The Pram by Joe Hill, Ankle Snatcher by Grady Hendrix, It Waits in the Woods by Josh Malerman (Creature Feature Collection, Part 1)

A husband’s obsessive desire for a child leads to an unexpected manifestation of his yearning in a nightmarish short story about fatherhood dreams by New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill.

 

Willy and Marianne’s farmhouse in Maine has acres of meadow and fresh air, and a lonesome bridle path in the forest along which Willy daydreams and ambles. When he’s loaned a decrepit old baby stroller to cart his groceries home, the rickety squeak of the wheels comforts him. So do the sweet coos of a baby Willy knows can’t be real. Can it? In this twisted thicket, wishes come true—with a price.

 Publisher: Audible | Narrator: Robert Petkoff | Length: 1 hour 31 minutes | Genre: Horror  | Source: Publisher | Rating: 4

The cover was just calling out to me with it creepiness and it didn’t disappoint.

Willy and Marianne have moved from Brooklyn to Maine in hopes of escaping the pain and heartbreak of their most recent miscarriage. When the owner of the grocery store offers Willy an old ratty pram to tote his groceries home, Willy allows the pram to soothe him as he thinks of the child he lost. Now Willy’s hearing the sounds of a baby. Has his wish to be a father come true or is something more sinister at play?

This was such a good horror story. It had all of the elements that I want in horror: creepiness, folksiness, a bit or gore, and troubled main characters. While I would have liked to have learned more about the Sin-Planters, this was a short story and only allowed for so much but I didn’t feel as though anything was missing.

This was my first time reading Joe Hill and you can tell that he inherited his father’s (Stephen King) gift of storytelling. I look forward to reading more from Joe Hill. 

Obey the rules. It’s the only way to survive the night in a short story about what hides in the dark by the New York Times bestselling author of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.

 

Marcus grew up believing his father killed his mother—then blamed it on the boogeyman under the bed. Always leave the lights on, his father warned, or the boogeyman will get you. Marcus still heeds the superstition, especially when he invites his new girlfriend over. Is Marcus haunted by a creature or has he just inherited his father’s murderous delusions? The night will tell.

Publisher: Audible | Narrator: Michael Crouch  | Length: 45 minutes | Genre: Horror | Source: Publisher | Rating: 5

 A boogeyman under the bed? Yes, please!

Marcus was six when his father was accused of killing his mother even though his father always blamed it on the boogeyman under the bed. While Marcus believed his father was guilty, he always slept with the lights on until one night he turns the lights off then his new girlfriend disappears under the bed. Now Marcus is questioning if he killed his girlfriend or if the boogeyman truly exists.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this as I’ve been struggling with Grady Hendrix’s writing but I loved this one!

This is the perfect spooky season short story. It has all the classic elements of a great horror story. There’s a boogeyman under the bed, what more can you ask for? While this one is short, I found the pacing and the plot to be perfect and even. Nothing felt rushed or left out.  

Some chilling campfire tales ring too true to ignore. For one young woman, an urban legend calls her into the woods in a spine-tingling short story by the bestselling author of Bird Box.

 

The dense Michigan forest. Haunting wails. The clip-clop of demon hooves on a bridge to nowhere. It’s more than a tall tale to Brenda Jennings, whose sister disappeared in those woods one fateful night. Three years later, on a solo stakeout in the dark, Brenda goes in after her. She’s desperate for answers, and terrified to find what lies waiting on the other side of that bridge.

 Publisher: Audible | Narrator: Lauren Ezzo | Length: 1 hour 38 minutes | Genre: Horror | Source: Publisher | Rating: 3.5 

 

Deep in the Ucatanani National Forest lies an urban legend…

When Brenda’s sister, Amanda, disappears in the woods one night and never returns, Brenda can’t help but to wonder if there’s truth behind the legend of Opso, the creature that lives in the woods. Armed with her recording equipment, Brenda takes to the woods seeking answers about what happened that night. But is she ready for the what she’ll uncover?

This one has the makings of a classic horror story.

-urban legend

-boogeyman in the woods

-missing teenager

-teenager on her own in creepy forest

-a mysterious bridge

Sadly, this one didn’t live up to it’s potential. While I liked the majority of the story and would consider it a worthy listen, the ending wasn’t as strong as it could have been and it felt a little rushed. I did enjoy the frantic suspense and Lauren Ezzo did a fantastic job with the narration and give this book a creepy vibe. 

Creature Feature Collection

Gather round as today’s most diabolically clever authors twist simple moments into otherworldly horrors. An empty baby stroller. A scratching underneath the bed. A farmhouse in the moonlight. With an unnerving sense of the macabre, these stories transform our greatest fears into bone-chilling realities.

 Available in e-book and audio, the Creature Feature Collection is a set of 6 books that can be purchased individually or as a collection.

 Books in the collection include

1-The Pram by Joe Hill

2-Ankle Snatcher by Grady Hendrix

3-It Waits in the Woods by Josh Malerman

4-In Bloom by Paul Tremblay

5-Best of Luck by Jason Mott

6-Big Bad by Chandler Baker 

Stop by tomorrow for my

 review of the second set of stories. 

 

2023 FraterFest Wrap Up

First, I want to thank Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer for hosting this spook-tacular read-a-thon. I also want to thank Taylor Fenner @ Taylor Fenner’s Bookish World for hosting the Spooky October Book Cover Challenge.

 

I had so much fun delving into the spooky reads and I’m so sad FraterFest is over. So, I didn’t get to post my update or my Sunday Post, sadly, because my internet modem went out. I went to get a replacement over the weekend and they ended up giving me a wonky modem so I had to wait until today (Monday) to pick up another one then they still had some issues getting the new one connected.

 

I ended up starting 10 books. I finished 8 and have 2 still in progress. I finished 2 full-length novels and 6 short stories/novellas. 2 were audiobooks and the rest were print.

 

Here’s how the read-a-thon went.

 

I didn’t have a set TBR but I had a few books I wanted to read and, happy to report, I managed to get through the set that I picked.

 

Intended TBR

-The Lake Gun by James Fenimore Copper (Colonial Horrors)—READ

-The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wild—READ

-Cry of the Banshee by Heather Graham —READ

 

I had such a good time reading those. I still can’t believe that I hadn’t read The Canterville Ghost until now but I loved it and recommend it.

 

I also read…

-Whispers at Dusk by Heather Graham

-Horseman by Christine Henry

-The Pram by Joe Hill (audio)

-Ankle Snatcher by Grady Hendrix (audio)

-The Romance of Certain Old Clothes by Henry James (Colonial Horrors)

 

In progress…

-The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix—I started this one a few years back and couldn’t get into it so I sat it down and forgot about it. Since I liked Ankle Snatcher, I decided to give this another go and it seems to be going better.

-No Child of Mine by Nichelle Giraldes—I picked this one up over the weekend due to its spooky cover. I’m hoping to finish this one tonight but, in all honesty, I probably won’t finish it until Tuesday night because it’s been a long day and I’m exhausted. 

I just want to take a minute to give a ‘buyer/reader beware’ warning for Colonial Horrors. I was expecting a full anthology; unfortunately, this book contains mostly excerpts rather than full stories, which was rather disappointing.  Take for example Rachel Dyer by John Neal, they only included chapter 4. Wieland by Charles Brockden Brown only included chapters one and two. I would have rather they focused more on the short stories rather than providing excerpts of larger novels. 

Did you join Fraterfest?
If so, what did you read?

If not, have you read anything spooky lately? 

 

Better Hate than Never by Chloe Liese

Katerina Wilmot and Christopher Petruchio shared backyards as kids, but as adults they won't even share the same hemisphere. That is, until Kate makes a rare visit home, and their fiery animosity rekindles into a raging inferno.

Despite their friends' and families' pleas for peace, Christopher is unconvinced Kate would willingly douse the flames of their enmity. But when a drunken Kate confesses she's only been hostile because she thought he hated her, Christopher vows to make peace with Kate once and for all. Tempting as it is to be swept away by her nemesis-turned-gentleman, Kate isn't sure she can trust his charming good-guy act.

