Posted on January 3, 2023January 3, 2023 by tacklingtbr

January 1 – January 7

New Releases and Publications

Hello, friends – and happy Tuesday! Welcome to another round of new releases that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, and have either already read or are upcoming on my #TBR.

These books could be gifted from the publisher through sites like NetGalley or Edelweiss+, they could be electronic copies gifted directly to me from the publisher or the author, an early audiobook copy through the publisher or Libro.fm, or even a physical copy that has been sent to me from the author or publisher. I am so thankful for all of the reading opportunities that I am given through these various sources, and I am excited to share these new releases!

In these weekly posts I will include a 20% review if I am currently reading the book, as well as a link to my full review if I have already finished the book. And if I have not yet started the book by the time this is posted, I will leave those spots blank and edit the post to add them in later!

The Hustler Next Door

Author: K. A. Tucker

Publication Date: January 3, 2023

Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Adult

Page Count:

Thanks so much to the author and Valentine PR for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

From the international bestselling author of The Simple Wild and Ten Tiny Breaths comes a new stand-alone enemies-to-lovers, small-town romance.

Justine MacDermott is in what she would call a transition period: squatting in her best friend’s house and working in an appliance store in Polson Falls while the man she was supposed to marry starts a new life with someone else.

She’s definitely not thinking about slashing his tires and wishing his vital extremities would fall off.

When newcomer Garrett Harrington strolls into Murphy’s looking to buy a refrigerator, Justine convinces herself she’s found her rebound. Or the next love of her life. Either works. But a chance encounter leads her to discover that Garrett isn’t who he made himself out to be, and he’s more interested in hustling her kindly old boss out of his family business—and using her to do it.

Furious at being fooled by yet another man and itching for retribution, Justine enlists the help of unlikely townsfolk to battle Harrington Group’s big-city development plans for Polson Falls.

It’s all going to plan … until Justine finds herself crossing enemy lines.

The Hustler Next Door is set in the Polson Falls world. Books in this series can be read in any order.

20% Review:

It’s been a while since I read The Player Next Door, and I had almost forgotten how much I loved Justine! She is such a fun character, and I’m having a lot of fun getting to know her again. So far it’s been a fairly quick read, but I’m not quite to the point where I can’t put it down yet. Also, so far the enemies-to-lovers aspect of this story has been so much fun! I may or may not be a tiny bit past 20% as I’m writing this, because I had such good reading momentum for a bit that I didn’t want to stop, and each scene that has both of our romantic leads in it so far has been so sassy and fun! I’m really excited to see how the rest of their story turns out!

Check out my full review and blog tour here!

The Villa

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Kimberly M. Wetherell & Shiromi Arserio

Publication Date: January 3, 2023

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Adult, Suspense, Contemporary, Gothic

Page Count: 288 pages

Audiobook Length: 7 hours 57 minutes

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book! And thanks as well to Macmillan Audio and Libro.fm for the gifted advanced audio copy!

Description from Goodreads:

From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins comes a deliciously wicked gothic suspense, set at an Italian villa with a dark history, for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.

As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend.

Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato, and rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite his creative spark, Noel invites up-and-coming musician, Pierce Sheldon to join him, as well as Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. But he also sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album––and ends in Pierce’s brutal murder.

As Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history, she begins to think there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974. That perhaps Pierce’s murder wasn’t just a tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll gone wrong, but that something more sinister might have occurred––and that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari and Lara left behind.

Yet the closer that Emily gets to the truth, the more tension she feels developing between her and Chess. As secrets from the past come to light, equally dangerous betrayals from the present also emerge––and it begins to look like the villa will claim another victim before the summer ends.

Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle––the birthplace of Frankenstein––The Villa welcomes you into its deadly legacy.

20% Review:

I just started this book on audio, and I am just flying through it! So far we’ve gotten a bit of both timelines, the present and the past; background on the relationship between our two female leads; and some articles, lyrics, and excerpts written about, and by, the characters in the past sections. It’s been really engaging so far with the different types of storytelling, and I feel like I was pulled in to the story and invested in the characters from the very beginning! Although, I’ve loved just about everything I’ve read from Rachel Hawkins, so maybe that had a little something to do with it as well. Either way, I think I’ll be getting through to the end of this audiobook very soon, since I could barely convince myself to put it down long enough to write this!

Check out my full review here!

Drinking Games

Author: Sarah Levy

Narrated by: Sarah Levy

Publication Date: January 3, 2023

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Mental Health

Page Count: 288 pages

Audiobook Length: 6 hours 44 minutes

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book! And thanks also to Macmillan Audio for the gifted advanced audio copy!

Description from Goodreads:

Part memoir and part social critique, Drinking Games is about how one woman drank and lived — until sobriety freed her.

Drinking Games explores the role alcohol has in our formative adult lives, and what it means to opt out of a culture completely enmeshed in drinking. Sarah explores what our short-term choices about alcohol do to our long-term selves and how it challenges our ability to be vulnerable enough to discover what we really want in life. While many millennial women will see themselves in Sarah’s words and story, Drinking Games is dedicated to anyone who feels like their private struggles are terminally unique. Whether it’s alcohol, food, exercise, or work, so many of us are grasping for control and struggling to keep our heads above water.

Candid, dynamic, Drinking Games speaks to the millennial experience of working hard, playing harder, and wanting everything to look perfect on social media. Dedicated to those who might be questioning their relationship with alcohol but scared that quitting drinking is an ending, Drinking Games illustrates how, for one woman, sobriety was just the beginning of the story. Sarah’s words strike the perfect chord of relatability and biting honesty. Instead of claiming to have the answers, she takes readers by the hand throughout her journey, and shows us that life’s messiest moments are the ones that can end up being the most profound.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Breakup from Hell

Author: Ann Davila Cardinal

Publication Date: January 3, 2023

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance, Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary

Page Count: 304 pages

Thanks so much to the author, HarperTeen, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

Miguela Angeles is tired. Tired of her abuela keeping secrets, especially about her heritage. Tired of her small Vermont town and hanging out at the same places with the same friends she’s known forever. So when another boring Sunday trip to church turns into a run-in with Sam, a mysterious hottie in town on vacation, Mica seizes the opportunity to get closer to him.

It’s not long before she is under Sam’s spell and doing things she’s never done before, like winning all her martial arts sparring matches—and lying to her favorite people. The more time Mica spends with Sam, the more weird things start to happen, too. Like terrifying-visions-of-the-world-ending weird.

Mica’s gut instincts keep telling her something is off, yet Sam is the most exciting guy she’s ever met. But when Mica discovers his family’s roots, she realizes that instead of being in the typical high school relationship, she’s living in a horror novel.

She has to leave Sam, but will ending their relationship also bring an end to everything she knows and everyone she loves?

Clever, hilarious, and steeped in supernatural suspense, Breakup From Hell will keep you hooked until the last page.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

The Wrong Kind of Weird

Author: James Ramos

Publication Date: January 3, 2023

Genre: YA, Romance, Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, Fiction

Page Count: 320 pages

Thanks so much to the author, Inkyard Press, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

“Sweet, snarky, and delightfully dorky.” —Elise Bryant, author of Happily Ever Afters

Cameron Carson has a secret. A secret with the power to break apart his friend group.

