ARC Review: A Bookbinder's secret by A. D. Bell

The Bookbinder's Secret
Author: A. D. Bell
Publication: St. Martin's Press (January 13, 2026)

Description: Every book tells a story. This one tells a secret.

A young bookbinder begins a hunt for the truth when a confession hidden beneath the binding of a burned book reveals a story of forbidden love, lost fortune, and murder.

Lilian ("Lily") Delaney, apprentice to a master bookbinder in Oxford in 1901, chafes at the confines of her life. She is trapped between the oppressiveness of her father’s failing bookshop and still being an apprentice in a man’s profession. But when she’s given a burned book during a visit to a collector, she finds, hidden beneath the binding, a fifty-year-old letter speaking of love, fortune, and murder.

Lily is pulled into the mystery of the young lovers, a story of forbidden love, and discovers there are more books and more hidden pages telling their story. Lilian becomes obsessed with the story but she is not the only one looking for the remaining books and what began as a diverting intrigue quickly becomes a very dangerous pursuit.

Lily's search leads her from the eccentric booksellers of London to the private libraries of unscrupulous collectors and the dusty archives of society papers, deep into the heart of the mystery. But with sinister forces closing in, willing to do anything for the books, Lilian’s world begins to fall apart and she must decide if uncovering the truth is worth the risk to her own life.

My Thoughts: Lilian Delancy is an apprentice to a bookbinder in Oxford. The year is 1901. When she is given a burned book while picking up some books to be bound at the library of a well-to-do physician, she discovers a mystery that will change her life. 

Lily discovers a letter tucked into the binding of the burned book. The letter hints at mystery and romance and danger. She is intrigued enough to want to look into things further. She discovers the book is one of a set of six by a rather obscure author. Finding a second book leads her to more of the story but it also attracts some dangerous elements who also want to have the books and keep the secrets secret. 

Lily travels all over England and finds herself meeting reclusive and shady book collectors and publishers and authors always being trailed by a man who is willing to do violence to get the books from her. 

I enjoyed the way Lily breaks out of her rather confined life on her quest. I liked that the story is told from Lily's point of view. I liked the action and the mystery in the story. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Lust Crusade by Jo Segura

The Lust Crusade
Author: Jo Segura
Publication: Berkley (January 13, 2026)

Description: A plucky librarian and an archaeologist on the run fake an engagement to save their lives, leading them into the labyrinth of their own desires.

Daniela Guiterrez has been in love with her brother’s best friend for as long as she can remember—until he went missing a year ago during an archaeological expedition. But on a solo trip to Greece, the intrepid librarian discovers that Theo is very much alive, although judging by the criminals holding him hostage, he is not doing well.

An expert in Ancient Greek archaeology, Dr. Theo Galanis has been abducted by artifact smugglers in search of a priceless gemstone—the Eye of the Minotaur. This ridiculous assignment was supposed to get Dani out of his system, not keep her tied up next to him. But when a little white lie spirals into his captors believing Theo and Dani are engaged, they must utilize her research skills and his expertise to solve the centuries’ old Minoan mystery, all while feigning a romance to keep each other alive.

Now with less than six days to find the jewel, underground societies, mythological beings, and pesky abductors are only half the battle. Because among the ancient ruins and temples they explore is an even bigger danger: falling in love for real.

My Thoughts: Dani Guiterrez decides to take a trip to Greece to memorialize her lost friend Theo Galanis who was an archaeologist who disappeared more than a year earlier. Dani has been in love with her brother's best friend Theo for years. Now, she has to find a way to get over him and move on with her life. 

But Theo isn't dead. He's been kidnapped by a man who wants him to discover the missing Eye of the Minotaur. The main problem with this is that the Eye is mythological. Theo did write a story about it which was published in a children's magazine. But the story was based on stories his grandfather told him when he was a child.

When Dani spots Theo and his captors at Knossos, she is determined to rescue him. She ends up captured herself and now the two of them have only six days to recover the eye before something fatal happens. 

Eluding the villains, finding the jewel, and falling in love have a six day deadline.

