25: Spawn 2: More Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies

By Deborah Sheldon, ed. (306 pp, ebook)

I bought this because one of my Clarion West classmates Carol Ryles has a story in it called: In War with Time for Love of You. It is worth buying this anthology just for her story. It's set in space and it manages to balance science-y stuff, creepy body horror, and heartbreak. Like any story collection, some are fantastic and some didn't work for me at all. They all have scary baby things but Carol's is the only sci fi. People have great imagination for creepy pregnancy stories.

24. The Hawthorne Legacy

By Jennifer Lynn Barnes (380 pp ebook)

I had to wait 4-5 weeks to get Book 1 from the library so I ordered this one ahead of time anticipating that I would want to continue with the series. This follows the pattern of the first book with new questions to answer about why Avery Grambs is connected to this family. The character relationships continue to develop. It also felt choppy and the characters felt thin and I wasn't sold on the romance. I think these are aimed at a younger reader than I -- they are very popular but I don't expect to continue with the series.

23. The Inheritance Games

By Jennifer Lynn Barnes (386 pp ebook)

I listened to an interview with the author who studies why people connect with stories and I wanted to read her fiction. This book is about a young woman, Avery Grambs, who learns she has been chosen to inherit billions from complete stranger, Tobias Hawthorne, who has chosen her over his own family. She is swooped up and taken to the family mansion where she has to live for 1 year to collect the fortune. The family is in the mansion, too. They need to solve riddles and puzzles to figure out why Avery was chosen and Avery needs to adapt to her new circumstances and the danger that comes with it. It's a fast read. I know the technique of short chapters ending on a question keeps readers going but after awhile it felt choppy and I thought the characters were a little thin. Still fun.

22. The Shards

By Bret Easton Ellis (608 pp ebook)

I haven't read Ellis in decades and I'm going to guess I bought this book because I read a review that said it was great nostalgia for people who grew up in S. California in the 80s.

Ellis is the same age as I am and the descriptions in this book: the clothes; driving around naming all the roads: Valley Vista, Mullholland, Beveryly Glen; the music; the movies; the clubs; the kinds of things we did when we were teenagers, were all heavy duty nostalgia. The only difference is I wasn't rich and didn't do drugs. The story is about a fictional Ellis in rich people high school with a close group of friends and dealing with rich people problems, drinking, drugs, dysfunctional families. It's dark and suspenseful. I'm going a terrible job of describing it. It did get long for me but it's a page turner.