Happy Tuesday!

We’re in the final stretch of April and capping our TBR piles off with some horror, mysteries, fantasy romance, and a new Eloisa James historical!

Is there anything exciting on your  TBR pile this week? Let us know in the comments!

• The Amalfi Curse

  

  “Sarah Penner transported me to the sea-swept cliffs of Positano and introduced me to characters I’ll never forget. A magical read!”
  —Emilia Hart, New York Times bestselling author of The Sirens

  Powerful witchcraft. A hunt for sunken treasure. Forbidden love on the high seas. Beware the Amalfi Curse…

  Haven Ambrose, a trailblazing nautical archaeologist, has come to the sun-soaked village of Positano to investigate the mysterious shipwrecks along the Amalfi Coast. But Haven is hoping to find more than old artifacts beneath the azure waters; she is secretly on a quest to locate a trove of priceless gemstones her late father spotted on his final dive. Upon Haven’s arrival, strange maelstroms and misfortunes start plaguing the town. Is it nature or something more sinister at work?

  As Haven searches for her father’s sunken treasure, she begins to unearth a centuries-old tale of ancient sorcery and one woman’s quest to save her lover and her village by using the legendary art of stregheria, a magical ability to harness the ocean. Could this magic be behind Positano’s latest calamities? Haven must unravel the Amalfi Curse before the region is destroyed forever…

  Against the dazzling backdrop of the Amalfi Coast, this bewitching novel shimmers with mystery, romance and the untamed magic of the sea.

  Elyse: This just looks like a boatload of fun.

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• Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng

  

  Author: Kylie Lee Baker
  Released:
  April 29, 2025 by
  MIRA
  Genre:
  Horror

  In this explosive horror novel, a woman is haunted by inner trauma, hungry ghosts, and a serial killer as she confronts the brutal violence experienced by East Asians during the pandemic.

  Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, washing away the remains of brutal murders and suicides in Chinatown. But none of that seems so terrible when she’s already witnessed the most horrific thing possible: her sister, Delilah, being pushed in front of a train.

  Before fleeing the scene, the murderer shouted two words: bat eater.

  So the bloody messes don’t really bother Cora—she’s more bothered by the germs on the subway railing, the bare hands of a stranger, the hidden viruses in every corner, and the bite marks on her coffee table. Of course, ever since Delilah was killed in front of her, Cora can’t be sure what’s real and what’s in her head.

  She pushes away all feelings and ignores the advice of her aunt to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival, when the gates of hell open. But she can’t ignore the dread in her stomach as she keeps finding bat carcasses at crime scenes, or the scary fact that all her recent cleanups have been the bodies of East Asian women.

  As Cora will soon learn, you can’t just ignore hungry ghosts.

  For fans of Stephen Graham Jones and Gretchen Felker-Martin, Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a wildly original, darkly humorous, and subversive contemporary novel from a striking new voice in horror.

  Amanda: It’s always a good time for new horror and this sounds amazing.

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• Broken Souls and Bones

  

  Together they’ll restore a divided kingdom—or burn it down—in this new romantasy from USA Today bestselling author and TikTok sensation LJ Andrews.
  
  Lyra Bien intended to live a quiet life to avoid the attention of the magic-obsessed king in the fortress of Stonegate. Until Roark Ashwood—the prince’s silent guard and rumored killer for the crown—invades her village and uncovers the truth behind the silver scars in her eyes. To save her best friend from death, she’s forced to reveal her abilities, and is immediately claimed by the crown as the next melder.

  To be the King’s melder is to be revered and feared in equal measures, but above all it is a slow death sentence. Lyra is determined to find a way to free herself and her friends from bondage. But first she must get more information from the silent, brooding sentry who first took her Roark.

  As Lyra gets closer to Roark, she soon learns he’s nothing like she assumed—and in fact everything she needs. The more they work as allies, the harder it becomes to ignore the growing passion between them. After a sinister truth is revealed, Roark and Lyra must choose to stand against all they know, or accept their dark destiny.

  Amanda: This kind of gives me A Promise of Fire vibes, which I loved.

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• Hardly a Gentleman

  

  New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James returns to the Accidental Brides series with a romance about a forced marriage between a feisty heroine and a Scottish laird… neither of whom have plans to marry, let alone fall in love.

  Desperate after her Season comes to a spectacularly disastrous end, the Honorable Miss Clara Vetry jumps into a carriage hired to take a housekeeper to Scotland.

  The laird of Castle CaerLaven has no interest in a wife, especially a love match—but when Caelan sees his new housekeeper, he changes his mind. Marriage to a delectable bookworm strikes him as a perfect arrangement.

  To his surprise, Clara refuses his proposal once…and again…yet again.

  When her true identity is revealed, and they’re forced to marry, Caelan realizes he has a far more crucial challenge.

  He finally has Clara’s hand—but how will he ever win her heart?

  New Eloisa James alert!

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• Serial Killer Games

  

  What would you do if you thought your coworker was getting away with murder—literally?

  Dolores dela Cruz has been dying to spot one in the wild, and he fits the mold strangler gloves, calculated charm, dashing good looks that give a leg up in any field . . . including fields of unmarked graves.

  The new office temp is definitely a serial killer.

  Jake Ripper finds a welcome distraction in his combative and enigmatic new coworker. He hasn’t come across anyone as interesting as Dolores in a long time. But when mere curiosity evolves into a darkly romantic flirtation, Jake can’t help but wonder if, finally, he’s found someone who really sees him, skeletons in the closet and all.

  Until Dolores asks Jake’s help to dispose of a body . . .

  A morbidly funny and emotionally resonant novel about the ways life—and love—can sneak up on us (no matter how much pepper spray we carry).

  Amanda: I believe Sarah predicted more romance and mystery combos and I think she’s onto something.

  Lara gave this one an A!

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  well. Thanks!