Welcome to What I’ve Been Reading Lately, a feature where I’ll be giving short reviews of what I’m currently reading:
The Witch and the Beast Vol. 9 by Kousuke Satake
Their business in the Fall finally concluded, Guideau and Ashaf next find themselves in a city teeming with artisans specializing in magical tools. Amid the trivial and frivolous, Guideau is drawn to a mysterious doll said to have a deep connection with a witch. Could it finally be a new clue for tracking down Angela? If only the obstinate shopkeeper would be willing to part with it…
I’m in LOVE with this series and was so excited to get this in the library! If you are a manga/fantasy fan, then The Witch and the Beast is a series that needs to be on your radar!
These Are The Words by Nikita Gill
Reclaim your agency. Discover your power. Find the words.
Taking you on a journey through the seasons of the soul, in this collection Nikita gives you the words to help heal from your first breakup, to celebrate finding your family, to understand first love, to express your anger and your joy, to fight for what you believe in and to help you break some rules to be your truest self.
Gorgeously illustrated throughout by Nikita herself and featuring seasonal astrological poetry, this collection is an achingly beautiful, stunningly warm and fearless expression of truth from one of the most influential and well-known voices in modern poetry. (Credit: Pan Macmillan)
We have another winner by Nikita Gill! I always buy anything by my favorite author and this collection of poetry is just as empowering and enlightening just as her other collections have done.
The Liar’s Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard
Will Hurley was an attractive, charming, and impressive student at Dublin’s elite St. John’s College–and Ireland’s most prolific serial killer. Having stalked his five young victims, he drowned them in the muddy waters of the Grand Canal. Sentenced to life imprisonment when he was just nineteen, Will is locked away in the city’s Central Psychiatric Hospital.
Freshman Alison Smith moved to the Big Smoke to enroll in St. John’s and soon fell hard for Will Hurley. Her world bloomed … and then imploded when Liz, her best friend, became the latest victim of the Canal Killer–and the Canal Killer turned out to be the boy who’d been sleeping in her bed. Alison fled to the Netherlands and, in ten years, has never once looked back.
When a young woman’s body is found in the Grand Canal, Garda detectives visit Will to see if he can assist them in solving what looks like a copycat killing. Instead, Will tells them he has something new to confess–but there’s only one person he’s prepared to confess it to.
The last thing Alison wants is to be pulled back into the past she’s worked so hard to leave behind. Reluctantly, she returns to the city she hasn’t set foot in for more than a decade to face the man who murdered the woman she was supposed to become.
Only to discover that, until now, Will has left out the worst part of all …(Credit: Blackstone Publishing)
After having a discussion with Howard about her other great books, I needed to read something else by her while I wait for her 7th book and she said this one was good one to start with! Who am I to argue with an international bestselling author?
The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict
The annual Christmas Game is afoot at Endgame House, the Armitages’ grand family home. This year’s prize is to die for–deeds to the house itself–but Lily Armitage has no intention of returning. She hasn’t been back to Endgame since her mother died, twenty-one years ago, and she has no intention of claiming the house that haunts her dreams.
Until, that is, she receives a letter from her aunt promising that the game’s riddles will give her the keys not only to Endgame, but to its darkest secrets, including the identity of her mother’s murderer.
Now, Lily must compete with her estranged cousins for the twelve days of Christmas. The snow is thick, the phone lines are down, and no one is getting in or out. Lily will have to keep her wits about her, because not everyone is playing fair, and there’s no telling how many will die before the winner is declared.
What I Plan to Read Next:
The Society For Soulless Girls by Laura Steven
Ten years ago, four students lost their lives in the infamous North Tower murders at the elite Carvell College of Arts, forcing Carvell to close its doors.
Now Carvell is reopening, and fearless student Lottie is determined to find out what really happened. But when her roommate, Alice, stumbles upon a sinister soul-splitting ritual hidden in Carvell’s haunted library, the North Tower claims another victim.
Can Lottie uncover the truth before the North Tower strikes again? Can Alice reverse the ritual before her monstrous alter ego consumes her? And can they stop flirting for literally fifteen seconds in order to do this? (Credit: Electric Monkey)
Five Survive by Holly Jackson
Expected Publication Date: November 29
Red Kenny is on a road trip for spring break with five friends: Her best friend – the older brother – his perfect girlfriend – a secret crush – a classmate – and a killer.
When their RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere with no cell service, they soon realize this is no accident. They have been trapped by someone out there in the dark, someone who clearly wants one of them dead.
With eight hours until dawn, the six friends must escape, or figure out which of them is the target. But is there a liar among them? Buried secrets will be forced to light and tensions inside the RV will reach deadly levels. Not all of them will survive the night. . . .(Credit: Delacorte Press)
Dead End Girls by Wendy Heard
In one week, Maude will be dead. At least, that’s what she wants everyone to think. After years of research, Maude has decided to fake her own death. She’s figured out the how, the when, the where, and who will help her unsuspectingly. The why is complex: revenge, partly. Her terrible parents deserve this. But there’s also ‘l’appel du vide, ‘ the call of the void, that beckons her toward a new life where she will be tied to no one, free and adrift. Then Frankie, a step-cousin she barely knows, figures out what she’s plotting, and the plan seems like it’s ruined. Except Frankie doesn’t want to rat her out. Frankie wants in.
The girls vault into the unknown, risking everything for a new and limitless life. But there are some things you can never run away from. What if the poison is not in the soil, but in the roots? This pulse-pounding thriller offers a nuanced exploration of identity, freedom, and falling in love while your world falls apart. (Credit: Christy Ottaviano Books)
Trespassers by Claire McFall
Tristan and Dylan have escaped the afterlife, defying fate: Dylan should have been killed in a horrific train crash, while Tristan should still be an immortal ferryman. Now, living in bodies they have no right to inhabit, they discover they’re connected by something stronger than love–their souls are bound together. Alone, they’ll die, but being together has its own difficulties. As they try to adjust to life in the real world, with Dylan slowly healing from her injuries and Tristan attending school for the first time, they realize that when they broke through the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead, they showed the way for others to escape. Now they must face the consequences. Dylan and Tristan’s beautifully told and richly imagined story–in development to be a major motion picture–continues in this sequel full of suspense, action, and intense emotion. (Credit: Walker Books US)
The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh
It’s the party to end all parties….but not everyone is here to celebrate.
On New Year’s Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. His vacation homes on Mirror Lake are a success, and he’s generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbors.
But by midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.
On New Year’s Day, Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects. The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbors, friends and family–and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.
With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn’t who wanted Rhys dead…but who finally killed him.
In a village with this many secrets, murder is just the beginning. Credit: Sourcebooks Landmark)
