Tag: paranormal

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

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“What I am is an adult woman with agency and the tools to make choices. Feel free to, you know, treat me accordingly.”
― Ali Hazelwood, Bride

I stumbled upon a copy of Bride by Ali Hazelwood available for checkout online through Libby one night and decided to give it a try as her Love Hypothesis series is one of my favorites. Going in with no expectations, but knowing I would read a bit of spice, I was pleasantly surprised with the world-building, relationship changes, and character growth present. If you’re looking for a romance with a bit of open door spiciness, give Bride a try!

Misery Lark is the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest. If you think that means she has a bit of power and deference amidst the Vampyre community, you would be mistaken. When she was young, she was sent to live amongst the humans as the Vampyre collateral with the understanding that if something bad happened between the humans and Vampyres, Misery would be immediately killed. After her tenure as collateral ends, she had trouble adjusting to life amongst Vampyres, so she decided to move back amongst the humans. Misery is living and working amongst the humans with only one human, her best friend Serena, knowing she is a Vampyre.

Out of the blue, Misery’s presence is requested in front of her father. In an attempt to solidify a peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their enemies, the Weres, her father is demanding Misery to once again exchange herself. She has been told she is to marry the Alpha, Lowe Moreland. He’s ruthless and unpredictable, but rules with feeling and absolute authority. He couldn’t be more different than her father. When the two first meet at their wedding, it is clear that he doesn’t trust her. He isn’t wrong. Misery has entered into this marriage with secrets that she intends to never reveal. Misery and Lowe must navigate this tenuous new relationship, one that has the power to destroy the Vampyres and Weres with the slightest misstep. Swapping one cage for another, Misery doesn’t mind being with the Weres if it means she can find the answers she is desperately searching for. She is willing to do whatever it takes to get answers. Being underestimated may work to her advantage.

*SPOILER ALERT* A second book called Mate that takes place in this world is set to be released in October 2025 (there are major spoilers for Bride in the description of Mate, so be careful looking it up!)

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White

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Are you an adult who likes to read young adult books? If so, join the See YA Book Club! In June, we met to discuss The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White. More information about See YA can be found at the bottom of this blog post. Let’s get back to The Chaos of Stars!

Isadora is a normal teen. Well, except for the fact that she is the mortal human daughter of the immortal ancient Egyptian gods Isis and Osiris. As a sixteen-year-old, Isadora is annoyed with the drama from her family who can’t even remember her name. When Isis starts having dark dreams that portend deadly chaos in the future, she offers Isadora the opportunity to move to California to live with her brother. Isadora is ecstatic to finally escape her family. California, however, turns out to be more complicated and menacing than anyone expected. While in California, Isadora finds friends, meets a boy she really likes, and confronts her ideas of what she wants out of life vs what her parents expect. She spends her time working, hanging with her friends, and hating her family. As much as Isadora wishes she could escape her family and hopes she has done so by living in California, Egypt continually calls to her. The trouble she thought she left behind comes back deadlier than ever, forcing Isadora to decide what she really wants out of life.

I adored all the tidbits of mythology dropped in the story, which left me hoping for a sequel (sadly, this is a stand-alone title). Isadora is angry and angsty and at times heartless and annoying, but if you step back, you see that she is going through normal teenage growing pains on top of having to deal with a family of gods and goddesses.

This was a relaxing, easy read for me, but I was left wanting more: more information about the Egyptian gods and mythology, more character development. Isadora also adapted very quickly to the modern world, which I felt was unrealistic, but also interesting to watch her learn more about the world outside her family. I also recognize that as an adult, I am not the target audience for this book. While adult Stephanie wanted more, teen Stephanie would have adored and devoured this book.

More Information about See YA

Join our adult book club with a teen book twist. See why so many teen books are being turned into movies and are taking over the best seller lists.

Books are available on a first-come, first-served basis at the Eastern Branch. We meet the first Wednesday of the month at Eastern at 6:30pm.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger, illustrations by Rovina Cai

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“To dwell on death, especially a premature and violent end, burdens the soul.”
― Darcie Little Badger, Elatsoe

When I started working on this blog, I found the following starred review quote from Shelf-Awareness describing Elatsoe as “A Lipan Apache Sookie Stackhouse for the teen set.” I couldn’t agree more. If you have ever read the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris or watched the television show True Blood, which was based on said series, this book is for you.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger, illustrations by Rovina Cai, tells the story of Elatsoe, Ellie for short, a Texas teen from the Lipan Apache tribe. She lives in an alternate America where magic shapes their past and present. Her family’s connection to their Indigenous traditions also plays a very important role in her day-to-day life. This manifests through magic and supernatural curses. The people in Ellie’s family have gifts: hers is the ability to raise the spirit of dead animals, particularly that of her dead dog, Kirby. Even in death, he serves as her protector and helper. Her gift is both a blessing and a curse.

