Category: reading

Book Review: In the Woods They Wait, by Carrie Lee South

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Title: In the Woods They Wait
Author: Carrie Lee South
Genre: Mystery/thriller
Rating: 3 out of 5

Fifteen years ago, Audrey Figg’s little brother, Benny, vanished on a family vacation to Devil’s Den state park, a day that split her life in two.

Now, Audrey is a park ranger in the very same woods with expertise in wilderness search and rescue. Audrey has found a rhythm to her training new rangers, tending to injured hikers, protecting the backcountry, and still, searching.

When a little girl, Ivy, suddenly goes missing on the trails, Audrey can’t help but notice the similarities to her own brother’s case. As Audrey widens the scope of her search, she begins to believe Ivy wasn’t merely lost; it looks like she was taken by something—and maybe Benny was too. Yet the closer Audrey comes to answers, the more old memories push to the surface. Audrey is haunted not only by her brother’s loss, but a terrible secret from that day. A secret she has never shared with anyone.

I don’t think this was a terribly good fit for me. I didn’t really like Audrey much. She spent way too much time feeling sorry for herself and being rude to everyone around her because she was so much better than everyone else. She came across as very judge-y. This novel did not make me want to be out in the woods at night, so it had some creepiness going for it, but honestly, I was so annoyed by the stupid things Audrey kept doing that I didn’t really care what happened to her.

Carrie Lee South lives in Arkansas. In the Woods They Wait is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Little, Brown and Company in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Murder on the Sacred River, by Tasha Alexander

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Title: Murder on the Sacred River
Author: Tasha Alexander
Genre: Mystery, historical fiction
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

1908: Lady Emily and her husband Colin Hargreaves, along with an eccentric group of English tourists, are vacationing in India at Ahilya Fort, the old home to the Maharaja’s family, when a man is found shot along the Narmada River. Emily and Colin jump into action, but their suspect list is large, including a wonderful spinster and her not-so-wonderful companion; a local doctor; a widow who lives nearby; an English explorer; and an Englishman who now runs a tea plantation near Darjeeling.

1740: Fifteen-year-old Ahilyabai has been married to the son of Malharrao Holkar, the Lord of the Malwa territory, for seven years. Now the time has finally come to produce an heir. But though Ahilya’s in-laws have shown her nothing but kindness, her notoriously-drunken husband remains a mystery to her, having rarely spoken to Ahilya since their wedding as children. Faced with this tortured and distant man, Ahilya’s sense of loyalty is tested as she attempts to balance fulfilling her duty with forging her own destiny. Her decisions will have ripple effects across time—including Lady Emily’s investigation almost two hundred years later.

Lady Emily’s case takes a dramatic turn when a shocking new person arrives at the fort—and when the killer strikes again shortly afterwards, she and Colin must race to uncover the villain’s identity before it’s too late.

This wasn’t a bad read, it just felt very slow. I’ve read one other Lady Emily novel, and I didn’t have trouble following at all, the story just teetered on the edge of boring for me, both the Lady Emily storyline and the Ahilyabai one, too. I had trouble keeping the Englishwomen straight in my head—actually, all the English characters sort of blurred together for me. This wasn’t a bad read, just not an exciting one.

Tasha Alexander lives in Wyoming. Murder on the Sacred River is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press | Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Sundays are for Writing #391

This week, I had a surprisingly good writing week, considering I worked 2.5 days and then went out of town for three more.I wrote four book reviews: The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing, by Marshall J. Moore, Murder on the Sacred River, by Tasha Alexander, In the Woods They Wait, by Carrie Lee South, and To Vex & To Hex, by Neena Noon.

Happy writing!

The Best Books I Read in September (2026)

In September, I read 17 books, bringing my total for the year to 125 books read. I’m so far behind schedule, according to Goodreads! 100 books behind!

Most of those were solidly okay read,s with a few more”meh,” but a handful were truly good reads!

The Gods Will Sing Our Song, by Autumn Krause. I do love WWII historical fiction, but this dealt with an aspect I haven’t seen much of, which was terrible. It also mixed in some fascinating mythology, and I really enjoyed it.

Immortal Rose, by Alexandra Bracken. This was an excellent read! Apart from the city being a poorly-named facsimile of London….The magic was cool, I loved the characters, and I was engrossed from the beginning.

Sisters of the Midnight Sun, by Fiona Valpy. This was such a a good read! Both timelines/MCs were very well-done and I couldn’t wait to find out how things turned out for them.

What I Read in September (2026)

Books Read in September: 17
Books Read for the Year: 125/225

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
The Naturals and Killer Instinct, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (audio). I enjoyed both of these audio books!

For Review:

Hawk & Sparrow, by Ayana Gray. I really enjoyed the steampunk setting of this novel (except for the treatment of women), and the two main characters were a lot of fun to read.

