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PREMIUM
What the Hex
Fans of Clare’s Go Hex Yourself will be happy with this follow-up in which Willem and Penny continue the enemies-to-lovers arc, with their own twist. Hand to readers who love witty banter, the fake-dating trope, and couples who fall hard fast.
PREMIUM
The Nanny
Readers who enjoyed Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone’s A Merry Little Meet Cute will adore this positive, upbeat, sex-filled romp.
PREMIUM
Jasmine and Jake Rock the Boat
An enemies-to-lovers romance full of humor and heart. Readers will fall in love with Jasmine, Jake, and the cast of aunties, uncles, and friends who help them along the way in Lalli’s latest (after A Holly Jolly Diwali).
This sexy and profoundly romantic novel will satisfy fans of best-selling Henry’s (Book Lovers) thrilling trademark mix of witty banter and intensely emotional storylines.
PREMIUM
Twelve Hours in Manhattan
Gabriel’s (After Perfect) sophomore novel offers great hope and a grand happy ending.
PREMIUM
Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts
Romance readers who enjoy single-point-of-view enemies-to-lovers romances will enjoy this solid if predictable debut from Miller. Recommended as a read-alike to The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood.
PREMIUM
The Only Game in Town
Bursting with charm and humor, this novel from Waldon (From the Jump) is unputdownable, and readers will clamor for more stories set in Redford.
Wilder (How To Fake It in Hollywood) has created a gem of a novel with characters who unfold in complex and unexpected ways. The grounded Hollywood story utilizes a perfectly paced slow-burn romance, and at the end there’s a winking nod to the entire journey.
PREMIUM
Double-Decker Dreams
Recommended for readers hooked on Josie Silver’s One Day in December and craving another chance-encounter-on-a-London-bus romance.
PREMIUM
Wyoming Wild
With lots of danger and intrigue, Eden’s latest will keep readers on the edge of their seats, but constant threats tend to dim the fragile romance between Hawk and Liesl. This historical romance is a stand-alone novel, but fans of Eden’s The Sheriffs of Savage Wells will be happy to see so many familiar faces return to action here.
PREMIUM
The Cleaving
McKenna (The Green Man’s Gift) tells a compelling new story from an old tale that is timely, giving the women of Arthur’s heroic tale a voice and place in this world. Give to fans of Michael J. Sullivan and David Dalglish who appreciate stories with swordplay, revenge, and medieval adventure.
PREMIUM
Dual Memory
This rollicking thriller from Burke (Immunity Index) moves at a fast pace but manages to maintain its focus on the true threats of climate change and human hubris, all the while keeping readers riveted and entertained.
PREMIUM
Witch King
After the rousing success of “The Murderbot Diaries,” Wells has returned to her fantasy roots in a tale of revolt, rebellion, and betrayal. Readers looking for more Murderbot may be disappointed, but fantasy readers looking for new worlds and characters to explore will be enthralled.
PREMIUM
The Warden
Ford (Cheap Heat) begins an appealing new fantasy series filled with adventure, action, and old magic.
PREMIUM
Backpacking Through Bedlam
Following on Spelunking Through Hell, this latest installment in the “InCryptid” series continues to highlight the fast action, delightful cryptids and the gloriously dysfunctional family dynamics the Prices are known for. Urban fantasy fans will rejoice.
PREMIUM
The Thick and the Lean
The two storylines in Porter’s (The Seep) latest, particularly Beatrice’s story of accepting herself for who she is and what she loves in spite of everything, will make readers hunger for more.
A strikingly vibrant love story for modern dreamers and hopeless romantics. Those who’ve read Sharma’s Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words will be happy to see familiar characters return in this follow-up, but newcomers will also be able to enjoy it as a stand-alone.
PREMIUM
Best Men
Karger tells a good and ultimately compelling story, but readers seeking a romantic tale may be disappointed by the focus on the main character’s internal struggles.
PREMIUM
A Rogue’s Rules for Seduction
Leigh’s series installment will appeal to readers seeking a scintillating historical romance that is engaging and erotic, a heartwarming reunion with more than one happy ending. Recommended for fans of Tessa Dare, Ella Quinn, and Sarah MacLean.
Readers who enjoyed The Boxing Baroness won’t want to miss Spencer’s sequel. Indeed, anyone who appreciates strong, unconventional heroines—and the Regency-era heroes who know (or at least manage to learn) better than to take them for granted
Adler’s delightful opposites-attract debut is perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey and Christina Lauren; good for all public library collections.
PREMIUM
Monstrilio
An enthralling debut that packs a heavy emotional punch. Fans of domestic horror like Zoje Stage’s Baby Teeth or Ashley Audrain’s The Push will find a lot to chew on here.
Highly recommended for lovers of Southern gothics, readers who like their horror to sneak up on them, and anyone who appreciates the voice of Kingfisher (What Moves the Dead), no matter what genre she’s currently writing.
PREMIUM
Piñata
A great choice for readers who enjoy novels where the true horrors of colonization and human-rights atrocities are corrected in gruesomely riveting fashion while retaining the utmost respect to the victims, as seen in the works of V. Castro, Stephen Graham Jones, and Tananarive Due.
PREMIUM
The Deadly Weed
Harrison’s 10th “Reverend Mother” mystery (following Murder in the Cathedral) is repetitive, and the details about Sir Walter Raleigh, tobacco, and Ireland tend to overshadow the mystery, making it almost secondary. Will appeal only to readers of the long-running series or historical-mystery buffs.
PREMIUM
Symphony of Secrets
Slocumb’s second novel (following The Violin Conspiracy) is an improbable but fun mystery that will attract fans of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code (a lot of readers, in other words).
PREMIUM
Scorched Grace
The first book from suspense novelist Gillian Flynn’s imprint at Zando. Sister Holiday’s violent, sexually provocative past life and her current language and behavior might be too outrageous for some readers, but the series has already been acquired for a prestige-television adaptation.
PREMIUM
Just One More
This is Lyon’s first foray into suspense, after writing mostly romance and women’s fiction (most recently contributing to The Inns of Devonshire). Consider this for purchase where the LDS community is strong, as Lyon has an audience there.
PREMIUM
Standing Dead
Readers who have followed the story of Mattie’s family through Mizushima’s other “Timber Creek K-9” mysteries will enjoy this fast-paced, relentlessly tense installment.
Armstrong’s intriguing and atmospheric time-travel mystery will appeal to readers who enjoy historical detail.
Not for the squeamish, but fans of Oyinkan Braithwaite’s My Sister the Serial Killer or of Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley novels will be equally ensnared in DeStefano’s assured literary clutches.
PREMIUM
The Last Kingdom
Berry is like a fine-tuned machine, melding historical fact and authentic locales within a complex fictional storyline. History enthusiasts will relish the intricate research behind the spy-versus-spy thriller, which challenges readers to consider historical what-ifs.
The award-winning author of the Maisie Dobbs series skillfully juggles three timelines in a riveting stand-alone about a woman whose wartime experiences overshadow her post-war retirement.
PREMIUM
A Tempest at Sea
Who doesn’t enjoy a murder mystery at sea? While this seventh “Lady Sherlock” mystery (after Miss Moriarty, I Presume) does not advance the larger series plot in any way, it is still an amusing look at characters fans have grown to love. Readers of authors such as Deanna Raybourn should give these novels a try. While this could work as a stand-alone, best to start with book one to fully appreciate the skillful character development.
Siobhan and her Garda husband Macdara Flannery add humor and zest to this follow-up to Murder on an Irish Farm. Fans of competitive baking shows or Amy Patricia Meade’s cozy mysteries will enjoy it.
Byron, author of the award-winning “Cajun Country” mysteries, combines setting, vintage cookbooks, recipes, and family drama in another delectable cozy.
Fans of Megan Goldin and Hank Phillippi Ryan and those who like open endings, complex plots, stories about family dynamics, and convoluted whodunits will devour this novel.
PREMIUM
Chalice of Darkness
The author of the Phineas Fox mysteries launches a series featuring a family of thieves, beginning with this dramatic gothic mystery.
PREMIUM
To Shape a Dragon’s Breath
Blackgoose blends Indigenous history with fantastical beasts, taking themes of inequality and social agency in new directions. An excellent crossover novel for adults and young adults alike.
PREMIUM
Quantum Radio
Eclectic author Riddle (Lost in Time) combines science and history to create a riveting thriller.
This Hindu-inspired sci-fi fantasy is a transcendent debut, full of cosmic magic and set in an exquisitely glorious and treacherous world. Such a daring ecological and metaphysical endeavor is perfect for fans of Wesley Chu and Brandon Sanderson.
Highly recommended for lovers of woman-forward SF/F and any reader still waiting for that wardrobe to open.
PREMIUM
On the Marble Cliffs
More than a mere roman à clef about Hitler or Stalin (or both), Jünger’s vivid and evocative narrative transcends its moment in capturing the ageless struggle between our individuality and creative wonder, and the darkness and terror sure to follow when people abandon themselves to belief, even if only to a belief in nothing.
PREMIUM
Damage
Next to the often-contrived twists and revelations of today’s psychological suspense, Hart’s spare tale of all-consuming obsession is refreshingly straightforward. Louis Malle directed a 1992 film adaptation of the same name; a limited series for Netflix is currently underway, so anticipate demand.
PREMIUM
Black Empire
A proto-Afrofuturist potboiler poised between Black Panther and the works of Percival Everett, this fascinating glimpse beyond the Harlem Renaissance canon anticipates Black power and Afrocentrist themes.
Tackling matters of life and death with disarming and often hilarious irreverence, Gary’s novel is a joy to read, even when it makes you cry.
PREMIUM
To Swoon and To Spar
The fake-haunting plot sounds like gothic romance, but Waters’s latest “Regency Vows” novel (which follows To Marry and To Meddle) is a romantic comedy through and through. Although the chemistry between Jane and Penvale lacks a certain spark, readers will still be pleased that Jane ultimately decides to make room for Penvale in both Trethwick Abbey and her heart.
PREMIUM
Lone Women
LaValle grips readers with the subtle terror of inevitability, only to hold tight with tenderness.
PREMIUM
The Metropolitan Affair
Classified as Christian fiction, this involving blend of historical crime story, family saga, and romance will please a range of readers. Suggest it beyond its BISAC category and put it on reading lists of cozy mysteries and gentle romances too.
Enhanced by Sorvari’s luminous narration, this piercing portrait of a woman pared down to her essence is unforgettable.
PREMIUM
A Sliver of Darkness: Stories
Good for fans of short stories and horror, but share also with writers, artists, and creators who can relate to Tudor’s struggles as an author torn between the creative process and real life.
PREMIUM
The Golden Enclaves
Should satisfy Novik’s many fans and appeal to mature fans of Harry Potter, dark-fantasy lovers, and those who enjoyed Lev Grossman’s The Magicians.
PREMIUM
The Tatami Galaxy
Grace’s accomplished narration combined with Morimi’s entertaining plot provide an absorbing listening experience. Will please fans of the award-winning anime series that was inspired by the novel.
This entertaining collection, narrated with élan, comes alive in audio. A winner for any audio classics collection, and a treat for Austen fans.
PREMIUM
Judas 62
Cumming’s latest, combining the best of old-fashioned Cold War intrigue with realistic situations and modern technology, will be a hit with spy-novel fans. Listeners will be eager for the next installment in this top-notch series.
PREMIUM
The Boy and the Dog
Hase’s English-language debut, depicting the enduring bond between humans and dogs, will appeal to listeners looking for stories of redemption, love, and courage. Highly recommended.