Ellie’s family comes together in tragedy when they learn of her cousin’s death. After being told he died in an accidental car crash, Ellie is shocked when his ghost comes to her to say that he was murdered AND drops the name of his killer. Wanting to find the truth, Ellie travels to his town and enlists the help of her family, best friend Jay, and the stories of her ancestors. The mysterious killer proves to be more than they all bargained for. Combine the killer’s behavior with that of the townsfolk and Ellie and Jay are left wondering what exactly is happening in this creepy town and what are they hiding.

This book kept me hooked from start to finish. While it jumps from past to present in a startling manner, that feeds into the narrative that history is closely entwined in our present in a way we cannot escape. Indigenous traditions are woven throughout every little bit of this story, sometimes through actions and other times through storytelling. The author talks about racism and colonialism in America in such a way that even younger readers are able to understand. It is a dark read, but the magical realism throughout adds distance from the tragedy and heartbreak.

“People cope with tragedy in different ways. That’s important, Ellie. There’s no one right method of grieving.”
― Darcie Little Badger, Elatsoe

What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie

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What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie may be a juvenile fiction book, but parts still left me scared, checking my back seat for ghosts, my basement for shadows, and jumping at noises. Did that stop me from reading? No way!

Ginny Anderson has her summer all figured out. She will be spending time with her best friend at a mystery writing workshop. The kink to her plan: her dad. He works as a restoration expert in Chicago, traveling and restoring old buildings. He has surprised the family with a month-long trip to Michigan where they will be staying at Woodmoor Manor, a twenty-six room mansion surrounded by a dense forest.

In case being separated from her best friend isn’t bad enough, the grounds and the mansion are supposedly haunted! It’s not just a falling apart mansion determined to ruin this vacation – it’s the rumors swirling around town. The locals are leery of Woodmoor Manor. They believe that the surrounding woods are home to mutated creatures with glowing eyes. Locals say that many campers set foot in the woods, disappearing, never to be seen again. Great place to vacation, right?

The forest around Woodmoor Manor can’t be the only reason that locals want to tear the mansion to the ground though. From the moment Ginny sets foot inside, weird things start happening. The mansion seems to have a life of its own. Creaky floors, unexplained shadows, ticking clocks, power surges, and much more increase in frequency the longer they stay. Wanting to head back to Chicago as quickly as possible, Ginny seeks to learn the history of Woodmoor Manor and the surrounding areas with the help of her brother and a new friend. What they discover is certainly not what they expected.

If you’re looking for a spooky mystery book with a strong female protagonist, this is for you. Currie has crafted a story that won’t leave readers scared, perfect for juvenile fiction! This book ends with all the creepy elements tied up neat and tidy. Readers will also explore strong themes of family, bravery, and friendship – essential topics for readers of all ages.

This title is also available as a CD audiobook.

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

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“We don’t know how much our bodies can endure until we make cruel demands of them.”
― Jason Rekulak, Hidden Pictures

My latest read, Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak, is my first 5 star read for 2023! It was the 2022 Goodreads Choice Award winner for Best Horror. I highly recommend that you read a physical copy of this book, instead of listening to it, as there are drawings scattered throughout that are essential to the narrative.

Mallory Quinn is right out of rehab looking for a job. On the recommendation of her sponsor, she lands a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell in the affluent suburb of Spring Brook, New Jersey. Mallory will be spending her days taking care of their five-year-old son, Teddy. This job immediately appeals to Mallory. She lives in the Maxwell’s pool house, is able to continue her workout regime by going on nightly runs, and finally has the stability that allows her to thrive.

Mallory and Teddy’s relationship blooms. Teddy is sweet, yet incredibly shy. He doesn’t get along with other little kids and would rather hang out with Mallory exploring the forest behind their house. Teddy also always has his sketchbook and pencils within reach. He spends his free time drawing the usual kid pictures: trees, rabbits, people. One day, his drawings change. Mallory finds a drawing of a man in a forest dragging a woman’s lifeless body.

Mallory is shocked. As the days progress, Teddy’s artwork becomes more and more sinister. His drawing style also drastically changes. He starts drawing more lifelike images, something way more detailed and complex than a five-year-old should be able to draw. When Mallory learns the history of her area, a chill runs through her. She starts to think that maybe Teddy’s artwork is actually snapshots of an unsolved murder that occurred years ago. Could something supernatural be lurking in the Maxwell house, haunting and telling Teddy what to draw? What is Mallory willing to do to help Teddy?