Cameron Carson, member of the Geeks and Nerds United (GANU) club, has been secretly hooking up with student council president, cheerleader, theater enthusiast, and all-around queen bee Karla Ortega since the summer. The one problem—what was meant to be a summer fling between coffee shop coworkers has now evolved into a clandestine senior-year entanglement, where Karla isn’t intending on blending their friend groups anytime soon, or at all.

Enter Mackenzie Briggs, who isn’t afraid to be herself or wear her heart on her sleeve. When Cameron finds himself unexpectedly bonding with Mackenzie and repeatedly snubbed in public by Karla, he starts to wonder who he can truly consider a friend and who might have the potential to become more…

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Posted on December 27, 2022December 27, 2022 by tacklingtbr

December 25 – December 31

New Releases and Publications

Hello, friends – and happy Tuesday! Welcome to another round of new releases that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, and have either already read or are upcoming on my #TBR.

Vinyl Resting Place

Author: Olivia Blacke

Publication Date: December 27, 2022

Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Music, Contemporary Fiction

Page Count: 304 pages

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

First in a new series by Olivia Blacke, Vinyl Resting Place follows three sisters who discover that opening a family business can be murder.

When Juni Jessup and her sisters Tansy and Maggie put all their beans in one basket to open Sip & Spin Records, a record-slash-coffee shop in Cedar River, Texas, they knew there could be some scratches on the track, but no one was expecting to find a body deader than disco in the supply closet.

Family is everything to the Jessups, so when their uncle is arrested by Juni’s heartbreaking ex on suspicion of murder, the sisters don’t skip a beat putting Sip & Spin up for bail collateral. But their tune changes abruptly when Uncle Calvin disappears, leaving them in a grind. With their uncle’s freedom and the future of their small business on the line, it’s up to Juni and her sisters to get in the groove and figure out whodunit before the killer’s trail—and the coffee—goes cold.

Music and mocha seem like a blend that should be “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” but caught up in a murder investigation with her family and their life savings on the line, Juni wonders if she might be on the “Highway to Hell” instead.

20% Review:

This is such a fun, cozy read! I am loving all of the little musical references – and I seriously need to steal a few things from Juni’s collection of vintage band tees! So far I’m really enjoying the characters, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens with the mystery, and what happens between the characters! (Give me a cute little love triangle with Juni, Beau, and Teddy!)

Check out my full review here!

A Wicked Game

Author: Kate Bateman

Publication Date: December 27, 2022

Genre: Historical Romance, Adult, Regency, Fiction

Page Count: 304 pages

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

If there’s one thing impossible for a Davies to resist, it’s a challenge from a Montgomery. . .

A teasing bet.

Shipwrecked and imprisoned thanks to an incorrect map, Captain Morgan Davies has returned to London to exact sweet revenge on the cartographer responsible for his suffering. He’s also vowed to claim the winner’s prize―three kisses―in the bet he made with his long-time nemesis, the prickly, smart-mouthed Harriet Montgomery. His incarceration has clarified his feelings for her, but convincing the infuriating woman he wants to marry her is going to be his greatest challenge yet. When Harriet’s revealed to be the very mapmaker he seeks, Morgan decides to combine revenge and seduction into one delightful package. . .

A dangerous enemy.

Harriet’s always wanted witty scoundrel Morgan, and now he’s back; as handsome and as taunting as ever. She has enough on her plate dealing with her father’s failing eyesight and a rival mapmaker copying her work to play wicked games with a dastardly Davies―however tempting he might be. But when a threat from Morgan’s past puts them both in danger, Harry discovers that she and Morgan might not be enemies at all . . .

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Muffin But the Truth

Author: Ellie Alexander

Publication Date: December 27, 2022

Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

Page Count: 320 pages

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

In Muffin But the Truth, Torte’s pastry chef and amateur sleuth Juliet Capshaw finds herself in deep water… in another delicious installment in the Bakeshop Series from author Ellie Alexander, set in Ashland, Oregon!

Ashland is known for its Elizabethan charm and touches of Shakespeare around every corner, but the surrounding Rogue Valley draws adventure enthusiasts to its outdoor wonderland of high alpine lakes, mountain ranges, and pristine rivers. Jules Capshaw and the team at Torte have been hired to cater a weekend getaway on the mighty Rogue River. Jules is going to have to put her culinary skills to the test while baking gooey chocolate chip skillet cookies over an open flame and preparing extravagant feasts under a canopy of stars. The executive team at a big city firm will be rafting the Rogue’s rapids and gathering around the campfire for spooky stories, but their dysfunction quickly begins to show. Between constant bickering and heavy drinking, Jules wonders how the team can accomplish anything. She’s happy for a brief reprieve when they zip up their lifejackets and head out in their boats, but the serenity of the scene quickly vanishes when Jules discovers one of the execs floating face down in the water. She’s going to have to uncover the truth before she gets pulled under.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Financial Feminist

Author: Tori Dunlap

Narrated by: Tori Dunlap, Samantha Tan, Shayna Small, Jaime Lamchick & Graham Halstead

Audio Publication Date: December 27, 2022

Genre: Nonfiction, Finance, Self-Help, Feminism

Audiobook Length: 8 hours 3 minutes

Thanks so much to the author, HarperAudio, and Libro.fm for the gifted advanced audio copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

From the globally-recognized personal finance educator and social media star behind Her First $100K, an inclusive guide to all things money–from managing debt to investing and voting with your dollars

Tori Dunlap was always good with money. As a kid, she watched her prudent parents balance their checkbook every month and learned to save for musical tickets by gathering pennies in an Altoids tin. But she quickly discovered that her experience with money was pretty unusual, especially among her female friends.

It wasn’t our fault. Investigating this financial literacy and wealth gap, Tori found that girls are significantly less likely to receive a holistic financial education; we’re taught to restrain our spending, while boys are taught about investing and rewarded for pursuing wealth. In adulthood, women are hounded by the unfounded stereotype of the frivolous spenders whose lattes are to blame for the wealth gap. And when something like, say, a global pandemic happens, we’re the first to have jobs cut and the last to re-enter the workforce. It’s no wonder money is a source of anxiety and a barrier to equality for so many of us.

But what if money didn’t mean restriction, and instead, choice? The ability to luxuriously travel, quit toxic jobs, donate to important organizations, retire early? The freedom to live the life you want, and change the world while you do it?

Tori founded Her First $100K to teach women to overcome the unique obstacles standing in the way of their financial freedom. In Financial Feminist, she distills the principles of her shame- and judgment-free approach to paying off debt, figuring out your value categories to spend mindfully, saving money without monk-like deprivation, and investing in order to spend your retirement tanning in Tulum.

Featuring journaling prompts, deep-dives into the invisible aspects of the financial landscape, and interviews with experts on everything money–from predatory credit card companies to the racial wealth gap and voting with your dollars–Financial Feminist is the ultimate guide to making your money work harder for you (rather than the other way around.)

