Play Nice by Rachel Harrison

Available now

For a list of content warnings, check out The StoryGraph.

From the Publisher:

Clio Louise Barnes leads a picture-perfect life as a stylist and influencer, but beneath the glossy veneer she harbors a not-so glamorous secret: she grew up in a haunted house. Well, not haunted. Possessed. After Clio’s parent’s messy divorce, her mother, Alex, moved Clio and her sisters into a house occupied by a demon. Or so Alex claimed. That’s not what Clio’s sisters remember or what the courts determined when they stripped Alex of custody after she went off the deep end. But Alex was insistent; she even wrote a book about her experience in the house.
 
After Alex’s sudden death, the supposedly possessed house passes to Clio and her sisters. Where her sisters see childhood trauma, Clio sees an opportunity for house flipping content. Only, as the home makeover process begins, Clio discovers there might be some truth to her mother’s claims. As memories resurface and Clio finally reads her mother’s book, the presence in the house becomes more real, and more sinister, revealing ugly truths that threaten to shake Clio’s beautiful life to its very foundation.
 

This book is dark, a little messed up, and full of unlikable characters! I love a Gothic horror. Hand me a book with a haunted house, an unreliable narrator, and a dysfunctional family and I know I’m in for a good time. Play Nice contains all this and more. When Clio inherits her mother’s supposedly possessed house, she doesn’t shy away from diving into renovation projects for both social media content and a big financial return. Like the house, Clio is also a bit of a mess. She struggles with relationships, relies on her dad to fix her problems, and her career as a social media influencer has her viewing much of her life as transactional. She also has very few memories of her life during the time her mother owned the possessed Edgewood home. When Clio discovers a copy of her mother’s book, Demon of Edgewood Drive, Clio has to wrestle with how her own limited memories compare to her mother’s, admittedly, embellished take on the chaos and danger that the house inflicted on her family. Not to mention, Clio’s two sisters and father have another version of events from that time as well. With all of the unreliable narrators and different versions of events, it’s hard to tell if anything that is happening to Clio is real, or fueled by a lack of sleep and too much booze. It’s quite a wild ride and I flew through this one in less than a day. I love the messiness of all the characters, the way parts of Alex’s annotated book are woven within the story, and how the book ends in just the right way.

If you’re looking for a scary and twisted haunted house story with a dysfunctional family, this one has you covered. If you’d like to add this incredible book to your shelf, you can click on the cover above or here for ordering information.

This post may contain links, including Amazon Associate Links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Re-post: Horror Quickie: How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Want another “fever dream” horror novel? Check out my review for How to Sell a Haunted House, originally posted in February of 2023.

Available now

CW: parental death, child harm, creepy dolls

Grady Hendrix has this knack for writing really scary books with characters that I CANNOT STAND! Like in The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, I have zero interest in the main characters’ survival and yet, truly enjoyed the story and the writing.

In How to Sell a Haunted House, Louise and her estranged brother have suffered a devastating loss; their parents have died suddenly in a car accident. Leaving her young daughter back in California with her father, Louise returns home for the funeral and to settle her parents’ estate, only to discover her coddled, unmotivated, and spoiled brother has planned a funeral and made plans that don’t align with her family’s wishes. Now Louise must get the rest of the family on her side to plan a more appropriate funeral, clean out the house, and settle all the details so she can return home to her daughter.

But the house is haunted.

It’s not a spoiler, it’s literally in the title. This book gave me nightmares. Louise and Mark’s mother was a semi-famous star on the Christian puppet theater scene. Yep. The house is full of puppets and dolls. Very, very creepy puppets and dolls. Just when you think this story can’t get any wilder and more bonkers, Hendrix takes it to another level and you can’t be mad about it because you’re totally invested in seeing how the story ends.

It’s a wild, creepy, surreal experience and I enjoyed every single page.

If you’d like a copy for yourself, you can find ordering information here or click on the cover above.

This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.

Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen

Available now

For a list of content warnings, check out The StoryGraph. This is a really gory one friends!

From the Publisher:

The Netherlands, 1887. Lucy's twin sister Sarah is unwell. She refuses to eat, mumbles nonsensically, and is increasingly obsessed with a centuries-old corpse recently discovered on her husband's grand estate. The doctor has diagnosed her with temporary insanity caused by a fever of the brain. To protect her twin from a terrible fate in a lunatic asylum, Lucy must unravel the mystery surrounding her sister's condition, but it's clear her twin is hiding something. Then again, Lucy is harboring secrets of her own, too.
Lucy soon comes to suspect that something is trying to possess her beloved sister. Or is it madness? As Sarah changes before her very eyes, Lucy must reckon with the dark, monstrous truth, or risk losing her forever.
Then, the worst happens. Sarah's behavior takes a turn for the strange. She becomes angry... and hungry.  "I'm in your blood, and you are in mine..."

This is one of those books you finish and reading and immediately ask yourself, “What just happened?” This book is very fast-paced and intense. Taking place over just a few short weeks, Lucy and her twin sister Sarah deal with bog bodies, mysterious ramblings, over-bearing men, extra teeth and EYEBALLS! It’s quite the gory and disgusting book but the ending definitely makes the horrifying journey worth it. If you love a wild fever dream, you’ll love this book.

If you’re looking for a queer, Gothic, vampire(?) horror story, this is definitely one to add to your spooky TBR. If you’d like to add this book to your shelf, you can click on the cover above or here for ordering information.

This post may contain links, including Amazon Associate Links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Re-post: Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson

If you liked House of Idyll, check out Bloom. This review is from October 2023.

Available now

I had the pleasure of reading this hauntingly beautiful novel months ago, and have since thought about it at least once a week. It begins so innocently. A young woman, Rosemary Dutton, desperate to seek out everyday magic and a more exciting life, ventures to the local farmer’s market in search of something special. What she discovers, is another young woman named Ash, who sells the most delicious cupcakes that Ro has ever tasted.

Ro, a master of words, is struck speechless by Ash and is instantly captivated. Immediately, she wants to be Ash-and have her all to herself. As the two begin a flirtation over beeswax candles and cupcakes, obsession quickly takes over, leading to a dark and twisted revelation.

I cannot emphasize how gorgeous and precise the word choice in this novel truly is. I knew going in that it held the promise of a dark tale, but I couldn’t understand how such a beautifully written novel could become dark and terrifying. But, Dawson is one of the most gifted authors I have ever read and in just a few pages, she can take characters from incredibly interesting to incredibly horrifying. There are entire scenes that are burned into my brain, made all the more frightening by the pretty, lyrical words used to describe them. Bloom is a masterpiece. I cannot recommend it highly enough and I’m equal parts thrilled and terrified to see what Dawson comes up with next.

If you’d like to have nightmares for weeks, like me, you can click on the cover above or here for ordering information.

This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you to Edelweiss and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

House of Idyll by Delilah S. Dawson

Available now

Check out The StoryGraph for a list of content warnings.

From the Publisher:

Angelina Yves is a struggling singer/songwriter offered the chance of a lifetime to join the experimental luxury compound sponsored by the most famous band in the world, Black Idyll. With her every need accommodated, she finally has the time and space to perfect her music. Her muse? Reclusive rock star Jesper Idyll, who lives up to her every high school daydream. But this paradise has a haunted underbelly heralded by screaming horses, mysterious figures in the night, and dreams too twisted to be real. When people start to disappear and Jesper's ex turns up dead and hideously mutilated, Angelina begins to suspect that something malevolent lurks behind the cult that's grown around the band...

