Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper – Book Review

I got the opportunity to read Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper as part of the Book Blogger Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) 2022.

It came in 5th place among the 10 finalists.

This review was supposed to go up earlier in May but life gets in the way… so, here it is.

 

Book title: Inheriting Her Ghosts

Publisher: Sleepless Sanctuary Publishing

Length: 120 Pages

Genre: Horror, Adult 

Publication date: 9 July 2021

Book Synopsis:

Inheritance often comes with strings attached, but rarely are they as tangled as those hanging over High Hearth.

When Eudora Fellowes learns she's the sole heir of her estranged great-aunt's seaside manor, she believes it will be the peaceful escape she's longed for.

What awaits, however, is a dark legacy shrouded in half a century of secrets, and it doesn't take long before Eudora realizes she's not the only one to call High Hearth home.

Add Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper on Goodreads.

 

Book Review of Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper

Inheriting Her Ghosts is my first read for S.H. Cooper and certainly not my last. It’s a horror novella of with a sort-of well-known premise. A woman inherits a mansion in the middle of nowhere but what she finds there isn’t what she expected.

The book opens with a strong and powerful statement:

“The house inherited me as much as I did it. We were alike, this house and I. Both filled with bones that creaked and dark hallways where memories lingered still.”

Eudora Fellows, 43, inherits her estranged great-aunt’s seaside manor, named High Hearth. She hopes it’ll be a peaceful escape from society. So, she packs up some of her belongings and takes her large dogs and heads for High Hearth.

But when she arrives there, she discovers that the people in town believe it’s haunted. They despise the house and its former resident, Eudora’s great-aunt.

Despite the fairly-traditional premise, Cooper draws you in with her writing. Her words flow on the page and you can’t put it down even if you’re not deep in the action.

“I awakened something in this house, and the more I sought to understand it, the more it resisted, resented, and in its anger, it took power.”

Though it takes a while for Cooper to get into the ‘action’ in Inheriting Her Ghosts, you still enjoy Eudora’s reflections, her descriptiveness. The book just flows…

“There is a darkness in High Hearth, one that has trapped the dead, and it stems from her.”

One of the things I liked about Inheriting Her Ghosts is that the main character isn’t the usual teen or mother, but a 43-year-old woman with a cynical, strong character.

“At forty-three, I was an oddity…there were expectations, and I’d failed to meet them all...I’d never much cared for the male species. Or, more accurately, the human species as a whole.”

There are many memorable quotes and lines in Inheriting Her Ghosts. I’ve mentioned a fair number in this review, but believe me, there are many more!

“Late was the hour of our arrival. High Hearth stood as a grand silhouette against the sky, its spires and peaks piercing upward and mall the more imposing by the night. The sight of it sent waves of cold washing down my neck, but they did not, could not, run deep enough to extinguish the firestorm within.”

 

Overall rating for Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper: 5 stars.

About the Author

S.H. Cooper is a Florida based, multi-genre author with a focus on horror and fantasy. Her work has been published by Sleepless Sanctuary Publishing, Cemetery Gates Media, and Brigids Gate Press.

In addition to short story collections and novels, she is also the writer for the horror comedy podcast, Calling Darkness.

When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about writing, talking about writing, or sleeping (wherein she dreams about writing). She is kept up and running through the tireless efforts of her extremely supportive family and coffee.

Connect with S.H. Cooper via her website, Twitter, and Facebook.

 

About BBNYA

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner.  

If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website http://www.bbnya.com or Twitter.

BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Find Inheriting Her Ghosts via Amazon Canada, Amazon US, and Amazon UK.

 

The Best 7 Books I read in 2022

I’m super late writing and publishing this annual post. It’s February! Everyone has already announced their best books of 2022.

Last year was a busy year for me. There were months where I didn’t read a thing (books whether fiction or non-fiction). And then there were months where I consumed books like crazy! (Think the summer months :D)

I barely made it to my target of 24 books last year. That’s why I’m sticking with another 24-book target for 2023. Should I manage to read more–and it doesn’t look like I will, based on the first 2 months–I may increase my reading target to 28 or 30 books.

Reviewing the list of books I read and looking at my to-read list for 2023, I think it’s safe to say I’m addicted to cozy mysteries. No surprise, because I’d like to write a series myself…

But enough with the rant, let me share with you my best books of 2022.

 

Best fiction books of 2022

I read more fiction than non-fiction last year. Though I had planned to have a kind-of-balance. But overall, 2022 lacked everything you can call a balance.

The only good news was that I read all 24 books in my reading target.

 

Bound by Kirsten Weiss

Bound is the first book in The Doyle Witch Mystery Series by Kirsten Weiss. Kirsten had sent me the book for an honest review a while back.

