<![CDATA[EUREKA PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICT (Eureka, Illinois) - Staff Book Reviews]]>Wed, 20 May 2026 02:09:42 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[May 19, 2026 | 'These Tangled Threads' by Sarah Loudin Thomas [Adult Review]]]>Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.eurekapl.org/staff-book-reviews/may-19-2026-these-tangled-threads-by-sarah-loudin-thomas-adult-review

These Tangled Threads

Thomas, Sarah Loudin

2024, Bethany House

Fiction

Availability

EPLD: print
ILL: large print
eBook: Libby & Hoopla
eAudiobook: Hoopla
Seven years ago, a hidden betrayal scattered three young friends living in the shadow of Biltmore Estate. Now, when Biltmore Industries master weaver Lorna Blankenship is commissioned to create an original design for Cornelia Vanderbilt's 1924 wedding, she panics knowing she doesn't have the creativity needed. But there's an elusive artisan in the Blue Ridge Mountains who could save her--if only she can find her.

To track the mysterious weaver down, Lorna sees no other way but to seek out the relationships she abandoned in shame. As she pulls at each tangled thread from her old life, Lorna is forced to confront the wounds and regrets of long ago. She'll have to risk the job that shapes her identity as well as the hope of friendship--and love--restored.

In this seamlessly woven historical tale, award-winning Appalachian author Sarah Loudin Thomas delivers a poignant novel of friendship, artistry, restoration, and second chances.

Read a review by Debra Blunier:

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]]><![CDATA[May 19, 2026 | 'Will in Scarlet' by Matthew Cody [Middle Grade Review]]]>Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.eurekapl.org/staff-book-reviews/may-19-2026-will-in-scarlet-by-matthew-cody-middle-grade-review

Will in Scarlet

Cody, Matthew

2013, Alfred A. Knopf

Fiction

Grades: 5 - 6; Lexile: 840L

Availability

EPLD: print
ILL: Playaway
eBook & eAudiobook: Palace Project
Will Scarlet is on the run. 

Once the sheltered son of nobility, Will has become an exile. While his father, Lord Shackley, has been on the Crusades with King Richard, a treacherous plot to unseat Richard has swept across England, and Shackley House has fallen.

Will flees the only home he's ever known into neighboring Sherwood Forest, where he joins the elusive gang of bandits known as the Merry Men. Among them are Gilbert, their cruel leader; a giant named John Little; a drunkard named Rob; and Much, an orphan girl disguised as a bandit boy.

This is the story of how a band of misfit outlaws become heroes of legend - thanks to one brave 13-year-old boy.

Read a review by Nikki Smith:

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]]><![CDATA[April 28, 2026 | 'A Forest Song' by Kirsten Hall & Evan Turk [Picture Book Review]]]>Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.eurekapl.org/staff-book-reviews/april-28-2026-a-forest-song-by-kirsten-hall-evan-turk-picture-book-review

A Forest Song

Hall, Kirsten
​Turk, Evan

2025, Random House Studio

Fiction

Grades: Pre-K - 3; Lexile: AD560L

Availability

EPLD: print
This vivid and evocative poem reimagines classic lines of poetry from Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allen Poe and others. Readers will journey into a forest, listen carefully to its sounds, and observe the creatures that call it home.

With swirling colors, the stunning illustrations create scenes of the forest awakening through the eyes of a child – a wolf finds its lair, a deer steps with care, even the trees appear to flutter awake! With each verse, the child embraces these sights, imagining the trees lifting him to the sky, gently lulling him to sleep, and greeting him anew in the morning.

A tribute to writers of the past, this stunning picture book by poet Kirsten Hall and award-winning illustrator Evan Turk celebrates the beauty of our forests, and encourages readers to respect, honor, and be in awe of their natural wonders.

Read a review by Kathryn Longfellow:

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]]><![CDATA[April 28, 2026 | 'Echoes of Evil' by Heather Graham [Adult Review]]]>Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.eurekapl.org/staff-book-reviews/april-28-2026-echoes-of-evil-by-heather-graham-adult-review

Echoes of Evil

Graham, Heather

2018, Mira

Fiction

Availability

EPLD: print
ILL: large print & audiobook
eBook: Freading & Hoopla
eAudiobook: Hoopla
Brodie McFadden is supposed to be on vacation, getting some sunshine and deciding if he wants to join his brothers and the Krewe of Hunters, a special paranormal investigation unit of the FBI. But a diving excursion with an old navy buddy to a historic shipwreck uncovers a crime scene—and the corpse is new.

