L-L-L-Little Reviews #65: August 2024

Here are the books I read this past month that were not part of scheduled reviews.

Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix

Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction by Grady Hendrix
Published by Quirk Books Inc. on September 19, 2017
Genres: Nonfiction
Pages: 254
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
My Rating:
Goodreads
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Written in dead letters... and covered in blood!
Demonic possession! Haunted condominiums! Murderous babies! Man-eating moths! No plot was too ludicrous, no cover art too appalling, no evil too despicable for the Paperbacks From Hell.
Where did they come from? Where did they go? Horror author Grady Hendrix risks his soul and sanity (not to mention yours) to relate the true, untold story of the Paperbacks From Hell.
Shocking story summaries! Incredible cover art! And true tales of writers, artists, and publishers who violated every literary law but one: never be boring. All this awaits, if you dare experience the Paperbacks From Hell.

My Review:

So I bought this back when I still worked at Barnes & Noble. And I had to get it because there was a time I was obsessed with horror novels. And there were some cool covers out there! There were some of my favorite authors and their books featured, William W. Johnstone, V.C. Andrews, John Halkin. I learned some authors wrote books I loved before I was even born that I didn’t realize they weren’t new. Although since I think I got most of them at the Used bookstores, that would make sense. I also didn’t realize that George R.R. Martin had a vampire book! This book was a ton of fun to learn about the different trends and why things happened and how things changed. Seeing all the different covers in the different groupings was fun too. My only wish was that there were a few more covers of certain authors that I felt were more fun than some that were included. A fun read for any horror enthusiast!

Mixed Signals (Lovelight #3) by B.K. Borison

Mixed Signals by B.K. Borison
Series: Lovelight #3
Narrator: Pippa Jayne, Julio Maxwell
Published by Dreamscape Media on November 15, 2022
Genres: Adult Contemporary Romance
Length: 10:16
Source: the library
Format: Audiobook
My Rating:
Goodreads
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Layla Dupree has given up on love.
She’s waded through all of the fish in the sea, each one more disappointing than the last. Apparently owning the bakery at Inglewild’s most romantic destination does not help one’s love life—despite her best efforts. All she wants is a partner who gives her butterflies, not someone who ghosts her at dinner and leaves her with the check.
Good thing Caleb Alvarez has the perfect solution.
After saving Layla from another date gone bad, he has a simple proposition: One month of no-strings dating. He’ll do his best to renew her faith in men while she rates his dating game. It’s a win-win situation. All the benefits of dating, without the added pressure of feelings and unmet expectations.
But there’s one ingredient they haven’t considered. The chemistry between them is red hot and the urge to take things to the next level is more tempting than Layla’s double fudge mocha brownies.
Will the heat between them boil over? Or will it be another case of mixed signals?

My Review:

I’ve enjoyed both of the other books in this series so far, the first one more than the second one, and this one as much as the first one except for the stupid third act breakup. Caleb was the perfect book boyfriend. He was so adorable with his summer school students to start off with. Then, oh my gosh, I laughed so much at the first couple of disastrous dates. Poor Caleb! Caleb and Layla had so much chemistry and were so perfect together. Not to mention all the fun townspeople as well as our couples from the first two books. Bennett and all his animals! There was a really emotional thing that happens after half way through, and it was at that point I was dreading the breakup I knew I would come, because that little incident made me sad enough! But I’m not sure, this one might be my favorite of the three so far? Now I’ll wait till fall to read the last one since they are all kind of set in specific seasons.

Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood

The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood
Published by Viking on July 2, 2024
Genres: Adult Contemporary Romance, Adult Paranormal Romance
Pages: 384
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
My Rating:
Goodreads
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A recently deceased woman meets “the one” in the afterlife waiting room, scoring a second chance at life (and love!) if she can find him on earth before ten days are up…
If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. Not only did she just die by choking on a microwaveable burger, but now she’s standing in her ‘shine like a star’ nightie in front of the hottest man she’s ever seen. And he’s smiling at her.
As they start to chat, everything else becomes background noise. That is until someone comes running out of a door, yelling something about a huge mistake, and sends the dreamy stranger back down to earth. And here Delphie was thinking her luck might be different in the afterlife.
When Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to earth and reconnect with the mysterious man, she jumps at the opportunity to find her possible soulmate and a fresh start. But in a city of millions, Delphie is going to have to listen to her heart, learn to ask for help, and perhaps even see the magic in the life she’s leaving behind…

My Review:

So, this book sounded good, but I didn’t know when I’d get to it. Then I bought a ticket to go meet Ashley Poston back in July and the author of this was going to be there too. So I bought this while I was sitting there waiting for the event to start. And ended up getting sucked in. Unfortunately with all my review books scheduled, I could only fit this in when I either finished a book and it was before bed so I didn’t want to start a new one, or once or twice when I got somewhere and my stupid Kindle wouldn’t turn on, and I didn’t want to read on my phone. This book had me laughing and loving the characters so much! There was an Outlander reference, which of course if you know me you know I’m obsessed with that show! I loved the whole idea of 5 soulmates, where are mine? I loved the twist with one of the characters at the end. I really adored this book! I know I have some freebie ebooks by this author that now I know I need to go read! The author was so much fun in person as well.

Text Appeal by Kylie Scott

Text Appeal by Kylie Scott
Narrator: Andi Arndt
Published by Audible Originals on July 18, 2024
Genres: Adult Contemporary Romance
Length: 07:08
Source: Audible Plus
Format: Audiobook
My Rating:
Goodreads
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Love enters the chat in this hilarious, heartfelt rom com by New York Times bestselling and Audie award-winning author Kylie Scott.
Romance author Riley Cooper always dreamed of living by the water. But within a day of landing in the charming seaside town of Port Stewart to work on her latest book, she's getting calls and texts for some dude on her new number. Weird ones. Sad ones. Sexy ones. Ones that make her want to meet him. For curiosity's sake...if nothing else.
After years of being on-again, off-again with his high school sweetheart, all Connor wants is to move on with his life. If only everyone in Port Stewart would let him. What he needs is to be seen with someone else. So when fate puts him in the path of the new girl in town who got his old number, faking it together seems like the perfect solution.
Spending time with the gorgeous former prom king might be great research for Riley’s romance writing…if only she can keep her feelings in check. But the more she gets to know him, the harder she’s falling. Can their serendipitous meeting turn into something real and true?

My Review:

So right now this is only available in audio. The paperback and e-book don’t come out till October, on my birthday actually. It’s free if you have Audible that you pay for. I did really enjoy a lot of this book. I loved that the main character, Riley, didn’t eat vegetables, she sounds just like me. It was funny when Connor started leaving meals at her door, and then she finds out that he was using the cookbook that puts veggies in food so that kids don’t know, and she didn’t know that. The characters in the town were all a lot of fun. I like how the author can make you even like the people who are villains. My only issues were the bit of miscommunication at the end. And this cover is the reason I don’t like “hot guy covers”. I don’t find this guy attractive whatsoever. So, yeah, maybe just me in that case, but there is just something about his eye structure, face structure, something I don’t like at all.

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron
Narrator: Hewot Tedla
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing (US) on June 20, 2023
Genres: YA Horror, YA LGBTQ
Length: 06:14
Source: the library
Format: Audiobook
My Rating:
Goodreads
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At Camp Mirror Lake, terror is the name of the game . . . but can you survive the night?
This heart-pounding slasher by New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron is perfect for fans of Fear Street.
Charity Curtis has the summer job of her dreams, playing the “final girl” at Camp Mirror Lake. Guests pay to be scared in this full-contact terror game, as Charity and her summer crew recreate scenes from a classic slasher film, Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. The more realistic the fear, the better for business.
But the last weekend of the season, Charity's co-workers begin disappearing. And when one ends up dead, Charity's role as the final girl suddenly becomes all too real. If Charity and her girlfriend Bezi hope to survive the night, they'll need figure out what this killer is after. Is there is more to the story of Mirror Lake and its dangerous past than Charity ever suspected?

My Review:

This was my first book off the list for next year’s Gateways that I hadn’t already read for review earlier when they came out. It was actually what seemed to be a short audiobook. But it was good. While there were some things that were weird or a little off for me, and I could see why others might not have liked them, I could see this as a horror movie or tv series that might come out these days. The end of it, the final girl part, or twist you could say, was unexpected. But, I liked what the final girl did at the end. I can also see my students really liking this one too!