This is a "best friends to lovers" story that would be solved a couple of hundred pages sooner if the main characters would just talk to each other. Simple misunderstandings have been magnified by time into major misunderstandings. 

Both characters are interesting people with both strengths and flaws. The story complete with over-the-top villains was fast-paced and engaging. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: A Deadly Clue by Victoria Gilbert

A Deadly Clue
Author: Victoria Gilbert
Series: Hunter and Clewe Mysteries (Book 3)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (January 13, 2026)

Description: Hunter and Clewe are back in the third Hunter and Clewe mystery, from acclaimed author Victoria Gilbert, when a closed case is reopened after another member of a prominent family is murdered.

Cameron Clewe and Jane Hunter, lovers of all things bookish, are slowly cataloging Cam’s private collection of first edition books acquired from the deceased patriarch of the wealthy Stewart family. When Jane finds a note from Kimberly Stewart Ward, one of the daughters of the Stewart patriarch—who supposedly committed suicide—she discovers someone was actually targeting her with the intention of killing her.

Jane and Cam decide to look into the supposedly closed case, but their investigation becomes urgent when another member of the Stewart family is found dead from a drug overdose. The victim’s friends claim he’d been clean and sober for years and refuse to accept the cause of death.

Believing both cases to be connected, Jane and Cam are determined to solve them before any other direct heirs of the family are targeted.

My Thoughts: This case begins when Jane Hunter goes to the Stewart family home to pick up some books the man sold to Cameron. She went for ten books but came home with eleven. The extra book was a first edition but a marked up and battered copy. The only thing of interest was a note from Kimberley Stewart Ward - a daughter of the house - indicating that she felt she was in danger. Since Kimberley had died years earlier of an apparent suicide, Cam and Jane are puzzled and look to have discovered their next mystery.

The book must have been added to Jane's bag by a cousin of the family - a cousin who dies of a supposed drug overdose just days after Jane picks up the books. 

Deciding to look into the two overdoses, Jane and Cam discover a family used to covering up secrets. After all, there was that mysterious car accident years earlier which killed a woman and child. There are questions about who caused it and who was driving that were covered up at the time.

I enjoyed this mystery. I like the characters of Cam and Jane. Jane is a no-nonsense former librarian who at age 62 is willing to tell Cam when she sees something she doesn't like. Cam is a wealthy young man who suffers from anxiety and some assorted mental quirks. He seldom leaves home and uses Jane as he representative to the world. 

Fans of the series will want to read this one.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (January 5, 2026)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Want to See What I Added to My Stack? links to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.

Other Than Reading...

Happy New Year to everyone on the Christian/European calendar! This between holidays week felt like it had several Sundays. We had a dusting of snow every day but no plowable accumulation. We began 2026 with 8 inches of snow on the ground. We are currently under a Winter Weather Advisory with snow, fog, and freezing rain predicted. It should only be 1-2 inches of snow and even less of the more hazardous ice. 

I don't have any appointments this week. I also don't have any TV programs that I want to see. My Minnesota Vikings are playing as I'm writing this and then are finished for the season. The Voice finished up before Christmas. Now, I'm just waiting for Baseball Spring Training to begin. 

My brother has the day off and is out grocery shopping so that he can cook his Cajun Chicken Fettucine today. He's working the next five days starting no earlier than 2:30 PM. A refrigerator full of leftovers will be very useful since he doesn't have time to cook anything complicated or time consuming before work most days. Also, I like leftovers for my suppers while he's at work.

I've spent a lot of the week gathering statistics about 2025 and thinking about 2026. I set my Goodreads goal at 365 books. I will be using Goodreads again this year to keep track of what I'm reading despite its oddities. Here's a screen shot to show what I mean:

Why is it listing books twice? What is this "Author not available"? Last year, I tried deleting duplicates but when I tried to delete the duplicate both copies disappeared from my list. This year I'm just throwing up my hands and going "Oh, well!" and keeping track on my Google spreadsheet. 

While I don't take part in any challenges beyond this one from Goodreads, I do set some tentative reading goals. This year I would like to get caught up on two long-running series. I came to both series late by accepting review copies at NetGalley. I'm near to catching up with the Meg Langslow series by Donna Andrews and should catch up if I don't mind reading Christmas books out of season. I have five books to go with four of them being Christmas books.

