books – World of Bai

Book Review: “Dungeon Crawler Carl: A Parade Of Horribles” By: Matt Dinniman

Now Before you ask “Wait Bailie, where are the other seven book reviews for this series?” I will tell you. I read the first 7 books in the last half of 2025, and if you look at my blog post history you will see hardly any posts during that time. I was in a writing slump. So some of my DCC series reviews are on my Bookstagram and some are not. I just honestly wanted to enjoy these books and not have to think too much about my thoughts and how they would be perceived. Lets just say this is an all time favorite series of mine and upon my re read I will post deeper reviews for the rest of the series.

I have been waiting for this book to release since early December when I finished the 7th book. I even requested May 12th off months in advanced so I could just read on release day. So lets just say I had very high expectations for this book. Did this book meet my ever growing expectations for this series? Read to find out!

“Sometimes we don’t need to know someone’s full life story to understand them.”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

** There Will Be SPOILERS Ahead!!**

About The Book

Author: Matt Dinniman

Publisher: Penguin Random House

Published Date: May 12th, 2026

Page Count: 704 Pages

Main Genre: Sci-fi

GoodReads Rating: 4.73

Format: E-Book

“And what about the biscuits!” “The what?” Mordecai asked. “Biscuits, Mordecai! I need to make biscuits!”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

Synopsis

It’s off to the races in the explosive eighth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series.

As chaos and mass panic spread outside the dungeon in the wake of Faction Wars, Carl and Donut find themselves on the tenth floor, where they’re forced to compete in a surprisingly normal set of tasks. Well, normal for the dungeon.

Races. Get from point A to point B, and don’t come in last. After each race, they pick an upgrade for their vehicle and the track gets more challenging. It all seems a little too normal, a little too simple.

Ignore those strange glitches that are occurring with increasing frequency. Don’t listen to those whispers about what’s happening on the mysterious eleventh floor, something the system AI calls A Parade of Horribles. Nobody, not even the showrunners, knows what that means. Just that the AI has ominously dubbed it “a coming-out party for the ages.”

Everything is fine, Crawler. I repeat, everything is fine.

Carl hates that it’s business as usual. The rules of this floor have taken away his agency. That just will not do.

So Carl is planning a party of his own. It’s a plan so dangerous, so insane, he can’t even consult his friends lest the AI put a stop to it. Because if it goes wrong, it’s not just the end of Carl and Donut. No. The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been.

Synopsis from Goodreads

“Sometimes there are no good choices, and we just do what we have to.”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

Rating

Review

** NEW ACHIEVEMENT**

“Way to go! You have officially finished 8 books in the most gut wrenching series you have ever picked up!”

REWARD

“Emotional trauma while you wait for books Nine and Ten. “

Okay but in all seriousness this one wasn’t as gut wrenching as I expected it to be. And again one finally time there will be spoilers so if you have not finished this yet DO NOT READ the rest of this!

I think I only teared up once in this whole book which is really odd for me. In the past I have sobbed my way throughout most of the books. I am not saying I hoped for some of my favorite characters to die or anything but maybe a bit more plot that tried to rip my heart out or something. I think the most I sobbed at was when Rend “Died” and literally came back to life.. Like okay not that big of a deal I suppose.

I personally thought that floor ten was quite boring compared to the rest of the floors we have seen. We hardly spent any time on the floor when you consider that each heat of the race was pretty different and the timelines were relatively short for most of the heats. My favorite parts were in between races as this is where most of the plot happened.

By no means is this me saying I hated this book. I really did have fun reading it but it did remind me why the series was so addicting at the beginning. I was missing the atmospheres of past floors, The consistent loot box opening but mostly, I have been missing the character interactions. We used to spend a lot of time with our fellow crawlers getting to know them but now everything is so high stakes that they don’t get those brief moments to breathe and develop as much with other crawlers. But that is the nature of this series and I do need to remind myself this is exactly how it is supposed to feel. Like we are in the dungeon with them not getting a second to take a break and relax. Did you notice they just didn’t even mention sleep at all? So sad that something as simple as sleep is just non existent now.

