Last Week I Read:
No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall (4 stars)
Review That Was Posted:
Bride by Ali Hazelwood (ARC) (4 stars)
Currently Reading:
The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen
What I Plan to Read Next:
The Traitor Queen by Danielle L. Jensen
Other Posts of Interest:
15th Blogoversary Post
Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays
Can't Wait Wednesday
Books from the Backlog #68
Book Blogger Hop #291
Challenges Monthly Wrap-up: January
Stacking the Shelves--Books, Swag, & Ranting, LOTS of Ranting!
It was another week! Let me tell you! It wasn't too bad really, but then it ended with chaos! Mostly good, but the larger part was enough to drive me crazy and I'm still going mad with it too! Friday night was the night TWO author signings were happening at the same time 20 some odd miles apart. I decided to go to the one I had the most books for since I never met either author. I met Kate Alice Marshall and it was a very fun night all in all! By the time I got out of the signing line, I decided I just might make the tail end of the signing line for the other signing which was Krystal Sutherland! So I did it! I might have put a little too much pedal to the metal (but not that much!) in order to make sure I got there in time, but it was all good! I had time to spare...but it wasn't until afterwards I realized my picture with Krystal had major light reflecting off my glasses! I forget to take them off sometimes, because I'm blind without them! Lol. But it is what it is. I tried looking into apps that could remove it but the one that claimed to help just removed my eyes entirely. Yes, it was quite scary!
Then the other bit of chaos was the fact that once again my B&N preorder was late. Terribly, terribly, so! Something is going on with the main distribution center in St. Louis because they are always the ones to not touch any of my book packages for DAYS! DAYS! Probably even a week on my last one! The ticker is though, EVERYTHING else that I might order that's NOT a book comes via USPS exactly when promised with NO DELAYS! And no, my senders are not sending it via media mail either, as that I know takes longer. This is B&N's Member EXPRESS shipping. I used to get my books on the Friday after release day...now, if my last preorder (which was also my first one of 2024) is anything to go by, it won't be here until the week after this coming week! It's INSANE! And it's driving me INSANE because these are my precious, precious books! Limited edition copies that you don't always get to have replacements of and the mail is doing who knows what with them as tracking sits dormant for days on end. So yes, I am getting seriously stressed out about this. And yes, I am thinking of all my beloved copies of Spectacular that I ordered that will take 3 weeks to be delivered with my Member EXPRESS shipping instead of, what was it, like 3-5 days? Yeah, I'm stressed and sick with worry and just a tiny bit unhappy.
As far as the mail I DID receive, it wasn't too bad! Really, the things that I got in the mail weren't books, but bookish in nature...which is probably why the one showed up 2 days later than intended, but since it wasn't actually books it got to be 2 days late instead of 2 weeks.
The Dark Fable by Katherine Harbour--I have her possible first book on my TBR pile and this one sounded good too, so when I had to make a return at B&N this weekend, I turned into an almost exchange instead! Lol.
The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland--SIGNED! Keeper copy too!
And yes, the missing book I am waiting on is my copy of HOFAS! I can't keep buying a book in the store to hold me over while I wait for my preorder to show up because that's getting too pricey! I end up returning one and it's getting tiring too. The last time or two I had to do this because of signings and it was detrimental that I have my copy for the signing because priorities!
Then for all the other fun goodies I got in the mail that had no trouble getting to me on time (except for my ATOMD order which was 2 days late) were:
From A Touch of Magic Designs I got my Shelfie Stands of Legend & Julian (sadly Scarlett & Tella are in my storage unit, so alas there's no group shot!) and Evageline and Jacks II. I did have the first set of them, but I loved their newer look, so I splurged! I think this was my November order...it doesn't look like a December one happened as I always order the cupcake pin.
Which I also got the Cupcake pin! I really wish these could have their book/series labeled on it as I can't always remember. But they're still pretty regardless!
Then I sent away for a Kim Harrison tour freebie as I alas, cannot make it to one of her selective tour spots. Bad timing this year.
It's a poker chip/coin that relates to her new series that starts next month! I think it had something to do with transportation but I can't quite remember. I plan to download an early copy of the book soon, it might be in my StS next week! Lol.
Then I didn't take a proper picture, but I got the Pandora's Book Box gorgeous covers for the Caraval trilogy! I haven't quite decided if I am buying yet another set of Caraval books to put these on or if I want to frame them instead as they are SO pretty!
