Today is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day – It’s a great day to read some of Dr. King’s writings or books about his life!
Here are some new books releasing this week:
Books for Kids
Bear Finds Eggs – Bear and his friends help Mama Meadowlark find her missing eggs, and then they paint them so they don’t lose track of them again.
Books for Teens/Young Adults
A Drop of Venom – A new novel for teens from Rick Riordan Presents. A young priestess and a monster hunter begin to form an attachment, but she is later assaulted and tossed from her mountain home. Instead of dying, she becomes a monster herself with the power to turn people to stone. As her monster hunter comes for her, he doesn’t know that the woman he wants to marry has become the thing he hunts. This is a bit dark, and I don’t know how triggering the sexual assault might be for readers. But the story is mesmerizing. I’m torn – part of me wants to read it and see how it all comes together while the other part of me knows this is a lot darker than the things I usually read.
So Let Them Burn – First in the Divine Traitors series. The village hero faces a new challenge when her sister forms a bond with an enemy dragon that can only be severed by her death.
Books for Adults
Finding Mr. Purrfect (Trade Paperback) – Fake dating her best friend’s boyfriend’s best friend seems like a great way to get both sets of parents off their backs, but Charity can’t tell if Will is a terrible idea or too good of one. The cat café setting for this series could be a lot of fun!
Say You’ll Be Mine (Trade paperback) – A fake engagement can help her as she plans the wedding for “the one who got away” and help him stave off his mother’s matchmaking attempts.
The Secret Book Club (UK – January 18) – A bookseller stifled by a community that won’t let her sell anything written in this century starts an underground book club. Yes, please!
Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus. Become like him. Do as he did. (Hardcover) – From the author of The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. An introduction to spiritual formation. I have this one on my list!
5. The Enneagram Development Guide – This is the second non-fiction book on this year’s list, and it’s another book I loved but apparently didn’t review on the blog. The things I love about this book are probably the same things that kept me from posting about it. This is a working book, not a reading book. I have tons of Enneagram books that I can read from cover to cover. Then they go on a shelf and don’t get picked up again. But like a few of my other favorites, this is a WORKING book. Each number has a section that digs into practices that you can work on to bring you to the healthier aspects of your number. But the practices are a DEEP dive – each one could be a focus for weeks at a time. So while I have been working with this for months now, I am still hardly into my number’s section in the book. And I love that. I told a friend reading this is like discovering the Enneagram for the first time. If you are burned out on reading the same old thing and you long to go deeper, this is the resource you should check out. ♥♥♥♥♥
4. The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway – Looking to see where this should fall on my top ten list for 2023 made me want to drop everything else and read this again. It’s the 
3. Every Duke Has His Day – The dog-swapping premise of this book was a winner for me. This delivered on everything I had hoped for when I picked it up, and it’s definitely one I would read again. You can read my full review 
2. Teen Titans: Robin – The second graphic novel – and the third YA novel – on the list is the most recent addition to this 
1. Assistant to the Villain – This was my most anticipated novel of the year, and it delivered on all accounts. I still remember digging into this the minute it arrived, and not putting it down until I was done. I even did a re-read as part of my low-key Christmas reading, and it was as delightful as I remembered. The only other pre-order I have right now, in addition to the new Teen Titans book, is the sequel to this, Apprentice to the Villain, which won’t be out until August. You can read the full review for this book 
10. A Letter to My Congregation – I didn’t post a full review of this on the blog in 2023, but this was a hugely influential read for the year. I rated this “5+++” when I initially read it. My Goodreads review reads: “This was exceptionally good and a perfectly timed read for me. I loved the tone of it which made it easy to plow through over a couple of days. I was underlining something on almost every page. While I thought the chapters on the author’s journey to acceptance and alliance were excellent, my favorites were the two chapters (4 & 5) on how the Church can disagree on this issue – and other issues as they arise over time – without splitting or tearing each other apart. I hope to get some people together to talk about those chapters in particular.” ♥♥♥♥♥+++
9. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library (Graphic Novel) – This is the one middle grade book on the list this year. I loved this adaptation of a “classic” middle grade novel. You can read my full review 
8. Manslaughter Park – This is the third book in the 
7. Summer Reading – I discovered 
6. Starter Villain – My husband and I both enjoyed this stand alone book from 
