Literary Quote of the Month

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one." - George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons

Sunday, April 12, 2026

The Sunday Salon and Villains, Vengeance & Midnight Magic: Meet My Latest Book Obsessions


Welcome to The Sunday Salon! It's the place where Book Bloggers from around the world share their bookish finds with one another in a virtual place called The Sunday Salon. Thank you to for Deb at ReaderBuzz keeping us all together on Sundays and hosting The Sunday Salon now! I also visited with Kim at The Caffeinated Reader, another Sunday gathering place for us bookish people called The Sunday Post!

We are finally out of the cold in South Carolina! The last possible frost was suppose to be April 8th and my seed snails are officially enjoying the big bold outdoors. I put them in our little greenhouse Friday night and Saturday morning they still looked very happy. We are actually suppose to be in the high 80's during the day all this coming week. I've been enjoying the breeze on the front porch in the early evenings finishing The Beheading by Rebecca Lehmann. I'm in the last 40 pages now and am trying to read as fast as I can to see what happens! It's been a great read so far. I'll be posting my review next week, but let's just say it's bordering on 5 stars depending on if the ending lives up to the rest. If you like historical fiction, with a little bit of... I don't know... horror? fantasy? What would you call Anne Boylen getting her head chopped off and she wakes up to the horror of her head between her knees?

Also this past week I got a new spine bookcase. My favorite space saving bookcase and I needed one. Of course I've been finding so many great books lately, I filled it up immediately! Not only did I fill my new bookcase up, but I've been filling my Kindle up too! What, may you ask, did I fill up my Kindle and my bookcase with? Here are the top 4 this week...

The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke (aka V.E.Schwab & Cat Clarke)
... Six authors. One private island. Seventy-two hours to write the ending that will change their lives...

Arthur Fletch, one of the world’s bestselling novelists, is a reclusive genius known for his iconic protagonists and fiendish twists. When six struggling authors are invited to spend a weekend on his private Scottish island, they arrive to discover a shocking secret: Arthur Fletch is dead . . . and his last book is unfinished.

Desperate to publish the novel, Fletch’s agent and editor have summoned these writers in the hope that one of them will imagine a worthy ending for this final book. To sweeten the deal, they are offering an irresistible prize: in addition to ghost-writing the last chapter––for a mind-boggling sum––they will also help the lucky writer successfully re-launch their own career, guaranteeing future bestsellers. The catch: the writers have just seventy-two hours to finish Fletch’s magnum opus.

It’s the perfect plot. All it needs is a killer ending.

This book got a lot of hype when it became known that 2 well known writers put their heads together and wrote this... and no one knew who the writers were. When it was revealed that it was none other than V.E. Schwab and Cat Clarke, it got even more hype, probably more so because of V.E. Schwab. In any case, this is suppose to be a fun romp and I am definitely looking forward to cracking the spine on this one. Published by Harper Collins and on released this past Tueday... 

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab...

This is a story about hunger.

1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.

This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.

This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.

This is a story about life—
how it ends, and how it starts.

This book has gotten a lot of buzz since it was published last June by Tor. And it still is getting lots of praise. V.E. Schwab is a writer who creates these amazing worlds  & characters and is considered a historical fantasy writer. This book has been on my wishlist for a long time, and I finally bought it! I can't wait to read it!

A Stage Set for Villain by Shannon J. Spann... 
The gods are dead. All that’s left are the Players. 
The performers of the Playhouse are as worshipped as they are feared, their enchanting shows bending hearts, minds, and even reality itself. Vicious, godlike, lethal. Eighteen-year-old Riven Hesper knows the dangers better than anyone, after her own encounter with a Player resulted in a curse that is slowly killing her.

When the Playhouse announces the spectacle of a lifetime—a chance for one mortal to steal a Player’s immortality—Riven sees her last chance to live. Desperate for answers, she infiltrates the competition. There, she finds Jude, the Playhouse’s brilliant, merciless Lead Player, whose charm is as dangerous as his Craft, and strikes a deadly bargain to save her life.

But with time running out and the Playhouse’s secrets unraveling into a disturbing picture, Riven faces a grim possibility: she might not be the hero of her story after all. In fact, she may be the villain.

Because the Playhouse doesn’t just tell stories. It rewrites them.

And Riven’s might end in blood.

I had heard so many.

This was an immediate sensation on social media. Published this past February by Entangled Publishing, it was recently scooped up by Amazon MGM Studios for a major project down the road. I downloaded a copy for my Kindle, which is only $7.99 right now, and started reading it. OMG, I was immediately drawn into the story and the setting is so unique. Definitely pick this up if it sounds like your kind of read or if you want to try some romantasy and you have a Kindle, because who knows when that price will go to "normal" Kindle pricing, which is generally around $14.99! (remember when they were all priced at $9.99!?)

Starside by Alex Aster... Enter the world of Starside, where swords wield magic and power is not inherited...but claimed.

Hundreds of years ago, a brutal war split a land in two. Starside is the realm of magic and immortals—the descendants of the gods, living in a power-rich paradise. Stormside is where mortals fight for scraps of that magic.

Every fifty years, the gates between them open, and fifty challengers are allowed to journey across Starside on a deadly quest to access a pool of magic that can heal, grant wealth, or extend life. Everyone has their reasons for entering, but Aris has only one: vengeance. As a child, a goddess set fire to her village, killing her family. Aris isn’t after the gods’ magic—she’s going to kill them.

First, she must survive the Culling, the king’s deadly competition to choose his fifty challengers. An orphaned blacksmith’s apprentice, Aris doesn’t have the superior weapons of the heirs from the Great Houses. But the greatest swords—ones that contain power—are not inherited or bought, they are claimed, by both sides. And when Aris claims a great sword, it makes her not just a real competitor—but a target.

Getting past the gates is only the beginning. Starside is deadlier than it seems. If the ancient creatures, magic-wielding beasts, and bloodthirsty immortals weren’t dangerous enough, a new peril has even immortals fearing what rises from the ground at night. With a blade most would kill to claim, Aris can’t trust anyone. Especially not Harlan Raker, the merciless and mysterious king’s guard who betrayed her years ago—and who may now be the key to her survival.

But Aris is hiding a secret tied to her family’s death. And when it’s revealed, not even the gods will be able to stop what’s coming…

I first found Alex Aster when she was promoting her "enemies-to-lovers" rom-com, Summer in The City, which was published last March. Since then it seems, she's been on a writing spree with YA Fantasy, and that's where we find her today, but she's stepping out of the YA Fantasy genre and into the "adult" Romantasy genre with Starside. This book has been all over TikTok and Instagram with many MANY 5 star ratings. I have no idea what I'm getting myself into, but it sounds like a great read and I put it on my wishlist when it came out in March. Recently I've been obsessed with these Romantasy books and I'm looking forward to starting this one soon. Published by Avon, March 31st (and I did tell you about it then, but I couldn't resist it when I finally saw it in person 😁. Did I tell you how pretty it is?!)

THOSE were some of the books I picked up this week. What about you?! Did you bring home any new books this week?

Now that we've talked about the new books I picked up, let me share what happened on the blog the last two weeks in case you missed anything...

Memoir Monday 3/30... Let's Hear it For The Girls! Memoirs from the ladies of a certain age (my age! )

Memoir Monday 4/6... Get Your Scalpel ready for this one!

New Book Tuesday 3/31... Magic, Destiny & Rising Stars You Need Now!

New Book Tuesday 4/7... New Releases and It's Stacked!

First Lines Friday 4/3... You'll Lose Your Head Over These!

First Lines Friday 4/10... Get Ready to be Swept Away!

Indie Next Pick for April... No Surprise Here and You Don't Want to Miss it!

Comedian Gillian Cosgriff... Sings us a little song about stress relieve (book related!) You really need to listen to this 😄.

What am I Listening To?... OMG! Old Lady Curmudgeon and a Great Narrator!

Happy Easter!... And a reading of Peter Rabbit.

I hope you found something to dig your teeth into... or at least found a good book! Share your good books right here in the comments! I'm always looking for recommendations!

Have a great week and Happy Reading... Suzanne



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