Sponsored by Up in Smoke by Annabeth Albert.
Three Men and a Baby meets Backdraft with explosive chemistry and heartfelt feels. A freewheeling smoke jumper and an aspiring country singer who could not be more ill-prepared for sudden parenthood are forced to work together to care for a tiny baby. Co-parenting while they sort out unanswered questions leads to late-night talks, and soul-bearing confessions lead to a most inconvenient attraction. Will they be able to leave this makeshift family behind?
Happy Tuesday, friends! I am on vacation this week, so right about now as you read this, I should be reading a book. There are so many I plan to read, starting with Cackle by Rachel Harrison. I was such a fan of The Return and I can’t wait to read this one! I am also planning to read The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh and Slingshot by Mercedes Helnwein, which comes highly recommended by my friend Greta of the Nerdette podcast.
Moving on to today’s books: I’m looking forward to a lot of today’s new releases, such as Brat, Andrew McCarthy’s memoir, and Switch, A.S. King’s new young adult novel. And speaking of today’s great books, for this week’s episode of All the Books! Vanessa and I discussed some of the wonderful books that we’ve read, such as We Are Satellites, Stone Fruit, People We Meet On Vacation, and more.
We’ve got a giveaway for a chance to win an iPad Mini! Enter here.
And now, it’s time for everyone’s favorite gameshow: AHHHHHH MY TBR! Here are today’s contestants:
New Girl in Little Cove by Damhnait Monaghan
Okay, yes, I am also going to mention this on the show this week, but this is a delightful read and I thought it would be best to open with it to soften the sting of the one below it. (You’ll see.)
So it’s 1985 in Toronto and Rachel O’Brien needs a change. Reeling from a breakup with her boyfriend and the death of her father, she takes a job as a French teacher in Little Cove, Newfoundland. She is not sure she is up for the job, or will be any good at it, but she can’t be any worse that the last French teacher, who ran off with the town’s priest.
At first, Rachel has a hard time adjusting to her new town. She doesn’t understand a lot of the words the villagers say, and they’re not excited to have a mainlander in their village. But over time, she grows to love the village and its people, even going so far as to jeopardize her future to help a student. This is a warm novel that wears its heart on its sleeve.
Backlist bump: Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession (Out in paperback today!)
(CW for mentions of suicide, terminal illness, death of a parent, miscarriage, and unwanted pregnancy.)
The Rock Eaters: Stories by Brenda Peynado
Let me start with this: this is an incredible collection of speculative stories about belonging and xenophobia. Peynado is really quite a brilliant writer. Her stories are electric, evocative, and unusual, and I cannot wait to read more from her. But I also need to tell you—and this is in no way a detraction, just a heads up—these stories made me so freaking sad. The collection opens with an amazing, devastating story about angels and a school shooting, and that isn’t even the saddest one. There’s one story about a vet putting animals down that made me cry forever. These are speculative stories, but they are also telling truths about women of color and how society fails them. I 110% recommend getting this collection, but go gently, if you need to. But do get them, because WOW.
(CW for mentions of racism, animal death, violence, death of a child, sexual assault, and body horror.)
Backlist bump: Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
And last, but not least, this is a fantastic story of ghosts and gods. After a series of setbacks, Jessamyn Teoh is moving back to Malaysia to live with her parents. That’s when she starts hearing the voice of her dead grandmother in her head. When she was alive, her grandmother was a medium, the proxy of avatar of a deity called the Black Water Sister. And that deity has decided Jess is going to help her with her unfinished business. Jess doesn’t want to cooperate, but her grandmother’s ghost threatens to tell her parents her secret, so she feels she has no choice. Armed with nothing but spirits, Jess will fight to make things right before the Black Water Sister takes over her body for good.
Backlist bump: The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho
(CW for mentions of homophobia, racism, partner abuse, sexual assault, and mental illness.)
Thank you, as always, for joining me each week as I rave about books! I am wishing the best for all of you in whatever situation you find yourself in now. – XO, Liberty