Aug 12

Aug 12 Books Publishing This Week

It’s mid-August, and the day has stretched itself into one of those long, sun-drenched afternoons that effortlessly spills into evening. You’re at the beach, the sand warm beneath you, the sea stretching out endlessly in front of you like a promise. The sound of the waves is steady and calming, a lullaby for the soul, and the late-summer sun still shines high, though its light has softened just slightly, casting everything in a hazy golden hue.

You’ve found the perfect spot—far enough from the tide line to keep dry, close enough to hear the soothing rush of water. Your beach towel is spread out beneath you, and you’re lying on your back with your head propped up on a second towel, rolled tight like a makeshift pillow. It’s surprisingly comfortable. The sand shifts just enough to cradle you without protest. A big floppy hat shields your face, casting a soft shadow over your eyes. The brim moves slightly with the breeze, and you adjust it now and then, your fingertips brushing the woven straw.

In your hands is a book you’ve been waiting to start. You brought it with you, knowing that today would offer the rare combination of time, sunlight, and stillness. The pages are slightly cool to the touch when you first open it, the spine cracking gently—an invitation. You exhale, slow and content, and begin to read.

The story unfolds with easy charm, the kind that fits a beach day just right. It doesn’t ask too much of you too soon. Instead, it pulls you in bit by bit—just as the tide creeps up the sand. You sink into the characters, start to build the world in your mind, and everything else falls away. The other beachgoers become background noise—laughter in the distance, music drifting from someone’s speaker, the occasional bark of a dog splashing in the shallows.

You shift your legs in the sand, letting your toes wiggle deeper, your body growing heavier in that perfect sun-drenched way. Your hat tilts slightly as you turn onto your side, but the shadow stays, letting you stay lost in the page without squinting against the light. The breeze carries the scent of salt and sunscreen, and the heat that clung to the earlier part of the day begins to mellow into something more forgiving.

You pause every so often to glance up from the page—just to admire the way the light dances on the water, or to spot a sailboat drifting lazily along the horizon. The clouds are soft and slow-moving, and the sky is the kind of blue you wish you could bottle up and carry with you into colder seasons.

You eat a few bites of fruit you packed earlier—cool slices of peach or a handful of grapes, sweet and refreshing. You sip from your water bottle, now a little warm but still welcome. Then you return to your book, eager to follow the story deeper. A particularly beautiful sentence makes you stop and smile, committing it to memory, the way it made you feel.

As the sun begins to dip lower in the sky, painting everything with strokes of amber and rose, you keep reading. You know you’ll stop soon, but not yet. There’s still time. Time to stay here, wrapped in a story, surrounded by the sounds of the sea and the warmth of a summer afternoon turning gently into evening.

You adjust your hat once more, settle your head back against the rolled-up towel, and turn another page. This is summer at its finest—barefoot in the sand, salt in the air, the sun low and golden, and a book you can’t put down.

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Books Publishing August 10 - 16

House of Monstrous Women by Daphne Fama

Orphaned after her father’s political campaign ended in tragedy, Josephine is alone taking care of the family home while her older brother is off in Manila, where revolution brews. But an unexpected invitation from her childhood friend Hiraya to her house offers an escape. . . .

Why don’t you come visit, and we can play games like we used to?

If Josephine wins, she’ll get whatever her heart desires. Her brother is invited, too, and it’s time they had a talk. Josephine’s heard the dark whispers: Hiraya is a witch and her family spits curses. But still, she’s just desperate enough to seize this chance to change her destiny.

Except the Ranoco house is strange—labyrinthine and dangerously close to a treacherous sea. A sickly-sweet smell clings to the dimly lit walls, and veiled eyes follow Josephine through endless connecting rooms. The air is tense with secrets, and as the game continues it’s clear Josephine doesn’t have the whole truth.

To save herself, she will have to play to win. But in this house, victory is earned with blood.

A lush new voice in horror arises in this riveting gothic set against the upheaval of 1986 Philippines and the People Power Revolution.

