Gentle SPECTRUMS discussion

Will track my reading here for this theme, which I love and tend to gravitate toward often.

Great! Will be very grateful to have post(s) from your blog about Ethereal and My Kind Of Mystery. You need only e-mail when they're up. :) Numbers are small so far; all the promo we can get would be wonderful.

I still need to update the blog, I haven't done much with it this year except reviews that I schedule to be posted later. Sorry, Im not usually so lax!

I read a book that *may* apply - it was a cheesy covered vintage YA thriller but the ending half was beautiful, supernatural, and about the birth of someone who as a twist was saving the world in an unusual way. There was a lot of hope and redemption at the end. The cover definitely doesn't indicate this lol. It was defeating death and the miracles of love afterward and still working toward being alive.

Of course anything remotely paranormal or spiritual applies. Do you need me to clarify what ETHEREAL is about? I describe it the best I can: anything beyond standard, black & white, physical, mathematical life. Religious book? It counts. Ghosts, witches, psychics? It counts. Non-fiction certainly: dream analysis, alternative healing like Reiki, music therapy, chakra-balancing, plants.... The question is, what *doesn't* count? EVERYBODY is reading this stuff, which is why I hope to find many more people learning about our group. Even a baby's book with talking animals; which you will find if you haven't learned about me already, I considerly wholly non-fictional. :)

Thanks for further clarification :)

Of course! My only concern was that my main blog post conveys this and I think it does. While one word like "Flight Of Fantasy" or "Witch" draws huge crowds in those challenges, I've been confident for three years that my write-up explains that I include all of this and much more. I am sure not posting my new pages in December (or November!) are what reduced my visibility.

I chose the word "ethereal" itself because it encompasses everything as I intend: it means spiritual, or paranormal, or magical, or mythical, and concepts that are very real but considered out there by the black and white types. ;-)

I'm sure you clarified enough, I'm just being foggy over this for some reason. I'm sure others get it! :)

I think is it's a compliment. For some, it might be too good to be true! I should probably expect people to blink twice. There has never been a place for everything spiritual, paranormal, and magical (hence "ethereal"). If people like witches, they're in Melissa's group. Many were drawn to the new "Flights Of Fantasy". The only other paranormal group was vampire-oriented or maybe worse, YA-oriented. ;-) Wouldn't they freak and run over to my blog, when they realize there is finally a place for ALL OF THAT? :-) Your blog post will help and I'll be earlier next year, so that everyone's blogs; presumably with more traffic and different circles than mine, will help too.

I have read the books released this year in a M/M Paranormal Romance series that is part mystery. Definitely fits the theme. The main character has a psychic ability to see the dead and communicates with them on various levels to solve crimes. The first several books have a little too much sex but the plots are fascinating, especially in the later ones.

I love all the unique characters and no one character has the same power as another - the MC is tormented from his past because when his powers were first discovered, the "camp" they sent them to back then was more torture and experimentation than progress. Going into law enforcement was a unique decision, but the last book is a game changer - hope the new book is released sooner rather than later.

I don't know what "MM" means but extrasensory abilities sure do fit. I have quenched my search for adult ghost material at last and found several stories and authors I love! One series I just started has a USA southern feel and the idea of how spirits work doesn't match mine at all; yet I love the whole book. It's fun to let ourselves travel with another person's fiction and she explains her invention of how it works very well, so you are swept away and it even manages to be spooky regularly. This is AMANDA STEVENS. Her excellent first novel is "The Restorer", about family and daughter cemetery restorers. It is very much too-be-continued, so I am of course keeping my eye on Amazon.ca for a good used copy of the next. :)

It is an excellent, atmospheric, fast-moving, and uniquely creative mystery too: all of the elements are there. A sense of her family, meeting a man who experienced the worst kind of loss, and although I don't need romance in my literature it is a running theme too: something for everyone. I read a Winnipeg-authored and Winnipeg, Manitoba / Kenora, Ontario-set novel before that! Murder plots in two of the places with which I am familiar and near me, are rare: especially mentioning the little Ontario beach town bordering our province. This author is CAROLINE HUNTER: "The Dead Of Midnight".

Although it was slow to start and I grew sick of her repeating certain words, it became highly riveting. I actually blew off last week's episode of "The Voice", a show I love, to continue reading it! It ties criminal activity in our city to deep family secrets on a Kenora island. You don't get more Canadian than this, so it went under this category in "Gentle Spectrums" and also manages to have a ghost a few times, turning it "Ethereal".

