Served Him Right | By Lisa Unger

 

Expected Publication Date: March 10, 2026

Ana Blacksmith is celebrating the end of her relationship with, Paul. She is having an Ex-orcisim. It entails removing Paul from their social media accounts but the celebration is cut short when they receive news that Paul is dead. Ana is suspect number one.

Then one of the women (Iggy) from the friend group falls deathly ill. It is suspicious. 

Ana and Vera (Ana's sister) team up to prove Ana's innocent. Despite the amount of enemies Paul has finding who is responsible for his death is proving to be difficult.

Served Him Right is told through multiple points of view. The characters are well developed and the drama is at an all time high. Fans of Unger will love this book.

** I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Never Lie | by Freida McFadden

Tricia and Ethan marry shortly after meeting - now they are on the hunt for their dream home. They head out during a snowstorm to view a manor in a remote area. The snow storm turns into a blizzard and they are trapped in the manor belonging to renowned psychiatrist named Dr. Adrienne Hale.  

Dr. Hale vanished without a trace four years ago and the answer to her disappearance may lay in cassette tapes from her recorded sessions that Tricia finds. Tricia finds herself engrossed in the tapes but then one of the tape chills her to the core.

Never Lie is told via different points of views and mainly takes place in the manor adding to the isolation and psychological thrill of the book. The twists, turns and hinted reveals deliver a good read. 

Yellowface | by R.F. Kuang

 

Athena and Juniper are both young authors. Athena is much more successful as a writer and loved by many. Juniper's debut book is a flop and she's struggling to write her next novel. Athena and Juniper occasionally get together and on their last get together, Juniper witnesses Athena's accidental death. 

Juniper snatches Athen's manuscript. She edits the the story and makes it her own. She submits it to her publisher and the book finds success but soon Juniper is living under the fear that her secret will be exposed.

This book has me on the edge of my seat. The story essentially tells itself. This is the first book I have read from Kuang and her writing is phenomenal. Yellowface is a brilliant book that also gives insight into how book publishing and the book release process goes. 

This Is Ear Hustle Book | by Nigel Poor & Earlonne Woods

Have you ever listened to the podcast, Ear Hustle? If not I highly recommend it. 

I chose to listen to the audiobook rather than read the book of This is Ear Hustle because I was familiar with the voices of Nigel and Earlonne and was hoping to recreate the feeling of them on the podcast together. 

They have great chemistry, storytelling skills and know how to make a story come to life.

This book is written by the creators of Ear Hustle. It explores untold stories. digs deeper into other stories and gives a look into their own personal circumstances. We learn more about Earlonne which is absolutely amazing. 

This is an important read that explores the justice system, incarceration and life after prison.

The River Is Waiting | by Wally Lamb

 

Lambs book, I Know this Much is true left me broken and this one did too but in a different way.

Corby is a father and a husband. He is also unemployed and struggling with an addiction. His addiction lands him behind bars. 

His life is filled with guilt and pain. Lamb paints what I can only imagine a true and bleak look into life in prison. Corby is trying to keep his marriage together, fight against his addiction and find his place. 

Luckily, Corby find friendship and acts of kindness in prison which help him find some degree of peace and in return he extends the same.

Corby's journey is harsh, often ugly and breaks you. This book is a difficult read in that it drains you emotionally. The characters struggles feel real and raw. You feel for multiple characters and question what you would do and feel. 

The ending ... you see it coming but you keep turning those pages and punishing yourself.  It's only January but this might be my favorite book of 2026.

Good Spirits (Ghosted, #1) | by B.K. Borison

 

Harriet York has inherited her Aunt Mathilda's antique shop. She is kind and puts other's first. She is a people pleaser. She has a sweet tooth, cute clothing, whimsical pajamas, an addiction to peppermint candy and is full of Christmas cheer! She's give Buddy the Elf some competition in the area. 

Nolan is an Irish sailor who lost his life at sea. He is rugged, charming and living his afterlife as the Ghost of Christmas Past. He is used to wrapping his assignments up quickly but when he is assigned to Harriet he discovers this assignment is different. Harriet is sweet and unlike any of his other haunts. 

Nolan takes Harriet into her past so they can find her mistakes and send her off to the next ghost. The problem is there isn't anything terrible in her past and if he can't move her forward to the next phase he will have to pay the consequences. 

Harriet starts to make Nolan feel and experience things he hasn't in years such as taste. His magic starts to haywire and Nolan and Harriet start to work together to finish his assignment but as their feelings grow for one another things get complicated.

Borison draws her idea from the much known Ghost of past, present and future but puts a different spin on it. Her characters are likable and fun. There is time travel creating flash back scenes. The story is told from Noaln and Harriet's point of view. I found myself wishing I had a friend like Harriet and you will too.

I am anxiously awaiting the next book in this series. 

All We Ever Wanted | by Emily Giffin

 

Nina Browning is a small girl town who married to Nashville. Her husband is successful in the tech industry making them wealthy. They have a son who is popular and Princeton bound.  One of his classmates is Lyla the daughter of a single father named Tom. Tom works two jobs and does everything in his power to make a good life for his daughter. He is overprotective and strict. 

Nina and Tom's lives are about to come crashing around them when a scandalous photo of Nina is taken at a party in which she is intoxicated. The image circulates at a fast pace and to make matters worst it is captioned with a racist words.

Finch Browning has been accused of taking the photo and circulating it. Lyla can't remember what happened and this is their story. All We Ever Wanted it told from three different points of view that of Tom, Nina and Lyla. Each voice is distinct and Giffin writes it in such a way that you understand and "feel" the characters emotions. This is one of Giffin's best novel's yet.

Dead Fake (Bleak Haven #1) | By Vincent Ralph January 20, 2026

Expected Publication Date: January 20, 2026

A new app called "Swipe to Die" is making the rounds of Ava Wilson's High School.  It starts with flyers that say "Are you ready to be murdered?"  A quick scan of the QR code starts the process. The first night the flyers are posted a classmate is murdered and their death video makes the rounds. Imagine everyone's surprise when the teen is alive and well. 

 The app uses AI to show those who participated (and others) their own death scene ---  horror movie style. It's all fun and games until people start to die in the manner the app predicted. 

Ava has refused to download the app and she decides she is going to find out who is responsible for creating it before more people die including herself.  Ava is no stranger to murder. Her Uncle went on a killing spree and murdered a local family. It's well know in the community and Ava has lived under the shadow of it. 

Deep Fake is well written and keeps you guessing. It draws you in as though you are an active participant. Expect this fast paced book to surprise you at the end.

*** I have received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

 

Awake | by Jen Hatmaker

 

Jen Hatmaker wakes up at 2:30 a.m. to hear her husband whispering on the phone to another woman. Jen's life changes. Her marriage of 26 years ends. Jen is forced to learn how to do things her husband used to handle, while focusing on her career, children and life. It feels impossible and depression peaks its ugly head.

As the book progresses, Jen goes on a journey of self discovery and it's just full of one fancy vacation after another and I became lost and disinterested. I felt that the book became a brag feast. It felt like a story only the rich or those with rich friends could relate to. 

I hate to review memoirs because they are so personal and Hatmakers starts off so painful and personal but I just couldn't connect with her.

 Something  felt a bit off about Hatmakers story as though something was being left out or missing.  Well --- it was. Something major. I googled Jen (I had no idea who she was) and then her ex husband and discovered a few things weren't disclosed which changed my perspective on a few things.

Be warned that there is animal cruelty that is handled with humor which just hits wrong. I do think that Jen made many positive changes in her life and prevailed but this book wasn't for me. I couldn't connect with Jen or relate to her simply because her privilege leaks off the pages. 

Lightbreakers | by Aja Gabel

 

Noah has agreed to participate in a private project that essentially deals with time travel. Noah and his wife pack up and moved to the desert where Janus Labs is located at (shout out to Gabel for using Las Cruces, NM as a location). Upon arrival things feel off but they carry on. 

Noah becomes more immersed in his work which is dangerous and ground breaking. His past slowly starts to leak into his current life and Maya his wife feels disconnected and decides to revisit her past and return to Japan to see him family and ex. 

Noah's ex-wife who plays an important role his his past agrees to met up with Noah and join him in the project. 

This book is interesting and fascinating. It's well written and emotional but didn't exactly click for me. I am a fan of time travel but not science fiction which is likely why this wasn't a winner for me. Gabel understands and writes about grief in beautiful way and how it affects people differently. 

I didn't love this book but I have a deep appreciation and like of it. It was most definitely worth my time. 

All the Little Houses | by May Cobb

 

Expected Publication Date: January 20, 2026

It's the mid 1980s and new girl Jane Swift has just moved to Longview, Texas with her family. The Swifts are quite different from other families in Longview. They dress peculiar in homemade clothing, the mom makes potions from herbs and the father is uses his hands to create shelves, tables, etc.  Jane is the one of three daughters. She's strikingly beautiful and a bit wild. 

Nellie Anderson, named after Nellie from Little House in the Prairie is the daughter of one of the riches families in town. Despite her families wealth and her moms popularity, Nellie isn't popular at school. Nellie is a mean girl, she makes Regina George from Mean Girls look like a sweetheart. 

The Swifts capture the attention of many when they move to Longview but the Andersons, in particular Nellie dislike them immediately. It's hate at first sight. This means "war" between the daughters and mothers. 

Both teen and adult characters play major roles in this story and thus we experience All The Little Houses from multiple points of views. The story flows like the waves of the ocean during a storm. Fast and Furious. My attention was drawn from the start and carried the same energy until the end which is a cliffhanger!

If you have enjoyed Cobb's previous books you are going to LOVE this one. If you haven't read her books before pick one up today and read it don't leave it in your TBR pile. 

** I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.