Spring is Here...Well kind of sort of

 Hey everyone it has been a few weeks since my last update. It has been extremely crazy between working, taking care of my house, family, and just trying to navigate this thing that we do while on this planet. I have been able to squeeze in some book time which also equals therapy time for me as well. And we all know that everyone needs therapy time. I thought it would be fun to revisit some of my favorite reads that may not be so well known but holds a special place in my heart.

 Faery Tale by Signe Pike. This is a memoir and before you say anything this doesn't read like your typical memoir but a beautiful and at times sad adventure that Signe goes on to face her personal demons. The cover work on my copy is beautiful and I believe it is what caught my attention. The story is a course centered around Signe who at the time lives in New York City with her cat and fiancee. While in New York City she is working as an editor for Penguin. Her father recently has passed away and she begins to think about her life growing up with him and her childhood. She decides to quit her job and goes on an adventure to rediscover moments that she had with her father while also searching for myths and legends about the fae folk. She travels to Mexico, Ireland, England, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. Now, who has not dreamt of quitting their day jobs and traveling? I know personally, I have this dream several times a day because I personally have dreamt for so long that now I do not know if it ever will become reality. I highly would recommend this book to anyone that needs a little magic in their life. Please ignore the readers on GoodReads that have left negative comments because they did not understand the meaning of chasing your dreams and revisiting your childhood, especially after the loss of a parent. This book has been one of my favorites and I pick it up every time that I need to deal with some of my inner demons. Read this with an open mind to discovering one's self sprinkle with a little bit of fairy dust. Plus I have always wished and believed that the Fae Folk were real.

Just because here is a photo of my sweet Gizmo.

Happy reading,

Armarius

The Southern Book Club Guide to Slaying Vampires Review

 Hi, my bookish people out there

I just read one of the most interesting, terrifying books that would give popular horror authors a run for their money. Grady Hendrix author of The Southern Book Guide to Slaying Vampires was out of this world amazing. The reviews had this mashed up with Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes meets Dracula. This was more than that it was Stepford Wives meets True Blood. 

When I first picked up my copy from the library let's be honest I had my doubts on this. One is that this was a male author writing from a woman's perspective. The second is that vampires have been done and redone thousands of times since Bram Stocker's Dracula. He nailed it especially if you were a young adult and lived through the early 1990s like I was.  Hopefully, a good director reads this book and decides to do an adaptation for a movie. Some reviews thought that Grady Hendrix was being sexist in his book with the Southern housewife bit but honestly, he wasn't it was scarily accurate of how it was and in some places still is. I loved how he portrayed housewives to being more than what their husbands thought they were. They were mothers who shoulder the responsibilities of running their households, helping with their husband's careers, and so much more that has to get done like slaying vampires.

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. This book held my attention to the very end to see if the book club would be able to defeat the evil that hides in the night.

Trigger warnings: Suicide, rape, and abuse

Good Read's synopsis:

Patricia Campbell had always planned for a big life, but after giving up her career as a nurse to marry an ambitious doctor and become a mother, Patricia's life has never felt smaller. The days are long, her kids are ungrateful, her husband is distant, and her to-do list is never really done. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true crime and suspenseful fiction. In these meetings, they're more likely to discuss the FBI's recent siege of Waco as much as the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood.

But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighborhood, the book club's meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. Patricia is initially attracted to him, but when some local children go missing, she starts to suspect the newcomer is involved. She begins her own investigation, assuming that he's a Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she--and her book club--are the only people standing between the monster they've invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community.

Happy Reading,

Armarius