A disturbing, decadent and wickedly compelling tale of a Hollywood dream turned nightmare, Delilah S. Dawson’s darkly delicious prose will seduce you, tie you up, and never let you go….

If you’re looking for a dark, unsettling, and haunting novel to add to your fall TBR, you need this on your list. Added bonus: it comes in at a slim 256 pages! Just like my love for a 90 minute horror movie, I love a horror novel that can be read in an evening. Dawson’s writing is hauntingly beautiful and she has an uncanny ability to create unsettling atmospheres full of tension and unease.

For Angelina, living in luxury for the first time, her every need met so she can focus on her love of music, should be a dream come true. But there are too many little things that just don’t add up and she just can’t let it go. As we follow our inquisitive main character on her quest to find the sources of the mysterious sounds and disappearances, we are led on a dark and twisted journey that leads to a shocking conclusion. Truly, this ending is perfection!

Fast paced, atmospheric, and delightfully creepy, House of Idyll is a wild ride! If you’d like to add this incredible book to your shelf, you can click on the cover above or here for ordering information.

This post may contain links, including Amazon Associate Links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.All opinions and mistakes are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Pugs and Kisses by Farrah Rochon

Available now

CW: Pet death, pet illness, infidelity

Farrah Rochon is one of my auto-buy authors and I was especially excited for this book! How can you go wrong with a pug-filled romance?

From the Publisher:

From the outside, veterinarian Evie Williams appears to have the perfect but boring life. She is desperate to figure out a way to shake it up, but gets more than she bargained for when she finds her fiancé in bed with another woman. Suddenly, Evie is without a fiancé or a job, and isn’t sure what her next steps should be. That is, until her college crush, Bryson Mitchell, returns to town.  

Now, a nationally recognized veterinary surgeon, Bryson is stunned when he encounters Evie Williams for the first time in half a decade. When they learn the animal shelter where they used to volunteer is in danger of closing, the two must work together to save it. It has Bryson wondering, can he and Evie also save the friendship they once shared and finally bring it to the next level?  

This book is sweet, sexy, and full of adorable animals. I adore Evie and Bryson as a couple. They’re both smart, successful, caring people who reconnect after nearly a decade apart and as Evie and Bryson navigate their growing feelings for each other, we also get to see the fabulous friendships that Evie has with her best friends. Even with Evie and Bryson’s instant and explosive chemistry, Bryson leaving town after college without a word to Evie truly broke her heart. They both have a lot of healing and growing to do in order to give their relationship a chance, and Rochon writes it all so beautifully.

Set in and around New Orleans, we get to experience all the charm and magic of the city through Evie and Bryson’s dates. From the dog parks to dog-friendly cafes, it felt like talking a tour with someone who truly loves the city. Definitely don’t read this on an empty stomach!

Pugs and Kisses is smart, funny, and very cute. I love Rochon’s books and this one is exceptional. If you’d like to add this fantastic book to your shelf, you can click on the cover above or here for ordering information.

This post may contain links, including Amazon Associate Links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.All opinions and mistakes are my own.

A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

Available now

hardcover 130 pages

From the Publisher:
Zinnia Gray, professional fairy-tale fixer and lapsed Sleeping Beauty is over rescuing snoring princesses. Once you’ve rescued a dozen damsels and burned fifty spindles, once you’ve gotten drunk with twenty good fairies and made out with one too many members of the royal family, you start to wish some of these girls would just get a grip and try solving their own narrative issues.

Just when Zinnia’s beginning to think she can't handle one more princess, she glances into a mirror and sees another face looking back at her: the shockingly gorgeous face of evil, asking for her help. Because there’s more than one person trapped in a story they didn’t choose. Snow White's Evil Queen has found out how her story ends and she's desperate for a better ending. She wants Zinnia to help her before it’s too late for everyone.

Will Zinnia accept the Queen's poisonous request, and save them both from the hot iron shoes that wait for them, or will she try another path?

This is so good! It’s a super-fast, action packed novella that is full of heart. It’s delightfully snarky, a little sad, and very sapphic. I loved A Spindle Splintered and this is a perfect follow-up to our intrepid fairy-tale explorer’s story. Zinnia is a very chaotic character and her journey is not an easy one, but there are still plenty of light and humorous moments to keep the story from being depressing. There may or may not be a scene with an orchard that had me giggling like crazy…

If you’re looking for something quick and entertaining, this book is perfect. Because it’s summer and hot and who wants to hold a massive book? This is light, super portable, and can be finished in just a couple of hours.

If you’d like to add this fractured fairy-tale to your shelf, you can click on the cover above or here for more ordering information. I was lucky enough to find this at my local Library and if you haven’t done so yet, join your Library’s Summer Reading Program! I have a book and a tote bag waiting for me to pick up because this little novella bumped me up the next prize tier!

This post may contain links, including Amazon Associate Links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Blog Tour! Reports of His Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated by James Goodhand

On Sale Date: July 1, 2025

On Sale Date: July 1, 2025

Trade Paperback

9780778387466

$18.99 USD

336 pages

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Due to a case of mistaken identity, everyone believes Ray Thorns to be dead — while he is still very much alive. In the aftermath, he’s forced to reflect on the impact he’s had on the world and those closest to him in this heartbreakingly beautiful look at life and what we would all do if given a second chance, for fans of Dead Poets Society and It’s a Wonderful Life and readers of Fredrick Backman.

A lifetime ago, Ray “Spike” Thorns was a well-regarded caretaker on a boarding school's grounds. These days, he lives the life of a recluse in a house rammed with hoarded junk, alone and disconnected from family or anyone he might have at one time considered a friend.

When his next-door neighbor drops dead on Spike’s doorstep, a case of mistaken identity ensues: according to the police, the hospital, the doctors—everyone—Spike is dead. Spike wants to correct the mistake, really he does, but when confronted with those who knew him best, he hesitates, forced to face whatever impression he’s left on the world. It’s a discovery that brings him up close to ghosts from his past, and to the only woman he ever loved.

Could it be that in coming face to face with his own demise, Spike is able to really live again? And will he be able to put things straight before the inevitable happens—his own funeral?

This is the best kind of feel-good fiction: it’s deeply affecting but full of clever mishaps and enough laughs along the way. It takes the message from Dead Poets Society and mixes it with the tragedy of It’s A Wonderful Life and tops it off with an ultimately loveable guy like in A Man Called Ove. The result is a heartbreakingly beautiful look at life and what we would all do if given a second chance.

 

Ready for a sneak peek at the first chapter? Click here for a link to the pdf of the first chapter. I promise it’s not a trick because I don’t even know how to by tricky! This book looks delightful and I can’t wait to dive into it this weekend.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

James Goodhand has written one adult novel, published by HarperCollins in the US, and two YA novels, published by PRH Children’s Books in the UK. His adult debut, The Day Tripper, was

called "an essential, profound read" by The Washington Post. He lives in England.

SOCIAL LINKS:

Twitter: @goodhand_james

Instagram: @james.goodhand


BUY LINKS:

Bookshop.org

B&N

Books A Million

Amazon

This post may contain links, including Amazon Associate Links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Our Infinite Fates: A Novel by Laura Steven

Available now

Hardcover 346 pages

so many books are getting looooong! just for giggles, i’m going to start including page counts.

