Today I’ve got an audiobook feature for you all, and oh happy day it’s a romance novel! As always, don’t forget to scroll on down to the bottom after you read about it, to enter the giveaway.

Perfect for fans of Emily in Paris—with the sophistication of the wine world and a slow-burn, opposites-attract love story. A glitzy PR expert and a traditional wine president clash on a high-stakes global launch—where rivalry, reinvention, and romance collide. 

AUDIOBOOK PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Audiobook Vibe: High-tension with a romantic, high-heat fade-to-black intimacy level (the intense build-up is on the page, but the camera pulls away before explicit details) 
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Performance: Single Narration by acclaimed British stage actress Karen Gundersen
Audio Features: Fully voiced character accents and deep emotional range
Primary Tropes: Workplace Romance, Opposites Attract, Slow-Burn

• Amazon
• Goodreads
• Pagebound

Chris McDermott’s Family Ranch in Napa, CA

(Dinner after an all-day TV shoot in the vineyards)

When they were finishing the fig tart dessert with freshly whipped cream from their dairy, his dad leaned over to Chris. “Why don’t you show Catherine our current operation? It’s not much yet, but she’ll be able to say she saw a world class winery in its early stages.” He stood up and grabbed his plate. “I’ll help Maura clear the dishes. You two can take off.”

            Chris didn’t need prompting. He was feeling inexplicably drawn to Catherine. The temperature outside dropped quickly, so he bundled her up in one of his warm leather jackets. It was three sizes too big, which only made her look more adorable.

            They stepped onto a moonlit path and walked a short distance to the temporary winery: an aluminum-sided structure that held rudimentary winemaking equipment next to cases of empty bottles. A walk-in cooler held samples of the wines they’d already produced laid horizontally on racks. On the far end of the room, a partial wall separated the “office”—an old metal desk, a long table with office equipment and a computer, one file cabinet, shelves brimming with books and magazines, and a large bulletin board with articles and graphs clipped on it.

            “I know it doesn’t look like much yet,” Chris said. “But it’s the genesis of our dream. My dad and I have been working toward this moment for many years, the chance to create our own family wine.”

            He held out his hand. “Let’s go sit outside. It’s such a clear night, we should be able to see the stars.”

            They sat on hay bales near the barn, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders to keep her warm. He pointed up to the sky. “Most nights you can see the constellations and major stars, unless there’s cloud cover.” He pulled her closer. “There’s Venus . . .”

            “Named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty . . .” Catherine chimed in.

            Seems the beauty is right here, sitting next to me. “How about you, Catherine Reynolds? What are your dreams?”

            She tucked her hands into the jacket pockets. “Unlike you, my dreams have changed over time. When Vanessa and I were teenagers, we went into modeling.” She made a face. “It’s not as glamorous as people think. Now, I’d like to pursue a career in the hospitality sector.” She sighed. “Still working that out.”

            “I’m sorry I doubted you in the beginning. I think you’re a wonderful asset to the company.” And to my life.

            He stood up and silently offered his hand, pulling her up to face him. An owl hooted nearby, momentarily jarring him from his intent to steal a kiss. He took a deep breath and gazed into her upturned face. Her long-lashed eyes blinked as she looked into his questioningly.

            “We’d better get going.” He turned her around and draped his arm over her shoulders as they walked back. When they reached the guest cottage, he gave her a warm hug and walked off. She’s too appealing. I’m falling fast.

Caroline O’Connell is the author of numerous travel guides, including Affordable Paris Hotels. The Champagne Crush is the first novel in the Les Femmes Series. In conjunction with the launch of the audiobook version, the ebook is discounted to $1.99 (from $9.99) on all platforms.

• Website
• Goodreads

The post Book Blitz: The Champagne Crush by Caroline O’Connell first appeared on Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile.

Happy Monday bookish people!

My part of Southern California is once again under an extreme heat warning, and so we’ve gone back to being inside people as much as possible. We go out to run errands early in the morning, or after it gets dark, because the rest of the day is just unbearably hot. If that’s true of your part of the world as well, I hope you’re staying cool and hydrated. Take care of yourself!

Let’s see how my reading has been looking.

Read Last Week:

I finished up two books last week, and both were actually a lot of fun.

