Bookish Travels—May 2023 Destinations

I saw this meme on It’s All About Books and thought, I like this!! So, I decided to do it once a month also. Many thanks to Yvonne for initially posting this!!

This post is what it says: Places I travel to in books each month. Books are lovely and take you to places you would never get to. That includes places of fantasy too!!

Bon Voyage!!

Please let me know if you have read these books or traveled to these areas.

The country I visited the most this month: United States

States I visited the most: New York, Maine, California

Cities I visited the most this month: New York City, London


Ancient Greece

Troy, Phthia, Scyros, Mount Pelion, Aulis (Island), Lemnos (Island), Tenedos

England

London, Manchester
London, Preston, Nantwich, Manchester, Avalon
London

Italy

Florence

United States

New York (New York City)
New York (New York City, Chinatown, West Village), Maine (Lincolnville, Megunticook Lake)
Oregon, New York City, Florida, California (Northern, Eastern, Mono Lake, Fortune, Southern), Maine
Florida (Fort Lauderdale, Siesta Key)
South City (Unknown State)
California (Studio City, North Hollywood, Catalina Island, Avalon)
Washington (Rockport)
Maine, Nebraska, New York (New York City, Central Park), New Jersey, Massachusetts (Cape Cod)
New York (New York City, Brooklyn), Mississippi (Hickory), Michigan (Alcona County)
North Carolina (Bradfordville), Aircroft (manor)
New York (Brooklyn, Queens)
Nevada (Las Vegas), Utah, Montana
Illinois (Chicago), Florida (Orlando), Nevada (Las Vegas)
Colorado (Humble Hills)
Maine (Clock Island, Portland), California (Redwood Valley), New York (Greenwich Village)
New York (Astoria)

Gallinor

Ivyhill (manor), Rosewarren (Priory), Mist (barrier), Ravenswood (estate), Far Sea, Fairhaven (the Citadel)

France

Paris, Marseille

South America


Cambodia

Takeo, Phnom Penh

Corsica

Bonifacio

Canada

British Columbia

Nigeria

Rosewater, Lagos, Esho, Maiduguri, Ilesha

Byern

Taken Mountains, Nic Decus Castle

Albion


Celuthia

Trylia (Firstport, King’s Port), Rogue’s Island

The Caribbean

St. Maarten, Costa Rica

Spain

Barcelona

Solera

Midgard, Eldria

Si’Empra Island

Si’Em City, Illiath, Lost City, Trebiath, The Deep, Beyond the Deep

Read Kingdom

Sparrow’s Settlement

Wales

WWW Wednesday: May 31st, 2023

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?


What I am currently reading:

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
Written for J.R.R. Tolkien’s own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when it was first published in 1937. Now recognized as a timeless classic, this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent. The text in this 372-page paperback edition is based on that first published in Great Britain by Collins Modern Classics (1998), and includes a note on the text by Douglas A. Anderson (2001).


What I recently finished reading:

Horror is Odessa “Opie” Powys’s truth.
One with muddied memories and haunted dreams.
Finding and putting the pieces of her shattered life together is impossible.
Hiding herself and her truth is the only option.

Until the force that is Deo Dahl notices her from across a crowded bar.

Not one to back down from a challenge, Deo pulls the seemingly shy Opie out of her comfort zone, arousing courage inside her to not only face her abhorrent demons, but to also hunt them down.

However, Deo has horrors of his own, evil he’s fought to conquer his whole life. Just as they begin to reveal their truths, Opie’s past returns, turning Deo’s nightmare into a reality he might not survive.


What I think I will read next:

“That place has been my whole life. Everything I thought I knew about myself was constructed in those few months I spent within touching distance of the sea. Everything I am is because Alistair loved me.”

Rachel has been in love with Alistair for fifteen years. Even though she’s now married to someone else. Even though she was a teenager when they met. Even though he is twenty years older than her.

Rachel and Alistair’s summer love affair on a remote, sun-trapped Greek island has consumed her since she was seventeen, obliterating everything in its wake. But as Rachel becomes increasingly obsessed with reliving the events of so long ago, she reconnects with the other girls who were similarly drawn to life on the island, where the nights were long, the alcohol was free-flowing and everyone acted in ways they never would at home. And as she does so, dark and deeply suppressed secrets about her first love affair begin to rise to the surface, as well as the truth about her time working for an enigmatic and wealthy man, who controlled so much more than she could have ever realized.

Joining a post #MeToo discourse, The Girls of Summer grapples with themes of power, sex, and consent, as it explores the complicated nature of memory and trauma––and what it takes to reframe, and reclaim, your own story.

Celine Bower woke the morning after her night with John feeling shock and awe, and a growing sense of isolation. She remembered the meticulous plans and instinctively knowing how to cover her tracks. There wasn’t even a spot of blood on her boots when she took them off at the end of the night. Celine knew John couldn’t see what was happening behind him as she methodically prepared to alter his wretched existence forever.

Could it really be Celine looking back into her eyes, or was it someone else that took control of her body and her thoughts?

The Celine Bower Story, Chronicle One, is one woman’s epic journey from a kind and loving veterinarian and assault survivor, to a cunning and dangerous vigilante who will not be satisfied with just taking back the night, she’s taking it all back.

Run and save your life…or stay and fight for what’s yours

Isolated at her family’s wildlife refuge in northern Georgia, 18-year-old Raven longs to escape. Instead, she spends her days shoveling manure for bears, wolves, and a tiger. Until her father contracts the Hydra virus, a bioterrorist-engineered pandemic devastating the country.

Suddenly, she’s stuck caring for the refuge on her own. There’s not enough food. And the generator powering the electrified fences is running out of fuel.

When she journeys into town to get medicine for her father, she discovers the outside world is collapsing into chaos. There’s no police, no law, no hospitals. No one coming to help.

But the threat is just beginning. A dangerous gang of human predators follows Raven back to the refuge. And they want what she has.

She can run. Or she can stay and defend her home and the animals within it, risking everything—including her life.

A stand-alone companion novel to The Last Sanctuary Series.

“Remember that actions have consequences, boy.”

The Calamity changed the world forever. Gods created by the six battled for control of the World. The creators decided there had been enough fighting and death. They chose to end the war by exterminating all the god’s offspring that fought for power. With the gods now banished from the world, the mortal race was left to fend for themselves.

Centuries later, Weaver Rizer is born in the capital city of Ellipsis. Due to his father’s unexpected death, Weaver and his mother are left to run a brothel in his place. Under the same mysterious circumstances, his Mother dies some years later. But instead of closure, he only received more questions. On her deathbed, she gifts him a creator’s stone without truly knowing its purpose. The only downside, it is now embedded into his skin.

With the new stone and his best friend’s sudden resignation, Weaver begins to lose his grasp on life. When Weaver challenges the wrong man, it causes the destruction of everything he once knew. Creating a new future with unknown possibilities of death and love. It all leads Weaver to the knowledge that he is meant to deliver the stone to another. He must travel across Ellipsis, towards a rebellion that might hold the person he searches for. All to keep a vengeful god from waking.

But with every step closer to the end of Weaver’s task. The god of Ellipsis tells Weaver It will be another step towards his own death.

***The book is meant for Young Adult 15+. It has sexual themes, graphic violence, and lite swearing. ***

Be careful what you wish for. You might just get Dax Pierce…

The life of a small town girl is not my thing. I’ve waited twenty-six years to run from it.

My chance at freedom comes when my Hollywood crush, Dax Pierce, comes to Mistport, Maine.

The moment his burning amber eyes land on my face… and my ass, I shiver with longing.

When he lures me to Hollywood with the promise of stardom, I don’t hesitate. I walk away from my boring life and into the limelight.

Now everyone knows me as Emma Stanton, an up-and-coming Hollywood star. But I’m more than that. I’m Dax Pierce’s fiancée. The hot actor on the movie screen was mine all along and I didn’t even know it.

Now I have it all. Or do I?

To the world, I’m living a Hollywood fairytale. I used to think so too, but I’m not so sure anymore. There’s a dark side to Hollywood and its name is Dax Pierce.

No one told me that wearing his ring on my finger comes with a heavy price. A price I can’t afford to pay. A price I can’t afford NOT to pay.

What’s my name again? I can’t remember because I’m losing myself inside his web.

*This book contains dark themes that could trigger emotional distress in readers.*

As if being a woman sheriff in the West Virginia coal fields wasn’t tough enough, Mary Beth Cain’s life is complicated by the fact that the local hillbilly crime syndicate is run by her mother, Mamie. It’s an association that, along with Mary Beth’s head-busting ways, has her staring down a corruption investigation when she gets a surprise visit from Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Connelly.

Twenty years earlier, Patrick was Mary Beth’s high school sweetheart, but they broke up because Mary Beth couldn’t cut the loose ties she maintains with her villainous family. Now Patrick’s worked out a deal to wipe Mary Beth’s slate clean if she’ll just arrest her brother, Sawyer, who is the cult leader of a booming anti-government militia that’s been giving the Feds headaches. It’s an offer Mary Beth refuses until Sawyer’s followers blow up a federal courthouse and G-men start swarming into town, preparing for a siege of the commando’s compound.

Suddenly Mary Beth is tasked with trying to head off a bloody, Waco-style massacre and the question isn’t whether she should arrest her brother, but if she can do it in time.

All of us knew him. One of us killed him…

Seven women stand in shock in a seedy hotel room; a man’s severed head sits in the centre of the floor. Each of the women – the wife, the teenager, the ex, the journalist, the colleague, the friend, and the woman who raised him – has a very good reason to have done it, yet each swears she did not. In order to protect each other, they must figure out who is responsible, all while staying one step ahead of the police.

Against the ticking clock of a murder investigation, each woman’s secret is brought to light as the connections between them converge to reveal a killer.

A dark and nuanced portrait of love, loyalty, and manipulation, Speak of the Devil explores the roles in which women are cast in the lives of terrible men…and the fallout when they refuse to stay silent for one moment longer.

Sarah Stewart Taylor is known for her atmospheric portrayal of an American detective in Ireland, and her critically acclaimed series returns with A Stolen Child.

After months of training, former Long Island homicide detective Maggie D’arcy is now officially a Garda. She’s finally settling into life in Ireland and so is her teenage daughter, Lilly. Maggie may not be a detective yet, but she’s happy with her community policing assignment in Dublin’s Portobello neighborhood.

When she and her partner find former model and reality tv star Jade Elliot murdered—days after responding to a possible domestic violence disturbance at her apartment—they also discover Jade’s toddler daughter missing. Shorthanded thanks to an investigation into a gangland murder in the neighborhood, Maggie’s friend, Detective Inspector Roly Byrne, brings her onto his team to help find the missing child. But when a key discovery is made, the case only becomes more confusing—and more dangerous. Amidst a nationwide manhunt, Maggie and her colleagues must look deep into Jade’s life—both personal and professional—to find a ruthless killer.

May 2023 Wrap Up

Here is what I read/posted/bought in May.

As always, let me know if you have read any of these books and (if you did) what you thought of them.


Books I Read:

Free Kindle Purchase
KU Purchase
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam
ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca
ARC from St. Martin’s Press
ARC from St. Martin’s Press
Free Kindle Purchase
KU Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Kindle Purchase
ARC from St. Martin’s Press and St. Martin’s Griffin
Kindle Purchase
Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
KU Purchase
Kindle Purchase
Non-ARC from author
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
ARC from Author
ARC from Crooked Lane Books
ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca
KU Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
ARC from Crooked Lane Books
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
ARC from Shivnath Productions, IBPA, and Member’s Titles
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Non-ARC from author
Free Kindle Purchase
KU Purchase

Books I got from NetGalley:

Invite from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Invite from Random House Publishing Group – Random House, Random House
Wish granted by Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey
Invite from St. Martin’s Press
Selection from Minotaur Influencer Program
Wished granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Delacorte Press
Read Now from St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books
Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Invite from St. Martin’s Press Influencer Program
Invite from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Wish granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey

Books I got from Authors/Indie Publishers:

ARC from Novel Cause
ARC from author
Non-ARC from author
Non-ARC from Author
Non-ARC from author

Giveaway Winners

Goodreads Giveaway: Paperback
Goodreads Giveaway: Kindle
Goodreads Giveaway: Kindle

Books Reviewed:

Dearly Beloved Departed by Nancy Lynn Jarvis—Review here

S.O.P.H.I.E. by C.J. Noble—Review here

How the Murder Crumbles by Debra Sennefelder—Review coming June 20th

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin—Review here

Lucky Girl by Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu—Review here

The Last Word by Katy Birchall—Review here

The Comeback by Lily Chu—Review here

A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand—Review coming June 13th