Since I didn't want to flatten them out just yet for picture taking purposes and whatnot, I'm just showing the image from the shop. I feel like if I framed them then you can see front and back together!
I'm wondering if I get like a razor-blade to cut them I could cut it so that the front & back are separated from the the middle title/author spine part and I could display all three together in it's own grouping in a frame somehow, times 3 for all 3 covers. I think I like that idea the most but I am not totally sold on it just yet. I guess it depends if I can find a house with 3 rooms so I can have 1 as a library and 1 as a Caraval room! Lol. Yes, I am going that over the top with my decorating scheme in my head!
Then my preorder gift for Destroy the Day arrived! I wasn't expecting it so quick since they usually take a month or two after the book releases to arrive!
THANK YOU Bloomsbury YA!
As you might have guessed, my pin banner with the other two on it, is in storage! Sigh...it was such a great idea at the time, but now everything gets separated as I continue to search for an affordable house in a safe neighborhood! Because apparently the two are not exclusive in my area!
Then on my latest trip to B&N I finally got clarity on the new Rewards program and that I could join with my previous paid membership and ride out its course on the new paid membership until my old one expires! For some reason, that was never made 100% clear to me but my cashier was super friendly in explaining that this time around! For some reason I thought I had to finish out my old paid one before I could start the new paid one...but yeah.
So anyway, that comes with a FREE tote every year--if I understood that part correctly that is, lol! So here's the one I picked because I loved the color and the words!
Yeah, my camera really sucks. The color of the tote is a nice rustic orange! For whatever reason my camera is making it look like cognac!
I now want this in the super-sized luggage format so that my luggage will say: A Suitcase of Books! So TSA knows that it truly just is books meticulously packed in there Tetris style! Lol. I did see once a luggage tag that said: Just Shoes (or something like that. So close to what I would've bought in a heartbeat! Lol.)
Then during the B&N preorder sale I made a preoder for Diana Urban's next thriller that sounds super awesome and she had a preorder offer going as well, but she sent them out asap! For whatever reason I thought they'd come when the book releases in August, so that was super fun! Now I just need to remember I have this book plate! Lol.
THANK YOU Diana!
And finally, my last item is yet another t-shirt from Amazon's Shirt.Woot company! I couldn't help myself with this one...as usual! But hey, it's actually not bookish this time! And in my defense it was 40% off which put the shirt under $10 rather than the normal $15 sale or $19 if it's past its sale time-frame!
I am a HUGE Supernatural fan! I watched the show religiously since DAY ONE! I was and still slightly am obsessed with this show!
And that was it for me! If you follow me on Threads, you will see my likely daily update and woes on where my copy of HOFAS is. Every morning I cry when tracking says it's waiting for the PO to accept it after receiving it last month, because yes, 1/31 is last month.
And my apologies for all my ranting about this! Like I said, I can pretty much patiently wait for any package to arrive in the mail, but when my BOOKS are the ones that are being purposely delayed, I get a little angry.
But yes, what did you get this week? And also, are your post offices well-staffed? Wondering if this is just a St. Louis thing? Lol...but also SOB!!! :(
CHALLENGE 1: 2024 Series Enders Reading Challenge
Roar of the Tides by Veronica Rossi (Under the Never Sky)
Destroy the Day by Brigid Kemmerer (Defy the Night)
Off to a good start! I didn't expect myself to breeze through Destroy the Day as quickly as I did but man was it good! Lol! 2/5 down, I'm almost there! This could definitely be upped later on but the problem is I need to start and finish some of my remaining series!
CHALLENGE 2: 2024 Discussion Challenge
Authors Changing Genres
Inspiration from Books
Ignorance is Bliss
Prolonged Sequels
Name Challenge
15th Blogoversary Post
6/25 down! I was gabby this month! Lol. Now watch February I'll have 1 or 2 discussions!
CHALLENGE 3: 2024 Beat the Backlist Reading Challenge
Roar of the Tides by Veronica Rossi (3/21/23)
These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall (8/9/22)
Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer (9/14/21)
Defend the Dawn by Brigid Kemmerer (9/20/22)
4 TBR books read this month! Not too bad either! I'm aiming for 20 again, so I'm off to a good start!
The author of What Lies in the Woods returns with a novel about three sisters, two murders, and too many secrets to count.
Emma hasn't told her husband much about her past. He knows her parents are dead and she hasn't spoken to her sisters in years. Then they lose their apartment, her husband gets laid off, and Emma discovers she's pregnant―right as the bank account slips into the red.
