Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #371: Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest

 

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.

A psychic travel agent and a Seattle PD detective solve a murder in this quirky mystery in the vein of Lisa Lutz’s The Spellman Files and Charlaine Harris’s Aurora Teagarden series.

Meet Leda Foley: devoted friend, struggling travel agent, and inconsistent psychic. When Leda, sole proprietor of Foley's Flights of Fancy, impulsively re-books Seattle PD detective Grady Merritt’s flight, her life changes in ways she couldn’t have predicted.

After watching his original plane blow up from the safety of the airport, Grady realizes that Leda’s special abilities could help him with a cold case he just can’t crack.

Despite her scattershot premonitions, she agrees for a secret reason: her fiancé’s murder remains unsolved. Leda’s psychic abilities couldn’t help the case several years before, but she's been honing her skills and drawing a crowd at her favorite bar's open-mic nights, where she performs Klairvoyant Karaoke—singing whatever song comes to mind when she holds people’s personal effects. Now joined by a rag-tag group of bar patrons and pals alike, Leda and Grady set out to catch a killer—and learn how the two cases that haunt them have more in common than they ever suspected.

Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest is expected to be published October 26th, 2021 by Atria Books.

Why am I waiting on this book? I like that it sounds like light reading. And it seems like it will be a mystery with paranormal elements. I love the idea of Klairvoyant Karaoke. One of the blurbs is by Christopher Moore, author of Lamb: "Grave Reservations is an ebullient tap dance of a mystery with a splash of Seattle color and, well, psychic karaoke. Great fun!" If he thinks it's a fun read, that just draws me more since he has a good, somewhat offbeat sense of 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!

Teaser Tuesday: Safari 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!

Although Grandma is almost small enough to fit in a pocket--not a woman's pocket, because our pockets are tiny and frequently ornamental, if they're present at all--she has the uncanny ability to seem as if she's looking down on me when she peers along the substantial length of her nose. Many a man has peed himself when Grandma looks down her face potato at them. Not me. Not anymore. (p. 26 on my Kindle)

Safari Crime by Alex A. King was released April 19th, 2021. This is book 12 in the Kat Makris Greek Mafia 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: The Best Thing You Can Steal by Simon R. Green

 

From Goodreads: 

Gideon Sable is a thief and a con man. He specializes in stealing the kind of things that can't normally be stolen. Like a ghost's clothes, or a photo from a country that never existed. He even stole his current identity. Who was he originally? Now, that would be telling. One thing's for sure though, he's not the bad guy. The people he steals from always have it coming. Gideon's planning a heist, to steal the only thing that matters from the worst man in the world. To get past his security, he's going to need a crew who can do the impossible . . . but luckily, he has the right people in mind. The Damned, the Ghost, the Wild Card . . . and his ex-girlfriend, Annie Anybody. A woman who can be anyone, with the power to make technology fall in love with her. If things go well, they'll all get what they want. And if they're lucky, they might not even die trying . . .

My review:  

It's really well-written. I was luke warm about the heist idea, but the more I read, the better it got. It's quite an unusual crew that the new Gideon Sable assembles. Each member has his or her own good reason for going forward with the heist.

The pace of the story is good. I thought the part about assembling the crew and preparing for the heist would drag, but it did not. The suspense increases as the book goes on. I reached a point where I could not put it down. I needed to know the fates of the crew members.

I liked the idea of a London where magic coexists with the mundane, but not everyone is aware of it. And I enjoyed the descriptions of some of the magical items and how they worked. It shows a lot of creativity.

Overall, I gave the book 5/5 stars. It's definitely worth a read. This was my first book by Simon R. Green, but it won't be my last. 

 The Best Thing You Can Steal by Simon R. Green was published April 6th, 2021 by Severn House Publishers.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not influence my opinion. 

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #370: The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

 

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.

The Montoyas are used to a life without explanations. They know better than to ask why the pantry never seems to run low or empty, or why their matriarch won’t ever leave their home in Four Rivers—even for graduations, weddings, or baptisms. But when Orquídea Divina invites them to her funeral and to collect their inheritance, they hope to learn the secrets that she has held onto so tightly their whole lives. Instead, Orquídea is transformed, leaving them with more questions than answers.

Seven years later, her gifts have manifested in different ways for Marimar, Rey, and Tatinelly’s daughter, Rhiannon, granting them unexpected blessings. But soon, a hidden figure begins to tear through their family tree, picking them off one by one as it seeks to destroy Orquídea’s line. Determined to save what’s left of their family and uncover the truth behind their inheritance, the four descendants travel to Ecuador—to the place where Orquídea buried her secrets and broken promises and never looked backed.

Alternating between Orquídea’s past and her descendants’ present, The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina is an enchanting novel about what we knowingly and unknowingly inherit from our ancestors, the ties that bind, and reclaiming your power.

Perfect for fans of Alice Hoffman, Isabel Allende, and Sarah Addison Allen, this is a gorgeously written novel about a family searching for the truth hidden in their past and the power they’ve inherited, from the author of the acclaimed and “giddily exciting” (The New York Times Book Review) Brooklyn Brujas series.

The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina by Zoraida Córdova is expected to be published September 7th, 2021 by Atria. 

Why am I waiting on this book? I like magical realism. And I like that it uses Alice Hoffman and Isabel Allende in the blurb. 

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: A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

 

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!

Archibald James Portendorf disliked stairs. With their ludicrous lengths, ever leading up, as if in some jest. There were times, he thought, he could even hear them snickering. (1% through on my Kindle)

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark is expected to be published May 11th, 2021 by Tordotcom. The teaser comes from an ARC. As such, the teaser may differ in content and location in the final copy.

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 #369: The Orphan Witch by Paige Crutcher

 

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.

A deeper magic. A stronger curse. A family lost...and found.

Persephone May has been alone her entire life. Abandoned as an infant and dragged through the foster care system, she wants nothing more than to belong somewhere. To someone. However, Persephone is as strange as she is lonely. Unexplainable things happen when she’s around—changes in weather, inanimate objects taking flight—and those who seek to bring her into their family quickly cast her out. To cope, she never gets attached, never makes friends. And she certainly never dates. Working odd jobs and always keeping her suitcases half-packed, Persephone is used to moving around, leaving one town for another when curiosity over her eccentric behavior inevitably draws unwanted attention.

After an accidental and very public display of power, Persephone knows it’s time to move on once again. It’s lucky, then, when she receives an email from the one friend she’s managed to keep, inviting her to the elusive Wile Isle. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. However, upon arrival, Persephone quickly discovers that Wile is no ordinary island. In fact, it just might hold the very things she’s been searching for her entire life.

Answers. Family. Home.

And some things she did not want. Like 100-year-old curses and an even older family feud. With the clock running out, love might be the magic that saves them all.

The Orphan Witch by Paige Crutcher is expected to be published October 5th, 2021 by St. Martin's Griffin. 

Why am I waiting on this book? It sounds like an interesting urban fantasy. I liked the one blurb I saw: "Mystical, magical, and wildly original...If Alice Hoffman and Sara Addison Allen had a witchy love child, she would be Paige Crutcher. Do not miss this beautifully realized debut!"--- JT Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of Her Dark Lies on The Orphan Witch.

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: Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson

 

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!

And as the stories continued to flood in I watched people slowly realizing that no one really wants to celebrate the size of your yacht/hair/waist/penis. What really brought the world together was dropping the pretense that everything is shiny and perfect so that, for a moment, we could all accept how wonderfully human we are. (p. 121)

Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson was published April 6th, 2021 by Henry Holt and Company.

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 #368: Monkey Around by Jadie Jang

 

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.

The debut novel from Jadie Jang is an action-packed urban fantasy delivering a bold new take on the Monkey King in San Francisco - complete with murder and mayhem!

San Francisco has a Monkey King - and she’s kinda freaked out.

Barista, activist, and were-monkey Maya McQueen was well on her way to figuring herself out. Well, part of the way. 25% of the way. If you squint.

But now the Bay Area is being shaken up. Occupy Wall Street has come home to roost; and on the supernatural side there's disappearances, shapeshifter murders, and the city’s spirit trying to find its guardian.

Maya doesn’t have a lot of time before chaos turns up at her door, and she needs to solve all of her problems. Well, most of them. The urgent ones, anyhow.

But who says the solutions have to be neat? Because Monkey is always out for mischief.

Monkey Around by Jadie Jang is expected to be published August 3rd, 2021 by Solaris. 

Why am I waiting on this book? It sounds like an interesting story. I'm curious as to what this Monkey King will be like. And it's a new urban fantasy which is one of my favorite genres. The reviews I read were all glowing..

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 Best Thing You Can Steal by Simon R. Green

 

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!

London is the city where dreams can come true. The good and the bad and the highly unlikely. (2% through on my Kindle)

The Best Thing You Can Steal by Simon R. Green is expected out April 6th, 2021 from Severn House Publishers. The teaser is from an ARC. Therefore it and it's location may be different in the published book.

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!