I'm also four books behind on the Andy Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt and intend to keep chipping away at it. For some reason, I've been reading these really out of order. I have books 16, 19, 20 and 23 left. In both cases, the books I need to read are on my TBR pile. I just have to slot them into my reading calendar. 

I have other long series that I'd like to start including William Kent Kruger's Cork O'Connor and Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily series. 

I have a lot of review copies with February release dates. I set up my February calendar while I was listening to an audiobook this week even though I have 5 books unread on my January calendar. Two of them are February 3 releases including Stolen in Death which is a much-anticipated title.

2025 Report

I read 438 books in 2025. 272 of the books were mine including 140 from my TBR pile and 132 rereads. I also reviewed 167 books. 211 of this year's books read were audiobooks. I read 7 nonfiction books which met my self-imposed goal, but my biggest category was mystery/thriller/cozy mystery with a total of 329 books. 

I added 551 books to my collection this year. 124 were audiobooks and 178 were review copies. Currently, 225 of 2025's additions are still on my TBR pile. My total TBR pile is 2699 books high. My total LibraryThing collection numbers 8276 with just about half of them being Kindle copies. 

Here's my State of the Stack post. I use this to keep track of review books. 

Read Last Week

• Kirkyards & Kindness by Kelley Armstrong (Kindle, mine since December 15, 2025) -- A Rip Through Time novella.
• Bone to Pick by Kristi Rose (Chirp Audiobook, mine since February 11, 2025) -- second in Cold Case mysteries. My review will be posted on January 22.
• Lost and Found by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audiobook, mine since December 3, 2025) -- An early romantic suspense title by a favorite author. My review will be posted on January 27.

• It Takes a Psychic by Jayne Castle (Kindle and Audiobook, mine since June 5, 2025) -- Audiobook reread of a recent book by this favorite author. 
• A Letter of Mary by Laurie R. King (Audiobook Reread) -- Second in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes historical mysteries.

• Terns of Endearment by Donna Andrews (Audiobook, mine since December 5, 2025) -- 25th Meg Langslow mystery takes place on a cruise ship marooned in the Bermuda Triangle. My review will be posted on January 29.
• The Moor by Laurie R. King (Audiobook Reread) -- Third in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes historical mystery series. 
• A Field Guide to Murder by Michelle L. Cullen (Review, January 27) -- Retiree Harry and his carer Emma find themselves solving the mystery of one of Harry's neighbors in his condo community. My review will be posted on January 20.

• O Jerusalem by Laurie R. King (Audiobook reread) -- fourth in publication order but third in internal chronology of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes historical mysteries.
• Tell-Tale Treats by Jennifer J. Chow (Review, January 27) -- Third in the Magic Fortune Cookies cozy mysteries. My review will be posted on January 21.

Currently

• Such a Perfect Family by Nalini Singh (Review, January 27) 
• Agent of Change by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Audiobook reread) -- I'm taking part in a read-along hosted by the author. She intends to read all of the series in publication order. She posts her thoughts and remembrances periodically.
• Justice Hall by Laurie R. King (Audiobook Reread) -- I'm working my way through the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes historical mysteries. 

Next Week

• Glorious Rivals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Kindle, Mine since August 6, 2025) -- Barnes is one of the few YA authors I still read
• Stolen in Death by J.D. Robb (Review, February 3) 
• Books & Bewitchment by Isla Jewel (Review, February 3) -- new author to me

• The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham (Audiobook Add-On, $5.61) -- After reading some books recently about the Queens of Crime, I decided to try a book by this Classic author.
• Maybe This Once by Sophie Sullivan (Review, February 10)
• Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin by Nancy Springer (Review, February 10)

Reviews Posted

• The Devil in the Details by Vicki Delany (Review copy)
• The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz (Review copy)
• Wildwood by Amy Pease (Review copy)

• The Storm by Rachel Hawkins (Review copy)
• Wreck Your Heart by Lori Rader-Day (Review copy)
• Axe and Grind by Taylor Hutton (Review copy)

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:

Bought:

The Last of 2025:

• The Search by Nora Roberts (Kindle copy of book from my keeper shelves; BookBub, $2.99)
• Death of a Ghostwriter by Gaynor Torrance (BookBub, $.99)
• See How They Hide by Allison Brennan (BookBub, $1.99; adds to a series I'm collecting)

• Scream for Me by Karen Rose (BookBub, $.99; an author I enjoy)
• Touch & Go by Lisa Gardner (BookBub, $2.99; an author I enjoy)

2026:

• The Edge by Dick Francis (Kindle copy of book on my Keeper shelves; BookBub, $1.99)
• When All the Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz (Kindle copy to go with recently purchased audiobook; $2.99)

What was your week like?

ARC Review: Wreck Your Heart by Lori Rader-Day

Wreck Your Heart
Author: Lori Rader-Day
Publication: Minotaur (January 6, 2026)

Description: From award-winning author Lori Rader-Day, Wreck Your Heart is an engaging, “wisecracking and wonderful” crime novel with a big heart, about a country and midwestern singer out to catch her big break before family―or murder―wrecks everything.

Dahlia “Doll” Devine had the kind of hardscrabble beginning that could launch a thousand broken-hearted country songs, but now she’s the star of her own stage at McPhee’s Tavern. As part of Chicago’s―yes, Chicago’s―country music scene, Dahlia is an up-and-coming singer in spangles and boots of classic country tunes. Up and coming, that is, until her boyfriend Joey up and went, taking the rent money with him.

So Dahlia is back to square one, relying on Alex McPhee―again. Alex helped her out of a bad situation when she was a kid living rough with her mother. Now he’s part landlord, part band booster, all-around rescuer. It’s just that Dahlia wishes she didn’t keep giving him reasons to have to do it

Just as Dahlia suspects she’s scraped rock bottom, the mother she hasn’t spoken to in twenty years shows up with something to say. The next morning, a distraught young woman arrives at the bar, asking after her missing mother―Dahlia's mother, too, even if the missing suburban PTA mom the girl describes sounds pretty different from the one who let Dahlia down all those years ago.

Though no one is using the word sister any time soon, Dahlia lets herself be drawn into reuniting the family that might have been hers. But when a body is discovered outside McPhee’s Tavern, the crime threatens not just the place Dahlia has made into a home, but everything she’s believed about her past, her dreams for the future, and the people she was just, maybe, beginning to let into her heart.

My Thoughts: Dahlia "Doll" Devine tells this story in a sort of stream-of-consciousness way though, Thankfully, with punctuation. She's fallen on hard times. Her boyfriend Joey absconded with the rent money. Her landlord has locked her out after allowing her five minutes to gather her belongings which are packed into a black garbage bag. He phone is out of charge, and the charger must be in the apartment. 

Doll finds herself back at McPhee's Tavern and back with Alex McPhee who has been rescuing her since she was a child. She's sharing an apartment with Oona and her two big dogs while she's trying to rebuild her life. The only consistency is her Wednesday night performances with her band on McPhee's stage. 

But McPhee's is in danger of being sold out from under her with local real estate maven putting pressure on Alex to sell. Then her mother shows up. Doll hasn't seen her mother for twenty years. She left her with Alex and disappeared out of her life. Doll wound up in foster care but with frequent visits from Alex through the years. She has a lot of resentment about her mother which is exacerbated when a young woman shows up the day after Doll's mother comes and goes looking for her mother who just happens to be Doll's mother too.

Then Joey's body shows up in the alley behind McPhee's wrapped in curtains from their old apartment. 

Doll has to find out who murdered Joey, track down her missing mother, and keep McPhee's from being sold if she wants a chance to get her life back on track. 

This was an entertaining story. I enjoyed Doll's character. She prickly and needy and just recognizing that she has built her own family after thinking she was alone in the world. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Wreck Your Heart by Lori Rader-Day

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

Outside, the sirens drew closer, wailing up into a scream, then grinding back down, guttural and urgent.

Friday 56:

I was deposited back on the street, dark now, evening. Another long day, somehow spent.

