Girl Who Reads

The House of Harrington by Kimberly Thomas ~ a Series Review

2026-08-19T06:30:00.000-04:00

by Susan Roberts

Do you love binge-reading completed series? Then you don't want to miss Kimberly Thomas's new series. If you are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber you can read the whole series for free!

In THE HOUSE OF HARRINGTON, Thomas brings her readers a new series about SECRETS…LEGACY…SISTERHOOD

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for honest reviews.

Inheritance

May 2026; Indie; 979-8257912849
ebook, print (292 pages); women's fiction

A woman betrayed. A mother she never knew. A legacy that changes everything.

Faith is a successful editor and ghostwriter at a major publishing house in Manhattan. She is married to the perfect man, and they have two grown daughters. She finds out at a gala in her honor that her husband and best friend are having an affair. As her world begins to collapse in a very public scandal, she gets another major life surprise. She never knew that she’d been adopted until she receives a phone call from her biological mother’s attorney telling her that her mother had died and she needed to be at the reading of the will. She meets her three sisters that she never knew about and who are angry that their mother left Faith the family mansion and the family publishing house. When she begins to read her mother’s journals, she finds that her mother kept a lot of secrets - secrets that some rich and powerful people in DC wanted to keep buried at any cost

There is a lot of ground to be covered in the upcoming series about the family secrets and how they will affect Faith and her sisters. I read book one in one sitting and can’t wait to learn more about the Harringtons in the rest of the series.

Buy Inheritance at Amazon

Exposure

May 2026; Indie; 979-8196145414
ebook, print (278 pages); women's fiction

Some truths don’t ruin a legacy. They reveal what it cost.

Exposure is Joanna Harrington’s story. She was the oldest of the three daughters raised by Frieda Harrington. She was the daughter who modeled her life after her mother – or at least she thought she did until she began to discover family secrets that changed everything she believed about her mother and about herself.

Joanna was a powerful political strategist in Boston. She was well known for her discipline and loyalty and her ability to keep political secrets from the public. She was the most upset when she found out that she had a sister that she’d never known about and that their mother had left the family mansion and her diaries to Faith. She begins to panic when she finds out that Faith plans to write their mother’s memoir, which will expose long-held family secrets that will expose the family to gossip and possible danger. As rumors begin to spread based on the proposed memoir, Joanna has to make some major decisions in her life that affect the life that she had worked so hard to create. Is it more important to be the person that you have created yourself to be or to be true to yourself and your family truths? Will she be able to choose truth over survival? Sometimes secrets from the past need to be exposed so that a family can heal.

Buy Exposure at Amazon

Reckoning

June 2026; Indie; 979-8196144103
ebook, print (270 pages); women's fiction

Naomi Harrington has always been the quiet sister.

The artist. The observer. The one who turns pain into beauty and keeps the worst of herself hidden behind locked studio doors.

Book three in the House of Harrington is Naomi’s story. Naomi has always been the quiet sister, the peacemaker, and the sister who put her wants and needs behind those of her family. She is an artist and uses her art to show her true feelings about life and happiness

The four sisters get a letter from their mother about testing that she had done for BRCA that indicates the heredity of breast and ovarian cancer. The sisters realize that they and their daughters need to be tested. What Naomi doesn’t share with them is that she had recently had a cancerous tumor removed and was putting off starting her treatment. There was so much going on in the family as reporters began to ask questions about the book that is being worked on that will expose a powerful family, and the sisters have to decide how best to proceed with the plans for the book. They are so busy working on strategy that they don’t notice that their sister is sick and getting sicker. But Naomi doesn’t want to share it with them, nor does she want to accept help from her boyfriend (who let me tell you is a real saint!). She kept pushing family away as if believing that if she didn’t talk about it – it might not be real. I understood her motivation for keeping the secret, but there were times – especially as she got sicker – that I wanted to just shake her for feeling so unloved by family who truly loved her.

Buy Reckoning at Amazon

Fracture

July 2026; Indie; 979-8186571339
ebook, print (276 pages); women's fiction

Camille Harrington Greene has built a life no one can question.

