Can’t Wait Wednesday – THE WAKE-UP CALL by Beth O’Leary

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“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 THE WAKE-UP CALL by Beth O’Leary.  I’ve had such great luck with this author’s books in the past so I can’t wait to dive into her newest one.  I love an enemies/rivals to lovers story and this sounds like a fun one!

 

THE WAKE-UP CALL by Beth O’Leary

Publication Date: September 26, 2023

by Berkley

 

From Goodreads:

Two hotel receptionists—and arch-rivals—find a collection of old wedding rings and compete to return them to their owners, discovering their own love story along the way.

It’s the busiest season of the year, and Forest Manor Hotel is quite literally falling apart. So when Izzy and Lucas are given the same shift on the hotel’s front desk, they have no choice but to put their differences aside and see it through.

The hotel won’t stay afloat beyond Christmas without some sort of miracle. But when Izzy returns a guest’s lost wedding ring, the reward convinces management that this might be the way to fix everything. With four rings still sitting in the lost & found, the race is on for Izzy and Lucas to save their beloved hotel—and their jobs.

As their bitter rivalry turns into something much more complicated, Izzy and Lucas begin to wonder if there’s more at stake here than the hotel’s future. Can the two of them make it through the season with their hearts intact?

 

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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 – MIDNIGHT IS THE DARKEST HOUR by Ashley Winstead

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“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 MIDNIGHT IS THE DARKEST HOUR by Ashley Winstead.  Even as I’m in the middle of building my summer TBR, I find myself looking ahead to spooky season and this twisty Gothic thriller by Ashley Winstead caught my eye.  I loved In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, and that combined with the comparisons to Verity and A Flicker in the Dark, makes this one a must read for me.

 

MIDNIGHT IS THE DARKEST HOUR by Ashley Winstead

Publication Date: October 3, 2023

by Sourcebooks

 

From Goodreads:

From the critically acclaimed author of In My Dreams I Hold A Knife and The Last Housewife comes a gothic Southern thriller about a killer haunting a small Louisiana town, where two outcasts—the preacher’s daughter and the boy from the wrong side of the tracks—hold the key to uncovering the truth.

For fans of Verity and A Flicker in the Dark, this is a twisted tale of murder, obsessive love, and the beastly urges that lie dormant within us all…even the God-fearing folk of Bottom Springs, Louisiana. In her small hometown, librarian Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider, even as her beloved father rains fire-and-brimstone warnings from the pulpit at Holy Fire Baptist.

Unfortunately for Ruth, the only things the townspeople fear more than the God and the Devil are the myths that haunt the area, like the story of the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to steal into sinners’ bedrooms and kill them on moonless nights. When a skull is found deep in the swamp next to mysterious carved symbols, Bottom Springs is thrown into uproar—and Ruth realizes only she and Everett, an old friend with a dark past, have the power to comb the town’s secret underbelly in search of true evil.

A dark and powerful novel like fans have come to expect from Ashley Winstead, Midnight is the Darkest Hour is an examination of the ways we’ve come to expect love, religion, and stories to save us, the lengths we have to go to in order to take back power, and the monstrous work of being a girl in this world.

 

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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 – UNFORTUNATELY YOURS by Tessa Bailey

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“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 UNFORTUNATELY YOURS by Tessa Bailey. I really enjoyed the first book in this series and so I’m eager to return to wine country and learn more about Natalie and August since they sound like such entertaining characters.  Unfortunately Yours also features several of my favorite tropes, including enemies to lovers, fake dating, marriage of convenience, and by the sounds of it, forced proximity, so color me excited!

 

UNFORTUNATELY YOURS by Tessa Bailey

Publication Date: June 6, 2023

by Avon Books

 

From Goodreads:

A down-on-her-luck Napa heiress suggests a mutually beneficial marriage of convenience to a man she can’t stand… only to discover there’s a fine line between love and hate.

After losing her job and her fiancé in one fell swoop, Natalie Vos returned home to lick her wounds. A few months later, she’s sufficiently drowned her sorrows in cabernet and she’s ready to get back on her feet. She just needs her trust fund to finance her new business venture. Unfortunately, the terms require she marry before she can have the money. And well, dumped, remember? But Natalie is desperate enough to propose to a man who makes her want to kill him–and kiss him, in equal measure.

