Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig

Available September, 26, 2023

He did it again! Chuck Wendig has gifted us all with another terrifying, enthralling, and completely irresistible novel. This time, instead of causing an irrational fear of groups of people walking down a street, Wendig has instilled in me an irrational fear of apples and their glorious homes, apple orchards. I currently have six apple trees on my property, just one tree shy of the notorious Ruby Slipper apple tree from Paxson Family Orchards, and after reading this book, I can’t look at them the same way. I just can’t.

From the Publisher:

It’s autumn in the town of Harrow, but something besides the season is changing there.

Because in that town there is an orchard, and in that orchard, seven most unusual trees. And from those trees grows a new sort of apple: strange, beautiful, with skin so red it’s nearly black.

Take a bite of one of these apples, and you will desire only to devour another. And another. You will become stronger. More vital. More yourself, you will believe. But then your appetite for the apples and their peculiar gifts will keep growing—and become darker.

This is what happens when the townsfolk discover the secret of the orchard. Soon it seems that everyone is consumed by an obsession with the magic of the apples . . . and what’s the harm, if it is making them all happier, more confident, more powerful?

Even if something else is buried in the orchard besides the seeds of these extraordinary trees: a bloody history whose roots reach back to the very origins of the town.

But now the leaves are falling. The days grow darker. It’s harvest time, and the town will soon reap what it has sown.

This book has everything. It has small town drama, teen angst, a mysterious magical element, creepy woods, diverse characters, and all set over a frighteningly realistic timeline. In our story, we follow Calla Paxson, high school senior who is willing to do anything to get her and her boyfriend Marco out of her small town. Her father, Dan Paxson, carries a grudge against all the townspeople who helped steal his father’s farm and push him towards an untimely death. Emily and her wife Meg have moved from the big city to start over in the small town of Doyle’s Tavern only to let the Unspoken Thing fester between them. Joanie Moreau grew up the tough chick from the wrong side of town, only to come back to a wealthy and confident businesswoman. Lastly, John Compass, military veteran turned apple hunter, who is on a mission to find his former best friend.

And what ties all of these characters together? The Ruby Slipper Apple. An apple so dark red it’s almost black. An apple that makes you feel like you can conquer anything. An apple with power. The paranormal elements are brilliantly interwoven with the real world, small town drama that our poor characters are caught up in. I found myself completely invested in their survival and was so stressed out, in a very good way, I read this in just two days. I HAD TO KNOW how this book ended.

I thoroughly enjoyed how the history of the apple was woven into the story. It added a richness to the setting and a real depth to the characters without feeling like you were in a history lesson.

Black River Orchard is a compelling and terrifying novel full of dark humor and enthralling horror. I can’t wait to see what Wendig brings us next!

If you would like to add this amazing novel to your shelf, you can click on the cover above or here for ordering information.

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

Romance Quickie: The Rivals of Casper Road by Roan Parrish

Available now

This covers says it all!

It’s a Halloween Romance!!! I know that was Monday but I just got my hands on this one. Reader Friends, this one is so sweet and cute I just can’t stand it! Bram is a nature loving, dog loving, motorcycle riding rugged snack who has moved to Garnet Run to heal his broken heart after a horrible break up. Across the street is a grumpy, straight laced, no-nonsense architect who wants things done Just So named Zachary. Bram is also scared of all things spooky and Zachary is obsessed with horror films. They also happen to live on a street that has a notoriously competitive Halloween decorating contest.

Prank wars!

Small town!

A tight-knit queer community!

It’s so soft and sweet and funny and I loved it so much. SO much! Go grab it before it’s gone in print or pick it up in digital-it’s also at my Library so it’s probably at yours.

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

Bright Like Wildfire by Juliette Cross

Happy Book Birthday to Bright Like Wildfire!

I fell in love with Juliette Cross’s writing after getting my hands on Wolf Gone Wild and eagerly dove into the rest of the Stay a Spell series. Bright Like Wildfire is her first contemporary I’ve read and boy did I love this book! Not only do we get a small town romance, we get an enemies to lovers romance where a glitter booby bomb created a decade long grudge.

Glitter. Booby. Bomb.

Bennett has no idea why Betty Mouton hates him.

Other than the time he accidentally hit her boobs with a glitter bomb in their community theater performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” he’s been nothing but helpful and accommodating. But that notorious “incident” happened nine years ago. Time for the gorgeous redhead to get over it and admit to the real chemistry between them, not just the on-stage kind.