Gods Will Sing Our Song, by Autumn Krause, This was an aspect of World War II-era historical fiction I hadn’t read before, and that part was horrifying, but the story was riveting.

The Best I Never Had, by Amy Buchanan. This was a fun read!

Our Strange Duet, by Erin A. Craig. Having never read or seen The Phantom of the Opera, this story was a fascinating, glittering read.

Immortal Rose, by Alexandra Bracken. I reallt enjoyed this a lot!

Night Songs, by Alli Dyer. This was…a bit odd, but also pretty fascinating.

Fire Power, by Mir Benitz. This was a step above “meh” for me. Interesting premise, but the execution was uneven.

Sunderworld, Vol. I: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry, by Ransom Riggs. This verged on cheesy, but it was an enjoyable romp. Think…The Labyrinth.

The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies, by Kate Westbury. I liked this quite a bit. Just fast my favorite time period to read–World War II–but I thought the characters were very well-done, and the mystery was intriguing.

Fall into Place, by Kristyn J. Miller. i found this to be pretty predictable, but it wasn’t terrible.

A Lovely and Deadly Dance, by Claire Andrews. I have to say this was a step above “meh,” but nothing to write home about. I found it a bit confusing and it seemed to jump around a lot.

SistBook Review: Sisters of the Midnight Sun, by Fiona Valpyers of the Midnight Sun, by Fiona Valpy. This was a FANTASTIC read. I was engrossed from the beginning, and I loved both timelines and MCs equally.

Daughters of the Wreckage, by Stefanie Koens. This was another good historical fiction read, although what happened in the past was pretty horrific. I did enjoy both timelines, but I think I like the present-day one a bit more.

The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing, by Marshall J. Moore. This was a cute, if campy read. It was fun!

Just Because:
The Midnight Feast, by Lucy Foley. I read this on a recommendation and it was..twisty, with a lot of different layers of story and mystery.

Left Unfinished:
Heavensent & Hellbent, by Sara Jafara. This felt very juvenile.
Bound by Fury, by Noelle Monet. The beginning of this was too drawn out and the mystery felt like it was over-exaggerated just to draw attention, not because it needed to be.
Reign, by Bethan Croone. Honestly, I didn’t like the vibes from this. The women have no rights, the best friend is about to be married but thinks nothing of canoodling with the brother–and seems to have no compunctions about ratting out the MC. Just, no thanks.
I Haunt It That Way, by Isabelle Popp. Yeah, I did NOT like the MC here. She was very selfish and unlikable.
A Study in Sparkling, by Jody McAlister. I don’t know why I even tried this. I didn’t like the characters in the previous linked standalone. I DNFed this on page two because of its liberal details.

Book Review: The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing, by Marshall J. Moore

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Title: The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing
Author: Marshall J. Moore
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5

As the laboratory assistant to the brilliant but demanding Doctor, Igor spends his nights robbing graves, stitching together body parts, and ensuring that his master doesn’t electrocute himself (too badly). It’s thankless work, but Igor knows it’ll all be worth it once they finally succeed in the Doctor’s all-encompassing quest to create new life from dead flesh.

When a mob of peasants wielding torches and pitchforks drives them out of town (again), Igor and the Doctor relocate to the isolated Ravenwald Manor to resume their experiments. But Igor and the Doctor are not the only ones seeking refuge within the walls of Ravenwald. The manor is already home to a vampiric Count and his highly dissatisfied bride, Cornelia—and an enigmatic witch and her feline familiar, Grimalkin, intend to use it as the site of a magical ritual.

At Igor’s suggestion, the three pairs come to an uneasy agreement to cohabitate in Ravenwald, lest they attract the suspicion of the nearby village. In the wake of this truce, Igor, Cornelia, and Grimalkin soon begin to realize that they might have more common with one another than their respective masters. When the trio discovers that they’ve been unwitting participants in a horrible plan to destroy the world as they know it, they must work together to stop their masters from bringing on armageddon… and stop the increasingly suspicious villagers from reaching for their pitchforks and torches.

Igor, Grim, and Cornelia must unite to cast off the chains of their masters and embrace life on their own terms in the hilarious, heartwarming, and just-spooky-enough The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing.

This was a fun read! A bit campy and predictable, but I enjoyed it. The Doctor was a jerk and so was the Count, but Grim was wonderful. I enjoyed Igor’s point-of-view, I liked Cornelia, and Spare was so cute! This was just a lot of fun, like an old monster movie, and this is the perfect time of year to read it.

Marshall J. Moore lives in Atlanta. The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing is his newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Ballantine/Bantam in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Daughters of the Wreckage, by Stefanie Koens

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Title: Daughters of the Wreckage
Author: Stefanie Koens
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5

Shortly before Christmas in 2018, Tess McCarthy, after years as a hard-working English teacher who never did anything out of the ordinary, flies to Western Australia’s remote Abrolhos Islands. She is in search of answers–both to the infamous Batavia shipwreck and her personal family crises.

Amsterdam, 1628. Saskia, an orphaned young Dutchwoman, boards Batavia with relatives, bound for a new and potentially dangerous life in the East Indies–only for her world to first collide with Aris Jansz, the ship’s taciturn under surgeon.

Tess, Saskia, and Aris–their lives linked by secrets that span generations–carry the baggage of past losses and the uncertainty of their futures. And, in the most unlikely circumstances, they may find qualities that echo through faith, acceptance, and love.

I’d never heard of the Batavia shipwreck but the details of what happened to the survivors was truly terrible. I did enjoy that past timeline, despite the portrayal of life on board the ship being so unpleasant. I actually enjoyed Tess’s POV much more as she stepped outside her comfort zone in a big way and learned how to grow and to heal. This was a good historical fiction read about a historical incident most people know little to nothing about.

Stefanie Koens lives in Perth. Daughters of the Wreckage is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Thomas Nelson Fiction | Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review.)

Sundays are for Writing #390

This was another excellent writing week! I wrote four book reviews: Fall into Place, by Kristyn J. Miller, A Lovely and Deadly Dance, by Claire Andrews, Sisters of the Midnight Sun, by Fiona Valpy, and Daughters of the Wreckage, by Stefanie Koens. I have a mini-vacation next week, so I’m not expecting as much on the reading/writing front.

Happy writing!

Book Review: Sisters of the Midnight Sun, by Fiona Valpy

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Title: Sisters of the Midnight Sun
Author: Fiona Valpy
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

2001: Overwhelmed by grief in the wake of losing her twin sister, Ruby Reid has come to Scotland to escape. Her new job as companion to Hanna Kristiansen, an elderly woman living on a remote homestead in the wild and remote Shetland Islands, offers plenty of challenges and a welcome distraction from the devastating choice Ruby has to make.

1940: Hanna’s quiet life on the fjords of northern Norway is overturned when her hometown is attacked and her country falls into the hands of Nazi occupiers. But the Norwegians are a people as resilient as the ancient bedrock of their land. Hanna becomes involved in the resistance movement, fighting to help end the war that has taken so much from her. She’s sent to Scotland for training, where she meets a charismatic member of the shadowy special forces who are supporting Norway’s fight for freedom. Though she’s eager to join the fight in Scotland, Hanna must return to her homeland, and face the dangerous underground work that lies ahead for her and her twin sister, Liv.

As Hanna shares her story, Ruby begins to navigate the path of her grief. Hanna in turn finds comfort in discovering that confiding in her younger friend is helping them both heal. Ruby also learns that, like the beautiful untamed land of Hanna’s rural croft, there is strength to be found in fragility, as well as hope for new life, in the wildness of an island at the end of the world.

As she slowly finds healing in a place as delicate yet defiant as the people who tend it, can Ruby find the courage to face up to the heartbreaking decisions she must now make?

This was a fantastic read! I loved both timelines equally. I do love World War II-era historical fiction—it’s my favorite genre to read—but this was truly so, so good. The writing was excellent, the settings were great, and the characters were so well-done. I am not into the concept of remote living, but the writing was so good it made both settings appealing. Excellent book, if a bit heart-wrenching.

Fiona Valpy lives in Scotland. Sisters of the Midnight Sun is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Ballantine | Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: A Lovely and Deadly Dance, by Claire Andrews

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Title: A Lovely and Deadly Dance
Author: Claire Andrews
Genre: Historical fiction, mystery
Rating: 3.0

Something is stalking the queen of England, and Irene Adler is ready to find whatever monster may lurk behind this new gruesome string of murders—with or without the help of Sherlock Holmes.

Irene Adler and Sherlock Holmes were both sent away from Oxford’s All Souls class after uncovering a murderous plot on campus. But now Irene’s deductive skills have called her back to England. Someone is killing off the queen’s closest allies and leaving mysterious messages at every crime scene.

The people of London are frightened—and growing angry. Could the murders be Queen Victoria’s fault, or is she the one in the most danger? With Sherlock’s help once more, Irene will follow leads that bring her deep into the secrets held by England’s richest families. The spark between the pair ignites and burns ever hotter all the while.

But the closer Irene gets to finding the killer’s identity, it becomes clear that it’s not a truth she wants to face. To prove herself an Adler, not a Moriarty, Irene will need to overcome the worst betrayal of her life. Can she endure true heartbreak if it’s for the greater good?

I don’t know, this just felt off to me. Kind of erratic, kind of juvenile, kind of dark in spots, but nothing consistent throughout. I finished it, so it kept my attention somewhat, but I was glad to put it down. The story jumped from plot point to plot point, but there wasn’t any transition between events, so it felt clunky and didn’t flow.

Claire Andrews was raised in Alaska and Scotland. A Lovely and Deadly Dance is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.)