August Cates may own a vineyard, but he doesn’t know jack about making wine. He’s determined to do his late best friend proud, no matter what it takes. Except his tasting room is empty, his wine is disgusting (seriously, he once saw someone gag), and his buddy’s legacy is circling the drain. No bank will give him the loan he needs to turn the business around… and then the gorgeous, feisty heiress knocks on his door. Natalie has haunted his dreams since the moment they met, but their sizzling chemistry immediately morphed into simmering insults.

Now, a quickie marriage could help them both. A sham wedding, a few weeks living under the same roof, and then they can go their separate ways–assuming they make it out alive. How hard could it be? There’s just one thing they didn’t account for: their unfortunate, unbearable, undeniable attraction.

 

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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 – Books I Recommend to Others the Most

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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 Books I Recommend to Others the Most. That’s a fun topic since I definitely have favorites in each of my most read genres that I regularly recommend to others in the genres of historical fiction, romance, science fiction, thrillers, and fantasy.  There are way more than 10 that I recommend, but the ones I’m sharing today all resonated with me for various reasons and I always hope they’ll also resonate with those I recommend them to.

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Books I Recommend to Others the Most

 

 

Have you read any of these?

Top Ten Tuesday – My Next 10 Reads Randomly Grabbed from My Bookshelves

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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 The First 10 Books I Randomly Grabbed from My Shelf.  I tweaked this topic a little by only pulling from my unread shelves.  I decided to use this as kind of a “TBR jar” moment, where whatever ten books I pulled would be the next ten books I already own that I’ll be reading.  This obviously doesn’t include ARCs, which I’ll still be reading, but these are the next ten I’m tackling in my ongoing challenge to read books I’ve bought and ignored over the years.  Full disclosure – I did cheat in one instance. I actually did pull a different book from the Outlander series but since I want to keep reading them in order, I put that one back in favor of the one that is next in the series for me. I’m actually pretty excited to get to most of these, especially Wolfsong, By a Thread, and Maame.

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My Next 10 Reads Randomly Grabbed from My Bookshelves

 

Have you read any of these?

Can’t Wait Wednesday – GOOD BAD GIRL by Alice Feeney

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“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 GOOD BAD GIRL by Alice Feeney. After loving Daisy Darker and Rock Paper Scissors as much as I did, everything Alice Feeney writes is now a must-read for me.  Her latest sounds like another wild ride and I’m beyond excited to get my hands on a copy.

 

GOOD BAD GIRL by Alice Feeney

Publication Date: August 3, 2023

by Flatiron Books

 

From Goodreads:

Sometimes bad things happen to good people, so good people have to do bad things.

Our Queen of Twists, bestselling author of Daisy Darker and Rock Paper Scissors Alice Feeney, returns with another thrilling mystery filled with drama and her trademark surprises.

Twenty years after a baby is stolen from a stroller, a woman is murdered in a care home. The two crimes are somehow linked, and a good bad girl may be the key to discovering the truth.

Edith may have been tricked into a nursing home, but at eighty-years-young, she’s planning her escape. Patience works there, cleaning messes and bonding with Edith, a kindred spirit. But Patience is lying to Edith about almost everything.

Edith’s own daughter, Clio, won’t speak to her. And someone new is about to knock on Clio’s door…and their intentions aren’t good.

With every reason to distrust each other, the women must solve a mystery with three suspects, two murders, and one victim. If they do, they might just find out what happened to the baby who disappeared, the mother who lost her, and the connections that bind them.

In the style of Daisy Darker and Rock Paper Scissors, Good Bad Girl is a thriller in which nobody can be trusted and the twists come fast and furious.

 

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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 – THINGS WE LEFT BEHIND by Lucy Score

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“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 THINGS WE LEFT BEHIND by Lucy Score, the third book in Score’s Knockemout series.  I haven’t reviewed this series on the blog yet but I fell in love with Knox and Naomi in the first book, and I’m already enamored with Nash and Lina as I’m reading the second book. That gives me very high hopes that Score’s latest installment will be just as wonderful.

 

THINGS WE LEFT BEHIND by Lucy Score

Publication Date: September 5, 2023

by Bloom Books

 

From Goodreads:

There was only one woman who could set me free. But I would rather set myself on fire than ask Sloane Walton for anything.

