First Lines Friday... "Clara Kip had prayed..."

"Clara Kip had prayed repeatedly to die in Sao Paulo. It truly seemed the smallest of requests. People died in Brazil every day. What was one more? Especially one who had dreamed of the country most of her life.

The Lord, however, gave her Kansas..."

The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip by Sara Burnsvold

Someone recommended this book if I wanted to "Ugly Cry". Do I want to ugly cry? The last book that I ugly cried was The Fault in Your Stars by John Green (OMG!). But usually ugly cries translate into "great" reads. Reads that grab you and break your heart. I read a little bit of the beginning of the book and the Goodreads blurb and think this might really be a good read, we'll have to see about the ugly cry part. 

Here's the Goodreads blurb: Aidyn Kelley is talented, ambitious, and ready for a more serious assignment than the fluff pieces she’s been getting as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star. In her eagerness, she pushes too hard, earning herself the menial task of writing an obituary for an unremarkable woman who’s just entered hospice care. But there’s more to Clara Kip than meets the eye. The spirited septuagenarian may be dying, but she’s not quite ready to cash it in yet. Never one to shy away from an assignment herself, she can see that God brought the young reporter into her life for a reason. And if it’s a story Aidyn Kelley wants, that’s just what Mrs. Kip will give her—but she’s going to have to work for it.

Would reading the first lines make you want to read more?

This was the debut novel of Sara Brunsvold, a contemporary Christian fiction writer who has written 3 more books since The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip, published in 2022 by Revell.

TODAY ONLY!! Book sale...

 Hey Book Lovers! Want to save some money on those books in your Wishlist?! Target is having their Spring sale and a lot of books are buy 2 get 1 free... but ONLY TODAY! Get on over to Target to check them out! Look for the deal under the book information to make sure the books you want are included. The key is to buy 3 books at a time! Good luck and have fun filling those TBR lists!

New Book Tuesday... Crows, Crones & Fate: This Week’s Most Spellbinding New Releases

New Book Tuesday! 

These are new books released today!

Grab your bookmarks—here are four heavy hitters hitting shelves this morning:

(Psst... and you're going to want to add all of these to your TBR list NOW!)

Daughter of Crows by Mark Lawrence... 
The survivor of a brutal academy must exhume her own past in the first book in a new series from the international bestselling author of the Library Trilogy and the Broken Empire series. Set a thief to catch a thief. Set a monster to punish monsters.

The Academy of Kindness exists to create agents of retribution, cast in the image of the Furies—known as the kindly ones—against whom even the gods hesitate to stand. Each year a hundred girls are sold to the Academy. Ten years later only three will emerge. The Academy’s halls run with blood. The few that survive its decade-long nightmare have been forged on the sands of the Wound Garden. They have learned ancient secrets amid the necrotic fumes of the Bone Garden. They leave its gates as avatars of vengeance, bound to uphold the oldest of laws. Only the most desperate would sell their child to the Kindnesses. But Rue … she sold herself. And now, a lifetime later, a long and bloody lifetime later, just as she has discovered peace, war has been brought to an old woman’s doorstep... That was a mistake.

I thought this book cover was stunning! And it was what initially attracted me to this book. But further reading about Daughter of Crows made me put it in my cart. Doesn't it sound like a delicious read, with women trained in the arts and one of those women with years of hard fought wisdom back in the game. On my TBR list. Published by Ace.

The Creek, The Crone, and the Crow by Leah Weiss... Welcome to Baines Creek, a humble hamlet hidden deep in Appalachia, where the last one-room schoolhouse in North Carolina is on the brink of closing. It's summer 1980, and teacher Kate Shaw has lived in Baines Creek for ten years. A skeptic at heart, she rejects mountain superstition and Appalachian folklore, much to the disappointment of Birdie Rocas, a powerful and reclusive witch with a trove of secrets. Yet, as Kate prepares to leave, a sudden death, a shocking request, and a legacy that spans centuries throw her into a world that overwhelms her.

Enter Lydia Brown, a psychic with a curious birthmark whose visions stopped when she needed them most. Grief-stricken without her gift, and desperate for spiritual guidance, she travels to Baines Creek in search of Birdie and the answers she might provide. The third novel by acclaimed author Leah Weiss, The Creek, The Crone, and the Crow is the tale of a powerful crone, two women cut from the cloth of loss, and a secret sisterhood of empowerment that may be the key to healing them all. On my TBR list. Published by Sourcebooks Landmark.

I love a good Appalachia story setting! This is on my TBR list!

Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict... In the 1920s, archeologist Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon of Highclere Castle made headlines around the world with the discovery of the treasure-filled tomb of the boy Pharaoh Tutankhamun. But behind it all stood Lady Evelyn Herbert―daughter of Lord Carnarvon―whose daring spirit and relentless curiosity made the momentous find possible.

Nearly 3,000 years earlier, another woman defied the expectations of her time: Hatshepsut, Egypt’s lost pharaoh. Her reign was bold, visionary―and nearly erased from history.

When Evelyn becomes obsessed with finding Hatshepsut’s secret tomb, she risks everything to uncover the truth about her reign and keep valued artifacts in Egypt, their rightful home. But as danger closes in and political tensions rise, she must make an impossible choice: protect her father’s legacy―or forge her own.

Propelled by high adventure and deadly intrigue, Daughter of Egypt is the story of two ambitious women who lived centuries apart. Both were forced to hide who they were during their lifetimes, yet ultimately changed history forever.

Marie Benedict is well known for her historical fiction. I have yet to read any of her books though. This sounds like a great read and I think it's time I do read her! I also love the idea of 2 storylines 3000 years apart! On my TBR list. Published by St. Martin's Press.

The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore... A fearless fortune teller in 1920s Paris must use her powers to divine who she can trust when an exiled Romanov princess and her brother come to her seeking answers about a decades-old mystery… Spirited Zina and her secretive grandmother, Baba Valya, own a tearoom on rue Daru in Paris, where they have lived quietly since Zina’s mother’s untimely death. By day, the women serve tea, mostly to members of the bustling Russian émigré community, but when dusk falls, they divine fortunes and perform séances for their loyal clientele. Then the charming Princess Olga and her brother arrive, searching for knowledge about the disappearance of their father, the exiled Grand Duke, cousin of the last Tsar of Russia. Zina, eager to learn more about the spirit world and her powers, performs the séance. She is able to summon the Grand Duke, but to her horror, he starts to haunt the shop, and he seems to know something sinister about her mother’s death. As Zina delves into her family’s hidden past, dark secrets are unearthed, threatening the home and tearoom Zina and her grandmother have worked so hard to build, not to mention their very lives.

What can I say... An exiled Romanov princess, a fortune teller, and Paris in the 20's... all the elements of a great story! On my wishlist. Published by Berkley.

What are you putting on your TBR list?

Memoir Monday... One Woman's Quest to Find Her Soulmate and Finding Herself in the Process

The Soulmate Strategy by Corey Seemiller... from Kirkus: Seemiller’s memoir charts her search for healing following the end of a romantic relationship.

In this work, the author explores themes of self-discovery and emotional resilience, using her own heartbreak as a focal point. Structured in four parts (“Getting Up,” “Getting Out,” “Getting Through,” and “Getting On”), the book covers a year in Seemiller’s life. Beginning with the first days after a breakup, the narrative takes readers through the author’s changing reactions, from pain and raw emotion to much more reflective understandings of love, attachment, and, self-worth. The book’s introduction, “Naked and Afraid,” finds Seemiller at a chaotic pool party: “Maybe spending the Fourth of July at a lesbian pool party I found online wasn’t the best idea,” she writes. From there, the author continues along the recovery path. Readers are taken on an emotional and humorous ride as Seemiller examines her fear of failure and her drive to find meaning beyond romantic validation. The author’s reflections are not limited to her romantic life—topics such as her parents’ troubled marriage and her experiences as a single mother allow her to address generational and psychological patterns that shaped her and others close to her. By the time Seemiller reaches the final section, readers will notice a transformation: Instead of looking for a new soulmate, Seemiller has learned to become emotionally whole on her own. The author’s voice—articulate yet unpretentious, self-aware but not self-pitying (and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny)—elevates this book above the typical memoir. Seemiller at times writes with the insight of a psychologist, and at others with the warmth of a friend; readers who have found themselves lost in the aftermath of a lost love will find themselves in her story (the author has a knack for making even ultra-personal confessions entirely relatable). Ultimately, Seemiller delivers a compelling account of grief and growth, demonstrating that even the most painful endings can lead to profound self-discovery and, perhaps, a new kind of love.

A frank and compelling memoir full of emotional wisdom.

I frequently read Kirkus reviews for interesting books. The Soulmate Strategy popped up and after I read the Kirkus review I read the first preview chapters to get a "feel" for the writing. Well, any woman who goes to a  lesbian pool party to soothe her broken heart has my attention straight off (no pun intended). And as I read along, I really liked Corey Seemiller's writing style and sense of humor. I didn't realize that Corey Seemiller was a lesbian, and why should I? Heart break and healing is universal. Kirkus never mentions her sexual orientation once. But, Amazon did. And I felt a bit angry about that. Why should that matter? In any case, Dr. Corey Seemiller is a leadership educator, life coach and a relationship coach. (I'm curious if the last title happened after the breakup). The Soulmate Strategy is on my wishlist and TBR list. Published by She Writes Press this past February 2026. 

The Sunday Salon and... The Women Behind the Legends: 3 Stories History Almost Let Slip Away.

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! 

It was another crazy week weather wise in South Carolina this week. A few days of 70 degree weather and then back to the cold 40's. I finally DID plant those seed snails this week! I have been misting them daily and babying them like my first borns. I'll keep you updated on their progress and see if they actually sprout. In the meantime, let's talk about March...

March is Women's History Month, which honors the contributions of women to American history, society, and culture. I’m especially drawn to stories that reimagine these women with vivid detail—pulling us into their worlds in a way that is imaginative, but still honoring the truth of their lives.

There’s something irresistible about stepping into the margins of history—the quiet spaces where women lived, loved, created, and endured… often just out of frame. The ones who inspired greatness, shaped legacies, or carried brilliance of their own, yet somehow didn’t get top billing.

This Women’s History Month, I’m leaning into the stories that rewrite the narrative. 

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain... Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

 

Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking, fast-living, and free-loving life of Jazz Age Paris. As Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history and pours himself into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises, Hadley strives to hold on to her sense of self as her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Eventually they find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.

I love Paula McLain. She knows how to unbury the lives of forgotten women and give us fresh ways to see them. In The Paris Wife, we meet Hadley Richardson—not just as Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, but as a woman navigating love, loss, and ambition in the glittering chaos of 1920s Paris. (Paula McLain also wrote one of my favorite books, Circling the Sun, about the incredible life of Beryl Markham. Another women left behind in history, and a book I reviewed back in 2016.

Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan... At the age of thirty-five, Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne has left her philandering husband in San Francisco to set sail for Belgium—with her three children and nanny in tow—to study art. It is a chance for this adventurous woman to start over, to make a better life for all of them, and to pursue her own desires.  Not long after her arrival, however, tragedy strikes, and Fanny and her children repair to a quiet artists’ colony in France where she can recuperate. Emerging from a deep sorrow, she meets a lively Scot, Robert Louis Stevenson, ten years her junior, who falls instantly in love with the earthy, independent, and opinionated “belle Americaine.”

Fanny does not immediately take to the slender young lawyer who longs to devote his life to writing—and who would eventually pen such classics as Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In time, though, she succumbs to Stevenson’s charms, and the two begin a fierce love affair—marked by intense joy and harrowing darkness—that spans the decades and the globe. The shared life of these two strong-willed individuals unfolds into an adventure as impassioned and unpredictable as any of Stevenson’s own unforgettable tales.

Another brilliant writer and one of my favorite authors, Nancy Horan also breathes life into the women behind the curtain. In Under the Wide and Starry Sky, Fanny Stevenson refuses to be a footnote, living a bold, unconventional life that spans continents and defies expectations. I loved this book and reviewed in back in 2014. Read my review! (Another wonderful read by Nancy Horan is Loving Frank, about Mamah Borthwick Cheney and her love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright).

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray... In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture in New York City society and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps create a world-class collection.

But Belle has a secret, one she must protect at all costs. She was born not Belle da Costa Greene but Belle Marion Greener. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. Belle’s complexion isn’t dark because of her alleged Portuguese heritage that lets her pass as white—her complexion is dark because she is African American.

The Personal Librarian tells the story of an extraordinary woman, famous for her intellect, style, and wit, and shares the lengths she must go to—for the protection of her family and her legacy—to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.

 

I have had this in my TBR pile for a long time. It's the perfect time for me to crack the spine during Women's History Month. Belle is another strong and powerful woman who secretly smashes the roof off of the racism that surrounded her. 

These novels don’t just revisit history—they reclaim it, placing women firmly at the center of stories that were never meant to orbit someone else.

Let’s step behind the spotlight for a moment… because that’s where some of the most fascinating stories begin.

Are You Reading Anything Special Because of Women's History Month?

Other great books to consider for Women's History Month (and just for a great read)... The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, A Million Nightingales by Susan Straight, The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, The Women by Kristin Hannah.

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Weekly Wrap-Up...

Memoir Monday... A Daughter Looks Back on the Woman Who Changed Everything.

Book Release Tuesday... Love, Lies and Larceny: 3 Books Everyone will Be Talking About.

First Lines Friday... Does a Dystopian Love Triangle Sound like Fun?

Book Review... Rivals, Romance and a Whole Lot of Heat: Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood. I really liked this book, check out my review to see if it's something that you'll like too. One of Library Loot books this year. 

Have you added to your TBR list from my post today?! I hope you've found some great reads! What are you reading this week? Share your bookish finds right here!

 

Rivals, Romance, and a Whole Lot of Heat: Two Can Play Delivers... and Here's My Review

 

 

Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood is a sharp, playful spin on the enemies-to-lovers trope that leans fully into its flirty chaos—and has a great time doing it.

Set in the high-stakes world of video game development, the story follows Viola and Jesse, rival designers from competing companies forced into an uneasy alliance. Their task? Collaborate on a major adaptation of a beloved book they both care deeply about. What starts as professional tension quickly reveals deeper layers—years of crossed wires, lingering grudges, and just enough unresolved history to make every interaction crackle.

Ali Hazelwood builds the chemistry with a steady hand, letting the friction simmer before dropping her characters into a snow-covered retreat where being so close to one another turns the temperature up. Old assumptions begin to thaw, walls come down, and—fair warning—the sparks don’t just fly, they IGNITE! Forget about G rating this romance!

At novella length, it’s a quick, satisfying read that doesn’t overstay its welcome. Viola, in particular, carries the story with her drive, vulnerability, and sharp edges, making her an easy character to root for from page one.

If you’re in the mood for something fast, fun, and a little steamy with a nerdy twist, Two Can Play absolutely delivers.

Published by Berkley in February 2026, you can find this book in your FLBS now!

First Lines Friday... Does a Dystopian Love Triangle Sound like Fun?

 A Hologram filled the center of my office with a painting. Simple, small. Just a woman, a hint of a smile on her face. 

As usual, I was alone in the Ancient Art section of the Archives, buried deep underground. My job was to destroy, piece by piece, the remnants of the world ancient humans had laid waste to in the Last War. Elsewhere in the Archives, my friend Lo sat in the Books section, and there were others who sorted ancient tools, documents, and relics from before the war. Our screens dictated what was saved, reassigned, or --like this one--destroyed. A push of a button, and the ties to the past disappear.

We meet our "heroine" in a dusty old basement, showing us how times have changed. Dystopian? Check. But there's much more to this book... Further reading the book we find romance (in a twisted dystopian way), a love triangle and maybe a bit of a rebellion under the surface? This had me at the Mona Lisa. Then at dystopian (I can never resist a good dystopian story)... and I have it on my TBR list. 

Would the first lines of this book make you want to read it?

Conform by Ariel Sullivan was published by Ballantine Books in October 2025.

It's the Luck of the Irish... 🍀 Love, Lies & Larceny: The 3 New Books Everyone Will Be Talking About Today

New Book Tuesday! 

These are new books released today!

Grab your bookmarks—here are the three heavy hitters hitting shelves this morning:

(Psst... and you're going to want to add all of these to your TBR list NOW!)

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Bloodlust by Sandra Brown... Sandra Brown delivers a new signature sexy suspense about a detective seeking justice for his murdered wife with the help of a psychotherapist … while fighting an undeniable attraction to her.

Two years ago, Detective Mitch Haskell lost his wife to a vicious act of retribution, and has since attributed her murder to two men: Roland Malone and the unidentified mastermind of the crime known only as Oz. Malone, a ruthless executioner and drug dealer who fronts as a restaurant owner, neutralizes so cleanly that he doesn’t leave a trace. And he performs his handiwork at the biddings of Oz, the faceless kingpin of a drug trafficking operation whose name alone evokes terror.

Obsessively vowing to avenge his late wife’s murder, Mitch has been on a downward spiral, jeopardizing his closest relationships and drinking excessively to numb his pain. After going one step too far, Detective John Bowie, his former best friend and now his boss, has forced Mitch to get therapy to sort himself out.

Dr. Dylan Reede is immediately empathetic to the pain she senses beneath Mitch’s cavalier attitude and wisecracking. She’s determined to make the most of his mandated sessions. But from the moment Mitch breezes into her office, Dylan finds it a struggle to maintain the professional and personal boundaries that keep her own tragic past at a safe distance.

As Mitch begins to close in on Oz and Malone’s operation, they’re prepared to stop him by any means necessary. And when it’s revealed that Dylan might hold the key to bringing them to justice, Mitch and Dylan’s irresistible attraction to each other may not only compromise both of them professionally, but place them in Oz’s bullseye.

I am always up for a new Sandra Brown novel! Her writing is outstanding with wonderful gritty characters and twisty plots. 

Published by Grand Central Publishing

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Life: A Love Story by Elizabeth Berg... A warm, intimate novel that reminds us of the richness that can be found all throughout our lives.

As ninety-two-year-old Florence "Flo" Greene nears the end of her life, she writes a letter to Ruthie, the woman who grew up next door to her, describing the items Flo is leaving Ruthie in her will. But as it goes on, telling surprising stories about those “little” things Flo will leave behind (What could possibly be the worth of a rubber band kept in a matchbox tied up in red ribbon?), an unforgettable portrait of the life she has lived emerges.

The letter starts off as an autobiography in things, but it turns out to do much more than that: ultimately, it will transform Flo and those around her. In the time she has left, Flo decides to take herself up on tiny dares. She encourages Ruthie to reconsider her impending divorce by sharing a startling, long-buried secret about her own perfect-seeming marriage. Flo has never had a pedicure before now, and as long as she's going to a beauty parlor, she arranges to have a blue streak put in her hair, too. And as these adventures lead her to make new friends, Flo helps them, too, find the fulfillment that living a full life has led her to understand.

Full of Elizabeth Berg's characteristic mix of warmth, humor, and poignancy, Life: A Love Story is a reminder that whatever your circumstances, as long as you're alive, you can keep on investing in life. The joy will inevitably follow.

I just saw that Elizabeth Berg had a new novel and had to check it out. WOW! This sounds like such a great read! I read a sample of it and OMG! The sample starts out with a letter, and then ANOTHER letter! With the crush of epistolary reads out these days, I LOVE that Elizabeth Berg includes these in Life: A Love Story! I love epistolary novels! I hope there are lots more in her novel and I can't wait to read this! On My TBR list and Wishlist!!

Published by Random House

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Everyone in This Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson... Ten heists. Ten suspects. A murder mystery only Ernest Cunningham can solve in this delightfully clever and twisty new novel in Benjamin Stevenson’s bestselling series.

I’ve spent the last few years solving murders. But a bank heist is a new one, even for me. I’ve never been a hostage before.

The doors are chained shut. No one in or out. Which means that when someone in the bank is murdered, everyone is a suspect.

THE BANK ROBBER

THE MANAGER

THE SECURITY GUARD

THE KID

THE FILM PRODUCER

THE PRIEST

THE RECEPTIONIST

THE PATIENT

THE CAREGIVER

ME

Turns out, more than one person planned to rob the bank today. You can steal more from a bank than just money.

Who is stealing what? Are they willing to kill for it? And can I solve the crime before the police kick down the door and rescue us.

This is a first for me... first Benjamin Stevenson book and first Ernest Cunningham detective novel. Lots of rave reviews on these books, and I want to read one now! A fun play on your "traditional" murder mystery. Benjamin Stevenson is a comedian and writer, which may give us a hint as to how these are written.

Published by Mariner Books

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What new books are on your radar?

Hope you found something interesting here today! All these books look like great reads!

Memoir Monday... A Daughter Looks Back at the Woman Who Changed Everything

 

Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy... "A raw and deeply moving memoir from the legendary author of The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness that traces the complex relationship with her mother, Mary Roy, a fierce and formidable force who shaped Arundhati’s life both as a woman and a writer.

Mother Mary Comes to Me, Arundhati Roy’s first work of memoir, is a soaring account, both intimate and inspirational, of how the author became the person and the writer she is, shaped by circumstance, but above all by her complex relationship to the extraordinary, singular mother she describes as “my shelter and my storm.” 

“Heart-smashed” by her mother Mary’s death in September 2022 yet puzzled and “more than a little ashamed” by the intensity of her response, Roy began to write, to make sense of her feelings about the mother she ran from at age eighteen, “not because I didn’t love her, but in order to be able to continue to love her.” And so begins this astonishing, sometimes disturbing, and surprisingly funny memoir of the author’s journey from her childhood in Kerala, India, where her single mother founded a school, to the writing of her prizewinning novels and essays, through today.

With the scale, sweep, and depth of her novels, The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, and the passion, political clarity, and warmth of her essays, Mother Mary Comes to Me is an ode to freedom, a tribute to thorny love and savage grace—a memoir like no other".... From Goodreads 

I first was drawn to Arundhati Roy's memoir by the haunting photograph on the cover. Reading more about the book, I realized that "Mother Mary" was a reference to Arundhati's own mother and the complex relationship she had with her. In her Booker Prize winning novel (1997), The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy brings us  into her "fictional" India, but here we learn of her real life in India. On my wishlist, and thinking now of re-reading The God of Small Things too (which I just saw was $1.99 on Kindle today)

Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy published by Scribner, Sept. 2025