Stay in the light by A.M.Shine

Series: The Watchers (#2)

Format: 320 pages, Paperback

Published : October 15, 2024 by Head of Zeus

Horror/own

This one was not as thrilling and creepy as book 1. I was honestly sort of bored because nothing happened.

Mina was hiding from The Watchers. Madeleine who showed to be a Watcher is keeping an eye out for her. And somewhere in Ireland there is a archeological dig and somethings should stay buried.

But yes there lie the boring part. Mina is worried, the dig is slow....

After 3/4 things finally pick up and that last chapter...DAMN IT. Now I NEED MORE.

After her terrifying experience at the hands of the Watchers, Mina has escaped to a cottage on the west coast of Ireland. She obsessively researches her former captors, desperate to find any way to prolong the safety of humankind.

When Mina encounters a stranger near her home, she fears the worst - for she knows the figure is not what it seems. Soon, people she has encountered start to disappear.

Mina knows the Watchers' power is growing. She flees for her life, but when she reports her fears she finds her sanity questioned. Can she convince people that the Watchers are real, and ready to strike - or will she suffer the fate she has dreaded since she first encountered those malevolent beings?

TMST

 

10/27/2026  Who do you want on your team during the zombie apocalypse and why?

Real people? No one!

People I do not know? Someone who knows the woods and knows how to survive. I also need a doctor that can help out. I am thinking Mr Woods guy does not know everything so I need some sort of McGyver type too. Oh and someone who is great with hand to hand combat, knives and the works. Everyone who can help me survive.

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.

If you are interested in participating in TMST or receiving periodic emails that list the upcoming TMST topics and questions,  please fill out this GOOGLE FORM.  Participation is optional and never required.

Carole Monday: Mate

Author: Ali Hazelwood
Narrator: Ellie Gossage & Teddy Hamilton

Title: Mate

Series: Bride #2

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy
Format: Audiobook

Published: October 7, 2025
Where I Got It: Library


Summary: 

Serena Paris is orphaned, pack-less, and one of a kind. Coming forward as the first Human-Were hybrid was supposed to heal a centuries-long rift between species. Instead, it made her a target, prey for the ruthless political machinations between Weres, Vampyres, and Humans. With her enemies closing in on her, she has only one option left if he'll have her.

As Alpha of the Northwest pack, Koen Alexander commands obedience. His authority is so absolute, only a fool would threaten his mate. It doesn't matter if Serena doesn't reciprocate his feelings, nothing will stop him from keeping her safe.

But power-hungry Vampyres and Weres are not the only threats chasing Serena. Sooner or later, her past is bound to catch up with her and Koen might be the only thing standing between her and total annihilation…

Review:

Been meaning to read book 2 for a while now. I enjoyed book 1 so much. But you know how it goes...things get...well...forgotten and put on the back burner. 

Okaaaayyyyy. Here we pick up around-ish where we left off, but now we are following Serena. She is a half-human, half-were. She didn't know it until now. She is the first of her kind, and people either see her as a threat or a way for relations to heal between the species. She wants to be left alone in her cabin, but with her enemies closing in around her...Koen brings her to his pack. 

Awwww I adore Serena sooooo much. I feel so bad for her. She has not had a good time of it in her life, but she is so kind and loving. 

OooooOooo Koen is a rough one, but he will worm his way into your heart, especially after....a certain scene LOL. 

This world is sooo fun. I want to learn more, but it sounds like we are only getting these two books....not even a spin-off! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT!? AUTHOR NOOOOO! I want more. There are some friends I want to see find love. Find happiness. GAH. 

I loved watching the progression of this love story. It is a super, duper slow burn because Koen can't and won't allow her to get close. Rules are rules, baby. No further explanation/spoilers coming from these lips...aka fingers....

The narration was fine. I wasn't crazy about the formatting. It is all in Serena's POVs, but we get like a sentence or two of Koen's POV at the beginning of each chapter. And the male voice reads all the male dialogue. Mmm. Not crazy about it for sure. MORE KOEN PLEASEEEE.

But yes, I enjoyed this, and I want more of this world and these groups of people. I feel like there are sooooooo many stories that could be told. Sadly, there isn't a Book 3 anytime soon or at all. Maybe the author will hear my prayers. 

4 stars from me. It would be 5, but the narration format didn't sit well with me. I read a physical book for book 1, so I have zero idea what they did with that. 

