Books Bones & Buffy | Books and travelling with Lynn

Friday Face Off: Summer of Horror: Gothic

Posted On 1 August 2025

Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books Bones & Buffy, Friday Face off, Gothic, Summer of Horror

FFO

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 week I’m going in a different direction. As part of Books, Bones and Buffy’s Summer of Horror I thought I’d post a few horror covers and I’ve gone for stories with a gothic feel. See what you think and 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

Review: Another Fine Mess (Bless Your Heart #2) by Lindy Ryan

Posted On 29 July 2025

Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Another Find Mess, Bless Your Heart #2, Book Reviews, Books, Books Bones & Buffy, Horror, Lindy Ryan, reading, Review, Summer of Horror 25

Comments Dropped 7 responses

My Five Word TL:DR Review: Gothic Southern Charm and Guts

I’m very much enjoying Lindy Ryan’s Bless Your Heart series. It combines winning family dynamics, mystery, the unhappy dead and plenty of blood and guts fortunately tempered by humour. It’s a very easy series to read and quite refreshingly unique in so many ways.

Another Fine Mess picks up fairly quickly after Bless Your Heart concluded so be aware that there may be spoilers below for book 1, although I try to be careful not to include any if possible.

Lenore and Luna are trying to pick up the pieces following events from the conclusion of Bless Your Heart but they’re struggling, both to cope with the loss and continue to go about their everyday lives. Lenore eventually makes the decision to hire in help for the funeral parlour, a decision that goes against the family ethos but seems to be the only way forward. Luna is suffering from guilt and struggling to understand her own nature. And, at the same time the increased number of missing pets in the neighbourhood seems to be a precursor for the body count to once again begin to rise. A rare ‘ghost wolf’ is being cited as the cause for the latest bloodletting and as a consequence a local expert is called in but Lenore knows, she simply knows that something is wrong, she just doesn’t know what, until an unexpected houseguest makes an appearance to fill in some of the blanks.

I don’t want to give too much more away. Once again Ryan brings to us a charming horror – if such a thing is possible. She doesn’t shy away from a high body count, even taking characters that you really feel quite cross about losing, and she’s not afraid to paint the pages in blood, but at the same time she balances the gore with a good dose of Southern charm, strong family values and some lighthearted moments.

The pacing is quick. there’s no hand holding here. To be honest, I would say that you need to read the first in the series – well, of course, you could crash in at this point and I’m sure the author has done enough to make the story standalone – but, I think you’d miss so much about the family and frankly I think it would be more of a struggle so I would suggest reading the books in order.

I really like the family dynamic (and the unexpected guest – in fact I’m rather hoping for another appearance that I won’t elaborate on here). The main problem that the Evan’s ladies face is lack of knowledge. They’ve been told so very little over the years and it seems like secrets buried long ago need to be unearthed. To be fair, I’m not a lover usually of the ‘keeping people in the dark’ trope but here it really does feel more like secrets were buried rather as a means of forgetting and moving on than a plot device.

In conclusion, over the top horror with a Carrie-esque style ending – well, in terms of a high school end of term dance. A very easy to read and engaging series that I find myself really enjoying and hoping for more. A good mix of characters (although try not to become too attached because as I mentioned – ruthless author), a secret history waiting to be uncovered, a different take on some well established critters and horror that doesn’t give you nightmares (although, to be clear, there is no shortage of blood and death – just, it doesn’t have that scary vibe that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up).

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

My rating 4.5 of 5 stars

Friday Face Off: Summer of Horror

Posted On 25 July 2025

Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books Bones & Buffy, Friday Face Of, Summer of Horror

Comments Dropped 8 responses

FFO

This week I’m going in a different direction. As part of Books, Bones and Buffy’s Summer of Horror I thought I’d post a few horror covers. See what you think and if you have a favourite (all of these are selected from fairly recent(ish) reads):

My favourite this week:

Difficult to choose really but I really like the cover for The September House:

Which is your favourite?

Join me next week in highlighting one of your reads with different covers

Monthly/Weekly Wrap Up/What’s On My Plate June/July

Posted On 6 July 2025

Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Review, Books, Books Bones & Buffy, fiction, June July, Month in review, Monthly/Weekly Wrap Up, reading, TBR, What's on my Plate

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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.

This month’s wrap up post will be a bit messy again like last month’s because I’m combining it with my weekly wrap up.

Weekly Update

The weather has been glorious and with the summer comes more socialising. That being said my weekly reading the past week has been good. I did indeed finish A Far Better Thing by HG Parry and not only loved it but have already posted my review – a Dickens inspired world with wicked fae. I then picked up Paved With Good Intentions by Peter McLean which I also absolutely loved. I also finished listening to Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry. I struggled with this one for at least two thirds of the read but I confess the final chapters definitely piqued my interest and the ending in particular. I then picked up and practically inhaled The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. A bewitching tale, a mystery and witches that feel almost akin to vampires.

Next Week’s reads

I’m happy to say that I’ve also started two new books, both of which I’m enjoying very much so far. The Enchanted Greenhouse which I’m about a third into and The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig which is my current audio book.

Reviews Posted:

A Far Better Thing by HG Parry

Outstanding Reviews

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
Paved With Good Intentions by Peter McLean
Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

My Monthly Wrap Up:

Books read in June:

The Countdown Killer by Sam Holland
The Rush by Beth Lewis
The Bodies by Sam Lloyd
Swordheart by T Kingfisher
A Far Better Thing by HG Parry
Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry

I’ve had a slow reading month for sure and looking back at my last monthly review I had 11 books queued up to read – The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater was unfortunately a DNF. I also picked up and started With A Vengeance by Riley Sager but it wasn’t working it’s magic – which was a surprise as I’ve been really enjoying this author’s work recently. From the rest of the list I’d already picked up and reviewed We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough which was great, the Shield and the Moth by Rachel Gillig I’m now listening to and Paved with Good Intentions by Peter McLean is now complete (I just didn’t manage to fit it into June).

Here’s what I’m hoping to read in July, in fact I’ve already made good progress as I’ve read The Bewitching and started The Enchanted Greenhouse. I’ve carried over The Knight and the Moth and I’m going to try and squeeze in a couple of backlist books if I can:

Fateless by Julie Kagawa
The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst – current read
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – read and waiting to be reviewed
Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan
It Was Her First House by Cherie Priest
The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw

BTB

This month I’m hoping to go back to a couple of books from last October that I really wanted to read but didn’t have the time to fit them in. Let’s see how that goes.

Bookforager‘s Picture Prompt book bingo.

and the text version:

PICTURE PROMPT BOOK BINGO 2025 (TEXT VERSION)

1. A prehistoric flint knapped stone knife	2. A lighthouse	3. An apple on a leafy branch	4. An archery target with three arrows in it
5. A very large mechanical telescope	~~6. A human skull~~	7. A stag	~~8. The ruins of a temple-like structure~~
9~~. A crab~~	10. A sheaf of wheat	~~11. An old mechanical typewriter~~	~~12. A cluster of four mushrooms~~
~~13. A fringed umbrella / parasol~~	~~14. A chemistry set-up of bottles and tubes~~	15. A stylized sun with a human face	16. A Roman helmet

Today, I’m ticking off another of the prompts. No. 11 – the old mechanical typewriter – I’m using The Bewitching for this one as one of the characters is a writer and is actually gifted a typewriter in the story. The book she writes features prominently in the story so I think it’s a good fit.

The prompts I’ve crossed off so far:

No.8 – The ruins of a temple-like structure – I’m using Daughter of Chaos by A S Webb

No. 12 – A cluster of four mushrooms – I’m using Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett

No. 13 – A fringed umbrella/parasol – I’m using A Fortune Most Fatal by Jessica Bull

No.14 – A chemistry set-up of bottles and tubes – I’m using Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis

No.9 – A Crab – I’m using The Devils by Joe Abercrombie – if you’ve read this already you’ll be able to guess why. There are some very unusual creatures in this story.

No.6 – A Human Skull – I’m using The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North – because this is about a serial killer and there are definite human remains included in this one.

Number of books read this year: 44

Monthly/Weekly Wrap Up/What’s On My Plate February/March

Posted On 2 March 2025

Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: book-blog, Books, Books Bones & Buffy, Caffeinated Book Reviewer, currently-reading, February/March, Monthly Wrap Up, reading, Weekly wrap up, What's on my Plate, Wrap Up

Comments Dropped 13 responses

Today’s post will be a dual post covering my weekly and monthly wrap up. How are we even in March already – it’s crazy. My February reading has been okay, particularly as it’s a short month. I’m over my cold thankfully and I’ve caught up with quite a few reviews, comments and blog hopping. So feeling quite positive. This month I managed to complete 10 books. I still have a couple of February books to complete – but I did give both a try and for some reason we just weren’t getting on so I’ve put them aside for now. One of the ten was one of my March books and I’ll be reviewing that on Monday (all going well – Once Was Willem).