M/m means male/male romance. The romance and erotica was heavy in the first few books but the last several have focused more on a good story thankfully.

I'm always on the hunt for good ghost-related tales too. The Restorer sounds good about cemetery restorers - now that is a job I hadn't previously thought of.

Glad you're finding so many good "Ethereal" books to read lately.

Erin (Paperbackstash) *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote "I'm always on the hunt for good ghost-related tales too. The Restorer sounds good about cemetery restorers - now that is a job I hadn't previously thought of..."

I read some good (but not scary) ghost stories by Robertson Davies last month -- High Spirits: A Collection of Ghost Stories.

If they're good and for grown-ups, that's all I need. I'll watch out for Robert's name. Copies of ghost story and other compilations are often available second hand.

Leslie wrote: "Erin (Paperbackstash) *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote "I'm always on the hunt for good ghost-related tales too. The Restorer sounds good about cemetery restorers - now that is a job I hadn't previously ..."

Sounds fascinating! I have some ghostly themed anthologies I plan to get to eventually.

I'm finding most of my reading this year is geared toward the paranormal or 'magical' - big bonus for 2016!

I have finally gotten to the first few books in a paranormal cozy mystery series that I've been meaning to start for awhile. I like cozies, but some are a little too sanitized to where they feel plastic; I'm happy to say that's NOT the case with this one - The Magical Bakery Series

There are currently five books out and one book waiting to be released this year.

The covers are adorable as well -



The main character has returned to a small town to escape her current life and start a new bakery business with her sweet but unusual aunt and husband. Once there she finds out that she is in a long line of "hedgewitchery" and that the local book club is actually a type of coven of unique witches.

Besides being charmed by the serie's detailed deserts (and the generous recipes at the back), it's a interesting with the magic. The first book keeps it a little simple but it keeps evolving into more complexity and magical types as the books continue

There's humor too which works well and unfortunately a small love triangle. I am definitely team Steve!

My Ratings:

Brownies and Broomsticks ⋆⋆⋆⋆
Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti ⋆⋆⋆⋆
Charms and Chocolate Chips ⋆⋆⋆⋆

The rest I own waiting to be read.

I am in love with The Coffeehouse Mysteries as well - I have now read the first four books.



The series is long (running at 16 books!). I don't own more in the series yet except one later, I will have to order and get.

It's a different type of cozy in that it has some swearing every once in awhile, and the endings can be rather dark/depressing. The ending of Through the Grinder, especially, wow - sad stuff

I love the coffeeshop atmosphere - it's cozy and feels convincing. The author splits the book almost textbook style, especially in the first book, to teach about coffee -way more than I knew or could even hope to learn on my own.

There's some genuine laugh out loud moments too that keeps this series well written

The author does a LOT of fun stuff on her websites too, and the recipes at the end of each book are generous and creative.

Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg - I have enjoyed the movie 'Angel Heart' for years and had no idea it was even a book until last year. I've ordered this one as a cheap ebook and really enjoy it.

It's a paranormal mystery but you can't fully tell that at the beginning - it's a dark and hard-boiled detective style, which rarely crosses into the paranormal. Harry Angel as the detective leads the book in singular point of view - since I knew the movie's ending already, I knew the big surprises coming up later, but for first time readers not aware of the plot, it carries a nice twist/whallop.

It's dark and grim - I recommend for mystery fans.

I read this gritty crime novel through an ebook



It kind of has the femme fatale feel to it. Recommended for crime fans and those who enjoy vigilante focused plots. 4 stars

Nice to see your assessments of these, especially having seen Bailey Cates around a lot and being a fan of "Cleo Coyle's" haunted bookshop series. It is frustrating to fans of adult ghost fare that the coffee one, without the paranormal, is focused on much more than the few haunted bookshop novels. Without the mystical elements, I don't know if these authors's humour and style would be enough to amuse me. They are a husband & wife, also called "Alice Kimberly". It's helpful to say you love the coffee shop series but the sadness or grimness has me wondering. If it were a deceased animal, you know I couldn't hack it. Human bodies? They are so frequent and "plastic" in books, as you called it, that they cause no flinch. It's like Pierce Brosnan said: "The blood in 'James Bond' isn't very real". I would have to risk a spoiler and know how sad or disturbing you mean before I would venture that series. But we fans would rather see more of the "Alice Kimberly" ghost book shop!

C. wrote: "Nice to see your assessments of these, especially having seen Bailey Cates around a lot and being a fan of "Cleo Coyle's" haunted bookshop series. It is frustrating to fans of adult ghost fare that..."

I didn't know about her haunted one until browsing her website due to the coffeehouse mysteries. So, one series helped me find the other :) Goodreads is great that way too.

There hasn't been any animal cruelties or deaths thankfully, but no I don't mean just the murder. There is a sad and surprising ending to the second book, as an example, that really broke my heart. Telling the spoiler would completely ruin reading the book though.

The first book doesn't have that sense of a sad death, but it does end with a sobering wrap-ups. It's hard to explain, the books are just a little darker at the end of them than some cozies. I like that personally for the most part because they seem more realistic because of that.

I'm late to the party on this one, but have to say I have finally read the original Peter Pan and loved it.

This book is all about the magic and ethereal.

Beautifully written, hauntingly nostalgic, and adventure filled

Review here for full rambling
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read an ebook of it but want the actual book for a collection. Need to get one with some artwork I think.

I have read two starters of paranormal/ Urban Fantasy series that - while I enjoyed them - I may not continue because I'm not sure if I'm invested enough in the storyline, especially considering the twisted cliffhanger endings of both of them.


Rated 3 Stars
This book liked to keep up the tension of who is betraying who and who can be trusted. It got draining after awhile though. It was a bizarre blend of a hybrid of a certain type of demon/human (not Christian demonology, but an invented type for the series)


4 Stars
I enjoyed the characters in this one and the storyline - but the ending was a killer, yech. I don't really want to continue the next one but I have hope it may be decent looking at other reviews. Rhiannon is a type of necromancer who can communicate with the dead and is hired by vampires of all things to help them solve the crime of who is killing their friends. Great book,....except that ending.

Unfortunately this was a disappointment. I absolutely love Ilona Andrews - their Kate Daniels series, Burn for me series, and Innkeeper series...but this is one I won't be continuing.

The world of magic for this one is confusing - different mystical beings and different "areas" of magic that affect people differently. It's a unique magical world, but I found the storyline dull after awhile.

Classics I've read this year that fit into Ethereal



I need to review this one still, so behind.

Enjoyed it - a fantasy where a man travels in time and finds out that the world has not evolved as he'd figure it would. The beginning was a bit dull but the events when traveling were fantastical, and the open-ending leaves a reader wondering.



Overly descriptive, but a unique adventure that has stood the test of time for a reason.

We all speak with the spirit world any time, of course but I love books, fictional and not, about people who communicate much more obviously with them. I have heard a spirit twice (Love: one occasion very loudly and undeniably)! I had a very strong meeting with a loved-one inside a vision (Thumbelina). I sat up from it immediately, aware of what it was. The rest of my life has held the same weak awareness as others. I sense energies and get impressions decently but not standing there and talking, like these books you mention! So I adore that ease of communication in books; except if they add a vampire. Then I'm out! [GRIN]

I have never read and don't recall seeing "Peter Pan" myself. Good on you to read it. There are tons of classics I'll be later at than you.

C. wrote: "I have never read and don't recall seeing "Peter Pan" myself. Good on you to read it. There are tons of classics I'll be later at than you. "

Strange! I read this post before, so it's just strange I didn't reply.

I hope you do discover the magic of Peter Pan sometime and enjoy it.

This beautiful book is a m/m romance but the romance is slow after a friendship. It deals with the lore and legend of ancient dragons and the current ones (in an unusual, beautiful way). Filled with instinct and surreal way of bonding emotions, definitely a different sort of book that fits in ethereal perfectly.

A very dark and unique romance series that involves a mysterious man who is much more than he seems. Filled with mystery and the supernatural, it's an addicting series. Sometimes frustrating, but it's hard to put down.

I'm busily updating the website with links to reviews, first from blog and then later Goodreads if they haven't made their way to my site yet.

I've been updating a great deal this bright, warm Sunday but will go outside in a few minutes. I looked at the Ethereal review page and was happy to find you filling it up, along with comments at my blog! Thank you!

C. wrote: "I've been updating a great deal this bright, warm Sunday but will go outside in a few minutes. I looked at the Ethereal review page and was happy to find you filling it up, along with comments at m..."

You're welcome :)