J.M. Spade's Blog

 Series Spotlight: Evergreen Falls by Lauren Blakely

SERIES: Evergreen Falls 

AUTHOR: Lauren Blakely

NUMBER OF BOOKS IN SERIES: 2

Find them on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3JDTrTT      #ad

SUMMARY: Escape into the cozy and spicy Christmas town of Evergreen Falls!

My Favorite Holidate: Wanted: hot billionaire to pose as my Christmas boyfriend. Must be willing to make my cheating ex jealous by kissing me under the mistletoe at holiday parties. Bonus if you make him cry.

Merry Little Kissmas: I should’ve known better than to make a Christmas bet with my brother’s best friend. Six-foot-three, grumpy, and allergic to mistletoe and feelings.

#ThisReadingNurse

Series Spotlight: How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn

SERIES: How My Neighbor Stole ChristmasAUTHOR: Meghan QuinnNUMBER OF BOOKS IN SERIES: 2
Find them on Amazon: https://amzn.to/48itNNC #ad
SUMMARY:Living in a year around Christmas town has it's drawbacks. The caroling, the decorations, the insanely cheery spirit, it never disappears. It's why I like to hibernate away in my cave--I mean house--keeping a healthy distance from the holly jolly spirits.
And all was going according to plan until my nemesis, Storee Taylor, moved in next door to care for her Aunt Cindy. Without blinking, she turned my simple world into a real nightmare-before-Christmas, especially when she decided to enter the town Christmas Kringle contest - which she was determined to win.
Well guess what? Over my cold-hearted body.
There was no way I was going to let her win, not after the history we'd shared.
So despite my promise to myself of never participating in the sickening Christmas season, I entered the competition as well. That's right, I planned on beating Storee at her own game by pretending this grump’s heart grew three sizes this season.
And it was working until feelings between us started heating up.We pretended to date.We kissed.And well, sparks flew from there.
Which led to one explosive night involving Christmas lights, the competition, and a ladder. Don't let me convince you who stole Christmas, I think you need to find out for yourself . . .

#ThisReadingNurse #BookSeries #bookseriesilove #readmorebooks #readerscommunity #morebooksplease #bookstagramfeature #readingismyhappyplace #booksareessential #bookwormsofinstagram #readstagram #igreads #booklist #readmore #readreadread #booklife #ReadTheseBooks #WhatIRead #MustRead #BookRecs #MeghanQuinn

 Book Tour A Fog Harbor Romance Series by Nicole Deese

Thank you Bibliolifestyle, Bethany House, and Nicole Deese for gifting me this series! 

I can't wait to check out the Fog Harbor Romance Series - three heartfelt stories about love, loss, and second chances that promise all the feels. It sounds like the perfect binge for cozy winter nights or a thoughtful trio to gift this holiday season.

SUMMARIES:

The Words We Lost

When editor Ingrid Erikson loses her best friend and bestselling author Cecelia, she's left reeling-especially when Cecelia's final manuscript vanishes. Returning to her coastal hometown to honor Cecelia's last request, Ingrid must team up with her ex, Joel, and confront both old wounds and unfinished stories. A moving exploration of grief, friendship, and second chances, this book reminds readers that sometimes the hardest chapters lead to the most beautiful endings.

The Roads We Follow

Raegan Farrow, the youngest daughter of a country music legend, joins her sisters on a cross-country road trip that takes an unexpected turn when she discovers a secret tell-all threatening to expose their family. Along the way, she clashes-and connects-with their mysterious bus driver, Micah, who holds his own hidden truths. With equal parts humor, heart, and healing, this story celebrates the messy beauty of family, forgiveness, and love found on life's detours.

The Voice We Find

After her Broadway dreams collapse, Sophie Wilder returns home to work at her family's winery and reluctantly narrates audiobooks for Fog Harbor Books. There she meets sound engineer August Tate, a single guardian fighting to hold his life-and his little sister's future-together. Tender, hopeful, and full of bookish charm, this story captures the magic of rediscovering purpose, creativity, and love when life doesn't go as planned.


Find them on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4oQhRbq*I may make commission from purchases using this link*

 "13 Months Haunted" by Jimmy Juliano

Thank you PRH Audio for gifting me this audiobook!

Publisher: Dutton & PRH Audio    |    Pub Date: August 12, 2025    |    Pages: 365

Listening time: 11 hrs and 28 min    |    Narrator:  Valerie Rose Lohman & Nicole Cash

Review in 3 words: Computers, Downloads, Scripts

REVIEW:

I was instantly hooked on this audiobook. I love the early 2000’s vibe and the reminder of life at the dawn of home computers was like. The truth that the early ages of the internet was a virtual Wild Wild West comes to life. I remember having a home computer and the early days of having the internet. I remember making my own websites using script.

Avery is a computer nerd and learning to write programming scripts while also downloading illegal music (which wasn’t illegal at the time). Then one night, something happens leading to her sister’s death and her insistence that she never be alone again. Did it have to do with the computer?

Piper innocently gets involved but finds herself at the center of a mystery. I loved her curiosity and compassion with Avery and her mother. The journey to discovering what is really happening is interesting and intense! But my favorite part is the ending - something I didn’t expect.

These narrators did a great job bringing this story to life, but I also adored the memories brought up by the sound effects added to the audiobook of dial-up connections. Such sweet memories…

 

SUMMARY: 

Piper Lowery, a public library clerk in charge of liaising with the local middle school, can tell right away there’s something strange about the new girl in eighth grade. Avery Wallace won’t touch any kind of technology, not even the computers at the library, and her mother comes to school with her every day, refusing to leave her side—not even when Avery uses the restroom.

And then there are the rumors, the whispers Piper hears from kids in the hallway and parents around town: Avery’s mother is a witch. Her sister and father were killed by something supernatural. A strange virus killed them.

Seeing how isolated and lonely Avery is, Piper befriends her but quickly realizes it might just be the worst decision she’s ever made. Because there’s something dark inside Avery Wallace, and it’s spreading . . .

 

Get your copy from Amazon: https://amzn.to/47F2ihj

*I may make a commission from purchases at this link.*

 Holiday Book Recommendations

It's time. Time to deck the halls. Time to find a cozy blanket and grab a new holiday book to devour! To celebrate, I've come up with a list of book recommendations in my Amazon store for you to check out! Some are old, some are new. You'll have to tell me which ones are your favorites!

Find them and more at Amazon on my Holiday Reading List: Holiday Reading List

 "Lost Among the Living" by Simone St. James

Thank you PRHAudio for gifting me this audiobook!

Publisher: Berkley    |    Pub Date: April 5th, 2016    |    Pages: 362

Listening time: 10 hrs and 22 min    |    Narrator:  Justine Eyre

Review in 3 words: History, Lies, Murder

REVIEW:

First, let me start by saying what a fantastic job Justine Eyre does at narrating this book! 

The story of Jo is tragic but I felt such a kinship with her despite not having experienced the same things. She is without a true family and is a paid companion to her husband’s aunt Dottie. Dottie is kind of a jerk and it feels like Dottie only has Jo along because she has to. I wasn’t really a fan of Dottie, or her family.

Speaking of Dottie’s family, things are a bit strange since the suicide of her daughter many years ago. It threw me for a loop when they kept referring to her as queer because I was thinking queer as in today’s definition, not that of the 20’s in which it referred to mentally ill. The town is convinced that the daughter is haunting the woods and the house, but is that really possible?

In the end, you’ll never guess the events that occur or the lengths this family has gone to. And sweet Jo? I can’t think of life as confusing as the one she’s experiencing.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a mix of ghost story with historical fiction with thriller - one of my favorite kinds of books!

 

SUMMARY: 

England, 1921. Three years after her husband, Alex, disappeared, shot down over Germany, Jo Manders still mourns his loss. Working as a paid companion to Alex's wealthy, condescending aunt, Dottie Forsyth, Jo travels to the family’s estate in the Sussex countryside. But there is much she never knew about her husband’s origins…and the revelation of a mysterious death in the Forsyths’ past is just the beginning…

 

All is not well at Wych Elm House. Dottie's husband is distant, and her son was grievously injured in the war. Footsteps follow Jo down empty halls, and items in her bedroom are eerily rearranged. The locals say the family is cursed, and that a ghost in the woods has never rested. And when Jo discovers her husband’s darkest secrets, she wonders if she ever really knew him.  Isolated in a place of deception and grief, she must find the truth or lose herself forever.

 

And then a familiar stranger arrives at Wych Elm House… 

Get your copy from Amazon: https://amzn.to/4nR57Re

*I may make a commission from purchases at this link.*

 "The Graceview Patient" by Caitlin Starling

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press    |    Pub Date: October 14th, 2025   |    Pages: 304

Review in 3 words: Hospital, Sinister, Mental

REVIEW:

This book is the perfect creepy, thrilling book for October! There are times I felt the hair on the back of my neck tingling. I have an autoimmune disorder so I can only imagine how Margaret feels being so depleted. Add in sinister things happening, I'd be questioning my own sanity. It's the perfect recipe for spooky reading! 

 

SUMMARY: 

Margaret’s rare autoimmune condition has destroyed her life, leaving her isolated and in pain. It has no cure, but she’s making do as best she can—until she’s offered a fully paid-for spot in an experimental medical trial at Graceview Memorial.

The conditions are simple, if grueling: she will live at the hospital as a full-time patient, subjecting herself to the near-total destruction of her immune system and its subsequent regeneration. The trial will essentially kill most of, but not all of her. But as the treatment progresses and her body begins to fail, she stumbles upon something sinister living and spreading within the hospital.

Unsure of what's real and what is just medication-induced delusion, Margaret struggles to find a way out as her body and mind succumb further to the darkness lurking throughout Graceview's halls. 

