As 2019 wraps up and 2020 begins, I wish you a peaceful transition from one year to the next, one decade to the next. I love the new year – fresh calendars and fresh starts. It’s one of my favorite seasons of the year.
Come back by tomorrow for two cozy mystery reviews, and then a YA review on Thursday. And be sure to stop in on Saturday for my 2019 reading wrap up. See you then!
I hope your December holiday celebrations have been excellent! Here’s to delightful final days of 2019, and a spectacular 2020! Here are some of the new books releasing this week.
Ana & Andrew: Going to Ghana AND The Magic Violin AND The Perfect Pet (January 1) – Sibling stories that include African American history.
Clap Your Hands: A Celebration of Gospel – A celebration and exploration of the history of gospel music.
Harriet Tubman (Sheroes – January 1) – A biography for young readers.
Frederick Douglass: Voice for Justice, Voice for Freedom – A leveled reader biography.
Truth or Lie: Presidents – A leveled reader focused on the history of the US Presidents.
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Powers of a Squirrel (Graphic Novel) – Doreen Green heads to college to study computer science. She also faces a new foe – Galactus.
The Winterhouse Mysteries – Book 3 in the Winterhouse series. Elizabeth and Freddy are drawn into a new mystery when hotel guests start to act weird, and Elizabeth’s powers manifest in new ways. And a mysterious book leads the kids to believe someone is trying to raise a villain from the dead.
Dispel Illusion – Book 3 in the Impossible Times series about time travel. All three books are currently available to read for free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.
And Dangerous to Know (Hardcover) – Book 3 in the Rosalind Thorne Mystery series after A Useful Woman (♥♥♥♥♥) and A Purely Private Matter. Rosalind goes undercover at Melbourne House to find a thief and to retrieve some sensitive letters only to discover the home is also the site of a murder. I can’t wait to get caught up on this series. The cover art alone makes me want to pick them up every time I see one.
Come Homicide or High Water (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 3 in the Welcome Back to Scumble River series. Skye is getting ready to return to work after her maternity leave when a disgruntled parent threatens to sue the school and then is found dead.
Dead in Dublin (Mass Market Paperback) – First in the new Dublin Driver Mysteries series. A former military woman who now drives a limo for tourists in Dublin gets drawn into a murder investigation when one of her guests – a restaurant critic – dies after eating at a local restaurant.
Gone, Kitty, Gone (Trade Paperback) – Book 4 in the Cat Groomer Mystery series. When an internet-famous Scottish Fold is kidnapped from a cat show and his sitter is murdered, cat groomer Cassie is asked to find the petnapper and rescue the cat.
Hems & Homicide (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 1 in the new Apron Shop mystery series. When her widowed grandmother is suspected of murder after not just one body, but two are found in their fabric shop, Iris starts sleuthing in order to clear her grandmother’s name.
Last Licks (Hardcover) – Book 3 in the Lickety Splits Mystery series. When a Hollywood director wants to use her ice cream shop as the setting for a new movie, Kate is thrilled with the opportunity. But when the movie’s star collapses after eating some of her ice cream, Kate is the top suspect in the death.
Love Lettering (Trade Paperback) – A lettering expert who makes custom journals and stationary for her customers also has a gift for seeing things others miss – like the signs that the wedding she is working on is destined for disaster. She even sneaks a word of warning into her wedding decorations, and the groom-to-be spots it. A year later, he has tracked her down to find out how she knew disaster was going to strike. I’ll be reviewing this one in January!
Matchmaking Can Be Murder (Mass Market Paperback) – The first book in a spin off of the Amish Candy Shop Mystery series. When Millie’s niece breaks off her engagement, Millie knows it’s the right move for her future, but when the ex is later found dead at her niece’s business, Millie has to start digging to find a killer. I’ll be reviewing this one later this week.
Murder Ink (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 6 in the Victoria Square Mystery series. A tattoo parlor is an unexpected business to crop up in Victoria Square, and when the owner later dies, the police start to think one of the other business owners killed him. Interesting premise!
Murder on Cape Cod (Mass Market Paperback) – First in the new Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery series. When a bike shop owner becomes the prime suspect in a murder, she and her cozy mystery book group use the skills they have learned in their reading to hunt for a killer. I am so excited to read this one!
The One for You (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 4 in the Ones Who Got Away series. Best friends, driven apart by tragedy, have a chance at friendship – and maybe even love – but he’s hiding some things that could push her away forever.
Poppy Harmon and the Hung Jury (Hardcover) – Book 2 in the Desert Flowers Mystery series. A blast from her past comes looking for Poppy’s help to find his missing daughter, but while Poppy is dodging his advances and serving on a jury, she also stumbles across a dead body – a fellow juror. Poppy’s life gets more complicated by the moment. This sounds twisty and fun!
Sealed Off (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 8 in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. When will these poor mystery characters see that renovations almost always lead to secret rooms or secret bodies? This time it’s a secret, sealed-off room which leads to a dead body and a secret diary.
Sell Low, Sweet Harriet (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 8 in the Sarah W. Garage Sale Mystery series. At first Sarah thinks she is just helping sell off the possessions of a couple tragically killed on a trip to Africa. When she discovers that the couple were former CIA agents, things get a lot more interesting. And a lot more dangerous. This sounds great!
Theater Nights Are Murder (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 4 in the Poppy McAllister Mystery series. You can read my review of book one here. As Poppy and her Aunt Ginny are juggling questions of love and suitors, murder comes to the local theater production of Mamma Mia. I will be reviewing this one later this week.
Easy Keto in 30 Minutes (Paperback) – More than 100 Ketogenic recipes that can be made in 30 minutes or less.
Reid Ellington is the youngest of the five daughters of Duke Ellington. And in the kingdom of Marsden, five daughters is a problem. Inheritance law dictates that property and rights move from father to son. So Reid is raised as a boy, and everyone is told that “he” is the heir to the estate. Only the family knows the truth.
When the king of Marsden dies, his oldest son, Eldon, takes the throne. And all of the dukes, including Reid’s father, are told to provide soldiers to protect Marsden. Eldon’s uncle, who rules the county of Axian, is preparing an invasion.
Eldon’s younger brothers, Prince Gordon and Prince Ackley, come to Ellington and discover Reid’s secret. Her father could be charged with treason for his lies. But if Reid agrees to help the princes with a secret mission, she can secure a pardon for her father.
So Reid agrees to spy for the kingdom of Marsden and joins the Knights of the Realm. Her future is so uncertain, it seems like a safe choice. But Reid’s work for the crown leads her to question everything she thought she knew about her home.
This was great! Reid is a terrific character. Being raised as a man in a patriarchal society, but knowing she is a woman puts her in a unique head space. She loves the freedoms her unusual upbringing has given her, but she also knows those freedoms are largely illusion. She can’t live as a man forever. But she also can’t walk back the authority she’s enjoyed. She can’t accept an arranged marriage and a life as a powerless, voiceless woman in her society after 18 years of freedom.
There are hints of a romance which felt like the weakest parts of the story to me. One of the princes is blatantly flirty. The other is brooding. Reid has a visceral reaction to one, and apparently he is interested in her, too, but I didn’t find this played out very well. There’s supposed to be angsty-ness over his engagement to someone else, but the groundwork didn’t feel strong enough to me for that to really play out well.
The twistiness of the political/royal story was delightful! I had so many questions along the way – what would Reid be asked to do? Who can she trust? What lies have been passed off as truth, and to whom? I can’t wait to dig into the rest of the series. Book 2, Shadow Knights, released earlier this month. Book 3, Hidden Knights, will be out in the spring. I have to know what happens next!
If you enjoy political or royal intrigue, spies, and strong female protagonists, don’t miss this one! It reminds me of books like Ash Princess or Kill the Queen or Ruined. I LOVE books like this, and I am here for this whole series!
Merry Christmas to you and yours! If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you have an excellent holiday.
In 1955, as Albert Einstein lay dying and under the influence of morphine, the great genius spoke of a secret work. One he never trusted to humanity. And ever since then, the CIA has been trying to find it.
They aren’t the only ones. Over the years different governments – and spies – of the world have tried to track it down with no luck. The latest group calls themselves the Furies. They are disgruntled white supremacists, angry at the world and bitter about all they feel has been “stolen” from them. They would be among the worst of those hunting for Einstein’s final equation. And they are close to finding it.
The CIA has become desperate. That’s the only reason they would bring in a reckless, impulsive 12-year-old genius named Charlie Thorne. Agent Dante Garcia knows Charlie’s story and believes her brilliance could be just what they need to solve the mystery and find the equation before the Furies. But Charlie may be more trouble than the CIA is prepared for. And Charlie might not be prepared for what could happen to her once the CIA has what they want from her.
This was great! I enjoyed the combination of mystery and action/adventure. Charlie is an interesting character – so smart but at times immature and naive. For much of the book, she was the only one I trusted. And that was a factor in the story, too. There was no super-surprising twist. The puzzles are pretty straightforward once Charlie figures them out. I loved the things I learned about Einstein and other scientists from the story. The ending was great.
There were parts that seemed too easy or too perfect. It was easy to suspend disbelief, though, because I was having so much fun with the story.
This has a lot more violence and death in it than you’ll find in most middle grade books, even if this one is for Older Middle Grade readers (ages 10 and up). It felt more like a YA novel in that way, although the 12-year-old protagonist would be young for a straight up YA novel.
Readers who can handle the violence (gun battles, fighting, death threats, death, etc.) will find a smart, fun adventure story here! I can’t wait for book 2.
Depending on the day you shop this week, grab your last minute gift list, or your book store gift cards, and check out the new books out this week!
Bible Stories for Little Hearts (Board Book 12/26) – Includes Noah’s Ark and the birth of Jesus.
Future President (Board Book 12/26) – Part of the Future Baby series. Includes presidential facts
Little Heroes of Color (Board Book 12/26) – 50 individuals who made a difference. I love the artwork on the cover of this one. I can’t wait to check it out in person!
I’m a Dragon (12/24) – A Little Golden Book about dragons.
Love and Grumpiness (12/24) – A Grumpy Cat Valentine’s Day book.
Love from the Crayons (12/24) – A Valentine’s Day book starring the Crayons from Drew Daywalt’s books.
The Night Before Groundhog Day (12/24) – It’s not often you find books about Groundhog Day!
The Return of Thelma the Unicorn (12/26) – A follow-up to Thelma the Unicorn.
The Bad Guys in the Baddest Day Ever (12/26) – Book 10 in the delightful Bad Guys series.
Bo’s Magical New Friend (12/26) – First in a new Unicorn Diaries series from Scholastic BRANCHES by the author of the tremendous Owl Diaries series. Bo Tinseltail is a unicorn with the power to grant wishes who is looking for a best friend. This looks DARLING!
Don’t Worry Bee Happy (12/26) – Book 1 in the new Bumble and Bee series from Scholastic ACORN. Two rambunctious bees and their cranky frog friend make an unusual trio, but they can still have fun despite their differences.
Dragon Gets By (12/26) – Book 3 in the Dragon series by the author of Captain Underpants and Dog Man. These stories have been published before, but are being re-released through Scholastic ACORN.
Eva’s Campfire Adventure (12/26) – Book 12 in the Owl Diaries series. Eva and her friends hunt for treasure on their school camping trip.
Karen’s Witch (Graphic Novel 12/26) – Spin off from the Baby-sitters Club series. Karen is convinced her neighbor is a witch.
Mac Cracks the Code (12/26) – Book 4 in the Mac B, Kid Spy series. In this book, Mac has to crack a code as he faces his nemesis in a video game contest.
Merry Christmas Dumpster Dog (12/24) – Dumpster Dog and Flat Cat would like to spend this Christmas in a home instead of their trash can.
Pug’s Snow Day (12/26) – Book 2 in the Diary of a Pug series. Bub is not a fan of the snow – or of the new neighbor’s scary pet.
Super Rabbit All-Stars (12/26) – Book 8 in the Press Start series. Super Rabbit Boy competes in a Games Tournament.
Surf’s Up! (12/26) – First in a new ACORN series, Moby Shinobi and Toby Too! Moby tries to use his ninja skills to solve some problems at the beach and discovers that teamwork makes things better.
The Love Pug (12/26) – When a girl’s pug seems to have matchmaking skills, she tries to use the dog to find her best friend a date to the dance. Part of the WISH line from Scholastic.
Random Acts of Kittens (12/26) – Part of the WISH line from Scholastic. When a girl finds a lost cat and litter of kittens, she starts an anonymous online account to find homes for the kittens.
The Shining Blade (12/26) – Book 3 in the World of Warcraft Traveler series about a pair of adventurers following the path of a mysterious compass.
Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Enter Stage Left (12/26) – Book 4 in the Two Dogs in a Trench Coat series. Sassy and Waldo are back to help their boy, Stewart, who is acting like a villain when his class puts on a play.
The Fierce 44: Black Americans Who Shook Up the World (Older Middle Grade 10+ 12/24) – Highlights the achievements of Black Americans including Frederick Douglass, Aretha Franklin, Barack Obama.
My Survival: A Girl on Schindler’s List (12/26) – The memoir of a girl who survived the Holocaust thanks to Oskar Schindler.
What Were the Negro Leagues? (12/24) An exploration of the Negro Leagues in baseball in the 1930s and 40s. From the author of the terrific books The Great Greene Heist and The Parker Inheritance.
Where Is the Vatican? (12/24) – A look at the Vatican, the headquarters of the Catholic Church.
Love by Chance (Trade Paperback 12/26) – Based on a Hallmark Channel original movie. When a pastry chef’s mother secretly sets her up on a date, she really clicks with the pediatrician, but what will happen when she finds out their date was a fix up?
When Sloane’s sister dies by suicide, Sloane is understandably devastated. She thinks back to their last conversation, second guessing every choice she made that day. She finds a list in her sister’s jeans pocket that she looks at every day, trying to decipher what the list means. To see if it gives her any clue why her sister wanted to die.
There’s a phone number on the list which leads Sloane to Adam in California. He says he didn’t know Talley, but Sloane isn’t sure she believes him. And some of Talley’s list could be tied to Adam’s community in California. If only there was an easy way for Sloane to get there… from Minnesota.
Thanks to a generous friend and one fake email, Sloane is off to California for what her father thinks is a college writing seminar during summer break. It’s Sloane’s chance to try to solve the puzzle of Talley’s list – and find out the truth about Adam’s relationship with her sister.
Wow, this was great. Once Sloane was on her way to California to dig into Talley’s list, I couldn’t put this down. The twists and turns the story takes from there were beautifully plotted. I loved the whole touching journey.
Sloane is a great protagonist. She’s bright and insightful. She’s completely committed to figuring out what happened to her sister. And her journey turns up not only some surprising information but also some new depths to her own journey. I wanted to hug her – she needed comfort and someone to listen. But she also needed to power through this process – as hard as it was at times – because she could work through to some resolution on the other side.
There’s so much compassion here for the depressed and hurting, although the focus is more on the survivors than on Talley. This is a lovely story – moving and riveting. I loved the writing aspects that are sprinkled throughout the book relating to Sloane as a writer. Be sure to check this one out. (Some language, CW: Suicide)
[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Violet Waverly is the Caretaker for a magical tree located at the center of her bookstore, Charming Books. Women in Violet’s family have been caring for the tree for generations, protecting its secrets. But under Violet’s care, those secrets are in danger.
A private investigator named Joel Redding was in Cascade Springs before investigating a murder, but now he’s back, determined to find out what Violet is hiding. He’s casing her store and following her.
While she’s come to expect their run-ins outside the shop, she doesn’t expect to see him in the middle of a 30 mile bike race. But wearing loafers and street clothes, Redding zooms by her, taking her picture. Only a few minutes later, at the bottom of Breakneck Hill, Redding is dead.
When a copy of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman is found on him, Violet knows. The shop had given her the same book twice lately. The shop obviously wants her to solve Redding’s murder.
This is book four in the Magical Bookshop Mystery series, my favorite series so far by Amanda Flower. Of the four books in the series so far, I have only known or read the bookstore’s book of choice once. This has never impacted my enjoyment of the series. There’s plenty of Walt Whitman history in the novel as well as an author’s note. While Whitman isn’t a writer I enjoy, I did enjoy the historical pieces here – both real and fictional.
The mystery in this one was solid. I did feel like there was a lot of time spent on Violet searching for, finding and losing the young woman she was trying to help. This started to get old. Violet was far too kind to someone who pushed her away with her words and with her behavior. And the will-she-or-won’t-she over Violet telling the detective about the shop’s secrets, something she started debating in a previous book, also stretched into this book. I was happy to see that plot thread finally settled. I also felt like one piece of the mystery solution wasn’t explained, but it was a minor piece. The solution was solid otherwise – nice and twisty!
Amanda Flower has another book out this month – Matchmaking Can Be Murder. This is the first in a new Amish Matchmaker Mystery series which is a spin off of the Amish Candy Shop series, which I have also enjoyed. I’ll be reviewing that one at the end of the year.
[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and HQN in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
The Crown Prince of Alucia has come to England for two reasons – to forge a trade agreement and to find a wife. And at the masquerade ball, he also finds a few… distractions. A redhead who distracts him for a few hours and another woman who flirts with him in a secret passageway.
Eliza is in the passageway to hide from the matron who wanted to fill up her dance card with what would probably be horrible dance partners. Spinsters like her were hardly the top prospects at these events. Eliza is happy to enjoy the rum punch in peace while she tries to meet the Crown Prince.
While Sebastian and Eliza meet at the ball, they are thrown together more forcefully when Sebastian’s friend and personal secretary is murdered. Eliza was paying attention to the man at the ball because he’d been kind to her. Prince Sebastian is determined to have all the details she can provide. But Eliza isn’t like the simpering, acquiescing women he’s used to meeting. She won’t be cowed by his title or his attitude. And Sebastian finds he likes that about her.
Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a mystery. While there is a murder, and Sebastian and Eliza go looking for clues to the killer, that is secondary to the romance plot. I would have liked this to be both, frankly. It would have been great to see Eliza and Sebastian take down the killer together AND sort out their romantic woes. But while the killer is unmasked, it is revealed in a detached, distanced way, and the reader is clued in later on the details.
Romance fans who are less attached to the mystery likely will not care. Sebastian and Eliza have great friction early on. He’s arrogant and entitled, and she’s old enough and experienced enough not to kowtow to him. I loved how direct and sassy she was with him. The relationship is pretty typical for a romance between royalty and a commoner. Once they connect, how will they go on because of his obligations and her lack of status? The finagling of those issues made for a decent and happily ever after ending. (Sex)
Pavi Sharma has become something of an expert on foster care. In fact, she has a little business helping other foster kids in transition. She’s paid in Sharpies and Hot Cheetos. She teaches kids things like The Front Door Face, the expression to use at a new home to garner the right balance of sympathy and security so a foster family feels you will be a good placement. Pavi also uses her network of foster kids to get the real scoop on a new school or foster family to help a kid feel comfortable with a new placement.
But when Pavi hears that the new girl, Meridee, is going to the Nickersons, she doesn’t need to do any research. She knows from personal experience that no kid should go there. And she’s going to do whatever it takes to keep Meridee safe and far away from the Nickersons.
I love a good, moving story about foster care like Touch Blue (middle grade) or A List of Cages (YA). And this definitely fits in that category. While I expected a bigger punch at the climax when everything comes out, this story is just right for a middle grade audience.
Pavi was a delight. My favorite part of the whole book was how she took on the role of mentor and guide for other foster kids – even the ones older than she is. The shelter folks seem to know something is going on, and they walk the line between confidentiality and filling Pavi in on some details. But they don’t seem to take her seriously in this mentor role. But the reader sees how important it is. And she’s doing it not to help kids scam the system or the foster parents but really to help the kids have a successful start at a new placement.
At the same time, Pavi does show some of the negatives that can happen with kids in the system – self-protective secrets (which shouldn’t be secret), easy lying, using her status as a foster kid to deflect some scrutiny, etc.. In this case she uses all those things not really for herself but ultimately to help Meridee. It’s handled well in the story.
Pavi’s relationship with her foster brother, Hamilton, is lovely. She trusts him, and he is eager to back her up in her work. He’s a nice contrast to Piper who bickers with Pavi because they both want Hamilton’s attention and time. Also, Pavi bristles at Piper’s seemingly perfect life and “first world problems” compared to what she feels she needs to do to protect Meridee.
The characters in this book are EVERYTHING. Don’t miss them. Be sure to check this one out.
