The Smell of Ink/Lukten av Trykksverte

Recently I read the psychological thriller The Furies by Katie Lowe and today I'll post my review of the book. Although I've switched to focusing on horror and paranormal on this book blog, I wanted to review The Furies, as it has a bit of a dark academia vibe to it. Description from Goodreads This page-turning, harrowing debut is the story of a girl trying to fit in, whose obsessive new friends and desperation to belong leads her to places she'd never imagined...dark, dangerous, and possibly even violent. In 1998, a sixteen-year-old girl is found dead. She's posed on a swing on her boarding school's property, dressed all in white, with no known cause of death. Whispers and rumors swirl, with no answers. But there are a few who know what happened; there is one girl who will never forget. One year earlier: a new student, Violet, steps on the campus of Elm Hollow Academy, an all-girl's boarding school on the outskirts of a sleepy coastal town. This is her fresh s...

It's Friday and time for another Let's Talk Bookish post courtesy of  Book Nook Bits  and today's topic is Banned Books Week. Here's the further prompts for today. September 22-28 is Banned Books Week . As the numbers of challenged books continue to surge, it is critical to protect the right to read. The ALA (American Library Association) has a lot of resources to combat censorship as well as information on targeted books including a list of The Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2023 . Have you read any of the books on the list? Have you experienced or noticed books being challenged or banned where you live? When I had a look on the list of top ten most challenged books of 2023, I noticed I've read Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. I can't say I've noticed or experienced books being challenged or banned in my area of Norway, but as I live in Norway, it's not that...

It's Tuesday, which means it's probably time for another Top Ten Tuesday post courtesy of the book blog named  That Artsy Reader Girl and the theme of the week was books on my autumn 2024 to-read list. Here's my list of ten spooky reads I hope to read this autumn. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins Description from Goodreads 'In one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop ... There, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth ... stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white' The Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright's eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter is drawn into the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his 'charming' friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons and poison. Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and t...

As I enjoy doing book tags from time to time, I wanted to do the Cosy Autumn Tag I found over at  Alli The Book Giraffe , especially as I love autumn. 1. What book always reminds you of fall/autumn? The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova 2. What is your favourite autumnal book cover? Halloween: A Collection of Short Stories by Matt Shaw 3. What is your favourite autumnal drink to read with? Although I enjoy drinking tea while reading, sometimes I end up drinking blackcurrant toddy in the autumn just to change things up a bit. In Norway, we have those  instant sachets  (fortunately a lot cheaper to buy at the local grocery store where I live than online internationally), but there's always those fancy ones you could make from scratch, like  this one 4. Do you prefer to read late at night or early in the morning? I prefer reading late at night, as it helps me wind down a bit before going to bed. 5. Halloween is coming! What is your favourite spooky read? If you're in sear...

It's Friday and thus perhaps time for another Let's Talk Bookish post courtesy of  Book Nook Bits  and today's topic is autumn TBR. Here's the further prompts for today. It’s almost fall! Are there books you’re looking forwards to reading as the weather gets cooler? Do you like to read specific kinds of books during fall? Are there any kinds of books you absolutely cannot read during fall? There's a couple of spooky short story collections I want to read this autumn, and in general I'm always keen on reading horror and paranormal fiction this time of year. Alright, I always read spooky books, but i's even more fun reading them during spooky season. I can't say there's any kind of books I absolutely can't read during autumn, but I do struggle reading books set during summer in the autumn.

It's Wednesday and perhaps it's time for another Top Five Wednesday post courtesy of the  Top Five Wednesday Goodreads group  and today's topic was road trips. If you're interested in some spooky road trips, here's my five picks. The Cabin by Matt Shaw Description from Goodreads “You’d never see the ghosts, not properly. You’d only catch a glimpse of their shapes out of the corner of your eye and you’d hear their stolen, vengeful scream; an ear-piercing shriek to steal the lives of anyone who heard it.” * * * * * For Craig, the trip to the cabin was supposed to be a quiet retreat from his hectic city life where he could concentrate on writing his latest novel. For his wife, Susan, and his two kids, Jamie and Ava, it was supposed to be a weekend vacation. For all of them, it became a nightmare. Below by Laurel Hightower Description from Goodreads HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO HELP A STRANGER? While driving through the mountains of West Virginia during a late-night snowsto...

Quite a while ago, I read paranormal romcom The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling and today I'll post my review of the book. Description from Goodreads New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins, writing as Erin Sterling, casts a spell with a spine-tingling romance full of wishes, witches, and hexes gone wrong. Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two. That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another s...

It's perhaps time for another Book Blogger Hop post courtesy of  Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer and the topic for today is "It's back-to-school time. What book would you recommend to students, whether it's an educational read or an enjoyable diversion from textbooks?". Book Blogger Hop My recommendation might be more suitable for older students, and university students, but I would love to recommend The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova if they're in search of a diversion from textbooks. It's not a short book, but it's a good read, especially if someone is into Dracula.