This book is also available in the following formats:

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

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Darcie Little Badger came to my attention in 2020 with her debut book, Elatsoe (haven’t read this title yet, but it’s on my list to read in 2022). While I was searching Libby for a new book to read, I found A Snake Falls to Earth written by Darcie Little Badger as well and decided to give that title a try.

I wondered how anyone found each other in a place where it was so easy to become lost.
― Darcie Little Badger, A Snake Falls to Earth

A Snake Falls to Earth is Darcie Little Badger’s second young adult speculative fiction title. The themes in this book are relevant to adults as well. This magical novel is full of Apache mythology and shapeshifting as a young Lipan Indian girl works to figure out the history of her family.

Nina has always felt like more exists outside of our world. As a Lipan girl, she has felt like she’s straddling different cultures for her entire life. Listening to the old stories told to her by family proves to solidify her feelings. After an older female relative tells one last story before she passes away, Nina sets out to translate what she was told. This task proves difficult as her translation app mangled the recording, but she persists. She hopes that through this translation, she will find out more about her family history.

Oli is also trying to figure out more about his family. He is a cottonmouth kid, living in the reflective world of spirits and monsters. Like his many brothers and sisters, Oli was forced to leave home and sent searching for a new home. After many trials and tribulations, Oli found a new home on the banks of the bottomless lake. He has also found a best friend. Life seems to be going pretty well until a strange sickness hits Oli’s best friend. The healers tell Oli that it’s probably due to a catastrophic event that has happened on Earth. On a quest to help his best friend, Oli sets off on a journey that will lead to his world and Nina’s world crashing together. Outside forces will stop at nothing to keep those two apart.

This book is also available in the following formats:

Young Adult Series: The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

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‘There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,’ Neeve said. ‘Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.’
― Maggie Stiefvater, The Raven Boys

The Raven Boys is the first book in The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. Stiefvater has created a gorgeously written world for her characters that will leave you wanting to learn more. She leaves hints in books that you pick up later that will leave you wondering at the way that Stiefvater constructs these books.

Blue Sargent has grown up in a family of clairvoyants. For as long as she can remember, her house has been full to bursting with random cousins, aunts, and friends of her mothers who all have some version of clairvoyance. Blue, however, doesn’t have any abilities. Instead she is like a battery – she makes other people’s talents stronger. Blue amplifies the powers of others. That’s why her mother takes her with to the churchyard on St Mark’s Eve to note the names of the soon-to-be dead walking past. In that freezing churchyard, Blue meets Gansey for the first time and her life is changed.

Blue discovers that Gansey is one of the rich students who attends Aglionby, a local private school. She has no desire to learn what is going to happen to that Raven Boy, what they call the Aglionby Boys, as her association with them can only mean trouble.

Despite her declaration to stay away from Gansey and the other Raven Boys, their paths continue to cross. When Blue realizes that Gansey is more than his good looks and family money, she finds herself drawn into a quest that has consumed Gansey and his friends for years. The problem: for as long as she can remember, Blue has been told that she will cause her true love to die. If she kisses her true love, he will die. This has never been an issue for Blue until she starts hanging around with the Raven Boys. Their life is strange and sinister and full of more mystery than she ever thought possible.

This book is also available in the following formats:

The Raven Cycle series

  1. The Raven Boys (2012)
  2. The Dream Thieves (2013)
  3. Blue Lily, Lily Blue (2014)
  4. The Raven King (2016)
  5. Opal (2018) – a novella that takes place after the events of The Raven King

Related to The Raven Cycle series, Stiefvater has written the Dreamer Trilogy which delves more into Ronan Lynch:

  1. Call Down the Hawk (2019)
  2. Mister Impossible (2021)
  3. Greywaren (2022)

‘The Ex Hex’ by Erin Sterling

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“Never mix vodka and witchcraft.”
― Erin Sterling, The Ex Hex

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling is the story of a scorned lover who demands revenge, albeit while drunk and in a way that she didn’t think would actually come to fruition. Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones was a young witch nursing a freshly broken heart. She tried to heal it the best way she (and her cousin) knew how: a bubble bath, vodka, sad music, and a curse on her horrible ex-boyfriend. Vivi and her cousin knew they shouldn’t mix vodka and witchcraft, but her broken heart wanted vengeance. After all, they cast their curse using an orchard hayride scented candle – that’s an utterly ridiculous candle to curse someone with, so the two thought nothing of it and moved on. At best, they thought he would have a couple minor inconveniences and that’s it, no grievous bodily harm or anything.

Flash forward nine years and Rhys Penhallow, the breaker of Vivi’s heart, is on his way back to Graves Glen, Georgia. Rhys is one of the descendants of the town’s ancestors. His presence is necessary to recharge the town’s ley lines and to put in an obligatory appearance at the annual fall festival. The minute Rhys is within the town’s limits though, disaster strikes. As soon as he recovers from one issue, another one happens. It soon becomes apparent to Vivi and Rhys that her long ago hex isn’t quite as harmless as she thought it would be.

After a particularly disastrous incident, the two realize that Graves Glen is under attack. The magic has begun to rebel and the supposedly harmless ex hex may lay at the root of all of their problems. Vivi and Rhys must work together to find a way to save the town and to counteract and/or destroy the ex hex before everything they know and love is destroyed.

This book is also available in the following format:

Romance Reads: Witches of Thistle Grove series by Lana Harper

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‘That was the thing about growing up with magic. Until you left it behind for good, you had no idea how incredible it felt just to be around it.’ – Lana Harper, Payback’s a Witch

Over the last year, I have noticed an increase in paranormal witchy romances, so naturally I decided to read some! My latest adventure into this genre was the first in the Witches of Thistle Grove series by Lana Harper titled Payback’s a Witch. I found this title to be uniquely engaging and full of world-building, yet not overwhelming with the amount of information given.

Emmy Harlow is back in Thistle Grove. After leaving this magical town right after high school, she never though she’d be back. Harlow may be a witch, but she’s not a very powerful one. The time she has spent away from Thistle Grove, plus the physical distance separating her from the town, has depleted her magic. Her exile from her family has been self-imposed due to a complicated relationship with her family, her family history, and relationships with her peers. Emmy has always wanted to forge her own destiny that had nothing to do with being a Harlow witch in Thistle Grove. Add in a nasty breakup with Gareth Blackmoor when she was in high school and Emmy was drawn to leave quicker than she had planned. After all, Gareth is the heir to the most powerful magical family in town. He oh so casually shattered her dreams and broke her heart without a second thought. She had to leave.

Flash forward: Emmy is back in Thistle Grove to perform her family’s role as arbiter in a spellcasting tournament held every fifty years. A massive guilt trip from her family and the lure of tradition was enough to bring her back. Emmy’s plan is to do her duty as arbiter, spend time with her best friend Linden Thorn, and then immediately leave to head back to her life in Chicago. The universe has other plans.

On her first night back in town, Emmy runs into Talia Avramov at a local bar. Talia is another heir to a different magical family who practices darker magic. She is also fresh off a bad breakup of sorts with Gareth Blackmoor. It turns out that Gareth was also dating Emmy’s best friend Linden, at the same time he was messing around with Talia – with both women not realizing the either was in a relationship with him! Scandal! Linden and Talia want revenge on Gareth and believe that with Emmy they can finally get back at him for what he has done to all three. Emmy has to decide if she wants in and if so, what the plan should be. Add in friend drama and romantic drama between the three and Emmy’s short trip home becomes even more complicated than she originally hoped.

This book is also available in the following format:

Witches of Thistle Grove series

  1. Payback’s a Witch (2021)
  2. From Bad to Cursed (2022)
  3. Back in a Spell (2023)

Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

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Lauren Blackwood is a Jamaican American writer who writes romance-heavy fantasy. Her debut young adult novel, Within These Wicked Walls, definitely falls into that category. This fantasy novel is a New York Times bestseller as well as Reese Witherspoon’s Fall 2021 Young Adult book club pick.

“If I look at all the bad in my life along with the good, the bad would bury the good in a landslide. My spirit, my will to live, would shrivel and die. So, instead, I choose to be thankful for what little good I have.”
― Lauren Blackwood, Within These Wicked Walls

Within These Wicked Walls is a young adult fantasy novel that has definite horror elements.  Andromeda is a debtera without a license. Debtera are exorcists hired by households to cleanse them of the Evil Eye. Her mentor, however, threw her out before she was able to earn her license, leaving Andromeda to scrounge for work. Her only option is to find a patron and she has her eyes set on a job that has proven deadly. Andromeda wants Magnus Rochester, a handsome young heir, to be her patron. He is a rich, well-connected person who, if she completes this job, will be able to vouch for her abilities to other potential clients.

The downside: Magnus is rude and demanding  with a long list of rules that must be followed. He’s also eccentric in ways that don’t make sense until Andromeda gets to know him. The more time Andromeda spends in the house, the more she realizes that this job is nothing like anything she has ever done before. There are manifestations throughout the house, some benign while others are horrifying. While Andromeda works to cleanse the house, she discovers that Magnus is hiding more than she has ever been trained for. Death may be the only option to free the house, but Andromeda is determined to rid the house of evil before any more innocent blood is shed.

This book is also available in the following format: