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Friday, October 9, 2020

SEPTEMBER ➯ RECAP

 


FOR THE MONTH OF

SEPTEMBER


September shaped up to be an excellent month of listening for me, and a phenomenal start to Halloween Bingo.  I almost finished all 25 books for it.  I am a listening machine these days.  When I go back to 1st shift at work, I'll miss listening to Audiobooks, for sure. 


MY MONTHLY RECAP IS AS FOLLOWS⇢

20 TOTAL AUDIOBOOKS
( 12,562 MINUTES)

6,856 PAGES (CONVERTED TO PAGES FROM KINDLE VERSION)

THE BOOKS⇣
CLICKING THE GRAPHIC TAKES YOU TO MY REVIEW


AUDIOBOOK  HOME BEFORE DARK  RILEY SAGER


THE DETAILS✎
❐ HORROR/MYSTERY
❐ TOLD FROM TWO POV'S (MAGGIE & HER FATHER)
❐ CREEPY AF HAUNTED HOUSE STORY
❐ WOODSY VERMONT SETTING

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ Home Before Dark is smartly written, perfectly paced, creepily spooky, outrageously crafty, and wickedly twisty.

FINISH DATE ➯ 09/01



AUDIOBOOK  THE BRIGHT LANDS  JOHN FRAM


THE DETAILS✎

❐ MURDER/MYSTERY/HORROR
❐ LITTLE PARTS VARSITY BLUES OR FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
❐ LITTLE PARTS STRANGER THINGS
❐ LITTLE PARTS QUEER
❐ LITTLE PARTS WTF!!!
❐ TEXAS + FOOTBALL + SOMETHING REALLY DARK & TWISTED

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE  What are the bright lands and what exactly goes down there...these are the elements to pay attention to when reading this...and I literally never saw IT coming...jaw-droppingly weird is what it is.

FINISH DATE ➯ 09/02



AUDIOBOOK  THE YEAR OF THE WITCHING ○ ALEXIS HENDERSON


THE DETAILS✎

❐ PURITANICAL SOCIETY 
❐ FEMINIST FANTASY
❐ DYSTOPIAN-ISH 
❐ VIBING THE GRACE YEAR WITH THE SALEM WITCHES
❐ TOLD FROM A SINGLE POV --IMMANUELLE

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ If dystopian, historical, and fantasy got together and created a genre that is equal parts of each of them, that would be what this feels like to me...maybe, we could call it fandystorian.

FINISH DATE ➯ 09/04



AUDIOBOOK  I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER  LOIS DUNCAN



THE DETAILS✎

❐ THE BOOK CAME FIRST
❐ THERE IS A MOVIE
❐ DEFINITE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE BOOK & MOVIE
❐ YA/MIDDLE-GRADE HORROR

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ It was a quick listen and it was interesting to see how it differed from the movie...or what I remember of the movie, anyway.

FINISH DATE ➯ 09/05



AUDIOBOOK  THE SEA OF LOST GIRLS  CAROL GOODMAN



THE DETAILS✎

❐ MURDER AT A PRIVATE SCHOOL

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE  I found this to be overall...uninspiring, unengaging, and predictable...and I'm basically unmotivated to say anything more about this.

FINISH DATE ➯ 09/07



AUDIOBOOK  FRAMED  S.L. MCINNIS


THE DETAILS✎

❐ TWO PARTS PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
❐ ONE PART POLICE PROCEDURAL 
❐ ONE PART MARITAL HISTRIONICS
❐ MIXED TOGETHER FOR A FIENDISHLY CLEVER STORY

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ I was completely sucked in from the beginning and I was there for the ride that this book took me on.

FINISH DATE ➯ 09/08



AUDIOBOOK  THE TWISTED ONES  T. KINGFISHER


THE DETAILS✎

❐ FOLKLORE-ISH, WEIRDLY HORROR-IF-IC AND ODDLY ENTERTAINING 
❐ BONGO...A GIRLS BEST FRIEND IS HER DOG
❐ LAUGH OUT LOUD MOMENTS
❐ DEER EFFIGIES, CREEPY DOLLS & DISAPPEARING HILLS

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ Deer effigies, creepy dolls, and disappearing hills are just a few of the elements you'll find within this story...if you're a fan of the weird and unexplained this might be perfect for you. 

