Books Publishing This Week

Books Publishing This Week: October 15 - 21

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As the brisk winds of October sweep through the rustling leaves outside, you find solace in the cozy embrace of your favorite armchair. The day has been long and arduous, filled with the demands of work that seem to stretch endlessly. The amber hues of the setting sun filter through the curtains, casting a warm, inviting glow across the room. It's the perfect evening to curl up with a book and leave the cares of the world behind.

Your fingers trail along the spines of the books on the shelf, seeking just the right companion for this autumn evening. You finally settle on an old leather-bound classic, its pages yellowed with age, but its words as timeless as ever. As you nestle into the chair, a soft blanket drapes over your legs, and you relish the anticipation of escaping into a different world.

With a gentle sigh, you crack open the book, and the scent of aged paper and ink wafts into the air. The first sentence transports you to a far-off place, and your surroundings melt away. You're no longer in your living room but in a realm of imagination, where the characters come to life, and the world around you dissolves into the words on the page.

Outside, the October evening is in full swing. The cool breeze rustles the leaves, creating a soothing symphony of nature's lullaby. The occasional distant honk of a migrating goose adds to the ambiance, reminding you that the world is still turning outside, but it's of no concern to you in this moment of literary immersion.

The flickering candle on the nearby table casts dancing shadows across the room, creating an enchanting atmosphere that mirrors the flickering emotions of the characters within the book. Time seems to stand still as you turn page after page, completely engrossed in the narrative. The hours slip away, but you're oblivious to their passing.

The cup of steaming chamomile tea on the side table offers a comforting companion to the story, its warmth seeping into your hands as you cradle it between paragraphs. The tea's soothing aroma blends with the earthy scent of the old book, creating a sensory experience that heightens your reading pleasure.

As darkness settles in outside, you reach the climax of the story. Your heart races, your breath quickens, and you can hardly tear your eyes away from the page. The tension in the room mirrors the tension in the tale, and you feel as though you're living each moment alongside the characters, sharing in their triumphs and tribulations.

Finally, as the clock strikes midnight, you turn the last page. The story has come to a close, leaving you with a sense of fulfillment and longing for more. You close the book gently, savoring the feeling of completion and contentment that only a well-loved story can provide.

With a sigh of satisfaction, you set the book aside and stretch, feeling rejuvenated and at peace. The October evening has done its magic, wrapping you in its embrace and allowing you to escape the demands of the world, if only for a little while. As you rise from the armchair and make your way to bed, you can't help but smile, knowing that you will return to that cozy corner again soon, eager to explore another world through the pages of a book on the next October evening after a long day of work.

But what are you reading? Scroll down to find new options!

I'm Speaking: Every Woman's Guide to Finding Your Voice and Using It Fearlessly by Jessica Doyle-Mekkes

I’m Speaking is every woman’s guide to creating a clear, confident voice that is authentically hers and then using it fearlessly.

Full of effective, efficient, brain-science-based ways to make positive changes to your voice, in your head and coming out of your mouth, I’m Speaking also teaches the reader how to fearlessly use that voice, personally and professionally: ask for what you want and get what you need, speak up against toxicity, communicate everything better, have the difficult conversations, and cultivate resilience.

Imagine a world without the voices of Maya Angelou, Malala Yousafzai, Gloria Steinem, your mother, your best girlfriend, your midwife, your hair stylist. Do you know a woman whose voice isn’t essential to her career, her family, the world? Women’s voices are essential, and they are powerful. Every woman can harness that power. This is the only book written that gives women the exact tools necessary to solve the common vocal problems they face, and literally reprogram their brains and bodies to be more confident when speaking.

Think of how much more centered, how much more confident you would be knowing that you can deliver your message in a voice that makes people want to listen to you. Knowing that, regardless of situation, you can speak clearly and confidently, stay on track (or get back on), relax your body, and even enjoy the moment you’ve worked so hard for. Your voice is the secret weapon to success you’ve always had, but never knew how to use, til now.

