strange and random happenstance

A Mother Always Knows by Sarah Strohmeyer
Published by: Harper Perennial
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The beloved, award-winning author of Do I Know You? and We Love To Entertain returns with an electrifying novel of psychological suspense that explores the way our pasts shape our futures in so many unexpected ways.

Stella O'Neill is just your average millennial, working at a public library and worrying about making rent. No one would suspect she's been living under an assumed name or that she was raised in a Vermont commune of "diviners" where, and as a ten-year-old, she witnessed her mother's brutal murder - a crime that has gone unsolved for years.

But her quiet, anonymous existence is upended when a true-crime obsessive posts her current name and location on the internet. Now, Stella has to get out of Boston before her mother's killer can find her and finish the job he started all those years ago. Fed up with living in fear, she heads to the off-the-grid retreat of her childhood to confront her mother's unhinged guru who controlled their lives for so long - the infamous Radcliffe MacBeath.

Stella has two powerful assets: determination and a supernatural gift. Relying on her mother's beloved rose quartz pendulum, Stella will have to outwit the charismatic leader who's ruined so many lives and discover once and for all the true identity of her mother's killer - before becoming his next victim."

See, there is a downside to true crime, and that's if you're in hiding for your safety. Doxing is not cool.

Human Rights by Juno Dawson
Published by: Penguin Books
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Paperback, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"With Her Majesty's Royal Coven in shambles and the fate of the world hanging in the balance, the sisterhood of friends and witches must find a new way of putting together the pieces if (wo)mankind is to stand a chance, in this final chapter to Juno's "irresistible" series (Lana Harper.)

Niamh, Ciara, Leonie, Elle and Theo. Five very different witches with one thing in common: they were unwittingly chosen by the dangerously charming Lucifer, the demon king of desire, to fulfil a dark prophecy: Satanis will rise and the daughters of Gaia will fall.

The coven is reunited - but broken. Niamh is back from the dead...but she hasn't come back alone. Elle mourns a son she never had. Ciara languishes in a prison for witches, and Leonie reels from a very unexpected surprise.

Meanwhile, Lucifer offers fledgling witch Theo a deal: if she helps him, her coven - her family - will be spared. But the magic he asks for will take her out of London - out of time, entirely.

The final confrontation between good and evil in the spectacular conclusion to the saga of Her Majesty's Royal Coven."

If, like me, you loved the Doctor Who episode this season "The Interstellar Song Contest" well did you know the writer of that episode writes awesome books too? Yeah, this is her!

My Ex, The Antichrist by Craig DiLouie
Published by: Run for It
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Bram Stoker award-nominated author Craig DiLouie comes a horror novel with a twisted tale of love, heartbreak, and the apocalypse. We all have bad exes. Lily Lawlor's just happens to be the antichrist. Sometimes, love can be hell...

1998: Lily Lawlor and Drake Morgan form a punk band. Drake inspires faith in some. Fear in others. Lily is a believer.

1999: A Battle of the Bands ends in a shocking death, and a riot that claims the lives of three teenagers.

2009: At the height of her stardom, Lily walks into a police station and confesses to murder.

Now: The band has refused to talk to the press about the night of the riot, Lily's confession, or anything else. It's been over a decade, but Lily has finally agreed to an interview. And the band is following her lead.

What follows is a story of prophecy, death, and apocalypse. A story about love and love lost. A story about the antichrist. Maybe it's all true. Maybe none if it is.

Either way, this is their story. And they're sticking to it."

A demonic Daisy Jones and the Six!

Tricks of Fortune by Lina Chern
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Tarot card reader extraordinaire Katie True gets embroiled in another local murder when her best friend becomes the prime suspect in this exciting mystery from the Edgar Award-winning author of Play the Fool.

Katie True has gotten her crap together...sort of. Now that the sinister events of the past year have wound down, Katie has finally made her dream come true and opened her own tarot reading room - even if it's in her sister's old real estate office in an outdoor strip mall. It's a good start, but her momentum grinds to a halt when the murder of beloved veteran police officer, Matthew Peterson, shakes her and her small community to the core.

Katie is torn. Lieutenant Peterson had saved her life as a child and holds a special place in her past. Even worse, her closest friend Gina - who knows Katie better than she knows herself - is the primary suspect.

As the investigation unfolds, the details surrounding Peterson's death become increasingly murky, as does Gina's innocence. All Katie knows is that following her intuition has gotten her this far. But will her trusty tarot deck help her when the truth about the people she loves is too terrible to face?"

I mean, aren't all tarot readers in outdoor strip malls? Or maybe I just have a skewed view because of Mallrats...

Come Knocking by Mike Bockoven
Published by: Skyhorse
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 264 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"WHEN A GROUNDBREAKING THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE GOES HORRIBLY WRONG, A DEADLY NIGHT REVEALS THE DARK CONSEQUENCES OF BLURRING THE LINES BETWEEN PERFORMANCE AND REALITY

When Come Knocking came to Los Angeles, the interactive theater production that took over six floors of an abandoned building was met with raves, lines for tickets, and reviews calling it the "must-see experience of a generation." But after dozens of people were killed and hundreds injured on a bloody night of chaos during the show's run, the nation was captured by one inescapable question: How could this happen?

As the dust settles, investigative reporter Adam Jakes is tasked with uncovering the truth behind the massacre. Through a series of gripping interviews with survivors, cast members, and witnesses, Jakes pieces together the chilling reality behind what was supposed to be the ultimate theatrical experience.

In Come Knocking, the enthralling and terrifying exploration of human nature under extreme conditions poses unsettling questions about the grotesque underbelly of immersive experiences and the true nature of reality."

I mean, I always thought that Sleep No More would lend itself to a murder mystery. 

Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A lavish, Texas-sized Sweet Sixteen turns deadly in this twisty, pulse-pounding new novel - serving up a fresh take on a classic locked-room whodunnit. Let the festivities begin...

Today is Sophie Matthews's sixteenth birthday party, an exclusive black-tie bash in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, where secrets are as deep-rooted as the sprawling live oaks. Sophie's dad has spared no expense, and his renovated cliffside mansion - once thought haunted and shuttered for years from outsiders - is now hosting the event of the season. Then, just before the candles on the three-tiered red velvet cake are blown out, a body falls from the balcony onto the starlit dance floor below.

It's a killer guest list...

DANI: Sophie's new stepmother who's been plagued by self-doubt ever since the birth of her own baby girl

ÓRLAITH: the superstitious Irish nanny who senses a looming danger in this cavernous house

MIKAYLA: the birthday girl's best friend who is not nearly as meek as the popular kids assume

KIM: the cunning ex-wife who has a grudge she can’t let go of...

Everyone is invited in. Not everyone will get out alive."

But, let me be clear, the delicious red velvet cake wasn't damaged boy the falling body was it? Because if there's a good cake then I'm there.

Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson
Published by: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mega bestselling and award-winning author Tiffany D. Jackson (The Weight of Blood; White Smoke) makes her thrilling middle-grade debut with a can't-put-it-down murder mystery set on Martha's Vineyard. R.L. Stine, bestselling author of Goosebumps, says, "Don't miss this one!"

This summer, beware of sharks...

Brooklyn girl Kaylani McKinnon feels like a fish out of water. She's spending the summer with family friends in their huge house on Martha's Vineyard, and the vibe is definitely snooty. Still, there are beautiful beaches, lots of ice cream, and a town full of fascinating Black history. Plus a few kids her age who seem friendly.

Until the shocking death of a popular teenage boy rocks the community to its core. Was it a drowning? A shark attack? Or the unthinkable - murder?

Kaylani is determined to solve the mystery. But her investigation leads her to uncover shocking secrets that could change her own life as she knows it... if she survives.

New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson makes her thrilling middle-grade debut with this heart-pounding mystery packed with twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the end."

Because it's never sharks now is it?

Murder on the Books by T.C. LoTempio
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Newly retired mystery writer Charley James returns to her small hometown only to find herself amidst a real-life murder mystery in this first book in the brand new Cozy Bookshop mystery series by award-winning and national bestselling author T.C. LoTempio.

Thirty-year-old Charlotte James, better known to her mystery fans as C.J. Barrett, decides to take a break from writing her popular Steve Sheppard mystery series. Leaving New York City, she moves back to her hometown of Austin to wind down, recuperate, and maybe come up with some new ideas for her books.

Settling into her new life, Charley reunites with her long-term friend and baker Zane who is about to open a charming double store front. But while Zane is ready to open her café, her business partner Sheila unexpectedly departs town, bailing on her bookshop and leaving nothing but a note behind.

Charley is more than happy to take over, but when she finds Sheila's body in a chest in the store's basement, things take a dramatic turn. Now Charley has to juggle the opening of her bookshop, a stoic but attractive Philadelphia detective, and a stray cat, all while solving Sheila's murder Sheppard-style before the killer can strike again!"

I mean, murder mystery authors do make great detectives, but also must make good investments to be able to contemplate retiring at thirty!

The Widows' Guide to Skulduggery by Amanda Ashby
Published by: Storm Publishing
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Kindle, 280 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a human skull gatecrashes her friends' big day, it officially becomes the worst wedding Ginny Cole has ever been to. But as the assembled guests await the police, the two families staring daggers at each other across the aisle, Ginny starts to suspect that these nuptials were deliberately sabotaged. Together with her fellow widows in crime-solving, JM, Tuppence and Hen, she decides to uncover who wanted this marriage dead on arrival.

The police have no interest in a twenty-year-old skull, so Ginny and her friends have free rein to investigate. But untangling a web of family feuds and ancient village rivalries soon escalates into much more when a new body turns up...

The widows have stumbled into a devious plot decades in the making, but can they find their way to the truth before one of them joins the village body count...?

An utterly delightful and gripping cozy mystery full of unconventional characters, fantastic twists and shadowy village secrets. The Widows' Detective Club is perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Sarah Yarwood-Lovett and Robert Thorogood."

Wait, the police really don't care about a twenty-year-old skull!?! That's a crime right there!

Etiquette for Lovers and Killers by Anna Fitzgerald Healy
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Set in 1960s Maine, a witty, twisty murder mystery following a young woman who just wishes something interesting would happen...until she stumbles across a crime of passion.

"What are the chances of receiving a love letter, engagement ring, and phone call for a stranger, only to see her murdered the next day?"

It's 1964 in the tiny town of Eastport, Maine, and Billie McCadie is bored to death. She's surrounded by dull people with more manners than sense, and no sign of the intrigue or romance that fills her beloved novels. That is, until an engagement ring and cryptic love letter turn up, addressed to 'Gertrude'. Until she meets yacht-club handsome Avery Webster. Until the unsettling phone calls and visits from a man in a fedora begin. Until she's one of the last people to see Gertrude alive...and the first to see her dead.

What follows is an intoxicating cocktail of stalking, blackmail, Jell-O salads, and champagne secrets, all served along the rocky Maine coastline. Everyone is a suspect. Everyone has a secret. And (strangely) everyone has a boat. But who is willing to kiss and tell? As the body count rises and the danger nears, why does Billie feel like she's more than just a side character? After yearning to be in the action for so long, would it be terribly unladylike to have some fun of her own?

A love letter to uncivilized behavior, Etiquette for Lovers and Killers blends mystery and romance into a witty, twisty, murderous delight that aches for better manners."

I mean, it's Maine, of course everyone has a boat. Why they all have Jell-O is the real mystery. And don't say the times demanded it, no one demanded Jell-O!

The Original by Nell Stevens
Published by: W. W. Norton and Company
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Brought to her uncle's decaying Oxfordshire estate when she was a child, Grace has grown up on the periphery of a once-great household, an outsider in her own home. Now a self-possessed and secretive young woman, she has developed unusual predilections: for painting, particularly forgery; for deception; for other girls.

As Grace cultivates her talent as a copyist, she realizes that her uncanny ability to recreate paintings might offer her a means of escape. Secretly, she puts this skill to use as an art forger, creating fake masterpieces in candlelit corners of the estate. Saving the money she makes from her sales, she plans a new life far from the family that has never seemed to want her.

Then, a letter arrives from the South Atlantic. The writer claims to be her cousin Charles, long presumed dead at sea, who wishes to reconnect with his family. When Charles returns, Grace's aunt welcomes him with open arms; yet fractures appear in the household. Some believe he is who he says he is. Others are convinced he's an impostor. As a court date looms to determine his legitimacy - and his claim to the family fortune - Grace must decide what she believes, and what she's willing to risk.

Is Charles really her cousin? An interloper? A mirror of her own ambitions? And in a house built on illusions, what does authenticity truly mean - in art, in love, and in family?

Deftly plotted and shimmering with Nell Stevens's distinctive intelligence, style, and wit, The Original takes readers on an unforgettable adventure through a world of forgeries, family ties, and the fluctuations in fortune that can change our fate."

I mean, living on a decaying Oxfordshire estate while forging artwork is the dream! Why would Grave want to leave?

Wendy's Ever After by Julie Wright
Published by: Shadow Mountain
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Wendy Darling is drawn back to Neverland, torn between childhood memories of Peter Pan and the mysterious young man who now stirs her heart.

Wendy Darling has grown into a stunning young woman. Her days are filled with social gatherings and elegant balls, but her nights are alive with memories of fighting pirates, soaring through the skies, and other wild escapades through Neverland with Peter Pan - the boy who never grew up.

When Wendy meets a handsome and mysterious stranger, there's something about him that feels familiar yet elusive. His eyes sparkle with a mischief that tugs at Wendy's heartstrings, reminding her of Peter. Intrigued and a bit unnerved, Wendy finds herself inexplicably drawn to this handsome young man and soon finds herself back in Neverland.

Caught between the allure of her past and the promise of the future, Wendy must navigate a perilous new journey, rediscovering the courage and wonder that once defined her youth. As she battles old foes and forges allies with new friends, Wendy is torn between her memories of a boy she once loved and the man who has stolen her heart."

Ever since I saw Hook I've been more than a little obsessed with Wendy growing up...

Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon
Published by: Random House Worlds
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A merchant's daughter who yearns for adventure gets more than she bargained for when she falls for a broodingly handsome stranger in this saucy romantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Hurricane Wars.

As the daughter of an ambitious merchant, Guinevere's path has been predetermined: marry into a noble house of the Dwendalian Empire, raise her family's station, and live quietly as a lordling's obedient wife. But Guinevere longs for a life unbounded by expectations, for freedom and passion and adventure.

Those distant dreams become a sudden reality when her caravan is beset by bandits, leaving her guards slain and Guinevere stranded alone on the dangerous Amber Road. Her only chance of survival is to travel alongside Oskar, the aloof half-orc who saved her during the attack.

Unlike Guinevere, Oskar's path is not so set in stone. With his mother dead and his apprenticeship abandoned, all that's left is a long, lonely walk to a land he's never seen to find family he's never met. The last thing he needs is a spoiled waif like Guinevere slowing him down - even if the spark between them sizzles with promise.

Despite his cold exterior, Oskar is brave and thoughtful and unlike anyone Guinevere has ever met. And while Guinevere may be sheltered, she brings out a softness in him that he has never dared to feel before. As the flames of their passion grow, they realize that soon they'll need to choose between their expected destinations or their blossoming romance.

Written by New York Times bestselling author Thea Guanzon at the behest of Critical Role's Jester Lavorre, Tusk Love brings the most romantic story on Exandrian bookshelves to life."

I mean, beside being a Critical Role fan, I'm a huge romantasy fan and that cover is just a breath of fresh air. I want to live in it.

Den of Liars by Jessica S. Olson
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young thief attempting a daring casino heist during a high-stakes tournament is torn between two warring brothers in Den of Liars, a thrilling YA fantasy romance by acclaimed author Jessica S. Olson.

Lola St. James is the world's best kept secret. When her father's loss in the Liar's Dice Tournament - a high-stakes competition where players are forced to gamble with their deepest secrets - made her a target, she was rescued by the Thief, the notorious leader of the Tentacles. But the Thief's kindness came with a price: Lola's heart. In the years that followed, she and the Thief formed a bond like no other, able to feel each other's emotions because of their shared heart.

Now, living under the pseudonym Astra, she is determined to prove herself and become a full-fledged Tentacle. But when a critical heist goes sideways, the only way forward is for Lola to compete in the Liar's Dice Tournament herself. Lola is confident in her ability to pull off any heist, but the Thief's mysterious brother, the Liar, runs the game and he turns out to be more than she bargained for. As her attraction for him grows and illusions run wild, she will be forced to confront the secrets of her past, the truth of the brothers' shared history, and the lies she tells herself."

I mean, dice isn't a game I'd ever play. It's too risky. Reading about other people playing it though? Yes please.

The Secret Love of a Gentleman by Jane Lark
Published by: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: eBook, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An unputdownable Regency romance filled with passion, redemption and the healing power of love.

Can he convince her to risk her heart again?

A past scandal and a broken heart have left Lady Caroline Kilbride hiding away from the world, in the safety of her brother's home. But when a devilishly handsome newcomer arrives for the summer, she finds herself surprisingly drawn to him.

Rob Marlow, a man determined to carve his own path in life, never expected to be intrigued by his brother-in-law's dependent sister. Yet in Caro he sees courage, intelligence and a spark of the woman she once was.

Friendship blossoms into something more passionate, but when the truth of Caro's painful history resurfaces, will she retreat into the shadows or fight for her happy ever after? The third instalment in the addictively passionate Regency romance series The Marlow Family Secrets, for fans of Beverley Watts, Eloisa James and Bridgerton. Perfect for readers who love STEAMY, SPICY historical and regency romance."

Whomever hurt her Rob Marlow will destroy them!

Behind Frenemy Lines by Zen Cho
Published by: Bramble
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Award-winning author Zen Cho delivers a sparkling and witty rivals-to-lovers romance reminiscent of Sally Thorne's The Hating Game and Sajni Patel's The Trouble with Hating You.

Sparks fly when an ambitious rules-bound lawyer clashes with a maverick new hire who threatens his chances of partnership - and the walls he's built around his heart.

Charles Goh has always played by the rules. It's how he survived his difficult childhood as the swotty foreigner at a posh English boarding school - and now, his high-pressure job at one of the biggest corporate law firms in London. His job is his life and he's happy that way...until she shows up.

Kriya Rajasekar's lost her way. Her longtime boyfriend's broken up with her and she feels trapped in her legal career. She knows she needs a fresh start - but it turns out her new job is at the same firm as her work nemesis. Charles Goh is like the bad luck charm she keeps running into, and their encounters lead to disaster every single time. And now he's her office mate.

But just as they're figuring out how to navigate this frenemy relationship, Kriya needs Charles' help: pretend they're dating so her boss will stop hitting on her. Soon, it becomes less clear whether they're enemies, friends - or something else."

I will read anything Zen Cho writes.

Infinite Archive by Mur Lafferty
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Amateur sleuth Mallory Viridian has just about got her bearings aboard the space station she calls home, but now the physical embodiment of the Internet is on its way, and it's bringing murder with it.

Mallory Viridian has had a quiet few months. Even with the increased influx of humans visiting Station Eternity, she hasn't seen so much as a bar brawl. Used to people dying left and right around her, the lack of murders to solve has left her unexpectedly...bored.

But humanity's favorite way to waste time is on its way to her sector of the galaxy. A giant, one-of-a-kind data ship called Metis is bringing the entire Internet from Earth - as well as a mystery fan convention. On top of that, Mallory's literary agent is aboard, and he tells Mallory that she's the keynote speaker.

It's almost a relief when a killer decides to strike at the convention. When Mallory finds her agent dead, she knows she has to work fast to find the murderer. With a strange new alien with unknown motives, a ship with impossible abilities, a lonely living, comprehensive Internet, and a deadly crime to solve, Mallory has her work cut out for her...."

The most dangerous thing here isn't the killer, it's the Internet! 

The Ghost Who Was a Quilt by Riel Nason and Byron Eggenschwiler
Published by: Tundra Books
Publication Date: July 1st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 48 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When you're a quilt instead of a sheet, being a ghost is hard! A contemporary picture book classic, now available in a stunning special gilded edition - a perfect gift for the little ghost lovers in your life.

Ghosts are supposed to be sheets, light as air and able to whirl and twirl and float and soar. But the little ghost who is a quilt can't whirl or twirl at all, and when he flies, he gets very hot.

He doesn't know why he's a quilt. His parents are both sheets, and so are all of his friends. (His great-grandmother was a lace curtain, but that doesn't really help cheer him up.) He feels sad and left out when his friends are zooming around and he can't keep up.

But one Halloween, everything changes. The little ghost who was a quilt has an experience that no other ghost could have, an experience that only happens because he's a quilt...and he realizes that it's OK to be different.

This special gift edition is unjacketed, with a newly designed cloth-like spine, a foil-stamped cover and beautiful gilded edges."

I mean, you NEED this beautiful gift edition on your shelves. You NEED IT!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Amanda Ashby, Anna Fitzgerald Healy, Craig DiLouie, Jane Lark, Julie Wright, Juno Dawson, Kelsey Cox, Lina Chern, Mike Bockoven, Mur Lafferty, Nell Stevens, Sarah Strohmeyer, T.C. LoTempio, Tiffany D. Jackson, Zen Cho

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: October 8th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Alex Stern has been given an opportunity she never thought she'd get. At the age of twenty she is going to be a freshman at Yale with a full ride despite never having graduated from high school. How did she even get to New Haven? She had thrown her life away, living among the dregs and the drug dealers in California. Then she miraculously survived a gruesome multiple homicide that claimed the lives of her best friend and her boyfriend. That horrible night at Ground Zero she lay down next to Hellie hoping to never wake. But she did. In the hospital. While cuffed to her bed she was approached by Dean Sandow from Yale. He wanted her to tell him about the Grays. It turns out Alex has been able to see ghosts her entire life. Her "job" will be to join the Ninth House, Lethe, it is a regulatory body for the Ancient Eight, the eight secret societies at Yale, Skull and Bones being the only one that the general populace believes to exist. She accepts Dean Sandow's offer and is eastward bound. To a girl christened Galaxy by her hippie mother just the prospect of Yale's cafeteria is a dream come true, but being thrust into the world of the elite could take some getting used to. Take Daniel Arlington, Darlington, for example. He is there to mentor her, the Virgil to her Dante, and shepherd her in her duties to the other houses because once he graduates she will take over his duties. Darlington is the epitome of a Yale student. Like the members of the other houses, he is a golden boy, but underneath that golden exterior he's different, he's a true believer with an encyclopedic knowledge of New Haven. While the two of them are exact opposites when Darlington disappears Alex realizes that she might be in way over her head, not to mention her course load piling up on top of the demands of Lethe. Now Alex has a problem, find out where Darlington went and bring him back. But as the new moon ritual draws near she is drawn into a murder on campus. At first it looks just like a tragic death of a townie, something Yale really doesn't care about. But Alex sees herself in Tara and while her investigation brings up no untoward evidence when a gluma attacks her she knows her instincts were right. Tara was murdered. A Gray saves her and she realizes that something far deeper is at play at Yale. She will get to the bottom of it and find Darlington, though it might just kill her.

There are some books that need to be read at a certain time to work. There are some books that need to be reread in a certain frame of mind to work. The first time I read Ninth House I detested it. And detest might even be too forgiving a word for how I felt. The way this book deals with rape and rape culture is highly problematic. Trauma can not be erased by something bad happening to those who hurt you. It might be cathartic, but in the end it's nothing more than a temporary balm. It's dismissive to think that it is. But so much of this book is just trauma heaped on trauma all these characters are going to need a lifetime's worth of therapy just to start handling all that they have been through. The first time I read this book I just couldn't get past this. And yet so many people I know loved this book while acknowledging it's flaws. It wasn't these friends who led me to pick up Ninth House again but Leigh Bardugo herself. She is a fabulous writer and, well, there was a sequel now. I adore the Grishaverse and there were some books in that series, in particular Crooked Kingdom, which needed to be reread to be appreciated. Once I had to come to terms with the death of Matthias I could appreciate that book. Therefore I had to embrace the flaws of Ninth House before I could learn to love it. I mean, it's still not perfect, but this time I was able to enjoy the journey without quibbling about all my issues. I was prepared to face the dark with my armor of salt. And, as I write this, some of my issues, especially with regard to trauma, are being dealt with in the sequel, Hell Bent. But rereading Ninth House I can say I think the one thing this book does really well is capture just how overwhelming the adjustment to college life is. It made me nostalgic but it also made me have some serious nightmares about missing final projects and exams. And I'm not just saying this as a way to justify how Leigh Bardugo writes about Yale and New Haven with such an insiders view. Because while it might come off as pompous and elite, there's a part of me that gets it. This is the world Alex has been thrown into and she herself is trying to become an insider while she is very much an outsider. An outsider who is rather one-dimensional. She's basically the Katniss Everdeen of Yale. Reacting not acting. But I forgive her. She's been through a lot. Here's hoping she gets the therapy she so rightfully needs. And here's to second chances. Alex needed one and well, so did I with this book.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alex Stern, College, Crooked Kingdom, Darlington, Grays, Grishaverse, Hell Bent, Katniss Everdeen, Leigh Bardugo, Lethe, Matthias, New Haven, Ninth House, Rape, Second Chances, Secret Societies, Skull and Bones, Summer School, Yale

The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson
Published by: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: January 22nd, 2019
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Stevie feels like the world has turned upside down. If there was one person in the world whom she thought she would never be grateful for it's Edward King. The conservative politician with White House dreams whom her parents worship and work for has been a divisive subject for years. And yet here he is in her living room giving her what she most desires in the world, a return ticket to Ellingham Academy. After the tragic death of Hayes Major and the disappearance of Ellie Walker, Stevie's parents pulled her out of Ellingham faster than she thought possible. They never thought she belonged there, hell she was never sure she belonged there, but it's where she needs to be. She needs to solve the Truly Devious case, and if that means making a deal with the devil then so be it. Even if it means spying on David. To be fair, David is the one who dropped the bombshell that he's Edward King's son on her only when his hand was forced. But that can be unpacked another day, what needs to be unpacked now is the tin she found in Ellie's room with new evidence relating to the Truly Devious case. Who exactly are Frankie and Edward and how do they tie into the mystery? Well if anyone alive knows that it's Dr. Irene Fenton. Dr. Fenton wrote THE BOOK on the crime; Truly Devious: The Ellingham Murders. Charles Scott, the head of Ellingham Academy and Stevie's advisor, has arranged for her to be Dr. Fenton's research assistant. Stevie has access to the attics at Ellingham Academy and has been cataloging the items within and therefore can verify china patterns used and other seemingly useless details for an updated edition of Dr. Fenton's book. Because if there's one thing she's quickly learned about Dr. Fenton it's that she is even more obsessed with the Truly Devious case than Stevie herself. Dr. Fenton's house looks like a cliched conspiracy theorist's hideout. But somewhere among all those secreted papers maybe Dr. Fenton has found a new clue, one thing Stevie does learn from her is that there's a secret tunnel in her school lodging. On Halloween Stevie and David and Nate look for the tunnel in Minerva House and find more than they bargained for, Ellie's body. Stevie feels in over her head. Everyone seems to have a secret and none moreso than Ellingham Academy itself. One thing is clear, with all these bodies piling up she might solve the case but she might also end up dead.

This is THE BOOK that made me fall in love with this series. Perhaps I related too strongly to a quirky writer with a few too many cats... and I also have a borderline obsession with moose. But really it was Frankie and Edward that captured my imagination. What I loved is that this book took the ingeniously repurposed Dorothy Parker poem that was viewed as the ominous warning of the crime to come and in fact gave the case it's moniker and turned it on it's head. Which in turn made me think of something else tangentially related and kind of blew my mind as to why I never thought of it before. It's also extra ironic that it has to deal with Jack the Ripper, a case that Stevie views as a little too sensationalized and therefore not for her. So in her book Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed Patricia Cornwell makes a big deal of the fact that the "From Hell" letter which is believed to written by Jack the Ripper was written on the same kind of paper the artist Walter Sickert used, meaning that he must be Jack the Ripper. She has spent millions buying up his artwork and trying to find DNA evidence to prove her point but here Stevie got me wondering, what if Cornwell is right about the letter but wrong about Sickert? Yes, it's commonly believed that the "From Hell" letter is genuine, but what if it's not? What if it was written by a deluded artist and actually had nothing to do with the crime? In other words, the person who writes the letter might not be the killer. This revelation that Stevie stumbles upon with regard to the "Truly Devious" letter and Frankie and Edward just ignited my brain. Coincidences can happen, especially when someone wants to be thought of as evil. If you're two teenagers wanting to be Bonnie and Clyde or an artist wanting to be the most notorious serial killer of all time, wouldn't you do something to try to get that notoriety? In Frankie and Edward's case they didn't know things would play out as they did, but they sure got what they wanted. And this gave me what I wanted. A case I thought was pretty straightforward, a case I figured I had solved, but then Maureen Johnson throws this little wrench in and makes me think, I mean really think. That's why this series is so good, nothing is as it appears and death is a very real possibility. The question is is moose also a possibility?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bonnie and Clyde, Dorothy Parker, Ellingham Academy, From Hell, Jack the Ripper, Maureen Johnson, Moose, Patricia Cornwell, Portrait of a Killer, Stevie Bell, Summer School, The Vanishing Stair, Truly Devious

Thus with a Kiss I Die by Christina Dodd
Published by: A John Scognamiglio Book
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The delightfully irreverent eldest daughter of the not-so-ill-fated Romeo and Juliet returns to sleuth another day in fair Verona, in this hugely entertaining historical mystery series with a refreshingly bold premise.

"Woe, for I am the bug that meets the windshield's might,
No longer the speeding glass, smooth, clean and bright..."

You're right. I, Rosie Montague of Verona, am lousy at iambic pentameter and Shakespeare speak, but you get the point: Sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug. I, who for my whole life, have cruised along, unruffled by life's trials, am suddenly smashed flat and speeding recklessly up the WhattheHellHappened Highway.

Why? you ask...

I'm 20-years-old and by my own design, never been wed, free as no married woman ever is. I'm beautiful, but without conceit, for Juliet, my legendary Mamma is the most gorgeous creature to ever walk the earth. Just ask Romeo, my legendary Papà. (Rumors of their deaths were premature.) I was heartwhole until I fell (literally) in love with Lysander of the House of Beautiful. But our love was not to be, for I was thwarted by Escalus, the Prince of Verona...who had designs on me.

I'm trapped.

Then! I'm presented with a solution. Escalus's father, Prince Escalus the Elder, appears to me. He tasks that I find his killer. Did I mention Elder is a ghost?

Given that I only recently dispatched Verona's first serial killer, I'm less than pleased. Yet Elder promises to unite me with my One True Love, so I gather clues. Meanwhile, revolution threatens, for beneath Verona society's glittering surface lurk dark shadows - and an enemy eager to make me a tragic heroine in my own right..."

Aside for the whole windshield anachronism I'm game. Then again, there are ghosts, so should I even call out an anachronism? 

A Terribly Nasty Business by Julia Seales
Published by: Random House
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"London provides fabulously deadly opportunities for a fledgling inspector in the twisty follow-up to Julia Seales's bestselling debut, A Most Agreeable Murder, hailed by People as a "delightful cocktail...of wit, hilarity, and suspense!"

After achieving her lifelong dream of solving a murder, bringing a killer to justice, and proving she is not, in fact, a morbid creep, Beatrice Steele feels like everything is finally falling into place. She's traded her etiquette-obsessed community of Swampshire for the big city of London, accompanied by her ever-trusty chaperone, Miss Bolton. They've settled in a lovely neighborhood, Sweetbriar, known for its proximity to the Sweet Majestic theater, picturesque pleasure gardens, and an unfortunate infestation of flying squirrels. But Beatrice's favorite part is that Sweetbriar is also home to DS Investigations, the new office she opened with the prickly, annoyingly logical Inspector Drake to solve the city's brutally thrilling crimes.

However, nothing is turning out how Beatrice imagined it would. Sir Huxley, famed gentleman inspector and Beatrice's former crush, is still considered the real investigator in London, so the only cases left for Beatrice and Drake are lost pets and spectacles. Not that Beatrice has much time for crime-solving anyway, as her mother still expects her to find an eligible (rich) husband to protect their family from destitution. Beatrice is struggling to balance all the demands on her and begins to wonder if she can become a true detective in a city that feels full of false promises.

That is until a string of murders thrusts Beatrice and Drake into the center of a scandal that pits the neighborhood's wealthiest against the arts community, spreading fear and chaos throughout the city. As they follow the trail through bewildering ballrooms, secretive shops, and odd operas, Beatrice must survive threats to her partnership, her business, and her place in society to break the case - before it's too late."

Can they also investigate the flying squirrel infestation? I really want that investigated. 

A Daughter's Guide to mothers and Murder by Dianne Freeman
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the latest USA Today bestselling, Victorian Era-set Countess of Harleigh Mystery from multi-award winning author Dianne Freeman, Frances Hazelton and her husband, George, uncover the secrets of backstage Paris to find out who's acting the role of a killer to chilling perfection...

Frances and George are enjoying some well-deserved leisure time in Paris when an old acquaintance from London, Alicia Stoke-Whitney, seeks Frances's help to investigate a personal matter. Alicia's daughter is being courted by Carlson Deaver, a wealthy American shadowed by a very suspicious tragedy.

Less than a year ago, Carlson's wife, a former actress, was murdered, her body discovered in one of the more dubious quartiers in Paris. Though authorities guess it was a robbery gone wrong, no one was ever brought to justice. Until Daniel Cadieux, Inspector for the Sûreté, follows a startling new lead. None other than Sarah Bernhardt, legendary icon of the Paris stage, receives a piece of jewelry stolen from the victim, along with an incriminating note: I know what you did.

It opens a new door for the Hazeltons' investigation, as well. But not a soul believes that the Divine Sarah would become entangled in something so disreputable as murder - even if she and the late Mrs. Deaver did have a history of theatrical clashes. Amid questions of revenge, blackmail, scandals, and secrets, more poisoned pen letters follow, and suspects abound. Now it's up to Francis and George to infiltrate the most elite social circles of Paris, and find a culprit before another victim faces their final act."

I love any fracas involving a theatre! Must be the real reason I got a theatre degree...

The Colony of Lost Souls by Kelsey James
Published by: A John Scognamiglio Book
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 3504 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young woman searching for her missing sister in 1930s California is drawn into a dark and dangerous cult in this intoxicating binge of sacrifice and obsession, strange rituals, alluring promises, and a beautiful prison for readers of Silvia Moreno Garcia, Nicola Harrison, Laura Purcell, California Golden by Melanie Benjamin, and Emma Cline's The Girls.

Born a year apart, May and June Anderson were once as close as twins. Time and a loveless marriage changed the once vibrant May into June's timid counterpart. Now, two years after June abruptly disappeared, May receives a letter from her sister, inviting her to visit a mysterious colony in southern California. Eager to match June's boldness for once, May doesn't hesitate.

The Colony is located in a magnificent Spanish Revival-style mansion perched on a bluff overlooking the Pacific, and is presided over by the group's charismatic leader, Rex. Colony members believe in an afterlife where departed souls mingle, and that the truly enlightened can even summon back the spirits of lost loved ones. May is told that June has recently left on a mission, and she's intrigued enough to accept Rex's invitation to stay until her sister's return.

Drawn deeper into the group, and under Rex's seductive spell, May undergoes their initiation ceremony. Yet her questions grow more urgent with June's continued absence - and the warnings of a presumptuous but charming undercover investigator. May has longed for the daring, adventurous life her sister pursued, but her arrival has sparked a dangerous unraveling within the Colony, where nothing and no one is quite as it seems.

Gripping and atmospheric, The Colony of Lost Souls immerses readers in a world of secrets, deception, and unexpected redemption."

Oh, her sister is SO dead. That's the "mission" she one FOR SURE.

The Loveless Child by Elsie Mason
Published by: Orion
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"England, 1940s.

Minnie has spent most of her life feeling like a plain Jane, watching things happen around her, waiting for something - just something - to once happen to her. When her old best friend, the beautiful and callous Junie, unexpectedly returns to Sixteen Streets, Minnie's not quite sure how to feel. Once inseparable, the two now find themselves at odds. And when Junie strikes up a romance with Minnie's brother Derek, Minnie can't help but feel lonelier than ever...

Junie's looking to start anew - she's running from her mucky, strained life in South Manchester, and the cruel man she shared it with. But when she returns to Sixteen Streets, all her old wounds - from her mother to her friends - resurface. And she has no choice but to face them, and this place she once called home.

In the midst of it all, can the two women find their way back to each other - and themselves  - once again?

Or will Sixteen Streets really break them apart?"

Oh my, my friend Paul's books, written under his nom de plume Elsie Mason, are FINALLY available stateside.

The Dark Library by Mary Anna Evans
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Can a family's dark history repeat itself?

Estella Ecker has returned to Rockfall House, the last place on earth she wants to be. Years after she ran away from her overbearing father, she has been forced back home to walk in his footsteps, teaching at the college he dominated and living in the fabulous home where he entertained artists and scholars for decades - and perhaps she owns it now, because her mercurial mother has disappeared. At the center of everything - the whispers, the rumors, the secrets - is her father's library of rare books, which she had been forbidden to touch while he was alive to stop her.

Everyone in town is watching Estella, with her dead father's name on their lips, and no one seems to care about her missing mother. Who were her parents, really, and is the answer hidden somewhere in the depths of Rockfall House? And who will Estella be, if she gathers enough courage to find that answer? What she discovers is that no one can escape the secrets hidden in this dark library.

Suspenseful and unsettling but ultimately triumphant, The Dark Library by acclaimed author Mary Anna Evans is a compelling tale of mystery, family secrets, and the quest for truth."

I want into that library as well!

An Amateur Sleuth's Guide to Murder by Lynn Cahoon
Published by: Kensington Cozies
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author Lynn Cahoon makes her hardcover debut with an irresistible new meta-mystery series about an amateur sleuth who doesn't just solve crimes, she writes about how to do it...

TIP #1: WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU COUNTS AS WORK EXPERIENCE
Meg Gates could use a guidebook for life. Indeed, she's faced some challenges. She dropped out of college to work for a tech startup that failed - and her fiancé just took her bridesmaid to Italy on what was supposed to be Meg's honeymoon.

Now, at twenty-six, Meg has taken the ferry ride of shame from Seattle back to Bainbridge Island to live with her family. At least she has her rescue cocker spaniel, Watson, by her side. But it's Meg who could use a rescue - and she's hoping it will come in the form of a part-time gig doing research for a bestselling mystery writer.

TIP #2: WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW - OR WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW
That's when the light bulb goes on: Meg will write her own guidebook - a manual on criminal investigation. But before she can impress her new boss with her pet project, the author's manager is found dead on the rocks beneath the author's Gothic mansion.

Now it's time to put her guide to the test, as Meg sets out to clear her employer of suspicion and solve the crime. But there's one important caveat she'll have to add to her guide -

TIP #3: BEWARE OF UNKNOWN DANGERS"

I mean, Meg doesn't seem to be the best judge in character, so here's hoping she survives.

Like a Bullet by Andrew Cartmel
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Humorous cosy-crime caper from the author of the beloved, bestselling Vinyl Detective series in which a feisty, amoral book dealer uses her unique skills to solve fiendish crimes, a love letter to Agatha Christie murder mysteries and classic whodunnits.

When Erik Make Loud, retired rock star and a major World War Two nut, hires Cordelia, the Paperback Sleuth, to track down a series of lurid paperbacks about his favourite global conflict - the "Commando" novels by the blatantly pseudonymous Butch Raider - it seems like a routine job. But Cordelia soon discovers the final novel in the series, the incredibly rare Commando Gold, is all but impossible to track down.

The books' creator - real name Monty Harrington, once a promising young poet and now a depraved drunk - proves easier to find. Writing pulp war stories didn't come naturally to Monty. Until he met someone who knew all about such stuff during a pub crawl; a genuine ex-commando who, for the price of a pint or two, was willing to provide Monty with authentic anecdotes.

Too authentic, it turns out...

Because Commando Gold reveals the details of a real-life commando mission.

At the time the mission was top secret.

And all these years later, someone is quite prepared to kill to keep it so."

Firstly, I wish I had the money to hire someone to hunt down rare books for me. And secondly, I would totally love to be hired to hunt down rare books.

V is for Venom by Kathryn Harkup
Published by: Bloomsbury Sigma
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Fourteen stories. Fourteen more poisons. Just because it's fiction doesn't mean it's all made-up...

Agatha Christie is renowned for her captivating plots and creative ways of killing off ill-fated victims. And what better way to add intrigue to a story than poison? The surreptitious ways they can be administered and the characteristic symptoms they produce make these killer chemicals the ideal method of murder in a 'whodunit'. Christie perfected the use of poisons in her plots; her deft and varied use of toxic substances is one of her great strengths as a writer. But how is it that some compounds prove so fatal, and in such tiny amounts?

The follow up to Kathryn Harkup's best-selling A is for Arsenic, V is for Venom is a compelling exploration of Christie's use of poisons and her extensive chemical knowledge. Featuring fourteen more poisons from the works of Agatha Christie, this book investigates the science behind the deadly substances, the history of their use in real-life murder cases, and how feasible was it to obtain, administer and detect these poisons in Christie's time and today. Combining Christie's murder mysteries, chemical science and true crime, V is for Venom is a celebration of the use of science by the undisputed Queen of Crime."

Ever since I saw Olivia Williams star in Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures I have been fascinated by Christie's real life chemical knowledge. 

Bone Hash by Skye Griffith
Published by: Artemesia Publishing, LLC
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 284 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ancient Bones. A modern murder. A deadly secret buried deep in the desert.

In the vast untamed desert of northern Arizona, Aideen Connor signs on as lead archaeologist hoping to find peace after witnessing her husband's violent death. Instead, she stumbles into a mystery as ancient and dangerous as the land itself. Aideen's team uncovers a "bone hash," human bones showing evidence of prehistoric cannibalism. Then a brutal murder shocks the residents of the nearby Hopi Reservation. Unsettling connections emerge between the murder and her dig, and Aideen's world begins to unravel.

Aideen's boss blames her when the bone hash is stolen. Violent threats begin: A sheep is viciously killed under her residential trailer, a photo of her dead husband left in its blood. A hulky stranger chases her across remote backcountry and attacks her. All threats point to a grim reality: someone wants her gone. Aideen must navigate a maze of buried truths with only her dog, Dakota for companionship. Every clue leads her closer to the secrets buried at her dig that could cost her more than her career - they could cost her life."

For fans of Dark Winds, particularly this most recent season. 

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From #1 New York Times bestseller Lisa Jewell, an author "at the very top of her game" (Lucy Foley) - three women are connected by one man in this kaleidoscopic thriller.

"Who are you? Who are you really?"

Nick Radcliffe is a man of substance and good taste. He has a smile that could melt the coldest heart and a knack for putting others at ease. He's just what Nina Swann needed in her life after her husband's unexpected death. But to Nina's adult daughter, Ash, Nick seems too slick, too polished, too good to be true. Without telling her mother, Ash begins digging into Nick's past. What she finds is more than unsettling...

"Because there are things that don’t make sense, and I've been so patient, so very patient..."

Martha is a florist living in a neighboring town with her infant daughter and her devoted husband Alistair. But lately, Alistair has been traveling more and more frequently for work, disappearing for days at a time. When Martha questions him about his frequent absences, he always has a legitimate explanation, but Martha can't share the feeling that something isn't right.

"You know that’s mad, don’t you? I'm your husband. We know everything there is to know about each other."

Nina, Martha, and Ash are on a collision course with a shocking truth that is far darker than anyone could have imagined. And all three are about to wish they had heeded the same warning: Don't let him in. But the past won't stay buried forever."

Minimally there's gotta be two families going on, which always intrigues and exhausts me to think of.

The No-End House by Jeremy Bates
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the tradition of Saw and Eli Roth’s Hostel, but with the evil supernatural twists of Stephen King, Alma Katsu, and Christopher Golden, two strangers unwittingly volunteer for the ultimate haunted house challenge in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter.

Nine rooms. Nine tests. One chance to get out alive. No one makes it to the end of The No-End House.

Bestselling author Jeremy Bates invites you to spend the night in The No-End House. Where the nightmares begin as soon as you enter - and the terror never ends...

It's the ultimate haunted house challenge. A crumbling stone mansion nestled in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, it may be the best-kept secret in Europe - a little-known attraction featuring nine escape rooms to explore, nine puzzles to solve, and a large cash prize for anyone who makes it to the end. There's just one catch: no one makes it to the end of The No-End House...

When Joe Hadfield hears about the house from a pair of backpackers, he's intrigued but not interested. He's trying to escape a nightmare of his own: the trauma of witnessing his wife's grisly death. Traveling the world to ease his pain and grief, he meets a beautiful stranger named Helen who convinces him to try The No-End House challenge together. Joe reluctantly agrees. But as soon as they enter its walls, meet its mysterious host - and sign an ominous contract - Joe begins to understand the seductive power of The No-End House...

It knows his darkest secrets. It feeds his greatest fears. It makes him do things he would never do. And there is no end to what he will do...to make it out alive."

Oh, oh yes. I love to read these kinds of stories because there's no way in hell anyone would get me into The No-End House. 

Smile for the Cameras by Miranda Smith
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An actress desperate to reclaim her fame must survive the real-life plot of the horror movie that made her famous in this psychologically twisted locked-room thriller influenced by nineties slasher films.

Twenty years ago, Ella Winters was the it girl. She made a name for herself in Hollywood and throughout America as the sole survivor in the cult-classic slasher Grad Night. But the real horror is what happened when the cameras weren't rolling - something terrible that Ella and her co-stars agreed never to speak of again. Shortly after the movie's premiere, Ella disappeared from the acting scene under the pretense of caring for her ailing mother, hoping for a quiet life out of the spotlight to ease her guilty mind.

Since her mother's passing, Ella has decided to return to the silver screen. And with the cast and crew of Grad Night in the process of filming a reunion documentary, Ella has an express ticket back into Hollywood's good graces. Weighed down by the secret she's been keeping all these years, Ella apprehensively makes the trip to the original set - a cabin in rural Tennessee - to reunite with her castmates for the first time in more than a decade. But when the actors begin to meet the same gruesome fates as the characters they originally played, falling victim to someone dressed as the Grad Night villain, it's clear their secret is out.

Now, the question is: Can the final girl survive one last nightmare?"

So the documentary was totally staged for a revenge killing right?

Glass Girls by Danie Shokoohi
Published by: Zando - Gillian Flynn Books
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A former child medium is forced to face her deadly past and the ghosts she left behind in this electrifying debut.

Alice Haserot thought she'd escaped the curse. For sixteen years, she's lived far from her family and the ghosts she used to conjure. But her past isn't so easily left behind.

When Alice discovers she's pregnant and her estranged sister, Bronwyn, turns up on her doorstep, her carefully built new life begins to unravel. Bronwyn offers an ultimatum: one of her daughters is trying to possess the other, and only Alice has the power to save them. If Alice refuses, Bronwyn will go to their abusive mother and expose her location.

Forced to confront the terrors of her childhood, Alice returns home to face the inheritance of her family curse. Tautly paced and gorgeously written, Glass Girls explores the deep, complicated bonds of family and the shadows that follow us, no matter how far we run."

Former. Child. Medium. Everything else is gravy. 

Eliza and the Duke by Harper St. George
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"American heiress Eliza Dove was resigned to a polite marriage of convenience...until she spent one wicked night with the Duke.

All hopeless romantic Eliza Dove asked for was one night of adventure. One glorious evening of freedom to explore the dark corners of London with a mysterious stranger before a lifetime trapped in a quiet, respectable marriage of convenience. Except now she wants more. Now she wants him.

Simon Cavell is no gentleman. Known only as 'the Duke,' Whitechapel's prize boxer is one fight away from achieving his goal: to safeguard his late sister's only treasure and leave the streets for good. He cannot allow some pretty young heiress to spill his secrets, no matter how tempting she might be. In return for her silence, Simon will give Eliza a taste of the darkness...and hope he doesn't lose his heart in the process.

But one night together could never be enough. And now Eliza has a new plan - an even more scandalous bargain that will either land the heiress her duke or ruin them both."

I like to think that Harper St. George is a fan of Miss Scarlet and the Duke and was sad when the Duke left and therefore this is her way to get Eliza Scarlet and the Duke together...

Look Before You Leap by Virginia Heath
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this hilarious second installment of a Regency romance series, a single lord is forced to settle down...and when a houseparty brings a happy-go-lucky lady's companion his way, his grumpy heart is unexpectedly warmed.

Nine years ago, Lord Guy Harrowby, Viscount Wennington, was publicly humiliated by a failed and reckless romantic gesture. Despite this, his mother clings to the promise he made her then: that she would have a house full of grandchildren by his thirtieth birthday. Still single, embittered, and swiftly approaching thirty, Guy's work is his life. In desperation, his mother blindsides Guy with a weeklong house party at his estate filled with annoying debutantes, all competing to be his wife.

After failing as a governess, Lottie Travers is struggling as a lady's companion. Raised in an all-male household, she's developed habits that get her dismissed. Even after years of Miss Prentice's teachings of how to be a lady, she climbs trees better than she embroiders and can't resist riding horses astride, in breeches. But with the family farm in trouble, and her father now in dire need of her wages, she's determined to conquer her wildness once and for all.

Even with his home full of eligible women, there is only one who catches Guy's eye - though he tries to deny it. For Lottie, succeeding in her new role proves difficult when the Wennington estate is filled with horses, and a spark ignites between her and the grumpy lord. Will they remain stuck in their ways, or learn that they may just be the perfect match?"

I mean, Guy's mama knows it takes awhile even after marriage for the grandkids to start coming right? 

The Camomile by Catherine Carswell
Published by: British Library
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"'The chamomile, the more it is trodden on, the faster is grows.' Shakespeare, Henry IV Part 1

The opening quote of The Camomile provides an insight into the book's title. The narrative highlights the tensions for a woman in the early 20th century between the desire to explore her creativity and the duties expected of her as a prospective wife. Through a series of journal entries, which form an extended letter to her best friend, we follow the protagonist, Ellen, who rents out a room away from her family to provide a quiet space in which to focus on her music and her writing. Ellen is a lively soul who wants the freedom to express herself and she finds a champion of her endeavors at the Mitchell Library. But as she falls in love and becomes betrothed to a doctor who is soon to return to India, she finds herself increasingly conflicted and has to eventually make a choice."

I just gotta say how much I adore the cover of this book. It's perfect but also wonderfully reflects the contents inside it's covers.

Loving Spirits at the Vintage Teashop by Sharon Booth
Published by: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: eBook, 349 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Fans of Heidi Swain, Lucy Jane Wood, and the BBC series Ghosts will love this heart-warming, cosy, romantic novel with a magical twist.

The beautiful Cotswold village of Rowan Vale is run as a living museum, allowing tourists to see history in action. But there's more to the place than any visitor would guess...

Fifty-something Shona grew up in the village and now runs its vintage, 1940s-themed teashop. Not everyone knows that the previous manager, her great-aunt Polly, still lives there too...as a ghost!

When newcomer Max arrives, hoping to find out more about the place where his German grandfather was a prisoner of war, both Shona and Polly are unsettled. Shona, because handsome, interesting Max is the first man to catch her eye since her divorce, and Polly, because she must finally confront the terrible truth about her past.

A 1940s-themed weekend planned for the village brings the families' connections to a head and tragic secrets to light.

Can Shona help her ghostly great-aunt to find love and forgiveness once more, while also creating her own happy ever after?

The second in the comforting, feel-good, romantic series with a dash of fantasy that started with Kindred Spirits at Harling Hall."

Aw, ghostly HEAs!

The Secret Romantic's Book of Magic edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
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The official patter:
"Enemies become lovers, rivalry turns to romance, and convenient marriages create true love in these 12 addictive Romantasy tales.

Featuring Olivie Blake, Kelley Armstrong, Katherine Arden, Hannah Nicole Maehrer, Tasha Suri, Melissa Marr and more.

Fall in love with these twelve gorgeous Romantasy stories from bestselling and beloved authors.

Lost lovers return for a second chance - but what are their motives? Academic rivals compete for a prestigious position, but their sizzling chemistry might get in the way. A monster slayer​ posing as an unwitting sacrifice meets an intriguingly moral prince.

From relationships caught in disparate timelines to ghostly ballrooms and dragons that need rescuing from princesses, this anthology gives you an inventive new spin on all your favorite tropes, and much more that you've never seen before.

FEATURING BRAND-NEW STORIES FROM:
Olivie Blake
A. G. Slatter
Tasha Suri
Katherine Arden
Kelley Armstrong
Hannah N. Maehrer
Melissa Marr
Megan Bannen
Kelly Andrew
Kamilah Cole
A. C. Wise
Eliza Chan"

Damn, that lineup! Just damn.

A Magic Deep and Drowning by Hester Fox
Published by: Graydon House
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
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The official patter:
"Set in the waning days of the Dutch Golden Age, this enchanting, lush reimagining of The Little Mermaid is perfect for fans of Jesse Burton's The Miniaturist and Leigh Bardugo's The Familiar.

The Dutch Republic, 1650. One fine spring day in Friesland, twenty-year-old Clara van Wieren is faced with an ill omen: a whale, beached and rotting in the noonday sun. But Clara doesn't believe in magic and superstition, and this portent is quickly dismissed when a proposal from a wealthy merchant arrives, promising Clara the freedom she seeks from her mother's overbearing rule.

When her attempts at overseeing the household at the family's estate lead to her chance encounter with a young man with russet hair and sparkling eyes the color of the sea, she finds herself strangely drawn to him. As Clara grows closer to Maurits, she must choose between the steady, gentle life she has been raised for and the man who makes her blood sing.

But Maurits isn't who he seems to be, and his secrets, once hidden beneath the waves, threaten to rise up and drown them both. And when an ancient bargain, forged in blood between the mythical people of the sea and the rulers of the land, begins to unravel, Clara finds herself at the heart of a deadly struggle for power."

I am a sucker for more dark and authentic takes on The Little Mermaid. 

A Treachery of Swans by A.B. Poranek
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
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The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of Where the Dark Stands Still comes an atmospheric fantasy based on Swan Lake, following Odile as her plan to restore magic to her kingdom gets disrupted by a murder - forcing her to beg for help from the young woman whose identity she stole.

Can two girls - one enchanted, one the enchantress - save their kingdom and each other?

Two hundred years ago, a slighted deity stole the magic from Auréal and vanished without a trace. But seventeen-year-old Odile has a plan. All her life, her father, a vengeful sorcerer, has raised her for one singular task: infiltrate the royal palace and steal the king's crown, an artefact with enough power to restore magic. But to enter the palace, she must assume the identity of a noblewoman. She chooses Marie d'Odette: famed for her beauty, a rumored candidate for future queen…and Odile's childhood-friend-turned-sworn-enemy.

With her father's help, Odile transforms Marie into a swan and takes her place at court. But when the king is brutally murdered and her own brother is accused, her plans are thrown into chaos. Desperate to free her brother, Odile is forced to team up with none other than elegant, infuriating Marie, the girl she has cursed…and the girl she can't seem to stop thinking about despite her best efforts.

To make matters worse, there are whispers that the king's murder was not at the hands of man, but beast. Torn between loyalty to her father and her growing feelings for Marie, Odile becomes tangled in a web of treachery and deceit. To save her kingdom, she must find the true path to magic...and find the real killer before they - or it - strikes again."

Very Black Swan vibes here. 

A Legionnaire's Guide to Love and Peace by Emily Skrutskie
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
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The official patter:
"In this charming fantasy with a swoony friends-to-lovers romance, two soldiers must choose the futures they want in the wake of a last-chance hookup on the night before the world was supposed to end.

On the eve of the battle that will decide the realm of Telrus's fate, Katrien takes a hard look at her prospects. A mere legionnaire, she and her spear will be at the fore in the morning, facing off against the Demon Lord and his wretched army, and it's all but certain she'll perish in the fight. But if the end of the world is mere hours away, there's no reason not to hook up with her handsome, dedicated battle partner, Emory - despite any antifraternization policies their centurion may have in place.

Only the world doesn't end the next day. Instead, an insufferable prince raised in hiding comes out of nowhere with a plucky band of heroes, defeats the Demon Lord, and seals the rift to the hellish plane. The realm is saved. The war is over. And Kat suddenly has a lot more future than she knows what to do with. It's a future that could include Emory...if only he weren't so set on staying enlisted in the very army Kat was unwillingly drafted into.

And while the Demon Lord has been destroyed, peace is still a long march away. When Kat inadvertently catches the eye of the prince, she, Emory, and the rest of their motley unit are pulled to the fore of the formation - and the heart of the danger - as the army embarks on one last campaign. The mission: laying a road as a foundation for the prince's future rule. The real mission: scouring the last of the Demon Lord's servants from the material plane.

As Kat and Emory work to secure a lasting peace, they'll have to decide what they want their futures to look like - and if there's room for love at the end of the road."

Apocalypse hookups are so awkward when someone saves the day...

A Sanctuary for Fire and Fate by Lolu Sinclair
Published by: LOST LUST
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Kindle, 281 Pages
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The official patter:
"Mia takes her role at the sanctuary for mythical creatures very seriously. She's spent years tending to injured fauns, mischievous pixies, and orphaned baby dragons. But when brutally injured unicorns start turning up, she fears something ominous is headed their way.

Then Mia witnesses something very few humans have: a phoenix's fiery rebirth. And now, that phoenix wants her dead.

Asher has lived for centuries, surviving by a rule that cannot be broken: no one can witness his resurrection and live. But something about Mia stops him from killing her. A feeling he can't explain. The more time they spend together, the stronger the pull between them becomes. Something deeper than fate, more powerful than instinct.

Now, the ruthless Shadow Guild is closing in, and the sanctuary and its inhabitants are on the brink of annihilation. Mia and Asher must fight together if they want to protect the creatures and each other. Because some connections are impossible to break. And some loves are destined to burn forever.

For fans of slow-burn romantasy, high-stakes adventure, and breathtaking magical worlds, A Sanctuary for Fire and Fate is the first book in a spellbinding new series where love and destiny collide."

Orphaned baby dragons! I want to help save the orphaned baby dragons!

Arcana: The Lost Heirs by Sam Prentice-Jones
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Debut author/illustrator Sam Prentice-Jones explores fighting against your destiny and reconciling the actions of your ancestors in Arcana: The Lost Heirs, a tarot-inspired fantasy graphic novel for young adults.

James, Daphne, Koko, and Sonny have all grown up surrounded by magic in the Arcana, an organization of witches that protects the magical world, run by the mysterious and secretive Majors. Eli Jones, however, hadn't even known other witches existed...until he stumbled into James. As James introduces him to the world of the Arcana, Eli finds the family he never had and a blossoming romance with James.

The five new friends soon realize that sinister things are afoot, and everything may not be what it seems at the Arcana. When the group delves deeper into the mystery surrounding the deaths of their parents and the Majors' rise to power, they discover that they're at the center of a curse - one they've just unwittingly set into motion. As the friends search for answers, they'll have to confront the cursed legacy that links them in hopes of freeing their futures."

The tarot and how different people interpret it and weave it into stories fascinates me. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

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