I am one of those people who puts a lot of pressure on the first book I read in a year, so I asked for your help in choosing what should be my first read of 2022. A Certain Appeal and Firekeeper's Daughter received the majority of the votes, so I started with A Certain [...]
They Never LearnLayne FargoThriller, Mystery, ContemporaryGallery/Scout PressOctober 13th, 2020378 Scarlett Clark is an exceptional English professor. But she’s even better at getting away with murder.Every year, she searches for the worst man at Gorman University and plots his well-deserved demise. Thanks to her meticulous planning, she’s avoided drawing attention to herself—but as she’s preparing for [...]
The Death of Jane LawrenceCaitlin StarlingHorror, Gothic, Historical FictionSt. Martin's PressOctober 5th, 2021Audiobook368Netgalley Practical, unassuming Jane Shoringfield has done the calculations, and decided that the most secure path forward is this: a husband, in a marriage of convenience, who will allow her to remain independent and occupied with meaningful work. Her first choice, the dashing [...]
Hold Back the TideMelinda SalisburyHorror, Fantasy, Young AdultScholasticMarch 5, 2020300 Everyone in this quiet lakeside community knows that Alva's father killed her mother, all those years ago. There wasn't enough proof to arrest him, though, and with no other family, Alva's been forced to live with her mother's murderer, doing her best to survive until [...]
The Strange Case of the Alchemist's DaughterThe Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club #1Theodora GossMystery, Historical Fiction, Retelling, Young AdultSimon and SchusterJune 20, 2017402 pages Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents’ death, is curious about the secrets of her father’s mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father’s former friend [...]
RedemptorRaybearer #2Jordan IfuekoYoung Adult, FantasyAmulet BooksAugust 17th, 2021Physical336 For the first time, an Empress Redemptor sits on Aritsar's throne. To appease the sinister spirits of the dead, Tarisai must now anoint a council of her own, coming into her full power as a Raybearer. She must then descend into the Underworld, a sacrifice to end [...]
A Slow Fire BurningPaula HawkinsThrillerRiverhead BooksAugust 31st, 2021Audiobook320ALC When a young man is found gruesomely murdered in a London houseboat, it triggers questions about three women who knew him. Laura is the troubled one-night-stand last seen in the victim’s home. Carla is his grief-stricken aunt, already mourning the recent death of yet another family member. [...]
FireborneThe Aurelian Cycle #1Rosaria MundaYA, FantasyOctober 15, 2019432 Annie and Lee were just children when a brutal revolution changed their world, giving everyone--even the lowborn--a chance to test into the governing class of dragonriders.Now they are both rising stars in the new regime, despite backgrounds that couldn't be more different. Annie's lowborn family was executed [...]
While We Were DatingThe Wedding Date #6Jasmine GuilloryAdult, Contemporary, RomanceBerkley BooksJuly 13th, 2021352 Ben Stephens has never bothered with serious relationships. He has plenty of casual dates to keep him busy, family drama he's trying to ignore and his advertising job to focus on. When Ben lands a huge ad campaign featuring movie star Anna [...]
My Contrary MaryMarys #1Cynthia Hand, Brodi Aston, and Jodi MeadowsHistorical Fiction, Fantasy, YAHarperTeenJune 22, 2021512 Welcome to Renaissance France, a place of poison and plots, of beauties and beasts, of mice and . . . queens?⠀Mary is the queen of Scotland and the jewel of the French court. Except when she's a mouse. Yes, reader, [...]
