yellowface felt like R.F. Kuang calling out problematic things in the industry and forcing readers to be more aware of them, because we absolutely should be more aware of them. Everything about this book was fantastic and it was one of the quickest five stars I’ve probably ever given a book. This is also on my top favorite books of 2023 list and I’m not really sure how anything is going to top this, honestly.

Favorite quote: “People always describe jealousy as this sharp, green, venomous thing. Unfounded, vinegary, mean-spirited. But I’ve found that jealousy, to writers, feels more like fear.”

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And that’s it for my first Monday Mini-Reviews post! This was so much fun and I’m really glad I get to share my thoughts on some of the books I’ve read recently. As I said above, I love doing book reviews but the full-length ones that I used to do just aren’t feasible for me anymore, sadly. But I think this is going to be a great way for me to still do reviews going forward and I’m already planning out my next set of mini-reviews! Have you read any of the books I talked about? Did my reviews help you decide if you’d be interested in reading any of them? Are you a fan of longer or shorter book reviews? Let’s open up the discussion down in the comments and please feel free to share a mini-review of a book you’ve read recently! Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you in the next chapter!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books With One-Word Titles

adalyn grace 6:00:00 AM

Hi hello and welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! This weekly post is hosted by the wonderful Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl so please be sure to go check out her post with all of the information about TTT. The topic this week is books with one-word titles and this was both harder than I thought and really fun! I never noticed before just how many books have multiple words in their title until I was searching for ones that only had one word. I think I picked out some good ones, though, and maybe one or two you've been thinking about picking up to read or will add on your TBR. Let's get started!
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1. Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

"Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars: same year at Yale, same debut year in publishing. But Athena's a cross-genre literary darling, and June didn't even get a paperback release. Nobody wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena's death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena's just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers to the British and French war efforts during World War I. So what if June edits Athena's novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song--complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn't this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That's what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree. But June can't get away from Athena's shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June's (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves."

2. Playground by Aron Beauregard

"Three low-income families have been given a handsome retainer to join Geraldine Borden for a day at her cliffside estate. All the parents must do to collect the rest of their money is allow their children to test out the revolutionary playground equipment Geraldine has been working on for decades. But there’s a reason the structures in the bowels of her gothic castle have taken so long to develop—they were never meant to see the light of day.

When a band of dysfunctional children is suddenly thrust into a diabolical realm of violence, they must grow up instantly to have a chance at survival. Will they find a way to put their differences aside, or be swallowed up by the insidious architecture all around them?"

3. Chlorine by Jade Song

"Ren Yu is a swimmer. Her daily life starts and ends with the pool. Her teammates are her only friends. Her coach, her guiding light. If she swims well enough, she will be scouted, get a scholarship, go to a good school. Her parents will love her. Her coach will be kind to her. She will have a good life. But these are human concerns. These are the concerns of those confined to land, those with legs. Ren grew up on stories of creatures of the deep, of the oceans and the rivers. Ones that called sailors to their doom. Ones that dragged them down and drowned them. Ones that feasted on their flesh. Ones of the creature that she's always longed to become: mermaid. Ren aches to be in the water. She dreams of the scent of chlorine--the feel of it on her skin. And she will do anything she can to make a life for herself where she can be free. No matter the pain. No matter what anyone else thinks. No matter how much blood she has to spill."

4. Vicious by V.E. Schwab

"Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?"

5. Sundial by Catriona Ward

"All Rob wanted was a normal life. She almost got it, too: a husband, two kids, a nice house in the suburbs. But Rob fears for her oldest daughter, Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. Rob sees a darkness in Callie, one that reminds her too much of the family she left behind. She decides to take Callie back to her childhood home, to Sundial, deep in the Mojave Desert. And there she will have to make a terrible choice.

Callie is worried about her mother. Rob has begun to look at her strangely, and speaks of past secrets. And Callie fears that only one of them will leave Sundial alive…

The mother and daughter embark on a dark, desert journey to the past in the hopes of redeeming their future."

6. Mary by Nat Cassidy

"Mary is a quiet, middle-aged woman doing her best to blend into the background. Unremarkable. Invisible. Unknown even to herself. But lately, things have been changing inside Mary. Along with the hot flashes and body aches, she can’t look in a mirror without passing out, and the voices in her head have been urging her to do unspeakable things. Fired from her job in New York, she moves back to her hometown, hoping to reconnect with her past and inner self. Instead, visions of terrifying, mutilated specters overwhelm her with increasing regularity and she begins auto-writing strange thoughts and phrases. Mary discovers that these experiences are echoes of an infamous serial killer.

Then the killings begin again.

Mary’s definitely going to find herself."

