“Books mean all possibilities. They mean moving out of yourself, losing yourself, dying of thirst and living to your full. They mean everything.” – Ali Smith
The Ballad of Falling Dragons by Sarah A. Parker
fiction / fantasy / romance.
“Moonbeam. A moonfall is coming.”
Raeve’s thirst for vengeance continues to burn, as does her love for Kaan Vaegor—a staunch beacon from a past she’s yet to face. With Rekk’s blood still fresh on her hands, she learns the world will face its most devastating moonfall yet, forcing her to pick a path:
Chase death.
Or life.
Desperate to save his kingdom from ruin, Kaan’s crown has never felt so heavy. His many larks to scattered friends and family remain unanswered, and time is running out.
As allies merge and enemies surge with bloodlusting agendas of their own, secrets brew hot enough to burn, but none so mighty as the truth nesting within the icy depths of Raeve’s long forgotten past.
Something… Other.
Something with the knowledge to change it all.
“[A] sparkling fantasy sequel.” – B&N Reads
“…scorching… This one’s made for fans of fantasy romance.” – Leandrea Beabout, Reader’s Digest
The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff
fiction.
When April and Leo’s house burns in the middle of the night, they escape with their two young children and the quiet knowledge that the fire is not the only thing threatening their family. They retreat to April’s childhood home in Dallas, where her spirited parents and siblings provide both comfort and complication.
As the family reckons with the aftermath—grief, guilt, logistics, and memories scorched and intact—the fire exposes the cracks already forming in April and Leo’s marriage. The novel unfolds in alternating perspectives: from April, who feels the crushing weight of motherhood, marriage, and self-blame; from Leo, a high school history teacher shaped by a lonely, fractured childhood; from Deb, April’s generous and no-nonsense mother who has to contend with her husband’s recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis; and from flashbacks that trace April and Leo’s relationship from its earliest days of connection to the devastating decisions that led them here.
A family saga suffused with humor, longing, and heartbreak, The Burning Side is about what we inherit and what we choose, about forgiveness and the ache of being known. It is, above all, about the meaning of home and the costs of long love.
“Sarah Damoff’s precise writing foregrounds the beauty and grief found in the quiet, realistic moments of everyday life.” – Book of the Month
“…highly emotional, beautifully written, and deeply moving.” – Beach Reads by Steph
“We all enter new relationships with baggage from our earlier years. Large or small, those issues are present and need to be reckoned with. This book is a great reminder of that fact.” – Lorie Kleiner Eckert
The Fake Divination Offense by Sara Raasch
fiction / romance.
Orok Monroe: Half-giant. Rawball defensive tank on the Philadelphia Hellhounds. Follower of Urzoth… only Orok’s tired of following the god of aggression.
Alexo Warden: Cheerleader. Human? A dancer with a stadium’s worth of secrets.
When Orok saves Alexo at a bar, fans go feral for the star athlete protecting the pint-size dude-in-distress. The Hellhounds propose that Orok and Alexo start a PR relationship to put a positive spin on Orok’s god. Orok is set to refuse and renounce Urzoth―but that wouldn’t let him see Alexo again.
So, like a sap, he agrees.
As Orok tries to drop the fake part of their fake-relationship, Alexo’s dangerous truths emerge. To save him, Orok will have to sacrifice far more than his divine association.
“I absolutely loved this book! The worldbuilding is excellent, the characters are fabulous, and the Dungeons & Dragons Sports mashup was so clever and engaging. I haven’t stopped thinking about this since I read it!” – Christine Bollow, The Indie Next List
“…in between rawball matches and steamy scenes, [Raasch] also explores themes of religious trauma, the sometimes-fine line between attraction and obsession, and the power of friendship and teamwork. It’s a fun ride.” – Susan Maguire, Booklist
Fever Dream by Elsie Silver
fiction / romance.
Professional bull rider Emmett Bush is not looking for love. He’s looking for a paycheck to save his family’s farm from bankruptcy. So, when he agrees to be the leading man on a hot new reality dating show, Romance Ranch, he’s already decided it’s all one big performance.
Until Julia Silva walks onto his property. Smart, snarky, beautiful, and off-limits in more ways than one. As the location consultant on set and the little sister of his most bitter professional rival, she’s the last woman who should pique his interest.
Julia has been warned about Emmett. She knows better than to fall for his cocky swagger, broad shoulders, and smoldering good looks. Plus, she’s sworn off relationships.
But as Julia and Emmett work together, mutual distaste grows into an unexpected connection and then… something more.
Soon, they find themselves searching for excuses to spend time together and out of reach of the cameras. Knowing glances. Stolen kisses. Secret rendezvous.
Still, Emmett signed up to play the role of an eligible bachelor searching for the one. His family’s land and legacy depend on him completing the show.
The problem is, he’s already fallen in love.
Just not with a contestant.
“You won’t want to put this down until the very last page.” – John Jo, Anwar Library
“A fun and charming series starter, with close ties to Silver’s Chestnut Springs series, this is perfect for dating-show aficionados looking for a chemistry-filled twist.” – Jenna Harmison, Library Journal
“…wonderfully entertaining… A bevy of stellar supporting characters, especially a true crime-loving contestant who proves to be a valuable ally to Emmett and Julia, and a deeply hateable villain add to the fun. Silver’s fans will be well pleased.” – Publishers Weekly
Glyph by Ali Smith ★
fiction.
Ghosts don’t exist.
They don’t. End of.
Story, however.
It is haunting.
Everything tells it.
It all starts when Petra and her little sister Patch hear a horrifying story from the past and find themselves making up a ghost.
Is it imaginary? Is it real?
Then it all starts again thirty years later when Petra, now estranged from Patch, finds a phantom horse kicking the furniture to pieces in her bedroom.
What to do? She phones her sister.
In a chiarascuro dance through our increasingly antagonistic era, Glyph asks if we’re attending to the history that’s made us and to the history we’re making.
A funny, warm and clear-eyed take on where we are now, Glyph is about what our imaginations are for and how, in a broken, brutal and divided time, we rekindle care, solidarity, resistance and openness. This anti-war novel, Ali Smith’s most soulful, playful and vital yet, is a work of lightness that goes deep to counter the forces currently flattening the modern world.
“Vital… Smith’s genius lies in her ability to wrap these huge, knotted ideas inside a tender, human story… Powerful, playful with language, fearless with thought, and always alert to what’s possible.” – Gosia Buzzanca, Buzz
“An abstract and mordant meditation on the long aftereffects of violence.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“Smith’s writing, with its frisky inventiveness, experimentation and wordplay, is the closest thing to living, breathing prose… There’s great value in bearing witness, and over the course of the seven novels that Smith has published in the past decade, she’s compiled a dynamic and engaging portrait of the way we live… Brilliant.” – Lucy Scholes, Financial Times
“Feisty, graceful… Her best work since the lauded Seasonal Trilogy… Anglophone author channels molten rage with her level of skill… I won’t spoil the conclusion except to note the final three pages alone are worth the price of a hardcover. Once again Smith makes her case beautifully: art points the way forward, enduring across millennia, like those Sumerian tablets, yet transforming itself and us each day.” – Hamilton Cain, Boston Globe
Ironwood by Michael Connelly
fiction / mystery / suspense.
Detective Sergeant Stilwell knows that his posting on Catalina Island is no paradise, but to most residents, it seems blissfully separated—by twenty-two miles of ocean—from the troubles of Los Angeles County. But now a threat is coming to his safe haven.
Acting on a tip from a confidential informant, Stilwell and his deputies watch a plane land in the middle of the night at the Airport in the Sky, a remote airstrip in the mountains. A duffel bag of drugs is dropped and the deputies move in, but things quickly go sideways. While Stilwell chases the fleeing pickup man into the mountainside brush, shots are fired on the runway and the plane flies off.
An internal inquiry follows, putting Stilwell on the bench until he is cleared of responsibility for the disastrous operation. But he is determined to find out who brought deadly violence to his island, and begins his own secret investigation into the drug deal gone wrong.
While under orders to remain in the sheriff’s substation, he finds in the lost and found a valuable backpack that was never claimed. He traces it to a woman who disappeared while hiking on the island four years ago. But then why was the pack only turned in two months back? Now thoroughly intrigued, he follows the mystery all the way to the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit and Detective Renée Ballard.
Stilwell and Ballard work the case from both sides of the channel, and soon realize they are on the trail of a criminal who revels in taunting the authorities. Meanwhile, frustrated at being shut out of an investigation on his own island, Stilwell risks his already shaky standing in the department to pursue a case whose reach is wider than he ever imagined.
“Ironwood shows what a satisfying series this already has become, as it continues Connelly’s tradition of emphasizing both character and action with aplomb. I’m already ready for a return trip to Catalina.” – Oline H. Cogdill, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“Connelly has another great series on his hands with his Catalina novels. Everything fans expect, Connelly delivers. The mysteries are intriguing, the pace is relentless, and Stillwell is a captivating character. Adding Ballard makes a great book stellar.” – Jeff Ayers, Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“Connelly is at his most polished and incisive here, with crackling dialogue, complex investigations, tricky relationships, escalating suspense, and dogged and inspired sleuthing by a principled, rule-breaking hero. The satisfying ending promises more enthralling episodes on the horizon.” – Donna Seaman, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
The One Day You Were My Husband by Rosie Walsh
fiction / suspense / mystery / romance.
