Tag: Lists

Serena’s Favorite Reads of 2023: Picks 10-6

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Another a year, another almost impossible task trying to each choose our Top 10 Reads of the year! For me, the word “favorite” is an important part of this list. As I go through the last year’s worth of reading, I often found that some books would strike particular chords within me more deeply than others, even if, quality-wise, another book might be stronger. Of course, this just makes it all that much harder to put them in any order. But here it goes! Today I’m going to countdown my favorites reads, ten to six. And since it’s the end of the reading year, don’t forget to enter our “12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!”

10. “The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch” by Melinda Taub

“The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch” Review

Seems like some variation of a Jane Austen book ends up on this Top Ten list every year! It just speaks to the universal appeal of these stories and characters that there continues to be an excellent adaptation year after year, two centuries after their original release! This one was particularly surprising as the author was really playing fast and loose with the original story of “Pride and Prejudice.” Not only does this story follow Lydia, the much disliked youngest daughter of the Bennet family, but it also must make a romantic interest out of one of the most notorious villains of Austen’s cast of characters AND add in an entirely new fantasy element of witchcraft and magic! It’s a lot of balls to juggle all at once, and somehow Taub pulls it off masterfully!

9. “Tress of the Emerald Sea” by Brandon Sanderson

“Tress of the Emerald Sea” Review

Given my “Year of Brandon Sanderson” series that I had running during 2023, it’s only fitting that one of his books makes this list! And while I really liked three out of the four new releases he had this year, “Tress of the Emerald Sea” remained my favorite of the lot. I feel like it was the most well-rounded and complete of the four books and perfectly highlighted all of Sanderson’s strengths as a writer without over-playing any one aspect of his style. There’s adventure, there’s romance, there’s a new world with interesting magic, and there are, of course, some nice nods to longtime Cosmere fans. It’s also a stand-alone story, like the other three secret projects Sanderson released in 2023, which makes it a great starting off point for readers who may not have picked up a book by this author before.

8. “Witch King” by Martha Wells

“Witch King” Review

This is probably my most controversial pick of my Top Ten this year, in that I think this book didn’t hit right for a lot of other readers. I featured this one on one of our “Another Take” posts, and I was surprised to find a lot of middling reviews out there. Many readers seemed to struggle with the fact that one is simply plopped into this world and plot seemingly halfway through the story and must piece things together over the course of the book. This device is often seen in fantasy fiction and, for me, it is one of the elements that draws me to the genre. I like slowly putting together the history and geography of a world; it’s like a puzzle tied up into a book. I also really enjoyed the characters at the heart of this story. “Found family” is a term that I think gets thrown around too often when describing books, but I think in this case it perfectly applies. The book is also laugh-out-loud funny at times and incredibly tragic at others. If you’re willing to wait it out, I think this book has a great payoff for readers willing to play along with Wells’ concept and style.

7. “Thief Liar Lady” by D. L. Soria

“Thief Liar Lady” Review

I’m not quite sure why this book didn’t seem to get the attention it deserved? On paper, it has a lot of things going for it that are mostly still popular. Fairytale re-tellings do seem to be on a bit of a downwards slope (much to my chagrin), but I think there’s still an appetite for them, especially when they’re “twisted” like this one. There’s a solid romance at the heart of the story. There are morally grey characters, including the leading lady! It was also one of those interesting reads where it could be very light and fluffy one moment, and then very dark another. It also tackles the realities of long-running conflicts between groups of people and how there are never easy answers or simple good guys or bad guys. We have people from the wronged country doing terrible things. We have people from the more powerful faction fighting to do what’s right. And vice versa. But beyond these deeper themes, it was also just a well-paced story with a strong romance at its heart, the type of book that always seems to work for me.

6. “The Witchwood Knot” by Olivia Atwater

“The Witchwood Knot” Review

I was lucky enough this year to read many books that would have qualified for this list simply for my having given them 9s or 10s on our rating system. I had to winnow things down quite a bit. But one factor that I always like to take into at least some consideration is whether or not a book is likely to be heard of by the average reader. Some books on this list were massive hits, and I love them as much as the next person (hence their position on the list!), but I also want to draw attention to the authors more quietly pumping out excellent fiction that gets less media attention. Such is this book. Atwater was actually on my Top Ten list last year, so I was incredibly excited to discover that not only did she have a new book coming out this year, but that this one rose back up to the high that was “Half a Soul.” This book is set in the same world, but now takes place in the Victorian period, complete with gothic, haunted house vibes. This book was a bit darker than “Half a Soul” and the other two books in that trilogy, but I think that helped it rise to even higher levels. There was the same humor and vivacity, but also a tinge of horror that made the entire experience feel like it had an increased depth. I also very much enjoyed the main character and the unique love interest. If you’ve enjoyed Atwater’s books in the past, definitely give this one a go!

So that’s ten through six. Next time I will give a countdown of my top five. What have been some of your favorite reads of 2023?

Kate’s Favorite Reads of 2023: Picks 10-6

Another a year, another almost impossible task trying to each choose our Top 10 Reads of the year! Like past years I won’t be including re-reads, sometimes my opinion of a book could change and evolve after I had read it, so some surprises may be up near the top, as well as perhaps a book or two that didn’t make my reviews on here initially due to genre limitations. But here they are, ready for a countdown! And since it’s the end of the reading year, don’t forget to enter our “Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway”! Today I’m going to countdown my favorite reads, ten to six. 

10. “One Girl in All the World” by Kendare Blake

“One Girl in All the World” Review

I’ve been having something of a “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” nostalgia trip the past couple of years, and part of that is due to Kendare Blake’s “In Every Generation” Series, which follows Willow Rosenberg’s daughter Frankie as she trains to become a slayer. “One Girl in All the World” is the second book in the series, and I thoroughly enjoyed continuing the adventure as Frankie and her friends (as well as Mom Willow and Watcher Spike) contend with a growing number of monsters, and a still missing in action Buffy and what that means for all of them. Blake still captures the tone and heart of the original series, and I am still quite enamored not only with her new characters, but her interpretations of the old ones as well (this Spike fan is still swooning). The final book comes out in 2024, and I’m both amped and very nervous.

