I'll Sleep When I've Read ... The Vampire's Fake Fiancée by Kristen Painter

The plan was originally to have this read in time for a Double-Feature Friday with The Professor Woes the Witch .... and then I got a horrible awful really bad no good cold and the accompanying medicine made staying awake long enough to read almost impossible. Not a big hardship at all. I got a lot of sleep, the cold is practically no more, and it gave me something all set to read for my nights off. 

If you want to share whatever has kept you up past your bedtime because you just needed one more chapter ... or the entire book ... please comment! My TBR pile is already toppling, but I can always add more.

It really doesn't shock me at all that The Vampire's Fake Fiancée would be the one to keep me up. 

After all, it's the story of Sebastian Ellingham.

Poor, wounded, heart-broken Sebastian. We first met in the very first Nocturne Falls book. Even though his brother Hugh was technically the hero, many readers (myself included) fell hard for Sebastian, whose heart was broken centuries ago by Evangeline.

She's back and nobody is happy about it. She seems to think that even after all of these years, that Sebastian is pining away just waiting for her (which he pretty much has been), and they can just pick off where they left off before she broke him and made him believe that he wasn't good enough to be loved. His solution to ending this train of thought? Tell her he's not only over her (he isn't), but that he's moved on (he hasn't), and is engaged to be married (again .... nope).

Tessa Blythe's sister, Jenna, is a deputy in Nocturne Falls and has been trying to convince Tessa to move there. They're Valkyries -- direct descendants of one of Odin's shield maidens -- and basically tough badass women. Well, except for Tessa. She lost her confidence and desire to pick up her sword long ago and is hiding from life as a librarian (hair in a bun, glasses, cat and all). Jenna gets her to come to town to apply for the position of the Dean of Libraries at the private school for supernatural children and before the interview is over she's pretty much guaranteed the position -- if she can help Sebastian convince Evangeline that she is his fiancée. 

I absolutely loved this from the very beginning. Sebastian is the brooding broken work-obsessed hero. Tessa is the timid, also broken, book-obsessed heroine. The whole thing only spans about a week -- including the time it take Jenna to get Tessa out of Ohio. It's a whirlwind week of learning about each other and themselves, convincing Evangeline that she is no longer the center of Sebastian's universe,  and, of course, falling in love.

"They were a perfect fit, the recluse and the bookworm. The weapons collector and the sword wielder. The vampire and the Valkyrie."

I started late Friday night. 

I finished early Sunday morning. 

Definitely worth staying up past my bedtime for.

The Professor Woos the Witch by Kristen Painter (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

I first encountered Kristen Painter's Nocturne Falls way back in October 2015 with a short story collection she had contributed to. I fell in love with the idea of the town that celebrates Halloween every day because it gives its residents -- many of whom are supernatural -- to be their natural selves The paranormal in Nocturne Falls is normal. I got sidetracked, as per usual, and I finally got around to binge-reading the first three books of  the series back in October 2019. And then ... yep ... sidetracked yet again. It's been entirely too long since my last visit so I'm making up for some lost time with the next two books. Hopefully it won't take me two more Octobers to continue.

Title: The Professor Woos the Witch

Author: Kristen Painter 

Publication: 8 October 2015 - Sugar Skull Books

Format: Kindle eBook

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

Cole Van Zant doesn't believe in the supernatural. He's a math professor during the school year and a construction worker during the summer. He believes in absolute truths and he doesn't believe that there's anything truthful about the town of Nocturne Falls -- where he just moved with his thirteen year old daughter, Kaley, after inheriting an old Victorian mansion from a great uncle that he never knew. He plans to renovate, sell, and go back to life as normal.

Kaley, however, was told on her thirteenth birthday by her more-absent-than-not mother that she's an actual witch. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, she firmly believes that Nocturne Falls is the perfect place for her to learn her new Craft and after a major blowout with her dad, she runs away to the address of the woman listed as the town's "House Witch" -- real estate agent Pandora Williams. 

Pandora is an excellent and very successful realtor. She's also the least successful witch in town. 

