reviews

Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson is the top holds title of the week. LibraryReads and Library Journal offer read-alikes for patrons waiting to read this buzziest book.

This quirky, humorous romance is well-written and plotted, and readers will quickly fall in love with its interesting characters. Fans of Olivia Dade’s “Spoiler Alert” series will especially fall for this superfan homage from Danan.

A stand-alone fantasy from Tan’s world of the Celestial Kingdom provides all of the beautiful worldbuilding and heart-wrenching emotions of her previous books.

Key fiction, nonfiction, and reference titles.

All the May 2025 Prepub Alerts in one place, plus a downloadable spreadsheet of all titles from every post.

Historical personalities bring this real story to life in a riveting account of the first U.S. murder trial for which there is a transcript.

The NYT announces the 10 best books of 2024. Reese Witherspoon selects City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim for her December book club. The Last One by Rachel Howzell Hall is GMA’s pick. Target’s pick is Roland Rogers Isn’t Dead Yet by Samantha Allen. Liza Minnelli’s forthcoming memoir, due out in 2026, will be adapted for television. Peter Mackay has been named Scotland’s national poet, and Kate Beaton wins the Jan Michalski Prize for Literature. Marian Keyes’s “Walsh Sisters” books will be adapted for TV in Ireland and the UK. Plus, Oxford University Press selects “brain rot” as its word of the year.

Brandon Sanderson’s Wind and Truth leads holds this week. People’s book of the week is Trial by Ambush: Murder, Injustice, and the Truth About the Case of Barbara Graham by Marcia Clark. Jon Ransom wins the Polari Book Prize. LJ's Best Books 2024 arrives, NYT names 100 Notable Books of 2024, and NPR releases their 2024 Books We Love. Costco announces it will stop selling books year-round in stores. Plus, LJ’s December starred reviews.

Family stories, trailblazing actors and activists, a wedding crasher, and more populate these engaging novels.