PREMIUM
Tread of Angels
Roanhorse’s genre-blending story and Graham’s exceptional narration make this an excellent choice for dark fantasy fans. Highly recommended.
This melancholy, slyly funny, and uncanny collection is thought-provoking and uncomfortable and in the best possible way. Nagamatsu’s fans will be enchanted.
PREMIUM
Claw Heart Mountain
This propulsive story is made even more terrifying in audio and is a must-add to any collection, perfect for fans of Paul Tremblay and Stephen Graham Jones.
PREMIUM
The Nursery
Molnar offers a harrowing cautionary tale about postpartum depression and the terror it can cause as it strips away any sense of control over mind and body. Some descriptions are so raw and graphic that one almost wants to read them with eyes half-closed. An important, unromanticized look at the instant, drastic changes new motherhood can bring, though a caveat: it does not address the relief that early medical intervention can provide.
Haydock builds her story on the real women who surrounded Schiele. Told from various points of view, it is a love story dedicated to Gertrude, Adele, Edith, and Vally. Recommended for general and historical fiction readers, as well as those interested in how life in Schiele’s inner circle might have looked.
Writing with compassion and insight, Verghese creates distinct characters in Dickensian profusion, and his language is striking; even graphic descriptions of medical procedures are beautifully wrought. Throughout, there are joy, courage, and devotion as well as tragedy; always there is water, the covenant that links all.
PREMIUM
Daughter in Exile
Whether or not Lola’s experiences limn the author’s own, Adjapon’s (The Teller of Secrets) crackling dialogue and barbed humor feel close to the bone. Themes of classism, racism, and fierce feminism will appeal to book groups and readers of Mbolo Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers or Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche’s Americanah.
PREMIUM
Big Swiss
Beagin mixes biting humor and deadly serious topics to create a complex and compelling narrative that readers of redemption stories will enjoy.
PREMIUM
Life and Other Love Songs
Gray shows the complex natures of these broken characters and how abuse, deceit, and life’s struggles are all made worse by racism, poverty, and homophobia. A great pick for book clubs and an essential purchase.
PREMIUM
Hourglass
This interesting take on novel writing creates a world of studied introspection, mixed with social commentary, that will appeal to lovers of language and patient readers of incisive ennui; recommended for fans of the author and of all things literary.
PREMIUM
The Lonely Hearts Book Club
Recommended for public library collections. Romance author Gilmore’s (Ruff and Tumble) novel is a fun, sweet read, with a little mystery and intrigue spicing things up.
PREMIUM
Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?
Paul’s novel highlights the burden and loss of racism by focusing on the color line and passing.
PREMIUM
The Golden Doves
This well-written and emotional tale of daring women, espionage, and lasting friendship should appeal strongly to fans of Kelly’s previous novels, especially Lilac Girls, which shares a few characters as well as the setting of the Ravensbrück concentration camp. This is also a great read-alike pick for the novels by Kate Quinn, Pam Jenoff, and Ariel Lawhon that feature women spy protagonists.
PREMIUM
Watch Us Shine
Acclaimed best-seller de los Santos’s writing is effusive and lush, painting poignant scenes like the stroke of an artist’s brush. Her books and characters have a wide following, and her fans will be eagerly awaiting this lovely series installment that can also be read as a stand-alone.
PREMIUM
Retrospective
Here, truth really is stranger than fiction--or in this case, more “novelable”--and the retention of the photos and excerpts of Marianella’s diary from the Spanish text contributes to the veracity of an engaging work.
PREMIUM
The Woman with the Cure
A powerful blend of biography and imagination with a main character whom readers won’t soon forget.
Narrated by the deceased Arc, McDaniel’s novel is by turns stark and poetic, a bleak and solemn elegy to lives that in another place and time might have been lived on the beautiful side. It’s also a tale of a nation unraveling, drowning in rivers of hopelessness and drug addiction.
Not only a significant contribution to our understanding of the Holocaust but a moving reflection on loss, memory, and the past, in equal measures heartwarming and heartrending. Highly recommended.
PREMIUM
The Perfumist of Paris
Filled with the rich and evocative scents of India and Paris, this novel will transport readers to Radha’s world as she deals with heartaches and triumphs on her journey to wholeness.
PREMIUM
The Collected Regrets of Clover
Brammer’s first novel is an interesting read, especially for those who are not familiar with the idea of a death doula. The plot seems predictable at first but takes a few unexpected turns that turn it into a satisfying experience.
Thornton writes lyrically about the two Marys, and readers will sympathize, deeply, with their struggles to find their own paths. Direct readers who want to learn more about the women’s lives to a nonfiction title, Romantic Outlaws, by Charlotte Gordon.
PREMIUM
Stolen
While the novel could have benefited from tighter pacing, award-winning author/journalist Laestadius, who is herself of Sámi descent, succeeds in capturing Sámi life.
Historical novels are often most successful when they focus on ordinary people experiencing extraordinary times, and that is the case with Aboulela’s (The Kindness of Enemies) latest. Zamzam and Yaseen’s love story is moving and gripping, sweeping the reader along hoping that they will end up together against the odds. The multiple perspectives also serve a useful purpose for readers who may know next to nothing about the complex historical events described. Highly recommended.
PREMIUM
Émilienne
A well-researched, fascinating, albeit tragic saga, with a great feel for time and place.
PREMIUM
The Lost English Girl
A fascinating novel about a woman’s struggle with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, her parents’ harsh treatment of both mother and child, and the separation from her child under the threat of an imminent war. For a different perspective of civilian life during the war, readers might try Maureen Lee’s “Pearl Street” series, also set in Liverpool.
PREMIUM
A Legacy of Bones
Burgess’s novel focuses on colonialism and the destructive effects of evangelization and industrialization on the Indigenous people of Hawai‘i. The inhabitants of Kaumaha are intriguing, particularly one Mrs. Te Papa, who knows a great deal about the history of the island.
Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn is the top holds title of the week. LibraryReads and Library Journal offer read-alikes for patrons waiting to read this buzziest book.
PREMIUM
Ashes
An adventure paced like a madcap movie plot, with underlying minor chords of identity and relationship echoing throughout, this is a satisfying introduction to Ortiz’s narrative and artistic talents for an English-language audience.
PREMIUM
Wed for Their Royal Heir
Ashenden (The Maid the Greek Married) lays out a well-detailed plotline from the very beginning. Full of romance and excitement, this novel tells a gripping tale.
Little detective work takes place on the page here, and the tactics employed by these detectives when they are working are likely to make true-crime aficionados cringe. Only those who are determined to read every book in this long-running series from Ferrarella (whose most recent entry was Cavanaugh Justice: Up Close and Deadly) are liable to get any real satisfaction from finishing this latest installment.
PREMIUM
Protecting Colton’s Baby
While this isn’t a standout title, overall it’s a stronger story than the first book in this multi-author series (which was Colton’s Unusual Suspect by Marie Ferrarella), though it also ends without moving the needle much on the overarching plotline of what has happened to the Colton siblings’ honorary uncle.
PREMIUM
The Boss’s Stolen Bride
Anderson (Carrying Her Boss’s Christmas Baby) skillfully writes a tantalizing story full of romance and excitement. Fans of Colleen Hoover and Chelle Bliss will find this novel intriguing.
PREMIUM
Undercover Cowboy Defender
Unfortunately, this latest series entry, after Guardian K-9 on Call, contains stilted dialogue and protagonists who lack chemistry, providing an unsatisfying reading experience.
PREMIUM
Hotshot Hero in Disguise
With protagonists who spend too much time in their own heads and too little time actually talking to each other, reading the latest in Childs’s series (after Hotshot Heroes Under Threat) is at times a frustrating endeavor.
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