By Tessa Pulyer Posted on

#WWWWednesday | What I #amreading This Week – May 11, 2022

  • What am I currently reading?
  • What did I just finish?
  • What am I reading next?

I actually have a physical ARC of this spine-tingling book and a digital copy but I’ve been itching to turn pages lately. I’ve just started it but this book immediately drew me in. I was worried it would be too scary but after I read Jo’s review on Blue Mood Cafe, I felt better about it.

  • Genre: Domestic Thriller
  • Pages: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Flatiron Books
  • Publication Date: May 10, 2022
From Jason Rekulak, Edgar-nominated author of The Impossible Fortress, comes a wildly inventive spin on the classic horror story in Hidden Pictures, a supernatural thriller about a woman working as a nanny for a young boy with strange and disturbing secrets. Fresh out of rehab, Mallory Quinn takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy. Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body. Then, Teddy’s artwork becomes increasingly sinister, and his stick figures quickly evolve into lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to wonder if these are glimpses of a long-unsolved murder, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force. Knowing just how crazy it all sounds, Mallory nevertheless sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy before it’s too late.

I found a new epic fantasy (adult reader, not YA) to love. I sped through all 560 pages of this beauty and loved every minute of it.

  • Genre: Epic Fantasy
  • Pages: 553 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
  • Publication Date: May 10, 2022
Kagen the Damned marks the first installment of an exciting new series of dark epic fantasy novels from bestselling author Jonathan Maberry. Sworn by Oath Kagen Vale is the trusted and feared captain of the palace guard, charged with protection of the royal children of the Silver Empire. But one night, Kagen is drugged and the entire imperial family is killed, leaving the empire in ruins. Abandoned by the Gods Haunted and broken, Kagen is abandoned by his gods and damned forever. He becomes a wanderer, trying to take down as many of his enemies as possible while plotting to assassinate the usurper, the deadly Witch-king of Hakkia. While all around him magic—long banished from the world—returns in strange and terrifying ways. Fueled by Rage To exact his vengeance, Kagen must venture into strange lands, battle bizarre and terrifying creatures, and gather allies for a suicide mission into the heart of the Witch-king’s empire. Kings and gods will fear him.

Everything about this book intrigued me when Simon and Schuster emailed me about it and sent me a widget – supernatural mystery, autobiographical, James Lee Burke, and only 284 pages. Fingers-crossed!

  • Genre: Supernatural Mystery
  • Pages: 284 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster
  • Publication Date: May 24, 2022
In his most autobiographical novel to date, James Lee Burke continues the epic Holland family saga with a writer grieving the death of his daughter while battling earthly and supernatural outlaws. Novelist Aaron Holland Broussard is shattered when his daughter Fannie Mae dies suddenly. As he tries to honor her memory by saving two young men from a life of crime amid their opioid-ravaged community, he is drawn into a network of villainy that includes a violent former Klansman, a far-from-holy minister, a biker club posing as evangelicals, and a murderer who has been hiding in plain sight. Aaron’s only ally is state police officer Ruby Spotted Horse, a no-nonsense woman who harbors some powerful secrets in her cellar. Despite the air of mystery surrounding her, Ruby is the only one Aaron can trust. That is, until the ghost of Fannie Mae shows up, guiding her father through a tangled web of the present and past and helping him vanquish his foes from both this world and the next. Drawn from James Lee Burke’s own life experiences, Every Cloak Rolled in Blood is a devastating exploration of the nature of good and evil and a deeply moving story about the power of love and family.

What are you reading? Do you love it?

24 Replies to “#WWWWednesday | What I #amreading This Week – May 11, 2022”

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      Yeah, I saw your review on Amazon. Do you like fantasy stories by Terry Goodkind, George R. R. Martin, or the Witcher series? Because that’s what it reminds me of. I was trying to determine whether or not you would have liked it more if you had read further in, but I’m not sure. I think you definitely had to get past the point where he is overwhelmed by self-pity because seriously I just wanted to smack him and tell him to get a grip during the first part when he was that way.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. jordyn says:

        I’ve read all of A Song of Ice and Fire! Moderately enjoy that series. I’ve read two of the Witcher books and disliked them. Haven’t read any Goodkind, though! From what I’ve seen of other reviews of Kagen, I’m glad I didn’t read any further. Too much rape for me.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Lady Tessa says:

          Well, it’s just mentioned – not detailed, and I only remember a couple more mentions past what you read. So I’m not sure. But even mentioned, it is pretty hard to read about.

          Liked by 2 people

  8. Mae Clair says:

    Oooh, Hidden Pictures sounds awesome. I’ll be looking for your review on that one.

    I just finished One Step Too Far by Lisa Gardner, a missing person mystery. It was fabulous!

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Teri Polen says:

    I’m a Maberry fan, but I somehow missed this one. It must have been a good one if you sped through that may pages so quickly, Tessa.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      And while I was away nonetheless. I have to admit, my little kindle accompanied me to the graduation ceremony 🤫. I felt like such a kid as I had it covered by the program.😆

      Liked by 2 people

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