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The Awakening: Or The Plight of Vampire Christian Du
Mauré by Denise Rago
Published:
October 13, 2026
Genre:
Vampire, Historical Fiction
Taken from Amazon: “I was not always a bloodthirsty monster …” Thus begins the memoir of the once-mortal Christian Du Mauré wherein he recounts the years and circumstances leading to his decision to become a vampire. He begins with his life as an impoverished mortal deeply in love with his best friend’s sister; when Leila suddenly marries another man and Michel falls for a dangerous mystery woman in Paris, Christian finds himself facing an impossible choice, unaware that his
My Thoughts: I
enjoy vampire books, there was a time when
that was all I read. I have since
branched out but I still look for unique vampire stories. This one caught my attention due to the
historical fiction aspect of the story.
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres right now. Put a vampire in a historical fiction book
and I knew I would love it…spoiler! I
did love it.
Author Denise K Rago wrote a novella that told a full
story. The characters were well
developed and easy to relate to. The story moved along at a steady pace with
enough detail that I could see the book in my head as I read the words.
Thank you to the author for a copy of the book in exchange
for my honest review.
Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads
Purchase your own copy on Amazon
The
Holly & Mark Mystery Series #1
Home for the Homicides by Elle
Cosimano, Hannah
Morrissey
Published: October
13, 2026 by Minotaur Books
Genre: Christmas, Cozy
Murder, Romance
My Thoughts: A
murder in the town of Christmas and they bring in the SBI to solve the crime
before the Jingle Bell Jubilee festival. The murder is the reason Mark and
Holly go to Christmas but there is so much more to their story.
This book had me laughing, smiling, and enjoying reading. The characters were
quirky, fun and relatable. The town of Christmas was over the top but full of
small town charm. I love seeing Mark and Holly make their way around town,
questioning residents, visiting the shops, trying to figure out who the
murderer is and why they killed the visitor to town. There were a few times
that I felt Mark and Holly were missing obvious clue, they were SBI agents, how
could they miss so many clues.
The narrator has some fun quips. I am not sure I have ever read a book that had
a narrator, that was unique and something that did not actually add to the
story but made me smile a few times.
Thank you Minotaur Books for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest
review.
Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads
Purchase your own copy on Amazon
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Please Enjoy Your Stay by Tara Goedjen
Published: October
13, 2026 by Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Genre: Mystery
Thriller, Horror, Supsense
Taken from Goodreads: After a true crime podcast reopens her cousin’s murder case, a woman must confront her past at a glamorous European castle-turned-hotel where she follows a trail of toxic family secrets and deadly lies.
My Thoughts: A castle
in the Austrian Alps has a history of murders.
The creepy, gothic, murder ridden castle is a perfect setting for a
book. Tara Goedjen did a wonderful job
taking the reader right into the setting.
I could picture the rooms, the views, the creepiness of the castle. I also knew that there was no way I would
want to stay there.
The multiple POV’s kept me intrigued as to what I would
learn next. I liked the fact that the
podcast kept up with the events and was a big part of the story. The past was interesting; it showed that
there was definitely more to the story back then. The present was full of drama and
secrets. It seemed that everyone has a
secret, a tie to the past, and a reason to be worried that they would be next
to die.
I really enjoyed the book.
I was entertained and invested.
There was not a huge pull for me to sneak time to read more but when I
read the book I did not want to stop.
Thank you Atria Books for a copy of the book in exchange for
my honest review.
Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads
Purchase your own copy on Amazon
Before writing books, Tara worked as a tennis coach (in Europe), as a college lecturer (in Australia), and as a fiction editor for a global publishing house.
She has a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Alabama, and is also the author of two young adult mystery novels: No Beauties or Monsters and The Breathless. Her short fiction has appeared in Agni, BOMB MAGAZINE, New England Review, and Fairy Tale Review, among others.
Tara loves traveling the world and talking about books. She currently lives with her family in the misty Pacific Northwest, where she can usually be found hiking through a mysterious wood while dreaming up her next novel.
After the Fall
Wendy Roberts
Publication date: October 9th 2026
Genres: Adult, Thriller
“This is an excellent read for those who want true psychological crime built around family secrets. Very highly recommended.”
Asher Syed for Readers’ Favorite__
Amber clings to the wreckage of a shattered life; a hermit drowning in the ghosts of what used to be.
When someone dumps a mutilated body on her wilderness property, a cryptic clue makes her the prime suspect. To clear her name, she must confront the dark secrets of her tragic past while a shadowy executioner is closing in.
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo
—
EXCERPT:
When the blade of death whittled my family of three down to only me, I ran. Grief had scraped me empty, so fourteen months ago I fled to a shack in the northeastern Washington wilderness. I was seeking sanctuary and hoping the pines would mend my shattered soul. Maybe that was too much to expect of the trees. At least they didn’t judge the monument to my failure; a recycling bin overflowing with wine bottles.
The morning light struggled through my grimy windows and poked at my hangover. I took my coffee mug outside and stood on the splintered porch of the small cabin. The air was deceptively still and heavy, carrying the sharp scent of sunbaked pine needles and the silent, shimmering threat of an approaching scorcher of a day. My cabin sat at the dusty elbow of two dirt roads. Between my door and the ditch was half an acre of thigh-high, dewless grass that stood stiff and dry alongside leggy wildflowers and a single tree.
The western hemlock tried for the heavens at nearly two hundred feet, and it was the area under the tree that drew my critical gaze. A woman sat in the tall grass, back against the tree. What was someone doing way the hell out here?
With an eye roll I left the house and stormed toward her.
“Hey!” I shouted.
The strap of her checkered sundress had fallen from one shoulder and as I reached her, I lifted a hand to tap her arm. As my finger got close, a cloud of flies lifted and re-settled into gaping, torn flesh. The wind shifted direction and a thick miasma of putrid decay stung my nostrils. I stumbled backward as my stomach lurched.
Dead!
I couldn’t stop the tremor in my jaw; my teeth clattered together as I whispered broken words, “I-I should check to be sure . . .”
But my voice trailed off because nothing that smelled like that could be anything but gone.
Author Bio:
Wendy Roberts is an armchair sleuth, fan of all things mysterious but a huge chicken at heart. Her mind is often in the secretive, cloak and dagger world of intrigue while her physical presence is usually at home or on the road in her camper van. Wendy resides in Vancouver, Canada where she happily writes about murder and is always at work on her next novel.
GIVEAWAY!
After the Fall Blitz
Murder on 34th Street by Mariah
Fredericks
Published: October 6,
2026 by Minotaur Books
Genre: Historical
Fiction, Christmas, Holiday Mystery
Taken from Goodreads: From the author of The Girl in the Green Dress comes a delightful and captivating novel about a fictional murder mystery at the iconic Macy's parade leading up to the holidays in historic New York City.
My Thoughts: Murder
on 34th Street is Christmas, historical fiction, and murder mystery all in one.
This might be the first time I have read these genres together in one book and
I really enjoyed it. I love the Macy’s Day Parade and that was a big part of
this book.
There are twists and turns in this book that I never saw coming. Who would want
to murder the Macy’s store Santa? The biggest twist… I had an idea that the
book would go there but it was so entertaining getting to that point.
Grace works hard to follow the clues. I liked that she questioned many people
but went into the questioning assuming they were innocent. She truly believed
in the people she worked with and wanted to see the best in them. She is a
glass half full person and someone I could relate to.
Thank you St. Martin’s Press for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange
for my honest review.
Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads
Purchase your own copy on Amazon
Death Hits the High Notes
GG Calpo
(The Sweet TOOTH Murder Mystery Series)
Publication date: October 7th 2026
Genres: Adult, Cozy Mystery, Mystery
Trouble is brewing at Whitman’s Port Choral Society as choir members drop dead and Detective Jonathan Storm raises more questions than answers in his investigation. When Stefan, the choir’s soloist, gets weaker by the day, Meg and her friends take matters into their own hands. And if a murder investigation was not enough to elevate anyone’s blood pressure, Meg finds herself in danger tied to her past that she’s struggling to understand.
