Thursday, October 25, 2018

Where Is Your Bookmark? (A Peek Into Magic Slays & and Halloween Bookish Fun)

In between my War and Peace reading (I reached page 1000!), I have finally picked up Ilona Andrews Magic Slays and am loving it (is anyone really surprised though?). It is the fifth book in the Kate Daniels series.



A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the wonderful Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.
The ringing of the phone jerked me from my sleep. I clawed my eyes open and rolled off my bed. For some reason, someone had moved the floor several feet lower than I had expected, and I fell and crashed with a thud. 
Ow. 
A blond head popped over the side of the bed, and a familiar male voice asked, "Are you okay down there?"
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A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Hosted by the wonderful Freda of Freda's Voice.
Andrea held out her hand. "You'll jinx it."
I put the camera into her hand and crouched, trying to get a look at the floor under the body. 
"No drip?" Andrea asked. 
"Nope. You smell anything? Decomp, blood . . . " 
She wrinkled her nose. "Cayenne pepper. The place reeks of it. It drowns out everything else."  [page 56]

My thoughts: I am so glad to be diving back into this series again. It is one of my favorites!


What do you think? Does this sound like a book you would be interested in reading? 

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Originally hosted by Books by Proxy, Friday Face Off is now hosted by the fabulous Lynn of  Lynn’s Book Blog. Participants are asked to feature two more more covers of the same book with the week's assigned theme, and pick a favorite. 

This week the theme is a book whose Trick or treat – A Halloween inspired cover

Nothing says Halloween quite like Dracula. It took me years to read the book as I was not impressed with any of the movies. But Bram Stoker's Dracula was an entirely different matter. I loved it.



I am really bad at the having-to-pick-a-favorite part. Several of these covers appeal to me, from the artwork to the photos. They all capture the mood of the book in their own ways. I was particularly drawn to these two covers below, one blue and the other read. It is the background that caught my eye. There is a scene in the novel that jumped out at me when I read the novel initially and both of these scenes depict the image I have in my head. They capture the isolation and Gothic feel so well, I think.


If I have to pick a favorite, I am going to go with this one:


Which cover do you prefer? 

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Everyone has a favorite and then we also have something we dislike. Like a coin, there are two sides to every question. Each week, Carrie at The Butterfly Reads and Laura from Blue Eye Books ask participants to list what they like and don't like about that week's topic.


This week's topic is Scary Book/Movie You Want to Read/Watch


I have heard wonderful things about Shirley Jackson's novels and with the recent release of the television series, The Haunting of Hill House, my interest in the book with the same title has only intensified. I have not read or watched it. Yet. Both are definitely on my must read/watch list!



What scary book do you want to read? What scary movie would you like to watch? 


© 2018, Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

50 comments:

  1. Urban fantasy seems like a perfect anecdote to War and Peace.

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    1. Roberta - It is a nice change. :-) Thank you for stopping by.

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  2. Dracula does have a lot of different book covers. Also, this post reminded me that I still need to read it.

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    1. Breana - I was surprised--although I suppose I shouldn't be given how long the book has been around. I didn't even include all the covers! I hope you like Dracula when you do read it. Thank you for visiting!

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  3. The Little Shop of found things a mix of time travel , psychometry a new term for me. I think you'd like this book. I'm quarter thru and for a non magic fan am finding it riveting.

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    1. Mystica - I do want to read The Little Shop of Found things. It sounds right up my alley. Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. Great cover choice for this week's Halloween theme, Wendy:). My favourite is the far right on the second row - not only is it creepy, but it's also beautiful with the black on red...

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    1. Sarah - Thank you! It was the first one that came to mind. :-) That one is an attractive cover, I agree! Thanks for visiting!

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  5. Very nice, Wendy! Very season appropriate...and though I've never read the original Dracula, I pick the same cover for favorite that you did. I'm trying to decide whether to watch The Haunting of Hill House. I probably will. I think that next year, our mystery group will do a Shirley Jackson month for October. She also wrote books that weren't spooky and so people could pick those if they don't like the creepy factor.

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    1. Kay - I admit I am not a huge fan of horror novels. It really depends on the novel and what it is about. I tend to gravitate more towards thrillers and suspense, I think. I do want to give The Haunting of Hill House a try, but we'll see how it goes. :-) Thank you for stopping by!

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  6. That beginning is so fantastic! I am wanting to know more about what happens next. I hope that you enjoy it. :)

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    1. Candid Cover - I am really enjoying the book so far. :-) Thank you for visiting!

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  7. Hi, I'm coming from friday face -off. Really? I've never read the book and I want to so much. I loved the movie with Wynona Ryder and Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins and Keanu Reeves, but Dracula Untold is my favourite. His love for Mina is so deep and so touching I loved it
    I like the font in the second row #4 and the blue background in the fourth row #1

    My Friday Face-Off

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    1. Jackie - I haven't seen Dracula Untold. Maybe I will have to do so. I loved the book, and feel none of the movies compare. Those are both could cover choices. It was hard to choose a favorite this week. Thank you for stopping by!

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    1. Kathy - I am not a big fan of horror movies, especially the gory kind. I do enjoy thrillers though. Thank you for visiting!