Brighde Redefined The Amulet Series Book 2 by Leslie Sommers and Janice Sommers

Bridget's Checklist - Updated:

Pass final exams CHECK
Graduate OCHS CHECK
Find the Amulet
Save the world - again


Bridget, freshly graduated from Ocean City High School, is now on her way to start her magic training-in Switzerland. Without Cay or Logan, who are busy looking for the Amulet, Bridget is forced to make new friends at Danann Academy. It's just as awkward and drama-filled as any average first day of school, only now, her peers have powers. Bridget finds herself being attacked at every turn, from having her stuff set on fire to fighting off Beira's descendants. To make matters worse, she discovers that Trip is now dating her newly sworn enemy.

Starting a new romance is the perfect escape from her magical reality. As she explores new feelings, Bridget faces a journey with someone she didn't see coming: herself. With her half of the Amulet slowly dying, Bridget is running out of time to reunite the pieces and save the people she cares about. Will she be able to rise to the challenge and stop Trip and Beira's descendants from plunging the world into eternal winter?Is it too late to reconsider this whole thing?

This book is perfect for fans of mythology, Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief Series, any books by Sarah J. Maas, or The Summer I Turned Pretty.

One Christmas Morning by Rachel Greenlaw

For fans of The Midnight Library and One Day in December who love a dash of Dickensian magic, One Christmas Morning is a heartwarming debut novel about a woman’s self-discovery, the strength found in friendship, and the promise of second chances.

Eva has spent the past three years burying herself in her work, trying to forget the heartbreaking events of the Christmas that ripped her world apart. This year, the last thing she wants is to attend her friend’s weekend-long Christmas party. But at her husband James’ insistence, here they are.

When Eva—overwhelmed by bittersweet memories—tries to sneak back to London in the middle of the night, she is visited by the ghost of her beloved grandmother. Gran tells Eva that if she doesn’t face her fears head-on and stop shutting out her loved ones, she risks losing them all forever.

When Eva wakes on Christmas morning, she finds herself living not her own life, but that of her hardworking assistant, Diana, whose overflowing inbox isn’t the only secret she’s been keeping. The next day, she wakes on Christmas morning again, this time in the body of her best friend’s little sister. As Eva lives the same day again and again through the perspectives of her friends, she is offered a glimpse into the lives of those she has been pushing away. With each Christmas Day comes a new lesson—and an insight into the secrets and struggles her loved ones have been hiding. To move forward, Eva must let go of the past. But is it too late to fix her future?

Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukerji

For fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Charles Todd, Murder by Degrees is a historical mystery set in 19th century Philadelphia, following a pioneering woman doctor as she investigates the disappearance of a young patient who is presumed dead.

Philadelphia, 1875: It is the start of term at Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. Dr. Lydia Weston, professor and anatomist, is immersed in teaching her students in the lecture hall and hospital. When the body of a patient, Anna Ward, is dredged out of the Schuylkill River, the young chambermaid’s death is deemed a suicide. But Lydia is suspicious and she is soon brought into the police investigation.

Aided by a diary filled with cryptic passages of poetry, Lydia discovers more about the young woman she thought she knew. Through her skill at the autopsy table and her clinical acumen, Lydia draws nearer the truth. Soon a terrible secret, long hidden, will be revealed. But Lydia must act quickly, before she becomes the next target of those who wished to silence Anna.

Sweeten the Deal by Katie Shepard

MBA student Caroline Sedlacek knows her personal balance sheet is a little lopsided. On the asset side, at twenty-two she’s got an NCAA trophy, a great education...and the two million dollars she unexpectedly inherited. Liabilities? She's never had friends, a boyfriend, or any life experiences away from the tennis court or the classroom. She'd love to invest herself in everything else, but "everything else" never came easily for her.

In the ten years since he left art school as a vaunted prodigy, Adrian Landry has won shows and major prizes—and done his best to shed his reputation as a pretty man who makes pretty paintings. Though currently broke and sleeping off a bad break-up on his college roommate’s couch, he knows this is the chance to get his life back on track at thirty-three—he just needs the money to find a new gallery.

When Adrian’s roommate lists him on a thinly veiled escort site, Caroline is not the patron he expected. She’s way too young, way too naive, and loudly uninterested in having sex with him. Instead, they’re both going to get exactly what they want: a little culture on her side, and a lot of cash on his. Aside from their sugar baby arrangement, they’ve got nothing in common. But as they reel from the symphony to the Haymarket, they learn that what they want and what they need might be two very different things.

Sleeping With Friends by Emily Schultz

From the author of The Blondes comes a twisted, darkly humorous story about a woman’s attempted murder, her lost memories, and the old friends who try to put her back together―or finish her off for good.

When Mia Sinclair-Kroner wakes from a coma, all she can remember are the movies she’s known and loved. Her college friends quickly assemble for a weekend party, in an effort to help her remember. But with old friends come old wounds, and it soon becomes clear that Mia’s accident might not have been an accident at all.

Was it Agnes, driven by her unspoken resentments? Or Zoey, who covets everything Mia has? Have the years apart only fanned the extinguished flame between Ethan and Mia, compelling him to violence? Or did Victor, who moved away, return with an agenda? Or was it Martin, the wealthy husband, who put a country estate between Mia and her past?

As old tensions and new suspicions rise, these friends must wade through their film knowledge, shared history, and everything that’s kept them apart in order to figure out which one of them is trying to end things once and for all.

The Amish Matchmakers by Beth Wiseman

This Amish matchmaker is an expert at finding love for others, but will she find it for herself?

Widowed sisters Esther and Lizzie are the town innkeepers—and the town matchmakers. But when a new tenant moves into a guest cottage at their Peony Inn, the sisters are shocked to discover that maybe this time, one of them might finally find a match of her own. Retired dentist Dr. Benjamin Stoltzfus has signed a six-month lease at the cottage—and gentle Esther and spirited Lizzie are in a surprising competition for the kind doctor’s affections. Dr. Stoltzfus doesn’t appear to be Amish, but his last name and his mysterious background have the sisters guessing—and open to the possibility of finding love again.

Things really heat up when Benjamin’s granddaughter, Mindy, comes to visit. Escaping her big-city life in Texas, Mindy has moved to Amish country to be closer to her grandfather and to embrace the simpler life she has longed for. But she’s unprepared for what happens when an attractive young Amish man, who spends time at the inn helping out the widows, runs his lawnmower right into her little red sports car. Sure, Gabriel is cute and funny and nice—but can a romance between an Englisch girl and an Amish boy end well?

As Mindy and Gabriel find themselves thrown together time after time, they forge a friendship and start making matchmaking plans of their own. Which sister would be better for Mindy’s grandfather—Esther or Lizzie? And as the two young people put their energy into playing Cupid, it looks like love and the life they’ve both dreamed of might also be finding them.

It Takes Monsters by Mandy McHugh

Victoria Tate has had enough of her controlling, incompetent husband Warren. But planning the perfect murder is more difficult than she expected. When the social event of the year, an over-the-top costume ball, is rescheduled for the date she has selected for her crime, Victoria has to scramble to make sure she will still be able to follow through. But even hours of listening to crime podcasts cannot prepare her for the next wrench that is thrown into her plans: Warren turns up dead by someone else’s hand.

Now Victoria finds herself at the center of a murder investigation in which she is actually innocent. The real killer taunts her, making it clear that they knew what she was planning all along. With the police closing in and her neighbors turning on her, Victoria stands to lose everything she had hoped to gain from Warren’s death, unless she can figure out who wanted her husband dead―and why. It turns out that Warren was better at keeping secrets than she ever could have guessed. But which secret is the one that led to his death? And even if she can find the answers, does Victoria have what it takes to confront a real murderer?

In this twisty thriller from the author of Chloe Cates Is Missing, danger comes from both the monsters among us and the monsters that lurk inside us.

Christmas at Corgi Cove by Annie England Noblin

If you’re looking for the perfect feel-good Christmas novel, then look no further than Annie England Noblin’s newest novel. This book will absolutely delight any reader looking for a sweet and sassy read—and not to mention enchant the fans of Annie’s signature canine characters. Perfect for fans of Jill Shalvis, Sarah Morgan, Lori Wilde, and Susan Mallery.

Rosie Reynolds had come to lakeside Corgi Cove as a lost, lonely girl abandoned by her own mother, but there she discovered a true place to call home. She loves her Corgis, Bonnie and Clyde; loves the lakeside life; and loves her aunt and uncle most of all. But when she discovers their struggling inn is about to be bought out by some big city chain, she hatches a plan: to win a contest naming theirs the best Christmas-themed inn in the USA. It's a long shot, but she knows if the whole town pulls together that they can do it.

But she didn’t count on Everett St Claire, who emerged from his gleaming, black BMW, straightening his tie and asking himself how did a big-city guy like him find himself in a speck on the map like Corgi Cove? And how fast could he get back to the city? After all, it couldn’t be that difficult to convince one elderly couple to take the money to retire.

He didn’t count on getting sucked into life on the lake. Sure, the people might be…eccentric, and Rosie might seem like a pain in the backside, but there is something alluring about the place. And with the holidays nearing, and the deadline looming, Rosie and Everett are about to discover the magic of a Christmas at Corgi Cove.

At What Cost, Silence? by Karen Lynne Klink

A young man grapples with his integrity and masculinity as he and his unconventional sister struggle for respect in a future laden with the dark secrets and unbridled passions of two plantation dynasties.

Adrien Villere suspects he is not like other boys. Neighbor Jacob’s betrayal results in secret abuse, setting off a chain reaction which neither Adrien’s sister, Bernadette, nor his close friend Isaac can stop.

Two contrasting plantation families live in pre-Civil War Texas, where strict rules of belief and behavior exist. Years after Jacob’s betrayal, Adrien falls in love with Jacob’s sister, whose father has affianced her to a wealthy older man.

Will Adrien emancipate Isaac? Will Bernadette find the unconventional life she seeks?
Or will their entire world collapse as states secede and war creeps closer?

The Style Thesaurus by Hannah Kane

At once a lexicon of fashion and a style guide, The Style Thesaurus is the essential wardrobe companion for all fashion lovers.


Organized into groups reflecting the origins of the style - Utility, Music & Dance, Leisure etc - and fully illustrated, each entry includes examples, near synonymous styles, styling details, pairings and colour story. Entries include everything from Neo-Victoriana, Dandy and Rockabilly to Normcore, Modest or Afrofuturist. The Style Thesaurus examines a wide range of looks, investigates their roots in history and culture, and shows how they can be curated or combined.

Apart, Together: A Book about Transformation by Linda Booth Sweeney, Illustrated by Ariel Rutland

This bold, surprising picture book demonstrates the magic of everyday transformations (and introduces cause-and-effect) for the youngest readers.

What happens when 1+1 equals . . . something other than 2?

Apart, blue is blue and yellow is yellow . . . but together they make green. Bees and flowers together make honey. Soap and water become foam!

With playful art and a simple, lyrical structure, this picture book is a delightful read-aloud and the perfect way to talk about all the wonderful ways that, so often, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

All That Consumes Us by Erica Waters

Ninth House meets The Dead and the Dark in this gothic dark academia novel that delves into the human capacity for great love, great art, and great evil.

Magni animi numquam moriuntur. Great minds never die.

The students in Corbin College’s elite academic society, Magni Viri, have it all—free tuition, inspirational professors, and dream jobs once they graduate. When first-gen college student Tara is offered a chance to enroll, she doesn’t hesitate.?

Except once she’s settled into the gorgeous Victorian dormitory, something strange starts to happen. She’s finally writing, but her stories are dark and twisted. Her dreams feel as if they could bury her alive. An unseen presence seems to stalk her through the halls.

And a chilling secret awaits Tara at the heart of Magni Viri—one that just might turn her nightmares into reality; one that might destroy her before she has a chance to escape.

All That Consumes Us will pull readers into a hypnotizing, dark reverie that blurs the lines of reality and shows that the addictive nature of ambition—and its inevitable price—always claims its due.

The Witches at the End of the World by Chelsea Iversen

For fans of historical feminist fantasies like The Once and Future Witches comes THE WITCHES AT THE END OF THE WORLD, a lyrical debut set in 17th century Norway about two sister-witches—Minna, filled with dark magic; and Kaija, gentle and healing—who are forced into hiding when their mother is burned at the stake.

Lilith by Nikki Marmery

A triumphantly feminist retelling of ancient creation myths in the tradition of Madeline Miller and Claire North.

Lyrically rendered, this epic U.S. debut tells the story of the woman known as Adam's first wife and her fall from Paradise and quest for revenge.

Before Eve, there was Lilith.

Lilith and Adam are equal and happy in the Garden of Eden. Until Adam decides Lilith should submit to his will and lie beneath him. She refuses—and is banished forever from Paradise.

Demonized and sidelined, Lilith watches in fury as God creates Eve, the woman who accepts her submission. But Lilith has a secret: she has already tasted the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Endowed with Wisdom, she knows why Asherah—God’s wife and equal, the Queen of Heaven—is missing. Lilith has a plan: she will rescue Eve, find Asherah, restore balance to the world, and regain her rightful place in Paradise.

Lilith’s quest for justice drives her throughout history, from the ziggurats of Ancient Sumer, to the court of Israel’s Queen Jezebel, and to the side of a radical preacher in Roman Judea. Noah’s wife, Norea, Jezebel and Mary Magdalene all play their part in Lilith’s enlightenment. In the modern age, as she observes the catastrophic consequences of a world built on inequality, Lilith finally understands what must be done to correct the wrong done to women—and all humankind—at the beginning of time.

Inspired by ancient myths and suppressed scriptures, Lilith is a thought-provoking and ambitious novel with an evocative literary voice and a triumphantly engaging heroine.

It's a Fabulous Life by Kelly Farmer

Perfect for fans of Alison Cochrun and Ashley Herring Blake, this sapphic retelling of It’s a Wonderful Life will make the yuletide gay.

After years of putting aside her dreams of travel and adventure, Bailey George is ready to leave Lanford Falls and her responsibilities behind on a long-awaited vacation to New York City. But when the volunteer who took over her leadership position for the town's Winter Wonderfest has a medical emergency, Bailey finds herself stuck in Lanford Falls. She gets roped into reassuming her old role, not wanting to let the town or her friends and family down.

Staying home seems slightly less terrible when Bailey runs into her high school crush, Maria Hatcher. A kiss they shared years ago in the town's mistletoe grove was a life-defining moment for them both. Maria quickly offers to pitch in and help with Winter Wonderfest. Her sunny disposition and holiday cheer perk up Bailey's grinchy feelings about everything.

However, one disaster after another snowball on the day of the festival. Bailey’s frustration boils over, and she ends up on the town's old wooden bridge. There, she meets fabulous drag queen Clara Angel. Bailey declares that she wishes she hadn’t been born in this Christmas-obsessed, suffocating small town. With a little of the magic Clara possesses, she shows Bailey how wrong she is about Lanford Falls and her place in it. And that with a little hope and some true holiday spirit, there is a way to attain all her dreams.

Let's Get Quizzical by Kelly Ohlert

For fans of Lyssa Kay Adams and Jen DeLuca comes this fresh, funny take on second chances that proves love is anything but trivial.

For family-focused Charlotte, the chance to compete on her favorite trivia game show is a dream come true—the prize money could ensure the best care for her aging grandmother. But when she arrives on set, who does she see among the other contestants? Eli, her high school first love, at least until their shattering breakup. He has his own reasons for competing, not least of which is the stress of multiple jobs, college courses, and a father who has had multiple run-ins with the law.

When the casting department pairs them on a team, both Charlotte and Eli are determined to grit their teeth and make the best of it. That’s easier said than done, of course, and before long a national audience is breathlessly watching them bicker and air years-old grudges. Far from being angry, the program’s producers are ecstatic—the ratings are positively soaring.

As they compete together over several episodes of the show, Charlotte and Eli begin to suspect that old wounds might actually heal. Touring L.A. in their free time has given them the opportunity to get to know each other again—and reawakened feelings that are hard to resist. Until the show’s producers throw a wrench in their hopeful plans that will compromise everything Charlotte and Eli have worked so hard for.

Kelly Ohlert’s warm, witty second novel proves that the best thing to know is always your own heart.

Half a Cup of Sand and Sky by Nadine Bjursten

Resonating with tenderness, HALF A CUP OF SKY is a moving portrait of one woman’s search for love and belonging cast against a nuanced backdrop of political turmoil.

It is 1977, and the anti-shah protests at Tehran University are intensifying, but Amineh is not like her fellow students who want a say in the future of their country. Her thoughts are on the beautiful literature of another era and her past of rose harvests and Sufi poetry evenings under the desert sky. A chance encounter with Farzad, a disarmament activist, will thrust her into a life she didn’t ask for and didn’t want. Nobody wanted the tyranny that is quickly turning worse than the tyranny it replaced. But maybe Amineh has been looking at her life all wrong—Maybe the thing she is seeking is not in the past at all.

What You Do To Me by Rochelle B. Weinstein

From the bestselling author of This Is Not How It Ends comes a moving novel of two unfinished love stories and the music and lyrics that bring them together.

Journalist Cecilia James is a sucker for a love song. So when she stumbles across a clue to the identity of the muse for one of rock’s greatest, she devotes herself to uncovering the truth, even as her own relationship is falling apart.

While writing an article for Rolling Stone, Cecilia works to reveal the mystery that has intrigued fans and discovers a classic tale of two soulmates separated by fate and circumstance. Rock star Eddie Vee once sang with his soul, dedicating love songs to Sara Friedman, his inspiration and first love. Now, Eddie takes refuge in anonymity, closed off to the past. Sara, too, has distanced herself from their love, moving thousands of miles away to live the life she once railed against. As Eddie and Sara tentatively open up to Cecilia about broken dreams, she struggles to give them a happy ending. In the process, she learns that broken hearts can be healed―even her own.

What You Do To Me is the story of a love song and of the triumph of the heart over the greatest of odds. Even for those who have written off love forever.

No Spare People by Erin Hoover

In NO SPARE PEOPLE, Erin Hoover documents the joys and perils of a tiny mother-daughter family navigating life on the margins. From poems about finding autonomy as a queer, unpartnered (by choice) parent in the American South to those chronicling a generation’s economic instability, Hoover rejects so-called “acceptable losses” stemming from inequalities of gender, race, and class. The book asks, what happens to the woman no longer willing to live a lie? How does language invent not only identity, but possibility?

Erin Hoover is also the author of BARNBURNER, which won the Florida Book Award and Elixir Press’s Antivenom Award. Her poems have appeared in or are forthcoming in The Best American Poetry and Best New Poets, as well as in Bennington Review, Cincinnati Review, Couplet, the Florida Review, On the Seawall, Poetry Northwest, Shenandoah, and Split This Rock. She is an assistant professor of English at Tennessee Tech University.