Anticipated Book Releases December 2024

2024 is closing with some great books. There are some fun romances including a short story by one of my favorite authors, Jenny Colgan. If you’re in the mood for something more serious, there’s the paperback release of the new James Patterson series, a nod to some of the greatest literary detectives. None of my lists would be complete without at least one WWII novel. I hope you find something you like. Happy reading!

December 1

The Christmas Book Hunt by Jenny Colgan

Goodreads Synopsis:

A heartwarming meet-cute short story from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Christmas Bookshop.

A Christmas mission…

Mirren’s beloved great-aunt Violet is seriously ill. Her one Christmas wish is to be reunited with a long-lost hand-illustrated book from her childhood, a challenge Mirren gladly accepts to give Violet some much-needed festive cheer.

An enchanting journey…

With no sign of the cherished volume online, Mirren falls into the fascinating world of rare books. From London to snowy Hay-on-Wye and Edinburgh’s cobbled streets, she chases leads from bookshop to bookshop—and bumps into mysterious, charming Theo, who, unbeknownst to her, is searching for the same book for reasons of his own…

The start of a new chapter?

As the two join forces to track the book down before time runs out for Violet, will Mirren find her Christmas miracle—and maybe even a kiss under the mistletoe… ?

For fans of Josie Silver, Jill Mansell and the Queen of Christmas herself, a snow-swept love story to warm even the coldest winter’s day.

December 3

Under Lock and Key by Lana Ferguson

Goodreads Synopsis:

Keyanna “Key” MacKay is used to secrets. Raised by a single father who never divulged his past, it’s only after his death that she finds herself thrust into the world he’d always refused to speak of. With just a childhood bedtime story about a monster that saved her father’s life and the name of her estranged grandmother to go off of, Key has no idea what she’ll find in Scotland. But repeating her father’s mistakes and being rescued by a gorgeous, angry Scotsman—who thinks she’s an idiot—is definitely the last thing she expects.

Lachlan Greer has his own secrets to keep, especially from the bonnie lass he pulls to safety from the slippery shore—a lass with captivating eyes and the last name he’s been taught not to trust. He’s looking for answers as well, and Key’s presence on the grounds they both now occupy presents a real problem. It’s even more troublesome when he gets a front row seat to the lukewarm welcome Key receives from her family; the strange powers she begins to develop; and the fierce determination she brings to every obstacle in her path. Things he shouldn’t care about, and someone he definitely doesn’t find wildly attractive.

When their secrets collide, it becomes clear that Lachlan could hold the answers Keyanna is after—and that she might also be the key to uncovering his. Up against time, mystery, and a centuries old curse, they’ll quickly discover that magic might not only be in fairy tales, and that love can be a real loch-mess.

December 10

The French Winemaker’s Daughter by Loretta Ellsworth

Goodreads Synopsis

1942. Seven-year-old Martine hides in an armoire when the Nazis come to take her father away. Pinned to her dress is a note with her aunt’s address in Paris, and in her arms, a bottle of wine she has been instructed to look after if something happened to her papa. When they are finally gone, the terrified young girl drops the bottle and runs to a neighbor, who puts her on a train to Paris.

But when Martine arrives in the city, her aunt is nowhere to be found. Without a place to go, the girl wanders the streets and eventually falls asleep on the doorstep of Hotel Drouot, where Sister Ada finds her and takes her to the abbey, and watches over her.

1990. Charlotte, a commercial airline pilot, attends an auction with her boyfriend Henri at Hotel Drouot, now the oldest auction house in Paris. Successfully bidding on a box of wine saved from the German occupation during the Second World War, Henri gives Charlotte a seemingly inferior bottle he finds inside the box. Cleaning the label, Charlotte makes a shocking discovery that sends her on a quest to find the origins of this unusual—and very valuable—bottle of wine, a quest that will take her back fifty years into the past. . . .

A powerful tale of love, war, and family, The French Winemaker’s Daughter is an emotionally resonant tale of two women whose fates are intertwined across time. Loretta Ellsworth’s evocative and poignant page-turner will linger in the heart, and make you think about luck, connection, and the meaning of loyalty.

Holmes Marple & Poe by James Patterson and Brian Sitts

Goodreads Synopsis:

Crime! Murder! Who are you going to call?

In New York City, three intriguing, smart, and stylish private investigators open Holmes, Marple & Poe Investigations.

Who are these detectives with famous names and mysterious, untraceable pasts?

Brendan Holmes—The Brain: Identifies suspects via deduction and logic.

Margaret Marple—The Eyes: Possesses powers of observation too often underestimated.

Auguste Poe—The Muscle: Chases down every lead no matter how dangerous or dark.

The agency’s daring methodology and headline-making solves attract the attention of NYPD Detective Helene Grey. Her solo investigation into her three unknowable competitors rivals the best mysteries of Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Edgar Allan Poe.

December 24

After the Ocean by Lauren E. Rica

Goodreads Synopsis:

Thirty years ago, young music student Emilia Oliveras married her dream man. Their Caribbean honeymoon cruise was idyllic—until the night Paul disappeared from their ship, presumed drowned. Reeling from loss, Emilia was horrified when his wealthy, vindictive family tried to railroad her as a gold-digging murderer. She escaped home to Puerto Rico and then across the country, where she became Emily Oliver, suburban wife and mother of two. Still, the trauma and secrets of her past ruined her second marriage, and created a disconnect with, and between, her grown daughters, Meg and Gracie. But now, a mysterious phone call suggests Paul alive and well . . . Emilia immediately delves into a search, no matter the cost. Unknown to her, Meg and Gracie are following close behind, each on a search of her own. . . . A gifted musician, Meg wants to understand why she’s always felt like an imposter, raising self-sabotage to an art form. And Gracie, soon to discover that she’s Paul’s daughter, is fleeing yet another shattered relationship, hoping the truth can shed light on her choices. As Karen and her daughters’ paths converge, they will be forced to see each other anew, reconcile their mistakes and misunderstandings, and find a way to forgiveness—for a chance to both uncover Paul’s fate, and shape their futures on their own terms . . .

December 31

Eddie Winston is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin

Goodreads Synopsis:

Eddie Winston is 90 years old. He has lived and loved, but he has never been kissed.

A true gentleman and incurable romantic, Eddie spends his days volunteering at a charity shop, where he sorts through the donations of the living and the dead, preserving letters and tokens of love. It is here that he meets Bella, a troubled young woman who, at 24 years old, has just lost the love of her life.

When Bella learns that Eddie is yet to have his first kiss, she resolves to help Eddie Winston finally find love, sparking an adventure that will take them to unexpected places and, they hope, bring Eddie Winston to the moment he has waited for all his life.

