Stolen Heir by Sophie Lark

Stolen Heir by Sophie Lark -- 430 pages

They murdered my father, so I stole their daughter…She’s my captive, my little ballerina who dances only for me. Nessa is sweet and innocent. She doesn’t deserve any of this. But that’s how our world works - the wolves eat the lambs, no matter how gentle they may be. I’ll use her to get my revenge. Unless I give in to my hunger first...

Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark

Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark -- 376 pages

He’s no Prince Charming…Callum Griffin is the heir to the Irish Mafia. He’s ruthless, arrogant, and he wants to kill me. We got off on the wrong foot when I set a (very small) fire in his house. Our families believe a marriage pact is the only thing that will prevent all-out warfare. I think I might need to murder him while he sleeps. This would all be a lot easier if Callum wasn’t so damned good-looking. But I’ve got a lockbox around my heart. Because even if I’m forced to marry him…I could never love a brutal prince.

Slow Death by Jim Fielder

 

Slow Death by Jim Fielder - 320 pages

Details the disturbing true story of David Parker Ray, a sadistic Satanist, and his girlfriend Cynthia Hendy, who, along with a drifter and various family members, kidnapped, brutally tortured, raped, and murdered more than thirty women while making "snuff" films. 

Please, please don't judge me by me reading this.  Holy cow, this was probably the sickest book I've ever read.  I had heard of the Toybox Killer but wasn't sure what he was all about and oh boy, he was one extremely disturbed individual.  It was interesting to read about how the trial went; I was surprised that the first trial was a mistrial.  I'm glad that he, his girlfriend, and his friend are all in prison.

Crown of Crimson by Karina Halle

Crown of Crimson by Karina Halle -- 460 pages

All Hanna Heikkinen wants is to be reunited with her father again. After all, that's why she ventured into the dark and dangerous fantasy world of Tuonela, the Land of the Dead, in order to save his life. But this time her devotion to her father comes at a cost---her growing relationship with Tuoni, the God of Death himself, who held Hanna captive in exchange for her father's life. The last thing she expects is to feel remorse at how she left things with Death, yet the dark and sexy God is all she can think about.

Death has always prided himself on never trusting the living, but Hanna's apparent betrayal has left a scar fathom's deep. Vowing revenge on his future bride, and making sure she upholds her end of the bargain, Death sets out across his realm to steal Hanna back, which only fans the flames between them. But Death and Hanna aren't just fighting each other---malevolent Old Gods are rising to power within the realm, magic is being poisoned, and buried secrets are brought to light, secrets that may cause Hanna to lose everyone she loves dear once again.

The Snail-Watcher and Other Stories by Patricia Highsmith

The Snail-Watcher and Other Stories by Patricia Highsmith

169 pages

★★★★

This collection of short stories was brought to my attention by quotes from The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey. Each story more and more unsettling with strange characters and even stranger events, this collection is eerie and gripping.

The Night Country by Melissa Albert (The Hazel Wood #2)

 

The Night Country by Melissa Albert

352 pages

★★★

Second book in The Hazel Wood series, The Night Country is about the aftermath of Alice Proserpine and the other Stories escaping the Hinterland, a fairytale world. While Alice struggles between her human life and her Story life in New York City, someone is murdering other Stories and even attacks Alice. Meanwhile, Ellery Finch is jumping between worlds, having adventures, and trying to find his way back to Alice.

The first book of this series was definitely better than this one, but it was still satisfying to have closure for the duology. The idea of fairytales running amok in New York is funny and terrifying.

Sparrow by L.J. Shen

Sparrow by L.J. Shen -- 312 pages

Troy Brennan

Every southie in Boston knows that name. The son of a dead mobster. The heart throb with steel blue eyes. "The Fixer" who can make or break you in this city.

Oh, and my new husband.

Sparrow Raynes

That's me. No one seemed to remember my name up until he barged into my life.
But then he caged me.
Kidnapped me.
And killed every chance I had to runaway from the place where we grew up.
Put simply, Troy Brennan clipped my wings.

I have dreams, big ones, but I doubt he'd ever let me chase them. I have no idea why he'd decided to take me as his wife. But I do know this: pissing off this man will not do me any good. At all.

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper - 216 pages
Greenwitch by Susan Cooper - 147 pages

For some reason every Christmas Eve, I feel the need to re-read The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper.  I guess it is the fact that it takes place over the Christmas holidays.  Once I read that I then start reading the rest of the series.  I've read two of the books so far and am enjoying them as usual.  These are truly some of the classic fantasy books for kids.  I wish more kids would read them today as they seem to have really fallen off in popularity.