Books read in 2025: No. 33 -- Sunshine

by Robin McKinley

Started: August 14

Finished: August 22

Notes: I've been trying to read more horror of late, and to tell the truth, I'm not sure this is horror, though the back cover copy does mention a vampire. In fact, I'm not sure why I picked this novel up in the first place. Did I hear good things about it? Was it a gift? Did someone suggest it? I don't know, but I'll give it a try.

Mini review: Turns out, not exactly horror, but in the general direction. Almost vampire romance, but not quite. Anyway, in a world much like our own, vampires and werewolves and sorcerers and magic are known to exist, but they're not extremely common, at least for the day-to-day individual. As background, 10 years in the past there was a war between humans and vampires, and the humans won, sort of. The vamps basically went into hiding but are still out there stirring up trouble. The protagonist here is a young woman who is a baker, her specialty being cinnamon rolls, and as the story unfolds, she has something of an unusual family line. I'll not go into more so as not to spoil anything, but I do have to say this one was written quite well; in fact, there were times I had a hard time putting this one down, which is unusual for me. My one drawback was the climax, which felt too ... hmm, I'm not sure of the word ... maybe "cerebral" or "emotion-based" ... but those don't feel accurate; basically, there's a huge confrontation that includes a lot of action, but nearly all the action is left to the reader's imagination. Still, good book all the way around.

Beer of the Week: Reef Keeper India Pale Ale

Beer score: 6.0

Company: Mother Earth Brewing
ABU: 6.5
IBU: 35

As anyone who reads this blog regularly (both of you) knows, I'm not a big IPA fan despite their popularity. That being said, I always try to give a fair shake to any beer I've not tried before, such as this one from North Carolina.

This one pours a very cloudy, almost solid gold color while giving off a little sour grapefruit smell and a mix of bitter and sweet.

On the tongue, this is a fairly heavy brew, so if you prefer something light, yeah, this might not be for you. The taste has some lemon rind bitterness and a little more of that grapefruit. The sourness is not overly strong, but it is there. However, the bitterness grows and grows the more you drink, and lingers on the tongue a good while after your last swallow.

Those who enjoy a solid, hearty brew will like this one, especially if you're already an IPA fan. Probably one of the more sturdy IPAs I've tasted.

Books read in 2025: No. 32 -- Abandon

by Blake Crouch

Started: August 8

Finished: August 13

Notes: I've not read much of Crouch's work, but what little I have read (and it's been a long while, more than a decade), I found pretty solid. So, since I'm reading horror of late, I thought I'd give him another go.

Mini review: In 1893, every single member of a mining town in the mountains of Colorado goes missing with no clues left behind. Fast forward to 2009, and a group of 6 travels to the area in search of answers. It sounds supernatural. Perhaps it is. Perhaps it isn't. I won't tell. But I will say, this was a pretty darn good novel. The action jumps back and forward between two timelines, something I normally despise, yet here it works quite well.

Beer of the Week Blast from the Past: Samuel Adams Boston Lightship

Beer score: 3.9

I've been drinking a number of Samuel Adams beers of late, so I thought I'd take a trip down memory lane by looking at my notes from a Sam Adams brew that is no longer with us.

The Boston Lightship was one of the earliest beers made by the Samuel Adams folks back in the 1980s, and I've even read in a few places that is was actually the second beer they ever brewed. Whatever the case, this was their first light beer, and they've made a healthy number of other light beers since, and all those I've tried have been better than this original, the Boston Lightship.

This beer had a strong bitterness, especially strong for a light beer, but it still had plenty of carbonation like many a light beer. It poured a medium yellow color while giving off light bready smells, but all that carbonation hurt this one for me.

Definitely not the worst light beer ever made, but Samuel Adams has offered better choices since.

Books read in 2025: No. 31 -- The Traveling Vampire Show

by Richard Laymon

Started: August 2

Finished: August 8

Notes: I've read a fair amount of fantasy and sci-fi so far this year, so I thought I'd turn for a while to one of my earliest genre loves, horror. I used to read a lot more horror than I have in recent years, so this should be a nice change of pace, and kicking things off with Richard Laymon can't be bad.

Mini review: This one is a slight not toward Badbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes. It's the 1960s, and a Traveling Vampire Show comes to a small town, and of course some curious young teens have to go look into things because ... well, because they're curious young teens. This one reads quick, and the writing is pretty solid, but it's definitely a slow burn of a horror novel. A few odd things happen, but there's really not much of a horror element until the last eighth of the tale, and then not everything is explained (though I don't have a problem with that). Not a bad read, but I usually prefer my horror fiction to have a stronger build than this one.

Beer of the Week: Samuel Adams Breakaway Blonde

Beer score: 5.8

Company: Samuel Adams
ABV: 4.7
IBU: 15

Pours a somewhat light golden color while giving of slightly sweet scents of citrus, maybe lime, and wheat.

A little carbonation when you drink it, so smooth but not overly smooth. Has a wheaty bitterness at first, but the aftertaste is somewhat sweet and has citrus hints.

Not the best blonde beer I've ever had, and I'm generally a fan of the type, but also not an awful beer. If you gave me one at a party, yeah, I'd drink it, but I'm not going to rush out and purchase a bunch of them.

Books read in 2025: No. 30 -- 7 Figure Fiction: How to Use Universal Fantasy To Sell Your Books to Anyone

by T. Taylor

Started: July 28

Finished: August 2

Notes: I've read absolutely no non-fiction this year, and I'm feeling the urge. So I decided to check out this one. I'm less interested in the financial aspects, though that does have its appeal, and I'm drawn more toward this author's notions of "Universal Fantasy."

Mini review: Beginning fiction writers especially mind find some solid advice here, but I felt this one wasn't quite for me. For one thing, I felt the notion of "universal fantasy" wasn't well defined, though there were tons of examples given from literature, television, and film. Maybe "universal fantasy" is self explanatory, but I've seen the term used elsewhere and it wasn't exactly the same as what I found here. Secondly, I didn't feel there was a whole book's worth of information here. For me, the author's ideas could have been fleshed out in a blog post, though maybe a long blog post. I found all the examples given to be less helpful and more tedious. But that's just me. The author did her job well enough that I purchased her book, so there's something to be said for that. Don't let my grousing leave you thinking this is an awful book, because it's not ... I just didn't find it right for me. Did I pick up some advice, or maybe a different way of thinking? Yeah, I suppose, but I really didn't find much new here. Others might experience otherwise.