-
Gift Keepers
Author: Shade Owens
Publisher: Red Raven Publishing
Published: December 1, 2025This short little novella packs quite a punch!
Just in time for Christmas, this is a story about a Yuletide tradition that is a total horror show. It’s a story about a man saved from addiction, his quest to find his sponsor before a snowstorm descends, and the secret ritual he finds in an abandoned coal mine.
I have read two other books by indie author Shade Owens and she is always a five-star read!
Thanks to Book Sirens for an arc of this novella – publishing December 1. They’re the folks who introduced me to some of my favorite new-to-me authors!
Background image courtesy of Anastasiia Chepinska @unsplash
-
All Eyes on Him
Author: Illiana Xander
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Published: December 2, 2025I read thrillers, so I’m used to suspending disbelief, but there were so many coincidences and unbelievable scenarios in this book that it almost made me quit reading. But I stuck with it and I’m glad I did! Once it got going, I couldn’t put it down.
Natalie gets a job working for the wealthy, private man whom she believes might have hurt her friend. She thinks she knows more about him than the staff does. They clearly don’t like her and keep warning her away, but like the naive, headstrong person she is, she keeps coming back. Ducking the cameras (but did she find them all?). And eavesdropping on conversations. Little does she know, she’s about to put everyone’s life in danger!
The conclusion was fast-paced, and the interactions between the main character and one of the staff members were fun to watch. If you need something to break your reading slump, give All Eyes on Him a try!
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advance reader’s copy – my second book by Iliana Xander! -
Ten Thousand Light Years From Okay
Author: Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: December 1, 2025I’m not crying, you’re crying!
Although this book is categorized as women’s fiction rather than romance, it incorporates elements of mystery, fantasy, and trauma. It’s centered around Thea’s inability to write a new book after her first book seemed to foretell her husband’s tragic death. Now she thinks she can “manifest reality” through her writing. Her psychologist calls it “magical thinking”. After deciding to write a “happily ever after” story to change her fate, she can’t believe it when coincidences start happening after it’s published. But just like in the book, she’s met someone. To celebrate her newfound relationship, she leaves her friend’s apartment “carrying a Ziploc filled with a shocking assortment of condoms”.
What Thea doesn’t count on is the social media backlash, which sends her into a tailspin. Even though she doesn’t realize it, her mother-in-law’s ultimatum to seek therapy winds up being the best thing to happen to her. Because what she thought was true, and what really happened were two very different things.
This was the third book I read as an ambassador for BookSparks’ #FRC2025 and my first book by the author team of Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman. It was totally readable, full of humor, drama, and even…dare I say it…romance! Yay for #PracticalBookMagic! -
One Little Mistake
Author: Miranda Rijks
Publisher: Inkubator Books
Published: November 9, 2025Whenever I’m asked for a list of auto-buy authors, Miranda Rijks is always at the top of the list! She’s my go-to palate cleanser 🙂
This book is a cautionary tale about what happens when petty mean-girl activities take on a life of their own. There are so many layers that even Kate, the author of a spreadsheet ranking her friends, can’t figure out who has released her private thoughts. Or why someone is sending her threatening text messages. Or who’s following her in the black SUV.
Did I mention her marital relationship? Oh yeah. Not so good. Jared is not supportive when Kate is iced out by her friends, the moms at school, and even her business clients. But Karma has a way of striking back. And that’s where Miranda Rijks shines.
If you love a good thriller with lots of twists and turns, you can’t go wrong with One Little Mistake (see what I did there 😉
Thanks to Booksprout, the author, and Inkubator Books for an advanced reader’s copy.Background photo courtesy of Denis Sebastian Tamas @unsplash
-
The First Wives
Author: S. E. Reed
Publisher: Storm Publishing
Published: September 24, 2025Hannah McMillan is a trad-wife influencer with a wealthy husband, twins (boy and a girl), a beautiful house beachside in Florida – the perfect life. Happy wife, happy life, right?
Wrong! Court works in crypto finance and travels for days. Since he’s paranoid about work secrets getting out, he doesn’t allow Hannah to have help – no nanny, housekeeper, or cook. No pictures of him on Instagram.
Then Sophia moves in next door. She too, has a wealthy husband she never sees. And worse – he has a secret family! So of course, I figured out the twist. Yay me! Nope – that was just what the author intended. Because whiplash! There are more twists to come, and the book picks up steam and doesn’t let go. The second half of the book will have you reading far into the night!
It was interesting to see the friendship between the two women evolve, then slowly devolve as Hannah learns more about who Sophia really is. The confrontations with Court made me want to scream! And thanks to her stylist, Sinclair, we even get a bit of comic relief!
Thanks to @Novel.Tours for introducing me to this new-to-me author with an advance eArc! -
Breathe In, Bleed Out
Author: Brian McAuley
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Published: September 2, 2025I’m relatively new to the horror genre, and I didn’t think I’d like slashers, but there was something about this book that allowed me to peek through my fingers at the gruesome goriness!
- Cult like atmosphere? Check!
- Mysterious guru and creepy accomplice? Check!
- Remote setting? Check!
- Infighting among friends? Check and check!
Hannah has lost her boyfriend in a hiking accident, although we get the feeling there is more to it. She is wracked by all kinds of guilt and keeps hallucinating he’s haunting her. Her visions are so disorienting that she messes up at work and is put on leave. She decides to reach out to her former friend, who invites her to a spa – all details are shrouded in mystery since it’s by invitation only. Of course, it’s in a secluded area. Of course there’s a charismatic guru. And of course, people are unalived. I told you this was a slasher, right? 🙂 To say more would be to give too much away, but just know that this is the perfect gateway book for someone new to horror!
Thank you to Camp NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advance reader’s copy. -
The Burning Library
Author: Gilly Macmillan
Publisher: William Morrow
Published: November 18, 2025This book is categorized as a thriller. I would call it an intelligent thriller.
How many secret societies exist in the world? And would you know the members if they weren’t looking for you?Dr. Anya Brown is just trying to make a name for herself. When she solves the mystery of Folio 9, she’s sought out by a group purporting to be an elite academic university. But soon she’s caught in the crosshairs between two female-led societies, with opposing philosophies. And they want what Anya holds the key to.
This book starts out slowly while it establishes the background, but it’s worth sticking with! If you enjoy Dan Brown-style books or Katherine Neville’s The Eight, fiction based on historical facts, and Scottish settings, this one is for you!
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advance reader’s copy. -
You’ll Never Know
Author: Caleb Stephens
Publisher: Thrillerscape
Published: November 9, 2025If you like smart thrillers with pacing that slams in your solar plexus, this is one for you. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – Caleb Stephens is an auto-buy for me!
Grant and Avery set off for a remote hike that Reddit says has a stunning view. Grant is white-knuckled, thinking that they’re lost, until he sees the stunning mountain landscape in front of him. Just before they get out of the car, Avery gives Grant a present that makes him love her even more than he already does. A photo of an ultrasound. Just before she’s kidnapped.
This is a complex story, with three intersecting plots. But hang in there, because once the connections are made, you’ll be screaming over what happens next. Grant is in a race to solve riddles the kidnapper sends, with barely enough time to make his connections. And then it’s up to you, dear reader, to choose sides.
Thank you to the author and Thrillerscape Press for an advance reader’s copy of this thrilling read! -
Hazelthorn
Author: C. G. Drew
Publisher: Macmillan Publishing Group
Published: October 28, 2025I knew I was in for a treat when I saw the cover of this book. I didn’t realize how much empathy I would feel for the main character, Evander, and then for Laurie, the misunderstood, quietly witty son of Byron, an unscrupulous man who owns the Hazelthorn estate.
he’s lying, he’s lying, he’s lying
When he is mysteriously released from his room, Evander doesn’t know who he can trust. All of the once-forbidden family descend on the house once Bryon dies (is murdered), and Evander suspects all of them. Most of all, he doesn’t trust Laurie, the object of his desire and hate. But once he ventures into the garden, memories start flooding back – they never should have left him in the kitchen…
CG Drews made the house feel alive, with vines and flowers undulating in musty rooms, creeping up the wallpaper, and even under the beds. You can see the peeling wallpaper, smell the rot clinging to the floorboards, and visualize the overgrown garden, as it flourishes beyond control. And maybe, you might just dream about Hazelthorn…Background photo courtesy of Judson Moore at Unsplash.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan’s Publishing Group for an advance reader’s copy. -
House of Cavanaugh
Author: Polly Dugan
Publisher: Sybilline Press
Published: October 7, 2025This is the second book in my track from the BookSparks #FRC2025 Fall Reading Challenge.
House of Cavanaugh revolves around the worst kind of secret: an affair that led to a pregnancy, that neither the woman’s husband, her daughter, nor the father knows about.
Through a series of coincidences and accidental revelations after she dies, Joan’s husband, children, former lover, and his daughter are thrust into circumstances they could never have predicted. This is the story of how they handle it, and the complexities of relationships in the aftermath of a life-changing event.
The story is told with an angst that felt so real at times, and so intensely personal, that it was hard to put the book down, and I surprised myself by reading it in one day.
Many thanks to Sibylline Press and to BookSparks for an advance reader’s copy by this new-to-me author.
Book Cravings 