Friday Memes: Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree

 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:

"F**k!" cried Fern, ducking back inside the carriage a whisker before a clawed and scaled hand sailed past. 

Friday 56:

Saved by a bunch of penitents, she thought. Then, Too bad I'm out of the bookselling business. I bet they could really use some filthy romances. The thunder of a distant avalanche swallowed up the sound of her delirious laughter.

This week I am spotlighting Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree. This cozy fantasy is the third book in the series and is from my review stack. 

Here's the description from Amazon:

Return to the cozy fantasy world of the #1 New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes series with a new adventure featuring fan-favorite, foul-mouthed bookseller Fern

Fern has weathered the stillness and storms of a bookseller’s life for decades, but now, in the face of crippling ennui, transplants herself to the city of Thune to hang out her shingle beside a long-absent friend’s coffee shop. What could be a better pairing? Surely a charming renovation montage will cure what ails her!

If only things were so simple…

It turns out that fixing your life isn’t a one-time prospect, nor as easy as a change of scenery and a lick of paint.

A drunken and desperate night sees the rattkin waking far from home in the company of a legendary warrior, an imprisoned chaos-goblin with a fondness for silverware, and an absolutely thumping hangover.

As together they fend off a rogue’s gallery of ne’er-do-wells trying to claim the bounty the goblin represents, Fern may finally reconnect with the person she actually is when nothing seems inevitable.

ARC Review: Haze by Katherine Kerr

Haze
Author: Katherine Kerr
Publication: Caezik SF & Fantasy (August 14, 2025)

Description: Once, Dan flew amongst the stars as a decorated Fleet Officer. Now destitute, he sleeps on the streets of Gleam, trading his body for a drug called Haze that dulls the pain of what he’s lost with nothing left to his name but a battered knife, a damaged mind, and a past he can’t escape. But he is given a rare second chance when former comrades track him down and make an offer that he never expected.

Across the galaxy, the invisible lanes of faster-than-light travel—the shunts—are beginning to fail. One has already vanished without warning. If the rest collapse, entire civilizations will be cut off, stranded, and left to die. The Fleet needs someone who can read the hyperspace currents like no one else. Someone like Dan. But bringing him back into the fold won’t be easy—and keeping him alive may be even harder.

Thrown together with a crew of misfits and old friends carrying wounds of their own, Dan boards a disguised merchant ship on a secret mission to uncover the truth. What they find will challenge everything they believe—about the shunts, about the Fleet, and each other. And through it all, Dan must battle the addiction that nearly destroyed him… and still might.

Haze is a bold, character-driven space adventure that blends high-stakes intrigue with raw emotional depth. Gritty, moving, and impossible to put down, it’s a story of redemption, found family, and the fragile ties that hold the stars—and ourselves—together.

My Thoughts: HAZE is a space opera with engaging characters and intriguing worldbuilding. 

Dan is a pilot who is addicted to Haze. His addiction and a run-in with a superior officer led to his court martial. Now, he has been recruited to be part of a Special Ops team tracking down rumors. His reinstatement comes with a ready supply of Haze and a chance to reunite with old friends.

Rumors are spreading through space about ways to collapse the shunts that are used to quickly travel from planet to planet. The Special Ops branch of the Fleet in the persons of Captain Evans and her motley crew are investigating the rumors. They are under cover as merchanters who are just a bit down on their luck. 

This was an engaging story. I thought the world building was interesting. I liked the variety of aliens and humans in the world. I also liked their various social customs including four-way marriages. I thought the whole idea of throwbacks with different skills was interesting. Most of the human characters in the crew are throwbacks with the captain who can sense and control energy fields, a pilot able to find previously unknown shunts, and a Chief of Security with the ability to detect patterns. The world is also inhabited by AIs who control a lot of the systems including space travel. 

This story is hard to describe because so many things are happening. It was great to follow along on all the adventures and relationships. 

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

ARC Review: Revenge, Served Royal by Celeste Connally

Revenge, Served Royal
Author: Celeste Connally
Series: Lady Petra Inquires (Book 3)
Publication: Minotaur Books (November 11, 2025)

Description: Bridgerton meets Agatha Christie in this dazzling third instalment to the captivating Regency-era Lady Petra Inquires mystery series.

September, 1815. Autumn is in the air as Lady Petra Forsyth and some of the most illustrious members of the ton descend upon Windsor Castle for a week of royal celebrations, with the highlight being Queen Charlotte’s inaugural patisserie contest for the best bakers employed by England’s finest houses. Not only is Lady Petra’s own cook one of the contestants, but Her Majesty has requested that Petra herself serve as one of the judges.

