Harley Easton

Dealing in Medical Cadavers

Revisado: 01-23-23

A thoroughly engrossing tale of an orphan turned medical cadaver dealer. I got the audiobook and the narrator added to my enjoyment of the tale.

I liked how we got to see several parts of the city cross due to Molly's unexpected job as a procurer of corpses. By day she has to play a charming society woman attending charity functions and a female medical student in a male-centered learning environment. By night she picks up the corpses for medical lectures, which leads her to the poor houses, brothels, and seediest portions of a city scared of a serial killer.

Fun for spooky time but not really a Halloween tale. Would work for any time of year. Mildly macabre but not truly horrific. I'd suggest for fans of historical true crime or historical mystery.

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Magical Realism

Revisado: 01-23-23

Not quite on par with some of her previous offerings, but an enjoyable story nonetheless. It still had the unexplainable magic and relatable characters I've come to expect from Allen. The story was well-crafted and decently paced.

Maybe because this story was about a group of neighbors finding each other in a touristy town rather than a family settled in/returning to a town, this book had a little less of the homey feel I've gotten from some of her other books. I didn't feel like I was living with these characters or having their story told to me by my favorite gossipy aunt. I missed that.

Still, well-worth picking up. I look forward to more from this author and will continue to pick up her books.

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Love story for 80's & 90's teen girl books

Revisado: 01-23-23

Sweet Valley High, Babysitters Club, and Nancy Drew. If these books were the stuff of your childhood, you're going to love the pop-culture dive into the history of the books that helped establish YA and Teen fiction.

It's an overview of books from the mid 70's to the late 90's. Academic in nature but fun, snarky, and an easy listen for the average person. Fair Warning: The author delves into the sociopathic nature of the Wakefield twins, the inability of authors to represent racial or socio-economic diversity, and the general horror of cranking out 8-10 books a year to keep the fanbase spending their coins. But she also touches on how these novels were many girls' first introductions to sex, how they represented teens with emotional or substance problems, and how the authors got started writing the books that influenced so many readers.

This gives a very broad overview, Many readers complained that their particular favorite wasn't mentioned, but there is honestly too much to cover. The book is split into easy categories like Family, Jobs, and Danger and the narrator does a great job conveying both the lighthearted and the darker aspects of the genre.

It's a comfort read/frequent listen of mine when I need something fun to relax.

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Pop-culture Christmas History

Revisado: 01-23-23

Ever wonder what's behind your favorite holiday traditions? From wassail to poinsettias to those classic holiday TV specials, Brian Earl will tell you the stories of how America influenced holiday traditions and how those traditions continue to influence America.

I'm a fan of the Christmas Past podcast so I had to grab this book when I heard it was out. The chapters are primarily rehashed episodes of the podcast but extra tidbits of information are scattered throughout. Earl narrates the audiobook with his usual cheer.

It's generally a light pop-culture style history book. Nothing overly academic. Some fun experts - like the actor who played Flick on Christmas Story and the only person in the world who know the recipe for the snow inside snow globes. Enjoyable and a good gift for anyone who likes history or Christmas. (

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Vlad in a Santa Suit

Revisado: 01-23-23

Not even a guilty pleasure anymore... just pleasure. This whole series is a joy.

It's Christmas with the book club. The grumpy/sunshine romance trope is explored - a toxic family of whiskey distillers on her side and Nashville's music scene on his. Plus, she's the ex of another book club bro. Tis the season for Vlad in a Santa suit.

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Not your average Christmas Carol

Revisado: 01-23-23

A fun look at what it might take to produce a supernatural miracle every year.

Warning - if you listen to the audio, Stephanie's "oh wow" around chap 3 will make you want to quit. Stick with it. The wows will go away and the story will get so worth the listen.

Holly is a Scrooge. And she doesn't repent. So she dies and spends her afterlife working for the company that failed to save her. She's the new ghost of Christmas past. The Scrooge Project is a little corporate, a little theater, a little supernatural, and full of employees who have to take Disconsonian stage names. 5 years after her death the company takes on a Scrooge that's Holly's age and her ill-advised interactions with him make her start actually living.

The story is a neat twist on the often-redone classic. Not super sappy. Only a smidge teen-angsty. Well worth the time for an unusual holiday story.

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great continuation to a strong series

Revisado: 09-30-22

the combo of Bray and LaVoy has drawn me in book after book of this series. It's one I frequently recommend. The third installment is even more impressive than the previous two and I love where Bray is taking the characters. LaVoy is amazing, juggling a huge cast of characters with seeming ease. I highly suggest listening to this one!

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unexpected gem

Revisado: 08-14-22

two great stories of three women interwoven with mastery and enough twists to keep the ending a mystery . thoroughly enjoyed the story and the narration

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Just listen

Revisado: 01-17-22

Seriously. Do it. These two guys are my favorite murder podcasters because they never disappoint. They tell the murder honestly and sensitively while still provoking laughter about the ridiculous things that can happen around a murder.

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Perfectly eerie - pick it up

Revisado: 03-03-21

Been rolling the review for this one around in my head a bit. I'm not a huge mystery reader but the Goodreads 2020 nomination intrigued me. This book gave me hard early season Supernatural vibes. The Sun Down is totally the motel the Winchester boys would have picked.

The story is split between two characters.

1982 - Viv decides to run to NYC to escape her mom but lack of funds land her in upstate NY taking the night shift at the already broken-down Sun Down Motel. Multiple ghosts make themselves known and Viv trips over a strange coincidence...this town has an extremely high occurrence of murdered girls for a tiny town. What's a bored girl to do but start sleuthing?

2017 - Carley's aunt Viv disappeared in 1982 and Carley has been obsessed about this dark family secret. She goes to the last place her aunt was seen, the Sun Down Motel. It was supposed to be a quick trip but Carley finds herself taking the same shift her aunt had at the motel and even staying in her aunt's old apartment with a true-crime obsessed roommate. From the broken candy machine to the ghostly visitors, the owner lets Carley know that nothing has changed at the Sun Down since the 80s.

The two stories progress with the dual narrators uncovering the town and the motel's secrets. Occasionally I got confused which girl I was following, but that was due to my late-night audiobooking and not the author's writing.

The side characters are perfectly unusual and as well-written as the main characters. The story never seemed to lag. It was easy to get fully immersed in the book and lose track of everything but the ghostly motel.

The narrators did a fantastic job of bringing this book to life. If you're on the fence, pick this up.

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