Reading Challenges

- Audiobook #46

- Library Love #27

Visa citerad text

The Killing Time by Elly Griffiths

Series: Ali Dawson (#2)

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

Published: February 12, 2026 by Waterstones UK 

Mystery/Crime/From library

No more time travel. Her coworker is stuck in the 1850s. Life goes on.

Ali gets a new cold case and that takes her into contact with a medium. Who says strange things. There is also the fact that she has proof that she will travel back in time again. And then her cat goes missing! Ok, this sounds weird when I write it, but dang I would do anything for my cat too.

Ali is mean to have an affair in the past so will that happen now? Wink wink? Will she ever find her cat? And can the medium really see ghosts as he knows things?

I enjoyed it and I like Ali, she is 40+. Been married 3 times and takes no shit.

Ali Dawson is a police detective who leads a unit that investigates cases so cold her team must travel to the distant past to solve them. But Ali and the team haven't been allowed to time-travel ever since their technical expert, Jones, got stuck in Victorian London, never to be seen again.

To distract herself from meaningless tasks, Ali decides to look into a present-day case - a series of apparent suicides, all young men who fell to their death from high places. She believes the deaths are linked to a psychic medium called Barry Power, who convinced the boys they could fly. Ali goes to one of Power's shows where he claims to be in contact with Jones.

When Ali notices that evening that her cat, Terry, has gone missing, she decides to go back in time just long enough to prevent Terry from escaping through his open cat flap. A dangerous plan which backfires, and she finds herself once more in Victorian London, where she meets Jones, as well as Power, and the darkly mysterious Cain Templeton with whom Ali has unfinished business from her previous visit to the past . . .

A New Start at the Happily Ever After Bookshop by Emma Bennet

Series: Book 1, Castle Cove

Release date: 08-27-26

Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher: Audible Studios

Narrated by: Clare Corbett

Romance

I was looking at audible freebies and found this one. It was cute and fun and the bookshop drew me in.

Carrie is a single mum and then her aunt asks her to look after her bookshop by the seaside for a month. First she is all no, but then she realises, that she and her kid needs this.

Cute bookshop! A happy kid. A resident bookshop cat. And most of all, a handsome neighbor called Micheal.

Nice narration and a cute book. I enjoyed it

Single mum Carrie Worsley doesn’t need another disappointment — she needs a fresh start. So when she’s offered the chance to run her great-aunt’s romance bookshop in the Cornish seaside town of Castle Cove, she packs up her six-year-old daughter and takes the leap.

Secret beaches. Golden sunsets. And The Happily Ever After Bookshop — a pastel-pink sanctuary filled with stories of second chances. But it’s only temporary.

Until she meets Michael — the quiet, brooding, local bookbinder with kind eyes and an adorably chaotic dog!

Michael isn’t looking for forever. Carrie doesn’t believe in it anymore. But stolen glances turn into slow-burn tension. Friendly coffees become lingering touches. And suddenly the chemistry isn’t just fictional — it’s undeniable.

Between sea-salted evenings, cinnamon-scented mornings, and long afternoons lost among the shelves, Carrie begins to wonder . . .

What if this time, the love story is hers?

Snake-Eater by T.Kingfisher

Narrated by: Elena Rey

Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins

Release date: 12-01-25

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Paranormal

I did not know what to expect from this one, and this was not it. Ha, it was fun.

Selena is running from a relationship. She has anxiety issues, and he is holding her down. So she runs to an aunt in the desert. An aunt who is dead and now she has her house. But there are gods and spirits in the desert. And her aunt seems to have hooked up with one.

To help her she has her dog Copper, her neighbor Grandma, oh she was a hoot. And slowly gaining friendships she did not think she was capable of. Which is what you get from years of trauma by her mother and boyfriend.

There are scary roadrunners and a god called Snake-Eater. Selena is in for more than she bargained for.

I liked it. It took me somewhere I did not know I was going. The narration was great too. A good experience

With only a few dollars to her name and her beloved dog Copper by her side, Selena flees her past in the city to claim her late aunt’s house in the desert town of Quartz Creek. The scorpions and spiders are better than what she left behind.

Because in Quartz Creek, there’s a strange beauty to everything, from the landscape to new friends, and more blue sky than Selena’s ever seen. But something lurks beneath the surface. Like the desert gods and spirits lingering outside Selena’s house at night, keeping watch. Mostly benevolent, says her neighbor Grandma Billy. That doesn’t ease the prickly sense that one of them watches too closely and wants something from Selena she can’t begin to imagine. And when Selena’s search for answers leads her to journal entries that her aunt left behind, she discovers a sinister truth about her new It’s the haunting grounds of an ancient god known simply as “Snake-Eater,” who her late aunt made a promise to that remains unfulfilled.

