Recent Updates and Currently Reading | June 11

Thank you guys so much for the board game recommendations last week! I've been spending my weekend making my way through them and researching new games. I will be sure to let you know what games are working for us.

Posted Last Week

Book Review | The Cutaway by Christina Kovac
June 2017 New Horror Releases | Horror Spotlight

Read Last Week

The only book I successfully read last week was In the Valley of the Sun. It's the kind of book that induces a major book hangover so I'm floundering around in a few other books for now.

Current Distractions

Thanks to my total book hangover, I spent my Friday night catching all the way up on Orphan Black. I am definitely not going to wait before watching season 5. I normally wait until the whole season is out, but not this time. Since this is the last season, I will be keeping up until the end!

Board Games! Many of you mentioned loving Monopoly. My 8 year old had a sick day this past week, and that's exactly what he wanted to play. This one is Pokemon Monopoly.

A few weeks ago when I was at Comicpalooza, I picked up a game called Squaremino. We have been playing that one a lot the last few weeks. It's a lot like Qwirkle which we also own but never really understood how to play. We've got it down now so we've been playing both games this week. They are both really fun.

So what about you? Let me know what you're reading (or playing) this week or leave me some links!

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This post is being shared as part of Book Date's It's Monday! What Are You Reading?, Tynga's Reviews' Stacking the Shelves, and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

June 2017 New Horror Releases | Horror Spotlight

It's time to spotlight the new horror releasing in June. I'm very excited about In the Valley of the Sun and Mapping the Interior. (I just finished reading In the Valley of the Sun, and I highly recommend it.)

I believe The Halloween Children (as well as Come To Dust) was originally a limited release so I'm happy to see to it become available. It looks like a perfect read to me.

The new Hunter Shea (Just Add Water) is based on those little sea monkey ads we used to see on the back of comics in the 80s. It sounds like a very fun read.

Year's Best Hardcore Horror Volume 2 edited by Randy Chandler
Published June 1st 2017 by Comet Press

In the Valley of the Sun by Andy Davidson
Published June 6th 2017 by Skyhorse Publishing



The Halloween Children by Brian James Freeman, Norman Prentiss
Expected publication: June 13th 2017 by Hydra

Just Add Water by Hunter Shea
Expected publication: June 13th 2017 by Lyrical Underground

Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Wayward Children #2) by Seanan McGuire
Expected publication: June 13th 2017 by Tor.com



A Thousand Paper Birds by Tor Udall
Expected publication: June 15th 2017 by Bloomsbury Circus

Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones
Expected publication: June 20th 2017 by Tor.com



Come To Dust by Bracken MacLeod
Expected publication: June 23rd 2017 by JournalStone

Nuke Jersey by Neil Cohen
Expected publication: June 27th 2017 by Permuted Press

The Spawn of Lilith by Dana Fredsti
Expected publication: June 27th 2017 by Titan Books

As always, let me know if there are any June horror books I have left off of the list. I have fallen behind on my horror spotlight posts over the last few months. I'm curious if anyone would like me to do a catch up post on the months that I missed.

Book Review | The Cutaway by Christina Kovac

The Cutaway is a mystery novel from Christina Kovac.

The Cutaway draws you into the tangled world of corruption and cover-up as a young television producer investigates the disappearance of a beautiful Georgetown lawyer in this stunning psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Paula Hawkins and Gillian Flynn.

When brilliant TV news producer Virginia Knightly receives a disturbing “MISSING” notice on her desk related to the disappearance of a beautiful young attorney, she can’t seem to shake the image from her head. Despite skepticism from her colleagues, Knightly suspects this ambitious young lawyer may be at the heart of something far more sinister, especially since she was last seen leaving an upscale restaurant after a domestic dispute. Yet, as the only woman of power at her station, Knightly quickly finds herself investigating on her own.

Risking her career, her life, and perhaps even her own sanity, Knightly dives deep into the dark underbelly of Washington, DC business and politics in an investigation that will drag her mercilessly through the inextricable webs of corruption that bind the press, the police, and politics in our nation’s capital.

Harkening to dark thrillers such as Gone Girl, Luckiest Girl Alive, and Big Little Lies, The Cutaway is a striking debut that will haunt you long after you reach the last page.

...in this stunning psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Paula Hawkins and Gillian Flynn.

Harkening to dark thrillers such as Gone Girl...

Can we please stop comparing books to Gone Girl? My expectations were so wrong for this book. I went into it expecting a psychological thriller I wouldn't be able to put down.

That was not the case.

A TV news reporter is investigating a missing woman in The Cutaway, but we aren't really given any details about the missing woman for the first 20% or so of the book. Instead we are given TV news and family drama.

I tried to adjust my expectations when it became painfully clear this book wasn't even a psychological thriller, but I was already wanting to move on. By that point I was reading from a place of obligation, not a place of excitement or want for the story.

My theme while reading The Cutaway was who cares? I wasn't invested in anyone. I knew there was a missing woman, but so? I had no reason to care about her.

I don't know if The Cutaway was a bad book or if I was simply set up to be a bad reader, but I do know it didn't work for me. If you decide to give this one a try, note that it is very much a standard mystery novel (with a lot of time spent interviewing witnesses) and not a psychological thriller.

4/10: Not for me

Review copy provided by publisher

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | June 3

Posted Last Week

I'm finally starting to get my reviewing mojo back so hopefully I will start posting more frequent reviews.

Book Review | The Return by Joseph Helmreic
Upcoming June 2017 Book Releases in Fantasy, Horror, and Science Fiction

Currently Reading

I finished reading Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar. I really enjoyed it. It's a quick read. If you love Stephen King, you should pick it up.

(I'm putting the pause on Night Film for a couple of books. I'm really loving it, but I'm burning out on it and I don't want to get stuck in a rut.)

I read The Cutaway this week. I will review it very soon. (I didn't like it much.)

Review Copies

Whispered Echoes by Paul F. Olson - Old-school horror creeps back to life in this stunning new collection from Paul F. Olson. Featuring tales of uneasy spirits, buried secrets, dark beings, and untold mysteries, originally published in the ‘80s and ‘90s and out-of-print for decades.

Current Distractions

Summertime board games have begun. My kids are obsessed with Pictionary right now so we've been staying up late drawing clues and having a good time.

I would love to hear your favorite board games if you have any that you like to play.

So what about you? Let me know what you're reading (or playing) this week or leave me some links!

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This post is being shared as part of Book Date's It's Monday! What Are You Reading?, Tynga's Reviews' Stacking the Shelves, and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Upcoming June 2017 Book Releases in Fantasy, Horror, and Science Fiction

Summer reading is here! I'm determined to make it through the summer this year! I checked my archives, and in the last 5 years there has only been one post made in the month of June. I am just not a summer reader... but maybe this list of books can help change that! These are the books releasing in June that I'm most excited about:

In the Valley of the Sun by Andy Davidson
Expected publication: June 6th 2017 by Skyhorse Publishing

The Evaporation of Sofi Snow (The Evaporation of Sofi Snow #1) by Mary Weber
Expected publication: June 6th 2017 by Thomas Nelson

Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity #2) by Victoria Schwab
Expected publication: June 13th 2017 by Greenwillow Books



Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones
Expected publication: June 20th 2017 by Tor.com

Shattered Minds (False Hearts #2) by Laura Lam
Expected publication: June 20th 2017 by Tor



Twelve Days by Steven Barnes
Expected publication: June 27th 2017 by Tor Books

Shark Island by Chris Jameson
Expected publication: June 27th 2017 by St. Martin's Paperbacks

The Child by Fiona Barton
Expected publication: June 27th 2017 by Berkley Books

What about you? What June books are you most excited about? Are there any books on your list that I need to know about?