It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (March 9, 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...

This was an excellent week. I had a chance to do a lot of reading and listening because I didn't leave the house. I also watched a lot of baseball including some games in the World Baseball Classic along with Spring Training games. 

Right now, I'm awake early waiting for an Instacart delivery from Cub Foods. I'm still not driving by choice, and I was running out of the kinds of diet soda that I drink which was on sale at Cub. This week had freezing drizzle and freezing fog which made for some slippery roads and lots of ice-coated fallen trees. It was enough for me to try something new in grocery delivery rather than chance to roads. 

Tomorrow is my H & R Block appointment. I don't have to drive there either since my brother's appointment follows mine and he'll do the driving. It will be nice to have taxes checked off my to-do list. 

The rest of the week should be quiet. I'll finish my March review copies and immediately dive into April's since I have nine on my stack. I do need to set up my April calendar and get the draft posts done. I included a couple of books and audiobooks that I don't own yet. The books haven't been released yet but will be before they'll come up on my calendar. I'm still hoping for an Audible sale for the audiobooks I want to read but don't yet own. Otherwise, I do have Audible credits banked. 

Read Last Week

• Magelight by Kacey Ezell (Audiobook, mine since February 22, 2026) -- Romantasy which begins a series. My review will be posted on March 20.
• Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict (Review, March 24) -- Historical fiction which splits its time between the Pharaoh Hatshepsut and Lady Evelyn Herbert who wants to find her tomb in the 1920s. My review will be posted on March 17.
• Blue Dahlia by Nora Roberts (Audiobook, mine since January 25, 2026) -- First in a romance/ghost story series. My review will be posted on March 24.

• Five Golden Wings by Donna Andrews (Audiobook, mine since December 7, 2025) -- Another humorous Christmas mystery by a favorite author. My review will be posted on March 26.
• The Survivor by Andrew Reid (Review, March 24) -- Tense, emotion packed thriller told from multiple viewpoints. My review will be posted on March 18.
• Celebrity in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread)

• A Deadly Inheritance by Kelley Armstrong (Review, March 24) -- A YA mystery filled with well-handled tropes. My review will be posted on March 19.
• The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst (Review, March 31) -- The was a sweet, adventurous YA fantasy. My review will be posted on March 24.
• Eclipse Bay by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audiobook, mine since December 3, 2025) -- An engaging romantic suspense title. My review will be posted on March 31.

Currently

• Dawn in Eclipse Bay by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audiobook, mine since December 3, 2025)
• The Barn Identity by Diane Kelly (Review, March 31)

Next Week

• Family Lies by Karen Rose (Review, March 31)
• Jules Cassidy, P.I. by Suzanne Brockmann (Kindle, mine since February 2, 2026)
• The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer (Review, April 7)

• The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss (Review, April 7)
• Blood Trail by Matt Query & Harrison Query (Review, April 7)
• Bark of Night by David Rosenfelt (Kindle, mine since June 1, 2021)

Reviews Posted

• Spellbound by Murder by Stacie Ramey (Review copy)
• Magic & Mischief at the Wayside Hotel by Elizabeth Everett (Review copy)
• A Lie for a Lie by Ren DeStefano (Review copy)

• Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer (Audiobook)
• The Pie & Mash Detective Agency by J. D. Brinkworth (Review copy)
• Jolene by Mercedes Lackey (Mine)

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

Review:

• Restless Bones by Gillian French (Review, June 16)
• Savvy Summers and the Po'boy Perils by Sandra Jackson-Opoku (Review, July 21)

• Murder on Charity Lane by Jo Nichols (Review, August 18)
• The Oxford Guide to Scandal & Lies by Kate Westbury (Review, September 1)

Bought:

• Love You More by Lisa Gardner (Kindle, Free with Kindle Rewards)
• The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz (Kindle, Gift Card)

What was your week like?

Book Review: Jolene by Mercedes Lackey

Jolene
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Series: Elemental Masters (Book 15)
Publication: DAW (December 1, 2020)

Description: The beloved Elemental Masters series moves to America for the first time in a rich retelling of The Queen of the Copper Mountain, set against the backdrop of Tennessee coal country.

