Feb 24

Feb 24 22 Books Publishing This Week

The night at the end of February feels like the edge of something. Not quite spring, not fully winter anymore either—just that quiet threshold where the air is still cold but carries the faintest hint of change. Outside, the sky is dark but softer somehow, less severe than it was in January. The wind moves gently, no longer biting, just steady. You can sense the season loosening, even if it hasn’t let go yet.

Inside, the house feels still and intimate. The day is finished. The obligations have faded. You dim the lights until only a lamp glows beside you, casting a warm circle across the room. The contrast between the cold darkness outside and the amber warmth within feels especially comforting tonight. You move through the space quietly, aware of your own footsteps, of the hush that has settled around everything.

You make something warm to drink—not because you’re freezing, but because it feels right. Tea, perhaps, something herbal and grounding. Or cocoa, thick and sweet. You wrap your hands around the mug and let the heat steady you. February has been long in its own way—gray mornings, slow afternoons, the patience winter requires. Tonight feels like a gentle closing of that chapter.

The book you’ve chosen rests nearby, waiting. You’ve been meaning to start it. Maybe you were saving it without realizing it—holding off until the right moment presented itself. And this feels like it. A night at the edge of seasons. A quiet pause before March arrives with its unpredictable energy.

You settle into your chair or into bed with extra pillows stacked just so. A blanket pools around your legs. The room smells faintly of something comforting—laundry, candle wax, clean air. You pick up the book and feel its smooth cover beneath your fingertips, its pages crisp and untouched. There’s always something hopeful about a new book, but tonight it feels especially symbolic: an ending and a beginning happening all at once.

You open it slowly. The spine gives that soft, familiar sound. The first page greets you without urgency. You begin to read, letting your breathing fall into rhythm with the sentences. The world outside fades—not entirely, but gently. You’re aware of the wind brushing against the window, of a distant car passing, of the house settling into night. But none of it pulls you away.

The story unfolds gradually, like the season itself. Characters step forward. A setting reveals itself in layers. You don’t rush. There’s no need to. This isn’t January’s sharp ambition or February’s endurance. This is the quiet satisfaction of having made it through the slow months, of sitting in stillness without restlessness.

You pause occasionally, lifting your mug for another sip. The warmth lingers on your tongue. You glance toward the window, where darkness presses softly against the glass. Somewhere beyond that darkness, the earth is shifting, imperceptibly preparing for bloom. You feel that shift too—not dramatic, just subtle. A readiness.

You turn another page. The book begins to feel familiar already, as if it has found its place beside you. The long winter nights have taught you how to linger, how to sit with a story without distraction. You let yourself be fully present here, in this quiet room, in this in-between night.

When you finally close the book, marking your place with care, you don’t feel the heaviness of winter anymore. You feel steadiness. You feel calm. You feel the quiet satisfaction of having begun something new at exactly the right moment.

February is ending. The air is shifting. And you, wrapped in lamplight and story, are ready for whatever comes next.

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Books Publishing February 22 - 28

Best Boy by Deborah Goodrich Royce

A gripping psychological thriller, Best Boy teeters on the knife-edge of memory and identity when the arrival of a shocking letter threatens the carefully constructed life of a woman desperate to outrun her past.

Viveca Stevenson has it all: a handsome and successful husband, an adorable ten-year-old son, and a coastal dream house in Greenwich, Connecticut. She has a solid group of girlfriends and is content with the afterglow of the film career she’s left behind. But when a threatening letter arrives—from a man she does not remember—it cracks open a part of her past she thought was buried for good.

A terrifying chain of events is set in motion, forcing Viveca to confront what happened on a shattering Halloween night in high school when she had a different name, a different face, a different voice. Who is the man contacting her now and was he really the best boy on her most famous film, Misty? Why can’t she remember him—or that night?

A taut psychological thriller, Best Boy explores identity, memory, and the dangerous power of forgetting.

And Now, Back To You by BK Borison

Jackson Clark and Delilah Stewart have had their fair share of run-ins over the years, often ending in disaster. While Jackson thrives on routine and organization from the comfort of his radio booth, Delilah loves the spontaneity and adventure out in the field. When they’re partnered against their will to cover the snowstorm of the century, they find themselves scrambling to figure out how to work together.

