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What’s Ashley Reading?: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

First line: Sit.

Summary: In St. Augustine, Florida, there is a home for wayward girls just like “Fern”, a young girl who is sent away by her family to deal with her shame in secret. When Fern arrives at the home she meets a dozen other girls in the same position. They have all been sent away to have their babies and forget that this ever happened. Miss Wellwood and her staff control every aspect of the girls’ lives because they believe they know best. That is until the day a librarian appears giving Fern a book on witchcraft and now the girls with no power have discovered that they can wield power against those who control them. But like with all things this power comes with a price.

My Thoughts: I have come to love Grady Hendrix’s books. He writes some truly creepy stories that don’t have to be bloody. And while he does that again here he also veers into something unlike he’s written before. Dealing with the stigma of unwed teenagers in the 1970s is a heartbreaking subject but I think he did it in such a great way. He shows how demonized the girls were and the lack of consequences for the male partner in the situation. In a post Roe era this really seems to be a book for the time.

Besides the horrible treatment of these girls he brings in a paranormal aspect too. The girls get their hands on a book for witches where they see a chance to gain some power in a powerless place. It seems rather innocent until they encounter other witches. From the beginning we know that the promises they make will not end well. Hendrix writes some absolutely spine-tingling scenes of suspense as the girls deal with backing out of their promises. I loved every word of those moments.

I found the characters very easy to sympathize with. The girls all had dreams but found that the world around them is tipped against them. The women around them seem to be there to help but many do not. It is a world that unfortunately was too real at the time. I would highly recommend this but be prepared to deal with some truly heartbreaking moments. It is not your normal Grady Hendrix but it is executed beautifully and worth the read.

The Blog Wants to Know: Jan. 2025

New Year, new books or perhaps the same books if you’ve got a to-be read list as long as ours. We’ve checked in with the library staff to see what some of those books and other materials might be.

What are some books/movies/TV shows you are hoping to get to in 2025? These can be new releases or items you’ve had on your read/watch list for a while.

Ashley, Interlibrary Loan and Cataloguing: “For years I have owned copies of the first 2 books in the Thomas Cromwell trilogy by Hilary Mantel but never read them. This year I am determined to read the trilogy and re-watch the first season of the show before the final season airs in March on PBS. The books include Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies, and The Mirror and the Light.

The TV series is Wolf Hall, season one was in 2015 & season two is 2025. Season one covers books 1 & 2 while the second season is book 3. This follows the life and career of Thomas Cromwell in Henry VIII’s court.”

Maycie, Public Support Services: “Two of my favorite authors, Sarah Adler and Rachel Lynn Solomon, both have new releases coming out this year, Finders Keepers and What Happens in Amsterdam, that I can’t wait to read! I’m also really looking forward to The Love Haters by Katherine Center and Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins.

I’m already fully sat at the movie theaters waiting to watch the new Paddington movie!! I’m also excited for the live-action How to Train Your Dragon and the second part of Wicked.

When it comes to TV, I’m just hoping we can finally see the end of Stranger Things and hopefully a season two of Percy Jackson.”

Kathy, Public Support Services: “I always wait for Nora Roberts to finish her trilogy to read them all so looking forward to reading her latest one this fall when the final book comes out.”

Miranda, Youth Services: “A series on Netflix I’ve been watching is The Empress. It’s a German historical drama loosely based on the life and marriage of Empress Elisabeth and Emperor Franz of Austria in the 1850s. A book I’ve started reading that I’ve been wanting to read for a while is The Girl in His Shadow. It’s a historical fiction about a woman who secretly assists with surgeries in 1845 London, a time when women were not allowed to practice medicine. A great read so far!”

Hannah, Assistant Director: “Season 2 of Severance! We’ve been waiting for 3 years!”

Shelia, Interlibrary Loan and Cataloguing: I am very excited to watch the movie, “Wicked“!

Alyssa, Adult and Teen Services Coordinator: “I’m so excited for the book, Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft. It tells the story of two characters from the Disney Fairies film, Secret of the Wings. I adore these films with Tinkerbell and her friends, and Secret of the Wings is my favorite of them. Wings of Starlight features Queen Clarion of Pixie Hollow and the Lord of Winter, Milori.

I also hope to re-read The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien again this year. I read it a few years ago, and I’d like to go through it again and take some notes. And, of course, I’m continuing my absolute obsession with Elin Hilderbrand. I’m looking forward to reading The Blue Bistro and Summer of ’69 this year.

Megan, Outreach Coordinator: I’m hoping to finish Gilmore Girls in 2025 (The first time watching it!). I’m wanting to start It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I’m hoping to get caught up on the In Death series by JD Robb in 2025! I’m only 6 or 7 behind.

Grace, Youth Services:

Books I’m excited for in 2025:

Onyx Storm, Empyrean #3 by Rebecca Yarros (the third book in the Fourth Wing series)
Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti, which I’ve already read but am excited to get a hold of my physical copy and reread.
Finders Keepers (I absolutely ADORE Sarah Adler)

TV Shows:

Severance Season 2 comes out! I might have to actually get Apple TV+ for a bit, so I can see it. I haven’t had more fun not knowing what’s going on in a show since LOST.
‘Daredevil: Born Again’ on Disney+ – My husband, Eli and I have nearly finished all of the old Daredevil episodes (they aren’t very bingeable, I need a light and fluffy show or book after watching an episode). He watched Punisher without me and loved it, so we’ve both been looking forward to this!
‘Percy Jackson And The Olympians’ Season 2 – This is another Eli & Me show! We had a blast watching the first season. It’s refreshing to see a book series adapted by the author. The cast is fantastic, and he’s a bigger Percy Jackson fan than me, so we can both hardly wait for season 2!

Movies:

Captain America: Brave New World
Ballerina, from the John Wick Universe
Death of a Unicorn, which looks terrible and hilarious and absolutely not appropriate for children
Fantastic Four: First Steps (Joseph Quinn AND Pedro Pascal!)
Love Hurts (all I needed to know was Ke Huy Quan, and I will be seated. But also, the director is the stunt coordinator for Black Panther, Fall Guy, Violent Night, Deadpool 2, Dr. Strange, and John Wick. David Leitch is on the producing team, too, and he had a hand in all of those movies. I’m a HUGE fan).
Superman (Mrs. Maisel is Lois Lane, take my money)
Wicked: For Good. I can’t tell you how badly I am YEARNING for this (while also avoiding spoilers as someone who’s never seen Wicked all the way through because she was going to see it onstage first).

Justin, Technology Coordinator:

I am looking forward to:

TV—Andor: Season Two (StarWars)

Movie—Mickey 17 (Robert Pattinson)

Book—The Staircase in the Woods (Chuck Wendig)

Now it’s your turn, patrons! What books, TV shows, and movies are you looking forward to in 2025?

What’s Ashley Reading?: A Year in Review

This was a busy year for reading! I completed 112 books in 2024 but there were a few standouts that I would highly recommend. Below are my top 10 books I read in 2024!

Murder Road by Simone St. James
Middle of the Night by Riley Sager
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
The September House by Carissa Orlando
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
We Used To Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
Heir by Sabaa Tahir
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

And I know that next year will have some great books for my TBR list. Here are the ones I am most looking forward too!

The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis (01/07/2025)
Carving Shadows Into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer (01/28/2025)
The Ragpicker King by Cassandra Clare (03/04/2025)
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (03/18/2025)
Story of a Murder by Hallie Rubenhold (03/25/2025)
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (04/22/2025)
The Love Haters by Katherine Center (05/20/2025)
Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson (06/10/2025)
With a Vengeance by Riley Sager (07/03/2025)
Boudicca’s Daughter by Elodie Harper (08/28/2025)

What were your favorite reads of 2024? And what are you looking forward to the most in 2025? Leave us a comment!

What’s Ashley Reading?: The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

First line: It wasn’t until the elevator doors were sliding open that Maggie realized she was about to come face-to-face with her three least favorite things in the world: Christmas. A party. And Ethan Freaking Wyatt.

Summary: Maggie accepts a mysterious invitation from her editor to visit her biggest fan in England at Christmastime. Unbeknownst to her, Ethan Wyatt, her arch-nemesis is joining her and her biggest fan is none other than her favorite author, Eleanor Ashley. Upon arrival a snow storm arrives stranding the writers and Eleanor Ashley’s other guests in her isolated mansion. As they settle in for the holiday Maggie believes that Eleanor plans to name a successor, or that is until she disappears from a locked room. Now Maggie and Ethan have to try to find out what happened to Eleanor and avoid whoever seems to be trying to kill them before it’s too late.

My Thoughts: This was the perfect mix of cozy mystery with a holiday romance! I had such a good time reading and trying to figure out the mystery. I loved the chemistry between Maggie and Ethan which was enhanced with the tension and miscommunications.

I’ve seen many people comparing this to Knives Out and I feel that it is a good comparison but I would almost recommend it more on the feel of an Agatha Christie novel. It has all the things I love from her stories with the added enemies to lovers romance trope. Plus, it plays on the real life Agatha Christie disappearance.

