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.

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

A beguiling, sinister collection of 12 dark academia short stories from masters of the genre, including Olivie Blake, M.L. Rio, Susie Yang and more!

 

In these stories, dear student, retribution visits a lothario lecturer; the sinister truth is revealed about a missing professor; a forsaken lover uses a séance for revenge; an obsession blooms about a possible illicit affair; two graduates exhume the secrets of a reclusive scholar; horrors are uncovered in an obscure academic department; five hopeful initiates must complete a murderous task and much more!

Publisher: Titan Books  | Genre: Dark Academia/ Anthology  | Source: Publisher | Rating: see below

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked this one up. It was sent to me a few years ago, I wasn’t sure if I was going to read it then I ended up needing to read one of the stories for  a work event ,so I decided to finish the entire anthology.

Given that this was labeled as ‘Dark Academia’ I was expecting the stories to actually fit within that label. Yeah, I was wrong. Out of the 12 stories, only 3 of them are actual ‘Dark Academia’ stories. Just because they feature a student, member of faculty, a school/university setting doesn’t make them dark academia. There’s a difference between dark academia as an aesthetic and dark academia as a literary subgenre and I think that a lot of authors are getting the two confused.

While I do recommend 3 of the stories (Phobos, The Department of Ontography, and The Hare and the Hound), I’m struggling to recommend this book as a whole. The genres vary as does the age ranges of the stories.

My average rating for this book is a 3. If I were to rate it solely on the fact it was labeled as a ‘Dark Academia’ Anthology, then I would have to rate it a 1.5.

If you want to see a quick recap of each story and my thoughts, please see below.

Overall, this was a quick book to read but it wasn’t the best book to read. If you go into it thinking of it solely as an anthology, you would probably enjoy it more than I did. 

1,000 Ships by Kate Weinberg  (Rating: 2.5)

This is a prequel to The Truants and follows Lorna’s early days at university and her affair with a professor.

I don’t feel as though there was enough content for this to have been included in an anthology. The story doesn’t hold up on its own. There’s too many loose threads, it’s as though the short story starts in the middle of a story. As a prequel to The Truants, (I’ve not read it), I’m sure it works great but it fails for a standalone. I gave it a 2.5 because I did find it intriguing and it made me want to know more.

Pythia by Olivie Blake (Rating: 3)

Dr. Thorn is being deposed by an attorney, who she believes is seeking answers in the deaths of two students at Dephi who were working on a supercomputer. Although there’s more going on with the computer and the questioning than was first revealed.

This was a well-developed story. Normally something like this wouldn’t have been my cup of tea as I’m not in to tech type stories but this one offered enough to keep my attention.

Sabbatical by James Tate Hill (Rating: 2.75)

Tate, a professor at a struggling university, finds himself accosted by a former professor seeking out a missing professor from his days at the university. As Tate seeks answers, he gets more than he bargained for.

This was a little too long and went around in circles for a bit. Sadly, it had no real direction and felt as though the author just threw everything at the wall to see what would stick.

The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew (Rating: 4)

When Bunny was 14 a fortuneteller told his destiny and, while he would have liked to have believed it was nonsense, he knew the day the rabbit crossed his path all of it was true. Now his perfectly neat life is spiraling out of control.

I enjoyed this one. It’s based off a Nordic folktale and, while I wouldn’t classify this as ‘dark academia’, it’s one of my favorites in the anthology.

X-House by J.T. Ellison (Rating: 3)

Something strange is occurring at X-House, a remote, private all-girls school, and Mia, the new teacher, is more than what she seems. Determined to get to the bottom of what’s happening, she soon finds herself a victim.

This was the first story in the anthology that fit the ‘dark academia’ genre. While this one had potential, it was a little too YA for my taste and ended up being predictable and mundane.

The Ravages by Layne Fargo (Rating: 3)

When Renee discovers her girlfriend kissing another woman, she sets out to make her appear crazy by evoking the ghost of poet, Viola Vance.

This was a decent revenge story with nice timing and a frantic tone. While it was set on campus, this still wasn’t ‘dark academia’. I do think this was one of the stronger stories in the anthology.

Four Funerals by David Bell (Rating: 2.5)

A teacher feels responsible for a school shooting so he attends the funerals of the victims.

I’m not sure what the point of the story was. While it had legs, it never fully took off. Not my favorite in the book.

The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang  (Rating: 2.5)

Sophie finds herself growing obsessed with her professor but things are complicated, as the professor seems obsessed with another student. How far is Sophie willing to go?

While this did fit the ‘dark academia’ genre, the story was vague and needed a bit more meat to it. It wasn’t as memorable as some of the other stories.

Weekend at Bertie’s by M.L. Rio (Rating: 3.5)

When Lou stumbles upon her professor dead at the bottom of her basement stairs, she’s dazed until another student, Daniel, arrives and reveals just how much they can both benefit from Bertie’s death.

This was an okay read. It was better than most in the book, still not dark academia. I have to give the author credit for their nod to Weekend at Bernie’s.

The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant (Rating 4.5)

When Phoebe stumbles upon a seemingly abandoned building on campus labeled, ‘Dept. of Ontography’, she’s immediately intrigued but finds the door locked. Unable to let her curiosity go, she and her friend, Charlie, return on a drunken night out, although Charlie is never seen again. When she returns to the university as a professor, she’s determined  to get answers, both about the mysterious department and Charlie’s disappearance.

This one has to be my favorite story in the entire book. It’s dark, creepy, and everything dark academia should be. The suspense and pacing was brilliant. Highly recommend this one. While this one was my favorite, it’s not at a 5 because I think a few things could have been explained further. This one really should have been a full-length novel.

Phobos by Tori Bovalino (Rating: 5)

Mila had one task left to finish before she’s inducted into the Order of Prometheus, a secret society that has the ability to open any door you want to walk through and clean up any mess you make along the way. Although the task she has to complete is too much to ask, but she doesn’t realize how far she’s willing to go until she’s pushed to the edge.

This was a fantastic story, one that I’m going to be thinking about long after I’ve finished the book. It’s dark academia combined with secret societies, which is the perfect blend. It has a nice even pace, rounded characters, and a somewhat open ending. This also gives the vibes of a Lifetime movie or a Christopher Pike novel.

Playing by Phoebe Wynn (Rating: 2.5)

Grace is obsessed with being the best organist around, so obsessed that people around her are starting to wonder just how far she’d go to be able to play the organ just one more time.

This was my least favorite of the book. I found both Grace and her obsession to be annoying. 

Hello October and Welcome to Blogtober 2025

Hello, My Lovelies, I hope you’re all doing fantastic. My autumn-loving heart is thrilled that it’s finally October. I’m ready for cooler temps, foggy mornings, colorful leaves, round pumpkins, and spooky stories. I have so many fun things to do and fun places to visit this month. I’m also excited that it’s the first day of Blogtober. I have so many fun posts scheduled for this month.

 

To kick off October and Blogtober, I’ve included an October Bucket List. It will also be up on my Instagram page. Feel free to grab the graphic below and join in!

My life has been exceedingly busy lately and I’ve been wanting to slow down and enjoy the little things. When I started a new junk journal in September, I decided to start it with a list of things that I wanted to do to help me slow down, if for a moment or two, and enjoy the start of fall. It was random things such as enjoy a sunset, pull out my cozy sweaters, visit the new acai place that opened in my town, and start a gratitude ritual.

They weren’t big events, but they were events that allowed me to take a minute or two and be in the moment and in the season. They allowed me moments of calm in the chaos and it was something that I wanted to carry over into October.

I decided this would be something fun to share with all of you. The prompts are not strict. You can interpret them anyway that you like.

If you want to join in on the fun, there will be a check-in post every Saturday in October.  

 

 

What are you looking forward to this October? 

 

Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson

Abigail Baskin never thought she’d fall in love with a millionaire. Then she met Bruce Lamb. But right before the wedding, Abigail has a drunken one-night stand on her bachelorette weekend. She puts the incident—and the sexy guy who wouldn’t give her his real name—out of her mind, and now believes she wants to be with Bruce for the rest of her life.

 

Then the mysterious stranger suddenly appears—and Abigail’s future life and happiness are turned upside down. He insists that their passionate night was the beginning of something special and he’s tracked her down to prove it.

 

Does she tell Bruce and ruin their idyllic honeymoon—and possibly their marriage? Or should she handle this psychopathic stalker on her own? To make the situation worse, strange things begin to happen. She sees a terrified woman in the night shadows, and no one at the resort seems to believe anything is amiss… including her perfect new husband.

Publisher: William Morrow | Genre: Contemporary Mystery/Thriller | Source: Publisher  | Rating: 2.5 

I’ve had this one sitting on my shelf since 2021 and finally decided to pick it up and give it a go. I’ve heard that you’ll love this one or hate it and, to be honest, I’m more in the middle with a meh.

This one had the potential to be great. A woman has a one-night stand during her bachelorette party with a mysterious stranger who follows her to her honeymoon on a remote island where she encounters a terrified woman who has disappeared. Sadly, instead of being a page-turner, the book was repetitive and predictable. I also found Abigail to be an unlikable character.

Unlikable characters don’t bother me if the plot is sound. Lucy Foley writes unlikable characters but I enjoy her books immensely. In this one, I struggled with the plot, the pacing, the characters, and the believability. There’s so much time spent mentioning Abigail’s love for horror movies, but she never once questioned the things going on around her. She also has a lot of doubts about her husband, who is basically a stranger but, hey, he’s rich and going to pay off her student loans so why not marry him. Then there’s the stranger that comes along and, again, why is she not suspicious of the fact he know so much about her then followed her to an island that’s just for tech billionaires.

Overall, I struggled from the start of this one. The first third of the book is exceedingly slow and repetitive. While it did pick up the pace, it didn’t hold steady. As a mystery/thriller lover, I needed more to satisfy me as a reader. If you’re new to mysteries and thrillers, this one could work for you and I do see why that some readers loved it and others hated it. I’ve also heard that this is not Peter Swanson’s best, so if you’ve read, and enjoyed, his other books just be aware when you start this one.