7. Nightstrider by Sophia Slade

"Wren has spent her life doing the bidding of her cruel creator Para Warwick in the dream world known as the Reverie. When she learns of a weapon with the power to destroy him, she jumps at the chance to steal it. Her plan goes awry and she finds herself in the clutches of the rebellion and the rogue Alaric, a nightmare himself with twisted horns and dark magic. When a plea from a strange being known as a dreambreaker reaches them, the two ’mares find themselves thrown together in a desperate mission to save her before time runs out. Meanwhile, in the waking world, Caine Fallon, son of King Warwick and Prince of Wolfhelm, prepares to wed Ila Enevoldson, the young queen from the wild kingdom of Galesborough. But Ila is more than a queen. She is a weaver, a protector of the ancient Boundary that separates the Reverie and the Wake. Three nights before their wedding, Caine catches Ila in the act of opening a portal to the dream world and follows her, landing himself in a universe stranger than he could have imagined—a realm where his father is more monstrous than he ever could have fathomed. Now, the fates of four strangers will become intricately entwined, and the fate of their worlds will be sewn by their choices."

8. Bride by Ali Hazelwood

"Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again. Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was. Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf."

9. Rouge by Mona Awad

"For as long as she can remember, Belle has been insidiously obsessed with her skin and skincare videos. When her estranged mother Noelle mysteriously dies, Belle finds herself back in Southern California, dealing with her mother’s considerable debts and grappling with lingering questions about her death. The stakes escalate when a strange woman in red appears at the funeral, offering a tantalizing clue about her mother’s demise, followed by a cryptic video about a transformative spa experience. With the help of a pair of red shoes, Belle is lured into the barbed embrace of La Maison de Méduse, the same lavish, culty spa to which her mother was devoted. There, Belle discovers the frightening secret behind her (and her mother’s) obsession with the mirror—and the great shimmering depths (and demons) that lurk on the other side of the glass."

10. Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

"Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa 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 remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy. Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation, and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer. However, Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful—and more irresistible—than she ever dared imagine."

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And that does it for this Top Ten Tuesday! I don't think it was surprising that I had Yellowface on my list because of how much I've been talking about it ever since I read it. Vicious was honestly probably another unsurprising pick, simply because it's my favorite book! I'm really excited to see the wide variety of choices for the topic this week, mostly because I'll have new books to add to my TBR and that's never a bad thing. What books were on your list this week? Have you read (or do you want to read) any of the books that I listed? Be sure to let me know in the comments below and link me your post if you participated in the topic this week. Also, don't forget to visit That Artsy Reader Girl to see Jana's post and check out some of the other wonderful bloggers that have shared their links. Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you in the next chapter!

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Book Tag Thursday: Nintendo Book Tag

a court of mist and fury 8:00:00 AM

Hi hello and welcome to Book Tag Thursday! Today, I'll be doing the Nintendo Book Tag, created by Sam's Cozy Corner. My husband and I finally watched the new Super Mario Bros movie and absolutely loved it, so I was really wanting to do a tag related to Mario! So when I found this tag I got super excited because not only does it have Mario, but several other characters and even consoles, and it reminds me so much of my childhood which makes me happy. Let’s get started!
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1) NES (Nintendo Entertainment System): A classic you want to read

Definitely Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. My best friend and I absolutely love the 2005 film and I have been wanting to read the book for years at this point. I’m determined to get this super pretty OwlCrate edition because look at the purple oh my goodness it’s stunning, so I keep putting it off until I have a copy of this edition. Makes total sense, I know.

2) SNES (Super Nintendo): A sequel you liked more than the 1st (can be a 2nd book in a series)

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. I enjoyed ACOTAR but when I read ACOMAF, oh my god, I loved it so much. Something about this sequel just changed my entire viewpoint on the series and I knew I was hooked. And when Mor got introduced? I was an absolute goner. This is absolutely one of my favorite books of all time and definitely one of my favorite sequels!

3) Nintendo 64: A book that revolutionized the way you look at the world

Damned by Chuck Palahniuk. I know I’ve talked before about how this book traumatized me when I was younger and it’s the absolute truth. It made me panic about my own mortality and I was so messed up from it for quite a long time. I never even read the sequel because I didn’t want to think about dying all over again. I’ve considered going back to this and reading the sequel now that I’m older, because I’ve gone through cancer and spine surgery and made it out mostly okay, but I don’t know if I’m mentally stable enough at 30 years old to be traumatized all over again!

4) Gamecube: A popular book that did not go over so well with you

I’m so sad saying this but…The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw. I got about 30% of the way in and just had to put it down. It really messed up my Summerween experience, unfortunately, and I hate that. I’ve heard such good things about this novella, and it has great ratings from people I trust, so I was really bummed when I got that far into it and I just found that I wasn’t able to continue. I may pick it up again in the future, but for now, this is a DNF for me.