Snake-Eater has taken a liking to Selena, an obsession of sorts that turns sinister. And now that Selena is the new owner of his home, he’s hell-bent on collecting everything he’s owed.

TMST

 

10/20/2026 If you could have any office supply in unlimited quantities, what would it be?

I have pens, so many pens, I am a bit of a free pen hoarder so not that. Paper would have been good but these days, nah, not so much drawing going on.

Someone is gonna come up with smth really smart and I am gonna be all I should have thought of that!

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.

If you are interested in participating in TMST or receiving periodic emails that list the upcoming TMST topics and questions,  please fill out this GOOGLE FORM.  Participation is optional and never required.

10/27/2026  Who do you want on your team during the zombie apocalypse and why?

Carole´s Monday: Dracula

 

Author: Bram Stoker
Narrator: Ella Purnell, Jonathan Bailey, & full cast

Title: Dracula

Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Classic
Format: Audiobook

Published: October 1, 2026 (this rendition)
Where I Got It: My shelf (Audible)


Summary: 

When her fiancé vanishes in Transylvania, Mina pieces together letters, diary entries and chilling testimony to hunt the predator stalking those she loves — only to discover he's already hunting her. Dracula lurks in shadow, slips into dreams, and casts no reflection. To nearly all, he defies beyond what the eye can see, and what the mind can comprehend. When her closest friend Lucy succumbs to his thrall, the enigmatic Professor Van Helsing is summoned to wage war on this unfathomable threat. But it is Mina; her intellect, her resolve, her gift for drawing the unseen lines between clues, who may hold the key to stopping this ancient scourge. If he hasn't already found his way inside her mind…

Review:

Love me some Dracula. Esp Dracula remakes. And when I heard the cast of this one, I couldn't resist checking it out!

Mina's fiancé vanishes, and she is trying to piece together the letters, diary entries, and chilling testimony to figure out what happened. He returns, but he isn't the same. At the same time, her childhood friend is dying, and they do not know why. They bring in Professor Van Helsing to combat the threat. However, it is Mina who will connect all the dots and figure out that they are being hunted by an ancient scourge. 

The original story is good, but man, was this cast amazing. They really did a wonderful job breathing fresh air into this story. Fabulous. I was so invested. I listened to this during a long drive down to Florida, and I was in Tennessee by the time I finished it. I was surrounded by trees and darkness. Such a great way to listen to this. I was so scared by the end. I ran to the hotel to check in. 

I would listen to this rendition again. It really just flushed out the story and made me love the story all over again. I haven't read the original since 2012, and I remember it seemed to drag on and on. I didn't feel this way with this narration. They just brought this to life so well. 

5 stars, 100%. 

Reading Challenges

- Audiobook #43

Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst

Series: Spellshop (#3)

Format : 384 pages, Paperback

Published: January 1, 2026 by Pan Macmillan

Cozy fantasy/library

I like this series, it is so sweet and cozy. Sure the Empire has fallen, the king was thrown out an window. But we do not really see all of that. Instead we have Marin, she left a bad marriage, her parents equipped her ship and now she is doing jobs between islands.

Dax is the golden composer. The city is falling apart but he knows nothing about that. They have met before and then she helps him flee.

She has a sea dragon friend and a talking plant as crew. Dax has never left his safe little bubble. She has debts to pay, he has dined with the king.

They have adventures, they get closer and they will get that happy ending. And we meet people from previous books, yay. I think these islands will be just fine.

I enjoy these, fun times

Her boat. Her rules. His music. Their hearts . . .

Marin has always belonged on the great blue sea. Betrayed by love, she lives and works as a supply runner, sailing from island to island, delivering an array of goods with Perri the sea serpent and Ree the sailor shrub as her crew.

On one of her routine trips to the capital, Alyssium, Marin finds a revolution underway - and a friend in the line of fire.

What starts as a rescue evolves into a deal: Marin will keep Dax on as a member of her crew if he pretends to be her boyfriend at the End-of-Harvest Festival back home.

But against her better judgment, Marin finds herself intrigued by his stubbornness, his passion for stories, his charming smile - and realizes that perhaps she isn't saving him. Maybe it's the other way around.

