Topshelf Tuesdays 21#3

So many books, so little time.

Topshelf Tuesday is created by yours truly to shout about books on my TBR that I am desperate to read.

As a reviewer I try to post on or around the day of release if I’m writing about an ARC. The downside of this is all those owned books sitting sadly on the shelf, well, on my kindle mostly.

An irresponsible Netgalley addiction coupled with the desire to review any direct requests leaves me little to no time for what I dub ‘Topshelf’ books. Instead I look longingly at the covers before diving straight into the next title my schedule demands.

Some are new, some are old, some are gifted, some are recommended. All are waiting waiting waiting for their time to shine.

This week on my Topshelf I’m feeling wistful for…

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Grady Hendrix- The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires

I’ve read and enjoyed both Horrorstor and My Best Friends Exorcism by Grady so far, I’ve heard a lot of great things about The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires, it’s been staring out of my kindle at me for around 5 months now.

Synopsis

Patricia Campbell had always planned for a big life, but after giving up her career as a nurse to marry an ambitious doctor and become a mother, Patricia’s life has never felt smaller. The days are long, her kids are ungrateful, her husband is distant, and her to-do list is never really done. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. In these meetings, they’re more likely to discuss the FBI’s recent siege of Waco as much as the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood.

But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighborhood, the book club’s meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. Patricia is initially attracted to him, but when some local children go missing, she starts to suspect the newcomer is involved. She begins her own investigation, assuming that he’s a Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she–and her book club–are the only people standing between the monster they’ve invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community

Have you read this novel? Drop me a comment or link me your review!

Topshelf Tuesdays 21#1

So many books, so little time.

Topshelf Tuesday is created by yours truly to shout about books on my TBR that I am desperate to read.

As a reviewer I try to post on or around the day of release if I’m writing about an ARC. The downside of this is all those owned books sitting sadly on the shelf, well, on my kindle mostly.

An irresponsible Netgalley addiction coupled with the desire to review any direct requests leaves me little to no time for what I dub ‘Topshelf’ books. Instead I look longingly at the covers before diving straight into the next title my schedule demands.

Some are new, some are old, some are gifted, some are recommended. All are waiting waiting waiting for their time to shine.

This week on my Topshelf I’m feeling wistful for…

Hunter Shea, Creature

Hunter Shea- Creature

I’ve heard fantastic things about Creature for a long time now, this horror novel is apparently an emotional knife in the heart. After listening to Hunter’s interview on Make Me Read Your Book Podcast this title rocketed to  the top of my wait list. Also, it’s a Flame Tree Press publication and we all know I heavily support them.

Synopsis

The monsters live inside of Kate Woodson. Chronic pain and a host of autoimmune diseases have robbed her of a normal, happy life. Her husband Andrew’s surprise of their dream Maine lake cottage for the summer is the gift of a lifetime. It’s beautiful, remote, idyllic, a place to heal.

But they are not alone. Something is in the woods, screeching in the darkness, banging on the house, leaving animals for dead.

Just like her body, Kate’s cottage becomes her prison. She and Andrew must fight to survive the creature that lurks in the dead of night

Have you read this novel? Drop me a comment or link me your review!

Mini Book Review; The Searching Dead- Ramsey Campbell

Page Count 256

Publication date Feb 2021

Publisher Flame Tree Press

GoodReads link

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Synopsis

1952. On a school trip to France teenager Dominic Sheldrake begins to suspect his teacher Christian Noble has reasons to be there as secret as they’re strange. Meanwhile a widowed neighbour joins a church that puts you in touch with your dead relatives, who prove much harder to get rid of. As Dominic and his friends Roberta and Jim investigate, they can’t suspect how much larger and more terrible the link between these mysteries will become. A monstrous discovery beneath a church only hints at terrors that are poised to engulf the world as the trilogy brings us to the present day…

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AnAverageLife’s Top 10 Books of 2020

I don’t need to say it was a hard year, we all know it, we all feel it. I struggled at times to immerse myself in reading, or in anything at all if I’m honest, so I read a little less. Even so, of the 80+ fiction novels I did escape into, these were my favourite..

10. The Year Of The Witching – Alexis Henderson

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9. Cinderella Is Dead – Kalynn Bayron

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8. The Hollow Places – T Kingfisher

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7. The Secrets Of Strangers- Charity Norman

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6. A Deadly Education- Naomi Novik

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5 . The Silent Wife – Karin Slaughter

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4. The Hunted – Gabriel Bergmoser

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3. Feathertide – Beth Cartwright

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2. The Misfits – Hunter Shea

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1. The Devil And The Dark Water

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Have you read any of these titles? What made your top 10 of 2020?

Book Review; The Raven- Jonathan Janz

A post apocalyptic thriller from the modern master of horror.

Publication date Sept 2020/ Publisher FlameTree Press

GoodReads link

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Synopsis

Fearing that mankind is heading toward nuclear extinction, a group of geneticists unleash a plot to save the world. They’ve discovered that mythological creatures such as werewolves, vampires, witches, and satyrs were once real, and that these monstrous genetic strands are still present in human DNA. These radical scientists unleash the bestial side of human beings that had been dormant for eons, and within months, most people are dead, and bloodthirsty creatures rule the earth. Despite the fact that Dez McClane has no special powers, he is determined to atone for the lives he couldn’t save and to save the woman he loves. But how long can a man survive in a world full of monsters?
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Continue reading “Book Review; The Raven- Jonathan Janz”

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