Question of the Week:
What’s the creepiest book you’ve read that isn’t officially horror, but gave you chills?
My Answer:
I never read creepy books, but I do read psychological thrillers.
Friday, October 23, 2026
Friendly. Fill-Ins
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FRIENDLY FILL-INS:
1. I have been______ for ______.
2. ____________ bores me.
3. _________ is my main criticism of _________.
4. If I threw a Halloween party, it would include _________.
MY ANSWERS:
1. I have hoping for a this month to go slower. Time is just flying.
2. Watching television bores me except for Jeopardy.
3. Pasta sauce is my main criticism of restaurants.
4. If I threw a Halloween party, it would include a giveaway of books.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
The Diary at the Irish Adoption House by Michelle Vernal
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I was adopted?? Why didn't my parents tell me?
When Micky's parents passed away he was summoned to their solicitor's office. He didn't know why because everything had been taken care of.
He was devastated to find out he was adopted, and the diary his mother left told her story.
We hear Sheila's story in alternating timelines as we learn of what happened before she fell in love, what happened that put her in a home for unwed mothers when she was married but in an abusive relationship, and to current day.
The timelines made it a bit confusing, but the storyline kept my interest.
You will enjoy Sheila's story told through her diary jottings.
THE DIARY AT THE IRISH ADOPTION HOUSE is a heartbreaking yet heartwarming read that reveals what really happened to women in Ireland, detailing how they had to work as servants to pay for their stay and ultimately give up their children. 4/5
Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
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Michelle Vernal is a New Zealand author who writes stories that will take you onto the page with her characters and make you feel part of their lives. She writes with humour and warmth, and her readers describe her books as unputdownable, feel good and funny. Her writing has been likened to Maeve Binchy but with a modern-day vernacular. In 2015 she was shortlisted for the Love Stories Award. In 2020 she won the Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal Award for Chick lit, and in 2021 was shortlisted for the Page Turner Book Awards.
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What readers are saying about Michelle Vernal:
‘I absolutely fell in love… Heart-wrenching… Had me reaching for tissues multiple times while reading late into the night.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Heartbreaking… I was moved to tears… Gripping… Held my attention and my heartfrom beginning to end.’ Robin Loves Reading, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Wow wow wow!!!! I read this in less than twenty-four hours. So gripping, it had me hooked and unable to put it down.’ diane.likes.to.read, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Omg I went through quite a few tissues… Totally shattered my heart while at the same time putting the pieces back together again… Amazing.’ leannebookstagram, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Heart-wrenching… Unputdownable… I couldn’t resist flipping through the pages, my eyes brimming with tears… Phenomenal.’ Page Turners, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Wow! I have to say that this page-turner is so outstanding that I read it in a single day! Putting it down was not an option.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A heartbreaking and very powerful book… I couldn’t put it down… Brilliant… This book was magic… Just so heartbreaking… Captivating.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘What an incredible read!… Raw and heartbreaking… Attention-grabbing, page-turner… Excellent… Kept me hooked… One to add to your list!’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Heartbreaking… Beautiful story that will tug at your heart… You instantly feel drawn… Definitely a must-read.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Missing Molly by Natalie Barelli
That has been the question for the past 12 years, and only Molly herself knows the answer.
Why is she the only one who knows the answer? Because she is alive and is now, Rachel.
How did she hide and go undetected all this time, and why is she worried now that someone is going to find out she is alive?
She’s worried because the newspaper she works for is about to go under and they decided to start a podcast about where did Molly go and she knows the killer is looking for her because she can identify him.
Will everyone find out she is really Molly and cause the killer to easily find her?
Find out what happens in this tense read that will keep you turning the pages as always with a Natalie Barelli book. 5/5
Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Spotlight of The Key To A Killer by Olivia Blacke
PHOTO SOURCE:
TYPORAMA
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TYPORAMA
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THE KEY TO A KILLER
OLIVIA BLACKE
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ALL INFORMATION IN THIS POST IS COURTESY OF SARA LACOTTI | PUBLICITY | ST. MARTIN'S PRESS
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A woman and her ghost roommate investigate their most personal case yet in Olivia Blacke’s THE KEY TO A KILLER, the final book in the Anthony Award winning Ruby and Cordelia Mystery trilogy.
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October 20, 2026
Macmillan/Minotaur Books
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PRAISE FOR THE KEY TO A KILLER:
“For readers who like their mystery with a solid dose of the otherworldly.”—Kirkus Reviews
“With these likable characters and a quirky storyline, Death at the Door is a fun read that feels fresh, perfect for fans of supernatural mysteries with a cozy mystery mentality.”—Booklist
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ABOUT THE KEY TO A KILLER:
A woman and her ghost roommate investigate their most personal case yet in Olivia Blacke’s The Key to a Killer, the next book in the Anthony Award winning Ruby and Cordelia Mysteries.
