LibraryAware September 2025

Fiction A to ZSeptember 2025

Recent Releases

The last ferry out : a novel
by Andrea Bartz

Abby travels to the storm-ravaged Isla Colel seeking answers about her fiancée Eszter's mysterious death, but as expats reveal chilling secrets and a key witness vanishes, she uncovers a web of lies that may put her own life in jeopardy.

The folded sky
by Elizabeth Bear

Archinformist Sunya Song travels with her alien wife and children to a distant system to help preserve an ancient AI called Baomind, but when anti-AI pirates attack the remote station, she must fight to protect her family—and humanity's most extraordinary discovery. Original.

Mob Queen
by Erin Bledsoe

Virginia Hill escaped her abusive father by marrying a man who took her to Chicago, only to end up divorced and destitute. Virginia joins her new friend Madeline working as a waitress in one of the Mob's favorite hangouts. When Madeline disappears after getting involved with the wrong Mafia man, Virginia vows to find her friend no matter what. But to do that, she'll have to follow Madeline into the heart of the Chicago Mob.

Dying to meet you
by Sarina Bowen

A twisty thriller featuring Rowan Gallagher, a devoted single mother and a talented architect, probes how well we actually know the men in our lives.

The ascent : a novel
by Allison Buccola

Twenty years after being the sole survivor of a vanished commune, Lee Burton's carefully constructed life unravels when a stranger offers answers about her past, forcing her to confront buried secrets and the growing paranoia threatening her grasp on motherhood and identity.

A promise to Arlette
by Serena Burdick

In 1950s suburbia, a seemingly perfect couple is forced to confront long-buried secrets from their wartime past when a photograph reignites Ida's connection to a lost love, sending her on a journey that may either redeem or unravel her family.

The blonde who came in from the cold : a novel
by Ally Carter

One year after vanishing from her former lover and fellow spy, a woman wakes up handcuffed to him in a dark unknown location, forcing the estranged agents to survive a deadly conspiracy together -- despite a decade of secrets, betrayal and unresolved tension between them.

Marguerite by the lake : a novel
by Mary Dixie Carter

A tense novel about the death of a wealthy garden designer, her lonely widower and the scrappy young gardener who smoothly steps into her life.

A letter from the lonesome shore
by Sylvie Cathrall

Publisher Annotation: Former correspondents E. and Henerey, accustomed to loving each other from afar, did not anticipate continuing their courtship in an enigmatic underwater city. When their journey through the Structure in E.'s garden strands them in a peculiar society preoccupied with the pleasures and perils of knowledge, E. and Henerey come to accept--and, more surprisingly still, embrace--the fact that they may never return home. A year and a half later, Sophy and Vyerin finally discover one of the elusive Entries that will help them seek their siblings. As the group's efforts bring them closer to E. and Henerey, an ancient, cosmic threat also draws near... Sunken archive series, (Original), 400pp

Teo's Durumi
by Elaine U. Cho

"Teo Anand, former ne'er-do-well second son of the Anand Tech empire and current solar fugitive, has just crash-landed on the Moon after escaping the latest attempt on his life. But if anyone can help exonerate him, it's his best friend, bold Korean space pilot Ocean Yoon. Falsely accused of murdering his family, Teo is running out of both time and options. But loyalties are uncertain in their group of steadfast comrades and tentative new allies, and it's difficult to know who to trust in the tangled web that awaits them in Artemis, a city on the Moon rich in Korean history and haunted by ghosts from Teo's and Ocean's pasts. Further complicating matters are Haven--the pensive medic whose beliefs challenge Ocean's--and the dashing Phoenix--a space raider who's come blazing into Teo's life in more ways than one. All the while, Corvus, the real culprit behind the slaying of the Anands, is sowing a path of destruction that threatens to swallow the solar whole. The crew will wrestle with clashing ideals, flying bullets, and undeniable feelings as they race toward a stunning final stand." -- Provided by publisher.

Zomromcom
by Olivia Dade

When zombie chaos erupts for the first time in decades, human Edie Brandstrup and her reclusive vampire neighbor Max join forces to uncover a deadly conspiracy, battle undead threats and confront the growing bond that could cost them everything they're fighting to protect. Original.

Isabella Nagg and the pot of basil : a novel
by Oliver Darkshire

"In a tiny farm on the edge of the miserable village of East Grasby, Isabella Nagg is trying to get on with her tiny, miserable existence. Dividing her time between tolerating her feckless husband, caring for the farm's strange animals, cooking up "scrunge," and crooning over her treasured pot of basil, Isabella can't help but think that there might be something more to life. When Mr. Nagg returns home with a spell book purloined from the local wizard, she thinks: what harm could a little magic do?"

Wrath of the dragons : a novel
by Olivia Rose Darling

As war ignites across Ravaryn, dragon heir Elowen Atarah and Demon Commander Cayden Veles must navigate a fragile alliance and their complicated feelings for one another while fighting to claim their thrones and protect a realm on the brink of collapse.

There will be bodies
by Lindsey Davis

Ten years after Vesuvius's eruption, Roman investigator Flavia Albia uncovers a suspicious death while excavating an ash-covered villa, revealing buried secrets, disputed inheritance, and dangerous visitors that suggest the disaster may have concealed an unnatural tragedy.

Flight of the Sparrow
by Fallon Demornay

"Nimah may have been born a RIM-rat, a hardscrabble kid from the far reaches of the galaxy, but now that she's a well-respected cadet at the prestigious STARS military academy, she's put her past behind her. Or so she thinks, until her future is obliterated by the return of her infamous space pirate grandmother, who abandoned her at a barren outpost fifteen years ago and is accused of setting off a bomb at the millennial summit for United Planetary Nation leaders. When her connection to Capt. Indira "La Voz" Roscoe is exposed by an anonymous source, Nimah is expelled from STARS. Devastated by the loss of all that she's worked for, she still doesn't quite believe that the woman who has always been the voice of refugees across the galaxy, bestowing the fruits of her heists upon the poor, is actually a killer. But when a member of her grandmother's old crew tracks Nimah down and delivers the news that Ro was set up, Nimah must make a choice. The only way to regain what she's lost is to prove Ro's innocence, and they can't do that if she's dead. The plan is simple--and insane: Nimah has three days to band together a motley crew of geriatric women plus a notorious thief, steal her grandmother's ship back, elude the powerful SIGA, and cross the void to save Ro before she's executed for intergalactic terrorism. Otherwise, her dreams and the last surviving member of her family will be lost forever. Should be easy work for a former RIM-rat. Or it would be if Nimah wasn't terrified to the bone of the void..."

Among Friends
by Hal Ebbott

Two wealthy men who’ve been friends since college gather at one’s New York country home to celebrate his 52nd birthday, bringing along their wives and teenage daughters. But tension, envy, and a devastating action reverberate afterward. Exploring male friendship and duality, this buzzy debut literary novel is "subtle, keenly intelligent, psychologically deft -- and deeply grim" (Kirkus Reviews). For fans of: John Cheever.

The witch roads
by Kate Elliott

When a proud prince and his entourage are stranded in Orledder Halt amid political turmoil, former child slave and skilled courier Elen must lead them through treacherous terrain, but their peril deepens after the prince ignores her warning and emerges changed from the haunted Spires.

The Harvey girls
by Juliette Fay

In 1926, runaway socialite Charlotte Crownin-shield and resourceful Nebra-ska teen Billie MacTavish join the Harvey Girls on the Santa Fe railroad, navigating secrets, prejudice, and punishing training as they forge uneasy ties while working at the Grand Canyon's El Tovar hotel. Original.

Parents weekend : a novel
by Alex Finlay

Five families gather for Parents Weekend at a small college in Northern California, but their kids—Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella—never show up for dinner, and FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller must discover if the sins of their parents have caused them peril.

Murder on Sex Island
by Jo Firestone

"When a cast member goes missing from the hit reality show Sex Island, producers hire detective Luella van Horn to go undercover as a contestant and solve the case. What the producers don't know is that the enigmatic Luella van Horn is actually a woman named Marie Jones, a divorced ex-social worker from Staten Island attempting to lead a double life as a private eye...Unable to resist the opportunity to be a part of her favorite trashy TV show...Marie-as-Luella takes the case. But the more she learns about Sex Island's dark underbelly, the harder it gets to make it out alive"

Fonseca : a novel
by Jessica Francis Kane

In 1952, pregnant Penelope Fitzgerald journeys to a remote Mexican town with her young son to pursue an inheritance, only to find rival claimants, a chaotic household full of artists and opportunists and a handsome stranger who could change everything.

I did warn her : a novel
by Sian Gilbert

Joining the crew of the luxurious superyacht Ophelia, Sasha expects high wages and glamour, but quickly realizes the yacht's beauty masks something far more sinister when a crew member is murdered and priceless jewels go missing. Original. 30,000 first printing.

Only lovers in the building
by Nadine Gonzalez

Suddenly unemployed Liliane Lyon books a summer rental at The Icon in Miami Beach, where she plans to bask in the sun, read and sip cocktails, but soon she's enchanted by the colorful community, including college professor Ben Romero -- whose sole intention for sabbatical is to indulge in brooding introspection. Original. 50,000 first printing.

Fog and fury : a thriller
by Rachel Howzell Hall

Relocating to peaceful Haven, former LAPD cop Sonny Rush's search for a missing dog unravels dark secrets and murder, shattering the town's perfect image and threatening her own safety, in the new novel from the author of The Last One.

A Thousand Natural Shocks
by Omar Hussain

Dash, a reporter in Monterey, California, is desperate to outrun his past. During the day, he investigates the reemergence of a long-dormant serial killer. At night, he has become entangled with a criminal cult that promises a pill to erase his traumatic memory.

Savvy Summers and the sweet potato crimes
by Sandra Jackson-Opoku

When Grandy Jaspers, the 75-year-old neighborhood womanizer, drops dead at table two of Savvy Summers's soul food café Essie's, she finds herself and her café swamped by bad press, so Savvy and her snooping assistant manager, Penny Lopés, take it upon themselves to find who really killed Grandy.

How to sell a romance
by Alexa Martin

Kindergarten teacher Emerson joins a too-good-to-be-true beauty company to make ends meet, but ultimately teams up with Lucas, whose ex was ruined by the same scheme, to expose its shady secrets and grapple with their increasingly unprofessional chemistry. Original.

People Like Us
by Jason Mott

Jason Mott follows up his National Book Award-winning Hell of a Book with this funny, moving, and surreal tale of two Black writers pondering race, loss, and survival. One of them, who specializes in grief, is at a Minnesota college where a shooting recently occurred, and the other, who just won a big award, is on a book tour in Europe. Try this next: Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour.

Into the leopard's den
by Harini Nagendra

In Bangalore, 1922, pregnant Kaveri investigates an elderly woman's death, but when one murder turns to two and then three, Kaveri, assisted by milk boy Venu and housemaid Anandi in Bangalore and husband Ramu and Inspector Ismail in Coorg, must expose a brutally intelligent killer.

Love is a war song
by Danica Nava

Muscogee pop singer Avery's risque "Rolling Stone" cover wearing a feather war bonnet causes a scandal that sends her to grandmother Lottie's Oklahoma ranch, and although cowboy Lucas hates what Avery represents, he grudgingly agrees to show her what it means to be an Indian. Original.

Automatic noodle
by Annalee Newitz

From an acclaimed sci-fi author comes a cozy near-future novella about a crew of leftover robots opening their very own restaurant.

The Marigold Cottages murder collective : a mystery
by Jo Nichols

Mrs. B, the landlady of The Marigold Cottages is a stubborn idealist who only rents to people she cares about: Sophie, an anxious young playwright with a dark past; Hamilton, an agoraphobe who likes to overshare; Ocean, a queer sculptor raising two kids alone; and more.

The potency of ungovernable impulses
by Malka Older

When scholar Pleiti investigates a plagiarism accusation threatening a young academic's future at a rival Jovian university, her inquiry soon unravels into a perilous conspiracy, all while she grapples with the mysterious estrangement of her partner, Mossa.

Royal gambit : a novel
by Daniel O'Malley

A supernatural adventure features a lady-in-waiting who must keep the court safe from murder, from the author of The Rook.

When sleeping women wake : a novel
by Emma Pei Yin

Amidst the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, three women—Mingzhu, Qiang, and Biyu—must navigate their roles in a war-torn world, balancing survival, resistance, and their bond as their paths diverge, with the hope of reuniting in the face of relentless danger.

The English masterpiece : a novel
by Katherine Reay

"Set in the art world of 1970s London, The English Masterpiece is a fast-paced read to the end, full of glamour and secrets, tensions and lies, as one young woman races against the clock to uncover the truth about a Picasso masterpiece. Perfect for fans of Kate Quinn and Ariel Lawhon"

Archive of Unknown Universes
by Ruben Reyes Jr.

In 2018, Harvard student Ana uses an experimental technology that depicts personalized alternate timelines, leaving her questioning her past and her future. Days later, she visits Cuba with her boyfriend, a fellow student, and both research and look for answers about their Salvadoran families' ties to the island. Meanwhile, in 1978 El Salvador, two revolutionaries fall in love against the backdrop of an impending civil war. Read-alike: The Volcano Daughters by Gina Maria Balibrera.

Bring the House Down
by Charlotte Runcie

At the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, critic Alex Lyons pens a devastating review of Hayley Sinclair's one-woman act. He then sleeps with her just before it’s published. In retaliation, she turns her show into “The Alex Lyons Experience,” where she and others detail his misdeeds. Narrated by Alex’s coworker, a struggling new mom whose husband may be having an affair, this witty, compelling tale explores art, gender, power, and identity. For fans of: Mona Awad’s All’s Well.

The art of a lie : a novel
by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

After her husband is murdered, Hannah Cole fights to save her struggling confectionary shop on Piccadilly, contends with suspicion from magistrate Henry Fielding, and finds an unlikely ally in William Devereux, whose introduction of iced cream sparks both opportunity and peril in eighteenth-century London.

Jamaica Road
by Lisa Smith

Beginning in 1981, this evocative coming-of-age novel follows two best friends who become something more. Quiet 12-year-old Daphne is of Jamaican heritage and the only Black girl in her South London class when Jamaican immigrant Cornelius “Connie” Smalls arrives, ready to be seen and heard. Thoughtfully portraying their relationship as it ebbs and flows, this tender debut also spotlights societal issues. For fans of: Sally Rooney’s Normal People; Jacqueline Crooks’ Fire Rush.

Silvercloak
by Laura Steven

Determined to avenge her parents' murder, a young woman infiltrates an elite academy to hunt the ruthless gang responsible, only to be sent undercover into their world, where deadly alliances, brutal betrayals, and a doomed prophecy threaten to unravel her mission—and her heart.

The original : a novel
by Nell Stevens

Raised on the fringes of her uncle's crumbling Oxfordshire estate, gifted art forger Grace plots her escape until the arrival of a man claiming to be her long-lost cousin forces her to confront shifting boundaries of identity and truth.

Totally and completely fine : a novel
by Elissa Sussman

In a quiet Montana town, widowed single mother Lauren Parker wrestles with grief, small-town expectations and motherhood while navigating an unexpected connection with actor Ben Walsh, whose arrival on a film set reignites her desire for love, and a future beyond her past. Original.

Of monsters and mainframes
by Barbara Truelove

"Demeter, an interstellar ship that shuttles humans between Earth and Alpha Centauri, keeps having her passengers murdered. It all started when an ancient and nasty vampire decided to come along for the ride. To keep from getting decommissioned, Demeter must stop this vampire and she joins forces with her own team of monsters: a werewolf, an engineer built from the dead, a pharaoh with otherworldly powers, and more. But will they be enough to defeat Dracula?"

The world's greatest detective and her just okay assistant
by Liza Tully

Eager to prove herself, assistant detective Olivia Blunt pushes her reluctant mentor to investigate a wealthy matriarch's suspicious death on Lake Champlain, only to find herself entangled in the secrets and shifting loyalties of the powerful Summersworth family.

Letters from the dead
by Isabella Valeri

Takes readers into an intoxicating world of old money, privilege and family intrigue as a young heiress must return home from a decade-long exile to face the powerful enemies arrayed against her, including those within her own family.

History lessons
by Zoe B. Wallbrook

A college history professor must solve her superstar colleague's murder before she becomes the next target.

The Satisfaction Café
by Kathy Wang

Having left Taiwan in the 1970s to attend Stanford graduate school, Joan marries a fellow student, but that lasts mere weeks. She stays in California, unexpectedly drawn to a wealthy, thrice-divorced older man. They marry, and in this quietly powerful portrait, Joan becomes a stepmother, a mother, a widow, and the owner of café designed to combat loneliness. For fans of: The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon Somin; Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum.

Roll for romance : a novel
by Lenora Woods

After losing her job, Sadie finally agrees to play Dungeons & Dragons with her best friend and joins the game as Jaylie, a powerful human cleric, but when handsome bartender Noah is roped into the game, Jaylie succumbs to his bard character Loren, while Sadie falls under Noah's spell. Original.

The Rabbit Club
by Christopher J. Yates

Alistair McCain, an 18-year-old from California, has never met his British rock star father. Starting at Oxford, he hopes to finally do so and to be accepted into a secret society he’s heard about at the university. While his lineage gets him an invite, he soon suspects the group may be involved in murder in this suspenseful and entertaining read. Try this next: I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai.

Maggie; Or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar
by Katie Yee

Our unnamed narrator learns her husband is leaving her for his coworker Maggie. So, when she’s told she has cancer days later, she names the tumor Maggie, too. Not telling her ex any of this, she gets help from her best friend and shares her Chinese mother’s mythological tales with her kids. Depicting resilience and heart, this moving first novel is liberally peppered with humor. Read-alike: Catherine Newman's We All Want Impossible Things.

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