20% Review:

Something I very rarely say about nonfiction, and specifically about money-books, but so far this has been a really quick and easy read! I think listening to it in an audio format is helping it to feel really accessible and fairly easy to understand, like Tori is just sharing her knowledge with an old friend. There are obviously bits of this book, even so far being pretty early on, that are very intimidating. Any money-book will be, if you aren’t already a money-person. But this one is still feeling much more approachable than they usually do, at least in my opinion. It feels like I’ve been invited to the table to talk, rather than being talked at.

Check out my full review here!

Posted on December 13, 2022December 9, 2022 by tacklingtbr

December 11 – December 17

New Releases and Publications

Hello, friends – and happy Tuesday! Welcome to another round of new releases that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, and have either already read or are upcoming on my #TBR.

The Tudors in Love

Author: Sarah Gristwood

Publication Date: December 13, 2022

Genre: History, Nonfiction

Page Count: 400 pages

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

Sarah Gristwood’s The Tudors in Love offers a brilliant history of the Tudor dynasty, showing how the rules of romantic courtly love irrevocably shaped the politics and international diplomacy of the period.

Why did Henry VIII marry six times? Why did Anne Boleyn have to die? Why did Elizabeth I’s courtiers hail her as a goddess come to earth?

The dramas of courtly love have captivated centuries of readers and dreamers. Yet too often they’re dismissed as something existing only in books and song–those old legends of King Arthur and chivalric fantasy.

Not so. In this ground-breaking history, Sarah Gristwood reveals the way courtly love made and marred the Tudor dynasty. From Henry VIII declaring himself as the ‘loyal and most assured servant’ of Anne Boleyn to the poems lavished on Elizabeth I by her suitors, the Tudors re-enacted the roles of the devoted lovers and capricious mistresses first laid out in the romances of medieval literature. TheTudors in Love dissects the codes of love, desire and power, unveiling romantic obsessions that have shaped the history of the world.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Posted on December 6, 2022December 9, 2022 by tacklingtbr

December 4 – December 10

New Releases and Publications

Hello, friends – and happy Tuesday! Welcome to another round of new releases that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, and have either already read or are upcoming on my #TBR.

Witcha Gonna Do?

Author: Avery Flynn

Publication Date: December 6, 2022

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal/Witches, Contemporary, Adult

Page Count: 336 pages

Thanks so much to the author, Berkley Publishing Group, Valentine PR, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

An unlucky witch and her know-it-all nemesis must team up in the first of a new, hot romantic comedy series from USA Today bestselling author Avery Flynn.

Could it possibly get any worse than having absolutely no magical abilities when you’re a member of the most powerful family of witches ever? It used to be that I’d say no, but then I keep getting set up on dates with Gil Connolly whose hotness is only matched by his ego. Seriously. I can’t stand him. Even if I also can’t stop thinking about him (specifically kissing him) but we’re going to pretend I never told you that part.

So yeah, my life isn’t the greatest right now, but then it goes straight to the absolute worst hell when I accidentally make my sister’s spell glitch and curse my whole family. And the only person who can help non-magical me break the spell? You guessed it. Gil the super hot jerk.

Now we have to work together to save my family and outmaneuver some evil-minded nefarious forces bent on world domination. Oh yeah, and we have to do all that while fighting against the attraction building between us because I may not be magical, but what’s happening between Gil and I sure feels like it.

20% Review:

This book is such a good time! It is written in first person and the main character talks to the reader, which gives it a very narrator-in-a-sitcom vibe that I am finding really fun and different from all of my other recent reads. The world building so far is interesting and easy to understand, if a little silly – think things like WitchyGram instead of Instagram – but I don’t mind a little silliness in my romcoms. Overall I’m really excited to see what happens next and how the relationship between the two leads grows!

Check out my full review and blog tour here!

The Wedding Ranch

Author: Nancy Naigle

Publication Date: December 6, 2022

Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction

Page Count: 352 pages

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

Two people get a second chance at love in this heartwarming story by author Nancy Naigle, The Wedding Ranch…

When Lorri Walker’s husband gifted her with a mastiff puppy on Valentine’s Day, she believed he was recommitting himself to their marriage after going astray. Six months later, he left both her and their dog for someone else. Since her recent move to Dalton Mill to unbraid herself from the past, Lorri’s graphic design business is now flourishing, her growing mastiff, Mister, has plenty of space to romp, and her ex in Raleigh can fade to a distant memory.

Ryder Bolt is haunted by the tragic loss of his wife and young son seven years ago. Thankfully, ranching keeps Ryder busy, and spending time with his niece and nephew—whose venue, The Wedding Ranch, has become a popular tourist destination—keeps him from getting lonely.

When Lorri and Ryder met, love was the last thing they were looking for. When they’re together, smiles come easier and burdens feel lighter, and both are embracing the possibility of something deeper.

But when a long-buried revelation surfaces, the fate that brought them together threatens to tear them apart.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

No One Left to Come Looking for You

Author: Sam Lipsyte

Publication Date: December 6, 2022

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Adult

Page Count: 224 pages

Thanks so much to the author, Simon & Schuster, and Edelweiss+ for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

A darkly comic mystery by the author of Hark and The Ask set in the vibrant music scene of early 1990s New York City.

Manhattan’s East Village, 1993. Dive bars, DIY music venues, shady weirdos, and hard drugs are plentiful. Crime is high but rent is low, luring hopeful, creative kids from sleepy suburbs around the country.

One of these is Jack S., a young New Jersey rock musician. Just a few days before his band’s biggest gig, their lead singer goes missing with Jack’s prized bass, presumably to hock it to feed his junk habit. Jack’s search for his buddy uncovers a sinister entanglement of crimes tied to local real estate barons looking to remake New York City—and who might also be connected to the recent death of Jack’s punk rock mentor. Along the way, Jack encounters a cast of colorful characters, including a bewitching, quick-witted scenester who favors dressing in a nurse’s outfit, a monstrous hired killer with a devotion to both figure skating and edged weapons, a deranged if prophetic postwar novelist, and a tough-talking cop who fancies himself a retro-cool icon of the homicide squad but is harboring a surprising secret.

No One Left to Come Looking for You is a page-turning suspense novel that also serves as a love letter to a bygone era of New York City where young artists could still afford to chase their dreams.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Your Table is Ready

Author: Michael Cecchi-Azzolina

Publication Date: December 6, 2022

Genre: Nonfiction, Autobiography/Memoir, Food and Drink

Page Count: 304 pages

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

A front-of-the-house Kitchen Confidential from a career maître d’hotel who manned the front of the room in New York City’s hottest and most in-demand restaurants.

From the glamorous to the entitled, from royalty to the financially ruined, everyone who wanted to be seen—or just to gawk—at the hottest restaurants in New York City came to places Michael Cecchi-Azzolina helped run. His phone number was passed around among those who wanted to curry favor, during the decades when restaurants replaced clubs and theater as, well, theater in the most visible, vibrant city in the world.

Besides dropping us back into a vanished time, Your Table Is Ready takes us places we’d never be able to get into on our own: Raoul’s in Soho with its louche club vibe; Buzzy O’Keefe’s casually elegant River Café (the only outer-borough establishment desirable enough to be included in this roster), from Keith McNally’s Minetta Tavern to Nolita’s Le Coucou, possibly the most beautiful room in New York City in 2018, with its French Country Auberge-meets-winery look and the most exquisite and enormous stands of flowers, changed every three days.

From his early career serving theater stars like Tennessee Williams and Dustin Hoffman at La Rousse right through to the last pre-pandemic-shutdown full houses at Le Coucou, Cecchi-Azzolina has seen it all. In Your Table Is Ready, he breaks down how restaurants really run (and don’t), and how the economics work for owners and overworked staff alike. The professionals who gravitate to the business are a special, tougher breed, practiced in dealing with the demanding patrons and with each other, in a very distinctive ecosystem that’s somewhere between a George Orwell “down and out in….” dungeon and a sleek showman’s smoke-and-mirrors palace.

Your Table Is Ready is a rollicking, raunchy, revelatory memoir.

20% Review:

So far this book has been a bit of a slow read for me. I only started it this morning, so not in the sense that I’m finding myself constantly putting it down and picking it back up, but in the sense that a few times I’ve realized I’ve read the same sentence or paragraph multiple times because I’m losing my place or spacing out and forgetting what I’ve already read. Now, I am reading it on my phone at the moment, so take that with a grain of salt, but still. However, I’m in a part of the book where he’s talking more about the theatre-side of his restaurant career, which is particularly interesting to me as a performer, and I hope there’s more of it.

Check out my full review here!

The Light Pirate

Author: Lily Brooks-Dalton

Narrated by: Rosemary Benson

Audio Publication Date: December 6, 2022

Genre: Fiction, Sci-Fi, Literary Fiction, Dystopia, Contemporary, Adult

Audiobook Length: 11 hours 18 minutes

Thanks so much to the author, Hachette Audio, and Libro.fm for the gifted advanced audio-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

Florida is slipping away. As devastating weather patterns and rising sea levels gradually wreak havoc on the state’s infrastructure, a powerful hurricane approaches a small town on the southeastern coast. Kirby Lowe, an electrical line worker; his pregnant wife, Frida; and their two sons, Flip and Lucas, prepare for the worst. When the boys go missing just before the hurricane hits, Kirby heads out into the high winds to search for them. Left alone, Frida goes into premature labor and gives birth to an unusual child, Wanda, whom she names after the catastrophic storm that ushers her into a society closer to collapse than ever before.

As Florida continues to unravel, Wanda grows. Moving from childhood to adulthood, adapting not only to the changing landscape, but also to the people who stayed behind in a place abandoned by civilization, Wanda loses family, gains community, and ultimately, seeks adventure, love, and purpose in a place remade by nature.

Told in four parts—power, water, light, and time—The Light Pirate mirrors the rhythms of the elements and the sometimes quick, sometimes slow dissolution of the world as we know it. It is a meditation on the changes we would rather not see, the future we would rather not greet, and a call back to the beauty and violence of an untamable wilderness.

20% Review:

I just started this one on audio, and so far it has been a pretty quick listen! I’m not always a sci-fi/literary fiction type of person – it really has to be just the right one to fully draw me in. I’m not sure yet if this is going to be just the right story to make me fall in love with it, but it is fast paced and seems like it might be a pretty short listen for me, so I’m keeping an open mind!

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Posted on December 6, 2022December 6, 2022 by tacklingtbr · 1 Comment

Witcha Gonna Do? by Avery Flynn

Review and Blog Tour Courtesy of Valentine PR

Thanks so much to the author, Berkley Publishing, Netgalley, and Valentine PR for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and participation in this blog tour! { partner }

Publication Date: December 6, 2022

Published by: Berkley Publishing Group

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal/Witches, Contemporary, Adult

Romance Trope: Enemies to Lovers

Page Count: 336 pages

Book Description from Goodreads:

An unlucky witch and her know-it-all nemesis must team up in the first of a new, hot romantic comedy series from USA Today bestselling author Avery Flynn.

Review (3.5 Stars):

Thanks so much to the author, Berkley Publishing Group, Valentine PR, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and participation in this blog tour. { partner } All opinions are entirely my own. All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on Goodreads.

I was so excited to receive an early copy of this book to review! People who have seen my Instagram or my recent books on Goodreads know that I LOVE a cozy, witchy romcom. Honestly, if they could make up my entire reading list from September through November, I would probably be content. And while I haven’t read anything by Avery Flynn up until this point, I’ve heard really fun things about her books from my fellow romance readers.

All of that to say, that I had really high hopes when I started this book a few days ago. And I really did enjoy the book quite a bit, but there were just a couple of small things that kept it from being a 5-star read for me.

To get this bit out of the way, let’s talk about our characters. I thought that Tilda and Gil were really fun as our leads – they were interesting characters in their own right, and I enjoyed their chemistry together. What can I say – I’m a sucker for an enemies-to-lovers storyline. I also really think that the secondary characters shine in this story, obviously the group of The Misfits that we spend most of the book with, but also some of Tilda’s more colorful family members. (I’m looking at you, Griselda).

The one thing that I will say I didn’t love with this romance was that with enemies-to-lovers, a lot of what typically makes that work is the big conflict or misunderstanding in the two characters’ shared past that makes them both think that they were wronged, and it’s why they’ve hated each other for years, and blah blah blah. We didn’t really get any of that explanation or backstory in this case, and I do feel like I was missing it. It didn’t fully keep me from feeling invested in the relationship or anything that dramatic, but I want to know why you’re so opposed to being together. And we didn’t get that this time around.

Another quirk about this book is that with the dual POV, we also get both of the main characters breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to you as a reader. Think the style of a 90s sitcom, or the main character/narrator in a Disney Channel Original Movie. I think that this bit in particular will be a bit divisive with readers, and already is in some of the reviews that I’ve seen. While this doesn’t seem to have been a favorite for a lot of folks, I actually enjoyed it. I thought it was a fun way to get some of the characters’ (especially Tilda’s) sense of humor, but I can definitely see how this device wouldn’t be for everyone.

I will say though, while on the topic of the dual POVs, that I don’t know that the two characters had different enough voices. Every once in a while I had to flip back to the start of the chapter to remind myself whose head I was inside of, because I couldn’t really tell from the writing. This is something that could still change in the final edit, though, so take that with a grain of salt.

Oh okay, one last thing about the character voices and the writing. They say “fuck” a lot. Like, A LOT. And I am someone that swears pretty freely and frequently, so I definitely don’t mind some adult language in my books. But these characters used this one particular curse word about as frequently as a teenager trying to show how mature and grown up they are by swearing, you know? I don’t mind it being in there, but I think that it could maybe have been dialed back the tiniest bit. Even if only for one of the characters – another opportunity to make the POVs feel separate.

Okay, now on to the last point. The last thing that kept me from really fully loving this book. It felt a bit like the book was confused on what age it was being written for. Like I said earlier, at times it felt almost DCOM-like with the fourth wall breaking narration and some of the sillier shenanigans that the two characters get into together, so there was once or twice that I looked back at the listed genres to see if it was a YA book and I just didn’t remember. But then about halfway through the book the slow-burn romance turns to full on, spicy, sex on the page scenes, that definitely keep the book squarely in the adult column.
Again, I enjoyed the comedy that these narrations could provide, and it’s no secret that I’m not afraid of some spicy scenes in my books. But it just felt at times like these two aspects of it were meant for different books, and they just got unceremoniously combined in the editing phase.

Okay one more thing worth noting – this book is downright silly at times with the way the witchy world was built for the reader. We don’t get a ton of traditional world building that you would expect from a full blown fantasy novel, but we do get little glimpses into it. And from what I was able to gather, it is a witchy-version of our current world, where they still watch the Superbowl and Daniel Craig 007 movies, but they use Witchygram instead of Instagram.

All of that being said, I would still overall recommend this book to my friends and fellow readers, and I’m looking forward to the continuation of the series.
I don’t think that it’s perfect by any means, but not every book needs to be! It was still a fun, fairly light, quick read. But my words of wisdom would be that if you are going to read it, really lean in to the sillier sides! I think you’ve got to if you’re going to really enjoy it.

About the Author:

When Avery Flynn isn’t writing about alpha heroes and the women who tame them, she is desperately hoping someone invents the coffee IV drip. She has three slightly wild children, loves a hockey-addicted husband, and has a slight shoe addiction. Find out more about Avery on her website, follow her on Twitter, like her on her Facebook page, or friend her on her Facebook profile. Also, if you figure out how to send Oreos through the internet, she’ll be your best friend for life.

Connect with Avery

Website: http://averyflynn.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4894804.Avery_Flynn

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Avery-Flynn/e/B00560LIP0

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AveryFlynnAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/averyflynn/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AveryFlynn

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/avery-flynn

Link to Purchase on Amazon:

Posted on November 29, 2022December 1, 2022 by tacklingtbr

November 27 – December 3

New Releases and Publications

Hello, friends – and happy Tuesday! Welcome to another round of new releases that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, and have either already read or are upcoming on my #TBR.

Never Ever Getting Back Together

Author: Sophie Gonzales

Publication Date: November 29, 2022

Genre: Romance, LGBTQIA+, Contemporary, Young Adult

Page Count: 384 pages

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

When their now famous ex-boyfriend asks them to participate in a teen reality show, two eighteen year old girls—one bent on revenge, the other open to rekindling romance—get tangled up in an unexpected twist when they fall for each other instead in Never Ever Getting Back Together by nationally and internationally-bestselling and Indie Next Pick author Sophie Gonzales.

It’s been two years since Maya’s ex-boyfriend cheated on her, and she still can’t escape him: his sister married the crown prince of a minor European country and he captured hearts as her charming younger brother. If the world only knew the real Jordy, the manipulative liar who broke Maya’s heart.

Skye Kaplan was always cautious with her heart until Jordy said all the right things and earned her trust. Now his face is all over the media and Skye is still wondering why he stopped calling.

When Maya and Skye are invited to star on the reality dating show Second-Chance Romance, they’re whisked away to a beautiful mansion—along with four more of Jordy’s exes— to compete for his affections while the whole world watches. Skye wonders if she and Jordy can recapture the spark she knows they had, but Maya has other plans: exposing Jordy and getting revenge. As they navigate the competition, Skye and Maya discover that their real happily ever after is nothing they could have scripted.

20% Review:

I read this book in only two sittings, so I didn’t want to put it down long enough to write a 20%! Therefore, we can just assume that I was loving it then, and throughout the rest of the book. But check out my full thoughts at the link below!

Check out my full review here!

Posted on November 17, 2022November 17, 2022 by tacklingtbr

Once Upon a Book Club: Young Adult Box September 2022

Lord of the Fly Fest by Goldy Moldavsky

I was so excited to have received another box from one of my favorite bookish subscription services, Once Upon a Book Club! This time I received the Young Adult box for the month of September, with the clue “True Crime in Paradise!”

Take a look below for information on the book and gifts that I received in this box, my review of the book, and more – but keep in mind that there will be spoilers on the gifts!

Thanks so much to the folks over at Once Upon a Book Club for gifting me with this box! Check them out for yourself, and use my code TACKLINGTBR at check out for a discount!

About the Box

The True Crime in Paradise box was Once Upon a Book Club’s young adult box for September 2022! Each box contained a copy of the book and four wrapped gifts to tie into the book – bringing the book and reading experience to life!

Page 53

“As Rafi pulled back the muslin sarong that made up the doorway of her makeshift tent, she looked out at the sea view and breathed in the delicious saltwater air.”

A tropical sarong made of chiffon.

Page 140

“His eyes, both dark pools sparkling with the reflection of the campfire, locked onto Rafi, and she couldn’t help but drown in them.”

A small, stone tabletop fire pit.

Page 220

“Rafi turned around to see him but was instantly blinded by his flashlight beam.”

A small, gold flashlight with “One More Chapter” on the side with a USB charger.

Page 268

“Jack’s hand, poking high out of the center of the gang, gripped a nail file like a butcher knife, and it came down in a forceful, terrifying swish.”

A glass nail file with “There is beauty in everything” written on the top.

About the Book

Published by: Henry Holt and Co.

Publication Date: August 30, 2022

Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Retelling

Page Count: 320 pages

Description from Goodreads:

One of Us Is Lying meets Lord of the Flies meets Fyre Fest in this wickedly addictive and funny YA thriller.

Rafi Francisco needs something really special to put her true crime podcast on the map. She sets her sights on River Stone, the hearthrob musician who rose to stardom after the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend. Rafi lands herself a ticket to the exclusive Fly Fest, where River will be the headliner.

But when Rafi arrives on the Caribbean island location of Fly Fest with hundreds of other influencers and (very minor) celebrities, they quickly discover that the dream trip is more of a nightmare. And it’s not just confronting beauty gurus-gone-wild and spotty WiFi. Soon, Rafi goes from fighting for an interview to fighting for her life. And, as she gets closer to River, she discovers that he might be hiding even darker secrets than she suspected . . .

Review (3 stars):

Thanks so much to the author and the folks at Once Upon a Book Club for the gifted copy of this book, as a part of their September 2022 YA box that I received in exchange for my honest thoughts and sharing on my social media. { partner } All opinions are entirely my own. All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on my blog at tacklingtbr.home.blog

TW: discussion/suspicion of murder

I absolutely LOVED The Mary Shelley Club, so when I saw that the author’s newest book was a young adult satire of the hot mess that was Fyre Fest, I was pretty excited to jump into it! I watched those Fyre Fest documentaries and found them a bit amusing just like everyone else, so I figured this book would be right up my alley.

I will say, though, I think that this book just narrowly missed the mark for me. I enjoyed it well enough, but I definitely didn’t love it like I was expecting to, or devour it in one or two sittings because I just couldn’t put it down. I think that after finishing and putting it down, I just felt a bit..mehh? Like I just didn’t have any strong feelings towards it one way or another.

And while this is very obviously satirical, I will warn folks going in that some moments are a bit more on the nose than I may have liked, and might make you roll your eyes a bit.

For example, the rock star’s girlfriend, the hottest super model working right now, is named Hella Badid. No really. Hella. Badid. I rolled my eyes a bit when they first said it, but I chuckled thinking that it was just going to be a one-off joke. After all, she’s not stuck on this island with everyone else, so I figured it was a one and done. And then a few chapters later she became a really major plot point and everyone on the entire island was talking about her. So I had to read the name HELLA BADID so. many. times. So, you know, keep that in mind going in.

Also I think that the plot was a really interesting idea, but could have come together a bit more in execution. It ended up being a whole lot about “they’re pretty and I’m not and that is the conflict on the island” rather than the trapped on an island murder mystery that the cover and synopsis would suggest. It just felt a bit messy, and like I got a different book and story than I think I went into it expecting.

Overall, while I would recommend this book, I would maybe recommend The Mary Shelley Club over it. If the cover and description for this one sucked you in like it did to me, you’ll get the YA murder mystery vibe you may be looking for more from the other. But all of that being said, it was still an enjoyable enough read, and I wouldn’t discourage folks from reading it either. Just know what it is you’re jumping head first into, and maybe make yourself a tropical cocktail to go along with it.

About the Author

Goldy Moldavsky was born in Lima, Peru, and grew up in Brooklyn, where she still lives. Her novels include the New York Times bestseller, KILL THE BOY BAND, NO GOOD DEED, and the upcoming THE MARY SHELLEY CLUB (Henry Holt Books, 2021); her love of 80s movies, 90s boy bands, and horror flicks hugely influences her work. She can be found on Twitter and Instagram @goldywrites.

For more information, visit https://goldymoldavsky.com/

Link to Purchase the Book:

Learn more about Once Upon a Book Club, or order your next read, here!

Posted on November 15, 2022November 16, 2022 by tacklingtbr

November 13 – November 19

New Releases and Publications

Hello, friends – and happy Tuesday! Welcome to another round of new releases that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, and have either already read or are upcoming on my #TBR.

What A Trip

Author: Susen Edwards

Publication Date: November 15, 2022

Genre: Fiction

Page Count: 424 pages

Thanks so much to the author, She Writes Press, and BookSparks for the gifted finished copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

In this dramatic coming-of-age novel we meet Fiona, an art student at a New Jersey college who is brilliant, beautiful, and struggling to find herself. Through her eyes we relive the turbulent culture of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll, the first draft lottery since World War II, the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, the Kent State University shootings, and the harsh realities of war for Americans in their early twenties.

Fiona’s best friend, Melissa, is in a dead-end relationship, pregnant, and going nowhere fast. After Melissa’s abortion, Fiona and Melissa spend a week in Florida, where they are introduced to tarot cards and the anti-war movement. Following this experience, Melissa becomes obsessed with the occult; Fiona, though intrigued, approaches the tarot cautiously, with the voice of her conservative Christian mother screaming in her head.

After Fiona’s return from Florida, she begins dating Reuben–a journalism major and political activist. Reuben decides to move to Canada to avoid the draft and encourages Fiona to accompany him. But is that really what she wants? Caught between her feelings for Reuben and her own aspirations, Fiona struggles to define herself, her artistic career, and her future.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Check out my full review and blog tour here!

The Lindbergh Nanny

Author: Mariah Fredericks

Publication Date: November 15, 2022

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, True Crime, Suspense, Thriller

Page Count: 320 pages

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

Mariah Fredericks’s The Lindbergh Nanny is powerful, propulsive novel about America’s most notorious kidnapping through the eyes of the woman who found herself at the heart of this deadly crime.

“A masterful blending of fact and fiction that is as compelling as it is entertaining.”—Nelson DeMille

When the most famous toddler in America, Charles Lindbergh, Jr., is kidnapped from his family home in New Jersey in 1932, the case makes international headlines. Already celebrated for his flight across the Atlantic, his father, Charles, Sr., is the country’s golden boy, with his wealthy, lovely wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, by his side. But there’s someone else in their household—Betty Gow, a formerly obscure young woman, now known around the world by another name: the Lindbergh Nanny.

A Scottish immigrant deciphering the rules of her new homeland and its East Coast elite, Betty finds Colonel Lindbergh eccentric and often odd, Mrs. Lindbergh kind yet nervous, and Charlie simply a darling. Far from home and bruised from a love affair gone horribly wrong, Betty finds comfort in caring for the child, and warms to the attentions of handsome sailor Henrik, sometimes known as Red. Then, Charlie disappears.

Suddenly a suspect in the eyes of both the media and the public, Betty must find the truth about what really happened that night, in order to clear her own name—and to find justice for the child she loves.

“Gripping and elegant, The Lindbergh Nanny brings readers into the interior of the twentieth century’s most infamous crime.”—Nina de Gramont, New York Times bestselling author of The Christie Affair

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Have I Told You This Already?

Author: Lauren Graham

Narrated by: Lauren Graham

Audio Publication Date: November 15, 2022

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Humor, Adult

Audiobook Length: 4 hours 23 minutes

Thanks so much to the author, Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, and Libro.fm for the gifted advanced audio-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

Candid, insightful, and wildly entertaining essays about life, love, and lessons learned as an actress in Hollywood, from the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and New York Times bestselling author of Talking as Fast as I Can.

With her signature sense of humor and down-to-earth storytelling, Lauren Graham opens up about her years working in the entertainment business—from the sublime to the ridiculous—and shares personal stories about everything from family and friendship to the challenges of aging gracefully in Hollywood. In “RIP Barneys New York,” she writes about an early job as a salesperson at the legendary department store — and the time she inadvertently shoplifted; in “Ne Oublie” she warns us about the perils of coming from an extremely forgetful family; and in “Actor-y Factory” she recounts what a day in the life of an actor looks like (unless you’re Brad Pitt).

Filled with surprising anecdotes, sage advice, and laugh-out-loud observations, Graham’s latest collection of all-new, original essays showcases the winning charm and wit that she’s known for.

20% Review:

This is a fairly quick listen, so I was able to listen to it all in one go! Because of this I won’t be writing a 20% review, but check out my full thoughts at the link below.

Check out my full review here!

The Wind at My Back

Author: Misty Copeland

Narrated by: Misty Copeland

Audio Publication Date: November 15, 2022

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir

Audiobook Length: 5 hours 13 minutes

Thanks so much to the author, Hachette Audio, and Libro.fm for the gifted advanced audio-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

From celebrated ballerina and New York Times bestselling author Misty Copeland, a heartfelt memoir about her friendship with trailblazer Raven Wilkinson which captures the importance of mentorship, shared history, and honoring the past to ensure a stronger future.

Misty Copeland made history as the first African-American principal ballerina at the American Ballet Theatre. Her talent, passion, and perseverance enabled her to make strides no one had accomplished before. But as she will tell you, achievement never happens in a void. Behind her, supporting her rise was her mentor Raven Wilkinson. Raven had been virtually alone in her quest to breach the all-white ballet world when she fought to be taken seriously as a Black ballerina in the 1950s and 60s. A trailblazer in the world of ballet decades before Misty’s time, Raven faced overt and casual racism, hostile crowds, and death threats for having the audacity to dance ballet.

The Wind at My Back tells the story of two unapologetically Black ballerinas, their friendship, and how they changed each other—and the dance world—forever. Misty Copeland shares her own struggles with racism and exclusion in her pursuit of this dream career and honors the women like Raven who paved the way for her but whose contributions have gone unheralded. She celebrates the connection she made with her mentor, the only teacher who could truly understand the obstacles she faced, beyond the technical or artistic demands.

A beautiful and wise memoir of intergenerational friendship and the impressive journeys of two remarkable women, The Wind at My Back captures the importance of mentorship, of shared history, and of respecting the past to ensure a stronger future.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Posted on November 15, 2022November 15, 2022 by tacklingtbr

What a Trip by Susen Edwards Blog Tour

Review and #FallPopUp Blog Tour: Courtesy of BookSparks

Thanks so much to the author, She Writes Press, and BookSparks for the gifted finished copy of this book in exchange for my thoughts and participation in this blog tour! { partner } My reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on Goodreads.

Publication Date: November 15, 2022

Genre: Fiction

Page Count: 424 pages

Description from Goodreads:

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

About the Author:

(Taken from the author’s website: http://susenedwardsauthor.com)

“I’m one of two people in New Jersey who can say they have lived in two official White Houses (the other person being my husband, Bob).

I grew up in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey and now live in the Joseph and Minnie White House in Middlesex Borough NJ (more about that later).

I received a B.S. in Education and a minor in English from East Stroudsburg University, an M.A. in Professional Studies, and twelve graduate credits in online teaching from Thomas Edison State University. My degrees tell a small part of my educational background. I’ve taken courses in everything from professional development to massage therapy, from real estate to creative writing.

My husband Bob and I founded and directed Somerset School of Massage Therapy, New Jersey’s first state-approved and nationally accredited postsecondary school for massage therapy. During my tenure I was nominated by Merrill Lynch for Inc. Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

After the successful sale of the business, I became an administrator at Middlesex College. Currently I’m secretary for the board of trustees for my town library as well as president of the friends of the library.

I spent forty years as a massage therapist and health care educator. I’m an animal lover and do my best to be a steward of the environment. My passions are yoga, cooking, reading, and writing.

In 2005 we purchased the Joseph and Minnie White House, the childhood home of Margaret Bourke White, probably the most famous 20th century female photographer. Restoring the house has been a labor of love. Bob and I continue to live here with our two fuzzy feline babies, Harold and Maude.”

Link to Purchase on Amazon:

Posted on November 8, 2022November 12, 2022 by tacklingtbr

November 6 – November 12

New Releases and Publications

Hello, friends – and happy Tuesday! Welcome to another round of new releases that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, and have either already read or are upcoming on my #TBR.

Marked for Life

Author: Isaac Wright Jr. & Jon Sternfeld

Publication Date: November 8, 2022

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Crime, Law

Page Count: 336 pages

Thanks so much to the author and St. Martin’s Press for the gifted advanced copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

An empowering memoir of courage and hope in the face of injustice—and the basis for the ABC television show, For Life—Marked for Life is the true story of Isaac Wright Jr.’s battle to win his freedom after being wrongfully imprisoned for crimes he didn’t commit, and a critical indictment of America’s judicial system.

“If I waited around for someone to save me, I’d be waiting my whole life. Unless I took the reins of this thing myself, I was going to die in prison. If that was my destiny, then I was going to die fighting. The desperation of that equation kept me up most nights. I would never find a gladiator. So I had to become him.”

In the summer of 1989, Isaac Wright Jr. was a 28-year-old independent music producer, who’d struck out on his own and became one of hip hop’s early success stories. With his dance crew Uptown Express, Wright won recognition on Star Search, toured with Run-DMC, and transitioned into management, co-founding his wife Sunshine’s music group, The Cover Girls. They’d settled in the New Jersey suburbs to raise their six-year-old daughter, never imagining that Wright would fall victim to gross police misconduct and a corrupt district attorney.

Accused of being a drug “kingpin” and incarcerated in Somerset County while the prosecutor and police built their case of lies against him, Wright realized he would get no help from any defense attorneys—white men uninterested in uncovering the truth or in proving the innocence of a black man. Pressured to take a plea deal offer of 20 years behind bars, Wright chose to take the law into his own hands by educating himself in the legal system so he could represent himself in court.

Studying statutes and cases in the jail’s law library, Wright became an adept legal mind. But despite acquiring knowledge that he put to use in defending his fellow inmates, he lost his trial and was sentenced to Trenton State Prison for life, plus 70 years in 1991. For the next five years, Wright would continue learning law, become a paralegal with the prison’s Inmate Legal Association, and appeal his case. Threatened by corrupt correction officers and convicts, his family falling apart, Wright fought for his life with every legal means at his disposal, eventually uncovering the smoking gun that unraveled the conspiracy perpetrated by law enforcement officials against him.

Marked for Life is not just the story of how Isaac Wright Jr. won his freedom. It is the story of how he found his true calling as a gladiator fighting on behalf of the oppressed and marginalized communities victimized by an unjust system of law.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Even Though I Knew the End

Author: C.L. Polk

Narrated by: January LaVoy

Audio Publication Date: November 8, 2022

Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQIA+, Historical Fiction, Adult, Novella

Audiobook Length: 3 hours 51 minutes

Thanks so much to the author, Recorded Books, Inc. and Libro.fm for the gifted advanced audio-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

A magical detective dives into the affairs of Chicago’s divine monsters to secure a future with the love of her life. This sapphic period piece will dazzle anyone looking for mystery, intrigue, romance, magic, or all of the above.

An exiled augur who sold her soul to save her brother’s life is offered one last job before serving an eternity in hell. When she turns it down, her client sweetens the pot by offering up the one payment she can’t resist―the chance to have a future where she grows old with the woman she loves.

To succeed, she is given three days to track down the White City Vampire, Chicago’s most notorious serial killer. If she fails, only hell and heartbreak await.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

And Yet

Author: Kate Baer

Narrated by: Kate Baer

Audio Publication Date: November 8, 2022

Genre: Poetry, Nonfiction, Adult

Audiobook Length: 54 minutes

Thanks so much to the author, HarperAudio, and Libro.fm for the gifted advanced audio-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

The second full length poetry collection from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of What Kind of Woman.

Kate Baer shot into the literary stratosphere with the publication of her debut poetry collection, What Kind of Woman, which became an instant #1 New York Times bestseller.

Kate’s second full-length book of traditional poetry, And Yet, dives deeper into the themes that are the hallmarks of her writing: motherhood, friendship, love, and loss. Taken together, these poems demonstrate the remarkable evolution of a writer and an artist working at the height of her craft, pushing herself and her poetry in a beautiful and impressive way.

Intimate, evocative, and bold, Kate’s beguiling poetry firmly positions her in the company of Dorianne Laux, Mary Oliver, Maggie Nelson, and other great female poets of our time.

20% Review:

Due to the short length of this book, I was able to listen to it in once sitting and therefore won’t be writing a partial review. But check out my full thoughts at the link below!

Check out my full review here!

Whiteout

Authors: Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk & Nicola Yoon

Narrated by: Danielle Shemaiah, Nic Stone, Shayna Small, Bahni Turpin, Alaska Jackson, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Kevin R. Free, James Fouhey & Korey Jackson

Audio Publication Date: November 8, 2022

Genre: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Holiday, Short Stories

Audiobook Length: 7 hours 17 minutes

Thanks so much to the authors, Quill Tree Books, and Libro.fm for the gifted advanced audio-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

Atlanta is blanketed with snow just before Christmas, but the warmth of young love just might melt the ice in this novel of interwoven narratives, Black joy, and cozy, sparkling romance—by the same unbeatable team of authors who wrote the New York Times bestseller Blackout!

As the city grinds to a halt, twelve teens band together to help a friend pull off the most epic apology of her life. But will they be able to make it happen, in spite of the storm?

No one is prepared for this whiteout. But then, we can’t always prepare for the magical moments that change everything.

From the bestselling, award-winning, all-star authors who brought us Blackout—Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon—comes another novel of Black teen love, each relationship within as unique and sparkling as Southern snowflakes.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Now Is Not the Time to Panic

Author: Kevin Wilson

Narrated by: Ginnifer Goodwin & Kevin Wilson

Audio Publication Date: November 8, 2022

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Young Adult

Audiobook Length: 6 hours 12 minutes

Thanks so much to the author, HarperAudio, and Libro.fm for the gifted advanced audio-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here comes an exuberant, bighearted novel about two teenage misfits who spectacularly collide one fateful summer, and the art they make that changes their lives forever.

Sixteen-year-old Frankie Budge—aspiring writer, indifferent student, offbeat loner—is determined to make it through yet another sad summer in Coalfield, Tennessee, when she meets Zeke, a talented artist who has just moved into his grandmother’s unhappy house and who is as lonely and awkward as Frankie is. Romantic and creative sparks begin to fly, and when the two jointly make an unsigned poster, shot through with an enigmatic phrase, it becomes unforgettable to anyone who sees it. The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.

The posters begin appearing everywhere, and people wonder who is behind them. Satanists, kidnappers—the rumors won’t stop, and soon the mystery has dangerous repercussions that spread far beyond the town. The art that brought Frankie and Zeke together now threatens to tear them apart.

Twenty years later, Frances Eleanor Budge—famous author, mom to a wonderful daughter, wife to a loving husband—gets a call that threatens to upend everything: a journalist named Mazzy Brower is writing a story about the Coalfield Panic of 1996. Might Frances know something about that? And will what she knows destroy the life she’s so carefully built?

A bold coming-of-age story, written with Kevin Wilson’s trademark wit and blazing prose, Now Is Not The Time to Panic is a nuanced exploration of young love, identity, and the power of art. It’s also about the secrets that haunt us—and, ultimately, what the truth will set free.

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The Obsession

Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto

Narrated by: Catherine Ho & David Lee Huynh

Audio Publication Date: November 8, 2022

Genre: Thriller, Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery, Fiction

Audiobook Length: 8 hours 3 minutes

Thanks so much to the author, Tantor Media, Inc. and Libro.fm for the gifted advanced audio-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

A classic sort of love story… except somebody might wind up dead.

Nobody knows Delilah like Logan does. Nobody. He makes sure of it by learning everything he can through her social media and watching her through a hidden camera he has trained on her house. Some might call him a stalker. Logan prefers to be called “romantic.”

But after Logan sees Delilah killing her abusive stepfather, he realizes there’s still more about her to discover. His sweet, perfect Delilah isn’t so perfect after all.

Delilah knows she should feel guilty, but all she feels is free. She’s so over the men in her life controlling her. Except Logan saw what she did, and he won’t let her forget it.

Delilah is done being the victim. And she refuses to be a character in Logan’s twisted fantasy. If Logan won’t let her go… she’ll make him.

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Blackwater Falls

Author: Ausma Zehanat Khan

Narrated by: Fareeda Pasha

Audio Publication Date: November 8, 2022

Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Adult, Contemporary

Audiobook Length: 11 hours 39 minutes

Thanks so much to the author, Recorded Books, Inc. and Libro.fm for the gifted advanced audio-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

From critically acclaimed author Ausma Zehanat Khan, Blackwater Falls is the first in a timely and powerful crime series, introducing Detective Inaya Rahman.

Girls from immigrant communities have been disappearing for months in the Colorado town of Blackwater Falls, but the local sheriff is slow to act and the fates of the missing girls largely ignored. At last, the calls for justice become too loud to ignore when the body of a star student and refugee–the Syrian teenager Razan Elkader–is positioned deliberately in a mosque.

Detective Inaya Rahman and Lieutenant Waqas Seif of the Denver Police are recruited to solve Razan’s murder, and quickly uncover a link to other missing and murdered girls. But as Inaya gets closer to the truth, Seif finds ways to obstruct the investigation. Inaya may be drawn to him, but she is wary of his motives: he may be covering up the crimes of their boss, whose connections in Blackwater run deep.

Inaya turns to her female colleagues, attorney Areesha Adams and Detective Catalina Hernandez, for help in finding the truth. The three have bonded through their experiences as members of vulnerable groups and now they must work together to expose the conspiracy behind the murders before another girl disappears.

Delving deep into racial tensions, and police corruption and violence, Blackwater Falls examines a series of crimes within the context of contemporary American politics with compassion and searing insight.

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The Stories We Tell

Author: Joanna Gaines

Narrated by: Joanna Gaines

Audio Publication Date: November 8, 2022

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir

Audiobook Length: 5 hours 28 minutes

Thanks so much to the author, Harper Select, and Libro.fm for the gifted advanced audio-copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

In her first solo memoir, New York Times bestselling author Joanna Gaines invites us on an authentic and deeply vulnerable journey into her story–and helps shine a light on the beauty of our own–guiding us to release the weights that hold us back so we may live and share our story in truth.

We’ve all dropped anchor in places that suited us for a time: a city, a perspective, a lie we mistook as truth. This book is an invitation to a kind of life where you know how to hold what you believe–about yourself and the quiet worlds behind the people you pass–with gracious and open hands. To see your story as greater than any past or future thing, but for all the beauty and joy and hope it holds today. It’s an invitation to take stock of the chapters you’ve lived–the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly–glean what’s gold, and carry only that forward. Let it slow your feet and steady your life-in-motion so you can see where you stand today from a new point of view. No longer through weary or uncertain eyes, but a lens brimming with hope.

“The only way to break free was to rewrite my story. Because something would happen every time my pen stopped: it was like my soul was coming back to my body. Like the deepest parts of me that got knocked around and drowned out by all the crap I let the world convince me about who I was came back to the surface. And what was left was only what was real and true. I was, finally, standing in the fullness of my story. I felt hopeful. I felt full. Our story may crack us open, but it also pieces us back together.

We all have a story to tell. This happens to be mine–every chapter a window into who I am, the journey I’m on, and the season I’m in right now. Because this is my story, maybe you won’t always relate, or maybe it will feel like you’re looking in a mirror. Whatever we have in common and whatever differences lie between us, I only hope my story can help shine a light on the beauty of yours. That my own soul work will stir something of your own. And that by the time you get to the end of my story, you’re also holding the beautiful beginnings of your own.

A story only you can tell. And I hope that you will.”

– Joanna Gaines

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Review:

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