Betty is in trouble.

She may have gotten her dream role in a production by her favorite playwright, but there’s a big problem. Her romantic lead is that cocky, annoyingly hot know-it-all Bennett Broussard. And when the fake touching and fake kissing start to feel way too real, Betty realizes one thing. She better act her heart out or finally admit that Bennett has stolen hers.

This book was pure fun! Betty is a high school English teacher who loves her students and loves performing on stage. Bennett is a natural when it comes to theater and wants to prove his business skills by opening his own high-end grocery store and leaving the family business. Betty and Bennett have incredible chemistry together and are absolutely electric in the bedroom. If you’ve read anything by Cross, you know Bennett is going to be an exceptionally good dirty talker and trust me, he has top notch skills. It was really fun to read a grumpy-sunshine where the female MC was the grump. Betty knows she can be prickly and is dealing with her issues through snark and sass. Bennett was a bit of a delightful surprise with his jealousy and possessiveness over Betty’s attentions but balanced it all out with his superior charm and banter skills. Very, very good banter.

And the goat! There is a charming little goat friend who ends up wreaking all kinds of silliness on Betty and her new home.

This book is equal parts sweet, smart, sultry, and satisfying! I thoroughly enjoyed reading and it and can’t wait to see what you all have to think about it!

Thank you so much to Juliette Cross for allowing me to be a part of her ARC team and for the advanced copy of this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

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

Release Day! Off the Grid by J.S. Wood

I am so excited to share this hilarious and steamy small-town romance with all of you! Off the Grid is an absolute delight and I had so much fun reading it!

Quinn Green has packed up herself and her daughter to go live in the mountains of Colorado.

While she's excited for this adventure for them, she isn't expecting it to be so much work. Or to have to call on help so soon.

Graham Trevors is an army veteran who now makes his living fixing other peoples problems, house problems that is. Traveling around as a handyman in a small farm town isn't all that exciting, until he gets an inquiry from someone new.

The moment Graham meets Quinn Green is the moment his life changes forever. Through fun times and rough times, these two grow closer as the months pass, then, when one oversteps, the other backs away.

But they won't let that stop them from a happily ever after... right?

Off The Grid is Book 1 in the Average Gents series and is an interconnected standalone. Always a happily ever after.

Purchase Links

Amazon ➜ mybook.to/OffTheGrid

Apple ➜ https://apple.co/3uofBiA

Nook ➜ https://bit.ly/3ulvmHh

Kobo ➜ https://bit.ly/34KqikM

Book: Off the Grid

Author: J.S. Wood

Release Date: March 17, 2022

The Magic of Discovery by Britt Andrews

Available Now

Reader friends, if you’ve been here before, you know that there is a list of tropes that will definitely get me to pick up a book:

• Witches

• Witches who own a magical shop with a cute name

• Small town filled with interesting characters

• Nosy older neighbors who have magical abilities-big plus if they’re oracles

• A furry sidekick

• A hot steamy romance between the witch and mysterious newcomers

When I discovered all of these are found within the Emerald Lakes series from Britt Andrews, I had to pick it up. Now, full disclosure: while I had seen these on KU and was very interested in reading them, the entire series was sent to me by the editor (Thanks Polly!) in the most delightful way. Friends, it was literal pigs who brought together me and The Mystical Piglet. No joke.

Saige, a 20-something green witch, is the owner of The Mystical Piglet, aka The Pig, an occult shop in the small idyllic town of Emerald Lakes. Her quiet days of gardening, hanging out with friends, and spending time with her eccentric grandmother are thrown upside down with the arrival of a group of business consultants checking out the local real estate listings. But of course they’re not actual business consultants. They are secret agents that work for a secret magical corporation and are searching for a woman with ties to the company. What they don’t intend to find, is the beautiful and sassy Saige who is both their landlord and the woman of their dreams. All of their dreams.

As the four mages carry out their investigation, they also begin to investigate their feelings for Saige. As the group spends more time together, they all realize that they are quickly falling into a polyamorous relationship. Saige is such a lucky witch. But it’s not all roses and orgasms. There’s a prophecy that seems to have Saige at the center, her magic is changing in unexpected and devastating ways, and the mages are still keeping their reasons for being in Emerald Lakes a secret. The Magic of Discovery is the first book in a five book completed series so get ready for a wild ride!

