So, Are They Actually Related????

TITLE: The Summer Share

AUTHOR: Jenn McKinlay

PUBLISHER: Berkley

PUBLISHING DATE: May 26, 2026

PAGES: 368   

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: Free-spirited travel influencer Hannah Spencer has spent five years touring the country in her vintage van. An unexpected inheritance from her Pops brings Hannah to Cape Split, North Carolina, where she learns she’s the new owner of a worse-for-wear seaside beach house. Or, rather, fifty percent of one. Turns out Simon O’Malley inherited the other half from his Gramps. 

As Simon and Hannah spend the summer tag-teaming repairs on the crumbling cottage, they discover the house was once home to a timeless love story. Soon, they begin to wonder if the house’s romantic past may be a good omen for their future together. But there’s one problem—Simon is set on selling the property at the end of the summer. 

Hannah thought one summer at the Split would be enough, except it isn’t like any place she’s ever been, and Simon isn’t like any man she’s ever known—and she’s thinking about putting down some roots. She just needs Simon to see their budding relationship and this newfound community the same way or their first summer share might also be their last.

MY THOUGHTS: No matter what she is writing, be it cozy mysteries, romance or even cozy fantasy, McKinlay is one of my favorite authors and thanks to her Library Lover's Series, probably also one of my most-read authors too.  So, picking up this summery romance was definitely a no-brainer and a decision I don't regret.

Hannah has recently inherited a beach house in Cape Split following the death of her beloved grandfather.  After a few years living in her van and traveling the US with her horse, oops I mean Great Dane, Dude, Hannah is ready to put down roots.  However, when she arrives, she finds a stranger at the home as well - Simon.  Simon claims he is the rightful owner of the house as his grandfather died a few months back and left the residence to him.  They soon find out that their grandfather's co-owned the home and now it is up to Hannah and Simon to decide what to do with the run-down property.  Hannah wants to move in and Simon wants to sell, due to some family obligations.  There is one catch though, before anything can be done.  Also, as time goes on, Hannah and Simon realize there was something their grandfathers were hiding from them and together they work to find out all their secrets.

I really enjoyed this book.  I liked both Simon and Hannah and could understand both of their positions on the property.  I enjoyed learning about the grandfathers as the story progressed and the community neighbors who all seemed liked one big happy found family.  But Dude, the dog, is the star of this book if you ask me.  There are many scenes where Dude is knocking Simon and Hannah into the fishing lake behind the house and it almost becomes Dude's main trick.  Also, long before Hannah realizes she has developing feelings for Simon, she falls in love with how much he loves her giant dog. 

This book was a perfect combination of family drama, close-proximity enemies-to-lovers, and found family.  My only issue is that I felt the resolution was a bit rushed but maybe I just wanted it to continue so I'm not docking my rating for it. I practically devoured this book and can't wait for my next McKinlay read!

MY RATING: 5 PAWS

Feed Your TBR (Summer of Horror 2026 Edition)

 

Can't Wait Wednesday, which I have adapted to better suit my blog as "Feed Your TBR" is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Also, since it is Summer of Horror, each week I will be trying to do one horror and one horror pick - at least through August.  So, enjoy!

December 8, 2026

FROM GOODREADS: At the height of summer, Blackstream Oil finally starts drilling on Saliquaw Nation. But when an oil worker is found dead, inexplicably missing his heart, the already controversial oil deal is put at risk.

Starr is still chasing cold cases of missing women, with hardly any leads and even fewer resources to follow them. This perplexing death of an outsider—a white man—is the last thing she needs to distract from her mission.

But when a suspect in a fifteen-years-cold disappearance returns home to the rez, employed by the same shady fracking company, Starr wonders if he might be the key to solving both mysteries—past and present.

All the while, there are strange phenomena among the reservation’s wildlife—bison display aggression, fish wash ashore, and Starr begins hearing a Rain Crow's distinctive call everywhere she turns. The more Starr learns, the less it all makes sense… and the cry of the Rain Crow warns that a storm is coming.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  This is the second installment in the Carrie Starr series and even though I still need to read Mask of the Deer Woman, it won't stop me from picking this one up too.

March 16, 2027

                                                                        

FROM GOODREADS: Something is wrong at the world-famous ZOO USA. Animals keep escaping. Others are found dead in their enclosures. It’s a public relations nightmare for Ashlee Beauchamp, the communications executive responsible for convincing the public that nothing is amiss. Worse, she suspects the incidents are no accident—and fears someone on the inside is responsible.

Bright-eyed, young conservationist Megan Taylor is thrilled to be in town for North America’s largest conference for zoo professionals. The conference has been eye-opening, but at least she has Zoo Day to look forward to: a full day to explore ZOO USA with her sister, Sierra, if only she can convince Sierra (and herself) that zoos aren’t exploitative animal prisons.

