Review of Nightmares #37 | Fool Moon (The Dresden Files #2) by Jim Butcher

Book info:
Fool Moon (The Dresden Files #2) by Jim Butcher | 401 pages/10.5 hours | Published January 9th 2001 by Roc | Adult, mystery, paranormal, supernatural

Summary:
Harry Dresden--Wizard
Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.

Business has been slow. Okay, business has been dead. And not even of the undead variety. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry Dresden hasn't been able to dredge up any kind of work--magical or mundane.

But just when it looks like he can't afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise.

A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon. Take three guesses--and the first two don't count...

My thoughts:
Read August 7-August 10, 2017 | 4 stars
Set: October 2000

Review of Nightmares #36 | Storm Front (The Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher

Book info:
Storm Front (The Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher | 322 pages/8.5 hours | Published April 2000 by Penguin ROC | Urban fantasy, adult, mystery, paranormal, magic

Summary:
Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.

Harry Dresden is the best at what he does. Well, technically, he's the only at what he does. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal creativity or capability, they come to him for answers. For the "everyday" world is actually full of strange and magical things—and most don't play well with humans. That's where Harry comes in. Takes a wizard to catch a—well, whatever. There's just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks.

So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name. And that's when things start to get interesting.

Magic - it can get a guy killed.
My thoughts:
Read July 30-August 2, 2017 | 4 stars

Bring It On, 2017 | Goals and More

2016 was the year of sadness and disasters, honestly. There were celebrity deaths, I lowered my initial reading goal from 100 to 80, I fought with my thyroid and lost, resulting in weird weight gain, and my cholesterol's up. I'm so ready to start fresh. I'm very bad at keeping goals, but I'm a freaking adult and it's time to start acting like it! *game face*

Reading/book goals:

1. Read at least 80 books, if not more. I won't be as overzealous like I was at the beginning of the year where I look at last years 150 and say, "Well, 100 seems good," then fall 12 behind and give up. No changing the goal this time.
2. Post more original content on Tumblr. I'm a victim of constant reblogging, which is great to keep Tumblr moving, but I rarely take my own pictures. 
3. Review weekly, like I intended to do when I opened my blogger as well as extending my review format. I kind of fell out of it in October because I was trying to read as many spooky books as possible and forgot about reviewing them.
4. READ MORE #OWNVOICES. I'm spending more time figuring out if the books I'm reading or want to read are considered #ownvoices. 
5. Read more at home. I do most of my reading at work and do random things when I get home. I rarely ever read at home. I don't know if the atmosphere is wrong or what, but I always find myself drifting off and playing with my phone. 

Books to read:

1. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
2. The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo | Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising
3. The Dark World by S.C. Parris  (love you, bae)
4. Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor
5. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
6. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
7. Girl Out of Water by Laura Silverman
8. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst
9. The Seafarer's Kiss by Julia Ember
10. If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
11. Star-crossed by Barbara Dee
12. Passenger & Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken
13. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
14. This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab
15. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
16. Tipping the Velvet & Affinity by Sarah Waters
17. The Chemist by Melissa Meyer
18. Midnight Without a Moon by Linda Williams Jackson
19. Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray
20. Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
21. The Devourers by Indra Das
22. The Mermaid Girl: A Story by Erika Swyler
23. Where Am I Now by Mara Wilson
24. The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Careers of Ed and Lorraine Warren by Gerald Brittle
25. Beware the Night (or Deliver Us From Evil) by Ralph Sarchie
26. A History of Glitter and Blood by Hannah Moskowitz
27. The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings
28. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
29. Conversion by Katherine Howe
30. Tattoo Atlas by Tim Forleen
31. The Testing by Koelle Charbonneau
32. The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle
33. The Prestige by Christopher Priest
34. Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy
35. Scythe by Neal Shusterman
36. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
37. The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid
38. Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic
39. The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
40. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
41. The Magicians by Lev Grossman
42. The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
43. The Other Alice by Michelle Harrison
44. Alice by Christina Henry
45. Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
46. The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike
47. Security by Gina Wohlsdorf
48. The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy
49. I Crashed into a Unicorn by Kasie Jeon
50. The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
51. Ink and Bone by Lisa Unger
52. The Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs
53. ...okay, I'm done with this list, it's getting out of hand...

Books to reread:

1. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
2. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
3. Ice Massacre & Ice Crypt by Tiana Warner
4. Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
5. Secret Society by Tom Dolby
6. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
7. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
8. Thirst by Christopher Pike
9. Beowulf
10. Chocolat by Joanne Harris
11. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Personal/mental goals:

1. Move out. Yes, I'm 26 and still live at home. Whatever. But at this point, I'm waiting for the boyfriend to get his money situation together. I gave him a "at the latest" date for September. 
2. Be more comfortable with my body, or do something about it. I'm gonna try to stop my compulsive snacking and eating out for lunch so much and get back into drinking an excess of water. I'm quite lazy, so working out probably won't happen, but I can easily control what I eat and how much.
3. Set a wedding date/year. I've been engaged for a year, and that's all fine and good, but we've been waiting to move out to decide on a date. So hopefully, after September, we'll make a date for sure.
4. Decide when I'm going back to school for my Masters or, at the very least, take my GRE and get my recommendation letters done. I've been graduated for a year and I really do enjoy being out of school, but if I wanna move up, I gotta start school again. *heavy sigh*
5. Start a bullet journal, including a one-sentence-a-day journal.

I hope I can keep myself  on track this year and actually feel accomplished this time next year. I feel like if I make this public, then I have the internet to hold me accountable if I fall behind. 

If anyone notices any books on my list that are bad rep or problematic, please don't hesitate to tell me! I'm also always down for more recs :D

Happy New Year, my dears!

-Allie

Find me:

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RBD Review #34 | Rebel Angels (Gemma Doyle #2) by Libba Bray

Book info:
Rebel Angels (Gemma Doyle #2) by Libba Bray | 576 pages | Published December 2006 by Ember | YA, fantasy, historical fiction, supernatural

Summary:
Ah, Christmas! Gemma Doyle is looking forward to a holiday from Spence Academy, spending time with her friends in the city, attending ritzy balls, and on a somber note, tending to her ailing father. As she prepares to ring in the New Year, 1896, a handsome young man, Lord Denby, has set his sights on Gemma, or so it seems. Yet amidst the distractions of London, Gemma’s visions intensify–visions of three girls dressed in white, to whom something horrific has happened, something only the realms can explain...
The lure is strong, and before long, Gemma, Felicity, and Ann are turning flowers into butterflies in the enchanted world of the realms that Gemma alone can bring them to. To the girls’ great joy, their beloved Pippa is there as well, eager to complete their circle of friendship.

But all is not well in the realms–or out. The mysterious Kartik has reappeared, telling Gemma she must find the Temple and bind the magic, else great disaster will befall her. Gemma’s willing to do his intrusive bidding, despite the dangers it brings, for it means she will meet up with her mother’s greatest friend–and now her foe, Circe. Until Circe is destroyed, Gemma cannot live out her destiny. But finding Circe proves a most perilous task.

My thoughts: 
Read October 4-December 14, 2016 | 5/5 stars

RBD Review #18 | The Crow by James O'Barr

Book info:
The Crow by James O’Barr | Published 1989 | 240 pages | Adult Graphic Novel, Horror, Supernatural, Paranormal

Summary:
Eric has returned from the dead, driven only by hate and the need to wreak revenge on those who killed him and raped and then killed his beloved Shelly. 

My thoughts:
Read May 17-18, 2016 | 5/5 stars 

RBD Review #9 | Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's #1) by Ransom Riggs

Book info:
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's #1) by Ransom Riggs | 352 pages | Published 2013 by Quirk Books | Teen, Paranormal, Fantasy (external image)

Summary:

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.

A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography (courtsey of Goodreads).

My thoughts:

Read March 18-23, 2016 | 3 stars

*NEW* RDB Review #29 | A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle #1) by Libba Bray

Book info:
A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle #1) by Libba Bray | 403 pages | Published December 2003 by Simon and Schuster | Teen, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance, Magic, Supernatural, Paranormal, Mystery

Summary:
A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy—jumble them all together and you have this complicated and unusual first novel.

Sixteen-year-old Gemma has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother's death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls' academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions "for a bit of fun" and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left with the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order.

My thoughts:
Official re-read September 6-21, 2016 | 5 stars