Audio: After Anne by Renata McMann and Summer Hanford

By: Renata McMann, Summer Hanford

Narrated by: Benjamin Fife

Series: Pride and Prejudice Variation

Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins

Release date: 09-08-26 by Tantor Media

Categories: Literature & Fiction

PP variation time!  In this one Lizzy gets to know Anne a bit better, but no one else knows. Darcy still asks Lizzy to marry him and that goes badly. And here is where it takes a new turn, Anne grows a backbone and just ups and leave. The whole place is in an uproar! Where is Anne!?

And Lady Catherine gets this crazy idea and hires Lizzy as her companion, tells Darcy he must come too and they set off to find Anne. And Darcy and Lizzy must spend a lot of time together trying to find Anne, and no one must know she is missing.

It will be awkward, but it will also give them the time to come to terms with their feelings as she learns he is not the man she thought he was.

Wickham is an ass as always. But he will learn his lesson.

Anne is awesome, I liked that she learnt to take what she want.

Darcy was humbled, I liked that.

I enjoyed this variation. It has its twists and turns and you know they will get there in the end.

The narration was well done and I do not know if I have listened to this narrator before, but he does it well

Elizabeth Bennet cannot believe the effrontery of Mr. Darcy's proposal to her, but before she can firmly decide to despise him, he hands her a letter. Unsure what he could possibly have to say to redeem himself, she sneaks off to read his words, only to witness the flight of Miss Anne de Bourgh. Now, despite the array of turbulent emotions between them, Lady Catherine de Bourgh insists that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy form a team to search for her daughter. Though Lady Catherine has motives of her own, being thrown together may help Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth better understand each other, all while they go after Anne.

Itch by Gemma Amor

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

Published: October 9, 2025 by Hodder

Horror/borrowed

Ohh I like weird. Josie left her ex after said ex put her in a coma. She went home with her widowed dad, she works at a pub, and life is just pretty shitty. Then she finds a dead body and everything becomes effed up.

It itches, the ants from the dead body are inside her. There is an legend from the woods that there is something there, something that demands offerings.

But it is also a murder mystery. As she is spiraling out of control she tries to figure out what happened to the dead woman.

I liked it. Messed up, creepy and good

Something moves on the forest floor...

Josie is at rock bottom. Burned out, heartbroken and recovering from an abusive relationship, she lives a haunted existence after returning to her isolated hometown on the edge of the Forest of Dean.

But the tall, dense pine trees are not the only things casting shadows across her skin.

Josie's hopes of a fresh start are horribly derailed when she stumbles across a dead woman's decaying, ant-infested body in the woods. The grim discovery sends her into a downward spiral, forcing her to face uncomfortable truths about the victim and her own past - all whilst battling the swarming black ants that seem to have burrowed into her mind... and her flesh.

As Josie struggles with infestations of all kinds, she scratches the surface of an age-old mystery - a masked predator stalks the forest around Ellwood, a place deeply gripped by ancient folklore and strange customs. So when the village dresses up for its annual festival, Josie gets closer and closer to unveiling a monster, and begins to ask

Are these dark crawling insects leading her to uncover the truth?

Or is she their next victim?

TMST

 

10/13/2026 What animal do you think best represents your personality?

Hmmm, a cat? A cat will spend time with those it likes, but be rather aloof with others. They go their own way and do not give many effs. A cat hates making mistakes and will totally pretend that stumble did not happen. And they like sleep, and warmth

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.

If you are interested in participating in TMST or receiving periodic emails that list the upcoming TMST topics and questions,  please fill out this GOOGLE FORM.  Participation is optional and never required.

10/20/2026 If you could have any office supply in unlimited quantities, what would it be?

10/27/2026  Who do you want on your team during the zombie apocalypse and why?

Carole´s Monday: A taste of magic

 

Author: Tricia O'Malley
Narrator: Siobhan Waring & John Hartley

Title: A Taste of Magic

Series: The Scottish Charms #2

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Format: Audiobook

Published: August 25, 2026
Where I Got It: My shelf (Audible)


Summary: 

She’s hexed. He’s her ex. And if they can’t bake in harmony, Briarhaven’s big cooking competition might just go up in smoke.

Lyra MacGregor’s magic is as unpredictable as her love life—especially when her spellwork starts misfiring during the filming of Briarhaven’s favorite reality TV Bewitching Bake-Off. Even worse? She’s paired with Rabbie Campbell, her high school sweetheart turned heartbreak.