Pandora appeared in the first book in the series and played heavily in the third since her best friend, Willa, was that story's heroine. Now we finally get to learn more about Pan and she learns a lot more about herself thanks to her growing relationships (working and otherwise) with Cole and Kaley after she agrees to help Cole with the renovations -- and with Kaley, even though Cole insists that it's still just a ridiculous phase that she'll grow out of. 

Of course, everything changes ... well, almost everything.

Nocturne Falls is still an amazing town. Even though it has been a couple of years since I last visited, my favorite characters are still worthy of favoritism. I'm looking at you, Stanhill. And Sebastian .... poor, broken, wonderful Sebastian .... but that's another ramble for another day and another book. Hopefully we'll keep seeing more of Cole and Pandora and Kaley. I don't really think it's spoiling anything when I tell you that part of the magic of Nocturne Falls is that Happily Ever After is as much a thing there as witches and vampires and all the rest.

(today's "56" is from what Kindle considers page 56 -- not my usual 56%)

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As always, Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

WWW Wednesday -- 27 October 2021

 

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

My Current Read : 

Published by Berkley in 2014, Queen of Hearts is the eighth book in the Royal Spyness Mystery series by Rhys Bowen. It starts in 1934 and Georgiana is still at Kingsdowne Place in Kent where we left her at the end of Heirs & Graces. Her mother, former actress Claire Daniels, shows up out of the blue to whisk her off to America. Claire wants to marry mega-rich German Max von Stroheim but first needs to be UN-married from Texas oil tycoon Homer Clegg. It should be easy. Leave Kent. Spend a couple of days in London. Take a luxury liner to New York. Take a train to Reno. Get a quickie divorce. Go home. Of course, nothing is every that easy. The "quickie divorce" has a waiting period so Claire and Georgie head to Hollywood to stay with the movie producer they met on the ship, Cy Goldman. Cy ends up dead. There's a jewel thief who may or may not be involved ... and good ol' Darcy O'Mara just happens to be the one investigating that end. We also have to deal with Queenie and her total lack of progress at being Georgie's maid, Belinda constantly appearing wherever and whenever the wind blows as long as there may be men and money involved, a lot of new faces and some not so new, and a rather bothersome Charlie Chaplin ... and me wondering why and how I've managed to stick through eight books. I have about 15% left right now and it might very well be my last 15% of the series.

Recently Finished :

I stayed up ridiculously late Friday and Saturday night in order to finish the amazing Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza in the wee small hours of Sunday morning. I rambled quite a bit about it on Sunday as part of a new blog feature and I highly highly recommend it -- especially if you like thrillers and serial killer tales and, perhaps, even if you don't think that you do. At least go read the ramble.

What's Next :

It is, after all, Halloween Week and I have two letters left for the Alphabet Soup Title Challenge -- V and Z. 

Vampires and Zombies for the win!

But. Because there's almost always a but.

I was undecided about whether I would do Kristen Painter's The Vampire's Fake Fiancée or Kirsty Dallas's Zombie Playlist first. I was I'm leaning towards Zombie Playlist because the Painter is the fifth in her Nocturne Falls series and I think I have only read the first three. I never blogged any of them and they were victimized by the killed off Goodreads account ... but I do remember that I loved them, and that they were fast and fun reads. I really need to read the fourth before the fifth so if I can sneak in The Professor Woos The Witch, the two together would likely make for a fun Double-Feature Friday. So Painter it shall be. Zombie Playlist will also happen if I have time but the most adorable hotel guest (who happens to be about 11 years old) recommended another book that she is quite enjoying ... and it happens to start with Z ... 

Two-fer Tuesday : Temptation in a Kilt & X Marks the Scot by Victoria Roberts (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

 

Title: Temptation in a Kilt

Author: Victoria Roberts

Publication: 1 September 2012

Format: Kindle eBook

Amazon Description: 

She's On Her Way to Safety

It's a sign of Lady Rosalia Armstrong's desperation that she's seeking refuge in a place as rugged and challenging as the Scottish Highlands. She doesn't care about hardship and discomfort, if only she can become master of her own life. Laird Ciaran MacGregor, however, is completely beyond her control...

