Books Publishing This Week
The evening settles in quietly, stretching across the sky in deep shades of navy and violet. The last traces of daylight linger on the horizon, but darkness is taking over now, wrapping the world in a cool hush. March is unpredictable, hovering between winter and spring, but tonight, there’s still a crispness in the air, a reminder that winter hasn’t fully let go. The wind whispers against the windows, carrying with it the scent of damp earth and the last chill of the season.
Inside, the world is warmer, softer. A golden glow from the nearby lamp pools over your reading nook, casting gentle shadows. The house is quiet, the kind of peaceful that invites you to slow down, to breathe, to disappear into a story. You pull a knit throw blanket over your legs—one that’s been with you through the long winter months, its fabric familiar and soft. A cup of tea sits nearby, fragrant and steaming, sending delicate curls of heat into the air. It’s the perfect kind of night for a book, the kind of evening that asks for nothing more than to be wrapped in words.
You pick up the book that’s been waiting for you, its weight steady in your hands. The spine is unbroken, the pages crisp, untouched. There’s always something special about this moment—the quiet anticipation before you begin, the feeling that, with just a few sentences, you’ll step into another world entirely. You take a deep breath, run your fingers along the edges of the pages, and then, finally, you turn to the first chapter.
The words meet your eyes, and just like that, the rest of the evening fades. The hum of the heater, the occasional creak of the house settling, even the gentle patter of rain that’s begun to fall against the window—all of it melts into the background as the story takes hold. The characters form in your mind, their voices clear, their emotions real. The setting unfolds around you, vivid and textured, as if you could reach out and touch it.
From time to time, you shift, adjusting the blanket around you, lifting your tea to your lips. The warmth is soothing, spreading through you in slow waves. Outside, the rain continues, steady and rhythmic, tapping against the glass in a quiet lullaby. You read on, turning page after page, losing track of time as the night deepens.
March evenings hold a certain kind of magic, the last remnants of winter mixing with the early stirrings of spring. And here you are, tucked away in the comfort of home, wrapped in that in-between feeling, held in the quiet embrace of a story. The rest of the world can wait. For now, this moment belongs to you, the book in your hands, and the journey just beginning.
I want to note that I do not get paid to do these posts, I just love authors and the book industry. However, they do take time and energy to create. If you want to donate a few dollars to my coffee fund, which keeps this blog going, you can do so here: https://venmo.com/AshleyHasty or here: http://paypal.me/hastybooklist.
Books Publishing This Week: March 16 - 22
The Bane Witch: A Novel by Ava Morgyn
Practical Magic meets Gone Girl in Ava Morgyn's next dark, spellbinding novel about a woman who is more than a witch—she's a hunter.
Piers Corbin has always had an affinity for poisonous things—plants and men. From the pokeweed berries she consumed at age five that led to the accidental death of a stranger, to the husband whose dark proclivities have become… concerning, poison has been at the heart of her story.
But when she fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her volatile marriage and goes to stay with her estranged great aunt in the mountains, she realizes her predilection is more than a hunger—it’s a birthright. Piers comes from a long line of poison eaters—Bane Witches—women who ingest deadly plants and use their magic to rid the world of evil men.
Piers sets out to earn her place in her family’s gritty but distinguished legacy, all while working at her Aunt Myrtle’s cafe and perpetuating a flirtation with the local, well-meaning sheriff to allay his suspicions on the body count she’s been leaving in her wake. But soon she catches the attention of someone else, a serial killer operating in the area. And that only means one thing—it’s time to feed.
In Ava Morgyn’s dark, thrilling novel, The Bane Witch, a very little poison can do a world of good.
Everybody Says It's Everything by Xhenet Aliu
In this unforgettable novel from the award-winning author of Brass, twins growing up in the United States in 1999 unravel larger truths about identity and sibling bonds when one of them gets wrapped up in the war in Kosovo.
Raised in Connecticut, adopted twins Drita and Petrit (aka Pete) had no connection to their Albanian heritage. Their lives were all about Barbie dolls, the mall, and roller skating at the local rink. Although they were inseparable during their childhood, their paths diverged once they became teenagers: Drita was a good girl with good manners who was going to attend a good college; Pete was a bad boy going nowhere fast. Even their twinhood was not enough to keep them together.
Fast-forward to their twenties. Drita has given up on her dreams for the future, abandoning her graduate studies to move back home and take care of their mother. She hasn’t heard from Pete in three years when his girlfriend and their son unexpectedly show up without him and in need of help. Realizing that Pete’s child may offer the siblings a second chance at being family, Drita becomes determined to find her brother. But what she ends up discovering—about their connection to their Albanian roots, the war in Kosovo, and the story of their adoption—will surprise everyone, and become what brings them together, or tears them apart for good.
In Everybody Says It’s Everything, critically acclaimed author Xhenet Aliu tells the story of a family both fractured and foundering, desperate to connect with the other and the world at large, but not knowing how.
Spring Fling by Annie England Noblin
Author Interview with Annie England Noblin
Rekindle your belief in the magic of first love and the charm of small towns with Annie England Noblin’s delightful friends-to-lovers romantic comedy, perfect for readers of Jill Shalvis and Sarah Adams.
Spring is in the air and Mylie has everything she could ever want: her tackle shop is thriving and employs a third of Clay Creek, Arkansas, and she lives with her beloved Granny and little sister Cassie, who both keep her on her toes. As tourists pour into town for the annual fishing tournament, Mylie is in her element and ready to bring her all-women team to victory.
After moving to Chicago, Ben never thought he would return to Clay Creek. But with both his grandfather and mother gone, he’s left to deal with their estate. His plan is simple: come in quietly, fix up his lakeside childhood home, sell it quickly, and get out. He underestimates how quickly his arrival will stir up the local gossip, and how intensely his unresolved feelings for Mylie, his childhood best friend, will resurface.
Amid the buzz of competition and the rhythm of small-town life, Mylie and Ben find themselves unable to ignore their shared history. They tentatively explore a future together, despite the impending sale of Ben’s house and Mylie’s insistence on staying put in Clay Creek. Flings are easier said than done, and Mylie and Ben will have to address their clashing lifestyles before their feelings get away from them.
Told with Annie England Noblin’s signature wit, cozy charm, and a dash of spice, Spring Fling is the perfect friends-to-lovers read.
Shooting Stars Above by Patricia Leavy
Author Interview with Patricia Leavy
For fans of Colleen Hoover comes an emotionally charged contemporary romance about an internationally best-selling novelist and a federal agent fighting to heal past wounds.
Tess Lee is a world-famous novelist. Her inspirational books explore people’s innermost struggles and the human need to believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel—but despite her extraordinary success, she’s been unable to find personal happiness. Jack Miller is a federal agent working in counterterrorism. After spending decades immersed in a violent world, a residue remains. He’s dedicated everything to his job, leaving nothing for himself.
The night Tess and Jack meet, their connection is palpable. She examines the scars on his body and says, “I’ve never seen anyone whose outsides match my insides.” The two embark on an epic love story, but old traumas soon rise to the surface as Jack struggles with the death of a loved one and Tess is forced to confront her childhood abuse. Can unconditional love help heal their invisible wounds? Together, will they be able to move from darkness to light?
In a Deep Blue Hour by Peter Stamm
A documentary filmmaker uncovers the secrets of an enigmatic author in this subtly enthralling novel from “one of Europe’s most exciting writers” (New York Times Book Review).
For days, documentary filmmaker Andrea and her team have been waiting for Richard Wechsler in his Swiss hometown. During their first shoots in Paris, the famous writer had not wanted to reveal much about himself, and now the whole film threatens to fail.
In the narrow streets and alleys of the village, Andrea searches for traces of Wechsler’s life, contrary to their agreement. But it is not until she starts reading his books again that she discovers a clue to a childhood sweetheart who might still be living there. An old love who influenced his whole life, but whom no one ever knew about.
Till Death by Kellan McDaniel
Two gay men—one young, one ageless—sink their teeth into reclaiming their lives and identities from those who would silence them in this insatiable romantic horror novel from Hugo and Nebula Award–nominated author Kellan McDaniel.
Howard is biding his time until he can finally leave for college, where he has been promised it gets better. The last thing he expected was to meet a boy. But George reminds Howard of the movie stars from the 1960s he’s obsessed with. Plus, George is endearingly formal and well-read, and his grandpa fashion is super authentic.
After over twenty years together, George is about to lose his life partner. He met James when they were teenagers then lost track of him until they reconnected in their early sixties. Now, James is going somewhere beyond George’s reach—because George is a vampire, forever trapped in the body of a nineteen-year-old.
As the two grow closer, George begins to see a future beyond losing his first love, and Howard stops imagining himself always being alone…even if companionship comes at the cost of his mortality. When the discrimination the men have suffered their whole lives rears its ugly head to take away their happy ending, they finally strike back at the world that’s done its best to subdue them their entire lives.
Code Word Romance by Carlie Walker
Max is just your average girl. She works odd jobs, has a soul-crushing amount of debt, and happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to Europe’s youngest female prime minister, Sofia Christensen. Sofia is powerful, beautiful—and unfortunately, someone is trying quite hard to assassinate her.
When the CIA approaches Max with a deal, a life-changing amount of money if she pretends to be Sofia on the prime minister’s annual Italian vacation, Max packs her bags for the Amalfi Coast. The delicious food, the breathtaking views—this trip would be a dream if it weren’t for those pesky assassins and Flynn, the handler assigned to Max’s case. Flynn, who has an unexpected history with Max, from another sun-drenched summer years and years ago. Now he’s instructed to stay in Max’s suite to protect her, as old passions and assassins collide.
Losing herself in the role of a prime minister is one thing. But losing her heart to Flynn again? Now that’s a risk she isn’t willing to take…
White Line Fever by KC Jones
From Bram Stoker Award finalist KC Jones comes White Line Fever, a harrowing thrill ride about friendship, trauma, and learning how to take the wheel of your own life.
At a passing glance, County Road 951 is an entirely unremarkable stretch of blacktop, a two-lane scar across the Cascade foothills of Central Oregon.
But the road is known by another name, coined by those who’ve had to clean up after all those scenic detours went horribly wrong: The Devil’s Driveway.
When Livia and her long-time friends take the Driveway as a shortcut to a much-needed weekend getaway, what begins as a morning joyride quickly becomes anything but. Soon, they’re driving for their lives, pursued by a horror beyond anything they ever imagined.
The Devil’s Driveway might be only 15 miles long, but with danger at every turn, it will take the four women to the very limits of their friendships and their sanity.
And there’s no telling what else lies in wait just beyond the bend.
The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry
Inspired by a true literary mystery, New York Times bestselling author of the mesmerizing The Secret Book of Flora Lea returns with the sweeping story of a legendary book, a lost mother, and a daughter’s search for them both.
In 1927, eight-year-old Clara Harrington’s magical childhood shatters when her mother, renowned author, Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham, disappears off the coast of South Carolina. Bronwyn stunned the world with a book written in an invented language that became a national sensation when she was just twelve years old. Her departure leaves behind not only a devoted husband and heartbroken daughter, but also the hope of ever translating the sequel to her landmark work. As the headlines focus on the missing author, Clara yearns for something far deeper and more insatiable: her beautiful mother.
By 1952, Clara is an illustrator raising her own daughter, Wynnie. When a stranger named Charlie Jameson contacts her from London claiming to have discovered a handwritten dictionary of her mother’s lost language. Clara is skeptical. Compelled by the tragedy of her mother’s vanishing, she crosses the Atlantic with Wynnie only to arrive during one of London’s most deadly natural disasters—the Great Smog. With asthmatic Wynnie in peril, they escape the city with Charlie and find refuge in the Jameson’s family retreat nestled in the Lake District. It is there that Clara must find the courage to uncover the truth about her mother and the story she left behind.
Told in Patti Callahan Henry’s lyrical, enchanting prose, The Story She Left Behind is a captivating novel of mystery and family legacy that captures the profound longing for a mother and the evergreen allure of secrets.
At the Island’s Edge by C.I. Jerez
Author Interview with C.I. Jerez
AN IRAQ WAR VETERAN RETURNS TO PUERTO RICO TO RECONNECT WITH—AND CONFRONT―THE PAST IN A HEART-WRENCHING NOVEL ABOUT DUTY, MOTHERHOOD, AND THE HEALING POWER OF HOME.
As a combat medic, Lina LaSalle went to Iraq to save the lives of fellow soldiers. But when her convoy is attacked, she must set aside her identity as a healer and take a life herself.
Although she is honored as a hero when she returns to the US, Lina cannot find her footing. She is stricken with PTSD and unsure of how to support her young son, Teó, a brilliant, loving little boy with Tourette’s. As her attempts to self-medicate become harder to hide, Lina realizes she must do the toughest thing yet: ask for help.
She retreats to her parents’ house in Puerto Rico, where Teó thrives under her family’s care. Lina finds kinship, too―with a cousin whose dreams were also shattered by the war and with a charming and compassionate veteran from South Carolina who also sought refuge on the island and runs a neighborhood bar.
But amid the magic of the island are secrets and years of misunderstandings that could erode the very stability she’s fighting for. Hope lies on the horizon, but can she keep her gaze steady?
The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas
The Nebula Award-winning reinvention of the vampire novel, described as a "masterpiece" by Guillermo del Toro.
Edward Weyland is far from your average vampire: not only is he a respected anthropology professor but his condition is biological — rather than supernatural. He lives discrete lifetimes bounded by decades of hibernation and steals blood from labs rather than committing murder. Weyland is a monster who must form an uneasy empathy with his prey in order to survive, and The Vampire Tapestry is a story wholly unlike any you've heard before.
The Martian Contingency by Mary Robinette Kowal
Years after a meteorite strike obliterated Washington, D.C.―triggering an extinction-level global warming event―Earth’s survivors have started an international effort to establish homes on space stations and the Moon.
The next step – Mars.
Elma York, the Lady Astronaut, lands on the Red Planet, optimistic about preparing for the first true wave of inhabitants. The mission objective is more than just building the infrastructure of a habitat – they are trying to preserve the many cultures and nuances of life on Earth without importing the hate.
But from the moment she arrives, something is off.
Disturbing signs hint at a hidden disaster during the First Mars Expedition that never made it into the official transcript. As Elma and her crew try to investigate, they face a wall of silence and obfuscation. Their attempts to build a thriving Martian community grind to a halt.
What you don’t know CAN harm you. And if the truth doesn’t come to light, the ripple effects could leave humanity stranded on a dying Earth…
The Ten Worst People in New York by Matt Plass
Author Interview with Matt Plass
Perfect for fans of The Collective and We Begin at the End, this psychological thriller will make you question the nature of justice… and revenge.
The ten worst people in New York are dying, one after the other.
A late-night TV chat show feature, The Ten Worst People in New York, is the talk of the town. When a real estate mogul on the Ten Worst list jumps to his death, it could be a coincidence. But after a corrupt NYC councilor, also on the list, dies suspiciously, recently widowed Special FBI Agent Alex Bedford suspects foul play.
Young British filmmaker Jacob Felle arrives in New York to connect with his estranged sister, Elizabeth, and to reconcile a long-buried family trauma. But Alex and Jacob are on a collision course, and when Jacob becomes a suspect, the two find themselves in a race to unravel the mystery before even more people die. Both Alex and Jacob must confront their worst fears and put their lives on the line as they try to find the answer to two key questions:
Why are the killers targeting the ten worst list? And who will be next to die?
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The Wretched and Undone by J.E Weiner
This captivating saga blends real historical events with fiction as Weiner draws from her lived experiences with the supernatural in the Texas Hill Country. “The Wretched and Undone” offers a fresh take on Southern Gothic with a unique and genre-bending dash of Texas Noir and the traditional Western – genres traditionally dominated by male authors – lifting up voices silenced and lessons still not learned.
On the eve of the Civil War, Polish immigrants Marcin and Agnieszka Anderwald arrive in Bandera, Texas, seeking a fresh start in a new land of faith, fertile soil, and freedom. But their dreams quickly become nightmares when Marcin provokes a sinister specter hell-bent on revenge. A battle ensues for the hearts, minds, and souls of the Anderwalds and their extended family of immigrant outcasts, Arab camel wranglers, wounded warriors, and a songstress on the verge of madness. As the generations unfold, each faces its own harrowing ordeal against unrelenting evil. Will the Anderwalds break free or remain forever wretched and undone?
