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Welcome to Hasty Book List, where I document and review the books I read. Hope you have a nice stay!

Books Coming Out in January

Books Coming Out in January

Book Roundup - Books Coming Out in January

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Cheddar Late Than Dead by Linda Reilly

Winter in Balsam Dell is a snowy affair, and to add in some cheer after the holidays Carly's former classmate Klarissa Taddeo is hosting her extravagant bridal shower at the historic Balsam Dell inn. When the groom is later found dead at the bottom of the stairs, his drink spiked with a hefty dose of poison, Carly must put her nose to the rind and save Klarissa from being suspect #1.Because you know what they say: it's always the (almost) wife.

The Color of Family by Jerry McGill

Devon and James Payne are brothers and rivals since childhood. But they share an affinity for sports that brings glory to their Connecticut town and promise for the future. Then they’re in a car accident. Devon is paralyzed for life, while James goes on to live the dream.
For the Paynes, the tremulous repercussions of that evening never settled. Over the course of a decade, Devon decides to visit his seven siblings now scattered across the globe. Each has moved on, yet each struggles to cope with the traumatic event that irrevocably connects them. Devon confronts not only his own demons and family secrets but also the guilt and heartbreaking betrayals that followed in the wake of the tragedy. He also discovers the power of forgiveness―and that coming to terms with the past is the only way to live free in the present.

A Castle In Brooklyn

Spanning decades, an unforgettable novel about reckoning with the past, the true nature of friendship, and the dream of finding home.

1944, Poland. Jacob Stein and Zalman Mendelson meet as boys under terrifying circumstances. They survive by miraculously escaping, but their shared past haunts and shapes their lives forever.

Years later, Zalman plows a future on a Minnesota farm. In Brooklyn, Jacob has a new life with his wife, Esther. When Zalman travels to New York City to reconnect, Jacob’s hopes for the future are becoming a reality. With Zalman’s help, they build a house for Jacob’s family and for Zalman, who decides to stay. Modest and light filled, inviting and warm with acceptance—for all of them, it’s a castle to call home.

Then an unforeseeable tragedy—and the grief, betrayals, and revelations in its wake—threatens to destroy what was once an unbreakable bond, and Esther finds herself at a crossroads. A Castle in Brooklyn is a moving and heartfelt immigration story about finding love and building a home and family while being haunted by a traumatic past.

No One Knows Us Here by Rebecca Kelley

In this gripping novel about obsession, control, and self-preservation, a woman desperate to provide a new life for her sister enters a compromising arrangement with an entitled tech billionaire.

Rosemary Rabourne is already struggling to pay the bills when her recently orphaned half sister, Wendy, shows up at her door. Rosemary will try anything to provide for the traumatized teenager―including offering her services as a high-end escort.

Leo Glass is the billionaire CEO of a revolutionary social app. He wants the “girlfriend experience”―someone contractually obligated to love him―and he thinks he’s found the perfect match in Rosemary. His proposition has its perks: a luxury apartment and financial security. And its conditions: constant surveillance and availability whenever Leo calls. It’s not the life Rosemary wants, but she’s out of options.

Then she meets her new neighbor, Sam, a musician with whom Rosemary shares an immediate attraction and a genuine intimacy she’s never felt with anyone. Falling in love makes it possible to imagine a real new life. But Leo won’t let go of her that easily, and his need for control escalates. So does Rosemary’s desperation―to protect Wendy, to protect herself, and, at any price, to escape.

Foodwise by Mia Rigden

Conquer cravings, reset your eating habits, and heal your relationship with food with this 21-day reset program full of delicious, satisfying recipes from trained chef and nutritionist Mia Rigden.

Foodwise is a reset for the mind, body, and soul. Created by board-certified nutritionist and trained chef Mia Rigden, this book will help you discover the best foods and routines for your body, establish healthy new habits you love, and restore your ability to eat intuitively for radiant health—all it takes is twenty-one days. Foodwise also shares sought-after recipes and nutrition tips for anyone looking to improve their health or well-being—whether that’s to lose weight, reduce stress, improve mood or focus, boost energy, or simply feel better.

Mia’s 100 plant-forward recipes are a celebration of food and will appeal to anyone looking to eat vibrant, healthy, and satisfying meals. Recipes include:
-Blueberry Basil Smoothie
-Za’atar Crusted Chicken Cutlets with Arugula
-Coconut Curry and Lime Soup
­-And much more.

In Foodwise, Mia also offers an optional guided twenty-one-day “Reset” elimination diet to help empower your health, feel your best, and improve your relationship with food. For twenty-one days, the program encourages you to nourish with balanced, nutrient-rich meals, and follows a simple meal plan with plenty of flexibility and options to suit different preferences and lifestyles. The twenty-one-day reset is perfect for anyone looking to stop dieting and make a lasting change to their health once and for all!

Sleep No More by Jayne Ann Krentz

New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz returns with the first novel of the Lost Night Files, an exciting new romantic suspense trilogy about a night that changed three women forever—but that none of them can remember.

Seven months ago, Pallas Llewellyn, Talia March, and Amelia Rivers were strangers, until their fateful stay at the Lucent Springs Hotel. An earthquake and a fire partially destroyed the hotel, but the women have no memory of their time there. Now close friends, the three women co-host a podcast called the Lost Night Files, where they investigate cold cases and hope to connect with others who may have had a similar experience to theirs—an experience that has somehow enhanced the psychic abilities already present in each woman.

After receiving a tip for their podcast, Pallas travels to the small college town of Carnelian, California, to explore an abandoned asylum. Shaken by the dark energy she feels in the building, she is rushing out when she’s stopped by a dark figure—who turns out to be the women's mysterious tipster.

Ambrose Drake is certain he’s a witness to a murder, but without a body, everyone thinks he’s having delusions caused by extreme sleep deprivation. But Ambrose is positive something terrible happened at the Carnelian Sleep Institute the night he was there. Unable to find proof on his own, he approaches Pallas for help, only for her to realize that Ambrose, too, has a lost night that he can’t remember—one that may be connected to Pallas. Pallas and Ambrose conduct their investigation using the podcast as a cover, and while the townsfolk are eager to share what they know, it turns out there are others who are not so happy about their questions—and someone is willing to kill to keep the truth from coming out.

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

A young Indian woman finds the false rumors that she killed her husband surprisingly useful—until other women in the village start asking for her help getting rid of their own husbands—in this razor-sharp debut.

“Shroff captures the complexity of female friendship with acuity, wit, and a certain kind of magic irreverence…The Bandit Queens is tender, unpredictable, and brimming with laugh-out-loud moments.” –Téa Obreht, New York Times bestselling author of The Tiger’s Wife

Geeta’s no-good husband disappeared five years ago. She didn’t kill him, but everyone thinks she did—no matter how much she protests.

But she soon discovers that being known as a “self-made” widow has some surprising perks. No one messes with her, no one threatens her, and no one tries to control (ahem, marry) her. It’s even been good for her business; no one wants to risk getting on her bad side by not buying her jewelry.

Freedom must look good on Geeta, because other women in the village have started asking for her help to get rid of their own no-good husbands…but not all of them are asking nicely.

Now that Geeta’s fearsome reputation has become a double-edged sword, she must decide how far to go to protect it, along with the life she’s built. Because even the best-laid plans of would-be widows tend to go awry.

Insightful, irreverent, and poignant, Parini Shroff’s The Bandit Queens is an unforgettable novel full of dark humor and surprising heart.

Sam by Allegra Goodman

What happens to a girl’s sense of joy and belonging—to her belief in herself—as she becomes a woman? This unforgettable portrait of coming-of-age offers subtle yet powerful reflections on class, parenthood, addiction, lust, and the irrepressible power of dreams.

“There is a girl, and her name is Sam.” So begins Allegra Goodman’s moving and wise new novel.

Sam is seven years old and living in Beverley, Massachusetts. She adores her father, though he isn’t around much. Her mother struggles to make ends meet, and never fails to remind Sam that if she studies hard and acts responsibly, adulthood will be easier—more secure and comfortable. But comfort and security are of little interest to Sam. She doesn’t fit in at school, where the other girls have the right shade of blue jeans and don’t question the rules. She doesn’t care about jeans or rules. All she wants to climb. Hanging from the highest limbs of the tallest trees, scaling the side of a building, Sam feels free.

As a teenager, Sam begins to doubt herself. She yearns to be noticed, even as she wants to disappear. When her climbing coach takes an interest in her, his attention is more complicated than she anticipated. She resents her father’s erratic behavior, but she grieves after he’s gone. And she resists her mother’s attempts to plan for her future, even as that future draws closer.

The simplicity of this tender, emotionally honest novel is what makes it so powerful. Sam by Allegra Goodman will break your heart, but will also leave you full of hope.

Something Old, Something New by Amy Clipston

Sometimes treasure can be found where you least expect it.

In the decade since high school graduation, Christine Sawyer has realized her dream of opening Treasure Hunting Antique Mall, the place where shoppers find gems that are new to them. Between her store, her house, and her role as a doting aunt, she’s happy with her life—if a bit lonely. But she’s used to being less lucky in love than her fraternal twin sister. Britney was always the popular one, the head cheerleader who dated the homecoming king and quarterback, while Christine stayed in the shadows.

Brent Nicholson is still trying to come to grips with the shambles his life has become. After leading his football team to a state championship, he suffered a career-ending injury. Now he’s lost his construction business thanks to his so-called best friend. So when his great-aunt Midge asks for his help readying her home to put it on the market, the opportunity to spend time with his biggest fan is a balm to his bruised soul.

But the antiques Brent finds in his aunt’s house lead him to an unexpected partnership with Christine. After being blind to her for so many years, is it too late for the former high school jock to win the heart of the self-proclaimed “nerdy twin”?

As they shift through items of the past, Christine and Brent learn to let go of the pieces they don’t want to bring into the future—and realize the value of what’s in front of them today.

Loathe to Love You by Ali Hazelwood

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a collection of steamy, STEMinist novellas and their loves in loathing—with a special bonus chapter!

Under One Roof
An environmental engineer discovers that scientists should never cohabitate when she finds herself stuck with the roommate from hell—a detestable big-oil lawyer who won’t leave the thermostat alone.

Stuck with You
A civil engineer and her nemesis take their rivalry—and love—to the next level when they get stuck in a New York elevator.

Below Zero
A NASA aerospace engineer's frozen heart melts as she lies injured and stranded at a remote Arctic research station and the only person willing to undertake the dangerous rescue mission is her longtime rival.

They Got Daddy: One Family's Reckoning with Racism and Faith by Sharon Tubbs

An unforgettable journey through racism and faith across the generations.

January 15, 1959—a day that changed one family forever. White supremacists kidnapped and severely beat rural Alabama preacher Israel Page, nearly killing him because he had sued a White sheriff's deputy for injuries suffered in a car crash. After "they" "got Daddy," Israel Page's children began leaving the Jim Crow South, the event leaving an indelible mark on the family and its future. Decades later, the events of that day fueled journalist Sharon Tubbs's epic quest to learn who had "gotten" her mother's daddy and why.

They Got Daddy follows Tubbs on her moving journey from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to the back roads and rural churches of Alabama. A powerful revelation of the sustaining and redemptive power of faith and unflinching testimony to the deeply embedded effects of racism across the generations, it demonstrates how the search for the truth can offer a chance at true healing.

Back in a Spell by Lana Harper

An awkward first date leads to a sparkling romance between one of the most powerful witches in town and a magical newbie in this rom-com by Lana Harper, New York Times bestselling author of Payback’s a Witch.

Even though she won’t deny her love for pretty (and pricey) things, Nineve Blackmoore is almost painfully down-to-earth and sensible by Blackmoore standards. But after a year of nursing a broken heart inflicted by the fiancée who all but ditched her at the altar, the powerful witch is sick of feeling down and ready to try something drastically different: a dating app.

At her best friend Jessa's urging, she goes on a date with Morty Gutierrez, the nonbinary, offbeat soul of spontaneity and owner of the Shamrock Cauldron. Their date goes about as well as can be expected: awkward and terrible. To make matters worse, once Morty discovers Nina’s last name, he’s far from a fan; it turns out that the Blackmoores have been bullishly trying to buy the Shamrock out from under Morty and his family.

But when Morty begins developing magical powers—something that usually only happens to committed romantic partners once they officially join a founding family—at the same time as Nina's own magic surges beyond her control, Nina must manage Morty’s rude awakening to the hidden magical world, uncover its cause, and face the intensity of their own burgeoning connection. But what happens when that connection is tied to Nina’s power surge, a power that she’s nearly as addicted to as Morty’s presence in her life?

On Learning to Heal by Ed Cohen

At thirteen, Ed Cohen was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease—a chronic, incurable condition that nearly killed him in his early twenties. At his diagnosis, his doctors told him that the best he could hope for would be periods of remission. Unfortunately, doctors never mentioned healing as a possibility. In On Learning to Heal, Cohen draws on fifty years of living with Crohn’s to consider how Western medicine’s turn from an “art of healing” toward a “science of medicine” deeply affects both medical practitioners and their patients. He demonstrates that although medicine can now offer many seemingly miraculous therapies, medicine is not and has never been the only way to enhance healing. Exploring his own path to healing, he argues that learning to heal requires us to desire and value healing as a vital possibility. With this book, Cohen advocates reviving healing’s role for all those whose lives are touched by illness.

Midnight Duet by Jen Comfort

Self-professed diva Erika Greene has it all: a starring role on Broadway, legions of fans, spectacular natural talent. But after an accident on stage leaves her face scarred and her career in shambles, Erika retreats to Paris, Nevada, where she’s inherited a ramshackle opera house in desperate need of some TLC.

Erika pours her savings into the building, but it’s not enough to stave off casino developer Raoul Decomte’s avaricious gaze. With foreclosure imminent, she leases the space to some unexpected tenants: a German hair metal band, fronted by glam rock god Christof Daae.

Erika is tempted by Christof’s low-slung leather pants―and even more so by his ambitious drive to make Nacht Musik international superstars―but he’s off-limits. The rest of his band thinks he’s still dating their beloved keyboardist, who is conveniently not present on this jaunt to the American Southwest. When Erika finds out Christof’s been unceremoniously dumped and is trying to keep it under wraps, she makes a deal to keep his secret…for a price, of course.

Christof is desperate to hold the rest of the band together after his keyboardist’s departure, but he can’t maintain the charade forever. Nor can he resist the opera house’s mysterious proprietor, who tempts him with midnight singing lessons. It isn’t long before sensuous nighttime interludes turn into smoldering backstage encounters.

But can their newly ignited passion survive the searing light of day? Or will their beautiful duet turn into a brokenhearted power ballad for one?

The Company of Strangers by Jen Michalski

The stories in Jen Michalski’s new collection reveal an America in which ideas of genuine community ring false and the spiritual backbone of family life is damaged, perhaps beyond repair. Characters, many of them queer Gen-Xers of a certain age, find themselves looking—often desperately—for a way to understand the lives they've lived and a way to move forward with the possibility of future happiness. In “Long Haul,” a gay man visits his estranged uncle to lay to rest the unresolved guilt they both feel over the childhood disappearance of his sister. In “Great White” a gay man who was the sperm donor to a lesbian friend’s pregnancy is confronted with the possibility of genuine parenthood when the friend’s partner dies and she is laid low by grief. And, in the title story, while visiting her brother in New Mexico, a young woman affirms her sexuality by having an affair with her brother’s girlfriend, the fallout leading her to regain her footing only when she befriends an elderly gay couple vacationing in the area. In stories that relentlessly demonstrate the tensions of the 21st century, Michalski’s The Company of Strangers provides a sometimes comical, sometimes touching portrait of what is perhaps our most pressing question: How do we make a life?

The Last Resort by Michael Kaufman

It’s March 2034, six months after D.C. police detective Jen Lu and Chandler, her sentient bio-computer implanted in her brain, cracked the mystery of Eden. The climate crisis is hitting harder than ever: a mega-hurricane has devastated the eco-system and waves of refugees pour into Washington, D.C. The rich live forever while the desperate scramble for the modified longevity treatment.

Then, the death of lawyer and media darling Patty Fernandez signals a glaring red flag to a wider conspiracy. Fernandez won a court case for massive climate change reparations to be paid out by oil, gas, and coal companies. Jen and Chandler are called in to crack the case. Signs point to Fernandez’s ex, James Culpepper, a former oil giant but as Jen and Chandler dig deeper, they turn up more suspects who might have an even greater motive for killing Fernandez.

Jen’s search puts her in the crosshairs of those who will ensure the truth never comes to light, no matter the cost. As she continues to delve deeper into the seedy underbelly of the city, she has to move quickly before she becomes next on the killer’s list.

Dark of Night by Colleen Coble

The law is about justice—not grace. But perhaps ranger Annie Pederson can find a way to have both.

As if the last few months haven’t been hard enough—complete with threats on her life and the return of her first love, Jon—Annie has to figure out whether or not to believe a woman who claims to be her sister, Sarah, who was abducted twenty-four years ago at age five. Annie’s eight-year-old daughter, Kylie, has plenty of questions about what’s going on in her mother’s life—but there are some stories Annie doesn’t want uncovered.

As Annie grapples with how to heal the gulf between her and her would-be sister and make room in her daughter’s life for Jon, she’s professionally distracted by the case of yet another missing hiker in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A woman named Michelle Fraser has now been abducted, and though the woman’s estranged husband is at the top of their suspect list, Annie and her colleagues will need to dig deeper to determine whether these recent mysteries are truly as unrelated as they seem.

In this second novel of bestselling author Colleen Coble’s latest romantic-suspense series, Annie and Jon must fight for the future—and the family—that could once more be theirs.

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester


New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of The Paris Seamstress, The Paris Orphan and The Paris Secret, Natasha Lester offers us a fascinating tale of another daring woman in THE THREE LIVES OF ALIX ST. PIERRE (Grand Central/Forever; January 10, 2023). An orphan turned WWII spy turned fashion icon in Paris, Alix St. Pierre is an unforgettable name for an unforgettable woman.

Filled with schemes, romance, revenge, and the intrigue of international espionage, the novel expertly intersperses the savagery of war and the glamorous and golden age of French fashion. With special appearances by Rita Hayworth and Christian Dior!

The Things We Do To Our Friends by Heather Darwent

She’s an outsider desperate to belong, but the cost of entry might be her darkest secret, in this intoxicating debut about a clique of dangerously ambitious students.

Edinburgh, Scotland: a moody city of labyrinthine alleyways, oppressive fog, and buried history—the ultimate destination for someone with something to hide. Perfect for Clare, then, who arrives utterly alone and yearning to reinvent herself. And what better place to conceal the secrets of her past than at the university in the heart of the fabled, cobblestoned Old Town?

When Clare meets Tabitha, a charismatic, beautiful, and intimidatingly rich girl from her art history class, she knows she's destined to become friends with her and her exclusive circle. Clare is immediately drawn into their libertine world of sophisticated dinner parties and summers in France. The new life she always envisioned for herself has seemingly begun.

Then Tabitha reveals a little project she’s been working on, one she needs Clare's help with. Even though it goes against everything Clare has tried to repent for. But as Clare starts to realize just what her friends are capable of, it's already too late. Because they’ve taken the plunge. They’re so close to attaining everything they want. And there’s no going back.

Observer - by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress

Caro Soames-Watkins, a talented neurosurgeon whose career has been upended by controversy, is jobless, broke, and the sole supporter of her sister, a single mother with a severely disabled child.

When she receives a strange job offer from Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sam Watkins, a great uncle she barely knows, desperation forces her to take it in spite of serious suspicions.

Watkins has built a mysterious medical facility in the Caribbean to conduct research into the nature of consciousness, reality, and life after death. Helped in his mission by his old friend, eminent physicist George Weigert, and young tech entrepreneur Julian Dey, Sam has gone far beyond curing the body to develop a technology that could solve the riddle of mortality.

Two obstacles stand in their way: someone on the inside is leaking intel and Watkins' failing body must last long enough for the technology to be ready.

As danger mounts, Caro finds more than she bargained for, including murder, love, and a deeper understanding into the nature of reality.

A mind-expanding journey to the very edges of science, Observer will thrill you, inspire you, and lead you to think about life and the power of the imagination in startling new ways.

Reviews for Observer

"Real science and limitless imagination combine in a thrilling story you won't soon forget."
―Robin Cook, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Nancy Kress is one of the greatest living science fiction writers, and her particular talent for telling stories about people on the cutting edge of science tipping into something new and marvelous is perfectly suited to the ideas that have come to Robert Lanza in the course of his groundbreaking scientific research. Together they've written a startling, fascinating novel."
―Kim Stanley Robinson, New York Times bestselling author

"Robert Lanza has taken the gigantic step of incorporating his ideas into a science fiction novel with Nancy Kress. This brilliant book will take you deep into quantum physics, where these often-complex concepts are illuminated through a riveting and moving story."
―Rhonda Byrne, #1 New York Times bestselling author, The Secret

"Nancy Kress is a master storyteller, and her trademark empathy is on every page. Even as we venture into the heady territory of quantum physics and the nature of reality that Robert Lanza is known for, we never lose track of Caro, the brilliant surgeon who'll do anything to save the people she loves. Observer is the best of science and fiction—an intellectual adventure with real heart."
―Daryl Gregory, award-winning author of Spoonbenders

"Observer is an impressive story! ... Lanza and Kress give us characters with science and spirit"
―David Brin, New York Times bestselling author, The Postman

The Sh!t No One Tells You About Divorce by Dawn Dais

After 12 years together, two children, 10 pets, and five properties, Dawn and her partner decided to call it quits. In the newest installment of her bestselling Sh!t No One Tells You series, Dawn tries to figure out what happened … and what happens next.

Dawn takes you on her own bumpy, meandering — and often absurd — journey through the destruction of a life exploded by divorce. She dodges legal hurdles, irrational decisions, alarmed therapists, random hobbies and a concerning number of dating app profiles that look like the beginning of a true crime podcast. But somehow, she found herself stronger — and happier — on the other side. Leaning into the mess, Dawn helps you learn the art of embracing Netflix and cry, the healing power of profanity, the importance of assembling the right support squad, how to survive the sh!tshow of co-parenting, and much more.

Joined by an insightful chorus of divorced friends, Dawn delivers a true-to-life and funnier-than-it-should-be guide to discovering the unexpected value in the wreckage. What if divorce isn’t just a loss — but an opportunity?

City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita

A stranded detective tries to solve a murder in a tiny Alaskan town where everyone winters in the same high-rise building, in this gripping debut by Academy Award–nominated screenwriter Iris Yamashita.

When a local teenager discovers a severed hand and foot washed up on the shore of the small town of Point Mettier, Alaska, Cara Kennedy is on the case. A detective from Anchorage, she has her own reasons for investigating the possible murder in this isolated place, which can be accessed only by a tunnel.

After an avalanche causes the tunnel to close indefinitely, Cara is stuck among the odd and suspicious residents of the town—all 205 of whom live in the same high-rise building and are as icy as the weather. Cara teams up with Point Mettier police officer Joe Barkowski, but before long the investigation is upended by a gang from a nearby reservation who are seeking shelter from the snowstorm.

Cara soon discovers that everyone in this town is keeping secrets. If there is anything as elusive as the residents themselves, it’s answers.

A Love by Design by Elizabeth Everett

You couldn’t design a better hero than the very eligible and extremely charming Earl Grantham. Unless, of course, you are Margaret Gault, who wants nothing to do with the man who broke her youthful heart.

Widowed and determined, Margaret Gault has returned to Athena’s Retreat and the welcoming arms of her fellow secret scientists with an ambitious plan in mind: to establish England’s first woman-owned engineering firm. But from the moment she sets foot in London her plans are threatened by greedy investors and—at literally every turn—the irritatingly attractive Earl Grantham, a man she can never forgive.

George Willis, the Earl Grantham, is thrilled that the woman he has loved since childhood has returned to London. Not as thrilling, however, is her decision to undertake an engineering commission from his political archnemesis. When Margaret’s future and Grantham’s parliamentary reforms come into conflict, Grantham must use every ounce of charm he possesses—along with his stunning good looks and flawless physique, of course—to win Margaret over to his cause.

Facing obstacles seemingly too large to dismantle, will Grantham and Margaret remain forever disconnected or can they find a way to bridge their differences, rekindle the passion of their youth, and construct a love built to last?

The Fraud Squad by Kyla Zhao

Crazy Rich Asians meets The Devil Wears Prada in this millennial women's fiction novel by debut author Kyla Zhao, about a working-class woman who infiltrates Singapore's high society to fulfill her dreams, only to lose herself in the process.

For as long as she can remember, Samantha Song has dreamed of writing for a high-society magazine—and she'd do anything to get there. But the constant struggle to help her mom make ends meet and her low social status make her dream feel like a distant fantasy.

Now, Sam finds herself working at a drab PR firm. The closest she’ll get to that life is living vicariously through her socialite coworker and friend, Anya Chen. Then she meets Timothy Kingston: the disillusioned son of one of Singapore’s elite families—and Sam’s one chance at infiltrating the high society world to which she desperately wants to belong.

To Sam’s surprise, Tim and Anya both agree to help her make a name for herself on Singapore’s socialite scene. The borrowed designer clothes and plus-ones to every glamorous event can only get her so far; the rest is on Sam, and she’s determined to make an impression on the editor-in-chief of Singapore’s poshest magazine. But the deeper Sam wades into this fraud, the more she fears being exposed—especially with a mysterious gossip columnist on the prowl for dirt—forcing her to reconcile her pretense with who she really is before she loses it all.

The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict

From New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict comes an explosive novel of history's most notorious sisters, one of whom will have to choose: her country or her family?

The Reunion by Kayla Olson

When two former teen stars reconnect at the reunion for their hit TV show, they discover their feelings for one another were not merely scripted in this charming and heartwarming novel perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Sally Thorne.

The Courtship Plan by Kathleen Fuller

Finding a husband is serious business. And serious business requires serious planning.

Charity Raber is one of many single women who came to Birch Creek, Ohio, with one goal in mind: secure a husband from among the desperate bachelors a newspaper advertisement claimed inhabited the town. Even though that claim proved to be nothing more than a cruel prank, Charity is still hopeful that her happy ending might be within reach when she’s set up on a date with Jesse Bontrager. That is until Jesse not-so-gently shares that he has no interest in a relationship with anyone—and especially not with her.

One year later, Charity is working as a caretaker for a kind, elderly English woman in the nearby town of Marigold. She’s also working hard on a brand-new courtship plan. A plan that absolutely does not involve Jesse Bontrager. But when he moves next door and is made aware of her scheming, Charity vows to prove that her plan is foolproof. Meanwhile, Jesse’s is sure she’ll make a fool of herself. And for some reason he’s not willing to let that happen.

This stubborn bachelor and determined bachelorette will soon learn that their plans rarely work out as expected—but God’s plans always will.

Hunters Point: A Novel of San Francisco by Peter Kageyama

Lurking below the dark waters at Hunters Point naval base, something sinister is going on. When underdog advocate and private investigator Kats Takemoto gets involved, he exposes a deadly environmental cover-up by the US Navy and the west coast underworld. The story takes us to Hollywood movie sets, Beat poetry readings, and the industrial heart of San Francisco as Kats and friends search for who is poisoning San Francisco Bay and why large tracts of land are being secretly acquired in Bayfront Heights. First book in new series.

Not Your Father’s America: An Adventure Raising Triplets in a Country Being Changed by Greed by Cort Casady

Barbara and Cort were a happily married couple when they decided to have children. But they had no idea the struggle and dangers they would face getting pregnant, as well as a heartbreaking loss. When the couple finally become pregnant and safely deliver triplets, they must dive in — overwhelmed and outnumbered — to face the exhausting and unrelenting demands of caring for three babies at once. Following the boys as they grow up, Casady includes numerous anecdotes, stories and ingenious discoveries that every parent can appreciate. Through it all, the author offers insightful commentary about his father’s America, the America he and his brothers were raised in, and the America his sons are inheriting, all while examining how economic injustice, deregulation and greed are affecting and undermining the American experience.

“Not Your Father’s America” is a vivid account of an extraordinary family forged out of determination, patience, acceptance, discipline and love — lots of love.

Blush by Helen Hardt

#1 New York Times bestselling author Helen Hardt takes fans deeper into the world of Black Rose Underground with the first in an all-new series featuring a sweet virgin next door who’s ready to be anything but. After meeting Mr. Dark and Sexy on Tinder, she’s all in and excited about joining him at an exclusive club. But Mr. Dark and Sexy may not be who he seems...

Breaking All The Rules by Amy Andrews

A fun, sexy romp through the trials of starting over, and finding what you didn't know you needed in the last place you expected, from USA Today bestselling author Amy Andrews.

Do I Know You? by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

Eliza and Graham’s marriage is quietly failing. With their five-year anniversary approaching, neither of them are thrilled about the weeklong getaway to the Treeline Retreat they’ve been gifted. Nestled on the Northern California coastline, the inn prides itself on being a destination for those in love and those looking to find it—but for Eliza and Graham it’s the last place they want to be.

After a well-meaning guest mistakes Eliza and Graham as being single and introduces them at the hotel bar, they don’t correct him. Suddenly, they’re pretending to be perfect strangers and it’s unexpectedly…fun? Eliza and Graham find themselves flirting like it’s their first date and sharing pillow talk secrets.

Everyone at the retreat can see the electric chemistry between Eliza and Graham’s alter egos. But as they realize this performance could be the thing that saves their marriage, their game becomes something more.

Emma Barry - Chick Magnet

From Emma Barry comes a clever romance about a hot veterinarian and a chicken-loving influencer who can’t help but ruffle each other’s feathers.

Nicole Jones needs a fresh start. “Chick Nic” to millions of internet fans, the social media star and her flock of chickens bask in the spotlight―until she’s publicly dumped by a YouTuber for clout. She has no choice but to round up her birds and move on.

But when one of her hens has an emergency, Nic gets her first taste of her new stomping grounds―and it isn’t good. Veterinarian Will Lund is wildly attractive, yes, but he’s also surly. In fact, he comes right out and calls her a menace for parading her chickens on social media.

As neighbors, Nic and Will can’t exactly avoid each other. Then again, maybe they don’t want to. The two can’t deny their smoldering attraction, and it isn’t long before late-night confessions lead to backyard shenanigans.

Is this the start of a neighborly relationship―or could something more be hatching?

The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone

From her attic in the Arizona mountains, thirty-four-year-old Myra Malone blogs about a dollhouse mansion that captivates thousands of readers worldwide. Myra’s stories have created legions of fans who breathlessly await every blog post, trade photographs of Mansion-modeled rooms, and swap theories about the enigmatic and reclusive author. Myra herself is tethered to the Mansion by mysteries she can’t understand—rooms that appear and disappear overnight, music that plays in its corridors.

Across the country, Alex Rakes, the scion of a custom furniture business, encounters two Mansion fans trying to recreate a room. The pair show him the Minuscule Mansion, and Alex is shocked to recognize a reflection of his own life mirrored back to him in minute scale. The room is his own bedroom, and the Mansion is his family’s home, handed down from the grandmother who disappeared mysteriously when Alex was a child. Searching for answers, Alex begins corresponding with Myra. Together, the two unwind the lonely paths of their twin worlds—big and small—and trace the stories that entwine them, setting the stage for a meeting rooted in loss, but defined by love.

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett

The mysterious connection between a teacher’s disappearance and an unsolved code in a children’s book is explored in this fresh novel from the author of the “clever and often wryly funny” (PopSugar) novel The Appeal.

An Enemy Like Me by Teri M Brown

How does a man show his love - for country, for heritage, for family - during a war that sets the three at odds? What sets in motion the necessity to choose one over the other? How will this choice change everything and everyone he loves?

Jacob Miller, a first-generation American, grew up in New Berlin, a small German immigrant town in Ohio where he endured the Great Depression, met his wife, and started a family. Though his early years were not easy, Jacob believes he is headed toward his 'happily ever after' until a friend is sent to an internment camp for enemy combatants, and the war lands resolutely on his doorstep.

In An Enemy Like Me, Teri M. Brown uses the backdrop of World War II to show the angst experienced by Jacob, his wife, and his four-year-old son as he leaves for and fights in a war he did not create. She explores the concepts of xenophobia, intrafamily dynamics, and the recognition that war is not won and lost by nations, but by ordinary men and women and the families who support them.

The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page

A charming, uplifting debut novel—full of humor and depth—that has taken readers around the world by surprise. 

Everyone has a story to tell. But does Janice have the power to unlock her own?

She can’t recall what started her collection. Maybe it was in a fragment of conversation overheard as she cleaned a sink? Before long (as she dusted a sitting room or defrosted a fridge) she noticed people were telling her their stories. Perhaps they had always done so, but now it is different, now the stories are reaching out to her and she gathers them to her …

Cleaner Janice knows that it is in people’s stories that you really get to know them. From recently widowed Fiona and her son Adam to opera-singing Geordie, the quiet bus driver Euan, and the pretentious Mrs. “YeahYeahYeah” and her fox terrier, Decius, Janice has a unique insight into the community around her.

When Janice starts cleaning for Mrs. B—a shrewd and prickly woman in her nineties—she finally meets someone who wants to hear her story. But Janice is clear: she is the keeper of stories, she doesn’t have a story to tell. At least, not one she can share.

Mrs. B is no fool and knows there is more to Janice than meets the eye. What is she hiding? After all, doesn’t everyone have a story to tell?

From Junkie to Judge: One Woman's Triumph over Trauma and Addiction by Mary Beth O'ConnorMary Beth O'Connor

From Junkie to Judge: One Woman’s Triumph over Trauma and Addiction is Mary Beth O'Connor's inspiring journey from rock bottom to resilience as she forged a personal path to recovery from trauma and addiction.

With wit and unabashed honesty, Mary Beth shares her remarkable three-phase journey:
-the abuse and trauma that drove her to teenage drug use,
-the chaos that ensued from her addiction;
-and how she developed a personalized secular recovery plan that led to 29+ years of sobriety.

Mary Beth is proof that anyone can find their sober self, their best self, no matter how far they have fallen. Along with her inspiring story, she offers a comprehensive checklist of questions for readers to ask themselves as they take the brave steps toward recovery, offering a powerful blueprint for personal change.

Friends With Issues by Meredith Berlin

Three-time-Emmy nominee and former editor-in-chief of “Seventeen Magazine” and “Soap Opera Digest” Meredith Berlin is releasing her debut women’s fiction, Friends With Issues (January 24, 2023, Warren Publishing), which follows three glamorous, self-made women in their 40s who gamble with love, sex and their careers in NYC and L.A., as one charismatic man captivates them all.

Friends With Issues follows Brooke, Elizabeth, and Susan, three friends who have made their mark on Manhattan but who now struggle with the daily balancing act of career, friendship, and intimacy. Brooke thought she married the man of her dreams, but now she’s questioning her marriage as she embarks on a new venture to Hollywood. Elizabeth’s sex life is incredible, but only on her husband’s terms–and after a shattering diagnosis, she attempts to remake herself in order to recover some semblance of her identity. Susan should be ecstatic when her media mogul husband catapults them into financial security, but as her uncertainty about their relationship grows, she opens a Pandora’s box of new passion by finally admitting that her sexual and romantic preferences do not lie exclusively with men.

In Meredith Berlin’s provocative debut, these women discover that their relationships to sex, love, friends, and personal identity can transform at any age–and money doesn’t protect you from the unimaginable. Fans of Big Little Lies, The Manhattan Girls, Valley of the Dolls, and novels by Taylor Jenkins Reid and Jessica Anya Blau will devour this absorbing drama to its powerful end.

Have Mercy On Us by Lisa Cupolo

In these beautiful and tender stories, the people are varied in age, race, gender, and origin. An old man travels to a remote village in Kenya in an attempt to bring his estranged son back home to Portland. In Calgary, against her mother’s wishes, a young woman attends the funeral of the father she never met. On holiday in Greece, a woman long married to a philandering artist asserts herself with stunning force. In an imagined, loving portrait, the writer Zora Neale Hurston is shown near the end of her life in 1948, working as a maid in a motel in Ft. Pierce, Florida.

Spare, romantic without being sentimental, these powerful stories are, above all, about love, and the impossible and remarkable ways we yearn for connection. Cupolo is an important new voice with vision, and grace—cause for celebration.

The Girl with the Dragonfruit Tattoo by Carrie Doyle

The third book in Carrie Doyle’s tropical Trouble in Paradise series finds villa broker Plum Lockhart living the high life: cocktails, romance, and yacht parties abound, but when a body washes up on the beach, the amateur sleuth will have to squeeze the day and catch a killer!

The Love You Save by Goldie Taylor

Acclaimed journalist and human rights activist Goldie Taylor shares the harrowing yet deeply hopeful story of her troubled childhood in East St. Louis—a memoir of family, faith and the power of books

At age eleven, Goldie Taylor is out riding her new bike when a young man from the neighborhood brutally rapes her. Goldie's mother, dealing with trauma of her own, sends her to live with her aunt, uprooting her from a good school to live in a dangerous, bottomed-out neighborhood in East St. Louis.

Aunt Gerald takes in anyone who asks, but the conditions are harsh. With no bed or personal belongings, Goldie sleeps on the living room floor, beneath a threadbare blanket, amid cousins who abuse her. Plagued by the echoes of trauma and longing for her mother, Goldie's thoughts grow increasingly dark. Until she finds solace in the writings of James Baldwin. And hope in the form of a nurturing teacher who helps her find her voice.

With echoes of Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Tara Westover’s Educated, Goldie’s Taylor's debut memoir shines a light on the strictures of race, class and gender in a post-Jim Crow America, while offering a nuanced, empathetic portrait of a family in a pitched battle for its very soul. Profoundly moving, exquisitely rendered and ultimately uplifting, The Love You Save is a story about hidden strength, perseverance against unimaginable odds, the beauty and pain of girlhood, and the power of the written word.

Tell Me One Thing by Kerri Schlottman

Inspired by a true story and set against the backdrop of a rural Pennsylvania trailer park, and the complicated world of Manhattan during the AIDS epidemic, Tell Me One Thing spans place and time as it delves into New York City’s free-for-all grittiness while exposing a neglected slice of the struggling rust belt, traversing decades from the 1980s up to present day. At the center of it all is a photograph taken by an ambitious young artist of a 9-year-old girl sitting on the lap of a trucker outside a motel. The photograph becomes famous decades later, prompting the subject to seek out the photographer and find out why she never helped her all those years ago.

Kerri's background in the arts lends to the authenticity of the novel, and the book is inspired by Mary Ellen Mark’s famous 1990 photograph, “Amanda and Her Cousin Amy,” which depicts nine-year-old Amanda smoking a cigarette in a kiddie pool in rural North Carolina.

Tell Me One Thing is an atmospheric debut novel that examines power, privilege, and the sacrifices one is willing to make to succeed.

The Black Queen by Jumata Emill

Nova Albright, the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High, is dead. Murdered the night of her coronation, her body found the next morning in the old enslaved cemetery she spent her weekends rehabilitating. Tinsley McArthur was supposed to be queen. Not only is she beautiful, wealthy, and white, it’s her legacy—her grandmother, her mother, and even her sister wore the crown before her. Everyone in Lovett knows Tinsley would do anything to carry on the McArthur tradition.No one is more certain of that than Duchess Simmons, Nova’s best friend. Duchess’s father is the first Black police captain in Lovett. For Duchess, Nova’s crown was more than just a win for Nova. It was a win for all the Black kids. Now her best friend is dead, and her father won’t fact the fact that the main suspect is right in front of him. Duchess is convinced that Tinsley killed Nova—and that Tinsley is privileged enough to think she can get away with it. But Duchess’s father seems to be doing what he always does: fall behind the blue line. Which means that the white girl is going to walk. Duchess is determined to prove Tinsley’s guilt. And to do that, she’ll have to get close to her. But Tinsley has an agenda, too. Everyone loved Nova. And sometimes, love is exactly what gets you killed.

Maame by Jessica George

Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman.

It’s fair to say that Maddie’s life in London is far from rewarding. With a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana (yet still somehow manages to be overbearing), Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson’s. At work, her boss is a nightmare and Maddie is tired of always being the only Black person in every meeting.

When her mum returns from her latest trip to Ghana, Maddie leaps at the chance to get out of the family home and finally start living. A self-acknowledged late bloomer, she’s ready to experience some important “firsts”: She finds a flat share, says yes to after-work drinks, pushes for more recognition in her career, and throws herself into the bewildering world of internet dating. But it's not long before tragedy strikes, forcing Maddie to face the true nature of her unconventional family, and the perils––and rewards––of putting her heart on the line.

Smart, funny, and deeply affecting, Jessica George's Maame deals with the themes of our time with humor and poignancy: from familial duty and racism, to female pleasure, the complexity of love, and the life-saving power of friendship. Most important, it explores what it feels like to be torn between two homes and cultures—and it celebrates finally being able to find where you belon

The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel

Amy Poeppel brings her signature “big-hearted, charming” (The Washington Post) style to this wise and joyful novel that celebrates love, hate, and all of the glorious absurdity in between.

Scavenger Hunt by Chad Boudreaux

Scavenger Hunt is a gripping and realistic suspense novel chronicling the plight of Blake Hudson, a Justice Department lawyer assigned to a clandestine counterterrorist group created to bypass onerous legal requirements. After the group mysteriously disbands, Hudson becomes the scapegoat and is transformed from hunter to hunted. As he searches for answers and attempts to piece the puzzle together, people are following him, trying to kill him.

Blood Circus by Camila Victoire

In this lush and terrifying debut—perfect for readers of The Hunger Games and Children of Blood and Bone—Camila Victoire creates a future where cruelty and spectacle hold the keys to subjugating humans on a ravaged earth.

At the end of the twenty-first century, climate change and famine almost ended humanity—until the discovery of the Klujns, a barbaric, humanoid species with strangely colored eyes and even stranger abilities. Their crystal claws and bones fertilize barren soil, and their tender meat is a super-protein. Klujns are both humans’ saviors and natural-born enemies, meant to be hunted and used.

When sixteen-year-old Ava finds herself on the wrong side of a military fence erected to protect the North American Territory, she’s captured by Klujns and made to participate in the Blood Race, a macabre tradition where young human hostages compete to the death for Klujn amusement. At first, she is terrified, but as Ava observes Klujn behavior that contradicts what she’s learned, she begins to wonder: Are Klujns as different as she was led to believe? And, as she fights for her life, does it matter?

Inspired by four years on the road with a traveling circus, where the word itself embodies an entire culture built on dark spectacle, Camila Victoire delivers a twisted coming-of-age tale that combines elements of fantasy, magical realism, and suspense. Blood Circus will capture fans of Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games and Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone. Its masterful worldbuilding, plot twists, and boundary-pushing Blood Race are wholly immersive—and compel readers to call their own long-held assumptions, values, and belief systems into question.

I Always Think It's Forever by Timothy Goodman

A sweeping, unique graphic memoir about an artist’s year abroad in Paris and how it gave way to an all-encompassing love affair and crushing heartbreak as he wrestled with trauma, masculinity, and the real possibility of hope.

Renowned graphic artist Timothy Goodman planned to do what every young artist dreams of and spend a year abroad in Paris. While there, he fell in love in a way he never had before. For the first time in his life, he let himself be loved and finally, truly loved someone else. But the deeper the love, the more crushing the heartbreak when the relationship eventually fell apart, forcing him to look inwards. He confronted traumas of his past as well as his own toxic masculinity, and he learned to finally show up for himself.

I Always Think It’s Forever is a one-of-a-kind graphic memoir that chronicles it all—the ups, the downs, love lost, and love found—all in the bold illustration style Goodman is best known for, with poetic prose and handwritten wording to accompany the artwork with a touch of humor added as well. It’s a glimpse inside the heart and mind of a man, first focusing on the time Goodman spent in Paris, including diary entries relating his experiences learning about French food, culture, and language. This touching memoir also explores the painful break-up just six months later in Rome. Goodman artfully describes his attempts at learning to love himself in the end, his scars, cuts, warts, and all in a way no book ever has before.

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Weekly Bookstack

Weekly Bookstack

20 Authors and Their New Year Resolutions 2023

20 Authors and Their New Year Resolutions 2023

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