Book 4 in The House of Harrington series is Camille’s story. Camille is the flawless sister. She owns a thriving business, has three successful children, and is always in complete control of her life. She misses her husband, David, who died in a car accident, but her memories of him are happy memories of him as the perfect husband and father. When an ex-business partner of David’s gets in touch with her, it isn’t to share fond memories. Instead, he wants to warn her that David left some questionable documents behind – papers that indicated financial risks that could cause her to lose her business and indications of money laundering. At first, she believes that the friend is just bitter and doesn’t want to believe him, but the deeper she digs, the more questionable business practices she finds in David’s business – things that will still affect her life and business.

She tries to be strong and keep the truth about their father from the children, but when the evidence piles up, she realizes that she can’t handle things by herself and that she needs to share it with her children and sisters. While all of this is going on, the manuscript that Faith is writing is getting closer to publication, and rumors are swirling about it in the media. Will the sisters be able to remain strong despite all of the things that are coming to light about them and their mother?

Buy Fracture at Amazon

Unsealed

July 2026; Indie; 979-8189877087
ebook, print (274 pages); women's fiction

She thought she had already opened the truth. She had only cracked the seal.

Faith has published her mother’s memoir and thinks that now that the story has gone out into the world, the mystery behind her mother has been publicly solved. Within two weeks of publication, she learns that there are people who are concerned about what she hasn’t published and fearful that she will uncover more of her mother’s story. She finds out that there is more hidden documentation – hidden in the restricted access area of Harrington House Publishers. The memoir that she published was only the beginning of the secrets that her mother had kept from the family and from the public. When she asks for access to the documents held at the publisher, she finds a wall of silence meant to protect powerful men and keep the women who had been hurt by their actions silent. But that doesn’t stop Faith and her sisters from searching for the truth. The closer they get to the truth, the more they learn that once the vault opens, no one’s legacy survives untouched.

Buy Unsealed at Amazon

Closure

July 2026; Indie; 979-8189877087
ebook, print (274 pages); women's fiction

The truth didn’t destroy the House of Harrington. It exposed what should never have survived it.

Faith and her sisters have worked hard to uncover all of the secrets that had been held in the house of Harrington – secrets that kept a well-known politician safe and kept two women quiet by threatening dire consequences if they revealed the real truth. They uncovered a second child and his mother who was kept quiet just like Faith’s mother. The more the sisters uncover, the more the dead senator’s legacy begins to crumble and his powerful son’s reputation begins to be questioned by the authorities.

As the four sisters continue to bring secrets to light, it becomes clear that there will be changes and several important men will lose their reputations because of their part in this massive cover up that has lasted for years.

Because some legacies are inherited.

Some are exposed.

And some must be shattered before a family can finally be free.

Buy Closure at Amazon

COMMENTS ABOUT THE SERIES

There was a lot of political intrigue in this series, and I found it all very believable and interesting to read how many people could be involved in a cover-up for such a long period of time. My favorite part of this series was seeing the relationship between the sisters grow – from total distrust in the beginning to the point that they knew they could totally trust each other and knew that they would all be together through bad times and good times.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The House of Harrington is a six-book family saga and is intended to be read in order. Each book contains major emotional developments and important revelations but the larger family story continues across the series and will fully resolve in book six.

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west. She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us. Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter today! Or Follow Girl Who Reads with Bloglovin. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.

Guardians of Dawn: Suhwa by S. Jae-Jones ~ a Review

2026-08-18T06:30:00.000-04:00

by MK French

Min Suhwa longed to see the world outside the convent she was raised in. While Suhwa learned to keep her illusion magic to herself, the Bangtan Brothers will perform, and she wants to see them. The world outside the convent is dangerous, especially with Huntsmen searching for magicians. When the illusion magic draws them in, she must flee for her life. Meanwhile, the Guardians of Dawn and their allies are fighting the northern insurrection seeking to claim the Sunburst Throne and destroy all magicians, and against the rising threat of as well as the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons. Zhara, Ami, and Yuli must travel to the Azure Isles to seek the Guardian of Water and save the Morning Realms from annihilation, restoring balance to order and chaos once and for all.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

August 2026; Wednesday Books; 978-1250191519
audio, ebook, print (368 pages); YA fantasy

This is the fourth and final book of the series, telling the story of Suhwa, the Guardian of Water. Don't worry, there's a summary of the prior books at the start to catch you up to speed if you don't want to do a marathon reread session.

