-
The Better Mother
Author: Jennifer van der Kleut
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Published: February 10, 2026Birth Announcement (Just kidding! Book Review 🙂
Everything is going well for Savannah at last. She’s pretty much over the breakup with her boyfriend, her career looks to be headed on track, and she’s comfy in her new apartment. She’s started dating. And there’s the red flag!
After three years with Jason, Savannah was ready for a baby. The problem: Jason wasn’t. So when she ends up looking at the two blue lines on the pregnancy stick after her casual encounter with Max, her feelings are all over the place. The first thing she does is get in touch with Max to let him know. The second thing that happens totally blindsides her- Max is back with his girlfriend. And now his girlfriend wants to meet her.
Madison seems much too invested in the pregnancy and, if you’re hearing dun dun dun in the background, you heard correctly. Madison is evil. And she has plans for this baby. Plans that don’t include Savannah.
The tension ramps up as we find out who’s gaslighting whom…and how far people are willing to go to protect themselves.
Thanks so much to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and Jennifer van der Kleut, for her debut novel. I can’t wait to see what she writes next! -
First Date
Author: Gemma Amor
Publisher: Datura Books
Published: February 10, 2026My main takeaways from this book are:
1. I felt cold the entire time I was reading it
2. No one could have survived what the two MCs went through
3. [Spoiler alert]: I am so grateful the author saw fit to dispense with the Lone Diner in the way that she did!
Even with some distance between reading the book and writing this review, I am unsure how I feel about it. The torture of the poor main characters went on and on. It was excruciating to read, and maybe this reader’s discomfort meant that I identified with Amandine and Connor. The feeling of being out in the cold was vivid, especially as I read this as the temperatures dropped outside. It’s a great read for snuggling with under a blanket.
If you like your suspense intense, your horror gory, and your characters a little bit (well, a lot) flawed, this one’s for you!
Thank you to NetGalley and Datura Books for an advance reader’s copy. -
We Were Never Friends
Author: Kaira Rouda
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Published: February 3, 2026This author’s books are ones I go to when I’ve just come off a series of hard-hitting thrillers or horror books, or a deeply moving nonfiction book. Her writing is just fun, soap opera, housewives of (locality) material. Not a lot for the reader to think about. Just pure devious fictional characters with secrets and lies.
What made this book even more enjoyable for me was the setting. A recently renovated Palm Springs vacation home that reeks of the hotel these sorority sisters stayed in 25 years ago – with disastrous results. Ostensibly a celebration of two of their children’s future marriage to each other, it’s a showcase…and showtime…for Roxy Gentry, the self-appointed “hostess with the mostest”. But when the secrets start being revealed, not one person will come out of the house the same. Some of them may not even come out!
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for indulging my love of thrillers with an advance reader’s copy. -
Murder Manor
Author: Cori Nevruz
Publisher: Masonboro Press
Published: February 3, 2026Cori Nevruz is becoming one of my go-to authors for creepy house settings. I read The Unwelcome Guest last year, a locked-room (island) thriller about a family reunion on a remote island. The setting of this, a remote mountain-top retreat, gave me the same creepy vibe.
The Johnson family of five has decided to spend their vacation at Murdoch Manor. They have no idea that it’s been linked to the disappearances of several people throughout the years, starting with the disappearance of Maryanne Maxwell in 1954. The story alternates between the POVs of Rachel and Mia Johnson and the victims of those who went missing over the years. To complicate matters, there is a family that is responsible for cooking and cleaning, BnB style, but their interactions with the family are rather suspect to me!
As much as I try to stay away from paranormal events in stories, Mia’s ability to see spirits is a thread that is important to the story, and it was so well done that it didn’t make me cringe.
Thank you to Book Sirens and Masonboro Press for keeping this author on my radar with an advance reader’s copy. -
This House Will Feed
Author: Maria Tureaud
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Published: January 27, 2026I have said I don’t read historical fiction.
I have said I don’t read romance.
I have said I don’t read fiction with supernatural elements.
Dear reader, I lied! Because I absolutely loved This House Will Feed, which has all of the above and more. Horror. Suspense. And plenty of other things that may or may not be triggers for you. Suffice to say, Maria Tureaud has done her research and has opened my eyes to the horror that was The Great Hunger, otherwise known as the Great Irish Potato Famine, when a fungus blighted the potato crops of Ireland.
Reading the author’s note is a must, because while the lack of food stocks caused great hunger, it was the British landowners who ousted tenants and/or confiscated their possessions and land who were responsible for so much suffering. My heart ached, not just for the fictional Maggie O’Shughnessy and her family, but also for the real people of Ireland who lived through that painful era. Come for the gothic horror; stay for the history lesson!
The author includes references, a pronunciation guide, translations/meanings of words in the book, and a reading group guide.
I love Irish fiction and I will read anything Maria Tureaud writes. Thank you to Kensington Publishing for sending me an advance reader’s copy so that I could discover a new favorite author! -
Dead in the Water
Author: John Marrs
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: January 20, 2026I thought I knew where this book was going, but no, I did not!! Oh yes, I guessed the first twist. But I was foolish to think the author was going to stop there. Because, come on, this is John Marrs. He just has to give you another twist…and another…and then the twists just keep coming.
Once Damon has a near-death experience, he can’t stop obsessing over the visions he had. He swears that he is not hallucinating, but seeing the people from those visions in real life. And those people have a message for him. One he must die again to interpret. And again. And again.
Before long, Damon’s compulsion has driven away his ex-wife and her girlfriend, and they’re not even sure they want him to father their child anymore. Because he’s a ghost of who he was before he drowned. And something has changed.
At one point Damon says, “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 97. 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘥.” Oh no, Damon, your life ends at Chapter 39 (IYKYK).
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for an advance reader’s copy. -
The Locksmith
Author: Danielle Fear
Publisher: Indie
Published: January 27, 2026You can hide in your houses. You can lock your doors. But nothing is keeping The Locksmith out.
Just thinking about someone stealthily lurking around your house, creeping into your bedroom while you’re sleeping, sent shivers down my back. This book began as an investigation into a gruesome serial killer but turned into so much more. It explores the unknown impact our actions may have on others, the obsessions we hold while ignoring what should matter more to us, and the perceptions that blind us to facts.
The author built the story slowly, but by the end, things move so rapidly that you cannot avert your eyes quickly enough to the chaos that is about to unfold.
Thank you to the author, @daniellefearauthor for including me in the ARC group!
-
Real Life, Fake Likes
Author: M. Kay
Publisher: Indie
Published: December 27, 2025This book answers the question of why we are emotionally attached to social media. It doesn’t attempt to get you to become a digital nomad, but encourages you ask yourself a series of questions to self-analyze your use: 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭-𝘰𝘶𝘵? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?
The author doesn’t assume that you will give up social media, even knowing the ways that the algorithm tricks you into staying engaged (scrolling). They provide some tips to help you use your time online wisely, and more efficiently:
• Spot the algorithm’s tricks
• Engage actively, consume passively less
• Practice the pause
• Question the urge
There is some repetition, but I love that the tone of the book doesn’t come off preachy – the author admits to her share of scrolling. They used research and provided citations under suggested readings. This may just be the wake-up call you need to become a more informed consumer of social media, and to make you feel better about the time you do spend online.
Thank you to Hidden Gems for the opportunity to read an advance reader’s copy. -
The Invisible Woman
Author: James Patterson and Susan DiLallo
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Published: January 5, 2026I liked the premise of this book…an FBI agent who is “of a certain age” would be perfect to go undercover as a nanny and spy on the suspect. And that would be great if Elinor had actually acted like a seasoned FBI agent. But there was so much naivety on her part that I just couldn’t get past it. Elinor’s interactions with her small charge were cute, but there was a lot (a LOT) of potty humor.
Was there a real mystery involved? Yes, and the interplay between art dealings and the lives of the families in the privileged neighborhood where Elinor wound up kept me engaged. And, of course, the “advanced” baby Lily was endearing. You may enjoy this book a lot more than I did, for the wittiness and the writing; cozies just aren’t my cup of tea.
Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for an advance reader’s copy. -
Pretty Little Lies
Author: Jessica Huntley
Publisher: Inkubator Books
Published: December 10, 2025There is something so relatable about a story where one anonymous rumor can take down a person’s business, reputation, or marriage. It sometimes feels like we are one social media click from it happening to any one of us. And Jessica Huntley makes sure we feel every emotion her characters are experiencing!
Amelia has relocated to support Noah and has just gotten her mobile beauty therapist business to the point where it’s profitable. She knows not to get too personal with clients, although there is one client she feels she can confide in. And then there’s the new client – whose behavior is nothing short of stalkerish. And her husband has been acting weird for a couple of weeks. When clients start dropping, and her husband gets caught in a lie, it’s time for a nail-biting (pun intended 😉 twist.
The short chapters invite you to read “just one more chapter”, and the twists will keep you reading though the night.
Thank you to NetGalley, Inkubator Books, and the author for an advance reader’s copy.
Book Cravings 