Lucian Rollins is a lean, mean vengeance-seeking mogul. On a quest to erase his father’s mark on the family name, he spends every waking minute pulling strings and building an indestructible empire. The more money and power he amasses, the safer he is from threats.  Except when it comes to the feisty small-town librarian that keeps him up at night…

Sloane Walton is a spitfire determined to carry on her father’s quest for justice. She’ll do that just as soon as she figures out exactly what the man she hates did to—or for—her family. Bonded by an old, dark secret from the past and the dislike they now share for each other, Sloane trusts Lucian about as far as she can throw his designer-suited body.

When bickering accidentally turns to foreplay, these two find themselves not quite regretting their steamy one-night stand. Once those flames are fanned, it seems impossible to put them out again. But with Sloane ready to start a family and Lucian refusing to even consider the idea of marriage and kids, these enemies-to-lovers are stuck at an impasse.

Broken men break women. It’s what Lucian believes, what he’s witnessed, and he’s not going to take that chance with Sloane. He’d rather live a life of solitude than put her in danger. But he learns the hard way that leaving her means leaving her unprotected from other threats.

It’s the second time he’s ruthlessly cut her out of his life. There’s no way she’s going to give him a third chance. He’s just going to have to make one for himself.

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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 TV/Streaming Shows I’ve Been Loving

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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.

This week’s TTT topic is Non-book Freebie (choose your own topic that’s not related to books! This could be hobbies, TV shows/movies, bands/singers, food items/recipes, top ten things about you, your top ten favorite things, places you’ve visited, favorite fashion designers, etc). I decided I would take the opportunity to share some shows that I’ve been watching and loving lately.

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10 TV/Streaming Shows I’ve Been Loving Lately

 

1. TED LASSO on Apple TV+

 

2. STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN on Disney +

 

3. Bridgerton on Netflix

 

4. EMILY IN PARIS on Netflix

 

5. ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING on Hulu

 

6. DAISY JONES & THE SIX on Amazon Prime

 

7. BIG SHOT on Disney +

 

8. WEDNESDAY on Netflix

 

9. STAR WARS: THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT on Disney +

 

10. HEARTSTOPPER on Netflix

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What shows have you been enjoying lately?

Can’t Wait Wednesday – BETTING ON YOU by Lynn Painter

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“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 BETTING ON YOU by Lynn Painter. Lynn Painter is an auto-buy author for me and one of the few YA authors I have consistently had good luck with, so I’m excited to read this new one from her especially since it sounds like it’s going to feature enemies to lovers and fake dating.

 

BETTING ON YOU by Lynn Painter

Publication Date: November 28, 2023

by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

 

From Goodreads:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Better than the Movies, this swoon-worthy rom-com in the vein of She’s All That and 10 Things I Hate About You follows a teen girl who unwittingly finds herself at the center of a bet while working at a waterpark.

When seventeen-year-old Bailey starts a new job at a hotel waterpark, she is less than thrilled to see an old acquaintance is one of her coworkers. Bailey met Charlie a year ago on the long flight to Omaha, where she moved after her parents’ divorce. Charlie’s cynicism didn’t mix well with Bailey’s carefully well-behaved temperament, and his endless commentary was the irritating cherry on top of an already emotionally fraught trip.

Now, Bailey and Charlie are still polar opposites, but instead of everything about him rubbing Bailey the wrong way, she starts to look forward to hanging out and gossiping about the waterpark guests and their coworkers—particularly two who keep flirting with each other. Bailey and Charlie make a bet on whether or not the cozy pair will actually get together. Charlie insists that members of the opposite sex can’t just be friends, and Bailey is determined to prove him wrong.

Bailey and Charlie keep close track of the romantic progress of others while Charlie works to deflect the growing feelings he’s developed for Bailey. Terrified to lose her if his crush becomes known, what doesn’t help his agenda is Bailey and Charlie “fake dating” in order to disrupt the annoying pleasantries between Bailey’s mom and her mom’s new boyfriend. Soon, what Charlie was hoping to avoid becomes a reality as Bailey starts to see him as not only a friend she can rely on in the midst of family drama—but someone who makes her hands shake and heart race. But Charlie has a secret—a secret that involves Bailey and another bet Charlie may have made. Can the two make a real go of things…or has Charlie’s secret doomed them before they could start?

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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 – My Favorite Romance Books That Feature Animals on the Cover

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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 Titles with Animals In Them and/or Covers with Animals On Them.  I blanked out almost completely on titles with animals in them, so I went the cover route.  Here are ten of my favorite romance novel covers that feature animals on them.

 

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My Favorite Romance Books That Feature Animals on the Cover

 

 

Have you read any of these?