Showing posts with label Kate Ailes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kate Ailes. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Waiting on Wednesday #678, May 8th


"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating! 

Tidal Creatures by Seanan McGuire
Expected Publication: June 6th, 2024
Every night, a Moon shines down on the Impossible City…

New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire takes us back to the world of the award-winning Alchemical Journeys series in this action-packed follow-up to Middlegame and Seasonal Fears .

All across the world, people look up at the moon and dream of gods. Gods of knowledge and wisdom, gods of tides and longevity. Over time, some of these moon gods incarnated into the human world alongside the other manifest natural concepts. Their job is to cross the sky above the Impossible City—the heart of all creation—to keep it connected to reality.

And someone is killing them.

There are so many of them that it's easy for a few disappearances to slip through the cracks. But they aren't limitless.

In the name of the moon, the lunar divinities must uncover the roots of the plot and thwart the true goal of those behind these attacks—control of the Impossible City itself.

The Unwedding by Ally Condie
Expected Publication: June 6th, 2024
Ellery Wainwright is alone at the edge of the world.

She and her husband, Luke, were supposed to spend their twentieth wedding anniversary together at the luxurious Resort at Broken Point in Big Sur, California. Where better to celebrate a marriage, a family, and a life together than at one of the most stunning places on earth?

But now she’s traveling solo.

To add insult to injury, there’s a wedding at Broken Point scheduled during her stay. Ellery remembers how it felt to be on the cusp of everything new and wonderful, with a loved and certain future glimmering just ahead. Now, she isn’t certain of anything except for her love for her kids and her growing realization that this place, though beautiful, is unsettling.

When Ellery discovers the body of the groom floating in the pool in the rain, she realizes that she is not the only one whose future is no longer guaranteed. Before the police can reach Broken Point, a mudslide takes out the road to the resort, leaving the guests trapped. When another guest dies, it’s clear something horrible is brewing.

Everyone at Broken Point has a secret. And everyone has a shadow. Including Ellery.

Heiress Takes All by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegmund-Broka
Expected Publication: June 6th, 2024
The Inheritance Games meets Ocean's 11 in this thrilling YA adventure about a teenager determined to pull off the perfect heist in the midst of her father’s wedding.

Seventeen-year-old Olivia Owens isn't thrilled that her dad's getting remarried...again. She's especially not thrilled that he cheated on her mom, kicked them out of their Rhode Island home, and cut Olivia out of her rightful inheritance.

But this former heiress has a plan for revenge. While hundreds of guests gather on the grounds of the gorgeous estate where she grew up, everyone will be thinking romance—not robbery. She’ll play the part of dutiful daughter, but in reality she’ll be redistributing millions from her father’s online accounts. She only needs the handwritten pass code he keeps in the estate's safe.

With the help of an eclectic crew of high school students and one former teacher, Olivia has plotted her mid-nuptial heist down to the second. But she didn't plan for an obnoxiously nosy wedding guest, an interfering ex-boyfriend intent on winning her back, greedy European cousins with their own agenda, or a vengeful second wife. When everything seems like it's going wrong, Olivia has to keep her eyes on what really matters: getting rich. And when she’s done, “something borrowed” will be the understatement of the year.

Bad Graces by Kyrie McCauley 
Expected Publication: June 6th, 2024
Yellowjackets meets House of Hollow in award-winning author Kyrie McCauley’s gripping and magical YA thriller following a group of young women as they face the stress of harsh elements, a mysterious monster, and an unraveling of secrets after their yacht is wrecked off the coast of North America.

Liv Whitlock knows she doesn’t belong there. But after years of stumbling between foster homes, often due to her own self-destructive tendencies, Liv desperately needs to change the trajectory of her life . . . so she steals her perfect sister’s identity.

Using her sister’s grades and clean record, Liv starts to rewrite her story, winning a prestigious internship on a movie set filming in Alaska. Then executive producer Vincent Bellegarde changes her travel plans. Instead of a commercial flight, Liv finds herself on a luxury yacht alongside pop star Paris Grace, actress sisters Effie and Miri Knight, Olympic gymnast Rosalind Torres, and social media influencer Celia Jones. Liv tries to find common ground with her famous companions, but just as the group starts to bond, a violent storm wrecks their vessel, stranding them on a slip of an island in the North Pacific Ocean.