Despite me missing “simpler” days of the early dungeon, I truly did enjoy this book. We are getting so many more details into the AI and outer world that my brain feels like its swimming with nonsense. I can’t wait for all the dots to connect, even if that means the series and the crawl all come to what I assume will be a classic explosive Carl plan.

Seeing Donut drop her guard more in this book and see how the Dungeon has been affecting her has been breaking my heart. She is so strong but the strongest people tend to hold everything in till the metaphorical river overflows and everything comes streaming out. I love seeing her step up so well into a motherly role for Mongo and Rend, its the one thing outside of a performing that she can really fall back to and feel like a “normal” being.

Carl is even more Unhinged than ever. One of my favorite quotes is from Chapter 94. (see below) Somehow Carl’s chaos plans seem to always pan out, god knows why but everyone is so very thankful for them.

“Carl: Plan C. Gotta go with plan C. Donut, be ready. Elle: Of course. The Psycho Plan. Got It. Donut: It’s CALLED PLAN CARL. Florin: We really need to start making plan C the primary one.
DCC 8 Chapter 94

Imani and Chris! Enough said there, but dang, I need a side book just for their relationship. I really hope that they can reconnect soon. They both have been through enough!

Okay, Now it is time to discuss my favorite character from this floor, Drum Roll please! Prepotente (AKA Pony)!! Ugh the few background pieces we got for him were everything! Merium Dom in the apartment living a life where she never had Pony nearly Broke me! Basically all of chapter 77 had a hold of my heart,

“Carl,” Prepotente said, stopping me. He wiped his eyes again. “yeah?” “You can call me Pony if you like.”
DCC 8 Chapter 77

Now that I have discussed some of my favorite characters I would like to discuss the ending of this book. The ending was literally where I felt like all the meat and potatoes were. All shoved into the last 100 maybe 150 pages of the book.

So much was revealed on floor eleven. I can barely even process everything that happened. I am so glad that all of our main characters made it through this floor despite the craziness. I mean Carl really said “fuck it” but somehow those things work out well for him.

I am left with so many more questions than answers. Like who the heck is Samantha? What kind of Chaos is Eris going to bring? The history of the AI and how a Princess lost everything just to give the universe another chance.. Does that mean Donut will live while everyone else she loves dies? What do you mean everyone went to the 15th floor and not the Pineapple Cabaret?

Ugh so much yet to unfold and we only have two books left? I have no clue how Matt is going to pull this off but lets just say I am terrified! I can’t get all my thoughts out here but hit up my DM’s and lets chat!

Quotes

“It’s okay to forgive yourself. Sometimes there are no good choices, and we just do what we have to.”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

“You keep trying to divide us. Don’t you realize what you created? We have been tempered in the fires of Hell, and we are now passed the point of being broken. Your downfall has already been written in the stars. You may hurt us. You may kill us all, but it’s not going to matter. Don’t you realize? Don’t. You. Realize?”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

“If you go to war against drugs, drugs will always win. Drugs will win because what you’re really doing is going to war against the biological imperative all living creatures have to find comfort and happiness. And if you’re unwilling or unable to first provide that, artificial alternatives, no matter how destructive, will always prevail.”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

“Since you’re new to this, let me give you your first lesson on being a princess. Lesson one, don’t put yourself in situations where you’re so afraid that you piss yourself. It shows a lack of decorum.”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

“I don’t even know what the hell this is. This bitch is coloring outside the lines.”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

“We sluggalos have a code. That code is ‘unity, support, family, and kneecapping bitches.”
Matt Dinniman, A Parade of Horribles

“Elle: I’m alive. Barely. Someone help me dig me and Bodi out of this truck. It’s wrecked pretty good. I haven’t been folded like this since Brandon showed us how to use Tinder.”
DCC 8 Chapter 96

Book Review: “It’s Not Her” By Mary Kubica

This is a book that I would have never heard of on my own so I am very thankful for my Bookstagram friend moreazlibros for sharing her thoughts of this book on her Instagram stories. This is a book that I will be thinking about for a long time to come and there was a very high chance that I would have never even known it existed. That would have been a major missed opportunity.

