Fresh Finds: Staff Reviews of Newly Published Books

Published Wednesday, January 8, 2025
This Fatal Kiss
by Alicia Jasinska
Publication Date: September 10, 2024

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Emily's Review:
A girl turned water nymph begins the search for a mortal willing to kiss her and return her to the land of the living. Slavic folklore, romance, and twinkling teacups filled with human souls made the world of this novel both fantastical and relatable. Overall, I enjoyed reading this work of young adult fantasy and I may be tempted to pick up the possible sequel in the future.

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We Solve Murders
by Richard Osman

Publication Date: September 17, 2024
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Mary's Review:
This book is by the same author who wrote the Thursday Murder Club series. Osman took a temporary break from that series to start this new one. It's a fun, quick, easy read about a part-time investigator and his daughter-in-law who works in private security. Unfortunately, it didn't meet my expectations but that could be because I became attached to the characters in the Thursday Murder Club and felt the character development was better. This book was easier to put down than those in his previous series. That being said, I gave it a 4 out of 5 because the new cast of characters are truly "characters" and because I feel that I expected too much from it. I'm interested to read the next in this series to give the characters more of a chance.

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Buried Deep and Other Stories
by Namoi Novik

Publication Date: September 17, 2024
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Katherine's Review:
It was so fun to be reading stories written by Naomi Novik, the author of the Tremeraire and Scholomance series, again. She has such a way with words! There were, of course, some stories that I enjoyed more than others but it was fun to return to some of the worlds that she writes extensively about in her other novels.

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The Hitchcock Hotel
by Stephanie Wrobel

Publication Date: September 24, 2024
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Kelly's Review:
The story centers around a small group of college friends gathering for a weekend at the Hitchcock Hotel. The hotel is an old Victorian house owned by their chum Alfred and right up the street from their alma mater. The group of friends met by attending the same film class. They soon discover that their friend Alfred has an obsession with Hitchcock and numerous artifacts from Hitch's films are throughout the Hitchcock Hotel, including an aviary that houses a murder of crows. Be prepared to hear references to Hitchcock's films and a hint of something that happened to them while they were in school together. I give the book five starts because it's a great beach read. Meaning a fast paced suspense novel. And who doesn't want to read a beach read in the middle of December.

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Red in Tooth and Claw
by Lish McBride

Publication Date: October 8, 2024
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Emily's Review:
I was pleasantly surprised by this young adult fantasy western. The cover of a hungry wolf caught my attention while the suspense about our protagonist's future kept me reading. The characters were well developed and the dusty worn world of a settlement in the middle of a barren stretch of land felt lived in. Would recommend to both teens and adults.

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The Apothecary's Wife
by Karen Bloom Gevirtz
Publication Date: November 7, 2024

Rating: 5 out of 5

Emily's Review:
Those who like to learn about the connection and history between food, medicine, and the for-profit medical system will probably enjoy this book like I did. The research was thorough, and the writing was engaging. It brings light to a generally overlooked part of medicinal history, how the shifts made from community to commercial mirror the shifts of a remedy coming from a women's recipe book to a doctor's prescription.

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We Shall Be Monsters
by Alyssa Wees

Publication Date: November 12, 2024
Rating: 4 out of 5

Katherine's Review:
An enjoyable autumn read, with lots of mystery and a suspense. An exploration of the damage done intergenerationally when mothers don't explain things to their children and many mistakes are made. I think Alyssa Wees does a great job with the theme of monsters and who they really are.

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About the Author

Katherine is the Digital Marketing, Collections, and Communications Specialist and has been working at EPL since 2008. She loves books, especially ones with unique plots and those written so well that she can't put them down.