9. “Lone Women” by Victor LaValle

“Lone Women” Review

It was a bit of time to wait for Victor LaValle’s next horror novel, but man, was it worth it. I will say that I was a bit nervous when I saw that “Lone Women” was going to not only be horror, but also a Western, as that isn’t a genre that I really connect with, but I should never have doubted LaValle’s prowess, because I ended up loving this book. I was completely enthralled by the story of Adelaide as she leaves her life behind (dead parents and a burning down homestead to be exact) with a mysterious trunk and hopes to make it on her own as a solo homesteader, and the community of other women, as well as other dangers, as she tries to start again. And once the question of what was in the trunk was addressed, well…. I loved it even more. This book is tense, hopeful, and beautifully written. Glad to have you back, Mr. LaValle!

8. “Don’t Fear the Reaper” by Stephen Graham Jones

“Don’t Fear the Reaper” Review

Given that I try not to have repeats of authors on my end of year list, I had to make some tough decisions in regards to whether I chose Stephen Graham Jones’s graphic novel “Earthdivers: Kill Columbus”, or “Don’t Fear the Reaper”, the sequel to his meta horror novel “My Heart is a Chainsaw”. But Jade eeked this one out, as I was once again tickled and moved by her story as she returns to Proofrock after a jail sentence, only to stumble in the night of a serial killer terrorizing the town. Jones is still showing off his knowledge and love for horror movies, all while giving an homage to the art form as well as bringing up social issues that Indigenous people have to face in a racist society, and he continues to do it was aplomb, flair, and genuine frights. The final entry in the trilogy comes out in 2024 and I’m excited but also not ready to say goodbye.

7. “Midnight is the Darkest Hour” by Ashley Winstead

“Midnight is the Darkest Hour” Review

This was a bit of a wild card for me, as I went into it with little knowledge and not really any expectations, and then I ended up absolutely adoring it! “Midnight is the Darkest Hour” is a thriller by way of “Thelma and Louise” if that story had religious trauma, a callout of small town bigotry, and a little bit if vampire lore with a heavy dose of “Twilight” adoration, and man oh man did it work for me. This was my first Ashley Winstead book and I am absolutely going to go back and read more of her work. I love the mysteries of Bottom Springs as two outcasts, Ruth and Everett, hold tight to each other and try to survive in a town that doesn’t understand and flat out hates them, and as they try to hide their own secrets, they discover more. It kept me guessing, it kept my heart racing, and it kept my romantic side just ACHING. What a combination!

6. “Graveyard of Lost Children” by Katrina Monroe

“Graveyard of Lost Children” Review

Stories that involve danger posed towards kids always send an extra chill up my spine, given that I am always anxious about the safety and wellbeing of my child, but in the case of “Graveyard of Lost Children” by Katrina Monroe, a horror tale about new motherhood, postpartum depression and perhaps psychosis, and maybe also a supernatural threat of a black haired woman spectre, I was so enthuse with the story I wasn’t as on edge. At least not in a negative way. I thought that this book about a new mother seeing visions of a malevolent woman perhaps threatening her and her baby’s safety was unnerving, poignant, deeply scary and also at times very emotional. It definitely got under my skin but never in a bad way, and I was hooked and horrified as I read. We’re seeing lots of pregnancy and postpartum horror these days, and “Graveyard of Lost Children” really stood out to me this year.

That’s 10 through 6! On Thursday I will reveal my Top 5 Books of 2023! What books were your favorites this year? Let us know in the comments!

Year of Sanderson: Book Boxes!

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

“Year of Sanderson” is an on-going, monthly series that will post on the last Friday of each month in which I will cover various Brandon Sanderson-related things. This will largely be comprised of book reviews (some from his back catalog and some from the books being released this year), as well as assorted other topics like reviews of the items in the swag boxes that will be coming out as part of Sanderson’s Kickstarted campaign. Frankly, we’ll just have to see what we get from this series, very much like the Kickstarter itself!

Here we are, at the end of my “Year with Sanderson” review series! In the end, we’ve covered several of his stand-alone works, the popular “Mistborn” trilogy that catapulted him into the public eye, one of his many novellas, and, of course, the four new books that came out this year. So, lastly, I wanted to talk a bit about the monthly boxes that were an option in the Kickstarter campaign that launched it all!

I signed up for the Kickstarter campaign the day it was announced. There was no question that this was definitely for me, and I was excited to get beautiful, special editions of these four new books. That being the case, I initially signed up for the books-only option. This lasted, ohhhh, a day before I was right back on the Kickstarter site changing my pledge to include the monthly boxes that were being offered as well. Initially I was a bit wary as I’ve had poor luck with book box stuff in the past (often a lot of repetitive, low quality items) and I end up just stashing things places and then re-gifting somewhere along the line. And there was also a steep price tag attached to this option. But I figured if there was ever going to be a book box that would hit it out of the park, this would be the one. And, yep, I was right about that!

First of all, here are all four of the new books. Obviously this picture doesn’t do justice to the amazing quality of these editions, but I had to include it anyways. Even if I hadn’t gone the book box route, I would have been extremely pleased just with these books. The spines alone are eye-catching! But I also wanted to include this picture as it highlights one of my favorite items in all of the boxes: a set of “Mistborn” book ends! Each book end had a different character, and they are stylish and eye-catching. This one, featuring Vin, is my favorite of the two, but the set as a whole is very cool. I’ve moved them around on by bookshelf several times to try to best highlight them. I have dark wood bookshelves, unfortunately, so the black sometimes fades into the background. But I finally moved them to a lighter bookshelf, and they look great there, especially this one paired with these editions.

Next I wanted to highlight the very cool character pins that were included in every box, so we ended up with a total of 12. I’m not planning on keeping them in the wrappers for forever or anything, but I don’t currently have a good pin display set up, so this is what we’re left with. There are a few more of the pins in next pictures, but I mostly have them sprinkled around my bookshelves willy nilly. All of my favorite characters ended up with pins, so I have to say, whoever was choosing which characters to feature, they clearly have very good taste! There’s also a nice balance of characters from many different books and series, so I think most fans were happy with the selection.

