Hieroglyphics | New in Paperback

ＮＥＷ ｉｎ ＰＡＰＥＲＢＡＣＫ

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Hieroglyphics

Jill McCorkle

Publisher: @algonquinbooks

I’m excited to share with you a book I loved when I read it as an ARC in 2020. With notable characters, I found Hieroglyphics to be a beautiful journey of memories and trying to leave a little something of yourself in this world. You can read my full review on Goodreads or scroll down on my feed. Thank you to @algonquinbooks and @jill.mccorkle for an invitation to this book tour. Hieroglyphics is now available in paperback with a fantastic new cover

𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀:

Lil and Frank married young, launched into courtship when they bonded over how they both—suddenly, tragically—lost a parent when they were children. Over time, their marriage grew and strengthened, with each still wishing for so much more understanding of the parents they’d lost prematurely.

Now, after many years in Boston, they have retired in North Carolina. There, Lil, determined to leave a history for their children, sifts through letters and notes and diary entries—perhaps revealing more secrets than Frank wants their children to know. Meanwhile, Frank has become obsessed with what might have been left behind at the house he lived in as a boy on the outskirts of town, where a young single mother, Shelley, is just trying to raise her son with some sense of normalcy. Frank’s repeated visits to Shelley’s house begin to trigger memories of her own family, memories that she’d rather forget. Because, after all, not all parents are ones you wish to remember.

Hieroglyphics reveals the difficulty of ever really knowing the intentions and dreams and secrets of the people who raised you. In her deeply layered and masterful novel, Jill McCorkle deconstructs and reconstructs what it means to be a father or a mother, and what it means to be a child piecing together the world all around us, a child learning to make sense of the hieroglyphics of history and memory.

“Wise and tender, Hieroglyphics captures life itself: the experiences that shape us and bind us to one another, and the moments of terror and grace we carry in our hearts. Jill McCorkle’s new novel is a triumph.”

—Claire Messud, author of The Burning Girl

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The Anatomy of Desire | Audiobook Review & Sudio Earphones

The Anatomy of Desire

L.R. Dorn

4 / 5

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This book initially piqued my interest because it was a murder mystery involving Instagram influencers. Then I found out there was a secret love triangle involved; it just kept getting better! And the cover is so haunting! Thank you to @williammorrowbooks for this beautiful hardcover.

What made this book truly unique was the format. It’s told as an investigative docuseries. A young woman drowns, and the woman she was with, Cleo Ray, a popular fitness influencer, becomes the likely suspect. This all plays out through interviews, reports, and courtroom sessions.

I listened to the audiobook thanks to @libro.fm and it was a great production with a full cast. 

And it sounded perfect with my new @sudio NIO earphones. If you haven’t tried #sudio earphones yet, you need to! Get 15% off now with my code SUBAKKA15.

Book Stack Challenge

💜💙 𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕖 💜💙

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May is Huntington’s Disease Awareness Month

I loved #fadeintothebright by Jessica Koosed Etting, a story of a young girl who faces a future with Huntington’s disease. 

Thank you to @letstalkbookspromo for hosting a stack challenge to help spread awareness and raise money for Huntington’s Disease, a cruel neurological disease with no cure. 

My pastor’s wife died of Huntington’s Disease this past year, so I have seen the impact of this disease on the individual, family and loved ones.

For every purple and blue stack posted in May that uses the hashtag #stacksforhdawareness @berittalksbooks and @kccpr will each donate $1 to @hdsannational 

💙 Thank you to the many others who are matching donations. 

💜 Don’t forget to use the hashtag and tag @berittalkbooks @kccpr @itsjessandlyss and @letstalkbookspromo on your posts!

Crazy Free |Book Review & Tour Stop

Crazy Free

Tori Starling

5 / 5

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Emily Sharp, a writer for Southern Speaks Magazine, is writing an article on the closing of Hamilton Meadows, an archaic mental institution. It sparks a memory of a conversation she once overheard; her grandmother was a patient at Hamilton Meadows; in fact, she died there. It’s time to get her mother, Pam, to open up about their family history.

