Can't Wait Wednesday!

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I am combining CWW with Books From the Backlog hosted by Carole at Carole's Random Life in Books. This will allow me to feature some newly "rediscovered" books, which I plan on reading, alongside a new release.

This week I can't wait for

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I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue
Published by William Morrow on May 21, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction
Goodreads

In this office comedy, an admin worker accidentally gains access to her colleagues’ private email and direct messages and decides to use the intel to save her job.

As far as Jolene is concerned, her interactions with her colleagues should start and end with her official duties as an admin for Supershops, Inc. Unfortunately, her irritating, incompetent coworkers don’t seem to understand the importance of boundaries. Her secret to survival? She vents her grievances in petty email postscripts, then changes the text color to white so no one can see—until one of her hidden messages is exposed. Her punishment: sensitivity training (led by the suspiciously friendly HR guy, Cliff) and rigorous email restrictions.

When an IT mix-up grants her access to her entire department’s private emails and DMs, Jolene knows she should report it, but who can resist reading what their coworkers are really saying? And when she discovers layoffs are coming, she realizes this might just be the key to saving her job. The plan is simple: Gain her boss’s favor; convince HR she’s Supershops material; and beat the competition.

But as Jolene is drawn further into her coworker’s private worlds and realizes each are keeping secrets, her carefully constructed walls begin to crumble—especially around Cliff, whom she definitely cannot have feelings for. Eventually she will need to decide whether she’s ready to leave the comfort of her cubicle, even if that means coming clean to her colleagues.

I have done "office work" for most of my life, and my co-workers and I would often joke about our situation and shows and movies that satirize our experience. I think that's what drew me to this book. It will give me the opportunity to laugh at my life as I laugh at Jolene's circumstances. Sounds like it will be a good time. 

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The Guests on South Battery by Karen White
Published by Berkley on January 10, 2017
Age/Genres: Adult, Paranormal
Goodreads

Karen White invites you to explore the brick-walked streets of Charleston in her fifth Tradd Street novel, where historic mansions house the memories of years gone by, and restless spirits refuse to fade away...

With her extended maternity leave at its end, Melanie Trenholm is less than thrilled to leave her new husband and beautiful twins to return to work, especially when she’s awoken by a phone call with no voice on the other end—and the uneasy feeling that the ghostly apparitions that have stayed silent for more than a year are about to invade her life once more.

But her return to the realty office goes better than she could have hoped, with a new client eager to sell the home she recently inherited on South Battery. Most would treasure living in one of the grandest old homes in the famous historic district of Charleston, but Jayne Smith would rather sell hers as soon as possible, guaranteeing Melanie a quick commission.

Despite her stroke of luck, Melanie can’t deny that spirits—both malevolent and benign—have started to show themselves to her again. One is shrouded from sight, but appears whenever Jayne is near. Another arrives when an old cistern is discovered in Melanie’s backyard on Tradd Street.

Melanie knows nothing good can come from unearthing the past. But some secrets refuse to stay buried....

It's been a while since I read the last Tradd Street book, so I thought I would make it my backlist book for this week. I have been enjoying this series with the last book FINALLY delivering on the romance that had been simmering for way too long. I am excited to return to this world and see how Melanie is handling her new circumstances. 

What are you waiting on?
Let us know in the comments!