From the start, Suhwa gets more adventures than she bargained for after sneaking out of the convent. From there, she meets the other Guardians, discovers the truth about demons and her ability to craft illusions. She doesn't have a love interest waiting in the wings and feels awkward because of her sheltered upbringing, but she is central to saving humanity. As much as she second-guesses herself a lot, she grows up as much as the other young ladies have. She shows others the importance of sticking together, of knowing the core of her identity, and that the Guardians can win while working together.

I love the appearance of the Bangtan Brothers, this world's analogue to BTS. We find out who is the author to everyone's favorite manga/light novel, which is not what I would have guessed. (It's revealed early on, and I thought it was a fun bit of in-world trivia!) The finale is properly cinematic, and we get an ending for all four Guardians. It's the conclusion that I was looking forward to reading and enjoyed.

Buy Suhwa at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

For Services Rendered by Will Thomas ~ a Review

2026-08-17T06:30:00.000-04:00

by Donna Huber

In London, 1896, private enquiry agent Cyrus Barker's world is upturned when his longtime nemesis, Sebastian Nightwine, previously believed dead, turns up with evil on his mind, launching devastating and secretive attacks against not just Barker, but his network of friends and close associates.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free audiobook was provided for an honest review.

August 2026; Macmillan Audio; 9781250445858
audio (8h 30m), ebook, print; historical mystery

The Barker & Llewelyn series is one of my favorite detective series to listen to. I absolutely love Antony Ferguson as the narrator. When I read the books myself, I can't get the voices right in my head. I particularly like the voice he does for Barker.

Standalone or read in order?

For Services Rendered is book 17 in the series, and usually I say these books can be read as standalones. You might still be able to. However, a sort of recurring character appears in this book - Sebastian Nightwine. While I thought the name sounded familiar, I couldn't quite place the character. I asked AI which books the character made an appearance. The response was books 1 and 6, but that he had been mentioned in other books. I started reading this series with book 12 and have not had a chance to read the earlier books yet.

The characters are what I like

Nightwine is kind of like the Moriarty character in the Sherlock Holmes series. He is a nemesis that Barker thinks is dead, but then he rises again to wreak havoc on Barker's life.

I enjoy the plots, but it is really the characters I love reading about. Barker has lived an interesting life, and Llewelyn is just the kind of nice guy you would want to be friends with. We do get a bit of personal life with these characters in this book, but there was also a focus on an additional character - Sun Yat-Sen.

He is captured and held prisoner in the Chinese Embassy. As such, he doesn't interact with the main characters yet the reader is privy to his story, which means we aren't with the main characters quite as much as in other books.

Chinese/Hong Kong History

As Barker has spent time in Hong Kong (or maybe just China in general), and has friends among the Chinese immigrants in London, we often get glimpses of history. I know a little bit about how Chinese immigrants were treated in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th century, but I know little about the British occupation of Hong Kong.

With Sun Yat-Sen's appearance in the book, a lot more details about Chinese relations with Britain are provided, and I found it interesting.

Recommendation

If I had realized that a recurring character was returning, I might have tried to have read at least book 6 to get up to speed on their last encounter. But not having read the previous books, I still found the book enjoyable because I really like the characters. I struggled with the plot a little, but that also might be because I was really distracted by a family medical situation while listening to this book.

Buy For Services Rendered at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

3 Books for Horror Fans

2026-08-16T06:30:00.000-04:00

by MK French

This summer has been slim on horror releases, and if you can't wait for pumpkin spice season and all things dark and scary, then I have 3 books for you today. Two of which you can get today, and the third you will want to pre-order.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

Weird Shadows Over Innsmouth by H.P. Lovecraft, Kim Newman, et al., edited by Stephen Jones

July 2026; Titan Books; 978-1835417416
ebook, print (368 pages); horror anthology

This volume includes an early draft of Lovecraft's novella The Shadow Over Innsmouth. It served as inspiration for new contributors to write about Innsmouth and those who worship Dagon, and is a testament to how hard Stephen Jones had worked to find a publisher for the first collection. His introduction explains the trouble the first collection had gone through in order to get published and win its awards, which shows just how much he and the authors had believed in the project.

We open with the altered pages of discarded draft Lovecraft had written, then move into the first inspired story, "The Quest For Y'ha-Nthlei" by John Glasby. It branches off the original novella by telling the story of the federal agents who stormed Innsmouth. It fleshes out the throwaway lines at the end of the original story, showing us how it happened and whether the military saw. We proceed to WWII-era Berkeley, when the military had contractors for special bombs, then off to an old mill outside of London. They start off slowly, with no obvious tie to the Old Ones until partway through. We know more about the mythos than the characters do, so we anticipate bad things happening long before they do.

Some of the stories veer a little further away from mentioning the mythos directly. You have to know the relationship with actress Janice Matsh, changing form as an adult, the chanting and the missing people. The accompanying art shows creatures with sharp fins or claws, teeth like needles or serrated blades. We're back at Innsmouth for Caitlín R. Kiernan's entry, before crossing the Atlantic again. These stories either directly reference Innsmouth or have the classic "Innsmouth look" to them. It's either a decrepit, fading place, or one eager to usher in a new age for Dagon. I find the beginning and ending stories a little stronger than the middle ones, but as a whole it's a collection that brings the mythos to life.

Buy Weird Shadows Over Innsmouth at Amazon

The Hill in the Dark Grove by Liam Higginson

August 2026; Hogarth; 979-8217154166
audio, ebook, print (304 pages); horror

Carwyn and his wife Rhian are sheep farmers in the remote Welsh mountains, a profession that is harder to preserve. When Carwyn finds a strange stone head in a disused corner of the farm, it's clearly an ancient artifact that he becomes obsessed with unearthing. He neglects the farm, the sheep fall sick, and Rhian becomes more and more isolated. Carwyn is convinced that uncovering the site and determining its original purpose will be the key to solving everything, but hidden there is a power greater and more terrible than he could have imagined.

We get a chance to see Carwyn and Rhian's everyday life before he stumbles across the artifact and feels compelled to dig it out. The farm is small, just the two of them, with his dog and the sheep at some distance from other towns and people. Together for forty years, the couple knows the way the seasons affect the farm, the animals, and each other. This year too many things have changed: incredible heat, illness, people going missing, and their financial situation growing tighter. Rhian insists that something is off about the place and the digging, while Carwyn insists he's helping and the site will be important for all Welsh. His behavior deteriorates over time, scaring Rhian.

Chapter epigraphs increase the sense of dread in the book, that there is something missing that Carwyn and Rhian don't know about. Their formal education is limited, after all, and plenty had occurred in the deep countryside generations ago that was never really discussed. The story proceeds slowly, with flashes back to their childhoods and the stories told by grandparents about old traditions. The final quarter picks up in creepiness and potential horror, though it's mostly off-page and left to the reader's imagination. The evil is not really explained, and we're left with some questions at the end.

Buy The Hill in the Dark Grove at Amazon

The Minimalist by Kailee Pedersen

August 2026; St. Martin's Press; 978-1250328274
audio, ebook, print (272 pages); horror

Mia Voss is the greatest student of famed minimalist composer Ryder Wakefield, and inherits everything when he unexpectedly dies. He left behind an unfinished composition, and Mia plans to try finishing it. At the same time, she is haunted by memories of a tragic romance with Ryder's late son Oliver, an Asian American adoptee like her. She faces this, as well as Ryder's hidden identities, her guilt over Oliver's suicide, leaving her girlfriend behind, and the growing hold the composition has over her.

Mia's voice is very academic here, clinical and detached from the start, using sophisticated vocabulary and no dialogue tags for conversation. She says the Chinese orphanage called her hard to love, and there's no emotion whatsoever as it's recounted. She has no identification with her ethnic heritage and only considers her artistic heritage as Ryder's student. Her girlfriend wanting commitment is inconvenient, and she "pondered the repetitive dilemma of my continued existence." She just as casually mentions self-harm, and she pulls out a molar because she feels she must suffer for her art. As she stays in Ryder's home to complete his final work, she thinks on the past and what it means for the music she creates. She recounts erratic behavior with the same academic detachment.

