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Showing posts with label Kelly Mustian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kelly Mustian. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 07, 2025
Top Ten Tuesdays: 2025 Releases I'm Ready For
Happy New Year! I hope 2025 is off to a good start for everyone. My first week of the year has mostly been spent in packing away Christmas decorations, cleaning my house, and trying to get myself organized for the year to come. The beginning of a new year always feels like a fresh start full of possibilities. We'll see what the year brings.
The first TTT prompt of the year is all about new releases we're excited about: Top Ten Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2025. There are a lot of great-looking books coming out and, honestly, I could have done a whole list of just those coming out in January. Or just sequels. I decided to leave out the sequels and choose a variety of titles I haven't talked about before that have been or will be released between January and May.
As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Top Ten Eleven Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2025
1. Radiant by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (published January 7)—Set in 1963, this middle-grade verse novel is about a young Black girl who's navigating life in a predominantly white Pennsylvania community. Amid Beatlemania, race riots, and the assassination of JFK, she struggles to find herself and her place in a confusing, chaotic world.
2. Freeze by Chris Priestley (available January 14)—Another middle-grade title, this one is a spooky tale about a girl whose class is given the assignment to write shivery stories with a winter theme. At first, it's fun to hear everyone's creepy ideas read aloud, but when Maya realizes that she features in all of them, she starts to feel a little...uneasy. As snow piles up outside the school, it becomes increasingly obvious that she and her classmates are going to be trapped inside for the forseeable future. Why does it suddenly seem like she's the star of a terrifying horror flick?
3. Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove (available January 21)—Carrie Starr, formerly a Chicago detective, fell apart after her daughter was murdered. In search of purpose, she accepts a job as the tribal marshal on the reservation where her father was raised. An unnerving amount of young women have disappeared from the rez and Carrie is tasked with finding the latest one. The investigation is taking its toll on the still-fragile detective, especially when she sees a mythological creature she recognizes from her father's fantastical tales. Either she's going crazy or something truly unimaginable is happening in her new home.
4. The Crash by Freida McFadden (available January 28)—All the mystery/thriller lovers I know seem to be raving about McFadden's books. I haven't tried her out yet, but her upcoming novel definitely sounds intriguing. The story revolves around a woman who is eight months pregnant and desperate to start a new life. She's driving to Maine to stay with her brother while she figures things out when she's trapped by a surprise blizzard. When a couple offers her a place to stay while she rides out the storm, she thinks she's saved. Then, things take a dangerous turn that will put both her life and that of her unborn child at grave risk.
5. The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths (available February 13)—The first in a new series, this novel stars police officer Ali Dawson, who works on cases so cold, they're practically frozen. Unbeknownst to most, Ali's team is able to travel back in time to investigate old mysteries. When Ali is tasked with clearing the name of an eccentric old man in Victorian England, she finds herself investigating a woman's murder. Things get complicated when Ali gets stuck in the 1850s with no way to get home.
6. Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister (available February 25)—McAllister's newest mystery/thriller has a simple, but very intriguing premise. A literary agent wakes up on the morning she's supposed to return to work after months of maternity leave only to find her husband gone, with only a cryptic note left in his place. Breaking news informs her that her missing spouse is involved in an escalating hostage situation—as the gunman.
7. The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn (available February 27)—This historical novel is about a wealthy English woman trapped in a loveless marriage, who is pushed into letting her young son be raised mostly by a nanny. When she is gifted tickets to sail to America onboard the Titanic, she jumps at the chance to get away with her son. The ship's sinking gives her a chance to shed her identity, fleeing a life she doesn't want. With nothing to her name but another woman's identity papers, can she survive on the streets of New York City? What will she do when someone threatens to expose her secret to her husband in England?
8. The Filling Station by Vanessa Miller (available March 11)—In the 1920s, there are few places Black Americans can safely stop to gas up while traveling. The Threatt Filling Station is one of them. It's not just a place to fill up on fuel, but a place to gather for support, community, and strength. After the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, it's where two sisters find refuge. What they really need is the courage to return to their hometown and rebuild their lives. Can they find what they need at the filling station?
9. Rebellion 1776 by Laurie Halse Anderson (available April 1)—Anderson's newest is a middle-grade historical novel centering around Elspeth Culpepper, a 13-year-old who's desperate to avoid being sent to an orphanage after her father disappears. Alone and scared, the young woman must deal with not just the Siege of Boston but also a smallpox outbreak that has the city in a panic. Can Elspeth safely navigate the chaos to find her missing father?
10. The River Knows Your Name by Kelly Mustian (available April 1)—I loved Mustian's debut novel, The Girls in the Stilt House, so I'm eager to read her second book. It concerns 42-year-old Nell, who was raised, along with her younger sister, by a reclusive mother who never spoke about her past. Nell promised her sister she wouldn't confront their mother about the birth certificate they found—the one that identifies a different woman as Evie's mother—but Nell can't shake the disturbing memories that still linger in her memory that hint at long-buried secrets and dangerous lies.
11. Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala (available May 13)—Manansala's YA debut, this mystery stars Danika Dizon, a mystery lover who runs a tarot card reading business between classes. When one of her clients disappears after receiving a death card, Danika takes on the case, eager to prove to her parents that she deserves to be part of her family's detective agency. The more she digs into the missing girl's background, though, the darker—and more dangerous—the case becomes.
There you go, eleven upcoming releases I'm excited to read. How about you? Which 2025 books are you looking forward to? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I'll gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Top Ten Tuesday: Atmospheric Books
I missed my favorite weekly meme last week for the very best reason in the world: my first grandbaby was born last Tuesday! My daughter-in-law has a heart condition that put her in the ICU for post-partum observation until today, so this little cutie was discharged from the hospital before her mommy. Because of that, the two of us have gotten to spend lots of time together this week (especially late at night). She's a sweet, calm baby, and we're all smitten with her.
My son and daughter-in-law don't want pictures of their precious newborn's face on the Internet, so you're just going to have to trust me when I say that she is the most beautiful granddaughter ever born! (Although my red, squinty eyes make me look demonic in this picture, they're just the result of me crying lots of joyful tears.)
Today's TTT topic is a fun one: Top Ten Atmospheric Books. I love a story that immerses me in a rich, evocative setting that makes me feel like I've stepped right into another world. If a book is described as "atmospheric," I will 100% take a closer look at it. It's maybe not so surprising then that the word I tend to most overuse in my reviews is "atmospheric." My memory isn't the greatest (I am old enough to be a grandma, after all) so I don't remember all the details that made these books stand out to me, but I described them all with my favorite review word.
Top Ten Tuesday is, as always, hosted by Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. She has COVID, so give her some extra love today.
Top Ten Atmospheric Books
1. Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman—This YA novel is about a drought in California that makes people so desperate for water that they create a dystopian situation for themselves. The story is so vividly told that my throat felt parched the entire time I was reading it. I've never guzzled as much water while reading before!
2. Anything by Kate Morton—Morton is one of my all-time favorite authors because her books are always soaked in atmosphere. They feature old homes, buried secrets, and evocative settings.
4. The Broken Girls by Simone St. James—Haunted house stories are often eerie and atmospheric. This one, set in an abandoned school for troubled girls, certainly is. Even though it creeped me out big time and ultimately gave me nightmares, I couldn't stop reading it. That's how gripping it is.
5. I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys—Almost everything about this historical teen novel feels heavy and oppressive. This is done on purpose so that the reader can feel deeply what it must have been like to live in Communist Romania under the rule of a cruel, power-hungry tyrant.
6. The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian—Set in the 1920s in a squalid Mississippi swamp community, the setting comes very much alive in this novel about two girls living bleak, hardscrabble lives who come together to cover up a murder.
7. Eventide by Sarah Goodman—I read this spooky teen novel while doing the overnight shift with my grandbaby. It's got a "don't go into the woods" plot that had me jumping a little every time I heard a noise that wasn't a sweet baby coo.
8. The Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny—These are my favorite mystery books, in part because the author makes the little town of Three Pines come alive in such a brilliant way. Yes, it's a quaint, cozy village, but its residents are complex individuals with abundant quirks, faults, and secrets. This causes the hamlet to come alive in a way that makes me want to move there immediately, warts and all.
9. These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly—It's been years since I read this YA mystery set in Gilded Age New York City, but I remember loving it. A page-turner for lots of reasons, it boasts a vivid setting.
10. The Dry by Jane Harper—Like #1, this contemporary Australian mystery novel is set in a parched, drought-stricken land. The author creates such a dynamic backdrop that I could taste the dust in the air.
There you go, ten atmospheric books I enjoyed reading. Have you read any of them? Which titles did you choose for your list today? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Friday, November 19, 2021
Historical Southern Novel Is Absorbing, Atmospheric, and Assured
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Until 16-year-old Ada Morgan ran away with her boyfriend, she had never known true freedom. The last thing she wants to do now is return home to the squalor of her stilt house on the swamp. She knows her father—a coarse and cruel trapper—will be thrilled to have her back. Not only will he have someone to wait on him again, but he will also delight in punishing her for leaving him. If she had any other option, she would never return to him. With nowhere else to go, she has no choice but to go back to Mississippi, back to the Trace, back to her father.
