Staff Picks
Galentines Day Reads
- Savannah G.
- Tuesday, February 13
Collection
Happy Galentine’s Day! Show your girlfriends you really care by sharing a good book with them. From thrilling mysteries to heart-warming comings of age tales, this list is all about the power of female friendships.
The Brittanys
Published in 2021
"Bursting with bittersweet nostalgia, a funny, poignant, perfectly voiced debut that brilliantly captures what it's like to be a teenage girl. A VINTAGE ORIGINAL. They're not the most popular freshmen at their Florida prep school, but at least everyone knows their name(s). The Brittanys. Brittany Rosenberg: drives her golf cart around her subdivision to meet boys. Brittany Gottlieb: insists you can't lose your virginity if you haven't gotten your period. (She heard it somewhere!) Brittany Tomassi: is from New York. Brittany Jensen: once threw her tampon into a stranger's swimming pool. A brash, bold, unapologetic tomboy. And the greatest person in the whole wide world. At least as far as the fifth Brittany--our narrator--is concerned. Even within their friend group, she and Jensen are a duo: with their matching JanSport backpacks, Tiffany chokers, and Victoria's Secret push-up bras, they are unstoppable. And now that they're finally growing up, they're going to do everything: dye their hair, attend no-parent parties, try pot, kiss boys for real . . . maybe even lose their virginities. 2004 is totally going to be their year! But Jensen, it turns out, may not share quite the same outlook. And within our narrator's own family--in the lives of her exhausted mother and beloved, genius older brother--life-changing events may be taking shape. Events that only years later, looking back, she has the perspective to see"-- Provided by publisher.
Sisters in Arms
A Novel of the Daring Black Women Who Served During World War II
Published in 2021
The first Black women allowed to serve in the army, Grace Steele and Eliza Jones, helping form the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, navigate their way through the segregated ranks, finally making it overseas where they do their parts for the country they love.
The Ladies Rewrite the Rules
Published in 2024
"From the author of Mr. Malcolm's List comes a delightful romantic comedy set in Regency England about a widow who takes high society by storm. Diana Boyle, a wealthy young widow, has no desire to ever marry again. Particularly not to someone who merely wants her for her fortune. So when she discovers that she's listed in a directory of rich, single women she is furious, and rightly so. She confronts Maxwell Dean, the man who published the Bachelor's Directory, and is horrified to find he is far more attractive than his actions have led her to expect. However, Diana is unmoved by Max's explanation that he authored the list to assist younger sons like himself who cannot afford to marry unless it's to a woman of means. She gathers the ladies in the directory together to inform them of its existence, so they may circumvent fortune hunters' efforts to trick them into marriage. Though outraged, the women decide to embrace their unique position of power and reverse the usual gender roles by making the men dance to their tune. And together...the ladies rewrite the rules"-- Provided by publisher.
Black Girls Must Die Exhausted
A Novel
Published in 2021
After learning she might not be able to have children, thirty-three-year-old Tabitha Walker, a black woman planning to "have it all," watches her dreams dissolve and must rely on her two best friends to get through.
The Throwback List
Published in 2021
When best friends Jo, Autumn, and Bianca, who thought they left Sandy Point, Oregon, behind for good, are thrown back together, Jo finds an old bucket list in her childhood bedroom that sets them on a path that leads them to a life none of them could haveever planned.
Brown Girls
A Novel
Published in 2022
"This remarkable, deeply moving story brings you deep into the hearts and souls of a tight-knit group of friends--girls growing up in Queens, the polyglot borough of New York, where the streets sprawl for miles and echo with voices from all over the world, and the scent of bubbling oil, chopped garlic, and grilled meats waft through open windows as night comes to the neighborhood. Here Nadira, Mae, Trish, and Aisha become friends for life--or so they vow. Together they learn to survive all that the street throws at them--schoolyard bullies, clueless teachers, and the leering gaze of men who trail behind them wherever they walk. Exuberant and wild, they are daughters of immigrants from different diasporas, but in Queens their backgrounds blur and blend: they sing Mariah Carey at the tops of their lungs, pine for boyfriends who pay them no mind--and break the hearts of those who do--all while balancing the cultures they came from and the one they find themselves in. In small brick houses, their fathers snore on armchairs after long shifts, while mothers command them to be dutiful daughters, obedient young women. But as the years go by, and their own adulthood nears, choices must be made about their futures. Cracks and fissures form as some find themselves drawn to the allure of other skylines, beckoned by lovers and jobs foreign to what they knew back home. Some of the girls become wives and mothers to a new generation of brown girls; while others embark on a migration baffling to the generation before them, journeying back to the countries their parents fled for the 'better life' in America"-- Provided by publisher.
The After Party
Published in 2021
"Venus McGee, Draya Carter, and Jackie Benson are coworkers with a lot in common. They're smart ... and deserving of recognition--certainly more than they've been handed by a demoralizing boss. He's the topic of conversation at their impromptu get-together after the company holiday party ... When morning comes, Venus, Draya, and Jackie are blindsided by murder--a twist of fate that brings a startling new challenge to the table and forces them to navigate a hair-raising detour they never saw coming"-- Provided by publisher
Happy is on Hiatus
Published in 2022
When Rita McCall's twenty-three-year marriage goes up in flames, she leans on her cousins--and best friends--Sharae and Jemel for support. But they have issues going on in their own lives, too. And with the cousins at life-changing crossroads, it will take the wisdom of the aunts and their family history of love to get them through painful secrets and betrayals.
Before We Were Innocent
Published in 2023
"A summer in Greece for three best friends ends in the unthinkable when only two return home in this new novel from Ella Berman. . . . Ten years ago, after a sun-soaked summer spent in Greece, best friends Bess and Joni were cleared of having any involvement in their friend Evangeline's death. But that didn't stop the media from ripping apart their teenage lives like vultures. While the girls were never convicted, Joni, ever the opportunist, capitalized on her newfound infamy to become a motivational speaker. Bess, on the other hand, resolved to make her life as small and controlled as possible so she wouldn't risk losing everything all over again. And it almost worked. . . . Except now Joni is tangled up in a crime eerily similar to that one fateful night in Greece. And when she asks Bess to come back to LA to support her, Bess has a decision to make. Is it finally time to face up to what happened that night, exposing herself as the young woman she once was and maybe still is? And what happens if she doesn't like what she finds?"-- Provided by publisher.
Dirty Laundry
A Novel
Published in 2023
"A twisty, domestic suspense debut about a clique of mothers that shatters when one of their own is murdered, bringing chaos to their curated idyll. She was the perfect wife, with the perfect life. You would kill to have it... Ciara Murphy has it all - a loving husband, well-behaved children, and a beautiful home. Her circle of friends in their small Irish village go to her for tips about mothering, style, and influencer success - a picture perfect life is easy money on Instagram. But behind the filters, reality is less polished. Enter Mishti Gupta: Ciara's best friend. Ciara welcomed Mishti into her inner circle for being... unlike the other mothers in the group. But discontent in a marriage arranged for her through her parents back in Calcutta, Mishti now raises her young daughter in a country that is too cold among the children of her new friends who look nothing like her. Mishti just wants what Ciara has - the ease with which she moves through the world - and in that sense, she might be exactly like the other mothers. And there's earth mother Lauren Doyle, born, bred, and the butt of jokes in their village. With her disheveled partner and children who run naked in the yard, they're now mostly a happy lot, and unsurprisingly ostracized for being the singular dysfunction to Ciara's immaculate world. When Lauren finds an unlikely ally in Mishti, she decides that her days of ridicule are over. Then Ciara is found murdered, a bloody, mangled thing against the pristine backdrop of her own home, and the house of cards she'd worked so hard to build comes crumbling down. Everyone looks like they have something to gain from Ciara's death, but if you don't want the blame, it's the perfect time to air your enemies' dirty laundry. In this dazzling debut novel, Bose revolutionizes age-old ideas of love and deceit. What ensues is the delicious unspooling of a group of women desperate to preserve themselves"-- Provided by publisher.
Rabbit Hole
Published in 2024
"Ten years ago, Theodora "Teddy" Angstrom's older sister, Angie, disappeared. Her case remains unsolved. Now--on the anniversary of Angie's disappearance--Teddy's father, Mark, has killed himself. Unbeknownst to Mark's family, he had been actively investigating conspiracy theories sourced from a Reddit community of true crime fans fixated on Angie, and Teddy soon finds herself falling down that same rabbit hole. After all, if hope dies last, Angie could still be alive. Teddy's burgeoning investigation quickly gets her in hot water with everyone from her frustrated colleagues at the pretentious high school where she teaches English to her middle-aged gun nut boyfriend and her long-lost half-brother. Further complicating matters is Teddy's growing obsession with Mickey, a charming amateur sleuth from Reddit who is eerily keen on helping Teddy solve the case. Bewitched by Mickey, Teddy begins losing her grip on morality. As she struggles to reconcile new information with old memories, her erratic behavior reaches a fever pitch, but she won't stop until she finds Angie--or destroys herself in the process. In Rabbit Hole, debut author Kate Brody has crafted a biting critique of the Internet's voyeuristic boundary trampling, an equally outrageous and heart-wrenching character study of a mind twisted by grief, and a page-turning mystery that's as addictive as a late-night Reddit binge"-- Provided by publisher.
If I Had Your Face
A Novel
Published in 2020
"Kyuri is a heartbreakingly beautiful woman with a hard-won job at a "room salon," an exclusive bar where she entertains businessmen while they drink. Though she prides herself on her cold, clear-eyed approach to life, an impulsive mistake with a client may come to threaten her livelihood. Her roomate, Miho, is a talented artist who grew up in an orphanage but won a scholarship to study art in New York. Returning to Korea after college, she finds herself in a precarious relationship with the super-wealthyheir to one of Korea's biggest companies. Down the hall in their apartment building lives Ara, a hair stylist for whom two preoccupations sustain her: obsession with a boy-band pop star, and a best friend who is saving up for the extreme plastic surgerythat is commonplance. And Wonna, one floor below, is a newlywed trying to get pregnant with a child that she and her husband have no idea how they can afford to raise and educate in the cutthroat economy. Together, their stories tell a gripping tale that's seemingly unfamiliar, yet unmistakably universal in the way that their tentative friendships may have to be their saving grace"-- Provided by publisher.
Friends from Home
A Novel
Published in 2021
Jules O'Brien and Michelle Davis has been best friends since third grade. Now in their midtwenties, the friends live miles and worlds apart. When Jules agrees to be a maid of honor in Michelle's wedding, she realizes how different the two have become.
The Porcelain Moon
A Novel of France, the Great War, and Forbidden Love
Published in 2023
In 1918 France, in the final days of the First World War, Pauline Deng, a young Chinese woman escaping an arranged marriage, is taken in by secretive Camille Roussel and becomes bound to this woman forever when they are forced to make a terrible decision.
She is Haunted
Published in 2022
A collection of stories that grapple with mother-daughter dynamics, grief, exes, and the complexities of friendship in settings ranging from competitive call centers to Chinatown restaurants.
My Summer Darlings
Published in 2022
"Three lifelong friends plus a dangerous, sexy new stranger in town add up to a scorching summer of manipulation, obsession, and murder, from the acclaimed author of The Hunting Wives. A woman in the forest thinks she's going to die. I know he's coming back for me. Jen Miller, Kittie Spears, and Cynthia Nichols have been friends since childhood. Now approaching forty, their lives have changed, but their insular East Texas town has not. They stay sane by drinking wine in the afternoons, dishing about other women in the neighborhood, and bonding over the heartache of raising ungrateful teens and their own encroaching middle age. Then Will Harding comes to town, moving into one of the neighborhood's grandest homes. Mysterious and charming, he seems like the answer to each woman's prayers. He's a source of fascination for Jen, Kittie, and Cynthia, but none of them are ready for the way Will disrupts their lives. As Will grows closer with each of the women, their fascination twists into obsession, threatening their friendships with each other and their families. When he abruptly pulls away, each woman scrambles to discover the source of his affection. What they'll uncover is far more sinister and deadly than any of them could have ever imagined"-- Provided by publisher.
Thicker Than Water
A Novel
Published in 2023
"Two sisters-in-law find themselves at painful odds when the man who connects them-the brother of one, the husband of the other-is accused of a brutal crime in this twisty thriller from the author of the "exceedingly entertaining" (The New York Times) The Family Plot. Julia and Sienna Larkin are sisters-in-law, connected by Julia's husband and Sienna's brother, Jason. More than that, the two have been devoted best friends since Jason introduced them. To Sienna, Jason can do no wrong, and although Julia knows he's not perfect, they've built a comfortable life and family together. Recently, Jason has been putting in long hours to secure a promotion at work, so when his boss is found brutally murdered-his lips sewn shut-the Larkins are shocked and unsettled, especially as local gossip swirls. A few days later, Julia and Sienna's lives are upended when Jason gets into a car accident and is placed in a medically induced coma. Worse, the police arrive with news that he's the prime suspect in the murder investigation. With Jason unable to respond-and with Julia and Sienna working to clear his name-the two women find their friendship threatened for the first time: Sienna staunchly maintains her brother's innocence, but as their investigation uncovers a complicated web of secrets, Julia is less sure she's willing to defend her husband. With her signature "moody and atmospheric" (USA TODAY) writing, Megan Collins has crafted a suspenseful story that explores just how fragile our closest bonds can be"-- Provided by publisher.
Goodbye Earl
A Revenge Novel
Published in 2023
"Taking inspiration from the infamous, empowering song, Goodbye Earl follows four best friends through two unforgettable summers, fifteen years apart. In 2004, Rosemarie, Ada, Caroline, and Kasey are in their final days of high school and on the precipice of all the things teenagers look forward to when anything in life seems possible . . . from falling in love, to finding their dream jobs, to becoming who they were meant to be. In 2019, Kasey has returned to her small Southern hometown of Goldie for the first time since high school--and she still hasn't told even her closest friends the truth of what really happened that summer after graduation, or what made her leave so abruptly without looking back. Now reunited with her friends in Goldie for a wedding, she's determined to focus on the simple joy of being together again. But when she notices troubling signs that one of them might be in danger, she is catapulted back to that fateful summer. This time, Kasey refuses to let the worst moments of her past define her; this time, she knows how to protect those she loves at all costs. Uplifting, sharp-edged, and unapologetic, Goodbye Earl is a funeral for all the "Earls" out there--the abusive men who think they can get away with anything, but are wrong--and a celebration of enduring sisterhood"-- Provided by publisher.
In Her Boots
Published in 2022
"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Chicken Sisters comes a delightfully entertaining story about a ruse that goes awry and a chaotic homecoming that proves that confronting your past can sometimes set you free"-- Provided by publisher.
The Summer House
Published in 2020
"Written in Lauren Denton's signature Southern style, The Summer House tells the story of two women who must face the pain of the past to embrace the future and learn who they truly are"-- Provided by publisher.
Lies and Other Love Languages
A Novel
Published in 2023
From the bestselling author of The Vibrant Years comes an emotional story of three women navigating ugly truths and safe lies with only love to guide them on a journey of motherhood, friendship, and life. Bestselling advice columnist Vandy Guru built her career teaching others how to live honestly and courageously, but after the loss of her husband, Vandy's public veneer can barely conceal her grief. When her beloved daughter Mallika suddenly disappears and her estranged childhood best friend Rani returns, stirring up long-buried secrets, Vandy's carefully crafted life feels at risk. Aspiring choreographer Mallika Guru is tired of failure. When another audition ends in rejection, she signs up for a genetic study to find out why she's so different from her accomplished family. But the results reveal her whole life to be a lie, and Rani seems to be the only one who knows the truth. Rani Parekh sacrificed everything for Vandy once. But to hold on to the life she's rebuilt, she must confront her troubled history and face Vandy and Mallika. Join these three extraordinary women as they journey from LA to Mumbai on an incredible path of discovery, hope, and love.
The Better Half
A Novel
Published in 2023
After a difficult five years, at age forty-three, Nina Morgan Clarke's time has finally arrived. With an ex-husband relocated across the country, her father bouncing back after the loss of his beloved wife, and her daughter, Xandra, thriving at boarding school, Nina is stepping into her dream job as a trifecta: a first-generation, Black female head of the storied Royal-Hawkins School. To mark the moment, Nina and her best friend, Marisol, take a long-overdue girls' trip to celebrate the second half of Nina's life--which is shaping up to be the best part of her life. As Nina's school year gets underway, all seems to be progressing as planned. Before long, wunder-hire Jared Jones, two hundred pounds of Harvard-educated ego, relentlessly pushes Nina to her ethical limits. Soon after, dutiful Xandra accuses one of her teachers of misconduct. And most alarming, the repercussions of her trip with Marisol force Nina into a life-altering choice. Time is of the essence, and Nina must decide if she will embrace a future she never could have predicted.
Never Meant to Meet You
A Novel
Published in 2022
Kindergarten teacher and single mom Marjette Lewis faces a challenging school year when her teacher-best-friend Judy retires and an unexpected child shows up on the first day of school. When tragedy strikes Marjette's neighborhood, she must find a way through the loss and discover how to remake her life.
The Most Likely Club
Published in 2022
"At their milestone high school reunion, a group of friends makes a pact to finally achieve their high school superlatives one way or another in this lively new novel from the acclaimed author of Last Summer at the Golden Hotel. In 1997, grunge is king, Titanic is a blockbuster (and Blockbuster still exists), and Thursday nights are for Friends. In Bellport, Connecticut, four best friends and high school seniors are ready to light the world on fire. Melissa Levin, Priya Chowdhury, Tara Taylor, and Suki Hammer are going places. Their yearbook superlatives confirm it: Most Likely to Win the White House, Cure Cancer, Open a Michelin-Starred Restaurant, and Join the Forbes 400. Fast-forward twenty-five years and nothing has gone according to plan as the women regroup at their dreaded high school reunion. When a forgotten classmate emerges at the reunion with a surprising announcement, the friends dig out the yearbook and rethink their younger selves. Is it too late to make their dreams come true? Fueled by nostalgia and one too many drinks, they form a pact to push through their middle-aged angst to bring their teenage aspirations to fruition, dubbing themselves the "Most Likely Girls." Through the ensuing highs and lows, they are reminded of the enduring bonds of friendship and the ways our childhood dreams both sustain and surprise us-and why it's deeply uncool to peak in high school"-- Provided by publisher.
She Started It
A Novel
Published in 2023
"For fans of Lucy Foley and Liane Moriarty, She Started It is a hot, twisty summer thriller about a group of young women whose Caribbean bachelorette party takes a sinister turn. It's Lord of the Flies meets And Then There Were None...but with Instagram and too much prosecco"-- Provided by publisher.
The Weaver and the Witch Queen
Published in 2023
"Oddny and Gunnhild meet as children in tenth century Norway, and they could not be more different: Oddny hopes for a quiet life, while Gunnhild burns for power and longs to escape her cruel mother. But after a visiting wisewoman makes an ominous prophecy that involves Oddny, her sister Signy, and Gunnhild, the three girls take a blood oath to help one another always. When Oddny's farm is destroyed and Signy is kidnapped by Viking raiders, Oddny is set adrift from the life she imagined but determined to save her sister, no matter the cost. Gunnhild, who fled her home years ago to learn the ways of a witch in the far north, is on her way to her exalted destiny. But the bonds--both enchanted and emotional--that hold them together are strong, and when they find their way back to each other, these bonds will be tested in ways they could never have foreseen in this rich, searching novel of magic, history, and sworn sisterhood"-- Provided by publisher.
The Blackout Book Club
A Novel
Published in 2022
"An impulsive promise to her brother before he goes off to WWII puts Avis Montgomery in the unlikely position of head librarian and book club organizer in small-town Maine. The women of her book club band together as the war comes dangerously close but their friendships are tested by secrets, and they must decide whether depending on each other is worth the cost"-- Provided by publisher.
The Cookbook Club
A Novel of Food and Friendship
Published in 2020
"MUST LOVE BUTTER: The Cookbook Club is now open to members. Foodies come join us! No diets! No skipping dessert! Margo Everson sees the call out for the cookbook club and knows she's found her people. Recently dumped by her self-absorbed husband, who frankly isn't much of a loss, she has little to show for her marriage but his 'parting gift'--a dilapidated old farm house--and a collection of well-loved cookbooks. Aja Alexander just hopes her new-found friends won't notice that every time she looks at food, she gets queasy. It's hard hiding a pregnancy, especially one she can't bring herself to share with her wealthy boyfriend and his snooty mother. Trista Walker left the cutthroat world of the law behind and decided her fate was to open a restaurant... not the most secure choice ever. But there she could she indulge her passion for creating delectable meals and make money at the same time. The women bond immediately, but it's not all popovers with melted brie and blackberry jam. Margo's farm house is about to fall down around her ears; Trista's restaurant needs a makeover and rat-removal fast; and as for Aja, just how long can you hide a baby bump anyway? In this delightful novel, these women form bonds that go beyond a love of grilled garlic and soy sauce shrimp. Because what is more important in life than friendship...and food?"--Provided by publisher.
Cackle
Published in 2021
"From the author of The Return, a darkly funny, frightening novel about a young woman learning how to take what she wants, from a witch who might be too good to be true. All her life, Annie has played it nice and safe. After being unceremoniously dumped by her longtime boyfriend, Annie seeks a fresh start. She accepts a teaching position that moves her from Manhattan to a small village upstate. She's stunned by how perfect and picturesque the town is. The people are all friendly and warm. Her new apartment is dreamy too, minus the oddly persistent spider infestation. Then Annie meets Sophie. Beautiful, charming, magnetic Sophie, who takes a special interest in Annie, who wants to be her friend. More importantly, she wants Annie to stop apologizing and start living for herself. That's how Sophie lives. Annie can't help but gravitate toward the self-possessed Sophie, wanting to spend more and more time with her, despite the fact that the rest of the townsfolk seem...a little afraid of her. And like, okay. There are some things. Sophie's appearance is uncanny and ageless, her mansion in the middle of the woods feels a little unearthly, and she does seem to wield a certain power...but she couldn't be...could she?"-- Provided by publisher.
A Spindle Splintered
Published in 2021
"USA Today bestselling author Alix E. Harrow's A Spindle Splintered brings her patented charm to a new version of a classic story. Featuring Arthur Rackham's original illustrations for The Sleeping Beauty, fractured and reimagined. "A vivid, subversive and feminist reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, where implacable destiny is no match for courage, sisterhood, stubbornness and a good working knowledge of fairy tales." -Katherine Arden It's Zinnia Gray's twenty-first birthday, which is extra-special because it's the last birthday she'll ever have. When she was young, an industrial accident left Zinnia with a rare condition. Not much is known about her illness, just that no-one has lived past twenty-one. Her best friend Charm is intent on making Zinnia's last birthday special with a full sleeping beauty experience, complete with a tower and a spinning wheel. But when Zinnia pricks her finger, something strange and unexpected happens, and she finds herself falling through worlds, with another sleeping beauty, just as desperate to escape her fate"-- Provided by publisher.
The Cloisters
A Novel
Published in 2022
"The Secret History meets Ninth House in this sinister, atmospheric novel following a circle of researchers as they uncover a mysterious deck of tarot cards and shocking secrets in New York's famed Met Cloisters. When Ann Stilwell arrives in New York City, she expects to spend her summer working as a curatorial associate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Instead she finds herself assigned to The Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden renowned for its medieval art collection and its group of enigmatic researchers studying the history of divination. Desperate to escape her painful past, Ann is happy to indulge the researchers' more outlandish theories about the history of fortune telling. But what begins as academic curiosity quickly turns into obsession when Ann discovers a hidden 15th-century deck of tarot cards that might hold the key to predicting the future. As the dangerous game of power, seduction, and ambition at The Cloisters turns deadly, Ann becomes locked in a race for answers as the line between the arcane and the modern blurs. A haunting and magical blend of genres, The Cloisters is a gripping debut that will keep you on the edge of your seat"-- Provided by publisher.
Golden Poppies
Published in 2020
It's 1894. Jordan Wallace and Sadie Wagner appear to have little in common. Jordan, a middle-aged black teacher, lives in segregated Chicago. Two thousand miles away, Sadie, the white wife of an ambitious German businessman, lives in more tolerant Oakland, California. But years ago, their families intertwined on a plantation in Virginia. There, Jordan's and Sadie's mothers developed a bond stronger than blood, despite the fact that one was enslaved and the other was the privileged daughter of the plantation's owner.
Much Ado About Nada
Published in 2023
"A delightful new contemporary romance by Uzma Jalaluddin, author of Ayesha at Last. Nada Syed is stuck. On the cusp of thirty, she's still living at home with her brothers and parents in the Golden Crescent neighborhood of Toronto, resolutely ignoring her mother's unsubtle pleas to get married already. And while Nada has a good job as an engineer, it's a far cry from realizing her dreams for her tech baby, Ask Apa, the app that launched with a whimper instead of a bang because of the double-crossing of he-who-must-not-be-named. Something needs to change, but the past is holding on to Nada too tightly to let her move forward. One thing Nada is excited about is her friend Haleema's recent engagement. Haleema insists they meet, and what better opportunity than at the massive Muslim conference in downtown Toronto run by her fiancae Zayn's family? And did Haleema mention Zayn's handsome brother, Baz? What Haleema doesn't know is that Nada and Baz have crossed paths many times before-from when Nada bullied Bazwhen he was a scrawny kid to the times they met accidentally-on-purpose at the campus library. At the conference, secrets from the past come hurtling at Nada, complicating everything even further and bringing a moment of reckoning. Can Nada truly say goodbye to what once was, or should she hold tight to her dreams?"-- Provided by publisher.
Deeper Than Love
Published in 2023
FBI agent Ciara Valentine and her new partner Sabrina investigate a series of bank robberies in Atlanta while their personal lives heat up after a night on the town leads to a run-in with the city’s most eligible bachelor.
The Family
Published in 2021
"A captivating debut novel about the tangled fates of two best friends and daughters of the Italian mafia, and a coming-of-age story of twentieth-century Brooklyn itself"-- Provided by publisher.
Lone Women
Published in 2023
"Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes. It's locked at all times. Because when the trunk is opened, people around her start to disappear... The year is 1914, and Adelaide is in trouble. Her secret sin killed her parents, and forced her to flee her hometown of Redondo, California, in a hellfire rush, ready to make her way to Montana as a homesteader. Dragging the trunk with her at every stop, she will be one of the "lone women" taking advantage of the government's offer of free land for those who can cultivate it-except that Adelaide isn't alone. And the secret she's tried so desperately to lock away might be the only thing keeping her alive"-- Provided by publisher.
Starving for Love
Published in 2023
"Raised in one of the few well-to-do areas left in metro Detroit, Morgan was spoiled by her parents with the most lavish life they could afford laced her on a pedestal of greatness. With dreams of her becoming a top-tier businesswoman working in the newly revised Downtown Detroit district, her parents were shocked when their daughter ran off with Javon Bates, one of the most dangerous thugs in the city. He's better known as Always Making Paper. Intrigued by danger, attracted to the thrill, and feenin' for life in the fast lane, Morgan gives up everything she's ever known to go on a ride of her life with Javon. Drugs, love, heartbreak, and scandal--will they break the good girl turned bad? Or will Morgan and Javon's relationship stand the test of time?"-- From publisher's description.
Can't Look Away
Published in 2022
"From the author of Tell Me Lies and Too Good to Be True comes Carola Lovering's Can't Look Away, a sexy suspense novel about the kind of addictive, obsessive love that keeps you coming back--no matter how hard you try to look away. In 2013, twenty-three-year old Molly Diamond is a barista, dreaming of becoming a writer. One night at a concert in East Williamsburg, she locks eyes with the lead singer, Jake Danner, and can't look away. Molly and Jake fall quickly and deeply in love, especially after he writes a hit song about her that puts his band on the map. Nearly a decade later, Molly has given up writing and is living in Flynn Cove, Connecticut with her young daughter and her husband Hunter-who is decidedly not Jake Danner. Their life looks picture-perfect, but Molly is lonely; she feels out of place with the other women in their wealthy suburb, and is struggling to conceive their second child. When Sabrina, a newcomer in town, walks into the yoga studio where Molly teaches and confesses her own fertility struggles, Molly believes she's finally found a friend. But Sabrina has her own reasons for moving to Flynn Cove and befriending Molly. And as Sabrina's secrets are slowly unspooled, her connection to Molly becomes clearer--as do secrets of Molly's own, which she's worked hard to keep buried. Meanwhile, a new version of Jake's hit song is on the radio, forcing Molly to confront her past and ask the ultimate questions: What happens when life turns out nothing like we thought it would, when we were young and dreaming big? Does growing up mean choosing with your head, rather than your heart? And do we ever truly get over our first love?"-- Provided by publisher.
The Long Weekend
A Novel
Published in 2022
By the time you read this, I'll have killed one of your husbands. In an isolated retreat, deep in the Northumbria moors, three women arrive for a weekend getaway. Their husbands will be joining them in the morning. Or so they think. But when they get to Dark Fell Barn, the women find a devastating note that claims one of their husbands has been murdered. Their phones are out of range. There's no internet. They're stranded. And a storm's coming in. Friendships fracture and the situation spins out of control as each wife tries to find out what's going on, who is responsible and which husband has been targeted. This was a tight-knit group. They've survived a lot. But they won't weather this. Because someone has decided that enough is enough. That it's time for a reckoning.
Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes
Published in 2021
"Two best friends say "I do" to living together, for better or worse, in this bold women's fiction novel. Jude Andrews is famous. Well, at least she is on Instagram. Her brand is clean eating, Pilates, and casually looking like a sun-kissed goddess. Her real life, however, is filled with the opposite, and Jude's last bad decision emptied out her entire savings account. Lauren Turner had a plan: graduate medical school and become the top surgeon in the country. But when she became unexpectedly pregnant, those plans changed. And when her fiancé left her, they changed again. Now she's taking charge of her life and launching a mommy podcast with all the advice she wishes someone had given her. Jude and Lauren don't have much in common, but maybe that's why they've been best friends since the third grade. Through ups and downs, they've been by each other's sides. But now? They're broke, single, and do the only thing that makes sense-move in together, just like they talked about when they were teenagers. Except when they were younger, the plan didn't include a five-year-old and more baggage than their new townhouse can hold"-- Provided by publisher.
The Keeper of Hidden Books
A Novel
Published in 2023
"As bombs rain down on Warsaw and Hitler's forces surround the city, childhood friends Marta and Janina join the war effort using one of the only weapons that still feel safe to them: literature, fighting to preserve their culture and community and finding hope in each other in order to survive.
The Spires
Published in 2021
"Strung between two teenagers, an unemployed husband, and a tenuous career, Penelope Cox barely has her life together when the past comes knocking at her door. Willa Blaine, her old roommate, needs her help: refuge from an abusive husband. 'Two weeks tops,' she says--but it's not the imposition that bothers Penelope; it's the memories Willa brings with her. Twenty years earlier, Penelope, Willa, and three friends lived together in a converted church. Insular and closed off from the rest of the world, the five roommates formed their own dysfunctional family, celebrating the pinnacle of their lives; they called themselves 'the Spires.' But nights of wild parties gave way to a darker undercurrent: jealousy, resentment, unrequited love, and obsession. Tensions boiled over during a night of debauchery that ended in a deadly fire, leaving the Spires scattered and forever changed. Now Willa is the perfect houseguest: accommodating, helpful, bringing a newfound sense of excitement to the Cox household. Yet Penelope can't help but feel the cracks in her life widen as she begins to question Willa's motives. Everyone has secrets, it seems--and the fire may have brought down the Spires, but not everything burned was forgotten." -- Amazon.
Wildcat
Published in 2022
"Amelia Morris's Wildcat is an uproariously funny, surprisingly touching story of one woman's journey through motherhood and female friendship, in a society that plays fast and loose with information. New mother, aspiring writer, and former shopgirl Leanne has lost her way. As she struggles with both her grief and the haze of motherhood, it also becomes clear that her best friend, the default queen of East Side Los Angeles, Regina Mark, might not actually be a friend at all. As Leanne begins to investigate and undermine Regina, she also strikes up an unexpected friendship with the lauded writer Maxine Hunter. Feeling frustrated and invisible next to Regina's wealth and social standing, Leanne seeks security wherever she can find it, whether that's by researching whether she should vaccinate her son, in listening to the messages she thinks her father is sending from beyond the grave, or in holding her own against a petulant student in her creative writing class. Most of all, however, she looks for it within Maxine, who offers Leanne something new. With a keen eye for the trappings of privilege, class, and the performative nature of contemporary domestic life, Morris's tender and wicked debut shows us a woman who bucks against the narrative she's been fed, only to find power in herself and the truth that emerges"-- Provided by publisher.
Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions
A Novel in Interlocking Stories
Published in 2022
"Moving between Nigeria and America, Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions is a window into the world of accomplished Nigerian women, illuminating the challenges they face and the risks they take to control their destinies. Students at an all-girls boarding school, Nonso, Remi, Aisha, and Solape forge an unbreakable sisterhood that is tempered during a school rebellion, an uprising with repercussions that will forever reverberate through their lives. The children of well-to-do families, these young women have been raised with a thirst for independence, believing a university education is their right--a legacy of ambition and hope inherited from their foremothers. Leaving school and adolescence behind, the women grapple with the unexpected possibilities--and limitations--of adulthood and the uncertainties of the world within and outside of Nigeria. A trip to Ghana opens Nonso's eyes to the lasting impact of the transatlantic slave trade, she falls in love with an African American, and makes a new home in the United States. Remi meets Segun, a dynamic man of Nigerian descent from Yonkers whose own traumatic struggles and support gives her the strength to confront painful family wounds. Aisha's overwhelming sense of guilt haunts her, influencing career and relationship decisions until she sees a chance to save her son's life and, through her sacrifice, redefine her own. Revolving around loss, belonging, family, friendship, alienation, and silence, Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions is a moving, multifaceted portrait of lives shaped by hope and sorrow--of women who must contend with the ever-present and unsettling notion that moving forward in time isn't necessarily progress." -- publisher's website.
Asking for a Friend
Published in 2022
"Three best friends are going to solve their relationship woes once and for all. These best friends decide it's time to ditch the dating apps and play the love game by their own rules. They're going to ask people out in real life...but only for each other. What could possibly go wrong?"-- Provided by publisher.
The Referral Program
A Novel
Published in 2023
"Dylan and her best friends are in their mid-thirties and have never been married. Back in college, they could not have imagined being single with no prospects for husbands at this stage in their lives. At a monthly gathering, the ladies discuss the possibilities of being alone for the rest of their lives. While the friends talk about their futures and the fears that come along with it, they hatch a plan. They resolve to start a program where each woman has to refer a good man for a friend to date. As the friends embark upon the Referral Program, they discover things about themselves and each other they weren't aware existed. Relationships are put to the test as Dylan and her girls come to terms with their current realities and futures that may or may not include friends or husbands"-- Provided by publisher.
Cover Story
A Novel
Published in 2022
After a rough year at NYU, aspiring writer Lora Ricci is thrilled to land a summer internship at ELLE magazine where she meets Cat Wolff, contributing editor and enigmatic daughter of a clean-energy mogul. Cat takes Lora under her wing, soliciting her help with side projects and encouraging her writing. As a friendship emerges between the two women, Lora opens up to Cat about her desperate struggles and lost scholarship. Cat's solution: Drop out of NYU and become her ghostwriter. Lora agrees and, when the internship ends, she moves into Cat's suite at the opulent Plaza Hotel. Writing during the day and accompanying Cat to extravagant parties at night, Lora's life quickly shifts from looming nightmare to dream-come-true. But as Lora is drawn into Cat's glamorous lifestyle, Cat's perfect exterior cracks, exposing an illicit, shady world. A whip-smart and delightfully inventive writer, Susan Rigetti brilliantly pieces together a perceptive, humorous caper full of sharp observations about scam culture. Composed of diary entries, emails, FBI correspondence, and more, Cover Story is a fresh, fun, and wholly original novel that takes readers deep into the codependency and deceit found in a relationship built on power imbalance and lies.-- Publisher's description.
Sister Friends Forever
A Novel
Published in 2022
"Diane, Michelle, Kenya, and Lynette have known each other since they were small children. They grew up in different neighborhoods, but they also grew up in the same church (which is how they first met), and while they each attended different colleges, they never lost touch with each other. So much so, they regularly planned trips to come home on the same weekends, and outside of time spent with their family and dating, they enjoyed all their summers together as well. Now many years later, at age forty, they are still best friends forever and they meet for lunch on the first Saturday of every month, but their lives couldn't be more different"-- Provided by publisher.
Tell Me I'm Worthless
Published in 2023
Alison Rumfitt’s Tell Me I’m Worthless is a dark, unflinching haunted house story that confronts both supernatural and real-world horrors through the lens of the modern-day trans experience. Three years ago, Alice spent one night in an abandoned house with her friends, Ila and Hannah. Since then, Alice’s life has spiraled. She lives a haunted existence, selling videos of herself for money, going to parties she hates, drinking herself to sleep. Memories of that night torment Alice, but when Ila asks her to return to the House, to go past the KEEP OUT sign and over the sick earth where teenagers dare each other to venture, Alice knows she must go. Together, Alice and Ila must face the horrors that happened there, must pull themselves apart from the inside out, put their differences aside, and try to rescue Hannah, whom the House has chosen to make its own. Cutting, disruptive, and darkly funny, Tell Me I’m Worthless is a vital work of trans fiction that examines the devastating effects of trauma and how fascism makes us destroy ourselves and each other--Publisher's description.
Sugar, Baby
A Novel
Published in 2024
"Sugar, Baby follows Agnes, a mixed-race 21-year-old whose life seems to be heading nowhere. Still living at home, she works as a cleaner and spends all her money in clubs on the weekends searching for distractions from her mundane life. That is until she meets Emily, daughter of one of her cleaning clients, who lives in London and works as a model . . . and a sugar baby, dating rich older men for money. Emily's life is the escape Agnes has been longing for-extravagant tasting menus, champagne on tap, glamorous hotels with unlimited room service, designer gifts from dates who call her beautiful. But this new lifestyle is the last straw for her religious mother Constance. Kicked out of her family home, Agnes moves in with Emily and the other sugar babies in their fancy London flat and is drawn deeper and deeper into their world. But these women come from money: they possess a safety net Agnes does not. And as she is thrown from one precarious relationship to the next-a married man who wants to show off the glamourous, exotic girl on his arm; a Russian billionaire's wife who makes Agnes central to a sex party in Miami-she finds herself searching for fulfillment just as desperately as she was before." -- Dust jacket.
Women of the Post
Published in 2023
In 1944, four friends, part of the only unit of Black women to serve overseas in World War II, work tirelessly to reunite soldiers with their loved ones through the letters they write and find things taking a personal turn when a backlogged letter upends their lives.
Las Madres
A Novel
Published in 2023
"A powerful novel of family, race, faith, sex, and disaster that moves between Puerto Rico and The Bronx, revealing the lives and loves of five women and the secret that binds them together"-- Provided by publisher.
The Days of Afrekete
Published in 2021
"Inspired by Mrs. Dalloway and Sula, The Days of Afrekete is a tender, surprising novel about two Philadelphia women at midlife who rediscover themselves-and perhaps each other"-- Provided by publisher.
Adulting
A Novel
Published in 2021
Self-destructive actress Chase London, agreeing to attend life coach Olivia Han's "adulting" boot camp, heads to a refuge in the wilds of Northern California where they work together to create refuge where Chase can come to terms with her unsettled past.
Stealing
A Novel
Published in 2023
"Since her mother's death, Kit Crockett has lived alone with her grief-stricken father, spending lonely days far out in the country tending the garden, fishing in a local stream, and reading Nancy Drew mysteries from the library bookmobile. One day when Kit discovers a mysterious and beautiful woman has moved in just down the road, she is intrigued. Kit and her new neighbor Bella become fast friends. Both outsiders, they take comfort in each other's company. But malice lurks near their quiet bayou and Kit suddenly finds herself at the center of tragic, fatal crime"-- Provided by publisher.
Unsinkable
Published in 2024
What she survived has become legend. Violet Jessop is Miss Unsinkable. Violet is a stewardess and wartime nurse who survives a shipwreck on the Olympic and two sinkings on the infamous Titanic and Britannic. No one can understand why she would return to sea, but Violet is simply trying to survive. Her childhood was fraught with illness and death in her family. Her distraught mother is too ill to work, leaving that responsibility to Violet as the oldest, even after disaster strikes on both the Olympic and Titanic where she works as a stewardess. When the world enters the first world war, she becomes a wartime nurse, helping men who could very well be her brothers. Disaster strikes again, this time in the sinking of the Britannic where she serves. Miraculously, Violet survives, but her obligation to her mother and siblings still remains. Meanwhile, Violet always wonders when she can put her tumultuous life at sea behind her and look to her own future. Daphne has survived calamity of her own. Daphne Labine grows up as an unwanted child after her mother died in a tragedy. She throws herself into education, collecting languages like candy in a desperate attempt to finally earn her father's approval. When the Special Operations Executive invites her to be an agent in France in World War II, her childhood of anonymity and her love of languages make her the perfect fit. She sees it as an opportunity to help the country she loves and live up to her father's expectations. There, she's met with various challenges and moments of resilience, including an escape route via the sea she wants no parts of. A potential shipwreck and encounter with an unknown woman force Daphne to come to terms with the secrets in her own past.
The Next Ship Home
A Novel of Ellis Island
Published in 2022
"Disembarking on Ellis Island, Francesca arrives on the shores of America with her sights set on a better life than the one she left in Italy. That same day, aspiring linguist Alma reports to her first day of work at the immigrant processing center. Ellis, though, is not the refuge it first appears thanks to President Roosevelt's attempts to deter crime. Francesca and Alma will have to rely on each other to escape its corruption and claim the American dreams they were promised. A thoughtful historical story inspired by true events, this novel probes America's history of prejudice and exclusion-when entry at Ellis Island promised a better life but often delivered something drastically different, immigrants needed strength, resilience, and friendship to fight for their futures"-- Provided by publisher
That Summer
A Novel
Published in 2021
"Daisy Shoemaker can’t sleep. With a thriving cooking business, full schedule of volunteer work, and a beautiful home in the Philadelphia suburbs, she should be content. But her teenage daughter can be a handful, her husband can be distant, her work can feel trivial, and she has lots of acquaintances, but no real friends. Still, Daisy knows she’s got it good. So why is she up all night?While Daisy tries to identify the root of her dissatisfaction, she’s also receiving misdirected emails meant for a woman named Diana Starling, whose email address is just one punctuation mark away from her own. While Daisy’s driving carpools, Diana is chairing meetings. While Daisy’s making dinner, Diana’s making plans to reorganize corporations. Diana’s glamorous, sophisticated, single-lady life is miles away from Daisy’s simpler existence. When an apology leads to an invitation, the two women meet and become friends. But, as they get closer, we learn that their connection was not completely accidental. Who IS this other woman, and what does she want with Daisy?"--Publisher.
The War Begins in Paris
A Novel
Published in 2023
From the author of Kings of Broken Things and In Our Other Lives comes a literary noir about two female war correspondents whose fates intertwine in Europe.
The Secret Women
A Novel
Published in 2020
Three friends whose mothers recently passed away help each other sort through their mothers' belongings and discover secrets about their mothers and the life challenges that their mothers had to overcome.
Only if You're Lucky
A Novel
Published in 2024
"A sharp and twisty exploration of female friendship from the New York Times bestselling author of A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things. Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Magnetic, addictive. Bold and dangerous. Especially for Margot, who meets Lucy at the end of their freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margot is the shy one, the careful one, always the sidekick and never the center of attention. But when Lucy singles her out at the end of the year, a year Margot spent studying and playing it safe, and asks her to room together, something in Margot can't say no--something daring, or starved, or maybe even envious. And so Margot finds herself living in an off-campus house with three other girls, Lucy, the ringleader; Sloane, the sarcastic one; and Nicole, the nice one, the three of them opposites but also deeply intertwined. It's a year that finds Margot finally coming out of the shell she's been in since the end of high school, when her best friend Eliza died three weeks after graduation. Margot and Lucy have become the closest of friends, but by the middle of their sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door has been brutally murdered... and Lucy Sharpe is missing without a trace. From the author of A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things comes a tantalizing thriller about the nature of friendship and belonging, about loyalty, envy, and betrayal--another gripping novel from an author quickly becoming the gold standard in psychological suspense"-- Provided by publisher.
Last Summer on State Street
A Novel
Published in 2022
"For fans of Jacqueline Woodson and Brit Bennett, a striking coming-of-age debut about friendship, community, and resilience, set in the housing projects of Chicago during one life-changing summer"-- Provided by publisher.