Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. If you’re continuing with WOW, feel free to link those up as well! Find out more here.
And the book I am waiting for is…
From the blurb:
Return to the Cursebreaker world in a new series by New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer.
Far outside royal circles, in the small town of Briarlock, two friends struggle to survive. Jax, a blacksmith by trade and Callyn, a baker, care more about getting through the hard winter than keeping up with rumors about the King’s dangerous magic. When the King’s Courier, Lord Tycho, stops at Jax’s forge he is quick to befriend Jax and Callyn, at ease with their way of life. But he’s not the only stranger to visit Briarlock—the town has long been an outpost for the anti-magic Truthbringers, who seek to destroy the King. Jax and Callyn suddenly find themselves embroiled in a world of shifting alliances and ancient magic . . . and even the deepest loyalties are put to the test. Expanding the world of her beloved series, Brigid Kemmerer introduces new characters that will quickly become fan favorites.
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Expected Publication Date: May 3rd, 2022
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
ISBN 9781547609123, 1547609125
560 pages
Fantasy
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Brigid Kemmerer is the New York Times bestselling author of Defy the Night, the Cursebreakers series, Call It What You Want, More Than We Can Tell, Letters to the Lost, and the Elementals series. She was born in Omaha, Nebraska, though her parents quickly moved her all over the United States, from the desert in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to the lakeside in Cleveland, Ohio, and several stops in between, eventually settling near Annapolis, Maryland. http://www.brigidkemmerer.com @BrigidKemmerer
Shadow Guardian by Jennie Lynn Roberts Publication date: February 8th 2022 Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Synopsis:
Not all shadows are what they seem…
Kay swore an oath to use her Shadows to guard the light—an oath she takes very seriously. So, when a dark Shadow arises to terrorize London, she steps up and fights back. The last thing she expects is to find herself being patched up by a sexy paramedic who has no idea what kind of power he could control… or for her Shadows to recognize him as their perfect match.
Ethan doesn’t trust easily—not in matters of love, and certainly not in… whatever supernatural secrets Kay’s mixed up in. But the more time they spend together, the more he realizes he needs her with an intensity he’s never known before. Accepting her crazy, Shadow-filled world will be difficult. Opening his heart to her… he’s afraid that might be a step too far.
But the dark Shadows are growing. Their enemy is powerful—and closer than anyone realizes. Can Kayleigh and Ethan claim their happily ever after? Or will the darkness claim them first?
Shadow Guardian, the first book on the Blood Shadows Trilogy, is an adult paranormal romance for readers who love fated mates, fast-paced adventure and plenty of spice. Each book in the trilogy follows a different couple and has its own guaranteed HEA. The story concludes in book three.
Jennie Lynn Roberts believes that every strong, kickass heroine should have control of her own story, a swoony hero to support her at every turn, and a guaranteed happily ever after. Because that doesn’t always happen in real life, she began creating her own worlds that work just the way they should. And she hasn’t looked back since.
Jennie would rather be writing than doing anything else—except for spending time with her gorgeous family, of course. But when she isn’t building vibrant new worlds, she can be found nattering with friends, baking up a storm, or strolling in the woods around her home in England.
If you want to talk books, romance, movies, reluctant heroes, or just about anything else with Jennie, feel free to contact her atwww.jennielynnroberts.com. But be prepared to settle in for a long chat if you bring up shifters, vampires, Star Wars, or The Princess Bride….
Phil Stamper crafts the perfect summer friendship story starring four queer boys with big hearts and even bigger dreams.
Gabriel, Reese, Sal, and Heath are best friends, bonded in their small rural town by their queerness, their good grades, and their big dreams. They are about to embark on the summer before senior year of high school, where each is going on a new, big adventure. Reese is attending design school in Paris. Gabriel is going to Boston for an internship with a nonprofit. Sal is volunteering on Capitol Hill for a Massachusetts senator. And Heath is stuck going to Daytona, Florida, to help his aunt’s business. What will this summer of new experiences and world-expanding travel mean for each of them—and for their friendship? Bestselling author Phil Stamper pens a novel full of summer adventure, sweet romance, and affirming friendship in this start to a new duology.
