Adult – Baskerville Book Reviews

Review: I’m Glad My Mom Died

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Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called “calorie restriction,” eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, “Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn’t tint hers?” She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income.

In I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail—just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly, she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi (“Hi Gale!”), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants.

Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I’m Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.

Review: The Shroud Key

Chase Baker is a true Renaissance Man. He’s also a man who knows how to find trouble. A part-time resident of Florence, Italy, his resume reads like a modern day Da Vinci or Casanova. Writer, private investigator, tour guide, historian, treasure hunter, adventurer, and even archaeological sandhog, Chase is also a prolific lover. Unfortunately for him, his dangerous liaisons all too often make him the target of a jealous husband.

Now, at the direct request of the Florence police, he finds himself on the trail of an archaeologist by the name of Dr. Andre Manion who’s gone missing from his teaching post at the American University. But having worked for the archaeologist several years ago as a sandhog on a secret but failed dig just outside the Great Pyramids in the Giza Plateau, Chase smells a renewed opportunity to uncover what just might be the most prized archaeological treasure in the world: The mortal remains of Jesus. But how will Chase Baker go about solving the mystery of finding both the archaeologist and the Jesus Remains?

With the help of Manion’s beautiful ex-wife, Chase will manage to secure an up-close and personal examination of the Shroud of Turin, not only to view the famous image of the crucified Christ, but to unlock the relic’s greatest secret, which is none other than a map, or a key, detailing the precise location of Jesus’s body.

Review: Hello Darkness

We all carry the insidious disorder—a ticking time bomb that can explode at any moment with murderous consequences.

There are no answers, no cure, and seemingly no hope.

Rye Thorburn is a member of a rapid response team that scouts the night skies and responds to each frightening outbreak, confronting its violent perpetrators in a deadly game of cat and mouse. For Rye, it’s more than a job—it’s his refuge from his conscience.

Faced with this unprecedented threat, society has become an enclave of autocratic leaders, invasive high-tech security, corporate propaganda, and a populace sick with fear and suspicion.

However, all is not what it seems. Rye and his colleague Kate Mbachi become entangled in a conspiracy that involves a ruthless scientist and powerful hidden forces that thrive from suffering.

Can Rye overcome his demons to expose the horrifying truth before all is lost?

Hello Darkness is a pulsating dystopian thriller, set in the near-future. Readers who love the grim, gripping worlds of Cormac McCarthy, Emily St. John Mandel and Margaret Atwood will be swept away by this heart-racing novel.

Review: The Wonderful World of Scary Ass Shit 2

Your parents are lying bags of dicks. Everything in the woods: wolves, bears, and squirrels, aren’t just trying to eat you. It would be nice if they were, but there are other sphincter tightening horrors living in the woods that just want to be inside you: your body, that is.

The Aurora Wasteland exists, let’s get that out of the way right now. What matters more is that it’s larger and more prominent than anyone could have known. Spread across counties, countries, and notches…or whatever you want to call them. It’s everywhere, even in the most invasive places your grandmother would never tell you about. The strange and weird is like sand in your underpants.

Something is causing hikers to vanish on Mount Tekarra, which just so happens to be situated in the heart of the Brightness Falls National Park, maybe you’ve heard of it? It’s ok if you haven’t, it’s not really a come visit and expect to leave still living type of place.

Logan, Gabe, Monahan, and Jeff, having survived the cornfield maze creature, aren’t really talking about what happened to them. Mostly because they simply don’t understand it all. Since the merge, things have only gotten more confusing and weird. None of them are living the lives they remember, except they are…make sense? Because it really doesn’t to them.

Memories of their two lives continue to blend as each of them struggles to figure out who they are, what they are, and who they are…wait, did I say that already? Doesn’t matter, because the Aurora Wasteland isn’t giving them time to take things slow. Monahan’s co-worker Simone just so happens to be one of those missing hikers. You know, the ones from a few paragraphs up? With her newfound connection and lady boner for the Aurora Wasteland, Monahan sets out to find her co-worker while dragging her reluctant, apparent friends behind her.

As the book tethered makes its way through the group, a second book by the so-called discoverer of The Aurora Wasteland emerges. One that has been around for years, and has molded the lives of the team more than they know.

It’s ok to be confused and scared, but I should warn you that if you’re listening to this, then it’s already too late. The Aurora Wasteland has you. It knows you. There is no escape. Trust me, it’s better you just figure out what’s going on, for your own sake and sanity.

Review: Minion

There is one woman who is all that stands between us and the eternal night. Here is an account of her legend….

All Damali Richards ever wanted to do was create music and bring it to the people. Now she is a Spoken Word artist and the top act for Warriors of Light Records. But come nightfall, she hunts vampires and demons―predators that people tend to dismiss as myth or fantasy.

