Thursday, August 21, 2025

Book Review: Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez

 

From the publisher: 

An eerie, hypnotic debut about friendship, desire, and memory set against the sultry backdrop of Florida’s swamplands.

LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE

It’s been years since Ingrid has heard from her childhood best friend, Mayra, a fearless rebel who fled their hometown of Hialeah, a Cuban neighborhood just west of Miami, for college in the Northeast. But when Mayra calls out of the blue to invite Ingrid to a weekend getaway at a house in the Everglades, she impulsively accepts.

From the moment Ingrid sets out, danger looms: The directions are difficult, she’s out of reach of cell service, and as she drives deeper into the Everglades, the wet maw of the swamp threatens to swallow her whole. But once Ingrid arrives, Mayra is, in many ways, just as she remembers—with her sharp tongue and effortless, seductive beauty, still thumbing her nose at the world.

Before they can fully settle into the familiar intimacy of each other’s company, their reunion is spoiled by the reemergence of past disagreements and the unexpected presence of Mayra’s new boyfriend, Benji. The trio spend their hours eating lavish meals and exploring the labyrinthine house, which holds as much mystery as the swamp itself. Indoors and on the grounds, time itself seems to expand, and Ingrid begins to lose a sense of the outside world, and herself.

Against this disquieting setting, where lizards dart in and out of porches and alligators peek from dark waters, Gonzalez weaves a surreal, unforgettable story about the dizzying power of early friendship and the lengths we’ll go to earn love and acceptance—even at the risk of losing ourselves entirely.

Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez was published July 22, 2025 by Random House.

My Thoughts: It's a good haunted house/gothic novel. The story is told from Ingrid's point of view. To me she came across as a pretty normal person. Not really happy with her job, looking for love, and she has family ties. Presented with an opportunity to revisit an earlier friendship that was very important to her, she feels ambiguous. Last time they saw each other didn't go spectacularly. Pushed together in this way out of the way place, Ingrid tentatively tries to bond with Mayra again. 

It's awkward with Mayra's boyfriend Benji around. He's doing everything for them - cooking, cleaning, laundry. Their happiness seems to be paramount to him to the point of being creepy. And as they explore the house, they keep finding creepy little details that make them wonder about the previous residents.

The narrative takes on a dreamlike tone the longer they are there. Ingrid feels like she is forgetting something, but not quite what. She is lulled into a false sense of security. It's at this point, you speculate what is causing the disconnect. I somewhat expected the source, but there were still surprises. I ended up staying up to finish it once I hit the 90% mark. I had to know what would happen next.

I gave the book 4 out of 5 stars. Dreamlike, the story is a little slow in a few places. It still moves the ladies further down the path to the conclusion. And it makes the ending feel positively manic. I enjoyed the book as a whole. I would recommend it for people who enjoy gothic literature and gothic horror.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my review.

Have you read Mayra? What did you think?

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #566: Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree

 

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:

Fern has weathered the stillness and storms of a bookseller’s life for decades, but now, in the face of crippling ennui, transplants herself to the city of Thune to hang out her shingle beside a long-absent friend’s coffee shop. What could be a better pairing? Surely a charming renovation montage will cure what ails her!

If only things were so simple…

It turns out that fixing your life isn’t a one-time prospect, nor as easy as a change of scenery and a lick of paint.

A drunken and desperate night sees the rattkin waking far from home in the company of a legendary warrior, an imprisoned chaos-goblin with a fondness for silverware, and an absolutely thumping hangover.

As together they fend off a rogue’s gallery of ne’er-do-wells trying to claim the bounty the goblin represents, Fern may finally reconnect with the person she actually is when nothing seems inevitable.

Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree is expected out November 11, 2025 from Tor Books.

Why am I waiting on this book? I really enjoy Travis Baldree's writing. I like the characters and the world that it's set in. 

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


Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Teaser Tuesday: Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez

 


Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR! You can also just share what you are currently reading. We make it very easy to play along, it is as easy as 1, 2, 3! Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Ambrosia at the Purple Booker.

1: Grab your current read 2: Open to a random page 3: 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 & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.


She didn't like him, I told myself. She liked the story of him, the idea that someone could snatch her from her humdrum routine, even if it meant walking into the mouth of a monster.

--56% through on my Kindle

Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez was published July 22, 2025 by Random House.

What are you reading? Got a teaser to share? Leave a comment with it. Happy Reading!

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #565: Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. Chilton

 


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: From the breakout author of Swiped comes a compulsively readable, surprisingly funny, and genuinely thrilling pageturner about a TikTok true crime investigator, a ’90s serial killer that may not be as dead as everyone would like, a text thread from hell, and long buried secrets that just won’t stay in the grave where they belong.

Kirby Cornell needs a break from everything:

- Her crumbling apartment in the sleepy town of Crowhurst (famous for its bucolic countryside and a second-rate serial killer from the ’90s).
- Her dead-end job.
- Her sleazy landlord
- Her messy roommates.
- And, most of all, the terrible thing they all did.

Luckily, that hasn’t caught up with her just yet. Until a new message on their old group chat pops up: Everyone in the group chat dies.

