New Release Tuesday (on Wednesday!?!) ... Dangerous Vampires, Second Chances & Sweet Revenge...

Tuesday brought us some great reading! 

Let's get right into them...

Dhampira by Amy Pennza... A long-lost noble of the ruthless vampire court discovers she might not need to choose between her two suitors.

Corinthe has spent a lifetime longing for excitement outside her sleepy human village. As a dhampir born of a human mother and vampire father, her unique abilities make her desired by those who lurk across the Feyline—the boundary that keeps the magical realm in perpetual twilight where vampires hold dominion. To stay safe, she’s concealed her supernatural strength and taste for blood from her human neighbors, but when her yearning for excitement accidentally exposes her gifts, she is captured to sell to the highest bidder.

Terrified, she expects the worst. But rescue comes in the form of Vander, a handsome stranger who whisks her from the auction stage and across the Feyline . . . where he reveals himself to be a vampire knight of King Rasimir’s court. Notorious for his cruelty, the deranged king is determined to extend his rule to the farthest reaches, and Vander has been tasked with delivering Corinthe to him.

Now a pawn in the vampire court, Corinthe learns that Rasimir intends to marry her off to the arrogant Prince Lorcan and exploit her daywalking abilities for his own gain. But a wedding isn’t the only obstacle in her path to freedom. While Vander burns with dangerous charm, Lorcan watches her with hungry eyes. And both men claim they can help her—if she can trust them.

I chose this as one of my Allurial book choses this month! And this romantasy sounds like quite the adventure! I loved that this book had vampires! Published by Ace Publishing.

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Tropesick by Lauren Okie... In this lush, slow-burning romance, two childhood neighbors, connected by a shared tragedy, unexpectedly reunite to ghostwrite a love story for a reclusive author. Spending the summer at her secluded Hamptons estate, they soon discover that dozens of classic romance tropes, including the ones they’re crafting on page, are mysteriously playing out in real life.

Katie Caruso is a completely normal twenty-five-year-old girl. At least, for the past eight years, she’s tried to be. She likes glitter and sequins and flirting with cute boys at New York City bars. She’s also a ghostwriter for Meredith Bradford, the bestselling romance novelist of all time. But then Tyler McNally walks back into Katie’s life, and that bedazzled facade crumbles at her platform-sneakered feet.

Katie and Tyler haven’t seen or spoken to each other since the overdose death of Katie’s older brother, a standout MLB pitching prospect. Tyler was her brother’s best friend, and Katie—naturally—was the girl next door. But now, Tyler is a sleeve-tattooed, Ivy League–educated aspiring literary fiction novelist, nine years sober . . . and Katie’s writing partner for the summer.

As genre conventions require, Katie and Tyler soon find themselves removed from Manhattan and instead writing their love story in “forced proximity” at Meredith’s isolated Southampton home. As the summer unfolds, the tropes Katie and Tyler have written into their novel begin to play out in their own lives. Call it destiny, fate, or magic itself: it’s clear their love story isn’t finished. This time, though, they’ll work through the pain that tore them apart—and fight for their happy ending.

Heart-wrenching and tender, Tropesick is a love letter to the romance genre. With a wink and a nod, Okie has packed the novel with readers’ favorite tropes:

Grumpy/Sunshine.. Brother’s best friend.. Girl next door.. Forced proximity.. Forbidden love.. Kissing in the rain.. Groveling hero.. Second-chance romance.. Slow burn.. Only one bed

When I read about this book and it said ALL those tropes were packed into it, I just had to put it on my TBR list! This sounds like fun! Published by Avon.

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Romantic Hero by Kirsty Greenwood... A heartbroken romance novelist is forced to address her writer's block when the villainous cowboy character from her books shows up in the real world, desperately in need of his own Happily Ever After.

Gertie Bickerstaff writes happily-ever-afters for a living. . . . Or she did, until her own love life fell apart. Now her ex is thriving, her deadline is looming, and she can’t write a single word.

The last thing Gertie needs is more drama—like waking up to find a confused and rugged cowboy on her sofa. And not just any cowboy, but River Oakley, the villain from her unfinished novel. Somehow very real . . . and very shirtless.

River wants to go home. Gertie wants her life back. So they strike a deal: he’ll use his cunning ways to help her win back her ex, she’ll finish the novel, and, surely, he’ll return to whatever world he rode in from.

But as River Oakley proves to be so much more than just the bad guy, Gertie has to choose: the ending she thought she wanted . . . or the plot twist she never saw coming.

Okay, I can't resist characters coming off the page and when I read the premise of this book I HAD to put this on my TBR list too! We all know that the Cowboy probably gets the girl, but getting there will be the fun part! Published by Berkley.

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You Girls Play Nice by KD Aldyn... A chilling, "Good for Her" revenge thriller that paints a searing picture of friendship, justice, and vengeance, both imagined and actualized, that will leave you questioning how far would you go to avenge your friend?

Four friends. Four plans for revenge. One secret killer. 

Helen Wyatt is brutally murdered, her four best friends anxiously wait in the courtroom to ensure justice is served. But when her attacker is acquitted of all charges, the women decide to get revenge. 

Hypothetically, of course. 

The friends host a girl's night, each presenting a different way they would kill the culprit to avenge Helen. It's a silly thing, a way to ease their grief. Until, a week later, a murder is discovered that mirrors one of their imagined killings. Then another. What started as a cathartic exercise soon ends in carnage, with suspicion quickly falling on the four friends.

Someone has discovered their secrets. And now, the women will have to hunt down who is framing them for murder. Or, even more chillingly, question who among them may be capable of being a killer themselves…

Oh, we just had to have this in our new release tuesday list! Oh I love a good murder mystery and love the premise of this story! I can't wait to read it!! Published by Poisoned Pen Press. 

What are you adding to your TBR list??

New Book Release! Where Mountains Pierce The Highland Heart by Paula Quinn...

Paula Quinn and I go back a long way... at least her books and I do. Way back in 2010, I received a copy of Ravished by a Highlander by Paula Quinn to review. I loved it! And a week before I posted my review, I invited Paula to do a guest post on Chick with Books and she wrote about writing Highlander romances in the 21st century (which was a fun post and great insight into her writing process). Fast forward 16 YEARS and I receive Where Mountains Pierce the Highland Heart by Paula Quinn from Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and I am excited to catch up with Paula and her writing! 

Today is the official release date for Where Mountains Pierce The Highland Heart by Paula Quinn. It's book two in her Where Heaven and Earth Collide Series, but it can be read as a stand alone, which is what I'm doing since I haven't read book 1 (yet!).

Here's the blurb from the publisher: 

She saved his life and it cost her everything.

On a night meant for mercy, Elspeth Woodburn risks all to save a dying Highland prisoner in her father’s dungeon. By dawn, her home is ash, her family slaughtered, and the name burned into her soul is one she will never forget. Logan Cameron. For six long years, vengeance has been the only thing keeping her alive.

He should have died that night. Instead, he cannot forget the girl who saved him.

Logan Cameron remembers little of his rescue, only a fleeting glimpse of gentle hands and a soft voice that refused to let him die. He never expected to see her again, least of all as a lass with fire in her eyes and murder in her heart.

Trapped within the unforgiving Highlands, they are bound together by decree. She waits for the perfect moment to strike. He watches her with a growing awareness he cannot explain.

Because beneath her fury is the same compassion that once saved him. And beneath his control is a pull he cannot deny.

In a land shaped by blood and loyalty, where enemies are not meant to forgive, let alone desire each other, Elspeth must decide if vengeance will claim her heart…

Or if the man she swore to destroy is the only one who can reach it.

As I started reading Where Mountains Pierce the Highland Heart, I'm reminded of Paula Quinns great writing and enjoying the story. Of course I was warning Elspeth not to do what she was about to do, but she's young and naive... the result of which will change all of that in an instant! 

If you love a good Highlander story, put Where Mountains Pierce The Highland Heart on your TBR list! Better yet, put Paula Quinn on your TBR list! My full review will be coming soon... 

New Release Tuesday... Fresh Stories/New Obsessions

 

This week is loaded with great reads! A new book from Ann Patchett that has the book world buzzing and a new book by Mary Kay Andrews too! Let me tell you, (actually, I already did back in February) Road Trip is a fabulous read! I loved it! But let's get to them all...

Whistler by Ann Patchett... A moving, luminous novel that reminds us of the sweetness and impermanence of life and the power of connection to defy time.

When Daphne Fuller and her husband Jonathan visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they notice an older, white-haired gentleman following them. The man turns out to be Eddie Triplett, her former stepfather, who had been married to her mother for a little more than year when Daphne was nine. Now fifty-three, Daphne hasn’t seen Eddie for many years, not since the fateful event that changed the direction of both their lives. Meeting again, time falls away; while their relationship was brief, it had a profound impact on them both, and now that they are reunited, they have no intention of ever being separated again.

Whistler is a story about two adults looking back over the choices they made, and the choices that were made for them. It’s a story about bravery, memory, the often small yet consequential moments that define our lives, and the endless stream of loss that in time comes for us all. Beautiful in its simplicity, it is ultimately about how love endures, and how the feeling of being known by one other person, even for a short period of time, can change everything.

It's been a few years since we've gotten a new book by Ann Patchett and this one sounds wonderful. The kind of story we expect from her. And I have a copy sitting on my nightstand right now waiting for me to crack the spine! 

Published by Harper Collins

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The Children by Melissa Albert... The haunting new novel from New York Times bestselling author Melissa Albert, in which the estranged adult children of a legendary author, written into their dead mother’s beloved fantasy series, must contend with the vine-like creep of legacy, memory, and magic.

Guinevere Sharpe has two childhoods.

In one, she and her brother, Ennis, live in the wooded shadow of their family's isolated Vermont farmhouse; in the other, the pages of their mother’s world-famous Ninth City books, where their magical adventures have made them household names. In reality, Guinevere's childhood isn't the enchanted idyll her mother’s readers imagine: she and Ennis are growing up near-feral, unwashed and underfed, escaping each day to the wild woods they’ve made their playland. As Edith Sharpe’s books explode into epic popularity, the threats of a rural childhood give way to the escalating perils of fame—until the night it all goes up in flames, leaving Edith’s series unfinished and her children the sole survivors.

Now an adult coasting on her mother's name, Guinevere is mid-promotion for a ghostwritten memoir when her estranged brother, an artist who has until now spurned his family's legacy, announces an upcoming installation titled, simply, Mother. As rumors swirl around a death connected to his last show, unsettling recollections from Guinevere’s childhood begin to surface. Her public facade starts to crack, forcing her to confront the questions she's spent the last twenty years running from: What really happened the night of the fire? And what dark history lies behind their mother’s fantasy world?

