Month: October 2024

BOOK NEWS: October 8, 2024

BOOK NEWS: October 8, 2024

Posted on by Jaymie

Here are some of the books releasing this week.

Books for Kids

Zoey and Sassafras: Gnomes and Sneezes – Book 10 in the adorable Zoey and Sassafras series. Zoey encounters an illness she might not be able to cure for some new friends.

Books for Older Kids/ Teens/Young Adults

The Bletchley Riddle (Older Middle Grade) – Siblings living at Bletchley Park, the home of WWII’s British Codebreakers, try to help the war effort while also looking into the disappearance of their mother.

Books for Adults

 

Bloodguard (Hardcover) – A gladiator plotting revenge meets a princess who says she can give him everything he wants.
Court of Talons (ebook) – (First in a new Fang & Fire series) – The family blacksheep bonds with her beloved younger brother’s monster when her brother is killed before the Tournament of Gold. Since they don’t let women fight, she assumes her brother’s identity and enters the Tournament. Yes, please!
The Holiday Honeymoon Switch (Trade Paperback) – Best friends who even look alike decide to trade holiday plans – Ivy goes on Holly’s ruined nonrefundable honeymoon while Holly goes to Ivy’s rented cabin. Yes, please!
My Kind of Trouble (Hardcover) – A gender-swapped The Music Man. A California con-woman launches her plan to take down the man who ruined her father and her family with a music festival con, but her plans didn’t account for the autistic librarian she has to use for part of the con. Yes, please! So many great stories coming out this week!
The Night Woods (Hardcover) – Book 6 in the fantastic Mercy Carr series. A very pregnant Mercy and her dog Elvis have to prove that a friend is innocent of murder.
The Nightmare Before Kissmas (Trade Paperback, LGBTQ+) – First in a new Royals and Romance series starring Holiday royalty. The heir of Christmas is supposed to be marrying the princess of Easter – his best friend, Iris (his brothers secret crush) – not making out with mysterious men behind seedy bars. But the mysterious man turns out to be the prince of Halloween – and he’s shown up to challenge for Iris’s hand. Yes, please – again!
The Wedding Witch (Trade Paperback) – Graves Glen, book 3. Bowen and Tamsyn are transported 50 years into the past to a holiday party and must find their way back to the present.
I Want to Trust You, But I Don’t: Moving Forward When You’re Skeptical of Others, Afraid of What God Will Allow, and Doubtful of Your Own Discernment (Hardcover) – From Lysa TerKeurst. What to do with the lingering distrust that comes after a betrayal.
Not Sure Who Needs to Hear This, But… (Hardcover, Nonfiction) – A beautiful collection from We the Urban.

 

REVIEW: Griselda Snook's Spectacular Books by Barry Timms

REVIEW: Griselda Snook’s Spectacular Books by Barry Timms

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Tiger Tales in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary and Review

Henry helps a bookstore owner on opening day and discovers a “just right” book for himself.

This is a book about the joys of books and bookstores set in a Halloween-ish town. Everyone is friendly, and in the end, the whole town is seen reading. The artwork is lovely – even better in the print version than it was in the electronic! The illustrations will draw kids in to look closely at the book and pour over every picture for the little details. This is would be a good addition to home libraries as well as other collections where you want books with a seasonal feel that are not scary or spooky.

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good+

REVIEW: The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

REVIEW: The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Avon in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Maggie Chase has had a rough road in life, from the loss of her parents when she was in college to the betrayal by her husband and their subsequent divorce. And that last one pushed her so far down to the point where she rarely leaves the house. Her editor had to cajole her to take this mysterious Christmas trip that is supposed to “change her life.”

But Ethan Wyatt ruined everything. While Maggie is the queen of the cozy mystery, Wyatt writes thrillers – “leather jacket books.” And he is all ego and confidence – and annoyance. He can’t even get her name right after all these years, repeatedly calling her “Marcie.”

The two of them find themselves in the middle of a real-life mystery when world famous author, Eleanor Ashley, their Christmas host, goes missing from a locked room of her mansion in the middle of a snowstorm.

Review

Sometimes you start a new book and everything clicks. The characters are intriguing. The banter makes you laugh out loud. And you feel like you can’t contain the feeling – the potential that this could be a new favorite. You feel a pressure in your chest. Not the weight of anxiety or dread pressing down but the hope – the delight – bubbling up, trying to press out from inside. This was one such book for me.

From the very beginning I felt GIDDY reading this. The main characters had personal stories I couldn’t wait to uncover. Their cutting remarks were funny, not vicious. The potential and chemistry between Maggie and Ethan CRACKLED. Then there was the writing/publishing/mystery angle, which is always a great hook for me. And finally it was a snowed in whodunit which I also adore. If I could design a perfect book for me, this is an A+ set up, checking all the boxes.

I have been an Ally Carter fan since I discovered the Gallagher Girls series. Her older middle grade (10-14) mysteries in the Winterborne series are OUTSTANDING. Her first adult romance, The Blonde Identity, had mixed reviews, and while I could understand some of the criticism, it worked for me

But THIS is everything I have ever loved about her work all rolled into one. My all-time favorite Ally Carter book – and likely one of my favorite books read in 2024. Do NOT miss this! (Language, gaslighting)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥+++*

♥♥♥♥♥+++ = Best of the best!