It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (May 6, 2024)

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 a nice week even though it was cloudy and rainy all week. I played chauffeur for my brother who needed to drop his car off for some maintenance but otherwise stayed close to home. 

We tried a new recipe for a one-pan chicken and rice twice this week. The first time we used a pan with a glass lid that was apparently not oven safe since it shattered into shards when Bill went to take it out of the oven necessitating that the meal be thrown away. We settled for take-out Chinese that night for dinner. We tried the recipe again later in the week using our trusty Dutch oven and it turned out to be a recipe we enjoyed and added to our keeper collection. 

That was our only adventure in cooking. I did, however, also make a chicken and vegetables recipe that has been a family favorite since the 1980s since it came from a microwave cookbook with a 1979 copyright. We have made it many times over the years, and it is always a hit.

I received a gift from author Sarah Beth Durst this week too. She had emailed me asking if I would like a copy of her newest middle grade book. (She has me on her list when she has new releases.) I certainly said yes and greatly enjoyed Spy Ring when it arrived on Thursday. 

Otherwise, I finished my May review copies and set up my June calendar which will be filled with lots of the books I added to my TBR pile this year. Most of the June review books seem to be bunched for June 4 release which means they will be part of my May calendar. In fact, I plan to read them this coming week. 

I am gradually rebuilding my cushion on my calendar. I'm almost at three weeks ahead. I prepared my State of the Stack post and gathered statistics for my April reading this week too. 

April Report

I read 38 books in April. Twenty were mine and eighteen were review copies. Of the books that were mine, nine were from my TBR pile and eleven were rereads. Thirteen of my books were audiobooks for a total of 174.6 hours of listening. 

I added 25 books to my collection in April. Eight were review copies. Six were audiobooks including two from Chirp and one from Audible Plus. I used 3 Audible credits this month which brings my banked credits down to two. I added 11 Kindle books to my collection including two Kindle Daily Deals and five from BookBub. Four of my new Kindle copies were free. Nineteen of my new arrivals are still marked TBR. In my defense, eight marked TBR are also review books which will be read closer to their release dates. 

My total To Read stack which includes Rereads but not Review copies stands at 2522 today. 

Read Last Week

• Mind Games by Nora Roberts (Review; May 21) -- Another excellent standalone thriller filled with great relationships and a creepy psychic villain. My review will be posted on May 16.
• Toll of Honor by David Weber (Mine) -- This epic science fiction story revisits and expands on earlier events in the Honor Harrington universe. My review will be posted on May 18.
• Original Twin by Paula Gleeson (Review; June 1) -- Thriller about a young woman searching for her missing twin and learning more about her mother's past too. My review will be posted on May 21. 

• The Vanished Seas by Catherine Asaro (Audiobook Reread) -- This science fiction mystery combines a search for murdered people with a rogue EI (evolving intelligence) and visits a number of places on Raylicon. My review will be posted on May 23.
• If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay (Review: May 28) -- Another excellent twisty thriller from a master. My review will be posted on May 22.
• Banker by Dick Francis (Audiobook Reread) -- Tim Ekaterin is a merchant banker who gets involved in a mystery when his bank loans a trainer multi-millions to invest in a stud. Great story. My review will be posted on May 28.

• All's Fair in Love and War by Virginia Heath (Review; May 28) -- Cute historical romance between an uptight Navy officer and a free-spirit governess. My review will be posted on May 23.
• Spy Ring by Sarah Beth Durst -- Middle grade adventure combining a treasure hunt and American History. My review for this May 21 release will be posted on May 22. This book was an autographed gift from the author. 

Currently

• May Day by Jess Lourey (Mine since 2010)
• The Jigsaw Assassin by Catherine Asaro (Audiobook reread)

Next Week

• Don't Ask, Don't Follow by Mary Keliikoa (Review; June 4)
• Smoke and Mirrors by M. E. Hilliard (Review; June 4)
• A Botanist's Guide to Society and Secrets by Kate Khavari (Review; June 4)

• Dead Tired by Kat Ailes (Review; June 4)
• Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Boyle (Review; June 4)
• Ribbon Dance by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Review; June 4)

Reviews Posted

• Star Struck by Marjorie McCown (Review copy)
• People in Glass Houses by Jayne Castle (Review copy)
• Undercity by Catherine Asaro (Audiobook)

• Murphy's Law by Rhys Bowen (Audiobook)
• A Lonesome Place for Dying by Nolan Chase (Review copy)
• Wicked Enchantment by Anya Bast (TBR Pile)

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

Review:

• Long Time Gone by Hannah Martian (Review; October 15)
• Burn This Night by Alex Kenna (Review; October 15)

• Buried Lies by Steven Tingle (Review; November 12)
• A Legend in the Baking by Jamie Wesley (Review; November 19)

Bought:

• The Clockwork Dagger by Beth Cato (Kindle Daily Deal, $1.99)
• May Day by Jess Lourey (Kindle Daily Deal ($2.49), Audiobook ($1.99))
• The Murder Club by Alexandra Ivy (BookBub, $.99)

• The Body in the Bookcase by Katherine Hall Page (BookBub, $.99)
• Spy Ring by Sarah Beth Durst (Gift from the author & autographed too)

What was your week like?

Book Review: Wicked Enchantment by Anya Bast

Wicked Enchantment
Author: Anya Bast
Series: A Dark Magick Novel (Book 1)
Publication: Berkley (January 5, 2010)

Description: First in a new series from the national bestselling author of Witch Fury.

When the Summer Queen of the fae orders Aislinn Finvarra to act as a guide for a half-incubus who is known to possess dark magick and sexual power, she must protect not only her heart, but her very life.

My Thoughts: This fantasy is the first in the Dark Magick series. Aislinn Finvarra is a resident of the Summer Court ruled by the Seelie Summer Queen. She is ordered to be the guide for Gabriel who has come from the Unseelie Court and is petitioning for entry into the Seelie Court. 

Aislinn isn't interested in the Unseelie incubus who has a well-known reputation for seducing women. She is just getting over being jilted by a lover who was just using her in his quest for higher status in the court. Aislinn has been growing bored in the court which emphasizes social events and gossip. She has a Secret.

Gabriel also has a Secret. He has been ordered by the Shadow King to seduce Aislinn into joining his court. The Shadow King claims to have no ill will toward Aislinn but Gabriel doesn't know what he intends for her. Gabriel thinks his task will be easy. After all, he's had centuries seducing women. But Aislinn is a challenge. 

The world building is interesting in this story. The fae have all been rounded up and imprisoned by the Phaendir who are a race of druids. They are mortal enemies of the fae. There are mixed views among the Phaendir. Some are content with keeping the fae imprisoned. While others especially Gideon, a viewpoint character, want the fae all killed. 

There is a book and three talismans that have the key to ending the fae's imprisonment. Aislinn has inherited the book from her father. Because only the Queen practices magic in the Seelie Court, Aislinn has never been taught to use her own magic. The draw of learning her magic is one of the lures Gabriel uses to seduce Aislinn to the Unseelie Court. 

Meanwhile, Gideon is determined to recover the book and the one talisman that has found its way into Piefferburg - the fae prison. And the fae who want to be free are searching for the two talismans they don't already have, and which are somewhere in the human world. 

The main focus of this story - besides the smoldering romance between Gabriel and Aislinn - is the quest to defeat the Shadow King who wants Aislinn dead. 

Favorite Quote:

Dressed head to toe in black, wearing Doc Martens, a pair of faded jeans, and a long coat over a thin crewneck sweater that defined his muscular chest, he seemed to possess every inch of the hallway he tread. He walked with such confidence it gave the illusion he took up more space than was physically possible. 

I bought this one January 12, 2010. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Wicked Enchantment by Anya Bast

 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. 

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice. This meme is currently on hiatus but many of us are still including a sentence from page 56 or from 56% of the ebook. Anne @ Head Full of Books is picking up the slack until Freda is ready to return. I think this link will get you to the correct place. 

Beginning:

"Sex incarnate," the women and men around her whispered. "Half incubus."

Friday 56:

Emily slipped a sheaf of papers into Maddoc's hand, their fingers brushing just a little longer than necessary. She glanced at Gideon and then eased away.

This week I am spotlighting Wicked Enchantment by Anya Bast. It has been on my TBR stack since January 12, 2010 and got lost among a bunch of other urban fantasy/paranormal romance books. Here's the description from Amazon:

First in a new series from the national bestselling author of Witch Fury

When the Summer Queen of the fae orders Aislinn Finvarra to act as a guide for a half-incubus who is known to possess dark magick and sexual power, she must protect not only her heart, but her very life.

Audiobook Review: Murphy's Law by Rhys Bowen

Murphy's Law
Author: Rhys Bowen
Narrator: Nicola Barber
Series: Molly Murphy Mysteries (Book 1)
Publication: Audible Studios (December 17, 2013)
Length: 7 hours and 32 minutes

Description: Murphy's Law is the captivating first entry of Rhys Bowen’s New York Times best-selling Molly Murphy series.

Molly Murphy always knew she'd end up in trouble, just as her mother predicted. So, when she commits murder in self-defense, she flees her cherished Ireland, under cover of a false identity, for the anonymous shores of late 19th-century America. When she arrives in New York and sees the welcoming promise of freedom in the Statue of Liberty, Molly begins to breathe easier. But when a man is murdered on Ellis Island, a man Molly was seen arguing with, she becomes a prime suspect in the crime.

If she can't clear her name, Molly will be sent back to Ireland where the gallows await, so using her Irish charm and sharp wit, she escapes Ellis Island and sets out to find the wily killer on her own. Pounding the notorious streets of Hell's Kitchen and the Lower East Side, Molly undertakes a desperate mission to clear her name before her deadly past comes back to haunt her new future.

My Thoughts: The first book in the Molly Murphy Mysteries introduces young Molly Murphy who has to flee Ireland after causing a gentry man who assaulted her to die. Fearing that she'll be tried for murder, she runs to England with just a few coins in her pocket and no future plans.

Molly meets Kathleen O'Connor and her two young children and agrees to escort the children to America to join their father. Katleen is dying of consumption and knows she'll be turned back at Ellis Island. But to successfully manage the trip. Molly will have to pretend to be Kathleen O'Connor.

The trip across the ocean in steerage and the days at Ellis Island would be harrowing enough, but when a man who was seen arguing with Molly is found dead with a slit throat, Molly needs to find the killer before she can start her new life in America.

Going after her sleepwalking young charge means that Molly is the only one who might have seen the killer. Police Lieutenant Daniel Sullivan a second-generation Irish American is on the case and initially suspects Molly even while being attracted to her. 

Molly puts herself in all kinds of danger as she investigates the murder but, luckily, Sullivan is always just a step or two behind. 

This was an entertaining historical mystery which begins a long-running series. 

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: People in Glass Houses by Jayne Castle

People in Glass Houses
Author: Jayne Castle
Series: A Harmony Novel (Book 10)
Publication: Berkley (May 7, 2024)

Description: Two people desperate for answers wade through smoke and mirrors within the alien world of Harmony in this new novel by New York Times bestselling author Jayne Castle.

His name is Joshua Knight. Once a respected explorer, the press now calls him the Tarnished Knight. He took the fall for a disaster in the Underworld that destroyed his career. The devastating event occurred in the newly discovered sector known as Glass House—a maze of crystal that is rumored to conceal powerful Alien antiquities. The rest of the Hollister Expedition team disappeared and are presumed dead.

Whatever happened down in the tunnels scrambled Josh’s psychic senses and his memories, but he’s determined to uncover the truth. Labeled delusional and paranoid, he retreats to an abandoned mansion in the desert, a house filled with mirrors. Now a recluse, Josh spends his days trying to discover the secrets in the looking glasses that cover the walls. He knows he is running out of time.

Talented, ambitious crystal artist Molly Griffin is shocked to learn that the Tarnished Knight has been located. She drops everything and heads for the mansion to find Josh, confident she can help him regain control of his shattered senses. She has no choice—he is the key to finding her sister, Leona, a member of the vanished expedition team. Josh reluctantly allows her to stay one night but there are two rules: she must not go down into the basement, and she must not uncover the mirrors that have been draped.

But her only hope for finding her sister is to break the rules…

My Thoughts: The tenth science fiction romance set on Harmony was another excellent book in the series. Molly Griffin is determined to find her sister who was lost in the alien tunnels underground. She was part of the Hollister Expedition. Only the navigator - Josh Knight - managed to make it out alive. But he is psi-burned and has disappeared after escaping from a psychiatric hospital.

Molly is an artist who tunes crystal but her adopted mothers run a detective agency. They manage to track Josh down to a creepy old mansion made of fireglass and filled with tuned mirrors outside a small town. The house is built on a hot zone and filled with psychic influences. 