It's Wednesday and perhaps it's time for another Top Five Wednesday post courtesy of the  Top Five Wednesday Goodreads group  and today's topic was back to school. I've picked five spine-chilling books that somehow relates to school, such as having a school setting. The Cursed Among Us by John Durgin Description from Goodreads It has been twenty years since the serial killer known as The Black Heart Killer terrorized the town of Newport in 1979. Life mostly returned to normal after the killer was captured. All the townspeople have to do is stay out of the woods where the bodies were abandoned—their chests ripped open, and their hearts torn out... Howie Burke and his friends decide rules are meant to be broken. That’s what fifteen-year-old kids do. On a beautiful fall day, they decide to go out in the woods to film a horror movie when they stumble across a mysterious grave. What they don’t know is that they are about to release an evil on the town unlike anything in the...

It's Tuesday, which means it's probably time for another Top Ten Tuesday post courtesy of the book blog named  That Artsy Reader Girl and the theme of the week was books that provide a much-needed escape. Just as a warning, as I'm mainly blogging about horror and paranormal fiction, my list isn't for everyone. Here's my ten spine-chilling picks. The Cabin by Matt Shaw Description from Goodreads “You’d never see the ghosts, not properly. You’d only catch a glimpse of their shapes out of the corner of your eye and you’d hear their stolen, vengeful scream; an ear-piercing shriek to steal the lives of anyone who heard it.” * * * * * For Craig, the trip to the cabin was supposed to be a quiet retreat from his hectic city life where he could concentrate on writing his latest novel. For his wife, Susan, and his two kids, Jamie and Ava, it was supposed to be a weekend vacation. For all of them, it became a nightmare. The Prettiest Girl in the Grave by Kristopher Triana Des...

It's perhaps time for another Book Blogger Hop post courtesy of  Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer and the question(s) for this week were " September is Library Card Sign-Up Month. What role have libraries played in your reading journey? Do you have any recommendations for books or fond recollections involving libraries? ". Book Blogger Hop As my parents took me to the library down the street even before I could read (I was probably a few months old the first time, but can't say for sure), I've always had a love for both books and libraries. As my late mother named me after the protagonist in Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset, I was basically "doomed" to love books from the get-go really. I can't complain, as books are awesome. Some of my more fond memories involving libraries includes my late mother and I spending Saturdays at a library after my parents divorced when I was a teen, borrowing books to read.

It's Friday, which means it's probably time for another Let's Talk Bookish post courtesy of  Book Nook Bits  and today's topic is summer reading recap. Here's the further prompts for today. What were the best books you read this summer? Did you meet your reading goals for the season? Were there books you had hoped to get to? Did you do any fun non-reading activities this summer? A few of the best books I read this summer includes Clown in the Cornfield by Adam Cesare, City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab, and SCRAVIR - While Whitby Sleeps by C. M. Vassie, the latter being a birthday gift I recieved last year. I can't say I created any reading goals for summer as I'm a bit of a mood reader, but I had hopes of reading The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, which I sadly didn't manage to get to. Fingers crossed I'l manage to read it soon though. Although I had a staycation this year, I did have a few fun non-reading activities done this su...

As it's officially an autumn month, I wanted to do a book tag with autumn vibes and found The Fall Time, Cosy Time Book Tag over at  Howling Libraries . 1. CRUNCHING LEAVES: the world is full of color! Choose a book with red/orange/yellow on the cover. The Prettiest Girl in the Grave by Kristopher Triana certainly fits. 2. COZY SWEATER: it’s finally cool enough for warm cozy clothing! What book gives you the warm fuzzies? It might be because I've got a weak spot for Scotland, but City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab is pretty good. 3. FALL STORM: the wind is howling & the rain is pounding. Choose a book that you like to read on a stormy day: Alright, this book is probably not for everyone, but Come, My Pet by Keira Michelle Telford is a book I could easily read on a stormy night 4. COOL CRISP AIR: makes you breathe freely~ Who’s the coolest character you’d want to trade places with? Personally, I would love to switch places with Selene from Scarlet Assassin by Jett Abbott/Isa...

A good while ago I read the paranormal romcom Hex Appeal by Kate Johnson and today I'll post my review of the book. Description from Goodreads Encanto meets Hocus Pocus in this perfect witchy romcom. An absolute must-read if you love Erin Sterling’s The Ex Hex and Lana Harper’s Payback’s a Witch! It’s just a bunch of hocus pocus… Essie Winterscale lives in a huge and ever-changing house in the village of Good Winter, in deepest, darkest Essex. She lives with various witches of various ages, one of whom is still a bit salty about being hanged in the 1700s, one who keeps accidentally casting fertility spells, and one who knits things that create the future. All Essie ever wanted was to have a normal life but in the end she found herself drawn back to Beldam House because she just can’t stop her witchiness (although the ability to instantly chill wine is pretty awesome, even she has to admit). Into this coven of chaos stumbles gorgeous, clueless Josh, their new landlord – and he’s ju...