Just to start things out with stepping outside of our comfort zones, I am getting back into writing some blog posts at night to de-stress from work and to relax just a little bit. The reason that I decided to hop back onto my blog to write about some of these prompts that I had seen on this particular group on Goodreads is because I found it quite interesting to see the community coming together and sharing their thoughts on what genres they usually read and which ones they don’t usually reach out for.

In the past, when it comes to reading, I definitely stick to the YA Fiction novels and do not stray away from them because, as you can say, they are in my comfort zone. In the last year or so, I have dabbled in a little bit of nonfiction and true crime because I have been watching a lot of documentaries during quarantine and such. Will I go back to my old ways when it comes to reading books? Most likely because of two reasons. One, the YA novels are the ones that tend to spark my interest and are always on BookTok/BookTube. And two, I like to have the physical book in hand so when I see the book in a store or on BookOutlet for a good deal, I usually pick it up.

Back to the prompt… when it comes to choosing five books that are from genres that I don’t normally read, I will have to be quite honest with you. I haven’t read that many books that are outside of my genre to give a fair judgement on that one. Something I will say though, I am currently reading, “The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer,” by Philip Carlo. and just from what I have read thus far, it is really interesting to learn about the background of someone who was basically living a double life. One other book that I remember reading that is not the usual YA Fiction novel is called, “The Wives,” by Tarryn Fisher. This book I remember in particular was not something that I normally who reach for if it was in the vast see of young adult novels but an old friend actually lent this book to me to read because she is the same way with books and usually sticks to one genre. After reading this novel, I was pleasantly surprised with the plot of this book and it was definitely hard for me to put it down like it says in its claim to fame. Definitely a book to recommend to your peers!

There are a lot of books that I would like to add to my bookshelf in the future that are outside of my comfort genre. I will keep on the lookout for ones that peak my interest and once I settle back into reading when I have the extra time on my hands, I will definitely use that time to my advantage and pick up a book that I wouldn’t normally pick up.

Don’t be afraid to reach out of your comfort zone because you never know what you might stumble upon! 🙂

“You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone.” –Roy T. Bennett

See you next week for the last prompt for July! 🙂 – Chey

Stalking Jack The Ripper

By: Kerri Maniscalco

This book will having you buying the sequel in a heartbeat. There are so many twists and turns in this plotline that will keep you engrossed in the book and not want to put it down.

This novel follows a young girl, Audrey Rose, who is seen in her family’s eyes as the little girl who never does anything out of the ordinary and always seems very prim and proper. Little to their knowledge, she studies science and operates on bodies of the deceased with her Uncle in his basement. As the storyline continues, the plot deepens, she works with Uncle and his apprentice and tries to help solve the murders that have been going on over the last couple of months and even attends a few of her Uncle’s classes disguised as a boy. Everything comes to a complete halt when the police show up to her Uncle’s door and try to accuse him as being the killer who has been roaming the streets and murdering women. His basement gets ransacked and all of the information that her Uncle had been collecting for years is taken by the police and used as evidence to pin him as being the killer.

While Audrey Rose does everything in her power to try to free her Uncle’s name because she knows that he is innocent and not guilty of these crimes. She has some assistance from his apprentice, Thomas Cresswell, and it seems that they got into some sort of complicated romance. As they get closer while trying to find out who really is behind all of the murders in the city, she has this feeling as though there is something off about Thomas. After visiting her Uncle in the prison one day, the one detective that is on the case has her examine some of the freshly killed bodies in an alleyway, and out of blue, a letter from the killer himself has been sent and signed as “Jack the Ripper”. These murders come after her Uncle is arrested so it is proof that her Uncle isn’t the killer and really it is someone else who has now given himself a name. In the multiple letters that he sends to the police, there are details and specific locations that are stated and it puts Audrey on the edge. It is clear that something isn’t quite right with Thomas Cresswell because he is acting strangely towards her and she keeps finding him out in the streets and working on more bodies in his own apartment building. (While reading this book, a detail to remember throughout is that Audrey’s mother died and her Uncle has operated on her under orders from her father, and her gallbladder had been removed. Which leaves to believe that her Uncle could have been at fault for the murders but we still do not know how long Thomas Cresswell has been an apprentice or studying under her Uncle, so it could be possible that he is the murderer as well.)

Imagine falling in love with someone who turned out to be a murderer, how do you think that would make someone feel, or even the family of that said person. Most of Audrey Rose’s family knows that she has some type of feelings for Thomas Cresswell, but the have quite a few concerns when it comes to him. His name may be in line with royalty, but some of the things that the people around the town know about him give him a tainted reputation. When Audrey thinks that there is no other to find this killer, she runs into a medium at a funeral. She agrees to get a reading from him in hopes to finally find answers. It does not last that long because the medium gets up abruptly and is trouble by something. Jack the Ripper is out for Audrey Rose Wadworth’s blood. But when you think about the encounter a little more deeply, everything that came through the medium was meant for Audrey and nothing was meant for Thomas which puts another red flag on his head. Why is nothing coming through for him, is he hiding something that no one else knows?

Without saying anything to spoil the ending of the book, once you get down to the last 100 pages of this novel, it will definitely be hard to put it down once you pick it up. Everything that led you to believe that Jack the Ripper was this person, you better read those context clues again because you will be dumfounded when you actually find out who the culprit is. Definitely worth the hype and was the perfect retelling on the thriller. Kerri Maniscalco is an amazing writer and deserves credit on how well she portrays the story. <3

*sorry this was soo delayed o.o*

A/N: This is super delayed with posting… maybe like a couple years later but I just went back to reading normally like I used to and am more active on Goodreads if you want to find me on there too 🙂 (I will be posting a more in depth update on my personal life soon I promise!)