Fiction
A discovery of witches
Deborah E. Harkness
SCIENCE FICTION Harkness, Deborah E.
Fiction
Witch and Yale historian Diana Bishop discovers an enchanted manuscript, attracting the attention of 1,500-year-old vampire Matthew Clairmont. The orphaned daughter of two powerful witches, Bishop prefers intellect, but relies on magic when her discovery of a palimpsest documenting the origin of supernatural species releases an assortment of undead who threaten, stalk, and harass her.
My roommate is a vampire
Jenna Levine
FICTION Levine Jenna
Fiction, Humor, Romance
"True love is at stake in this charming, debut romantic comedy. Cassie Greenberg loves being an artist, but it's a tough way to make a living. On the brink of eviction, she's desperate when she finds a too-good-to-be-true apartment in a beautiful Chicago neighborhood. Cassie knows there has to be a catch-only someone with a secret to hide would rent out a room for that price. Of course, her new roommate Frederick J. Fitzwilliam is far from normal. He sleeps all day, is out at night on business, and talks like he walked out of a regency-romance novel. He also leaves Cassie heart-melting notes around the apartment, cares about her art, and asks about her day. And he doesn't look half bad shirtless, on the rare occasions they're both home and awake. But when Cassie finds bags of blood in the fridge that definitely weren't there earlier, Frederick has to come clean... Cassie's sexy new roommate is a vampire. And he has a proposition for her"--
This book is ridiculous and I love it. It's such a (refreshingly) straightforward schtick that if we didn't know the male lead was a vampire by the book's title, we'd surely recognize it after he claims she'll never see him during the day because he "works" at night. Everything about him is so obvious (he doesn't know what a trash can is because he's never made any trash) that the story can focus on his charmingly ignorant view of modern day American society. (He's been in a coma for 100 years after his friend accidentally poisoned him). When you read a lot of formulaic genre fiction (and have no shame about it), it's so fun to pick up something that pokes fun at all the traditional plot points and character dramas. Really fun read. -Melody
I have some questions for you
Rebecca Makkai
FICTION Makkai Rebecca
Fiction, Mystery
"In the riveting new novel from the author of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist The Great Believers, a woman must reckon with her past when new details surface about a tragedy at her elite New England boarding school"--
This was a really engaging, smart read! The story sucks you in right away, with the main character, Bodie, returning to her posh prep boarding school out East to teach some classes during an interim session, and dropping the news that while she was a student there her former roommate was murdered and it has never set easy with her. There are a few stories here: the events of the 90s when Bodie comes to the school, and a couple years later when the murder happens; the current day where students producing a podcast decide to reinvestigate the murder; the person who was convicted of the murder; and Bodie's own personal life in current day, where she and her husband live somewhat separate lives, and they both get caught up in the Me Too movement. Makkai deftly weaves them together, and is very nuanced in her approach to dealing with many aspects of the issues. All the while, Bodie's narrating the events of the book to someone she at first only refers to as You, a clever tactic that takes us along as she lays out her evidence that points towards who she thinks committed the murder. If you like your mysteries up-to-date and with a small side of that prep school/dark academia thrown in, this is for you! -Candice
The invisible hour : a novel
Alice Hoffman
FICTION Hoffman Alice
Fiction
"One brilliant June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia's mother, Ivy, and their life inside the Community--an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden, and books are considered evil. But how could this be? How could Nathaniel Hawthorne have so perfectly captured the pain and loss that Mia carries inside her? Through a journey of heartbreak, love, and time, Mia must abandon the rules she was raised with at the Community. As she does, she realizes that reading can transport you to other worlds or bring them to you, and that readers and writers affect one another in mysterious ways. She learns that time is more fluid than she can imagine, and that love is stronger than any chains that bind you. As a girl Mia fell in love with a book. Now as a young woman she falls in love with a brilliant writer as she makes her way back in time. But what if Nathaniel Hawthorne never wrote The Scarlet Letter? And what if Mia Jacob never found it on the day she planned to die?"--
First and foremost, I enjoyed reading “The Invisible Hour.” It was the right book at the right time for me. I needed something fast-paced and light and compelling and fun. But it was also silly and sort of ludicrous. I liked it and I hated it. That is how some books are. I haven’t read Alice Hoffman before, but I will pick up any book about modern-day Puritanical societies hidden in the wilds of Western Massachusetts. And the novel is about the love of reading, which resonates with me. “The Invisible Hour” is about Mia, a young girl, living in a restrictive collective community who discovers books and through those books finds herself and learns about the outside world. The book that changes her life is “The Scarlett Letter.” She escapes the collective, finds kindred spirits (and they are librarians!) that help her get on her feet, and rereads Hawthorne. I like Nathaniel Hawthorne. Puritan guilt is something I relate to and he explores that quite frequently in his fiction. He is moody and dark and great with imagery. “The House of the Seven Gables” is one of my favorites. All of this works for me. But then Mia falls in love and that is where the book goes off the rails. This book turns suddenly to have elements of “Back to the Future” mixed with “Outlander,” but with Nathaniel Hawthorne, which was weird to read. I guess you could say that Hoffman is exploring the relationship between author and reader, its intimacies, and power. Overall, it was fun. -Anne M
The awakening, and selected stories
Kate Chopin
FICTION Chopin, Kate
Fiction, Classics, Literary Fiction
A fast read with gorgeous writing and imagery. This book was censored for decades after its publishing in 1899 for its depictions of female sexual desire and a protagonist who opposed traditional social and gender norms. If you haven't read this Romantic classic yet, I highly recommend it for Banned Books Week! -Annie
Business or pleasure
Rachel Lynn Solomon
FICTION Solomon Rachel
Fiction, Romance, Humor
"A ghostwriter and a struggling actor help each other on the page and in the bedroom in this steamy romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Ex Talk. Chandler Cohen has never felt more like the ghost in 'ghostwriter' until she attends a signing for a book she wrote--and the author doesn't even recognize her. The evening turns more promising when she meets a charming man at the bar and immediately connects with him. But when all their sexual tension culminates in a spectacularly awkward hookup, she decides this is one night better off forgotten. Unfortunately, that's easier said than done. Her next project is ghostwriting a memoir for Finn Walsh, a C-list actor best known for playing a lovable nerd on a cult classic werewolf show who now makes a living appearing at fan conventions across the country. But Chandler knows him better from their one-night stand of hilarious mishaps. Chandler's determined to keep their partnership as professional as possible, but when she admits to Finn their night together wasn't as mind-blowing as he thought it was, he's distraught. He intrigues her enough that they strike a deal: when they're not working on his book, Chandler will school Finn in the art of satisfaction. As they grow closer both in and out of the bedroom, they must figure out which is more important, business or pleasure--or if there's a way for them to have both"--
This book is on my TBR pile (to be read). It's a new rom-com (published July 4, 2023) that is getting rave reviews. I have to read a lot of book reviews for work, and each one I read about this book has great things to say. Why else do I want to read it? I love comedy that turns your everyday feelings of failure into a no-big-deal moment. Sex-positive book about open communication? Nice. Woman writer settling for a paycheck over following her creative writing dream? Awesome. Can't wait for my hold to come in for this one. -Melody
Treasure State
C.J. Box
OverDrive Audiobook
Fiction, Thriller, Mystery
Christina Delaine's spot-on performance ensures that Box's story and dialogue are as entertaining as ever." —AudioFile on C.J. Box's The Bitterroots #1 New York Times bestselling author C. J. Box's Treasure State finds Cassie Dewell in Montana on the trail of a con man. Private Investigator Cassie Dewell's business is thriving, and her latest case puts her on the hunt for a slippery con man who's disappeared somewhere in the "treasure state". A wealthy Florida widow has accused him of absconding with her fortune, and wants Cassie to find him and get it back. The trail takes Cassie to Anaconda, Montana, a quirky former copper mining town that's the perfect place to reinvent yourself. As the case develops, Cassie begins to wonder if her client is telling her everything. On top of that, Cassie is also working what's easily one of her strangest assignments ever. A poem that promises buried treasure to one lucky adventurer has led to a cutthroat competition and five deaths among treasure-hunters. But Cassie's client doesn't want the treasure. Instead, he claims to be the one who hid the gold and wrote the poem. And he's hired Cassie to try to find him. Between the two cases, Cassie has her hands full. In Montana, a killer view can mean more than just the scenery, and Cassie knows much darker things hide behind the picturesque landscape of Big Sky Country. Treasure State, C. J. Box's highly anticipated follow-up to The Bitterroots, is full of more twists and turns than the switchbacks through the Anaconda Range. A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.
As a reader of thriller/mystery, I find myself perplexed as I say that this is the first C.J. Box book I have ever read or listened to...Box is well-regarded and a prolific author in the genre, and while they may not be my regular go-to, sometimes you just want a 'does what it says on the tin' type of book. At least, that's what I was expecting when I downloaded this, but to my surprise, there's a whole lot more going on here than I expected. The setting is unique, and the author rightly spends a fair amount of time highlighting the beauty and environmental aspects of the big sky state. There's a double mystery going on here as well (unless they merge at some point...), and both are engaging and fitting for where the action takes place. All of the characters are, if not entirely fully realized, fleshed out enough to be interesting and believable (even honestly menacing) even those that fill a sometimes well-worn role (the bad cop, the odd-but-loveable relative, the quirky outsider). Christina Delaine is a fine narrator, and voices all the characters really well. I'm enjoying this book much more that I thought I would, and this won't be the last for me. -Candice
The candy house : a novel
Jennifer Egan
FICTION Egan Jennifer
Fiction
"The Candy House opens with the staggeringly brilliant Bix Bouton, whose company, Mandala, is so successful that he is "one of those tech demi-gods with whom we're all on a first name basis." Bix is 40, with four kids, restless, desperate for a new idea, when he stumbles into a conversation group, mostly Columbia professors, one of whom is experimenting with downloading or "externalizing" memory. It's 2010. Within a decade, Bix's new technology, "Own Your Unconscious"--That allows you access to every memory you've ever had, and to share every memory in exchange for access to the memories of others-has seduced multitudes. But not everyone. Egan spins out the consequences of Own Your Unconscious through the lives of multiple characters whose paths intersect over several decades...The Candy House is also a testament to the tenacity and transcendence of human longing for real connection, love, family, privacy, and redemption."--Dust jacket flap.
This is the latest BYOBook read, and I've really enjoyed it, even though I am somewhat at a loss to truly explain what it's about in a big sense, other than the ideas of connectivity, authenticity, and memory. Those are hefty themes in literature and IRL, and Egan is poetic, inventive, and thoughtful in constructing stories about them. If you read A Visit From the Goon Squad, you'll be familiar with some of the characters, as well as with Egan's penchant for using the form of the book itself in new ways, which is illuminating in itself. You needn't have read her previous work, though, to jump into this one, which I do recommend. -Candice
Exiles
Jane (Jane Elizabeth) Harper
MYSTERY Harper, Jane
Fiction, Mystery
"New York Times bestselling author Jane Harper is back with a new mystery featuring Aaron Falk, the detective from the bestseller and major motion picture The Dry. At a busy festival site on a warm spring night, a baby lies alone in her stroller, her mother vanishing into the crowds. A year on, Kim Gillespie's absence casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather deep in the heart of South Australian wine country to welcome a new addition to the family. Joining the celebrations is federal investigator Aaron Falk. But as he soaks up life in the lush valley, he begins to suspect this tight-knit group may be more fractured than it seems. Between Falk's closest friend, a missing mother, and a woman he's drawn to, dark questions linger as long-ago truths begin to emerge"--
This is the latest in Harper's Aaron Falk series, and I recommend all of them. Like the others, this novel is slow-burning, atmospheric, and thoughtful. Human relationships and emotions are often at the fore of the story, but the underlying mystery is always there, waiting to be teased out via the small details that Harper drops here and there. This book isn't loaded with red herrings, and there isn't a lot of suspense--it's much calmer, more real, and I appreciate that. Also, the Australian setting is always a bonus, another character in the story in some ways. You don't have to start with the first in the series (The Dry), but again, all of the books are worth a read. -Candice
Hotel Laguna : a novel
Nicola Harrison
FICTION Harrison Nicola
Fiction
1942: Hazel Francis leaves Wichita, Kansas, for California to do her part in the war effort. At Douglas Aircraft she helps construct bombers for the U.S. military. But when the war is over, Hazel is dismissed: expected to return home and become a wife and mother. Staying on the West Coast, Hazel finds herself in Laguna Beach and answers an add for a model/assistant to artist Hanson Radcliff. He is respected in the community and the art scene, but lives under the shadow of a decades-old scandal. Still desiring to work with airplanes-- maybe even learn to fly one someday-- Hazel is torn between pursuing her dream and the dream life she has been granted. -- adapted from jacket
Need one last book to finish out your summer? Then this is a great one to pick; complete with strong, endearing characters, a strong independent woman, a touching storyline, and an insightful look into life in 1940s California, this book will captivate you through and through! -Angie
This title is more than 10 years old already, and I'm ashamed to admit I hadn't read it before now. It's a perfect October read--the chill is in the air and there's nothing better than burning some candles and cozying up with a dark academia story. It makes me wish I had a faux leather bound book cover that I could rest this paperback in and pretend I'm reading one of the protagonists ancient manuscripts. The first half proved to be a pretty compulsive read for me, with just enough fear and dread that I can't read it right before bedtime. I'm looking forward to curling up with the last half so I can see how this witch discovers her powers and survives until Book 2! -Melody