Get your copy from Amazon: https://amzn.to/4hvHwDM

*I may make a commission from purchases at this link.*

 "Don't Open Your Eyes" by Liv Constantine

Publisher: Bantam   |    Pub Date: June 17th, 2025    |    Pages: 352 

Review in 3 words: Dreams, Teenagers, Control

REVIEW:

I think it would freak me out to have my dreams playing out in real life. Maybe not if they were good dreams, but that's not the case for Annabelle. I think it messes with your mind either way. Dreams can definitely feel incredibly real at times, so it's deja vu when they start happening again, but knowing you're definitely awake this time! On top of all of that, you cannot control the other people in your dreams - your husband and your teenage rebellious daughter.

I genuinely enjoyed this book and found myself addicted, reading late into the night.

SUMMARY: 

Annabelle Reynolds has everything she’s ever wanted. A devoted husband, two wonderful daughters, and a career she loves. She couldn’t be happier. So why is she suddenly plagued by disturbing dreams of a future where she hates her husband and her daughters’ lives are at risk? At first, she chalks the dreams up to an overactive imagination. But when details from her dreams, details she couldn’t possibly have predicted, begin to materialize, she realizes these aren’t just dreams but rather premonitions of a terrifying future. They all point to a singular choice, an unknown moment that holds Annabelle’s life in the balance.

Then Annabelle has a dream that her daughter Scarlett is in immediate danger. Someone wants Scarlett dead, and Annabelle has no idea who or why. Suddenly, every choice she makes is fraught with peril, with no inkling of which move could bring this terrifying vision to life. As Annabelle’s present life starts to collide with the future in her dreams, she wrestles with how much control she really has over her destiny and whether she can change what is meant to be.

Get your copy from Amazon: https://amzn.to/47EyDnc

*I may make a commission from purchases at this link.*

 "Something Cheeky" by Thien-Kim Lam

Publisher: Avon   |    Pub Date: March 4th, 2025    |    Pages: 336

Listening time: 9 hrs and 20 min    |    Narrator:  Vyvy Nguyen, David Lee Huynh

Review in 3 words: Hot, Spicy, Racy

REVIEW:

Hot. Spicy. Just the way I enjoy my romance books. I felt the heat radiating from this book. If you're looking for something to warm you up, this is a must read!

 

SUMMARY: 

Zoe Tran is living her best life, designing plus-size lingerie at her own award-winning clothing boutique, when suddenly her college best friend reenters her life. Derek Bui is offering a tantalizing chance to recapture a forgotten dream: designing costumes for the musical they created together years ago.

Derek has loved Zoe since freshman year but never had the guts to confess his true feelings. Now he’s directing the Vietnamese Cinderella rock musical they dreamed up in college. The stakes are high: it’s the first production with an all-Asian cast and creative team at Washington, D.C.’s largest theatre and if they can make it work, they’ll head to Broadway. But his real goal: get Zoe back in his life.

A proud demisexual, Zoe only ever saw Derek as her best friend, but working on their dream production together brings them closer than ever. Sparks ignite under the hot spotlights. But when the theatre’s artistic director pressures Derek to make the musical “less Asian,” he and Zoe clash on whether to stay true to their vision or compromise to keep the production alive.

Will Zoe and Derek finally let love take center stage or will their creative differences close the curtains on them forever?

 

Get your copy from Amazon: https://amzn.to/48FiNe4

*I may make a commission from purchases at this link.*

"I'm Too Old for This" by Samantha Downing 

Thank you Penguin Random House for gifting me this audiobook.

Publisher:  Berkley  |    Pub Date: August 12, 2025   |    Pages: 400

Listening time: 10 hrs and 50 min    |    Narrator:  Elizabeth Wiley

Review in 3 words: Murder, Incineration, Evidence

REVIEW:

Lottie is definitely “too old for this”. What is “this” exactly? Being a serial killer. She retired decades ago, didn’t she?

This story kept me hooked and I read it in one sitting. I just couldn’t stop. One thing - or murder - lead to another, and another… and well, murdering people and getting away with it is tough business! It sounds like despite being elderly, Lottie is still quite strong and her mind is smart and fast thinking. 

Between hiding evidence, attending church twice a week , pretending a dead person is still alive, and communicating with her son and his fiancé, Lottie has more than enough to keep busy. I enjoyed reading how she outsmarts the people around her and how she spends her time.

I definitely recommend this to those who enjoy quick, easy, thrilling reads!

 

SUMMARY: 

A retired serial killer’s quiet life is upended by an unexpected visitor. To protect her secret, there’s only one option left—what’s another murder? From bestselling author Samantha Downing.

Lottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her.

Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town. Her most exciting nights are the weekly bingo games at the local church and gossiping with her friends.

When investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past and specifically her involvement with numerous unsolved cases, well, Lottie just can’t have that.

But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realizes this crime might just be the death of her…

 

Get your copy from Amazon: https://amzn.to/493kbHt

*I may make a commission from purchases at this link.*