Top Ten Tuesday: Cover Freebie – The Immortals
4 August 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books Bones & Buffy, Cover Freebie, Summer of Horror, The Immortals, Top Ten Tuesday, Vampires
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:
Cover Freebie
As Books Bones and Buffy is still hosting the ‘Summer of Horror‘ I thought I would go with a selection of horror covers, specifically with Vampires in mind. There’s something for everyone here, ranging from grisly to cosy. Take a look and see what you think:
Monthly Round Up/What’s on My Plate: August
1 August 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: August, Book Reviews, Books, Books Bones & Buffy, Fantasy, Monthly Round Up, reading, What's on my Plate
I’m trying to keep on top of these monthly round up posts even if I haven’t made as much progress as I’d like. My reading is still slow at the moment. As I’ve mentioned we’ve been having various trips away and then hosting visits from family and friends so everything has been slightly chaotic. During my last round up I listed nine books that I needed to read for July. I’ve not done as well as I’d like with this but I managed to read five of those books. I still have a couple of reviews outsanding and I’m in the middle of one of the other books.
These were the books I read in July:
- This Blade of Ours by Shalini Abeysekara
- Nine Goblins by T Kingfisher
- The Eye of Leviathan by MA Carrick – currently reading
- The Intrigue by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood by HG Parry
- The Winter Folk by Jen Julian
What’s On My Plate: August
- The Unknown by Riley Sager
- A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett
- Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst
- The House That Eats the Dead by Max Doty
- The Two of Us at the End of the World by C. A. Fletcher
- Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher
- They Say A Girl Died Here by Sarah Pinborough
This is a more manageable size list I feel – but, obviously I still have some catching up to do from the past couple of months so we’ll see.
Backlist Book
For the moment I’m not tackling the list I created at the start of the year as I’d like to catch up with my review books from the last few months to get back on track.
Bookforager‘s Picture Prompt Book Bingo
And the ‘wordy’ version:
Picture Prompt Book Bingo 2026 (text version)
| 1. | 2. A set of weighing scales | 3. | 4. |
| 5. A hot air balloon | 7. | 8. A cooking pot hanging over a campfire | |
| 9. | 10. | 11. | 12. An octopus |
| 13. | 14. A skull and crossbones | 15. A decorative water fountain | 16. A pinch-clip purse |
This month I have no books that fit the prompts – or at least I don’t think so. Here’s the books I ticked off last month:
A plant being repotted – Green and Deadly Things by Jenn Lyons (this really is a perfect fit)
A hand holding some fanned out playing cards – The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru – I’m thinking of the card readings (tarot but playing cards can also be used)
A moth – Wolf Worm by T Kingfisher – gothic horror with insects, maggots and more
A human eye – A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett – this may seem a bit random but Ana, one of the two main characters in this series usually chooses to wear a blindfold in order to help her restrict all the sensory data and improve her thinking
A large, old key – The Children by Melissa Albert – keys, very unusual keys I might add, play a large part in this beautiful book
A Griffin – This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews – there are a few critters in this
A hand holding a threaded needle – The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett a group of women coming together, forming bonds and found family, there is actually literal stitching involved as well but I’m going more for the abstract idea here of the women joining together in times of need
Can’t Wait Wednesday and Summer of Horror: Thorns in the Hollow by Laura Purcell
8 July 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books Bones & Buffy, Can't wait Wednesday, Laura Purcell, Summer of Horror, Thorns in the Hollow, Wishful Endings
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that was originally created by Breaking the Spine. Unfortunately Breaking the Spine are no longer hosting so I’m now linking my posts up to Wishful Endings Can’t Wait Wednesday. Don’t forget to stop over, link up and check out what books everyone else is waiting for. If you want to take part, basically, every Wednesday, we highlight a book that we’re really looking forward to. I’m also linking this post to Books Bones & Buffy’s Summer of Horror – because this author is the queen of gothic horror. This week my book is: Thorns in the Hollow by Laura Purcell. Check out the description and cover below.
Tabitha would do anything to remain at her ancestral home of Reynard’s Hollow. So, while marrying her cousin Vincent isn’t an inspiring proposition, things could be worse. He doesn’t hold a candle to Kit, the gamekeeper’s son and her childhood friend, but nothing would ever come of that anyway; she’s the lady of the manor, after all, and he’s a servant.
Tabitha’s world is thrown upside down when her cousin dies in a hunting accident. He was her best – and only – chance to remain at the Hollow… so what will happen to her now? Why do his injuries look like the result of a brutal attack, rather than a bad fall? Is there something out there – some sort of monster, still lurking in the woods?
Meanwhile, Kit is wrestling with demons of his own. His mother is acting strangely, and the other servants’ mutterings about his true parentage are growing louder. The household, already under strain, reaches a breaking point as loyalties are put to the test and long-buried secrets are unearthed. And then Kit makes a discovery: there is something in the woods, although he doesn’t think it’s a monster. But at Reynard’s Hollow, things are not always as they appear. Sometimes it pays to look a gift horse in the mouth…
Expected publication: October 2026
Summer of Horror: Friday Face Off – Headlights by CJ Leede
3 July 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books Bones & Buffy, CJ Leede, Friday Face off, Headlights, Summer of Horror
Today I’m returning to the Friday Face Off, originally created by Books by Proxy). 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 comment/link so I can take a look at what you’ve chosen.
This week I’ve chosen a horror story as this fits in nicely with Books, Bones & Buffy‘s Summer of Horror event. I haven’t read this book yet and I’ve heard slightly mixed reviews but I’m intrigued so hoping to pick it up soon. Headlights by CJ Leede – check out the covers (both a bit disturbing imo):
My favourite:
Which is your favourite this week?
Summer of Horror: Can’t Wait Wednesday: Sleepers in the Snow by Joanne Harris
17 June 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books Bones & Buffy, Can't wait Wednesday, Joanne Harris, Sleepers in the Snow, Summer of Horror, Waiting on Wednesday, Wishful Endings
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that was originally created by Breaking the Spine. Unfortunately Breaking the Spine are no longer hosting so I’m now linking my posts up to Wishful Endings Can’t Wait Wednesday. Don’t forget to stop over, link up and check out what books everyone else is waiting for. If you want to take part, basically, every Wednesday, we highlight a book that we’re really looking forward to. This week my book is: Sleepers in the Snow by Joanne Harris. I love this author so this is a total no-brainer for me. And, I’m also including this as part of the Summer of Horror event being hosted by Books Bones and Buffy. Here’s the cover and description:
Out on the moor, in the snow, a house stands beneath a pylon.
It is a house full of memories, and full of old things. And, in the dark, when the pylon sings in the wind, it is a house full of ghosts and fading memories . . .
The house, Kirkhill, has a new occupant – just moved in, fresh from a bitter divorce and looking for a fresh start. The moor is the perfect place for isolated, beautiful in the changing seasons, peaceful, and with just enough of the previous owners belongings that it’s a perfectly self-contained and cosy home.
Only as the nights start to draw in, and the weather takes a turn, so does the house. The cosy isolation becomes menacing, animals begin acting strangely, and it seems someone could be watching the house . . . and the diaries of the previous owners begin to reveal a terrible tragedy which befell Kirkhill – one which its new occupant may be unable to escape . . .
***
A beautiful, gripping read for fans of Piranesi and The Winter Ghosts, this is a superb and moving ghost story for a frosty day.
Expected publication: October 2026
Books and travelling with Lynn 