Museum curator Dakota “Kody” McCoy just wants her Key West culture festival to succeed. She’s always had a deep connection to her home, including being regularly haunted by some of the resident ghosts. Then, in the middle of a performance, a beloved local musician drops dead. It seems accidental, but Kody isn’t so sure.

Brodie thinks the recent deaths are linked, and he needs help from Kody. Something about her festival is dangerous. And the threat is creeping ever closer. Has she uncovered a treasure from the past that someone will kill for?

Read a review by Cindy O'Neill:

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]]><![CDATA[March 24, 2026 | 'A Map to Paradise' by Susan Meissner [Adult Review]]]>Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.eurekapl.org/staff-book-reviews/march-24-2026-a-map-to-paradise-by-susan-meissner-adult-review

A Map to Paradise

Meissner, Susan

2025, Berkley

Fiction

Availability

EPLD: print
ILL: large print
956, Malibu, Something is not right on Paradise Circle.

With her name on the Hollywood blacklist and her life on hold, starlet Melanie Cole has little choice in company. There is her next-door neighbor, Elwood, but the screenwriter’s agoraphobia allows for just short chats through open windows. He’s her sole confidante, though, as she and her housekeeper, Eva, an immigrant from war-torn Europe, rarely make conversation.

Then one early morning Melanie and Eva spot Elwood’s sister-in-law and caretaker, June, digging in his beloved rose garden. After that they don’t see Elwood at all anymore. Where could a man who never leaves the house possibly have gone?

As they try to find out if something has happened to him, unexpected secrets are revealed among all three women, leading to an alliance that seems the only way for any of them to hold on to what they can still call their own. But it’s a fragile pact and one little spark could send it all up in smoke…

Read a review by Debra Blunier:

a_map_to_paradise.pdf
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]]><![CDATA[March 24, 2026 | 'Words of Friendship' by Jake Biggin [Picture Book Review]]]>Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.eurekapl.org/staff-book-reviews/march-24-2026-words-of-friendship-by-jake-biggin-picture-book-review

Words of Friendship

Biggin, Jake

2025, DK Publishing

Fiction

Grades: 2 - 3; Lexile: 450L

Availability

EPLD: print
Meet Sunny. Sunny's only little, but he has big thoughts and most importantly, a big heart. Acting as a guide, mentor, and friend, he'll never judge your questions, worries, or anxieties. We all have them, and this sausage dog is here to help.

With charming illustrations throughout, and enchanting lyrical text from the talented author and illustrator, Jake Biggin, Words of Friendship is the perfect story to remind us that we're not alone. Readers will find a loyal companion in Sunny, and Alice's fears, questions, and anxieties are relatable for people big and small.

​Discover comfort, joy, and acceptance in this little book that's full of friendship and love and reconnect with what's truly important.

Read a review by Kathryn Longfellow:

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]]><![CDATA[February 24, 2026 | 'Small Spaces' by Katherine Arden [Middle Grade Review]]]>Wed, 25 Feb 2026 01:00:00 GMThttps://www.eurekapl.org/staff-book-reviews/february-24-2026-small-spaces-by-katherine-arden-middle-grade-review

Small Spaces

Arden, Katherine

2018, G.P. Putnam's Sons

Fiction

Grades: 5 & up; Lexile: HL570L

Availability:

ILL: print & audiobook
eAudiobook: Palace Project
After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn't think—she just acts, stealing the book and running away. As she begins to read the slender volume, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both loved her, and a peculiar deal made with "the smiling man," a sinister specter who grants your most tightly held wish, but only for the ultimate price. 

Ollie is captivated by the tale until her school trip the next day to Smoke Hollow, a local farm with a haunting history all its own. There she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she's been reading about. Could it be the story about the smiling man is true? Ollie doesn't have too long to think about the answer to that. On the way home, the school bus breaks down, sending their teacher back to the farm for help. But the strange bus driver has some advice for the kids left behind in his care: "Best get moving. At nightfall they'll come for the rest of you." Nightfall is, indeed, fast descending when Ollie's previously broken digital wristwatch, a keepsake reminder of better times, begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN. 

Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed the bus driver's warning. As the trio head out into the woods--bordered by a field of scarecrows that seem to be watching them--the bus driver has just one final piece of advice for Ollie and her friends: "Avoid large places. Keep to small." 

And with that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins.

Read a review by Kathryn Longfellow:

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]]><![CDATA[February 24, 2026 | 'Maid for Each Other' by Lynn Painter [Adult Review]]]>Wed, 25 Feb 2026 01:00:00 GMThttps://www.eurekapl.org/staff-book-reviews/february-24-2026-maid-for-each-other-by-lynn-painter-adult-review

Maid for Each Other

Painter, Lynn

2025, Berkley Romance

Fiction

Availability

EPLD: print
ILL: large print
eBook & eAudiobook: Libby & Palace Project
As a professional cleaner, Abi Mariano never thought her apartment would have any sort of infestation, but because of a building-wide outbreak, she now needs somewhere to stay for a week. As a part-time student with two jobs, she doesn’t have many options. Then the solution presents itself: the owner of the penthouse she cleans is out of town for the week. She normally wouldn’t consider it, but he’s literally never around (she hasn’t even met him). It goes great…until one morning she finds two strangers in the kitchen. They’re the parents of the penthouse owner and they seem to think they’ve heard all about Abi—not as their son’s maid, but as his girlfriend.

Declan Powell has always put his career first, working his way up to become an executive at his company, but he still has his sights set on the next level. When his parents mention that they met his girlfriend, “Abby,” he all but chokes on his escargot. As wonderful as it sounds that she was just darling, he doesn’t actually have a girlfriend—he made her up to get everyone off his back. When Dex finds out who Abi really is, he makes her a proposition: pretend to date him, and he’ll provide everything she needs during their little arrangement. What harm would it do? It’s purely business, no pleasure…right?

Read a review by Cindy O'Neill:

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]]><![CDATA[February 10, 2026 | 'Fear Street: The Beginning' by R.L. Stine [YA Review]]]>Wed, 11 Feb 2026 01:00:00 GMThttps://www.eurekapl.org/staff-book-reviews/february-10-2026-fear-street-the-beginning-by-rl-stine-ya-review

Fear Street: The Beginning

Stine, R.L.

2020, Simon Pulse

Fiction

Grades: 7 - 9; Lexile: 520L (The New Girl), 560L (The Surprise Party & The Overnight), 480L (Missing)

Availability

ILL: print
The classic and heart-pounding Fear Street Series from beloved author R.L. Stine is back with the first four books now in one thrilling package!

Welcome to Fear Street…
Where strange things happen, people go missing, and nightmares come true.

This is where it all began. When Fear Street became legend, forever linked with danger, and curses, and things that go bump in the night. Go back to how it all started—to the moment when Corey Brooks falls for perfect, incredible Anna, only to learn that she’s gone missing...on Fear Street.

Venture into the terrifying Fear Street woods where Meg Dalton’s best friend Evan died under mysterious circumstances, and discover why only Meg can uncover the truth behind his death. Follow Della to Fear Island and learn about the terrifying threats that force Della to confront her past—and the incident that occurred on the island between her and a dangerous stranger.

Return to Fear Street with Mark and Cara Burroughs who come home to find that their parents have disappeared, plunging them into a nightmare of chaos that neither of them could have ever predicted. The only thing they know for sure is that though Fear Street may be a mystery, not everyone escapes such an evil place alive.

Only danger awaits those brave enough to travel down Fear Street. You’re not afraid…are you?

Read a review by Gennifer King:

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]]><![CDATA[February 10, 2026 | 'How Freaking Romantic' by Emily Harding [Adult Review]]]>Wed, 11 Feb 2026 01:00:00 GMThttps://www.eurekapl.org/staff-book-reviews/february-10-2026-how-freaking-romantic-by-emily-harding-adult-review

How Freaking Romantic

Harding, Emily

2025, Gallery Books

Fiction

Availability

EPLD: print
ILL: audiobook
In this sharply funny solo debut, an aspiring lawyer is forced to work alongside the opposing counsel in her best friend’s divorce case, which leads to the biggest irreconcilable difference of love.

Beatrice Nilsson has a lot to be angry about. The wage gap, the pink tax, the repayment schedule on all those student loans…the list goes on. But that anger is also what makes her such a good friend—the perennial sidekick who fights for her loved ones’ happily ever after, even while conveniently neglecting her own. So when the marriage of her two best friends falls apart—and the divorce proceedings get ugly—Bea is ready to step in and help pick up the pieces.

First on her to-do list? Storm the office of Nathan Asher, her friend’s ex-husband’s lawyer, and tell him exactly what he can do with his divorce petition. But what should end with a few choice words and a slam of the door soon spirals into uncharted territory when Nathan shows up at her NYU Law office a few days later. As a newly-minted adjunct professor––and her new colleague––he proves to be annoyingly intelligent, relentlessly patient, and unfairly attractive. Bea still hates him, of course, but it’s not long before that hate begins to feel a lot like something else.

There’s just one when you’ve spent your life focusing on everyone else’s love story, it’s not easy to take the starring role in your own. And as uncomfortable truths emerge about the divorce that started it all, Bea must choose whose happily ever after to everyone else’s or her own.

Read a review by Cindy O'Neill:

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