Eager to be taken seriously as a journalist, Delilah offers Jackson a deal. If he can help her ace this assignment, she’ll help him rediscover his long-lost fun side. With an undiscovered chemistry burning beneath their clashes, the unlikely partnership quickly tumbles into an easy and surprising friendship.

But when other feelings start to enter the equation, can Jackson and Delilah withstand the storm? Or does what happens in the mountains stay in the mountains?

Six Little Words by Sally Page

Escape into the world of Sally Page with the perfect armchair read! From the author of the phenomenal bestsellers The Keeper of Stories and The Book of Beginnings comes another novel that will warm your heart.

Can one small note give her the courage to find a new path?

Kate gave up her dreams of being a painter years ago. But six little words pinned to the noticeboard of her local café could change her path forever.

“To be, or not to be …”—printed on an orange card with no explanation—appears one morning.

Each day, a new line from a different Shakespeare play is added, sparking curiosity throughout the café. Among the regulars is Bardy, a retired English teacher grappling with writer’s block.

As Kate and Bardy follow this breadcrumb trail, they discover a local community group encouraging people to rediscover their own creative spark—and the long-lost courage to chase it.

For Kate, their new group might just offer a second chance at happiness, if only Bardy can find the strength to share his story too …

The Other Moctezuma Girls by Sofia Robleda

In sixteenth-century Mexico, a fearless young woman strives to uncover the secrets her mother kept as the last Aztec empress in a sweeping historical epic by the author of Daughter of Fire.

Tenochtitlan, 1551. Thirty years after the Spanish Conquest destroyed everything she loved, the last Aztec empress has passed and left behind a pristine yet tenuous legacy for her children. As her last will and testament is read out, her daughter Isabel suspects that another account of her mother’s life may exist, hidden away, chapter by chapter, in the Valley of Mexico. Following each clue, Isabel is determined to find out who her mother really was and to discover the secrets she buried in order to survive.

Joined by her siblings and a handsome young cook named Juan, Isabel embarks on a perilous journey to piece together the past―a journey that will force the party to brave the brutal viceroyal court, face fearsome legends in mystical chinampas, and trek through desert, fire, and snow. As Isabel’s feelings for Juan grow, she confronts everything she thought she knew about her Spanish father, her empress mother, and herself. Facing everything from the tunnels of ancient pyramids to the summit of an active volcano, Isabel will meet every challenge to fulfill an epic quest for the truth.

Weavingshaw by Heba Al-Wasity

In this debut gothic fantasy, a young woman who can see the dead strikes a deal with the magnetic and dangerous Saint of Silence, a purveyor of dark secrets, to save her brother’s life—the first book of a trilogy.

This gorgeous hardcover edition features an illustrated book case designed to simulate a leatherbound tome, as well as designed full-color endpapers and a deluxe jacket with foil.

Three years ago, Leena Al-Sayer awoke with a terrible power.

She can see the dead.

Since then, she has hidden herself away from the world, knowing that if she ever reveals her curse she will be locked up in an asylum.

When her beloved brother, Rami, falls fatally ill, Leena is faced with a terrible choice: Let him die or buy the expensive medicine that will save his life by bartering the only valuable thing she has—her secret.

The Saint of Silence, a ruthless merchant who trades in confessions and is shrouded in unearthly rumors of cruelty and power, accepts her bargain, for a deadly price. Leena must find the ghost of Percival Avon, the last lord of Weavingshaw—or lose her freedom to the Saint forever.

As Leena’s search takes her and the Saint to Weavingshaw, she finds the estate and the surrounding moors to be living things—hungry for blood and sacrifice. Fighting against Weavingshaw’s might, Leena must also fight her growing pull toward the enigmatic Saint himself, whose connection to Percival Avon remains a mystery.

As the house begins to entomb them, time is running out on their desperate hunt for answers.

For Leena has come to see that here in Weavingshaw, the dead are not hushed—and some secrets are better left buried with them.

The Book of Judges by Gary Fields

A beloved judge is murdered. His virus-infected laptop holds an ancient secret. Young lawyer Joshua Sutton, together with doctoral candidate Samantha Bollinger and tech wizard Mark Roth, are thrust into a deadly three-day quest for answers—a quest that leads them across millennia.

As Mark extracts clues from the computer, Josh and Sammi are chased around Florida by the hulking murderer and others who desperately want the laptop.

Josh and Sammi realize they’ve both been haunted by dreams about historical judges. In Mongol-ruled China, Imperial Rome, Byzantium, post-Renaissance Venice, Henry VIII’s England, and Charlemagne’s Frankish kingdom, judges heroically seek justice in life-and-death cases that come to define human rights. As they do, they are exposed to a startling secret.

Josh, Sammi, and Mark end up in a pulse-pounding race to New York City to stop the murder of another judge, one who could potentially save humanity.

A Dangerous Diagnosis by Shantanu Rai

Brilliant diagnostician and renowned physician Dr. Sanjay Patel once dreamed of being a doctor at a free clinic, serving those in need. Now, he treats billionaires by private jet and gets paid in Gucci totes packed with cash.

But when his estranged mentor, Dr. Tom Carpenter, scribbles “Page Dr. Sanjay” on a blank prescription moments before collapsing from a fatal stroke, Sanjay is pulled back to the hospital that nearly ended his medical career, Boston’s Mount Beacon Hospital.

There, he reunites with cancer researcher Emma Carpenter-Flores, Tom’s daughter—and the woman whose heart Sanjay broke a decade prior. Forced to team up, their search unearths a trail of disturbing cases, and as they dig deeper, they find themselves the target of a powerful medical-industrial complex that will stop at nothing to protect its secrets.

With patients’ lives at stake, Sanjay and Emma must risk everything to find the truth and expose it before the very foundation of medicine is destroyed in this timely medical thriller, perfect for fans of The Lincoln Lawyer and House.

One Beautiful Year of Normal by Sandra K. Griffith

Some memories protect you. Others imprison you.

When August Caine receives a phone call from a Savannah attorney, she is blindsided by the news—her Aunt Helen has passed away. But how can that be, when August’s mother insisted Helen died in a car accident fifteen years ago? Determined to uncover the truth, August returns to the deep South, where the ghosts of her past—both real and imagined—await her.

Plagued by a memory splintered by her father’s unsolved murder when she was a child and further tangled by psychiatric treatments for the debilitating depression she struggles with, August realizes her survival depends on unraveling the mystery surrounding her father’s death. This means returning to the one safe place she remembers from the childhood she has mostly locked away inside her mind: Aunt Helen’s home, and the ghost tours they created together.

A chilling exploration of mental illness, mother-daughter bonds, and generational secrets, One Beautiful Year of Normal follows August as she pieces together the long-buried truths that shaped her family’s tragic past and confronts the question that has haunted her for years: Can the truth set her free, or will it unravel everything she thought she knew?

The Twelve by Joey Graceffa

Welcome to the coven.

Each month, a Zodiac Witch is born, her magic written by the stars.

Ophelia and Serena—twin sisters born on the cusp of Pisces and Aries—are trapped in the cold confines of an orphanage until fate rips them from obscurity. Suddenly, they are invited into The Twelve, a powerful coven. To join, they must swear to hunt Dark Witches, creatures of spectral beauty and razor-sharp teeth who survive by siphoning magic from young witches.

On a secret island, protected by their new sisters, Ophelia and Serena train to use their powers. Serena commands Lightning, raw and untamed. Ophelia wields Water, quiet and waiting. Their paths shift—one chasing power, the other resisting—as the sisters find themselves caught between two destinies. Some choices can never be undone but they must decide, because magic does not wait, and the darkness is coming for them in ways they could never imagine. After all, the stars never shine without casting shadows.

Dollface by Lindy Ryan

Barbie meets Scream with a 90s nostalgia twist in this horror romp from Bless Your Heart author Lindy Ryan.

Horror author Jill has just moved to suburban New Jersey, hoping to fit in with the new PTA moms and maybe not weird everyone out with her Final Girl coffee mug. You know. Make some real friends.

But then a plastic face-masked serial killer begins slashing their way through town, one overly made-up mom at a time. The police are incredulous. The moms are indignant. And Jill is slowly wrapped into a killer’s murderous spree, until she might just be the last woman standing.

A delightfully murderous novel that is equal parts scathing and salacious, Dollface will win you over with its gossip and gore, one body at a time.

Then He Was Gone by Isabel Booth

Desperate parents search for their missing son in this tense thriller, perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Jennifer Hillier.

When attorney Elizabeth English and her husband, Paul, catch up to their energetic sons at the end of their hike, they expect to find the two boys waiting by their car. It’s been only minutes since Henry and Nick bolted ahead. But when Elizabeth and Paul emerge from the trail, Henry is gone, and all Nick says is that he saw a lone truck leaving the lot shortly after Henry went to the bathroom.

Gritty park ranger Hollis Monroe launches a massive search and teams up with a local detective to investigate the possibility that Henry was kidnapped. Elizabeth and Paul aren’t sure which is worse: their six-year-old lost in Rocky Mountain National Park or scared and bound in the back of a stranger’s pickup.

The search drives the couple to their breaking point, and secrets they have been keeping from each other are revealed for Henry’s sake. With every hour that passes, finding Henry becomes less likely, and Elizabeth becomes ferocious in her determination to make the impossible come true and find her son.

This nail-biting and unsettling thriller will leave readers breathlessly turning the page. Fans of Mary Kubica and Harlan Coben will love this new master of suspense.

Hail Mariam by Huda Al-Marashi

Hail Mariam is an interfaith Muslim take on Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret drawn from the author’s own experiences in Catholic school.

Sixth grade wasn’t supposed to be this complicated.

Iraqi American Mariam Hassan transfers to a local Catholic school and before her first day her parents remind her that she might be the first Muslim her classmates have ever met. No big deal, right? Just represent an entire religion while making new friends, keeping up with schoolwork, and figuring out who she is.

When Mariam’s younger sister, Salma, is diagnosed with a serious lung condition, her family faces endless doctor visits and sleepless nights. Mariam tries to lighten their burden and keep her own problems to herself—including the fact that she’s just been cast as Mary in the school’s Christmas nativity play.

Mariam wants to honor her faith and her new community, but she’s terrified of crossing a religious line. Can a Muslim girl be the lead in a Christian story? What will her family think? And why does she feel like every decision she makes represents all Muslims?

Mariam discovers that faith, much like friendships, isn’t about perfection—it’s about connection. As she leans on her family, friends, and school community, she begins to see the power of interfaith cooperation and learns she doesn’t have to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Hail Mariam is a celebration of the beauty of finding common ground.

All in Her Hands by Audrey Blake

From acclaimed USA Today bestselling author Audrey Blake comes the story of Nora Beady, a newly graduated physician who must return to London to takeover the family practice, and while facing the prejudice of society, fight against an invisible enemy before it's too late.

19th Century. Dr. Nora Beady is the only female surgeon in London. In England, even. From surviving a cholera epidemic as a child to overcoming prejudice and carving out a place for herself in a male-dominated field, she’s finally earned her peace as an attending physician at the Great Queen Street Charity Clinic, alongside her newly wed husband and her eccentric but ailing adoptive father, the great Dr. Horace Croft.

But the prejudice that Nora faces as a female surgeon is only the beginning of her troubles now. A far greater enemy makes itself known: the deadliest cholera epidemic in over a century. It’s a swift disease that wreaks havoc and tragedy across the city, particularly in the working classes. And as the people around Nora each start to fall, she finds that, as a survivor, she is far less susceptible to this new, deadly spread. She’ll have to stand alone and do all she can to hold back the tide of the disease and maintain her oath: to save lives. Whether she’ll make it through, though, is up to fate.

The Cure by Pedro Urvi

From internationally bestselling author Pedro Urvi comes a gripping new adventure that follows one young woman's perilous journey to defy a divine curse and unearth a lost cure that could save humanity.

Ava's people are cursed.

Long after an ancient and mysterious Apocalypse reduced what remained of humanity to a primitive tribe living in the shadows of sphinx and pyramid, a horrific transformation eventually overtakes each member of the community, turning them into vicious and terrifying monsters.

Every year, the capricious god Siaais selects three champions from the tribe to undertake a perilous quest for the Cure, the key to the salvation of Ava's people. And every year, those champions fail, never to return.

But this year, something extraordinary happens. Instead of three warriors, Siaais chooses only one-Amos-along with a scholar and a healer: Ava's cousin Amelia, and Ava herself. So begins an adventure in which past, present, and future collide. As Ava and her companions race against time to reach the Cure, they face dangers and mysteries beyond their imagining in a world where nothing at all is as it seems.

Unread by Oliver James

As a result of childhood learning disabilities and educational neglect, Oliver James graduated from high school and became one of approximately 45 million functionally illiterate Americans. However, at age 32, with big dreams and few tools to actualize them, he dedicated himself to learning the key skill that had evaded him his entire life: reading.

Oliver has become a TikTok/BookTok sensation for the way he’s candidly documented his decision to learn to read as an adult, and his struggles and triumphs along the way. Here, he tells the full story behind his journey for the first time through the 21 key books that shaped and informed his experience. His story reveals the ways in which reading can teach each of us how to be better, more empathetic people.

In just 365 days, Oliver went from barely being able to read a restaurant menu to closing in on his goal of finishing 100 books in a year. Unread is a moving reminder to all of us that words and stories have power, and that, no matter our past, it’s never too late to grow.

Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward

Set in the unforgiving maw of the Rocky Mountains, Nowhere Burning is the latest harrowing novel of survival from bestselling author Catriona Ward, perfect for fans of The Last House on Needless Street and the series Yellowjackets.

"Gripping and beautiful, haunting and virtuously crafted…you won’t be able to stop reading."—Virginia Feito, author of Victorian Psycho

Secrets in the flames. Answers in the ashes.

Two siblings set off in the dark of night. They’re heading for Nowhere—an abandoned ranch, rumored to be haunted by its former movie-star owner and now a haven for runaways.

What awaits could be the freedom they crave.

And while they may have escaped the devil they knew, something darker is waiting in the burned shell of Nowhere. Something which asks a terrible price for sanctuary…

The World Between by Zeeva Bukai

With the breakup of her marriage, a once famous actress of the Yiddish theater travels to Tel-Aviv to revisit the apartment she once shared with her husband, Max.

Soon after, she finds herself at the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Apparition Hospice in Jaffa, a sanitorium, run by a group of nuns. Unclear as to how she got there, she begins to piece together the events that led her to this moment. From New York to Tel -Aviv, and the Siberian gulag, The World Between explores the landscape of a marriage, friendship, loss, and the way childhood war trauma bleeds into every aspect of the characters’ lives.

The Legend of the Nine-Tailed Fox by Katrina Kwan

From the author of The Last Dragon of the East comes a sweeping fantasy adventure with a dash of romance between a nine-tailed fox and the demon-hunter who captures her, banished to the underworld together and forced to form a reluctant alliance in order to escape the circles of Hell.

Yue may be the last of her kind. At night, she stalks the streets of the capital city of Longhao, luring in unsuspecting victims with the mask of a beautiful woman, then consuming them in her true form of the nine-tailed fox.

When she is captured by a powerful demon hunter named Sonam and banished to Hell, she manages one final act of revenge: dragging him—and two of his subordinates—down with her.

Now trapped in an abyss with unimaginable terrors, they’ll need each other’s help to navigate Hell and bypass the gods who preside over each circle, each of whom presents the group with a unique and deadly challenge. Forced to depend on one another as they claw their way out of the underworld, both demon and demon hunter discover that there might be more to the other than meets the eye.

Last Bite by Amy S. Peele

A mouth-watering home run of a beach read, this lighthearted romantic comedy featuring a newly widowed fortysomething takes the reader on a joyful romp through-out some of Chicago’s finest eateries—with a dash of Cubs baseball on the side.

In the heart of Chicago, forty-five-year-old Angie Sortino finds herself at a crossroads. Recently widowed, she discovers that her deceased husband, Vinnie, has left her penniless. Until his City pension can be cleared up, she’s on her own.

Angie has just taken a job at Chicago City Hall as a cleaning woman when her spirited twenty-two-year-old niece, Gina, and Gina’s best friend, Kim, approach her with the idea of starting a catering company targeting funeral parlors. Seeing a chance to reawaken her own culinary aspirations, Angie gets on board. As the three women embark on this new venture, they face the challenges of the catering business, from securing clients to perfecting their menu. Angie and Gina’s love for the Chicago Cubs adds a playful twist to their journey; they often find inspiration in the vibrant atmosphere of Wrigley Field. Gina’s youthful enthusiasm, meanwhile, contrasts with Angie’s cautious nature, leading to hilarious mishaps, unexpected romantic encounters, and heartfelt moments.

Through late-night brainstorming sessions and spontaneous cooking experiments, Angie begins to find her voice, both in the kitchen and in her life—and ultimately, with the support of a respected funeral director, Gina and Kim, and an unexpected new love interest, she learns to embrace her worth and pursue happiness.

Side Hustle by Wendy Gee

Charleston’s top investigative TV reporter, Sydney Quinn, lives to expose the city’s darkest secrets. So when a former firefighter takes two paramedics hostage, she talks her way inside, offering to gather intel in exchange for a story that could boost her career.

But when Sydney finds the body of her friend, a local insurance executive, at the scene, the scoop of a lifetime turns personal. The hostage-taker swears he’s been framed, pulling Sydney into a web of cybercrime, stolen identities, and corporate corruption that stretches far beyond Charleston’s polished waterfront.

As she chases the truth through encrypted files and backroom deceptions, Sydney uncovers ties to a shadow network of hackers. Busting them should be routine…except she’s unraveling faster than her investigation. Haunted by the ambush she survived while embedded with the Marines in Iraq, she’s been outrunning her ghosts with fast cars and faster pitches at the batting cage. But when the cybercriminals turn their sights on her, Sydney must face her worst memories—and choose who to trust—before her name ends up on the next body tag.

Pinky Swear by Danielle Girard

From Danielle Girard, the USA TODAY bestselling author who “effortlessly ratchets up the tension” (J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author), comes a pulse-pounding thriller about a young woman whose surrogate disappears just days before the baby’s due date, leading to a frantic search that uncovers dark truths and the power of a mother’s love.

Lexi thought she knew everything about Mara Vannatta. Best friends since middle school, they drifted apart after a tragedy derailed their senior year. But when Mara shows up on Lexi’s doorstep sixteen years later fleeing an abusive husband, Lexi takes her in without question. Lexi’s own marriage has been strained by her desire to have a baby, and when Mara offers to become her surrogate, their friendship feels stronger than ever.

But four days before the due date, Mara disappears.

Lexi is shocked but certain there must be something wrong—Mara would never willingly leave with her unborn child. Or would she? As she embarks on a perilous cross-country hunt for the truth, Lexi is forced to reconsider a friendship she thought she knew—and what really happened that terrible night their senior year. How many secrets lie in their shared past, waiting to be uncovered? And just how far will Lexi go to bring her child safely home?

The Silversmith by LJ Claren

This slow-burn romantasy debut filled with yearning, tension, and forbidden love will feature an exclusive bonus chapter and foil on the cover.

Shadows are closing in…and the fate of the world rests in the hands of a grieving girl who never asked to be chosen.

Still reeling from the mysterious deaths of her father and brother, Ary Gold survives only by sheer will in the icy wilds of the North. But when strangers arrive with stories of long-lost magic, Ary is thrust into a fate far larger than her sorrow.

The realm of Nyrida is under threat. An ancient shadow wielder has risen, determined to plunge the world into corrupted darkness. And only Ary can stop him. They say she has royal blood. That magic runs in her veins. That she is already promised in marriage—to a powerful commander whose army is her only hope of winning the coming war. But her fiercest challenge will not be on the battlefield…

Assigned to shape her into a warrior is a man cloaked in violence and secrets. Cold, arrogant, and maddeningly unreadable, he isn’t her betrothed—but he may be her undoing… Ary is powerless to resist the impossible attraction building between them. Will she follow her destiny? Or risk everything for a love as wild and dangerous as the power that’s awakening inside her?

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