“You should’ve known better than to trust a guy like me. Did you really not think I might try to hurt you?”
Mary Kubica, It’s Not Her

About The Book

Author: Mary Kubica

Publisher: Park Row

Published Date: February 3rd, 2026

Page Count: 342 Pages

Main Genre: Thriller

GoodReads Rating: 3.97

Format: Audio Book

“Ignorance,” she says, never taking her eyes off me, “is the hardest thing. Even if the answers you get aren’t the ones you want, they’re still answers.”
Mary Kubica, It’s Not Her

Synopsis

A scream shatters the silence…

Courtney Gray’s peaceful vacation turns into a nightmare when she discovers her brother and sister-in-law dead in their lakeside cottage. Her niece Reese is missing. Her nephew Wyatt is asleep upstairs—unharmed.

A town full of secrets…

As police swarm the quiet resort, dark truths about Courtney’s family—and the town itself—begin to surface. Is Reese a victim… or the killer?

A truth no one saw coming…

With everyone hiding something, Courtney races to uncover the terrible mystery. But the closer she gets, the harder it is to know who—or what—to trust.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“How are you feeling?” At first she’s silent. “The longer they’re gone, the easier it gets,” she finally says. “But that’s when the guilt and shame kick in, because it should never get any easier.”
Mary Kubica, It’s Not Her

Rating

Review

Thrillers used to be my go to genre when I first got into reading, but over the years it has taken a back seat in my reading. Somehow this year it has been my most read genre. This is completely without trying, Thriller audio books just keep landing in my lap and I am not complaining. Sometimes you just need to go back to the basics in order to find your love for the hobby again.

Audio books have also been my most read format this year which blows my mind but it is a welcome change for me. It gives me something to listen to while I clean our Air BnB or even just doing yard work in our new home.

This book had me hooked from the first chapter. I loved where it started in the story and then continued to flop back and forth from timelines. The two different POV’s that we had made this book all that more interesting.

The best part of this book was that I did not find it predictable in the slightest. It had me second guessing every character, I had no clue who you could trust. This made our main POV’s motives all that more believable because I could feel her worry, skepticism and anger in every choice she made. I didn’t blame her for a single finger she pointed as I would have done the same in her shoes.

The ending of this book had me in shock. I heard that some people did not find the ending to be believable but in my mind it all made perfect sense. It did give me a bit of whiplash but I believe this is why I had so much fun listening to the story unfold.

Reese’s POV was probably my favorite in the book. This is because she really focused on some deeper topics like how your parents relationships can affect your childhood or how teen friendships falling apart can cause some deep wounds. There was mild talk about depression and suicidal thoughts coming from her that felt really relatable due to the things she was going through in her life. But the most important topic in her POV, in my opinion, was being preyed upon by an older man. At that age, especially, any attention you got was exciting, you don’t think too much about the consequences of your actions. You just feel special, that is until the next new shiny toy comes into view and you get cast aside. These things are super scary but beyond common. I think her POV was a great portrayal of a teenagers life and experiences and I was really impressed by this.

This was an audio book that came into my life at the perfect time. I have been deep into a reading slump all of April so starting May off this strong feels like a breath of fresh air. I know I will be looking for more books from this author in the future.

“I wish I could tell someone that I’m lonely and scared. That I feel like no one likes me. That I worry no one ever will. That I’ll be alone forever.”
Mary Kubica, It’s Not Her

QOTD: What thriller do you keep coming back to?

Book Review: “Heated Rivalry” By Rachel Reid

This TV show took the world by storm. Anyone and everyone was talking about it and frankly still are. Not only to escape the major FOMO, but to also appease my bestie Syd, I finally got around to reading this book.

I did watch the Show first (Against my will, kinda), mostly because my husband couldn’t wait for my books to arrive so I could read the first and second books in this series, which honestly was for the best because I am just now getting finished with my end of that bargain, sooner than I expected of myself so there’s that.

I am very excited to share this review with you all. I just hope I can put my thoughts into a cohesive review for you cause currently all I can think is “OHHHH That was cute!” and “Damn!”, Not much to those thoughts if you ask me. So here we go!

“He wanted to tell Shane that the closest he felt to home was when he was with him.”
Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry

About The Book

Author: Rachel Reid

Publisher: Carina Press

Published Date: April 18th, 2023

Page Count: 372 Pages

Main Genre: Sports Romance

GoodReads Rating: 4.28

Format: Physical Book

Synopsis

Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night.

Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great.

As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option.

Synopsis from GoodReads

“Fuck you and your loon!” Ilya said. “Stupid Canadian wolf bird.”
Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry

Rating

Review

I feel like giving this book a 4 star rating is a bit controversial. Most everyone who I have talked to about this book gave it a raving 5 stars. Maybe I would have as well if I hadn’t watched the TV Series first.

The TV Series in my opinion was a near perfect adaptation of the book which is rare to find. But the actors is what really made it perfect in my eyes. They really made this story come to life. And because I felt like it was a near perfect adaptation, while I was reading the book I just found myself wishing I was watching it instead of reading it.

The other thing going against this book for me is that I have just not been in a romance mood lately. I found myself skimming the spicy scenes more often than not so that I could get to the dialogue. This feels like a bookish Sin so I apologize for my behavior, but it just felt like their was a spicy scene every few pages and I was struggling to want to pick this book up at times because of it so skimming felt like a pretty good option to me. I probably read this at the wrong time for me to truly appreciate the book but I really did enjoy the dialogue and growth that these characters had outside of the spicy scenes.

Anytime Ilya spoke I was enraptured! Whenever her opened his mouth you didn’t know if you were going to get some kind of witty come back, a surprisingly sweet compliment or a shockingly deep revelation. He is for sure my favorite character in this series this far so getting to read his book felt like getting to know him on a personal level. I really adored how Ilya professed his sincerest thoughts in Russian to Shane so he could get those feelings out in the open without the risk of rejection or judgement. Ilya just has the purest soul and I am so glad that his character came into my life.

As for Shane’s character, I enjoyed how he seemed so opposite of Ilya. He is more soft spoken and cautious. Having this character dynamic at first was a bit jarring to me but it ultimately grew on me as the characters developed.

I may not have been drawn to Shane’s character as much as Ilya’s but I wouldn’t have wished for anyone else to be in his place. These two make an unlikely pair which made this story that much more enjoyable.

Ultimately I fell in love with them as a couple and I can’t wait to see where their story goes.

“Does it…does it feel like agony for you too?’
Ilya started to nod, then stopped. He shook his head slowly instead.
‘Not anymore.”
Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry

QOTD: If you are a hockey fan, who is your favorite team?

Book Review: “The Rose Bargain” By Sasha Peyton Smith

I have owned this book since the day it was first released. I have been wanting to read it since I laid my hands on the beautiful cover but kept putting it off as I didn’t want this five star prediction to let me down. I am glad I waited as I think I picked this book up at the perfect time. I had just finished reading book six of the Bridgerton series and got fully caught up on season four of the TV Adaptation. I even went to a Bridgerton styled event on a local book store. So picking up this book and falling right back into the Regency Era felt like coming home but with a twist.

“Sometimes I feel like one day every other girl was given instructions on how to grow up, and I missed the lesson.”
Sasha Peyton Smith, The Rose Bargain

About The Book

Author: Sasha Peyton Smith

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published Date: February 4th, 2025

Page Count: 389 Pages

Main Genre: Romantasy

GoodReads Rating: 3.94

Format: Physical Book

Synopsis

London, 1848—For four hundred years, England has been under the control of an immortal fae queen who tricked her way onto the throne. To maintain an illusion of benevolence, Queen Mor grants each of her subjects one opportunity to bargain for their deepest desire.

As Ivy Benton prepares to make her debut, she knows that not even a deal with the queen could fix what has gone wrong: Her family’s social standing is in shambles, her sister is a shadow of her former self, and Ivy’s marriage prospects are nonexistent. So when the queen announces a competition for Prince Bram’s hand, Ivy is the first to sign her name in blood. What a bargain can’t fix, a crown certainly could.

Ivy soon finds herself a surprising front-runner—with the help of an unexpected ally: Prince Bram’s brother, the rakish Prince Emmett, who promises to help Ivy win his brother’s heart…for a price. But as the season sweeps Ivy away, with glittering balls veiling the queen’s increasingly vicious trials, Ivy realizes there’s more at stake than just a wedding. Because all faerie bargains come with a cost, and Ivy may have discovered hers too late.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“But I know now, the thing about love is that you don’t realize you’re in it until it’s too late.”
Sasha Peyton Smith, The Rose Bargain

Rating

Review

I picked this book up during a busy time in my life and that is what I regret the most. I could not stop thinking about this book, I was trying to sneak a chapter in where ever I could. It even got to the point where the characters started to sneak themselves into my dreams. That is how I know I am truly obsessed with a book.

I believe that if I had more free time on my hands I would have finished this book in one sitting. The writing had every ounce of my brain power turning over the plot and trying to figure out any hidden secrets that might have been seeping through the pages.

The characters in this book were a little hit or miss for me at the beginning but I started to appreciate them more as we got to know their background a bit more. The way Sasha formatted this book, sprinkling in different POV’s as we went along, really helped this story build a plot with a lot of depth.

The different POV’s gave us as readers insights into the book that we would have never of gotten from our main FMC. I am not saying Ivy was an unreliable narrator but she truly did not have all the insight into what was happening around her and why. So the little added tidbits we got from the other girls POV’s really helped our characters grow in my eyes.

My favorite character is Emmett, I mean come on, when is the MMC not my favorite character in a book? Emmett has a tough exterior and a reputation that precedes him but there is more to him than meets the eye. I adored getting to see him from Ivy’s eyes as she was forced to be in his proximity but you could feel his attitude changing as we moved through the story. Even though we see him mostly through Ivy’s eyes the little tidbits from Faiths storyline that we were given gave us enough information about Emmet’s true character to know when he started to fall for Ivy. A man who falls first will always make me melt.

The family dynamics seemed to play a pretty big part in this story. Each person had a different relationship with their families that shaped their individual characters and their motivations. I think this is a big reason why I ended up caring for each character in their own way. Everyone seemed to be facing their own battles internally so by the time you finally read first hand what issues they were facing you could grasp why they were saying and doing the things they did. I really appreciated that part of the story telling as it really felt integral to the plot and didn’t just get swept aside like they so often do in these kinds of books.

Sasha really had me trying to guess how this story was going to go, it felt like she was leaving me little bread crumbs that had me thinking one thing but then by the next chapter I was second guessing everything I had came up with. There were a few plot points that I caught onto pretty quick while others left my mouth gaping. I am so glad I waited to read this book until closer to the release date of the second book as I am not sure I can wait to find out what happens.

“I’ve spent my whole life on my hands and knees, clamoring for crumbs of love. I don’t know if there will ever come a time I am not hungry for it.”
Sasha Peyton Smith, The Rose Bargain

QOTD: Do you like Regency Romances?

Book Review: “Ask For Andrea” By Noelle W. Ihli

I had never heard of this book before the owner of my favorite local independent book store, The Romantics Archive, recommended this book to me. All she had to say was that it was a loose Ted Bundy retailing to pull me in. I immediately went home and downloaded it onto my kindle while I waited for them to stock the physical book in store. I have since finished the book and purchased a physical copy for my shelves, this is a testament to how much I enjoyed this book.

“On a date that isn’t going well? Do you feel unsafe or just a little uneasy? Ask for Andrea at the bar. We’ll make sure you get home safe.”
Noelle W. Ihli, Ask for Andrea

About The Book

Author: Noelle W. Ihli

Publisher: Dynamite Books

Published Date: September 1st, 2024

Page Count: 295 pages

Main Genre: Thriller

GoodReads Rating: 4.08

Format: E Book

“There is no room for questions. The worst is coming, and these words combined with your exact obedience are your only hope for safety. ”
Noelle W. Ihli, Ask for Andrea

Synopsis

Meghan, Brecia, and Skye have just one thing in common.

They were all murdered by the same man.

He hunted them online, masquerading as an eligible bachelor. Then he played the perfect gentleman, a thick layer of charm and a thousand-watt smile hiding the fact that his first dates end in shallow graves.

He’s gotten away with murder three times now.

The only thing that might keep him from killing again? The women he murdered.

Meghan, Brecia, and Skye might be dead, but they’re not gone. They’ve found each other. And they won’t rest until they find a way to stop him.

The haunt is on.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“It’s the tapestry we wove together. The threads still bind us.”
Noelle W. Ihli, Ask for Andrea

Rating

I really appreciate how this book highlights the, often uncomfortable or dangerous, reality of online dating. It also raises awareness of a common getaway strategy that many bars and restaurants have in place.

Have you ever been to a bar on a date and seen a poster that says something along the lines of “Is your date making you feel unsafe or uneasy? If so ask you waitress for (Insert name here).”? This will signal to the workers that you need help getting out of this situation in a safe and inconspicuous manner leaving your date none the wiser.

* (If you frequent a popular date night space this is your sign to ask them if they have anything in place for these situations. If they don’t, encourage them to adopt one of the many that are out there.) *

This book opens up with that exact scenario and snowballs from there.

I really enjoyed the rotating POV of the three girls. Each POV was quite different from one another and also left you on a bit of a cliffhanger. This made reading the book quite fast paced as I was dying (Yes, pun intended) to know what was happening to each girl.

If I had to change anything in the book it would have been what was leading up to the end. I felt like it was going in the right direction but the Girls “helping” out the next victim just didn’t feel like it had as much pay off as I would have liked. I wish the girls had possessed more ghostly powers. It felt as if the girls were merely just there watching things unfold but the author was pushing too hard for us to feel like the girls had power to change things with little to no pay off. Maybe if we did indeed get confirmation that things were happening because of the things the girls were doing I would have given the book a better rating but nothing felt concrete.

Even with that small set back to my rating, I did enjoy the majority of the book and did appreciate the ultimate conclusion to the story as everything came full circle.

Overall, I could see the new age connection to Ted Bundy that the author was going for and appreciated the differences. It makes me wonder what other serial killers people have loosely based books on that I am missing out on.

These kinds of books always make me question what the after life will look like and sometimes I even hope some of their theories are true. But this story mostly left me questioning “What would I do if I were in their shoes?”. I like to hope I would have Asked For Andrea.

“He was the kind of beautiful that drew you in before you even considered the fact that beautiful things can be poisonous.”
Noelle W. Ihli, Ask for Andrea

QOTD: Have you ever been on a date that felt like it was going sideways?

Book Review: “Raising Hare” By Chloe Dalton

I had only read one review about this book before I went searching for it on Libby. When I did find it on Libby it said that this 4 hour long audiobook would be an 18 week wait! That is crazy to me. I ended up complaining to a new friend, their next response was an audible credit for the book. I was speechless, such a kind thing of them to do!

So without any knowledge of what this book really was I decided to dive right in. I am so glad I listened to the one and only review I read.

“I tell myself not to count the years ahead in which she might never again come, but rather cherish the days she has given me of her own free will, when she lowered her species’ instinctive guard against humans, and shared the beauty and mystery of her presence in silent and graceful companionship. I will remember her leaving, but I will always know that before she did, she always, first, looked back.”
Chloe Dalton, Raising Hare: A Memoir

About The Book

Author: Chlore Dalton

Publisher: Pantheon

Published Date: March 4th, 2025

Page Count: 285 Pages

Main Genre: Memoir

GoodReads Rating: 4.34

Format: Audio Book

“She has taught me patience. And as someone who has made their living through words, she has made me consider the dignity and persuasiveness of silence.”
Chloe Dalton, Raising Hare: A Memoir

Synopsis

Imagine you could hold a baby hare and bottle-feed it. Imagine that it lived under your roof and lolloped around your bedroom at night, drumming on the duvet cover when it wanted your attention. Imagine that, over two years later, it still ran in from the fields when you called it and slept in your house for hours on end and gave birth to leverets in your study. For political advisor and speechwriter Chloe Dalton, who spent lockdown deep in the English countryside, far away from her usual busy London life, this became her unexpected reality.

In February 2021, Dalton stumbles upon a newborn hare—a leveret—that had been chased by a dog. Fearing for its life, she brings it home, only to discover how impossible it is to rear a wild hare, most of whom perish in captivity from either shock or starvation. Through trial and error, she learns to feed and care for the leveret with every intention of returning it to the wilderness. Instead, it becomes her constant companion, wandering the fields and woods at night and returning to Dalton’s house by day. Though Dalton feared that the hare would be preyed upon by foxes, stoats, feral cats, raptors, and even people, she never tried to restrict it to the house. Each time the hare leaves, Chloe knows she may never see it again. Yet she also understands that to confine it would be its own kind of death.

Raising Hare chronicles their journey together, while also taking a deep dive into the lives and nature of hares, and the way they have been viewed historically in art, literature, and folklore. We witness first-hand the joy at this extraordinary relationship between human and animal, which serves as a reminder that the best things, and most beautiful experiences, arise when we least expect them.

Synopsis From Goodreads

“wondered how much of the nature of animals is obscured from us simply because of the limitations of our senses and powers of observation.”
Chloe Dalton, Raising Hare: A Memoir

Rating

After listening to this book I still probably couldn’t tell you the difference between a hare and a rabbit. However, now I do know that there are differences and not just because they are from different regions of the world.

This book ended up being a memoir to my happy surprise. I love listening to memoirs and this one changed the game for me. I normally listen to celebrity memoirs about their lives. But this book focused more on the animal rather than the human and I adored that!

The book was very well researched which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. I was learning new things as I went and just seeing the passion our author had for taking care of her orphaned hare was inspiring!

This book really focused on how what we as humans do in our every day lives can really affect the wild life around us. Mowing the long grass that has gathered in your field, The roads we create, The trees that we cut down to build a new building, even just Hiking in new areas that animals aren’t used to seeing humans around. All these things that seem so normal to us is quickly ruining animals habits, their food sources and homes. They can’t adapt as fast as we destroy.

The author really drives home how important it is that we treat animals with respect and don’t make them bend at our will. When she came across this little baby Hare (Leverette) she knew if she were to take it home that she couldn’t change anything about the way it lived, she vowed not to make it a pet. In doing so the hare thrived. It comes to show that when we do take in wild animals the changes we make to its surroundings and daily routine can cause stress and ultimately harm the animal.

The storytelling was beautiful and I know it will stick with me for years to come. As an animal lover it was really nice to hear this perspective as even doing something out of the goodness of my heart can’t fix the damage done.

“Under the subtle influence of the hare, my own wants have simplified. To be dependable in love and friendship more than in work. To leave the land in a more natural state than I found it. And to take better care of what is to hand, seeing beauty and value in the ordinary.”
Chloe Dalton, Raising Hare: A Memoir

QOTD: Has a memoir or non fiction changed your perspective on an aspect of your life?