Drafts & Dark Roast

Welcome to the forty-fifth book review of fifty-three. As you know, I used to provide freelance book reviews to several review companies. It was a great experience that introduced me to new authors and their wonderful books. Each week this year, I open my Weekend Coffee shares with a link to a review I’ve written. Reviews are three stars or higher. The genres range from picture books to fiction and nonfiction titles.

Still Water (I posted a review on Goodreads)
The author is Tami Hoag
Published in 1992
The publisher is Bantam
Available in Audiobook, eBook, Hardcover, and Paperback (446 pages)
Suspense (Books) | Contemporary Romance| Romantic Suspense (Books)

If we were having coffee, I would share that Still Waters was my first read by Tami Hoag. I found this book in one of the local outdoor library boxes and traded for it. Those library boxes are a lovely way to try a new author. Anyway, when I did my research for the above note section on the book, I actually couldn’t find print editions for sale (audio and Kindle, yes). The copy I read was well-worn to the point that I book-doctored it a bit to keep the cover from falling off. It had that old book smell. All of it combined gives me a sense of nostalgia, book nostalgia. Does anybody else experience that?

If we were having coffee, I would share a picture of the puzzles I finished this week. One is a traditional 1000-piece Ravensburger’s puzzle called “Adventures in the Jungle.” It is fun to put together. The second puzzle is a stained-glass puzzle. I enjoyed trying something new, but there wasn’t a lot of challenge to it.

If we were having coffee, I would ask you to watch for a new page I’m adding in the next few weeks called “Weekend Coffee Circle.” That builds into my news about my writing life. I took a break from finishing my second middle-grade novel, but I got back to the grind with it this week. It’s almost finished in rough. I’m hoping to start my first few rounds of self-editing next week and then schedule a title and cover reveal. More on those later.

Well, virtual coffee friend, here is the coffee bean grinder. Please leave a link to your post in the comments section below so that I can read your coffee news.

By Shari Marshall (2026)