Anna May Jones is the daughter of a coal miner, but a sickly constitution has kept her confined to the house for most of her life. Hoping to improve her daughter’s health—and lessen the burden on their family—Anna's mother sends her to live with her Aunt Jinny, a witchy-woman and an Elemental Master, in a holler outside of Ducktown.

As she settles into her new life, Anna learns new skills at Aunt Jinny’s side and discovers that she, too, has a gift for Elemental magic that Jinny calls “the Glory”. She also receives lessons from a mysterious and bewitching woman named Jolene, who assures her that, with time, Anna could become even more powerful than her aunt.

But with Anna’s increasing power comes increasing notice. Billie McDaran, the foreman of the Ducktown mine, begins to take an interest in Anna and her abilities—even though Anna has already fallen in love with a young man with a talent for stonecarving.

If she wants to preserve the life she has come to love, Anna must use her newfound powers to oppose the foreman and protect those around her.

My Thoughts: The fifteenth Elemental Masters fantasy retells The Queen of Copper Mountain and uses Dolly Parton's Jolene to do it. 

Anna May Jones is the daughter of a coal miner in the coal mining town of Soddy. She's sickly. Her mother sends her to live with her Aunt Jinny who lives in a holler by Ducktown. Jinny is an earth elemental master. She soon discovers that Anna could also be an earth elemental master with some training. 

Just getting away from the mines has made Anna healthier. Her health improves still more as she learns to use earth magic with her aunt. Anna falls in love with Josh who is the eldest son of the family down the road. He's a gifted stone carver with a little bit of earth magic of his own. 

This was a lush fantasy set in the hollers of Tennessee. It was filled with local culture and magic. I liked that Anna had the opportunity to learn from Jolene who is a very powerful elemental and that she was able to learn from some Cherokees who managed to hide out when the Removal happened. I liked the romance between Anna and Josh.

There were some things I didn't care for. While I enjoy colorful idioms and regional speech, I don't like dialect. I mean I really don't like dialect. Sometimes the text was almost impenetrable unless I read it out loud. Second, I'm not sure that the climactic scene when Anna needs to rescue her Josh from Jolene should have been humorous. But I couldn't help hearing the tune for Jolene as I was reading about Anna begging her not to take her man. 

Third, the pacing of the story seemed off. There was an incredibly long buildup of Anna learning from her aunt and falling in love with Josh and then with just a few pages left there was a climax and a resolution. There was some foreshadowing of what the climax would be, but it still felt rushed to me. 

I bought this one November 18, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Pie & Mash Detective Agency by J. D. Brinkworth

The Pie & Mash Detective Agency
Author: J. D. Brinkworth
Publication: Berkley (March 10, 2026)

Description: Oddball couple Jane and Simon take a private detective class and must use their (admittedly limited) skills to solve a series of mysterious disappearances in this delightful debut mystery.

Jane Pye and Simon Mash are a millennial couple with a little extra time on their hands. Jane was recently let go from her position as a back-end programmer, having never been quite sure what that meant. And Simon’s career as a corporate collaboration consultant seems to be less collaborating and more scrolling the internet in search of matching velour tracksuits and well-balanced charcuterie boards. When they sign up for a private detective class on a whim, they quickly realize they’ve bitten off more than they can chew.

Their instructor, having a feeling his two worst students don’t have a chance of solving anything beyond finding the classroom, assigns them the case of Nellie Thorne, a woman recently reported missing. But she's not the first Nellie Thorne to disappear. In fact, she's the fifth in fifty years. Jane and Simon set out to solve the case, armed with just a few days of notes, matching trench coats, and a feeling they should have enrolled in a different class. The investigation leads the newly minted Pie and Mash Detective Agency to places they never thought they'd go, including haunted woods, mysterious archives, and, most terrifyingly for Jane, Simon's mum's house.

As clues emerge, more questions than answers begin to pile up. What links the missing Nellies? Why do locals think she's a ghost? Is their teacher hiding something? So what if they’re heavy on heart but light on experience. Jane and Simon are determined to uncover the truth in time to pass the class and save the day.