Petra’s happiness at tasting delicious cakes and biscuits only increases at finding her beloved Aunt Ophelia in attendance at Windsor, as well as Sir Rufus Pomeroy. As England’s most famous former royal chef-turned-cookbook author, Sir Rufus is slated to present his best recipes to the Queen during the festivities, with Petra being granted an early viewing in the royal library.

Yet upon arrival, Petra instead encounters a frantic housemaid pointing to a body of one of Her Majesty’s guests―and to the valet still tugging at the silk ribbon used to strangle the victim. What’s more, the valet turns out to be Oliver Beecham, the ne’er-do-well brother of Petra’s own lady’s maid, Annie. But as Oliver is hauled away to the dungeons, he protests his innocence, claiming the late guest argued with several aristocrats, including the Prince Regent and Petra’s Aunt Ophelia, and boasted about hiding a potentially scandalous document within the vastness of Windsor Castle.

When some poisoned tea meant for Petra is consumed by one of her fellow judges, it’s clear the real killer is still walking the castle’s halls. Indeed, in order to prove the innocence of Annie’s brother and find the incriminating document, Petra will need to act like a lady, eat like a chef, and think like one of Her Majesty’s best spies before a murderer can turn the celebrations from sweet to royally deadly.

My Thoughts: The third Lady Petra mystery has her at Windsor Castle for a week of celebrations. One of the events is a patisserie contest. Her cook Mrs. Bing has been invited to participate, and she has been invited to be one of the judges. Another judge is Sir Rufus Pomeroy who is a famous chef. He once cooked for her family when she was a child. He also cooked for the Royal family before turning to writing very successful cookbooks. 

When he is found dead after planning a meeting with Petra and his valet is accused of the crime, Petra begins her own investigation. The valet happens to be her lady's maid's younger brother which piques her interest. 

Petra soon learns that Sir Rufus was not very well-liked. In fact, her aunt was one of the people who disliked him and who met with him early the same morning when he died. She is one of five people who were up and about very early that morning for reasons that might have included murder. 

It seems that instead of writing a new cookbook, he was writing a novel revealing the secret's he'd learned while working among the Royals and the upper classes. The manuscript is missing and someone is willing to commit murder to find it.

I enjoyed the setting and the time period. I liked the mix of real and imagine characters. I thought the mystery was nicely plotted. I like the way Petra had to battle with herself when she learned that her beloved aunt might be a suspect. 

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

ARC Review: Innocence Road by Laura Griffin

Innocence Road
Author: Laura Griffin
Publication: Berkley (November 11, 2025)

Description: Detective Leanne Everhart swore she’d never go back to her hometown near Marfa, Texas—but she returns when her brother needs her, only to find a town in need too, still torn apart by a decades-old crime.

Leanne Everhart knows women have something to fear in her artsy hometown, especially so if they’re not rich, white locals. Returning to town after her father’s death, she sees the ugliest sides of an area that draws people for its severe, untamed natural landscape.

While her department faces mounting backlash over a recent wrongful conviction in the long-ago murder case of a popular local teenager—which is now unsolved—Leanne is called to a fresh crime scene at the edge of the desert. A nameless woman was found murdered, with no clues as to her identity. As Leanne digs into the crime scene evidence, she grows convinced this latest murder case is linked with the local teenager’s murder. And to multiple cold cases, all unnamed female victims, that have all been shelved by her department without leads.

Now, with conflicted loyalties and without allies, Leanne must hunt down a serial killer, one who’s been preying on local women for two decades, growing bolder and more ruthless with every strike.

My Thoughts: INNOCENCE ROAD takes place in rural Texas. Leanne Everhart has returned to her small hometown after serving as a police officer in Dallas. She has joined the local police department as the only female officer. Her father who recently died in a car accident was once the chief of police. 

When the man convicted of killing a pretty local teenager fifteen years earlier has his conviction overturned because he claimed he was coerced into a confession, the local PD is in an uproar. The current chief is more worried about the possible law suit the man is poised to bring than he is about any current crimes. 

Leanne has a current crime to investigate. The body of a battered young woman has been discovered. She is unidentified. When Leanne begins to investigate, she learns that this body is not the first to be found in the area. None of the deaths have been sufficiently investigated and Leanne faces pushback from the chief when she wants to dig deeper. 

Already feeling isolated in the department, Leanne goes outside it to people she knows in the sheriff's department and a friend in the local FBI to find out more. Her investigation leads her to believe that the old murder was the first of a series of serial killings that have been going on for years. Proving it puts her in danger from unknown enemies. 

Meanwhile, Leanne is dealing with family issues. She and her mother have never gotten along, and tensions are building again as Leanne looks into her father's role in the young man's conviction fifteen years earlier. Leanne is also dealing with a younger brother who is dealing with an addiction issue.

This was an engaging mystery. I liked the setting. I wasn't as fond of Leanne though I could see that her personality was a result of the various stresses in her life and job. 

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

ARC Review: Wild Instinct by T. Jefferson Parker

Wild Instinct
Author: T. Jefferson Parker
Publication: Minotaur Books (November 11, 2025)

Description: A gripping high-stakes thriller by three-time Edgar Award winner and New York Times bestselling author T. Jefferson Parker ("A marvel...hits the high-water mark for crime fiction every time out." ―Gregg Hurwitz)

The hunt for the truth is the deadliest game.

Former Marine sniper Lew Gale, now a detective with the Orange County California Sheriff’s Department, is assigned to track and shoot a mountain lion that has killed a man in the rugged country east of Laguna Beach, California. The victim is Bennet Tarlow, a rich developer and man-about-town in upscale coastal Orange County.

The investigation takes a chilling turn when Lew and his new partner, Daniela Mendez, discover that Bennet was dead long before the lion got to him. And while he might have been the first to die, he certainly will not be the last.

My Thoughts: Former Marine sniper and current Orange County Sheriff's Department Detective Lew Gale has been assigned the task of hunting down a mountain lion who apparently killed developer Bennet Tarlow near the site of his planned new city. Lew knows the area since he is a Native American who lives near there.

When it is discovered that Tarlow was dead before the cat ate him, Lew and his new partner Daniela Mendez have a murder to investigate. They uncover all sorts of secrets as they look into who might have wanted Tarlow dead. 

But that is not all that is going on. Single mother Daniela is busy tracking her son as he seems to be getting involved with gangs and bad companions. She is also carrying on an affair with her son's father who refuses to let her tell him who she is because his existence with ruin the lover's future plans. 

Between Lew's issues with his Native heritage and his war wounds and Daniela's with her son and his father, the mystery sort of takes the back seat for me in this story. Clues and suspects are uncovered but they didn't feel like the focus of the story. 

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

ARC Review: Turns of Fate by Anne Bishop

Turns of Fate
Author: Anne Bishop
Series: An Isle of Wyrd Novel (Book 1)
Publication: Ace (November 11, 2025)

Description: A young detective investigating crimes of the uncanny will learn that bargains can change your fate—for good or ill—in this darkly enthralling fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of the Others and the Black Jewels series.

Words have power. Intentions matter.

Most people come to Destiny Park for entertainment. They come to have their cards read to tell them a bit about their future. They come to walk through a beautiful park and to eat at the hotel’s restaurant. They come in the hope of catching a glimpse of the Arcana, the paranormal beings who rule the Isle of Wyrd.

But some people come to make a bargain with the Arcana—to change their fate. And some people come for dark purposes.

When Detective Beth Fahey is sent to Destiny Park to inquire about a “ghost gun,” she will begin a strange journey on which she must learn to navigate the Arcana’s unforgiving laws and dangerous attractions. Her search will draw her into seemingly impossible cases and the secrets of her own past as tensions rise between the Arcana and their human neighbors across the river.

For the Isle of Wyrd is a place where the dead ride trains to their final destinations, predators literally become prey, and seekers’ true natures are revealed in the ripples of destiny unknowingly stirred in their wakes.

Who will live? Who will die? And who will be lost in between?

My Thoughts: Anne Bishop's new fantasy begins an engaging series. Detective Beth Fahey is sent to the Isle of Wyrd to make enquiries about a "ghost gun" which caused the man who used it to injure his former girlfriend, current girlfriend, and daughter to age over 70 years and die himself. 

Beth is a new detective on a squad that deals with the Isle of Wyrd and its non-human occupants. Her first trip is not her last because, for some reason not known to her, she excites the interest of the residents. 

Engaging with the residents of Wyrd is a complex and dangerous task. These members of the Arcana have a code the everyone must abide by. She needs to always remember that words have power and intentions matter. Humans who forget or disregard that often find themselves victims. 

This is the story about some of those people who have their fates changed by the Isle of Wyrd. A woman fleeing an abuser, a gang of teenage predators, a young man who is almost the gang's victim all have their fates determined by their words and their choices. So does a man obsessed with myths and legends who is determined to explore the island. 

Along the way, Beth learns more about herself and her past as she deals with the foster parent who looks at her as a sort of cash cow and who is willing to ruin Beth's reputation if it will advance the woman's goals. But Beth has powerful protectors who have been looking after her since she was a child and who are willing to change someone's fate if it will protect Beth. 

This was a compelling story. I literally couldn't put it down until the last page was read at 5:30 AM. I loved the way the story combined current life with the fantastic. I can't wait to read it again when it is released and listen to the audiobook too. 

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? (November 3, 2025)

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...

The last week in October was filled with blue skies, colorful leaves, and chilly days. My very early doctor's appointment went well. We are on a watch-and-see schedule with me slated to see her again in 6 months. 

