Offbeat Offline: October 2024 (Back and Refreshed…Ha, I Wish)

Welcome to Offbeat Offline, where I bring you up-to-date with what went on in my life during the month just gone, give you a sneak peek of my next shenanigans, and share my favourite posts of late!

What happened last month to yours truly? Not much, though I have some medical updates. Unsurprisingly, my housekeeping plans got derailed, but I managed to catch up with my ARCs up to January (which were my whole deal until I, ahem, requested more and was approved for some😅...they're all spring books bar one though, so I have time), and even to squeeze in a couple of non-ARCs.

📚 HERE WE GO AGAIN. As I said, I made good progress on my existing ARCs...but in the meantime I requested a few more and was approved for some of them. It's a good thing that I'm so selective to begin with - and that someone tells me NO from time to time 😅. I only reread 1 book this month, in order to knock some ARCs off my list. Here's my monthly bookish recap...

Approvals (4+1...that is, 4 real approvals and 1 free-to-download book):

• The Way Up Is Death by Dan Hanks (Adult, sci-fi)

When a mysterious tower appears in the skies over England, thirteen strangers are pulled from their lives to stand before it as a countdown begins. Above the doorway is one word: ASCEND.

As a grieving teacher, a reclusive artist, and a narcissistic celebrity children’s author lead the others in trying to understand why they’ve been chosen and what the tower is, it soon becomes clear the only way out of this for everyone…is up.

And so begins a race to the top, through sinking ships, haunted houses and other waking nightmares, as the group fights to hold onto its humanity, while the twisted horror of why they’re here grows ever more apparent – and death stalks their every move.

• The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig (Adult, supernatural)

Five high school friends are bonded by an oath to protect one another no matter what.

Then, on a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find something a mysterious staircase to nowhere.

One friend walks up—and never comes back down. Then the staircase disappears.

Twenty years later, the staircase has reappeared. Now the group returns to find the lost boy—and what lies beyond the staircase in the woods...

• Aunt Tigress by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin (Adult, fantasy) *

Tam hasn’t eaten anyone in years. 

She is now Mama’s soft-spoken, vegan daughter—everything dangerous about her is cut out.

But when Tam’s estranged Aunt Tigress is found murdered and skinned, Tam inherits an undead fox in a shoebox, and an ensemble of old enemies. 

The demons, the ghosts, the gods running coffee shops by the river? Fine. The tentacled thing stalking Tam across the city? Absolutely not. And when Tam realizes the girl she’s falling in love with might be yet another loose end from her past? That’s just the brassy, beautiful cherry on top.

Because no matter how quietly she lives, Tam can’t hide from her voracious upbringing, nor the suffering she caused. As she navigates romance, redemption, and the end of the world, she can’t help but wonder…

Do monsters even deserve happy endings?

With worldbuilding inspired by Chinese folklore and the Siksiká Nation in Canada, LGBTQIA+ representation, and a sapphic romance, Aunt Tigress is at once familiar and breathtakingly innovative.

* When the blurb says "Readers of Seanan McGuire, Ilona Andrews, and Ben Aaronovitch will devour this gory story", what's a girl to do? 🤷‍♀️Slam the "Request" button of course!!! 😅

• The Memory Collectors by Dete Meserve (Adult, sci-fi/mystery)

What would you do if you could spend an hour in your past? Four strangers in the beach town of Ventura, California are about to find out. 

Elizabeth aches for one more precious hour with her son who died in a senseless accident. Andy is desperate to find his first love who vanished after a whirlwind romance. Logan craves the rush of surfing and mountain climbing, yearning to reclaim the freedom he lost after a misstep landed him in a wheelchair. Brooke is looking for an hour of relief from the guilt of an unforgivable mistake.

Enter Aeon Expeditions, the groundbreaking time travel invention of Mark Saunders—which allows some lucky clients  the chance to spend an hour in their past. Even though Aeon’s technology ensures time travel can’t alter the future, all four clients, including Mark’s ex-wife Elizabeth, yearn to revisit the hour that changed their lives forever. 

But when their “hour” extends beyond sixty minutes, they find themselves stranded in the past. As their paths intertwine unexpectedly, they unearth shocking secrets hidden in the shadows of their shared history: all their lives were shattered the same night on a secluded highway by the beach. As they delve into the hidden truths of that pivotal hour, a startling revelation emerges. They were not alone. Someone else was present, harboring deadly intentions.

The Memory Collectors is a heart-wrenching, genre-bending novel brimming with hope, grief and second chances.

• The Thorns by Dawn Kurtagich (Adult, thriller - surprisingly, given the author's status, it's Read Now on NetGalley)

Touch a line, you break your spine.

Stacey is the dusty air, the cracked soil, the drought. To fourteen-year-old Bethany Sloane, she’s everything.

Abandoned by her mother at a remote African boarding school, Bethany will do anything to stay in Stacey’s good graces. And that means learning the rules of each twisted game.

Touch a crack, you break your back.

Seventeen years later, Bethany is a bestselling author. Disabled now, she can’t remember what happened back in the bush. But there’s no mistaking Stacey Preston’s name in her inbox.

Glassy, glassy, cut my arsey.

That email brings Bethany’s childhood rushing back. The Glass Man was just a story the Thorns invented, a game of wits. But every game has its rules—and consequences for breaking them. To stay alive this round, Bethany needs to play right into Stacey’s hands.

Dark and disturbing, The Thorns explores the horrifying world of adolescent abuse, controlling friendships, and blinding obsession.

Reads (6):

• The Last Hour Between Worlds (The Echo Archives #1) by Melissa Caruso (Adult, fantasy/multiverse)

Original and entertaining!

• The Losting Fountain by Lora Senf (YA, fantasy/multiverse)

Not gonna lie, I expected a tad more, and I found it a bit too somber, but I liked it! Also, it needs a sequel (it's not been announced, but I guess it will manifest at some point, because there are plenty of loose threads left).

• Voice Like a Hyacinth by Mallory Pearson (NA, supernatural)

Remember when I told you Pearson had the marks of a good writer, if only she could let go of her penchant for overripe similes? She proved me right with this one 😀.

• Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch by Codie Crowley (YA, afterlife)

I expected a lot more from my favourite premise...(dead/undead characters). From that title too, for that matter.

• Beholder by Ryan La Sala (YA, supernatural/contemporary)

I love La Sala's writing, and I had super-great expectations after The Honeys, but this one never really came together for me. Then again, it was good enough for a 4-star rating.

• Myriad by Joshua David Bellin (Adult, sci-fi  – reread [pub. 2023])

Mind-blowing variation on the time-travel trope, full of twists and turns - but also heart - with a well-crafted and compelling main character. It was fun rereading it and picking up all the clues leading to what I know now.  Here's my old ARC review.

Reviews (5):

• The Last Hour Between Worlds (The Echo Archives #1) by Melissa Caruso (see above)

On the blog later this month (see below).

• The Losting Fountain by Lora Senf (see above)

Scheduled for Dec. 11th.

• Beholder by Ryan La Sala (see above)

Scheduled for Dec. 16th. (Well, I'm still in the process of writing it...).

• Voice Like a Hyacinth by Mallory Pearson (see above)

Scheduled for Jan. 7th.

• Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch by Codie Crowley (see above)

Mini review on GR for now, on the blog later (probably next month).

Here are my scheduled reviews for this month:

• The Darkness Behind the Door by Mira Gonzalez (on Wed. 6th);
• Streetlight People by Charlene Thomas, Darkly by Marisha Pessl and Coins of Chaos by Jennifer Brozek et al. (in a mini-review round on Wed. 13th);
• The Last Hour Between Worlds (The Echo Archives #1) by Melissa Caruso (on Wed. 20th).

Reviews aside, I'll participate in the Tell Me Something Tuesday meme on the 26th (question: Which Books Are You Looking Forward to Reading This Winter? (December-February)). I know I sound like a broken record but...though I keep wanting to be more involved in the meme, I'm still too wrapped up in reviews and errands and general chaos to fit it into my schedule. In the meantime, here's the TMST prompt list for the month of November, in case you want to join in:

• November 5th: What are five things that make you happy?
• November 12th: Which types of reviews help you decide what books to read?
• November 19th: Have you ever met someone famous? Tell us!
• November 26th: Which books are you looking forward to reading this winter? (December-February)

🩺 EXAMINATION MODE. I've had my usual round of medical check-ups for my CLL, and it's a mixed bag. The ultrasound didn't highlight any change (which is good), but the bloodwork showed a leukocytes and lymphocytes increment. I’ll see the hematologist in November. Also in November, I have a colonoscopy booked, because I haven't felt well for a while now (though I suppose it's my old IBS flaring up, but you never know). I asked to do it under conscious sedation, because the only time I had one (fully awake), it was a painful affair, and deep sedation would keep me away from home too long, which I can't afford at the moment. Let's hope the lighter version will be enough...

(Also, I got my flu and Covid shots).

🦵 A HARD ROAD. The hubs' ulcer is getting better by the day, but walking is still a grim business. He tries to take some steps almost every day, but the pain is real. He has to rebuild his leg AND arm strength (since he needs two canes) after two years' worth of laying in a bed, plus he had it rough enough before this whole thing started...

🌦️ MIXED SIGNALS. The weather has been acting up again all month. I mean, we haven't taken the brunt of it like certain regions have (where there's been flooding, even deaths), so I can't really complain - but we've had a huge amount of heavy rain, while the temps were/still are unusually warm (I have 24°C/75°F at home!), and humidity is queen (my muscles say thank you...😬).

Since I was on hiatus, I haven't blog-hopped at all in October, so I've got nothing 🙁. But I'm getting back in the game, so this section will be operative in my next monthly recap!

That's it for now. My next post will be up on November 6th, and it will be the review for The Darkness Behind the Door I mentioned above.

So, what were your highs/lows in the past month?