When Ruby Young discovered that her Boston apartment was haunted, she did what any reasonable person would do: befriend the ghost. Their relationship overcame a shaky start—Cordelia Graves never wanted a roommate in life, she certainly didn’t want one in death. After working together to solve a few murders, the two are close friends, but there’s a lingering question neither of them have been able to answer: what led to Cordelia’s death?
Lately things have been adding up that suggest foul play. And when Cordelia’s memories of that day start to come back, the roommates can’t ignore it anymore: Cordelia was murdered. Ruby and Cordelia are going to have to piece together what Cordelia’s final days looked like—otherwise a killer could go free.
When Ruby Young discovered that her Boston apartment was haunted, she did what any reasonable person would do: befriend the ghost. Their relationship overcame a shaky start—Cordelia Graves never wanted a roommate in life, she certainly didn’t want one in death. After working together to solve a few murders, the two are close friends, but there’s a lingering question neither of them have been able to answer: what led to Cordelia’s death?
Lately things have been adding up that suggest foul play. And when Cordelia’s memories of that day start to come back, the roommates can’t ignore it anymore: Cordelia was murdered. Ruby and Cordelia are going to have to piece together what Cordelia’s final days looked like—otherwise a killer could go free.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
OLIVIA BLACKE (she/her) had her first encounter with a ghost when she was only five years old, but her first involvement with an active crime scene wasn’t until much later, when she accidentally stepped into a chalk outline on a Manhattan sidewalk.
OLIVIA BLACKE (she/her) is the Anthony Award-winning author of the Ruby and Cordelia Mysteries, as well as the cozy Record Shop Mysteries and the Brooklyn Murder Mysteries.
Armed with a Criminology and Criminal Justice degree, she finally found a way to channel her love of the supernatural and passion for writing into the darkly humorous Ruby and Cordelia Mysteries.
She is also the author of the Record Shop Mysteries and the Brooklyn Murder Mysteries.
She still wants to be a unicorn when she grows up.
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Monday, October 19, 2026
Spotlight of Unto The Day by Dayle Furlong
PHOTO SOURCE:
TYPORAMA
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UNTO THE DAY
DAYLE FURLONG
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ALL INFORMATION IN THIS POST IS COURTESY OF KAITLYN CSENKEY | PUBLICIST | DUNDURN PRESS
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Life changes dramatically for suffragist Anne Brown after her husband’s death.
Immersive, epic, and emotionally moving, Unto the Day is an intelligent, captivating literary feat.
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October 13
Dundurn Press
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PRAISE FOR UNTO THE DAY:
“Furlong gives voice to those most intimately involved with [George] Brown's story ... Each is given a poignant backstory, fully fleshed out with the full range of human emotion and experience — a visceral reminder that the histories of the famous include a variety of no-less-important secondary characters.”– Booklist
“Tracing the entangled fates of doppelganger pair George Bennett, an alcoholic labourer with literary aspirations, and George Brown, newspaper magnate and founding father of Canada, Dayle Furlong sketches a sensitive, finely detailed portrait of an early Canada wracked with the tension of uneasy political union and gaping class, gender, and religious inequities. Unto the Day joins Alias Grace and The Colony of Unrequited Dreams as some of this country's best-researched and most compelling historical fiction.”– Sarah Henstra, author of The Red Word
“If you love historical fiction and perfect prose, be prepared to enter a world filled with rebel suffragists, poet-assassins, and high drama. Set in a wonderfully realized 1880s Toronto, this is the book for everyone who's tried to walk that razor-thin line between absolute loyalty and undeniable treason. Or even just felt the weight of someone else's shadow. A heart-pounding literary page-turner you won't be able to put down.”– Andrew Kaufman, author of Enjoy Your Stay at the Shamrock Motel
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ABOUT UNTO THE DAY:
In the spring of 1880, wealthy politician and Globe editor George Brown was at the height of his career when he was shot by a disgruntled poet who worked in the newspaper’s boiler room.
Brown left an undeniable legacy as a founder of the modern Liberal Party, fierce abolitionist, industrialist, and preeminent Father of Confederation.
Yet he was not without his flaws: Brown infamously disliked the Irish and arrogantly declared that women should not vote.
In this deeply imagined work of historical fiction,narrated through the perspective of characters most impacted by his formidable presence, readers witness the struggle of a motherless Irish domestic in fear and awe of Brown; his wife, Anne, a suffragist who is caught between devotion and defiance of her husband’s authority; and the world-weary poet who seethes with resentment, harbouring notions of revenge.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dayle Furlong is the author of Lake Effect & Other Stories, the novel Saltwater Cowboys, and a collection of poetry entitled Open Slowly.
She has a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh and works as a librarian. Originally from Newfoundland, Dayle lives in Toronto.
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It's Monday!! What Are YOU Reading? - 10/19/2026
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I hope you had a great reading week.
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This is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at BOOK DATE!
Post the books completed, the books you are currently reading, and the books you hope to finish at some point.
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