He Redefines Dangerous...

Ciaran MacGregor knows it's perilous to get embroiled with a fiery Lowland lass, especially one as headstrong as Rosalia. Having made a rash promise to escort her all the way to Glengarry, now he's stuck with her, even though she challenges his legendary prowess at every opportunity. When temptation reaches its peak, he'll be ready to show her how he really is...on and off the battlefield.

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Title: X Marks the Scot

Author: Victoria Roberts

Publication: 5 February 2013

Format: Kindle eBook

Amazon Description: 

He was a Highland Rogue Wicked with a Bow and Just as Wicked with the Ladies.

Declan MacGregor hadn't a care in the world beyond finding a soft bed and a willing woman...until he had to escort Lady Liadain Campbell to the English court. The woman needles him at every turn, but he can't just abandon her to that vipers' nest without protection.

She Never Asked for a Bodyguard...

Liadain wasn't thrilled to be left in the care of her clan's archrival. It was as if the man never had a lady tell him no before! And yet as whispers of treason swirl through the court and the threat of danger grows even sharper, her bitter enemy soon becomes the only one she can trust...

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Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I fully admit that the only reason I got X Marks the Scot is because of the X. I only have a few letters left and I'll have the Alphabet Soup challenge finished .... for titles, anyway. Not sure if I'll manage to get authors done, as well. Next year. 

I honestly wasn't expect much aside from another letter crossed off my list. It's the second in a series which would normally make it not happen until the first, but I figured that it would be okay because of extenuating circumstances and all. What I got was a "dangnabbit" moment fairly early on .... and then I went and got the first book in the series. 

I obviously have issues. 

Luckily, I was able to knock them both out pretty quickly. They're pretty much predictable fluff, but sometimes that's what is needed. I even have the third in the series (and a couple from her other series) already lined up for the next time my brain needs a break ... and the time after that ... and ....

Temptation in a Kilt starts the series with the story of Highlander Laird Ciaran MacGregor and Lowlander Lady Rosalia Armstrong. In order to save themselves from financial dire straits, Rosalia's parents offer her to the less-than-enthralling Lord Dunnehl .... so Rosalia runs away to her Highland grandmother's and straight into the path of the way-more-than-enthralling Ciaran. He agrees to escort her as traveling alone would be too dangerous (especially because she's a bit of a sheltered twit who knows next to nothing about survival). Of course, Ciaran is too focused on taking care of his clan, protecting his land from the "bloody Campbells," getting his younger brother to grow up, and being all sorts of alpha male blah blah blah to give in to the feelings he begins to have for the damsel in distress (and she is definitely distressing) .... until he does .... and .... well, you probably can already guess. 

Predictable isn't always a bad thing and there are still plenty of twists to help make it a good start to what is looking to be a good series. I'm glad I backtracked to read it first as there's a fair bit of background that will come in handy for the next two books.

So on to the next...

The second book, X Marks the Scot, is the story of Ciaran's younger brother Declan -- the one who needed to grow up. He's as scoundrel and rogue as his brother was provider and defender. That all starts to change, though, when he wins a competition. Included in the prize package is Liadain, the half-sister of the main "bloody Campbell" from the first book and ..... oh bother. 

See? 

This is why things need to be read in order. 

Besides, the first book gives us more Declan and that is seriously nothing to complain about. Bad boy in a kilt who just needs a good spitfire of a woman to rock his world? 

I am so definitely on board with that. 

I loved Ciaran and Rosalia together, but I think I may love Declan and Liadain even more. Individually they're each more interesting (and she is far from the damsel is constant distress that Rosalia was). Together they're amazing.

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two
of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two
from anywhere in the book currently being read.

I'll Sleep When I've Read ... Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza

Last weekend my son sent me to bed and told me to sleep well. I motioned to the book in hand and said I would sleep when I'm dead. He replied with "so, you'll sleep when you've read?" and it stuck. 

It's pretty much how it works -- especially on weekends. 

I don't have to work and I generally don't fall asleep easily (part of the curse of working third shift the rest of the week). I generally read myself to sleep. Sometimes excessively. Sometimes it only takes a paragraph and I'm out like a light. Sometimes it takes a lot more. 

