Taylor Fenner's Blog, page 12
September 17, 2024
Can’t Wait Wednesday: Blood on Her Tongue
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released.
Blood On Her Tongue by Johanna Van Veen
Horror, Standalone
eBook, Paperback, 352 pages
March 25, 2025 by Poisoned Pen Press
Blurb:“I’m in your blood, and you are in mine…”
The Netherlands, 1887. Lucy’s twin sister Sarah is unwell. She refuses to eat, mumbles nonsensically, and is increasingly obsessed with a centuries-old corpse recently discovered on her husband’s grand estate. The doctor has diagnosed her with temporary insanity caused by a fever of the brain. To protect her twin from a terrible fate in a lunatic asylum, Lucy must unravel the mystery surrounding her sister’s condition, but it’s clear her twin is hiding something. Then again, Lucy is harboring secrets of her own, too.
Then, the worst happens. Sarah’s behavior takes a turn for the strange. She becomes angry… and hungry.
Lucy soon comes to suspect that something is trying to possess her beloved sister. Or is it madness? As Sarah changes before her very eyes, Lucy must reckon with the dark, monstrous truth, or risk losing her forever.
Why I Want to Read This Book:This book sounds so interesting. I’m getting Mexican Gothic meets vampires vibes maybe? I love historical settings and characters descending into madness so this is definitely on my anticipated releases list.
Will you be checking this book out? What upcoming releases are you looking forward to?
September 15, 2024
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 16 September 2024 and WWW Wednesday – 18 September 2024
This week I’m linking up to It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? Hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date and WWW Wednesday hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words!
#IMWAYR is a weekly meme started on J Kaye’s blog and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.
WWW Wednesday was created by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and was taken over by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. To participate answer the 3 W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
So I fell into a book hangover after You Are Fatally Invited last week. It was just so good and I couldn’t find anything to match the vibes. Now I have 2 books from the library on my Libby app to start.
Currently Reading:The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
I’m about halfway through this one and I really like the set up. A main character who reads tarot cards for a living, a sizable inheritance that she may or may not be entitled to, and longstanding family animosity.. I’m here for it.
Hopeless (Chestnut Springs #5) by Elsie Silver
I put off reading this one for maybe too long but I binged the rest of the books back to back and needed a break before Beau’s story. I’m really loving it so far and I’m about 75% through it.
Recently Finished:The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
I felt like this one kind of flopped for me compared to this author’s other works. It just felt like it was missing something plot-wise.
You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego
This book gave me such a book hangover! It’s so good and I can’t wait to get a physical copy when it releases next spring!
Reading Next:Butcher and Blackbird by Brynn Weaver
My hold just came in on this one and I’m eager to start it! I’ve heard really good things!
Middle of the Night by Riley Sager
Another library hold, I plan to start this audiobook after I finish The Death of Mrs. Westaway.
What are you reading and loving this week? Have you read any of these?
September 14, 2024
The Sunday Post: Release Week and Friday the 13th
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.
Release Week and Friday the 13th:Hey Book Blogger Friends! How was your week? I had so much to get done this week that my blogging fell to the wayside.
Friday (September 13th) was release day for my latest novel, It Rose From the Ashes! I had such a wonderful release day. It’s already up to 27 ratings on Goodreads (I know in the long run that’s not a lot but my highest rated book only has 41 so this is a big deal for me as an indie author). My ARC team was so enthusiastic about this release and I’m feeling pretty good right now. Not bad for being pretty sure I was going to quit writing altogether earlier this month.
Friday was also of course *Friday the 13th* so I celebrated it and my release day with an iced latte and a Friday the 13th movie marathon before work.
Last Week on the Blog:
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 9 September 2024 and WWW Wednesday – 11 September 2024
Release Day Blitz: It Rose From the Ashes
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 16 September 2024 and WWW Wednesday – 18 September 2024
Can’t Wait Wednesday: Blood on Her Tongue
None this week!
September 12, 2024
✨Release Day Blitz✨ It Rose From the Ashes by Taylor Fenner
It Rose From the Ashes by Taylor FennerRomantic Suspense, Standalone
eBook, Hardcover, 300 pages
September 13, 2024 by Taylor C. Fenner Publishing
Blurb:When Poppy Isles moves to the small town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin and begins restoring one of the town’s most historic homes, the locals welcome her and try to unravel her past. Shy and afraid to create local ties, Poppy soon finds herself thawing toward the locals, especially the gorgeous, gruff biker, Colton “Fox” Sterling.
While Poppy settles into her new home and reluctantly makes friends, small construction mishaps and strange occurrences take a darker turn. A darkness hangs over the town pitting neighbor against neighbor as the temperatures skyrocket and Poppy’s ex-fiancé draws closer and closer, threatening to destroy the fragile peace she has found.
But Peshtigo has a dark history to rival Poppy’s own. In 1871 the town was already on the brink of ruin when the arrival of a stranger in black trailing blood, madness, and decay in his wake became the catalyst to the deadliest forest fire in US History leaving behind nothing but ash and ruin. Now as the anniversary of the deadly fire fast approaches, history is on course to repeat itself and there may be no way to stop it. With Colton and her new friends at her side, Poppy will have to decide if she’s strong enough to rise from the ashes or let the flames consume her.
Note From the Author:It’s here! It Rose From the Ashes is live today! I’m so excited for you all to read it! You can find it here!
Words cannot adequately describe how happy I am today. It Rose From the Ashes has been so many years in the making, through so many re-drafts and changes. The mostly forgotten history of the Peshtigo Fire has always been dear to my heart and my hope was always to blend the tragedy of the past with a better future and I hope I succeeded in that both with the 1871 timeline and Poppy’s own.
It Rose From the Ashes is a standalone adult novel and my first romantic suspense.
Hardcover editions of It Rose From the Ashes are also out – the standard hardcover (unsigned) on all online book retailers and there are signed hardcovers for sale in my Etsy shop. At this time I do not have an audiobook edition in the works but if that would be something you would be interested in, definitely let me know!
As always, thank you for taking a chance on my books whether It Rose From the Ashes is your first read by me or you’ve been with me since the beginning!
Happy Reading!
Taylor
September 8, 2024
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 9 September 2024 and WWW Wednesday – 11 September 2024
This week I’m linking up to It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? Hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date and WWW Wednesday hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words!
#IMWAYR is a weekly meme started on J Kaye’s blog and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.
WWW Wednesday was created by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and was taken over by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. To participate answer the 3 W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
I’m on a Ruth Ware kick obviously. I’m trying to binge her backlist. I also have a new eARC releasing spring 2025 that I started reading as well as a few books I finished last week.
Currently Reading:The Lying Game by Ruth WareI’m about halfway through this one and I’m enjoying it but I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite by this author.
You Are Fatally Invited by Ande PliegoI’m about 25% into this eARC and loving it. It’s kind of And Then There Were None meets Clue. A group of mystery writers on a writing retreat on a remote island off Maine. What could go wrong?
Recently Finished:The It Girl by Ruth Ware
I really enjoyed this one even though it took me a while to get through. I liked the main character and the twists kept me going trying to figure out who the killer was.
Steel by Eva Simmons
I loved this one! This was a fantastic start to Eva Simmons’s new series and I’m already dying for the next book!
The House Where Death Lives Anthology
I love reading anthologies like this during the spooky season. I think I enjoyed maybe half the stories but overall thought the idea of the book – stories set in the same house and divided by floors from the attic down was so unique!
Reading Next:Mischief Nights are Murder by Libby Klein
I’ve been saving this one to read for the spooky season and I can’t wait to dive in!
What are you reading and loving this week? Have you read any of these?
September 7, 2024
The Sunday Post: Girls Night Out, Passports, and Beetlejuice
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.
Girls Night Out, Passports, and Beetlejuice:Hey Book Blogger Friends! How was your week? Did you have a shorter work week from Labor Day or were you working like me?
On Wednesday one my friends and I went out for a girls night at the wine lounge in the next town over. They had their Halloween stuff out and we were able to shop in the attached store. We had a lot of fun and I can’t wait to go again!
On Friday my passport arrived! I was so worried it was going to be denied because my legal name change paperwork was from 1997 and held things up by a couple extra weeks. Overall from application to arriving in the mail (with the extra documentation being requested in between) the process only took about 9 weeks! Everyone kept telling me it could be 6 months to a year to get it. Now I can start planning my fall 2025 trip to Scotland!
Also on Friday I went to see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. I enjoyed it and then finished the day off with this treat from Crumbl Cookie! It actually was more of a cupcake like dessert than a cookie.
Last Week on the Blog: It’s Monday! What Are You Reading – 2 September 2024 and WWW Wednesday – 4 September 2024
Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books Involving Food
Can’t Wait Wednesday: The Last One At The Wedding
ARC Review: Steel by Eva Simmons
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 9 September 2024 and WWW Wednesday – 11 September 2024
Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books That Provide a Much-Needed Escape
Can’t Wait Wednesday: Blood on Her Tongue
Release Day Blitz: It Rose From the Ashes
eBook:
September 5, 2024
ARC Review: Steel by Eva Simmons
Steel (Twisted Kings MC #1) by Eva SimmonsMC Romance, Twisted Kings MC Series #1
eBook, Paperback, 406 Pages
September 13, 2024 by Eva Simmons
Blurb:I stole from the Twisted Kings, and now I’m at the mercy of Jameson Steel.
It’s not like I planned any of this… The same way I didn’t plan on being the only parent to my four-year-old brother.
But one night, everything went sideways, and now Jameson is my only chance at getting out of this mess.
He doesn’t trust me, but he needs me to get back at the man who sent me to his clubhouse. His protection for my cooperation. As long as my brother is safe, it’s a deal I can’t refuse.
But living with the enemy is dangerous. Jameson’s vengeance is prolific. He only cares about revenge, and he’s not interested in the pre-built family I come with.
The Twisted Kings are his life. Nothing comes before his club or the president patch on his chest—especially not us.
Or so I thought…
Find on Amazon Here!
My Review:I’m completely sure I would read anything Eva Simmons writes at this point! Steel is the beginning of her new Twisted Kings series and it starts off with a bang!
I loved that it has connections to the Twisted Roses series which set you up for Steel and Tempe’s story.
Steel has had a lot of responsibilities on his shoulder since he became president of the Twisted Kings MC at 21, now a decade later the club is rebuilding after being betrayed by Steel’s VP, Helix. When a young woman arrives at the clubhouse one night and stands out like a sore thumb, Steel knows she’s going to be trouble. And then he catches her trying to steal from him.
Tempe’s life has been far from easy. The estranged daughter of a MC VP and an erratic mother who dragged her and now her 4 year old brother from place to place as she moves from boyfriend to boyfriend, Tempe now finds herself working in a crummy bar to pay her way through physical therapy school. And then one awful night changes everything.
Steel and Tempe are life fire and gasoline from the start. They know they’re no good for each other but the closer they get the harder it is to resist.
I loved Steel’s character arc from a guy who doesn’t understand why anyone would want to settle down to a guy who would burn the world down for Tempe and her brother.
This book was fast-paced, tense, spicy, and such an enjoyable read! I devoured it as fast as I could! I’m so excited to read book 2 already.
My Rating:
5 of 5 Knives!
September 3, 2024
Can’t Wait Wednesday: The Last One At the Wedding
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released.
The Last One At the Wedding by Jason Rekulak
Thriller, Standalone
eBook, Hardcover, Audiobook, 352 pages
October 8, 2024 by Flatiron Books
Blurb:From the bestselling author of Hidden Picturescomes a breathtaking work of suspense about a father trying to save his daughter from a life-altering decision that will put everything he loves on the line.
Frank Szatowski is shocked when his daughter, Maggie, calls him for the first time in three years. He was convinced that their estrangement would become permanent. He’s even more surprised when she invites him to her upcoming wedding in New Hampshire. Frank is ecstatic, and determined to finally make things right.
He arrives to find that the wedding is at a private estate—very secluded, very luxurious, very much out of his league. It seems that Maggie failed to mention that she’s marrying Aidan Gardner, the son of a famous tech billionaire. Feeling desperately out of place, Frank focuses on reconnecting with Maggie and getting to know her new family. But it’s difficult: Aidan is withdrawn and evasive; Maggie doesn’t seem to have time for him; and he finds that the locals are disturbingly hostile to the Gardners. Frank needs to know more about this family his daughter is marrying into, but if he pushes too hard, he could lose Maggie forever.
An edge-of-your-seat thriller that delves deep into the heart of one family, The Last One at the Wedding is a work of brilliant suspense from a true modern master.
Why I Want to Read This Book:While I couldn’t get into this author’s debut (I was unsympathetic towards the junkie main character) this one sounds much more up my alley. The setting has me interested, especially since I’ll be in New Hampshire just a few days before this book releases. I also really love books set in isolated settings – especially with weddings involved – as things begin to go horribly wrong.
Will you be checking this book out? What upcoming releases are you looking forward to?
September 2, 2024
Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books Involving Food
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish and currently hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.
Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books Involving FoodThis week’s TTT is about books involving food that are not cookbooks. For the most part the first books that came to mind were cozy mysteries with food in the title or on the cover…
1. One Poison Pie by Lynn Cahoon
2. Flat White Fatality by Emmeline Duncan
3. The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix (fruit on the cover!!) 
4. The Quiche of Death by MC Beaton
5. Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala
6. Midnight Snacks Are Murder by Libby Klein
7. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
8. Dying for Chocolate by Diane Mott Davidson
9. Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch
10. Candy Apple Dead by Sammi Carter
What books did you pick for this week’s theme? Did any of mine make your list?
September 1, 2024
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 2 September 2024 and WWW Wednesday – 4 September 2024
This week I’m linking up to It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? Hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date and WWW Wednesday hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words!
#IMWAYR is a weekly meme started on J Kaye’s blog and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.
WWW Wednesday was created by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and was taken over by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. To participate answer the 3 W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
I’m still breezing through audiobooks and I have a new arc on my kindle to read this week…
Currently Reading:Steel by Eva SimmonsI just received my eARC and started this one yesterday. I like what I’ve read so far. Eva Simmons is definitely an auto-buy author for me now.
The It Girl by Ruth WareI’m about 22% into this one and enjoying it so far. It’s one of the themes I love.. an old murder while a group of friends were at college and now years later it’s being drudged up again.
Recently Finished:The Last Word by Taylor Adams
This book made me uncomfortable at times. It was an interesting thriller with twists but I don’t know if I felt satisfied with it as a whole.
The Chamber by Will Dean
This was not what I was expecting. This was the most unthrilling thriller I have ever read. 90% of the book is filled with boring technical stuff that I have no idea what they’re talking about – even with the glossary. The deaths just sort of happen and are anticlimactic and the killer reveal is basically a footnote and by the time I got to it I didn’t care anymore. Like the main character watching the time tick down, that’s how I was listening to this audiobook… how much longer until this is all over?
Reading Next:The House Where Death Lives AnthologyI got this one from the library but set it aside to read my eARC since that one releases on September 13th. I need to get back to this one but luckily it’s not due until September 25.
What are you reading and loving this week? Have you read any of these?