One complaint I had was the cover. It is cute (kind of) but it could be much better! There are so many fun covers anymore with the cartoonish characters but this one just wasn’t as good. But don’t judge this book by its cover. It is perfect for Christmas time and it reads very fast! I would highly recommend picking it up for your holiday break.

What’s Ashley Reading?: You Better Watch Out

You Better Watch Out by James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth

First line: Darkness had invaded Old Forge.

Summary: Eddie wakes up in what appears to be an abandoned town resembling Old Forge. The last thing he remembers is an elderly couple injecting him with a syringe while he was attempting to rob them. As he stumbles into one of the store fronts to escape the snowstorm outside he finds several others who appear to have been brought here under similar circumstances. The group cannot understand why or how they arrived here but they are determined to find a way out.

However, over the next few hours they realize that someone is watching them and the whole town is booby trapped. If they have any hope of surviving the night they need to find a way out of the town or discover who is hunting them in this Christmas village of horror.

My Thoughts: Well, this is not you normal Christmas book! It is dark, creepy and very bloody but I can say that it kept my attention the whole time. There was very little downtime in the story. The pacing was quick and keeps the reader from getting bored. From the very beginning I had Saw vibes, where the characters wake up in a strange place and they must play some twisted game to escape. And there is quite a big twist at the end which brings it all full circle.

The characters are rather undeveloped but the environment almost becomes a character on its own. It is a town that appears to be a work in progress or a movie set all decorated for Christmas, complete with a merry-go-round and Christmas decorations. It is a warren of traps in a quaint postcard setting.

My one complaint was that I basically figured out or guessed the twists. It took on some horror tropes but I still found it a thrilling read.

This book is not for the faint of heart. It has some rather horrifying deaths in it. I have seen my share of horror movies and true crime shows but this still made me a little queasy. But if you want something truly creepy for your holiday reading then I would recommend picking this one up!

What’s Ashley Reading?: Listen For the Lie

Listen For the Lie by Amy Tintera

First line: A podcaster has decided to ruin my life, so I’m buying a chicken.

Summary: Lucy has spent years trying to remember as well as escape the night she was found wandering along the road covered in her best friend’s blood. Lucy and Savvy were well known in their community and with Savvy’s death and Lucy’s apparent guilt, it rocked the town. But since Lucy is unable to remember what happened that night and no evidence she was involved it has become a cold case. That is until a true crime podcaster decides to showcase the story on his podcast, “Listen for the Lie”. As Lucy returns home for the first in years she has to face those who believe she murdered her best friend and the possibility that the podcast may uncover the truth she cannot remember.

My Thoughts: This book hit all the right buttons for me. It has a dark humor with a good mystery. Lucy, the main character, is plagued by her lack of memories from the night her friend died. She knows that many people do not believe her to be innocent and she cannot defend herself because she doesn’t know either. This lack of memory has led to her hearing a dark voice in her head tempting her to do terrible things. At times it could be annoying but others it is nearly laugh out loud funny.

I love the way podcasts have made their way into storytelling. I have been on a true crime documentary kick and I love a good podcast, making this a format perfect for my reading style lately. Throughout the narrative there are snippets of the podcast, usually interviews with townspeople or suspects. It all blended together smoothly and made the mystery even more intriguing as new information is revealed during these interviews.

I listened to the audio version and found it perfect for the storytelling style. I would highly recommend this format with this story. It was kept me interested and entertained throughout.

What’s Ashley Reading?: Love and Other Conspiracies

Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe

First line: Los Angeles is a city of believers.

Summary: Hallie Barrett has had a hard time lately. She recently broke up with her boyfriend who also happens to be her coworker and is currently in search of a new idea for a show in order to keep her job. On a drunken night she stumbles upon a cryptid docuseries hosted by an extremely handsome and enthusiastic host. In the hopes of reviving her career she approaches the cryptid hunter, Hayden Hargrove, with a proposition for a web series. But as Hayden’s on screen persona leaves much to be desired Hallie jumps in with her questions and skeptical remarks, sparking an instant connection and a huge fan following. As they search for Bigfoot, Mothman and other legendary creatures they find themselves discovering love rather than monsters.

My Thoughts: This was such a fun romance novel for the spooky season. Rather than being scary it was a humorous story about two people who just happen to find each other while hunting for Bigfoot. And the cover is so stinking cute!

I liked the characters. Hallie felt very relatable. She deals with doubt and rejection but becomes stronger as the story progresses. Hayden was the cute monster hunting nerd. He reminds me a little of Josh Gates from the shows, Expedition Unknown and Destination Truth. I loved their banter and chemistry. It felt natural and not forced.