The Children is wise to the mythic weight childhood memories gather over time, and the way our most beloved stories grow up with us. It's for anyone who's ever revisited an old favorite and found its pages cast in a darker light, the line separating magic from reality blurring as we discover the books that once comforted us carry shadows of their own.

This has gotten a lot of buzz because it is this month's Read with Jenna pick (Jenna Bush). I am intrigued! And I chose this as my June Book of the Month selection too. 

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Published by William Morrow.

Lies Between Us by Jessica Goodman... a razor-sharp murder-mystery set during the summer when a local teen's suspicious death exposes the devastating secrets three sisters keep.

Do you ever really know the people you love?

For the Gold sisters and Silver brothers, life has been idyllic, growing up in side-by-side waterfront mansions in a town where doors are never locked and the police do little more than issue speeding tickets. The Golds and Silvers have known each other their entire lives, as neighbors, as friends, as family.

But one carefree summer takes a dark turn when a beach party ends in tragedy and their perfect world cracks wide open. Suddenly, the bonds that tie these families together are strained by suspicion and fear. Painful secrets surface, revealing the fragile truths they've all been hiding.

Lucy, the oldest Gold girl, harbors a crushing secret from her boyfriend, one of the Silver boys. Millie, the middle sister, quietly yearns for the one person she can't have. And the youngest, Frankie, uncovers something that could blow their island apart. A gripping novel about the lies friends tell, the façade siblings build, and how one summer tests—and breaks—the bonds of family.

This sounds like a perfect summer read! And courtesy of the publisher, I have a copy to read and review! Stay tuned for that soon! Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons.

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The Jellyfish Problem by Tessa Young... A marine biologist makes the discovery of a lifetime when called to rescue the inhabitants of a small Maine island being menaced by a giant, glowing jellyfish in this richly imagined, wholly original debut.

Dr. Jo Ness prefers jellyfish to people. Her best friend, Aldo, was the exception, but he died seven months ago. So she spends her days hidden away at an underfunded aquarium with her specimens and a draft of the jellyfish guide she and Aldo had been working on together. His voice is alive in the notes in the margins, and it’s enough. Almost.

Until she receives a call from Nadia, one of the few other humans she’s loved but whom she hasn’t heard from in years, asking for her help. Nadia tells her a grand tale of a giant jellyfish terrorizing her tiny island off the coast of Maine and sends a grainy video of the creature. Frankly, the footage looks fake, but Jo drops everything to fly across the country to see Nadia again, and to find this supposed sea beast. She couldn’t save Aldo, but perhaps she can help Nadia.

But when Jo arrives on Shattering Point, Nadia is nowhere to be found, and the islanders she meets each have something different to say about the creature they’ve dubbed Clementine . . . a jellyfish who changes all who see it.

At turns an ode to classic sea monster stories and a vibrant tale of human connection, The Jellyfish Problem is an unforgettable debut that announces a new talent.

I was so intrigued by this book when I read about it! (and I have a digital copy courtesy of the publisher to read and review!... that's coming soon too!) 

Published by Berkley.

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Godbound by masha Sova... The Scarlet Letter meets the divine, deadly trials of The Games Gods Play in this dark, epic romantic fantasy where society weaponizes shame, gods weaponize survival, and love becomes the most dangerous rebellion of all.

They branded her a sinner.

She chose to become a threat.

In a kingdom where a forgotten goddess’s curse has become law—where purity is power and desire is a death sentence—Raylane has lived her life playing the perfect girl. Obedient. Untouched. Destined for the crown.

All so she might one day reshape a realm that damns cursed women like her mother… women who dared to fall in love.

Until one kiss ruins everything.

Branded impure and cursed with rot-magic that spreads by touch, Raylane is cast into the Trial of the Bound—a brutal arena where champions fight to the death, gods revel in blood, and power feeds on the prayers of the crowd.

Her only hope of survival? Swear fealty to the very goddess who cursed her. In return, the goddess tears a shadowbeast from another world and binds him to Raylane’s side—feral, unwilling, and the only one who can help her tame the power threatening to consume her.

He doesn’t want her. Doesn’t trust her. But their fates are entwined, and every step toward mastery binds them tighter.

As her power grows and their bond deepens, Raylane must make an impossible choice: win the trial, free the cursed, and unleash a forgotten goddess bent on reclaiming the world… or lose everything to save those who now pray for her death.

One path leads to love.

The other, to mercy.

Both end in ruin.

I've been kind of obsessed with Romantasy lately and this just sounds epic. Self published by the author, put this on your TBR list! It's being released on June 6th, and if you are a Kindle reader, it is available for pre-order for Kindle for $1.99. But as always, double check the price before you hit the buy button because prices change fast on Amazon. 

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Road Trip by Mary Kay Andrews... Pack your bags for a summer journey shaped by family secrets, long-buried history, and charming men with Irish accents.

Maeve and Therese Dunigan haven’t spoken in years. Raised under the same roof in Savannah, the two sisters could not be more opposite―Maeve the rule follower, Therese the unapologetic rebel. But when their mother’s death pulls them back together, they inherit more than just grief: a mysterious painting that may be worth millions…if it’s real.

Determined to uncover the truth―and desperately in need of the money―the sisters set out on a journey to Ireland, tracing their family’s roots and the origins of the portrait. What begins as a search for answers soon becomes something deeper―a reckoning with the past, as they uncover secrets that span generations and reshape everything they thought they knew about their family.

With tensions simmering, the two hit the road and find themselves on twisty lanes, in colorful villages, at local pubs, and with handsome men whose gift of the gab is surpassed only by their charm.

