New releases for reading week
Amanpreet Kaur, Contributor
The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards
Cover of The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards. Photo courtesy of Goodreads
The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards is for all the true crime, thriller, and mystery lovers. Released on Sept. 16, the book kept me engaged by dropping clever hints and subtle clues, which made me feel as though I was the narrator trying to make sense of the situation.
Set in 1999, the book follows six students of a psychology professor who are trying to make a dating website. However, things do not turn out as planned at the website launch, sending everyone their separate ways, with questions left unanswered.
The real mystery, however, starts to unfold in 2024, when they meet for dinner after the death of their professor. While they had left with unanswered questions, they are now back together years later with even more baggage. Soon, their different personalities start to surface when the dinner turns into a trap with a house of locked doors, no cell service, and a stranger amongst the friends.
This 336 page book has a slow start to build the story, all for an ending full of twists and turns, with strange things happening to all six friends. The book has continued to receive appreciation online and is currently rated ‘4 star’ on Goodreads —I do not know about the killer, so let’s read this psycho-thriller.
The Gingerbread Bakery by Laurie Gilmore
Cover of The Gingerbread Bakery by Laurie Gilmore.
Photo courtesy of Goodreads
The Gingerbread Bakery by Laurie Gilmore was released on Sept. 11 and is here to start the festive season with witty banter in a small town and some wedding planning. I know we all enjoy a good rom-com and I am always hooked when it is an enemies-to-lovers book. It is the fifth book in the Dream Harbor series, but it could also be read as a standalone.
Dream Harbor is a small town that works its magic on people—I know, it is giving Gilmore Girls with the writer being a real Gilmore. The story follows Annie, the owner of Gingerbread Bakery, and Mac, the owner of the local pub. With a wedding right around the corner, the whole town gets involved to help the couple, including Mac and Annie.
The saying ‘everyone knows everyone in a small town’ is befitting for this story, as the main characters come with a long shared history. While Mac returned to town three years ago, Annie has been avoiding him all these years —at least until they go on a mission to find the groom’s missing grandmother.
Past feelings and memories come into play, with the story going back and forth between past and present. The book has great reviews on Goodreads, with 109 thousand people adding it to their ‘To Be Read’ list—it is time to give the brain some rest and pick up this book for the best.
Heart the Lover by Lily King
Cover of Heart the Lover by Lily King. Photo courtesy
of Goodreads
With the start of the new school year, we are all looking forward to a fresh start. Set to release on Sept. 30, Heart the Lover by Lily King is a literary fiction novel about friendship, love, forgiveness, and grief.
The narrator, Jordan, meets her two best friends, Sam and Yash, in the senior year of college. Soon, they develop a close friendship around a shared love of literature and reading. By graduation, however, Jordan finds herself in a love triangle as friendships turn to love, which changes the trajectory of her life.
The story then jumps to Jordan years later, middle aged with a successful writing career, having left all the decisions she had made in vulnerable times behind her. Nonetheless, her life takes a u-turn, bringing her back to the college world she once left behind, and the results of her decisions made decades ago.
The book has not been released at this time, so I am excited to know what decisions she makes and how she deals with the aftermath. I believe the story has a lot to teach, imparting important lessons on how all decisions have consequences, even if we make them when we are young— this book will come into play, so I hope you do not scroll away.
Hazelthorn by CG Drews
Cover of Hazelthorn by CG Drews. Photo courtesy of
Goodreads
The description of Hazelthorn by CG Drews drew me in when I started looking for a spooky book for this Halloween. This highly anticipated YA horror and queer romance novel is expected to be released on Oct. 28, with compelling themes of botanical horror, fantasy, and murder mystery.
“Seven years ago, Laurence Lennox-Hall tried to kill him in the garden, down amongst the roses. But somehow, Evander is still obsessed with him,” wrote Drews, giving a glimpse of the relationship dynamics to come.
When a billionaire named Byron adopts Evander after the death of his parents, Byron locks him in his gothic mansion with three rules: he is not allowed to go outside the estate, he is not allowed in the garden, and he is not allowed to go near Laurie, Byron’s grandson.
After Byron’s sudden death, the Hazelthorn property with its gothic mansion and looming botanical gardens are left to Evander. Now, the overgrowing garden is beginning to overtake the mansion, as do a number of the unexpected relatives coming to claim the estate. When it comes to their survival, Evander and Laurie must come together to stop the supernatural forces and greedy relatives that threaten to destroy their home.
A perfect Halloween read for you and all the 58 thousand people who are anticipating the release of this already ‘4.66’ star book on Goodreads—while waiting for this book all I can say is: how long is this going to take?