I wanted to have the perfect setting when I started reading the book. So, it took a while to get there, and the setting was never perfect.

Suffice to say I finished it in a couple of days. I felt like I needed the rest of the series beside me to go through.

Bound by Kirsten Weiss got all 10 stars (out of my usual 5) :D

So, it’s a must-read and one of my best books for 2022!

 

Alchemy, Arsenic, and Alibis by Shea MacLeod

I had downloaded Alchemy, Arsenic, and Alibis via Shea Macleod’s newsletter (I think). It’s a novella and the fifth book in The Deepwood Witches Mystery series. I absolutely loved it and finished it in a day!

I immediately picked up the second book I had from MacLeod, which was the first book in the series. However, it didn’t match the excitement and fast-pace of Alchemy, Arsenic, and Alibis.

Overall rating for Alchemy, Arsenic, and Alibis by Shea MacLeod: 10 stars (compared to my usual 5).

Both Bound and Alchemy, Arsenic, and Alibis are paranormal cozy mysteries.

 

Ellery’s Magic Bicycle by Maria Monte

Ellery’s Magic Bicycle is a children’s picture book. Written by Maria Monte and illustrated by Zoe Saunders, the book is about friendship, memories, and bringing the two together.

I highly recommend it if you have little ones at home.

 

A Murder Spells Trouble by K.J. Emrick and S.J. Wells

A Murder Spells Trouble is the first book in The Kilorian Sisters: Witches of Shadow Lake Mystery Series by K.J. Emrick and S.J. Wells.

It’s a fun, magical, and fast-paced paranormal cozy mystery.

I gave it an overall rating if 4 stars but it makes it to my list of the best books of 2022.

I haven’t written the review yet. But once I do, I’ll update it here and add it to the Book Reviews page here on the blog.

 

Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper

I read Cooper’s Inheriting Her Ghosts as part of the finalists’ books for the Book Blogger Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA), in which I was a judge in 2022.

It’s a gothic, historical, horror novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

It’s one of the last books I read in 2022 and obviously haven’t sat down to write the book review. But I plan to do so and to participate in the BBNYA blog tour for Inheriting Her Ghosts.

Overall rating for Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper: 5 stars

 

The Case of Sampson’s Leap by Alison Golden

By now, you should know that Alison Golden publishes at least 1 Detective Inspector Graham book each year and being on her ‘street team’ I’ll be reading and reviewing that book.

I’ve already started the new DI Graham book, published in late 2022. I’ll be writing my review of the new book, titled The Case of the Uncommon Witness sometime in February. So, stay tuned!

For 2022, the book I read was The Case of Sampson’s Leap and it offered a unique kind of mystery. It got a 5-star rating from me!

 

The Beast and the Bethany: Revenge of the Beast by Jack Meggitt-Phillips

I had almost forgotten about this one. The Beast and the Bethany: Revenge of the Beast is the second book in the children’s series The Beast and the Bethany by Jack Meggitt-Phillips.

Like the first book, this one was funny, fast-paced, and super enjoyable.

I highly recommend it for children and grownups alike.

 

Non-fiction books

 

I wanted to have a ‘best non-fiction books’ section but I honestly only read or rather finished 2 non-fiction books.

These were:

•   The One-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib
•  Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business by Frances Frei and Anne Morriss

 

The books were different; one focused on marketing, while the other was about managing your core business and how to set yourself apart from the competition.

I must say that the examples used in Uncommon Service were rather outdated. The ideas left food-for-thought, but it’s impossible to apply one or more of their ideas or even case studies to a Middle Eastern company, specifically FinTech or software as a service (SaaS).

I’ve yet to finish writing reviews for both books. So, I’ll be updating this post and the Book Reviews page with links once I finish writing those reviews.

The One-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib offers lots of content marketing tips. I guess it’s a book that would have served me better had I read it a few years ago. Still, there’s lots of ideas and tips in there.

You can find some of the tips and quotes I’ve used on my professional Instagram account here.

Bound, Book 1 in The Doyle Witch Mystery Series by Kirsten Weiss – Book Review

  

Bound by Kirsten Weiss is the first book in the Doyle Witch Cozy Mystery Series.

I’d been postponing reading this book for a while because I wanted to pick it up when I was free so I could get immersed in it. Then… I picked it up on a whim and couldn’t put it down!

I was literally skipping on sleep because I was enjoying Bound.

Bound has all the elements of an amazing book: Magic, mystery, action, adventure, humor and a great story!

“Why are well still single?”

“Because [Jayce wants] to date everyone, Lenore wants to date no one, and the man I want to date doesn’t exist.”

Bound is narrated in the first-person perspective of Karin, the middle sister of “triplets, three Scorpios born exactly three minutes apart.”

“Jayce, the oldest and the wild child, had never been able to resist a good sin. Lenore, the youngest, was a bookish introvert. I was the middle child, a worrier by age five who imagined disaster whenever Jayce played in the forest alone, who spent sleepless nights in feat of losing my aunt as we’d lost our parents.”

Each of the three sisters has a talent. And though Karin is the middle sister, she doesn’t seem to be the strongest.

I wanted to know more about each sister’s ability. Though Karin, as the narrator, explains what each of them can do, we don’t see those abilities in action much.  

One of things I liked about Bound is the presence of two mysteries. Come to think of it – several mysteries. Jayce is accused of murder and at the same time, a curse seems to plague the sisters and their bloodline. There are also the mysteries of the disappearing hikers and the women appearing out of nowhere.

How many of these mysteries might be connected?

“The sense of wrongness intensified. There was magic here, a magic I’d never felt in these woods before.”

A large part of Bound focuses on their aunt Ellen, who is dying from cancer. This pained me personally because someone really close to me was recently diagnosed.

Before Ellen passes, she tells the three sisters about the family curse and how she’d been trying to break it.

Another thing I liked about Bound was the references to other books, movies, and series. When Ellen talks to Karin about her “knot magic,” it reminded me of Diana Bishop in A Discovery of Witches. I watched the series but it was quite similar.

In one of the scenes, we see Lenore reading “a novel about a paranormal museum” to Ellen. It references Weiss’ Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum series, of which I’d read two books.

I was surprised to find Jayce, the “wild child,” who is accused of murder to be passive about the accusation, letting the police take care of it when it was clear they weren’t looking for other suspects.

While reading Bound, I came across a reference to ‘the rose rabbit.’ Though Bound ends with no explanation of what the rose rabbit is, I remembered reading a poetry collection by Kirsten Weiss titled Tales of the Rose Rabbit. At the time, I hadn’t read any books in this series.

I think it’s time to revisit that poetry collection.

I was surprised to learn that the second book Ground is narrated from Jayce’s perspective. Honestly, I didn’t like her. But I hope to see a better side to her in Ground.

Overall, I fell in love with Bound and can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of the series, which I recently discovered has transformed from a trilogy to a 9-book series! That’s excluding supplements and in-between books and crossover books!

Overall rating for Bound by Kirsten Weiss: 5 stars!

Warning: If you start, you won’t leave the book until it’s finished!

Want to explore more paranormal cozy mysteries?

Here are a few recommendations: 

• Alchemy, Arsenic, and Alibis by Shea MacLeod
• Dewey Decimated by Allison Brook
• Vampires and Villains by Elizabeth Pantley (blog post includes a review and author interview)
• Madam Tulip and the Serpent's Tree by David Ahern

Alchemy, Arsenic, and Alibis by Shea MacLeod – Book Review

Alchemy, Arsenic, and Alibis is my first read for Shea MacLeod and it’s the fifth book in her Deepwood Witches Mystery series.

Synopsis

Deepwood is a cozy town, but every town has its secrets.

As a witch, Edwina Gale has been tasked with keeping those secrets. Purloined donuts, coven meetings, and ancient Egyptian gods run amok are all in a day’s work as far as she’s concerned. But all her carefully laid plans unravel when the chief of police blackmails her into helping him solve a mystery, and she finds herself on the wrong end of magic gone awry.

The book opens with “Edwina Gale was not a witch to be trifled with, especially at six o’clock in the morning.”

I’m not sure how I got my copy of Alchemy, Arsenic, and Alibis but I think it may have been for signing up for her newsletter at some point. And I’m sure happy I got this book!

It’s short, filled with magic – including Ancient Egyptian magic! – action, a mystery and lots of humor. Plus, I loved Edwina!

“If you’re trying to decide whether to play dumb or be honest, I suggest the latter. I know you’re a witch.” 

I liked that the main character is a 60-year-old strong and super confident woman. Edwina comes from a military background and she’s not the person you get piss off and run. You’re done for!

I finished Alchemy, Arsenic, and Alibis in one sitting and immediately picked up another book I’d downloaded as part of Shea MacLeod’s newsletter. It’s Potions, Poisons, and Perils, the first book in the series. 

There aren’t many – if any – memorable quotes in the book but I’ll attribute that to it being a novella-sized paranormal cozy mystery.

So, if you’re looking for a quick, fun, and fast-paced cozy read, then grab Alchemy, Arsenic, and Alibis by Shea MacLeod. It’s a must-read and can easily get you out of a reading block.