I've probably already finished whatever I posted for Book Beginnings/Friday56, and quite often for Tuesday Intros/Teaser Tuesday. I'm back to doing WWW Wednesdays to try and stagger things out some, but that's not really a rambley linkup (though it probably will be for me from time to time). That still leaves me the entire weekend ... so I'm linking up to myself with my new "I'll Sleep When I've Read" feature. It may not happen every Sunday ... but it probably will. 

If you want to share whatever has kept you up past your bedtime because you just needed one more chapter ... or the entire book ... please comment! My TBR pile is already toppling, but I can always add more.

I mentioned in my WWW Wednesday post that one of the books I was considering diving into next was Robert Bryndza's Nine Elms -- the first in his Kate Marshall series. The third is sitting on my NetGalley shelf and the first two are available via Kindle Unlimited so I took it as a sign. I started reading  Thursday morning after I got home from work when I should have been sleeping. Normally that's an okay time to read a little. I'm typically exhausted from work and can maybe get through a chapter before I pass out. I turned off my Kindle at Chapter 8 and decided that some books are better left for weekends.

I finished it last night. Well, technically, in the wee small hours of this morning.

Way past my bedtime.

The story starts in the autumn on 1995. Two years prior a serial killer began targeting teenage girls in the Nine Elms area of London by the Thames. The press gave the killer the name Nine Elms Cannibal since bite marks were found on each victim and "nothing sold newspapers more than a cannibal on the loose."

This is when I was hooked.

Detective Constable Kate Marshall was assigned to the team working the case and when she's targeted as the next victim, she survives and solves the case. Unfortunately, rather than skyrocketing her career, everything falls apart. I won't tell you why or how. 

Spoilers and all that.

Fifteen years later, Kate is trying to cope and deal and is now a criminology professor. This is something that she cannot put behind her, and not just because the case comes up in her lectures. 

Again, spoilers.

Sorry.

But I'm not.

It doesn't help matters at all when the parents of a girl who went missing twenty years ago reach out to Kate for help. It really doesn't help when a "fan" of the Nine Elms Cannibal appears and the horrors begin all over again. Kate might not be a police officer anymore, but she still gets involved with the help of her friends and colleagues -- particularly Tristan, her assistant at the university, and Alan, a forensic pathologist. 

The telling of the story jumps around between characters and locations. Mostly Kate, but also Tristan, Alan, the original Nine Elms Cannibal, his terrifying mother, "the fan" ... and the victims. It never gets confusing, and it never loses its pace ... or its grip. From some authors it would probably end up a jumbled mess. From Bryndza it ends up a thrilling page-turner that you cannot bring yourself to put down -- even if it is way past your bedtime.

I'm glad that I already have the next two Kate Marshall books waiting for another night off. I might miss out on some more shut-eye because of them but, after all, I'll sleep when I've read ... 

Just a Ramble : The Pickwick Murders by Heather Redmond

 

Title: The Pickwick Murders

Author: Heather Redmond

Publication: 26 October 2021

Format: Kindle eArc via Kensington & NetGalley

Amazon Description: 

London, January 1836: Just weeks before the release of his first book, Charles is intrigued by an invitation to join the exclusive Lightning Club. But his initiation in a basement maze takes a wicked turn when he stumbles upon the corpse of Samuel Pickwick, the club’s president. With the victim’s blood literally on his hands, Charles is locked away in notorious Newgate Prison.
 
Now it’s up to Kate to keep her framed fiancé from the hangman’s noose. To solve this labyrinthine mystery, she is forced to puzzle her way through a fiendish series of baffling riddles sent to her in anonymous poison pen letters. With the help of family and friends, she must keep her wits about her to corner the real killer—before time runs out and Charles Dickens meets a dead end . . .

Ramble-y Stuff

It still being October, and the third book in the series being A Christmas Carol Murder, I opted to skip ahead to the eARC sitting on my NetGalley shelf and read the fourth book out of order.

I'm not sure I'll bother to backtrack. Or continue.

If you read my Double-Feature Friday post about the first two books then you already know that I've had issues with the pacing and overabundance of unnecessary information. Word drivel. I was hopeful that by the fourth book the editing would be a bit tighter and the pacing a bit faster. I wasn't expecting something as gripping and un-put-downable as, say, Robert Bryndza ... but I still held out hope. 

The description indicated a heavier focus on Kate and I've grown quite fond of Kate and several of the other characters. I complained that the first book had too much information and dragged. The second one's pacing was slightly better but the story itself? I skipped full paragraphs (and pages) and didn't feel like I missed out on anything. 

This time? If anything it was even more scattered and sluggish.  

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (aka The Pickwick Papers) was originally published and read as nineteen separate installments over a matter of twenty months. All together it is a huge marvelous piece of work and, next to A Christmas Carol, it is my favorite Dickens. I can't ever read it all at once, though. I don't think I can read Redmond all at once, either. Maybe that was the intention. 

For me, it didn't work, even with the extra Kate. Maybe you'll love it. 

These are just my ramblings, after all.

Double-Feature Friday : A Tale of Two Murders & Grave Expectations by Heather Redmond (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

I did it again. 

I requested a book from NetGalley without paying attention to the fact that it's the fourth in a series I hadn't even heard of before. It's a shame, in a way, because it's a series I could have been reading for a few years now. Thanks to Kindle Unlimited and my library I've been able to fly through at least the first two and may even sneak the third in before getting ready for thee ol' release date for the fourth.

Stranger things have happened. 

I actually finished the first one Monday so it could have easily been a non-linkup post ... or at least this week's Tuesday Intro & Teaser Tuesday ... but then I got it into my head that I could dive right into the next one and I already had a Tuesday post planned so ... Double-Feature Friday it is. 

 

Title: A Tale of Two Murders

Author: Heather Redmond 

Publication: 31 July 2018 - Kensington Books

Format: Kindle eBook

Amazon Description: 

In the winter of 1835, young Charles Dickens is a journalist on the rise at the Evening Chronicle. Invited to dinner at the estate of the newspaper's co-editor, Charles is smitten with his boss's daughter, vivacious nineteen-year-old Kate Hogarth. They are having the best of times when a scream shatters the pleasant evening. Charles, Kate, and her father rush to the neighbors' home, where Miss Christiana Lugoson lies unconscious on the floor. By morning, the poor young woman will be dead.

When Charles hears from a colleague of a very similar mysterious death a year ago to the date, also a young woman, he begins to suspect poisoning and feels compelled to investigate. The lovely Kate offers to help—using her social position to gain access to the members of the upper crust, now suspects in a murder. If Charles can find justice for the victims, it will be a far, far better thing than he has ever done. But with a twist or two in this most peculiar case, he and Kate may be in for the worst of times . . .

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

We're introduced to twenty-two year old Charles Dickens who is working as a journalist for the Evening Chronicle and beyond enthralled with Kate Hogarth, the daughter of his co-editor. At the very onset of the book Charles it at the Hogarth house for Epiphany when they hear screams from a neighboring house. They go over en masse to see if they can be of assistance and before the night is over, a young girl has died. Charles discovers that exactly one year prior a similar occurrence happened in the same neighborhood.  He and Kate do not believe that it was merely a coincidence, hence a tale of two murders (although, of course, there may be more). So begins the tale of Charles Dickens -- journalist, aspiring playwright and author, and half of a crime fighting duo a la Tommy & Tuppence or Nick & Nora. 

The book is loaded with historical details. Perhaps a little too loaded as, at times, it seemed to drag and that took away from the actual story. All in all, though, curiosity over what really happened won out and I'm glad that I saw it through to the end ... and on to the next ...

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Title: Grave Expectations

Author: Heather Redmond 

Publication: 30 July 2019 - Kensington Books

Format: Kindle eBook

Amazon Description: 

London, June 1835: In the interest of being a good neighbor, Charles checks in on Miss Haverstock, the elderly spinster who resides in the flat above his. But as the young journalist and his fiancée Kate ascend the stairs, they are assaulted by the unmistakable smell of death. Upon entering the woman’s quarters, they find her decomposing corpse adorned in a faded gown that looks like it could have been her wedding dress, had she been married. A murderer has set the stage. But to what purpose?

