RECOMMENDED READS
THE EXPAT AFFAIR, Kimberly Belle
‘One of my favorite reads this year!’ Freida McFadden on The Paris Widow
From the USA Today bestseller and Edgar Award winning author of The Marriage Lie comes a brand new gripping domestic crime thriller. Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Shari Lapena.
Rayna Dumont is getting a fresh start in Amsterdam. Following a nasty divorce, she takes a jet-setting new job and embraces the single life. All seems to be going well until she wakes up in the bed of Xander van der Vos, her one-night stand from the night before, only to find him brutally murdered in the room next door. To make matters worse, millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds are missing from his safe. Quickly, Rayna becomes the prime suspect and is thrown into a deadly game of cat and mouse with forces beyond her wildest imagination.
From her lavish home in the heart of the city, Willow Prins is enraptured by the case. The wife of Thomas Prins, CEO of the House of Prins and Xander’s former boss, Willow is too familiar with what it’s like to be the outsider in the elite world of luxury goods. But as the House comes under scrutiny, tensions rise in her already strained marriage and Willow starts to wonder if Rayna might be the solution she’s been looking for.
As both women dive into the dark underbelly of the diamond industry, their hope for survival hinges on navigating a web of power and revenge. And as Rayna fights to clear her name, will she unravel the truth or find herself another victim?
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CLOSER, Miriam Gershow
Set in 2015 during Obama’s presidency and Trump’s early candidacy, the tranquil college town of Horace, Oregon, is disrupted when white students taunt a Black student in the high school library. This incident sparks immediate repercussions that ripple through the community, affecting students, families, and faculty alike. Woody, the school’s guidance counselor, finds himself thrust into the spotlight after years on the sidelines. Lark, a struggling student, grapples with the fallout as her relationships are reshaped by the incident. Stefanie, a conflicted parent, struggles to balance protecting her child with allowing him to find his own path. Friendships are strained, marriages are tested, and families face the threat of sudden violence. When tragedy strikes with the death of a student, the survivors are left grappling with the fault lines in their most intimate relationships and searching for ways to draw closer. Closer explores themes of community, resilience, and the impacts of individual actions on collective destinies, offering a poignant reflection on how individuals grapple with their lives amidst societal challenges and personal reckonings.
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WHAT WILL PEOPLE THINK? Sarah Hamdan
Mia’s secret comedy career, forbidden office crush, and a long-guarded family secret take center stage, threatening her newfound confidence and her one shot at fame in this hilarious, heartfelt coming-of-age story perfect for fans of Curtis Sittenfeld and Etaf Rum.
Mia Almas has a secret. By day, she works at a respectable job as a media fact checker—a position her conservative, Arab grandparents approve of—and, by night, she takes to the stages of New York City comedy clubs. She holds herself back in a lot of ways, especially in the romance department, but being on stage lights her up and makes being a wallflower the rest of the time more bearable. That is, until Phaedra, her stylish and bold new neighbor, inspires Mia to take a few risks.
As Mia pursues a forbidden romance with her boss, her standup gets better and bolder, leading to a surprise spotlight that exposes her secret gig. Horrified and worried that her rebellious act could mean big consequences for her reserved Palestinian-American family, Mia frantically dives into damage control. But all of her efforts to pull back from the spotlight expose a family scandal from the 1940s that could change everything…
Equal parts funny and tender, What Will People Think? is a heart-bursting exploration of what it means to discover and embrace the hidden parts of yourself, and how love in all forms can make you whole.
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THE EMERALD NECKLACE, Linda Rosen
“Engaging and mysterious, The Emerald Necklace sheds light on that inevitable time when lovers, family, friends and circumstances change and force you to reinvent yourself whether you want to or not.” –Rebecca Rosenberg, award-winning Champagne Widows series
Three months after her husband’s death in 1969, Rosalee Linoff is determined to jump back into life.
For her, that means returning to her art. She desperately wants to be accepted as a talented sculptor, but that requires she dig up the courage to submit her work again – and be judged. Her paralyzing insecurity mounts when she meets her new neighbor, best-selling author Fran Barish.
Fran has the recognition Rosalee craves. But Rosalee’s joy with her children, especially her granddaughter, Jill, eats at Fran, a constant reminder of her childlessness. A spiral of mutual envy ensues. It constantly bubbles below the surface of their friendship and is intensified by Fran’s long held secret – and her inexplicable fascination with Jill’s emerald necklace.