Molly shows up, determined to help him get over his psi-burn so that he can find her missing sister. He's cranky and irritable; she's stubborn and determined. It's a match made in Harmony heaven. Or it would be if Molly believed in matches. She's keeping secrets that she feels make her ineligible for the Covenant Marriage that most on Harmony eventually enter. 

Since Josh's mental problems after the ill-fated Hollister Expedition mean that he was dropped from the matchmaking agency who was looking for a covenant marriage for him, he isn't all that concerned about a future marriage either. He's much more interested in restoring his ruined reputation.

Teaming up - and using Molly's psychic talents to heal Josh's - is the only way that both will be able to get what they want. Luckily, Molly's dust bunny Newton is glad to go along for the ride as long as she keeps supplying the Zing Chips!

This was another excellent romance between two people who feel that they are well outside the norms for their culture. Both have strong powers that they feel the need to conceal from everyone until they learn to trust each other enough to share. 

I enjoyed the witty banter, the dust bunny, and the adventure. 

Favorite Quote:

"I'm sure it will do nicely," she said.

"Let's hope so, for your sake, because if it doesn't 'do nicely,' you'll be sleeping on a sofa or the floor."

"Your skills as a gracious host are a tad rusty, aren't they?"

"Try nonexistent."

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

State of the Stack #152 (May 1, 2024)

This is my monthly post which details progress made on review books. I want to thank the authors and publishers who have contributed their books. 

Read This Month 

Dates indicate the date the review was/will be posted.

1. Next of Kin by Samantha Jayne Allen (April 17)
2. The Mayfair Dagger by Ava January (April 18)
3. The Stranger I Wed by Harper St. George (April 18)
4. Four-Alarm Homicide by Diane Kelly (April 20)
5. Archangel's Lineage by Nalini Singh (April 23)
6. Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack (April 23)
7. An Unfinished Murder by Jude Deveraux (April 24)
8. Star Struck by Marjorie McCown (April 30)
9. A Lonesome Place for Dying by Nolan Chase (May 1)
10. People in Glass Houses by Jayne Castle (May 2)
11. Disturbing the Dead by Kelley Armstrong (May 7)
12. Blood Red Summer by Eryk Pruitt (May 8)
13. Lights, Camera, Bones by Carolyn Haines (May 14)
14. Liar's Point by Laura Griffin (May 15)
15. Mind Games by Nora Roberts (May 16)

DNF

1.  

Read Previously, Posted This Month 

Dates indicate when the review was posted.

1. Nosy Neighbors by Freya Sampson (April 2)
2. The Poison Pen by Paige Shelton (April 3)
3. Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen (April 4)
4. A Body at the Dance Hall by Marty Wingate (April 4)
5. Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman (April 11)
6. At the Edge of the Woods by Victoria Houston (April 16)
7. Murder in Rose Hill by Victoria Thompson (April 16)

New This Month 

Date indicates when the book will be released.

1. A Deceptive Composition by Anna Lee Huber (June 18)
2. Pitch Dark by Paul Doiron (June 25)
3. Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews (August 6)
4. The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell (August 6)
5. City of Secrets by P. J. Tracy (August 20)
6. Death by Misadventure by Tasha Alexander (September 24)
7. Death at a Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connelly (October 15)
8. Booked for Murder by P. J. Nelson (December 10)

All TBR Review Books

May

• If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay (May 28)
• All's Fair in Love and War by Virginia Heath (May 28)

June

• Original Twin by Paula Gleeson (June 4)
• Don't Ask, Don't Follow by Mary Keliikoa (June 4)
• Smoke and Mirrors by M. E. Hilliard (June 4)

• A Botanist's Guide to Society and Secrets by Kate Khavari (June 4)
• Dead Tired by Kat Ailes (June 4)
• Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Doyle (June 4)

• Ribbon Dance by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (June 4)
• A Collection of Lies by Connie Berry (June 18)
• The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant (June 18)

• A Deceptive Composition by Anna Lee Huber (June 18)
• Pitch Dark by Paul Doiron (June 25)

July

• Dog Day Afternoon by David Rosenfelt (July 2)
• The Burning by Linda Castillo (July 9)
• One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day (July 16)

• Trouble in Queenstown by Delia Pitts (July 16)
• The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer (July 16)
• Shades of Mercy by Bruce Borgos (July 16)

