TBR Thursday

Kimberly @ Kimberlyfaye Reads started a new weekly feature that I'm excited to join in! This feature is to showcase what's on your to be read shelf (or eReader, or Audible library) and see what others think of it. Have you read it? Should I read it or put it back on the shelf? It's a way to dust off the books on your self and decide if they're worth reading!

My name is Amelia Gray. I’m a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. In order to protect myself from the parasitic nature of the dead, I’ve always held fast to the rules passed down from my father. But now a haunted police detective has entered my world and everything is changing, including the rules that have always kept me safe. 

It started with the discovery of a young woman’s brutalized body in an old Charleston graveyard I’ve been hired to restore. The clues to the killer—and to his other victims— lie in the headstone symbolism that only I can interpret. Devlin needs my help, but his ghosts shadow his every move, feeding off his warmth, sustaining their presence with his energy. To warn him would be to invite them into my life. I’ve vowed to keep my distance, but the pull of his magnetism grows ever stronger even as the symbols lead me closer to the killer and to the gossamer veil that separates this world from the next.

This has been on my TBR for a very long time. What do you think? Have you read it?

TBR Thursday

Kimberly @ Kimberlyfaye Reads started a new weekly feature that I'm excited to join in! This feature is to showcase what's on your to be read shelf (or eReader, or Audible library) and see what others think of it. Have you read it? Should I read it or put it back on the shelf? It's a way to dust off the books on your self and decide if they're worth reading!

The USA TODAY bestselling author of the Ten Tiny Breaths and Burying Water series makes her romantic thriller debut with this heartpounding story of a young woman determined to find justice after her best friend’s death, a story pulsing with the “intense, hot, emotional” (Colleen Hoover) writing that exhilarates her legions of fans.

Twenty-eight-year-old Maggie Sparkes arrives in New York City to pack up what’s left of her best friend’s belongings after a suicide that has left everyone stunned. The police have deemed the evidence conclusive: Celine got into bed, downed a bottle of Xanax and a handle of Maker’s Mark, and never woke up. But when Maggie discovers secrets in the childhood lock box hidden in Celine’s apartment, she begins asking questions. Questions about the man Celine fell in love with. The man she never told anyone about, not even Maggie. The man who Celine herself claimed would be her ruin.

On the hunt for answers that will force the police to reopen the case, Maggie uncovers more than she bargained for about Celine’s private life—and inadvertently puts herself on the radar of a killer who will stop at nothing to keep his crimes undiscovered.

I've loved K.A. Tucker's other books (Burying Water is a favorite!), but haven't gotten around to picking this up. Should I move it up the TBR pile?

{Book Review} Lux (Nocte, #3) by Courtney Cole

From Goodreads

LET THERE BE LIGHT. 


My name is Calla Price and I’m broken. 

My pieces are all around me, floating on the wind, even as I desperately try to grasp them. 

Who is dead? Alive? Insane?

What is the truth?

I don’t know. 

I do know this: The darkness is strangling me. With every breath, I choke on another lie. 

My mind has protected me, but that shield will soon be lowered. 

All will be revealed. 
Every answer to every question. 

It’s all been leading to this. 

Don’t be afraid. 
Be terrified.

My Thoughts 

4 "Twisted, Twisted, Twisted" Stars

Reading order: 

Nocte

Verum

Initium (novella that I highly recommend reading for a better grasp on the last book) 

Lux.

Review of Nocte

**** Spoiler free! *****

We're all prisoners. Prisoners of expectations, prisoners of reality, prisoners of life.

The Nocte series has been one of the most twisted, confusing, and fascinating mindfucks I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Despite its Young Adult (toes the very early new adult line) category, it's incredibly dark, violent, and downright disturbing at times. It kept me ensnared in the story and desperate for more, even as I shuddered at some of the things that happened. With a touch of romance and strong family bonds, this series is right up my alley. 

The almost simplistic and minimal writing style of the trilogy leaves so much up to the reader, allowing them to flesh the story out as they see fit. The flow of the story does a fantastic job of showcasing the heroine's struggle and confusion, leaving you just as twisted up as she is. You really do become Calla as you read the story.

Save me, and I'll save you.

Lux, the third and final novel, was the one I'd been waiting for. The dozens of questions accumulated after reading the previous books left me salivating for answers, and on most aspects, Lux was a satisfying read. 

With a fast paced plot filled with flashbacks and all kinds of odd things, Lux was a book I devoured in less than a day. This book was definitely the most twisted one of the three, and several times I found myself muttering "that's just wrong" as I frantically read the pages. These revelations raised more questions than they answered, but that didn't bother me too terribly much, and what info we are given was satisfying and starling in equal measures.

Lux is a riotous mixture of emotions, going from desperation to anger to sadness to guilt and back again in the blink of an eye. It gave me whiplash and had me dying to see what happened next.

The big reveal of sorts was a tad anti-climatic and confusing for me. It's a bit open-ended, and leaves the reader free to decide where they think the story went. While half of me appreciates fittingness of the not-quite- perfect-ending, the other, sappier part longed for a definite happily ever after. It did work for the story, however!
(It's not a not-happy ever after, but it's definitely not tied up with a bow all nice and neat)

May you always have the courage to live free, and the strength to do what is right. 

My favorite part had to be how this story played out in my head; each scene was so vivid that I felt like I was either living it, or watching a really well done movie. It was like I could reach out and touch something as it unfolded for me.

Lux was one of those books that just begs for a soundtrack. I like to listen to music as I read, and a few songs were so perfect for the story I had them on repeat.

Lux Mini-Playlist:

Running Up That Hill - Placebo

I'll Take Everything - James Blunt

Wherever You Will Go - The Calling

Ugly Love - Griffin Peterson

Take Me to Church - Hozier

Letters From The Sky - Civil Twilight

I Know You - Skylar Grey

Angel - Massive Attack

Overall, Lux was a mostly satisfying conclusion to a fantastic series. I highly recommend checking the trilogy out!

Add to Goodreads

Stats:

Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Young adult/new adult, mystery, suspense, dark, romance

Series: Nocte, #3

POV: 1st person

Warnings: Lots, but can't tell for spoilers!

Length: 274 pages

Published: October 26th, 2015

My own copy

- The Bibliophile Babe