Accumulation
by Aimee Pokwatka
Psychological horror (4/4/2026)
This is a psychological horror novel that twists and turns and at times leaves you dizzy and confused but that’s the point: what or who is haunting Tennessee “Tenn” Cherish?
Tenn Cherish is documentary filmmaker but now a stay at home mom to Aisling and Anders. She and her husband, Ward Trevino, have moved into this old house as he starts a new job in a new state. Within days of the move, strange things happen, personalities change, and life is upside down. After realizing there is something sinister in the house, Tenn consults a ghost hunter, rediscovers her purpose and thwarts whatever or whoever is messing with her and her family in a most ingenious way.
The book has a lot of eerie atmosphere which I liked. I was at times confused by Tenn and her running off to look into this or that. Ward was underdeveloped as a character - I sensed a lot of empathy but I wasn’t always sure of him. But in spite of this, I did enjoy the creepy read. And as I said earlier, the ending was clever.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and G.P. Putnam &Sons for allowing me access to this ARC.
The Library of Flowers
by L.C. Chu
Enchanting stiry (4/1/2026)
What an enchanting story. Filled with magical realism, this novel follows an Asian-Canadian woman dealing with her ancestral tradition in creating fragrances. It explores family, and traditions.
Luling "Lucy" Hua is a perfumer. As the fifth daughter, certain magical powers are supposed to reside in her, but on her first attempt, the expected result, marriage for the woman to who it was made, didn't happen. Lucy then goes to Toronto to develop ordinary scents. When her grandmother dies, she comes home for the funeral where she has been given a book with the family history. The burden of her cultural heritage weighs on her as do her desires to self-determine.
The book goes back in time to give glimpses of how the Hua women held influence over emperors and billionaires. When given the family book, Lucy must unravel her family's secrets, correct relationships, assume her agency within the family. The pacing is slow at times and the chapters exploring past Hua women were interspersed without a clear transition. But other than that this is a sweet story. Very nice read.
I'd like to thank NetGalley and Sourcebook Landmark for allowing me to read this ARC.
The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives
by Elizabeth Arnott
Character driven mystery (4/1/2026)
This is a character driven story about three women, Beverly, Margot and Elsie, all ex-wives of murderers. Each has forged a new life since their husbands' convictions but it's hard to live in the shadows with past hanging around. So each decides to be a bit unconventional: Margot finds a young lover, Elsie emerges her in her reporting job, and Beverly has an affair.
When a series of murders of young girls start to begin, the women, now friends, believe with they know about murder from observing their husbands, so decide they can find the killer since the police investigation seems to be going no where. In the process we learn about each of these women and their husbands while picking up clues and sharing with the police. Can these women actually crack the case? I enjoyed the book's premise and the characters. This is a story about women and friendship and how this friendship can help in healing trauma. As each woman experiences something upsetting while investigating, the others were there to support them. I found the murders themselves were not as interesting as the friendship, though there were lots of red herrings along the way, and I admit at the end when it looked like the women could be into something, I was on the edge of my seat to know the ending.
Not five stars but certainly worth the read. I enjoyed it a lot.
Aphrodite in Pieces
by Lauren J. A. Bear
Exquisite retelling (4/1/2026)
It is is simply a stunning retelling or in Aphrodite myth with a clever twist in the telling as well as bringing it forward to the 21sr C. This is a character driven book. Aphrodite is fleshed out as a person as she tells her story and at times breaks the 4th wall. Two hundred years BE, she appears to sculptor to have him create a statue of
"the real her." In order to do this, Aphrodite tells her story to the man. This story is filled with her triumphs, humiliation, her pettiness, her revenge, her tragic love story - one that compels her but eludes her too, and then her coming to love herself. It's a story asking what is love. It's a book that captures the age old trap women fall into with men unless they assume their agency and dare to be different ( and Aphrodite surely is).
The book follows the Aphrodite myth very accurately-I have a fondness for Aeneas having read the Aeneid in Latin, so I was glad to see the author included him.
It is written in such a lovely, simple but arresting way that you don't have to have read the lliad to appreciate it. Nor is it cluttered with all the names involved in the Trojan war. It's a straightforward story, part memoir (after all Aphrodite is telling her story) and fantasy (which is not over blown). It captures you in the telling. And I simply loved that ending.
This is a book for lovers of Greek mythology but also for readers who want to escape into a fantasy world that delivers on a truly wonderful story of female transformation.
I'd like to thank BookBrowse and Penguin Random House for allowing me to read this ARC.