Can Maeve and Therese actually survive the journey without killing each other? Join Mary Kay Andrews on a road trip that will entertain you for miles.

I received an early review copy of this book from the publisher and absolutely loved it! How can this be my first Mary Kay Andrews book?! Well, it is, but it definitely will not be my last. Great writing and a great story to go along! If you haven't read my review, here's a link for it on Chick with Books. And definitely put this on your TBR list!

I hope you found something new to put on your TBR list! All of these are either in my Kindle or on the nightstand (or soon to be on the nightstand!). Don't you just love summer reading!

Happy reading... Suzanne

New Book Release Tuesday... The Latest Releases Worth Discovering

 New books released today! 

*I listened to the audiobook of Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth and LOVED it!

*If you've read The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson, you'll want to read her new book, The Mountains We Call Home because she brings back Cussy! 

*Last Night in Brooklyn by Xochitl Gonzalez "a captivating story about a young woman whose life becomes ensnared in her glamorous neighbor’s secret past." I've also read that is a love letter to Brooklyn.

*Livonia Chow Mein by Abigail Savitch-Lew "a gripping story of family history and political upheaval centered around a Chinese family-owned restaurant in Brownsville, Brooklyn"

These are the 4 new book releases I have my eye on, what about you? Anything being published today that's caught your eye?

It's New Book Release Day! And it is Stacked!

It's an exciting day! Why? Because it's "New Book Release Day"! Here are the books on my TBR list....

Rites Of The Starling by Devney Perry...
A princess journeys across a cursed realm to find the truth about her family, only to discover her quest intertwines with the fate of a lost warrior.

Calandra’s five kingdoms are on the verge of destruction. The crux migration is coming. And in the wake of a devastating attack, I’ve been separated from the man who owns my heart. I’m lost. Terrified. Homesick. Hunted by monsters, driven to exhaustion, and kidnapped by a powerful priest, the only thing keeping me going is the little girl counting on me to keep her safe. It’s my turn to become the Guardian. Our lives change one fateful night. A night of death. A night of monsters. A night of truths. That night, I learn the real meaning of fear—and the depth of my own strength. Everyone wants me to be something I’m not—a queen, a spy, a sacrifice. But what if I embrace my crown? What if the secrets I uncover save our realm? What if my sacrifice means salvation for the man I love? For too long, I’ve feared the monsters we make. It’s time to discover the monster within.

Sequel to the Shield of Sparrows. This is a HUGE anticipated release! I've got Shield of Sparrows in my TBR pile and this one on order. I pre-ordered this during that big buy2/get1 one day sale at Target, but was notified yesterday it's on BACKORDER!!! Published by Entangled Publishing.

American Fantasy by Emma Straub...
When the American Fantasy cruise ship sets sail for a four-day themed voyage, aboard are all five members of a famous 1990s boyband, and three thousand screaming women who have worshipped them for thirty years.

Newly divorced and with an empty nest, Annie is on board as a lark to appease her sister. Once a diehard fan of the band as a teen, her tastes have matured, and she feels out of place amid the sea of bedazzled, air-brushed t-shirts bearing the singers’ faces. Yet when the lights come up and the idols of her youth begin to sing before her, something is unlocked. “Maybe that was nostalgia after all, the music a direct vein to her childhood, the least complicated part of her life. A short cut to happiness.” Between the slushy alcoholic drinks, the music of her youth, and the thousands of middle-aged women acting like lovesick teenagers, Annie finally reconnects to a long-submerged part of herself. By the time she befriends one of the band members -- not just a celebrity but someone also in need of a friend -- she feels like anything is possible. But a lot can go wrong on a ship ruled by hormones and hope, frustration and fantasy.

Packed with wisdom, heart, and laugh-out-loud reflections on fame, youth, nostalgia, marriage, and middle age, Emma Straub delivers a richly textured, uplifting story about the magic of revisiting youthful feelings, and the even greater magic of starting anew.

This book has gotten so much positive buzz and sounds like a fun read for us "girls of a certain age". Sounds like a cruise I would want to go on! Definitely on my wishlist. Published by Riverhead Books.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke... A traditional American woman, a beautiful wife and mother who sells her pioneer lifestyle of raw milk and farm-fresh eggs to her millions of social media followers, suddenly awakens cold, filthy, and terrified in the brutal reality of 1805—where she must unravel whether this living nightmare is an elaborate hoax, a twisted reality show, or something far more sinister in this sensational debut novel.

My name was Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive.

Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle. Her charming farmhouse is rustic, her husband a handsome cowboy, her six children each more delightful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers behind the scenes, her kitchen hiding industrial-grade fridges and ovens, her husband the Republican equivalent of a Kennedy? What Natalie’s followers—all 8 million of them—don’t know won’t hurt them. And The Angry Women? The privileged, Ivy League, coastal elite haters who call her an antifeminist iconoclast? They’re sick with jealousy. Because Natalie isn’t simply living the good life, she’s living the ideal—and just so happens to be building an empire from it.

Until one morning she wakes up in a life that isn’t hers. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Her kitchen is warmed by a sputtering fire rather than electricity, her children are dirty and strange, and her soft-handed husband is suddenly a competent farmer. Just yesterday Natalie was curating photos of homemade jam for her Instagram, and now she’s expected to haul firewood and handwash clothes until her fingers bleed. Has she become the unwitting star of a brutal reality show? Could it really be time travel? Is she being tested by God? By Satan? When Natalie suffers a brutal injury in the woods, she realizes two things: This is not her beautiful life, and she must escape by any means possible.

