What I'm Reading Right Now - May 6

I always have a few books going.  Here is what I'm reading and what I'm thinking about them.

Ebook

You Can Tell Me by Melinda Leigh - This is my first book by this author and so far I'm really enjoying it.  The pacing has been really good.

Print Book

The Dancing Floor by Barbara Michaels - I read this once so many years ago I don't count it as a reread.  I'm about halfway done with this one and I can see why I never felt like rereading it.  It's fine but I don't really care about any of the characters and the story isn't pulling me in just like Michaels books usually do.

Audiobooks

None.  Audiobooks just haven't been clicking with me lately so I've been focusing on podcasts.  I did finish All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie which I liked back at the end of April.

What are you reading right now?

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Authors I Wish Were Still Writing

Today I'm linking up with Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl which is all about lists.  Since lists are one of my favorite things this is one of my favorite linkups!  Today's topic is Ten Authors I Wish Were Still Writing.  

1.  Agatha Christie - This feels mandatory.  Specifically, 1940s/50s Agatha Christie where she was really playing with different concepts and her mysteries were so beautifully detailed.

2.  Barbara Michaels - I love her Gothic-y mysteries and her stories.  I just wish there were more.

3.  Dorothy Gilman - I have one more Mrs. Pollifax book to read before I have finished the series and that makes me very sad.

4.  Patricia Wentworth - I'm almost out of new to me books by her and have read all the Miss Silver books and I really want more.

5.  Victoria Thompson - I love her Gaslight Mystery series and have really loved how she grew her characters and the world they live in. I was so saddened to hear of her death though I am glad I have a few books in the backlist left to read.

6.  Mary Roberts Rinehart - I love her classic mysteries with a Noir-ish twist.  I still have a few to read but am not in a rush because I don't want to be finished.

7.  Maeve Binchy - She has written two of my very favorite found family books and this is another author where I'm so glad I have books left to read.

8.  Lisa Kleypas* - This has an asterisk because she has a new book up on NetGalley which I am very excited about but I have missed her!  

9.  Kate Morton - I'm pretty sure she's still writing but I need her to write faster!  I only have one book left of hers to read and haven't heard of any release date for a new book.

10. Brynn Bonner - Her genealogy cozy mysteries are some of my absolute favorite and there are only 4 books.  I've tried to find other books she's written but with no luck.   I would love more books in this series.

Which authors do you wish were still writing - or which authors do you need to write faster?

The Library After Dark - Mystery Review

Goodreads:  The Library After Dark by Ande Pliego

Rating: Not For Me
Source:   Publisher

Description:  Aria Stokes is finally feeling settled—she lives in a tiny New York apartment, works as a bookseller at a local shop, and has even taken a leap of faith in love by indulging her attraction to bookstore regular Jasper. And he seems to already know her so well.

As a Valentine’s Day surprise, Jasper gets the two of them tickets to an exclusive, after-dark tour of the Daedalus Library—the grandiose establishment famed for its immersive genre-based reading rooms and, more notoriously, its rumored hauntings. While Aria normally loves all things ghastly, this place holds more dark secrets than she’d prefer Jasper to know. Like that the last time she was here, she left a body behind.

But when the automatic-door entry malfunctions and Aria, Jasper, and the five other people in their tour group become trapped in the library, they are forced to venture through the storied rooms and hidden passageways of the Daedalus in search of escape . . . and Aria quite literally has nowhere to hide from the shadows of her past. Then the group learns there’s a murderer in their midst.

Now, as she tries to break out of the library’s intricate reading rooms, Aria has to decide who she can trust—and what secrets are best kept buried—if she wants to make it out alive.

Genre: Mystery - Horror

Why I Picked This Book:  The blurb really caught my attention and how could I resist that cover?

My Impression: I wanted to love this.  I knew it was going to be a bit darker and potentially gorier than I'm used to but it's a haunted library with a very grim edge so how could I resist?  I was prepared for darker themes and more on page blood and violence.  However, what I wasn't prepared for and couldn't get past is that I just couldn't get into this at all.   I couldn't keep the characters straight and to be honest after a bit I didn't care enough to try.  

The writing style is very detailed with a lot of foreshadowing that I found frustratingly slow.  That said, from the other reviews I've read online it seems like this is either a love it or hate it kind of book.  Some people find the details and world building magical and very dark fairy tale-ish whereas others (me included) found it dull with hard to remember characters.    I think it's worth giving a try in case you're part of the former school of opinions but this may be one you try to find from the library just in case.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? No I don't think so.  I don't this author's style works for me.

Would I Recommend this Book? Yes, but with reservations.  This is one I would try and borrow or get a sample of before buying.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *

This Month in Reading - April 2026 Recap

Monthly Reading Total: 18 - This was better than I thought as I was pretty distracted this month.  I did finish the month strong, so I think that helped quite a lot.

Type:

Print: 7

Ebook: 5 

Audio: 6

Genre:

Mystery - 9 

Fiction - 8

Romance - 1 

Favorite Books of the Month:

Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block by Jesse Q. Sutanto - The beginning was a little slow but the last half was fantastic - especially the ending.  Mebel is a character that will stay with me.

Soyangri Book Kitchen by Jee Hye Kim - This was a lovely quiet book with delightful book references.  

This Month's Rereads:

A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie - one of my favorites for a reason!

Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery - same as above!

A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna - I was kind of meh on this book the first time I read it but it's definitely proof of just how much mood and expectations impact your reading experience.  This time I really enjoyed it.

This Month's Armchair Travel:

Domestic Travel:  I only visited one new state this month - North Carolina.  I revisited Maine, Connecticut, Kentucky, and New York.

International:  There was a lot of international travel!  I visited England 7 times, Australia, South Korea, Canada, and 1960s Barbados.

How was your reading for April?  Where did your reading take you?

Friday Fives - May TBR

 

I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much. Since this is the first Friday in May, I'm planning my January TBR.  Here are 5 books I plan on reading in May. 

1.  You Can Tell Me by Melinda Leigh - I've been wanting to read this author for ages and this is the beginning of a new series and looks like a fun fast paced read.

2.  Year One by Nora Roberts - I'm going back and reading the Nora Roberts books that I've missed.  She's done a number of trilogies that were a bit more fantasy than appealed to me at the time.  I'm looking forward to giving these a try.

3.  Mrs. Jeffries on the Trail by Emily Brightwell - This is the next book in the Mrs. Jeffries series.  I really loved the most recent books of the series and have been enjoying reading the beginning of the series.  I'm really liking seeing the characters develop.

4.  The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Vol 1 by Beth Brower - I've heard raves about this book series and I can no longer resist!  

5.  All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriott - I read this book literally decades ago and have been wanting to reread it.  May is my birthday month so this is one of my presents to myself!

What are you hoping to read in May?

Books from the Backlog - The Secret to Southern Charm

Today I'm linking up with Carole from Carole's Random Life of Books for Books from the Backlog.  I really enjoy the chance to feature a book that's been hiding in the piles of books for far too long!

Goodreads:  The Secret to Southern Charm by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Blurb:  Leaving fans “practically [begging] for a sequel” (Bookpage), critically acclaimed author Kristy Woodson Harvey returns with the second novel in her beloved Peachtree Bluff series, featuring a trio of sisters and their mother who discover a truth that will change not only the way they see themselves, but also how they fit together as a family.
After finding out her military husband is missing in action, middle sister Sloane’s world crumbles as her worst nightmare comes true. She can barely climb out of bed, much less summon the strength to be the parent her children deserve.

Her mother, Ansley, provides a much-needed respite as she puts her personal life on hold to help Sloane and her grandchildren wade through their new grief-stricken lives. But between caring for her own aging mother, her daughters, and her grandchildren, Ansley’s private worry is that secrets from her past will come to light.

But when Sloane’s sisters, Caroline and Emerson, remind Sloane that no matter what, she promised her husband she would carry on for their young sons, Sloane finds the support and courage she needs to chase her biggest dreams—and face her deepest fears. Taking a cue from her middle daughter, Ansley takes her own leap of faith and realizes that, after all this time, she might finally be able to have it all.

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  I read the first book in this series back in 2024 and couldn't wait to read the next book.  So I bought it - and then promptly put it aside and forgot about it.  With the temperatures warming up it looks like the perfect time to pull this one off the shelf.

Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block - Fiction Review

Goodreads:  Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block by Jesse Q Sutanto

Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  Retirement should mean long-awaited trips to the sapphire waters of Santorini or careening down a sand dune in Dubai. For sixty-three-year-old Mebel, retirement means her husband of more than forty years announcing that he's leaving her for their private chef. Mebel isn’t sure who's the bigger loss.

Not to worry, Mebel has the perfect plan: she’s going to win back her husband. No one knows what he needs better than her—after all, she's been anticipating his needs their whole marriage. And if he wants a wife who can cook (why else would he leave her for a chef?), she will simply go to cooking school. Luckily, class at the renowned Saint Honoré School of Culinary Arts in France starts in just four days!

However, Mebel quickly realizes that her culinary school is not in illustrious Paris but rather in England—and some small village outside of Oxford no less. Despite the less-than-warm welcome from her much younger classmates, Mebel manages to befriend Gemma, the breakout star of the program, who offers to help Mebel on their first day. When Gemma stops showing up to class, Mebel knows she must figure out what—or who—caused her friend’s sudden disappearance. After all, Mebel may not know the first thing about how to cut a potato, but she certainly knows how to identify a fraud, and there’s definitely something fishy going on.

Genre: Fiction 

Why I Picked This Book:  I loved the Vera Wong books by this author and I can't resist a main character starting over kind of story.

My Impression:    I enjoyed this read. Sutanto has the ability to make the most flawed characters sympathetic and thoroughly likable.  I loved reading about Mebel's journey with learning to cook as well as understanding the different place she has ended up in with a culture so very much different from her own.

I think the book suffers a bit in comparison to the Vera Wong series.  Mebel has a surface level similarity to Vera.  She's completely sure in her own opinions and not afraid to use the age card to guilt people into doing what she wants.  However, there's no mystery here so the focus especially at the beginning is very much on Mebel.  While I grew to love Mebel as the book went on at the beginning it took me a bit to warm to her and to get involved in the book.  

This is a great story with an interesting dynamic - young vs old, East vs West, rich vs poor - all with a touch of humor and a bit of grace.  Once I got into it I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking foward to reading more from her.  If you're finding this a bit of a slow start or not loving Mebel give it a bit longer.  I don't think you'll regret it.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Yes!  I've enjoyed everything I've read by this author and am looking forward to reading more.

Would I Recommend this Book?  Absolutely though I do recommend a little patience at the beginning.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *