Caitlin Gonya
Bio
I love reading. Everything and, just about anything, I can put my hands on. I was guided towards writing, so I started with book reviews, and am now feeling ready to showcase some of my stories. I would appreciate any constructive feedback.
Stories (47/0)
Vinyl Records and Teddy Bears
I watch my fiancée and his father lift the mattress into the back of the U-Haul. I’m not sure what I am supposed to feel at this moment. My paternal grandparents had been moved to an assisted living near my aunt and uncle. Their house, this house, had always been a part of them. Maybe it was the move, maybe they were just ready to go, but my grandparents had passed away not long after.
By Caitlin Gonya2 years ago in Fiction
Book Review: Ramses the Damned: The Reign of Osiris by Anne Rice
I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. A pharaoh made immortal by a mysterious and powerful elixir, Ramses the Great became counselor and lover to some of Egypt's greatest and most powerful rulers before he was awakened from centuries of slumber to the mystifying and dazzling world of Edwardian England. Having vanquished foes both human and supernatural, he's found love with the beautiful heiress Julie Stratford, daughter of Lawrence Stratford, the slain archeologist who discovered his tomb. Now, with the outbreak of a world war looming, Ramses and those immortals brought forth from the mists of history by his resurrection will face their greatest test yet.
By Caitlin Gonya2 years ago in The Swamp
Book Review: As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles by Leslie Budewitz
I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. In Jewel Bay, all is merry and bright. At Murphy’s Mercantile, AKA the Merc, manager Erin Murphy is ringing in the holiday season with food, drink, and a new friend: Merrily Thornton. A local girl gone wrong, Merrily’s turned her life around. But her parents have publicly shunned her, and they nurse a bitterness that chills Erin.
By Caitlin Gonya2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari
I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Saffron Everleigh is in a race against time to free her wrongly accused professor before he goes behind bars forever. Perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn and Anna Lee Huber, Kate Khavari’s debut historical mystery is a fast-paced, fearless adventure. London, 1923. Newly minted research assistant Saffron Everleigh attends a dinner party for the University College of London. While she expects to engage in conversations about the university's large expedition to the Amazon, she doesn’t expect Mrs. Henry, one of the professors’ wives to drop to the floor, poisoned by an unknown toxin. Dr. Maxwell, Saffron’s mentor, is the main suspect, having had an explosive argument with Dr. Henry a few days prior. As evidence mounts against Dr. Maxwell and the expedition's departure draws nearer, Saffron realizes if she wants her mentor's name cleared, she’ll have to do it herself. Joined by enigmatic Alexander Ashton, a fellow researcher, Saffron uses her knowledge of botany as she explores steamy greenhouses, dark gardens, and deadly poisons. Will she be able to uncover the truth or will her investigation land her on the murderer’s list? (Goodreads synopsis)
By Caitlin Gonya2 years ago in Humans
Book Review: Short-Circuited in Charlotte by Amy Patricia Meade
I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. The next installment in Amy Patricia Meade’s Vermont series takes classic mystery high-tech! When US Forest Ranger, Nick Buckley, is invited to the Creator’s Cavalcade to present his employer’s environmental initiatives, his wife, Stella, sees the science and technology driven event – which takes place on the grounds of a luxurious nineteenth century estate – as a holiday from the drudgeries of new homeownership and small-town life. However, when the Cavalcade’s Founder and Director, Philip Morehouse, is found dead in his bed of an apparent heart attack and the inventor of geodesic yurt housing is discovered bludgeoned to death, it quickly becomes apparent that this will be a working weekend for both Buckleys. With a cast of characters that includes a Steampunk designer, a robotics engineer, an Italian fiber optic artist, a recycled materials percussionist, a glass-blowing anatomist, and a French chef who is a master of molecular gastronomy, it’s clear that everyone at the Cavalcade possessed both the brains and technological know-how to make Morehouse’s death seem accidental. But did they? Was Morehouse’s death due to an ongoing heart issue or something far more sinister? And how could his death be linked to the brutal bludgeoning of a man who sought to use his creation to shelter the homeless? Only by embracing her inner “geek” can Stella solve the mystery behind both men’s unfortunate demises. But can she do so before the killer strikes again? And, more importantly, can she do so before the Cavalcade’s all-vegan menu drives burger-loving Nick to drastic measures? (Goodreads synopsis)
By Caitlin Gonya2 years ago in Humans
Book Review: Tomes, Scones, and Crones by Colleen Gleason