• There's No Murder Like Show Murder by M. S. Greene (July 23)
• The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish by Paula Brackston (July 23)
• The Last Line by Scott Lyerly (July 23)

• Primal Mirror by Nalini Singh (July 23)
• Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus (July 30)
• Havoc by Deborah J Ledford (July 30)

August

• A Poisonous Palate by Lucy Burdette (August 6)
• Strange Folk by Alli Dyer (August 6)
• Agony Hill by Sarah Stewart Taylor (August 6)

• The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell (August 6)
• Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews (August 6)
• Buried Too Deep by Karen Rose (August 13)

• I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell (August 13)
• In the Event of Murder by Cynthia Kuhn (August 20)
• The Jig Is Up by Lisa Q. Mathews (August 20)

• A Scandal in Mayfair by Katharine Schellman (August 20)
• City of Secrets by P. J. Tracy (August 20)
• Red River Road by Anna Downes (August 27)

September

• The Reaping by Jess Lourey (September 3)
• Pike Island by Tony Wirt (September 10)
• The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco by Michelle Chouinard (September 24)

• A Killer Clue by Victoria Gilbert (September 24)
• Ashes Never Lie by Lee Goldberg (September 24)
• Death by Misadventure by Tasha Alexander (September 24)

October

• Gathering Mist by Margaret Mizushima (October 8)
• Death at a Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connelly (October 15)

December

• Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson (December 10)

ARC Review: A Lonesome Place for Dying by Nolan Chase

A Lonesome Place for Dying
Author: Nolan Chase
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (May 7, 2024)

Description: Perfect for fans of C. J. Box and William Kent Krueger, a sleepy town is rocked to its core when a dead body is found in this debut novel.

In the quiet seaside town of Blaine, Washington, the most serious police work involves dealing with stray coyotes or ticketing speeders along the I-5. But on Ethan Brand's first day as the town's chief of police, he finds a threat on his porch, along with a gruesome souvenir, a bloody animal heart.

There are plenty of people who are upset about Ethan replacing the last Chief, but when a body shows up on the railroad tracks, Ethan has to turn his focus from the threats against him to the first homicide case the town has seen in years. Blaine's population is only five thousand, but eight million vehicles pass through its railroad crossing every year. It’s the perfect site for drug smuggling, human trafficking, larceny, and murder.

Ethan begins to realize that the small town has many more secrets than its quiet surface suggests. With no one to trust, his job already on the line, and the threats getting bolder and more reckless, Ethan Brand must find the killers and bring them to justice before anyone else winds up dead.

My Thoughts: Ethan Brand is on his first day as sheriff for Blaine, Washington, and his first case is a murder. Ethan is an Afghan war vet who came home with a partial prosthetic foot which he has managed to keep quiet. He's separated from his wife who took their two boys back to Boston to live. He has recently had an affair with the wife of the local big land developer. But she's gone back to her husband to give their marriage another try. 

Ethan was the first choice for sheriff in his mentor's - the previous sheriff's - eyes but a female lead deputy with similar experience also wanted the job and was courting members of the city council to get it. Ethan also has to deal with the mayor's nephew who was one of his deputies until he deliberately lost evidence when a local committed suicide. The previous sheriff left firing him to Ethan knowing that firing him with put him on the outs with the mayor. 

Besides the turmoil in the small sheriff's department, a murder will really stretch their resources. It is only the third murder in Ethan's years as a deputy on the force. The body of the young woman was found near the train tracks. She was stabbed to death. With the possibility that she jumped or fell from the train, the investigation needs to widen to include the train and its passengers. 

But, once identified, there are local suspects to investigate too. The local crime family, well known for smuggling into and out of Canada, is somewhat diminished with the eldest son in prison and the daughter going straight as a travel agent, but the youngest son is determined to carry on the family legacy of crime. 

And while investigating Ethan has to deal with threats that indicate that someone wants him gone - or dead. A threatening note, an elk's heart left at his front door, and potshots taken at his truck keep Ethan on his toes and a little distracted from the investigation into the young woman's death.

This was an engaging and entertaining debut mystery. I liked Ethan and liked that he was coming to terms with his new life as a single man and sheriff. The setting was interesting too. 

Favorite Quote:

"What a speech, Ethan. Really dazzled the hell out of them."

"That bad?" Ethan said.

"I'll put it like this. If you spoke like that trying to get out of a ticket, you'd end up serving twenty to life in Clallam Bay."

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