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The Vanished by Irina Shapiro Publishes 9/17/26

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  4.5 Stars- I was so excited to see this book was out as I have loved reading the other 9 books in this series.  It has been awhile since the last book in the series was published but I was able to pick this up and get right back into the world of Quinn.  What makes this series unique is that it blends a little bit of fantasy with historical fiction.   In this novel Quinn investigates with Rhys, a body that has been found preserved in a well in the Lake District in England.  They are hoping that a ring found on the body will speak to Quinn and she will be able to uncover what happened to the body so they can use the story to resurrect their television show Echoes from the Past.  The pressure is on because Quinn was outed as a psychic and there are a lot of people who don't believe she has the gift.  After investigating Quinn learns that the body is a young woman from the 1920s and that her family was in a difficult situation due to her father hav...
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The Henchperson's Guide to Unionizing by Marshall J. Moore Publishes 9/22/26

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This was a great mix of the paranormal, horror, but also fun and a cozy fantasy.   Igor is the doctor's hencheman which basically means he does all the work.  He finds body parts as the doctor is on a quest to make the perfect human.  When Igor and the doctor find themselves at Ravenwald Manor, Igor begins to make friends and find his true worth.  He realizes just how much he has been taken advantage of and begins to think a little differently.  However there is a lot going on at the manor. Tthere is an amulet called the Eye of Anthomset that can destroy the world and people are disapeerings around the village as well as the deer.  The villagers might turn into a mob and kill them all.  This is of course if the vampire or witch don't get them first. This novel was just fun!  I love all things paranormal and this was done in such a way to make me invested in the story.  I love a great underdog story and Igor was just that character. ...
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Solar Eclipse of the Heart by Kate Robb Publishes 10/6/26

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  This was such a sweet and enchanting romance! Annalise has recently lost her uncle to cancer.  He has been the only parental figure in her life for the last several years.  She has effectively closed herself off from the world and only focused on her work.  She will be moving to Liverpool to work on her PhD for 2 years so she needs to sublet her aparartment.  Before she leaves she decides to get a roommate and then that roommate will take over her lease.  However the roommate she thinks she is renting to is not the one she gets.  The roommate ends up being a very hot guy who has come to Toronto to be part of a band so that he can write his own music.  Annalise finds herself falling for him but there is more to the story because his jacket appears to have magical qualities. Every time she puts it on she sees things from the past.  Annalise must figure out where she truly wants her life to go and if she should follow her heart. I loved the ma...
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Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley (Agatha Christie) Publishes 9/22/26

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  4.5 Stars- This was a really great mystery that blended a character from classic mystery novels with the writing of one of my favorite thriller authors. The story is set in 1950 at a mountain resort in Switzerland. There are four characters that tell their story.  Each one has a different reason for being at the hotel.  Diana Glass is a companion to Mrs. Bantry and Miss Marple.  She is much younger than the other two women and there is an air of mystery around her.  Catherine Narracott is on a ski holiday with her politician husband.  Catherine is trying very hard to be the perfect wife but her husband is horribly self-centered.  They also money problems although her husband thinks that after this trip their problems will be solved.  Then we have Sylvia Sinclair.  She is a Hollywood movie star who just wants to get away and be with her lover.  Her career in Hollywood is not what it once was.  She went from leading lady to now bein...
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The Treasure House by Amy Matthews Publsihes 9/1/26

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 This book was truly a treasure!  5 out of 5 Stars Zoe is a young single mother who just wants her own home.  After looking on social media she finds that there are houses known as treasure houses because they are easily affordable.  The only catch is that they are usually in need of lots of repair and may have lots of junk.  Zoe finds one in coastal Maine and she is determined to make this her own home.  However after meeting her new neighbors and the hot caretaker Jake, Zoe finds that there is something secretive about the house's former owner Marley.  Zoe wants to not only set the house to rights but figure out Marley's story.  She also finds herself drawn to Jake.  The only problem is Zoe has secrets of her own.   I really loved this book.  There were flashbacks to Marley's life that I thoroughly enjoyed.  Her story was just as interesting as Zoe.  I also loved Zoe's daughter Flo. She was a delightful character an...
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Christmas at Honeycombe Bay by Lilac Mills Publishes 9/29/26

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This was a super sweet story, perfect for Christmastime.  What I loved about the story is it featured characters in their 60s.  Eloise is sick of Christmas.  She has no family and she just doesn't want to celebrate this year.  She decides to travel to a Bed and Breakfast that she stayed in years ago in Honeycombe Bay.  The owner of the B&B is Bart.  He is still grieving the loss of his wife who died over a year ago.  His son wants him to sell the B&B so when Eloise calls him to book a room he decides to open it to anyone else who doesn't want to celebrate the holidays.  However their plans get thwarted when the town decides that it is going to have a major Christmas festival.  Then a single mom loses her rented home to a fire.  Now Bart and Eloise need to figure out if they can really forgo Christmas.  This was an absolutely charming novel and perfect for Christmas time.  I loved that the main characters were older....
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A Study in Sparkling by Jodi McAlister Publishes 9/15/26

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  An overall excellent romance novel! Five out of Five Stars. I really enjoyed the first book in this series so I was excited to see this novel out.  I would caption this book "Romance but with Substance". You also don't have to have read the first book to enjoy this one. This story focuses on Fiona and Satoshi.  Fiona is reeling because he ex has come back in her life and now wants to have contact with her kids.  Not only that but he wants his children from his other family to meet Fiona's kids.  Fiona finds herself taking refuge at Tsundoku and turning to Satoshi for comfort.  Satoshi would do anything for Fiona as he is madly in love with her.  The only problem is Fiona thinks Satoshi is too young for her and has a ton of emotional baggage from her first marriage.  In this novel they both try to find a way to navigate their feelings and deal with all of life's punches.   First of all, after reading this, I feel like I know so much mor...
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Murder on the Sacred River by Tasha Alexander Publishes 9/22/26

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  Another interesting addition to this series.  What I love about these books is that it is always a historical fiction story within a historical fiction mystery story.  In the first timeline we have Lady Emily trying to solve a mystery about the death of an Englishman a the Ahilya Fort in India.  There are a variety of characters each with their own interesting backstory.  Emily is a force to be reckoned with and even though it is 1908, she doesn't let anyone get in the way of her getting to the truth.  I love that she is the main character and her husband is more of the side piece.  My favorite part of the book was the secondary story.  This was of Ahilya in 1740.  She is married to the future ruler but he loves alcohol more than he loves being an effective ruler in India.  Ahilya wants to be a good wife, and mother but she also is extremely intelligent and wants to do right by the people of India.  She must overcome the issues in...
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The Christmas Yes List by Melissa Ferguson Publishes 10/6/26

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 This was a really cute romance.  It definitely had some great laugh out loud moments.  Chloe is tired of being taken advantage of.  She has left her job after her boss tried to make her do something that was unethical. Chloe is determined to never let that happen again so she tries to get 10 rejections before Christmas.  She is hoping this will help her stand up for herself.  Only on her quest to do that she ends up meeting a very attractive guy named James who seems to be saying yes to everything she asks.  The two wind up in hilarious situations in this perfect rom-com for Christmas.  If you are looking for a funny romance set at Christmas time, this is the book I would choose.   4 out of 5 Stars Thank you to Thomas Nelson Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 
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The Lost Kingdom of Daughters by Weina Dai Randel Publishes 11/1/26

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 A wonderful new historical fiction about a matriarchal tribe in China! This novel is set in the 1950s and is about a woman from the Moso tribe in China named Lazo. She comes from a mountain tribe that sees women as the head of the family.  Women do not marry but instead choose lovers and then raise those children without the father.  One day two brothers from America come to their village after getting lost.  Usually the Moso people do not allow foreigners but they take pity on the men.  Lazo finds herself fascinated with them and soon falls in love.  What follows is a riveting story filled with action, romance, jealousy, intrigue, and so much more.   The fact that this story is based on a real tribe of people who are a matriarchy makes this a must read!  I loved reading about their culture and customs.  The story that revolves around Lazo was also good.  Lazo was telling the story but the readers still got different perspectives o...
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