I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. At forty-eight, Jacqueline Finch has a nice, easy life with few responsibilities: she’s been a librarian in Chicago for twenty-five years, she doesn’t have a husband, children, or pets, and she’s just coasting along, enjoying her books and a small flower garden now that she’s over the hill. That is, until the Universe (helped by three old crones) has other ideas. All at once, Jacqueline’s boring life is upended, and the next thing she knows, she’s heading off to Button Cove to start a new life as the owner of Three Tomes Bookshop. The bookstore is a darling place, and Jacqueline is almost ready to be excited about this new opportunity until Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Danvers show up. Somehow, the literary characters of Sherlock Holmes’s landlady and Rebecca deWinter’s creepy and sardonic housekeeper are living persons who work at the bookshop. Not only does Jacqueline have to contend with them—and the idea that people regularly eat pastries while reading books in her store!—but the morning after she arrives, the body of a dead man is found on her property. Things start to get even more strange after that: Jacqueline is befriended by three old women who bear a startling resemblance to the Witches Three from Macbeth, an actual witch shows up at her bookshop and accuses Jacqueline of killing her brother, and the two women who own businesses across the street seem determined to befriend Jacqueline. And then there’s the police detective with the very definite hot-Viking vibe who shows up to investigate the dead body. The next thing Jacqueline knows, her simple life is no longer quiet and unassuming, and she’s got crones, curses, and crocodiles to deal with. And when a new literary character appears on the scene, things start to get even more hairy and Jacqueline is suddenly faced with a horrible life and death situation that will totally push her out of her comfort zone if she’s brave enough to let it. After all, isn’t forty-eight too late for an old dog to learn new tricks? (Fantastic Fiction synopsis)
By Caitlin Gonya2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: Long Overdue at the Lakeside Library by Holly Danvers
I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. A glowing wood stove, a cozy log cabin, and shelves full of books are all Rain Wilmot needs to ride out the Wisconsin winter, now that she's made her family's Lofty Pines library her year-round home. But the warm-hearted librarian's blood runs cold when local man, Wallace Benson, is found dead during the annual Ice Fishing Jamboree. After Benson's body is found in his ice shanty, Rain recalls that she recently saw the victim in her library, borrowing a few cookbooks to prepare for the fishing tournament's communal "chili dump." She later finds these same books returned to the library's drop box, with an enigmatic note from Benson to Rain. As Rain seeks to understand the message, the prime suspect becomes Rain's friend Nick, who was the last person to see Wallace alive and who returned to the Jamboree with a nasty cut on his hand. The knife found in his tackle box only makes Nick's troubles worse. But Rain keeps fishing for other suspects. Was the killer Danny, who lost his arm to a logging accident involving Wallace? Or Danny's bitter father, whose dreams of retirement were dashed by his son's accident? With the help of her friends Julia and Jace, Rain sets out to hook the real culprit and clear Nick's name. But can her sleuthing skills protect her from a killer who'd like to take her out of circulation? (Goodreads synopsis)
By Caitlin Gonya2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: Well-Offed in Vermont
I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. In bucolic small-town Vermont, Stella Thornton Buckley feels out of her element—and not just because she's fresh from Manhattan. Mere hours after moving to maple syrup country, she and her husband, Nick, find a dead man, Allen Weston, in their well. The police investigation forces the couple out of their lovely farmhouse and—since the motels are packed with leafpeepers—into a less than luxurius deer camp. Instead of mourning the loss of electricity and running water, Stella and Nick drive their Smart Car all over the Vermont hamlet to question the quirky locals about Weston, a shrewd businessman who rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way. Stella and Nick may never shed their flatlander reputation, but they just might be able to make a few friends and help Sheriff Mills solve a murder. (Goodreads synopsis)
By Caitlin Gonya2 years ago in Geeks
A Pittbull's Journal
June 3rd: Mom has been working from home for 4 months now. It’s great because I can sleep in or lay beside her on wherever she is, she gives us treats throughout the day, and I can go outside whenever I want. This last thing drives Mom crazy because I learned some new tricks from Tatiana.
By Caitlin Gonya2 years ago in Petlife
Of Thieves and Fear
I had felt fear before, of course. It is a normal response when one uproots from the home they knew and move to an area they have never been to. But this was a new, different fear. I stared at the dresser and the dust outline. Someone had been in my apartment, someone stole my television and my DVD player.
By Caitlin Gonya2 years ago in Humans
Book Review: The Waking Forest by Alyssa Wees
I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. The Waking Forest is Alyssa Wees’s debut novel from 2019. I have been horribly remiss in my duty to write my honest opinion, and humbly apologize for my negligence.
By Caitlin Gonya3 years ago in Geeks