May 5

May 5 Books Publishing This Week

The morning in early May feels like an invitation you didn’t realize you were waiting for. The light arrives soft but certain, spilling through your window in a way that feels less like winter’s effort and more like ease. You wake to birds already in conversation, their voices layered and bright, and for a moment you simply lie there, listening. The air is open now. The world is no longer waking up—it is awake.

When you move through your morning, there’s a lightness to it. You open a window without thinking twice. The breeze that drifts in is gentle and warm enough to linger, carrying the scent of grass and something faintly floral. You breathe it in and feel it settle somewhere deep, like a quiet reassurance.

You make your coffee or tea slowly, more out of habit than necessity. The ritual grounds you, but it doesn’t anchor you in the same way it did in winter. You’re not holding on to warmth anymore—you’re stepping into something lighter. You carry your mug with you, along with the book you’ve been meaning to start, and move toward the place where the light feels best.

Maybe it’s by the window, where the sunlight pools on the floor. Maybe it’s outside, where you can sit and feel the air move around you. Wherever you land, it feels intentional without effort, as though the season itself has guided you there.

The book rests in your hands, new and untouched. There’s a particular kind of anticipation that comes with early May—not the urgency of January, not the uncertainty of March. It’s quieter than that. More confident. Like something has already begun, and now you’re simply stepping into it.

You run your fingers along the cover, feeling the smoothness, the promise. Then you open it.

The spine gives softly. The pages are crisp, almost cool against your fingertips. The first line meets you gently, without demand. You begin to read.

The story unfolds easily, as though it belongs to this moment. You don’t have to force your focus. It comes naturally. The words settle into you, steady and clear, and you find yourself leaning in—not because you need escape, but because you’re ready for expansion.

Outside, the world continues its quiet movement. Leaves shift in the breeze, no longer tentative but full and alive. A bird lands nearby, its presence sudden and then calm. Somewhere in the distance, someone is laughing, the sound carrying lightly through the air.

You turn another page.

The light shifts, warming as the sun climbs higher. It catches the edge of your book, illuminating the margins, the subtle texture of the paper. You pause for a sip of your drink, noticing how it’s already cooled, how you didn’t feel the need to hold onto its warmth.

You read on.

The characters begin to take shape, their voices clearer with each page. The setting sharpens, layered with detail that feels almost tangible. You feel that quiet pull—the one that doesn’t rush you, but draws you steadily forward.

Early May doesn’t demand transformation. It doesn’t ask you to start over or become someone new. It simply invites you to continue—to grow, to open, to move forward in ways that feel natural.

You feel that in the way you read.

You’re not racing through the pages. You’re letting them unfold, letting the story build, the way the season has built around you—gradually, beautifully, without forcing anything into bloom before its time.

When you finally close the book—just for now—you mark your place carefully. The morning has fully arrived, the day stretching ahead, bright and open.

You sit for a moment longer, the book resting in your lap, the breeze still moving through the open window.

Something has begun.

Not loudly. Not dramatically.

But steadily, surely—just like this season, just like this story, just like you.

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Books Publishing May 3 - 9

The Alchemical Imagination by Eliza Swann

The Alchemical Imagination is the first book of its kind to address the ancient subject of alchemy through the lens of contemporary creativity. From an expert teacher of modern alchemy across disciplines, Eliza Swann distills this arcane science into an accessible series of philosophies and techniques to help readers find a deeper connection to their own creativity. Part workbook and part historical journey through the lives and practices of the great alchemists, The Alchemical Imagination highlights often-overlooked female alchemists and queer alchemical imagery and traces their many contributions to contemporary art, handing this ancient craft to a new generation.

Lady X by Molly Fader

The search for a notorious vigilante exposes the secrets among three generations of women in this propulsive novel of female resistance and rage, sweeping from contemporary L.A. to gritty 1970s New York.

Los Angeles, 2024. After learning that her A-list actor husband sent explicit photos to multiple girls on social media, Margot Cooper runs away from the world—and the paparazzi—by fleeing to her childhood home with her teenage daughter in tow.

