Kill Her Twice

Kill Her Twice 

By Stacey Lee 

G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2024. 390 pages. Young Adult 

In 1932 Los Angeles, Lulu Wong, a famous movie star from Chinatown, is found dead. The Chow sisters, Lulu’s former classmates and neighbors, recognize her body. Suspecting foul play and a potential cover-up, the sisters are frustrated by the police’s lack of interest and the powerful forces seeking to frame the murder as evidence of Chinatown's criminality. With the neighborhood’s future at stake, they decide to investigate Lulu's death on their own, hoping to uncover the truth. However, their quest for justice soon puts them in grave danger as they draw closer to the killer. 

This is an intricately plotted and suspenseful read that fans of the Stacey Lee’s other works are sure to enjoy. The two eldest Chow sisters take turns narrating the novel, which is clearly distinguished by the reserved and careful nature of May, and the bold recklessness of Gemma. As happens with siblings of such different personalities they occasionally clash, but their shared determination to find out what happened to Lulu drives them forward. Fans of YA historical mysteries are sure to be pleased. 

If you liked Kill Her Twice, you might also like: 

Foul Lady Fortune 

By Chloe Gong 

Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2022. 511 pages. Young Adult 

In 1931 Shanghai, two Nationalist spies pose as a married couple to investigate a series of brutal murders causing unrest in the city. 

The Silver Blonde

By Elizabeth Ross 

Delacorte Press, 2021. 388 pages. Young Adult 

In 1946 Hollywood, 18-year-old Clara Berg dreams of becoming a film editor and going on a real date with handsome yet unpredictable screenwriter Gil, until she stumbles upon a murder mystery. 

ACS

Snowglobe

Snowglobe 

By Soyoung Park 

Delacorte PRess, 2024. 372 pages. Young Adult 

Snowglobe is a climate-controlled city surrounded by a frozen wasteland, where its citizens live in safety and comfort while their lives are broadcast 24/7 to the less fortunate outside. Chobahm, a devoted viewer of the city’s television programming, dreams of a life like the stars she watches, especially Goh Haeri, Snowglobe’s biggest star. When Haeri dies, Chobahm is chosen to take her place, but life inside Snowglobe is far from the glamorous illusion she expected. As she navigates this new reality, Chobahm uncovers dark secrets, realizing that the truth behind Snowglobe is hidden, and the perfect society is far from it. 

This was an action-packed, complexly plotted dystopia that includes the richness of Korean culture. The cast of characters is quite large, so that can feel a bit overwhelming and hard to follow, but it adds layers to the story since everyone has their own unique perspectives about Snowglobe. If you enjoy YA dystopias, mysteries, and K-media, this is a book you won’t want to miss. 

If you liked Snowglobe, you might also like: 

This Is Not the Real World 

By Anna Carey 

Quirk Books, 2022. 283 pages. Young Adult 

After months of living in the outside world, Jess Flynn returns to the reality show she was unknowingly trapped in for most of her life to expose the dark truth about the production company behind the show. 

Into the Sunken City 

By Dinesh Thiru 

HarperTeen, 2024. 347 pages. Young Adult 

In a world where the rain never stops, impoverished Jin Haldar is offered the score of a lifetime--a massive stash of gold hidden in the sunken ruins of Las Vegas and must do what she promised herself she'd never do again: dive.

ACS

James

James 

by Percival Everett 

Doubleday, 2024. 302 pages. Historical Fiction 

When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. While many narrative set pieces of Twain's original novel remain in place, Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light. 

 Fans of literary fiction and historical fiction will appreciate James, which was shortlisted for the Booker prize and won the National Book Award for fiction this year. Percival Everett turns Huckleberry Finn on its head, offering new insight into a familiar story through strong characterization. In contrast to Twain’s stereotypical and childlike portrayal of Jim, Everett repaints him as a calm and strategic thinker playing a minstrel role to protect his family at all costs. James is a beautiful and haunting retelling, set apart by its lyrical writing. 

If you like James, you might also like:

Demon Copperhead 

by Barbara Kingsolver 

Harper, 2022. 546 pages. Fiction 

Demon Copperhead resets David Copperfield in the mountains of southern Appalachia. It's the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens' anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can't imagine leaving behind. 

Wide Sargasso Sea

by Jean Rhys 

Norton, 1966. 189 pages. Fiction 

With Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys’s last and best-selling novel, she ingeniously brings into light one of fiction’s most fascinating characters: the madwoman in the attic from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. This mesmerizing work introduces us to Antoinette Cosway, a sensual and protected young woman who is sold into marriage to the prideful Mr. Rochester. Rhys portrays Cosway amidst a society so driven by hatred, so skewed in its sexual relations, that it can literally drive a woman out of her mind. 

The Song of Achilles 

by Madeline Miller 

Ecco, 2012. 378 pages. Fiction 

Patroclus, an awkward young prince, follows Achilles into war, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they have learned, everything they hold dear. And that, before he is ready, he will be forced to surrender his friend to the hands of Fate. Set during the Trojan War.

SGR

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love

The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love

by India Holton 

Berkley Romance, 2024. 361 pages. Romantasy 

Rival ornithologists hunt through England for a rare magical bird in this historical-fantasy rom-com reminiscent of Indiana Jones but with manners, tea, and helicopter parasols. Beth Pickering is on the verge of finally capturing the rare deathwhistler bird when Professor Devon Lockley swoops in, capturing both her bird and her imagination like a villain. Albeit a handsome and charming villain, but that's beside the point. As someone highly educated in the ruthless discipline of ornithology, Beth knows trouble when she sees it, and she is determined to keep her distance from Devon. When a competition to become Birder of the Year by capturing an endangered caladrius bird is announced, Beth and Devon are forced to team up to have any chance of winning. But they must take the risk, because fowl play is afoot, and they can't trust anyone else--for all may be fair in love and war, but this is ornithology. 

With clever wordplay, tongue in cheek humor, and sly twists on classic romance tropes (instead of one bed, one inn has too many beds in a storage room, while another offers only cushions on the floor), The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love was a delightful read. It blends elements of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, historical fiction, romance, and light fantasy into a playful and entertaining whole. Pick this book up for an enemies to lovers Romantasy with a lighter tone. 

If you like The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love, you might also like: 

Sorcerer to the Crown 

by Zen Cho 

Ace Books, 2015. 371 pages. Fantasy 

At his wit's end, Zacharias Wythe, Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers and eminently proficient magician, ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England's magical stocks are drying up. But when his adventure brings him in contact with a most unusual comrade, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, he sets on a path which will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain--and the world at large.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries 

by Heather Fawcett 

Del Rey, 2023. 317 pages. Fantasy 

In the early 1900s, a curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town to study faerie folklore, where she discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love. Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on dryadology, the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world's first encylopedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party--much less get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog Shadow, and the Fair Folk to that of friends or lovers. So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hransvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: the dashing and insufferably handsome Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of her research, and utterly confound and frustrate Emily. But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones--the most elusive of all faeries--lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she'll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all--her own heart.

SGR

Old Wounds

Old Wounds

By Logan-Ashley Kisner
Random House Children's Books, 2024. 336 pages. Young Adult Fiction

While on the run, two transgender teens face darkness - both human and inhuman - in the backwoods of Kentucky. Max and Erin, California-bound teens, each have their own reasons for running away. Max, a trans boy, is crumbling under the weight of a family that denies his true identity. Erin, a trans girl, feels lost and insecure despite the acceptance she receives from her mother and sister. When Max finally decides to bid farewell to Columbus, Ohio, and seek a brighter future in Berkeley, Erin agrees to go too. Everything goes sideways after the car won't start and they wind up stranded in rural Kentucky, at the mercy of murderous locals who are searching for someone to sacrifice to a monster who devours girls. The pair must unravel their complicated history as well as find the strength to survive a seemingly endless night. 

Kirkus Reviews says, "The action-packed narrative frequently cuts between scenes and characters, creating a filmlike rhythm that propels readers forward. This work shines a spotlight on transgender people in a genre in which they are underrepresented; it puts Max and Erin through the worst, but ultimately empowers them. An ode to the strength of trans kids, in the face of all kinds of terror." As the reader, I was consistently worrying about Max and Erin, but was also consistently impressed with their strength and bravery. 

If you like Old Wounds, you might also like:

Lockjaw
By Matteo L. Cerilli
Tundra, 2024. 322 pages. Young Adult Fiction

Chuck Warren died tragically at the old abandoned mill, but Paz Espino knows it was no accident - there's a monster under her town, and she's determined to kill it before anyone else gets hurt. She'll need the help of her crew - inseparable friends, bound by a childhood pact stronger than diamonds, distance or death - to hunt it down. But she's up against a greater force of evil than she ever could have imagined. With shifting timeframes and multiple perspectives, Lockjaw is a small-town ghost story, where monsters living and dead haunt the streets, the homes and the minds of the inhabitants.

They Thought They Buried Us
By NoNieqa Ramos
Carolrhoda Lab, 2024. 368 pages. Young Adult Fiction

A sixteen-year old sophomore is about to find out what happens when a dream school is really a nightmare. Yuiza Rivera-Vasquez (she/her, they/them) is accepted to a prestigious, predominantly white, girls' boarding school, which is located upstate, hours from their home in the Bronx. She would rather stay home and make horror movies with her friends, but Mami insists she go and pursue a bigger future. Yuiza decides to investigate the constant odd behavior of the students and faculty, and things turn dark. Not only does the school hide a dangerous past, but Yuiza's fate as a scholarship student might literally lead to their demise. Yuiza's fears and frustrations as a queer Puerto Rican teen at a wealthy, predominantly white school are powerfully felt. Fans of horror movies in particular will appreciate this creepy story that centers survival for queer, BIPOC characters in the face of white supremacy.

Sawkill Girls
By Claire Legrand
Katherine Tegen Books, 2018. 447 pages. Young Adult Fiction

On Sawkill Rock, girls disappear. Not that many, and it's not that strange; the island, with its slick cliffs and dark waters, can bet treacherous. Still, the people of Sawkill tell campfire stories about a hungry monster that, for three girls, is about to become sharply real. Through this dank, atmospheric, and genuinely frightening narrative, the author weaves powerful threads about the dangerous journey of growing up female. In a world where monsters linger at the edges, this is an intensely character-driven story about girls who support each other, girls who betray each other, and girls who love each other in many complicated ways.

LKA

Come Home Safe

Come Home Safe 
By Brian Buckmire
Blink, 2023. 199 pages. Young Adult 

On the subway ride home, Reed just wants to watch videos of his soccer idol, but then police officers question him about a suspect who matches his description. With tact and poise, Reed defends himself while his sister, Olive, films the interaction. Ultimately, they know there is no easy way out of this conflict. In another instance, this time at a café, a woman accuses Olive of stealing her phone and demands to see it. Startled and indignant, Olive watches as the crowd forms and does nothing to help, even as the woman attempts to weaponize the police against her. 

Come Home Safe is the tale of two biracial siblings who know their rights and do all the right things, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re still targeted and face racial biases for simply having dark skin. The teens’ dad is a black public defender (much like the author) who has instructed them on what to do in difficult situations with the police, making this both an instructive and enlightening read. I really appreciated the author’s ability to make me feel so frustrated for these teens, and give me a lot to think about in relatively few pages. I can easily recommend this to anyone looking for some good realistic fiction, especially is you enjoy works that focus on social justice issues. 

If you liked Come Home Safe, you might also like: 

Dear Martin 

By Nic Stone Crown, 2017. 210 pages. Young Adult 

Writing letters to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 17-year-old college-bound Justyce McAllister struggles to face the reality of race relations today and how they are shaping him. 

Invisible Son 

By Kim Johnson 

Random House, 2023. 404 pages. Young Adult 

After spending two months in a juvenile detention center for a crime he did not commit, 17-year-old Andre Jackson returns home and tries to adapt to a Covid-19 world and find his missing best friend. 

ACS

The Wedding People

The Wedding People
by Alison Espach
Henry Holt and Company, 2024. 367 pages. Fiction

It's a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. After several disappointments in her life, Phoebe has decided to splash out for one night at an exclusive hotel before she kills herself. But she's surprised to discover that the hotel has been rented out for a wedding, and she's immediately mistaken as one of the guests. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield, except for Phoebe and Phoebe's plan—which makes it that much more surprising that the two women can't stop confiding in each other, altering Phoebe's plans in unexpected ways.

This book handles so many difficult topics with both tenderness and an unexpected wit. The beginning of this book was a bit hard to read since that's when Phoebe is at her lowest point, but it was so nice to see Phoebe slowly choose to take each day a moment at a time and start to see the bright spots that make life worth living. It also helped that the wedding depicted was an extravagant one filled with interesting characters, which balanced out the heavy feelings without writing them off as unimportant. This is a great choice for lovers of character-driven books that cover the range of human emotions and have a satisfying ending.

If you like The Wedding People you might also like:

Lovers and Liars
by Amanda Eyre Ward
Ballantine Books, 2024. 288 pages. Fiction

Once upon a time, the Peacock sisters were incredibly close. But decades of secrets have led them to separate lives. Now, Sylvie is getting married to Simon, a mysterious, wealthy man from Northern England. Cleo, a criminal defense lawyer, is convinced that Simon is not the man he seems to be. And Emma is living a lie, hoping her husband and sons don't find out. When the sisters come together for Sylvie's destination wedding, they must overcome their differences and find the courage to make new choices.

Sorrow and Bliss
by Meg Mason
Harper, 2021. 337 pages. Fiction

Martha Friel just turned forty. Once, she worked at Vogue and planned to write a novel. Now, she has nowhere to go except her childhood home: a bohemian (dilapidated) townhouse in a romantic (rundown) part of London—to live with her mother, a minorly important sculptor (and major drinker) and her father, a famous poet (though unpublished) and try to survive without the devoted, potty-mouthed sister who made all the chaos bearable, and is now too busy or too fed up to deal with her. But maybe by starting over Martha will get to write a better ending for herself--and she'll find out that she's not quite finished after all.

A Man Called Ove
by Fredrick Backman
Atria Books, 2014. 337 pages. Fiction

A curmudgeon hides a terrible personal loss beneath a cranky and short-tempered exterior while clashing with new neighbors, a boisterous family whose chattiness and habits lead to unexpected friendship.

MB

To Shape a Dragon's Breath

To Shape a Dragon's Breath
By Moniquill Blackgoose

Del Rey Books, 2023. 511 pages. YA Fiction.

Revered as a Nampeshiweisit, a person in a unique relationship with a dragon, by her people, 15-year-old Indigenous girl Anequs, at odds with the “approved” way of doing things, is forced by Anglish conquerors to attend a proper dragon school -- and if she cannot succeed there, her dragon will be killed.

A moving story with a brilliant Indigenous protagonist in Anequs.  The book explores themes of colonialism and cultural preservation brilliantly intertwined with a magical world of dragons.  Each of the various supporting characters show the varying ways that they have coped with these issues and the different schools of thought that they subscribe to through their words and actions, adding depth and breadth to the message. 

If you liked To Shape Dragon's Breath, you may also like:
 

Black Sun
By Rebecca Roanhorse

Saga Press, 2020. 454 pages. Fantasy.

 
Xiala, a disgraced Teek who can calm waters or cause madness with her song, arrives and disrupts the holy city of Tova during the winter solstice.

The Daughters of Izdihar

By Hadeer Elsbai
Harper Voyager, 2023. 370 pages. Fantasy.
 
In a novel set wholly in a new world, but inspired by modern Egyptian history, about two young women--Nehal, a spoiled aristocrat used to getting what she wants, and Giorgina, a poor bookshop worker used to having nothing--who find they have far more in common, particularly in their struggle for the rights of women and their ability to fight for it with forbidden elemental magic.

RBL

Una Luna Sin Miel

Una Luna Sin Miel
Por Christina Lauren
VR Editoras, 2022. Romántica

Olive siempre tiene mala suerte. Su gemela, en cambio, es tan afortunada que ha conseguido organizar su boda ganando concursos en las redes. Sin embargo, cuando todos se intoxican con la comida de la fiesta, la luna de miel queda vacante. Solo Olive e Ethan, su némesis, están a salvo. Si quieren disfrutar de unas vacaciones en Hawái, el único precio que deberán pagar será fingir que se aman como recién casados. ¿Por cuánto tiempo podrá Olive sostener la mentira?

Si le gusta «Una Luna Sin Miel» le recomendamos:

Cosas Que Nunca Dejamos Atrás
Por Lucy Score
Chic Editorial, 2023. Romántica

Si hay algo que tiene claro, es que no es su tipo. Para nada. Knox prefiere vivir su vida tal y como se toma el café: solo. Pero todo cambia cuando llega a su pueblecito un terremoto llamado Naomi, una novia a la fuga en busca de su gemela, de la que lleva años sin saber nada. Lástima que su hermana le robe el coche y el dinero y la deje a cargo de una sobrina que no sabía que existía. Al ver cómo la vida de Naomi se va al traste, Knox decide hacer lo que mejor se le da: sacar a la gente de apuros. Después, volverá a su rutina solitaria ... O ese es el plan.

Asistente del Villano
Por Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Faeris, 2024. Romántica

Dado que Evie Sage es quien debe encargarse de mantener a su hermana y a su padre enfermo, su situación laboral no es meramente importante; es vital. Así que, cuando un percance con el Villano más infame de Rennedawn acaba en una oferta de empleo, no tiene más remedio que aceptar. Ningún trabajo es perfecto, claro, pero menos aún cuando te enamoras de tu terrorífico, temperamental e innegablemente atractivo jefe.

Justo cuando se está acostumbrando a ver cabezas cortadas colgando del techo y a la extraña sensación de pisar un globo ocular extraviado mientras anda, Evie empieza a sospechar que entre se esconde una enorme rata ... y no solo en sentido literal. Algo podrido está emergiendo en el reino de Rennedawn, y alguien quiere acabar con El Villano y con todo su perverso imperio. Ahora Evie no solo va a tener que evitar babear por su jefe, sino también que averiguar quién es exactamente la persona que lo está saboteando para que él pueda hacérselo pagar. Pero es que, claro, cuesta mucho encontrar un buen trabajo.

MEB

Labels: Español, MEB, Romántica

Never Saw Me Coming

Never Saw Me Coming

By Vera Kurian

Park Row Books, 2021. 389 pages. Mystery

It would be easy to underestimate Chloe Sevre. She's a freshman honor student, a legging-wearing hot girl next door, who also happens to be a psychopath. She spends her time on yogalates, frat parties and plotting to kill Will Bachman, a childhood friend who grievously wronged her. Chloe is one of seven students at her college who are part of an unusual clinical study of psychopaths. The study, led by a renowned psychologist, requires them to wear smart watches that track their moods and movements. When one of the students in the study is found murdered in the psychology building, a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, and Chloe goes from hunter to prey. As she races to identify the killer and put her own plan for revenge into action, she'll be forced to decide if she can trust her fellow psychopaths -- and everybody knows you should never trust a psychopath.

Kurian has done the unthinkable and had me rooting for a psychopath which is truly a feat since Chloe, at times, is highly unlikeable. For a rather dark thriller, I was surprised by how much fun I had following Chloe’s hijinks in her plot to kill her childhood friend while also trying to avoid being killed herself. The book excelled at depicting the unlikely friendship among psychopathic students as they work together to figure out who is killing them. Their dynamic was both difficult to wrap my brain around and highly entertaining which goes to show Kurian’s skill in writing rich, dimensional characters. I also appreciate a mystery that I can’t solve and when I say I didn’t see the end coming, I truly mean it. If you enjoy the television show Dexter or love a thriller with a dark academia vibe, then Never Saw Me Coming is for you!

If you like Never Saw Me Coming, you might also like:

Everyone is Watching

By Heather Gudenkauf

Park Row Books, 2024. 297 pages. Fiction

The Best Friend. The Confidant. The Senator. The Boyfriend. The Executive. Five contestants have been chosen to compete for ten million dollars on the game show One Lucky Winner. The catch? None of them knows what (or who) to expect and it will be live streamed all over the world. Completely secluded in an estate in Northern California, with strict instructions not to leave the property and zero contact with the outside world, the competitors start to feel a little too isolated. When long-kept secrets begin to rise to the surface, the contestants realize this is no longer just a reality show--someone is out for blood. And the game can't end until the world knows who the contestants really are.

They Never Learn

By Layne Fargo

Scout Press, 2020. 342 pages. Fiction

Scarlett Clark is an exceptional English professor, but she's even better at getting away with murder. Every year, Dr. Clark searches for the worst man at Gorman University and plots his well-deserved demise. Thanks to her meticulous planning, she's avoided drawing attention to herself, but as she's preparing for her biggest kill yet, the school starts probing into the growing body count on campus. Determined to keep her enemies close, Dr. Clark insinuates herself into the investigation. Everything's going according to her master plan until she loses control with her latest victim. Meanwhile, Gorman student Carly Schiller is just trying to survive her freshman year. Finally free of her emotionally abusive father, all Carly wants is to focus on her studies. Her new roommate has other ideas. Allison Hadley is cool and confident, and the two girls quickly form an intense friendship. So when Allison is assaulted at a party, Carly becomes obsessed with making the attacker pay and turning her fantasies about revenge into a reality.

BW

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year
Ally Carter
Avon, 2024. 293 pages. Mystery.

Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt: She's the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery. He's Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy. She hates his guts. He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she's told him otherwise.) But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself. That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone. She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust? As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth--and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor. Assuming they don't kill each other first. 

I very much enjoyed this enemies to lovers mystery novel and would read it any time of the year. Maggie and Ethan have a chemistry and witty banter that I found charming. Overall, a feel good, festive locked room mystery that I would be comfortable recommending to my mother in law’s book group and a book group of my own. I found it interesting that author Ally Carter was inspired by the disappearance of Agatha Christie on Dec 3, 1926 and her reappearance 11 days later on Dec 14th. 

If you like The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year, you might also like:

The Merriest Misters
Timothy Janovsky
St. Martin’s Griffin, 2024. 305 pages. Romance.

Patrick Hargrave and Quinn Muller have been married for less than a year, but their passionate romance is cracking under the pressures of domestic life and a cumbersome mortgage. That's until Christmas Eve when Patrick wakes Quinn up with: "I think I've killed a man." Quinn realizes the "burglar" Patrick knocked out is none other than Mr. Claus himself. Instructed by a harried elf to don the red suit and take the reins of the reindeer-guided sleigh up on the roof, Quinn and Patrick work together to save Christmas. But as the sun rises on Christmas morning, the sleigh brings them back to the North Pole instead of New Jersey, and they're in for a massive shock. The couple must assume the roles of Santa Claus and the first ever Merriest Mister or Christmas will be canceled ... permanently. With Christmas-and their marriage-on the line, Patrick and Quinn agree to stay together for one year. But can running a toy shop together save their relationship, or will Patrick and Quinn be stuffing coal in each other's stockings come next Christmas? 

My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories
Stephanie Perkins, Editor
St. Martin’s Griffin, 2014. 321 pages. Short Stories.

If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you're going to fall in love with My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by the international bestselling Stephanie Perkins. Whether you enjoy celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or New Years, there's something here for everyone. So, curl up by the fireplace and get cozy. You have twelve reasons this season to stay indoors and fall in love. 

 JK

Navidad Duranguense

Navidad Duranguense
Por Diana Reyes
Capitol Latin, 2010. Música

Contenido: Blanca Navidad -- Campanas navideñas = Jingle bells -- Campana sobre campana -- Los peces en el rio -- Arre burriquito -- La marimorena -- El niño del tambor = The little drummer boy -- El burrito sabanero -- Feliz Navidad -- El año viejo -- El niño Jesus.

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Canciones Navideñas
Por Solecitos
Headliners Records, 2003. Música

Contenido: Navidad de los Selecitos -- Noche de paz -- Burrito de Belén -- Ven a mi casa esta Navidad -- Hoy es Navidad -- Rodolfo el reno -- Blanca Navidad -- Niño del tambor -- Campana sobre campana -- En esta Navidad -- Popurrí de Navidad. Jingle bells -- Feliz Navidad -- En el nombre del Cielo -- Humildes peregregrinos -- Peces en el rio -- Viejo.

Canciones Navideñas
Por Autor
Luminaria Music, 2005. Música

C

ontenido: Jesús en pesebre (Away in a manger) -- La noche santa (O holy night) -- El niño dios (What child is this?) -- Ave María Noche de luz (Silent night) -- En la Judea (On Judea's plain) -- Asombro dio a los magos (With wandering awe) -- Estrella de luz (Star bright) -- The prayer Campanas de Navidad (I heard the bells) -- Otro año ha pasado (New Year hymn) -- El arullo de María (Mary's lullaby) -- La primera Navidad (Christmas medley) -- Ave María Feliz Navidad

MEB

Labels: Español, MEB, Música

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch

By Julia McKay

G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2024. 342 pages. Romance 

Holly Beech and Ivy Casey are bury-the-body besties. They’re so in sync, they even look alike. When Holly’s fiancé jilts her, leaving her in shock and with a nonrefundable honeymoon, Holly convinces Ivy to switch places. Ivy will go on the Hawaiian honeymoon her best friend can’t bear to take alone, while Holly escapes to Ivy’s rented Hudson Valley cabin to binge-watch holiday movies and heal. 

If you watch The Holiday every year and love a romance with strong female friendship, this is the perfect read for this time of year. McKay manages to balance both Holly and Ivy’s stories with attention to detail and good character development. The tale’s two locales evoke holiday escapes to satisfy the imagination of both a snowy and a tropical Christmastime. The audiobook also offers great narration by Brittany Pressley. 

If you like The Holiday Honeymoon Switch, you might also like:

The Christmas Wedding Guest 

By Susan Mallery 

HQN, 2021. 426 pages. 

Guilted into being bridesmaids at their parents' vow renewal ceremony, sisters Reggie and Dena Sommerville, each working through tough personal issues, find love in the most unexpected of places -- their hometown. 

Happy Place

By Emily Henry 

Berkley, 2023. 388 pages. 

Despite breaking up months earlier, a picture-perfect couple still haven't told their friends about the split and attempt to pretend they are still together at an annual Maine getaway in this novel from the best-selling author of Book Lovers. 

AB 

The Small and the Mighty

 The Small and the Mighty: twelve unsung Americans who changed the course of history, from the founding to the civil rights movement

By Sharon McMahon

Penguin Random House, 2024. 307 pages. Nonfiction

 From America's favorite government teacher, a heartfelt, inspiring portrait of twelve ordinary Americans whose courage formed the character of our country. In The Small and the Mighty, Sharon McMahon proves that the most remarkable Americans are often ordinary people who didn't make it into the textbooks. Not the presidents, but the telephone operators. Not the aristocrats, but the schoolteachers. Through meticulous research, she discovers history's unsung characters and brings their rich, riveting stories to light for the first time. You'll meet a woman astride a white horse riding down Pennsylvania Ave, a young boy detained at a Japanese incarceration camp, a formerly enslaved woman on a mission to reunite with her daughter, a poet on a train, and a teacher who learns to work with her enemies. More than one thing is bombed, and multiple people surprisingly become rich. Some rich with money, and some wealthy with things that matter more.

Sharon McMahon’s The Small and the Mighty is a powerful and inspiring collection of stories that reminded me that even the most ordinary individuals can achieve extraordinary things.

What stood out to me most in this book was McMahon’s ability to tackle serious topics with a light touch. She keeps the mood engaging with her humor without diminishing the weight of the subjects she addresses. Her writing style is both relatable and uplifting, making it easy for readers to connect with the stories and the individuals she highlights.

This book is an uplifting read for anyone looking for a dose of inspiration and a reminder that greatness can come from the most unexpected places.

If you liked, The Small and the Mighty, you might also like:

On the Line: a story of class, solidarity, and two women's epic fight to build a union
By Daisy Pitkin
Algonquin Books, 2022. 272 pages. Nonfiction

The story of two dedicated women, a labor organizer and an immigrant laundry worker, coming together to spearhead an audacious campaign to unionize one of the most dangerous industries in one of the most anti-union states--Arizona--and offering a nuanced look at the modern-day labor movement and the future of workers' rights.

 

The Road is Good: how a mother's strength became a daughter's purpose

By Uzo Aduba

Viking, 2024. 320 pages. Nonfiction

A memoir of Black immigrant identity, the coming-of-age story of Nigerian American actress Uzo Aduba, one of the stars of the television series Orange is the New Black.