strange and random happenstance

The Last Bookstore on Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two teen girls fall in love and fight for survival in an abandoned bookstore weeks before another cataclysmic storm threatens to bring about the end of the world in this unforgettable YA debut. Perfect for fans of Station Eleven and The Last of Us.

The world is about to end. Again.

Ever since the first Storm wreaked havoc on civilization as we know it, seventeen-year-old Liz Flannery has been holed up in an abandoned bookstore in suburban New Jersey where she used to work, trading books for supplies with the few remaining survivors. It's the one place left that feels safe to her.

Until she learns that another earth-shattering Storm is coming...and everything changes.

Enter Maeve, a prickly and potentially dangerous out-of-towner who breaks into the bookstore looking for shelter one night. Though the two girls are immediately at odds, Maeve has what Liz needs - the skills to repair the dilapidated store before the next climate disaster strikes - and Liz reluctantly agrees to let her stay.

As the girls grow closer and undeniable feelings spring up between them, they realize that they face greater threats than the impending Storm. And when Maeve's secrets and Liz's inner demons come back to haunt them both, they find themselves fighting for their lives as their world crumbles around them."

No, don't trade the books! Well, unless they're shitty books...

Mystery Royale by Kaitlyn Cavalancia
Published by: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Inheritance Games meets Hotel Magnifique in this genre splicing YA fantastical mystery.

The only thing sixteen-year-old Mullory Prudence has left of her mom is a warning: "Run if the strange finds you." But mysterious warnings don't pay the bills or help take care of her sick Gran. And they certainly don't make her miserable after-school job any more bearable. When unexpected letters start appearing in peculiar places - sealed in bags of dog food and hidden in the refrigerator - Mullory knows she should avoid them to heed her mother's warning, but her curiosity thinks otherwise. She uncovers an invitation from Stoutmire Estate to compete in a game of Mystery Royale for the chance at a sizable inheritance.

Dizzy with the prospect of billions, Mullory enters the game only to unearth the true prize - the illusionary magical properties of Xavier Stoutmire, a recluse without an heir. A recluse who was expected to keep his magic in the family, especially when there isn't enough for each member. With a prize worth killing for, the game is simple: be the first to solve the mystery - who killed Xavier Stoutmire? One week full of lavish parties dripping with enchantments, in a mansion brimming with clues of the past, and everyone's a suspect. To win, Mullory will need to untangle a twisted family web and decide who she can trust...

Whitaker Stoutmire, the golden boy who's harboring deadly secrets?

Ellison Stoutmire, his closed off twin, who saw something she shouldn't have?

Lyric Stoutmire the youngest sibling, exiled by the family and burning with resentment?

Or Mateo Maldonado, the only other outsider whose reserved manner allows him to hide in the shadows... At least at first.

But most of all, Mullory must ask herself, why? Why her? A question most strange, indeed."

Yes, I have reached the part in my Jennifer Lynn Barnes addiction that I'm reading readalikes... But this one has magic!

The Afterdark by E. Latimer
Published by: Tundra Books (NY)
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Queer horror at a boarding school with a Lovecraftian twist in this new YA novel from E. Latimer, author of the acclaimed The Strange and Deadly Portraits of Bryony Gray.

Northcroft is an elite boarding school with a deadly secret. Each night as the bell tolls and the shutters slam down, cutting off the outside world, the Afterdark descends, turning the surrounding old growth forest into a macabre copy of itself. A negative photograph crawling with horrors.

Evie Laurent is certain of one thing from the moment she sees Holland Morgan on the front steps of Northcroft: she wants to know everything there is to know about her. But there are some things about Evie herself that are better kept secret. Especially the fact that she let her sister drown. And that it's getting harder to ignore her dark impulses...

Holland Morgan knows falling for Evie is just one more terrible choice in her long history of terrible choices. The problem is, she's not sure she cares.

As attraction turns slowly to obsession, they find themselves playing a dangerous game. Something out there is calling to each of them. Beckoning to the shadows within.

Do they fight the call and protect one another, or answer and embrace the darkness?"

Can't they be villains together?

The Haunting Between Us by Paul Michael Winters
Published by: Maelstrom Press
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 378 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Heartstopper meets The Haunting of Hill House in this queer coming-of-age romance and ghost story.

Cameron can't believe the boy of his dreams just moved into the house of his nightmares.

Sixteen-year-old Cameron Walsh dreads the haunted Victorian mansion across the street, where the ghost of the White Lady roams the halls. When he sees her through the bay window, his ghost-hunting friend Abby wants to investigate. But then the new owners pull up, and Cameron is captivated by the brooding, handsome boy moving in. He longs for a boyfriend, but years of bullying have shattered his self-esteem.

Sixteen-year-old Hugo Cruz and his father flip old houses, moving often, fleeing from the grief at the loss of Hugo's mother. They unknowingly move into the most haunted house in Port Townsend, Washington. From day one, Hugo encounters shadows that move by themselves, locked doors without keys, and hidden rooms. He hides the mysteries from his superstitious father, not wanting to uproot their lives.

When the White Lady becomes impossible to ignore, Hugo turns to Cameron to help uncover the house's dark history. They soon form a bond that goes beyond friendship, but as their feelings deepen, the White Lady's wrath intensifies. Entangled in a web of sinister secrets, they risk not only their love but their very existence."

I think everyone who knows ghosts knows to avoid White Ladies...

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Giant turtles, impossible ships, and tidal rivers ridden by a Drowned girl in search of a family in the latest in the bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning Wayward Children series from Seanan McGuire.

Nadya had three mothers: the one who bore her, the country that poisoned her, and the one who adopted her.

Nadya never considered herself less than whole, not until her adoptive parents fitted her with a prosthetic arm against her will, seeking to replace the one she'd been missing from birth.

It was cumbersome; it was uncomfortable; it was wrong.

It wasn't her.

Frustrated and unable to express why, Nadya began to wander, until the day she fell through a door into Belyrreka, the Land Beneath the Lake - and found herself in a world of water, filled with child-eating amphibians, majestic giant turtles, and impossible ships that sailed as happily beneath the surface as on top. In Belyyreka, she found herself understood for who she was: a Drowned Girl, who had made her way to her real home, accepted by the river and its people.

But even in Belyyreka, there are dangers, and trials, and Nadya would soon find herself fighting to keep hold of everything she had come to treasure."

I know I joke that no one publishes as many books a year as Seanan McGuire, but it's because damn, I admire that. Also, it's the first Tuesday of the year and look, a book...

The Spirit Circle by Tara Calaby
Published by: Text Publishing
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Kindle, 383 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For Ellen Whitfield, the betrothal of her dear friend Harriet to Ellen's brother has brought both loss and solace. But when Harriet suddenly breaks off the engagement, ostensibly at the insistence of her deceased mother, Ellen is bewildered. And when she learns that Harriet is involved with a spiritualist group led by the charismatic Caroline McLeod, she fears losing her friend altogether.

So it is that practical, sceptical Ellen moves into the gloomy East Melbourne mansion where Caroline, along with her enigmatic daughter Grace, has assembled a motley court of the bereaved. Ellen's intention is to expose the simple trickery - the hidden cabinets and rigged seances, the levers and wires - that must surely lie behind these visits from the departed.

What she discovers is altogether more complicated.

Tara Calaby weaves a compelling and richly detailed narrative around the romance of old Melbourne in this intriguing, possibly supernatural, historical mystery."

I mean, spiritualist possible cult leader? Sign me up. To read about it, not to join.

The Capital of Dreams by Heather O'Neill
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the hugely acclaimed author beloved by literary lights, including Emily St. John Mandel, Kelly Link, and Mona Awad, a dark dystopian fairy tale about an idyllic country ravaged by war - and a girl torn between safety and loyalty.

Sofia Bottom lives in Elysia, a small country forgotten by Europe. But inside its borders, the old myths of trees that come alive and faeries who live among their roots have given way to an explosion of the arts and the consolations of philosophy. From the clarinetists to the cabaret singers, no artist is as revered as Sofia's brilliant mother, the writer Clara Bottom. How can fourteen-year-old Sofia, with her tin ear and enduring love of ancient myths, ever hope to win her mother's love?

When the country's greatest enemy invades, and the Capital is under threat, Clara turns to her daughter to smuggle her new manuscript to safety on the last train evacuating children from the city. But when the train draws to a suspicious halt in the middle of a forest, Sofia is forced to run for her life and loses her mother's most prized possession. Frightened and alone in a country at war, Sofia must find a way to reclaim what she has lost. On an epic journey through woods and razed towns, colliding with soldiers, survivors, and other lost children, Sofia must make the choice between kindness and her own survival.

In this stunning novel set in an imaginative world yet reflective of our own times, Heather O'Neill delivers a vivid, breathtaking dark fairytale of life, death, and betrayal."

Just saying, losing that manuscript might be a dealbreaker in getting her mother's affections... Which means she deserves a better mother.

A Traitorous Heart by Erin Cotter
Published by: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A noblewoman in the scandalous French court finds herself under the dangerous and watchful eye of the Parisian royalty when she falls in love with the handsome king who is betrothed to her former lover in this bisexual The Three Musketeers by way of Bridgerton and F.T. Lukens.

Paris, 1572. Seventeen-year-old Jacqueline "Jac" d'Argenson-Aunis is lady-in-waiting to her best friend and former lover, the French Princess Marguerite "Margot" de Valois, but she dreams of more. If Jac plays her cards right, one day, she'll become a full member of the Societas Solis, a secret society of spies - just like her uncle and guardian, Viscount Gabriel d'Argenson-Aunis.

But it's hard to think about her own ambitions while France is on the brink of war, and the only thing that might save the country is an alliance - a marriage between the Catholic Princess Margot and Henry, the awful son of the Huguenot queen. Who would be the perfect person to play matchmaker? Jac, of course.

Jac resents lying to her best friend almost as much as she resents the brazen and arrogant King Henry, but it's her one chance to prove to the Societas Solis that she belongs among their ranks before her uncle can marry her off or worse. The more time Jac spends in the French Court's clandestine corners, though, the more she starts to wonder if Henry is...not as terrible as she once believed. And the Societas Solis may not be what they seem.

Politics. Spies. Chaos in the French court. Perhaps even witchcraft? Everything's more dangerous when love is involved."

I needed something to fill the void left by finished rewatching The Musketeers... 

The Empress by Kristin Cast
Published by: Bloom Books
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"He's a ruthless, battle-scarred warrior with a dark past, and she's stuck pretending to be his wife to save a fantasy kingdom.

From New York Times bestselling author Kristin Cast comes a new tarot-inspired fantasy series. Scarlett St. Clair meets Outlander in the seductive and spellbinding world of Towerfall, starting with The Empress, a high-heat, fake marriage romantasy with a swoon-worthy, morally-gray love interest.

The Arcana aren't just figures in a tarot deck - they're real. Terrifyingly real. That's what I learned when I found a tarot card in the snow and was yanked from my world and into Towerfall. The first thing the people of this harsh, cruel realm did was try to kill me, and they probably would have succeeded if Kane hadn't taken me to his hideout in the woods and nursed me back to health.

I don't know if I can trust him. He's too hot to be good news, he's definitely hiding secrets, and I've already seen him kill two people to protect me. If I hadn't just been helplessly dumped into his world, the blood on his sword and his dark, brooding mood would have me running in the opposite direction.

But right now, convincing the Kingdom of Pentacles that Kane and I are married is my best chance of getting into the palace, and back to my own world.

Because there's something wrong with Towerfall. Something deeply, deadly wrong. And if anyone finds out Kane and I aren't really husband and wife?

Well, then both of us are dead."

A book a recently read did a bait and switch with being tarot themed. Thankfully this isn't the case here.

Breath of the Dragon by Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young warrior dreams of proving his worth in the elite Guardian Tournament, fighting not only for himself but the fate of everything he loves.

Sixteen-year-old Jun dreams of proving his worth as a warrior in the elite Guardian's Tournament, held every six years to entrust the magical Scroll of Heaven to a new protector. Eager to prove his skills, Jun hopes that a win will restore his father's pride - righting a horrible mistake that caused their banishment from his home, mother, and twin brother.

But Jun's father strictly forbids him from participating. He believes there is no future in Jun honing his skills as a warrior, especially considering Jun is not breathmarked, born with a patch of dragon scales and blessed with special abilities like his twin. Determined to be the next Guardian, Jun stows away in the wagon of Chang and his daughter, Ren, performers on their way to the capital where the tournament will take place.

As Jun competes, he quickly realizes he may be fighting for not just a better life, but the fate of the country itself and the very survival of everyone he cares about."

I don't know, a patch of dragon scales doesn't sound very comfortable...

A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In an alternate London in 1923, one girl accidentally breaks the tenuous truce between dragons and humans in this sweeping debut and epic retelling of Bletchley Park steeped in language, class, and forbidden romance. Perfect for teen fans of Fourth Wing and Babel.

Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivien Featherswallow isn't worried. She's going to follow the rules, get a summer internship studying dragon languages, be smart, be sweet, and make sure her little sister never, ever has to risk growing up Third Class. She just has to free one dragon.

By midnight, Viv has started a civil war.

With her parents and cousin arrested and her sister missing, Viv is brought to Bletchley Park as a codebreaker - if she succeeds, she and her family can all go home again. If she doesn't, they'll all die.

As Viv begins to discover the secrets of a hidden dragon language, she realizes that the fragile peace treaty that holds human and dragon societies together is corrupt, and the dangerous work Viv is doing could be the thread that unravels it."

I love that while an alternate London it's set in a time period were rarely see fantasy set in.

The Lost Ones by Johan Rundberg
Published by: Amazon Crossing Kids
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 222 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mika will do what it takes to make sure there are no more lost ones - and to bring the infamous killer, the Dark Angel, out into the light.

It's summer in 1880 Stockholm, and the city bakes in the heat - but the heat on twelve-year-old Mika is lifting. After lying low following the dramatic blast at the jail, Mika's relieved to learn her name is finally cleared. And it's not a moment too soon - because Detective Hoff has a perplexing case involving the disappearance of a local teen. The girl's wealthy family wants to make sure things stay quiet. Why would a girl who has everything want to run away? And why is her family so afraid to go public?

Then Tekla reaches out to Mika with a truly chilling discovery at a construction site in the city - a discovery that might hit a little too close to home for Mika. Could it be the work of the Dark Angel?

As the summer heats up, Mika will make some tough choices as she works to uncover these mysteries, including the biggest mystery of all: her own family. Join Mika and Detective Hoff in this thrilling new installment of the Moonwind Mysteries series!"

I mean... There's an Enola Holmes shaped hole in all our lives and this seems to be a nice read-alike.

The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis, an utterly addictive new novel that will transport you from New York City's most glamorous party to the labyrinth streets of Cairo and back.

Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, she leaps at the opportunity. That is until an unbearable tragedy strikes.

New York City, 1978: Nineteen-year-old Annie Jenkins is thrilled when she lands an opportunity to work for former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who's in the midst of organizing the famous Met Gala, hosted at the museum and known across the city as the "party of the year."

