Fiction A to Z
April 2026

Recent Releases
Go Gentle by Maria Semple
Go Gentle
by Maria Semple

Maria Semple is a treasure. --Los Angeles Times The New York Times bestselling author of Where'd You Go, Bernadette returns to form in her most exuberant and life-affirming novel yet with the story of one woman's cheerful determination to live a life of the mind only to have the heart force its way in. Adora Hazzard has it all figured out. A Stoic philosopher and divorcée, she lives a contented life on New York City's Upper West Side. Having discovered that the secret to happiness is to desire only what you have, she's applied this insight to blissful effect: relishing her teenage daughter, the freedom of being solo, and her job as a moral tutor for the twin boys of an old-money family. She's even assembled a coven--like-minded women who live on the same floor in the legendary Ansonia--and is making active efforts to grow its membership. Adora's carefully curated life is humming along brilliantly until a chance meeting with a handsome stranger. Soon, her ordered world is upended by black-market art deals, secret rendezvous, and international intrigue . . . and her past--which she has worked so hard to bury--lands like a bomb in her present. Inflamed by unquenchable desire, Adora finds herself a woman wanting more: and she'll risk everything to get it. Adora Hazzard's journey of self-discovery will grip you from the start. Romantic, hilarious, intelligent, and bursting with the stuff of life, Go Gentle is a thrilling story of one woman's mid-life transformation, cementing Maria Semple in the pantheon of our most exciting and important contemporary writers.
Belgrave Road
by Manish Chauhan

Newly arrived in Leicester, England from India, Mira finds her arranged marriage and new life isn't what she'd hoped. But away from her husband and in-laws, she works at a sweet shop and meets another newcomer, Somalian refugee Tahliil. Though they are drawn to each other, many things stand in their way in this powerful debut exploring love, family, and home. For fans of: Kiran Desai's The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny; Aube Rey Lescure's River East, River West.
Python's Kiss
by Louise Erdrich

This latest from Pulitzer Prize winner Louise Erdrich collects 13 stories written over the past two decades. Taking place mainly in a vividly depicted Midwest, the tales include a range of characters, such as a young girl concerned for a dog and a group at a bar. Enhanced by woodcut artwork by Aza Erdrich Abe, the author's daughter, this thought-provoking book "puts Erdrich’s powers on full display" (Publishers Weekly).
The Name Game by Beth O'Leary
The Name Game
by Beth O'Leary

A man and a woman with the same name are looking for a fresh start only to discover they have landed the same job in this charming new romance by bestselling author Beth O'Leary. Charlie couldn't be happier to take the job of farm-shop manager on the remote, wild Isle of Ormer. She's grieving, a little lost, and in desperate need of a fresh start. Jones has come out of a difficult breakup and is looking forward to some peace away from the noise of his city life. Moving to Ormer couldn't have come at a better time. But when Charlie Jones and, ahem, Charlie Jones both turn up at Ormer's one and only farm shop, claiming to have been offered the role of manager, everyone is baffled. How could this have happened? And just who is the real Charlie Jones?
The End of Romance
by Lily Meyer

Having left her emotionally abusive husband, Sylvie Broder attends graduate school to study philosophy. She heals and ponders if straight women can only be happy once romance is eliminated as she enjoys no-strings-attached sex with a variety of men. But then she meets warm, kind Robbie and disarming, dynamic Abie, and falls for both. For fans of: spicy literary novels with philosophical musings and flawed characters.
Lidie: The Further Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton: A Novel by Jane Smiley
Lidie: The Further Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton: A Novel
by Jane Smiley

From the bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, a rousing novel that follows two young women fleeing a divided America: one running toward a dazzling future and the other running from a troubled past Christmas, 1857. America's future is precarious; civil war looms on the horizon. After her abolitionist husband is murdered in the lawless Kansas Territory, Lidie Newton returns, in mourning, to her hometown of Quincy, Illinois. But her sisters have little comfort to offer, and Lidie is haunted by the memories of her failures--until she takes an interest in her niece, Annie. Beautiful, self-assured, and mischievous, Annie sticks out in Quincy. She becomes an actress at the local theater, and when she is offered the opportunity to perform abroad, she decides to run away. But travel is dangerous for a young unmarried woman, so Lidie, armed with her pistol and her wit, goes with her. The two women embark on a perilous journey across the Atlantic, rushing toward an unknown future in England. Once they arrive in Liverpool, they vanish into new roles in the household of Annie's benefactor, Mr. Mallory Cunningham. Annie takes a stage name and finds her way to a career, while Lidie becomes her lady's maid. But will either of them be content with her new lot in life? Exuberant and riveting, a sly commentary on truth and beauty and fulfillment that resonates with our times, Lidie delivers a panoramic portrait of a volatile era and the headstrong women trying to live an honest life in it.
Where the Wildflowers Grow
by Terah Shelton Harris

When a South Carolina prison bus crashes into a surging river, everyone is presumed dead. But Leigh Wilde survives and eventually makes her way to a rural Alabama flower farm where Jackson, the owner, takes her in. Working the land, Leigh finds strength, friends, and hope for the future, but the past is never far away. With strong romantic elements, this lyrical and moving novel explores survival, grief, and healing. Read-alike: Cade Bentley's Where Wild Peaches Grow.
The Future Saints
by Ashley Winstead

Tight-knit California band the Future Saints are flailing and playing to empty clubs after the death of their beloved manager, who was lead singer Hannah's sister. They all feel the loss, but Hannah starts to self-destruct, even as she channels her pain into a stunning new song that goes viral. Music executive Theo is sent to get the band on track, which isn't going to be easy, especially when he falls for Hannah. For fans of: Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid; Deep Cuts by Holly Brickely.
Bumblebee Season by Eileen Garvin
Bumblebee Season
by Eileen Garvin

From Eileen Garvin, nationally bestselling author of The Music of Bees and Crow Talk, a heartwarming new story that returns to the vibrant world of beekeeping-- Provided by publisher.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
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