From the Publisher: 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue meets This is How You Lose The Time War in this fantastical love story that defies death as two souls reincarnate through the centuries.

Evelyn can remember all her past lives. She can also remember that in every single one, she’s been murdered before her eighteenth birthday by Arden, a supernatural being linked to her soul. The problem is that she’s quite fond of the life she’s in now, and her little sister needs her in order to stay alive. If Evelyn wants to save her sister, she’ll have to find the centuries-old devil who hunts her through each life before they find her first, figure out why she’s being hunted and finally break their curse, and try not to fall in love . . . again.

I’m not typically a YA reader. I have nothing against the genre, just don’t gravitate towards it and I’m not even sure it registered to me that this was a YA novel when I selected it for my March BOTM pick. All this rambling to say, don’t let the YA label keep you from picking this one up, because at what other age can you love someone so fiercely, completely, overwhelmingly than eighteen.

The premise of Our Infinite Fates grabbed my attention immediately. How can two people who claim to love each other through a thousand lifetimes continue to kill each other over and over again. Why in the world would you love someone so much that you have to kill them time and time again? The reasoning for the never ending murder is told through glimpses of Evelyn’s pervious lives. No matter what name they are born with, or what gender they are born as, Evelyn always remembers her previous lives.  Whether she is a soldier in WWI, a sailor in the 1700s, or a young woman in love with her best friend off the coast of Australia in the 1960s, Evelyn is always Evelyn and Arden is always Arden. And it’s revealed slowly, through past lives and the current crisis Evelyn finds herself in with her sister in 2022 Wales, that we discover how the fates of Evelyn and Arden are intertwined. 

Laura Steven’s writing in Our Infinite Fates is quiet, emotional, and incredibly descriptive. It’s intricately plotted and the story moves pretty quickly. I really enjoyed how the characters changed genders and locations with each life, giving the readers a glimpse of the world in different time periods. I loved the mystery surrounding where the characters came from and how they became entwined together at a metaphysical level. The ending wasn’t entirely the best, but I understand what the author was going for and while not perfect, it still worked. 

Overall, I definitely recommend giving this one a chance, but don’t forget that it’s very much a YA novel with teenage characters written for a teen audience. I’ve seen a lot of reviews that seem to forget that fact. 

If you’d like to add this book to your shelf, you can click on the cover above or here for ordering information. I chose this book as my March 2025 selection from Book of the Month.  You can use my referral code to get your first book for a discount and I get a free book in return. 

This post may contain links, including Amazon Associate Links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Blog Tour! A Most Puzzling Murder by Bianca Marais

Interspersed with riddles and puzzles that both Destiny and the reader must solve, A Most Puzzling Murder is a one-of-a-kind mystery that will leave you guessing and gasping until the very last page!

Destiny Whip is a former child prodigy, world-renowned enigmatologist and very, very alone. A life filled with loss has made her a recluse, an existence she’s content to endure until a letter arrives inviting her to interview for the position of Scruffmore family historian. Not only does an internet search for the name yield almost nothing, it’s a role she never applied to in the first place!

She decodes the invitation's hidden message with ease, and its promise to reveal her family secrets proves too powerful a draw for the orphaned Destiny, who soon finds herself on Eerie Island. It’s a place whose inhabitants are almost as inhospitable as the tempestuous weather. The Scruffmores themselves turn out to be not much better, a snarled mess of secrets and motives connected by their mistrust for one another.

Their newly arrived guest proves to be just as much an enigma to them as they are to her. While Destiny slowly works to unravel the mysteries hidden throughout the ominous castle, she struggles to interpret disturbing nightly visions of what is to come. In the midst of cryptic ciphers, hidden passages, and the family’s magical line of succession, Destiny is certain of two things: one of the Scruffmores is going to die and she’s running out of time to stop it.

Read on for an excerpt from A Most Puzzling Murder!

CHAPTER 1

Destiny

Sunday, 9:57 a.m.

Destiny Whip warily eyes her bedside table, thinking how it could easily be mistaken for a miniature graveyard, what with all the little pills neatly lined in staggered rows, positioned upright like tiny headstones. It certainly feels as though she’s regarding the burial ground of her hopes and dreams, haunted by the specter of the enormous potential she’s so dismally failed to live up to.

When you’re declared a child prodigy, everyone expects you to go far in life, but all Destiny has managed today is a slow shuffle to and from the bathroom. Even that required Herculean reserves of energy.

Balancing her laptop on her knees, she reaches to the farthest side of the bed for her emotional-support urn, pulling it close and tucking it into her armpit as though cuddling a teddy bear. She kisses the top of the teardrop shape, the metal cold against her chapped lips.

Bex appears in Destiny’s doorway, leaning her head against the frame. “Good morning.”

Her best friend is still too scrawny, but not nearly as emaciated as she was a year ago when all she feasted on was beauty magazines and models’ Instagram pages rather than anything resembling food. Bex looks mostly healthy again, her long chestnut hair gleaming, the hollows of her cheeks no longer reminiscent of sinkholes.

“You okay?” Bex asks, the corners of her mouth turned down.

It’s the anniversary of the accident today, one year somehow crawling by on scraped knees.

Some people act like severe depression is a tarnish, one that can be polished off with the application of enough elbow grease. Luckily, Bex isn’t one of them.

Destiny tries to speak, but a knot of regret is so tangled up in her throat that the words don’t stand a chance.

Her laptop suddenly squawks with an incoming video call. In the months that Destiny has been seeing Dr. Shepherd, they’ve never once had a virtual consultation over a weekend. But today is going to be a tough one, which is why the psychiatrist insisted on the appointment.

As the ringing continues, Destiny gently places the urn beside her and instinctively reaches for her notebook before paging to the list of tasks the doctor assigned last month.

Bex sidles up next to her, reading over her shoulder.

1. Leave the apartment once a day to go for a walk or grab a coffee.

2. Reach out to an old friend or colleague to suggest a meetup.

3. Replace all the dead plants.

4. Keep a dream journal about the white-haired ghost woman.

5. Email the council expressing your wish to return.

6. Accept one of the consultancies that you’ve been offered (one that doesn’t require travel).

7. Work on forgiving Nate.

8. Limit your interactions with Bex.

Bex side-eyes the last item on the list. “Rude,” she huffs. “You’d think I was a bad inf luence or something.”

Rather than answering Bex or the incoming call, Destiny thinks of how she’s never f lunked an assignment in her entire life. Always top of her class, and despite being admitted to university as a twelve-year-old, Destiny cannot fathom this degree of failure.

She’s ticked nothing off the list, not even throwing away the plants whose shriveled corpses goad her, their untimely deaths undoubtedly due to the curtains constantly being drawn tight. That, and Destiny forgetting to water them.

The laptop’s ringing grates on Destiny’s nerves, but she can’t force herself to answer and face Dr. Shepherd’s disappointment. It will be carefully concealed, of course, with the psychiatrist gently pointing out there’s always next week, or the week after that, to achieve these seemingly simple goals. But it doesn’t matter how much of an extension Destiny is given.

It’s no use.

For how can she possibly cut ties with Bex, who’s her dearest, not to mention only, friend?

Plus, there’s no way the Council of Enigmatologists will take her back after she’s been AWOL for so long. Each time an envelope drops through the mail slot, Destiny fully expects it to be a letter informing her that they’ve completely revoked her membership. It hurts to remember how thrilled she was to be appointed president of the prestigious group just thirteen months ago, and how she, Bex, and Nate all splurged on a fancy dinner to celebrate.

When the call finally drops, Bex exhales, a long whoosh of defeat. “I know I shouldn’t enable you with all the talking, but it’s not like I can call anyone on your behalf.”

They both look down at the wallpaper on the home screen of Destiny’s laptop.

It’s a photo that was taken thirteen years ago when Destiny was eight. In it, her mother’s arm is f lung across Annie’s shoulders, happiness radiating from the two best friends in waves. Destiny’s eyes fill with tears as she studies her mother’s straight black hair and pale skin, and those enormous glasses obscuring most of her face.

Jutting her chin at Destiny’s mother, Bex murmurs, “I wish I’d known Liz.”

Destiny nods before turning her attention to Annie, with her striking Afro and beaded shoulder-duster earrings, and her smile as bright as the sun.

The image was captured two weeks before Liz died. A year later, the paperwork went through to officially make Annie Destiny’s second adoptive mother. Their deaths were a wrenching loss, a tearing in the fabric of Destiny’s being that she never quite stitched back together.

There were times in the before when Destiny experienced the sting of loneliness, that awful yearning of the one forever stuck outside, nose and palms pressed against the cold glass, gazing in at what belonging looked like: foreheads bent together, raucous laughter elicited by inside jokes, sentences finished by those who knew you best.

But this is not loneliness, in the same way that a drop of water is not a deluge, the way a sigh is not a hurricane.

“I’m so sorry that you’re having such a rough time of it,” Bex says, reaching out to tuck a f laming red curl behind Destiny’s ear. She freezes upon seeing Destiny’s expression, her hand hovering like a ghost between them. “A year is a long time, though, and Dr. Shepherd is right despite the fact that she clearly has it in for me. You need to move on.”

God, that Bex is apologizing to her, of all people, when everything that happened was Destiny’s fault.

“No, I’m sorry,” Destiny says, her voice pulled so taut that it snaps. Seeing the pills all standing to attention—no longer a cemetery full of headstones, but rather an army ready to fight the last battle—Destiny reaches for the urn again, stroking it like a security blanket. “If you stop talking to me, Bex, I don’t know what I’d do.”

“Not gonna happen,” Bex replies breezily. And then more firmly she says, “Okay, it’s tough love time. You seriously need to shower because you’re stinking up the place. Plus, the kitchen needs cleaning. Those take-out containers have grown thumbs. I swear I caught them trying to hitch a ride to the nearest primordial swamp.”

Destiny laughs at how incredibly bossy Bex is.

Especially for a dead person.

Still, it’s reassuring that no matter how much has changed, some things stay exactly the same.

Excerpted from A Most Puzzling Murder by Bianca Marais, Copyright © 2025 by Bianca Marais. Published by MIRA Books.

About the Author:

BIANCA MARAIS cohosts the popular podcast The Shit No One Tells You About Writing, which is aimed at helping emerging writers get published. She teaches creative writing through the podcast and was named a winner of the Excellence in Teaching Award for Creative Writing at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies. She lives in Toronto, where she loves playing escape-room games and writing about strong female protagonists.

Social Links:

Author website: https://www.biancamarais.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/biancamaraisauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/biancam_author/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/


Three Audiobooks to Listen to While Chasing a New Puppy

Meet Tater Tot!

A small black pug puppy is sleeping on a concrete patio. He is absolutely precious.

The Fat Farm thrives on chaos so it’s only fitting that in the middle of calving season we brought home a 9 week old pug puppy. He is a sibling to our little guy Theo who joined the farm 18 months ago. He is precious, precocious, and an absolute delight. He has also made it impossible for me to sit still long enough to read a book with my eyeballs so I have leaned into the chaos and switched to audiobooks this past week. Here are three quick reviews of what I listened to this week and for all of them, I listened through Hoopla and Libby.

Lights Out by Navessa Allen

This book is insanely funny, incredibly dark, and is definitely not for the faint of heart. Fast paced, completely bonkers, and full of hilarious banter. It’s a dual narration, which is now my favorite type of audiobook narration. Each narrator performs their character’s parts as they happen-not changing each chapter. Both Elena Wolfe and Jacob Morgan gave top tier performances and I highly recommend listening to it if it’s available to you. But definitely use your headphones! This book is ridiculously hot. Full disclosure-I think it’s perfect until the ending. That last section really dragged on far longer than necessary, but I think it was to set up book 2 which comes out next month. Definitely check the content warnings! This is a dark, dark book.

Axes and O’s by Kayla Grosse

This is another wild one! It’s essentially eight and half hours of adventurous kink and self-exploration fueled by witty banter. It’s a really fun eight and half hours. It’s very fast paced, taking place over just a few days during a blizzard that keeps everyone confined inside a remote cabin. This is one where the insta-lust is written perfectly and the tension between the characters is palpable. Absolutely loved the characters of Fox and Morgan and how incredibly comfortable and competent they were in their relationship and life. Nathan was the perfect addition to their life and it was really refreshing for characters to be so open and honest with each other. Really enjoyed the narrators Grayson Owens, Stella Hunter and Stephen Dexter.

Candle and Crow by Kevin Hearne

It wasn’t all erotic romance this week. Candle and Crow is the third and final installment of the Ink & Sigil series and if you haven’t read the series yet, definitely check it out. It’s funny, witty, and very quirky. If you’re familiar with the Iron Druid series from Hearne, some of the characters overlap but it’s not necessary, although I recommend reading it because it’s awesome, to have read Iron Druid. This is book wraps up the story of Al MacBharrais and is the perfect conclusion to the series. Again, the narrator Luke Daniels is so talented and really made the book come to life. Highly, highly recommend listening to this one and if you do, don’t miss the bloopers at the end!

This post may contain links, including Amazon Associate Links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Blog Tour! THE AMALFI CURSE : A Bewitching Tale of Sunken Treasure, Forbidden Love, and Ancient Magic on the Amalfi Coast by Sarah Penner

As someone who loved The Lost Apothecary, I am so excited to share an excerpt from Sarah Penner’s latest novel, The Amalfi Curse!

Book Summary: 

A nautical archaeologist searching for sunken treasure in Positano unearths a centuries-old curse, powerful witchcraft, and perilous love on the high seas in this spellbinding new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary—perfect for fans of The Familiar and The Cloisters.

Haven Ambrose, a trailblazing nautical archaeologist, has come to the sun-soaked village of Positano to investigate the mysterious shipwrecks along the Amalfi Coast. But Haven is hoping to find more than old artifacts beneath the azure waters; she is secretly on a quest to locate a trove of priceless gemstones her late father spotted on his final dive. Upon Haven’s arrival, strange maelstroms and misfortunes start plaguing the town. Is it nature, or something more sinister at work?

