October Book Haul

*NOTE* This post was written and intended to be posted two days ago.  I have decided to leave the original wording.  I understand that today is not the day I am stating it is.  Thank you. *END NOTE*

Today is Wednesday and that means that the Friends of the Library bookstore is open today!  Yay!  So, of course, I had to go see what treasures I could find.  I wasn't knocked completely off my feet with their inventory this time, but I was able to come out of there with some pretty good books.  So without further ado, I give you my October Book Haul:

Death of a Scriptwriter:  A Hamish Macbeth Mystery by M.C. Beaton



I chose this book because I have read another Hamish Macbeth mystery before titled Death of a Gentle Lady and I rather enjoyed it.  It was a nice mystery with some interesting characters.  The main character, Hamish Macbeth, is a policeman in a village in Scotland who has to navigate his way around the locals to get to the bottom of the various mysteries that pop up.  Read the synopsis here.

Withering Heights:  An Ellie Haskell Mystery by Dorothy Cannell



They say not to judge a book by its cover.  But that is exactly what I did here.

*Side Note*  I seem to be on a bit of a mystery kick.  I have watched the entire Poirot series available on Netflix as well as Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.  I am currently on Midsomer Murders.  Needless to say, it has now dribbled over to my reading preferences.  *End Side Note*

The cover of this book is an illustration of a large house behind a wrought iron fence hidden by some shrubbery at an angle at which it seems as though one is peeping.  That is what first caught my attention.  Then I read the back cover and the deal was sealed.  Read the synopsis here.

The Bag of Bones by Vivian French



This next one is considered a children's book but I don't discriminate.  Plus I have a kid so it's totally okay.  The Bag of Bones is actually the second book in the Five Kingdoms collection.  I do that a lot.  I buy used books then find out they are the second or third book in a series.  No matter.  I have a plethora of books just waiting to be read so I have time to buy or check out the first in the series.  It seems like the perfect series for my daughter and me to snuggle up to in the month of Halloween.  Yay!  Read the synopsis here.

White as Snow by Tanith Lee



This is yet another book I purchased largely based off of the cover art and the feel (yes, the feel) of the book.  That and well, fairy tales.  I love reading different variations of fairy tales - or rather, cautionary tales as most were penned to teach lessons by scaring the heck out of children.  Eh, I don't judge.  I digress.  This book caught my eye with the art and my heart with the promise of a story that is part Snow White and part Greek mythology wrapped up in a nice little 319-page book.  Read the synopsis here.

The Dream Master by Roger Zelazny



This book is a bit of a wildcard.  I found it sitting in the Scifi / Fantasy section (my preferred genre).  The only thing that drew me to The Dream Master was the title.  I picked it up for the title, bought it for the story (based on its synopsis).  It's a short book written in the sixties with all of 179 pages.  In short, it's a story of a dream manipulator who accepts the challenge of teaching his craft to a blind psychiatrist.  It should prove to be a nice quick and thought-provoking read.  Read the full synopsis here.

***BREAKDOWN***

One of the exciting parts about buying books from a used bookstore is finding out what kind of deal you got based off of the comparison of what you paid vs. what the cover price is.

Listed from highest price to lowest price:

Title	Cover Price	Used Price
The Dream Master*	$27.95	$2.00
The Bag of Bones	$14.99	$2.00
White as Snow	$14.95	$1.00
Death of a Scriptwriter	$6.99	$1.00
Withering Heights	$6.99	$1.00
TOTALS	$71.87	$7.00

*The book I purchased was part of the Science Fiction Book Club (SFBC.com) 50th Anniversary Collection so there was no cover price found on the book itself.  I used the price found on Amazon.com for the hardcover since my copy is a hardcover.

So, everybody, that concludes my October Book Haul.  Hopefully, I will be able to do this once a month (preferably at the beginning of the month) so just keep your eyes open and make sure to visit often!  Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Reading!

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Delia's Shadow

DISCLAIMER:  My posts are intended to be Opinion/Discussion posts mixed in with a bit of a review about books that I have read.  I include a semi-detailed synopsis of the book followed by my own opinions that may include spoilers about the book.  Read at your own discretion.

Greetings fellow book nerds!  I am back from a long (a whole year) break and boy have I missed this.  I will be trying something new with this post.  In looking back on my earlier posts, I have noticed that I have a tendency of giving away too much of what the book is about before I even start my 'Opinion' section.  Starting with this post, I will be dialing down the info a great deal.  If I like it, I'll keep it.  If not then I will go back to the way things were.  So consider this a test run.  Thank you for your patience!

It is important to note that this book was read and the post was started about a year ago.  The most current section is the "My Opinion" section which is based on my year old memories and notes taken of the story.

Title:  Delia's Shadow
Author:  Jaime Lee Moyer

She left her home in San Francisco, CA to get away from the spirits who haunted her.  All those souls lost to the great earthquake.  Now she leaves her haven of New York to return home and solve the mystery of Shadow - her silent ghost companion.   Meet Delia Martin.

Delia's bestie is not buying her story of visiting for the Exposition and demands to know what is really going on.  Ah, you can never fool a true friend.  Delia fesses up about Shadow and, not surprising to Delia, her friend is completely open to having a tag-along ghost and offers up her assistance.  Meet Sadie.

Sadie's doting fiance is on the trail of a serial killer who roams free in San Francisco.  He is determined to keep Sadie and her friend protected from this unknown killer while shielding her from details of his work.  Too bad his case is tangled with Delia's ghost.  Meet Jack.

Jack's partner in work has no room for new romance - especially when a serial killer is on the loose who is determined to taunt him personally; just as was done to his father before him.  Will he finish the hunt his father started?  Meet Gabe.  

* * * * * *   * * * * * *   * * * * * *

Our story begins with Delia arriving in San Francisco and meeting up with Sadie.  Sadie senses that Delia is back home for different reasons than what was previously discussed between them.  Delia shares her troubles with Sadie and Sadie declares her support for her friend.  This support includes the services of Jack, Gabe, and Isadora (Sadie's friend who is a seer and spirit guide).  While it's great that Delia quickly establishes a system of friends, both old and new, who are willing to help even if all is not entirely understood, she faces a new problem;  Shadow has become restless.  The once patient ghost seems disturbed now that they are back in San Francisco.

As our story unfolds we discover that Shadow was a victim of a serial killer that was on the loose back when Gabe's father was on the force.  The killer was never apprehended and is suspected of being one and the same as the serial killer who is currently on the loose.  Shadow releases visions of her final living night to Delia and starts to drain her as she becomes desperate to bring her killer to justice.  Isadora tries to educate Delia on how to control her spirits as not to lose herself.  

During their adventures of spirit decoding and chasing down a killer, Delia and Gabe grow fond of each other.  If only they can get past this mystery and survive a spirit's control and a killer's warped mind, maybe they can explore their undeniable attraction towards each other.

Who is Shadow and what is her end game?  Is she seeking justice at any cost?  Will Gabe and Jack find the serial killer terrorizing their beloved city?  Will Gabe and Delia find love in each other?

*** MY OPINION ***

I am going to start by saying that I love a good mystery and I doubly love a good love story.  As for this book... I absolutely loved it!!  Do you love how many times I used the word love?  Okay all joking aside, I really did enjoy this book.  Delia's ability to share her gift so freely with her best friend was refreshing.  So many times does the main character have trouble opening up to those close to him or her for fear of being thought of as crazy.  Delia opened up to Sadie the way I would open up to one of my close friends.  To me, that made her more relatable and less frustrating as a character.  Another nod to relatability was the support shown to Delia by Sadie, Jack, Gabe, and Isadora.  They were open and respectful to the gift she possessed; or rather that possessed her.   

My least favorite part was [SPOILER ALERT] when Gabe's father was murdered.  Gabe and Delia had just had a nice time with Gabe's parents a little bit before the murder.  I mean it just crushed me.  It just didn't need to happen.  But, it was not a deal breaker - I still loved this book.

***WONDERING WILLOW***

Delia sees ghosts.  She never knows whether the person she is seeing is alive or a spirit.  That can make for a confusing existence, I would think.  I mean you're walking down the street and you see someone walking up the street facing you.  There are other people around you as walking down a street is common practice.  You were not raised to be a barbarian so you greet them, "Good morning."  They look at you but do not answer.  Then you see another person walk right through them giving you a strange look being that you are talking to and focused on a seemingly empty bit of space.  Awkward.

Taking Sadie's perspective, I'm pretty sure I would believe and trust my bestie implicitly if she told me that she could see ghosts.  I would probably react the same way Sadie did.  I'm also quite certain that she would be just as open to the news if I were the one confiding in her.

***EXTRAS***

Major props to the author for making this book historically accurate - she must have been up to her neck in research!  The Pan-Pacific International Expo was a real thing.  It took place in 1915 approximately from March to December.  It was supposedly held to honor the completion of the Panama Canal though it was also seen as a way to show how San Fransisco bounced back from the earthquake (also mentioned in the book) of 1906. (Wikipedia 2017)  This expo was massive!  Check out the map I found at The Virtual Museum of the City of San Fransisco below!

MASSIVE!

***YOUR TURN***

I invite you to tell me what your thoughts are about Delia's Shadow.  Did you like it?  Hate it?  Have you never read it but are interested in reading it now?  What would you do if you could see ghosts like Delia?  What would you do if one of your closest friends came to you and said, "Hey dude.  I see ghosts.  We cool?"  Knowing that there is a killer on the loose, would you still go to the Pan-Pacific International Expo?  Are there any points I left out that you would like to discuss?  Leave a comment below!

Remember to be respectful.





★ ★ ★ ★ ★


Next Post:  Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
Just Finished:  Endless Knight by Kresley Cole
Currently Reading:  The Rejected Writers' Book Club by Suzanne Kelman
Up Next:  Tempest in a Teapot by Amanda Cooper

***ANNOUNCEMENT***

For those of you who are on Goodreads (and maybe some who aren't quite yet), I have started a group for EP Book Nerd.  Click here to join the group!  Please note that the group is for 18+ considering that some of the books do contain sexual content.  

As usual, thank you for stopping by!

Happy Reading!

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