Big Mushy Happy Lump by Sarah Andersen is a wonderful collection of adorable and incredibly relatable comics.

I flew right though this book and felt incredibly sad when I reached the end. I hope to see more from Sarah soon!

I really enjoyed this collection! So many panels made me laugh, others hit me on a deeper level because they were so relatable. One of my favorite sections was where the author writes a narrative about her anxiety and how she deals with it.

I absolutely loved The Darkest Corners, so when I saw that Kara Thomas had a new book, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! This book did not disappoint.

Little Monsters by Kara Thomas is an awesome young adult mystery/thriller with dark elements of deception, manipulation, distrust, and jealousy, but also upbeat elements of love and family.

Kara Thomas is such a skilled writer when it comes to YA Suspense and Mystery! I cannot wait to see what she does next!

This is another read that I highly recommend you go into as blind as possible. Because of that, I will hit some higher-level things below, but avoid discussing the plot or specifics.

I really love Kara's writing style; it's so easy to read, wonderfully organized, paced perfectly, and she grabs your attention right away. So, needless to say, this book totally captivated me!

While a few of the characters were incredibly unlikable, I thought they were balanced out really well with the likable characters. Each of the characters were all well developed, even though it took quite some time to really feel like you understood who each character really was. Of course, that was done on purpose to help add to the suspense!

The main storyline was occasionally broken up by selections from Bailey's diary. This organization made the mystery element much stronger because you got to see two sides to the story, while also getting information about the past to help clarify the present.

While reading, I kept trying to guess at what had happened... but I never could have figured this one out!


My favorite passages:
And February. February is just the biggest asshole.
February makes you feel like you’ll never see the sun again.

Tonight, though: tonight is so clear you can count the stars like they’re diamonds.

I’d finally found a version of myself I could with – found a place where I didn’t feel like I had to escape.

But the night doesn’t like to give up secrets. And if Bailey disappeared into it, there might be no telling what happened to her.

The thing about growing up in a town like this is that some people catch boredom like a virus.

That was when I decided that all the ghost stories got it wrong: evil isn’t a spirit or monster or a ghost. It lives inside regular people, and it doesn’t know the difference between night and day.


My final thoughts:
If stories that center a bit around high school drama isn't your cup of tea, you may want to skip this one.

However, if you don't mind the drama, I would definitely recommend this book! I had SO much fun reading this, and would recommend it to fans of YA Mystery/Thrillers!

Wytches Volume 1 is an absolutely stunning and wonderfully written graphic novel about a family and the darkness that won't leave them alone.

I loved every second of this read. If you're into darker, spooky, graphic novels, you're going to love this!

Oh my goodness... This is definitely in my top five favorite graphic novels list! I LOVED it! I really enjoyed the super creepy tone! Gosh, what a great read for October!

This is yet another situation where I don't want to give too much away, so I will stay high-level.

First of all, I thought the artwork was just incredible. I absolutely loved the style of both the inking and the colors. And I really enjoyed that there was an overall texture, like each page was printed on a canvas, because you can see tiny squares. There's also a spattering of color over the pages, which really adds to the overall look and feel in a wonderful way.

Oh! In the very back of the book, the process is explained! It starts with Jock’s inks, then the flat colors are added and basic paint is done through photoshop. Next, “zip and paper” is added which gives it the textured look. After that, two sets of spatters are added manually. These spatters are painted by hand with watercolor, liquid acrylic, and other paints on paper then they are scanned and added to the scene with Photoshop. Interesting!!

Second, the storyline was so interesting and I loved the main plot! I really enjoyed how well the past and present merged together to tell the full story. And the transitions between scenes and timelines were awesome! For example in one panel, Sailor is banging on the inside of a plastic playground tube, and in the next, the father is banging his palm against a wall. In another, Sailor is climbing a ferris wheel and saying, “just a little higher” and then next she’s climbing out from an underground burrow saying the same thing.

Third, I enjoyed the deeper elements’s of the story because they were so thought provoking! For example, one element were the wytches. They weren’t the witches that we all know with the big hats, pointy noses, and pet cats. These wytches are unusually tall, demonically ugly, and savage. I loved this twist on the character and found it incredibly interesting that they were only given power by the humans.

And fourth, I loved the mix of seriousness and action and lighthearted humor. I mean, there was a fart joke... so of course I laughed out loud for far longer than a normal person would :)

Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to seeing the next volume in the series! If you're into darker graphic novels with stunning artwork, you have to go pick this one up!

Switched by R.L. Stine is a very intense story about two teenage girls. I found it a bit overly dramatic, but totally captivating! I just love R.L. Stine's work!

This is a book that would be great for a readathon! I read it in about an hour.

Phew, I forgot how dark and twisted these books could be! The description of the murders kind of shocked me, simply because I wasn’t expecting it.

This story was overly dramatic, a bit ridiculous, but totally captivating! And I absolutely did not see the ending coming... phew!

Found it the writing to be a bit repetitive, but luckily that didn't take away from my overall feelings about the book.

If you're looking for a quick and unsettling read, I highly recommend checking this one out!

Dragons Love Tacos 2 by Adam Rubin & Daniel Salmieri is a wonderfully humorous book about a boy and his dog that go back in time to a taco party to grab a taco to plant a taco tree.

Before jumping into this book, I definitely recommend checking out the first!

I was so happy to find out that there was a sequel to the first book! Just like the first, I thought this was such a cute book! The storyline is short and sweet, and it has a lovely humorous tone.

However, in this one, while the illustrations were still pretty adorable, it was quite different from the first book; this time it seemed rushed because the detail was lacking.

I really enjoyed that the authors blurbs at the end of the book differed from the first, but kept the same tone!

Humanity's Hope by Pembroke Sinclair is a story that takes place once the world has begun to level out after the zombie uprising.

Zombie novels can be tricky. In my reading experience, I have seen a number of authors handle it really well, while others totally tanked... In this case, I think the author put a fun twist on the zombie! I absolutely loved the first half of the book, but unfortunately, I didn't really care for the second half.

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

Though the zombie content was pretty light, I did really enjoy the scenes where zombies were present. I also loved the explanations regarding the three different types of zombies and found each of them really interesting.

For the first half of the book, I just could not put it down! I was loving the flow and the elements of the story that were presented! Unfortunately the book ended up taking a turn that I didn't care for, but more on that later.

The story really centered around the main character, Caleb, who has a great job as a computer tech at Zomtech, but he toes the fine line between being stable and collapsing into a dark place filled with guilt and terror. As a character overall, I did like him. However, I found that he was pretty whiny and self-indulgent. It wasn't enough to make me flat out dislike him, but I certainly didn't love the character.

The other three characters that we got to see the most were Samuel, Matt, and Jan. I found each of these three to be very interesting, but I was bummed that we didn't really get to know them.

I'm not usually a fan of book with lots of political elements, but the complexity here in relation to the required blood work and the treatment of the zombies was really interesting.

The overall story arc was fun. It certainly left me thinking that there will be a second book (fingers crossed!).

Beware, the negatives:
Going into this book, I didn't really know what to expect. The synopsis seemed interesting, but as I was reading, I decided that it gave way too much away! I'm a bit fan of books that throw in twists that totally catch me off guard, which did happen once here, but I wish that one specific element had been left out of the synopsis so I could have discovered while reading instead.

Once I hit the halfway point, I began to find that the book was becoming more and more repetitive in both the descriptions and the inner monologues of the MC. Per usual, this is my major reading irk. It wasn't so repetitive that it made me want to DNF, but I definitely think another rounds of edits could help balance it out.

Also at this halfway point, I felt that the story kind of stalled out. It went from being really intriguing to rather irritating as we just followed Caleb and his inner thoughts. I don't think it would have been so rough for me if it wasn't as repetitive... but unfortunately I just found it boring. I kept putting it down or taking breaks because I just wasn't engaged with the story anymore.

When I reached the ending, it felt very abrupt. I'm not really sure how I feel about it... The twist sort of felt like it was added in just so there was a shock. Unfortunately, it just left me a little confused. The ending also left a lot of loose ends, which I'm not a fan of.


My favorite passages:
The farmhouse was still ways away, about 50 yards. At least that was what Caleb assumed. He was horrible at judging distances. It didn't matter anyway. Which the zombies in front of them, the house was as accessible as another planet.

Caleb zig-zagged across the field. He ducked under a pair of arms, then shouldered a zombie out of the way. Its bones crunched against his shoulder, teeth gnashed close to his ear, driving him forward with more urgency.

Schools still existed, but now they taught trades that were useful to rebuild the world.

Originally, the living shot the undead, making sure their bodies never rose again. Then a group formed and protested the act. They claimed there was a cure, that the zombies could be human again. The wold listened- no one knew exactly why- and areas were set up to contain the walking corpses.

He had discovered long ago that the people who preached the loudest about the ethical treatment of zombies were the ones who had never been outside the safety of the city.

This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be simple- us versus them. The humans against the monsters. But the line of who the real monster were was becoming blurred.

He was free to leave if he wanted to. That was the million dollar question: did he want to?

The slightest sense of relief flooded through him as his voice came out calm and controlled. He gave himself a mental high five, but then had to clench his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering.


My final thoughts:
Overall, I would still recommend this book to fans of light YA zombie reads. Personally, I wouldn't read it again, though I would read a second book if there was one.

I almost didn't give In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware a try. I had heard numerous people rave about it, but I was so hesitant because I didn't enjoy The Woman in Cabin 10 at all.

Thankfully, I was surprised by this book! While it still had some of the irritating elements of the first book from Ruth Ware that I had read, I really enjoyed this one!

In a Dark, Dark Wood is a page-turning psychological suspense novel! Per usual with suspense and thrillers, I can't dive too deep here because I don't want to give too much away!

The prologue certainly sets the scene well! I love when authors add this beginning splash of action, but then back up to show us how the characters wound up there.

This book is organized in a way that jumps between the past (leading up to, and at the Hen Party), and the present (after the Hen Party). What made this organization so strong for me, was that it wasn't a time jump in each chapter; rather, the time jumps occurred more at random.

In chapter one, I was immediately drawn to the main character, Nora. As the book progressed, I continued to like her, but also feel quite bad for her. Toward the end, I found myself so irritated by some of her decisions, but each one really helped to add to the suspense!

Another element of this book that made the suspense so strong was that the author leads you into thinking that you've got the mystery all figured out. But then she throws you a curveball, and you're suddenly going down another road. This continued to happen right up until the reveal!


My favorite passages:
“Hi!!!” she said, and somehow her tone gave the word three exclamation marks...

It was growing dark, and somehow the shadows made it feel as if all the trees had taken a collective step towards the house, edging in to shut out the sky.

You think people would be wary of spilling to a writer. You think they’d know that we’re essentially birds of carrion, picking over the corpses of dead affairs and forgotten arguments to recycle them in our work – zombie reincarnations of their former selves, stitched into a macabre new patchwork of our own devising.

The front door is not deadlocked, and I open the lock from the inside without difficulty. When I do, the force of the wind nearly bangs the steel door into my face, and the snow rushes inside like a living thing, trying to get in, trying to force what little warmth is left in the house back out.


My final thoughts:
I would definitely recommend this book to those that enjoy novels with a great mix of mystery and suspense with a splash of bad decision making and unlikable characters! I really enjoyed the read, but I highly doubt I would re-read it.

Girl of Glass by Megan O'Russell is an intense story about a girl trying to find her place in a chaotic dystopian world. And I know, the word "dystopian" may make you want to tune this one out. It almost got me too, but just let me say one more thing; this book had a lovely unique premise that I really enjoyed!

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

BEWARE, there will be very slight spoilers below!

I had so much fun reading this! The story begins starts with a bang and doesn't let up! The writing is wonderful and so easy to get totally lost in. This is another that I just cruised right through because I had to know what happened next.

I absolutely loved the premise that medicines that were supposed to help people survive in the contaminated world were responsible for infecting people and turning them to zombies, werewolves, and vampires. I was so excited to learn more about each of the drugs, and their effects. This book was heavy on the Vamp side of things, so I wonder if the others in the series will discuss the other two in more depth, or if it will stick to vampires.

I really enjoyed all of the characters, but I think Julian was my favorite. Because this book is centered on Nola, the main character, I do wish we had gotten to see more of the side characters though, just to learn a bit more about them.

One of my favorite scenes was with Kieran and Nola. Nola had just been through quite the experience that shocked her. Before rushing to help her up, Kieran paused to ask, "Can I touch you?" For some reason, this scene really stuck with me! How sweet of Kieran to ask her permission? We need more of this in Fantasy YA!

So while I loved most of this book, there was one major negative that really affected my overall thoughts, simply because of my personal reading preferences...


Beware, the negative:
There was a love triangle. I am not at all a fan of love triangles. Nola's relationship with each of the male characters was pretty cute though, so I did enjoy each of her interactions with them. But overall, this element just left me more annoyed than anything else.


My favorite passages:
Nola sat crouched just outside the glass. She was like a child reaching for something dangerous with the certainty that someone would snatch it away before she could get hurt.

You see, the Domers care about protecting the genetics of the human race. But, down here, we want to protect what it is to be human.

I prefer to write myself into an unlikely fairytale rather than accept that my existence is a horror story.

Don't forget, Nola, people living in domes was once story stuff, too. We can't choose which stories come true and which stay stories. None of us are that strong.

Standing up on her toes, she leaned forward and brushed her lips gently against his. Her heart fluttered, and her stomach danced. But, the world stayed upright. There was no rabbit hole she was falling into like with Kieran.

Julien had taught her to lie. He hadn't taught her how to live with it.


My final thoughts:
While a really fun premise, nice characters, and great writing... the love triangle just really wasn't for me and ended up affecting my overall thoughts.

However, if you're a fan of YA Fantasy with a nice dose of suspense, and don't mind the love triangle element, I highly recommend this to you!!

The Broke-Ass Bride's Wedding Guide by Dana LaRue is a hilarious and incredibly helpful book that can help ease you into wedding planning mode!

I picked this up a few months after our engagement, but before we started really getting into the weeds of wedding planning. If you can, I highly recommend picking this up soon after getting engaged, before you let the stress of wedding planning kick in.

However, if you've already hit the wall of stress, you have to go get this book right away! Trust me. It really helped me! How? I'll explain in a minute.

Let's dive in!

My thoughts:
Right from the introduction, the authors fun and upbeat tone drew me right in!

It is very hard to explain... but the book is also written in a way that made me feel comfortable, like this was the perfect wedding planning book for me. So many lines in the intro really jumped out at me and made me feel both a bit calmer about the whole wedding planning process, but also excited and fired up rather than stressed!

And I mean…the font is purple. So of course I loved that feature! :)

There were SO many passages and pages that I took many notes from. But of course, as this isn't a one-size-fits-all kind of book, so there were other sections that I just skimmed or occasionally totally skipped.

Other sections made me crack up!

A few of the things that really stood out for me and where I am in the wedding planning process included:
* Sending out a group email to the wedding party to introduce everyone and giving them a way to contact one another if needed.
* Budget-friendly bachelorette/bachelor party tips.
* The pros and cons of various music options for the day of.
* Tips to keep in mind before hiring any vendors.
* Tips to make the most of the big day.

My favorite passages:
Embracing you inner Broke-Ass means using creativity as currency to rock a bad-ass wedding without breaking the bank.

Remember, you are a team. Thus, teamwork is to be expected. And there is no i in “teamwork,” but there is an ass in “forced assistance."

Like many things in this world, it's not the size of your wedding party that matters, but the motion of the… ocean? Wait, no. If this wedding party's a-rockin', don't come a... Oh, hell, let's take this back a tick.


My final thoughts:
This is a must read for any individual that is looking for wedding planning tips! You'll love the upbeat and fun tone. Happy planning!

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi is an absolutely heartbreaking story about hardship and unfairness. However, it is also a beautiful story about family and love.

