Friday Face-Off: What’s Your Catnip?

Posted on December 31, 2021 8 Comments

Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme created by Books by Proxy! Each Friday, we will pit cover against cover while also taking the opportunity to showcase gorgeous artwork and feature some of our favorite book covers. If you want to join the fun, simply choose a book each Friday that fits that week’s predetermined theme, post and compare two or more different covers available for that book, then name your favorite. A list of future weeks’ themes are available at Lynn’s Book Blog.

This week’s theme is:

“If it’s on a cover, you have to pick it up!”

Mermaids

What I can’t resist, and what I would love to see more of, are mermaid stories! Whenever I see one on the cover of a book, I immediately want to read it!

Here are some of my favorite mermaid covers on my shelves!

How about you? Do you have any favorite mermaid covers?

Thriller Thursday: Angel Killer by Andrew Mayne

Posted on December 30, 2021 8 Comments

Angel Killer by Andrew Mayne

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Series: Book 1 of Jessica Blackwood

Publisher: HarperAudio (September 23, 2014)

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Narrators: Jennifer O’Donnell, Fred Berman

The end of the year is always a great time for catch-up and mood reading, and this month I got to pick up Angel Killer by Andrew Mayne, bringing me one step closer to completing his backlist. With Station Breaker, Orbital, and Public Enemy Zero already checked off the list, somehow the Jessica Blackwood series had still managed to elude me, though not surprisingly this year’s publication of Mastermind was a huge motivation for me to finally do something about that. The book which featured a team up between Jessica and Theo Cray of The Naturalist actually gave me a chance to see her in action, and what I saw definitely made me want to know more.

When we first meet FBI Agent Jessica Blackwood at the beginning of Angel Killer, she’s just been assigned to a new case which has the entirety of the organization baffled. A serial killer calling himself the Warlock has been staging a series of bizarre crimes designed to capture the attention of the media and have the public talking. First, it’s a brazen hack of the FBI’s website with a clue that leads to a cemetery in Michigan. There, Jessica and her fellow agents discover the corpse of a young woman who was murdered two years ago, except now she looks as if she’d died that very morning after appearing to have crawled out of her own grave.

The mysterious, seemingly impossible deaths don’t stop there, with the circumstances surrounding each subsequent victim becoming more and more implausible, defying the laws of nature. Predictably, some of the news outlets have started calling these acts a miracle, playing right into the Warlock’s hands. Having been born into a family of magicians and trained by her famous illusionist grandfather though, Jessica isn’t fooled, and neither is her boss Dr. Jeffrey Ailes. Fully aware of Jessica’s background, he believes it’ll take a magician to catch a magician, because that is all the Warlock is—a performer using the world as a stage to show off his sick antics. Helping Jessica realize her full potential, Ailes understands that she may be uniquely equipped to solve this case, as well as the FBI’s best chance at staying ahead of their quarry before he kills again.

Andrew Mayne has a background in magic, and while some of his professional knowledge has been featured in his other books, none of it compares to how prominently they are showcased in Angel Killer. This certainly lends the novel its distinctive flavor, setting it apart from a sea of other mystery crime thrillers about law enforcement hunting down serial killers. Rather than being your typical genre villain, the Warlock is like a twisted showman trying to get the whole world talking about act by finding ways to make each victim a public spectacle. A reanimated dead girl comes back to life only to die again by her own grave before spontaneously bursting into flames. A warplane that has been missing for decades suddenly reappears on a Florida beach with the fresh corpse of its pilot still strapped in the cockpit, almost as if they’d emerged from a portal through time. The body of a woman with wings appears in a flash of light in the middle of Times Squire, seemingly to have fallen out of the sky.

Because all the Warlock’s killings are so extreme, this does give the novel an almost fantastical, supernatural or surreal kind of vibe. At the same time, being over-the-top is also one of the author’s trademarks, so to me those traits kind of went hand in hand. As the special consultant on the Warlock case though, it is Jessica’s job to figure out how he pulls off the seemingly impossible, using her knowledge of magic and illusion to offer up perfectly logical and mundane explanations. This was the part I found most fascinating, because often in the process of explaining a Warlock illusion, Mayne would also reveal some tricks of the trade, so to speak, describing how some of the more popular magician acts can be achieved.

Save for only a few sections where the narrative would veer too much towards exposition, the pacing was breakneck, the plot innovative and extremely engaging. In so many ways it is an Andrew Mayne novel through and through, taking you on a wild adventure involving farfetched but highly entertaining scenarios that would suck you right in. I can’t wait to dive into the next book for more Jessica Blackwood.

Waiting on Wednesday 12/29/21

Posted on December 29, 2021 10 Comments

Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that first originated at Breaking the Spine but has since linked up with “Can’t Wait Wednesday” at Wishful Endings now that the original creator is unable to host it anymore. Either way, this fun feature is a chance to showcase the upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!

Mogsy’s Pick

Upgrade by Blake Crouch (July 19, 2022 by Ballantine)

My heart gave an excited little flutter as soon as I saw this upcoming thriller from Blake Crouch, even before I got to check out the description, but I just know anything he writes will keep me up reading all night!

“Logan Ramsay is about to get the brain he always dreamed of. But will he be transformed into something more than human…or something less? The mind-blowing new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion

When the SWAT team gives the all-clear and Logan Ramsay steps into the basement, he has no idea that everything’s about to change.

Then there’s the hiss of aerosol. The explosion. The shrapnel that punctures his hazmat gear. Logan wakes up to find himself in a hospital bed, attended by doctors in their own hazmat suits, his wife and daughter looking on from behind the glass.

The doctors say he’s been infected by a virus–one designed not to make him sick, but to modify his very genetic structure. In a world where the next-generation gene-editing tool known as Scythe is widely available–and has already reaped disastrous consequences–the possibilities are too many and terrifying to count.

Except that after the fever, the pain, the fear…the virus is gone. And according to his government bosses, Logan’s got a clean bill of health.

But the truth is that with each day that passes, Logan’s getting smarter. Seeing things more clearly. He’s realizing that he’s been upgraded in ways that go beyond even Scythe’s capabilities–and that he’s been given these abilities for a reason.

Because a holy grail of genetic engineering–one that could change our very definitions of humanity–has just been unearthed. And now it’s up to him to stop it from falling into the wrong hands.

Logan’s becoming something more. Something better. Even with the whole world hunting for him, he might be able to outthink his opponents and win the war that’s coming.

But what if it’s at the cost of being himself?”

Audiobook Challenge 2021: 4th Quarter Update

Posted on December 28, 2021 9 Comments

It’s our final update for the 2021 Audiobook Challenge! Thank you to the challenge hosts and here’s to another year of great listens. Let’s get a quick, final refresher on what the challenge is all about and see how everyone did.

Challenge Details

Runs January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021. You can join at any time.
The goal is to find a new love for audios or to outdo yourself by listening to more audios in 2021 than you did in 2020.
Books must be in audio format (CD, MP3, etc.)
ANY genres count.
Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads, Facebook, LibraryThing, etc.
If you’re a blogger grab the button and do a quick post about the challenge to help spread the word. If you’re not a blogger you can help by posting on Facebook or Tweet about the challenge.
Updates plus a giveaway will be posted twice during the year. The first update will be July 2, 2021, and the last update will take place on December 30, 2021.

