The book I’m looking the most forward to in this stack is Assistant to the Villain, because I loved, Loved, LOVED Hench and this is giving me the same delicious vibes. I adore stories where people are good at what they do, even if that means that they are very, very good at being very, very bad. I have high hopes for this one!

For Review:
Always Remember: Ben’s Story (Ravenswood #3) by Mary Balogh
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
The Book of Ile-Rien: The Element of Fire & The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
Cassiel’s Servant (Kushiel’s Universe #1.5) by Jacqueline Carey (audio)
The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland
The Diamond of London by Andrea Penrose
Exordia by Seth Dickinson
Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night (New Hercule Poirot #5) by Sophie Hannah
Holmes, Miss Marple & Poe Investigations by James Patterson and Brian Sitts
Hunting the Falcon by John Guy, Julia Fox
Knighthunter (Oronis Knights #2) by Anna Hackett
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (Wayward Children #9) by Seanan McGuire
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett
The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid #2) by Nita Prose
The Night Island (Lost Night Files #2) by Jayne Ann Krentz
Osprey (Miranda Chase #13) by M.L. Buchman
Twilight Falls (Shady Hollow #4) by Juneau Black
The Wishing Bridge by Viola Shipman

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it’s easy to see the influence of this past Tuesday’s review of Murder on Black Swan Lane in this stack. I had a surprising number of books in this series buried in the virtually towering TBR pile, so there wasn’t as much left for me to pick up as I feared. The whole thing is such a clear candidate for the “comfort read” subsection that I couldn’t resist!

The two books I’m really looking forward to in this stack are A Curse of Krakens and Death in the Dark Woods. I picked up the audio of A Curse of Krakens because the whole, vast saga – at least so far – is a giant exercise in literally storytelling, as the reader is just listening in with the rest of the “local” audience as the story is being told. Audio SO works for that format.

I’m every bit as curious about Death in the Dark Woods as I was about the first book in its series, A Death in Door County, because the premise is such a hoot. Or whatever sound a yeti might make. The amateur detective is a professional cryptozoologist, and it seems like she has a gift for solving real-world murders while investigating sightings of mythical creatures.

For Review:
Chinese Prodigal by David Shih
A Curse of Krakens (Seven Kennings #3) by Kevin Hearne (eARC and audio)
Death in the Dark Woods (Monster Hunter Mystery #2) by Annelise Ryan
Foolish by Sarah Cooper
Grievar’s Blood (Combat Codes #2) by Alexander Darwin
Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
Masters of Death by Olivie Blake (audio)
Murder at the Merton Library (Wrexford & Sloane #7) by Andrea Penrose
The Parrot and the Igloo by David Lipsky
Saevus Corax Captures the Castle (Corax Trilogy #2) by K.J. Parker
Unlikeable Female Characters by Anna Bogutskaya
We Are the Crisis (Convergence Saga #2) by Cadwell Turnbull

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
At the Feet of the Sun (Lays of the Hearth-Fire #2) by Victoria Goddard
Boldly Go by William Shatner (audio)
The Hands of the Emperor (Lays of the Hearth-Fire #1) by Victoria Goddard
Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens (Wrexford & Sloane #5) by Andrea Penrose
Murder at the Serpentine Bridge (Wrexford & Sloane #6) by Andrea Penrose

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Let’s just say that the ALA Convention was a bit of a target-rich environment when it comes to finding new books to read! I do my very best to walk away with empty hands – because my back just won’t take the load of books these days – but that doesn’t stop me from queuing up a whole bunch of titles to get from Edelweiss and NetGalley. This isn’t even all that I got, it’s just all that I have covers for that is being published in 2023. There’s more to come!

So many books, so little time!

For Review:
Airplane Mode by Shahnaz Habib
American Whitelash by Wesley Lowery
Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie
The Butterfly Collector by Tea Cooper (eARC and audio)
Fearless Women by Elizabeth Cobbs
The Fraud by Zadie Smith
Godkiller by Hannah Kaner (audio)
In the Form of a Question by Amy Schneider
A Man of Two Faces by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut
The Olympian Affair (Cinder Spires #2) by Jim Butcher
The Postcard by Anne Berest
Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead (Corax Trilogy #1) by K.J. Parker
Shards of Glass (Chronicles of Elantra) by Michelle Sagara
This is Salvaged by Vauhini Vara
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (audio)
The Traitor Among Us (Elena Standish #5) by Anne Perry
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: Volume 4 edited by Paula Guran
West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese (audio)
The Ghosts of Trappist (NeoG #3) by K.B. Wagers (audio)
Montego (Glass Immortals #0.1) by Brian McClellan
The Powder Mage Trilogy by Brian McClellan

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As you read this we are probably just back home after our trip. A trip that included the American Library Association Annual Conference, where I probably learned about yet more titles to add to the virtually towering TBR pile. But as I’m doing this post pretty far ahead, as of right this minute nearly two weeks ago, this is what I have.

For Review:
America Fantastica by Tim O’Brien
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa (audio)
Creep by Myriam Gurba
Ebony Gate (Phoenix Hoard #1) by Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle (audio)
Lord of a Shattered Land (Chronicles of Hanuvar #1) by Howard Andrew Jones
Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri

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I have a pretty short stack this week because I’m putting this together fairly far ahead, because reasons, and well, this is what I’ve got so this is what you get!

For Review:
Calamity (Uncharted Hearts #1) by Constance Fay
Cursed at Dawn (Blackbird #3) by Heather Graham
Dearborn by Ghassan Zeineddine
Innards by Magogodi Oamphe Makhene
A Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey

Borrowed from the Library:
Sacred Evil (Krewe of Hunters #3) by Heather Graham

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This stack and the two following are going to be just a bit shorter than normal. We’re actually going to go on a bit of vacation after the ALA Conference, so I’m getting a whole bunch of posts ‘stacked up’ so you won’t even notice I’m gone!

For Review:
Emergency: Stories by Kathleen Alcott
Empty Theatre by Jac Jemc
In Other Lifetimes All I’ve Lost Comes Back to Me by Courtney Sender
The Manor House Governess by C.A. Castle
The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle (Edinburgh Nights #3) by T.L. Huchu
Sun of Blood and Ruin by Mariely Lares
Warrior of the Wind (Nameless Republic #2) by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Y/N by Esther Yi

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
The Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (audio)

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In spite of having lived in Chicago for more than 20 years, I never read The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. We’re going back to ChiTown in a couple of weeks for the American Library Association Conference, so it seemed like the perfect time. If I can manage to get caught up to myself before we go, that is. Although, since we’re driving, if I can talk Galen into listening to the audiobook as we go that would be even better!

For Review:
The Antiquity Affair by Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne (audio)
The Art of Destiny (War Arts Saga #2) by Wesley Chu
Day by Michael Cunningham
Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein by Anne Eekhout
Swim Home to the Vanished by Brendan Shay Basham
The Talk by Darrin Bell
These Burning Stars (Kingdom Trilogy #1) by Bethany Jacobs
Three Fires by Denise Mina
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
The Whites of Their Eyes by Michael E. Shay
Wonder Drug by Jennifer Vanderbes

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
Bob the Wizard by M.V. Prindle
Rose/House by Arkady Martine

Borrowed from the Library:
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

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I am experiencing maximum squee! I got an eARC for Bookshops & Bonedust, the Legends & Lattes prequel. Now I’m scared half to death that it won’t live up to the legendary Legends and their accompanying Lattes (along with Thimble’s describably delicious cinnamon rolls). But I’m still very game to find out. Quite possibly this weekend even though the book won’t be published until NOVEMBER.

For Review:
The Archive Undying (Downworld Sequence #1) by Emma Mieko Candon (audio)
Bad Blood (Goddess with a Blade #7) by Lauren Dane
Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes #0) by Travis Baldree
Hex (Sentinel Security #6) by Anna Hackett
The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club #4) by Richard Osman
Murder Crossed Her Mind (Pentecost & Parker #4) by Stephen Spotswood
Normal Rules Don’t Apply by Kate Atkinson
Sherlock Holmes & the Silver Cord by M.K. Wiseman

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Not a big stack this week. I’m not sure whether that’s the result of the summer books being at the forefront – as there are always less of them, or just fewer books that I wanted this time around. Although, speaking of wanting things, after finishing yesterday’s delicious audiobook, The Nameless Restaurant, as I wrote the review I learned that this first Hidden Dishes story was set in the author’s existing Hidden Wishes world. I sensed a theme there, more than enough of a theme to have me buying that earlier series!

This week’s prettiest covers are An Inheritance of Magic and, yet again, The Last Drop of Hemlock, this time in audio. Although The Hexologists manages to be both pretty AND pretty interesting looking.

Have a terrific weekend!

For Review:
Devil Makes Three by Ben Fountain
The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft
House Gone Quiet by Kelsey Norris
An Inheritance of Magic (Inheritance of Magic #1) by Benedict Jacka
The Last Drop of Hemlock (Nightingale Mysteries #2) by Katharine Schellman (audio)
On Freedom Road by David Goodrich
Ravensong (Green Creek #2) by TJ Klune
Sandymancer by David Edison

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
A Gamer’s Wish (Hidden Wishes #1) by Tao Wong
A Jinn’s Wish (Hidden Wishes #3) by Tao Wong
A Squire’s Wish (Hidden Wishes #2) by Tao Wong
War Cry by Brian McClellan

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Not much of a list this week, even if I were counting the ones I have still waiting for covers, which I’m not.  The one I’m looking most forward to, far away, is Fonda Lee’s Jade Shards. I cried over the Green Bone Saga, and I’m still suffering from the epic book hangover almost a year and a half later, so I pretty much automatically sign up for anything related to it. I really hope she keeps them coming. Or goes back. That would be marvelous! <sigh>

The other book I’m looking forward to is Chaos Terminal, because I adored the first book in the series, Station Eternity. The Star and the Strange Moon wins the award for pretty this week (also pretty Gothic-sounding title), and I’m also looking forward to that because I enjoyed The Ladies of the Secret Circus a whole lot, and a whole lot more than I thought I would.

What’s in your stack this week?

For Review:
The African Samurai by Craig Shreve
Chaos Terminal (Midsolar Murders #2) by Mur Lafferty
Jade Shards (Green Bone Saga #0.75) by Fonda Lee
The Lost Cause by Cory Doctorow
The Quiet Room (Rabbits #2) by Terry Miles
Shadow Baron (Burnished City #2) by Davinia Evans
The Star and the Strange Moon by Constance Sayers

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