Waiting on Wednesday

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we haven't yet read. Generally, they are books that have yet to be released, but don't have to be. It is based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous folks at Breaking the Spine.

WELCOME TO THE GILDED AGE. WHERE NOT EVERYTHING GLITTERS.

1890: the Gilded Age, a period of financial success and political corruption. The United States is growing at a breathless rate, with six new states recently added to the Union.

With expansion comes an influx of crime. Outlaw gangs hold sway on the frontier and heists and robberies are commonplace. A lot of businesses shrug off these depredations as the cost of success. Those who don't hire the Pinkerton Detective Agency to get their money back.

The Pinkertons' newest operative is twenty-two-year-old Clare Wright. Highly educated, skilled with disguises, and handy enough in a fight, Clare's future in the agency seems bright. But when she's introduced to Fred Harvey, she finds herself thrown right into the heady mix of frontier life.

Harvey's Arizona hotel has been robbed and Clare is the perfect recruit to solve this mystery. Clare must infiltrate high society and win the confidence of killers like Butch Cassidy as she seeks the truth.

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

 

Former detective and perpetual grouch Charlie Smeg is old–at least that’s the way he feels–and newly retired from the Edmonton Police. He's washed up, burnt out, and unappreciated by younger cops clawing for his job. He’d been a good detective but methods change, times change.

He’s looking forward to a life of solitude, a good book, and staying indoors during the winter months. Unfortunately, his former boss has other plans. He’s not even a week out of the job when she asks him to mentor rising star Meaghan Byatt–one of those upstart detectives–on her first case in the homicide department.

The case is an odd one from the get-go, enough that Smeg decides, against his better judgment, to help.

With a jobless stepson living at home who won't stop encouraging him to get with the times, and his growing fondness for Byatt making him begrudgingly look forward to human interaction, this case might be what Smeg needs to get back in the game.

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sunday

     

They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but we all know we do it. Sometimes, the cover initially catches our eye, drawing us to give a book a closer look. It's the first thing we see, our first impression. Every Sunday, I'll post some of my favorite book covers. Coming soon!

Retail worker Emmett Truesdale has never fit the Southern California mold of six-pack, suntanned masculinity. Over three hundred pounds, he carries the weight of his childhood trauma and millennial ennui around his waist and in his soul. After trying every diet under the sun, he remains stuck—in his dead-end job, in love, and in his body.

Desperate for help, he enrolls in a clinical trial for a new weight loss product called Obexity. The treatment is as horrifying as the results are miraculous and as Emmett sheds pounds at superhuman speed, every part of his life improves overnight.

Unfortunately, Obexity comes with some killer side effects, including lost stretches of time and overwhelming cravings. Worse, people who were cruel to him have started disappearing and when the police warn of a cannibalistic killer on the loose, he fears that Obexity is turning him into a monster. But how can he give it up now that people are finally starting to treat him like he’s human?

Nerve-racking, sinister, and at times surreal, Nothing Tastes as Good is an unputdownable thriller that combines The Substance with the best of Stephen King and keeps you guessing until the final page.

HAPPY READING!!

Mini Reviews

 

Somehow, I have more questions. So many more questions. Like, who really is the Killer of Ira Street? Because I was very sure it was Lewellyn, but now, now I'm not so sure. It's still an option. However, now there are other options. Two brand new suspects, of which I hope Lewellyn finds out about and deals with. Because Fawkes is about to become an actual problem. And seriously, what is with the onions! I'm really enjoying this series. I cannot get enough of how weird Lewellyn is, and I really just want good things to happen to Shavonne. He's been through so much, and he's really been a puppet for Fawkes to pull his string in whatever amuses Fawkes.  And someone is also killing people. So there's that.

This was cute. I really liked the addition of her own cats as she told her stories. The stories of her cats were cute and fun. The illustrations were cute, too, though I kept getting her cats mixed up. Though that might have just been a me thing. My brain has been overloaded. Still, this was fun and cute. However, I'm not sure this needs to be a series. I don't know if I want more. Still, the first book is adorable and great for cat lovers.

HAPPY READING!!

February Edmonds SBC

Holy cows, what a turnout last night! We had to spread out to a fourth table and the bar! I cannot thank everyone enough who came out. It was cold, dark, and January had been so long, as usual. Seriously, how is there still another week left in this month? Still, it was so great to see so many new faces last night mixed in with our amazing regulars. Starting off the new year with reading!

If you couldn't make it out this month, don't worry! The Edmonds Silent Book Club meets every third Wednesday of the month. So we'll be back at Leftcraft Taphouse at 7pm on February 18th! I'll have more BINGO cards with me, and a special announcement about the March meeting!!

Hope to see you in February!

HAPPY READING!!

Waiting on Wednesday

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we haven't yet read. Generally, they are books that have yet to be released, but don't have to be. It is based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous folks at Breaking the Spine.

When former serial killer Carol takes her place in a luxury retirement home, she begins to find her feet with a small new group of friends. If she can only keep her past hidden, maybe she has a chance at happiness.

That's when she discovers that, absurdly, every other one of Sheldon Oaks residents was involved in the law somehow. It's not long before her true identity is leaked, and when a former police commissioner resident is murdered, naturally all eyes turn to her...

Now she must solve the case to prove her innocence—just as her new friends start their own investigations into whether there is more than one killer at Sheldon Oaks.

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

 

No one knows exactly how the Goblin War began, but folks will tell you that goblins are stinking, slinking, filthy, sheep-stealing, henhouse-raiding, obnoxious, rude, and violent. Goblins would actually agree with all this, and might throw in “cowardly” and “lazy” too for good measure.

But goblins don't go around killing people for fun, no matter what the propaganda posters say. And when a confrontation with an evil wizard lands a troop of nine goblins deep behind enemy lines, goblin sergeant Nessilka must figure out how to keep her hapless band together and get them home in one piece.

Unfortunately, between them and safety lies a forest full of elves, trolls, monsters, and that most terrifying of creatures…a human being.

HAPPY READING!!

Mini Review

 

Hahahahaha! This was the best accidental library find ever! I read the entire thing out loud to one of my friends. It gave us both a giggle. I've read several books by this author, and they are always quick and fun reads. This is a hundred percent the perfect dad gift. So glad I stumbled across this gem at the library!

I jumped into this because I realized that I hadn't read it before, only seen the adaptations on TV. And! Because David Suchet read the audiobook, he will always be the Hercule Poirot. So I borrowed it from the library and listened while I chopped things at work. This hit in the middle for me. It's not my favorite of Christie's work, but it was still interesting. There were enough red herrings that I didn't see the whole picture until the end, as Poirot was setting the scene. However, I'm glad I listened to it because I think I might have DNFed a physical copy. Suchet and his voices really kept me listening.

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sunday

     

They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but we all know we do it. Sometimes, the cover initially catches our eye, drawing us to give a book a closer look. It's the first thing we see, our first impression. Every Sunday, I'll post some of my favorite book covers. Coming soon!

Ten suspects. Ten heists. A mystery only Ernest Cunningham can solve.

I've spent the last few years solving murders. But a bank heist is a new one, even for me. I've never been a hostage before.

The doors are chained shut. No one in or out. Which means that when someone in the bank is murdered, hostages become suspects.

THE BANK ROBBER
THE MANAGER
THE SECURITY GUARD
THE KID
THE FILM PRODUCER
THE PRIEST
THE RECEPTIONIST
THE PATIENT
THE CARER
ME

Turns out, more than one person planned to rob the bank today. You can steal more from a bank than just money.

Who is stealing what? Are they willing to kill for it? And can I solve the crime before the police kick down the door and rescue us?

HAPPY READING!!

Night Worms Unboxing

 

January Theme: Missed Calls

It's new book day! Which is extra special because I'm trying to not buy any new books this month. This month is about reading what I own, but Night Worms is the exception to that rule! And, I'm always excited for their package, especially when there are two books inside with authors I've never read before. Makes it extra exciting!

Wouldn't you know it, one of these books is a BINGO book! I love it when the stars align in such a way. Also, no one in this house has read a Simone St. James book. So that will be an adventure for all of us to enjoy Night Worms Day!! Also, before you run away, look at these stickers. Are they not amazing! They are going on the bins I just put in my smaller shelves to hold my snacks and stuff. Because everyone needs to see them both, always.

HAPPY READING!! 

6 Books for 2026

 

So I've been seeing a lot of these posts all over Instagram, and it's been cool to see what everyone else was hoping to crack open this year. And then, I got to thinking about the books I want to read this year, and then I started on my shelf. Then I was adding books to my Storygraph (because I'm trying to pull away from Goodreads this year). Next thing I know, I was creating this graphic.

I am notoriously bad at sticking to a TBR, so I'm glad we're not calling this that. I'm hoping that by calling this the 6 for 26, it'll feel less like a school reading list. Maybe I'll actually manage to read all of them. Which, considering I'm a slow reader, is quite the ask. Two of the books on this list are huge!

Additionally, I will need to track down the Camilla Bruce book. I swear I own it. She's a favorite author of mine, but I just do not know where it ended up after I set up the new bookcase.  

Still, I'm excited to see if, framing this less as a TBR and more as a 'hopefuls' list, I'll be less hesitant to pick any of these. Something about TBRs feels like a chore. Does anyone else feel that way?

HAPPY READING!!