 

Overall rating for Alchemy, Arsenic, and Alibis: 5 stars.

Note: I got a free copy of Alchemy, Arsenic, and Alibis for being part of author Shea MacLeod's newsletter.

The Beast and the Bethany: Revenge of the Beast – Book Review and Blog Tour

The moment I learnt that the new Beast and the Bethany book has been published and is available for review, I jumped on the blog tour by @TheWriteReads!

And the new book doesn't disappoint!

In this blog post, I'm sharing my book review of The Beast and the Bethany: Revenge of the Beast.

Synopsis:

Lemony Snicket meets Roald Dahl in this riotously funny, deliciously macabre, and highly illustrated sequel to The Beast and the Bethany in which Bethany and Ebenezer try to turn over a new leaf, only to have someone—or something—thwart them at every turn.

Once upon a very badly behaved time, 511-year-old Ebenezer kept a beast in his attic. He would feed the beast all manner of objects and creatures and in return the beast would vomit him up expensive presents. But then the Bethany arrived.

Now notorious prankster Bethany, along with her new feathery friend Claudette, is determined that she and Ebenezer are going to de-beast their lives and Do Good. But Bethany finds that being a former prankster makes it hard to get taken on for voluntary work. And Ebenezer secretly misses the beast’s vomity gifts. And neither of them are all that sure what “good people” do anyway.

Then there’s Claudette, who’s not been feeling herself recently. Has she eaten something that has disagreed with her?

Book title: The Beast and the Bethany: Revenge of the Beast

Author: Jack Meggitt-Phillips

Number of pages: 288 pages

Genre(s): Middle grade, fantasy, humor

Publisher: Farshore Books

Publication date: 30 September 2021

Book Review by Nadaness In Motion

 

"There was fear in their eyes, and that fear looked awfully like respect."

The Beast and the Bethany: Revenge of the Beast is the second book in The Beast and the Bethany book series by Jack Meggitt-Philips.

Revenge of the Beast opens with a flashback to Ebenezer Tweezer's life and when he first met the beast. The chapters alternate between the past and the present, where Bethany lives with Ebenezer in his 15-story house.

In the present, Bethany is on a mission to "de-beast" the house, her life, and Ebenezer's from all things beast-related. And it's going swimmingly!

"Why do we need to de-beast?" Ebenezer asked. "Claudette killed the beast, I'd say that's pretty thorough de-beasting already."

But things aren't what they seem. While Bethany is trying to get rid of all reminders of the beast, the beast is secretly alive and plotting his revenge...

And what a revenge it is!

"Throw me at the one with the unpleasant face, if you want to have some fun."

Like the first book, The Beast and the Bethany, Revenge of the Beast is filled with laugh-out-loud speech and events.

"I bought [these paintings] myself. If we got rid of them we wouldn't be de-beasting, we'd be de-Ebenezering!"

In addition to the old cast, we meet many new characters, all integral to the book's progress and to the characters' development.

Revenge of the Beast sees a lot of growth for the pompous, selfish, 500-year-old Ebenezer. There's also development for Bethany but since she's young (11-ish?), we see her become easily influenced by others and ignore her instincts.

There were moments where I was laughing, others when I wanted to hug Bethany, and then there were moment where I was "Noooooo" and "Focus, Bethany!"

If you're reading Revenge of the Beast, you'll likely be talking to yourself so make sure no one is in the room with you or they'll think you're crazy. And if they see the book you're reading, they'll probably get a confirmation of that craziness.

Overall, Revenge of the Beast is a 5-star must-read children's book. 

Overall rating of The Beast and the Bethany: Revenge of the Beast by Jack Meggitt-Philips: 5 stars.

 

Note: I received a free copy of The Beast and the Bethany: Revenge of the Beast as part of a blog tour via The Write Reads Blog Tours. This has not, in any way, affected my review.

Note: Can't wait for book 3 in the series.

 

Add The Beast and the Bethany: Revenge of the Beast by Jack Meggitt-Phillips on Goodreads.

Purchase the book via Amazon.

Check out my review of book 1 The Beast and the Bethany

About the Author

Jack Meggitt-Phillips is an author, scriptwriter, and playwright whose work has been performed at The Roundhouse and featured on Radio 4.

He is scriptwriter and presenter of The History of Advertising podcast. In his mind, Jack is an enormously talented ballroom dancer, however his enthusiasm far surpasses his actual talent.

Jack lives in north London where he spends most of his time drinking peculiar teas and reading P.G. Wodehouse novels.

Connect with author Jack Meggitt-Phillips via Twitter.

 

Check out my review of book 1 The Beast and the Bethany

Looking for more middle grade fantasy fiction?

Here are a few titles I recommend: (Links will take you to my book reviews)

Looking for Dei by David Willson

Magora: The Gallery of Wonders by Marc Remus (Book 1)

Magora: The Golden Maple Tree by Marc Remus (Book 2)

Tales of the Forest by Johanna Aldridge

Ronaldo, the Flying Reindeer Academy by Maxine Sylvester

 

 

The Case of Sampson's Leap by Alison Golden - Book Review

 

Book: The Case of Sampson's Leap

Series: The Detective David Graham Series

Author: Alison Golden

Publication Date: 24 October 2021

 

Synopsis

A confounding case in the present. A precipitous puzzle from the past...

Inspector David Graham knows all about history. After moving to the island of Jersey to recover from a tragic loss, he has done his best to leave painful memories behind. But sometimes it is not so easy to forget...

When Mia, a promising young actress, turns up dead beneath the jagged cliffs known as Sampson’s Leap, suicide seems the obvious answer. But after Inspector Graham interviews the victim’s conniving clan of associates, he’s not so sure. Jealousy, greed, drugs... With friends like these, who needs enemies?

Mia's mysterious death also shines a light on a far older case... The murder of three women, nearly two centuries ago. New evidence suggests that investigative rigor may not have been applied.

Can the dogged Inspector uncover the truth of Mia’s fate? Can a historical injustice be laid to rest? And can Graham finally reveal the secrets hiding in his own heart to the woman who knows him best...?

 

Book Review

 

"I still don't know if she jumped, fell, or was pushed. Suicide, accident, or murder."

The Case of Sampson's Leap by Alison Golden is the eighth book in the Inspector David Graham Mystery Series and my – what – sixth book for Golden.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Inspector David Graham Mystery Series, it's fast; it's addictive; and you can't help but adore Graham.

Each book in the Inspector David Graham Mystery Series can be read as a standalone. So if you start at book 6 or 8, you don't have to worry about not reading the previous books, although I highly recommend them.

The Case of Sampson's Leap comprises 75 short chapters, making the book super-fast-paced. It opens with the death of a film student, Mia Thorne.

But as Inspector Graham and his team investigate and interview her friends, they find themselves in a super thick web of endless lies.

"To a woman like Mia Thorne, Noah Stimms was merely a toy, a dim foil, a moth to a flame, fluttering pointlessly but eternally hopeful around it until, eventually, he got zapped in a flash of scorching heat and acrid smoke. Mightier men had met similar fates with much the same outcome."

At the same time, the island of Gorey is nearing its bicentenary of Sampson's Leap. Sampson, an apothecary – a pharmacist, was accused of murdering three women. When the townspeople gave him the choice to either jump from a hill into the raging sea or be killed, he took the first option, only to jump and survive.

So the townspeople forced him to jump a second time and that was the end of Sampson. But the area where he had jumped had been named Sampson's Leap ever since.

Although the story focuses on Mia's death, we also get bits of history and new evidence comes to light about the 200-year-old Sampson case. After all, both incidents are related to the area known as 'Sampson's Leap.'

When reading The Case of Sampson's Leap, you'll share the police's irritation at the continuous dead ends. Still it's impossible to put this book down. I finished it in 2 or 3 sittings!

Having read several books in this series, there's significant character development for everyone. While David Graham is fully-developed character, his team began book 1 as a group of newbie officers. Now in book 8, they're smarter, faster, and more creative.

"Graham fixed Noah with a look that would have dented body armor."

Alison Golden expertly juggles two mysteries in The Case of Sampson's Leap, leaving readers curious on both ends.  

 

Overall rating for The Case of Sampson's Leap by Alison Golden: 5 stars.

Note: I received a free copy of The Case of Sampson's Leap from its author Alison Golden being a part of her street team. This did not in any way influence my review of the book. I was already a big fan!

And while I originally finished the book in the allotted time, I had a reviewing-block (spent 7 months not writing book reviews). Hence my review is coming quite late.

 

Other books in the series and reviewed on Nadaness In Motion:

The Case of the Screaming Beauty (Book 1 in The Inspector David Graham Series)

The Case of the Hidden Flame (Book 2 in The Inspector David Graham Series)

The Case of the Broken Doll (Book 4 in The Inspector David Graham Series)

Death at the Café (Book 1 in The Reverend Annabelle Dixon Series)

Horror in the Highlands (Book 5 in The Reverend Annabelle Dixon Series)

Killer at the Cult (Book 6 in The Reverend Annabelle Dixon Series) 

Witches at the Wedding (Book 6 in The Reverend Annabelle Dixon Series)