Homicide detective Eve Dallas must untangle a twisted family history while a hostage’s life hangs in the balance—in the new In Death novel by #1 New York Times bestselling J. D. Robb.
The woman’s body was found on a bench in a New York City playground. She was clean, her hair neatly arranged, her makeup carefully applied. But other things were very wrong—like the tattoo and piercings, clearly new. The clothes, decades out of date. The fatal wound hidden beneath a ribbon around her neck. And the note: Bad Mommy, written in crayon as if by a child.
It seems clear the killer’s childhood was traumatic—a situation Eve is all too familiar with herself. Yet the clues point to a perpetrator who’d be around sixty, and there are no records of old crimes with a similar MO. What was the trigger that apparently reopened such an old wound and sent someone over the edge? When Eve learns that other young women have recently vanished, the case grows even more urgent—and to solve it she’ll need to find her way into a hidden place of dim light and concrete, into the distant past, and into the depths of a shattered mind.
For fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid, Sally Rooney, and Rebecca Serle, The Arc is a smart, high concept love story that asks: is it possible to optimize our most intimate relationships?
LOVE, DISRUPTED
35-year-old Ursula Byrne, VP of Strategic Audacity at a branding agency in Manhattan, is successful, witty, whip-smart, and single. She’s tried all the dating apps, and let’s just say: she’s underwhelmed by her options. You’d think that by now someone would have come up with something more bespoke; a way for users to be more tailored about who and what they want in a life partner—how hard could that be?
Enter The Arc: a highly secretive, super-sophisticated matchmaking service that uses a complex series of emotional, psychological and physiological assessments to architect partnerships that will go the distance. The price tag is high, the promise ambitious—a level of lifelong compatibility that would otherwise be unattainable. In other words, The Arc will find your ideal mate.
Ursula is paired with 42-year-old lawyer Rafael Banks. From moment one, this feels like the electric, lasting love they’ve each been seeking their whole adult lives. But as their relationship unfolds in unanticipated ways, the two begin to realize that true love is never a sure thing. And the arc of a relationship is never predictable…even when it’s fully optimized.
For readers of Modern Lovers and Conversations with Friends, an addictive, humorous, and poignant debut novel about the shock waves caused by one couple’s impulsive marriage.
Twenty-four-year-old British painter Cleo has escaped from England to New York and is still finding her place in the sleepless city when, a few months before her student visa ends, she meets Frank. Twenty years older and a self-made success, Frank’s life is full of all the excesses Cleo’s lacks. He offers her the chance to be happy, the freedom to paint, and the opportunity to apply for a Green Card. But their impulsive marriage irreversibly changes both their lives, and the lives of those close to them, in ways they never could’ve predicted. Each compulsively readable chapter explores the lives of Cleo, Frank, and an unforgettable cast of their closest friends and family as they grow up and grow older. Whether it’s Cleo’s best friend struggling to embrace his gender queerness in the wake of Cleo’s marriage, or Frank’s financially dependent sister arranging sugar daddy dates to support herself after being cut off, or Cleo and Frank themselves as they discover the trials of marriage and mental illness, each character is as absorbing, and painfully relatable, as the last. As hilarious as it is heartbreaking, entertaining as it is deeply moving, Cleopatra and Frankenstein marks the entry of a brilliant and bold new talent.
A fake relationship between a magicless witch and a wolf shifter turns to more in the start of a bewitching new paranormal rom-com series.
Magicless witch Violet Maxwell wants nothing to do with alpha wolf shifter Lincoln Thorne—the man who broke her fragile, teenage heart. But when the two of them are forced by arcane Supernatural Laws to find mates, Violet and Lincoln agree to fake-date their way to a fake-mating in order to conjure themselves some time.
The joke’s on them. When old feelings make a reappearance—along with Violet’s magic—they both realize there’s nothing fake about their feelings. But there are old secrets and looming threats that could snatch away their happily ever after, again. One thing’s for sure: magic doesn’t make dating and love any easier.