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer—Review here

No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister—Review here

The Impossible Proof of Knowing Nothing by Maria Karvouni Truth—Review Here

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts by Kristyn J. Miller—Review Here

Brainstorm by Nissa Harlow—Review Here

Reality Is Just A P0ss1ble Fantasy by Maria Karvouni Truth—Review Here

You Are Always Innocent by Maria Karvouni Truth—Review Here

Desiree’s Revenge by K.C. Carson—Review Here

Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee—Review Here

Her Latent Charm by Dana C. Brentson—Review coming June 1st

A Cryptic Clue by Victoria Gilbert—Review coming July 11th

The Book Proposal by KJ Micciche—-Review Here

Take the Honey and Run by Jennie Marts—Review coming July 18th


The StoryGraph Reading Challenges:

April

2023 ABC Challenge (D)—Descendants

2023 TBR Prompts (A BookTok Fave)—The Song of Achilles

May

Buzzword Reading Challenge 2023 (Flavour-related words: Must have flavour/herb/spice related words in the title: salter, pepper, dill, ginger, mango, vanilla, lemon…etc)—The Saltwater Marathon

2023 Monthly Themes (Mystery May)—Mermaid Cliff

2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge (with a word such as rabbit, bunny, hare to honor Chinese Year of the Rabbit. Title should include at least one of those words)—Killer Rabbits

Cover Scavenger Hunt 2023 (A Leaf)—The Affiliate

The StoryGraph’s Onboarding Reading Challenge 2023 (Read a book in your least read format or genre)—Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge (Go to page 34, line 6 of the book you just read. How many words are there in that line? Divide that number by 3. That’s the amount of words the title of your next book should be): Modern Girl’s Guide to Vacation Flings by Gina Drayer

Beat the Backlist 2023 (meant to read it last year): Prepared by Courtney Konstantin

The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge 2023 (A children’s book you never read as a kid): Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2023 (A book with a mythical creature): Hereditary by Jane Washington

2023 TBR Toppler (The last book in a series): Ten Thousand Truths by Kelli Washington


Books I bought*:

*Normally, there won’t be a lot of books on here. But I am going through my Goodreads shelves and downloading any free books I am coming across from books already shelved (as well as adding books that are in the same series). This is an ongoing project, and I should be done by September (yes, I have that many books).

Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Amazon Prime Read
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase

WWW Wednesday: May 24th, 2023

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?


What I am currently reading:

“INKHEART meets INCEPTION in this allegorical masterpiece.”

Fantasy author Kyla knows dreams don’t come true. Isolated and grappling with debilitating depression, she copes by writing about the realm of Solera. Fearless heroes, feisty shapeshifters, and mighty dragons come alive on her pages. She adores her characters, but she doesn’t believe in happy endings. And if she can’t have one, why should they?

Kyla’s on the verge of giving up on everything when she wakes one morning, magically trapped in her fictional world. Now she’s with her most cherished characters: the friends she’s always yearned for, the family she’s never known. There’s even someone who might be Prince Charming (if Kyla could get her act together and manage some honest communication). She’d surrender to the halcyon fantasy, except she knows a nightmarish ending awaits. Solera is at war, and its defenders are losing against the insidious villain spawned in the depths of Kyla’s mind. He feeds on the energy of dreams, seeks the destruction of all who oppose him—and Kyla’s become his number one target.

Kyla must trade her pen for a sword and fight to change her story’s ending, but this isn’t a fantasy anymore. No happily-ever-after is guaranteed. And mental illness has robbed her of everything she needs to succeed: love, fighting spirit, hope. If Kyla can’t overcome the darkness inside her, she’ll die with her darlings.

CONTENT WARNINGS:
Depictions of mental illness including depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and self-harm


What I recently finished reading:

Years ago, a reclusive mega-bestselling children’s author quit writing under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly he resurfaces with a brand-new book and a one-of-a-kind competition, offering a prize that will change the winner’s life in this absorbing and whimsical novel.

Make a wish. . . .

Lucy Hart knows better than anyone what it’s like to grow up without parents who loved her. In a childhood marked by neglect and loneliness, Lucy found her solace in books, namely the Clock Island series by Jack Masterson. Now a twenty-six-year-old teacher’s aide, she is able to share her love of reading with bright, young students, especially seven-year-old Christopher Lamb, who was left orphaned after the tragic death of his parents. Lucy would give anything to adopt Christopher, but even the idea of becoming a family seems like an impossible dream without proper funds and stability.

But be careful what you wish for. . . .

Just when Lucy is about to give up, Jack Masterson announces he’s finally written a new book. Even better, he’s holding a contest at his home on the real Clock Island, and Lucy is one of the four lucky contestants chosen to compete to win the one and only copy.

For Lucy, the chance of winning the most sought-after book in the world means everything to her and Christopher. But first she must contend with ruthless book collectors, wily opponents, and the distractingly handsome (and grumpy) Hugo Reese, the illustrator of the Clock Island books. Meanwhile, Jack “the Mastermind” Masterson is plotting the ultimate twist ending that could change all their lives forever.

. . . You might just get it.


What I think I will read next:

A relatable and nerve-wracking, sympathetic and bone-chilling story — a fresh new twist on motherhood and murder in suburbia.

Isolated. Lonely. Tired. It’s hard being The New Mother. Sometimes it’s murder.

Nothing is simple about being a new mom alone in a new house, especially when your baby is collicky. Natalie Fanning loves her son unconditionally, but being a mother was not all she wanted to be.

Enter Paul, the neighbor.

Paul provides the lifeline she needs in what feels like the most desperate of times. When Paul is helping with Oliver, calmed by his reassuring, steady presence, Nat feels like she can finally rest.

But Paul wants something in return. It’s no coincidence that he has befriended Nat—she is the perfect pawn for his own plan. Will Nat wake up in time to see it?

The cold, stark but beautiful Si’Empra island is dying … Ellen doesn’t think she can help but others believe she’s their only hope.

Ellen’s trained to be the next ruler but her brother’s taken the throne. He’s fiercely determined to possess her body and soul … and she’s horrified. She runs away, aiming to lead a peaceful life far from the clutches of power. But the people or Si’Empra are struggling to survive, their unique societies pitched against one another. Cryptals are key to the land’s survival and subtly nudge Ellen towards healing Si’Empra’s wounds. Duty runs deep in Ellen’s veins. The question is whether reluctance or duty will triumph. In this first book of the Si’Empra series, Ellen tinkers at the margins with challenge, gaining unexpected allies and dangerous enemies.

