ARC Review: Lore of the Wilds

Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Release Date: Feb. 27, 2024

Genre: Fantasy

Library purchase: Yes. I would purchase this for my library in a heartbeat.

Synopsis

A library with a deadly enchantment. A Fae lord who wants in. A human woman willing to risk it all for a taste of power. In a land ruled by ruthless Fae, twenty-one-year-old Lore Alemeyu’s village is trapped in a forested prison. Lore knows that any escape attempt is futile—her scars are a testament to her past failures. But when her village is threatened, Lore makes a desperate deal 

ARC Review: The Secret Library by Kuchenga Shenjé

The Library Thief by Kuchenga Shenjé

Publisher: Harlequin 

Publication Date: May 7, 2024

Library Purchase: Maybe not yet based on the ARC but I really like the concept

Synopsis

1896. After he brought her home from Jamaica as a baby, Florence's father had her hair hot-combed to make her look like the other girls. But as a young woman, Florence is not so easy to tame—and when she brings scandal to his door, the bookbinder throws her onto the streets of Manchester.

Intercepting her father's latest commission, Florence talks her way into the remote, forbidding Rose Hall to restore its collection of rare books. Lord Francis Belfield's library is old and full of secrets—but none so intriguing as the whispers about his late wife.

ARC Review: Thieves' Gambit by Kayvion Lewis

Thieves' Gambit by Kayvion Lewis

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Publication Date: September 20, 2023
Library Purchase: We already own it. Perfect for our book bundles!

Synopsis

At only seventeen years old, Ross Quest is already a master thief, especially adept at escape plans. Until her plan to run away from her legendary family of thieves takes an unexpected turn, leaving her mother's life hanging in the balance.

In a desperate bid, she enters the Thieves' Gambit, a series of dangerous, international heists where killing the competition isn't exactly off limits, but the grand prize is a wish for anything in the world--a wish that could save her mom. When she learns two of her competitors include her childhood nemesis and a handsome, smooth-talking guy who might also want to steal her heart, winning the Gambit becomes trickier than she imagined.

Review: When No On Was Watching by Alyssa Cole

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

Publisher: William Morror Paperbacks

Publication Date: September 1, 2020

Library Purchase: Yes which is why I was able to listen to this via the Palace App!

Synopsis

Rear Window meets Get Out in this gripping thriller from a critically acclaimed and New York Times Notable author, in which the gentrification of a Brooklyn neighborhood takes on a sinister new meaning...

Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she's known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community's past and

ARC Review: Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan)
Publication Date: March 19, 2024
Library Purchase: Absolutely.

Synopsis

In Where Sleeping Girls Lie — a YA contemporary mystery by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, the New York Times-bestselling author of Ace of Spades — a girl new to boarding school discovers dark secrets and coverups after her roommate disappears.

It’s like I keep stumbling into a dark room, searching for the switch to make things bright again...

Review: Don't Cry For Me

Don't Cry For Me by Daniel Black

Publisher: HarperCollins (Hanover Square Press)

Publication Date: January 10, 2023

Library Purchase: We bought it as a discussion set!

Synopsis

As Jacob lies dying, he begins to write a letter to his only son, Isaac. They have not met or spoken in many years, and there are things that Isaac must know. Stories about his ancestral legacy in rural Arkansas that extend back to slavery. Secrets from Jacob's tumultuous relationship with Isaac's mother and the shame he carries from the dissolution of their family. Tragedies that informed Jacob's role as a father and his reaction to Isaac's being gay.

Review: If You'll Have Me

If You'll Have Me by Eunnie
Publisher Viking Books (Penguin)
Release Date October 17, 2023
Library Purchase For a public library, for sure. Also for my bookshelf!

Synopsis

Momo Gardner is the kind of friend who’s always ready to lend a helping hand. She’s introverted, sensitive, and maybe a little too trusting, but she likes to believe the best in people. PG, on the other hand, is a bit of a lone wolf, despite her reputation for being a flirt and a player. Underneath all that cool mystery, she’s actually quick to smile, and when she falls for someone, she falls hard.

Review: That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon

 

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved A Demon by Kimberly Lemming 

Publisher: Kimberly Lemming

Release Date: August 9, 2021

Library Purchase: Absolutely!!! 

Synopsis

All I wanted to do was live my life in peace. Maybe get a cat, expand my spice farm. Really anything that doesn’t involve going on a quest where an orc might rip my face off. But they say the Goddess has favorites. If so, I’m clearly not one of them.

After saving the demon Fallon in a wine-drunk stupor, all he wanted to do was kill an evil witch enslaving his people.

Review: Find Him Where You Left Him Dead

Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release date: October 10, 2023
Library purchase: I'm almost mad I have to wait. Purchase for sure

Synopsis

Four years ago, five kids started a game. Not all of them survived.

Now, at the end of their senior year of high school, the survivors―Owen, Madeline, Emerson, and Dax―have reunited for one strange and terrible they’ve been summoned by the ghost of Ian, the friend they left for dead.