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Reading Roundup
August 2026 |
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Nearshore
by Steve Hawk
West Virginia: A small nuclear bomb detonates beside an Appalachia highway. The weapon's explosive yield is meager, the death count blessedly low. And yet--it is history's first act of nuclear terrorism, and it threatens to tilt the world beyond reckoning.
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The Book of Chuck
by Latoya Watkins
An extraordinary new novel about family, legacy, and an inherited curse.
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Under the Falls
by Richard Russo
When Tyler Sinclair left Stone Mountain at eighteen, he had no plans of returning. With only a duffel bag full of clothes, a few bucks stolen from his father's dresser, and a guitar, his most prized possession, Tyler disappeared without so much as a goodbye. Eighteen years later, Tyler, now the frontman of a famous band aptly named Stone Mountain, finds himself returning to his hometown for a one-night-only benefit concert to support his old friend.
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Sunrise
by Téa Obreht
Three lives, one hundred years, one ghost town: an explosive novel about a mysterious place called Sunrise, where the secrets of the past refuse to stay buried.
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The Ladies Hall: A Novel of Three Women Who Refused to Be Silenced
by Vanessa Miller
Based on the real lives of Mary Church Terrell, Anna Julia Cooper, and Ida Gibbs Hunt, The Ladies Hall is a mirror into times of great change--where progress and new possibilities are met with violence and resistance . . . but hope always rises.
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Plant Lady
by Kang Minyoung
In the heart of a quiet town, a young woman tends to her plant shop, but beneath the surface of her lush, green sanctuary lies something far darker.... Will you dare to disrespect her plants?
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All That Is Left of Life
by Roberta Recchia
Three generations of the Ansaldo family grapple with the aftermath of a tragic murder in this sweeping, cinematic debut set in 1980s Rome.
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Sunlight Finds You
by Laura Moriarty
Radiant...What begins as a teenage romance in 1950s Florida becomes an intimate, deeply moving story of separation, sacrifice, and self-determination -- and of how early love shapes the lives we carry forward.
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The Wild Beneath
by Kelly Anderson
Annie MacLeod always knew she was different, growing up on a sailboat in the Pacific Northwest, navigating by stars and swimming with sea creatures alongside her parents and best friend Evan. But when a tsunami shatters her world, Annie is stranded on land and forced to confront how eccentric she is. In the wreckage, she rescues a wordless man named Walker, who emits a hum only she can hear. Their connection is instant, electric. Walker's touch gives Annie visions of the ocean's hidden world, a life she's never known but feels inexplicably drawn to.
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Christine's Library Journal Reviews
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The Spy Keeper of Marseille by Roseanna M. WhiteThis review by librarian Christine Barth was first published in the May 2026 issue of Library Journal.Famous concert pianist Marcel Laurent's time in a POW camp almost broke his spirit, but meeting Zelie Bellerose might rejuvenate him. Zelie is far from a dutiful officer's wife. After her husband dies in battle, she joins the French Resistance, fooling the Nazis by collecting information from cultural spheres right under their noses.She tasks Marcel with working deep undercover as a youth orchestra director for the very regime he hates. When a deeply personal betrayal threatens their network, Zelie and Marcel must step into leadership roles neither is prepared for. Obsessed with North Africa, their British handlers seem unaware of the immense risks the network of young artists is taking on behalf of a free France.VERDICT: Don't miss this symphony of a book from White (The Collector of Burned Books), who highlights regular people making brave choices even as they are caught in a geopolitical web they can barely understand. Recommended for readers who enjoy World War II novels set in France, such as Until Leaves Fall in Paris by Sarah Sundin and The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff.
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Don't Upstage the Body
by Naomi Stephens
This review by librarian Christine Barth was first published in the May 2026 issue of Library Journal.
Hippolyta Halpenny is dying to escape the family business, which is ironic since they are professional mourners hired to put on a good show at funerals. When she summons real tears over her mother's death at Lord Basil Montfort's service, she attracts the attention of Crispin, the future Earl of Montfort himself.
Everything threatens to come undone, however, when Hippolyta discovers a body in the library and the motley crew is forced to remain on the Montfort estate until the slightly inept constabulary cracks the case. Taking matters into their own hands, Hippolyta and Crispin investigate the death, which may be tied to a legendary jewel theft from decades previously, while keeping secrets from each other.
VERDICT: Set in the 1950s, the tale is equal parts farcical and mysterious. Stephens (The Burning of Rosemont Abbey) delivers a unique twist on the classic English house party mystery in the tradition of Agatha Christie. For fans of Anthony Horowitz and Alan Bradley who want a laugh along with their whodunit.
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Chapter One Again
by Keelia Clarkson
This review by librarian Christine Barth was first published in the May 2026 issue of Library Journal.
Outwardly, Jane is living the dream in New York City with a solid group of friends and a well-paying job that connects her with celebrities; she's happy to be far from stifling Avila Falls, CO, where her kind, but distant, parents live.
Inwardly, though, Jane yearns to write her own novels rather than ghostwriting for the stars and feels like her 30s have come without much to show for them. When she returns home for her mother's 70th birthday, she accidentally gets locked in a bookstore with her old high school crush.
Romance ensues, but Jane is planning to return to New York. The more time she spends in the very place she tried so hard to escape, though, the more she questions her priorities.
VERDICT: Screenwriter and actress Clarkson's debut novel draws on her industry experience to create a town that readers will want to return to in future books. Similar reads involving small-town second chances include Irene Hannon's "Hope Harbor" and Denise Hunter's "Riverbend Romance" series.