Get your copy of Skyseeker’s Princess today and dive into the extraordinary world of Si’Empra.

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
Written for J.R.R. Tolkien’s own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when it was first published in 1937. Now recognized as a timeless classic, this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent. The text in this 372-page paperback edition is based on that first published in Great Britain by Collins Modern Classics (1998), and includes a note on the text by Douglas A. Anderson (2001).

“What is the most powerful force in the world?”

Beatrice Harrow was raised in seclusion, separated from the Read Kingdom and protected from the mysterious mechanisms of the other four races, but they are not as blind to her as she is to them. Even before she steps foot inside the Academy, they know her name and they know the truth about her birth. She is one of the Tainted: a mixed-breed creature with the blood of a monster, clinging to legitimacy by the genes of her human father. She is more beautiful, more powerful, and more despised than any other being in the Read Kingdom.
Her life was never going to be easy, but when fate throws her together with Cale, the troublemaking son of her father’s sworn enemy, and Hazen, the intimidating crown prince of the Read Kingdom, she quickly discovers that her problems haven’t even begun.

In a world built on status, there are lines that can never be crossed.

In a time of peace, it is inevitable that war will whisper on the wind once again.

In a land of mixed blood, a Tainted Creature can either be killed … or they can be recruited.

Horror is Odessa “Opie” Powys’s truth.
One with muddied memories and haunted dreams.
Finding and putting the pieces of her shattered life together is impossible.
Hiding herself and her truth is the only option.

Until the force that is Deo Dahl notices her from across a crowded bar.

Not one to back down from a challenge, Deo pulls the seemingly shy Opie out of her comfort zone, arousing courage inside her to not only face her abhorrent demons, but to also hunt them down.

However, Deo has horrors of his own, evil he’s fought to conquer his whole life. Just as they begin to reveal their truths, Opie’s past returns, turning Deo’s nightmare into a reality he might not survive.

Food critic Hayley Snow and her pal Miss Gloria are overjoyed to welcome Violet and Bettina Booth, aka the Scottish Scone Sisters, to Key West. The sisters will host The UK Bakes!–Key West Edition. But the same day they arrive, the bed and breakfast the sisters are staying in gets torched.

The contest begins the next morning featuring three local bakers. One is the inn owner’s wife, Rayna, who is not only the most talented chef of the group, but now a person of interest in the fire. The next night, a dogwalker discovers a body near the bed and breakfast. The victim appears to be Rayna’s husband and the murder weapon points directly to the Scottish Scone sisters.

But the show must go on. In between filming sessions, the three elderly ladies and Hayley must search for clues to the brutal murder in order to find out who wants to force them out of the kitchen. But as they draw closer to the answer, the threats from a murderer grow closer too. Are they now in danger of getting baked off?

This powerful and moving novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea weaves together past and present, tracing the ripple effects of war and immigration on one child in Europe in 1938 and another in the United States in 2019.

Vienna, 1938. Samuel Adler was six years old when his father disappeared during Kristallnacht—the night their family lost everything. Samuel’s mother secured a spot for him on the last Kindertransport train out of Nazi-occupied Austria to the United Kingdom, which he boarded alone, carrying nothing but a change of clothes and his violin.

Arizona, 2019. Eight decades later, Anita Diaz, a blind seven-year-old girl, and her mother board another train, fleeing looming danger in El Salvador and seeking refuge in the United States. However, their arrival coincides with the new family separation policy, and Anita finds herself alone at a camp in Nogales. She escapes through her trips to Azabahar, a magical world of the imagination she created with her sister back home.

Anita’s case is assigned to Selena Duran, a young social worker who enlists the help of a promising lawyer from one of San Francisco’s top law firms. Together they discover that Anita has another family member in the United States: Leticia Cordero, who is employed at the home of now eighty-six-year-old Samuel Adler, linking these two lives.

Spanning time and place, The Wind Knows My Name is both a testament to the sacrifices that parents make and a love letter to the children who survive the most unfathomable dangers—and never stop dreaming.

A new thriller about one man’s ice-cold malice, and one woman’s fight to reclaim her life.

Former Army brat Morgan Albright has finally planted roots in a friendly neighborhood near Baltimore. Her friend and roommate Nina helps her make the mortgage payments, as does Morgan’s job as a bartender. But after she and Nina host their first dinner party—attended by Luke, the flirtatious IT guy who’d been chatting her up at the bar—her carefully built world is shattered. The back door glass is broken, cash and jewelry are missing, her car is gone, and Nina lies dead on the floor.

Soon, a horrific truth emerges: It was Morgan who let the monster in. “Luke” is actually a cold-hearted con artist named Gavin who targets a particular type of woman, steals her assets and identity, and then commits his ultimate goal: murder.

What the FBI tells Morgan is beyond chilling. Nina wasn’t his type. Morgan is. Nina was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And Morgan’s nightmare is just beginning. Soon she has no choice but to flee to her mother’s home in Vermont. While she struggles to build something new, she meets another man, Miles Jameson. He isn’t flashy or flirtatious, and his family business has deep roots in town. But Gavin is still out there hunting new victims, and he hasn’t forgotten the one who got away.

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? —May 22nd 2023

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kid-lit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle-grade novels, young adult novels, or anything in those genres – join them.


What I am Reading Now:

The town is all abuzz when a murder occurs in Jennie Marts’ debut cozy mystery, perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Amanda Flower.

As a successful mystery author, Bailey Briggs writes about murder, but nothing prepares her for actually discovering the dead body of the founder of her hometown of Humble Hills, Colorado. Bailey grew up at Honeybuzz Mountain Ranch and was raised by her beekeeping grandmother, Blossom Briggs, aka Granny Bee, and her two eccentric sisters, Aster and Marigold—which is why she drops everything to come home and help Granny Bee after a bad fall.

A broken foot doesn’t stop her grandmother from ruling The Hive, her granny’s book club, or continuing to prepare and package her bee-inspired products. But when Bailey’s grandmother’s infamous “Honey I’m Home” hot spiced honey turns out to “bee” the murder weapon and her granny is now the prime suspect, Bailey has no choice but to use her fictional detective skills to help solve the murder and ‘smoke-out’ the real culprit.

With the help of Bailey’s witty bestie, a pair of meddling aunts, the feisty members of The Hive, and her computer-savvy daughter, this amateur sleuth is determined to solve the case. A malicious attack and an ominous threat reveal that someone wants Bailey to butt out of the investigation, but there’s no way she’s backing down. She must use her skills to uncover the truth and catch the clever culprit before her grandmother ends up bee-hind bars.


Books I plan on reading later this week:

A relatable and nerve-wracking, sympathetic and bone-chilling story — a fresh new twist on motherhood and murder in suburbia.

Isolated. Lonely. Tired. It’s hard being The New Mother. Sometimes it’s murder.

Nothing is simple about being a new mom alone in a new house, especially when your baby is collicky. Natalie Fanning loves her son unconditionally, but being a mother was not all she wanted to be.

Enter Paul, the neighbor.

Paul provides the lifeline she needs in what feels like the most desperate of times. When Paul is helping with Oliver, calmed by his reassuring, steady presence, Nat feels like she can finally rest.

But Paul wants something in return. It’s no coincidence that he has befriended Nat—she is the perfect pawn for his own plan. Will Nat wake up in time to see it?

The cold, stark but beautiful Si’Empra island is dying … Ellen doesn’t think she can help but others believe she’s their only hope.

Ellen’s trained to be the next ruler but her brother’s taken the throne. He’s fiercely determined to possess her body and soul … and she’s horrified. She runs away, aiming to lead a peaceful life far from the clutches of power. But the people or Si’Empra are struggling to survive, their unique societies pitched against one another. Cryptals are key to the land’s survival and subtly nudge Ellen towards healing Si’Empra’s wounds. Duty runs deep in Ellen’s veins. The question is whether reluctance or duty will triumph. In this first book of the Si’Empra series, Ellen tinkers at the margins with challenge, gaining unexpected allies and dangerous enemies.

Get your copy of Skyseeker’s Princess today and dive into the extraordinary world of Si’Empra.

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
Written for J.R.R. Tolkien’s own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when it was first published in 1937. Now recognized as a timeless classic, this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent. The text in this 372-page paperback edition is based on that first published in Great Britain by Collins Modern Classics (1998), and includes a note on the text by Douglas A. Anderson (2001).

“What is the most powerful force in the world?”

Beatrice Harrow was raised in seclusion, separated from the Read Kingdom and protected from the mysterious mechanisms of the other four races, but they are not as blind to her as she is to them. Even before she steps foot inside the Academy, they know her name and they know the truth about her birth. She is one of the Tainted: a mixed-breed creature with the blood of a monster, clinging to legitimacy by the genes of her human father. She is more beautiful, more powerful, and more despised than any other being in the Read Kingdom.
Her life was never going to be easy, but when fate throws her together with Cale, the troublemaking son of her father’s sworn enemy, and Hazen, the intimidating crown prince of the Read Kingdom, she quickly discovers that her problems haven’t even begun.

In a world built on status, there are lines that can never be crossed.

In a time of peace, it is inevitable that war will whisper on the wind once again.

In a land of mixed blood, a Tainted Creature can either be killed … or they can be recruited.

Horror is Odessa “Opie” Powys’s truth.
One with muddied memories and haunted dreams.
Finding and putting the pieces of her shattered life together is impossible.
Hiding herself and her truth is the only option.

Until the force that is Deo Dahl notices her from across a crowded bar.

Not one to back down from a challenge, Deo pulls the seemingly shy Opie out of her comfort zone, arousing courage inside her to not only face her abhorrent demons, but to also hunt them down.

However, Deo has horrors of his own, evil he’s fought to conquer his whole life. Just as they begin to reveal their truths, Opie’s past returns, turning Deo’s nightmare into a reality he might not survive.

Bookish Travels—April 2023 Destinations

I saw this meme on It’s All About Books and thought, I like this!! So, I decided to do it once a month also. Many thanks to Yvonne for initially posting this!!

This post is what it says: Places I travel to in books each month. Books are lovely and take you to places you would never get to. That includes places of fantasy too!!

Bon Voyage!!

Please let me know if you have read these books or traveled to these areas.


Earth 2

Government, Settlement

United States

New York (Crescent Cove), Nevada (Las Vegas)
Maryland (Pikesville)
California (Los Angeles)
Washington (Seattle)
New York (Seneca Springs)
Colorado (Longmont)
Kansas (Liverly)
Indiana (English), California (San Fransisco), Virginia (Perryville), Arizona (Tombstone), New York (New York City)
North Carolina (Neapolis)
New York (Manhattan), California (Newport Beach, Balboa Island, Newport, Menlo Park, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Goleta)
Louisiana (Unknown city), Rhode Island (Emerald Bay)
Unknown State (Unknown City)
New York (New York City, New Rochelle)
Wyoming (Wallace), Iowa (Fort Madison)
West Virginia (Huntington), Ohio (Crown City)
Pennsylvania
California (Mojave Desert, Aspen Flats, Pasatiempo, Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Aptos, Pajaro Dunes)
Southern California, Arizona
Colorado (Denver, Arvada)
Illinois (Chicago, Downers Grove)
Connecticut (Wingate)
New York (New York City, Brooklyn)

Western Foalinaarc

University of Western Foalinaarc

England

Unknown City
Regency London, Kingsclere, Amesbury, Bath
Oxford
Richmond-on-Thames, London, Birmingham, Guildford, Penzance
Oxford
Colchester, London

Hell


Train

Pan Pacifica

The Czech Republic

Prague

Italy

Florence, Rome, Tuscany

France

Paris

Post Apocalyptic Earth

ARC (fall-out shelter), Hope City

Ukraine


The Netherlands

Amsterdam

Canada

Toronto, Niagara Falls

South Korea

Seoul

Malta


Island States

Prospera, Annex, Nursery Isle

Kenya

Nairobi

April 2023 Wrap Up

Here is what I read/posted in April.

As always, let me know if you have read any of these books and (if you did) what you thought of them.


Books I Read:

ARC from author
KU Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Non-ARC from Novel Cause
Non-ARC from Novel Cause
ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca
ARC from author, Level Best Books, IBPA, Member’s Titles
Free Kindle Purchase—No review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Non-ARC from author
KU Purchase—No Review
Free Amazon Prime Reads—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books
ARC from St. Martin’s Press
Non-ARC from Author
Non-ARC from Author
KU Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Paperbacks
ARC from Sourcebooks Fire
Non ARC from author
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Kindle Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
ARC from author
ARC from Crooked Lane Books
ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Random House, Dial Press Trade Paperback

Books I got from NetGalley:

Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Wish granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam
Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam
Read Now from Tor Publishing Group, Tor Books
Wish Granted from Sourcebooks Casablanca
Wished Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Delacorte Press
Invite from Random House Publishing Group – Random House, Random House Trade Paperbacks
SMP Influencer Program pick from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Random House, The Dial Group
Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
Request from Meryl Media Group, Rosewind Books

Books I got from Authors/Indie Publishers:

Non-Arc from author
ARC from Novel Cause
ARC from author
Non ARC from author
Non-ARC from author
Non-ARC from author
ARC from Author

Giveaway Winners

Goodreads Giveaway—Kindle download
Goodreads Giveaway—Paperback
Goodreads Giveaway—Paperback
Goodreads Giveaway—Paperback

Books Reviewed:

The Witch and the Vampire—review here

Prince of Typgar: Nurjan and the Monks of Meirar—review here

Read to Death at the Lakeside Library—review here

Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose—review here

Body Count by SM Thomas—review here

Prince of Typgar: Nujran and the Corpse in the Quadrangle by Krishna Sudhir—review here

Wings Once Cursed and Bound by Piper J. Drake—review here

No Time to Breathe by Lori Duffy Foster—review here

Another Chance at Happiness by Dani Phoenix—review here

Tales from the Box, Volume 1 by Weston Kincaide—review here

Pieces of Me by Kate McLaughlin—review here

Where Coyotes Howl by Sandra Dallas—review here

Bait by D.I. Jolly—review here

Missing by Amy Kulp—review here

How to Best a Marquess—review here

This Delicious Death—review here


Reading Challenges:

2023 Monthly Themes (Continue a series or reread an author already read this year): Claim My Baby—Finished 3-31-23

Romanceopoly 2023! (Read a book where the main character works at or owns a bar)-About LoveFinished 4-1-23

Buzzword Reading Challenge 2023 (words in the title related to emotions, from happy to sad, smile to frown, pride to rage)—P.S. I Hate You—Finished 4-3-23

2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge (a book with one of these words in the title: Sunny, Bright, Cloud or Rain): Brightest Shadow—Finished 4-6-2023

Cover Scavenger Hunt 2023 (a flower): A Spirited Manor—Finished 4-7-2023

The StoryGraph’s OnBoarding Reading Challenge 2023 (read one of the first 10 books you added to your to-read pile): The Night Swim—Finished 4-8-2023

The StoryGraph Reads the World 2023 (Italy): Find Me—Finished 4-10-2023

The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge (a biography about someone you don’t know much about): Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot—Finished 4-11-2023

Beat the Backlist 2023 (take place primarily in winter or a cold region): Tainted—Finished 4-19-2023

Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge (go to the acknowledgments of the last book you read for this prompt. What name did you first see? Find a book written by an author with that name): Frost Burn—Finished 4-20-2023

Scavenger Hunt (Book I found that day): Delicate Ink—Finished 4-20-2023

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2023 (a book by a first time author): The Fifth Floor—Finished 4-21-23

2023 TBR Toppler (continue a series): Ten Thousand Lies—Finished 4-22-23

2023 Reading Challenge (book that has been on my TBR for the longest time): Purple Death—Finished 4-23-23

2023 ABC Challenge (D): Descendants—Carrying over to May

2023 TBR Prompts (A BookTok Favorite): The Song of Achilles—Carrying over to May

WWW Wednesday: April 19th, 2023

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?


What I Recently Finished Reading:

Four best friends, one music festival, and a cooler filled with human organs: this summer is about to get gory. ​​​

Jennifer’s Body fans will clamor for this new sapphic horror standalone from New York Times bestselling author Kayla Cottingham.

Three years ago, the melting of arctic permafrost released a pathogen of unknown origin into the atmosphere, causing a small percentage of people to undergo a transformation that became known as the Hollowing. Those impacted slowly became intolerant to normal food and were only able to gain sustenance by consuming the flesh of other human beings. Those who went without flesh quickly became feral, turning on their friends and family. However, scientists were able to create a synthetic version of human meat that would satisfy the hunger of those impacted by the Hollowing. As a result, humanity slowly began to return to normal, albeit with lasting fear and distrust for the people they’d pejoratively dubbed ghouls.

Zoey, Celeste, Valeria, and Jasmine are all ghouls living in Southern California. As a last hurrah before their graduation they decided to attend a musical festival in the desert. They have a cooler filled with hard seltzers and SynFlesh and are ready to party.

But on the first night of the festival Val goes feral, and ends up killing and eating a boy. As other festival guests start disappearing around them the girls soon discover someone is drugging ghouls and making them feral. And if they can’t figure out how to stop it, and soon, no one at the festival is safe.


What I am currently reading:

The ARC: the world’s last chance for survival, but this underground fallout shelter is the last place you want to be.

At the tender age of two Elle Winters lost everything, when the day of impact transformed Earth’s surface into an icy, desolate wasteland. Fifteen years later, all she has ever known are the cold, artificial confines of underground fallout shelter, the ARC. Under the Council’s rule, ruthless officials roam the hallways and community comes first. Everyone lives in fear of failing their annual testing and those that do are deemed tainted—taken away without any warning or a word of goodbye.

No one has been taken in over six months and the remaining citizens of the ARC have slowly begun to forget the danger. Elle remains wary, but even she is beginning to wonder if it’s finally safe to succumb to her feelings towards her closest friend, Sebastian.

But, no one is ever truly safe in the ARC. Elle is about to experience her own personal apocalypse and with nothing left to lose, she will finally attempt to uncover the truth about the tainted.

Will she find what she’s looking for or are some secrets better left buried deep underground?


What books I think I’ll read next:

Unfortunately, her small bit of solace is shattered when a group of vampires walk into her work and turn her world upside down. He knows he shouldn’t get involved with the prickly woman as her mysterious past, and the countless vampires hunting her only spell trouble, but he finds it impossible to stay away. However, it doesn’t take him long to realize the vampires pursuing her are only a small part of a growing evil. ***The Fire and Ice series is a spinoff of The Kindred Series, but you do not have to read The Kindred Series to enjoy this one. The maturity level of this series will grow with each book and is recommended for readers 17+***

Confirmed bachelor Austin Montgomery is ready to settle down. The eldest of eight Montgomerys, he’s the big, bearded and broody one, yet one look at the new owner of the boutique across the street, he knows exactly what he wants. Her.

Finding a man is the last thing on Sierra Elder’s mind. Wanting to cover up scars that run deeper than her flesh, she finds in Austin a man that truly gets to her—in more ways than one.

Although wary, they embark on a slow, tempestuous burn of a relationship. When blasts from both their pasts intrude on their present, however, it will take more than a promise of what could be to keep them together.

One secret. A decade of silence.

Seven-year-old Anna loves the constant commotion of her big family. Most of all, Anna adores her ten-year-old sister Liz. They build forts, climb trees, and stick together, no matter what. One moment the two girls are dangling from their backyard swing set; the next, everything changes…

Anna will never be the same.

After 10 years of heartache and grief, seventeen-year-old Anna’s life is becoming increasingly difficult. She would like nothing more than to forget her past, but memories of her childhood are burned into her soul. Can she hide the unspeakable truth from years ago? Find out now in Julie Oleszek’s debut novel, The Fifth Floor.

“We were the nightmares of nightmares…”

On the surface, Ricki Conklin is just an average bloke, a brilliant tattooist with his own shop.
Below the surface, he’s a vigilante revenge-seeker, atoning for a past he fears will never set him free.

Jaime is his everything, his foul-mouthed Dollface.
Covered in ink from collarbone to feet, she’s a wild child after his heart.
Set adrift, losing faith in herself and humanity, she’s broken down not by abuse, but by neglect. For years, she exists only so she can finally come home.

A series of shocking and particularly gruesome murders leads Detective Inspector Sean Connor and his team into a labyrinthine investigation, in which all roads lead towards a thirty-year-old unsolved murder.

The victims, all unconnected to each other, are dispatched using a unique poison, previously associated with the notorious Borgia family. As the murders begin to multiply at an alarming rate, Connor finds clues hard to come by, and every lead takes him down yet another blind alley. The killer seems to be one step ahead of the police at every turn.

Together with his assistant, Sergeant Lucy Clay, they must piece together the shreds of evidence that will lead them to the mysterious Chocolate Woman, and in turn to the brain behind the horrific murders that soon come to be known as the Purple Death.

There are lots of stories about the children of gods. But what about those cursed by the gods, and their descendants…

El, a seventeen-year-old has inherited an ancient and deadly power. She loses control of it, causing a horrific accident, and becomes the prey of a secret organisation, known as the Order.

Forced from her family and home, she hides in plain sight amidst the crowds of London, and is thrust into a world she never knew existed; one full of arete: beings with extraordinary powers like hers.

Arete are beings that can trace their lineage and powers from ancient Greece. They do not claim their inheritance comes from the gods, rather legend says they are descended from cursed beings, such as Medusa.

At the heart of their world is the kerykeion, the symbol that protects them from the humans and the humans from them. El is trapped between two factions, one that has built an empire around the kerykeion and another that is determined to bring it down.

As she is drawn deeper into the conflict, the only way to find the truth is to take matters into her own hands, and the line between friend and foe becomes dangerously blurred.

Descendants is the first book in the Young Adult, Urban Fantasy trilogy: The Arete Series.

Achilles, “the best of all the Greeks,” son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods’ wrath.

They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.

Oxford, England, September 2023. A world not quite our own…

Fifteen-year-old Tim Alto has one thing on his mind, and one thing only. Not to make a complete fool of himself in front of his crush at the end of summer party (which isn’t easy when your overly tight jeans are making you walk like a penguin). But, in a city where androids are part of everyday life, anything can happen. A stolen wallet ruins Tim’s evening, and things go from bad to worse when the perpetrator shows up at school the next day.

Tim suddenly finds himself thrust onto a path filled with assault, grief, tests of friendship and unexpected romance.

A path that will lead Tim to question what it really means to be human.

Debra Sennefelder whips up cookies and crime in a delicious new cozy series, perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke and Peg Cochran.

Wingate, Connecticut, is famed as one of the top ten shopping destinations in the state, and home to Mallory Monroe’s beloved Cookie Shop—a place where patrons are greeted with the heavenly aroma of freshly baked cookies that are as beautifully decorated as they are insanely delicious.

But things aren’t going so smoothly for Mallory. Her two employees are a disaster in the kitchen, she catches her boyfriend with another woman, and she’s seen having a fierce argument with food blogger Beatrice Wright, who accuses Mallory of stealing her cookie recipe. Then Beatrice turns up dead in her kitchen, flour outlining her body and a bloodied marble rolling pin nearby. Mallory immediately becomes suspect number one, her sales plummet, and she desperately tries to clear her name—but that’s not the only murder the killer is baking up.

Debra Sennefelder has cooked up a perfect recipe—endearing characters, a picture-perfect evocation of small-town life, and a quaint sweets shop. And just when things get a little too comfy, there’s always a murder or two for good measure.

Who is Ariadne Hui?

• Laser-focused lawyer diligently climbing the corporate ladder
• The “perfect” daughter living out her father’s dream
• Shocking love interest of South Korea’s hottest star

Ariadne Hui thrives on routine. So what if everything in her life is planned down to the minute: That’s the way she likes it. If she’s going to make partner in Toronto’s most prestigious law firm, she needs to stay focused at all times.

But when she comes home after yet another soul-sucking day to find an unfamiliar, gorgeous man camped out in her living room, focus is the last thing on her mind. Especially when her roommate explains this is Choi Jihoon, her cousin freshly arrived from Seoul to mend a broken heart. He just needs a few weeks to rest and heal; Ari will barely even know he’s there. (Yeah, right.)

Jihoon is kindness and chaos personified, and it isn’t long before she’s falling, hard. But when one wrong step leads to a world-shaking truth, Ari finds herself thrust onto the world stage: not as the competent, steely lawyer she’s fought so hard to become, but as the mystery woman on the arm of a man the entire world claims to know. Now with her heart, her future, and her sense of self on the line, Ari will have to cut through all the pretty lies to find the truth of her relationship…and discover the Ariadne Hui she’s finally ready to be.

From author of The Passage comes a standalone novel about a group of survivors on a hidden island utopia–where the truth isn’t what it seems.

Founded by the mysterious genius known as the Designer, the archipelago of Prospera lies hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. In this island paradise, Prospera’s lucky citizens enjoy long, fulfilling lives until the monitors embedded in their forearms, meant to measure their physical health and psychological well-being, fall below 10 percent. Then they retire themselves, embarking on a ferry ride to the island known as the Nursery, where their failing bodies are renewed, their memories are wiped clean, and they are readied to restart life afresh.

Proctor Bennett, of the Department of Social Contracts, has a satisfying career as a ferryman, gently shepherding people through the retirement process–and, when necessary, enforcing it. But all is not well with Proctor. For one thing, he’s been dreaming–which is supposed to be impossible in Prospera. For another, his monitor percentage has begun to drop alarmingly fast. And then comes the day he is summoned to retire his own father, who gives him a disturbing and cryptic message before being wrestled onto the ferry.

Meanwhile, something is stirring. The Support Staff, ordinary men and women who provide the labor to keep Prospera running, have begun to question their place in the social order. Unrest is building, and there are rumors spreading of a resistance group–known as “Arrivalists”–who may be fomenting revolution.

Soon Proctor finds himself questioning everything he once believed, entangled with a much bigger cause than he realized–and on a desperate mission to uncover the truth.

New York City, 2001. Soila is an American college graduate working as an investment banker, who was raised by a tiger mother in Kenya. Along the way to maturity, she finds herself in deep turmoil when she falls in love with an African American man whose values defy all of her own. In the end, she must choose between losing her stubborn mother and the only family she’s ever known, – turning her back on her culture and possibly never returning to live in her homeland – or losing the greatest love of her life.

A modern love story and a gut-wrenching mother-daughter tale about the complex bonds of family, faith and culture, Lucky Girl is also an unflinching reflection on race in America from an African perspective. It’s the coming-of-age of a young woman who experiences devastating loss and grief and, through it all, gains self-knowledge. In the end, she faces a difficult choice: can she break free from her mother’s grasp and discover what authentic living really is?

Goodreads Monday: Ten Thousand Words (Ten Thousand: Book 1) by Kelli Jean

This is a weekly meme where anyone can choose a random book from their Goodreads TBR and highlight it. This meme was formerly featured on LaurensPageTurners and was taken over by Budget Tales Book Blog.


There’s danger that neither of them can escape.

Reclusive author, Xanthe Malcolm, likes her private and quiet life. However, when her wildly-popular series Paranormal Hunters gets picked up by a big-time publishing agency, she’s thrust into the limelight alongside sexy, photographer-turned-cover model, Oliver Fairfax. Upon meeting, the chemistry between the quirky writer and arrogant model quickly intensifies, creating a steamy page-turner of events made for romance novels.

Then comes the plot twist.

Xanthe has secrets that have kept her bound to silence.

And the truth has Oliver questioning every unspoken word.

February 2023 Wrap Up

Here is what I read/posted in February.

As always, let me know if you have read any of these books and (if you did) what you thought of them.


Books I Read:

Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Author
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Author
KU Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Author
Bought from Amazon Prime Reading
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Novel Cause
ARC from Blackstone Publishing
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Giveaway winner—No Review
Arc from author

Books I got from NetGalley:

Invite from SMP
Invite from SMP, Wednesday Books
Invite from SMP, Wednesday Books
Invite from SMP, Minotaur Books
Read Now from Crooked Lane Books
Invite from SMP, Wednesday Books
Invite from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam
Invite from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Dell
Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Invite from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Wish granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Dell
Wished granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey
Read now from Crooked Lane Books
Limited time Read Now from Sourcebooks Fire
Read now from St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books

Books I got from Authors/Indie Publishers:

From Novel Cause
From Novel Cause
From BookSirens

Giveaway Winners

Kindle—Won from Tordotcom
Kindle—Won from Goodreads

Books Reviewed:

Murder Up to Bat by Elizabeth McKenna—Review Here

Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire—Review Here

The Second You’re Single by Cara Tanamachi—Review Here

Jackal by Erin E. Adams—Review Here

The Drift by C.J. Tudor—Review Here

Not Your Ex’s Hexes by April Asher—Review Here

After the Music by Elena Goudelias—Review Here

Unnatural History by Jonathan Kellerman—Review Here

Take the Lead by Alexis Daria—Review Here

Once a Killer by Margaret Watson—Review Here

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman—Review Here

The Tracks We Leave by Maggie Maxfield—Review Here

Angeline by Anna Quinn—Review Here

Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah—Review Here


Reading Challenges

Buzzword Reading Challenge (Life and Death)—Death’s Queen—Finished 2-17-2023

Buzzword Reading Challenge (Verbs)—Deadly Awakening—Finished 2-18-2023

2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge (book with direction in title)— Southern Rocker Boy—Finished 2-20-2023

2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge (book with a season in title)—Summer’s Deadly Kiss—Finished 2-18-2023

Cover Scavenger Hunt (A Door)—Kurtain Motel—Finished 1-31-2023

The StoryGraph’s Onboarding Reading Challenge 2023 (Read a book you discovered via the community page)—Fine or PunishmentFinished 2-14-2023

The StoryGraph Reads the World 2023 (Columbia)—Lightlark—Finished 2-15-2023

The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge 2023 (a nonfiction book about startups)—Lost and Founder by Rand FishkinFinished 2-2-2023

Beat the Backlist 2023 (cozy read or cover)—Her Long Walk Home—2-16-2023

Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge (What color was on the previous prompt’s book’s cover? Read a book with the complimentary color on the cover)—The Demon Deception—Finished 2-3-2023

Scavenger Hunt (book written by a man using a woman’s perspective)—When They Came—Finished 2-9-2023

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2023 (A book you bought from an independent bookstore)—The Happy ChipFinished 2-3-2023

2023 TBR Toppler (The newest book you own)—A Duke for All Seasons—Finished 2-8-2023

2023 Monthly Themes (Fantastical February)—Nostalgic Rain—Finished 1-30-2023

2023 Reading Challenge (A red book. Can have red on the cover or in the title)—My Sister and IFinished 2-8-2023

2023 ABC Challenge ( B)—The Billionaire Shifter’s Curvy Match–Finished 2-11-2023

Romanceopoly 2023 (Free Choice)—A Guide to Being Just Friends—Finished 1-21-2023

2023 TBR Prompts (A book from an author you love)—Capture Me–Finished 1-14-2023