For months I've been anticipating Clarence A. Haynes's adult debut, The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery. This is one of those books that plays like a movie, with high action and plenty of other-worldly intrigue to hold your interest from start to finish. Set in present-day New York City, it follows Gwendolyn, an overworked but effective... Continue Reading →
Two years ago, I enjoyed Jodie Slaughter's romance, Play to Win, so I was excited to read more from her. Her newest book is Ready to Score, a rivals-to-lovers romance between two women aiming for the same head coach position at the high school where they work. Though both books (and Bet on It) are... Continue Reading →
I haven't read nearly enough romantic mysteries, and the ones I have read are usually historical. But there have been some exciting contemporary romantic mysteries lately, including He's to Die For by Erin Dunn. It just came out earlier this week and I loved it! What I Liked: Music-industry mystery. If you've read many of... Continue Reading →
I'm a person who's obsessed with time and reality and the butterfly effect of everyday life decisions. This is what drew me to Paige Harbison's adult debut, The Other Side of Now. Over a decade after losing her best friend, Meg Bryan is a successful actress, but she's not happy. Nothing in her life is... Continue Reading →
Next week, V. E. Schwab will release her highly anticipated new novel, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. Divided between three timelines—1520s and 1530s in Spain; 1827 in London; 2019 in Boston—it follows three young women craving something more in life. But there's a price to pay when seeking freedom and answers. Though I've... Continue Reading →
Tomorrow is the release day for one of my most anticipated books this year, Behooved by M. Stevenson. This debut romantasy novel is for the horse lovers out there. When Bianca is sent to marry the neighboring kingdom's heir apparent, Aric, she doesn't expect to turn her new husband into a horse on their wedding... Continue Reading →
The past few years I have been loving Kennedy Ryan's Skyland series. Now the trilogy ends with Can't Get Enough, Hendrix's story. Career-focused and confident, Hendrix isn't willing to sacrifice her goals for a man. But when she meets Maverick, a tech mogul, she needs to consider whether being with him is worth risking a... Continue Reading →
Asexual representation, Mexican American women falling in love, a viral TikTok scavenger hunt—all of this can be found in Gabriella Gamez's new novel, Kiss Me, Maybe. This is the second in her Librarians in Love series, and even if you haven't read the first book yet (I haven't), it works well as a standalone romance.... Continue Reading →
It may not be summer yet, but the weather is getting nice and it's the perfect time to get a preview of more to come with Ms. V's Hot Girl Summer by A.H. Cunningham. Single mom Trinidad Velasquez is looking to finally settle down with a man years after her divorce. She tries to ignore... Continue Reading →
Two months ago, J. Ann Thomas released her adult debut, The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall. This modern gothic follows Elegy Thorne, a young woman whose family has managed a haunted estate for over a century. Fifteen spirits are trapped in Thorne Hall, and once Elegy's father passes, it will be up to her to... Continue Reading →
This week saw the release of Lissette Decos's second novel, Takes One to Know One. Set primarily in Puerto Rico, this enemies-to-lovers romance follows up-and-coming reggaetonero Rene ‘El Rico’ Rodriguez... and Daniela, the reggaeton-hating record label executive working with him while he records his debut album. Why I Chose This Book: I never pass up... Continue Reading →
Two years after releasing her first novel, Emilia Hart is back with her second book, The Sirens. Set mainly in Australia in alternating timelines between 1800, 1999, and 2019, it follows pairs of sisters grappling with what makes them different and the otherworldly rumors surrounding their communities. Why I Chose This Book: Though I haven't... Continue Reading →
Following the reprint of My Funny Demon Valentine in January, Aurora Ascher's second Hell Bent novel, My Demon Hunter, is out today. Here, instead of focusing on one of the four "brother" demons escaped from Hell, it follows the hunter sent to find them and his decision to find a human pet—ahem, girlfriend. Mist ends... Continue Reading →
Tomorrow is the release day Sandie Jones's new thriller, I Would Die for You. Bouncing between 1986 and 2011, it follows two sisters and their involvement with a wildly popular band... and the repercussions haunting one of them 25 years later. Why I Chose This Book: I first heard about this book in the Minotaur... Continue Reading →
Alix E. Harrow just released a new short story this week: The Knight and the Butcherbird. Set in a post-apocalyptic Appalachian community hundreds of years in the future, it reads like a fairy tale with demons and knights. Why I Chose This Book: Though I've only read two of her books so far, I'm always... Continue Reading →
Yesterday, Jacqueline Friedland released her new novel, Counting Backwards. Divided between the 1910s/1920s and today, it uncovers a horrific story about eugenics, forced sterilizations, and women who have little power over their reproductive health and personal lives. It's inspired by the true cases of Carrie Buck in 1924 and what's continued to go on even... Continue Reading →
Last week, Thien-Kim Lam released her latest novel, Something Cheeky. I've been wanting to read her books, and when I saw the description for this one, I knew it was time to dive in. Zoe and Derek were best friends in college, but lost touch after she was pushed out of the program. Now Derek... Continue Reading →
One month ago, Jude Deveraux released Order of Swans, the first in her Blue Swan duology. This blend of fantasy and sci-fi follows Kaley, a PhD student devoted to folklore, who gets sucked into a real-life fairy tale... on another planet. She and two companions (Tanek and Sojee) are on a mission to find a... Continue Reading →
There's something about folkloric horror and thrillers that always captures my immediate interest. Such was the case when I first heart about Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce. Set in a small English town in 1989, it follows a recently graduated child psychologist, Mina, and her first patient, a teen girl named Alice who... Continue Reading →
My most anticipated book this week was Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods. If the title and cover aren't already enough to entice you, here's more: Unfolding like a fairytale, this novel is set in 1750s France, where Luce, adopted as an orphan, has always felt loved but like something is missing. She longs... Continue Reading →
Earlier this month, Neena Viel released her debut novel, Listen to Your Sister. This comedic yet horrifying story follows three siblings, the eldest of whom is now the official guardian of the youngest brother, a troubled teenager. Calla has been having a repeated nightmare for years, and it centers on her two younger brothers. But... Continue Reading →
One week ago, Virginia Feito released her horror novella, Victorian Psycho. The title actually works as a succinct but sufficient summary: In Victorian-era England, a psychotic governess, Winifred, is bent on revenge and murder, and she narrates her evils over the course of three months leading up to Christmas. A word of warning: She does... Continue Reading →
Yesterday, Victoria Purman's novel The Radio Hour got its US release (less than a year after its original publication in Australia). Set in Sydney in 1956, it follows fifty-year-old Martha Berry and her unexpected and ultimately impactful role in radio broadcasting. This novel highlights women's rights and how "it's never too late to be what... Continue Reading →
Two years ago, Adriana Herrera putout her second Las Leonas novel, An Island Princess Starts a Scandal. Manuela is going to be married in a few months to a man she can't love, but before the wedding, she wants to spend her time in Paris with women of a similar inclination. She enlists Cora, a... Continue Reading →
Amanda's Book Corner 