Can't Wait Wednesday #254

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Sometimes, you just want to belong.
When Claire’s fiancé mysteriously dies of an unknown neurological illness, seemingly destroying her chances at the belonging she’s sought, she’s prepared to sink back into the lonely life she lived before. Orphaned by a freak boating accident in her childhood, she never expected to find connection like she did with Elias, anyway. Even if sometimes, that connection seemed more like something he felt obligated to than something he wanted.

Their relationship wasn’t perfect—his coldness, his secrets, his strange aversion to the ocean—but what relationship is?

When Elias’s family reaches out—his incredibly wealthy family, from whom he was estranged—and invites Claire to a wake at their family home on a private island, Claire is given the chance to have connection again. To belong to something, just like she’s always wanted. Just like Elias knew she was desperate to have.

Even if that family is a little strange. Even if their home built partially into the sea stirs up memories of the accident that killed her parents and sister. Even if Ash, Elias’s older brother, seems insistent on Claire leaving as soon as possible.

Claire can’t bring herself to be lonely again. And as the strange circumstances of Elias’s familial connection with the sea becomes more and more apparent, her window for escape is rapidly closing.

Does she even want to?

This one just sounded so spooky when I remember Hannah talking about it on tour last year! Definitely looking forward to this one!

TITLE: Reliquary
AUTHOR: Hannah Whitten
PUBLISHER: Orbit Books
GENRE: Horror
RELEASE DATE: August 11, 2026

She doesn’t believe in magic. He is magic. But when they meet, a spark is lit, and neither will ever be the same—in this charming new stand-alone in the Witches of West Harbor series from New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot.

Frankie

A trained therapist, Francesca Giovanni knows there’s a scientific explanation for everything. Unfortunately, she lives in West Harbor, CT, a town that’s recently exploded in popularity thanks to “witch tourism.” Suddenly, witches are everywhere, offering locals their psychic services. Frankie’s fine with this…until aspiring teenage witches begin to disappear, and strange things start happening in the lake house next door. Frankie begins to suspect not all newcomers to West Harbor have the good of the community in mind—especially not her new neighbor, Ash Merit.

Ash

Ash Merit finds lost things—and people—for a living. All he wants is to help his clients, and maybe get to know the stunningly beautiful (and newly single) Dr. Frankie Giovanni a little better. But thanks to some troublesome young witches—not to mention his often faulty psychic “superpower”—everything goes wrong. If only Frankie wasn’t so distractingly attractive…and so unwilling to admit there might not be a logical reason for everything, including the flames that ignite whenever the two of them kiss. Ash hopes to change that, but first he and Frankie have to find the missing girls, as well as the truth about what’s happening in West Harbor…a truth that could change everything they thought they knew about themselves—and the magic of love.

I still need to read the first book of this series (as I am writing this post, but likely, I still need to read it, but it's on my schedule!)! I love Meg Cabot's magical/paranormal reads so this sounds like it will be my kind of read!

TITLE: The Magic We Made
AUTHOR: Meg Cabot
PUBLISHER: Avon
GENRE: Paranormal Romance
RELEASE DATE: August 11, 2026

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by Purple Princess of The Purple Booker. 

Here are the rules:

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER FREE
4. Name the title, author, etc.

"'Lyssa, if you don't want us going in there, you have to keep it clean. I will not tolerate filth. The cobwebs, I mean--read whatever books you want to, dear.'" p 24

TITLE: Kill the Beast
AUTHOR: Serra Swift
PUBLISHER: Tor Books
GENRE: Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: October 14, 2025

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and The Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week's topic is: Top Ten Books on My Summer 2026 To-Read List

*going in order of how I plan to read them starting at 10

10. DRAGON CURSED by Elise Kova--Elise is touring here at the end of July, so I am hoping to read this one and her other one before the stop!
9. ARCANA ACADEMY by Elise Kova
8. NIGHTWEAVER by R.M. Gray--I am attending the Forbidden Love event in Nashville, also at the end of July, so I am hoping to read a handful of titles before then too! We'll see how far I can get through this list!

