|
|
|
|
|
|
Is This a Cry for Help?
by Emily Austin
Darcy's life turned out better than she could have ever imagined. She is a librarian at the local branch, while her wife Joy runs a book binding service. Between the two of them, there is no more room on their shelves with their ample book collections, various knickknacks and bobbles, and dried bouquets. Rounding out their ideal life is two cats and a sun-soaked house by the lake. But when Darcy receives the news that her ex-boyfriend, Ben, has passed away, she spirals into a pit of guilt and regret, resulting in a mental breakdown and medical leave from the library. When she returns to work, she is met by unrest in her community and protests surrounding intellectual freedom, resulting in a call for book bans and a second look at the branch's upcoming DEI programs. Through the support of her community, colleagues, and the personal growth that results from examining her previous relationships, Darcy comes into her own agency and the truest version of herself. Is This a Cry for Help? not only offers a moving portrait of queer life after coming of age but also powerfully explores questions about sexuality, community, and the importance of libraries.
|
|
|
|
Playing for Keeps
by Alexandria Bellefleur
Poppy Peterson's life is finally back on track and she's thriving as the publicist of the NFL's most promising quarterback (and her childhood best friend), Cash Curran. So, she doesn't appreciate when he makes an impulsive and public pass at America's popstar darling, Lyric Adair. When Lyric's notorious publicist Rosaline Sinclair reaches out, Poppy is ready to face her wrath, but instead learns that Lyric is equally interested. As Cash and Lyric embark on their ill-advised whirlwind romance, Poppy and Rosaline are forced together, each determined to protect their own client from the other. Poppy is frustrated by Rosaline's cool demeanor, while at the same time, as a legend in the industry, she's determined to impress her. But, no matter what she does, she can't shake the feeling that Rosaline doesn't like her. That is until one steamy night, when the two women contend with their unexpected feelings and begin a messy romance of their own. But with paparazzi, tabloids, and stalker fans nipping at their heels, Poppy and Rosaline's loyalties will be tested in ways they could never expect.
|
|
|
|
Get Over It, April Evans
by Ashley Herring Blake
April Evans' life is in shambles. She's had to close her tattoo shop in Clover Lake and she's subletting her house to cover her mortgage. And her love life? Nonexistent ever since Elena, her ex-fiancée, left her for a younger woman three years ago. When she is asked to teach a summer art class at the town's new resort called Cloverwild, April jumps at the opportunity, especially since the job comes with boarding. She's sure that this is the silver lining she needs . . . until she meets her cabinmate: Daphne Love, the woman who stole her ex-fiancée. And even worse, it's clear Daphne has no idea who April is. Daphne Love is cursed in, well, love. She thought she'd found the unconditional love she craved in her girlfriend, Elena, but now she's single again and utterly brokenhearted. When her friend hooks her up with a summer gig as an art instructor at a swanky resort in New Hampshire, Daphne feels optimistic for once. If only she had a roommate and coworker who didn't seem to hate her on sight. Their already-tense relationship gets even shakier when April and Daphne find themselves competing for a rare opportunity to showcase their art in a London museum. But slowly, barriers begin to fall, and an inexplicable allure keeps drawing them closer, leaving them to wonder if the perfect picture they're looking for can only be made with each other.
|
|
|
|
George Falls Through Time
by Ryan Collett
Newly laid off George's internet bill is in his ex-boyfriend's name. He's got a spider-infested apartment, and two of the six dogs he's walking in London have just escaped. It's pure undiluted stress that sends him into a spiral, all the way to the year 1300.When he comes to, George recognizes the same rolling hills of Greenwich Park. But the luxuries and phone service of modernity are nowhere. In their place are locals with a bizarre, slanted speech in awe of his foreign clothes, who swiftly toss him in a dungeon. Despite the barbarity of a medieval world, a servant named Simon helps George acclimate to a simpler, easier existence--until a summons from the King threatens to send his life up in flames. George Falls Through Time is as much an inward journey as an outward one: an immersive exploration of identity and dislocation that pits present-day sensibilities against a raw and alien backdrop, a strangely perfect canvas for the absurd anxieties of our modern lives.
|
|
|
|
Axes & O's
by Kayla Grosse
After rage-quitting his soul-sucking job, Nathan Clark wants nothing more than a relaxing trip to the mountain town of Starlight Haven. But fate has other plans, and a snowstorm leaves him stranded and fighting for his life. Only, he's not alone . . . When he wakes in a nearby cabin, Nathan discovers he's been rescued by two married, tattooed loggers who look like they've stepped straight out of a flannel fever dream. Fox is a towering man made of rough edges while Morgan is all soft curves with a bite of sass. And they're eyeing him like he's the perfect tree to climb. With just one step into the unknown, Nathan's about to learn that some people are meant to be straitlaced . . . and others are meant to be chased down and made to beg for more.
|
|
|
|
The Book of Luke
by Lovell Holder
Following the car accident that ended his football career and left his body scarred, twenty-two-year-old Luke Griffin joins the cast of Endeavor, a new competition-based reality show that pits the tabloids' darlings against one another in tasks of endurance and problem solving. At first, he thrives, effortlessly forming friendships and even a romantic relationship that he thinks will last a lifetime. But Luke has aspirations far bigger than the show's million-dollar prize, and soon a series of betrayals leads to irreversible tragedy, changing the course of his and his fellow contestants' lives forever. Ten years later, Luke's world looks very different: He is now a father of two and the stay-at-home husband to America's only openly gay senator. When his husband's serial cheating is exposed, Luke impulsively joins the cast of Endeavor's latest season in a desperate bid to earn some fast cash. Back on set, he is confronted with everything he tried to leave in the past: bitter rivalries, shattered friendships, and crushing guilt, all of which threaten to tear down the walls he's spent a decade building. As Season 20 of Endeavor kicks off, Luke must give everything to the game, even as he finally learns what it means--and what it costs--to face the truth.
|
|
|
|
Lucky Seed
by Justinian Huang
The billionaire Sun Clan of Greater Los Angeles is your typical American family, with power-struggling aunties, emasculated uncles, scheming cousins, scandalous secrets and a fortune teller on retainer. But at the end of each combative day, the Suns are chained together with golden handcuffs, whether they like it or not. Yet strange storms are a-brewing. Their matriarch, Roses Sun, is grappling with an existential crisis: she must produce a male heir that bears the clan's surname. She fears that if her generation is the one in which their esteemed lineage ends, they will be punished as hungry ghosts in the afterlife--an ancient but very real Asian superstition. Faced with this terrifying fate, Roses summons her favorite nephew, Wayward. Believing him to possess the lucky seed, Roses presents Wayward with a mandatory suggestion: to father a baby boy who will inherit everything. When the other members of the Sun Clan catch wind of Roses's plot, all hells break loose. Wayward's family will now clash like never before in an epic war over the future of the Suns...if there is a future at all. Yet through the chaos, Wayward sees opportunity. What if he can leverage all the conflict into a solution for his problematic family? What if he can reunite the Sun Clan by healing them? And what if the tumultuous Suns can finally learn how to love each other for the first time?
|
|
|
|
Cinder House
by Freya Marske
Ella is a haunting. Murdered at sixteen, her ghost is furiously trapped in her father's house, invisible to everyone except her stepmother and stepsisters. Even when she discovers how to untether herself from her prison, there are limits. She cannot be seen or heard by the living people who surround her. Her family must never learn she is able to leave. And at the stroke of every midnight, she finds herself back on the staircase where she died. Until she forges a wary friendship with a fairy charm-seller, and makes a bargain for three nights of almost-living freedom. Freedom that means she can finally be seen. Danced with. Touched. You think you know Ella's story--the ball, the magical shoes, the handsome prince. You're halfway right, and all-the-way wrong. Rediscover a classic fairy tale in this debut novella.
|
|
|
|
A Heart of Crimson Flames
by A. K. Mulford
The only thing more challenging than taming a sorceress is protecting her heart a second time...War has begun, and the fate of humans and Wolves alike lies in the hands of three fierce members of the Golden Court scattered across every corner of Aotreas. Briar Marriel, once the heir of the Golden Court, is now a prisoner in the heart of enemy territory. But when her ex-lover Maez--now a dark sorceress--comes to rescue her, Briar must decide if she's willing to trust the twisted version of the woman she once loved or remain under the rule of the cruel King Nero. In a war where enemies wear familiar faces, escape might come at a terrible cost. But if she can harness Maez's newfound magic, could it mean winning the war? Meanwhile, Sadie with the help of Navin races to harness ancient magic that could turn the tide of the war. With their dragon at their side, the Songkeepers uncover long-buried secrets that could save their people--or destroy them all. At the Golden Court, Queen Calla faces an impossible choice: prepare for the looming battle or risk everything to rescue their twin sister Briar. With alliances crumbling and betrayal lurking at every corner, Calla must rally their court and lead their people into war, knowing the price of failure is unthinkable. As war ravages the land, and love is tested by darkness, Briar, Sadie, and Calla must confront their pasts and find the strength to reclaim their future. In this epic conclusion to the Golden Court Trilogy, the battle for freedom--and for love--has never been more harrowing.
|
|
|
|
The Case of the Murdered Muckraker
by Rob Osler
Chicago, 1898. In the midst of the Progressive Era, twenty-one-year-old junior detective Harriet Morrow is determined to prove she's more than a lucky hire as the Prescott Agency's first woman operative. But her latest challenge--a murder case steeped in scandal--could become a deadly setback ... Harriet must somehow blend in as an 'unremarkable' young woman--one who feels confident in skirts, not men's clothing--on a quest to infiltrate the immigrant community at the center of the grisly crime. The mystery has more twists and turns than her morning bike commute, with a muckraker found murdered in a southside tenement building after obtaining evidence of a powerful politician's corruption. While Harriet gains the trust of the tenement's women residents to gather clues, the undercover mission reveals an innocent mother might have been framed for the crime--and exposes ties to another violent death.
|
|
|
|
Some Bright Nowhere
by Ann Packer
Eliot and his wife Claire have been happily married for nearly four decades. They've raised two children in their sleepy Connecticut town and have weathered the inevitable ups and downs of a long life spent together. But eight years after Claire was diagnosed with cancer, the end is near, and it's time to gather loved ones and prepare for the inevitable. Over the years of Claire's illness, Eliot has willingly--lovingly--shifted into the role of caregiver, appreciating the intimacy and tenderness that comes with a role even more layered and complex than the one he performed as a devoted husband. But as he focuses on settling into what will be their last days and weeks together, Claire makes an unexpected request that leaves him reeling. In a moment, his carefully constructed world is shattered.
|
|
|
|
Witches of Honeysuckle House
by Liz Parker
Florence and Evie Caldwell have long disagreed on how to break their family's curse, and tension has been high since their mother's death thirteen years ago. Honeysuckle House, the family estate where every Caldwell has lived, now only houses one of the sisters. Evie has crafted it into an enchanted bed-and-breakfast while Florence runs a magical bookstore in town, refusing to even set foot inside Honeysuckle House. But when the house starts behaving dangerously and catches fire, Florence and Evie must set aside their differences and dig into past generations of their family and the town's history before the curse claims someone they love.
|
|
|
|
As Many Souls As Stars
by Natasha Siegel
For fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, an inventive and romantic speculative novel about two women-a witch and an immortal demon-who make a Faustian bargain and are drawn into a cat-and-mouse chase across multiple lifetimes.
|
|
|
|
In Her Spotlight
by Amy Spalding
Hollywood actor Tess Gardner is not the kind of famous she set out to be. She's ready to show she's more than Princess Platinum of the Vindicators series, a pretty face with CGI superpowers that literally sparkle. Tess wants to prove herself as an actor and that means theatre--the true calling of her thespian heart. But just when Tess lands a part working with an acclaimed stage director, a brewing scandal forces him out. His replacement? None other than hip, buzzy director Rebecca Frisch. The same Rebecca Frisch whose heart a firmly closeted Tess broke over a decade ago during summer stock . . . As Tess wrestles with her lingering guilt and attraction to Rebecca, she also finds herself struggling to rein in her superstar status backstage. When things unexpectedly reignite with Rebecca, Tess bristles even more against the walls of her A-list life. Since the industry's made it clear that girl-next-door superheroes can't also be gay, coming out isn't realistic for Tess. And ultimately, Rebecca will head back to New York and likely seek out a less complicated relationship anyway. Will the curtain close on her chance for happiness or will Tess finally take a leading role in her own life?
|
|
|
|
The Book of Blood and Roses
by Annie Summerlee
In the mists of the Scottish Highlands is a university where vampire students study alongside humans. Rebecca Charity is a vampire hunter undercover at the university, searching for the mysterious Book of Blood and Roses, a lost compendium of ways to kill vampires. If she finds it, she'll be one step closer to avenging her parents, who were slain by those creatures of the night. But when Rebecca arrives, she finds something unexpected--a coffin. Her new roommate is Aliz Astra, scion of one of the most powerful vampire families--and the most beautiful woman Rebecca has ever met. The maddeningly gorgeous Aliz is everything that Rebecca has always hated, but also everything she ever wanted, and now Rebecca doesn't know if she wants to kiss or kill her. When one moonlit night Aliz rescues her from a vampire attack, she accidentally makes Rebecca her familiar. And now they must work together to break the curse, but as they get closer to solving the mystery, Rebecca and Aliz get closer too. But can a vampire hunter ever fall in love with a vampire?
|
|
|
|
The Isle In the Silver Sea
by Tasha Suri
Deep within the forest, hidden behind the trees lies a witch - Simran. Her destiny is a thing she'd been forced into, not chosen. And when all is quiet in the wood she feels a familiar tug, drawing her toward her incarnate: A handsome female knight called Vina. Vina's life is bound by knightly duty and by her tale. Walking away from it means the death of the Isle. But seeing it out means destroying the only person who has looked beyond the armor to see the woman inside. There is no easy path to love and in order to free themselves from a tale neither of them chose, the two will need to write a story stronger than the one given to them. But what tale is stronger than The Knight and the Witch?
|
|
|
|
Next Time Will Be Our Turn
by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Izzy Chen is dreading her family's annual Chinese New Year celebration, where they all come together at a Michelin-starred restaurant to flaunt their status and successes in hopes to one up each other. So when her seventy-three-year-old glamorous and formidable grandmother walks in with a stunning woman on her arm and kisses her in front of everyone, it shakes Izzy to her core. She'd always considered herself the black sheep of the family for harboring similar feelings to the ones her Nainai just displayed. Seeing herself in her teenage granddaughter's struggles with identity and acceptance, Magnolia Chen tells Izzy her own story, of how as a teen she was sent by her Indo-Chinese parents from Jakarta to Los Angeles for her education and fell in love with someone completely forbidden to her by both culture and gender norms.
|
|
|
|
A Long Winter
by Colm Toibin
A young man named Miquel returns to his family in the Catalan Pyrenees upon completing his military service. His younger brother, Jordi, will be departing for his service a week after Miquel's arrival. He will be gone for two years. Miquel notices their mother's increasingly erratic behavior and understands that she is drinking. As she becomes increasingly unstable, her husband resorts to drastic measures. Unable to abide his betrayal and her own grief, she walks off into the mountains. A blizzard sets in and the search for her is futile. No one will find her until the spring thaw arrives.
|
|
|
|
Palaver
by Bryan Washington
The story of a mother and a son, estranged for ten years, reconnecting in the son's chosen city of Tokyo in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
|
|
|
|
Like Family
by Erin O. White
Radclyffe, New York, is an idyllic upstate town, nestled in the hills and complete with artisanal bakeries, pottery studios, and hidden swimming holes. Ruth and her wife, Wyn, are living the dream (or Wyn's dream, at least) with their four children on their small farm, which is also the bucolic gathering place for their circle of friends. It's a sweet life, but there's a secret at its center, one that not even Ruth's best friend, Caroline, knows. What Caroline does know is that she loves and depends on Ruth, and on the bond between their families. More than anything, she wants her tender-hearted son not to grow up lonely the way she did. Unfortunately, no one can assure her of that, especially not her husband. He just wants things to be easy, drama-free--which is impossible, as he has donated his sperm to his cousin Tobi and her wife so that they could have kids of their own. Now those children are asking unanswerable questions. After an unexpected death in their community, all three couples are forced to confront the tensions that have long been buried beneath the surfaces of their lives.
|
|
|
Contact Your Librarian for More Great Reads
|
|
|
|
Centerville Library
111 W. Spring Valley Rd
Centerville, OH 45458
(937) 433-8091
|
Woodbourne Library
6060 Far Hills Ave Centerville, OH 45459
(937) 435-3700
|
Creativity Commons
895 Miamisburg Centerville Rd
Centerville, OH 45459
(937) 610-4425
|
|
|
|