Review: The Shippers by Katherine Center

 

The Shippers by Katherine Center

Publication Date: May 19th 2026 by St. Martin's Press & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 336

Audio Book Length: 11hrs 8min

Narrator: Patti Murin & Katherine Center

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Jojo hasn’t had the best luck in love, but a new theory, that she “imprinted” on her very first kiss has her determined to break the curse with “Project Conquest” while on a cruise for her sister’s destination wedding. Naturally, she recruits her estranged best friend, Cooper, as her wingman. Yes, that Cooper: the guy who ran off to London and ghosted her for four years, only to suddenly show up for the wedding like nothing happened.

 

This story has so many layers. Jojo is wrestling with old wounds, especially the abandonment she felt from her father, something that flips completely once real communication finally happens. Honestly, communication (or the total lack of it) is practically its own character in this book. I liked Jojo and rooted for her HEA, but I was also frustrated by her refusal to communicate and her stubborn insistence on sticking to her mission long after it was clearly going off the rails. Cooper was a delight, I adored him, but he wasn’t innocent on the communication front either. See the theme here? Even so, I genuinely enjoyed the story.

 

Katherine Center’s author’s note and acknowledgements are a must read!

 

The Shippers is a feel-good, big-hearted romp full of slapsticky humor (the unicorn underpants!), warmth, and a swoony romance.

 

I alternated between the audio and the e‑copy and can happily recommend either. Patti Murin is a fantastic narrator; she gives every character a distinct voice and nails the emotions! I loved her performance!  

4 Stars

Book Description: 

After a whole lifetime of being bad at love, JoJo Burton decides to solve her intimacy issues once and for all at her sister’s destination wedding on a cruise ship. With the help of a little pop psychology, she diagnoses herself with a fixation on the neighborhood guy who was her her first crush and first kiss (and who just happens to be a newly-divorced wedding guest ), and she decides to woo him during the cruise for some long-delayed closure. Only problem is, her sister’s a little busy being a bride at the moment—so JoJo ropes in her childhood bestie, Cooper Watts, to be her wing man. Cooper: who RSVPed no, but then showed up, anyway. Cooper: who left town without a word four years earlier and moved to London. Cooper: who was, if she’s honest, the worst heartbreak of JoJo’s life. It’s bliss for her to see him again, and it’s agony, too—and the more they team up for Project Conquest, the more she obsesses over questions she can’t bring herself to ask.

Shipboard antics ensue in this witty, heart-tugging, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance—as JoJo and Cooper fake flirt, slow dance, share a cabin, sing duets, treat sunburns, get jealous, rescue each other over and over, and finally, at last, figure it all out in the most blissful, swoony, romantic way.

No one does summer romance quite like Katherine Center. THE SHIPPERS will take readers on the cruise of a lifetime in a story awash with romantic longing, top-notch banter, long-held secrets . . . and true love rediscovered.

Review: An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong

 

An Ordinary Sort of Evil (A Rip Through Time #5) by Kelley Armstrong

Publication Date: May 19th 2026 by Minotaur Books & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 320

Audio Book Length: 12hrs 52min

Narrator: Kate Handford

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

An Ordinary Sort of Evil is the fifth entry in this excellent mystery/time‑travel series, one that’s best read in order, though the helpful introduction here makes it possible to jump in without feeling lost.

 

Detective Mallory Atkinson, attacked in modern‑day Scotland, inexplicably wakes up 150 years in the past in the body of Catriona Mitchell, a Victorian housemaid. Over the course of the series, she’s built a life in this new era, forging deep friendships with Duncan Gray and his sister Isla, assisting Duncan with autopsies for the police, and helping solve murders with the aid of her twenty‑first‑century know‑how. And yes, the slow‑burn romance between Mallory and Duncan continues to simmer, this installment delivers some very satisfying developments.

 

This time, Duncan and Mallory are summoned by the Adlers, wealthy patrons of Duncan’s business. A séance has revealed that their missing housemaid, Nellie, didn’t run off as assumed, she was murdered, and her spirit is demanding justice. Duncan and Mallory dismiss the séance as nonsense, but they agree to look into Nellie’s disappearance, only to discover that the claim of murder may not be so far‑fetched after all.

 

As in the previous books, the investigation unfolds through careful interviews, motive‑hunting, and forensic work, albeit limited by the science of the time. Mallory’s modern knowledge continues to give them an edge. The case itself is layered, tragic, and full of unexpected turns.

 

Mallory and Duncan find they have a surprising fan in the mix, and there’s a fun reveal at the end!

 

I alternated between reading and listening and can wholeheartedly recommend either format. Kate Handford once again delivers a standout performance, bringing every character, young and old, male and female. Her Scottish accents are pitch‑perfect, and she continues to be a highlight of the series.

