SUMMER READING LIST 2025
Books I have enjoyed this past year:
The Book Club for Troublesome Women
Death At A Highland Wedding (Rip Through Time Novel #4) by Kelley Armstrong. Minotaur Books, 2025. 336 pages. **** UPDATED
In this Fourth book in the series, Mallory has adjusted to her life as a housemaid and Dr. Gray's Assistant. She accompanies Gray, Isla, and McCreadie to the Scottish Highlands for McCreadie's sister's wedding. While exploring the castle and surrounding land, Duncan and Mallory discover that the groom, Archie Cranston, has set deadly traps for the endangered Scottish wildcats. They come across an injured cat caught in one of the traps and Mallory finds his injuries suspicious. Outraged over the fact that the traps are a danger to humans as well as animals, Mallory is determined to have them removed. When one of the wedding guests is murdered, the actions and attitude of the groom places him under suspicion.
I loved this book when I read it. Homicide detective, Mallory Atkinson, travels 150 years into the past and emerges as housemaid, Catriona Mitchel. Catriona is a complex, unlikeable, character and adopting her lifestyle and place in the Gray household is very challenging for Mallory. At the same time, she is trying to find a way to return to her own life. When I received a copy for review, I didn't realize that it was the 4th book in the series, so I immediately began reading the previous 3 books. I have completed the first three - A Rip Through Time, The Poisoner's Ring, and Disturbing the Dead. I strongly suggest that you read the books in order. The first book sets the stage and each book builds on the murders and the characters. The plot gets stronger with each book as more people in the household find out who Mallory is. # 3 and 4 are my favorites. Will Mallory change the future by providing modern tools and techniques for solving crimes or by having theories as to who the murderer is?
Kelley Armstrong graduated with a degree in psychology and then studies computer programming. Now she is a full-time writer and parent and lives with her husband and three children in rural Ontario, Canada. For more information about Armstrong and her books, click here.
Follow me on Instagram at flamazing_books.
#timetravel #mysterybooks #bookstagram Scottishhighlandsmystery
Mystery Quilt Shop Hop 2025
The fourth store is Stitch Central, Glenside, PA. They never disappoint!
The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick. Harper Muse: 2025. **** Publication April 2025.
No one writes about friendship like Marie Bostwick. She captures the frustration and dreams of women in the 60s and the societal norms that block them. Margaret Ryan has a wonderful husband, children, a nice house and it should be enough, but it isn't. Starting a Book Club with two of her friends takes a turn when she meets the flamboyant Charlotte who suggests they read the book, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. Published in 1963, Friedan changed the lives of many women who yearned for more from life. "At the age of thirty-three, Margaret sometimes wondered if every woman was destined to become her mother eventually." She and the ladies in the Book Club (The Bettys) eyes are opened to what could be while redefining their roles in their families.
I was a teenager when Friedan's book was published and remember the controversy surrounding it. I read it in 7th grade and knew not to write a book report on it. Thankfully, I grew up in a family that allowed me to read anything I wanted to. Perhaps, my mother was reading it at the time. Bostwick captured the empowerment and the fear that this life changing book caused. An excellent companion book to Lessons in Chemistry and relatable especially for any woman who has felt that she is not living her best life.
Recommended for all Book Clubs. Many discussion points for men and women.
I received a copy from Netgalley to review.
When not curled up with a good book, Marie Bostwick can usually be found in her office, trying to write one. A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nineteen uplifting works of historical and contemporary fiction, Marie’s books are beloved by readers across the globe. Marie lives in Washington state with her husband and a beautiful but moderately spoiled Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. For more info, www.mariebostwick.com.
Follow me on IG at flaming_books
#bookclubs #womanfiction #femininemystique
Nate Cartwright feels as if he has lost everything. His estranged parents died tragically and left him a cabin and a truck. Losing his job as a journalist in D.C. forces him to re-evaluate his life and his actions. Arriving at the town closest to the family summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon, Nate is pleased to see that nothing has changed since he visited with his parents, time seems to have stood still.
That is, until he arrives at the cabin to find a man and his daughter squatting there acting aggressive and mysterious. Nate is determined to learn the story of the military mn as evidenced by his tattoos, and who names a little girl, Artemis Darth Vader (Art for short)? Nate begins a journey, their journey to get the answers he seeks.Who is tracking them and why are Alex and Art in hiding?
Originally self-published because his publisher dubbed it "weird." I love TJ Klune as an author and his imagination is beyond comparison, however, this book while entertaining is "weird." His character development is outstanding and I can see Nate, Alex, and Art even now. Describing it as 'spine-tingling" in Amazon seems to be overstating it, however, I found it to be compelling and kept reading to see what else would unfold. Throw in a cult on a farm outside of Bird-In-Hand, PA, aliens, secret government project, love, acceptance, and friendship and you are left wanting more. It may not be for everyone and in the words of TJ "Things explode and helicopters fall from the sky as a little girl (who may not be a girl at all) fights to protect those she loves. Oh, and bacon. So much bacon."
I received an ecopy from Netgalley for a review.
TJ KLUNE is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of The House in the Cerulean Sea, The Extraordinaries, and more. Being queer himself, Klune believes it's important—now more than ever—to have accurate, positive queer representation in stories. For more info, click here.
Other books by JT Klune:
The House in the Cerulean Sea- Book 1
Somewhere Beneath The Sea - Book 2
Follow me on IG at flamazing_books
#bookstagram #sciencefiction
Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, 2) by TJ Klune. New York: TOR Publishing Group, 2024.405 pages. *****
In this sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea, "
Arthur Parnassus lives a good life, built on the ashes of a bad one. He’s the headmaster of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six magical and so-called dangerous children who live there.TJ KLUNE is the #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today bestselling, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of The House in the Cerulean Sea, Under the Whispering Door, In the Lives of Puppets, the Green Creek Series for adults, the Extraordinaries Series for teens, and more. Being queer himself, Klune believes it's important―now more than ever―to have accurate, positive queer representation in stories. To learn more about Klune - https://www.tjklunebooks.com/about
Follow me on IG at flaming_books
Synopsis from Amazon
"Violet Powell, a twenty-two-year-old from rural Abbott Falls, Maine, is being released from prison after serving twenty-two months for a drunk-driving crash that killed a local kindergarten teacher.
Harriet Larson, a retired English teacher who runs the prison book club, is facing the unsettling prospect of an empty nest.
Frank Daigle, a retired machinist, hasn’t yet come to grips with the complications of his marriage to the woman Violet killed.
When the three encounter each other one morning in a bookstore in Portland—Violet to buy the novel she was reading in the prison book club before her release, Harriet to choose the next title for the women who remain, and Frank to dispatch his duties as the store handyman—their lives begin to intersect in transformative ways."
How to Read a Book is my Book Club's choice for January. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I am a fast reader, the result of wanting to read many books and feeling pressured by time. Wood gives me pause in the way I read and skim passages, she says it best " The writer writes the words. And the book, the unique and unrepeatable book, doesn't exist until the given reader meets the writer on the page." This heartwarming story of friendship, forgiveness, and second chances, provides many topics for book club discussions. Harriet's (affectionately called Bookie by the inmates) love of books and reading is evident in her quest to choose the "right" books to engage the inmates. She lives by example to the women she leads in the group. I recommend this book for all adult readers.
MONICA WOOD is a novelist, memoirist, and playwright; the 2024 recipient of the Sara Josepha Hale award for excellence in New England literary arts; the 2019 recipient of the Maine Humanities Council Carlson Prize for contributions to the public humanities; and the 2016 recipient of the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance Distinguished Achievement Award for contributions to the literary arts. She lives in Portland. For more info - http://www.monicawood.com/about.html
Follow me on Instagram at flamazing_books
#secondchances, #friendship #forgiveness #bookstagram
Henry the Highland Coo has joined the girls in reviewing books for 2025!
