Monday, October 30, 2017

The Haunting of Quenby Mansion:

The Haunting of Quenby Mansion: A Haunted House Mystery - Book 1 By: J.S.Donovan
Fiction: Mystery, Paranormal, E-book
E-Book Count:18
Book Count: 92

Another of the monthly free e-books that I am glad that I didn't spend money on.  The story itself isn't that bad; girl who never knew her parents find out that she has inherited a mansion from her father.  Only it's filled with ghosts, there are murderers that know more about the house then her, and it looks like her father might have been a serial killer or worked with them.   However, even if a book is part of a series not only having a cliff hanger ending, but ending the  book with just as many questions as you started with, including not answering the main question of the book is just too much.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

No Peace for Dead Men:

Criminal Macabre - No Peace for Dead Men by: Niles & Mitten
Non-fiction: Graphic Novel, Mystery 132 pages
Physical Book Count: 75
Book Count: 91

A book about the detective Cal McDonald.  It starts out with him getting a case from Frankenstein's monster. 

Saturday, October 28, 2017

The Eye of Torment:

Doctor Who- The Eye of Torment ed. by: Spilsbury & Gray
Non-fiction: Graphic novel, Sci-Fi, Pop Culture
Physical Book Count: 74
Book Count: 90

A set of stories from Doctor Who Magazine.  These mostly involve the Twelfth Doctor and Clara, but ther was also one with Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax.   

Friday, October 27, 2017

Gateway to Fourline:

Gateway to Fourline By: Pam Brondos
Fiction:YA, Fantasy, E-book
E-Book Count:17
Book Count: 89

This is book 1 in a trilogy of YA fantasy adventure books.  It starts right in the middle of the action so it takes a bit of time to know what is happening.  Fourline is a world like earth, but with magic, creatures not on earth, and life is more like the middle ages.  There are links between the two worlds and that is how a college student in need of some extra money to pay for school ends up working at a shop owned by a number of people from Fourline, with a portal in the building. 

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Four Doctors:

Doctor Who- Four Doctors by: Cornell & Edwards
Non-fiction: Graphic novel, Sci-Fi, Pop Culture
Physical Book Count: 73
Book Count: 88

This is a multiple Doctors have to get together for a big thing storyline.  It stars Ten and his companion Gabby Gonzalez, Eleven and Alice Obiefune and Twelve and Clara Oswald.  You might say like I did. "that's only three Doctors;" however, it then starts out with the War Doctor dealing with a group called the Voord of the planet Marinus during the Time War.  Also due to alternate timelines there are more then four of the Doctors in the book.   

A Grumpy Book:

A Grumpy Book: Disgruntled Tips and Activities Designed to put a Frown on your Face By: Grumpy Cat
Non-fiction: Humor, Pop Culture
Physical Book Count: 72
Book Count: 87

Grumpy Cat's book on being grumpy, includes lots of pictures, because writing makes her grumpy.  

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Doctor Who-Eleventh  Doctor: The Sapling Vol 1- Growth by: Williams, Paknadel, Culbard, Fraser, Casco, Diaz
Non-fiction: Graphic novel, Sci-Fi, Pop Culture
Physical Book Count: 71
Book Count: 79

The eleventh Doctor is still traveling around with Alice Obiefune in this book.   They get an invite from Jones in the form of coordinates and a timedate from a song on his last album when played backwards.  It turns out that the event is Jones' funeral and someone knew they would be there and give then another invite.  This one leads them on an adventure that involves, the Silence, a real wooden boy, and many many Kushaks, the bus driver from flat 12. 

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

After Life:

Doctor Who-Eleventh  Doctor: Vol 1- After Life by: Ewing, Williams, Fraser, & Cook
Non-fiction: Graphic novel, Sci-Fi, Pop Culture
Physical Book Count: 70
Book Count: 86

Eleven is running after an alien dog when he meets Alice Obiefune, an assistant librarian, who is depressed after her mother died, and everything in her life seamed to come crashing down around her, work, house, friendships, etc.   She helps him find the dog and return it to where it should be and they go on a series of adventures in time and space connecting her to things that her mother loved and helping to stop an evil corporation.  Also a future rock star (from when they pop back into time to see him before he got big) who is TOTALLY NOT  David Bowie, has a early version of "Space Odyssey" about using the restroom in a spaceship above an orange planet. (But nothing rhymes with orange.) 

