"Ophelia Simmons is back home at the Paradise, the former brothel where her romance-author mother raised seven daughters, contemplating her next career move and dodging Great Aunt Bernie's matchmaking attempts. She is about to meet her match in Jake Brennan, the ruggedly handsome owner of a local winery where Aunt Bernie convinces her to take a job for the summer. At first Ophelia and Jake's personalities clash, but soon enough sparks start flying. Meanwhile, older sister Tertia Simmons also returns home to look for a new job. Tertia never thought she'd work for, let alone fall for, Noah Sullivan—the boy who once taunted her when they were kids. But when he offers her the job of her dreams in his new café, Tertia finds herself torn between her head and her heart. As the sisters navigate the ups and downs of love and career with the help of their outrageous great aunt and the rest of the close-knit family, they learn that love can be found in the most unexpected of places—including their own hometown."
"Twin sisters Cassie and Lenora are inseparable. Ever since that night, they’ve been on their own, and that’s how they like it. As the sole permanent residents of Cabin Two, their refuge on an isolated Tennessee campground, the twins manage to stay away from prying eyes, probing questions, and true-crime junkies. The peace and quiet is almost enough to make them forget what happened all those years ago. Almost. Until a teenage girl camping at the neighboring cabin goes missing, and the memories come rushing back. As the crime becomes ever more recognizable, each sister suspects the other knows more than she’s letting on. Trapped in the isolating, claustrophobic wilderness, Cassie and Lenora must piece together the truth of what happened—and the sinister truth lurking in their own pasts—before it’s too late."
"A high-profile murder case A white woman has been bludgeoned to death with an altar cross in a rural church on Cicada Road in Walterboro, South Carolina. Sam Jenkins, a Black man, is found covered in blood, kneeling over the body. In a state already roiling with racial tension, this is not just a murder case: it's a powder keg. A haunting cold case Two young women are murdered on quiet Edisto Beach, an hour southeast of Walterboro, and the killer disappears without a trace. Thirty-four years later, the mystery remains unsolved. Could there be a connection to Stander's case? A killer who's watching Stander takes on Jenkins's defense, but he's up against a formidable solicitor with powerful allies. Worse, his client is hiding a bombshell secret. When Addie Stone reopens the cold case, she discovers more long-buried secrets in this small town. Would someone kill again to keep them? This novel is ideal for fans of mystery, suspense, and thrillers in the vein of Karin Slaughter's Pretty Girls and Stacy Willingham's A Flicker in the Dark, as well as for listeners who followed the high-profile Murdaugh murder trial, held in the same small town as in When Cicadas Cry."
"Vivi, the Duchess of Bradford, loved her husband from the day they first met. She was an unabashed hoyden. He was the heir to a dukedom and her older brother’s best friend. She vowed to marry him, but she never could have imagined just how dreadfully that youthful promise would go awry, shattering her hope for a future. Having spent the past year in England while the duke has been abroad, she has thrown herself into a cause that won’t lead to more sorrow. She’s content with her growing circle of friends in the Lady’s Suffrage Society and is doing her utmost to banish the Duke of Bradford from her heart and mind for good. But then she discovers she has an unexpected guest at her country-house party—the husband who left her. Not only is he back, but Court is far more sinfully handsome than she remembered, and he wants the one thing she isn’t prepared to give—her complete and utter surrender. Heat level: Scorching! Don't say you weren't warned."
"Hannah Turner has always lived in the historic and beautiful seaside resort of Sand Dollar Cove. Now grieving the loss of her father, Hannah finds comfort in the places that remind her of him, including one of the resort’s oldest cottages. Heartbroken that it’s due to be knocked down—taking her memories with it—Hannah’s heart leaps when she finds old postcards concealed within. Reading “I still believe in our happily ever after” on one of the cards, Hannah feels a pang for the happy ending her father never had. She can’t bear someone else’s precious memories being destroyed, so she traces the postcards’ owner to New York and sends them off—inspired by her discovery to finally seize the day. After watching Guy—the resort’s handsome new trainer—charming their older guests, Hannah’s new attitude pushes her to give dating a chance for once. Hannah can’t resist gazing into Guy’s blue eyes as she shows him the delights of the cove. But just as she’s about to let him into her heart, she is stunned to find one of the postcards in Guy’s bag. Is Guy somehow connected to them? Is this why he came to town in the first place? Hannah is devastated that Guy is hiding something, but can she keep her heart open to love? And when the postcards reveal a surprising link between Hannah and Guy’s pasts, will the truth bind them together or tear them apart for good?"
"They last spoke as teens, but on a country road twelve years later, a surprise encounter reunites ornithologist Celia Burke with veterinary surgeon Burnaby Hayes, and they plunge into the most unusual romance of her life. After a decade of marriage, Celia and Burnaby have found a unique and beautiful rhythm. Then tragedy strikes while Celia hunts for the nest of a research hawk near the Snake River. Reeling with grief, she’s certain Burnaby won’t understand her anguish or forgive the choice that initiated it. She flees to kindness at a remote farm in Washington’s Palouse region, where a wild prairie and an alluring neighbor convince her to begin anew. But when unexplained accidents, cryptic sketches, and a mute little boy make her doubt her decision, only a red-tailed hawk and the endangered lives of those she loves can compel her to examine her past—and reconsider her future."
"Unable to afford rent, Mia—a community college student—lives out of her car, cleaning houses of the well-to-do in the LA area to meet her shoestring budget. Then Covid hits, and everything changes.
For people living in houses and apartments, with stay-at-home jobs, the pandemic was inconvenient. For Mia—a student and housekeeper whose budget is so tight she lives in her car—the pandemic destroys the very source of her paltry income. Fortunately, gutsy and funny Mia is a determined survivor. After weeks of cutting her limited spending even further, missing meals along the way, her wealthy employers become desperate for her services again. This time, she’s determined not to let them take advantage of her as they have in the past. Her newfound confidence gives her new hope as she works to escape the shackles of poverty on her own terms. Sally Rooney meets Elizabeth Strout in this brilliant fiction debut."
"When her professional and family life collide, a playwright starts journaling every morning to push through her writer’s block in this laugh-out-loud and fresh take on family, friendship, and the chaos of midlife.
Elise Hellman was once heralded by audiences and critics as a “playwright to watch.” Then they forgot all about her. When a prestigious theater company unexpectedly offers her a generous commission to write a new play, she has an opportunity to turn her career around. With sixty-five days left until her deadline, Elise starts scribbling a few pages of stream-of-consciousness first thing every morning as a way to get over her writer’s block—a technique called Morning Pages, popularized in Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.
What emerges is a witty confessional in which Elise chronicles her life with her teenage stoner son and her overbearing and eccentric mother, who is losing her memory but not her profanity. She writes about her lingering feelings for her ex-husband, her best friend who is acting oddly, and the confusing encounters she has with a handsome stranger in an elevator.
As she writes, the marked-up scenes from her play, Deja New, are revealed, as a story within the story.
Morning Pages is about what life throws at you when you’re trying to write. It is both a humorous exploration of the creative process and a relatable coming-of-age tale for the generation sandwiched between caring for their parents and caring for their kids."
"Her best friend is missing, her career is a disaster, she's stuck living with her parents, and now her heart isn't beating.
Can Brooklyn Thomas confront her past to save her present?
Brooklyn Thomas is pretty sure she's mostly dead. She can't feel her heart beat and she's disappearing: her reflection keeps vanishing from mirrors. No one else seems to notice. Not her coworkers at the artisanal doughnut shop she works at after failing at her high-paying marketing job. Not her crush, whom she keeps humiliating herself in front of. Not her parents, whose basement suite she's stuck living in. She's hallucinating stars from all her favorite TV shows who want Brooklyn to pull herself together and face the truth about what happened to her career, her best friend, and her relationship with her brother.
As her past collides with her present in painful and unexpected ways, Brooklyn must decide if she's strong enough to confront what haunts her and get a second chance at a real life—before mostly dead turns into actually dead.
Brooklyn Thomas Isn't Here explores how women contort and minimize themselves to fit the roles society and family offer them, and the serious price they pay for doing so."
"The Nazi oppression whips up a storm of terror, ripping apart the blood sisters Anna, Bernie, Elica, and Dagna.
Desperate to be reunited with her husband, Daniel, Elica walks into the dreaded den of the ruthless Gestapo. She's ready to sacrifice anything for their love.
Anna and her family find themselves at the mercy of Anna's heart-throb, Ulf. Ulf's obsession with Anna puts him in a quandary-between his loyalty to the Fuhrer and his burning desire for the forbidden fruit.
Bernie's courage will be pushed to its limits as she embarks on a daring journey to save Elica's baby, Theo. Can she survive this near-impossible mission?
Dagna craves power and will do anything to fit into the Nazi ranks, whatever the cost.
My Sister's Betrayal is the second installment of Roberta Kagan's emotionally-charged WW2 historical fiction series-The Blood Sisters."
"Welcome to your happy place…
As summer comes to the tranquil shores of Micklewick Bay, Maggie Marsay is on cloud nine. She can barely keep up with orders for her handmade teddy bears, turning her crafting hobby into a thriving business. And after trying for a baby for some time, she has joyful news to share with her devoted husband Bear who she lives with in an idyllic clifftop cottage alongside their cheeky labrador.
But an unexpected visitor casts a shadow over Maggie’s sun-drenched bliss. Robyn, a ghost from the past Maggie hasn't seen in twelve long years, arrives on their doorstep. What could have brought Robyn back into Maggie’s life after so long? Is she truly sorry for her past mistakes, or is she up to her old tricks?
Maggie welcomes Robyn into their home, trying her best to forgive and forget. But when Robyn starts to drive a wedge between her and Bear, Maggie’s close-knit group of friends and neighbours rally around. Can they help Maggie weather this storm and find her way back to happily ever after? Or is trouble here to stay?
Escape to Micklewick Bay in an uplifting, feel-good page-turner for fans of Heidi Swain, Jenny Colgan and Phillipa Ashley."
"The paper is stiff and brittle with age as Kate unfolds it with trembling hands. She gasps at the pencil sketch of a rippling waterway, lined by tall buildings, curving towards the dome of a cathedral. She feels a connection deep in her heart. Venice.
England, 1941. When Kate Arden discovers a secret stash of drawings hidden in the pages of an old volume of poetry given to her as a baby, her breath catches. All her life, she has felt like an outsider in her aristocratic adoptive family, who refuse to answer any questions about her past. But the drawings spark a forgotten memory: a long journey by boat… warm arms that held her tight, and then let go.
Could these pictures unlock the secret of who she is? Why her mother left her? With war raging around the continent, she will brave everything to find out…
A gripping, emotional historical novel of love and art that will captivate fans of The Venice Sketchbook, The Woman on the Bridge and The Nightingale."