When Christopher's persistence and Kate’s curiosity lead to an impassioned kiss, they realize "peace" is the last thing that will ever be possible between them. As desire gives way to deeper feelings, Kate and Christopher must decide if it’s truly better to hate than to never risk their hearts—or if they already gave them away long ago.

 Series: Wilmot Sisters #2 | Publisher: Berkley  | Genre: Contemporary Romance | Source: Publisher | Rating: 5 Cups 

First, this cover is giving me all the autumn vibes. Second, a Taming of the Shrew-inspired romance? Yes, please!

Before I get into my review, I just want to say thank you to Chloe Liese for painting an accurate description of a chronic migraine sufferer. I truly feel represented in this book.

Now to my review…I loved this book. I’m always a little leery when it comes classic retellings, especially when it’s Shakespeare but, I have to say, this checked all the boxes. While it’s a thoroughly modern take, the essence of the characters are there and I loved that.

Christopher and Kate have spent most of their lives as enemies, which is making things difficult with their friends/family (all they want is peace between the two of them for the holidays). When a drunken Kate kisses Christopher, suddenly they start to wonder if there could be a bit more than hate between them, if they’re willing to risk it.

There’s so much going on with Kate and Christopher. Kate’s returned home for the first time in years. She’s dealing with being the younger, forgotten wild child of the family. She’s also dealing with the fact she has ADHD and her mind never stops spinning.  Christopher’s dealing with the loss of his parents at young age. And while Kate’s family practically adopted him and showered him with love, he’s still searching for love. He’s also dealing with chronic migraines, which interrupts his life.

I’m always up for an enemies-to-lovers romance and this one did not disappoint. I loved watching their relationship develop and the way they ended up falling for each other. They had a lot to work through, both personally and jointly, and I’m glad that it wasn’t rushed. And their chemistry was off the charts. This is an age gap romance and while I didn’t mind, there were a few things referenced in the past that I found a bit odd but didn’t take my enjoyment away from the book.

There were a lot of layers to the characters and the plot, which I enjoyed. I also enjoyed the character growth and the maturity of the characters.

Overall, this adorable romance pulled on my heartstrings and I truly related to both characters, which is rare for me. I highly recommend this book. 

Fraterfest Readathon 2023Update Post

 Hello, My Fellow Spooky Season Lovers, I hope you’re all doing fang-tastic!

 

I want to know, have you joined Fraterfest Readathon 2023? If not, fly on over to Kimberly’s @ The Caffeinated Reviewer and sign up because it starts today and you don’t want to miss out on the fun and thrills! 

 

So, what am I reading?

 

I like starting read-a-thons with short stories and novellas, so this morning, I picked up Colonial Horrors edited by Graeme Davis and read The Lake Gun by James Fenimore Cooper.  I’ll probably read a few more short stories from this collection before the end of the day.

 

The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde is another short story I want to check off my reading list before the days over.  While I’ve watched several versions of this, this will be my first time reading the book.

 

I decided to be a good ghoul and save The Cry of the Banshee by Heather Graham to read today. This one was hard to keep back as I wanted to sink my teeth into the day it arrived. One of my goals this year was to catchup on the 1001 Dark Nights/ Krewe of Hunters novellas and this is the latest release and the last one I have to read. This one should be a fun read seeing as were back with Jackson Crow and Angela Hawkins Crow and it’s set in Ireland.

 

Have you read The Krewe of Hunters by Heather Graham? If so, do you have a favorite book, couple, or setting? I tend to go for the ones set in Salem or New England.

 

I had one audiobook in progress, The Betrayed by Heather Graham, and I finished that this afternoon while whipping up a batch of pumpkin spice Chex mix (recipe will be posted soon) so I’m trying to decide which print book or audiobook I want to pick up next.

 

Just a quick update note…

I’ll be posting two blog updates. One on the 14^th then my wrap up post on the 17^th.

I will also be posting daily Instagram updates @simplyangelarenee so drop by to see what I’m up to. 

 

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden

Nobody ever goes to Hartwood Hall. Folks say it’s cursed…

It’s 1852 and Margaret Lennox, a young widow, attempts to escape the shadows of her past by taking a position as governess to an only child, Louis, at an isolated country house in the west of England.

