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  • Writer's pictureRandi Maguire

BLOG POST- March Wrap Up

Hey ghoulies!

I am incredibly (fashionably) late with posting this wrap up, but I blame the stress of COVID-19 and exams!

I didn't have a very successful month, which sucks. But hey, at least I read something!

The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

Read from March 5th to March 20th

Fantasy

545 pages


Synopsis:

In a sleepy village in the Shire, a young hobbit is entrusted with an immense task. He must make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ruling Ring of Power - the only thing that prevents the Dark Lord's evil dominion.


Mini Review:

How does one even write a review for a book that is engraved so deeply in history and has changed the lives of so many?

It’s a dang shame that it has taken me my entire life to pick up this series. I am happy that I have yet to watch the film though as I believe experiencing the book first to be more magical.

I have always been a fan of magic and witchcraft, so this was different yet the same. We are dealing with some of the most powerful wizards in this book, especially Gandalf the Grey. I finally understand the debate between the Gandalf vs. Dumbledore. To be honest, the strength of both wizards is incredible but I am just happy to understand it.

The hobbits were so much fun and I loved them. Pippin and Sam stole my heart. But their loyalty laid thick in the quest of the ring. The love and respect they have for each other is incredible and warmed my heart.

The Elves are probably the most interesting race in my opinion. Even their language and their customs. I’ve just always loved elves. My favourite being the Elves in Lothlorien.

Now, a special mention goes out to my all time favourite character in this book—Aragorn. Or Strider. Or whatever he is referred to wherever he is. A king. A ranger. Just an overall badass. Plus, I’m all for the dark characters.

 

Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix

Read from March 20th to March 22nd

Horror

248 pages


Synopsis:

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.

To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstör comes packaged in the form of a glossy mail order catalog, complete with product illustrations, a home delivery order form, and a map of Orsk’s labyrinthine showroom.


Mini Review:

This book was super disappointing to me.

The beginning had my heart-racing! I was wondering who could be in the store. Who is messing with the furniture and breaking into this place!? If it is a paranormal entity, some shit is about to go doOoOoown! So when it turned out to be some harmless homeless dude, I was like ???????

Then he got possessed, which really wasn’t even thoroughly explained, killed himself and then came this weird ass haunting shit.

I feel like if there was no ghosts and no supernatural crap and it was some dude in the store just wanting to kill people, I would’ve given this more stars. But less stars for yet another disappointing and confusing ghost plot.

 

The Blood on My Hands: An Autobiography by Shannon O'Leary

Read from February 12th to March 27th

True Crime

258 pages


Synopsis:

Set in 1960s and '70s Australia, "The Blood on My Hands" is the dramatic tale of Shannon O'Leary's childhood years. O'Leary grew up under the shadow of horrific domestic violence, sexual and physical abuse, and serial murder. Her story is one of courageous resilience in the face of unimaginable horrors.

The responses of those whom O'Leary and her immediate family reach out to for help are almost as disturbing as the crimes of her violent father. Relatives are afraid to bring disgrace to the family's good name, nuns condemn the child's objections as disobedience and noncompliance, and laws at the time prevent the police from interfering unless someone is killed.

"The Blood on My Hands" is a heartbreaking-yet riveting-narrative of a childhood spent in pain and terror, betrayed by the people who are supposed to provide safety and understanding, and the strength and courage it takes, not just to survive and escape, but to flourish and thrive.


Mini Review:

Trigger warning: child abuse, spousal abuse, animal abuse, mental conditions, rape, murder, disturbing scenes.

The triggers don’t even begin to cover the topics in this book. But, I recommend it to anyone who can read through triggers because this book is something that will stay with me forever and it will move all its readers.

This memoir, the only memoir I’ve ever read, is about Shannon’s childhood. The struggles she went through growing up poor in Australia. But, not only that... she had a father with a mixed personality disorder. And his personalities were not friendly.

Her story is how she survived the torments of abuse on every level that her father put her through and subjected her to watch that he put other people through. The subject matter is disturbing and earth shattering.

I can not recommend this book enough. I’m all jumbled up when I think about this book, I just... wow. Please read it.

 

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

Read from March 23rd to March 26th

Thriller

400 pages


Synopsis:

A couple's fifteen-year marriage has finally gotten too interesting...

Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored.

We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbours, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with.

We all have secrets to keeping a marriage alive.

Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.


Mini Review:

The story line for this book was super unique. I’ve been itching for something that I haven’t read or watched before and this was it! A book about the normal, maybe not-so-normal serial killer couple.

It’s wild to be put in the shoes of a killer and be part of the process—the selection, the conversation, the secrets, the... well... everything. It’s even crazier to think that this couple is exactly like me and my neighbours. They say you may pass a serial killer 7 times in your life, well this story made that statement so much more believable. And also way more scary. Joe, from accounting, could be torturing women in his basement even though he’s the nicest person ever!

The plot twist in this book was also wild and was exactly what this book needed to hopefully make my top 10 for the year!

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