This is the author’s debut novel and I feel like it was a great start. It had humor, quirky characters, romance tropes and a little bit of spice (mild/medium). Everything you want from good romance novel. I would highly recommend it!

FYI: This title is only available on Libby, CloudLibrary or through Interlibrary loan.

What’s Ashley Reading?: We Used To Live Here

We Used To Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

First line: Description: Real estate listing for 3709 Heritage Lane-transcribed from the no longer operational www.seeking-home.net

Summary: Eve and Charlie cannot believe their luck when they purchase a large older home in the woods for a bargain. Everything is going smoothly as they start settling in until one day when a man with his family arrives on the porch telling Eve that the he used to live there. Rather than tell the family no, Eve invites them in to allow the man to show his family his childhood home. However, the short tour sets off a series of events that leave Eve questioning her every thought and memory.

My Thoughts: This book was recommended to me by someone who knows loves a spine-tingling story and it did not disappoint. From the very beginning, before much even happens, there is the feeling of something ominous in the lurking. Every interaction is more and more tense. This book proves that you don’t need gore or monsters to create horror.

In alternating chapters there are snippets of evidence from an investigation by an unknown character. It appears they are looking into strange happenings that may all be linked together. Each of these gives you a deeper sense of the strangeness that is taking over the house and the occupants.

As the main character, Eve continues to stay in the house things become stranger and stranger until everything comes crashing down. At the end of this book you may start to question if you understood what happened. I remember putting it down and just thinking for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts and try to put everything into place. But even now and after talking about this book with others, I still don’t know if or when things happened. Be prepared to be confused but completely taken in by this story.

I cannot wait to see what the author writes next!

FYI: Violence, language and scary scenes.

What’s Ashley Reading?: The Hitchcock Hotel

The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel

First line: The crow waits until the guilty one disappears; then he flies down the hallway.

Summary: Alfred Smettle has opened a themed hotel centered around his idol, Alfred Hitchcock and his works. On the first anniversary of the hotel’s opening he has invited his former college film club friends to enjoy his masterpiece. Having not spoken to his friends since the incident sixteen years ago, they are all surprised by his interest in them after all these years. Upon arriving they feel that something is off about the place and their host. Why are they here and what does Alfred really want from them?

My Thoughts: The cover is what drew me in at the start. It evokes some of Hitchcock’s most famous movies. I have watched several of Hitchcock’s films including Psycho, The Birds and Vertigo and enjoyed each one. They are masterpieces of the suspense genre. When reading Wrobel’s novel she includes lots of trivia about the director and his works. I have added several more titles to my watch list since reading this.

From the very beginning I could easily envision the Hitchcock Hotel. It would definitely require a certain type of clientele to stay there. As each character is introduced we learn that they are all hiding something from their past that could affect this little reunion. But unbeknownst to the guests, Alfred is planning something special for the weekend. As a reader you can feel the tensions between the friends. I could tell that the author was trying to do what Hitchcock did with his films. She layered the suspense and tensions while building the story. We know what’s coming (sort of) but the characters do not.

At the beginning it was a little slow but then as secrets are revealed and the final twist is introduced it is easy to forgive this. I did not even suspect how it was going to change at the end and really found it well done. This was a perfect read for the start of October!

What’s Ashley Reading?: Buried Deep and Other Stories

Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik

First line: My house growing up was full of words; my mother read widely.

Summary: In this collection of thirteen stories, acclaimed fantasy author Naomi Novik, brings in several of her previously published short stories as well as two new ones. These stories range from historical to science fiction with appearances by Elizabeth Bennett and dragons. As well as revisiting some of her past works she introduces us to the new world which will be the setting of her upcoming fantasy novel.

My Thoughts: I really enjoy the work of Naomi Novik. She writes some outstanding fantasy novels with beautiful world building. My first look was in Uprooted and most recently with the Scholomance trilogy.

There were several stories in here which I really enjoyed and some that I skipped. I loved revisiting the world of the Scholomance after the events of the trilogy to see what life was like for the new students. I haven’t read her dragon series but I will definitely add it to my list after reading the dragon stories in this collection. I really enjoyed the short story that inspired her book, Spinning Silver. I think it was better as a short story than a full length novel. The one I skipped early on had a strong science fiction theme to it which did not hold my attention but there are many more stories to choose from making it easy to pass on the one.

This would be a good introduction to anyone who hasn’t read Novik’s work yet or someone who wants to expand on her work as well.