Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #287: Gravemaidens by Kelly Coon

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event which had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings.

From Goodreads:

The start of a fierce fantasy duology about three maidens who are chosen for their land's greatest honor...and one girl determined to save her sister from the grave. 

In the walled city-state of Alu, Kammani wants nothing more than to become the accomplished healer her father used to be before her family was cast out of their privileged life in shame. 

When Alu's ruler falls deathly ill, Kammani’s beautiful little sister, Nanaea, is chosen as one of three sacred maidens to join him in the afterlife. It’s an honor. A tradition. And Nanaea believes it is her chance to live an even grander life than the one that was stolen from her. 

But Kammani sees the selection for what it really is—a death sentence.

Desperate to save her sister, Kammani schemes her way into the palace to heal the ruler. There she discovers more danger lurking in the sand-stone corridors than she could have ever imagined and that her own life—and heart—are at stake. But Kammani will stop at nothing to dig up the palace’s buried secrets even if it means sacrificing everything…including herself.

Gravemaidens by Kelly Coon is due out October 29th, 2019 from Delacorte Press.

Why am I waiting on this one? I like the idea that she aims to save her sister by healing the ruler. I think it's interesting that it doesn't seem like her sister feels the need to be saved. I would go along with Kammani's thinking on the situation though. I look forward to reading about the intrigue and hope she can save her sister.

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Review: Bitter Brew by G.A. McKevett

While this is the 24th book in the Savannah Reid mystery series, there is enough information given so that you can enjoy the book without having read prior books in the series. No doubt though, your experience would be richer if you are already familiar with the characters from previous books.

In this book, Savannah is approached one stormy night by Dr. Jennifer Liu, the coroner, who confesses a terrible thing. She may have inadvertently covered up a murder. She thought she was covering up a suicide as a promise to her terminally ill friend, but when the same cocktail of chemicals in the exact same amounts appears in a second body, she is forced to conclude that something fishy might be going on.

At first, Savannah investigates on her own. Then her Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency gets involved as they investigate the connection between Brianne and the other man who died. They are hoping to find out who did it before the killer strikes again.

This is the first time I've run across a killer whose victims are the terminally ill. Along with the main mystery, there are a couple of mysteries involving interpersonal relationships. These help to flesh out the characters more.

I had a little trouble getting into the book at the very beginning as the author outlined the gift giving trouble between Savannah and her husband Dirk. Honestly, it made him sound very unlikeable. And more, it made it sound like she didn't like him much. It becomes evident as the book goes on that this is not the case.

The book moves along at a good pace. I found myself wanting to know what happened next and what the resolution to the mysteries would be.

Overall, I gave this mystery 4 out of 5 stars. It's well-written, moves along at a good pace, and has interesting mysteries. The only really slow part for me was the part about the gift giving. I think it was included to add depth to the characters, and for that it works.

Bitter Brew by G.A. McKevett was published April 30th, 2019 by Kensington.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This has not influenced my review. All opinions herein are my own and freely given.

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #286: What Rose Forgot by Nevada Barr

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event which had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings.

From Goodreads:

In New York Times bestselling author Nevada Barr's gripping standalone, a grandmother in her sixties emerges from a mental fog to find she's trapped in her worst nightmare
Rose Dennis wakes up in a hospital gown, her brain in a fog, only to discover that she's been committed to an Alzheimer's Unit in a nursing home. With no memory of how she ended up in this position, Rose is sure that something is very wrong. When she overhears one of the administrators saying about her that she's "not making it through the week," Rose is convinced that if she's to survive, she has to get out of the nursing home. She avoids taking her medication, putting on a show for the aides, then stages her escape.

The only problem is—how does she convince anyone that she's not actually demented? Her relatives were the ones to commit her, all the legal papers were drawn up, the authorities are on the side of the nursing home, and even she isn't sure she sounds completely sane. But any lingering doubt Rose herself might have had is erased when a would-be killer shows up in her house in the middle of the night. Now Rose knows that someone is determined to get rid of her. 

With the help of her computer hacker/recluse sister Marion, thirteen-year-old granddaughter Mel, and Mel's friend Royal, Rose begins to gather her strength and fight back—to find out who is after her and take back control of her own life. But someone out there is still determined to kill Rose, and they're holding all the cards.

The expected publication date for What Rose Forgot by Nevada Barr is September 17th, 2019 from Minotaur Books.

Why am I waiting on this one? This sounds nightmarish. I want to know how she got into this fix and how it will be resolved. I haven't started reading it yet and already I'm rooting for Rose.

