Here are some of the fun new books grabbing my attention this week! [Due to supply chain issues, release dates are subject to change. It’s happening so much right now, I don’t have time to reset all the books to their new dates. I’ll note the changes when I see them. The bottom line is, order your holiday books early!]
Books for Kids
Dachshund Through the Snow – Crosby was so excited to finally be old enough to compete in the North Pole Animal Olympics, but when he’s teased for his small size, he gets discouraged and thinks about quitting. This looks adorable!
Interrupting Chicken: Cookies for Breakfast (now releasing October 26) – Book 3 in the series. A little chicken tries to use nursery rhymes to convince Papa that she should have cookies for breakfast.
Pinkie Promises – A girl who keeps hearing, “That’s not what girls do” gets to meet a woman who is running for president.
Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults
Across the Desert – The latest from the author of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus. When a girl watches her favorite streamer – and online friend – crash her ultralight plane in the desert, she realizes she is the only one who has a chance to find her – and rescue her before she dies in the desert heat.
The League of Picky Eaters (now releasing November 2) – At a school where picky eating is frowned upon, a girl finds herself in the remedial eating class, RETCH.
The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy – When her brother’s magic assessment goes awry and Marya takes the blame, she is sent to a school for “troubled girls.” I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Violets Are Blue (Older Middle Grade) – The latest from Barbara Dee. As Wren starts to make her way in a new town and new school, her mother starts withdrawing and doesn’t seem to be doing well. This one is on my review list – I can’t wait to read it!
What Are the Winter Olympics?
The Heartbreak Bakery (LGBTQ+) – A teen baking at a queer bakery accidentally makes a magical batch of brownies that makes couples break up. I’m curious about this one!
So, This Is Christmas – When Finley goes home to Christmas, Oklahoma from her boarding school, she finds out everything has changed while she has been away.
Thronebreakers – Book 2 in the Crownchasers series. When the Crownchase ended in betrayal, everything changed for Alyssa Farshot. She never wanted to compete in the first place, but now she is in it for revenge. This is the sequel to my favorite book of all of 2020. I have had this on preorder for months. I cannot wait to get my hands on this one, just in time for my Fall Break!
Books for Adults
Betrayal on the Bowery (Hardcover) – Book 2 in the Gilded Gotham Mystery series. Dying men screaming about demons are at the center of this historical mystery starring a society girl-turned investigative journalist.
A Brush with Murder (Hardcover) – Book 1 in the Paint By Murder Mystery series. When a critic is killed behind Chloe’s new painting-event business, she becomes a murder suspect.
Christmas By the Book (Trade Paperback) – While their bookstore is in trouble, a couple decides to make this Christmas special with some anonymous book gifts for those struggling through the holidays.
Digging Up Trouble (Hardcover) – First in the Sweet Fiction Bookshop Mystery series. When Lexi’s dog unearths a body in a shallow grave, Lexi becomes the prime suspect in her neighbor’s murder.
In Hot Water (Hardcover) – First in the new Misty Bay Tea Room Mystery series. When Vivian’s assistant is suspected of murdering her ex, Vivian and Gracie team up with a local detective to find a killer.
No Words (Trade Paperback) – Book 3 in the Little Bridge Island series. A writer looking at a festival on Little Bridge Island as a solution to her financial woes while she is in the throes of writer’s block doesn’t count on her author nemesis being at the same festival.
The Party Crasher (Hardcover) – The latest from Sophie Kinsella. Effie sneaks into her family home to find a treasure she left behind, hoping to go un-noticed by her father and his young new wife who are throwing a party over the sale of the house. But Effie’s sneaking leads her to overhear some things that change how she views everything in her past.
The Patriot List (Trade Paperback) – First in a new line of Dark Avengers/Marvel Untold novels. Norman Osborne is in charge of the Avengers, which he has secretly filled with a group of super villains. He’d love to put the Green Goblin days behind him and focus on becoming the Iron Patriot. But some members of SHIELD have other ideas. This sounds fascinating!
Seven Deadly Sequins (e-book, October 15) – Book 2 of the Bonnie & Clyde Mystery series by Julie Anne Lindsey. Bonnie’s grandmother is a murder suspect when the woman passing off Gigi’s cobbler recipe as her own is found dead.
The Shadow of Daph: Weddings. Funerals. Sleuthing. (e-book) – Book 2 in the Daphne Jones Mystery series. Daphne Jones is a traveling celebrant who officiates at weddings and funerals and the like. When she and her husband show up in Shady Bend so Daph can perform a funeral, the deceased disappears, but a murderer provides another body. I love the quirky premise of this series!
Slashing Through the Snow (Hardcover) – Book 3 in the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery series. As if Julie Anne Lindsey isn’t busy enough, she has a second book on the list this week under the name Jacqueline Frost. Holly White and her friends and family are back in another Christmas mystery. This time, a critic in Mistletoe to review a variety of businesses is killed, and Holly’s beloved friend, Cookie, is the prime suspect. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Strawberries and Crime (Hardcover) – Book 2 in the Finn Family Farm Mystery series. Charlotte is sleuthing again when local strawberry crops seem to be sabotaged and when the one farmer with a good crop is found dead.
Tacos for Two (Trade Paperback) – Rivals in a food truck competition don’t realize they already know each other – they’ve been exchanging anonymous messages through a dating service for the last month.
When Strivings Cease: Replacing the Gospel of Self-Improvement with the Gospel of Life-Transforming Grace (Hardcover, nonfiction) – Find freedom from the never-ending quest for self-improvement and embrace God’s gift of grace.