He’s never baked a thing in his life. She turns spoons into hedgehogs when he’s nearby. But with the cameras rolling, the curse deepening, and old sparks reigniting, they’ll have to cook up more than just a winning cake to survive. Because in Briarhaven, baking is spellwork, and love is the trickiest recipe of all.

Review:

I finished book 1, and I had to get my hands on book 2. I'm loving this town and this family. Plus...I had to know what the heck is up with Rabbie and Lyra. What happened between them the last time they were in town?

Lyra and her family have been back in town for about a year now. It is her turn to finally get her powers and lift her part of the curse. However, things are interrupted when a Baking Show picks Briarhaven to host the Christmas special. This is the chance Lyra has been dreaming about! She finally got a job at the bakery, but maybe this competition will help blast her Baking show to new heights. However, she is having issues with her magic, and now she's being partnered with her ex....

I really loved this one. I loved watching them go from enemies to baking partners to friends to being in love. It felt real. They finally are forced to TALK and hear each other out. *chef kiss*

Lyra is adorable. 

Rabbie is cranky and cute. 

Gimme all the hedgehogs. 

I just wanted to eat all the yummy desserts mentioned. 

This is a second chance, and I get scared of them, but the reason why they broke up was an easy fix once they matured, especially when they realized it was all a misunderstanding. 

The ending was lovely. 

The narrators were perfect. 

I loved this. So much fun. I want book 3!!!!

5 stars. 

Reading Challenges

- Audiobook #42

- Reading Romance Challenge #20 (MC Works in the Food Industry)

The Stand-in by Lily Chu

By: Lily Chu

Narrated by: Phillipa Soo

Release date: 07-15-21

Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher: Audible Originals

Contemporary romance

Gracie has a terrible boss and no where to turn. Her mother is in a home and Gracie needs money for a better one. Then she is stopped and asked to be a stand in for a famous Chinese actress called Wei Fangli...

Good money! But can she do it? I did not really understand why Gracie had such a hard time with the lie. It was like she thought people would think she came up with it herself and she went around pretending to be Fangli. But then she does suffer from anxiety and she writes these lists to keep herself calm. So the whole pretending thing is hard for her.

Oh and Fangli has a super hot friend called Sam and they do start with butting heads but something grows.

I enjoyed this one and I will def look for more on audible.

Great narration. I enjoyed it

Gracie Reed is doing just fine. Sure, she was fired by her overly “friendly” boss, and yes she still hasn’t gotten her mother into the nursing home of their dreams, but she’s healthy, she’s (somewhat) happy, and she’s (mostly) holding it all together.

But when a mysterious SUV pulls up beside her, revealing Chinese cinema’s golden couple Wei Fangli and Sam Yao, Gracie’s world is turned on its head. The famous actress has a proposition: due to their uncanny resemblance, Fangli wants Gracie to be her stand-in. The catch? Gracie will have to be escorted by Sam, the most attractive—and infuriating—man Gracie’s ever met.

If it means getting the money she needs for her mother, Gracie’s in. Soon Gracie moves into a world of luxury she never knew existed. But resisting Sam, and playing the role of an elegant movie star, proves more difficult than she ever imagined—especially when she learns the real reason Fangli so desperately needs her help. In the end all the lists in the world won't be able to help Gracie keep up this elaborate ruse without losing herself... and her heart.

The truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen

Format: 374 pages, Paperback

Published : May 11, 2004 by Penguin Group Inc.

Romance YA /own

I must have found this one at a yard sale ages ago...and September was reading oldies month!

Macy has a to me boring boyfriend who goes to space camp. She takes over his boring library job where the coworkers hate her. She is the good girl who gets good grades, and who has a boring boyfriend who corrects her...yeah I do not like that guy.

But then she meets a messy group of catering staff and the summer begins.

I liked this one. Well written, some real teen drama and feelings.

That's what Macy has to look forward to while her boyfriend, Jason, is away at Brain Camp. Days will be spent at a boring job in the library, evenings will be filled with vocabulary drills for the SATs, and spare time will be passed with her mother, the two of them sharing a silent grief at the traumatic loss of Macy's father.

But sometimes, unexpected things can happen—things such as the catering job at Wish, with its fun-loving, chaotic crew. Or her sister's project of renovating the neglected beach house, awakening long-buried memories. Things such as meeting Wes, a boy with a past, a taste for Truth-telling, and an amazing artistic talent, the kind of boy who could turn any girl's world upside down. As Macy ventures out of her shell, she begins to question her sheltered life.