My Thoughts: This mystery follows the adventures of an inept pair of students in a private investigator class. Jane Pye has lost her job as a backend programmer and is wondering what to do next. Simon Mash is her live-in and a man who plans corporate events. She decides to take a class to become a private investigator and he tags along.

As a part of their class, they are assigned a case to work by their instructor. The case they are given concerns the disappearance of a woman named Nellie Thorne. She just up and left her boyfriend one day leaving him distraught. However, Nellie doesn't prove easy to find. She doesn't have a digital footprint. No passport, no driver's license, no birth certificate. 

The fledgling investigative team of Pie and Mash seems to have bitten off more than they can chew. Jane is good at details and is persistent. Simon is good at coming up with ideas. But, when they learn that their target is not the first Nellie Thorne to go missing and that their teacher tried to track on down in the 1990s, they know they are in for a difficult time. 

Their searches lead them to a Goth librarian who has been keeping track of Nellie Thornes for much of her career and a man who does ghost tours who swears he's met Nellie in a ghostly woods. They interact with other strange characters too. 

The story also has flashbacks to their teacher Gavin's own investigations as he hunted for Nellie as a young, inexperienced private investor in the 1990s. 

This was an interesting mystery with many quirky characters.  I enjoyed the setting and getting to know these quirky young detectives. 

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

ARC Review: A Lie for a Lie by Ren DeStefano

A Lie for a Lie
Author: Ren DeStefano
Publication: Berkley (March 10, 2026)

Description: A deadly game of cat and mouse unfolds when a housewife with a secret life takes on a tech billionaire with secrets darker than her own . . . from the author of How I'll Kill You.

Margaux leads a double life that would make most people dizzy. By day, she's a seemingly ordinary interior decorator with a picture-perfect marriage. By night, she works for a mysterious employer known only as Mr. X. Her specialty: infiltrating the lives of dangerous targets, gaining their trust, and ultimately exposing their crimes.

Her latest assignment: unraveling the reclusive life of Bertram Casimir, a billionaire tech CEO whose career is as mysterious as his past. His sister claims he stole her app to build his fortune. Not only that, his girlfriend may or may not have recently gone missing.

Bertram sees through Margaux’s carefully constructed facade, matching her move for move. As the lines between hunter and prey blur, Margaux finds herself unexpectedly drawn to Bertram. They share more than she'd like to admit—a dangerous intelligence, a taste for high-stakes manipulation. When the evidence begins to shift, threatening to destroy everything she knows, Margaux realizes this is far more than just another job.

Her hidden past—and her life—are now on the line. One lie remains, and it might just save her.

My Thoughts: A LIE FOR A LIE was an engaging and twisty thriller. Margaux is leading a double life. By day, she's an interior decorator with a ten-year-old daughter and a devoted husband. By night, she's a vigilante working for the mysterious Mr. X to bring down criminals who got away with their crimes. 

Her latest case has her investigating whether or not tech billionaire Bertram Casimir stole the app the made him his billions from his sister who didn't get any of the proceeds. But there is also a question about what happened to his latest girlfriend who seems to have disappeared.

Margaux is teamed up with Elodie whom she knows as the officious parking manager at her daughter's school. Elodie proves to be an unexpected partner with hidden depths and a desire to be Margaux's friend. Since Margaux has been living a life of lies since her childhood, she isn't quite sure what to do with a friend. 

The case quickly gets complex. Bertram doesn't fit the mold of a man who'd stiff his sister or murder his fiancée. And their client is proving elusive and very shifty. Then Mr. X goes off the radar adding more stress to Margaux who is already dealing with a husband who wants her to give up her vigilantism. 

Tensions build as does the danger before a satisfying resolution. I enjoyed this twisty thriller.

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

ARC Review: Magic and Mischief at the Wayside Hotel by Elizabeth Everett

Magic & Mischief at the Wayside Hotel
Author: Elizabeth Everett
Publication: Ace (March 10, 2026)

Description: When a magical hotel appears smack-dab in the middle of the most unmagical of worlds, the last thing the residents expect is to fall in love.

