Can't Wait to Read Wednesday: Calamity / Murder in a Cup / Whispers Beyond the Veil

The New

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

I do love a good science fiction romance. Add in a misfit crew and space adventure and it's sure to be a hit for me! 

Calamity (Uncharted Hearts #1) by Constance Fay
(Bramble, November 14, 2023; 320 pgs)

Bramble's inaugural debut is equal parts steamy interstellar romance and sci-fi adventure, perfect for fans of Firefly and Ilona Andrews.

She’s got a ramshackle spaceship, a misfit crew, and a big problem with its sexy newest member…

Temperance Reed, banished from the wealthy and dangerous Fifteen Families, just wants to keep her crew together after their feckless captain ran off with the intern. But she’s drowning in debt and revolutionary new engine technology is about to make her beloved ship obsolete.

Enter Arcadio Escajeda. Second child of the terrifying Escajeda Family, he’s the thorn in Temper’s side as they’re sent off on a scouting mission on the backwater desert planet of Herschel 2. They throw sparks every time they meet but Temper’s suspicions of his ulterior motives only serve to fuel the flames between them.

Despite volcanic eruptions, secret cultists, and deadly galactic fighters, the greatest threat on this mission may be to Temper’s heart. [Goodreads Summary]

Paranormal cozy mysteries are among my favorite type of cozies, and this series is one I have been wanting to try since the first book came out. 

Murder in a Cup (A Crystals & CuriosiTEAS Mystery #2) by Lauren Elliott
(Kensington Books, November 28, 2023; 284 pgs)

As an eclectic tea shop owner descended from an Irish witch, intuitive Shay Myers has been living her most authentic life since moving home to California’s scenic Monterey Peninsula. Yet not even her heightened senses can predict how to run a business—or catch a killer . . .

Self-taught “seer” Shay has much to learn as autumn hits the quaint coastal town of Bray Harbor. Since attempting the art of blending herbs at her popular shop, Crystals & CuriosiTeas, she’s set on growing ingredients in the mysterious greenhouse on the second floor—if only she can separate the medicinal plants from the deadly ones. Her new skills are put to the test when she meets pub owner and ex-detective Liam Madigan’s Gran. A psychic from Ireland known for interpreting tea leaves and people, Gran encourages Shay to build upon her natural talents and hold her own group reading . . .

Despite Shay’s reservations about putting herself in the spotlight, the evening goes off without a hitch. At least, until she does a reading and a customer goes from chatty to dead in a flash, poisoned after sipping a toxic substance recently grown in the greenhouse. Worse, Shay’s assistant is suspected of intentionally serving the lethal brew and committing cold-blooded murder. Now, aided only by Liam and her dog Spirit, Shay must exonerate her employee and save the future of Crystals & CuriosiTeas. But when clues start lining up like leaves in a teacup, she’ll need to understand the signs right in front of her to catch the manipulative murderer before it’s too late . . . [Goodreads Summary]

Do either of these books interest you? What upcoming releases are you looking forward to reading?

The Old(er) 

Carole of Carole's Random Life in Books has given me the perfect excuse to spotlight those unread books on my TBR in her Books from the Backlog feature, reminding me what great books I have waiting for me under my own roof still to read!

Paranormal cozy mysteries compete with historical cozy mysteries as my top favorite type of cozy--and this one has both! I actually have the first two books in this series sitting on my TBR shelf. I am not sure why I haven't read this yet other than it is one of many on my TBR shelf that I really want to read.

Whispers Beyond the Veil (A Change of Fortune Mystery #1) by Jessica Estevao
(Berkley, 2016; 349 pgs)

First in a dazzling new historical mystery series featuring Ruby Proulx, a psychic with a questionable past who suddenly finds her future most uncertain...

Canada, 1898. The only life Ruby Proulx has ever known is that of a nomad, traveling across the country with her snake-oil salesman father. She dreams of taking root somewhere, someday, but, until she can, she makes her way by reading tarot cards. Yet she never imagined her own life would take such a turn…

After one of her father’s medical “miracles” goes deadly wrong, Ruby evades authorities by hiding in the seaside resort town of Old Orchard, Maine, where her estranged aunt, Honoria, owns the Hotel Belden, a unique residence that caters to Spiritualists—a place where Ruby should be safe as long as she can keep her dark secret hidden.

But Ruby’s plan begins to crumble after a psychic investigator checks into the hotel and senses Ruby is hiding more than she’s letting on. Now Ruby must do what she can to escape both his attention and Aunt Honoria’s insistence that she has a true gift, before she loses her precious new home and family forever… [Goodreads Summary]

Have you read Whispers Beyond the Veil?  Does this book sound like something you would like to read? 

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