That's when Emma confesses that she has one more asset: her parents' house, which she owns jointly with her estranged sisters. They can't sell it, but they can live in it. But returning home means that Emma is forced to reveal her secrets to her husband: that the house is not a run-down farmhouse but a stately mansion, and that her parents died there.
Were murdered.
And that some people say Emma did it.
Emma and her sisters have never spoken about what really happened that night. Now, her return to the house may lure her sisters back, but it will also crack open family and small-town secrets lots of people don’t want revealed. As Emma struggles to reconnect with her old family and hold together her new one, she begins to realize that the things they have left unspoken all these years have put them in danger again.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.
Kate Alice Marshall's No One Can Know is an edgy mystery that has deep roots. This is my first adult read by Marshall, though it will not be my last! I have always enjoyed Marshall's YA thrillers as they tend to have a creepy supernatural vibe to them. While that supernatural vibe is not present in this book, the creepy factor still lives on.
When Emma was a teenager, her parents were violently murdered and everyone in their small town pretty much suspected that either she or none of her sisters did it. But what the town and everyone else didn't know was how vicious her parents really were. As to who actually killed them, well, that's the real mystery.
The story is told through all three sister's points of view in the present and past. We largely focus on Emma's present though. She and her husband were just about to start a new life together and buy a house, but then her husband loses his job, she finds out she's pregnant, which would normally be a happy thing but with money being tight, it's becoming somewhat problematic. Emma decides she wants to keep the baby though and she makes the tough decision to move back home temporarily, in the house that her parents were murdered in and holds so many painful memories.
As the story continues to unwind we see exactly what kind of childhood the sisters had and it's a startling one. There was violence and abuse and it was never-ending. You almost are kind of glad her parents were killed. But there's still the mystery of whodunit?
Unfortunately mysteries of the past get set aside when new problems popup and they will once again change Emma's life and possibly make things even more difficult for her.
This mystery was deeply layered. There were so many different aspects to it that took time to be revealed to the reader. Moving between three points of view in both past and present was easier than you would expect. The chapters flowed together seamlessly. I was actually looking forward to the past moments eager for clues as to what happened to the parents. But with all these layers, it did make the pacing a little on the slow side. It was never to the point where I felt like I was dragging my feet to finish the book, but putting it down for things like sleep or meals was done fairly easily. I suppose it's because we go back and forth in the past and present that made it so.
After finishing the book, I've come to realize that maybe not all of these flashbacks were necessary. I see why there included though, and even though they didn't always feel necessary they were still rather quick to read. There's a lot of history to be unearthed to understand the present. Which the present itself was filled with many secrets that built up into a new mystery to be solved.
In the end, we do get everything resolved. We finally get the whodunit to the murders of the past...which was a shocking one! The author throws in a red herring or two and it kept throwing me through a loop when a new answer popped up!
But all in all, I was quite satisfied with where things ended. No One Can Know was a deeply layered mystery wrapped in intrigue! You can't help but fall into these sisters' lives and see what turmoil they went through when they were younger and how it shaped them into who they are today. There was a great deal of character growth and an engaging plot to boot! This is definitely the kind of mystery to read if you want something less cozy, but not utterly terrifying either! It's the perfect balance of mystery and thriller!
Overall Rating 4/5 stars
True evil is rarely obvious. It is quiet, patient.
Insidious.
Awaiting the perfect moment to strike.
Joy Malone finally knows who she is, where she comes from and how to live in two worlds at once. And now she can introduce her family and friends to her mysterious boyfriend, Indelible Ink. But when Ink's twin sister, Invisible Inq, calls in a favor, Joy must accept a dangerous mission to find a forgotten door between worlds—a door hiding a secret that some will kill to keep.
Unseen enemies, treasonous magic and an unthinkable betrayal threaten both the Twixt and human worlds as Joy races to expose an ancient conspiracy and unleash the unalterable truth—some secrets cannot remain secret forever.
I started this series by Dawn Metcalf so very long ago and I remember enjoying it and you know just waiting for Insidious to come out and then as things tend to happen, time got away from me. Other books came up, review books came up and this one fell further and further down the TBR pile. It's been sitting there since May of 2015 and there it remains. I'm getting to the point where I will definitely need to re-read the first two books because I have zero memory about what was going on other than it involved the fae! Lol.
