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 start sharing 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!
Shine Your Icy Crown
Author: Amanda Lovelace
Publication Day: January 26, 2021
Genre: Poetry
Thanks so much to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for the complimentary advanced electronic copy of this book.
Description from Goodreads:
“Make them rue the day they underestimated you.”
This is a story about not letting society dictate the limits of your potential. it’s time to take back your power & realize that you don’t need a king in order to be a queen.
20% Review:
Since this is such a small book of poetry, it is a very quick read, so it’s easy to finish in one sitting! So I don’t have a 20% review for this one. But you can check out my full review through the link below!
Hello friends – happy Tuesday! And welcome to my first weekly (hopefully) post of the 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 start sharing 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 Lost Manuscript
Author: Cathy Bonidan; Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Day: January 12, 2021
Thanks so much to the St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy of this #CurrentRead of mine!
Description from Goodreads:
The Lost Manuscript is a charming epistolary novel about the love of books and magical ability they have to bring people together.
Sometimes a book has the power to change your life…
When Anne-Lise Briard books a room at the Beau Rivage Hotel for her vacation on the Brittany coast, she has no idea this trip will start her on the path to unearthing a mystery. In search of something to read, she opens up her bedside table drawer in her hotel room, and inside she finds an abandoned manuscript. Halfway through the pages, an address is written. She sends pages to the address, in hopes of potentially hearing a response from the unknown author. But not before she reads the story and falls in love with it. The response, which she receives a few days later, astonishes her…
Not only does the author write back, but he confesses that he lost the manuscript 30 years prior on a flight to Montreal. And then he reveals something even more shocking—that he was not the author of the second half of the book.
Anne-Lise can’t rest until she discovers who this second mystery author is, and in doing so tracks down every person who has held this manuscript in their hands. Through the letters exchanged by the people whose lives the manuscript has touched, she discovers long-lost love stories and intimate secrets. Romances blossom and new friends are made. Everyone’s lives are made better by this book—and isn’t that the point of reading? And finally, with a plot twist you don’t see coming, she uncovers the astonishing identity of the author who finished the story.
20% Review:
I am only a few chapters in to this book, but it is already so sweet! So far the story is being told entirely through letters and written correspondence, which I think just adds such a heartfelt glow to a story. And I love the idea that it is the story of these people becoming friends based off of this book that just happens to pass through their hands at various points in their lives. Who hasn’t ever found a book in a secondhand shop and wanted it to lead them to their new best friend, right?
Check out my full review here:
(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)
Gone to the Woods
Author: Gary Paulsen; Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
Publication Day: January 12, 2021
Thanks so much to Macmillan for inviting me to read this book through NetGalley.
Description from Goodreads:
A middle grade memoir, giving readers a new perspective on the origins of Gary Paulsen’s famed survival stories.
His name is synonymous with high-stakes wilderness survival stories. Now, author Gary Paulsen portrays a series of life-altering moments from his turbulent childhood as his own original survival story. If not for his summer escape from a shockingly neglectful Chicago upbringing to a North Woods homestead at age five, there never would have been a Hatchet. Without the encouragement of the librarian who handed him his first book at age thirteen, he may never have become a reader. And without his desperate teenage enlistment in the Army, he would not have discovered his true calling as a storyteller.
20% Review:
(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)
Check out my full review here:
(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)
The Listening Path
Author: Julia Cameron; Publisher: MacMillan Audio
Audiobook Narrated by: Eliza Foss & Julia Cameron
Publication Day: January 12, 2021
Thanks so much to Macmillan Audio and Libro.fm for the complimentary advanced audio copy of this book!
Description from Goodreads:
A 6-week Artist’s Way Program from legendary author Julia Cameron
The newest book from beloved author Julia Cameron, The Listening Path is a transformational journey to deeper, more profound listening and creativity. Over six weeks, readers will be given the tools to become better listeners—to their environment, the people around them, and themselves. The reward for learning to truly listen is immense. As we learn to listen, our attention is heightened and we gain healing, insight, clarity. But above all, listening creates connections and ignites a creativity that will resonate through every aspect of our lives.
Julia Cameron is the author of the explosively successful book The Artist’s Way, which has transformed the creative lives of millions of readers since it was first published. Incorporating tools from The Artist’s Way, The Listening Path offers a new method of creative and personal transformation.
Each week, readers will be challenged to expand their ability to listen in a new way, beginning by listening to their environment and culminating in learning to listen to silence. These weekly practices open up a new world of connection and fulfillment. In a culture of bustle and constant sound, The Listening Path is a deeply necessary reminder of the power of truly hearing.
20% Review:
(This will be added at a later date, once I start listening to this book!)
Check out my full review here:
(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)
Murder on the Menu
Author: Fiona Leitch; Publisher: One More Chapter (HarperCollins UK)
Publication Day: January 15, 2021
Thanks so much to One More Chapter and NetGalley for the gifted electronic copy of this book!
Description from Goodreads:
The first book in a NEW cosy mystery series! Still spinning from the hustle and bustle of city life, Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker is glad to be back in the Cornish village she calls home. Having quit the Met Police in search of something less dangerous, the change of pace means she can finally start her dream catering company and raise her daughter, Daisy, somewhere safer.
But there’s nothing like having your first job back at home to be catering an ex-boyfriend’s wedding to remind you of just how small your village is. And when the bride, Cheryl, vanishes Jodie is drawn into the investigation, realising that life in the countryside might not be as quaint as she remembers…
With a missing bride on their hands, there is murder and mayhem around every corner but surely saving the day will be a piece of cake for this not-so-amateur sleuth?
The first book in the Murder on the Menu cosy mystery series. Can be read as a standalone. A humorous cosy mystery with a British female sleuth in a small village. Includes one of Jodie’s Tried and Tested Recipes! Written in British English. Mild profanity and peril.
20% Review:
(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)
Check out my full review here:
(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)
Thanks so much to the author, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press for the complimentary advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on my blog at tacklingtbr.home.blog
Book Description from Goodreads:
After the first season of her true crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall is now a household name―and the last hope for thousands of people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.
The small town of Neapolis is being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. The town’s golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping a high school student, the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season Three a success, Rachel throws herself into interviewing and investigating―but the mysterious letters keep showing up in unexpected places. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insists she was murdered―and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody seems to want to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.
Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?
Review: (5 Stars)
TW: Rape, sexual abuse, discussion of murder, violence, gaslighting
You guys. This book. When I first received this book, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from it. I was automatically really interested because of the synopsis, but I remember feeling that way about Goldin’s The Escape Room as well, and being slightly disappointed in the ending. So I was really nervous that, even if I loved the rest of the book, that that might be the case again. Let me tell you, It. Was. Not. I really loved this book. This was a book that I didn’t want to read before bed, but also couldn’t seem to put it down. I just needed to know what was going to happen next, and I definitely was not disappointed. I think that this might be one of my favorite thrillers that I’ve read in a while.
I thought that the idea of having the main character in a suspense/thriller be a true crime podcaster was really fascinating. This book was told through different points of view as well as through different platforms, and even almost two different timelines through flashbacks. There are chapters from Rachel’s point of view, as well as chapters that are episodes of her podcast, chapters of Hannah telling stories of she and her sister Jenny as kids, it was all over the place but in a really interesting and engaging way. It felt like the book was part true crime podcast/blog, part courtroom drama, part cold case files. All of that sounds really difficult to follow, but I didn’t have any issues at all. The way the chapters were separated and distinguished between was really simple in my opinion, and I never had any issues with figuring out who was talking or what platform the story was being told through.
The characters were also really interesting in this story, in the sense that you got to see some different sides to almost everyone. I love really well thought out characters and giving them room to be dynamic and imperfect, and this book definitely did that. Weirdly enough, the only character that I would have loved just the tiniest bit more of a peak into was our lead Rachel. We see her as the podcaster and investigator who is very capable and overall very smart, but I wish we could have gotten just a little bit further of a view into her mind. Maybe why she is so drawn to true crime, or what made her into such a good investigator. Things like that. Everyone else shows you different sides of themselves, and I would have liked just one more visible side to Rachel.
Along with the trigger warning above, I would like to say again that this book deals very heavily in rape and sexual assault, and sometimes uses graphic language/descriptors in telling those stories, to the point that this might be really difficult for some to read. If those things will be triggering for you, please don’t read this book. But if you will be able to get through those scenes, I would recommend this book as a really engaging example of a suspenseful mystery, courtroom drama, and thriller all rolled into one with a really modern twist as a nice little bow on top. This book is perfect with a glass of wine next to a roaring fire, letting yourself live all of your Poirot fantasies. You will not want to put this one down.
Thanks so much to the author, Netgalley, and St. Martin’s Press for the complimentary advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, and blog tour participation. All opinions are entirely my own. { Partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on Goodreads.
Book Description:
The Lost Boys meets Wilder Girls in this supernatural feminist YA novel.
It’s 1987 and unfortunately it’s not all Madonna and cherry lip balm. Mayhem Brayburn has always known there was something off about her and her mother, Roxy. Maybe it has to do with Roxy’s constant physical pain, or maybe with Mayhem’s own irresistible pull to water. Either way, she knows they aren’t like everyone else.
But when May’s stepfather finally goes too far, Roxy and Mayhem flee to Santa Maria, California, the coastal beach town that holds the answers to all of Mayhem’s questions about who her mother is, her estranged family, and the mysteries of her own self. There she meets the kids who live with her aunt, and it opens the door to the magic that runs through the female lineage in her family, the very magic Mayhem is next in line to inherit and which will change her life for good.
But when she gets wrapped up in the search for the man who has been kidnapping girls from the beach, her life takes another dangerous turn and she is forced to face the price of vigilante justice and to ask herself whether revenge is worth the cost.
From the acclaimed author of This Raging Light and But Then I Came Back, Estelle Laure offers a riveting and complex story with magical elements about a family of women contending with what appears to be an irreversible destiny, taking control and saying when enough is enough.
Author’s Letter to the Reader:
Dear Reader,
Like Mayhem, I experienced a period of time when my life was extremely unstable. I can still remember what it was like to be shaken so hard I thought my head would come off, to watch the room vibrate, to feel unsafe in my own home, to never know what was coming around the next corner. I wanted to run. I always wanted to run.
I ran to friends, but also movies and books, and although girls were more passively portrayed in movies like The Lost Boys back then, that feeling of teenagers prowling the night, taking out bad people, being unbeatable . . . that got me through it.
I guess that’s what I tried to do here. I wanted girls who feel powerless to be able to imagine themselves invincible. And yes, I used a rape as the seed for that fierce lineage, not without thought. For me, there is nothing worse, and I like to think great power can rise up as a result of a devastating trespass.
Please know I took none of this lightly. Writing this now, my heart is beating hard and my throat is dry. This is the first time I not only really looked at my own past, the pain of loss, the pain of the loss of trust that comes when someone puts hands on you without permission, the pain of people dying, the shock of suicide, and put all of it to paper in a way that made me feel victorious, strong, and warrior-like. It is also terrifying. I know I’m not the only one who had a scary childhood, and
I know I’m not the only one who clings to stories as salve to smooth over burnt skin. I am so sick of girls and women being hurt. This was my way of taking my own vengeance and trying to access forgiveness.
Thank you for reading and for those of you who can relate, I see you and you are not alone.
Estelle Laure
Q&A with the Author:
Why did you choose Santa Maria as the setting? What drew you/your story to that location?
When I was young growing up in the Bay Area, we used to go to Santa Cruz sometimes on weekends, go to the boardwalk, go on rides, so I was familiar with it. It’s also the place where The Lost Boys was filmed and it’s the thing I most directly took from that movie. I didn’t want to have to be true to Santa Cruz though, so I created Santa Maria so I could take more liberties in terms of the layout and businesses, etc.
Is there a plan for this to be released on audio? If so, were you a part of the casting process for the narrator?
Yes!, I believe it’s released the same day as Mayhem comes out in hardcover. I love listening to books, so I’m delighted that’s an option. As far as casting, I was sent a sample of the person who was eventually cast and absolutely loved her. She’s perfect so there was no question they picked the right person. I’m not sure what would have happened if I hadn’t had that reaction, but I’m glad I didn’t have to find out. I haven’t heard it yet but I feel sure she’s done an incredible job.
According to your author profile you have a Theatre Arts degree – how do you think that influences your writing? And any influences to this story in particular?
Wow, I’ve never had this question before and I think it’s a great one! I was trained to understand the psychology of a character fully in order to embody it, so I think that plays a part in every keystroke for me. I want everyone to feel fully realized and I reach into my actor toolbox a lot in order to get to the bottom of the emotional story. One thing I learned in theatre is that no one is ever saying what they’re saying, so when I write dialogue I try to always have an unspoken element and a subtext happening. I also think in terms of tone, silhouette, movement, blocking…it’s all there all the time. I’m so glad I have that training to lean on because I use it in every story, not just this one.
What drew you to the 1980s as the setting for this story?
I was twelve in 1987 which was the year The Lost Boys came out. That summer felt a little spooky and too hot and since I was actually in California where the story happens, it’s a time and place I remember very well. I wanted to explore it for my own nostalgic purposes but also because it was RAD! Also, this story couldn’t work with technology as it is today, so it had to be sometime pre-cell. Why not the age of rampant serial killers and total chaos, as well a big hair?
The description of this book talks about exploring “the price of vigilante justice.” How do you explore the idea of what justice means to each of your characters, and the topic of possible consequences while trying to seek it?
I’m really in conversation with myself in this respect. The truth is I think if someone hurt one of my kids I would want them hurt in equal measure and would have a very hard time being patient with the judicial process. BUT I also realize we can’t have a justice system that metes out physical punishment because it’s a fallible system. The question here is what if your own internal system was capable of accurately determining someone’s potential for violence or history with it? Should you then be the deliverer of vengeance? Should you be an angel of death? That’s really what Mayhem and all the characters who share this potential power are grappling with. They all fall somewhere along the spectrum of what they’re willing to pay in exchange for that power and where they fall in terms of its ethics. One thing is sure: nothing comes for free, especially not the taking of a life.
Review:
[ Due to unforeseen difficulties in my life, I have not yet finished this book. Unfortunately, life happens! My full review will be added here as soon as I have finished reading the book. Thank you so much for your patience! ]
About the Author:
Estelle Laure, the author of This Raging Light and But Then I Came Back believes in love, magic, and the power of facing hard truths. She has a BA in Theatre Arts and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults, and she lives in Taos, New Mexico, with her family. Her work is translated widely around the world.
Thanks so much to the author and Valentine PR for the complimentary advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, and blog tour participation. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on Goodreads
Book Description from Goodreads:
Scarlet Reed has returned to Polson Falls, convinced that twelve years away is long enough to shed her humiliating childhood identity as the town harlot’s daughter. With a teaching job secured and an adorable fixer-upper to call home, things in her life are finally looking up.
That is, until she finds out that Shane Beckett lives next door.
Shane Beckett, the handsome and charismatic high school star quarterback who smashed her heart. The lying, cheating player who was supposed to be long gone, living the pro football dream and fooling women into thinking he’s Prince Charming. Shane Beckett, who is as attractive as ever and flashing his dimples at her as if he has done no wrong.
Scarlet makes it abundantly clear that old wounds have not been forgotten. Neighbors they may be, but friends they most certainly are not. She won’t allow herself to fall for the single father and firefighter again, no matter how many apologies he offers, how many times he rushes to her aid, or how hard he makes her heart pound.
But as she spends more time with him, she begins to fear that maybe she’s wrong. Maybe Shane has changed.
And maybe this time she’s the one playing herself—out of a chance at true happiness.
Review: (4 Stars)
TW : childhood trauma, mention of infidelity, mention of bullying, injury to a minor
Despite what my “Dates Read” will say (I started this book and then put it down to finish another current read), I DEVOURED this book! The Player Next Door is a brand new second-chance romance from author K. A. Tucker. It was fairly lighthearted compared to some of her other work (though there were definitely some more intense scenes), a good middle-of-the-road steamy, and overall a delicious binge read during this continued quarantine.
Much like many others, I am a huge sucker for second-chance romances. Doesn’t everyone have that fantasy at least once or twice that their big ex, possibly love of their life, turns around and realizes that you’re the best thing that ever happened to a fool like them? Or maybe that they come back into your life just to see how you’re #thriving? I definitely have been known to. So what better type of story to throw yourself into and read over the course of about 48 hours! I loved getting to dive into all of the backstory of Scarlet and Shane’s past, and sort of getting to see both timelines (through Scarlet’s memories). It really helped me to feel invested in their story right from the word go.
As far as characters go, I thought both of our leads were extremely likable, while not immune from annoying characteristics or dumb decisions. But again, I think that getting to hear so much of their backstory really helped with falling in love with not only the characters, but also their love story in general. I found myself really aching for them when things weren’t going their way. I wanted them to succeed, and to be happy. Which I always think goes a long way! Although I will say that a few of the other characters, while more minor players in the story, really shone through for me in a way that almost stole the show for a few of the scenes! Characters like Justine specifically had me laughing right out loud at how ridiculous she could be, but how I could see myself being friends with her too. And if down the line a sequel were to come out putting my girl Justine in the spotlight, I would definitely not turn it away!
One of my favorite parts of this story was the setting – at the beginning of the book Scarlet is moving back to her small town that she grew up in. That’s another thing that always seemed so idyllic and charming to me – small town living, where you have fun town events and everyone knows everyone else. (Or maybe I just watched too much Gilmore Girls growing up?) But my favorite thing about it as a setting for this type of story that while it is a charming town, and she is getting all of that “new beginning” excitement by moving into her childhood dream house, the small town is also the catalyst for a good number of the mix-ups and challenges as well. Yes, everyone knows everyone, but that means that they also know everyone’s private business, and that is always an angle that I find really fun to read about.
Overall, I really, thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have already recommended it to more than one friend who I know will tear through it as quickly as I did, and I’m sure it will continue to come up for me in those conversations with girlfriends. As I said in the beginning, I think it is close to the perfect story to lose yourself in during what is still a fairly uncertain time. Because, much like those pesky neighbors in the book – it’s much better to get to focus on other people’s drama than on your own, right? At least, it’s certainly more fun!
About the Author:
K.A. Tucker writes captivating stories with an edge. She is the USA Today bestselling author of 17 books, including the Causal Enchantment, Ten Tiny Breaths and Burying Water series, He Will Be My Ruin, Until It Fades, Keep Her Safe, and The Simple Wild. Her books have been featured in national publications including USA Today, Globe & Mail, Suspense Magazine, First for Women, and Publisher’s Weekly. She has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance 2013 for TEN TINY BREATHS and Best Romance 2018 for THE SIMPLE WILD. Her novels have been translated into 16 languages.K.A. Tucker currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her family.
Tackling TBR 