A gripping, electrifying novel that is as darkly funny as it is frightening, Yesteryear is a gimlet-eyed look at tradition, fame, faith, and the grand performance of womanhood.

There has been so much anticipation for the release date for Yesteryear! OMG, I read this back at the end of January and was totally enthralled! I just couldn't stop reading! Read my review and add this to your TBR list! Published by Knopf.

Just Announce this morning... Reese's Book Club pick for April is Into The Blue by Emma Brodie which was also released today. Here's the publisher's blurb: “The truth is there’s no such thing as a normal life. There’s just the time you get and how you spend it.”

In the summer of 2000, AJ Graves dreams of writing for Saturday Night Live; instead, she’s stuck working in a video rental store, with slim odds of escaping her small Massachusetts town. Then in walks Noah Drew, the enigmatic and intense scion of the Drew acting dynasty, and her life changes forever. Despite wildly different upbringings, the two forge a deep, cosmic bond, first as friends, then as acting partners—until one day, Noah disappears without a word.

Seven years later, in New York City, AJ is shocked to find herself cast in the same intergalactic TV production as Noah, by then a well-known Hollywood heartthrob. As their on-screen characters grow closer every day, the lines between reality and acting begin to blur. Unable to stay away from each other, AJ and Noah are forced to confront the truth of what happened years ago—and the devastating secret that will send their lives careening apart, even as fate continues to draw them together.

Blending unforgettable characters, explosive chemistry and yearning, and profound emotion, Into the Blue is a journey unlike any other—one that asks: What does it mean to diverge from the script to forge your own story?

I know nothing about this book, except that Reese announced it as her pick for April and that it was published today by Ballantine Books. I usually like her picks though and sounds like a good read. On my radar now and putting it on my wishlist.

What new books are you reading today?

 

🔥 Hot Off the Press: Three Fresh Reads You’ll Want on Your Radar!

Today's Book Releases!

New book day is my favorite kind of temptation. Suddenly there are fresh stories everywhere and my TBR pile grows just a little taller.

Today’s releases bring a mix that’s impossible to resist: Gilded Age glamour, a chilling mystery involving podcasters who vanish, and a strange speculative tale about women mysteriously compelled to head west.

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In It Girl, Allison Pataki dives into the dazzling and ruthless world of Gilded Age high society, bringing to life one of the era’s most talked-about women. I love historical fiction that brings to life a real person. In this case, Evelyn Talbot is based on real life "It Girl" Evelyn Nesbit. 

It Girl by Allison Pataki... At the dawn of the twentieth century, New York’s streets teem with change: electricity, automobiles, the brash young President Teddy Roosevelt—and the It Girls. As artists’ muses and working models, these independent young women soar to stardom not because of their pedigrees or inherited wealth, but because of their talent, charisma, and irresistible beauty. Pop culture is born, and in a world alight with Mr. Edison’s new bulbs, no one shines brighter than America’s sweetheart, Evelyn Talbot.

But the journey to stardom is not simple or straight. While working as a shopgirl, the young Evelyn is recruited as a studio model and soon catches the eye of the preeminent artists of the age. When Broadway comes calling, Evelyn solidifies her status as the first self-made American female celebrity: the iconic Gibson Girl, the most sought-after figure and face of her time. Enter a parade of powerful and power-hungry men, from world-famous architect Stanley Pierce, the visionary behind Manhattan’s mansions and iconic landmarks, to Hal Thorne, the shockingly wealthy railroad heir and premier “playboy” of high society. Each man promises comfort, glamour, security—even love. But fame and fortune are cruel teachers, and Evelyn learns that the only person she can rely on is herself.

When Evelyn finds herself at the center of a murder of passion declared “the Crime of the Century,” she is blamed for the acts of the men in her life. In the media frenzy that spirals around her, Evelyn realizes that to survive, she will have to write her own ending. But can this artists’ muse turned showgirl pull off the greatest act of her life?

Published by Ballantine Books

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I've come to really like those "murder mystery" podcasts, and though This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum isn't about "murder mystery" podcasters, these podcasters become the "murder mystery" as they mysteriously disappear. I read the beginning of this novel and just loved it. I might have to see if there really is a podcast for survival stories now...

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum... Benny Abbott and Joy Moore host one of the most beloved podcasts in the world. Each week, they delight listeners with a different “against all odds” survival story, gleefully finding the weird, life-affirming humor in near-death experiences. Since their first episode on Joy’s experience with severe narcolepsy, they’ve been the best friends everyone wants to befriend—and thanks to the meticulous management of Joy’s husband, Xander, they’ve built a lucrative empire.

The problem is, their next survival story may be their own. When Benny arrives at Joy and Xander’s one morning to record, he finds shattered glass and an empty house. The one clue shedding light on the couple’s disappearance is the incomplete, previously unseen first draft of Joy’s memoir. Benny is desperate to find them, even when the police soon zero in on him as their prime suspect.

Millions of devoted listeners think they know the “real” Benny and Joy. But as the hours tick by, and the odds seem increasingly stacked against Joy and Xander being found alive, not even the most devoted fans could guess the terrible secrets their favorite famous BFFs have hidden from the world—and from each other.

Published by Flatiron Books

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AND in the haunting speculative novel Westward Women, Alice Martin imagines a mysterious phenomenon spreading among women—an inexplicable urge pulling them westward, leaving families, jobs, and entire communities trying to understand why. This book hit a nerve because recently I watched the movie BirdBox, where people started to up and kill themselves after seeing something in front of them. They would get this zombie like expression all of a sudden and start acting crazy. The survivors wore blindfolds to prevent themselves being "infested" with the infection. I am so intrigued by Westward Women and it is definitely on my TBR list and should be on yours too!

