What is on Reference Librarian Kelly's TBR stack?
As the August rolls in I always get the urge to start preparing for Autumn. By far my favorite time of year, and with the change in temperatures outside, my books also change.
I tend to lean more towards spooky, and less wayward easy-going fiction.
While, I am not normally a horror or gothic reader, I feel like giving myself a challenge this year. But with every spooky book, I tend to follow up with something a little more lighthearted.
I am currently reading
This book was actually gifted to me for my birthday. I love a good dark romance so this will be a fun read.
Summary
Salem Salazar is a Mortimer University legacy and the black sheep of her scandal-ridden, wealthy family. Obsessed with death, she arrives at Mortimer on the hunt for answers about what happened to her perfect, missing older sister. There, she discovers that her sister is far from the only girl to have gone missing at Mortimer. Salem will do anything to discover what dark forces are killing Mortimer's students... even if it means using herself as bait. And Cazimir van der Waal has caught her scent. He has a dark past, a hidden agenda, and a ravenous appetite for a beautiful, golden-eyed girl who seems determined to risk her life. But he is far from the most dangerous thing at Mortimer.--Provided by publisher.
On my To Be Read Pile
The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun
I love a cozy romance, this book has been on my list for a number of years, with several darker books on my list, I think I will enjoy something light-hearted in-between.
Summary
"Ever since he was a kid, Dev Deshpande has believed in fairy tales, and he has spent his career crafting them for the reality dating show Ever After. As the most successful producer in the franchise's history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns off-screen. That is, until the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star. Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming he's playing on TV. He doesn't believe in love (at least not for himself), and his publicist only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. In front of the cameras, he's a stiff, anxious mess with no idea how to date thirty women on national television. Behind the scenes, he's cold, awkward, and emotionally closed-off. Only Dev can save the season--and possibly the entire show--by coaching Charlie through every scene. Dev always gets a happy ending, and he knows he can find a way to help Charlie find his. Yet the more Dev fights to get Charlie to open up to the contestants, the more they begin to open up to each other, and it soon becomes clear Charlie has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars. Travelling to romantic locations around the world, they begin to suspect they could both find their happily ever after if they're willing to let go of their ideas about whose love story gets told"
We’ll Prescribe You A Cat by Ishida Syou
If it has cats in it, chances are I am gonna read it.
Summary
"Tucked away in an old building at the end of a narrow alley in Kyoto, the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul can only be found by people who are struggling in their lives and genuinely need help. The mysterious clinic offers a unique treatment to those who find their way there: it prescribes cats as medication. Patients are often puzzled by this unconventional prescription, but when they "take" their cat for the recommended duration, they witness profound transformations in their lives, guided by the playful, empathetic, occasionally challenging yet endearing cats. Through the chapters of a disheartened businessman who finds unexpected joy in physical labor, a young girl navigating the complexities of elementary school cliques, a middle-aged man struggling to stay relevant at work and home, a hardened bag designer seeking emotional balance, and a geisha unable to move on from the memory of her lost cat, the power of the human-animal bond is revealed. As the clinic's patients navigate their inner turmoil and seek resolution, their feline companions lead them toward healing, self-discovery, and newfound hope"
When Among Crows by Veronica Roth
Roth's novella's are hard to resist because even though they are short, you are always getting something filling.
Summary
"Pain is Dymitr's calling. His family is one in a long line of hunters who sacrifice their souls to slay monsters. Now he's tasked with a deadly mission: find the legendary witch Baba Jaga. To reach her, Dymitr must ally with the ones he's sworn to kill. Pain is Ala's inheritance. A fear-eating zmora with little left to lose, Ala awaits death from the curse she carries. When Dymitr offers her a cure in exchange for her help, she has no choice but to agree. Together they must fight against time and the wrath of the Chicago underworld. But Dymitr's secrets--and his true motives--may be the thing that actually destroys them"
The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune
I fell in love with TJ Klune after reading "Under the Whispering Door" a number of years ago. I have recommended it so many times, but thought I would include his latest on my TBR pile.
Summary
"In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything: his parents are dead, his older brother wants nothing to do with him, and he's been fired from his job as a journalist in Washington DC. With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family's summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon to try and find some sense of direction. The cabin should be empty. It's not. Inside is a man named Alex. And with him is an extraordinary little girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader. Artemis, who isn't exactly as she appears. Soon it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice: let himself drown in the memories of his past, or fight for a future he never thought possible. Because the girl is special. And forces are descending upon them who want nothing more than to control her."
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
Speaking of spooky, Tingle has been making waves lately, and being a fan of his "Tinglers" I know this jump into horror will not be disappointing.
Summary
"Bury Your Gays is a heart-pounding new novel from USA Today bestselling author Chuck Tingle about what it takes to succeed in a world that wants you dead. Misha knows that chasing success in Hollywood can be hell. But finally, after years of trying to make it, his big moment is here: an Oscar nomination. And the executives at the studio for his long-running streaming series know just the thing to kick his career to the next level: kill off the gay characters, "for the algorithm," in the upcoming season finale. Misha refuses, but he soon realizes that he's just put a target on his back. And what's worse, monsters from his horror movie days are stalking him and his friends through the hills above Los Angeles. Haunted by his past, Misha must risk his entire future--before the horrors from the silver screen find a way to bury him for good."
One of my favorite British historians, Dan Jones has now broken into the fiction world. I have read all of his non-fiction works, that I am certain his fiction will be a masterpiece. I highly recommend him if you are a fan of era known as the War of the Roses. You can also watch his documentaries online.
Summary
"The New York Times bestselling historian makes his historical fiction debut with an explosive novel set during the Hundred Years' War. July 1346. Ten men land on the beaches of Normandy. They call themselves the Essex Dogs: an unruly platoon of archers and men-at-arms led by a battle-scarred captain whose best days are behind him. The fight for the throne of the largest kingdom in Western Europe has begun. Heading ever deeper into enemy territory toward Crécy, this band of brothers knows they are off to fight a battle that will forge nations, and shape the very fabric of human lives. But first they must survive a bloody war in which rules are abandoned and chivalry itself is slaughtered. Rooted in historical accuracy and told through an unforgettable cast, Essex Dogs delivers the stark reality of medieval war on the ground - and shines a light on the fighters and ordinary people caught in the storm"
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
If you love "Darker Shades of Magic" and "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue," run don't walk to get this latest! Schwab never fails to transport me, and I know I will not be disappointed with her latest.
Summary
This is a story about hunger. 1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada. A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets. This is a story about love. 1827. London. A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined. This is a story about rage. 2019. Boston. College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.
Finally. . . .
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
The last but certainly not least, Stephen Graham Jones, who is a master of horror and suspense. We are actually reading this for October's Books and Brewskis If you have not tried the horror genre, Stephen Graham Jones is a perfect way to start because his writing is top-notch and that really makes all the difference. Also, a book about Vampires, yes please!
"A chilling historical horror novel set in the American west in 1912 following a Lutheran priest who transcribes the life of a vampire who haunts the fields of the Blackfeet reservation looking for justice. A diary, written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall. What it unveils is a slow massacre, a chain of events that go back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow. Told in transcribed interviews by a Blackfeet named Good Stab, who shares the narrative of his peculiar life over a series of confessional visits. This is an American Indian revenge story written by one of the new masters of horror, Stephen Graham Jones."