Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Thursday, April 04, 2024

Where Is Your Bookmark: A Peek Into Cold Curses & Other Friday Fun

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the amazing Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

A claw swept across my face, and I felt the hot breath of hell. The monster had arrived. [opening of Cold Curses]

This got my attention!

A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Our wonderful host Freda of Freda's Voice is on a break, and Anne of My Head is Full of Books has stepped in to host!

We stared at the flames until the fire died to an orange glow. While the earth spun toward the rising sun, we sat together in silence and let the world move around us. There would be time tor talking, for considering, for planning tomorrow. But this part of the night was for acceptance and quiet. And us. [excerpt from 56% of Cold Curses]

This scene sounds so peaceful and melancholy. I am not yet to this point in the book, but considering what's happened so far, I imagine this quiet moment is a much needed respite before the worst of the storm.

I am so sad the Heirs of Chicagoland series is ending! It's one of my favorite urban fantasy/romance series.

Cold Curses (Heirs of Chicagoland #5) by Chloe Neill

It’s all magical hands on deck for vampire Elisa Sullivan and her allies as they fight to save the Windy City from a supernatural onslaught, in the newest installment of the USA Today bestselling Heirs of Chicagoland series.

Elisa, the only vampire ever born, is hoping all can remain quiet in the City of Chicago in the wake of a destructive attack by an ancient demon who broke the city’s defensive magic. Still, she and her friends, including shifter Connor Keene, know they need to be ready for anything. [Goodreads Summary]

Does this sound like something you would enjoy? If you have read it, what did you think?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. It is hosted by Linda Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Jen from That’s What I’m Talking About. Join in by answering this week's question in the comments or on your own blog.

Are you fluent in more than one language?

Sadly, no. I studied Spanish in high school and college but my Spanish is rudimentary at best. I admire those who are fluent in more than one language and think it's such a beneficial skill to have.

What about you?

Every Friday Coffee Addicted Writer from Coffee Addicted Writer poses a question which participants respond on their own blogs within the week (Friday through Thursday). They then share their links at the main site and visit other participants blogs.

In elementary school, did you participate in the Book-It! reading program? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

I cannot remember if I participated in the Book-It! reading program specifically, but I do remember participating in summer reading programs during my childhood through the public library and receiving certificates for a free pizza or other prizes for reaching reading milestones. I never had any problem meeting those goals and going beyond.

What about you?

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading!

© 2024 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.

Tuesday, April 02, 2024

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?

© 2024, 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.

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Where Is Your Bookmark: A Peek Into Finlay Donovan Roll the Dice & Other Friday Fun

I hope you have had a good week. The days have been sunny but chilly and windy. I almost don't believe another rain storm will be here this weekend given how clear the sky is. I just finished reading Elle Cosimano's Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank, and am about to pick up the next book in the series, Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice.

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the amazing Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

"I can't look," I said, clapping a hand over my eyes. I had sworn to myself there would be no more dead bodies. [opening of the prologue]

and

NINE HOURS EARLIER

Vero hadn't so much as glanced up from the ransom note in her hand since we'd left her cousin's garage, when she'd handed me the keys to one of Ramon's loaner cars and slumped down in the passenger seat, reading and rereading the single sentence on the sheet of paper like it was a puzzle that might solve itself if she stared at it long enough. [opening of Chapter One of Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice]

I cannot imagine a novel in this series without a dead body, but I do understand where Finlay is coming from in that prologue opening. And how does that play in with the ransom note she and Vero received? I cannot wait to find out!

Vero and I straightened our wigs as we slunk out of the suite, hoping to blend in with the other partygoers who had left only moments ago. [excerpt from 55% of Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice]

I have so many questions! I have yet to be disappointed in a book in this series. It may be over the top at times, but it sure is fun.

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice (#4) by Elle Cosimano

Finlay Donovan and her nanny/partner-in-crime Vero are in sore need of a girls’ weekend away. They plan a trip to Atlantic City, but odds are―seeing as it’s actually a cover story to negotiate a deal with a dangerous loan shark, save Vero’s childhood crush Javi, and hunt down a stolen car―it won’t be all fun and games. When Finlay’s ex-husband Steven and her mother insist on tagging along too, Finlay and Vero suddenly have a few too many meddlesome passengers along for the ride.

