Book Review: Rose of Jericho by Alex Grecian

What would happen if the dead don't seem to stay dead? They walk, talk, and more. They aren't zombies. There's no craving to eat flesh. How did they get this way and is there a way to restore the normal order of things? It's not enough that the house they've bought is very haunted. Sadie Grace, Rose Nettles, and Rabbit find themselves confronted with this situation when they move to the small town of Ascension, Massachusetts. They are trying to keep a low profile while they investigate. And yet as the dead walk around, chaos ensues.

You might be able to read this as a standalone, but it would be better to go back and start with Red Rabbit where the characters are first encountered. This gives you more of a background as to what they are like and what they are capable of doing and how they've changed in the 10 yrs between Red Rabbit and Rose of Jericho.

I found the way that the author handled the idea of death ceasing to be interesting. He examines not only what happens to the dead physically, but how it affects their thoughts and emotions. And the living get to weigh in on how they feel about what is going on.

I gave this book five stars. It was a good read. There are some interesting characters to go with the interesting predicament. If you've read Red Rabbit and enjoyed it, this is a must read. If the plot sounds interesting to you, then you should give it a try. It's well-written.

I borrowed my copy from the library.

Rose of Jericho by Alex Grecian was released March 11th, 2025 from Tor Nightfire.

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #558: Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano

 

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: Life hasn’t been easy for Finlay Donovan lately, but it just got a whole lot harder. Her nanny and partner-in-crime, Vero, has been extradited from Virginia to Maryland, where she’s facing criminal charges for a theft she swears she didn’t commit. A prisoner to an ankle bracelet as she awaits her trial, Vero is forced to live with her overbearing mother and nosy aunt. Threatening messages keep arriving on her mother’s door, demanding Vero “turn over the money . . . or else.” And if she doesn’t figure out who really stole her former sorority’s treasury funds, her next home might be a prison cell.

But proving her innocence might be an impossible feat. Vero was the treasurer of her sorority when the money went missing—one of the only people who had access to the cash. And her alibi is a date who ghosted her. With her court date quickly approaching, and her mysterious stalker on her tail, Vero needs to clear her name fast.

Finlay decides a trip to Maryland is in order. After all, Vero stood by her through her darkest moments, and Finlay will be damned if she lets her best friend and children’s nanny be convicted for something she didn’t do. She sets off on a mission to sus out the real thief and bring Vero home.

Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano is expected out March 10, 2026 from Minotaur Books. It's book 6 in the Finlay Donovan series.

Why am I waiting on this book? It's a bit of a wait, but I think it will be worth it. This series is hilarious. The situations and the things that Finlay and Vero have done are sometimes way over the top, but they are funny. It's a cozy mystery and an adventure when the two of them are involved. It is light reading, which sometimes we really need.

What book are you waiting on? 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: Rose of Jericho by Alex Grecian

 

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.

Sadie and Rabbit were adept at spotting phantoms--although Sadie would be the first to admit Rabbit was better at it than she was-- but Rose was generally ignorant of the unseen things around her. She had once seen her dead husband, but she was dying at the time, and the barrier between worlds had been thin for her. When she recovered from that ordeal she lost the knack, except when Sadie helped her see.

--page 141

Rose of Jericho by Alex Grecian was released March 11, 2025 from Tor Nightfire. It's the sequel to Red Rabbit.

What are you reading? We'd love to know. Share it in the comments. Or share your teaser or a link to your teaser to give us a taste.

Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #557: Remember Where You've Buried the Bodies by Julie Lancaster

 

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 brand new darkly humorous serial killer thriller for fans of How to Kill Your Family and The Thursday Murder Club.

What happens when a serial killer forgets that he’s a serial killer?

At Sunset House the tea is barely introduced to a teabag, the carpets are permanently flecked with glitter and care assistant Jolene would rather be watching daytime television than caring for the elderly – but someone might just have confessed to murder.

Most think Gilbert’s sudden claim – ‘When I killed her’ – is likely to be the dementia talking. Or a spoiler for Midsomer Murders. Probably. Now, between bingo, staff drama and a suspicious game of pass the parcel, someone’s about to dig up more than buried memories…

Darkly funny, sharply observant and unquestionably deadly, this is no Thursday Murder Club.

‘So compelling, I couldn’t put it down’ Natasha Bache, author of 12 Ways to Kill Your Family at Christmas

Remember Where You've Buried the Bodies by Julie Lancaster is expected out September 19th, 2025 from One More Chapter.

