Top Ten Tuesday plus Summer of Horror: Book Titles that Include the Word – House
7 July 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Titles that Include the Word 'X', Books Bones and Buffy, House, Summer of Horror, That Artsy Reader Girl, Top Ten Tuesday
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme where every Tuesday we look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) bookish examples to demonstrate that particular topic. Top Ten Tuesday (created and hosted by The Broke and Bookish) is now being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and future week’s topics can be found here. This week’s prompt is:
Book Titles That Include the Word – House
I wanted to use the prompt to highlight a few darker reads and House definitely seems to fit that challenge. Here are my 10:
Have you read any of these? What did you think?
With links: The Haunting of Hill House, House of Splinters, It was Her House First, The House That Horror Built, A House with Good Bones, Incidents Around the House, The September House, The Last House on Needless Street, How to Sell a Haunted House and Starling House
January Round Up: What’s on My Plate for February
31 January 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Backlist books, Book Reviews, book-blog, Bookforager's Picture Prompt Book Bingo 2026, Books, Books Bones and Buffy, February reads, fiction, January Round Up, reading, What's on my Plate
This year I’m once again going to try to post a wrap up for the end of each month, mainly to help me to keep track of my reading and at the same time look at what I’m intending to read during the month ahead (inspired by Books Bones and Buffy’s What’s on My Plate.
My Monthly Wrap Up: January
I had a really good reading month in January. I managed to complete all my review books, plus I read two of my February books. I also picked up one of my backlist books. I have three reviews outstanding which I am hoping to post next week. Here’s what I read:
- Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
- A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St James
- Rings of Fate by Melissa de la Cruz
- The Wolf and the Crown of Blood by Elizabeth May
- Fiend by Alma Katsu
- Enchanting the Fae Queen by Stephanie Burgis
- Traitor in the Ice by Karen Maitland
- Nightshade and Oak by Molly O’Neill
- Storm by Rachel Hawkins
- A Forest Darkly by AG Slatter
What’s On My Plate: February:
- Nightshade and Oak by Molly O’Neill – Already Read
- A Forest Darkly by AG Slatter – Already Read
- Temple Fall by RL Boyle
- Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett
- Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward
- Loving a Vampire is Total Chaos by Aura Hayes
- The Magician’s Daughter by HG Parry (Backlist book)
Backlist Book
Traitor in the Ice by KJ Maitland (review to follow next week)
February’s Backlist book: The Magician’s Daughter by HG Parry
Bookforager‘s Picture Prompt Book Bingo
And the ‘wordy’ version:
Picture Prompt Book Bingo 2026 (text version)
| 1. A teacup and saucer | 2. A set of weighing scales | 3. A moth | 4. A hand holding some fanned out playing cards |
| 5. A hot air balloon | 7. A human eye | 8. A cooking pot hanging over a campfire | |
| 9. A griffin | 10. A large, old key | 11. A hand holding a threaded needle | 12. An octopus |
| 13. A plant being repotted | 14. A skull and crossbones | 15. A decorative water fountain | 16. A pinch-clip purse |
This month I’m going to tick off No.6 – An acorn by using Nightshade and Oak (which feels very appropriate) – I mean, check out the cover:
Friday Face Off: Summer of Horror – Horror Stories I’d Like to Read
29 August 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books Bones and Buffy, Books I'd Like to Read, Friday Face off, Summer of Horror 25
Today I’m returning to the Friday Face Off, originally created by Books by Proxy). I’ve missed these for the past few months and so would like to get back to comparing covers (and hopefully I will be updating this page with a new banner. This is an opportunity to look at a book of your choice and shine the spotlight on the covers. Of course this only works for those books that have alternative covers (although sometimes I use this to look at a series of books to choose a favourite). So, if you have a book that has alternative covers, highlight them and choose your favourite. If you’re taking part it would be great if you leave a link so I can take a look at what you’ve chosen.
This is the last week showing covers to fit in with Books, Bones and Buffy’s Summer of Horror I thought for my last shot I’d post a few covers of horror stories that I haven’t yet read but would like to. Take a look and see if you have a favourite:
My favourite this week:
Which is your favourite?
Join me next week in highlighting one of your reads with different covers
Booking Ahead/Weekly Wrap Up
22 June 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Booking Ahead, Books, Books Bones and Buffy, Caffeinated Book Reviewer, Fantasy, Sunday Post, Weekly wrap up, What's on my Plate
Books read this week:
This week my reading and blogging has been slow – but this is because we have a visitor and will also have another visitor next week so time seems to simply fly. I’m still listening to Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry – I’m going to go against popular opinion with this one and say I’ve not fully bought into this one yet. There’s still time though so who knows. I finished Swordheart by T Kingfisher and absolutely loved it, so I now have two series that I’m desperate to continue with – both by Kingfisher. I am now reading A Far Better Thing by HG Parry – and I’m loving it. I’ve literally read over 30% in one sitting so I think I’ll make good progress with this one.
Next Week’s Reads:
Hoping to complete A Far Better Thing by HG Parry, I’m also confident that I can fit Paved With Good Intentions by Peter McLean in, and time allowing I’ll be listening to some more of Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry.
Reviews Posted:
- The Bodies by Sam Lloyd
Outstanding Reviews
- Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
- Swordheart by T Kingfisher
That’s it for me this week, what have you been up to, any good books to shout out about. Let me know.
Monthly Wrap Up/What’s On My Plate May/June
1 June 2024
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, Books Bones and Buffy, Cherie Priest, Christina Henry, Fantasy, Hell for Hire, May/June, Monthly Wrap Up, Rachel Aaron, reading, The CInderwich, The House that Horror built, What's on my Plate
I’m trying to post a wrap up for the end of each month, mainly to help me to keep track of my reading and at the same time look at what I’m intending to read during the month ahead (inspired by Books Bones and Buffy’s What’s on My Plate.
In this post I shall be looking at the reading I completed for May and what I’m hoping to read during June. Initial thoughts – I may have gone a little overboard with books this forthcoming month. It’s still doable I think (fingers crossed).
Here’s what I read during May:
- The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell
- The Silence Factory by Bridget Collings
- The House that Horror Built by Christina Henry
- Moonstone by Laura Purcell
- The CInderwich by Cherie Priest
- Scarlet by Genevieve Cogman
- Hell for Hire by Rachel Aaron
- Hera by Jennifer Saint
- Elusive by Genevieve Cogman
Again this month I managed to read and review all my requested books so I’m quite happy with that. I also read another Backlist Book. I had some really good reads. If you’re looking for a new Urban Fantasy then check out my thoughts on Hell for Hire by Rachel Aaron. I also really enjoyed The CInderwich by Cherie Priest which was very thought provoking. I have my new batch of SPFBO books for the 10th year of the competition – and I’ll be taking a look at those shortly.
What I’m hoping to read during June (with links to Goodreads).
- Small Town Horror by Ronald Malfi
- The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
- The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks
- We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
- Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs
- The Daughters’ War by Christopher Buehlman
- Two Sides to Every Murder by Danielle Valentine
- Bitter Waters by Vivian Shaw
- Storm Child by Michael Robotham
This month I read two Backlist books Scarlet by Genevieve Cogman and the Malevolent Seven by Sebastien DeCastell.
This month I’m ticking another book off my Picture Prompt bingo card. The picture with the dog. I read this month The Malevolent Seven (which also counted as one of my Backlist Books. If you check out the picture you can see a dog. And you’ll perhaps notice that there are only six characters in a book with a title about seven characters – yes, the dog is one of the characters. Not sure if it’s a very good doggo but…
PICTURE PROMPT BOOK BINGO 2024 (TEXT VERSION)
| A microscope | A partially unrolled scroll and a pen | ||
| An old Roman coin | A simple crown | ||
| A seashell | A harp (one of the big ones) | ||
| An old camera and tripod | A beehive (with four bees flying around it) | Fluffy cumulonimbus clouds |
How did you get on during April?
Books and travelling with Lynn 