This is a really fun series! Emerald Lakes is a quaint and quirky place where everyone knows everyone and secrets are pretty hard to keep, so it makes for an interesting backdrop for the incredibly hot relationship Saige is having with these four mages. You would think this would be gossip city but they’re all so hot for each other it just isn’t an issue. The dynamic between the five is also very interesting. Everyone has a unique set of powers and gifts and the men have worked together for long enough that they are a tightly bonded group. They all want to see each other happy, even if that means dating the same woman. Even the guys that have a sexual relationship together are on board with being with Saige and being part of the larger relationship. The way they all fall into a relationship together happens naturally and with the smallest amount of drama. And the steam! The steam is off the charts and over the top but it fits perfectly with the characters who take everything to the next level. This is seriously hot so keep some water on hand to stay hydrated.

Saige and her grandmother have a really fun and quirky relationship and granny is one horny lady! Their dynamic is even more fun once the men become more involved and Gran doesn’t hold anything back when it comes to them. Nothing. The lady has no filter.

This does end on a cliff hanger but I’ll give the smallest of spoilers-

Ready?

It’s going to end with Saige finding happiness with her guys but they have a bigger journey to go on so don’t stop after book 1. It’s worth it! Especially since the entire series is in KU so you can fly through them. I just finished book 3 and it’s just getting hotter and wilder!

If you would like to add this series to your shelf, you can find ordering information here:

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

Cackle by Rachel Harrison

Available Now

Reader Friends, this book is delightful. Now, if like my husband, you think spiders are murderous little monsters intent on eliminating all humankind, you may not find this as delightful as there are A LOT of spiders in this book. But I loved it and flew through it the other night.

Annie has been dumped by her long time boyfriend Sam and is now on her own for the first time in nearly a decade. Breaking up with Sam also means leaving New York City for a new town, new job, and new apartment. Devastated by the break-up, Annie spends her time obsessed with reading old text exchanges from Sam and scrolling through old photos while wine drunk on her couch. As if that wasn’t enough, her new job is plagued with clique-y coworkers, unruly students, and a nosy boss. It’s an all-around crap-tastic situation.

But then Annie meets Sophie. A beautiful, interesting, intriguing woman who lives alone in a mansion in the woods. The more time they spend together, the more Annie realizes that the people in the small village of Rowan seem genuinely afraid of Sophie. She rarely pays for anything in the stores and diners and the townspeople seem very nervous around her. But Annie is enthralled by Sophie’s grace and independent lifestyle. As the two become closer, little things start to make Annie uneasy about their budding friendship. The more Sophie pushes Annie to stop apologizing and live her life as she please, the more Annie realizes that there is a cost to that kind of living.

This was so good! Harrison did such a great job building the tension between Sophie and the people of Rowan. So many of the interactions felt just that littlest bit off from normal so it was easy to brush it all off as people just not liking her, or the complete opposite, like they had such respect for her that they couldn’t possibly do anything that would insult her. Also, Annie isn’t used to small town living and can’t tell if it’s just how the villagers are with each other or if there is something bigger going on. Annie’s break up with Sam runs really close to the line of obsession and threatens to become all consuming which definitely clouds her judgement when it comes to Sophie. There were quite a few times that I was definitely on Team Sophie and wanted to Annie to just get over him and move on but I also understand how hard it was for her to completely sever that tie. Cackle also shows how hard it is to make new friends as an adult and the struggles that come along with moving to a new town where you don’t know a single person.

Not going to lie, I would move into Sophie’s woodland mansion in a heartbeat. I loved how Annie had to travel through the woods, past a run-down, abandoned hut, and a graveyard to get there. Knowing there was no direct route to Sophie’s made it feel very eerie, but also quite magical. And this house was magical. Enormous, with a grand ballroom and many guest rooms, Sophie’s mansion was as run-down as it was expansive. I loved how it was covered in dust and cobwebs but still full of crystal chandeliers and an indoor swimming pool. How do you pass up an indoor swimming pool?

And possibly full of ghosts? Possibly.

This was a delightfully spooky and eerie tale that was full of surprises. It’s definitely on the lighter side if you’ve spent the past month immersed in all things horror, this may be a great book to lighten things up a bit. This would be a great choice for those that love watching characters grown and change throughout a story. Annie’s life and attitude changes dramatically in really interesting and compelling ways.

If you would love to add this charming and chilling book to your shelf, you can find ordering information here:

This post contains affiliate links, such as Amazon, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.