I really can’t emphasize enough how high quality were the items in this box! Knick knacks these were not! If I didn’t mind this post being miles long, I’d have included them all! In this picture you can see a few of my favorites: the beautiful leather mini backpack, a great bathroom/vanity bag with all sorts of great pockets, the super cute stuffed Soonie pup (I’ve been diligently protecting this one from my kids who both think any stuffed animals that come into our house must automatically be theirs), and a heavy duty bottle opener. Not pictured, a few other things that come to mind was a really awesome wax stamp set (wooden handle, metal stamp, melting wax included), a lovely set of four coasters, some cool magnets, postcards, and even car air fresheners! There was such a wide variety to what was included, and all of it was unique from what you typically find in book boxes.

You can just barely see the second half of the book end set in this picture (and you can see what I meant by the display problems I have with my shelves!). But this picture also includes my favorite pin for my favorite character, Vin from “Mistborn!” There were also these neat “Elantris” band-aids that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get myself to actually use, and a cool display model of Nightblood, the sword so central to “War Breaker.” The sword is metal, not plastic, and is another example of the high quality. Can’t say it enough, I was so impressed with all of these items!

And lastly, it may seem strange to include a picture of one of the boxes itself, but again, the high production value on all of this required this picture. Every box was specially made for this campaign and had quotes that were tied to the general theme of the box. Everything was also packaged perfectly and I didn’t have a singled broken or damaged item in any of my twelve boxes. Honestly, I’m going to start up this next year feeling kind of bereft not having these boxes to look forward to every month! I’m so glad I pulled the trigger and went for it with this part of the Kickstarter campaign. It felt like a truly unique moment in state of fantasy fiction, and I was glad I was along for the entire ride!

Highlights: December 2023

It’s so, so dark here in Minnesota, but at least we have all the Christmas lights going up! We’re trying hard not to remember that this is just the start to the long months of dark and cold ahead, and instead drown our sorrows in hot buttered rum and early batches of cookies. And, of course, there are always more good books to look forward to!

Serena’s Picks

Book: “The Serpent and the Wings of Night” by Carissa Broadbent

Publication Date: December 5, 2023

Why I’m Interested: I’m always excited to see self-published authors finally get their due and be picked up by one of the larger publishing houses, in this case Bramble, Tor’s romance imprint. I haven’t read anything by this author before, but I know that she’s written a decent number of popular titles, so I’m excited to see what all the fuss is about! I’m also curious to see her interpretation of vampires and vampiric lore. I think I’m a hard sell on the whole “vampire as a love interest” front…just seems counterintuitive to have a romantic lead who also just wants to eat you for dinner. But I’d be happy to be proven wrong!

Book: “The Dragons of Deepwood Fen” by Bradley P. Beaulieu

Publication Date: December 5, 2023

Why I’m Interested: While I have…complicated…feelings about “Fourth Wing,” I will say that I’m happy if its popularity brings on another wave of excellent dragon books! They are one of those fantasy beasts that always draw me in. Put “dragon” in your title, and at the very least, I’m picking up the book to give it a once-over. I’m also intrigued by the alchemist angle that seems to be incorporated into this book. We’ve seen a big “academia” focus in fantasy recently, often with scholars at the heart of many stories. But alchemists are essentially the scientists of magic, and I always love books that tackle these sorts of characters. Plus, like I said…dragon riders, it’s kind of a no-brainer.

Book: “Ruthless Vows” by Rebecca Ross

Publication Date: December 26, 2023

Why I’m Interested: Talk about a no-brainer! I’ve been on the “Rebecca Ross” train for a while, but it seems that she really gained popularity last year with the first book in this duology, “Divine Rivals.” So I’m sure this will be on many people’s December TBR pile. The first book ended on a fairly significant cliffhanger, so I can’t wait to pick this one up and see where it all goes from here! Ross has always nailed the endings of her series in the past, so I’m fully confident that she’ll pull off another success here!

Kate’s Picks

Book: “Perfect Little Lives” by Amber and Danielle Brown

Publication Date: December 5, 2023

Why I’m Interested: This MAY be the last reference to ALAAC23, as I heard about this when I was at a panel where Amber and Danielle Brown were talking about their new book “Perfect Little Lives”. It’s about Simone, a woman who is haunted by her past where her father was convicted of murdering her mother, leaving Simone basically an orphan. But when a new documentary crew approaches Simone about her mother’s murder, and she reconnects with her childhood best friend Hunter, she starts to wonder if perhaps there is more to the story about what happened to her mother, and if perhaps her father is innocent. It sounds like a thriller that has a lot of potential, and I can’t wait to check it out.

Book: “Where The Dead Wait” by Ally Wilkes

Publication Date: December 5, 2023

Why I’m Interested: I enjoyed Ally Wilkes’s previous horror novel “All The White Spaces”, and knew that anything that she wrote next I would want to give a go. Enter “Where The Dead Wait”, her newest book about polar horror and polar expeditions gone awry. William Day is a former arctic explorer, who fell from grace when one of his missions ended in tragedy, death, and cannibalism, tainting his reputation. When he is approached years later to search for Stevens, his former shipmate with whom he had an intense relationship, and who has now disappeared on a new expedition, Day reluctantly agrees to join the search. But as Day, Stevens’s psychic medium wife, and the new crew go on their journey, Day is haunted by the things he’s done, as well as perhaps something else. It’s the exact right time of year to take on a polar horror story as the days get darker and the temps drop.

Book: “Salt & Broom” by Sharon Lynn Fisher

Publication Date: December 1, 2023

Why I’m Interested: As we are all fully aware, I love witch stories. I also really love the book “Jane Eyre”. So it’s just a logical conclusion that if you retell “Jane Eyre” and make it witchy, I am probably going to want to get my hands on it. Enter “Salt & Broom” by Sharon Lynn Fisher, which reimagines Jane as a witch who is hired to help keep dark forces at Thornfield Hall at bay. Armed with spells and tinctures, Jane is determined to help her new employer Rochester keep his house settled, but as she starts to fall for him, things start to get all the more complicated. This isn’t the first “Jane Eyre” retelling that brings in supernatural aspects that I’ve read, but I’m always going to be a sucker for this direction in any retelling, especially one of my favorite classics.

.

What books are you all looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!

Highlights: November 2023

The sugar high from Halloween is wearing off and all of the stores are busy trying to convince us that Christmas is here already, never mind that other pesky holiday that supposedly happens this month. But we’re ready to be thankful for an entire new batch of excellent books coming out this month!

Serena’s Picks

Book: “Calamity” by Constance Fay

Publication Date: Nov. 14, 2023

Why I’m Interested: While I fell like this cover leaves a bit to be desired, I am incredibly excited to check out this new book from Bramble, the romance imprint of Tor Publishing. It’s been compared to “Firefly” which is a pretty high bar to reach, but if it manages it, this could great! The story follows a woman captain and her ragtag crew as they get into trouble in space! And of course there’s a hunky new member of the crew…We’ve seen a lot of romantic fantasy, so much so that “romantasy” is its own subgenre now. But for some reason, science fiction hasn’t gotten the same treatment. Hopefully this will be a start!

Book: “The Hunting Moon” by Susan Dennard

Publication Date: Nov. 7, 2023

Why I’m Interested: I’ll be honest, if you had asked me last year whether I would be checking out the second book in this trilogy, I’d have said, fairly firmly, no. But I’m a sucker for unique covers, and this one is definitely eye-catching! I’m fairly nervous that this will be a big mistake, but I’ve also been proven wrong before and am always hopeful that it can happen again! From what I remember, there were some big reveals at the end of the first book, so I’m curious to see how that will play out here.

Book: “Bookshops and Bonedust” by Travis Baldree

Publication Date: Nov. 7, 2023

Why I’m Interested: While I haven’t reviewed the first book on the blog, I did enjoy it. I wasn’t quite as in love as everyone else seems to be, but I thought it was cute and fun. Definitely good enough for me to want to check out this prequel book! I mean, as a librarian, any cozy fantasy has me with the word “bookshops.” And, of course, I love the adorable covers on both the first book and this one. I might not get to a full review on the blog for this one either, but I wanted to throw it out there anyways to get on other people’s radars!

Kate’s Picks

Book: “Where He Can’t Find You” by Darcy Coates

Publication Date: November 7, 2023

Why I’m Interested: I’m a huge Darcy Coates fan, and while I’ve been reading her new books and making my way back through her catalog I never really made the connection that she hadn’t written any YA until this book. The promise of a new book alone is enough to get my hyped, but adding in a new foray into a new audience is going to make it all the more special. Abby lives in a town where people tend to disappear. And sometimes they reappear, not only dead, but cut up and stitched back together. Abby and her sister Hope have always followed the rules and played it safe to keep themselves safe, but when Hope is taken, perhaps by this killer known as The Stitcher, Abby is determined to find her and save her when others couldn’t save those before her. I’m amped to see what Coates is going to do for YA audiences.

Book: “The Professor” by Lauren Nossett

Publication Date: November 14, 2023

Why I’m Interested: Sometimes I just want a twisty and maybe salacious thriller set against the backdrop of academia, and “The Professor” seems to promise just that. Marlitt is a former detective who left the job in disgrace and is trying to find her footing. When her mother, a German professor at a local college, asks her to do some investigating into a school scandal involving a student who killed himself and another German professor, Marlitt sees it as a favor to her mother. But as she starts to investigate, she starts to find some disturbing details about the student, his professor, and the rumors of sour grapes and an affair. This one sounds like it could be filled with surprises, so it caught my eye pretty handily.

Book: “Check & Mate” by Ali Hazelwood

Publication Date: November 7, 2023

Why I’m Interested: Though I don’t often review romance on here (and when I do, I try to keep it tangential to the genres I review), I made an exception for Ali Hazelwood’s debut novel “The Love Hypothesis”, as I LOVED it. And while I haven’t covered her other books on here, I have basically loved all of them. So of COURSE I’m very excited for “Check & Mate”, her first YA book (a familiar trend in my choices this month), and was thrilled when I managed to get a surprise ARC of it at ALAAC23. Mallory is a former chess prodigy who gave up the game after it led to a painful discovery. She’s been supporting her family ever since her father left, and is more interested in making ends meet. But when she is harangued into a tournament for charity, she manages to beat Nolan Sawyer, a chess giant with a reputation in his own right. After her win makes waves, she is approached to continue playing, with the promises of cash prizes that could change her family’s life. Of course, it means seeing Nolan again. And again. Soon it may not be just chess that Mallory is falling for. Sign me up.

What books are you all looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!

Another Take: Fall 2023

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Don’t just take it from us, other readers like these books, too! And we have decided that we would like to showcase other reviewers and bloggers that have their own thoughts and feelings about books that we have loved. Here are a few of the books we’ve enjoyed recently and what other bloggers have to say about them.

Book: “The Water Outlaws” by S. L. Huang

Book Description: Lin Chong is an expert arms instructor, training the Emperor’s soldiers in sword and truncheon, battle axe and spear, lance and crossbow. Unlike bolder friends who flirt with challenging the unequal hierarchies and values of Imperial society, she believes in keeping her head down and doing her job.

Until a powerful man with a vendetta rips that carefully-built life away.

Disgraced, tattooed as a criminal, and on the run from an Imperial Marshall who will stop at nothing to see her dead, Lin Chong is recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan. Mountain outlaws on the margins of society, the Liangshan Bandits proclaim a belief in justice—for women, for the downtrodden, for progressive thinkers a corrupt Empire would imprison or destroy. They’re also murderers, thieves, smugglers, and cutthroats.

Apart, they love like demons and fight like tigers. Together, they could bring down an empire.

Serena’s Review (8 Rating)

Dear Author (B+)

Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together (8 Rating)

Sifa Elizabeth Reads (4 Stars)

Book: “A Study in Drowning” by Ava Reid

Book Description: Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. She’s had no choice. Since childhood, she’s been haunted by visions of the Fairy King. She’s found solace only in the pages of Angharad – author Emrys Myrddin’s beloved epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, and then destroys him.

Effy’s tattered, dog-eared copy is all that’s keeping her afloat through her stifling first term at Llyr’s prestigious architecture college. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to design the late author’s house, Effy feels certain this is her destiny.

But Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task: a musty, decrepit estate on the brink of crumbling into a hungry sea. And when Effy arrives, she finds she isn’t the only one who’s made a temporary home there. Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar, is studying Myrddin’s papers and is determined to prove her favorite author is a fraud.

As the two rival students investigate the reclusive author’s legacy, piecing together clues through his letters, books, and diaries, they discover that the house’s foundation isn’t the only thing that can’t be trusted. There are dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspiring against them – and the truth may bring them both to ruin.

Serena’s Review (9 Rating)

Before We Go (4 Stars)

KB Book Reviews (4.5 Stars)

Forever Young Adult

Book: “Starling House” by Alix E. Harrow

Book Description: Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland–and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.

If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.

Serena’s Review (10 Rating)

Tar Vol on (5 Stars)

Righter of Words

Reading Reality (4.5 Stars)

Book: “Delicate Condition” by Danielle Valentine

Book Description: Anna Alcott is desperate to be pregnant. But as she tries to balance her increasingly public life with a grueling IVF journey, she starts to suspect that someone is going to great lengths to make sure her pregnancy never happens. Crucial medicines are lost. Appointments get swapped without her knowledge. And even when she finally manages to get pregnant, not even her husband is willing to believe that someone’s playing a twisted game with her.

When the increasingly cryptic threats drive her out of her Brooklyn brownstone and into hiding in the cold, gray ghost town that is the Hamptons in the depths of winter, Anna is almost at the end of her rope.

Then her doctor tells her she’s had a miscarriage—except Anna’s convinced she’s still pregnant, despite everything the grave-faced men around her claim. Could it be that her mind is playing tricks on her? Or is something more sinister at play? As her symptoms become ever more horrifying and the sense of danger ever more present, Anna can’t help but wonder what exactly she’s carrying inside of her…and why no one will listen when she says something is horribly, painfully wrong.

Kate’s Review (10 Rating)

What Jess Reads (5/5 Stars)

Lynn’s Book Blog (4.5/5 Stars)

The BiblioSanctum (5/5 Stars)

Book: “What Kind of Mother” by Clay McLeod Chapman

Book: Description: After striking out on her own as a teen mom, Madi Price is forced to return to her hometown of Brandywine, Virginia, with her seventeen-year-old daughter. With nothing to her name, she scrapes together a living as a palm reader at the local farmers market.

It’s there that she connects with old high school flame Henry McCabe, now a reclusive local fisherman whose infant son, Skyler, went missing five years ago. Everyone in town is sure Skyler is dead, but when Madi reads Henry’s palm, she’s haunted by strange and disturbing visions that suggest otherwise. As she follows the thread of these visions, Madi discovers a terrifying nightmare waiting at the center of the labyrinth—and it’s coming for everyone she holds dear.

Combining supernatural horror with domestic suspense into a visceral exploration of parental grief, What Kind of Mother cements Clay McLeod Chapman’s reputation as a “star” (Vulture) and “the twenty-first century’s Richard Matheson” (Richard Chizmar, Chasing the Boogeyman.)

Kate’s Review (Rating 9)

Books, Bones, & Buffy (4/5 Stars)

FanFiAddict

Geeks of Doom (5/5 Open Palms)

Book: “Black River Orchard” by Chuck Wendig

Book Description: It’s autumn in the town of Harrow, but something else is changing in the town besides the season. Because in that town there is an orchard, and in that orchard, seven most unusual trees. And from those trees grows a new sort of apple: Strange, beautiful, with skin so red it’s nearly black.

Take a bite of one of these apples and you will desire only to devour another. And another. You will become stronger. More vital. More yourself, you will believe. But then your appetite for the apples and their peculiar gifts will keep growing—and become darker.

This is what happens when the townsfolk discover the secret of the orchard. Soon it seems that everyone is consumed by an obsession with the magic of the apples… and what’s the harm, if it is making them all happier, more confident, more powerful? And even if buried in the orchard is something else besides the seeds of this extraordinary tree: a bloody history whose roots reach back the very origins of the town.

But now the leaves are falling. The days grow darker. And a stranger has come to town, a stranger who knows Harrow’s secrets. Because it’s harvest time, and the town will soon reap what it has sown.

Kate’s Review (9 Rating)

Tessa Talks Books (4/5 Stars)

Every Read Thing

Books, Bones, & Buffy (4.5/5 Stars)

Highlights: October 2023

Fall is here, and it is now, officially, the Season of the Witch: Halloween Season! While Kate is steeping herself in all things horror, scary, and spooky (as well as kicking off Horrorpalooza for the rest of the month), Serena is cozying up in cardigans and the changing of the seasons (and trying not to think about the upcoming winter). And both of them are prepping for trick or treating with their toddlers, which may mean hyperactivity, but it will also mean candy that they can take claim over. And with a new month comes new books! Check out what we’re looking forward to this month!

Serena’s Picks

Book: “Night of the Witch” by Sara Raasch and Beth Revis

Publication Date: October 3, 2023

Why I’m Interested: Well, it is October, and while this month is definitely Kate’s time to shine, there are often some good witchy titles that fall more firmly on the fantasy side rather than horror. Such is this book telling the story of a witch and a witch hunter who find themselves teamed up in an effort to defeat a powerful enemy. I’m always a bit nervous about these alternating POV fantasy stories with a strong romantic focus as I’ve seen them go very wrong. But at the same time, they’ve also gone very well, so here’s to hoping! I’m also intrigued by the focus on Germany as a historical setting for this one.

Book: “Flower and Thorn” by Rati Mehrotra

Publication Date: October 17, 2023

Why I’m Interested: I’ve had a fairly rocky experience with this author’s books in the past. I’ve never absolutely loved any of them, but then, time and again, when I read the description of her next book, I’m drawn in! She’s got a real talent for creative ideas, and this one’s no different following the story of a young woman who uses her talents as a flower hunter to support her people. But when her handsome friend finds a rare flower, she becomes sucked into an even larger plot. Beyond the creative fantasy elements with magical flowers, I’m definitely excited to read a romance that is a friends-to-lovers story. While I love enemies-to-lovers as much as the next person, there are about a million and one of them coming out nowadays. Much more rare is this type of love story.

Book: “Starling House” by Alix E. Harrow

Publication Date: October 3, 2023

Why I’m Interested: I absolutely loved “The Ten Thousand Doors of January” when we read it for bookclub, so I was always going to be interested in Harrow’s next book. But even without that, I also have a thing for gothic houses with mysterious pasts. I’m a bit nervous about the contemporary setting for this one, as I always struggle a bit with that it seems, but I have faith in the strength of Harrow’s writing to pull me through. Plus, the cover on this one is stunning. I’m tempted to just buy it now, regardless of how I feel about the actual book!

Kate’s Picks

Book: “Beholder” by Ryan La Sala

Publication Date: October 3, 2023

Why I’m Interested: I saw Ryan La Sala talking about “Beholder” at a panel at ALAAC23 and I was absolutely entranced by the description of this book. And given that I liked “The Honeys”, I knew that any follow up to that was sure to be a treat. Athan is struggling to get by as an under the table art handler, living with his grandmother and just trying to live his life (while also dealing with a strange power passed down through his family). When he tests out some aspects of his power while in the bathroom at an high brow artist party, he hears a horrible commotion on the other side of the door. When he leaves the bathroom, he finds all of the guests have been horrifically killed. Now Athan is all swept up in occultism, a monster perhaps of his making, and a race against time to try and stop it. It sounds nuts and I’m here for it.

Book: “Edenville” by Sam Rebelein

Publication Date: October 3, 2023

Why I’m Interested: This has been a buzzy horror title for a few months now, with a few horror people online talking about it and the online anticipation brimming to the point that I was VERY interested. When an author’s debut novel is a bit of a flop, he’s left feeling aimless and despondent. So when he is offered a job as a writer in residence by a college in the town of Edenville, he thinks that perhaps this could be what turns things around for him. His girlfriend is hesitant, and she grew up near Edenville and knows that it has a bit of a history and a bit of a strange reputation. But they move there anyway. And what they find is a bit more than just a small town with a few secrets. I love creepy small town tales and this one sounds like it has more spooky layers to it.

Book: “The Haunting on the Hill” by Elizabeth Hand

Publication Date: October 3, 2023

Why I’m Interested: I really love the story “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson, and while some adaptations have soared (Mike Flanagan’s miniseries, the 1963 film “The Haunting”), others have really, really sucked (the 1999 remake of “The Haunting”). But never has there been a literary follow up, until now. Yes, “The Haunting on the Hill” is the first authorized continuation of the story of Hill House, this time with Elizabeth Hand at the helm. Director Holly has a new play that she feels is going to really bring her career to new heights. While on a trip to the countryside with her girlfriend and collaborator, she stumbles upon a massive mansion called Hill House, and thinks it’s the perfect place for the cast to workshop the show. But as Holly and her cast move into Hill House for a couple of weeks, strange things start to happen. Hill House has inhabitants again. And it has so much in store. The PERFECT read for the Halloween season!

Not Just Books: September 2023

While we do love us some books, believe it not, we do have a life outside of reading. So to highlight our other pop culture interests, on the last Monday of each month, we each will highlight three other “happenings” from the last month. Big events on favorite TV shows, new movies we’ve watched, old movies we’ve “discovered,” etc. Pretty much whatever we found of particular interest outside of the book world during the last month. Share your own favorite things in the comments!

Serena’s Picks

Video Game: “Starfield”

I held out for like a week before buying this game. Lots of self control over here, I know. I’ve been playing it fairly regularly and still only feel like I’m scratching the surface. This is both a good thing and a bad thing I’d say. Now that I’m getting more into how everything works, I’m definitely getting more into it. But it also took awhile and there’s a fairly high learning curve. That said, I think it is well worth the effort. The world/universe is huge, at times, intimidatingly so, and there are a bunch of story lines that all seem intriguing on their own. However, I’m still doubtful that this will top my all-time favorite Bethesda game, “Skyrim.” I’m discovering that I’m partially just a sucker for beautiful landscapes, so the barren look of “Fallout” and the many metallic ships and desert landscapes of “Starfield” just don’t compare for me. That said, I’ve only been to a handful of planets so far, so I could still be surprised!

Movie: “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I”

If there’s one thing that is reliable in this very tumultuous time of ups and downs within Hollywood, it’s that Tom Cruise is always good for a thrilling ride! If you’ve liked other entries in the long-running “Mission Impossible” series, this is in many ways more of the same. Lots of high energy chase and fight scenes. Tom Cruise pulls off crazy stunts. And the side characters are nicely quippy. The thing is that is different is right there in the title: this is clearly part one of a two part story. Things tie up well enough that you’re not left on the edge of your seat, but the next mission is set up and the ultimate resolution with the big bad is yet to come. I’ll definitely be checking it out when it does (though who knows when that will be now!)

Show: “Jury Duty”

I remember selecting this show with my husband based on nothing but the oddness of the premise: one guy who thinks he’s part of a real trial documentary but in truth is surrounded by actors and its all a set-up. It’s a strange concept and one that really lives and dies on the real life individual at the heart of it. Without knowing how they cast Ronald, it’s hard to know how much of what worked about this was the pure luck that was him being such a stand-up guy or how closely they were able to select towards what they wanted. It’s a quirky, fun show, with one of the highlights being watching James Marsden really play up the obnoxiousness of actors in the real world.

Kate’s Picks

Music: The Chicks

The Minnesota State Fair wrapped up at the beginning of September, but right at the start of it I was lucky enough to see country/Americana band The Chicks play at the Grandstand with my mother, aunt, and cousin. I had seen them at the same venue with the same people in 2016, and going back was a lot of fun, mostly because 1) The Chicks are still pissed as hell about a lot of things, and 2) it gave me a chance to get back into their music, specifically their newest album “Gaslighter”. I love The Chicks sound, as I have always loved the Americana/bluegrass that they tend to delve in, and I LOVE the rage in so many of their songs, whether it’s about the horrific way the country music community treated them back in the early 2000s, or the way our country is so oppressive towards minority groups, or gun violence, or, most recently, cheating gaslighting husbands (“boy, I know exactly what you did on my boat” is AFLAME!!!). So great to get back into these talented ladies.

YouTube Show: “Hot Ones”

Even though I am from the Midwest, I like to think that I have a pretty strong tolerance for spice and heat levels. My husband is the same way, and we really got into the YouTube show “Hot Ones” at the end of summer for a couple of reasons. The first is that Sean Evans, the man who hosts the show and gives his celebrity guests ten hot wings with progressively higher heat levels, has such an engaging and interesting interviewing style that the interviews are almost always unique and fascinating. The second reason is that it’s always funny to see the celebrities freak out over the spice levels. We were so inspired we actually held our own Hot Ones party at our house, where some friends came over and we used actual hot sauces from the show to test our resolve and REALLY test our tolerance. I’m very proud to say that not only was I not that affected by the notorious “Da Bomb”, I did just fine until the very last sauce, which pretty much destroyed me for a good ten minutes. Not bad for a Minnesota girl.

TV Show: “Dark Winds”

I came about my love of reading honestly, with both my parents being avid readers, and I have stark memories of my Dad’s bookshelf being filled with the Tony Hillerman “Leaphorn and Chee” murder mysteries. I read a few, but never got as into it as he did (though I did like the PBS “Mystery!” versions with Wes Studi and Adam Beach!). Enter “Dark Winds”, the AMC neo-western/noir that has adapted the “Leaphorn and Chee” mysteries with a focus on bring in Native perspectives and voices into the stories that were originally written by a white man. Taking place in the early 1970s, an armored truck is robbed with both guards murdered in Gallup, New Mexico. A few weeks later, two Native people are murdered, one of whom had seen the helicopter that the robbers took. Tribal Police Officer Lt. Joe Leaphorn is assigned to the case, and gets a new partner in the young Jim Chee, who has arrived at the reservation with ambition and some secrets of his own. As they investigate, they find dark secrets and dark truths. I love Zahn McClarnon, who plays Leaphorn, and I am very eager to see where this series goes now that I’ve started it.

Rah Rah for RA!: Thriller Titles

Occasionally we here at Library Ladies get an email asking for some Reader’s Advisory. Sometimes it’s a general ‘what should I read next?’, and sometimes it’s a specific genre or theme that the reader is asking for. We do our best to match the reader to some books that they may like based on the question they give us.

Good afternoon!!!

I love thriller/mystery/murder/suspenseful books. 

Books I’ve read and enjoyed:

The Whisper Man – really scared me. 

The Good Lie – had great twists. 

The Family Across the Street – the mystery of the untitled narrator was fun to try and figure out. 

Silent Patient – small chapters had me wanting to know what’s next. 

Now I am looking for a new thriller!!

Thank you,

A

Hi A!

With the Halloween season coming up, there really is nothing like a good thriller to send chills up one’s spine and ratchet up the suspense. Based on the titles here, I have some ideas that may fit in with that you may like.

Book: “Chasing the Boogeyman” by Richard Chizmar

If you liked the threat of a small town being terrorized by a serial killer, while also looking at the way such a trauma can affect people in the community, I definitely would recommend “Chasing the Boogeyman” by Richard Chizmar. What I liked the most about this book was that it is written in a way that, while we know it is fictional, reads like an actual true crime tale with the author having a connection to the crimes and the aftermath. Richard Chizmar’s small town was an ideal slice of Americana, until a murderer began targeting young women in the community. As an adult he returns home, and decides to dive into the unsolved case, finding things he never imagined. The mystery of The Boogeyman in small town America not only has twists and turns, it also has a coming of age and personal feel to it because of the meta nature of the book. I found it deeply unsettling and hard to put down when I was reading it, and really loved the lengths that Chizmar goes to to make it feel authentic. And if you like it, I have good news! There is a sequel coming out later this year!

Book: “Dark Places” by Gillian Flynn

I feel like for many people Gillian Flynn’s go to thriller is “Gone Girl”, but for me,”Dark Places” is her best. Libby Day was a little girl and the lone survivor of a family massacre. Her older brother was convicted of the crime, and as an adult she is dealing with the trauma in less than healthy ways. When she is approached by a group of true crime enthusiasts who think her brother is innocent, she isn’t interested in engaging.. but then starts to question what she thinks to be true. You have an unlikable protagonist who may be unreliable, you have the weird specter of true crime culture hanging throughout the tale as armchair detectives try to revisit a notorious crime, and you have a family filled with secrets which ended with a terrible murder scene and a lone survivor who has fallen into a self destruction cycle. And on top of all that, you have a tense and engaging mystery where things may not be as they seem. I loved this book when I first read it, and Flynn’s gift for creating unsettling and eerie stories filled with sinister people is present and makes for a twisty read.

Book: “Falling” by T.J. Newman

If you want a thriller that is really hard to set aside, look no further than “Falling” by T.J. Newman. When I first read this book, I literally stayed up until about 2am just to finish it after telling myself I’d read a chapter or two before bed. When a commercial airline pilot finds his plane hijacked, and the terrorists have told him he has to crash the flight otherwise they will murder his whole family, he has to try and figure out if he can save his family as well as everyone on the plane. Meanwhile, his wife is playing her own game of cat and mouse with her kidnapper, and his close friend and head flight attendant is placed in charge of keeping things in the cabin calm while maybe getting more information to try and help keep everyone alive. I really enjoyed this one because it is relentless in the suspense and the plot twists, and it also has likable characters you cannot help but invest in.

