For the Love of the ARC: I have been very blessed to get approval on some ARCs (Advanced Reader Copy). Thanks to Netgalley.com, I received all the books on this list. These books will be some of my upcoming reads. My Netgalley score is currently 72% , and I want it to be back to 80% by May.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix tells the story of a home for unwed mothers. These mothers are hidden away to have babies in secret. The house is in Florida and is called the Wellwood Home. The girl’s everyday life is controlled until one gets hold of a book of witchcraft.  Then the girls feel power for the first time in their lives, but at what cost? I’ve read two of Grady Hendrix’s books. I enjoyed The Final Girls Support Group and liked My Best Friend’s Exorcism. I am looking forward to Witchcraft for Wayward Girls which is published on January 14, 2025. I’m going to try to sneak this book in before the due date.

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson is about a young sister Ebby. She hears a gunshot and finds her brother Baz dead. He is surrounded by a centuries-old jar of dirt. The crime was never solved despite heavy media coverage. 18 years later, Ebby is an adult. She flees to France. Old ghosts haunt her there. She learns about the broken pottery found with her dead brother. Good Dirt is from the same author of Black Cake. I enjoyed Black Cake and it was in my top ten of 2022. Good Dirt is published on January 28th.

Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel is a debut horror novel.  A sister 25 has to raise her younger brother. She keeps having nightmares about her failing as a sister and her brother dying. When her brother gets in trouble at a protest and needs to go into hiding. They rent a cabin in the woods and things in the nightmares start coming true. This book is getting a lot of buzz can’t wait to read it. Listen to Your Sister will be published on February 4, 2025.

All Better Now by Neal Shusterman is about a deadly disease that kills one in four people. But if you survive the disease it cures stress, depression, greed, and any other negative thoughts. Some are spreading the disease because they see it helping people. The medical community is trying to stop the disease because it is killing people at alarming rates. I love Shusterman’s Arc of the Scythe series.

Lorne by Susan Morrison is a biography about Lorne Michaels the creator of Saturday Night Live. SNL is about to hit its 50th anniversary. I was a huge fan of the show growing up. The book interviewed a lot of my favorite cast members and Lorne himself. Lorne is scheduled to be published on February 18, 2025.

White Line Fever by KC Jones is a girl’s road trip gone bad. Two friends plan a girl’s trip. They take a shortcut onto Country Road 951 nicknamed the Devils Driveway.  The girls experience a horror that pursues them. The girl’s trip is now a life-or-death game. I read Black Tide by KC Jones his debut novel, and was blown away by some parts of the novel. White Line Fever is to be published on March 18, 2025.

The Sirens by Emilia Hart is about sisters separated by centuries but bound together by the sea. From the description, the sisters may be modern-day sirens. Sirens from old Greek tales would sing songs luring men at sea to die crashing into the rocks.    I have not read Wayward Emilia Hart’s breakout bestseller but have heard great things and plan to read it soon. The Sirens will be published on April 1, 2025.

How to Steal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin is the sequel to How to Solve Your Own Murder. After the events of the first book, Annie Adams is settling into the estate that she won. She meets a fortune teller (I don’t know if this is the same one who started all the trouble in 1967). The fortune teller shares a cryptic message with Annie. Hours later the fortune teller is dead. How to Solve Your Own Murder has two murder mysteries. I was captivated by one. The other was just okay. The publisher reached out and thought I would like the second novel more based on my critique.  How to Steal Your Own Fate is published on April 29, 2025.

The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig is a horror thriller. The story is about five high school friends who go on a camping trip. The boys find a staircase in the woods that goes up. One brave camper climbs the stairs, and then the staircase vanishes.  Twenty years later, the campers, now grown-ups, return. They see the staircase has reappeared. Their friend is found the same age as when they went in. Chuck Wendig is one of my favorite authors every book has received five stars. I am very excited to read his next novel. The Staircase in the Woods is published on April 29, 2025.

The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly is about two sisters, 19 and 16 years old. They have to hold their family together during World War II. The older sister starts a book club to raise the spirits of the women whose husbands went to war.   One of the sisters finds a German U-boat on the shores of Martha’s Vineyard shores. The older sister falls into a forbidden romance with the German soldier.   I loved Lilac Girls so I’m excited to read Martha Hall Kelly’s next book.