4 binge worthy weekend reads

Wondering what to read this weekend? I’ve got some recommendations for you!

I don’t know about you, but I love spending the occasional weekend curled up with a book that I just cannot put down. Even better if it’s a thriller — or my latest book love — witchy / fantasy fiction.

Here are four recommendations, all of which I read and loved this month!

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The Last of the Moon Girls by Barbara Davis

Lizzy Moon has finally achieved what she had promised herself she would — a successful career in New York, which is as far away as she could get from from her New England hometown of Salem Creek. But when her grandmother, Althea dies, Lizzy is forced to return to home to Moon Girl Farm, to the land that nine generations of gifted healers had tended, the whispers about her family’s strange legacy, and the tragedy still hanging over the farm’s withered lavender fields: the unsolved murders of two young girls, and the cruel accusations that followed Althea to her grave.

Lizzy thought she would be able to pack up the house and put it on the market within a few days. But when she finds the Book of Remembrances — parting wisdom from Althea, meant to help Lizzy embrace her own special gifts — she decides to stay back and try to clear her grandmother’s name.

As Lizzy starts digging into the past, she is also forced to confront her own wounds and face up to all the reasons why she wants nothing to do with her legacy.

I really enjoyed Althea’s wise voice in the Book of Remembrances; Althea’s whip-smart friend and beekeeper Evvie, and the unexpected story-arc of Lizzie’s mom, Rhanna.

If you enjoy romance with a side of murder mystery and paganism, this is the book for you!

The Little Shop of Found Things by Paula Brackston

If you’re in the mood for romance crossed with time travel, you’re going to love this book!

Xanthe and her mother Flora leave London behind for a fresh start, taking over an antique shop in the historic town of Marlborough. Xanthe has always had an affinity with some of the antiques she finds. When she touches them, she can sense something of the past they come from and the stories they hold. So when she has an intense connection to a beautiful silver chatelaine she has to know more.

While she’s examining the chatelaine, she’s transported back to the seventeenth century and tasked with putting right an injustice connected to the chatelaine’s story to save an innocent girl’s life.

While Xanthe fights to save her amid the turbulent days of 1605, she meets architect Samuel Appleby. He may be the person who can help her succeed. He may also be the reason she can’t bring herself to leave.

I enjoyed everything about this book! Xanthe and her relationship with Flora, the quaint town of Marlborough and the people who populate it, the glimpse in the antique trade, and of course, the time travel and all of the rich, historical detail of life in the 1600s.

Secrets of the Chocolate House by Paula Brackston

The second installment in the Found Things series, the Secrets of the Chocolate House picks up Xanthe’s story as she’s trying to settle back into the rhythm of life in Marlborough after her jaunt in the 1600s.

Xanthe is focusing on helping Flora with their antique business and trying her best to leave Samuel Appleby where he belongs, in the past.

But there are still things waiting to be found, still injustices needing to be put right, still voices whispering to Xanthe from long ago about secrets wanting to be shared.

While looking for new stock for the shop, Xanthe hears the song of a copper chocolate pot. Soon after, she has an upsetting vision of Samuel in great danger, compelling her to make another journey to the past.

This time she’ll meet her most dangerous adversary. This time her ability to travel to the past will be tested. This time she will discover her true destiny. Will that destiny allow her to return home? And will she be able to save Samuel when his own fate seems to be sealed?

I think I enjoyed this book even more than the first one! For one, it carries the story forward a lot more — giving us a glimpse into why Xanthe has the ability to time travel. For another, a bigger chunk of this book is set in the 1600s, and the historical detailing is fascinating. There are also a lot of unanswered questions, setting up the foundation for a return to Marlborough and Xanthe’s story.

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurien

Meet Chloe Sevre. She’s a freshman honor student, a leggings-wearing hot girl next door, who also happens to be a psychopath. Her hobbies include yogalates, frat parties, and plotting to kill Will Bachman, a childhood friend who grievously wronged her.

Chloe is one of seven students at her DC-based college who are part of an unusual clinical study for psychopaths—students like herself who lack empathy and can’t comprehend emotions like fear or guilt. The study, led by a renowned psychologist, requires them to wear smart watches that track their moods and movements.

When one of the students in the study is found murdered in the psychology building, a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, and Chloe goes from hunter to prey. As she races to identify the killer and put her own plan into action, she’ll be forced to decide if she can trust any of her fellow psychopaths—and everybody knows you should never trust a psychopath.

I picked up this book on a recommendation from a friend, and boy, am I glad I did! For one, I didn’t know much about psychopathy, as most discussions on psychopaths are related to criminals and their crimes. The glimpse into how psychopaths think and the spectrum of psychopathy was truly fascinating. As was Chloe’s detailed planning on just how she would kill Will Bachman.

And then, a killer starts hunting down the psychopaths — wait, what? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? — and the plot thickens and twists even more, making for an unputdownable and hugely satisfying read!

There you have it! Which one of these tickles your fancy?

Oh, and before you go, tell me which book did you enjoy reading the most this month?