But home isn’t the sanctuary Margot was hoping for. In a cardboard box in the corner of the attic, she finds damning evidence of an infamous urban legend, the mysterious vigilante “Lady X”—including a blurry newspaper photo of a woman who looks an awful lot like Margot’s mother.

New York City, 1977. In the midst of an infamous summer, Ginger Daughtry and her two beloved roommates are able to shield one another from the chaos—until one of them is assaulted. Astounded by the lack of response from police, the young women decide to engage in some light payback, signing their handiwork as “Lady X.”

Soon copycats appear, and a movement inspired by acts of vandalism against terrible men spirals out of control, with criminals running amok under the guise of the enigmatic Lady X. When a body is found fallen—or pushed—from five stories high, the hunt reaches a boiling point.

Summer State of Mind by Kristy Woodson Harvey

“Queen of the beach read,” (Cosmopolitan) New York Times bestselling author Kristy Woodson Harvey returns with a heartfelt escape to coastal Carolina.

After the worst day in her professional life, burnt-out NICU nurse Daisy Stevens runs to Cape Carolina, North Carolina, looking for a new life—and possibly new romance. On her first day at her “simpler” job, high school baseball coach Mason Thaysden discovers an abandoned baby, sending ripples through the entire tight-knit town of Cape Carolina.

Mason is still struggling to reconcile the scars of the injury that kept him out of the big leagues, stuck in his hometown, and searching for a way out. This newcomer and the child they’ve saved together might be just the motivation he needs to stay put. Sparks fly as Mason acquaints Daisy with Cape Carolina, introducing her to his friends and family, including his batty Aunt Tilley, who is looking for relief from long-buried family secrets and her own fresh start.

But as Daisy becomes increasingly attached to this abandoned child, and begins facing her own demons in the process, a startling discovery is made that threatens to rip the entire town of Cape Carolina apart, placing Daisy, Mason, and Tilley in the center of the storm. In a novel that proves that “Kristy Woodson Harvey is (the) go-to for elevated beach reads” (People), they will each learn that with love, understanding—and a community theater production of Hello, Dolly!—sometimes life conspires to bring us just exactly where we belong.

A Founding Mother by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

In time for the 250th Anniversary of the birth of the United States comes a sweeping, intimate portrayal of Abigail Adams—wife of one president and mother to another—whose wit, willpower, and wisdom helped shape the fledgling republic. A stunning historical novel with modern-day implications from the New York Times bestselling authors of America’s First Daughter and My Dear Hamilton.

In the heart of revolutionary Boston, Abigail Adams raises her children amid riots, blockades, and the outbreak of war. While her husband, John Adams, rises from country lawyer to nation-builder, often away for years at a time, Abigail builds her own independence—managing their farm, making lucrative investments, amassing savings, battling plague and loss, and defending their home. Unafraid to speak her mind, she famously offers fearless political counsel, urging John to “remember the ladies” in the new government. Through it all, she becomes his most trusted confidante and indispensable ally.

When peace is secured, Abigail steps onto the world stage—exchanging ideas with Thomas Jefferson in the French countryside, navigating court life as the wife of the Minister to Great Britain, and presiding over the parlor politics of the early American republic in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. Even after her husband’s presidential administration, she continues battling political foes and working behind the scenes to advance her family, secure independence for the women in her life, and ensure a better life for the next generation of Americans.

From war-torn streets to the chandeliered halls of power, A Founding Mother is the unforgettable story of a woman ahead of her time—one whose voice, vision, and valor still resonate powerfully today.

The Inklings Detective Agency by John R. Kelly

J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Agatha Christie, and other literary legends join forces to unravel a deadly conspiracy in this gripping mystery that sweeps from the halls of Oxford to the streets of London and the shores of Loch Ness.

In the streets of 1936 Oxford, dark forces are at play and members of a secret society keep turning up dead. After being called upon to help solve these murders, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and their fellow literary enthusiasts known around town as the Inklings trade their pens for magnifying glasses to catch this evasive killer. With time running out, they get a helping hand from mystery writers Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers to help unravel a sinister web of secrets. Can they crack the case before the murderer strikes again?

