Crazy Spooky Love

Title: Crazy Spooky Love
Author: Josie Silver
Published: September 2, 2025 by Dell
Format: Kindle, Paperback 320 Pages
Genre: Paranormal
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Melody Bittersweet #1

Blurb: In the leafy, charming town of Chapelwick, the Bittersweet family has been a fixture on High Street for as long as anyone can remember. Their rambling black-and-white building houses all three generations of ghost-sensitive Bittersweet women and their business, Blithe Spirits.

On her twenty-seventh birthday, Melody Bittersweet converts the disused back storeroom into her office and opens her own business. Unlike the rest of her family, she’s not taking down messages from ghosts—she’s taking them out.

Soon, the Girls’ Ghostbusting Agency takes on its first a grand old house that won’t sell because a trio of incumbent ghost brothers raise merry hell whenever prospective owners arrive to view it.

It soon becomes clear that there’s a whole heap of unfinished business between the Scarborough brothers—including murder—and Melody isn’t the only one trying to unravel the mystery. Leo Dark, her rakish ex and business rival, is also on the case, along with the TV crew that trails him.

To make matters worse, the sarcastic and skeptical (and annoyingly good-looking) local reporter Fletcher Gunn has his nose in the story as well. Sniffing out a way to publicly discredit the Bittersweets is his favorite assignment—and has absolutely nothing to do with his inability to resist Melody.

With her business on the line, it’s up to Melody to work out the brothers' issues, but can she protect her own very susceptible heart from Fletcher’s charm? Does she even want to?

My Opinion: Josie Silver has long held a cozy spot on my romance shelf. Her stories usually deliver heart, nuance, and characters you want to root for. So, when I saw she was venturing into paranormal territory with Crazy Spooky Love, I was curious. A little rom-com shimmer with a ghostly twist? Count me in.

But from the first few pages, something felt off. The tone was disjointed, the setup unclear, and the protagonist, supposedly 27, read more like a teenager navigating high school drama. I kept going, partly out of loyalty and partly out of hope. After all, authors deserve space to stretch creatively, and I was willing to follow her into new terrain.

Unfortunately, the terrain never quite settled. The language bounced between retro slang and modern references, creating a time-warp effect that was more confusing than charming. The dialogue leaned heavily on teen-style banter, which felt jarring coming from adult characters. And while there were moments of light humor and character appeal, they were buried under layers of overwriting and fluff that begged to be skimmed.

By the halfway mark, I tapped out. The story hadn’t found its footing, and I couldn’t keep pretending it might. What’s worse, I already own the second book in the series, and now I’m stuck in reader limbo. Do I give it a shot and hope for a course correction? Or shelve it and preserve my fondness for Silver’s earlier work?

I genuinely don’t know what happened here. It’s so far removed from the Josie Silver I’ve come to admire that I found myself wondering if she even wrote it. Maybe this was a ghost story in more ways than one.

Murder on the Marlow Belle

Title: Murder on the Marlow Belle
Author: Robert Thorogood
Published: January 16, 2025, by HQ
Format: Kindle, 333 Pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: The Marlow Murder Club #4

Blurb: Verity Beresford is worried about her husband. Oliver didn’t come home last night so of course Verity goes straight to Judith Potts, Marlow’s resident amateur sleuth, for help. Oliver, founder of the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society, had hired The Marlow Belle, a private pleasure cruiser, for an exclusive party with the MADS committee but no one remembers seeing him disembark. And then Oliver’s body washes up on the Thames with two bullet holes in him – it’s time for the Marlow Murder Club to leap into action.

Oliver was, by all accounts, a rather complicated chap with a reputation for bullying children during nativity play rehearsals, and he wasn’t short of enemies. Judith, Suzie, and Becks are convinced they’ll find his killer in no time. But things are not as they seem in the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society, and this case is not so clear-cut after all. The gang will need to keep their wits about them to solve this case, otherwise a killer will walk free.

My Opinion: If you’re jumping into The Marlow Murder Club, I’d recommend picking a lane: either the books or the TV series. I started with the novels, so the show’s tweaks feel like unnecessary detours. The heart of the story is still there, but the rhythm and tone shift just enough to be distracting if you’re toggling between formats.

This installment is light and easy to follow, even if you opt to change between the written page and the audiobook. It’s not trying to be profound, just a typical whodunnit with one body and a buffet of suspects. The pacing meanders a bit, with stretches that feel more like scenic detours than plot propulsion. But just when I was settling into the idea that this one might coast to a predictable finish, Thorogood pulled the rug out with a twist.

What keeps me coming back isn’t the mystery itself; it’s the Marlow Murder Club ladies. Their banter, their quirks, their refusal to stay in their lane. They’re the glue holding this series together, and their antics still make me smile.

And just when you think the story’s wrapped up, it throws in a final flourish that retroactively ties the chaos together. It doesn’t change the picture much, but it does make it feel more complete.

That said, a few days after finishing, I couldn’t tell you the finer points of the plot. It’s more about the ride than the destination. If you’re here for depth, this isn’t it. But if you’re here for charm, a dash of absurdity, and a trio of amateur sleuths who refuse to quit, you’ll find enough to enjoy.

The Lies They Told

Title: The Lies They Told
Author: Ellen Marie Wiseman
Published: July 29, 2025, by Kensington
Format: Kindle, Paperback, 417 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Blurb: In rural 1930s Virginia, a young immigrant mother fights for her dignity and those she loves against America’s rising eugenics movement – when widespread support for policies of prejudice drove imprisonment and forced sterilizations based on class, race, disability, education, and country of origin – in this tragic and uplifting novel of social injustice, survival, and hope for readers of Susan Meissner, Kristin Hannah, and Christina Baker Kline.

When Lena Conti—a young, unwed mother—sees immigrant families being forcibly separated on Ellis Island, she vows not to let the officers take her two-year old daughter. But the inspection process is more rigorous than she imagined, and she is separated from her mother and teenage brother, who are labeled burdens to society, denied entry, and deported back to Germany. Now, alone but determined to give her daughter a better life after years of living in poverty and near starvation, she finds herself facing a future unlike anything she had envisioned.

Silas Wolfe, a widowed family relative, reluctantly brings Lena and her daughter to his weathered cabin in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains to care for his home and children. Though the hills around Wolfe Hollow remind Lena of her homeland, she struggles to adjust. Worse, she is stunned to learn the children in her care have been taught to hide when the sheriff comes around. As Lena meets their neighbors, she realizes the community is vibrant and tight knit, but also senses growing unease. The State of Virginia is scheming to paint them as ignorant, immoral, and backwards so they can evict them from their land, seize children from parents, and deal with those possessing “inferior genes.”

After a social worker from the Eugenics Office accuses Lena of promiscuity and feeblemindedness, her own worst fears come true. Sent to the Virginia State Colony for the Feebleminded and Epileptics, Lena face impossible choices in hopes of reuniting with her daughter—and protecting the people, and the land, she has grown to love.

My Opinion: Ellen Marie Wiseman is a new-to-me author, but if The Lies They Told is any indication of her storytelling power, she’s earned a permanent spot on my “must-read” list.

What first drew me in was the subject of eugenics, a dark and often overlooked chapter in American history. But what kept me turning the pages was the way Wiseman wove that history into a deeply human story. The pacing was tight, the characters vivid and raw, and the emotional weight? Unrelenting. I found myself needing to read it in small doses, not because it lagged, but because it hurt.

