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Book Buying Online

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There are an endless number of sites to choose from, with Amazon being the big one. If Amazon is your go-to, no judgement here. I have some personal issue with Amazon so I prefer to spend my money elsewhere unless I either can’t find the books anywhere else or get them on time without a lot of hassle. This by no means I don’t spend any money on Amazon or that I judge others for using it. It’s just down to personal preference.

My favorite source for buying books is to go to a local shop I absolutely adore. Even when travelling I seek out independent book shops from which to purchase souvenirs as most locally owned shops will have a decent-sized section of local authors and titles or be a solid resource for local recommendations. If you haven’t already done so, I can’t recommend highly enough that you explore independent book shops where you live and support them with your business.

In the age of Covid, it’s not always possible or safe to visit these local gems. In this instance, I personally use and recommend Bookshop. I’m now an affiliate, as you may have noticed in my reviews. However, even prior to becoming an affiliate, I was an avid user of Bookshop. They are geared towards supporting independent book sellers through online sales. Per their website: 75% of our profit margin to stores, publications, authors and others who make up the thriving, inspirational culture around books. Each purchase through their site whether it is directly through a bookseller, affiliate link, or their home page gives money back to independent booksellers all over the country whether or not they’re partnered with Bookshop.

While Bookshop only deals with physical books, there are options for purchasing eBooks and audiobooks that also support independent booksellers. I have had good experiences purchasing through My Must Reads if the bookseller of your choosing has a storefront established through the site.

While I love to support independent booksellers whenever possible, and I enjoy seeing others support businesses they love, it is important to note that the costs through these sites are not as low as what you will find on Amazon or other bargain book sites.

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Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org. I may earn a commission from purchases made through any above links.

The Silver Eyes

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I first heard about Five Nights at Freddy’s from my nephew when, at the age of 7, he created quite a family drama when it was discovered he was watching playthroughs on YouTube. Responsible Aunt that I am, I thought the entire situation was amusing and was thrilled he was enjoying something even tangentially related to the type of work I enjoy (for those who don’t know, I’m a costume designer for haunted houses). I expected nothing from the franchise and didn’t explore it further than what my nephew had shown me until December of last year. I stumbled on some playthroughs done by Markiplier and couldn’t stop watching. I have since watched all of Markiplier’s FNAF playthroughs as well as his playthroughs of some fan-made games. I was surprised by how deep the lore of the FNAF universe goes and how detailed the storyline is as it carries over from the games into graphic novels, novels, art, etc. I’m too much of a wuss to play the games myself, but I greatly appreciate the world Scott Cawthon has created.

I only discovered the FNAF books a couple weeks ago but knew immediately it was something I’d have to check out. I’ve been burned by novelizations of movies and games before, so I had low expectations for The Silver Eyes, but I was pleasantly surprised. The narrative from the games carried over really well. If you’re at all familiar with the scenes from the games, it’ll be easy to immerse yourself in the novels. The scenes, sounds, and characters are all seamlessly integrated.

The characters reached an acceptable level of development to not seem entirely superficial. Their backstories weren’t terribly detailed (aside from Charlie), but they didn’t fall flat as characters in novelizations often seem to. The action sequences were solid with a good creep factor that felt familiar from the games. This is young adult, so if you’re looking for an advanced, mature horror novel, this isn’t it. If you know what to expect going into it, I would be comfortable recommending this book to those who are already familiar with the FNAF universe; if you’re not, several of the little details in the book will likely not mean much to you.

Most of my issues with The Silver Eyes are technical in nature and things I usually take issue with in the young adult genre, but they don’t ruin the book as I believe it’s intended to be experienced. For example, inconsistent dialogue and behavior among the characters. The characters are 17, but from one page to another they may be acting and speaking like children to acting and speaking like adults much more mature than they are depicted.

I was particularly impressed with the depth of Charlie’s backstory and the realistic approach to her accumulated grief. There were also several twists that weren’t revealed until the last couple chapters. I enjoyed the plot twists and thought they were utilized well, but if you’ve thoroughly explored the FNAF lore more so than I have, theses twists may be explained elsewhere.

I read The Silver Eyes on my kindle and iPhone via the Libby app.

The Silver Eyes is available in English and Spanish through Bookshop.org, as is the graphic novel. Purchases made through Bookshop.org support local booksellers.

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Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org. I may earn a commission from purchases made through any above links.

One of Us Is Lying *Contains Spoilers*

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This review contains spoilers. If you would like to read my spoiler-free review, please check out my GoodReads.

Trigger warning: suicide/depression, violence

Prior to reading One of Us Is Lying, I noticed many people referred to it as a mashup of Pretty Little Liars and The Breakfast Club and I think they nailed it. The primary group of characters consists of your stereotypical teen groupings: a jock, the bad boy, the brain, and the princess. In this instance, Simon is a depressed, twisted basket case. And there’s the twisty murder mystery with adults unable or unwilling to help as is familiar from Pretty Little Liars.

I usually avoid YA as teenage angst is not something I enjoy reading about. I didn’t enjoy experiencing it and it’s certainly not something I like revisiting in literature. If angst is really not your thing, maybe this isn’t the book for you. Angst is on nearly every page. However, I was able to get past it and took the book for the mystery and relationships buried in the angst. There is a lot going on here between the characters’ relationships with each other, family members, and within themselves. Karen McManus does an excellent job capturing that turmoil without coming off as trite. I was pleasantly surprised by the complexity involved in the murder mystery at the center of the book. 

Based on prior experiences with YA murder mysteries, I was expecting this to be purely superficial, uncomplicated, and easily resolved. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, particularly in YA where there’s a wide range of ages and comprehension skills in the intended audience, but this was surprising deep and well thought out. Of course there were certain situations leading up to the climax that raised some questions as to why Simon was able to disrupt so many lives in the manner he did without adult intervention or various forms of peer pressure, but I tried to suspend these lines of questioning to just enjoy the story.

Have you read others of McManus’s books? I’m hoping to add One of Us Is Next to my TBR in the next couple months.

I read One of Us Is Lying on my kindle and iPhone through the Libby app.

One of Us Is Lying is available in English and Spanish on Bookshop.org. Purchases made through Bookshop.org support local booksellers.

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Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org. I may earn a commission from purchases made through any above links.

Star Wars: Dark Lord of the Sith

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Though this is a collection of four volumes, I lumped them together for this review as I read them all in nearly one sitting. 

As someone who knows very little about the Star Wars universe outside of the movies, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Star Wars: Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith series, but I really enjoyed it! I didn’t feel like I was missing anything, not knowing much of the Star Wars lore, and was able to keep up with events. The dialogue was solid, and the illustrations were detailed without trying to do too much in a small space, which can be a tricky balance to find in a graphic novel.

It certainly isn’t necessary to read them all in one go. I had borrowed them from the library via Hoopla and was reading on an iPad, so it was quite convenient to just flow from one to the next. Before I knew it, I was finished.  They’re easy, entertaining, and contain what I thought was a good amount of information about the timeline in which they’re set. 

I’m suddenly finding myself immersed in this universe I know very little about and want to know more. My husband loved the Clone Wars animated series when it was first released and has talked me into watching it with him this time around since he has not yet seen the final season. My uncle has been a fan of the novels since I was a child, so I made it one of my reading goals this year to start them in chronological order. And I enjoyed the Dark Lord of the Sith series so much I’ve decided to start the Star Wars graphic novels from the beginning, also in chronological order according to Star Wars Canon Timeline.

Let me know what some of your favorite pieces of Star Wars canon are below or if you use a different source for tracking the chronological order. Any tips for diving headfirst into Star Wars are welcome!

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Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org. I may earn a commission from purchases made through any above links.

January 2021 TBR

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Since we’re already well into the month, my January TBR isn’t going to be massive; I’ll save that for next month.

  1. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice: This read is for a local book club meeting at the end of the month. After Covid dug its hooks in, I took the rest of 2020 off from book clubs even though they were meeting online because I just wasn’t feeling it. I miss it so much. I miss the community, the discussions, and just interacting with other readers. One of the groups I was most active in has resumed meeting in local parks as a sort of socially distanced picnic and I can’t wait to see them all again! I’ve already started Interview with the Vampire and am hooked! This will be my first completed Anne Rice book, but definitely not the last.
  2. Intelligent Design Uncensored by William A. Dembski and Jonathan Witt: Let me preface this one by saying I know next to nothing about intelligent design. This book is also for a book club, online through a discussion group at my university. I’m committed to finishing the book and attending the weekly discussions for a couple months, but I have no idea what I’m getting into with this group or the book or if it’s something I will continue to participate in beyond this pick.
  3. Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris: I’m nearly done with the Sookie Stackhouse series; expect a series review once I’m finished. I plan on definitely finishing Dead Reckoning in January and would like to finish the entire series this month, but it will depend on wait lengths for the audiobooks through Libby.
  4. Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Silver Eyes by Scott Cawthon and Kira Breed-Wrisley: To be entirely honest, I don’t have high hopes for this one and it’s not one I would have ever found if it wasn’t for my nephew’s obsession with the games. But I’m hoping to be surprised.
  5. Atomic Habits by James Clear: My husband continuously reminds me of lessons he learned from Atomic Habits, but it’s not one I’ve prioritized. Since November, I’ve been largely committed to being intentional and trying to form intentional habits, so I think it’s time to move this one to the top of the list.
  6. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole: This is also a book club book. I started it back in November and have been dragging through it despite enjoying all the nods to familiar locations in New Orleans. The meeting to discuss it has been postponed for months for various reasons, meaning I haven’t had much motivation to fly through it as I normally would.

If you’d like to see different available versions of these books while supporting local bookstores, check out my reading list at https://bookshop.org/shop/lelyreads!

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Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org. I may earn a commission from purchases made through any above links.