Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Can't Wait to Read Wednesday: The Secrets of Hartwood Hall / The Love Wager / Murder Your Employer / The Tapestries


The New
Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by the marvelous Tressa at Wishful Endings to spotlight upcoming release we are excited about that we have yet to read.

I can't pass up a gothic mystery! 

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden
(Dutton; February 28, 2023)   
A gripping and atmospheric debut that is at once a chilling gothic mystery and a love letter to Victorian fiction.

Nobody ever goes to Hartwood Hall. Folks say it's cursed...

It's 1852 and Margaret Lennox, a young widow, attempts to escape the shadows of her past by taking a position as governess to an only child, Louis, at an isolated country house in the west of England.

But Margaret soon starts to feel that something isn't quite right. There are strange figures in the dark, tensions between servants, and an abandoned east wing. Even stranger is the local gossip surrounding Mrs. Eversham, Louis's widowed mother, who is deeply distrusted in the village.

Lonely and unsure whom to trust, Margaret finds distraction in a forbidden relationship with the gardener, Paul. But as Margaret's history threatens to catch up with her, it isn't long before she learns the truth behind the secrets of Hartwood Hall.
[Goodreads Summary]

This sounds like it will be a funny romcom. I can't wait to read it.

The Love Wager
 by Lynn Painter
 
(Berkley; March 14, 2023)
Hallie Piper is turning over a new leaf. After belly-crawling out of a hotel room (hello, rock bottom), she decides it’s time to become a full-on adult.

She gets a new apartment, a new haircut, and a new wardrobe, but when she logs into the dating app that she has determined will find her new love, she sees none other than Jack, the guy whose room she’d snuck out of.

Through the app, and after the joint agreement that they are absolutely not interested in each other, Jack and Hallie become partners in their respective searches for The One. They text each other about their dates, often scheduling them at the same restaurant so that if things don’t go well, the two of them can get tacos afterward.

Spoiler: they get a lot of tacos together.

Discouraged by the lack of prospects, Jack and Hallie make a wager to see who can find true love first, but when they agree to be fake dates for a weekend wedding, all bets are off.

As they pretend to be a couple, lines become blurred and they each struggle to remember why the other was a bad idea to begin with.
 [Goodreads Summary]

One of the many books added to my wish list because of fellow bloggers like you. A pretty cover, a unique, funny and thrilling crime novel I won't be able to resist. 

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide
by Rupert Holmes
(Simon & Schuster, February 21, 2023)   
From the diabolical imagination of Edgar Award–winning novelist, playwright, and story-songwriter Rupert Holmes comes a devilish thriller with a killer concept: The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, a luxurious, clandestine college dedicated to the fine art of murder where earnest students study how best to “delete” their most deserving victim.

Who hasn’t wondered for a split second what the world would be like if a person who is the object of your affliction ceased to exist? But then you’ve probably never heard of The McMasters Conservatory, dedicated to the consummate execution of the homicidal arts. To gain admission, a student must have an ethical reason for erasing someone who deeply deserves a fate no worse (nor better) than death. The campus of this “Poison Ivy League” college—its location unknown to even those who study there—is where you might find yourself the practice target of a classmate…and where one’s mandatory graduation thesis is getting away with the perfect murder of someone whose death will make the world a much better place to live.

Prepare for an education you’ll never forget. A delightful mix of witty wordplay, breathtaking twists and genuine intrigue,
Murder Your Employer will gain you admission into a wholly original world, cocooned within the most entertaining book about well-intentioned would-be murderers you’ll ever read.  [Goodreads Summary]

Do any of these books interest you? What upcoming releases are you looking forward to reading?


The Old(er) 
Carole of Carole's Random Life in Books has given me the perfect excuse to spotlight those unread books on my TBR in her Books from the Backlog feature, reminding me what great books I have waiting for me under my own roof still to read!


Someone recommended The Tapestries to me years ago and I added it to my TBR shelf in 2015. I have read books about young girls married off at a young age, but not a boy. Romance, revenge and set in Vietnam . . . I am still interested in reading this one. 

The Tapestries by Kien Nguyen (2001)
This epic tale of romance and revenge immerses us in the world of a spirited young boy in turn-of-the-century Vietnam: Dan, who is thrust into an arranged marriage at age seven, who secretly witnesses his father's beheading, who escapes certain death by being sold into servitude, and who, ultimately, must choose between passion and family honor when he falls in love with the one woman he can never have.  [Goodreads Summary]



Have you read The Tapestries?  Does this book sound like something you would like to read? 


© 2023, Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

44 comments:

  1. I thought Secrets of Heartwood Hall sounded interesting but Murder Your Employer intrigues me even more!

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    1. Eustacia - I don't think I will be able to resist Murder Your Employer. Thank you for visiting!

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  2. All the books sound good to me! And I love the cover of Murder Your Employer. Very eye-catching to me.

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    1. Melody - I really like that cover too. :-) Thank you for stopping by!

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  3. They all sound like huge fun, Wendy:)). But I think the one that I'd like to read the most is Murder Your Employer. Mostly, I've been lucky and had reasonable bosses in my life - but there's one that I wouldn't have minded sticking a knife into...

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    1. Sarah - Doesn't that one sound like a lot of fun? I look forward to reading it. Thank you for visiting!

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  4. I'm interested in all three of the first ones. I read so many different genres and they all look and sound so good! First time seeing How to Murder Your Employer. Fun!

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    1. Barb - I like a variety of genres too. I hope we get to read all of these! Thank you for stopping by!

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  5. Murder Your Employer sounds amazing! I'm adding it to my list right now:-)

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    1. Tammy - I hope it will be as good as it sounds. Thank you for visiting!

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  6. The Secrets of Hartwell Hall does look like a fun one. I'm also looking forward to reading the Love Wager. And that How to Murder Your Employer is going on my TBR list at once. :D

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    1. Lark - I am excited about all three of these! Thank you for stopping by!

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  7. The Secrets of Hartwood Hall sounds absolutely amazing. I love that in the synopsis they call it a love letter to Victorian fiction. I do love a good gothic story! Murder Your Employer is also one that I would love to read, I think!

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    1. Stephanie - I couldn't resist after reading that synopsis either. Thank you for visiting!

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  8. I'm really looking forward to The Love Wager too!

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    1. Wendy - It sounds like it will be a good one. I hope we both enjoy it! Thank you for stopping by!

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  9. The Secrets of Hartwood Hall looks great. I'm a big fan of gothic fiction, so it sounds right up my alley.

    My WoW post.

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    1. Majanka - I am too and The Secrets of Hartwood Hall sounds like it will be good. I hope we both enjoy it when we read it. Thank you for visiting!

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  10. All of those books sound interesting! I wouldn't turn down any of them.

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    1. Lisa - I hope they will be good. Thank you for stopping by!

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  11. I hope you enjoy these when you get a chance to read them!

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  12. Yeah the Hartwood Hall novel looks good! A haunted house and a relationship with the gardener - what more do you want in a novel?! ha. Now you must report back if it's as good as it sounds.

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    1. Susan - Hopefully I will get a chance to read it. :-) Thank you for stopping by!

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  13. These all sound good. I have The Love Wager to read. Hope you like them when you get to them.

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    1. Yvonne - I hope you and I both enjoy The Love Wager! Thank you for visiting!

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  14. I really like your picks and will add the first three to my own list. Thanks for sharing and linking up!

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    1. Tressa - I hope you enjoy them if you read them! Thank you for stopping by!

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  15. The Love Wager is one I hope to read too! I hope that you enjoy all of these books.

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    1. Jodie - I hope we both enjoy The Love Wager. Thank you for visiting!

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  16. I just added The Secrets of Hartwood Hall and Murder Your Employer to my wishlist. Thanks for sharing! :D

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    1. Ashley - I hope you enjoy them if you read them! Thank you for stopping by!

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  17. I'm not sure I'd want to read Tapestries. It sounds so depressing. I'm glad that was in the past and not happening today.

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    1. Harvee - I like sad books from time to time and they often turn out to be favorites. Thank you for stopping by!

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  18. All of these books sound intriguing. I have been finding so many good books to read from this meme that I will need a reading challenge to get through them.

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    1. Laura - If only we had more reading time . . . Thank you for visiting!

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  19. The first two also appeal to me, Wendy. I will have to see if I can find them.

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  20. The Secrets of Hartwood Hall is on my TBR. It looks so promising! And now I'm curious about Murder Your Employer.

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    1. Katherine - I hope they both will be good! Thank you for visiting!

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  21. I'm really excited for The Love Wager. Painter's books are always so much fun!

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    1. Suzanne - I haven't read anything by her, but I look forward to it. Thank you for stopping by!

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