Madisoncanread | Hot Wax

Hot Wax

M.L. Rio

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The new novel from the bestselling author of If We Were Villains and Graveyard Shift—a vivid and immersive tale of one woman’s reckless mission to make sense of the events that shattered her childhood, and made her who she is.

Summer, 1989: ten-year-old Suzanne is drawn like a magnet to her father’s forbidden world of electric guitars and tricked-out cars. When her mother remarries, she jumps at the chance to tag along on the concert tour that just might be Gil and the Kills’ wild ride to glory. But fame has sharper fangs than anybody realized, and as the band blazes up the charts, internal power struggles set Gil and his group on a collision course destined for a bloody reckoning—one shrouded in mystery and lore for decades to come.

The only witness to a desperate act of violence, Suzanne spends the next twenty-nine years trying to disappear. She trades the music and mayhem of her youth for the quiet of the suburbs and the company of her mild-mannered husband Rob. But when her father’s sudden death resurrects the troubled past she tried so hard to bury, she leaves it all behind and hits the road in search of answers.

Hitching her fate and Gil’s beloved car to two vagabonds who call an old Airstream trailer home, she finds everything she thought she’d lost forever: desire, adventure, and the woman she once wanted to be. But Rob refuses to let her go. Determined to bring her back where she belongs, he chases her across the country—and drives her to a desperation all her own.

Drenched in knock-down drag-out rock and roll, Hot Wax is a raucous, breakneck ride to hell and back—where getting lost might be the only way to find yourself and save your soul.

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Madisoncanread\ \ Madison\ \ • Aug 31 2025

Poll:\ \ Do you prefer finding new releases like this or do you prefer the newsletter? \ \ September is looking like an amazing month for new book releases!\ \ September 1, 2025 \ \ The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalano:\ \ Based on the true story of Margaret Jones, the first women to be found guilty of witchcraft. This wasn't on my radar at all, but it's going straight to my tbr.\ \ \ \ The Silenced by Diane Rodriguez Wallach\ \ Hazel begins researching the Oakwell Farms School for Girls when she realize this place may be seriously haunted.\ \ September 2, 2025 \ \ I Might Be In Trouble by Daniel Aleman\ \ An author, David had a stand out debut book release, and then his 2nd novel flopped. He was on top of the world and now feels like he has nothing. He ends up going on a date with his dream guy and wakes up the next morning finding him dead. Now he and his literary agent, Stacey are trying to get to the bottom of it.\ \ \ \ Discontent by Beatriz Serrano (Translated by Mara Faye Lethem)\ \ Marisa's life seems picture perfect. However, she's drowning in despair due to the pressures of corporate life. A company's annual retreat may end up exposing her.\ \ \ \ Happiness and Love by Zoe Dubno\ \ A woman has to suffer through an insufferable dinner party hosted for a newly famous actress who is very late. Once she arrives, the night seems to turn into chaos.\ \ \ \ Breathe In, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley\ \ I already have this one preordered! "It's a Midsommar night's Scream in this blood-soaked thriller set at a remote healing treat." There's no way I don't love this book\ \ September 9 2025 \ \ Hot Wax by M.L. Rio\ \ At 10 years old Suzanne witness something traumatic while on tour with her fathers band and now as an adult she's trying to disappear but someone won't let her go.\ \ \ \ The Macabre by Kosoko Jackson\ \ A struggling painter is shocked when a museum shows interest in his art. He accepts the invitation to display his art in a show but he's asked something impossible while he's there.\ \ \ \ Play Nice by Rachel Harrison\ \ I CAN'T Wait for this!!! Clio seems to have the perfect life but she has a secret and that's she grew up in a possessed house. What does that mean? I'm ready to find out!\ \ \ \ The Belles by Lacey N Dunham\ \ I have a feeling this will be perfect for Bunny fans. Deena Williams is trying to fit in and ends up making friends with 5 other girls. The president's wife singles them out and names the group The Belles. Now Deena has secrets that she's trying to keep hidden.\ \ \ \ Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests by K.J. Whittle\ \ "Three courses. Seven guests. One card. It's a deadly evening they'll never forget."\ \ \ \ You Weren't Meant to be Human by Andrew Joseph White\ \ "Alien meets Midsommar" an alien invasion set in West Virginia\ \ \ \ We Are Always Tender With Our Dead by Eric LaRocca\ \ 3 faceless entities arrive on Christmas morning, changing the lives of the residents on Burnt Sparrow, New Hampshire.\ \ September 16 2025 \ \ The Whistler by Nick Medina\ \ Henry is a well loved ghost hunter, ends up getting hurt and is now in a wheelchair being taken care of my his grandparents. He's also now being haunted.\ \ \ \ Fiend by Alma Katsu\ \ The Berisha family runs the largest import-export companies in the world and it seems like all of their competitors have some sort of down fall. Never the Berisha family though. Things may take a turn for them in the end though.\ \ \ \ The Vanishing Place by Zoe Rankin\ \ Effie witnesses horrific violence at the hands of her parents and ends up escaping and living in the wilderness. When she realizes the only witness to a murder is a little girl who looks just like her. This forces Effie to go back to her childhood home.\ \ \ \ The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards\ \ "A dinner party in a beautiful Notting Hill townhouse turns into a sinister game, as six old friends are forced to spill their darkest secrets…or else."\ \ September 23 2025 \ \ We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad\ \ Ah!!! I can't wait for this! The sequel to Bunny!\ \ \ \ Spread Me by Sarah Gailey\ \ Kinsey works at a remote research facility and loves her job. She finds a specimen and then her life begins to spiral.\ \ September 30 2025 \ \ The Mean Ones by Tatianna Schlote-Bonne\ \ Sadie witnesses her best friends brutal murder and now, 17 years later she's dealing with some strange side effects. \ \ \ \ The Mad Wife by Meagan Church\ \ Lulu has strived to be the perfect 1950s housewife but when her new neighbor Bitsy moves in, her life begins to unravel.\ \ \ \ What Stalks The Deep by T. Kingfisher\ \ The third book in the Sworn Soldier series.

September 2025 New Releases

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Ladybug Books\ \ Samantha\ \ • Oct 4 2025

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The Books I Read in September

How is it already October??? #monthlywrapup #booksireadthismonth #bookreviews #readingwrapup #bookrecs

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