Will Meg and her friends stop the killer before Stefan becomes the next victim—and before Meg’s past catches up with her?
Join these golden-age sleuths as they follow the clues, protect their own, and prove that friendship is the strongest weapon against a killer.
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo
—
EXCERPT:
There were two new faces I didn’t recognize from last year’s concert. They looked familiar, though I couldn’t place where I had seen them before. The conductor stood in front, his back to us as he summoned the choir’s eyes to him with a few taps of his baton. He took a deep breath, synchronizing the choir’s breathing to his own. Gesturing with his baton, he released the soprano’s voice—rich, powerful, and throbbing with emotion. The beginning strains of the solo filled the auditorium. Holding his right hand at waist level, the conductor flicked his right index finger left, then right, counting the beats.
“That’s Amanda, in case you didn’t know,” Liz told me behind her raised hand.
I nodded and tried to stop my giggles when Liz’s shoulder hit mine.
“Will…you…shut…up?” Barbara widened her eyes more with each word.
Liz waved her hands in surrender, twitched her body deeper into the chair, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. If it weren’t for the trembling of her shoulders, Liz could have fooled us with her pose of deep listening. But we knew her, and all she got from Barbara was another shove. Despite her unfailingly put-together appearance—manicured nails and hair always expertly cut and dyed—Liz hadn’t left her teen years behind. We must have been making a racket because a woman three rows down turned around and glared at us.
Liz and I looked at each other and decided to settle down and listen. I swayed, imagining my soul lifting in prayer, soaring past the lights of the auditorium and ever more upwards into the wide open sky beyond the school building. Then it happened. One minute I was up in the heavens, one with the song; the next minute I was crashing without a parachute.
The glorious voice stopped, leaving echoes of the high note ringing in the auditorium. A harsh cough sounded, jarring and unexpected. The accompanist stopped. The conductor jerked forward while the soprano toppled gracelessly to the floor, face down. Music scores fluttered in the air before landing gently around the stricken woman. A choir member huddled over her while the rest stared in shock.
“She’s not breathing!” The grief-stricken wail rattled my bones.
Barbara jumped up from her chair, her eyes fixed on Stefan, who stood frozen in his place, his eyes fixed on Amanda.
Amanda…who wasn’t moving.
I whipped my phone out of my bag and dialed nine-one-one. How long would help take to get here? Stefan moved to where Amanda was, kneeling to touch her on her shoulder. What was Stefan waiting for? Why was he not giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation? A few other choir members crept nearer but then backed away when Stefan waved them off. Start CPR, I wanted to shout, but couldn’t because the 911 operator had picked up my call.
Then the door to the auditorium opened, and in walked Edna, former third-grade teacher of Post Elementary School and the last of our group. One look at the stage and the woman laid out on the floor had Edna gasping, loud enough for everyone to hear, “Oh no, not another murder?”
Author Bio:
GG Calpo is a retired lawyer and accountant who traded contracts and numbers for the far more enjoyable chaos of fictional crime. Now she writes cozy whodunits featuring warm-hearted golden-aged sleuths who’ve seen it all, heard it all and will investigate a murder with zero hesitation. She loves stories where the stakes are personal, family and friendships are paramount, with characters who refuse to follow the outline and endings that pull the rug out. When not plotting twisty crimes—on paper only, of course—she spends her time reading, crocheting blankets and sweaters for her five grandchildren, watching mystery TV shows and taking long walks in her neighborhood. She lives in Central New Jersey with her husband and two corgis, Whiskey and Nugget.
GIVEAWAY!
Death Hits the High Notes Blitz
Love and Other Cures for the Recently Undead
H.J. Ramsay
Publication date: October 6th 2026
Genres: New Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Romance
CeCe Campbell wakes on the asphalt of a mall parking lot with two missing years and a body that no longer feels like her own. Infected with the Kill Virus on her 18th birthday, she’s among the first to be cured.
Rehabilitation teaches CeCe how to walk, how to speak, how to exist in a world rebuilding itself, but it cannot return what she lost. Her mother is dead. Her brother is missing. And the last memory before the dark is a bite she cannot escape.
When CeCe unexpectedly meets Derrick—the boy who infected her—she’s torn between anger and a strange, undeniable connection. Derrick doesn’t remember what he did. CeCe does, and the truth of that moment is something he’ll never get. Not when he already took everything from her.
But if there’s to be life after the cure, CeCe will have to unwind the past, face what happened the night that bound them together, and decide if love and forgiveness can heal wounds deeper than the ones left by the undead.
Love and Other Cures for the Recently Undead is a haunting post-apocalyptic love story about guilt, survival, and choosing connection in a world where nothing can be undone.
—
EXCERPT:
CeCe opens her mouth to ask for a ride, but by the time she gets the words out, Savannah is already jumping into the van. Her aunt pulls away from the curb.
Derrick looks toward the van and then at CeCe. He smiles. It’s probably meant to be charming, but she finds nothing about him appealing.
He steps toward her.
Why did she insist on walking home? If her dad was here, she’d already be in his car. Now she has to find a way around Derrick. Or maybe she doesn’t. She could wait him out. He’ll have to leave eventually.
CeCe turns back to the school. Just as she’s about to reach for the door, it swings open and Olivia slithers out. They’re so close that CeCe can see every strand of Olivia’s bangs—and something underneath. A scar? Does that mean Olivia isn’t a Survivor? She’ll have to think about that later. Not now.
Olivia inches to the side. The moment she’s out of the way, CeCe lunges for the handle, but it shuts before she can grab it. She yanks. It doesn’t budge. The damn thing’s on auto-lock.
CeCe presses her forehead against the locked door. Did Olivia do that on purpose? Knowing it would leave her trapped out here? She senses Olivia’s stare crawling over her—and Derrick’s.
She can’t deal with this. Can’t deal with them. Her hand clamps around the latch, unable to move. She just wants to go home.
“Hi again,” she hears Derrick say from behind her.
She groans. “Are you going to be here every day?”
“Ah, she speaks. I wasn’t sure if, you know, there was something wrong with your voice.”
“I speak,” she snaps as she turns, half expecting to see Olivia standing beside him, but she’s already down the stairs, heading toward the same rumbling truck. At least that’s one problem solved.
Author Bio:
HJ Ramsay holds an MFA in Creative Writing and is an award-winning author. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Gold Man Review, a West Coast literary journal, and has a background in Psychology and Criminal Justice with dual bachelor’s degrees. Passionate about storytelling that explores the human experience, she crafts narratives that blend emotion, imagination, and depth. When she’s not writing or editing, she enjoys diving into the worlds of speculative fiction and literary fiction alike.
GIVEAWAY!
Love and Other Cures for the Recently Undead Blitz
Evergreen Falls
#3
Mistletoe All the Way by Lauren
Blakely
Published: October 6,
2026 by Atria Books
Genre: Holiday
Romance, Christmas
Taken from Goodreads: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blakely, a small-town spicy, holiday romance about a guarded cowboy veterinarian and a Christmas-loving optimist who team up for a town holiday pageant.
My Thoughts: Lauren
Blakely wrote a cozy Christmas romance set in a small town full of Christmas
spirit. I love the town’s residents and how they spread their cheer without
holding back. The Mr. Holiday contest involved the entire town but featured
just a few men, who were all wanting the title for different reasons.
Noah entered to prove to his grandfather that he is the right person to leave
the family business to. Little did he know how much the contest would change
his outlook and improve his life. With Eloise’s help he has a real shot at
winning and getting the family business.
Mistletoe All the Way is a grumpy/sunshine Christmas romance. There is a
mystery to solve, some twists and turns that surprised me…especially the
ending. I enjoyed this book, even reading it while the temperatures were in the
80’s in my town. There is never a wrong time to read a Christmas book.
Thank you to the author for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my
honest review.
Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads
Purchase your own copy on Amazon