Books Publishing This Week
Books Publishing This Week: November 5 - 11
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Imagine this:
As you wake up on a crisp early November weekend morning, the tantalizing scent of brewing coffee fills the air, signaling the perfect start to your day. With the soft golden rays of the sun gently streaming through your window, you feel an inexplicable sense of anticipation in the air. Today is the day you've been eagerly waiting for – the day you finally get to dive into that new book you've been hearing so much about.
You pad softly down the stairs, your favorite cozy blanket wrapped around your shoulders, providing warmth against the chill of the morning. The hardwood floor feels cool beneath your feet, and the faint echo of your steps fills the quiet house. As you reach the kitchen, you pour yourself a steaming cup of coffee, the rich aroma enveloping you in a comforting embrace. The mug warms your hands, sending tingles of warmth up your arms, setting the perfect mood for a leisurely morning.
With your coffee in hand, you make your way to your favorite reading spot – a plush armchair near the window overlooking your garden. The garden, now adorned with the vibrant hues of autumn, provides a picturesque backdrop, enhancing the serenity of the moment. As you settle into the chair, you reach for the new book resting on the small table nearby, its cover adorned with intriguing artwork that beckons you into its world.
The book feels smooth and weighty in your hands, and you run your fingers over the embossed title, savoring the anticipation of the adventure that awaits. You open the book, and the scent of freshly printed pages wafts up, filling your senses with the delightful aroma of ink and paper. The first page is like a portal, inviting you into a new realm, promising endless possibilities and captivating stories.
As you immerse yourself in the words, the world around you fades away, and you find yourself transported to a different time and place. The characters come to life, their emotions and experiences becoming palpable, evoking empathy and understanding. With each page turned, you lose track of time, completely engrossed in the narrative unfolding before you.
Outside, the world carries on – the distant sounds of chirping birds, the occasional rustle of leaves, and the gentle hum of life passing by. Yet, in this moment, none of it matters. You are lost in the pages of the book, savoring every sentence, every paragraph, and every chapter. The story becomes a part of you, enriching your thoughts and feelings, leaving an indelible mark on your soul.
As the morning turns into afternoon and the sun climbs higher in the sky, you remain captivated, unable to put the book down. The characters have become your companions, and their journey intertwines with your own. With each turning page, you find yourself transformed, your perspective widened, and your heart touched by the power of storytelling.
In this tranquil oasis of words and imagination, you discover the sheer joy of getting lost in a book on a quiet November morning – a moment of pure bliss that lingers in your memory, reminding you of the magic that can be found within the pages of a new adventure.
But what book are you reading? Scroll down to see which one it might be…
The Beautiful and the Wild by Peggy Townsend
The dangers of Alaska aren't limited to storms, starvation, and grizzly bears. Sometimes the most dangerous thing is the person you love.
It’s summer in Alaska and the light surrounding the shipping-container-turned-storage shed where Liv Russo is being held prisoner is fuzzy and gray. Around her is thick forest and jagged mountains. In front of her, across a clearing, is a low-slung cabin with a single window that spills a wash of yellow light onto bare ground. Illuminated in that light is the father of her child, a man she once loved. A man who is now her jailor. Liv vows to do anything to escape.
Carrying her own secrets and a fierce need to protect her young son, Liv must navigate a new world where extreme weather, starvation, and dangerous wildlife are not the only threats she faces. With winter's arrival imminent, she knows she must reckon with her past and the choices that brought her to the unforgiving Alaskan landscape if she is ever going to make it out alive.
A story of survival in the wilds of Alaska, The Beautiful and the Wild explores the question of whether we can ever truly know the person we love—or ourselves.
Fancy Meeting You Here by Julie Tieu
Julie Tieu, an exciting and diverse voice in contemporary romance, returns with a romantic comedy in the vein of 27 Dresses that celebrates weddings and female friendships.
Every single one of Elise Ngo’s close girlfriends—Rebecca, Jesse, and Beth—is getting married within the same few months, and every single one of them has asked her to be both bridesmaid and florist. Though it’s a lot for her to juggle, the work and exposure is a boon to her struggling flower shop.
The stakes are high at Rebecca’s high-profile wedding, where the guests are mostly political connections of Rebecca’s parents. Desperate for the event to go off without a hitch, Elise enlists the help of an outside caterer who turns out to be Ben Yu, Rebecca’s elusive younger brother.
Though Ben is prickly and aloof, he offers Elise much needed business designing flowers for his mom’s campaign fundraisers and Elise begins to see there’s more to Ben than his gruff and handsome exterior. But their romance takes off as the political campaign ramps up, complicating their relationship with unforeseen consequences. Now always-the-bridesmaid Elise must fight for what she wants to finally get her own happily ever after.
Calico by Lee Goldberg
There’s a saying in Barstow, California, a decaying city in the scorching Mojave desert . . .
The Interstate here only goes in one direction: Away.
But it’s the only place where ex-LAPD detective Beth McDade, after a staggering fall from grace, could get another badge . . . and a shot at redemption.
Over a century ago, and just a few miles further into the bleak landscape, a desperate stranger ended up in Calico, a struggling mining town, also hoping for a second chance.
His fate, all those years ago, and hers today are linked when Beth investigates an old skeleton dug up in a shallow, sandy grave . . . and also tries to identity a vagrant run-over by a distracted motorhome driver during a lightning storm.
Every disturbing clue she finds, every shocking discovery she makes, force Beth to confront her own troubled past…and a past that’s not her own…until it all smashes together in a revelation that could change the world.
Last Girl Breathing by Court Stevens
Eight years ago, tragedy struck. Eight years ago, Lucy Michaels’s life changed forever. But under the surface of her small town lies a secret that could pull her under.
No one expected it to rain that much. But the rain kept coming, the dam broke, and lives were lost. Including five-year-old Clay Michaels, who was swept away in the floodwaters. Clay’s sister, Lucy, has never forgiven herself for her little brother’s death. She was supposed to hold on to him, to keep him from harm during that terrible night. She was supposed to protect him.
Now eight years later, seventeen-year-old Lucy is focused on two things: making the US Olympic air rifle team and protecting everyone in her life from any type of trauma. However, with graduation and the Olympics on the horizon, her world is once again shaken when tragedy strikes Grand Junction, and once more, Lucy is right in the middle of it.
Two of her closest friends have been hunted down in the nature preserve adjoining the town—the same plot of land where her younger brother died—and the fingers of suspicion are pointing everywhere in the community. The prime suspect? Lucy’s ex-boyfriend. The more Lucy uncovers about the secrets of those around her, the more she realizes that she, too, is a target—and that now is the time to face her past if she wants to have a future.
Last Girl Breathing is a page-turning hunt for the truth as Court Stevens once again creates nonstop suspense with characters who will break your heart.
Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen by Sarah James
Perhaps the best place in 1943 Hollywood to see the stars is the Hollywood Canteen, a club for servicemen staffed exclusively by those in show business. Murder mystery playwright Annie Laurence, new in town after a devastating breakup, definitely hopes to rub elbows with the right stars. Maybe then she can get her movie made.
But Hollywood proves to be more than tinsel and glamour. When despised film critic Fiona Farris is found dead in the Canteen kitchen, Annie realizes any one of the Canteen's luminous volunteers could be guilty of the crime. To catch the killer, Annie falls in with Fiona's friends, a bitter and cynical group―each as uniquely unhappy in their life and career as Annie is in hers―that call themselves the Ambassador's Club.
Solving a murder in real life, it turns out, is a lot harder than writing one for the stage. And by involving herself in the secrets and lies of the Ambassador's Club, Annie just might have put a target on her own back.
The Woman With a Purple Heart by Diane Hanks
"Historical fiction at its finest!" —Amanda Skenandore, author of The Second Life of Mirielle West and The Nurse's Secret
Based on the real life of Lieutenant Annie Fox, Chief Nurse of Hickam Hospital, The Woman with a Purple Heart is an inspiring WWII novel of heroic leadership, courage, and friendship that also exposes a shocking and shameful side of history.
Annie Fox will stop at nothing to serve her country. But what happens when her country fails her?