Carrie and Johan marry on a beach in Thailand only months into their whirlwind romance. Carrie, a British surgical intern, is too happy to care that she’s being impulsive. But as the wedding festivities stretch into the night, a group of armed men suddenly swarm the beach, taking Johan away. She never sees him again.
Twelve years later, Carrie is living in the English countryside with her husband, Robin, and their six-year-old twins, running a holiday cottage rental business on the side. One night, she stumbles across an online post in which she discovers that Johan escaped from Thailand years ago, and has been living in Stockholm ever since. As the memories of their passionate relationship flood her, she becomes obsessed with discovering what happened on their wedding day all those years ago.
But just when Carrie thinks she knows what she must do, a shocking twist tears apart everything Carrie thought she knew. The One Day You Were My Husband asks readers what—and whom—they would give up to return to a first love and to the people they once were.
“[A] twisty, heart-pounding, cancel-all-your-plans read.” – Kristyn Kusek Lewis, Real Simple
“A whirlwind romance, a shocking arrest and a mystery that refuses to stay buried—Rosie Walsh, bestselling author of Ghosted, delivers another twist-filled page-turner.” – Melissa D’Agnese, Woman’s World
“[A] barn burner of a novel… With breakneck pacing, simmering romantic tension, and jaw-dropping twists, this raucously entertaining domestic thriller stands apart from the crowd. It’s pure popcorn.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
The Shippers by Katherine Center ★
fiction / romance / comedy.
After a lifetime of being bad at love, JoJo Burton vows to solve her intimacy issues once and for all at her sister’s destination wedding on a cruise ship. Armed with pop psychology, she diagnoses herself with a fixation on the neighborhood guy who was her first crush and first kiss (and who just happens to be a newly-divorced wedding guest). Determined to woo him for closure, she ropes in her childhood bestie, Cooper Watts, as her wingman. Cooper: who RSVPed no, but showed up anyway. Cooper: who moved to London without a word four years ago. Cooper: who broke her heart.
Shipboard antics abound in this witty, heart-tugging, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance, as JoJo and Cooper team up, fake flirt, slow dance, share a cabin, sing duets, get jealous, answer long-held questions, and finally, at last, discover truths about each other that will change everything.
“[The] wedding romance you need.” – Carly Tagen-Dye People
“[A] charming escapist romp.” – Kristine Huntley, Booklist
“Katherine Center is a pro at crafting sweetly cozy romances all but guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings, and her latest is no exception.” – Andrea Park, Marie Claire
“…beguiling… Center employs the forced proximity trope to excellent effect in bringing these two back together, and the characters’ sparkling banter effortlessly captures their long-standing intimacy. It’s a joy to watch their friends-to-lovers journey unfold.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
Soon by You by Dahlia Adler
fiction / romance / comedy.
Arielle Becker is one hora away from a meltdown. After one too many bridesmaid gigs―complete with Spanx, heels, and hideous dresses―she’s officially over love and its overpriced trappings. Especially when they keep coming with the same smug, judgmental wedding singer.
Judah Klein is New York’s go-to Modern Orthodox wedding singer and most eligible bachelor. Years of failed setups have left him jaded, until repeated clashes with a fiery bridesmaid wake him right up. But when snarks turn to sparks, and fights turn to feelings, things get complicated.
Arielle is not a girl who settles down. And Judah is not a guy who hooks up. So why does walking away feel impossible?
“A sexy, thoughtful, and thoroughly Jewish romance.” – Kirkus Reviews
“[An] enemy-to-lovers romance that peeks into the closed world of New York City’s young Orthodox Jews with authenticity, spice, humor, and a generous amount of f‑bombs… Soon By You is a satisfying read about the importance of finding who you are, especially inside a community with rigid expectations.” – Brandi Larson, Jewish Book Council
“Judah and Arielle’s slow-burn courtship provides a fascinating look into Modern Orthodox Judaism in this delicious romance… Even with plenty of chemistry, this tender love story follows both Judah and Arielle as they learn who they are and what they want in a rocky yet satisfying courtship.” – Amy Alessio, Booklist
Steve Jobs in Exile: The Untold Story of NeXT and the Remaking of an American Visionary by Geoffrey Cain
nonfiction / biography / technology / history.
In 1985, Steve Jobs—the brilliant, volatile founder of Apple Computer—walked out of his company’s headquarters, driven from the very corporation he had created. What happened next would transform not only his life and career, but the future of technology itself.
For twelve years, from 1985 to 1997, Jobs wandered the business wilderness with his new venture, NeXT. It was a period of spectacular failures, near-bankruptcy, and brutal humiliation. But out of this crucible of defeat emerged the visionary leader who would go on to create the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, transforming Apple into the most valuable company on earth.