In Not the Witch You Wed, April Asher brings all the hilarity and sweet, sexy moments you love in a romantic-comedy—plus a fun dose of magic—to this spell-binding new series about being sexy, single, and supernatural in New York City.
Happy Publication Day to Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt, the author of Hex! This isn’t the genre I often pick up, but a good survival story is always welcome on my tbr.
From the Blurb:
From international bestseller Thomas Olde Heuvelt comes Echo, a harrowing novel of obsession and the destructive force of nature.
Nick Grevers and his climbing buddy Augustin are drawn to the Maudit, a remote mountain peak in the Swiss Alps. Documentation on the mountain is scarce, its slopes are eerily quiet, and when they enter its valley, they get the ominous sense that they are not alone.
Something is waiting for them….
Not long after, Nick wakes from a coma to find Augustin dead. Nick’s face is maimed and wrapped in bandages. A long rehabilitation awaits, but Nick soon realizes that it isn’t just the trauma of the accident that haunts him.
Thomas Olde Heuvelt (1983) is the international bestselling author of HEX. The lauded novel was published in over twenty-five countries around the world and is currently in development for TV by Gary Dauberman and James Wan. Olde Heuvelt, whose last name in Dutch dialect means “Old Hill,” was the first ever translated author to win a Hugo Award for his short fiction. He lives in The Netherlands and the south of France and is an avid mountaineer.
It’s Monday! What are you Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn from Book Date, a place to share and discuss what we’ve read in the past week and what we’re in the middle of or are planning to read this week.
What I read / listened to last week:
Starting Over at Primrose Woods by Jill Steeples
Electric Idol (Dark Olympus#2) by Katee Roberts
What I am reading/listening to now:
Illuminae by Amy Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – a buddy read with Yesha
Goodbye Again (Wyndham Beach, 2) by Mariah Stewart
What I’m reading /listening to next:
Bright Ruined Things by Samantha Cahoe
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
How did your last week go and what are you reading this week?
Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources and Boldwood Books for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Starting Over at Primrose Woods by Jill Steeples.
Starting Over at Primrose Woods
Abbey Carter should be feeling on top of the world.
She has the home of her dreams – a picturesque cottage just walking distance from her beloved Primrose Woods. She has a job she loves, great friends, and most exciting of all – a wedding dress hanging in her wardrobe ready to be worn. So why does she feel so lonely… Lizzie Baker loves her job at the Treetops café in Primrose Woods, and she loves being a grandmother even more. If only she could face her fear of flying and see her granddaughter in person rather than on a screen. Rhianna West is head over heels for her boyfriend Jay. She just wishes he could see her more regularly. His excuses are starting to wear thin, and Rhi’s dreams for the future are beginning to fade. Can the fun and friendships, the picture-perfect scenery and rolling seasons in Primrose Woods help the women find the happy endings they deserve? After all anything is possible if you dare to dream… An absolute treat of a book. Let Jill Steeples whisk you away into the beautiful countryside for the perfect feel-good comfort read. Just right for fans of Cathy Bramley, Heidi Swain and Julie Houston.