Manager of the Number Five Wayside Inn and World Travel Hub, Pax Nomen has one of the easiest jobs in all the known universes, unless you count the occasional plumbing disaster. When Number Five Wayside gets stranded on a non-magical world, even Pax's trusty Wayside Handbook can’t help him. How is he going to “reboot” the hotel and keep it on its magical journey?

Josie LaChusia is a single mom experiencing debt, having parenting doubts, and tipping dangerously toward depression when an ad pops up on her phone that an apartment is available in a building she’s never seen before.

Pax needs a new guest to restart his hotel, and Josie needs a nudge to restart her life. In a building occupied by faeries, gargoyles, and a gnome with a bad attitude, two souls from very different places come together to create a home like no other.

My Thoughts: This romantasy is a change of pace for Elizabeth Everett who is more known for her historical romances, and it proves that she can master more than one genre.

Pax Nomen is the manager of the Number Five Wayside Inn and World Travel Hub. He was formerly a paladin and soldier who grew tired of war. The hotel provides a way for people from many planets to travel from one world to another. The current residents include a bunch of cheerleading fairies, assorted gargoyles, a family of zombies, a vampire prince, and assistant manager who is a medusa. Not to mention the residents of the sixth floor who are sleeping.

When the hotel becomes stranded on magicless Earth, Pax needs to come up with a plan to reboot the hotel. Enter Josie LaChiusa and her four-year-old son Amos. Josie needs a new place to live since the latest increase in rent for her apartment has put it out of her price range. She's a single mom with a medically fragile son who is just trying to keep her head above water. She's also filled with self-doubts about her ability to be a good mother since she had no role models in her childhood. Her doubts are exacerbated by her mother-in-law who is always telling Josie what she is doing wrong and who wants custody of Amos. 

Josie and Amos settle into Number Five and odd things happen. Amos finds a decorated room with a Pider-Man theme to match his latest craze, and Josie finds walls changing colors, flowers appearing, and odd scents in the air. She also finds a sense of home that she had never experienced before. Pax becomes her friend and a romance ensues.

But Number Five isn't recharging fast enough for some of the residents. There are a group who feel that a blood sacrifice with Josie and Amos as the victims would recharge her faster. Pax isn't about to allow that. He isn't willing to give up the woman and child who have given him a sense of home for the first time in his long life. 

This is a story filled with magic and with love. I really enjoyed it. 

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

Audiobook Review: Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer

Forging Silver into Stars
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Narrator: Cecily Bednar Schmidt et al.
Series: Forging Silver into Stars (Book 1)
Publication: Bloomsbury Publishing (June 7, 2022)
Length: 17 hours and 28 minutes

Description: Forbidden magic. Secret romance. Dangerous alliances. Enter the world of New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer's electrifying series.

When nineteen-year-old Tycho, the King’s Courier, arrives in the remote village of Briarlock, he hopes to escape the demands of his new life in the royal court, where magic reigns for the first time in ages. He doesn't expect to fall for a handsome blacksmith with a bruised heart.

After years of cruelty in his father’s forge, Jax never dared to dream of a better life—until a magic-wielding young lord shows him an enticing alternative. But when rumors of a rebellion reach Briarlock, Jax wonders who he can trust—and if he'll even survive.

Jax’s best friend, Callyn, doesn’t trust anyone—especially not a handsome stranger with magic, which killed her parents years ago. When another royal emissary arrives, seeing a co-conspirator, Callyn finds herself embroiled in a plot that could lead them all to ruin. . .

As tensions flare throughout the kingdom, it won't be long before everyone must choose a side.

War is brewing. Passions are building. And magic may doom—or save—them all.

My Thoughts: FORGING SILVER INTO STARS begins a new epic fantasy series which includes characters from her CURSEBREAKER epic fantasy series.

The three main characters are Tycho who is nineteen and a King's Courier. One of his trips between his king and his king's brother results in a thrown shoe and the need to stop at a village named Briarlock. There he meets blacksmith Jax and baker Callyn. 

Jax has been abused by his father for most of his life. He had an accident which cost him a foot and ended a possible career as a soldier. His father's drinking and gambling have led to them nearly losing their smithy for failure to pay the taxes. In order to earn the silver needed for the taxes, Jax has agreed to hold sealed messages for the Truthbringers who say they want to protect the queen but get rid of the king who has brought magic to the kingdom.

Jax's friend Callyn has been running the family bakery since her father died in an attempted invasion of the palace. He had previously given all his silver to support this revolution. Callyn is also far short of the silver she needs to pay the taxes, save the bakery, and take care of her younger sister. She hates magic because she blames it for both her mother's death in battle and her father's death at the palace. 

While Tycho is waiting for his horse to be shoed and flirting with Jax, Lord Alex who is a rival at court makes an appearance. He's come to pick up the message Jax is holding. Tycho finds this very suspicious as do the king and queen when he reports this. Suspicions also fall on Jax who hasn't explained why he became a mail drop. 

Suspicions lead to Callyn being the new mail drop and to the attentions of Lord Alex who begins to court her and help her with needed repairs and also by making her popular with travelers who bring in lots of new business. She is falling for Lord Alex but doesn't really trust him and what he is telling her.

This was an engaging fantasy with interesting characters and interesting worldbuilding. I'm looking forward to reading books two and three. I also want to read the CURSEBREAKER trilogy. Luckily, I have all five books in my audiobook collection.

I bought this one January 18, 2026. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Spellbound by Murder by Stacie Ramey

Spellbound by Murder
Author: Stacie Ramey
Series: A Mystic Hollow Bookshop Mystery
Publication: Crooked Lane (March 10, 2026)

Description: Gilmore Girls meets Charmed in this spellbinding cozy mystery featuring a magical bookshop run by three generations of women.

When her grandmother suffers a nasty fall and asks for help managing the family business, coffee-addicted single mother Veronica Blackthorne moves her sixteen-year-old rom-com-obsessed daughter to Mystic Hollow, Connecticut. Veronica is ecstatic to return to New England, but when she arrives, she quickly finds out that Mystic Hollow Books, her grandmother’s pride and joy, needs more than a little TLC.

Hoping to save the bookstore from a big-box rival, Veronica enlists her sometimes mentor and sometimes crush, Adam Whitford, a controversial but popular author, as the keynote speaker to kick off a literary festival that will hopefully bring in a new wave of customers. But when Adam turns up dead, all that romantic potential turns into a nightmare as Veronica becomes the prime suspect in his murder.

As the local sheriff investigates his murder, Veronica decides to take matters into her own hands to solve the case and clear her name. With the bookstore’s future on the line, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Until her gran reveals the biggest secret of all—the bookstore is magical, and it was a botched love spell that led to this entire mess.

Witty and heartfelt, this mystery explores the price of magic and how it might be more hefty than one can hope, perfect for fans of Amanda Flower and Nina Simon.

My Thoughts: Veronica Blackthorne comes back to Mystic Hollow, Connecticut, with her sixteen-year-old daughter Phoebe when she gets a call that her grandmother has fallen and needs help running her bookstore. The call is timely since her daughter was in an incident at her school and has been suspended and because a hurricane is bearing down on their home in Florida.

She arrives in time to help organize a book festival which will provide needed cash for the town and save the failing bookstore. When the keynote backs out, Veronica calls on an author she's met at conventions and writing workshops since she is an aspiring author.

Adam Whitford is a controversial but popular author. When he is murdered, Veronica needs to solve the crime since she's a prime suspect. She enlists her mother, daughter and daughter's new friend to be part of her Scooby gang to solve the crime. 

There is magic in the story. The bookstore is magical and her grandmother is part of a secret coven. There are magical springs and a Lady of the Forest who helps. And Veronica needs the help. She has ADHD which often makes it difficult for her. But she's also bright and, with a little magical assist, is able to figure out the proper villains. 

This was a fun story. I enjoyed the interactions between mother and child. Veronica and Phoebe have a great relationship. I also liked the magic and the setting for the story. 

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