As Jill starts college, Rosalee worries about the choices her granddaughter might make. But Jill’s passion for women’s rights makes Grandma proud. Together with Rosalee’s friends, they travel to New York City for the Women’s Strike for Equality – which further escalates the tension between Rosalee and Fran.
When Jill’s convictions are tested, Rosalee faces a dilemma. Does she dare trust Fran to help? Will their mutual jealousy make that impossible? Or will the story behind Jill’s emerald bind them together?
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THE MARRIAGE DEBT, Christina Consolino
Sex is never just about sex.
From the outside, Nika Stewart’s life looks perfect: two loving kids, a fulfilling job as an elementary-school librarian, and a wonderful second marriage to Ethan, her sexy husband. The only problem? She doesn’t want to have sex with him.
Maybe it’s the harrowing hot flashes and formidable fatigue, or maybe it’s trying to juggle a weed-junkie dad, an onerous stepsister, and the avalanche of responsibilities that have left sex just another chore to cross off the to-do list.
When an honest conversation with her best friend leaves Nika worried her aversion to sex might drive Ethan away, she begrudgingly agrees to see a sex therapist. But as the sessions go on, Nika discovers that talking about sex with a therapist isn’t the same as facing the problem with her husband and that sex with Ethan might not be the only problem after all.
Filled with humor, candor, and at least one pair of role-playing chaps, The Marriage Debt examines the hard truths about sex that overbooked women face in their forties, as well as the joys still to come once a woman knows who she is and how to ask for what she wants.
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UNDER WATER, Rachel Callaghan
Callaghan’s attention to historical accuracy is impressive throughout… [A]n engaging epic about loss, loneliness, and desire that perfectly encapsulates relatable human struggles.” ~Kirkus Reviews
Submerged beneath layers of history lies a long-ago buried secret.
During the pandemic lockdown, Iris Pearl impulsively relocates her dulling marriage across the country in a bid to revive it. But renovating their Prerevolutionary Pennsylvania homestead gives Iris more than she bargained for when she makes a gruesome discovery, one that hurtles her and Benny’s haunted past to the present.
Iris is desperately consumed by the desire to know what happened on her property over a century and a half earlier. Her search leads her to Irish immigrant Aoife Sprigett, the wife of Union soldier William. The further she digs into the mystery of Aoife’s fate, the deeper she reaches into her own secret history.
While William serves in the Civil War, Aoife struggles to uphold her vow to maintain their livelihood, their farm, during his absence. Aoife’s only companion is their hired help, Thomas Walker, a freeborn black laborer. Aoife and Thomas develop a warm friendship as they toil side by side in the fields. Together, Aoife and Thomas sow deep seeds that bear deep-rooted
consequences, which are now coming to light.
Will unearthing the truth behind Aoife’s tragic past, which so closely parallels Iris’s own, free her and Benny from their marriage’s haunted history, or will revisiting that dark time destroy it?
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SOMEWHERE PAST THE END; Alexandria Faulkenbury
Alice Greene knows it’s a hoax when the leader of the cult she’s been raised in announces the end of the world. She also knows it’s the perfect chance to escape before he finds out she’s pregnant with the baby she’s not supposed to have. But as she watches his prophecy come true and over 100 members of the group disappear into a plume of smoke and light, all her plans crumble.
Still reeling from the disappearance, Alice finds the other survivors and reconnects with her childhood best friend, Edwin. He’s got a message from their vanished leader: He and Alice will shepherd the remaining members of the Collective. Certain she’s the wrong person for the job, but terrified she’ll lose the only family she has left, Alice struggles to find a way forward until she discovers the secrets and lies that built their community, including one that will change her friendship with Edwin forever.
Told in dual timelines, Somewhere Past the End offers a panoramic view of one family and how the repercussions of their choices muddy the lines between truth, belief, and delusion.
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THE BAKER OF LOST MEMORIES, Shirley Russak Wachtel
From the author of A Castle in Brooklyn comes an epic novel spanning decades about the broken bonds of family, memories of war, and redemption and hope in the face of heartbreaking loss.