Why am I waiting on this book: I love the cover. The idea of a serial killer with dementia in a nursing facility is novel. I'm wondering how it will play out. And I like the idea that it is "darkly humorous."

What book are you waiting on? 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: Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan

 

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.

And from under the lab door, the steel guitar twang of a television theme song, the barest filmy glow of the silver screen, and the sound of slurping. 

Nana Lenore slipped a dagger from her cardigan. "Get behind me," she whispered. 

"No way," Luna whispered back. 

Together they crept toward the lab door.

-page 93

Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan was released April 15th, 2025 from Minotaur Books. It's the second book in the Bless Your Heart series.

What are you reading? We'd love to know. Share it in the comments. Or share your teaser or a link to your teaser to give us a taste.

Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #556: Higher Magic by Courtney Floyd

 

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: In this incisive, irreverent, and whimsical cozy dark academia novel for fans of Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde series and R.F. Kuang’s Babel, a struggling mage student with intense anxiety must prove that classic literature contained magic—and learn to wield her own stories to change her institution for the better.

First-generation graduate student Dorothe Bartleby has one last chance to pass the Magic program’s qualifying exam after freezing with anxiety during her first attempt. If she fails to demonstrate that magic in classic literature changed the world, she’ll be kicked out of the university. And now her advisor insists she reframe her entire dissertation using Digimancy. While mages have found a way to combine computers and magic, Bartleby’s fated to never make it work.

This time is no exception. Her revised working goes horribly wrong, creating a talking skull named Anne that narrates Bartleby’s inner thoughts—even the most embarrassing ones—like she's a heroine in a Jane Austen novel. Out of her depth, she recruits James, an unfairly attractive mage candidate, to help her stop Anne’s glitches in time for her exam.

Instead, Anne leads them to a shocking and dangerous discovery: Magic students who seek disability accommodations are disappearing—quite literally. When the administration fails to act, Bartleby must learn to trust her own knowledge and skills. Otherwise, she risks losing both the missing students and her future as a mage, permanently.

Higher Magic by Courtney Floyd is expected out October 7th, 2025 from MIRA.

Why am I waiting on this book: The idea of the skull narrating her thoughts sounds like it will be funny. I like that the heroine is flawed with debilitating anxiety. It's something different. And I find the aspect of the plot involving the disabled students seeking accommodations disappearing interesting. I imagine that some educational institutions wish just that would happen.

What book are you waiting on? 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!

Book Review: Wizard of Most Wicked Ways by Charlie N. Holmberg

 

From the publisher:

Whimbrel House is changing. Merritt and Hulda are raising a family. Owein has signed a marriage contract with the magically compatible Lady Cora, a heavyweight of British nobility who’s an ocean away. And the lovely shape-shifting druid Fallon makes a distractingly fetching friend for Owein. But another change is in the air, and this time it’s something wicked.

The greatest wizard of the millennium, Silas Hogwood, is back—after five years dead. New body, same foul scent, and driven by madness and revenge. Owein, fearing he isn’t strong enough to fend off Silas, seeks Cora’s help and influence in England. Alarms ringing, Queen Victoria dispatches her League of Magicians, including her personal necromancer, to aid in Owein’s defense.

As magic, both good and evil, converges on Blaugdone Island, Owein realizes how harrowing the forces against them are. Combating them will require some digging—literally—for half-formed secrets of magic Hulda doesn’t want him to have. But no promise, lock, or government red tape will keep Owein from doing what’s necessary to protect those he loves. One way or another, Silas will only take Whimbrel House over Owein’s third dead body.

Wizard of Most Wicked Ways by Charlie N. Holmberg is the 4th book in the Whimbrel House series. It was released March 4, 2025 from 47North.

My Thoughts: I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.

It began slowly, but that gave time for showing character growth, especially in Owein. I did find it a little agonizing because I like the characters a lot and knew bad things were in store for them. In his previous appearances, Silas seemed to be motivated solely by greed. Now he still seems greedy, but also like he's losing his sanity. Once the action started, things moved along at a better pace. 

This should not be read as a standalone. There are references to earlier books that would be better understood if the previous volumes have been read. Plus, only then can you really appreciate the changes in the characters.

I did get a little teary near the end of the book. To me, that means it was well-written and the characters are mostly sympathetic. Also, I thought it was the last book in the series, but it appears there will be at least one more.

I would recommend this book to others who've read the series. And I would recommend the series to those who enjoy historical fantasy. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect my opinions nor my review.