I'll Never Look at a Roomba the Same Again

TITLE: Samantha Spük: Paranormal Wedding Planner

AUTHOR: Aleese Lin

PUBLISHER: Saga Press

PUBLISHING DATE: June 2, 2026

PAGES: 320   

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: Samantha Spük is your go-to wedding planner, be it for werewolf, vampire, or fae! ...even if that's the last thing she would’ve imagined.

Samantha “Sabby” Spük has spent her life trying to escape her family’s legacy of supernatural chaos. She’s finally graduated and landed a nice, normal 9–5 at a New York accounting firm. But then she gets the Grandma Rose is gone, and Sabby has been named executor of her (ahem, magically binding) will. 

Now Sabby is stuck in her dreaded hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, taking on odd jobs—some very odd, like wedding planning for not-so-human locals—until she can sell the family home. At least this means a date with Hanry, the mysterious hottie Sabby meets in the neighborhood graveyard. With help from Hanry, a talking-head sidekick, and a manic pixie assistant, Sabby might pull these weddings off in time to salvage her accounting career…but is she ready to say goodbye to her paranormal one?

MY THOUGHTS: While I didn't think this book was without issues, I will say it is one of most fun books I've read in a long time.  Also, the chapters have titles which are an absolute hoot at times such as "And Now I'm Dancing with Demons. I Guess This is My Life Now," and "The Goddamned Fairy Castle."  I really enjoyed seeing what chapter as up next.

Samantha, aka Sabby, returns to Salem to settle the estate of her grandmother, who recently passed.  Grandma Rose always claimed to be a witch but Sabby always believed she was just eccentric.  And due to a stunt Grandma Rose's friends (coven?) played on her when she was 12, she rarely returned to visit.  Because of that, plus her wack-a-doodle mother, Sabby has spent all her life trying to be "normal" and blend in.  Imagine her surprise when she finds out Grandma Rose's will is cursed and until Sabby figures it out, she can't leave Salem for her new accounting job in New York.

Sabby ends up making friends with Rose's talking head, Bulan and together, while at Rose's shop one day, end up talking on the job of planning a vampire wedding.  After all, Sabby has to have some kind of income while she is stuck in Salem.  Along the way she hires a pixie named Mandy and together the three of them gain a reputation of THE supernatural wedding planners everyone wants to plan their wedding.  Sabby even starts dating a guy she met in the cemetery one night, Hanry.  Life is definitely unpredictable until Mandy solves the will's puzzle and returns to New York, right after Hanry dumps her.  Sabby soon discovers normal isn't all it is cracked up to be and hops back to Salem in a pumpkin carriage to help Mandy pull off the fairy wedding of the year.  But oh, what surprises THAT wedding holds.

As I mentioned, I found this book to be loads of fun.  But I will say that about halfway through, it seemed like one story ended and another began.  Almost like I was reading a shorter book and then the sequel all in one.  Another thing, the names, Sabby and Hanry?  Although they are explained later on, I still found them rather annoying.  As for the main characters, I liked Sabby well enough although her strive to be normal was obsessive at best.  Mandy was scattered but was a great offset for Mandy's seriousness. And then Bulan - he steals the show.  Bulan has to be one of the best "animal companions" who is actually a talking head I've met in a long time.  He almost had me wishing for a talking head (who disguises himself as a Roomba) of my own.

If you like paranormal romances and cozy fantasy books, this is one you definitely want to check out.  The ending definitely sets up a sequel, and I can only hope it comes out soon because I need fun books like this in my life more often. 

MY RATING: 4 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!

July 21, 2026

FROM GOODREADS: When Babe—the complicated, magnetic matriarch of their teenage summers—dies, four estranged friends return to sleepy Mercy Island, a storm-swept stretch of coastal Georgia, summoned by the reading of her will.

Didion arrives at the timeworn pink house to find the friends she never thought she’d see again—along with the tensions, attractions, and unfinished business that once bound them together and broke them apart.

What should be a brief weekend of small talk quickly unravels when they wake up and discover...it’s Saturday. Again. And again. And again.

Trapped in a time loop with no end and no instructions, they’re forced to confront the betrayals, breakups, and buried truths that shattered them all those years ago. Because maybe, just maybe, an endless weekend is exactly what they all need to save their own lives.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  This appears to be a quirky summer read which is something I am looking for right now to break up all my horror fun.  Plus I've always loved Georgia and I know tons of people like the time-loop trope.

July 31, 2026

FROM GOODREADS: The annual cottage getaway to Elm Ridge Falls should have been bliss for Amelia and her sisters. Instead, a looming threat stalks the secluded forest. Trapping them in the confines of the once tranquil vacation home.

The Barlow sisters return to the cottage with one thing in mind, escape. Escape from a secret affair, a retaliatory coworker, and an abusive partner. They were going to bask in the warmth of the summer sun, cruise along the lake, and unwind by the nightly campfires. Though, the skeletons in their closet would soon catch up to them. Unable to outrun the destructive men in their lives, a sighting of a uniquely masked individual, lurking in the shadows, taunts each of them with his mysterious presence.

When one of their family members go missing, Amelia is left to fight for her sister’s survival. One-by-one they start to fall victim to the remote wilderness. Snatched up like prey by a cunning killer. Angry and alone, Amelia seeks out her abducted family, hellbent on vengeance. The concealed killer leads her in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Uncovering secrets that were never meant to see the light of day.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  One word - slasher!

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

Horror Movies I've Recently Loved! (Summer of Horror 2026)

 

I'm participating in Tammy's, over at Books, Bones & Buffy, Summer of Horror Event.  It's such a great event and she encourages all kinds of horror-related posts.  Mr. Barb and I love a good horror movie, and let's be honest, we watch a lot of bad one too (which are sometimes just as fun).  So today, I want to share three recent watches.  Make sure you check out Tammy's blog which is linked above.

Hokum (2026)

Synopsis: a celebrated American novelist, who travels to the Bilberry Woods Hotel in rural Ireland to scatter his parents’ ashes, unaware that the hotel may be haunted and steeped in local folklore.

The story centers on the haunted honeymoon suite, rumored to be occupied by a witch, and explores Ohm’s confrontation with both supernatural elements and his own past traumas.

Thoughts: This was a slower-moving Gothic tale which was dark and twisty and VERY eerie.  There were a few good jump scares, including some dumbwaiter scenes which I still can't get out of my head.  5/5 movie paws.

Lee Cronin's The Mummy (2026)

Synopsis: After a journalist’s young daughter vanishes in the desert, she is presumed lost forever. Eight years later the fractured family is stunned when she suddenly reappears, but the long‑awaited reunion quickly descends into terror as the girl’s return unleashes a nightmarish reality.

Thoughts: I don't scare easily which is expected as much horror as I read and watch, but I found this movie extremely terrifying.  The special effects are creepy and disgusting and the plot is intense. Mr. Mike and I compared this to the original Exorcist in scare-factors back in the day. 5/5 movie paws.

They Will Kill You (2026)

Synopsis: The film follows Asia Reaves (Zazie Beetz), a former convict seeking a fresh start, who answers a cryptic ad for a live-in housekeeper at The Virgil, a luxurious yet foreboding high-rise in New York City. Unbeknownst to her, the building harbors a dark secret: its residents are part of a Satanic cult that has been responsible for numerous disappearances over the years.  

Thoughts: This movie is a wild ride from start to finish.  In fact, the entire film is pretty much one long action sequence.  This movie is considered action, comedy, horror but I would say it's not really comedy as much as it is "snark."  The lead actress is phenomenal, and this one is definitely not for someone who might be squeamish. 5/5 movie paws.

Have you seen any of these?  Did you love them just as much or do you have another recent fave I need to check out?

2 Bloggers 1 Series - Wild Iris Ridge (Hope's Crossing #7)

 

One more down and only one more left!  Stormi and I decided to read the next installment of Hope's Crossing this month as it leaves us with only one left.  That one happens to be a Christmas title, so we decided to celebrate Christmas in July next month with it.  So read on for my thoughts on this one and then hop over to Storm Reads to see what Stormi had to say.

TITLE: Wild Iris Ridge (Hope's Crossing #7)

AUTHOR: RayAnne Thayne

PUBLISHER: HQN Books

PUBLISHING DATE: July 24, 2014

PAGES: 352   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: Lucy Drake and Brendan Caine have only one thing in common… 

And it's likely to tear them apart. Because it was Brendan's late wife, Jessie—and Lucy's best friend—who'd brought them together in the first place. And since Jessie's passing, Brendan's been distracted by his two little ones…and the memory of an explosive kiss with Lucy years before his marriage. Still, he'll steer clear of her. She's always been trouble with a capital T. 