My first book by Jill Steeples and I’m so charmed know it won’t be the last. Sweet, cozy, relaxing, this book is full of lovely countryside views and decent people (with one very notable exception) on the brink of getting a second chance at love. The three main female characters couldn’t have been more different. Abbey with her sweet and caring personality also carries a touch of vulnerability and sadness, perhaps due to missing her late mother. Deep down she knows her relationship with her fiance Jayson has seen more downs than ups recently. They are heading to the altar in just three weeks time, so should she even be listening to her heart which is telling that not everything is right? all of this despite having been together with Jason for twelve years! Confident and decisive Rhianna is so consumed with her whirlwind romance with Jay to have not time or energy to make friends in the place she moved to after graduating. There are warning bells ringing in her head too…Why is Jay being so secretive about them and when exactly will he be completely free of his nagging, petty ex? Fifty-nine-year-old Lizzy would love nothing more than to see her her daughter Katie who live in Australia. Her fear of flying is so debilitating that Lizzy’s only hope to properly meet her granddaughter Rosie is to wait for her Katie’s family to come over and visit her…Until she gets both good news and bad news. All three characters were charming and realistic, flawed and decent at the same time. They are a kind of people you would like to have as neighbours or even friends. As you have already guessed the three stories are interwoven and are connected with each other through a lovely place- The Primrose Woods Park. I loved the descriptions of nature and fabulous walks..I can’t help thinking that the author had a particular place in mind she based these vigniettes on. I really enjoy second chance romances and can often see myself at a crossroads moment of my life going through similar emotions or my friends second-guessing whether they are ever going to find an honest, reliable partner who is going to love and appreciate them. I also like the inclusion of two widowed protagonists who have a different kind of challenges. If you like books with a small-town setting, but are a bit apprehensive of their way too common focus on gossip, rest assured Starting Over at Primrose Woods is nothing like that. What you get instead is healing nature, a sweet and playful dog, a traditional country pub, and lots of thoughtful, kind people, genuinely caring about each others’ feelings. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys low-angst books with clean romance in a lovely setting. Definitely looking forward to reading more from this author!
Thank you to Rachel, Boldwood books and the author for the review copy, provided in exchange for an honest opinion.
Author Bio –
Jill Steeples is the author of many successful women’s fiction titles – most recently the Dog and Duck series – all set in the close communities of picturesque English villages. She lives in Bedfordshire.
Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality. It’s all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books (directly from their authors or Netgalley and Edelweiss, books you’re given as gifts, physical copies, ebooks and audiobooks.
Library:
NetGalley/Edelweiss/ Blog Tours:
Purchased:
Fingers crossed none of these will spend long time on my gigantic tbr and will quietly move to the read shelf very soon! Here is to wishful thinking 🙂
Happy Reading to all of us!
What did you add to your shelves this week? Do any of these books appeal to you?
The Cassandra Curse by Hope Bolinger Publication date: February 1st 2021 Genres: Middle-Grade, Young Adult
Synopsis:
STRANGER THINGS X CURSED PRINCESS CLUB
Charity’s acts of kindness always end in disaster, but when one clown costume too many lands her in the Vice Principal’s office, she receives a mysterious note from a group called “The Cassandra Coalition,” asking her if she wants to be rid of the curse that seems to follow her.
The teens of the coalition claim to be cursed by a mirror world connected with their hometown known as Delphos. To make things worse, Delphos appears to be invading their world and turning people into zombies—either that, or someone switched all the coffee to decaf.
When one of their members goes missing, they’ll try to track her down, close the portal to their world, and find a way to end their curse, before the curse ends them.
Hope Bolinger is literary agent, freelance author and editor, YA novelist, and obsessed with anything to do with theater.
Books include The Quiet and the Storm (Taylor University Press), Blaze (IlluminateYA), Den (IlluminateYA), Dear Hero (INtense Publications), and Dear Henchman (INtense Publications). She’s also contributed to books that were published by Broadstreet Publishing and New Hope.
When she isn’t busy adding to her 600+ bylines, or showing up in her town square dressed as Red Riding Hood, she loves to connect with readers. Find her at hopebolinger.com or connect with her @hopebolinger
Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Monster Max and the Marmalade Ghost by Robin Bennett. Today I’m delighted to present a guest post by Robin Bennett:
Friendship in books for younger readers
Guest Post by Robin Bennett
Writing for the 6-8 age bracket is a privilege but a tough gig for many reasons: it’s the first time many will read on their own – what they love now will stay with them for life; each chapter needs to be a story in itself and there’s no room for any excess, any digression – one misstep and you’ll lose them. Just like that. Another exciting and important element is that you are signposting the most important things in their world (if you’re doing your job right). Things they are experiencing for the first time but that are so important because these are the fundamentals about how their world works – good, bad and the stuff in between, how to be brave, how to be who you are … how to be friends.