The life adopted children can be emotionally complicated, but they don't react the same way. Mia thought of her biological parents as dead, and Oliver wanted to track down his biological mother. Mia endured microaggressions and sexual harassment for being a woman or Asian, and she absorbed it into her need to be perfect. Minimalism refers to the repetition of notes in music. We can see the repetition in how her life in music correlates in some ways with Ryder's or even her adoptive mother's. The detachment makes more and more sense, as how even Mia explains her life as making herself small. It's incredibly sad, and the repetition of guilt, loneliness, and pain lingers.

Buy The Minimalist at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

The Campervan Detectives by Maeve Haran ~ A Review

2026-08-15T06:30:00.000-04:00

by Donna Huber

It’s never too late for a second chance, and when Sadie Sutton’s marriage implodes spectacularly, she jumps into her vintage VW campervan and heads for the twisty cobbled streets and sea views of her childhood in the little seaside town of Winching. But her fresh start comes to an abrupt stop when she trips over a dead body, turning an ordinary walk with her faithful dog Sam Spade into a murder investigation!

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

July 2026; Bookouture; 978-1805506324
ebook, print (264 pages); cozy mystery

I read a lot of cozy mystery series, but that doesn't keep me from trying out new ones. That is how I wound up picking up The Campervan Detectives by Maeve Haran. Unfortunately, I don't think it will be going on my must-read cozy mystery series list.

Holy Character Confusion, Batman!

I picked up this book the week my Dad died, so I wasn't in the most focused frame of mind. The similarly named characters, though, had me thoroughly confused. There is a Bratt and a Bert as well as a Don and a Dan.

There was also a time when one character called Sadie another name. It was supposed to be a joke, but since I didn't recognize the name, it confused me. I thought perhaps it was a typo and Sadie had actually been called Sarah in a previous draft.

From the intro and the summary, I suspect Sadie to be the main character and the other women being the sidekicks. However, I thought the book featured Rose more, as she seemed to take the lead on the investigation. Perhaps it is meant to be an ensemble, but it didn't really feel like that either.

I would have liked a little more personal interaction among the characters. They did give off the same vibe as the characters from the television show The Marlow Murder Club. Though unlike those ladies, the Vintage Vannettes did not work with the police.

Not My Favorite Cozy Mystery Trope

A bumbling, idiotic, incompetent police force was a staple cozy mystery trope. Maybe because it was overused, but it is not a favorite trope of mine. I like that many authors have evolved the trope to be more reflective of real police forces - overworked and understaffed. I don't mind the police force being antagonistic toward the amateur characters.

At first, I thought we were getting the incompetent police trope. However, The Campervan Detectives kind of blends the tropes. Bratt, the investigator in charge, might be incompetent. He is definitely chauvinistic and self-important, which kind of played into the man-hating vibe that the women gave off. Mike, however, seems to be an okay guy. He's willing to work with the women. There is even a possible romance blossoming between him and Tina.

It Went On And On

I like to stop at a chapter end as it helps when I switch devices that I'm reading on (they don't always sync properly), but that was difficult as the chapters just kept going. They were really long. I use the "time left in chapter" function on my Kindle so I know if I have enough time to read or not. Some chapters were 20 minutes or longer. The worst part is that there were places where the chapter could break but was just a section break - like a scene ended at night and then the next scene picked up the next day with totally different people. Most (maybe all) the cozy mysteries I read have short chapters, which I prefer.

The Verdict

It took me an inordinate amount of time to read this book. I understood the first week - I wasn't in the right headspace to focus on a book for more than a few minutes at a time. I barely remember the audiobook I was listening to in the car. But then my head cleared, and I really enjoyed the next audiobook I picked up, so I thought that I would zoom through this book. But I still struggled. I just wasn't invested in the murder plot, nor did I really connect with any of the characters. I thought the campervan aspect would add a fun tone to the story (kind of like Tonya Kappes's Campers and Criminals series).

I really wanted to like this book, but it just didn't work for me. It could have been the timing or the fact that it was the first book in the series. It isn't unusual for me to not be over the moon with a first book in the series, but I don't think it was just introducing a new series. I really think this just isn't the series for me.