Brandon McCabe is counting down the days too. Twisted by hate and hell-bent on revenge, the disgruntled zookeeper and his coworkers are planning something big to get back at the institution that has wronged them. Much like the animals he cares for, Brandon has grown tired of his cage—and when Zoo Day comes, everyone best run.

Told in real time over a single day, We Don’t Call Them Cages is an action-packed, multi-POV thriller that will leave readers breathless and thinking twice before their next day at the zoo.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  I will have to see some reviews to see if I can handle the animals' deaths in this one which I am sure I will occur given the subject matter, but I'm all for seeing some zoo animals get revenge for their captivity!

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK???

"The worms crawl in. The worms crawl out."

TITLE: Wolf Worm

AUTHOR: T. Kingfisher

PUBLISHER: Tor Nightfire

PUBLISHING DATE: March 24, 2026

PAGES: 277   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: The year is 1899 and Sonia Wilson is a scientific illustrator without work, prospects, or hope. When the reclusive Dr. Halder offers her a position illustrating his vast collection of insects, Sonia jumps at the chance to move to his North Carolina manor house and put her talents to use. But soon enough she finds that there are darker things at work than the Carolina woods. What happened to her predecessor, Halder’s wife? Why are animals acting so strangely, and what is behind the peculiar local whispers about “blood thieves?” 

With the aid of the housekeeper and a local healer, Sonia discovers that Halder’s entomological studies have taken him down a dark road full of parasitic maggots that burrow into human flesh, and that his monstrous experiments may grow to encompass his newest illustrator as well.

MY THOUGHTS: I'm not quite sure why it took me so long to pick up this book but I'm glad I did.  And little did I know that while I initially came for the horror, I ended up loving some of the characters more than I ever expected. 

Sonia used to be an illustrator for her father, a known naturalist.  However, after his death, she ends up teaching at a girl's school for lack of a job in her desired profession.  Sonia finally gets a job illustrating for Dr. Halder, a reclusive entomologist, which involves living on his reclusive estate in North Caroline.  Sonia is new to the insect world but eventually starts catching on and producing artistry to Halder's liking.  But soon she learns Halder has a mysterious shed out back and Sonia believes she may have heard him talking to someone one night. There is also Halder's obsession with bot flys and screw worms which more than gives Sonia the creeps, especially when she observes some of the wildlife acting very odd.  And if that wasn't enough, what really happened to Halder's wife, his prior illustrator and did he really kill her lover?  

It was a joy reading from Sonia's perspective.  Not only is she bright and a bit too curious, but she also has a wit about her which brings some humor to an otherwise dark book.  I enjoyed Halder's housekeeper Rose and her husband Jackson and appreciated some of the historical elements and deep South customs their interracial marriage, an extreme taboo during the time of the book, Kingfisher included.  

Now don't get me wrong.  This book is disgusting in places and took a turn at the end I never anticipated but truly loved.  This is my third book from this author and now I find myself wanting to go back and devour everything else she has ever written.  If you love horror and don't mind bugs, then please consider picking this one up!

MY RATING: 5 PAWS

Feed Your TBR - Summer of Horror 2026 Edition

 

Can't Wait Wednesday, which I have adapted to better suit my blog as "Feed Your TBR" is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Also, since it is Summer of Horror, each week I will be trying to do one horror and one horror pick - at least through August.  So, enjoy!

January 26, 2027

FROM GOODREADS: Milwaukee, 1997— In the eighties, the Cream City Killer, known as CCK, made Walker’s Point his hunting ground. His reign of terror gave a new name to Milwaukee’s oldest neighborhood: Scream City.

Back then, if anyone had told Rex Hale that things were about to get worse for him, he’d have thought they were yanking his chain. He’s already divorced, suspended from the police force, and serving eviction notices for a developer dead-set on gentrifying the place. The only way things could get worse is if—

The next guy he serves winds up murdered. In cold blood. Rex’s papers still fluttering nearby.

The crime appears to be the work of a copycat, someone paying homage to CCK. Rex is questioned, of course, along with Alice Foster—CCK’s granddaughter and owner of a haunted bookstore that has yet to be evicted. Sparks have crackled between Alice and Rex for years. He wants to believe she’s innocent, but the evidence is stacking up against her.

So are the bodies.

The killer has turned Rex’s paper route into their own personal path of destruction. If there’s any chance at saving Walker’s Point and clearing both of their names, Alice and Rex—two people no one trusts—will have to trust each other. But in order to suss out the killer, they’ll have to look at the past and exhume a long-buried clue the original investigation missed.