Westward Women by Alice Martin...
It starts with an itch.

In homes across the country, women ages eighteen to thirty-five begin to slow down.

Tired. Blank. Restless.

Drawn to the Pacific Ocean like it’s calling them home. They abandon their lives—jobs, families, their very selves. And once they reach the West, they vanish forever.

At the center of the story are three young women caught in the pull of something unstoppable.

Aimee follows the trail of her missing best friend to a man called the Piper—known for leading infected women West.

Teenie, afflicted and unraveling, clings to a single memory as she looks out the window of the Piper’s van.

And Eve, a former journalist, is chasing the story that might just consume her.

Published by St. Martin's Press

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Let's not forget about She Fell Away by Lenore Nash! I shared this book on Sunday. Get the full description in The Sunday Salon, but here' s little blurb about it. I just  started reading it and really love Lenore Nash's writing, plus she really is a "detective" here, in the midst of a murder investigation...

She Fell Away by Lenore Nash... A State Department diplomat must confront the ghosts of her past as she searches for a missing American woman in New Zealand in this pulse-pounding and unputdownable thriller.  Published by Atria Books.

Are you building up that TBR pile?! I've got all of these on my TBR list! What is the saying... So many books, too little time? Well, make time for these! 

Memoir Monday... Taking a Roadtrip with Lindy West

Adult Braces by Lindy West... In New York Times bestselling author Lindy West’s ambitious memoir, she brings readers along on an uproarious cross-country road trip as she unpacks her last few tumultuous years, rediscovers herself, and reinvents her marriage in the process.

 Through Shrill—the book and then the Hulu series—Lindy West became an inspiration. To this day she is stopped on the street and hailed as a beacon of empowerment by women who felt badly for not conforming to a narrow set of societal norms—thin, straight, compliant. But behind the scenes, Lindy never felt like she was the self-actualized woman fans made her out to be. When she found herself in the throes of a deep depression, with her marriage and sense of self-worth hanging in the balance, she knew she needed to make a change.  

 In Adult Braces, Lindy shares the story of her rock bottom, and of the journey she took to claw her way out of it. With her trademark candor and sense of humor, she examines her post-Shrill emotional implosion, her shifting feelings about traditional marriage, and her search for her long-lost self. She also tracks the highs and lows of her journey, from eye-opening natural wonders and kitschy roadside attractions to lackluster tourist traps and campground epiphanies.

 The result is an engaging and laugh-out-loud narrative of becoming as Lindy transforms from a passenger into the active navigator of her own life.

I didn't know who Lindy West was until I read about this (her) book. BUT any girl who hops in a van and takes a roadtrip alone has got my attention and admiration. Reading the first few chapters and I am all in. Great writing, funny, sad... and I look forward to reading about the whole journey Lindy takes... Look for Adult Braces by Lindy West, published by Grand Central Publishing  and available at your favorite bookstore March 10th!

Book Release Day! Three Books You NEED to Add to Your TBR Pile!

I am so excited to share these books that are available NOW from your favorite bookstore!

First a new book for all the Anna Quindlen fans!   More Than Enough ..."A woman who confronts the surprising results of an ancestry test and begins to question the meaning of family and friendship in this wise, tender novel teeming with life— 

No one knows you like your book club. High school English teacher Polly Goodman can talk about everything and anything with the women in her book club, which is why they’ve become her closest friends and, along with her veterinarian husband, the bedrock of her life. Her students, her fraught relationship with her mother, her struggles with IVF—Polly’s book club friends have heard about it all.

But when they give Polly an ancestry test kit as a joke, the results match her with a stranger. It is clear to Polly that this match is a mistake, but still she cannot help but comb through her family history for answers. Then, when it seems that the book club circle of four will become three, Polly learns how friendships can change your life in the most profound ways.

Written with Anna Quindlen’s trademark warmth, humor, and insight into the power of love and hope, More Than Enough explores how we find ourselves again and again through the relationships that define us."

I just received a copy from Random House today and started reading. Right from beginning, Anne Quindlen's writing and the story just grabbed me. If you belong to a book club, if you have ever done your genealogy or taken one of those DNA tests, you will love this. I've just started and I love these women in the book club already. Of course it's the individual characters, but also the interactions between them. Put this on you TBR list!

Next, we have Tayari Jones, who wrote An American Marriage. Her newest novel out today is Kin, and is about "Vernice and Annie, two motherless daughters raised in Honeysuckle, Louisiana, have been best friends and neighbors since earliest childhood but are fated to live starkly different lives. Raised by a fierce aunt determined to give her a stable home in the wake of her mother’s death, Vernice leaves Honeysuckle at eighteen for Spelman College, where she joins a sisterhood of powerfully connected Black women and discovers a world of affluence, manners, aspiration, and inequality. Annie, abandoned by her mother as a child and fixated on the idea of finding her and filling the bottomless hole left by her absence, sets off on a journey that will take her into a world of peril and adversity, as well as love and adventure, culminating in a battle for her life.

A novel about mothers and daughters, friendship and sisterhood, and the complexities of being a woman in the American South, Kin is an exuberant, emotionally rich, unforgettable work from one of the brightest and most irresistible voices in contemporary fiction."

I just love stories about friendships, especially the ones that start from childhood. This book has lots of great buzz around it and I can't wait to start reading this one too! Published by Knopf, who were nice to send me an eBook to read and review. This is one of the next on my TBR list and should be on yours too!

Finally, we have Dollface by Lindy Ryan. How can you resist a book that's been described as Barbie meets Scream with a 90's nostalgia twist?!! "Horror author Jill has just moved to suburban New Jersey, hoping to fit in with the new PTA moms and maybe not weird everyone out with her Final Girl coffee mug. You know. Make some real friends.

But then a plastic face-masked serial killer begins slashing their way through town, one overly made-up mom at a time. The police are incredulous. The moms are indignant. And Jill is slowly wrapped into a killer’s murderous spree, until she might just be the last woman standing.

A delightfully murderous novel that is equal parts scathing and salacious, Dollface will win you over with its gossip and gore, one body at a time."

Lindy Ryan is a new author to me, but she has a few books under her belt already and has contributed to a few horror anthologies. I was first drawn to the book by that gorgeous cover! And then I happen to be a horror movie fan, AND a fan of those Scream movies, so this is a no brainer to read. Published by Minotaur Books, Dollface has gotten good reviews from early reviewers and I can't wait to start reading this too!!

Check these books out and stay tuned for reviews coming soon to share what I think! 

Happy Reading... Suzanne

 

Release Date Review... The Twelve Months of Christmas by Sheila Roberts...

 

The Twelve Months of Christmas by Sheila Roberts

Published by Mira 

Release Date: October 3, 2023

Today marks the release of Sheila Roberts newest book (and new Christmas read),The Twelve Months of Christmas! Yay! I always look forward to a new book from Sheila, because I just love her books! They never, and I mean never, disappoint me! What did I think of her newest book, The Twelve Months of Christmas? Here's my review...

Ho Ho Humbug-that's what Christmas was for Sunny, Arianna and Molly. Sunny, newly married and her stepkids basically hate her; Arianna, newly divorced and sharing her young daughter with a jerk of an ex, and that means him having her for Christmas too! And Molly, who is tired of the snarky customers she has at the Post Office where she works.  So, what's a girl to do after Christmas wasn't very Christmasy? Well, a Christmas do-over of course! And that's exactly what these 3 friends choose to do, together! These ladies decide to keep the spirit of Christmas all year long and celebrate "Christmas" every month (ever hear of the Christmas Easter Bunny?!). At first the celebrations were just the 3 of them, but then more and more of their family and friends joined in ultimately becoming the Christmas they all wanted and needed thru-out the whole year.

Along the way, we get to know Sunny, Arianna, Molly, their families, and their lives. You can't help but step into the story and feel like you are walking along side these wonderful characters, dealing with their struggles, but also their celebrations. I have to admit I did shed a tear or two along the way, but in the end it was nice to see these women choose to lift each other up when times are tough and show us what true friendship is. 

Sheila Roberts is a wonderful writer. Her books are heartfelt, sprinkled with romance and just a touch of humor. The Twelve Months of Christmas is all of that and more. A great Christmas read or anytime read when you want to satisfy that need for sitting down with a good book. I really enjoyed spending time with Sunny, Arianna, Molly and their families. The story kept me engaged, and I was sorry to turn that last page and say goodbye. Thank you, Sheila Roberts, for another great read!

P.S. Sheila always has some great recipes in the back of her books, and this one includes Dirt Cake which sounds deelish!

**I received a copy of this book from the author for a honest and true review. Thank you Sheila, I loved it! 

Mailbox Monday... What books came my way last week...

Last week there were some great books that came my way...

The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai...

What’s the one dish you’d do anything to taste just one more time?

Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner serves up deliciously extravagant meals. But that's not the main reason customers stop by . . .

The father-daughter duo are 'food detectives'. Through ingenious investigations, they are able to recreate dishes from a person’s treasured memories – dishes that may well hold the keys to their forgotten past and future happiness. The restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to vanished moments, creating a present full of possibility.

I received this eBook from Penguin Group Putnam. This is a best seller in Japan and I can't wait to start reading it! I love Japanese literature. There is a beauty and quietness in the way Japanese writers put word to the paper.  

Under a Gilded Sky by Imogen Martin...
In this epic and unforgettable love story, set in the wilds of Missouri and the glamour of high society Boston at the dawn of the Gilded Age, one woman’s life changes forever the day that a stranger turns up on her doorstep.  Missouri, February 1874: The last thing struggling homesteader Ginny needs is a scandal on her hands. But when a badly injured drifter arrives at Snow Farm in desperate need of medical attention, Ginny’s kind nature and good upbringing means she has no choice but to treat his wounds and care for him until he’s back on his feet, no matter the danger he might pose. Ginny’s been running the farm and looking after her fourteen-year-old sister Mary-Lou since their papa died two years ago, each morning pulling on his old leather coat and pushing her feet into stout boots that come up to her knees, before heading out to tend to the cattle. She’s determined to hold onto the one thing that connects them to memories of their parents – whatever the cost. And when their uninvited guest – Lex – is well enough he offers his help, and she surprises herself by accepting it. But not long after Lex moves on, Ginny realises that her heart has gone with him. And when the farm’s fortunes take a turn for the worse, she faces her hardest test yet. Can she save the only home she’s ever known, and everything she holds dear? And what if doing so means risking a chance at love and happiness she never expected to come her way?

I received this eBook from Storm Publishing. I just love the setting of a a farm on the prairie with strong women doing what needs to be done against all odds. Having the twist of a love story sounds pretty good too. 

The Hundre Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye...
A woman discovers that she is part of a legendary love story that spans lives, years, and continents in this modern-day reimagining of Romeo and Juliet. I may go by Sebastien now, but my name was originally Romeo. And hers was Juliet.It's a frosty fairytale of an evening in small-town Alaska when Helene and Sebastien meet for the first time. Except it isn't the first time. You already know that story, though it didn't happen quite as Shakespeare told it. To Helene, Sebastien is the flesh-and-blood hero of the love stories she’s spent her life writing. But Sebastien knows better—Helene is his Juliet, and their story has always been the same. He is doomed to find brief happiness with her over and over, before she dies, and he is left to mourn. This time, Helene is determined that things will be different. But can these star-cross’d lovers forge a new ending to the greatest love story of all time?

I received this eBook from Random House Publishing Ballantine. The premise intrigues me and who can resist a modern day retelling of Romeo and Juliet, especially with a new twist to the ending. 

What books did you add to your TBR piles last week?

 

In My Mailbox...

In My Mailbox... I've received some great books in my mailbox! And I decided I would join in on the fun sharing them with you and the other bloggers participating in Mailbox Monday!

Mailbox Monday is a weekly event for bloggers to share what books arrived in their mailboxes. Mailbox Monday was originally created by Marcia of To Be Continued and is now hosted by Vicki, Serena and Leslie at Mailbox Monday's own blog.

So, here are the books...


The Echo in Twilight by Judith Kinghorn... A captivating and moving story of the unlikely relationship between a lady and her maid on the eve of World War I.

As I watched him—his long legs striding the narrow path through the heather, his golden hair catching the sun—I had a hideous feeling in the pit of my stomach. For it seemed as though he was already marching away from me.

In 1914, despite the clouds of war threatening Europe, Pearl Gibson's future is bright. She has secured a position as a lady's maid to a wealthy Northumberland aristocrat, a job that will win her not only respect but an opportunity to travel and live in luxury. Her new life at Lady Ottoline Campbell's Scottish summer estate is a whirlwind of intrigue and glamour, scandals and confidences—and surprisingly, a strange but intimate friendship with her employer. 

But when violence erupts in Europe, Pearl and Ottoline's world is irrevocably changed. As the men in their lives are called to the front lines, leaving them behind to anxiously brace for bad news, Pearl realizes she must share one final secret with her mistress—a secret that will bind them together forever...

This sounds wonderful! I love the idea of these two women from different social "classes", coming together to survive the horrors of the war. I also love the cover! So excited to have gotten an eGalley from Berkley Publishing Group! Thank you! This was released the beginning of January.

Lincoln in The Bardo by George Saunders... February 1862. The Civil War is less than one year old. The fighting has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize it is in for a long, bloody struggle. Meanwhile, President Lincoln's beloved eleven-year-old son, Willie, lies upstairs in the White House, gravely ill. In a matter of days, despite predictions of a recovery, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. “My poor boy, he was too good for this earth,” the president says at the time. “God has called him home.” Newspapers report that a grief-stricken Lincoln returned to the crypt several times alone to hold his boy's body.

From that seed of historical truth, George Saunders spins an unforgettable story of familial love and loss that breaks free of its realistic, historical framework into a thrilling, supernatural realm both hilarious and terrifying. Willie Lincoln finds himself in a strange purgatory, where ghosts mingle, gripe, commiserate, quarrel, and enact bizarre acts of penance. Within this transitional state—called, in the Tibetan tradition, the bardo—a monumental struggle erupts over young Willie's soul.

I loved George Saunders short stories in Tenth of December, so when I heard about this book I was looking forward to diving into a full length novel written by this master storyteller! This book sounds so wild and fun. I love when an author takes a familiar historical figure and imagines a whole different life then we are familiar with. I am so happy to have gotten an eGalley from Random House! Thank you! The release date for this imaginitive story is Feb. 14, 2017!

Twelve Angry Librarians by Miranda James... The New York Times bestselling author of No Cats Allowed and Arsenic and Old Books is back with more Southern charm and beguiling mystery as Charlie and Diesel must find a killer in a room full of librarians...

Light-hearted librarian Charlie Harris is known around his hometown of Athena, Mississippi, for walking his cat, a rescued Maine Coon named Diesel. But he may soon be taken for a walk himself—in handcuffs... Charlie is stressed out. The Southern Academic Libraries Association is holding this year's annual meeting at Athena College. Since Charlie is the interim library director, he must deliver the welcome speech to all the visiting librarians. And as if that weren't bad enough, the keynote address will be delivered by Charlie's old nemesis from library school. It's been thirty years since Charlie has seen Gavin Fong, and he's still an insufferable know-it-all capable of getting under everyone's skin. In his keynote, Gavin puts forth a most unpopular opinion: that degreed librarians will be obsolete in the academic libraries of the future. So, when Gavin is found dead, no one seems too upset...

But Charlie, who was seen having a heated argument with Gavin after the speech, has jumped to the top of the suspect list. Now Charlie and Diesel must check out every clue to refine their search for the real killer among them before the next book Charlie reads comes from a prison library...

How can I resist a Cozy about a library with a cat who helps solve murder mysteries! This just sounded like a fun, enjoyable read and I am so delighted that I received an eGalley from Berkley Publishing Group! Thank you! Nothing better than a Cozy in the winter!  I love the cover too! Release date is Feb. 21, 2017!

What new books have you gotten this week?!