The opening hit especially hard. My own grandparent came through Ellis Island, and I had no idea of the gauntlet some immigrants faced. Reading about the so-called medical inspections, where people were poked, prodded, and interrogated in a language they didn’t understand, felt eerily reminiscent of something far more sinister. It wasn’t just about health. It was about worth. About who was deemed “fit” to enter and who was cast aside. Families were torn apart by the stroke of a pen, and the idea that someone could be labeled a burden to society by a stranger with a clipboard made my stomach turn.

This book broke me. Again and again. I couldn’t look away, and I couldn’t pretend it was just fiction. Wiseman made me feel every injustice Lena and Silas endured. Every betrayal. Every moment of despair. And when they shattered, I shattered with them.

The pain didn’t end with the final chapter. The author’s note was its own kind of gut punch. In school, we’re taught that eugenics was a Nazi horror. What we’re not taught is that the Nazis took their cues from us. That silence, that omission, is part of the lie.

The Lies They Told isn’t just a novel. It’s a reckoning. And it will stay with me for a very long time.

The Tattered Cover

Title: The Tattered Cover
Author: Ellery Adams
Expected Publication: October 28, 2025, by Kensington Cozies
Format: Kindle 304pgs
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Secret, Book, & Scone Society #8

Blurb: As the residents of Miracle Springs, North Carolina, select their costumes, plan parties, and get excited for a night of tricks or treats, Nora joins in on the festivities by hosting medium memoirist Lara Luz at the bookstore. Charismatic and compelling, Lara mesmerizes the audience with her life story. Struck by a bolt of lightning as a child, she was pronounced dead only to be resurrected with the ability to connect with those on the other side.

Lara performs a reading for a select group of bookstore patrons when the encroaching storm knocks out the power. In the sudden darkness, howling cold winds intensify, and Lara clutches her heart, collapsing dead without warning. But Nora doesn’t believe she died of natural causes. Not one member of the psychic’s reading group—which includes the town’s widower pharmacist, an urgent care nurse, a mystery author, and even truculent Deputy Hollowell—were admirers of Lara.

Nora confirms this when she stumbles upon Lara’s journal in the aftermath of her death. For within its leathery bound pages are the medium and her clients’ deepest and darkest secrets, written in code. Now, Nora and the Secret, Book, and Scone Society must sift through the suspects and their motives to uncover which one of them is a killer before he or she is tempted to strike again

My Opinion: After a string of underwhelming reads, I reached for something comforting, familiar, and bookish that felt like fall. This novel delivered exactly that. Yes, it’s a little bookgirlie to say I needed a cozy mystery with coffee and pastries, but sometimes you need to lean into the season and let a well-worn series wrap around you like a favorite sweater.

I’ve been with this series from the beginning. The plot structure hasn’t changed much, and the characters feel like old friends who never surprise you, which is part of the charm. Nora remains the heart of Miracle Springs, and while Sheriff McCade might wear the badge, we all know who’s solving the case. The mystery itself gets a bit twisty, and there were moments I felt that I, too, had a concussion, but the plotting stays true to the amateur sleuth formula. You know what you signed up for, and you’re not mad about it.

There’s a quiet sweetness to these books. Friendship, found family, a touch of romance, and the kind of small-town rituals that make you want to linger. Each chapter opens with a quote, and some chapters even drop book titles like breadcrumbs for fellow readers to follow. It’s the literary equivalent of chatting with a bookseller who knows their genres and isn’t afraid to recommend across the aisle.

That said, the pacing lagged a bit. Covering three months felt excessive for a mystery that didn’t demand it. Was it meant to mirror seasonal change? To stretch out the investigation? Or give a pregnant mother time. I’m not sure, but I did find myself wishing for a tighter edit.

Still, this novel was a gentle reset; a palate cleanser between heavier reads. It reminded me why I keep showing up for this series: not for the plot twists, but for the comfort, the community, and the quiet joy of a story that knows exactly what it is.

Circle of Days

Title: Circle of Days
Author: Ken Follett
Published: September 23, 2025, by Grand Central Publishing
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 704 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Blurb: A FLINT MINER WITH A GIFT
Seft, a talented flint miner, walks the Great Plain in the high summer heat, to witness the rituals that signal the start of a new year. He is there to trade his stone at the Midsummer Fair, and to find Neen, the girl he loves. Her family lives in prosperity and offer Seft an escape from his brutish father and brothers within their herder community.

A PRIESTESS WHO BELIEVES THE IMPOSSIBLE
Joia, Neen’s sister, is a priestess with a vision and an unmatched ability to lead. As a child, she watches the Midsummer ceremony, enthralled, and dreams of a miraculous new monument, raised from the biggest stones in the world. But trouble is brewing among the hills and woodlands of the Great Plain.

A MONUMENT THAT WILL DEFINE A CIVILIZATION
Joia’s vision of a great stone circle, assembled by the divided tribes of the Plain, will inspire Seft and become their life’s work. But as drought ravages the earth, mistrust grows between the herders, farmers and woodlanders—and an act of savage violence leads to open warfare

My Opinion: I was looking forward to this book. The idea of a story rooted in the mystery of Stonehenge had me intrigued. It’s the kind of concept that sparks curiosity and promises something epic. And knowing it came from Ken Follett, I expected to be swept away.

But somewhere around page 130, I realized I wasn’t turning the pages with any urgency. The characters weren’t the problem; they were fine, even likable. What I needed was momentum. A sense of discovery. Something to make me lean in. Instead, the story felt stuck.

It’s disappointing, especially when the premise holds so much potential. I kept waiting for the Stonehenge thread to anchor the narrative in something mythic or mysterious. But that promise never quite materialized; at least not before I set the book down.

This wasn’t a rage-quit. More of a quiet fade. I gave it a fair shot, but in the end, it just didn’t grab me. And with Follett, I know he can deliver better.

The Book of Lost Hours

Title: The Book of Lost Hours
Author: Hayley Gelfuso
Published: August 26, 2025, by Atria Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 400 Pages
Genre: Historical Time Travel
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Blurb: Enter the time space, a soaring library filled with books containing the memories of those have passed and accessed only by specially made watches once passed from father to son—but mostly now in government hands. This is where eleven-year-old Lisavet Levy finds herself trapped in 1938, waiting for her watchmaker father to return for her. When he doesn’t, she grows up among the books and specters, able to see the world only by sifting through the memories of those who came before her. As she realizes that government agents are entering the time space to destroy books and maintain their preferred version of history, she sets about saving these scraps in her own volume of memories. Until the appearance of an American spy named Ernest Duquesne in 1949 offers her a glimpse of the world she left behind, setting her on a course to change history and possibly the time space itself.

In 1965, sixteen-year-old Amelia Duquesne is mourning the disappearance of her uncle Ernest when an enigmatic CIA agent approaches her to enlist her help in tracking down a book of memories her uncle had once sought. But when Amelia visits the time space for the first time, she realizes that the past—and the truth—might not be as linear as she’d like to believe.

The Book of Lost Hours explores time, memory, and what we sacrifice to protect those we love.

My Opinion: I finished the novel days ago and it’s still echoing in my head. I’ve been circling around how to describe the experience, since it wasn’t just enjoyable, it was immersive, unsettling, and quietly brilliant.

Hayley Gelfuso pulled off something rare: she took two genres I don’t usually reach for, historical fiction and time travel, and wove them together in a way that felt fresh, emotionally resonant, and surprisingly intimate. The story doesn’t just span eras; it plays with identity, memory, and the slipperiness of truth. You know from the start that the characters’ paths will cross, but the when and how are part of the magic. There’s a slow-burn tension as you begin to sense that each person is more than they appear, and that their fates are deeply entangled.

Yes, some of the twists are easy to spot. But that doesn’t cheapen the experience. Gelfuso knows exactly when to drop a gasp-worthy moment or a quiet revelation that makes you sit up straighter. It’s not about shock, it’s about emotional timing. And she nails it.

This isn’t a book to nibble at. Read it in generous stretches. The shifting timelines and layered character arcs demand your full attention, and the payoff is worth it. You’ll find yourself questioning who’s “good” and who’s “evil,” and just when you think you’ve picked a side, the story nudges you to reconsider.

And the ending? It’s one of those rare finales that makes you flip back a few pages, just to make sure you caught it right. Miss a single phrase, and you might miss everything. It’s the kind of ending that begs for conversation; one you’ll want to dissect with someone else.

Honestly, I wish I could read it again for the first time. That’s the highest compliment I can give.

The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant

Title: The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant
Author: Liza Tully
Published: July 8, 2025 by Berkley
Format: Kindle, Hardcover 400 Pages
Genre: Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Merritt & Blunt Mysteries (#1)

Blurb: Olivia Blunt doesn't want to be an assistant detective for the rest of her life. She's determined to learn everything she can from her mentor and renowned investigator, Aubrey Merritt, but the latter is no easy grader.

After weeks of fielding phone calls from parties desperate for the world-renowned detective’s help, a case comes across Olivia’s desk that just might be worthy of Merritt’s skills. On the evening of her sixty-fifth birthday party, Victoria Summersworth somehow fell over her balcony railing to her death on the rocky shore of Lake Champlain. She was a happy woman—rich, beloved, in love, and matriarch of the preeminent Summersworth family. The police have ruled it a suicide, but her daughter Haley thinks it was murder.

Merritt is ever the skeptic, but Olivia believes Haley. Plus, she’s desperate to prove her investigative skills to her aloof boss. But the Summersworth family drama is a complicated web.

Olivia realizes she might be in over her head with this whole detective thing... or she might be unravelling a mystery even bigger than the one she’d started with.

My Opinion: I made it to 17%—about 70 pages—and then tapped out. Not because I’m impatient, but because I kept waiting for something, anything, to spark. A moment of intrigue. A character worth rooting for. A reason to turn the page. But nope. Nothing.

The setup had promise: Olivia Blunt, a lifelong detective fangirl, lands a gig as assistant to the legendary Aubrey Merritt. That should’ve been a recipe for quirky banter, clever cases, and at least one compelling dynamic. Instead, it’s a slow drip of dull dialogue and lifeless scenes. The pacing is sluggish, the tone flat, and the characters? Cardboard cutouts with no emotional pull.

It’s not just that the story moves slowly; it’s that it asks the reader to care without offering anything in return. No tension, no charm, no spark. I wanted to like it. But Liza Tully took a solid concept and buried it under a mountain of missed opportunities.

If you're hoping for a witty mystery with engaging leads, keep walking. This one’s all hype, no payoff.

The Thursday Murder Club

Title: The Thursday Murder Club
Author: Richard Osman
Published: September 22, 2020, by Penguin Books
Format: Paperback, 382 Pages
Genre: Mystery
Series: Thursday Murder Club #1

Blurb: In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.

But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.

Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it's too late?

My Opinion: After watching the Netflix adaptation, I figured, why not try the book? I was curious to see if the charm held up on the page. And for the most part, it did, at least in the beginning.

The setup is fun: a group of retirees solving cold cases between tea and cake. Osman’s humor is enjoyable, and the characters are quirky in that British-cozy way that makes you want to pull up a chair and join them. I was enjoying myself, chuckling here and there, nodding along.

But somewhere around the three-quarter mark, things started to drag. The plot and pacing slowed, and I found myself zoning out. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand what was happening; I just stopped caring. The charm wore off, and finishing the book felt more like a chore than a treat.

I did finish it, though. And afterward, I had that “meh” feeling. Not angry, not disappointed, just kind of wishing I’d spent that time on something else. I know this series has its fans, and I get the appeal. But for me? One and done. I won’t be picking up book two.

If you love cozy mysteries with a side of sass and don’t mind a slower pace, this might be your jam. But if you’re looking for something that keeps the momentum all the way through, maybe look elsewhere.

A Short Stay in Hell

Title: A Short Stay in Hell
Author: Steven L. Peck
Published: March 23, 2012, by Strange Violin Editions
Format: Kindle, 108 Pages
Genre: Fiction

Blurb: As a faithful Mormon, Soren Johansson has always believed he’ll be reunited with his loved ones after death in an eternal hereafter. Then, he dies. Soren wakes to find himself cast by a God he has never heard of into a Hell whose dimensions he can barely grasp: a vast library he can only escape from by finding the book that contains the story of his life.

In this haunting existential novella, author, philosopher, and ecologist Steven L. Peck explores a subversive vision of eternity, taking the reader on a journey through the afterlife of a world where everything everyone believed in turns out to be wrong.

My Opinion: I’m not sure what I was expecting when I picked up this novella, but I know it wasn’t this. Steven L. Peck delivers a compact, cerebral gut-punch in just 108 pages, and yet it lingers like something much heavier.

The premise is deceptively simple and deeply unsettling. You live your life as a devout Mormon, die of cancer at 45, and wake up in hell. Not because you were cruel or careless, but because Zoroastrianism turned out to be the one true faith. And now, as penance, you must wander an infinite library until you find the one book that tells the story of your life. Only then can you leave.

It’s a brilliant setup, and the deeper I got into it, the more I wished I were reading it with a book group. There’s so much to unpack: faith, futility, identity, memory, and the terrifying possibility that meaning itself might be a cosmic joke. Hell, in this story, isn’t fire and brimstone. It’s repetition. It’s isolation. It’s the slow erosion of hope in a place where time stretches beyond comprehension.

Peck doesn’t offer a tidy resolution. If you’re looking for a happily ever after, this isn’t it. What you get instead is an existential crisis wrapped in sparse, elegant prose. It’s the kind of book that makes you sit quietly afterward, wondering what you believe and why; and whether belief even matters in the face of infinity.

This novel is uniquely haunting and you will be thinking about it for a long time.

The Library at Hellebore

Title: The Library at Hellebore
Author: Cassandra Khaw
Published: July 22, 2025, by Tor Nightfire
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 278 Pages
Genre: Horror
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Blurb: The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is the premier academy for the dangerously the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers.

Hellebore promises redemption, acceptance, and a normal life after graduation. At least, that’s what Alessa Li is told when she’s kidnapped and forcibly enrolled.

But there’s more to Hellebore than meets the eye. On graduation day, the faculty go on a ravenous rampage, feasting on Alessa’s class. Only Alessa and a group of her classmates escape the carnage. Trapped in the school’s library, they must offer a human sacrifice every night, or else the faculty will break down the door and kill everyone.

Can they band together and survive, or will the faculty eat its fill?

My Opinion: I’m glad I didn’t let the negative reviews steer me away from this novel. I devoured it in two days, and if sleep weren’t a necessity, I’d have read straight through the night. It’s that gripping.

Now, let’s talk about the prose. Yes, it’s dense. Some readers called it “word salad,” and they’re not entirely wrong, but they’re missing the point. This isn’t the kind of dark academia that feels like slogging through a thesaurus for sport. It’s more like being dropped into a gothic fever dream where the language itself is part of the atmosphere. You either lean into the lush, labyrinthine sentences or let them wash over you and trust that the emotional and thematic current will carry you where you need to go. And it does.

The story is a mash-up of dark academia and cosmic horror. The opening chapters feel like a vocabulary test wrapped in dread, but it fits. Cosmic horror isn’t about jump scares or gore for gore’s sake; it’s about the creeping realization that we are small, fragile things in a universe that doesn’t care if we understand it. Khaw nails that existential unease. The horror here is psychological, philosophical, and deeply unsettling. It’s the kind of book that makes you question what’s real, what’s knowable, and whether knowing is even safe.

Plot-wise, it’s a non-linear descent. Told in fragments, before and during the final days at Hellebore. You’ll find yourself flipping back, second-guessing what you thought you knew, and wondering who exactly is speaking. I got so caught up in the plot that I missed some of the character nuance on the first pass. Alessa Li stood out, but the rest? I’ll need a second read to untangle their threads. It reminded me of watching The Sixth Sense with that eerie feeling that something’s been hiding in plain sight all along.

And yes, it’s horror. Real horror. Not the kind that makes you say “well, that was interesting” and move on. This one’s gruesome, gory, and weirdly funny in places. It’s quotable, thought-provoking, and not something I’d recommend reading alone at night unless you enjoy being unsettled.

Cassandra Khaw is new to me, and wow, she did not hold back. I’d never even heard of cosmic horror before this, and now I’m wondering what other literary spaces I’ve been avoiding. Will I read more of her work? Eventually. But first, I need to recover from this one.

Dead Line

Title: Dead Line
Author: Marc Cameron
Published: July 29, 2025 by Kensington
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 336 Pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Arliss Cutter #7

Blurb: Deputy U.S. Marshals Arliss Cutter and Lola Teariki are at frozen Cheney Lake, finally nearing their prey. He’s Butch Pritchard, a killer-for-hire as ruthless as the Anchorage wind, and wanted for the murder of a 25-year-old pregnant woman in Missouri. A cruel hit orchestrated by the victim’s husband, Royce Decker, a former member of the St. Louis Metro PD and on the run too. As quickly as Butch is in the marshals’ sight he disappears, abandoning a bear of a partner who’s terrified for his life. But it isn’t Butch or Royce he’s afraid of.

If it isn’t those two outlaws, then who? And why? Right now, the creep in custody has gone silent and Arliss and Lola soon realize there’s more to this manhunt than they ever imagined. To see it through to the end they’ll have to find Butch first, then close on the cold-blooded husband. There is one lead to go on: a woman Butch has been involved with. His number one. She’s ready to talk. Even as scared to death as she is. When Arliss and Lola suddenly face an all-new case linked to this one, they’ll find out what everyone is so afraid of. And how many ways things could still go terribly wrong.

My Opinion: When a thriller opens with four Kindle pages of character names and descriptions, and the entire book is under 350 pages, you know you're in for a ride. For me, that kind of front-loading signals trouble and too much concentration on who is who instead of focusing on plotting.

By the 25% mark, I found myself double-checking the series order, convinced I’d accidentally reread an earlier installment. I was sure that I had read this before. I was getting the rinse and repeat feeling. The pacing felt off, the energy flat. Gone was the dry humor that usually threads Cutter’s dialogue. Instead, we got descriptions about past characters and relationships. This is book seven. Readers who’ve made it this far don’t need a recap. They need momentum.

I’ve always pitched Arliss Cutter as an Alaskan answer to Jethro Gibbs from NCIS: stoic, sharp, and quietly commanding. But here, Cutter’s signature deadpan wit and moral gravity are muted. The moments where he’d normally deliver a single deadpan line. Missing. The tension that usually simmers beneath his silence? Absent.

Then, around the 200-page mark, the book wakes up. The plot tightens, a little snark shows up, the stakes rise, and suddenly, I’m hooked. The final stretch delivers what the first half lacked: urgency, clarity, and that Cutter edge. Then comes the ending. Out of nowhere, it hits like a sucker punch. I gasped. That twist alone earns the next book a spot on my list.

And then, just when you think the tone has finally gotten back on track, there’s a recipe. A literal chocolate cream pie recipe at the end of a book about federal agents chasing down killers in the Alaskan wilderness. They’re tracking, interrogating, surviving. This isn’t a cozy mystery. Cameron’s usual audience craves tactical grit, not dessert.

So yes, Dead Line is uneven. It drags, it detours, it misfires. But it also recovers. If you can push through the fog, the payoff is real. And when you are finished, you can track down your own dessert.

The Unraveling of Julia

Title: The Unraveling of Julia
Author: Lisa Scottoline
Published: July 15, 2025, by Grand Central Publishing
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 400 Pages
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Blurb: Lately, Julia Pritzker is beginning to think she’s cursed. She’s lost her adoptive parents, then her husband is murdered. When she realizes that her horoscope essentially foretold his death, she begins to spiral. She fears her fate is written in the stars, not held in her own hands.

Then a letter arrives out of the blue, informing her that she has inherited a Tuscan villa and vineyard —but her benefactor is a total stranger named Emilia Rossi. Julia has no information about her biological family, so she wonders if Rossi could be a blood relative. Bewildered, she heads to Tuscany for answers.

There, Julia is horrified to discover that Rossi was a paranoid recluse who believed herself to be a descendant of Duchess Caterina Sforza, a legendary Renaissance ruler. Stunned by her uncanny resemblance to Rossi and even to Caterina, Julia is further unnerved when she unearths eerie parallels between them, including an obsession with astrology.

Before long, Julia suspects she’s being followed, and strange things begin to happen. Not even a chance meeting with a handsome Florentine can ease her troubled mind. When events turn deadly, Julia’s harrowing struggle becomes a search for her identity, a race to save her sanity, and ultimately, a question of her very survival.

My Opinion: Forget the comparisons to Rebecca or Jane Eyre, The Unraveling of Julia isn’t trying to be a gothic homage. It’s a psychological thriller with its own pulse, wrapped in layers of astrology, adoption, and ancestral mystery, all set against the moody backdrop of a decaying Tuscan estate. Once I stopped looking for Brontë shadows and leaned into the psychological thriller aspects, I was hooked.

Lisa Scottoline wastes no time pulling you in. From page one, the tension is palpable, and nothing is handed to you on a silver platter. You’re piecing together murder, gaslighting, and tangled family histories with no clear path forward, which is part of the thrill. The narrative keeps you guessing, not just about motives but about who you can trust.

The woo-woo elements of astrology, ancestral echoes, and cosmic timing might stretch the limits for some readers, but in this setting, they feel earned. Tuscany practically hums with old-world mysticism, and Scottoline leans into it with gusto. It’s not just atmospheric; it’s integral to the unraveling.

Fast-paced and immersive, this book doesn’t let up. It’s a ride through emotional fog and fractured identities, and while the twists are sharp, the storytelling never loses its grip. If you’re in the mood for a thriller that makes you work for the payoff and rewards you with a satisfying sense of disorientation, Julia’s unraveling is worth the plunge.

Rage

Title: Rage
Author: Linda Castillo
Published: July 8, 2025, by Minotaur Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 304 Pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Kate Burkholder #17

Blurb: Summer has arrived with a vengeance in Painters Mill, and a macabre discovery by three Amish children brings the quiet to a grinding halt. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder arrives on scene to find the dismembered body of 21-year-old Samuel Eicher, a local Amish man who owned a successful landscaping business. What twisted individual murdered him in such a sadistic way?

The investigation has barely begun when, miles away, a second body is found, stuffed into a barrel and dumped in a ravine. The deceased is 21-year-old Aaron Shetler, Samuel Eicher’s best friend. What could these two young Amish men have done to deserve such violent ends?

With a heat wave bearing down, Kate learns quickly that, for reasons she doesn’t understand, no one is willing to talk about what happened to the men. Just as she begins to fear the case may be hopeless, a mystery woman comes forward and reveals that fun-loving Aaron and Samuel had recently befriended some very unsavory characters―individuals who may have ties to a larger, more sinister, black market.

To solve the case, Kate must delve into the most sordid corners of her community, but when she gets too close, the killers target Kate herself. Will the secrets simmering beneath the surface of Painters Mill take another life before she can expose the truth? Or will Kate be the final victim?

My Opinion: Seventeen books in, and Linda Castillo still knows how to hook a reader from page one. Rage opens with a chilling discovery: the dismembered body of a young Amish man, scattered in eleven pieces. It’s a gruesome scene, so much so that even Kate Burkholder, who’s seen her share of horror, struggles to keep her composure. The brutality is front and center, setting the tone for a case that spirals into darker territory.

The victim’s past is murky. Was it a rumspringa gone wrong? A lawsuit turned deadly? Or maybe the woman his mother warned him about? Castillo lays out the possibilities with just enough ambiguity to keep you guessing. And when the victim’s best friend turns up, things get even messier. What did these boys stumble into?

Kate, Tomasetti, and the Painter’s Mill PD are pulled in every direction, chasing leads that seem to multiply faster than they can pin them down. The first third of the book is especially strong; you’re right there with Kate, sorting through the chaos, trying to make sense of the senseless.

But here’s where things start to wobble. Rage is a linear, plot-driven novel, focused on a single chain of events. For readers who crave layered subplots or emotional depth, this one might feel a bit thin. There’s room, at just over 300 pages, to explore more, but the story sticks to its straight path. And while the title nods to an Amish rage, it doesn’t quite resonate with the actual plot.

The resolution? Not exactly shocking. The clues are there, and the reveal makes sense, but it’s overshadowed by the repeated physical trauma Kate endures. Beaten, drugged, kidnapped—again. It’s starting to feel less like gritty realism and more like a pattern that undermines her intelligence and resilience. Is Castillo trying to retire her superhero, or just testing how much punishment Kate, or the reader, can take?

And where was the twist? This series has always delivered a final jolt, something unexpected that lingers. Rage doesn’t land that punch.

I’ll always pick up a Burkholder novel. The series has earned that loyalty. But would I hand this one to a new reader? Probably not. If you’re just starting out, go back to the earlier books; those had more narrative meat and emotional complexity. Rage feels like it’s running out of steam.

Still, for longtime fans, there’s comfort in the familiar rhythm. Just don’t expect this installment to leave a lasting mark.

The Blue Horse

Title: The Blue Horse
Author: Bruce Borgos
Published: July 8, 2025, by Minotaur Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 368 Pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Porter Beck #3

Blurb: A helicopter driving a controversial round-up of wild horses suddenly crashes and the pilot is found to have been shot. Then the person coordinating the round-up for the Bureau of Land Management is savagely murdered, buried up to her neck and then trampled to death by the very same wild horses. And there's no lack of suspects—with the wild horse advocacy group having sworn to protect the horse At Any Cost! Now the state and federal agencies are showing up looking for answers or at least a scapegoat.

Sheriff Porter Beck has had better days.

Porter Beck's new girlfriend, Detective Charlie Blue Horse, arrives to help with the investigation, which leads them to Canadian Lithium mining operation near the round-up area that sets off Beck's mental alarm bells. Brinley, Beck's sister, is leading a group of troubled kids in a wilderness program, when one of them, Rafa, bolts one night. When Brinley catches up to him, they're just outside the mine—in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

With his personal life in turmoil, too many suspects and too many secrets, the feds pushing for a quick resolution, and his impetuous (if skilled) sister in the mix, one wrong step could be deadly for Porter Beck.

My Opinion: If you’re drawn to characters like Walt Longmire or Arliss Cutter -- men who lead with grit, humor, and a stubborn sense of justice -- Porter Beck belongs on your shelf. Bruce Borgos may not have the same name recognition as Johnson or Cameron, but he’s writing at their level, and The Blue Horse proves it.

Beck’s inherited eye condition, retinitis pigmentosa, means he’s fine in daylight but nearly blind at night. And since trouble tends to come after dark, he’s forced to rely on instinct, experience, and a sharp tongue to survive. Some of the book’s best moments -- funny, tense, and deeply human -- come when Beck is bluffing through danger he can’t fully see.

The story opens with the rounding up, or gathering, of wild horses, and those scenes are emotionally raw. If you’re sensitive to animal distress, brace yourself; the brutality doesn’t stop there. It shifts toward people, and Borgos doesn’t pull punches. The violence is never gratuitous, but it hits hard.

Set in 2020, COVID isn’t just a timestamp; it’s a living part of the story. It shapes the characters’ isolation, urgency, and choices. Multiple storylines unfold, each compelling on its own, but they’re destined to collide. And when they do, the tension spikes.

By the final 20%, you’re not just reading, you’re racing. Borgos tightens the screws, tugs at your heart, and leaves you breathless. That last stretch is what turns this from a solid four-star read into a five-star gut punch.

Three books in, and these characters feel like family. Beck isn’t just a hero, he’s a man you root for, worry about, and want to follow into the dark.

All the Words We Know

Title: All the Words We Know
Author: Bruce Nash
Published: July 1, 2025, by Atria Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 240 Pages
Genre: Labeled as a Mystery, but it's actually Women's Fiction, Aging
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Blurb: Rose may be in her eighties and suffering from dementia, but she’s not done with life just yet. Alternately sharp as a tack and spectacularly forgetful, she spends her days roaming the corridors of her assisted living facility, musing on the staff and residents, and enduring visits form her emotionally distant children and granddaughters. But when her friend is found dead after an apparent fall from a window, Rose embarks on an eccentric and determined investigation to discover the truth and uncover all manner of secrets…even some from her own past.

My Opinion: After reading the mixed reviews, I’m glad I gave All the Words We Know a full chance. It’s not a book that will resonate with everyone, and that’s precisely what makes it worth reading. Though it’s technically labeled detective fiction, that feels like a misdirection. The mystery here isn’t about solving a crime, it’s about unraveling a life. Women’s fiction or literary fiction centered on aging would be a far more fitting genre tag.

The story is told through Rose, a narrator whose unreliability is both intentional and heartbreaking. She’s in the early to middle stages of dementia, and we know that from the start. But what we don’t know, and what Bruce Nash keeps us questioning, is how much Rose truly remembers, how much she’s been told to forget, and whether she’s confusing the two. Or maybe she’s not confused at all. Maybe she’s playing everyone. That ambiguity is what drives the novel, and it keeps you turning pages with a mix of dread and hope.

The unfolding leans heavily on homophones, which makes the written word essential. I wouldn’t recommend the audiobook version since so much of the nuance would be lost without seeing the language on the page. Nash uses repetition not as a flaw but as a feature. It mirrors the looping patterns of Rose’s mind, and while it can be disorienting, it’s also deeply immersive. You’re not just reading about dementia, you’re experiencing it from the inside.

Rose herself is a marvel. At times, she says things that sound racist, and it’s uncomfortable. But it’s also complicated. Is this her true nature surfacing without the usual filters? Or is it a symptom of her condition, a breakdown in the brain-to-mouth barrier? Either way, you learn to love her. She’s sharp in ways that sneak up on you. She might fumble for everyday words, but then she’ll drop the Latin name of a bird or a plant with effortless precision. You start to suspect she was once a teacher, a botanist, maybe an ornithologist. She’s not just a woman losing her memory; she’s a woman whose mind still holds treasures, even if she can’t always access them.

The setting, a care home, adds another layer of tension. Familiarity is a commodity, and what Rose can afford shapes what she’s allowed to remember. Her son’s evasiveness, her children’s skepticism, and the institutional haze all raise the question: who gets to decide what’s real? And who benefits from that decision?

This book is funny in the way that only truth can be. It’s heartbreaking in the way that only love can be. It’s terrifying in the way that only memory loss can be. And it’s weepy in the way that only a garden, real or imagined, can make you feel. By the end, I couldn’t swear to Rose’s name, even she says it’s unimportant, but good enough. And if the garden she sits in is only in her mind, then for every day she has left, I say let her have it. Let her have all the words she knows.

Vows of Murder

Title: Vows of Murder
Author: Lynn Cahoon
Published: February 4, 2025, by Kensington
Format: Kindle, 208 Pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Series: A Tourist Trap Mystery #17

Blurb: Jill’s wedding to police chief Greg King is just days away, at a historic Spanish mission with a courtyard full of olive trees. But the folks in South Cove are more intrigued by what kind of ceremonies might be going on behind the walls of New Hope, the walled property where charismatic Kane Matthews and his followers reside. Jill isn’t fond of the man, but his followers seem nice, and they buy a lot of books.

After a distraught woman stops by at Coffee, Books, and More with a picture of her daughter, who she believes needs rescuing from the suspected cult—and then Matthews’s body is found, at Jill’s wedding venue of all places—Jill makes a commitment to solve the case. With Greg’s mother as a houseguest, she must play hostess to her future in-law while pursuing a murderous outlaw.

My Opinion: Seventeen books in, and South Cove still reminds me of Cambria, with its breezy beach-town vibe and charming streets lined with shops, and if I didn’t love Cambria as much as I do, I might’ve stepped off this ride a few books ago. The subtle nods to Hearst Castle and the wildlife that once roamed its grounds aren’t just clever Easter eggs as to where Cahoon gets her inspiration; they anchor the story in a place that feels familiar and comforting. It is that sense of place which keeps me coming back, even when the series starts to drift.

Jill and Greg are finally getting married. The ceremony has been postponed so many times that readers might be forgiven for wondering if it’ll ever happen. Greg’s sudden moodiness and flashbacks to his previous marriage cast a shadow over what should be a celebratory lead-up.

Meanwhile, a new cult has settled into town, and with it comes a desperate mother searching for her missing daughter, presumed to be under the cult’s control. Jill’s instincts start to tingle, but she’s determined to stay focused on her wedding. Of course, longtime readers know that Jill doesn’t exactly do “stay focused.” Her sleuthing side inevitably takes over, even with vows looming and danger in the shadows.

The mystery setup has potential, but the execution feels scattered. The identity of the eventual murder victim is telegraphed early, and while the journey to the reveal offers a few twists, it’s more of a meander than a sprint. There’s even a ghost haunting the wedding venue which adds a quirky distraction, though it never quite lands.

Unfortunately, continuity issues abound. This wasn’t an ARC, so I was surprised by the number of inconsistencies that slipped through. The book leans heavily into food and wedding chatter, sidelining the bookshop and, oddly enough, the murder itself. Jill “blacks out” during the ceremony, so readers don’t even get the payoff of the wedding they’ve been waiting for. And as the story progresses, it feels like Cahoon loses grip on both the mystery and the emotional arc. The pacing stumbles, the tone shifts, and the narrative starts to feel like a rather than a cohesive whole.

The ending rushes through the resolution, with more attention paid to restaurant menus than motive. If this is meant to be a cozy mystery, the balance is off; readers need more sleuthing and less small talk about French fries.

That said, Cahoon still delivers a few genuinely funny lines, and the book is an easy, breezy read. But it’s time to ask whether this series still has fresh ground to cover. Either tighten the focus or consider giving Jill and Greg a well-earned retirement. Because while Cambria might be timeless, even the most charming coastal town can’t carry a story that’s lost its spark.

Death at a Highland Wedding

Title: Death at a Highland Wedding
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Published: May 20, 2025, by Minotaur Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 336 Pages
Genre: Time Travel
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: A Rip Through Time Novel #4

Blurb: After slipping 150 years into the past, modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson has embraced her new life in Victorian Scotland as housemaid Catriona Mitchel. Although it isn’t what she expected, she's developed real, meaningful relationships with the people around her and has come to love her role as assistant to undertaker Dr. Duncan Gray and Detective Hugh McCreadie.

Mallory, Gray, and McCreadie are on their way to the Scottish Highlands for McCreadie's younger sister's wedding. The McCreadies and the groom’s family, the Cranstons, have a complicated history which has made the weekend quite uncomfortable. But the Cranston estate is beautiful so Gray and Mallory decide to escape the stifling company and set off to explore the castle and surrounding wilderness. They discover that the groom, Archie Cranston, a slightly pompous and prickly man, has set up deadly traps in the woods for the endangered Scottish wildcats, and they soon come across a cat who's been caught and severely injured. Oddly, Mallory notices the cat's injuries don't match up with the intricacies of the trap. These strange irregularities, combined with the secretive and erratic behavior of the groom, put Mallory and Duncan on edge. And then when one of the guests is murdered, they must work fast to uncover the murderer before another life is lost.

My Opinion: Kelley Armstrong has long been one of my go-to authors thanks to her ability to shift between the mystery, fantasy, and horror genres. She doesn’t just dabble in these genres; she takes her readers on journeys through grit and grace.

Though I am a fan of this author, Death at a Highland Wedding tested my patience a bit more than usual. Let’s be honest: I’m a dead body in the first chapter kind of reader. I like my corpses early and my tension immediate. This one took nearly 75 pages to get to the “good part”, if a dead body can be called that, which made the pacing feel more like a slow waltz than a brisk reel. Once the mystery finally unfurled, the plot twisted in classic Armstrong fashion, though I’ll admit I occasionally lost track of who was connected to whom. That’s probably more of a “me” issue than a flaw in the writing, but if you’re juggling multiple characters and relationships, a cheat sheet wouldn’t hurt.

Armstrong doesn’t shy away from darker themes, and this installment includes moments of cruelty toward both animals and women that may be difficult for some readers. She handles these scenes with care and sensitivity, yet the emotional weight is still there.

Now, let’s talk characters. Fiona absolutely stole the show for me. She’s bold, brutally honest, and loyal to a fault. Her constant needling of Hugh adds a layer of tension and humor that keeps the story grounded even when the mystery veers into murky territory. And then there’s Mallory and Duncan, still caught in their slow-burn dance. But this time, there’s a shift, a quiet urgency that suggests choices are looming, not just about their relationship, but about what “home” really means.

The ending? It’s a soft landing. Not a dramatic cliffhanger, but a gentle exhale that leaves longtime readers of the series with a sense of satisfaction and maybe a little hope.

If you’re already invested in Armstrong’s world, this one’s worth the read; just know you’ll need a bit of patience before the plot hits its stride.

The Ghostwriter

Title: The Ghostwriter
Author: Julie Clark
Published: June 3, 2025 by Sourcebooks Landmark
Format: Hardcover, 368
Genre: Thriller

Blurb: June, 1975.

The Taylor family shatters in a single night when two teenage siblings are found dead in their own home. The only surviving sibling, Vincent, never shakes the whispers and accusations that he was the one who killed them. Decades later, the legend only grows as his career as a horror writer skyrockets.

Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont has spent her entire professional life hiding the fact that she is the only child of Vincent Taylor. Now on the brink of financial ruin, she's offered a job to ghostwrite her father's last book. What she doesn't know, though, is that this project is another one of his lies. Because it's not another horror novel he wants her to write.

After fifty years of silence, Vincent Taylor is finally ready to talk about what really happened that night in 1975.

My Opinion: I’m still not sure why this book resonated with so many readers. The Ghostwriter promises a haunting family mystery and emotional reckoning, but delivers it in a fragmented, often confusing package. The narrative jumps between timelines and perspectives with little warning, leaving me constantly flipping back to figure out who was speaking and whose trauma we were unpacking.

The word “mother” is tossed around like a plot device, but rarely clarified; sometimes it’s Vincent’s, sometimes Olivia’s, and sometimes I wasn’t sure the author even knew. The structure feels intentionally vague, perhaps to mirror dementia and buried memories, but it ends up muddying the emotional impact rather than deepening it.

There’s a story here, somewhere beneath the scattered chapters and cryptic dialogue, but it’s buried under stylistic choices that prioritize atmosphere over coherence. By the time the big reveal lands, I was too disengaged to care. The emotional payoff felt diluted, and the characters never quite came alive for me.

If you enjoy decoding a novel like it’s a puzzle missing half the pieces, this might be your thing. But for me, it was more ghost than substance.

Wild Dark Shore

Title: Wild Dark Shore
Author: Charlotte McConaghy
Published: March 4, 2025 by Flatiron Books
Format: Hardcover, 300 Pages
Genre: Thriller

Blurb: A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon.

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore.

Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again.

But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late―and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together.

A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears.

My Opinion: I’ll be honest, this book didn’t sweep me away at first. For the first two-thirds, I found myself drifting. Not bored, exactly, but questioning whether the journey was worth it. Charlotte McConaghy has managed to combine literary fiction, thriller, and a TED Talk on climate change, all in one.

The final hundred pages hit with the force of a wave. Suddenly, the characters weren’t just names on a page. They were flesh and soul. Rowan, Dominic, Fen, Raff, and Orly each carry their own burdens, and each one cracked me open in a different way. But it is Orly, who carries the book with his innocence, that will break your heart and stay with you for a long time.

Shearwater, the wild coastal setting, isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a living, breathing force. It mirrors the characters’ pain and resilience, shaping them as much as they shape each other, with its sacred, brutal, and heartbreaking beauty.

At its heart, this is a story about family, not the glossy kind, but the raw, fractured, deeply human kind. It’s about how we break, how we lose our way, and how, if we’re lucky, we find our way back through grief, courage, and the quiet faith that healing is possible.

I picked up Wild Dark Shore because of the buzz. I nearly put it down more than once. But I’m glad I didn’t. It took me somewhere unexpected and gave me truths I didn’t know I needed. It reminded me that sometimes, the most powerful stories are the ones that sneak up on you and then refuse to let go.

The Medusa Protocol

Title: The Medusa Protocol
Author: Rob Hart
Published: June 24, 2025, by G.P. Putnam's Sons
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 320 Pages
Genre: Thriller
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Assassins Anonymous #2

Blurb: When Astrid, known in her assassin days as Azrael, stopped showing up to Assassins Anonymous, the group assumed her past had caught up with her. Only her sponsor Mark, formerly the deadliest killer in the world, holds out hope that she’s okay. Then, during a meeting, the group gets a sign, or rather, a pizza delivery. Is there another psychopath out there who actually likes olives on their pizza, or is Astrid trying to send Mark a message? Meanwhile, Astrid wakes up in the cell of a black site prison, on a remote island. A doctor subjects her to mysterious experiments, plumbing the depths of her memory and looking for a vital clue from her past. She’ll do anything to escape, except…killing anyone. Hmm. Turns out it’s not easy to blow this joint without blowing anything, or anyone up.

My Opinion: The Medusa Protocol didn’t land for me the way Assassins Anonymous did. That first book had Mark at its center with his dry humor, reluctant vulnerability, and the strange warmth of a support group for killers trying to stay “clean.” It was sharp, funny, and surprisingly heartfelt. This sequel shifts the spotlight to Astrid, whose backstory was deliberately withheld in the first book.

Astrid’s been abducted and dumped in a secret black site off the coast of Brazil, where doctors experiment on humans, poisonous snakes form a protective barrier, and inmates wear pink or blue to signal their value. It’s a bizarre setting and Hart doesn’t hold back when it comes to the depravity. The reveal of why she’s there comes late, and the who behind it either blindsided me or wasn’t clearly seeded because it appeared to come out of nowhere. It felt more like ticking boxes rather than unfolding a layered character arc.

Still, the Assassins Anonymous (AA) meetings continue like clockwork and that consistency becomes Astrid’s lifeline. She manages to get a message out, and Mark, despite risking his hard-won “sobriety”, doesn’t hesitate to answer the call. Their bond, forged in violence and redemption, is the emotional core of the book. Astrid knows that taking out evil might mean starting her sobriety over, but she’s willing. And her AA family? They’re there, no judgment, just support.

A few familiar faces from the first book pop in and out, but they’re more cameo than connective tissue. The real throughline is the idea that even assassins deserve second chances, and sometimes, third or fourth ones too.

This book isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s brutal, bleak, and unflinching. There’s blood, gore, and some deeply unsettling Epstein-esque moments that made me queasy.

Even though The Medusa Protocol didn’t resonate with me like Hart’s earlier work, I still think he’s an underappreciated voice. His ideas are bold, his execution fearless, and I’ll keep watching for whatever he writes next.

The Fifth Season

Title: The Fifth Season
Author: N.K. Jemisin
Published: August 4, 2015 by Orbit
Format: Paperback, 468 Pages
Genre: Science Fiction / Fantasy / Dystopian
Series: Broken Earth Book #1

Blurb: Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze -- the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization's bedrock for a thousand years -- collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman's vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.

Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She'll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.

My Opinion: There’s a lot packed into the prologue of The Fifth Season and I wouldn’t blame anyone for setting the book down after those first fourteen pages. It’s dense, dry, and daunting. The appendices at the back don’t help either; they signal that this isn’t going to be a casual read. But for those who press on, there’s a map of the Stillness waiting; a small reward, a hint that this world, however harsh, is worth the effort.

Once you move into the chapters, something shifts. Maybe it’s the book that settles, or maybe it’s you. Either way, Jemisin begins to work her magic. And it’s not the kind of magic that gently pulls you in, it’s the kind that grabs you by the collar and drags you through ash and agony.

Genre-wise, I’m still not sure where this book belongs. Science fiction? Fantasy? Dystopian? It’s all of them and none of them. Jemisin builds a world that defies easy categorization, and maybe that’s the point. The Stillness is a place of constant upheaval—geologically, emotionally, socially—and the narrative mirrors that instability.

Just when you think you’ve found your footing, Jemisin hits you with a new brutality. You’re sideswiped, knocked off balance, and left wondering, “What the rust am I getting into?” There’s shock, surprise, and a relentless stream of “I didn’t see that coming” moments. It’s not just plot twists; it’s emotional whiplash.

The story unfolds through three distinct perspectives:

• Essun, a grieving mother and powerful orogene, searching for her daughter in the wake of her son’s murder.

• Damaya, a young orogene just beginning to understand the terrifying power she holds.

• Syenite, a seasoned orogene on a mission that will unravel everything she thought she knew.

Each voice is unique, compelling, and heartbreakingly human. You’ll try to choose a favorite, but Jemisin won’t let you. Eventually, their stories converge in ways that are both devastating and brilliant, revealing an intricate architecture and the lives within it.

I didn’t see the last hundred pages coming. I read the final fifty with my mouth open, my stomach clenched, and tears streaming. Jemisin did something to me, something I’m still recovering from. And yet, I know I’ll reread this series once I’ve finished all three books. Not just to relive it, but to catch what I missed. Because I know she’s not done with me.

Yes, I’m late to this party. But I’m so glad I showed up. The Fifth Season explores oppression, prejudice, family, loss, and the brutal cycles of destruction and survival. It’s not an easy read, and it’s not meant to be. Book One will sit with you, both physically and emotionally, until you’re ready to face Book Two. And even then, you won’t be ready.

Return to Sender

Title: Return to Sender
Author: Craig Johnson
Published: May 27, 2025 by Viking
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
Genre: Western Police Procedural
Series: Walt Longmire #21

Blurb: When Blair McGowan, the mail person with the longest postal route in the country of over three hundred mile a day, goes missing the question becomes—where do you look for her? The Postal Inspector for the State of Wyoming elicits Sheriff Longmire to mount an investigation into her disappearance and Walt does everything but mail it in; posing as a letter-carrier himself, the good sheriff follows her trail and finds himself enveloped in the intrigue of an otherworldly cult.

My Opinion: At least there wasn’t the Mallo Cup woo-woo that pops up in some of Johnson’s earlier entries. This time around, he leaves the supernatural out of it and lets the oddball cult take center stage instead, which somehow feels more grounded, if no less bizarre.

Walt is brought in by a shirttail relative of his late wife to track down a missing mail carrier. She's eventually found, but Walt sticks around. Is it curiosity about the nearby cult? An excuse not to go back and face Cady? Or is there something deeper gnawing at him? Walt hates leaving a job unfinished, sure, but there’s something here that raises the hairs on the back of his neck. And Walt’s instinct rarely lets go until all the questions are answered.

Walt still sees Cady as a 12-year-old, which is understandable, maybe, but not a sufficient reason to resist the idea of her becoming Wyoming’s next Attorney General. When the truth finally cracks through, it’s sobering: Walt would do anything for his daughter, like she for him, but only if it is the best option for all involved. No threats, only personal choices. That moment of emotional honesty lands with weight, and then vanishes. Johnson never speaks about it again. A missed opportunity, perhaps, or a deliberate choice to leave some things unsettled for the next book.

Some of Johnson’s books require brute force to get through; woo-woo fatigue is real, while others make you wish for a few hundred more pages. But what makes this series an automatic buy for me is the dry, deadpan humor that threads through every page.

For me, the beginning ambled along, and then the second half is a full gallop. There are stretches where you forget to breathe, and then he drops a one-liner, about prairie poodles, and you snort-laugh before being pulled back under again. It’s that rhythm that makes Johnson so addictive. He reels you in, lets you catch your breath, then slams you with another twist.

And as this book ends, you assume to know exactly where the next Longmire story will pick up. Until then, Johnson will be off somewhere collecting local anecdotes, catching up on the history, and when he’s done, his own cult following will be there ready to follow Walt down whatever trail comes next.

The long-time readers of this series will be glad to see that all the familiar characters are here, along with a few others from previous books who pop in to see what’s happening and what kind of trouble is brewing.

The Love Haters

Title: The Love Haters
Author: Katherine Center
Published: May 20, 2025, by St. Martin's Press
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 320 Pages
Genre: Romance
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Blurb: Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past—now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West.

The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim—but fakes it that she can.

Plus: Cole is Hutch’s brother. And they don’t get along. Next stop paradise!

But paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good looking man she has ever seen . . . but also a bit of a love hater), along with his colorful Aunt Rue and his rescue Great Dane, she gets trapped in a lie. Or two.

Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses ensue—along with chances to tell the truth, to face old fears, and to be truly brave at last.

My Opinion: The Love Haters was my first dip into Katherine Center’s world, and I was surprised since I didn’t expect to enjoy it this much. What I found was a quirky, heartfelt, and emotionally layered story that blends classic romance tropes with genuine character growth and vulnerability.

At its heart, this is grumpy-sunshine done right. Katie Vaughn, a documentary filmmaker with a knack for tripping over her own optimism, isn’t just looking for love; she is looking to keep her job and find something about herself that she likes. Enter Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a brooding, self-assured Coast Guard rescue swimmer who’s genetically incapable of watching someone flounder and not stepping in. They’re mismatched in the best way. Hutch is steady and grounded, while Katie’s all sunshine and bungling. Between them is a chemistry that is less about sparks and more about a slow-burning beneath the banter.

What makes this story work isn’t just the romance (though it's adorably fumbly and sweet), but the deep emotional undercurrents. Katie’s journey toward self-acceptance, which is nudged along by her friend Beanie’s body-positive challenge and a self-help strategy she hilariously repurposes, is both funny and tender. Watching her fumble her way to empowerment and turn those insights onto Hutch creates some of the most unexpectedly moving scenes.

Family dynamics also bring real weight. Hutch and his brother Cole carry the scars of losing their parents far too young. Cole’s bitterness toward Hutch, who seems to glide through life with ease, is deep and painful. And when the truth behind their shared trauma finally emerges, it’s a moment that will squeeze a tear out of even the most jaded reader.

Rue, the caretaker who scooped up the broken boys and gave them a home, brings another layer of heart and color to this story. Her backstory? Gasp-worthy. Beautiful. Sad. Hopeful.

Oh, and George Bailey, the terrified Great Dane and Lucky the frog, when you find a friend, you protect your friend. George might be odd in the way he does that, but a friend is a friend.

Katie and Hutch don’t have a traditional meet-cute or a love-at-first-sight trajectory. They stumble, they deflect, they dodge their own feelings until their personal walls start crumbling. It's in those cracked-open moments, full of awkward missteps and vulnerable truths, that they become not just lovers, but partners. Bandages to each other’s bruises.

Katie is hilarious. She could trip into an ant hill and still find a way to make it endearing. Her clumsy charm and resilient spirit carry the story. And Hutch, ever the stoic protector, is there to catch her, sometimes literally.

Amid all the laughs, there's genuine heartbreak and some deep family drama. But Center keeps it balanced, never veering too far from the feel-good vibe. By the end, with its quirky and oh-so-satisfying conclusion, you’re smiling through the sweetness. Who knew hating love would lead to their own love story?

No spice, all heart. A perfect pick for readers craving a warm, romantic escape that won't make them blush but will definitely make them feel.