Growing up in 1960s Brooklyn, Lena wants to be a baker just like her mother was back in Poland prior to World War II. But questions about those days, and about a sister Lena never even knew, are ignored with solemn silence. It’s as if everything her parents left behind was a subject never to be broached.
The one person in whom Lena can confide is her best friend, Pearl. When she suddenly disappears from Lena’s life, Lena forges ahead: college, love and marriage with a wonderful man, the dream of owning a bakery becoming a reality, and the hope that someday Pearl will return to share in Lena’s happiness—and to be there for her during the unexpected losses to come.
Only when Lena discovers the depth of her parents’ anguish, and a startling truth about her own past, can they rebuild a family and overcome the heart-wrenching memories that have torn them apart.
EMPEROR AND HIEROPHANT, Susan Wands
The next installment in the thrilling Arcana Oracle series finds heroine Pamela Colman Smith kidnapped, imprisoned, and fighting to protect her tarot deck from Aleister Crowley once again.
On tour with the Lyceum Theatre in Manchester, Pamela Colman Smith is kidnapped by a mysterious force. In captivity, she begins a relationship with her mute keeper, a strange creature at the beck and call of her nemesis, Aleister Crowley. Experiencing visions and visitations from other ethereal beings, Pamela works to escape her prison before Aleister harms another one of her muses over the ownership of her magical tarot deck.
Meanwhile, her guardian and mentor, Bram Stoker, tries to find her as he tours with the stars of the Lyceum Theatre, Pamela’s muses for the Magician and Empress cards. Alerted to Pamela’s plight, Ahmed Kamal, Pamela’s Egyptologist friend, joins Bram to come to her aid. Plotting against the mysterious forces who abducted her, Pamela must outwit and out magic Aleister, as he tries to destroy her muses and tarot deck. Learning the lessons of her Emperor and Hierophant, she must free herself and command the power manifesting from her tarot deck.
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CLAIRE CASEY’S HAD ENOUGH, Liz Alterman
Back in the day, Claire had dreams. She was going to be somebody! Now a forty-something mom of three (four if you count her husband!), drowning in laundry and PTA chores, with a job she can’t stand, she’s finally had enough . . . A hilarious, heartwarming mom-com, perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Fiona Gibson.
Claire Casey has reached her breaking point. For years, she’s juggled it all: kids, husband, career, and a never-ending list of responsibilities. But when the man who’s supposed to be her partner – who promised he wouldn’t let his phone die and would pick her up from the airport – completely forgets about her, Claire snaps.
It’s the final straw. Claire is done. And so are they.
Sort of . . . maybe. (It’s not easy saying goodbye to sixteen years of marriage, ok!)
Still, Claire’s determined to reclaim her life. She’s tired of being the overworked, worn-out mom in her forties. She wants to be hopeful, vivacious Claire again.
Attending her college reunion reconnects her with former flame, Alex. And while flirting with him over email is innocent, his invitation to meet for drinks at a swanky hotel is not!
As Claire begins to rediscover the woman she was, she’s forced to confront the harsh reality that recapturing her sense of self could blow up her marriage . . . Now Claire must decide: risk the unknown or rebuild the life she has, flaws and all?
Told over the course of a day in the life of this relatable heroine, Claire Casey’s Had Enough is a laugh-out-loud mom-com that readers will adore!
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THE SECRET DAUGHTER OF VENICE, Juliet Greenwood
The paper is stiff and brittle with age as Kate unfolds it with trembling hands. She gasps at the pencil sketch of a rippling waterway, lined by tall buildings, curving towards the dome of a cathedral. She feels a connection deep in her heart. Venice.
England, 1941. When Kate Arden discovers a secret stash of drawings hidden in the pages of an old volume of poetry given to her as a baby, her breath catches. All her life, she has felt like an outsider in her aristocratic adoptive family, who refuse to answer any questions about her past. But the drawings spark a forgotten memory: a long journey by boat… warm arms that held her tight, and then let go.
Could these pictures unlock the secret of who she is? Why her mother left her? With war raging around the continent, she will brave everything to find out…
A gripping, emotional historical novel of love and art that will captivate fans of The Venice Sketchbook, The Woman on the Bridge and The Nightingale.
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HOW NOT TO FLY AN AIRPLANE, Shirley M. Phillips
Shirley M. Phillips knew she wanted to be a pilot when she was fourteen years old, thanks to an introductory flight in a Cessna that her father gave her and her twin sister at their local airport. Living in a small New England town where no one in her family had aviation experience, and at a time when only two percent of professional pilots were female, her decision to pursue aviation from the moment she left the ground set her on an unexpected path.
How Not to Fly an Airplane is about learning to fly before you are old enough to drive a car, and teaching others when you are nearly always mistaken for being the pilot’s girlfriend, wife, or daughter. It’s about the many mistakes you can make in an airplane, and what it’s like to solve them, thousands of feet in the air or just a few feet above the trees. It’s about finding a sense of identity as a twin, becoming the first pregnant pilot at an airline, and losing a friend and former student in an infamous plane crash.
What happens when a student pilot freezes on the flight controls just a few hundred feet in the air? How do you deal with a flight instructor who takes out a runway light during a botched landing and then lets go of the stick? What’s it like to have an engine failure when your airplane only has one engine? Told through Phillips’s wide-ranging experience in over four decades of flying, How Not to Fly an Airplane is a memoir for anyone who has ever wondered what it’s like to fly, and inspiration for anyone who has felt compelled to do something nobody thought they could do.
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Whispers from the Wardrobe Women’s Tales Woven in Fabric, Amal Hdhili
In the quiet corners of every woman’s closet lies a universe of untold tales, where each item, accessory, and memento whispers secrets of her life’s journey.
“Whispers from the Wardrobe ” invites you to step into this intimate kingdom, where the threads of memory merge with the fabric of identity, knitting a collage of stories that go beyond time and space.
Every item within a woman’s closet holds a fragment of her narrative—a cherished memory, a forgotten dream, a hidden desire. From the worn-out sneakers that witnessed her first steps towards independence to the glowing dress that symbolizes her aspirations, each piece serves as a silent witness to the complexities of her existence.
In this book, we embark on a captivating journey through the closets of countless women, each chapter revealing a new story shaped by the artifacts within. Here, you’ll encounter the entrepreneur whose power suit masks her vulnerability, the artist whose paint-stained smock uncovers her deepest passions, and the grandmother whose over-worn sweater is a reflection to a lifetime of love and sacrifice.
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OVER THERE. A GILDED CITY SERIES, Jane Loeb Rubin
Over There immerses readers in the gripping journey of four family members from Threadbare and In the Hands of Women, all dedicated doctors and nurses, facing the daunting realities of The Great War. Through meticulous research and compelling storytelling, the narrative unfolds across three distinct stages, transporting readers into the terrifying nightmare of trench warfare, and showcasing the extraordinary rise of the American Hospital in Paris, while highlighting groundbreaking medical innovations fueled by the unwavering commitment of healthcare workers, and finally, those left home in a state of constant worry. This powerful book courageously addresses the often-overlooked, profound impact of war on children, evoking a deep sense of empathy and prompting critical reflection on the cost of war.
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Adventures on Land and Sea: Searching for Culinary Pleasures in Provence and along the Cote d’Azur (Savoring the Olde Ways Series, Book 4), Carole Bumpus
Fans of Peter Mayle and Janine Marsh will enjoy this exploration of medieval villages, cultures, and recipes of France’s Provence. This travelogue is Book 4 in the author’s best-selling series, which has won the IPPY gold medal for Best Culinary Travel Series.
Join Carole Bumpus, her husband, Winston, and their friends in Book Four of Savoring the Olde Ways, her culinary-travel series. Following in the footsteps of writer Peter Mayle, Bumpus is on a quest to find the real Provençe. On three separate excursions—from Nice to Nîmes, Moustiers to Marseilles, and San Tropez to San Remy—and while sailing along the Côte d’Azur, she invites you to join her in uncovering the mysteries of Provençe. Are they hidden within their myths, festivals, or traditions? Is it possible they’re veiled in the sheer beauty of the land and sea? Could they be concealed in Roman arenas in Arles, Orange, or Glanum? Or, perhaps, within the ancient methods of traditional cooking or winemaking? Maybe they are hidden in plain sight among the locals who open their hearts, their bistros, and homes to strangers.
Yes, you may find it in chefs while cooking in ancient kitchens, in the smile of the shy barmaid who speaks no English, in the giggle of the Pizza Wagon baby, in the agreeable village baker, or in the patient waiter and harbor master—but you will most especially experience it through friends who fling open their doors to share their families’ recipes. Traveling alongside Bumpus, that is where you’ll discover the real Provençe.
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DEAR BOBBY: MY GRIEF JOUIRNEY, Diane Papalia Zappa
In Dear Bobby, Diane Papalia Zappa describes the loss of her beloved husband after three short years of marriage. She talks about her own grieving process and outlines ways that can help others cope. The centerpiece of this book is a collection of several “Dear Bobby” letters that helped Diane process her grief and reestablish her relationship with her husband. She offers several writing prompts to encourage readers to begin their own writing journey. Diane also includes a helpful selection of resources—books about death, grief, and the afterlife; films with afterlife themes; and support groups for those who are grieving.
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THE TROUBLE WITH POSSIBILITIES, Nancie Abuhaidar
The trouble with possibilities is they are as unexpected as they are infinite.
Del thinks possibilities are the trouble.
When tragedy forces her (literally) to pull the plug on her unhappy marriage, her family is in shambles. Desperate to escape and regain control over her spiraling life, Del boards a flight to Africa.
New continent. New Del.
No more temper. No more impulsivity. Armed with spreadsheets and an impeccable plan, she steps into her future– straight into the world of Ben Mahoney. The celebrity orphanage founder makes her heart stutter. Sure, he’s handsome and charming, he’s a Hollywood heartthrob, after all. Easy for Del to resist.
Except, Ben shares Del’s passion for education and appreciates her bold ideas to improve the school. He also possesses an uncanny ability to catch her off guard.
He’s a living example of her mother’s mantra. What’s worse? In spite of her damage, he seems to like her.
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HIGHER LOVE, Joanne Kukanza Easley
Higher Love—a captivating new novel from Joanne Kukanza Easley, the multi-award-winning author of Sweet Jane, Just One Look, and I’ll Be Seeing You.
Set against the eclectic backdrop of Austin, Texas, in 1986, Higher Love introduces sixteen-year-old Stephanie, a teenager scarred by a turbulent past, who steps into the quiet life of sixty-two-year-old Lauren, her uncanny resemblance cracking open a buried past. Stephanie claims to be the granddaughter Lauren never knew—the daughter of the child she relinquished for adoption forty-five years earlier. Her arrival disrupts Lauren’s carefully rebuilt world, already strained by her recent remarriage to Brett after years of separation. Reeling from the revelation that her adoptive grandmother hid the truth about her mother’s adoption, Stephanie carries the weight of tragedy and self-harm, yet her vulnerability forges an unexpected, fragile bond with Lauren and Brett, two people grappling with their own regrets.
As Stephanie integrates into their lives, her aspirations for college are shattered when the 1987 stock market crash obliterates her trust fund, leaving her future in jeopardy. For Lauren, haunted by the loss of her child decades earlier, Stephanie represents a chance to rewrite her story. Fueled by fierce, unconditional love, Lauren sacrifices her financial security and emotional reserves to give Stephanie a path forward only to face a bittersweet twist that echoes the past and changes everything, reshaping their understanding of family, trust, and forgiveness in profound, lasting ways.
Higher Love is a sweeping, heart-wrenching family drama that explores the enduring weight of secrets and the transformative power of love. Through its richly drawn characters, the story delves into the courage it takes to face painful truths, the resilience found in embracing the present, and the unexpected joy of building a family from broken pieces. At its core, Higher Love celebrates the messy, redemptive beauty of human relationships, delivering a deeply moving tale of loss, healing, and the unbreakable bonds that define us.
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THE SILENT COUNT, E.A. Smiroldo
She’s determined to stop climate change before it’s too late…
Nuclear engineer Dara Bouldin’s life is a mess. She’s paying off her dad’s gambling debts, reeling from a broken engagement, and practically invisible at the energy research agency where she works. Meanwhile, her ex Jericho’s latest single is racing up the charts and her handsome new colleague Dmitri is friendly with everyone but her.
All around them, wildfires, floods, and other natural disasters have become the norm. But Dara has an audacious plan to reverse climate change, if only someone would listen.
Little does she know, someone at the CIA has been paying attention. And when the public demands action, Dara gets the chance to turn her dream into reality, with the blessings of Congress and the President. Things are looking up.
That is until she discovers a secret that thrusts her into the center of a global conflict that could rewrite history, in dire ways she never intended. Things are going to change, big time. And the countdown has already begun.
Be careful what you wish for, Dara.
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SWEET SPOT: NOW AND THEN, Marla Miller
Spring 1999, California.
Call it middle-age madness or a midlife crisis, but SweetSpot: Now and Then chronicles one pivotal year in the life of Darlene Robinson, a woman grappling with hot flashes and the weight of being raised as a God-fearing good girl. She followed the rules… until she couldn’t anymore.
Just days before leaving for her first writers’ conference, Darlene makes a bold declaration to the man she married as a teenager: she wants out. Concerned for her mental health, she can no longer pretend to be the dutiful wife of a man who seems indifferent to her presence. Little did she know that the conference, her mother’s sudden illness, and meeting Clive Charles would all play a part in reshaping her life.
Back then, Darlene chronicled her transformative year shortly after living through it. Now, with time and experience, her “other self” offers a new perspective, adding depth to the story as only time can.
Call it what you will, but shifting one’s life in midlife is a journey many face, and Darlene believes SweetSpot: Now and Then will resonate deeply with readers.
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THE VERSAILLES FORMULA, Nancy Bilyeau
‘A masterful work . . . the reader treads a thrilling path which keeps you on the edge of your seat.’ Bestselling author Griff Hosker
Genevieve Sturbridge thought she’d left danger behind in London. Now she lives a quiet life in the countryside with her husband and son. But an invitation to dine at Sir Horace Walpole’s eerie Gothic estate pulls her back into a deadly world of deception, espionage and murder.
At the mysterious dinner party, Genevieve uncovers a shocking secret — a rare pigment of pure blue is being produced again. Coveted by royalty, chemists and spies, its formula is priceless . . . and lethal.
Some will kill to possess it. Others will kill to keep it buried.
Only Genevieve can recognise the formula and stop it falling into the wrong hands. But when a ghost from her past resurfaces, Genevieve must determine who she can trust. Years ago, this secret nearly cost her and her husband their lives. Now, someone is willing to kill for it once more.
Genevieve must discover the truth before time runs out, because this time the price of failure will cost more than just her own life.
This thrilling historical mystery, with its captivating plot of secrets, murder and espionage is perfect for fans of Irina Shapiro, Anna Lee Huber, Emily L. Finch, Kate Morton, Andrew Taylor and C.J. Sansom.
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DEEP TIME, Suzan Sizer Bogue
For adventurous fiction lovers, this debut novel tells the story of a young geologist working with ancient rocks who finds herself in present mortal danger when Mount St. Helens erupts with catastrophic power.
After an inspiring trip to the Grand Canyon, Lauren Brown falls in love with geology—so much so that she convinces her husband, Kenny, to follow her from Philadelphia to East Texas, where she enters a male-dominated graduate program at Texas Polytechnic. Lauren thrives on the adventure geology affords her—studying undersea volcanoes, shepherding clueless undergraduates in a remote national park, and climbing canyons in Oregon to collect rock samples—but at home, things are deteriorating. After separating from her straying husband, she becomes best friends with Chris, an honorable male colleague who helps her fend off a predatory professor.
When Mount St. Helens awakens, geologists from all over the world flock to Washington. Lauren is determined to be part of the action and witness an erupting volcano. The dream event of a lifetime is at hand. On a Saturday in May, she and Kenny, with whom she has reconciled, convene with Chris to stake out Mount St. Helens.
The first day, the mountain remains annoyingly quiet. The next day, it erupts with catastrophic power—and irreversibly upends Lauren’s life.
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THE ARTIST OF BLACKBERRY GRANGE
For a young caregiver in the Ozarks, an old house holds haunting memories in a ghostly novel about family secrets, sacrifice, and lost loves by the author of The Devil and Mrs. Davenport.
In the summer of 1925, the winds of change are particularly chilling for a young woman whose life has suddenly become unbalanced.
Devastated by her mother’s death and a cruel, broken engagement, Sadie Halloran learns that her great-aunt Marguerite, a renowned artist now in the throes of dementia, needs a live-in companion. Grasping at newfound purpose, Sadie leaves her desolate Kansas City boardinghouse for Blackberry Grange, Marguerite’s once-grand mansion sitting precariously atop an Arkansas bluff. Though Marguerite is a fading shell of the vibrant woman Sadie remembers, Marguerite is feverishly compelled to paint eerie, hallucinatory portraits of old lovers—some cherished, some regretted, and some beastly. All of them haunting.
With each passing night, time itself seems to shift with the shadows at Blackberry Grange. As truth and delusion begin to blur, Sadie must uncover the secrets that hold Marguerite captive to her past before reality—and Marguerite’s life—slips away entirely.
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CALLAHAN’S COTTAGE, Judy Lannon
“I don’t think it had occurred to me before this trip, but as tight as the three of us are, we keep secrets from each other.”
Emma, Esme, and Ellenor, lifelong friends who grew up together on the shores of Cape Cod, reunite at Callahan’s Cottage after five years apart. Now in their thirties, these friends, bonded by their shared memories of a childhood spent roaming the beaches and dunes of the Cape, return with their new experiences, including the joys and struggles of adult life- marriages, careers, family dynamics, and unspoken aspirations and secrets. Will this reunion unveil surprising, and possibly deeply buried, aspects of their personalities and life stories, potentially revealing things that have remained hidden from each other until now? The question remains: Will these revelations strengthen or sever what they think is an unbreakable bond?
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MEASURE OF DEVOTION, Nell Joslin
Set against the tumultuous backdrop of the American Civil War, this intricately woven novel delves into the life of Susannah Shelburne, a thirty-six-year-old woman residing in South Carolina with her older husband, Jacob. Their son, Francis, defies his parents’ wishes by enlisting in the Confederate army, sparking bitter familial discord. In October 1863, devastating news arrives: Francis has been critically wounded near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Susannah embarks on a perilous journey to bring her son home, finding Francis delirious with fever and haunted by the horrors of battle. Their reunion is overshadowed by the conflicts at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, culminating in Francis being captured as a prisoner of war. As the war exacts its toll and tensions escalate between mother and son, Susannah confronts impossible choices amidst harrowing revelations from home. This gripping narrative explores themes of sacrifice, resilience, and the profound impacts of war on family bonds, painting a vivid portrait of one woman’s relentless fight for survival and reconciliation in a time of unprecedented turmoil.
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ROADSIDE SISTERS, Catherine Matthews
Four states, three sisters, two dogs, one disappointing roadside attraction, and far too many secrets . . .
When Molly Casey asks her sisters to drive her home from Reno to Seattle, they’re reluctant—until they learn she has cancer. Recreating the last road trip their family took before everything fell apart, she hopes to heal the rift between them. Instead, misunderstandings and repressed grievances explode across state lines.
As painful revelations spill out like dirty laundry from an overstuffed suitcase—an accident, a withheld letter, a lineage laced with lies—their fragile connection threatens to break irreparably. Clinging to their scars, the sisters refuse to own the wounds they’ve caused, leading them to question if forgiveness can prevail when the deepest wounds are inflicted by those we love.
As tensions mount, Molly’s plan to bridge the chasm between them seems doomed. But when Molly’s condition worsens, the sisters are forced to confront their unresolved feelings and decide if it’s possible to release their grip on the past before it’s too late.
Told through heartache, laughter, and moments of unexpected tenderness, Roadside Sisters is a powerful story about family, forgiveness, and the secrets that divide us—unless we choose to set them free.
EAT DESSERT FIRST, Michelle Paris
Can a big-hearted baker finally discover the recipe for love and happiness?
” A delightful, charming, sensitive and wonderful read.”
— Elaine Lundberg author of No More Bummers”
Abbey Reilly’s life has gone off the rails. She’s given up her career as an architect in favor of working in her hometown bakery to care for her aging, ailing mother. Struggling to make ends meet, and tired of hearing, “you have such a pretty face” while knowing it’s code “if only you’d lose weight,” she’s all but given up on finding a love of her own.
When a promising, well-established suitor turns out to be yet another disappointment, a dejected Abbey can hardly believe her luck when she unexpectedly catches the attention of the dreamy and successful Jax. Has she finally found a match who will love her for who she is-and help her learn to love herself?
A tender and clever story about self-acceptance and embracing our flaws, Eat Dessert First, is a treat served with equal parts humor, relatability, and sweet romance.
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