Staff Picks
LibraryReads for February 2022
- Sarah C.
- Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Collection
Each month, LibraryReads lists the top upcoming titles recommended by librarians across the country. All these books will be published in February 2022, so stay ahead of the curve and get on the holds list now!
Are you participating in our Broader Bookshelf Reading Challenge? Several of these titles fulfill prompts on this year's challenge! Pick up Delilah Green Doesn't Care or Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead to complete Prompt #10, The Christie Affair for Prompt #4, and Not the Witch You Wed for Prompt #12.
Not the Witch You Wed
Published in 2022
"A fake relationship between a magic-less witch and a wolf shifter turns to more in the start of a bewitching new paranormal rom-com series. Magic-less witch Violet Maxwell wants nothing to do with alpha wolf shifter Lincoln Thorne-the man who broke her fragile, teenage heart. But when the two of them are forced by arcane Supernatural Laws to find mates, Violet and Lincoln agree to fake-date their way to a fake-mating in order to conjure themselves some time. The joke's on them. When old feelings make a reappearance-along with Violet's magic-they both realize there's nothing fake about their feelings. But there are old secrets and looming threats that could snatch away their happily ever after, again. One thing's for sure: magic doesn't make dating and love any easier. In Not the Witch You Wed, April Asher brings all the hilarity and sweet, sexy moments you love in a romantic-comedy-plus a fun dose of magic-to this spell-binding new series about being sexy, single, and supernatural in New York City"-- Provided by publisher.
Delilah Green Doesn't Care
Published in 2022
"A clever and steamy queer romantic comedy about taking chances and accepting love-with all its complications-by debut author Ashley Herring Blake. Delilah Green swore she would never go back to Bright Falls-nothing is there for her but memories of a lonely childhood where she was little more than a burden to her cold and distant stepfamily. Her life is in New York, with her photography career finally gaining steam and her bed never empty. Sure, it's a different woman every night, but that's just fine with her. When Delilah's estranged stepsister, Astrid, pressures her into photographing her wedding with a guilt trip and a five-figure check, Delilah finds herself back in the godforsaken town that she used to call home. She plans to breeze in and out, butthen she sees Claire Sutherland, one of Astrid's stuck-up besties, and decides that maybe there's some fun (and a little retribution) to be had in Bright Falls, after all. Having raised her eleven-year-old daughter mostly on her own while dealing with herunreliable ex and running a bookstore, Claire Sutherland depends upon a life without surprises. And Delilah Green is an unwelcome surprise...at first. Though they've known each other for years, they don't really know each other-so Claire is unsettled when Delilah figures out exactly what buttons to push. When they're forced together during a gauntlet of wedding preparations-including a plot to save Astrid from her horrible fiancae-Claire isn't sure she has the strength to resist Delilah's charms. Even worse, she's starting to think she doesn't want to.."-- Provided by publisher.
Finlay Donovan Knocks 'em Dead
Published in 2022
"From Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano, comes Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead-the hilarious and heart-pounding follow-up to Finlay Donovan is Killing It. "A funny and smart, twisty and surprising series."-Megan Miranda Finlay Donovan is-once again-struggling to finish her next novel and keep her head above water as a single mother of two. On the bright side, she has her live-in nanny and confidant Vero to rely on, and the only dead body she's dealt with lately is that of her daughter's pet goldfish. On the not-so-bright side, someone out there wants her ex-husband, Steven, out of the picture. Permanently. Whatever else Steven may be, he's a good father, but saving him will send her down a rabbit hole of soccer moms disguised as hit-women, and a little bitmore involvement with the Russian mob than she'd like. Meanwhile, Vero's keeping secrets, and Detective Nick Anthony seems determined to get back into her life. He may be a hot cop, but Finlay's first priority is preventing her family from sleeping withthe fishes... and if that means bending a few laws then so be it. With her next book's deadline looming and an ex-husband to keep alive, Finlay is quickly coming to the end of her rope. She can only hope there isn't a noose at the end of it.."-- Provided by publisher.
The Christie Affair
Published in 2022
"Nina de Gramont's The Christie Affair is a beguiling novel of star-crossed lovers, heartbreak, revenge, and murder-and a brilliant re-imagination of one of the most talked-about unsolved mysteries of the twentieth century. Every story has its secrets. Every mystery has its motives. "A long time ago, in another country, I nearly killed a woman. It's a particular feeling, the urge to murder. It takes over your body so completely, it's like a divine force, grabbing hold of your will, your limbs, your psyche. There's a joy to it. In retrospect, it's frightening, but I daresay in the moment it feels sweet. The way justice feels sweet." The greatest mystery wasn't Agatha Christie's disappearance in those eleven infamous days, it's what she discovered. London,1925: In a world of townhomes and tennis matches, socialites and shooting parties, Miss Nan O'Dea became Archie Christie's mistress, luring him away from his devoted and well-known wife, Agatha Christie. The question is, why? Why destroy another woman's marriage, why hatch a plot years in the making, and why murder? How was Nan O'Dea so intricately tied to those eleven mysterious days that Agatha Christie went missing?"-- Provided by publisher.
Good Girl Complex
Published in 2022
Mackenzie Cabot has spent most of her twenty years pleasing the other people around her so she is going to Garnet College in the expensive beachside town of Avalon Bay in South Carolina when she would really rather focus on her growing internet business;Cooper Hartley is a local boy who usually tends bar and disdains the rich, spoiled college kids he sees every day--but MacKenzie and Cooper fall for each other, until money and family come between them.
An Impossible Impostor
Published in 2022
"While investigating a man claiming to be the long-lost heir to a noble family, Veronica Speedwell gets the surprise of her life in this new adventure from New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn. London, 1889. VeronicaSpeedwell and her natural historian beau, Stoker, are summoned by Sir Hugo Montgomerie, head of Special Branch. He has a personal request on behalf of his goddaughter, Euphemia Hathaway. After years of traveling the world, her eldest brother the heir toHathaway Hall, Jonathan, was believed to have been killed in the catastrophic eruption of Krakatoa a few years before. But now a man matching Jonathan's description and carrying his possessions has arrived at Hathaway Hall with no memory of his identity or where he has been. Could this man truly be Jonathan, back from the dead? Or is he a devious impostor, determined to gain ownership of the family's most valuable possessions-a legendary parure of priceless Rajasthani jewels? It's a delicate situation, and Veronica is Sir Hugo's only hope. Veronica and Stoker agree to go to Hathaway Hall to covertly investigate the mysterious amnesiac. Veronica is soon shocked to find herself face-to-face with a ghost from her past. To help Sir Hugo discover the truth, she must open doors to her own history that she long believed to be shut for good"-- Provided by publisher.
The Violin Conspiracy
Published in 2022
"Ray McMillian loves playing the violin more than anything, and nothing will stop him from pursuing his dream of becoming a professional musician. Not his mother, who thinks he should get a real job, not the fact that he can't afford a high-caliber violin, not the racism inherent in the classical music world. And when he makes the startling discovery that his great-grandfather's fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, his star begins to rise. Then with the international Tchaikovsky Competition-the Olympics of classical music-fast approaching, his prized family heirloom is stolen. Ray is determined to get it back. But now his family and the descendants of the man who once enslaved Ray's great-grandfather are each claiming that the violin belongs to them. With the odds stacked against him and the pressure mounting, will Ray ever see his beloved violin again?"-- Provided by publisher.
Black Cake
A Novel
Published in 2022
"In this moving debut novel, two estranged siblings must set aside their differences to deal with their mother's death and her hidden past--a journey of discovery that takes them from the Caribbean to London to California and ends with her famous black cake. In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett's death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a traditional Caribbean black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking journey Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child, challenge everythingthe siblings thought they knew about their family, and themselves. Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor's true history, and fulfill her final request to 'share the black cake when the time is right?' Will their mother's revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever? Charmaine Wilkerson's debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names, can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch"-- Provided by publisher.