A tale of friendship and kindness that reminds us that those we love are never forgotten and it is never too late to try again.

November 30, 2024 0

Most Anticipated Book Releases: November 2024

November 5

*I’ve been reading locked-door mysteries since winning a writing battle with one. I also love books with authors as main characters.*

There’s been a sensational murder at historic Castle Kinloch, a gothic fantasy of grey granite on a remote island in the Highlands of Scotland. Literary superstar Brett Saffron Presley has been found dead—under bizarre circumstances—in the castle tower’s book-lined study. Years ago, Presley purchased the castle as a showpiece for his brand and to lure paying guests with a taste for writerly glamour. Now it seems, the castle has done him in…or, possibly, one of the castle’s guests has. Detective Chief Inspector Euan McIntosh, a local with no love for this literary American show-off (or Americans in general), finds himself with the unenviable task of extracting statements from three American lady novelists.

The prime suspects are Kat de Noir, a slinky, sexy erotica writer; Cassie Pringle, a Southern mom of six juggling multiple cozy mystery series; and Emma Endicott, a New England blue blood and author of critically acclaimed historical fiction. The women claim to be best friends writing a book a historical novel about the castle’s lurid past and its debauched laird, who himself ended up creatively murdered. But the authors’ stories about how they know Brett Saffron Presley don’t quite line up, and the detective is getting increasingly suspicious.

Why did the authors really come to Castle Kinloch? Is the murder of the long-ago laird somehow connected with the playboy author’s unfortunate demise? And what really happened the night of the great Kinloch ceilidh, when Brett Saffron Presley skipped the folk dancing for a rendezvous with death?

A crafty locked-room mystery, a pointed satire about the literary world, and a tale of unexpected friendship and romance—this novel has it all, as only three bestselling authors can tell it!

*I love Only Murders in the Building, so the murder podcast theme seems fun.*

It’s 1998, and female students are going missing at Southern State University in North Carolina. But freshman Jessica Fadley, once a bright and responsible student, is going through her own struggles. Just as her life seems to be careening dangerously out of control, she suddenly disappears.

Twenty-four years later, Jessica’s sister Lindsey is desperately searching for answers and uses the momentum of a new chart-topping true crime podcast, Ten Seconds to Vanish, that focuses on the cold cases, to guide her own investigation. Soon, interest reaches fever pitch when the bodies of the long-missing women begin turning up at a local lake, which leads Lindsey down a disturbing road of discovery.

In the present, one sister seeks to untangle a complicated web of lies.
In the past, the other descends ever deeper into a darkness that will lead to her ultimate fate.

This propulsive and chilling suspense is a sharp examination of sisterhood and the culture of true crime.

November 7

*I couldn’t find a lot of detail on this one, but I love this series*

The third instalment of the Penguins trilogy follows Veronica McCreedy as she embarks on an epic adventure to Antarctica!

November 12

*This is a new to me author, but it looks like a fun rom-com.*

They say love and construction don’t mix.
By that logic, hate and construction may as well be condemned.

LaRynn Lavigne and Deacon Leeds had one short and contentious summer fling when they were teens.
Certainly nothing to build a foundation on.
But a decade later, when their grandmothers have left them with shared ownership of their dilapidated Santa Cruz building, they’re thrust back together and have to figure out how to brace up the pieces.
LaRynn has the money, but to access her trust, she has to be married.
Deacon has the construction expertise, but lacks the funds.
A deal is struck: Marry for however long it takes to fix up the property, collect a profit, and cut ties.
Thrust into a home without walls, they quickly learn that it’s easy to hide behind emotional ones, even in a marriage. But, with all the exposure and pitfalls that come with living with the opposite sex (and none of the perks) they’ll also have to learn what it means to truly co-operate as a team.

The Co-op is a steamy story about restoration and renovation, and uncovering all the things that build character within ourselves. It’s about the never-ending construction project that partnership is, and finding enjoyment at every stage.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a modern single man in possession of a hockey jersey may be exactly what a Regency woman needs to avoid the shackles of marriage…

Goalie for the Austin Regals, Tucker Taylor is benched due to health issues. So he decides to visit his sister in England. But an accidental plunge into an icy pond thrusts him back to 1812 where he comes face to face with a captivating blue-eyed woman who regards him as if he’s grown two heads.

Lizzy Wooddash dreams of a life surrounded by books, engaging conversation, the presence of literary icons like Jane Austen, and… nary a husband in sight. But in Regency England, only widows like her cousin Georgie enjoy freedom and solitary pursuits, unencumbered by expectations. The only way to quickly become a widow is by marrying a dying man or killing a perfectly healthy one, neither of which Lizzy desires.

A visitor from the future might just be the husband of her dreams. Once married, they can figure out how to return Tucker to his proper time, and his absence—aka death—will make Lizzy the widow she always dreamed of becoming. Yet as sparks ignite, they soon realize that matters of the heart rarely adhere to carefully laid plans. Can their love stand the test of time, or will Lizzy get exactly what she wanted…as well as a broken heart?

November 19

*I like Hazel Gaynor’s writing, and this seems to be a Christmas story with more depth.*

December 1952. While the young Queen Elizabeth II finds her feet as the new monarch, she must also find the right words to continue in the tradition of her late father and grandfather’s beloved Christmas Day radio broadcast. But even traditions must move with the times, and the Queen faces a postwar Britain hungry for change.

As preparations begin for the royal Christmas at Sandringham House in Norfolk, two old friends—Jack Devereux and Olive Carter—find themselves reunited for the festivities. A single mother, typist at the BBC, and aspiring reporter, Olive leaps at the opportunity to cover the holiday celebration, despite self-doubts. When a chance encounter with the Queen presents an exciting opportunity, Olive begins to believe her luck might change.

Jack, a grief-stricken widowed chef originally from New Orleans, accepts a last-minute chance to cook in the royal kitchens at Sandringham. When he bumps into a long-lost friend, an old spark is reignited.

Despite personal and professional heartache, Jack and Olive’s paths continue to cross over the following five Christmas seasons and they find themselves growing ever closer. Yet Olive carries the burden of a heavy secret.

Christmas Day, December 1957. As the nation eagerly awaits the Queen’s first televised Christmas speech, Olive decides to reveal the shocking truth of her secret, which threatens to tear her and Jack apart forever. Unless Christmas has one last gift to deliver…

We begin with a nameless young couple: a boy and a girl, teenagers in love. One day, she disappears . . . and her absence haunts him for the rest of his life.

