Looking forward to some great new releases in DECEMBER! (How is tomorrow already December? ) Here are some of the books releasing this week.
Books for Kids
The Square Root of Possible – A picture book based on a song from the Netflix movie Jingle Jangle.
Star Wars Mandalorian: A Clan of Two – A picture book summary of season one highlights.
Star Wars Mandalorian: Allies & Enemies – This leveled reader includes a look at the heroes and villains for The Mandalorian.
Cat Kid Comic Club (Graphic Novel) – Book 1 in a new series by Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants, Dog Man). Li’l Petey and friends talk about creating comics and characters.
Itty Bitty Princess Kitty: The Un-Fairy – Book 6 in the series. Itty helps a new friend figure out where she belongs.
Pixie Tricks: Sprite’s Secret – First in a new series from Scholastic BRANCHES. When Violet finds a portal to the fairy world in her backyard, she and her new friend, Sprite, team up when a fairy’s fun gets out of control.
Sparkleton: The Mini Mistake – Book 3 in the Sparkleton series. Sparkleton accidentally shrinks himself and his friends right before the town talent show.
Unicorn Diaries: The Goblin Princess – Book 4 in the Unicorn Diaries series. Bo grants a bored princess her wish to fly, but trouble ensues.
Books for Older Kids/Teens
Goodbye, Mr. Terupt – Book 4 in the delightful Mr. Terupt series. The seven kids from the series are back with Mr. Terupt again when he serves as their 8th grade advisor. The kids come up with bucket list projects to make this final year together memorable. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Hilo Box set – A collection of the first story arc of this delightful graphic novel series. Includes books 1-6.
Jingle Jangle: The Invention of Jeronicus Jangle (Novelization) – A middle grade novel based on the Jingle Jangle movie on Netflix.
Max & the Midknights: Battle of the Bodkins – Book 2 in the outstanding Max and the Midknights series. (I’ll be reviewing book one in December – I loved it!) Max and her friends attend knight school. I can’t wait to read this one!
Never After: The Thirteenth Fairy (Older Middle Grade) – Book 1 in the Chronicles of Never After from the author of the Descendants series. When Filomena is approached by a character from her favorite book series, she is drawn into a world of fairies and an evil enchantress.
Perilous Journey of Danger and Mayhem: The Final Gambit – The third and final book in the series. It’s 1884 and the Peppers and the Lees have survived their latest adventures, and they are feeling a little disillusioned about the world around them that would try to silence them and cover up what they have discovered. But when they discover a plot tied to the 1884 presidential election, they are off to Washington DC to do the right thing one more time.
The Rembrandt Conspiracy – Book 2 in the Lost Art Mysteries series after the fantastic The Van Gogh Deception. Art and Camille team up again, this time to thwart a heist at the National Portrait Gallery. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
The Smartest Kid in the Universe – The latest from Chris Grabenstein. When a kid eats jelly beans from a bowl at a conference, he accidentally ingests untested information pills. Jake becomes the smartest kid in the universe, but then everyone wants a piece of him. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
American Girl: My First Cookbook Collection – A collection of American Girl cookbooks including Baking, Cooking, and Parties.
Brick x Brick: How to Build Amazing Things with 100-ish Bricks or Fewer – From the host of the YouTube series Brick x Brick. Includes build instructions, trivia, and mini challenges.
Who Was Confucius? AND Who Was Duke Ellington? – New middle grade biographies.
Books for Teens/Young Adults
Admission – From the author of Hope and Other Punchlines. When her B-list celebrity mother is arrested in a college admissions bribery scandal, Chloe is left to wonder why her parents thought they had to cheat to get her into school and how she might have been complicit in the scandal.
The Cousins – The latest from teen thriller master Karen McManus. When three cousins are invited to work at an island resort by their reclusive grandmother – the one who disinherited their parents before the teens were even born – their families see this as a way to get back into their grandmother’s good graces. But the more time the teens spend at the resort, the clearer it becomes that there was an ulterior motive to bringing them to the island. And the family’s secrets won’t be secret for long. This is at the top of my list for this week!
Day One – Book 2 in the Day Zero duology. Stepsisters Jinx and MacKenna must work together in a time of unprecedented political upheaval, thanks in part to members of their own family, in order to rescue their younger brother from the Opposition. This series sounds fascinating!
Heiress Apparently – When a young actress heads to Beijing for a role in M Butterfly, she discovers secrets her parents have been keeping from her her whole life.
