Cover Reveal: The Heart Shaped Box by Lucy Kaufman
Today I am helping in the cover reveal for The Heart Shaped Box by Lucy Kaufman. This is a novella at 87 pages and comes out on January 27th! The page-turning psychological thriller novella about infatuation, revenge and the lengths we will go to for love.
Novella Description:
“She pressed her nose gingerly to the glass, peering unblinking through the viscous liquid at her gift.”
Victorian, rural Sussex. When headstrong daughter of a rector, Constance Timothy, receives a flurry of gifts in pretty little boxes from the charming, smouldering student doctor Smith Williams, her whole family anticipates a future betrothal.
Yet beneath the exquisite pastel lids and satin bows lie macabre secrets that entice Constance into a private world of obsession and darkness, where morality becomes blurred, loyalties are tested and unthinkable acts are possible.
One secret will shake the genteel world she knows to the core…
The first book of The Carousel of Curiosities series, this haunting novella is perfect for readers of Sarah Waters, Laura Purcell, and Angela Carter.
Now….. What does the cover look like?????? Keep scrolling to find out!!
Almost there!!!
Here it is:
Pre-Order Your Copy Here:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
About the Author:
Lucy Kaufman is an award-winning author, playwright, audio dramatist and poet. 40 of her plays have been performed professionally around the UK and Australia, to critical acclaim. She has lectured in Playwriting and Screenwriting for Pen to Print and Canterbury Christ Church University and is a mentor at The Writing Coach. Originally from London, she now lives by the sea with her husband, sons, dogs and cats.
Contact Lucy:
Instagram @kaufmanlucy
Audiobook Review: Rebellion by Raena Rood
Rebellion
Series: The Reverence Trilogy, Book Two
Author: Raena Rood
Narrator: Brittany Goodwin
Audio Published: December 10, 2025
Audiobook: 8 hours 51 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: December 17-22, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Kira always knew that her future in Vita Nova was a mandatory death at age sixty, just like every other citizen. But when she falls in love with Will Foster, one of the city’s revered Volunteers, and risks everything to escape the city’s iron grip, she begins to believe that a different life might be within reach.
With Will and young Teddy by her side, Kira ventures into the Unregulated Zone, desperate to find other survivors and a place free from Vita Nova’s oppressive rule—a place where freedom still exists.
Their journey brings them to Haven, a secluded community hidden deep in the Pennsylvania woods, led by the enigmatic Ghost. But Haven holds many secrets—secrets that could shatter Kira’s fragile hopes for the future and threaten the tenuous bond she’s forged with Will.
When a brutal attack shatters the fragile peace she’s found, Kira is forced into a deadly confrontation. Torn between protecting the people she loves and securing her own future, Kira must confront the true meaning of sacrifice—or risk becoming another victim of Vita Nova’s cruel justice.
Jessica’s Review:
Rebellion picks up immediately after Reverence ends. The reader along with Kira experiences more of the world outside of Vita Nova and meets new characters. This is a story about different types of love, actual family and people who become family, friendship and security. But most of all, FAITH. Rood gets her message across without being ‘overly preachy.’ Sometimes a book with Christian themes can turn readers away, especially if it is ‘overly preachy.’ This is a clean novel that would be appropriate for younger teens. Yes, characters we have become attached to over the course of these two novels die, but it is a dystopian world! The romance between Kira and Will is sweet and innocent, but does move very quickly. (Again, this is a dystopian world!). Some character deaths are more poignant than others.
We have a new character named Ghost, who is an enigma all on his own, and I liked him! I want to know more about him. The way these character’s lives are connected intertwines in just the right way. We are left with another cliffhanger at the end and I find myself wanting to find out how this story ends, which it will with Ransom as it is the final book in the trilogy.
We have a new narrator with Rebellion: Brittany Goodwin. She has a different take on Kira than the previous narrator whom I enjoyed. I had to get used to Goodwin’s narration as I had just recently finished Reverence. I ended up enjoying Goodwin’s narration. She has a good take on Kira and I could hear her growth over the course of the novel. From being naïve and a ‘sheltered city girl’ to becoming the woman she will ultimately become.
I received an Audible code from the author and enjoyed listening to Rebellion. Rood also just updated the covers, which focuses more on Kira and Will. I liked the older cover for Reverence as once I finished it, the images on the cover had more meaning for me.
I look forward to listening or reading Ransom. I want to know how this story ends. If the audiobook doesn’t come out soon, I might just have to read this one on my kindle!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
ALC Review: My Husband’s Wife by Alice Fenney
My Husband’s Wife
Author: Alice Feeney
Narrators:
Bel Powley
Henry Rowley
Richard Armitage
To Be Published: January 20, 2026
Audiobook: 8 hours 58 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: December 23, 2025- January 5, 2026
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars
Book Description:
Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her big break, sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the home she recently moved into, Spyglass, an enchanting old house in Hope Falls, nothing is as it should be. Her key doesn’t fit. A woman, eerily similar to her, answers the door. And her husband insists that the stranger is his wife.
One house. One husband. Two women. Someone is lying.
Six months earlier, a reclusive Londoner called Birdy, reeling from a life-changing diagnosis, inherits Spyglass. This unexpected gift from a long-lost grandmother brings her to the pretty seaside village of Hope Falls. But then Birdy stumbles upon a shadowy London clinic that claims to be able to predict a person’s date of death, including her own. Secrets start to unravel, and as the line between truth and lies blurs, Birdy feels compelled to right some old wrongs.
My Husband’s Wife is a tangled web of deception, obsession, and mystery that will keep you guessing until the last page. Prepare yourself for the ultimate mind-bending marriage thriller and step inside Spyglass – if you dare – to experience a story where nothing is as it seems.
Jessica’s Review:
I’ve read a few novels by Alice Feeney, so when I hear she has a book coming out, I look into it. This one has an intriguing premise and I was excited to be granted an advanced copy to listen to and review. And once I started it, I was glad I got this advanced copy.
There are a lot of twists throughout the novel, and it goes in many directions that I was not expecting. And then… Add in a company that claims that it can predict when a person will die… WHAT!?!??!
We have four POVs:
Carter who is a police officer
Eden who is Harrison’s wife and an artist
Birdy who is comes back to Hope Falls and also a police officer.
Harrison who lives in Spyglass and married to Eden
So much happens that it could be hard to keep it all straight. I think the audiobook definitely helped me with this. It is all very implausible and something about the story just did not connect with me. I can’t figure out what it was. Sometimes books are for you and sometimes they just are not. My Husband’s Wife had a lot of promise, but it just ended up not being a book for me.
There are three narrators who did a great job and there are also ‘sound effects’ that enhanced and adds to this story! Nothing too distracting to affect me while I was driving. For example, one effect was when Eden was running you can hear her making those steps. And I just have to say the cover is gorgeous!
Many thanks to the publisher, Macmillan Audio for granting me a copy to listen to and review!
Pre-order Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK