Books Publishing This Week
Books Publishing This Week: October 1 -7
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Cozying up with a new book on a cool October morning is one of the most delightful experiences one can have. As you curl up on the couch, wrapped in a warm blanket, you feel the crisp autumn air seeping in through the window. The leaves outside have turned a fiery orange and red, and there's a sense of calmness and tranquility in the air. You take a deep breath and let the fresh air fill your lungs, feeling invigorated and alive.
As you open the pages of your new book, you're transported to a different world. The characters come to life, and you become fully immersed in their stories. The author's words paint vivid pictures in your mind, and you feel as if you're right there with the characters, experiencing their joys, sorrows, and triumphs.
The scent of freshly brewed coffee wafts in from the kitchen, adding to the cozy ambiance. You take a sip of the hot beverage, savoring the rich flavor and warmth, and then return to your book. The pages turn effortlessly, and you lose track of time as you get lost in the story.
As the morning turns into afternoon, you realize that you've been reading for hours, but you're not ready to put the book down yet. You're hooked, and you want to know what happens next. You keep reading, ignoring the world around you, until you reach the final page.
As you close the book, you feel a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. You've spent the morning in the company of great characters, and you've experienced their world in a way that only a good book can provide. You're grateful for the escape that reading provides, and for the chance to cozy up with a great book on a cool October morning.
But what book were you reading? Scroll down to find out…
Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead
For fans of Verity and A Flicker in the Dark, Midnight is the Darkest Hour is a twisted tale of murder, obsessive love, and the beastly urges that lie dormant within us all...even the God-fearing folk of Bottom Springs, Louisiana. In her small hometown, librarian Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider, even as her beloved father rains fire-and-brimstone warnings from the pulpit at Holy Fire Baptist. Unfortunately for Ruth, the only things the townspeople fear more than the God and the Devil are the myths that haunt the area, like the story of the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to steal into sinners' bedrooms and kill them on moonless nights. When a skull is found deep in the swamp next to mysterious carved symbols, Bottom Springs is thrown into uproar—and Ruth realizes only she and Everett, an old friend with a dark past, have the power to comb the town's secret underbelly in search of true evil.
Blood Divided by Katie Keridan
Kyra Valorian and Sebastian Sayre have finally remembered their pasts as the former Felserpent Queen and King, and now it’s time for them to change the future—by reuniting the realms and bringing peace to Astrals and Daevals. But tensions between Aeles and Nocens have never been higher, and those of silver and gold blood are more divided than ever.
In addition to improving her recovrancy abilities and completing internship, Kyra is determined to uncover her father’s role in the evil Astral experimentation program, no matter the danger. As Sebastian learns to be in a relationship, he finds himself facing the traumas of two very different pasts, forcing him to make tough decisions about his chosen profession and who he wants to be. Meanwhile, Tallus, arch-enemy to the Felserpent monarchy, has also returned—and it will take help from Cyphers, as well as friends both old and new, to find and stop him.
As Kyra and Sebastian struggle to navigate the differences between their past and current relationship, one thing’s clear: part of fulfilling their destiny means accepting their fate. The choices they make will reach all the way into Death in this thrilling found family sequel to Reign Returned.
One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily Critchley
“An uplifting, bittersweet story with a page-turning mystery at its heart. Emily Critchley writes about aging and memory with huge warmth and compassion. A beautifully atmospheric and endearing book.'' --Freya Sampson, author of The Last Chance Library
For readers of Elizabeth is Missing with notes of The Maid comes a dual-timeline novel that balances heartfelt tenderness with a suspenseful mystery as elderly Edie Green uncovers the clues behind her best friend’s disappearance before the truth is lost in her memory forever
I kept your secret Lucy. I've kept it for more than sixty years...
It is 1951, and at number six Sycamore Street fifteen-year-old Edie Green is lonely. Living with her eccentric mother and her mother’s new boyfriend, she is desperate for something to shake her from her dull, isolated life.
So when the popular, pretty Lucy Theddle befriends Edie, she thinks all her troubles are over. Even though Lucy has a secret, one Edie is not certain she should keep.
Then Lucy goes missing.
Now in 2018, Edie is eighty-four and still living in the same small town, when one afternoon she glimpses Lucy Theddle, still looking the same as she did at fifteen. Her family write it off as one of her many mix ups, there's a lot Edie gets confused about these days. But Edie knows she’s the key to finding Lucy.
Time is running out and Edie must piece together the clues before Lucy is forgotten forever.
The Woman at the Wheel by Penny Haw
Inspiring historical fiction based on the real life of Bertha Benz, whose husband built the first prototype automobile, which eventually evolved into the Mercedes-Benz marque.
“Unfortunately, only a girl again.”
From a young age, Cäcilie Bertha Ringer is fascinated by her father’s work as a master builder in Pforzheim, Germany. But those five words, which he wrote next to her name in the family Bible, haunt Bertha.
Years later, Bertha meets Carl Benz and falls in love—with him and his extraordinary dream of building a horseless carriage. Bertha has such faith in him that she invests her dowry in his plans, a dicey move since they alone believe in the machine. When Carl’s partners threaten to withdraw their support, he’s ready to cut ties. Bertha knows the decision would ruin everything. Ignoring the cynics, she takes matters into her own hands, secretly planning a scheme that will either hasten the family’s passage to absolute derision or prove their genius. What Bertha doesn’t know is that Carl is on the cusp of making a deal with their nemesis. She’s not only risking her marriage and their life’s work, but is also up against the patriarchy, Carl’s own self-doubt, and the clock.
Like so many other women, Bertha lived largely in her husband’s shadow, but her contributions are now celebrated in this inspiring story of perseverance, resilience, and love.
The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann by Virginia Pye
Set in Gilded Age Boston, The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann tells the story of a successful woman author of romance and adventure novels who becomes a champion of women’s rights as she takes on the literary establishment and finds her true voice, both on and off the page. Everything changes for Victoria Swann when she goes against her publisher’s expectations and abandons her frivolous writing style in favor of telling her own story. This seemingly personal decision causes her to lose her standing with her publisher, her income, and her marriage, as she joins the legions of hard-working young women who have been her most faithful readers. Her new young Harvard educated editor becomes her surprising ally as she fights on behalf of these same women, while he dares himself to become a more liberated, modern gentleman. The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann shows how writing and reading, like all acts of defiance, can liberate us from narrow, constrained lives—and how revision in life and revision on the page are intimately entwined.
Colorful Palate: A Flavorful Journey Through a Mixed American Experience
While the world outside can be cruel and unforgiving, it's even more complicated for a mixed-race kid, unsure of his place in the world. Turning to his mother and grandmother for guidance, Tawney’s assistance in the kitchen provides intimate moments and candor, listening to tales behind each culinary delicacy and the women who perfected them. Each lovingly prepared meal offers another opportunity to learn more about his extraordinary heritage. The ability to create delicious fare with his family wasn’t just a duty for the grand ladies who raised him; they were a survival tactic for navigating new and unknown cultures, not always willing to accept them at first or even a hundredth glance. As Tawney examines both himself and his loved ones through the formative stages of his life, from boyhood through adulthood, he begins to realize, through all of the chaos and confusion, just how "American" he actually was.
In this contemporary coming-of-age tale, Tawney tackles personal hot-button issues about race and identity through poignant, heartfelt moments centered around delicious meals. From succulent tandoori chicken to delectable arroz con habichuelas to scrumptious spaghetti and meatballs, Tawney shares his family recipes along with the intimate stories he overheard in the kitchen as he played sous chef to hundreds of recipes that not only span continents but come with their own personal histories attached.
COLORFUL PALATE is a tale of the mixed experience, one of the millions that rarely gets told, undefined by a single group or birthright, and unapologetic about its lack of classification.
"Raj Tawney deftly explores his culturally-rich upbringing, unearthing pivotal answers to one of the most fascinating questions in the world: who am I? Through a captivating mix of intimate stories of family, tradition and flavor, he paints a poignant portrait of identity and what it really means to be an American. Coupled with mouth-watering recipes that reflect his multifaceted heritage and his respect for food, Colorful Palate is a touching example of the power we can all yield when we embrace our roots as we partake in—to use Tawney's words—the 'Great American Experiment'.
– John Leguizamo
"A lovingly wrought and deliciously intimate memoir that captures the stupendous mélange that is Tawney’s American life (and ours). A feast for the mind, a banquet for the heart, as generous as hospitality and as unforgettable as your favorite meal."
– Junot Díaz, author of This is How You Lose Her
Being an immigrant myself, I have always appreciated the cultural diversity and acceptance of it in the United States. Raj Tawney is born American and, in this delightful book, he relates to his identity, his life, and growing up in three cultures. The recipes that follow in each chapter are a delicious recall of memories and flavors of each culture. He connects to his roots with tenderness, appreciation, and understanding of his multiethnic family that ends in the kitchen cooking those favorite recipes. Overcoming, with understanding, some of the difficulties he encountered as a multiethnic child growing up, he knows that there are many young Americans that are of different cultural blends as he is and that is evermore what America is, and what makes America the great country it is. A great read, the tasteful recipes are the bonus.
– Lidia Bastianich
Maybe Once, Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg
You know that old saying, “if we are still single when we’re 35, we should get married?” Well, Maggie Vine made that vow with two different people, at two very different stages of her life.
And they both showed up.
Maggie Vine’s life is going extra-medium. At 35 she’s pursuing her dreams of being a singer and being a mother―though neither is successfully panning out. So when Garrett Scholl―stifled hedge fund manager by day but electrifying aspiring rock singer by night―comes to her 35th birthday party with the intention to kiss Maggie senseless, it feels like one piece might click into place. Except he’s engaged to someone else, and Maggie knows she won’t fit into the cookie-cutter life he’s building for himself.
Enter Asher Reyes. Her first boyfriend from summer camp, turned into heartthrob actor, he’s lived a successful yet private life ever since he got famous. When a career-changing opportunity is presented to Maggie after her reconnection with Asher, it feels like everything―music, love, family―will fall into place. But her past won’t let her move on without a fight.
The House on Sun Street by Mojgan Ghazirad
A young girl grows up in a family uprooted by the terror of an Islamic Revolution, where her culture, her gender, and her education are in peril.
For the curious and imaginative Moji, there is no better place to grow up than the lush garden of her grandparents in Tehran. However, as she sits with her sister underneath the grapevines, listening to their grandfather recount the enchanting stories of One Thousand and One Nights, revolution is brewing in her homeland. Soon, the last monarch of Iran will leave the country, and her home and her family will never be the same.
From Moji’s house on Sun Street, readers experience the 1979 Iranian revolution through the eyes of a young girl and her family members during a time of concussive political and social change. Moji must endure the harrowing first days of the violent revolution, a fraught passage to the US where there is only hostility from her classmates during the Iranian hostage crisis, her father’s detainment by the Islamic Revolutionary Army, and finally, the massive change in the status of women in post-revolution Iran.
Along with these seismic shifts, for Moji, there are also the universal perils of love, sexuality, and adolescence. However, since Moji’s school is centered on political indoctrination, even a young girl’s innocent crush can mean catastrophe. Is Moji able to pull through? Will her family come to her rescue? And just like Scheherazade, will the power of stories help her prevail?
The Last Exchange by Charles Martin
“Here’s the catch—even if I make it out of here alive, I need a reason to breathe again.”
When MacThomas Pockets finished his last tour as part of the Scottish Special Forces, he was hired to consult for a film director to finesse some scenes that weren’t working. In a twist he never saw coming, he ended up moving to L.A. to work as the bodyguard for movie star Maybe Joe Sue.
It didn’t take long for Pockets to realize there were two Joe Sues: The Joe Sue the public saw with her perfect life and her Hollywood husband. And the private Joe Sue: the one with the traumatic youth that no amount of pills could cover up, who desperately wanted a child of her own.
Even after their paths diverged, he continued to track Joe Sue’s life. Only a few would notice when the bottom fell out. But he did. And that’s when he stepped in.
The latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin travels from Hollywood to rural Montana as one man answers the question: How far would you go—really—to save someone you love?
The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu
Shantiport was supposed to be a gateway to the stars. But the city is sinking, and its colonist rulers aren’t helping anyone but themselves.
Lina, a daughter of failed revolutionaries, has no desire to escape Shantiport. She loves her city and would do anything to save its people. This is, in fact, the plan for her life, made before she was even born.
Her brother, Bador, is a small monkey bot with a big attitude and bigger ambitions. He wants a chance to leave this dead-end planet and explore the universe on his own terms. But that would mean abandoning the family he loves—even if they do take him for granted.
When Shantiport's resident tech billionaire coerces Lina into retrieving a powerful artifact rumored to be able to reshape reality, forces from before their time begin coalescing around the siblings. And when you throw in a piece of sentient, off-world tech with the ability to grant three wishes into the mix… None of the city's powers will know what hit them.
The List by Yomi Adegoke
In this sensational, page-turning debut novel, a high-profile female journalist’s world is upended when her fiancé’s name turns up in a viral social media post—a nuanced, daring, and timely exploration of the real-world impact of online life, from award-winning journalist and internationally bestselling author Yomi Adegoke.
A Winter in New York by Josie Silver
A young chef stumbles on a secret family recipe that might lead her to the love—and life—she’s been looking for in this stunning novel from the New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December.
When Iris decides to move to New York to restart her life, she realizes she underestimated how big the Big Apple really is—all the nostalgic movies set in New York she’d watched with her mom while eating their special secret-recipe gelato didn’t quite do it justice.
But Bobby, Iris’s best friend, isn’t about to let her hide away. He drags her to a famous autumn street fair in Little Italy, and as they walk through the food stalls, a little family-run gelateria catches her eye—could it be the same shop that’s in an old photo of her mother’s?
Curious, Iris returns the next day and meets the handsome Gio, who tells her that the shop is in danger of closing. His uncle, sole keeper of their family’s gelato recipe, is recovering from a stroke and can no longer remember it, so they can’t make more. When Iris samples the last remaining batch, she realizes that their gelato and her gelato are one and the same. But how can she tell them she knows their secret recipe when she’s not sure why Gio’s uncle gave it to her mother in the first place?
Iris offers her services as a chef to help them re-create the flavor and finds herself falling for Gio and his family. But when Gio’s uncle finally wakes up, all of the secrets Iris has been keeping threaten to ruin the new life—and new love—she’s been building all winter long.
The Intern by Michele Campbell
A young Harvard law student falls under the spell of a charismatic judge in this timely and thrilling novel about class, ambition, family and murder.
Madison Rivera lands the internship of a lifetime working for Judge Kathryn Conroy. But Madison has a secret that could destroy her career. Her troubled younger brother Danny has been arrested, and Conroy is the judge on his case.
When Danny goes missing after accusing the judge of corruption, Madison’s quest for answers brings her deep into the judge’s glamorous world. Is Kathryn Conroy a mentor, a victim, or a criminal? Is she trying to help Madison or use her as a pawn? And why is somebody trying to kill her?
As the two women circle each other in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game, will they save each other, or will betrayal leave one of them dead?
Wildfire by Hannah Grace
The latest in the TikTok sensation and deliciously “swoonworthy” (Elena Armas, New York Times bestselling author) Maple Hills series follows two summer camp counselors who reconnect after a sizzling one-night stand.
Out of the Darkness by David A. Jacinto
Inspired by a true story, Out of the Darkness chronicles the journey of a nineteenth century child coal miner as he rises from the ashes of poverty and tragedy to reach for his dreams.
In his powerful debut novel Out of the Darkness, David Jacinto explores his family’s history and unpacks issues of class warfare and child labor against the backdrop of England’s Industrial Revolution. Readers meet Tommy Wright, a seven-year-old who follows in his father and grandfather’s footsteps, working in coal mines in Yorkshire, England. The work is brutal and life-threatening, but Tommy swallows his fears to help support his family, working alongside his father, twelve hours a day, six days a week. After disaster strikes and many of his friends die in a mine explosion, a devastated Tommy and his self-educated mother decide that Tommy and his siblings would have a different fate, one that would free them from the iron-fisted wealthy aristocrats who own the coal mines and villages families like Tommy’s call home.
As Tommy matures, he determines his own fate, defying the odds to excel in an engineering career and waging a noble fight against child labor. Bolstered by family, faith, and the love of strong, determined women, Tommy confronts his oppressors, eventually immigrating to America to pursue the life of his dreams.
The Light She Feels Inside by Gwendolyn Wallace
The Light She Feels Inside is the story of Maya, a perceptive Black girl who doesn’t know
what to do with her love and anger at the world. She is guided by a kind librarian at her local public library, who shows Maya how revolutionary Black women throughout history have used feelings of love and anger to bring change to their communities. These activists inspire Maya to turn to her family and friends, and together, they plan ways to help their neighborhood!
The Blackwoods by Brandy Colbert
The Blackwoods. Everyone knows their name.
Blossom Blackwood burst onto the silver screen in 1962, and in the decades that followed, she would become one of the most celebrated actors of our time—and the matriarch of the most famous Black family in Hollywood. To her great-granddaughters, Hollis and Ardith, she has always just been Bebe. And when she passes away, it changes everything.
Hollis Blackwood was never interested in fame. Still, she’s surrounded by it, whether at home with her family or at the prestigious Dupree Academy among Los Angeles’ elite. When private photos of Hollis are leaked in the wake of Blossom’s death, she is thrust into the spotlight she’s long avoided—and finds that trust may be a luxury even she can’t afford.
Ardith Blackwood has always lived in the public eye. A television star since childhood, she was perhaps closer with Blossom than anyone—especially after Ardith’s mother died in a drug overdose. Ever since, she has worked to be everything her family, her church, and the public want her to be. But as a family secret comes to light and the pressures from all sides begin to mount, she wonders what is left beneath the face she shows the world.
Weaving together the narratives of Hollis, Ardith, and Blossom, award-winning author Brandy Colbert tells an unforgettable story set in an America where everything is personal, and nothing is private.
How This Book Got Red by Margaret Chiu Greanias with illustrations by Melissa Iwai
In this clever picture book tale about the power of representation, a red panda decides to write her own story when she realizes that none of the other panda books include pandas that look like her.
When Red discovers a new book about pandas, she can't wait to read it! Except it's about only one kind of panda, and red pandas are completely left out. Red never gets to read stories about pandas like herself! So she decides to take matters into her own paws and write her own book.
But when Red looks around, it seems like the only kind of pandas the world cares about are the black and white kind. Will anyone want to read about red pandas? It's up to Red to finish her story and share it with the world!
Josh & Sen Save the Multiverse: The Path of One by David Behling
Josh Tanner, was trying to fix his life and get back to his four-year-old daughter Sophie. Then he was pulled into the multidimensional world of the Immortals simply by being the last person on the elevator after lunch . . . and carrying a briefcase!
Senyak Marztanak needs to reacquire his immortality and his place on his family’s ruling seat. Both having been stripped away when he failed his grandfather’s trial.
Now, after being bonded through karma, Josh and Sen are forced to rise together through the levels of mortal cultivation to reach transcendence.
In a new and fully developed sci/fi-fantasy universe. Chock full of multiethnic mythology, ageless powers, saviors and treacherous villains. Josh & Sen Save the Multiverse tells the tale of two unlikely heroes pushed together by the fates, karma, and the most powerful immortals in existence. Through hilarious and life-threatening adventures, they form bonds of friendship and brotherhood. All while having to rely on each other’s unique qualities to survive eight iterations away from their universe of origin.
Follow Josh and Sen as they grow, fight, live, laugh, love and cry. They don’t know it yet . . . But for each to get home they will not only have to save their own lives . . . but the entire Multiverse!
The Little Venice Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin
A bundle of mysterious letters. A trip to Venice. A journey she’ll never forget.
When Luna loses her beloved mother, she’s bereft: her mother was her only family, and without her Luna feels rootless. Then the chance discovery of a collection of letters in her mother’s belongings sends her on an unexpected journey.
Following a clue in the letters, Luna packs her bags and heads to Venice, to a gorgeous but faded bookshop overlooking the canals, hoping to uncover the truth about her mother’s mysterious past.
Will Luna find the answers she’s looking for – and finally find the place she belongs?
The Rule of Thirds by Jeannée Sacken
Despite her PTSD, seasoned photojournalist Annie Hawkins heads back to Afghanistan. The Taliban's takeover of the country is the story of the decade, and Annie is determined to cover it. She's also desperate to keep an eye on her twenty-two-year-old daughter Mel, whose first job out of college has taken her to Kabul.
The very air of the city is heavy with fear as the Taliban draw closer. The danger becomes even more personal for Annie when she discovers her daughter at the airport after a bombing. Then, her activist friends Bahar and Fatima face arrest and probable death sentences for their work in support of women and the coalition forces. When she tries to help them escape, Annie realizes that she's in the crosshairs, too. With her longtime love Admiral Finn Cerelli in Washington, D.C., Annie has to rely on her crew's Afghan fixer and her own wits to save as many lives as possible.
Buried in Orange by John H. Cunningham
Buck Reilly's plans for a romantic getaway are turned upside down when he's asked to come to Italy by Sir Harry Greenbaum, his former main investor, and old family friend, to do a flyover at the beginning of the Formula 1 race in Monza. Turns out the real reason Harry asked him to come was to help him combat organized crime members intent on forcing their way into his pending investment into one of the Formula 1's most historic teams. When Harry gets kidnapped, Buck scours northern Italy searching for him, battling with his captors, and taking matters into his own hands to try and rescue his friend.
If everything isn't settled by the end of the race in Monza, Harry's deal will be dead, and so will he and Buck. When they try to outmaneuver the head of the crime syndicate, thousands of lives are thrust into immediate jeopardy. Buck's race against time puts him in the most extreme danger he has ever faced, and if he's successful, will help him solve the greatest mystery of his life.
