Can't Wait to Read Wednesday: The Twilight Garden / Ghost Station / Pay Dirt / Queen of Hearts: The Crown

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.

The Twilight Garden by Sara Nisha Adams
Release Date: April 9, 2024 by William Morrow

Two warring London neighbors unite to resurrect a neglected city garden in this uplifting and quietly joyful novel by Sara Nisha Adams, author of the word-of-mouth hit The Reading List.

Between the houses of Number 77 and Number 79 on Stoke Newington Green in London, there is a shared garden. It was a beautiful thing once, a little oasis in a bustling city. Now it’s overgrown and neglected, an empty patch of greenery lost to time. But that suits neighbors Winston and Bernice just fine—their houses may share the garden, but they’re not exactly neighborly.

But one day, a mysterious parcel drops through Winston’s door at 77. It contains no note, only a bundle of photographs of the shared garden many years ago—vibrant with flowers and wildlife, filled with people from every corner of the community. Is someone trying to tell them something?

As a seed is planted. Winston and Bernice lay down their arms and pick up their gardening gloves. As they dig and plant, scrub and water, the garden begins to come out of hibernation—and the frostiness between them slowly begins to thaw. In finding their green fingers, the unlikely pair also start to hatch a bigger plan—could the shared garden help to revive the community spirit that’s been languishing for so long? With a little help from the secret gardener sending the parcels, they’re determined to find out.

Told with warmth and spirit, The Twilight Garden is a love letter to the little acts of kindness that can change a life. It’s a story of growth and community, and how when we dig in together, there’s always hope of a brighter future... [Goodreads Summary]

Sometimes I need a feel good novel and this sounds like a heartwarming read. I enjoyed the author's The Reading List and look forward to this one when it comes out too. 

Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes
Release Date: April 9, 2024 by Tor Nightfire

A crew must try to survive on an ancient, abandoned planet in the latest space horror novel from S.A. Barnes, acclaimed author of Dead Silence.

Space exploration can be lonely and isolating.

Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray has dedicated her life to the study and prevention of ERS—a space-based condition most famous for a case that resulted in the brutal murders of twenty-nine people. When she's assigned to a small exploration crew, she's eager to make a difference. But as they begin to establish residency on an abandoned planet, it becomes clear that crew is hiding something.

While Ophelia focuses on her new role, her crewmates are far more interested in investigating the eerie, ancient planet and unraveling the mystery behind the previous colonizer's hasty departure than opening up to her.

That is, until their pilot is discovered gruesomely murdered. Is this Ophelia’s worst nightmare starting—a wave of violence and mental deterioration from ERS? Or is it something more sinister?

Terrified that history will repeat itself, Ophelia and the crew must work together to figure out what’s happening. But trust is hard to come by… and the crew isn’t the only one keeping secrets. [Goodreads Summary]

Dead Silence had me on the edge of my seat and when I saw this upcoming release by S.A. Barnes, it went immediately on my wish list. I have a feeling this one will be impossible to put down!

Pay Dirt (V.I. Warshawski #22) by Sara Paretsky
Release Date: April 16, 2024 by William Morrow

Legendary detective V.I. Warshawski uncovers a mystery with roots dating back to the Civil War in this edge-of-your-seat thriller from New York Times bestseller Sara Paretsky. V.I. Warshawski is famous for her cool under fire, her sardonic humor, and her unflinching courage. All that changes when a case ends with a father killing the child she’d been hired to find. She’s second-guessing herself, forgetting to eat, forgetting her workout. Her worried friends send her down to Kansas for a weekend of college basketball; Angela, one of her protégées, is a Northwestern star. And that’s when V.I.’s troubles really begin. Sabrina, one of Angela’s roommates, disappears and V.I. agrees to stay behind to try to find her. Finding a missing person in a town where she doesn’t know anyone and has no snitches is hard, but not as hard as the local reaction to the detective. When V.I. finds Sabrina close to death in a drug house, the mother’s gratitude quickly turns to suspicion. V.I. finds herself in the FBI’s crosshairs, and the young men running the county’s opioid distribution are not happy. When V.I. discovers a local troublemaker’s dead body in the drug house a few days later, she is pitched headlong into a local land-use battle with roots going back to the Civil War. Today’s combatants are just as willing as opponents in the 1860s to kill to settle their differences. V.I.’s survival depends on keeping one step ahead of players in a game she doesn’t even know she’s playing. [Goodreads Summary]

The truth is I have only ever read the first book in this series and that was many years ago. I have always wanted to read more in the series. Seeing this new release pop up reminded me just how much I want to read more by Sara Partsky. 

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!

These past couple of months I have been featuring books on the losing end of my TBR List Poll, all books on my TBR shelves. This one was one of the options in my April 2016 poll. I do love re-tellings of well known fairytales and this one landed on my TBR shelf as a result. 

Queen of Hearts: The Crown (Queen of Hearts Saga #1) by Colleen Oakes (2014)

As Princess of Wonderland Palace and the future Queen of Hearts, Dinah’s days are an endless monotony of tea, tarts, and a stream of vicious humiliations at the hands of her father, the King of Hearts. The only highlight of her days is visiting Wardley, her childhood best friend, the future Knave of Hearts — and the love of her life.

When an enchanting stranger arrives at the Palace, Dinah watches as everything she’s ever wanted threatens to crumble. As her coronation date approaches, a series of suspicious and bloody events suggests that something sinister stirs in the whimsical halls of Wonderland. It’s up to Dinah to unravel the mysteries that lurk both inside and under the Palace before she loses her own head to a clever and faceless foe.

Part epic fantasy, part twisted fairy tale, this dazzling saga will have readers shivering as Dinahs furious nature sweeps Wonderland up in the maelstrom of her wrath.

Familiar characters such as Cheshire, the White Rabbit, and the Mad Hatter make their appearance, enchanting readers with this new, dark take on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. [Goodreads Summary]

Have you read Queen of Hearts: The Crown?  Does this book sound like something you would like to read? 

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