Zilot - Bob Odenkirk (Author) & Erin Odenkirk (Illustrator) - Top Book Pick!

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Zilot - Bob Odenkirk (Author) & Erin Odenkirk (Illustrator) - Top Book Pick!

Children’s Poetry

Rating: 9/10

Attention Bob Odenkirk Fans!! Hang on tight. I’m about to say it. It’s coming out of my mouth, there is going to be a written record of it. Seuss has been bested! If I didn’t have reason to adore actor Bob Odenkirk before, this charming and delightful collection of poems for children would be more than reason enough! Add in his daughter Erin Odenkirk’s delightful artwork and this is simply a joy for readers of all ages!

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Tell Me A Story...

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Embracing The Fantasy Genre…

Fairy Tale - Stephen King

The Carnivale of Curiosities - Amiee Gibbs

Tainted Cup - Robert Jackson Bennett

Hidden Life Of Cecily Larson - Ellen Baker

Book Of Love - Kelly Link

Assistant To The Villian - Hannah Nicole Maehrer

A Tempest Of Tea - Hafsah Faizal

Cascade Failure - L.M. Sagas

Swordcatcher - Cassandra Clare

Divine Rivals - Rebecca Ross

Cinder - Marissa Meyer

One Dark Window – Rachel Gillig

These Violent Delights – Chloe Gong

Evocation - S.T. Gibson

How To Become A Dark Lord & Die Trying - Django Wexler

These Dead Prophecies - Andrea Tang

Cursed - Marissa Meyer

Swordcatcher - Cassandra Clare

The Bone Season – Samantha Shannon

Women Writing Women...

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Spend Time With These Women Of Substance…

Iron Wing - Rebecca Yarros

What Wild Women Do - Karma Brown

Good Material - Dolly Alderton

Yellowface - R.F. Kuang

Bright Young Women - Jessica Knoll

Do Tell - Lindsay Lynch

The Fortune Seller - Rachel Kalelke-Dale

Best Way To Bury Your Husband - Alexie Casale

Listen For The Lie - Amy Tintera

My Lover's Lover - Maggie O'Farrell

Anita De Monte Laughs Last - Xochiti Gonzalez

The Me List - Julee Balko

I'm A Fan - Sheena Patel

Frozen River - Ariel Lawhon

The Vaster Wilds - Lauren Groff

Woman Of Good Fortune - Sophie Wan

I Have Some Questions For You - Rebecca Makkai

Rouge - Mona Awad

The Women - Kristin Hannah

Books For The Bookish...

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What More Could A Reader Ask For…

Book of Doors - Gareth Brown

Secret Lives Of Booksellers & Libarian - James Patterson

Craft: Stories I Wrote For The Devil - Ananda Lima

Babel - R.F. Kuang

No Two Persons - Erica Bauermeister

The Storied Life Of A. J. Fikry - Gabrielle Zevin

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore - Robin Sloan

End Of Story - A.J. Finn

Liar's Dictionary-Ellery Williams

The Borrower - Rebecca Makkai

Blank - Zibby Owens

Door To Door Bookstore - Carsten Henn

The Book Eaters - Sunyi Dean

The Girl Who Reads On The Metro - Christine Feret-Fleury

The Dictionary Of Lost Words - Pip Williams

The Wishing Game - Meg Shaffer

Lexicon - Max Barry

Ink Blood Sister Scribe - Emma Torzs

The Woman In The Library - Sulari Gentill

for more, check out this feature!

The Book Case

The Confession - Charlotte Bigland

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The Confession - Charlotte Bigland

Thriller

Rating: 8.5/10

Elizabeth is not making good choices. Someone knows that she is killing people. And for reasons she can’t begin to fathom, other people are confessing to her crimes. All of them. Every time. She knows that she will eventually have to face the consequences of her actions. Punishment may have been delayed by these inexplicable admissions of guilt, but it’s coming for her. Disquieting and diabolical. I dare you to look away.

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Argylle - Elly Conway

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Argylle - Elly Conway

Spy Thriller

Rating: 8/10

A Russian magnate who has set his dead eyed sights on ruling the nation goes to diabolical lengths to restore to his homeland a priceless artifact thought to be the eighth wonder of the world. A woman, one of the CIA’s most revered and brilliant spymasters is the only one that can prevent him from achieving the pinnacle of power. Full of intrigue, clandestine missions, and fast paced action, this is a great read whether you are a fan of spy novels or not. You will not be disappointed.

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The Mystery Guest - Nita Prose - Top Book Pick!

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The Mystery Guest - Nita Prose - Top Book Pick!

Mystery

Rating: 8/10

Molly has a new mess to clean up. A situation if you will. A problem of epic proportions with limited solutions. A colossal catastrophe. A famous author has dropped dead on the tearoom floor of the hotel in which she was recently promoted to head maid. Before he had a chance to make his big announcement. In one moment, the words “I’ve been keeping a secret” are uttered and in the next, he is a goner. Not to worry, our charming Molly is on the case!

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The Mystery Writer - Sulari Gentill - Top Book Pick!

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The Mystery Writer - Sulari Gentill - Top Book Pick!

Mystery

Rating: 8.5/10

When Theo shows up on her big brother’s doorstep with an abandoned life plan and an unfinished novel in hand, she never expects to be drawn into a hidden literary world. One in which identity is something that can be obscured and remade for the sake of a reader. Or stolen might be a better way to put it. I loved the portrayal of writing and publishing as something murky and even murderous on its path to success. So juicy!

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The Spider - Lars Kepler

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The Spider - Lars Kepler

Thriller

Rating: 8/10

When a decomposing body is discovered alongside a white bullet casing, the police begin to receive complex riddles from the killer, taunting them with opportunities to stop future planned murders. One down, eight to go. With the unrelenting game of cat and mouse afoot, a sense of desperation pervades the book, ensuring an outstanding read. One not for the faint of heart.

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Mother Daughter Murder Night - Nina Simon

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Mother Daughter Murder Night - Nina Simon

Mystery

Rating: 7/10

Teenager Jack becomes a suspect when she discovers a body floating in the river she spends all her free time on. Her grandmother, whose living with her and her mom while she battles cancer, resolves to ferret out the real killer. And absolutely nothing, and no one, will dissuade her. Do not mistake granny for anybody’s push over, she is a force to be reckoned with.

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Noir Novels...

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No Happy Endings Here…

Noir fiction offers an alternate reality, one rife with vice, temptation, corruption, and deep-seated desperation. At its best, noir is a roadmap to the subversive. It is where the clarity of moral division disintegrates, where the black and white blur into gray. Where flawed characters are revered, and the truth wielded with blunt force. These novels are not for the faint of heart or those looking for a happy ending. Or even a satisfying one. If you like your prose gritty, your verbs punchy, your settings darkly lit, your plots twisty and unpredictable, and your protagonists utterly, irrevocably doomed…here we go.

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Titanium Noir - Nick Harkaway - Top Book Pick!

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Titanium Noir - Nick Harkaway - Top Book Pick!

Sci-Fi/Noir

Rating: 8.5/10

Cal is a detective working with the police on certain, shall we say, sensitive cases. Think of him as a fixer. When he’s called in to investigate a homicide, at first, he thinks it’s a mistake. That it’s just a run of the mill murder and not one that involves a Titan. Society’s richest, most powerful, medically enhanced and genetically altered elites. The world the author plops us into is shadowy and visceral, the plotting impeccable and the characters gleefully immoral. In other words, fun!

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Literary Sleuths & Such...

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“Just One More Thing”…

I have wonderful memories of watching television mysteries with my mom. Sunday nights were must-see TV, hobnobbing with Jessica Fletcher as she ambled into yet another murder in her quaint hometown. Thursdays were all about Columbo, our eyes were riveted to the boob tube in stupefied fascination as the seemingly bumbling detective laid it all out. The chagrin of the dastardly culprits as they were unmasked by either of these genius sleuths was priceless. Is it any surprise that love translated to books? Enjoy a read that celebrate sleuths of all kinds!

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5 Year's Worth Of Books & Reading...

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5 Top Book Picks Across 5 Fav Genres Over 5 Years…

September 7th, 2023 will mark the 5th Anniversary of Cracking The Spine.

Over these years I have shared an abundance of content with my readers. Profiling 1,500+ books through innovative and in-depth features as well as reviews of the books I have read during this time. To honor this moment of celebration, I will share my five-fav reads in the last five years under each of my five-fav genres.

I hope you have found as much joy in my bookish wanderings as I have in sharing them! More to come…

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An Exploration Of Science Fiction...

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Pull Of The Stars…

For as long as most of us have been alive, we have looked up at the stars and dreamed of the remarkable. Visions of sprawling and distant worlds, parallel universes, artificial intelligence, unearthly creatures, and concepts we would be hard pressed to put a name to have tumbled through our minds. Recent offerings in the genre are limitless, bringing to the page the fantastical as well as the futuristic. Fans are ravenous and the last few years have offered up an unprecedented level of satiation for that hunger.

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A Wonderland Of Fantasy Fiction...

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Tell Me A Story…

At the very least, books are meant to ignite our imagination.  That spark, when given full reign is arguably the most transformative and revelatory capacity we as humans have access to. And no genre wields this influence more fully than Fantasy. Authors in this category regard a sheet of paper empty of words as a blank canvas on which to paint unfathomable universes. So reader, allow me to lead you into the language of dreams.

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Books Set In A Circus Or Carnival

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A Backstage Pass To A World Of Wonders…

There's one fantasy that doesn't get old even as we do: running away with the circus. Escaping to a place where you can inhale the mouthwatering scent of cotton candy and fresh popcorn, behold dazzling lights that turn night into day, be held captive by impossible feats of magic, and surrender yourself to a place of vast spectacle. Bring a spark of extraordinary into your everyday life with these incredible books that will sweep you away to the dark and glamourous world of carnivals and circuses, where nothing is as it seems. A setting ripe for literature as any I can imagine.

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A Very Inconvenient Scandal - Jacquelyn Mitchard

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A Very Inconvenient Scandal - Jacquelyn Mitchard

Fiction

Rating: 7.5/10

This author crafts stories that are as heartwarming as they are heartbreaking, expertly guiding us through the complexities that emerge within families. Her latest packs an emotional punch, delivering a page turning family drama that explores the consequences of loyalty, deception, jealousy, scandal, and fraught family dynamics. And the big secret that the scandal in the title is referring too, its a doozy!

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