Release Day! Season of Grace by Ashley Farley ~ My Thoughts #SeasonOfGrace #SweetTeaStories

Happy Release Day!

Congrats Ashley

on release today of

Season of Grace!

Season of Grace: A Heartwarming Christmas Novella by Ashley Farley

(Soul Seekers Series #3)

Holiday Fiction, Friendship Fiction, 110 pages

Published October 27, 2026 by Sweet Tea Stories

A chance encounter. A baby left behind. A Christmas miracle no one saw coming.

A heartwarming Christmas novella from the Soul Seekers series.

For years, Thelma Flannery has quietly wandered the streets of Manhattan before dawn, collecting discarded treasures and caring for the overlooked souls she calls her friends. Most people barely notice her. Blossom sees something more.

Across town, television meteorologist Ellie Price has built a successful career predicting everyone else's future while struggling to imagine one for herself. After a devastating personal loss and the end of her marriage, she's convinced the life she dreamed of is gone forever.

When a blizzard descends on New York City just days before Christmas, the lives of two lonely women—and a desperate young mother—collide in ways none of them could have imagined. As hope flickers where despair once lived, each will discover that grace often arrives in the most unexpected packages.

Season of Grace is a poignant story of redemption, second chances, and the extraordinary power of ordinary kindness.

My thoughts about Season of Grace ~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first lines.)

First lines—"The saying is true—New York never sleeps. She simply changes gears as the night unfolds."

Who's ready for a little Christmas reading? I know I am! Give me a heartwarming holiday story any day of the week. 

Thelma and Ellie don't exist in the same worlds in the big city of Manhattan but when their lives cross, only good can come from it, right? Thanks to the magical influence of the amazing Blossom, everything has the potential of becoming right with the world. Can she pull it off this time?

Season of Grace is the perfect story that we need right now to get us all in the mood for kindness, giving, and redemption during this time of year. I loved it and highly recommend it!

I received a copy of Season of Grace from the author and this is my honest opinion.

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The next book in this wonderful series is expected to be released January 26, 2027.

Read my thoughts about Return to Marsh Hollow here.

Read my thoughts about Where Light Lingers here.

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About the author

Ashley Farley writes books about women for women. Her characters are mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives facing real-life issues. Her bestselling Sweeney Sisters series has touched the lives of many.

Ashley is a wife and mother of two young adult children. While she's lived in Richmond, Virginia for the past 21 years, a piece of her heart remains in the salty marshes of the South Carolina Lowcountry, where she still calls home. Through the eyes of her characters, she captures the moss-draped trees, delectable cuisine, and kindhearted folk with lazy drawls that make the area so unique. For more information, visit www.ashleyfarley.com ~ Goodreads

Connect with Ashley

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? October 26, 2026 #IMWAYR

  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's an opportunity to visit other blogs and to comment on their reads. And ... you can add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are! 

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Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all have a good week. 

Happy reading!

What I'm currently reading

The Witch

by Freida McFadden

e-book from my TBR collection for a challenge

Published October 2026

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

by V.E. Schwab

print from my TBR shelf for a challenge

This one could take me awhile. Have you read it?

Published October 2020

The Ex-Wives Club

by Sally Hepworth

audio-book from Amazon Original Stories

Published June 2026

What I recently finished

The Daughters of Rosebud

by Sonny Buttar

e-book from my TBR collection for a challenge

Published October 2026

The It Girl

by Ruth Ware

audio-book from my TBR collection

Published July 2022

What I am going to read next

(this is always subject to change)

 😊

Saving Noah

by Lucinda Berry

e-book from Amazon Prime Reading

Published September 2017

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

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Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways! 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? October 19, 2026 #IMWAYR

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's an opportunity to visit other blogs and to comment on their reads. And ... you can add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are! 

**************************************

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all have a good week. 

Happy reading!

I haven't posted an IMWAYR posts for several weeks. I actually was in South Carolina visiting my two sons and their families. They live on opposite sides of the state so I got to see it all. So this is 2-3 weeks worth of reading, although I didn't get much reading time in while I was gone for those ten days. Totally worth it though, gotta love family time!

This was my view for part of the time I was there. 

What I'm currently reading

The Daughters of Rosebud

by Sonny Buttar

e-book from my TBR collection for a challenge

Published October 2026

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

by V.E. Schwab

print from my TBR shelf for a challenge

This one could take me awhile. Have you read it?

Published October 2020

The It Girl

by Ruth Ware

audio-book from my TBR collection

Published July 2022

 

What I recently finished

Dear Debbie

by Freida McFadden

e-book from Amazon Prime Reading

Published January 2026

Season of Grace: A Heartwarming Christmas Novella

(Soul Seekers #3)

by Ashley Farley

eARC for review

Pub date ~ October 27, 2026

A Fire Sparkling

by Julianne MacLean

e-book from my TBR for a challenge

Published August 2019

What I am going to read next

(this is always subject to change)

 😊

Saving Noah

by Lucinda Berry

e-book from Amazon Prime Reading

Published September 2017

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

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Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways! 

New Release! What a Nightmare by Rebekah Faubion

Congratulation Rebekah

on the recent release of

What a Nightmare!

What a Nightmare by Rebekah Faubion

Horror; Thriller; LGBTQ+ - Bisexual, 368 pages

Published October 13, 2026 by Berkley

The story: They called her a nightmare, so she became one.

Haven Powers has spent years trying to disappear. Once a loud, troublemaking girl who defied every expectation in her small town of Friendship, Texas, now she’s learned to hide her fire behind a quiet receptionist’s smile. It’s safer that way—for her, and for everyone else.

When an unsettling encounter with her predatory boss cracks open the tightly locked box inside her, Haven dreams a terrifying dream about him, only to wake up and discover it’s come true; he’s dead. Desperate to gain control of this deadly power once and for all, Haven returns home.

Welcomed suspiciously with open arms, Haven is immediately met with the ghosts of her past. Under the suffocating pressure of the town and her family who believe obedience is next to godliness, Haven soon finds herself on a path to revenge. She’ll show them what happens when the girl they called too much, too loud, too everything, finally lets her demons loose.

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About the author

Rebekah Faubion is a queer author and screenwriter living in Los Angeles. Her books include the YA dark speculative thriller Lost Girls of Hollow Lake out now from Delacorte Press, sapphic rom-coms The Lovers and The Sun and the Moon, and her adult horror debut What a Nightmare, releasing October 13th, 2026 from Berkley Pub. 

She enjoys reading tarot, bingeing horror novels way past her bedtime, and thinking up places to bury the body—for the plot, of course.

Connect with Rebekah

Website | Goodreads | Instagram

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Book Blitz! Death Hits the High Notes by GG Calpo ~ Excerpt and #Giveaway #DeathHitsTheHighNotes @XpressoTours

Death Hits the High Notes by GG Calpo
(The Sweet TOOTH Murder Mystery Series)
Publication date: October 7th 2026
Genres: Adult, Cozy Mystery, Mystery

Trouble is brewing at Whitman’s Port Choral Society as choir members drop dead and Detective Jonathan Storm raises more questions than answers in his investigation. When Stefan, the choir’s soloist, gets weaker by the day, Meg and her friends take matters into their own hands. And if a murder investigation was not enough to elevate anyone’s blood pressure, Meg finds herself in danger tied to her past that she’s struggling to understand.

Will Meg and her friends stop the killer before Stefan becomes the next victim—and before Meg’s past catches up with her?

Join these golden-age sleuths as they follow the clues, protect their own, and prove that friendship is the strongest weapon against a killer.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

iBooks | Kobo

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EXCERPT

There were two new faces I didn’t recognize from last year’s concert. They looked familiar, though I couldn’t place where I had seen them before. The conductor stood in front, his back to us as he summoned the choir’s eyes to him with a few taps of his baton. He took a deep breath, synchronizing the choir’s breathing to his own. Gesturing with his baton, he released the soprano’s voice—rich, powerful, and throbbing with emotion. The beginning strains of the solo filled the auditorium. Holding his right hand at waist level, the conductor flicked his right index finger left, then right, counting the beats.

“That’s Amanda, in case you didn’t know,” Liz told me behind her raised hand.

I nodded and tried to stop my giggles when Liz’s shoulder hit mine.

“Will…you…shut…up?” Barbara widened her eyes more with each word.

Liz waved her hands in surrender, twitched her body deeper into the chair, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. If it weren’t for the trembling of her shoulders, Liz could have fooled us with her pose of deep listening. But we knew her, and all she got from Barbara was another shove. Despite her unfailingly put-together appearance—manicured nails and hair always expertly cut and dyed—Liz hadn’t left her teen years behind. We must have been making a racket because a woman three rows down turned around and glared at us.

Liz and I looked at each other and decided to settle down and listen. I swayed, imagining my soul lifting in prayer, soaring past the lights of the auditorium and ever more upwards into the wide open sky beyond the school building. Then it happened. One minute I was up in the heavens, one with the song; the next minute I was crashing without a parachute.

The glorious voice stopped, leaving echoes of the high note ringing in the auditorium. A harsh cough sounded, jarring and unexpected. The accompanist stopped. The conductor jerked forward while the soprano toppled gracelessly to the floor, face down. Music scores fluttered in the air before landing gently around the stricken woman. A choir member huddled over her while the rest stared in shock.

“She’s not breathing!” The grief-stricken wail rattled my bones.

Barbara jumped up from her chair, her eyes fixed on Stefan, who stood frozen in his place, his eyes fixed on Amanda.

Amanda…who wasn’t moving.

I whipped my phone out of my bag and dialed nine-one-one. How long would help take to get here? Stefan moved to where Amanda was, kneeling to touch her on her shoulder. What was Stefan waiting for? Why was he not giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation? A few other choir members crept nearer but then backed away when Stefan waved them off. Start CPR, I wanted to shout, but couldn’t because the 911 operator had picked up my call.

Then the door to the auditorium opened, and in walked Edna, former third-grade teacher of Post Elementary School and the last of our group. One look at the stage and the woman laid out on the floor had Edna gasping, loud enough for everyone to hear, “Oh no, not another murder?”

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About the author

GG Calpo is a retired lawyer and accountant who traded contracts and numbers for the far more enjoyable chaos of fictional crime. Now she writes cozy whodunits featuring warm-hearted golden-aged sleuths who’ve seen it all, heard it all and will investigate a murder with zero hesitation. She loves stories where the stakes are personal, family and friendships are paramount, with characters who refuse to follow the outline and endings that pull the rug out. 

When not plotting twisty crimes—on paper only, of course—she spends her time reading, crocheting blankets and sweaters for her five grandchildren, watching mystery TV shows and taking long walks in her neighborhood. She lives in Central New Jersey with her husband and two corgis, Whiskey and Nugget.

Connect with GG

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram

Death Hits the High Notes

Blitz Giveaway

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