Books Publishing This Week
Books Publishing This Week: October 22 - 28
It’s my birthday week!
If you want to wish me a happy birthday and 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.
Imagine this: The sun hangs low in the sky, casting a warm, golden glow through your bedroom window. It’s your birthday, and the anticipation of the day has been building inside you like a tightly wound spring. The air is filled with a subtle buzz of excitement, and you can't help but feel a mix of nervousness and joy. You've been looking forward to this moment for weeks – the moment when you finally get to unwrap the perfect present from your friend.
Your hands tremble slightly as you pick up the beautifully wrapped box adorned with ribbons and bows. The paper crinkles under your touch as you carefully peel it away, revealing the smooth surface of a hardcover book underneath. The cover is an artwork in itself, a vivid tapestry of colors and intricate designs that immediately capture your attention. You run your fingers over the embossed title, feeling the texture beneath your fingertips. The weight of the book in your hands is substantial, promising hours of immersive reading.
With bated breath, you crack open the cover, and the scent of fresh ink and paper wafts up, intoxicating your senses. The first page greets you like an old friend, its words inviting you into a world unknown. Your eyes scan the opening lines, and you're instantly transported into a different realm. The words come alive, painting vivid pictures in your mind. The characters leap off the pages, their voices echoing in your ears, their emotions becoming yours.
As you delve deeper into the story, you find yourself completely engrossed, oblivious to the world around you. The room fades into the background, and you are no longer sitting on your bed but standing beside the protagonist, sharing in their adventures and tribulations. Each page turned is a step further into a journey of discovery, knowledge, and profound emotions. The book becomes a cherished companion, a portal to another universe that you never want to leave.
Time seems to lose its meaning as you flip through the pages, completely captivated by the narrative unfolding before you. You laugh with the characters in moments of joy, and your heart aches with them in times of sorrow. The prose is so beautifully crafted that it feels like poetry, each sentence carefully chosen to evoke powerful imagery and deep emotions.
With every page turned, you realize the incredible thoughtfulness of your friend’s choice. They have not just given you a book; they have given you an escape, a treasure trove of knowledge, and a profound connection to the world of literature. It’s not just a birthday present; it’s a gesture of friendship, a reminder of the bonds that tie you together, and a celebration of your shared love for stories and imagination.
In that quiet moment, lost in the pages of the book, you feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude and warmth. You are reminded of the magic that exists in simple gestures, the kind that brings people closer and creates lasting memories. As you continue reading, you know that this book will always hold a special place in your heart, not just because of the captivating story within its pages but because of the love and friendship with which it was given.
But what book were you gifted? Scroll down to find some options…
Guy's Girl by Emma Noyes
The boy who couldn’t love and the girl who wouldn’t.
Ginny Murphy is a total guy’s girl. She’s always found friendships with boys easier to form and keep drama-free – as long as they don’t fall for her, and she doesn’t fall for them. She and her best guy friends have always stuck to that. But then she meets Adrian Silvas, the only one who’s ever made her crave more, and Ginny begins to question her own rules.
Piece by piece, Ginny and Adrian begin to fall into something intoxicating, something dangerous. Ginny threatens to destroy Adrian’s belief he’s held ever since witnessing his own mother’s heartbreak: that love isn’t worth the risk. For Ginny, the stakes could be even higher. Letting Adrian get close could mean exposing a secret she’s long protected: her disordered eating.
Ginny isn’t looking to be saved by someone else. But maybe she and Adrian can help each other – if they don’t destroy each other first.
Heartfelt and evocative, GUY’S GIRL is a powerful story about true love, self-love, and growing up.
Always Orchid by Carol Van Den Hende
He almost let her go. Her past could tear them apart. But a love like theirs is worth fighting for…
Phoenix Walker will never be the same. Nine months after a heroic act leaves him forever changed, he refuses to hurt Orchid Paige ever again.
Orchid is ready to forgive. Convincing her guy she still loves him, no matter his injuries, she works to rebuild their intimacy. But their move to her family’s ancestral country unveils China’s superstitions against people with disabilities. Worse, their friend’s life has been upended by those prejudices.
Will Phoenix and Orchid find a way to beat the odds and turn discrimination into acceptance?
Always Orchid is the riveting third book in the Goodbye, Orchid series and can be read as a standalone. If you like relatable characters, surprising twists, and stories that pull on your emotions, then you’ll love award-winning author Carol Van Den Hende’s journey to unconditional acceptance.
The Stark Beauty of Last Things by Céline Keating
The Stark Beauty of Last Things is set in Montauk, the far reaches of the famed Hamptons, an area under looming threat from a warming climate and overdevelopment. Now outsider Clancy, a thirty-six-year-old claims adjuster scarred by his orphan childhood, has inherited an unexpected legacy: the power to decide the fate of Montauk’s last parcel of undeveloped land.
Everyone in town has a stake in the outcome, among them Julienne, an environmentalist and painter fighting to save the landscape that inspires her art; Theresa, a bartender whose trailer park home is jeopardized by coastal erosion; and Molly and Billy, who are struggling to hold onto their property against pressure to sell. When a forest fire breaks out, Clancy comes under suspicion for arson, complicating his efforts to navigate competing agendas for the best uses of the land and to find the healing and home he has always longed for.
Told from multiple points of view, The Stark Beauty of Last Things explores our connection to nature—and what we stand to lose when that connection is severed.
Pay As You Go by Eskor David Johnson
New to town and delusionally confident, Slide imagined himself living in a glossy building with doormen and sweeping views of the skyline. Instead he's landed in a creaking, stuffy apartment with two roommates: a loping giant who hardly leaves his room, and a weight-obsessed neurotic who keeps no less than forty-seven lamps throughout the house, blazing at all hours.
Unwilling to accept this fate, Slide — a barber with an opaque past — embarks on a quest for the perfect apartment, pinballing through the sprawling, madcap city of Polis and its endless procession of neighborhoods. As he bounces from foldout couch to disaster-relief tent, falling in with some tough types, Slide begins to realize that he’s going to have to scratch and claw just to claim a place for himself in this world — let alone a place with in-unit laundry.
An exuberant, fantastical odyssey, Pay as You Go wonders if what we’re searching for is ever really out there. Its pages — surreal, biting, and teeming with life — announce the startling talents of Eskor David Johnson, who knows that all any of us really want is a place to rest our head.
What Wild Women Do by Karma Brown
A 1970s feminist facing the costs of loss and autonomy strives to create a better future for women at her Adirondacks camp; meanwhile, an aspiring screenwriter of today, makes a shocking discovery that sets her on a course of rewriting her own story.
Rowan is stuck. Her dreams of becoming a screenwriter are stalled, along with her bank account, as she and her fiancé, Seth, try to make sense of what’s next for them after leaving LA. But when the couple takes a trip to a cabin in the Adirondacks, hoping the change will provide inspiration for Seth’s novel-in-progress, Rowan finds herself drawn into a story greater than her own—that of socialite-turned-feminist-crusader Eddie Calloway, who vanished one day in 1975 and was never found or heard from again. In a handbook left behind in the abandoned ruins of a once-great camp, Rowan learns more about the enigmatic Eddie, and clues as to what happened to her.
As Rowan delves deeper into the mystery, we meet Eddie herself, a fierce and loving woman whose greatest wish was to host women at her camp and unlock their “wildness.” However, Eddie’s wild ways aren’t welcomed by everyone, and rifts between camp owners threaten her mission. When Rowan gets closer to the truth of Eddie’s disappearance, she realizes that it may hold the key to unlocking her own ambition and future.
The Search For Us by Susan Azim Boyer
“A sharp-witted and illuminating, impressive sophomore novel.” - Isaac Blum, author of the award-nominated The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen
Two half-siblings who have never met embark on a search together for the Iranian immigrant and U.S. Army veteran father they never knew.
Samira Murphy will do anything to keep her fractured family from falling apart, including caring for her widowed grandmother and getting her older brother into recovery for alcohol addiction. With attendance at her dream college on the line, she takes a long shot DNA test to find the support she so desperately needs from a father she hasn’t seen since she was a baby.
Henry Owen is torn between his well-meaning but unreliable bio-mom and his overly strict aunt and uncle, who stepped in to raise him but don’t seem to see him for who he is. Looking to forge a stronger connection to his own identity, he takes a DNA test to find the one person who might love him for exactly who he is―the biological father he never knew.
Instead of a DNA match with their father, Samira and Henry are matched with each other. They begin to search for their father together and slowly unravel the difficult truth of their shared past, forming a connection that only siblings can have and recovering precious parts of their past that have been lost. Brimming with emotional resonance, Susan Azim Boyer's The Search for Us beautifully renders what it means to find your place in the world through the deep and abiding power of family.
The Last Applicant by Rebecca Hanover
From award-winning author Rebecca Hanover comes an emotional thrill ride about two women whose lives take a dangerous turn in the high-stakes arena of private school admissions.
Audrey Singer revels in her position as the admissions director of an exclusive Manhattan private school. Parents cater to her whims and desires, desperate to give their children an edge. Audrey’s power is undeniable; privilege comes with the territory. Her perfect marriage completes the glossy picture of her life.
Until the arrival of the neurotic, vulnerable Sarah Price. Determined to get her son into the city’s most coveted kindergarten class, Sarah inserts herself into Audrey’s world, testing boundaries at every turn. For Sarah, everything Audrey has is a potential target: her job, her friends…even her marriage.
But what seems to be another ploy by an overachieving mother takes a dark and ominous turn. Sarah seems to be hiding secrets of her own. Are her designs on Audrey’s life purely about getting what she wants for her son?
Or is there something more sinister at play in this cutthroat game?
Murder in Drury Lane by Vanessa Riley
Portraying the true diversity of the Regency-era and the hidden intrigue of England’s abolitionist movement, this vibrant, inclusive new historical mystery from acclaimed author Vanessa Riley features an engaging heroine with an independent streak, a notorious past, and a decided talent for sleuthing…
Pressed into a union of convenience, Lady Abigail Worthing knew better than to expect love. Her marriage to an absent lord does at least provide some comforts, including a box at the Drury Lane theater, owned by the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Abigail has always found respite at the theater, away from the ton’s judgmental stares and the risks of her own secret work to help the cause of abolition—and her fears that someone from her past wants her permanently silenced. But on one particular June evening everything collides, and the performance takes an unwelcome turn . . .
Onstage, a woman emits a scream of genuine terror. A man has been found dead in the prop room, stabbed through the heart. Abigail’s neighbor, Stapleton Henderson, is also in attendance, and the two rush backstage. The magistrate, keen to avoid bringing more attention to the case and making Lady Worthing more of a target, asks Abigail not to investigate. But she cannot resist, especially when the usually curmudgeonly Henderson offers his assistance.
Abigail soon discovers a tangled drama that rivals anything brought to the stage, involving gambling debts, a beautiful actress with a parade of suitors, and the very future of the Drury Lane theatre. For Abigail the case is complicated still further, for one suspect is a leading advocate for the cause dearest to her heart—the abolition of slavery within the British empire. Uncovering the truth always comes at a price. But this time, it may be far higher than she wishes to pay.
Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake
Everyone around Iris Kelly is in love. Her best friends are all coupled up, her siblings have partners that are perfect for them, and her parents are still blissfully married. And she’s happy for all of them, truly. Iris doesn’t want any of that—dating, love, romance. She’ll stick to her commitment-free hookups, thanks very much, except no one in her life will just let her be. Everyone wants to see her settled down, but she holds firmly to her no dating rule. There’s only one problem—Iris is a romance author facing an imminent deadline for her second book, and she’s completely out of ideas.
Perfectly happy to ignore her problems as per usual, Iris goes to a bar in Portland and meets a sexy stranger, Stefania, and a night of dancing and making out turns into the worst one-night stand Iris has had in her life. To get her mind off everything, Iris tries out for the lead role in a local play, a queer retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, but comes face-to-face with Stefania, whose real name turns out to be Stevie. Desperate to save face in front of her friends, Stevie asks Iris to play along as her girlfriend. Iris is shocked, but when she realizes the arrangement might provide her with some much-needed romantic content for her book, she agrees. As the two women play the part of a happy couple, lines start to blur, and they’re left wondering who will make the real first move....
Emergency Contact by Lauren Layne and Anthony Ledonne
From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne—and her real life husband and high school sweetheart, Anthony LeDonne—comes a new holiday rom-com that is sure to warm even the coldest heart.
When Katherine, an ambitious NYC attorney, is sent to the emergency room and diagnosed with a concussion following a taxi accident, she soon realizes she neglected to update her emergency contact when her ex-husband, Tom, appears at her bedside. When the doctor orders she be supervised, Katherine reluctantly agrees to travel to Chicago with Tom for the holidays—until a series of unfortunate events turns what should have been a quick plane ride into an overnight misadventure that stirs up old feelings, even as Tom prepares to propose to his girlfriend on Christmas Eve. From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne—and her real-life husband and high school sweetheart, Anthony LeDonne—this delightful holiday rom-com is the perfect meet-cute between The Hating Game and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
Sisters Under the Rising Sun by Heather Morris
Sisters Under the Rising Sun is another beautiful, historical novel of resilience and survival from Heather Morris, the multimillion-copy bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka’s Journey, and Three Sisters. Based on the real-life experiences of Australian nurse Sister Nesta James and English musician Norah Chambers, Morris once again brings to life women who history has overlooked. She writes, “I have not told this story so the women internees of the Japanese prisoner-of-war camps in Indonesia will be remembered. I have told this story so they will be known.” Sisters Under the Rising Sun is a story of women in war: a novel of sisterhood, bravery and the power of friendship and music in the darkest of circumstances.
The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett
This immersive holiday caper from the “modern Agatha Christie” (The Sunday Times, London) follows the hilarious Fairway Players theater group as they put on a Christmas play—and solve a murder that threatens their production.
Murder Uncorked by Maddie Day
As the manager of Vino y Vida Wine Bar in Colinas, Cecelia “Cece” Barton’s first Alexander Valley harvest is a whirlwind of activity. Her twin sister, Allie Halstead, who owns a nearby Victorian bed & breakfast, is accustomed to the hustle and bustle of peak tourist season. But Cece barely has a moment to enjoy her new home in between worrying about her estranged college-age daughter, juggling her responsibilities at the bar, and navigating the sticky politics of the local wine association. Just when it seems things can’t grow any more intense, Colinas is rocked by a murder within the wine community . . . and Cece is identified as a possible suspect!
With her reputation and her livelihood on the line—and the Sonoma County deputy sheriff breathing down her neck—Cece has no choice but to open up her own murder investigation. Tensions are already high in the valley, as a massive wildfire creeps toward Colinas, threatening homes, vineyards, and the vital tourist trade. And now, with a murderer on the loose, and Cece’s sleuthing exposing the valley’s bitterest old rivalries and secret new alliances, Colinas feels ready to pop! But with Allie’s help, Cece is determined to catch the killer and clear her name before everything she’s worked so hard for goes up in flames . . .
Filthy Rich Vampire by Geneva Lee
Newly edited, and for the first time in print, discover the smash-hit series.
Julian Rousseaux has a problem. He’s single, and for the world’s wealthiest vampires, the social season is about to begin. Julian would rather stake himself than participate in the marriage market. But as the eldest eligible Rousseaux, he’s expected to find a wife before the season ends―whether he likes it or not.
When cellist Thea literally stumbles into his life at a gala, he knows she's the last person he could ever fall in love with. She's too innocent, too kind, and way too human. But now that she knows about his world, she's also a walking target. She needs protection. He needs a fake girlfriend to discourage overzealous vampire matchmaking.
So, Julian makes Thea an irresistible offer: pretend to be his lover and he’ll change her life. For one year, they’ll attend the season’s social events together in exchange for his protection and a way out of her mother’s crippling medical debt.
She can’t say no. But the vampire world is impossibly decadent and darker than Thea ever imagined, and Julian’s filthy rich vampire family wants her out of the way. But with each moment they share, new dangers emerge: a desire as forbidden as their stolen touches, an awakening of a long-dead heart, and secrets that could tear them both apart.
Sensual, dangerous, provocative ― step into a daring new world of dark magic, primal attraction, and breathtaking romance.
We Used to Dance: Loving Judy, My Disabled Twin
What happens when a woman is told she must place her severely disabled twin in a nursing home? What happens to that twin when, after spending her entire life with her parents, she is sent to live with strangers in a place she doesn’t know? Frank and moving, this memoir tells Debbie and Judy’s story.
Awakenings: Stories of Body & Consciousness edited by Diane Gottlieb
Awakenings: Stories of Body & Consciousness—What happens when 49 authors sit down to craft their experiences of living in a body? Magic! Curated by Diane Gottlieb, with a foreword by Gayle Brandeis, Awakenings: Stories of Bodies & Consciousness is truly a magical anthology of short essays, filled with trauma and triumph; pleasures and pain; challenges, resilience, and growth. A host of seasoned writers, including Alison McGhee, Jesse Lee Kercheval, and Jacqueline Doyle, alongside emerging artists, such as Camille U. Adams, Terry Opalek, and Sarita Sidhu, share their hearts, their limbs, their breasts—even their teeth!—on the page in this singularly stunning array of diverse voices, journeys, and literary forms. No matter where you turn in this tribute to the miracles, mishaps, and mysteries of the body, you will be moved. Awakenings will sometimes make you laugh, often make you cry, and will always spur a deep appreciation for the flesh and bones that carry us all through life.
