New Releases for July 21, 2020

Happy Tuesday!

Did you just make it another week without committing a crime? You should reward yourself with a new book! Click on the covers for more information.

Happy Reading!

Younger Readers:

For Adults:

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The Inheritors by Asako Serizawa

Available July 14, 2020

The Inheritors is a beautifully written collection of connected short stories centered around a family through multiple generations and countries. Told from multiple perspectives, each with a distinct voice and style, The Inheritors is a fascinating look at how our actions can have an impact on future generations. Much of the book centers around the second World War and its effect on not only the citizens of Japan, but on the Koreans who were forced to work there by the Japanese. Family, love, grief and patriotism are all examined throughout the collection and some stories are more difficult emotionally than others. 

The story titled Flight was particularly impactful. Ayumi is sharing her memories, those she still has, of growing up and her first visit to America in 1911. The power of discovering a tomato for the first time. How her second tomato was discovered during her second pregnancy and the fear of Americans animosity towards people from Asia. Interspersed with her memories of raising her children and her marriage, are the ways her mind is betraying her. Names leave her first. She differentiates her daughters by their features, not their names. She doesn’t have those anymore. Ayumi recalls the difficulty of living in a country where you aren’t wanted. How she wasn’t able to communicate with her family back home because it could cause suspicion with the American government. The struggle to raise a family during the Depression. All the while, we are reminded that in the present, she doesn’t remember her children or their names. 

Many tears friends, many tears. 

Allegiance gives us Masaharu, a man who follows his wife to work and doesn’t understand why she’s working around so many soldiers. Their son is missing and the distance between them grows every day. In the next story, we hear her side of the story. As an old woman, she allows herself to be interviewed about her life during the war and how she was forced into acting as a “comfort woman.” The horrors that those women endured. The writing styles are drastically different between the two stories, creating a more powerful narrative. 

This was a fascinating collection of short stories and I highly recommend it. 

Want a copy for yourself? You can get one here:

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 contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Safe Place by Anna Downes

Available July 14, 2020

Emily’s life is a complete mess. Her acting career stalled before it even began, she’s estranged from her parents and just lost her job. Even worse? She called her mother for rent money only to realize she missed her birthday. Again. When her former boss Scott Denny offers her the job of a lifetime, she jumps on it. Working as a personal assistant to Nina, Scott’s beautiful and mysterious wife, seems like a dream job. She quickly finds herself spending her mornings helping to restore the French mansion and sprawling grounds and her afternoons drinking wine and lazing around the pool with Nina and her daughter Aurelia.

As the weeks go on, Emily realizes there is more to the family than she first believed. Aurelia’s mysterious health conditions leave Nina in constant fear. Nina is extremely private and doesn’t want Emily in the family mansion. Scott never seems to want to be around his family. Emily begins to see the cracks in their perfect image and uncovers a dangerous secret that will threaten her very life.

The Safe Place is a fast paced psychological thriller that excels at making Emily her own worst enemy. Her life is a complete hot mess. She can’t keep a job or remember her lines at acting auditions. She can never budget properly and is always short on rent money. Her strained relationship with her parents is further stressed when she makes the biggest mistake-calling her mother for money on her mother’s birthday. Her parents just want her to get her life together and Emily just doesn’t seem capable of it. She’s never really been around kids or worked as a personal assistant before she takes the job with the Denny family so it’s understandable how she misses so many warning signs. She’s immediately caught up in their wealth and beautiful property that the lavish lifestyle overshadows how odd it is that two women, with no construction or design experience, are renovating a large mansion.

Anna Downes crafted a tightly woven story full of twists and turns where the tension amongst the characters is a character itself. We know something is wrong, and Emily feels it too. Putting your finger on what is wrong is what makes for such an engaging and interesting read.

Want a copy for yourself? You can get one here:

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 contains affiliate inks. Purchasing through the links means I earn from qualifying purchases.

New Releases for July 14, 2020

Happy Tuesday!

What a difference a week makes! I think publishers pushed back every publication date to last week so today, the new releases aren’t as overwhelming. Click on the covers for more information about the book, pricing, and ordering information.

For Kids:

For the Adults:

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The Bright Lands by John Fram

Available July 7, 2020

Buckle up! This is a wild one!