The first two chapters set the story. In one chapter we meet Effia, who marries a white man. In the second chapter we meet Esi, who is enslaved and taken to America. Though they never had the chance to meet, Effia and Esi learn that they had a sister out there in the world. The novel then follows the children of these two women through many generations. With each chapter, we see how slavery affected each of them.

This book had been on my TBR for quite a while, so when it was picked for our second book club read, I was so excited.

Of course, I had heard quite a bit of hype around this book, so I treaded carefully when I began reading. I am very happy to say that this book surpasses that hype.

My thoughts:
Even though a lot of the content was stomach-turning and difficult to read, this novel totally captivated me. I spent every spare moment that I had reading.

The organization of the novel was perfect. When I first saw that each story was about a different character, I was nervous. I usually have a very hard time with books formatted this way. However, the author wrote each "chapter" so wonderfully! While each chapter really seemed to be it's own short story, everything also flowed together perfectly. Each story had elements of struggle, heartbreak, and unfairness, but also, love. But even so, each story was so unique!

I absolutely loved the way that the story circled back to the original two sisters. Though the sisters has been strangers, and their descendants didn't know they were related. The scene at the very end of the book when one handed the stone necklace off to the other made me tear up!

Everything about this book was so incredible. I was totally shocked when I saw that this is Yaa Gyasi's debut novel. I cannot wait to see what she does next!

Character breakdown/summary:
Effia- The daughter of Cobbe Otcher, raised by Baaba thinking she was her birth mother. Married off to a white man, James Collins, that she grew to love. Her brother is Fiifi.

Esi- The daughter of “Big Man” and Maame. Through a house girl, Esi learned she had a sister. After sending word that Abronoma was being held as a slave in their village, the village was attacked and Esi was captured and brought to the Cape Coast Castle.

Quey- The son of Effia and James Collins. Sent to Effia’s village on a work assignment from the castle. Friends with Cudjo. His uncle Fiifi captured Nana Yaa, the Asante Kings daughter, and expected Wuey to marry her, protecting their village from revenge of the Asante.

Ness- The daughter of Esi. Force married to another slave named Sam. Gave birth to Kojo, a son. The family tried to run from their owner but got caught. The person helping them escape was able to keep the baby hidden. Ness was whipped very badly, Sam was hung. On another farm she got Pinky to speak.

James- The son of Quey and Nana Yaa. Left his life of power for Akosua Mensah, a girl from a family with nothing.

Kojo- A family man. Married to Anna with 7 kids, one on the way. A white man warned Kojo about a new law that the South and the Free-Soilers were trying to pass. This law could cause trouble for any alleged runaway slave. The man told Kojo to go further north.

Abena- The daughter of James and Akosua. Determined to marry her childhood friend, but that didn’t work out. She left the village to start fresh. She was pregnant when she left. (Murdered by a church missionary trying to baptize her)

H- VERY tall and strong. Was a free man, but got arrested and had to work in a coal mine.

Akua- The daughter of Abena. Married to Asamoah. They have three children, Abee, Ama, and Yaw. She is haunted by a dream of fire.

Willie- The daughter of H. Has a son named Carson with Robert. Has a daughter named Josephine with Eli. (A story about her finding her singing voice again)

Yaw- The son of Akua and Asamoah. The son that survived the fire, but was left with a facial scar. Now a history teacher. Hired a house woman to help out, ended up marrying her.

Sonny (Carson)- The son of Willie and Robert. Has three kids with three different women. Got into drugs.

Marjorie- The daughter of Yaw. Close with Akua. Fell for a German that couldn’t be seen with her, and didn’t try when in public.

Marcus- The son of Sonny. Studying for a Ph.D. in sociology at Sanford.

My favorite passages:
The curse may have been rooted in a lie, but perhaps it bore the fruit of truth.

“You can learn anything when you have to learn it. You could learn to fly if it meant you would live another day.”

Willie smiled at Robert, and it wasn’t until that smile that she realized she forgave him. She felt like the smile had opened a valve, like the pressure of anger and sadness and confusion and loss was shooting out of her, into the sky and away. Away.


My final thoughts:
This is definitely a book that will stick with me for a LONG time. I highly recommend it to everyone, even if historical fiction isn't your favorite.