Among the threats of starvation and exposure, they learn there is a predator lurking in the forest, unlike anything they’ve seen before—until they begin to see it in themselves. Every injury they suffer on the island causes inexplicable changes in their bodies, transforming them bit by inhuman bit. With little hope for rescue and only each other as their final tether to humanity, can the girls endure the ominous forces at work on the island? Or will they lose themselves to their darker natures?

Past Present Future by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Expected Publication: June 6th, 2024
They fell for each other in just twenty-four hours. Now Rowan and Neil embark on a long-distance relationship during their first year of college in this romantic, dual points of view sequel to Today Tonight Tomorrow .

When longtime rivals Rowan Roth and Neil McNair confessed their feelings on the last day of senior year, they knew they’d only have a couple months together before they left for college. Now summer is over, and they’re determined to make their relationship work as they begin school in different states.

In Boston, Rowan is eager to be among other aspiring novelists, learning from a creative writing professor she adores. She’s just not sure why she suddenly can’t seem to find her voice.

In New York, Neil embraces the chaos of the city, clicking with a new friend group more easily than he anticipated. But when his past refuses to leave him alone, he doesn’t know how to handle his rapidly changing mental health—or how to talk about it with the girl he loves.

Over a year of late-night phone calls, weekend visits, and East Coast adventures, Rowan and Neil fall for each other again and again as they grapple with the uncertainty of their new lives. They’ve spent so many years at odds with each other—now that they’re finally on the same team, what does the future hold for them?

Dead Tired by Kate Ailes
Expected Publication: June 6th, 2024
The second in a charming and hilarious mystery series by Kat Ailes, Dead Tired follows a group of new moms who didn’t think their maternity leave would involve so much murder.

"Full of charming characters, including Alice’s goofy dog, this fast-paced, original cozy is great fun."—Publishers Weekly

Being a new mom is murder.

Alice didn’t think her maternity leave would involve so much, well, murder. Before becoming proud new moms, she and her friends bonded more than members of a prenatal group usually would, as they became accidental amateur sleuths and solved a crime together. Now, with all this behind them and Alice’s son Jack somehow already a year old, Alice is keen to finally catch up on some sleep. So when an opportunity presents itself in the unlikely form of an eco-protest, Alice and her friends willingly chain themselves to trees and settle in as an excuse to get some overdue rest. Not the most comfortable arrangement ever, but at this point, they’ll take what they can get.

However, the next morning one of their fellow protesters is found strangled, and any hope of a peaceful interlude is suddenly swept away. Soon Alice and her friends become entangled in a plot involving rogue artists, an enigmatic local entrepreneur, and nude (optional) protesting, offering an unexpected—but not necessarily unwelcome—break from changing diapers and wrestling baby toys away from Helen the dog.

Alice, whose success rate in solving countryside murder is at an all-time high (one out of one), cannot resist the chance to demonstrate her detective skills once more, and assembles her gang of new moms to investigate this latest mystery in their not-so-sleepy English countryside village.

Follow Her Down by Victoria Helen Stone
Expected Publication: June 6th, 2024
Decades of doubt, fear, and suspicion won’t let a woman overcome her trauma in a riveting novel of suspense by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of Jane Doe and The Hook.

The murder of Elise Rockwood’s sister shattered her family. Their mother’s anxiety kept her housebound. Elise’s paranoid brother, Kyle, saw conspiracies everywhere. Elise numbed her grief in an aimless lifestyle that left her emotionally broken. All of them victims. A local boy eventually confessed, but the damage was already done.

Years later, Elise is reinventing herself. She’s bought a mountain lodge to be close to home again and to find stability. Not even an email from her ex tempts her into revisiting the past. But Kyle won’t let it go. He still believes there’s more to their sister’s murder—and the confession—than meets the eye. When Elise’s ex is found dead in the same forest where her sister went missing decades before, Elise is finally willing to listen.

The traumas of the past are reemerging. So is the truth. Elise’s greatest fear now is who will survive it.

Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver
Expected Publication: June 6th, 2024
Contract killer Lachlan Kane wants a quiet life working in his leather studio and forgetting all about his traumatic past. But when he botches a job for his boss’s biggest client, Lachlan knows he’ll never claw his way out of the underworld. At least, not until songbird Lark Montague offers him a deal: use his skills to hunt down a killer and she’ll find a way to secure his freedom. The catch? He has to marry her first. 
 
And they can’t stand each other. 
 