When Joel Whitley’s younger brother leaves him a cryptic text message, he knows it’s time to return home. The hometown that drove him away with it’s bigotry and small mindedness. Bentley, Texas loves it’s football and it’s players are town royalty. Bentley also loves it’s secrets. When Joel’s brother goes missing, he knows there is more going on than his brother running away. Trying to find an ally in Bentley is a complication that Joel doesn’t know if he can handle. Friends from his past have to reckon with their own tragic memories of a similar disappearance and the police seem oddly uninterested in taking any clues seriously. As Joel comes closer to understanding what happened to his brother, a dark and deadly force threatens to tear apart the entire community.  

The Bright Lands is full of twists and turns and small town secrets. It’s a chilling look at the effects of hero worship and allowing young men to get away with horrific behavior solely because their athletic ability provides others with joy. Full of complicated characters, The Bright Lands shows us what happens when everyone has a secret to protect and the lengths they’ll go to protect themselves. 

This has been described as Friday Night Lights meets Supernatural, and while I don’t think it’s quite like that, it’s close. There is a truly dark and threatening force at work in the novel but it’s hard to compare the bigger threat-a supernatural force or unrestrained bigotry and homophobia. Both drive people to shun and kill people for no reason other than to spread hate. How much influence that dark force had over the actions of the characters will be up to you to decide. John Fram crafted a tightly woven tale where every character is important to the overall story. Everyone’s actions will either lead you to the finish or throw you off course. There are just so many, many secrets and each one unravels to create a more complex story. It’s wild, but incredibly entertaining. 

There is a real focus on Joel’s feelings towards his family and the responsibility he feels towards his brother Dylan. We find out pretty early on that Joel was pretty much run out of town and goes to be successful in college and start a high paying and high power career. He basically thumbs his nose at everyone as he parties, does drugs, and spends oodles of money. Throughout this ten years, he doesn’t really every come home or call, or plain have a relationship with his brother so when he receives that cryptic text, he realizes he needs to be a better brother. Unfortunately for book reasons, that doing better looks much different than he planned on. The author really dives into Joel’s feeling of responsibility, even though Joel is his brother, not his parent. I found it a really interesting look at personal responsibility and how that responsibility can go both ways. Joel left town for his own physical and emotional safety and he deserves a happy life and was always under the assumption that Dylan has parents to care for him. That can be true while also stating that he could have picked up the phone a bit more often.

Also, I have mixed feelings about the big reveal of the Bright Lands. It felt really over the top and I hate reading about attacks on children so a lot of it was pretty hard to read. That said, it explains so much of the town’s behavior towards the football team, the high ranking town officials and community members, and also, the overall sense that no one ever says what they actually mean in this town. I wish it had been a small college town? Couldn’t everyone be a little older? But the ages of the kids is important for other reasons so it’s all complicated. It’s just complicated.

Interested in a copy for yourself? You can get one here:

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 contains affiliate links.  I earn from qualifying purchases.

New Releases for July 7, 2020

Happy Tuesday!

If you survived the weekend, you deserve a new book! Click on a cover for more information.

For the Kids:

For the Grown-ups:

This post contains affiliate links for IndieBound. I earn from qualifying purchases.

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

This July 4th seems so different from previous years’. Maybe it’s the pandemic. Maybe it’s people waking up to thte effects of white supremacy. Maybe it’s the constant dread of “what did he say today.” Whatever it is, it’s another day that seems off. I’m lucky. Through sheer luck I was born white in this country. I have an easy life full of farm babies and a healthy kid. I’m grateful for this county but I acknowledge how much it did wrong. So, at this point you’re acknowledging I’m not a writer. I know. All I ask, is take some time and think about things that make you uncomfortable and start reading more books by people who are not white. Here’s one of my favorites. It blends mythology with a post-climate apocalypse.
Stay safe, stay healthy, happy reading.

It’s been 26 hours since vacation officially started.   The Kid and I took the pugs on a very slow meandering stroll through the woods, went out to lunch, and I devoured the most badass monster slaying story.

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse is the grown-up Buffy* I’ve been dying to read.  When Maggie Hoskie was a child, she survived a horrific attack that awakened her clan powers.  Faster, stronger, and more deadly than any human, she hunts the monsters that roam what is left of the Navajo lands, now known as the Dinétah, after a climate apocalypse.  But it’s not just monsters that wander the earth, so do gods and beings with power.

Drug out of self-imposed seclusion to help rescue a child who was taken by a monster, Maggie  finds more than just a simple case of search and rescue. Seeking out help from her dear friend and local Medicine Man Grandpa Tah, leads to the discovery of deadly witchcraft and a new partner, his grandson Kai Arviso.  Together, they work to find the one responsible for the deadly monsters and confront Maggie’s past in order to survive.