Levels

Newbie (I’ll give it a try) 1-5
Weekend Warrior (I’m getting the hang of this) 5-10
Stenographer (can listen while multitasking) 10-15
Socially Awkward (Don’t talk to me) 15-20
Binge Listener (Why read when someone can do it for you) 20-30
My Precious (I had my earbuds surgically implanted) 30+
Marathoner (Look Ma No Hands) 50+
Over-Achiever (Power Listener) 75+
The 100 Club (Audiobook Addict) 100+

Remember, my goal this year was Over-Achiever (Power Listener) which is 75 audiobooks. So how did I stack up? Well, in the final three months of 2021 I added another 17 books to my final count, making my grand total…69! Aw, cue sad trombone sound. So I didn’t quite make it, and I was even farther away from my goal compared to last year, but considering all that was going on in my life the last few months and me picking up another side job, I think I did pretty well! Enough so that I’m still going to congratulate myself for a job well done, and overall it was another fantastic year for the challenge in which I got listen to a lot of great books. I’ll definitely be doing this again in 2022 for another year of the Audiobook Challenge!

Best of 2021 and the Year in Review

Posted on December 27, 2021 21 Comments

It’s once again that time of the year where I look back at the last twelve months and round up my favorite reads! As always, my methods are going to be rather haphazard, but as you know I read a lot of books and having to narrow it down to just “Top 10” or even “Top 20” is a difficult (if not impossible) task. That’s why I never do a traditional list, and instead choose different genres/categories to highlight all the books that 1) were my favorites of the year, 2) I thought were most memorable, or 3) I think should be getting more love and attention. If I’m lucky and productive this week, I might be able to squeeze in a couple more books before the end of the year, but what you see here is pretty much it!

Fantasy

Science Fiction

Horror

Paranormal/Urban Fantasy

Young Adult

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

Overview: Books Read in 2021

Goodreads Ratings:

More on The BiblioSanctum:
Best of 2014 and The Year in Review
Best of 2015 and The Year in Review
Best of 2016 and The Year in Review
Best of 2017 and The Year in Review
Best of 2018 and The Year in Review
Best of 2019 and The Year in Review
Best of 2020 and The Year in Review

YA Weekend: Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer

Posted on December 26, 2021 12 Comments

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Mystery, Young Adult

Series: Book 7 of Enola Holmes

Publisher: Wednesday Books (August 31, 2021)

Length: 261 pages

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Like so many others, I discovered Enola Holmes as a Netflix movie before finding out about the series of books it was based on—a series that has been around since 2006, no less. Now more than a decade after the last book, Nancy Springer has returned with Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche, which is the seventh installment though it can be read as a standalone. In fact, Enola’s famous older brother Sherlock gives a rather thorough recap in the prologue, covering her adventures in mystery solving from the previous six books, allowing seamless access into this one.

Following this brief but detailed recap, we jump right into the meat of the story. At fifteen, our protagonist is already living on her own in London, visiting 221B Baker Street after Watson informs her that Sherlock hasn’t been himself as of late. But while Enola is there attending to her brother, a young woman named Tish shows up seeking the detective to consult on a difficult case. An Earl had recently become smitten with Tish’s twin sister Flossie, and the two married despite her being far beneath his station. Now a letter has come from the nobleman informing Tish that Flossie had died from a sudden illness, one that was so severe that the body had to be cremated almost immediately out of an abundance of caution.

Because of the vagueness and curt tone of the note though, Tish has reason to suspect that the Earl may not be telling the truth. Growing up, she and her twin were also very close, and if Flossie had truly died, Tish insists that she would have felt the death in her gut. Instead, her instincts tell her that there is more to the letter, and despite the urn that came along with it ostensibly containing Flossie’s ashes, Enola agrees. So, with Sherlock still being in a funk and feeling indisposed, she decides to step up and help the bereaved young woman.

What follows next is a delightful mix of humor and sleuthing action as Enola does what she does best, utilizing multiple disguises to travel to different places, questioning witnesses and gathering evidence. A clever, resourceful, and confident young lady, she is just such a joy to read about! Even when caught in sticky situations, she powers through the awkwardness with courage and determination, and usually still comes out on top with helpful information towards the case.

And of course, watching Enola carry out her investigations also lights a fire under Sherlock. Newly motivated, he comes up with his own ways to help Tish and his sister, and though his attitude is very different from Enola’s, their two investigative styles complement each other well. While the two are polar opposites in temperament with many years separating them, there’s clear affection between the siblings which was heartwarming to see, even if they do get on each other’s nerves sometimes.

