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Before and Again by Barbara Delinsky
Fiction
What is it? The notable allure of Barbara’s latest book is her ability to transport the reader to a place, time, and a set of circumstances that the reader is compelled to stay with until the very end. The plot’s surprises and developments create tension and emotional concern for the characters.
Key insight: The diversity in how people grieve adds depth and understanding that stays with the reader for a very long time.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Fiction
What it's about: Feyre will do anything to keep her family from starving in the depth of winter, even kill a wolf that just might be a terrifyingly dangerous faerie. Now, to pay for her crimes, Feyra has been forced to reside in the Spring Court by a handsome king in a kingdom of masked creatures. A Court of Thorns and Roses is a Beauty and the Beast retelling which straddles the line between Young Adult and Adult Fiction, containing rip-roaring action and sensually descriptive scenes.
Series Alert: Other titles in the series are A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Frost and Starlight.
You might also like: The Black Jewels trilogy by Anne Bishop.
The Truth and Other Lies by Sascha Arango
Fiction
What it’s about: Famous bestselling author Henry Hayden is happily married to Martha, who, unbeknownst to everybody, is the one actually penning all his books. Life is good, but then Henry’s mistress Betty, whom truth be told he is not particularly fond of, informs him that she is pregnant. Before long, Martha ends up dead and Henry has to try to keep the carefully created façade of his life from unraveling.
Want a taste? “But men are never more cowardly and their lies never more pathetic than when they’re caught with their pants down. Isn’t that so, gentlemen?”
Reviewers say: “this is one wicked tale. You keep waiting for the author to slip, plot-wise, but, as with his protagonist, you wait in vain” (Kirkus).>
Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver
Fiction
What it’s about: This absorbing, character-focused story features two families—one in the 1870s and one today—inhabiting houses (and lives) that are slowly crumbling around them. The two storylines connect when a current-day unemployed journalist begins researching the groundbreaking female scientist who lived on her block over 100 years earlier.
Why you might like it: If you enjoy books with creatively interwoven dual timelines, stories that celebrate nature, or historical fiction about the lives of scientists, this book may be for you.
Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh
Fiction
About the authors: Clare Mackintosh is an award-winning New York Times and international bestselling author. She spent twelve years on the police force in England and has written for the Guardian, Good Housekeeping, and other publications.
For fans of: Into the Water by Paula Hawkins and Liar Liar by Lisa Jackson.
Reviewers say: “[A] deliciously creepy tale of urban paranoia.”—Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in Cabin 10.
Someone by Alice McDermott
Fiction
What it’s about: Someone is like a shorter, more adult A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, following the life of Marie, an Irish girl growing up in Brooklyn in the 1930s. Marie starts off as a fiery, diffident young girl who enters adulthood reluctantly and takes to old age less than gracefully. Surrounding her are characters—family, friends, and neighbors—who have struggles of their own, both timely and timeless in nature.
Who it's for: This story will satisfy readers who enjoy slice-of-life tales with a historical flair. The novel does not follow a linear timeline; we are given vignettes of the different stages of Marie’s life, from young child to elder, that interplay with each other, but McDermott manages to do this in a style that is not jarring or confusing. This calm, contemplative read will engage you with its strong sense of time and place, and keep you invested with its emotional pull.
Travel as a Political Act by Rick Steves
Nonfiction
What it’s about: Travel guru Rick Steves encourages travelers to go outside their comfort zone and engage with the places they travel in a more meaningful way – talking with local people, discussing local news and historical events, and becoming aware of other points of view and other ways of living.
Why you should read it: As he’s done with Mona Winks, his guide to European art museums, Steves gives world history lessons in small and enjoyable doses. He makes the case for travel as a way to better engage with the world rather than just sightsee and draws upon his own experiences to show how travel has changed his ways of thinking.
The Ravenmaster by Christopher Skaife
Nonfiction
What it’s about: Ravens have made the Tower of London their home for centuries. According to legend, the Tower, and England itself, will fall if they ever leave. To discourage that possibility, one of the Yeoman Warders is assigned to watch over their welfare and happiness. Christopher Skaife, along with his staff, is the officer who currently feeds and doctors them, climbs after them if they get into trouble, retrieves them if they go wandering, and frequently finds himself the target of raven humor.
What the reviewers say: “In this lively and often cheeky narrative, first-time author Skaife puts a human face on the Beefeaters (aka Yeoman Warders)-the ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London-and the distinctive ravens under their care.” Publishers Weekly
Life lesson: Never ever underestimate the ravens.
The Outsider by Stephen King
Fiction
Starring: Ralph Anderson, Flint City detective, and Holly Gibney, former assistant to Bill Hodges of Mr. Mercedes fame.
What it’s about: It looks like an open and shut case when Terry Maitland, local coach and all-around great guy, is arrested for the brutal murder of an 11-yr old boy. There were reliable witnesses who saw Maitland, and his DNA and fingerprints are all over the evidence. Ralph Anderson is sure he has the right guy and arrests him at a public event. But then Maitland produces an iron-clad alibi that has witnesses and DNA evidence putting him in a different place when the murder was committed. The contradictory evidence is grounds to bring in investigator Holly Gibney, who played a crucial part in King’s Bill Hodges trilogy. This being Stephen King, the supernatural eventually finds its way into the plot and if you have a phobia about worms you may want to let someone else recap the last part for you.
Audio note: This is a great experience on audio; Will Patton does an excellent job voicing all the characters, with much emotion and expertise, as he did for King’s Bill Hodges trilogy.>