FINISH DATE  09/09



AUDIOBOOK  THE GHOST TREE  CHRISTINA HENRY


THE DETAILS✎

❐ YA HORROR
❐ WITCHES, CURSES, AND BLOODY SACRIFICES
❐ EVIL LURKING IN THE WOODS
❐ MULTIPLE POV'S
❐ SET IN THE 80'S...WITH PLENTY OF REFERENCES

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ This isn't really a retelling but it almost feels like it could be...there's even a princess...but you know, she dies (not really a spoiler)...that's pretty much what this author does turns the fairytales on their ass, so to speak.

FINISH DATE ➯ 09/10



AUDIOBOOK  BLOOD AND SALT  KIM LIGGETT


THE DETAILS✎

❐ BLOOD AND SALT #1 OF 2
❐ GOTHIC HORROR ROMANCE
❐ TOLD FROM ONE POV
❐ A UTOPIA...OR IS IT A CULT
❐ SECRETS, LIES, BETRAYALS & MYSTERIOUS DEATHS
❐ WTF IS UP WITH THAT CORN

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ Since I'm woefully behind on my reviews lately...this is going to be super quick.  Take some forbidden romance, a set of fraternal twins, one of which sees dead people or one dead person, a creepy cornfield in Kansas, a little bit of alchemy, and a bit of sketchy immortality mixed with one weird little "town" where everyone thinks they are living in some kind of utopia and that is Blood and Salt in a nutshell. 

FINISH DATE  09/11



AUDIOBOOK  THE LIAR'S GIRL  CATHERINE RYAN HOWARD



THE DETAILS✎

❐ SERIAL KILLER MURDER MYSTERY
❐ THE GRAND CANAL IN DUBLIN, IRELAND
❐ HER BOYFRIEND CONFESSES...BUT IS HE REALLY GUILTY?
❐ FLASH-FORWARD TEN YEARS...THERE SEEMS TO BE A COPYCAT
❐ ALTERNATES BETWEEN PAST AND PRESENT

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE  This is my second book by this author, and while I didn't get sucked in as I did with The Nothing Man, I still found this to be a decent listen/read.

FINISH DATE  09/13



AUDIOBOOK  THICKER THAN BLOOD  MADELINE SHEEHAN & CLAIR C RILEY


THE DETAILS✎

❐ THICKER THAN BLOOD #1
❐ ZOMBIE POST-APOCALYPTIC
❐ SOME ROMANCE
❐ UNSATISFYING ENDING...

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE  This is a bleak zombie-infested world with not even a hint of happiness to be found unless you count some good sex as happiness.

FINISH DATE  09/14 



AUDIOBOOK  THE SEARCH PARTY  SIMON LELIC


THE DETAILS✎

❐ A GROUP OF "FRIENDS" SEARCHES FOR ONE OF THEIR OWN
❐ I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE SOMBODY'S WATCHING ME...
❐ SOMEONE ENDS UP DEAD
❐ TOLD IN PRESENT TENSE & PAST TENSE
❐ MANY POV'S WITH A FULL-CAST
❐ SECRETS, LIES & BETRAYALS...

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE  This slowly insinuated itself under my skin without me even realizing it...making me contemplate the what-ifs and should-haves...it just goes to show, the truth really can set you free.

FINISH DATE  09/15



AUDIOBOOK  DON'T LOOK FOR ME  WENDY WALKER


THE DETAILS✎

❐ MYSTERY⬦ SUSPENSE ⬦ THRILLER 
❐ FAMILY TRAGEDY
❐ DUAL POV'S --BETWEEN MOTHER AND DAUGHTER
❐ FANTASTICALLY PACED
❐ INTENSE & TWISTY

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE  This story will keep you guessing until the end...giving you just enough clues to keep you trying to put it together and work it out...and even then it will surprise you.

