August 2025
Our favorite summer reads...so far
Recommended by: Anne
The Bewitching
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multi-generational gothic horror saga from the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.
 
Also available on Libby
Recommended by: Shannon G.
Great Black Hope: a novel
by Rob Franklin

A young Black man is caught between worlds of race and class, glamour and tragedy a friend's mysterious death and his own arrest.
Recommended by: Debbie
All the Other Mothers Hate Me
by Sarah Harman

When single mom Florence Grimes' son is accused of causing the mysterious disappearance of a bully classmate, she must manage her disdain of the other moms, her own self-doubts and unexpected truths to prove his innocence.
 
Also available on Libby
The Arguers
by Corinna Luyken

A community forgets how to get along until something dramatic happens during an arguing contest.
Recommended by: Brian
King of Ashes
by S. A. Cosby

In this Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic and dazzling family drama, Roman Carruthers is summoned home after his father's car accident but it soon becomes clear that the crash that landed their father in a coma was no accident and his brother's recklessness has placed them all in real danger. Roman, a financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, has some money to help buy his brother out of trouble, but in his work with wannabe tough guys he's forgotten that there are real gangsters out there. He begins to work for the criminals but he is far less of a pushover than the gangsters realize. Roman is willing to do anything to save his family. Anything.
 
Also available on Libby
Recommended by: Jenn
Funny Story
by Emily Henry

A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.
 
Also available on Libby and in large print
Recommended by: Koko
Wind River

When a body is found in the Wind River Indian Reservation, a rookie FBI agent teams up with a tracker to solve the mystery.
 
Available on DVD
My Next Breath: a memoir
by Jeremy Renner

The gripping and inspiring story of acclaimed actor Jeremy Renner's near-fatal accident, and what he learned about inner strength, endurance and hope as he overcame insurmountable odds to recover, one breath at a time.
 
Available on Libby
Recommended by: Barb
The Tenant
by Freida McFadden

Blake Porter, desperate to keep his life afloat after losing his job, rents a room to the seemingly perfect Whitney, but as strange occurrences escalate and secrets unravel, he realizes too late that she's woven a deadly trap within his own home.
 
Also available on Libby and Hoopla
Recommended by: Ariel
American Spy
by Lauren Wilkinson

A Cold War FBI intelligence officer joins an undercover task force to seduce a revolutionary African Communist president she secretly admires and comes to love, in a story inspired by true events.
 
Also available on Libby
Recommended by:  Amy
Camp Creepy
by Kiersten White

While in pursuit of Edgaren't, the Sinister-Winterbottoms end up at a seemingly normal summer camp where everyone starts acting strangely and must discover if the fumes from the tie-dye cabin are seeping into their brains.
Written in the Stars 
by Alexandria Bellefleur

A lighthearted holiday romance inspired by Pride and Prejudice depicts the experiences of a free-spirited social media astrologer who agrees to a fake relationship with a no-nonsense actuary to appease their respective families. 
 
Also available on Libby and Hoopla
Recommended by: Mike
Now Is Not the Time to Panic
by Kevin Wilson

From the New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here comes an exuberant, bighearted novel about two teenage misfits who spectacularly collide one fateful summer, and the art they make that changes their lives forever. 
 
Also available on Libby
Recommended by: Victoria
Quicksilver
by Callie Hart

No one knows about the strange powers Saeris Fane possesses, or the fact that she has been stealing from the Undying Queen's reservoirs for as long as she can remember. But a secret is like a knot. Sooner or later, it is bound to come undone. When Saeris comes face-to-face with Death himself, she inadvertently reopens a gateway between realms and is transported to a land of ice and snow. The Faehave always been the stuff of myth, of nightmares...but it turns out they're real, and Saeris has landed herself right in the middle of a conflict that might just get her killed. Saeris mistakenly binds herself to Kingfisher, a handsome Fae warrior, who has secrets and nefarious agendas of his own. He will use her magic to protect his people, no matter what it costs him, or her, but he's the only way Saeris is going to make it home.
 
Also available on Libby 
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River Forest Public Library
735 Lathrop Ave, River Forest, Illinois 60305
(708) 366-5205

https://www.riverforestlibrary.org/