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Becoming Dr. Seuss by Brian Jay Jones

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

He was, however, still intrigued by the idea of writing and illustrating children's books. "I'd like to say I got into children's books because I had a burning passion, a great message to bring to the youth of the world," Geisel said later, "but it was because I was going nuts." (19% through on my Kindle)

Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination by Brian Jay Jones was released May 7th, 2019 by Dutton.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #285: Heartwood Box by Ann Aguirre

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event which had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings.

From Goodreads:

A dark, romantic YA suspense novel with an SF edge and plenty of drama, layering the secrets we keep and how appearances can deceive, from the New York Times bestselling author.

In this tiny, terrifying town, the lost are never found. When Araceli Flores Harper is sent to live with her great-aunt Ottilie in her ramshackle Victorian home, the plan is simple. She'll buckle down and get ready for college. Life won't be exciting, but she'll cope, right?

Wrong. From the start, things are very, very wrong. Her great-aunt still leaves food for the husband who went missing twenty years ago, and local businesses are plastered with MISSING posters. There are unexplained lights in the woods and a mysterious lab just beyond the city limits that the locals don't talk about. Ever. When she starts receiving mysterious letters that seem to be coming from the past, she suspects someone of pranking her or trying to drive her out of her mind. To solve these riddles and bring the lost home again, Araceli must delve into a truly diabolical conspiracy, but some secrets fight to stay buried...

Heartwood Box by Ann Aguirre is due to be published July 9th, 2019 from Tor Teen.

Why am I waiting on this one? This one sounds different to me. Sure, there's a young girl being sent to her aunt, but it's the town that's really weird. There are so many missing people, including her uncle from 20 years before. Why haven't at least some of them been found? What's going on here? How is she going to solve the mystery and not become one of the missing herself?

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"I could dial directory assistance, call the house, warn her. I won't. Watching is like nature photography: You don't interfere with the wildlife." (2% through on my Kindle)

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn was published January 2nd. 2018 by William Morrow.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #284: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event which had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings.

From Goodreads:

In the early 1900s, a young woman searches for her place in the world and the mystery behind a magical door in this captivating debut.

In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.

Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure, and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world, and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own. 

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow is expected to be published September 10th, 2019 by Orbit.

Why am I waiting on this one? I like the sound of the many doors leading to "love, adventure, and danger." I like that the book she finds seems to be "a story increasingly entwined with her own." I'm looking forward to seeing how the doors play out and how her finding them affects her reality. And I love the cover.

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Blood Rites by Jim Butcher

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Over the course of many encounters and many years, I have successfully developed a standard operating procedure for dealing with big, nasty monsters. Run away. Me and Monty Python."  (Chapter One Blood Rites location 24475 on my Kindle)

Blood Rites is book 6 in the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. This particular edition contains the first 6 books and was available through my county's library. Blood Rites was originally published in 2004 by Roc. The collection was published in 2006.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #283: Fatal Cajun Festival by Ellen Byron

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event which had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings.

From Goodreads:

USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Ellen Byron cranks it up to eleven in the fifth fast and funny Cajun Country mystery.

Louisiana B&B owner Maggie Crozat kicks up her heels at a country music festival--but she'll have one foot in the grave if she can't bring the killer of a diva's hanger-on to heel. 

Grab your tickets for Cajun Country Live!, the pickers' and crooners' answer to the legendary New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Maggie Crozat, proprietor of the Crozat Plantation B&B, plans to be in the cheering section when her friend Gaynell Bourgeois takes the stage with her band, Gaynell and the Gator Girls.

The festival's headliner, native daughter Tammy Barker, rocketed to stardom on a TV singing competition. She has the voice of an angel...and the personality of a devilish diva. But Maggie learns that this tiny terror carries a grudge against Gaynell. She's already sabotaged the Gator Girls' JazzFest audition. When a member of Tammy's entourage is murdered at the festival, Maggie makes sure Gaynell is number one on the suspect list.

Gaynell has plenty of company on that list--including every one of Tammy's musicians. Posing as a groupie, Maggie infiltrates Tammy's band and will have to hit all the right notes to clear her friend's name.

Fatal Cajun Festival by Ellen Byron is expected to be released September 10th, 2019 from Crooked Lane Books.

Why am I waiting on this one? I like a good mystery that blends in humor. This sounds like it will be one of  those as it's billed as "fast and funny." Ellen Byron won a couple of Left Coast Crime Lefty awards for best humorous mystery. And she has been nominated for Agatha awards as well. I've read one other book by her and I enjoyed the blend of culture, humor, interesting characters, and mystery. I look forward to more of the same.

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!