Meanwhile, Charlotte is now leading a quiet life as the associate curator of the Met's celebrated Department of Egyptian Art. She's consumed by her research on Hathorkare - a rare female pharaoh dismissed by most other Egyptologists as unimportant.

The night of the gala: One of the Egyptian art collection's most valuable artifacts goes missing, and there are signs Hathorkare's legendary curse might be reawakening. Annie and Charlotte team up to search for the missing antiquity, and a desperate hunch leads the unlikely duo to one place Charlotte swore she'd never return: Egypt. But if they have any hope of finding the artifact, Charlotte will need to confront the demons of her past - which may mean leading them both directly into danger."

You know Egyptomania? Yeah. I have it. Big time.

The Naming of the Birds by Paraic O'Donnell
Published by: Tin House Books
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Something is troubling Inspector Henry Cutter. Sergeant Gideon Bliss is accustomed to his ill-tempered outbursts, but lately the inspector has grown silent and withdrawn.

Then, the murders begin. The first to die is the elderly Sir Aneurin Considine, a decorated but obscure civil servant who long ago retired to tend his orchids. If the motive for his killing is a mystery, the manner of his death is more bewildering still. The victims that follow suffer similar fates, their deaths gruesome but immaculately orchestrated. The murderer comes and goes like a ghost, leaving only carefully considered traces. As the hunt for this implacable adversary mounts, the inspector's gloom deepens, and to Sergeant Bliss, his methods seem as mystifying as the crimes themselves.

Why is he digging through dusty archives while the murderer stalks further victims? And as hints of past wrongdoing emerge - and with them the faint promise of a motive - why does Cutter seem haunted by some long-ago failing of his own?

To find the answers, the meek and hapless sergeant must step out of the inspector's shadow. Aided by Octavia Hillingdon, a steely and resourceful journalist, Bliss will uncover truths that test his deepest beliefs.

Hypnotic and twisty, Paraic O'Donnell's The Naming of the Birds will ensnare you until the final pages and leave you questioning what matters most - solving a case or serving justice."

People who wonder about solving a case or serving justice are often on the vigilante spectrum.

The Sinners All Bow by Kate Winkler Dawson
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Acclaimed journalist, podcaster, and true-crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson tells the true story of the scandalous murder investigation that became the inspiration for both Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and the first true-crime book published in America.

On a cold winter day in 1832, Sarah Maria Cornell was found dead in a quiet farmyard in a small New England town. When her troubled past and a secret correspondence with charismatic Methodist minister Reverend Ephraim Avery was uncovered, more questions emerged. Was Sarah's death a suicide...or something much darker? Determined to uncover the real story, Victorian writer Catharine Read Arnold Williams threw herself into the investigation as the trial was unfolding and wrote what many claim to be the first American true-crime narrative, Fall River. The murder divided the country and inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter - but the reverend was not convicted, and questions linger to this day about what really led to Sarah Cornell's death. Until now.

In The Sinners All Bow, acclaimed true-crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson travels back in time to nineteenth-century small-town America, emboldened to finish the work Williams started nearly two centuries before. Using modern investigative advancements - including "forensic knot analysis" and criminal profiling (which was invented fifty-five years later with Jack the Ripper) - Dawson fills in the gaps of Williams's research to find the truth and bring justice to an unsettling mystery that speaks to our past as well as our present, anchored by three women who subverted the script they were given."

Does she really travel back in time? Because that's often been a dream of mine, to travel back in time and catch the killers. Or, you know, at least know whodunnit. 

Holmes is Missing by James Patterson and Brian Sitts
Published by: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Holmes is Missing, PI Brendan Holmes has committed the perfect crime - he's made himself disappear.

Success has come quickly to Holmes, Marple and Poe Investigations. The New York City agency led by three detectives - Brendan Holmes, "the brain," Margaret Marple, "the eyes," and Auguste Poe, the "muscle" - with famous names and mysterious pasts is one major case away from cementing its professional reputation.

But as a series of child abductions tests the PIs' legendary skills, the cerebral Holmes's absence leaves a gaping hole in the agency roster.

Only by closing ranks and solving the mystery within can they recover all that's been lost."

Speaking of another author that releases books at a breakneck pace...

The Three Lives of Cate Kat by Kate Fagan
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets First Lie Wins in this electric, voice-driven debut novel about an elusive bestselling author who decides to finally confess her true identity after years of hiding from her past.

Cate Kay knows how to craft a story. As the creator of a bestselling book trilogy that struck box office gold as a film series, she's one of the most successful authors of her generation. The thing is, Cate Kay doesn't really exist. She's never attended author events or granted any interviews. Her real identity had been a closely guarded secret, until now.

As a young adult, she and her best friend Amanda dreamed of escaping their difficult homes and moving to California to become movie stars. But the day before their grand adventure, a tragedy shattered their dreams and Cate has been on the run ever since, taking on different names and charting a new future. But after a shocking revelation, Cate understands that returning home is the only way she'll be a whole person again."

I LOVE authors who have a secret past! LOVE!

Temple of Swoon by Jo Segura
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Her mission: find the Lost City of the Moon in the Amazon rainforest.

His mission: protect the holy temple...and his heart.

While her mentor may be the world's most badass archaeologist, the only thing bad about Dr. Miriam Jacobs are her corny jokes. But when Miri is charged with leading an unmapped expedition through the Amazon for the fabled Lost City of the Moon, she finally has her chance to prove to her colleagues that she's capable - and hopefully prove it to herself, too.

Journalist Rafael Monfils has joined the archaeological team to chronicle their search for the lost city. Or at least, that's what they think he's doing. Rafa's real goal? Make sure the team does not reach the Cidade da Lua, stopping the desecration of the holy city and protecting his mother's legacy. All he needs to do is keep them on the wrong path.

If only the endearingly quirky Dr. Jacobs wasn't so damn tenacious - each of Rafa's tricks and purposeful wrong turns only seem to fuel her determination. Even worse, he's charmed by her goofy attempts to channel Lara Croft as they traverse the dangerous Brazilian rainforest. But they're not the only crew hunting for the lost city, and soon the untamed jungle - and their untamed hearts - might be the least of their worries..."

I mean, the title and the cover alone make this must buy! Indiana Jones meets Romancing the Stone!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Brian Sitts, E. Latimer, Fiona Davis, Heather O'Neill, James Patterson, Jo Segura, Johan Rundberg, Kaitlyn Cavalancia, Kristin Cast, Lily Braun-Arnold, Paraic O'Donnell, Paul Michael Winters, Seanan McGuire

Mona of the Manor by Armistead Maupin
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Set in the early 1990s, the long-awaited tenth novel in Armistead Maupin's beloved and enduring Tales of the City series follows the adventures of Mona Ramsey, now the widowed Lady of a glorious old manor in Britain's golden Cotswolds, and her fabulous adopted son Wilfred, as they come to the aid of an American visitor with a troubling secret.

When Mona Ramsey married Lord Teddy Roughton to secure his visa - allowing him to remain in San Francisco to fulfill his wildest dreams - she never imagined she would, by age 48, be the sole owner of Easley House, Teddy's grand, romantic country manor in the UK. She also didn't imagine that she'd need to open the manor's doors to paying guests to afford the electric bill and repair the leaking roof. Yet somehow she and her young friend Wilfred - whom guests assume is serving as Easley's charming-but-clumsy butler - and the loopy old gardener Mr. Hargis, are making it work.

This delicate equilibrium is upended when Americans Rhonda and Ernie Blaylock arrive for a weekend vacation at Easley, and Wilfred stumbles onto their terrible secret. Now, instead of being able to focus on the imminent arrival of her old friend Michael Tolliver and beloved parent Anna Madrigal, Mona will need to focus all of her considerable charm, willpower, and wiles - and the help of Wilfred and Mona's girlfriend Poppy, the town's postmistress and local calligraphy whiz - to set things right before the Midsummer ceremony when the whole town will descend on Easley's historic grounds"

I knew that Mona was too iconic a character to just die of Breast Cancer offstage. Here she finally takes center stage in a book I've longed!

Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a mesmerizing novel about a first-generation Ivy League student who uncovers the genius work of a female artist decades after her suspicious death.

Who gets to leave a legacy?

1985. Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City; her tragic death is the talk of the town. Until it isn't. By 1998 Anita's name has been all but forgotten - certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student is preparing her final thesis. On College Hill, surrounded by privileged students whose futures are already paved out for them, Raquel feels like an outsider. Students of color, like her, are the minority there, and the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret.

But when Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older art student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita's story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist.

Moving back and forth through time and told from the perspectives of both women, Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a propulsive, witty examination of power, love, and art, daring to ask who gets to be remembered and who is left behind in the rarefied world of the elite."

Having been a bit in this world I'm fascinated to get a different and real point of view.

Death and Fromage by Ian Moore
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A laugh-out-loud mystery perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club.

Richard is a middle-aged Englishman who runs a B and B in the Val de Follet. Nothing ever happens to Richard, and really that's the way he likes it. Until scandal erupts in the nearby town of Saint-Sauver, when its famous restaurant is downgraded from three Michelin stars to two. The restaurant is shamed, the town is in shock, and the leading goat cheese supplier drowns himself in one of his own pasteurization tanks. Or does he?

Valérie d'Orçay, who is staying at the B and B while house-hunting in the area, isn't convinced that it's a suicide. Despite his misgivings, Richard is drawn into Valérie's investigation, and finds himself becoming a major player in solving the crime. After all, the French do take their cheese quite seriously and it's quite clear there's nothing gouda happening in the close-knit, small village that Richard calls home."

Was it that the number one thing I took away from looking up this author is that he likes to make chutney? This isn't a slight, I think we need more author blurbs like this.

Murder Road by Simone St. James
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young couple find themselves haunted by a string of gruesome murders committed along an old deserted road in this terrifying new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Cold Cases.

July 1995. April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They're looking for the small resort town where they plan to spend their honeymoon. When they spot what appears to a lone hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But not long after the hitchhiker gets into their car, they see the blood seeping from her jacket and a truck barreling down Atticus Line after them.

When the hitchhiker dies at the local hospital, April and Eddie find themselves in the crosshairs of the Coldlake Falls police. Unexplained murders have been happening along Atticus Line for years and the cops finally have two witnesses who easily become their only suspects. As April and Eddie start to dig into the history of the town and that horrible stretch of road to clear their names, they soon learn that there is something supernatural at work, something that could not only tear the town and its dark secrets apart, but take April and Eddie down with it all."

First, just never pick up hitchhikers, second, avoid the supernatural.

The Summer She Went Missing by Chelsea Ichaso
Published by: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets and They're Watching You, a compelling new thriller!

Last summer, they searched for Audrey Covington.

This summer, they'll search for the truth.

Paige Redmond has always felt lucky to spend her summers in Clearwater Ridge, with lazy days sunning at the waterfalls and nights partying at the sprawling houses of the rich families who vacation there. The Covingtons are one of these families, and beautiful, brilliant Audrey Covington is Paige's best friend. And last year, when Audrey's crush-worthy brother Dylan finally started noticing Paige, she was sure it would be the best summer ever.

Except Audrey didn't seem quite like herself. Then one night, she didn't come home. Though Audrey wasn't the first girl to disappear in Clearwater Ridge, she left behind more lies than clues. Now, one summer later, her case has gone cold, and nobody, least of all Paige, can make sense of what happened.

When Paige stumbles across a secret hidden in Audrey's room, however, it changes everything she thought she knew about last summer. She and Dylan set out on their own investigation, discovering things even the police don't know about the people of Clearwater Ridge. But tracking down missing girls - girls who might be beyond saving by now - means entering a world far darker than Paige has ever imagined. And if she isn't careful, she'll become the next girl to vanish."

I love the Lolitaness of the cover.

The Hunter by Tana French
Published by: Viking
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Searcher and "one of the greatest crime novelists writing today" (Vox), a spellbinding new novel set in the Irish countryside.

It's a blazing summer when two men arrive in a small village in the West of Ireland. One of them is coming home. Both of them are coming to get rich. One of them is coming to die.

Cal Hooper took early retirement from Chicago PD and moved to rural Ireland looking for peace. He's found it, more or less: he's built a relationship with a local woman, Lena, and he's gradually turning Trey Reddy from a half-feral teenager into a good kid going good places. But then Trey's long-absent father reappears, bringing along an English millionaire and a scheme to find gold in the townland, and suddenly everything the three of them have been building is under threat. Cal and Lena are both ready to do whatever it takes to protect Trey, but Trey doesn't want protecting. What she wants is revenge.

From the writer who is "in a class by herself," (The New York Times), a nuanced, atmospheric tale that explores what we'll do for our loved ones, what we'll do for revenge, and what we sacrifice when the two collide."

It's a good day where there's a new Tana French, which are too few and far between.

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
Published by: Celadon Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn't matter?

After Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy's blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer. Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all, and if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. It's been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can't remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life.

But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast "Listen for the Lie," and its too-good looking host Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy's murder for the show's second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend's murder, even if she is the one that did it.

The truth is out there, if we just listen."

I love how the True Crime aspect works in the plot.

The New Couple in 5B by Lisa Unger
Published by: Park Row
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A couple inherits an apartment with a spine-tingling past in this unputdownable thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six.

Rosie and Chad Lowan are barely making ends meet in New York City when they receive life-changing news: Chad's late uncle has left them his luxury apartment at the historic Windermere in glamorous Murray Hill. With its prewar elegance and impeccably uniformed doorman, the building is the epitome of old New York charm. One would almost never suspect the dark history lurking behind its perfectly maintained facade.

At first, the building and its eclectic tenants couldn't feel more welcoming. But as the Lowans settle into their new home, Rosie starts to suspect that there's more to the Windermere than meets the eye. Why is the doorman ever-present? Why are there cameras everywhere? And why have so many gruesome crimes occurred there throughout the years? When one of the neighbors turns up dead, Rosie must get to the truth about the Windermere before she, too, falls under its dangerous spell."

Any book with Dakota vives is a must read for me.

The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy
Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 351 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain and Parting the Veil mines the subtle horrors of 1950s America in a gripping novel about a woman under pressure - from the living and the dead.

The first day of autumn brought the fever, and with the fever came the voices.

Missouri, 1955. Loretta Davenport has led an isolated life as a young mother and a wife to Pete, an ambitious assistant professor at a Bible college. They're the picture of domestic tranquility - until a local girl is murdered and Loretta begins receiving messages from beyond. Pete dismisses them as delusions of a fevered female imagination. Loretta knows they're real - and frightening.

Defying Pete's demands, Loretta finds an encouraging supporter in parapsychologist Dr. Curtis Hansen. He sees a woman with a rare gift, more blessing than curse. With Dr. Hansen's help, Loretta's life opens up to an empowering new purpose. But for Pete, the God-fearing image he's worked so hard to cultivate is under threat. No longer in control of his dutiful wife, he sees the Devil at work.

As Loretta's powers grow stronger and the pleading spirits beckon, Pete is determined to deliver his wife from evil. To solve the mysteries of the dead, Loretta must first save herself."

Parapsychologists are my catnip.

The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste
Published by: S and s/Saga Press
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Bram Stoker Award-winning author Gwendolyn Kiste comes a chilling novel about three childhood friends who miraculously survive the night everyone in their suburban hometown turned into ghosts - perfect for fans of Yellowjackets.

The Velkwood Vicinity was the topic of occult theorists, tabloid one-hour documentaries, and even some pseudo-scientific investigations as the block of homes disappeared behind a near-impenetrable veil that only three survivors could enter - and only one has in the past twenty years, until now.

Talitha Velkwood has avoided anything to do with the tragedy that took her mother and eight-year-old sister, drifting from one job to another, never settling anywhere or with anyone, feeling as trapped by her past as if she was still there in the small town she so desperately wanted to escape from. When a new researcher tracks her down and offers to pay her to come back to enter the vicinity, Talitha claims she's just doing it for the money.

Of all the crackpot theories over the years, no one has discovered what happened the night Talitha, her estranged, former best friend Brett, and Grace, escaped their homes twenty years ago. Will she finally get the answers she's been looking for all these years, or is this just another dead end?

Award-winning author Gwendolyn Kiste has created a suburban ghost story about a small town that trapped three young women who must confront the past if they're going to have a future."

Yeah, so really it's own unique thing and not Yellowjackets at all...

Song of Carcosa by Josh Reynolds
Published by: Aconyte
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An occult thief takes on a sinister society threatening to tear the fabric of this world apart, in this daring noir-thriller from the bestselling world of Arkham Horror.

Countess Alessandra Zorzi, reformed thief and acquirer of occult artifacts, faces her greatest challenge yet as she searches for an elusive artist in possession of the powerful Zanthu Tablet; the only thing that can stop the strange psychic malaise afflicting Alessandra's assistant, Pepper.

The countess's quest takes her to the crooked heart of Venice, where an eerie organization is planning a grand performance that will engulf the city in chaos. As Pepper slips into an inescapable alien world, Alessandra must defeat powerful forces to save her friend. One wrong move could bring the curtain down on them all."

I just love the ever expanding worlds of Arkham Horror.

Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles by Elizabeth Crowens
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 299 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Asta, the dog from the popular Thin Man series, has vanished, and production for his next film is pending. MGM Studios offers a huge reward, and that's exactly what young private detectives Babs Norman and Guy Brandt need for their struggling business to survive. Celebrity dognapping now a growing trend, when the police and city pound ridicule Basil Rathbone and ask, "Sherlock Holmes has lost his dog?" Basil also hires the B. Norman Agency to find his missing Cocker Spaniel.

The three concoct a plan for Basil to assume his on-screen persona and round up possible suspects, including Myrna Loy and William Powell; Dashiell Hammett, creator of The Thin Man; Nigel Bruce, Basil's on-screen Doctor Watson; Hollywood-newcomer, German philanthropist and film financier Countess Velma von Rache, and the top animal trainers in Tinseltown. Yet everyone will be in for a shock when the real reason behind the canine disappearances is even more sinister than imagined.

Jump into Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles, Book One of the Babs Norman Golden Age of Hollywood Mystery series. Finalist in the Killer Nashville Claymore Awards for Comedy and First Prize winner in the Chanticleer Review's Mark Twain Awards for Comedy and Satire. Get ready for its sequel, Bye, Bye, Blackbird, featuring Humphrey Bogart and the cast of The Maltese Falcon."

I love this new twist on classic Hollywood, especially because Asta is here.

Trouble by Lex Croucher
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 3536 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A Regency-era romantic comedy with a deliciously feminist and queer twist, from the author of Reputation and Infamous.

There's a new governess at Fairmont House, and she's going to be nothing but trouble.

Emily Laurence is a liar. She is not polite, she's not polished, and she has never taught a child in her life. This position was meant to be her sister's - brilliant, kind Amy, who isn't perpetually angry, dangerously reckless, and who does (inexplicably) like children.

But Amy is unwell and needs a doctor, and their father is gone and their mother is useless, so here Emily is, pretending to be something she's not.

If she can get away with her deception for long enough to earn a few month's wages and slip some expensive trinkets into her pockets along the way, perhaps they'll be all right.

That is, as long as she doesn't get involved with the Edwards family's dramas. Emily refuses to care about her charges - Grace, who talks too much and loves too hard, and Aster, who is frankly terrifying but might just be the wittiest sixteen-year-old Emily has ever met - or the servants, who insist on acting as if they're each other's family. And she certainly hasn't noticed her employer, the brooding, taciturn Captain Edwards, no matter how good he might look without a shirt on...

As Fairmont House draws her in, Emily's lies start to come undone. Can she fix her mistakes before it's too late?"

Oh, you KNOW you need to read this Regency Romp!

An Unlikely Proposition by Rosalyn Eves
Published by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A standalone companion to An Improbable Season, this Regency romance - perfect for fans of Bridgerton - is about following your heart, pursuing your dreams, and falling head over heels in love.

Eleanor did not come to London to be proper and boring. After the death of her husband and a year of mourning, the seventeen year old wants nothing more than her independence and to have a little fun. She's hardly looking to remarry, despite pressures from her late husband's nephew, who is keen on obtaining her inheritance. Eleanor quickly devises a plan that includes a fake engagement. What's not a part of the plan? Falling for a dashing, quiet man outside of her social circle - a man who is not her betrothed. Can she survive the Season with her heart and her fortune intact?

Thalia is determined to begin afresh after a disastrous first Season in London. No romantic distractions, but only her work as a poet and newfound companion to Eleanor. Determined to get her poems published, she struggles to be taken seriously as a female writer. As the spring progresses, Thalia does not expect to take interest in a man from her past (a man who is engaged to her employer, no less!), but some feelings demand to be felt even if the timing isn't quite right.

Rosalyn Eves's An Unlikely Proposition is a transportive Regency drama that captures the sparkle of London, thrill of friendship, and swoon of new love."

So... Um... Eleanor was married at sixteen? Bit Lydia Bennet that...

An Inconvenient Letter by Julie Wright
Published by: Shadow Mountain
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Complications arise when Marietta's secret love letters are accidentally found by the wrong man.

1828, the London countryside.

For years, Marietta Stone has harbored a secret infatuation for the handsome Frederick Finch and has poured out her deepest feelings in a series of passionate love letters that she keeps in a locked drawer. But when Marietta's private letters are accidentally delivered to Frederick's house, she must retrieve them immediately before they fall into the wrong hands. If the letters were read by anyone else, the resulting scandal could jeopardize her reputation.

Gerard Hartwell has no time for infatuations, courtship, or even love. He must find a wife with a substantial inheritance if he wishes to save his late father's bankrupt estate. When he accidentally discovers Marietta's love letters at his cousin Frederick's estate, he strikes a bargain with her. If she helps him court her older sister, Anne, he will return the letters and help Marietta win Frederick's heart.

Marietta agrees, and the two quickly pretend to be courting in order to spend time with their individual love interests. Yet, what appeared to be a straightforward bargain becomes complicated when Gerard realizes that the more time he spends with Marietta, the more he wishes he could court her for real. But can he persuade Marietta to give him a chance when her heart might belong to another man?"

Aww.

The Witch of New York by Alex Hortis
Published by: Pegasus Crime
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Before the sensational cases of Amanda Knox and Casey Anthony - before even Lizzie Borden - there was Polly Bodine, the first American woman put on trial for capital murder in our nation's debut media circus.

On Christmas night, December 25, 1843, in a serene village on Staten Island, shocked neighbors discovered the burnt remains of twenty-four-year-old mother Emeline Houseman and her infant daughter, Ann Eliza. In a perverse nativity, someone bludgeoned to death a mother and child in their home - and then covered up the crime with hellfire.

When an ambitious district attorney charges Polly Bodine (Emelin's sister-in-law) with a double homicide, the new "penny press" explodes. Polly is a perfect media villain: she's a separated wife who drinks gin, commits adultery, and has had multiple abortions. Between June 1844 and April 1846, the nation was enthralled by her three trials - in Staten Island, Manhattan, and Newburgh - for the "Christmas murders."

After Polly's legal dream team entered the fray, the press and the public debated not only her guilt, but her character and fate as a fallen woman in society. Public opinion split into different camps over her case. Edgar Allen Poe and Walt Whitman covered her case as young newsmen. P. T. Barnum made a circus out of it. James Fenimore Cooper's last novel was inspired by her trials.

The Witch of New York is the first narrative history about the dueling trial lawyers, ruthless newsmen, and shameless hucksters who turned the Polly Bodine case into America's formative tabloid trial. An origin story of how America became addicted to sensationalized reporting of criminal trials, The Witch of New York vividly reconstructs an epic mystery from Old New York - and uses the Bodine case to challenge our system of tabloid justice of today."

I mean, let's just admit, we have always had an insatiable need for true crime...

Eliza Mace by Sarah Burton and Jem Poster
Published by: Duckworth
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Enola Holmes meets the novels of Laura Purcell in this Victorian mystery featuring quick-witted would-be detective Eliza Mace.

The Welsh borders, 1870s: on the cusp of adulthood, Eliza Mace is battling for her independence. Stuck in a crumbling manor house on the fringe of a small town, she is thwarted by powers that conspire to protect, control and deceive her. But when her father goes missing in mysterious circumstances, Eliza's determination to uncover the truth is unstoppable.

Joining forces with the charismatic new police constable, Dafydd Pritchard, she sets out to solve the case, but that's no easy task. Her father has run up debts in town and beyond, and there are many who bear him a grudge. As she searches for evidence, Eliza exposes dark secrets that threaten to tear her world apart..."

Oh yes, I need something to fill the void left by Enola Holmes!

The Queen of Thieves by Johan Rundberg
Published by: Amazon Crossing Kids
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 207 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mika will do what it takes to uncover a string of thefts in the city - and keep her fellow orphans safe.

After a merciless winter, spring has sprung in 1880 Stockholm, and the city awaits the arrival of the SS Vega, the first ship to have sailed the Northeast Passage. Life is busy at the orphanage, but twelve-year-old Mika quickly notices that the older orphans are up to something - and it doesn't look good.

When Constable Hoff approaches her with information about thefts around the city, Mika becomes even more concerned about what the other kids are up to - and what they might be planning for the Vega celebration. The police will have no sympathy for orphans, and she'd hate to see her friends condemned to life in jail.

But Mika soon finds herself in a bind she can't get out of - one that could condemn her own life. Can Mika uncover who is really behind the thefts in the city and keep her friends safe, without getting caught? Find out in this breathless sequel to The Night Raven."

Personally I'm all for pickpocket orphans getting away with it...

The Silver Bone by Andrey Kurkov
Published by: Harpervia
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Ukraine's most celebrated novelist, a perplexing mystery that introduces rookie detective Samson Kolechko in Kyiv as he is tackling his first case, set against real life details of the tumultuous early twentieth century.

Kyiv, 1919. World War I has ended in Western Europe, but to the East, six factions continue to vie for control of Ukraine. Amidst the political turmoil, young Samson Kolechko is forced to place his engineering career on hold. But in the city of Kyiv everything remains up for grabs and new opportunity lurks just around the corner...

When two Red Army soldiers commandeer his home, Samson's life is completely upended. But as Samson juggles his personal life - including a budding romance with the ingenious Nadezhda, a statistician helping run the city's census - with the soldiers' intrusion, he winds up overhearing their secret plans. Deciding to report them, Samson instead finds himself unwittingly recruited as an investigator for the city's new police force.

His first case involves two murders, a long bone made of pure silver, and a suit of decidedly unusual proportions tailored from fine English cloth. The odds stacked against him, Samson turns to Nadezhda, who proves to be more than his match. Inflected with Kurkov's signature humor and off kilter universe, The Silver Bone takes its inspiration from the archives of Kyiv's secret police, crafting a propulsive narrative bursting to life with rich historical detail."

We should all be learning and reading more about Ukraine, and that includes supporting it's authors who write wonderful mysteries.

The Black Crescent by Jane Johnson
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A captivating historical novel set in post-war Casablanca about a young man marked by djinns who must decide where his loyalties lie as the fight for Moroccan independence erupts.

Hamou Badi is born in a village in the Anti-Atlas Mountains with the markings of the zouhry on his hands. In Morocco, the zouhry is a figure of legend, a child of both humans and djinns, capable of finding treasure, lost objects, and even water in the worst of droughts. But when young Hamou finds the body of a murdered woman, his life is forever changed.

Haunted by this unsolved murder and driven by the desire to do good in the world, Hamou leaves his village for Casablanca to become an officer of the law under the French Protectorate.

But Casablanca is not the shining beacon of modernity he was expecting. The forcible exile of Morocco's sultan by the French sparks a nationalist uprising led by violent dissident groups, none so fearsome as the Black Crescent. Torn between his heritage and his employers, Hamou will be caught in the crossfire.

The lines between right and wrong, past and future, the old world and the new, are not as clear as the magical lines on his palms. And as the danger grows, Hamou is forced to choose between all he knows and all he loves."

You had me at djinns.

What Monstrous Gods by Rosamund Hodge
Published by: Balzer and Bray/Harperteen
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A rich and romantic new standalone fantasy loosely inspired by the classic Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, from the New York Times bestselling author of Cruel Beauty! Perfect for fans of These Violent Delights and The Shadow Queen.

Centuries ago, the heretic sorcerer Ruven raised a deadly briar around Runakhia's palace, casting the royal family into an enchanted sleep - and silencing the kingdom's gods.

Born with a miraculous gift, Lia's destiny is to kill Ruven and wake the royals. But when she succeeds, she finds her duty is not yet complete, for now she must marry into the royal family and forge a pact with a god - or die.

To make matters even worse, Ruven's spirit is haunting her.

As discord grows between the old and new guards, the queen sends Lia and Prince Araunn, her betrothed, on a pilgrimage to awaken the gods. But the old gods are more dangerous than Lia ever knew - and Ruven may offer her only hope of survival.

As the two work together, Lia learns that they're more alike than she expected. And with tensions rising, Lia must choose between what she was raised to believe and what she knows is right - and between the prince she is bound to by duty...and the boy she killed."

The fairy tale Sleeping Beauty was one of my first obsessions.

The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black
Published by: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An imprisoned prince. A vengeful queen. And a battle that will determine the future of Elfhame.

Prince Oak is paying for his betrayal. Imprisoned in the icy north and bound to the will of a monstrous new queen, he must rely on charm and calculation to survive. With High King Cardan and High Queen Jude willing to use any means necessary to retrieve their stolen heir, Oak will have to decide whether to attempt regaining the trust of the girl he's always loved or to remain loyal to Elfhame and hand over the means to end her reign - even if it means ending Wren, too.

With a new war looming on the horizon and treachery lurking in every corner, neither Oak's guile nor his wit will be enough to keep everyone he loves alive. It's just a question of whom he will doom. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black comes the stunning blood-soaked conclusion to the Stolen Heir duology."

I love Holly Black. I love duologies.

Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire
Published by: Daw Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Seanan McGuire's New York Times-bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated urban fantasy InCryptid series continues with the thirteenth book following the Price family, cryptozoologists who study and protect the creatures living in secret all around us.

Mary Dunlavy didn't intend to become a professional babysitter. Of course, she didn't intend to die, either, or to become a crossroads ghost. As a babysitting ghost, she's been caring for the Price family for four generations, and she's planning to keep doing the job for the better part of forever.

With her first charge finally back from her decades-long cross-dimensional field trip, with a long-lost husband and adopted daughter in tow, it's time for Mary to oversee the world's most chaotic family reunion. And that's before the Covenant of St. George launches a full scale strike against the cryptids of Manhattan, followed quickly by an attack on the Campbell Family Carnival.

It's going to take every advantage and every ally they have for the Prices to survive what's coming--and for Mary, to avoid finding out the answer to a question she's never wanted to know: what happens to a babysitting ghost if she loses the people she's promised to protect?"

It's March so this should easily be her third book of the year... How is she so productive without sacrificing quality?

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human by Kimberly Lemming
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a spirited young woman with a penchant for adventure finds herself locked away in a dragon's tower, she realizes that fate has a peculiar sense of humor when it comes to her romantic prospects, in this laugh-out-loud fantasy rom-com.

All children are told fairytales. Some are epic adventures with high stakes and exciting twists, while others are tales of pitiful princesses trapped in boring towers pining for their Prince Charmings to come and rescue them. Growing up, Cherry always hated those stories. Why didn't the princesses just get up and rescue themselves? Little did she know that her own fate would take an ironically similar turn. Because now, here she is. Stuck. In a tower. Turns out, when a dragon holds you hostage, he doesn't just let you get up and leave.

Who knew?

And just when Cherry thinks she sees hope on the horizon, that hope is smashed to bits by - you guessed it - another damn dragon."

I just love the whole vibe of this series, it brings a smile to my face.

I Am Rome by Santiago Posteguillo
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 624 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Discover the runaway #1 international bestseller that has captured readers the world over - and reminds us all why we remember the name Julius Caesar.

Every legend has a beginning...

Rome, 77 B.C. The corrupt Senator Dolabella is about to go on trial for his crimes.

But Dolabella owns the jury. He's hired the best lawyers in the city. And he's very willing to use violence against those who oppose him.

In all of Rome, no man dares accept the role of prosecutor - until, against all odds, an unknown twenty-three-year-old steps out to lead the case, defend the people of the city, and defy the power of the ruling elite. That lawyer's name is Gaius Julius Caesar.

So begins Santiago Posteguillo's acclaimed masterpiece of historical fiction - a tale as epic as Caesar's life itself. An irresistible page-turning novel of politics and betrayal, grand battles and impossible odds, shocking villainy and even greater acts of courage, I Am Rome brilliantly animates the moments that shaped this extraordinary young man's fate - and in so doing, changed the course of history itself."

After watching all of I, Claudius, I'm now obsessed with all things Roman.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Armistead Maupin, Holly Black, Ian Moore, Jane Johnson, Johan Rundberg, Kimberly Lemming, Lex Croucher, Lisa Unger, Paulette Kennedy, Rosalyn Eves, Seanan McGuire, Simone St. James, Tana French, Xochitl Gonzalez

Stranger Things: The Flight of Icarus by Caitlin Schneiderhan
Published by: Random House Worlds
Publication Date: October 31st, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two years before the events of Stranger Things: Season 4, Eddie Munson - Hellfire Club leader, metalhead, and Hawkins outcast - has one shot to make it big.

Hawkins, Indiana: For most, it's simply another idyllic, manicured all-American town. But for Eddie Munson it's like living in a perpetual Tomb of Horrors. Luckily, he has only a few more months to survive at Hawkins High. And what is senior year, really, but killing time between Dungeons and Dragons sessions with the Hellfire Club and gigs with his band?

At the worst dive bar in town, Eddie meets Paige, someone who has pulled off a freaking miracle. She escaped Hawkins and built a wickedly cool life for herself working for a record producer out in Los Angeles. Not only is she the definition of a badass - with killer taste in music - she might be the only person who actually appreciates him as the bard he is instead of the devil incarnate. But the best thing? She's offering him a chance to make something of himself, and all he needs to do is get her a demo tape of Corroded Coffin's best songs.

Just one problem: Recording costs money. Money Eddie doesn't have. But he's willing to do whatever it takes, even if that means relying on his old man, Al Munson. His dad just stumbled back into his life, with another dubious scheme up his sleeve, and yet Eddie knows this is his only option to make enough dough in enough time. It's a risk, but if it pays off he will finally have a one-way ticket out of Hawkins.

Eddie can feel it: 1984 is going to be his year."

Poor Eddie, gone too soon.

The Viper's Nest Roadhouse and Cafe by Seana Kelly
Published by: NYLA
Publication Date: November 15th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 358 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"I'm Sam, the werewolf book nerd owner of The Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore and Bar. Clive, Fergus, and I are moving into our new home, the business is going well, and our folly is taking shape. The problem? Clive's maker Garyn is coming to San Francisco for a visit, and this reunion has been a thousand years in the making. Back then, Garyn was rather put out when Clive accepted the dark kiss and then took off to avenge his sister's murder. She was looking for a new family. He was looking for lethal skills. And so, Garyn has had plenty of time to align her forces. When her allies begin stepping out of the shadows, Clive's foundation will be shaken.

Stheno and her sisters are adding to their rather impressive portfolio of businesses around the world by acquiring The Viper's Nest Roadhouse and Café. Medusa found the place when she was visiting San Francisco. A dive bar filled with hot tattooed bikers? Yes, please!

Clive and I will need neutral territory for our meeting with Garyn, and a biker bar (and café, Stheno insisted) should fit the bill. I'd assumed my necromancy would give us an advantage. I hadn’t anticipated, though, just how powerful Garyn and her allies were. When the fangs descend and the heads start rolling, it's going to take every friend we have and a nocturne full of vamps at our backs to even the playing field. Wish us luck. We’re going to need it."

It feels like forever since the last Sam Quinn book, which means it's only been a year...

Haunted Echoes and Southern Nights by Peter D. Baker
Published by: Peter Baker
Publication Date: October 31st, 2023
Format: Paperback, 222 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Children going missing.

A corrupt police officer.

A drug-dealing motorcycle gang.

A car breaking down on the way to see the Great American Bash.

And Daniel Belascoe deals with it all while trying to impress the woman of his dreams-who is far too smart for him.

Long before Daniel raised his tough-as-nails daughter Bethany Belascoe, he was a rookie Savannah cop trying to do some good despite his rotten partner. When that partner seems guilty of more than just negligence, Daniel begins investigating.

Things get even trickier when Daniel finds himself stranded in a small town with his new paramour, Rebecca Church - and he stumbles upon a mystery involving lost children, a local legend, and the stench of demonic activity.

Can Daniel get to the bottom of these mysteries in time to find a missing child, fix the car, and see Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair fight for the championship inside of a steel cage?

And will Rebecca decide he's worth the trip despite the fact that he's never seen Gremlins?"

I mean, how can you never have seen Gremlins?

When I'm Dead by Hannah Morrissey
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 31st, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One girl murdered...another one missing...and a medical examiner desperate to uncover the truth in When I'm Dead, the latest Black Harbor mystery by acclaimed author Hannah Morrissey.

On a bone-chilling October night, Medical Examiner Rowan Winthorp investigates the death of her daughter's best friend. Hours later, the tragedy hits even closer to home when she makes a devastating discovery - her daughter, Chloe, is gone. But, not without a trace.

A morbid mosaic of clues forces Rowan and her husband to question how deeply they really knew their daughter. As they work closely to peel back the layers of this case, they begin to unearth disturbing details about Chloe and her secret transgressions...details that threaten to tear them apart.

Amidst the noise of navigating her newfound grief and reconciling the sins of her past, an undeniable fact rings true for Rowan: karma has finally come to collect."

I'm getting a distinct Twin Peaks Laura Palmer vibe.

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy
Published by: Tor Nightfire
Publication Date: October 31st, 2023
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Nat Cassidy is at his razor-sharp best again with his horror novel Nestlings, which harnesses the creeping paranoia of Rosemary's Baby and the urban horror of Salem's Lot, set in an exclusive New York City residential building.

Ana and Reid needed a lucky break.

The horrifically complicated birth of their first child has left Ana paralyzed, bitter, and struggling: with mobility, with her relationship with Reid, with resentment for her baby. That's about to change with the words any New Yorker would love to hear - affordable housing lottery.

They've won an apartment in the Deptford, one of Manhattan's most revered buildings with beautiful vistas of Central Park and stunning architecture.

Reid dismisses disturbing events and Ana's deep unease and paranoia as the price of living in New York - people are odd - but he can't explain the needle-like bite marks on the baby."

This year is THE YEAR for all the Rosemary's Baby pastiches.

The Night Raven by Johan Rundberg
Published by: Amazon Crossing Kids
Publication Date: October 31st, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 192 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mika is not your average twelve-year-old - and she's about to prove it.

It's 1880, and in the frigid city of Stockholm, death lurks around every corner. Twelve-year-old Mika knows that everyone in her orphanage will struggle to survive this winter. But at least the notorious serial killer the Night Raven is finally off the streets...or is he?

Mika is shocked when a newborn baby is left at the orphanage in the middle of the night, by a boy with a cryptic message. Who is he? And who is this "Dark Angel" he speaks of? When a detective shows up, Mika senses something even more sinister is going on.

Drawn in by Mika's unique ability to notice small details - a skill Mika has always used to survive - the gruff Detective Hoff unwittingly recruits her to help him with his investigation into a gruesome murder. Mika knows she should stay far, far away, and yet...with such little hope for her future, could this be an opportunity? Maybe, just maybe, this is Mika's chance to be someone who matters."

Well, everyone matters, but whether that leads to a means of survival is another thing...

What the Rivers Knows by Isabel Ibañez
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: October 31st, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in What the River Knows, Isabel Ibañez's lush, immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt and filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race.

Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of nineteenth century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old world magic that's been largely left behind or forgotten. Inez has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most: her globetrotting parents - who frequently leave her behind.

When she receives word of their tragic deaths, Inez inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, bringing her sketch pads and a golden ring her father sent to her for safekeeping before he died. But upon her arrival, the old world magic tethered to the ring pulls her down a path where she soon discovers there's more to her parent's disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe.

With her guardian's infuriatingly handsome assistant thwarting her at every turn, Inez must rely on ancient magic to uncover the truth about her parent's disappearance - or risk becoming a pawn in a larger game that will kill her.

What the River Knows is the first book in the thrilling Secrets of the Nile duology."

Oh my, EGYPT! 

The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: October 31st, 2023
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A haunted paleontologist returns to the museum where his sister was abducted years earlier and is faced with a terrifying and murderous spirit in this chilling novel from the author of A History of Fear - perfect for fans of Simone St. James and Katy Hays.

Curator of paleontology Dr. Simon Nealy never expected to return to his Pennsylvania hometown, let alone the Hawthorne Museum of Natural History. He was just a boy when his six-year-old sister, Morgan, was abducted from the museum under his watch, and the guilt has haunted Simon ever since. After a recent break-up and the death of the aunt who raised him, Simon feels drawn back to the place where Morgan vanished, in search of the bones they never found.

But from the moment he arrives, things aren't what he expected. The Hawthorne is a crumbling ruin, still closed amid the ongoing pandemic, and plummeting toward financial catastrophe. Worse, Simon begins seeing and hearing things he can't explain. Strange animal sounds. Bloody footprints that no living creature could have left. A prehistoric killer looming in the shadows of the museum. Terrified he's losing his grasp on reality, Simon turns to the handwritten research diaries of his predecessor and uncovers a blood-soaked mystery 150 million years in the making that could be the answer to everything.

Are these the ravings of a madman? Or is there something supernatural at play? And what does this have to do with Morgan's disappearance?

Another atmospheric mystery from Luke Dumas, The Paleontologist is a ghost story unlike any other that will haunt you long after you turn the final page."

It's like Michael Crichton decided to write a ghost story!

The Costumes of Downton Abbey by Emma Marriott
Published by: Weldon Owen
Publication Date: October 31st, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An Official Companion to the Downton Abbey Films and TV Series: An exclusive inside look at the intricate and glamorous costuming of the popular PBS series, with complete historical detail and beautiful imagery.

An inside look at the intricate costuming of the popular PBS series, including character costume choices and the historic fashion trends characteristic of the aristocracy during the Edwardian era.

Appealing to Anglophiles, costume and sewing aficionados, and fans of the hit series, The Costumes of Downton Abbey presents - with comprehensive historical detail and beautiful imagery - the design decisions and wardrobe intricacies that shaped the glamour and elegance of the characters of Downton Abbey.

Featuring the fashion of both upstairs and downstairs cast members, this title explores the unique daytime, evening, special occasion, and wedding wardrobes that led to a 2011 Emmy and several Emmy nominations for Outstanding Costumes for a Series. Detailed photographs, fan-favorite stills from the television series, and designer notes and insights make this a delightful and informative guide to the role costumes played in the character portrayal, story development, and art direction of the series."

The touring exhibit of the costumes was so amazing, if this book is even a fraction of that experience it will be worth it.

Being Henry: The Fonz...and Beyond by Henry Winkler
Published by: Celadon Books
Publication Date: October 31st, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Emmy-award winning actor, author, comedian, producer, and director Henry Winkler, a deeply thoughtful memoir of the lifelong effects of stardom and the struggle to become whole.

Henry Winkler, launched into prominence as "The Fonz" in the beloved Happy Days, has transcended the role that made him who he is. Brilliant, funny, and widely-regarded as the nicest man in Hollywood (though he would be the first to tell you that it's simply not the case, he's really just grateful to be here), Henry shares in this achingly vulnerable memoir the disheartening truth of his childhood, the difficulties of a life with severe dyslexia, the pressures of a role that takes on a life of its own, and the path forward once your wildest dream seems behind you.

Since the glorious era of Happy Days fame, Henry has endeared himself to a new generation with roles in such adored shows as Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation, and Barry, where he's been revealed as an actor with immense depth and pathos, a departure from the period of his life when he was so distinctly typecast as The Fonz, he could hardly find work.

Filled with profound heart, charm, and self-deprecating humor, Being Henry is a memoir about so much more than a life in Hollywood and the curse of stardom. It is a meaningful testament to the power of sharing truth and kindness and of finding fulfillment within yourself."

I never liked Happy Days, but always admired Henry Winkler, especially for his work in Scream, Arrested Development, and most recently, the amazing Barry. He's a nice guy with an amazing ability of reinvention.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Barry, Downton Abbey, Hannah Morrissey, Henry Winkler, Isabel Ibañez, Johan Rundberg, Laura Palmer, Luke Dumas, Nat Cassidy, Peter D. Baker, Rosemary's Baby, Sam Quinn, Seana Kelly, Stranger Things, Twin Peaks