Audiobook: The Perfect Gift- Mackenzie Family Christmas

 
Read by Angela Dawe
Duration:  5 hours

The Mackenzies gather for a clan Christmas and Hogmanay in Scotland. In the chaos of preparations for the celebration--the first of Hart and Eleanor's married life--one of Ian's Ming bowls gets broken, and the family scrambles to save the day. Daniel busily runs a betting ring for everything from the hour Eleanor's baby will arrive, to whether Mac's former-pugilist valet can win a boxing match. Ian begins a new obsession, and Beth fears that the loss of one of his precious bowls has made him withdraw once more into his private world.

Goodreads 

Library Love: Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.

To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstör comes packaged in the form of a glossy mail order catalog, complete with product illustrations, a home delivery order form, and a map of Orsk’s labyrinthine showroom.

Goodreads

Audiobook: All Is Calm/All Is Bright

During the holidays, I like to read winter reads that focus on Christmas. However, my mood lately has been gearing towards suspenseful and spooky books. Well, might as well combine the two: Suspenseful Christmas stories.

Read by Pam Turlow
Duration: 4 hours and 19 minutes

All is Calm
Brendan Waddell needs a place to recuperate. Lauren Everman needs a place to hide. It’s going to be an unexpectedly romantic Christmas at Bluebird Ranch.
All is Bright
A romantic, Christmas wedding at her seaside hotel gives Delilah a chance to shine with her unique gifts. But will her light be snuffed out before the bride and groom say “I do”?

Overdrive  *  Goodreads

#ShelfLove: Dark Water by Koji Suzuky

A haunting collection of short stories from Koji Suzuki, author of the smash thriller, Ring, which spawned the hit film and sequels. The first story in this collection has been adapted to film.

Goodreads

My Thoughts: This book had been in my TBR pile for over ten years, so I was glad to finally scratch it off my list. I really loved the Japanese movie, Dark Water. It was creepy and heartbreaking. The American movie adaptation was not as great. Having the Japanese movie in mind, I was hoping this book would have the same emotions that I felt when I watched the film. Unfortunately, I was not expecting it to be a collection of short stories (I did not read the synopsis) so I was a little disappointed. 

Audiobook: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Read by: Elizabeth Knowelden
 Audio Length: 10.25 hours

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom—all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she’s ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

Mini Reviews: Lover Eternal and Lover Awakened

I listened to these audios around September time but I never got to share my thoughts on them. They are re-reads as I prepare myself to continue reading the rest of the series. :)

Lover Eternal

Read by Jim Frangione
Duration: 14 hours and 18 minutes

Goodreads

The second book in the Blackdagger Brotherhood was about Rhage. Rhage was known as "Hollywood." He looked like a god and was able to get any woman he wanted. He also had a dragon tattoo on his back that controlled him (he actually turned into a dragon *gasp*). Though he was a "tortured" being, he cannot help but fall in love with Mary. Unfortunately, Mary was dying and there was nothing Rhage could have done to save her.

Hello! ~Update~

Hello, peeps! It has been a while since I've been around the book blogging world. If any one of you are still visiting my blog and wondering what has happened to me, well here's an update:

I've been super busy trying to balance my new career life as a resource specialist. I knew this job was not easy but I was not expecting how much it was going to affect me mentally. Do I enjoy my new job? Yes and no. I love my students but I dislike the paperwork. In fact, I am head over heels with paperwork that I don't have that much time to teach. I rely heavily on my substitute and my instructional aide to hold the fort for me, especially when I go to meetings.