The Sun and The Moon by Rebekah Faubion

Like the sun and the moon, these opposites can’t escape each other’s gravitational pull in the next enchanting romance from Rebekah Faubion.

Cadence Connolly grew up in the cosmic shadow of her mother, the renown psychic Madame Moira. Now, as a park ranger in Maine, she’s carved out her own life far away from her mother’s many premonitions and tarot cards . . . until she receives an invitation to Moira’s engagement party. Cadence doesn’t know what led to the thawing of her mother’s heart, but she’ll have to return home to discover the truth.

Sydney Sinclair’s schedule as a pilot makes long-term relationships difficult, but at least she can fly anywhere in the world for free with only her emotional baggage as a carry-on. After her mom passed, it’s always been Sydney and her dad against the world, so it’s no wonder she doesn’t trust the enigmatic Madame Moira—his newly minted fiancée.

When Cadence meets Sydney, they realize they both share similar suspicions about their parents’ impending nuptials. As they begin scheming to break up their parents’ engagement—they can’t possibly be in love after such a short time together— Sydney and Cadence discover an irresistible chemistry with each other instead. Despite not believing in fate, Cadence might just have found her soulmate in Sydney.

Love at First Sighting by Mallory Marlowe

A chance at love might not be out of this world in the next romantic comedy from USA Today bestselling author Mallory Marlowe.

Los Angles social media influencer El Martin seems to live the perfect aesthetic life. But what El wants more than anything is to find something real to make her heart race in a way it hasn’t in years. She doesn’t expect that feeling to come from capturing footage of an unidentified flying . . . thing, much less from the charming Man in Black who keeps following her around.

Agent Carter Brody is trying his best to keep the Private Intelligence Sector afloat by dragging their hopelessly out-of-date office into this century, even though what he really wants to do is follow in his father’s footsteps by identifying and hiding extraterrestrial sightings. He gets his chance after being assigned to El’s case, where he is stopped in his tracks by her ingenuity and confidence, but also by the unnerving coincidence of how her sighting looks eerily like what he saw right before a family tragedy.

The deeper El and Carter fall into the mystery, the harder it is for them to ignore the chemistry growing between them as their own alien feelings start to feel dangerously terrestrial.

Child of Light, by Jesi Bender

Author Interview with Jesi Bender

Thirteen-year-old Ambrétte Memenon has lived her entire life estranged from her wealthy mother, career-minded father, and older brother Modeste. After a series of financial failures, the family is forced to reunite in rural upstate NY in the Spring of 1896. Together in the new house but basically strangers, the family struggles to understand each other. Ambrétte endeavors to connect to her parents through their interests (Spiritualism for her Maman and electricity for her Papa). As she works towards better understanding, Ambrétte is drawn into a deep abyss of the unknown as she learns more about both death and the invisible pulse of the spirit.

The Dime Museum: A Novel in Stories

Beginning in the early years of the twentieth century and ending as the COVID pandemic arrives in full force, and set in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Europe, the linked stories in THE DIME MUSEUM create a rich tapestry of family life and an unflinching, thoughtful look at the challenges of the modern world.

The book gravitates largely around Charlie, a rich, white, college graduate who ends up in Venice. He’s struggling to understand how his significant privilege has destroyed a romantic relationship, but he draws unwanted interest from other quarters with his interest in the writing of Ezra Pound. His Dreamer ex-girlfriend, Min, becomes a nurse and is overwhelmed by caregiving and loss, including the untimely death of a Vietnam veteran who works as a gardener for Charlie’s mother. In this novel that spans generations, though, it is Charlie’s great-great grandmother, who cherished a forbidden love for a Vaudevillian male impersonator, that defines his life. She is the source of his wealth but also mother to his lonely great-aunt, who in the end controls how he's raised.

Hinnefeld writes about harsh realities, the importance of connection, and tender hearts in a fragile world. Yet she also writes of the hope and healing found in planting gardens, in poetry and art, and in families forged from abiding love and respect rather than bound only by blood.

Knife in the Back by Karen Rose

Guest Post by Karen Rose

Officer Naomi Cranston was framed for stealing cocaine from the evidence locker and coerced—through threats to her young son—into not fighting the charges. After five years in prison, she has tried to put the ordeal behind her, but the crooks who framed her have returned, this time demanding she move drugs along with her flower shop’s deliveries. They threaten her son once again, but this time she’s not capitulating quietly. She hires Broussard Investigations to protect her and her son, to prove her innocence, and to put the real bad guys away.

As a former cop, Burke Broussard is well aware of the corruption in the New Orleans police department. He had always believed Naomi Cranston to be guilty and isn’t inclined to take her case. Until he sits down to listen to her side of things. Until he sees her tortured innocence written all over her beautiful face....

A relationship born amid an investigation is a fragile thing. Will it survive the danger and the threats? Will it survive the truth?

Lime Juice Money by Jo Morey

With the sultry atmosphere and ratcheting tension of The White Lotus, The Mosquito Coast, and Nine Perfect Strangers, Jo Morey’s debut—the intoxicating, literary thriller Lime Juice Money—follows a woman trapped in an increasingly volatile relationship 5,000 miles from home in a Central American jungle.

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter

Also by this author: False Witness by Karin Slaughter

The next thrilling mystery from Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Girls and the Will Trent Series.

Welcome to North Falls—a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think.

Until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanish, and the town ignites.

For Officer Emmy Clifton, it’s personal. She turned away when her best friend's daughter needed help—and now she must bring her home.

But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did.

Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?

You've Got a Place Here, Too: An Anthology of Black Love Stories Set at HBCUs by Ebony LaDelle

A heartwarming and unforgettable collection of love stories set at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, exploring hope, endurance, and what it means to leave a legacy, from some of today’s most prominent Black writers and edited by the acclaimed author of Love Radio

Love can be messy, painful, and heartbreaking, but it can also be revolutionary, profound, and hopeful. For Celine, a forbidden crush on a professor evolves into a second chance at romance years later. Myra’s focus on a coveted audition for the Fisk Jubilee Singers is challenged by the handsome music major determined to help her. Kiese investigates the darker side to academia, love, and identity. Like most blessings, love emerges in the most unexpected places—in a training cockpit for new pilots, during a Mardi Gras celebration, or while gathering signatures to start the first-ever LGBTQ+ student organization officially recognized at an HBCU.

These are just a few of the heart-searing, tender, and transporting love stories collected in You’ve Got a Place Here, Too—a true celebration of Black love and the profound impact of HBCUs on the community.

Featuring stories by Elizabeth Acevedo, Jasmine Bell, Carla Bruce, Aaron Foley, Kai Harris, Ebony LaDelle, Kiese Laymon, Christine Platt, Farrah Rochon, Kennedy Ryan, Dawnie Walton, and Nicola Yoon.

The Roots of the Guava Tree: Growing Up Jewish and Arab in Colombia by Sonia Daccarett

A debut contemporary memoir about a young woman struggling to understand her identity as the daughter of a Jewish mother and Christian Palestinian father, coming of age in Colombia as increasing violence and the instability of the 1980s engulf her country.

Sonia Daccarett grew up with a Jewish mother and a Christian Palestinian father in Colombia during the drug-war 1980s. When she asks her parents questions about their family’s ethnicity and religion they answer evasively, defining their family religion and ethnicity as “nothing.” Grandparents and family members who speak Yiddish, Hebrew, and Arabic and fled from places called the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russia, Bethlehem, and the Ottoman Empire, does not sound like “nothing” to Sonia.

At the same time, Sonia grapples with her American education at school. She is both enchanted and challenged by the tropical landscape of her childhood in a remote suburb of Cali, which is rapidly changing as cocaine trafficking and drug cartels begin to dominate the city’s life.

As she tries to discover what her family is, Colombia begins unraveling around her through violence, kidnappings, and the death of acquaintances and friends. At the same time, her parents’ marriage and their personal identities are rocked by the faraway Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Soon, she will have to decide whether to stay in Colombia with her family or leave them behind to find the answers she seeks.

Everything Is Probably Fine by Julia London

Author Interview with Julia London

New York Times bestselling author Julia London returns with a story about forgiveness and second chances perfect for fans of The Wedding People and The Husbands. After forty-two years, Lorna Lott is ready to learn where she's going with her life--even if it means revisiting all the places she wishes she hadn't been. It'll be fine. Probably. Maybe.

Lorna Lott has been leaning into the awkward side of things most of her life. Her intensity and drive haven't earned her any friends, but at least her sales team is meeting their quotas. Why should she care that they call her King Kong when her promotion to senior vice president is within reach? Or it was--until she made a mistake that even apology donuts couldn't fix.

Now she's been mandated to attend a thirty-day wellness program, and everything is on the line. If she can't get her low-key rage thing under control, stop her eyes from leaking, and figure out how to be more likeable, she won't get a promotion or raise. Which means she won't be able to buy back her grandmother's house and reclaim the happiness she hasn't felt since childhood.

Cooperating with the program means coming to terms with her past. Mainly, how her older sister's substance abuse ruined Lorna's life--and her many regrets about the way she handled things. With the help of her oddly endearing eight-year-old neighbor and his equally charming father, she throws herself into the process of making amends. But as she begins to accept that there is nothing she could have done to change the course of her sister's life, Lorna faces her most challenging task yet: changing the course of her own.

Bless Your Heart by Leigh Dunlap

Anderson Tupper, a member of one of Atlanta’s richest families, has been murdered in the dugout of the Little League field where he was a volunteer coach, and it’s up to Detective Shay Claypool, a single mother from the other side of town, to find his killer.

With the exclusive area of Buckhead threatening to secede from the city of Atlanta and take its tax revenue with it, Shay is under pressure to solve the murder of one of Buckhead’s own. Accustomed to handling drug dealers and prostitutes, she must now contend with an even more sinister group: the Buckhead Betties, the insufferably entitled women of Georgia’s most affluent zip code. One of them might be a murderer, but who? Is it the old-money queen of Buckhead? The mysterious new girl in town? The drug-dealing trophy wife?

It seems secrets and lies are as plentiful as luxury handbags in Atlanta and everyone’s guilty of something. Shay’s investigation will make her examine her own prejudices and discover that, as a woman and a mother, she might not be that different from the Betties after all. And if she isn’t careful, they just might take her down with them.

Mess by Michael Chessler

To the world, Jane Brown, a Los-Angeles based professional organizer, is a model of composure and reticence. But inside, she’s fiercely judgmental and critical of herself and others. A lover of order and tidiness, she struggles to accept the world’s exasperating messiness of both her own clients—a superficial sphere of influencers and rich creatives—and her live-in boyfriend, who is becoming as aggravating as he is comforting.

When she arrives at the home of a new client, a has-been Hollywood actress—a woman opposite to her in every way—Jane finds herself unexpectedly moved. Realizing how desperately she wants to lower her defenses and open her heart; Jane decides to declutter the mess of her own mindset. Organizing her own feelings turns out to be the most daunting job she’s ever tackled, but one that promises big rewards if she succeeds, including freedom—and even love.

Set against the dazzlingly rich, beautiful, and shallow world of Hollywood money and mansions, Mess is an honest, heartfelt, and often hilarious response to the disorder of our lives today.

Hello? Who is This? Margaret? by Dani Alpert

Author Interview with Dani Alpert

A comedic look at blind ambition, stubborn optimism, and perseverance

Dani Alpert is an expert on the fortitude and delusion required to pursue childhood dreams that just won’t drop dead. Her stories are a case study in the human spirit’s tenacity and its unwavering ability to keep going in the face of crushing rejection. For many years, she toiled in the entertainment business, where the only responses she received were “Almost,” “So close,” or “Not quite.” Humor was the life vest that kept her afloat.

Some of Dani’s stories dive into the bowels of childhood, the creative psyche, and the birth of an aspiring Broadway baby. Other tales explore crippling adult fears and self-doubt and what happens when the ingénue becomes a member of AARP. Whether she’s describing her bumpy road trying to get a foothold in Hollywood, her retail adventures shopping for gas masks during COVID, or her idiotic decision to vacation at a romantic couple’s resort after a heart-wrenching breakup, Dani provides gentle shoves—pep talks wrapped in cautionary tales—for anyone still chasing their dreams but feeling stuck.

In the vein of Jenny Lawson and Laurie Notaro, Hello? Who Is This? Margaret? delivers tales of universally awkward, misunderstood, and human failings through wit, pop culture, and Dani’s losses and wins (mostly losses). Her humor—sometimes dark and distorted but always self-aware—is a salve for the messiness and absurdities of life, and speak to the hopeful in all of us.

Playback by Carla Malden

Author Interview with Carla Malden

Playback follows Mari, an artistically frustrated photographer who worries that her recent divorce has ruined her daughter’s life. Mari is anxious, disillusioned, and overwhelmed by the demands of modern-day living—then a twist of fate plunges her decades into the past, back to the pinnacle of Hippie culture: Haight-Ashbury of 1967.
There—beyond the peace signs, guitar-strumming, and flowers-in-your-hair—Mari finds a world defined by radical upheaval and a group of young people whose sincerity and optimism are wholly absent from her 21st-century life. In this energetic, full hearted novel, she confronts the version of herself that could have been—and may still be: a Mari who is more free, more creative, and very in love with a rockstar. She must ultimately choose between this seductive, freewheeling lifestyle and Joni, the beloved daughter she’s left in the future. Playback shines light on a seminal time in American history, the disquietude of our current moment, and the timeless love of a mother for her child.

The Harvey Girls by Juliette Fay

Author Interview with Juliette Fay

Juliette Fay—known for her “well-drawn characters and vibrant historical backdrops” (Library Journal)—transports us to 1920s America with this big-hearted tale of two very different women who must learn to trust each other as one tries save her family and the other to save herself. Perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah and Kristina McMorris.

1926: Charlotte Crowninshield was born into one of the finest Boston society families. Now she’s on the run from a brutal husband, desperate to disappear into the wilds of the Southwest. Billie MacTavish is the oldest of nine children born to Scottish immigrants in Nebraska. She quit school in the sixth grade to help with her mother’s washing and mending business, but even that isn’t enough to keep the family afloat.

Desperate, both women join the ranks of the Harvey Girls, waitresses who serve in America’s first hospitality chain on the Santa Fe railroad. Hired on the same day, they share three things: a room, a heartfelt dislike of each other…and each has a secret that will certainly get them fired.

Through twelve-hour days of training in Topeka, Kansas, they learn the fine art of service, perfecting their skills despite bouts of homesickness, fear of being discovered, and a run-in with the KKK. When they’re sent to work at the luxurious El Tovar hotel at the Grand Canyon, the challenges only grow, as Billie struggles to hide her young age from would-be suitors, and Charlotte discovers the little-known dark side of the national park’s history.

“Juliette Fay’s gift for creating complex, exquisitely human characters” (Marisa de los Santos, New York Times bestselling author) is on full display in this deeply moving and joyous celebration of female empowerment, loyalty, and friendship.

She Used to Be Nice by Alexia LaFata

A young woman must confront her abuser in this gripping debut novel sure to captivate fans of Sweetbitter and My Year of Rest and Relaxation.

One night in college changed the course of Avery’s entire life. Her rapist took everything from her—including the trust of her friends and long-term boyfriend, who were convinced she cheated. A year later, she still can’t bear to tell the truth about what happened and risk her friendship with Morgan, the only friend she has left.

Instead, Avery finds her way under a man or into a bottle just to convince herself that she has power over her feelings and her autonomy—that her body still belongs to her. That is, until she meets Pete, a man so kind and good that he awakens a part of Avery that makes her want to try something new.

But somehow Avery’s rapist has resurfaced in her life as the best man in Morgan’s wedding. And as maid of honor, there’s no way Avery can avoid him. His mere presence grates at Avery’s already raw emotional state, and she begins to drive away the final few who care about her—including Pete.

As the wedding nears, Avery must decide whether to finally let her walls down and tell her truth or risk spiraling toward a darkness she may never be able to recover from.

Readers who seek out thought-provoking, character-driven stories and book club novels with strong discussion themes will love She Used to Be Nice.

The Guest Children by Patrick Tarr

The search for two missing children goes terribly wrong in this haunting and insidiously creepy ghost story debut by acclaimed showrunner Patrick Tarr.

With terror mounting in 1940 London, thousands of "Guest Children" were evacuated out of England to escape the bombings. Two of those children, Michael and Frances Hawksby, were never seen again.

Randall Sturgess wanted to do his part in the war--but stayed home instead to look after his troubled younger brother. Impoverished, shamed as a coward, and running out of work options as veterans come home, when he’s asked to investigate the disappearance of the Hawksby children, he agrees.

Reluctantly leaving his brother behind, Randall follows the children’s trail to a remote corner of northern Ontario, where he finds an isolated resort. There, he discovers the secretive couple who initially took in the young Hawksbys, along with their collection of strange, seemingly permanent guests. But there’s still no sign of the children.

Plagued by vivid nightmares and a persistent feeling that he’s being watched, Randall searches the imposing woods and lake for any trace of Michael and Frances. Randall's certain something terrible has happened to them, linked to a spectral presence he senses around the lodge and glimpses out of the corner of his eye. Appearing first in his dreams and then in waking life, strange visions call to Randall, even as his every instinct tells him to stay away–and he’s increasingly convinced that if he ever wants to find the children, he must succumb to the call.

Vividly atmospheric, layered, and twisty, The Guest Children is sure to appeal to fans of Shutter Island and The Others.

I Found a Body by Becky Brynolf

A weary detective must team up with a brazen influencer to solve a cold case that has left a mark on both of their careers.

This twisty thriller, perfect for fans of Phoebe Morgan and Gillian McAllister, will leave readers yearning for answers.

Detective Sergeant Mona Hendricks has a lot on her plate: she’s getting divorced, her teen daughter is punishing her for it, and she’s shooting for a life-changing promotion. When her daughter’s favorite influencer, Kylie May, finds a dead body and livestreams it to the world, Mona is thrown into a very public murder investigation.

Mona, a seasoned detective, is trying her best to conduct a proper investigation based on good old-fashioned police work, but when Kylie decides to solve the case herself, their dueling investigations hamper all efforts to identify the killer.

Nine years later, Mona has hit rock bottom, and the case remains unsolved. When Kylie, now a sleek TV contrarian, approaches Mona with a high-paying offer to reopen the cold case, Mona has no choice but to accept and hope things will be different this time around.

My Brave Friend: Emma and Noah Face Cancer Together by Suzanne Stone and Brett Fox

What is cancer? Is it the same thing as getting sick? Why is my best friend, Emma, not in school anymore?

Noah and Emma are best friends who do everything together, like playing on the monkey bars at recess and making each other smile and laugh. But one day at school, Noah notices that Emma is not there. He learns that Emma has cancer.

With the support of his parents, teacher, and classmates, Noah learns not to be afraid and helps Emma feel less lonely while she receives treatment. Follow the story of how one boy brings joy and connection to his best friend when she needs it the most.

Vulture by Phoebe Greenwood

Catch-22 on speed and set in the Middle East, Vulture is a fast-paced, brilliant satire of the war news industry and its moral blind spots.

An ambitious young journalist, Sara is sent to cover a war from the Beach Hotel in Gaza. The four-star hotel is a global media hub, promising safety and generator-powered internet, with hotel staff catering tirelessly to the needs of the world’s media, even as their homes and families are under threat.

Sara is determined to launch herself as a star correspondent. So, when her fixer Nasser refuses to set up the dangerous story she thinks will win her a front page, she turns instead to Fadi, the youngest member of a powerful militant family. Driven by demons and disappointments, Sara will stop at nothing to prove herself in this war, even if it means bringing disaster upon those around her.

Greenwood’s debut novel brings readers into the heart of the maelstrom, depicting with humor and audacity the media's complicity in the ongoing tragedy.

Acts of God by Kanan Gill

The twenty-first-century heir to Kurt Vonnegut, Kanan Gill’s debut, Acts of God, is a madcap futuristic romp that dares to question the meaning of existence—with equal parts reverence and hilarity.

Private detective P. Manjunath thinks like fire and works like dust as he sets out to investigate existential cataclysms unfolding all over the globe—not knowing that the ripples in reality he sees are being caused by Dr. Krishna, a scientist in a utopian future and technically the God of their world.

As Manjunath’s investigation disrupts God’s plans, a Danish police officer attains enlightenment, a lapel pin gives disruptive advice, a sentient wall provides the key to creativity, a pill cures the human condition, and everyone in the world develops a lisp at the same time.

A blend of philosophical provocation, inventive lyricism, humor, and chaos, Acts of God marks the evolution of one of the finest voices in comedy.

The Feeding by Anthony Ryan

With echoes of The Road, New York Times bestselling author Anthony Ryan’s The Feeding is a brilliant postapocalyptic novel that is perfect for fans of Justin Cronin, M. R. Carey, and Alexis Henderson.

Fifteen years ago the feeders rose from the shadows to transform the world into a graveyard. The few survivors exist in fortified settlements surrounded by the empty ruins of a destroyed civilization. For years the citizens of New City Redoubt have relied on an elite cadre of Crossers to navigate the feeder-infested wasteland between settlements in order to trade for vital supplies. But the Outside is becoming ever more dangerous, and the ranks of the Crossers grow thinner with every crossing.

Layla, only a child when the Feeding destroyed the old world, spends her days scavenging the ruins for valuable scrap and her nights helping her adoptive family eke a living from the Redoubt’s only movie theater. Now, with her father slowly dying, Layla resolves to join the Crossers to retrieve the medicine that can save him. Smart, ruthless, and fast on her feet, Layla quickly gains the respect of her fellow Crossers. But, in a world lost to the deadliest predators, can even the most cunning prey survive?

A Killer Getaway by Sienna Sharpe

Falling in love can be murder...

No one in Lily Lennox's life can understand why, for each of the past five summers, she has left her successful business behind to work a lifeguarding job at the exclusive Riovan Wellness Resort on a sun-soaked Caribbean Island.

Fortunately for her, they also aren't aware of the mysterious deaths that occur on the island every time she's there. You see, Lily has a secret. She's determined to make toxic people pay for the damage they do – and she's very good at getting away with it.

But this summer, there's a problem in the form of a very attractive guest, Daniel Black, who is asking a few too many inconvenient questions. Hoping to lead him off her trail, Lily decides to keep her enemy close, but as their attraction grows into something much deeper, Lily's plans start to unravel. Because Daniel is set on finding the murderer – and Lily plans to get away with it - no matter what.

The Truth is in the Detours by Mara Williams

In this sharp-witted and poignant novel, two former friends with a complicated history are thrown together on an unexpected road trip, where old lies unravel and new truths emerge with every mile marker.

Ophelia Dahl has just buried her beloved father when she finds among his personal effects a blindsiding document. The mother Ophelia thought died thirty years ago isn’t dead after all―she abandoned her. But how could she, and where is she now? With some neighborly help, Ophelia’s going to find out.

Beau Augustin is an acclaimed author and Ophelia’s childhood bestie turned teenage nemesis, still chafing after all these years. As luck would have it, Beau’s current project―family deceptions―is set to take him across the West Coast. Ophelia has a brilliant idea: Beau’s book. Her life. Win-win. In a Subaru filled with baggage, they hit the road.

Despite detours, dead ends, and old grudges, Ophelia is desperate to unravel a lifetime of lies. And Beau’s research is a little more personal than he’s letting on. Mile by mile, they’re getting closer to their truths―and to each other―than they ever thought possible.

Woven From Clay by Jenny Birch

In this fresh and imaginative contemporary fantasy, a golem must master the magic that binds her together and finds an unexpected ally in the mysterious boy sent to ensure her demise.

Terra Slater might not know anything about her birth family or where she comes from, but that’s never stopped her, and she fully intends her senior year to be her best yet. Until the dark and mysterious Thorne Wilder—a magical bounty hunter—moves to town, bringing revelations that wreck all of her plans.

When Terra learns she is a golem, not born but crafted from mud and magic by a warlock, her world is upended. Worse, Cyrus Quill, the warlock who made her, is a fugitive, on the run from the witches who want to hold him accountable for his past crimes. But Quill’s sentence is death, which would unravel the threads of magic that hold Terra—and all of the other golems that he crafted—together.

Desperate to save herself and her friends, Terra strikes a deal with Thorne and his coven to preserve the warlock’s life and his magic. If she can prove her worth to the coven by mastering the magic within her, the golems will survive. If she can’t, they’ll perish along with Cyrus. As Thorne helps her to see and manipulate the tapestry of magic that surrounds them, their unexpected alliance evolves into something more and Terra comes to understand the depths of her magic, her humanity, and her love for the people most important to her.

Red Card by Maren Moore

British bad boy Cillian “Kill” Cairney is ruthless on the rugby pitch. After getting a permanent red card from his team in London, the only team that will have him is an Ivy League school in New Hampshire. But the guys hate him, his coach doesn’t trust him, and worst of all? His starting position is in the hands of his coach’s fiery, rugby-obsessed, very off-limits daughter. Not only does he have to earn his coach’s respect, but Kill has to earn Rory’s—and nothing has ever seemed more difficult. That is, until she approaches him with a proposition that could benefit them both . . .

Rory St. James has spent all her life immersed in rugby. Which is . . . part of the problem. She’s tired of being friend-zoned. She wants to get the guy, and to do that, she needs the frustratingly charming Cillian to teach her. But the more time they spend together, the more lines begin to blur. In a game where trust and loyalty are tested, who will be the winner? Or will love be the final red card?

Open Bar by Dan Schorr

When the longtime abuse by a university’s softball coach of teenagers in its youth summer softball program—and the university’s strategic cover-up of those crimes—comes to light, a community is turned upside down in this drama-filled thriller perfect for fans of Kate Elizabeth Russell and Allison Leotta.

Campus, corporate, and local politics collide when a high-profile sexual misconduct scandal rocks a prominent university.

Serena Stanfield, Mountain Hill University’s human resources director, has just learned that the school’s softball coach has been molesting teenagers in its youth summer softball program for years, and that the university has covered it up from both her and the public. Troy Abernathy, a junior associate at an international investigations firm, is navigating a turbulent, toxic workplace as the company aims to be retained by the university to investigate these sexual assault allegations. Megan Black, a new member of the Mountain Hill City Council, is thrust into the fallout from the national scandal while she simultaneously focuses on securing a presidential commutation for her childhood friend, who is unfairly facing decades in prison after stabbing her abusive husband to death in self-defense.

As additional disturbing details of the coach’s actions are uncovered, Serena, Troy, Megan, and other prominent community figures confront competing interests and unique obstacles while they each pursue different paths toward obtaining justice for the softball program’s sexual abuse survivors—and offer conflicting understandings of what justice would even mean.

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