The Fervent Whites: A Novel
by De'Shawn Charles Winslow
Excellent read (3/31/2026)
I read the author's debut novel, In West Mills, and was impressed then as I am now. First, this is a propulsive thriller excellently paced but it is underlying theme that friendship is about the person not the color and those who cannot accept the color are tragedies for their loss of it that resonates.
It's 1982 and James and Ella White have been exonerated for the killing of Paul Hope and released from jail. They decide to return to Fervent, a small subdivision outside NYC, which is unsettling for many of its residents. The Whites are white, a minority in the area, but they had adopted a black child, Morgan, so were accepted, though they were both known for their tempers. Sylvia "Syl" Upshaw and her friend Lafayette "Fate" Jolly are black and are neighbors of the Whites. They have observed that the Whites don't seem to know, in their opinion, how to raise a black child. When Morgan's parents are imprisoned, a secret about his parentage is revealed. Morgan dies in an accident and the Whites learn the secret of his birth was revealed and are out for vengeance.
I loved the characters in this book - even the Whites.
They are excellently drawn and developed. The story unfolds dramatically as we watch Syl and Fate worry about retribution but intervening events bring a few red herrings to the story. Mrs. Talbot was probably my favorite because she was afraid to speak up against discrimination. And the writing flowed so well.
I enjoyed the read and highly recommend.
I'd like to thank NetGalley and Old World/Random House for allowing me to read this ARC.
One Leg on Earth: A Novel
by 'Pemi Aguda
Coming of age story (3/31/2026)
A haunting story of an African country's capital city, Lagos, where pregnant women are walking into water and drowning. Why is this happening? Twenty-three year old, Yosoye, has come from the country to Lagos as part of a government-supported internship for students graduating from college.
She's assigned to a "slick" architectural firm and is drawn into the glamorous world that it offers - parties, gallery openings, pompous acquaintances. The firm is engaged in creating an exciting new ultra-luxury waterfront development, Omi City. But soon Yosoye finds herself pregnant and realizes this bright new world is really dark. The drowning of pregnant women bothers Yosoye especially as no one really seems to care as the project is more important than the people. Yosoye is then faced with a personal dilemma.
This is a well written coming of age story and a story about the dark side of modernization. I liked Yosoye as she struggles to understand what is happening in her world and how motherhood will affect her. However, it wasn't clear to me about the reasons for all the women walking into the water and drowning. In her afterward, the author mentions that the government had taken over the waterfront which had been the home of fishermen and common people to modernize it. This explained a bit. Nonetheless it's a fascinating story.
I'd like to thank NetGalley and W.W. Norton and Co for allowing me to read this ARC.
We Burned So Bright
by TJ Klune
Poignant and fulfilling (3/26/2026)
This is a slightly different book than The House by the Cerulean Sea but it delivers as poignant a punch as that book did. I listened to this beautiful book (thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for entrusting me with this ARC) so nicely narrated and so very moving.
Dan and Rodney, an older queer couple, together over 40 years, are taking an AV from Maine to Washington to take care of one last thing before Earth is swept into extinction by a black hole. It’s a journey in which they meet other people awaiting the end, dealing with their mortality as Dan and Rodney are. Dan and Rodney are also examining their lives on the journey. Rodney is a bit of a curmudgeon, persnickety even as the world is dying and none of that matters. Dan is more level headed and kinder about life’s foibles. But somehow these two work and their love is deeply felt.
This is a character-driven novel that explores what really matters in life. When you face the end, you can see clearer. Dan and Rodney’s story offers us that chance - besides being a novel, it’s an opportunity to ask did I live a worthwhile life. In listening to their story, these two did. Heartbreaking, heartfelt and amazingly bittersweet, this short book is very powerful.
A Killer in the Family: A Novel
by Amin Ahmad
Family story (3/25/2026)
A riveting family story and murder mystery in which secrets abound. Greed and jealousy abound in the Abbas Khan family where members of the family are pitted against each other. Ali, the new son-in-law of Abbas Khan, becomes enmeshed in an affair with his wife's sister and then joins Tiger Company to make amends. The twists and turns in the story. But its moral is that Ali soon realizes his choices have trapped him. I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this
ARC.
The Mountains We Call Home
by Kim Michele Richardson
Cussie Lovett Returns (3/21/2026)
This is story of deep love, strength and endurance and the power of books! A sequel to the beautiful The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, this standalone novel brings the same fervent paean to the written word its predecessor did. The beloved Cussie Lovett has returned - though it's her daughter. It's 1953 and this "blue" woman (she has the rare genetic disorder called methemoglobinema) has married a white man, Jackson, a crime (miscegenation) in Kentucky since she is considered "colored." She's carted off to prison. The book centers on her time in prison where she helps inmates learn to read and right. The book exposes the terrible conditions of prisons at that time and explores the criminalization of the poor and the powerless. But in Cussie there is hope.
This is a great historical fiction novel. Well researched and brimming with authenticity. It is also such a sweet, tender and finely written book. The cast of characters are superb. Cussie is one of those immortal characters that lives on after you finish the book.
Be sure to read the author's note for more historical context. It highlights a lot of history behind the mountain women who brought books to the people as well as about genetics of Cussie's condition.
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks LANDMARK for allowing me to read this ARC.
Honey: A Novel
by Imani Thompson
A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do (3/19/2026)
This is a provocative, "wickedly funny," character-driven, dark novel about a young black woman who murders men she considers bad and justifies it in the name of feminism. Ysra is working on her PhD on Afropessimism (a social theory that says "Black people will always be seen in a civil society as enemies due to the racial structure built on slavery."). Isra's moral constructs are based on this and she views her relationships within this context. As the novel begins, she's bored by the students she has to cater to and the men she has to deal with. When her friend has her thesis stolen and then published under her white male professor's name. Ysra is convinced that patrimony and vestiges of colonialism can only be resolved by murder!
l've read several female serial murder books where the women are taking out the bad men, but none of these are based on such a philosophical premise. It's brilliant. I'm not sure l agree that murder is the solution, but all the men in this book are worthy of consideration for it (LOL). They have misogynistic and discriminatory views of specially towards black women (and probably women in general) and miss signals of the need for equality in a relationship.
Ysra is a fascinating character. I'm not sure l agree with her approach, but then I am not black. But I understand her frustration as a woman that we are second class citizens. I think the author's dark humor is her way to say this needs to change - kinda "this isn't right, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do." All tongue in cheek, of course.
The book is well written. The plot well paced and the characters are nicely developed.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.
Mrs. Shim Is a Killer: A Novel
by Kang Jiyoung
Dark comedy succeeds (3/19/2026)
This is dark humor at its best. This book is about a-murder-for-hire agency in South Korea. It's playful, deceptively cozy, bloody but entertaining. It's also a book that looks how someone can reinvent themselves. Shim Eunoke is a 51 year-old widow with 3 children to support who is in need of a job after the butcher shop she's worked in for 13 years is closed. Desperate to find a job, she stumbles upon the Smile Detective Agency where she is hired to be a killer. Her knife skills appear to be a great job qualification.
Surprisingly she turns out to be the agency's best killer!
The book is arranged in the shifting and disconnected perspectives of Mrs. Shim's acquaintances or those who come into her life. The chapters are entitled: The Boss, The Confident, The Shaman, The Daughter. Not all of these characters' perspectives occur at the same time, secrets are revealed and present relationships may reveal things from the past (very clever). As she stumbles into a turf war, we watch her "carve" her way out and reinvent herself. We all are rooting for Mrs. Shim.
Originally published in 2010, the book has themes of class, capitalism and women's place in society. It is a fun read. Don't miss it.
I'd like to thank NetGalley and Harper Perennial for allowing me to read this ARC.
The Spoil: A Novel
by Maile Chapman
Missed the horror (3/19/2026)
This is a psychological horror thriller which I usually enjoy. But I had a love hate relationship with it and still not sure where I ended up. The book starts in the 1970s in Tacoma. A young girl is hooked of the strange and weird like alien invasions, paranormal visits, the Bermuda Triangle.
She lives with her stepbrother and both believe their home has some unholy or evil presence. So they work around this but life isn't easy. Years later caring for mother who has Alzheimer's, the girl releases an evil force into their home while rummaging in boxes her mother brought from their old home. The force takes over forcing the girl to have to face her past.
I just felt the book was too long and didn't make sense to me at times. I live a good horror book, but I missed something here.
The Caretaker: A Novel
by Marcus Kliewer
Creepy, scary horror (3/19/2026)
This is indeed a creepy, scary horror story. There is a lot of craziness as the "house" is seemingly infected - not haunted per se - but something is there that must be kept quiet and if you don't follow "the rites" something cosmic may happen. Macy Mullins needs a job to pay the rent and groceries as well as take care of her sister, Jemma but nothing comes until she sees an ad for a caretaker for 3 days at Grace Carnswel's house - and the salary makes it hard to turn down. However, in order to take care of the house, there are specific rules (the rites) that must be followed, left by Grace's deceased husband, David. Follow the rules and it's easy peasy - don't follow them and you will be punished.
Macy is struggling with grief over her father's death and her sister's shoplifting. As the novel moves on and Macy makes mistakes, her grief turns to paranoia making the psychological aspect of the book more intense. We see Macy coming apart - she believes as did David she must save the world and keep whatever is creeping out at bay.
I was disappointed at the ending. I had a sense of what it was but I'm disappointed when books leave you to conclude the ending. Nonetheless, this is a great horror story, tantalizing, creepy and immersive.
I'd like to thank NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read this ARC.
Go Gentle
by Maria Semple
A look into the life of the mind and heart (3/17/2026)
This is a book about the conflict between the life of mind versus the life of the heart. Filled with humor, intrigue and contemplation, this is a messy look into one woman trying to make sense of her life. Audora Hazzard (what a great name!), a former TV comedy writer turns to Stoic philosophy (actually a very good choice these guys had a moral sense needed in our times) for her truth. Summoned anonymously to the Lionel Lockwood mansion, she becomes the family's philosopher. Along the way she gathers three divorced women who live in her NY building into an intellectual "coven" forswearing love.
But ops! when a handsome intriguing man comes along, she starts to fall in love. And, she's pulled into an international "arms deal" (this is very clever!) while trauma from her past is revealed. While the story gets a bit convoluted in the telling, nonetheless Audora is a fascinating character. I loved all the Stoic philosophy stuff (I actually read Epictetus and Senaca and found them very insightful) - how clever. And those scenes in which Audora uses the philosophy are so very good! I'm not sure how the trauma aspect of Audor's life contributes to the story even though it's a way to explain a character, but anything dealing with Audora is fine by me. Loved her!
The supporting characters in this book were a lot of fun too. The Lockwoods and Ravi would crack me up at times. The author surrounded Aurora with a great cast.
This was a fun read. Very clever and subtle things occur - so pay attention as you read, you don't want to miss any of these.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and G.P. Putnam & Sons for allowing me to read this ARC
Her Last Breath: A Novel
by Taylor Adams
Good claustrophobia (3/16/2026)
This book came recommended by a book influencer I follow - thank you KellyHook_ReadsBooks! This was such an amazing thriller! Best friends Allie Merritt and Tess DeWater are going spelunking. Tess isn't adventurous but is feeling her life is colorless, so agrees to join the more dynamic Allie. Just before the women descend into the cave they are confronted by a man who seemingly makes advances only to be confined by Allie and told to leave. The women then proceed into a cave of which my best description might be "a claustrophobic's nightmare." What happens during their expedition is told through a series of hospital room conversations between Tess and Detective Layla Washington.
There's been a murder, the mysterious man, Jacob, and Tess bring trapped in the cave. It's a conundrum. The book is plotted so deliciously. From start to finish it's one twist after another m, not only with the scenes in the cave but with what really happened.
You may think you know what's really happened but you don't. That's what makes this book so good.
I highly recommend.
Feast
by Catherine Kurtz
A feast of food and words (3/15/2026)
Indeed as the title reveals, this is a feast both of food and words. Not only is the cover inviting, the story itself is a sweet, inviting tale of a girl who finds a place for herself where it always was. Minha or "Min," a dark-skinned girl growing up in late 19th C London whose father was an Indian merchant and her mother who as a daughter of the working class went to the big city to find her way. Because of Minha's skin color she is rejected by many but she has a special talent - the gift of scent! Like her mother, after being sent to her grandparents who live as servants on a grand estate, Min journeys to France where her extraordinary scent causes her to detect poison and she becomes a food taster to the "duc." It's difficult to write a synopsis without giving this precious story away, suffice it to say Min is a girl looking for acceptance, friendship and love. After being brutally betrayed she eventually finds all three.
Minha is such a special character: open, accepting and forgiving. Her extraordinary gift of scent makes this delightfully written book a "feast" of scents, spices, food that can at times make one salivate! The writing is so very poignant. Minha's story is also one of discrimination and you feel for her plight but because she's a kind soul, others less bigoted show her warmth. Indeed Minha doesn't realize at times how many lives she's touched.
I liked how the book ended. While I would have preferred a Cinderella kind of ending, the one that happened is in keeping with Minha's character.
I'd like to thank NetGalley/BookBrowse and Berkley Publishing Group
No One's Coming: The Rogue Heroes Our Government Turns to When There's Nowhere Else to Turn
by Kevin Hazzard
Thriller nonfiction. (3/15/2026)
This nonfiction book reads like a thriller - a slow burn one at that. The book details the rescue of two American workers in Monrovia, Sierra Leone, who contracted Ebola and were transported home in 2014.
This is the story too of a daring aviation company, Phoenix Air, who dared to risk everything to bring two very sick but contagious people. The history of the company and the daring men who created it is so fascinating. As to transporting sick people, the usual policy was to leave them where they were. The CDC at that time didn't think was right so they worked with Phoenix to devise a way to get these Americans home. Then this Ebola crisis (2014-2016). Since the CDC is located near Emory, their hospital created an isolation ward and was ready to accept the infected Americans.
Both Americans were at death's before their recuse.
They were given an experimental medication, ZMAPP, which helped them immensely. The flights (two, one for each of the sick workers) took a lot of preparation and lack of fear on the part of the flight and medical crews. As the books, wild stories about terrorists trying to steal Ebola to infect the world popped.
I was glad these people got home and that the federal government at that time was willing to help them home. In today's world they would have been left to die.
An Infinite Love Story
by Chanel Cleeton
A romance for all times (3/14/2026)
This is a romance in its purest form - a story about how people connect and endure through joy and sorrow because of the depth and sincerity of their love that transcends sex, time and space. I didn't need Kleenex when I finished (I was close) but I was filled with such intense feelings that I just experienced a love story for the ages.
It's the 1960s and the Space Race is on. Vivian is a budding journalist when she meets Joe, a fighter pilot, who has dreams of being an astronaut. The story alternates at times between the fateful space mission where Joe is lost to Vivian's and Joe's love story. After the mission is called, Vivian keeps believing in Joe coming back and seeks to call attention to some of the failings of the space program. No spoilers - you must read this wonderful story to find out its ending.
Cleeton has created the most intense atmospheric romance sans steam I've ever read - confirming that love can be more than steam in a book. Vivian and Joe reverberate on the pages with their resilience and passion for each other and the things that giving in their lives. I really liked these two, especially Joe. I also liked how Cleeton included the expectations os astronaut wives in the 1960s. Vivian didn't want to fit the mold, which was another thing I liked about her..
This is a book for all lovers of historical romances with realistic characters.
I'd like to thank NetGalley/BookBrowse and Berkley Publishing Group for allowing me to read this beautiful love story (ARC).
The Insomniacs
by Allison Winn Scotch
Good friends help one another (3/14/2026)
For lovers of character-driven stories, this is a must read. Four disparate people come together because they can't sleep and forge a friendship and bond to solve a mystery. And, this works for "I could not put this book down." A retiree, Julian; an injured baseball player, Zeke; an empty-nester, Sybil; and a waitress, Betty, meet in a diner. Their friendship grows and even the illusive Betty finds herself happy to be part of this "family." When one of the group goes missing, the friends feel compelled to find their friend and solve what happened.
This is a slow burn mystery but you don't mind because the friends are so interesting and as their burgeoning friendships grow, you become so invested in them. I especially liked Sybil who has such resilience and spunk. Her relationship with Zeke adds a little lightness to the story. And Betty is so secretive and the tension is finding out way is palpable. Julian just has a calmness that balances the four out.
The mystery in the book is interesting too. No spoilers here - you have to read the book (it's a good one). I liked how the author put in newspaper excepts to tell part of the story. While there is a bit of fluff near the end, this is such a good story for all the good characters in it, it doesn't diminish a good story.
I'd like to thank NetGalley/BookBrowse and Berkley Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC.
The Take
by Kelly Yang
Be careful what you wish for (3/14/2026)
"You either make something, or break something" are words Ingrid Parker, famous Hollywood producer, says to her mentee, Maggie Wang at the start of this brilliant novel. It seemed to me to sum up a theme in this book: make your choices wisely because Dane and ambition are fleeting.
From the very first sentence I was hooked. As Maggie Wang seeks to make a name for herself as a writer, she seems to step into quagmires until an impossible offer presents itself: share blood with this wealthy women and make $3 million (wipe out your debts, help your parents and be able to support yourself writing. Too good to be true? Maybe, maybe not? This book pits two creative women against each other: one wants to be heard, the other seeks relevancy. What starts out as transactional turns into a psychological game of who will get the upper hand.
In the telling the story exposes what happens when ambition overtakes relevancy. The subplot of ageism and racism sheds a light on the plight women of color have in the white world and what aging women face in a man's world.
Ingrid starts out likable but she soon reveals her true self. Maggie is a coming-of-age character who you root for but she too has a side that can be off putting.
The magical realism of a treatment to reduce aging and character inversion was so delightfully clever.
And the ending was a surprise but a very good one.
I'd like to thank NetGalley/ BookBrowse and Berkley Punishing for allowing me to read this ARC.
Power Reviewer