In a bid to read more non-fiction, I’ve started picking up recommendations from some of the Reddit forums that I’m in. More than a few people recommended The Wager by David Grann and so I put it on my library waitlist and promptly forgot about it. When it was my turn to read it, I was worried it might be a bit dry. But, no! It was fascinating. I recommend it!

I also finished A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett. It’s the third book in the Ana & Din mystery series and I’ve been eagerly anticipating it all year long. Friends, it’s so worth the read. If you want a spoiler free, but very excited review, you’ll find it here.

Currently Reading:

The Floating World by Axie Oh has been in my libro.fm library for a few months and I hadn’t started it yet, so I queued that up at work one day. I was enjoying it immensely, but then my turn on the waitlist for The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo came up at the library, so I swapped over. These books are like polar opposites of one another haha. Kind of whiplash between the two if I’m being honest. I’m hoping to finish both early this week.

Reading Next:

I was approved for Out of Body by Chris Vanjonack on NetGalley this week, and it looks like an interesting set of speculative fiction stories that tie together under one theme. I’m intrigued, and I can’t wait to start this as soon as I finish up my current reads. We’re just reading all over the map right now, and I’m honestly kind of loving it.

That’s it for me! What are you reading this week?

The post It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (8/23/26) first appeared on Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile.

The Details

Media Type: Ebook
Title: A Trade of Blood
Author(s): Robert Jackson Bennett
Publisher: Del Rey
Pages/Length: Hardcover; 400
Release Date: August 4, 2026
Source: Netgalley

Add it on: Amazon | Bookshop | Storygraph | Pagebound

Brilliant detective Ana Dolabra must prove a man’s innocence to stop a civil war in the third book of the series that began with The Tainted Cup, named an Edgar, Hugo, and World Fantasy Award Finalist and one of the best books of the year (New York Times Book Review, NPR, Elle)—from the bestselling author of The Founders Trilogy.

In the canton of Sapirdad, two of the Empire’s most powerful families are moments away from going to war with each other, their hundreds of retainers gathered with swords drawn. If blood is spilt, the whole of the empire may be plunged into starvation and chaos.

To de-escalate matters, someone must do the impossible: prove that one family’s eldest son is innocent of a gruesome and unforgivable murder, despite the incontrovertible evidence against him.

It is with this undertaking that the great detective Ana Dolabra is tasked, her assistant Din at her side—and the two find themselves racing with great speed and little dignity to the scene.

As ever, the impossible proves little obstacle for the deadly combination of Ana’s intellect and Din’s keen eye, and mere hours after riding into the dusty town, Ana glimpses the greater pattern behind the crime. A deeper, subtler web of death is being woven in plain sight, by a mastermind with an ancient magical technology at his disposal.

But even Ana’s uncanny insight is of little use when each new suspect she uncovers ends up dead–with each new killing calculated to bring tensions between the two rival clans past the boiling point. And as Din pursues their adversary through the canton’s wild ranges, sprawling ranches, and reeking slaughterhouses, he finds his loyalties divided in unexpected ways.

The Review

Oh my friends, my FRIENDS. I will not stop screaming from the rooftops how much I adore this series. Here we are, on book number three, and Robert Jackson Bennett simply cannot stop writing compulsively readable books. A Trade of Blood was one of my most anticipated reads of 2026. I’ve loved both of the books before this one with all my heart, and was so impressed at how well book two was done. So you can imagine my trepidation at diving into book three. Would it let me down? Would Ana and Din still have that same spark for me? I honestly shouldn’t have worried. This book was absolutely masterful.

Sent to quell a war between two of the most prominent families of Sapirdad, Ana is disappointed that this particular case looks fairly “boring” and quite the open/shut matter. A murdered woman, a secret tryst, and gentry son caught looking guilty as sin. Seems pretty cut and dry, no? As readers of this series have come to expect, nothing about the cases that Ana and Din are sent to are ever what they seem on the surface. What transpires is one of the most wonderful and admittedly terrifying mysteries that I have ever had the joy of reading. Buckle in friends, you’re in for a ride.

I know I praise Bennett every time I read one of these books for his stellar characters, but I feel it needs to be reiterated again and again. Not a single character in this story feels superfluous. Every person has their part to play. Each interaction that our two main characters have feels genuine and important. What I loved most about this particular installment in the series is that we get to see so much more of Din’s growth as a person. Being careful to avoid any spoilers, I can safely tell you that we know by now that Din and his family don’t have the best relationship. He’s been pulling away from them more and more as the books progress. This book though, oh this book changed everything for Din. I have the biggest soft spot for him in my heart, and this story just solidified that even more.

Even better, this book expands the Empire and its cantons in a really beautiful way. We’ve seen Ana and Din make their way from the sea walls, brimming with danger, into the presumably safer interior lands. However this story reminds us that nowhere is truly safe. Even if you manage to avoid the gigantic sea monsters, cities full of people breed monsters of their own. Bennett lays out a lush setting, with farmlands bordered by an ancient and seemingly cursed wood. Here there is history around every corner, and intrigue follows on its heels. Here, the wealthy few essentially dictate the lives of everyone else around them. The perfect setting for a mystery, true?

My reader friends, you are in for such a delightful read with this book. The mystery in A Trade of Blood once again completely threw me for a loop. Even when I was sure that I knew exactly where things were going, I was wrong. Ana once again proved why she is one of my favorite characters of all time. Constantly one step ahead of everyone else, and with the type of no-nonsense attitude that can only be afforded to those who are fully confident in their abilities. I mentioned earlier that this particular mystery is a bit terrifying, and I stand by that. No spoilers here at all, but I’ll be thinking about the cause of this entire adventure for quite a while. What a gruesome concept. On that note, please be sure to read the author’s note at the end as well. It really puts this entire book into perspective.

So yes, another brilliant entry by Bennett in this series. I can’t believe that we’re on book three and I still feel just as committed and excited about the next book as I was at the beginning. This is one of the only series I have ever read where I have given every book a 5-star rating so far. I can only hope that it keeps up that streak!

The post Book Review: A Trade of Blood (Ana & Din #3) by Robert Jackson Bennett first appeared on Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile.

Hello friends, and happy Tuesday! Los Angeles is back in the clutches of a heat wave and so it is the part of the year where I just pretty much exist inside. An outside event? Before it gets dark outside? No thank you. Anywhere that has A/C is where you’ll find me. On the weekends I’ll likely be posted up in front of a fan with a book. As it should be.

I’ll give you 5 series up top with the first book in each series featured! Then scroll down to find 5 more as links. Clicking the covers will take you to the Storygraph series pages!

 Book Series I Want to Catch Up On (Or Start)

The Saint of Steel Series

As a big fan of T. Kingfisher, I have been wanting to start the Saint of Steel series for ages, but I just never seem to get around to it. I mean, to be fair, the first book in the series always has a waitlist at the library. So all that tells me is that it’s a fabulous series and I really need to just buckle down and get started on it!

The Sunken Archive

This cover always catches my eye whenever I see this book, and I actually own this digitally but I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. Book #2 came out last year and I keep telling myself that I’m going to start this series. I think I just need to add this book to my reading pile physically so it stares at me constantly.

The Broken Blades

Also on the list of books where I own the first in the series is The Broken Blades by Mai Corland. Five Broken Blades has been on my shelf since it pubbed in 2024, and I think about starting it all the time. The problem is that I know, from other people who have read it, that it’s a bit heavy. I just haven’t found the right point to start it yet.

Fallen Gods

Every single time I see this cover I’m just like man, that’s freaking beautiful. Isn’t it? This is one of the few books I own on audio specifically, that I haven’t had the chance to get to. I actually started Godkiller once but it was so in depth that I couldn’t listen to it and do other work at the same time, so I set it on the backburner. Sadly, it’s still there.

Vera Wong

This series comes highly recommended from so many of my friends, and I know that the longer I wait the more of them come out. So I really need to jump on this! I love the premise of an elderly woman turned detective. I’ve been assured these books are so much fun. Maybe this is what I’ll start next!

That’s my top 5 series, but here are 5 more that I am also looking forward to getting to:

The Fetch Phillips Archives by Luke Arnold – I’m on book #2 in this series and I enjoyed the first one SO MUCH. I just haven’t gotten to the second one yet.

The Themis Files by Sylvain Nuevel – I’ve read the first two in this series, and had a great time with both. Book #3 is just waiting for me to start it.

The Charlatan Duology by Holly Black – Yes, I know this isn’t actually a series but it deserves a spot on here. I love Holly Black.

The Dark Star Trilogy by Marlon James – Myth, fantasy and history all rolled up into one package. Yes PLEASE.

The Disco Space Opera by Cat Rambo – I really want to dive into this because I know I’m going to love it.

The post Top Ten Tuesday: Book Series to Catch Up On or Start first appeared on Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile.

Happy Wednesday friends! Here’s hoping that the week has been treating you nicely so far. I hope you’ve been staying cool, and reading all sorts of good books too.

My book choice this week is one that caught my eye the instant I saw the synopsis. The very kind people at Harper Collins sent me an email to promo this book, and offer me a digital review copy. One look, and I immediately snapped it up. I LOVE speculative fiction. It’s a space where so many interesting things can happen, full of intrigue and sometimes even a bit of borderline horror. So when I saw that this is a series of short stories and they’re all interconnected? You’d better believe that I was sold. I can’t wait to dive in, and leave a review for you all soon!

“Chris Vanjonack’s Out of Body is its own singularity. A dazzling collection where characters aren’t bound to a single story, let alone a single universe. Teeming with haunts and heartbreak, this book will leave you breathless.” — Gus Moreno, author of This Thing Between Us

A wildly inventive collection of interconnected speculative stories—spanning the multiverse, demonic attachment, and life after death—from an electrifying new voice in fiction.

An aimless ghost haunts his ex-girlfriend for evidence that she’s actually upset about his death.

A group of teens discovers a machine that purports to predict the best day of its users’ lives.

A young woman is horrified to discover that an aggressive stranger she met on a night of bar-hopping now manifests in every photo that is taken of her.

A drunken posse descends into the woods in search of clowns that have been terrorizing their small town.

Chris Vanjonack’s fiction is haunted not only by specters of death, but by the elusive questions of life, and above all, the wonder and horror of the infinite. Uncanny, surreal, and infectiously clever, the stories in this linked collection contain horrors great and small, fueled as much by the fantastic as by longing, dread, and all-too-human frailties.

Morbidly funny and brilliantly observed, Out of Body is an atmospheric, dead original feast for the senses.

Publisher | Goodreads | Amazon | Bookshop

What are you waiting on?

The post Can’t Wait Wednesday: Speculative Fiction Short Stories first appeared on Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile.

The Details

Media Type: Ebook
Title: Girl of Lore
Author(s): Melanie Dale
Publisher: Aladdin
Pages/Length: Ebook; 368
Release Date: April 21, 2026
Source: Netgalley

Add it on: Amazon | Bookshop | Storygraph | Pagebound

A girl who’s used to battling the monster of her own mind discovers there’s a sinister evil lurking in her small town in this atmospheric paranormal novel that’s perfect for fans of Tracy Wolff and Maggie Stiefvater. Stories of dark magic and even darker creatures have always swirled about Mina Murray’s town of London, Georgia. Mina knows they aren’t true—and are likely perpetuated only to drive the quirky tourist-trap ghost tours of downtown—but that doesn’t stop her from collecting the stories and drawing them in her sketchbook. Something about the possibility of real monsters helps her deal with the monster in her own her OCD, which convinces her danger lurks everywhere. But when a body is found drained of blood and a classmate goes missing, Mina is thrust into a tangled web of London secrets…that she seems to be at the center of.

The Review

I’ll start this review by letting you know that the teenage version of me would have absolutely adored this book. I still enjoyed it as an adult, for sure, but man I could just see younger me devouring this in a single day. Girl of Lore was a ton of fun. Set in the town of London, Georgia this book dives quickly into the concept of “ghost stories” actually having very real bones. Our lore obsessed MC finds herself thrown smack dab into the middle of just such a story, and it’s going to take everything she has to get make it out the other side.

Praise where praise is due, one of my favorite parts of this book was how Melanie Dale deals with Mina’s characterization. See, Mina has OCD that genuinely pervades every aspect of her life. She has intrusive thoughts, she has problems with discerning reality sometimes, and despite it all she works hard to continue to actively show up in her own life. I adore books where you actively see a character attending therapy and doing the work. Mina’s OCD gives this story such a deep emotional aspect, while still allowing it to be dealt with in a very conscious manner.

Truthfully though, it was the characters in this book that really were the centerpiece for me. Mina’s family was a beautiful mix of strength and normal family drama. I love a book where the author doesn’t attempt to pretend like all families are perfect little units. Better still, each of the characters in this book were treated as individuals with their own quirks. I thought that Dale did an excellent job of bringing together a friend group that didn’t feel like a cookie cutter setup. Every lore hunter brought something to the table, and did what they could to prop our girl up.

Where the book struggles, and this explains my rating, is with the plot. There’s a lot of really great stuff in here. Elements of vampire mythology, school drama, a meandering mystery that keeps you guessing, and even a tiny bit of horror. The problem is that there is so much to deal with at once, that book feels unevenly paced. The first third of the book had to do a lot of heavy lifting to lay Mina’s story out for us, the middle felt a little slow, and then suddenly the last bit rushes by so quickly it made my head spin a bit. I really wanted more time to dive into the lore surrounding London, Georgia and more time to come to terms with the bombshell that the ending throws at the reader.

Still, I had a good time with this. I did love that this book manages to walk that line between full on horror and more of a mystery vibe. There’s nothing in here that is particularly gory, or too dark. So it would be an excellent place for a reader who wants to spooked, but not outright scared, to start. Add in the lovely discussions of mental health and family dynamics, and you have a book I can happily recommend.

The post Book Review: Girl of Lore by Melanie Dale first appeared on Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile.

Can we just all stop for a minute and appreciate this banger of a book cover? Yes, yes the synopsis is equally as compelling trust me. But dang. The first time I laid eyes on this book I already knew that I wanted to read it. This is 100% my kind of story. And it might just be yours too?

Seventeen-year-old Farris Aldan didn’t join the Sentinels to save the world.

He joined to escape insanity.

In Obscura City, contracting the whisperis means shedding your skin and becoming a monster. As a newly trained Sentinel, Farris hunts the infected, hoping vengeance will silence the guilt over his best friend Calla’s death.

Then he’s assigned his first solo mission. Track down Rena, a whisperis-infected punk rocker evading quarantine. From her black hair and beet-red eyes, she’s the spitting image of Calla. Farris can’t bring himself to arrest her. Not with that face, not with that voice.

Choosing Rena brands him a traitor. Now hunted by the Sentinels he idolized, including his adoptive father, Farris learns Rena’s connection to the whisperis runs deeper than anyone imagined. Visions of a cure guide her toward the Hollow, a hidden valley of darkness beyond the city. Only an ancient vantashade named Krieger knows the truth, but it offers a global cure for a terrible price: her life. To save Rena, Farris must risk everything–his future, his family, even the cure itself. And it still might not be enough.

• Amazon
• Goodreads
• Pagebound

Little by little, we awkwardly stumbled and sashayed toward the cluster of monsters. A littler further and we slipped into their group. Mere feet separated us from the graceful corpses. 

A stench of boiled tar and kerosene swam over us. The air curdled with heat. We watched the burdeneds’ faces as we moved. No longer paying attention to us. Their shoulders, arms and chests were relaxed. Caring and glossy white eyes stared back at their deceased partners. 

A small pressure pushed against my chest. Rena leaned her head against it, and I realized that she’d been shivering.

“God. I wonder when they died.” She mumbled so softly I barely heard her. “Wonder if they knew they were dyin’. What they felt when they turned into monsters.”

I shook my head since it was too risky to speak. Little by little, I moved us to the back of the room. Need to go slow so we don’t alert the burdened.

Rena looked up at me, her face mere inches from my own. “All their feelings…what happened to them when they died?” Her skin was so bruised and cut up. The dark circles beneath her eyes contrasted her increasingly pale complexion. “Their names? Their memories? Where did they go?”

My whole body ached. I swallowed. When I tried to comfort her, my mouth opened, but nothing came out. 

Her hand squeezed my shoulder without a lick of strength. “I don’t wanna become like that, Farris. God almighty, I don’t wanna end up being just a memory.”

I tried to speak but again failed. Realizing my limitations, I instead pulled her even closer. Her breath felt hot against my neck. Her tears chilled my skin.  

