The Skull

Short, sweet, and charming. This reimagining of a folktale is both creepy and wholesome. A girl named Otilla runs away and gets lost in the woods. Deep in the woods she finds a beautiful old house inhabited by a skull. The two hit it off but the skull is harboring a secret. Can Otilla help him out with it? Beautifully illustrated and short and sweet. A Beautiful little story for young readers who like things a little more on the macabre side. 

Vixen 03

Another installment in the Dirk Pitt series. Vixen 03 had a lot of moving components and was compelling, but honestly the rampant racism and sexism is too much to warrant a higher rating. When Dirk Pitt finds an oxygen tank and nose gear in his lovebird's cabin he desperately wants to know how they got there. He discovers a sunken plane at the bottom of the lake not far from the cabin. It's a military plane with no real records. Why? And what is up with the mysterious cargo? I will still probably continue with this series. It's exciting enough. 

Enchantra

I honestly think I may have enjoyed this more than the first one! This sequel follows Ophelia's younger sister, Genevieve, as she gets herself into a bigger pickle than her sister did in Phantasma. Unbeknownst to Ophelia, Genevieve has been corresponding with an old magical family in Italy. She is desperate to find others like her and her older sister never tells her anything. When she arrives at Enchantra though she discovers that she has been deceived and now she has to play a deadly game where her life is at stake. This is a very spicy enemies to lovers romance with lots of dark paranormal vibes. Demons, vampires, devils and more watch the game and Genevieve must learn to trust the Silver family if she wants to keep her life. Steamy, smutty, and fun! 

Start with Hello

I absolutely loved everything about this book. This should be required reading for everyone. A quick and dirty summary is, this book will help you be a better neighbor, will help you get out of your own head, will make you want to grow your empathy, take action and open your eyes to all the unused connections around you. Fabulous and inspiring. I definitely plan to recommend this to others and to re-read again. 

The Keeper of Lost Things

Heartwarming, sad, and affirming. This tale of lost items and second chances really pulls at the heart strings. Laura has loved working for Anthony Peardew. He is the perfect boss and being his "writing assistant" at his beautiful British estate gives her a sense of purpose. Her elderly employer is a bit of a recluse and spends a lot of his time in his study. After he passes and she discovers that she has inherited his entire estate, she finally ventures into the mysterious study and is amazed by what she finds. Tucked away on shelves and in drawers are hundreds, perhaps even thousands of small items carefully cataloged. A biscuit tin, a puzzle piece, an umbrella, a teddy bear. The contents o the study are all lost items that Anthony discovered and took home to keep safe, hoping to reunite them all with their owners. The Keeper of Lost Things isn't just Laura and Anthony's story however, we get glimpses into the lives of so many others, Sunshine the overly friendly neighbor, Eunice and Bomber, Freddy the gardener and so many more. Touching and heartfelt. Such a genuine story!

A Girl Walks into the Forest

I really enjoyed this dark fairy tale-esque teen horror novel. Honestly, it could have been an adult novel, it was deliciously dark and disturbing at times. When a teenaged girl has been selected to be the new count's bride, she is sent through the dark and dangerous forest to meet him at his castle. She is not looking forward to marrying a stranger, but she is looking forward to a life of luxury and maybe making some female friends. While on the way to meet the Count she is viciously attacked by a being of the forest and her once beautiful face is now destroyed. To make matters worse, life in the castle is far from what she imagined it to be. There is something evil and menacing lurking within her walls. She used to be scared of the forest, but maybe it's what is inside the castle walls that should concern her the most. Lush writing, this folk tale is definitely a memorable one. Loved it!

Out of the Ordinary

Ugh. This was a slog! I listened to the audiobook and it felt like SO MUCH DIALOGUE and so little movement. Hardly anything happened, there would be huge chunks of talk, talk, talk and then a little scene movement, back to talking. Maybe it was more noticeable because I was listening to the audiobook version, but man, I just wanted there to be a little more action! Miss Gertrude Cadwalader is a paid companion of a shifty lady, Miss Davenport. Miss Davenport is forever getting into shenanigans and Gertrude is always having to clean up the mess. When a sticky fingers incident puts her in an awkward place with the man of her dreams, Gertrude isn't sure how she will be able to get out of the mess. Banal, boring, and very predictable. I like Christian romance, especially historical romance but this New York drama wasn't it for me.