Book: “Jar of Hearts” by Jennifer Hillier

I was completely blown away by this one when I read it, as it was a book I was taking a chance because I’d never heard of it or Jennifer Hillier. But when I started, the hits kept coming and it was just the twisted and suspenseful thriller I needed. Fourteen years after his disappearance, the remains of Angela Wong are found, and her best friend from high school, Georgina, is arrested. Georgina’s boyfriend Calvin at the time killed three other women, but the police think that Georgina was an accomplice in Angela’s death. And Georgina does know what happened that night. And then women in the modern day start disappearing, and are found dead in similar ways to Calvin’s crimes. What does Georgina know? And what is she hoping no one else finds out? “Jar of Hearts” is a rollercoaster with so many good reveals, as well as a complicated protagonist that is hard to trust but easy to root for.

Hopefully these are a good jumping off point! Thrillers are such a large swath, genre wise, but I think that these have some variety and may match what you are looking for!

What thrillers have you enjoyed recently? Let us know in the comments!

Highlights: August 2023

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Whelp, it’s still quite hot. Hot and humid! We’ve taken our kids out for a few playdates at the park early in the morning, but that’s about all we can manage in this heat! Serena has retreated back to her hometown out West where at least the hot is a dry heat and Kate has found herself sitting by a pool in any capacity she can SO LONG AS THERE IS A HUGE UMBRELLA TO KEEP HER IN THE SHADE. As we survive the heat, there are a bunch of great books coming out this month to get us through until fall!

Serena’s Picks

Book:“Cassiel’s Servant” by Jacqueline Carey

Publication Date: August 1, 2023

Why I’m Interested: So, I have to say, I’m not really a big fan of this trend of re-telling certain stories, often romances, from the POV of the other character, often the male hero. It’s hard not to feel like it’s a redundant money grab, since the story is the same, any tension with regards to plot has been neutered, and the characters are already established. But if there was going to be a book with this approach that I’d be interested in, it would be this one! For one thing, the original book, “Kushiel’s Dart” was published over 20 years ago, so for many readers, this can feel like a fresh return to a barely remembered story. And beyond that, much of the story is built around the very real conflict in world-views between Phedre and Joscelin. That being the case, there is some legitimately interesting and new ground to be covered in reading his experiences of that story.

Book: “Thornhedge” by T. Kingfisher

Publication Date: August 15, 2023

Why I’m Interested: Obviously! Beyond all the usual reasons that I would, of course, be looking forward to a new book by T. Kingfisher, I’m particularly excited about this one because it’s a return to her twisted fairytales. This one takes on “Sleeping Beauty” and “The Princess and the Toad,” I believe. We’ve seen a few different attempts in the past to re-tell fairytales from the villains’ perspectives, but none of them have really stood out to me. But if there was an author who could do it right, I’d bet on Kingfisher any day of the week. Can’t wait for this one!

Book: “Forged by Blood” by Ehigbor Okosun

Publication Date: August 8, 2023

Why I’m Interested: For one thing, the cover on this one is phenomenal. For another thing, I met the author at ALA in June, and she was delightful. For a third thing, well, it’s a fantasy novel with a focus on Nigerian mythology, which just sounds super cool. I’m also very intrigued by the fact that this one is billed as an adult fantasy rather than YA. As much as I love the cover, it is definitely giving YA vibes, so I’m curious to see what balance is actually struck in the story itself.

Kate’s Picks

Book: “I Feed Her To The Beast and The Beast Is Me” by Jamison Shea

Publication Date: August 29, 2023

Why I’m Interested: I was lucky enough to see Jamison Shea at a panel at ALA that was talking about new voices in YA literature, and they were promoting their debut horror novel. It caught my eye because I was surprised to see a horror novel as part of the books, but when they described the premise I knew I needed to seek it out. I snagged an ARC shortly thereafter, and it became a highly anticipated read. Laure is a Black ballerina in Paris, whose talent is immense but constantly shoved to the side. When she ventures into the catacombs and encounters an ominous river of blood, she makes a deal to get the admiration and acknowledgement she deserves. With her new powers and axe to grind, she starts to cut her way through the competition. But her new self comes with a price, and she finds herself with a target on her back with her new monstrous form. I love a villain story, especially when you can see where the villain is coming from.

Book: “Vampires of El Norte” by Isabel Cañas

Publication Date: August 15, 2023

Why I’m Interested: I so loved “The Hacienda” and I told myself that whatever Isabel Cañas came up with next, I was going to jump all over. So imagine my elation when I saw that her newest historical horror novel was going to be about vampires! Nena is a woman living on a ranch in 1840s Mexico, trying to honor her father’s wishes while making a life for herself. With threats of war from white settlers North, tension is high. But there is also whispers of a monster in the wilderness that comes out at night to drink blood from unsuspecting victims. When she is reunited with her childhood sweetheart Nestor in the face of a war, they must come together to protect their home, not only from other countries, but also from a blood drinking creature that feeds relentlessly. Cannot wait to see what Cañas does with this one.

Book: “Whalefall” by Daniel Kraus

Publication Date: August 8, 2023

Why I’m Interested: I’m not a religious person but have a passing familiarity with various Biblical tales, and when I saw this book, a book about a guy swallowed by a whale, my immediate thought was “LIKE JONAH?!” What a hook! I also have been meaning to give Daniel Kraus another go after reading “Scowler” and enjoying it but being super disturbed by it, so “Whalefall” seemed like a good place to start! A diver is searching for the remains of his father in the waters off the coast of California, but in a freak of nature twist finds himself swallowed whole by a sperm whale. When he realizes he’s in the first of four stomachs, he thinks that he can MAYBE escape. But how is he going to do it, especially with his oxygen running out. THIS SOUNDS WILD!

What books are you looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!