Tag: GoodReads

December ’20 TBR

~ Mr Geek ~ Leave a comment

Well friends, here we are. We’ve almost made it through 2020 and what a year this has been. About halfway way through this dumpster fire, I decided I was going to reclaim 2020 and try to make the most of this latter half of the year. Part of this resolution was starting this blog! This has been quite the adventure so far, produced some really unexpected experiences and lead to some great book friends! I’m anxious to see what 2021 holds for this blog and the rest of my life! Without further ado, let’s getting into the books I’m going to try to tackle this month!

I’m posting this a little later than I was originally anticipating, but hey, that’s life! So far I’ve knocked out two books, Legendborn bu Tracy Deonn and The Hand On The Wall by Maureen Johnson. Both of these books were pretty great but I’ll save my more in-depth thoughts for my wrap up at the end of the month!

Next up, I’m reading Follow Me by Kathleen Barker. I was itching for a full-blown thriller novel and this is absolutely going to satisfy that urge! I’m already about 50 pages in and completely hooked. This isn’t some lyrical masterpiece but it has grabbed ahold of me and I’m expecting a wild ride!

My goal to read 52 books is still in full swing! At this point, after I finished Follow Me, I will need to read 2 additional books. I started The Shadowhunter’s Codex back in April (which was, at most, a month or two ago), so I’m FINALLY going to finish that off. For my last book of the year, I think I’m going to pick up either Vengeful bu V.E. Schwab, Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay or Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (or maybe none of these and I’ll just grab something random from my shelf or Kindle instead).

If I manage to hit 52 books before the end of the month, I’m probably going to move onto Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. Getting a head start on that almost 800 page beast will be awesome – plus I am really looking forward to getting back to that series. Lady Midnight was one of my favorite books this year and I can’t wait to knock off the rest of that series so I can start The Last Hours trilogy!

As we’re winding down this year, I’m hopeful for 2021. I’m looking forward to opportunities here on this blog, at work and in life. Stay tuned for my December wrap up coming in a couple short weeks!

Until Next Time,
Mr Geek

Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-A-Thon Mini-Challenge: Hour 13!

~ Mr Geek ~ 3 Comments

It’s Mr Geek coming at you with a mini challenge for the 13th hour of Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-A-Thon! How is your reading day going so far? Making good progress? Personally, I’m working to wrap up Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia today and potentially start City of Ghosts by V.E. Schwab. This month is all about the horror / spooky / creepy reads! If that sounds right up your alley, check out me October TBR. Ok, enough chit-chat, let’s down to business!

For this challenge, I thought it would be fun to track all of the “Fall / Autumn” references within your current book! This can be anything from pumpkin patches or chilly weather to apple cider or crisp autumn leaves!

At the end of the hour, be sure to stop back, or you can always Tweet me (@ItsMrGeekToYou), and let me know how many reference you found! The winner gets bragging rights from now until the next read-a-thon! Good luck to all my fellow readers and have fun!

Until Next Time,
Mr Geek

September ’20 Wrap Up

~ Mr Geek ~ Leave a comment

The last thing I remember is writing my September 20′ TBR post, I blinked and now the month is over! Generally speaking, September was extremely enjoyable. My pumpkin addiction is off to a strong start, I spent most of my time reading with a Starbucks’ Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew in one hand and a book in the other (not a sponsored post, but… Hey Starbucks, if you’re looking for a book influencer partnership, hit me up). The temperate has dropped these last couple of weeks and for the first time in ages, we’re having some Fall temperatures in Pittsburgh. As my golf season began to wind down, my reading season ramped up. I read a lot of great books this month and stuck, mostly, to the TBR I set for myself! Let’s jump into my reads!

I kicked off the month with my ARC of Wendy Walker’s new book, DON’T LOOK FOR ME. This was a fantastic thriller that I absolutely tore through. The premise was very interesting and engaging. As I started to get closer and closer to the end, I had to know what was going to happen (and ended up reading 200+ pages on a Sunday afternoon so I could finish it). Take a look at my full review here. While I was reading DON’T LOOK FOR ME, I also was listening to the audiobook of Bossypants by Tina Fey. I am a HUGE Tina Fey fan but was quite disappointed in her book when I first read it nearly a decade ago (it hurts saying that). A friend from work recently recommended the audiobook so I thought I’d give it another go and I’m really glad that I did! Fey narrated the audiobook and it really added to the overall story. Her tales felt more personal and it was so much easier to connect with her.

After that first set of books, I moved onto The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson. I read Truly Devious last year and thought it was an ok book. My biggest gripe was that it felt like a really, really long book that was broken into 3 parts. By the end of book 1, I had more questions than answers and felt extremely satisfied. I really enjoyed The Vanishing Stair much more than Truly Devious. The plot felt like it started to come together better and I started seeing the end in sight. I’m planning on picking up The Hand On The Wall sometime soon so I can polish off this series by the end of the year. After The Vanishing Stair, I detoured from my TBR to read The Girl Who Drank The Moon. Regan, from PeruseProject on YouTube, read this book earlier in the year and completely raved about it. I was able to get this book for a steal on Amazon and decided to pick it up and read it immediately (very unlike me). This was a middle grade book but I thought the story was well done and very engaging. The characters were likable and I was a little surprised by the twist towards the end!

As the end of the month was approaching, I decided to dive into the audiobook of Camino Winds by John Grisham and the eBook of The Last Flight by Julie Clark. Last year, I read Camino Island. It was my first Grisham novel and it was… fine. I wasn’t overly impressed. The story was interesting and kept me engaged but the end definitely had my scratching my head saying “That’s it?!” Going into Camino Winds, I expected to a get a little resolution that I was lacking from Camino Island. I was extremely disappointed. This book revisits some of the characters from the previous entry but overall it was its own story. It really could be considered a stand alone novel. There was hardly any overlap in story and the few nods to book 1 weren’t critical information. It was an entertaining and engaging read but overall, I wasn’t really impressed. I’m not quite finished with The Last Flight at the time of writing this post (~60% done) but I am thoroughly enjoying it! I was itching for an addictive thriller and this is definitely hitting the spot. This book is also told using dual timelines, which I LOVE. The perspective shifts each chapter between present day and roughly 6 months ago. I’m hoping to finish this up by Friday so I can dive into my “Spooky” TBR over the weekend.

What did you read in September? Anything good? Anything terrible? Sound off in the comments with TBR recommendations or books I should steer clear of! As always, be sure to follow me on Twitter and add me on GoodReads (@ItsMrGeekToYou on both sites)!

Until Next Time,
Mr Geek

Book Review: Don’t Look For Me by Wendy Walker

~ Mr Geek ~ 1 Comment

I have always been a fan of the thriller / suspense genre. I love starting a new mystery novel and immediately becoming immersed in the plot! Last year, while browsing around Amazon, I came across a recently released book (The Night Before) by an author I had never heard of (Wendy Walker). As soon as I read the synopsis I knew I had to add it to my TBR! Here’s my quick take for those who haven’t read or heard of this book: Lauren Lochner has never had much success in the romance department. After her latest failed relationship, she decides to give up her Wall Street job, and New York City lifestyle, to move in with her sister, Rosie, back in Connecticut where they grew up. Lauren struggles to find her new normal and decides to give dating another try. This seems like the perfect reset for Lauren…. until she doesn’t return home from her date the next morning. As panic begins to build, and Rosie desperately tries to locate her sister, she realizes she’s not worried that something happen to Lauren, but what Lauren might have done to her date. This book was fantastic, inventive and I could not put it down! If you’re interested in picking up a copy or learning more, view The Night Before on Amazon.

Shortly after I read The Night Before, St Martin’s Press reached out to me offering an Advanced Reader’s Copy of Walker’s newest book, Don’t Look For Me. As soon as I read the synopsis, I knew this book would be right up my alley and jumped on the offer! Don’t Look For Me was a brilliant, nerve-wracking, thrill-ride from the first page to the last.

Here’s my quick, spoiler-free summary: Have you ever wanted to just pick-up, leave your life behind and start over somewhere new? Well that’s exactly what Molly Clarke wanted. After the death of one of her children, Molly’s life is shattered and her family is broken. She’s desperate to disappear and never be found, it’s the only way she can deal with her grief and hopefully help her family heal. So it doesn’t come as a surprise when Molly goes missing one night during a terrible storm. Days later a note is found at a local casino, along with some of her clothing, saying that she is moving over and “don’t look for me.” Is this Molly’s chance to start over or is there more to this story than meets the eye?

Review: I freaking loved this book. To start, I love when a book is written with multiple POVs or alternating timelines. “Don’t Look For Me” alternates between present day and the night Molly disappears. Walker did such a great job here. Each timeline was interesting, compelling and I was never bored with the story. I looked forward to each “switch” because I knew I was getting more details to help my unravel what happened the night Molly went missing. I found the characters to be fascinating and I liked the subtle theme of redemption that was threaded throughout the novel. The further you get into this book, the deeper and more intriguing the mystery becomes. As I hit the last ~100 pages, I felt like I was on a runaway train and sat glued to the couch until I read the final page. Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable and well-written thriller. If you haven’t read a Wendy Walker book, do yourself a favor and pick up either: The Night Before or Don’t Look For Me (Release Date: September 15, 2020). If you do purchase a copy, please consider using the affiliate links in this blog post – I’ll receive a small commission and there’s no charge to you!

A HUGE thank you to St Martin’s Press for providing this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Are you a fan of thrillers? What are some of your favorites? Have you also read one of Wendy’s books? What did you think? Leave me a comment or tweet me (@ItsMrGeekToYou)!

Until Next Time,
Mr Geek

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