𝐕𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐬: 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 | Audiobook Review

𝐕𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐬: 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝

𝐁𝐲 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝

𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨

𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟏.𝟐.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

---

It was great to be back in the world of vampires! 

𝐕𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐬 has all the makings for a dark academia read – an elite vampire academy in the Swiss Alps, a new student, and of course, the paranormal element. 

Dillion has just turned eighteen and his father is sending him away to Vamps, a Vampire Academy. The problem is Dillion knows nothing about being a vampire! Dillion is a Dhampir (totally new term to me); he is half human/half vampire. He was raised by his human father never knowing his mother.

Watching Dillion come into his vampire-ness was entertaining, but soon as he did, it caused trouble for him. Someone or something does not want Dillion to succeed. But Dillion has a big heart and apparently some powerful lineage surging through that blood of his.

This is not the literature of the classic Dracula, but it was fun, a little sexy, and the audiobook was well done.

Thank you @simon.audio and @libro.fm for this complimentary audiobook. 

🧛🏻‍♂️𝔻𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕒 𝕗𝕒𝕧𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕧𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕖 𝕠𝕣 𝕒 𝕗𝕒𝕧𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕖 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕧𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕤?

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 | Audiobook Review

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

𝐁𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞

𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 

𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞:𝟏.𝟐.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

---

The Blackhouse is my second of Carole Johnstone’s mysteries, and once again she has managed to unnerve me. The atmosphere of an isolated Scottish island and a woman struggling with mental illness and visions all set a gothic tone.

Maggie MacKay was only five when she claimed a man was murdered on the Isle of Kilmeray. It grabbed a lot of attention, but how would Maggie know such a thing, as she had never been to the island? 

Robert Reid moves his family to the small community of Kilmeray hoping to farm the land and for peace. But thoughts and memories of some past misdeed haunt him.

Now, as an adult, Maggie has come to Kilmeray determined to get to the truth, but the truth goes far deeper than she imagined. 

The setting alone is enough to send a few shivers up your spine: a remote island in the chilly Atlantic, with a very tight-knit community that is keeping some dreadfully dark secrets. Although the pace is unhurried, I found the elements of mental health, possible reincarnation, and locals-gone-rogue to be very interesting. Plus Maggie was a character that I found myself rooting for.

🎧If you want the full atmospheric experience, grab the audiobook, the narrator has a great accent!

Thank you @simon.audio for the complimentary audiobook and @bookclubfavorites for a gifted book.

😴 𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖𝚜? 𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝙲𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚛?

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 | Book Review

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 

𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚 𝐓𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐦

𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐚𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 / 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 

𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟏.𝟑.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

---

This was such a fun love triangle romance. Don’t be put off by “love triangle” if that’s usually not your thing, because it’s not Zahra’s thing either!

Zahra, a Bengali princess living in Jersey, is trying to earn money so that she can take writing classes, as she wants to be a writer, but her mother is convinced she just needs a good love match. 

Her mother and the auntie network plan and scheme to set Zahra up with Harun, a wealthy, nerdy, but very cute boy. But Zahra finds herself falling for Nayim, the new dishwasher at the tea shop she works at. 

Harun and her devise a plan to convince everyone that they aren’t a good match, which includes fake dating. As the two spend time together though, her feelings get very mixed up as to which boy her heart desires.

I loved the descriptions of the Bengali community, family, and culture woven into the narrative. This is a clean, sweet, romance that hits on being true to yourself and not rushing into love. 

Thank you @bookclubfavorites for this gifted copy and @simon.audio for the complimentary audiobook.

🍵 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂?

The Fortunes of Jaded Women | AudioBook Review

The Fortunes of Jaded Women

Carolyn Huynh

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Audio

Pub Date: 9.5.2022

---

I love generational stories with some good drama, and 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 did not disappoint! In fact, it starts with a curse from a witch.

This is a modern-day story about the three Dương sisters, who have become estranged from each other, their mother, and their grown daughters. But this is not all by choice, or so they believe. Long ago, an ancestor of theirs received a curse that happiness would elude them if they married, and they would not have a son as an heir.

Well, generations later, with all daughters and this family is struggling. Mothers and daughters, and the sisters too, are not on good terms. Is it the curse? Then word comes from a psychic that this year the family will have a wedding, a funeral and the birth of a son; it may be time for a change.

Although there were a lot of characters to keep track of, I really loved this family. There was tons of humor and sarcasm. I enjoyed how the author wove in Vietnamese traditions, customs, and Asian stereotyping as this family tries to overcome a so-called “curse.” The women are center stage in this one, but the men they marry and date add a lot to the laughs. 

Thank you to @libro.fm for this gifted audiobook.

💚 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐉𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐣𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐚𝐝𝐞?

The Last to Vanish | Book Review

The Last to Vanish

Megan Miranda

Audio:@simon.audio

Publisher: Scribner Books

Pub Date: 7.26.2022 𝒪𝓊𝓉 𝒩𝑜𝓌!

---

This is my first book by Megan Miranda, and I’m glad I’m not getting left out of the bookstagram lovefest this one is receiving! 

There are two things I find make a thriller a good read (or listen) for me: 1). Location, location, location, and 2). Characters – endearing or rotten to the core, make them interesting with good interactions, and I’m in!

That said, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 met both my criteria. Set in Cutter’s Pass, North Carolina, where numerous hikers have vanished, Trey West, a journalist, comes to investigate the recent disappearance of his brother. So that’s a definite check on the eerie atmosphere.

Then there is Abby, the manager of the Passage Inn, where Trey is staying. Of course, the two get tangled up together as they search for not only Trey’s brother but clues to what happened to all that went missing. You just know there is more than meets the eye with these two, but what? I liked Abby’s character; in fact, I would have liked her to have been fleshed out even more! 

Don’t be in a hurry to see where this one is going. As if hiking a twisty path, enjoy the atmosphere, the erratic weather, the waterfalls, and nature itself. I will definitely be reading more from @meganlmiranda 

Thank you @librofm for the gifted ALC and @dartfroggco and @scribner 

🔎 😱 𝙸𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚎𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝙼𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛?