Sheena’s Year in Books

What did you read this year?

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2023

47,759

pages read

164

books read

Sheena

They Were Here Before Us by Eric LaRocca

Shortest Book

pages

Longest Book

962

pages

Average book length in 2023

291

pages

Most Shelved

1,663,646

people also shelved

Least Shelved

people also shelved

Sheena’s average rating for 2023

3.1

Why We Can't Wait by Martin Luther King Jr.

Highest Rated on Goodreads

4.59 average

Sheena’s first review of the year

really liked it

Happy publication day!

Ben Bookman is a best-selling Horror novelist, comparable to Stephen King. He has always wanted to be a writer and his own childhood was his inspiration for the stories. Ben grew up at his family’s mansion called Blackwood, filled with many hidden secrets.

Ben returns home for a weekend to help him finish his latest book The Scarecrow. Upon the release of the book, events from it happen in real life. The book opens up just Happy publication day!

Ben Bookman is a best-selling Horror novelist, comparable to Stephen King. He has always wanted to be a writer and his own childhood was his inspiration for the stories. Ben grew up at his family’s mansion called Blackwood, filled with many hidden secrets.

Ben returns home for a weekend to help him finish his latest book The Scarecrow. Upon the release of the book, events from it happen in real life. The book opens up just as Ben’s very own book does as well. Families are found hanging from barn rafters, brutally murdered and bundled in cocoons of corn husks.

Father and daughter duo Detective Mills and Detective Blue are on the case to look into the Scarecrow crimes. Their dysfunctional relationship makes the job a little harder but both are determined to get to the bottom of it. As expected, Ben is their number one suspect and taken in for questioning. He doesn’t remember much, making the detectives even more suspicious. Ben quickly realizes he needs to clear his name and find the truth as a plague of horrors has been unleashed into his hometown.

There are quite a few characters introduced that can make it a little harder to keep track of with the plot however, each character does have their part of the story. There are many layers that seamlessly piece together by the end of the novel. When you think you know where it’s going, it takes you somewhere else entirely. It’s a very interesting and unique take on nightmares and the folklore behind it. Generational family trauma is also explored and how it affects the future.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book and thoroughly entertained. I would recommend it for any horror and mystery lovers. I find it comparable to the works of T. Kingfisher and even Stephen King himself. Make sure to check this out when it’s released and I look forward to more from Markert!

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Check out my original review on https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/th...
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My second arc this year that I've finished before publication date and I'm so proud of myself lol ...more

SHEENA’S 2023 BOOKS

You are Eating an Orange. You are Naked. by Sheung-King

it was amazing

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi

really liked it

Spells for Lost Things by Jenna Evans Welch

A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

it was amazing

Lean Against This Late Hour by Garous Abdolmalekian

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall

really liked it

We Do What We Do in the Dark by Michelle Hart

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty

When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Khan-Cullors

it was amazing

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

it was amazing

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Se-hee

Crying in the Bathroom by Erika L. Sánchez

really liked it

really liked it

The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores

You've Lost a Lot of Blood by Eric LaRocca

Night of the Living Queers by Shelly Page

Two Trees Make a Forest by Jessica J. Lee

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty

Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane

really liked it

The End of the Golden Gate by Gary Kamiya

really liked it

really liked it

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke

We Need to Do Something by Max Booth III

Sheena’s last review of the year

liked it

I started this book in August and finished it now in December. Based off that, it sounds like I didn’t enjoy this and that’s not the case! I’ve just been in a severe book slump (not because of this book though). I enjoyed these stories, some more than others of course as expected.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book!

2023 READING
CHALLENGE

Sheena read 164 out of 100 books.

164%

What did you read this year?