The writing was also accessible and fast-paced, perfected suited for the young adult or higher middle grade audience these books were meant for, though I think adults will also enjoy this immensely. I know I did. Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche was a quick read that I would absolutely recommend to fans of engaging historical mysteries or Sherlock Holmes-type stories with a twist. Our witty and fearless protagonist is almost guaranteed to steal some hearts and bring about a few smiles, and I can’t wait to read more, either the previous books or future installments if we’re fortunate!

Bookshelf Roundup: 12/25/21: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads

Posted on December 25, 2021 20 Comments

Bookshelf Roundup is a feature I do every weekend which fills the role of several blog memes, like Stacking the Shelves where I talk about the new books I’ve added to my library or received for review, as well as It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? where I summarize what I’ve finished reading in the last week and what I’m planning to read soon. Mostly it also serves as a recap post, so sometimes I’ll throw in stuff like reading challenge progress reports, book lists, and other random bookish thoughts or announcements.

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Merry Christmas and happy holidays! Whatever you celebrate, I hope your day is filled with warmth, love, and joy!

Received for Review

My thanks to the publishers and authors for the following review copies received, and be sure to click the links to their Goodreads pages for more details and full descriptions!

Huge thanks to Orbit this week for a review copy of Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey! The final volume of the epic Expanse series is finally here, and it feels like I’ve been waiting forever. I’m both excited and nervous to start this one, but what’s certain is that I’ll do it real soon! With thanks also to Angry Robot for an ARC of The Circus Infinite by Khan Wong, a sci-fi found family adventure about a runaway who discovers a new life among the members of an intergalactic circus. Totally in love with that cover too!

Thank you also to the incredible team at Tor.com for an ARC of Servant Mage by Kate Elliott. It’s been ages since I’ve read something from the author, and I’m looking forward to diving back into her work with this fantasy novella. And I was also very excited to receive an advance copy of Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes, described as Titanic meets The Shining. I’ve been itching for a sci-fi horror and this is one of my most highly anticipated new releases in the new year! My thanks to Nightfire Books!

With thanks also to Macmillan Audio for a duo of mystery thrillers this week. I was very happy to receive listening copies of Such A Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester and A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham, both of which had been on my watchlist!

Reviews

Way of the Argosi by Sebastien de Castell (4.5 of 5 stars)
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (4 of 5 stars)
My Darling Husband by Kimberly Belle (3.5 of 5 stars)

Roundup Highlights:

What I’ve Been Reading

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Have you heard of or read any of the books featured this week? What caught your eye? Any new discoveries? I hope you found something interesting for a future read!

Friday Face-Off: Hair Like Fire

Posted on December 24, 2021 16 Comments

This week’s theme is:

“Red hair, red covers, fire breathing dragons, or simply fire”
~ ALL THINGS FIRE

Fable by Adrienne Young

As you can see from the theme’s description this week, we were given pretty free reign to do whatever we wanted with it. The prompt of “red hair” caught my eye though, because it seemed a bit more challenging and the concept intrigued me. I’m also sure I’ve used dragons, fire, and red covers as Friday Face-Off themes before, so I wanted to try something different. The book I’ve chosen is Fable by Adrienne Young, about a feisty pirate girl who was forced to grow up fending for herself on an island full of thieves before one day sailing off to learn more about her family and claim her birthright.

Let’s take a look at the covers:

From left to right:

Wednesday Books (2020) – Titan Books FairyLoot Exclusive (2020)

Titan Books (2021) – Spanish Edition (2022)

Winner:

I really love the stylized illustrated cover of the Titan Books Fairyloot edition this time, and I’m not surprised because they’ve been known to do some beautiful work for their exclusives.

But what do you think? Which one is your favorite?