Monday, October 23, 2017

A Matter of Life and Death:

Doctor Who-Eighth Doctor: Vol 1- A  Matter of Life and Death by: Mann & Vieceli
Non-fiction: Graphic novel, Sci-Fi, Pop Culture
Physical Book Count: 69
Book Count: 85

This is an adventure that features the 8th Doctor and Josephine Day.  He pops back into his old house from his last regeneration and finds Josie, an artist living there.  They have an adventure involving her painting coming to life and then he finds a set of coordinates in the copy of Jane Eyre his was looking for.  The two of them then follow all of the coordinates having many adventures.

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Gaze of the Medusa:

Doctor Who-Fourth Doctor: Vol 1-Gaze of the Medusa by: Rennie, Beeby & Williamson
Non-fiction: Graphic novel, Sci-Fi, Pop Culture
Physical Book Count: 68
Book Count: 84

This is an adventure that features the 4th Doctor and Sarah Jane.  They are in Victorian London to see cowboys and Indians, the Buffalo Bill show was in town.  Alien cyclopes attach them and capture Sarah Jane.  The Doctor meets professor Odysseus James, who is an chrononautologist, and his daughter Athena.  Sarah Jane is taken to the house of Lady Emily Carstairs, and shown a "statue" of herself, that is thousands of years old, making her turning to stone a fixed point.  The doctor and his new friends hunt down Sarah Jane and find out that Lady Carstairs was time traveling people to a spot with a medusa in it, which is an alien that quantum locks people to then feed off of their life force.

Saturday, October 21, 2017

The Mermaid's Sister:

The Mermaid's Sister by: Carrie Anne Noble
Fiction, Fantasy, E-book
E-Book Count:16
Book Count: 83

Three teen's grow up together as practically siblings, each with an amazing story of how they came to their adoptive family.  Maren was found inside of a conch shell during the middle of an October storm, on a mountain in Pennsylvania.  Clare was brought by a stork to Auntie Verity.  And O'Neill was found beneath an apple tree by a priest that was mourning the death of his brother.  O'Neill had a birthmark exactly the same as the priest's brother.  O'Neill, as a boy, was raised by the traveling merchant Ezra Scarff, who is Auntie's sweetheart, and visits as often as he can.  This of course sounds amazing; however, Auntie is part fairy and so can't lie.   Plus around her 16th birthday Maren starts turning into a mermaid.  And so she needs to get to the ocean to be with her merfolk family and take her place as a mermaid  princess.  Auntie can not leave the mountain, due to a curse placed on her, and so they must wait until Scarff and O'Neill can make it back to the mountain.  Scarff gets very sick and has to be nursed back to health by gypsies before he is well enough to travel to the mountain and so Maren is a full mermaid before they can start on their way.  Also even after he gets there he is too ill to make to journey quickly and so Clare and O'Neill must transport Maren to the ocean.  

Friday, October 20, 2017

Bill & Ted Go To Hell:

Bill & Ted Go To Hell By: Joines & Bachan
Non-Fiction: Graphic Novel,Sci-fi/Fantasy, Pop Culture
Physical Book Count: 67
Book Count: 82

In this story that takes place after both of the Bill and Ted movies, they boys are waiting on death to show up for the band's practice, when he is unusually late they get concerned.  The then are attacked by a possessed Colonel Oats and they, their fabulous wive babes, and robot Bill and Ted fight him.  Knowing that something most unrighteous is up the ask Missy (who is now married to reformed bad guy Chuck) for help in having an out of body experience to find out what is happening.  They find out Death has been kidnapped, get kicked out of Hell and then call Rufus for help.  They think that Satan has attacked Death and is trying to break into Heaven, so they get the gang back together.  Ms. of Arc is of course happy to fight the devil (they paraphrase an actual quote from her), Billy the Kid was visiting Socrates (as they are best buds now), and Lincoln agrees to help.  Missy, Ted's dad and the robots stay home to watch baby Bill and Ted, while the rest go to Hell.  Once their the are once again attacked by all of their greatest fears (well Lincoln doesn't get the theater part yet,) and find that it is Napoleon that took over Hell and is trying to get Heaven as well.   

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Pinocchio- Vampire Slayer:

Pinocchio- Vampire Slayer By: Van Jensen and Dusty Higgins
Non-fiction: paranormal
Physical Book Count: 66
Book Count: 81

This book is based off of the classic story of Pinocchio and not the Disney version, which as one might expect change a number of things, both to make it more of a kid's story and other reasons.  So the book starts with the basic things that happened in the book, so you know what is happening.  In this story Geppetto has been murdered and Pinocchio, who is a puppet, fights the monsters that killed Geppetto by killing them with the wooden stakes formed from his nose.  His friends Master Cherry and Capanella (the blue fairy)  are attached and he learns that he is fighting vampires. 

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Cleopatra in Space: Secret of the Time Tablets:

Cleopatra in Space: Book Three- Secret of the Time Tablets by: Mike Maihack
Non-fiction:Graphic Novel, Sci-fi, 185 pages
Physical Book Count: 65
Book Count: 80

Octavian's spaceships find and destroy Cleo's ship and they land on the planet with the city of Hykosis.  They sneak in, wrapped in rugs.  Once in the city, they buy cowboy gear to blend in and then start a bar fight.  They run into the thief from book 2, and end up joining forces in their common fight against Octavian.  We learn more about the background of some of the people and who Octavian really is.

Cleopatra in Space: The Thief and the Sword:

Cleopatra in Space: Book Two- The Thief and the Sword by: Mike Maihack
Non-fiction:Graphic Novel, Sci-fi, 189 pages
Physical Book Count: 64
Book Count: 79

In book 2 of the series the sword that Cleo got in the first book is stolen by a thief for Octavian.    Cleo noticed it, even though he was dressed as a guard and ruins Akila's Winter Dance.  She doesn't get him as she has to stand down and let the military follow the thief.  She then learns that there were 2 tablets, and the second one might send her back home, and goes with a group of her friends and Khensu, her talking cat mentor to find it. 

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice:

Cleopatra in Space: Book One- Target Practice by: Mike Maihack
Non-fiction:Graphic Novel, Sci-fi, 169 pages
Physical Book Count: 63
Book Count: 78

Cleopatra (yes, that one) is about to celebrate her 15th birthday, when her and her friend Gozi  find a mysterious building.  She touches a tablet and gets send to a distant planet in the distant future that conveniently is very connected with ancient Egypt including a race of talking cats that lead an academy.  It turns out that Cleo is the person foretold to save that universe by defeating the tyrant Octavian.  She gets sent to the school, and is bad at every subject except the ones with fighting.  Her midterm is to get a artifact of great importance, which she does proving that she really is the one. 

Monday, October 16, 2017

Creepy Comics: The Lurking Fate:

Creepy Comics: The Lurking  Fate
Non-fiction: Graphic novel, paranormal, 175 pages
Physical Book Count: 62
Book Count: 77

The is a collection of Creepy Comics #10-13, form 2012-2013.  It has a number of scary/creepy stories about Lovecraft, ghosts, zombies, mermaids, demons and other monsters.  

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Metalocalype-Dethklok:

Metalocalypse- Dethklok
Fiction- graphic novel, pop culture, 111 pages
Physical Book Count: 61
Book Count: 76

A graphic novel based on the TV show Metalocalpse featuring the band Dethklok.  It has a mixture of stories like would appear on the show.  The band gets into frozen foods, time travel, waken an evil troll, and get hunted by a railroad ghost.

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Ghost Hunting in Michigan:

Ghost Hunting in Michigan by: Bradley P. Mikulka
Non-Fiction: paranormal, 127 pages
Physical Book Count: 60
Book Count: 75

This book is the story of 13 investigations done by the SouthEast Michigan Ghost Hunters Society.  It includes a rough idea of where the place was and the backstory of the place.  Some places that are open to the public for ghost hunting are noted with exact information.  It has details of what they saw/heard at a place as well as pictures that they took.  The pictures are all black and white, making it hard to see a lot of the things.  

Friday, October 13, 2017

Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye:

Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye by: Tania Del Rio
Fiction: Children's, mystery, paranormal, 216 pages
Physical Book Count: 59
Book Count: 74

Warren the 13th is the 13th Warren in a line of hotel owners.  His father Warren the 12th died when he was young and his uncle Rupert runs the hotel until Warren turns of age.  His uncle is lazy and worse is married to aunt Annaconda, an evil witch who might have only married Rupert to find the All-Seeing Eye which is located somewhere in the hotel.  A mysterious guess who doesn't speak arrives, after years of no one coming to the run down hotel.  Soon after Annaconda's sister witches; Scalene and Isosceles arrive to the hotel.  They are followed by all the people that they told about the All-Seeing eye, each one with a different idea of what it might be.  Warren must find the eye before anyone else, or according to a line of Warren's the 2nd's journal the hotel will fall.

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Poltergeists of Petoskey:

Michigan Chillers #3: Poltergeists of Petoskey By: Johnathan Rand
Fiction: Children's, Paranormal, 186 pages
Physical Book Count: 58
Book Count: 73

Twins, Adrian (a boy) and Alex (a girl), moved with their parents into an old farmhouse because their old house was getting to small for all of them.  The house needs some work, having been empty for some time.  It has old house problems like creaky floors, but there are issues that can't just be because of the houses age.  Things like footsteps when no one is there, all the cabinet doors opening up, and glasses of ice water just appearing.  The twins meet a set of ghosts twins, Caleb and Catherine and learn the house is also haunted by a mean poltergeist.  

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Strange Spirits of St. Ignace:

Michigan Chillers #6: Strange Spirits of St. Ignace By: Johnathan Rand
Fiction: Children's, Paranormal, 166 pages
Physical Book Count: 57
Book Count: 72

Three siblings are on a camping trip to St. Ignace.  While out in the woods they see some strange bear tracks with 6 toes.  They follow them and see a bear that mysterious disappears.  They turn to go back to the campsite, but both the bears and their tracts are gone, they are lost in the woods.  They end up building a camp fire to stay warm and then the really odd things start happening.  

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

A Ghostly Haunting in Grand Haven:

Michigan Chillers #17: A Ghostly Haunting in Grand Haven By: Johnathan Rand
Fiction: Children's, Paranormal, 179 pages
Physical Book Count: 56
Book Count: 71

Quinn's dad loves hunting for ghosts.  When he needs help with a case in Grand Haven, Quinn and his friend Angela tag along to set up equipment and then go sledding on a hill near the haunted house.  Quinn doesn't really believe in ghosts, but that will all change now. 

Monday, October 09, 2017

Goosebumps Most Wanted: The Haunter by: R.L. Stine
Fiction: Children, paranormal, 175 pages
Physical Book Count: 55
Book Count: 70

Sammy Baker is a shy and quite kid.  He is easily frightened and picked on by the class bully.  For Halloween his teacher assigns group projects on spooky subjects.  He gets one on ghosts in a group that includes his best friend, the bully, the cute girl and the class clown.  They decide to visit to local haunted house on Halloween night to study ghosts.  They don't find anything to prove ghost, but weird things happen to them, and after that Sammy hears a voice in his head that he cannot say no to. . . 

Sunday, October 08, 2017

Trick or Trap:

Goosebumps Most Wanted: Trick or Trap by: R.L. Stine
Fiction: Children, paranormal, 166 pages
Physical Book Count: 54
Book Count: 69

Scott and his best friend Amanda are scared of everything.  This wouldn't be a problem if Scott's little sister didn't enjoy scaring him, and the school bullies didn't know that, and they didn't live near a creepy old graveyard and if there wasn't a haunted house next to the graveyard.  However, all these things are true.  So they decide to show that they aren't as scared as they are by sneaking into the haunted house, right before Halloween.   

Saturday, October 07, 2017

The Woodcutter:

The Woodcutter by: Kate Danley
Fiction: Fantasy, E-book
E-Book Count:15
Book Count: 68

  This book combines a number of fairy tales, myths, and legends together.  Little Red Riding Hood, Jack in the beanstalk, Snow White, Baba Yaga, Oberon and  Titania, Pixies, Odin and Hell-hounds all in the same book.  With the Woodcutter being the one in charge of making the fairy tales cone out right and maintaining the balance between the world of men and the world of fairies.  But the stories start going wrong, a Hell-hound escapes from the wild hunt and starts hunting down beings with fey blood.  The pixies are being farmed for their dust that is like a drug for humans and there is a magic moving house that is trapping the princes to prevent true love's kiss.  And of course an evil step-mom, because there is always one of those.

Friday, October 06, 2017

The Secret Dead:

The Secret Dead by: S.J. Parris
Fiction: Mystery, history, E-book
E-Book Count:14
Book Count: 67

A monk in Naples, who is only a monk to get away from a scandal and because it is the best way from someone of his class to learn the sciences, is allowed to help with a secret autopsy.  He was told that the body was a prostitute that was most likely strangled due to their lifestyle, and so the authorities would only throw the body in a common grave outside of town.   By cutting it up, at least it would be useful in helping him and his mentor monk to learn more about the human body.  However, when he sneaks out to the bar afterwards to get a drink to help him get over his ill feelings at seeing a dead body cut open, he learns that what he was told was a lie.  

Thursday, October 05, 2017

The Vines:

The Vines by: Christopher Rice
Fiction, Horror, Paranormal, E-book
E-Book Count:13
Book Count: 66

A plantation house, a cheating husband, murdered boyfriend, and land with evil in it.   

Wednesday, October 04, 2017

Plants Vs. Zombies: Petal to the Metal:

Plants Vs. Zombies: Petal to the Metal By: Paul Tobin art by: Ron Chan
Non-Fiction: graphic novel,  Sci-fi, Humor, Pop Culture, 83 pages
Physical Book Count: 53
Book Count: 65

Another graphic novel based on the video game, Plants Vs. Zombies.  In this one the kids, Crazy Dave, and the plants have a race against the zombies and  Mr. Stubbins,  the hedgehog. 

Tuesday, October 03, 2017

Who Killed My Boss? (a Sam Darling Mystery):

Who Killed My Boss? (a Sam Darling Mystery) by: Jerilyn Dufresne
Fiction: Mystery, E-book
E-Book Count:12
Book Count: 64

Sam Darling moved back to her hometown and just got a new job.  The ink isn't even dry on her contract when her boss is found murdered in his office.  She decides that having read many mystery books and having a brother that is a police officer, she would take charge of the situation and also solve the murder, in part to show up the man who stood her up to the prom decades ago.  Also she has "Vibes," the ability that that causes her to just tell things about people.  So she things she knows who the murder is before finding out how they did it, as they make her faint. (So does the mysterious, hot, new guy in town that is interested in her, but that's just nerves, right?) 

Monday, October 02, 2017

The Folcroft Ghosts:

The Folcroft Ghosts by: Darcy Coates
Fiction: Mystery, paranormal, E-book
E-Book Count:11
Book Count: 63

Two kids end up having to stay with their grandparents, who they never meet before, after their mom was in an accident and ended up in a coma.  At first they were the stereo typical grandparents, making tons of food from scratch, living  out in the country, gardening etc.  But then the kids notice weird things, unexplained happenings, ghostly images in film, and odd behaviors.  They start trying to find out what is happening, and even if these two people are really family.   

Sunday, October 01, 2017

The Hangman's Daughter:

The Hangman's Daughter by: Oliver Potzsch translated by: Lee Chadeayne
Fiction: History, Mystery, E-Book
E-Book Count:10
Book Count: 62

The town of Schongau has a problem, well actually a bunch of problems that may be connected.  A local boy was murdered with a witch's mark on him, there's talk of a devil in town, properties have been destroyed, there are trade issues with neighbors, and the town leaders would like to kill the midwife as a witch to solve the problems; however, the town's hangman (Jakob Kuisl) as well as the son of the town physician (Simon Fronwiesser)  (who also studied medicine) believe that she is innocent and there is a more human explanation to the events.  They just don't know what it is.  They with the help of Magdalena, the hangman's daughter and Simon's  crush of  set out to solve the mysteries before Jakob has to do his job and kill the midwife.  

This story is a work of fiction; however, it is loosely  based off of the family history of the author.