Matilda Patterson is also anxious to leave her home on the Natchez Trace. The Black teen is the daughter of poor sharecroppers who eke out a meager living in a place that will never allow them to get ahead. With local bootleggers making things even more difficult for the family, Matilda's ready to take her secrets and run. A more promising future awaits her in the north; she just has to make it there.
When their lives converge one fateful night, Ada and Matilda are shocked to find themselves partners in crime. Literally. Their tenuous bond is the only thing keeping both of them safe, but it's a tenuous sisterhood that could break at any moment. As their linked past becomes more apparent, the two begin to realize just how much danger they're really in. When more trouble comes calling, it's up to them to protect themselves and each other against deadly odds.
It's no secret that I love me an absorbing historical story, the more atmospheric the better. The Girls in the Stilt House, a debut novel by Kelly Mustian, ticks all these boxes. Its vivid, visceral setting is a character in its own right, exhibiting all the beauty, danger, and contradiction inherent in every human. As untamed as the swampland surrounding them, our heroines are sympathetic because of their impoverished, hardscrabble lives. What makes them admirable is the fiery grit that burns deep inside them, giving them strength, courage, and the will to keep fighting. Plot-wise, this is a slow-burning tale. While this device takes a little patience, it also ensures that by the time the story's action really amps up, the reader cares deeply about what's going to happen and to whom. Although it's not a happy, all-tied-up-with-a-bow story, The Girls in the Stilt House is compelling, moving, and beautifully written. I loved this assured debut.
(Readalikes: The Girls in the Stilt House reminds me a bit of Emily Carpenter's novels. I've also seen it compared to Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and If the Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss.)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language (no F-bombs), violence, blood/gore, and disturbing subject matter
To the FTC, with love: I received an e-ARC of The Girls in the Stilt House from the generous folks at Sourcebooks via those at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Top Ten Tuesday: The Best Novels I've Read So Far This Year
I'm not much for book boyfriends—I've been married to my real-life sweetheart for 24 years as of yesterday and that's better than any fictional romance!—so I was going to skip this week's Top Ten Tuesday. Then I realized that as tomorrow is September 1, we're official 2/3 of the way through 2021. With only four months left in the year, I started thinking about what I've read so far and what I still want to get to before 2022. Of the 135 books I've read, only a handful have been really stand-out reads. So, I decided to share with you the ten (well, eleven) best novels I've read so far. Since I'm not feeling very inspired by next week's topic either, I'll post my ten non-fiction picks then.
Before we get to that, be sure to click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give Jana, our lovely TTT hostess, some love!
Top Ten (Okay, Eleven) Best Novels I've Read in 2021 (So Far)
- not including re-reads and in no particular order -
1. The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian—This historical novel set in 1920s Mississippi features two young women living hardscrabble lives who must team up to cover up the unintentional murder that brings them together. Absorbing and atmospheric, this is a beautifully-written debut.
2. The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny—No surprise here. I adore the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series and this installment, the 11th, is particularly intriguing.
3. Bluebird by Sharon Cameron (available October 5, 2021)—I've enjoyed all of Cameron's books, but this YA World War II novel is my favorite. It has everything I love in a good hist-fic read: an atmospheric setting, a compelling plot, lovable characters, and excellent writing.
4. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty (available September 14, 2021)—I was thrilled to get a paper ARC of this up-and-comer from an author whose books I've enjoyed. Not gonna lie, her last few have not been up to snuff. This one, though? It's a gem. A family saga + a mystery + a funny, upbeat plot. What's not to love?
5. The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs—Another no-brainer. The long-running Tempe Brennan series is one of my favorites. This installment, the 20th, has our intrepid heroine digging into the mystery of a storage container with two corpses stuffed inside that washes up during a South Carolina storm at the same time a horrifying flesh-eating bacteria is rearing its ugly head around the U.S.. It's another riveting page-turner from Reichs.
6. If It Rains by Jennifer L. Wright—I just finished this debut, which tells a rich, powerful story about the Dust Bowl. It's technically a Christian novel, but the religious elements are well-woven into the tale and never get preachy or cheesy, at least in my opinion. It's moving, hopeful (in the end, at least), and faith-promoting.
7. The Length of a String by Elissa Brent Weissman—This middle-grade novel was one of my first reads of the year. I loved the story about an adopted, mixed-race girl who has to learn to come to terms with her different ethnicities, cultures, and families.
8. Dark August by Katie Tallo—Also read early in the year, this gritty mystery/thriller set in a mysterious ghost town, kept me turning pages late into the night. I just saw that a sequel is being released in 2022. Can't wait!
9. The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner—This historical, about an Irish immigrant who travels to San Francisco to become the wife of a man she's never met and finds herself in the middle of the famous 1906 earthquake, is another atmospheric, absorbing read. I've enjoyed lots of Meissner's books, but this one is my favorite (I think).
10. The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm—I tend to read mostly darker, more serious fiction, so it's always nice when I come across a book that's just a fun, feel-good read. That's exactly what this middle-grade gem is!
11. A Distance Too Grand by Regina Scott—This historical is also on the lighter side. It deals with a female photographer who is determined to take her dead father's place on an 1871 expedition to the Grand Canyon. Along with proving herself as a photographer, she also has to survive the treacherous trip and guard her heart against an old flame. Also a Christian novel, this one is clean, uplifting, and compelling. It's a fun start to a series I'm very much enjoying. Thanks to Lark for the recommendation!
There you go, eleven of the best novels I've read this year. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What are the best books you've come across in 2021? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Tuesday, July 20, 2021
Top Ten Tuesday: Got It In One
Have you ever gotten so caught up in a book that you end up racing through it in one sitting, hardly daring to breathe, let alone get up and go to the bathroom? What kinds of reads are most likely to have that effect on you? I've zipped through plenty of books in one go, even taking my book with me to the bathroom, the kitchen table (I always read when I eat alone anyway), and to a college football game that I'm told was pretty exciting. Usually, the books I literally can't put down are in the mystery/thriller genre. Not always, as you'll see from the list below, but most of the time. The way they're written—usually with short chapters, lots of action, snappy dialogue, and cliffhangers all over the dang place—makes them ideal for whipping through in one sitting. Today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is all about these kinds of reads. I looked through my recent reading notes to find the last ten books that I sped through in one go (more or less). Since I love me a good page-turner, I'm excited to see everyone's answers.
If you want to jump on the TTT train (and you do!), click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.
Top Ten Most Recent Books I Read in One Sitting
1. The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm—Middle-grade books are easy to read in one sitting since they're generally short and written with kid-sized attention spans in mind. This one, the first I had read by Holm, charmed me with its warmth and feel-good story. I loved it so much that I proceeded to zoom through three more of the author's books. I'm currently listening to another of hers.
2. The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson—I'm a big fan of Jackson's warm-hearted Southern family dramas/sagas. I somehow missed reading this one, which came out in 2016. It tells a compelling story about a woman seeking answers about her estranged mother—and the surprise she left behind when she died.
3. The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton—Although this mystery/thriller—about a mother and daughter traveling through the Alaskan wilderness in search of their missing husband and father—is a pretty tense read, I'm not sure I would have buzzed through it in one sitting if it weren't for the fact that I needed something to entertain me while my daughter got her hair done. Getting a silk press, then having your very thick, curly hair straightened is not a quick process. Needless to say, I got a lot of reading done during that appointment!
4. The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman—I've read all of Steadman's thrillers, so I knew this one—her newest—would have me flying through the pages. It did. The story is about a British actress who comes to Hollywood during the chaotic pilot season. She meets an enigmatic American actress, who later disappears. At least it seems like she did. Did she really vanish? Or is the Brit going crazy?
5. The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian—This debut Southern mystery kept me totally riveted. It's about an impoverished, abused young woman whose life changes irrevocably when her father is killed in a very unexpected way. Suddenly, she finds herself in an unlikely partnership with a stranger, who has her own stake in covering up the man's death.
6. The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny—The Inspector Gamache books are more about the characters than the mysteries at their centers, so I don't generally buzz through them in one sitting. However, since I took this one on a trip with me, I spent a lot of time with it in airports and on airplanes. It's another compelling installment in a series that I love.
7. Shiver by Allie Reynolds—Despite the fact that this thriller is filled with unlikable characters, it's still a gripping read that had me burning through the pages with bated breath. It's a locked-room mystery set in an isolated ski lodge with a storm bearing down on a group of acquaintances who are already feeling uneasy in each other's presence.
8. Atomic Habits by James Clear—I don't read a lot of self-help books, but I found this one so engaging and inspiring that I read it in a matter of hours. It gives some excellent advice on how to break damaging habits and create healthy new ones.
9. The Wrong Family by Tarryn Fisher—This one has such a crazy, can't-look-away premise that I just...didn't. I don't want to say too much about the story because the less you know going into it, the better, I think.
10. We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin—Gritty and atmospheric, this thriller was so absorbing that I read it pretty much in one go. It's about a haunted detective who's desperate to solve two different, but seemingly connected, cases in her small Texas town.
There you have it, ten books that I read in one sitting. Have you read any of these? What did you think? Which books kept you glued to your seat? Which are your go-to authors for riveting, one-sitting reads? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
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