I loved One Night in Hartswood, the first in Emma Denny's Barden Series, and was excited to read its sequel, All the Painted Stars. This time, the sisters get a chance at love. Jo de Foucart is due to marry, and a tournament to celebrate her young brother's rise to earldom is also a chance... Continue Reading →
As a kid, I absolutely loved horses. From my numerous Breyer horses to the book series I read (The Black Stallion; Phantom Stallion; Pony Pals; many more!), I was a horse girl through and through (minus the budget for riding lessons, sadly). To this day, I love horses and am drawn to anything involving them.... Continue Reading →
Every fall I'm on the lookout for some good horror and thrillers to feed my spooky season cravings. One book I had been eagerly awaiting was Del Sandeen's debut novel, This Cursed House. It's summer 1962 when Jemma has faced a series of difficulties at home in Chicago. From the death of her adoptive father... Continue Reading →
Jane Eyre but with more spice and more dark magic? Yes please! That’s what the marketing copy for Erin Elle's The Baron’s Demons promised, and that’s what instantly had me sold. Julia Woodrow is desperate to escape her abusive father's home, but has little opportunity to do so. She's lucky when a stranger, Gabriel, Baron... Continue Reading →
Last year I absolutely loved The Pomegranate Gate, the first in Ariel Kaplan's Mirror Realm Cycle trilogy. Set during the Spanish Inquisition but in a differently named world and a whole Mazik realm, it was a book that was a little bonkers and a ton of fun. Now, the second installment is here: The Republic... Continue Reading →
Fans of Jane Austen and historical mysteries won’t want to miss Murder in Highbury, the first in Vanessa Kelly's new Emma Knightley Mystery series. Now married to George Knightley, Emma is off of matchmaking and on to... solving crimes! When she and Harriet Martin stumble across the body of Mrs. Elton, it's immediately clear to Emma... Continue Reading →
Today Raquel Vasquez Gilliland releases her second Wild Magic novel, Lightning in Her Hands. This book follows middle sister Teal, a volatile woman whose gift is changing the weather according to her moods. But she was four when her mother abandoned the family, taking a piece of Teal's magic with her; Teal has never had... Continue Reading →
Last winter, I enjoyed reading The Lighthouse Witches by C. J. Cooke, so I was excited to read more from her. This week she released her newest novel, The Book of Witching. Divided between two timelines, it deals with a mysterious group known as the Triskele on the Orkney Islands of Scotland. In 1594, Alison... Continue Reading →
One of my most anticipated books this fall was The Lightning Bottles by Marissa Stapley. Set in the Seattle grunge scenes of the 1990s, this dual-timeline novel is about star-crossed lovers—Elijah Hart and Jane Pyre—torn apart by fame and addiction. But when Elijah goes missing in Iceland in late 1994, Jane is forced to carry... Continue Reading →
I always love a book that weaves in music somehow, and that's what first drew me to Showmance by Chad Beguelin. Noah Adams has just had his Broadway debut... but his musical, Stage of Fools, is an immediate flop. He goes back to his small hometown in Illinois to be with his parents after his... Continue Reading →
Last year I loved Dominic Lim's debut novel, All the Right Notes, so I was excited to get an early copy of his new book, Karaoke Queen. As before, the romance here is between Filipino men and involves a ton of music. This time, though, instead of Broadway musicals and high school choirs, these characters... Continue Reading →
I've been enjoying Amalie Howard's Taming of the Dukes series and was excited for Effie's love story in the third installment, The Worst Duke in London. More concerned with her animal shelter than with finding a husband (especially after becoming an outcast during her first season), Lady Evangeline Raine has sworn off the whole marriage... Continue Reading →
It's back-to-school season, fall is almost here, and that makes it the perfect time to read Kristyn J. Miller's new novel, Given Our History. This dual-timeline, second chance romance is about two history professors (and former best friends) who haven't spoken in several years but are now back in each other's orbit. Clara and Teddy... Continue Reading →
Last year I absolutely loved My Roommate Is a Vampire, and I couldn't wait to continue the My Vampires series. Now Jenna Levine is back with My Vampire Plus-One, this time starring Reginald Cleaves (introduced in the first book) and a new character, Amelia Collins (Cassie's best friend Sam's sister). Amelia is tired of her... Continue Reading →
Karina Halle is an author I enjoyed several years ago (she wrote some of the first adult romances I'd ever read, including Love, in English, its sequel Love, in Spanish, and The Pact). I've been wanting to read more from her for a while, and at long last, I'm back with her newest release, The... Continue Reading →
I didn't know what to expect going into A Song to Drown Rivers, the adult debut from Ann Liang. It's a retelling of the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, though I was not familiar with that legend. This book has also been labeled as fantasy, though I would... Continue Reading →
Matchmaking, fake dating, a grumpy/sunshine dynamic, and Desi culture: All that and more is in Sunshine and Spice, the debut novel by Aurora Palit. I was first drawn to this book for its cute cover and the title, but the joy only grew as I began reading it. Set in Kelowna, British Columbia, it's about... Continue Reading →
I'm a sucker for a good horror story, especially when dolls are involved. So The Doll's House by Lisa Unger immediately captured my attention. This short story follows Jules, recently widowed, and her teenage daughter, Scout. Both are still grieving, but Jules is already with a new man, Kirin, and they're moving into his house.... Continue Reading →
As a lifelong cat lover and cat owner, I'm always drawn to books about felines. As soon as I saw We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida, I had to read it. Already a bestseller in Japan and now available in English for the first time, this book takes the idea of cats as... Continue Reading →
Since 2019, Silvia Moreno-Garcia has become one of my favorite authors, and I've read nearly all of her books by now. However, I still hadn't read her first two novels. Now available in audiobook form, I've finally read her debut novel, Signal to Noise. It starts in Mexico City in 1988, when teenagers Meche, Sebastián,... Continue Reading →
I have been loving Nisha Sharma's If Shakespeare Was an Auntie series and was so excited to read the final installment, Marriage & Masti. This Twelfth Night retelling is about Deepak and Veera, two career-focused friends who fell out of touch when he got engaged to another woman... then accidentally got married after that engagement... Continue Reading →
Paranormal romances have been on the rise lately, and I've really been getting into them. One that just came out this month is A Werewolf's Guide to Seducing a Vampire by Sarah Hawley. It's the third in her Glimmer Falls series, but it works as a standalone (I still need to read the first two... Continue Reading →
One of my most anticipated novels this summer was The Naturalist's Daughter by Tea Cooper. Though it was first published in Australia in 2017, this is its first release in the United States. What initially drew me to this book is its focus on the platypus. In New South Wales, Australia in the early 1800s,... Continue Reading →
Silvia Moreno-Garcia is one of my favorite authors, and despite how diversely she writes, she never misses. Her latest novel, The Seventh Veil of Salome, is one of her few works that isn't speculative fiction. Instead, this a historical fiction novel set in 1950s Hollywood, about two women vying for the same leading role in... Continue Reading →
Amanda's Book Corner 