5 Stars

Book Description:

New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong returns to Victorian Scotland in the latest in the genre-blending Rip Through Time series.

Modern-day homicide detective Mallory Mitchell has grown accustomed to life in Victorian Scotland after travelling 150 years into the past into the body of a housemaid. She’s built a new life for herself. Even though she works as an assistant to forensic-science pioneer Dr. Duncan Gray and Detective Hugh McCreadie, she considers them true friends. And with Gray in particular, perhaps, someday, something more.

Late one night, Gray and Mallory are summoned urgently to the home of Lady Adler, a patron of Gray’s undertaking business, and they assume there's been a death in the household. But instead, they arrive in the midst of a seance with a ghost demanding Gray's presence. The ghost is Lady Adler's former maid, who had gone missing but now requests that Gray investigate her murder. Although Gray and Mallory are skeptical, they agree to look into the matter, whether she's dead or alive. But unsure if there's been a murder or not, unable to call out the medium as a fraud, and concerned for the fate of the young maid, Gray and Mallory are once again drawn into a mystery much more puzzling--and more dangerous--than it first seems.

Sunday Post #338

 

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week. I'm also linking up to The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance @Readerbuzz.

Happy Sunday!

We've been having some nice weather, 70s-80s. I'm still on a catch up with review books since I overbooked April and May. At least I've been enjoying all my reads. 

We went to a historical talk at a local restaurant on Wednesday. It was on the history of the Narrow Gage Railroad that came through our area back in the 1800s-1900s. It was interesting! We're going again this Wednesday with the topic of the Donner Party Rescue Mission, which took place not very far from where we live. 

I got a picture of our birdbath and part of our rose/vegetable garden. 

Birdbath

Rose and Veg Garden. Yes, still needs a lot of weeding!

Eden, one of our climbing roses.

American Wisteria in the front

1000 Piece Puzzle Completed: Jayson Sparkin' by Charles Wysocki Hasbro 2003

This was a hard one! All those white clouds. Took me forever!

Puzzle 26 of 2026

1000 Puzzle Piece Completed: Blue Harbor by Werkshoppe

Puzzle 27 of 2026

Read:

The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny & Mellissa Fung-3.5 Stars

An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong-4.5 Stars

The Anniversary by Alex Finlay-5 Stars

I, Spy by L.M. Kemp-4 Stars

Received:

Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune

Thank you to Berkley, Penguin Random House Publishing and Libro.fm!

How was your week?

Audiobook Review: The Anniversary by Alex Finlay

 

The Anniversary by Alex Finlay

Publication Date: May12th 2026 by Macmillan Audio

Pages: 336

Audio Book Length: 7hrs 38min

Narrators: Brittany Pressley & Ari Fliakos

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Jules and Quincy are unlikely friends. Jules was part of the popular crowd and Quincy, a quiet loner from the wrong side of the tracks, however they have a connection. Tragically, their lives are changed forever on the May 1^st of their senior year.

 

Quincy tries to break up a fight, and it goes badly. He ends up in juvenile detention, and while he’s locked away, his mother is murdered. On his release, without options, he joins the army.

 

Jules is abducted by the May Day Killer, but she ends up being “one of the lucky ones” and is let go.

 

The story is told through both Jules and Quincy’s POV on the May 1^st of each year over a decade. Jules struggles with the aftermath of surviving the attack but eventually gets on track and starts looking for the killer. Quincy is haunted by his mother’s murder and sets about trying to solve it.

 

I was moved by Jules and Quincy’s friendship in the beginning. Their lives separated that fateful May 1^st, but along the way, they ran into each other, and I wondered if and how their stories would connect.

 

I absolutely loved The Anniversary, it’s my favorite Alex Finlay yet! While most of the story wasn’t a tense thriller, I was completely hooked from the first chapter! The mysteries come to a head at the end and then I was very worried! I suspected some of it but was surprised by other parts.

 

I listened to the audiobook, with Brittany Pressley narrating Jules’ chapters and Ari Fliakos voicing Quincy’s. Both performances were fantastic, expressive, immersive, and perfectly matched to their characters. The audio elevated the entire experience. A definite recommend!

5 Stars

Book Description:

Every Year He Comes For Them.

On one fateful night in 1992, the lives of two seventeen-year-olds are changed and intertwined forever. Quinn Riley, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, is arrested after he innocently tries to break up a fight but ends up nearly killing someone. Jules Delaney, high school royalty, survives an attack by the elusive and terrifying May Day Killer—a serial predator who strikes every May 1st in midwestern small towns.

A year later, Jules is struggling with trauma and guilt, tormented by one question: Why was I spared? Quinn is newly released from juvenile detention and returns home to fresh the unsolved murder of his mother.

Over the next decade, their lives are revisited on a single day each year—May 1st. As secrets unravel and the paths of Quinn and Jules collide, two mysteries edge closer to the truth. All the while, the May Day Killer is still out there—and the clock is racing toward another May 1st.

