Since reading A Dash of Salt and Pepper a few years ago, I've been wanting to read more from Kosoko Jackson. My second foray into his work is The Macabre, his debut fantasy/horror novel for adults. Lewis is a struggling artist who suddenly gets tasked with entering magical paintings to put a stop to their... Continue Reading →
Today Silvia Moreno-Garcia releases her eleventh novel, The Bewitching. By now I've read nearly everything she's released, and I know that, no matter the genre or setting, I'll be in for a mesmerizing tale. Here readers get three timelines: On a rural farm in Mexico in 1908, Alba faces a series of losses and increasing... Continue Reading →
Next week, V. E. Schwab will release her highly anticipated new novel, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. Divided between three timelinesโ1520s and 1530s in Spain; 1827 in London; 2019 in Bostonโit 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 of Natalie Jenner's fourth novel, Austen at Sea. While this book continues her theme of Austeneque historical fiction, it goes back farther in time, to 1865, and features people who knew Jane Austen in her lifetime. It follows two sisters who begin corresponding with Sir Francis Austen, brother of the famous... 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 →
We're only three weeks away from the release of Natalie Jenner's fourth novel, Austen at Sea. While this book continues her theme of Austeneque historical fiction, this one goes back farther in time, to 1865, and features people who knew Jane Austen in her lifetime. It follows two sisters who begin corresponding with Sir Francis... Continue Reading →
Yesterday, Betty Cayouette released her debut novel, One Last Shot. The stunning cover and the fact that it's set in Italy are the first things that made me want to read this. It's a second-chance romance between two former best friends, with a marriage pact bringing them back together for a one-week photo shoot in... Continue Reading →
Like Happiness is the debut novel by Ursula Villarreal-Moura, and what an impactful debut it is. Told in dual timelines between the early 2000s in the United States in 2015 in Chile, it examines a Chicana woman's young adulthood with a famous author friend and the complicated relationship they had until it all fell apart.... Continue Reading →
Last year, I loved reading Jenn McKinlay's 2020 novel, Paris Is Always a Good Idea. Now she has a brand new book, Summer Reading, and I was thrilled to be included in the book tour for it. With a neurodivergent heroine, a librarian hero, and a focus on family, this is a sweet and inclusive romance.... Continue Reading →
In late 2020, I read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. It was part of a book club I was in, and all of us loved the novel. So I was excited to learn of his newest novel, The Many Daughters of Afong Moy, and even more thrilled when I was approved... Continue Reading →
My April reading challenge is to read books set in Paris, France. Following The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley, the second book I finished was Paris Is Always a Good Idea by Jenn McKinlay. I'd picked up the audiobook of it last year, so I was eager to listen to it. This charming, romantic, emotional... Continue Reading →
Over the past few years, I've found that I tend to go through phases when it comes to the books I choose. For a while, I only wanted to read historical fiction set in Europe. Then I moved on to thrillers. After that, I was back to historical fiction, but this time set in Asia... Continue Reading →
I love a provocative title, so when I first saw The Idiot by Elif Batuman in the bookstore, I was intrigued. Its summary - multicultural, set against a backdrop of coming of age during college and traveling on your own for the first time - sealed the deal. I bought it, went home, and started... Continue Reading →
Amanda's Book Corner 