Maybe.  No promises on that one.

This is an amazing book.  Maggie is tough and impressive even without her clan powers-but the clan powers are amazing.  The balance of old myths and legends blending with post apocalyptic droughts and magic is just perfect.  I don’t want to live in that world-Hell. No. But I want to read all of it. Coyote the Trickster is here creating chaos.  There is a magical/mystical dance hall that shows up in the desert on it’s own schedule and is a popular place for all special beings.  Kai puts some silver paint on Maggie’s eyes which allows her to see what everyone looks like without their illusions-I would love to see that on screen or in a graphic novel version.  It’s an amazing part of the book. Many of the people have some animal characteristics-like the Feather People have feathers and the Big Deer People have huge antlers on their heads. The club itself is like the Tardis where space seems to change to fit what is inside and going underground still gives you a view of the sky.  

Maggie has a lot to overcome throughout the book.  Not just the horrible attack that awakens her powers and takes away her family, but also being apprenticed by a demigod during some very formative years and her whole identity being questioned then later on in life.  There are also a lot of relationships that shift and change and with all of her trust issues, it’s a rough ride.

I really enjoyed this book.  Luckily, there is a sneak peek at Book #2 in the back so there will be more.  

Trail of Lightning, by Rebecca Roanhorse is available now.

You can get your copy, and help support the site, here:

*Side note:  We're re-watching the entire Buffy the Vampire Slayer series and wow is that problematic!*

New Releases for June 30, 2020

Happy Tuesday!

We made it to a new week so let’s celebrate with new books! There are some pretty spectacular titles out this week. My favorite is Mexican Gothic-grab this one up if you like dark, damp, Gothic thrillers. It was amazing. There’s new romance from Sarah MacLean and Joanna Shupe as well as a wealth of other books. Click on the covers for more information about the title and ordering options.

Happy Reading!

For the Kids:

For Non-Kids:

Clicking on the covers will take you to IndieBound.org where I earn from qualifying purchases. Remember to pass on titles you want to your local Library-we love to hear what you want to read!

Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass

Available Now

I found this book while scrolling through Twitter and I’m not going to lie, an author who not only includes a cover, description, and a buy link will almost always get my money. This was a smoking good deal, and one I wasn’t going to pass up. I’ve been in the mood for a good magical adventure full of secret organizations, demigods, and some serious smooching.

Kira Solomon has been a part of Gilead ever since a childhood tragedy left her orphaned. Unable to touch anyone without draining off their life force, Kira uses her extrasense gifts to fight the Shadow and help preserve the balance between Light and Shadow as a Shadowchaser. A highly trained and deadly fighter, Kira spends her days as an antiquities specialist, cataloging and preserving magical artifacts. When a close friend and business associate suddenly dies, Kira knows the ancient dagger they had recently discussed is at the heart of her friend’s killing.

Khefar, a four thousand year-old immortal warrior is the owner of the mysterious dagger and desperately wants it back. Khefar has been cursed to wander the mortal world until he saves the lives of enough mortals to allow him to finally rest with his family in the Field of Reeds. Discovering he has to save the life of Kira really throws him. She’s more likely to kill him than listen to him and with her life constantly in danger, it makes his job of protecting her extremely difficult.

But work together they do because a deadly Avatar is determined to possess the dagger and allow Chaos to take over the world.

I loved this book! The writing is fantastic with that perfect blend of character development and action-filled fight scenes. The best part, it includes my all-time favorite trope: He’s the only one she can touch! Only him! She can’t touch anyone without draining the literal life out of them, except for Khefar. It’s done so well. So well. I really loved the world Seressia Glass creates with the different demons and enemies, but it all set in modern day Atlanta. I’m a sucker for mystical artifacts, especially when they take the form of a four thousand year-old immortal. And a magic dagger, that was cool too. Anansi makes an appearance as Khefar’s sidekick/guide and his strategically told stories play an important part in the mission.

This is the first in a series, so if you loved it as much as I did, there’s more! I also picked up her book Seducing the Jackal that was published as a Harlequin Nocturne title and it was really good. I love shifters and this had both shifters and a witch. And more ancient Egypt. I’ll tell you more about that one later.

