Can’t Wait Wednesday – WILD IS THE WITCH by Rachel Griffin
/28 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 WILD IS THE WITCH by Rachel Griffin. I loved Griffin’s debut novel, The Nature of Witches, so I was thrilled to see she has another witchy read coming out this year. This one sounds really good too. I’m intrigued by the idea of a witch teaming up with a witch hater, which is definitely something you don’t see very often, if at all.
WILD IS THE WITCH by Rachel Griffin
Publication Date: August 2, 2022 by Sourcebooks Fire
From Goodreads:
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Witches, comes another high-stakes contemporary fantasy. 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.
Iris Gray knows witches aren’t welcome in most towns. When she was forced to leave her last home, she left behind a father who was no longer willing to start over. And while the Witches’ Council was lenient in their punishment, Iris knows they’re keeping tabs on her. Now settled in Washington, Iris never lets anyone see who she really is; instead, she vents her frustrations by writing curses she never intends to cast. Otherwise, she spends her days at the wildlife refuge which would be the perfect job if not for Pike Alder, the witch-hating aspiring ornithologist who interns with them.
Iris concocts the perfect curse for Pike: one that will turn him into a witch. But just as she’s about to dispel it, a bird swoops down and steals the curse before flying away. If the bird dies, the curse will be unleashed―and the bird is a powerful amplifier, and unleashing the curse would turn not just Pike, but everyone in the region, into a witch.
New witches have no idea how to control their magic and the consequences would be dire. And the Witches’ Council does not look kindly on multiple offenses; if they found out, Iris could be stripped of her magic for good. Iris begs Pike to help her track the bird, and they set out on a trek through the Pacific Northwest looking for a single bird that could destroy everything.
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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. 🙂
Reviews: STARRY-EYED LOVE & SEE YOU YESTERDAY
/20 Comments/by Suzanne
Hey everyone! I know today is usually Top Ten Tuesday but I wasn’t feeling this week’s topic and I’m behind on reviews, so I decided to use this slot to play catch up. Today I’m sharing my thoughts to two new releases that I really enjoyed, one from a new-to-me author, Helena Hunting, and one from an auto-buy author, Rachel Lynn Solomon.
Starry-Eyed Love (Spark House, #2) GoodreadsAuthor: Helena Hunting
Publication Date: May 10, 2022
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Starry-Eyed Love is the second book in Helena Hunting’s contemporary romance series, Spark House, a series that follows three sisters who run a small boutique hotel together.
London Spark is the focus of this second installment, and I loved her from the opening scene when we encounter her and her two sisters, Avery and Harley at a bar together. London has just broken up with her boyfriend and the sisters are celebrating her newly single status. London is ready to focus her attention on the family business and has no interest in dating right now, so when a handsome stranger at the bar flirts with her, she tells him she’s not available. Little does she know at the time, but that man, Jackson Holt, is about to change her life in more ways than one.
I really loved the chemistry between London and Jackson right from that first meeting and was actually disappointed when she blew him off. Color me tickled then when London is invited to a meeting to discuss bringing Spark House on board as a partner for a huge environmentally friendly initiative. If you guessed Jackson Holt is the founder of this initiative, you would be correct. This of course forces London in close proximity to Jackson, whether she likes it or not, and things take off from there. London and Jackson are a great match on pretty much every level and there are plenty of flirty sexy moments between them, but I’ll say now to prepare yourself for a slow burn since they do have a working relationship and there are some angsty moments as they try to figure out how to navigate the professional and the personal.
As much as I enjoyed London and Jackson’s story, I was also a big fan of the relationship between the sisters. They are experiencing some growing pains as the hotel expands and so even though they adore each other, there is still the occasional tension. London, in particular, is in an awkward position. She has somehow landed in the position of business administrator, so she is responsible for bringing in new clientele and planning events. This isn’t her wheelhouse at all, as she is more of a creative type, and as much as she wants to help her sisters with the business and doesn’t want to create drama, this particular job and the way Avery is pushing her and refusing to hire outside help, is running her ragged. I loved how realistically Hunting portrays these relationships, especially the angst and tension, as London comes to terms with the idea that the only way out involves confronting Avery. Hunting hits that perfect and very relatable balance of “I love you more than anything but something has got to give.”
Starry-Eyed Love was my first time reading something from Helena Hunting but it definitely won’t be my last because this book was just such a delight – equal parts charming, and funny, and with a delicious side of drama and angst to spice things up. 4 STARS
See You Yesterday Goodreads
Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
Publication Date: May 17, 2022
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I love Rachel Lynn Solomon’s books and I love stories that feature time traveling or time loops, so you can imagine how excited I was to learn that Solomon’s latest YA novel See You Yesterday features a Groundhog’s Day style romance. I couldn’t hit that request button on Netgalley fast enough and I’m thrilled to share that this book was everything I hoped it would be and more!
The story follows Barrett Bloom, a college freshman who is really hoping this year will be a fresh start for her after a pretty rough senior year of high school. Instead of being a fresh start, however, her first day of classes is an absolute nightmare. She learns that she’s stuck rooming with an old friend she had a falling out with in high school. Then, an obnoxious know-it-all embarrasses her in Physics class, and she goes on to completely blow her interview to be on the school newspaper, and then as if all that isn’t bad enough, she goes to a frat party that night and accidentally sets the place on fire. All she wants to do is crawl in bed and pretend this day never happened. Instead, however, she wakes up and it’s the first day of classes all over again. Needless to say, Barrett is perplexed by this, especially when it keeps happening. After another encounter with Miles, the annoying guy from her Physics class, Barrett soon learns that Miles has also been similarly trapped and has been repeating the same day for over two months now. The two of them set out on an interesting quest to try to fix their timelines and free themselves from this endless loop.
