Waiting to Read Wednesday: The Widow of Pale Harbor, Red at the Bone, Last Pen Standing, & The Star-Touched Queen

The Old(er) 

I have an embarrassing number of unread books sitting on the shelves in my personal library. Carole of Carole's Random Life in Books has given me the perfect excuse to spotlight and discuss those neglected books in her Books from the Backlog feature. After all, even those older books need a bit of love! Not to mention it is reminding me what great books I have waiting for me under my own roof still to read!

The Star-Touched Queen (The Star-Touched Queen #1) by Roshani Chokshi (2016)

Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you’re only seventeen?

Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire…

But Akaran has its own secrets—thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most…including herself. [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: I imagine I fell in love with the cover, which is why I gave this one a closer look to see if it would be something I would like. Maya sounds like an interesting character. Add to that a curse, an arranged marriage, secrets, and an ancient mystery, and I knew I had to read it.

Have you read this one? If so, what did you think? 

The New

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by the marvelous Tressa at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss upcoming release we are excited about that we have yet to read.

The Widow of Pale Harbor by Hester Fox

Release Date: September 17, 2019 by Graydon House

A town gripped by fear. A woman accused of witchcraft. Who can save Pale Harbor from itself?

Maine, 1846. Gabriel Stone is desperate to escape the ghosts that haunt him in Massachusetts after his wife’s death, so he moves to Maine, taking a position as a minister in the remote village of Pale Harbor.

But not all is as it seems in the sleepy town. Strange, unsettling things have been happening, and the townspeople claim that only one person can be responsible: Sophronia Carver, a reclusive widow who lives with a spinster maid in the eerie Castle Carver. Sophronia must be a witch, and she almost certainly killed her husband.

As the incidents escalate, one thing becomes clear: they are the work of a twisted person inspired by the wildly popular stories of Mr. Edgar Allan Poe. And Gabriel must find answers, or Pale Harbor will suffer a fate worthy of Poe’s darkest tales. [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: Upon first reading the description of The Widow of Pale Harbor, I was sold. A woman accused of witchcraft? Strange and unsettling events similar to what one might find in Poe's work? I cannot wait to read this!

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Release Date: September 17, 2019 by Riverhead Books

An extraordinary new novel about the influence of history on a contemporary African-American family, from the New York Times-bestselling and National Book Award-winning author of Another Brooklyn and Brown Girl Dreaming.

Two families from different social classes are joined together by an unexpected pregnancy and the child that it produces. Moving forward and backward in time, with the power of poetry and the emotional richness of a narrative ten times its length, Jacqueline Woodson's extraordinary new novel uncovers the role that history and community have played in the experiences, decisions, and relationships of these families, and in the life of this child.

As the book opens in 2001, it is the evening of sixteen-year-old Melody's birthday celebration in her grandparent's Brooklyn brownstone. Watched lovingly by her relatives and friends, escorted by her father to the soundtrack of Prince, she wears a special, custom-made dress. But the event is not without poignancy. Sixteen years earlier, that very dress was measured and sewn for a different wearer: Melody's mother, for her own sixteenth birthday party and a celebration which ultimately never took place.

Unfurling the history of Melody's parents and grandparents to show how they all arrived at this moment, Woodson considers not just their ambitions and successes but also the costs, the tolls they've paid for striving to overcome expectations and escape the pull of history. As it explores sexual desire and identity, ambition, gentrification, education, class and status, and the life-altering facts of parenthood, Red at the Bone most strikingly looks at the ways in which young people must so often make long-lasting decisions about their lives—even before they have begun to figure out who they are and what they want to be. [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: Jacqueline Woodson's name is enough to make me stand up and take notice.  But I also want to read this multi-generational story which "uncovers the role that history and community have played in the experiences, decisions, and relationships of these families, and in the life of this child." I imagine this will be an emotional and beautiful read.

Last Pen Standing (Stationery Shop Mystery #1) by Vivian Conroy
Release Date: September 24, 2019 by Poisoned Pen Press

Will this paper trail run cold?

As the new co-owner of Tundish Montana's stationery shop WANTED, Delta Douglas knows how to organize a killer crafting event. Creativity and cardstock are all she needs to move one step closer to her ultimate dream: developing her own line of crafting products. But on the night of the workshop, at the swanky hotel venue, glitter isn't the only thing found sprawled on the floor. A hotel guest is discovered dead in the bar, and amid the confusion, Delta's best friend is suspected of the crime.

Enlisting the help of her Paper Posse and Spud, her canine sidekick, Delta dives into the investigation. But with many high-powered suspects on the line, Delta soon realizes her sleuthing may come with deadly consequences. [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: Cozy mysteries are such fun, and while I am picky about the type of craft-themed cozy I will read (because I can't read them all!), I don't think I will be able to resist this one set in a stationery shop.  And Spud, her canine sidekick! It's easy to forget how much I love dogs all the cats on my blog and in my life.


Do any of these books appeal to you? What upcoming releases are you looking forward to? 

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