Rena gritted her teeth. Her chest shook from deep, silent sobs. “I don’t wanna die, Farris. I don’t…”

My back stung, muscles ached. Ribs throbbed and head pounded. I looked at the bandages over her eye. Around her ankle. The stains of blood on her cargos, her vest.

Nameless music played behind us. Forgotten dead danced around us. Filthy ground creaked below us. 

Warren Wynn is an American author writing young adult science fiction about parallel worlds, bizarre creatures, and mind-blowing twists. His passions in a previous life doing graphic and video game design heavily inspire his stories and characters. His previous novel, ‘Break the Moon,’ was published by Lost Boys Press on March 28th, 2024.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from West Virginia University, Warren left behind the mountains for the beaches of Palm Coast, Florida. If he isn’t kayaking or hiking, he’s earning grey hairs writing through the moonlight hours.

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The post Book Blitz: Obscura Nights by Warren Wynn first appeared on Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile.

The Details

Media Type: Ebook
Title: Carry The Reimagining of Thornwood House
Author(s): Jaleigh Johnson
Publisher: Ace
Pages/Length: Hardcover; 391
Release Date: June 9, 2026
Source: Netgalley

Add it on: Amazon | Bookshop | Storygraph | Pagebound

A witch and her young ward discover a magical, walking house and learn the true meaning of home in this cozy, enchanting novel from New York Times bestselling author Jaleigh Johnson.

Evelyn Sharpe is accustomed to dealing with natural disasters as a land witch, but she longs for a life with a little less danger for her and her adopted daughter, Ruby. So when the opportunity to take over as Caretaker of Thornwood House–a sentient home that acts as the magical heart of the village of Iskendra–arises, it seems almost fated. 

When they arrive in sunny Iskendra, Evie and Ruby find the house is nothing like what they expected: First of all, it has walked away from the address. Thornwood House is also grumpy, guarded, and extremely hesitant to allow the two witches through its doors. 

Armed with gentle hearts and wild magic, Evie and Ruby begin to form tentative bonds with the house and the citizens of the small town. But there’s something deeply damaged about the building seeping into the forests surrounding Iskendra, and Evie will have to use all her power to protect the roots she’s started to grow.

The Review

I’ll admit that what initially drew me to this book was the idea of a magical, sentient house. I absolutely adore a story where the house is one of the main characters, and I was not let down at all by the one in this book. Evelyn and Ruby come to Iskendra to become the caretakers of Thornwood house, a beautiful home that really just needs some love and attention. See, Thornwood House’s last caretaker passed away. The house has been mourning her loss, and no one has been able to stay long enough to bring it back to its former beauty. What a lovely premise, don’t you think?

That’s just the start of the things this enchanting book has inside of it though. There’s a story about found family, and finding where you fit in society. There’s a bit of a love story, full of sweetness and silly moments. My favorite part though, is the message about how we heal from our hurts, and how that healing looks different for everyone. As someone who still deals with a fair bit of grief, it was this storyline that really hit me the hardest. For this book to be so cozy, and yet so poignant made it a lovely read.

You don’t renovate a house that’s been through what it has, that can feel what it does, any more than you’d renovate a life that’s suffered a great loss. You nurture it, allow it to grieve, and, when it’s ready, help it to reimagine itself and what it’s going to be moving forward. It won’t be the same as it was, but it can still be something amazing.

If I’m being honest, the only reason that I didn’t give this a full five star rating was simply that the book wasn’t long enough to really get to know the characters and the beautiful village. Evelyn and Ruby’s story had to go quickly, so that there was space to unravel the mysteries of Iskendra and Thornwood House. Perfectly understandable, I’m just a very character driven reader. Plus it looks like this is going to be a series and so that makes me very very excited.

Ah, what a charming book The Reimaging of Thornwood House was. Friends if you are also super burnt out and in need some something with whimsy and fabulous relationships, this is a book you need to pick up. It was cozy, there was just enough drama to keep things interesting without feeling overwhelming, and the characters were simply lovely. Highly recommend this as an escape.

The post Book Review: The Reimagining of Thornwood House by Jaleigh Johnson first appeared on Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile.

Friends, I know I’ve seen a ton of silly joking posts about people in California lamenting the weather these last few weeks but let me tell you. We’re serious. It’s been hot sure but, worse than that, it has been SO HUMID. Our houses and apartments were built for dry weather. I’m one of the few people on my blocks blessed with a functional A/C unit. When the houses were built that wasn’t a normal thing. So our street in the middle of the day is barren wasteland as everyone flees to the mall, the library, the coffee shop, or anywhere else where they won’t feel like they’re slowly cooking inside their homes. It’s been crazy.

I guess the silver lining for me has been that since it is too hot to go hang out anywhere that doesn’t cost money, I’ve been doing a lot more reading. You’ll find me most days with a fan pointed directly at me, lounging on my big reading chair and just slowly consuming a book. Our local library had a really lovely book display of summer reading recommendations, and I snatched up two of them to try out. As much as I love my e-reader with all of my heart, there’s something so satisfying about consuming a physical book.

If you have also been attacked by brutal sun and humidity, I hope you’re finding ways to stay cool my friends! Remember, libraries are AMAZING cooling centers and they have the benefit of having all the books you could ever read ;). If you somehow don’t already have a library card, go apply for one! Then reap all the benefits while supporting a wonderful institution.

The post Holy Heatwave Batman! first appeared on Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile.

The Details

Media Type: Ebook
Title: Carry Me to My Grave
Author(s): Christopher Golden
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pages/Length: Hardcover; 331
Release Date: July 21, 2026
Source: Netgalley

Add it on: Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Storygraph

From New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden comes a high concept horror novel about a man trying to protect his dead mother’s body from the evil that is hunting them.

Maggie Wise will take your eyes.

When Malcolm was growing up, the local kids made up that chant about his mother, claiming she was a witch. He and his siblings did their best to ignore it. Now, Maggie is dying, and those same siblings have left Malcolm and his sister-in-law Violet to hold a vigil at her bedside.

But they’re not as alone as they think they are. A dark figure waits and watches from beneath the willow tree across the street. Hundreds of miles away, an ancient evil stirs in its burrow under a farmer’s cornfield. Across the country, other buried things begin to dream in anticipation of Maggie’s demise. On her deathbed, the old woman elicits a promise from Malcolm, her youngest child―when she dies, he and Violet must return her body to her birthplace in Shediak, Maine.

From the moment she takes her last breath, before her remains are even loaded aboard the baggage car of the Imperial Limited, there are forces trying to stop Malcolm from fulfilling that promise. Violence erupts on the train, evil preys on its passengers, and once the sun goes down, those long-buried things are coming to make Maggie Wise pay for her past. God help anyone who stands in their way.

The Review

This book and I had quite the journey together, let me tell you. When I saw the synopsis of Carry Me to My Grave, I was so intrigued. A dying mother, a dark figure with nefarious intentions, and then a cross country trip via train while pursued by evil? Count me in. It all sounded so exciting! I had absolutely no idea what the unnamed evil was, but I was definitely ready to find out. And, for the first few chapters, this book lived right up to my expectations. Things moved quickly, darkness lurked on the periphery, and I was absorbed by it all. Until, I wasn’t.

I think what this book really suffers from is pacing problems. There’s a lot of backstory that has to be unraveled, and the book tries to feed it all to the reader in between pockets of action. That means much of the reasoning behind why Malcolm is fleeing for his life is a just a blank page for the longest time. New characters pop in and out quickly, and it’s really hard to get invested in any of them. Even Malcolm’s family members felt paper thin, which made anything that happened to them a lot less impactful if I’m being honest.

On that note, my other big issue with this book was that it is just terribly gory. I have zero problems with gore in my books. I’m a horror reader through and through, and done correctly I feel it adds considerably to the tension in a story. This book never felt like it fit. Instead, it felt like all of that blood and viscera was simply thrown in for shock value. Which is odd, because this book is written with the kind of language that you wouldn’t expect that from. It almost felt too sophisticated for that. I can’t say much more without potentially spoiling the main plot points, and I know a lot of people will still choose to pick this up for themselves. However I will end with the fact that lore in this book, the very thing that explains Malcolm’s mother’s odd final request, just felt very disjointed to me.

Carry Me to My Grave ended up not being what I expected, and I can’t deny that I was a bit disappointed. Still, the writing style held a lot of promise, so I’ll likely end up trying out whatever comes out from this author next.

The post Book Review: Carry Me to My Grave by Christopher Golden first appeared on Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile.