REVIEW: On This Day in History S*it Went Down

 On This Day in History S*it Went Down
Author: James Fell

I think we all had at least one history teacher who made the class boring. Uninspired lectures. Tired old information. No spark. Nap time. I know I did. 

But then I had several wonderful instructors that brought history alive. Told the tales with some animation. Real discussion. And engaged the entire class in the learning experience. Those are the teachers and classes that made me have a life-long love of learning about the past. 

When I was offered a review copy of this book by James Fell, I completely loved the concept. A truthful, irreverent look at the past from ancient to modern, with F-bombs and every other word thrown in for emphasis. What's not to love? 

 There is a history tale for every day of the year crammed into this awesome book. A daily snippet of profanity laced history lesson that we all can learn from. Lovely concept!

I got about halfway through this book, and ordered my own copy. 

This definitely ain't your Mama's history book. Love it! 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Random House. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport

 The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport
Author: Samit Basu

I am a huge fan of high-tech Sci-Fi/Fantasy stories. The more bots and tech the better! Once I read the plot blurb for this book, I knew I had to read it! 

Shantiport was once a great gateway to the universe, but now it's pretty much just a shadow of its former self. Rumors are that Shantiport will soon be no more. Lina loves her city, is a tour guide, and would love to see with city shine again. Her brother, a bot that looks like a monkey, wants to get the H out of the city and see the rest of the universe. Their whole life changes when they find an old bot, a magic ring, and a lamp.....

This story is a futuristic re-telling of the Aladdin story. It was a great mix of humor, sci-fi, political corruption and greed, and adventure! The plot has many twists and turns, and it took me along for the ride from start to finish!

Very enjoyable read! I love it when a book surprises me, and this one definitely did! I didn't realize until I got about 1/3 through the book that it was an Aladdin re-telling. Then it just completely sucked me in and I couldn't stop reading! 

Imaginative. Adventurous. Exciting. This story is wonderful! 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Tor Publishing. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: Let Him In

 Let Him In
Author: William Friend

The incredible, creepy front cover of this book is what first drew me in. Then I read the plot blurb and was instantly intrigued. Others have written great stories about children whose imaginary friends aren't so imaginary or innocent. But this story takes that premise to a new, bizarre and creepy level. 

Alfie and his twin daughters are trying to navigate life following the death of the girls' mother. When the kids start coming into his room at night to report there is a man in their room and they start talking about their imaginary friend, Alfie thinks they are just trying to cope with grief and loss. But soon, this imaginary friend takes a dark turn. 

As I started reading this story, I really thought it was going to be the run of the mill evil imaginary friend tale. Kids make invisible friend, parent is mildly amused, situation turns dark, imaginary friend is exorcised, evil entity comes back, parent strikes back, entity is banished, family lives happily ever after. But nope....every time I thought I had this story figured out, it took a dark turn in a totally different direction. Creepily bizarre, this book was a perfect addition to my Spooky Season reading this year! 

This turned into a binge read for me. I couldn't stop reading....I had to know how it ended! 

Bit of a slow burn. But the story delivers. Loved it!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Poisoned Pen Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: The Night House

 The Night House
Author: Jo Nesbo

Richard is only 14 years old when his parents are killed in a fire and he is sent to live with his aunt and uncle. He has a rough time with his new life, town and school. He doesn't really fit in and starts causing major trouble. Stealing, pranks...just being a juvenile asshole. So, when he ropes another local teen into joining in on a prank and the kid disappears, most people think Richard had something to do with it. Richard has a wild, horrific story about what happened to Tom, but nobody believes him. 

Because really.....telephone booths at the edge of the woods don't make kids disappear, right? The logical explanation is that the weird, new kid pushed him in the river, or did something to him. Local law enforcement is pretty much convinced that Richard killed Tom. 

So, he forms a friendship with another local outsider to follow clues and investigate what happened to Tom.

I have read a couple of Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole Detective novels and enjoyed them. When I saw he had written a horror novel, I had to give it a read. This book is completely a departure from the gritty investigative Harry Hole novels.

This story is bizarre, yet completely sucked me in. It wasn't really that scary, but I found myself wanting to know WTH was going on. Creepy more than scary. Can you imagine being an outsider, and having something so fantastical and horrific happen right in front of you....and nobody believes you. Yikes!

I hope he writes more horror. I really enjoyed this book! The story was so weird, but engaging.