Pam is not happy that Emily is drudging up the past. She has worked hard to deal with the pain of knowing her mother was committed to a mental hospital by her cruel father and then feeling like it was her fault. Emily continues to search for what truly happened to her grandmother Kora, and the truth will shock Pam and change her world.

I love that we hear from all three generations: Kora, Pam, and Emily. Although this is a tender and heartbreaking debut novel of family secrets with surprising twists, I applaud Starling for shining a spotlight on mental illness and patient care. Kora was committed to a mental institution in 1960, and the conditions and treatments were despicable. What happened to Kora happened to far too many women. 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐲 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 gives a voice to all those strong women who never had a chance to be heard.

*𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 – 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘤. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘋𝘔 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥.

Thank you to @suzyapprovedbooktours and @tori.starling88 for this #gifted copy.

A Song for the Road | Book Review & Tour Stop

A Song for the Road

Kathleen Basi

5 / 5

Out Now!

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Unimaginable! That’s the pain Miriam Tedesco has been walking through the last year. She lost her husband and twin teenagers in one horrible event. On top of the emptiness, she lives with the what-ifs, the things said and not said, and a secret not shared.

When a friend helps Miriam sort through some of her kid’s belongings, they open up a video program made by the twins. They had designed a cross-country road trip for their parents to take this summer while they would have been at music camp.

Miriam decides to take the trip on her own, against the wishes of her mother and sister. She wants to do this for her kids. With her husband’s guitar, her daughter’s cello, and her son’s unfinished sonata, this trip becomes a musical dedication to her family. 

Miriam picks up a young, pregnant hitchhiker who helps her work through her grief and provides friendship. Along the way, the two women encounter others who have suffered loss and hardship – the farther Miriam travels, the more she begins to feel alive again.

Basi writes with such grace and honesty that it’s hard not to get caught up in Miriam’s journey; you feel the complexity of her grief and guilt. 𝐀 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 is such a beautiful story of finding peace and letting the heart love again.

Thank you to @suzyapprovedbooktours and @kathleenbasi for this #gifted copy.

These Feathered Flames | Book Feature

Ｂｏｏｋ░Ｆｅａｔｕｒｅ

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These Feathered Flames (#1)

Alexandra Overy

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Out Now!

               

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If you’re looking for your next YA fantasy read, look no further. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 is a great retelling that offers diversity, an enemies-to-lovers romance, as well as, political intrigue. While I felt that the magical system is still being unveiled and may develop as the series progresses, I really enjoyed the twins’ POVs and their polar personalities. I’m excited to see where Overy takes these characters and this supernatural world.  

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Synopsis:

When twin heirs are born in Tourin, their fates are decided at a young age. While Izaveta remained at court to learn the skills she’d need as the future queen, Asya was taken away to train with her aunt, the mysterious Firebird, who ensured magic remained balanced in the realm.

But before Asya’s training is completed, the ancient power blooms inside her, which can mean only one thing: the queen is dead, and a new ruler must be crowned.

As the princesses come to understand everything their roles entail, they’ll discover who they can trust, who they can love—and who killed their mother. 

𝘈 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥,” 𝘢 𝘙𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘬𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦.

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Thank you to @harpercollins for an invitation to this blog tour and a #gifted copy.

𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢! 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚕 𝚘𝚛 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚎? 𝙳𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎.

The Plot | Book Review & Giveaway

The Plot

Jean Hanff Korelitz

4 / 5

Jake Bonner, creative writing teacher and struggling author, needs an idea for his next novel. To rub salt in his wounds, an egotistical student, Evan Parker, shares his work in progress, and Jake realizes this plot is good, like best-seller good.

When Evan dies suddenly, Jake feels like you couldn’t write a twist any better; he must write Evan’s unfinished story for him. Jake goes on to have stellar success with the book he titles, The Crib. But then he receives a cryptic email stating, “you’re a thief.” 

Jake starts digging into how Evan came up with the idea or from whose life? It seems someone wants Jake’s book silenced. 

THE PLOT raises the ethical question of stealing others’ work and at what point that starts and ends. The clever story within a story and nods to the reading life make this truly a booklover’s mystery.