As news of an escaped convict from Coldbath Fields reaches the couple, Charles reasonably expects the prisoner, Ned Blood, may be responsible. But Kate suspects more personal motives, given the time and effort in dressing the victim. When a local blacksmith is found with cut manacles in his shop and arrested, his distraught wife begs Charles and Kate to help. At the inquest, they are surprised to meet Miss Haverstock’s cold and haughty illegitimate daughter, shadowed by her miserably besotted companion. Secrets shrouded by the old woman’s past may hold the answers to this web of mystery. But Charles and Kate will have to risk their lives to unveil the truth . . . .

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I know, I know. Spoilers right in the description! Of course, seeing as how Charles and Kate actually existed it may not be a spoiler at all that they end up engaged .... married .... parents of ten children .... separated .... so on and so forth. For now, though, we're still in the blissful reminiscence stage of things even if fictionalized by Heather Redmond. And, while still in happy blissful mode, we have another mysterious death to occupy Charles and Kate as they wait to be able to wed. I kind of love that Kate was actually hoping for a mystery to help pass the time. She's my kind of girl.

Again, the pacing feels off at times. It moved along a bit better than the first book, but "less is more" still doesn't seem to have been a concept considered. You can easily skip a paragraph here, a full page there, and possibly a chapter or two. You probably won't feel like you've missed anything at all. Of course, I still have every intention of reading the next one ... or the one after that ... and ... hopefully the pace picks up. 

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As always, Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice & Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

WWW Wednesday -- 20 October 2021

I've been hunting for new places to linkup to since my reading life has gone a bit haywire ... but in a good way. I've typically done Tuesdays and Fridays but what about the books that get started or even finished in the meantime? I have so many posts piled up waiting to be published right now and the books keep coming in and they keep getting read and I don't seem to be able to stop myself ... nor do I necessarily want to. I've got a mini vacation coming up in December and I've already got posts ready to auto-publish when I'm gone, but that only takes care of a couple of days at most.

Way back in early 2017, before my life started being problematic, I participated in WWW Wednesdays over at Taking On A World Of Words. I only meant to take a brief respite but, well, better late than not at all, right?

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

My Current Read : 

At the time of this typing, I am reading Jane K. Cleland's Jane Austen's Lost Letters, thanks to NetGalley and the kind folks at St. Martin's/Minotaur. I was more than a bit hesitant about starting this because it's the fourteenth book in a series I have never laid eyes on before. If you've been here ... ever ... you probably know about my fixation on reading things in order. BUT. There must be some exceptions and Jane Austen will probably always warrant an exception being made to just about every rule.

Luckily, so far anyway, I don't feel at all lost for not having read any of the previous thirteen books in the series. Even better? I now have thirteen new-to-me books on the ever-growing TBR. I don't know much about the world of antiques and never really figured I would care to know, but now I'm more than a bit fascinated at least with what goes into the art of authenticating letters. It helps when those letters may have been written by one of my favorite people. It's too bad the expert on the method that most intrigued me (dealing with weight and pressure points and whatnot) got knocked off fairly early in the book. I certainly hope Josie Prescott is good at solving murders and the person is dealt with most heinously. I'm guessing all will be resolved satisfactorily.  It is the fourteenth book, after all.

Recently Finished :

Thanks to another NetGalley grab, I read the first two books in Heather Redmond's A Dickens of a Crime series -- A Tale of Two Murders and Grave Expectations. Those will be reviewed/teased/posted this coming Friday and then the ARC in question probably next week. To be completely honest, had it not been for the ARC, I might not have bothered to continue after the first book. At least it was better than another ARC that I was in the process of slogging my way through. That one ended up making me a bit ranty so I scrapped it and took a mental health break with Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper's amazing Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village -- which you can find rambled about and teased here. After my brain breather I continued on with the second in the series. I may not squeeze the third one in, but I'll likely backtrack for it at some point.