5) Wii: A new favorite book

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. If you’ve read and enjoyed it, then you get it. It’s such a fantastic book and I could probably rant forever about it because the writing was incredible, the characters were so well-written and I loved how much I hated June, and I feel like it was great commentary on the publishing industry and how unbalanced it really is as a whole. Plus there’s now the opportunity to ask someone if they’ve read Yellowface or to tell them they’re in their Juniper Song era and I love that.

6) Nintendo Power: Favorite graphic novel series or a series you want to start

Monstress by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda. I’ve wanted to read this series for years but for some reason, I still haven’t picked it up. The art style is stunning and the storyline sounds like something I’d enjoy so I really don’t know why I haven’t read it yet!

7) Super Mario: A character that you'd love to squish like a Goomba

Alejandra’s husband from The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro. Matthew was literally the worst and I didn’t even want to mention his name because he was that awful. My heart was constantly breaking every single time she tried to communicate with him, and as the book went on you find out that he’s always been like this and he is the worst, in case I didn’t say that already.

8) Zelda: A newer fantasy that you consider to be a modern classic

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. I haven’t read this absolute beast of a book (I will eventually) but with the amount of people that still talk about it four years after release, it leads me to believe that it’s not only good, it’s surely a classic at this point. This is definitely a book I think of when I’m thinking of fantasy books so I think it’s safe to say it’s a classic fantasy book now.

9) Samas-Aran: Favorite sci-fi novel or one you want to read

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes. I absolutely loved this spooky space book, oh my god. I got to be on a blog tour for it last year and I’m so glad I had the opportunity because it introduced me to an author that I’m now considering an auto-buy author because her first book was just that good to me. If you’re a fan of space and horror, then you’ll like this book!

10) Pokémon: Book editions that you want to collect

If you’re new here, hi, I collect different editions of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. My collection is up to I believe 19 copies currently and it’s still growing! I absolutely love all of the beautiful covers and foreign editions, and I even did a blog post with a collection of all of the editions (or as many as I could find, rather, because I probably missed a lot I don’t know about!) and I even shared some photos of my collection along because I love talking about them.

11) Donkey Kong: A book with original characters

All of them? I’m not sure what book to pick for this prompt, honestly. I feel like all of the books I read are filled with wonderful characters and they’re all unique and original in their own ways.

12) Nintendo Fandom: Favorite Nintendo game(s) or game you really want

It’s a toss-up between Animal Crossing: New Horizons and both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

I had never played an Animal Crossing game (that I can remember) prior to New Horizons, but just like everyone else, I played this during the quarantine in 2020 and it basically helped me stay sane during that time period. I have so many hours in that game and it’s still one I can go back to occasionally and enjoy because it’s just so calming and cute. It also got me into the more cozy farming games so I love that I got introduced to a new genre and new games because of ACNH!

Both Legend of Zelda games are also special for two fairly big reasons. I played Breath of the Wild while going through chemotherapy in 2017\2018 and it was a huge source of happiness during a time where I was really struggling both physically and mentally. Both my husband and I played it together and it was so helpful to have something to focus on and keep me from just being a potato in between appointments and treatments. And now, Tears of the Kingdom came out right before my spine surgery so I’ve been playing it throughout my recovery process and it has been such a beautiful journey so far. It feels like these two games have been there for me during two really hard times in my life and I’m so happy that I have them to replay and remember.

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And that does it for the Nintendo Book Tag! The things and games that these prompts are based on really brought me back to my childhood and reminded me of how different games and systems used to be. If you had told younger Megan that one day, she would have a game system that she could hold in her hands and play Zelda or Pokémon that had graphics as good as a TV, she’d probably laugh and not believe any of it. What is your favorite Nintendo game? Did you play on any of these systems when you were younger? Have you even heard of the ones that are mentioned in this tag? At least lie and say yes so that I don’t feel old! But let me know in the comments below because I love chatting with you guys so much! Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you in the next chapter!

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Book Tag Thursday: Insidious Book Tag (Original)

book tag 8:00:00 AM

Hi hello and welcome to Book Tag Thursday! Today, I’ll be doing the Insidious Book Tag, which was created by me! I’m so excited for the release of Insidious: The Red Door that I wanted to do a book tag related to the series. But when I couldn’t seem to find one, I decided to make my own! The Insidious series is one of my all-time favorites, and the fact that we’re getting a new installment that follows the Lambert family ten years later is blowing my mind. You don’t have to know anything about the series to do this tag but if you are a fan, hopefully you’ll enjoy these prompts! Now you're outside. Let my voice be your guide. Keep a steady stride. Into the Further you go. Let’s get started!

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Tiptoe through the tulips: Your favorite “absolutely not” moment in a book

There is a moment in Dead Space by S.A. Barnes that scared me so bad I actually yanked my feet up and had to immediately sit up and check that nothing was about to grab my feet from under the bed. Yes, I protected myself with a blanket because even demons know you can’t grab the feets if they’re under a blanket. But if you haven’t gathered what that moment was, it involves things under the bed and it genuinely made me panic and will probably remain my top “absolutely not” moment,

It's not the house that's haunted: Your go-to haunted house book

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager! I’m a Riley Sager fan girl for sure and this one is a great haunted house story. It’s got Haunting of Hill House vibes and has the signature Riley Sager flair that just makes all of his books on a different level. This was definitely my favorite of his until The Only One Left crashed into my heart, but I’ll always recommend it if you want a great haunted house book!

Into the Further you go: A book that you stepped out of your comfort zone to read

I’ll just say an entire genre, and that’s romance. Like many people, I judged the romance genre really hard and used to make fun of it. Because all I used to see were the classic (and honestly they need to bring these back because they’re fantastic) bodice-ripper romance novels, so of course I was not about to pick that up. But I’ve been reading more in the genre and in sub-genres and I’ve found that I actually enjoy romance books! That was a big step for me out of my comfort zone of reading but I’m so glad that I took a chance because some of my favorite books I’ve read are romance books!

Specs and Tucker: Your favorite bookish duo

I love Maddie and Tempest from the Maddie Castle series by L.T. Ryan and C.R. Gray! Maddie is a former K9 handler who lost her dog and had her leg shredded, and both things happened with the same bullet. Maddie has to learn how to fight through the awful things that happened to her to help people like she used to, and she gives Tempest, a K9 that lost her human and is struggling to work through her own traumas, a second chance with her. It’s such a good series and I love the two of them together!

Elise Reiner: Your favorite recurring character in a series

Jeremy from the Eluding Destiny series by Charlie Nottingham! I love him so much and it’s kind of hard to explain why without spoiling some pretty big things. But he goes through so much throughout the series and he really struggles, but he is not only my favorite character in this series, he’s one of my all-time favorite characters in any book I’ve ever read. I feel like I see so much of myself in Jeremy and I’m still trying to figure out if that’s a good or bad thing, but Charlie absolutely crushed writing his character and I’ll always love him no matter what.

The Red Face demon: A book that genuinely scared you while reading

If you’ve read this book, you probably know exactly what I’m referring to. Gerald’s Game by Stephen King has a recurring thing that happens to Jessie throughout the book and it scared the holy heck out of me. I haven’t read it in years and it will still pop into my head every so often just before I fall asleep so I’d say that ranks pretty high on the book that genuinely scared me list.

The Bride in Black: A book that has haunted you ever since you read it

Damned by Chuck Palahniuk. I read this in 2011, well over a decade ago, and it has stuck with me ever since. I read it once and will probably never read it again because it traumatized me so much. I’m someone that cannot think about death or I will start to spiral and panic and think about my own mortality, and this book destroyed me when I read it. And now that I’ve had cancer and dealt with spine surgery, I’ve stared death in the face and it’s not fun. Chuck Palahniuk is one of my favorite authors, but he better have enough money to pay my therapy bills because this book wrecked me.

The Man Who Can't Breathe: A book that had you gasping for air because it was so good

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang had me screaming, crying, throwing up, kicking the wall, absolutely deceased. I’m so glad I finally read one of her books because the writing was just otherworldly. I was addicted and found it so easy to just sit there and read this book for long periods of time. I can’t wait to read The Poppy War trilogy and Babel because I definitely need more R.F. Kuang in my life.

The Key Bearer: Bookish tropes that are the key to your heart

Enemies to lovers, only one bed, grumpy/sunshine, fake dating, forbidden romance, I hate everyone but you, who did this to you, touch them and you die, dystopian anything, villain is secretly soft, found family, horror anything, lifting their chin with a blade, intense dancing, reverse harem, aggressive pining.

There are so many and I’m probably missing a ton, but these are the ones that immediately came to mind!

The Red Door: A book or series you want a sequel to/continuation of

You can’t prove that I wrote this prompt just so I could talk about The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab again. At least I used a different cover this time, right? But hear me out! I’m not even asking for a continuation of Addie’s story. I’d love to follow Luc more and see what he did while he was away from Addie. I feel like there was so much more to him that we didn’t get to see and I’d love to know what something like him does in his spare time and maybe get to see some more deals he made over the years. I’m content with this being a standalone but there are are definitely times that I find myself wondering what if V.E. Schwab decides to revisit these characters at some point in the future.

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And that does it for the Insidious book tag! I had so much fun creating this and I really hope that it finds someone else who loves the Insidious series. I’m officially tagging anyone that would like to do this but please be sure to link back to my post so others can see where it came from. Have you seen any of the Insidious films? Which one is your favorite? Are you excited for The Red Door? I’d love to chat about all things Insidious so please feel free to leave me a comment below! Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you in the next chapter! Oh, and don’t forget to close the door on your way out.