Hey everyone! I’ve made some improvements to how I find books. From this week on, you can expect the lists to be even more comprehensive.
This week’s most anticipated new book is Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune with over 250k want-to-reads on Goodreads.
Alongside this weekโs new releases, we have a few other things that are worth checking out:
- The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman Review & Summary | Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 4
- The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow Review: Yearning Across A Time Loop That Made Me Ugly Cry
Not Quite Dead Yet
Author Holly Jackson
Genres Genre Literature & Fiction, Women's Literature & Fiction, Women Sleuths, Suspense Thrillers
Publication Date May 5, 2026
AN INSTANT #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.
The stunning hardcover of Not Quite Dead features a custom-stamped case, beautiful endpapers, and a premium dust jacket!
In seven days Jet Mason will be dead.
Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old and back living with her parents, she's still waiting for her life to begin. I'll do it later, she always says. She has time.
Until Halloween night, when she is violently attacked by an unseen intruder, suffering a catastrophic head injury. Doctors are certain that within a week, the injury will trigger a deadly aneurysm.
Jet never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her former best friend turned sister-in-law, her ex-boyfriend.
She has at most seven days, and as her condition deteriorates, she has only her childhood friend Billy for help. But nevertheless, she's absolutely determined to finally finish something:
Jet is going to solve her own murder.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.
The stunning hardcover of Not Quite Dead features a custom-stamped case, beautiful endpapers, and a premium dust jacket!
In seven days Jet Mason will be dead.
Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old and back living with her parents, she's still waiting for her life to begin. I'll do it later, she always says. She has time.
Until Halloween night, when she is violently attacked by an unseen intruder, suffering a catastrophic head injury. Doctors are certain that within a week, the injury will trigger a deadly aneurysm.
Jet never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her former best friend turned sister-in-law, her ex-boyfriend.
She has at most seven days, and as her condition deteriorates, she has only her childhood friend Billy for help. But nevertheless, she's absolutely determined to finally finish something:
Jet is going to solve her own murder.
Our Perfect Storm
Author Carley Fortune
Genres Genre Literature & Fiction, Contemporary Women Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Best friends have one week in paradise to fix their friendship or fall apart in this heart-stopping, utterly romantic new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Every Summer After and One Golden Summer.
Frankie and George have been best friends since they were eight years old. Both passionate, impulsive, and headstrongโtheyโve always clashed . . . and come back together. Until now. Itโs the eve of Frankieโs wedding weekend, and she doesnโt know where they stand or even if George will show up as her best man.
Then, at the start of the festivities, in walks George. For one glorious evening, surrounded by her loved ones, Frankieโs life is finally perfect. But it all comes crashing down when her fiancรฉ dumps her the next morning, leaving only a note as an explanation.
Crushed and confused, Frankie returns to her familyโs home to wallow. But George has a different idea and a plan for healing Frankieโs broken heart. He wants her to go on her honeymoon. With him. For one week, to the lush rainforests and misty beaches of Tofino.
Frankie agrees, seeing the trip for what it really is: one last chance to repair their friendship. Even if it means unearthing secrets and long buried feelings neither knows how to handle. Even if it means falling apart for good.
Frankie and George have been best friends since they were eight years old. Both passionate, impulsive, and headstrongโtheyโve always clashed . . . and come back together. Until now. Itโs the eve of Frankieโs wedding weekend, and she doesnโt know where they stand or even if George will show up as her best man.
Then, at the start of the festivities, in walks George. For one glorious evening, surrounded by her loved ones, Frankieโs life is finally perfect. But it all comes crashing down when her fiancรฉ dumps her the next morning, leaving only a note as an explanation.
Crushed and confused, Frankie returns to her familyโs home to wallow. But George has a different idea and a plan for healing Frankieโs broken heart. He wants her to go on her honeymoon. With him. For one week, to the lush rainforests and misty beaches of Tofino.
Frankie agrees, seeing the trip for what it really is: one last chance to repair their friendship. Even if it means unearthing secrets and long buried feelings neither knows how to handle. Even if it means falling apart for good.
The Calamity Club
Author Kathryn Stockett
Genres 20th Century Historical Fiction, Friendship Fiction, Women's Domestic Life Fiction, Women's Friendship Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
The multimillion-copy-selling author of The Help returns with a bold, big-hearted novel about a group of unbreakable women, fighting for whatโs rightfully theirsโand the power of friendship to change everything.
โA must-read.โโBonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
Oxford, Mississippi, 1933.
Abandoned by her mother one Christmas Eve, eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned the hard way to rely on no one. Now one of the unadoptable "big girls" at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, she fights each day to keep her spirit unbowed.
Birdie Calhoun, unmarried and outspoken, has come to Oxford to ask her socialite sister to help the struggling family she's left behind. But as the Depression tightens its grip, Birdie discovers her sister's seemingly charmed life is a tapestry of lies.
Then, Birdie encounters Charlie, a woman running low on luck with little left to lose. When their fatesโand Meg'sโconverge, Charlie comes up with an audacious plan to claim what's rightfully theirs. But in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife and women's freedom is fragile, even the smallest act of defiance can have dangerous consequences.
The Calamity Club will make you laugh, cry, and cheerโan epic testament to underestimated women who know that calamity can be the spark of new beginnings. This is Kathryn Stockett at her most confident, heartfelt, and hilariousโthe triumphant return of one of the most beloved storytellers of our time.
โA must-read.โโBonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
Oxford, Mississippi, 1933.
Abandoned by her mother one Christmas Eve, eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned the hard way to rely on no one. Now one of the unadoptable "big girls" at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, she fights each day to keep her spirit unbowed.
Birdie Calhoun, unmarried and outspoken, has come to Oxford to ask her socialite sister to help the struggling family she's left behind. But as the Depression tightens its grip, Birdie discovers her sister's seemingly charmed life is a tapestry of lies.
Then, Birdie encounters Charlie, a woman running low on luck with little left to lose. When their fatesโand Meg'sโconverge, Charlie comes up with an audacious plan to claim what's rightfully theirs. But in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife and women's freedom is fragile, even the smallest act of defiance can have dangerous consequences.
The Calamity Club will make you laugh, cry, and cheerโan epic testament to underestimated women who know that calamity can be the spark of new beginnings. This is Kathryn Stockett at her most confident, heartfelt, and hilariousโthe triumphant return of one of the most beloved storytellers of our time.
Us Dark Few
Author Alexis Patton
Genres Teen & Young Adult Literature & Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Dystopian, Teen & Young Adult Fantasy Romance, Teen & Young Adult Science Fiction & Dystopian Romance
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Khalani is a Prisoner
Takeshi is a Guard
Both are slaves to the Underground
Khalani Kanes has never stood on the surface of the earth. In the underground city of Apollo, faith and dreams are as absent as the sun. She longed to visit Genesis, the infamous Domed City and the final place where humanity lives aboveground. But when Khalani is given a life sentence and thrown into prison for a theft she didn't commit, those wishes shatter into oblivion.
In Braderhelm Prison, murderers are neighbors, ruthless and cold-blooded guards live to punish, and every second is a battle to survive. She thought the danger lay in befriending criminals and avoiding Takeshi Steele, the nefarious Captain who runs her cell block. But darker traps and secrets await her within the shadows of imprisonment. Khalani's blood will coat the walls in flaming silk before her enemies let her escape to the surface, a feat no one has successfully achieved. If the reclusive and callous Takeshi Steele won't kill Khalani, then the merciless prisoners and her fractured mind will.
Enter Braderhelm Prison, where only the Wicked remain.
Takeshi is a Guard
Both are slaves to the Underground
Khalani Kanes has never stood on the surface of the earth. In the underground city of Apollo, faith and dreams are as absent as the sun. She longed to visit Genesis, the infamous Domed City and the final place where humanity lives aboveground. But when Khalani is given a life sentence and thrown into prison for a theft she didn't commit, those wishes shatter into oblivion.
In Braderhelm Prison, murderers are neighbors, ruthless and cold-blooded guards live to punish, and every second is a battle to survive. She thought the danger lay in befriending criminals and avoiding Takeshi Steele, the nefarious Captain who runs her cell block. But darker traps and secrets await her within the shadows of imprisonment. Khalani's blood will coat the walls in flaming silk before her enemies let her escape to the surface, a feat no one has successfully achieved. If the reclusive and callous Takeshi Steele won't kill Khalani, then the merciless prisoners and her fractured mind will.
Enter Braderhelm Prison, where only the Wicked remain.
Fury Bound
Author Sable Sorensen
Genres Dark Fantasy, Fantasy Action & Adventure, Military Romance, Action & Adventure Romance
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Revenge demands sacrifice. Donโt miss this action-packed, jaw-dropping, dark and romantic sequel to Dire Bound.
CROWNED BY DESTINY. CONSUMED BY VENGEANCE.
Against all odds, Meryn Cooper has inherited the crownโand a deadly war. As the Kingdom of Nocturna splinters under the weight of generations of lies, it is up to Meryn, her bonded direwolf Anassa, and their allies to bring the country back from the brink.
But the commoners, the Bonded, and the nobles are distrustful of their new queen and Meryn is caught in a deadly game of politics. Meanwhile, Merynโs beloved younger sister, Saela, is more at risk than ever.
Confusingly, the one person Meryn can trust is Stark Therionโthe dark, dangerous Alpha she thought hated her as much as she loathed him. Yet, his loyalty is unshakeable. His presence is intoxicating. And with his guidance, Meryn can seize an unthinkable level of power.
With enemies closing in and shadows stirring in her dreams, Meryn stands to lose her kingdomโand her heart.
Blood will spill. Bonds will break. Fate will be tested.
CROWNED BY DESTINY. CONSUMED BY VENGEANCE.
Against all odds, Meryn Cooper has inherited the crownโand a deadly war. As the Kingdom of Nocturna splinters under the weight of generations of lies, it is up to Meryn, her bonded direwolf Anassa, and their allies to bring the country back from the brink.
But the commoners, the Bonded, and the nobles are distrustful of their new queen and Meryn is caught in a deadly game of politics. Meanwhile, Merynโs beloved younger sister, Saela, is more at risk than ever.
Confusingly, the one person Meryn can trust is Stark Therionโthe dark, dangerous Alpha she thought hated her as much as she loathed him. Yet, his loyalty is unshakeable. His presence is intoxicating. And with his guidance, Meryn can seize an unthinkable level of power.
With enemies closing in and shadows stirring in her dreams, Meryn stands to lose her kingdomโand her heart.
Blood will spill. Bonds will break. Fate will be tested.
The Daisy Chain Flower Shop
Author Laurie Gilmore
Genres Small Town & Rural Fiction, Feel-Good Fiction, Romantic Comedy, Holiday Romance
Publication Date May 5, 2026
The greatest love is the one you never expected to find
Daisy is fed up with being unlucky in love, and after several weddings she has done the flowers for end in divorce, her beloved flower shop has gained a reputation of being cursed, thanks to Mayor Kelly and his infamous visions.
Dream Harbor newcomer, Elliot, has been adjusting to town life following his own relationship turmoil. And until now heโs avoided the flower shop at all costs. If the mayor is correct, he doesnโt need any more bad luck in his life.
But with his family coming to visit, Elliot finds himself reluctantly in front of Daisyโs store in need of some flowers. As the petals blossom in the sunlight, Daisy and Elliot might find that love comes when youโre least expecting itโฆ
The Daisy Chain Flower Shop is a cozy romantic mystery with a fake relationship dynamic, a small-town setting and a HEA guaranteed.
Daisy is fed up with being unlucky in love, and after several weddings she has done the flowers for end in divorce, her beloved flower shop has gained a reputation of being cursed, thanks to Mayor Kelly and his infamous visions.
Dream Harbor newcomer, Elliot, has been adjusting to town life following his own relationship turmoil. And until now heโs avoided the flower shop at all costs. If the mayor is correct, he doesnโt need any more bad luck in his life.
But with his family coming to visit, Elliot finds himself reluctantly in front of Daisyโs store in need of some flowers. As the petals blossom in the sunlight, Daisy and Elliot might find that love comes when youโre least expecting itโฆ
The Daisy Chain Flower Shop is a cozy romantic mystery with a fake relationship dynamic, a small-town setting and a HEA guaranteed.
Hidden Nature
Author Nora Roberts
Genres Women's Literature & Fiction, Murder Thrillers
Publication Date May 5, 2026
The #1 New York Times-bestselling author presents a new novel about an injured cop who must fight to bring down a pair of twisted killersโฆ
Natural Resources police officer, Sloan Cooper, and her partner had just taken down three men preying on hikers in the Western Maryland mountains. Driving back, she pulled in at a convenience storeโand walked right into a robbery in progress. One gunshot from a jittery thief was about to change her world.
After being shocked back to life on the operating table, she has a long recovery ahead, so she moves back to her parentsโ peaceful house in Heronโs Rest. As for the boyfriend who dumped her via text while she was in the hospital, good riddance.
She may be down, but sheโs not out. So when a woman vanishes, leaving her car behind in a supermarket parking lot, Sloan searches online for similar cases. She finds them, spread across three states. Men and women, old and youngโthe missing seem to have nothing in common. And the abductions keep happening.
Luckily, the new man in her life shares her passion for solving this mystery. But it will take every ounce of endurance to get to the dark heart of this bizarre caseโand she's willing to risk her life again if that's what it takes to stop the horror.
Natural Resources police officer, Sloan Cooper, and her partner had just taken down three men preying on hikers in the Western Maryland mountains. Driving back, she pulled in at a convenience storeโand walked right into a robbery in progress. One gunshot from a jittery thief was about to change her world.
After being shocked back to life on the operating table, she has a long recovery ahead, so she moves back to her parentsโ peaceful house in Heronโs Rest. As for the boyfriend who dumped her via text while she was in the hospital, good riddance.
She may be down, but sheโs not out. So when a woman vanishes, leaving her car behind in a supermarket parking lot, Sloan searches online for similar cases. She finds them, spread across three states. Men and women, old and youngโthe missing seem to have nothing in common. And the abductions keep happening.
Luckily, the new man in her life shares her passion for solving this mystery. But it will take every ounce of endurance to get to the dark heart of this bizarre caseโand she's willing to risk her life again if that's what it takes to stop the horror.
Caller Unknown
Author Gillian McAllister
Genres Parenthood & Children Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Women's Domestic Life Fiction, Mothers & Children Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
How far would you go to rescue your child? A mother races against the clockโand finds herself on the wrong side of the lawโin a desperate fight to save her teenage daughter in this pulse-pounding thriller from the author of Reeseโs Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller Wrong Place Wrong Time.
There is nothing that Simone wonโt do for her daughter, Lucy. The two have always been close, and with Lucy about to leave home for university, they depart the UK for a vacation to Texas to spend some quality time together. But when Simone awakens on their first morning in the desert, Lucy is gone, missing from their rental cabin. In her place is a cell phone, and a voice on the other line issues a shocking ransom demand. Donโt tell the police. Come to this location. And be prepared to do a dealโฆ
Though Simoneโs husband urges her to bring in the authorities for help, she knows she canโt take any chances. The kidnappers might kill Lucy if she tells anyone. No mother would take that risk. Instead, that night, she drives to the isolated meet-up.
What she finds there changes everything. The mysterious kidnapper doesnโt want money. They want Simone to do something. The unthinkable.
A catastrophic chain of events is set in motion, with chilling consequences that extend beyond Simone and her family. What follows is a heart-pounding journey through the small towns and punishing deserts of remote Texas, in which Simoneโs courageโand moralityโis pushed to the brink as she discovers what it truly means to be a mother.
There is nothing that Simone wonโt do for her daughter, Lucy. The two have always been close, and with Lucy about to leave home for university, they depart the UK for a vacation to Texas to spend some quality time together. But when Simone awakens on their first morning in the desert, Lucy is gone, missing from their rental cabin. In her place is a cell phone, and a voice on the other line issues a shocking ransom demand. Donโt tell the police. Come to this location. And be prepared to do a dealโฆ
Though Simoneโs husband urges her to bring in the authorities for help, she knows she canโt take any chances. The kidnappers might kill Lucy if she tells anyone. No mother would take that risk. Instead, that night, she drives to the isolated meet-up.
What she finds there changes everything. The mysterious kidnapper doesnโt want money. They want Simone to do something. The unthinkable.
A catastrophic chain of events is set in motion, with chilling consequences that extend beyond Simone and her family. What follows is a heart-pounding journey through the small towns and punishing deserts of remote Texas, in which Simoneโs courageโand moralityโis pushed to the brink as she discovers what it truly means to be a mother.
The Things We Never Say
Author Elizabeth Strout
Genres Family Life Fiction, Friendship Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Pulitzer Prizeโwinning, #1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Stroutโs new novel tells the story of a chance incident that sparks a powerful realization in a beloved teacherโs lifeโa poignant meditation on loneliness, friendship, parenthood, and the importance of truth in a capsizing world.
Artie Dam is living a double life. He spends his days teaching history to eleventh graders, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbors, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone madโat himself and the people around himโand turns a question over and over in his How is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us?
And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dearโand to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.
Elizabeth Strout, as we have come to expect, delivers a moving exploration of the human conditionโone that brims with compassion for each and every one of her indelible characters. With exquisite prose and profound insight, The Things We Never Say takes one manโs fears and loneliness and makes them universal. And in the same breath, captures the abiding love that sustains and holds us all.
Artie Dam is living a double life. He spends his days teaching history to eleventh graders, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbors, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone madโat himself and the people around himโand turns a question over and over in his How is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us?
And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dearโand to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.
Elizabeth Strout, as we have come to expect, delivers a moving exploration of the human conditionโone that brims with compassion for each and every one of her indelible characters. With exquisite prose and profound insight, The Things We Never Say takes one manโs fears and loneliness and makes them universal. And in the same breath, captures the abiding love that sustains and holds us all.
The Last Contract of Isako
Author Fonda Lee
Genres Science Fiction Adventures, Dystopian Fiction, Cyberpunk Science Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Get ready to be blown away by this searing standalone space opera where corporate samurai fight beneath merciless stars, and death is always a mere breath away.
Isako is a legendary swordswoman, but every legend has to come to an end. When her long-time client unexpectedly retires, she plans to follow--to walk out into the frozen wasteland of their planet with her head held high and her family enriched by her legacy. But when a competitor offers her a final mission, it's one she can't refuse. Soon, she's thrust deep into a world of corporate espionage, duty-bound duels, and shadowy secrets. What she uncovers will change humanity's existence in the stars forever.
The Last Contract of Isako is the space opera you didn't know you needed: corporate samurai... in space. This is the first adult science fiction novel from the award-winning author of Jade City.
Isako is a legendary swordswoman, but every legend has to come to an end. When her long-time client unexpectedly retires, she plans to follow--to walk out into the frozen wasteland of their planet with her head held high and her family enriched by her legacy. But when a competitor offers her a final mission, it's one she can't refuse. Soon, she's thrust deep into a world of corporate espionage, duty-bound duels, and shadowy secrets. What she uncovers will change humanity's existence in the stars forever.
The Last Contract of Isako is the space opera you didn't know you needed: corporate samurai... in space. This is the first adult science fiction novel from the award-winning author of Jade City.
Platform Decay
Author Martha Wells
Genres Science Fiction Adventures, Humorous Science Fiction, Science Fiction Crime & Mystery, Science Fiction Androids
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back in the next installment in Martha Wells' bestselling and award-winning Murderbot Diaries series.
Having someone else support your bad decision feels kind of good.
Having volunteered to run a rescue mission, Murderbot realises that it will have to spend significant time with a bunch of humans it doesn't know.
Including human children. Ugh.
This may well call for... eye contact!
(Emotion check: Oh, for fโ)
Having someone else support your bad decision feels kind of good.
Having volunteered to run a rescue mission, Murderbot realises that it will have to spend significant time with a bunch of humans it doesn't know.
Including human children. Ugh.
This may well call for... eye contact!
(Emotion check: Oh, for fโ)
Rules for the Summer
Author Meghan Quinn
Genres Literature & Fiction, New Adult & College Romance, Romantic Comedy, Special Edition Books
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From New York Times bestselling author Meghan Quinn comes a new laugh-out-loud summer rom-com.
He clicked "yes" on a dare. She bought a failing candy shop. Now they're neighbors for the summerโand neither is ready for what comes next.
Renley Gossage has one shot to prove she's more than Cape Meril's favorite cautionary tale: restore her favorite candy shop before the town writes her off like they did her father. No help, no shortcuts, and definitely no rich men wielding engagement rings and making things messy.
Theo Williams never planned on ending up in Cape Meril. A drunken game of truth or dare turned into a botched online engagement, and now he's across the ocean, escaping his father's control with nothing but designer shoes, misplaced confidence, and a rental next door to Renley.
She's practical, stubborn, and covered in paint. He's posh, persistent, and willing to use a sander if it means earning her trust.
Between collapsing drywall, gossiping neighbors, and the chaotic schemes of Renley's aunt, their forced proximity turns into something dangerously close to real.
But Renley's future depends on standing on her own two feet, and Theo's past isn't done with him yet. By the time the candy shop doors open, they'll have to decide if this is just a summer flingโor the happily ever after neither of them saw coming.
Enormous Wings
Author Laurie Frankel
Genres Family Life Fiction, Women's Domestic Life Fiction, Mothers & Children Fiction, Humorous Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From the beloved New York Times bestselling author Laurie Frankel, an exuberant and timely new novel
At seventy-seven, Pepper Mills is too old to be a stranger in a strange land. She didnโt choose the Vista View Retirement Community of Austin, Texasโthat would be her three grown childrenโbut when she grudgingly moves in, she not only makes new friends, she falls in love. Then the exhaustion, vomiting, and confusion start. Her children and grandchildren worry itโs cancer, dementia, a stroke. But a raft of tests later, the news is even more shocking: sheโs pregnant.
Once word gets out, everyone wants a piece of her: the press and the paparazzi, activists and medical researchers, all descending on Vista View as Pepper tries to determine her next move. Soon Pepper has some hard decisions to makeโand some sheโs not allowed to make.
Enormous Wings is an urgent novel about female agency and bodily autonomy, morality and mortality. Itโs about what happens when you donโt get to choose. Itโs about motherhood and family, sex and love and friendship, and how those bedrocksโeven so late in the dayโcan still change, and then change everything.
At seventy-seven, Pepper Mills is too old to be a stranger in a strange land. She didnโt choose the Vista View Retirement Community of Austin, Texasโthat would be her three grown childrenโbut when she grudgingly moves in, she not only makes new friends, she falls in love. Then the exhaustion, vomiting, and confusion start. Her children and grandchildren worry itโs cancer, dementia, a stroke. But a raft of tests later, the news is even more shocking: sheโs pregnant.
Once word gets out, everyone wants a piece of her: the press and the paparazzi, activists and medical researchers, all descending on Vista View as Pepper tries to determine her next move. Soon Pepper has some hard decisions to makeโand some sheโs not allowed to make.
Enormous Wings is an urgent novel about female agency and bodily autonomy, morality and mortality. Itโs about what happens when you donโt get to choose. Itโs about motherhood and family, sex and love and friendship, and how those bedrocksโeven so late in the dayโcan still change, and then change everything.
John of John
Author Douglas Stuart
Genres LGBTQ+ Coming of Age Fiction, LGBTQ+ Family Life Fiction, LGBTQ+ Literary Fiction, Coming of Age Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From the Booker-winning author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo comes a vivid, moving, and beautifully crafted novel following a young man returning to his Hebridean island home, a portrait of a close-knit community and a fraying family, of a fatherโs expectations and a sonโs desires
Out of money and with little to show for his art school education, John-Calum Macleod takes the ferry back home to the island of Harris to find that little has changed except for him. In the windswept croft where he grew up, Cal begrudgingly resumes his old life, stuck between the two poles of his childhood: his father John, a sheep farmer, tweed weaver, and pillar of their local Presbyterian church, and his maternal grandmother Ella, a profanity-loving Glaswegian who has kept a faltering peace with her son-in-law for several decades. Cal wonders if any lonely men might be found on the barren hillsides of home, while John is dismayed by his sonโs long hair and how he seems unwilling to be Saved. As lambing season turns to shearing season, everything seems poised to change as the threads holding together the fragile community become increasingly knotted.
John of John is a singular novel about duty and patience and the transformative power of the truth. It is a magnificent literary work that shows Douglas Stuart working at an even higher level of artistic creation.
Out of money and with little to show for his art school education, John-Calum Macleod takes the ferry back home to the island of Harris to find that little has changed except for him. In the windswept croft where he grew up, Cal begrudgingly resumes his old life, stuck between the two poles of his childhood: his father John, a sheep farmer, tweed weaver, and pillar of their local Presbyterian church, and his maternal grandmother Ella, a profanity-loving Glaswegian who has kept a faltering peace with her son-in-law for several decades. Cal wonders if any lonely men might be found on the barren hillsides of home, while John is dismayed by his sonโs long hair and how he seems unwilling to be Saved. As lambing season turns to shearing season, everything seems poised to change as the threads holding together the fragile community become increasingly knotted.
John of John is a singular novel about duty and patience and the transformative power of the truth. It is a magnificent literary work that shows Douglas Stuart working at an even higher level of artistic creation.
Dissection of a Murder
Author Jo Murray
Genres Genre Literature & Fiction, Psychological Thrillers, Political Thrillers, Domestic Thrillers
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Nothing is as it seemsโand no one is telling the truthโin this page-turning thriller about a young lawyer forced to defend a man on trial for murder against the mentor who taught her her husband.
When Leila Reynolds is handed her first murder case, sheโs shocked by the a well-known, well-respected judge, whose death sent shockwaves through the legal community. Sheโs also incredulousโsheโs nowhere near experienced enough to handle such a high-profile assignmentโbut the defendant is he wants her, and only her, to represent him.
Except heโs refusing to talk. And if that wasnโt complicated enough, Leila soon learns her opponent is the most ruthless prosecutor sheโs ever her husband.
Itโs an impossible situation, yet Leila is determined to sway the jury to her sideโuntil sheโs blindsided once again by a shadowy figure from her past. Suddenly, Leila finds herself fighting not only for her client and marriage, but also to keep her own secrets buried. And if she has to rewrite the rules to win, so be it.
When Leila Reynolds is handed her first murder case, sheโs shocked by the a well-known, well-respected judge, whose death sent shockwaves through the legal community. Sheโs also incredulousโsheโs nowhere near experienced enough to handle such a high-profile assignmentโbut the defendant is he wants her, and only her, to represent him.
Except heโs refusing to talk. And if that wasnโt complicated enough, Leila soon learns her opponent is the most ruthless prosecutor sheโs ever her husband.
Itโs an impossible situation, yet Leila is determined to sway the jury to her sideโuntil sheโs blindsided once again by a shadowy figure from her past. Suddenly, Leila finds herself fighting not only for her client and marriage, but also to keep her own secrets buried. And if she has to rewrite the rules to win, so be it.
Storm Breaker
Author Nisha J. Tuli
Genres Teen & Young Adult Literature & Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Dystopian, Teen & Young Adult Science Fiction & Dystopian Romance
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From the publisher who brought you Fourth Wing comes your next romantasy obsession...
For nineteen-year-old Poet Graves, New Manhattan has always promised safetyโif she obeys. Raised within the ruling Houses and betrothed to a powerful heir, she enters Amery Academy knowing her future has already been decided.
But Amery is nothing like she imagined. Its trials are brutal, its loyalties conditional, and its rules designed to expose weakness. As Poet struggles to survive, she must hide the truth that could get her executed: the storms donโt fear herโthey answer back.
When a dangerous outsider from beyond the city walls enters the academy, Poet is drawn to him despite everything sheโs been taught to believe. He threatens the life sheโs been promised. And choosing him could cost her not just her future, but her freedom.
A gripping dystopian romance filled with forbidden power, ruthless challenges, and a heroine who refuses to burn quietlyโperfect for fans of Divergent and The Hunger Games.
The Library After Dark
Author Ande Pliego
Genres Genre Literature & Fiction, Women Sleuths, Ghost Mysteries, Suspense Thrillers
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A bookseller must escape the infamously haunted library that holds her darkest secrets, but with a murderer in her tour group, escaping alive is not as simple as it seems, in this twisty locked-room thriller from bestselling author of You Are Fatally Invited.
Heโs trying to dig up the skeletons in her closet. Sheโll do anything to keep them buried.
Aria Stokes is finally feeling settledโshe lives in a tiny New York apartment, works as a bookseller at a local shop, and has even taken a leap of faith in love by indulging her attraction to bookstore regular Jasper. And he seems to already know her so well.
As a Valentineโs Day surprise, Jasper gets the two of them tickets to an exclusive, after-dark tour of the Daedalus Libraryโthe grandiose establishment famed for its immersive genre-based reading rooms and, more notoriously, its rumored hauntings. While Aria normally loves all things ghastly, this place holds more dark secrets than sheโd prefer Jasper to know. Like that the last time she was here, she left a body behind.
But when the automatic-door entry malfunctions and Aria, Jasper, and the five other people in their tour group become trapped in the library, they are forced to venture through the storied rooms and hidden passageways of the Daedalus in search of escape . . . and Aria quite literally has nowhere to hide from the shadows of her past. Then the group learns thereโs a murderer in their midst.
Now, as she tries to break out of the libraryโs intricate reading rooms, Aria has to decide who she can trustโand what secrets are best kept buriedโif she wants to make it out alive.
Heโs trying to dig up the skeletons in her closet. Sheโll do anything to keep them buried.
Aria Stokes is finally feeling settledโshe lives in a tiny New York apartment, works as a bookseller at a local shop, and has even taken a leap of faith in love by indulging her attraction to bookstore regular Jasper. And he seems to already know her so well.
As a Valentineโs Day surprise, Jasper gets the two of them tickets to an exclusive, after-dark tour of the Daedalus Libraryโthe grandiose establishment famed for its immersive genre-based reading rooms and, more notoriously, its rumored hauntings. While Aria normally loves all things ghastly, this place holds more dark secrets than sheโd prefer Jasper to know. Like that the last time she was here, she left a body behind.
But when the automatic-door entry malfunctions and Aria, Jasper, and the five other people in their tour group become trapped in the library, they are forced to venture through the storied rooms and hidden passageways of the Daedalus in search of escape . . . and Aria quite literally has nowhere to hide from the shadows of her past. Then the group learns thereโs a murderer in their midst.
Now, as she tries to break out of the libraryโs intricate reading rooms, Aria has to decide who she can trustโand what secrets are best kept buriedโif she wants to make it out alive.
Verity Guild
Author Mai Corland
Genres Literature & Fiction, Traditional Detective Mysteries, Supernatural Mysteries, Enemies to Lovers Romance
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Secrets built this republic; one truth could burn it down.
High Priestess Kerasea Vestal has spent her life hiding the truthโthat sheโs the last surviving heir of the magical bloodline the republic slaughtered. One wrong step could be fatal. But when a senator is brutally killed and a temple blade is found at the scene, all eyes turn to her.
Praetorian Torren Morvane has made a career of dragging liars into the light, and Kerasea is the one person heโs vowed to ruin. But locked on a mountain with a murderer, scheming senators, and a prophecy of death, heโs forced to work at her side. The closer he gets, the more dangerous the truthโand their attractionโbecomes.
