4th Annual OctobeRec Fest ~ A Month of Recommendations! #OctobeRecFest

Welcome to my Fourth Annual OctobeRec Fest. 

FOURTH, y'all! I can't believe I've been doing this for four years now. Anyway, I started this as a nod to Oktoberfest and I'm once again spending a month dedicated to reading the many, many books on my ereaders and bookshelves thanks to you, my blogging friends. (and a few beers will probably be added into the mix! ;) This year, I'm switching it up just a tad. I'll be reading books from series that I started thanks to y'all and in doing so, I'm showing my digital and physical shelves love as well as moving towards finishing up those series! 

Here are a few of the books I'm hoping to get to this month. I'm sure you'll recognize your recommendations but I'll try to make sure to call you out in my reviews. ;)



Thank you all so much for sharing book love! And hopefully I can get a few of you interested in some new books to try. 

Favorites of 2016 ~ New-to-Me Authors

I decided it'd be fun to bring 2016 to a close by listing some of favorites from the year. I hope you enjoy reading about some of my favorites and I'd be happy to hear about any of your favorites!

*~*New-to-Me Authors*~*

• Vi Keeland - I listened to two from Keeland and am eager for more. Her stories have it all - complex characters, compelling story, and all the feels!
• Sarina Bowen - I continue to collect Bowen's books after the greatness that was her combined effort with Elle Kennedy, Him.
• Jandy Nelson - I was so impressed with I'll Give You the Sun...the complexity of the story and characters and the brilliant delivery, I'm excited to read more from her.
• Colleen Gleason - meeting Victoria Gardella from Gleason's Gardella Vampire Hunters series was a highlight for me in 2016!
• Darynda Jones - I know! Better late than never! Charlie and Reyes and Cookie and Bob...need I say more?
• Scarlett Cole - She delivered a riveting story and managed to incorporate Dante...loved it!
• Heidi Cullinan - She writes M/M beautifully and realistically. I've procured quite a collection of hers so be on the lookout for reviews in 2017.
• Joanna Bourne - I listened to Bourne's The Spymaster's Lady and then proceeded to add more of her to my library. She delivered a wonderful story with fantastic characters.
• Amy Harmon - A Different Blue dazzled me early in 2016 with it's complexity and characters I came to love. 
• Tiffany Reisz - Again, I know! I can't believe I put off reading Reisz for so long but I'll be reading her more and more...

#OctobeRecFest Review ~ First Grave on the Right ~ Darynda Jones

First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
Charley Davidson #1
Release Date: February 1, 2011
Genre: Adult, Paranormal Romance/Mystery
Source: Paper ARC from publisher sent to B&N
Rating: 5 Bookworms
Challenges: #BloggerShame, #OctobeRecFest, #ShelfLove
Recommended by: Robyn @robgirlbooks (honestly, a better question is who *didn't* recommend it but Robyn did the arm twisting)
Goodreads

Synopsis
This whole grim reaper thing should have come with a manual.
Or a diagram of some kind.
A flow chart would have been nice.

Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator and full-time grim reaper. Meaning, she sees dead people. Really. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light." But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (like murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she's been having about an entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out her might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely. But what does he want with Charley? And why can't she seem to resist him? And what does she have to lose by giving in?

With scorching-hot tension and high-octane humor, First Grave on the Right is your signpost to paranormal suspense of the highest order.

If I could literally kick myself, I would. As it is, I'm figuratively kicking myself for letting this absolute gem of a book languish on my shelf for soooo long! Egads! This was a good time!

• love Charley's sarcasm
• love that her Jeep is named for a Stephen King novel - Misery
• those early scenes with Reyes were smokin'! LOL Literally

These were my notes from just the first few chapters. The mystery set up was fantastic and entertaining...on all counts. The characters are all supremely developed - I'm so eager to get better acquainted with everyone, particularly Cookie and Uncle Bob. Everyone was such a hoot! And yet also deep. There was humor galore courtesy of Charley's wit and snark. I want to be Charley! Especially because REYES! But maybe not so much because of all the getting beat up. ;)

I'm thrilled I had the foresight to know I was going to love this series and therefore purchased book #2...when it released! ;)

Thanks, Robyn, for the arm twisting. This was a  really, really good read! (In fact, I kept finding myself thinking "Oh, I'll just go read more Charley," except I'd already finished. :D