Packed with historical intrigue, mystery, and a cast of literary giants, this novel is a masterful blend of high-stakes drama. Dive into a world where the creators of fantasy and mystery confront a real-life menace in a race against time.

The Girl in the Lake by Lauren Oliver

A young girl who claims to remember a past life draws a psychologist into a decades-old mystery in a haunting novel of suspense by New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver.

Kate Willis, consultant for the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia, is tasked with interviewing six-year-old Henley Haskell about the girl’s alleged past-life recollections. The evaluation also marks a return for Kate to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and to troubling recollections of her own.

Here, twenty-four years ago, Kate’s friend Becca McGuire vanished from her bunk at a now-shuttered summer camp and was never seen again―presumably drowned in Lake Sauquamet. But the mystery of her disappearance is only deepening. Because Henley’s memories of her “other life” are ones that could only belong to Becca.

For Kate, Henley’s recurring, suffocating nightmares, and her disturbing illustrations of places she has never been, seem to spell out the unbelievable. Somewhere, somehow, the truth about what really happened to Becca is locked inside this little girl. As Henley’s uncanny memories surface, so do old secrets―each one drawing Kate inexorably back to that terrible long-ago summer by the lake.

She Waits Where Shadows Gather by Michelle Tang

"One of the most haunted novels I've ever read."
—Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes

Parents should pass down stories, not spirits…

Avery and Carlos Tam have built their lives on logic, not legends. Carlos, the host of a hit reality show that exposes paranormal hoaxes, has made a name disproving the supernatural.

But when they travel to his ancestral home in the Philippines, darkness clings to every corner. The mirrors are shrouded. The housekeeper won't stay in the house alone. And no one will speak of the tragedies the family has seen.

Then a brutal car crash leaves Carlos trapped in his own body—silent, helpless, and utterly vulnerable. As Avery tends to him, the house begins to stir. It watches. It listens. And it speaks—in a voice only Carlos can hear—offering a twisted kind of comfort.

And as the lies buried by Carlos and his family begin to surface, Avery must confront the truth: if the past won't rest, their future may never begin.

Some inherit memories. Others inherit monsters.

Archangel's Eternity by Nalini Singh

A thousand years.

It’s been a millennium since Elena’s fateful first meeting with Archangel Raphael. She has survived war and loss, experienced beauty and cruelty. But no matter what, she has always held on to her mortal heart, as she and Raphael have held on to each other. Passionate and vibrant, they’ve built a life that has stood the test of time, growing ever stronger with each turn of the sun.

But change is coming—of a magnitude they could have never imagined—and it will forever alter the trajectory of their existence.

Even as they grapple with the cataclysmic shift in their personal lives, the Cadre of Ten, which has maintained a hard-won peace for centuries, begins to simmer with dangerous fault lines. The specter of madness looms in one archangel, the promise of war burns between two others, and in darkness far from mortal and immortal eyes stirs an ancient, slumbering power.

Suddenly, the future is terrifyingly uncertain . . . at the very moment that Elena and her archangel need to protect a treasure infinitely more precious than eternity.

A Brewed Awakening by Pepper Basham

Daphne dreams of Mr. Darcy. Finn serves up pints and rock music. Can opposites attract when a tea shop princess meets her pub-owning rival?

In the charming mountain town of Wisteria, North Carolina, Daphne Austen clings to tradition like cream to a scone. She's built her life--and her late grandmother's tearoom, Tea Thyme--around all things English: delicate china, Jane Austen novels, and the comforting predictability of routine. The only thing threatening her perfectly ordered world? The loud, aggravatingly handsome Brit opening a pub next door.

After his ex-wife broke his heart and his business partner nearly destroyed his career, Finn Dashwood packed up his six-year-old daughter and left England behind. He's looking for a fresh start, and the last thing he needs is a fussy, tea-obsessed neighbor criticizing his every pint and playlist. It doesn't matter that she's ridiculously kind (to everyone else) and that his daughter is utterly fascinated by her. Finn's heart is not open to being broken again.

But disagreements turn into prank wars and then a competition when a high-profile wedding needs a last-minute caterer. The townsfolk are thrilled--Wisteria hasn't seen this much excitement since the county fair lost a goat.

When the wedding demands both sweet and savory fare, Daphne and Finn are forced to put down their swords and pick up their serving trays. Between burnt pastries, brewing tempers, trending hashtags (#SipsAndSpats, anyone?), and one very adorable little girl, rivalry soon gives way to reluctant friendship--and maybe something that feels suspiciously like chemistry.

Can a tea shop princess and a pub owner with a past mix their lives as seamlessly as clotted cream and jam . . . or will their differences keep them steeped in rivalry forever?

The Supper Club Saints by Claire Swinarski

A dynamic, honest, and beautifully written novel about a young mother who returns to her small-town Wisconsin home after living in a cult-like “Mommune,” and what happens with the other women in her family as they each navigate the constraints, complexities, and joys of modern motherhood.

Cass Simon never expected to return to small-town Wisconsin—not after escaping life inside a cult-like “Mommune” and falling under the spell of an online mom-fluencer. But with nowhere left to turn, she finds herself back under her family’s roof, carrying more questions than answers about what it means to be a mother.

Waiting for Cass is her own mother, Remy—hardworking matriarch of the Baumhaus supper club. Remy’s love for her children is fierce but tangled with old grief and the fear of letting go, especially as she prepares to say goodbye to the family business that has anchored them for generations.

Beside them stands Hilary, Cass’s older sister—an artist and devoted mother whose divorce has shaken her belief in herself; and Erin, a Simon by marriage, who is quietly battling heartbreak as she struggles to find gratitude for a pregnancy that both terrifies and redeems her. Each of the Simon women pursues her own vision of motherhood: Cass’s instinct for protection after trauma, Remy’s hope to be a harbor her daughters can always return to, and her sisters’ hard-won wisdom about letting go of perfection.

Set against the backdrop of a vibrant, sometimes claustrophobic Wisconsin town, this dynamic and beautifully honest novel explores forgiveness, the bonds—and boundaries—of family, and the deeply personal journey of discovering what it truly means to be a “good mother.”

The Love Variations by Victoria Lee

In this emotional and empowering romance from the author of A Shot in the Dark, two musicians compete to win a prestigious piano competition . . . until sparks fly. Can a fiery romance help them to heal old wounds?

Goldie Gensler has always wanted to be a concert musician like her parents, who were both principal musicians in the New York Philharmonic, but after a devastating multiple sclerosis diagnosis, that dream feels more urgent than ever. The world’s most prestigious international piano competition is coming up in two months in Stockholm. It’s the perfect chance for Goldie to make her dream come true. But it won’t be easy, because Jamie Larson, with his perfect technique and gorgeous ocean blue eyes, is competing too.

After his brother’s death three years ago, Jamie just doesn’t love music like he used to, and he has always resented Goldie for her easy road to professional musicianship, paved by her wealthy and talented parents. He’s spent hours and hours studying to make it from small-town Iowa to the best music school in New York City. Yet his technical precision is no match for Goldie’s imperfect but emotionally resonant performances that make audiences swoon. Nevertheless, Jamie is determined to prove that skill and dedication are what make a virtuoso musician.

Goldie and Jamie each have their own reasons to win, but when unexpected events force them to practice—and live—together in Goldie’s apartment over the holidays, they discover a passion for far more than music.

How the Story Goes by Andrew Forrester

In this heartwarming, bookish debut, a young widower of a famous children’s fantasy author teams up with a down-on-her-luck MFA dropout to write the final book in his late wife’s series...and find their own perfect ending along the way.

Whit Longacre has a monumental task and a looming deadline. After his wife, Helen, died of cancer, she left him with their grieving eight-year-old daughter and a surprise in her will: the small task of writing the final book in her mega-popular children’s fantasy series for her legions of waiting fans.

Whit is the author of moderately successful (but well-received!) literary mysteries. He doesn’t have the first idea of how to complete Helen’s beloved series, and his enigmatic wife seems to have left no clues behind on how the story is supposed to end. Writer’s block is one thing, but to fail in fulfilling his wife’s last wish? Whit is guilt-ridden and dodging calls in the school pick-up line from Helen’s publisher and agent as the deadline fast approaches.

Then Whit meets Merritt Pryor, who works at the local bookstore in their small New England town. Merritt has moved back home after a disastrous affair led to her dropping out of her prestigious MFA program. When Whit realizes that Merritt is a superfan of the Greenwood Castle series, they come up with a plan to tackle the book together. For the first time in years, Merritt finds herself falling back in love with writing…and perhaps with the coauthor offering her the opportunity of a lifetime.

But when Whit uncovers a buried secret about Helen’s final wishes, he questions everything about what he and Merritt have created together, endangering the tender, electrifying partnership that has transformed their lives.

Can Whit and Merritt come up with an ending that feels right…for both a beloved series and for their battered hearts?

Moonlight Murder by Uzma Jalaluddin

Kausar Khan returns to dispense more vigil-aunty justice in the second installment of the critically acclaimed Detective Aunty series—and this time, the crime Kausar is investigating is dredging up memories she buried long ago . . .

When Kausar Khan moved back to Toronto to be closer to her family, she didn't expect to have another murder investigation on her hands so soon—or really ever. But when a young man named Qasim is found dead in their Golden Crescent neighborhood, and when she learns he was close to her granddaughter, Maleeha, what’s a grandmother to do but try and solve the case?

And it’s not just her heartbroken granddaughter spurring Kausar to find answers; it’s also how the circumstances of Qasim’s death remind her of her own teenage son, Ali, and his mysterious death nearly twenty years before. Kausar knows firsthand what a difference closure can make to a grieving parent—and the more she seeks to find that for Qasim's parents, the more she begins to realize that perhaps it's time she finds closure for herself as well.

As Kausar digs into both Qasim’s and Ali’s cases and her “aunty” skills continue to bring more information to light, she can’t help but wonder if the similarities between the two cases are more than just mere coincidence. But how could two deaths, twenty years apart, possibly be related?

Detective Aunty is determined to find out.

Doorways of Chicago by Ronnie Frey

Doorways of Chicago offers a new and colorful photographic tour of one of the world’s most exciting cities. With more than 100 photographs of Chicago’s most iconic and unique doorways from Ronnie Frey, creator of the popular Instagram account of the same name, Doorways of Chicago presents an entirely new way to explore the city. With a keen eye for detail and a deep love for Chicago’s layered architectural history, Ronnie sees the city differently, and his photos highlight more than just doors and buildings—he captures atmosphere, memory, and soul. His photographs feature doorways, cornices, arches, and façades—details many overlook.

Including images from more than 40 distinct neighborhoods, including Bronzeville, Uptown, Lincoln Park, and Gold Coast, as well as stories about ten of the most iconic doorways, Doorways of Chicago offers a unique way to see the city that will inspire readers to appreciate the beauty that is around every corner, in every doorway.

My First Milestones: Ready for Bed

Get little ones ready for bed in this fun, engaging, and beautifully illustrated board book guaranteed to be a nighttime favorite.

From New York Times Bestselling creator Lee Wildish comes the first in a fun and family-centric series of milestone books. Learn how to navigate the bedtime routine, including everything from cleaning up toys and taking a bath to brushing teeth and reading a book together before snuggling tight and saying good night. The book contains a fun read-aloud text that breaks down each experience into easy 1-2-3 steps.

Payback by Elizabeth Rose Quinn

For seven inmates, their luxury weekend prison sentence comes with concierge service—and complimentary homicide.

Welcome to Pay to Stay, Los Angeles’s premier minimum-security facility where the privileged serve time Friday to Monday only.

But this New Year’s weekend, seven inmates—including a driven campaign manager, a disgraced nurse, a party girl, and one mysterious male transfer—discover their abusive guard dead, wrapped in an ironic “Community Payback” vest. Now they must solve his murder before their cushy arrangement becomes a permanent stay in maximum security.

As a storm rages outside and the power fails, alliances shift within. With police knocking at their door and an emotional support iguana named Nacho as their witness, these inmates hustle to collect evidence and plan a killer party—all while dodging suspicion. Because someone in this concrete block is a murderer. And everyone is a suspect. But as New Year’s Eve approaches and bodies pile up, these unlikely allies discover that in Pay to Stay, some debts can only be paid in blood.

The Thinning by Inga Simpson

Fin grew up in an observatory, learning about telescopes and planets, inspired by the passions of her mother and father, then leaders in their fields of
astrophotography and astronomy. Those days are long over. Now Fin, her mother Dianella, and a band of outliers live deep off the grid, always on amber alert and always ready to run. In the outside world, things are not good: extinctions and a loss of diversity threaten what’s left of the environment. With a new disaster looming, Fin finds herself thrust into an unlikely partnership with a stranger who has appeared in their camp. Terry is one of a new breed of evolved humans, the Incompletes, who are widely distrusted. But the pair will need to work together during a dangerous journey if they are to play their part in a plan to help restore the natural world—and humankind. The Thinning is an exquisitely written novel of both nature and urgent psychological suspense. There are echoes of Margaret Atwood in its themes about fertility, and it is also reminiscent of Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind, Megan Hunter’s The End We Start From, and Joanne Ramos’s The Farm.

Widow in the City, Amy Gabrielle

After her husband dies from cancer, Amy Gabrielle’s life does not quietly reset. After three years of caregiving, the fifty-four-year-old widow is left raising her neurodivergent son alone and confronting the undeniable return of desire that complicates everything she once knew about love, grief, and aging.

WIDOW IN THE CITY traces Amy’s unsparing journey through loss and longing in midlife. From dating apps and casual sex to lingerie and kink, she documents what happens when a woman refuses to self-efface after devastating loss. She rejects the false choice between mourning and desire.

Sawadika American Girl by Daria Sommers

In 1968 Bangkok, Thailand, 17-year-old Piper Lewis’ world is changing in unsettling ways. The U.S. Military’s expansion into Thailand in support of the Vietnam War is reshaping the city she loves. Her USAID Official father’s mysterious absences fray their once-close relationship. Her stepmother’s obsession with appearances suffocates her. Worse, she can’t summon the passion to bring Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata to life. Only her beloved piano teacher, a Thai Prince, senses the depth of her disconnect.

One night, Piper ditches the American Teen Club to party with an older crowd. Sparks fly when she meets Jack, a 19-year-old GI on R&R from Vietnam. Defying the Army’s non-fraternization policy, they pledge to spend his leave together. As the hypocrisy of the war closes in on them, Jack’s name surfaces in a drug investigation and Piper discovers a disturbing truth about her father, forcing both to decide what they are willing to risk for a few more days together.

"Sawadika American Girl" is the story of a young American woman coming-of-age on the periphery of a brutal, unjust war.

Storm Breaker by Nisha Tuli

From the publisher who brought you Fourth Wing comes your next romantasy obsession...

For nineteen-year-old Poet Graves, New Manhattan has always promised safety—if she obeys. Raised within the ruling Houses and betrothed to a powerful heir, she enters Amery Academy knowing her future has already been decided.

But Amery is nothing like she imagined. Its trials are brutal, its loyalties conditional, and its rules designed to expose weakness. As Poet struggles to survive, she must hide the truth that could get her executed: the storms don’t fear her—they answer back.

When a dangerous outsider from beyond the city walls enters the academy, Poet is drawn to him despite everything she’s been taught to believe. He threatens the life she’s been promised. And choosing him could cost her not just her future, but her freedom.

A gripping dystopian romance filled with forbidden power, ruthless challenges, and a heroine who refuses to burn quietly—perfect for fans of Divergent and The Hunger Games.

Shards of Silence by Brian Lee Young

In his first YA novel, award-winning author Brian Lee Young (Diné) bridges the generational divide between a Navajo teen at an elite prep school and his great-grandmother’s experience at a federal boarding school for Indigenous students. The book is an eye-opening call for community healing and a profound coming-of-age story.

Even if it hurts to leave behind his friends and family in Navajo, New Mexico—especially his great-grandmother, Mildred—Derrick knows his scholarship to an elite East Coast boarding school is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Sagefield Academy is totally different from life on the rez: His new classmates vacation in Europe and take study drugs. Derrick wants to stick to caffeine, but handling sports, school, and a twenty-page term paper, all while dodging comments about his hair and heritage, feels straight-up impossible.

Back home, Másání Mildred’s health is fading quickly. On the phone, she begs Derrick to leave Sagefield. When he realizes her fear comes from her time in federal Native boarding schools, he knows he’s finally found the term paper theme he believes in: carrying her voice into the future.

Derrick will need to shatter a steadfast generational silence to untangle his great-grandmother’s memories--though her story might change him, and his family, forever.

Holloway by Elana K. Arnold

It is the late summer of 2021, and a girl named Nora is on the Paris Metro.

Nora, whose mother loved her, even though Nora was broken.

Nora, who couldn’t help her mother when her mother needed her most.

Nora, from whom the pandemic has taken nearly everything, save the object she clings to: a cylinder containing her mother’s ashes.

With no family left, no friends to speak of, and no way to turn back time, Nora has come to France to keep a promise she never got to make: to spread the ashes in a place her mother never got to see. But instead, Nora finds herself on the run through a forest in the night, taking refuge in a dark holloway. And when she wakes, and tries to make her way back to something she recognizes, she realizes that is impossible.

Because it is no longer 2021.

Questioning everything—including her own sanity—Nora sets out on a journey through a time and place completely foreign to her, and yet one that, much like the time and place she came from, is defined by death, loss, fear, and uncertainty. A journey in which she must find a way to honor her mother—and heal herself—in a world that feels irrevocably broken.

Shadows on Sidewalks by James Grady

Bob Dylan once declared that "Sex and politics and murder is the way to go if you want to get people's attention," and readers won't be able to look away from Shadows on Sidewalks, the new erotic thriller from James Grady.

James Traven returns home to his small Montana town in autumn 2024 to care for his mother after a devastating fall. He quickly finds himself trapped in a life-threatening web of lies and lust. With the clock ticking, Traven must save the savvy and beautiful Lana LaBuff from almost-certain murder. Complicating things is her monstrous husband and the fact that their only ally is Cody, the mysterious former Marine who runs the local gun shop and regularly ghosts on ordinary life.

Fresh and fast-paced, Shadows on Sidewalks takes us on a roller coaster ride through old age, racism, anger, sorrow, lust, and love. From the click of a cocked pistol to the distress signal—an "S.O.S."—emitted as James and Lana fight amidst a swirl of personal and political struggles, James Grady demonstrates his mastery of the noir form and shines a light on the modern condition.

What's That For? by Vanessa Bergeron

When a young girl begins asking simple questions about the objects and tools she encounters in her everyday life, the answers she receives take her on an unexpected adventure. Each response opens the door to new possibilities, transforming ordinary moments into a delightful exploration of imagination and wonder.

What’s That For? is more than just a story — it’s a celebration of inquisitiveness, creativity, and the joy of discovering the world one question at a time.

Your Promise by Camille Laurens

An ingenious legal thriller in the vein of Anatomy of a Fall, this gripping story of a writer’s toxic relationship exposes the gap between who we are and who we seem to be.

When novelist Claire Lancel’s relationship with Gilles Fabian began, it felt like a dream, an idyllic love story. 6 months in, during a romantic dinner by the sea, he asked her to make him a promise, which she did: She would never write about him.

Why, after years together, is Claire finally breaking her promise? What could have happened in their relationship that brought her to the witness stand, defending herself in court?

Through Claire’s own testimony and the conflicting accounts of friends, Your Promise offers a brilliant reconstruction of a crime, and a stinging portrayal of modern narcissism, characterized by a lack of empathy.

House of the Rising Sun by K'wan

This story follows Artie Howell, who moves with his wife to her idyllic hometown, igniting waves around the small town of Sunny Cove, Pennsylvania. A well known cardio surgeon, Elise Howell, has returned home after fifteen years to replace her recently deceased mother’s place at Sunny Cove General Hospital. Artie, a fiction crime writer (a nod to K’wan himself) and soccer dad to their son, Nicky, spends his weekends as a creative writing teacher to youths at the local detention center. The Howells seem like the ideal family. That is until the murders start, and Artie finds himself as the prime suspect in an investigation that risks the destruction of not only his family, but the entire town of Sunny Cove.

Drop Dead Famous by Jennifer Pearson

An investigation turns into an obsession when the younger sister of a slain pop starlet is determined to uncover her sister’s killer, no matter what it costs, in this “tense and intricately plotted thriller…[that] achieves high marks across the board” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

When superstar Blair Baker is murdered moments before her triumphant homecoming concert, her younger sister, Stevie, knows she has one chance to find out who’s responsible.

The thing is, Stevie’s been here before, desperately searching for clues that might reveal who hurt someone she loves…but Stevie was younger then, just a kid. This time, she won’t let the truth slip through her fingers.

What begins as a search for answers about Blair’s death turns into a dangerous journey through the darker side of global fame. Soon, Stevie begins to uncover dark secrets closer to home—secrets that someone wants desperately to keep hidden. Is Stevie ready to confront what the truth reveals?

Gödel and the Incomplete Proof by Samuel E. Navarro

What if some truths cannot be proven—but can still change everything?

In this imaginative and deeply thought-provoking journey, Gödel and the Incomplete Proof follows the logician Kurt Gödel into a fictionalized afterlife where he engages in soul-stirring conversations with some of the brightest minds in history. From Bach to Socrates, from Schrödinger to C. S. Lewis, from the logic of numbers to the mystery of Christ—each dialogue peels back another layer of reality, reason, and the longing of the human heart.

Inspired by Gödel’s groundbreaking incompleteness theorems, the book dives into the unsettling and beautiful truth that no system—not even logic itself—can fully contain reality. Along the way, Gödel confronts not only philosophy and science but also suffering, beauty, morality, and faith.

Written as a series of fictional yet historically grounded conversations, this is a book for seekers—for those who believe there is something more beyond the reach of reason. It is not a textbook, nor a treatise, but a modern-day pilgrimage of the mind and soul.

Gödel and the Incomplete Proof is an invitation to stand at the brink of logic—and take one step further.

Cece's Sour and Sweet Journey to Medical School by Dr. Candicee Childs

From a young age, Cece had her heart set on learning new things, and discovering how she could make a positive impact on the world. As she grows up, her passion for helping others intensifies and she sets her sights on a big dream – attending medical school to become a doctor. But Cece‘s path to her goal is filled with both sweet victories and sour setbacks. As the saying goes, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

Through the highs and lows of her journey, Cece learns that failure is not the end, but a vital part of the process. In this heartwarming story, children will be inspired to embrace life's sour moments, and find the sweetness that comes from never giving up and staying true to their dreams. Join Cece as she teaches young readers valuable lessons about overcoming obstacles and staying hopeful, no matter how tough the journey gets.

A Little Feral by Maria Giesbrecht

In A Little Feral, Maria Giesbrecht delivers a debut collection that navigates faith, family, and personal resurrection through a voice at once wild, intimate, and quietly rebellious. Written in the aftermath of leaving a conservative Mennonite upbringing, these poems chart a parallel journey of breaking away—from father, from God, from the confines of obedience. Giesbrecht’s language is lyrical and unflinching, a cadence that moves between tenderness and defiance, weaving ancestral memory with moments of stark revelation.

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