7. STARCHASER by R.M. Gray
6. SPARKING FIRE OUT OF FATE by Brigid Kemmerer--somehow missed the announcement that Brigid was also attending as I had to rewrite my list just last week! Lol.
5. THE LAST LOST GIRL by Casey L. Bond--been wanting to read this one and hoping to pick up another of Casey's books there since this is already signed!

4. THE FIRST LOST BOY by Casey L. Bond
3. THE MIRROR IN THE MOUNTAIN by Dana Evyn--aching to read this one after the first book's cliffhanger, I may need to up it in this tentative queue. 3-9 on this list are interchangeable since they are all at the same event!
2. SHATTERED MIRROR by Dana Evyn--okay, now I may need to wait to read book 2 as this one doesn't release until July 10th but I'll have it in time for said event! Lol.

1. THE NIGHTSHADE GOD by Hannah Whitten--bought my ticket either last week or two weeks ago for her August stop here, and I just realized I never added this to my Goodreads list! Whelp! Still need to read it obviously!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a fun meme where we gather to share what we've read last week and our reading plans for this week.

Last Week I Read:

Outtakes from the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (5 stars)
Both Feet in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (5 stars)
Kill the Beast by Serra Swift (4 stars)

Currently Reading:

Dragon Cursed by Elie Kova

What I Plan to Read Next:

Arcana Academy by Elise Kova

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays
Can't Wait Wednesday #253
Books from the Backlog #191
Book Blogger Hop #416
Stacking the Shelves--The Ups & Downs Editions

Review--Kill the Beast by Serra Swift

 

The Witcher meets Howl’s Moving Castle in this debut original faerie tale of revenge, redemption, and friendship―for fans of T. Kingfisher, Naomi Novik, and cozy fantasy with a dash of gritty adventure.

The night Lyssa Cadogan's brother was murdered by a faerie-made monster known as the Beast, she made him a promise: she would find a way to destroy the immortal creature and avenge his death. For thirteen years, she has been hunting faeries and the abominations they created. But in all that time, the one Beast she is most desperate to find has never resurfaced.

Until she meets Alderic Casimir de Laurent, a melodramatic dandy with a coin purse bigger than his brain. Somehow, he has found the monster’s lair, and―even more surprising―retrieved one of its claws. A claw Lyssa needs in order to forge a sword that can kill the Beast.

When the witch Ragnhild decrees that Alderic and Lyssa must gather the other ingredients to forge the weapon together, or else the spell will fail, Lyssa gets more than she bargained for. Alderic is ill-equipped for the task at hand, and almost guaranteed to get himself killed.

But as the two of them search for the materials that will be the Beast's undoing, Alderic reveals hidden depths: dark secrets that he guards as carefully as Lyssa guards hers. Before long, and against Lyssa's better judgment, they begin to forge a blooming friendship―one that will either lead to the culmination of Lyssa's quest for vengeance, or spell doom for them both.

Serra Swift's debut, Kill the Beast, was a remarkable fantasy read that just the right amount of faerie and fairy tale like essence. I say this, because despite that familiar title name, this is not a fairy tale retelling, but more of a fantasy read that blends in familiar fairy tale tropes mixed in with good old fashioned fantasy style storytelling. 

For the past thirteen years, Lyssa has been trying to hunt down the faerie beast that killed her brother when she was young. In the meantime, she is happy to kill any other faerie creature that plagues upon humanity. She travels between faerie worlds and the mortal ones on the regular and has made a contented life for herself. Not a happy one, not a miserable one. Just one where she is existing...existing to find and kill that beast. 

Then one day, she receives a letter from a rich fellow named Alderic, who wants her help in killing a faerie monster that has been terrorizing his homeland. While she debates about meeting the man, fate takes the choice away from her when she runs into him at a bar where he's getting drunk as a skunk. He then offers her untold riches if she helps him to kill a beast that has been terrorizing his land. Naturally, it becomes clear that this beast and the one that killed her brother are one and the same. So, Lyssa is loathe to admit wanting to take up this dandy's offer, but she does because it's a chance to fulfill her oath she made to her brother's memory and to rake in a lot of cash too.

I feel like at its heart, this story was about friendship and forgiveness. Oh there was plenty of adventure and magic and faerie creatures that were evil and wreaking havoc. Lots of good action scenes and sleuthing. For with the help of her companions, Lyssa learns that she needs items of great importance that will be challenging to obtain that when worked together in the proper magical way they can create a weapon strong enough to kill the infamous beast. And along the way, other thing happens...of course.