What's Next :

I do, of course, have Heather Redmond's The Pickwick Murders coming due for review. That's set for release on the 26th of October which is a Tuesday which works perfectly with the regular swing of things around here. 

Beyond that, I have a bunch of back ARCs that got lost in the shuffle that I could/should get around to reading and there are two coming up in mid-November that I could grab. What I'll probably do, though, is get a start on Robert Bryndza's Kate Marshall series with Nine Elms. The ARC for the third in the series is already calling my name and that's not out until December. I should have plenty of time for the first two. Besides, I didn't have an "N" title for my Alphabet Soup challenge yet.

Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered ... by Maureen Johnson & Jay Cooper (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

Title: Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village

Author: Maureen Johnson 

Illustrator: Jay Cooper

Publication: 14 September 2021

Format: Hardcover

Amazon Description: 

A weekend roaming narrow old lanes, touring the faded glories of a country manor, and quaffing pints in the pub. How charming. That is, unless you have the misfortune of finding yourself in an English Murder Village, where danger lurks around each picturesque cobblestone corner and every sip of tea may be your last. If you insist on your travels, do yourself a favor and bring a copy of this little book. It may just keep you alive. 
Brought to life with dozens of Gorey-esque drawings by illustrator Jay Cooper and peppered with allusions to classic crime series and unmistakably British murder lore, Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village gives you the tools you need to avoid the same fate, should you find yourself in a suspiciously cozy English village (or simply dream of going). Good luck! And whatever you do, avoid the vicar.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

From time to time Amazon really gets me. Of course, they know my likes better than most, I suppose. My watchlist is full of things like Midsomer Murders, Marple, Agatha Raisin. My bookish wishlist is full of Agatha Christie, Robin Stevens, Regency mysteries, and, well, basically books where one might easily get murdered in a quaint English village.

When I saw Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village on my recommendations I scoffed for a millisecond and then I clicked "Buy Now." 

This was not my planned post for today. It's a difficult one to do any sort of justice to and I really wasn't sure how I would pull off my typical graphic collage dealie for the teasers. The book I had planned ended up being such a bust that I only ranted on Goodreads about it ... and then I grabbed my Guide for a little mental health break. I've only read it five times or so since it arrived Friday evening. So far I've shared it with my bestie, one of my favorite co-workers, random people checking into the hotel who've seen it sitting next to me at the front desk ... and now, you. They've each only gotten a glimpse and so far everyone wants a copy. You, dear readers, get a couple of glimpses. 

I was originally going to try and eek out the entire opening note but there's not nearly enough room to make it all legible and, besides, you need this book. Trust me. The opening (and the ending -- and everything in between) is worth it. Go digital if you must, but this is one that should really be held. 

So that's the "Intro" out of the way. Then came the difficulty of what else to tease. It's broken down like a typical tourist guidebook. Where to go, who to see, what to do. Of course, since we're in a Quaint English Village, each comes with a warning. I decided to go with what would most likely be my first stop at the local Manor .... and, possibly, my last. 

I've never been very good at following directions.

THE LIBRARY

It's best not to pull books down at random. Things ... happen sometimes.

If you were closer, I might let you borrow the book. 

Briefly. 

While in my presence. 

Since you aren't, though, I highly recommend that you just get your own. 

Even the back cover points out that your life may depend on it.

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two
of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two
from anywhere in the book currently being read.

The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: The Witch of Willow Hall

Author: Hester Fox

Publication: 2 October 2018

Format: paperback

Amazon Description: 

Something has awakened in Willow Hall. Eighteen-year-old Lydia Montrose can feel it. But she has no idea what it is.

Rocked by rumor and scandal, Lydia, her parents, and her sisters, Catherine and Emeline, fled their sparkling life in Boston for the sleepy country estate. But bone-chilling noises in the night have Lydia convinced their idyllic new home wasn’t exactly vacant when they arrived.

The Salem witch trials cast a long shadow over the Montrose family as the cloying heat of summer in Massachusetts mingles with something sinister in the air. The sprawling history of Willow Hall is no stranger to secrets, and its dark past soon calls to Lydia, igniting ancient magic she never knew she possessed. But with menacing forces unwilling to rest, threatening to tear her family apart, Lydia must learn to harness her newly discovered power or risk losing everyone she holds dear.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff (with a heavy emphasis on ramble-y)

This is actually my third time reading The Witch of Willow Hall. The first time was shortly after it was released and a co-worker loaned it to me when life was kicking me in all sorts of horrible places. I fell in love with it, downloaded the ebook, and ended up ordering the paperback of that and the next two Hester Fox books last October so they would be on my "forever shelves." I still have yet to read the other two (a fact that will be remedied very soon), and now there is a fourth about to be released and I already have an e-ARC thanks to the publisher and NetGalley ... and the paperback has already been pre-ordered so it can join its sisters on the shelf.

Somehow, even though this is the third read, it is the first time on The Well-Read Pirate Queen. I'm guessing that the first time I only reviewed it on the now defunct (and replaced) Goodreads account. 2018 was less than a stellar year for me and for blogging and ... just everything. The second time life was mostly splendid and I took it on vacation to read while on the bus and while waiting for my 💗 to arrive at the hotel. I probably assumed that I had oohed and aahed and teased the first time so didn't bother. 

I have a pile of other books to read. Between NetGalley and the Alphabet Soup challenge and the toppling TBR (including the other books by Fox), there really isn't a good reason to be doing a re-read. Maybe The Witch of Willow Hall is my designated October book in much the same way that Christopher Moore's The Stupidest Angel must be read every December. We'll see what happens next year. Last night, though, I had my first "sick day" in well over two years (more likely four), and I just had the overwhelming need to revisit Willow Hall. 

The third time is the charm, so they say, so to celebrate I'm not only doing the Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 (and completely disregarding what was going to be posted today and leaving it in "draft mode"), but we also get a bonus from page 156 ... because I can and it's just that good.

It's gothic and comfort. It's suspense and cozy. It's ghosts and ballrooms. It's witchcraft and faith. It's agony and hope. It's bundling up in a giant blanket with the air conditioner on full blast and the overhead fan on high because October weather in Central New York is just strange. It's bacon and peanut butter. It's all of the things that shouldn't mix well, but somehow do. 

More than anything, it's wonderful. It's my designated October book.

As always, Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice & Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

The Last Time She Died by Zoë Sharp (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

Title: The Last Time She Died

Author: Zoë Sharp

Publication: 20 October 2021

Format: Kindle eArc via Bookouture & NetGalley

Amazon Description: 

She came back on the day of her father’s funeral, ten years after she vanished. But she can’t be who she says she is…

When Blake disappeared as a teenager, on a cold dark night, her father never reported her missing. She is presumed dead.

Now, ten years later, a young woman with white-blonde hair sits comfortably in the family living room and smiles at the shocked faces around her.

“Don’t you recognise me?” she says. “I’m Blake.”

Detective John Byron isn’t sure whether she’s telling the truth. But as he investigates, he soon realises no one is happy to see her.

And the people who should be welcoming her back with open arms know she can’t be Blake. Because they killed her the night she vanished…

Didn’t they?

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

After the first couple of chapters I was already giddy that this is the first in a new series because I was already hooked on the characters of Byron and Blake and excited to see how they go from being the investigator and the investigated to a duo of some sort. 

Blake went missing when she was 15 years old. Did she run away? Was she taken? Killed? There are those that firmly believe that she was the latter -- because they were the ones who had supposedly done the deed.

But.

Blake shows up ten years later on the day of her father's funeral and everything and everyone is thrown topsy-turvy -- particularly John Byron, a detective who is on leave from the force but comes to help investigate the death of Blake's father as he was a Member of Parliament and there are questions surrounding his accident. 

There are a lot of questions surrounding pretty much everyone in the story. I thought more than a couple of times that I knew some of the answers and I was quite wrong and quite pleased about that. It isn't often that I can be so enthrallingly stumped by a book. Even moreso, it isn't often that I can be so hooked on two characters so quickly. Blake is full of snark and Byron is full of purpose and they're both full of pain and secrets that I can't wait to see further explored as the series continues.

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two
of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two
from anywhere in the book currently being read.