The Anniversary is an utterly compelling story of the hunt for a serial killer. But it’s also a heartfelt—and heartrending—novel about fate, innocence lost, and two souls who find that sometimes being broken is the only way for the light to get in.

Audiobook Review: The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny & Mellissa Fung

 

The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny & Mellissa Fung

Publication Date: May 12th 2026 by Macmillan Audio

Pages: 400

Audio Book Length: 13hrs 16min

Narrators: Eunice Wong

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Alice Li, a food-blogger, is excited to be back in Washington DC to meet up with her friend and fellow food-blogger, Liam. She’s not so thrilled to meet up with her mother, Vivien Li, a Chinese dissident famous for escaping after Tiananmen Square, since they don’t have the best relationship. However, they’re forced to work together when the world is turned into chaos when during brunch security and fire alarms go off and they find out it’s a worldwide event.

 

Alice is even more shocked to be summoned to the White House along with her mother and questioned over her friendship with Liam. Apparently, intelligence has discovered China is responsible for this global attack and to Alice’s surprise, Vivien is a regular advisor to the President on Chinese affairs.

 

When it becomes obvious the attack won’t be the last. Alice and Vivien must band together and stop a terrorist group before they can execute whatever they have planned next.

 

One wouldn’t think a food-blogger and her mother would be key to stopping this nefarious force, but I enjoyed Alice and Viviene’s journey. As they try to get to the truth secrets from Vivien’s past are slowly revealed.  Alice’s view of her mother and their relationship shifts. Vivien gets to see another, more capable, side to her daughter, as well.

 

The Last Mandarin was an engaging thriller with two unlikely heroines. And while I had to suspend my disbelief at some parts of the plot, I was entertained from the start and eager to find out how it would all turn out!

 

I’ve listened to and enjoyed Eunice Wong’s narration in the past and thought she did a wonderful job here performing all characters, bringing them to life as they experienced a whole range of emotions. Her accents and pronunciation of Mandarin made the story feel authentic. Listening to the audio version definitely enhanced my enjoyment!

3.5 Stars

Book Description:

A standalone thriller co-written by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Gamache series and an award-winning journalist.

In a fast-paced, all-too-real thriller co-written by #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny and award-winning journalist Mellissa Fung, global politics become personal for two unlikely heroines. Alice Li, a first-generation Chinese-American, is an erstwhile food blogger who has lived in the shadow of her mother, Vivien Li. A Chinese dissident who escaped China after Tiananmen Square, Vivien is now a globally recognized human rights activist and passionate advocate for a free and democratic China.

When security and fire alarms go off simultaneously all around the world, setting off a panic, the signal is traced back to China. As world leaders scramble to respond, Vivien and Alice are called to the White House in hopes Madame Li can decode the Chinese intentions.

While it makes some sense that the President would turn to Vivien, since she regularly advises world leaders on the actions of today’s Chinese government, what isn’t clear is why they’d want to talk to Alice.

After looking at the evidence, Vivien says that the only thing worse than the Chinese government being behind it, is if they are not. It would mean, she explains, that some clandestine element within China is calling the shots. That the President of China has lost control. And an unstable China cannot be good for anyone.

Or perhaps that’s exactly what the shrewd old politician wants everyone to think.

Caught up in the chaos, Vivien and Alice are uniquely placed to stop the next, cataclysmic attack. But there are forces deep within both the American and Chinese governments intent on stopping mother and daughter. The estranged pair, who excels at misunderstanding each other, must figure out how to work together.

The increasingly frantic search for answers takes the women from the Oval Office to an office building in Akron, Ohio, from the noodle shops of Hong Kong to the necropolis of the first emperor. Along the way they must decode an old legend, and an old language invented by women, for women.

The Last Mandarin is an electrifying study of absolute power and voracious greed, political terror and personal conviction. But it is also, as to be expected from the minds of Louise Penny, beloved author of the Gamache novels, and Mellissa Fung, an acclaimed international journalist, an intimate examination of choice, of sacrifice, of memory and myths, both cultural and personal. It is the story of a mother and daughter, as well as a compelling international thriller about the precarious balance of power across the world, and within a family. And what happens when both break down.

Audiobook Review: I, Spy by L.M. Kemp

 

I, Spy by L.M. Kemp

Publication Date: May 5th 2026 by Macmillan Audio

Pages: 272

Audio Book Length: 7hrs 54min

Narrators: Ell Potter

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Kendal has been in the spy game for as long as she can remember thanks to her mother’s not‑so‑conventional parenting. But after a mission goes sideways, she disappears into the wind. Now she’s a single mom to a precocious four‑year‑old, Rosie, living a quiet life built entirely around keeping her daughter safe. That peace shatters when dangerous men come looking for her, forcing Kendal to reach out to her former boss, Rico at Bon Temps, for help. He offers her and Rosie a safe house… with one catch: he wants her back on the job. Just a small assignment, he claims. Low risk. Simply mentor a rookie operative embedded in a tech company.