It’s the first text her ex-roommate Esme has sent for ages, but that’s not the really weird thing.

The really weird thing is, Esme died twelve months ago…

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. Chilton is expected out December 9th, 2025 from Gallery/Scout Press.

Why am I waiting on this book? It promises a blend of humor and thriller. I enjoy humor in other genres. I'm not sure if I've read this particular kind of mashup before. Generally speaking though, if you can laugh as well as feel the thrills and chills, it makes for a good book.

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

Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Teaser Tuesday:The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs

 


Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR! You can also just share what you are currently reading. We make it very easy to play along, it is as easy as 1, 2, 3! Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Ambrosia at the Purple Booker.

1: Grab your current read 2: Open to a random page 3: 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 & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

"Hitmen were coming for them. From India! On Saturday. Yep. He was gonna end up one of those missing middle managers he'd read about on the internet. He hoped to God he wouldn't be hung naked from some bridge."

--page 118

I know it's more than 2 sentences, but it all fit so nicely together I had to share it that way. 

Why not drop a line in the comments and share with us what you're reading? 


Monday, August 11, 2025

Book Review: The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

 

From the publisher: 

“Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches”: That was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter Minerva—stories that have stayed with Minerva all her life. Perhaps that’s why Minerva has become a graduate student focused on the history of horror literature and is researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of macabre tales.

In the course of assembling her thesis, Minerva uncovers information that reveals that Tremblay’s most famous novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by a true story: Decades earlier, during the Great Depression, Tremblay attended the same university where Minerva is now studying and became obsessed with her beautiful and otherworldly roommate, who then disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

As Minerva descends ever deeper into Tremblay’s manuscript, she begins to sense that the malign force that stalked Tremblay and the missing girl might still walk the halls of the campus. These disturbing events also echo the stories Nana Alba told about her girlhood in 1900s Mexico, where she had a terrifying encounter with a witch.

Minerva suspects that the same shadow that darkened the lives of her great-grandmother and Beatrice Tremblay is now threatening her own in 1990s Massachusetts. An academic career can be a punishing pursuit, but it might turn outright deadly when witchcraft is involved.

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia was released July 15, 2025 by Del Rey.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. Told in 3 timelines, three women have experiences with witches that are different from what we typically read. They overlap a little bit throughout the book. Even though there are 3 timelines, in the end they are successfully tied together. 

My favorite character was Minerva. I also had a lot of respect for Nana Alba. I felt that they were the most well written. The book was kind of gross at times - some of the occurrences of witchcraft were both frightening and kind of disgusting. This did not in any way take away from the story. It just was a part of it.

The pace of the novel went well. Towards the end, Minerva's story really had me flipping pages and refusing to talk to people until I finished it. There were other similar points in the other stories too, but Minerva's was the strongest.

I gave The Bewitching 5 stars out of 5. It's very well-written. It has good characters and good pacing. If you are a fan of horror, or gothic literature, or Silvia Moreno-Garcia, this is not a book to be missed.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion nor my review.

Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #564: Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

 


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: There are two kinds of people no one ever expects to be murderers: little girls and old ladies. Meet Mad Mabel.

Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is eighty-one years old. She's lived on her idyllic street, Kenny Lane, for sixty years--longer than anyone else. Aside from being a curmudgeon who minds everyone else's business, few would suspect that Elsie has a past that she has worked exceedingly hard at concealing. Because when it comes to murder, no one ever suspects little girls or old ladies. And Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick, once a little girl and now an old lady, has a strange history of people in her life coming to a foul end.

When a new little girl (talkative, curious, nosy) moves into the neighborhood and stops at nothing to befriend Elsie, her carefully-constructed life threatens to come crashing down as the secrets in Elsie's past start coming to light. Who was "Mad Mabel" fifty years ago? Who is Elsie Fitzpatrick today? And if the past has a habit of repeating itself, who has the most to lose?

Told with Sally Hepworth's twists, humor, charm, and heart, MAD MABEL is novel that weaves past and present together--through the power of justice and redemption, and all the way to its stunning conclusion.

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth is expected out April 21, 2026 from St. Martin's Press.

Why am I waiting on this book? I like interesting mysteries with humor. This promises to be just that. I want to know why she was called Mad Mabel and how she reverted to Elsie. I'm interested in what will happen to her and what has happened already which is good since it is told as a dual timeline story.

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

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Teaser Tuesday: How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent

 



Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR! You can also just share what you are currently reading. We make it very easy to play along, it is as easy as 1, 2, 3! Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Ambrosia at the Purple Booker.

1: Grab your current read 2: Open to a random page 3: 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 & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.


I’m immediately dubious as Maisie’s idea of an ‘emergency’ doesn’t always tally with the rest of mankind’s. There was the time she got stuck in a dress in Comptoir des Cotonniers, for example, and refused to call a sales girl in.
Page 37

How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent was published April 11, 2023 by Harper Collins. It's the first book in the Kitty Collins series. Book two, I Bet You'd Look Good in a Coffin, was released earlier this year.