Can’t Wait Wednesday – MALIBU RISING by Taylor Jenkins Reid
/27 Comments/by Suzanne
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about. It is a meme that I have loved participating in for over a year now, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.
* * * * *
My selection for this week is MALIBU RISING by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Taylor Jenkins Reid became an auto-buy author for me after I fell in love with Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I added this new book to my TBR without even reading the synopsis, but I’m even more excited about it now that I have. It sounds like the perfect read for the summer of 2021.
MALIBU RISING by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Publication Date: May 25, 2021 by Ballantine Books
From Goodreads:
From the New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six . . . Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of twenty-four hours, their lives will change forever.
Malibu: August 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over–especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva.
The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud–because it is long past time for him to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth.
Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there.
And Kit has a couple secrets of her own–including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.
By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come bubbling to the surface.
Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind.
* * * * *
I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂
Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Non-Bookish Interests I Have
/16 Comments/by Suzanne
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is actually not about books at all. It’s more of a get to know the blogger post in that we’re sharing non-bookish interests that we have. I don’t know that there are any big surprises here for anyone who has followed my blog for a while, but it’s a pretty accurate picture of what fills my time when I’m not reading, blogging or working.
* * * * *
10 Non-Bookish Interests I Have
- Theater. I have such a passion for the theater, Broadway musicals in particular, so it has killed me this year to not be able to catch any shows because of COVID. Favorite shows and plays I’ve seen: Hamilton, Wicked, Springsteen on Broadway, Les Miserables, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Lion King.
- Disney. And I mean all things Disney – the films, the characters, the theme parks, collecting stuffed animals, mugs, and enamel pins, just to name a few. I also have a major soft spot for Eeyore that goes back to when I was a small child.
- Travel. This is a relatively new (i.e. in the last 10 years) passion for me. I used to never go anywhere, but once I caught the travel bug, I now want to go EVERYWHERE. This is another passion that has taken a hit because of the pandemic.
- Hiking/Walking. I used to do this a lot more often before I had a kid, but now that he’s older, I’d like to get back to it. There’s nothing like a hike on a scenic trail. So peaceful and such great exercise.
- Politics. I will freely admit that I’m completely burned out on this topic right now, but in normal times, when it doesn’t feel like the soul of our nation is on the line, I tend to be quite the political junkie. 2016-2020 may have killed this interest for the rest of my life, but we’ll see, lol.
- Puzzles. I put a jigsaw puzzle in my graphic but honestly I love all puzzles. Jigsaw, crossword, logic puzzles, Sudoku, Rubik’s Cubes, etc.
- Video Games. And honestly, this should really just say video game, singular, because it’s Mario Kart Tour on my iPhone that I’ve been completely obsessed with the past few months. It takes me back to the games I played when I was a kid and I’m really loving the sense of nostalgia right now.
- Baking. I can’t really say that I like to cook much overall, but man, I do love to bake a good dessert. I’m all about the cookies, pies, and cakes. 🙂
- Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus & Chill. I’ve found myself less and less willing to turn on the TV in recent months. There’s nothing but bad news and political ads everywhere I turn, so I’ve been regularly turning to my entertainment apps and watching anything and everything that will let me escape reality for a few hours. The past weekend I fell down a Schitts Creek rabbit hole and devoured 4 seasons of the show. If you haven’t seen it, it is hilarious!
- Animals. Whether it’s watching cute animal vids that put a smile on my face or watching my own furry family members engage in their silly antics, most animals are a constant source of joy for me. Dogs, cats, and all sorts of domesticated animals of course, but then I also love giraffes, elephants, bears, and all of the big cats. I will pass on the insects and reptiles though.
******
Well, that’s it for me. Do we share any non-bookish interests?
Review: KINGDOM OF THE WICKED by Kerri Maniscalco
/8 Comments/by SuzanneAlso by this author: Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #1), Hunting Prince Dracula
Series: Kingdom of the Wicked #1
Published by Jimmy Patterson on October 27, 2020
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal
Pages: 448
Source: Netgalley
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
Goodreads
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I was a big fan of Kerri Maniscalco’s Stalking Jack the Ripper series so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy of her latest novel, Kingdom of the Wicked, especially once I heard it was about witches and demons. I started reading it last week and let me tell you, it’s the perfect dark and twisted read for spooky season.
Kingdom of the Wicked follows Emilia a young witch who lives with her family, including her twin sister Vittoria, in Sicily. The witches in Sicily live in secret to avoid persecution, so it is quite shocking when witches start turning up dead, brutally murdered. Who’s responsible? Is it the new witch hunting group that has suddenly cropped up or is something supernatural afoot? When Emilia’s twin becomes a victim, Emilia, who was normally the more cautious of the two, throws all caution to the wind and vows revenge.
At its heart, I’d say Kingdom of the Wicked is a story of revenge. Emilia is willing to do absolutely anything to bring her sister’s killers to justice and is tunnel visioned on that quest, even when it quite literally takes her to Hell, or to the Princes of Hell, I should say. And it is when she magically binds herself to Wrath, one of the Princes of Hell, that everything changes…
The chemistry between Emilia and Wrath is off the charts. They both really knew how to push each other’s buttons and I couldn’t get enough of their banter and bickering. Wrath is dark, dangerous, and sexy, and it becomes clear as the story progresses that he develops feelings for Emilia that go beyond just the magic of the bond. He has a soft spot for her, whether he likes it or not. Emilia finds herself experiencing similar feelings. Neither should trust the other but can they fight the intoxicating lure of their attraction? I was a huge fan of Charmed way back when and these two seriously gave me Phoebe and Cole vibes!
Aside from the amazing chemistry between Emilia and Wrath, and the compelling mystery as to who has been killing witches, I also fell in love with the worldbuilding, especially 19th century Sicily. I’m a sucker for a story set in Italy, particularly if there’s food involved, and Emilia’s family owns a restaurant. Emilia loves to cook so the story is filled with vivid descriptions of delicious Italian recipes. I also loved how atmospheric the story was. It’s dark and eerie every time someone goes out because of the tension of knowing there’s a killer among them. I also thought Maniscalco did a brilliant job with the witchy folklore. I absolutely loved the details of Emilia’s family history and how they ultimately became tied to the devil himself. And speak of the devil, her descriptions of the Princes of Hell are truly brilliant. This is one of those books where, as I was reading, I could easily imagine it as a film.
I don’t want to give anything away regarding Emilia’s quest for revenge and how her entanglement with Wrath factors in, but I will say some unexpected twists and turns at the end have me very eager to get my hands on the next book.
If dark and twisty reads filled with witches and demons are your things, you’ll want to visit the Kingdom of the Wicked. You won’t be disappointed!
About Kerri Maniscalco
Kerri Maniscalco grew up in a semi-haunted house outside NYC where her fascination with gothic settings began. In her spare time she reads everything she can get her hands on, cooks all kinds of food with her family and friends, and drinks entirely too much tea while discussing life’s finer points with her cats.
Her first novel in this series, Stalking Jack the Ripper, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It incorporates her love of forensic science and unsolved history.