Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #343: The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

 

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 murder on the high seas. A detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist.

It's 1634 and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Travelling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent.

But no sooner are they out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A twice-dead leper stalks the decks. Strange symbols appear on the sails. Livestock is slaughtered.

And then three passengers are marked for death, including Samuel.

Could a demon be responsible for their misfortunes?

With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent can solve a mystery that connects every passenger onboard. A mystery that stretches back into their past and now threatens to sink the ship, killing everybody on board.

The breathtaking new novel from Stuart Turton, author of the The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, winner of the Costa Best First Novel Award.

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton is expected to be published October 1st, 2020.

Why am I waiting on this book? I liked Turton's first book. I don't read many historicals set in this time period, but this one sounds interesting. There is the mystery aspect and then unusual parts with those marked for death and strange symbols appearing on the sails and more. 

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 #342: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

 

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 Amazon:

In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

But when the three Eastwood sisters join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote - and perhaps not even to live - the sisters must delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

There's no such thing as witches. But there will be.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow is expected to be published October 13th, 2020 by Orbit.

Why am I waiting on this book? I like books about witches. And this one seems particularly apt in an election year.

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 Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

 

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!

Stories come in so many forms: in charcoal, and In song, in painting, poems, films. And books.

Books, she had found, are a way to live a thousand lives--or to find strength in a very long one. (p.31)

The above quote comes from a sneak peek of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab which is available at Amazon. The book is due out October 6th, 2020 from Tor Books.

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 #341: A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones

 

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: From the New York Times bestselling author Darynda Jones comes the second novel in her laugh-out-loud Sunshine Vicram mystery series, A Good Day for Chardonnay.

Running a small-town police force in the mountains of New Mexico should be a smooth, carefree kind of job. Sadly, full-time Sheriff--and even fuller-time coffee guzzler--Sunshine Vicram, didn't get that memo.

All Sunshine really wants is one easy-going day. You know, the kind that starts with coffee and a donut (or three) and ends with take-out pizza and a glass of chardonnay (or seven). Turns out, that's about as easy as switching to decaf. (What kind of people do that? And who hurt them?)

Before she can say iced mocha latte, Sunny's got a bar fight gone bad, a teenage daughter hunting a serial killer and, oh yes, the still unresolved mystery of her own abduction years prior. All evidence points to a local distiller, a dangerous bad boy named Levi Ravinder, but Sun knows he's not the villain of her story. Still, perhaps beneath it all, he possesses the keys to her disappearance. At the very least, beneath it all, he possesses a serious set of abs. She's seen it. Once. Accidentally.

Between policing a town her hunky chief deputy calls four cents short of a nickel, that pesky crush she has on Levi which seems to grow exponentially every day, and an irascible raccoon that just doesn't know when to quit, Sunny's life is about to rocket to a whole new level of crazy.

Yep, definitely a good day for chardonnay.

A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones is due out May 25th, 2021 from St Martin's Press.

Why am I waiting on this book? I liked the first one in the series. It moved quickly. The characters were likable. And it was funny. I want to know more about Sunshine Vicram and her family and friends. And I want to know more about what happened to her all those years ago. Levi definitely seems to know more than he's saying. It's a long wait. I just might reread the first book in the series in the meantime, something I seldom do.

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: Stoker's Wilde West by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi

 

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!

Oh, how I wish we could all be French and not have these things matter to us so much, but alas we are not. We are British and so pretending nothing has happened is the best we can do. (3% through on my Kindle)

The above quotation is from a section entitled "From the Journal of Florence Stoker." The book is written as excerpts from journals, letters, and telegrams much the same way Dracula was written. This is the sequel to Stoker's Wilde. Stoker's Wilde West by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi was published July 23rd, 2020 by Flame Tree Press.

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!

Book Review: The First to Lie by Hank Phillippi Ryan

The First to Lie by Hank Phillippi Ryan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What if there's a big Pharma company marketing a drug for off label purposes? In this case, the drug is supposed to help women have babies. But, there is a terrible side effect in some cases that makes the women unable to conceive.

What if there's is an investigative reporter who wants to bring the company down? Assisted by her slightly strange coworker, Meg, Ellie sets out to do just that. Quickly she finds she is in over her head. Not everyone is who they seem to be, nor everything either. Who told the first lie and what was it?

The book is told from varying points of view. For a minimum, there is Ellie and Nora with flashbacks told by Brooke and Lindsey. I found this a little hard to follow especially in the beginning. I had some trouble getting into the book and staying interested, but things got better.

A good bit of the book seemed to move slowly. Then near the end, there were a lot of revelations and action increased. It did keep me guessing though up until then. And there were plenty of twists.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. Mainly this was because of the number of points of view and how slowly the book moved for me at times. The resolution was really the best part for me. It's worth a read. Just don't expect lots of action. It moves at a more sedate pace. It is a standalone novel.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley. This didn't affect my review in any way.

View all my reviews

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #340: The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

 

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 the publisher:

A delicious twist on a Gothic classic, Rachel Hawkins's The Wife Upstairs pairs Southern charm with atmospheric domestic suspense, perfect for fans of B.A. Paris and Megan Miranda.

Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates––a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name.

But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie––not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for.

Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie’s heart before her past––or his––catches up to her?

With delicious suspense, incisive wit, and a fresh, feminist sensibility, The Wife Upstairs flips the script on a timeless tale of forbidden romance, ill-advised attraction, and a wife who just won’t stay buried. In this vivid reimagining of one of literature’s most twisted love triangles, which Mrs. Rochester will get her happy ending?

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins is due to be published January 5th, 2021 by St. Martin's Press.

Why am I waiting on this book? I like Southern Gothic literature. This sounds like it will be a Southern Gothic retelling of Jane Eyre. And while I haven't read it, I am familiar with the plot and interested in what the author will do with a retelling. 

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 #339: Tropic of Stupid by Tim Dorsey

 

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 the publisher:

Devoted Floridaphile Serge Storms is a lover of history, so he’s decided to investigate his own using one of those DNA services from late-night TV. Excited to construct a family tree, he and Coleman hit the road to meet his kin. Along the way, he plans to introduce Coleman to the Sunshine State’s beautiful parks where he can brush up on his flora, fauna, and wildlife, and more importantly, collect the missing stamps for his park passport book.

But as the old saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall far . . .  Serge is thrilled to discover he may be related to a notorious serial killer who’s terrorized the state for twenty years and never been caught. Which one of his newfound relatives will be the one to help him hunt down this deranged maniac? Serge doesn’t know that a dogged investigator from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is also hot on the trail.

Then Serge meets a park ranger who’s also longing to make a family re-connection. But all is not as it appears on the surface, and Serge’s newfound friendship in the mysterious swamps of Florida may lead to deadly results.

Finding his own relatives has made Serge understand the importance of family. Of course he’ll do anything to help . . . 

Tropic of Stupid by Tim Dorsey is expected to be published January 26th, 2021 by William Morrow.

Why am I waiting on this book? I like  that it sounds kind of outrageous and funny. Serge seems like quite the character. And I like that there is a bit of a mystery thrown in with the humor.

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!