Within hours of arriving in their seedy casino hotel, it becomes clear their rescue mission is going to be a bust. Javi’s kidnapper, Marco, refuses to negotiate, demanding payment in full in exchange for Javi’s life. But that’s not all―he insists on knowing the whereabouts of his missing nephew, Ike, who mysteriously disappeared. Unable to confess what really happened to Ike, Finlay and Vero are forced to come up with a new plan: sleuth out the location of Javi and the Aston Martin, then steal them both back.

But when they sneak into the loan shark’s suite to search for clues, they find more than they bargained for―Marco's already dead. They don’t have a clue who murdered him, only that they themselves have a very convincing motive. Then four members of the police department unexpectedly show up in town, also looking for Ike―and after Finlay's night with hot cop Nick at the police academy, he’s a little too eager to keep her close to his side.

If Finlay can juggle a jealous ex-husband, two precocious kids, her mother’s marital issues, a decomposing loan shark, and find Vero’s missing boyfriend, she might get out of Atlantic City in one piece. But will she fold under the pressure and come clean about the things she’s done, or be forced to double down? [Goodreads Summary]

Does this sound like something you would enjoy? If you have read it, what did you think?

Will you start a series if you know it probably won't be finished?

It depends on the type of series it is. Many of the mystery and romance series I read are made up of books that are able to stand on their own. There may be overarching character story lines, but they usually are not integral to the main mystery or romance featured in each book. These are the types of series I can jump into anywhere without feeling lost. Ideally, I prefer to read series books in order and, of course, if the series ends, it's nice when the author is able to wrap things up in a final book. Unfortunately, it's not unheard of for a series to suddenly end because of poor sales, a publisher deciding to go in a different direction, or an author's illness or death. With these types of series, I am less concerned with whether there's an official ending to the series.

For series in which the books rely heavily on each other, with the main focus on the overarching storyline (fantasy more often than not in my case), it might make a difference though. I would be less likely to want to start a series knowing it will have no ending. I am not a fan of forever-lasting cliffhangers.

That said, I like reading series and there is always a risk a series won't have a proper ending. Not knowing doesn't stop me from starting new series.

What about you?

Every Friday Coffee Addicted Writer from Coffee Addicted Writer poses a question which participants respond on their own blogs within the week (Friday through Thursday). They then share their links at the main site and visit other participants blogs.

Which has more power over readers: a book blogger or a professional critic? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

I cannot speak for anyone else nor do I know what research may say on the subject (if any has in fact been done), but I do know that, for myself, a book blogger has more sway over me than a professional critic. I only occasionally read professional reviews and spend more time visiting book blogs. Book blogs tend to be a bit more personal. I see it less as anyone having power over me as a reader, but instead I am a part of a community of readers in which we share our bookish thoughts. And while, ultimately, I choose to read books that interest me, my wish list is influenced by recommendations I've picked up from my fellow book bloggers.

What about you?

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading!

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Can't Wait to Read Wednesday: A Short Walk Through a Wide World / The Kiss Countdown / Bless Your Heart / Lost Under a Ladder

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.

A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke
Release Date: April 2, 2024 by Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue meets Life of Pi in this dazzlingly epic debut that charts the incredible, adventurous life of one woman as she journeys the globe trying to outrun a mysterious curse that will destroy her if she stops moving.

Paris, 1885: Aubry Tourvel, a spoiled and stubborn nine-year-old girl, comes across a wooden puzzle ball on her walk home from school. She tosses it over the fence, only to find it in her backpack that evening. Days later, at the family dinner table, she starts to bleed to death.

When medical treatment only makes her worse, she flees to the outskirts of the city, where she realizes that it is this very act of movement that keeps her alive. So begins her lifelong journey on the run from her condition, which won’t allow her to stay anywhere for longer than a few days nor return to a place where she’s already been.

From the scorched dunes of the Calashino Sand Sea to the snow-packed peaks of the Himalayas; from a bottomless well in a Parisian courtyard, to the shelves of an infinite underground library, we follow Aubry as she learns what it takes to survive and ultimately, to truly live. But the longer Aubry wanders and the more desperate she is to share her life with others, the clearer it becomes that the world she travels through may not be quite the same as everyone else’s...

