Bethany's Book Nook

  "Grief is like a series of bombs exploding, one after another. Every house, a new detonation. Shock after shock after shock."           Le Sommet is a horrible place, surrounded by local legends and rumors, the once abandoned tuberculosis sanatorium has found its second life as a five-star hotel. It is as imposing as it is beautiful, and being high up in the Swiss Alps makes it a remote get away. It's also the last place Elin Warner wants to be stuck, having taken a leave of absence from her work as a detective, decides to brave the journey. Especially when her estranged brother and his fiancée reach out and invite her to celebrate their engagement. She arranges in the middle of a terrible storm with her boyfriend, already on edge when they wake the following morning to discover her brothers fiancée has gone missing. Elin is thrust into the case when everyone gets stormed in and the police aren't able to access the hotel, making the guests panic even...

 "Close your doors and cabinets tight, or Jack will climb out to see you tonight."      This investigation leads to the team to a former railroad stop in Timbermill, Georgia. Having fallen into disrepair after its boom era faded, it is coming into its second life. Unfortunately, with all the new businesses and families moving in, they aren't privy to the urban legend of past generations. These legends focus on a supernatural figure who emerges through doors, cabinets, and cabinets that are left open at night. Once a couple relocated to a local antique home, restoring it in this hopefully up and coming town, this urban legend is stalking them and their children. They turn to the team to help defeat this evil and finally rid it of the area.     This has to be hands down the scariest book so far in this series. It was extremely unique and had my skin absolutely crawling by the end of it. Not only does it include a powerful supernatural urban legend that is in ...

  ""The only clear pattern I've seen is that, whether the hunting party is led by a pagan god, a demon, or a ghost, it's always bad luck to see it. Some say it's an omen of death." "Oh, I'm so glad we saw it then." Stacey shook her head and went back to work."      A secret client hires Ellie Jordan to investigate an island getaway that was once home to an Industrial Age aristocrat, solely used to escape the harsh winters of the upper northeast. These once grand mansions were slowly abandoned, and the weather and wilderness took over once again. One such island, that is temporarily home to Ellie Jordan for this investigation, was modeled after a royal hunting lodge, complete with weapons, artifacts, hunting trophies, and exotic taxidermied predators from around the world. The secretive client is trying to bring the island back to life as a grand gesture to his fiancée whose family used to own the island. Unfortunately, while trying to fix t...

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a book."      Yale Yee discovers her cousin Celine is visiting from Hong Kong, she is roped into playing tour guide, even though she hasn't seen her in twenty years. Her restaurant owner/chef father goes one step further and thinks it would be a good idea for them to run a food stall together at the Eastwood Village Night Market. Feeling that she's been left with no other option, Yale agrees even though she hasn't cooked in years, but with the help of Celine's social media career it might be worth a shot. They spend the night serving drinks in a catchy design and small food dishes and are shocked when their one drink is a favorite amongst the crowd. Unfortunately, this drink is also found beside the body of a dead patron, and Celine and Yale are the main suspects. Even as opposites, Celine and Yale work together to prove their innocence and to get t...

      A refurbished drive in has found a new life after being dormant for years. With help of a young family, it gives it it's much needed facelift and modern vision moving forward. Unfortunately, not everything has been left in past as it's been haunting the projection room, screen tower, and parked customers. Ellie Jordan and her team are on the case, especially when she realizes it is impacting Daisy, the daughter of the owners. Between no obvious murders or agendas, they have to figure out what is causing these hauntings and get down to the bottom of it before the show begins.      With every new installment I feel myself absolutely loving the characters more and more. The new places, faces, and haunts that are so sight specific and thought provoking. This one was no exception! There was a whole lore and in-depth storyline that truly felt like it could have been something that happened in Hollywood long ago. It truly felt like a story within a story, if...

  "Why would teenage boys go out on a boat in a storm" Stacey wondered. "Well, now that I say it aloud, it kinda answers itself"           The team is brough to an old campground that is full of local legend. It is next to the mysterious mounds of a vanished people and once a summer camp for children before it was abruptly shut down due to mysterious deaths. The Conner family moved from the city, to create a space for children in need. They're on a deadline and the construction in the camp is stirring up the spirits of the grounds and woods. Between the deaths within the camp, Josh Conner's inability to accept the paranormal, and an old Indigenous legend of the Trailwalker, there is no shortage of possibilities. One thing remains the same though, t hese spirits are mainly targeting the Conner kids. Ellie and the team have to dig into this campground's rich history and determine what or who is threatening the family. Or else they may be forced to give u...

  "It's people like your brother and me, being handed a weapon and told to kill someone we don't even know, who we'd probably get along with in everyday life. And all because someone in a gilded throne or behind a big desk decides that's what we have to do."          On the brink of World War One, a forbidden romance is blooming between debutante Cordelia and the landscape architect Issac. Cordelia finds herself intrigued with learning how to cultivate the garden in preparation for when the men are called away to war. Issac, of course, teaches her in private and their forbidden love story began. Cordelia's parents find out and her mother is absolutely horrified to find her daughter digging in dirt, but reluctantly agree to let her continue her work. Even going as far as coming up with the idea to expand their garden to aid the estate and surrounding areas. Issac continues to teach her  through letters when he is on the battlefield, but their correspond...

"We all have our little gardens of dead dreams, don't we? And sometimes we still try to water and tend those gardens, long after we should know nothing will ever grow there."        In this installment of the Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper series, the team is sent to investigate a potential haunting at an antebellum mansion in the middle of the countryside. A pair of sisters currently reside there because the previous owner, a deceased reclusive professor, hired someone to transform his massive collection into some semblance of organization. The oldest sister Cherise is a university student who is cataloguing the entire collection. The issue is, it's a collection of ancient and medieval manuscripts and items. The library and mansion are filled with terribly haunting spirits-both helpful, lost, and frightening. Even when exploring the grounds they come across an eerie family cemetery in the overgrown woods and run into a figure trying to communicate something seriou...

  "Find us a hotel. Something NOT HAUNTED. Can't emphasize this enough"       Ellie and her team are in pursuit of a possessed friend and the demon who killed her parents, along with countless others, across the United States. We come across a dramatic backdrop of ghost towns, highways, and haunted hotels all leading up to a final horrific location. A town that was completely demolished and destroyed by fire that is not haunted by hundreds of spirits. Ellie is prepared to fight for her life along with her team and a quirky exorcist from Texas. Here her past and present collide in the final confrontation that gives her the chance to finally get rid of her own personal demon. Hopefully it doesn't kill her or the people she's closest with first.      This story was the perfect climax to Ellie's personal growth story and how Anton Clay really was her own personal demon, having been obsessed with her since she was a child. It was time for him to finall...

  "It's not always enough to go looking for the place we belong. Sometimes we need that place"     As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon has to hide her magic, keep to herself and stay away from other witches so powers don't grow stronger and draw attention. As an orphan, who lost her parents at a young age, she was raised by strangers as a ward to the head of her coven. This upbringing and way of life means she's used to being alone and never staying in one place for too long. The one exception she makes is her online personality where she makes videos pretending to be a witch.     Unfortunately, she didn't do that good of a job at keeping it a secret...someone recognizes her for what she is. When she gets a strange message request asking her to travel to Nowhere House where she would be a teacher to three young witches, she makes the move. Knowing that it's important to teach these girls to be in control, how dangerous it could be, and that Mik...

      Ellie takes a case in Foxboro, Tennessee, which is a little further than home, during the Christmas season. She goes ahead and takes it while Stacey and Jacob are in Alabama celebrating with her family. The email came in from Dr. Weirdman's Mountain Museum of Monsters, Curiosities, and Ancient Mysteries. A tourist attraction that offered travelers the adventure of a lifetime, the unusual underground caves, "scientific" exhibits, and artifacts from the creators owns adventures. The museum is in less than favorable conditions and the spirits roaming are going after the children of its new owner, a distant relative who has no idea what he's doing and his young children. On top of the case, Michael and Melissa come back into the picture and volunteer to go with Ellie to go to the local Christmas market nearby. This of course leaves Ellie with more anxiety and uncertainty, wanting to keep them away from any ghostly activities after what happened in the corn maze but ...

      Ellie Jordan and her team take on a new case in downtown Atlanta, inside a crumbling historical skyscraper! The prominent family that created this skyscraper empire and lived on the top floors are having some unwanted visitors that are getting more violent every day. This care proves extremely dangerous, unraveling the past of this prominent family and the crime, corruption, and wealth that happened within those walls. Every floor has its own dangers and hidden rooms with residual spirits, leaving this one of the most challenging cases Ellie and the team have ever come across!      Even at work in the middle of the day, this one had me looking over my shoulder constantly. The hidden secrets are so deep and wild that it took my breath away, also saying I was so worried that Ellie and Stacey were going to be abducted in that basement! Poor Ellie is still trying to deal and cope with what has happened with Michael and is still tracking down Anton Clay so...

Some trigger warnings are rape, SA, and murder of a trans woman. "Each poem explores what it means to be a daughter of Newark, and America--and the painful, joyous path to adulthood as a young, queer Black woman."      Read it in one sitting and then re-read it again on a different day, that time deliberately taking it slow and letting everything set in. I loved the poems and how it told a story, giving detailed information of what has happened in the past while also focusing on the present. It can be triggering for some if you don't know that it is coming in this collection of poems, so definitely read all trigger warnings if possible. Beyond proud of her for telling her story and being so incredibly brave for sharing it with everyone. It's so important for her to tell and discuss these topics, you know there are individuals out there that will find solace and comfort in her words, knowing that they are not alone. Healing and understanding will definitely come this c...