If they don’t solve it soon, the development is the least of their worries, because Scream City is hellbent on living up to its name. And this time, no one gets out alive.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  Serial killers and 90s!

March 9, 2027

FROM GOODREADS: When Maria returns home for her mother’s funeral, she’s left with only a cryptic inheritance to claim. But Talalora — the lush, once-fertile town she remembers — is now barren, its flowers withered, and its people devoted to a lone priest, Father Benito, who insists her mother’s estate must be earned through a series of brutal trials.

Each trial pits Maria against relatives she’s never met, and as she progresses, the town’s plants grow faster and stranger, blurring the line between reality and memory. Strange floral visions and a forgotten spirit, the Diwata, begin to surface, stirring up memories she was never meant to recall — including tender moments with a beautiful girl who now claims her mother’s death was planned. 

Maria’s fight for her inheritance becomes a quest to uncover the truth about her mother, Talalora’s cursed past, and the supernatural forces that bind them. The story builds toward the chilling revelation that what’s been buried must bloom — and that the land itself is alive with danger.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  That cover!

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK???

Man, He Was a Jerk, But I Loved Him!

TITLE: Mile High (Windy City #1)

AUTHOR: Liz Tomforde

PUBLISHER: Hodder

PUBLISHING DATE: June 7, 2022

PAGES: 603   

SOURCE: KU

FROM GOODREADS: ZANDERS Chicago hockey isn't complete without me - everyone's favourite player to hate. I know my role, and I play it well. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy spending the majority of my game time in the penalty box before leaving the arena with a new girl on my arm each night. 

What I don't like is the new flight attendant on our team's private plane. She works for me, not the other way around. But I'll be sure to remind her of that, and I can guarantee, by the end of the season, she'll be begging to quit her job. 

But every road trip blurs the lines, and I can't quite figure out if I keep pushing that flight attendant call button in order to push her buttons, or if it's more than that. 

STEVIE I've been a flight attendant for years. I thought I'd seen it all, but when my new job lands me onboard working for the most egotistical and self-righteous diva in the NHL, I start to second guess everything. Including the promise I made to myself of never hooking up with an athlete again . . . no matter how annoyingly tempting he may be. 

Evan Zanders is unfiltered, unapologetic, and too attractive for his own good. He loves his image, but I hate everything about it. 

Everything but him.

MY THOUGHTS: This was not a book I planned to read in May, but I ended up participating in a book club over on Instagram ran by Iulia @ Adopt that Monster where she focuses on book each month that features the bond between humans and their dogs.  I believe she is a dog trainer, and I have linked her account in case you want to check her out. Anyway, doesn't that sound like the perfect club for me so I grabbed this book on KU. 

Stevie is a flight attendant who has been hired to work on all the away trips for the Chicago Raptors.  She is currently living with her brother, a star basketball player, and loves the time in between trips because it allows her to do her favorite thing - work at a dog shelter which focuses on getting more senior dogs adopted.  Zander is the bad boy of the team who has fueled his team, and his reputation, by being a womanizing all-fun, no-commitment guy.  It's a reputation that is partly fake, but which he is playing into because he thinks that is what the fans expect of him and his contract is up for renewal at the end of the season.  

When Stevie and Zander meet on their first trip together, Zander is a complete ass.  Yet, Stevie is more than capable of holding her own and dishes his attitude right back which only intrigues me more.  You don't have to be a genius to see where this book was headed and while I initially thought 603 pages was WAY too long for a romance book, apparently, I was wrong because I loved it and finished it in under 24 hours.

Zander and Stevie have an insta-hate connection which drove me to turn each page quicker than the previous.  They both carry their own baggage and insecurities and as the book progresses, the reader learns more about their past.  In fact, even though Zander was a jerk in the beginning (aka - ass), I was able to see why and understand that he was more than meets the eye.  The author also did a wonderful job at character develop and at the end of the book, Zander went down as one of my favorite leading men ever in a romance book.  Stevie was sweet and endearing and this really showed in her volunteer work with the dogs at the shelter and her commitment to fining every last one a forever home.  And the dog shelter plays a huge role in this book which of course I loved. 

I believe there are five books in this series and the next one focuses on Stevie's basketball-playing brother.  I do enjoy sports, especially college and pro football, and can finally see some of the lure in sports romances.  Don't know that they will dethrone my cowboy-romance era anytime soon, but I will definitely pick up the next book when I need a romantic palette cleanser.

MY RATING: 5 PAWS

You Won't Find THIS Barb in Bethesda!

TITLE: Bethesda

AUTHOR: Lisa Morris

PUBLISHER: Quill and Crow Publishing House

PUBLISHING DATE: June 23, 2026

PAGES: 157   

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: Tryss just wants to get home to say goodbye to her dad before he passes away, but when she pulls off the freeway to find a gas station, she ends up stuck in Bethesda, a backwoods town with no cell service and a car that won’t start. Worse still, the town’s citizens aren’t exactly…alive. Unless you count the Barbs. They’re Bethesda’s sisterhood of cloned caretakers, and they may look friendly, but like the town, surface impressions can be deceiving. In her attempt to leave, Tryss meets Aiden, who’s been stuck in Bethesda for six months and has all but given up hope of escaping. They team up to figure out the town’s deadly—and just plain weird—secrets, but will the town actually let them leave?

MY THOUGHTS: You know those books where after the first page, you just get sucked in and you know you are going to love it?  Well, this was one of those books for me.  

Tryss is traveling back to her hometown in a race against time to see her father who just entered hospice.  Toward the end of her journey, she runs low on gas and finds a small town with an open gas station.  However, after filling up, her car won't start.  Thus begins Tryss's mission to find someone to help her. 

She cannot get cell reception and since it is the middle of the night, no one is on the streets.  Tryss knocks on several houses and eventually breaks into one where she finds a preserved woman sitting at the kitchen table.  Tryss sends Tryss exploring the whole town and she finds quite a few people, but none can help her because they are all dead. The next morning Tryss notices several open businesses, but all say the town has no working phones and all seem to look like that same person and have the same name - Barb. 

I really don't want to say much but if you love horror, then this is one you can't miss. I couldn't wait to see what unfolded and if Tryss would make it home to see her dad and even though the ending left quite a few things open for interpretation, it was still satisfying.  In fact, a day later, I find myself still trying to wrap my head around the mysteries of Bethesda. While this novel is only a novella, I find myself wanting more and I will definitely be checking out more from this author in the future. So stop reading my review and go preorder a copy!

MY RATING: 5 PAWS

Buried by Books (Summer of Horror 2026 Edition)

 

Wow, I haven't done one of these in a while.  I used to do them to showcase some odd, fun and unusual books I had placed on hold on added to my Kindle Unlimited Wish List or with my local library.  To celebrate Summer of Horror, I am showcasing three books which are currently available on KU which I just added to my long wish list. At least I am using my KU subscription more this year, which was on of my goals, so that's a plus!

FROM GOODREADS: Autumn 1983. Michael Jackson’s Thriller dominates the charts. Tom Cruise slides across the floor in his underpants. Mr. T pities the fool. And on the campus of Boston’s Holbrook University, Nathan Harrington is pretty sure he’s turning into a werewolf. 

Nathan had a plan. Graduate with honors, marry a trophy wife, run for office. Then he met Gretchen Stump – AKA “The Dog Girl” – the hirsute transfer student from East Nowhere, Maine. 

Gretchen and Nathan are from different worlds. Perhaps even different species. They make no sense together. And yet, they can’t stay away from each other. 

But Gretchen has a secret. And under the orange glow of the full harvest moon – Nathan learns the truth. Gretchen isn’t like other humans. She’s cursed. And she may have just passed that curse on to him. 

Now his hair and nails grow faster than he can trim them. His sense of smell is astonishing. Exposure to the moon makes his skin itch. He blacks out at night, waking up in strange places. 

And there’s been a murder on campus. A violent mauling.

FROM GOODREADS: The party is over. The nightmare has only just begun. 

Kelsey Stone was supposed to be the responsible one, but one wrong turn has led her and her mismatched group of friends deep into a dead zone in the Ozark hills. 

When their van wheezes its final breath on a narrowing gravel road, they find themselves stranded in a forest that feels less like Missouri and more like a haunted set from a B-grade horror film. 

Through the thick mist and the driving rain, they find a beacon of an empty but stately house that offers shelter in the least and maybe a line to the outside world. 

The group, however, soon discovers they aren't just guests inside this dwelling; they are cogs in a much larger, sinister machine and they must face a gauntlet of unthinkable terrors. In a world where the trees are closing in, and the very floor can become a death trap, Kelsey and her friends must fight to survive unspeakable horrors.

FROM GOODREADS: Some secrets are better left buried… 

When a group of six strangers are invited into the woods for a content creator retreat where they’re guaranteed to make money, it seems like a perfect escape. However, as accidents turn into incidents and blood begins to spill, they start to suspect they were lured into the wilderness for a reason. Is someone messing with them? Is someone watching them? Who will survive? 

Are you ready to play?

Do any of these catch your eye and which one would you read first? I have heard wonderful things about Judith Sonnet, but it's hard to ignore the 80's vibes of Hungry Like the Wolf.