October Bucket List Check-in Week 4

Welcome to the fourth check-in post for the October Bucket List. What have you ticked off the list so far? Leave a comment letting me know what you’ve done so far. If you’re keeping tabs on your blog, please leave a link in the comments where we can visit and check out your post.

Haven’t ticked anything off yet? No worries, this isn’t race, it’s about having fun and finding the adventure in the smallest of things. Since October ends on a Friday this year, our final check-in for October’s Bucket List will be November 1^st.

If you’re just now hearing about the October Bucket List and want to join in, check out the post here! 

The Unseen (Krewe of Hunters #5) by Heather Graham

1800s. San Antonio, Texas: In room 207 at the Longhorn Saloon, in the long shadow of the Alamo itself, a woman renowned for her beauty was brutally murdered. Her killer was never found.

 

One year ago: In that same historic room, another woman vanished without a trace. Her blood was everywhere... but her body was never recovered. Now: In the last month, San Antonio has become a dumping ground for battered bodies. All young women, many of them long missing, almost all forgotten. Until now.

 

Texas Ranger Logan Raintree cannot sit by and let his city’s most vulnerable citizens be slain. So when he is approached to lead a brand-new group of elite paranormal investigators working the case, he has no choice but to accept the challenge. And with it, his powerful ability to commune with the dead. Among Logan’s new team is Kelsey O’Brien, a U.S. marshal known for her razor-sharp intuition and a toughness that belies her delicate exterior. Kelsey has been waiting all her life to work with someone who can understand her ability to “see” the past unfolding in the present. Now she has her chance.

 

Together, Kelsey and Logan follow their instincts to the Alamo and to the newly reopened Longhorn, which once tempted heroes with drink, cards and women. If the spirits of those long-dead Texans are really appearing to the victims before their deaths, only Kelsey and Logan have the skills to find out why. And if something more earthly is menacing the city’s oldest, darkest corners, only they can stop it - before more innocent women join the company of San Antonio’s restless ghosts....

 Series: Krewe of Hunters #5 | Publisher: Brilliance Audio | Narrator: Luke Daniels | Length: 8 hours 47 minutes | Genre: Paranormal Mystery Romance  | Rating: 4 

When Kelsey is invited to stay with a friend, she has no objections to staying in room 207, even though it’s the Longhorn Saloon’s most talked about room due to the murder of a women in the 1800s and another more recent. Although when past events start replaying before her eyes, she knows there’s someone wanting to get her attention. When it’s brought to light that there are a string of missing women connected to the Longhorn Saloon, Kelsey knows she must seek help from another member of the Krewe. Enter Logan Raintree, he too has a unique ‘gift’, and a unique connection that will come in handy on this case. As they explore different avenues that put Kelsey at risk, Logan finds himself drawn to her in ways he never expected.

 

This one was an interesting addition to the series. Logan and Kelsey are fantastic together. There’s this nice push and pull between them, which make them great partners and adds an interesting layer to their relationship. Like most of the books in this series, there is a bit of an insta-relationship but it wasn’t as bad in this one as it’s been in some of the others. There is a bit more on page development, which is a plus.

 

The mystery in this one was slightly different. While it starts out similar to the others (women are missing and two have been found murdered) this mystery is deeply rooted in the past. I’m not going to say anymore because I don’t want to ruin it for readers but you need to pay attention to what’s going on in with the past to understand the present day mystery and the way it unfolds.

 

There’s a lot of history going on in this one as well, which I always enjoy. There’s a little history of the Alamo as well as some Native America beliefs sprinkled in along the way.

 

Overall, I enjoyed this one. This is the first Krewe book set in Texas and it added an interesting layer to the story. I do think this is one of the stronger books at the start of the series. 

October Bucket List Check-in Week 3

Welcome to the third check-in post for the October Bucket List. What have you ticked off the list so far? Leave a comment letting me know what you’ve done so far. If you’re keeping tabs on your blog, please leave a link in the comments where we can visit and check out your post.

Haven’t ticked anything off yet? No worries, this isn’t race, it’s about having fun and finding the adventure in the smallest of things. You still have time left.

If you’re just now hearing about the October Bucket List and want to join in, check out the post here! 

October Bucket List Check-In Week 2

Welcome to the second check-in post for the October Bucket List. What have you ticked off the list so far? Leave a comment letting me know what you’ve done so far. If you’re keeping tabs on your blog, please leave a link in the comments where we can visit and check out your post.

Haven’t ticked anything off yet? No worries, this isn’t race, it’s about having fun and finding the adventure in the smallest of things. You still have time left.

If you’re just now hearing about the October Bucket List and want to join in, check out the post here! 

O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker

Janet lies murdered beneath the castle stairs, attired in her mother’s black lace wedding dress, lamented only by her pet jackdaw…

​Author Elspeth Barker masterfully evokes the harsh climate of Scotland in this atmospheric gothic tale that has been compared to the works of the Brontës, Edgar Allan Poe, and Edward Gorey. Immersed in a world of isolation and loneliness, Barker’s ill-fated young heroine Janet turns to literature, nature, and her Aunt Lila, who offers brief flashes of respite in an otherwise foreboding life. People, birds, and beasts move through the background in a tale that is as rich and atmospheric as it is witty and mordant. The family’s motto—Moriens sed Invictus (Dying but Unconquered)—is a well-suited epitaph for wild and courageous Janet, whose fierce determination to remain steadfastly herself makes her one of the most unforgettable protagonists in contemporary literature.

Publisher: Scribner  | Genre: Literary Fiction| Source: Purchased  | Rating: see below

I was scrolling on Book Outlet’s website when this cover caught my eye. It has a very gothic vibe and the title piqued my loved for all things Scotland. When I read the short blurb on their website calling the book, ‘a masterful gothic mystery compared to Edgar Allan Poe and the Brontë’s’, I was sold. I clicked the button and order two copies, one for me and one for my Mom, (who also loves good gothic mystery set in Scotland).

This was not the book they promised. Instead of a gothic mystery, O Caledonia is a coming-of-age story about Janet, a bookish misfit who is a little on the wild side of life, and just so happened to be murdered. While the book opens and closes with her murder, there’s no mystery that unfolds. What unfolds is the life of a young girl who is treated rather poorly by her parents and friends for no particular reason. The only person who has truly loved her, and her wildness, passed away leaving her with a jackdaw as her only friend. Why Janet’s actions are little over the top, there’s no explanation. And when explanations do come, such as the reason for Janet’s murder, they don’t really make sense and some of the situations are downright ludicrous.

O Caledonia is a very bleak book with moments of dark humor thrown in at random. While I do have to say the writing is beautiful at times, the style is overly flouncy but with no substance. It’s also narrative-driven with very little dialogue. Rather than showing you Janet’s life, the narrator is simply telling you anecdotes and is in complete control of where the story goes.

I also found no comparison to Poe or the Brontë’s. There is a hint of Dodie Smith, in that both feature post-war, coming-of-age stories set in crumbling countryside settings but Elspeth Barker is darker in tone.

I found this book hard to rate. If I’m rating it as  mystery or suspense fiction, which is how it’s catalogued with the Library of Congress, I’d have to give it a 0.5. If I’m rating it as literary fiction, I’d say it’s barely a 3. The book is a bit long-winded at times, there’s no explanation for Janet’s wild ways, it presents half a story.  

Overall, this book was a bit different. While I’m glad that I read it, I’m not sure it’s something that I would be willing to read again.

If you’re looking for something different with a darker tone that’s not spooky but fits the vibes of spooky season, this could be the book for you.

 

 

The Sunday Post for 10/05/2025

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly or for a monthly wrap up.

Hello, Lovelies, and Happy Sunday, I hope you’re all doing well! It’s the first Sunday of October and it’s still so hot. It reached 98º yesterday and I’m just over the heat. They’re calling for storms on Tuesday, which should bring about a cool down. Hopefully, we finally get some fall weather next week.

 

Here’s what’s been going on this week.

 

I was down with food poisoning Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, so it was a rather rough start to the week. I was finally feeling better Thursday and I was able to finish a lengthy work project earlier than expected, which was great seeing as I have another lengthy work project starting next week. I spent Friday having a bit of a kitchen clear out and ended up filling several large garbage bags with plastic containers that I no longer use as I’ve switched over to glass. I also organized some of my baking equipment. I still need to tackle the spices and my baking supplies but I’m waiting for my containers to arrive. Saturday, I had a bit of a lazy day, which was needed.

 

Health-wise, my Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos is playing up a bit. I had a feeling it was going to since I had food poisoning. While I haven’t had any subluxations this week, my joints have been extremely loose and painful so I’ve used a lot of braces in the last couple days. By Saturday, I was completely drained and napped a lot.

 

Here’s What I’ve read this week

I finished Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell (audio), The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston (print), A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths (print).

 

Currently Reading: The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths and Witches of Dubious Origins by Jenn McKinlay

 

Also reading: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I’ve been loving this ‘real time’ readalong and I read chapters 11-14 this week. The book completely changes once you re-read it because there’s so many things going on that some connections don’t register until you’ve read the entire series then went back and started at the beginning. I have to say that Deborah Harkness is one of my favorite authors. Her writing is just so rich and descriptive.

 

Here’s what happened on the blog last week:

 

Wisteria by Adalyn Grace (Review)

Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson (Review)

In These Hallowed Halls: A Dark Academia Anthology Edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane (Review)

Hemlock by Kiersten Modglin (Review)

 

October Bucket List Challenge

 

Today is going to be a bit of a busy one, as it’s my Mom’s birthday and were getting together for a small celebration and dinner, but I look forward to visiting your blogs and seeing what you’ve been up to!

 

 

October Bucket List Check-In Post 1

Welcome to the first check-in post for the October Bucket List. What have you ticked off the list so far? Leave a comment letting me know what you’ve done so far. If you’re keeping tabs on your blog, please leave a link in the comments where we can visit and check out your post.

Haven’t ticked anything off yet? No worries, this isn’t race, it’s about having fun and finding the adventure in the smallest of things. You still have time left.

If you’re just now hearing about the October Bucket List and want to join in, check out the post here! 

Hemlock by Kiersten Modglin

She thought she’d escaped her poisonous past…

Thirteen years ago, Maggie Ellis left her small town and vowed to never return. In her rearview mirror were two men she loved and an ominous secret that would forever haunt her.

Now, tragedy has brought her back, and she’s determined to forget that fateful night. But in a town like Myers, with familiar faces and chilling memories lurking around every corner, moving on is easier said than done.

Before the ink can dry on the closing documents for her new residence, Maggie begins to feel unsettled. In every room, there’s the unmistakable sensation she’s being watched. The strange sounds, odd smells, and bizarre occurrences only add to her paranoia.

There’s something sinister about her new home…

When she discovers the devastating truth about the house and its grim history, Maggie’s worst fears are realized. In order to survive, she must unearth the secrets she’d always planned to keep buried.

After all, they say that is where the heart is, but as Maggie knows, home is also where the skeletons lie.

Publisher: Dreamscape Media | Narrator: Brittany Pressley | Length: 10 h 8 min | Genre: Thriller/Romance | Source: borrowed | Rating: 3

As a thriller lover, I’m always asking for recommendations and 99% of the time Kiersten Modglin’s name is mentioned. I’ve read one of her books (A Quiet Retreat) and found it to be just an okay read. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine recommended Hemlock, which I borrowed from the Libby App.

Here’s what’s going on. After 13 years, Maggie has returned to her hometown and purchased a house that’s a bit of a fixer-upper. While she was unprepared to discover that her ex-boyfriend is her neighbor, she was even more unprepared for just how off-kilter she feels in her new house. It’s not just the odd smells and strange sounds that unnerve her but also the feeling that she’s being watched. As Maggie dives deeper into the house’s past, she starts to question everything.

I went into this book expecting more of a paranormal bend and a heavy psychological thriller feel; instead, this one was more of a romantic suspense with a slight edge of a thriller. Had I went into this one knowing it was more romance-based, I think I would have enjoyed it more than I did.

This story is told through two different timelines. We have college Maggie, a girl who has just had her heart broken by her best friend, Clayton, and starts up a ‘let’s make him jealous’ relationship with Tucker, a bartender. Then we have present day Maggie who has returned to her hometown and finds herself entwined with Clayton and Tucker again.  The only thing different in present day is the fact there’s something going on in Maggie’s house and now she has a twisted history with both men.

I struggled with the characters. Maggie and Clayton were hard to like from the start. The only solid character was Tucker and I struggled to see why he was  so loyal to Maggie.

I wasn’t a fan of this crazy love triangle, that at one point turned into a quadrangle, that was happening through the entirety of the book. I feel as though it was the dominating plot and, honestly, I was over it by the third chapter.

There were a few interesting plot points thrown in but I don’t feel as though they received the attention they deserved. Like with A Quiet Retreat, too much focus was paid to one part of the plot while the other parts were glossed over.

What kept me listening to this one was the house. While I had a feeling what was happening, I was hoping there would have been more, which there wasn’t. I also think that some of the things that happened, like Tucker being her neighbor, were a little too convenient.

I also wasn’t a fan of Brittany Pressley’s narration, which surprised me as I normally like her style. I think it was more so the character was annoying.

If you go into this one viewing it as a romantic suspense, I think you’ll enjoy the book. Had it been labeled that, some of the issues I had with it wouldn’t have bothered me as much, which is why I’m rating this a 3.

Overall, there was a lot going on in this one but nothing really happened. I think it could have been shorter. Now that I’ve read two books by this author, I feel as though my complaints have been similar with both books. I’ll probably give the author one more go since she’s constantly recommended.