Gothic tales always catch my eye, and I've been especially interested in ones set in different countries. This drew me to The Villa, Once Beloved by Victor Manibo, set in the Philippines. Filipina-American Sophie travels to the Philippines for the first time with her boyfriend, Adrian Sepulveda, when his grandfather passes away. The Sepulveda villa... Continue Reading →
I loved Rachel Runya Katz's 2023 debut, Thank You for Sharing, and have been wanting to read her more recent books. Before I get to her newest release, I decided to catch up on last year's Whenever You're Ready. For years, Nia, Jade, and Michal were best friends. Later, Jade's twin brother Jonah was part... Continue Reading →
One of my most anticipated horror novels this year has been I'll Make a Spectacle of You, the debut from Beatrice Winifred Iker. Set at a Tennessee HBCU, it follows Zora, a grad student in Appalachian Studies who's researching religions, folklore, and hoodoo... and a beast that supposedly lurks the university woods at night. A... Continue Reading →
Ever since I met my husband, I've been drawn to reading books set in his home country, Peru. Now that our family is in Lima, I'm increasingly interested in Peruvian literature. This led me to The Year of the Wind by Karina Pacheco Medrano, just released in English. It was first published in 2021; this... Continue Reading →
Happy release day to Deeper Than the Ocean by Mirta Ojito! Set between the Canary Islands and Cuba, this novel follows multiple generations of women affected by love, loss, and a fractured sense of belonging. What I Liked: Getting to know the Canary Islands. I love books set throughout Spain, but this is the first... Continue Reading →
Alix E. Harrow is a master of building multilayered worlds, and that skill is on full display in her latest novel, The Everlasting. It's a tale of time-travel, love, ambition, and memory, one where the ending is never really the end. Owen Mallory has spent his whole life obsessed with the legend of Una Everlasting,... Continue Reading →
Ever since I lived in Spain for a year, I'm eternally drawn to books set there. This is why Suzanne Redfearn's new novel, Call of the Camino, first caught my eye. Set between two timelines, it follows two different women who walk the Camino de Santiago through northern Spain. In 1997, Isabel is on the... Continue Reading →
Happy rerelease to Hollow by Karina Halle! First published two years ago, it has just been republished with a gorgeous new cover. Hollow is the first half of A Gothic Shade of Romance duology; the second part, Legend, comes out in December. Hollow is a retelling of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving.... Continue Reading →
I loved Kristen Loesch's first novel, The Last Russian Doll, so I was excited to read her newest book. The Hong Kong Widow is out today, and it is a stunning work of horror. Set between three timelines, it follows Mei from her difficult childhood, to series of séances gone wrong in her 20s, to... Continue Reading →
I've been wanting to read Nick Medina since his first novel came out a couple years ago. Now that his third novel has published, I decided to start there. The Whistler follows Henry Hotard, a man in his early 20s who's devoted to his growing YouTube channel about ghost hunting. But after going after a... Continue Reading →
Earlier this month, Adib Khorram released his second adult romance, It Had to Be Him. After getting dumped for being "boring," Ramin makes the exciting choice to take a vacation in Milan. There he coincidentally runs into Noah, once a friend back in high school, and they quickly resume their friendship. It's not long before... Continue Reading →
I've been wanting to read Paulette Kennedy since her first book came out a few years ago, and have finally started with her latest novel, The Artist of Blackberry Grange. Set in 1925, it follows Sadie Halloran just after her relationship with a married man ended badly. She ends up going to her great aunt... Continue Reading →
Mia Sosa is an author I've been wanting to read for a while now, especially since I enjoyed a short story she wrote for a holiday anthology a few years ago. Her newest novel is When Javi Dumped Mari, a friends-to-lovers romance that takes 12 years and a rapidly approaching wedding (to the wrong man!)... Continue Reading →
A new thriller I've been looking forward to for months is out today: The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark. This dual-timeline story explores how a horrific trauma can haunt a family for decades. Vincent Taylor was one of three teenaged siblings growing up in 1970s Ojai, California. But both his older brother and younger sister were... 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 →
Alex North has become one of my favorite authors in the past few years, so I was excited to read his brand new book, The Man Made of Smoke. Following several characters and a few timelines, it starts when young Dan has a brief encounter with a serial killer and one of the boys he'd abducted. Decades... Continue Reading →
Yesterday the U.S. finally got to see the release of C. J. Cooke's novel, The Ghost Woods. It originally came out in 2022, the final in a trio of books she wrote surrounding themes of motherhood (the other two being The Nesting and The Lighthouse Witches). This Gothic novel follows two timelines, Mabel in 1959... Continue Reading →
One of the best books out this month is When the Harvest Comes by Denne Michele Norris. Unfolding like a tapestry, this novel starts with two men on their wedding day, a day that also ends with the death of one of their fathers. Weaving in themes of grief, gender identity, family, and the importance... Continue Reading →
One of my most anticipated books out today is Bailey Seybolt's debut, Coram House. Inspired by true events, this novel follows an investigative journalist as she delves into a decades-old crime at a Vermont orphanage. Back in 1968, a boy named Tommy drowned under suspicious circumstances. In 2016, Alex Kelley is working on a book... 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 →
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 →
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 →
Happy book birthday to Scot and Bothered by Alexandra Kiley! This is the followup to Kilt Trip, this time following older brother Jack Sutherland and his second chance with Brooke Sinclair. They connected back in college, but a friendship-turned-romance ended badly. So badly that Brooke's dreams of being an author have crumbled. Now she's a... Continue Reading →
When Jamie Wesley released Fake It Till You Bake It, I was excited to read it. Now, the series continues with A Legend in the Baking, starring Sugar Blitz co-owner August and Donovan's younger sister, Sloane. Sloane has just been passed over for a promotion she deserved, so she quits and decides to pursue a... Continue Reading →
Amanda's Book Corner 