Honestly, from the get-go, I had a theory of what was going to take place in this story and I was tickled with delight to find out that my theories were correct. There was still plenty more to learn and see transpire over the course of the tale, but there's always a kind of delight to have your first page theories pan out! Lol.

While not heavy on the fairy tale retelling what with a "beast" involved that needs to be killed, there were aspects that seemed to resonate with the fairy tale theme. We have curses, we have fae creatures, we have fae creatures setting curses upon humans. All things we are familiar with that tend to happen in the original fairy tales. So this story had that going for it, of course. Shockingly, though, there was little to no romance. I felt like the bond that was forming between Alderic and Lyssa bordered more on friendship than anything romantic like. It was kind of refreshing in some aspect, but I guess I've become too much of a romantic at heart these days and I was hoping for maybe a little more. Granted, there were moments between them that felt like they bordered something along the romance lines...but at the same time, I just didn't get too many romantic vibes from this story. Still completely enjoyable of course, but something I feel like needs to be noted. As I question why Goodreads throwing in the tag "romantasy" on this one as I did not get that vibe at all!

Now fair warning, as it's on the cover. Lyssa does have a faithful and adorable doggy companion! He's been her "sidekick" you could say, for years. Since she travels between the fae worlds and our mortal one, he's definitely lived past the normal age for a big dog. Now, I will say there was a scene where he gets injured, but the dog lives in this one! I don't know if you want to call it a spoiler, but I know animal lovers or even sort of animal lovers like myself--long story--don't like enduring animal violence or deaths. But when the adventure starts to get too dangerous, Lyssa takes her dog back to her companions to watch over him while she finishes her quest and we do see him again before the story ends. So yes, the dog lives and is perfectly happy! And despite the scene where said dog gets hurt, Lyssa exacts proper vengeance for her faithful companion, so all is very well.

All in all, I will say that Kill the Beast was a surprising story on many counts. It wasn't quite the fantasy read I was expecting, but it was the one I was anticipating after starting. Sure, I would've like maybe a little more romantic vibes, spice isn't necessary really, but just maybe some deeper connections would've been nice. At the same time though, I deeply value friendship and I enjoyed seeing the hardened Lyssa grow closer with someone and solidified a new friendship of sorts over the course of the story. Since this was a standalone, the ending was satisfactory if maybe a little cheesy in some ways, but still satisfactory. Swift is definitely an author I will be keeping an eye on as this was quite a refreshing fantasy that kept me entertained over the long weekend!

Overall Rating 4/5 stars

Stacking the Shelves--The Ups & Downs Edition

 

Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course ebooks! The meme is now hosted by Reading Reality.

Well, it was another week! I kicked it off by driving a little under 5 hours to Nashville to see Brynne Weaver. It was while I was in line that I learned that it wasn't a signing styled event and no books were going to be signed. Which kind of stunk as I had my first edition Tourist Season that I would've liked to had signed, but no dice. Then Monday night I went to see K.A. Linde which was nice! She was a riot and I loved hearing her stories. I met her last year in Kansas City when I had holiday off right at the day of her signing, so it worked out then! Lol. Work was a bit stressful as there was talk of potential layoffs happening again and they were essentially seeking volunteers to leave the company. I guess for those who might be closer to retirement or such? I don't know. Since I am still in my working years it's causing me stress. Add to that and a recent deletion of an email "rule" basically unfiled every single email from the last year and restored them to my inbox caused me more grief. There was no "undoing" that change and after filing away emails through I think April, I had to call it quits and delete the rest. It was just too many to handle. SO naturally, after that, I am getting emails about issues dating back to January and December...which those emails are now gone. So yeah. Fun times all around. The search for a house is now at something of a pause? I don't know, every time I feel like I am getting closer life throws me a curveball that knocks me out of the game. Really hoping to catch a break one of these days that can actually be a break and not something intended to break me.

