#botm arrived!

A fairly slow build to an intense ending. I'm not sure if this is horror - most of it didn't feel like it, but there are some horrifying events near the end.

First book in new middle grade fantasy series set at a magic boarding school. Good recommendation for kids who like Harry Potter, or anyone looking for an alternative to Harry Potter.

Kids graphic novel about a girl trying to fit in in a new school and going from not knowing how to swim to joining the swim team. She also learns about the history of Black people being excluded from public pools.

Another good teen mystery from Karen McManus

I enjoyed this historical fiction audiobook set in Ecuador in the 1920s.

Puri and her husband travel from their home in Spain to Ecuador to claim her inheritance left to her by her estranged father. On the ship there, an assassin tries to kill Puri. She survives but her husband and the assassin die. She impersonates her husband in order to find out which members of her family she can trust and which tried to kill her.

This cat wandered into my life a few months ago and so far has not been interested in being a lap cat, but today he has been snuggled up next to me in the chair while I've been reading so he may have potential as a reading buddy 😻

This was great! Deanna Raybourn is one of my favorite authors. She usually writes historical mysteries, so this contemporary thriller is different for her, but it's just as good as her other books.

#botm arrived today. I moved last week and my books are unpacked but not organized on shelves yet, so I'll just add this one to the piles 😄

This is a fun mystery. Tongue-in-cheek type humor with nods to Agatha Christie and Clue (maybe others that I didn't catch).

The main character is a true crime podcaster. Her wife surprises her with a weekend at a Scottish castle turned resort because their marriage is on the rocks. There's a blizzard and they're snowed in and the bodies start piling up.

Entertaining, quick read

Middle grade realistic fiction dealing with bullying (and possibly aliens).

#botm arrived today. I wasn't super excited about this month's selections but decided to give this one a shot.

Loved this! Funny, sad, charming. Loved the characters.

Historical fantasy, 1920s, Washington D.C. I really liked the historical setting and the main character, Clara, who is inspired by a real person.

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Comes out on 8/9.

Excellent middle grade historical fiction about a village on Martha's Vineyard where many people experience congenital deafness. Based on a real community.

A teen who was raised to be a grifter and has assumed a new name for protection after sending her mom and stepdad to prison finds herself a victim in a bank robbery, along with her ex-boyfriend and her new girlfriend. She might have to reveal her true identity to save them all.

Cute and funny. Pokes fun (good-naturedly) at romance tropes.

Brilliant! I loved this.

Women in their late 40s unleashing their rage (sometimes in paranormal/magical ways) to catch a serial killer/rapist who targets teenage girls.

A history of Anthony Comstock, the women who fought against him and fell victim to his overly zealous crusade. It's infuriating that one man had such a huge influence and that it took so long for society to progress beyond that influence... And now our society seems to be regressing back to the same sort of repressive attitude.

I had really been looking forward to this one and I'm a little disappointed in it. It's not bad, just not as good as I was anticipating. The series has potential but this first one is kind of bland.

This is an interesting look at the various women's exercise trends over the past several decades. Jazzercise, aerobics, yoga, and more!

Goodreads giveaway win #bookmail

#bookmail

This was fun. Ridiculous and not realistic, but that's what I want sometimes 😀

This was longer than it needed to be and had too many POVs for my taste, but it was still good. After reading this, I realize that I know next to nothing Spain's history and need to learn more.

Creepy haunted house. A little slow-moving but good.

#botm arrived yesterday!

Easy kids mystery set in a First Nation community in Canada. First in series.

Entertaining, easy read. Unlike many cozy mysteries, the main character is married and has a small child.

This examined music at a deeper level than really interests me, but I think it's an interesting approach to looking at history. The time period (1971-present/the author's lifetime so far) also interested me because it's just several years more than my lifetime. Questlove's writing is interesting and humorous. His narration of the audiobook is entertaining.

A beautiful story meant to be savored

Impulse buy, fantasy novella. I saw this in an email from Tordotcom and couldn't resist the stunning cover and 1920s setting.

#bookmail

I was interested in seeing an interrogation of the evangelical and purity culture, but this just didn't dig deep enough and lacked character development. Extremely unsatisfying ending.

Fun history of women and alcohol. Easy-going, not academic. Audiobook read by the author.

The rise and fall of the small central Ohio city of Lancaster and the Anchor Hocking glass company, one of its biggest employers. Corporations, politicians, & people who vote against their own interests & resist change all share the blame. The author, who grew up there & left, treated the struggling, addicted, vulnerable citizens that he featured with compassion. Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions and many towns like this one.

Just one book this month from #botm but it's one I've been looking forward to for months.

Really good historical mystery with an interesting setting - rural Appalachian coal-mining town in Ohio in the 1920s. While the plot does revolve around the mystery of who killed the sheriff, this is really about the women left behind to pick up the pieces, not only the two women mourning the sheriff's death, but the other women in the community who have lost loved ones to the mines in various ways.

Book 1 in series.

Somehow this entertained me enough that the flaws didn't really bother me. I wanted something light and easy to listen to on my walks, and this fit the bill. The talking cat sidekick was great, but there were lots of things that had me thinking "that's not how that works" or "nobody does that!"

Book #2 in Lily Adler mystery series, set in Regency London. Good series, looking forward to #3 coming out this year.

Another good one from Simone St. James. Her books are just the right amount of spooky for me.

This book wrecked me. Everything I've read by this author is so good, but also makes me cry!

The title is very straightforward as to what to expect in this book!

In 2025 a new pandemic comes on the heels of covid, but this time it's a disease that causes sudden uncontrollable bouts of intense violence. Against this backdrop, an abused woman, her daughter, and her mother improbably find empowerment.

Fun cozy mystery. Book 1 in series. Good on audio 🎧

#botm arrived today!!

I liked this. It wasn't perfect - I feel like there were some holes in both the plot and the characters' motivations, but I still got caught up in the story.

Excellent book. I highly recommend the audiobook.

My #botm selections. I was already planning to read The Good Left Undone, but the other two were not on my radar. The cover of Kaikeyi is gorgeous!

I love this series so much! The mystery is good, but the characters make the book great.