Thriller Thursday Audio Review: My Darling Husband by Kimberly Belle

Posted on December 23, 2021 10 Comments

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

My Darling Husband by Kimberly Belle

Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 3.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Harlequin Audio (December 28, 2021)

Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Outwardly, Cam and Jade Lasky appear to have it all, he a celebrity chef and owner of a rapidly growing chain of swanky steakhouses across Atlanta, and she a talented interior designer who now is a supermom raising their two children. Little does Jade know though, Cam’s restaurant business isn’t doing as well as he is leading her to believe, with the expenses piling up and him drowning in debt.

One day, she returns home with her son and daughter to find a masked gunman waiting for her, threatening to kill them all unless she does exactly what he says. First, Jade is instructed to call her husband, following an exact script. Cam must be told not alert the police. If there’s even a hint of sirens, the masked man promises that bullets will start to fly. Next—and this part is very specific—Cam must pay a total ransom of $734,296 to set his family free, no more, no less. He is to bring the money to the house by a specific time that evening, or Jade and the kids will die.

Considering the entire story is told in retrospect, since it is revealed at the beginning that Cam is being interviewed by a media outlet about past events, there was still loads of suspense and surprises aplenty in My Darling Husband. But even as these brief interludes pop up now and then to show that it is Cam being interviewed, the most harrowing moments, the ones seen from inside the house during the hours-long hostage situation, are told from Jade’s point of view.

These chapters had my heart pounding, my skin crawling for several reasons. As if being a victim of a home invasion isn’t bad enough, imagine having your young children with you. Jade’s situation is a nightmare scenario one hopes never to find themselves in, and as much as I ended up second guessing a lot of her actions, I have to say the fear and desperation throughout the book felt discomfortingly real, urgent, and at times even hopeless. At many points, Jade becomes the selfless mother who ceases to be concerned about her own wellbeing, putting all her efforts in ensuring that her children would survive instead, and with that also comes the gut-wrenching realization that if anything happened to them, it would be her fault. Her failure.

Needless to say, the author did a fantastic job on the “fierce lioness protecting her cubs” angle, and in fact, it may be the most noteworthy aspect of this entire novel, along with perhaps the addition of Cam and Jade’s brave 9-year-old daughter Beatrice, who was also a highlight. Otherwise, My Darling Husband is by no means a groundbreaking thriller, retreading familiar ground, like hidden pasts or secrets kept from spouses. I also think some of the major twists and the final reveal lacked oomph, but that might be because I feel the author played her hand too early on them. You see, every so often we would get chapters from Cam, and even from the masked gunman himself. On some level, I understood why this had to be done, if the goal was to slowly fill in the missing gaps in our knowledge and answer the whats, hows, and whys. Still, I think that had the effect of taking the mystery away too quickly.

The story was engaging though, and the pace moved quickly. And when it comes to thrillers, sometimes that’s enough. Great performance as well by narrators Natalie Duke, Seth Podowitz, and Charlie Kevin on the audiobook edition; they read their parts well, and it’s always a more immersive experience when there are multiple readers.

Waiting on Wednesday 12/22/21

Posted on December 22, 2021 5 Comments

Mogsy’s Pick

The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison (June 14, 2022 by Tor Books)

I absolutely adored Katherine Addison’s The Witness for the Dead, so to find out that a direct sequel is coming is very exciting! I can’t wait to read more about Celehar and his very unique profession.

“In The Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison returns to the world of The Goblin Emperor with a direct sequel to The Witness For The Dead…

Celehar’s life as the Witness for the Dead of Amalo grows less isolated as his circle of friends grows larger. He has been given an apprentice to teach, and he has stumbled over a scandal of the city—the foundling girls. Orphans with no family to claim them and no funds to buy an apprenticeship. Foundling boys go to the Prelacies; foundling girls are sold into service, or worse.

At once touching and shattering, Celehar’s witnessing for one of these girls will lead him into the depths of his own losses. The love of his friends will lead him out again.”