Teaser Tuesday: Secrets and Stilettos by Gina LaManna

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 tried to warn you," Cooper said, climbing down and helping me to my feet. "Can I get you a sweatshirt? Hot chocolate?"

"N-no," I said shivering. "Just find the murderer before these shoes kill me, will you? I don't want to be laid out at Franny's Funeral Parlor in handcuffs. My mother would die." (20% through on my Kindle)

Secrets and Stilettos by Gina LaManna was published on January 10th, 2020 by LaManna Books. It's book one in the Murder in Style series.

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 #321: The Hollow Gods by A.J. Vrana

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

From Goodreads:

A perfect story for contemporary fantasy readers who love their narratives razor-sharp and their secrets dark and deadly.

Black Hollow is a town with a dark secret.

For centuries, residents have foretold the return of the Dreamwalker—an ominous figure from local folklore said to lure young women into the woods and possess them. Yet the boundary between fact and fable is blurred by a troubling statistic: occasionally, women do go missing. And after they return, they almost always end up dead.

When Kai wakes up next to the lifeless body of a recently missing girl, his memory blank, he struggles to clear his already threadbare conscience.

Miya, a floundering university student, experiences signs that she may be the Dreamwalker’s next victim. Can she trust Kai as their paths collide, or does he herald her demise?

And after losing a young patient, crestfallen oncologist, Mason, embarks on a quest to debunk the town’s superstitions, only to find his sanity tested.

A maelstrom of ancient grudges, forgotten traumas, and deadly secrets loom in the foggy forests of Black Hollow. Can three unlikely heroes put aside their fears and unite to confront a centuries-old evil? Will they uncover the truth behind the fable, or will the cycle repeat?

The Hollow Gods by A.J. Vrana is book one in the Chaos Cycle Duology. It's expected out July 28th, 2020 from The Parliament House Press.

Why am I waiting on this one? I like urban fantasy. This sounds like it will be a good title in that genre - current times mixed with folklore. I like the suspense. It does sound a little dark, but I want to know, will they beat it or will the cycle repeat itself? I'm really curious to see what happens and how it happens. 

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!

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #320: Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne

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

From Goodreads:

New York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne returns to the world of his beloved Iron Druid Chronicles in a spin-off series about an eccentric master of rare magic solving an uncanny mystery in Scotland.

Al MacBharrais is both blessed and cursed. He is blessed with an extraordinary white mustache, an appreciation for craft cocktails--and a most unique magical talent. He can cast spells with magically enchanted ink and he uses his gifts to protect our world from rogue minions of various pantheons, especially the Fae.

But he is also cursed. Anyone who hears his voice will begin to feel an inexplicable hatred for Al, so he can only communicate through the written word or speech apps. And his apprentices keep dying in peculiar freak accidents. As his personal life crumbles around him, he devotes his life to his work, all the while trying to crack the secret of his curse.

But when his latest apprentice, Gordie, turns up dead in his Glasgow flat, Al discovers evidence that Gordie was living a secret life of crime. Now Al is forced to play detective--while avoiding actual detectives who are wondering why death seems to always follow Al. Investigating his apprentice's death will take him through Scotland's magical underworld, and he'll need the help of a mischievous hobgoblin if he's to survive.

Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne is expected out August 25th, 2020 from Del Rey.

Why am I waiting on this one? I've been wanting to read something by this author. He comes highly recommended to me. I like urban fantasy and this sounds like it will be some version of it. And I like the idea of being able to do magic with enchanted ink. Plus, it's the first book in a new series - seems like a good place to start.

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: Winter Crime by Alex A. King

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!

Winter wind in Greece was a pack of rabid Chihuahuas. Every time I turned my head to vampire-sneeze into my elbow, the salty wind growled and sank its teeth into my face. (4% in  on my Kindle)

Winter Crime by Alex A. King is the latest in the Kat Makris Greek Mafia Series. It was published March 12th, 2020. 

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 #319: The Age of Witches by Louisa Morgan

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

From Goodreads:

In Gilded Age New York, a centuries-long clash between two magical families ignites when a young witch must choose between love and loyalty, power and ambition, in this magical novel by Louisa Morgan.

In 1692, Bridget Bishop was hanged as a witch. Two hundred years later, her legacy lives on in the scions of two very different lines: one dedicated to using their powers to heal and help women in need; the other, determined to grasp power for themselves by whatever means necessary.

This clash will play out in the fate of Annis, a young woman in Gilded Age New York who finds herself a pawn in the family struggle for supremacy. She'll need to claim her own power to save herself-and resist succumbing to the darkness that threatens to overcome them all.

The Age of Witches by Louisa Morgan is expected to be published April 7th, 2020 by Redhook.

Why am I waiting on this one? I'm a big fan of witch books. And I want to see how this one plays out. Plus I find the setting time-wise to be interesting.

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: Royal Ghouls by Alex A. King

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!

Betty Honeychurch is ageless. Skin infant-smooth. Eyes that say she's been seeing everything there is to see since before the dinosaurs glimpsed the meteor headed right for them and said, "Is it a bird? Is it a plane? We don't know. Oh Shit!" (p. 37)

Royal Ghouls by Alex A. King was published December 5th, 2017 by Citizen A Press. This is the second book in the Greek Ghouls Mystery series.

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!

Review: Murder Off the Page by Con Lehane

Raymond Ambler works as the curator of the 42nd Street Library's Crime Fiction Collection. He's also become a bit of an amateur sleuth.

One night after work, he and Adele (a fellow librarian) go to a nearby bar. They observe a woman being somewhat flirty then arguing with a group of men. The bartender, McNulty, gets her away from them and later walks her back to her hotel room.

A man is shot in her hotel room McNulty asks Ambler to look into some of the men in her journal as possible suspects. Ambler gives the list to his cop friend, Mike Cosgrove, but investigates on his own as well.

Not long afterward Shannon Darling aka Sandra Dean is shot in her hotel room and McNulty is the prime suspect. The more Ambler looks into it, the more it looks like McNulty would be the best possible suspect.

And the more Ambler looks into it, he begins to wonder if someone killed Sandra Dean or her alternate persona of Shannon. Sandra Dean was a successful dermatologist. Shannon went on trips to NYC and slept around when she wasn't looking into her mother's novels and work in the crime fiction collection.

Ambler, Adele, and their detective friend, Mike Cosgrove, all investigate. Ambler and Adele hope to find proof that McNulty is innocent. Cosgrove thinks that would be nice but is really just into solving the crimes and arresting the guilty party.

There are at least 2 subplots. One about the attraction between Adele and Ray Ambler. The other one is about Ray's grandson and Ray's son.

Overall I give the book 4 out of 5 stars. It's well written. The mysteries are interesting. I just have a bit of trouble with Ray's awkwardness at times, have a little trouble connecting with him. Sometimes I find it hard to like him. I like Adele better.

Murder Off the Page by Con Lehane was published November 19th, 2019 by Minotaur Books.

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

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #318: Death by Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and Broken Hearts by Kathryn Harkup

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

From Goodreads:

An in-depth look at the science behind the creative methods Shakespeare used to kill off his characters.

In Death By Shakespeare, Kathryn Harkup, best-selling author of A is for Arsenic and expert on the more gruesome side of science, turns her expertise to Shakespeare and the creative methods he used to kill off his characters. Is death by snakebite really as serene as Cleopatra made it seem? How did Juliet appear dead for 72 hours only to be revived in perfect health? Can you really kill someone by pouring poison in their ear? How long would it take before Lady Macbeth died from lack of sleep? Readers will find out exactly how all the iconic death scenes that have thrilled audiences for centuries would play out in real life.

In the Bard's day death was a part of everyday life. Plague, pestilence and public executions were a common occurrence, and the chances of seeing a dead or dying body on the way home from the theater was a fairly likely scenario. Death is one of the major themes that reoccur constantly throughout Shakespeare's canon, and he certainly didn't shy away from portraying the bloody reality of death on the stage. He didn't have to invent gruesome or novel ways to kill off his characters when everyday experience provided plenty of inspiration.

Shakespeare's era was also a time of huge scientific advance. The human body, its construction and how it was affected by disease came under scrutiny, overturning more than a thousand years of received Greek wisdom, and Shakespeare himself hinted at these new scientific discoveries and medical advances in his writing, such as circulation of the blood and treatments for syphilis.

Shakespeare found 74 different ways to kill off his characters, and audiences today still enjoy the same reactions--shock, sadness, fear--that they did over 400 years ago when these plays were first performed. But how realistic are these deaths, and did Shakespeare have the science to back them up?

Death by Shakespeare by Kathryn Harkup is expected to be released May 5th, 2020 by Bloomsbury SIGMA.

Why am I waiting on this one? I don't read a lot of nonfiction each year, but this one intrigues me. I'm thinking if you like mysteries and you like Shakespeare, then this could be a good pick. I'm curious about some of the deaths such as, could pouring poison in someone's ear really kill them. I haven't read anything else by this author yet, but it looks promising. I'm hoping it's written in an interesting and easy to read manner. Have you read this author's other book? Did you enjoy it?

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: Stayin' Alive by Julie Mulhern

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!

Mother did not approve of my relationship with a homicide detective. To her mind, the only way of thinking, he was totally-inappropriate-in-every-way-that-counted bad for me. Her exact words upon learning Anarchy was my escort to the gala--have you lost your ever-loving mind? (p. 3)

Stayin' Alive by Julie Mulhern was published February 25th, 2020 by J & M Press. It's the tenth book in the Country Club Murder series.

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!