Pull Of The Stars...

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Explore Spectacular Worlds…

Paradox Hotel - Rob Hart

Lexicon - Max Barry

Dead Silence – S.A. Barnes

Dark Matter - Blake Crouch

Station Eternity – Mur Lafferty

Mindwalker – Kate Dylan

Echo Wife – Sarah Gailey

Frankenstein – Mary Shelly

Neuromancer – William Gibson

The Three-Body Problem – Cixin Liu

Company Town - Madeline Ashby

Ready Player One – Ernest Cline

Atomic Anna – Rachel Barenbaum

The Impossible Us – Sarah Lotz

Night Shift – Natalka Burian

The Martin – Andy Weir

Yesterday – Felicia Yap

Tell Me An Ending – Jo Harkin

Zero Sum Game – S.L. Huang

A Gut Feeling...

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Fiction For Foodies…

Marrying The Ketchups - Jennifer Close

Hot Mess - Emily Bleden

Mastering The Art Of French Murder - Collen Cambridge

Recipes Of Love & Murder - Sally Andrew

Miss Cecily’s Recipes For Exceptional Ladies - Vicky Zimmerman

The Kitchen Front - Jennifer Ryan

Sourdough - Robin Sloan

Kitchens Of The Great Midwest - J. Ryan Stradel

The Kitchen God’s Wife - Amy Tan

The Particular Sadness Of Lemon Cake - Aimee Bender

The School Of Essential Ingredients - Erica Bauermeister

Serving Crazy With Curry - Amulya Malladi

The Kitchen Daughter - Jael McHenry

The Hundred,Foot Journey - Richard C. Morais

Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe - Fannie Flagg

The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe - Mary Simses

The Coincidence Of Coconut Cake - Amy E. Reichert

Chocolat - Joanne Harris

Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant - Anne Tyler

Master Mind Games...

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Its Playtime…

Speak Of The Devil - Rose Wildling

Blood Sugar - Sascha Rothschild

No One Will Miss Her - Kat Rosenfeld

Theives Gambit - Kayvon Lewis

Gaslight - Femi Kayode

How To Kill Your Family - Bella Mackie

Hurricane Blonde - Halley Sutton

The Trap - Catherine Ryan Howard

Girl In The Eagles Talons - Karin Smiimoff

To Catch A Storm - Mindy Mejia

Twisted: A Love Story - Samantha Downing

The Viper - John Verdon

Bright Young Women - Jessica Knoll

The Confession - Charlotte Bigland

The Fury - Alex Michaelides

After That Night - Karin Slaughter

The Spider - Lars Kepler

This Is How We End Things -R.J. Jacobs

Woman In The Window - A.J. Finn

My Murder - Katie Williams

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My Murder - Katie Williams

Speculative Crime

Rating: 8.5/10

What if the murder you had to solve was your own? Lou is a happily married mother of a cutie pie baby girl. She is also the victim of a serial killer. Recently resurrected by a secret cloning project, she is struggling to reconnect. I inhaled this speculative and smart twist on the crime novel, one with an ending I never in my wildest dreams, even the darker ones, could have imagined.

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The Echo Wife - Sarah Gailey (Replay)

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The Echo Wife - Sarah Gailey (Replay)

Sci-Fi/Thriller

Rating: 9/10

What if you discovered your husband was having an affair with his wife? Yes, you read that properly. The author spins the extramarital and domestic strife tropes in some intriguingly unique directions. This book has a lot to love; weird science, murder, bad romance and the unspooling of enough twists to leave the reader with a serious case of whiplash.

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The Book Case...

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The 5th Anniversary…Books For The Bookish!

Books have been a constant in my life in ways nothing else ever has been. They have given me the world, imparted upon me a sense of wonderment, ignited bone deep fire and incurable curiosity, provided pleasure as well as nourishment, indulgence as much as wisdom, inspired empathy, transcended my wildest imaginings, encouraged me to think before I speak and how to use my voice when I did so. And most importantly, reminded me I was not alone. That I never have been, and never have to be. Happy Anniversary to Cracking The Spine!

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The Book That Wouldn't Burn - Mark Lawrence

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The Book That Wouldn't Burn - Mark Lawrence

Fantasy

Rating: 8.5/10

This ambitious and meticulously crafted book is a celebration of stories that outlive the paper they are written on and the libraries where they rest on shelves to be read. Unquestionably a love letter to books and the buildings that house them, this has a far greater reach to be explored for the reader. Beautifully woven with magic, adventure, intrigue and even love.

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Pitch Perfect Reads...

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Books With A Musical Spin…

We Sold Our Souls - Grady Hendrix

High Fidelity - Nick Hornby

Girl - Blake Nelson

Space Opera - Catherine Valente

Signal To Noise - Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Songs In Ursa Major - Emma Brodie

More Than Maybe - Erica Hahn

Fever House - Keith Rosson

The Farewell Tour - Stephanie Clifford

The Vinyl Underground - Rob Rufus

This Song Will Save Your Life - Leila Sales

The Music Shop - Rachel Joyce

A Song For A New Day - Sarah Pinsker

Guitar Notes - Mary Amato

Spin - Colleen Nelson

Impossible Music - Sean Williams

How to Kill A Rock Star - Tiffanie DeBartolo

Stone Arabia - Dana Spiotta

Bootleg Stardust - Glenn Dixon

If Books Could Kill...

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Super (Un) Natural Tales…

The Institute - Stephen King

Reluctant Immortals - Gwendolyn Kiste

Chain Gang All Stars - Nana Kwame Adeji

Dead Eleven - Jimmy Juliano

The Death I Gave Him - Em E. Liu

Starlling House - Alix E. Harrow

Hidden Pictures - Jason Rekulak

The Violence - Delilah Dawson

Night Shift - Alex Finlay

Final Girls Support Group - Grady Hendrix

Family Business - Jonathan Sims

A God Of Endings - Jacquline Holland

Silver Nitrate - Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Security - Gina Wolshindorf

Heart Shaped Box - Joe Hill

The Ruins - Scott Smith

The Book Eaters – Sunyi Dean

Magic For Liars - Sarah Gailey

Empire Of The Vampire - Jay Kristoff

Tell Me A Story...

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Embrace The Fantasy With These Retellings…

Fairy Tale - Stephen King

Midnight At The Houdini - Delilah Dawson

Cinder - Marissa Meyer

The Queen Of Tearling – Erika Johansen

Ninth House – Leigh Bardugo

The Bone Season – Samantha Shannon

Wicked Saints – Emily A. Duncan

One Dark Window – Rachel Gillig

These Violent Delights – Chloe Gong

The Cartographers – Peng Shepherd

Witch King - Martha Wells

Ordinary Monsters – J.M Miro

Cursed - Marissa Meyer

Swordcatcher - Cassandra Clare

Divine Rivals - Rebecca Ross

1984 Julia - Sandra Newman

Kingsbane – Claire Legrand

Secret Identity – Alex Segura

The Starless Crown – James Rollins 

Burn The Negative - Josh Winning

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Burn The Negative - Josh Winning

Horror/Thriller

Rating: 6.5/10

Laura is a journalist tasked with writing a piece on the remake of a ‘90’s horror flick that she starred in as a child. One that was cursed. One that had eight cast and crew dying in ways that eerily mirrored the movie’s on-screen deaths. And now? People are dying again. You get all the tropes, a slasher, final girl, cursed movie within a movie all in one.

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5 Year's Worth...

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5 Top Picks Across 5 Fav Genres Over 5 Years…

September 7th, 2023 will mark the 5th Anniversary of Cracking The Spine.

Over these years I have shared an abundance of content with my readers. Profiling 1,500+ books through innovative and in-depth features as well as reviews of the books I have read during this time. To honor this moment of celebration, I will share my five-fav reads in the last five years under each of my five-fav genres.

I hope you have found as much joy in my bookish wanderings as I have in sharing them! More to come…

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My Husband - Maud Ventura

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My Husband - Maud Ventura

Fiction

Rating: 8/10

The story starts off with the husband whispering in his wife’s ear, “we need to find a moment to talk. It’s important.” The potential implications of this send her spiraling while she takes the reader back through her week in the hopes of finding an inkling as to what this chat might be about. Her devotion, or maybe obsession is a better word, is unsettling and impossible to look away from!

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Puzzlers...

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Books That Will Tease Your Brain…

The Puzzle Master - Danielle Trussoni

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone - Benjamin Stevenson

The Golden Spoon - Jessa Maxwell

A Most Agreeable Murder - Julia Seales

Mother Daughter Movie Night - Nina Simon

The Busy Body - Kemper Donovan

Woman In The Library - Sulari Gentil

Eight Detectives - Alex Pavesi

The Last Devil To Die - Richard Osman

Last Night At The Hollywood Canteen - Sarah James

The Fiction Writer - Julie Cantor

The Mystery Guest - Nita Prose

The Puzzle Of Blackstone Lodge - Martin Edwards

The Killing Circle - Andrew Pyper

Obilivion - Peter Abhrams

Trust No One - Paul Cleave

Think Of A Number - John Verdnon

The Eight - Catherine Neville

An Instance Of Fingerpost - Ian Pears

Deep Thoughts...

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Reads That You Will Think About Long After The Last Page…

All Sinners Bleed - S.A. Crosby

Small Mercies - Dennis Lehane

Lessons In Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus

We Begin At The End - Chris Whitaker

Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin

11/22/63 - Stephen King

No Two Persons - Erica Bauermeister

Brooklyn Crime Novel - Jonathan Lethem

Babel – R.F. Kuang

World Running Down - Al Hess

Family Meal - Bryan Washington

The Future - Noami Alderman

The Women - Kristin Hannah

Hestia Strikes A Match - Christine Grillo

Tom Lake - Ann Patchett

Count Of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

Blind Assasian - Margaret Atwood

In The Name Of The Rose - Umberto Eco

A Gentleman In Moscow - Amor Towles

Circus Circus...

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Step Right Up..for the magic, for the fear!

Carnivale Of Curiousitites - Aimee Gibbs

First Bright Thing - J.R. Dawson

Circus Train - Amita Parikh

Pantonmine - Laura Lin

Hide - Kiersten White

Bacchanal - Veronica G Henry

Joyland - Stephen King

Caraval - Stephanie Garber

Circus Of Wonders - Elizabeth Macneal

Wonder Show - Hannah Barnaby

The Immortal Circus - A.R. Kahler

Nights At The Circus - Angela Carter

Ladies Of The Secret Circus - Constance Sayers

Full Tilt - Neal Shusterman

Freeks - Amanda Hockling

Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

Stardust - Neil Gaiman

Carter Beats The Devil - Glen David Gold

Jonathan Strange & Mr.Norell - Susanna Clarke

Zero Days - Ruth Ware

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Zero Days - Ruth Ware

Thriller

Rating: 8/10

It would be hard to dispute that Ware has a knack for writing propulsive plots and casting them with female protagonists that you will root for. And her latest does not disappoint, especially when you layer on the technological angle to the story. Jack and her husband are penetration specialists, people who find ways around company security systems. After their latest job, she gets home to find her beloved husband brutally murdered. Soon she will be both on the hunt and the hunted!

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I Only Read Murder - Ian & Will Ferguson

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I Only Read Murder - Ian & Will Ferguson

Mystery

Rating: 7/10

Miranda, once known for playing the crime solving church pastor she was cast as on television, has hit hard times. No matter how flagrantly she ignores this fact at every opportunity. Now she finds herself in the thick of a real life mystery, so to speak. A cozy whodunnit chock full of quirky characters, imagine a murder mystery set on the series Corner Gas or Schitt’s Creek. Pure Canadiana!

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I'm A Fan - Sheena Patel

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I'm A Fan - Sheena Patel

Fiction

Rating: 8/10

In the last few years, I have seen an influx of books that are willing to tell stories that are brave enough to forgo niceties, cast unlikable characters, and mine the depths of messy and disturbing lives. This is one such book. Our narrator is unnamed and possibly unhinged. The narrative itself is vitriolic, tortuous, fractured and a perfect fit for the story it sets out to tell. A story I recommend you read!

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