But Damali and her Guardian team cannot afford such delusions, especially now, when a group of rogue vampires have been killing the artists of Warriors of Light and their rival, Blood Music. Strange attacks have also erupted within the club drug-trafficking network and drawn the attention of the police. These killings are a bit out of the ordinary, even for vampires. No neat puncture marks in the neck to show where the life’s blood has been sucked from the body; these bodies have been mutilated beyond recognition, indicating a blood lust and thirst for destruction that surpasses any Damali has encountered before.

Damali soon discovers that behind these brutal murders is the most powerful vampire she has ever met, and this seductive beast is coming for her next. But his unholy intentions have also drawn the focus of other hellish dark forces. Soon Damali finds herself being pulled deeper into the vast and horrifying vampire world.

Review: Hound of the Baskervilles

Acclaimed author Adam McOmber offers listeners an erotic and subversive reimagining of one of literature’s most thrilling tales, Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Dr. Watson arrives alone on the moors of the Baskerville estate to help solve the mystery of its scion’s grim death and the murder’s connection to the spectral hound that plagues the ancestral home. Watson’s understanding of his own history and queer desires is sorely tested when he discovers Baskerville Hall is rife with stimulation and horror. As this supernatural mystery unfolds and reality begins to bend and break, he must work against the clock to discover the truth and prevent whatever beast roams the grounds from claiming future victims.

Review: Witch’s Knight

Sarai Reinhart is a witch in hiding. Having inherited rare dual gifts of healing and necromancy from her late Jewitch mother and cruel German father, she needs to be constantly on her guard to avoid those who would use her.

But even a skilled witch cannot run from everyone. After a mental breakdown, someone sees her turn a mouse into a zombie, and she is captured by an organization of witch hunters. To her great surprise, salvation arrives in the form of vampires and one vampire in particular: the beautiful and deadly Knight Commander Marcelle. Sarai is brought to the local vampire kingdom’s seat of power, a place no witch has seen and survived, and finds herself falling for her rescuer. Can she trust the vampire woman when Sarai’s blood holds secrets that could change the occult world forever?

Review: Beauty’s Curse

The death of a tyrant king should have set her free. Instead, Sadira could be dead by dawn.

After the fall of Alaric Khan, Sadira finds herself still at his mercy, held siege in his castle by a deadly curse: Alaric’s ultimate revenge. Surrounded by chaos, rising paranoia, and disasters, Sadira discovers an unlikely ally in the barbarian warrior Bannon Sha’kurukh. Alaric’s killer…and her new master.

To escape Alaric’s power, Sadira must bring Bannon into her secret world of domination, possession, and desire. But their quest to uncover Alaric’s secrets – and their own ruthless passions – draw them closer and closer to an unspeakable conclusion.

The source of the curse…can only be Sadira herself.

Fans of The Witcher, Immortals After Dark, and Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty series will love this high-heat fantasy romance full of dangerous liaisons and passionate themes of power exchange.

Review: Illusions Unveiled

Sometimes you squander all your second chances…

At the tender age of seven, Peter Stratford fell in love with the only woman who would ever claim his heart. But Carrie represented Ardor Creek, the town Peter detested. Determined to make something of himself in New York City, he leaves her behind, breaking both their hearts.

Carrie Longwood accepted that Peter would never love her enough to stay. Embracing her inner strength, she married another and had her precious boys before her messy divorce. Alone in Ardor Creek, she builds her life around her small family unit.

When Peter returns to Ardor Creek, battered and broken from addiction, he begins to heal, knowing Carrie will never forgive him. But Carrie kept her own secrets and, whether they’re ready or not, all of their illusions will be unveiled…

Welcome back to Ardor Creek! If you love second chance romance, this book is for you! The main character is a recovered addict whose addictions are discussed openly so please consider before reading. Enjoy!

Review: Resolutions Embraced

She came back to win…and to rewrite a narrative created so long ago….

Chad Hanson has one true love: being mayor of Ardor Creek. With his charming personality, kind nature, and adoration of the small town, it’s as if he was born for the role. Although he dates constantly and loves playing the field, he’s never come close to falling for someone the way he loves his job.

Abby Miller left Ardor Creek after high school, determined to become something other than a pariah. Chad Hanson had accidentally bequeathed her the name “Flabby Abby,” which destroyed any chance of making friends or having a normal high school existence.

Two decades later, Abby returns, fierce and confident after her tenure as a senior advisor for a prominent Washington DC senator. Armed with her skills and experience, she begins an invigorating campaign to become the first female mayor of Ardor Creek…and to exact a smidge of payback against Chad.

Chad is blown away by his opponent. Drawn to her, he slowly realizes she might actually win…not only the election, but Abby Miller might be the first woman to capture his heart.

Welcome back to Ardor Creek! If you love sizzling banter that cracks you up and makes you snicker, smokin’ hot love scenes, and a sweet frenemies-to-lovers tale, this book is for you! As with all of Ayla’s books, there’s a slight holiday twist, and this one has a fun New Year’s Eve ending. The Ardor Creek gang is back and ready to watch serial dater Chad Hanson fall in love. Enjoy!