The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre (LGBTQ+) – Every time Melody falls for someone during a theater production, it always ends in disaster. So to protect the school production of Les Mis, Melody swears off relationships. But then she meets Odile.
New Year’s Kiss – When reserved Tess has to stay at her grandmother’s resort between Christmas and New Year’s, she decides to create a bucket list of activities to get her out of her comfort zone.
The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person – The author shares race-related anecdotes from his time in a largely white high school about statements and experiences that he ignored at the time, but he would now handle differently. Consider this a conversation starter for race-related growth and action.
Books for Adults
A Big Fat Greek Murder (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Goddess of Greene St. Mystery series. When a groom-to-be is found dead and her sister is accused of his murder, Athena starts digging into the mystery.
The Bookworm’s Guide to Faking It (e-book) – Book 2 in the Bookworm’s Guide series. A woman agrees to be a pro baseball player’s date to his sister’s wedding. But while he doesn’t seem to remember what happened at senior prom when he broke her heart, she can’t seem to forget it.
Bridgerton: The Duke and I (Netflix Edition, Trade Paperback) – The first book in the Bridgerton series, with a new cover based on the Netflix series. I don’t usually post about re-releases, but fans of the show might be interested in picking up the source material.
Christmas Corpse (e-book, December 3) – First in a new Christmas Cozy Mystery series. When Holly skids into a snow bank, she is rescued by a woman named Mrs. Claus and taken to Candy Cane Hollow to recover. But when Mrs. Claus is accused of murder, Holly hopes to repay her kindness by clearing the woman’s name. This sounds cute!
Coffee Corner (Trade Paperback) – Book 3 in the Amish Marketplace series. Micah and his grandfather are regulars at Bethany’s coffee and donut stand. But when they miss a Saturday, she starts to worry about them. When she hears tragedy has struck, she wonders how to help Micah in his time of need. This series looks delightful.
Courting Can Be Killer (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Amish Matchmaker Mystery series after Matchmaking Can Be Murder. This time, Millie and Lois are investigating when a young man is killed after being told he cannot marry the young woman he loves. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Courting Misfortune (Trade Paperback) – First in a new Joplin Chronicles series from Bethany House Publishers. A new Pinkerton operative is charged with finding the kidnapped daughter of a mob boss. But a handsome pastor puts her undercover identity and her mission at risk.
Death at a Country Mansion (Mass Market Paperback) – First in a new Daisy Thorne Mystery series. A stylist becomes an amateur detective when her best friend’s mother – an opera star – is killed and a famous painting goes missing.
Finished Off in Fondant (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Courtney Archer Mystery series. Courtney is thrilled to be co-hosting the new season of The American Baking Battle. But when a murderer strikes, Courtney starts investigating.
Firefly: Watch How I Soar (Graphic Novel) – An original Firefly graphic novel starring Wash as he realizes he is about to die.
Heather and Homicide (Hardcover) – Book 4 in the Highland Bookshop Mystery series. A true crime writer asking nosy questions is murdered after faking her death to observe Janet’s reaction to finding her “dead body.” When her real death includes a valuable book from Janet’s shop, the police what to know what the connection is between Janet, the book, and the dead woman.
How to Catch a Queen (Mass Market Paperback) – First in the new Runaway Royals series by the fantastic Alyssa Cole. When a conflicted royal couple hits a rough patch, both in their marriage, and in their kingdom, the queen goes on the run, and the king must figure out how to get her back while also leading his people into the future. This is a spin off of the author’s *delightful* Reluctant Royals series, and I can’t wait to read it.
How to Fail at Flirting (Trade Paperback) – When Professor Naya Turner’s job is in jeopardy, her friends convince her that she needs a night on the town. An unexpected connection leaves her wondering if she wants to stick with the safe life she knows or if she wants to stay with the person who inspires her to live a little.
The Kensington Kidnap (e-book, December 2) – First in the new Epiphany Bloom Mystery series. A woman with barely enough money to feed herself and her three-legged cat is mistaken for a missing persons expert and charged with finding the missing son of two celebrities. I pre-ordered this one and can’t wait to dig into it.
Murder at Veronica’s Diner (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Ferrara Family Mystery series. When their waitress at the local diner is killed during the breakfast rush, there are plenty of suspects for the Ferrara family to investigate. This series sounds so terrific! I have book one, Murder on Memory Lake, on my TBR shelves.
Murder Is a Must (Hardcover) – Book 2 in the First Edition Library Mystery series. Hayley recruits her somewhat difficult former boss to help her prepare the First Edition Library for an exhibition. The woman is later found dead, and Hayley has to wonder if the murder had something to do with a valuable mystery that is supposed to be in the First Edition collection. I have book one of this series on my library wish list.
Murder on a Midnight Clear (e-book) – Book 6 in the High Society Lady Detective series. Olive gets drawn into a new mystery when she attends an “old fashioned English Christmas” and the butler goes missing. This whole series sounds terrific!
Poppy Redfern and the Fatal Flyers (Trade Paperback) – Book 2 in the Woman of WWII Mystery series. Poppy’s job as a script writer sends her to investigate the Air Transport Auxiliary to write a 15 minute film about the “Attagirls,” a group of civilian women who have been trained to pilot planes to military airfields all over Great Britain. When some of the Attagirls start dying off, Poppy believe these “accidents” are the work of a killer.
Premeditated Mortar (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 8 in the Fixer-Upper Mystery series. A series of problems at her latest work site – an old asylum being converted into a small luxury hotel – including murder, leads Shannon to start investigating.
Second Chance on Cypress Lane (Mass Market Paperback) – First in the new Holly Grove Island series. After a scandal wrecks her career, Dakota returns home only to find herself working for the man who broke her heart.
Suspects and Sorting (e-book) – Book 3 in the Good, Clean Cozy Mystery series starring roommates (Aurora) Sparks and Joy. This time, Joy’s uncle is murdered, and Joy is at the top of the suspect list, so Aurora goes looking for the real killer. I picked up the first book in this series because I was tickled by the names of the characters.
Ten Things I Hate About the Duke (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Difficult Dukes series. A new spin on Taming of the Shrew. When Cassandra’s habit for plain speaking and trouble with a duke threatens not only her own future but that of her sister and her whole family, she will probably have to marry the man.
This Time Next Year (Trade Paperback) – Two babies born just after midnight in London on January 1, 1990. Quinn’s family was given the cash prize while Minnie’s birthdays from that moment on were a series of unlucky breaks. Running into each other at a New Year’s party on their 30th birthday, it seems obvious that Quinn has continued to enjoy all the luck while Minnie is on the verge of losing everything. But if their lives and their trajectories are so different, why do the two keep bumping into each other? I am intrigued by this one!
Trusting Skylar (Trade Paperback) – First in the new Silverstone series about ex military operatives running a tow business as a front for clandestine work. When Bull rescues the lovely kindergarten teacher stranded at the side of the road, the attraction is immediate. But Skylar can’t get past what Bull really does for a living, even when she faces her own threats where his work could literally save her life. I am intrigued by this one, too.
The Way You Hold Me (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Pure Talent series. Skye encounters her ex when they are doing crisis management for a couple whose high-profile marriage is imploding. But Skye represents the A-list actress while Garrett represents her high-powered director husband. When Skye and Garrett rekindle their personal relationship, it could put both of them in professional jeopardy.
When a Rogue Meets His Match (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Greycourt series. After years working as the Duke of Windemere’s fixer, Gideon is ready to strike out on his own. But first, the Duke wants his help with one final task. In exchange, Gideon can marry Messalina Greycourt. But the lady is not interested in a marriage of convenience.
A Whisker of Doubt (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 4 in the Cat Cafe Mystery series. When tensions flare between wealthy homeowners and animal activists over a feral cat colony that Maddie is overseeing, the tensions lead to murder.
Wine Tastings Are Murder (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 5 in the fantastic Poppy McAllister Mystery series. This time Poppy and Aunt Ginny are hosting a wine and cheese tasting for a tour group at their B&B. One of the tour group guests is later killed on a winery tour, and Poppy starts to look for clues to the culprit. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Write Christmas (Trade Paperback) – In this twist on A Christmas Carol, a grieving young woman decides to sell her late-father’s greeting card business. But when she signs the sales papers, the whole world changes to one without Christmas.
Art of Star Wars Mandalorian, Season One (Hardcover) – A coffee table book of art from the first season of The Mandalorian.
Big Kibble: The Hidden Dangers of the Pet Food Industry and How to Do Better by Our Dogs (Hardcover) – An inside look at the pet food industry.
The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism (Study Guide) – A workbook to go with the video study of The Color of Compromise. You can read my full review of the original book here.
Marvel Myths and Legends: The Epic Origins of Thor, the Eternals, Black Panther, and the Marvel Universe (Hardcover) – A beautifully illustrated book outlining the origins of Marvel’s characters.
Strange Planet: Existence Chronicle (Hardcover Guided Journal) – A Strange Planet guided journal.