The World Series this year was packed with exciting games. The team I was favoring didn't win, but I enjoyed all the games. Now the countdown begins for Spring Training...

I'm entering into a brief slowdown in reading Review books. I have two more November releases to finish and only three December releases. I can finally fill my reading calendar with my own books and try to whittle down the stack a miniscule amount. I have a classic trilogy by Nora Roberts that I want to listen to since it's been years and years since I read the books. I also have a science fiction series (at least the first 3 books of it) that I want to listen to again. I'm concentrating on books I got in 2025 to fill out December's calendar.

This week has no appointments scheduled and only The Voice on my viewing plans. I hope to have lots of time to read and listen. As a nod to Nonfiction November, I chose The Residence: Inside the Private World of The White House by Kate Andersen Brower for my next chapter-a-day book. It has been on my TBR pile since 2017 and seems timely since The White House and Trump's demolition of the East Wing has been so much in the news lately. I have met my modest personal goal of reading 6 nonfiction books in 2025. This will be my seventh. 

October Report

I read 33 books in October. Eighteen were mine; fifteen were review copies. I listened to thirteen audiobooks in October. I read 11,997 pages and listened for 177 hours. Eight of my read/listens were rereads. Ten were from my TBR pile.

I added 49 books to my LibraryThing account in October. I added 15 review copies, 14 audiobooks, and 21 Kindle copies. Eighteen of my new additions were rereads which means that they were Kindle copies or audiobook copies or both of books I've already read. Most have print copies on my keeper shelves. 

I prepared my State of the Stack post this week too. I still have 3 November Review books to read and 3 December releases before I begin reading the 12 Review copies on January's stack. 

Read Last Week

• Blood Oath by Steve Urszenyi (Review, November 18) -- Third Alexandra Martel thriller. Set in Africa and Alex tries to rescue her father who was kidnapped. My review will be posted on November 11.
• Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop (Audiobook Reread) -- 4th book in The Others series.
• At Midnight Comes the Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Review, November 18) -- The 10th Clare Ferguson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery centers around White Supremacists in the Adirondacks. My review will be posted on November 13.

• Midnight in Memphis by Thomas Dann (Review, November 18) -- This historical noir mystery is set in Memphis in 1955. It is filled with racial tension, corrupt government, and murder. My review will be posted on November 12.
• Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop (Audiobook reread) -- Fifth book in The Others series.
• Lake Silence by Anne Bishop (Audiobook reread) -- First book in the World of the Others series. 

• A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny (Mine since September 30) -- This chapter-a-day book began October 1 and ended on October 31. I followed the adventures of Snuff the dog who is assisting his master in a battle to defeat evil. This is a sort of cult book where followers read one chapter each day in October.
• Murder at Cottonwood Creek by Clara McKenna (Review, November 25) -- This Stella and Lyndy historical mystery takes the pair to Montana. Stella will be visiting her mother and Lyndy meeting with his father and exploring the "Wild West." Fossil hunting and murder ensue. My review will be posted on November 18.
• Crowbones by Anne Bishop (Audiobook reread) -- This third book in the World of the Others takes place at Lake Silence and centers around Trickster's Night making it a perfect Halloween story. 

Currently

• Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts (Chirp Audiobook; mine since October 14) - I bought the paperback October 6, 2007.
• The Marriage Method by Mimi Matthews (Review, November 25)

Chapter a Day Book

• The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower (Mine since March 19, 2017)

Next Week

• Vows and Villainy by Elizabeth Penney (Review, November 25)
• To Kill a Badger by Shelly Laurenston (Mine since September 18)
• All My Bones by P. J. Nelson (Review, December 2)

• The Snow Lies Deep by Paula Munier (Review, December 2)
• Gutter Mage by J. S. Kelley (Mine since September 18)
• The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (Mine since September 18)

Reviews Posted

• The Hidden City by Charles Finch (Review copy)
• The Devil in Oxford by Jess Armstrong (Review copy)
• Hid from Our Eyes by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Audiobook)

• Games Untold by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (mine)
• The Nameless Land by Kate Elliott (Review copy)
• Crescent City Christmas Chaos by Ellen Byron (Review copy)

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

Review:

• Murder Will Out by Jennifer K. Breedlove (Review, February 17)
• How to Get Away with Murder by Rebecca Philipson (Review, February 24)
• The Survivor by Andrew Reid (Review, March 24)

Bought:

• The Ministry of Curiosities Boxed Set Books 1-3 by C. J. Archer (Kindle, $.99)
• Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong (Kindle Daily Deal, $2.99)

• Knave of Diamonds by Laurie R. King (BookBub, $1.99; I added the audiobook for $6.28)
• Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge (Audiobook, $5.60)

What was your week like?