Welcome to Book Beat!
Book Beat aims to highlight other books that we may hear about through friends, social media, or other sources. We could see a gorgeous ad! Or find a new-to-us author on a list of underrated romances! Think of Book Beat as Teen Beat or Tiger Beat, but for books. And no staples to open to get the fold-out poster.
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Elder God Dance Squad
Author: Carrie Harris
Released: September 14, 2021 by Inked Entertainment
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young AdultWhen the escapades of Audrey Labadie’s cheating boyfriend take center stage during a show rehearsal, she up and leaves her beloved theater group to avoid the humiliation. Finding refuge in her high school’s dance squad, she believes the drama is behind her. Until the earthquake.
Audrey’s dreams become plagued with creepy tentacle creatures crawling out of a sinkhole underneath her school in the aftermath of the seemingly unnatural natural disaster. Dreams that soon become a horrific reality for her and her new teammates.
Faced with an ancient evil intent on taking over their small town, Audrey and her ragtag group of friends are the only ones dancing in their way. Every dance squad has its rivals, but she didn’t expect them to have gills.
Elder God Dance Squad is a perfect literary storm where Stranger Things and Bring It On collide into a dark and hilarious genre mash-up of epic proportion.
I forgot how this came across my eyeballs, but the title really tickles me.
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I’ll Come Back for You
Author: Charish Reid
Released: March 24, 2022 by Charish Reid
Genre: Paranormal, RomanceWhen a hurricane destroys Whitney Beck’s chances to run a Miami resort, a bed and breakfast inheritance from her eccentric grandmother saves her and her sister, Helen. Unfortunately, within months, the Beck sisters run into paranormal problems: missing objects and bumps in the night. Helen reaches out to her favorite ghost-hunting show for help, but Whitney can only feel dread. Her high school crush is the lead camera operator for Ghost Punters. And after years of missed chances, she doesn’t want to meet him again under these circumstances.
Reality television has helped Deon Grant carve a path toward his dream of directing films, but he feels guilty about the fake stunts along the way. His crew uses cheap parlor tricks to create good TV but those methods won’t work at the Bordeaux B&B. While battling an actual ghost, Deon gets to know Whitney again. She’s different from the girl he knew years ago, but their bond is still powerful enough to reveal his true feelings.
The past doesn’t stay in the past, and the dead don’t stay dead.
Whitney will have to confront her trauma and family secrets before she can succeed in business or love. Deon will have to slow down and finally see the truth standing before him: Ghosts are real, and so is his love for Whitney.I’m on board for any romances that involve ghosts!
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Marrying the Ketchups
Author: Jennifer Close
Released: April 26, 2022 by Knopf
Genre: Chick Lit, Literary FictionAn irresistible comedy of manners about three generations of a Chicago restaurant family and the deep-fried, beer-battered, cream cheese-frosted love that feeds them all–from the best-selling author of Girls in White Dresses
Here are the three things the Sullivan family knows to be true: the Chicago Cubs will always be the underdogs; historical progress is inevitable; and their grandfather, Bud, founder of JP Sullivan’s, will always make the best burgers in Oak Park. But when, over the course of three strange months, the Cubs win the World Series, Trump is elected president, and Bud drops dead, suddenly everyone in the family finds themselves doubting all they hold dear.
Take Gretchen for example, lead singer for a ’90s cover band who has been flirting with fame for a decade but is beginning to wonder if she’s too old to be chasing a childish dream. Or Jane, Gretchen’s older sister, who is starting to suspect that her fitness-obsessed husband who hides the screen of his phone isn’t always “working late.” And then there’s Teddy, their steadfast, unfailingly good cousin, nursing heartbreak and confusion because the guy who dumped him keeps showing up for lunch at JP Sullivan’s where Teddy is the manager. How can any of them be expected to make the right decisions when the world feels sideways–and the bartender at JP Sullivan’s makes such strong cocktails?
Outrageously funny and wickedly astute, Marrying the Ketchups is a delicious confection by one of our most beloved authors.
Sarah posted about this one in the Slack. The generational and foodie elements may appeal to some of you, especially with the Chicago setting.
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The Sol Majestic
Author: Ferrett Steinmetz
Released: June 11, 2019 by Tor Books
Genre: LGBTQIA, Science Fiction/FantasyThe Sol Majestic is a big-hearted intergalactic adventure for fans of Becky Chambers and The Good Place
Kenna, an aspirational teen guru, wanders destitute across the stars as he tries to achieve his parents’ ambition to advise the celestial elite.
Everything changes when Kenna wins a free dinner at The Sol Majestic, the galaxy’s most renown restaurant, giving him access to the cosmos’s one-percent. His dream is jeopardized, however, when he learns his highly-publicized “free meal” risks putting The Sol Majestic into financial ruin. Kenna and a motley gang of newfound friends — including a teleporting celebrity chef, a trust-fund adrenaline junkie, an inept apprentice, and a brilliant mistress of disguise — must concoct an extravagant scheme to save everything they cherish. In doing so, Kenna may sacrifice his ideals — or learn even greater lessons about wisdom, friendship, and love.
Utterly charming and out of this world, The Sol Majestic is will satisfy the appetites of sci-fi aficionados and newcomers alike.
This one popped up on my Goodreads and I noticed it had comparisons to Becky Chambers, who is a favorite around here.
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I one-clicked that Charish Reid. I am very here for “of course TV is fake, oh crap this is real,” and the first page shares my “don’t invite that in here” philosophy.
I’m ready for a good ghost story. The Cherish Reid has been one clicked.
While I haven’t read it yet (it’s on hold), I was blown away by the blurb for THE CYBERNETIC TEA SHOP by Meredith Katz:
A F/F retro-future sci-fi asexual romance. A story about artificial intelligence and real kindness, about love, and the feeling of watching steam rising softly from a teacup on a bright and quiet morning.
One at sale of Michelle Diener’s Regency romance. The Emperor’s Conspiracy, is currently free on Kindle until May 21st.
The Emperor’s Conspiracy is part of my Regency London series. Each book stands alone, although there are overlapping characters, and each is based on a real historical event.
The Emperor’s Conspiracy is set in London, and takes readers from glittering ballrooms to the seedy underbelly of London’s slums, as a young woman, rescued from the streets and now living among the ton, is drawn back into her old world in order to foil a plot conceived by Napoleon himself.
That Charish Reid book sounds great. Also I love that cover. So getting that!
Elder God Dance Squad is giving me vibes from Seanan McGuire’s “Dying With Her Cheer Pants On,” which I quite enjoyed.
Quick follow-up to my earlier post. Just finished THE CYBERNETIC TEA SHOP. It’s a novella, hence the quick read, but for anyone dealing with grief and an unknown or unknowable future, it’s absolutely spectacular. Off to one-click it.
@Qualisign, I also enjoyed THE CYBERNETIC TEA SHOP.
I started The Sol Majestic a couple of years ago but put it aside as it was not speaking to me.
Good heavens, I’ve added every single book here to my wish list/library holds. And Amazon is offering me $6 for spending $25. Well played, SBTB. I am powerless to resist.