But Margaret soon starts to feel that something isn’t quite right. There are strange figures in the dark, tensions between servants, and an abandoned east wing. Even stranger is the local gossip surrounding Mrs. Eversham, Louis’s widowed mother, who is deeply distrusted in the village.

 Lonely and unsure whom to trust, Margaret finds distraction in a forbidden relationship with the gardener, Paul. But as Margaret’s history threatens to catch up with her, it isn’t long before she learns the truth behind the secrets of Hartwood Hall.

Publisher: Penguin Audio | Narrator: Olivia Vinall  | Length: 9 hours, 35 minutes  | Genre: Historical Suspense/Fiction | Source: Purchased | Rating: 1.5   

An isolated country estate, cursed family, governess with a secret, things that go bump in the night? Yes, please!

Margaret is a young widow with a bit of mystery surrounding the death of her husband. Wanting to escape, she takes the position as a governess at Hartwood Hall. While she enjoys spending time with her young charge, Louis, and developing a relationship with Paul, the gardener, there’s something strange about Hartwood Hall and Mrs. Eversham’s concealing something.

I picked this one up because of my love for Jane Eyre and atmospheric gothic novels.  I have to say, I did get that spooky, gothic atmospheric vibe that I love and the vibe of the book was very similar to Jane Eyre. There was a bit of mystery, some possible hauntings, an illicit affair, and so many things going bump in the night. This was what I wanted in a gothic, historical suspense novel. The first 70% of this novel was brilliant.

The last 30% of the book had me wondering if this was even the same book. I really liked Margaret at the start and enjoyed watching her almost forbidden relationship develop with Paul but she ended up treating him like something she’d toss in the bin and I didn’t care for the character change. She became cruel and hateful and suddenly took on this, ‘I don’t need a man’ attitude when in the first 70% of the book she’s mooning over how much she loved and needed him.

Then there was the reveal behind the spookiness of the house and the secret Mrs. Eversham was keeping. I’m not going to go into too much detail as I don’t want to ruin the book for potential readers. I don’t know why the author spent so much time creating a spooky gothic atmosphere if this was the big reveal she was planning. It just felt like such a letdown and had me questioning why an outsider (Margaret) was allowed in the house if Mrs. Eversham was trying to conceal this particular secret.

The first 70% of the book was slow and focused on building up the gothic atmosphere. The last 30% was rushed and didn’t match the pace or tone. In one way, I feel like the author felt the word count creeping up and decided that she needed to come up with an ending so she threw something out there and hoped it would work to explain things. Had there been something offered up in the first 70% regarding the truth of Mrs. Eversham’s secret, I might have enjoyed it but this one just came out of left field.

I’m a bit on the fence about rating this one. The first 70% would be a 4.5 for me but the last 30% ruined the book, especially since the author went to so much trouble to set a specific tone early on.

Olivia Vinall’s narration was brilliant.

Overall, the audiobook is nearly 10 hours, that’s a lot of time spent building up something and failing to deliver. It’s really disappointing because this was one of my most anticipated books of 2023.

The Hunting Party

All of them are friends. One of them is a killer.

During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves.

They arrive on December 30th, just before a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world.

Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead.

The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps.

 Now one of them is dead . . . and another of them did it.

 Keep your friends close, the old adage goes. But just how close is too close?

Publisher: William Marrow | Genre: Thriller/Suspense | Source: Purchased| Rating: 3.5

An isolated setting? Check!

A blizzard? Check!

A murder on the loose? Check!

 

Ringing in the New Year at a remote hunting lodge in the Scottish Highlands sounds the idyllic spot for an annual reunion although they weren’t prepared for a blizzard to trap them there. With secrets and old resentments bubbling up, what’s supposed to be a week of catching up with old friends soon turns into tension and anger. When a member of the group ends up dead, everyone becomes a suspect and no one is safe.

 

I’m a bit on the fence about this one. I liked it. It had all the markers for a great thriller/suspense. I didn’t love it though. I made the mistake of reading The Guest List first and I loved it but had I read this one first, I think I would have enjoyed it better.

There are a lot people popping up in this book. While we do get multiple POVs, I don’t feel as though we got to know who the characters truly were. Everyone had a convoluted agenda. Everyone was concealing something, which turned everyone into unreliable narrators. All of the characters, except for Doug, the groundskeeper, and Heather, the manager of the lodge, were horrible people.   

 

This is very much a classic whodunit with a slight twist. While we know one of the seven friends was murdered, it’s not revealed who was murdered for some time and it wasn’t easy to pinpoint because none of the characters are likable. Each of them has their own secrets and secret resentments. It also made sussing out the murderer a little more difficult. I did have a feeling about certain things going on, which turned out to be correct, but I don’t feel as though it pulled me out of the mystery. There were a few red herrings thrown in, possibly one too many, but it didn’t bog down the flow.

 

What really drew me into this one was the descriptive setting. The Scottish Highlands in the middle of a crippling snowstorm became its own character. I loved how the author drew me into to this rugged landscape.

 

If you’ve read The Guest List, this has the same formula: a group of friends are trapped in some foreign location, one of them dies and one is the murderer. With the Guest List, I feel as though I knew the characters better. They were more fleshed out and I understood their motives.  

 

Overall, if you’re looking for an atmospheric thriller that will pull you into the cold, wintery, snowed in, isolated setting this is the book for you. Lucy Foley is brilliant at making the reader feel as though they’re right in the book experiencing the elements along with the characters. 

The Resting Place by Camilla Sten

Deep rooted secrets.

A twisted family history.

And a house that will never let go.

Eleanor lives with prosopagnosia, the inability to recognize a familiar person's face. It causes stress. Acute anxiety.

It can make you question what you think you know.

When Eleanor walked in on the scene of her capriciously cruel grandmother, Vivianne’s, murder, she came face to face with the killer—a maddening expression that means nothing to someone like her. With each passing day, the horror of having come so close to a murderer—and not knowing if they’d be back—overtakes both her dreams and her waking moments, thwarting her perception of reality.

Then a lawyer calls. Vivianne has left her a house—a looming estate tucked away in the Swedish woods. The place her grandfather died, suddenly. A place that has housed a chilling past for over fifty years.

Eleanor. Her steadfast boyfriend, Sebastian. Her reckless aunt, Veronika. The lawyer. All will go to this house of secrets, looking for answers. But as they get closer to uncovering the truth, they’ll wish they had never come to disturb what rests there.

Publisher: Macmillian Audio | Narrator: Angela Dawes | Length: 10 hrs 30 min | Genre: Mystery. Thriller, Suspense  | Source: Libby App | Rating: 2.5 

Camilla Sten is an author that I’ve wanted to read for a while. I’ve had The Lost Village on my TBR for eons— it’s even one of my 23-in-23 books—but I’ve been a little apprehensive, so when The Resting Place was selected as a local book shops book club pick, I decided to give the author a go. Sadly, I found the book to be a little meh but still an okay read.

Here’s a quick recap. When Eleanor witnesses her grandmother’s murder, unfortunately, due to her face blindness, she’s unable to identify her grandmother’s killer. When a lawyer calls, five months later, informing Eleanor that she’s inherited Solhöga an isolated country estate, and needs to complete an inventory, she’s a bit apprehensive but also curious as to why her grandmother never mentioned the estate. When Eleanor, Sebastian (her boyfriend), and her estranged aunt Veronika arrive, strange things start happening and a hidden journal is found. When someone dies and others are injured, they know they need to leave but find themselves stranded as a murderer is on the loose.

In this one, we have dual timelines. Eleanor is the present narrator. Eleanor has some issues, not only does she have face blindness, she witnessed her grandmother’s murder, and she’s suffering from anxiety all while dealing with issues from her past and reconnecting with an estranged aunt at a location foreign to her. Anushka is the past narrator. She’s a maid from Poland that’s related to Eleanor’s grandmother. She’s trying to settle into her new life, in a new country, while being treated rather poorly.

I had a hard time finding Eleanor likable. I felt that she was overly paranoid but her actions didn’t match up to the way she was acting. She kept secrets that would have cleared things up and made questionable decisions. Anushka was a bit more interesting, to a point, but, again, her actions and choices were questionable and I didn’t feel like we got her entire story.

While the premise was interesting, this one fell a bit flat with the delivery. So much page time was given to Eleanor discovering this diary and trying to decipher it but, unfortunately, she keeps the discovery to herself and then seems to lose interest when the answer she’s seeking is contained within. I also wanted an explanation as to why one of the characters made such a drastic personality change. Unfortunately, this book ended with several plot holes.  

I also had an issue with the pacing. The book opens straight into a flurry of activity, which should have set the pacing for the entire book but, sadly, the pacing slowed as the plot progressed. While there was a lot going on, it was one of those cases where nothing really happened for chunks of time.

The mystery in this one fell a bit flat for me and I ended up figuring most of it out before the middle of the book. I was expecting Eleanor’s face blindness to come into play a bit more rather than it just being something randomly mentioned. While it was said that she recognized people by their markers, she was quick to identify people, especially when she was so paranoid.

I think I went into this book expecting a bit more seeing as this is being labeled, “Crimson Peak meets The Sanatorium”. While I’ve not read The Sanatorium (it’s on my TBR list), I loved the mix of gothic, horror, and romance in Crimson Peak, so I was expecting to see that in The Resting Place and none of that was delivered. Honestly, I’m not even sure why it’s being compared to Crimson Peak. I wouldn’t classify this as horror and I would only say that it’s a light thriller or thriller adjacent. This one mostly felt like a family drama with a bit of suspense.

I enjoyed Angela Dawe’s narration. At times she was a little overly frantic but still enjoyable. I did end up adjusting this to 2x speed.

Overall, this was just a bit meh for me. I don’t think it delivered the story that it promised. I was expecting the house to come into play a bit more or a paranormal element, which wasn’t the case. I ended up borrowing the audiobook from Libby and I was happy with that choice because I don’t think this would be a book I’d want to own.

Prosopagnosia (face blindness), an isolated winter setting, and someone terrorizing the characters are very reminiscent of Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney. Out of the two, I’d have to recommend Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney.

The Sunday Post: 🍁Hello October and Welcome Spooky Season 🦇

Hello, My Fellow Spooky Season Lovers, I hope you’re all doing fang-tastic! What have you all been up to? I’ve been away for far too long and I need to know all the things!

There’s been some things going on.

The porch saga continues…The front porch redo has been a drama of its own. What they poured last year didn’t set up right, they had to come back and jackhammer it up, pour new concrete, and set the posts and rails. Well, they’ve done everything but set the posts and rails. It’s the easiest part of the entire job but they’ve failed to showed for 2 ½ weeks. So, it’s been a fight with the construction company and the city since they had to grant an extension on the bond on the grounds that they were actively working. I’m really not sure why they won’t show up because it would only take them about an hour to completely finish the job.

Mosquito bites are no joke…Most of the summer I was feeling a bit off, I attributed it to the smoke from the wildfires triggering more migraines than my normal (I have chronic migraines) and stirring up my allergies. I ended up calling the telenurse and based on my symptoms she thought I had West Nile Virus and suggested I go to Urgent Care. Thankfully, I didn’t have West Nile but something called Skeeter Syndrome. Apparently, there’s two types, one is where you’re allergic to the venom injected from a mosquito bite and you have a localized reaction, which I am allergic to mosquito bites (mine usually swell up to the size of a softball). The second form of the syndrome is where you have so much mosquito venom in your body that your immune system views it as a toxin. They said the symptoms and the way your body

reacts is similar to having a bad case of mono, which I’ve never had but feel sorry for anyone who has. The only treatment for this type of Skeeter Syndrome is oral steroids, which I cannot take so I was prescribed high dose Vistaril and lots of rest. I’m on the mend but I still have days where I’m exhausted. I did find that spraying Cutter Skinsations (directly on my clothing and shoes) and rubbing the STEM onto my exposed skin (not my face) has been keeping them away.

In other news…

I went exploring recently and stumbled across this place called The Black Barn in Lebanon, Ohio. It’s a lovely sunflower field and produce market. The produce market is housed in a rustic barn that’s decorated with antique farming equipment. They had so many tasty looking treats—and I really wanted to take their fresh pressed apple cider home—but I had a long trip home and wouldn’t be able to keep them cold. I did pick up a ½ peck of honeycrisp apples. Freshly picked honeycrip apples are the best and these are delicious.

The sunflower field was massive. It was so relaxing to stroll through and hear the bees buzzing by and watching the crows pick at the seeds. I was surprised to see a fully-grown Jamestown weed (a.k.a jimsonweed, Datura, thorn apple, devils trumpet) that already seeded hidden amongst the sunflowers. I always think it’s fun to spot historic plants, especially ones with fascinating histories.

If you don’t know, Jamestown weed (modernly known as jimsonweed) was originally brought to Jamestown by the first English colonists to grow and make into

a healing salve to treat burns, it didn’t really go as planned as all parts of the plant are poisonous. The Celtic tribes would soak their arrowheads in what they called Datura (Jamestown weed) to ensure their enemies would die in battle. While you do need to absorb a certain amount to be fatal, the smallest trace can cause delirium. In fact, there’s a recorded history about a group of British soldiers that consumed parts of the plant during Bacon’s Rebellion and spent 11 days in various states of delirium.

I have a few things I want to check out in the next few weeks so I think I’m going to become an autumn exploration girly. I just need to remember to bring my camera this time! There’s also a few local events I want to check out as well!

Here’s what been going on blog/reading-wise…

Last week on the blog…

The Last Word by Taylor Adams—audiobook review

Chasing Dreams by Carolyn Brown—audiobook review

Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland—arc review This is an autumn must read!!!!

Books that’s arrived…

From authors/publishers

Death and the Sisters: A Mary Shelley Mystery by Heather Redmond (finished review copy)

The Cry of the Banshee by Heather Graham (finished review copy)

Better Hate than Never by Chloe Liese (e-arc)

Never Blow a Kiss by Lindsay Lovise (e-arc)

Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man by Violent Marsh (e-arc)

From the library

Accidentally Amy by Lynn Painter (audio from Libby)

Pumpkins in Paradise by Kathi Daley (audio from Libby)

Purchased

I won an Amazon gift card and picked these up. I’m still wanting on theme to arrive.

Belladonna and Foxglove by Adalyn Grace

Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman

On my ‘To Buy’ list

Gallop Toward the Sun by Peter Stark—this is about the fight between Tecumseh and Harrison during the War of 1812. I’m definitely buying this one, I want to check out to see if I can pick one up at one of the Hopewell or heritage sites. If not, I’ll see if Wheatberry Books, in the neighboring town, has a copy to buy. I want to try locally before I head to Amazon.

Here’s what I read last week…

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (audiobook, reread)

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn (audiobook)

You Shouldn’t Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose (audiobook)

Currently Reading/Listening to…

The Witches At the End of the World by Chelsea Iversen (e-arc)

The Betrayed (Krewe of Hunters #14) by Heather Graham (audiobook)

*I still need to pick up a print book for this week so I’ll draw something out of the 23 books in 2023 jar.

Bookish things I need to do…

-Update my reading journal—I’ve been actively updating as I read but I have some extras I need to fill out as the journal is nearly filled.

-Pull books for Fraterfest Readathon—I’m really tempted to start The Cry of the Banshee but I’m going to be good and keep it to start off the readathon with. Starting with a novella always make me motivated.

-Update GoodReads—I’ve been using my private StoryGraph account to keep track but I really need to update GoodReads before I forget.

-I need to do an un-haul of 10-20 books—One of my 2023 goals is to un-haul books that I didn’t like, won’t read, won’t read again, or have duplicate copies. I’m a bit behind on that so I’ll either tackle my old romance books (I know I have several duplicates here) that I have stashed away or go through some of my old TBR totes.

Bloggish/Bookish happenings

-Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer is hosting her annual Fraterfest Readathon October 12^th—16^th

-Blogtober—I will be participating all month long over on Instagram, so stop @simplyangelarenee and check out what I’ll be posting.

-Banned Books Week is October 1^st—7^th—there’s a few online and in-person events that I’m hoping to check out. I’m also going to be picking up a few banned books this week.

I managed to snap a few pictures of the harvest moon. 

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.