Fiercely independent and hopeful, yet full of longing, Aubry Tourvel is an unforgettable character fighting her way through a world of wonders to find a place she can call home. A spellbinding and inspiring story about discovering meaning in a life that seems otherwise impossible, A Short Walk Through a Wide World reminds us that it’s not the destination, but rather the journey—no matter how long it lasts—that makes us who we are. [Goodreads Summary]

I do love the sound of this! Spending a lifetime trying to run from a curse, never being able to settle down for long . . . I am really curious to see how this one turns out.

The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton
Release Date: April 9, 2024 by Berkley

A struggling event planner and a sinfully hot astronaut must decide if their fake relationship is worth a shot at happily-ever-after, in this starry debut.

Risk-averse event planner Amerie Price is jobless, newly single, and about to lose her apartment. With no choice but to gamble on her shaky start-up, the last thing she needed was to run into her smug ex and his new, less complicated girlfriend at Amerie's favorite coffee shop. Panicked, she pretends to be dating the annoyingly sexy man she met by spilling Americano all over his abs. He plays along—for a price.

Half the single men in Houston claim to be astronauts, but Vincent Rogers turns out to be the real deal. What started as a one-off lie morphs into a for the three months leading up to his mission, Amerie will play Vincent's doting partner in front of his loving but overly invested family. In exchange, she gets a rent-free room in his house and can put every penny toward her struggling business.

What Amerie doesn't plan for is Vincent's gravitational pull. While her mind tells her a future with this astronaut is too unpredictable, her heart says he's exactly what she needs. As their time together counts down, Amerie must decide if she'll settle for the safe life—or shoot for the stars. [Goodreads Summary]

I have been feeling in the mood for romance lately and this fake dating romance sounds just like something I would enjoy. An astronaut even!

Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan
Release Date: April 9, 2024 by Minotaur Books

Rise and shine. The Evans women have some undead to kill.

It’s 1999 in Southeast Texas and the Evans women, owners of the only funeral parlor in town, are keeping steady with…normal business. The dead die, you bury them. End of story. That’s how Ducey Evans has done it for the last eighty years, and her progeny―Lenore the experimenter and Grace, Lenore’s soft-hearted daughter, have run Evans Funeral Parlor for the last fifteen years without drama. Ever since That Godawful Mess that left two bodies in the ground and Grace raising her infant daughter Luna, alone.

But when town gossip Mina Jean Murphy’s body is brought in for a regular burial and she rises from the dead instead, it’s clear that the Strigoi―the original vampire―are back. And the Evans women are the ones who need to fight back to protect their town.

As more folks in town turn up dead and Deputy Roger Taylor begins asking way too many questions, Ducey, Lenore, Grace, and now Luna, must take up their blades and figure out who is behind the Strigoi’s return. As the saying goes, what rises up, must go back down. But as unspoken secrets and revelations spill from the past into the present, the Evans family must face that sometimes, the dead aren’t the only things you want to keep buried.

A crackling mystery-horror novel with big-hearted characters and Southern charm with a bite, Bless Your Heart is a gasp-worthy delight from start to finish. [Goodreads Summary]

I do love a good dose of humor in the horror novels I read and this sounds like will be a lot of fun to read.

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

The Old(er)

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 February 2016 poll. I also featured it in a Books from the Backlog post in 2018. There are so many reasons why this cozy mystery appeals to me. Destiny sounds like such an interesting place! I really need to move this one off my TBR shelf and onto my read pile.

Lost Under a Ladder by Linda O. Johnston (Midnight Ink, 2014)

Is it Luck? Or is it Destiny?

Rory Chasen never thought superstitions were real-until her beloved fiancé is killed after walking under a ladder. To find closure and the truth about superstitions, Rory takes her dog Pluckie to a town called Destiny, where superstitious beliefs are a way of life.

Rory's visit to Destiny takes an unexpected turn when Pluckie saves Martha, the owner of the Lucky Dog Boutique. While Martha recovers, Rory reluctantly agrees to manage the pet shop for her. But when Martha becomes the prime suspect in the local bookshop owner's murder, Rory can't believe that the sweet old woman would do it. Convinced the real killer is still roaming Destiny's streets, Rory resolves to crack the case before Martha's luck runs out. [Goodreads Summary]

Have you read Lost Under a Ladder? Does this book sound like something you would like to read?

Friday, March 22, 2024

Where Is Your Bookmark: A Peek Into Speculations in Sin & Other Friday Fun

I hope everyone is enjoying their Friday. I have a nice view of the blooms on one of my trees from where I sit as I visit with you this evening. I am about to start a new book and thought I would share a couple of excerpts to tempt you.

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the amazing Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

January 1883

I was finishing a pleasant visit on my day out with Joanna Millburn, the friend of my youthful days who looked after my daughter, when I detected something was very wrong. [opening of Speculations in Sin]

Right off the bat, author Jennifer Ashley has me hooked, wanting to know what exactly our heroine, Kat Holloway, is sensing is wrong. I am super excited to finally be reading this latest installment in one of my favorite series and am curious to know more about Joanna Millburn and her family. She's appeared in previous books here and there, but only in very brief moments.

"I prevented them tearing apart cushions and breaking open cabinets. Mrs. Millburn relinquished her keys to me, and I used them on any boxes that were locked - not many. In this way, the helpful vicar could prevent destruction and understand exactly what they were looking for."

"And what were they looking for? I asked, tightly clutching my wine glass. [excerpt from 56% of Speculations in Sin]

I do enjoy when Kat's friends help her with her investigations, and it sounds like Mr. Fielding is doing just that here as he explains Kat a recent visit by constables to the Millburn home. It sounds like Kat is just as anxious to know what they were looking for as I am!

Speculations in Sin (A Below Stairs Mystery #7) by Jennifer Ashley

To save an innocent man’s life, amateur sleuth and cook Kat Holloway must expose a financial scam that could ruin the most powerful aristocrats in Victorian-era London, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Secret of Bow Lane.

Kat Holloway is distressed to learn that Samuel Millburn, husband of the woman who looks after her daughter, has been accused of embezzling funds from the bank where he works as a clerk. The accusation is absurd, and Samuel’s wife fears that her husband will not only lose his post but be imprisoned. Kat vows to uncover the truth.

When she discovers the bank is involved in shockingly murky business dealings, Kat realizes she’s treading in dangerous waters. She turns to her confidante and handsome suitor, Daniel McAdam, for help. To exonerate Samuel, Kat and Daniel may have to expose the unseemly financial dealings of prominent aristocrats and government officials, and even those working to bring down the royal family. Kat will risk everything to protect the man who has sacrificed so much for her daughter, even if it means endangering herself and the friends she has come to love. [Goodreads Summary]

Does this sound like something you would enjoy? If you have read it, what did you think?

Where would you like to travel?

So many places! I would travel the world if I could and see it all. At the top of the list would be to tour the many countries in Europe, see where my ancestors came from. I have always wanted to go to India, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. I would like to go deeper into Canada and travel to South America. I also would like to visit every state within my own country, especially the ones I have yet to see. Many of these places and all the others I wish I could see, I will only be able to visit in books, but hopefully I will one day be able to visit a few in person.

What about you?

Every Friday Coffee Addicted Writer from Coffee Addicted Writer poses a question which participants respond on their own blogs within the week (Friday through Thursday). They then share their links at the main site and visit other participants blogs.

Do you remember your first library visit? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

I love this question and I wish I had a better answer. I do not remember my first library visit. I do remember looking forward to visits to the library when I was a young child, being able to pick out books on my own to read and attending the summer reading program at the local public library. I have fond memories of the school librarian reading to my class in the school library and helping shelve books while I waited for my mom to finish up with her school obligations before heading home. And the library was one of my favorite haunts in middle school when I was working on the school newspaper or doing research for a class.

I remember my daughter's first visit to our public library a little more clearly, perhaps because it was not as long ago. Mouse was in awe of all the books. When the library began keeping Saturday hours, it became part of our routine to go after her soccer class and follow it up with time in the park. She would pick out a few books from the shelves, and my husband and I would take turns reading to her. She loved to go up to the front desk to use her own library card to check out books and chat with the librarian. When our Saturdays became filled with other more time consuming activities, our visits to the library dwindled. It was hard to go during the week because of my work hours. When we would go though, Mouse loved to visit the activity table to see what new craft she could do.

I have so many memories of spending time in the library as a child and I hope my daughter will look back on her childhood and feel the same way.

What about you?

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading!