The Books I'm Reading Now
I'm listening to the first in Hafsah Faizal's Blood and Tea series, A Tempest of Tea, in which our main protagonist runs a tea room by day and a vampires' bloodhouse by night--until her livelihood and power are threatened by dark forces; I'm reading Peter Heller's upcoming wilderness adventure, Burn, which is set in Maine against a destructive attempt at secession; and I'm reading Tell Me Everything, Elizabeth Strout's upcoming novel (also set in Maine!) in which a terrible crime brings together beloved Strout characters Lucy Barton, Bob Burgess, and even Olive Kitteridge.
What are you reading these days, bookworms?
01 Burn by Peter Heller
Jess and Storey are childhood friends who spend their summer adventures exploring striking, remote areas of the U.S.
This summer they head to Maine to camp, fish, and hike. Maine, like other states across the country, has been swept by a secession movement, but Jess and Storey assume the conflicts and political upheaval won't touch them out in the wild, and they figure that the charged friction might even die down while they're in the woods.
After weeks in the wild, they're shocked to come upon a town that's been blown apart. The bridge has burned, cars along the road are black and smoking, and shells of buildings teeter.
The friends soon realize that conflicting political ideologies have led to this horror here and elsewhere in the country--and that they must use their wilderness expertise and dodge armed men (militia or U.S. military; they're unsure) in order to make it out to safety.
I'm reading Burn courtesy of Knopf and NetGalley.
Heller is also the author of The Last Ranger, The Guide, The River, and The Painter, as well as the stellar novel The Dog Stars.
02 Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
In small town Crosby, Maine, acclaimed writer Lucy Barton and attorney Bob Burgess walk and talk about everything under the sun--their pasts, their missteps, what they wonder about, and their dreams.
Bob is defending a man accused of a terrible crime: killing his mother. He and Lucy explore the complexities of a life, revealing more and more about their own inner selves.
The story includes a cameo by Olive Kitteridge!
I'm reading Tell Me Everything courtesy of Random House and NetGalley.
Click here to check out my reviews of Strout's Lucy by the Sea, Anything Is Possible, Olive, Again, My Name Is Lucy Barton, and Oh William! Elizabeth Strout is also the author of Olive Kitteridge.
03 A Tempest of Tea: Blood and Tea #1 by Hafsah Faizal
In the first book of Hafsah Faizal's Blood and Tea series, A Tempest of Tea, Arthie Casimir collects secrets--and by doing so, amasses enough power to become a criminal mastermind, exerting her influence within the city's dark underbelly.
Her exclusive tea room becomes a posh hangout for vampires each night, but when her bloodhouse is threatened, she must work with one of her enemies in order to protect her livelihood and power.
She helps plot to infiltrate the Athereum, an exclusive vampire society, but complex, dark conspiracies threaten to upend all of her plans, endangering Arthie and everyone aligned with her.
I'm listening to A Tempest of Tea as an audiobook. Hafsah Faizal is also the author of We Hunt the Flame.
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