When your carriage is traveling along a darkened mountain road on, of course, a dark and stormy night, the last thing you’d want is to slip over the perilously close edge. Or at least that’s what Lenore thought. The last she’d want may actually be happening across an overturned carriage and rescuing its sole passenger. As a lady of high society Lenore feels obligated to care for this lost and lonely soul. Once at her newly acquired summer estate, mysterious shadows roam the late night halls, nearby villagers begin to be overwhelmed by an insatiable hunger, and even her own sensibilities seem to be wavering. All of this must be coincidental happenstance for how could that weary passenger, a refined lady like Carmila cause such a fuss?
Will we be overcome with a need to take Kat Dunn’s “Hungerstone” in and care for it on our shelves or will we cast it off a mountain ledge?

Black Thorn: Episode 19

Maven Blackthorn left her small hometown of Solstice, Vermont as soon as she could to leave small minded bullies and the boy who broke her heart behind. Returning there wasn’t in her plans but upon her grandmother’s death she and her daughter head back to be with their family. When her grandmother’s body goes missing Maven must extend her trip. While investigating where her body could have gone family secrets are unveiled causing more questions than answers. Ronan, her first love, has his sights set on Maven. Attractive, cocky, rich and mysterious have always been traits Ronan owned but a possessiveness and determination to make Maven his are new. In a town full of secrets, magic and rumors will truths set Maven free, or will what lies beneath take its toll on both her mind and body?Will J.T. Geissenger’s Black Thorn find a new home among our shelves, or will we chase it from homes for it never to return?

Spoiler Corner :26-like the last five mins lol

Word nerds unite!
Sarah Ogilvie’s, “The Dictionary People” is more than simply the story of how the first Oxford English Dictionary came to be. It is a journey among the volunteers who answered the call to help complete a comprehensive collection of the English language. The majority of those drawn to the project were not the stuffy, yawn inducing upper crust one might imagine. Suffragists, pornographers, novelists and lively characters from the Bloomsbury Set are only a few of the intriguing beings readers are introduced to.

Waking up with hands around her ex’s neck is not as therapeutic as Lucy may have thought. In fact, not knowing how she woke up in her ex’s room when she was fast asleep in her own bed terrifies and baffles her. Scared she fleas her college life and runs to the only safety she can think of, her sister Jess. Yet, when she arrives she is not set at ease because her sister is missing. As she tries to uncover her sister’s whereabouts she is thrown into mysteries surrounding the remote Australian town including other disappearances connected to the town’s lore. And if that wasn’t enough to deal with Lucy is tormented by dreams of two long ago sisters that feel familiar and have her sleep walking to the edge of cliffs. As things become more precarious will Lucy be able to save not only herself but her sister as well?

In a world filled with fae vs shifter battles, not all shifters possess the ability to shift. Sadie assumed herself to be one of these “nulls” until she astonishingly is revealed as a rare female alpha by a sacred lake. After this shock she is given another by being unceremoniously dropped outside a training fortress and left to be confronted by three male alphas. These alphas dislike and distrust Sadie on sight and set out to break her. Though as tensions rise not all of it is due to mistrust. Attractions fight to be noticed but duties and being tested come first. Sadie may not have any training to fall back on, but she has a past that has made her strong and a secret that makes her stronger. Does Sadie become a badass warrior carving out her space among the alphas and our shelves or is she nothing but fodder for fae to be cast aside? Join us as we discuss, Psycho Shifters by Jasmine Mas.

Spoiler Corner: 36:00 - 50:00

Z.S. Diamanti’s Guard in the Garden tells the tale of Felton, a dwarf, who has worked his whole career, his whole life, to become an elite warrior. During a battle against orc wyvern riders and dragons Felton is gravely injured. Under the weight of loss and a self-appointed image of failure, he works on his recovery. Felton goes home to his Aunts’ house looking for peace and solace while he works on healing. The isolation he sought is interrupted by a human woman and her daughter who bring much-needed color into his life. As he searches for purpose without his unit, he carries with him deep seated doubts about who he is and what life can be. Does Felton’s healing journey find peace among our shelves, or does it go up in dragon fire? Join us as we discuss on this episode of To Shelf or Not to Shelf.No Spoiler Corner

When birth signifies your first crime, what would your life be like? How would you adapt? In his autobiography, Born a Crime, Trevor Noah answers those questions for his life in South Africa’s ending apartheid. From his high energy mischievous childhood causing him and his mom to run through streets Tom & Jerry style, to growing up finding where he fits and his learning how to hustle, Trevor tells his tales with humility and humor. Does this comedian’s life story find its way to a permanent booking on our shelves, or does it get the hook?PS Let him tell you about Fufi.

Spoiler-ish Corner: 28:30 – 33:40

When the peace of the reading room is shattered by a woman’s terrified scream, four strangers are shocked. Instead of scattering they find solace in talking to one another. Their conversations turn from what happened at the library to stories from their own lives. The group becomes fast friends since “nothing bonds strangers better than a shared mystery.” Yet what they don’t realize is the real mystery is which one of these new friends is actually the killer. Will The Woman in the Library find a place among the shelves of our reading rooms or will it be sent away in its own body bag? Join us this episode as we discuss Sulari Gentill’s The Woman in the Library.Spoiler Corner: 31:42 - 38:00