Thus begins a search for this lost love that takes the man into middle age and on a journey between the real world and an other world—a mysterious, perhaps imaginary, walled town where unicorns roam, where a Gatekeeper determines who can enter and who must remain behind, and where shadows become untethered from their selves. Listening to his own dreams and premonitions, the man leaves his life in Tokyo behind and ventures to a small mountain town, where he becomes the head librarian, only to learn the mysterious circumstances surrounding the gentleman who had the job before him. As the seasons pass and the man grows more uncertain about the porous boundaries between these two worlds, he meets a strange young boy who helps him to see what he’s been missing all along.

November 26

*Valek is one of my all-time favorite heroes, so I can’t wait to hear his version of events.*

There’s just no rest for Valek, Ixia’s Chief of Security. Challenges are constant and new problems arrive daily, including a request to help Castletown’s watch solve the mystery of a string of nighttime disturbances, and keeping a close eye on the Commander’s food taster as she schemes her way back into business. As if that isn’t enough, the Commander’s life is threatened.

Is the assassination attempt on the Commander a declaration of war by the Sitian Council, or is it a ruse by an unknown party to incite a war between Ixia and Sitia? Valek is sent to Sitia to discover the answer and deal with the threat.

Unfortunately, the problem turns out to be much bigger than even the council and the master magicians can handle. An unsanctioned clan with powerful warpers is plotting to take over both countries. As the danger heats up, Valek and Yelena must reunite and stop the group before they can set their entire world on fire.

October 31, 2024

My Most Anticipated Book Releases: September 2024

These are the new releases I’m most looking forward to in September. A lot of mysteries, but some other genres mixed in as well.

September 3

The Booklover’s Library by Madeline Martin

Goodreads synopsis:

A heartwarming story about a mother and daughter in wartime England and the power of the books that bring them together.

In Nottingham, England, widow Emma Taylor finds herself in desperate need of a job to provide for herself and her beloved daughter, Olivia. But with the legal restrictions prohibiting widows with children from most employment opportunities, she’s left with only one option: persuading the manageress at Boots’ Booklover’s Library to take a chance on her.

When the threat of war becomes a reality, Olivia must be evacuated to the countryside. In her daughter’s absence, Emma seeks solace in the unlikely friendships she forms with her neighbors and coworkers, as well as the recommendations she provides to the library’s quirky regulars. But the job doesn’t come without its difficulties. Books are mysteriously misshelved and disappearing, and her work forces her to confront the memories of her late father and the bookstore they once owned together before a terrible accident.

As the Blitz intensifies in Nottingham and Emma fights to reunite with her daughter, she must learn to depend on her community and the power of literature more than ever to find hope in the darkest of times.

All I needed to see was the title to know I wanted to read this one.

The Cottage Around the Corner by D. L. Soria

Goodreads Synopsis:

Chanterelle Cottage is Charlie Sparrow’s whole world. The cozy spellshop where she and her moms practice their witchcraft, selling goods and services to the people of small-town Owl’s Hollow, has been in her family for generations.

Okay, business has been a little slow and a recent burglary hit their inventory pretty hard. And the bank may not agree to restructure their loan. But Charlie is talented and savvy, and she’ll keep things afloat once her parents finally let her buy into the business as a co-owner. Still, when a competing magecraft firm opens in town, things start to look bleak. After all, everyone knows there’s room for only one magic shop in Owl’s Hollow.

So what if Fitz, the mage who owns the new Maven Enterprises, happens to be ridiculously handsome in his ridiculously expensive suits? Who cares that, when Charlie can forget for a moment or two that Fitz is her competitor, things between them are as easy as breathing? None of that matters—because Charlie is not going to get involved with the competition. In this battle of the businesses, she’ll do whatever it takes to make sure Chanterelle Cottage is the last spellshop standing.

But when strange supernatural events begin to plague the citizens of Owl’s Hollow, Charlie and Fitz must put their rivalry aside and their magic together to save the town. As they grow closer, it becomes harder for Charlie to keep her carefully drawn line in place—maybe Owl’s Hollow is big enough for a witch and a mage, after all.

With the haunting season coming, this is my kind of sweet witch story.

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

Goodreads Synopsis:

“What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet…”

When retired math teacher Grace Winters is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan.

Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the island, Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past.

Filled with wonder and wild adventure, thisis a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning.

I’m already a Matt Haig fan, but through in a Mediterrranean Island and teacher protagonist and I can’t resist.

September 17

The Banned Books Club by Brenda Novak

Goodreads Synopsis:

She left her hometown following a scandal—but family loyalty is dragging her back…

Despite their strained relationship, when Gia Rossi’s sister, Margot, begs her to come home to Wakefield, Iowa, to help with their ailing mother, Gia knows she has no choice. After her rebellious and at-times-tumultuous teen years, Gia left town with little reason to look back. But she knows Margot’s borne the brunt of their mother’s care and now it’s Gia’s turn to help, even if it means opening old wounds.

As expected, Gia’s homecoming is far from welcome. There’s the Banned Books Club she started after the PTA overzealously slashed the high school reading list, which is right where she left it. But there is also Mr. Hart, her former favorite teacher. The one who was fired after Gia publicly and painfully accused him of sexual misconduct. The one who prompted Gia to leave behind a very conflicted town the minute she turned eighteen. The one person she hoped never to see again.

When Margot leaves town without explanation, Gia sees the cracks in her sister’s “perfect” life for the first time and plans to offer support. But as the town, including members of the book club, takes sides between Gia and Mr. Hart, everything gets harder. Fortunately, she learns that there are people she can depend on. And by standing up for the truth, she finds love and a future in the town she thought had rejected her.

You had me at banned books.

Gracie Under the Waves by Linda Sue Park

Goodreads Synopsis:

Gracie Under the Waves by Linda Sue Park An empowering story from #1 New York Times bestseller and Newbery medalist Linda Sue Park starring a young snorkeling enthusiast who draws inspiration for fighting climate change from interacting with her pesty little brother

Snorkeling is the best! Gracie loves floating above underwater reefs, watching colorful fish dart in and out of the coral. She convinces her parents to let her plan a family vacation to Roatán, Honduras, where they can snorkel together. She even makes a new friend there. Now, if only her irritating little brother would leave her alone, everything would be perfect.

Things come to a screeching halt when Gracie hurts her leg, and all her carefully made plans start to come apart. Worse still, she learns the reef itself is in serious danger. Gracie wants to help the reef . . . but she’s just a kid. How can she possibly make a difference?

Inspired by her own experience, Newbery medalist Linda Sue Park tells the engaging tale of a young girl learning how to impact a cause she cares about while navigating the ups and downs of sibling relationships and turning disappointment into opportunity.

Looks like another winner by Rochester’s Newberry winning author biggest middle grade author.

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave

Goodreads Synopsis:

Estranged siblings discover their father has been keeping a secret for over fifty years, one that may have been fatal…

Liam Noone was many things to many people. To the public, he was an exacting, self-
made hotel magnate fleeing his past. To his three ex-wives, he was a loving albeit distant family man who kept his finances flush and his families carefully separated. To Nora, he was a father who often loved her from afar – notably a cliffside cottage perched on the California coast from which he fell to his death.

The authorities rule the death accidental, but Nora and her estranged brother Sam have other ideas. As Nora and Sam form an uneasy alliance to unravel the mystery, they start putting together the pieces of their father’s past—and uncover a family secret that changes everything.

Sounds like a good suspense thriller.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

Goodreads Synopsis:

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job…

Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?

Thursday Murder Club is still sitting on my tbr pile, but I’ve heard enough to know I’ll like Osman’s work.

September 24

A Fire in the Sky by Sophie Jordan

Goodreads Synopsis;

Dragons are extinct. Witches are outcast. Magic is dying.

But human lust for power is immortal.

Dragon fire no longer blisters the skies over Penterra, but inside the lavish palace, life is still perilous…especially for Tamsyn. Raised in the glittering court alongside the princesses, it’s her duty to be punished for their misdeeds. Treated as part of the royal family but also as the lowliest servant, Tamsyn fits nowhere. Her only friend is Stig, Captain of the Guard…though sometimes she thinks he wants more than friendship.

When Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands, descends on her home, Tamsyn’s world becomes even more dangerous. To save the pampered princesses from a fate worse than death, she is commanded to don a veil and marry the brutal warrior. She agrees to the deception even though it means leaving Stig, and the only life she’s ever known, behind.

The wedding night begins with unexpected passion—and ends in near violence when her trickery is exposed. Rather than start a war, Fell accepts Tamsyn as his bride…but can he accept the dark secrets she harbors—secrets buried so deep even she doesn’t know they exist? For Tamsyn is more than a royal whipping girl, more than the false wife of a man who now sees her as his enemy. And when those secrets emerge, they will ignite a flame bright enough to burn the entire kingdom to the bone.

Magic is not dead…it is only sleeping. And it will take one ordinary girl with an extraordinary destiny to awaken it.

I think Sophie Jordan is an underrated author. Whether it’s a historical romance, dystopian or YA fantasy, I’ve everything I’ve read by her.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

Goodreads Synopsis:

The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room three days before Christmas.

Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt:

She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery.

He’s Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy.

She hates his guts.

He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she’s told him otherwise.)

But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself.

That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone.

She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust?

As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth—and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor.

Assuming they don’t kill each other first.

Yes! The holiday books are coming!

August 31, 2024

My Most Anticipated Book Releases August 2024

A nice mix of books from different genres coming out this month.

August 1

For fans of Diana Gabaldon and Philippa Gregory, courtly rivalry and intrigue…

1613: King James – sixth of Scotland, first of England, son of Mary, Queen of Scots – has unified both countries under one crown. But the death of his eldest son, Henry, has plunged the nation into mourning, as the rumours rise the prince was poisoned.

Andrew Logan’s heard the rumours, but he’s paid them little heed. As one of the King’s Messengers he has enough secrets to guard, including his own. In these perilous times, when the merest suggestion of witchcraft can see someone tortured and hanged, men like Andrew must hide well the fact they were born with the Sight.

He’ll need all his gifts, though, when the king sends Andrew north to find and arrest Sir David Murray, once Prince Henry’s trusted courtier, and bring him a prisoner to London to stand trial before the dreaded Star Chamber.

A story of treachery, betrayal and love…

Any Susanna Kearsley book is automatic yes for me.

They were just friends. Best friends. Allies. They spent entire summers sitting on Shiloh’s porch steps, dreaming about the future. They were both going to get out of north Omaha—Shiloh would go to college and become an actress, and Cary would join the Navy. They promised each other that their friendship would never change.

Well, Shiloh did go to college, and Cary did join the Navy. And yet, somehow, everything changed.

Now Shiloh’s thirty-three, and it’s been fourteen years since she talked to Cary. She’s been married and divorced. She has two kids. And she’s back living in the same house she grew up in. Her life is nothing like she planned.

When she’s invited to an old friend’s wedding, all Shiloh can think about is whether Cary will be there—and whether she hopes he will be. Would Cary even want to talk to her? After everything?

The answer is yes. And yes. And yes.

Slow Dance is the story of two kids who fell in love before they knew enough about love to recognize it. Two friends who lost everything. Two adults who just feel lost.

It’s the story of Shiloh and Cary, who everyone thought would end up together, trying to find their way back to the start.

I’ve only read Rainbow Rowell’s YA, this sounds like a great place to start with her adult books.

After years of self-exile, Jacinda “Jac” Brodie is back in Brook Haven, South Carolina. But the small cliffside town no longer feels like home. Jac hasn’t been there since the beloved chief of police fell to his death—and all the whispers said she was to blame.

That chief was Jac’s father.

Racked with guilt, Jac left town with no plans to return. But when her granddad lands in the hospital, she rushes back to her family, bracing herself to confront the past.

Brook Haven feels different now. Wealthy newcomer Faye Arden has transformed the notorious Moor Manor into a quaint country inn. Jac’s convinced something sinister lurks beneath Faye’s perfect exterior, yet the whole town fawns over their charismatic new benefactor. And when Jac discovers one of her granddad’s prized possessions in Faye’s office, she knows she has to be right.

But as Jac continues to dig, she stumbles upon dangerous truths that hit too close to home. With not only her life but also her family’s safety on the line, Jac discovers that maybe some secrets are better left buried.

I’m generally more of a cozy mystery reader, but I’ve been getting more into thrillers lately.

August 6

Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms, and her mother doesn’t allow Cordelia to have a single friend—unless you count Falada, her mother’s beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t sorcerers.

After a suspicious death in their small town, Cordelia’s mother insists they leave in the middle of the night, riding away on Falada’s sturdy back, leaving behind all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester. Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage, and Cordelia knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his kind, intelligent sister.

Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother, how the young girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. Hester knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked witch of the worst kind.

I love a fairytale retelling and have wanted to read more by T. Kingfisher after Nettles and Bones.

August 20

In 1581, Emilia Bassano–like most young women of her day–is allowed no voice of her own. But as the Lord Chamberlain’s mistress, she has access to all theater in England, and finds a way to bring her work to the stage secretly. And yet, creating some of the world’s greatest dramatic masterpieces comes at great cost: by paying a man for the use of his name, she will write her own out of history.

In the present, playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. Although the challenges are different four hundred years later, the playing field is still not level for women in theater. Would Melina–like Emilia–be willing to forfeit her credit as author, just for a chance to see her work performed?

Told in intertwining narratives, this sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire asks what price each woman is willing to pay to see their work live on–even if it means they will be forgotten.

Fascinating premise. Can’t wait to see how Jodi Picoult handles it.

In an alternate Edinburgh of 1824, every woman lives in fear that she will be the next one hanged for witchcraft. All it takes is invoking the anger, or the desire, of the wrong person. Nellie Duncan, beautiful and unwed, keeps to herself until she encounters the Rae Women’s Apothecary. There, fiery Jean Rae and the other women provide cures and teach others that they too can aid the winter deity, the Cailleach, embracing her characteristic independence, agency, and craft, in turn becoming witches themselves.

Nellie finds a place and a purpose at the shop, and a blossoming romance with Jean, as she learns about nature-based craft and a witch’s ability to return to life after death. But the Cailleach has an ancient enemy intent on stripping the power of the deity and all her witches, leaving a wake of patriarchal violence and destruction.

When heart-breaking disaster strikes, Nellie flees and spends the next two centuries hiding from the world—until love gives her the courage and the motivation to come back. Nellie’s past is waiting for her there, and hanging witches is no longer the only means of oppression. But this time, Nellie refuses to run—either from her foes, or from her resolve to awaken others to the unimaginable power that can come with fighting the patriarchy in its many forms—and finding one’s own magical inner-strength.

I love a witchy book and Edinburgh is one of my favorite settings.

Influencer Meredith Lee didn’t teach Aspen Palmer how to blossom on social media just to be ditched as soon as Aspen became big. So can anyone really blame Mer for doing a little stalking? Nothing serious, more like Stalking Lite.

Then Mer gets lucky; she finds one of Aspen’s kids’ iPads and swipes it. Now she has access to the family calendar and Aspen’s social media accounts. Would anyone else be able to resist tweaking things a little here and there, showing up in Aspen’s place for meetings with potential sponsors? Mer’s only taking back what she deserves—what should have been hers.

Meanwhile, Aspen doesn’t understand why her perfectly filtered life is falling apart. Sponsors are dropping her, fellow influencers are ghosting her, and even her own husband seems to find her repulsive. If she doesn’t find out who’s behind everything, she might just lose it all. But what everyone seems to forget is that Aspen didn’t become one of TikTok’s biggest momfluencers by being naive.

When Meredith suddenly goes missing, Aspen’s world is upended and mysterious threats begin to arrive—but she won’t let anything get in the way of her perfect life again.

So far every book I’ve read by Suntanto has ended up bing a favorite book of the month.

August 27

One last gift to teachers and readers from Andrew Clements: A sequel to his most beloved, landmark book, Frindle. While the original is a love letter to writing and the power of words, The Frindle Files shows us that using those words carefully—that speaking up—can make all the difference.

Josh Willet is a techie, a serious gamer. Nothing’s better than writing code or downloading a new release. Which is why Mr. N’s ELA class is such a slog; it’s a strict no-tech zone. It feels like being stuck inside a broken time machine. Mr. N makes the kids write everything out on paper, he won’t use a Smart Board, and he’s obsessed with some hundred-year-old grammar book.

Then one night, while s-l-o-w-l-y finishing an assignment by hand, Josh discovers a secret. Turns out Mr. N’s been keeping a lot more than technology from his students! Josh and his best friend, Vanessa, are determined to solve the mystery and rally the other kids around their cause. And maybe—just maybe—get some screen time back, too.

More than 25 years after the publication of Frindle, and set one whole generation later, The Frindle Files is a gift left by the beloved Andrew Clements before he passed away. It’s a story that’s both timeless and timely—about the importance of language, of digging deep to find answers, and of challenging what you think you know to imagine what is possible. Filled with humor and Clements’ potent, no-nonsense prose, The Frindle Files is an inspiring, thoughtful, remarkable novel that will grace children’s and classroom shelves for another 25 years.

So excited to see a modern twist on this classic.

July 31, 2024

Anticipated Reads Update

I’ll be the first to admit, I have not been consistent with posting and following through with all of the blog features I’ve started. The two things I have stuck with from the beginning is posting my favorite book I read each month and my most anticipated book releases of the month. I thought it would be fun to go back and update you on how many of the anticipated book releases I’ve since read. I was surprised to see how many ended up being a favorite book of the month. I’ve included lots of links for book descriptions and previous posts that talk about these books.

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty was part of my very first list of anticipated books in September 21. I’ve had strong feelings both ways with Moriarty’s books, but this one fell in the middle. It was a good read, but as memorable as her others.

Under the Whispering Door was also on that first list and went on to be my favorite read of the entire year for 2022.

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon was on my November 2021 anticipated reads list. I finished it earlier this year. I put it off because I thought the ending of Echo in the Bone would’ve been a perfect ending to the series, and was nervous I would be disappointed. While it was not my favorite book in the series, I was overall happy with the course of the book.

Reminders of Himby: Colleen Hoover was on my January 2022 list. Readers tend to have strong feelings about Hoover. You love her books or hate them. I am a fan. Again, this isn’t my favorite of her books, but I liked the theme of redemption.

With Love From London by Sarah Jio was on my February 2022 list . You’ll notice that I am drawn to a lot of books about family secrets and duel timelines. This one also had a bookshop, so it was a big win for me.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry was on my May 2022 list. This was my first Emily Henry book and my favorite read of September 2022. This was a perfect romance for me. It was a twist on a Halmark Movie and gave a behind the scenes look at the writing industry.

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid was on my September 2022 list. It ended up being one of my favorite reads of 2023. I like that Taylor Jenkins Reid ties in stories from her other books, but they also work as stand alones.

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult was on my October 2022 list. It was also a favorite read of 2023. I am always amazed at Picoult’s ability to explore issues from so many different perspectives.

It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover was also on my October 2022 list. It was a great sequel to It Ends With Us and told the love story readers wanted in book one.

Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes was on my February 2023 list . I was my favorite read of March 2024.

Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon was on my March 2023 list. I am about half way through reading this book. I’m loving it so far. It will most likely be my favorite read for June.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jess Q. Sutanto was on my March 2023 list. It was my favorite read of August 2023. It is one of the funniest mystery I’ve ever read.

March of 2023 was a great month for book releases. Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls was also another my favorite books of the month for December 2023.

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann was on my April 2023 list. This was an amazing story and the amount of research that went into it was mindblowing.

Happy Place by Emily Henry was also on my April 2023 list. Another great romance, but I did not like it as much as Book Lovers.

In the Lives of Puppets was also on my April 2023 list and was my favorite read of January 2024. I just love his sense of humor so much, I think he could write about anything and I would love it.

One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate was on my May 2023 list. This is such a great middle grade series. I loved reading about Ruby’s story.

Yellowface by B. F. Kuang was also on my May 2023 list. I’m glad I got to write about this one. It probably would’ve been my favorite book of the month if I had read it at a different time, but I happened to have a very strong reading month. This was a great book that tackled controversial topics and made you think.

The Second Chance Store by Lauren Bravo was on my July 2023 list. I loved the concept of telling the story through the items that show up at a second hand shop. I didn’t love the execution of the story though. There were too many stories going for me, so they didn’t feel fully developed.

Dogtown by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko was on my September list. I was lucky enough to get a copy from NetGalley to review. The One and Only Ivan and Al Capone Does My Shirts are two of my favorite middle grade books, and this collaboration was everything I dreamed it would be.

June 21, 2024

My Most Anticipated Book Releases June 2024

June 4

One summer can change everything.

Brooklyn-based Hannah is a bestselling author struggling to write her second book after personal losses. Her older sister, Sara, still lives in Chatham, Cape Cod, where they grew up, and is married with four children. Once a dedicated librarian, Sara dreams of reviving her love affair with literature, but instead, she is stuck with too many family responsibilities and a fizzling marriage.

When Hannah gets the chance to retreat to her aunt’s oceanfront house in Chatham for the summer, it seems like just the thing to get her creative juices flowing. And she’ll be able to spend more time with Sara, who is eager to find her way back into the workforce, to do something rewarding and book-related. The pair will spend the summer making friends, rekindling romance― especially Spencer, an old acquaintance from high school-turned very hot grump― and opening themselves up to the magic of books and the beach.

June 11

Sounds like a perfect summer read!

Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough: a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.

Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through—and he’s a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can’t stop thinking about. The woman who’s off-limits to him.

Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business—one that plays for keeps.

I still haven’t read an Ali Hazelwood book, but I keep accumulating them because the descriptions all sound so good!

June 25

Two women—separated by decades and continents, and united by a mysterious family heirloom—discover second chances at love in this sweeping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Wives.

I loved The Glass Ocean which Williams co-wrote with Lauren Willig and Karen White.

She has a dream. He has a plan. Together they’ll take a leap of faith.

Ren has never held an iPhone, googled the answer to a question, or followed a crush on social media. What she has done: Read a book or two, or three (okay, hundreds). Taught herself to paint. Built a working wind power system from scratch. But for all the books she’s read, Ren has never found one that’s taught a woman raised on a homestead and off the grid for most of her twenty-two years how to live in the real world. So when she finally achieves her lifelong dream of attending Corona College, it feels like her life is finally beginning.

Fitz has the rest of his life mapped out: Graduate from Corona at the top of his class, get his criminal record wiped clean, and pass himself off as the rich, handsome player everyone thinks he is. He’s a few short months from checking off step one of his plans when Ren Gylden, with her cascading blonde hair and encyclopedic brain, crashes into his life, and for the first time Fitz’s plan is in jeopardy.

But a simple assignment in their immunology seminar changes the course of both their lives, and suddenly they’re thrown out of the frying pan and into the fire on a road trip that will lead them in the most unexpected directions. Out on the open road, the world somehow shifts, and the unlikely pair realize that, maybe, the key to the dreams they’ve both been chasing have been sitting next to them the whole time.

I love this series and am so excited to see an installment by Christina Lauren.

May 31, 2024

My Most Anticipated Book Releases: May 2024

A lot of months there’s a definite trend , but there’s a good mix of my favorite genres this month.

May 7

What makes a girl “beastly?” Is it having too much ambition? Being too proud? Taking up too much space? Or is it just wanting something, anything , too badly?

That’s the problem Arabella faces when she makes her debut in society. Her parents want her to be sweet and compliant so she can marry well, but try as she might, Arabella can’t extinguish the fire burning inside her — the source of her deepest wishes, her wildest dreams.

When an attempt to suppress her emotions tragically backfires, a mysterious figure punishes Arabella with a curse, dooming her and everyone she cares about, trapping them in the castle.

As the years pass, Arabella abandons hope. The curse is her fault — after all, there’s nothing more “beastly” than a girl who expresses her anger — and the only way to break it is to find a boy who loves her for her true a cruel task for a girl who’s been told she’s impossible to love.

When a handsome thief named Beau makes his way into the castle, the captive servants are thrilled, convinced he is the one to break the curse. But Beau — spooked by the castle’s strange and forbidding ladies-in-waiting, and by the malevolent presence that stalks its corridors at night — only wants to escape. He learned long ago that love is only an illusion.

If Beau and Arabella have any hope of breaking the curse, they must learn to trust their wounded hearts, and realize that the cruelest prisons of all are the ones we build for ourselves.

I love retellings and this sounds amazing!

The king of Yusan must die.

The five most dangerous liars in the land have been mysteriously summoned to work together for a single objective: to kill the God King Joon.

He has it coming. Under his merciless immortal hand, the nobles flourish, while the poor and innocent are imprisoned, ruined…or sold.

And now each of the five blades will come for him. Each has tasted bitterness―from the hired hitman seeking atonement, a lovely assassin who seeks freedom, or even the prince banished for his cruel crimes. None can resist the sweet, icy lure of vengeance.

They can agree on murder.

They can agree on treachery.

But for these five killers―each versed in deception, lies, and betrayal―it’s not enough to forge an alliance. To survive, they’ll have to find a way to trust each other…but only one can take the crown.

Let the best liar win.

I don’t read a lot of high fantasy, but this sounds like an amazing premise with intriquing characters.

In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.

She is tasked with working as a “bridge”: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he’s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as “washing machine,” “Spotify,” and “the collapse of the British Empire.” But he adjusts quickly; he is, after all, an explorer by trade. Soon, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a seriously uncomfortable housemate dynamic, evolves into something much more. Over the course of an unprecedented year, Gore and the bridge fall haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences they never could have imagined.

Supported by a chaotic and charming cast of characters—including a 17th-century cinephile who can’t get enough of Tinder, a painfully shy World War I captain, and a former spy with an ever-changing series of cosmetic surgery alterations and a belligerent attitude to HR—the bridge will be forced to confront the past that shaped her choices, and the choices that will shape the future.

An exquisitely original and feverishly fun fusion of genres and ideas, The Ministry of Time asks the universal What happens if you put a disaffected millennial and a Victorian polar explorer in a house together?

This is a debut novel, so I know nothing about the author, but it sounds like an amazing premise that mixes up different genres.

For more than a decade, readers have been enchanted by the modern classic The One and Only Ivan , a Newbery Award winner and a #1 New York Times bestseller, and by its bestselling sequels, The One and Only Bob and The One and Only Ruby . Powerhouse author Katherine Applegate invites readers back into Ivan’s world for one last adventure—his most exciting yet. Ivan has been happily living in a wildlife sanctuary, with his friend Ruby next door in the elephant enclosure, frequent visits from his canine friend Bob, and his mate Kinyani by his side. And in the happiest turn of all, Ivan and Kinyani have welcomed a set of twins to their family! Ivan loves being a papa, even though it can be hard sometimes. But as he navigates the joys and challenges of parenthood, he can’t help but recall his life before the glass walls of the mall circus, his own childhood in the jungle—and his own twin. In the tradition of timeless classics like Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little , the one and only Katherine Applegate has crafted a poignant, delightful, heartbreaking, unforgettable final foray into the world of Ivan, the world’s favorite silverback.

I hate for this series to end, but this sounds like the perfect ending.

May 14

Christina Lauren, returns with a delicious new romance between the buttoned-up heir of a grocery chain and his free-spirited artist ex as they fake their relationship

in order to receive a massive inheritance.

Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways.

Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.

Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents—his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.

But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.

I love a fake romance trope. Even though they’re crazy unrealistic scenarios, you really get to see the relationship evolve.

May 21

Caught in the great Galveston Hurricane of 1900, a female doctor who’s joined a traveling medicine show to support her disabled son is forced to weather the storm and its aftermath in a town hostile to the troupe’s unconventional ways but desperate for their help.

Readers of Ellen Marie Wiseman, Sandra Dallas, and Sara Donati will be captivated by this story of medical historical fiction by Amanda Skenandore, registered nurse and acclaimed author of The Nurse’s Secret and The Second Life of Mirielle West.

Once a trailblazer in the field of medicine, Dr. Tucia Hatherley hasn’t touched a scalpel or stethoscope since she made a fatal mistake in the operating theater. Instead, she works in a corset factory, striving to earn enough to support her disabled son. When even that livelihood is threatened, Tucia is left with one option—to join a wily, charismatic showman named Huey and become part of his traveling medicine show.

Her medical license lends the show a pretense of credibility, but the cures and tonics Tucia is forced to peddle are little more than purgatives and bathwater. Loathing the duplicity, even as she finds uneasy kinship with the other misfit performers, Tucia vows to leave as soon as her debts are paid and start a new life with her son—if Huey will ever let her go.

When the show reaches Galveston, Texas, Tucia tries to break free from Huey, only to be pulled even deeper into his schemes. But there is a far greater reckoning ahead, as a September storm becomes a devastating hurricane that will decimate the Gulf Coast—and challenge Tucia to recover her belief in medicine, in the goodness of others—and in herself.

I loved The Second Life of Mirielle West and am excited to read more by this author .

April 29, 2024

My Most Anticipated Book Releases: April 2024

I can’t believe how many of my favorite authors had books coming out in April. Many are contemporary romances, perfect for spring. But some more serious books caught my attention as well. Do you plan to read an of these? What other books are you looking forward to this April?

April 2nd

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it’s now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They’ll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work.

Emma hadn’t planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It’s supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma’s toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they’re suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected–including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

Abby Jiminez is quickly becoming one of my favorite romance writers. Love the concept of this book.

April 9th

Utilizing the linguistic insights of her “witty and brilliant” (Blyth Roberson, author of America the Beautiful? ) first book Wordslut and the sociological explorations of her breakout hit Cultish , Amanda Montell now turns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biases in her most personal and electrifying work yet.

“Magical thinking” can be broadly defined as the belief that one’s internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external Think of the conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty, stave off cancer with positive vibes, thwart the apocalypse by learning to can their own peaches, or transform an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one with loyalty alone. In all its forms, magical thinking works in service of restoring agency amid chaos, but in The Age of Magical Overthinking , Montell argues that in the modern information age, our brain’s coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven.

In a series of razor sharp, deeply funny chapters, Montell delves into a cornucopia of the cognitive biases that run rampant in our brains, from how the “Halo effect” cultivates worship (and hatred) of larger than life celebrities, to how the “Sunk Cost Fallacy” can keep us in detrimental relationships long after we’ve realized they’re not serving us. As she illuminates these concepts with her signature brilliance and wit, Montell’s prevailing message is one of hope, empathy, and ultimately forgiveness for our anxiety-addled human selves. If you have all but lost faith in our ability to reason, Montell aims to make some sense of the senseless. To crack open a window in our minds, and let a warm breeze in. To help quiet the cacophony for a while, or even hear a melody in it.

I love books about psychology, but don’t read a lot of them This sounds like a good balance of research and humor.

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family’s social position.

What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain’s king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England’s heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king’s favor.

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition’s wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.

I’ve been wanting to read more books set in Spain, love that fantasy powerhouse Leigh Burdago is exploring historical fiction.

A fast-paced YA thriller about a cutthroat competition for the world’s best thieves, including the teen girl who must win to save her parents’ lives. Filled with intrigue and secrets buried within secrets, Thieves’ Gambit takes readers on a heart-pounding, globe-trotting adventure to spectacular museums, opulent galas, and elite boarding schools. As unlikely bonds begin to form, each player must decide who to con and who to trust if they hope to survive.

This has already been released in hardcover, but is listed as a new release for April, so I’m counting it. This sounds like a great YA series.

April 16th

When Nova Doubeck is asked to foster two children, she can’t say no. With her own childhood wounds healed by adoptive parents, Nova understands the rewards of a caring guardian―even an impermanent one. But nine-year-old Henry and his seven-year-old sister, Bella, are more than Nova bargained for.

Combative Henry is at risk of becoming like his abusive father, Egan Croy. Timid Bella, clutching a tin box of treasures, cowers at the slightest noise. Yet Nova gradually earns their trust and affection as they bring unexpected love and joy to her guarded life. Now she can’t help but wonder: How will she stop her heart from breaking when the time comes to say goodbye?

As Egan aggressively battles to regain control over the children, Nova’s protective instincts prove just as fierce. In fighting to save Henry and Bella, she’ll unlock the secrets hidden in their past―and learn more about herself and the true meaning of family than anyone imagined.

Just reading this discription makes me want to cry. But, every once in a while you need a tearjerker.

April 23rd

Tracking the natural beauty that surrounds us, The Backyard Bird Chronicles maps the passage of time through daily entries, thoughtful questions, and beautiful original sketches. With boundless charm and wit, author Amy Tan charts her foray into birding and the natural wonders of the world.

In 2016, Amy Tan grew overwhelmed by the state of the Hatred and misinformation became a daily presence on social media, and the country felt more divisive than ever. In search of peace, Tan turned toward the natural world just beyond her window and, specifically, the birds visiting her yard. But what began as an attempt to find solace turned into something far greater—an opportunity to savor quiet moments during a volatile time, connect to nature in a meaningful way, and imagine the intricate lives of the birds she admired.

I love Amy Tan’s novels, and would love to learn more about her through this memoir.

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.

Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.

Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right?

Any new Emily Henry release automatically moves to my wish list.

A steamy second-chance romance about a magical florist’s unexpected reunion with her high school sweetheart as she fake dates his soon-to-be stepbrother.

A small, magical town tucked away in rural Ohio, Moonville is the perfect place for flora fortunist Romina Tempest to expand her shop, where she uses the language of flowers to help the hopeful manifest their love lives. After giving up on her own big romance eleven years ago, at least she can bask in the promise of others’.

So, when the shop’s potential financier shares news of his wedding, Romina jumps on the opportunity to discuss buying the business. What better place to negotiate a deal than at a wedding, even if she has to fake-date her chaotic colleague Trevor to get an invitation? But all hell breaks loose when she discovers Trevor’s soon-to-be stepbrother is none other than Alex her high school sweetheart. Her greatest love. The boy who, eleven years ago, broke her heart, and who now thinks she and Trevor are dating.

What starts as an innocent misunderstanding becomes a week-long fake dating scheme, as Romina resolves to make Alex pay for breaking her heart. The only issue? She can’t deny their still-burning connection. Caught between proving to Alex what he lost, and coming clean and risking her business, Romina must decide whether giving Alex another chance means going back on herself, or finally releasing her hold on the past.

I love a fake dating and second chance romances, and I can’t tell which this one is going to be. I loved You Deserve Each Other, so I expect an interesting twist on romance from Hogle.

March 31, 2024

March Catch-up Post: Favorite Read and Anticipated Book Releases

I had issues posting back in February, so I missed my favorite book of the month and new releases for March posts, then I just didn’t get back to it. So, I thought I would just do a combined, abbreviated post.

Favorite Read of February 2024

This novel tells the true story of a boat carrying children evacuated from Europe during WWII, that was hit by a torpedo. One lifeboat is left stranded in the ocean for days. The story follows the events on the lifeboat and the family members left behind who are fighting to continue the search. This is why I keep going back to WWII novels, there are so many different angles and stories that there’s always something new to learn.

Anticipated releases for March 2024

Click on books for the goodreads link

March 24, 2024

My Most Anticipated Book Releases of January 2024

January 2

What if your nightmares weren’t really nightmares at all?

We spend an average of thirty-three years of our lives asleep. But what really happens, and what are we capable of, when we are sleeping?

Anna Ogilvy was a budding twenty-five-year-old writer with a bright future. Then, one night, she stabbed two people to death with no apparent motive—and she hasn’t woken up since. Dubbed “Sleeping Beauty” by the tabloids, Anna suffers from a rare psychosomatic disorder known to neurologists as “resignation syndrome.”

Dr. Benedict Prince is a forensic psychologist and an expert in the field of sleep-related homicides. His methods represent the last possible hope of solving the infamous “Anna O” case by waking Anna up so she can stand trial. But the doctor must be careful treating such a high-profile suspect—he’s got career secrets and a complicated personal life of his own.

As Anna shows the first signs of stirring, Benedict knows he must determine what really happened and whether Anna should be held responsible for her crimes.

Only Anna knows the truth about that night, but only Benedict knows how to discover it. And they’re both in danger from what they will discover.

January 9

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge mountains. In the aftermath of her death, that estate—along with a nine-figure fortune and the complicated legacy of being a McTavish—pass to her adopted son, Camden.

But to everyone’s surprise, Cam wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.

Ten years later, Camden is a McTavish in name only, but a summons in the wake of his uncle’s death brings him and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but coming home reminds Cam why he was so quick to leave in the first place.

Jules, however, has other ideas, and the more she learns about Cam’s estranged family—and the twisted secrets they keep—the more determined she is for her husband to claim everything Ruby once intended for him to have.

But Ruby’s plans were always more complicated than they appeared. As Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will––and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.

January 16

This is a tale of murder.

Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it?

Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island.

I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time ― it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind…and a murder.

We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse ― a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered.

But who am I?

My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.

January 23

Born into an illustrious family of swashbuckling war heroes and brilliant political leaders, Lady Hester Stanhope was a Regency-era adventuress who lived on her own terms and refused to conform.

Fans of Shana Abé, Theresa Ann Fowler, and Fiona Davis will be captivated by the unforgettable spirit at the heart of USA Today bestselling author Andrea Penrose’s dazzling new historical novel based on the real life of Lady Hester Stanhope (1776-1839), a British aristocrat, antiquarian, and adventurer who defied all conventional strictures of what a woman could and couldn’t do during the Regency era.

Even with her privileged life, Lady Hester Stanhope knows that claiming the adventurous life she truly wants will not be easy, thanks to her eccentric father’s stifling grip. With the help of her renowned statesman uncle William Pitt the Younger, she takes on the glittering, treacherous heights of London Society. Her formidable intelligence, outspoken opinions, and headstrong determination gain the favor of the beau monde’s leading taste-maker Beau Brummell—and she quickly learns to bend the rules of the ton to her own advantage. And as her uncle’s hostess, she astutely uses her skills to preside over—and give advice to—the most influential figures of her day, rising to a position unequaled in society . . .

But when it comes to holy matrimony, Hester will settle for no less than a passionate match of equals—a search marked by challenges and heartbreak. Her affair with a charismatic naval officer tempts her with forbidden pleasures—even as it threatens her reputation. Her love for a sophisticated, brilliant diplomat offers the marriage of her dreams . . . and unsuspected betrayal. And as England is plunged into war, Hester’s world changes forever, causing her to find courage and strength amid loss, chart a completely unexpected future—and make a glorious legacy forever hers . . .

The day of her high school graduation, Riley realizes two things: One, that she has spent the last four years trying so hard to be a Good Kid for her mom that she has no idea who she really is anymore, and two, she has no idea what she wants because of it. The solution? Pack her bags and move to New York for the summer, where her childhood best friend Tom and co-creator of The Getaway List ― a list of all the adventures they’ve wanted to do together since he moved away ― will hopefully help her get in touch with her old adventurous self, and pave the road to a new future.

Riley isn’t sure what to expect from Tom, who has been distant since his famous mom’s scriptwriting career pulled him away. But when Riley arrives in the city, their reconnection is as effortless as it was when they were young―except with one, unexpected complication that will pull Riley’s feelings in a direction she didn’t know they could take. As she, Tom, and their newfound friends work their way through the delightfully chaotic items on The Getaway List, Riley learns that sometimes the biggest adventure is not one you take, but one you feel in your heart.

Inescapably romantic and brimming with Emma Lord’s signature cheer, The Getaway List is an uplifting and romantic read that will settle into your heart and never leave.

December 29, 2023