I loved this story so much! Barrett and Miles are adorable together even when they’re plucking each other’s nerves. Their relationship also slowly transforms as they explore all avenues to freedom – researching at the library, trying to right wrongs from their pasts, trying to find closure from events where they’ve left loose ends, etc. While nothing they try works, what does happen is that the two of them get to know each other and grow close, first as friends but then as more than friends. I loved this so much for them because they’re both so lonely and out of sorts, even before being trapped in the loop. It was lovely to see them connect with each other and also so much fun to watch some of the antics they would come up with to pass the time while they’re stuck. There’s also tremendous growth for Barrett as she finally conquers some demons from her past and is able to move forward.
There’s also the huge question of what happens to Miles and Barrett if and when they finally come unstuck from time. Will they still be a couple, will they still know each other? Or will they go back to being alone? If you want to know the answer to those questions, you’ll have to check out See You Yesterday. You won’t regret it! 4.5 STARS
Thriller Thursday Reviews: Where They Wait & All These Bodies
/10 Comments/by Sharon
Hi everyone. Welcome to another edition of Thriller Thursday with Sharon. 😀 This week I am happy to share my thoughts on Scott Carson’s, Where The Wait and Kendare Blake’s, All These Bodies. Both of these books were more on the side of Supernatural Thrillers, and I really enjoyed them.
Where They Wait Goodreads
Author: Scott Carson
Publication Date: October 26, 2021
Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
I read Scott Carson’s debut thriller The Chill a couple of years ago and while I liked it, it didn’t knock my socks off. But I was still eager to read his newest book While They Wait, and I am very happy to report that this book exceeded my expectations and I’m already looking forward to his next book.
Nick Bishop is a war correspondent who has recently been laid off from the newspaper he works for. Nick gets a call from his longtime friend who tells him that there is a job waiting for him to write a profile for a new mindfulness App called “Clarity” if he wants it. Nick needs the money, so he heads back to his hometown in Maine. Nick uses the App and at first it seems like just a retread of Apps already out there, with relaxing white noises and guided meditation. But then there are the “sleep songs” with a woman’s hauntingly beautiful voice, but really disturbing lyrics. After listening to the sleep songs, Nick starts having very vivid nightmares that even start to affect him when he is awake. Nick soon learns that the profile he was hired to write is just a ruse and it is Nick that the creator of Clarity, Bryce Lermond, really wanted. Though he has no memory of it, Nick is the only person still alive out of twenty people who have heard these songs.
I don’t even know how to explain what I loved about this book without giving away any spoilers. This book has a creep factor of ten! When I first started reading, all I could think of was “Well remind me not to download any relaxing apps.” LOL. And then the more I got into the book and the creepy factor increased, I was ready to delete any and all apps on my phone, relaxation or not. Hahaha.
Scott Carson did a great job of bringing all the characters to life. All of the characters flowed so well together. I also really got a kick out of how Carson used the Northeast accent in his writing. I live in Massachusetts, which is only a couple of hours from Maine, and I visit there often. We like to drop our R’s, so ‘car’ becomes ‘cah’, things like that. So I had no problem when the locals were speaking in the book, but some not used to it may have a bit of a hard time understanding what was written.
As well as being a creepy thriller, Where They Wait is also a supernatural tale. There are ghosts that haunt Nick while he is asleep and awake and there is also mind and memory manipulation going on, which just added to the creepiness. 3 ½ stars
All These Bodies Goodreads
Author: Kendare Blake
Publication Date: September 21, 2021
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
I have had Kendare Blake’s newest book, All These Bodies, on my to read list since last August. I really enjoyed her Three Dark Crowns series but kept putting off reading this book in favor of newer and more anticipated books that I wanted to read. I am really glad I finally picked this up and read it because I really liked it.
In 1958 a string of murders plagued the Midwest. All of the victims had the blood drained from their bodies, but there was never any blood found at the murder scenes. These murders became known as the “Bloodless Murders.” In a small town in Minnesota, the Carson family are the latest victims in the bloodless murders, only this time a suspect is found at the murder scene. Fifteen-year-old Marie Catherine Hale is found standing in the middle of the Carson’s living room and she is soaked from head to toe in their blood.
Seventeen-year-old Michael Jenson, the local sheriff’s son, wants to be a journalist, but he never thought that his first assignment would be the biggest story in the country or that he would be pulled into the bloodless murders investigation. But that is just what happens when Marie decides that she will confess and tell everything, but only to Michael. And what a story she tells.
This book is told from the narrative of Michael Jenson. While he is excited at first to have this opportunity, he soon realizes that he is in over his head. Not only due to the information that Marie is telling him, but also because Michael is starting to have feelings for Marie, and he knows that once she is done telling him her story, she is going to be brought to Nebraska to face charges there and will most certainly be put to death. I really liked Michael. He was an easy character to get behind. He was just an all-around good kid who was trying to make sense of the story he was being told, as well as his feelings for Marie. I also liked that Michael had a great support system in both his parents and his best friend. They were there for him when he needed them and stuck by him no matter what.
I also loved the character of Marie Catherine Hale. She was such a complex character. At times she seemed like the child she was and other times she came across as more mature. She was also a very unreliable character. There were times I was not sure if what she was saying was true or not.
All These Bodies may not be for the weak stomached, as there are a few squeamish moments such as when Marie was telling about why there was no blood at the murder scenes, vampires, and drinking of the blood. I did get a bit sad at the end of the book. I was hoping it would have ended differently, but at the same time, I thought it was a satisfying ending, though I did have a question or two. 3 ½ stars