Before the age of about five friendship is not so much a matter of choice as a question of whoever is roughly your age and is close by (i.e. standing next to you) – you’ll end up reacting to them, even if it is just deciding to ignore them. When interaction happens, it looks like friendship at first glance, but, when I used to study our three children in the park with other kids, it’s either just mirroring what each other is doing or figuring out it’s more fun if two or more of you chuck sand out of the sandpit, then run around in circles yelling made up words that are mainly vowels and waving your arms.
All useful bonding and social stuff but it neither discerning nor the basis of something that lasts more than twenty-seven minutes.
Then, after about age six, something seemed to happen to ours: they figured out what they liked doing and who they liked doing it with. Shared tastes became allegiances, for there can’t be an inside if there isn’t an outside. Friendship became really important and a little fraught.
So, writing about friendship is not just a marketing tool, it’s a responsibility. It’s fine to show the upside – the fun, the feeling of belonging, the empowerment that comes from being more than one, but you also have to show the potholes along the way.
The first time Max meets Peregrine in Monster Max, they bond over their mutual dislike and distrust. As the story goes along, events throw them together and, just when they seem to be inseparable, they pull themselves and their friendship apart. The only constant is things are constantly changing. And there’s the lesson.
It’s tough for Max, who doesn’t know how to react when he falls out with his best friend Peregrine, and it doesn’t always feel that nice, as a writer, to write anything other than nice things about what I think is the icing on the cake of life. But it’s real and the story signposts the way back and shows that if you have friends, all is not lost, the game is afoot and it’s best played together.
Monster Max and the Marmalade Ghost is out 3 Feb 2022 – a tale of fantastic phantoms, missing cats and (very) sticky situations!
Monster Max and the Marmalade Ghost
Max and Peregrine are volunteering at an old people’s home, when strange things start to happen: one resident is walking on the ceiling; one is riding their wheelchair through walls; and Reggie says his marmalade is haunted (although no one listens). Can Max and his friends work out what’s happening to protect his family and the local community? Things aren’t looking good – the Marmalade Ghost is turning into a gloopy Godzilla, Max falls out with his (joint) best friend, and then, just when it can’t get any worse, someone kidnaps Max’s cat, Frankenstein… will they meet a sticky end?
When Robin grew up he thought he wanted to be a cavalry officer until everyone else realised that putting him in charge of a tank was a very bad idea. He then became an assistant gravedigger in London. After that he had a career frantically starting business- es (everything from dog-sitting to cigars, tuition to translation)… until finally settling down to write improbable stories to keep his children from killing each other on long car journeys.
Book & Author Details: The Snowman’s Sweetheart by Shanna Hatfield Publication date: January 27th 2022 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Synopsis:
Will a whirlwind winter romance result in a forever love?
After a Christmas Eve catastrophe that left her heart encased in ice, Sierra Goodwin detests anything to do with winter and the holiday season. To take her mind off her troubles, her best friend talks her into a weekend spa getaway to a town she’s never heard of. Her bestie’s boyfriend tags along like a bumpy third wheel, and things go from bad to worse when they arrive in town to find a winter fest in full swing. Then Sierra runs into a handsome stranger, a man everyone calls Mr. Snowman, and discovers her heart might not be a frozen fortress after all.
Kylan Snow loves his life, his Christmas tree farm, and the town of Pinehill where he was raised. There’s nothing he enjoys more than a beautiful winter afternoon spent outside in the crisp, fresh air, or time spent with friends and family. When he unexpectedly encounters a dimple-cheeked woman in need of a little hope, he has no idea one weekend with her with completely alter his world.
Will their winter wishes for a forever sweetheart come true? Find out in this sweet romance brimming with laughter, snowmen, small-town charm, and love.
USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield writes sweet romances rich with relatable characters, small town settings that feel like home, humor, and hope.
Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”
When this farm girl isn’t writing or indulging in rich, decadent chocolate, Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller. She also experiments with recipes, snaps photos of her adorable nephew, and caters to the whims of a cranky cat named Drooley.
To learn more about Shanna or the books she writes, visit her website http://shannahatfield.com or find out more about her here: linktr.ee/ShannaHatfield
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