With traitors closing in and a nation on the verge of shattering, Kerasea and Torren must risk everything to uncover the real killerโฆeven if it means trusting their sworn enemy.
High Priestess Kerasea Vestal has spent her life hiding the truthโthat sheโs the last surviving heir of the magical bloodline the republic slaughtered. One wrong step could be fatal. But when a senator is brutally killed and a temple blade is found at the scene, all eyes turn to her.
Praetorian Torren Morvane has made a career of dragging liars into the light, and Kerasea is the one person heโs vowed to ruin. But locked on a mountain with a murderer, scheming senators, and a prophecy of death, heโs forced to work at her side. The closer he gets, the more dangerous the truthโand their attractionโbecomes.
With traitors closing in and a nation on the verge of shattering, Kerasea and Torren must risk everything to uncover the real killerโฆeven if it means trusting their sworn enemy.
Homebound
Author Portia Elan
Genres LGBTQ+ Literary Fiction, LGBTQ+ Science Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Five interlocking lives. One beloved story. A dazzling adventure across centuries and continents in search of the things that hold us together.
Itโs 1983 and Becks canโt wait to get the hell out of Cincinnati. Sheโs nineteen, blasting her Walkman, and hiding from the fact that her beloved uncle, the only person who understood her, is dead. But she has work to do: he left her a half-finished game to completeโone last collaboration to find her way out of loneliness.
Little does she know, what Becks is making will echo far into the future and shape the lives of a scientist, a sentient automaton, and a flinty sea captain in ways she cannot imagine. All are bound together by their search for connectionโand by a futuristic traveler on a mysterious mission through space.
A novel about our deep interconnectedness, Homebound is a clear-eyed, hopeful adventure into humanityโs future and capacity for love.
Itโs 1983 and Becks canโt wait to get the hell out of Cincinnati. Sheโs nineteen, blasting her Walkman, and hiding from the fact that her beloved uncle, the only person who understood her, is dead. But she has work to do: he left her a half-finished game to completeโone last collaboration to find her way out of loneliness.
Little does she know, what Becks is making will echo far into the future and shape the lives of a scientist, a sentient automaton, and a flinty sea captain in ways she cannot imagine. All are bound together by their search for connectionโand by a futuristic traveler on a mysterious mission through space.
A novel about our deep interconnectedness, Homebound is a clear-eyed, hopeful adventure into humanityโs future and capacity for love.
The Girl with a Thousand Faces
Author Sunyi Dean
Genres Dark Fantasy, Horror Occult & Supernatural, Historical Fantasy, Asian Myth & Legend
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From the USA Today bestselling author of The Book Eaters comes The Girl with a Thousand Faces, a Gothic tale set in a historical Hong Kong that meshes ancient myths and local legends into a haunting story of ghosts, grief, and women who will not forgive.
When Mercy Chan washed up on the shores of Hong Kong with no family, no money, and no memories, she was thrust into the horrors of World War II. She only survived by hiding in Kowloon Walled City, an infamous, ghost-infested slum full of lost and traumatized civilians. Since the end of the war, she has rebuilt her life and found work with the local triad as a ghost-talker, dealing with the angry and bitter spirits who haunt this place. These days, the filthy gutters and cramped alleyways of Kowloon feel like home.
But the past she canโt remember wonโt let her go. An unusually powerful ghost has infested Kowloonโs waterways, drowning innocents and threatening the district. Unnervingly, it claims to know Mercyโand her forgotten childhood. As Mercy is drawn into a deadly cat-and-mouse game with this malignant spirit, she begins to realize that the monster she fights within these walls may well be one of her own making.
33 years before, mere days ahead of the Japanese invasion, Sung Siu Yin and her mother flee Hong Kong, intending to hide out on her mother's ancestral island home. Itโs beautiful, tranquil, and remote. . . but also inhabited by ghosts ever since the entire village drowned in a storm many years ago. Still, itโs better than living under occupation.
But as the war drags on and isolation sets in, Siu Yin is increasingly drawn into the island's grim pastโa past that may still have a hold on the present. There is a darkness lurking beneath that idyllic ocean, and it has been waiting many years for someone to return.
"The Girl With a Thousand Faces confirms Sunyi Dean as one of the most interesting voices in genre fiction.โโGareth Brown, USA Today bestselling author of The Book of Doors
When Mercy Chan washed up on the shores of Hong Kong with no family, no money, and no memories, she was thrust into the horrors of World War II. She only survived by hiding in Kowloon Walled City, an infamous, ghost-infested slum full of lost and traumatized civilians. Since the end of the war, she has rebuilt her life and found work with the local triad as a ghost-talker, dealing with the angry and bitter spirits who haunt this place. These days, the filthy gutters and cramped alleyways of Kowloon feel like home.
But the past she canโt remember wonโt let her go. An unusually powerful ghost has infested Kowloonโs waterways, drowning innocents and threatening the district. Unnervingly, it claims to know Mercyโand her forgotten childhood. As Mercy is drawn into a deadly cat-and-mouse game with this malignant spirit, she begins to realize that the monster she fights within these walls may well be one of her own making.
33 years before, mere days ahead of the Japanese invasion, Sung Siu Yin and her mother flee Hong Kong, intending to hide out on her mother's ancestral island home. Itโs beautiful, tranquil, and remote. . . but also inhabited by ghosts ever since the entire village drowned in a storm many years ago. Still, itโs better than living under occupation.
But as the war drags on and isolation sets in, Siu Yin is increasingly drawn into the island's grim pastโa past that may still have a hold on the present. There is a darkness lurking beneath that idyllic ocean, and it has been waiting many years for someone to return.
"The Girl With a Thousand Faces confirms Sunyi Dean as one of the most interesting voices in genre fiction.โโGareth Brown, USA Today bestselling author of The Book of Doors
Summer State of Mind
Author Kristy Woodson Harvey
Genres Women's Domestic Life Fiction, Women's Friendship Fiction, Mothers & Children Fiction, Contemporary Women Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
โQueen of the beach read,โ (Cosmopolitan) New York Times bestselling author Kristy Woodson Harvey returns with a heartfelt escape to coastal Carolina.
After the worst day in her professional life, burnt-out NICU nurse Daisy Stevens runs to Cape Carolina, North Carolina, looking for a new lifeโand possibly new romance. On her first day at her โsimplerโ job, high school baseball coach Mason Thaysden discovers an abandoned baby, sending ripples through the entire tight-knit town of Cape Carolina.
Mason is still struggling to reconcile the scars of the injury that kept him out of the big leagues, stuck in his hometown, and searching for a way out. This newcomer and the child theyโve saved together might be just the motivation he needs to stay put. Sparks fly as Mason acquaints Daisy with Cape Carolina, introducing her to his friends and family, including his batty Aunt Tilley, who is looking for relief from long-buried family secrets and her own fresh start.
But as Daisy becomes increasingly attached to this abandoned child, and begins facing her own demons in the process, a startling discovery is made that threatens to rip the entire town of Cape Carolina apart, placing Daisy, Mason, and Tilley in the center of the storm. In a novel that proves that โKristy Woodson Harvey is (the) go-to for elevated beach readsโ (People), they will each learn that with love, understandingโand a community theater production of Hello, Dolly!โsometimes life conspires to bring us just exactly where we belong.
After the worst day in her professional life, burnt-out NICU nurse Daisy Stevens runs to Cape Carolina, North Carolina, looking for a new lifeโand possibly new romance. On her first day at her โsimplerโ job, high school baseball coach Mason Thaysden discovers an abandoned baby, sending ripples through the entire tight-knit town of Cape Carolina.
Mason is still struggling to reconcile the scars of the injury that kept him out of the big leagues, stuck in his hometown, and searching for a way out. This newcomer and the child theyโve saved together might be just the motivation he needs to stay put. Sparks fly as Mason acquaints Daisy with Cape Carolina, introducing her to his friends and family, including his batty Aunt Tilley, who is looking for relief from long-buried family secrets and her own fresh start.
But as Daisy becomes increasingly attached to this abandoned child, and begins facing her own demons in the process, a startling discovery is made that threatens to rip the entire town of Cape Carolina apart, placing Daisy, Mason, and Tilley in the center of the storm. In a novel that proves that โKristy Woodson Harvey is (the) go-to for elevated beach readsโ (People), they will each learn that with love, understandingโand a community theater production of Hello, Dolly!โsometimes life conspires to bring us just exactly where we belong.
Tattered Tides
Author Sarah A Bailey
Genres Romantic Erotica, Contemporary Romance, Small Town Romance, Special Edition Books
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Weston Ashford was determined to have it all. After a tumultuous upbringing, heโd found a family of his own, a safe place to call home, and his surfing. As a World Junior Champion, his future was finally bright, until his past came for him, and one mistake had him sinking straight toward rock bottom.
Years later, heโs fresh-out-the-slammer and stripped of his medal, his future uncertain. When one last chance to follow his dream of becoming a professional surfer presents itself, he takes it with both handsโno distractions, no weakness. That is, until he crosses paths with his coachโs daughter. Weston quickly realizes that, while sheโs the only person capable of shaking his focus, she may be the only one capable of healing his heart too.
Willow Graham isnโt supposed to be here. She had plans, and they didnโt include an abrupt move back to her hometown of Pacific Shores, or dropping out of the University she worked so hard to attend. Her entire life unraveled after a traumatic experience sheโs still struggling to come to terms with, and her only priority is getting back on track.
Both hellbent on rebuilding their futures and rediscovering who they are, Willow and Weston initially find themselves at odds when their shared spaces cause a tension neither of them are prepared for, but as their forced proximity gives way to mutual understanding, they discover a connection deeper than they ever thought possible.
Will their unexpected bond prove strong enough to overcome the tides between them, or will they end in tatters?
Years later, heโs fresh-out-the-slammer and stripped of his medal, his future uncertain. When one last chance to follow his dream of becoming a professional surfer presents itself, he takes it with both handsโno distractions, no weakness. That is, until he crosses paths with his coachโs daughter. Weston quickly realizes that, while sheโs the only person capable of shaking his focus, she may be the only one capable of healing his heart too.
Willow Graham isnโt supposed to be here. She had plans, and they didnโt include an abrupt move back to her hometown of Pacific Shores, or dropping out of the University she worked so hard to attend. Her entire life unraveled after a traumatic experience sheโs still struggling to come to terms with, and her only priority is getting back on track.
Both hellbent on rebuilding their futures and rediscovering who they are, Willow and Weston initially find themselves at odds when their shared spaces cause a tension neither of them are prepared for, but as their forced proximity gives way to mutual understanding, they discover a connection deeper than they ever thought possible.
Will their unexpected bond prove strong enough to overcome the tides between them, or will they end in tatters?
The Library of Flowers
Author L C Chu
Genres Family Life Fiction, Women's Domestic Life Fiction, Mothers & Children Fiction, Contemporary Women Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Rooted in memory and steeped in magic, The Library of Flowers is a radiant exploration of family, identity, and the expectations we inherit, perfect for anyone who has ever carried the weight of a legacyโand dared to make it their own.
For centuries, the Hua women have held sway over the courts of emperors and billionaires with their magical perfumes able to stir hearts and ensure fortunes. And in every fifth generation, an eldest daughter is born with the rarest gift of all: the ability to summon true love.
As a long-awaited fifth daughter, Lucy was supposed to be the miracle her exacting mother had been waiting for. But when her magic failed, Lucy fled Vancouver, her legacy, and the expectations that had nearly broken her. Now, years later, she runs a tiny perfume shop tucked away in Toronto's Kensington Marketโcrafting beautiful, perfectly ordinary scents and keeping her extraordinary past firmly behind her. That is, until a death in the family brings her home...and saddles her with an unwelcome inheritance: the centuries-old Hua family register, brimming with secrets, formulas, and forgotten truths.
As Lucy unravels the stories of the women who came before herโincluding the mother whose complicated heart she never could understandโshe must confront the tangled threads of love, power, and identity...and ask herself whether her magic was ever truly gone, or simply waiting for her to decide for herself what it means to be a daughter of the House of Hua.
For centuries, the Hua women have held sway over the courts of emperors and billionaires with their magical perfumes able to stir hearts and ensure fortunes. And in every fifth generation, an eldest daughter is born with the rarest gift of all: the ability to summon true love.
As a long-awaited fifth daughter, Lucy was supposed to be the miracle her exacting mother had been waiting for. But when her magic failed, Lucy fled Vancouver, her legacy, and the expectations that had nearly broken her. Now, years later, she runs a tiny perfume shop tucked away in Toronto's Kensington Marketโcrafting beautiful, perfectly ordinary scents and keeping her extraordinary past firmly behind her. That is, until a death in the family brings her home...and saddles her with an unwelcome inheritance: the centuries-old Hua family register, brimming with secrets, formulas, and forgotten truths.
As Lucy unravels the stories of the women who came before herโincluding the mother whose complicated heart she never could understandโshe must confront the tangled threads of love, power, and identity...and ask herself whether her magic was ever truly gone, or simply waiting for her to decide for herself what it means to be a daughter of the House of Hua.
Make Believe
Author Mac Barnett
Genres Parenting & Family Reference, Words, Language & Grammar, Writing Reference
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From the newly appointed National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, a timely and intimate meditation on the ways we think about and interact with childrenโs literature, and what that says about our opinions of children and childhood.
The Great Houses of Pill Hill
Author Diane Josefowicz
Genres Genre Literature & Fiction, Women Sleuths, Cozy Mysteries, Amateur Sleuths
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A literary take on the locked-room mystery following a woman who makes miniatures of murder scenes, from a scintillating new voice in crime fiction
Hannah "Cookie" Cooke, an interior decorator and frustrated artist with a sideline making miniature reproductions of crime scenes, is hired for the job of a lifetimeโthe renovation of a spectacular historic New England home owned by New Prestonโs wealthiest couple. But her dream job goes spectacularly wrong when her client, Chuck, is murdered at the housewarming party.
The detective on the case is sure the key to the baffling murder is hiding in one of Cookieโs miniatures. Complicating matters further, Cookie's mother, a retired archaeologist recovering from surgery in a local rehab facility, knows more than she's willing or able to admit about the dream client's dream house and its historyโin particular, why there's a hidden room decorated in 19th-century Egyptian kitsch on the premises, and what it might mean for the house's current owners.
The Great Houses of Pill Hill meditates on the many meanings of possession, consumption, and development. Following an artist struggling to come to terms with her ambitions, talent, and prospects, the novel shifts through interiors of all kinds, from domestic crime scenes to psychological landscapes.
Hannah "Cookie" Cooke, an interior decorator and frustrated artist with a sideline making miniature reproductions of crime scenes, is hired for the job of a lifetimeโthe renovation of a spectacular historic New England home owned by New Prestonโs wealthiest couple. But her dream job goes spectacularly wrong when her client, Chuck, is murdered at the housewarming party.
The detective on the case is sure the key to the baffling murder is hiding in one of Cookieโs miniatures. Complicating matters further, Cookie's mother, a retired archaeologist recovering from surgery in a local rehab facility, knows more than she's willing or able to admit about the dream client's dream house and its historyโin particular, why there's a hidden room decorated in 19th-century Egyptian kitsch on the premises, and what it might mean for the house's current owners.
The Great Houses of Pill Hill meditates on the many meanings of possession, consumption, and development. Following an artist struggling to come to terms with her ambitions, talent, and prospects, the novel shifts through interiors of all kinds, from domestic crime scenes to psychological landscapes.
Change of Plans
Author Sarah Dessen
Genres Teen & Young Adult Family Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Friendship Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From acclaimed and #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah Dessen comes a romantic coming-of-age novel about an unassuming girl who learns to stand on her own while falling in love during a life-changing summer.
Finley has always felt most comfortable in someone elseโs shadow. Fortunately, sheโs got Colin, her magnetic boyfriend, who sweeps her along for activities, friendships, and future plans. Then she goes on a last-minute trip with her distant mom to a family vacation house that Finley didnโt know existed and is now about to be sold.
Her mom was estranged from her own parents and siblings since leaving home for college, and itโs a novelty for Finley to see her aunts and cousins, and to meet the handful of teens who work at the Egg, her auntโs diner, and make up a found family of their ownโincluding undeniably handsome guitarist Ben.
Then her relationship with Colin goes into freefall, and Finleyโs roadmap for life after high school is gone. She has no choice but to live, for the first time, without plans. The longer Finley stays, the closer she gets to the truth about why her mother stayed awayโand why sheโs brought Finley here now.
And the closer she grows to new friends at the Egg, the more she starts to fall for charmingly awkward, soulful Ben and to realize how much of herself sheโs been missing. By the end of the summer, nothing will be the sameโfor this community or for Finley herself.
Finley has always felt most comfortable in someone elseโs shadow. Fortunately, sheโs got Colin, her magnetic boyfriend, who sweeps her along for activities, friendships, and future plans. Then she goes on a last-minute trip with her distant mom to a family vacation house that Finley didnโt know existed and is now about to be sold.
Her mom was estranged from her own parents and siblings since leaving home for college, and itโs a novelty for Finley to see her aunts and cousins, and to meet the handful of teens who work at the Egg, her auntโs diner, and make up a found family of their ownโincluding undeniably handsome guitarist Ben.
Then her relationship with Colin goes into freefall, and Finleyโs roadmap for life after high school is gone. She has no choice but to live, for the first time, without plans. The longer Finley stays, the closer she gets to the truth about why her mother stayed awayโand why sheโs brought Finley here now.
And the closer she grows to new friends at the Egg, the more she starts to fall for charmingly awkward, soulful Ben and to realize how much of herself sheโs been missing. By the end of the summer, nothing will be the sameโfor this community or for Finley herself.
Honey
Author Imani Thompson
Genres Humor About Law & Crime, Fiction Satire, Dark Humor, Literary Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A dark, provocative, adrenaline-rush of a novel about a graduate student who murders bad men and justifies it in the name of feminism, by a bold new voice in fiction
Yrsa is in a funk. Sheโs bored of her PhD program, bored of her research on Afropessimism, bored of the entitled undergrads she has to cater to. But most of all, sheโs bored of the men in her lifeโespecially the bad ones.
When her best friend, Nina, confesses to having an affair with her professor, and that heโs stolen her research, Yrsa is mad. On the quad, Yrsa bumps into the professor and witnesses his death: an unfortunate incident involving his San Pellegrino and a bee allergy. What she sees that afternoon awakens something in her: a taste for murder.
Emboldened, Yrsa decides to chase that high, and soon, no sexist, misbehaving man within commuting distance is safe.
With each murder, Yrsa feels a greater sense of meaning and purposeโfinally, her doctoral research feels useful. But how long can killing in the name of feminist and racial solidarity justify her actions? Will her rampage ever assuage her feelings of rage and revenge? And how long until her actionsโand buried family secretsโcome back to haunt her?
Yrsa is in a funk. Sheโs bored of her PhD program, bored of her research on Afropessimism, bored of the entitled undergrads she has to cater to. But most of all, sheโs bored of the men in her lifeโespecially the bad ones.
When her best friend, Nina, confesses to having an affair with her professor, and that heโs stolen her research, Yrsa is mad. On the quad, Yrsa bumps into the professor and witnesses his death: an unfortunate incident involving his San Pellegrino and a bee allergy. What she sees that afternoon awakens something in her: a taste for murder.
Emboldened, Yrsa decides to chase that high, and soon, no sexist, misbehaving man within commuting distance is safe.
With each murder, Yrsa feels a greater sense of meaning and purposeโfinally, her doctoral research feels useful. But how long can killing in the name of feminist and racial solidarity justify her actions? Will her rampage ever assuage her feelings of rage and revenge? And how long until her actionsโand buried family secretsโcome back to haunt her?
Five
Author Ilona Bannister
Genres Family Life Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Psychological Thrillers, Suspense Thrillers
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Five lives. Five stories. Four will liveโone will die. Who it will be? In this slow-burn masterpiece of psychological fiction, the choice is all yours.
Have you ever tried to pass the time by imagining the lives of the strangers standing next to you? Ilona Bannisterโs Five introduces readers to five seemingly random people waiting for a train. But these are not just any five people. From the beginning we know that one of them is going to die soon. Very soon. In five minutes the next train to London will arrive, killing one of them. But before this happens you will learn their stories.
None of these people are saints. Readers might fall in love with the beautiful young man who is on the verge of gambling his life away. They may pity the cantankerous old woman who has fallen to the ground yet is refusing help. Perhaps readers will look away from the child throwing a tantrum. Or judge his mother, who must surely be to blame. And some will be curiously compelled by the successful and damaged businessman orbiting them all.
These are the candidates for this morningโs misfortune. But they donโt know it. Only you know. And you, our complicit reader, will not be able to resist deciding who deserves to walk away, and who deserves only five more minutes to live.
An incredibly original novel that breaks the fourth wall and asks the reader to be judge, jury, and executioner, Five looks at some of the most complicated issues of contemporary life: motherhood, disability, addiction. Every stranger has a story. And in Ilona Bannisterโs skillful hands, five peopleโs stories come together to create an unforgettable novel.
Have you ever tried to pass the time by imagining the lives of the strangers standing next to you? Ilona Bannisterโs Five introduces readers to five seemingly random people waiting for a train. But these are not just any five people. From the beginning we know that one of them is going to die soon. Very soon. In five minutes the next train to London will arrive, killing one of them. But before this happens you will learn their stories.
None of these people are saints. Readers might fall in love with the beautiful young man who is on the verge of gambling his life away. They may pity the cantankerous old woman who has fallen to the ground yet is refusing help. Perhaps readers will look away from the child throwing a tantrum. Or judge his mother, who must surely be to blame. And some will be curiously compelled by the successful and damaged businessman orbiting them all.
These are the candidates for this morningโs misfortune. But they donโt know it. Only you know. And you, our complicit reader, will not be able to resist deciding who deserves to walk away, and who deserves only five more minutes to live.
An incredibly original novel that breaks the fourth wall and asks the reader to be judge, jury, and executioner, Five looks at some of the most complicated issues of contemporary life: motherhood, disability, addiction. Every stranger has a story. And in Ilona Bannisterโs skillful hands, five peopleโs stories come together to create an unforgettable novel.
The Summer of Second Chances
Author K.L. Walther
Genres Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Girls' & Women's Issues, Teen & Young Adult Stepfamily Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Contemporary Romance, Special Edition Books
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Olivia Lupo feels stuck. All her friends have gone on to their first year of college while she's still at home with her family. There's a good reason though, her beloved grandmother, Annie, has dementia, and Olivia can't bear the thought of being so far from home when Annie needs her the most.
So when her stepmother asks the family to spend three weeks of the summer on Martha's Vineyard, Olivia plans to say no...until she discovers an old box Annie filled with photos and memories from her own time there. Olivia decides to follow in her grandmother's footsteps and spend some time on the island that Annie describes as magical.
When she arrives, she meets Connor, a boy from her past who really wants to be a part of her present... and future. Olivia's never thought about forever with someone until meeting Connor...and it scares her. How can she make plans when all she wants to do is keep close to her grandmother before she's gone forever? As she recreates the memories Annie made a lifetime ago, she has to decide if she's finally willing to give someone her heart, just when she needs it the most.
So when her stepmother asks the family to spend three weeks of the summer on Martha's Vineyard, Olivia plans to say no...until she discovers an old box Annie filled with photos and memories from her own time there. Olivia decides to follow in her grandmother's footsteps and spend some time on the island that Annie describes as magical.
When she arrives, she meets Connor, a boy from her past who really wants to be a part of her present... and future. Olivia's never thought about forever with someone until meeting Connor...and it scares her. How can she make plans when all she wants to do is keep close to her grandmother before she's gone forever? As she recreates the memories Annie made a lifetime ago, she has to decide if she's finally willing to give someone her heart, just when she needs it the most.
Death's Daughter
Author S.A. Barnes
Genres Gothic Fiction, Folklore, Paranormal Romance, Gothic Romances
Publication Date May 5, 2026
DELUXE EDITIONโa beautiful hardcover featuring sprayed edges, a foil case stamp and designed endpapers.
The steamy mythology of Neon Gods meets dark academia in this contemporary romance from USA Today bestselling author S.A. Barnes.
Jocastaโs carved out a normal life at Beecher Universityโwell, as normal as possible with a name like Jocasta and being the only child of Death.
She has good friends and a messy situationship with her former TA. But her friends, her crush, and her classmates donโt know the truth about whoโwhatโshe is. They would be horrified to discover Jo must feed to surviveโand she feeds on them. But she refuses to take lives, feasting instead on their disappointments, failures, and rejections. Itโs not a perfect system, but it works.
Until a sexy strangerโand descendant of Lustโshows up on campus because Death just named Jo as his successor, making her a powerful ally and a massive target.
Joโs safe little bubble is about to burst, but she will do anything to protect the people she loves. Even if it means becoming what she hatesโฆ
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The steamy mythology of Neon Gods meets dark academia in this contemporary romance from USA Today bestselling author S.A. Barnes.
Jocastaโs carved out a normal life at Beecher Universityโwell, as normal as possible with a name like Jocasta and being the only child of Death.
She has good friends and a messy situationship with her former TA. But her friends, her crush, and her classmates donโt know the truth about whoโwhatโshe is. They would be horrified to discover Jo must feed to surviveโand she feeds on them. But she refuses to take lives, feasting instead on their disappointments, failures, and rejections. Itโs not a perfect system, but it works.
Until a sexy strangerโand descendant of Lustโshows up on campus because Death just named Jo as his successor, making her a powerful ally and a massive target.
Joโs safe little bubble is about to burst, but she will do anything to protect the people she loves. Even if it means becoming what she hatesโฆ
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
From #1 New York Timesโbestselling author Julie Murphy comes a sexy rom com about a college marriage of convenience that goes way beyond chemistry 101...The first in a trilogy of romance novels that follows a group of girls as they navigate love, friendship, and new adulthood, this is perfect for fans of Elle Kennedy and Hannah Grace.
CLOVER ROWAN WALSH knows The Plan.
1. Get a full ride to her dream school, Wexley University.
2. Conquer the school of business.
3. Say goodbye to the paycheck-to-paycheck life she and her mom have known for years.
Thereโs just one hiccup. With the first semester rapidly approaching, Clover learns her housing grant has fallen through. But a loophole presents Married couples can live in the dorms for the price of one student. Clover is willing to sacrifice the sanctity of marriage . . . even if it means proposing to the one person she swore sheโd never speak to again.
Bennett Andrew Graves is the only heir to the Graves Coffee empire. After spending his first year at Wexley, squeaking by in classes and becoming personally acquainted with the female student body, he is looking forward to living off campus. Until the girl he grew up with (and whom he completely devastated years ago) walks back into his life with the most absurd Will you marry me?
Bennett canโt refuse Clover. He owes her this, but that doesnโt change the fact that these two can barely carry on a conversation without getting at each otherโs throats. Forget about sharing a dormโmuch less one bed.
But as Clover and Bennett hide the true nature of their marriage, they find that playing house isnโt all that badโespecially with certain marital benefits in the mix. In fact, Clover and Bennett are soon forgetting the most important part of their fake marriage of convenience . . . that itโs supposed to be fake.
CLOVER ROWAN WALSH knows The Plan.
1. Get a full ride to her dream school, Wexley University.
2. Conquer the school of business.
3. Say goodbye to the paycheck-to-paycheck life she and her mom have known for years.
Thereโs just one hiccup. With the first semester rapidly approaching, Clover learns her housing grant has fallen through. But a loophole presents Married couples can live in the dorms for the price of one student. Clover is willing to sacrifice the sanctity of marriage . . . even if it means proposing to the one person she swore sheโd never speak to again.
Bennett Andrew Graves is the only heir to the Graves Coffee empire. After spending his first year at Wexley, squeaking by in classes and becoming personally acquainted with the female student body, he is looking forward to living off campus. Until the girl he grew up with (and whom he completely devastated years ago) walks back into his life with the most absurd Will you marry me?
Bennett canโt refuse Clover. He owes her this, but that doesnโt change the fact that these two can barely carry on a conversation without getting at each otherโs throats. Forget about sharing a dormโmuch less one bed.
But as Clover and Bennett hide the true nature of their marriage, they find that playing house isnโt all that badโespecially with certain marital benefits in the mix. In fact, Clover and Bennett are soon forgetting the most important part of their fake marriage of convenience . . . that itโs supposed to be fake.
A Founding Mother
Author Laura Kamoie
Genres Biographical & Autofiction, Women's Literature & Fiction, Biographical Fiction, Women's Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
In time for the 250th Anniversary of the birth of the United States comes a sweeping, intimate portrayal of Abigail Adamsโwife of one president and mother to anotherโwhose wit, willpower, and wisdom helped shape the fledgling republic. A stunning historical novel with modern-day implications from the New York Times bestselling authors of Americaโs First Daughter and My Dear Hamilton.
In the heart of revolutionary Boston, Abigail Adams raises her children amid riots, blockades, and the outbreak of war. While her husband, John Adams, rises from country lawyer to nation-builder, often away for years at a time, Abigail builds her own independenceโmanaging their farm, making lucrative investments, amassing savings, battling plague and loss, and defending their home. Unafraid to speak her mind, she famously offers fearless political counsel, urging John to โremember the ladiesโ in the new government. Through it all, she becomes his most trusted confidante and indispensable ally.
When peace is secured, Abigail steps onto the world stageโexchanging ideas with Thomas Jefferson in the French countryside, navigating court life as the wife of the Minister to Great Britain, and presiding over the parlor politics of the early American republic in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. Even after her husbandโs presidential administration, she continues battling political foes and working behind the scenes to advance her family, secure independence for the women in her life, and ensure a better life for the next generation of Americans.
From war-torn streets to the chandeliered halls of power, A Founding Mother is the unforgettable story of a woman ahead of her timeโone whose voice, vision, and valor still resonate powerfully today.
In the heart of revolutionary Boston, Abigail Adams raises her children amid riots, blockades, and the outbreak of war. While her husband, John Adams, rises from country lawyer to nation-builder, often away for years at a time, Abigail builds her own independenceโmanaging their farm, making lucrative investments, amassing savings, battling plague and loss, and defending their home. Unafraid to speak her mind, she famously offers fearless political counsel, urging John to โremember the ladiesโ in the new government. Through it all, she becomes his most trusted confidante and indispensable ally.
When peace is secured, Abigail steps onto the world stageโexchanging ideas with Thomas Jefferson in the French countryside, navigating court life as the wife of the Minister to Great Britain, and presiding over the parlor politics of the early American republic in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. Even after her husbandโs presidential administration, she continues battling political foes and working behind the scenes to advance her family, secure independence for the women in her life, and ensure a better life for the next generation of Americans.
From war-torn streets to the chandeliered halls of power, A Founding Mother is the unforgettable story of a woman ahead of her timeโone whose voice, vision, and valor still resonate powerfully today.
Young World
Author Soman Chainani
Genres Genre Literature & Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Social & Family Issue Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Mysteries & Thrillers
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From the international bestselling author of the School for Good and Evil series comes a renegade thriller, about a teenager elected President of the United States, sparking a global revolution of young leadersโuntil one of them is murdered and heโs the prime suspect.
Presented in brilliant neon color, with over 150 nuke-orange visuals, fizzy orange-and-blue stained edges, full-color designed endpapers, and a neon-orange cover case.
Presented in brilliant neon color, with over 150 nuke-orange visuals, fizzy orange-and-blue stained edges, full-color designed endpapers, and a neon-orange cover case.
The Parisian Chapter
Author Janet Skeslien Charles
Genres Women's Friendship Fiction, Mothers & Children Fiction, American Literature, Literary Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library and Miss Morganโs Book Brigade, a charming and cinematic novel following a young woman from Montana who takes a job in the American Library in Paris, where she discovers the power of storytelling and her own dreams.
Paris, 1995: Itโs been five years since Lily Jacobsen and her best friend Mary Louise arrived in Paris from their small town of Froid, Montana. Determined to establish themselves as artistsโLily, a novelist, and Mary Louise, a painterโthey share a tiny walkup and survive on brie and baguettes.
When Mary Louise abruptly moves out, Lily feels alone in the city of light for the first time and must find a new way to support herself. She lands a job as a programs manager at the American Library in Paris, following in the footsteps of Odile, her beloved French neighbor in Montana who told her stories of heroic World War II librarians when Lily was growing up. Here in the storied halls of the ALP, she meets an incredible cast of charactersโher favorite author, quirky coworkers, broke students, trailing spouses, haughty trustees, and devoted volunteersโeach with their own stories... and agendas. Lily often seeks solace in the Afterlife, the libraryโs attic thatโs home to hundreds of unpublished manuscripts, and there, she discovers a box of archives that may be a link to the to Odileโs own Parisian chapter.
This moving, propulsive story offers a panoramic view of a real historic institution, and revisits characters from both of Janet Skeslien Charlesโs beloved novels. Lilyโs story is a love letter to the artistโs life, friendship, and leaving home only to find it again.
Paris, 1995: Itโs been five years since Lily Jacobsen and her best friend Mary Louise arrived in Paris from their small town of Froid, Montana. Determined to establish themselves as artistsโLily, a novelist, and Mary Louise, a painterโthey share a tiny walkup and survive on brie and baguettes.
When Mary Louise abruptly moves out, Lily feels alone in the city of light for the first time and must find a new way to support herself. She lands a job as a programs manager at the American Library in Paris, following in the footsteps of Odile, her beloved French neighbor in Montana who told her stories of heroic World War II librarians when Lily was growing up. Here in the storied halls of the ALP, she meets an incredible cast of charactersโher favorite author, quirky coworkers, broke students, trailing spouses, haughty trustees, and devoted volunteersโeach with their own stories... and agendas. Lily often seeks solace in the Afterlife, the libraryโs attic thatโs home to hundreds of unpublished manuscripts, and there, she discovers a box of archives that may be a link to the to Odileโs own Parisian chapter.
This moving, propulsive story offers a panoramic view of a real historic institution, and revisits characters from both of Janet Skeslien Charlesโs beloved novels. Lilyโs story is a love letter to the artistโs life, friendship, and leaving home only to find it again.
Liar's Creek
Author Matt Goldman
Genres Small Town & Rural Fiction, Suspense Thrillers, Crime Thrillers
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From New York Times bestselling author and Emmy Award-winner Matt Goldman comes Liar's Creek, which asks how far we'll go to protect the people we love.
The small town of Riverwood, Minnesota is true to its name, brimming with beautiful scenes of nature. Its rural landscape is threaded with scenic trout streams, which carve their way through limestone bluffs. But beneath its picturesque facade, danger runs rampant.
Clay Hawkins isnโt a stranger to the secrets of his hometown. After twenty years away, Clay has recently returned home from abroad with his twelve-year-old son Braedon, and his relationship with his father Judd, the recently replaced sheriff, is as strained as ever.
Trouble immediately brews for Clay when his beloved uncle, Teddy, disappears. Together, the three generations of Hawkinses must overturn every stone in Riverwood and confront deep familial wounds to find the one person who brings them together. As danger looms, Clay worries that it might be too late to save Teddyโand that the rest of the family might be next.
The small town of Riverwood, Minnesota is true to its name, brimming with beautiful scenes of nature. Its rural landscape is threaded with scenic trout streams, which carve their way through limestone bluffs. But beneath its picturesque facade, danger runs rampant.
Clay Hawkins isnโt a stranger to the secrets of his hometown. After twenty years away, Clay has recently returned home from abroad with his twelve-year-old son Braedon, and his relationship with his father Judd, the recently replaced sheriff, is as strained as ever.
Trouble immediately brews for Clay when his beloved uncle, Teddy, disappears. Together, the three generations of Hawkinses must overturn every stone in Riverwood and confront deep familial wounds to find the one person who brings them together. As danger looms, Clay worries that it might be too late to save Teddyโand that the rest of the family might be next.
Good Joy, Bad Joy
Author Mikki Brammer
Genres Friendship Fiction, Women's Friendship Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From the bestselling author of The Collected Regrets of Clover comes a vibrant, heartfelt novel about friendship over the decades, self-discovery, and what it means to have a life well-lived.
Break the rules. Find your joy.
For over eighty years, Joy Bridport has played by the rules: she's been a devoted wife and mother, contributing to the community in her small Hudson Valley town. But her quiet existence is jolted when she learns that her best friend, Hazel, only has months left to live. Hazel has always been the more adventurous one of their duo, and she seems at peace with all that sheโs squeezed out of her long life. Yet Joy realizes she canโt say the same.
Determined to live boldly and make the most of the time that she and Hazel have left together, Joy steps outside of her comfort zoneโand into a bit of trouble. But as her foray into rule-breaking escalates into committing petty crime, Joy must consider what kind of legacy she wants to leave behind, and whether there's a way for her to embrace the liberation that "Bad Joy" offers without losing all that she holds dear.
Is it ever too late to become who we're meant to be? With laugh-out-loud hijnks and emotional heft, Good Joy, Bad Joy is a heartwarming and wise celebration of the choices we make, the friendships we cherish, and the lengths we go for love.
Break the rules. Find your joy.
For over eighty years, Joy Bridport has played by the rules: she's been a devoted wife and mother, contributing to the community in her small Hudson Valley town. But her quiet existence is jolted when she learns that her best friend, Hazel, only has months left to live. Hazel has always been the more adventurous one of their duo, and she seems at peace with all that sheโs squeezed out of her long life. Yet Joy realizes she canโt say the same.
Determined to live boldly and make the most of the time that she and Hazel have left together, Joy steps outside of her comfort zoneโand into a bit of trouble. But as her foray into rule-breaking escalates into committing petty crime, Joy must consider what kind of legacy she wants to leave behind, and whether there's a way for her to embrace the liberation that "Bad Joy" offers without losing all that she holds dear.
Is it ever too late to become who we're meant to be? With laugh-out-loud hijnks and emotional heft, Good Joy, Bad Joy is a heartwarming and wise celebration of the choices we make, the friendships we cherish, and the lengths we go for love.
I, Spy
Author L.M. Kemp
Genres Literature & Fiction, Women Sleuths, Espionage Thrillers
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Ex-spy Kendal was one of the best, but now sheโs wearing the toughest disguise of her career: Mom.
Kendal Carter is out in the cold and she wouldnโt have it any other way. Itโs been four years since her daughter Rosie was born and Kendal has kept her miles away from The Game. But when their hiding place is discovered and danger comes too close, Ken is forced to turn to old contacts. Her longtime friend and ex-handler Rico doesnโt miss his chance to pull his best player back in. Whisking them to London, Rico offers them a luxury safe house in an area with good schools. How can she resist?
But thereโs a catch, of course. Rico wants Kendal to come back to work for his espionage agency Bon Temps. Heโs offering a cushy assignment with no apparent downside, running a rookie asset in one of Londonโs biggest, murkiest tech firms. It should be easy enough for someone with her experience, and luckily, mother is the perfect cover.
However, it doesnโt take long for Kendal to realize that Ricoโs got an agenda of his own. The tech firm has hands in Rosieโs school, and the world of PTAs and playdates comes with its own web of allegiances and betrayals. Kendal soon finds herself in way too deep . . .
I, Spy is a propulsive debut thriller about the disguise that all parents wear, and the former lives that come back to haunt us.
Kendal Carter is out in the cold and she wouldnโt have it any other way. Itโs been four years since her daughter Rosie was born and Kendal has kept her miles away from The Game. But when their hiding place is discovered and danger comes too close, Ken is forced to turn to old contacts. Her longtime friend and ex-handler Rico doesnโt miss his chance to pull his best player back in. Whisking them to London, Rico offers them a luxury safe house in an area with good schools. How can she resist?
But thereโs a catch, of course. Rico wants Kendal to come back to work for his espionage agency Bon Temps. Heโs offering a cushy assignment with no apparent downside, running a rookie asset in one of Londonโs biggest, murkiest tech firms. It should be easy enough for someone with her experience, and luckily, mother is the perfect cover.
However, it doesnโt take long for Kendal to realize that Ricoโs got an agenda of his own. The tech firm has hands in Rosieโs school, and the world of PTAs and playdates comes with its own web of allegiances and betrayals. Kendal soon finds herself in way too deep . . .
I, Spy is a propulsive debut thriller about the disguise that all parents wear, and the former lives that come back to haunt us.
She Waits Where Shadows Gather
Author Michelle Tang
Genres Ghost Fiction, Horror Occult & Supernatural, Gothic Fiction, Family Life Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Parents should pass down stories, not spiritsโฆ
Avery and Carlos Tam have built their lives on logic, not legends. Carlos, the host of a hit reality show that exposes paranormal hoaxes, has made a name disproving the supernatural.
But when they travel to his ancestral home in the Philippines, darkness clings to every corner. The mirrors are shrouded. The housekeeper won't stay in the house alone. And no one will speak of the tragedies the family has seen.
Then a brutal car crash leaves Carlos trapped in his own bodyโsilent, helpless, and utterly vulnerable. As Avery tends to him, the house begins to stir. It watches. It listens. And it speaksโin a voice only Carlos can hearโoffering a twisted kind of comfort.
And as the lies buried by Carlos and his family begin to surface, Avery must confront the if the past won't rest, their future may never begin.
Some inherit memories. Others inherit monsters.
Avery and Carlos Tam have built their lives on logic, not legends. Carlos, the host of a hit reality show that exposes paranormal hoaxes, has made a name disproving the supernatural.
But when they travel to his ancestral home in the Philippines, darkness clings to every corner. The mirrors are shrouded. The housekeeper won't stay in the house alone. And no one will speak of the tragedies the family has seen.
Then a brutal car crash leaves Carlos trapped in his own bodyโsilent, helpless, and utterly vulnerable. As Avery tends to him, the house begins to stir. It watches. It listens. And it speaksโin a voice only Carlos can hearโoffering a twisted kind of comfort.
And as the lies buried by Carlos and his family begin to surface, Avery must confront the if the past won't rest, their future may never begin.
Some inherit memories. Others inherit monsters.
Liar's Creek
Author Matt Goldman
Genres Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Thriller, Adult Fiction, Mystery Thriller
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From New York Times bestselling author and Emmy Award-winner Matt Goldman comes Liar's Creek, which asks how far we'll go to protect the people we love.
The small town of Riverwood, Minnesota is true to its name, brimming with beautiful scenes of nature. Its rural landscape is threaded with scenic trout streams, which carve their way through limestone bluffs. But beneath its picturesque facade, danger runs rampant.
Clay Hawkins isnโt a stranger to the secrets of his hometown. After twenty years away, Clay has recently returned home from abroad with his twelve-year-old son Braedon, and his relationship with his father Judd, the recently replaced sheriff, is as strained as ever.
Trouble immediately brews for Clay when his beloved uncle, Teddy, disappears. Together, the three generations of Hawkinses must overturn every stone in Riverwood and confront deep familial wounds to find the one person who brings them together. As danger looms, Clay worries that it might be too late to save Teddyโand that the rest of the family might be next.
The small town of Riverwood, Minnesota is true to its name, brimming with beautiful scenes of nature. Its rural landscape is threaded with scenic trout streams, which carve their way through limestone bluffs. But beneath its picturesque facade, danger runs rampant.
Clay Hawkins isnโt a stranger to the secrets of his hometown. After twenty years away, Clay has recently returned home from abroad with his twelve-year-old son Braedon, and his relationship with his father Judd, the recently replaced sheriff, is as strained as ever.
Trouble immediately brews for Clay when his beloved uncle, Teddy, disappears. Together, the three generations of Hawkinses must overturn every stone in Riverwood and confront deep familial wounds to find the one person who brings them together. As danger looms, Clay worries that it might be too late to save Teddyโand that the rest of the family might be next.
True Crime: A Memoir
Author Patricia Cornwell
Genres Author Biographies, Women's Biographies, Memoirs
Publication Date May 5, 2026
The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell finally tells the story that rivals all of the works that precede her own.
Patricia Cornwell is best known for her international bestselling thriller series about forensic pathologist Dr Kay Scarpetta. Every story comes from somewhere, and Scarpetta's began when Patricia Cornwell embedded herself in a morgue.
In this achingly honest memoir, Cornwell excavates her own life, detailing her traumatic childhood being raised by neglectful parents, her father abandoning the young family on Christmas day, her mother being institutionalised twice, an abusive foster family, and developing a parental relationship with evangelist Billy Graham's wife Ruth. Cornwell depicts a harrowing hospitalisation and near-death car accident. She unflinchingly shares overcoming obstacles that later gave her the ambition to become an award-winning police reporter. From there it was research in a medical examiner's office that would turn into a full-time job. She would become a forensic expert and worldwide publishing phenomenon.
Cornwell leaves no stone unturned in this deeply candid account of her life, offering inspiring insight into what made her into the international sensation she is today.
Patricia Cornwell is best known for her international bestselling thriller series about forensic pathologist Dr Kay Scarpetta. Every story comes from somewhere, and Scarpetta's began when Patricia Cornwell embedded herself in a morgue.
In this achingly honest memoir, Cornwell excavates her own life, detailing her traumatic childhood being raised by neglectful parents, her father abandoning the young family on Christmas day, her mother being institutionalised twice, an abusive foster family, and developing a parental relationship with evangelist Billy Graham's wife Ruth. Cornwell depicts a harrowing hospitalisation and near-death car accident. She unflinchingly shares overcoming obstacles that later gave her the ambition to become an award-winning police reporter. From there it was research in a medical examiner's office that would turn into a full-time job. She would become a forensic expert and worldwide publishing phenomenon.
Cornwell leaves no stone unturned in this deeply candid account of her life, offering inspiring insight into what made her into the international sensation she is today.
As I Dream of You: A Graphic Novel
Author Jennifer Lee
Genres Young Adult Romance Comics & Graphic Novels, Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Death & Dying
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Franny and Sam are each otherโs entire world. So what do you do when your world ends? Frozenโs Jennifer Lee and Lunar New Year Love Storyโs LeUyen Pham deliver a tour de force young adult romance with a supernatural twist.
Falling in love is supposed to hurt. Thatโs what Franny and Sam, two cynical teenagers raised on tales of heartbreak and loss, have come to understand. Yet when they fall for each other, they find the reality of love is something else itโs electrifying, all-encompassing, and easy. Theirs is a love that can conquer anythingโฆperhaps even death.
But Franny and Samโs quest to stay togetherโno matter the costโsoon blurs the line between reality and fantasy, and their shared dream threatens to turn into a nightmare.
Falling in love is supposed to hurt. Thatโs what Franny and Sam, two cynical teenagers raised on tales of heartbreak and loss, have come to understand. Yet when they fall for each other, they find the reality of love is something else itโs electrifying, all-encompassing, and easy. Theirs is a love that can conquer anythingโฆperhaps even death.
But Franny and Samโs quest to stay togetherโno matter the costโsoon blurs the line between reality and fantasy, and their shared dream threatens to turn into a nightmare.
A Brewed Awakening
Author Pepper Basham
Genres Small Town & Rural Fiction, Feel-Good Fiction, Contemporary Christian Romance, Contemporary Christian Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A small-town tea shop owner with a sweet tooth and a devil-may-care Englishman with more savory tastes join forces to cater a British-themed wedding. Sparks fly in this sweet enemies-to-lovers, opposites-attract rom-com perfect for fans of Emma St. Clair and Sarah Adams.
As a child, Daphne Austen fell in love with her grandmother's stories of England, perhaps to the point of romanticizing them a little too much. Now, as an adult, she inherited Tea Thyme, the only English tearoom within a hundred miles of her Blue Ridge Mountain town. But keeping her tea and pastry shop afloat proves to be a continual struggle. Since losing her mother and then grandmother, Daphne's clung to the need for routine, predictability, and beautiful order--and her tearoom shines as the epitome of her Anglophile and obsessive tendencies. But her perfect world spirals into madness when an Englishman moves in next door and shatters all her Darcy daydreams with his loud music, questionable manners, and highly American interests. With an off-the-charts swoon factor, he even tempts to shatter her heart.
Finnley Dashwood left England to start over somewhere his ex-wife's parents couldn't track him down and force their parenting techniques on him. It was as if they wanted to make up for their daughter's neglect by suffocating him with control and unwanted affection. The unassuming town of Wisteria, North Carolina, provides the perfect place to start over and even remake himself as the dashing, English restaurant owner of his earlier days, instead of the somewhat-cynical recluse he'd truly become. With a shop ready for his use, an apartment for him and his daughter, and an acquaintance who owns the revered Wisteria Manor (now event planning center), Finn has everything he wants for a new beginning--except . . . maybe an understanding of the small-town Appalachian culture and the uptight, perfectionistic tea princess next door.
At first, Finn finds the whimsical and notoriously optimistic shop owner humorous and somewhat annoying, but as she begins to invest in the life of his daughter and he observes her authentic love for the people of the town, Finn's heart opens to the terrifying possibility of a second chance at love. As they are forced to work together on a local-celebrity wedding, their differences clash, sizzle, and finally begin to simmer into a unique, complementary blend of sweet and savory. But just as hope blooms into possibility, a massive storm crashes into the little town, upturning all their plans and putting not only their budding romance but the resilience of the tight-knit community to the test.
As a child, Daphne Austen fell in love with her grandmother's stories of England, perhaps to the point of romanticizing them a little too much. Now, as an adult, she inherited Tea Thyme, the only English tearoom within a hundred miles of her Blue Ridge Mountain town. But keeping her tea and pastry shop afloat proves to be a continual struggle. Since losing her mother and then grandmother, Daphne's clung to the need for routine, predictability, and beautiful order--and her tearoom shines as the epitome of her Anglophile and obsessive tendencies. But her perfect world spirals into madness when an Englishman moves in next door and shatters all her Darcy daydreams with his loud music, questionable manners, and highly American interests. With an off-the-charts swoon factor, he even tempts to shatter her heart.
Finnley Dashwood left England to start over somewhere his ex-wife's parents couldn't track him down and force their parenting techniques on him. It was as if they wanted to make up for their daughter's neglect by suffocating him with control and unwanted affection. The unassuming town of Wisteria, North Carolina, provides the perfect place to start over and even remake himself as the dashing, English restaurant owner of his earlier days, instead of the somewhat-cynical recluse he'd truly become. With a shop ready for his use, an apartment for him and his daughter, and an acquaintance who owns the revered Wisteria Manor (now event planning center), Finn has everything he wants for a new beginning--except . . . maybe an understanding of the small-town Appalachian culture and the uptight, perfectionistic tea princess next door.
At first, Finn finds the whimsical and notoriously optimistic shop owner humorous and somewhat annoying, but as she begins to invest in the life of his daughter and he observes her authentic love for the people of the town, Finn's heart opens to the terrifying possibility of a second chance at love. As they are forced to work together on a local-celebrity wedding, their differences clash, sizzle, and finally begin to simmer into a unique, complementary blend of sweet and savory. But just as hope blooms into possibility, a massive storm crashes into the little town, upturning all their plans and putting not only their budding romance but the resilience of the tight-knit community to the test.
Girls Our Age
Author Phoebe Thompson
Genres Family Life Fiction, Friendship Fiction, Women's Divorce Fiction, Women's Domestic Life Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Three women navigate their late twenties together in a bittersweet novel about female friendship, identity, and growing upโfrom the hope and promise of college to the realities that lie beyond.
Lily, Ana, and Margot have been best friends ever since Hawthorne Res Life assigned them as roommates during their first year of college.
Ten years later and Lily is planning her wedding to the endlessly supportive and entirely symmetrical Jack. Ana is a fourth-grade teacher at the prestigious Horizon Academy, alma mater of her long-term boyfriend, whoโs finally asked her to move in. Margot is about to land a life-changing promotion at ad agency McQueen OโDoul.
It all looks good from here.
But when the three friends converge on Maine for the wedding, the real challenges theyโve been able to keep from each other begin to surface. Itโs finally time to open up about the very private struggles theyโve hidden for too long and the risks theyโve taken to protect themselves, and those they love, from the truth.
Lily, Ana, and Margot have been best friends ever since Hawthorne Res Life assigned them as roommates during their first year of college.
Ten years later and Lily is planning her wedding to the endlessly supportive and entirely symmetrical Jack. Ana is a fourth-grade teacher at the prestigious Horizon Academy, alma mater of her long-term boyfriend, whoโs finally asked her to move in. Margot is about to land a life-changing promotion at ad agency McQueen OโDoul.
It all looks good from here.
But when the three friends converge on Maine for the wedding, the real challenges theyโve been able to keep from each other begin to surface. Itโs finally time to open up about the very private struggles theyโve hidden for too long and the risks theyโve taken to protect themselves, and those they love, from the truth.
Rolls and Rivalry
Author Kristy Boyce
Genres Teen & Young Adult Fiction about New Experiences, Teen & Young Adult Coming of Age Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Roll the dice, strike up the band, and get ready for a swoon-worthy summer! A charming gaming romance that blends the magic of D&D with the camaraderie of band campโfrom the bestselling author of Dating and Dragons!
Questing for love . . .
Hazel Buchanan has her senior year mapped out: Win respect as color guard captain, kick off her first D&D campaign, and steer clear of distractions. But her plan takes a critical hit when Maxโher former best friend and longtime crushโreturns to town with drumsticks in hand and an unexplained chip on his shoulder.
Hazel and Max canโt help bickering every time theyโre together, and thanks to meddling parents, heโs invading her D&D game too. As Dungeon Master, sheโs ready to shut him down, but D&D has a way of bringing people together like nothing else. Is this rivalry masking something more? With dice rolling and emotions spinning, Hazel might be in for more than she planned . . .
Questing for love . . .
Hazel Buchanan has her senior year mapped out: Win respect as color guard captain, kick off her first D&D campaign, and steer clear of distractions. But her plan takes a critical hit when Maxโher former best friend and longtime crushโreturns to town with drumsticks in hand and an unexplained chip on his shoulder.
Hazel and Max canโt help bickering every time theyโre together, and thanks to meddling parents, heโs invading her D&D game too. As Dungeon Master, sheโs ready to shut him down, but D&D has a way of bringing people together like nothing else. Is this rivalry masking something more? With dice rolling and emotions spinning, Hazel might be in for more than she planned . . .
The Young Will Remember
Author Eve J. Chung
Genres 20th Century Historical Fiction, Asian American & Pacific Islander Literature, Literary Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A sweeping novel about a correspondent trapped behind enemy lines during the Korean War, and the women who help her find her way home, from the national bestselling author of Daughters of Shandong
โWhen I found the courage to lift my head, I expected to stare down the barrel of a gun, but instead there was a woman in front of me, the back of her white skirt embroidered with columns of yellow chrysanthemums.โ
1950. Itโs the coldest winter in decades, and twenty-eight-year-old Chinese American journalist Ellie Chang is on a military flight to cover a battle in the mountains of North Korea when her plane is shot down.
As she emerges from the fallen aircraft onto an icy field surrounded by the enemy, Ellie is sure itโs the end, certain sheโll never make it home to her parentsโฆuntil a woman pushes her way through the crowd and claims Ellie as the lost daughter that sheโs been searching for since the last war ended. Never mind that Ellie doesnโt speak a word of Korean.
Ellie is taken in by her rescuerโa woman who calls herself โEmmaโโand the Paks, a pastorโs family. She knows she canโt stay and yet thereโs no way sheโll survive on her own.
As the war intensifies, the sky alighting with bombs overhead, Ellie convinces Emma and the Paks to travel south towards an elusive promise of safety, and where Ellie insists they are more likely to find Emmaโs real daughter, stuck on the other side of the frontlines.
Emmaโs decision to claim Ellie, and Ellieโs choice to take her hand will connect their lives forever.
Moving and triumphant, The Young Will Remember sheds light on a โForgotten War,โ the resilience of love within our darkest histories, and the indefatigable determination of mothers to protect their children.
โWhen I found the courage to lift my head, I expected to stare down the barrel of a gun, but instead there was a woman in front of me, the back of her white skirt embroidered with columns of yellow chrysanthemums.โ
1950. Itโs the coldest winter in decades, and twenty-eight-year-old Chinese American journalist Ellie Chang is on a military flight to cover a battle in the mountains of North Korea when her plane is shot down.
As she emerges from the fallen aircraft onto an icy field surrounded by the enemy, Ellie is sure itโs the end, certain sheโll never make it home to her parentsโฆuntil a woman pushes her way through the crowd and claims Ellie as the lost daughter that sheโs been searching for since the last war ended. Never mind that Ellie doesnโt speak a word of Korean.
Ellie is taken in by her rescuerโa woman who calls herself โEmmaโโand the Paks, a pastorโs family. She knows she canโt stay and yet thereโs no way sheโll survive on her own.
As the war intensifies, the sky alighting with bombs overhead, Ellie convinces Emma and the Paks to travel south towards an elusive promise of safety, and where Ellie insists they are more likely to find Emmaโs real daughter, stuck on the other side of the frontlines.
Emmaโs decision to claim Ellie, and Ellieโs choice to take her hand will connect their lives forever.
Moving and triumphant, The Young Will Remember sheds light on a โForgotten War,โ the resilience of love within our darkest histories, and the indefatigable determination of mothers to protect their children.
Clara & the Devil, Volume 1
Author Olivie Blake
Genres Dark Fantasy Graphic Novels, Romance Graphic Novels
Publication Date May 5, 2026
The devil has come to town. And he wants a library card. Star author Olivie Blake and artist Little Chmura kick off a deliciously dark graphic novel romance series with Clara & the Devil, Volume 1.
Clara has the rest of her life figured out. Sheโll graduate college with the support of her best friend, Jonah; marry her adoring boyfriend; take a full-time job at her local library; and settle down in her small seaside hometown. But when an unusual touristโtall, dark, and infernalโcomes to town, Claraโs careful plans quickly start to unravel.
And even while the stranger, who openly calls himself the devil, strikes up a situationship with Jonah, he continues to tempt Clara with reckless talk of power, ambition, and lust. Over the course of one sultry summer, tensions between Clara, Jonah, and the devil mount to an intolerable degree, and Clara is forced to confront the desires sheโs kept secret her whole life, even from herself.
This deliciously dark tale of Faustian bargains and seduction from New York Timesโbestselling author Olivie Blake and fan-favorite artist Little Chmura kicks off a series that explores artistry and power through the temptation of the seven deadly sins.
Clara has the rest of her life figured out. Sheโll graduate college with the support of her best friend, Jonah; marry her adoring boyfriend; take a full-time job at her local library; and settle down in her small seaside hometown. But when an unusual touristโtall, dark, and infernalโcomes to town, Claraโs careful plans quickly start to unravel.
And even while the stranger, who openly calls himself the devil, strikes up a situationship with Jonah, he continues to tempt Clara with reckless talk of power, ambition, and lust. Over the course of one sultry summer, tensions between Clara, Jonah, and the devil mount to an intolerable degree, and Clara is forced to confront the desires sheโs kept secret her whole life, even from herself.
This deliciously dark tale of Faustian bargains and seduction from New York Timesโbestselling author Olivie Blake and fan-favorite artist Little Chmura kicks off a series that explores artistry and power through the temptation of the seven deadly sins.
The Heart You Kept
Author T.L. Swan
Genres Genre Literature & Fiction, Romantic Comedy, Billionaires & Millionaires Romance, Alpha Male Romance
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From #1 Amazon bestselling author T L Swan, comes the seductive world of forbidden luxury, where nothing is as it seems. Welcome to the addiction that is Kings Of The Riviera
He was never meant to be anything more than a memory.
But now heโs backโฆ and more magnetic than ever.
Three years after a secret weekend in the Swiss Alps, Alora Sorenson thought sheโd completely moved on from the mysterious man who turned her world upside down. That is until Edward Prescott walks back into her life: richer, more powerful, and even harder to resist.
As the billionaire owner of the worldโs largest casino empire, Edward is the definition of untouchable. Heโs a dark, commanding force in a world of high society, luxury yachts, and ruthless enemies.
Alora prefers a serene and simple life, surrounded by antiques and vintage fashion.
She doesnโt belong in his world, and yetโฆ sheโs never stopped wanting him.
But behind his intoxicating charm lie hidden dangers, and in the shadows of the Riviera, will the past reemerge and destroy everything?
Secrets brought them together.
But will they also tear them apart?
He was never meant to be anything more than a memory.
But now heโs backโฆ and more magnetic than ever.
Three years after a secret weekend in the Swiss Alps, Alora Sorenson thought sheโd completely moved on from the mysterious man who turned her world upside down. That is until Edward Prescott walks back into her life: richer, more powerful, and even harder to resist.
As the billionaire owner of the worldโs largest casino empire, Edward is the definition of untouchable. Heโs a dark, commanding force in a world of high society, luxury yachts, and ruthless enemies.
Alora prefers a serene and simple life, surrounded by antiques and vintage fashion.
She doesnโt belong in his world, and yetโฆ sheโs never stopped wanting him.
But behind his intoxicating charm lie hidden dangers, and in the shadows of the Riviera, will the past reemerge and destroy everything?
Secrets brought them together.
But will they also tear them apart?
The Cove
Author Claire Rose
Genres Teen & Young Adult Literature & Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Horror, Teen & Young Adult Paranormal & Urban Fantasy
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Midsommar meets Fear Street in this modern, sea-soaked folk horror debut about fighting to survive and fighting to be yourself.
Seventeen-year-old Lindsay Weinberg has just been kicked out of yet another prep school and exiled to her uncleโs farm in the cold, isolated town of Marbury, Maine. But Uncle Levi is gone, leaving the farmhouse under the strict rule of his new zealously evangelical wife, who runs a reform camp for troubled teens. Up at dawn. Manual labor all day. No phones. No computers. No way out.
When Lindsay meets the twins, Phin and Cass, who live on a nearby island, everything changes. One reckless night, she convinces the others to sneak out for a party. The night is unforgettableโat least, the parts they can remember. The next morning, they wake in their own beds, clutching seashell tokens, hearts pounding, with no memory of how they got home. Except one camper never made it back.
As disappearances mount and dark secrets rise, Lindsay and her friends must unravel the mystery of the islandโbefore The Cove claims them all.
Seventeen-year-old Lindsay Weinberg has just been kicked out of yet another prep school and exiled to her uncleโs farm in the cold, isolated town of Marbury, Maine. But Uncle Levi is gone, leaving the farmhouse under the strict rule of his new zealously evangelical wife, who runs a reform camp for troubled teens. Up at dawn. Manual labor all day. No phones. No computers. No way out.
When Lindsay meets the twins, Phin and Cass, who live on a nearby island, everything changes. One reckless night, she convinces the others to sneak out for a party. The night is unforgettableโat least, the parts they can remember. The next morning, they wake in their own beds, clutching seashell tokens, hearts pounding, with no memory of how they got home. Except one camper never made it back.
As disappearances mount and dark secrets rise, Lindsay and her friends must unravel the mystery of the islandโbefore The Cove claims them all.
Body Count
Author Codie Crowley
Genres Bisexual Fiction for Young Adults, Teen & Young Adult Social & Family Issue Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Monster Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
In this sapphic slasher novel, Sundae Valentine made a deal with a monster in Wildwood, N.J., when she was a child, and barely escaped with her life. Six years later, Sundaeโs braving Wildwood again for a killer beach party to celebrate prom with the cheerleaders and the football team. But the monster is back, too, and this time heโll stop at nothing to make sure she pays her debts.
Now Then
Author Morgan Radford
Genres Cultural Heritage Fiction, Women's Literature & Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
In this sweeping debut novel by NBC News Anchor Morgan Radford, Now Then follows a Harvard student navigating her own path to self-discovery while uncovering her motherโs secret past fleeing the Cuban Revolution.
Now โ 1991 Cambridge, MA. Liliana Soto Walker is an 18-year-old freshman who arrives at Harvard from the humble Appalachian home of her Cuban immigrant mother and Black American father. Lily feels out of place in this new world of privilege, but her roommate Hana and a budding romance with Vikram โ a charming Indian-British postdoctoral student โ stirs a new sense of belonging. As Lily navigates the complexities of college life, her mother, Marisol, finally begins to reveal her past through heartfelt letters, sparking Lily's journey to uncover hidden histories and discover what it means to endure โ and find happiness again. Meanwhile, Lily and Vikram form a deep bond that sweeps across decades and continents, one marked by amazing-turned-devastating missed connections.
Then โ 1957 Havana, Cuba. Marisol, Lilyโs mother, is a bright young woman with dreams of becoming a journalist. But as the calls for a government coup reach a deadly crescendo, one deadly night ahead of the Cuban Revolution forces Marisol to flee her homeland, leaving her scarred in ways she has never revealed. Until now. Through their letters, the secrets Marisol has kept hidden for years finally begin to surface, challenging Lilyโs understanding of who her mother really is โ and by extension, herself.
Heartfelt and romantic, suspenseful and surprising, Now Then is a powerful tale that explores the weight of secrets, the hope that comes with second chances, and the choices we live with โ and love through โ forever.
Now โ 1991 Cambridge, MA. Liliana Soto Walker is an 18-year-old freshman who arrives at Harvard from the humble Appalachian home of her Cuban immigrant mother and Black American father. Lily feels out of place in this new world of privilege, but her roommate Hana and a budding romance with Vikram โ a charming Indian-British postdoctoral student โ stirs a new sense of belonging. As Lily navigates the complexities of college life, her mother, Marisol, finally begins to reveal her past through heartfelt letters, sparking Lily's journey to uncover hidden histories and discover what it means to endure โ and find happiness again. Meanwhile, Lily and Vikram form a deep bond that sweeps across decades and continents, one marked by amazing-turned-devastating missed connections.
Then โ 1957 Havana, Cuba. Marisol, Lilyโs mother, is a bright young woman with dreams of becoming a journalist. But as the calls for a government coup reach a deadly crescendo, one deadly night ahead of the Cuban Revolution forces Marisol to flee her homeland, leaving her scarred in ways she has never revealed. Until now. Through their letters, the secrets Marisol has kept hidden for years finally begin to surface, challenging Lilyโs understanding of who her mother really is โ and by extension, herself.
Heartfelt and romantic, suspenseful and surprising, Now Then is a powerful tale that explores the weight of secrets, the hope that comes with second chances, and the choices we live with โ and love through โ forever.
The Wish
Author Heather Morris
Genres Coming of Age Fiction, Family Life Fiction, Friendship Fiction, Women's Domestic Life Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From the #1 bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz comes a heartbreaking contemporary novel full of the authorโs characteristic empathy and understanding of the human a dying teenager with a final wish, a lonely young man on a journey towards connection, and the unexpected friendship they find together, this is an irresistible and unforgettable read for fans of Jojo Moyes, Jodi Picoult, and John Green.
Jesse is fifteen. She loves her friends, her little brother and her parents, even when theyโre arguing, which feels constant these days. But most of all, she loves playing video games. Even from her hospital bed.
Alex is twenty-nine. He doesn't love a lot of things and isnโt really sure he knows how to. A virtual reality games designer, his work desk is empty except for his computer, much like his life sometimes feels.
Then Jesse makes a wish. A simple a video experience made of her life, something to be there, just in case she isnโt.
One loving teenager.
One lonely adult.
Which one will get the happy ending?
Jesse is fifteen. She loves her friends, her little brother and her parents, even when theyโre arguing, which feels constant these days. But most of all, she loves playing video games. Even from her hospital bed.
Alex is twenty-nine. He doesn't love a lot of things and isnโt really sure he knows how to. A virtual reality games designer, his work desk is empty except for his computer, much like his life sometimes feels.
Then Jesse makes a wish. A simple a video experience made of her life, something to be there, just in case she isnโt.
One loving teenager.
One lonely adult.
Which one will get the happy ending?
138 Main Street
Author Gavin Bell
Genres Psychological Fiction, Police Procedurals, Women Sleuths, Cozy Animal Mysteries
Publication Date May 7, 2026
AN ADDRESS TO DIE FORโฆ
Thereโs a killer on the loose. And heโs targeting one specific addressโ138 Main Street. The problem? There are over 7,000 Main Streets in the USA. And the police and FBI have no clue which one will be next.
For FBI Special Agent Ben Walker and his rookie colleague, Officer Zoe Hill, the pressure to solve the case is unimaginable. There arenโt enough police officers to cover every house, and vigilante residents are attacking anyone who rings their doorbell. Main Street might be one of Americaโs most popular addresses, but for those living at number 138, it comes down to fight or flight.
Then a manuscript is sent to the New York Times, purporting to be the manifesto of the โMain Street Killerโ and demanding radical social change. As the effect of the terror campaign takes hold across the nation, Walker and Hill find themselves in a race against time to stop the killer. But with their target always several steps ahead, and almost 3,800,000 square miles of ground to cover, theyโll have to find him firstโฆ
Thereโs a killer on the loose. And heโs targeting one specific addressโ138 Main Street. The problem? There are over 7,000 Main Streets in the USA. And the police and FBI have no clue which one will be next.
For FBI Special Agent Ben Walker and his rookie colleague, Officer Zoe Hill, the pressure to solve the case is unimaginable. There arenโt enough police officers to cover every house, and vigilante residents are attacking anyone who rings their doorbell. Main Street might be one of Americaโs most popular addresses, but for those living at number 138, it comes down to fight or flight.
Then a manuscript is sent to the New York Times, purporting to be the manifesto of the โMain Street Killerโ and demanding radical social change. As the effect of the terror campaign takes hold across the nation, Walker and Hill find themselves in a race against time to stop the killer. But with their target always several steps ahead, and almost 3,800,000 square miles of ground to cover, theyโll have to find him firstโฆ
The Rule of Three (Deluxe Edition)
Author Sara Cate
Genres Literature & Fiction, Billionaires & Millionaires Romance, Alpha Male Romance, Special Edition Books
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Three hearts. One consuming fire.
Julian Kade hates everyone. But when a power outage traps him in a Paris elevator with sharp-tongued chef Freya Kapoor and charming street fighter Archer Wilde, an unexpected spark ignites between them. By the end of the twelve hours that follow, theyโve shared their darkest desiresโฆand formed a bond none of them could have expected.
Freya Kapoor has dreams, and getting sidetracked by two billionaires wasn't part of her careful plan. But when the two men whoโve begun to dominate her body and mind present Freya with a chance to open the restaurant of her dreams, boundaries quickly blurโฆand her orderly world gets increasingly complicated.
Archer Wilde never thought he'd stop fighting long enough to get tangled up with two such different people. Yet the three of them fit together like nothing before, unlocking hidden desires they never knew they craved. But beneath the perfect facade are three individuals battling demons of their own. Ultimately, as passion deepens into something far more dangerous, Freya, Julian, and Archer will have to choose whether they're willing to risk everything theyโve built for a love as fierce as it is free.
Julian Kade hates everyone. But when a power outage traps him in a Paris elevator with sharp-tongued chef Freya Kapoor and charming street fighter Archer Wilde, an unexpected spark ignites between them. By the end of the twelve hours that follow, theyโve shared their darkest desiresโฆand formed a bond none of them could have expected.
Freya Kapoor has dreams, and getting sidetracked by two billionaires wasn't part of her careful plan. But when the two men whoโve begun to dominate her body and mind present Freya with a chance to open the restaurant of her dreams, boundaries quickly blurโฆand her orderly world gets increasingly complicated.
Archer Wilde never thought he'd stop fighting long enough to get tangled up with two such different people. Yet the three of them fit together like nothing before, unlocking hidden desires they never knew they craved. But beneath the perfect facade are three individuals battling demons of their own. Ultimately, as passion deepens into something far more dangerous, Freya, Julian, and Archer will have to choose whether they're willing to risk everything theyโve built for a love as fierce as it is free.
A Zoom with a View
Author Jess Cannon
Genres Genre Literature & Fiction, Women Sleuths, Cozy Mysteries, Science Fiction Crime & Mystery
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A fiction debut filled with heart and humor, A Zoom with a View will make you want to move to Blue Oakโif only the annual Fourth of July festivities didn't end with a dead body.
Leo can't believe she's back in Blue Oak. Her small, quirky Texas hometown feels suffocating after trying to make it big as an English professor in New Yorkโespecially due to her strained relationship with her overly hair-sprayed mother, Karina. But with Leoโs career in academia in shambles, at least she's able to work as a photographer for her godmother's real estate business. And her best friend, Emily, is around to help her navigate through the messโand maybe force her to reconnect with her old high school boyfriend, Mack.
But while at work, Leo makes a grisly discovery at one of her godmother's properties: the dead body of rival real estate agent and social media influencer Chaz. Even worse, Leo and Emily have been secretly running a snarky Reddit page making fun of Chazโs cringe-inducing advice and duck-faced selfies. When someone she loves is accused of the murder, Leo finds herself flung headfirst into a dangerous investigation, teaming up with a local detective who is a lot more attractive than she remembered when they were both teenagers. Meanwhile, Karina has been acting stranger and stranger, as if all her hair hides a big secret. . . .
Leo can't believe she's back in Blue Oak. Her small, quirky Texas hometown feels suffocating after trying to make it big as an English professor in New Yorkโespecially due to her strained relationship with her overly hair-sprayed mother, Karina. But with Leoโs career in academia in shambles, at least she's able to work as a photographer for her godmother's real estate business. And her best friend, Emily, is around to help her navigate through the messโand maybe force her to reconnect with her old high school boyfriend, Mack.
But while at work, Leo makes a grisly discovery at one of her godmother's properties: the dead body of rival real estate agent and social media influencer Chaz. Even worse, Leo and Emily have been secretly running a snarky Reddit page making fun of Chazโs cringe-inducing advice and duck-faced selfies. When someone she loves is accused of the murder, Leo finds herself flung headfirst into a dangerous investigation, teaming up with a local detective who is a lot more attractive than she remembered when they were both teenagers. Meanwhile, Karina has been acting stranger and stranger, as if all her hair hides a big secret. . . .
Liberty Island
Author Virginia Hume
Genres 20th Century Historical Fiction, Family Life Fiction, Women's Domestic Life Fiction, Women's Friendship Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From the bestselling author of Haven Point comes a sweeping historical novel about the generations of a family that spends summers in a seaside enclave on the rocky Maine coastline, for fans of Elin Hilderbrand, Beatriz Williams, and Sarah Blake.
1900: 28-year-old Anna Bradley spends summer days supervising three little girls, including her niece, Julia Demarest, on an island off the coast of Haven Point, Maine. There, the girls run free, pretending to be all the things society says they cannot: pirates and rum runners, treasure hunters and Roughriders.
A college graduate determined to remain unmarried, Anna is eager to establish herself independently. Inspired by the summer antics of Julia and her friends, Anna writes "Liberty Island"โa depiction of girls unshackled from the domestic sphereโunder a pen name. Young readers are rhapsodic, and it is a runaway bestseller, but itโs not well received by the society matrons in her sisterโs circle, who believe that books for girls should prepare them for their future as wives and mothers.
With "Liberty Island" growing in popularity, Annaโs secret is in peril, and when sheโs suddenly thrown together with the former object of her affections, she must rethink everything she thought she knew about independence, marriage, and her dreams for her future.
1922: 29-year-old Julia Demarest was once proud of her auntโs "Liberty Island" books. But as new, bohemian ideas take hold amongst her peers, she has come to see them as quaint, at best. In hindsight, her childhood summers on the island seem like more of an exile than a liberation, and her Boston Brahmin familyโparticularly her mother, Elizabeth Demarestโlike relics of an unlamented past.
But in an effort to break free of expectations, she has ended up alienated from her family and heartbroken when a romantic entanglement with a free-spirited intellectual ends badly. When Elizabeth urgently calls her back to Haven Point, Julia is confronted by all the things she's been trying to escape, and forced to reconsider what truly brings her happiness.
A sweeping saga set in the first tumultuous decades of the twentieth century, Liberty Island is an ode to mothers and daughters, love, friendship, and the ways in which women define freedom on their own terms.
1900: 28-year-old Anna Bradley spends summer days supervising three little girls, including her niece, Julia Demarest, on an island off the coast of Haven Point, Maine. There, the girls run free, pretending to be all the things society says they cannot: pirates and rum runners, treasure hunters and Roughriders.
A college graduate determined to remain unmarried, Anna is eager to establish herself independently. Inspired by the summer antics of Julia and her friends, Anna writes "Liberty Island"โa depiction of girls unshackled from the domestic sphereโunder a pen name. Young readers are rhapsodic, and it is a runaway bestseller, but itโs not well received by the society matrons in her sisterโs circle, who believe that books for girls should prepare them for their future as wives and mothers.
With "Liberty Island" growing in popularity, Annaโs secret is in peril, and when sheโs suddenly thrown together with the former object of her affections, she must rethink everything she thought she knew about independence, marriage, and her dreams for her future.
1922: 29-year-old Julia Demarest was once proud of her auntโs "Liberty Island" books. But as new, bohemian ideas take hold amongst her peers, she has come to see them as quaint, at best. In hindsight, her childhood summers on the island seem like more of an exile than a liberation, and her Boston Brahmin familyโparticularly her mother, Elizabeth Demarestโlike relics of an unlamented past.
But in an effort to break free of expectations, she has ended up alienated from her family and heartbroken when a romantic entanglement with a free-spirited intellectual ends badly. When Elizabeth urgently calls her back to Haven Point, Julia is confronted by all the things she's been trying to escape, and forced to reconsider what truly brings her happiness.
A sweeping saga set in the first tumultuous decades of the twentieth century, Liberty Island is an ode to mothers and daughters, love, friendship, and the ways in which women define freedom on their own terms.
Look What You Made Me Do
Author John Lanchester
Genres Family Life Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Fiction Satire, Literary Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A propulsive tale of intergenerational tension and revenge from the Booker Prize nominee.
"Every successful marriage has its own private language." So it is for baby boomer Kate and her beloved architect husband Jack, thirty years into their seemingly idyllic metropolitan North London life. And so it is for spiky millennial screenwriter Phoebe and her charming loafer of a partner, Tony.
But when Phoebeโs steamy television series Cheating becomes the yearโs most talked-about show, Kate thinks she sees in it details and intimacies of her marriage that only she and her husband could possibly have known. Who has betrayed whom? Who has stolen whose storyโand why?
A black comedy of love, trust, resentment, and entitlement, Look What You Made Me Do is the sharply observed and suspenseful story of two very different women from two very different generations, entangled in a battle only one of them can win.
"Every successful marriage has its own private language." So it is for baby boomer Kate and her beloved architect husband Jack, thirty years into their seemingly idyllic metropolitan North London life. And so it is for spiky millennial screenwriter Phoebe and her charming loafer of a partner, Tony.
But when Phoebeโs steamy television series Cheating becomes the yearโs most talked-about show, Kate thinks she sees in it details and intimacies of her marriage that only she and her husband could possibly have known. Who has betrayed whom? Who has stolen whose storyโand why?
A black comedy of love, trust, resentment, and entitlement, Look What You Made Me Do is the sharply observed and suspenseful story of two very different women from two very different generations, entangled in a battle only one of them can win.
Holloway: A Novel of Time Travel, Family, and Autism for Teens
Author Elana K. Arnold
Genres Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Death & Dying, Teen & Young Adult Parents Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Magical Realism Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Award-winning author Elana K. Arnold returns with a boldly visionary, deeply felt story that crosses space and time to examine loss and love in a world on the brink.
It is the late summer of 2021, and a girl named Nora is on the Paris Metro.
Nora, whose mother loved her, even though Nora was broken.
Nora, who couldnโt help her mother when her mother needed her most.
Nora, from whom the pandemic has taken nearly everything, save the object she clings to: a cylinder containing her motherโs ashes.
With no family left, no friends to speak of, and no way to turn back time, Nora has come to France to keep a promise she never got to make: to spread the ashes in a place her mother never got to see. But instead, Nora finds herself on the run through a forest in the night, taking refuge in a dark holloway. And when she wakes, and tries to make her way back to something she recognizes, she realizes that is impossible.
Because it is no longer 2021.
Questioning everythingโincluding her own sanityโNora sets out on a journey through a time and place completely foreign to her, and yet one that, much like the time and place she came from, is defined by death, loss, fear, and uncertainty. A journey in which she must find a way to honor her motherโand heal herselfโin a world that feels irrevocably broken.
It is the late summer of 2021, and a girl named Nora is on the Paris Metro.
Nora, whose mother loved her, even though Nora was broken.
Nora, who couldnโt help her mother when her mother needed her most.
Nora, from whom the pandemic has taken nearly everything, save the object she clings to: a cylinder containing her motherโs ashes.
With no family left, no friends to speak of, and no way to turn back time, Nora has come to France to keep a promise she never got to make: to spread the ashes in a place her mother never got to see. But instead, Nora finds herself on the run through a forest in the night, taking refuge in a dark holloway. And when she wakes, and tries to make her way back to something she recognizes, she realizes that is impossible.
Because it is no longer 2021.
Questioning everythingโincluding her own sanityโNora sets out on a journey through a time and place completely foreign to her, and yet one that, much like the time and place she came from, is defined by death, loss, fear, and uncertainty. A journey in which she must find a way to honor her motherโand heal herselfโin a world that feels irrevocably broken.
Love on the Line
Author C.W. Farnsworth
Genres Literature & Fiction, Contemporary Romance
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Theyโve trained for every challenge โฆ except each other.
Defense has always been Claire Caldwellโs default setting. Signing with the Boston Siege, her hometown team, was a dream come true. But outside of soccer, her life is slowly falling apart. Sheโs focused on one making this seasonโlikely her lastโcount after years of disappointments.
Otto Bergerโs life was just upended mid-season. Sidelined for the first time in his career with a serious injury, he winds up thousands of miles from home, face-to-face with a woman he never expected to see again. Assistant coaching for the Siege while recovering sounded simple. Coaching Claire? Complicated.
Theyโre no longer the young Olympic hopefuls who met in Paris. One walked away without a gold medal. Both left broken-hearted. Neither anticipated being forced to work together years later.
Can two people with a history they canโt escape rewrite their story, or are they doomed to relive the same ending?
Defense has always been Claire Caldwellโs default setting. Signing with the Boston Siege, her hometown team, was a dream come true. But outside of soccer, her life is slowly falling apart. Sheโs focused on one making this seasonโlikely her lastโcount after years of disappointments.
Otto Bergerโs life was just upended mid-season. Sidelined for the first time in his career with a serious injury, he winds up thousands of miles from home, face-to-face with a woman he never expected to see again. Assistant coaching for the Siege while recovering sounded simple. Coaching Claire? Complicated.
Theyโre no longer the young Olympic hopefuls who met in Paris. One walked away without a gold medal. Both left broken-hearted. Neither anticipated being forced to work together years later.
Can two people with a history they canโt escape rewrite their story, or are they doomed to relive the same ending?
Taut and spellbinding, Immersions follows the aftermath of a celebrated dancerโs abrupt decision to quit her company and join an enclosed convent in France, and her younger sisterโs obsessive conviction that her sisterโs ex-husband is responsible.
Francesโs older sister Charley was a star of the modern dance world. But just as she was ascending, she fell in love with Johnny, an enigmatic trust fund artist, and married him. A few years into their turbulent marriage, Charley mysteriously leaves her dance company and joins an enclosed convent in Provence. Much to the shock of her family, she changes her name to Sister Anne and cuts off contact with the outside world.
Frances, a dancer herself, grew up in the shadow of her brilliant sister and is suddenly unmoored without her. From their first uneasy meeting, Frances has distrusted Johnny. Now, she is certain he had something to do with her sisterโs abrupt abandonment of her art and family. When Frances discovers that Johnny has returned to New York, she reaches out to him, looking for answers and seeking confrontation. The two plunge into an ambiguous intimacyโdiving ever deeper, as each tries to unlock the other's secrets. A slender and twisted tale of sexual coming-of-age and of the deep bonds of lust and loyalty, Immersions asks how we are madeโand unmadeโby desire.
Francesโs older sister Charley was a star of the modern dance world. But just as she was ascending, she fell in love with Johnny, an enigmatic trust fund artist, and married him. A few years into their turbulent marriage, Charley mysteriously leaves her dance company and joins an enclosed convent in Provence. Much to the shock of her family, she changes her name to Sister Anne and cuts off contact with the outside world.
Frances, a dancer herself, grew up in the shadow of her brilliant sister and is suddenly unmoored without her. From their first uneasy meeting, Frances has distrusted Johnny. Now, she is certain he had something to do with her sisterโs abrupt abandonment of her art and family. When Frances discovers that Johnny has returned to New York, she reaches out to him, looking for answers and seeking confrontation. The two plunge into an ambiguous intimacyโdiving ever deeper, as each tries to unlock the other's secrets. A slender and twisted tale of sexual coming-of-age and of the deep bonds of lust and loyalty, Immersions asks how we are madeโand unmadeโby desire.
Our Secret Summer
Author R.S. Grey
Genres Family Life Fiction, Travel & Vacation Fiction, Workplace Romance, Billionaires & Millionaires Romance
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Escape to Ibiza in this sparkling summertime romance about a young woman determined to complete her late sister's bucket list, from USA Today bestselling author R. S. Grey, perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Abby Jimenez.
At twenty-six, Isabel De Vere already has her whole life mapped out. With a degree from a good school and a closet full of blazers, she is climbing the corporate ladder in her family business, knowing everything will fall into place from there. But Isabelโs paint-by-numbers life falls apart when her vivacious and beloved sister dies, leaving behind an unfinished bucket list.
Isabel escapes to Ibiza for the summer where she becomes free spirited Elle, working at a club by night, checking off items on the bucket list by day. Surfing? Check. Dance till dawn? Check. Get a tattoo? Check. Fall in love? Working on it.
Enter millionaire club owner Cristiano Moreno WinthropโฆIsabel's boss. Handsome face permanently marred by his scowl, she can't quite manage to stay away from him. And soon, between late night talks and afternoons on his yacht, Isabel discovers there's more under the surface than she expectedโฆand she might have found the way to finish this bucket list after all.
Equal parts swoony destination romance and a celebration of life after loss, this sun-soaked story is a perfect summertime getaway.
At twenty-six, Isabel De Vere already has her whole life mapped out. With a degree from a good school and a closet full of blazers, she is climbing the corporate ladder in her family business, knowing everything will fall into place from there. But Isabelโs paint-by-numbers life falls apart when her vivacious and beloved sister dies, leaving behind an unfinished bucket list.
Isabel escapes to Ibiza for the summer where she becomes free spirited Elle, working at a club by night, checking off items on the bucket list by day. Surfing? Check. Dance till dawn? Check. Get a tattoo? Check. Fall in love? Working on it.
Enter millionaire club owner Cristiano Moreno WinthropโฆIsabel's boss. Handsome face permanently marred by his scowl, she can't quite manage to stay away from him. And soon, between late night talks and afternoons on his yacht, Isabel discovers there's more under the surface than she expectedโฆand she might have found the way to finish this bucket list after all.
Equal parts swoony destination romance and a celebration of life after loss, this sun-soaked story is a perfect summertime getaway.
The Author Weekend
Author Laura Zigman
Genres Self-Help & Psychology Humor, Friendship Fiction, Women's Friendship Fiction, Fiction Satire
Publication Date May 5, 2026
The Devil Wears Prada meets White Lotus in a story of colliding egos and shocking betrayal, as intoxicatingly ice-cold as the pink Prosecco that flows all weekend.
Everything needs to be just right for bestselling mystery writer Faye Waderโs first ever fan weekend. Her sales might be slippingโonly a little!โbut her readers still love her enough to pony up for three days and two nights on Great Misery Island. The retreat is precisely planned, from the small batch artisanal donuts to the perimenopausal Mermaid Meditation, by Faye and her beleaguered assistant Jadeโan aspiring author who canโt seem to finish her own novel.
Fayeโs long-time agent and editor will be there, as well as Fayeโs number one fan, Peggy Mercer, who has been first in line at every one of Fayeโs events. When news comes that the weekend will be crashed by glamorous, charismatic, rival novelist Abby Schuss, Faye thinks things canโt get worse โฆ until one of the attendees is found dead in her room, setting off an unexpectedly murderous chain of events that make pre-pub anxiety seem like a day at the beach. How far is Faye willing to go to get exactly what she wants from her author weekend?
The Author Weekend is a thrilling and hilarious dive into the dark heart of envy, and a glorious exploration of a woman of a certain age desperate to survive the dog-eat-dog world of publishing and control her own narrative.
Everything needs to be just right for bestselling mystery writer Faye Waderโs first ever fan weekend. Her sales might be slippingโonly a little!โbut her readers still love her enough to pony up for three days and two nights on Great Misery Island. The retreat is precisely planned, from the small batch artisanal donuts to the perimenopausal Mermaid Meditation, by Faye and her beleaguered assistant Jadeโan aspiring author who canโt seem to finish her own novel.
Fayeโs long-time agent and editor will be there, as well as Fayeโs number one fan, Peggy Mercer, who has been first in line at every one of Fayeโs events. When news comes that the weekend will be crashed by glamorous, charismatic, rival novelist Abby Schuss, Faye thinks things canโt get worse โฆ until one of the attendees is found dead in her room, setting off an unexpectedly murderous chain of events that make pre-pub anxiety seem like a day at the beach. How far is Faye willing to go to get exactly what she wants from her author weekend?
The Author Weekend is a thrilling and hilarious dive into the dark heart of envy, and a glorious exploration of a woman of a certain age desperate to survive the dog-eat-dog world of publishing and control her own narrative.
Mercy Hill
Author Hannah Thurman
Genres Coming of Age Fiction, Family Life Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A debut family novel about four sisters growing up on the campus of the underfunded state mental hospital where their strong-willed mother serves as head of psychiatry. A richly moving story of sisterhood, loyalty, and mental health in America.
The Cross sisters have lived their entire lives on the sprawling grounds of Mercy Hill, the embattled Raleigh mental hospital run by their formidable mother. Since childhood, JJ, Caro, Mimi, and Denise have been inculcated with their mother's mission: they'll work alongside her to protect Mercy Hill from the fate of other state hospitals across the country, which are being gutted and closed, one by one.
After an incident involving the highest-security ward, Mercy Hill faces greater scrutiny than ever, and Lisa Cross pushes each of her daughters even harder in the name of her mission. As the sisters cross into adulthood, the pressures of their isolated environment and mercurial mother set them on differentโand perilousโpaths. And as the battle wages on, youngest sister and narrator Denise grapples with the added responsibility that comes from being the last hope for their motherโs dreams.
Set in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with Mercy Hillโs fate hanging in the balance, Denise recounts the transformations that shape and destroy her family, along with the landscape of mental healthcare in the United States. With sharp insight and real humor, debut novelist Hannah Thurman captures the turmoil of growing up, the true meaning of a calling, and the indelible bonds of family.
The Cross sisters have lived their entire lives on the sprawling grounds of Mercy Hill, the embattled Raleigh mental hospital run by their formidable mother. Since childhood, JJ, Caro, Mimi, and Denise have been inculcated with their mother's mission: they'll work alongside her to protect Mercy Hill from the fate of other state hospitals across the country, which are being gutted and closed, one by one.
After an incident involving the highest-security ward, Mercy Hill faces greater scrutiny than ever, and Lisa Cross pushes each of her daughters even harder in the name of her mission. As the sisters cross into adulthood, the pressures of their isolated environment and mercurial mother set them on differentโand perilousโpaths. And as the battle wages on, youngest sister and narrator Denise grapples with the added responsibility that comes from being the last hope for their motherโs dreams.
Set in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with Mercy Hillโs fate hanging in the balance, Denise recounts the transformations that shape and destroy her family, along with the landscape of mental healthcare in the United States. With sharp insight and real humor, debut novelist Hannah Thurman captures the turmoil of growing up, the true meaning of a calling, and the indelible bonds of family.
Where the Water Meets the Sky
Author Diane Les Becquets
Genres Coming of Age Fiction, Psychological Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
For readers of Tell Me Everything and Heartwood, Where the Water Meets the Sky is the story of a brave young woman seeking wholeness and love in the untamed forests of Michiganโs upper peninsulaโand answers about a fire that took away everything.
On a night in January, on the Garden Peninsula of Michigan, a farmhouse burns to the ground. A young child makes it out and flees into the woods with a book of matches in her hand.
Ten years later, Abby, a lover of birds and the natural world, returns to Garden, to the woods and lakes and farms and fisheries of her childhood, to assist her uncle on an environmental study of trees. Her best friend, Brew, invites her to a party where she meets a troubled girl named Seda, on the run from her abusive ex. Abby sets out to protect Seda and introduces her to an abandoned cabin that becomes a sanctuary for them both. Here, Abby begins to process her unrequited feelings for Brew while also discovering the person she is becoming. She wants more for her life, a hunger both spiritual and physical, and seeks to understand the trauma of her childhood that took her mother from her. Abby cares deeply for the people and flora and fauna around her and identifies with the wounds of the environment. She is desperate to remember what happened the night of the fire and as the summer of 1996 unfolds, Abby will be forced to reckon with the truth.
Perfect for fans of the lush and tender nature writing of Helen Macdonald and Richard Powers, Where the Water Meets the Sky is a coming-of-age novel that expertly delves into the connection between our perception of ourselves and our natural environs. It is a paean to the vast and beautiful wildscape around us and to the power of community and the wisdom of love.
On a night in January, on the Garden Peninsula of Michigan, a farmhouse burns to the ground. A young child makes it out and flees into the woods with a book of matches in her hand.
Ten years later, Abby, a lover of birds and the natural world, returns to Garden, to the woods and lakes and farms and fisheries of her childhood, to assist her uncle on an environmental study of trees. Her best friend, Brew, invites her to a party where she meets a troubled girl named Seda, on the run from her abusive ex. Abby sets out to protect Seda and introduces her to an abandoned cabin that becomes a sanctuary for them both. Here, Abby begins to process her unrequited feelings for Brew while also discovering the person she is becoming. She wants more for her life, a hunger both spiritual and physical, and seeks to understand the trauma of her childhood that took her mother from her. Abby cares deeply for the people and flora and fauna around her and identifies with the wounds of the environment. She is desperate to remember what happened the night of the fire and as the summer of 1996 unfolds, Abby will be forced to reckon with the truth.
Perfect for fans of the lush and tender nature writing of Helen Macdonald and Richard Powers, Where the Water Meets the Sky is a coming-of-age novel that expertly delves into the connection between our perception of ourselves and our natural environs. It is a paean to the vast and beautiful wildscape around us and to the power of community and the wisdom of love.
Patient, Female: Stories
Author Julie Schumacher
Genres Coming of Age Fiction, Death, Grief & Bereavement Fiction, Short Stories Anthologies
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Committee Members, a collection of wryly funny stories about ordinary womenโin all their complexity, fallibility, and humanity.
An unsuspecting couple is treated to a luxury vacation by their deceased neighbor. After begrudgingly agreeing to volunteer at a nursing home, a middle school girl gambles over games of bridge with elderly residents. A single mother struggles to understand the unique bond between her autistic son and his dying grandmother. Four friends experience decades of highs and lows as pawns in The Game of Life. A professional gynecology patient runs into a high school flame while at work, undressed, on the job.
In this irreverent collection, celebrated novelist Julie Schumacher balances sorrow against laughter. Here, we experience story not only as narrative, but as syllabus and as board game. Each protagonistโranging from girlhood to senescenceโreceives her own indelible voice as she navigates social blunders, generational misunderstandings, and the absurdity of the human experience. Exquisitely honest and expertly crafted, Patient, Female rendersโwith dark humor and witโthe foibles of human behavior and our endearing imperfections.
An unsuspecting couple is treated to a luxury vacation by their deceased neighbor. After begrudgingly agreeing to volunteer at a nursing home, a middle school girl gambles over games of bridge with elderly residents. A single mother struggles to understand the unique bond between her autistic son and his dying grandmother. Four friends experience decades of highs and lows as pawns in The Game of Life. A professional gynecology patient runs into a high school flame while at work, undressed, on the job.
In this irreverent collection, celebrated novelist Julie Schumacher balances sorrow against laughter. Here, we experience story not only as narrative, but as syllabus and as board game. Each protagonistโranging from girlhood to senescenceโreceives her own indelible voice as she navigates social blunders, generational misunderstandings, and the absurdity of the human experience. Exquisitely honest and expertly crafted, Patient, Female rendersโwith dark humor and witโthe foibles of human behavior and our endearing imperfections.
But Won't I Miss Me
Author Tiffany Tsao
Genres Cultural Heritage Fiction, Psychological Horror, Psychological Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Set in an alternate reality where pregnancy endows women with exceptional powers, one new mother uncovers terrifying truths about herself and life in this philosophical and propulsive tale of a woman and mother in crisis.
In a world where drastic measures have averted the global environmental crisis, humans too are now subject to great transformation.
Vivi should be happy sheโs pregnant. But sheโs troubled by a looming reality that seemingly bothers no one else: having a baby also means birthing an identical, nearly indestructible self who will eat her and take her place. โRebirthโ is simply a fact of lifeโnatureโs way of equipping women for the challenges of motherhood. But as Viviโs unborn child develops, so does her fear.
In a rare turn of events, Vivi emerges from rebirth weakened rather than strong. When her husband cannot tolerate her defects, they divorce and Vivi relocates to the country with her baby to work for her old boss.
Chronically exhausted, mentally struggling, and on her own, Vivi must move onโfor her own and her sonโs sake. But just as with her failed rebirth, swapping old for new isnโt as straightforward as it seems. When Vivi finally discovers what went wrong during childbirth, it will rewrite her life future, present, and past.
An inspired blend of Nightbitch and The Substance, as enthralling and incisive as The School of Good Mothers and The Need, But Wonโt I Miss Me is a gripping and profound exploration of the physical and psychological tolls of motherhood, with a speculative horror spin. Tiffany Tsao imaginatively reveals the macabre hidden in the mundane and asks us to consider what we lose of ourselves when we leave our broken parts behind.
In a world where drastic measures have averted the global environmental crisis, humans too are now subject to great transformation.
Vivi should be happy sheโs pregnant. But sheโs troubled by a looming reality that seemingly bothers no one else: having a baby also means birthing an identical, nearly indestructible self who will eat her and take her place. โRebirthโ is simply a fact of lifeโnatureโs way of equipping women for the challenges of motherhood. But as Viviโs unborn child develops, so does her fear.
In a rare turn of events, Vivi emerges from rebirth weakened rather than strong. When her husband cannot tolerate her defects, they divorce and Vivi relocates to the country with her baby to work for her old boss.
Chronically exhausted, mentally struggling, and on her own, Vivi must move onโfor her own and her sonโs sake. But just as with her failed rebirth, swapping old for new isnโt as straightforward as it seems. When Vivi finally discovers what went wrong during childbirth, it will rewrite her life future, present, and past.
An inspired blend of Nightbitch and The Substance, as enthralling and incisive as The School of Good Mothers and The Need, But Wonโt I Miss Me is a gripping and profound exploration of the physical and psychological tolls of motherhood, with a speculative horror spin. Tiffany Tsao imaginatively reveals the macabre hidden in the mundane and asks us to consider what we lose of ourselves when we leave our broken parts behind.
Girls Like Us
Author Jennifer Dugan
Genres Children's Books on LGBTQ+ Families, LGBTQ+ Books, Teen & Young Adult LGBTQ+ Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Dating & Sex
Publication Date May 5, 2026
In this sequel to
Some Girls Do
, two girls struggle when long distance complicates their relationship.
Ruby and Morgan fell for each other during their senior year of high school, and now, almost a year later, they are fighting to keep their spark alive, even while they are Morgan is on a track scholarship at a university several hours away, studying public policy, while Ruby stayed in her hometown, exploring her love of mechanics in the automotive engineering program at the local community college.
Long distance weighs on the girls, with new friendships and flirtatious classmates adding complications, and the two are looking forward to a spring break getaway to Washington, D.C., and the bliss of a whole summer vacation together. But when Morgan discovers she's a finalist for the perfect internship, and Ruby gets the shot to appear on her favorite automotive TV show, the trip scheduleโand their summer plansโare thrown into question. With both girls unwilling to stand in the way of each otherโs future, they has the time come for them to go their separate ways?
Ruby and Morgan fell for each other during their senior year of high school, and now, almost a year later, they are fighting to keep their spark alive, even while they are Morgan is on a track scholarship at a university several hours away, studying public policy, while Ruby stayed in her hometown, exploring her love of mechanics in the automotive engineering program at the local community college.
Long distance weighs on the girls, with new friendships and flirtatious classmates adding complications, and the two are looking forward to a spring break getaway to Washington, D.C., and the bliss of a whole summer vacation together. But when Morgan discovers she's a finalist for the perfect internship, and Ruby gets the shot to appear on her favorite automotive TV show, the trip scheduleโand their summer plansโare thrown into question. With both girls unwilling to stand in the way of each otherโs future, they has the time come for them to go their separate ways?
Shards of Silence
Author Brian Lee Young
Genres Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Drugs & Alcohol Abuse, Teen & Young Adult Multigenerational Family Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
In his first YA novel, award-winning author Brian Lee Young (Dinรฉ) bridges the generational divide between a Navajo teen at an elite prep school and his great-grandmotherโs experience at a federal boarding school for Indigenous students. The book is an eye-opening call for community healing and a profound coming-of-age story.
Even if it hurts to leave behind his friends and family in Navajo, New Mexicoโespecially his great-grandmother, MildredโDerrick knows his scholarship to an elite East Coast boarding school is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Sagefield Academy is totally different from life on the His new classmates vacation in Europe and take study drugs. Derrick wants to stick to caffeine, but handling sports, school, and a twenty-page term paper, all while dodging comments about his hair and heritage, feels straight-up impossible.
Back home, Mรกsรกnรญ Mildredโs health is fading quickly. On the phone, she begs Derrick to leave Sagefield. When he realizes her fear comes from her time in federal Native boarding schools, he knows heโs finally found the term paper theme he believes carrying her voice into the future.
Derrick will need to shatter a steadfast generational silence to untangle his great-grandmotherโs memoriesโthough her story might change him, and his family, forever.
Even if it hurts to leave behind his friends and family in Navajo, New Mexicoโespecially his great-grandmother, MildredโDerrick knows his scholarship to an elite East Coast boarding school is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Sagefield Academy is totally different from life on the His new classmates vacation in Europe and take study drugs. Derrick wants to stick to caffeine, but handling sports, school, and a twenty-page term paper, all while dodging comments about his hair and heritage, feels straight-up impossible.
Back home, Mรกsรกnรญ Mildredโs health is fading quickly. On the phone, she begs Derrick to leave Sagefield. When he realizes her fear comes from her time in federal Native boarding schools, he knows heโs finally found the term paper theme he believes carrying her voice into the future.
Derrick will need to shatter a steadfast generational silence to untangle his great-grandmotherโs memoriesโthough her story might change him, and his family, forever.
You Can't Hurry Second Chances: A Novel
Author Michelle Stimpson
Genres Family Life Fiction, Friendship Fiction, Women's Divorce Fiction, Women's Domestic Life Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
โAn utter delight from start to finish.โ โTerah Shelton Harris, author of One Summer in Savannah, for Sisters with a Side of Greens
A heartwarming small-town tale of rediscovering joy in unexpected places. Starting over isnโt easy, but sometimes itโs exactly what we need.
Newly divorced and determined to prove she can stand on her own, Joyce Hicks moves back to small-town Texas, leaving behind the life she has known for decades for a fresh start in her late fatherโs home. Unfinished renovations force her to share her kitchen with her tenant, Gabriella Santos, an aspiring chef with dreams of opening a restaurant inspired by her Black and Mexican roots. What begins as an inconvenience blossoms into an unlikely friendship between the two women as they learn to navigate their shared space.
Just as her life begins to settle, Joyceโs summer plans upend when her grandson, Elijah, is dropped off for an unexpected seven-week stay, dredging up all kinds of buried things from her pastโincluding visits from her ex-husband, judgment from her daughter, and insecurities that she never quite healed from. Meanwhile, Gabriellaโs passion for cooking and her vibrant personality infuse the household with energy, even as she faces her own struggles with self-doubt and heartbreak.
Together, Joyce, Gabriella, and Elijah form a patchwork family that supports each other through lifeโs highs and lows. When an old flame, Richard, reappears in Joyceโs life, she must decide whether to embrace love head-on or to slow down and wait just a little longer for her happy ending.
More Praise for Michelle Stimpson
"Stimpson delivers raw, complex characters and a delicious storyline that will stay with the reader long after the last page." โ New York Times bestselling author Kim Michele Richardson for Sisters with a Side of Greens
โFull of heart, generosity, and charm.โ โ Lucy Gilmore, author of The Lonely Hearts Book Club, for Sisters with a Side of Greens
"This is a heartwarming story of misconceptions and learning to love people for who they are, not what you expect them to be." โ Booklist for Sisters with a Side of Greens
A heartwarming small-town tale of rediscovering joy in unexpected places. Starting over isnโt easy, but sometimes itโs exactly what we need.
Newly divorced and determined to prove she can stand on her own, Joyce Hicks moves back to small-town Texas, leaving behind the life she has known for decades for a fresh start in her late fatherโs home. Unfinished renovations force her to share her kitchen with her tenant, Gabriella Santos, an aspiring chef with dreams of opening a restaurant inspired by her Black and Mexican roots. What begins as an inconvenience blossoms into an unlikely friendship between the two women as they learn to navigate their shared space.
Just as her life begins to settle, Joyceโs summer plans upend when her grandson, Elijah, is dropped off for an unexpected seven-week stay, dredging up all kinds of buried things from her pastโincluding visits from her ex-husband, judgment from her daughter, and insecurities that she never quite healed from. Meanwhile, Gabriellaโs passion for cooking and her vibrant personality infuse the household with energy, even as she faces her own struggles with self-doubt and heartbreak.
Together, Joyce, Gabriella, and Elijah form a patchwork family that supports each other through lifeโs highs and lows. When an old flame, Richard, reappears in Joyceโs life, she must decide whether to embrace love head-on or to slow down and wait just a little longer for her happy ending.
More Praise for Michelle Stimpson
"Stimpson delivers raw, complex characters and a delicious storyline that will stay with the reader long after the last page." โ New York Times bestselling author Kim Michele Richardson for Sisters with a Side of Greens
โFull of heart, generosity, and charm.โ โ Lucy Gilmore, author of The Lonely Hearts Book Club, for Sisters with a Side of Greens
"This is a heartwarming story of misconceptions and learning to love people for who they are, not what you expect them to be." โ Booklist for Sisters with a Side of Greens
Five-Star Summer
Author Sarah Morgan
Genres Comedic Dramas & Plays, Family Life Fiction, Small Town & Rural Fiction, Friendship Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A joyful, sunโsoaked story of friendship, love, and new beginnings, from USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morganโperfect for fans of Jenny Colgan, Jill Shalvis, and seaside escapes.
Running a five-star Cornish hotel should have been Evie Hamiltonโs dream job. But restoring it to its former glory is going to take a miracle. All Evie has is grit, and a hoard of unruly staff who love to speculate about her love life. She needs back-up, and fast.
Enter Abby Jones. Parachuted in by the hotelโs umbrella company for the summer, Abby thinks Evie could be the best friend she never had. But Abby has her own agenda for being in Cornwall. If her real motives are uncovered, their friendship is going to melt away faster than an ice cream in the summer sun.
Yet Abbyโs arrival starts a chain reaction. With the help of a charming chef and a gruff pub owner, they begin to embrace their true selves and the bonds that unite them. But itโs not just the hotelโs five-star reputation that needs rebuilding โ Evie and Abby will also have to brave tearing down their lives in order to reshape their futuresโฆ
Running a five-star Cornish hotel should have been Evie Hamiltonโs dream job. But restoring it to its former glory is going to take a miracle. All Evie has is grit, and a hoard of unruly staff who love to speculate about her love life. She needs back-up, and fast.
Enter Abby Jones. Parachuted in by the hotelโs umbrella company for the summer, Abby thinks Evie could be the best friend she never had. But Abby has her own agenda for being in Cornwall. If her real motives are uncovered, their friendship is going to melt away faster than an ice cream in the summer sun.
Yet Abbyโs arrival starts a chain reaction. With the help of a charming chef and a gruff pub owner, they begin to embrace their true selves and the bonds that unite them. But itโs not just the hotelโs five-star reputation that needs rebuilding โ Evie and Abby will also have to brave tearing down their lives in order to reshape their futuresโฆ
Moonlight Murder
Author Uzma Jalaluddin
Genres Genre Literature & Fiction, Women Sleuths, Cozy Animal Mysteries, Amateur Sleuths
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Kausar Khan, the Detective Aunty, returns in a new case about the mysterious death of a young man in the Golden Crescent neighbourhood, which draws her back to the unresolved death of her son twenty years ago . . .
When Kausar Khan decided to move back to Toronto to be closer to her family, she didnโt expect to have another murder investigation on her hands so soonโor rather, she didnโt expect to have another murder investigation on her hands ever. But when a young man named Mateen is found dead in their Golden Crescent neighbourhood, and when it turns out Mateen was close with Kausarโs granddaughter, Maleeha, whatโs a grandmother to do but try to solve the case?
And itโs not just a heartbreakingly devastated Maleeha that is spurring Kausar on to find answers; itโs also how much the circumstances of Mateenโs death remind her of her own teenage son, Ali, and his mysterious death nearly twenty years before. Kausar knows first-hand what a difference closure could make to a grieving parentโand the more she seeks to find that for Mateenโs parents, the more she begins to realize that perhaps itโs time she find it for herself as well.
As Kausar conducts parallel investigations into both Mateenโs and Aliโs deaths and her โauntyโ skills continue to bring information to light, she canโt help but wonder if the similarities in the two cases are more than just mere coincidenceโbut how could two deaths, twenty years apart, possibly be related?
Detective Aunty is determined to find out . . .
When Kausar Khan decided to move back to Toronto to be closer to her family, she didnโt expect to have another murder investigation on her hands so soonโor rather, she didnโt expect to have another murder investigation on her hands ever. But when a young man named Mateen is found dead in their Golden Crescent neighbourhood, and when it turns out Mateen was close with Kausarโs granddaughter, Maleeha, whatโs a grandmother to do but try to solve the case?
And itโs not just a heartbreakingly devastated Maleeha that is spurring Kausar on to find answers; itโs also how much the circumstances of Mateenโs death remind her of her own teenage son, Ali, and his mysterious death nearly twenty years before. Kausar knows first-hand what a difference closure could make to a grieving parentโand the more she seeks to find that for Mateenโs parents, the more she begins to realize that perhaps itโs time she find it for herself as well.
As Kausar conducts parallel investigations into both Mateenโs and Aliโs deaths and her โauntyโ skills continue to bring information to light, she canโt help but wonder if the similarities in the two cases are more than just mere coincidenceโbut how could two deaths, twenty years apart, possibly be related?
Detective Aunty is determined to find out . . .
I Know A Place
Author Nat Cassidy
Genres Horror Collections & Anthologies, Horror Occult & Supernatural, Psychological Horror, Occult & Supernatural Horror eBooks
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A diabolical, haunting, and unforgettable horror short story collection from USA TODAY bestselling author Nat Cassidy, featuring his unique blend of gleefully terrifying fiction, and including his Bram Stoker Awardโnominated novella Rest Stop.
There are locations in this world where the light doesnโt seem to reach. Where, no matter how illuminated the place might be, shadows creep in too strongly to fight back.
A suspiciously empty gas station rest stop in the middle of the night, littered with googley eyes... A doctorโs office, where a bottle of booze and a tear-stained folder wait on the desk... A tech millionaireโs haunted kitchen... A Bible-quoting ventriloquistโs dingy apartment... A yoga retreat in the middle of the desert, silent except for the screaming...
These supernatural and sinister locations are your destination, and bestselling author Nat Cassidy will be your guide. Featuring the Bram Stoker Awardโnominated, critically acclaimed novella Rest Stop (one of Esquireโs Best Horror Books of 2024), along with a number of other original short stories, some which have never been published before, I Know A Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours is a travelogue down twisting side streets and through alleyways where the darkness has eyes...and teeth.
Letโs hope you make it home in one pieceโif the ghosts, gory visions, and splatterpunk nightmares donโt get you first.
There are locations in this world where the light doesnโt seem to reach. Where, no matter how illuminated the place might be, shadows creep in too strongly to fight back.
A suspiciously empty gas station rest stop in the middle of the night, littered with googley eyes... A doctorโs office, where a bottle of booze and a tear-stained folder wait on the desk... A tech millionaireโs haunted kitchen... A Bible-quoting ventriloquistโs dingy apartment... A yoga retreat in the middle of the desert, silent except for the screaming...
These supernatural and sinister locations are your destination, and bestselling author Nat Cassidy will be your guide. Featuring the Bram Stoker Awardโnominated, critically acclaimed novella Rest Stop (one of Esquireโs Best Horror Books of 2024), along with a number of other original short stories, some which have never been published before, I Know A Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours is a travelogue down twisting side streets and through alleyways where the darkness has eyes...and teeth.
Letโs hope you make it home in one pieceโif the ghosts, gory visions, and splatterpunk nightmares donโt get you first.
How the Story Goes
Author Andrew Forrester
Genres Dramas & Plays, Small Town & Rural Fiction, Humorous American Literature, Humorous Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
In this heartwarming, bookish debut, a young widower of a famous childrenโs fantasy author teams up with a down-on-her-luck MFA dropout to write the final book in his late wifeโs series ... and find their own perfect ending along the way.
Whit Longacre has a monumental task and a looming deadline. After his wife, Helen, died of cancer, she left him with their grieving eight-year-old daughter and a surprise in her the small task of writing the final book in her mega-popular childrenโs fantasy series for her legions of waiting fans.
Whit is the author of moderately successful (but well-received!) literary mysteries. He doesnโt have the first idea of how to complete Helenโs beloved series, and his enigmatic wife seems to have left no clues behind on how the story is supposed to end. Writerโs block is one thing, but to fail in fulfilling his wifeโs last wish? Whit is guilt-ridden and dodging calls in the school pick-up line from Helenโs publisher and agent as the deadline fast approaches.
Then Whit meets Merritt Pryor, who works at the local bookstore in their small New England town. Merritt has moved back home after a disastrous affair led to her dropping out of her prestigious MFA program. When Whit realizes that Merritt is a superfan of the Greenwood Castle series, they come up with a plan to tackle the book together. For the first time in years, Merritt finds herself falling back in love with writing โฆ and perhaps with the coauthor offering her the opportunity of a lifetime.
But when Whit uncovers a buried secret about Helenโs final wishes, he questions everything about what he and Merritt have created together, endangering the tender, electrifying partnership that has transformed their lives.
Can Whit and Merritt come up with an ending that feels right โฆ for both a beloved series and for their battered hearts?
Whit Longacre has a monumental task and a looming deadline. After his wife, Helen, died of cancer, she left him with their grieving eight-year-old daughter and a surprise in her the small task of writing the final book in her mega-popular childrenโs fantasy series for her legions of waiting fans.
Whit is the author of moderately successful (but well-received!) literary mysteries. He doesnโt have the first idea of how to complete Helenโs beloved series, and his enigmatic wife seems to have left no clues behind on how the story is supposed to end. Writerโs block is one thing, but to fail in fulfilling his wifeโs last wish? Whit is guilt-ridden and dodging calls in the school pick-up line from Helenโs publisher and agent as the deadline fast approaches.
Then Whit meets Merritt Pryor, who works at the local bookstore in their small New England town. Merritt has moved back home after a disastrous affair led to her dropping out of her prestigious MFA program. When Whit realizes that Merritt is a superfan of the Greenwood Castle series, they come up with a plan to tackle the book together. For the first time in years, Merritt finds herself falling back in love with writing โฆ and perhaps with the coauthor offering her the opportunity of a lifetime.
But when Whit uncovers a buried secret about Helenโs final wishes, he questions everything about what he and Merritt have created together, endangering the tender, electrifying partnership that has transformed their lives.
Can Whit and Merritt come up with an ending that feels right โฆ for both a beloved series and for their battered hearts?
The Republic of Memory
Author Mahmud El Sayed
Genres American Literature, Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction, Galactic Empire Science Fiction, Exploration Science Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
The Safina is a city ship, two hundred years into its voyage from the ruins of Earth towards a new habitable world. Its crew maintain the ship, generation after generation, while protecting their 'ancestors' - the final remnants of Earth's doomed Network Empire - by keeping them alive in cryostasis.
But a lot can change in two hundred years, and people are starting to ask questions. Why should the crew continue to toil for people none of them remember? What exactly gives Administration its authority over everyone else?
And when the blackouts start, they set in motion a chain of events that will change life on the Safina forever. A reckoning is coming. The system is only secure so long as those in power maintain the obedience of those beneath them.
And the crew has had enough.
A science fiction odyssey of breathtaking scope, The Republic of Memory,/i> is a gripping examination of what divides us, and what brings us together. This is a modern and ambitious work of Arabfuturism, and is perfect for fans of The Expanse, A Memory Called Empire or Children of Time.
But a lot can change in two hundred years, and people are starting to ask questions. Why should the crew continue to toil for people none of them remember? What exactly gives Administration its authority over everyone else?
And when the blackouts start, they set in motion a chain of events that will change life on the Safina forever. A reckoning is coming. The system is only secure so long as those in power maintain the obedience of those beneath them.
And the crew has had enough.
A science fiction odyssey of breathtaking scope, The Republic of Memory,/i> is a gripping examination of what divides us, and what brings us together. This is a modern and ambitious work of Arabfuturism, and is perfect for fans of The Expanse, A Memory Called Empire or Children of Time.
The Outer Country
Author Davin Malasarn
Genres LGBTQ+ Family Life Fiction, Multigenerational Fiction, Asian American & Pacific Islander Literature
Publication Date May 5, 2026
This tender, elegant debut examines the struggle of keeping a family together when secrets threaten to pull it apart.
"Both a book of demons and a book of uncommon grace; an instant classic in the queer canon. Davin Malasarn is an exquisite writer of the heart.โโJustin Torres, author of Blackouts
Estranged sisters Manda and Siripon have not seen each other in years when Manda travels to Los Angeles for the birth of Siriponโs son, Ben. The women have lived separate lives since they were teenagers in Phet Buri, Thailand, when their parents decided to send one of their children to America, the foreign land they call โthe Outer Country.โ As the eldest and the protector of her younger siblings, Manda assumed she would be the first to go. To her shock, their parents chose Siripon, the reliable, obedient second child instead. With one parental choice, the sisters became rivals.
Following their cool separation across continents, the sisters reunite to raise Ben. Manda, outrunning a devastating tragedy from her past, becomes a second mother to him, an only child who fills her with fierce joy. But as Ben grows increasingly effeminate, that joy turns to fear. Believing that the spirit of a woman has attached itself to her beloved nephew โ and that her sister wonโt do what has to be done to fix matters โ Manda secretly arranges a Buddhist exorcism for him. The ceremony sets off a decade of anxiety-induced vomiting, with Ben becoming the object of torment and bullying at school, even as his memory of the ritual fades into early childhood oblivion.
As Ben grows into his own queer self-becoming, he must confront the scars of his exorcism and learn how to live amidst the family damage, where one has to tread softly. But how long can a family go on with secrets so large pressing on their chests?
From the mangrove forests of Phet Buri to a modest stucco bungalow in Los Angeles to the ivy and sandstone quadrangles of Stanford, The Outer Country is at once epic and intimate in scope, a breathtaking journey across borders and generations.
"Both a book of demons and a book of uncommon grace; an instant classic in the queer canon. Davin Malasarn is an exquisite writer of the heart.โโJustin Torres, author of Blackouts
Estranged sisters Manda and Siripon have not seen each other in years when Manda travels to Los Angeles for the birth of Siriponโs son, Ben. The women have lived separate lives since they were teenagers in Phet Buri, Thailand, when their parents decided to send one of their children to America, the foreign land they call โthe Outer Country.โ As the eldest and the protector of her younger siblings, Manda assumed she would be the first to go. To her shock, their parents chose Siripon, the reliable, obedient second child instead. With one parental choice, the sisters became rivals.
Following their cool separation across continents, the sisters reunite to raise Ben. Manda, outrunning a devastating tragedy from her past, becomes a second mother to him, an only child who fills her with fierce joy. But as Ben grows increasingly effeminate, that joy turns to fear. Believing that the spirit of a woman has attached itself to her beloved nephew โ and that her sister wonโt do what has to be done to fix matters โ Manda secretly arranges a Buddhist exorcism for him. The ceremony sets off a decade of anxiety-induced vomiting, with Ben becoming the object of torment and bullying at school, even as his memory of the ritual fades into early childhood oblivion.
As Ben grows into his own queer self-becoming, he must confront the scars of his exorcism and learn how to live amidst the family damage, where one has to tread softly. But how long can a family go on with secrets so large pressing on their chests?
From the mangrove forests of Phet Buri to a modest stucco bungalow in Los Angeles to the ivy and sandstone quadrangles of Stanford, The Outer Country is at once epic and intimate in scope, a breathtaking journey across borders and generations.
Accumulation
Author Aimee Pokwatka
Genres Horror Literature & Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Psychological Thrillers, Suspense Thrillers
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A twisty, searing, conversation-starting novel about a filmmaker-turned-housewife who moves into her dream house and is forced to consider whether it's the house or herself that is haunted.
When documentary filmmaker turned stay-at-home mom Tennessee Cherish moves into the the dream house her husband bought for her, a brighter future seems to be on the horizon. Even if her husband is frustratingly absent due to his new high-paying job. Even if their two young children begin acting out in strange ways. Even if she feels lonelier than ever.
Distracted by the endless details that come with moving into a new town, a new house, and new schools, Tenn doesnโt notice when odd things begin happening at home. The faucet that runs at all hours. The creepy doll that seems to show up in every room. The human tooth they found in the floorboards.
As the kidsโ outbursts and the strange events start to escalate, the family finds themselves increasingly caught in loops, repeating everyday actions with dangerousโand then devastatingโeffects. Tenn realizes she must find the source of what is haunting her family, before it kills them all.
Taut and twisty, scary and searing, Aimee Pokwatkaโs Accumulation lays bare the high price women pay for the promises of domesticity and motherhood, and the many ways in which families can be haunted.
When documentary filmmaker turned stay-at-home mom Tennessee Cherish moves into the the dream house her husband bought for her, a brighter future seems to be on the horizon. Even if her husband is frustratingly absent due to his new high-paying job. Even if their two young children begin acting out in strange ways. Even if she feels lonelier than ever.
Distracted by the endless details that come with moving into a new town, a new house, and new schools, Tenn doesnโt notice when odd things begin happening at home. The faucet that runs at all hours. The creepy doll that seems to show up in every room. The human tooth they found in the floorboards.
As the kidsโ outbursts and the strange events start to escalate, the family finds themselves increasingly caught in loops, repeating everyday actions with dangerousโand then devastatingโeffects. Tenn realizes she must find the source of what is haunting her family, before it kills them all.
Taut and twisty, scary and searing, Aimee Pokwatkaโs Accumulation lays bare the high price women pay for the promises of domesticity and motherhood, and the many ways in which families can be haunted.
Archangel's Eternity
Author Nalini Singh
Genres Horror Occult & Supernatural, Vampire Romances, Paranormal Fantasy Books, Romantic Fantasy
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Elena and Raphael return for the hauntingly poignant conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singhโs genre-defining Guild Hunter series.
A thousand years.
Itโs been a millennium since Elenaโs fateful first meeting with Archangel Raphael. She has survived war and loss, experienced beauty and cruelty. But no matter what, she has always held on to her mortal heart, as she and Raphael have held on to each other. Passionate and vibrant, theyโve built a life that has stood the test of time, growing ever stronger with each turn of the sun.
But change is comingโof a magnitude they could have never imaginedโand it will forever alter the trajectory of their existence.
Even as they grapple with the cataclysmic shift in their personal lives, the Cadre of Ten, which has maintained a hard-won peace for centuries, begins to simmer with dangerous fault lines. The specter of madness looms in one archangel, the promise of war burns between two others, and in darkness far from mortal and immortal eyes stirs an ancient, slumbering power.
Suddenly, the future is terrifyingly uncertain . . . at the very moment that Elena and her archangel need to protect a treasure infinitely more precious than eternity.
A thousand years.
Itโs been a millennium since Elenaโs fateful first meeting with Archangel Raphael. She has survived war and loss, experienced beauty and cruelty. But no matter what, she has always held on to her mortal heart, as she and Raphael have held on to each other. Passionate and vibrant, theyโve built a life that has stood the test of time, growing ever stronger with each turn of the sun.
But change is comingโof a magnitude they could have never imaginedโand it will forever alter the trajectory of their existence.
Even as they grapple with the cataclysmic shift in their personal lives, the Cadre of Ten, which has maintained a hard-won peace for centuries, begins to simmer with dangerous fault lines. The specter of madness looms in one archangel, the promise of war burns between two others, and in darkness far from mortal and immortal eyes stirs an ancient, slumbering power.
Suddenly, the future is terrifyingly uncertain . . . at the very moment that Elena and her archangel need to protect a treasure infinitely more precious than eternity.
The Inklings Detective Agency
Author John R. Kelly
Genres Historical Mystery, Amateur Sleuths, Christian Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction Crime & Mystery
Publication Date May 5, 2026
J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Agatha Christie, and other literary legends join forces to unravel a deadly conspiracy in this gripping mystery that sweeps from the halls of Oxford to the streets of London and the shores of Loch Ness.
โThis multiverse adventure is imaginative, intriguing, and wildly satisfying.โโJohn Hendrix, New York Times bestselling illustrator and author of The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R Tolkien
In the shadowy streets of 1936 Oxford, England, members of a secret society keep turning up dead. When J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and their fellow literary masterminds, known as the Inklings, are called upon to catch a killer, they trade their pens for magnifying glasses. With time running out, they get a helping hand from mystery writers Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers to unravel a sinister web of secrets.
Packed with historical details, intrigue, and a thrilling whodunit, this novel is a masterful blend of high-stakes drama. Dive into a world where the creators of fantasy and mystery confront a real-life menace in a race against the clock. Will dark forces prevail, or will these literary giants crack the case before the murderer strikes again?
โThis multiverse adventure is imaginative, intriguing, and wildly satisfying.โโJohn Hendrix, New York Times bestselling illustrator and author of The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R Tolkien
In the shadowy streets of 1936 Oxford, England, members of a secret society keep turning up dead. When J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and their fellow literary masterminds, known as the Inklings, are called upon to catch a killer, they trade their pens for magnifying glasses. With time running out, they get a helping hand from mystery writers Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers to unravel a sinister web of secrets.
Packed with historical details, intrigue, and a thrilling whodunit, this novel is a masterful blend of high-stakes drama. Dive into a world where the creators of fantasy and mystery confront a real-life menace in a race against the clock. Will dark forces prevail, or will these literary giants crack the case before the murderer strikes again?
Out Law
Author Jim Butcher
Genres Literature & Fiction, Private Investigator Mysteries, Witch & Wizard Mysteries, Witch & Wizard Thrillers
Publication Date May 5, 2026
The past comes back in a big way for Chicagoโs only professional wizard in this action-packed novella from the #1 New York Timesโbestselling Dresden Files.
In a city thatโs just beginning to recover from the devastation caused by the Battle of Chicago, Harry Dresden is finally pulling himself together as well. Heโs ensconced in his own personal castle, healing his various wounds, and training an eager new apprentice. The last thing he wants is any trouble. But, as history has consistentlyโand quite annoyinglyโshown, what Harry wants is rarely what Harry gets.
It starts with a visit from Harryโs most powerful frenemy, Gentleman John Marcone, Baron of Chicago. He needs Harry to assist in the redemption of an underling whoโs looking to go straight. And since Harry does kinda sorta owe Marcone for saving his life once (stupid honorable debt!), itโs not a request he can refuse. Heโll just wish he had.
Because this little favor is going to drag Harry into a fight he doesnโt want on behalf of a lowlife he doesnโt trust against an enemy more powerful and pestilent than he ever couldโve an insatiable, demonic foe whom Harry himself may have created when he wiped out the vampires of the Red Court so long ago.
Before, all it wanted was blood. Now it wants the entire world . . .
โA great seriesโfast-paced, vividly realized and with a hero/narrator whoโs excellent company.โ โCinescape
In a city thatโs just beginning to recover from the devastation caused by the Battle of Chicago, Harry Dresden is finally pulling himself together as well. Heโs ensconced in his own personal castle, healing his various wounds, and training an eager new apprentice. The last thing he wants is any trouble. But, as history has consistentlyโand quite annoyinglyโshown, what Harry wants is rarely what Harry gets.
It starts with a visit from Harryโs most powerful frenemy, Gentleman John Marcone, Baron of Chicago. He needs Harry to assist in the redemption of an underling whoโs looking to go straight. And since Harry does kinda sorta owe Marcone for saving his life once (stupid honorable debt!), itโs not a request he can refuse. Heโll just wish he had.
Because this little favor is going to drag Harry into a fight he doesnโt want on behalf of a lowlife he doesnโt trust against an enemy more powerful and pestilent than he ever couldโve an insatiable, demonic foe whom Harry himself may have created when he wiped out the vampires of the Red Court so long ago.
Before, all it wanted was blood. Now it wants the entire world . . .
โA great seriesโfast-paced, vividly realized and with a hero/narrator whoโs excellent company.โ โCinescape
Prestige Drama
Author Sรฉamas O'Reilly
Genres British & Irish Humor & Satire, Fiction Satire, Humorous Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Derry is already abuzz with news that famous American actor, Monica Logue, has flown to the city and will be starring in a new series set during the Troubles. And then she goes missing...
All eyes are on Diarmuid, the flaky scriptwriter who was the last to see Monica alive. From budding young actors hoping for a role to grieving parent whose story forms the backbone of the narrative; newspaper editors covering the mystery to taxi drivers hearing all the news from their clients, The Dogs in the Street follows the city's cast as they all try to locate themselves in Monica's disappearance.
Sรฉamas O'Reilly's debut novel is a comedy about dramatising tragedy, and the responsibilities of a teller to a tale. It brings to life the voices of a city, the people, families and communities who find themselves obsessed with, and terrified of, interrogating their past.
All eyes are on Diarmuid, the flaky scriptwriter who was the last to see Monica alive. From budding young actors hoping for a role to grieving parent whose story forms the backbone of the narrative; newspaper editors covering the mystery to taxi drivers hearing all the news from their clients, The Dogs in the Street follows the city's cast as they all try to locate themselves in Monica's disappearance.
Sรฉamas O'Reilly's debut novel is a comedy about dramatising tragedy, and the responsibilities of a teller to a tale. It brings to life the voices of a city, the people, families and communities who find themselves obsessed with, and terrified of, interrogating their past.
Five Weeks in the Country
Author Francine Prose
Genres 19th Century Historical Fiction, Family Life Fiction, American Literature, Literary Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From the acclaimed, award-winning author of Reading Like a Writer and Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris, 1932 comes an utterly original novel inspired by the strange friendship between Charles Dickens and Hans Christian Andersen and set during the summer when Dickens's family life exploded.
In the summer of 1857, when British newspapers warned of an approaching comet about to destroy the earth, an unusual-looking stranger arrived at Charles Dickens's home, Gad's Hill, in the countryside outside London. Dickens had met Hans Christian Andersen at a dinner party, a decade before, and, in a moment of desperation, had invited him to visit.
The visit did not go well. The eccentric Danish author of classic fairy tales, who barely spoke English, outstayed his welcome and alienated the Dickens household, which included nine children. Even the oblivious, obsessively self-conscious Andersen sensed the increasing tension between Dickens and his unhappy wife, Catherine, but was slow to understandโor to believeโthat Dickens had fallen in love with a young actress appearing in his new play. For Andersen, those five weeks were a series of social mistakes and embarrassments but ultimately a lesson in how life's most humbling experiences can be transformed into art.
Five Weeks in the Country, a work of imaginative fiction inspired by actual events, is Francine Prose at her dazzling best.
In the summer of 1857, when British newspapers warned of an approaching comet about to destroy the earth, an unusual-looking stranger arrived at Charles Dickens's home, Gad's Hill, in the countryside outside London. Dickens had met Hans Christian Andersen at a dinner party, a decade before, and, in a moment of desperation, had invited him to visit.
The visit did not go well. The eccentric Danish author of classic fairy tales, who barely spoke English, outstayed his welcome and alienated the Dickens household, which included nine children. Even the oblivious, obsessively self-conscious Andersen sensed the increasing tension between Dickens and his unhappy wife, Catherine, but was slow to understandโor to believeโthat Dickens had fallen in love with a young actress appearing in his new play. For Andersen, those five weeks were a series of social mistakes and embarrassments but ultimately a lesson in how life's most humbling experiences can be transformed into art.
Five Weeks in the Country, a work of imaginative fiction inspired by actual events, is Francine Prose at her dazzling best.
Seek Immediate Shelter
Author Yu Vincent
Genres Small Town & Rural Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A breathtaking debut novel about survival, hope, and second chances in an Asian American community in Massachusetts, when a false missile throws the residents' lives into chaos.
On an otherwise unremarkable morning, the residents of a small town in Massachusetts all receive the same BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
Confronted with the options of fight or flight, planning or panicking, the people of Beckitt are stripped to their basest instincts and revealed as their truest selves. Russ squeezes his family into the bathtub, leaving his own survival in question; Nina sends an unforgivable text to her daughter; Milly confesses her unrequited love; and David hits the gas, speeding away from his wife and child.
Then the second message comes FALSE ALARM. PLEASE DISREGARD. ALL CLEAR. First comes relief, then comes the reckoning, as each person is forced to face the unforeseen aftermath of decisions they thought might be their last.
Vincent Yuโs searing debut follows this eclectic cast of characters over a period of many years, suggesting that the conflicts the missile exacerbated were simmering under the surface long before, and proving the ripple effects of the false alarm will be felt for years to come.
An urgent, fiercely heartfelt exploration of relationships in all forms, Seek Immediate Shelter explores the balance between love and loyalty, betrayal and forgiveness. What choices would you make if you thought your life were on the line? And if you survive, can you ever redeem yourself?
On an otherwise unremarkable morning, the residents of a small town in Massachusetts all receive the same BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
Confronted with the options of fight or flight, planning or panicking, the people of Beckitt are stripped to their basest instincts and revealed as their truest selves. Russ squeezes his family into the bathtub, leaving his own survival in question; Nina sends an unforgivable text to her daughter; Milly confesses her unrequited love; and David hits the gas, speeding away from his wife and child.
Then the second message comes FALSE ALARM. PLEASE DISREGARD. ALL CLEAR. First comes relief, then comes the reckoning, as each person is forced to face the unforeseen aftermath of decisions they thought might be their last.
Vincent Yuโs searing debut follows this eclectic cast of characters over a period of many years, suggesting that the conflicts the missile exacerbated were simmering under the surface long before, and proving the ripple effects of the false alarm will be felt for years to come.
An urgent, fiercely heartfelt exploration of relationships in all forms, Seek Immediate Shelter explores the balance between love and loyalty, betrayal and forgiveness. What choices would you make if you thought your life were on the line? And if you survive, can you ever redeem yourself?
One Leg on Earth
Author 'Pemi Aguda
Genres Horror Occult & Supernatural, City Life Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From the author of the National Book Award finalist Ghostroots, a debut novel that thrills with its eerie mix of folklore and history.
The lonely daughter of a distant mother, Yosoye arrives in Lagos ready to change her life. Weeks after she begins an internship at a fancy architectural firm, she discovers she is pregnant. Yosoye is joyfulโa new life brings the hope of connection and companionship.
But an inexplicable force is haunting the pregnant women of Lagos. As construction speeds ahead on the firmโs glossy new development on land reclaimed from the ocean, stories of the uncanny deaths in the cityโs open waters reach a fever pitch. Yosoye finds herself stalked by a presence she can neither ignore nor appeaseโwithout risking her unborn baby and her precarious hopes for the future.
In One Leg on Earth, โPemi Aguda turns the question of who belongs in a city into an arresting exploration of what it means to be a mother in an unforgiving world, and a haunting vision of the dark side of progress.
The lonely daughter of a distant mother, Yosoye arrives in Lagos ready to change her life. Weeks after she begins an internship at a fancy architectural firm, she discovers she is pregnant. Yosoye is joyfulโa new life brings the hope of connection and companionship.
But an inexplicable force is haunting the pregnant women of Lagos. As construction speeds ahead on the firmโs glossy new development on land reclaimed from the ocean, stories of the uncanny deaths in the cityโs open waters reach a fever pitch. Yosoye finds herself stalked by a presence she can neither ignore nor appeaseโwithout risking her unborn baby and her precarious hopes for the future.
In One Leg on Earth, โPemi Aguda turns the question of who belongs in a city into an arresting exploration of what it means to be a mother in an unforgiving world, and a haunting vision of the dark side of progress.
Frida Slattery As Herself
Author Ana Kinsella
Genres Genre Literature & Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
You could probably run cities on the energy generated between directors like him and actresses like her.
When Frida Slattery and John Reddan meet in a Dublin pub in 2006, neither can imagine how they will come to shape and define each otherโs lives.โ
Frida is struggling to launch her acting career, while John is already gaining a name for himself as a director. From the first they see in each other potential and the chance to create work that matters, though the lines between collaboration and exploitation, friendship and desire will prove dangerously slippery.
With the financial crisis looming, the next 15 years takes them from Dublin to London, New York and LA, and through success and disappointment, joy and heartbreak. Their connection is tested and stretched to the point of rupture, but something remains that outlasts their work and the shifting perceptions of the period.
Tracing the complex, winding path of a relationship, FRIDA SLATTERY AS HERSELF is an epic story of art, love and finding your voice, that introduces two unforgettable characters.
When Frida Slattery and John Reddan meet in a Dublin pub in 2006, neither can imagine how they will come to shape and define each otherโs lives.โ
Frida is struggling to launch her acting career, while John is already gaining a name for himself as a director. From the first they see in each other potential and the chance to create work that matters, though the lines between collaboration and exploitation, friendship and desire will prove dangerously slippery.
With the financial crisis looming, the next 15 years takes them from Dublin to London, New York and LA, and through success and disappointment, joy and heartbreak. Their connection is tested and stretched to the point of rupture, but something remains that outlasts their work and the shifting perceptions of the period.
Tracing the complex, winding path of a relationship, FRIDA SLATTERY AS HERSELF is an epic story of art, love and finding your voice, that introduces two unforgettable characters.
Treat Them as Buffalo
Author Blair Palmer Yoxall
Genres Mystery Action & Adventure, Women's Adventure Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
An electrifying anti-Western from an exciting new Indigenous writer. As teenage boys begin to disappear from a great plains Mรฉtis community, a young man attempts to uncover the evil force lurking out of sight.
In 1885, Nikosis โNikoโ Eriksen spends his days playing buffalo hunter, even though itโs been many years since a member of his tribe has actually seen one of the once-ubiquitous animals. But when beloved Cousin goes missing, things start to fall apart. With law enforcement failingโindeed refusingโto investigate the disappearance, the community members take matters into their own hands, rallying around the leadership of a sawn-off shotgun-slinging rancher named Kate McCannon.
The resultant women-led coalition of freedom fighters strikes back against the Mounted Police as they investigate the boysโ disappearance and take their futures into their own hands. But violence continues to haunt Niko, and boys continue to disappear. As he leaves his boyhood behind and draws closer to finding Cousin, Nikoโs investigation points to a harrowing revelation about his own heritage, which heels closer to violence that any boy would wish to know.
Written with the pace and punch of Outlawed and the inventiveness of The Only Good Indians, Treat Them as Buffalo delivers a gripping portrait of a young man coming of age before his time.
In 1885, Nikosis โNikoโ Eriksen spends his days playing buffalo hunter, even though itโs been many years since a member of his tribe has actually seen one of the once-ubiquitous animals. But when beloved Cousin goes missing, things start to fall apart. With law enforcement failingโindeed refusingโto investigate the disappearance, the community members take matters into their own hands, rallying around the leadership of a sawn-off shotgun-slinging rancher named Kate McCannon.
The resultant women-led coalition of freedom fighters strikes back against the Mounted Police as they investigate the boysโ disappearance and take their futures into their own hands. But violence continues to haunt Niko, and boys continue to disappear. As he leaves his boyhood behind and draws closer to finding Cousin, Nikoโs investigation points to a harrowing revelation about his own heritage, which heels closer to violence that any boy would wish to know.
Written with the pace and punch of Outlawed and the inventiveness of The Only Good Indians, Treat Them as Buffalo delivers a gripping portrait of a young man coming of age before his time.
The Yankee Sphinx
Author Mark Frost
Genres World War II Historical Fiction, Historical World War II & Holocaust Fiction, War Fiction, Biographical & Autofiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
In 1934, Will Hassett is working as a journalist when he gets a call from an old friend who now works at the White House. He arrives expecting to catch up on old times but is instead brought right into the Oval Office to meet with Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR needs help on his speeches; Will takes the job on the spot. For the next twelve years, Will is at FDRโs side through the worst of the Depression, three reelection campaigns, and World War II.
The Yankee Sphinx, inspired by Will Hassettโs real diaries, focuses on the last few years of FDRโs life. The war is raging in Europe and FDRโs good friend, Winston Churchill, begs for Americaโs help. But Roosevelt knows he canโt bring the country in until itโs ready, an opportunity that wonโt arise until the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in 1941.
From Willโs empathetic perspective, we witness FDR managing the Allied military campaign abroad and parrying shots from isolationist politicians at homeโall while reckoning with his rapidly deteriorating health. Will and Anna, Roosevelt's daughter, plot an intervention to get him a doctor more up to speed on a new discipline called โcardiologyโ so the president can maintain his strength and end the war.
Elegantly written, bursting with personality, and perfectly capturing life in wartime Washington, The Yankee Sphinx is a marvelous work by one of our most versatile writers.
The Yankee Sphinx, inspired by Will Hassettโs real diaries, focuses on the last few years of FDRโs life. The war is raging in Europe and FDRโs good friend, Winston Churchill, begs for Americaโs help. But Roosevelt knows he canโt bring the country in until itโs ready, an opportunity that wonโt arise until the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in 1941.
From Willโs empathetic perspective, we witness FDR managing the Allied military campaign abroad and parrying shots from isolationist politicians at homeโall while reckoning with his rapidly deteriorating health. Will and Anna, Roosevelt's daughter, plot an intervention to get him a doctor more up to speed on a new discipline called โcardiologyโ so the president can maintain his strength and end the war.
Elegantly written, bursting with personality, and perfectly capturing life in wartime Washington, The Yankee Sphinx is a marvelous work by one of our most versatile writers.
Good News
Author Alexa Yasemin Brahme
Genres Coming of Age Fiction, Women's Domestic Life Fiction, Contemporary Women Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
In this fun and resonant debut novel, a young painter Maggie struggles to make sense of her art, her relationships, and her identity when sheโs put up for a prestigious prize.
Maggie is on the brink. Her MFA thesis paintingโa vast canvas of twenty women suspended between life and deathโis met with polite confusion. Her marriage-material boyfriend, Rob, is too consumed by his office job to notice her unraveling, and sheโs one missed call away from her Turkish mother filing a missing personโs report. To make matters worse, her brotherโs partner, a performance artist who insists on being called โThe Artist,โ seems to embody the kind of confidence Maggie canโt muster.
When Maggieโs ex, Rakibโa smooth-talking art critic with the power to introduce her to big names on the sceneโreappears and calls her by her Turkish name, Mรผjde, her forced composure starts to slip. Then comes the sheโs been nominated for a major award that could launch her career. With the deadline looming, her relationship faltering, and her sense of self in flux, Maggie begins to question not just her art, but the life sheโs been trying to build.
Set against the push and pull of immigrant family expectations, the competitive world of contemporary art, and the restless uncertainty of oneโs late twenties, Good News is a mordantly funny and emotionally resonant debut that will appeal to readers of Lily King, Coco Mellors, and Sarah Thankam Mathews.
Maggie is on the brink. Her MFA thesis paintingโa vast canvas of twenty women suspended between life and deathโis met with polite confusion. Her marriage-material boyfriend, Rob, is too consumed by his office job to notice her unraveling, and sheโs one missed call away from her Turkish mother filing a missing personโs report. To make matters worse, her brotherโs partner, a performance artist who insists on being called โThe Artist,โ seems to embody the kind of confidence Maggie canโt muster.
When Maggieโs ex, Rakibโa smooth-talking art critic with the power to introduce her to big names on the sceneโreappears and calls her by her Turkish name, Mรผjde, her forced composure starts to slip. Then comes the sheโs been nominated for a major award that could launch her career. With the deadline looming, her relationship faltering, and her sense of self in flux, Maggie begins to question not just her art, but the life sheโs been trying to build.
Set against the push and pull of immigrant family expectations, the competitive world of contemporary art, and the restless uncertainty of oneโs late twenties, Good News is a mordantly funny and emotionally resonant debut that will appeal to readers of Lily King, Coco Mellors, and Sarah Thankam Mathews.
The Supper Club Saints
Author Claire Swinarski
Genres Family Life Fiction, Small Town & Rural Fiction, Friendship Fiction, Women's Domestic Life Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A dynamic, honest, and beautifully written novel about a young mother who returns to her small-town Wisconsin home after living in a cult-like โMommune,โ and what happens with the other women in her family as they each navigate the constraints, complexities, and joys of modern motherhood.
When prodigal daughter Cass Simon returns home after years away, the Simon familyโs fragile peace is disrupted. Cass, a young mom previously living in a cult-like โMommuneโ and working for a popular mom-fluencer, has come back under questionable circumstances, but is intent on starting fresh. As Cass gets work writing advice for a parenting website, her mother and sisters chip in their own wisdom from personal experienceโof troubled pasts, heartache, and issues with infertility.
As the story unfolds through past and present, the Simon family women come to understand their own relationships to mothering and forgivenessโand what it truly means to be a โgoodโ mother.
When prodigal daughter Cass Simon returns home after years away, the Simon familyโs fragile peace is disrupted. Cass, a young mom previously living in a cult-like โMommuneโ and working for a popular mom-fluencer, has come back under questionable circumstances, but is intent on starting fresh. As Cass gets work writing advice for a parenting website, her mother and sisters chip in their own wisdom from personal experienceโof troubled pasts, heartache, and issues with infertility.
As the story unfolds through past and present, the Simon family women come to understand their own relationships to mothering and forgivenessโand what it truly means to be a โgoodโ mother.
A Little Bit Bad
Author Cassandra Neyenesch
Genres Humor About Law & Crime, Women's Domestic Life Fiction, Mothers & Children Fiction, Sisters Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
โPretty much the platonic-ideal beach read.โ โAda Calhoun, New York Times bestselling author of Crush
Hello Beautiful meets Miranda July in this sexy, darkly comedic literary novel set in San Diego about an obsessive love affair that ends in a murder
For Perdita Jungfrau, a social worker who thought she was going to be married to her husband forever, falling in love with her anarcho-Marxist roofer Nando is a crisis. Every possible obstacle is in their Nando is fifteen years younger and has a girlfriend. Perdita is pregnant and terrified to mess up her children. None of that hinders her from being drawn to this magnetic man who entrusts her with his deepest secret.
Three years later, Perditaโs lover has been murdered. As her bewildered husband tries to make sense of the wildly unpredictable person his wife has become, Perdita has other things on her mind. For starters, who is the mysterious woman sitting outside her house in a parked car all day? How can she stop her adored baby brother from being pulled under by his opioid addiction? Can someone with a childhood like theirs ever be the mother her children deserve?
And most of all, what should she do with the searing memories of the affair, which turned her life upside down?
Hello Beautiful meets Miranda July in this sexy, darkly comedic literary novel set in San Diego about an obsessive love affair that ends in a murder
For Perdita Jungfrau, a social worker who thought she was going to be married to her husband forever, falling in love with her anarcho-Marxist roofer Nando is a crisis. Every possible obstacle is in their Nando is fifteen years younger and has a girlfriend. Perdita is pregnant and terrified to mess up her children. None of that hinders her from being drawn to this magnetic man who entrusts her with his deepest secret.
Three years later, Perditaโs lover has been murdered. As her bewildered husband tries to make sense of the wildly unpredictable person his wife has become, Perdita has other things on her mind. For starters, who is the mysterious woman sitting outside her house in a parked car all day? How can she stop her adored baby brother from being pulled under by his opioid addiction? Can someone with a childhood like theirs ever be the mother her children deserve?
And most of all, what should she do with the searing memories of the affair, which turned her life upside down?
Home No Matter Where
Author Nancy Naigle
Genres Friendship Fiction, Women's Friendship Fiction, Mothers & Children Fiction, Clean & Wholesome Romance
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Three generations of women confront their pasts and discover it's never too late for new beginnings in this heartwarming novel of second chances and unconditional loveโfrom the bestselling author of The Shell Collector .
Nina is overwhelmed by single motherhood. Her teenage daughter, Kendra, is spiraling, and Ninaโs tightly controlled life is slipping through her fingers. Desperate to pull her daughter back from the edge, Nina makes a last-ditch decisionโpack up and head to Whelkโs Island to stay the summer with her mother, Rosemary, in hopes that the quiet coastal town of Whelk's Island will be the reset they need.
But change doesnโt come easy. Kendraโs reckless choices follow them to the island, leading to a chance encounter with Fisher, a steady presence with a complicated past. When he steps in to help Kendra during a risky moment, he begins to unlock something long-buried in hope.
As three generations of women navigate new rhythms under one roof, old wounds begin to heal, and new love takes root in the most unexpected ways. But when Kendra tests her motherโs loyalty and a painful secret resurfaces, Nina must choose whether to cling to control or lean into faith, and love.
In the end, Whelkโs Island may not hold all the answers, but it offers something the reminder that sometimes, there are no rules for moving forwardโฆ just the courage to begin.
Nina is overwhelmed by single motherhood. Her teenage daughter, Kendra, is spiraling, and Ninaโs tightly controlled life is slipping through her fingers. Desperate to pull her daughter back from the edge, Nina makes a last-ditch decisionโpack up and head to Whelkโs Island to stay the summer with her mother, Rosemary, in hopes that the quiet coastal town of Whelk's Island will be the reset they need.
But change doesnโt come easy. Kendraโs reckless choices follow them to the island, leading to a chance encounter with Fisher, a steady presence with a complicated past. When he steps in to help Kendra during a risky moment, he begins to unlock something long-buried in hope.
As three generations of women navigate new rhythms under one roof, old wounds begin to heal, and new love takes root in the most unexpected ways. But when Kendra tests her motherโs loyalty and a painful secret resurfaces, Nina must choose whether to cling to control or lean into faith, and love.
In the end, Whelkโs Island may not hold all the answers, but it offers something the reminder that sometimes, there are no rules for moving forwardโฆ just the courage to begin.
Absence
Author Andrew Dana Hudson
Genres Genre Literature & Fiction, Ghost Thrillers, Science Fiction Short Stories, Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
In this gripping, moving, and genre-blending speculative debut, the world is unraveling from an epidemic of human vanishing. Two rookie agents from the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs are dispatched to small-town Kansas to investigate a woman who claims to have returned from Spontaneous Human Absence, offering answers that could change everything.
People are โpoppingโโdisappearing, one by one, into thin air: an ongoing global cataclysm known as Spontaneous Human Absence. In a world where prospects for survival are increasingly grim, hopelessness prevails, political rifts widen, and doomsday predictions flourish.
Harvey Ellis works the night shift for the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs, an ad hoc federal agency meant to contain and catalog the crisis. Harveyโs job: to investigate claims of Absence, and, if validated, issue a standard government stipend to boost morale. Still recovering from losses of his own, Harvey is content in his routineโuntil his life is shaken by an unexpected assignment from the central office.
A woman long thought Absent has reappeared in her hometown of Dawnville, Kansas, claiming sheโs been to the other side and back. But is her wild and irresistible account true, or is she just the latest false prophet, offering hope to a world desperate for it? Together with his no-BS partner, Shonda Erins, Harvey travels to Dawnville to find out.
A resonant portrait of a world beset by confusion and dismay, Andrew Dana Hudsonโs debut is a vividly imagined novel of cosmic proportions, examining life in a time of exception and the stories we tell to get by.
People are โpoppingโโdisappearing, one by one, into thin air: an ongoing global cataclysm known as Spontaneous Human Absence. In a world where prospects for survival are increasingly grim, hopelessness prevails, political rifts widen, and doomsday predictions flourish.
Harvey Ellis works the night shift for the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs, an ad hoc federal agency meant to contain and catalog the crisis. Harveyโs job: to investigate claims of Absence, and, if validated, issue a standard government stipend to boost morale. Still recovering from losses of his own, Harvey is content in his routineโuntil his life is shaken by an unexpected assignment from the central office.
A woman long thought Absent has reappeared in her hometown of Dawnville, Kansas, claiming sheโs been to the other side and back. But is her wild and irresistible account true, or is she just the latest false prophet, offering hope to a world desperate for it? Together with his no-BS partner, Shonda Erins, Harvey travels to Dawnville to find out.
A resonant portrait of a world beset by confusion and dismay, Andrew Dana Hudsonโs debut is a vividly imagined novel of cosmic proportions, examining life in a time of exception and the stories we tell to get by.
A Murder in Hollywood
Author Michael Crichton
Genres Literature & Fiction, Mysteries
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From Michael Crichton
Creator of Jurassic Park , ER , Twister , Rising Sun , and Disclosure
Writing as John Lange
Comes a new Hollywood mystery thriller, originally written in 1973 by Crichton but never before published, that will keep you guessing until the very end.
In the glitz and decadence of 1970s Hollywood, an era when sex and drugs are readily available on any movie set, the writer of the next Western blockbuster, Bloodrock, has just been found dead in his motel bathtub. Now publicist Harvey Jason is desperately trying to keep the project on track while the famed Harlow Perkins, a brilliant and ruthless investigator, begins to unravel the mystery and hunt the killer down.
From scorching-hot desert locations to sleazy motel bars, the members of the cast and crewโeach one with a very dark secret of their ownโwill send this case deeper and deeper into a maze of confusion and shadows until the shocking truth is revealed.
Will the murderer be found?
Or will the true identity of the killer turn out to be just another Hollywood illusion?
Creator of Jurassic Park , ER , Twister , Rising Sun , and Disclosure
Writing as John Lange
Comes a new Hollywood mystery thriller, originally written in 1973 by Crichton but never before published, that will keep you guessing until the very end.
In the glitz and decadence of 1970s Hollywood, an era when sex and drugs are readily available on any movie set, the writer of the next Western blockbuster, Bloodrock, has just been found dead in his motel bathtub. Now publicist Harvey Jason is desperately trying to keep the project on track while the famed Harlow Perkins, a brilliant and ruthless investigator, begins to unravel the mystery and hunt the killer down.
From scorching-hot desert locations to sleazy motel bars, the members of the cast and crewโeach one with a very dark secret of their ownโwill send this case deeper and deeper into a maze of confusion and shadows until the shocking truth is revealed.
Will the murderer be found?
Or will the true identity of the killer turn out to be just another Hollywood illusion?
THIS IS NOT A DYSTOPIA.
IT'S A UTOPIA IN THE MAKING.
Matargo and the other children live in paradise, under the watchful eye of their mechs.
Until the day they Float.
No one talks about what happens after you Float.
Or what exactly the giant black sphere of nothingness above them is.
Why would they? They've never known a day of fear or suspicion in their lives.
Like lambs. Awaiting slaughter.
Book One in The EVOL Trilogy.
IT'S A UTOPIA IN THE MAKING.
Matargo and the other children live in paradise, under the watchful eye of their mechs.
Until the day they Float.
No one talks about what happens after you Float.
Or what exactly the giant black sphere of nothingness above them is.
Why would they? They've never known a day of fear or suspicion in their lives.
Like lambs. Awaiting slaughter.
Book One in The EVOL Trilogy.
The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley
Author Lindz McLeod
Genres LGBTQ+ Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+ Humorous Fiction, LGBTQ+ Literary Fiction, Friendship Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Being snubbed by Mr Darcyโpassed over for Elizabeth Bennet, no lessโis humiliating.
Being told sheโs arrogant and unkind, and that if she doesnโt mend her ways, she might never find loveโฆ thatโs simply preposterous. Isn't it?
Feeling the sting of Darcyโs rejection, Caroline Bingley does what any self-respecting woman of means would do: she hatches a plan. Get Georgiana Darcy, the epitome of grace and sweetness, to teach Caroline how to be perfect like her.
But Carolineโs transformation from status-hungry socialite to proper marriage material wonโt be easy. She must be charming, and even worseโฆ she must be kind. And Georgiana herself isnโt so sure about playing fairy godmother. Beneath Miss Darcy's polished facade lies an entirely different set of struggles.
As the two grow closer, Caroline discovers sheโs less interested in securing a man, and more intrigued by the woman helping her to reform her character. Before long, their lessons in finding love and acceptance blossom into something completely unexpectedโฆ
The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley is a sapphic historical romance.
Being told sheโs arrogant and unkind, and that if she doesnโt mend her ways, she might never find loveโฆ thatโs simply preposterous. Isn't it?
Feeling the sting of Darcyโs rejection, Caroline Bingley does what any self-respecting woman of means would do: she hatches a plan. Get Georgiana Darcy, the epitome of grace and sweetness, to teach Caroline how to be perfect like her.
But Carolineโs transformation from status-hungry socialite to proper marriage material wonโt be easy. She must be charming, and even worseโฆ she must be kind. And Georgiana herself isnโt so sure about playing fairy godmother. Beneath Miss Darcy's polished facade lies an entirely different set of struggles.
As the two grow closer, Caroline discovers sheโs less interested in securing a man, and more intrigued by the woman helping her to reform her character. Before long, their lessons in finding love and acceptance blossom into something completely unexpectedโฆ
The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley is a sapphic historical romance.
Justice with a Smile
Author Osamu Dazai
Genres Classic Literature & Fiction, Cultural Heritage Fiction, Biographical & Autofiction, Coming of Age Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Young Susumu Serikawa is at a turning point. Should he continue his boring school education or chase his dream of becoming Japan's most famous actor? And how can he do that now that his father is dead, his mother is bedridden and his older brother is a university dropout?
In the hands of skilled author Osamu Dazai, Susumu's dilemma becomes a uniquely powerful tale of teenage angst and survival. Based on the diary of a real-life actor, Serikawa's entries are full of biting judgement and egotism alternating with shame and self-reproachโbut also a touching idealism and faith that ultimately guide him forward.
This novel, translated into English for the first time, probes the same self-destructive dynamics that torment the young characters in Dazai's other works, but with a vastly different outcome. The bold, contemporary translation by Michael Day delivers an unforgettable new protagonist for Dazai's many fans.
In the hands of skilled author Osamu Dazai, Susumu's dilemma becomes a uniquely powerful tale of teenage angst and survival. Based on the diary of a real-life actor, Serikawa's entries are full of biting judgement and egotism alternating with shame and self-reproachโbut also a touching idealism and faith that ultimately guide him forward.
This novel, translated into English for the first time, probes the same self-destructive dynamics that torment the young characters in Dazai's other works, but with a vastly different outcome. The bold, contemporary translation by Michael Day delivers an unforgettable new protagonist for Dazai's many fans.
Your Promise
Author Adriana Hunter
Genres Psychological Fiction, Literary Fiction, Psychological Thrillers, Suspense Thrillers
Publication Date May 5, 2026
An ingenious legal thriller in the vein ofย Anatomy of a Fall, this gripping story of a writerโs toxic relationship exposes the gap between who we are and who we seem to be.
When novelist Claire Lancelโs relationship with Gilles Fabian began, it felt like a dream, an idyllic love story. 6 months in, during a romantic dinner by the sea, he asked her to make him a promise, which she did: She would never write about him.
Why, after years together, is Claire finally breaking her promise? What could have happened in their relationship that brought her to the witness stand, defending herself in court?
Through Claireโs own testimony and the conflicting accounts of friends,ย Your Promiseย offers a brilliant reconstruction of a crime, and a stinging portrayal of modern narcissism, characterized by a lack of empathy.
Payback
Author Elizabeth Rose Quinn
Genres Humor About Law & Crime, Psychological Fiction, Dark Humor, Women Sleuths
Publication Date May 5, 2026
For seven inmates, their luxury weekend prison sentence comes with concierge serviceโand complimentary homicide.
Welcome to Pay to Stay, Los Angelesโs premier minimum-security facility where the privileged serve time Friday to Monday only.
But this New Yearโs weekend, seven inmatesโincluding a driven campaign manager, a disgraced nurse, a party girl, and one mysterious male transferโdiscover their abusive guard dead, wrapped in an ironic โCommunity Paybackโ vest. Now they must solve his murder before their cushy arrangement becomes a permanent stay in maximum security.
As a storm rages outside and the power fails, alliances shift within. With police knocking at their door and an emotional support iguana named Nacho as their witness, these inmates hustle to collect evidence and plan a killer partyโall while dodging suspicion. Because someone in this concrete block is a murderer. And everyone is a suspect. But as New Yearโs Eve approaches and bodies pile up, these unlikely allies discover that in Pay to Stay, some debts can only be paid in blood.
Welcome to Pay to Stay, Los Angelesโs premier minimum-security facility where the privileged serve time Friday to Monday only.
But this New Yearโs weekend, seven inmatesโincluding a driven campaign manager, a disgraced nurse, a party girl, and one mysterious male transferโdiscover their abusive guard dead, wrapped in an ironic โCommunity Paybackโ vest. Now they must solve his murder before their cushy arrangement becomes a permanent stay in maximum security.
As a storm rages outside and the power fails, alliances shift within. With police knocking at their door and an emotional support iguana named Nacho as their witness, these inmates hustle to collect evidence and plan a killer partyโall while dodging suspicion. Because someone in this concrete block is a murderer. And everyone is a suspect. But as New Yearโs Eve approaches and bodies pile up, these unlikely allies discover that in Pay to Stay, some debts can only be paid in blood.
Smallie
Author Eden McKenzie-Goddard
Genres Cultural Heritage Fiction, Multigenerational Fiction, Immigration Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publication Date May 7, 2026
In 1961, 19-year-old Lucinda Brown travels to England in search of her lover, Clarence Braithwaite, a jazz musician who left Barbados to join the British army. Aboard the ship to Southampton, Lucinda meets Raldo, a free-wheeling Trinidadian, who offers her the wild freedom that both her old life in Barbados and the life that awaits her in Britain lack. Driven by loyalty, and the memory of the little boy she left behind, she chooses Clarence โ though soon realises that he is no longer the saxophonist she fell in love with, but a veteran at war with himself.
Fifty years later, Patrick Braithwaite, a father, husband, business owner and recovering alcoholic from Tottenham, has to rally his three siblings when their mother receives a letter from the Home Office that tears their life apart. They need to prove their motherโs legal arrival, to prevent her deportation, and to do that they need to find a man their mother once loved, known only by the name of Raldoโฆ
Tender, rich and big-hearted, Smallie is a stunning British debut about three generations of a Bajan-British family affected by the Windrush scandal that will move, enrage and pull you in.
Fifty years later, Patrick Braithwaite, a father, husband, business owner and recovering alcoholic from Tottenham, has to rally his three siblings when their mother receives a letter from the Home Office that tears their life apart. They need to prove their motherโs legal arrival, to prevent her deportation, and to do that they need to find a man their mother once loved, known only by the name of Raldoโฆ
Tender, rich and big-hearted, Smallie is a stunning British debut about three generations of a Bajan-British family affected by the Windrush scandal that will move, enrage and pull you in.
The Savage
Author Penelope Sky
Genres Literature & Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Mafia Romance, Billionaires & Millionaires Romance
Publication Date May 5, 2026
In an electrifying return to the dark world of Roman Republic, a ruthless emperor contends with an enemy within, whose connection to his familyโs past pushes himโand his heartโto new limits.
The city of Taormina calls to meโbut Constantine possesses me, body and soul. Not just because of those chiseled abs and glorious tattoos my photographerโs eye canโt help but admire. Or the manโs utter devotion to his dog. But because he always stands up for me.
He saved my life once. And heโd do it again.
His ruthless brand of justice inspires terror on the streets of Rome. But in his arms, I shiver for a different reason. So when he asks me to move in after just six weeks, Iโm ecstatic.
And conflicted.
I worry Iโm a distraction. An obstacle to his duties as emperor. And when his nemesis, the Skull Kingโthat merciless bastard who killed Constantineโs twinโreappears, I fear Iโm right.
Whatever went down between them, Constantine loved his brother with all his heart. Now he has a choice to avenge his brotherโs death and protect Romeโฆor save me again.
The city of Taormina calls to meโbut Constantine possesses me, body and soul. Not just because of those chiseled abs and glorious tattoos my photographerโs eye canโt help but admire. Or the manโs utter devotion to his dog. But because he always stands up for me.
He saved my life once. And heโd do it again.
His ruthless brand of justice inspires terror on the streets of Rome. But in his arms, I shiver for a different reason. So when he asks me to move in after just six weeks, Iโm ecstatic.
And conflicted.
I worry Iโm a distraction. An obstacle to his duties as emperor. And when his nemesis, the Skull Kingโthat merciless bastard who killed Constantineโs twinโreappears, I fear Iโm right.
Whatever went down between them, Constantine loved his brother with all his heart. Now he has a choice to avenge his brotherโs death and protect Romeโฆor save me again.
Such a Nice Girl
Author Andrea Mara
Genres Literature & Fiction, Women Sleuths, Amateur Sleuths, Psychological Thrillers
Publication Date May 7, 2026
โThe thing is, we always believe the best of our own kids. What mother thinks her own daughter will do something terrible? But every bad deed is carried out by a person who was once someoneโs child.โ
Everyone has secrets. Even your daughterโฆ
The morning after a glamorous, luxury wedding, you and your best friend go to wake your twenty-four-year-old daughters. You open the door to their shared room in the pool-house and find a lamp smashed on the floor, a blood stain on the carpet, a ringing phone โ and both girls are nowhere to be seen.
The police come and you discover something shocking. Something inexplicable. Is one of your daughters trying to kill the other? And thatโs when you and your best friend begin to unravel what's really going on between the girls.
You need to work together to find your daughters, testing your friendship to its limits. And you canโt help but wonder: which girl is the killer and which is the victim?
Everyone has secrets. Even your daughterโฆ
The morning after a glamorous, luxury wedding, you and your best friend go to wake your twenty-four-year-old daughters. You open the door to their shared room in the pool-house and find a lamp smashed on the floor, a blood stain on the carpet, a ringing phone โ and both girls are nowhere to be seen.
The police come and you discover something shocking. Something inexplicable. Is one of your daughters trying to kill the other? And thatโs when you and your best friend begin to unravel what's really going on between the girls.
You need to work together to find your daughters, testing your friendship to its limits. And you canโt help but wonder: which girl is the killer and which is the victim?
Lessons in Falling
Author Selina Mae
Genres Genre Literature & Fiction, New Adult & College Romance, Romantic Comedy
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A forbidden romance and summer of self-discovery from Selina Mae, the author of Lessons in Faking, featuring gorgeous stenciled edges and art on the inside cover.
Valentina Rhodes has spent her life trying to please everyone, always putting her own needs aside. When she realizes her brilliant university degree is still not enough for her family, she knows something has to change. She plans for the summer at Oakport Island with her best friends to change everything. Armed with a bucket list of forbidden wishes, she's finally ready to discover who she really is.
Then Caden Callahan crashes her plans.
The charismatic soccer captain wasn't supposed to be here, and he definitely wasn't supposed to move into her room. Valentina tells herself the night they shared was a one-time mistakeโuntil she discovers he'll be a part of their friend group all summer long. Now every stolen glance and accidental touch threatens to shatter the one rule keeping their group no dating friends.
Valentina knows staying away from Caden is the smart choice. The safe choice. But as she starts putting herself first for once, she faces an impossible maybe standing on her own doesn't mean standing alone.
Valentina Rhodes has spent her life trying to please everyone, always putting her own needs aside. When she realizes her brilliant university degree is still not enough for her family, she knows something has to change. She plans for the summer at Oakport Island with her best friends to change everything. Armed with a bucket list of forbidden wishes, she's finally ready to discover who she really is.
Then Caden Callahan crashes her plans.
The charismatic soccer captain wasn't supposed to be here, and he definitely wasn't supposed to move into her room. Valentina tells herself the night they shared was a one-time mistakeโuntil she discovers he'll be a part of their friend group all summer long. Now every stolen glance and accidental touch threatens to shatter the one rule keeping their group no dating friends.
Valentina knows staying away from Caden is the smart choice. The safe choice. But as she starts putting herself first for once, she faces an impossible maybe standing on her own doesn't mean standing alone.
The Duke's Bargain
Author Megan Walker
Genres Literature & Fiction, Clean & Wholesome Romance
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Ruined by scandal, Georgiana bargains with a duke to regain her place in Society. But their pretend friendship sparks real love, risking reputations, duty, and unexpected happily-ever-afters.
Eight months after a stolen kiss ruined her reputation, Miss Georgiana Wood is a recluse, cast out of Society without any hope of ever finding a suitable match. Longing for redemption, she never expects her salvation to arrive in the form of a handsome, temperamental duke.
After a failed bargain left the Duke of Marlow without a promised wife and heir, he must face courtship a final time. He plans to entice his future bride with a priceless family heirloomโone now in the possession of Miss Wood, who agrees to return it if he takes her on three outings in London during the Season to restore her reputation.
As the pair navigate Societyโs expectations and whispered gossip, Marlow begins to see Georgiana as an ally and a friend. Her wit and courage, grace and allure far exceed that of the eligible ladies he intended to court, and soon, heโd do almost anything to secure her happiness.
As Marlow wrestles with duty and desire, Georgiana begins to hope that she could be loved for who she truly is. When hearts are tested, truth and secrets revealed, will love be enough to risk it all?
Eight months after a stolen kiss ruined her reputation, Miss Georgiana Wood is a recluse, cast out of Society without any hope of ever finding a suitable match. Longing for redemption, she never expects her salvation to arrive in the form of a handsome, temperamental duke.
After a failed bargain left the Duke of Marlow without a promised wife and heir, he must face courtship a final time. He plans to entice his future bride with a priceless family heirloomโone now in the possession of Miss Wood, who agrees to return it if he takes her on three outings in London during the Season to restore her reputation.
As the pair navigate Societyโs expectations and whispered gossip, Marlow begins to see Georgiana as an ally and a friend. Her wit and courage, grace and allure far exceed that of the eligible ladies he intended to court, and soon, heโd do almost anything to secure her happiness.
As Marlow wrestles with duty and desire, Georgiana begins to hope that she could be loved for who she truly is. When hearts are tested, truth and secrets revealed, will love be enough to risk it all?
Long and Speaking Silence, A
Author Nghi Vo
Genres Literature & Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Asian Myth & Legend
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From USA Today bestselling author Nghi Vo comes a beautiful new tale in the Hugo Award-winning Singing Hills Cycle, drawn from the earliest days of Chih's career as a wandering cleric.
"Nghi Vo is so good."โNPR on The Brides of High Hill
Every story begins somewhere.
On the banks of the Ya-lรฉ River, the town of Luntien gathers to celebrate the start of the rainy season, but the celebration is marred by the arrival of refugees from the sea. Everyone has a story about the foreigners newly in their midstโlazy, violent, unwantedโwhile the refugees themselves grieve the loss of the home they loved.
Cleric Chih, very recently still Novice Chih, is also a stranger in Luntien. A moment of carelessness and bad luck leaves them waiting tables as they struggle to establish themself as a real cleric. A clericโs job is to listen and record, but the stories emerging in Luntien are ugly and violent, as hard to predict as the river itself. With their hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant by their side, Chih must help the refugees while also unraveling a mystery that may have roots in their own faraway home in the abbey of Singing Hills.
In the seventh entry of the award-winning Singing Hills series, we meet Chih and Almost Brilliant just beginning their journey together as Chih assumes their place on the road and in the world.
The novellas of the Singing Hills series are standalone stories linked by the Cleric Chih, and may be read in any order.
"Nghi Vo is so good."โNPR on The Brides of High Hill
Every story begins somewhere.
On the banks of the Ya-lรฉ River, the town of Luntien gathers to celebrate the start of the rainy season, but the celebration is marred by the arrival of refugees from the sea. Everyone has a story about the foreigners newly in their midstโlazy, violent, unwantedโwhile the refugees themselves grieve the loss of the home they loved.
Cleric Chih, very recently still Novice Chih, is also a stranger in Luntien. A moment of carelessness and bad luck leaves them waiting tables as they struggle to establish themself as a real cleric. A clericโs job is to listen and record, but the stories emerging in Luntien are ugly and violent, as hard to predict as the river itself. With their hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant by their side, Chih must help the refugees while also unraveling a mystery that may have roots in their own faraway home in the abbey of Singing Hills.
In the seventh entry of the award-winning Singing Hills series, we meet Chih and Almost Brilliant just beginning their journey together as Chih assumes their place on the road and in the world.
The novellas of the Singing Hills series are standalone stories linked by the Cleric Chih, and may be read in any order.
Abundance
Author Hafeez Lakhani
Genres Multigenerational Fiction, Immigration Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Two generations of a Muslim Indian family grapple with what parts of life we control and what we must humbly accept in pursuit of the American dreamโfor readers of Min Jin Lee, Mohsin Hamid, and Ayad Akhtar
In suburban Miami, sixty-year-old Sakeenaโco-owner of a Dunkinโ franchise along with her husband, Ramzanโhas nine months to live unless she consents to an organ transplant. Thirty years ago, at Ramzanโs behest, she left her beloved Rawalpindi, India, for the United States. In the years that followed, she compromised her belief in naseeb, the Muslim notion of destiny, and acquiesced to fertility treatments. This time, she is adamant that she should live as intendedโwithout medical intervention. As her health deteriorates, Ramzan desperately seeks to reunite their grown children with the hope of convincing Sakeena to extend her life.
But there are complications. Eldest daughter Fareen is consumed by an important business deal that, if successful, will land her a highly desired (and lucrative) promotion. Meanwhile, youngest son Adnan is living abroad and unable to return to the States due to his own unscrupulous business practices, a pattern stretching back to his adolescence. If they have any hope of saving their motherโs life, the siblings must take extraordinary action to wrestle with their life choices, actions that reveal the always-present tension between ambition and fate.
Brought to life by prose that captures the spirit of contemporary Miami as effortlessly as it conveys the challenges of running a Dunkinโ franchise, Abundance is a beautiful, moving read from an exciting new American voice.
In suburban Miami, sixty-year-old Sakeenaโco-owner of a Dunkinโ franchise along with her husband, Ramzanโhas nine months to live unless she consents to an organ transplant. Thirty years ago, at Ramzanโs behest, she left her beloved Rawalpindi, India, for the United States. In the years that followed, she compromised her belief in naseeb, the Muslim notion of destiny, and acquiesced to fertility treatments. This time, she is adamant that she should live as intendedโwithout medical intervention. As her health deteriorates, Ramzan desperately seeks to reunite their grown children with the hope of convincing Sakeena to extend her life.
But there are complications. Eldest daughter Fareen is consumed by an important business deal that, if successful, will land her a highly desired (and lucrative) promotion. Meanwhile, youngest son Adnan is living abroad and unable to return to the States due to his own unscrupulous business practices, a pattern stretching back to his adolescence. If they have any hope of saving their motherโs life, the siblings must take extraordinary action to wrestle with their life choices, actions that reveal the always-present tension between ambition and fate.
Brought to life by prose that captures the spirit of contemporary Miami as effortlessly as it conveys the challenges of running a Dunkinโ franchise, Abundance is a beautiful, moving read from an exciting new American voice.
The Love Variations
Author Victoria Lee
Genres Genre Literature & Fiction, Contemporary Women Fiction, Contemporary Romance, New Adult & College Romance
Publication Date May 5, 2026
An emotional and empowering romance novel about two musicians healing their wounds and finding love, all the while competing to win a prestigious piano competition from Victoria Lee, author of A Shot in the Dark
Goldie Gensler has always wanted to be a concert musician like her parentsโbut after a devastating multiple sclerosis diagnosis, that dream feels more urgent than ever. The worldโs most prestigious international piano competition is coming up in two monthsโitโs the perfect chance for Goldie to make her dream come true. But her competition will be stiff because Jamie Larson, with his perfect technique and derisive glare and gorgeous ocean blue eyes, is competing too.
Jamie has always resented Goldie for her easy road to professional musicianship, given her wealthy parents who were both first chair in the New York Philharmonic. Jaime spent hours and hours studying to make it from small-town Iowa to the best music school in New York City. But his technical precision is no match for the way Goldieโs imperfect, but emotionally resonant music makes audiences swoon. Heโs determined to prove that skill and dedication are what makes for a good musician, but after his brotherโs suicide three years ago, Jamie just doesnโt love music like he used to.
Goldie and Jamie have their own reasons to win, but when an unexpected hurricane forces them to practiceโand liveโtogether, they discover their passion for more than just music.
Goldie Gensler has always wanted to be a concert musician like her parentsโbut after a devastating multiple sclerosis diagnosis, that dream feels more urgent than ever. The worldโs most prestigious international piano competition is coming up in two monthsโitโs the perfect chance for Goldie to make her dream come true. But her competition will be stiff because Jamie Larson, with his perfect technique and derisive glare and gorgeous ocean blue eyes, is competing too.
Jamie has always resented Goldie for her easy road to professional musicianship, given her wealthy parents who were both first chair in the New York Philharmonic. Jaime spent hours and hours studying to make it from small-town Iowa to the best music school in New York City. But his technical precision is no match for the way Goldieโs imperfect, but emotionally resonant music makes audiences swoon. Heโs determined to prove that skill and dedication are what makes for a good musician, but after his brotherโs suicide three years ago, Jamie just doesnโt love music like he used to.
Goldie and Jamie have their own reasons to win, but when an unexpected hurricane forces them to practiceโand liveโtogether, they discover their passion for more than just music.
Three Queens
Author Rebecca Connolly
Genres Women's Friendship Fiction, Sisters Fiction, American Literature
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Abigail Adams, Queen Charlotte, and Marie-Antoinetteโthree women form an unlikely sisterhood, navigating revolutions, royal pressures, and personal losses as they shape their own legacies.
After the end of the American Revolutionary War, Abigail Adams crosses the Atlantic to reunite with her husband, John, after five long years apart. But she is unprepared for the glittering courts of England and France that are so different from her experience in the newly established United States. Undeterred, Abigail sets her sights on befriending the queens of Europe, believing their support is key to her nationโs future.
In England, Queen Charlotte carries the weight of an empire on her shoulders. Her husband, King George III, battles a private madness, while political tensions rise and her eldest son schemes for power. Charlotte struggles to maintain order and proprietyโwhile clinging to the solace she finds in her correspondence with her friend Marie Antoinette in France.
Revolution has gripped France, and Marie Antoinette must watch as her world crumbles. Vilified by the public and neglected by a king who refuses to see the storm coming, she faces growing unrest with dwindling allies. As tragedy strikes her family, she reaches out to her friendsโCharlotte and Abigailโin a last attempt to find a path forward, possibly even escape.
The paths of these three women cross in unexpected ways in public, in private, and through letters. They forge a quiet sisterhood across borders and upheaval, each one facing love and loss, sweetness and strife, revolution and regrets.
After the end of the American Revolutionary War, Abigail Adams crosses the Atlantic to reunite with her husband, John, after five long years apart. But she is unprepared for the glittering courts of England and France that are so different from her experience in the newly established United States. Undeterred, Abigail sets her sights on befriending the queens of Europe, believing their support is key to her nationโs future.
In England, Queen Charlotte carries the weight of an empire on her shoulders. Her husband, King George III, battles a private madness, while political tensions rise and her eldest son schemes for power. Charlotte struggles to maintain order and proprietyโwhile clinging to the solace she finds in her correspondence with her friend Marie Antoinette in France.
Revolution has gripped France, and Marie Antoinette must watch as her world crumbles. Vilified by the public and neglected by a king who refuses to see the storm coming, she faces growing unrest with dwindling allies. As tragedy strikes her family, she reaches out to her friendsโCharlotte and Abigailโin a last attempt to find a path forward, possibly even escape.
The paths of these three women cross in unexpected ways in public, in private, and through letters. They forge a quiet sisterhood across borders and upheaval, each one facing love and loss, sweetness and strife, revolution and regrets.
An Inheritance of Lies
Author Rebecca A. Carter
Genres World War I Historical Fiction, Historical World War I Fiction, Women's Literature & Fiction, Historical Thrillers
Publication Date May 5, 2026
In this sweeping historical fiction tinged with mystery and romance, a young woman must navigate societal expectations, family secrets, and her own awakening independence in the shadow of World War I and the RMS Lusitaniaโs doomed voyage.
In the wake of World War I, New York heiress Alexandra Benson finds her life irrevocably changed after the tragic and mysterious death of her parents. Now, in a cruel twist of fate, her fatherโs testament delivers the agonizing blow, granting her uncle control over her inheritanceโunless she marries.
To safeguard her future, Alexandra hatches a plan with the aid of a dashing stranger to fake an engagement and claim whatโs rightfully hers. Caught amid wartime tensions and her uncleโs devious plots, Alexandra and her fiancรฉ are forced to embark on the fateful voyage to England aboard the RMS Lusitania. Where nothing is as it seems.
When wartime secrets beckon questions of espionage and betrayal, Alexandra must navigate societal expectations and her own awakening independence as she finds her heart torn by her fake engagement scheme and devastating family secrets in this sweeping tale of one womanโs quest for truth and autonomy at the brink of tragedy.
In the wake of World War I, New York heiress Alexandra Benson finds her life irrevocably changed after the tragic and mysterious death of her parents. Now, in a cruel twist of fate, her fatherโs testament delivers the agonizing blow, granting her uncle control over her inheritanceโunless she marries.
To safeguard her future, Alexandra hatches a plan with the aid of a dashing stranger to fake an engagement and claim whatโs rightfully hers. Caught amid wartime tensions and her uncleโs devious plots, Alexandra and her fiancรฉ are forced to embark on the fateful voyage to England aboard the RMS Lusitania. Where nothing is as it seems.
When wartime secrets beckon questions of espionage and betrayal, Alexandra must navigate societal expectations and her own awakening independence as she finds her heart torn by her fake engagement scheme and devastating family secrets in this sweeping tale of one womanโs quest for truth and autonomy at the brink of tragedy.
Carryout
Author Hasan Dudar
Genres Multigenerational Fiction, Immigration Fiction, Short Stories, American Literature
Publication Date May 5, 2026
In the late 1970s, Ziad Idilbi, a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon, marries Salma, a Lebanese refugee escaping the war in Beirut. Resolving to start over for the very last time, the couple opens a corner store in Toledo, Ohio, across from the General Motors factory, where Toledoโs Arab community intermingles with the working class. Over the decades, whether itโs bigotry (pre- and post-9/11), financial ruin, or terminal illness, the Idilbis find themselves on lifeโs outskirts, attempting to build something new.
Achingly poignant and slyly funny, the linked stories in Carryout follow the Idilbis and their children as they teeter on the brink of catastrophe. Walid, the youngest child of Ziad and Salma, navigates the heartbreaks of youth as well as the colorful characters who haunt his parentsโ corner store. As he grows up into a writer, Walidโs gaze fixes on his father and the long shadow of displacement and occupation. Mustafa, the eldest son, is forever trying to outrun the disasters that seem to seek him out, while Nawal, the only daughter, is dumped by a friend and hatches a scheme to win her back. Unsure whether to run toward each other or away from each other, the characters in Dudarโs exquisite debut suffer the absurdities and indignities of life in America with wry obstinance and striking wisdom.
PRAISE FOR CARRYOUT:
โDudarโs debut is an intricately linked story collection portraying the intersections of race and class in the lives of an immigrant community. You will cheer for these charactersโ triumphs and mourn their losses. A powerful new literary voice!โโSusan Muaddi Darraj, author and Pen/Faulkner Finalist, Behind You Is the Sea
โThere are so many stark truths in Dudarโs lyrical collection, and I felt so connected to the in-between lives described so carefully, so generously in its pages. Dudar writes with poise and maturity, with stories that veer from the darkly comic to the endearing to the tragic, never losing sight of one of the core truths of immigrant lives: that everything can feel borrowed and everything can so quickly fall apart. These are the sorts of stories that make a reader sit up and pay attention.โโDaniel Alarcรณn, author and journalist
โDudarโs precise proseโclean yet rich in wit and wisdomโdrew me in, but the subtle complexity and aching emotion he reveals in these family members kept me immersed in each of their stories. Dudarโs kindness and unique sense of curiosity bring fresh dimension to notions of language, borders, distances between us, dreams, memory, forgetting, forgiveness, and our longing to embrace ever-elusive certainty. The stories are short, yet span generations who must negotiate new worlds of shifting cultures that challenge the idea of self. Graceful, insightful, and engrossing, Carryout is an excellent read.โโEugenia Kim, author, The Kinship of Secrets
โTold from multiple points of view, the linked stories in Carryout dramatize the lives of an Arab American family over the years in Toledo, Ohio. As we follow Walid, a central narrator, as he comes of age, weโre introduced to a vibrant and diverse community. These are moving, beautifully written and humorous stories that explore notions of home and belonging and the importance of family and community in memorable detail. A terrific debut.โโGhassan Zeineddine, author, Dearborn
โTo read Carryout is to be transported, to be changed. In rhythmic, lucid prose, Dudar renders his wide familial cast with equal parts compassion and precision, alighting on the surface of seemingly small moments to plumb for their beating hearts. There is desperation in these stories, a raw desire to fashion a life, both together and apart, amid the indignities and atrocities of America. I consumed this book.โโMegan Kamalei Kakimoto, author, Every Drop Is a Manโs Nightmare
โA portrait of the artist as a young man and a portrait of community in diaspora, this debut is as funny and tender and vibrant as the remarkable family at its center. In the grand tradition of writers like Vladimir Nabokov and Aleksandar Hemon, Dudar brings places to life with brilliant originality while also bringing to life the existential experience of displacement. Carryout is as exhilarating as it is necessary.โโHarriet Clark, author, The Hill
Achingly poignant and slyly funny, the linked stories in Carryout follow the Idilbis and their children as they teeter on the brink of catastrophe. Walid, the youngest child of Ziad and Salma, navigates the heartbreaks of youth as well as the colorful characters who haunt his parentsโ corner store. As he grows up into a writer, Walidโs gaze fixes on his father and the long shadow of displacement and occupation. Mustafa, the eldest son, is forever trying to outrun the disasters that seem to seek him out, while Nawal, the only daughter, is dumped by a friend and hatches a scheme to win her back. Unsure whether to run toward each other or away from each other, the characters in Dudarโs exquisite debut suffer the absurdities and indignities of life in America with wry obstinance and striking wisdom.
PRAISE FOR CARRYOUT:
โDudarโs debut is an intricately linked story collection portraying the intersections of race and class in the lives of an immigrant community. You will cheer for these charactersโ triumphs and mourn their losses. A powerful new literary voice!โโSusan Muaddi Darraj, author and Pen/Faulkner Finalist, Behind You Is the Sea
โThere are so many stark truths in Dudarโs lyrical collection, and I felt so connected to the in-between lives described so carefully, so generously in its pages. Dudar writes with poise and maturity, with stories that veer from the darkly comic to the endearing to the tragic, never losing sight of one of the core truths of immigrant lives: that everything can feel borrowed and everything can so quickly fall apart. These are the sorts of stories that make a reader sit up and pay attention.โโDaniel Alarcรณn, author and journalist
โDudarโs precise proseโclean yet rich in wit and wisdomโdrew me in, but the subtle complexity and aching emotion he reveals in these family members kept me immersed in each of their stories. Dudarโs kindness and unique sense of curiosity bring fresh dimension to notions of language, borders, distances between us, dreams, memory, forgetting, forgiveness, and our longing to embrace ever-elusive certainty. The stories are short, yet span generations who must negotiate new worlds of shifting cultures that challenge the idea of self. Graceful, insightful, and engrossing, Carryout is an excellent read.โโEugenia Kim, author, The Kinship of Secrets
โTold from multiple points of view, the linked stories in Carryout dramatize the lives of an Arab American family over the years in Toledo, Ohio. As we follow Walid, a central narrator, as he comes of age, weโre introduced to a vibrant and diverse community. These are moving, beautifully written and humorous stories that explore notions of home and belonging and the importance of family and community in memorable detail. A terrific debut.โโGhassan Zeineddine, author, Dearborn
โTo read Carryout is to be transported, to be changed. In rhythmic, lucid prose, Dudar renders his wide familial cast with equal parts compassion and precision, alighting on the surface of seemingly small moments to plumb for their beating hearts. There is desperation in these stories, a raw desire to fashion a life, both together and apart, amid the indignities and atrocities of America. I consumed this book.โโMegan Kamalei Kakimoto, author, Every Drop Is a Manโs Nightmare
โA portrait of the artist as a young man and a portrait of community in diaspora, this debut is as funny and tender and vibrant as the remarkable family at its center. In the grand tradition of writers like Vladimir Nabokov and Aleksandar Hemon, Dudar brings places to life with brilliant originality while also bringing to life the existential experience of displacement. Carryout is as exhilarating as it is necessary.โโHarriet Clark, author, The Hill
Come Back to the World
Author Catherine Ryan Hyde
Genres Coming of Age Fiction, Family Life Fiction, Friendship Fiction, Women's Domestic Life Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A single mother strives to understand the enigma of a reclusive novelist in a poignant novel about belonging, secret lives, and the want to disappear by New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde.
Amelia Booker, a journalist and expert in American literature, receives a photograph leading to the possible whereabouts of E.L. Swann, an author who vanished forty years ago after the success of her first and only novel. Itโs too intriguing a literary mystery for Amelia not to follow.
In Santa Rosarita, Mexico, Amelia and her seven-year-old son, Jaden, meet the elderly and guarded Ella Steinbach, known to locals for riding her donkey to market, then retreating from the world again to her hilltop house. Prickly and defensive at first, Ella reluctantly concedes the truth about her identity. If not for Ellaโs deep affection for the bright and introverted Jaden, she would have found the intrusion unforgivable. Instead, she grants an interview on the condition that Amelia tell no one where E.L. Swann has been found.
As days turn into weeks, and Ella reveals more than expected about her past, she and Amelia form a difficult but surprising bond. From it comes the realization that the personal struggles we endure determine the necessary choices we make to move forward. But no matter how much Amelia tries to convince her otherwise, E.L. Swann really does wish to be left alone. And only by accepting the author as she is can Amelia maintain the life-changing connection.
Amelia Booker, a journalist and expert in American literature, receives a photograph leading to the possible whereabouts of E.L. Swann, an author who vanished forty years ago after the success of her first and only novel. Itโs too intriguing a literary mystery for Amelia not to follow.
In Santa Rosarita, Mexico, Amelia and her seven-year-old son, Jaden, meet the elderly and guarded Ella Steinbach, known to locals for riding her donkey to market, then retreating from the world again to her hilltop house. Prickly and defensive at first, Ella reluctantly concedes the truth about her identity. If not for Ellaโs deep affection for the bright and introverted Jaden, she would have found the intrusion unforgivable. Instead, she grants an interview on the condition that Amelia tell no one where E.L. Swann has been found.
As days turn into weeks, and Ella reveals more than expected about her past, she and Amelia form a difficult but surprising bond. From it comes the realization that the personal struggles we endure determine the necessary choices we make to move forward. But no matter how much Amelia tries to convince her otherwise, E.L. Swann really does wish to be left alone. And only by accepting the author as she is can Amelia maintain the life-changing connection.
A Singular Perspective
Author Shay B Bryce
Genres Literature & Fiction, Multicultural & Interracial Romance, New Adult & College Romance, LGBTQ+ Romance
Publication Date May 5, 2026
The pursuit of love is said to be idyllic, but for Carisma Carter it may prove to be destructive.Carisma, or Cari, as she is known by those closest to her, is on a journey to figure out who she is and her place in the world. Her parents have instilled in her the importance of achievement and sheโs determined to attain her dreams and make them proud. This theory is tested from her first day of high school when she meets someone who shakes her reality to the core and sets in place what will become the pattern of her love and pain.
On her journey to adulthood, everything that she has been taught and believes is tested, especially when life snatches away someone closest to her heart, and long-kept family secrets are finally revealed.
Can Cari still become who she thought she would be in the world, or will the ache of heartbreaks alter her path? Will she and her family find healing, or will the bonds they believe theyโve built be destroyed by the quest?
Offseason
Author Avigayl Sharp
Genres Self-Help & Psychology Humor, Comedic Dramas & Plays, Jewish Literature & Fiction, Fiction Satire
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A blisteringly funny and transcendently deranged debut novel following a young woman who takes a job at an all-girls boarding school in a small coastal town to teach English literatureโand to try, desperately, to escape the trap that is herself.
In Avigayl Sharpโs brilliant and bold debut novel, Offseason, our fiercely observant but self-deluded narrator finds herself teaching at an all-girls boarding school on the Eastern Seaboard. In between manic lectures that veer from Charles Dickensโs Bleak House to the childhood maltreatment of her beloved Iosif Stalin and the generational legacy of the Holocaust, she consorts and canoodles with the townโs localsโincluding the possibly disgraced male teacher whose job sheโs taken overโimplicating everyone she meets in her obsessive quest to pin down where, exactly, her own life went wrong.
Though she's vowed never to return to her hometown in the middle of the country, the holiday season sends her careening back into the orbit of her overbearing, maladjusted family. Drunk at a bar on the frigid afternoon of the seventh night of Chanukah, she encounters the figure from her adolescence who may or may not be responsible for violating her, bringing her down, and ruining her life. The past collides with the presentโbut catharsis and closure are nowhere to be found. Not at the bar. Not in her childhood home. And certainly not in the unruly spirals of her mind.
Serious yet irreverent with a delirious velocity, Offseason reimagines the conversation around trauma while reckoning with the doomed project of โspeaking your truth,โ the compulsion to repeat, and whether we can be transformed by art and love.
In Avigayl Sharpโs brilliant and bold debut novel, Offseason, our fiercely observant but self-deluded narrator finds herself teaching at an all-girls boarding school on the Eastern Seaboard. In between manic lectures that veer from Charles Dickensโs Bleak House to the childhood maltreatment of her beloved Iosif Stalin and the generational legacy of the Holocaust, she consorts and canoodles with the townโs localsโincluding the possibly disgraced male teacher whose job sheโs taken overโimplicating everyone she meets in her obsessive quest to pin down where, exactly, her own life went wrong.
Though she's vowed never to return to her hometown in the middle of the country, the holiday season sends her careening back into the orbit of her overbearing, maladjusted family. Drunk at a bar on the frigid afternoon of the seventh night of Chanukah, she encounters the figure from her adolescence who may or may not be responsible for violating her, bringing her down, and ruining her life. The past collides with the presentโbut catharsis and closure are nowhere to be found. Not at the bar. Not in her childhood home. And certainly not in the unruly spirals of her mind.
Serious yet irreverent with a delirious velocity, Offseason reimagines the conversation around trauma while reckoning with the doomed project of โspeaking your truth,โ the compulsion to repeat, and whether we can be transformed by art and love.
The Next War
Author Steve Yohn
Genres Thriller & Suspense Action Fiction, Espionage Thrillers, Suspense Thrillers, Military Thrillers
Publication Date May 5, 2026
The Silent Years
Author Alena Mornลกtajnovรก
Genres Women's Literature & Fiction, Eastern European Literature
Publication Date May 6, 2026
A gripping family mystery that reveals how hidden pasts shape our present and transform our future.
Bohdana is an introverted young woman grappling with tensions in her family and a lingering question she canโt quite shake: on her last visit to the hospital, why did her gravely ill grandmother call her โBlanka,โ and what potential hidden past is her family keeping from her? As Bohdana struggles to piece together the truth, another story unfolds alongside hersโthat of Svatopluk ลฝรกk, a devoted builder of socialist society who hopes his beloved familyโs future will be as brilliant as the star on the Soviet flag. When their two stories collide, hidden histories come to light.
ย
Inย The Silent Years, Czech author Alena Mornลกtajnovรก weaves a rich, intimate family drama that reveals how easily a carefully constructed world can shatter and transform in an instant. Set in postwar Czechoslovakia, the novel follows a human story against a larger backdrop of a society in upheaval.
Love in the West End
Author Maude Winters
Genres Literature & Fiction, Contemporary Romance, LGBTQ+ Romance, Bisexual Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
What if the rivals of SMASHโKaren and Ivyโstopped fighting for the spotlight and realized they belonged in it together?
A decade ago, they lit up the West End. Now, Broadway is callingโฆ and so is unfinished business.
When young Leah Roughy made her West End debut as Queen Victoria, the world saw a breakout star. Lourdes Lennon, a West End vet, saw a nepotism case. But beneath the tension and barbed banter in rehearsal, they each felt something moreโan undeniable connection neither was ready to name.
Their chemistry crackles onstage, but offstage? Itโs tension, snark, and stolen glances that say more than either of them will admit. As their careers take them in opposite directions, Leah and Lourdes stay connected across time zones, heartbreaks, and years of what-ifs.
Now, a ten-year Broadway revival of Victoria offers a second chance: to return to the roles that changed their livesโฆ and to finally ask what might have been if timing had ever been on their side.
As the lights rise once again, Leah is ready to build a life with Lourdes, but her costar still isnโt sure where she fits in a world that asks her to choose between love and ambition. When the chance to build a family unexpectedly lands in their laps, they must choose. Can they find a rhythm that works both on and off stage?
Love in the West End is a sweeping sapphic romance about second chances, love under the lights, and redefining what it means to build a wild life in a rigid world.
Tropes:
*Second Chance
*Rivals to Lovers
*Musical Theater
*30s/40s characters
*Found Family
*Showmance
*One That Got Away
*Queer Joy
*LGBTQ romance
*WLW Romance
A decade ago, they lit up the West End. Now, Broadway is callingโฆ and so is unfinished business.
When young Leah Roughy made her West End debut as Queen Victoria, the world saw a breakout star. Lourdes Lennon, a West End vet, saw a nepotism case. But beneath the tension and barbed banter in rehearsal, they each felt something moreโan undeniable connection neither was ready to name.
Their chemistry crackles onstage, but offstage? Itโs tension, snark, and stolen glances that say more than either of them will admit. As their careers take them in opposite directions, Leah and Lourdes stay connected across time zones, heartbreaks, and years of what-ifs.
Now, a ten-year Broadway revival of Victoria offers a second chance: to return to the roles that changed their livesโฆ and to finally ask what might have been if timing had ever been on their side.
As the lights rise once again, Leah is ready to build a life with Lourdes, but her costar still isnโt sure where she fits in a world that asks her to choose between love and ambition. When the chance to build a family unexpectedly lands in their laps, they must choose. Can they find a rhythm that works both on and off stage?
Love in the West End is a sweeping sapphic romance about second chances, love under the lights, and redefining what it means to build a wild life in a rigid world.
Tropes:
*Second Chance
*Rivals to Lovers
*Musical Theater
*30s/40s characters
*Found Family
*Showmance
*One That Got Away
*Queer Joy
*LGBTQ romance
*WLW Romance
Hidden in Lies
Author Viveca Sten
Genres Literature & Fiction, Police Procedurals, Women Sleuths, Suspense Thrillers
Publication Date May 5, 2026
The suspicious death of a university student at the ร
re ski resort exposes secrets and lies among friends in a novel of chilling suspense by the acclaimed author of Hidden in Memories.
On a Friday in ร re, six university students arrive for a week of skiing and partying. By Sunday morning only five are alive. The body of their friend Filippa is found in the brutally cold outdoors, showing no signs of assault. Itโs as if the barefoot young woman just curled up in a snowdrift to die.
It appears to be a tragic misfortune. And Detective Inspectors Hanna Ahlander and Daniel Lindskog, both at turning points in their personal lives, arenโt anxious to get involved. But Hanna canโt ignore her gut instinct. This is no accident. This is another murder in ร re. Filippaโs best friend, Olivia, has her suspicions too. But who among her tight-knit clique was the last to see Filippa alive?
As, one by one, the friends are pitted against each other, another crime rocks the resort. For Hanna and Daniel, itโs a race against time to separate the truth from the lies, before someone else dies.
On a Friday in ร re, six university students arrive for a week of skiing and partying. By Sunday morning only five are alive. The body of their friend Filippa is found in the brutally cold outdoors, showing no signs of assault. Itโs as if the barefoot young woman just curled up in a snowdrift to die.
It appears to be a tragic misfortune. And Detective Inspectors Hanna Ahlander and Daniel Lindskog, both at turning points in their personal lives, arenโt anxious to get involved. But Hanna canโt ignore her gut instinct. This is no accident. This is another murder in ร re. Filippaโs best friend, Olivia, has her suspicions too. But who among her tight-knit clique was the last to see Filippa alive?
As, one by one, the friends are pitted against each other, another crime rocks the resort. For Hanna and Daniel, itโs a race against time to separate the truth from the lies, before someone else dies.
The Hill
Author Harriet Clark
Genres Coming of Age Fiction, Family Life Fiction
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Suzanna Klein was a baby when her mother got up early one morning to rob a bank with a group of fellow radicals. Now, every Saturday, Suzanna lines up at the prison gates among the other children, each dressed as if for celebration. Inside there is a nursery and a cemetery; there are watchful guards and distractable nuns; there are women counting down to release and women like Suzannaโs mother, who will never be released.
At home, Suzanna is raised by her grandmother, who is entirely unforgiving of her daughterโs crime and refuses to visit the prison. Surrounding Suzanna are her grandmotherโs friends, who know one another from their years in the Communist Party and still spend extended cocktail hours debating the Hitler-Stalin pact. Though these women once insisted on changing the world, they are torn between teaching Suzanna how the world works and shielding her from it.
Suzanna vows to return to the prison forever but her mother wants her to be free. Harriet Clarkโs The Hill is an incandescent novel of a child growing up between worlds, the last of three generations whose fates have been tied to punishment. It is the tale of a family broken apart by the desire for change, told with irreverent wisdom and visionary force. The Hill brings new music to American fiction.
At home, Suzanna is raised by her grandmother, who is entirely unforgiving of her daughterโs crime and refuses to visit the prison. Surrounding Suzanna are her grandmotherโs friends, who know one another from their years in the Communist Party and still spend extended cocktail hours debating the Hitler-Stalin pact. Though these women once insisted on changing the world, they are torn between teaching Suzanna how the world works and shielding her from it.
Suzanna vows to return to the prison forever but her mother wants her to be free. Harriet Clarkโs The Hill is an incandescent novel of a child growing up between worlds, the last of three generations whose fates have been tied to punishment. It is the tale of a family broken apart by the desire for change, told with irreverent wisdom and visionary force. The Hill brings new music to American fiction.
Lost in Yellowstone
Author Nicole Maggi
Genres Travel & Vacation Fiction, Police Procedurals, Women Sleuths, Suspense Thrillers
Publication Date May 5, 2026
A foot in a geyser. A school in the wild. A truth no one saw coming.
When a human foot is ejected from a geyser in Yellowstone National Park, Special Agent Emme Helliwell of the National Park Service is assigned the chilling case.
Tasked with identifying the victim and uncovering what led to such a grisly end, Emme is drawn into the park's vast, unforgiving wildernessโand into the orbit of a private school for at-risk teens where extreme backcountry excursions are part of the curriculum. As disturbing truths begin to surface, Emme must also confront personal fault lines, including the unresolved tension with an ex-boyfriend who's suddenly back in her life and assigned to the same case.
In a place where danger hides behind natural beauty and good intentions can mask darker motives, Emme must navigate both treacherous terrain and emotional landmines to solve a mystery that could cost her everything.
Perfect for readers of C. J. Box and Lisa Gardner
While the novels in the Agent Emme Helliwell National Park Mystery Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence
A Murder in Zion
Lost in Yellowstone
When a human foot is ejected from a geyser in Yellowstone National Park, Special Agent Emme Helliwell of the National Park Service is assigned the chilling case.
Tasked with identifying the victim and uncovering what led to such a grisly end, Emme is drawn into the park's vast, unforgiving wildernessโand into the orbit of a private school for at-risk teens where extreme backcountry excursions are part of the curriculum. As disturbing truths begin to surface, Emme must also confront personal fault lines, including the unresolved tension with an ex-boyfriend who's suddenly back in her life and assigned to the same case.
In a place where danger hides behind natural beauty and good intentions can mask darker motives, Emme must navigate both treacherous terrain and emotional landmines to solve a mystery that could cost her everything.
Perfect for readers of C. J. Box and Lisa Gardner
While the novels in the Agent Emme Helliwell National Park Mystery Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence
A Murder in Zion
Lost in Yellowstone
Fury Bound (Deluxe Limited Edition)
Author Sable Sorensen
Genres Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction, Horror, Romance, Romantasy, Military, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Romantic, Dragons & Mythical Creatures
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Revenge demands sacrifice. Don't miss this action-packed, jaw-dropping, dark and romantic sequel to Dire Bound.
This gorgeous DELUXE LIMITED EDITION is available while supplies last--featuring exclusive special design features.
CROWNED BY DESTINY. CONSUMED BY VENGEANCE.
Against all odds, Meryn Cooper has inherited the crown--and a deadly war. As the Kingdom of Nocturna splinters under the weight of generations of lies, it is up to Meryn, her bonded direwolf Anassa, and their allies to bring the country back from the brink.
But the commoners, the Bonded, and the nobles are distrustful of their new queen and Meryn is caught in a deadly game of politics. Meanwhile, Meryn's beloved younger sister, Saela, is more at risk than ever.
Confusingly, the one person Meryn can trust is Stark Therion--the dark, dangerous Alpha she thought hated her as much as she loathed him. Yet, his loyalty is unshakeable. His presence is intoxicating. And with his guidance, Meryn can seize an unthinkable level of power.
With enemies closing in and shadows stirring in her dreams, Meryn stands to lose her kingdom--and her heart.
Blood will spill. Bonds will break. Fate will be tested.
Perfect for fans of:
This gorgeous DELUXE LIMITED EDITION is available while supplies last--featuring exclusive special design features.
CROWNED BY DESTINY. CONSUMED BY VENGEANCE.
Against all odds, Meryn Cooper has inherited the crown--and a deadly war. As the Kingdom of Nocturna splinters under the weight of generations of lies, it is up to Meryn, her bonded direwolf Anassa, and their allies to bring the country back from the brink.
But the commoners, the Bonded, and the nobles are distrustful of their new queen and Meryn is caught in a deadly game of politics. Meanwhile, Meryn's beloved younger sister, Saela, is more at risk than ever.
Confusingly, the one person Meryn can trust is Stark Therion--the dark, dangerous Alpha she thought hated her as much as she loathed him. Yet, his loyalty is unshakeable. His presence is intoxicating. And with his guidance, Meryn can seize an unthinkable level of power.
With enemies closing in and shadows stirring in her dreams, Meryn stands to lose her kingdom--and her heart.
Blood will spill. Bonds will break. Fate will be tested.
Perfect for fans of:
- Slow burn romance
- Forbidden romance
- Found family
- Morally grey characters
- Touch her and die
- Who did this to you
- Enemies to lovers
- Forced proximity
- Vampires vs. wolves!
Make Believe
Author Mac Barnett
Genres Parenting & Relationships, Reference, Words, Language & Grammar, Writing, Research & Publishing Guides, Writing, Teen & Young Adult
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Make Believe is a book for adults about books for children, a rallying cry for art and imagination, and a celebration of the power of storytelling in all our lives. Mac Barnett, the beloved, bestselling children's author and U.S. National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, urges us to think expansively about the potential of children's books--and the particular brilliance of young readers: What if children are a great audience for art? What if they are in fact better equipped to engage deeply with stories than adults? What if humans' ability to appreciate art is, if not innate, awakened early in childhood? Well, then we'd better do our best to make some good kids' books. Barnett has published more than 60 children's books, which have been translated into 30+ languages and have sold more than 5 million copies worldwide, winning many international prizes along the way. Make Believe is his incisive, intimate, and timely invitation to approach children's literature not only as an art form worthy of deep study and criticism, but as a portal into the lives of the children. And at a time when we are faced with a national literacy crisis, he champions the profound joys of literature and the importance of reading for pleasure. Written with humor and academic rigor, Make Believe reads like a letter from one's smartest and funniest friend.
Rules for the Summer (Deluxe Edition)
Author Meghan Quinn
Genres Literature & Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, New Adult & College, Romantic Comedy
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From New York Times bestselling author Meghan Quinn comes a new laugh-out-loud summer rom-com.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?: Stamped Edges Special Edition
Author Bill Martin, Jr.
Genres Juvenile Fiction, Animals, Bears, Classics, Concepts, Colors
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Celebrate the 60th birthday of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? with this extra special board book edition!
A big happy frog, a plump purple cat, a handsome blue horse, and a soft yellow duck all parade across the pages of this generationally beloved classic.
To celebrate Brown Bear's diamond anniversary, this board book has an elegantly redesigned cover and patterned stained-edges that set this apart from every previous edition of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? so far. Join in on the fun by adding this one of a kind offering to your Brown Bear collection!
Make sure to check out the rest of the board books in the Brown Bear and Friends series!
โข Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?
โข Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do you Hear?
โข Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?
The New Girl: First Crush: a Graphic Novel (the New Girl #2)
Author Cassandra Calin
Genres Children's Books, Humor, Growing Up & Facts of Life, Comics & Graphic Novels, Humorous
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Cassandra Calin returns with this charming and comical follow-up to The New Girl, her long-form graphic novel debut that became a New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Indie bestseller! This middle-grade graphic novel about crushing and being crushed is the perfect next read for fans of Guts by Raina Telgemeier, Fruitcake by Rex Ogle and Dave Valeza, and Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang.
Lia is finally feeling settled into her new life. Her friends are amazing, her French is improving, and her periods... ugh, those are still terrible. But Lia's crush, Julien, is noticing her. Lia thinks he likes her, but she can't tell for sure. And while she's obsessing over him, Lia's not noticing another person's growing crush on HER. With so many big feelings and even bigger changes, could things get any worse?
In this follow-up to the breakout hit The New Girl, Lia's relationships -- with her friends, her crush, her mom, and even herself -- are all tested like never before.
Wombat Waiting
Author Katherine Applegate
Genres Children's Books, Animals, Dogs, Growing Up & Facts of Life, Friendship, Social Skills & School Life, Science, Nature & How It Works, Disasters
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From the Newbery Award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The One and Only Ivan and Odder comes a stunning middle grade standalone novel-in-verse about compassion, resilience, and surprising friendships, following a dog named Wombat in the aftermath of a catastrophic fire.
Wombat isn't actually a wombat--but when the homeless dog is discovered, singed and ash-covered after a terrible fire destroys a community, someone tags her with the nickname and it sticks.
Wombat is a "destiny dog." Something inside of her (she nicknames it "Voice') keeps telling her there's a special someone out there who is meant to be her person.
Surrounded by a devastated town, Wombat takes up residence on bench near the makeshift community center, an old brick warehouse that, for the most part, survived the flames. A small part of the community center evacuation site has been repurposed for the local wildlife rehab sanctuary that burned down. All of the animals were spared, and the temporary quarters include an elderly fruit bat and a young Northern saw-whet owl.
No matter what, Wombat refuses to move from her perch, despite the efforts of many humans. Clearly the dog is waiting for someone. But for whom? And what are the odds they survived?
Fans of modern classics like Because of Winn-Dixie, Pax, and Katherine Applegate's own Crenshaw and Odder, and timeless tales like Charlotte's Web, will find a friend in Wombat and her story.
Karen's Surprise: a Graphic Novel (Baby-Sitters Little Sister #12)
Author Ann M. Martin
Genres Children's Books, Comics & Graphic Novels, Growing Up & Facts of Life, Friendship, Social Skills & School Life
Publication Date May 5, 2026
Another graphic novel in this fun series spin-off of The Baby-sitters Club, adapted and illustrated by bestselling author and Mimi series creator Shauna J. Grant!
Karen and her classmates are putting on a play about a grand Thanksgiving feast. She wants the starring role, of course, but she is given the worst part of all -- the Thanksgiving turkey! All she gets to do is walk across the stage in a big brown costume and say one or two lines.
Will everyone laugh at Karen the Turkey? Not when they see her big surprise!
Who Is Government?
Author Michael Lewis
Genres Business & Money, Job Hunting & Careers, Guides, Politics & Social Sciences, Politics & Government, Public Affairs & Policy, United States
Publication Date May 5, 2026
โPerhaps never before has there been a book better timed or more urgent.โ โWashington Post
One of President Obama's 2025 Summer Reads
As seen on CBS Mornings, CNN Anderson Cooper, ABC News Live, MSNBC Morning Joe, and many more
Who works for the government and why does their work matter? An urgent and absorbing civics lesson from an all-star team of writers and storytellers.
The government is a vast, complex system that Americans pay for, rebel against, rely upon, dismiss, and celebrate. Itโs also our shared resource for addressing the biggest problems of society. And itโs made up of people, mostly unrecognized and uncelebrated, doing work that can be deeply consequential and beneficial to everyone.
Michael Lewis invited his favorite writers, including Casey Cep, Dave Eggers, John Lanchester, Geraldine Brooks, Sarah Vowell, and W. Kamau Bell, to join him in finding someone doing an interesting job for the government and writing about them. The stories they found are unexpected, riveting, and inspiring, including a former coal miner devoted to making mine roofs less likely to collapse, saving thousands of lives; an IRS agent straight out of a crime thriller; and the manager who made the National Cemetery Administration the best-run organization, public or private, in the entire country. Each essay shines a spotlight on the essential behind-the-scenes work of exemplary federal employees.
Whether theyโre digitizing archives, chasing down cybercriminals, or discovering new planets, these public servants are committed to their work and universally reluctant to take credit. Expanding on the Washington Post series, the vivid profiles in Who Is Government? blow up the stereotype of the irrelevant bureaucrat. They show how the essential business of government makes our lives possible, and how much it matters.
One of President Obama's 2025 Summer Reads
As seen on CBS Mornings, CNN Anderson Cooper, ABC News Live, MSNBC Morning Joe, and many more
Who works for the government and why does their work matter? An urgent and absorbing civics lesson from an all-star team of writers and storytellers.
The government is a vast, complex system that Americans pay for, rebel against, rely upon, dismiss, and celebrate. Itโs also our shared resource for addressing the biggest problems of society. And itโs made up of people, mostly unrecognized and uncelebrated, doing work that can be deeply consequential and beneficial to everyone.
Michael Lewis invited his favorite writers, including Casey Cep, Dave Eggers, John Lanchester, Geraldine Brooks, Sarah Vowell, and W. Kamau Bell, to join him in finding someone doing an interesting job for the government and writing about them. The stories they found are unexpected, riveting, and inspiring, including a former coal miner devoted to making mine roofs less likely to collapse, saving thousands of lives; an IRS agent straight out of a crime thriller; and the manager who made the National Cemetery Administration the best-run organization, public or private, in the entire country. Each essay shines a spotlight on the essential behind-the-scenes work of exemplary federal employees.
Whether theyโre digitizing archives, chasing down cybercriminals, or discovering new planets, these public servants are committed to their work and universally reluctant to take credit. Expanding on the Washington Post series, the vivid profiles in Who Is Government? blow up the stereotype of the irrelevant bureaucrat. They show how the essential business of government makes our lives possible, and how much it matters.
The Summer of Second Chances (Deluxe Edition)
Author K. L. Walther
Genres Teen & Young Adult, Literature & Fiction, Girls & Women, Social & Family Issues, Romance, Contemporary
Publication Date May 5, 2026
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Summer of Broken Rules comes another incredible summer romance about holding onto memories, making new ones, learning to let go, and unexpectedly falling in love.
Olivia Lupo feels stuck. All her friends have gone on to their first year of college while she's still at home with her family. There's a good reason though, her beloved grandmother, Annie, has dementia, and Olivia can't bear the thought of being so far from home when Annie needs her the most.
So when her stepmother asks the family to spend three weeks of the summer on Martha's Vineyard, Olivia plans to say no...until she discovers an old box Annie filled with photos and memories from her own time there. Olivia decides to follow in her grandmother's footsteps and spend some time on the island that Annie describes as magical.
When she arrives, she meets Connor, a boy from her past who really wants to be a part of her present... and future. Olivia's never thought about forever with someone until meeting Connor...and it scares her. How can she make plans when all she wants to do is keep close to her grandmother before she's gone forever? As she recreates the memories Annie made a lifetime ago, she has to decide if she's finally willing to give someone her heart, just when she needs it the most.
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