#BookReview: Everything's Fine by Cecilia Rabess

Synopsis: They say love is all you need…

When Jess lands a job as an analyst at Goldman Sachs, she’s less than thrilled to learn she’ll be on the same team as Josh, her preppy, white, conservative sparring partner from college. Josh loves playing the devil’s advocate and is just…the worst.

But when Jess finds herself the sole Black woman on the floor, overlooked and underestimated, it’s Josh who shows up for her in surprising—if imperfect—ways. Before long, an unlikely friendship—one tinged with undeniable chemistry—forms between the two. A friendship that gradually, and then suddenly, turns into an electrifying romance that shocks them both.

Despite their differences, the force of their attraction propels the relationship forwards, and Jess begins to question whether it’s more important to be happy than right. But then it’s 2016, and the cultural and political landscape shifts underneath them. And Jess, who is just beginning to discover who she is and who she has the right to be, is forced to ask herself what she’s willing to compromise for love and whether, in fact, everything’s fine.

A stunning debut that introduces Cecilia Rabess as a blazing new talent, Everything’s Fine is a hilarious, poignant, heartfelt novel that doesn’t just ask will they, but…should they?

This title will be released on June 6, 2023.

#BookReview: I Will Leave You Never by Ann Putnam

Synopsis: In the middle of a perilous drought in the Northwest, an arsonist begins setting fires all around. It gives Zoe Penney nightmares about her home—seated right next to tinder-dry woods—rising up in explosions of fire, as well as haunting dreams of a little boy deep in the forest.

Winter brings the longed-for rains but also a cancer diagnosis for Zoe’s husband, Jay, which plunges the family into disbelief and fear. The children lean in close to their parents, can’t stop touching them. As Jay’s treatment begins, nature lets loose with strange and startling encounters, while a shadowy figure hovers about the corners of the house.

First, Zoe’s fear turns to anger: How can I love you if I am to lose you? How can I live in joy when the sky is falling? But she gradually learns that it’s possible to love anything, even terrible things—if you can love them for what they are teaching you.

This title will be released on May 9, 2023.

#BookReview: House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) by @SJMaas

Synopsis: 

Goodreads Choice Award

Winner for Best Fantasy (2020)

A #1 New York Times bestseller!

Sarah J. Maas's brand-new CRESCENT CITY series begins with House of Earth and Blood: the story of half-Fae and half-human Bryce Quinlan as she seeks revenge in a contemporary fantasy world of magic, danger, and searing romance. 

Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life-working hard all day and partying all night-until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She'll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.

Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose-to assassinate his boss's enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he's offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.

As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City's underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion-one that could set them both free, if they'd only let it.

With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom-and the power of love.

#BookReview: Arranged Marriage by Toni A.J. Williams

Synopsis: Meet Joey. She’s not your everyday hot chick, she’s tough enough to handle anything thrown her way. she’s also not afraid of being the best at what she does. She’s the number one welder in the city, if not the state. If that’s not reason enough to not mess with her she’s also a werewolf.

Meet Logan. He’s not your average accountant nerd, he’s also too hot to believe. he also has a jealousy streak to match that level of hotness. He’s great at his job but he’s looking for more than just a job he’s also looking for his soulmate but not so easy with his werewolf.

When these two meet, there is no denying the passion but just because the connection is real doesn’t mean it’s meant to be. especially when families and ex-girlfriends join the mix, all future plans for the two go right out the window.

In the end which path will these two take, love, or loyalty?

#BookReview: Justice Is Served by @LeslieKarst @BookSparks

Synopsis: When Leslie Karst learned that her offer to cook dinner for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her renowned tax law professor husband, Marty, had been accepted, she was thrilled—and terrified. A small-town lawyer who hated her job and had taken up cooking as a way to add a bit of spice to the daily grind of pumping out billable hours, Karst had never before thrown such a high-stakes dinner party. Could she really pull this off? 

Justice is Served is Karst’s light-hearted, earnest account of the journey this unexpected challenge launched her on—starting with a trip to Paris for culinary inspiration, and ending with the dinner itself. Along the way, she imparts details of Ginsburg’s transformation from a young Jewish girl from Flatbush, Brooklyn, to one of the most celebrated Supreme Court justices in our nation’s history, and shares recipes for the mouthwatering dishes she came up with as she prepared for the big night. But this memoir isn’t simply a tale of prepping for and cooking dinner for the famous RBG; it’s also about how this event, and all the planning and preparation that went into it, created a new sort of connection between Karst, her partner, and her parents, and also inspired Karst to make life changes that would reverberate far beyond one dinner party. 



A heartfelt story of simultaneously searching for delicious recipes and purpose in life, Justice is Served is an inspiring reminder that it’s never too late to discover—and follow—your deepest passion.

This title will be released on April 4, 2023.

#BookReview: You Could Make This Place Beautiful by @maggiesmithpoet

Synopsis: Keep Moving offers a lush and heartrending memoir exploring coming of age in your middle age.

“Life, like a poem, is a series of choices.”

In her memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful, poet Maggie Smith explores the disintegration of her marriage and her renewed commitment to herself in lyrical vignettes that shine, hard and clear as jewels. The book begins with one woman’s personal, particular heartbreak, but its circles widen into a reckoning with contemporary womanhood, traditional gender roles, and the power dynamics that persist even in many progressive homes. With the spirit of self-inquiry and empathy she’s known for, Smith interweaves snapshots of a life with meditations on secrets, anger, forgiveness, and narrative itself. The power of these pieces is cumulative: page after page, they build into a larger interrogation of family, work, and patriarchy.

You Could Make This Place Beautiful, like the work of Deborah Levy, Rachel Cusk, and Gina Frangello, is an unflinching look at what it means to live and write our own lives. It is a story about a mother’s fierce and constant love for her children, and a woman’s love and regard for herself. Above all, this memoir is an argument for possibility. With a poet’s attention to language and an innovative approach to the genre, Smith reveals how, in the aftermath of loss, we can discover our power and make something new. Something beautiful.

This title will be released on April 11, 2023.

#BookReview: Falling Hard for the Royal Guard by @meganambxr @avonbooks

Synopsis: Love is in the heir in this royally good rom com debut releasing in Spring 2023 – perfect for anyone who likes relatable heroines (with great hair), hot and aloof book boyfriends (with great hats), near misses, almost kisses and a corgi or two.

Despite living in an actual castle, happily ever after is evading Margaret ‘Maggie’ Moore.

From her bedroom in the Tower of London, twenty-six-year-old Maggie has always dreamed of her own fairy-tale ending.

Yet this is twenty-first century London, so instead of knights on white horses, she has catfish on Tinder. And with her last relationship ending in spectacular fashion, she swears off men for good.

And then a chance encounter with Royal Guard Freddie forces Maggie to admit that she isn’t ready to give up on love just yet… But how do you catch the attention of someone who is trained to ignore all distractions?

Can she snare that true love’s first kiss… or is she royally screwed?

A right royal rom com, perfect for fans of Red, White and Royal Blue and The Royal We.

This title will be released on May 2, 2023.

#BookReview: Swimming with Ghosts by @michellebrafman @TurnerPub

Synopsis: It's June 2012 at the magical and slightly cultish River Run swim club when a perfect storm brews between team moms and best friends, Gillian Cloud and Kristy Weinstein. The ghost of family addiction has turned up, looming over their carefully planned pasta parties, tie-dye nights, and pep rallies, forcing them to face their unresolved childhood trauma. Gillian responds by trying to control everyone around her, and Kristy relapses into her dangerous addiction to love. Real sparks fly the night the derecho--a freak land hurricane--sweeps through Northern Virginia, knocking out power for days. The storm sets fire to a tinder box of secrets, leaving Gillian and Kristy alone in the hot dark, their only company their shame. In the vein of Little Fires Everywhere, the characters in Swimming with Ghosts discover that sometimes ashes make the best fertilizer for planting new fields and that they have the power to dodge the history they fear they are doomed to repeat. At times satirical, this book club novel captures the ethos and the ruin of any children's competitive sport or activity where parents work out their demons and in turn lose their way.

This title will be released on June 13, 2023.

#BookReview: Starring Adele Astaire by @elizaknight @WmMorrowBooks

Synopsis: USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight returns with a story full of glitz and glam as she delves into the life of Adele Astaire, a spirited and talented woman who served up smiles and love both on and off the stage—with and without her also famous brother Fred Astaire— along with a determined young dancer with rags-to-riches dreams.

A spirited rising stage star…

Adele Astaire was a glittering, glamorous star, dancing with her brother, Fred, endearing herself to audiences from New York to London. But although she is toasted by royalty and beloved by countless fans, Adele Astaire has dreams of a loving husband and a houseful of children. And when she meets Lord Charles Cavendish, her wishes may just come true—but at what cost?

A determined young dancer …

Ever since Violet Wood could walk she’s wanted to dance on the London stage. Befriended by Adele, filled with ambition, she is more than willing to make the sacrifices it will take to becomes a star herself, and her rags-to-riches hopes are within reach. But the road to fame is never easy.

Two women with unquenchable spirit …

From the fast-paced world of roaring 20s New York to the horrors and sacrifice of wartime London, Adele's and Violet’s lives intertwine, and each must ask themselves is fame worth the price you must pay?

This title will be released on June 6, 2023.

#BookReview: Even If Everything Ends by Jens Liljestrand

Synopsis: Life goes on in the face of a climate crisis in this astonishing and unforgettable debut novel that follows four characters as they struggle to survive in a burning world. 

Even when the climate crisis escalates beyond our worst nightmares and people become refugees, the world keeps turning and life carries on as usual: teenaged love stories, marital collapses, identity crises, and revolts against hopeless parents continue to play out.

Didrik is a forty-year-old media consultant whose misguided efforts to become the family hero render him a pathetic vision of masculine incompetence. Melissa is an influencer with a suitcase full of lost dreams after denying climate change for years. André is the nineteen-year-old loser son of an international sports star who uses the erupting violence around him to orchestrate his own personal vengeance on his negligent father. And Vilja is Didrik’s teenaged daughter who steps into a leadership role in the face of adult ineptitude.

“Simultaneously nerve-wracking, astute, and consumedly entertaining” (Sydsvenskan, Sweden) and through these four related stories, Even If Everything Ends eloquently illustrates a picture of a very near future that is at once extraordinary and entirely realistic.

This title will be released on May 9, 2023.

#BookReview: Love: From the Jungle to the Divine by R Stephen Lynch

Synopsis: "Drawing from both personal experience and the work of scholars, Steve Lynch has assembled valuable insights into the nature of love and of heartbreak. His book raises questions about this mystery we call "love," and asks us to consider our response. There is much for us to learn from this book."

James Hollis, Ph.D., considered by many to be the world's leading Jungian scholar and author, is the author of The Broken Mirror, The Eden Project: In Search of the Magical Other, and many other books.

#BookReview: Magician and Fool by Susan Wands @MagicianFool @BookSparks

Synopsis: Pamela Colman Smith, newly arrived from New York to her birthplace of London, is received as an oddball in Victorian society. Her second sight helps her in her new illustrating tarot cards for the Golden Dawn, a newly formed occult group. But when Pamela refuses to share her creations with Aleister Crowley, a controversial magician, he issues a give up the cards’ power, or he’ll harm her muses.

In the midst of this battle, two of Pamela’s idols, the actors Henry Irving and William Terriss, take her under their wing. Henry, who tutors her as the leader of the Lyceum Theatre, becomes the muse for her Magician card. William Terriss, teaching her by examples of instinct and courage, becomes the muse for her Fool card. As Pamela begins to create the tarot deck, she is almost overwhelmed by the race to possess the magical power of her cards. In order to defeat Aleister, Henry and William will have to transform into living incarnations of the Magician and the Fool—and Pamela will have to learn how to conjure her own magic.

This title will be released on May 2, 2023.

#BookReview: Shark Heart: A Love Story by @EmilyHabeck @ScribnerBooks

Synopsis: A gorgeous debut novel of marriage, motherhood, metamorphosis, and letting go, this intergenerational love story begins with newlyweds Wren and her husband, Lewis—a man who, over the course of nine months, transforms into a great white shark.

For Lewis and Wren, their first year of marriage is also their last. A few weeks after their wedding, Lewis receives a rare diagnosis. He will retain most of his consciousness, memories, and intellect, but his physical body will gradually turn into a great white shark. As Lewis develops the features and impulses of one of the most predatory creatures in the ocean, his complicated artist’s heart struggles to make peace with his unfulfilled dreams.

At first, Wren internally resists her husband’s fate. Is there a way for them to be together after Lewis changes? Then, a glimpse of Lewis’s developing carnivorous nature activates long-repressed memories for Wren, whose story vacillates between her childhood living on a houseboat in Oklahoma, her time with a college ex-girlfriend, and her unusual friendship with a woman pregnant with twin birds. Woven throughout this bold novel is the story of Wren’s mother, Angela, who becomes pregnant with Wren at fifteen in an abusive relationship amidst her parents’ crumbling marriage. In the present, all of Wren’s grief eventually collides, and she is forced to make an impossible choice.

A sweeping love story that is at once lyrical and funny, airy and visceral, Shark Heart is an unforgettable, gorgeous novel about life’s perennial questions, the fragility of memories, finding joy amidst grief, and creating a meaningful life. This daring debut marks the arrival of a wildly talented new writer abounding with originality, humor, and heart.

This title will be released on August 8, 2023.

#BookReview: One Summer in Savannah by @terahsharris @Sourcebooks

Synopsis: A compelling debut that glows with bittersweet heart and touching emotion, deeply interrogating questions of family, redemption, and unconditional love in the sweltering summer heat of Savannah, as two people discover what it means to truly forgive.

It's been eight years since Sara Lancaster left her home in Savannah, Georgia. Eight years since her daughter, Alana, came into this world, following a terrifying sexual assault that left deep emotional wounds Sara would do anything to forget. But when Sara's father falls ill, she's forced to return home and face the ghosts of her past.

While caring for her father and running his bookstore, Sara is desperate to protect her curious, outgoing, genius daughter from the Wylers, the family of the man who assaulted her. Sara thinks she can succeed—her attacker is in prison, his identical twin brother, Jacob, left town years ago, and their mother are all unaware Alana exists. But she soon learns that Jacob has also just returned to Savannah to piece together the fragments of his once-great family. And when their two worlds collide—with the type of force Sara explores in her poetry and Jacob in his astrophysics—they are drawn together in unexpected ways.

This title will be released on July 4, 2023.

#BookReview: The Countess of the Revolution by @lanakortchik @HarperCollins

Synopsis: An utterly heart-wrenching historical novel of love, loss and sacrifice set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, from the author of Sisters of War.
Countess Sophia Orlova has it all. With a large fortune, a beautiful palatial home in Petrograd and a husband who loves her, her future is bright. But in March 1917, everything changes, as Sophia watches the revolutionary hordes take over her city and her home. When the revolutionaries threaten to shoot Sophia and her husband Dmitry, they are saved by a young man – Nikolai, Dmitry’s brother, a fervent supporter of the Bolshevik party, estranged from his family because of his political beliefs.


As Russia descends into the chaos of revolution, Sophia and Nikolai grow close. Trapped on the opposite sides of the terrifying political conflict that engulfs the country, they fight against their feelings for each other and hide them from everyone they love. Then a number of high-ranking Bolsheviks are arrested for inciting an insurrection – Nikolai captured among them.


Dmitry insists they leave at once for Sophia’s own safety, but how can she abandon Nikolai when he needs her the most?

#BookReview: Wild with All Regrets by E.L. Deards @BookSparks

Synopsis: A decade has passed since Lucas Connolly lost his best friend—and the only man he’s ever loved—in World War I, but he still can’t shake his guilt over Jamie’s death. In fact, ever since losing Jamie, Lucas has heard his friend’s voice inside his head—confused about what happened to him, begging him for help. And now, suddenly, it’s not just Jamie’s voice anymore; now, a specter who looks and acts exactly like Jamie did before his death, and who is demanding answers from Lucas about what happened to him, has begun to haunt him.

Concerned about Lucas’s deteriorating mental state, his friend Angela encourages him to move on with his life, and even sets him up with a coworker whom she suspects is also gay. But Lucas is too consumed with the secret he still keeps about the part he played in Jamie’s death to even begin to form a healthy connection with someone new—and as Jamie’s ghost begins to recover his memories and get closer to the truth, Lucas’s obsession only deepens.

Ultimately, Lucas realizes that his only path forward is to first go backward—that only in examining his troubled youth, facing his deepest self, and shining a light on the shadowed parts of his past will he finally be able to set his old friend, and himself, free.

This title will be released on June 13, 2023.

#BookReview: The Innisfail Cycle (The Innisfail Cycle) by @LM_Riviere

Synopsis: On the continent of Innisfail, Old Gods reign. Following five hundred years of vicious conflict, the High King has negotiated an armistice between the immortal Sidhe in the North, and the human populations of the South- the Sons of Mil. In this land of treacherous magic and ageless blood feuds, the peace is precarious at best. 

An outcast with few loyalties, Ben Maeden has no interest in the political strife brewing in the South. Convinced a man without pride has nothing left to lose, he's content to fade into drunken obscurity in the wilderness. That is, until a rare moment of conscience compels him to rescue a young noblewoman from a band of mercenaries. This auspicious encounter hurls him into the heart of a far-reaching conspiracy, for Una Moura is no ordinary girl. Branded a heretic and scourged by her own people, she harbors a secret that could spell disaster for everyone. Hunted by militant nobles, dark creatures, and ambitious zealots; Ben and Una find themselves in a desperate race to prevent a war. Though, not every enemy lurks in the shadows. Haunted by the ghosts of a former life; Ben may discover his greatest challenge lies within. Can he reconcile his past to safeguard Innisfail's future, or is he doomed to repeat his mistakes...to the detriment of all?

This Special Edition Series Title contains all three works in 'The Innisfail Cycle Trilogy,' including 'The Sons of Mil', 'The Southernmost Star,' and 'The Children of Danu,' by L.M. Riviere!

#BookReview: Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs

Synopsis: In this spellbinding debut novel, two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family's library of magical books must work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection--a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal, and the pursuit of magic and power.

For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements--books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect.

All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna's isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they'll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries . . .

In the great tradition of Ninth House, The Magicians, and Practical Magic, this is a suspenseful and richly atmospheric novel that draws readers into a vast world filled with mystery and magic, romance, and intrigue--and marks the debut of an extraordinary new voice in speculative fiction.

This title will be released on May 30, 2023.

#BookReview: Blood Born (The Immortals Book 1) by Shelley Wilson

Synopsis: Emma's brutal death at the hands of a vampire should have been the end, but a mysterious hooded stranger steps in, changing her life forever.

As seventeen-year-old Emma struggles with her new vampire gifts and cravings, her grandmother isn’t surprised at all. Hinting that she knew this day would always come, she leaves to get help, promising to explain everything when she gets back, but she never returns.

Instead, the beautiful and enigmatic Cara, a fellow vampire, shows up at her door. Promising to help her locate her missing grandmother and uncover her ancestry, she brings Emma to the Haven, a sanctuary for half-blood vampires.

Thrust into a war between the Immortal vampires and the half-blood rogues, Emma’s simple life begins to unravel as blood and secrets entwine to reveal a dark history and an even darker destiny. She’ll need to survive long enough to discover who she really is and which side she wants to be on.

#BookReview: The Enchanted Hacienda by J.C. Cervantes @parkrowbooks

Synopsis: From the New York Times bestselling author, J.C. Cervantes, THE ENCHANTED HACIENDA introduces us to the magical Estrada family

“The warmth and humor of The Enchanted Hacienda immediately cast a spell over me.”
—Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author of The Cloisters

When Harlow Estrada is abruptly fired from her dream job and her boyfriend proves to be a jerk, her world turns upside down. She flees New York City to the one place she can always call home—the enchanted Hacienda Estrada.

The Estrada family farm in Mexico houses an abundance of charmed flowers cultivated by Harlow’s mother, sisters, aunt, and cousins. By harnessing the magic in these flowers, they can heal hearts, erase memories, interpret dreams—but not Harlow. So when her mother and aunt give her a special task involving the family’s magic, she panics. How can she rise to the occasion when she is magicless? But maybe it’s not magic she’s missing, but belief in herself. When she finally embraces her unique gifts and opens her heart to a handsome stranger, she discovers she’s far more powerful than she imagined.

With unforeseen twists, romance, and a heavy sprinkle of magic, The Enchanted Hacienda is a captivating coming-of-age debut exploring identity, unconditional family love, and uncovering the magic within us all.

This title will be released on May 16, 2023.