In November 1941, Annie Fox, an Army nurse, is transferred to Hickam Field, an air force base in Honolulu. The others on her transport plane are thrilled to work in paradise, but Annie sees her new duty station as the Army’s way of holding the door open to her retirement. But serving her country is her calling and she will go wherever she is told.
On December 7, Annie’s on her way to work when the first Japanese Zero fighter plane flies low over Hickam’s Parade Ground. The death and destruction that follow leave her no time to process what’s happening. She rallies her nurses, and they work to save as many lives as they can. But soon their small hospital is overwhelmed. Annie drives into Honolulu to gather supplies, nurses, and several women who will donate blood. However, the nurses are Japanese Americans, and the blood donors are prostitutes.
Under Annie’s leadership and working together in unexpected ways, they make it through that horrific day, when one of the Japanese American nurses and Annie’s friend, Kay, is arrested as a suspected subversive. As Hickam tries to recover, Annie works to find her friend and return Kay to her family. But Annie’s love for her country is put to the test. How can she reconcile the American bravery and resilience she saw on December 7 with the prejudice and injustice she witnesses just a few months later?
Praise for The Woman with a Purple Heart:
"Vividly portrays a little-known story in a well-known time on a day that will live in infamy. A stirring read!" —Erika Robuck, national bestselling author of The Invisible Woman
"A wonderful tribute to a true American hero." —Sara Ackerman, USA Today bestselling author of Radar Girls and The Codebreaker's Secret
"Fast-paced and immersive. This is the kind of story that sticks with you long after turning the final page." —Elise Hooper, author of Angels of the Pacific
Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert
Evelyn is a witch with a perfect storm of impulses: terrible taste in bed partners, sticky fingers, and a lust for danger. After she steals from her vampire ex and falls through a portal to another realm, she’s fished out of the waters by a band of seafarers and their telekinetic captain. She’s immediately given a choice—join their group or die.
Bowen has no memory of his life before he became one of the Cŵn Annwn. He and his pirate crew are bound by vow to patrol through Threshold, the magical sea in between realms, keeping the portals to other worlds safe. When he rescues Evelyn, he doesn’t expect to be attracted to the unflappably brassy pickpocket. The longer he spends in her presence, the more he begins to question if his heart is the next thing she’ll steal.
But as tension heats up between Bowen and Evelyn, danger escalates as well. Because Evelyn has no intention of keeping her vows to the Cŵn Annwn, and if she betrays the crew, both she and Bowen will pay the ultimate price....
The Ways of Water: A Novel by Teresa H. Janssen
As Josie Belle Gore, daughter of a Louisiana train engineer and Texas seamstress, journeys with her itinerant family through the deserts of the boom-and-bust American West and revolutionary Mexico, she learns that in her life, two things are constant: water is precious, and her role in her family is to save it.
When unforeseeable events force the separation of her family, Josie begins an odyssey that takes her from New Mexico’s Jornada del Muerto to Bisbee, Tucson, Los Angeles, and finally post-WWI San Francisco—experiencing betrayal, pandemic, and survivor’s guilt, as well as the compassion and generosity of friends and strangers, along the way. Once she lands in San Francisco, like a river meeting the sea, Josie has nowhere else to run—and she realizes that she must make peace with the past and good on her promise to the family she loves. Inspired by the author’s family lore, The Ways of Water is a lyrical tale of loss, hope, and forgiveness set in the rugged beauty of the turn-of-the-century Southwest that, like Josie, is growing up in fits and starts.
Call You When I Land by Nikki Vargas
At twenty-six years old, life looked a certain way for Nikki Vargas. She’d settled in New York City ready to join the ranks of the Carrie Bradshaws of the world, had landed in a promising advertising career, and was newly engaged to her college sweetheart. But between corporate happy hours and wedding dress fittings, she couldn’t shake a deep underlying sense of imposter syndrome, a voice telling her that she was rocketing towards a future that didn’t look like her. And so, she bought a plane ticket: first to Cartagena. Then to Panama. Then to Iguazú.
What begins with one freelance travel writing assignment escalates into a whirlwind, globe-spanning journey that would transform Nikki’s life. Taking her from the street food stalls of Vietnam to the cascading waterfalls of Argentina, Nikki uncovers shocking truths about her family, comes face to face with a new love interest – or two – and ultimately turns a no-name blog into the internationally celebrated venture of Unearth Women, the first major female-focused travel publication.
Told in transporting detail and candid reflections, Call You When I Land takes the familiar story of a woman going abroad to find herself and turns it on its head, as the act of traveling becomes, for Nikki, an exhilarating career path – and ultimately a tool to champion women’s voices across the world.
The Midnight Garden by Elaine Roth
From debut author Elaine Roth comes a hopeful and heartfelt story about a young widow who uncovers the magic of everyday life―and the power of second chances.
After the sudden death of her husband, Hope finds herself reeling from the loss in more ways than one. First a young wife and now a grieving widow, she feels like fodder for never-ending town gossip.
But when Hope meets Will, a screenwriter back in town to run his family’s inn, she sees in him another resident oddball. And like her, Will has been navigating a loss of his own.
As Hope falls for Will, she seeks out another enigma in town: Maeve, an eccentric woman who makes healing teas and communes with the dead. Some of the townspeople think she’s a grifter, a fake. Will, too, is skeptical.
Hope yearns for closure and forgiveness, seeing in Maeve the chance to trust herself again―and in Will, a chance to rediscover the enchantment in the world around her…
And the courage to build a bigger life than she ever thought possible.
The Rom Con by Devon Daniels
After a particularly brutal breakup, Cassidy Sutton has had it with dating. So when her grandmother gives her a 1950’s dating guide entitled 125 Tips to Hook a Husband, she decides to turn the retro advice into an ironic “What not to do” article for Siren, the popular online women’s publication she writes for. And who better to secretly test the old-fashioned tips on than Jack Bradford, chauvinistic creator of rival men’s site Brawler? She’ll write an article that will entertain female readers everywhere and embarrass their sexist nemesis at the same time. Two birds, one stone.
But her perfect plan soon proves to be anything but. Those vintage courtship tips Cassidy was so quick to poke fun at? They actually seem to work, calling her most closely-held beliefs into question. Even worse? Jack isn’t falling for any of her tricks—and it’s not long before their ‘fake’ relationship starts to feel like the realest one of her life. As her cat-and-mouse game starts to spiral out of control, Cassidy has to decide if she’s playing to win, or if she’s willing to lose it all for love.
Corrupt by Penelope Douglas
Erika Fane’s boyfriend's older brother is handsome, strong, and completely terrifying. The star of his college's basketball team gone pro, he's more concerned with the dirt on his shoe than he is with her. But she saw him. She heard him. The things that he did, and the deeds that he hid...
For years, Erika bit her nails, unable to look away. Now, she’s in college, but she hasn’t stopped watching him. He’s bad and the things she’s seen aren’t content to stay in her head anymore.
Because he's finally noticed her.
But Michael Crist knows the hold he has on Rika, how much she fears him. She looks down when he enters the room and stills when he’s close. He knows she thinks only of him. When Michael’s brother leaves for the military, leaving Rika alone and unprotected, he knows the opportunity is too good to be true.
Three years ago she put Michael’s friends in prison, and now they’re free.
Every last one of her nightmares is about to come true.
Loveboat Forever by Abigail Hing Wen
Pearl was ready for a worldwide stage. Instead, she needs to stage a comeback.
Seventeen-year-old music prodigy Pearl Wong had the summer of her dreams planned—until a fall from grace leaves her in need of new plans… and a new image.
Where better to revamp her “brand” than at Chien Tan, the Taipei summer program for elite students that rocketed her older sister, Ever, on a path to romance and self-fulfillment years ago.
But as the alumni know, Chien Tan is actually Loveboat—the extravagant world where prodigies party till dawn—and there’s more awaiting Pearl there than she could have ever imagined, like a scandalous party in the dark, a romantic entanglement with a mysterious suitor... and a summer that will change her forever.
The Porcelain Maker by Sarah Freethy
An epic story of love, betrayal, and art that spans decades, through the horrors of World War II to 21st century America, inspired by an actual porcelain factory in Dachau.
Two lovers caught at the crossroads of history.
A daughter's search for the truth.
Germany, 1929. At a festive gathering of young bohemians in Weimar, two young artists, Max, a skilled Jewish architect, and Bettina, a celebrated avant-garde painter, are drawn to each other and begin a whirlwind romance. Their respective talents transport them to the dazzling lights of Berlin, but this bright beginning is quickly dimmed by the rising threat of Nazism. Max is arrested and sent to the concentration camp at Dachau where only his talent at making exquisite porcelain figures stands between him and seemingly certain death. Desperate to save her lover, Bettina risks everything to rescue him and escape Germany.
America, 1993. Clara, Bettina's daughter, embarks on a journey to trace her roots and determine the identity of her father, a secret her mother has kept from her for reasons she's never understood. Clara's quest to piece together the puzzle of her origins transports us back in time to the darkness of Nazi Germany, where life is lived on a razor's edge and deception and death lurk around every corner. Survival depends on strength, loyalty, and knowing true friend from hidden foe. And as Clara digs further, she begins to question why her mother was so determined to leave the truth of her harrowing past behind...
The Porcelain Maker is a powerful novel of enduring love and courage in the face of appalling brutality as a daughter seeks to unlock the mystery of her past.
The Manor House by Gilly Macmillan
Childhood sweethearts Nicole and Tom are a normal, loving couple—until a massive lottery win changes their lives overnight.
Soon they’ve moved into a custom-built state-of-the-art Glass Barn on the stunning grounds of Lancaut Manor in Gloucestershire. They have fancy cars, expensive hobbies, and an exclusive lifestyle they never could have imagined.
But this dream world quickly turns into a nightmare when Tom is found dead in the swimming pool. Was Tom’s death a tragic accident, or was it something worse?
Nicole is devastated. Tom was her rock. And their beautiful barn —with all its smart features that never seem to work for her—is beginning to feel very lonely. But she’s not entirely by herself out there in the country. There’s a nice young couple who live in the Manor itself along with their middle-aged housekeeper who has the Coach House. And an old friend of Tom’s from school has turned up to help her get through her grief.
But big money can bring big problems and big threats. And is Nicole's life in danger as well?
Molly's Miracle by W.B Murph
Molly has been abandoned by a cruel owner, left alone to fend for herself in the streets. She is hurt, she is hungry, and most of all, Molly is unloved. She tries to make friends but everywhere she goes, she is turned away, treated harshly, told to leave. When all hope is lost, Molly meets her miracle…a girl whose very special gift is just what Molly needs to see the value in herself. Molly’s Miracle is a story of love, acceptance, kindness, and the light that shines in everyone – no matter their circumstance.
One Night in Hartswood
Oxford 1360
When his sister’s betrothed vanishes the night before her politically arranged marriage, Raff Barden must track and return the elusive groom to restore his family’s honour.
William de Foucart — known to his friends as Penn — had no choice but to abandon his fiancé, and with it his own earldom, when he fled the night before his enforced marriage. But ill-equipped to survive on the run he must trust the kindness of a stranger, Raff, to help him escape.
Unaware their fates are already entwined, their unexpected bond deepens into a far more precious relationship, one that will test all that they hold dear. And when secrets are finally revealed, both men must decide what they will risk for the one they love…
Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal (A Caribbean Kitchen Mystery) by Raquel V. Reyes
In the third installment of the Caribbean Kitchen mysteries, for fans of Mia P. Manansala , Miriam Quiñones, cooking show sensation and amateur sleuth, has sand between her toes and a murderer nipping at her heels.
A surprise trip to Miriam's parents in Punta Cana, which should be filled with arroz con pollo and breezy days under the tamarind tree, quickly becomes a hunt for a possible property saboteur. But before Miriam can begin to uncover the person damaging the vacation rentals her parents manage, she’s called away to Puerto Rico to film a Three Kings Day special. She's welcomed to the blue ballast-stone streets of Old San Juan by crime scene tape, and things only get worse from there.
An anonymous personal gift on Miriam's doorstep on New Year's Eve screams stalker, and the 400-year-old guesthouse creaks and moans like there is something trapped in its walls. Luckily, her BFF, Alma, and their mutual friend Jorge are in town to keep her distracted between filming cultural segments for the network. But private chef tables and spa days come to an abrupt halt when Jorge's telenovela heartthrob novio goes missing. And there is something worrisome about Alma's too-perfect boyfriend--specifically, his duffle bag full of cash.
Will demon masks, African drumbeats, and dark alleys lead to Miriam's demise? Or will the mysterious events come together like the delicious layers of a pastelón?
The Proof of the Pudding by Rhys Bowen
Lady Georgiana Rannoch is looking forward to her first ever turn as hostess for her very own house party when the festivities lead to murder…
Georgie, back home at her estate in Eynsleigh, impatiently awaits the birth of her baby. But she has plenty to occupy her: her new chef, Pierre, has arrived from Paris, and Sir Hubert, who owns Eynsleigh, is back from his latest expedition. It's time for Georgie to throw her first house party to celebrate his return and show off her new chef. The dinner party is a smashing success. Sir Mortimer Mordred—famous author of creepy Gothic horror novels—is one of the guests. He recently purchased a nearby Elizabethan manor nearby because it has a famous poison garden. After the dinner, Sir Mortimer approaches Georgie and asks to borrow her new chef for his upcoming party, and Georgie and Darcy, her dashing husband, are invited!
The tour of the poison garden is fascinating, as is Sir Mortimer’s laboratory. Shockingly, just after the banquet several of the guests become sick. And one dies, apparently poisoned by berries from the garden. But how could this be when they all ate the same meal and the same delectable dessert? Georgie has to find the culprit to save her new chef and her own reputation—all before her bundle of joy arrives!
Something About Her by Clementine Taylor
Aisling and Maya’s connection is unexpected. Maya has recently returned to the University of Edinburgh for her second year, confident in her place there and in her first proper relationship with her childhood best friend, Ethan. Finally, she is one of them, those happy couples, self-satisfied in the knowledge that they are one half of something solid.
Aisling is a first-year student from Ireland, ready to leave her controlling family behind. But despite the distance, she still feels claustrophobic, still feels watched. Reeling from her break-up with her ex-girlfriend, she struggles to make friends and finds herself isolated. That is, until Aisling joins the Poetry Society. That’s where she meets Maya, and everything changes.
Set over the course of a single academic year, Something About Her is a taut and propulsive story of love and coming-of-age that will immediately recall novels of sexual awakening like Call Me By Your Name and Real Life.
Good Taste by Caroline Scott
You can tell a lot about a person from what they like to eat…
England in 1932 is in the grip of the Great Depression. Stella Douglas, author of a much-loved but not very successful biography, is a bit depressed herself. When she’s summoned to see her editor in London, she expects her writing career is over before it’s even started.
But much to her surprise, she is being commissioned to write a history of English food. It's to be quintessentially English and intended to lift the sprits of the nation. There's just one problem: a lot of English food is actually quite terrible (and anything good is usually imported from elsewhere).
So Stella travels across England in hopes of discovering a hidden culinary gem. What she discovers is oatcakes and gravy and lots and lots of potatoes. But when her car breaks down midjourney and the dashing and charismatic antiques dealer Freddie springs to her rescue, she is led in a very different direction . . .
Full of wit, life, and—against all odds—delicious food, Good Taste is a story of discovery and one woman’s desire to make her own way as a modern woman.
Childhood Narcissism: Strategies to Raise Unselfish, Unentitled, and Empathetic Children by Mary Ann Little, PhD
Notice the signs of narcissism in your child and act to curb them before it’s too late
Raising empathetic and unselfish young people in today’s “all about me” world might seem impossible, but parents can take meaningful action to protect children from these harmful influences. Written by a psychologist with decades of clinical experience, Childhood Narcissism explains how selfish, entitled behavior can take root in a child and shows parents how to stop it before it’s too late. Mary Ann Little identifies the early warning signs that can result in a full-blown narcissistic disorder in adulthood and explores what nurtures a child’s healthy, realistic self-concept and provides a positive model of love and relationships.
Based on the latest research and theory, Childhood Narcissism also identifies four parent types that promote narcissistic development. By recognizing these traits in themselves, parents can work on their own shortcomings to build a stronger family and raise caring, empathetic children.
