Murder in Miniature

Title: Murder in Miniature
Author: Katie Tietjen
Published: September 23, 2025, by Crooked Lane Books
Format: Kindle, 288 Pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Maple Bishop #2

Blurb: Maple Bishop has a thriving dollhouse business and a new career as a crime scene consultant for the local sheriff's office. On the surface, she seems to be doing well, but deep down Maple is still reeling from the death of her husband. When the body of an aspiring firefighter–who was close childhood friends with Kenny, the sheriff’s deputy and Maple’s confidante–is discovered in the charred remains of a burned cabin, Maple is called in to help determine whether the fire was an accident or a case of murder by arson.

Realizing there’s more to the crime than meets the eye, she sets out to unearth the discrepancies from the scene by re-creating the cabin in miniature. The investigation leads them to Maple’s old Boston neighborhood, forcing her to confront the past she’s desperately trying to forget.

As Maple and Kenny sift through clues, they uncover dark secrets that hit close to home, unravelling in unexpected ways–and putting their lives in danger.

My Opinion: When the world feels like it’s spinning off its axis, I sometimes reach for a story that promises a gentler pace. This novel seemed like it might offer that: a small town with a late 1940s Mayberry vibe, a quirky cast, and a heroine who builds dollhouses for a living. But opening on a partially burned body wasn’t exactly the soft landing I had in mind.

Maple Bishop herself is an appealing anchor: a talented miniaturist who’s somehow added “crime scene consultant” to her résumé. The setup has charm, and the premise of early forensic work in a down-to-earth community could have been a fun contrast. However, the execution leans heavily on aw-shucks dialogue and a tone that feels more cutesy than cozy. After a while, the “gosh darn golly” pace wore thin.

The mystery has potential, yet some readers will likely piece things together early. The challenge is keeping track of the many names and moving parts, which sometimes muddle the motive rather than sharpen it. Add in frequent recaps of the first book, which are far more than a quick refresher, and the story starts to feel padded.

I wanted a comforting escape, and while the setting tries to deliver that, the pacing and repetition kept pulling me out. There’s a good idea here, but it gets a bit lost along the way.

Magic Uncorked

Title: Magic Uncorked
Author: Annabel Chase
Expected Publication: January 21, 2026 by Storm Publishing
Format: Kindle, 214 Pages
Genre: Paranormal
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Midlife Magic Cocktail Club #1

Blurb: For Libbie Stark, Friday night cocktail club is a lifeline. Whatever her problems, whether her stubborn boss, unruly teens or deadbeat boyfriend, time with the women of Lake Cloverleaf always feels like a tonic.

But when tragedy strikes on the Fourth of July, Libbie discovers a magical secret. Witches are real. Only they aren’t born – they’re created. When a witch dies, her powers pass from one generation to the next. And a local witch has chosen to pass her powers onto the ladies of the cocktail club.

With the help of a magical recipe book, Libbie must harness her new powers and use them to shake up the comfortable life she settled for. As Libbie learns to finally live on her own terms, sparks fly with handsome local lawyer Ethan Townsend, and she discovers it’s never too late to restore a little magic to your life.

My Opinion: I picked up this novel on a whim, drawn in by the cover without knowing much else. I expected witchy vibes, sure, but what I didn’t realize was that this is a reissue; the first book in the author’s Midlife Magic Cocktail Club series. And honestly, it caught me off guard in the best way.

The story has a kind of charm that sneaks up on you. The characters are warm and inviting, the kind of women you want to sit down with over a drink and hear more about. The writing style is subtle, but it works here, adding a playful energy to the narrative. The catering details are glossed over, but that’s not really the point of the book. What matters is the atmosphere, the friendships, and the sense of possibility that Inga brings to the ladies of Lake Cloverleaf.

Another pleasant surprise is that the romance thread doesn’t dominate the story. The “love interest” is present but not overwhelming, which makes space for the women’s lives and choices to take center stage. It’s not exactly quaint, but there’s something deeply appealing about watching these characters navigate midlife, magic, and new beginnings.

And then came the kicker. I glanced at Chase’s backlist and realized it’s prolific. I had never heard of her before, but now I suspect I’ve opened the door to a whole new reading adventure.

We Who Have No Gods

Title: We Who Have No Gods
Author: Liza Anderson
Expected Publication: January 27, 2026 by Ballantine Books
Format: Kindle, 384 Pages
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: The Acheron Order #1

Blurb: Vic Wood knows her priorities: scrape by on her restaurant wages, take care of her younger brother Henry, and forget their mother ever existed. But Vic’s careful life crumbles when Henry reveals that their long-missing mother belonged to the Acheron Order—a secret society of witches tasked with keeping the dead at bay. What’s worse, Henry inherited their mother’s magical abilities while Vic did not, and Henry has been chosen as the Order's newest recruit.

Determined to keep him safe, Vic accompanies Henry to the isolated woods in upstate New York that play host to the sprawling and eerie Avalon Castle. When she joins the academy despite lacking powers of her own, she risks not only the Order’s wrath, but also her brother’s. And then there is Xan, the head Sentinel—imposing, ruthless, and frustrating—in charge of protecting Avalon. He makes no secret that he wants Vic to leave.

As she makes both enemies and allies in this mysterious realm, Vic becomes caught between the dark forces at play, with her mother at the heart of it all. What's stranger is that Vic begins to be affected by the academy—and Xan—in ways she can't quite understand. But with war between witches threatening the fabric of reality, Vic must decide whether to risk her heart and life for a world where power is everything.

My Opinion: This is one of those books that demands more patience than I was willing to give. From the start, the writing felt oddly uneven, as if two different authors were at work. Each chapter begins with a lengthy “quote” from the elders of The Acheron Order, and instead of setting the stage, they drag on with a level of complexity that doesn’t match the rest of the text. The main narrative, by contrast, reads like young adult fiction with a bit of spice, but not executed particularly well.

The style is overly descriptive, weighed down by sentences that stop and start instead of flowing. It’s the kind of choppiness that makes you want to skim, and eventually, that’s exactly what I did. And by skimmed, I found the usual suspects lined up neatly: dark academia, witches, a hidden magical society, the outsider girl, enemies-to-lovers. It all felt recycled, like a checklist of tropes rather than a fresh story.

I can see the intent of layering lofty philosophical musings over a YA-style fantasy, but the result is disjointed and exhausting. By the time I realized I was slogging instead of reading, I knew this wasn’t worth my time. I’ve decided this year I won’t force myself through books that don’t earn my attention early on, and this one simply didn’t.

The Correspondent

Title: The Correspondent
Author: Virginia Evans
Published: April 29, 2025, by Crown
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
Genre: Epistolary Fiction

Blurb: Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.

Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.

Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime. Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might be “a very small thing,” but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever find.

My Opinion: It took me longer than I expected to understand why this novel has been so widely praised and recommended. At first, the appeal seemed to rest solely on its epistolary format, and I wasn’t sure that was enough to carry the story. But then, somewhere along the way, the book revealed its true power, and I was completely drawn in.

Once the rhythm of the letters takes hold, the narrative becomes impossible to set aside. Sybil’s voice is at the center, and though she can be blunt, even hurtful at times, her words are deeply human. Those fortunate enough to receive her letters -- and we, as readers, are among them -- come to cherish the honesty and vulnerability she offers.

The structure demands attention. Because the letters do not arrive in a linear fashion, the reader must stay actively engaged while also piecing together the threads of Sybil’s life. These aren’t perfunctory notes of well wishes; they chart the evolution of a woman who continues to grow, reflect, and feel. In that way, the book becomes not just a portrait of a life well lived, but of a person still in motion, still becoming.

Sybil herself reminds us of something timeless: that a handwritten letter endures far beyond an email or text. Preserved, it becomes a holder of memory, carrying a voice across generations. That truth gives the novel a resonance that lingers long after the last page.

Then, Evans also layers in mystery. The shadow of DM, with hateful messages and threats, unsettles the correspondence and raises the stakes. And then there is Cole -- enigmatic, elusive, and heartbreaking once his identity is revealed. These threads weave together into a story that is both intimate and suspenseful, tender and devastating.

Virginia Evans manages to balance all of this without losing clarity. Each character has a distinct voice, each storyline its own weight, and together they form a novel that stays with you. This novel is not just about letters; it is about connection, memory, and the way words can shape a life.