 

The moment I heard the setup, the old adage “if it’s too good to be true…” started flashing in my mind. Rico’s offer felt suspicious from the start. It quickly becomes apparent that her placement was more than just for training when a prominent member of the tech company has ties to the school Rosie’s attending. Kendal has to infiltrate the world of school politics, befriending moms and digging for intel, all while trying to figure out who’s watching whom.

 

I really liked and rooted for Kendal and was completely hooked as her past is slowly revealed. What happened to make her go dark and get out of the spy game? Was it tied to the assignment she’s currently on? Could she trust Rico? Could she trust Joel, the cinnamon‑roll Canadian newbie she’s supposed to be training?  Fini, her tech‑savvy best friend, was an absolute delight. I reserved judgement on pretty much every other character.

 

The ending definitely hints at more to come, and I’m already eager for the next installment.

 

I listened to the audiobook, and Ell Potter’s performance was fantastic. She handles a wide range of ages, genders, and accents with ease. Her British voices were distinct and believable, and Joel’s nerdy Canadian accent fit him perfectly. 

4 Stars

Book Description:

Ex-spy Kendal was one of the best, but now she’s wearing the toughest disguise of her career: Mom.

Kendal Carter is out in the cold and she wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s been four years since her daughter Rosie was born and Kendal has kept her miles away from The Game. But when their hiding place is discovered and danger comes too close, Ken is forced to turn to old contacts. Her longtime friend and ex-handler Rico doesn’t miss his chance to pull his best player back in. Whisking them to London, Rico offers them a luxury safe house in an area with good schools. How can she resist?

But there’s a catch, of course. Rico wants Kendal to come back to work for his espionage agency Bon Temps. He’s offering a cushy assignment with no apparent downside, running a rookie asset in one of London’s biggest, murkiest tech firms. It should be easy enough for someone with her experience, and luckily, mother is the perfect cover.

However, it doesn’t take long for Kendal to realize that Rico’s got an agenda of his own. The tech firm has hands in Rosie’s school, and the world of PTAs and playdates comes with its own web of allegiances and betrayals. Kendal soon finds herself in way too deep . . .

I, Spy is a propulsive debut thriller about the disguise that all parents wear, and the former lives that come back to haunt us.

Review: The Antiquarian's Object of Desire by India Holton

 

The Antiquarian's Object of Desire (Love's Academic #3) by India Holton

Publication Date: April 21st 2026 by Berkley

Pages: 368

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Amelia Tarrant and Caleb Sterling, experts on magical antiques, have been close friends since they were children, but when an innocent embrace is misinterpreted, their reputations, and their positions suddenly hang in the balance. To avoid scandal, they decide to fake a feud, a plan that spirals wildly out of control. After one too many magical mishaps (including some literal explosions), Professor Otterstock ships them off to Cumbria to catalog Sir Nigel Harroway’s sprawling collection of enchanted antiques, many of which may be more dangerous than advertised.

 

I really felt for Amelia. Watching her navigate a world where her intelligence is dismissed simply because she’s a woman was infuriating. Throckmorton, Dummersby, and Professor Otterstock were absolute bullies, and their constant digs at her had me seething on her behalf. I kept hoping she’d finally let loose on them, and while she mostly held her tongue, her subtle acts of retaliation were satisfying. The romance, a sweet friends‑to‑lovers arc, was a swoony one.

 

The Antiquarian’s Object of Desire leans more toward romantic comedy than tightly plotted fantasy, and the story does wander a bit before pulling everything together at the end. Still, it’s an entertaining romp, slapsticky, clever, and full of quick humor. Even when the plot zigzags, the charm never really lets up.

3.5 Stars

Book Description:

When two history professors and best friends are forced to fake hate to protect their reputations, chaos ensues, in the next rollicking historical-fantasy rom-com from beloved author India Holton.

Magical-antique experts Amelia Tarrant and Caleb Sterling have been best friends forever, although lately each has begun secretly wishing for more than friendship. But when rumors about their relationship spread, they're forced to fake being enemies to protect their reputations and keep their jobs.

The resulting arguments spark havoc across Oxford University, and when they cause an explosion while fighting over a magical antique, it’s the final straw for their exasperated faculty head. He dispatches them to a job in Cumbria where even they can’t get into trouble.…

Which proves just how wrong one man can be. In a stormbound old manor house, Amelia and Caleb face magical mayhem and rampaging ghosts that make the previous havoc look mild in comparison. Most troublesome of all, though, is the secret of how they feel about each other. When it comes to tackling deadly antiques, hiding the truth in their hearts could destroy them for real.