This week I am spotlighting Wreck Your Heart by Lori Rader-Day from my review stack. Here is the description from Amazon:

From award-winning author Lori Rader-Day, Wreck Your Heart is an engaging, “wisecracking and wonderful” crime novel with a big heart, about a country and midwestern singer out to catch her big break before family―or murder―wrecks everything.

Dahlia “Doll” Devine had the kind of hardscrabble beginning that could launch a thousand broken-hearted country songs, but now she’s the star of her own stage at McPhee’s Tavern. As part of Chicago’s―yes, Chicago’s―country music scene, Dahlia is an up-and-coming singer in spangles and boots of classic country tunes. Up and coming, that is, until her boyfriend Joey up and went, taking the rent money with him.

So Dahlia is back to square one, relying on Alex McPhee―again. Alex helped her out of a bad situation when she was a kid living rough with her mother. Now he’s part landlord, part band booster, all-around rescuer. It’s just that Dahlia wishes she didn’t keep giving him reasons to have to do it

Just as Dahlia suspects she’s scraped rock bottom, the mother she hasn’t spoken to in twenty years shows up with something to say. The next morning, a distraught young woman arrives at the bar, asking after her missing mother―Dahlia's mother, too, even if the missing suburban PTA mom the girl describes sounds pretty different from the one who let Dahlia down all those years ago.

Though no one is using the word sister any time soon, Dahlia lets herself be drawn into reuniting the family that might have been hers. But when a body is discovered outside McPhee’s Tavern, the crime threatens not just the place Dahlia has made into a home, but everything she’s believed about her past, her dreams for the future, and the people she was just, maybe, beginning to let into her heart.

ARC Review: Axe and Grind by Taylor Hutton

Axe and Grind
Author: Taylor Hutton
Publication: Berkley (January 6, 2026)

Description: In this decadently dark romance, a virtual dating experiment spins into a deadly web of obsession, greed, love, and passion.

Josie Greene has always been a glass half-full kind of girl. But after a messy breakup, she’s broke, betrayed, and barely getting by. Even her trusted tarot cards point to chaos in her future. And they’re right: Axe MacKenzie needs her help.

As part of the tech CEO’s latest covert mission, Axe has been developing a simulator to create any user’s “Perfect Match,” and bubbly Josie is the ideal woman to test his product. When the gorgeous, reclusive billionaire makes her an offer—fake date him so he can launch his groundbreaking AI dating app—Josie’s in no position to refuse.

But Axe’s two worlds collide as the criminal underworld corrupts their experimental fling. What started as steamy role-play quickly spirals into a very real threat, leaving both Josie and Axe no choice but to uncover their well-buried pasts. With her life on the line, Josie will have to trust the man who has created the ultimate virtual illusion—and who might be hiding the most sinister truths of all…

My Thoughts: This book is billed as a dark romance and fits the bill nicely. Josie Hart has just broken up with her fiancé when the story begins and is attending a party at a former asylum turned party venue and movie set. She had a terrible childhood filled with cancer and diabetes and terrible allergies. She's mostly healthy now but needs expensive insulin from Germany and needs a job that will provide health insurance.

Axe MacKenzie has a solution. He's an AI millionaire and needs a model for his latest project - creating the perfect AI companion. He can't think of anyone better than Josie with her optimistic attitude, devotion to tarot, and quirky personality. He doesn't expect to fall in love with her. After all, he's never fallen in love before.

Axe and his partner Strike as former CIA agents have a hobby. They have set a goal of ending human trafficking by murdering traffickers one at a time. The next one in their sites is Niles von Grafenhagen. They are working their way into his computer files while Axe is trying to convince him to invest in his latest AI project.

But Niles has seen Josie and is fixated on her. When he kidnaps her, Axe needs to call on old pals to get her back. He has to return to the scene of his abused childhood. 

The story is told from alternate viewpoints with one chapter from Josie's point of view and the next from Axe's. I wasn't surprised to learn that "Taylor Hutton" is two authors because each viewpoint seemed like it was written by a different person. 

Much of the darkness comes from each main character's abusive past. Josie was exploited by her mother and Axe by his father. I enjoyed the way the two characters fell in love and dealt with their terrible paths. I felt that murder might have been going a bit far though.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.