Happy August 1! It’s also the 7 year anniversary of my blog!! Thank you to WordPress for reminding me that today is the anniversary because it wasn’t even on my radar. However, I think it is appropriate for today’s post because I’m challenging myself this month to post every day. I had all the intentions of jumping back into blogging last month but between leaving town twice and then a devastating fire starting in my town and still barely contained and growing it has been a lot. So I want to try to push myself this month to dive back in. I’m so behind on reviews and other content that I’ve been needing to prioritize this space.
Along with that I’ve decided to dedicate the entirety of this month to ARC August. I started Book Lovers by Emily Henry yesterday so I am planning on picking that up here and there until I finish it but other than that all I’ll be reading is review copies. I have so many amazing books to choose from but I decided to just share five here today that I’m the most excited about and will be prioritizing first this month.
Only One Survives by Hannah Mary McKinnon (7/16/24)
Becoming the star is easier when the rest of your band is dead…
All drummer Vienna Taylor ever wanted was to make music. If that came with fame, she’d take it—as long as her best friend, guitarist Madison Pierce, was sharing the spotlight and singing lead. And with their new all-female pop rock band gaining traction, soon everyone would hear their songs…
Except, on the way to an event, the Bittersweet’s van careened off an icy mountain road during a blizzard—leaving one member dead and another severely injured.
In order to survive the frigid night, the rest took shelter in a nearby abandoned cabin. But Vienna’s dreams devolved into a terrifying nightmare as, one by one, her fellow band members met a gruesome end…and Madison simply vanished in the night.
What really happened to the Bittersweet? Did Vienna’s closest friend finally decide to take center stage on her own terms?
She doesn’t want to believe it.
But guilty people run.
I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell (8/13/24)
The author of the “clever, atmospheric, and creepy” (Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author) The Golden Spoon returns with a sly and addictive new mystery about an advice columnist searching for answers about her predecessor’s murder.
Alex Marks’s move to New York City is supposed to be a fresh start. She plans to lay low with her mundane copywriting job but the news of the murder of her childhood hero, Francis Keen, throws her for a loop. Beloved staff writer and the woman behind the famous advice column, Dear Constance , Keen’s death is a shock to her countless fans and readers.
When Alex sees an advertisement searching for her replacement, she impulsively applies, never expecting to actually get the job. But almost immediately, she begins to receive strange letters at the office and soon, Alex wonders why the murderer has never been found. Worse, she can’t help but question if her new boss and editor-in-chief, Howard Dimitri, was involved with Keen’s death.
As she starts her own investigation, the dark secrets of her own past rise to the surface and soon, Alex finds herself trapped in a dangerous and potentially deadly mystery. Will she solve the murder and save her own skin? Or will Alex face a similar fate?
The Inheritance by Trisha Sakhlecha (1/21/25)
“Masterful, gripping, and unpredictable—this murder mystery will have you on the edge of your seat.”—Sophie Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of The Monogram Murders
A billionaire is primed to announce the succession plan for his company to his family at a lavish reunion, but at least one person won’t make it through the week alive. . .Most family reunions end in tears. This one will end in murder. Meet the Agarwals, who have gathered on a private, luxury island off the west coast of Scotland for a much-anticipated family the patriarch and a business tycoon, is about to announce to his wife and three surviving children the succession plan for his billion-dollar Delhi-based company. Shalini, the fragile matriarch and protector, is ready to have her husband to herself after years of sacrifice to the family business. Myra, the golden child, owner of the island, and host of the reunion, is, unbeknownst to her family, on the brink of bankruptcy. Aseem, the son and supposed heir, is torn between his love for his wife and duty to his family. Aisha, the youngest, a party girl whose antics are legendary, can’t pass up an opportunity to wreak chaos. And then there’s Zoe, Aseem’s wife, the outsider whose #Instaperfect life is built on a foundation of lies.They’ve all got secrets that they would die to protect. Who will survive this high-stakes reunion, and who will become a victim of their own greed? One thing is this family gathering will shatter more than just their illusions of unity.
Devils Kill Devils by Johnny Compton (9/24/24)
Devils Kill Devils is perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Certain Dark Things and Southern gothic horror. Johnny Compton brings his trademark terror and dread that readers fell in love with in The Spite House to a new roster of monsters—angels, devils, vampires—and a heart-pounding race to save the world.
When all hell breaks loose, you need a devil on your side
Sarita has been watched over by a guardian angel her entire life. She calls him Angelo, and keeps him a secret. But secrets can’t stay buried forever… When Angelo murders someone she loves, Sarita begins to see what’s really been lurking in the shadows surrounding her. And she will have to embrace the evil within if she hopes to make it out alive.
Johnny Compton, critically acclaimed author of The Spite House and master of dread, takes you on a terrifying race of one woman against the hordes of hell.
Thieves’ Gambit by Kayvion Lewis (4/9/24)
A fast-paced YA thriller about a cutthroat competition for the world’s best thieves, including the teen girl who must win to save her parents’ lives. Filled with intrigue and secrets buried within secrets, Thieves’ Gambit takes readers on a heart-pounding, globe-trotting adventure to spectacular museums, opulent galas, and elite boarding schools. As unlikely bonds begin to form, each player must decide who to con and who to trust if they hope to survive.
Books With Cassie 