Abducted by a prince by Olivia Drake

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 29, 2014

Series: Cinderella Sisterhood (#3)

Historical romance /own

I have had this book for probably 10 years, oops! I am trying to get to my old forgotten books.

Ellie works as an unpaid servant to her uncle. She is the governess, nursemaid, chaperone, you name it. They took her in when her father died and did not really care.

Damien wants a key back that was stolen long ago, and he will kidnap someone to get it.

Oops, he kidnapped Ellie! Mistake. And her family do not give a damn. But Damien is hot, and Ellie is really nice. How can they ever let each other go?

Short answer. They can not! Cos this is a Cinderella story and they will live happily ever after and her family can go f themselves

I enjoyed it. Cute

She Was Stolen Away...

Ellie Stratham gave up her childhood dreams of a fairy tale romance long ago. To repay her late father’s debts, she’s forced to serve her spoiled cousin, Lady Beatrice. But Ellie has devised a secret plan to escape her life as a drudge. A plan that is thrown into jeopardy when she’s abducted by a mysterious stranger.

But Can He Steal Her Heart?

A notorious seducer of women—and a scoundrel to boot—Damien Burke has earned his nickname as the Demon Prince. But his plot to kidnap Lady Beatrice to make her brother return a priceless heirloom backfires—and he ends up with their penniless cousin, Ellie, as his hostage. By the time Damien realizes his mistake, he and his fiery-willed captive are trapped in a remote castle during a wild winter storm. And he soon finds that the true hostage may be his own heart.

TMST

 

10/6/2026  If you had to teach a class or give a TED Talk, what would it be about?

Omg, nothing. Then I had to research, write, and that would take time, and I had to, ugh, that sounds awful!

Could I just like take a TED group into nature, and be quiet and just walk. Experience nature bathing...quietly.

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.

If you are interested in participating in TMST or receiving periodic emails that list the upcoming TMST topics and questions,  please fill out this GOOGLE FORM.  Participation is optional and never required.

10/13/2026 What animal do you think best represents your personality?

10/20/2026 If you could have any office supply in unlimited quantities, what would it be?

10/27/2026  Who do you want on your team during the zombie apocalypse and why?

Carole´s Monday: The Tuesday night club

 

Author: Agatha Christie
Narrator: Mark Bowen

Title: The Tuesday Night Club

Series: Miss Marple #SS 1

Genre: Mystery, Short Story, Classic
Format: Audiobook

Published: 1927
Where I Got It: Borrowed from library


Summary: 

A weekly gathering of murder mystery fans. Each week one of them challenges the rest of the group with a new mystery. Who can rise to the challenge?

And now for the first difficult case that comes to the Tuesday Night Club. The story begins with a dinner. After a supper of canned lobster and a dessert of trifle, three people became ill and one of them, Mrs. Jones, died. A bout of botulism was suspected but could it have been more than that?

Sir Henry Clithering, the former head of Scotland Yard, recounts it all to the club assembled at Miss Marple's house in St. Mary Mead. The group are keen to delve deeper as he asks whether any of them can resolve it. In the corner sat Miss Marple, knitting and listening.

Review:

I'm a terrible AC fan......I've never read any of the Miss Marple (that I can remember). EEE. Oops. 

Each week, this group of murder-mystery fans takes on a new mystery. The first difficult case lands on their lap....after supper, three people became ill, and one of them died. Who? How? Why? Everyone has their opinions, but who is right?

We all know the answer....Miss Marple will be the one to solve it. LOL, but I loved the format of this lil short story. She was fun! I want more time with her to really fall for her as I have with Hercule. BUT it was a nice intro to this unlikely hero. 

The mystery was nice and so complicated that it had such a simple solution. 

The narrator did well. I would listen to more if he did the voices for more.

Overall, quick, nice, and an interesting mystery. I want more. 

4 stars. 

Reading Challenges

- Audiobook #41

- Library Love #25

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Series: Hex Hall (#1)

Format: 323 pages, Paperback

Published: February 1, 2011 by Hyperion Book CH

YA paranormal/own

I have had this one forever. So finally I just went for it

Sophie is a half witch who gets sent to boarding school cos we cant let the normies know there are things that go bump in the night.

A hot guy. A coven of mean girl witches. A vampire bestie. Teachers who are strict, and not knowing of your own blood line.

There the usual teen drama. It was an amusing read

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It’s gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie’s estranged father—an elusive European warlock—only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it’s her dad who decides her exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.