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Mystery, Adventure, & Thriller
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The Opposite of Murder
by Sophie Hannah
Jemma Stelling walks into a police station and confesses--not to a murder she's committed, but to the one she's terrified she might.
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Heart of Glass
by Jennifer Hillier
Twenty-five years ago in Seaside, Washington, a charming drifter named Sam met three inseparable teenage girls at the local amusement park. Days later, one of them was found dead, her body surfacing in a flooded cranberry bog not far from where she was murdered. Barb and Nicolette were shocked to learn that the man they all met at Wonderland was the Carnival Killer.
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Love Me Like a Rock Song
by Shelly Jay Shore
Delilah is a lyricist looking for a muse. Emmett is a golem ready to be unmade. From the bestselling author of Rules for Ghosting comes a soul-stirring, romantic novel about a jilted singer-songwriter, her unexpected passenger, and the road trip of a lifetime.
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Experiments in Offline Dating
by Kat MacKenzie
Maya Davis is chronically terrible at dating. So much so that she's turned her catastrophic dating experiments into a full-time job. Hellbent on dating offline for her second podcast season, Maya travels to Ireland to meet the world-renowned local matchmaker, and gets set up on a slew of horribly funny meet-ups that are exactly the type of comedy gold she was looking for.
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Dreamers of the Full Moon Coffee Shop
by Mai Mochizuki
In Japan, cats are a symbol of good luck. As the myth goes, if you are kind to them, they'll one day return the favor. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might just find yourself invited to a mysterious coffee shop under a bright moon. Under one such moon in August, Neptune pays the Full Moon Coffee Shop a visit, taking the form of a beautiful human called Sala. Sala's special talent is giving people dreams and helping them to open their hearts.
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The Dragon Has Some Complaints
by John Wiswell
Garrodigh was once a four-headed dragon, among the most powerful in Kardosa. After an unfortunate incident, he now has three heads, one stump, and a daily whirlwind of internal bickering. Centerhead wants to rain death upon all humanity, Bottomhead is like a feral cat, and Upperhead is under the delicate delusion that he is, in fact, human. When a nearby battle goes awry, Garrodigh sneaks into an elite dragon rider academy, pretending to be tame to get free food and a warm bed. Lucky for him, rider Rania Charv tov is desperate enough for a dragon of her own that she overlooks his eccentricities
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Agrippa: A Novel of Ancient Rome's Descent Into Dictatorship
by Robert Harris
He was born feet first, a dangerous way to enter the world. His mother did not survive, and the nickname, Agrippa--mother killer--stuck. But the schoolyard taunting only served to harden his resolve and hone his predilection for aggression. In time, the name lost its sting and became instead a mark of his invincibility. It came to shape his destiny.
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The House of Boleyn
by Tracy Borman
When nobleman Thomas Boleyn, lord of Hever Castle, is called to London in 1509 to present himself to a newly anointed King Henry VIII, he sets in train events that ensure the Boleyn name will never be forgotten. His daughters Mary and Anne were young then, and though he was ambitious for his family to prosper, he could not imagine what would transpire in the two decades to come.
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The Christmas Book Flood: A Holiday Friends-To-Lovers Romance Set in WWII Iceland
by Roseanna M. White
Iceland. December 1944. Tatiana Eliasdottir is looking forward to welcoming her niece Elea for Christmas. She's determined to give the little girl a joyful holiday and take her mind off troubles at home. Soon, however, the publishing house where Tatiana works is flooded with orders thanks to the first issue of a seasonal book catalog. With the war causing so many shortages, Icelanders are eager to give their loved ones something that isn't rationed, and books are the perfect solution to their dilemma.
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Things We Cannot Keep
by Amanda Cox
Tess has built a new life in Alabama, repairing timepieces and avoiding her past--until a mysterious package bearing her old name and an anonymous note appears. Traveling across continents to uncover the secrets of a lost heirloom, is she brave enough to face what she might find--and can she trust others with what matters most?
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Escape Me
by Tahereh Mafi
James Anderson needs a new plan. He's ready to make real moves to destroy the looming threats against their world, but no one is taking him seriously. James is tired of being underestimated by his own family. He wants five uninterrupted minutes alone with Rosabelle. He wants to kill Sebastian. And he's done waiting for permission.
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Firstborn (Deluxe Edition)
by M. J. Hastings
The first children take up arms. The second children take up books. The third children are taken. The Long Night is the final trial for Firstborn soldiers, and Bryn Ruelle must prove she can take a life--or face immediate exile. If she survives, she'll graduate to defending the country's borders against their magic-wielding neighbors. Bryn has never made a kill before tonight. By dawn, someone will be dead by her hands. But when Bryn discovers a plot to kidnap the Lastborn, she must discern if the threat to her youngest sister is real, or merely a ruse to throw Bryn off her game.
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Stay Buried
by Jennifer McMahon
1919: Frankie O'Massey has always been the black sheep of isolated Boone's Ferry, Vermont. Her uncle, Dr. Thomas Endicott, has been training her in the science of medicine, something the townspeople are wary of. When a mysterious illness strikes the town, and the community suspects supernatural forces, the two desperately search for a logical explanation. Patient zero seems to be the town's knackerman--a recluse who collects dead and dying farm animals to make use of their parts. 2016: Siblings Ashley and Malcolm lost their mother two years ago. When their grandmother dies, they inherit a property in Boone's Ferry--a place they've heard of but their grandmother has always refused to talk about--and embark on a trip to their ancestral home.
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Reliquary
by Hannah Whitten
A young woman is lured to her late fianc 's remote island estate--only to uncover eerie family secrets, a haunting past, and a monstrous hunger stirring beneath the sea.
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