Goodreads Update May 2020

It's my favorite post of the month! This is where I revel in all the new books on my "to be read" list and try not to think about how long it would take me to read them all. Good times!

Oh boy. I just looked at the list. Um... there are a lot. Hold on tight!

The House In the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune - Look at that cute cover! I absolutely cop to judging books by their cover and this one has gorgeous colors on it! Also, several people have posted glowing reviews of this book, so I'm justified in adding it to my list.

Deacon King Kong by James McBride - Ok. I've only read one book by McBride and I didn't love it. I'm willing to give him another chance with this one about a preacher in the 60s who shoots a drug dealer that had been terrorizing the neighborhood.

The Love Story of Missy Carmichael by Beth Morrey - This is touted as being for fans of A Man Called Ove, which I am. This 79 year old lady lives alone with no family near. Then she meets a dog. That's all I know. The dog probably dies, because that's how it goes, but it's probably a really cute story.

Seventh Grave and No Body by Darynda Jones - I quit reading this series awhile back, but now I'm feeling like picking it back up again. The main character is Charley Davidson who is a private detective in Albuquerque who also is a Grim Reaper. She helps dead people move on to the other side. She also has a torrid love affair with the Son of Satan.

The Lending Library by Aliza Fogelson - This is about a woman who opens a lending library in her sunroom after her local library closes. Then she gets the chance to adopt a child. I don't know what these things have to do with each other, but there it is.

Mum & Dad by Joanna Trollope - I usually like Trollope and this is her latest. It's about a family dealing with the aftermath of dad's stroke. The parents like in Spain and the three kids come from England to "handle" it, but they don't agree on the correct path. Family drama.

Heaven, My Home by Attica Locke - This is the sequel to Bluebird, Bluebird that I read a couple of years ago, I think. It follows a black Texas Ranger. In the first book, he was investigating a possible racially motivated murder in a small town in East Texas. This book follows a missing boy in a different small town on the same highway as the first.

The Paris Hours** by Alex George - I got this from Book of the Month. It is set in Paris between the wars and includes a character who was Marcel Proust's maid. Yup. I'll read that.

Here For It: Or How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas - This is a collection of essays about what it means to see the world from an "other" perspective. The author came from a wealthy black family in a low-rent area, went to a private high school full of white rich kids, and was both Christian and gay.

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd - She wrote The Secret Life of Bees which I loved, and The Mermaid Chair which I didn't. This one is about a young woman who marries Jesus of Nazareth.

The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare - We talked about this one last week during my Library Update. It's about a woman who is a seamstress and runs into a duke who needs an heir. He decides she'll do. But it's a romance, so sparks will fly.

Beach Read by Emily Henry - She writes Rom-Coms. He writes Literary Fiction. They rub each other the wrong way. But when they end up in neighboring beach houses for the summer and they both have writer's block, they switch genres.

Fire In Paradise by Alastair Gee and Dani Anguiano - Last year some time, there was a guest on the What Should I Read Next podcast that I listen to who lived in this town of Paradise, California that had been completely obliterated by wildfires. So when I saw this book, I immediately added it to my list.

By the Book by Amanda Sellet - This is a YA novel about Mary, who has compiled a list of rules for surviving the clutches of a scoundrel, based entirely on classic novels. Cute!

To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters - I heard this was great, so here it is. It's set in Regency England, which I love. This couple has been married for years, but they had a big fight and they don't speak. Then they both fake illness to get the other's attention. Then it escalates. It sounds like quite a romp.

The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory - I keep trying with this author. I've only got all the way through one book, but I keep putting them on my list. It's the cover! This is the first one in a series that I have a later book in.

The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly by Jamie Pacton - Kit is a waitress at a medieval restaurant, but she wants to be a knight. It pays more. There are two plots here. One is the movement by the women of the restaurant to get better paying jobs (only boys can be knights). The other is a romance between Kit and a guy who works there. In real life, she can't stand him, but when they're in costume, the sparks fly.

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid - I'm not sure why this wasn't already on my list. I've owned the book for over a year. This one is written like an interview piece in a magazine. The band feels very much like Fleetwood Mac. It's a big favorite all over the world.

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead - Whitehead just won another book award and I have yet to read any of his books. This is the book that first made me aware of this author, so I figure I'll start here.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig - This one comes out in October. The midnight library houses books that tell the story of your life; the life you actually live and the lives you could have lived if you made a different choice at any point. Our main character has to decide if she would trade her life for another option.

The Fell of Dark by Caleb Roehrig - I read Roehrig's book Death Prefers Blondes last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. This YA book comes out in July. It's about a guy who lives in a town that seems to be a magnet for the paranormal. As is the way with YA books, this kid is the only one who can save the world.

Royals by Rachel Hawkins - In this YA rom-com, Daisy's older sister is about to become engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland (it's fiction. Just go with it.) so Daisy has to be trained in the way of royalty by the prince's younger brother who is a bit wild. Sounds like fun!

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave - Who cares what it's about. Look at that cover!!! Ok Ok. It's set in Norway in 1617. All the men in this village die in a massive storm, so the women figure out how to carry on. Three years later a guy shows up from Scotland and starts accusing women of being witches because they are independent. Based on a true story.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb - I'm interested in this memoir of therapy, not just because I'm beginning my own therapy journey, but also because the author is herself a therapist and has a different angle on the whole situation.

We Are Not Free by Traci Chee - Chee wrote a book I read about 4 years ago which was a fantasy book about a world without writing. This one is a historical fiction book about Japanese teens interred during WWII in California.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo - I read Acevedo's last book, With the Fire on High, last year and thought it was great. This one is about two girls who find out they share a father after he dies. One lives in the DR and one lives in NYC.

A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen - This book doesn't have a cover yet, but I took this image from her website. This one is a YA novel about a girl who thinks she is helping her mother with a baking contest, until she finds out every single one of the contestants is an eligible Asian man her mother has picked as possible boyfriends for her.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley - I don't read a lot of thrillers, so we'll see how this goes. A bunch of people are invited to a remote island off the coast of Ireland for a fancy wedding. Then people start dying. This is the one I think is a retelling of Christie's And Then There Were None.

Lakeshire Park by Megan Walker - I'm pretty sure that house on the cover is the one from Pride and Prejudice 1995. It's a regency romance in which our heroine Amelia is trying to secure the hand of Sir Ronald for her little sister Clara. Their father is frail and when he dies they will be destitute. Unfortunately, Mr. Peter Wood is trying to get Sir Ronald to marry his sister. Shenanigans ensue.

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes - Evvie Drake is content to putter around her Maine house and let the neighbors think she's mourning her late husband. Her childhood friend Dean moves into the apartment behind her house after his baseball career takes a dip. They agree to not ask about the other's issues. Then I think they fall in love. Maybe. Probably.

I tried to keep it short and sweet for each book. I succeeded more with some that with others.

It looks like the coming summer season has got into my book list as I have added a lot of light, fun books and romances this month. I'm okay with that.

See anything on this list that sounds interesting? Let me know!