Lucy couldn't wait to shed her small-town roots for the big city. But now that she's back in Hope's Crossing to take care of the Queen Anne home her late aunt has left her, she figures seeing Brendan Caine again is no big deal. After all, she'd managed to resist the handsome fire chief once before, but clearly the embers of their attraction are still smoldering…

MY THOUGHTS: While this book definitely wasn't my favorite of the series, it is still a strong contender and overall, I enjoyed Lucy and Brandon's story.

Lucy has lost her hi-tech job and returned to Hope's Crossing to get things back on track.  She inherited her Aunt's home when she recently passed and she plan on turning it into a bed and breakfast, a dream of both her aunt and cousin.  While Lucy couldn't wait to leave Hope's Crossing when she was young, she finds some comfort she didn't expect coming back.  However, she has to deal with Brandon. Brandon broke her heart when she was a teen and married her cousin.  When her cousin passed it childbirth, it left Brandon alone to raise the two remaining children.  He and Lucy never got along during his marriage but of course she wants to spend more time with the kids and that means seeing more of Brandon as well.

Brandon is one of the brothers of the large Caine family who plays a big role in this series.  Thus, seeing him also meant getting glimpses of other past characters as well.  While I felt this this story both dragged out in places and then rushed the romance too fast, it was still a quick read. I enjoyed the kids as well which isn't always the case in books.  

One extra thing I can't forget is that Lucy, Brandon and the kids end up rescuing two puppies from a dumpster one evening.  When it happens, Lucy has her troublesome young sister staying with her for a few weeks which was rocky to say the least.  But each family takes a puppy, and these cute balls of fur end up bring everyone closer together.

It's nice to be almost done with another series, although this one does have another spin-off series which ties in.  After a short break, I'm sure you'll eventually see me reviewing that one as well.  If you love small-town low-spice romances and family drama, this is assuredly a series to consider picking up.

MY RATING: 4 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!

September 1, 2026

FROM GOODREADS: Thea Winter has been stolen. She's the other side of the changeling story, and she's been raised by a hobgoblin named Mudge, who taught her wildcraft, how to know when the coin-sith would attack and how to get one to show its belly. Unfortunately, Mudge didn't teach Thea how to stay out of trouble. Which is why she's facing an unwanted marriage of convenience.

Or would be, but her spouse bolted. Now she has to hunt down Devan J. Fenelon, but she's been saddled with a taciturn, humorless hunter known as Winter's Hound. He answers only to his cousin, and she's not looking forward to this quest at all.

Kerboros has never known freedom. His life is an endless series of ceaseless commands from his reprehensible cousin, Lord Liskaal. Since his father's failed rebellion, Kerboros has been permitted to survive only as an example to others, an object lesson as to how far one may fall. Certainly, he has his own hidden dreams and secret schemes, but they're not what anyone would expect. What he wants most, he will most likely never attain.

But then, he receives his next assignment. Escort Thea Winter, protect her during the search. And it's a glorious torment to travel with her.

She is sunshine. He is shadow.

Their love is forbidden, but when irresistible force sweeps up an immovable object, the resulting reaction might be magical…

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: Forbidden love, magic and a gorgeous cover!  Also, I've read several by this author before and have always enjoyed her.

October 13, 2026

FROM GOODREADS: They called her a nightmare, so she became one.

Haven Powers has spent years trying to disappear. Once a loud, troublemaking girl who defied every expectation in her small town of Friendship, Texas, now she’s learned to hide her fire behind a quiet receptionist’s smile. It’s safer that way—for her, and for everyone else.

When an unsettling encounter with her predatory boss cracks open the tightly locked box inside her, Haven dreams a terrifying dream about him, only to wake up and discover it’s come true; he’s dead. Desperate to gain control of this deadly power once and for all, Haven returns home.

Welcomed suspiciously with open arms, Haven is immediately met with the ghosts of her past. Under the suffocating pressure of the town and her family who believe obedience is next to godliness, Haven soon finds herself on a path to revenge. She’ll show them what happens when the girl they called too much, too loud, too everything, finally lets her demons loose.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: The first line of the synopsis had me hooked.

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

 

This Woman's Lists Had Lists!