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  9. I love the excerpts in Magic Slays. I think I'm missing out by avoiding magic...your spooky books look good, too.

    Thanks for sharing, and here's mine: “The Neighbors”

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    1. Laurel-Rain - I don't know when I'll get to The Haunting of Hill House, but someday . . . I am really enjoying Magic Slays. Thank you for stopping by!

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  10. One of my bookish friends and I are going to binge the Kate Daniels series next year and I am looking forward to it, it will be our first buddy read series.
    There are a lot of cool Dracula covers but I kind of like the read and black one with fancy letters and no vampire pics on it.
    The Haunting of Hill House was kind of boring but I hope you enjoy it and it's nothing like the show...lol.

    Have a great weekend!
    Stormi
    Friday Memes

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    1. Stormi - I heard about your Kate Daniels reading next year. I think that will be a lot of fun for both of you. :-) I like that Dracula cover too--it's very classic looking. Hopefully I will enjoy The Haunting of Hill House. I am not much of a horror reader, and so maybe on the boring side will be good for me. LOL Thanks for visiting!

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  11. Such a great series! I should read them again now that the series is finished. This week I am spotlighting A True Cowboy Christmas by Caitlin Crews - from my review stack. Happy reading!

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    1. Kathy - It's over? I hadn't realized that. I guess it's good because at least I have a stopping point to aim for now. :-) Thank you for stopping by!

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  12. War and Peace is huge. Good luck when you return to it! I finished The Haunting of Hill House sometime last week and loved it. I hope you enjoy. Hope you enjoy the rest of Magic Slays. Happy weekend!
    My 56: Mirage by Somaiya Daud

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    1. Alicia - Thank you! My goal is to finish War and Peace by the end of the year. Fingers crossed! I am so glad to hear you loved The Haunting of Hill House. I am looking forward to it! Thank you for visiting!

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  13. What a lovely display of covers for the FFO - I love your choice. I also kind of like the simplicity of the second with the white cover with splashes of blood.
    Lynn :D

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    1. Lynn - Yes, I think several of them are perfect for the book. It was hard to choose a favorite. I like the white one with blood splatters too. Thank you for visiting--and hosting!

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  14. Sounds like a fun read for the season! Happy weekend!

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  15. I've read The Haunting of Hill House and enjoyed it, except for the ambiguous ending.

    I do want to see the tv series, Haunting of Hill House though.

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    1. Lisa - Thank you for the warning about the ending! It's good to know that going in so I won't be disappointed. It sounds like the series is very different, but it looks good doesn't it? Thanks for stopping by!

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  16. I love Kate Daniels! And I adore Andrea & Kate's friendship.

    Ohhhh The Haunting of Hill House is soooooooooooooooooooooooooo good!

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    1. Christy - I do too! I am enjoying being back in their world again. :-) Thanks for visiting!

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  17. Yes! You're right, great minds do think alike! I hope you love it as much as I do when you get the chance to watch it! I've heard it's very different from the book though, so I'm hoping the book is just as good.

    Thanks for linking up!

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    1. Carrie - I hope I will too. I look forward to seeing it. Thank you for stopping by (and hosting!).

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  18. I have not read Dracula yet. I have the audiobook and do want to dive into it sometime soonish. You know that I have all kinds of love for all things Ilona Andrews and I hope you love Magic Slays.

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    1. Carole - I hope the narrator does the book justice. It'd be an interesting one to listen to given the format it is written in. I am loving Magic Slays so far. :-) Thank you for visiting!

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  19. Those are great snippets! I really need to get back to the Kate Daniels series. They're such good books and I don't know how I've fallen so far behind. Enjoy! Hope you have an awesome weekend! :)

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    1. Ashley - I can't believe it's taken me so long to get back to the series! I am glad I have though. I hope you are having a great weekend too! Thanks for stopping by.

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  20. Ooh covers! I like that second one! And I've heard great things about Ilona Andrews!

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    1. Greg - I hope you give Ilona Andrews a try! Thank you for visiting!

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  21. I'm intrigued with the TV series of The Haunting of Hill House. The book was good and I wonder if there'll be much changes as compared to the book version.

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    1. Melody - I never did get around to watching the TV show. Hopefully it will be on Netflix for awhile. Thanks for stopping by!

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  22. I've been meaning to try Andrews. Plus, The Haunting of Hill House sounds like a good show! :)

    Lauren @ Always Me

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    1. Lauren - I hope you will give Andrews' books a try. They have a few series out, each one different from the other. Thank you for visiting!

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  23. Isn't Dracula fabulous? I finally just read it a year or two ago. Can't believe it took me so long to do so. And, yay, for reaching 1000 pages of W&P! How many more do you have to go?

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    1. Iliana - I love Dracula. I can't believe it took me so long to get to it either! I have about 100 or so pages left of War and Peace to go. I finished November's reading assignment and am left now with December's. I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would. Thank you for stopping by!

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  24. I love all the Dracula covers! I've read and really enjoyed The Haunting of Hill House. It's one that slowly builds though I wouldn't classify it as horror. I'm super excited to watch the Netflix show!

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    1. Katherine - I am glad to hear you enjoyed The Haunting of Hill House. I hope to get to it someday. Just not sure when right now. LOL Thanks for visiting!

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