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Staff Picks December 2025 Reviews and Recommendations from Our Adult and Teen Services Staff |
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Laura recommends: The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie HartnettSixty-three-year-old lottery winner PJ Halliday sets out on a cross-country trip to reunite with his high school sweetheart, bringing along his estranged brother’s orphaned grandchildren, his drifting adult daughter and a death-predicting cat. "Readers will fall in love with this bittersweet tale of new beginnings" (Publishers Weekly). |
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Astrid recommends: The Dark Wives: A Vera Stanhope Novel by Ann CleevesWhen a man's body is found by a care home for troubled teens, a murder linked to the disappearance of a 14-year-old resident, DI Vera Stanhope is called in to investigate and when second connected body is found near the Three Dark Wives monument in the Northumberland countryside, superstition and folklore collide with fact. "An excellent character-driven entry that highlights major problems in Britain's child welfare system" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Haunted by emptiness despite her status as a coveted songwriter, Joni Lark returns to her North Carolina hometown where her family's closing music venue sparks a mysterious telepathic connection with a guarded musician determined to complete a haunting melody. "Poston (The Seven Year Slip, 2023) is comfortingly adept at creating complex characters who are kind, and surrounding them with realistic friends and family, while making the world of music writing, a small coastal town, and its music venue feel real" (Booklist). |
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Kristin recommends: The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis SacharIn the kingdom of Esquaveta, Princess Tullia is in trouble. Esquaveta desperately needs to forge an alliance, and to that end, Tullia's father has arranged a marriage between her and an odious prince. However, one month before the wedding, Tullia falls in love with a lowly apprentice scribe. The king turns to Anatole, his much-maligned magician. When Anatole first came to the castle, he was regarded as something of a prodigy. But after a long series of failures, he has become the object of contempt and ridicule. When the king orders Anatole to brew a potion that will ensure Tullia agrees to the wedding, Anatole is faced with an impossible choice. |
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Roseanne recommends: A Winter in New York by Josie SilverMoving to New York, young chef Iris offers her services to save a struggling gelato shop in Little Italy where she finds herself falling for the owner's nephew Gio and his family until all the secrets she's been keeping threaten to ruin the new life -- and new love -- she's been building. "Iris and Gio's relationship is full of sexy, heart-meltingly romantic moments in this emotional and charming rom-com" (Library Journal). |
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Mallory recommends: All I Want Is You: A Novel by Falon BallardRomance writer Jessica, stuck at a remote inn with her ex and writing rival Nick just before Christmas, turns their friction into inspiration, leading her to question if he might be her true happily ever after. "The cozy setting and Christmas details make for strong holiday vibes, no matter the season. A short, sweet, and extremely festive romance that will put readers in the holiday spirit" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Abby recommends: Lock Every Door by Sager, RileyJules takes a job as an apartment sitter at a posh Manhattan building to escape heartbreak and earn some cash, but when a fellow apartment sitter disappears, Jules digs into the building's past and what she finds sends her racing to unmask a killer. "Sager's third reinterpretation of iconic horror themes (following The Last Time I Lied, 2018) is an utterly riveting thriller that melds Rosemary's Baby with Sager's masterful storytelling" (Booklist). |
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Meghan recommends: Pines by Blake CrouchFederal agent Ethan Burke encounters more than he bargains for during an investigation into missing agents when he awakens from a terrible accident and discovers that not only is his identification gone, but the behavior of the townspeople seems off. "Fans of Stephen King, Peter Straub and F. Paul Wilson will appreciate this genre-bending, completely riveting thrill ride, which mixes suspense, horror, science fiction, and dystopian nightmare, all rolled up into one unputdownable book" (Booklist). |
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