TITLE: Femme Feral

AUTHOR: Sam Beckbessinger

PUBLISHER: Penguin Books

PUBLISHING DATE: April 09, 2026

PAGES: 384   

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: The head of a company she started from the ground-up, the worried mother of a troublingly secretive daughter, and the wife of an easy-going man who always has her picking up the slack—Ellie is already juggling too much. So, it's an inconvenient time to find herself beset by strange physical changes: hair sprouting in new places, running hot, trouble sleeping, losing time, finding bloodstains in all her clothing. And underneath it all, a boiling rage that threatens to disrupt the life she's worked so hard to build. 

Her doctor diagnoses perimenopause. But it's another twenty-eight-day cycle that's taking hold, one that involves fur, teeth, and a not-insignificant amount of howling at the moon—and that gifts Ellie incredible strength and speed. Her new power's thrilling, as is releasing the anger she’s suppressed for years—especially as it turns out that there are some problems that can be solved with violence: The terrible new hire who is sabotaging her careful plans. The creep who's stalking her daughter. Only, the beast within isn't easy to control, and its bloody trail is getting harder to hide. With an obsessive hunter on her trail and a growing fear of what she's becoming, Ellie must find a way to yoke her fury before she tears through the people she loves. 

A deeply gratifying, highly addictive and provocative read, Femme Feral is an exhilarating expression of feminine rage, with a warning: If you swallow your anger, it's sure to come back with a bite.

MY THOUGHTS: I would like to see a finished copy of this book because I ran into problems with the formatting of my digital arc which I feel greatly impacted my enjoyment and it was so severe it even impacted my overall rating which rarely happens.  My copy read as one long 384 chapter.  And there are some multiple POVs in some areas of the book that I often didn't pick up on until I was a paragraph or two in which made for some very disjointed reading (and later a game at the end where I would see how quickly I could tell who was narrating).

Ellie is contently married, caring for a daughter with a history of anorexia and a father--in-law who has moved in due to medical issues, including dementia.  She also has a very prominent job in the tech industry for a business that runs and launches updates to a very popular wellness/meditation app.  Ellie is trying to juggle everything and does so by carefully orchestrated lists.  All of Ellie's lists made me overwhelmed so I can only imagine how her life felt.

Ellie gets passed over for a promotion about the same time she starts losing time and starts experiencing some health concerns.  She isn't sleeping well, is having hot flashes, is more quick-tempered than usual, and is experiencing massive hair growth.  Her doctor snubs it all off as perimenopause, but Ellie starts to think it's something more - especially when she awakens to find her neighbors fluffy dog clogging her downstairs bathroom drain.

Around town, pets are coming up missing.  An elderly lady recently lost her cat and given she had very little else to live for, she starts investigating what is happening in the neighborhood.  The local cops think she has lost her mind, and her Facebook group is questioning her mental capacities.  However, she is determined to unearth the culprit. I actually enjoyed reading from this POV more than Ellie because despite her problems, which I get, she was rather unlikeable.  

Overall, I just found this book middle of the line. While referencing a few things in writing this review, I guess the author has admitted to using ChatGPT to write a lot of it.  I don't use that a lot but it sure might explain some of the disjointedness.  If you pick this one up, just know there are actually werewolves but also a lot of descriptive animal deaths.  

MY RATING: 3 PAWS

Feed Your TBR - Green City Wars

 

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.

June 23, 2026

FROM GOODREADS: In the solar cities of the future, the humans relax in the sun and the animals work in the shadows. Genetically engineered Little Helpers, serving humanity—unseen, unheard.

Meet Skotch. Racoon, P.I.—Yours for a few buttons as long as the job isn't too illegal, whatever that means.

A mouse has gone missing. Normally this wouldn't raise any hackles, nor any alarms, but this mouse has something that everyone seems to want, though nobody appears particularly eager to say what that something is.

The fee is good—perhaps too good. Certainly not something Skotch can easily turn down.

If only Skotch can work out where the mouse is hiding, what he's hiding, and why his secrets are upsetting a lot of animals caught up in the Green City wars.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: I actually just stumbled across this book yesterday and my ears perked up when I heard a nod toward "Hollow Kingdom," one of my favorite books ever.  I need to meet Skotch and I love an animal-centric tale. I've also heard good things about this author but most of his books are too sci-fi for me but this seems like something I could get on board with.  

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