FINISH DATE  09/16



AUDIOBOOK  THE NIGHT OLIVIA FELL  CHRISTINA MCDONALD


THE DETAILS✎

❐ IS IT...ACCIDENT, ATTEMPTED MURDER OR SUICIDE
❐ DUAL POV'S BETWEEN MOTHER AND DAUGHTER
❐ SINGLE/HELICOPTER MOM TO THE EXTREME
❐ A DAUGHTER WITH SECRETS --INCLUDING A PREGNANCY

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE  With characters that I really cared about and a storyline that felt like every parent's worse nightmare, this one really got to me, both as a mystery and on an emotional level.

FINISH DATE  09/17



AUDIOBOOK  DARK ISLAND  MATT JAMES


THE DETAILS✎

❐ PREHISTORIC BEASTS OF THE DINOSAUR VARIETY
❐ JULES VERNE MEETS MICHAEL CRICHTON 
❐ THERE'S EVEN A SHOUT-OUT TO DR. GRANT & JURASSIC PARK
❐ TINY SPLASH OF ROMANCE OR SOMETHING LIKE IT

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE  Dark Island is like Jurassic Park meets Journey to the Center of the Earth, and it is one heck of a ride.

FINISH DATE  09/18



AUDIOBOOK  ROAD OUT OF WINTER  ALISON STINE



THE DETAILS✎

❐ A STAND-ALONE...BUT IT FELT LIKE IT SHOULD HAVE A SEQUEL
❐ SINGLE POV
❐ CLIMATE CHANGE --ENDLESS WINTER
❐ APOCALYPTIC WORLD

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE  While very well written, with characters who were likable and had real depth to them, I was still ultimately put off by the ending because it didn't really have one...as if it was reaching for something that never really happened.

FINISH DATE  09/21



AUDIOBOOK  BIRD BOX  JOSH MALERMAN



THE DETAILS✎

❐ BIRD BOX #1
❐ TOLD IN THE PAST AND THE PRESENT
❐ AN UNSEEABLE MONSTER
❐ ONCE YOU DO SEE IT...YOU DON'T LIVE TO TELL ABOUT IT
❐ APOCALYPTIC HORROR
❐ A BIT OF A PSYCHOLOGICAL MINDFUCK
❐ THERE IS A MOVIE 

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE  I'm thrilled that I gave in and listened to this because it is super intense and not to be missed because it is undoubtedly an experience although I might be too scared to watch the movie.

FINISH DATE  09/22



AUDIOBOOK  BONE GAP  LAURA RUBY


THE DETAILS✎

❐ MAGICAL REALISM
❐ PART CONTEMPORARY, PART FANTASY
❐ YA- ISH
❐ WHIMSICAL WITH A DARK EDGE
❐ SPLASH OF ROMANCE

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE  An unusual, fairytale-ish story with a mysteriously darkish lining to it, that ultimately lost me somewhere along the way...I think it was when the magical horse came about.

FINISH DATE  09/23



AUDIOBOOK  AND NOW SHE'S GONE  RACHEL HOWZELL HALL



THE DETAILS✎

❐ SLOW-BURN MYSTERY
❐ SOME THRILLS & SUSPENSE
❐ DOMESTIC ABUSE
❐ IDENTITY THEFT

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE  The narrative was kept fresh by dealing with themes of domestic abuse, identity theft, and a stolen dog named Kenny G.

FINISH DATE  09/26



AUDIOBOOK  THE NEED  HELEN PHILLIPS



THE DETAILS✎

❐ NOT THE STORY I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE
❐ MORE PSYCHOLOGICAL THAN SCIENCE FICTION
❐ DABBLES IN ALTERNATE/PARALLEL UNIVERSES
❐ MOTHERHOOD BLUES

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE  I was completely flipping lost with this book and if it wasn't for the Reader Q & A section on Goodreads...I would have gone on being totally confused.

FINISH DATE  09/30




MY PICK FOR BEST COVER FOR THE MONTH IS 



WHAT CAN I SAY...THE DINOSAURS GET ME EVERY TIME...


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