Wakela Runen's World

Not Your Crush's Cauldron Book 3 of Supernatural Singles by April Asher narrated by Zura Johnson This is the 3rd book in the series and I hadn't read any of the prior books.  This did not affect my ability to follow along with the story.  In fact, I absolutely loved this story.  As soon as I was done listening, I bought the first 2 books.  I can't wait to listen to those!! Zura Johnson creates voices for the characters that fit their personality and has great intonation.  I do tend to listen to my books at 1.5X speed and the pacing at that rate was great.  This is the first book that I have listened to that she has narrated.  I plan to keep an ear out for more of her books.   The series follows triplet witches as they try to discover their true selves as well as their one true love.  In Not Your Crush's Cauldron, we get to know Olive (the 3rd born of the triplets) much more.  She is a reserved, down-to-Earth professor that teaches supernatural studies.  She has a normal

The Witches Workshop by Melissa Jayne Madara First, I would like to note that I reviewed the eBook edition.  I wanted to mention this since I have already said that I focus on audiobooks.  However, with a book of crafts or recipes, I feel that it is necessary to be able to see the process instead of listening and trying to figure it out in my head.  It is less noisy this way. Now on to the book itself.  This book is a witch's guide to creating your own tools.  The first thing that came to mind when I saw this title was that by crafting your own incense, dyes, or oils you can already start to put your intentions into them while crafting.  This way you will have the added benefit during your spell or ritual work.  Whereas, if you are buying mass produced items, you don't have the energy already starting.   I know that many people skip introductions in this type of book.  There is a lot of great information in this section.  The author attempts to show how the very definition of a

Crocheting Reversible Amigurumi Projects by Jesse Van In These animals are so cute!  I know that this is going to show my age with this comment, but they sort of remind me of Popples!  The big difference is that Popples only turned into a ball.  Whereas these darlings turn into other things depending on the project you choose.  For instance, the pattern for the fox has an inside that is a cat.  The otter becomes a seashell.   The other cool thing is that you don't have to make them reversible if you don't want.  You can actually make them one sided and seal them closed.  So, if you only want that adorable panda bear, then you make the panda part of the pattern and then fill it with stuffing and seal it off.  Then you have a cute stuffed panda. There are so many handy tips and guidance in this book that even beginners like me have a chance at creating these cuties.  I know that it will take me awhile to finish one of these patterns, but I am working my way through one at the mom

A Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian narrated by Soneela Nankani I have been impatiently waiting for this audiobook to be released.  I was excited when I learned that I could review the eALC for NetGalley. First, let me tell you how I learned of this great series.  I am a HUGE fan of the narrator.  I absolutely love the work of Soneela Nankani and I was wanting something to read, but really didn't feel like tackling my TBL pile.  Well, I did a search to see what books Soneela Nankani narrated and came across this series about a stage magician, locked room mysteries and hidden rooms.  I was intrigued.   Let me tell you that Soneela doesn't disappoint with her voicing of the characters.  From creating the accents for the Indian grandparents to the Scottish grandmother to her American friends, Soneela seems to manage it all without skipping a beat. As for the story, most cozy mysteries you can skip around in the series without an issue.  However, in this particular book, I advise tha

Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan narrated by Stephanie Németh Parker This book is listed as a horror-mystery.  I do feel that it is more of just a horror book.  That is perfectly fine with me.  I spent my teen years reading Clive Barker and Leigh Nichols (Dean Koontz pseudonym).  Plus, being a teen in the 80s, I spent time watching horror films such as Nightmare on Elm Street.  So, going into this book, I was ready for horror and blood.   This book is based on the Romanian mythology of the Strigoi.  I know that many people are not aware of the stories surrounding them.  So, the picture on the cover doesn't really make sense to many.  The Strigoi are a mix between a vampire and a zombie.  They start out as a zombie/ghoul type of being that will feed on humans and gain strength.  As they gain strength, they will start to appear more and more human.  In the original tales of the Strigoi, they can turn invisible and shapeshift.  That didn't occur in this book though.  However, the be

A Killer Romance by Maggie Blackburn narrated by Christa Lewis This is the 3rd book in the Beach Reads series.  It is the first book that I have listened to in the series.   Summer Merriweather inherited not only a house, but a book shop from her deceased mom.  Once a professor of Shakespearean literature, she has now uprooted her life to run Beach Reads on a small island in North Carolina.  Against her better judgement, Summer hosts Lana Livingstone for the Valentine's Day event "Romance by The Sea".  Summer feels that Lana's latest book does not fully understand Romeo and Juliet.  And talking to Lana, she quickly realizes that Lana has the misunderstanding that "Romeo and Juliet" is a romance and not a tragedy.   It soon becomes apparent that Lana is a suspect in her husband's murder.  And when she is found dead at the local B&B, the Beach Read employees are under suspicion.   There were a few things in the story that did bother me a little bit.  I

The Dollmaker by Morgan Shamy narrated by Kate Rudd Set in the 1920s, there were a few anachronisms that did take me out of the time period.  However, for the most part, I was right there in the time with the characters. The story revolves around Dawn, a single woman who wants to be a doctor.  This is something of an anomaly for that era.  Women were housewives, teachers, nannies or maids.  They did not attempt to achieve anything more than that.   Dawn's parents are wanting to marry her off to a grotesque elderly man because he is rich and Dawn's father has lost all of the family's money.  Of course, this is something that Dawn is not wanting.  In the meantime, women are going missing and parts of them are being found sew together sort of like a deranged Dr. Frankenstein's version of a porcelain doll.  It isn't until one of Dawn's friends is taken that she starts her search for the murderer.     I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I know that some people are upset