In 1821, Mari DeLuca and the women of her village practice the legendary art of stregheria, a magical ability to harness the power of the ocean. As their leader, Mari protects Positano with her witchcraft, but she has been plotting to run away with her lover, Holmes – a sailor aboard a merchant ship owned by the nefarious Mazza brothers, known for their greed and brutality. When the Mazzas learn about the women of Positano, they devise a plan to kidnap several of Mari’s friends. With her fellow witches and her village in danger – and Holmes’s life threatened by his connection to the most feared woman in Positano – Mari is forced to choose between the safety of her people and the man she loves.

As Haven searches for her father’s sunken treasure, she begins to unearth a tale of perilous love and powerful sorcery. Can she unravel the Amalfi Curse before the region is destroyed forever? Against the dazzling backdrop of the Amalfi Coast, this bewitching novel shimmers with mystery, romance, and the untamed magic of the sea.

Author Bio:

Sarah Penner is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of The London Seance Society and The Lost Apothecary, which will be translated into forty languages worldwide and is set to be turned into a drama series by Fox. Sarah spent thirteen years in corporate finance and now writes full-time. She and her husband live in Florida. To learn more, visit SarahPenner.com.

Buy Links:

HarperCollins

BookShop.org

Barnes & Noble   

Amazon  


Read on for an excerpt from The Amalfi Curse

1

MARI 



Wednesday, April 11, 1821 

Along a dark seashore beneath the cliffside village of Positano, twelve women, aged six to forty-four, were seated in a circle. It was two o’clock in the morning, the waxing moon directly overhead. 

One of the women stood, breaking the circle. Her hair was the color of vermilion, as it had been since birth. Fully clothed, she walked waist-high into the water. A belemnite fossil clutched between her fingers, she plunged her hands beneath the waves and began to move her lips, reciting the first part of the incantesimo di riflusso she’d learned as a child. Within moments, the undercurrent she’d conjured began to swirl at her ankles, tugging southward, away from her. 

She shuffled her way out of the water and back onto the shore. 

A second woman with lighter hair, the color of persimmon, stood from the circle. She, too, approached the ocean and plunged her hands beneath the surface. She recited her silent spell on the sea, satisfied as the undercurrent grew even stronger. She gazed out at the horizon, a steady black line where the sky met the sea, and smiled. 

Like the other villagers along the coast tonight, these women knew what was coming: a fleet of pirate ships making their way northeast from Tunis. Winds were favorable, their sources said, and the flotilla was expected within the next day. 

Their destination? Perhaps Capri, Sorrento, Majori. Some thought maybe even Positano—maybe, finally, Positano. 

Given this, fishermen all along the Amalfi coastline had decided to remain at home with their families tomorrow and into the night. It wouldn’t be safe on the water. The destination of these pirates was unknown, and what they sought was a mystery, as well. Greedy pirates went for all kinds of loot. Hungry pirates went for nets full of fish. Lustful pirates went for the women. 

On the seashore, a third and final woman stood from the circle. Her hair was the rich, deep hue of blood. Quickly, she undressed. She didn’t like the feeling of wet fabric against her skin, and these women had seen her naked a thousand times before. 

Belemnite fossil in one hand, she held the end of a rope in her other, which was tied to a heavy anchor in the sand a short distance away. She would be the one to recite the final piece of this current-curse. Her recitation was the most important, the most potent, and after it was done, the ebbing undercurrent would be even more severe—hence the rope, which she would wrap tightly around herself before finishing the spell. 

It was perilous, sinister work. Still, of the twelve women by the water tonight, twenty-year-old Mari DeLuca was the most befitting for this final task. 

They were streghe del mare—sea witches—with unparalleled power over the ocean. They boasted a magic found nowhere else in the world, a result of their lineage, having descended from the sirens who once inhabited the tiny Li Galli islets nearby. 

The women knew that tomorrow, wherever the pirates landed, it would not be Positano. The men would not seize their goods, their food, their daughters. No matter how the pirate ships rigged their sails, they would not find easy passageway against the undercurrent the women now drew upward from the bottom of the sea. They would turn east, or west. They would go elsewhere. 

They always did. 

While the lineage of the other eleven women was twisted and tangled, filled with sons or muddled by marriage, Mari DeLuca’s line of descent was perfectly intact: her mother had been a strega, and her mother’s mother, and so on and so on, tracing back thousands of years to the sirens themselves. Of the women on the seashore tonight, Mari was the only strega finisima

This placed upon her shoulders many great responsibilities. She could instinctively read the water better than any of them. Her spells were the most effective, too; she alone could do what required two or three other streghe working in unison. As such, she was the sanctioned leader of the eleven other women. The forewoman, the teacher, the decision-maker. 

Oh, but what a shame she hated the sea as much as she did. 

Stepping toward the water, Mari unraveled her long plait of hair. It was her most striking feature—such blood-colored hair was almost unheard of in Italy, much less in the tiny fishing village of Positano—but then, much of what Mari had inherited was unusual. She tensed as the cold waves rushed over her feet. My mother should be the one doing this, she thought bitterly. It was a resentment she’d never released, not in twelve years, since the night when eight-year-old Mari had watched the sea claim her mother, Imelda, as its own. 

On that terrible night, newly motherless and reeling, Mari knew the sea was no longer her friend. But worse than this, she worried for her younger sister, Sofia. How would Mari break this news to her? How could she possibly look after spirited Sofia with as much patience and warmth as their mamma had once done? 

She’d hardly had time to grieve. The next day, the other streghe had swiftly appointed young Mari as the new strega finisima. Her mother had taught her well, after all, and she was, by birthright, capable of more than any of them. No one seemed to care that young Mari was so tender and heartbroken or that she now despised the very thing she had such control over. 

But most children lose their mothers at some point, don’t they? And sprightly Sofia had been reason enough to forge on—a salve to Mari’s aching heart. Sofia had kept her steady, disciplined. Even cheerful, much of the time. So long as Sofia was beside her, Mari would shoulder the responsibilities that had been placed upon her, willingly or not. 

Now, toes in the water, a pang of anguish struck Mari, as it often did at times like this. 

Neither Mamma nor Sofia was beside her tonight. Mari let out a slow exhale. This moment was an important one, worth remembering. It was the end of two years’ worth of agonizing indecision. No one else on the seashore knew it, but this spell, this incantation she was about to recite, would be her very last. She was leaving in only a few weeks’ time, breaking free. And the place she was going was mercifully far from the sea. 

Eyes down, Mari slipped her naked body beneath the water, cursing the sting of it as it seeped into a small rash on her ankle. At once, the water around her turned from dark blue to a thick inky black, like vinegar. Mari had dealt with this all her life: the sea mirrored her mood, her temperament. 

As a child, she’d found it marvelous, the way the ocean read her hidden thoughts so well. Countless times, her friends had expressed envy of the phenomenon. But now, the black water shuddering around her legs only betrayed the secrets Mari meant to keep, and she was glad for the darkness, so better to hide her feelings from those on the shore. 

Halfway into the water, already she could feel the changes in the sea: the two women before her had done very well with their spells. This was encouraging, at least. A few sharp rocks, churned by the undercurrent, scraped across the top of her feet like thorns, and it took great focus to remain in place against the undertow pulling her out. She used her arms to keep herself balanced, as a tired bird might flap its wings on an unsteady branch. 

She wrapped the rope twice around her forearm. Once it was secure, she began to recite the spell. With each word, tira and obbedisci—pull and obey—the rope tightened against her skin. The undercurrent was intensifying quickly, and with even more potency than she expected. She winced when the rope broke her skin, the fresh wound exposed instantly to the bite of the salt water. She began to stumble, losing her balance, and she finished the incantation as quickly as possible, lest the rope leave her arm mangled. 

She wouldn’t miss nights like this, not at all. 

When she was done, Mari waved, signaling to the other women that it was time to pull her in. Instantly she felt a tug on the other end of the rope. A few seconds later, she was in shallow, gentle water. On her hands and knees, she crawled the rest of the way. Safely on shore, she lay down to rest, sand and grit sticking uncomfortably to her wet skin. She would need to wash well later. 

Terribly time-consuming, all of this. 

A sudden shout caught her attention, and Mari sat up, peering around in the darkness. Her closest friend, Ami, was now knee-deep in the water, struggling to keep her balance. 

“Lia!” Ami shouted hysterically. “Lia, where are you?” 

Lia was Ami’s six-year-old daughter, a strega-in-training, her hair a delicate, rosy red. Not moments ago, she’d been situated among the circle of women, her spindly legs tucked up against her chest, watching the spells unfold. 

Mari threw herself upward, tripping as she lunged toward the ocean. 

“No, please, no,” she cried out. If Lia was indeed in the water, it would be impossible for the young girl to make her way back to shore. She was smaller than other girls her age, her bones fragile as seashells, and though she could swim, she’d have nothing against the power of these tides. The very purpose of the incantation had been to drive the currents toward the deep, dark sea, with enough strength to stave off a pirate ship. 

Lia wasn’t wearing a cimaruta, either, which gave the women great strength and vigor in moments of distress. She was too young: streghe didn’t get their talisman necklaces until they were fifteen, when their witchcraft had matured and they were deemed proficient in the art. 

At once, every woman on the shore was at the ocean’s edge, peering at the water’s choppy surface. The women might have been powerful, yes, but they were not immortal: as Mari knew all too well, they could succumb to drowning just like anyone else. 

Mari spun in a circle, scanning the shore. Suddenly her belly tightened, and she bent forward, her vision going dark and bile rising in the back of her throat. 

This was too familiar—her spinning in circles, scanning the horizon in search of someone. 

Seeing nothing. 

Then seeing the worst. 

Like her younger sister’s copper-colored hair, splayed out around the shoulders of her limp body as she lay facedown in the rolling swells of the sea. 

Mari had been helpless, unable to protect fourteen-year-old Sofia from whatever she’d encountered beneath the waves that day, only two years ago. Mari had spent years trying to protect her sister as their mother could not, yet in the end, she had failed. She’d failed Sofia. 

That day, the sea had once again proved itself not only greedy but villainous—something to be loathed. 

Something, Mari eventually decided, from which to escape. 

Now, Mari fell to her knees, too dizzy to stand. It was as though her body had been hauled back in time to that ill-fated morning. She bent forward, body heaving, about to be sick— 

Suddenly, she heard a giggle, high-pitched and playful. It sounded just like Sofia, and for a moment, Mari thought she’d slipped into a dream. 

“I am here, Mamma,” came Lia’s voice from a short distance away. “I am digging in the sand for baby gran—” She cut off. “I forget the word.” 

Ami let out a cry, relief and irritation both. She ran toward her child, clutched her to her breast. “Granchio,” she said. “And don’t you ever scare me like that again.” 

Mari sat up, overwhelmed by relief. She didn’t have children, was not even married, but Lia sometimes felt like her own. 

She steadied her breath. Lia is fine, she said silently to herself. She is perfectly well, on land, right here in front of all of us. Yet even as her breath slowed, she could not resist glancing once more behind her, scanning the wave tops. 



The women who’d performed the spell changed into dry clothes. 

Lia pulled away from Ami’s embrace, sneaking toward Mari, who welcomed her with a warm, strong hug. Mari bent over to kiss the girl’s head, breathing in her fragrance of oranges, sugar, and sweat. 

Lia turned her narrow face to Mari, her lips in a frown. “The spell will protect us from the pirates forever?” 

Mari smiled. If only it worked that way. She thought of the pirate ship approaching the peninsula tonight. If it did indeed make for Positano, she imagined the captain cursing under his breath. Damn these currents, he might say. I’ve had my eye on Positano. What is it with that village? He would turn to his first mate and order him to alter the rigging, set an eastward course. Anywhere but this slice of troublesome water, he’d hiss at his crew. 

“No,” Mari said now. “Our magia does not work that way.” 

She paused, considering what more to tell the girl. Nearly every spell the women recited dissipated in a matter of days, but there was a single spell, the vortice centuriaria, which endured for one hundred years. It could only be recited if a strega removed her protective cimaruta necklace. And the cost of performing such magic was substantial: she had to sacrifice her own life in order for the spell to be effective. As far as Mari knew, no one had performed the spell in hundreds, maybe even thousands, of years. 

Such a grim topic wasn’t appropriate now, not with young Lia, so she kept her explanation simple. “Our spells last several days, at the most. No different than what a storm does to the ocean: churns it up, tosses it about. Eventually, though, the sea returns to normal. The sea always prevails.” 

How much she hated to admit this. Even the vortice centuriaria, long-lasting as it was, faded eventually. The women could do powerful things with the sea, yes, but they were not masters of it. 

“This is why we keep very close to our informants,” Mari went on. “There are people who tell us when pirates, or strange ships, have been spotted offshore. Knowing our spells will only last a few days, we must be diligent. We cannot curse the water too soon nor too late. Our fishermen need good, smooth water for their hauls, so we must only curse the water when we are sure there is a threat.” She smiled, feeling a tad smug. “We are very good at it, Lia.” 

Lia traced her finger in the sand, making a big oval. “Mamma tells me I can do anything with the sea when I am older. Anything at all.” 

It was an enticing sentiment, this idea that they had complete control over the ocean, but it was false. Their spells were really quite simple and few—there were only seven of them—and they abided by the laws of nature. 

“I would like to see one of those big white bears,” Lia went on, “so I will bring an iceberg here, all the way from the Arctic.” 

“Sadly,” Mari said, “I fear that is too far. We can push the pirates away because they are not all that far from us. But the Arctic? Well, there are many land masses separating us from your beloved polar bears…” 

“I will go to live with other sea witches when I’m older, then,” Lia said. “Witches who live closer to the Arctic.” 

“It is only us, dear. There are no other sea witches.” At Lia’s perturbed look, she explained, “We descended from the sirens, who lived on those islands—” she pointed to the horizon, where the Li Galli islets rose out of the water “—and we are the only women in the world who inherited power over the ocean.” 

Lia slumped forward, let out a sigh. 

“You will still be able to do many things,” Mari encouraged. “Just not everything.” 

Like saving the people you love, she mused. Even to this day, the loss of little Sofia felt so senseless, so unneeded. The sisters had been in only a few feet of water, doing somersaults and handstands, diving for sea glass. They had passed the afternoon this way a thousand times before. Later, Mari would wonder if Sofia had knocked her head against the ground, or maybe she’d accidentally inhaled a mouthful of water. Whatever happened, Sofia had noiselessly slipped beneath the rippling tide. 

She’s playing a trick, Mari thought as the minutes passed. She’s holding her breath and will come up any moment. The girls did this often, making games of guessing where the other might emerge. But Sofia didn’t emerge, not this time. And just a few months shy of fifteen, she hadn’t been wearing a cimaruta

Lia began to add small lines to the edge of her circle. She was drawing an eye with lashes. “Mamma says you can do more than she can,” she chirped. “That it takes two or three of the streghe to do what you can do by yourself.” 

“Yes,” Mari said. “Yes, that’s right.” 

“Because of your mamma who died?” 

Mari flinched at this, then quickly moved on. “Yes. And my nonna, and her mamma, and so on. All the way back many thousands of years. There is something different in our blood.” 

“But not mine.” 

“You are special in plenty of ways. Think of the baby needlefish, for instance. You’re always spotting them, even though they’re nearly invisible and they move terribly fast.” \

“They’re easy to spot,” Lia disputed, brows furrowed. 

“Not for me. You understand? We are each skilled in our own way.” 

Suddenly, Lia turned her face up to Mari. “Still, I hope you do not die, since you have the different, special blood and no one else does.” 

Mari recoiled, taken aback by Lia’s comment. It was almost as though the young girl sensed Mari’s covert plans. “Go find your mamma,” she told Lia, who stood at once, ruining her sand art. 

After she’d gone, Mari gazed at the hillside rising up behind them. This beach was not their normal place for practicing magic: Mari typically led the women to one of countless nearby caves or grottoes, protected from view, via a pair of small gozzi, seating six to a boat. But tonight had been different—one of the gozzi had come loose from its mooring, and it had drifted out into the open ocean. This had left the women with only one boat, and it wasn’t big enough to hold them all. 

“Let’s gather on the beach instead,” she’d urged. “We’ll be out but a few minutes.” Besides, it was the middle of the night, and the moon had been mostly hidden behind clouds, so it was very dark. 

While a few of the women looked at her warily, everyone had agreed in the end. 

Mari stood and squeezed the water from her hair. It was nearly three o’clock, and all of the women were yawning. 

She shoved the wet rope into her bag and dressed quickly, pulling her shift over her protective cimaruta necklace. Hers bore tiny amulets from the sea and coastline: a moon shell, an ammonite fossil, a kernel of gray volcanic pumice. Recently, Mari had found a tiny coral fragment in the perfect shape of a mountain, which she especially liked. Mountains made her think of inland places, which made her think of freedom. 

As the women began to make their way up the hillside, Mari felt fingertips brush her arm. “Psst,” Ami whispered. In her hand was a small envelope, folded tightly in half. 

Mari’s heart surged. “A letter.” 

Ami winked. “It arrived yesterday.” 

It had been two weeks since the last one, and as tempted as Mari was to tear open the envelope and read it in the moonlight, she tucked it against her bosom. “Thank you,” she whispered. 

Suddenly, Mari caught movement in the corner of her eye, something on the dock a short distance away. At first, she thought she’d imagined it—clouds skirted across the sky, and the night was full of shadows—but then she gasped as a dark form quickly made its way off the dock, around a small building, and out of sight. 

Something—someone—had most definitely been over there. A man. A late-night rendezvous, perhaps? Or had he been alone and spying on the women? 

Mari turned to tell Ami, but her friend had already gone ahead, a hand protectively on Lia’s back. 

As they stepped onto the dirt pathway scattered with carts and closed-up vendor stands, Mari turned around once more to glance at the dock. But there was nothing, no one. The dock lay in darkness. 

Just a trick of the moonlight, she told herself. 

Besides, she had a very important letter nestled against her chest—one she intended to tear open the moment she got home.

The Staircase In The Woods by Chuck Wendig

Available now

A list of content warnings can be found here on The StoryGraph.

This is one of the wildest, most nightmare inducing books I’ve read in a long time! It’s definitely not for the faint of heart so be sure to check out the content warnings before reading.

From the Publisher:

Five high school friends are bonded by an oath to protect one another no matter what.

Then, on a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find something extraordinary: a mysterious staircase to nowhere.

One friend walks up—and never comes back down. Then the staircase disappears.

Twenty years later, the staircase has reappeared. Now the group returns to find the lost boy—and what lies beyond the staircase in the woods. . . .

This is a truly terrifying tale of friendship, obsession, and trauma. I really believe the less you know about the actual plot, the better your reading experience will be. In true Chuck Wendig fashion, the characters are interesting, the writing is completely captivating, and the story is some of the craziest and scariest I’ve ever read. While it does start off a little slowly, the story really picks up and becomes a pretty fast-paced and thrilling ride. I really enjoyed how Wendig crafted such interesting and flawed characters. The story is told from the points of view of two characters, Owen and Lore but everyone feels very fleshed out and integral to the story. It’s a wildly weird and haunting story and if you’ve ever read another Wendig book, you’re going to be very pleased. If you’ve never read him before, this is sure to send you down his incredible back list.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own. This post may contain links, including Amazon Associate Links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.All opinions and mistakes are my own.


Two Years Ago: A Soul to Keep by Opal Reyne

Available Now

When I saw this book making the rounds again on TikTok I knew it was a sign to show it some more love! This was originally posted April 11, 2023.

Spring is in full swing on the farm and finding time to read has been a struggle! One of my favorite things to do when I’m short on reading time and can’t seem to pick out a book from either my own stash or upcoming arcs, is to hit Kindle Unlimited and find the most bonkers cover and dive right in.

It works every time.

I really enjoyed this wonderfully wild and slightly chaotic book. I do, of course, say this with love. While I found the world building to be a little uneven, I loved the characters and found their journey to love to be sweet, super hot, and quite adventurous.

Reia has been shunned by her entire village. Forced to live alone and treated horribly for supposedly bringing on the deaths of her family, Reia has been offered by the village to be a virgin sacrifice to a Duskwalker. Faced with with a lifetime of imprisonment, Reia has no choice but to be the one who ensures the Duskwalker renews the ward that keeps the village safe from demons.

But, of course, our Duskwalker is not the soulless monster that everyone assumes. He is instead a kind, caring, and thoughtful (as much as he can be) individual who has been horribly hurt by a previous lover and has his own emotional issues to overcome.

This was a fun book. Reia doesn’t really fear Orpheus, our Duskwalker, and that really throws him off. Every time she shows him the slightest kindness he nearly loses his mind with joy and Orpheus expresses his emotions through the glowing orbs that are his eyes which leads to some really cute scenes. Just like the cover, our hero has a skull for a head. Just a bony skull. When Reia discovers the different colors signify emotions, she is determined to see his “happy” colors as often as possible. It’s really quite sweet.

This book is also super hot. It’s a slow burn but it’s definitely worth the wait. Reyne’s Duskwalkers are incredibly complex and unique in their anatomy and that made for some wild and creative sexual adventures. Reia was forced to remain a virgin until her sacrifice to Orpheus, but don’t worry, he pledged to never touch her without her permission, and she is quite confused about her feelings and desires towards him. If you love the microtrope of a human discovering she digs a “monster,” you’re going to love this.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and already started the second book in the series. I’ve been on a bit of a monster romance kick and this was definitely worth the read.

If you’d like to add this book to your collection, it’s included in Kindle Unlimited or you can click on the cover, or here, for ordering information.

This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.

The Bones Beneath My Skin by T.J. Klune

Available now

CW: check out The StoryGraph for a complete list of content warnings. Also, there’s a kid in this romance who is not obnoxious!

This a book where reading the Author’s Note is an absolute must! This book has had an interesting publishing journey and I love to see self-published authors make their way to great publishers. I also love when an author’s book covers have a similar vibe and look so they all look great on the shelf together.

From the Publisher:

In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything: his parents are dead, his older brother wants nothing to do with him, and he's been fired from his job as a journalist in Washington DC. With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family's summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon to try and find some sense of direction. The cabin should be empty. It's not. Inside is a man named Alex. And with him is an extraordinary little girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader. Artemis, who isn't exactly as she appears. Soon it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice: let himself drown in the memories of his past, or fight for a future he never thought possible. Because the girl is special. And forces are descending upon them who want nothing more than to control her.

I do not contain the words to tell you how much I loved this book. It’s delightfully weird and a little kooky, but also incredibly compelling with characters that are easy to fall in love with. This is one of those books that you need to go in with knowing as little as possible. I promise, knowing less is really more with this one. I love how it’s set in 1995. It makes everything our characters are up against so much more exciting and thrilling, and admittedly, allows the story to actually take place. Hello, no cell phones! Darth Vader Artemis is my new favorite book heroine and her banter with both Nate and Alex is some of the most delightful writing I’ve read in awhile. It’s funny, fast paced, full of action, and and has a lot of heart. It hits on some really heavy topics, especially homophobia and family estrangement, but it’s not a sad book. It’s hopeful and loving and you just feel better having read it.

If you want to add this book to your shelf, you can click on the cover above for ordering information. This was my February 2025 pick from Book of the Month and while all the selections looked great, there was no way I was passing this book up! If you’d like to try BOTM for yourself, you can use my code and join for just $5. I have paid for this subscription with my own money since 2018 and I have really enjoyed it.

This post may contain links, including Amazon Associate Links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.All opinions and mistakes are my own.

All My Colors by David Quantick

Available now

One of my favorite things to do is find books in unlikely places. The bargain bin at Menards? Often, it’s a gold mine. Dollar Tree? I have found some wildly popular bestsellers there for a handful of quarters. This is one of those books that I discovered on the back of the shelf and it cost me four whole quarters. Why did I pick it? I liked the cover. That was my entire justification for buying it. I then let it sit on my shelf for several years as I often do with my book purchases because there is nothing wrong with that.

But then I picked it up on my quest to read more of my physical book and immediately hated every single character. Everyone is awful! Well, one person is fine but you don’t know that until nearly the end and I’m not spoiling that for you. But the story and the writing is so wild and compelling that you can’t help but get sucked in. I may have had this book for years, but I finished it in two days.

From the Publisher:

It is March 1979 in DeKalb, Illinois. Todd Milstead is a wannabe writer, a serial adulterer, and a jerk, only tolerated by his friends because he throws the best parties with the best booze. During one particular party, Todd is showing off his perfect recall, quoting poetry and literature word-for-word plucked from his eidetic memory. When he begins quoting from a book no one else seems to know, a novel called All My Colors, Todd is incredulous. He can quote it from cover to cover and yet it doesn't seem to exist. With a looming divorce and mounting financial worries, Todd finally tries to write a novel, with the vague idea of making money from his talent. The only problem is he can't write. But the book - All My Colors - is there in his head. Todd makes a decision: he will "write" this book that nobody but him can remember. After all, if nobody's heard of it, how can he get into trouble? As the dire consequences of his actions come home to both Todd and his long-suffering friends, it becomes clear that there is a high - and painful - price to pay for his crime.

This book is wild. Todd Milstead is one of the most unlikeable characters I’ve ever come across. He is given numerous chances to not just be a better person, but to be the bare-minimum of a decent human being, and at every turn, he fails spectacularly. The punishments he receives for constantly choosing to be a jerk are absolutely incredible. It is so darkly comical and slapstick that I had to reread several passages multiple times to make sure I was reading it correctly. I really enjoyed how Quantick wove together the fantastical elements with the darkly humorous realistic elements. Unfortunately for some of our characters, they meet some pretty inexplicable fates.

Overall, I found this book fascinating. The characters are well-developed, the writing is absolutely compelling, and it’s perfectly paced. I found it to be darkly funny and wildly unpredictable. If you’re looking for a weird and quirky read, this should be top of your list.

If you’d like more information about this title, including ordering information, you can click on the cover above. This post may contain links, including Amazon Associate Links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

It Will Only Hurt For a Moment by Delilah S. Dawson

Available now

CW: check out The StoryGraph for a list of all content warnings.

Are you looking for a book that makes you question whether to ever enter the woods again? A book that will scare your pants off and give you nightmares? How about one that makes you slightly uncomfortable with how happy you are when bad people get what’s coming to them? Looking for a hefty and therapeutic dose of female rage?

From the Publisher:

Sarah Carpenter is starting over.

She's on the run-leaving behind her unsupportive, narcissistic ex-boyfriend and alcoholic, abusive mother-and headed for a new beginning at Tranquil Falls, a secluded artists' colony on the grounds of a closed hotel. There, with no cell signal or internet to distract her, she hopes to rediscover her love for pottery and put the broken pieces of her life back together.

But when Sarah uncovers the body of a young woman while digging a hole for a pit kiln, things start to fall apart. Her fellow artists begin to act in troubling ways. The eccentric fiber artist knits an endless scarf. The musician plays the same carousel song over and over until his fingers bleed. The calligrapher grins with ink-stained teeth. Not to mention the haunting dreams Sarah has night after night.

When she discovers glass shards in her clay, Sarah wonders if someone is out to get her-or if she's losing her grip on reality out here in the wilds, where the pounding of the waterfall never, ever fades. As she investigates the beautiful valley and the crumbling resort looming over them all, she unearths a chilling past that refuses to remain buried...

Delilah S. Dawson is one of my favorite go-to authors for all things horror, thriller, and female empowerment. It WIll Only Hurt for a Moment is a fast-paced thriller that really leans into the eeriness of its setting. Sarah, our FMC, has finally found the freedom to start her life over and on the way to Tranquil Falls, she receives a drunken call from her abusive mother. This is just the first in a series of unsettling and disturbing events that Sarah will have to persevere through in order to survive. As Sarah is facing one crisis after another, the remoteness of the artist’s colony begins to feel like a character itself. The more Sarah begins to feel in control of herself, clawing back her joy of pottery and creativity, the more unsafe the woods and what they contain become. On the property is a mysterious old hotel with a disturbing past that is strictly off-limits to the artists. I love a creepy old hotel in my horror and this one may be the creepiest yet.

If you, like me, enjoy a little “Awful Man Gets His Just Deserts” in your books, you will love what happens to the awful bastards in this story. Without being too spoiler-y, there is a character early on that was so infuriating and misogynistic that I was rooting for his downfall from the moment he was introduced. The Bad Guys in this book are incredibly awful so definitely check the content warnings carefully. There is some real karmic justice dished out and it is so, so satisfying.

This is one dark, creepy, unsettling story of female rage and self-discovery and I really loved it. I thought the characters were great, the pacing was really good, and it had the perfect blend of psychological thriller and paranormal horror. If you loved Dawson’s other book The Violence, definitely add this one to your TBR.

If you’d like to add this book to your shelf, you can find ordering information by clicking on the cover above. Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own. This post may contain links, including Amazon Associate Links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.All opinions and mistakes are my own.