Sorry for sending this month’s Books To Read This Month late, but I have a perfect excuse! I was on vacation in the UK! Not only did I have a wonderful time travelling around a country that I love visiting very much, but I also got a chance to catch up on reading! I may be bringing these books late, but I am giving you the same opportunity I had: providing you with great reads in preparation for your vacation!
It is only May (Where has this year gone?), but there is always time to pack your beach or travelling bag with books and recs to entertain you throughout the summer. What are you in the mood for? A speculative thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat? A compelling historical fiction that takes you back to 1950s Italy? Or you want to read a book that dives into the object that booklovers hold dear. May is the month that has everything bookworms are looking for exciting and intriguing reads.
Featured Book of the Month
The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
Expected Publication Date: May 21
Solve the murder to save what’s left of the world.
Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched.
On the island: it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they’re told by the scientists.
Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn’t solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island–and everyone on it.
But the security system has also wiped everyone’s memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer–and they don’t even know it.
And the clock is ticking. (Credit: Sourcebooks Landmark)
Scrapper by Cliff Bleszinski and Alex de Campi and illustrated by Sandy Jarrell
Scrapper is a good dog, adopted by good people. Sure, he spends his nights patrolling his post-apocalyptic metropolis with his buddy Tank, protecting its citizens from the city’s totalitarian overlords, but everyone needs a hobby, right? When a catastrophe sends Scrapper’s world spiraling out of control, he will need to rally the city’s critters — strays and undesirables — to save both themselves and the humans all around them. (Credit: Image Comics)
Hunted by Abir Mukherjee
In London, the police storm Heathrow Airport to bring in a father for questioning about his missing daughter.
In Florida, a mother makes a connection between her son and the bomber, fearing he has been radicalized.
And in Oregon, an unknown organization’s conspiracy to bring America to its knees unfolds…On the run from the authorities, the two parents are thrown together in a race against time to stop a catastrophe that will derail the country’s future forever.
But can they find their kids before it’s too late? (Credit: Mulholland Books)
The T in LGBT: Everything You Need to Know about Being Trans by Jamie Raines
Hey, I’m Jamie, a 29-year-old trans guy from the UK. I’ve been transitioning for 12 years now after realizing I was trans (by accident!) at sixteen years old. I knew I was a boy since the age of four, but realized while growing up that I was different. It was only in my teens that I found the words to express who I was and what I needed to do. Since then, I’ve been on testosterone for more than a decade. I’ve also had top and bottom surgery and legally changed my sex, so I know a few things about the transitioning process and being trans!
I want to welcome you to The T in LGBT where you can explore and learn about so many topics surrounding gender identity: realizing you’re trans, starting hormones, considering surgery, and everything in between. Whether you’re questioning your own identity and are looking for advice on certain stages of transition, or whether you’re wanting to learn about the trans experience to support someone or understand allyship, I hope this book can be your one-stop guide to everything trans related.
And don’t just take my word for it either; this book is packed full of advice, tips, and the personal stories of a range of trans voices, because no one journey is the same. (Credit: Sourcebooks)
Burning Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber
Twin queens Rose & Wren survived the Battle for Anadawn and brought back magic to their kingdom. But danger lurks in Eana’s shadows.
Wren is troubled. Ever since she performed the blood spell on Prince Ansel, her magic has become unruly. Worse, the spell created a link between Wren and the very man she’s trying to forget: Icy King Alarik of Gevra. A curse is eating away at both of them. To fix it they must journey to the northern mountains–under the watchful guard of Captain Tor Iversen–to consult with the Healer on High.
Rose is haunted. Waking one night to find her undead ancestor Oonagh Starcrest by her bed, she receives a warning: Surrender the throne–or face a war that will destroy Eana. With nowhere to turn and desperate to find a weapon to defeat Oonagh, Rose seeks help from Shen-Lo in the Sunkissed Kingdom, but what she finds there may break her heart.
As Oonagh threatens all Rose and Wren hold dear, it will take everything they have to save Eana–including a sacrifice they may not be prepared to make. (Credit: Balzer + Bray)
Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me by Whoopi Goldberg
If it weren’t for Emma Johnson, Caryn Johnson would have never become Whoopi Goldberg. Emma gave her children the loving care and wisdom they needed to succeed in life, always encouraging them to be true to themselves. When Whoopi lost her mother in 2010–and then her older brother, Clyde, five years later–she felt deeply alone; the only people who truly knew her were gone.
Emma raised her children not just to survive, but to thrive. In this intimate and heartfelt memoir, Whoopi shares many of the deeply personal stories of their lives together for the first time. Growing up in the projects in New York City, there were trips to Coney Island, the Ice Capades, and museums, and every Christmas was a magical experience. To this day, she doesn’t know how her mother was able to give them such an enriching childhood, despite the struggles they faced–and it wasn’t until she was well into adulthood that Whoopi learned just how traumatic some of those struggles were.
Fans of personal memoirs such as Finding Me by Viola Davis and In Pieces by Sally Field will be touched by Bits and Pieces: a moving tribute from a daughter to her mother, and a beautiful portrait of three people who loved each other deeply. Whoopi writes, “Not everybody gets to walk this earth with folks who let you be exactly who you are and who give you the confidence to become exactly who you want to be. So, I thought I’d share mine with you.” (Credit: Blackstone Publishing)
Joyful by Nature: Embracing Outdoor Adventure as Women of Color by Nailah Blades Wylie
Women, especially women of color, are often taught to quiet their inner voice and instead put everyone else’s needs ahead of their own. We’re taught to search for answers outside of ourselves that may leave us feeling broken, not enough, and disconnected from our true self. Joyful by Nature inspires and encourages you, as part of a new generation of women, to transcend these feelings and explore wellness through:
- Understanding why the outdoors is important to women of color
- Identifying the outdoors as a place accessible to everyone and self-care as a given, not as a “reward”
- Learning grounding and mindfulness techniques to help you connect with the physical world
- Building your unique restorative self-care plan by identifying personal values and activities that align with them
Let’s embark on an outdoor journey together and discover clarity, rest, joy, play, and freedom! (Credit: Wellfleet Press)
Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan
Safiyyah loathes the brutal Nazi occupation of Paris, even though her Muslim identity keeps her safe–or, at least, safer than her Jewish neighbors. Violence lurks in the streets, her best friend has fled, and even her place of refuge–the library–has turned shadowy and confusing, as the invaders fear the power of books.
Safiyyah longs to fight back and hates feeling powerless to help her Jewish friends. Worse yet, her father–who taught her to always do the right thing–is acting strangely and doing nothing to help them either.
Or is he?
Unravelling the mystery of her father’s odd behavior draws Safiyyah deep in the heart of the perilous underground resistance to the Nazis, where her bravery is put to the ultimate test… (Credit: Allida)
Lion of the Sky by Ritu Hemnani
Twelve-year-old Raj is happiest flying kites with his best friend, Iqbal. As their kites soar, Raj feels free, like his beloved India soon will be, and he can’t wait to celebrate their independence.
But when a British lawyer draws a line across a map, splitting India in two, Raj is thrust into a fractured world. With Partition declared, Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim families are torn apart–and Raj’s Hindu and Iqbal’s Muslim families are among them.
Forced to flee and become refugees, Raj’s family is left to start over in a new country. After suffering devastating losses, Raj must summon the courage to survive the brutal upheaval of both his country and his heart.
Inspired by the author’s true family history, Lion of the Sky is a deeply moving coming-of-age tale about identity, belonging, and the power of hope. (Credit: Balzer + Bray)
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible–for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.
She is tasked with working as a “bridge” living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he’s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as “washing machines,” “Spotify,” and “the collapse of the British Empire.” But with an appetite for discovery, a seven-a-day cigarette habit, and the support of a charming and chaotic cast of fellow expats, he soon adjusts.
Over the next year, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a horrifically uncomfortable roommate dynamic, evolves into something much deeper. By the time the true shape of the Ministry’s project comes to light, the bridge has fallen haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences she never could have imagined. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how–and whether she believes–what she does next can change the future. (Credit: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster)
Perfect Little Monsters by Cindy R. X. He
Ella Moore was the most popular girl in school…and also the most hated. When she’s murdered at her own party, there are too many suspects to count. And too many people who think she deserved it.
The police’s prime suspect is the new girl, Dawn Foster. Dawn was the last to hand Ella a drink on the night she died. Plus, all of Ella’s friends with a motive for wanting Ella dead are more than willing to throw Dawn under the bus, if it means keeping the heat off themselves.
But Dawn refuses to go down without a fight. She’s determined to clear her name. As she delves deeper into the past, she discovers that Ella and her friends had major enemies, and someone is out for revenge. Dawn must uncover the truth before the police arrest the wrong suspect… and before the next person dies. (Credit: Sourcebooks Fire)
Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner
Expected Publication Date: May 14
In 1955, Vivien Lowry is facing the greatest challenge of her life. Her latest play, the only female-authored play on the London stage that season, has opened in the West End to rapturous applause from the audience. The reviewers, however, are not as impressed as the playgoers and their savage notices not only shut down the play but ruin Lowry’s last chance for a dramatic career. With her future in London not looking bright, at the suggestion of her friend, Peggy Guggenheim, Vivien takes a job in as a script doctor on a major film shooting in Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. There she finds a vibrant movie making scene filled with rising stars, acclaimed directors, and famous actors in a country that is torn between its past and its potentially bright future, between the liberation of the post-war cinema and the restrictions of the Catholic Church that permeates the very soul of Italy.
As Vivien tries to forge a new future for herself, she also must face the long-buried truth of the recent World War and the mystery of what really happened to her deceased fiancé. Every Time We Say Goodbye is a brilliant exploration of trauma and tragedy, hope and renewal, filled with dazzling characters both real and imaginary, from the incomparable author who charmed the world with her novels The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls. (Credit: St. Martin’s Press)
How To Kill A Guy in Ten Ways by Eve Kellman
Expected Publication Date: May 14
After one too many terrifying encounters, Millie Masters sets up a hotline for women who feel unsafe walking home alone at night: Message M.
But very quickly she realises that there’s much more to be done to help the women who call in. Because the men just do it again the next night, and the next, and the next…
And when her own sister is assaulted on a night out, the temptation to take the law into her own hands becomes too much to resist.
Because M can also stand for murder…(Credit: Avon Books)
Onyeka and the Heroes of the Dawn by Tolá Okogwu
Expected Publication Date: May 14
Solari–children with superpowers–have always been native to Nigeria, but Onyeka and her friends have been alerted to one hidden in England. Tasked with retrieving the young Solari, they successfully complete their mission, arriving safe and sound back at the Academy of the Sun with Tobi in tow.
Tobi’s identity and superpower remain a mystery, until a breadcrumb trail leads Onyeka to the truth. But someone else has uncovered the secret, and unlike Onyeka, they don’t have Tobi’s best interests at heart. Can our superhero save the day once again? (Credit: Margaret K. McElderry Books)
The Villa by Ruth Kelly
Expected Publication Date: May 14
A Villa in Paradise
It’s destined to be the ultimate reality TV show. Ten contestants. A luxurious villa on a private island. Every moment streamed live to a global audience who have total control over those competing for the cash prize.
A Journalist Undercover
Reporter Laura is told to get the inside scoop on her fellow contestants. But once the games begin, she soon finds herself at the mercy of a ruthless producer willing to do anything to increase viewer numbers.
A Reality Show to Die For
There is more to every contestant than meets the eye, including Laura. They all have secrets they’d like to keep buried, and the pressure in paradise quickly reaches boiling point. How far will the contestants go to secure audience votes? And would somebody really kill to win? (Credit: Pan Publishing)
The Blast from the Past: A Riley Thorn Novel by Lucy Score
Expected Publication Date: May 14
Riley Thorn and her hot, tattooed, private investigator boyfriend Nick Santiago are all moved in to their new fixer-upper. Not only do they finally have their own place, they also haven’t found any new dead bodies on the premises.
Yep. It looks like summer is over and so is Riley’s bad luck. Or is it?
When Nick gives up sleeping and showering to obsess over the cold case that still haunts him, his intrepid business partner Mrs. Penny is calling the investigative shots. It’s every bit as bad as you can imagine.
Meanwhile, Riley has her hands full fixing up the crumbling crime scene they call home and setting boundaries with the breaking-and-entering octogenarians next door. You know. Normal stuff.
But normal comes to a screeching halt when Riley is abducted by a stranger, and her psychic powers go on the fritz. To make matters worse, it becomes clear that Riley’s new house guests are either in trouble or are trouble after bad guys deliver a warning with a severed finger.
Can Nick and Riley solve the case the old-fashioned way before they all end up in pieces? Or will a surprise birthday party, a dog doody bandit, an accidental arson, and a blast from the past be too much for them to handle? (Credit: Bloom Books)
You May Now Kill The Bride by Kate Weston
Expected Publication Date: May 14
Who will be left standing when the bouquet is thrown?
Lauren, Saskia, Dominica, Farah, and Tansy have been best friends since grade school. They wonder if that was the last time they all actually liked each other. As adults, their lives have splintered. Tansy runs a vegan café and is preparing for a shotgun marriage to awful Ivan. Farah is engaged and is fast becoming a complete bridezilla. Dominica is a successful divorce attorney with no time for anything but work. Lauren has had a total “failure to launch” in her career and love life, consumed by a man who has spent years stringing her along. Saskia has married into wealth and a different circle of friends in a fancy part of London. Some days it seems that the only thing holding the group together is an event that happened in their youth twenty years ago–an incident they’ve all sworn to keep secret in order to protect one another.
When the group is reunited at Tansy’s bachelorette-cum-wellness-retreat weekend, it doesn’t take long for old grudges to surface. Then the bride-to-be chokes to death on a poisoned drink, and all of the bridesmaids are suspects.
Kate Weston explores the complexities of female friendship in this searingly funny, page-turning thriller. One of these bridesmaids may be a killer, and the group had better watch their sash-covered backs, because your oldest friends aren’t always your closest. . . .(Credit: Random House Trade)
Long After We Are Gone by Terah Shelton Harris
Expected Publication Date: May 14
“Don’t let the white man take the house.”
These are the last words King Solomon says to his son before he dies. Now all four Solomon siblings must return to North Carolina to save the Kingdom, their ancestral home and 200 acres of land, from a development company, who has their sights set on turning the valuable waterfront property into a luxury resort.
While fighting to save the Kingdom, the siblings must also save themselves from the secrets they’ve been holding onto. Junior, the oldest son and married to his wife for 11 years, is secretly in love with another man. Second son, Mance, can’t control his temper, which has landed him in prison more than once. CeCe, the oldest daughter and a lawyer in New York City, has embezzled thousands of dollars from her firm’s clients. Youngest daughter, Tokey, wonders why she doesn’t seem to fit into this family, which has left an aching hole in her heart that she tries to fill in harmful ways. As the Solomons come together to fight for the Kingdom, each of their façades begins to crumble and collide in unexpected ways.
Told in alternating viewpoints, Long After We Are Gone is a searing portrait on the power of family and letting go of things that no longer serve you, exploring the burden of familial expectations, the detriment of miscommunication, and the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children. (Credit: Sourcebooks Landmark)
Stop People Pleasing: And Find Your Power by Hailey Magee
Expected Publication Date: May 14
For most of Hailey Magee’s life, people-pleasing came so naturally to her that she didn’t even have a word for it. When somebody wanted something from her–even a stranger–she gave it, no matter how uncomfortable, exhausted, or resentful she felt inside. People-pleasing, she learned, was a coping mechanism that had kept her physically and emotionally safe in the past, but wreaked havoc on her life in the present–and she was committed to breaking the pattern once and for all.
The solution that social media and self-help shelves gave her was to “Advocate for yourself! Speak up! Set boundaries!” But after years of ignoring her feelings and needs, Magee needed more than boundaries; she needed to reconnect with the “self” who was supposed to be doing the advocating. You can’t express yourself if you’re cut off from your feelings. You can’t fight for your needs if you don’t know what they are. And you can’t set boundaries with others until you believe you’re worthy of more than the bare minimum. Radically reconnecting with herself gave Magee the confidence and self-respect she needed to stand up for herself in her relationships. As she experienced a freedom she never thought possible, she became a certified life coach with the mission of helping others do the same.
Stop People Pleasing explains how anyone can break the pattern by learning their own feelings, needs, values, and desires; ending cycles of enmeshment and codependency; overcoming guilt; developing physical and sexual agency; and more. It is a refreshingly nuanced guide, exploring fundamental questions like:
-How can I tell when my genuine kindness veers into people-pleasing?
-How can I set boundaries while maintaining my empathy and generosity?
-When is it appropriate to compromise on my needs, and when is it not?
Combining social science, psychology, and hands-on coaching exercises, Stop People Pleasing teaches you how to connect with your own feelings, needs, and dreams; courageously advocate for yourself in your relationships with friends, family, and colleagues; soothe yourself through the growing pains of healing; and dive headfirst into pleasure and play. With fresh insight, heartfelt empathy, and a keen personal understanding of the pitfalls of people-pleasing, Magee helps you say what you need and get what you deserve. (Credit: Simon and Schuster)
Thirsty by Jas Hammonds
Expected Publication Date: May 14
It’s the summer before college and eighteen-year-old Blake Brenner and her girlfriend, Ella, have one goal: join the mysterious and exclusive Serena Society. The sorority promises status and lifelong connections to a network of powerful, trailblazing women of color. Ella’s acceptance is a sure thing–she’s the daughter of a Serena alum. Blake, however, has a lot more to prove.
As a former loner from a working-class background, Blake lacks Ella’s pedigree and confidence. Luckily, she finds courage at the bottom of a liquor bottle. When she drinks, she’s bold, funny, and unstoppable–and the Serenas love it. But as pledging intensifies, so does Blake’s drinking, until it’s seeping into every corner of her life. Ella assures Blake that she’s fine; partying hard is what it takes to make the cut . . .But success has never felt so much like drowning. With her future hanging in the balance and her past dragging her down, Blake must decide how far she’s willing to go to achieve her glittering dreams of success–and how much of herself she’s willing to lose in the process. (Credit: Roaring Brook Press)
Friday at the Atelier, Vol. 1 by Sakura Hamada
Expected Publication Date: May 21
Tamaki, a woman who’s grown tired with her life, is one day asked by the famous painter Shunsui Ishihara to become his model. Not just any model, that is–a nude model. But when she accepts without hesitation, Ishihara is taken by her peculiar response and somehow falls for her…!? The misaligned love life between an oblivious girl and a handsome but extremely self-conscious artist begins here! (Credit: Yen Press)
In The Shallows by Tanya Byrne
Expected Publication Date: May 21
Mara’s ex, Nico, is the girl of her dreams: beautiful, wild and unpredictable. She’s Mara’s everything, even though Mara’s never sure that she’s Nico’s anything. Then Nico goes missing …New Year’s Day: A girl is rescued from the sea. She knows she is called Nico, but other than that, she has no memory of why she was in the sea or what came before.
When destiny reunites them, is this Mara and Nico’s second chance? Can their relationship make it out of the shallows? And what will happen when they discover the truth behind Nico’s accident? Because one day, Nico will remember everything. (Credit: Godwin Books)
Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel
Expected Publication Date: May 21
A mother and a son. A goddess and a prince. A curse and an oath. A river whose course will change the fate of the world.
Ganga, joyful goddess of the river, serves as caretaker to the mischievous godlings who roam her banks. But when their antics incur the wrath of a powerful sage, Ganga is cursed to become mortal, bound to her human form until she fulfills the obligations of the curse.
Though she knows nothing of mortal life, Ganga weds King Shantanu and becomes a queen, determined to regain her freedom no matter the cost. But in a cruel turn of fate, just as she is freed of her binding, she is forced to leave her infant son behind.
Her son, prince Devavrata, unwittingly carries the legacy of Ganga’s curse. And when he makes an oath that he will never claim his father’s throne, he sets in motion a chain of events that will end in a terrible and tragic war.
As the years unfold, Ganga and Devavrata are drawn together again and again, each confluence another step on a path that has been written in the stars, in this deeply moving and masterful tale of duty, destiny, and the unwavering bond between mother and son. (Credit: Redhook)
A Gamble at Sunset by Vanessa Riley
Expected Publication Date: May 21
When a duke discovers the woman he loves was tricked into marrying another, the master chess player makes the now-widowed Viscountess the highest-stakes wager of his life in a last-ditch effort to win her affection: he will find husbands for her two sisters–or depart forever...
Georgina Wilcox, a wallflower with hidden musical talents, is furious when her reclusive older sister–the recently widowed Viscountess–refuses sorely needed help from the Duke of Torrance, the only gentleman who has shown kindness to the bereft Wilcox sisters. Georgina decides to get back at her sister and shock the Viscountess by kissing the first willing stranger she meets in the enchanting gardens of Anya House. Unfortunately, her sister is not the sole witness. A group of reporters and the ton’s leading gossips catch Georgina in a passionate embrace with a reticent composer, Lord Mark Sebastian.
The third son of an influential marquis, the tongue-tied Mark is determined to keep the scandal from ruining Georgina’s reputation and his own prospects of winning the celebrated Harlbert’s Prize for music. Under the guise of private voice lessons, the two embark on a daring gamble to fool the ton into believing that their feigned courtship is honorable while bolstering Georgina’s singing genius to captivate potential suitors. Sexist cartoons, family rivalries, and an upcoming ball test the fake couple’s resolve. Will their sudden fiery collaboration–and growing attraction–prove there’s nothing false about a first kiss and scandalously irresistible temptation? (Credit: Zebra)
I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue
Expected Publication Date: May 21
As far as Jolene is concerned, her interactions with her colleagues should start and end with her official duties as an admin for Supershops, Inc. Unfortunately, her irritating, incompetent coworkers don’t seem to understand the importance of boundaries. Her secret to survival? She vents her grievances in petty email postscripts, then changes the text color to white so no one can see. That is until one of her secret messages is exposed. Her punishment: sensitivity training (led by the suspiciously friendly HR guy, Cliff) and rigorous email restrictions.
When an IT mix-up grants her access to her entire department’s private emails and DMs, Jolene knows she should report it, but who could resist reading what their coworkers are really saying? And when she discovers layoffs are coming, she realizes this might just be the key to saving her job. The plan is simple: gain her boss’s favor, convince HR she’s Supershops material, and beat out the competition.
But as Jolene is drawn further into her coworker’s private worlds and realizes they are each keeping secrets, her carefully constructed walls begin to crumble–especially around Cliff, who she definitely cannot have feelings for. Eventually she will need to decide if she’s ready to leave the comfort of her cubicle, even if that means coming clean to her colleagues. (Credit: William Morrow & Company)
The Main Character by Jaclyn Goldis
Expected Publication Date: May 21
Reclusive, mysterious author Ginevra Ex is famous for her unusual approach to crafting her big bestselling thrillers: she hires real people and conducts intensive interviews, then fictionalizes them. Her latest main character, Rory, is thrilled when Ginevra presents her with an extravagant bonus–a lavish trip along Italy’s Mediterranean coast on the famed, newly renovated Orient Express. But when Rory boards the train, she’s stunned to discover that her brother, her best friend, and even her ex-fiancé are passengers, as well. All invited by Ginevra, all hiding secrets.
With each stop, from Cinque Terre to Rome to Positano, it becomes increasingly clear that Ginevra has masterminded the ultimate real life twisty plot with Rory as her main character. And as Ginevra’s deceptions mount, and the lies and machinations of Rory’s travel companions pile up, Rory begins to fear that her trip will culminate like one of Ginevra’s books: with a murder or two. In the opulent compartments of the iconic train, Rory must untangle the shocking reasons why Ginevra wanted them all aboard–and to what deadly end. (Credit: Atria Books)
Boy Like Me by Simon James Green
Expected Publication Date: April 23
It’s 1994 and thanks to Section 28, there can be no mention of gay relationships in UK schools. When a kind librarian leads Jamie to a disguised novel in the library that reflects his own confused feelings towards boys, Jamie sees that he’s not the only one who has checked the book out. Will Jamie and this mystery boy have the courage to meet and if they do, what will it take to hold on to each other? (Credit: Scholastic Press)
Allow Me to Introduce Myself by Onyi Nwabineli
Expected Publication Date: May 28
Her life. Her rules. Finally.
Anuri Chinasa has had enough. And really, who can blame her? She was the unwilling star of her stepmother’s social media empire before “momfluencers” were even a thing. For years, Ophelia documented every birthday, every skinned knee, every milestone and meltdown for millions of strangers to fawn over and pick apart.
Now, at twenty-five, Anuri is desperate to put her way-too-public past behind her and start living on her own terms. But it’s not going so great. She can barely walk down the street without someone recognizing her, and the fraught relationship with her father has fallen apart. Then there’s her PhD application (still unfinished) and her drinking problem (still going strong). When every detail of her childhood was so intensely scrutinized, how can she tell what she really wants?
Still, Ophelia is never far away and has made it clear she won’t go down without a fight. With Noelle, Anuri’s five-year-old half sister now being forced down the same path, Anuri discovers she has a new mission in life…
To take back control of the family narrative. (Credit: Graydon House)
The Book-Makers: A History of the Book in Eighteen Lives by Adam Smyth
Expected Publication Date: May 28
The five-hundred-year history of printed books, told through the people who created them.
Books tell all kinds of stories–romances, tragedies, comedies–but if we learn to read the signs correctly, they can tell us the story of their own making too. The Book-Makers offers a new way into the story of Western culture’s most important object, the book, through dynamic portraits of eighteen individuals who helped to define it.
Books have transformed humankind by enabling authors to create, document, and entertain. Yet we know little about the individuals who brought these fascinating objects into existence and of those who first experimented in the art of printing, design, and binding. Who were the renegade book-makers who changed the course of history?
From Wynkyn de Worde’s printing of fifteenth-century bestsellers to Nancy Cunard’s avant-garde pamphlets produced on her small press in Normandy, this is a celebration of the book with the people put back in. (Credit: Basic Books)
City of Stolen Magic by Nazeen Ahmed Pathak
Expected Publication Date: May 28
India, 1855. The British rule, and all across the country, Indian magic is being stamped out. More terrifying still, people born with magic are being snatched from their homes. Rumor is that they are being taken across the sea – to England – by the all-powerful, sinister Company.
When Chompa’s home is attacked and her mother viciously kidnapped, Chompa – born with powerful and dangerous magic that she has always been forbidden from using – must travel to the smoky, bustling streets of East London in search of her. But Chompa will discover far more treachery in London than she had bargained for – and will learn that every act of her rare magic comes with a price . . .(Credit: Penguin Random House UK)
Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic by Tabitha Stanmore
Expected Publication Date: May 28
Imagine: it’s the year 1600 and you’ve lost your precious silver spoons, or maybe they’ve been stolen. Perhaps your child has a fever. Or you’re facing a trial. Maybe you’re looking for love or escaping a husband. What do you do?
In medieval and early modern Europe, your first port of call might have been cunning folk: practitioners of “service magic.” Neither feared (like witches), nor venerated (like saints), they were essential to daily life. For people across ages, genders, and social ranks, practical magic was a cherished resource for navigating life’s many challenges.
In historian Tabitha Stanmore’s beguiling account, we meet lovelorn widows, dissolute nobles, selfless healers, and renegade monks. We listen in on Queen Elizabeth I’s astrology readings and track treasure hunters trying to unearth buried gold without upsetting the fairies that guard it. Much like us, premodern people lived in a bewildering world, buffeted by forces beyond their control. As Stanmore reveals, their faith in magic has much to teach about how to accommodate the irrational in our allegedly enlightened lives today.
Charming in every sense, Cunning Folk is at once an immersive reconstruction of a bygone era and a thought-provoking commentary on the beauty and bafflement of being human. (Credit: Bloomsbury Publishing)
If Something Happens To Me by Alex Finlay
Expected Publication Date: May 28
For the past five years, Ryan Richardson has relived that terrible night. The car door ripping open. The crushing blow to the head. The hands yanking him from the vehicle. His girlfriend Ali’s piercing scream as she is taken.
With no trace of Ali or the car, a cloud of suspicion hangs over Ryan. But with no proof and a good lawyer, he’s never charged, though that doesn’t matter to the podcasters and internet trolls. Now, Ryan has changed his last name, and entered law school. He’s put his past behind him.
Until, on a summer trip abroad to Italy with his law-school classmates, Ryan gets a call from his father: Ali’s car has finally been found, submerged in a lake in his hometown. Inside are two dead men and a cryptic note with five words written on the envelope in Ali’s handwriting: If something happens to me…Then, halfway around the world, the unthinkable happens: Ryan sees the man who has haunted his dreams since that night.
As Ryan races from the rolling hills of Tuscany, to a rural village in the UK, to the glittering streets of Paris in search of the truth, he has no idea that his salvation may lie with a young sheriff’s deputy in Kansas working her first case, and a mobster in Philadelphia who’s experienced tragedy of his own. (Credit: Minotaur Books)
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