Special Collections
New York Times Best Sellers - Fiction
Description: Bookshare is pleased to offer the top 10 fiction books from the New York Times best seller list on a weekly basis. The collection is arranged by month covering the past two years. Books are added in as they become available. #adults
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Truly, Madly, Deeply
by Karen KingsburyOne frozen embryo. Two families with life-long secrets. And a guy who never planned to fall in love again.
Maddie Baxter West is shaken to the core when she finds out everything she believed about her life was a lie. Her parents had always planned to tell her the truth about her past: that she was adopted as an embryo. But somehow the right moment never happened. Then a total stranger confronts Maddie with the truth and tells her something else that rocks her world—Maddie had a sister she never knew about. Betrayed, angry, and confused, Maddie leaves her new job and fiancé, rejects her family’s requests for forgiveness, and moves to Portland to find out who she really is.
Dawson Gage’s life was destroyed when London Quinn, his best friend and the only girl he ever loved, is killed. In the hospital waiting room, London’s mother reveals that London might have had a sibling. The frozen embryo she and her husband donated decades ago. When Dawson finds Maddie and brings her to Portland, the Quinns—her biological parents—welcome her into their lives and hearts. Maddie is comforted by the Quinns’ love and intrigued by their memories of London, who was so much like her. Is this the family and the life she was really meant to have?
Now it will take the love of Dawson Gage to help Maddie know who she is...and to help her find her way home.
A New York Times Bestseller
Demon Copperhead
by Barbara KingsolverWINNER OF THE 2023 PULITZER PRIZE • WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTIONA New York Times "Ten Best Books of 2022" • An Oprah’s Book Club Selection • An Instant New York Times Bestseller • An Instant Wall Street Journal Bestseller • A #1 Washington Post Bestseller "Demon is a voice for the ages—akin to Huck Finn or Holden Caulfield—only even more resilient.” —Beth Macy, author of Dopesick"May be the best novel of 2022. . . . Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, this is the story of an irrepressible boy nobody wants, but readers will love.” (Ron Charles, Washington Post)From the acclaimed author of The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees, a brilliant novel that enthralls, compels, and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero’s unforgettable journey to maturitySet in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.
Billy Summers
by Stephen KingMaster storyteller Stephen King, whose &“restless imagination is a power that cannot be contained&” (The New York Times Book Review), presents an unforgettable and relentless #1 New York Times bestseller about a good guy in a bad job.Chances are, if you&’re a target of Billy Summers, two immutable truths apply: You&’ll never even know what hit you, and you&’re really getting what you deserve. He&’s a killer for hire and the best in the business—but he&’ll do the job only if the assignment is a truly bad person. But now, time is catching up with him, and Billy wants out. Before he can do that though, there&’s one last hit, which promises a generous payday at the end of the line even as things don&’t seem quite on the level here. Given that Billy is among the most talented snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, and a virtual Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done, what could possibly go wrong? How about everything. Part war story and part love letter to small-town America and the people who live there, this spectacular thriller of luck, fate, and love will grip readers with its electrifying narrative, as a complex antihero with one last shot at redemption must avenge the crimes of an extraordinarily evil man. You won&’t ever forget this stunning novel from master storyteller Stephen King…and you will never forget Billy.
Fairy Tale
by Stephen KingMaster storyteller Stephen King goes into the deepest well of his imagination in this #1 New York Times bestselling and spellbinding novel about a young man who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for that world or ours.Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a horrific accident when he was seven, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. When Charlie is seventeen, he meets a dog named Radar and her aging master, Howard Bowditch, a recluse in a big house at the top of a big hill, with a locked shed in the backyard. Sometimes strange sounds emerge from that shed. Charlie starts doing jobs for Mr. Bowditch and loses his heart to Radar. Then, when Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie a cassette tape telling a story no one would believe. What Bowditch knows, and has kept secret all his long life, is that inside the shed is a portal to another world.
Holly
by Stephen King#1 New York Times Bestseller * A New York Times Notable Book * An NPR Best Book of the Year Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King&’s most compelling and resourceful characters, returns in this chilling &“exploration of grief and delusion, just pure undistilled evil&” (New York magazine) as she uncovers the truth behind multiple disappearances in a midwestern town.When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency, hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly Gibney is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just passed away. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny&’s desperate voice makes it impossible to turn her down. Meanwhile, mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are also harboring a shocking, unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie&’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to…for they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless. Now Holly must summon all of her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver these unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries in this chilling and unforgettable masterwork from Stephen King.
If It Bleeds
by Stephen King*#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* Featuring the novella &“The Life of Chuck,&” now a feature film adapted for the screen and directed by Mike Flanagan (The Fall of the House of Usher, Doctor Sleep) and starring Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Karen Gillan—a Toronto International Film Festival People&’s Choice Award winner! From the legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary collection of four new &“exceptionally compelling novellas that reaffirm [King&’s] mastery of the form&” (The Washington Post).Readers adore Stephen King&’s novels, and his novellas are their own dark treat, briefer but just as impactful and enduring as his longer fiction. Many of his novellas have been made into iconic films, including &“The Body&” (Stand by Me) and &“Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption&” (Shawshank Redemption). The four brilliant tales in If It Bleeds prove as iconic as their predecessors. In the title story, reader favorite Holly Gibney (from the Mr. Mercedes trilogy and The Outsider) must face her fears, and possibly another outsider—this time on her own. In &“Mr. Harrigan&’s Phone&” an intergenerational friendship has a disturbing afterlife. &“The Life of Chuck&” explores, beautifully, how each of us contains multitudes. And in &“Rat,&” a struggling writer must contend with the darker side of ambition. If these novellas show King&’s range, they also prove that certain themes endure. One of King&’s great concerns is evil, and in If It Bleeds, there&’s plenty of it. There is also evil&’s opposite, which in King&’s fiction often manifests as friendship. Holly is reminded that friendship is not only life-affirming but can be life-saving. Young Craig befriends Mr. Harrigan, and the sweetness of this late-in-life connection is its own reward. &“An adroit vehicle to showcase the…nature of evil&” (The Boston Globe), If It Bleeds is &“exactly what I wanted to read right now,&” says Ruth Franklin in The New York Times Book Review.
Later
by Stephen King#1 bestselling author Stephen King returns with a brand-new novel about the secrets we keep buried and the cost of unearthing them.
SOMETIMES GROWING UPMEANS FACING YOUR DEMONS The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn.
But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine – as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave. LATER is Stephen King at his finest, a terrifying and touching story of innocence lost and the trials that test our sense of right and wrong. With echoes of King’s classic novel It, LATER is a powerful, haunting, unforgettable exploration of what it takes to stand up to evil in all the faces it wears.
A New York Times Bestseller
The Life of Chuck
by Stephen KingStephen King’s “The Life of Chuck,” is a “phenomenal” (USA TODAY) tale of life and legacy—now a feature film directed by Mike Flanagan and starring Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Karen Gillan—available for the first time in a beautiful stand-alone edition with a new introduction by Stephen King and a design surprise.
Originally featured in the acclaimed story collection If It Bleeds, this unforgettable, mind-bending tale unfolds in reverse, taking readers through the extraordinary life of Charles &“Chuck&” Krantz. In a crumbling world plagued by natural disasters, collapsing infrastructure, and mass panic, bizarre billboards and advertisements appear throughout town: “Charles Krantz. Thirty-nine great years. Thanks, Chuck!” Marty Anderson, a schoolteacher, becomes obsessed with these messages as the world, inexplicably linked to Chuck’s life, seems to be approaching its end.
Told in three acts, presented in reverse order, The Life of Chuck explores one man’s past. We see him in middle age on a business trip in Boston as he is seduced by a busker into spinning a gorgeous sidewalk dance. And we see him as a child, in a house haunted by a terrible secret, learning to dance with his grandmother. In these pages King reminds us that life’s quotidian pleasures are even more glorious because they are fleeting: the outrageous good fortune of a beautiful blue day after a string of gray ones; the delight of dancing when every move feels perfect; a serendipitous meeting. King’s ability to describe pure joy rivals his ability to terrify us.
Now a major motion picture and winner of the Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award, The Life of Chuck is a glorious story about community and about humanity at its best, a celebration of joy, mystery, existential wonder, and the multitudes contained in all of us. New York Times Bestseller
Never Flinch
by Stephen KingNamed a Most Anticipated Book of 2025 by The New York Times Book Review, AV Club, Variety, The Boston Globe, The Minnesota Star Tribune, Vulture, Men&’s Health, Book Riot, New York Post, Goodreads, AARP, Paste, and more! From master storyteller Stephen King comes an extraordinary new novel with intertwining storylines—one about a killer on a diabolical revenge mission, and another about a vigilante targeting a feminist celebrity speaker—featuring the beloved Holly Gibney and a dynamic new cast of characters.When the Buckeye City Police Department receives a disturbing letter from a person threatening to &“kill thirteen innocents and one guilty&” in &“an act of atonement for the needless death of an innocent man,&” Detective Izzy Jaynes has no idea what to think. Are fourteen citizens about to be slaughtered in an unhinged act of retribution? As the investigation unfolds, Izzy realizes that the letter writer is deadly serious, and she turns to her friend Holly Gibney for help. Meanwhile, controversial and outspoken women&’s rights activist Kate McKay is embarking on a multi-state lecture tour, drawing packed venues of both fans and detractors. Someone who vehemently opposes Kate&’s message of female empowerment is targeting her and disrupting her events. At first, no one is hurt, but the stalker is growing bolder, and Holly is hired to be Kate&’s bodyguard—a challenging task with a headstrong employer and a determined adversary driven by wrath and his belief in his own righteousness. Featuring a riveting cast of characters both old and new, including world-famous gospel singer Sista Bessie and an unforgettable villain addicted to murder, these twinned narratives converge in a chilling and spectacular conclusion—a feat of storytelling only Stephen King could pull off. Thrilling, wildly fun, and outrageously engrossing, Never Flinch is one of King&’s richest and most propulsive novels.
You Like It Darker
by Stephen KingNAMED A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW TOP 10 HORROR BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER OF THE GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD FOR HORROR &“Stephen King knows You Like It Darker and obliges with sensational new tales&” (USA TODAY): From legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King, an extraordinary collection of stories that are &“a master class in tension and full of King&’s dark humor&” (The New York Times Book Review).&“You like it darker? Fine, so do I,&” writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life—both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel &“the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind,&” and in You Like It Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again. &“Two Talented Bastids&” explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In &“Danny Coughlin&’s Bad Dream,&” a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny&’s most catastrophically. In &“Rattlesnakes,&” a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance—with major strings attached. In &“The Dreamers,&” a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. &“The Answer Man&” asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful. &“King&’s skills as a storyteller remain undimmed&” (The Minnesota Star Tribune) and his ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace is unsurpassed. &“The titular darkness promised is as riveting and all-consuming as ever&” (New York magazine). You like it darker? You got it.
Chasing Cassandra
by Lisa KleypasEverything has a price . . .Railway magnate Tom Severin is wealthy and powerful enough to satisfy any desire as soon as it arises. Anything—or anyone—is his for the asking. It should be simple to find the perfect wife—and from his first glimpse of Lady Cassandra Ravenel, he’s determined to have her. But the beautiful and quick-witted Cassandra is equally determined to marry for love—the one thing he can’t give.
Everything except her . . .Severin is the most compelling and attractive man Cassandra has ever met, even if his heart is frozen. But she has no interest in living in the fast-paced world of a ruthless man who always plays to win. When a newfound enemy nearly destroys Cassandra’s reputation, Severin seizes the opportunity he’s been waiting for. As always, he gets what he wants—or does he? There’s one lesson Tom Severin has yet to learn from his new bride: Never underestimate a Ravenel.
The chase for Cassandra’s hand may be over. But the chase for her heart has only just begun . . .
A New York Times Bestseller
Devil in Disguise
by Lisa KleypasNew York Times bestseller Lisa Kleypas returns with an enthralling and steaming romance between a Scot with a mysterious past and strong-willed lady looking for adventure—and love. “The devil never tries to make people do the wrong thing by scaring them. He does it by tempting them.”
Lady Merritt Sterling, a strong-willed young widow who’s running her late husband’s shipping company, knows London society is dying to catch her in a scandal. So far, she’s been too smart to provide them with one. But then she meets Keir MacRae, a rough-and-rugged Scottish whisky distiller, and all her sensible plans vanish like smoke. They couldn’t be more different, but their attraction is powerful, raw and irresistible.
From the moment Keir MacRae arrives in London, he has two goals. One: don’t fall in love with the dazzling Lady Merritt Sterling. Two: avoid being killed.So far, neither of those is going well.
Keir doesn’t know why someone wants him dead until fate reveals the secret of his mysterious past. His world is thrown into upheaval, and the only one he trusts is Merritt.
Their passion blazes with an intensity Merritt has never known before, making her long for the one thing she can’t have from Keir MacRae: forever. As danger draws closer, she’ll do whatever it takes to save the man she loves . . . even knowing he might be the devil in disguise.
A New York Times Best Seller
The Exiles
by Christina Baker KlineThe author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Orphan Train returns with an ambitious, emotionally resonant novel that captures the hardship, oppression, opportunity and hope of a trio of women’s lives in nineteenth-century Australia.Seduced by her employer’s son, Evangeline, a naïve young governess in early nineteenth-century London, is discharged when her pregnancy is discovered and sent to the notorious Newgate Prison. After months in the fetid, overcrowded jail, she learns she is sentenced to “the land beyond the seas,” Van Diemen’s Land, a penal colony in Australia. Though uncertain of what awaits, Evangeline knows one thing: the child she carries will be born on the months-long voyage to this distant land. During the journey on a repurposed slave ship, the Medea, Evangeline strikes up a friendship with Hazel, a girl little older than her former pupils who was sentenced to seven years transport for stealing a silver spoon. Canny where Evangeline is guileless, Hazel—a skilled midwife and herbalist—is soon offering home remedies to both prisoners and sailors in return for a variety of favors.
Though Australia has been home to Aboriginal people for more than 50,000 years, the British government in the 1840s considers its fledgling colony uninhabited and unsettled, and views the natives as an unpleasant nuisance. By the time the Medea arrives, many of them have been forcibly relocated, their land seized by white colonists. One of these relocated people is Mathinna, the orphaned daughter of the Chief of the Lowreenne tribe, who has been adopted by the new governor of Van Diemen’s Land.
In this gorgeous novel, Christina Baker Kline brilliantly recreates the beginnings of a new society in a beautiful and challenging land, telling the story of Australia from a fresh perspective, through the experiences of Evangeline, Hazel, and Mathinna. While life in Australia is punishing and often brutally unfair, it is also, for some, an opportunity: for redemption, for a new way of life, for unimagined freedom. Told in exquisite detail and incisive prose, The Exiles is a story of grace born from hardship, the unbreakable bonds of female friendships, and the unfettering of legacy.
A New York Times Bestseller
The Bones Beneath My Skin
by Tj KluneA spine-tingling standalone novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune—a supernatural road-trip thriller featuring an extraordinary young girl and her two unlikely protectors on the run from cultists and the government.
There's nothing more human than a broken heart.In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything: his parents are dead, his only brother wants nothing to do with him, and he's been fired from his job as a journalist in Washington, DC.
With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family's summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon, to try and find some sense of direction. The cabin should be empty. It's not.
Inside is a man named Alex. And with him is an extraordinary ten-year-old girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader. Artemis, who isn't exactly as she appears.
Soon it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice: let himself drown in the memories of his past, or fight for a future he never thought possible. Because the girl is special. And forces are descending upon them who want nothing more than to control her.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
New York Times Bestseller
In the Lives of Puppets
by TJ KluneA NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES AND INDIE BESTSELLER!New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune invites you deep into the heart of a peculiar forest and on the extraordinary journey of a family assembled from spare parts.Most Anticipated from BookPage • Goodreads • The Nerd Daily • Paste Magazine • LitReactor • OverDrive • LGBTQ Reads • Tor.com • LibraryReads • more“An enchanting tale of Pinocchio in the end times.” —P. Djèlí ClarkIn a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots—fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe.The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labeled “HAP,” he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio–a past spent hunting humans.When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio’s former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?Inspired by Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio, and like Swiss Family Robinson meets Wall-E, In the Lives of Puppets is a masterful stand-alone fantasy adventure from the beloved author who brought you The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door.★ “An epic quest of rescue and discovery [with] the author’s trademark charm, heart, and bittersweetness.” —Library Journal, starred reviewPraise for TJ Klune’s previous work: "Like being wrapped up in a big gay blanket." —V.E. SCHWAB • “Very close to perfect.” —SEANAN McGUIRE • “Utterly absorbing.” —GAIL CARRIGER • "It will renew your faith in humanity.” —TERRY BROOKS • “It healed me.” —CASSANDRA KHAW • “Compassionate.” —RYKA AOKIAt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Somewhere Beyond the Sea
by TJ KluneSomewhere Beyond the Sea is the hugely-anticipated sequel to TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea, one of the best-loved and best-selling fantasy novels of the past decade.A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything.Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one.He’s the headmaster of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there.Arthur works hard and loves with his whole heart so none of the children ever feel the neglect and pain that he once felt as an orphan on that very same island so long ago. He is not alone: joining him is the love of his life, Linus Baker, a former caseworker in the Department In Charge of Magical Youth. And there's the island's sprite, Zoe Chapelwhite, and her girlfriend, Mayor Helen Webb. Together, they will do anything to protect the children.But when Arthur is summoned to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself at the helm of a fight for the future that his family, and all magical people, deserve.And when a new magical child hopes to join them on their island home—one who finds power in calling himself monster, a name that Arthur worked so hard to protect his children from—Arthur knows they’re at a breaking point: their family will either grow stronger than ever or fall apart.Welcome back to Marsyas Island. This is Arthur’s story.Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a story of resistance, lovingly told, about the daunting experience of fighting for the life you want to live and doing the work to keep it.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Under the Whispering Door
by TJ KluneA NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND INDIE BESTSELLEROne of Buzzfeed's "Best Books of 2022"!An Indie Next Pick!A Locus Awards Top Ten Finalist for Fantasy NovelA Man Called Ove meets The Good Place in Under the Whispering Door, a delightful queer love story from TJ Klune, author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The House in the Cerulean Sea.Welcome to Charon's Crossing.The tea is hot, the scones are fresh, and the dead are just passing through.When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead.And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead.But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days.Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The Names
by Florence KnappREAD WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY
“Dazzling…The Names is startlingly joyful and paced like a thriller…Knapp tirelessly and beautifully replicates not just loss and grief but endless rebirth and delight.”—The Washington Post
“Elegant…this is a wholly original work.—People Magazine
“A magnificent novel, thrumming with life in all its pain and precariousness, yet suffused with the glorious possibilities of love and redemption.&” —Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Horse.
The extraordinary novel that asks: Can a name change the course of a life? In the wake of a catastrophic storm, Cora sets off with her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, to register her son's birth. Her husband, Gordon, a local doctor, respected in the community but a terrifying and controlling presence at home, intends for her to name the infant after him. But when the registrar asks what she'd like to call the child, Cora hesitates...
Spanning thirty-five years, what follows are three alternate and alternating versions of Cora's and her young son's lives, shaped by her choice of name. In richly layered prose, The Names explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of autonomy and healing.
With exceptional sensitivity and depth, Knapp draws us into the story of one family, told through a prism of what-ifs, causing us to consider the "one . . . precious life" we are given. The book’s brilliantly imaginative structure, propulsive storytelling, and emotional, gut-wrenching power are certain to make The Names a modern classic. New York Times Bestseller
The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus
by Emma KnightINSTANT #1 BESTSELLERA witty, warm and brilliantly told debut that is at once a love story, a story of female friendship and motherhood, and an irresistible mystery surrounding an extraordinary British family.Arriving at the University of Edinburgh for her first term, Pen knows her divorced parents back in Canada are hiding something from her. She believes she&’ll find the answer here in Scotland, where an old friend of her father&’s—now a famous writer known as Lord Lennox—lives. When she is invited to spend the weekend at Lord Lennox&’s centuries-old estate with his enveloping, intriguing family, Pen begins to unravel her parents&’ secret and to fall in love for the first time... Her best friend, Alice, an aspiring actor, is starring in a university production and making the most of the feminine power she wields—until a tryst with her tutor threatens to spin out of control.As Pen experiences the sharp shock of adulthood, she uncovers the truth about her own family and comes to rely on herself for the first time in her life. A rich and rewarding novel of campus life, of sexual awakening, and ultimately, of the many ways women can become mothers in this world, The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus asks to what extent we need to look back in order to move forward.
The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy
by Brigitte KnightleyLoyalties are tested in this slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romantasy following an assassin and a healer forced to work together to cure a fatal disease, all while resisting the urge to kill each other—or, worse, fall in love.When Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins, falls ill, he realizes he needs the expertise of a very specific healer. As fate would have it, that healer belongs to an enemy faction, the Haelan Order.Aurienne Fairhrim and her fellow Haelan are inundated by sick children suffering from an outbreak of a long-forgotten Pox. Unable to get the funding needed to launch an immunization program, the Haelan Order is desperate for money – so desperate that when Osric breaks into their headquarters to bribe Aurienne to heal him, she is forced to accept.As Osric and Aurienne work together to solve not only his illness but the mysterious reoccurrence of the Pox, they find themselves ardently denying their attraction which only fuels the tension between them.
The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System
by Xiao Tong Kong and Mo Xiang Tong XiuHalf-demon Luo Binghe rose from humble beginnings and a tortured past to become unrivaled in strength and beauty. With his dominion over both the Human and Demon Realms and his hundreds-strong harem, he is truly the most powerful protagonist...in a trashy webnovel series!
At least, that's what Shen Yuan believes as he finishes reading the final chapter in Proud Immortal Demon Way. But when a bout of rage leads to his sudden death, Shen Yuan is reborn into the world of the novel in the body of Shen Qingqiu--the beautiful but cruel teacher of a young Luo Binghe. While Shen Qingqiu may have the incredible power of a cultivator, he is destined to be horrifically punished for crimes against the protagonist. The new Shen Qingqiu now has only one course of action: get into Luo Binghe's good graces before the young man's rise to power or suffer the awful fate of a true scum villain!
New York Times Bestseller
Arcana Academy
by Elise Kova&“Magical from nail-biting beginning to shocking end!&”—Danielle L. Jensen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Fate Inked in BloodA woman who wields magical tarot cards lands herself in a false engagement with the headmaster of a mysterious academy in this first installment of an enthralling fantasy romance series from the bestselling author of A Deal with the Elf King.Clara Graysword has survived the underworld of Eclipse City through thievery, luck, and a whole lot of illegal magic. After a job gone awry, Clara is sentenced to a lifetime in prison for inking tarot cards—a rare power reserved for practitioners at the elite Arcana Academy.Just when it seems her luck has run dry, the academy&’s enigmatic headmaster, Prince Kaelis, offers her an escape—for a price. Kaelis believes that Clara is the perfect tool to help him steal a tarot card from the king and use it to re-create an all-powerful card long lost to time.In order to conceal her identity and keep her close, Kaelis brings Clara to Arcana Academy, introducing her as the newest first-year student and his bride-to-be.Thrust into a world of arcane magic and royal intrigue, where one misstep will send her back to prison or worse, Clara finds that the prince she swore to hate may not be what he seems. But can she risk giving him power over the world—and her heart? Or will she take it for herself?Book One of The Arcana Academy Series
The Vanishing
by Jayne KrentzFrom New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz comes a gripping new romantic suspense trilogy fraught with danger and enigma.
Decades ago in the small town of Fogg Lake, The Incident occurred: an explosion in the cave system that released unknown gases. The residents slept for two days. When they woke up they discovered that things had changed—they had changed. Some started having visions. Others heard ominous voices. And then, scientists from a mysterious government agency arrived.
Determined not to become research subjects of strange experiments, the residents of Fogg Lake blamed their “hallucinations” on food poisoning, and the story worked. But now it has become apparent that the eerie effects of The Incident are showing up in the descendants of Fogg Lake.…Catalina Lark and Olivia LeClair, best friends and co-owners of an investigation firm in Seattle, use what they call their “other sight” to help solve cases.
When Olivia suddenly vanishes one night, Cat frantically begins the search for her friend. No one takes the disappearance seriously except Slater Arganbright, an agent from a shadowy organization known only as the Foundation, who shows up at her firm with a cryptic warning.
A ruthless killer is hunting the only witnesses to a murder that occurred in the Fogg Lake caves fifteen years ago—Catalina and Olivia. And someone intends to make both women vanish.
A New York Times Bestseller
All the Colors of Night
by Jayne Ann KrentzTwo psychics plunge into a dark world of deadly secrets in this second installment of the Fogg Lake trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz. North Chastain possesses a paranormal talent that gives him the ability to track down the most dangerous psychic criminals. When his father suddenly falls into a coma-like state, North is convinced it was caused by a deadly artifact that traces back to the days of a secret government program known only as the Bluestone Project. North knows his only hope of saving his father is to find the artifact. He is good when it comes to tracking down killers, but to locate the relic he’s going to need help from a psychic who knows the shadowy world of obsessive collectors, deceptive dealers and ruthless raiders.… With her reputation in ruins after a false accusation, antiques expert Sierra Raines is looking for a fresh start. She turns to the murky backwaters of the paranormal artifacts trade, finding and transporting valuable objects with a psychic provenance. When North Chastain approaches her for help, Sierra takes him on as a client, though not without reservations. North represents the mysterious Foundation, the secretive organization established to police the underworld populated by psychic criminals and those, like Sierra, who make a living in the shadows of that world. North and Sierra soon find themselves at the scene of the Incident, which occurred decades ago in Fogg Lake. The town and its residents were forever changed by the disaster in the nearby Bluestone Project labs. The pair unearths shocking truths about what happened that fateful night, but they are playing with fire—someone in town knows what they’ve discovered and will do anything to make sure the secrets stay buried.
A New York Times Bestseller
Empire of the Damned
by Jay KristoffFrom the New York Times bestselling author of the Nevernight Chronicle, Jay Kristoff, comes the much-anticipated sequel to the #1 international bestselling sensation EMPIRE OF THE VAMPIRE.
From holy cup comes holy light;
The faithful hands sets world aright.
And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight,
Mere man shall end this endless night.
Gabriel de León has saved the Holy Grail from death, but his chance to end the endless night is lost. Drawn into an uneasy alliance with the mysterious vampire Liathe, Gabriel must now deliver the Grail to ancients of the Blood Esani, and learn the truth of how Daysdeath might be finally undone.
But the Last Silversaint faces peril, within and without. Pursued by terrors of the Blood Voss, drawn into warfare between the Blood Dyvok and duskdancers of the frozen Highlands, and ravaged by his own rising bloodlust, Gabriel may not survive to see the Grail learn her truth.
And that truth may be too awful for any to imagine.
New York Times Bestseller