While I had problems with it, you might love it. I think if you like the television show The Marlow Murder Club. then you will probably like this book.

Buy The Campervan Detectives at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

With Her Baby on Her Back by Suzette D. Harrison ~ a Review

2026-08-14T06:30:00.000-04:00

by Susan Roberts

Will she ever see freedom for her babies?

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.

July 2026; Bookouture; 978-1836181569
audio, ebook, print (378 pages); women's fiction

This beautifully written dual timeline book looks at the lives of two women who, while struggling to find their place in their worlds, learn how strong they really are.

Mississippi 1848

Zinnie is an enslaved midwife on a small farm in Mississippi. She is the mother of three daughters, ages 10, 4, and a newborn, when the plantation owner decides that since he has become a Mormon, he wants to relocate his family and his slaves to Utah, where he can join other Mormons to build a new world. Even though Zinnie is the healer and the midwife, she isn’t treated any better than the other slaves and works hard to get the household ready to move. She and the other slave women are forced to walk over 2,000 miles from Mississippi to Utah. As we get a mental picture of her walking, holding the hands of her two daughters with her newborn baby swaddled to her, we realize what a strong and resilient woman she was. She took care of everyone around her and did what she could to reduce their burdens…but the prevailing thought in her head was somehow, someway to find freedom for herself and her daughters.

Texas Present Day

Lynette is a divorced mother of a son with autism, a school teacher, and part of a large family, and she is just plain tired as she balances the roles she fills while trying to decide if she should make changes in her future and go to graduate school. While sorting some old paperwork at her grandmother’s house, she uncovers information about one of her ancestors – a woman who never gave up no matter how hard life became. Can the memory of her long-ago ancestor help Lynette learn how to navigate her own life?

Is One Timeline Better Than the Other?

Lots of times in a dual timeline book, one timeline is more interesting than the other, but the author has made sure that both timelines are equally exciting and filled with the stories of two women who learn how much strength they really have as they face their day-to-day struggles.

Strong Women Portrayed

This is the story of two women – connected through the years – and shows the importance of family and friends in women’s lives. Most importantly, it shows how strong women can become when they learn to rely on their own internal feelings and instincts.

Author's Note is Important

Be sure to read the Author’s notes at the end of the book to read about Biddy Mason, the real person that Zinnie was based on. She walked from Mississippi to Utah in 1848 because her owner had embraced the Mormon faith. She became well known in California after she gained her freedom, managed to generate some wealth, and became a philanthropist who always believed in helping others.

“If you hold your hand closed nothing good can come in. The open hand is blessed for it gives in abundance, even as it receives.”

Buy With her Baby on Her Back at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west. She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.

Death Card by Jasmine Smith ~ a Review

2026-08-13T06:30:00.000-04:00

by MK French

Mikaela Broussard reads Tarot in her family's shop, and suddenly has a vision of the customer stabbing her. Trying to figure out what causes it, Mikaela soon spends time with Joelle. At the same time, witches are turning up stripped of their magic. Mikaela is poised to be the next Witch Queen of her coven, so she's asked to figure out what's happening with the magic, a task that will put her own magic to the test.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

August 2026; G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
978-0593858295; audio, ebook, print (304 pages); YA fantasy

This story is geared more toward a YA audience, since Mikaela and her twin brother just graduated high school. She chose to defer going to college out of continued grief for the loss of her grandmother a year ago, and Orion tends to drink and party too much. Their coven is descended from a powerful witch who had been brought to America generations ago, and the Witch Queen is a title passed along matrilineal lines to the eldest daughter of the bloodline. She is starting to be introduced to ruling concepts now that there is a distinct danger to the witches. Joelle is an ordinary human interested in witchcraft who came to New Orleans to study, and when their paths cross with a Tarot reading, Mikaela gets a strong vision of Joelle stabbing her in the chest. As much as she wants to avoid Joelle, her grandfather wants her to discover what the motive would be. Her grandfather also wants to keep the coven safe, and believes the increasing loss of magic within the community is due to a competing coven that once used demons and sacrifice to gain power. He also tasks Mikaela to look into it as the danger escalates for her community.

Heritage and grief color a lot of Mikaela's world at the start. Her grandparents raised her and her twin brother after her parents' deaths when they were babies, and their tight-knit family makes up the entire coven. The older generation didn't share the past, so Mikaela has to dig through their misperception and her own. There are different ways to do magic and to build a community, and keeping it hidden doesn't help when that secrecy complicates Mikaela's life. The humans around her haven't always helped, either; her grandfather has opposition running for public office in a racist and homophobic human whose daughter had been Mikaela's academic competition in school. She worries about them, about her future, and what the other coven will do; the worry blinds her to what's happening until the final quarter of the book. We're carried along with her as she investigates the demon angle and suffers through further loss. There's a happily ever after by the end, with growing hope for the future.

Buy Death Card at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

Library Book Round Up: Mini Reviews

2026-08-12T06:30:00.000-04:00

by Donna Huber

July wasn't a great reading month for me. I had to deal with a family medical situation which didn't leave a lot of time for reading. Even when I did have time, I often found my mind wandering. I only borrowed 4 books from Libby in July - all of them audiobooks.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

I included A Walk in the Woods on my list of audiobooks for summer road trips. When I realized that I would not be going into the woods as much in July (not only because of the declining health of a family member, but also because it was just way too hot), I checked out the audiobook.

I enjoyed the book and have added another book by Bryson to my TBR list. Bryson's story is told in a very entertaining manner. Even though I don't have any desire to hike the Appalachian Trail, there are sections that I would like to hike (and some I don't care to). I also liked the stories about the people he met on his trek.

Buy A Walk in the Woods at Amazon

Authority by Jeff Vandermeer

This was my post-apocalyptic book club's August book. We read the first book in the series several years ago, and I had forgotten a lot of it. Even so, I enjoyed this book more than some of the other Vandermeer books we've read. There are at least 2 more books in the series, and I think I will try to read them - sooner rather than later.

Buy Authority at Amazon

In Case I Go Missing by R. N. Swann

This is one of the books that I received an ARC for but did not get it read before it was published. As I often do when I have a backlog, I turn to audiobooks. My library recently added the book to Libby. I really enjoyed it. I went back and forth quite a bit before agreeing to review it, since it is a young adult novel. I'm glad I put it on my radar. I read dark fiction when I was in middle school and high school, but it was more of an internal struggle. This book was much more about external dangers.

I read the Bobbsey Twins, but it isn't as cozy as those mysteries. I never read Nancy Drew, but I've seen a few screen adaptations. This book seemed to be a darker version of a Nancy Drew novel. Check out my full review.

Buy In Case I Go Missing at Amazon

The Matchmaker by Aisha Saeed

This is another book from my TBR ARC pile. This one has been there since Spring of 2025! I thought it was a rom-com. Boy was I wrong! It is maybe a romantic suspense, but I think it was more of a thriller.

I started this book the day after my father died, and it was just the distraction I needed. I loved the characters, and I enjoyed the thrill ride. I wasn't really trying to figure out who was behind all the things happening as much as just being in the moment and enjoying the story as it came. Be sure to check out my full review.

Buy The Matchmaker at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

Summer State of Mind by Kristy Woodson Harvey ~ a Review

2026-08-11T06:30:00.000-04:00

by Susan Roberts

After the worst day in her professional life, burnt-out NICU nurse Daisy Stevens runs to Cape Carolina, North Carolina, looking for a new life—and possibly a new romance. On her first day at her “simpler” job, high school baseball coach Mason Thaysden discovers an abandoned baby, sending ripples through the entire tight-knit town of Cape Carolina.

Affiliate links are used on this site.

May 2026; Gallery Books; 978-1668074886
audio, ebook, print (384 pages); Southern fiction

I’m a major Kristy Woodson Harvey fan and have read every word that she’s written. When someone asks for Southern fiction recommendations, she is always the first author that I recommend. All of her books become favorites as soon as I read them. Even though this book may not be my very favorite of her books, it is still high on my list of favorite summer reads.

THE SET-UP

Daisy is a NICU nurse in Charlotte who is burnt out after the heartbreaking death of one of her patients. She decides that she needs a change and gets a job in a small hospital in Cape Carolina, NC. During her first week on the job, a newborn baby is found in a dumpster behind the high school and is rushed to the hospital by the baseball coach Mason and his star player.

Mason is another person who is still trying to recover from his past. When he was a student at Cape Carolina, he was the baseball star who was headed for the big leagues. When an injury changed his plans, he went through a bad time in his life and eventually ended up back at his high school as the coach.

When Mason first meets Daisy at the hospital, he is interested in her, and after spending a bit of time with her, sparks really begin to fly between the two of them.

To further complicate things, Daisy had been abandoned by her mother when she was 11 and never got over her feelings despite the fact that she had a loving, caring father. Daisy falls in love with the abandoned baby and wants to make her part of her family. She gets approved for foster care and gets custody of Maisy (a name derived from Mason + Daisy) and will go to great lengths to keep the baby in her care even though she violates some of her basic nursing principles.

Along with the growing relationship between Daisy and Mason, there is Mason’s huge family full of love and friendship who immediately accept Daisy into their group. There is also great-aunt Tilley who has been a bit ‘touched’ over the years and sometimes loses track of what century she is in.

LOTS OF QUESTIONS - ALL ARE ANSWERED

Will Mason and Daisy get their happily ever after, and does that include baby Maisey? Will Daisy find a family to accept her so that she can get over her feelings of abandonment? And most importantly, will Maisey end up in a good situation considering that her life started by being abandoned in a dumpster? There are lots of questions surrounding the main characters in this book that will all be answered by the end, along with a romance that you don’t see coming until it happens.

My THOUGHTS ON THE STORY

I thought that the author did a wonderful job on this novel with her characters and her setting. You can almost see Cape Carolina as you read the beautiful descriptions of the fictional coastal town. I really liked the characters of Daisy and Mason – I didn’t always agree with some of Daisy's decisions and thought that she might benefit from some counseling, but I pretty much understood that much of her current life was colored by her feelings of abandonment at a young age. Once again, Kristy has brought her readers a well-written story with real characters set in a town at the beach. It’s a perfect book to read at the beach or the pool and will definitely leave you in a summer state of mind!

Buy Summer State of Mind at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west. She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.

World's Okayest Oracle (Reluctantly) Seeks Demon by Olivia Dade ~ a Review

2026-08-10T06:30:00.000-04:00

by MK French

Gwen Wexloff had never been a successful oracle, so most of her ability is used in trade with ordinary humans in the Containment Zone. She needs help now, and is forced to seek it from Hugh Blacke, the demon that once watched her bomb her oracle exam. He's highly placed politically, and now the two must work closely together to find the source of a conspiracy.

Affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

August 2026; Berkley; 978-0593818220
audio, ebook, print (464 pages); paranormal romance

This is a follow-up to Zomromcom, where humans share the world with supernatural creatures and zombies created by the government as weapons against them broke out to trigger a dystopian future.

Gwen's Story

We briefly met Gwen and the trolls in that novel, but this one is now her story. We get a summary of the ending of the first novel at the beginning, because we're now dealing with the fallout of those events: someone set the zombies loose, and they have a reason to start a war between humans and supernatural or enhanced beings. Gwen, Hugh, and their friends are now fighting to prevent that, and the best way to keep Gwen and her ability to foresee the future safe is to pretend they were together all along.

Gotta Love Cheese!

In addition to the fake dating trope, there are so many cheese-eating puns involved with Gwen's love of cheeses and a series that invokes cheese regularly. That helps to offset the very real danger that she's in; her oracle ability is now in full force, putting her at risk. Hugh is very protective of her; the two had an attraction all the way back at her testing attempt, and the attraction is present now. He's extremely rule-abiding for a demon, in part because he doesn't want to oppress or unduly influence others. Hugh is very motivated to care for Gwen and keep her safe on multiple levels, and they don't fight their attraction for each other very hard. It's fun to see them together and how well they coordinate efforts. There are struggles they go through in the final third of the book, and we earn our happily ever after.

Set Up for the Next Book

This is a fun second book in the series, with an epilogue setting up a third book that should be a hilarious meeting of opposites.

Buy World's Okayest Oracle (Reluctantly) Seeks Demon at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.