Drawing on previously unpublished materials and new interviews with the key players, Geoffrey Cain reveals the untold story of Steve Jobs’s “lost decade”—the formative years that shaped the icon we thought we knew. With unprecedented access to unbroadcast footage of Jobs in NeXT meetings, private company documents, and interviews with his closest colleagues, Cain offers the definitive account of how failure transformed a brash wunderkind into a true business genius.
This is the story of how Steve Jobs learned to lead, how he discovered the power of discipline, and how a spectacular failure became the foundation for one of the greatest comebacks in business history. It is nothing less than the missing piece in the legend of Steve Jobs.
“A lively account of Steve Jobs’ interregnum between his ouster from Apple and his reemergence as a creative force.” – Kirkus Reviews
Take Me With You by Steven Rowley
fiction / romance / comedy.
College professor Jesse del Ruth has been abandoned. Thirty years into their relationship, Jesse witnesses his husband Norman get out of bed late one night, walk into their Joshua Tree backyard, step into a strange beam of light and… disappear. How could Norman desert him after a lifetime together? Where did he go? And, most confoundingly… will he ever return? Jesse knew they were longing for something, both feeling stuck. But had Norman been so stuck that his only option was to leave Jesse behind?
As Jesse struggles to understand Norman’s disappearance, he tries to piece together his new reality. Is he expected to wait patiently for a partner who may never come back? Or is this an opportunity for reinvention? He is, after all, alone for the first time in his adult life. Should he return to the classroom? Put in a pool? Get a dog? Call his estranged mother? What does it mean to be alone when you’ve always been one half of a whole?
When Norman’s sister Lally lands on Jesse’s doorstep with an urgent request, Norman’s absence becomes even more profound. Add to Jesse’s grief and confusion a conspiracy-theorist neighbor, a strange man following him, and suspicions that he may have had a hand in Norman’s disappearance, and Jesse starts to crack under the pressure. With his husband missing and the world closing in, all eyes are on Jesse. Before he can understand how Norman could leave it all behind, Jesse must confront what it means to stay.
In Take Me With You, Steven Rowley brings his resonant wit and emotional insight to an epic love story – an exploration of the forces that draw two people into the same orbit and the gravity that threatens to pull them apart.
“Readers will be won over by this heart-warming story.” – Publishers Weekly
“Author Steven Rowley has done it again, with another great novel.” – Red Carpet Crash
“Rowley, himself the recipient of a humor-writing prize, adeptly balances the absurdity of Jesse’s circumstances with the sensitive portrayal of a longtime couple at a crossroads. Recommend to readers of humorous but moving fiction, like that of Kevin Wilson and Rufi Thorpe.” – Lindsay Harmon, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old by Mary Beard
nonfiction / essays / history / literature / art.
Why the ongoing fascination with the ancient world? This witty, approachable book asks why—for better or (sometimes) worse—antiquity continues to exert such a powerful hold on the contemporary imagination. Recalling a formative childhood encounter with a four-thousand-year-old piece of bread in a museum, Beard introduces the idea of thauma, or wonder, that kick-started a lifetime engaging with classics. It was not the canonical “greats” of ancient literature and art that initially drew her in, she confesses, but rather the more intimate, messy, and humdrum evidence of daily life in the remote past.
Confronting the uses and abuses of symbols of the ancient world, Beard reminds us that the traditions and “masterpieces” of Greece and Rome have certainly been politicized, but they belong to neither the left nor the right. Happily, no one owns the past. She warns us not to let a sense of reverence or overfamiliarity dampen the “shock of the old,” arguing that one of the most important things that classics teach us is how to grapple with complicated and controversial things. “The Greeks and Romans are long dead, they cannot answer back, and you can say what you like about them,” she reminds readers. “The simple fact that classics belong to none of us can offer a safe space to argue about the most difficult debates we face now.”
Beard welcomes everyone into classics. “It is not compulsory to be excited by the ancient world,” she writes. “But it can be a shame not to be.” This charming, sharp, and readable book from one of the world’s most entertaining classicists offers something for both new and established fans of classics, bringing new wonder and curiosity to even the most ancient of ideas.
“True to its roots, the book feels as if Beard, with her excitement and good humor, is regaling an audience… When talking classics, Beard is certainly speaking to the academy, but students (current, former, and future) of classical education will savor Beard’s rooted rumination on classics as both a discipline and a means of finding thauma.” – Jeff Connelly, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“A passionate defense particularly notable for its bracing lack of old fogeyism.” – Kirkus Reviews
“…Beard’s friendly, colloquial writing style makes for an easy read when sitting down with Talking Classics, from depicting rich images of historic life in ancient Pompeii to present day America; evoking images of the past and contrasting them with how modern-day eyes might view it… Talking Classics is a stimulating, accessible read which I would recommend to anyone with even the faintest of interests in the classics.” – Neve Blue, buzz
-
-
-
-
-