Thanks so much to the author, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book, as well as Macmillan Audio for the gifted advanced audio copy, in exchange for my honest thoughts. 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
The Finlay Donovan books have become one of my absolute favorite series, so it’s no surprise that I loved this book! It was a perfect way to start off my year of reading.
As always, Finlay and Vero have gotten themselves into a sticky situation. Nobody is shocked here. So what better place to hide out and do some snooping for a week than a live-in civilians police training camp, right? Right!
I already love this series, so of course I loved the characters. We get to see a bit more of Javi this time around, and we get some more background on him and other secondary characters from the previous books – including teen hacker Cam, and Nick’s grumpy partner, Joey. I always really enjoy more character driven stories, so one of my favorite things about reading a series is learning more and more about characters as you go along, so this book really delivered for me in that respect.
Of course some of the situations that Finlay and Vero find themselves in in this book are a bit silly and unbelievable, but that’s definitely nothing new to this series. Besides, if I wanted 100% believability I’d read true crime instead of romantic thrillers. I’m here because I want to see the characters outsmart the people around them, and see how they get out of the ridiculous corners they’ve been backed into, and hopefully seal it all up with a kiss.
Overall I would (and already have been) highly recommend this book to my friends and fellow readers. These books are a bit some high-stake, but at the same time they feel light and fun and like I can read them when I’m tired after a long day at work. Which is a perfect middle ground, if you ask me! I think that the perfect way to read this book would be buddy-reading it with one or two of your closest girl friends, sitting together and passing a bottle of wine (or whisky) between you, in true Fin and Vero style.
My Reviews for the rest of the Finlay Donovan series:
Thanks so much to the author and St. Martin’s Press for the gifted advanced copy of this book, as well as Macmillan Audio and Libro.fm for the gifted advanced audio copy, in exchange for my honest thoughts. 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
Publication Date: January 31, 2023
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Adult, Coming of Age
Page Count: 320 pages
Audiobook Length: 10 hours 10 minutes
Audiobook Narrated by: Heather Agyepong
TW: death/loss of a parent, Parkinson’s disease, depression and anxiety
I just finished listening to this book on audio, and I find that I’m having trouble putting together my thoughts on it.
It was such a powerful and engaging novel of a woman coming of age and spreading her wings in her mid 20s. It felt unique compared to other coming of age stories or literary fiction books I’ve read in recent years, and is really sticking with me after finishing it.
The main character, Maddie, has lived such a wildly different life than I have, but I still couldn’t help but feel parts of myself in parts of her, and I felt my heart breaking for her at various points in the novel when people were cruel or things weren’t going her way. I really respected her as a character, and I wanted to see how she would respond in certain situations or how the next chapter of her life would play out. I think that she’s a character that I’m going to keep thinking about for a while, and I wish I had her as a friend to bounce ideas off of in my day to day life.
Overall I would absolutely recommend this book to my friends and fellow readers. This isn’t a type of book or a genre that I reach for all the time, tending to reach more often for mysteries or romances in one form or another, but I couldn’t be more glad that I hopped into the realm of literary fiction for this book. I think that the best way to read this book would be sitting in bed or on the couch, safe and sound under a big, cozy blanket, with a soup mug full of tea.
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!
Thanks so much to the author, Celadon Books, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!
Description from Goodreads:
For fans of Mystic River by Dennis Lehane and Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, Stephen Amidon’s Locust Lane is a taut and utterly propulsive story about the search for justice and the fault lines of power and influence in a seemingly idyllic town. Can anyone be trusted?
On the surface, Emerson, Massachusetts, is just like any other affluent New England suburb. But when a young woman is found dead in the nicest part of town, the powerful neighbors close ranks to keep their families safe. In this searing novel, Eden Perry’s death kicks off an investigation into the three teenagers who were partying with her that night, each a suspect. Hannah, a sweet girl with an unstable history. Jack, the popular kid with a mean streak. Christopher, an outsider desperate to fit in. Their parents, each with motivations of their own, only complicate the picture: they will do anything to protect their children, even at the others’ expense.
With a brilliantly woven, intricately crafted plot that gathers momentum on every page, this is superb storytelling told in terse prose—a dynamic read that is both intensely gripping and deeply affecting.
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!)
Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book, as well as Macmillan Audio for the gifted audio copy!
Description from Goodreads:
A playful and emotional romantic comedy from the author of Ten Rules for Faking It
Hailey Sharp has a one-track mind. Get By the Cup salad shop off the ground. Do literally everything possible to make it a success. Repeat. With a head full of entrepreneurial ideas and a bad ex in her rearview, her one and only focus is living life the way she wants to. No distractions.
Wes Jansen never did understand the fuss about relationships. With a string of lackluster first dates and the pain from his parents’ angry divorce following him around, he’d much rather find someone who he likes, but won’t love. Companionship, not passion, is the name of the game.
When Hailey and Wes find each other in a disastrous meet cute that wasn’t even intended for them, they embarrassingly go their separate ways. But when Wes finds Hailey to apologize for his behavior, they strike a friendship. Because that’s all this can be. Hailey doesn’t want any distractions. Wes doesn’t want to fall in love.
What could possibly go wrong?
20% Review:
I am loving this book! I am already a fan of quiet a few of the supporting characters, since I love the previous two books in this series, and the new characters that I’m meeting through this book are super fun and seem fit into the existing group so well. I see a lot of myself in Hailey as well, which I always love when I’m reading. It just makes it more fun when you can imagine yourself in all of the fun or romantic situations as you’re reading them, right? Overall I’m flying through this book so far, and I feel like it’s just going to be another thing for me to love about the Jansen Brothers Series.
Thanks so much to McClelland & Stewart and Libro.fm for the gifted advanced audio copy of this book!
Description from Goodreads:
A sharply observed memoir in pieces that uses one woman’s life-long love affair with pop culture as a lens to explore family, identity, grief, the power of female rage, and what it’s cost to resist the trap of being a good Chinese girl.
For most of Jen Sookfong Lee’s life, pop culture was an escape from family tragedy and a means of fitting in with the larger culture around her. Anne of Green Gables promised her that, despite losing her father at the age of twelve, one day she might still have the loving family of her dreams, and Princess Diana was proof that maybe there was more to being a good girl after all. And yet as Jen grew up, she began to recognize the ways in which pop culture was not made for someone like her–the child of Chinese immigrant parents who looked for safety in the invisibility afforded by embracing model minority myths.
Ranging from the unattainable perfection of Gwyneth Paltrow and the father-figure familiarity of Bob Ross, to the long shadow cast by The Joy Luck Club and the life lessons she has learned from Rihanna, Jen weaves together key moments in pop culture with stories of her own failings, longings, and struggles as she navigates the minefields that come with carving her own path as an Asian woman, single mother, and writer. And with great wit, bracing honesty, and a deep appreciation for the ways culture shapes us, she draws direct lines between the spectacle of the popular, the intimacy of our personal bonds, and the social foundations of our collective obsessions.
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!)
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
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!)
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!
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!)
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.
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 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!)
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!
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!
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.
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!)
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!
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!
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!
Thanks so much to the author, Netgalley, and St. Martin’s Griffin for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!
Description from Goodreads:
Shelby Springfield has spent the last ten years trying to overcome her past, sanding it away like she does the rough spots on the vintage furniture finds she makes over. But as a former child star, it’s hard to forget a mediocre pop career, a meltdown widely documented by the paparazzi, and a huge public break with her former co-star Lyle Jessup. It’s also hard to forget her other co-star and childhood sweetheart, Cameron Riggs — the one who got away.
Anytime Shelby has called, Cameron has come running… And then he runs right off again to chase stories around the world by making documentaries, too scared to admit what he really wants. But when Lyle stirs the pot, getting the two back in the spotlight with a home renovation show, Cameron can’t help but come on board.
There’s something in it for everyone — almost. Cameron wants to come home and set down some roots. Shelby wants to prove to the world she’s not the messy party girl anymore. And Lyle wants to twist the screws on his two childhood friends who had more chemistry than he could dream of with anyone. Sparks and sawdust fly as Shelby and Cameron film the pilot for “Homemade” and battle Lyle’s shenanigans at every turn.
Erin Hahn’s sparkling rom com debut, Built to Last, is a second chance romance sure to have readers falling in love fast.
Two childhood sweethearts find a second chance at love in this adult romance debut from a critically acclaimed young adult author.
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!)
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!
Send Noods: 50 Amazing Noodle Recipes that You Want Right Now
Author: Chloe Godot
Illustrated by: Alice Potter
Publication Date: September 13, 2022
Genre: Cookbook
Page Count: 128 pages
Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and Castle Point Books for the gifted finished copy of this book!
Description from Goodreads:
Get the noods you really want!
Things are looking hot. Chloe Godot’s Send Noods is a cleverly tantalizing book of 50 noodle recipes that will never fail to whet your appetite. When your actual DMs are just too cringeworthy and you’d rather have a bowl of ramen to keep you warm at night, turn to the cookbook that really satisfies.
Each chapter is organized to help you find your perfect match, from Chapter One: The Little Black Book of Basics, which steers you toward every good ol’ base sauce and broth you’ll ever need, to Chapter Two: Heart Warmers, that always deliver on their comfort-food promises, to Chapter Five: The Hotties, that leave you hungry for more. Go ahead and ogle the piping-hot illustrations of your deepest cravings, including:
– F*boy Fettuccini – Red Flag Red Sauce – Looking Fresh Pesto – How You Doin’ Homemade Italian Sausage – U Up? Udon – Sex Is Cool, But Have You Tried My Pho? – Swipe Right Ramen – Slide into My DMs Strozzapreti – Mack on This Mac ‘n’ Cheese – Dreamboat Arrabiata
Complete with Alice Potter’s playful illustrations and explicit instructions that make each recipe’s intentions known, Send Noods is the book of hot dishes that will satisfy epicureans in ways unsolicited DMs just never could.
20% Review:
Since this is a cookbook I won’t be including a 20% review. But check out my full thoughts on this book at the link below!
Check out my full review here!
The Best Friend
Author: Jessica Fellowes
Publication Date: September 13, 2022
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Adult, Mystery
Page Count: 320 pages
Thanks so much to the author, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced audio copy of this book!
Description from Goodreads:
Following the intense, toxic friendship of two kindred spirits across their lifetimes, The Best Friend is a dark, suspenseful novel and first standalone from Jessica Fellowes, New York Times bestselling author of the Mitford Murders series and the companion Downton Abbey books.
Bella and Kate. Kate and Bella. From childhood they were bosom friends, Bella sensible and cautious, Kate gregarious and just a little dangerous.
Yet in spite of their intimacy, their trust is fragile. Men came into their lives and things changed: a black seed was set in the heart of their relationship. Over decades, acts of both cruelty and love ferment until one shocking event tests them more than ever. Neither will escape unscathed.
Reminiscent of Elena Ferrante and Sally Rooney, and for readers of Leila Slimani’s The Perfect Nanny and Ashley Audrain’s The Push, The Best Friend explores the darkest corners of female friendship, a place where loyalty and betrayal intersect with deadly consequences.
20% Review:
This is SUCH a quick read! I got through the first 30% or so in the first sitting without even noticing, and I’d have finished it already if I didn’t have to do annoying things like work. A good portion so far is written as dialogue, without quotation marks or notes of which character is speaking, which makes it read a bit more like a play than a novel. As a theatre person, I’m finding this to be a really fun and interesting departure from the norm! But this format might not be for everybody, so keep that in mind before reading.
Review:
(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)
Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!
Description from Goodreads:
ONE TO WATCH meets BEACH READ in this smart, swoony, romantic comedy, in which two college exes find themselves battling against each other—and their unresolved feelings—for a spot in a prestigious literature Ph.D. program.
Allison Avery loves to win. After acing every academic challenge she’s come up against, she’s finally been accepted into her dream Ph.D. program at Claymore University, studying medieval literature under a professor she’s admired for years. Sure, grad school isn’t easy—the classes are intense, her best friend is drifting away, and her students would rather pull all-nighters than discuss The Knight’s Tale—but she’s got this. Until she discovers her ex-boyfriend has also been accepted. Colin Benjamin might be the only person who loves winning more than Allison does, and when they’re both assigned to TA for the same professor, the game is on.
What starts as a personal battle of wits (and lit) turns into all-out war when their professor announces a career-changing research trip opportunity—with one spot to fill. Competing with Colin is as natural as breathing, and after he shattered her heart two years ago, Allison refuses to let him come out on top. But when a family emergency and a late night road trip—plus a very sexy game of Scrabble—throw them together for a weekend, she starts to wonder if they could be stronger on the same team. And if they fall for each other all over again, Allison will have to choose between a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and what could be a twice-in-a-lifetime love.
Charmingly bookish and unequivocally fat positive, The Make-Up Test embraces the truth that people can sometimes change and grow, even when you least expect it.
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!)
Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender
Author: Kit Heyam
Narrated by: Kit Heyam
Audio Publication Date: September 13, 2022
Genre: Nonfiction, History, LGBTQIA+, Transgender
Audiobook Length: 8 hours 2 minutes
Thanks so much to the author, Hachette Audio, and Libro.fm for the advanced audio copy of this book!
Description from Goodreads:
A groundbreaking global history of gender nonconformity
Today’s narratives about trans people tend to feature individuals with stable gender identities that fit neatly into the categories of male or female. Those stories, while important, fail to account for the complex realities of many trans people’s lives.
Before We Were Trans illuminates the stories of people across the globe, from antiquity to the present, whose experiences of gender have defied binary categories. Blending historical analysis with sharp cultural criticism, trans historian and activist Kit Heyam offers a new, radically inclusive trans history, chronicling expressions of trans experience that are often overlooked, like gender-nonconforming fashion and wartime stage performance. Before We Were Trans transports us from Renaissance Venice to seventeenth-century Angola, from Edo Japan to early America, and looks to the past to uncover new horizons for possible trans futures.
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!)
Marple: Twelve New mysteries
Authors: Agatha Christie, Naomi Alderman, Leigh Bardugo, Alyssa Cole, Lucy Foley, Elly Griffiths, Natalie Haynes, Jean Kwok, Val McDermid, Karen M. McManus, Dreda Say Mitchell, Kate Mosse and Ruth Ware
Narrated by: Alex Kingston, Adjoa Andoh, Miriam Margolyes, Celia Imrie, Chipo Chung, Adrian Scarborough, Imogen Stubbs, Alison Steadman, Jodhi May, Cathy Tyson and Ramon Tikaram
Audio Publication Date: September 13, 2022
Genre: Mystery, short Stories, Anthologies, Thriller, Crime
Audiobook Length: 11 hours 28 minutes
Thanks so much to the authors, HarperAudio, and Libro.fm for the advanced audio copy of this book!
Description from Goodreads:
A brand-new collection of short stories featuring the Queen of Mystery’s legendary detective Jane Marple, penned by twelve remarkable bestselling and acclaimed authors.
This collection of a dozen original short stories, all featuring Jane Marple, will introduce the character to a whole new generation. Each author reimagines Agatha Christie’s Marple through their own unique perspective while staying true to the hallmarks of a traditional mystery.
Naomi Alderman Leigh Bardugo Alyssa Cole Lucy Foley Elly Griffiths Natalie Haynes Jean Kwok Val McDermid Karen M. McManus Dreda Say Mitchell Kate Mosse Ruth Ware
Miss Marple was first introduced to readers in a story Agatha Christie wrote for The Royal Magazine in 1927 and made her first appearance in a full-length novel in 1930’s The Murder at the Vicarage. It has been 45 years since Agatha Christie’s last Marple novel, Sleeping Murder, was published posthumously in 1976, and this collection of ingenious new stories by twelve Christie devotees will be a timely reminder why Jane Marple remains the most famous fictional female detective of all time.
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!)
Always the First to Die
Author: R. J. Jacobs
Narrated by: Petrea Burchard
Audio Publication Date: September 13, 2022
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Adult
Audiobook Length: 8 hours 33 minutes
Thanks so much to the author, Dreamscape Audio, and Libro.fm for the advanced audio copy of this book!
Description from Goodreads:
For fans of Riley Sager with a classic slasher twist, Always the First to Die follows a former horror movie actress as she returns to the set of her most iconic film, only to find that the strange circumstances begin to resemble the plot of her most famous film.
After her husband’s death, Lexi has refused to return to the Pinecrest Estate on the Florida Keys, too many hard memories on that strip of land. Memories of meeting her husband on the set of an iconic horror movie. Of being cast as an extra, of watching herself get killed on screen. And of scoffing at the rumors of the Pinecrest Estate “curse,” until she witnessed a cast member die that very summer. But when her daughter sneaks away to visit her grandfather, legendary horror movie director Rick Plummer, Lexi is forced to face her past. That’s when a Category Four hurricane changes course, and hits the southern coast.
Unable to get through to her daughter, Lexi drives to the Keys in the wake of the storm. What she finds is an island without cell service, without power, and with limited police presence. A desolate bit of land, with only a few remaining behind: the horror director, the starlet once cast as the final girl, the young teenager searching for clues of her father, the mother determined to get off the island, and…the person picking them off one-by-one.
Soon enough Lexi’s life begins to resemble Rick’s most famous horror film, and she must risk her life to save her daughter before someone, or something, destroys them 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!)
Thanks so much to the author, HarperAudio, and Libro.fm for the advanced audio copy of this book!
Description from Goodreads:
A part-time reporter and club owner takes on crooked city councilmen, mysterious and deadly mobsters, and society’s deeply rooted sexism and racism, all while keeping her true identity and magical abilities hidden –inspired by an ancient Mexican folktale.
Yo soy quien soy.I am who I am.
Luna–or depending on who’s asking, Rose–is the white-passing daughter of an immigrant mother who has seen what happens to people from her culture. This world is prejudicial, and she must hide her identity in pursuit of owning an illegal jazz club. Using her cunning powers, Rose negotiates with dangerous criminals as she climbs up Kansas City’s bootlegging ladder. Luna, however, runs the risk of losing everything if the crooked city councilmen and ruthless mobsters discover her ties to an immigrant boxcar community that secretly houses witches. Last thing she wants is to put her entire family in danger.
But this bruja with ever-growing magical abilities can never resist a good fight. With her new identity, Rose, an unabashed flapper, defies societal expectations all the while struggling to keep her true self and witchcraft in check. However, the harder she tries to avoid scrutiny, the more her efforts eventually capture unwanted attention. Soon, she finds herself surrounded by greed and every brand of bigotry–from local gangsters who want a piece of the action and businessmen who hate her diverse staff to the Ku Klux Klan and Al Capone. Will her earth magic be enough to save her friends and family? As much as she hates to admit it, she may need to learn to have faith in others–and learning to trust may prove to be her biggest ambition yet.
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!)
Tackling TBR 