The Book Bit: June 2016 Ed.

#blogtunes
Joker- Steve Miller Band
Cryin' Wolf- ZZ Ward
Catch Us If You Can- Elle King
Bang Bang Bang- Dorothy
Blue Eyes Blind- ZZ Ward
Warriors- Imagine Dragons
Animals- Maroon 5
Way Down We Go- Kaleo
The House of the Rising Sun- The Animals
Trying So Hard Not to Know- Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats

  Holy crap!  Alyx finally got her life together and read four books this month, went home for wedding business, went on a float trip and actually got the post up before the end of the month!  Phew!  I don't mean to brag, but I am wrecking this month.  Right?!  Alright, enough about me.  I put away some amazing books this month!  I am so stoked about this post because all of these books are reaching the tops of the charts for me and it is so easy to recommend books that really rock.  Let's begin!

"Looking For Me"- Beth Hoffman

  This book jumped out at me at a garage sale.  Got it for a quarter.  Is there anybody else who drives by garage sales full of stuff, but only stops when they see piles of books for sale?  Totally me.  This book is set a little in the past (and by that I mean like before the millennium) which I thought I would hate.  I don't know what it is about "older" books that always puts me off, but it sort of does.  This book made me overlook that fact.  It is true to it's title, following the life of Teddi Overman as she navigates through some major obstacles in the search for herself.  She had some substantial tragedies in her life that she fights to overcome to finally be at peace with herself.  I love a good lost and found story, and this totally hit the nail on the head for me.  Follow Teddi through her childhood on a farm in Kentucky and her decision to leave her family in the darkness of night to pursue her dream of owning her own antique shop in Charleston.  It really is a good book, bouncing back and forth between the past and the present (Hello!  We all know how much I love books like that!) with a twist of mystery as you find out what moment in time caused her to lose an integral part of her life.  Worth a quarter!

"Alice"- Christina Henry

  Oh man, I just got butterflies in my stomach thinking about what to write for this book.  You absolutely MUST read it!  It stars the infamous Alice, but not on the journey we all know from childhood.  This is the Alice in Wonderland of your nightmares.  And it totally rocked my socks off.  It met and exceeded all my expectations, Henry killed it with this book!  And it's part of a series! Ah!  The story begins with Alice locked away in a mental hospital after she cannot stop raving hysterics about a white rabbit once returning from the Old City, a cold and decrepit place where nice young ladies should never be found.  Alice makes her escape along with Hatcher (You're going to LOVE Hatcher!) only for them both to realize their memories have gaping holes, wiped away by the years of medicine they have been forced to take at the hospital.  Alice, of course, (in true Alice fashion) has a mission.  Not one that she necessarily wants, but one that it bestowed on her.  To catch and imprison the Jabberwocky (who accidentally escaped, oops).  Of course, all of our favorite characters make an appearance: Cheshire, the Caterpillar, the Walrus and, of course, the White Rabbit, but not as those friendly little beasts from our childhood.  They come to us as bosses of the Old City, vile, awful men who will haunt your nightmares for days after reading.  This book is full of magic, wonder, thrill, blood, horror and revenge (would not recommend for younger readers, there is some crazy stuff in here).  Trust me, you will not regret reading this book.  I am already looking forward to the next one "Red Queen" coming in mid July of this year!  She has another series I plan to read; watch for the reviews.

"Blood Lines"- Kathryn Casey

  So, this is Book Two in the Sarah Armstrong series; I've already reviewed Book One (Singularity) in the Book Bit: March Ed.  After piecing her life back together after the case that almost took everything from her, Sarah Armstrong is back in action and ready to kick some ass.  Well, almost.  Picking herself back up after that last case was a little harder than she thought, but with a some prodding she gets back into the station and takes on not only one case, but two.  Busy gal.  Follow Sarah as she tries to find out who may or may not have killed a wealthy oil tycoon (lady power right here) that at first glance looks like a cut and dry suicide.  But is it?  Then we follow as she takes on a stalker case for a snobby teenage pop star.  We also have the return of Agent Garrity (swoon) as he helps in the stalker case.  Sarah juggles all of this on top of being a mom and a ranch owner.  Casey never fails to impress with her extensive knowledge of crime writing and just enough of an edge to keep you turning the pages until the wee hours of the morning.  You will like this book.  And the last four chapters practically explode off the pages.  Looking forward to book three in the near future.

"Heartsick"- Chelsea Cain

  Ok, I don't know what I was thinking with all these books.  Three out of the four are sick and twisted and part of a series.  Did I say that I loved all of these books!  This one was no exception, it scared the crap out of me.  Chelsea Cain did some mad damage with this book, and guess what, yeah, it's part of a series too.  In this book we are following two people, Detective Archie Sheridan and Reporter Susan Ward.  Archie became famous for hunting and surviving the "Beauty Killer" Gretchen Lowell, a ten year affair and a wicked bad couple of days in her care that messed him up for life.  He emerges from a lengthy sabbatical (still not fully recovered) to aid in a new serial case involving the kidnapping of young teenage girls in the Portland area.  He asks for Susan Ward to tag along and interview him about his dealings with Gretchen Lowell.  Little do they both know how important Susan really is in all of this.  She heartily accepts preparing to write something that will finally get her that Pulitzer she's been dreaming about all her life.  Susan's own twisted life clashes with Archie's in a huge tsunami of death, bodies and killers.  This book will keep you guessing until the very last page.  If the rest of the series holds a candle to this book it will make the top of my series books; to be held in the highest regard.  Pick this one up, you won't regret it.

  Those are my books this month.  All very good, I have no lemons here.  These books really got me excited about writing again and I even made some time to write a little here and there this month.  When you read great books it can completely change your emotion and spark some ideas; ignite that inner fire.  Consider me lit!  Pick up these books at your local library.

  Like books like these?  Tell me some of your fave thrillers/fantasy books!  I love recommendations!