I read this with @booksandcoffeemx and our fun #booksncoffeebookclub

Thank you to @celdonbooks @stmartinspress for my #gifted copies and @netgalley and @macmillianaudio for the audiobook.

🎉 GIVEAWAY 🎉

I have an extra copy to share with one of you! Head over to my Instagram page and enter https://www.instagram.com/subakka.bookstuff/

Secrets of Our House | Cover Reveal

🌲 COVER REVEAL 🌲

Secrets of Our House

By Rea Frey

Publisher: @stmarinspress

Pub Date: February 8, 2022

Preorder Now!

I am a huge fan of Rea Frey’s books. She writes strong women characters and subjects that pull on your heart. So I’m thrilled about her new book! Thank you to @suzyapprovedbooktours and @reafrey for inviting me to be a part of showing off the gorgeous cover for 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞. You don’t want to miss this one.

About the book:

A thrilling domestic drama set against the power of the wilderness, Secrets of Our House is a deeply-felt novel of long-held secrets and the strength of family.

Desi is the mastermind behind her dream getaway house. Nestled high into the mountains of North Carolina, it is a sleek place, a luxurious place, a dark place. 

A place full of secrets. 

Secrets about the man she longs for, a man who is not her husband. Secrets about the roots of her family that must never, ever, see the light of day. When Desi and her family arrive from Chicago to spend the summer in the mountains, the seeds for the tumultuous months to follow are planted—her marriage on the rocks, not knowing which way they’ll go. Her seventeen-year-old daughter Jules, falling in love for the first time with a local boy—and forging a new path that will take her to uncharted places. And Carter—a man Desi knew long ago, before she expunged him from her life for good. 

All hurtling toward events none of them can undo.

Engaging, propulsive, and with a dramatic, heart-pounding final act, Secrets of Our House is a dazzling novel, richly-drawn, that shows no matter how hard outside forces may shake you, the bonds of family are stronger than the harshest winds.



Barefoot and Running: Poems

Barefoot and Running: Poems

Morgan Liphart

Poetry

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Honestly, I don’t read a lot of poetry, but I loved that Morgan Liphart’s poems are about nature, life and come straight from her heart. 

These words take you on a mountain climb, the wings of a bird, and speak to Grief.

One of my favorites is “Smooth” where in just 11 lines, Liphhart captures how life beats away at us like violent storms, and we are left like a smooth stone.

Barefoot and Running is a short but graceful collection of poetry. Thank you to @mliphart for this digital copy.

🍃 Do you have a favorite poet? I always enjoyed Robert Frost.

Mother’s Day Mini Reviews

𝕄𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣’𝕤 𝔻𝕒𝕪 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕚 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨𝕤

Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms of kids, furbabies, and more. 💜

Today I have three great books for you that have moms as main characters.

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐑 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐒 by Julie Valerie

I loved the character of Holly Banks in Holly Banks Full of Angst, and now she’s back with more relatable but sometimes cringy moments. Holly is trying to do it all: mom, wife, career, oh and be a good daughter too. Julie Valerie writes from the heart, with a sense of humility, and always adds in a good dose of humor.  4 / 5 ⭐️ Thank you, @julievalerieauthor for this #gifted copy.

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𝐀 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 by Cari Scribner

Jessica is struggling after her second divorce, fearing she’ll end up alone. But her adult children encourage her to get back out there. So she tries online dating, make-overs, working out, all that stuff. Well, you can imagine the many different types of people she encounters. First off, I have to say it’s great seeing more “mature” women like Jessica depicted this way. Yes, women over fifty have great sex! Also, I loved the relationship Jessica had with her kids, very supportive and loving. This was a fun yet emotion-filled story about finding love once again. 4 / 5 ⭐️ Thank you to @nurse_bookie and @cariscribnerauthor for this giveaway win.

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒 by Genevieve Gannon

Two couples go into a fertility clinic for different procedures when a grave error is made. The embryos from one couple are implanted into the uterus of the other woman. A year later, one woman is the mother of someone else’s baby, and one woman is childless. Choices have to be made. This book brings up a lot of very emotional as well as moral questions. Be prepared to have your heart pulled in many directions. 4 / 5 ⭐️  Thank you to @williammorrowbooks for this #gifted copy.