Want a copy for yourself? You can get one here:

More from Seressia Glass:

Full disclosure: The links to IndieBound didn’t provide a direct ordering option, and it seemed weird to send you there for these. They are readily available from Amazon and the Harlequin titles can be purchased directly through Harlequin as ebooks for only $2.99. When you purchase through the links, I earn from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. Ordering from Harlequin just makes me happy that you bought a new book!

Seven Lies by Elizabeth Kay

Available Now

This is a gripping and chilling novel that was so engrossing I finished it one sitting. Elizabeth Kay weaves a story so tense you can’t put the down for fear of restarting the book in a dark place. Told through the eyes of Jane, we learn how she and her best friend Marnie become the very best of friends and grow to have a friendship found only in story books. From a childhood spent so close their own teachers mixed up their names to sharing their first apartment together, Jane and Marnie were inseparable. But all of that changed when Marnie married Charlie, a man that Jane instantly despised. You can’t tell your best friend that her husband is a boring, demeaning, jerk of a man. Instead, you lie and tell you her he’s fantastic. When those lies begin to add up, Jane finds herself in a position found only in her worst nightmares.

As Jane tells her story, whose identity we only learn at the very end, we learn how their friendship became so close. We learn how Jane’s childhood was far from idyllic, and how Marnie’s childhood was equally troubled. It’s through Jane’s memories that we see the incredibly slow build-up to obsession, one lie at a time. Throughout all of this, Jane remains a sympathetic character, and that is almost the more terrifying than the reasons behind her lies.

If you’re into dark, twisty thrillers, this is perfect for you. Jane tells her entire story to an unknown listener and I couldn’t wait to find out their identity. I nearly through it out the window at about 97% so be prepared-the ending is rough, but readable. I really enjoyed the London setting and the descriptions of the dinners that Marnie and Jane share. In many of these psychological thrillers, it’s pretty obvious from the beginning that our narrator is going to be unreliable and troubled. Jane truly gives off the vibe of devoted friend who only becomes more unstable after a series of extremely tragic events.

If you’d like a copy for yourself, you can grab one here:

This another amazing debut so unfortunately, we’ll have to wait for the next book from Elizabeth Kay.

Books similar to this:

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions are my own.

Post includes affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.

New Releases for June 23, 2020

Happy Tuesday!

It’s new book day! This week is slightly slower than usual but have no fear! There are plenty of new choices to pick from. Click on each cover for more information.

For Kids:

For the Grown-ups:

These are affiliate links, they will send you to IndieBound.org. I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Girl in the Witch's Garden by Erin Bowman

Available June 23, 2020

This book does have some discussions of parent illness and death, divorce, and the mother is magically spelled to be mean to children.

This book is absolutely delightful.

When her father becomes too ill to care for her, 12 year old Piper is sent to live with the mother who left her when she was only four. Hurt to find her absent mother has been fostering children, Piper is even more shocked when the children begin speaking of spells and magical gardens. Highly skeptical, Piper is convinced the children are playing a joke on her. But after meeting her mother for the first time in years, she learns her mother not only comes for a long line of witches, but is cold and dismissive of Piper when she learns Piper doesn’t have an affinity for magic.

Hurt, scared, and frustrated that she can’t communicate with her father, Piper spends her days bitter towards her new foster siblings and exhausted by their long list of chores. When Piper joins the children in their search for the secret, and magical, entrance to the dead gardens, she discovers that there is more to the story than she has been led to believe.

Full of mystery and action, The Girl and the Witch’s Garden is a beautiful story of family, friendship, and finding our inner strength.

I really enjoyed this middle grade fantasy novel. Piper is such a complex character that many children will relate to. She has grown up feeling abandoned by her mother and now has a dad with cancer and his treatments aren’t working. Her feelings of abandonment are intensified when she discovers her mother left not only for work, but begins fostering children. Not once has she tried to have a relationship with Piper but she wants one with other children? Piper has so much to deal with in this story and yet still remains strong and determined to make it to the end of the summer and see her father again. When she finds that she does have magical ability, Piper doesn’t use it just for herself, but to help out the children her mother has promised adoption to only if they can give her the secret to the gardens. Piper doesn’t want the other children chosen over her, but she also wants them to have a home.

The magic system is really well done with each child having their own affinity, or special ability. There is a creepy cat that always appears to be spying on the children-cats are creepy so I love that it was a cat. The children have to solve clues and find keys to unlock various parts of the secret garden mystery and it’s all very action packed and full of self discovery.

Sound like something you want to read? Want your own copy? You can get one here:

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.