I kept thinking as I read that the story would make a really good creepy movie. I'd watch it!! 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Knopf. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: Christmas Mittens Murder

 Christmas Mittens Murder
Authors: Lynn Hollis, Lynn Cahoon, Maddie Day

I love the holiday themed Cozy Mystery Collections that Kensington puts out each year. These have become a tradition for me, and I read each one as it comes out! Always enjoyable and gets me in the mood for each holiday season. This one gathers 3 stories from 3 skilled cozy authors all themed around hand knit mittens. 

I enjoyed each story!

Death of a Christmas Mitten Knitter - This story features Hayley Powell from Lee Hollis' Food & Cocktails cozy series. I have not read this series yet, so I enjoyed the introduction to the premise, characters and setting. Things get heated at the annual Bar Harbor Church Christmas Bazaar when a piece of jewelry goes missing. While looking for the ring, Hayley finds a dead body instead. 

Two Christmas Mittens - This story is a Kitchen Witch series novella by Lynn Cahoon. Mia Malone is working a second job at a local Lodge to make ends meet. A dead body, one red mitten, and an ancient curse form the mystery that Mia has to solve before more people die! 

Murderous Mittens - CeCe Barton, owner of a Wine Bar in LA, is the main character in this novella by Maddie Day. Spending a restful Christmas at her sister's B&B away from LA, CeCe finds herself sucked into a mystery when a local bar owner and mitten maker is found dead. Can she unravel the mystery before the holiday is ruined? I'm not much of a wine drinker, but I enjoyed this story!

Reading these three enjoyable cozy novellas made me want to delve into each of these cozy series! I have read other books and novellas by these authors, but not the series featured here!! I have added all three to my TBR list and will definitely be reading more! 

This book made me not only want to pick up my knitting needles, but also got me feeling that holiday spirit!! 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Kensington Books. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: A Deadly Education

 A Deadly Education
Author: Naomi Novik

I really did not know what to expect from this book. I went in with bare minimum knowledge of the plot. 

All I can say is ..... wow! I really enjoyed this book! Sometimes YA Fantasy is really hit or miss for me. It's a genre not really written for adults...so at times it's a bit too juvenile or I just feel the story line doesn't hit the mark for me. But when I find a YA book or series that really does hit the mark with me despite my being 55 -- I really get excited! The story lines can be so adventurous, interesting, and new. And, this book, I am thankful to say hit all the marks for me. 

It's sort of like Hogwarts meets Hunger Games? But not exactly....it's too hard to explain. Read the book! I don't want to give any of the plot away, as I enjoyed this more coming in without any spoilers. The premise makes total sense really. Magic would be inherently dangerous. And a school of magic with no instructors, just the goal to survive, plus real monsters lurking around....yikes! Gives surviving school a whole new meaning! 

 I love it when a book whisks me away into a world where I can imagine actually being there....and whether I could survive the situation. This story is awesome!

If you like magical fantasy -- read this book!! 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Random House Publishing. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: Surely You Can't Be Serious

 Surely You Can't Be Serious
Author: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker

I have watched the movie Airplane! hundreds of times over the years. When I was first living on my own after college, my dad would just show up sometimes on my porch with a DVD of Airplane! and dinner. We'd hang out and just laugh our butts off, even though we had seen the movie so many times. It didn't matter.....the jokes were always funny. 

I was hunting for a totally different book to review when I came across the listing for this one -- I can't even remember the book I was actually looking for. My brain latched onto this one - oh, hell yeah I'm reading this book! And when I'm done.....I'm watching the movie again and wishing my dad were still here to enjoy it with me.  His favorite line? The one I used to purposely feed to him so that he could use it on me? The dialogue would go something like this:  Me: Surely you aren't serious that you don't plan to watch the Chiefs play on Sunday!  Him: Yes I'm serious.....and don't call me Shirley. 

This book discusses the directors' careers in theater before the movie, how they cast so many famous actors in a project that was so wonderfully silly, and just how the entire project came about. I loved every word!! There are also lots of photos, quotes, anecdotes and other types of wonderful information! 

My favorite scene? Oh easily any of the bits with Stephen Stucker as Johnny. So funny! If you don't know who I'm talking about -- watch the movie! :) 

I looked through all of my streaming services to see where I could watch the movie....even restored my STARZ subscription because a site told me it was there.....nope. None of them. Unless I want to buy it again. Which I'm not going to do. Rats!

......Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue. 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St Martin's Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own**