But onto the best parts of the week:

Kill the Beast by Serra Swift
Royal Vengeance by Aimee Carter
A Cursed Son by Day Leitao--I participated in Day's Kickstarter to get these gorgeous editions. I initially saw the first book with the edges thinking that was the norm, but learned otherwise. Then time was on my side as almost right after that she had a new Kickstarter to get the third book in that treatment but you could also buy the first two in that vein, so that's what I did!
A Traitor Sister by Day Leitao
A Devious Brother by Day Leitao
The Raven at the Ash Door by K.A. Linde--SIGNED!
Harvest Season by Brynne Weaver--SIGNED BAM edition!

Then I got this month's Fairy Loot YA book. This was one I remembered being the FL pick but when I saw the standard US edition, I had to have that too. So yeah, two copies again, but that shouldn't really surprise anyone by now! Lol. Won't share the book itself as per usual, but here's my stand-in pic as per usual too! Lol.

And then I also got this fun hat at the Brynne Weaver signing that was included with the ticket! That was a fun surprise after my somewhat disappointment in learning that she wasn't signing books. Still not sure how I missed that memo when everyone else seemed to have gotten it. But that's what I get for buying my ticket lickety split without reading any fine print! Lol. My paperbacks weren't first print editions this time around, so I may have decided to treat myself to an upgrade. So leaving with only 1 unsigned book wasn't a big travesty, but let's just say that if BAM had had their sprayed edges hardcover for book 1, I would've spent a lot more money! Lol.

And that was it for me this week! Hoping things will get better in the coming week, but honestly, with these potential layoffs coming at work, I don't really know when the "you're safe" period will come around and I can breathe again. Until then I feel like I'm hanging off the precipice. 

Book Blogger Hop #416

 

This meme is hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addict!

This week's question is: If you could pick any fictional character to live with, who would it be, and how would they change your daily life? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

MY ANSWER: Oh tough one. I want to go old school and say Katy from Jennifer L. Armentrout's Lux series! She was a reader and a blogger, so I feel like we'd get along swimmingly!

Review--Both Feet in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

 

If you thought you learned more about the dangerous and sexy alpha vampire, Bones, in the USA Today bestselling scorcher, THE OTHER HALF OF THE GRAVE, you haven't seen anything yet...

Cat disappeared from Bones’ life to protect him, but this Master vampire will keep his promise to find her.

Two hundred years of bounty hunting made Bones the best at what he does, yet it's still taken him four long years to find Cat, the half vampire now known as the "Red Reaper." There's a price on Cat's head, and not even her job as a secret government agent can save her. Only Bones can. But has time hardened Bones too much to love again? Or will his passion for Cat burn through every obstacle—alive, undead, or otherwise—between them?

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Night Huntress series comes a fresh, new perspective on the origin saga of Cat and Bones, in Bones' own words…

Naturally, I had to dive straight into Both Feet in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost after reading the first book from Bones' point of view and the deleted scenes collection! My memory was definitely more spotty for this book but as I read through the storyline more and more came back to me and yet, still some things were a surprise, but it was yet another amazing read for sure!

It's been four years since Cat left Bones and he has been looking for her ever since. Bones' devotion to Cat is one thing I have fiercely loved about this series, yes, there was one slip which he admits to and all is eventually forgiven considering the circumstances. But regardless, Bones never once stopped loving her and that just makes me melt! Lol.

Bones has also been taking care of other hitmen who are out to get the famed Red Reaper. Honestly, if you make any kind of move at Cat and Bones is liking to tear off some limb! What I did forget in this one was how unlikable Ian was in the beginning. Yes, this is when we meet Ian, who was a character I grew to love, but omg he is absolutely deplorable in this one! Lol.

We only go a few chapters with Bones looking for Cat before he finally finds her at Randy and Denise's wedding, of course, he knew she'd be there and that's when everything we thought we knew starts! Once again we get to see what Bones was thinking and feeling when everything was going down. We learn that Cat is working for a secret organization within the government hunting down the supernatural bad guys and taking them out.

This truly is yet another story that is meant for the fans of the Night Huntress series! After reading the deleted scenes book, I found it ironic that Jeaniene said she had no intentions to ever write solely from Bones' point of view as she treated us to one scene, and then just a few years later we not only got Bones' point of view from book 1, but also book 2! So magic can happen folks! Lol.

It's funny having a fuzzy memory about books, because though I am reading this story (again from new eyes) for the first time in years, some things I vaguely remember so I wasn't taken by total surprise, but then other things I was like "THAT'S HOW THAT HAPPENED?!" It's weird what my brain can remember or vaguely remember and then the rest being like...whhhhaaaaat?! But needless to say I full-heartedly loved this book once more! I remember my aversion to certain side characters and funnily enough how I later grew to like them if only by tolerance. Lol. 

Both Feet in the Grave was purely delectable! I love a good vampire read and returning to this series through Bones' eyes has been the highlight I didn't know I needed! I feel like just getting two books is enough satisfaction, redoing the whole series from Bones' point of view seems slightly unnecessary, but of course, I would never say no to reading the entire thing again, should it ever happen! Lol. Besides, we got to relive THAT chapter again through Bones' eyes, so this was a solid win and a perfect ending should it be that!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars

Books from the Backlog #191

 

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks. This is a fun meme hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books!

A sexy professor.
A logical lawyer.
A determined ghost.
And a very real killer...
Welcome to Wicks Hollow: a cozy town near Lake Michigan filled with quaint houses, eccentric residents, and more than its share of ghosts, murders, and romance.

Diana Iverson needs a break--from her stressful job, from her philandering boyfriend, and from the rest of her fast-paced life. When she inherits her eccentric Aunt Jean's home on Wicks Lake, Diana takes a much-needed vacation in the cozy little town.

But when the lake house becomes the scene of multiple break-ins and other unsettling events, Diana begins to suspect Aunt Jean’s death was not as innocent as it seems.

And then there’s Ethan Murphy, the sexy college professor who lives next door… He appears to know a lot more about Aunt Jean than he should, and Diana doesn’t trust him.

But most of all, there's Aunt Jean herself…who seems determined to communicate with Diana—from beyond the grave.

A ghost story romance set in a small town, featuring a cozy mystery about a ghost that just won’t rest until justice is served. The perfect blend of romance, suspense, and ghosts.

I added Colleen Gleason's Sinister Summer to my TBR pile in February of 2018 and then somewhere between then and 2025 they were tweaked a little bit into a new series! So I think I have the first two books in their OG format and then I think I picked up the other ones in their rebranded versions. She said not much was changed overall, just the minor tweaks and such. But it was a ghost story by Colleen and I LOVED her Gardella Vampire Hunter Chronicles, so anything paranormal from her immediately goes to my TBR pile, but I think it's safe to say she might have left that genre behind now.

Can't Wait Wednesday #253

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

What the River Knows meets The Mummy in the first installment in a heart-pounding, richly imagined young adult duology from the New York Times bestselling author of To Kill a Shadow, Katherine Quinn.

I'm really hoping this one releases this year as it was already pushed back at least once. Still not much to go on about it's storyline but I pretty much heard What the River Knows meets The Mummy and was sold because I LOVE that movie!

TITLE: The Golden Huntress
AUTHOR: Katherine Quinn
PUBLISHER: Mayhem Books
GENRE: YA Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: August 4, 2026 (maybe)

Perfect for fans of Adalyn Grace, this captivating sequel to the New York Times-bestselling Dream by the Shadows is filled with revenge, romance, and redemption.

Esmer Havenfall thought freeing Erebus from his five-hundred-year imprisonment would end her nightmare. Instead, it has only just begun. Now bound by fate and darkness, Esmer and Erebus are no longer just dreamers—they are Shadow Weavers, wielders of a power both divine and damning. And something is already clawing its way through the Dream Realm’s cracks.

Raelion, the demon king lurking within Mithras, is poised to destroy the world. His corruptive curse spreads like a plague, twisting dreams into nightmares and turning humans into monsters. If Esmer and Erebus are to survive, they must achieve the forge an army from the broken and unravel ancient horrors before it’s too late. But when Esmer and Erebus are abruptly cast from the Dream Realm into a kingdom teetering on the edge of ruin, they quickly learn that something monstrous has already slipped through—and their love might be the first thing it devours.

I'm dying to start this series but since I knew it would be a duology I held off on reading the first book right away. Luckily, we're winding down to its release...almost! Lol.

TITLE: Cursed by the Dawn
AUTHOR: Logan Karlie
PUBLISHER: Christy Ottaviano Books
GENRE: YA Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: August 4, 2026