apocalypse got nothin' on me, baby.

Hello again after a long hiatus! I have been in a bit of a weird headspace recently and it prevented me from doing what I love. But there is no time like the present, and frankly when one of your favorite series disappoints you, you need an outlet to talk about it. Eva Gates is typically a no brainer for me: her mysteries are fun and how do you beat a series that has a library set inside of a…

I am a little late, but here at Sam’s Beach Reads, Banned Books Week is a national holiday. As there is more and more challenges throughout America’s libraries, schools, and even private bookstores, it is more important than ever to stand up for the freedom to read. The stats are staggering – never before has the attack on literacy been so fierce. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in…

Happy hump day, all! I am in a little bit of a reading slump right now. Just bought a house, the weather is oppressive, democracy is dying, and reading feels hard. But, we must keep trucking on. Unfortunately, How Freaking Romantic did not help my slump except to get my fired up… and not in a good way. This was my BOTM a couple of months ago, and I forgot the cardinal rule: Never read books about…

Looks like my dyslexia kicked in – I thought Alie Dumas-Heidt’s debut novel The Myth Maker was coming out July 30, not July 3. But alas, a late review is better than no review, and what a doozy Myth Maker was! Thank you, Netgalley and Crooked Lane, for this opportunity! From the Publisher: Someone is killing women and staging their bodies in strange, evocative scenes in this…

Another day, another late ARC. A Terribly Nasty Business, book two in the Beatrice Steele series by Julia Seales, is a marked improvement to an already delightful debut. A Pride and Prejudice homage chock full of self-deprecating humor and wit, If Seales keeps this pace up, this may be on my auto-buy list. Thank you, Netgalley and Random House for this opportunity! From the Publisher: After…

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below. It has been years since I have participated, but I have always loved this prompt! WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING? I’m currently reading one backlog book, Written in Stone by Paige Shelton, and two belated ARCs from Netgalley: V is for Venom: Agatha Christie’s Chemicals…

Happy very belated publication! Of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith was on my wish list, and when it popped up at Netgalley, I was delighted to be chosen. Thank you, Raven Books, for this opportunity. From the Publisher: When barrister Gabriel Ward steps out of his rooms at exactly two minutes to seven on a sunny May morning in 1901, his mind is so full of his latest case-the disputed authorship…

Happy almost June, all! As someone that loves a good Regency romance, I was very excited to request this ARC for Look Before You Leap since it is from a different perspective: the governess. I am normally wary of romances that feature an imbalance of power, but Virginia Heath handles these types of romances with thought and care so there is never a hint of coercive behavior. Of course, I did not…

Happy Monday, all! I had a very leisurely bookish weekend, one that was supposed to be taken up by ARCs, but got derailed by my ADD. Katherine Center is basically an automatic buy for me, so when her newest appeared for the February Book of the Month, it was a no brainer. As I contemplated my overflowing bookshelf this weekend, The Rom-Commers bright colors and light promise drew me in. So of…

I know I am a little late on this, but I was accepted into the ARC the same week of the publication date. So happy they brought me in! As a kid, Golden Girls was my comfort show. Now, cozy murder mysteries are my comfort reads and watches (looking at you, Midsomer Murders!) So a mix of both Golden Girls and cozy murder? Sign me up! So thank you, Netgalley and Hyperion, for this opportunity. All…

Hi all! For full disclosure, I actually read Scotch on the Rocks without realizing it was the second in a series, the Macabe Brothers by Elliot Fletcher. However, I decided not to write this review until after I read the first book, Whisky Business. While I definitely recommend reading the books in order, I also enjoyed Scotch on the Rocks on its own and there was no details included that you…

Happy weekend, all! I took a break from my ARC crash course and grabbed Abby Jimenez’s new book Say You’ll Remember Me, first in a new series through Book of the Month. Abby’s books are an automatic buy for me because her writing is just so damn compelling, always. This new series is a little more serious, a little less sexy, and while it is not my favorite, I still flew through it. From the…

Back in the saddle! Murder on a Scottish Train by Lucy Connelly is expected to publish in October 2025, and I for one have this series on preorder. Thank you, Netgalley and Crooked Lane, for this opportunity! From the Publisher: Dr. Emilia McRoy, an American in Scotland, has a killer in sight in the fourth installment of the Scottish Isle mystery series, perfect for fans of Paige Shelton and…

Happy Monday, all! I just finished Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict as a library book because frankly, I am tired of getting burned by Marie Benedict’s amazing ideas with less than great execution (plug here for my local library’s e-book lending program Livebrary!) While my complaint still stands (more on that below), I still found this one slightly better executed than normal. From the…

Hello all! I am pretty excited to be reviewing A Botanist’s Guide to Flowers and Fatality by Kate Khavari because the fourth book in the series is coming out this June, and I loved getting the opportunity to browse through this second book and remember how much I love this series. Having reviewed the first in the series, A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons, a while back, I can say book 2 is…

Hello all, and welcome to “Sam is a full year behind on her reviews.” I am actually extra excited to review Inheritance by Nora Roberts, for a couple of reasons. First, I am an absolute Nora devotee, especially her fantasy-related books. Prior to this book, I had felt like her quality was dipping a little, but this one blew me away. Second, I spent my birthday last year at the fabulous Inn…