Indie singer-songwriter Lark is the sunshine and glitter that burns through every cloud and clings to every crevice that Lachlan Kane tries to hide inside. The surly older brother of her best friend’s soulmate, Lachlan thinks she’s just a privileged princess, but Lark has plenty of secrets hiding in the shadows of her bright light. With her formidable family in a tailspin and her best friend’s happiness on the line, she’s willing to make a vow to the man she’s determined to hate, no matter how tempting the broody assassin might be. 

As Lachlan and Lark navigate the dark world that binds them together, it becomes impossible to discern their fake marriage from a real one. But it’s not just familiar dangers that haunt them. 
There’s another phantom lurking on their doorstep. 

And this one has come for blood.

Yeah, some really great books to start off the month, there's some books that I'm really excited for and I can't wait to read! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

Monday, April 8, 2024

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #670, April 8th

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week...and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well...you never know where that next "must read" book will come from!
What happened in the past week:

Weekly Memes:
It's Monday! What Are You Reading #669
Teaser Tuesday #677
WWW Wednesday #677
WOW #673
Will the Time Come #670
Third Sentence Thursday #660
Random Reads #646
First Lines Friday #673
Book Blogger Hop #339
Monthly ARC's Update 67
The Reward Challenge Update #655
Wheel of TBR #202
How Well I Stuck to It #507
Wrote that Review Update #504

Week 14 Reviews:
Invocation

Magical Readathon: Orilium:

OK, so I got 62 posts in 7 days, and it was a pretty good week and pretty busy, though it was annoying that I caught a cold, so this weekend was pretty miserable. Oh, well. Hopefully I'll get better soon because it sucks being sick. What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read whatever I want!  

Saturday, April 6, 2024

Week 14 Review: Dead Tired

From Goodreads:
The second in a charming and hilarious mystery series by Kat Ailes, Dead Tired follows a group of new moms who didn't think their maternity leave would involve so much murder. "Full of charming characters, including Alice's goofy dog, this fast-paced, original cozy is great fun."—Publishers Weekly

Being a new mom is murder. Alice didn't think her maternity leave would involve so much, well, murder. Before becoming proud new moms, she and her friends bonded more than members of a prenatal group usually would, as they became accidental amateur sleuths and solved a crime together. Now, with all this behind them and Alice's son Jack somehow already a year old, Alice is keen to finally catch up on some sleep.

So when an opportunity presents itself in the unlikely form of an eco-protest, Alice and her friends willingly chain themselves to trees and settle in as an excuse to get some overdue rest. Not the most comfortable arrangement ever, but at this point, they'll take what they can get. However, the next morning one of their fellow protesters is found strangled, and any hope of a peaceful interlude is suddenly swept away. 

Soon Alice and her friends become entangled in a plot involving rogue artists, an enigmatic local entrepreneur, and nude (optional) protesting, offering an unexpected—but not necessarily unwelcome—break from changing diapers and wrestling baby toys away from Helen the dog. Alice, whose success rate in solving countryside murder is at an all-time high (one out of one), cannot resist the chance to demonstrate her detective skills once more, and assembles her gang of new moms to investigate this latest mystery in their not-so-sleepy English countryside village.

My Review:
I had such a fantastic time reading this book! I loved the first and I was really looking forward to spending more time with these detectives who were pregnant, but have had their babies now. And watching them navigate early parenthood while dealing with the mystery? So much fun! 

I really enjoyed the cast of characters from the first book and I'm so happy for all the ones that came back, all the friends that she made in the birthing class. That they get pulled into another case, this time while caring for their young children, yeah, I loved to read it! 

This case was complicated and crazy, going in all sorts of places. That it starts off with a eco-protest, well, that opens up so many possible suspects, and I had a great time watching them find these leads and figure out where they went.

How things came together was really good and clever again, I really enjoy her writing and crafting of mysteries and the ending really paid off, and made me so glad that I had read this book. I had a great time, and I do hope that we continue on, though maybe branch out a bit because we don't want to empty out this small town of everybody! 

Loved reading this book and I can't wait to continue on with this series! 

Author: Kat Ailes
Series: The Expectant Detectives #2
Read: March 31st, 2024  
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Loved the first book, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2024 Book, Sophomore Challenge Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Expected Publication: June 4th 2024
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars

Sunday, March 31, 2024

Greek God-a-Thon Update 17

So I've read my next book for Greek God-a-Thon, and it was Dead Tired which is for the prompt Stealing the Mares of Diomedes, and I'll be reading The Remote Workers next! 

My Reading Journey:

Written in Red by Anne Bishop
Prompt Fulfilled: Capturing the Ceryneain Hind
Started On: March 2nd 
Finished On: March 2nd, 7:45 PM
Pages Read: 496

Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop
Prompt Fulfilled: Slaying the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra
Started On: March 3rd
Finished On: March 3rd, 9:06 PM
Pages Read: 430

Alpha Divided by Aileen Erin
Prompt Fulfilled: Stealing the Mares of Diomedes
Started On: March 7th
Finished On: March 7th, 3:04 PM
Pages Read: 329

Endless by Josephine Angelini
Prompt Fulfilled: Slaying the Nemean Lion
Started On: March 7th
Finished On: March 7th, 10:26 PM
Pages Read: 362

The Crown's Dog by Elise Kova
Prompt Fulfilled: Slaying the Symphallan Birds
Started On: March 8th
Finished On: March 8th, 11:34 AM
Pages Read: 262

Disturbing the Dead by Kelley Armstrong
Prompt Fulfilled: Obtaining the cattle of the three-bodied giant Geryon
Started On: March 8th
Finished On: March 8th, 10:15 PM
Pages Read: 352

A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo
Prompt Fulfilled: Capturing and bringing back Cerberus
Started On: March 12th
Finished On: March 12th, 1:54 PM
Pages Read: 288

Bad Graces by Kyrie McCauley
Prompt Fulfilled: Capturing the Cretan Bull
Started On: March 13th
Finished On: March 13th, 5:48 PM
Pages Read: 320

Wild Country by Anne Bishop
Prompt Fulfilled: Obtaining the Girdle of Hippolyta
Started On: March 15th
Finished On: March 15th, 4:37 PM
Pages Read: 544

Crowbones by Anne Bishop
Prompt Fulfilled: Capturing the Erymanthian Boar
Started On: March 20th
Finished On: March 20th, 3:41 PM
Pages Read: 384

Into the Sunken City by Dinesh Thiru
Prompt Fulfilled: Clean the Aegean Stables in a single day
Started On: March 24th
Finished On: March 24th, 5:37 PM
Pages Read: 368

Nameless by Lili St. Crow
Prompt Fulfilled: Stealing three of the golden apples of the Hesperides
Started On: March 25th
Finished On: March 25th, 1:21 PM
Pages Read: 328

Icarus by K. Ancrum
Prompt Fulfilled: Capturing the Ceryneain Hind
Started On: March 25th
Finished On: March 25th, 10:17 PM
Pages Read: 400

The Prince's Rogue by Elise Kova
Prompt Fulfilled: Slaying the Symphallan Birds
Started On: March 27th
Finished On: March 27th, 9:23 AM
Pages Read: 252

The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh by Claudia Gray
Prompt Fulfilled: Obtaining the cattle of the three-bodied giant Geryon
Started On: March 27th
Finished On: March 27th, 9:48 PM
Pages Read: 352

Champion by Marie Lu
Prompt Fulfilled: Slaying the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra
Started On: March 29th
Finished On: March 29th, 2:43 PM
Pages Read: 384

Dead Tired by Kat Ailes
Prompt Fulfilled: Stealing the Mares of Diomedes
Started On: March 31st
Finished On: March 31st, 3:56 PM
Pages Read: 336

The Remote Workers by Ivy Chase
Prompt Fulfilled: Clean the Aegean Stables in a single day
Started On: March 31st
Currently On: Page 0 of 360

Prompts Left: None Left! 
Books Read: 17
Pages Read: 5239

Friday, March 29, 2024

Greek God-a-Thon Update 16

So I've read my next book for Greek God-a-Thon, and it was Champion which is for the prompt Slaying the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra, and I'll be reading Dead Tired next! 

My Reading Journey:

Written in Red by Anne Bishop
Prompt Fulfilled: Capturing the Ceryneain Hind
Started On: March 2nd 
Finished On: March 2nd, 7:45 PM
Pages Read: 496

Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop
Prompt Fulfilled: Slaying the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra
Started On: March 3rd
Finished On: March 3rd, 9:06 PM
Pages Read: 430

Alpha Divided by Aileen Erin
Prompt Fulfilled: Stealing the Mares of Diomedes
Started On: March 7th
Finished On: March 7th, 3:04 PM
Pages Read: 329

Endless by Josephine Angelini
Prompt Fulfilled: Slaying the Nemean Lion
Started On: March 7th
Finished On: March 7th, 10:26 PM
Pages Read: 362

The Crown's Dog by Elise Kova
Prompt Fulfilled: Slaying the Symphallan Birds
Started On: March 8th
Finished On: March 8th, 11:34 AM
Pages Read: 262

Disturbing the Dead by Kelley Armstrong
Prompt Fulfilled: Obtaining the cattle of the three-bodied giant Geryon
Started On: March 8th
Finished On: March 8th, 10:15 PM
Pages Read: 352

A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo
Prompt Fulfilled: Capturing and bringing back Cerberus
Started On: March 12th
Finished On: March 12th, 1:54 PM
Pages Read: 288

Bad Graces by Kyrie McCauley
Prompt Fulfilled: Capturing the Cretan Bull
Started On: March 13th
Finished On: March 13th, 5:48 PM
Pages Read: 320

Wild Country by Anne Bishop
Prompt Fulfilled: Obtaining the Girdle of Hippolyta
Started On: March 15th
Finished On: March 15th, 4:37 PM
Pages Read: 544

Crowbones by Anne Bishop
Prompt Fulfilled: Capturing the Erymanthian Boar
Started On: March 20th
Finished On: March 20th, 3:41 PM
Pages Read: 384

Into the Sunken City by Dinesh Thiru
Prompt Fulfilled: Clean the Aegean Stables in a single day
Started On: March 24th
Finished On: March 24th, 5:37 PM
Pages Read: 368

Nameless by Lili St. Crow
Prompt Fulfilled: Stealing three of the golden apples of the Hesperides
Started On: March 25th
Finished On: March 25th, 1:21 PM
Pages Read: 328

Icarus by K. Ancrum
Prompt Fulfilled: Capturing the Ceryneain Hind
Started On: March 25th
Finished On: March 25th, 10:17 PM
Pages Read: 400

The Prince's Rogue by Elise Kova
Prompt Fulfilled: Slaying the Symphallan Birds
Started On: March 27th
Finished On: March 27th, 9:23 AM
Pages Read: 252

The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh by Claudia Gray
Prompt Fulfilled: Obtaining the cattle of the three-bodied giant Geryon
Started On: March 27th
Finished On: March 27th, 9:48 PM
Pages Read: 352

Champion by Marie Lu
Prompt Fulfilled: Slaying the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra
Started On: March 29th
Finished On: March 29th, 2:43 PM
Pages Read: 384

Dead Tired by Kat Ailes
Prompt Fulfilled: Stealing the Mares of Diomedes
Started On: March 
Currently On: Page 0 of 336

Prompts Left: None Left! 
Books Read: 16
Pages Read: 4903

Saturday, October 14, 2023

Week 41 Review: The Expectant Detectives

From Goodreads:
For Alice and her partner Joe, moving to the sleepy Cotswold village of Penton is a chance to embrace country life and prepare for the birth of their unexpected first child. He can take up woodwork; maybe she'll learn to make jam. But the rural idyll they'd hoped for doesn't quite pan out when a dead body is discovered at their local antenatal class and they find themselves suspects in a murder investigation.

With a cloud of suspicion hanging over the heads of the whole group, Alice sets out to solve the mystery and clear her name, with the help of her troublesome dog, Helen. However, there are more secrets and tensions in the heart of Penton than first meet the eye. Between the discovery of a shady commune up in the woods, the unearthing of a mysterious death years earlier and the near-tragic poisoning of Helen, Alice is soon in way over her head.

CAN YOU SOLVE THE MOTHER OF ALL MURDERS?

My Review:
I loved reading this mystery! The idea of this pregnant lady having to look into a murder, yeah, it sounded really great, and I had a really great time watching it all go down! It was just so much fun and I loved seeing Alice investigate! 

Alice and her partner Joe move to a small town while they're expecting, to raise their child in a small town life. While they're at a birthing class, someone dies in the storefront below them, which draws them into this mystery-and it was pretty hilarious, since one of babies was born during the whole process and things were chaos! 

I loved this cast of characters, there were some really wacky people, and they all had plenty of secrets. The problem was figuring out which were relevant to the dead body. I had such a great time watching Alice track down and deal with these clues!

How the mystery wrapped up, that was just really great! I loved how all the pieces came together, it was interesting and entertaining. And where we left these characters, well, it'll be interesting to see how things go in the next book! 

Loved reading this book and I can't wait to continue the series! 

Author: Kate Ailes
Series: Expectant Detectives #1
Read: October 7th, 2023
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a DAC Book and a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2023 Book!
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Expected Publication: January 9th 2024
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars