LibraryAware November 2025

Recent Releases

The French Kitchen
by Kristy Cambron

Boston's Kat Fontaine, who as a child spent summers in France, follows her brother into the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. Working undercover as a kitchen maid in a chateau occupied by the Nazis, Kat faces danger helping the resistance and hears nothing from her sibling. After the war, she returns to uncover what happened to him, getting help from friends, including Julia Child. Try this next: Amy Lynn Green's The Codebreaker's Daughter.

An Overdue Match
by Sarah Monzon

After she develops alopecia and her fiancé breaks up with her, librarian Evangeline Kelly gives up on love for herself and plays matchmaker for library patrons instead. When leather-clad tattoo artist Tai Davis offers inside info on the locals if she'll go on a date with him, she reluctantly agrees. This charming 1st in the Checking Out Love series will please fans of Rebekah Millet's Kate Landry Has a Plan or Denise Hunter's A Novel Proposal.

A Wager with the Matchmaker
by Jody Hedlund

After her brother's entanglement with an Irish gang threatens their family's safety, Alannah Darragh flees St. Louis and her troubled past, seeking refuge as a maid for the affluent Shanahan family. Alannah's resolve to avoid romance is tested by the undeniable attraction she feels for Kiernan Shanahan. Determined to maintain her position and the safety it provides, she vows to resist the pull of her heart despite the growing bond between them and their undeniable chemistry. In the wake of a devastating fire, Kiernan Shanahan sees a shrewd opportunity to invest in a clay mine and brickyard to aid the city's rebuilding. To secure his venture, he seeks a wealthy bride with a substantial dowry. However, the matchmaker he consults has different plans. As danger looms and Alannah fights to keep her brother safe, Kiernan's protective instincts draw them closer, but a future together seems too far out of reach. It will take a miracle--or a wager with the wily matchmaker--to form a match between the unlikely couple. Award-winning author Jody Hedlund presents a sweeping finish to her Irish matchmaking series with sizzling chemistry and closed-door romance for fans of the marriage of convenience trope, Mimi Matthews, and Elizabeth Camden.

Last Light Over Galveston
by Jennifer L. Wright

In 1900, 18-year-old Kathleen McDaniel, who’s just returned to New York State after two years in a Swiss finishing school, runs away from home after shocking news. She makes it to Galveston, Texas, where she uses a new name and helps at a convent’s orphanage, making connections with kind people, including a young man. But a brewing hurricane upsets it all in this gripping, atmospheric novel. Try this next: Kimberley Woodhouse’s A Mark of Grace.

Focus on: Christmas Stories

A Royal Christmas
by Melody Carlson

Barista Adelaide Smith is working her way through law school when she learns she’s the daughter of the king of Montovia, a small European country. With her mother dead, Adelaide travels alone during Christmas break to meet her father and is drawn into family mysteries, royal jealousies, and a chance at her own happily ever after. For fans of: sweet rags-to-riches romances; Hallmark Christmas movies.

The Christmas Gathering
by Shelley Shepard Gray, Lenora Worth, and Rachel J. Good

These three heartwarming novellas feature Amish people navigating faith and love during the holidays. In “A Christmas Reunion,” Tricia falls for her cousin's Englisch friend. Then, a decades-old family feud can’t stop the connection between a couple in “We Gather Together.” Finally, “Hitting All the Right Notes” sees a young Amish man start a rock band during his Rumspringa and fall for a young Amish woman. Try this next: A Lancaster Amish Christmas: 4 Romance Novellas by Anne Blackburne, Amy Clipston, Mindy Steele, Amy Lillard.

An Ivy Hill Christmas
by Julie Klassen

Bachelor Richard Brockwell happily lives in his family's London townhouse in 1822, but needs to attend his mother's Christmas country house party or be cut off financially. With the stray dog he's recently adopted in tow, he goes home and finds himself charmed by houseguest Arabella Awdry, who’s planning to devote her life to charity work in this standalone Tales from Ivy Hill novel. For fans of: Christmas romances with themes of redemption.

A Sea View Christmas: An on Devonshire Shores Novella
by Julie Klassen

Sarah Summers once discouraged the interest of a handsome Scottish widower, but his return stirs up regret. Meanwhile, her younger sister Georgiana anticipates the Christmas of her dreams, not expecting to be surprised by young love. Does the festive romance of a Sea View Christmas hold the key to a happily-ever-after for both sisters?

Contact your librarian for more great books!