I’ve been writing about books online since 1999 when Blogger and LiveJournal first appeared on the scene and made blogging a thing. I started It’s All About the Book on Blogger and wrote mostly about YA fiction because I was a YA librarian at the time.
As the web evolved, adding to it became easier and like many other bloggers, I jumped ship to WordPress in 2006. Unfortunately, I lost all my writing from 1999-2006, but had the opportunity to start totally fresh, resulting in 20 years of A LOT of books read and shared here.
I find as I look ahead to 2026, my first full year of retirement, that my heart just isn’t into the blogging any longer. In the way of the web, things have changed. Writing about books has been replaced with talking about books on new platforms like TikTok and Instagram and I really doubt that the online book community wants to see or hear an old lady talk about books!
So, this is my very last post for It’s All About the Book. I will leave the archive up for a while since my older posts still get some traction.
It’s been a delight to share my reading with you. I hope you have found a book here that made an impact on your life.
Brigit Quinn thought uncovering her magical heritage was the biggest shock of her life. But a year after learning she’s descended from a legendary Celtic tribe sworn to guard the mystical power of Ireland’s ancient places, the real battle is just beginning. As she trains for her place in the Circle of Nine, Brigit is determined to protect the secrets and sacred traditions of her people.
But when a cryptic warning arrives—hinting at a shadowy force hunting the Sacred Treasures—everything she’s fought for is suddenly at risk. If the ancient weapons fall into the wrong hands, The Circle could be shattered forever.
Haunted by doubts about her powers, the true intentions of those around her, and disturbing revelations about her family’s past, Brigit must navigate a dangerous path of betrayal, magic, and myth. The enemy is closer than anyone suspects—and time is running out. Can Brigit uncover the truth before darkness claims the Circle?
The first time I summoned a portal, I didn’t understand how I accidentally opened a doorway to another realm. The second time wasn’t a mistake. I was ready—and I stepped through with the grim resolve that my mission must succeed.” —Brigit Quinn
Mercy in the Mist
Description
The danger was supposed to be over.
The sacred treasures are safe.
The enemies banished to the Otherworld.
But Brigit Quinn’s dreams tell a different story.
The condemned return to haunt her sleep—pleading, accusing, refusing to be forgotten. Something is still wrong, even if the rest of the Circle of Nine insists the threat has passed.
When anonymous warnings surface and the police begin asking questions about the missing, Brigit’s visions intensify, blurring the line between dream and prophecy. The Circle is unraveling. Shadows are gathering.
To restore what’s been broken, Brigit knows they must return to the Otherworld and seek answers from the immortal Elders—knowing that to question them is to risk everything.
In this spellbinding fourth installment of the Circle of Nine series, ancient magic, mortal danger, and Brigit’s quest for the truth collide in a journey that will test the bonds of loyalty, love, and the fragile trust between gods and mortals.
My Thoughts
This immersive series is nothing short of spectacular. I kept thinking as I sped through these 4 volumes that this series is a perfect gateway for a young adult reader who is maturing in their reading tastes. I could easily see myself recommending this to a 13 year old then leading them on to The Mists of Avalon.
The characters are likable, endearing, infuriating, treacherous, crafty, and wise. The author does a fantastic job of building the mortal characters true to life – for example, Brigit is as much a teenager in love as she is powerfully magic. There is romance, danger, love, and hate infused in these pages, emotions that often traverse time.
The real glue, though, is the wonderful story of a family pledged to protect the magical history of Ireland. Brigit and the women who came before her are depicted as part of a greater whole, and the relationships between mothers, daughters, grandmothers, and so on are very well done.
The author has built a world that prickles with excitement as the age-old tale of good versus evil, light against dark is told in a new and gripping way. The battle scenes in both these volumes are some of the best I’ve read in a while, and the depiction of the Tuatha gods and their weapons is riveting.
Recommended for teen readers trying out fantasy, and for adult readers who enjoy Irish mythology and fantasy.
Author Bio
Valerie Biel writes award-winning books for middle grade to adult audiences–stories inspired by her travels and her insatiable curiosity. Her young adult fantasy series, Circle of Nine, was inspired by the myth and magic of Ireland’s ancient stone circles. She’s also the author of HAVEN, a contemporary middle grade novel, and BEYOND THE CEMETERY GATE, a mystery suspense story. She’s a founding member of the Blackbird Writers & a member of Sisters in Crime & the Wisconsin Writers Association. When she’s away from the computer, she’s likely wrangling her overgrown garden, reading multiple books per week, or traveling the world–often on trips for the The World Orphan Fund charity she and her husband run. She calls a (tiny) portion of her family’s century-old Wisconsin farm home, but regularly dreams of finding a cozy cottage on the Irish coast where she can write and write.
Return to the Celtic magic that began with the suspenseful, award-winning novel Circle of Nine – Beltany.
Descended from a legendary Celtic tribe that guards the secrets of the ancient stone circles, the Quinn women have a great responsibility to protect their pagan rituals and way of life. As members of the formidable Circle of Nine, they celebrate the holidays of the year from Yule to Samhain, keeping the traditions of the Tuatha de Danann alive through the centuries against insurmountable odds. We first met these women in Circle of Nine – Beltany, and now a set of three novellas reveals more of their engaging stories.
In Bressa’s Banishment the power struggle between Father Banan and village healer Bressa Gormley unfolds amidst accusations of treachery, heresy, and murder. Can the Circle protect their trusted healer and the path of the Tuatha against a growing religious fervor?
Dervla’s Destiny brings us to medieval Ireland where the beloved character Dervla Quinn learns of her gifts and fights tremendous loss, betrayal, and violence, all the while never giving up on finding the love she deserves.
In Phoebe’s Mission, when an evil force on a quest for ultimate power threatens the Circle of Nine, Phoebe Quinn must leave Ireland for the first time and travel to the United States to protect their way of life. Along the way, she meets the handsome Macklin Scott, taking her mission, and possibly her future, on a far different course than expected.
My Thoughts
The Novella Collection provides a fascinating backstory for the characters we first met in Beltany. The Quinn heritage, awash in Irish folklore, comes to life through Bressa, Dervla, and Phoebe. The injustice of the historic times in which the women lived will make your blood boil, but the golden thread holding it all together is the heritage and the importance of what the Quinn family guards.
Dervla’s story is especially violent and upsetting, as she comes very close to sexual assault.
The author continues to build the world of the Quinns with beautiful descriptive narrative, engaging characters, and lovely language.
Author Bio
Valerie Biel writes award-winning books for middle grade to adult audiences–stories inspired by her travels and her insatiable curiosity. Her young adult fantasy series, Circle of Nine, was inspired by the myth and magic of Ireland’s ancient stone circles. She’s also the author of HAVEN, a contemporary middle grade novel, and BEYOND THE CEMETERY GATE, a mystery suspense story. She’s a founding member of the Blackbird Writers & a member of Sisters in Crime & the Wisconsin Writers Association. When she’s away from the computer, she’s likely wrangling her overgrown garden, reading multiple books per week, or traveling the world–often on trips for the The World Orphan Fund charity she and her husband run. She calls a (tiny) portion of her family’s century-old Wisconsin farm home, but regularly dreams of finding a cozy cottage on the Irish coast where she can write and write.
An old family secret leads from the streets of Sydney to Italy’s sun-drenched Neapolitan coast, in this immersive historical mystery from #1 international bestselling author Tara Moss
Pacific Ocean, 1907. A girl embarks on a journey to begin a new life far from home.
Naples, 1943. A woman shelters underground from a wartime air raid, praying her husband will return home.
Sydney, 1948. Billie Walker, returned from a stint as a wartime investigative journalist, uncovers a dusty box in her father’s old office whose contents—correspondence with a woman on the other side of the world—just might explain how they all are connected.
Plunged into a perilous search that will take her onto the first postwar luxury passenger ship to sail across the ocean to Italy, Billie finds herself up against a dangerous adversary—someone with a mysterious grudge against her family—as she races to uncover the secrets her father left behind. And as the trail leads her towards two women whose histories may be entwined with her own, she realizes that her father’s Italian secret just might upend everything she thought she knew.
My Thoughts
I need to pay more attention to determining if books new to me are part of series, which is the case here. The author has written multiple series, with this one being the 3rd in the Billie Walker series. I always appreciate the subtle ways a series author seeds the early chapters with bits of information from previous books. Moss does that here, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Despite feeling lost at a few different places, the story here hangs together pretty well, although it takes some time to connect the angry little boy at the beginning with the full story.
I liked Billie and other recurring characters well enough that I will seek out the earlier entries in the series and also try some of Moss’ other work. She writes very well, balancing dialog and description with decent character and plot development.
Recommended for fans of historical mysteries with a bit of romance.
Publication Date: December 2, 2025 Published By: Dutton Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy
The new installment in the “relentlessly engrossing series” (Wall Street Journal) finds Karen Pirie and her team investigating the murder of a journalist paved under a motorway—but was it his work or his private life that put him there?
Scotland, 2025. When torrential winter rain causes a landslide on a motorway, it dislodges more than mud and asphalt – it reveals a skeleton, concealed when the road was built eleven years prior.
Sam Nimmo, an investigative journalist who’d been poking his nose into the murky politics of the Scottish independence referendum, had become the prime suspect in the brutal murder of his girlfriend when he vanished. Now he’s reappeared, buried under the motorway. It’s the perfect cold case for DCI Karen Pirie, chief of Police Scotland’s Historic Cases Unit. What was Nimmo investigating that was worth killing over? Or was it revenge for murdering his girlfriend? Meanwhile, an allegation of murder has surfaced over the supposedly accidental death of a hotel manager. It may have links to another accident on a remote Highland road. It’s a series of puzzles that tests Karen and her team to their limits. And possibly beyond . . .
A darkly propulsive thriller of secrets hidden at the core of a Scottish Highlands town, Silent Bones reaffirms Val McDermid as a crime writer of inimitable power.
My Thoughts
Val McDermid is one of the very best crime fiction authors writing today and with Silent Bones she has produced another intricate, brilliant story. I was late to the Karen Pirie series, but have recently gobbled up every one of them. I so enjoy McDermid’s chatty, real style with delivering dialog and her ability to weave a plot with multiple strands that are all resolved by the end.
The story here is fascinating and somewhat tragic. The Sam Nimmo story is very sad, and the drive exhibited by Pirie’s team to solve this cold case mystery is gripping. The secondary plot involving what is supposed to be a book club is also fascinating, although I twigged that plot resolution pretty early on. Who knew a book club membership could be so hazardous?!
If you haven’t read the Karen Pirie series, you can drop into this one and still follow the plot, but I recommend reading them all.
Recommended.
Publication Date: December 2, 2025 Published By: Grove Atlantic, Atlantic Crime Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy
Circle of Nine Series Virtual Book Tour 1 – October 27-December 31
Description
Brigit Quinn has always felt like an outsider. Growing up in a small town where her mom’s pagan practices are the stuff of local gossip, she’s spent her whole life trying to be normal. On her 15th birthday, Brigit makes the same wish she always has—to just fit in. But the universe has other plans.
Instead, Brigit discovers she’s descended from a legendary Celtic tribe—guardians of Ireland’s mystical stone circles. A spellbound book reveals her astonishing family history and the incredible abilities of her ancestors—powers she’ll inherit if she chooses to embrace them.
When an ancient evil resurfaces, threatening her family’s legacy, Brigit is forced to quickly make this impossible decision. Will she accept her magical heritage and fight to protect it? Or reject it to live the “normal” life she’s always wanted?
This thrilling mix of magic, self-discovery, and Irish mythology will captivate fans of coming-of-age stories with a mystical twist. Lovers of ancient legends, enchanted stone circles, and family secrets will be drawn to Brigit’s journey into a world where her true power could be her greatest strength… or her downfall.
My Thoughts
First in a series of four books, Beltany introduces readers to an unusual and appealing clan of magical women. The author skillfully develops the ancient story of the Quinn women through the powerful coming-of-age time of Bridget.
The coming of age of a young woman possessed of powerful magic isn’t new to fans of fantasy and folklore, but Biel does a wonderful job of blending modern teenage life with ancient tradition. Bridget acts like a regular teen while she begins to unravel the mystery of her family. She’s a bit of a brat, but Biel spins a captivating story that shows us how Bridget grows, learns, and matures into her power. Biel writes a compelling narrative about mothers and daughters, which is an added layer to the book.
Beltany is a powerful beginning to an un-put-downable series that will appeal to fans of fantasy, romantasy, and historical fiction with a fantasy bent. The family dynamics here set the stage for the next books in the series, which I devoured over the course of a few days. Watch for those posts later in December.
Author Bio
Valerie Biel writes award-winning books for middle grade to adult audiences–stories inspired by her travels and her insatiable curiosity. Her young adult fantasy series, Circle of Nine, was inspired by the myth and magic of Ireland’s ancient stone circles. She’s also the author of HAVEN, a contemporary middle grade novel, and BEYOND THE CEMETERY GATE, a mystery suspense story. She’s a founding member of the Blackbird Writers & a member of Sisters in Crime & the Wisconsin Writers Association. When she’s away from the computer, she’s likely wrangling her overgrown garden, reading multiple books per week, or traveling the world–often on trips for the The World Orphan Fund charity she and her husband run. She calls a (tiny) portion of her family’s century-old Wisconsin farm home, but regularly dreams of finding a cozy cottage on the Irish coast where she can write and write.
“This was a truly beautiful read. Valerie Biel has a captivating, almost lyrical quality to her work that helps the flow and the smoothness of the piece wonderfully. You can just feel the words slide along as you read and it’s a remarkable experience. I enjoyed her storytelling as much as I enjoyed the characters and the plot! Circle of Nine: Beltany is a wonderful blend of present and past, mixed with a healthy dose of Celtic mythology to captivate the brainiacs among us.” ~ FIVE STARS from Readers’ Favorite for CIRCLE OF NINE: BELTANY
It’s Christmas. It’s cozy. It’s culinary. It’s chaos! It’s the fourth book in this fabulous mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Ellen Byron.
Description
Have yourself a merry little . . . murder?
Ricki James-Diaz gets the best present ever when her parents arrive in New Orleans for the holidays. Not only is it a chance to catch up, it’s also an opportunity to jog her mom Josepha’s memory about Ricki’s adoption. The details have always been shrouded in mystery, and Ricki understands why when she learns her mother was blackmailed for years, simply for not wanting to lose her precious daughter.
But digging into the past soon lands the James-Diaz clan in water hotter than a big pot of gumbo! When the woman who extorted Ricki’s mom is found dead at her home, Josepha becomes the primary suspect. Now Ricki has another murder to solve, and tracking down a killer in Crescent City is going to take a miracle.
Luckily, ‘tis the season! And Ricki has all the staff at the Bon Vee Culinary House Museum on hand to help. Can she prove her mother’s innocence and have the case wrapped up in time for Christmas?
My Thoughts
I’ve read past entries in Byron’s Vintage Cookbook Mystery series so had a pretty good idea of what to expect. I found exactly that with a delightfully presented cozy mystery that includes Christmastime in New Orleans, preparations for Mardi Gras Krewes, lots of delicious food, and of course a whole raft of human shenanigans!
This is one of the cozy series I return to again and again and recommend to other readers constantly. The story is fun as well as suspenseful, with characters who pop off the page. If you have any familiarity with the New Orleans food scene, you’ll recognize some familiar characters who may or may not be based on real people.
Byron is equally skilled at narrative description and dialog, setting scenes that build tension up to the final, white-knuckle final scene. That said, there’s a lot going on here – Ricki’s adoption, Josepha’s extortion, Phyllis’ murder, Olivia’s Krewe Queen situation, Patrick’s temper and mysterious disappearances, and, finally, Mr. Bongle’s thefts. While it’s a lot to keep track of, I found that all of the varied plot lines made me feel that nerve-jangling feeling you get when the holidays are coming and you are NOT ready. If the author intended that, she 100% succeeded!
As I said earlier, this is a series I keep recommending and will continue to do so. It’s fun, clever, and very well-written. While part of a series, this can be read on its own.
Author Bio
Ellen Byron is a USA Today bestselling author and recipient of multiple Agatha (Best Contemporary Novel) and Lefty (Best Humorous Mystery) awards for her Cajun Country Mysteries (published by Crooked Lane), Vintage Cookbook Mysteries (Berkley and Severn House), Catering Hall Mysteries (Kensington, as Maria DiRico) and Golden Motel Mysteries (Kensington). She is also an Anthony Award nominee and an award-winning playwright.
Byron spent twenty-five years writing TV hits like Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly OddParents, plus pilots for all the major networks, before segueing into writing humorous mysteries. She blogs with Chicks on the Case, is a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of America, and serves on the national board of Mystery Writers of America. But she’ll always consider her most impressive achievement working as a cater-waiter for the iconic Martha Stewart.
A native New Yorker, Byron is a graduate of Tulane University and lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, daughter, and a rotating crew of rescue pups.
Book Details
Genre: Culinary Cozy Mystery Published by: Severn House Publication Date: November 4, 2025 Number of Pages: 240 (HC) ISBN: 9781448313181 (ISBN10: 144831318X) (HC) Series: A Vintage Cookbook Mystery, 4
An abandoned estate encased in stagnant darkness . . . A haunting legacy intent on silencing all within reach . . .
In 1890, the ominous tolling of the bell announces that death has come to Traeger Hall, leaving orphaned Waverly Pembrooke to piece together the puzzle behind her uncle’s and aunt’s murders. Bound by the terms of her uncle’s eccentric will, Waverly finds herself alone in a manor shrouded by death and questioning the reasons for her uncle’s paranoia. A madness hovers over Traeger Hall, and Waverly–as well as the people of nearby Newton Creek–are ill-prepared for the woe that has descended.
In present day Newton Creek, whispers of a family curse still cling to the century-old, abandoned property of Traeger Hall. When Jennie Phillips takes possession of the estate after her mother’s passing, she is intent on solving the mystery of the Traeger murders. Yet a modern cold case suggests that untimely deaths and mysterious occurrences still plague the property. And as thorny truths surface, Jennie realizes the dark legacy threatens not only the town and the Traeger descendants . . . but also, chillingly, Jennie herself.
My Thoughts
From the first page, I was transported back to my teenage reading years when I devoured gothic romance novels by Barbara Michaels, Phyllis Whitney, Velda Johnston, and many others. Jaime Jo Wright successfully updates all the tropes from those earlier books and delivers a fresh, well-plotted mystery that spans two lifetimes.
I’ve read Wright’s earlier books and enjoyed them very much, but she rises to a new level here. The character development is remarkable, considering Waverly’s story takes place over just a few days. In that short time, Wright creates a character who grows from a sheltered, confused child to a resourceful, determined woman almost overnight.
Our present day protagonist, Jennie, dives into the mystery at Traeger Hall full force and discovers answers and (yes!) a treasure hidden for over a century. She drives this story forward as she untangles all the threads related to the Hall.
Through it all is the Bell (and I capitalize it because it seemed like another character in the story!). Bells were used in past centuries to announce major events like marriages, births, death, and danger. Wright uses the imagery beautifully in both centuries.
Fans of gothic mysteries will burn through this one in a few hours, it’s that good.
Author Bio
Jaime Jo Wright is the author of thirteen novels, including Christy Award-winner and ECPA bestseller The Vanishing at Castle Moreau, Christy Award and Daphne du Maurier Award-winner The House on Foster Hill, and Carol Award-winner The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond. Jaime has also written two Publishers Weekly bestselling novellas. She lives in Wisconsin with her family and fabulous felines.
Book Details
Genre: Dual Timeline Gothic Suspense Published by: Bethany House Publishers Publication Date: October 21, 2025 Number of Pages: 336 ISBN: 9780764243806, paperback
Emily Grace has endured the worst loss imaginable. But can she survive a remote manor haunted by more than just memories . . .?
Drowning in grief, Emily Grace has lost everything: her home, her friends, her career. Only one lifeline remains—a job working for an eccentric millionaire. Along with his wife, he’s been building a mansion on a secluded island surrounded by a harsh and unforgiving sea. But when the wife disappears under mysterious circumstances, Emily Grace is hired to finish the project.
Locals believe the house is cursed, but their warnings go unheeded as Emily Grace works to rebuild her life. After what she’s been through, nothing can scare her—except perhaps the attention of a handsome man offering more than friendship. And yet, there’s something strange about this solitary fortress. Accidents. Mishaps. Ghostly whispers through the surrounding forest, footsteps when she’s completely alone . . .
Is there truly a curse or is the ethereal specter in the window an omen of something more sinister?
This spooky standalone from phenomenal crime author Elena Taylor will have readers sleeping with the light on for weeks! With vibes of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, fans of Riley Sager and thrillers with light horror elements will love The Haunting of Emily Grace!
My Thoughts
I adore an atmospheric, spooky, well-plotted mystery read on a stormy night and Elena Taylor delivered that in spades with this one! From the first page to the last, I was turning pages late into the night just to find out what happened next.
The character development, particularly the reveal of Emily Grace’s personal tragedy, is paced beautifully and enhances the overall storyline of the missing wife and mysterious incidents on the island.
I was constantly questioning who Emily Grace should trust, what she should or shouldn’t do. The author strings you along, offering bits and pieces of hints, through to a powerful conclusion.
I had some Paula Hawkins vibes throughout, and fans of atmospheric, haunting mysteries will throughly enjoy this one.
Author Bio
Elena Taylor spent several years working in theater as a playwright, director, designer, and educator before turning her storytelling skills to novels. Her first series, the Eddie Shoes Mysteries, written under Elena Hartwell, introduced a quirky mother/daughter crime fighting duo.
With the Sheriff Bet Rivers Mysteries, Elena returned to her dramatic roots to bring readers more serious and atmospheric novels. Located in her beloved Washington State, Elena uses her connection to the environment to produce tense and suspenseful investigations for a lone sheriff in an isolated community. The third in the series, Kill to Keep, launches summer 2026.
The Haunting of Emily Grace is Elena’s first standalone suspense novel.
Her favorite place to be is at Paradise, the property she lives on south of Spokane, Washington, with her equines, dogs, cats, and hubby.
Book Details
Genre: Suspense with a touch of light paranormal/horror Published by: Severn House Publication Date: November 4, 2025 Number of Pages: 288 pages, Hardcover ISBN: 9781448317370 (ISBN10: 1448317371), Hardcover
Try as she might, anthropologist Marcella Gibbons can’t escape the fact that she’s a dimidium, one half of a formidable pair of Magicians, forever tied together to enable the other’s powers. After a tumultuous final year at Seinford and Brown College of Agriculture (and Magic) in rural New Mexico, Cella felt more than a little uneasy about returning to the sun-drenched desert campus ever again. She’d cut ties with her other half—the charming and rugged rancher Max Middlemore—and sworn off Magic, academia, and heartache for good.
Until Max turns up at her door, grinning under his cowboy hat for one last favor. Something is shifting at her alma mater, something bigger than anyone understands. One student is dead. Another is floating midair in the infirmary, growling guttural nonsense and terrifying the staff. Their best, perhaps only, chance to intervene requires Cella and Max to work together. But the origins of the disturbances lie centuries ago. To unravel them, Cella will have to confront the truth about her past—and Max. Because she might be challenging a power she could never rival alone.
My Thoughts
As I read the first chapter, I found myself thinking “oh, this is another magic school derivative. Boring.” That notion, however, was immediately removed from my mind when I got to The Girl chapter. That scene made me sit up and take notice that THIS book was something different. To be sure, there are traces of other dark academia books throughout, but this story is something special. I was especially taken with the unexpected direction of the cult at the end.
I love the concept of dimidiums – two people whose magic can only work through each other – and Cella and Max are a prickly pairing. I often find a magical book based on solid world-building and a great magic system works best and O’Sullivan has done some of the best of that I’ve seen in recent years. The writing is hip and witty, but also quite emotional at times, and some of the characters pop off the page.
While a bit slow to start, fans of magical worlds and magicians will thoroughly enjoy this one.
For readers of Adrienne Young, Olivie Blake, Erin Sterling, Hazel Beck, and Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House, a spellbinding debut about ambition, privilege, second chance romance, and ancient magic set at an enchanted school tucked among the red mesas of rural New Mexico, where a formidable pair of magicians are summoned to pursue an alleged killer.
*A Publishers Marketplace BUZZ BOOKS Selection*
Publication Date: October 28, 2025 Published By: Kensington Publishing Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy
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