The Midwest Blonde

Hey! It's been a while.  I have not blogged in I don't even know how long and I got the inkling to start up again. I am trying to find more hobbies to immerse myself in so I'm not just thinking about work 24/7 and both this blog and Youtube/social media video making came up as something I want to do again. I use to enjoy both things so much and for some reason or another fell off but w…

Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manasala I love the Tita Rosie mystery series so much and was stocked to get my hands on the latest installment. This is book four and has all the thrill and humor I enjoyed in the other three. My only qualm with this one is the ending was not nearly as suspenseful as the rest, in my opinion, but still a great read that I could not put down! ASAP by Axie Oh XOXO was one of…

Lovesickness   By: Junji Ito  Released: April 20th, 2021 Pages: 408 My Rating: 4/5  Goodreads Synopsis:  A innocent love becomes a bloody hell in another superb collection by master of horror Junji Ito.  Ryusuke returns to the town he once lived in because rumors are swirling about girls killing themselves after encountering a bewitchingly handsome young man. Harboring his own secret from time spent in …

False Witness    By: Karin Slaughter  Released: July 20th, 2021 Pages: 440 My Rating: /5  Goodreads Synopsis:  Leigh Coulton has worked hard to build what looks like a normal life. She has a good job as a defense attorney, a daughter doing well in school, and even her divorce is relatively civilized - her life is just as unremarkable as she'd always hoped it would be.  HIDES A DEVASTATING PAST But L…

Sensor  By: Junji Ito  Released: August 17th, 2021 Pages: 240 My Rating: 3/5  Goodreads Synopsis:  Horror master Junji Ito explores a new frontier with a grand cosmic horror tale in which a mysterious woman has her way with the world!  Did she wander in? Or was she drawn in...? A women walks alone at the foot of Mount Sengoku. A man appears, saying he's been waiting for her, and invited her to a near…

Olympus Texas    By: Stacey Swann  Released: May 4th, 2021 Pages: 318 My Rating: 4/5  Goodreads Synopsis:  The Briscoe family is once again the talk of their small town when march returns to East Texas two years after he was caught having an affair with his brother's wife. His mother, June, hardly welcomes him back with open arms. Her husband's own past affairs have made her tired of being the …

Smashed   By: Junju Ito  Released: April 16th, 2019 Pages: 416 My Rating: 4/5  Goodreads Synopsis:  Try not to be noticed when you eat the secret nectar, otherwise you'll get smashed... What horrific events happened to create the earthbound-people ties to a certain place for the rest of their short lives? A strange haunted house comes to town, but no one expects it to lead to a real hell... Welcome…

The Holiday Swap     By: Maggie Knox   Released: October 5th, 2021 Pages: 351 My Rating: /5  Goodreads Synopsis:  When chef Charlie Goodwin gets hit on the head on the L.A. set of her reality baking show, she loses a lot more than consciousness; she also loses her ability to taste and smell--both critical to her success as show judge. Meanwhile, Charlie's identical twin, Cass, is frantically trying…

The Matzah Ball    By: Jean Meltzer   Released: April 16th, 2019 Pages: 416 My Rating: 4/5  Goodreads Synopsis:  Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt is a nice Jewish girl with a shameful secret: she loves Christmas. For a decade she's hidden her career as a Christmas romance novelist from her family. Her talent has made her a bestseller even as her chronic illness has always kept the kind of love she write…

A Season for Second Chances    By: Jenny Bayliss  Released: October 19th, 2021  Pages: 448 My Rating: 5/5  Goodreads Synopsis:  Annie Sharpe's spark for life has fizzled out. Her kids are grown up, her restaurant is doing just fine on its own, and her twenty-six-year marriage has come to an unceremonious end. Untethered for the fist time in her adult life, she finds a winter guardian position in a …