Can’t Wait Wednesday – THE PLUS ONE by Mazey Eddings
/18 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 since I first started blogging, 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.
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Apologies for my absence since this time last week. I had a huge work deadline that left me with no time or energy to blog, but I made my deadline and then took a day to recover so now I’m back. My selection for this week is THE PLUS ONE by Mazey Eddings, the third book in Eddings’ A Brush with Love series. I loved the first two books in the series and this one sounds just as entertaining as those two were.
THE PLUS ONE by Mazey Eddings
Publication Date: April 4, 2023 by Berkley Books
From Goodreads:
What starts out as a fake wedding date turns into something these childhood enemies never expected in the next sparkling romantic comedy by Mazey Eddings.
Some facts are indisputable. The sun rises in the east, sets in the west. Gravity exits. Indira doesn’t like Jude. Jude doesn’t like Indira. But what happens when these childhood enemies find the only thing they can rely on is each other?
On paper, Indira has everything together. An amazing job, a boyfriend, and a car. What more could a late twenty-something ask for? But when she walks in on her boyfriend in an amorous embrace with a stranger, that perfect on paper image goes up in flames.
Jude has nothing together. A doctor that’s spent the last three years traveling the world to treat emergencies and humanitarian crises, a quick trip home for his best friend’s wedding has him struggling to readjust.
Thrust into an elaborate (and ridiculously drawn out) wedding event that’s stressing Jude beyond belief and has Indira seeing her ex and his new girlfriend far more frequently than any human should endure, the duo strike a bargain to be each other’s fake dates to this wedding from hell. The only problem is, their forced proximity and fake displays of affection are starting to feel a bit… real, and both are left grappling with the idea that a situation that couldn’t be worse, is made a little better with the other around.
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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. 🙂
Can’t Wait Wednesday – A WITCH’S GUIDE TO FAKE DATING A DEMON by Sarah Hawley
/14 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 since I first started blogging, 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.
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My selection for this week is A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley. I’m always on the lookout for witchy reads and this one just sounds like such a fun one. Too bad we have to wait until March to read it because it would be perfect for right now during spooky season.
A WITCH’S GUIDE TO FAKE DATING A DEMON by Sarah Hawley
Publication Date: March 7, 2023 by Berkley Books
From Goodreads:
Mariel Spark knows not to trust a demon, especially one that wants her soul, but what’s a witch to do when he won’t leave her side—and she kind of doesn’t want him to?
Mariel Spark is prophesied to be the most powerful witch seen in centuries of the famed Spark family, but to the displeasure of her mother, she prefers baking to brewing potions and gardening to casting hexes. When a spell to summon flour goes very wrong, Mariel finds herself staring down a demon—one she inadvertently summoned for a soul bargain.
Ozroth the Ruthless is a legend among demons. Powerful and merciless, he drives hard bargains to collect mortal souls. But his reputation has suffered ever since a bargain went awry—if he can strike a bargain with Mariel, he will earn back his deadly reputation. Ozroth can’t leave Mariel’s side until they complete a bargain, which she refuses to do (turns out some humans are attached to their souls).
But the witch is funny. And curvy. And disgustingly yet endearingly cheerful. Becoming awkward roommates quickly escalates when Mariel, terrified to confess the inadvertent summoning to her mother, blurts out that she’s dating Ozroth. As Ozroth and Mariel struggle with their opposing goals and maintaining a fake relationship, real attraction blooms between them. But Ozroth has a limited amount of time to strike the deal, and if Mariel gives up her soul, she’ll lose all her emotions—including love—which will only spell disaster for them both.
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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 Books That are Perfect for Spooky Season
/36 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 supposed to be Books I Read On Vacation. I haven’t really taken a vacation any time recently and I’m pretty sure I didn’t read much the last time I did, so I decided to go rogue this week and share some spooky season book recommendations instead. Now I don’t really read actual horror because I’m a big chicken, so if you’re looking for truly terrifying reads, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Aside from that, I think I have a pretty good variety here.
10 Books That are Perfect for Spooky Season
1. THE EX HEX by Erin Sterling – “New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins, writing as Erin Sterling, casts a spell with a spine-tingling romance full of wishes, witches, and hexes gone wrong..” This is a fun witchy rom-com that features the second chance romance and enemies to lovers tropes.
2. THE KISS CURSE by Erin Sterling – “This follow-up to The Ex Hex features fan favorite Gwyn and the spine-tinglingly handsome Wells Penhallow as they battle a new band of witches and their own magical chemistry. When their professional competition leads to a very personal—and very hot—kiss, both Wells and Gwyn are determined to stay away from each other, convinced the kiss was just a magical fluke. But when a mysterious new coven of witches come to town and Gwyn’s powers begin fading, she and Wells must work together to figure out just what these new witches want and how to restore Gwyn’s magic before it’s too late.” I’m reading this one right now and loving it even more than the first book in the series!
3. THE VERY SECRET SOCIETY OF IRREGULAR WITCHES by Sangu Mandanna – “A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family–and a new love–changes the course of her life..” I reviewed this one on the blog a few weeks ago and just adored everything about it.
4. THE ONCE AND FUTURE WITCHES by Alix E. Harrow – This is a wonderful story about sisterhood and suffragist witches who are determined to reclaim the power that men have historically denied them.
5. WILD IS THE WITCH by Rachel Griffin – “When eighteen-year-old witch Iris Gray accidentally enacts a curse that could have dire consequences, she must team up with a boy who hates witches to make sure her magic isn’t unleashed on the world.” Loved the haunting and atmospheric writing in this one and that the magic is so steeped in nature.
6. SPELLS FOR FORGETTING by Adrienne Young – “A deeply atmospheric story about ancestral magic, an unsolved murder, and a second chance at true love.”
7. YOU’LL BE THE DEATH OF ME by Karen McManus – “From the author of One of Us Is Lying comes a brand-new pulse-pounding thriller. It’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with murder when three old friends relive an epic ditch day, and it goes horribly–and fatally–wrong.” Honestly, if you enjoy YA thrillers, any of McManus’ novels are great choices for spooky season. I read this one over this past weekend and couldn’t put it down.
8. IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE by Ashley Winstead – “A college reunion turns dark and deadly in this chilling and propulsive suspense novel about six friends, one unsolved murder, and the dark secrets they’ve been hiding from each other—and themselves—for a decade.” Another thriller that I devoured this weekend. If you enjoy dark academia, this is a great choice. It kept me guessing from beginning to end.
9. SIGN HERE by Claudia Lux – “A darkly humorous, surprisingly poignant, and utterly gripping debut novel about a guy who works in Hell (literally) and is on the cusp of a big promotion if only he can get one more member of the wealthy Harrison family to sell their soul..” This was my October Book of the Month pick and my current read and I’m loving the dark humor so much!
10. EMPIRE OF THE VAMPIRE by Jay Kristoff – “Gabriel de León is a silversaint: a member of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending realm and church from the creatures of the night. But even the Silver Order couldn’t stem the tide once daylight failed us, and now, only Gabriel remains. Imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity’s last remaining hope: The Holy Grail.” This is a brick of a book at 739 pages, but I flew through it in 3 days. It’s a dark read, often gory and violent, definitely not for kids, but it’s also filled with tremendous emotion and passion as the last silversaint shares his often painful story.
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